Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-18T19:14:57-04:00
I mean, it could be weirder. English didn't have a y originally, or at least northern germanic and scandinavian languages didn't. So when the printing press was made, and the kits were sent to those lands, they didn't have a þ (the Thorn, pronounced like our th), but they did have this similar leftover letter Y, so they just used that instead.
`
Hence "Ye olde ...", which would really be pronounced "The old...". Eventually, it even became shorthand in writing and then signage, and so over time, Y became a common replacement for þ, and then I guess because of latin and greek influences Y took on its real sounds from words in those languages and somehow th became the new Y, which was the old þ.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-18T19:18:46-04:00
So yeah, in short, dutch may seem weird, but it's not english, based off two separate antiquated forms of german dialects, then the Romans took over and from that and the general latin influences over the middle ages it became half latin, then also greek chimed in, then the British Empire conquered half the world and incorporated pieces of every other language, and...
`
yeah, now english has more exceptions to rules than it does rules because it's not only heavily based on 2 very different language families, but it took what it liked from everything else it ever met, especially Greek.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-18T20:13:27-04:00
True enough
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-18T20:15:50-04:00
Okay, the first joke: Do you know why the German Resistance girls are in the Netherlands? [to function] as mattresses for the soldiers.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-18T20:22:24-04:00
2nd joke: A man comes home in the evening and notices that another man has been in bed with his wife that evening. He searches throughout the house and finally looks in the bedroom closet. Standing there is a totally naked man. The husband asked the other man what he was doing there and the man in the closet answered "you can believe it or not, but I'm waiting for the tram."
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-18T20:32:02-04:00
3rd joke: A man had an extremely ugly wife and he didn't want to sleep with her. One evening, he came home and found his friend lying in bed with his wife. Then the man said "he does [it because he wants to] and I [would only do it because I] must!!!!"
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-18T20:47:24-04:00
The fourth joke requires some understanding of Dutch homonyms. If a person says "alles lukt", it means that everything is working like it should of everything will be okay. "Lucht," on the other hand, means "air."
So the original text of the joke is "een man en een vrouw hadden samen verkering gehad, en na een paar maanden werd de buik van de vrouw verontrustend dik, toen liet de man een dokter komen, die zei 'Alles lucht, mevr. Alles lucht!!!!' Daarop antwoordde de man 'Ik pomp toch geen lucht!'"
Translation: A man and a woman slept together and after a couple of months, the woman's belly became disturbingly fat, then the man summoned a doctor, who said "Everything's air, ma'am, everything's air!!!!" The man answered, "I'm not pumping air!"
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-18T20:53:11-04:00
After that, she starts talking about how she sometimes imagines someone coming to her and asking her to enlighten him about sexual matters. She then explains exactly how she would do that.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-18T22:13:18-04:00
Just finished watching Deadpool. Laughed so hard I could barely breathe.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-18T22:25:20-04:00
I still have an hour and 20 minutes
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-18T23:35:14-04:00
T minus 10 minutes. I'm so excited!!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-19T00:41:49-04:00
Enjoy the film LZ!
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-19T02:49:05-04:00
I thought I was going to die laughing
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-19T02:57:30-04:00
Dang it, wait up! I'm going to try to see it next friday for aforementioned really good reasons, and I already can't wait!
I mean, I can, I waited for the first one since immediately after that original test footage came out trying to get it greenlighted, but still, I can't wait!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-19T03:12:41-04:00
@LZ: same here. I will have to see this movie again and that isn't something I say often
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-19T05:24:01-04:00
"Hey, we gotta do some noisy construction work or whatever in this room just below where people live. When should we do it so we don't disturb them? Mealtime? During breaks?"
"Nah, saturday would work best, nobody cares what happens then."
"Uh... okay, I mean, then we have to work on saturday, but sure, what time?"
"Do it at like 7:30 am. Everyone'll be asleep, so they'll just sleep right through it! Like it never even happened!"
`
Then there's the stuff outside. "Okay, this roadwork will sound like King Kong starting a drum circle on a corrugated tin roof. When should we do it?"
"Ah, anyone still asleep just before 9am on a saturday is a loser. They need to be woken up to enjoy this beautiful weather!"
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-21T16:31:00-04:00
Busy monday for everyone? Definitely for me, but nobody else commented here today?
Mike Kabala 2018-05-22T08:59:42-04:00
Morning kittens. Today is my second day on my new job. Still waiting for my badge and my computer so I get to hang out with people who are doing actual work.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-22T09:03:33-04:00
Morning kittens.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-22T09:05:09-04:00
@CB, congrats on the new job! Hopefully they get you set up sooner rather than later! ;)
Hopefully I get a phone call soon....can't wait to ditch this place.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-22T11:42:24-04:00
Congrats CB!
And GM, good luck!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-22T12:27:45-04:00
Man, this week has already been pretty long. Today felt entirely like wednesday, now that all that's over, the evening feels more like a thursday. How can it still be tuesday?!
@Geist: Well, with what she said in the emails we've exchanged so far, the company that the position is for is wanting to move forward with interviews really quickly...so might be gone from here sooner that I thought(and they are downtown too...so almost no change in my getting to work).
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-22T14:18:01-04:00
@GM: That is wonderful! That is usually a good sign. Will the pay be better or around the same?
@Geist: Not sure, it's through a staffing agency, so I won't know until I actually go in for an interview.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-22T14:33:16-04:00
@GM: Sometimes the company will tell a staffing agency how much they are willing to pay someone for the position. I'm trying for a position through a staffing agency now and they were up front about how much they are willing to pay me. Sometimes you can negotiate for a higher salary if you have the experience.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-22T15:53:56-04:00
Almost forgot.
