Scarlett

help! How do I get rid of a raggedy ass sofa -- the love seat is actually pretty good - without spending an arm and a leg.

ETA: clay is cute heee.

Craig's List?

ETA: Yes he is!!! Eeeeeeee!!! I'm counting the hours...

Bella, I thought Clay was a horse...in the Chinese horoscope (down smutters!)

Yup, he is and so am I!

Yay for you, Bella!!

Thanks for all the well-wishes!!!

aikim... Thanks for the non-Clay countdown. I had no idea the time change was so close.

That's because it was moved without taking the time to make sure everyone was informed and that the impact on applications everywhere (from databases to embedded systems in appliances to getting consensus among different countries) was considered and that adequate time (hee!) was provided for people to put the changes in place smoothly. The first year it was moved to March, I was handling this for our servers and it was a nightmare. Some places in other countries didn't move their DST initially, or probably didn't have time to react and so we had to send updates with rules like (if you're in the Central time zone but not in such-and-such areas of these countries), and then as we were rolling out updates, the local governments in other areas decided to shift DST too, and that triggered yet another round of updates, rinse & repeat, it was just a nightmare.

Bella, I thought Clay was a horse...in the Chinese horoscope (down smutters!)

I guess I should have chatted up the folks at our Coral Gables office a teensy bit more the last time I was there... some are Kravitz members (should have asked about Mirasol too) *sigh*

ETA: merrieeee, if you're spilling anything it should be down the pants. "Just take them off and hand those to me quickly, Mr. Aiken. I'll have them dried in a jiffy!".... "and cut up into 1-inch pieces and posted on e-Bay"...

Gibby, :blowkiss:

(merrieeee, you're trying to resist staring though you're probably already packed; I haven't even started the laundry -- too many pretties, too little time!!!)

ETA:

{{{georgiesmybaby and family}}}

No no no don't post any more pics....I just keep staring at them!!!!

Nicki, your kitties are beautiful!

Hi scarlett doing anything special this weekend?

Let me see... I seem to have this great urge to show up at the airport 5 hours before my flight on Sunday. Do you think I'm excited? *g*

Can't wait!!! See you in just a few hours...

Finally got home before 9 this week... And what pictures to come home to -- so sweet!!! It is heartwarming to see him so happy!

I just think that last picture is very funny! Does that mean Clay is the dominant one in the relationship???

I think Couchie mentioned something about a sandwich last night. I'll take those two ^ ^ ^ slices of white bread ANY old day. I will happily be the buttah... He is sexy within and without - just pushes a different button (for me) when he's Professor Clay than when he's Sexy Singer Clay.

:pickme: Me too!

Merrieeee are you excited yet?

Why would I be excited?

Oh yeah!

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I'm going to see Scarlett and PerusingOne on Sunday!!!!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! You like us, you really like us and we absolutely like you too!!!

(uh, we're also going to be seeing a cute guy, right? what was his name again? *g*)

Not quite caught up yet but just wanted to post my Eeeeee! over the Unicef blog!!!

No content, just wanted to say hi to everyone.

Yay for the good news about you Mom not needing the walker, couchie!

r

Bowling... long ago when I still listened to radio, the main Houston pop station DJs referred to <insert appropriate local euphemism from "Grumpy Old Men"> as going bowling.

tribeca, I wonder if they carry shoes in his size?

and

*feels guilty for posting over trivialities on such an important day* Have a GREAT day everyone!!!

Why is Clay doing something today*g*

Clay will be watching the exact same thing we are at exactly the same time. Think of it as you and Clay separated by a thousand miles but gazing at the full moon at the exact same moment one night. *swoon*

justclay12, tribeca, Clay is not really invisible and for that matter

{{{ldyj and sis}}} :thbighug-1:

I thought that was just way the boy felt in the song. He felt invisible. He wasn't really invisible. The girl just didn't see him.

or maybe he was just a fly on the wall ?

tribeca, if the boy in the song believed that he was invisible, there wouldn't have been an "if" in there. He would have sung "I am Invisible (to her)" or "I was Invisible (to her)". When we talk about things that we know aren't true about ourselves we use "were" (under the pompously named subjunctive mood rule) instead of "was", eg. "If I were Superman" or the famous song "If I were a Rich Man".

*feels guilty for posting over trivialities on such an important day* Have a GREAT day everyone!!!

