Death is your art. You make it with your hands day after day. That final gasp, that look of peace. And part of you is desperate to know: What's it like? Where does it lead you? And now you see, that's the secret. Not the punch you didn't throw or the kicks you didn't land. She really wanted it. Every Slayer has a death wish. Even you.

Spike ,'Conversations with Dead People'


Natter 72: We Were Unprepared for This  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


shrift - Aug 02, 2013 5:52:37 am PDT #1125 of 30000
"You can't put a price on the joy of not giving a shit." -Zenkitty

You may have just gained a classmate.

It looks like it'll be fun, right? It's a partnership with University of Alberta.

I'm trying Duolingo, myself, for French.

Oh, nice. I am bookmarking that, because one day I intend to be fluent in Portuguese again... like I was 15 years ago.

Oh, man, I want very badly to take that Science and Cooking class, but I don't think I can.

There's an option to audit the class without making a commitment to complete the course materials, btw.


Consuela - Aug 02, 2013 5:57:43 am PDT #1126 of 30000
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix

It's been well over a decade since I worked anywhere that 40 hours wasn't the full-time work-week. One place I worked, before college, the work-week was 37.5 hours in order to avoid paying full-time benefits to the staff. The guy who owned that company was a hard-core right-wing guy, who tried to run for Senate against Ted Kennedy a couple of times. Heh.

Mass residents will know who I'm talking about: he owned a small medical-equipment company in Foxboro or Walpole or something, and I think he even tried to pay Kennedy to debate him.


Matt the Bruins fan - Aug 02, 2013 6:10:42 am PDT #1127 of 30000
You have to remember that being a 5-time Olympic medalist means Hilary Knight has been playing hockey at an elite level at least 16 years. It's impossible for her to be a teenage girl less than 16 years old, thus the President's complete lack of interest.

As my work situation was explained to me by the now-retired company pres (who is a relentlessly organized morning person), we must be in the office by no later than 9 a.m. and work 8 hours before leaving, barring the use of PTO or unofficial comp time from earlier in the two-week pay period. (Originally salaried employees were supposed to work things out so we only worked a total of 80 hours in any two weeks. A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...)

At any rate, this generally results in me being paid for the first 90 minutes or so at work where answering email and brewing coffee are the most productive things I can manage, and going home in the late afternoon/early evening when I still have a couple hours of clear-headed high speed work left in me. Flex time actually maximized my productivity, but apparently made the company look too loosey-goosey and unprofessional to the executives and clients that almost never actually show up at this location anyway.


WindSparrow - Aug 02, 2013 6:28:26 am PDT #1128 of 30000
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.

I suspect that many hourly 9 to 5 workers are held to that schedule to prevent them from working a 40 hour week and being full-time.

I rather appreciate my line of work where due to the 24-7ish nature of it, it is difficult to come up with a schedule wherein most people have exactly 40 hours. Here, if you are regularly scheduled for 30 per week, you are considered full-time and given benefits as such. Part-timers get full benefits when they have worked 1000 hours.


Atropa - Aug 02, 2013 6:35:35 am PDT #1129 of 30000
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.

Jilli, you know a number of good tattoo artists, don't you?

Yes. All in Seattle, but yes. And I can get recommendations for tattoo artist in other cities, if you need.


lisah - Aug 02, 2013 6:49:18 am PDT #1130 of 30000
Punishingly Intricate

I just signed up for that science and cooking class! Fun!


Pix - Aug 02, 2013 6:49:44 am PDT #1131 of 30000
The status is NOT quo.

Jilli, I need one in the Pasadena area. I need to clean up my tattoo and add something to it.


§ ita § - Aug 02, 2013 7:02:02 am PDT #1132 of 30000
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Give him a sock.

You do realise this has retroactive nude visuals, right?


Steph L. - Aug 02, 2013 7:13:43 am PDT #1133 of 30000
It's actually been a really hard year, when you stop and do the math. Eliot would cry, too, if it didn't take him seventy minutes of therapy, two cocktails, and a Sondheim medley before he can experience a human emotion through the haze of his PTSD.

Give him a sock.

You do realise this has retroactive nude visuals, right?

I realized it as soon as I typed it. But then I left it because I thought it was apropos.


msbelle - Aug 02, 2013 7:15:25 am PDT #1134 of 30000
I remember the crazy days. 500 posts an hour. Nubmer! Natgbsb

entire folder of monster resumes and applications from 2008!!! Jesusita.