Congrats to you CB. Glad you were able to get another gig. I'm hoping my luck changes also and soon.
@Geist: The starting base pay for this one(just talked to the recruiter) is about 5400 less than what I currently get, but with bonus pay(I get no bonus pay here, and barely any perks aside from come in early to leave early, take a day off in lieu of working a holiday, that type of stuff).
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-22T16:45:33-04:00
@GM: Then it more or less balance out. Hopefully they will treat you better than the people in your current position.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-23T07:15:41-04:00
Morning kittens.
After a solid week of rain, we are finally getting some sun.
Mike Kabala 2018-05-23T08:20:30-04:00
Morning kittens. My former employer deposited my final paycheck yesterday and I had to sit down after I saw it. I had forgotten about my unused vacation balance. Now I have to remember to keep it in my bank account for paying bills and fight the urge to spend it all right now!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-23T08:38:36-04:00
Wow CB. How much vacation time were you able to not use? Most companies I've worked for only let you carry 1 week from the last fiscal year and you have to use it before a certain amount of time or you lose it.
(I think that should be illegal. It's your time. You should be able to stock pile how much you want as long as you continue to work)
@GM, congrats to you sir! I'm hoping that should you choose to accept this position, that you actually find what you're looking for after all this time! Fingers crossed for you!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-23T09:22:23-04:00
@BaKhan: Thanks. I actually talked more to the recruiter last night(at almost 8pm). The position is to go work at another staffing agency that specializes in IT staffing, and do the payroll for the people they have out on different assignments(which I've done that type of work before for a month while someone was away on vacation). They give profit sharing each quarter(she said that it has been between $700-$850/quarter the last few), and that at start it's 3-weeks vacation, 5 flex days, and 6 "volunteer" days(I can use them to go volunteer somewhere instead of working) a year.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-23T09:35:56-04:00
@GM: What?! You start out with 3 weeks vacay? Damn, that is good. I never land jobs that give that much vacation time.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-23T09:41:40-04:00
@Geist, good morning m'lady. Things are going ok. I'm just keeping my head down and working working working. Been pretty busy over the last several weekends with Misty's family, so I'm looking forward to just spending some time chilling at home this weekend. I'm almost done my latest painting commission, only one mini left to go on that one, and that'll be $100, so thats not too shabby. I'm also going through some of my stuff, looking to see what I can sell off, no point in having excess dust collectors if I could have money to put towards my debt right? I just saw that an extra box of minis I accidentally bought, is now worth a premium due to scarcity so I'll likely be putting that on eBay soon as well. All in all, things are good, the sun is shining, and I'm just plugging away. Hope things are good with you!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-23T09:45:48-04:00
@GM, that sounds pretty good. I'd try and negotiate the starting wage though, even though it sounds good with those benefits, time off etc., even the volunteer days off (pretty awesome idea really), you'd still be behind about $2000 after bonuses (850x4 = 3400). If they could raise the offer by 2000+, I'd be all over it. The one thing that time has reinforced in me is the grass always looks greener. No matter how appealing something may look at in the moment, make sure that they are looking after you in the long run. Best of luck man!
Mike Kabala 2018-05-23T11:07:20-04:00
@Geist, it was a little less than two weeks' vacation, which was nearly equivalent to an entire paycheck since I was paid every two weeks. Mire than enough to carry me through until I receive my first paycheck from my current employer.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-23T11:14:32-04:00
@BaKhan: Doing pretty good. Hoping my replacement part time gig goes through. The pay should be more and it would give me more time to have something of a social life.
@BaKhan: Unfortunately, the max that the recruiter can offer(from the phone call yesterday) is 47, but I definitely will be trying for higher. But this is also dependant on the personality evaluation they make ALL potential candidates take before even going for an interview. I might not even get an interview with their client, just with the recruiter today.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-23T11:43:35-04:00
Personality test are silly. I never understood how that is suppose to help screen a potential employee. Pity it can't weed out a$$hole bosses.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-23T13:08:40-04:00
Morning, all! I finally finished cleaning up the mess I made at work.
The story is that I was notified on Monday afternoon that one of our doctors hadn't received a single lab report from 4/23-4/26. Obviously, if he didn't, then someone else didn't either. Instead of looking at each individual lab report (about 2600 reports) to see what crossed from the lab system to the electronic medical record, I simply pushed everything for those four days across. Doing this un-reviews everything that had previously been reviewed. Yesterday afternoon, my boss told me to help re-review the reports from that week. Most of the providers had already done it without complaint. It took me between four and five hours to finish helping to clean things up. Yet, I'd still be comparing reports at this point if I had done it the other way.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-23T13:44:30-04:00
That all sounds great today!
(just to save me what little time I have individually replying, since everything today seemed pretty great for everyone!)
`
Man, Geist, ironically, yet again, I wish for the opposite. We've been getting steadily more and more sun, and now it's pretty warm! Which, again, wouldn't be terrible if they had FREAKING AC in this building! Or even just nice fans! Or more wind.
Well kittens...wish me luck(interview had to be moved by 30min due to current job -.-)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-23T14:47:28-04:00
Best of luck GM! I hope this is what you've been looking for!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-23T14:48:19-04:00
@LZ, sounds like a real nightmare! Sometimes the smartest, best way of doing things, still gets you in "trouble". Glad you found a good solution to it.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-23T14:49:16-04:00
@Geist, hope it works out for you too! All work and no play makes even ghosts dull... ;) or something like that... ;)
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-23T15:03:29-04:00
Good luck GM! I know you are going to ace that interview!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-23T15:07:52-04:00
@BaKhan: I hope it comes through. There are lots of festivals in September that I volunteer for and I know I wouldn't be able to go to hardly any of them if I asked my current part time employer for the whole month of Saturdays off.
