Offtopic Sofa Time

[hanneDK]

Hi Ladies...

I know, I know.. it's been a long time since my last visit/posting.

Nothing new has happend here..
I've been busy writing job applications, which I hate.. So far no offers or even interviews, only rejections.
Besides that I've attended now 3 show with my gym - 2 with xerciselab (a new concept originated in Palo Alto) and 1 spinning. I've really come out of my shell.. Always hated to stand infront of a crowd.
I've begun to enjoy it.

Still working my butt off in the gym and with the diet.. Guess my FB friends have noticed my daily post about being at Aerobicgaarden (the name of my gym) - love the place and its members
No BF.. it's not something I am desperate to get.. it'll happen when it happens. I let you know if that changes

Hugs

[cutenebula]

Hello amazing gang ^_^

So, yesterday was my Bones posting day, so I thought that today I could just sat a bit on the sofa and enjoy a chocolate waffle while talking to you Oh, I brought enough for everyone here, so don't be shy I also brought mint tea, you know how hooked I am on mint tea ...

Aaaah so good to read from you all, even through your bad times, I always feel at home here, so thank you all for posting and keep this amazing gang

See we have some new member here Welcome Marg!!! Hehe we can use this flag!!! I'm Véronique, aka cutenebula when I post in the thread sections and Véro in the Cbox And I'm in France Thanks a lot for the coffee, it would be great if I ever get the chance to travel this far ^_^

I had some good moments this summer I had the chance to go by the sea in a lovely camping in Dinard (Steph may probably know the city ^_^) The weather was perfect as it was the end of August, and really the place is worthy.
I even got to enjoy the ocean (I won't say swim because I don't). And this is then that my usual bad luck came back hahaha ^_^ I walked on a weeverfish and got stung under my right foot.... For those of you who don't know what this fish is, it's a tiny one we have here in France, which hides in the sand and when you walk on it, it's spinal stings you and inject you a poison. Fun... Well usually we don't walk on it because it stays where people never walk, but this time we had high tide and so the sea went very far and we could walk where we usually don't.
And believe me, this is the most painful stung I ever had. My foot was bigger than the other and almost purple. Yes, I was so glamorous when the coast guards helped me
The only thing to do is to put your foot in warm water. But it really was soooooo hard because of the poison you have the feeling that water is boiling though it's not.
Well, the stung is a very tiny one, you can barely see it, but it still hurts a bit 3 weeks later.

On the other hand, I had the great idea to show my paintings at our annual little fair in our village and got a customer close to my place So I will have to restore some old painted marbles in a stairway and also paint new ones in a corridor in a very gorgeous house ^_^ Can't wait to start this (apparently very soon because the owner is renting rooms as a guest house).

By the way, my next exhibition will be from oct 26 to nov 3. So I'm painting like crazy right now and preparing a painting to finish while I stay in the exhibition hall, so people may see what I'm doing.

So September seems to be my month hahaha some good news are always welcome ^_^

Big big hugs to all of you and be my guest, there are still some waffles... Enjoy

Véro

[stargazer]

That's awesome Vero!! You're very talented and I'm glad to see that people are taking notice. You absolutely deserve it.

Well, last week my grandfather fell out of bed when trying to get to the bathroom and cracked his pelvis. He's very stubborn and has too much pride to ask for help even when he knows that he needs it. Needless to say, this puts a crimp in his rehab. I'm not sure what's going to happen in the long run, but for now he's still in the hospital in Denver. Fortunately, the hospital is on higher ground and has been untouched by the recent flooding. Thankfully, the rest of my family in Denver has also avoided being affected by all of the rain. The weather there has been crazy! I grew up in NM and CO and I've never seen that much water! Hopefully the flood water subsides soon.

On the positive side, I'm leaving on the 23rd for a cruise to the Bahamas that was booked months ago. I'm super excited to be able to get away for a while. I spend nearly all of my time at home now and it's going to feel like I won the lottery to be able to get away to paradise for a week. Can't wait!!!

