Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-27T14:49:25-05:00
GM, I haven't even thought about it in awhile, but I opened up my Pandora for the first time in a long time to see what it thought of my musical tastes. It jumped from Mumford&Sons to Little Talks back to another Mumford&Sons song, so... I guess it forgot the variety in my choices!
I would use Spotify, but it'd take literal days to find everything I'd want to put on there, and I don't use those services much anyways, so it's not really worth it.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-27T15:16:13-05:00
Okay, apparently I wasn't on the right thing on Pandora.
It was all going great with the variety, but suddenly even I got whiplash when it went from light modern Christian rock straight to Nickelback!
(Joe & the Jungle was a band that stayed at our house once, and we're good friends with the members)
Ah, nothing like randomly having Die Walkure: Ride of the Valkyries start playing.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-11-28T05:00:41-05:00
Morning kittens! We've been having 60 degree weather down here and it's been real nice. Not sure if I'm ready for snow just yet.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-28T05:41:20-05:00
Wow, Geist, that may be the first time we've ever heard you call 60-degree weather "real nice"!
I, as an advocate for cold weather, consider that a win. ;)
@Geist, the day time highs here are above freezing, so at least there's that. I am not looking forward to the deep freeze that is ever looming...
Lord Zombitten 2017-11-28T11:41:42-05:00
We've been having record breaking highs here. Last weekend, we were able to go about our business without jackets. It rained yesterday. I'm concerned that we haven't had snow yet. Not that I'm complaining per sé, but we depend on the snow for water in the summer.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-11-28T12:40:25-05:00
Why can't more executives be like our Treasurer? He could be an arse like his co-workers on his level but the guy is chill like a surfer dude. Very funny too. He is in town for the rest of the week before he goes back to North Carolina. It's always a joy to have him sitting next to me. Pity I can't get any of the money he has access to.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-11-28T12:41:40-05:00
@LZ, yeah that would be disconcerting for sure! Calgary has the same issue. At the rate that the glaciers are melting we only have 40 or so years of fresh water in reserve, we will have to rely on snow after that. Hard to imagine our huge rivers drying up, but it will happen if things don't change, and fast!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-28T12:55:14-05:00
I hadn't even thought about it, but apparently we'd set the record high yesterday and last thursday and friday, so apparently that was one of the warmest Thanksgivings on record. We were wondering how we could all stand outside without jackets.
But for the most part, other than those 3 days, we've been about 10 degrees under our records. Though for the past couple weeks we've been bouncing sporadically between the 40s, 60s, and even above 70.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-11-28T13:19:18-05:00
In 40 years I'll be 89 (if I make it that far). This will be a problem more for the next 2 generations to deal with.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-11-28T13:30:24-05:00
@Geist, even though I don't have kids, nor the desire to have them, that doesn't mean I don't care about the future. As much as conservation, etc., would suck, having no water and a dead city would be worse, imo. Basically, if we don't do something now, there won't be a Calgary to worry about in 40 or so years.
@BaKhan: I was mostly listening to Feuer und Wasser when my mood started to brighten.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-29T02:04:38-05:00
Hahaha, BaKhan, I think that'd make a great song!
Du hast Minze! Du hast Minze getrunken!
Willst du Minze in deiner Schokolade? Nein! Nein!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-11-29T07:56:19-05:00
@BaKhan: I care about the environment as well but I'm still seeing displays of people not really taking it seriously. Plastic water bottles. There a trillions of those that end up in landfills each year but people are still buying them as if they will end up in some black hole once the garbage man takes them away. I try to always bring my own bags to the grocery store but I still see more people using the plastic bags instead.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-11-29T07:57:30-05:00
Morning kittens. Yesterday was 63 degrees. Fairly spring like. I could get use to this all winter.
@Geist: German metal. They have a few songs they did in English, but the vast majority are in only German. I know of one that is in German and English that they did a duet sort of thing with a lady(can't remember her name).
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-11-29T10:45:50-05:00
@Geist, I l know you do! I was just saying. Also, why don't you guys have recycling programs? In Canada, each one of those bottles is worth $0.10, ten bottles and you've got a dollar. Trust me if they had recycling, you wouldn't see many if any bottles winding up in the landfill, and thats just deposits. Never mind if you guys had actual plastic, paper, glass, and metal recycling. In Calgary, we have three bins, one for garbage thats picked up every two weeks. One for recycling that you can put all your plastic, paper, metal and glass waste thats picked up every week. And one for food waste, even stuff you couldn't compost at home, like bones, and meat, that gets picked up every week. They have really put a major push for us to be much more green, and as annoying as it is to have to sort your garbage, I think it helps.
@BaKhan: It's less annoying if you did it before hand anyways. The bins just make it so we no longer have to go to the local Safeway to drop off the recycling we had sorted into 5-6 boxes in the garage. Now we can just dump and put the cart out.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-11-29T11:02:37-05:00
@GM, yeah, I was more thinking about the food waste. Its a stinky rotting mess with a hell of a logistics issue... ;) I find it much more annoying, but I get the benefits. ;)
@BaKhan: That's where those car freshner things come in. Hang about a thousand of those on the lid to the green bin, and you should be good for a week.
Lord Zombitten 2017-11-29T14:15:08-05:00
Rammstein is good, but I generally prefer Eisbrecher. Look up Ohne Dich by Eisbrecher. I think it's much better than Ohne Dich by Rammstein. They're two completely different songs, by the way.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-29T18:53:53-05:00
Speaking of which, I just remembered my ultimate relax/cool-down thing. The mood only really catches me once per year, but I did it just this evening; one day when it's nice and cool (for normal people, cold enough for a thick jacket), I'll grab a large starbucks coffee and sit out at a public table outside and read something funny.