Speaking of which, I was thinking of coming for Halloween on the 26th so that I could help with the Halloween party set up and then leaving November 1st. Would this be OK?
Well kittens...it went not too bad(and it was the Vice President who interviewed me!). All I needed to do was get her a couple of references, and then when I get home tonight flesh out my resume a bit with more details regarding my current job and what all I do.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-23T16:54:09-04:00
@Geist, of course! We would both love that! The 26th will be crunch time as the party is on the 27th so of course any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated! Maybe on the Monday we could plan to go tour around a little bit, give you a better idea of the lay of the land, etc. I'll make sure I get the time off too!
...Now the question(she spoke to the two references I gave, but wants a managerial one)...what to do about the third reference she wants when I don't have contact information/any way of getting in touch with previous managers? All the restaurants I've previously worked with have either closed, or the entire staff has changed.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-24T08:25:48-04:00
Morning kittens.
@GM: After being laid off multiple times within the last 5 years, you can tell them what I tell them.
"Due to the nature of the work I use to be in, the establishment has closed/the manager has moved on."
I don't think there is anything they can do to make you search for a person no longer at the company you use to be with.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-24T08:28:12-04:00
@BaKhan: Would me arriving on the 25th be better? That would give me more time to help with the cooking and stuffing goodie bags. (I LOVE filling those things)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-24T09:04:01-04:00
Morning kittens.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-24T09:06:36-04:00
@GM, could a friend of yours have possibly been a Manager, ie: Phil? ;) If not, what Geist said. Best of luck, don't let these littel bumps slow you down, or change your mind! You deserve better! Now go and get it!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-24T09:08:42-04:00
@Geist, well I don't want to chew up all your vacation time, but yeah, the 25th would probably be better. You know what I'm like the day before the party! ;) Panic, panic, panic, scramble, damn it, omg! ;) I'm going to try and prepare a bunch of baking early this year and freeze it, so all we'll have to do is decorate, hopefully. I do say that every year... ;) I think I'm doing cream filled chocolates this year too, well I want to anyways... again time... ;)
@BaKhan: Unfortunately, Phil is already a reference that was called because we did work together back at Boston Pizza(10-ish years ago), even though we have known each other for 24-26 years(neither of us knows the exact number of years...just it's been a long time).
@Geist: That's basically what I said to her, since the steakhouse I worked at actually did close it's doors just recently, and all the managers I used work with have either moved on to other companies...or dropped off the face of the earth(as in I had no reason to keep in contact with them outside of work).
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-24T10:23:25-04:00
@GM: unless it was a small business, couldn't this company call the corporate office and verify your employment? Half the time, they can also give a reference as well.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-24T10:57:15-04:00
Welp. Just got word. I got the other part time position. I made a huge blunder by saying that I'm available this weekend, when really, I'm not. I'm still tied to the other part time gig. Good thing it's at a later time period and this is a 3 day weekend so that I can catch up on sleep. Found out that it's located near a place that I can easily get to as well. There are plenty of food establishments nearby so that if I forget my lunch, there are tons of places to eat. The pay is the same, which sucks but I won't have to beg for time off if I want to attend a festival or something.
This is good news since I just found out that the temp job that was suppose to be permanent? It's not. Once again a temp agency has lied to me. Ah well. This just means I've got to go look for a perm position on my own. Like I've always done. The lesson being: no more temp agencies for me going forward.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-24T11:06:48-04:00
@Geist, well shoot. Congrats on the better pt job, sorry about the full time one though. Temp agencies have their place, but if you're not just entering/re-entering the work force, they don't really help all that much. They are just looking to fill positions, and will tell you pretty much anything to get you to go. I worked for a temp agency when I was just out of high school and before I went back to post secondary for accounting. I didn't mind it too much, paid better than most jobs I could have gotten at the time, got a cheque every week, and often knew where I was going to next before the current contract was even up. I ended up extending a couple of the contracts, because they actually liked having me around! Go figure... ;)
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-24T12:50:06-04:00
@BaKhan: You are such a likable person. I don't see how anyone could not get along with you. As far as the vacation days, I'll make time no matter if I have a permanent job or not. I deserve to relax once in a blue moon.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-24T13:39:55-04:00
I only tried a temp agency once. They called me because an acquaintance referred them to me. I went in for the initial interview and found out that the acquaintance had been less than honest. They knew I was looking for a job and thought this temp agency would help. It turns out that the temp agency specialized in filling business/administrative/receptionist type jobs, i.e. nothing that I would even remotely be interested in.
I worked for a temp agency once...actually in their office doing the timesheets. Then for a few weeks after that just helping out in the office/going out to two job sites(one wanted me back for more work...but I had my current job at that point).
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-24T16:16:36-04:00
@LZ: It could have been the temp agency that was the dishonest one. I've had such bad experiences with agencies saying they have permanent work only to have them try to push short term temp assignments on me. The only silver lining on this cloud is that I can put the experience on my resume so that it doesn't look like a huge employment gap.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-24T17:17:26-04:00
So tomorrow should be interesting. No better way to start your morning than with a battery of tests. But they're over by lunch, and then I'm finally going out in the evening with friends to see Deadpool 2!
So it'll definitely end as a full birthday celebration.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-24T17:24:35-04:00
@Zem, good luck with your tests! Hope you have fun with your friends seeing Deadpool@, I've heard its an absolute riot! and of course... Happy Birthday! Hope its a great one for you!
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-24T18:21:29-04:00
Well, Jess interviewed with them at the same time. They got her a bunch of temp jobs as a receptionist, data entry, and AP clerk. They said the acquaintance had told them that both of us were interested in that kind of work. Jess loves it. I think it's horrifically boring
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-25T07:55:25-04:00
Morning kittens.
