Offtopic Sofa Time

[MarinaDuister]

Hey!

It's really been a while since I posted, wow.. Bad Marina

But BOOOOOO for both of your internship issues.. Sure hope it works out soon enough!

And Steph, I'd love to go and truly visit London again! I mean, I was there I think now 2,5 years ago but traffic sucked and basically all we did was go to London Dungeon (help) and the London Eye. Which was, of course, a nice view but I had been there before and would have loved more to just go and see things around the city.. Oh well, we'll see about that later.. Glad you enjoyed it! (I was quite young when I saw the change of guards with my mom.. actually they were then practising for some kind of feast.. it was awesome)

Aaand I just returned from about 2 weeks in Scotland! The first week we had great weather with sun (apparently the warmest summer in decades, LOL) and we drove around Scotland in a camper.. We saw lots of hills and steep roads (up to 20/40% according to dad, scary) and of course visited the famous Loch Ness. Didn't find Nessie though.... hahas. However, I spent the first few days when we were driving reading.. I just had to finish the House of Night series (Which were about 7 books teehee) so in those days I didn't really see much. But ofcourse, I finished the books too early but right then I was happy enough because we were going to the Isle of Skye! It's truly gorgeous (Dribbel was making weird noises at the loose walking cows and sheep, the weirdo) but also the roads were steep and narrow.. Dad visited some distilleries (he loves him some whisky) and we saw wild Dolphins when we were at the north/west coast just a little east of Loch Ness.. Ofcourse we (I) did some shopping, getting home with a shirt, dress and a modern kilt-like skirt Sadly, after that first week we got into the Scottish weather. Meaning, rain rain and more rain. And meanwhile the sun was shining brightly in the Netherlands. Ofcourse. But we got through, and though it was very tiring and Dribbel has to get used again to not getting attention 24/7, I'm kind of glad to be home again..

Little less than 1 month left until school starts again here, have to go back on September 2nd. I'm going into year four (which i think would be 11th grade?) and now with my own chosen subjects.. Which basically means all beta courses and German because I had to take either that or French *sighs*.. I'm glad though that I could take art with it

Oh, and actually had my first date today! with a guy I had met only once before hahaha... But we'd been talking through WhatsApp a lot.. It was a bit awkward, but we were both quite nervous (read: I WAS SUPER INCREDIBLY NERVOUS and i think he was too) but we'll see.. He's sweet and actually the first guy ever to show interest in me xD
ha nevermind

Hugs from Marina
(And a paw from Dribbel)

[ThyneAlone]

That sounds great Marina! Coincidentally my cousin is coming up next Saturday to visit the Isle of Skye for 2 weeks and will be staying with us on his way up there (he lives in Buckinghamshire) and possibly on the way back, depends whether we are still in Clacton visiting my brother by then. So much to do and so little time!

You're right about school. I go back at the start of September too and still have loads to prepare (before then the results of this year's public exams are due and I am inevitably nervous as to whether my students have done ok or whether I am going to be lambasted for their poor performance). But it is good to hear that you at least have options in the coming year and can drop French. I can help with German if you need it! Still not entirely sure what you mean by Year 4 though. Our Year 11 is age 15-16 and Year 10 (which actually used to be called Year 4, go figure) is age 14-15. We get some options from Year 10 onwards. What are beta courses by the way? I've never heard of them.

A date! Good on you! I can't remember whether I actually had an official date with anyone. I visited boys in their homes when I was in my teens, and when I went to uni I met them in the clubs, societies and choirs which I attended socially, but I didn't 'go out' with anyone until I was 18 or so - so you are ahead of me!

Enjoy the rest of the vacation. I am going to try to do some work for a few days now my London break is over...

[MarinaDuister]

Hey!
Thanks for the offer on German, might have to use that sometime

And I'm 15, going on 16 so I guess that would make 11th grade..

Here in the Netherlands you go to kindergarten as a toddler, and then at the age of 4 you start in 1st year.. then when you're about 12 (so year 8 ) you go to a new school on your own level (MAVO, (T)HAVO, (T)VWO or Gymnasium). At this pointing the counting starts again, and depending on which level education you are in is until what year you go. MAVO is four years, HAVO is five and VWO is six. I'm in the TVWO (Also called TTO, wow this is actually quite confusing), double the language double the fun! haha But now I'm going into my fourth year, most classes aren't in English anymore but will now be taught in Dutch, which I think sucks. But as our exams are in Dutch (sigh) I'll have to deal with a serious lack of English in my life

The date was fun but so awkward I don't know.. But he later texted me he had been super nervous and we're probably going to go out sometime again..
Just a bit awkward to know that I still have dreams about the guy I (used to) like.. woops..

