Rant Thread II

[ape descendant]

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

You know you've hit bottom when you find yourself getting drunk and watching footage of giant boils being lanced on youtube.

Been there, done that... I mean.. who hasn't? Some of those boils are EPIC!!

[Pineapple_Juice]

Apathy, I do that several times a week. It's only bad if you're absent-mindedly whacking off to it.

Rant: I don't think I'll have the cash to go to Hootenanny and I want to see Devil Doll really bad. Why oh why did I waste all that cash on stupid shit????

Also, I would have to coerce a coworker to take my shift that Saturday...

[Underwater Ophelia]

I love Absolutely Fabulous.

[DA1]

If a telemarketer calls me on Monday and I say I'm not interested, don't have a different person call me each day this week like my bank has done.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by Underwater Ophelia

I love Absolutely Fabulous.

I agree, but that's hardly whining or a rant.

[Ben Lahnger]

I have been looking for work for 9 months now. And with the reported (not counting those who've stopped applying for unemployment, those who are under-employed or working part-time jobs) unemployment rate in Texas is 8.9%. I normally have always been able to land a job within weeks of looking or less ... I'm a great hire, if I do say so myself.

These are the toughest circumstances I've ever been in while looking for work, and other people are NOT making it easier.

I have worked as a retail manager for over 15 years. Now I try to apply for work managing a sunglasses kiosk in a mall and am informed I need a 4 year degree! That is a position that would never have had that requirement before, but with the labor pool that is available, hiring managers think they can afford to be choosy.

All the sudden I have to have a 4 year degree just to do the same work I've been doing most of my adult life.

Meanwhile, the Republicans keep blocking an extension of unemployment benefits. I keep trying to see their point, but I think they've picked the wrong axe to grind. I've just signed a petition asking the Republicans to stop blocking the extension of those benefits. Along with the story of the sunglasses kiosk above, I added the following comment:

"I need to be able to pay my bills while I continue to try to find a job with an employer who DOESN'T require a degree to prove I know how to do what I've been doing all along. I'm not sitting at home doing nothing. Please don't punish me and the many other Americans who are in the same situation. I would PREFER to work, but until I can land a job, unemployment is the only thing keeping me off the streets or out of a homeless shelter!"

I'm not hopeful that they'll be attentive listeners to that sentiment. I guess I can just hope that this is brought up repeatedly at every Republican campaign rally in October and November.

Maybe I should start my own political party ... there's the Tea party...

I'll call mine the MT party ... because of all the people's MT bank accounts.

[Saya]

Ouch! Its really weird when they ask for a degree when its completely irrelevant!

My toothache is back again and its travelling, its not the same tooth? Can't afford a dentist though Rubbing the gums with booze really does help numb it, but I'm running out of rum. Perhaps I should stop drinking it while I'm working on the toothache. I think it might be my wisdom teeth trying to squeeze in again.

[honeythorn]

Try clove oil to numb the pain. It's a very old remedy for toothache.

[Saya]

None to be had! And I got like five dollars until next Friday so I have to stick to what I have around the house. Drinking tea helps too, wish I had a heating pad to lie down with.

[Ben Lahnger]

Saya, here's a useful page on how to make a homemade heating pad:

http://tipnut.com/make-your-own-microwave-heating-pad/

This "In a pinch" tip seems especially helpful:

If you need a heating pad “now” and don’t have time to sew one, try filling a ziploc freezer bag (make sure it’s the microwaveable kind) 3/4 full with uncooked rice, seal shut. Heat for a minute or two then wrap in a hand towel and use as needed.

You can also fill a clean tube sock, tie closed the open end, heat and use as needed.

There are also suggestions for filler material other than rice on that page.

[Skye Jules]

Humanities is the worst class ever invented by my university. Some dipwad got the idea of throwing an art class, a music class, and literature class into one, having three professors for it, and three and half hours of torturous lecture. Go die. And I have to take two insufferable semesters. I know I didn't have to do it over the summer, but it's my belief that it's easier because I don't have to take it in conjunction with other classes, and I don't have to go see plays or visit locations, which takes time away from reading all the dry garbage we have to cram into our brains daily.

And I love literature, but I don't love old literature. There is nothing terribly complex about it, because all the main characters are flawless and everyone lives happily ever after. The end.

[Saya]

What literature are you reading? Plenty of old literature has complex characters, from Paradise Lost to Crime And Punishment

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

Saya, here's a useful page on how to make a homemade heating pad:

http://tipnut.com/make-your-own-microwave-heating-pad/

This "In a pinch" tip seems especially helpful:

If you need a heating pad “now” and don’t have time to sew one, try filling a ziploc freezer bag (make sure it’s the microwaveable kind) 3/4 full with uncooked rice, seal shut. Heat for a minute or two then wrap in a hand towel and use as needed.