It's one of my favorite things to do, but somehow I only really do it about once per year. I think it's really only when I'm feeling pretty stressed and not a small bit tired.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-29T22:52:13-05:00
Have I mentioned that I like brandy old fashioneds?
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-29T22:52:39-05:00
Because I don't.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-29T22:53:42-05:00
I LOVE them. And yes, I would mary them.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-30T03:11:10-05:00
Hey, Trinkets! How've you been?
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-11-30T06:17:23-05:00
Morning kittens!
@BaKhan: They use to have recycling centers in D.C. You would see the homeless with shopping carts full of soda cans that they would then turn in for cash. Not sure why that stopped. Now only certain cities do it. I seriously doubt D.C. will do that again because the gentrifiers would frown on it
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-11-30T06:19:13-05:00
@Trinkets: As long as you've gotten over your love of Pabst. ;-)
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-11-30T06:20:57-05:00
As far as relaxing music goes, give me Pantera's "Planet Caravan" any day. That song is so laid back, it's the chill. I have to find a way to extend the song to 30 minutes.
@Geist, people suck. Why on earth would you get rid of a recycling program, which benefits everyone, because a few upity rich folks got their knickers in a bunch? So lame. Sigh.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-11-30T10:48:37-05:00
For chilling/relaxing I like to enjoy some herbal refreshments, sit in a candle lit room, and listen to some Loreena Mckennitt. I know, not what most people would expect form me, but those chill celtic songs really sooth the savage beast in me. ;)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-11-30T11:33:42-05:00
@Geist, almost forgot! We got your package for Pumpkin yesterday! It was awesome! Misty took some pics of her in her little sweater (which fit perfect by the way) and she was getting into that catnip toy as well! Thank you so much!
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-30T11:54:09-05:00
-Zem, I have been absolutely fantastic. How about yourself?
-Geist, I could never give up my love for Pabst!!
-Good morning, GM
-BaKhan, good to see you too.
Relaxing music......Type O Negative. That's my go to.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-30T12:05:04-05:00
I know it has been close to 10 months since I popped in here last. My life has really changed. Back in February, I found that my birth family was looking for me. I had been doing some searching on teh Interwebz over the last few years and finally found that they were also looking for me. Things couldn't be going any better. I am really just blown away that I have 3 full-blooded siblings. My birth parents were both 17 and in high school when they had me and gave me up for adoption. For them to stay together, get married, and have 3 more children together was totally unexpected. My birth parents had divorced years ago and didn't have any more children. My 2 sisters live only 2 hours away from me. My birth mother about 15 mins further. My brother about 3.5 hours away and my birth father 8 hours away. I have seen my sisters and birth mother probably every other weekend since February. I am an uncle of 5 now :-) I didn't have any nieces or nephews before. Between both sides, I have added 19 uncles & aunts, 37 cousins, grandparents and many more. It really has been an amazing year so far for me.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-30T12:05:20-05:00
Whew.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-11-30T12:19:56-05:00
@Trinkets, I am so happy for you! What an emotional rollercoaster that must have been, and probably still is! It must be amazing! I found out when I was in my twenties that I had an older half sister (who was given up for adoption). Getting to know her, and having her in my life, felt so good, and I don't know, complete? I hope you get the same feelings! Congrats on finding your birth family!
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-30T12:26:27-05:00
Thanks BaKhan. Glad you had a great experience as well.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-30T12:32:21-05:00
Complete is not the term I would use. I had great patents and family to raise me. I never felt like I was missing out on something, but now that I have met them and see so many similarities, it almost more of a fulfillment than being complete. If that makes sense. And as for an emotional roller coaster, OH YEAH, BIG TIME! It took me a coulee weeks for my mind to resume it's normal state.
Lord Zombitten 2017-11-30T14:28:55-05:00
Trinkets! Long time, dude! It's so exciting that you were able to meet your biological family!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-30T14:39:30-05:00
Trinkets, that sounds incredibly amazing and crazy! Congratulations, and it's great to know you get along with them so well and love meeting with them!
So, to answer your question, I'm doing okay, but nowhere near that. Though I'll be studying in Berlin next semester for 6 months, so I do have something to be super excited about.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-30T15:05:40-05:00
Howdy, LZ. Thanks. It is exciting.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-30T15:06:52-05:00
6 months in Berlin, AWESOMENESS!!! I haven't been there, but I was in Austria for 10 days. Mmmmmmmmm beer.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-30T15:08:46-05:00
The wine was pretty good too. A lot better than the crap my folks drink.
Lord Zombitten 2017-11-30T15:27:30-05:00
I'm super jell about the studying abroad thing. I would've loved to be able to go to Leiden U. I didn't think my chances of getting into one of the most prestigious universities in the world were that great, though.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-30T17:39:17-05:00
I think Austrians love wine alot more than beer, though. From what I've heard, at least, they don't focus too heavily on beer, but they love their wine and make really good stuff.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-30T20:52:09-05:00
Though what reminded you to check back in here, Trinkets? It's been a long time, I would have thought you must have thought this place must've been dead by now or something!
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-11-30T23:05:56-05:00
I have been meaning to hop back on here for a while. I knew the gang would be here.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-11-30T23:32:46-05:00
That's a long while! ;)
Glad you did, though, I wish more of the old Corps would check in once in awhile!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-01T06:58:32-05:00
Morning kittens!
@BaKhan: So glad she got the package. The catnip toy was one I got at the Crafty Bastard festival. (SUPPORT SMALL/INDEPENDENT BUSINESS!!) Wasn't sure if the sweater would fit as she is such a small kitty now. How is she doing?