Well I just stepped in it. I told the new part time job that I could start this weekend. Why I would do that is a mystery to me since that would mean working a double shift with almost no sleep. *sigh* At least I have Monday off.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-25T09:04:10-04:00
Morning kittens!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-25T09:05:04-04:00
@Geist, I hope it goes fast for you! If anything, it will just make you enjoy your memorial day (I hope I got that one right) even more! Congrats and good luck!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-25T09:05:50-04:00
@LZ: I couldn't agree with you more. AP is a very boring profession. It's why I'm so desperate to get out of it.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-25T13:43:03-04:00
Fantastic way to start the day!
Shortly after I got to work, I was walking down the hall. It felt like something was crawling on my leg, so I brushed at my pants. Then I felt a very sharp pain, so I smacked my leg several times. I don't know what bit me, but I suspect it was a spider. My fear was that it was a black widow. After a few minutes, it had swollen to about 1/2" diameter, so I circled it and noted the time. I went to urgent care when my leg and foot started hurting below the bite and I was feeling woozy. It was just over two hours after the bite. The doctor said it doesn't look or behave like a black widow bite, and he highly doubts it was a brown recluse, so I'm not in any peril. I just have to deal with the pain until it goes away. It does hurt like a beast, though
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-25T13:47:02-04:00
@LZ: Holy "bleep"! Is it hard to walk on that leg? If something is making your leg swell up, shouldn't the doc have at least run some test?
And this is why I can't temp. I'm so scared of getting sick and not being able to go to the hospital to get treatment.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-25T13:55:42-04:00
It didn't ever get bigger than half inch. He said that, unfortunately, there's nothing they can do about spider bites, unless it's infected or you're having an allergic reaction. He said that they hurt like crazy, but they're not dangerous, except for the two that I said he had already ruled out. We're fortunate to only have two dangerous spiders in this area.
But, yes, it does hurt to walk on it
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-25T13:58:40-04:00
Also, I have the benefit of working at a clinic, so I just had to walk across the hall to talk to a doctor. I still have to pay for the urgent care visit, but peace of mind in this situation is well worth it
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-25T14:12:39-04:00
@LZ, yikes! That would have my screaming like a little girl! God I hate bugs! The only reason I continuously put up with our crappy winters here, is much fewer bugs, and smaller as well. We do have black widows in Alberta though... I hope you feel better soon! As far as the doctors visit, can you claim that vs your insurance, or is it better not to? Another reason why I don't mind living here is no surprise costs like that!
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-25T14:37:08-04:00
It'll go through my insurance. It'll be put toward my deductible
Afternoon kittens. While coming back from buying a lottery ticket($60m + 49 $1m prizes...can't win if you don't play - and I only play when it hits a certain amount anyways), I heard a blast from the past. Tubthumping by Chumbawamba was playing at the pub across the street from the office.
@LZ: That is definitely something worrying...hopefully it's nothing worse than a regular bite.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-25T18:45:58-04:00
Holy cow, LZ! Yeah, though, same in our area, just brown recluses and black widows. Everyone here knows what they look like, and I've definitely seen both a couple times. I would have been just as scared, but that still sounds like a hell of a bite for a spider to have that strong of an effect on you when it's not one of those two!
`
GM, wow, is Tubthumping a "blast from the past" now? Dang, that makes even me feel old, and I just now turned 22! Though I definitely grew up hearing not only everything from my generation, but the 3-4 previous because my dad has a huge love for and a widely varied taste in music.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-25T18:48:56-04:00
It was a great birthday! Saw Deadpool 2, so great!, and then walked around a bunch with some beers talking with a friend because walking under the influence is legal in Berlin. By which I mean having a beer while walking. It's super great. Anyways, yeah, after the tests, it was a pretty great day!
`
GM, nevermind, I didn't know that was 1997 until I just looked that up. That's not too old! I hope. That's as old as my brother, just a year younger than me, so I sure hope that's not old! ;)
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-27T12:29:37-04:00
My only consolation for the next 3 days being at or around 90 is that at home it's going to be almost 100 several times this week. Although, again, they have air conditioning...
Yesterday was a beautiful day for a drive to the mountains. Went all the way to Invermere, BC, with Phil. All because there is a bakery there that he really likes so we went(it's closed on Sundays, and he didn't even check before we left if it was open). Was such a nice drive, with tons of good tunes(6800 songs on my iPod, so no shortage of travel music).
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-28T09:54:37-04:00
@GM, lol, too funny! Well at least you guys had a nice drive!
@BaKhan: And bought too many Jelly Bellys. I spent $22 on a bag of them...all one flavour. I am also keeping it out of sight so that it takes me a while to eat the whole thing.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-28T10:35:02-04:00
Jeez, $22? That sounds like it'd probably last you a good several months at the very least, probably more than a year!
Though a drive through the mountains sounds really nice.
I don't know if I mentioned it, but on Saturday, I went to Lübbenau, the "german venice". Tons of fun! Just a bit warm and plenty of rowing, but it was really beautiful as well.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-28T11:28:17-04:00
@GM, that does sound like a huge amount of jelly beans, especially if they are only one flavour. Well, to each their own... ;) My weakness has always been salty crunchy snacks, I can normally avoid sugary snacks.
@BaKhan: My biggest weakness is high percentage cocoa chocolate(like 70%+...I also bought a dark chocolate and mint chocolate bar that was 72%).
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-28T17:10:59-04:00
So, if you look up Der Die Mann, a german poem collection kind of thing, you won't understand any of it. But you won't be too far off from understanding it as much as people who speak German, either, it's mostly gibberish.
So today we went to see it played in a theater for my german theater class, and we were really interested to see how it'd be portrayed.
