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

Hows it going in your new job me ole buddy?
Obviously you're busy cos you haven't had time to get in touch.
I've been having a great time at work lately.Basically it's because I'm doing project work and I'm setting up new systems.You know the sort of things functional testing pilot runs etc.The software company that we are using are crap!Nothing works properly.I've just had to laugh about it,but there's no way I'm letting my users loose on it until I'm satisfied that everything is going to work properly.They've been neglected for long enough so I'm going to look after them this time!
I really hope that you pop in to read your messages soon as I quite miss our little chats together.
My daughter's back home now and back at school.She was really chuffed to be in year six(last year of primary school)She came home the first day and announced that she'd been chosen to run the tuck shop.(sweet shop).I asked her how she'd managed to get such a prestigious job and she told me that on her application she said that she was very good at math and good with people.Shrewd cookie eh!
Seriously I do hope everything is going well for you and that you haven't set your home on fire yet!God that reminds me of my brother in law-he got really tanked up one night and decided that it would be
a good idea to cook a pork chop in the toaster!!Nearly set fire to the kitchen!
Anyway I suppose I'd better do some work or I'll be getting the sack!
Speak to you soon(I hope)
Ciao

Wow you snuck this one in on me I didn't even notice you had tagged my account untill a moment ago. The new job is going well. My only concern is that the people I work with seem to like it way too much ( kind of a doped up zombie type mood seems to surround the place). Blind optimism frightens me

So far I haven't set any new fires. That is one I will have to add to my list..."It is a bad Idea to cook pork chops in the toaster" or maybe just "it is a bad idea to cook when you are drunk"

Actually that kind of reminds me of something that I had wanted to mention to you ( confessing my sins) the last few weeks I have really been on a downward turn in my personal life. without being overly dramatic, I have blank sections in my memory from this last weekend that seems to center around me getting kicked out of a local resteraunt at 3 am. I think that this behavior is out of my system, but is still scares me. i didn't realize how depressed I was untill the next morning when I started taking stock in my feelings. it is funny, we talked about what I called my demons, I can handle them when they attack directly but this was a sneaky invasion that caught me compleatly off guard. Hopefully, now that I have identified them, I can chase them away again.

Congrats to your daughter. is this a real job that she gets paid for or is it a sort of school credit thing? either way it would seem to be quite the feather in her cap.

Well I hope you can write back soon I need to get some sleep .getting up between 3-4 am makes me a fairly dull date most nights, not that I am dating much

talk at you soon
D/L

Ooh being thrown out of a restaurant at 3 am-haven't done that one in a long time!!!!
Yes you are right sometimes the demons come and grab you unawares.
Were you drinking scotch by any chance? I don't drink whiskey but I do know that it makes most people violent.Why I don't know,perhaps thats why all Scots want to fight you!!!!
Don't get down in the dumps,these depressive moods come at me in cycles so believe me it will pass.
Can you remember anything about the restaurant?Were you on your own or in company.I always think its better if you're on your own cos all you have to do is never visit that restaurant again!If in company you could damage your reputation a bit but I don't think people remember those sort of outbursts for long,that is ,as long as you don't make a regular habit of it!
How about us doing a page about things not to do when you live on your own?That could be a bit of fun.You've already got quite a list so we could just add to it.
I really should be working but I haven't talked to you for yonks so its great to catch up!
The only thing I've been doing lately is visiting all the local High Schools.My daughter (Rhonda) goes to High school next September so
we have to have a look round them all to decide which one's we are going to apply to.I'd forgotten how big these schools are.My feet are
aching from all the walking we've done.Its such a comlicated process these days.
when I went to High School you filled in a form with 3 choices and
got accepted for one.Now the school has to sell itself to you and then in return you have to sell your child to the school of your choice.You virtually have to sent a C.V. of your child to get accepted.Total madness!!!!!!
Ayway I'd better do some work before i go to lunch.Will check out the
best whiskeys to try...on recommendation from a scotsman I know!!
When I asked him what he wanted with his whiskey he said "another whiskey"!!!
Speak to you soon.
DF

I would love to do a page with you. that would be a hoot. between the two of us i think we could do a really good job. my guideML is pretty rusty but i'll do what I can.

