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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

For those not into the that whole luck o' the Irish thing

...we have Wednesday Whining!

I like the whole wear green and sing sappy songs and a pint of stout as much as the next person but, really? It requires not one but two whole days of hard drinking? Even my son, who I took my son to see my friends, the Top 40/Irish folk song, acoustic guitar playing band mates, perform at a local Irish club Sunday night, thought it was all too much. Teen Son has been their sound engineer helping them to lay down tracks and doing some sound mixer type things. Before Teen Son became involved, they would try to hand out their demo cassette tape to try and get gigs. Most places didn't even have something to play that on! Thanks to his efforts and a few software investments by dear ol'Mom, they now have a real demo CD. Here's to the 1990s!

We didn't feel very lucky. I think we whined about it too. I'm sure if Teen Son knew there was a Whiners Ball, he would whine about being initiated by stealth to our group. We are begging off tomorrow's performance. I think that is our Anti-Whine!

And now, let's hear some of your whines. Cry me a green river and I will award prizes....like on Saturday...but I will have Cluesticks at the ready, a stylish prize for whines of style, and the always coveted Elevated Risk of Mullet award.

Can you believe it has been so long since I hosted that I lost my password for Blogger? I think the universe is trying to tell me get back on track.

41 comments:

KLee said...

Oh, you would do well to steer clear of my burg tomorrow (well, TODAY, since it's now 12:09) then. We have a HUGE ST. Pat's parade. In fact, our schools are closed for the day, because getting to them is nigh impossible, and all the parents are out getting smashed, anyway. Do you know how HARD it is to reason with a drunk parent exactly WHY they can't pick little Susie up from school when they can't even WALK a straight line?!?

At any rate, the no-school thing is *definitely* an anti-whine.

I have also posted at my place, which I haven't done in MONTHS, so that's another good thing, but the topic is not so nice.

It turns out that my daughter's skeevy "boyfriend" who borke her heart is now trying to weasel his way back into it. Not if THIS Mama has anything to say about it!

Madeleine said...

So glad you are back on track!

My whine is third verse, same as the first (two): work work work.

I worked fairly diligently this afternoon on a train, and got to my hotel to answer a complicated email (that spawned a couple more panicky emails) and I am now reviewing a 47 page document and then I have to enter some stuff in a database to look good to the hosts of tomorrow's meeting.

Am sleepy.

Missed free snacks on the concierge floor by 5 minutes. (Yes, that is the epitome of overprivileged whining.)

Madeleine said...

Done! Time to sleep.

Emily said...

whine the 1st: I've been so busy that I missed three weeks of whining!

antiwhine the 1st: The big event for which I had a significant volunteer role was last week (whew) and it went well. However, it spawned a whole series of whines:

(begin long whine)

I am a volunteer--I have a life outside of the event. Just because this is part of your (event organizer) job (it was a school event, headed by a teacher), it's not part of mine--I'm fitting it in around everything else.

I am willing to do low-level peon type work. I even enjoy it, in limited amounts, but I'm not willing to be treated like a peon by you.

Yes, it helps if you show your appreciation *during* the preparations. Thanks at the end are nice, but don't make up for weeks of bad treatment.

If I tell you I can't talk on the phone when you call--it's because *I can't talk*. I don't care how brief your request is.

An unreasonable request, is still unreasonable, even if you (this was another volunteer, who decided she was "queen of the volunteers" and, as such, could tell everyone else what to do and how to do it, in detailed emails) put the word "kindly" in it. I was tempted to reply "Kindly p*ss off". (But I didn't, beacause I have taste and good breeding:-)).

Some people wonder why it's so difficult to get others to volunteer, but I think that the way volunteers are treated has a lot to do with it!

(end long whine)

(big antiwhine)
I was able to get a group of really great people to help with my part of the event.

Thanks for listening.

Sue said...

KLee gets a vote for using the word "skeevy" - sounds so....sinister.

Madeleine - missing freebie snacks totally sucks.

Emily - sorry for the busy-ness. We've missed you! Also - you make a VERY good point about volunteers. We need to remember that this is time that could have been spent on the couch watching Sawyer on "Lost" (not that I had a dream about him last night or anything :))

Whine: Less than stellar doc visit. It was my annual physical so we did all the fun stuff...you know the drill. Paper gown, paper to lie down on and make earth-shatteringly loud crinkle noises with every breath. Stirrups that surely spent the night in the freezer....

Anti-whine: The *ahem* instruments were nice and warm. My doc makes me laugh because he's so shy about these exams that he makes silly conversation just to get through it. Monday he was talking about shoes while his hand was inside reaching for my navel. Whatever, just finish up and let me get my clothes on...

