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At 1/31/10 10:04 PM, RydiaLockheart wrote: Considering how elaborate that is, I can see why she'd charge that much. Very nice tattoo though. Two of my friends met because they had the same tattoo, actually.

Well, as a repeat customer from way back (got my first piece from her in 2003) I get a lower rate. ;)

Amy McFadden (aka Amy Black) at Trademark Tattoo in Richmond, VA.

Just warning you now, though, her rate for new customers is $150/hour.

At 1/30/10 04:42 PM, morefngdbs wrote: what kind of a job are you doing where they have a right to drug screen you ?

Civilian contractor for a major 3-letter federal agency. I'm also having a background check done for a Public Trust clearance.

At 1/30/10 04:42 PM, morefngdbs wrote: When do we get a look at your new Tattoo ???

Right fucking now!

Six hours for this bad boy.

Well, I braved the snow in my little Honda this morning to get my pre-employment drug screening. Getting back was a little bit of a struggle, mostly because so many people had spun out. In an hour or so I'm headed south to Richmond, where they have at least eight inches already. I'm taking the truck, so Steve will have to survive with my hatchback for the duration of the weekend, but we're in walking distance to a bunch of stuff here so he should be fine even if it gets bad.

It's not the snow that intimidates me on days like this - it's the other drivers. People assume that because they have a 4WD vehicle they can just drive like they normally do.

When I get back, I will probably have some horror stories to tell, as well as some schweet ink.

The English is on the other side of the box, Der-Lowe.

I enjoy cooking things that take hours and hours, but I was pretty limited in that - weekends only, since I didn't want to leave a stove on when no one was home. My five-hour beef stew has become a vanishingly rare sight at our dinner table.

Steve's office is having a chili cook-off, and I offered to help him put together a suitable entry. I told him that there was one particular kitchen toy that I did not already have and would need for the making of this awesome chili: a crock pot.

Behold.

Don't you dare mention Warcraft and Tolkien in the same sentence like that.

At 1/28/10 06:32 PM, Proteas wrote: Were you irritatingly chipper to any Ron Paul supporters who called? :-D

I was definitely at a level of cheer greater than my average :)

I can share my good news now, since it's beyond the point where I could potentially jinx it.

I put in my two weeks' notice today at work. My last day is February 12th. I get a week off and then start my new job February 22nd, doing work that actually coincides with my degree and which pays better.

This is the best day at the office I've had in a long, long time.

At 1/26/10 10:01 PM, SevenSeize wrote: How big is it gonna be and where are ya having it put?

Final size is approximately eight inches square. It's going on the right side of my back, slightly lower than the first one on the left side. The very top of it will be along the bottom of my shoulder blade.

I should have some other good news soon, but I don't want to jinx it by posting it too soon.

At 1/26/10 07:08 PM, BrianEtrius wrote: Have you decided what it will be?

I would hope so, given that I've had this appointment for three months and it's this weekend!

Just a few more days, and I'm headed down to Richmond for an all-day tattoo session! This will be #4. Looking forward to it :)

At 1/25/10 08:55 PM, Dante-Son-Of-Sparda wrote: fuck that the dude is a dumbass not to mention hes a fucking racist he said the N word to a black guy in my platoon and he is a complete kiss ass.

You're going to need to grow up unless you want your sister to cut you out of her life completely, buddy. She's having a baby with this guy. Suck it up and be civil or risk losing any contact with your niece/nephew.

If there are no video games, you are not celebrating Wintereenmas.

How does everyone intend to celebrate Wintereenmas this year?

I just want to go on record and say that finely crushed whole wheat Ritz crackers mixed with poultry seasoning makes fantastic breading for chicken nuggets.

At 1/24/10 12:05 AM, RydiaLockheart wrote: I can understand where Skunky is coming from. This friend for example...one incident in college, she plopped down $250 for manga at Borders, then wondered where she was gonna get the money for a doctor's bill.

That's one of the things that upsets me the most, not just with this friend. I had some friends who could barely make rent and defaulted on the wife's student loans and yet every couple of months they would talk about how they were driving x number of hours to go to y anime convention, where they would make maybe $200 selling the wife's artwork and end up spending just as much on other people's stuff.

If you do not have money to pay for important things, like the roof over your head and life-saving medications, you do not need to spend money on frivolity. I can totally understand wanting to take your mind off your troubles with things or trips or whatever, but you can do that without spending a lot of money.

