h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

dave, me finished with school I have another year. And it started today . I have to admit that I've got nothing but a feeling of dread as to what's to come. Oh that and vauge excitment. The last lecture of the day was a talk on the Midland foundation scheme. Which for some reason seems to have improved dramatically since it was taken over by someone with more communication skills than a bulldog. The fact remains that we're going to be applying for two year jobs without knowing where we'll be working in the second year.

And because they whole thing is being run by medical educators then it seems very much like university. But they pay you instead of visa versa. Someone asked how the second year jobs will be allocated, and they said 'We'll look at your grades in assessments and your attendence'.

Still we know the pay band because the contract is neogiated nationally so we shouldn't moan too much. Scotland seems much more efficent, but now we need the deanarys persmission to get a job elsewhere.

We didn't used to have shootouts did we? I still remember in the FA cup having replays of matches that were tied. Once Arsenal and another team whose name I've forgotten went to four replays.


I'm seeing Elton John tonight

That's the first time I've ever heard that rumor about Edward VII. It gave me quite a start when I read that. I've been with someone who had both nipples, scrotum and penis pierced...too much information I know, but it was...interesting.

Well, like d'E I too saw Fahrenheit 9/11 this weekend. After seeing it, I can say all the criticism my fellow American researchers have heard and read is slightly off, as if the authors were just looking for something negative to say. The movie, and Moore's theories, flow much better than indicated by the media. The atmosphere in the theater was intense. It was a packed house (nearly 1,000 people at the showing I went to) and it was just like a rock concert. One big party, lots of adrenaline flowing, people yelling random stuff at the screen, social justice activists wandering the aisles with petitions and flyers, people cheering and crying at various points in the film, and a five-minute long period of applause when the end credits started rolling. That was the most pumped-up crowd I've ever been around, and it was just for a movie.

d'E is right. It won't change many minds on the far right, but it's devastating for the Bush Administration if the folks in the vast political middle see it.

I'm seeing it this afternoon, and looking forward to it.

Well, good luck with your last year of school Z. Do you basically go year round? I guess you had about a month off?
So next year you'll start your "2 year" job, which is assigned by the gov?

Lil, I’ve stowed away the LTTF Cattle Prod. Too much notoriety while using it.

Coely, is your lumpen teenager willing to travel to the US, central Missouri? I’ve got a small patch of yard that needs mowing, an attic to clean out, and sundry household chores available.

Marv, I also partook of a get-together this weekend, with friends from “way back.” We’d known RW and CW since 1993-1996 in Florida, and went through some trying times together. We drifted apart, except the occasional holiday contact, when we moved to Iceland and then came to Missouri after I retired. About a year ago, we learned they had moved to Festus, as RW’s job had brought him to work in St Louis. The company he works for has a great impact on dealing with current world affairs, and they were kind enough to cover a majority of the moving expenses. Because of that, RW was able to have a wonderful home built, with all the amenities they’d been waiting to have for so many years. Lots of space for kids and grand-kids, sensible layout for bedrooms so the young’uns don’t bother Mom & Dad, rooms for games and activities, a screened-in patio with a state-of-the-art hot tub, and a fair-sized lot in a cul-de-sac that’s quiet from little traffic.

We enjoyed an evening in the city park, taking rides at the fair set up there, and watching a fireworks display that night. The town celebrates Independence Day about a week early (every year), I suppose in order to get it out of the way so everyone can have a more relaxed time with friends and relatives on the holiday. We capped off our night with some good beer and shrimp (prawns) my wife had brought from Mississippi as a house-warming gift, then more beer while sitting in the hot tub. I’d intended to get intimate with my wife, as we hadn’t seen each other for about two weeks, but the hot water and massage jets put both of us out quickly. Opted for an early rise the next morning.

In regards to piercings and tattoos: I won’t do either. Too much pain, and once it’s done, it can’t be undone. Don’t get me wrong. As a mental exercise, I’ve considered how erotic it would feel to have studs / balls / chains attached to certain parts of one’s body in order to heighten a sexual experience. I’m just not willing to do the pain to get there. I suppose there are a number of “removable” alternatives (such as clamps and clips) that would serve as well, but even that might have some side-effects. Guess I’m just a more “traditional” guy who depends on “my own merits” in order to please my woman. So far, I still get rave reviews from her, even after eleven years.