You can also fill a clean tube sock, tie closed the open end, heat and use as needed.

There are also suggestions for filler material other than rice on that page.

Thanks Ben, but my microwave is still broken! D'oh!

Its feeling better now though, drinking something cold still hurts (which sucks because its really hot today) but other than that its fine.

[Methadrine]

Originally Posted by Skye Jules

And I love literature, but I don't love old literature. There is nothing terribly complex about it, because all the main characters are flawless and everyone lives happily ever after. The end.

That depends on what you define as old litterature. The Illiad and Oddysseus, for example, are hardly books with flawless characters and happy endings.

[Solumina]

The same can be said of any epic, in fact I'm having a hard time thinking of any "old literature" with perfect characters. Most stories with perfect characters are old stories that have been retold for modern children.

[Saya]

Not to mention lots of new literature for adults has a disgusting amount of flawless characters.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by Saya

Thanks Ben, but my microwave is still broken! D'oh!

There is probably a way (more work, I know) to put the rice on a cookie sheet and heat it in the oven. Timing would be different, but I bet it could be done.

[Methadrine]

Originally Posted by Saya

Not to mention lots of new literature for adults has a disgusting amount of flawless characters.

Don't get me started on those sparkly characters too...

[KissMeDeadly]

I kept hearing good things about this 'straight talk' plan. $45 for the card, and it gives you unlimited calls, texts, and web access for thirty days. No contracts, nothing to worry about.

Soo I went down the the local Wal-Mart and dropped almost $100 a phone and said card. Used it all day for two days. Loved the shit out of it.

Today I cracked the motherFUCKING screen, thus rendering everything but calls unavailable. I have to drop another $100 to replace it since I can't return it.

Fuck.

[Ben Lahnger]

That sucks. Purely, truly sucks.

I don't know if it makes you feel any better, but no cellular company has a program in place to replace a cellphone if you smash the screen. Sometimes a person can talk them into it, but their not obligated to do so. It's not a warranty defect, it's accidental abuse by the owner. If you have a post-paid plan, you can pay something like $6 a month for insurance. Most phone insurance plans have a $50 or $100 deductible (or more for pda/smartphone replacement.)

So in almost any circumstances, a person who smashes their phone a day after they got it is going to pay out cash to replace it.

In the big picture scheme of things, $100 is a lot less than the actual amount any cell phone should cost, as they've subsidized the price a bit to make it affordable. That means it's less than you could be paying in different circumstances.

I know that doesn't mean you find $100 easy to afford right now or even want to have to pay that. I'm just saying it could be worse.

But it still sucks.

You could consider buying a used Straight Talk phone like this one ... Straight Talk's website says they allow you to activate used phones. I would just contact the seller of any used phone and

1) get the IMEI or ESN number off the phone and check with Strait Talk to make sure it isn't blocked from being activated due to being reported stolen

and

2) make sure the seller offers a return period or agrees to an escrow type sale (using something like Paypal, for instance.)

I suggest that only as a possible help if you're really financially tight right now. Personally, as someone with over 10 years in the cellular business, I've always favored buying new phones.

[the-nihilist]

You know, when I ride my motorcycle for an extended period of time my hands feel like they're vibrating long after I stop riding the motorcycle.

[Mr E Nigma]

Originally Posted by Skye Jules

And I love literature, but I don't love old literature. There is nothing terribly complex about it, because all the main characters are flawless and everyone lives happily ever after. The end.

Macbeth... Hamlet... Romeo and Juliet... The Grapes of Wrath... The Bible... The Hobbit... Brave New World... Of Mice and Men... Dante's Divine Comedy... Argonautica...

I mean you've got your old literature... and then you've got your old literature.

Though all of these should prove contradictory to your annoying predicament of only reading novels with flawless protagonists and happy ending books.

Though as mentioned before there are dozens and dozens of books like that. Honestly I'd be hard pressed to name one with a flawless main character.

[gothicusmaximus]

I don't want to go to bed until I know for sure that I'm not going to vomit anymore. BUT NOT EVEN I CAN SEE THE FUTURE

[honeythorn]

Try eating something that contains ginger, biscuits/cookies or just plain crystallised ginger for example - if you think you can keep it down.

If not something solid then try a tea with ginger in it. It's very well known for calming nausea and settling the stomach, and I've tried it myself many times with success.

[Ben Lahnger]

Stupid fucking Tropical Storm Alex!

Stay the fuck away from the Gulf.

[Noumi]

I'm so very hungry right now.
I'm even thinking about eating carrots with sugar on top...