Anyhows, enjoy your time until school starts! Don't try to work too much!
xx

[ThyneAlone]

Feeling a little worried. 'A' level results are out (that's our public uni-entry exam at 18 - 'A' = 'advanced'), and they aren't a disaster, but the majority of scores are down about a grade from what we expected. In some cases this will make a real difference as to whether kids get into the university of their choice, so I feel for them. On the other hand it could also let us in for another year of pressure and lambasting from the Head. I cling to the fact that all the grades are down, not just in MFL; looks like they are being pretty harsh with the marking. But no. it's not what I would have hoped; and if next week's GCSE results (that's the public exam at 16) are poor we should be seriously concerned.

[80sgirl]

OK, my turn. I just joined recently. "Very late" 40's - I reside in Canada. Love that this was set up! To quote my daughter when it comes to TJ "He's dreamy!" (my daughter will be 17 in October!) Too funny. In any event, I work evenings, as my daughter has Asperger's (for those that aren't familiar - it is a form of high-functioning autism), and this way, I can be home during the day for both my kids (my son just turned 11, and is "typical"). I have been in the legal profession for 30 years (not as a lawyer but 16 years as a paralegal, and the rest of the time managing Word Processing departments). In my "spare" time (when I actually have some), I love camping, gardening, and most of all, writing - particularly scriptwriting. I am currently writing a spin-off of "Bones" that stars TJ and Michaela and their characters Jack and Angela, and of course, their little guy Michael. I have several other projects underway as well. As well, I have two fur kids, a great dane/lab mix named Billy, whom we adopted when he was 4 months old (he's now 8 years old), and a shepherd/husky mix named Angel, also an adoption when she was 4 months old (she is now 6 years old). I know I am starting late in life with my writing passion, but I put everything on hold for my daughter, who is now set to graduate with her peers (she is in mainstream school) in June, 2014! If any of you (and this includes TJ) ever find yourself in Calgary, Alberta (the mountain town of Banff is only an hour away!), I'd love to buy you a coffee!! Stop in and visit!! Yes, we Canadians really ARE friendly!!

[ThyneAlone]

You certainly sound friendly!
Welcome! You'll have to keep us up to date with your writing. I am frankly in awe at every new arrival, we have so many talented members here.
It sounds as if your daughter is doing really well (and is very intelligent, even judging purely by her preferences!), so putting things on hold for her has clearly been worthwhile. My son was erroneously diagnosed with Asperger's when he was little, and I have also taught people with the condition, so I am interested and know a lot about it.
I hope you have a wonderful time here. Please do ask if you have any problems. We're all happy to help and Sharon only bites when she's in a bad mood....

[Sinkwriter72]

Hi, 80sgirl! Like Steph said, fantastic to see new members posting. I'll think you'll find a supportive group here, especially when it comes to the creative arts. We've got writers, painters and other artists here, all who love TJ! (And how could we not, right?)

Welcome to the site!

Sherry
aka Sinkwriter

[80sgirl]

Thank you for the greeting! It is nice find like-minded people from all walks of life! My daughter is very intelligent - to the point where her school wasn't sure where she fit - she tested too intelligent for special classes, yet struggled in some of the regular classes. But they seem to have found a good balance for her now, and she excelled in 11th grade last year! For the first time EVER she achieved an 87% in Math - one her worst subjects!

As for putting my dreams on hold - I do feel it was worth it, but fear that I have left things too late. I will definitely keep you updated. The hardest part is finding an agent - especially where I live. We do have a pretty vibrant arts culture here, and because of our proximity to the mountains, we have had several movies filmed in and around our city. So the search is on! Thank you again and as I said - if ever you find your way here, I'd love to buy you a coffee!!

[skftex]

Sometimes I bite when I'm in a good mood too.

[stargazer]

Welcome 80sgirl! I'm Kathy. Don't let Sharon scare you, she rarely bites. LOL

Well, today I took the kids and myself to get haircuts before school starts on Wednesday. They have all of their supplies and are ready to go. I love them to death, but I can't wait for them to go back to school. It makes work a lot easier when they're not around all the time.

There are a lot of artistic/creative/talented people on this site from all over the world (myself NOT included, lol) and we're super lucky when they share their art with us. On top of that, the people here are amazing and I feel like I can call them friends although we've never met in person. Anyway, we're all glad to see new people on the forum, so welcome again.

[TJ4ever]

Hi 80sgirl! Sorry, I didn't catch your name?! Thanks for the coffee-offer! I'll let you know when I ever be close to you! WELCOME!

[80sgirl]

Thanks so much again! For anyone interested in seeing some of my writing, I do write a blog on BlogSpot.com called "Confessions of A Stressed Out Mom". You can check out some of my posts there.