But wow. I really didn't expect it to be that good! It was hilarious the whole way through! Can't even really explain it, but it's so worth seeing, probably even when you don't know any german!
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-28T17:11:54-04:00
Not really a collection of poems, really a set of poems together from one author.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-28T18:22:20-04:00
So that explanation is lacking, especially to explain the oddness, so here's a translated excerpt from one part, Karl ein Karl, just to give you an idea of what it's like.
the desperate karl attacks karl. but already karl has taken karl. karl with karl appears on the karl and throws karl on karl in the karl. karl comes and finds karl. karl meets karl and karl stops karl. karl comes up. karl beats karl over karl. but Karl does not give up...
there covered karl karls karl with his karl and karl crashes over the karl oversaturation with karl in karl and karl hurries on...
And that's just one of the parts that makes perfect sense when read. It's fun. The entire first section is just 7 pages of paragraph-long word conglomerations. It was about 2 hours of mostly nonsensical speeches with a slapstick delivery, yet my mouth still hurts from laughing so much!
I mean, it could be weirder. English didn't have a y originally, or at least northern germanic and scandinavian languages didn't. So when the printing press was made, and the kits were sent to those lands, they didn't have a þ (the Thorn, pronounced like our th), but they did have this similar leftover letter Y, so they just used that instead.
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Hence "Ye olde ...", which would really be pronounced "The old...". Eventually, it even became shorthand in writing and then signage, and so over time, Y became a common replacement for þ, and then I guess because of latin and greek influences Y took on its real sounds from words in those languages and somehow th became the new Y, which was the old þ.
So yeah, in short, dutch may seem weird, but it's not english, based off two separate antiquated forms of german dialects, then the Romans took over and from that and the general latin influences over the middle ages it became half latin, then also greek chimed in, then the British Empire conquered half the world and incorporated pieces of every other language, and...
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yeah, now english has more exceptions to rules than it does rules because it's not only heavily based on 2 very different language families, but it took what it liked from everything else it ever met, especially Greek.
True enough
Okay, the first joke: Do you know why the German Resistance girls are in the Netherlands? [to function] as mattresses for the soldiers.
2nd joke: A man comes home in the evening and notices that another man has been in bed with his wife that evening. He searches throughout the house and finally looks in the bedroom closet. Standing there is a totally naked man. The husband asked the other man what he was doing there and the man in the closet answered "you can believe it or not, but I'm waiting for the tram."
3rd joke: A man had an extremely ugly wife and he didn't want to sleep with her. One evening, he came home and found his friend lying in bed with his wife. Then the man said "he does [it because he wants to] and I [would only do it because I] must!!!!"
The fourth joke requires some understanding of Dutch homonyms. If a person says "alles lukt", it means that everything is working like it should of everything will be okay. "Lucht," on the other hand, means "air."
So the original text of the joke is "een man en een vrouw hadden samen verkering gehad, en na een paar maanden werd de buik van de vrouw verontrustend dik, toen liet de man een dokter komen, die zei 'Alles lucht, mevr. Alles lucht!!!!' Daarop antwoordde de man 'Ik pomp toch geen lucht!'"
Translation: A man and a woman slept together and after a couple of months, the woman's belly became disturbingly fat, then the man summoned a doctor, who said "Everything's air, ma'am, everything's air!!!!" The man answered, "I'm not pumping air!"
After that, she starts talking about how she sometimes imagines someone coming to her and asking her to enlighten him about sexual matters. She then explains exactly how she would do that.
Just finished watching Deadpool. Laughed so hard I could barely breathe.
I still have an hour and 20 minutes
T minus 10 minutes. I'm so excited!!
Enjoy the film LZ!
I thought I was going to die laughing
Dang it, wait up! I'm going to try to see it next friday for aforementioned really good reasons, and I already can't wait!
I mean, I can, I waited for the first one since immediately after that original test footage came out trying to get it greenlighted, but still, I can't wait!
@LZ: same here. I will have to see this movie again and that isn't something I say often
"Hey, we gotta do some noisy construction work or whatever in this room just below where people live. When should we do it so we don't disturb them? Mealtime? During breaks?"
"Nah, saturday would work best, nobody cares what happens then."
"Uh... okay, I mean, then we have to work on saturday, but sure, what time?"
"Do it at like 7:30 am. Everyone'll be asleep, so they'll just sleep right through it! Like it never even happened!"
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Then there's the stuff outside. "Okay, this roadwork will sound like King Kong starting a drum circle on a corrugated tin roof. When should we do it?"
"Ah, anyone still asleep just before 9am on a saturday is a loser. They need to be woken up to enjoy this beautiful weather!"
Busy monday for everyone? Definitely for me, but nobody else commented here today?
Morning kittens. Today is my second day on my new job. Still waiting for my badge and my computer so I get to hang out with people who are doing actual work.
Morning kittens.
@CB, congrats on the new job! Hopefully they get you set up sooner rather than later! ;)
Morning kittens.
Hopefully I get a phone call soon....can't wait to ditch this place.
Congrats CB!
And GM, good luck!
Man, this week has already been pretty long. Today felt entirely like wednesday, now that all that's over, the evening feels more like a thursday. How can it still be tuesday?!
Well, I got one call...unfortunately I missed it, but she did email me as well. So this afternoon I should be getting another call from her.
Although all the work is out of the way, so it should be pretty easy from here out.
... until friday, when the major tests are. But then after that will be my birthday and post-test-day, so it'll be great too.
Afternoon kittens.
Congrats GM! I'm so glad that you will have a chance to move onto (hopefully) a better job. You deserve it after what you've gone through.