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-01T07:01:07-05:00
@Trinkets: I'm glad you found your birth family. I wish I were adopted. My birth family is messed up. (From what I've seen of them. Maybe there are a few that are well adjusted but I've just never met them)
I would love to visit Austria. I hear the chocolate is second to none there. Beer also get rave reviews. Might put that on my bucket list.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-01T07:07:54-05:00
@BaKhan: I forgot to ask. How is your old/new job going now that you are back?
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-01T08:54:52-05:00
Finally a reason to visit Applebee's: $1 Long Island Ice Tea's. Pity the one near my favorite movie theater is now closed.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-01T10:42:44-05:00
Morning kittens!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-01T10:48:38-05:00
@Geist, Pumpkin is doing ok. I mean she's not ever going to get better, but she's still able to get around, is eating her food, and still making lots of noise. Although, not as much noise as she used to, so I think she's getting tired. Its pretty sad watching her fade away like this, and I'm trying to put a brave face on for Misty's sake, but I don't know how much longer we have. I hope she can make it to the new year, just so we can get past the holidays without too much sadness (although I know its coming soon). Thats the thing with pets, their forever isn't as long as ours is.
The new/old job is going well. Extremely busy, Its almost like there was a major backlog of work building up in my absence... ;) I think the best part for me is how appreciative the customers are to have me back. I know it might be petty of me, but I enjoy the compliments a lot! It is a struggle to stay positive in an environment where I am surrounded by so many negative people (fellow employees), but so far its not dragging me down. I'm trying to keep my perspective, you know? ;)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-01T10:49:44-05:00
Also, isn't Austria more known for its awesome beer than its wine? I'm not much of a drinker but even I've heard much more about their beer.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-01T12:02:52-05:00
@BaKhan: I'm glad she got the presents. Have Misty send them to me when she gets the chance. If I had thought of it, I would have taken more pictures of her. Especially when she was snoozing on my bed. I am so happy that I got to meet her twice. I just wish I could have met your doggy when he was alive.
I'm glad you are much appreciated on the job. Nothing petty about basking in the glow of people who FINALLY have a clue of how valuable you are. Now if only they had left gifts and offerings so you won't ever leave again.....
What goodies are you planning to cook for Christmas? Goose, ham, rib roast?
Lord Zombitten 2017-12-01T12:48:26-05:00
I haven't heard of Austria being a major player in the chocolate industry. The big four from that part of the world are Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Belgium, as far as I've heard and experienced. Of those four, my favorite is Belgian chocolate. That's one of the things I miss most about living in Europe. Anywhere in Europe has chocolate that is far superior to the waxy fare we get here.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-01T12:58:41-05:00
@Geist, I think Misty is going to put them on her FB page, but I'll see if she can forward the pics to you as well. I'm very glad that you got to meet Pumpkin as well, and of course saddened that my pup didn't make it long enough to do the same.
Christmas cooking is kinda out for me. We go down to Medicine Hat for Christmas and Misty's mom is jealous of my cooking, and therefor won't let me do any of it. It really sucks for me, as its something that I love to do, and I hate that I can't just because I do it better than her. Its a sore point for me, so I try not to think about it too much tbh. This year, her theme is cowboy Christmas so I think I'll get roped (pun intended) into doing the bbq, which is at least something. I just hope she doesn't pick crappy steaks... ;)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-01T13:08:10-05:00
Honestly, the first thing I think about when I think Austria is those white dressage horses parading around. Well that, Arch Duke Ferdinand, and Hitler... >.>
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-12-01T14:30:50-05:00
BaKhan, on Austria, I don't know, I'll take a day trip and tell you! ;)
But I do know that either/or my German teacher from Germany, my wines class teacher, or one of the best travel youtubers I've ever seen (some combination of that) said that Austria is actually a bit different from most germanic regions, or at least large areas of it, in that they focus more on wine than beer.
I don't know for sure how true that is to what areas, but specifically, I think Vienna was more a wine area. Leading me to, in addition to "gutes Essen in Essen essen", drinking "Wein in Wien".
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-12-01T14:39:35-05:00
Huh, looking into Archduke Franz Ferdinand, I found that he was a Habsburg Ludwig, so there's a good chance I'm related to him somehow!
`
And Belgian chocolate is great, but my favorite is Swiss! Though like all our visitors from there to Russia have brought us chocolates, and really, I love all of them!
That's not to say you can't find some great stuff here if you look, and in fact Milton Hershey is the one to thank for making milk chocolate affordable, a non-luxury product, while still maintaining the quality of its predecessors. Whether it's maintained its quality through all the upgrades in mass manufacturing is debatable (I actually love Hershey's, especially dark), but he is the one to thank for making chocolate affordable to try all around the world!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-01T15:31:04-05:00
@LZ: You are right. Belgium was what I was thinking of. Not sure why I thought Austria.
@BaKhan: To be fair, some women think the kitchen is their domain and don't like anyone showing them up at their house. I'm kinda like that only I would gladly let someone (say Alton Brown) cook a yummy dish while visiting. I promise, if you ever visit D.C. you are more than welcome to fix a dish in my kitchen.