Anti-whine: Blood pressure is good. Resting heart-rate excellent. Doc said, "You've been working out." Apparently he can tell from listening to my heart, even though my icky flu has kept me from the gym for two weeks. Cool.

Whine: I've lost twenty pounds since I saw him last and he didn't mention it.

Whine: When I mentioned my headaches, his hand reached for the door handle - an old trick of his - and he said "No. Occipital Nerve Stimulation won't work in your case. Okey dokey then.

Whine: Did not ask what meds I'm presently taking, including my anti-depressents and anti-anxiety meds. Does that seem odd to you?

Set me up for a mammogram and colonoscopy - aaaaaaaaaand scene.

End of physical - and my head still hurts. Still have no rescue meds. Argh.

Diane said...

Hi. My name is Diane. It has been over a year since I last whined.
My J-O-B has now lifted the block on all things 'blog' related but now they have all these other rules that I have to get used to. For example, most restaurant websites won't come up - because they fall in "Tobacco and Alcohol related content". How am I supposed to plan my weekend while I'm at work people?? Sheesh!

In other areas, my 4 yr old lost my wedding band this weekend. Not a big loss there, and I'm sure it will turn up eventually, but, ummmm...how long until I can just buy a new one that I like better? (oh - did I say that last part out loud?)

I'm excited to be back in the whining game but worried that since it's been so long I will continue to keep forgetting when it's Wednesday! Oh well - today I plan to catch up on everyone's whine!

Hooray for whining!!

Sue said...

*waving* Hi Diane!!!! So glad to have you back.

Love the whine/anti-whine re: the wedding ring. Talk about finding the silver lining in a truly whine-worthy situation! Well done. As for how long you wait - hmmmmm.......I'm not sure about that one.

Good luck with planning the weekends outside of work time. Sheesh. What next? No Crackbook?

Liz Miller said...

Hi Diane!!!

I'd say two hours is long enough in a situation where you didn't like the design of the original.

Did anyone else think that "turn up eventually" might mean "in an evacuation"?

esperanza said...

Sue, that is a most unsatisfactory doctor's appointment. I'd say if you had *gained* 20 pounds, he'd certainly have mentioned it, no? And no headache conversation is just...skeevy...on his part. Not to mention weaselly, and cowardly.

Diane, welcome back! And I'm astonished you haven't whined in a year! Could you give lessons to my Sweet Baboo?


As for me: Whine of the largely unbloggable variety, family division, in-law subcategory. And mostly my own contribution to the icky situation. I hate it when people call me on things I should be called on. Crap. Apologies have been issued and accepted, but I still feel icky about the whole thing.

Antiwhines: spring is here, wildflowers are blooming, sun is shining, weather is warming, and...Mini Baboo is smiling! And sleeping for 5-7 hours at night! Well, some nights.

kathy a. said...

hi, diane!

i'll be back later about everyone's whines. right now, trying to finish one last work thing -- then on to the cleaning and packing, because we are outta here in the morning!

so, i went to get travelers checks, and my bank was out. the next bank had them, but took forever. then, slow line at the post office. my beloved just realized that my credit card bill didn't arrive, and payment will be due before we come back. beloved took the whole day off so he could get underfoot while i'm trying to power through the lists -- for some reason, he thinks that whatever comes to his attention that minute needs my priority attention. sigh.

hoping our son's cellphone gets turned back on, like, TODAY, because he is the primary caretaker while we are gone. lalalala, i can't think about that right now! fortunately, i have a killer contact list for the neighbors, his girlfriend the backup pet-carer, and my sisters. so if the house blows up, i'm sure someone will notice and do something.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad it's wednesday!

whine: In the recent deluge of 9 or so inches of rain, we got an inch of water throughout our basement that has ruined rugs and soaked paneling and generally made the place smell icky and now requires some actual people who know something to clean/disinfect/prevent mold growth etc.

antiwhine: Many many people around us got much much more water and we were truly blessed to get off so lightly.

whine: still, we have spent about two days using a shop vac to suck up water, and lug it outside to dump, 5 gal at a time. Eventually realized that we were making no progress, because even after the rain stopped, water just kept seeping back in after we sucked it out. Water table too high.

whine: need to have some waterproofer person come figure out what's up, also with the leak we already knew we had (which did ok, unlike the basement in general which got wet in a way it never had before)....yadda yadda

whine: will cost $$

whine: I am clearly too old for lugging all these boxes that used to be in the basement upstairs (and, also, if they *fit* upstairs I would have stored them there originally!). Am sore, and my house looks like we are in the process of moving.
Which, we are not. Though right now it sounds good.