@Geist: Well, with what she said in the emails we've exchanged so far, the company that the position is for is wanting to move forward with interviews really quickly...so might be gone from here sooner that I thought(and they are downtown too...so almost no change in my getting to work).
@GM: That is wonderful! That is usually a good sign. Will the pay be better or around the same?
@Geist: Not sure, it's through a staffing agency, so I won't know until I actually go in for an interview.
@GM: Sometimes the company will tell a staffing agency how much they are willing to pay someone for the position. I'm trying for a position through a staffing agency now and they were up front about how much they are willing to pay me. Sometimes you can negotiate for a higher salary if you have the experience.
Almost forgot.
Congrats to you CB. Glad you were able to get another gig. I'm hoping my luck changes also and soon.
@Geist: The starting base pay for this one(just talked to the recruiter) is about 5400 less than what I currently get, but with bonus pay(I get no bonus pay here, and barely any perks aside from come in early to leave early, take a day off in lieu of working a holiday, that type of stuff).
@GM: Then it more or less balance out. Hopefully they will treat you better than the people in your current position.
Morning kittens.
After a solid week of rain, we are finally getting some sun.
Morning kittens. My former employer deposited my final paycheck yesterday and I had to sit down after I saw it. I had forgotten about my unused vacation balance. Now I have to remember to keep it in my bank account for paying bills and fight the urge to spend it all right now!
Wow CB. How much vacation time were you able to not use? Most companies I've worked for only let you carry 1 week from the last fiscal year and you have to use it before a certain amount of time or you lose it.
(I think that should be illegal. It's your time. You should be able to stock pile how much you want as long as you continue to work)
Morning kittens.
Morning kittens.
@GM, congrats to you sir! I'm hoping that should you choose to accept this position, that you actually find what you're looking for after all this time! Fingers crossed for you!
Howdy BaKhan! How are things going with you?
@BaKhan: Thanks. I actually talked more to the recruiter last night(at almost 8pm). The position is to go work at another staffing agency that specializes in IT staffing, and do the payroll for the people they have out on different assignments(which I've done that type of work before for a month while someone was away on vacation). They give profit sharing each quarter(she said that it has been between $700-$850/quarter the last few), and that at start it's 3-weeks vacation, 5 flex days, and 6 "volunteer" days(I can use them to go volunteer somewhere instead of working) a year.
@GM: What?! You start out with 3 weeks vacay? Damn, that is good. I never land jobs that give that much vacation time.
@Geist, good morning m'lady. Things are going ok. I'm just keeping my head down and working working working. Been pretty busy over the last several weekends with Misty's family, so I'm looking forward to just spending some time chilling at home this weekend. I'm almost done my latest painting commission, only one mini left to go on that one, and that'll be $100, so thats not too shabby. I'm also going through some of my stuff, looking to see what I can sell off, no point in having excess dust collectors if I could have money to put towards my debt right? I just saw that an extra box of minis I accidentally bought, is now worth a premium due to scarcity so I'll likely be putting that on eBay soon as well. All in all, things are good, the sun is shining, and I'm just plugging away. Hope things are good with you!
@GM, that sounds pretty good. I'd try and negotiate the starting wage though, even though it sounds good with those benefits, time off etc., even the volunteer days off (pretty awesome idea really), you'd still be behind about $2000 after bonuses (850x4 = 3400). If they could raise the offer by 2000+, I'd be all over it. The one thing that time has reinforced in me is the grass always looks greener. No matter how appealing something may look at in the moment, make sure that they are looking after you in the long run. Best of luck man!
@Geist, it was a little less than two weeks' vacation, which was nearly equivalent to an entire paycheck since I was paid every two weeks. Mire than enough to carry me through until I receive my first paycheck from my current employer.
@BaKhan: Doing pretty good. Hoping my replacement part time gig goes through. The pay should be more and it would give me more time to have something of a social life.
@BaKhan: Unfortunately, the max that the recruiter can offer(from the phone call yesterday) is 47, but I definitely will be trying for higher. But this is also dependant on the personality evaluation they make ALL potential candidates take before even going for an interview. I might not even get an interview with their client, just with the recruiter today.
Personality test are silly. I never understood how that is suppose to help screen a potential employee. Pity it can't weed out a$$hole bosses.
Morning, all! I finally finished cleaning up the mess I made at work.
The story is that I was notified on Monday afternoon that one of our doctors hadn't received a single lab report from 4/23-4/26. Obviously, if he didn't, then someone else didn't either. Instead of looking at each individual lab report (about 2600 reports) to see what crossed from the lab system to the electronic medical record, I simply pushed everything for those four days across. Doing this un-reviews everything that had previously been reviewed. Yesterday afternoon, my boss told me to help re-review the reports from that week. Most of the providers had already done it without complaint. It took me between four and five hours to finish helping to clean things up. Yet, I'd still be comparing reports at this point if I had done it the other way.
That all sounds great today!
(just to save me what little time I have individually replying, since everything today seemed pretty great for everyone!)
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Man, Geist, ironically, yet again, I wish for the opposite. We've been getting steadily more and more sun, and now it's pretty warm! Which, again, wouldn't be terrible if they had FREAKING AC in this building! Or even just nice fans! Or more wind.
Well kittens...wish me luck(interview had to be moved by 30min due to current job -.-)
Best of luck GM! I hope this is what you've been looking for!
@LZ, sounds like a real nightmare! Sometimes the smartest, best way of doing things, still gets you in "trouble". Glad you found a good solution to it.
@Geist, hope it works out for you too! All work and no play makes even ghosts dull... ;) or something like that... ;)
Good luck GM! I know you are going to ace that interview!
@BaKhan: I hope it comes through. There are lots of festivals in September that I volunteer for and I know I wouldn't be able to go to hardly any of them if I asked my current part time employer for the whole month of Saturdays off.