As to the other night, it was just after i had sent that post about sitting around drinking by myself when one of my buddys called and asked if I wanted to go get a beer w/him. I am off beer for a few weeks ( a different story I'll tell you later) but I told him i would go anyway. I have never been to a dive before. This place was classic-people packed in shoulder to shoulder, the walls were sweating, the music was loud. I was a bit lit when we go there so, 30 minutes and 2 shots of scotch later (the cheap stuff...yuck), i was in good spirits (no pun intended).

from there we met up with a few of his friends and went to a "gentlemans club". there is where I made my big mistake, lots of jaegermeister. the next thing i remember is yelling profanities at the guy across the table from me at the resteraunt. I'm not quite sure how I got there from the club. it is a dark blur after that but my buddy told me the next day that we had been kicked out of the resteraunt.

so long and short of it is while there was scotch involved, i blame the jaeger and my overall mood. oh well live and learn.

your comment in the other post about your boyfriend really strikes a chord with me. While I will be the first to say that a job should not be the center of your life, taking a job is taking a resposibility to do the job. there are exeptions to the rule (mental health days etc) but those are the exception. several people on my team don't seem to understand that concept. taking a day off here and there for non emergency things makes it harder for everyone else involved.

Well its getting late, I will be out of town this weekend (off to California) so I will write again on monday. Have a nice weekend.

D/L

Your last words made me feel quite envious.....Off to California,just like that.Oh how I wish I could just go off to California.The weather here has started to turn.There is a definite Autumn (fall) nip in the air and it rains most of the time.Fine when you can just snuggle up
nice and warm in bed and listen to the rain falling but not so nice when you have to be out with the dog at 7am and then travel to work for and hour and a half.
Im sure there is someone who controls the weather in this country.Its always sunny during the week when you are at work but on the weekends it p****s down!!!Its all planned you know!!!
Still its FRIDAY!!! yeah yeah yeah!!
I'm just of to the local hostelry for lunch and a couple of beers.
Friday lunchtime is sacred in the newspaper industry.It starts at about one and lasts for approx 1 1/2 to 2 hours.In fact most of the people here are big drinkers.I don't know whether thats a good or bad thing for me.At the moment it feels good but I wouldn't go over the top like some people do here.
My plans for the weekend,well its all pretty boring really my best mates dad died a couple of weeks ago and she has no siblings so shes got a lot to sort out.Her mums in a home suffering with Alzheimers disease and so hasn't a clue whats going on so poor old Liz has got
to sort everything out.I'm going over with her to her parents house on Saturday so we can have a sort out of all her dads clothes and things.Not a nice job to do on your own so I'm providing support as much as anything else.Apart from that nothing but chillin I hope.
Right must get to the pub.I'll speak to you Monday (off to California you lucky lucky B******!!!!!!)

Heh heh heh. I wondered if that would get you. All I can say is that now you know how I feel when someone from your part of the world mentions driving around europe. The few summers I spent traveling the hostels left me so jealous of your ability to hop on a train and see sights older than my home country. its such a broadening experience- I think that may be the difference between america and europe ( I am including the British Isles although I don't know if you think of yourselves as Europeans). It is a question of perspectrve of time. For us fifty years is a long time a building that has lasted for 100 years becomes a landmark. in europe people live in building 150 years old and don't seem to find it unusual. there is a reversing effect too. our everpresent lowest common denominator food giant: mcdonalds seems to aquire a sort of validity when it is moved in to a marble lined hall that will last for another 200 years ( i'm not kidding, I ate at the mcdonalds in rome. it had marble fountians and other flourishes that left me scratching my head)

Have you ever been to california? It is really no big deal. Most of the big towns there are just like the big towns elsewhere. you stand a better chance to see a tv/movie/music star there. Honestly so what? As to the weather, well In my hot little city ( Phoenix) we get sun something like 350 days out of the year. 3 weeks ago it was 101f degrees outside at 8 pm it rained here this morning and there isn't a puddle to be seen.