Mmmmm...cowboy food. I baked beans, bbq and beer. I might do that myself this year.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-01T15:49:07-05:00
@Geist, yeah, I get that. Thing is though, I know for a fact that she finds cooking to be a chore, where as I find it fun. I have no idea what she'll be serving but I'm pretty sure I was asked to man the bbq. So I'll do the best with whatever they get. I'm bringing my own seasonings though, her cupboard is full of old stale jarred stuff. I'm all about the fresh spices, nothing older than a couple of months in my pantry! ;0 Well, you've seen what I've got going on... ;) Also, when, not if, we come down, I'd love to cook for you! When you come up here, I'm always in the middle of party prep so I don't have as much time. But, were you to come up at a different time, I could really show you what I can do! (and I'd love to!) ;)
Lord Zombitten 2017-12-02T13:35:04-05:00
BaKhan, I keep forgetting to tell you about the game of The Others I played with the family last Sunday. I was the Sin player, and I lost. I didn't play with any house rules.
When I was on vacation to see the eclipse, I did implement a house rule that I'd only do fire and corruption checks when the hero left a zone with one of those tokens in it. I was utterly destroyed in that game. So, it's not as unbalanced as we initially thought. I've played it four times, always as the Sin player, and lost half the time.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-12-03T00:24:00-05:00
Zem, I also prefer dark chocolate. I used to hate it when I was a wee lad. Now, it's my chocolate ofchoice.
Eric 'Drinkets' Baumgarten 2017-12-03T00:32:12-05:00
We haven't played The Others yet. My friend, who is our "game curator ", just has too many games and we never get around to it. We're about 42 missions deep into Gloomhaven. We've also been playing lots of Terraforming Mars, Viticulture, Arkham Horror card game, Great Western Trail, and Dragonfire.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-12-03T15:42:36-05:00
Trinkets, I was a weird kid, I guess, I've always loved coffee and dark chocolate since I was just a kid.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-04T04:10:54-05:00
Morning kittens. I hope your weekends were fun and relaxing. Mine was the latter due to trying to catch up on sleep from working so many hours last week. This short staff crap has got to go.
@Trinkets: I LOVE dark chocolate. Especially with salted caramel. *drools* There is a place in New York called Kee's Chocolates (http://www.keeschocolates.com) that is reputed to make some bomb ass dark chocolate creations. Since I have a friend in NY who will let me crash at her place if I want to visit the city, I have put that on my bucket list of places to visit when I go there next.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-04T10:11:42-05:00
Morning GM. How was you weekend?
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-04T10:19:09-05:00
Morning kittens!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-04T10:20:53-05:00
@LZ, that sounds awesome! I still haven't gotten around to trying it yet! Too many other, easier to introduce games have been showing up... ;) I will get to it someday though, I'm sure. Right now I'm really into Folklore: the Affliction. Its a dmless rpg boardgame. Kinda like a choose your own adventure really. I love the way its written, and the way it plays. Very unforgiving! ;)
@Geist: Aside from being home sick on Friday, and not feeling great for the majority of the weekend...it wasn't terrible. Until this morning.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-12-05T01:46:32-05:00
Oh yeah, forgot to come in here, I didn't really have time today!
`
My weekend was pretty great. Went to see Matisyahu in Omaha! Not the greatest concert I've been to, but it was still pretty great!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-05T05:33:13-05:00
Morning kittens.
*yawn* These long days are wearing me out. I got in early today and will see if I can work just 8 hours today. Maybe get home around 3 pm for a change.
I finally got around to making the pasta dish that I was suppose to make on Thanksgiving. Not bad but I think I flubbed a few steps and I realized I need a bigger frying pan. I need to put that on the list of equipment that I need to buy in the coming months.
I made a decision: I'm going to try to get a part time job. It will have to only be on the weekends and having no days off is going to kill me but this is needed if I want to save some money for school. Otherwise, it would take twice as long and I want to get out of this job as soon as possible.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-12-05T05:44:59-05:00
Morning?
wait a minute.....
Nope, only 4:44 here, not morning yet. Thank God, you almost gave me a heart attack!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-05T08:57:56-05:00
Change of plans. The new girl is out sick so it looks like I'll be working long hours today. Dang, I really wanted to rush home and continue working on my apartment. I got a little done last night and I want to keep up the momentum that I got going. I might be able to get most of it done before my December vacay.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-05T10:04:37-05:00
Morning kittens!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-05T10:08:40-05:00
@Geist, oh boy, seems like your work is just conspiring against you sometimes hey? Best of luck with everything, I just know it has to work out somehow! There must be a balance!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-05T10:10:36-05:00
@Zem, I had never heard of Matisyahu before! Just checked out a song on youtube, not too shabby! I really like when someone takes a style, adds their own flair, and makes it their own. Pretty cool stuff. ;) Viva live music!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-05T10:25:27-05:00
Howdy BaKhan! I keep forgetting to ask you: what is the name of the spice company that you order from? I wanna pick up some of that garlic spice we used in the fried chicken
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-05T10:43:09-05:00
@BaKhan: Was there any of the mambo sauce left?
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-05T10:47:56-05:00
@Geist, sadly, someone took that fancy stuff out of the fridge the night of the party and neither it nor the rest of the left over chicken made it back into the fridge, and it dried out. I was pretty sad about it. I still do have some of that "commercial" stuff left though. Honestly, we just ate it the way it was, and it was delicious! ;) I did chicken backs and legs this time, and I found that the cooking time was about 8-9 minutes per side. I'm sure boneless would cook much faster though.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-05T11:19:24-05:00
Awwwww. At least you got to taste the difference and you still have the recipes I left with you so that you can whip up a batch. Maybe add some maple syrup and call it something else. If people like it enough, you can sell it and become a millionaire! Just don't forget me when you do. ;-)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-05T11:45:48-05:00
@Geist, yeah, I could have made some mumbo sauce... but I was feeling pretty lazy by then, tbh. I might whip up a batch and freeze it into smaller amounts though for the future... ;)
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2017-12-05T12:13:08-05:00
@BaKhan: I see that there are some of those spice and tea stores in my area. Not sure how much they charge you for shipping but if it's an arm and a leg, I could pick some up and ship it to you. Shouldn't be more than it cost to ship Pumpkin's presents, which wasn't much at all.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2017-12-05T12:17:18-05:00
@Geist, oh no! That could cause problems... I want all the stuffs! Seriously, everytime I go down to Disney I get as much of that stuff as I can, because their blends are far superior to most. I always try different things and stock up on the faves. I don't know if I could handle full access! ;) Somebody help me!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2017-12-05T13:09:36-05:00
BaKhan, on Matisyahu, you have no idea! Of all the 40-something year-old jewish raggae-style rappers in the world...