anitiwhine: it's now sunny and about 60, which feels tropical. I have excellent back-door neighbors who don't mind that a lot of our ruined basement crap is spread out in the back yard to dry. At least it's not on cinder blocks, but only because I couldn't find any.

antiwhine: This has jump started my spring cleaning?

whine: son was home with a stomach bug during all this excitement

antiwhine: he's back at school today, and did I mention, the sun is shining!?

final whine of grown-up idiocy: borrowed a kid's jumprope today at the school to try and get a ball unstuck from up high (picture small ball, but stuck like when a basketball gets wedged between rim and backboard.) Thought I could hit it with one of the handles and knock it loose. Trying to be helpful. Missed. Handle crashed back to pavement and broke. Yes, I asked to borrow a little kid's jumprope and promptly broke it. I am a dufus.

Off to buy a new jump-rope for a little girl who was ultra- gracious in the face of adult dufus-ness.

Sorry for taking so much space.

--Neighbor Lady

Jenevieve said...

Madeleine definitely gets my vote for Old Skool whine; a convention without snacks is like a night without stars.

Whineywhinewhine: In 36 hours, I hear whether or not I got the job. Teh sleeps, they are not happening.

AW: at least I'm on vacation, so I don't have to function.


Sad, sad whine: I got the funding together for the plane tix to CA (next tuesday), but now the docs have said my godmother may not make it that long. Sob.

AW: she's more comfortable today, and speaking in coherent sentences. This is the 1st time in a week she's been coherent.

I fireplacing hate cancer. What a horrible disease.

Jenevieve said...

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I got it! I got the job!!!!!

Now off to drink something and sleep until next week. Yay!

Free cupcakes and guiness for everyone!

kathy a. said...

(((( jeni )))) oh, how heartbreaking. much love with you, and your godmother. i hate the fireplacing cancer, too.

crossing fingers about the job.

klee -- yay for no school! boo on creepy boyfriends who don't deserve that amount of property in daughter's brainspace.

another vote for madeliene's old skool masterpiece, no snacks.

cluesticks to those icky people in emily's volunteer world. phfffth! but yay about volunteering.

diane, free at last from [some of] the internet restrictions! liz's comment about things turning up in the end made me ~snort~, but ain't it the truth.

(( sue )) oy the headaches! xoxo

esperanza, sorry about the unbloggable outlaw problems.

NL for some kind of award, for the flood of doom. and breaking a jumprope.

kathy a. said...

WOOOT, JENI! happy dance!!!!

p.s. antiwhine -- i am done with everything but the packing and the litterboxes! son's cellphone is back in service.

Sue said...

I agree - who holds a convention without FOOD???? Um...duh!

NL - so sorry to hear about the water damage - that sucks.

esperanza - sorry about the fambly whineage. That's always so hard. And you're right about the doc appointment. I hadn't thought of it that way, but yes, if I had gained that much weight, he probably would have brought it up.

Kathy a. - have a Wonderful Time!!!! Leave the rest behind and just enjoy your daughter.

Jenevieve - yes. Cancer completely, utterly, absolutely sucks. I'm so very sorry.

But I'm jumping for joy about the JOB!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! Mmmmmm....cupcakes. I'll have two because I don't drink, so another lucky pixie can have my guiness, 'kay?

Anonymous said...

Yay Jeni about the job!!!!!!!! And so sorry about your godmother!

Welcome back Diane!

Have a great trip Kathy a.!

And Sue, so sorry about the headaches. And if you need the cluestick posse for your doc, you know how to reach us.
Though KLee is doing an excellent job being her own cluestick posse on a daughter's ex-boyfriend. She's lucky to have a mom like you who has her back!

Hugs to all other pixies in need, and thanks again for the place to vent.

--Neighbor Lady

Anonymous said...

Yay Jeni about the job!!!!!!!! And so sorry about your godmother!

Welcome back Diane!

Have a great trip Kathy a.!

And Sue, so sorry about the headaches. And if you need the cluestick posse for your doc, you know how to reach us.
Though KLee is doing an excellent job being her own cluestick posse on a daughter's ex-boyfriend. She's lucky to have a mom like you who has her back!

Hugs to all other pixies in need, and thanks again for the place to vent.

--Neighbor Lady

Anonymous said...