Speaking of which, I was thinking of coming for Halloween on the 26th so that I could help with the Halloween party set up and then leaving November 1st. Would this be OK?
Well kittens...it went not too bad(and it was the Vice President who interviewed me!). All I needed to do was get her a couple of references, and then when I get home tonight flesh out my resume a bit with more details regarding my current job and what all I do.
@Geist, of course! We would both love that! The 26th will be crunch time as the party is on the 27th so of course any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated! Maybe on the Monday we could plan to go tour around a little bit, give you a better idea of the lay of the land, etc. I'll make sure I get the time off too!
@GM, good work, and good luck!
...Now the question(she spoke to the two references I gave, but wants a managerial one)...what to do about the third reference she wants when I don't have contact information/any way of getting in touch with previous managers? All the restaurants I've previously worked with have either closed, or the entire staff has changed.
Morning kittens.
@GM: After being laid off multiple times within the last 5 years, you can tell them what I tell them.
"Due to the nature of the work I use to be in, the establishment has closed/the manager has moved on."
I don't think there is anything they can do to make you search for a person no longer at the company you use to be with.
@BaKhan: Would me arriving on the 25th be better? That would give me more time to help with the cooking and stuffing goodie bags. (I LOVE filling those things)
Morning kittens.
@GM, could a friend of yours have possibly been a Manager, ie: Phil? ;) If not, what Geist said. Best of luck, don't let these littel bumps slow you down, or change your mind! You deserve better! Now go and get it!
@Geist, well I don't want to chew up all your vacation time, but yeah, the 25th would probably be better. You know what I'm like the day before the party! ;) Panic, panic, panic, scramble, damn it, omg! ;) I'm going to try and prepare a bunch of baking early this year and freeze it, so all we'll have to do is decorate, hopefully. I do say that every year... ;) I think I'm doing cream filled chocolates this year too, well I want to anyways... again time... ;)
Morning kittens.
@BaKhan: Unfortunately, Phil is already a reference that was called because we did work together back at Boston Pizza(10-ish years ago), even though we have known each other for 24-26 years(neither of us knows the exact number of years...just it's been a long time).
@Geist: That's basically what I said to her, since the steakhouse I worked at actually did close it's doors just recently, and all the managers I used work with have either moved on to other companies...or dropped off the face of the earth(as in I had no reason to keep in contact with them outside of work).
@GM: unless it was a small business, couldn't this company call the corporate office and verify your employment? Half the time, they can also give a reference as well.
Welp. Just got word. I got the other part time position. I made a huge blunder by saying that I'm available this weekend, when really, I'm not. I'm still tied to the other part time gig. Good thing it's at a later time period and this is a 3 day weekend so that I can catch up on sleep. Found out that it's located near a place that I can easily get to as well. There are plenty of food establishments nearby so that if I forget my lunch, there are tons of places to eat. The pay is the same, which sucks but I won't have to beg for time off if I want to attend a festival or something.
This is good news since I just found out that the temp job that was suppose to be permanent? It's not. Once again a temp agency has lied to me. Ah well. This just means I've got to go look for a perm position on my own. Like I've always done. The lesson being: no more temp agencies for me going forward.
@Geist, well shoot. Congrats on the better pt job, sorry about the full time one though. Temp agencies have their place, but if you're not just entering/re-entering the work force, they don't really help all that much. They are just looking to fill positions, and will tell you pretty much anything to get you to go. I worked for a temp agency when I was just out of high school and before I went back to post secondary for accounting. I didn't mind it too much, paid better than most jobs I could have gotten at the time, got a cheque every week, and often knew where I was going to next before the current contract was even up. I ended up extending a couple of the contracts, because they actually liked having me around! Go figure... ;)
@BaKhan: You are such a likable person. I don't see how anyone could not get along with you. As far as the vacation days, I'll make time no matter if I have a permanent job or not. I deserve to relax once in a blue moon.
I only tried a temp agency once. They called me because an acquaintance referred them to me. I went in for the initial interview and found out that the acquaintance had been less than honest. They knew I was looking for a job and thought this temp agency would help. It turns out that the temp agency specialized in filling business/administrative/receptionist type jobs, i.e. nothing that I would even remotely be interested in.
I worked for a temp agency once...actually in their office doing the timesheets. Then for a few weeks after that just helping out in the office/going out to two job sites(one wanted me back for more work...but I had my current job at that point).
@LZ: It could have been the temp agency that was the dishonest one. I've had such bad experiences with agencies saying they have permanent work only to have them try to push short term temp assignments on me. The only silver lining on this cloud is that I can put the experience on my resume so that it doesn't look like a huge employment gap.
So tomorrow should be interesting. No better way to start your morning than with a battery of tests. But they're over by lunch, and then I'm finally going out in the evening with friends to see Deadpool 2!
So it'll definitely end as a full birthday celebration.
@Zem, good luck with your tests! Hope you have fun with your friends seeing Deadpool@, I've heard its an absolute riot! and of course... Happy Birthday! Hope its a great one for you!
Well, Jess interviewed with them at the same time. They got her a bunch of temp jobs as a receptionist, data entry, and AP clerk. They said the acquaintance had told them that both of us were interested in that kind of work. Jess loves it. I think it's horrifically boring
Morning kittens.
Well I just stepped in it. I told the new part time job that I could start this weekend. Why I would do that is a mystery to me since that would mean working a double shift with almost no sleep. *sigh* At least I have Monday off.
Morning kittens!
@Geist, I hope it goes fast for you! If anything, it will just make you enjoy your memorial day (I hope I got that one right) even more! Congrats and good luck!
@LZ: I couldn't agree with you more. AP is a very boring profession. It's why I'm so desperate to get out of it.