Have y’all noticed that not many guys talk about “clothing disasters” or their “favorite outfit” that makes ‘em feel handsome? Why is that, do you figure? Is it that we just don’t care as much about our public image as the ladies?

I think the closest I’ve come to talking about personal fashion was right at the end of the 2003-2004 Holiday Panto, when I mentioned my normal attire. I usually opt for black jeans with a white collared shirt or blue jeans with a light-blue collared shirt. It’s kind of become my “uniform” since I left the military, mostly because it keeps my life simple when getting dressed for work. I reach into the closet, pull out a shirt, a pair of pants, and my work boots. Swing by my dresser and grab some unders and a pair of black socks. I’m set to shower, shave, and get dressed.

It’s really a stretch for me to get dressed up for any event these days. I ~can~ do so, but it’s not the norm for me anymore. I didn’t even put on a sports coat for the Captain’s Dinner on our Bahamas cruise a few weeks ago; I ~did~ put on a tie to go with the dress slacks and dress shirt, though. I think the finest I’ve been dressed in a while was when I was “Puttin’ on the Ritz” for the Atelier’s 4th Anniversary. But then, that was only a virtual tux-and-tails combo.

B4iscoutthethriftstore4asetofbellbottoms

I used to not dress up, ever. Now I can't stop being dressed up. It's just fabulous, the clothes I can wear now that I've lost the weight.

I still have a bit more to lose for the wedding, though...

[MTG boycotting MM's F9-11]

I don't mind dressing up, but I am glad we ahve a loose dress code at work. I will wear levis or shorts to work most days.

I love it when we go to something requiring H's dinner jacket (tuxedo). But we haven't been to anything that formal for sometime now. The current company doesn't go in for that sort of thing. I do miss getting totally dressed up, I have some lovely jewellery that I just don't get a chance to wear now.

Going back to piercings, the patient I came across was in his 70s in 1974, he had been in the Navy, but that is all I can remember. Apart from ~that~ piercing! He did refer to it as a Prince Albert though, perhaps he was the one responsible for the rumours

[GDZ]

[Hyp]

Thank goodness for Opera keyboard commands! My F4 key has become 'sticky' for some reason (I can't recall having managed to spill any liquid on my keyboard) but then I found out that Ctrl+W will work for closing windows too!

And yes, the reason I use a keyboard command to close a window is because it means I can use the full screen mode (F11) of Opera and not having to watch the flashing commercial field in the upper right corner (because I'm too cheap to pay for my Opera browser, so I've got the free download which includes commercials)

Tired

I've just been to see Elton John! It was good, well about 2/3rd of the concert was good. THe first few songs were obsure badly played and his voice sounded like it was about to go (ok I couldn't have sung them). Then he played some fantastic hits, which really got us going. And he did two encores, one of them was geunine as well - he started saying 'oh we've not prepared any other songs' - he was playing with a full orcestra so he couldn't just do an old one that he knew.



I have to say that it was slightly surreal to be in a massive arena full of middle aged, mainly middle class people who had paid fourty five pounds for a ticket dancing and singing the lyrics to 'Saturday night's alright for fighting'!

I understand that it must get boring playing the songs that everyone wants to here all the time, but it would be nice if he had played more of them, instead of just want he obviously wanted to play.

I've noticed B4 uses smilies to break up long posts. I think I'll do that as well.


Thanks for the good luck dave, I feel I need it. I've just had a panic when I've realised how much I have to learn. The final three years of our studies are basically all year around. Medicine's an undergraduate degree here, but we switch to postgraduate (all year) terms after two or three years.

Well it's not the government that deals with the appointments, ok I suppose it is, but the people who deal with it are nice friendly people who I've known as tutors for years as well as government empolyees, and the system is clear and fair. We get allocated points for our academic record, teamwork skills, communication skills etc and the job goes to the candidate with the most points. We all get bogged down in arguing if being captian of the rugby team is worth more or less than getting an A for a health care law exam four years ago. But no one gets a job based on their parents/breasts/friends any more.

So I'd rather it was this structured way that a free for all 'who you know not what you know' system that seems to work in the private sector.

It's a two year 'foundation programme' that we go into and they do our best to make the second year something that we choose. Of course some foundation year jobs are going to be more popular than others, which is when an whole new 'points system' based on how good you are at your job comes into play. To be honest it's a relief for someone like me, who may well be discriminated against, because if I'm turned down for a job they'll be a papertrail explaining why.