Well anyways, that's what he is. Pretty sure he has a monopoly on that market! Not to mention he has a pretty unique style of beatboxing and... I guess skat is really what it is, and also does rock and alt-rock sometimes.
So what I'm trying to say is, yeah, he took a whole bunch of styles of song and added his own flair and style!
But he's had a few very popular songs too, like One Day and King Without a Crown, but my favorite songs of his come from his album Youth, which is definitely worth listening to a bit!
GM, I haven't even thought about it in awhile, but I opened up my Pandora for the first time in a long time to see what it thought of my musical tastes. It jumped from Mumford&Sons to Little Talks back to another Mumford&Sons song, so... I guess it forgot the variety in my choices!
I would use Spotify, but it'd take literal days to find everything I'd want to put on there, and I don't use those services much anyways, so it's not really worth it.
Okay, apparently I wasn't on the right thing on Pandora.
It was all going great with the variety, but suddenly even I got whiplash when it went from light modern Christian rock straight to Nickelback!
(Joe & the Jungle was a band that stayed at our house once, and we're good friends with the members)
Ah, nothing like randomly having Die Walkure: Ride of the Valkyries start playing.
Morning kittens! We've been having 60 degree weather down here and it's been real nice. Not sure if I'm ready for snow just yet.
Wow, Geist, that may be the first time we've ever heard you call 60-degree weather "real nice"!
I, as an advocate for cold weather, consider that a win. ;)
Morning kittens
Morning kittens.
@Geist, the day time highs here are above freezing, so at least there's that. I am not looking forward to the deep freeze that is ever looming...
We've been having record breaking highs here. Last weekend, we were able to go about our business without jackets. It rained yesterday. I'm concerned that we haven't had snow yet. Not that I'm complaining per sé, but we depend on the snow for water in the summer.
Why can't more executives be like our Treasurer? He could be an arse like his co-workers on his level but the guy is chill like a surfer dude. Very funny too. He is in town for the rest of the week before he goes back to North Carolina. It's always a joy to have him sitting next to me. Pity I can't get any of the money he has access to.
@LZ, yeah that would be disconcerting for sure! Calgary has the same issue. At the rate that the glaciers are melting we only have 40 or so years of fresh water in reserve, we will have to rely on snow after that. Hard to imagine our huge rivers drying up, but it will happen if things don't change, and fast!
I hadn't even thought about it, but apparently we'd set the record high yesterday and last thursday and friday, so apparently that was one of the warmest Thanksgivings on record. We were wondering how we could all stand outside without jackets.
But for the most part, other than those 3 days, we've been about 10 degrees under our records. Though for the past couple weeks we've been bouncing sporadically between the 40s, 60s, and even above 70.
In 40 years I'll be 89 (if I make it that far). This will be a problem more for the next 2 generations to deal with.
@Geist, even though I don't have kids, nor the desire to have them, that doesn't mean I don't care about the future. As much as conservation, etc., would suck, having no water and a dead city would be worse, imo. Basically, if we don't do something now, there won't be a Calgary to worry about in 40 or so years.
I found my way of brightening my mood when work pisses me off more than usual...and it is a somewhat weird combo.
Peppermint hot chocolate and Rammstein.
@GM, lol, all I heard when I read that was, du, du hast, du hast mint... ;)
@BaKhan: I was mostly listening to Feuer und Wasser when my mood started to brighten.
Hahaha, BaKhan, I think that'd make a great song!
Du hast Minze! Du hast Minze getrunken!
Willst du Minze in deiner Schokolade? Nein! Nein!
@BaKhan: I care about the environment as well but I'm still seeing displays of people not really taking it seriously. Plastic water bottles. There a trillions of those that end up in landfills each year but people are still buying them as if they will end up in some black hole once the garbage man takes them away. I try to always bring my own bags to the grocery store but I still see more people using the plastic bags instead.
Morning kittens. Yesterday was 63 degrees. Fairly spring like. I could get use to this all winter.
Also, what is Rammstein?
Morning kittens!
@Zem, I'm glad someone got that! ;)
Morning kittens.
@Geist: German metal. They have a few songs they did in English, but the vast majority are in only German. I know of one that is in German and English that they did a duet sort of thing with a lady(can't remember her name).
@Geist, I l know you do! I was just saying. Also, why don't you guys have recycling programs? In Canada, each one of those bottles is worth $0.10, ten bottles and you've got a dollar. Trust me if they had recycling, you wouldn't see many if any bottles winding up in the landfill, and thats just deposits. Never mind if you guys had actual plastic, paper, glass, and metal recycling. In Calgary, we have three bins, one for garbage thats picked up every two weeks. One for recycling that you can put all your plastic, paper, metal and glass waste thats picked up every week. And one for food waste, even stuff you couldn't compost at home, like bones, and meat, that gets picked up every week. They have really put a major push for us to be much more green, and as annoying as it is to have to sort your garbage, I think it helps.