Yay, Jeni! Yay, packed, Kathy! Boo, water in the basement and bad docs. I am sort in the mood to whack somebody with a cluestick... I would be glad to help!
-----------------
Anybody remember Imelda, of Thanksgiving in a studio apartment fame? I just ran into her at the grocery store, for the first time since moving back to this town ten months ago. And, of course, it had to be two weeks after The Break Up.

What could possibly be more awkward? Oh, yeah, having dinner with The Breaker Upper's Mother tomorrow night (reservation for two, at 7 pm).

Wish me luck.

kathy a. said...

oh, a couple of doorstops to imelda. i mean, why not?

redzils, sorry for the awkwardness of seeing teh B-Upper's mom, but she must think a good deal of you. and if it's weird, you have permission to get out of there by whatever means possible.

"packed" is rather overstating the situation, although the pets are now stocked for when we get stuck for 2 extra weeks and nobody here can find the store carrying the right kind of food.

Sue said...

I agree redzils. Awkward, definitely, but Breaker-Upper's mt must like you a lot. Just the same, it might not hurt to have someone call your cell during dinner - just in case you need an emergency exit contingency plan. I'd be happy to oblige if needed, but I'm sure you've got plenty of local friends who would do the same.

Never hurts to have an escape hatch out of a bad dinner. Wow. Those words could apply to so many family feast day celebrations, yes?

Liz Miller said...

Yay Jeni!!! WOOOT!!!

Re: your godmother. Have someone there tell her you're coming Tuesday and to hold on. If she knows you're coming that soon, she'll wait to see you.

Redzils: I'll call you during dinner if you want.

Kathy a: YOU'RE LEAVING TOMORROW??? You're far calmer than I would be.

Neighbor Lady: Sending hugs and 7 large fans. Share them with your neighbor, won't you?

KLee, sending a 206 page (and counting) doorstop with which to bop creepy boyfriend over the head.

Liz Miller said...

Sue and KLee, did you see the Ms. article on migraine?

kathy a. said...

fireplacity fireplace freaking fireplace. my difficult sister, the one with the cancer who has been doing really well the last 6+ months, just got scans showing signs like "trauma" in her ribs. and she has had no trauma. more stuff's scheduled, and this could mean various things, but...

in case i don't say it enough, love you pixies.

Liz Miller said...

Kathy A, sending healthy no cancer thoughts to your difficult sister.

And many hugs to you. Many many many.

Diane said...

Jenevieve - before you accept the job, you may want to look into their internet protocol. Because if you can't do personal things during work time then what are you doing there?

How about we just send out the posse to Cancer in general? We'll get all drunk on the guinness (some of us on a suger high from the cupcakes) and then we'll just go out swinging.

Sue said...

I'm all about the cancer posse. Cancer sucks.

Thanks for the article link Liz. It is a good, but sad, article. ~sigh~

Maybe a good cluesticking to the head will give legislators enough of a headache to lobby for more research money. Who knows? All we can do is try, right pixies?

Sue said...

A Happy Anti-Whine Birthday Liz!!!

JenR said...

congrats on the job Jeni - I can't remember, does this mean you are moving now?

Whine: my tummy feels icky. and I'm the mommy so there's no sympathy 'round these parts and any chicken noodle soup will have to be made by me. If I even get around to feeling like eating that.

Jenevieve said...

Thanks, guys!

Diane, Hahaha! I don't even get a computer to myself there. This isn't good.

Liz, I had my mom tell her, and even though she couldn't speak, she smiled and looked happy, so there's that, anyway.

Kathy, that seriously sucks. I'm sorry.

I vote for the Cancer cluesticking. Of all the stupid horrible diseases, that one sucks eggs even more.

Jenevieve said...

Oh, and JenR, yeah, it means we're back to the states for a year. I'm... ambivalent about that. At best. However, it's a great clinic, so the opportunity to work with them is worth the crappiness of being within easy driving distance of my family.

Sarah at ratatat said...

KLee - hope your daughter avoids the bad news.

Emily - you have so voiced why volunteering drives me crazy. I always seem to end up working on things in which the organizers beg for help and then don't need me.

Sue - the doctor missing the point of a physical to discuss all of you is so frustrating. And no rescue meds!

Hi Diane! Unfree internets? A crime! My ring always seems to turn up. But I'd say, a month to replace?

Kathy A - Bon Voyage!!

Esperanza - I hate that feeling of knowing I have to apologize and waiting for it to blow over. IT will get better, I hope.

Congrats Jeni!!!! What fabulous news. Coupled with such sad sad stupid cancer slapping you in the face. Hugs.