Oh and B4 piercings can be removed, yes they leave a scar but after a while it's hardly noticeable. I think of them as being tempory, tatoo's however can't be removed.

And none of my friends have done it to attract *women*, men yes. Tounge piercings are very popular with lesbians, and they do attract women.

*leaves you to work that one out*

Sorry for grossing you out Kelli

*offers Lil a caffinated beverage, ?*

I don't think men get so much confidence from clothes at all, we can't so much to make ourselves look good. We either do or we don't. Though I'm told I should iron my shirts (for occasions other than interviews and exams) and gel my hair.

Z

While I'm catching up with the backlog, I'd thought I'd post something along the way...

Re: Clothing in the closet I'll never wear

I am the queen of ill-conceived clothing purchases. I love long Bali tie-dye and embroidered dresses, but very few of these are made for a 6' tall, 165 pound woman. I'm evidently incapable of realizing it doesn't fit when I'm in the store trying it on, so most of them end up with my mother-in-law or my skinny friends. I also have the worst luck with finding jeans that fit, especially since most clothing sizes have been upsized to fit the rapidly expanding American behind. Now a size 14 off the rack is actually a size 16. You'd think that a size 12 would actually be a size 14, but it doesn't work that way. So I've got several pairs of jeans that I bought off the rack without trying them on that are actually two sizes too large for me. I've got a beautiful brown velvet brocade bustierre (sp?) in my closet that I've never worn. Not really office attire, and it feels a bit dressy for going to the pub. There was that horrible green corduroy miniskirt, which made me look like I was wearing a barrel around my butt. The list goes on, and on...

Of course, when I was in high school, I was going for the all-black Eurotrash look. Black jeans, black shoes, black turtleneck, and for some reason a black dickey with a cheesy brooch. Weird. I shudder now to think of it. Then there were the pink suede boots, and the burnt orange sweater... Urgh.

So my taste in clothing has improved dramatically. Fortunately for those people with eyes!

B4 - Ack! My eye! I'm not supposed to get lotion in it! Speaking of perfumed lotions, I once had a bottle of Babe scented lotion that I just loved. One of the few bottles of lotion that I actually emptied.

Hmm... Now that I've caught up...

Piercings, huh? I have the one in each ear, and I've never been interested in getting another. Well, that's not quite true. I've thought about getting one in the navel, and I've thought about the nipple too - but then I think about the clothing I wear, and how uncomfortable it would be most of the time. So I figure it's not really worth the pain. Of course, I've worn a toe ring for six years and never think about it - I expect I would get used to it in time. Now, tattoos - if I can find a tattoo I really like, I'll get it. I haven't found one yet that I'd be willing to have on my body the rest of my life.

> Have y’all noticed that not many guys talk about “clothing disasters” or their “favorite outfit” that makes ‘em feel handsome? Why is that, do you figure? Is it that we just don’t care as much about our public image as the ladies?

There used to be a commercial - don't remember the product - that had men saying things that women usually say about themselves. Like "I've got my mother's ankles. I'll always have to live with that."

The fact is, men just don't care all that much. My hubby has a very simple wardrobe - black shirts, black shoes, black hat. This way he can wear whatever he wants and not have to think about coordinating anything.

As for clothing that makes me feel sexy... I've got a couple of those tie-dye dresses that really do work on me, and they're comfortable. One has slits up to mid-thigh and tiny little spaghetti straps, and it's green (my favorite color!)

> Tounge piercings are very popular with lesbians, and they do attract women.

I knew a girl that decided to get her tongue pierced. I asked her if it hurt, and she said (let me see if I can spell this phonetically) "Aw can bawely fweel it aht ahl."

[GDZ]

thanks for the x-planation Z. The 2 year job sounds similar to the internship/residency program in the US. Don't worry too much about how much you're supposed to learn. Just take it one lesson at a time, get as much as you can out of each one, and before you know it you'll be there.

I didn't get my ears pierced till I left home, it wasn't the sort of thing young girls did, unless they were Catholics! My Mum was Chapel, low church Methodist, so was quite puritanical in some ways. Piercing in any other places really does nothing for me at all.

I had just fallen asleep last night when the the most tremendous fight took place. It was Cassie and whitentabby on the garage roof. I went out to break things up, but Cassie refused to come in. Then choosing to do so an hour later by meeuuuwwing outside the bedroom window (from the extension roof), waking me up again .