@BaKhan: It's less annoying if you did it before hand anyways. The bins just make it so we no longer have to go to the local Safeway to drop off the recycling we had sorted into 5-6 boxes in the garage. Now we can just dump and put the cart out.
@GM, yeah, I was more thinking about the food waste. Its a stinky rotting mess with a hell of a logistics issue... ;) I find it much more annoying, but I get the benefits. ;)
@BaKhan: That's where those car freshner things come in. Hang about a thousand of those on the lid to the green bin, and you should be good for a week.
Rammstein is good, but I generally prefer Eisbrecher. Look up Ohne Dich by Eisbrecher. I think it's much better than Ohne Dich by Rammstein. They're two completely different songs, by the way.
Speaking of which, I just remembered my ultimate relax/cool-down thing. The mood only really catches me once per year, but I did it just this evening; one day when it's nice and cool (for normal people, cold enough for a thick jacket), I'll grab a large starbucks coffee and sit out at a public table outside and read something funny.
It's one of my favorite things to do, but somehow I only really do it about once per year. I think it's really only when I'm feeling pretty stressed and not a small bit tired.
Have I mentioned that I like brandy old fashioneds?
Because I don't.
I LOVE them. And yes, I would mary them.
Hey, Trinkets! How've you been?
Morning kittens!
@BaKhan: They use to have recycling centers in D.C. You would see the homeless with shopping carts full of soda cans that they would then turn in for cash. Not sure why that stopped. Now only certain cities do it. I seriously doubt D.C. will do that again because the gentrifiers would frown on it
@Trinkets: As long as you've gotten over your love of Pabst. ;-)
As far as relaxing music goes, give me Pantera's "Planet Caravan" any day. That song is so laid back, it's the chill. I have to find a way to extend the song to 30 minutes.
Morning kittens.
Morning kittens.
@Trinkets, hey bro! Good to see you!
@Geist, people suck. Why on earth would you get rid of a recycling program, which benefits everyone, because a few upity rich folks got their knickers in a bunch? So lame. Sigh.
For chilling/relaxing I like to enjoy some herbal refreshments, sit in a candle lit room, and listen to some Loreena Mckennitt. I know, not what most people would expect form me, but those chill celtic songs really sooth the savage beast in me. ;)
@Geist, almost forgot! We got your package for Pumpkin yesterday! It was awesome! Misty took some pics of her in her little sweater (which fit perfect by the way) and she was getting into that catnip toy as well! Thank you so much!
-Zem, I have been absolutely fantastic. How about yourself?
-Geist, I could never give up my love for Pabst!!
-Good morning, GM
-BaKhan, good to see you too.
Relaxing music......Type O Negative. That's my go to.
I know it has been close to 10 months since I popped in here last. My life has really changed. Back in February, I found that my birth family was looking for me. I had been doing some searching on teh Interwebz over the last few years and finally found that they were also looking for me. Things couldn't be going any better. I am really just blown away that I have 3 full-blooded siblings. My birth parents were both 17 and in high school when they had me and gave me up for adoption. For them to stay together, get married, and have 3 more children together was totally unexpected. My birth parents had divorced years ago and didn't have any more children. My 2 sisters live only 2 hours away from me. My birth mother about 15 mins further. My brother about 3.5 hours away and my birth father 8 hours away. I have seen my sisters and birth mother probably every other weekend since February. I am an uncle of 5 now :-) I didn't have any nieces or nephews before. Between both sides, I have added 19 uncles & aunts, 37 cousins, grandparents and many more. It really has been an amazing year so far for me.
Whew.
@Trinkets, I am so happy for you! What an emotional rollercoaster that must have been, and probably still is! It must be amazing! I found out when I was in my twenties that I had an older half sister (who was given up for adoption). Getting to know her, and having her in my life, felt so good, and I don't know, complete? I hope you get the same feelings! Congrats on finding your birth family!
Thanks BaKhan. Glad you had a great experience as well.
Complete is not the term I would use. I had great patents and family to raise me. I never felt like I was missing out on something, but now that I have met them and see so many similarities, it almost more of a fulfillment than being complete. If that makes sense. And as for an emotional roller coaster, OH YEAH, BIG TIME! It took me a coulee weeks for my mind to resume it's normal state.
Trinkets! Long time, dude! It's so exciting that you were able to meet your biological family!
Trinkets, that sounds incredibly amazing and crazy! Congratulations, and it's great to know you get along with them so well and love meeting with them!
So, to answer your question, I'm doing okay, but nowhere near that. Though I'll be studying in Berlin next semester for 6 months, so I do have something to be super excited about.
Howdy, LZ. Thanks. It is exciting.
6 months in Berlin, AWESOMENESS!!! I haven't been there, but I was in Austria for 10 days. Mmmmmmmmm beer.
The wine was pretty good too. A lot better than the crap my folks drink.
I'm super jell about the studying abroad thing. I would've loved to be able to go to Leiden U. I didn't think my chances of getting into one of the most prestigious universities in the world were that great, though.
I think Austrians love wine alot more than beer, though. From what I've heard, at least, they don't focus too heavily on beer, but they love their wine and make really good stuff.
Though what reminded you to check back in here, Trinkets? It's been a long time, I would have thought you must have thought this place must've been dead by now or something!
I have been meaning to hop back on here for a while. I knew the gang would be here.
That's a long while! ;)
Glad you did, though, I wish more of the old Corps would check in once in awhile!
Morning kittens!
@BaKhan: So glad she got the package. The catnip toy was one I got at the Crafty Bastard festival. (SUPPORT SMALL/INDEPENDENT BUSINESS!!) Wasn't sure if the sweater would fit as she is such a small kitty now. How is she doing?