NL - oh, even if it was only an inch, that's just icky. And mold. And the sick child. It's like the plagues. Insurance helpful?

Redzils - yeah, a backup plan may be in order. Can you fake a stomach flu?

A Whine/Anti-whine - I got my hair colored and let the stylist talk me into highlights. And they are mostly adorable. But wowza on the cost. I think this has to go into my birthday is next week, let's call it an experiences not stuff birthday. And I am a little bummed that there is no way I can repeat the experience any time soon.

Miranda said...

Pixies, I wish we could really Cluestick Teh Cancer in to oblivion. It has afflicted so many dear ones of mine.

Dropping by to apologize for the hit and run posting. Today was my 4th consecutive 12 hour day and the first I didn't also have evening activities to attend. Truly, I am so tired that I am nigh psychotic.

Clearly, that is a whine.

Anti-whine: my bff and I made up after I became mad at her flakiness Sunday night at the previously mentioned St. Patty's Day party.

Anti-whine the Second: My employment arrangements make me non-exempt and I can get OT.

Anti-whine the Third: My Not-So-Small Son and I are going to a working maple syrup farm tomorrow.

Tiny whine: We have to make a 2.5 hour trek. We must leave at 7:30. In the morning.

Anti-whine the Fourth: Teen Son's percussion ensemble moved up a class after a lot of hard work (competition classes are determined by talent and performance standards not size of school or other sponsoring body). They want a state gold medal for the third year in a row. States are next week. So nervous for him!

I will be back tomorrow afternoon for awards.

Madeleine said...

Thanks all for the sympathy over lack of snacks. To be clear, I ate a chewy bar from the stash in my backpack. And it wasn't anyone's fault but my own -- I sat and emailed and thought "I should go look for snacks" until it was too late.

Follow up whine being that I had NO TIME for whine follow up for two days.

Anti-whine that they were mostly good days, work and family and travel mostly smooth.

Whine that there was an incident with a breakable item at a cousin's house. SG made her tearful apology. We have offered to replace the item but grownup cousin thinks he can fix it.

Anti-whine that the exact item is for sale on eBay, or similar items from this year's collection from the company's website.

It's good to be home, even if only for a few days. Sigh.

Madeleine said...

Oh, and whine that I probably missed a chance to say "Bon Voyage!" to kathy a.

And I'm the last to say "CONGRATS!" and also, of course, send hugs to Jeni.

purple_kangaroo said...

L, the son of an old family friend who has been fighting leukemia for 2 years now at 9 years of age, is finishing up his radiation treatments for the tumor in his face. The doctors told his parents that this treatment may reduce or take away that tumor, but at this point nothing is going to make the cancer completely go away.

We are still praying for a miracle. The family's strength and faith are inspiring, but it's so heartwrenching to watch them go through this.

purple_kangaroo said...

Just read all the comments. Yes, definitely the cluesticking cancer. Except that's not severe enough for what I'd like to do to it. As I'm sure we all would.

The jumprope whine made me LOL. Thanks for the giggle--laughing WITH you, not AT you. :)

Hugs and warm thoughts to all the pixies.

Oh, and AJ had her neurologist appointment today. Despite what the receptionist told me, he doesn't actually evaluate for sensory processing issues. In fact, he thinks that although it's a promising field of research there is no hard data on it at all--that it exists, or that anything actually works to treat it or retrain it or whatever.

He did say, however, that AJ is obviously very bright and perfectly neurologically normal. And that he thought the counselor was "groping". And that obviously AJ has had some serious issues, and we're doing the right things and should continue with that, but he doesn't recommend any more specialist evaluations because all she'll get is more labels that won't help anything. Hm.

Thankfully, she's been doing so much fabulously better that I'm not too worried about that. Even if the therapist is groping for a diagnosis, he has been helpful to AJ.

At the moment my opinion is that she is just a very bright child with a very active mind and extremely intense emotions.

Sarah at ratatat said...

Oh PK, not sure what to say about the neurologist. MY gut is sort of a Grrrr. And so sad about your friend's son. How heartbreaking.

Sue said...

Oh PK, so sorry - both about your friend's son and about the icky neurologist. It's VERY hard to find a good one, but don't give up - they *are* out there.

kathy a. said...

(((( PK ))))

thanks for the love, pixies. no more news yet on my sister.

we:re in tokyo; leaving today for hiroshima, where we will meet up with daughter!

Madeleine said...

kathy a., so glad you could check in with us! I hope the trip is going well.

I need to whine that there are two very grumpy people in my family this evening, and for a change neither of them is me. Which means I have to put up with both of them.