Wow, beers at lunch,. You do live in a civilized county . Every job I have ever worked at would give you the axe for that...oh yeah I was going to tell you why I can't have beer for a while.
Well, in an ever-more-frantic attempt to keep my youth, about four weeks ago I had my tounge pierced. Now I can hear you wincing all the way from here and will tell you, Yes I hurts like a B**CH. That being said, it is not as bad as you might think. after cleaning a prepering the tounge, the piercer uses a clamp to hold the tounge in place(again this isn't as bad as it sounds) then she takes a hollow needle and, well, drives it thru the tounge. This hurts quite a lot but is is over fairly quickly. then she takes the barbell which is much bigger than you would expext, and slides it thru the needle. next she pulls out the hollow needle. this for some reason is the most painful part and it left in tears. Finally she screws the other end of the barbell in place and wipes the drool off of her victims chin. The warning that come with the new jewelry include: for the first month no smoking (the one thing I am not having a problem with) no beer, no wine, no kissing, no oral sex, no spicy food, eat soft food, take smaller bites and anytime ANYTHING enters your mouth clean it out with mouthwash. for three days I had soup because my tounge swelled up so big I couldn't fit it and food in my mouth at the same time.
Now that I near then end of my month. I am about 95% healed. I broke most of the rules this weekend and am not suffering any ill effects yet so I think it is going to be alright. I was proud that I once again can tie a cherry stem with my tounge .

It's not all fun and games here however, I got word at work that my grandfather died this morning. He has been very sick so this was a blessing but it hit me a bit harder than I expected. I had to leave work early. it is odd, death fascinates me. I don't mean that in a psychotic axe murderer kinda way, but the greiving process is so odd. We don't greive because someone is dead, instead we greave beacuse they aren't alive. For those people who believe in heaven and hell or some other similar structure, we can't greive that they are going to a better place and we don't beleive that they are going to a worse place. So it would seem that greif is an selfish action we are upset because we are unable to interact with a person who we care for. Yes there are times where you greive for someone else who has lost a loved one, but this "support greiving" isn't as personal and doesn't qualify. Oh well. The funeral is on wednesday and the family will be flying in so I may be incommunicado for a few days.

Take care, I will talk with you soon.
D/L

hey d/f where are ya???

Sorry things are a bit hectic here at the moment.We are moving offices from Canary Wharf (dont know if you've heard of it,its the big silver building in Docklands London) and things are just completely mad!
If I get a chance I will catch up with you this afternoon.Hows the tongue? Sounds painful to me.
Will speak to you soon