@Trinkets: I'm glad you found your birth family. I wish I were adopted. My birth family is messed up. (From what I've seen of them. Maybe there are a few that are well adjusted but I've just never met them)
I would love to visit Austria. I hear the chocolate is second to none there. Beer also get rave reviews. Might put that on my bucket list.
@BaKhan: I forgot to ask. How is your old/new job going now that you are back?
Finally a reason to visit Applebee's: $1 Long Island Ice Tea's. Pity the one near my favorite movie theater is now closed.
Morning kittens!
@Geist, Pumpkin is doing ok. I mean she's not ever going to get better, but she's still able to get around, is eating her food, and still making lots of noise. Although, not as much noise as she used to, so I think she's getting tired. Its pretty sad watching her fade away like this, and I'm trying to put a brave face on for Misty's sake, but I don't know how much longer we have. I hope she can make it to the new year, just so we can get past the holidays without too much sadness (although I know its coming soon). Thats the thing with pets, their forever isn't as long as ours is.
The new/old job is going well. Extremely busy, Its almost like there was a major backlog of work building up in my absence... ;) I think the best part for me is how appreciative the customers are to have me back. I know it might be petty of me, but I enjoy the compliments a lot! It is a struggle to stay positive in an environment where I am surrounded by so many negative people (fellow employees), but so far its not dragging me down. I'm trying to keep my perspective, you know? ;)
Also, isn't Austria more known for its awesome beer than its wine? I'm not much of a drinker but even I've heard much more about their beer.
@BaKhan: I'm glad she got the presents. Have Misty send them to me when she gets the chance. If I had thought of it, I would have taken more pictures of her. Especially when she was snoozing on my bed. I am so happy that I got to meet her twice. I just wish I could have met your doggy when he was alive.
I'm glad you are much appreciated on the job. Nothing petty about basking in the glow of people who FINALLY have a clue of how valuable you are. Now if only they had left gifts and offerings so you won't ever leave again.....
What goodies are you planning to cook for Christmas? Goose, ham, rib roast?
I haven't heard of Austria being a major player in the chocolate industry. The big four from that part of the world are Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Belgium, as far as I've heard and experienced. Of those four, my favorite is Belgian chocolate. That's one of the things I miss most about living in Europe. Anywhere in Europe has chocolate that is far superior to the waxy fare we get here.
@Geist, I think Misty is going to put them on her FB page, but I'll see if she can forward the pics to you as well. I'm very glad that you got to meet Pumpkin as well, and of course saddened that my pup didn't make it long enough to do the same.
Christmas cooking is kinda out for me. We go down to Medicine Hat for Christmas and Misty's mom is jealous of my cooking, and therefor won't let me do any of it. It really sucks for me, as its something that I love to do, and I hate that I can't just because I do it better than her. Its a sore point for me, so I try not to think about it too much tbh. This year, her theme is cowboy Christmas so I think I'll get roped (pun intended) into doing the bbq, which is at least something. I just hope she doesn't pick crappy steaks... ;)
Honestly, the first thing I think about when I think Austria is those white dressage horses parading around. Well that, Arch Duke Ferdinand, and Hitler... >.>
BaKhan, on Austria, I don't know, I'll take a day trip and tell you! ;)
But I do know that either/or my German teacher from Germany, my wines class teacher, or one of the best travel youtubers I've ever seen (some combination of that) said that Austria is actually a bit different from most germanic regions, or at least large areas of it, in that they focus more on wine than beer.
I don't know for sure how true that is to what areas, but specifically, I think Vienna was more a wine area. Leading me to, in addition to "gutes Essen in Essen essen", drinking "Wein in Wien".
Huh, looking into Archduke Franz Ferdinand, I found that he was a Habsburg Ludwig, so there's a good chance I'm related to him somehow!
`
And Belgian chocolate is great, but my favorite is Swiss! Though like all our visitors from there to Russia have brought us chocolates, and really, I love all of them!
That's not to say you can't find some great stuff here if you look, and in fact Milton Hershey is the one to thank for making milk chocolate affordable, a non-luxury product, while still maintaining the quality of its predecessors. Whether it's maintained its quality through all the upgrades in mass manufacturing is debatable (I actually love Hershey's, especially dark), but he is the one to thank for making chocolate affordable to try all around the world!
@LZ: You are right. Belgium was what I was thinking of. Not sure why I thought Austria.
@BaKhan: To be fair, some women think the kitchen is their domain and don't like anyone showing them up at their house. I'm kinda like that only I would gladly let someone (say Alton Brown) cook a yummy dish while visiting. I promise, if you ever visit D.C. you are more than welcome to fix a dish in my kitchen.
Mmmmm...cowboy food. I baked beans, bbq and beer. I might do that myself this year.
@Geist, yeah, I get that. Thing is though, I know for a fact that she finds cooking to be a chore, where as I find it fun. I have no idea what she'll be serving but I'm pretty sure I was asked to man the bbq. So I'll do the best with whatever they get. I'm bringing my own seasonings though, her cupboard is full of old stale jarred stuff. I'm all about the fresh spices, nothing older than a couple of months in my pantry! ;0 Well, you've seen what I've got going on... ;) Also, when, not if, we come down, I'd love to cook for you! When you come up here, I'm always in the middle of party prep so I don't have as much time. But, were you to come up at a different time, I could really show you what I can do! (and I'd love to!) ;)
BaKhan, I keep forgetting to tell you about the game of The Others I played with the family last Sunday. I was the Sin player, and I lost. I didn't play with any house rules.
