Here we are now. (entertain us...sorry-for those who don't know the reference, it's a Nirvana song-probably the only one I know!) Anyhow, I am actually too busy to write-must get started on the sauce for my annual Christmas lasagne that takes me two days to make and takes everyone 10 minutes to eat! ITTOT- my tree has been up for a long time because I bought some new lights and I wanted to see how they looked. But, I only just finished decorating it in the past couple of days. I did a little bit at a time, whenever I was in the mood. I kind of enjoyed doing it that way. Argo- we have some uncertainty about my husband's future employment hanging over our heads this winter. They keep moving the date forward that everyone will find out if the contract has been renewed. (he works for a private company that does mostly government contracts) Now he's in bed with the flu to top it all off. I bet the stress weakened his immune system. Hope the new year is good to all of us.
I forgot to mention two things- first, I hope all our Californians are safe. And second, speaking of Californians, I will be accompanying my daughter's theatre class to Hollywood in early April. We will be doing lots of touring and spending part of one day in Disneyland (why I wanted to go), but I was hoping that maybe we could arrange some kind of forum meeting when I'm there. I won't have a car, and I have no idea how far away from all of you I will be. The hotel is in Studio City-if that helps. I hope another forum meeting will be in our future!
quote:I was hoping that maybe we could arrange some kind of forum meeting when I'm there. I won't have a car, and I have no idea how far away from all of you I will be. The hotel is in Studio City-if that helps. I hope another forum meeting will be in our future![/B]
It'd be about darned time I got to meet some of y'all. I am not sure exactly where Studio City is...I don't think it's too far away from the SFValley. I'll have to look it up. But I'd be up for a lunch or something. Anyone else?
Edited to add: Just got off Mapquest -- you won't be that far away from me! You've got my email address, right?
I just wonder if losing that "internet invisibility" will make it weird to post. But it's worked on another forum: why not this one? :-)
[This message has been edited by Ittot (edited 12-23-2003).]
quote:Originally posted by cassandra: ...I was hoping that maybe we could arrange some kind of forum meeting when I'm there. I won't have a car, and I have no idea how far away from all of you I will be.
Studio City? A piece of cake for me down here near LAX. April, eh? Let's hope that time and circumstance allow as many to meet as possible.
Merry Christmas to all! Peg- I was hoping you were nearby. Although, listening to the news and the increased security at LAX, I am afraid that the principal at my daughter's school may withhold her approval of this trip. I hope it works out. Now, on to my last-minute wrapping. (luckily, my daughter is a night person and won't be up for a few hours!)
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. govt jr flew back from Florida (she was visiting a friend) on the 23rd - so that made me a little nervous. But, all the flights were fine. We did have 20 for dinner, plus 5 later for dessert, etc. The guests included the parents of govt jr's boyfriend. Yes, we've gotten together many times - no they aren't engaged yet --- too young!!!!!!
govt- I never answered your question about why my lasagne takes 2 days to make. (too busy cooking!) I like to make the sauce (or gravy as we used to call it) the day before so that the flavors have a chance to intermingle. First I cook many sausages that I then put away until I'm done with the rest of the sauce and then I put them back in to add their flavor, and then the next day when I make the lasagne, I take them out again. I buy all fresh herbs-basil, parsley, etc. and everything is from scratch. (all the washing and chopping takes some time) I cook down tomatoes, also a mushroom mixture (including chopped portabellas and sometimes chopped olives) that I saute with red wine, olive oil and garlic, make another mixture of browned ground meat- usually a meatloaf mixture or some combination of beef, pork, etc.-and it all goes in one huge pot. With clean-up and all it takes a few hours. Then, the next day I do the noodles and all the cheeses and put it all together. This year I added some grated asiago, sharp provolone, and fontina to my mozzerella mixture and it really turned out well. (I think the sharper, drier cheeses helped the whole thing hold together better-somtimes there is just so much in it that every slice kind of falls apart) I keep notes every year on what I did differently and what I might try the next year. So, you see, it really is a major project. But it is a labor of love, but still one that I prefer to do only once a year!
A belated Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to All.
I've just come back from my honeymoon tonight, we got married before Christmas. I'm not 100% used to it yet, and still say my maiden name when I answer the phone. Time, I suppose, will fix that.
Oh my gosh, that lasagna sounds absolutely heavenly! I don't think I'd have the patience to cook for that long tho, but if it were only once a year, maybe. Turkey freaks me out a little, but I've decided to approach as a Big Chicken that needs herbs and tin foil over it.
WoW! Any leftover lasagne? Pack it on dry ice and send it out. Just reading the recipe was exhausting. I can't think of any recipe I make that requires that much TLC. All that matters is that you love to do it.