Take care

D/F

I think I can just about manage to sneak this message in!
You really are suffering from rebelion to getting older aren't you?
Funnily enough I have a friend who recently got her navel pierced for the same reasons.I guess I must be a bit cowardly cos I really don't think I could go through with it although the thought has crossed my mind.
How big is the stud on your tongue?Does it affect the way you talk and are you conscious of it?
I must admit having a tongue stud strikes me as being quite horny,but then maybe thats because I'm a bit sex starved!!!!!!!!
I was sorry to hear about your Grandfather.I hope the funeral went off okay.
I had quite a mad Saturday just gone.It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago 43 argghhhh!! (I'm really still 29 in my mind!)Anyway I was supposed to have a bit of a get together but because of my mate Liz's
dad dying it didn't happen.So this weekend I invited a few friends
out for a meal at a Malaysian restaurant.Its really good fun there.
The food is served buffet style but you can eat as much as you like.
Later on they have a disco (well its more like a room with a few flashing lights) but by the time you want to get up to dance it really doesn't matter what it looks like!
I must admit I did go on a bit of a session.I started off with vodkas
and Lager's but then we hit the wine!It was only fairly cheap Aussie stuff but it really hit the spot!!
My friends husband decided to show the whole restaurant his gold larme
underpants and all the girls went wild.I think we really set the tone for the whole evening.The owner of the restaurant was quite impressed and kept bringing us free drinks.This included rather a lot of brandy which I think contributed to the headache I had the next morning.
I hate to admit it but at one point I remember joining in with YMCA and Greased Lightning!!Still what the heck we all had a good time and
I didn't have any blackout spots the next moring so I suppose I must have behaved myself reasonably.My daughter came along too so maybe thats why I was fairly well behaved.I'm a bit of an extrovert by nature so the above is well behaved for me!!!
In contrast on Sunday I was really tired and spent most of the day
having a go at my weekend boyfriend because I was over tired and needed more sleep instead of cooking a Sunday meal for everyone.I can't believe that he puts up with me sometimes.I can be really horrible to him.Its really because he doesn't seem to have any motivation and stills feels sorry for himself.
Yep I hear you, I too feel sorry for myself sometimes but I can't comprehend why he wants to spend as many hours as he can in the local pub.
Anyway enough of my ramblings!Hope you've cheered up a bit.When this move is over I should be able to put some stuff down for the page we talked about writing.
Ooh I nearly forgot.The last company that worked for before I came to Docklands has an office in Phoenix so I've heard a lot about it.My horrible ex-boss moved out there in March.
How close it came to our paths crossing!!I could have moved there!I was always talking to the guys out there.I get the impression that it can be difficult to develop a social life in Phoenix.Its only what the Brits that have moved over have said.
Well I must go now as its nearly time to go home.
Speak to you soon

D/F

hey happy b-day. 43 eh? wow thats practically dead (sorry I coudn't resist) And yes I think I'm going thru a midlife crisis early In reality I am aware of it almost all the time but I am thinking about it less and less. I expect soon it will just be a part of me. It was the same with my other peircing. It took me almost a year before I learned to forget about it. most people don't seem to notice the stud even those who know me. even my ex couldn't hear the difference the next day. I have a few sounds that I have a probl;em with still but that is supposed to go away with practice. the stud is maybe 3/4 of an inch from tip to tip. Now that the swelling has gone down I am planning to get a smaller one.
And yes I did get it with the thought of using it for sex. I'm pretty sex starved too. problem is, how do I tell my 70 year old aunt that when she asks me why I had it done?

so your evil ex-boss has moved out here. do you want me to rough him up for you??? I have a crew of leg breakers at my command who love the concept of revenge. it is frightening to realize that I'm not entirely kidding.

seriously tho' what was the company? I'll look it up sometime. give him a message if you like.

anyway, good luck on your move, let me know when you get done and we can get some work done on important stuff like our page.

c-ya
D/L

Hi D/L sorry I've not replied recently but I like to take my time when I'm talking to you and to be quite honest there hasn't been much of it recently.
I've got the most horrible fluey cold at the moment which has really dragged me down.I'm on my 3rd half of Brandy in a week.Purely medicinal of course!
Even my boss told me to go home yesterday so I'm not faking it!!!
I've got so much to do here and my brain just doesn't want to work at the moment.
My ex boss works for a company called Pegasus Solutions.It used to be called Rezsolutions.I liked you idea of giving a dose of his own medicine,he wouldn't even know who it was that was gunning for him!!!
However its probably better to let sleeping dogs lie.He will get his come uppance before long.The higher they climb the harder they fall and all that stuff.
the bloke was a real bully and resented me because I was more qualified than him.He promoted people over me who were useless and made me feel completely inadequate.Anyway I don't suppose I'll ever see him again so good riddance to bad rubbish!
How are you?Has your toungue healed up now?
My daughter's at my mums this week as its half term holiday at school.
So I really should be partying but this flu has put paid to that!!
God I sound like an old lady.By the way what sort of music do you like?
Ooops someones come looking for me I'd better go before I get found out!!Speak to you soon
DF
XX

did you ever hear of six degrees of seperation? The theory goes that every person is only seperated from every other person on the planet by six other people or less. Why do I bring this up? because my ex-brother in law works at rezoloutions. creepy huh? A few years back I almost got a job there too. Small world eh?