:nature-smiley-014:

Thanks for bringing that over, ldyj!

merrieeee, I know you can count up to 6!!!! Eeeeeeee!!! Six!!!

justclay12, tribeca, since Beyoncé is not really a boy and Clay is not really invisible and for that matter Tevye (in Fiddler on the Roof) is not really a rich man, the lyrics should go... "If I were a boy", "If I were Invisible" and "If I were a rich man".

It's making my head ache too so I will let grammar rest. Anyway, I'm an engineer not an English major, so I'm just guessing most of the time.

{{{ldyj and sis}}} :thbighug-1:

It's not fair that Clay, who doesn't need to chug baking soda, gets the wd->sd treatment...

Hmmm.... wouldn't it be great if there were some way to make others see us as though we were widescreen vids capped in sd?... maybe we could bottle it and raise funds for TBAF...

*one last grammatical note -- I wonder if Clay protested about the subjunctive mood item in Invisible. One reason for leaving it that way is that it may sound more "pop" than the correct version. Then again, Beyoncé's "If I Were a Boy" doesn't seem stilted, so who knows?*

I can't believe I'm not eligible for this - per the article I must be the only female in Houston over 22 years who isn't covered...

Thanks to suit, Houstonians will sit pretty with free makeup

Congratulations, liney!!! :clap:

I'm also in the photoshopped camp -- the proportions just aren't quite right. He looks like he followed SuperMario into one of those strange worlds where random body parts are enlarged or shrunk. *aww, I missed page 69!*

*waves at gareem!*

Hee the tongue never did too much for me. Give me the eyes any day! The man had gorgeous eyes! They are so expressive.

Err aikim how many days to GFI? Too many!

I'm of two minds on the "too many" part. I can't wait for GFI to happen but then nothing'll be on the calendar afterwards. An announcement of something else to count days for will be great!

'course I'm still counting the days to tomorrow! *tossess confetti and then gathers up a handful and attempts to blow them into a cloud, like Sir Robin*

{{{Couchie&couchiemama}}}

One of the great things I learned when working in Japan was not to say "The Japanese" are anything, do anything, etc. Because it wouldn't be true. Just putting 99% in there doesn't change that.

Somehow the experience in two schools seems to have been extrapolated to "Asians".

My first week of working in the office in Japan - software and testing engineers - swept all of my preconceived notions away. Some people were brilliant, some smart, some dumb as posts, some lazy, some over-achievers.

Just like in America.

I do think Kimiye's experience as an actual Asian might give her a bit of insight.

Taking the discussion back to Clay, I love how he takes the time to be very specific while discussing his interactions with many cultures, naming not just the country but often specifying the exact town he visited. Even one country isn't homogenous; some people from the Aceh area don't even like being called Indonesian.. but that's another story. Getting back to Clay, he also seemed very respectful in the way he talked about his Canal Street experience to Jimmy Kimmel. Even while trying to be funny, he spoke about hearing people speaking Mandarin and Cantonese not "Chinese" nor "some Asian language". These are teeny, tiny things but I think they show at least as much about who he is as some random snapshot displayed w/o context -- not that I don't appreciate viewing pictures. *blows a thank you kiss to those who brought them*

Also wanted to say how much I appreciate the points of view presented by our by our new members - clayzycoffin, tribeca and calurker. Thanks for joining/de-lurking this year. *wipes forehead after being extra-careful on the points of view part -- sheesh!* Many of us oldies know when to put on our flak jackets and we often prove ourselves right in exercising this caution, but it's refreshing to see newbies go into these discussions with fresh minds. Right after People magazine was released, the OFC thread got too caught up with who was right and who was wrong that people lost sight of what was right and wrong.

I do want to put in my two cents on the Asian discussion because I grew up there and I was able to travel a lot in the region because of my Dad's job. I agree about education - quite a number of people I've met value education very highly. In my own family, my parents had been dead set on my attending an all-girls Catholic school from Kindergarten to Finishing school *still shudders in horror at the memory* and would not be swayed by any arguments. However when an "educational opportunity" came up, they gave in just like that. Many Asian parents welcome and maximize educational opportunities for their children. Others don't. I've had an aunt tell me specifically, "Don't get too smart. The boys will be scared of you." And that line in the movie Titanic about how girls only go to the university to find husbands? Heard that a lot too. Oh, and the benefits of extra schooling depends on the other side as well -- the children need to appreciate what is being given them for it to work. I didn't go the tutoring route but some of my children's non-Asian classmates received extra help after class and some benefited greatly while others just tried to avoid what they viewed as "detention".