Fantastic way to start the day!
Shortly after I got to work, I was walking down the hall. It felt like something was crawling on my leg, so I brushed at my pants. Then I felt a very sharp pain, so I smacked my leg several times. I don't know what bit me, but I suspect it was a spider. My fear was that it was a black widow. After a few minutes, it had swollen to about 1/2" diameter, so I circled it and noted the time. I went to urgent care when my leg and foot started hurting below the bite and I was feeling woozy. It was just over two hours after the bite. The doctor said it doesn't look or behave like a black widow bite, and he highly doubts it was a brown recluse, so I'm not in any peril. I just have to deal with the pain until it goes away. It does hurt like a beast, though
@LZ: Holy "bleep"! Is it hard to walk on that leg? If something is making your leg swell up, shouldn't the doc have at least run some test?
And this is why I can't temp. I'm so scared of getting sick and not being able to go to the hospital to get treatment.
It didn't ever get bigger than half inch. He said that, unfortunately, there's nothing they can do about spider bites, unless it's infected or you're having an allergic reaction. He said that they hurt like crazy, but they're not dangerous, except for the two that I said he had already ruled out. We're fortunate to only have two dangerous spiders in this area.
But, yes, it does hurt to walk on it
Also, I have the benefit of working at a clinic, so I just had to walk across the hall to talk to a doctor. I still have to pay for the urgent care visit, but peace of mind in this situation is well worth it
@LZ, yikes! That would have my screaming like a little girl! God I hate bugs! The only reason I continuously put up with our crappy winters here, is much fewer bugs, and smaller as well. We do have black widows in Alberta though... I hope you feel better soon! As far as the doctors visit, can you claim that vs your insurance, or is it better not to? Another reason why I don't mind living here is no surprise costs like that!
It'll go through my insurance. It'll be put toward my deductible
Afternoon kittens. While coming back from buying a lottery ticket($60m + 49 $1m prizes...can't win if you don't play - and I only play when it hits a certain amount anyways), I heard a blast from the past. Tubthumping by Chumbawamba was playing at the pub across the street from the office.
@LZ: That is definitely something worrying...hopefully it's nothing worse than a regular bite.
Holy cow, LZ! Yeah, though, same in our area, just brown recluses and black widows. Everyone here knows what they look like, and I've definitely seen both a couple times. I would have been just as scared, but that still sounds like a hell of a bite for a spider to have that strong of an effect on you when it's not one of those two!
`
GM, wow, is Tubthumping a "blast from the past" now? Dang, that makes even me feel old, and I just now turned 22! Though I definitely grew up hearing not only everything from my generation, but the 3-4 previous because my dad has a huge love for and a widely varied taste in music.
It was a great birthday! Saw Deadpool 2, so great!, and then walked around a bunch with some beers talking with a friend because walking under the influence is legal in Berlin. By which I mean having a beer while walking. It's super great. Anyways, yeah, after the tests, it was a pretty great day!
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GM, nevermind, I didn't know that was 1997 until I just looked that up. That's not too old! I hope. That's as old as my brother, just a year younger than me, so I sure hope that's not old! ;)
My only consolation for the next 3 days being at or around 90 is that at home it's going to be almost 100 several times this week. Although, again, they have air conditioning...
Morning kittens.
Morning kittens.
Yesterday was a beautiful day for a drive to the mountains. Went all the way to Invermere, BC, with Phil. All because there is a bakery there that he really likes so we went(it's closed on Sundays, and he didn't even check before we left if it was open). Was such a nice drive, with tons of good tunes(6800 songs on my iPod, so no shortage of travel music).
@GM, lol, too funny! Well at least you guys had a nice drive!
@BaKhan: And bought too many Jelly Bellys. I spent $22 on a bag of them...all one flavour. I am also keeping it out of sight so that it takes me a while to eat the whole thing.
Jeez, $22? That sounds like it'd probably last you a good several months at the very least, probably more than a year!
Though a drive through the mountains sounds really nice.
I don't know if I mentioned it, but on Saturday, I went to Lübbenau, the "german venice". Tons of fun! Just a bit warm and plenty of rowing, but it was really beautiful as well.
@GM, that does sound like a huge amount of jelly beans, especially if they are only one flavour. Well, to each their own... ;) My weakness has always been salty crunchy snacks, I can normally avoid sugary snacks.
@BaKhan: My biggest weakness is high percentage cocoa chocolate(like 70%+...I also bought a dark chocolate and mint chocolate bar that was 72%).
So, if you look up Der Die Mann, a german poem collection kind of thing, you won't understand any of it. But you won't be too far off from understanding it as much as people who speak German, either, it's mostly gibberish.
So today we went to see it played in a theater for my german theater class, and we were really interested to see how it'd be portrayed.
But wow. I really didn't expect it to be that good! It was hilarious the whole way through! Can't even really explain it, but it's so worth seeing, probably even when you don't know any german!
Not really a collection of poems, really a set of poems together from one author.
So that explanation is lacking, especially to explain the oddness, so here's a translated excerpt from one part, Karl ein Karl, just to give you an idea of what it's like.
the desperate karl attacks karl. but already karl has taken karl. karl with karl appears on the karl and throws karl on karl in the karl. karl comes and finds karl. karl meets karl and karl stops karl. karl comes up. karl beats karl over karl. but Karl does not give up...
there covered karl karls karl with his karl and karl crashes over the karl oversaturation with karl in karl and karl hurries on...
And that's just one of the parts that makes perfect sense when read. It's fun. The entire first section is just 7 pages of paragraph-long word conglomerations. It was about 2 hours of mostly nonsensical speeches with a slapstick delivery, yet my mouth still hurts from laughing so much!