It sounds like some people have taken some exciting vacations! Mine just consisted of camping with the family. We have a couple of big trips planned for the next couple of years. Steph, I hope some day I do get to England - I have a FB friend in Quebec who is originally from England, but married a man from Montreal and moved there from the UK. They have two beautiful kids, and just celebrated their 12th anniversary. We Skype occasionally, and I hope to get to meet her one day as well, just like some of the people of this forum!! As I mentioned before, the invitation to come on out to Calgary is open not just to TJ! Cheers!

[stargazer]

I don't comment very often on this thread so I decided to be a little better about it. Overall, everything is pretty good here in Macclenny Florida. I have an awesome family and some great friends here and all over the country, so I don't have many complaints but we've been going through a couple things in the past couple months.

For the last 4 months or so, my husband and I have been trying to decide how to handle his mother's increasingly erratic behavior. She's single and lives by herself about 45 miles from where we live. We are the only family she has in the same state. She has always had issues of paranoia, thinking people are getting into her house and stealing things or replacing her stuff with broken stuff. Most of the time there are rational explanations for everything but she doesn’t listen to any other explanation than her own. She’s terrified that there people conspiring to kill her using her information in her medical records, so she doesn’t trust doctors, even though she has a serious blood disease that requires periodic doctor visits and medication. Her issues have been escalating recently to the point that she thinks her co-workers are trying to poison her by putting something in the bathroom soap dispensers or by putting something on the keyboard of her computer to soak into her skin and make her sick. She’s on the verge of losing her job because she’s afraid to go to work and if that happens she’ll lose her house. We’ve talked about seeking mental help for her but she insists that she doesn’t need help and either refuses to go to appointments or cancels them when we set them up. It’s been a constant struggle. She’s been calling my husband constantly at his job and at home, usually hysterically crying because something else has happened. My kids are wondering why they can’t visit grandma but Mike and I don’t feel that they’re old enough to understand what’s going on so we haven’t told them anything. All they know is that Grandma is sick. Some of my friends that are in the medical field think that she may have schizophrenia but when she refuses to seek help, we can’t get her officially diagnosed. Her primary care doctor has put her on anti-depression medication which has helped a little, but she’s still having paranoia issues. She’s gone back to work after being out for several weeks, and it’s getting a little better but we’re still just waiting for the next breakdown. We’ve considered taking her in, but we live in a small house that’s almost an hour away from her job. She’s mentioned moving back to Indiana where she’s from and where her brothers live, but so far that hasn’t happened. Right now it’s just a waiting game.

On top of that, my mother called me from New Mexico this week telling me that my grandfather is going to have his foot removed on Sept 4th due to diabetes. He will have to be in a wheelchair after the surgery and my grandparents live in a tiny trailer that is not wheelchair accessible. My grandma has a history of strokes and has fallen and cracked her hip several years ago, so she’s unable to take care of my grandpa either. My parents are talking about putting both of them in a nursing home because no one is able to care for them 24 hours a day. The whole situation makes me sad because these are the grandparents that I grew up around. We spent most of our free time at their house as well as holidays. In general, I feel helpless. I can’t help either my mother-in-law here in Florida or my grandparents back out west.

Well, enough of the pity party. I’ve written way too much, but it feels good to actually get it out. Thanks for listening!

[80sgirl]

@King of the Lab - my name is Marg (short for Margaret). Thanks for the welcome!

Please do let me know if you are ever out this way!

[TJ4ever]

Oh Kathy, I am so sorry for all of this. It must be a very stressful, difficult and sad time for you and your family. All the best for you. And I also feel it's good to let it out sometimes here when I feel bad. So I have no problem with that! Let it all out! Big hugs to you!

Marg, I'm Simone. Oh, and "King Of The Lab" is just my status.

[TJ4ever]

OK, I owe you guys a quick London-vacation-report! Short and quick because I was there only 3 days.

First day I tried to get a theatre ticket for the play "The Cripple Of Inishmaan"! That's actually the titel and not me being political incorrect! And I got a ticket! YAY! Took me over an hour to wait in line but hey, had to wait longer for other tickets in the past! It was good though that they had two performances that day. Otherwise I had to come earlier the next day and I didn't wanna get up so early. Daniel Radcliffe was in the play. I must say I am not a Harry Potter-fan but thought it would be interesting watching him live on stage. And he was really great!!! A great actor! Honestly I wouldn't have watched that play if he wasn't in it. Well, the rest of the day I went shopping. Also the next day. Shopping, a long lunch, shopping. I wasn't in London for a long time, so I wanna see everything. How it changed, what was new. So my feet started to hurt very much. Forgot my rules - sit when ever you can - drink a lot! Wanted to watch a movie in the evening but that's so expensive in London. I decided to watch "Wolverine" here in Germany AND buy the DVD for that amount! Last day I went to the Museum Of London. Thought it will take me a while to get through it. Honestly I went there because I saw a picture of a Dalek in the ad. So I thought there is a DW exhibition. That was the actual reason I went there. But it wasn't. I really wasn't in the mood for a museum so I was there only a short time. Then I tried to get a cheap ticket for a musical, but didn't get one. So I bought some things I had in mind but wasn't sure they were in the budget. Bought a lovely DW 50th anniversary mug! I love it! Then I bought a sandwich and some ice cream for dinner and went back to my room. Needed to pack anyway.