Ah, another romance. Congratulations! JM and groom.
govt-actually, I made two and one is in the freezer.. with all the effort and time that it takes to make, it, I have learned that it doesn't take much more to make two. That way, I have something ready to take to a pot-luck or to just enjoy later. I don't think my husband would forgive me if I shipped it though! ITTOT- I know I should post this at the other forum, but have you seen the promos for the new Stargates starting on Jan. 9th? It looks interesting. When I saw the shot of Jack and Samantha kissing I thought, "ITTOT's not going to like that". I've stayed away from web sites that have the storylines for the new eps. I prefer to be surprised. Now I'm just wondering when new Dead Zones and Monks are going to air. It's been a really long time. JM115-congratulations! I actually had a harder time saying the words "my husband" than getting used to my new name. For some reason those words just didn't feel comfortable- too grown-up maybe!
Where did this year go? I was planning to back up my files at work today and mentioned it to our administrator - she said she had never backed anything up and kept all the department files on her hard drive ... YIKES. Would you believe that by 10 am her hard drive had crashed? It's being resuscitated but I dunno what they will be able to bring back to life. The Help desk is frequently the Helpless Desk. Please take care of your data files ... it's not worth it to end up bereft of files/photos that can't be retrieved. OK, enough of the rant.
Cassandra - Studio City is easily reachable, and I'd really look forward to a meeting. I'm in Anaheim, you know what's there ...
JM - congratulations!!! Taking on a husband and a new country should be an interesting adventure! Enjoy!
LOL! at the Helpless Desk remark, ARGO. When we have to call IT, it is generally univesally hoped that one member of that team will NOT be the one answering the phone. Her answer to everything is, "re-boot". We could tell her the computer is on fire - and the "fix" would be the same...
[This message has been edited by govtlawyer (edited 12-31-2003).]
LOL, I am firmly in the "No-ship" on the show persuasion. I'm taking a break from the forums right now becuz the Jack and Sam shippers are getting huffy about the other folks who don't like it...too long a story to get into. There's one particular lady who posts who is almost fanatical about it and is really unpleasantly adamant, and I'm tired of her resentments of others expressing their own opinions! Was that a run-on sentence or what?!
Anyhoo, I'm having a bunch of Stargate fans coming over to my house on the 17th for a shin-dig.
Hey, have a happy New Year everyone, and may 2004 (!) be even better than 2003!
Happy 2004 all! I remember when my daughter started school and I thought about this year as her graduating year from high school and how far away it seemed. And now it's here. My hopes for all; good health, good times with family and friends, good jobs (!), and of course, world peace!
And thanks a lot everyone for the good wishes for my marriage! Cassandra, I still haven't gotten used to the words "my husband" either. And I don't even have the excuse that it sounds too grown-up - after all, I'm 30! It just sounds odd, still.
We went on our honeymoon to Lancester County, PA - I wanted to see the Amish. Really fascinating. And they make amazing furniture!
quote:Originally posted by cassandra: ITTOT- why the 17th? Isn't the season premiere on the 9th?
It is. The party *was* originally for Jan 10, but my grandmother passed away on Dec 10, and that's the weekend my mother decided to have a memorial service for her. So, I'm winging it back to New England for that weekend.
And I'm OK 'bout my grandmother: she was in her mid 90's, and had essentially decided to let go, on her own. I don't think she wanted to "hang around" any more.
JM- I don't know if I am in a strange mood or what, but when I first read your comment on going to see the Amish and that they make amazing furniture I got this mental image of Amish people in your living room set up as furniture! ITTOT- sorry about your grandmother, but isn't that the best way to go? On a totally different subject, I was thinking about what you said about a person on your Stargate board who couldn't tolerate non-shipper opinions. This happens at the Disney newsgroup I hang out at also. It is really an interesting study in the psychology of internet interactions and people in general- there are always those who see things in black and white and can't tolerate any gray, and those who find differing opinions disturbing in some way. As if, because someone expresses a different opinion, they are attacking the person who has a difffering opinion. I wonder sometimes about how discussion boards, newsgroups and forums affect people's ability to relate to one another in the real world. I would hope that it helps us to be more tolerant and less quick to judge people by physical appearance, but I honestly don't know.
That's an interesting point you brought up. On one of the other (Stargate) forums, someone brought up the issue of "internet invisibility", and what happens on the internet. Do people feel freer to speak up and speak out because they aren't seen? Does not being judged by appearances make some folks relax and be more themselves? Would you (gen you) want to meet the other folks you talk to, or remain anonymous and attach faces to names? If you had a face to a name, would you still feel comfortable expressing yourself, and do you think once they saw how you look, it affect how they respond to you afterwards?