My own mother made me really angry this past summer with this. She has four properties, and thus four mortgages. Only one property was generating any rent money. Her husband has been unemployed for probably five years now, and can't even get his renovation projects done on time, so the houses aren't ready to be rented out or sold. My mom offered to help pay for my sister's wedding and encouraged my sister to do a lot of expensive stuff she might otherwise have elected not to do, and then wound up borrowing three thousand dollars from my grandmother to pay for it. Then she took a trip to Hawaii. Now she's months behind on her payments and it's entirely possible she'll lose at least one of the houses to foreclosure.

In all of these situations, the solution is obvious. But people seem to have no fucking self-control.

At 1/23/10 10:56 PM, BrianEtrius wrote: Seriously. Why not just adopt from a local shelter? Much cheaper, and you're doing the world good.

Most shelters probably wouldn't give her a dog because she CAN'T TAKE CARE OF IT.

So she plops down six hundred bucks to someone who likes money more than they care about their puppies.

My fucking trainwreck friend, who was just the other day complaining about being unemployed and having no money and being really sick, has bought a $600 puppy.

I want to kill her. Moreover, I want to kill her sane, reasonable, employed boyfriend for letting this happen.

At 1/23/10 01:22 AM, Malachy wrote: I think it's because his supporters are probably the type of kid who gets kicked out of his young republicans organization at their college. It's like the opposite of a dorm room communist.

The young ones are never rude or insulting, just annoying. It's the grown men in their 40s and 50s who should know better who treat me like shit when they call.

I have no opinion one way or another on Ron Paul, so please don't assume this is politics in the Lounge.

I. Hate. Ron. Paul. Supporters.

Every single person who has ever called me and stated that he is a Ron Paul supporter has been a rude, nasty, self-centered prick.

I spent the better part of ten minutes being harassed by one today.

At 1/21/10 04:58 AM, fli wrote: Darling girls of the lounge...

What's suppose to go first?

Hair, or make up?

When I'm doing it at home, I do makeup and then hair - I push my hair back out of my face with a cloth band while I'm doing my makeup, then release it and style it. But when I had my hair and makeup done professionally for my wedding, they did hair first and then makeup.

At 1/21/10 10:30 AM, Elfer wrote: I'd say just hold onto it though. It looks like a good solid piece of furniture that'll last forever.

Oh yeah, I have no interest in selling it. I was just curious about its origins, and encountered one for sale in that wandering. It's a family heirloom, after all, and it will look nice under the big willow tree we're planning on putting in.

Oh, it was long since ruined in terms of real antique value - the very first paint job stripped a ton of value off it. Honestly, though, I doubt it's actually worthless. It's in very good condition, and there are people who collect Richmond iron.

The dog is so focused on chewing his beef bone that when Steve draped a blanket over him he didn't even seem to notice. Now he is just a big wiggling lump that makes strange crunching noises.

At 1/18/10 08:18 PM, Proteas wrote: I can't really see the hammered effect all that well, but that's all right... I love that pattern it's got. :-D

It looks beautiful.

I can take some up-close shots if you like, when there's light. The finish really does look just like the top of the can, though.

All done. Snapped this while there was still sunlight. The feet were still fresh and wet, so I left it on its back for a while. The menfolk moved it back out onto the porch about an hour ago so we could pull the cars back in (I did this under the carport to cut down on wind and possible rain).

Considering that before it was kind of a pale cream color and absolutely rancid with rust, I think there is vast improvement.

My project is a lot more boring - I spent the last hour or so scouring, washing, and painting a rusty old cast-iron bench my mom gave me a while back. It was my great-uncle's. Circa 1900 - there's an identical bench with the original patina going or like four grand on a garden antiques site, but this one has been painted white at some point so it's probably worthless.

Almost finished, but I ran out of paint. Should have bought two cans, I guess. Going for black Rustoleum in the hammered finish. Should be nice.

We haven't used checks in so long that the checkbook we have still has the address of the apartment where Steve lived before we moved in together.

At 1/16/10 08:47 PM, stafffighter wrote: I think it's the same as any other game show. They're always a lot easier when you're not actually playing. Like how many of us would legitimatly kick ass at jeopardy? I don't know but we should try because that game kicks ass.

I was a trivia game champion in school, actually. I don't really suffer from performance anxiety or stage fright.

And, fli, Chopped is not Iron Chef - the game is a bit different. They have three courses with three sets of ingredients that MUST go into the dish, and after each round someone is eliminated.

Sometimes when I'm watching Chopped and these professional chefs get all flustered with the surprise ingredients, I wonder...Is it just the pressure, or are these people really that unimaginative? I can pretty much always come up with something while I'm watching.