[skftex]

Hello everyone,

It has been a very bad day here and I thought since I posted on Twitter I'd let you all know why. I have been doing my student teaching as many of you know, and I was very fortunate to be placed with an excellent teacher, Mrs. Vanessa Rosales. When I met her in July she was almost 8 months pregnant and we knew she wouldn't be here the whole semester but I learned a lot from her in these last 2 months. So yesterday (Sunday) I received a text message from her around 4:40 pm letting me know her son had been born that day. Today I went in to school, and was talking to the teacher I will be working with for the rest of the semester, he is the co-teacher with the teacher I was placed with, and the phone rang and they asked him to go to the office. Then they announced we had a mandatory meeting in the library, so I went there and noticed he wasn't there nor were the other math teachers except for one. Then the principal of the school came in and told us that Vanessa had passed away last night. Even just talking about it here is so hard to do, she was just an amazing woman and leaves her newborn son, who is sick and in NICU, and her 16 month old son, plus her husband and 3 sisters and a large extended family. So after we were told we had to go tell the students, which made it even harder. She was loved by her students s well as her co-workers. Many students had breakdowns and it was very hard to be strong for them when I wanted to break down with them. And since we have a modified schedule we only saw 4 of our 7 classes today, so tomorrow we will have the other 3 classes. The whole school was notified so they do already know, but it is hard for them to walk into the room where her things are still in place and photos and even the two of us whom they associate as part of the Mrs. Rosales team.

Anyway, that is what the message on Twitter was about, and while I still plan to be at the chat on Saturday, I hope you all will understand that I probably won't be the most cheerful, I'm not sure even TJ's optimism can make this seem better, at least not right now.

So I also want you all to know that every one of you has touched my life in ways you cannot imagine and I love you all, because we never know when we will not have the chance to say it again!

Sharon

[Sinkwriter72]

Oh, Sharon, I am so sorry! That is awful, awful news. That should not have happened, especially to a new mom.

I'm glad you got a chance to work with her and learn from her, and I am so sorry for the deep loss you, her students and colleagues, and especially her family must be feeling. I wish we lived closer, because I'd come over and give you a great big hug.

[SmackyKennedy]

Oh Wow, Sharon, that's just terrible. I didn't press on twitter as I figured you'd share here if you wanted to. I can't even imagine what everyone who knew her is going through. New babies should be such a happy time. So sad, I'm so sorry.

Love and hugs.

[ThyneAlone]

Sharon, I am so terribly sorry. I cried when I read this until I realised I had no reason or right to cry; I can have no idea what you and the students and the family are going through. Please be assured of our love and support, though at this distance I feel it is a poor substitute for a hug and a shoulder.

[cutenebula]

So sorry Sharon
Huge hugs.
We love you too

[Sinkwriter72]

I can think of several reasons why you'd cry, Steph. You're a teacher, and a mother. You may not know what that poor woman's family is going through at this moment, but you know the depths of love you have for your children and the care you have for your students. The thought of dying before you've ever gotten the chance to know them (or for them to know you)? It's heartbreaking. Anyway, I think it shows the depths of your compassion. You have a wonderful heart, both you and Sharon do.

Sharon's right -- things happen and we never know if or when we'll have a chance to say the things that we feel are important. So I just want to say that you all are so wonderful and kind-hearted, and I'm really glad I came to TJ's site way back when and decided to start posting here and 'meet' you all. Not only is it fun (and hey, sometimes we get to talk with the man himself!) but I've made some lovely friendships. The older I get, the more challenging I think it is to make strong connections, so I cherish the ones that I have. Love and Hugs!

[TJ4ever]

Oh Sharon, I am so sorry! That was a really bad and sad day. I have tears in my eyes. So sad!
Sending you a big hug!

I'm not the kind of person who makes friends easily and it's getting harder the older I get! So, the people here mean a lot to me. I made some lovely friendships here either! Thank you for that! Love and hugs!

[80sgirl]

Haven't been on here a lot, and have been busy working and trying to find some screenwriting classes to take. Have started writing a "spin-off" of Bones, which of course would star TJ and Michaela (if they are interested that is!!), with their Hodgins and Angela characters, but them as the main characters. I'm 3 episodes in, but they're only at the "draft" stage! Plus, in between, I'm trying to find employment for my daughter (who has Aspergers). She just won a Math award at school yesterday - for achieving an 87% average in Math! I love this forum and hope I get some time to come here more often! Thanks, ladies for everything you do on here!