I disagree that the majority of Asians received or paid for extra tutoring for school children. In many countries, most people live under the poverty line and can barely earn enough to feed their families let alone send them to school. Also speech patterns differ throughout the region just like here in America with some people having trouble with f/p or b/p or l/r (the opposite of r/l), etc. so I don't think this part holds true either:

Clack : I only recently found out what Clack was derived from, although I kinda worked it out (as Randy would say).

LOL you know how Asians (mainly oriental asians) can't pronounce their "R"s, so it could be dangerous if you are in South East Asia talking about 'clack', non-Claysians may give you strange looks!. ... ROFL!!!

ETA: Remember how Clay said at the "Talk-back" event that the other role he would have wanted was Tom Deckman's? Most people's minds went to the Herbert scene but play (I think) and I immediately went straight into a discussion of how he would do the French Taunter scene!

Well done, merrieeee!!! :clap:

Whew, finally got home from a very interesting workshop at my church, but I was dying to see that video!!! Squeeeeee! I hope we get an official copy from Unicef.

Glad to hear the encouraging news, couchie!!! Hang in there! Keeping you both in my best thoughts and prayers...

WRONG: Her and I are going to the movies

RIGHT: She and I are going to the movies

WRONG: Her is going to the movies

RIGHT: She is going to the movies

THEREFORE: She and I are going to the movies

*waves at Gibby and fromClaygary* and *winks at annabear*

11 Days until Golfing For Inclusion!

Maybe I should give Merrieee my phone number so she can call me everyday when I am not online and I can let her know how many days!

Hugs to {{{everyone battling winter weather}}}!!! Stay indoors if you can!

KAndre, ROTFL! I sneaked a peek at the board during a v. boring teleconference and after reading (hee!) your post I couldn't work the rest of the morning. Might as well call it a day now.

To continue along that line... So, when there's a combination of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person nouns, what's the order? Is it 3rd, 2nd and then 1st, ie. "Clay, hon, would you stop re-aligning those milk bottles so that Reed, you and I can play with those balls that KAndre tucked into my white elephant goodie bag?"

Luckiest, I have not idea but in my imaginary "Breakfast Club" world (triggered by the cute guy's Anthony Michael Hall outfit) they could be the maintenance guy and John Bender. Clay and Reed of course are the Brain and the Athlete.... I could so do either the Princess or the Basket Case ... or even "Basket Case of a Princess"

Thanks, annabear and liney!

to everyone who's under the weather or feeling down about the weather! Stay safe and warm everyone!

Here's a nice distraction for the snowbound: PC Magazine's 173 Best Free Software of 2009

On topic: Still sorely missing my favorite distraction...

and

Honestly I want to kick somebody's ass or scream or something. So I take my mom to her regular doctor...just so we can follow up with her since the stroke. Cuz the other doctors had taken her off some of her medication. She gets through the doctor's appointment - the doctor is finishing up, saying goodbye and walking out the door when I look at my mom. Something's wrong. Just that fast. Her face was crooked, her speech was slurred. She couldn't lift her arm. I call her doctor back and she sees it right away. They call the ambulance and transport her to the hospital which is just down the street. Before the ambulance got there she seemed ok. In fact 5 minutes laters she was like back to normal. But you know..ER..wait wait wait, test test test. Everything normal. They release her. I finally talk to a good social worker. We're all positive. We get home. She has trouble with her walker..so I take everything in the house..go back to get her... I get her to the couch...zap..one minute later she's having another stroke. I called 911. Ambulance jsut left.they are bypassing her normal hospital and taking her straight to a stroke center. Now I'm just waiting for my sister to get off work, and come pick me up. You know already I had kinda gotten complacent on that 24/7 care thing. I went to my job interview the other day..and just left her for a couple hours. They said they can't give her the normal stuff because of her brain bleed.. Anyway, keep us in your thought because this is getting scarier by the day.

Keeping you and your dear Mama in my best thoughts and prayers! :thbighug-1: {{{Couchie and Mama Tomato}}}

I just got home and omg, has anyone heard from aikim? We didn't have a countdown today. I think the weather in Chicago is terrible this week. I hope she's ok.

ETA: Oh, I see she posted at CV briefly. {{{everyone battling the winter weather}}}