Is there a difference between how you express your opinions on the internet compared to how you do so in reallife?
I think they're all good questions, and it's certainly not the whole list.
Personally, I'd like to meet you and some of the other folks who post here since I've been talking to you all for so long. I've got a crappy memory, though, and would be embarrassed that I wouldn't remember every detail about you - or even the major stuff - and I'd come across like an idiot. :-)
ITTOT- (with apologies to non-Stargate fans) Did you like the new ep? Was it my imagination or did Daniel look like he had been working out while being held captive?! (his upper arms seeemed much larger) There are definitely significant looks going on between Jack and Samantha, again. JM- I remember reading Chomsky articles in college in my education or psych classes and then I heard him interviewed a few yers ago and he has gotten very political. IIRC his main interest was language. What have you been reading that you like? An actual XFiles comment: The other day I was paying bills and got in the mood to watch some old XFiles eps. I don't think I'll ever like the myth arc episodes the way I did during say, the 4th season, because in the end I was disappointed in where CC took them and his resolution- just too many incontinuities and dangling plot threads to make repeat viewings a satisfying experience. (especially compared to watching Buffys, which have threads woven instead of dangling) However, the part of it that is lasting for me is the chemistry/relationship between Mulder and Scully. Mulder's funny lines, Scully's responses. These are constants and,in the early seasons before some of the writers started inserting typical Scully dialog without any regard for her character's evolution, they are what I enjoy the most. Maybe that's why, in the end, I will enjoy the stand-alones better. At least they don't remind me of my dispappointments in the show and in CC as a writer.
I haven't seen it yet! Just got back from my grandmother's memorial service in Greenfield last night (late).
When I got home, Mr. Ittot told me a friend of ours in Boston called him Sunday afternoon to tell him another friend of ours had died earlier this week. (he wasn't found for a few days) Apparently the friend who died had hepatitus, and had been given only a few months to live, and didn't tell any of his friends.
I had a good cry this morning. He was only a year or so older than me and Mr. Ittot, and was an extremely talented puppeteer (Henson level), very funny guy, who'd had a very hard year this year, illness aside. I'll miss him.
ITTOT- I'm so sorry to hear about your bad news. My condolences to you and your husband. It seems these things happen in bunches sometimes and that just makes them a little harder to get through. It's also hard when it's someone your own age. The best thing you can do is just be there for each other. Sending you good thoughts and a cyber hug.
Thanks, Cassie. He was my age (38), and when I let myself stop and think about him, it's not pretty (as in, I start crying, etc). I just wish he'd let us know -- I can't imagine not letting my friends not know, but I guess I can see it from his pov. And he was asking me only a few days ago if I was going to write up another family update/newsletter like I did last year. This really sucks.
********* And not to sound too schizophrenic here, but has your kids' high school teacher decided whether or not you all will be coming to sunny LA? It'd be really great to finally meet you (and the denizens of the forum from the LA area)
[This message has been edited by Ittot (edited 01-14-2004).]
ITTOT- I imagine your friend wanted to spend however much time he had left without having to talk about his illness or dealing with people treating him differently. It probably makes it harder for those left behind. I know that when I've seen movies or TV shows where a person makes that choice, I've often wonderd what I'd do. It's a question with no easy answer. As for my trip to the left coast things have unfortunately changed. My husband found out last week that the contract he's been working on for the last 10 years was lost to another company and he is, at this point, only guaranteed employment until the spring sometime. I think his company will find something for him, but we don't know for sure. As much as they want to keep him, they just may not have the funds. So, with college tuition being due this summer (yikes!) we are doing some major reassessing and budgeting. So, my participation in this trip is now an unneccessary expense-
So sorry xed! I don't have that one on my calendar and if something is not on my calendar, it doesn't exist! Please tell me the date and I will write it down for next year. I hope you enjoyed your day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I imagine it's pretty chilly where you live right now. We're in for very cold temps later today and overnight. Well, cold for the DC area. We were supposed to have snow today, but it went north of us-so many disappointed students and teachers this morning! I imagine Trust is dealing with a lot of snow and frigid temps right about now. BTW, this Sunday is his and the Forum's birthday-if we could all show up somewhere around the same time perhaps we could have a little cyber party. It might be hard to do with all the different time zones, but it might work.
Weather-wise, it's like spring here the past couple of days. Our main problem is freezing rain. We got a nice ice storm on Saturday and we got even more on Tuesday. It's warmish but not warm enough to melt it all in one day. And it's so thick that it's taking a while. Which makes for very careful walking on particularly treacherous sidewalks. The roads are in a little better shape now that they've been sanded.