When I was on vacation to see the eclipse, I did implement a house rule that I'd only do fire and corruption checks when the hero left a zone with one of those tokens in it. I was utterly destroyed in that game. So, it's not as unbalanced as we initially thought. I've played it four times, always as the Sin player, and lost half the time.
Zem, I also prefer dark chocolate. I used to hate it when I was a wee lad. Now, it's my chocolate ofchoice.
We haven't played The Others yet. My friend, who is our "game curator ", just has too many games and we never get around to it. We're about 42 missions deep into Gloomhaven. We've also been playing lots of Terraforming Mars, Viticulture, Arkham Horror card game, Great Western Trail, and Dragonfire.
Trinkets, I was a weird kid, I guess, I've always loved coffee and dark chocolate since I was just a kid.
Morning kittens. I hope your weekends were fun and relaxing. Mine was the latter due to trying to catch up on sleep from working so many hours last week. This short staff crap has got to go.
@Trinkets: I LOVE dark chocolate. Especially with salted caramel. *drools* There is a place in New York called Kee's Chocolates (http://www.keeschocolates.com) that is reputed to make some bomb ass dark chocolate creations. Since I have a friend in NY who will let me crash at her place if I want to visit the city, I have put that on my bucket list of places to visit when I go there next.
Morning kittens.
Morning GM. How was you weekend?
Morning kittens!
@LZ, that sounds awesome! I still haven't gotten around to trying it yet! Too many other, easier to introduce games have been showing up... ;) I will get to it someday though, I'm sure. Right now I'm really into Folklore: the Affliction. Its a dmless rpg boardgame. Kinda like a choose your own adventure really. I love the way its written, and the way it plays. Very unforgiving! ;)
@Geist: Aside from being home sick on Friday, and not feeling great for the majority of the weekend...it wasn't terrible. Until this morning.
Oh yeah, forgot to come in here, I didn't really have time today!
`
My weekend was pretty great. Went to see Matisyahu in Omaha! Not the greatest concert I've been to, but it was still pretty great!
Morning kittens.
*yawn* These long days are wearing me out. I got in early today and will see if I can work just 8 hours today. Maybe get home around 3 pm for a change.
I finally got around to making the pasta dish that I was suppose to make on Thanksgiving. Not bad but I think I flubbed a few steps and I realized I need a bigger frying pan. I need to put that on the list of equipment that I need to buy in the coming months.
I made a decision: I'm going to try to get a part time job. It will have to only be on the weekends and having no days off is going to kill me but this is needed if I want to save some money for school. Otherwise, it would take twice as long and I want to get out of this job as soon as possible.
Morning?
wait a minute.....
Nope, only 4:44 here, not morning yet. Thank God, you almost gave me a heart attack!
Change of plans. The new girl is out sick so it looks like I'll be working long hours today. Dang, I really wanted to rush home and continue working on my apartment. I got a little done last night and I want to keep up the momentum that I got going. I might be able to get most of it done before my December vacay.
Morning kittens!
@Geist, oh boy, seems like your work is just conspiring against you sometimes hey? Best of luck with everything, I just know it has to work out somehow! There must be a balance!
@Zem, I had never heard of Matisyahu before! Just checked out a song on youtube, not too shabby! I really like when someone takes a style, adds their own flair, and makes it their own. Pretty cool stuff. ;) Viva live music!
Howdy BaKhan! I keep forgetting to ask you: what is the name of the spice company that you order from? I wanna pick up some of that garlic spice we used in the fried chicken
Morning kittens.
@Geist, lol, I actually just made some fried chicken yesterday! So good! We're totally getting spoiled now that you've shared your recipe! ;) Here's a direct link: https://www.spiceandtea.com/shop/seasonings-blends-rubs/specialty-blends/vik-s-garlic-fix-spice-blend.html
@BaKhan: Was there any of the mambo sauce left?
@Geist, sadly, someone took that fancy stuff out of the fridge the night of the party and neither it nor the rest of the left over chicken made it back into the fridge, and it dried out. I was pretty sad about it. I still do have some of that "commercial" stuff left though. Honestly, we just ate it the way it was, and it was delicious! ;) I did chicken backs and legs this time, and I found that the cooking time was about 8-9 minutes per side. I'm sure boneless would cook much faster though.
Awwwww. At least you got to taste the difference and you still have the recipes I left with you so that you can whip up a batch. Maybe add some maple syrup and call it something else. If people like it enough, you can sell it and become a millionaire! Just don't forget me when you do. ;-)
@Geist, yeah, I could have made some mumbo sauce... but I was feeling pretty lazy by then, tbh. I might whip up a batch and freeze it into smaller amounts though for the future... ;)
@BaKhan: I see that there are some of those spice and tea stores in my area. Not sure how much they charge you for shipping but if it's an arm and a leg, I could pick some up and ship it to you. Shouldn't be more than it cost to ship Pumpkin's presents, which wasn't much at all.
@Geist, oh no! That could cause problems... I want all the stuffs! Seriously, everytime I go down to Disney I get as much of that stuff as I can, because their blends are far superior to most. I always try different things and stock up on the faves. I don't know if I could handle full access! ;) Somebody help me!
BaKhan, on Matisyahu, you have no idea! Of all the 40-something year-old jewish raggae-style rappers in the world...
Well anyways, that's what he is. Pretty sure he has a monopoly on that market! Not to mention he has a pretty unique style of beatboxing and... I guess skat is really what it is, and also does rock and alt-rock sometimes.
So what I'm trying to say is, yeah, he took a whole bunch of styles of song and added his own flair and style!
But he's had a few very popular songs too, like One Day and King Without a Crown, but my favorite songs of his come from his album Youth, which is definitely worth listening to a bit!