[80sgirl]

And, because I haven't been on here for some time, I missed Sharon's post, so I didn't want my last post to sound callous! I'm sorry, Sharon, for whatever you're going through, but you have a lot of us on here that will stand with you and help you through it.

[80sgirl]

Thanks, Vero, for the welcome! Would love to visit France someday as well!

[HanaTheAwesomeOne]

Oh Wow! Mama Sharon I'm really Sorry, I have tears in my eyes from just reading that. My heart goes out to you, her Family, Colleague's & Students. It suckz losing someone so suddenly.

*GIANT BEAR HUG*

Much Aroha (Love)

[stargazer]

I'm so sad to come back to such horrible news, Sharon. I'm so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you, your friend and her family, all of your co-workers and the students. It's such a terrible thing to lose someone so suddenly and unexpectedly. Hugs

[skftex]

Hi everyone. I just want to say thank you to everyone for the comments. It was a rough week, but attending the funeral did help some, and the kids were so great at the services that I was just so proud of them and knew that was something that Vanessa had a hand in, plus just focusing on them and making sure they were doing okay. But I have to admit, after it was all over and I was on my way home it was like a huge weight was lifted, I guess because I have two weeks off and have a chance to not be so "on" all the time. I still am sad, sometimes very sad, I do miss her even though I only knew her two months, she had a huge impact on me, and then of course thinking about her family does bring me down, sometimes. But I also have been able to talk about her and the good things she has done and things that made me laugh so I think that is part of the healing.

Thank you to those that worried about me during the chat, it really was just my computer acting up, I had planned to participate a little more but that wasn't to be, but it was okay. The chats really are not for me, but for all of you that come here and make this a great site to be a part of, and reward you by giving you a chance to talk to TJ and experience his awesomeness! So I'm glad you all enjoyed it. We'll do another one whenever TJ's schedule allows.

[ThyneAlone]

Hi all,
So sorry to have been absent most of the last week! Our internet at home has been completely out because of a router problem and we are only just back on line. I haven't had time to use my school comp to contact you either - too much going on at work. Soooo busy. Still, it's my own fault, I had 3 performances of the Mikado over the weekend which meant I was short on preparation and marking time.

If anyone has tried to contact me, sincere apologies - things should be back to normal now!!!
Steph xxx

I've missed you!

[Sinkwriter72]

The Mikado, Steph? As in, "Three little maids from school are we...."?

Annnnnd, I admit that is all I know about that particular show. Tell me more, please!

P.S. Awesome to see you posting!

[ThyneAlone]

Hey it's great to be back!
On half term in 2 days so will be able to post properly, I have been meaning to do a couple of reviews for ever! I'm also looking forward to the holiday because my sister will be with us for a few days and I'm dying to see her.

Yes, that Mikado. Only a semi-staged concert version, but directed by my sweet spouse - and a quality show. I was one of the 3 little maids (Peep-Bo) - probably the least important, but she gets some good ensemble and bits of solo. I did it years ago at uni. That's actually how I got involved with this one - no-one had auditioned for the part and I said if hubby was desperate I'd take it on, as I'd done it before.

I have helped out previously at these shows he does. The problem is that it's like having a baby - you forget all the stress and extra work and pressure of the previous time and do it again!

[ThyneAlone]

Whoops, forgot to tell you about it. It's Gilbert and Sullivan using the Victorian fad for all things oriental to satirise the English. A lot of Sullivan's music for this is therefore far Eastern in style, but quotes popular English songs of the period.

One of the little maids has just come of age and is to wed her guardian, though she is in love with a young musician. The musician is the son of the Mikado, thus the heir to the Japanese throne, in disguise to escape an elderly lady of his father's court who claims him in marriage. The guardian is even more complicated - he has been condemned to be executed for flirting, under the Mikado's draconian law, but redeemed and made Lord High Executioner of the town because the townspeople are fed up with people being beheaded and reason that as he is the next in the execution queue he won't be able to kill anyone else till he's cut off his own head.

The narrative winds its way through these various complications with lots of clever and attractive songs en route (at least 2 of which are routinely updated to deal with topical issues) and very funny dialogue. Needless to say, after many twists and turns, the lovers end up united and the guardian is married off to the elderly lady. People think of G & S as stuffy and out of date, but it has a perennial joyous quality and the music is first class.