We had the deep freeze the other week. Looks like it'll be coming back next week.
TRUSTNO1, are you out there? Something is weird with the posts today. I can't delete and new posts are not automatically appearing when I hit "submit reply"
Thanks, JM. Between my friend, and my grandmother, I've had a lot of thinking about mortality lately. :-(
His memorial service/wake was today. IMHO I think his family rushed it, since he was only found on Sunday. But, that's up to them. We couldn't make it back to Boston for it anyway. :-(
My condolences also, ITTOT. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner. As you can see from my post yesterday, something has been goofy with the posts on my end - I am seeing your earlier posts now.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRUST! HAPPY BIRTHDAY FORUM! I don't know how old Trust is (I'm guessing somewhere around 28 or so), but I think the forum is 6 years old today. I have learned so much here. What started out as a need for more myth arc information and a search for intelligent life in the XFiles internet community, led to discussing subjects beyond the XFiles, from politics to microbrews; observing virtual scenarios from the sidelines; sharing good news and bad: births, deaths, jobs lost, jobs gained, just venting whenever needed; and it has ended up giving me much more than information- a family of sorts and certainly people I consider good friends who have enriched my life. Thank you Trust for keeping us together. BTW, we will be up in your neck of the woods in February. Cassandra Jr. has an audition at Emerson. Any suggestions on a nearby hotel that won't break the bank? Or perhaps a place on the green line that we could commute from. We have to be there at 8:30 am on a Saturday so we need quick and easy access that doesn't involve finding a parking space! Again, happy birthday to you and to us all!
Funny, my own birthday wasn't enough to get me here, but how could I forget Trust's????? And happy belated birthday, X-ed! Congratulations, JM, on the recent nuptials!
And on discovering Chomsky (not nearly as earth-shaking an event, that). I've actually heard him speak in person on political issues and the media. Plus we had his syntactic theories drilled into us for our comps in linguistics. Just as I was about to go over the edge studying, I heard that he was circulating a monograph proposing a hypothesis that would render all his previous theories null and void. Needless to say, if I ever had any inclination towards theoretical research, I got over it that day.
I'm at my parents' this weekend, helping babysit nephews and generally getting good family time in. And was trying to explain you guys to my mother (!) Ittot, I've met cassandra and walker in person, and it only made the online experience better. The funny part is that cassandra will always be cassandra to me, even when I hear her husband and daughter call her by her "real" name.
Amazing that cass jr. is looking at colleges, and govt. jr is already there!
Somebody who's in touch with syxx, give him all my best, and tell him to be sure not to neglect his inner sports haiku poet.
Oh, and Ittot, so sorry to hear about your loss. It sounds like this guy's passing leaves a real hole in a web of strong and good relationships. That's one of the best tributes a person can have, perhaps.
Cassandra, on a lesser note, sorry to hear of the financial unknowns, right as cass jr. gets ready to become really expensive.
One must check in on the Fourm's birthday. It's been a great place to hang out. It's too bad that there are no longer any X-Files eps to bring us together on a weekly basis. We have to rely on sporadic major events in the world and forum members' lives to keep the ball rolling. Anyway I'm tossing a handful of confetti into the air to celebrate.
Hap-py birth-Day ---- to you Hap-py Birth-day ---- to you,
Happy Birth-day, dear Forum and Trust No One...
Hap-py Birth-day ---- to you....
Whew! Marilyn's a hard act to follow. It's really been 6 years - wow. From birth to second grade for little Ittot, birth to age 3 for toddler Ittot (who likes to play Battlefield 1942 and is *good* at it), from aprtment dwelling to house ownership, and from my early thirties to my later thirties... six years can cover a lot!
I was a later addition, but this was my first real venture into the online world. I still remember when BBF (anyone know what happened to BBF?) told me on Delphi's official Forum about a place called "optap" and what a great community this was - and it is still true!
Hey, x-ed, yes, it is me. Life got crazy this year on several fronts, mostly good, some hard. But it was so great to stop in yesterday and be reminded of all the things I love about this close-knit community.
Hey, good to hear you're writing your own stuff these days. Sharing any of it? And how is work going?
And hi govt, peg, argo, DC, friends! Do you accept returning prodigals?
[This message has been edited by XQueequeg (edited 01-19-2004).]
Great to see you posting XQQ! Hope it becomes a habit. Sometimes it is a bit discouraging to stop by and see no new posts for a few days, maybe even a week, but someone always shows up and we just keep going. And you are not a prodigal, just a friend who is always welcome! I will pass along your message to syxx. Thanks for the prayers, BTW. We are trying to stay positive.
Time, I suppose, will fix that.