So, that's it! Told you it will be a bit short, but I had tons of fun! It was so great being in London again! I think I will be back there some time in December. Need to ask my co-workers when I can get a few days off then! Tomorrow will be my first day at work after a 2-weeks vacation. Honestly I don't feel like going to work again - but well....!

[SmackyKennedy]

So, hellooo there everyone. I haven't been posting much but I've been reading everyone else's the last few weeks and

In what seems to be a trend for me, August has been a rather stressful and irritating month. If my kids didn't start school so darn early (August 7) I would seriously just take a vacation the whole month and visit family so as to avoid being home.

Had to take one of cats, Ringo, to the animal shelter today due to behavior issues that have been ongoing for 3 years now. I feel like such a lowlife, and my kids were upset, but I can't deal with her anymore. She bites and scratches with little provocation, pees on everything but her litter box. I've thrown out 2 mattresses, rugs, and a couch because of her and I'm just and the end of my rope. My house smells like pee and I can't afford to keep replacing this stuff. Since I live in an apartment complex it's not safe for her to stay outside with all the other kids messing with her, and then if she bites them...ugh. Just a bad situation. Her sister is completely normal and docile though, best cat ever.

The hospital I work for cut back again so once again I found myself scrambling to find work. I did find some and plenty of it, the problem is that this client is paid through grant/research money so sometimes it takes a really like time for me to get paid and meanwhile things are past due and accumulating fees. Overall, finances aren't getting any better and actually seem to be getting worse. I'm just not getting anywhere. I mean the basics are covered but I can't pay off anything, bill collectors calling constantly. Can't experience a lot of fun activities for me or the kids. It's just depressing to work all the time for what feels like very little. I really need to focus on a new career but I don't have the slightest clue what I want to do beside art and that really can't support me. It's kind of scary. I'm 34. I should have a clue by now, right? I envy people who have found something they're passionate about and are good enough at it to make something of themselves with it.

So the money woes bring me to the next thing. I've asked my ex-husband to move back in. Financial reasons only. He is struggling too and I figured he could just rent from me (we have the space) and give me that money instead of to another landlord. He agreed and it will probably happen this weekend. He was actually planning on asking us if we wanted to move into his place.

This feels like failure though. I feel like I've completely failed because I can't make it on my own. We did have a pretty honest discussion about what we want and don't want out of this, so I'm hoping it will be okay and it will work out and won't be damaging to the kids. I'm not in love with him at all anymore, so maybe that will make it easier to get along?? I just really need a roommate and I don't know anyone around here. He's the only person who I can trust not to steal my stuff or hurt me or my kids, so I felt like I have no choice. On the upside he has a washing machine....

....because my washer busted and leaked a flood all over the bottom floor this morning. We'll need new carpet, etc. Just a mess and one more thing I didn't have time for. I had to move my workstation because I can't hear the audio files for work over the 3 giant fans drying the floor the next 3 days.

Positives? Hmmm... We're all healthy, well, for the most part. My sister had an adorable baby girl a couple weeks ago https://twitter.com/iCraveiLove/status/ ... 17/photo/1 and my other sister is due with her first baby in March. Bones and Castle will be back soon. That's really all I've got right now.

THanks for listening. Take care everyone. Big TJ-like hugs.

[80sgirl]

Wow, AngMT - Hope things start going your way soon! My kids start school this coming Tuesday.

Simone - sounds like a great vacation!

[stargazer]

Goodness Ang! I hope everything works out for you. I think it's pretty safe to say that everyone has had financial issues at one time or another, so we can all sympathize. I saw your pics on FB of the water damage; you practically needed a boat to walk through your house, but I'm glad that you'll be able to get it fixed instead of moving somewhere else.

Thank you Simone for your well wishes. I have an update on my situation. My grandfather suffered a severe stroke over the past weekend and is currently in the hospital. The doctors have decided to postpone the amputation of his foot until he can recover from the stroke (hopefully), but we're not sure if that's going to happen. He's very disoriented and is mixing up names and places. He thought that I had been there to visit him even though I'm on the opposite side of the country. I wish I could make a trip out there right now, but unfortunately we don't have the extra funds for a plane ticket on this short notice. I'm hoping that he'll still be around when I'm able to get back to New Mexico hopefully next summer.

[SmackyKennedy]

Thanks 80sgirl

Thanks, Kathy. And I'm so sorry about your grandfather and that you can't go see him. I feel so helpless that I can't go see mine either.