Sorry your not feeling up to snuff even more sorry that you are wasting a perfectly good party time. kinda weird how these bugs get around we have people getting sick from an icky fluey thing over here too. If we ever have a sociatial breakdown, it wpnt be from nuclear weapons, it'll be from various plagues and poxes . and don't worry you are too young at heart for anyone to think of you as an old lady.

I have to replace my keyboard. I am loosing letters as I type. it seems to be o's f's and s's that drop most frequently so please forgive the typo's

I have been doing well. The new job is keeping me hopping but the money is good and I feel like a natural at it.
My tounge is completly healed. I have been drinking beer for a bout a week now (no. not a week solid, only every now and then) and those other things I mentionioned that i cant do, I have been doing those things too.
speaking of which, I am sooo psyched, I have a date this weekend. This particular victim, uh I mean lucky girl has been one I have wanted to date for a long time. Wish me luck...

Music music music....well.. Thats a tough one There are so many types that I like. If you look at my cd and mp3 collection you will see medeval music next to techno which is next to louis armstrong next to 90 alternative and 80's protest rock. my 3 favorates right now are midnight oil, conrete blonde, and the offspring. I officially don't listen to country music but there are a number of country songs I like. I don't listen to rap...unless it is some of the rap I listen to (ICP, the bloodhound gang, etc) probabilly the only music I don't like is pop music of the 70's (and even some of those I like ) . How 'bout you?

Well off to bed. feel better. talk to you soon.

D/L

Good luck with the date!!!!!!
The Rezsolutions thing is really X file stuff!!!How weird!
I might even know your ex-brother in law!!!!!!
I'm still suffering with this cold but hey its the weekend so I can just drink some more brandy!!!!!
Your music collection sounds as diverse as mine.I can't really say that I have any real favorites either.At the moment I'm into Craig David but next week it may be some jazz or classical.
I come from a really musical family (my father used to be an opera singer) and we all play at least one instrument.
I've been playing the piano since I was a little girl but although I have three electronic keyboards at home I yearn for a proper piano.
I will get one when I move house.You'll have to drag me off it then!!!
Whats the lady like that you are seeing.I want the run down!!!!
I'm still toying with the idea of gettting shot of my boyfriend.
I've started to think that the whole relationship is pointless.
Its only fear of being completely alone again that stops me finishing with him.
I don't know if you've noticed but when you have someone to go out with as a couple you get invited to more parties,get togethers etc.
I think a single person in a room full of couples is seen as a threat.
You know "God she's on her own I have to protect whats mine cos shes bound to try to take my partner away" Bulls****!!!!!
When I was on hoiday in Greece this year if I got talking to any men at the bar they would all make it clear that they were with their wife partner etc.I found it really funny.In the end my daughter and I started taking bets on how long it was before the W or P word was mentioned!!!!!
Why do some men think that if a women is on their own they must be desperate and will try to chat them up??Most of these men I wouldn't look at in a month of Sundays!!!
Well I suppose I'd better get off my soap box and get ready to go home.
Hope all goes well for you this weekend.Softly softly catchy monkey............
Speak to you soon

DF

Well, count me as jealous. I have always wanted to play an instrament but never had the discipline to learn. I used to play the violin but never persued enuff to get very good. I am a decent singer tho...

My date, it got canceled for the time being. her son has the chicken pox so she doesn't feel right leaving him w/ a sitter As to a rundown, she is a "friend" that I have had for a while. I met her near the end of my marrage and we hit it off right away. There was a mutual instant attraction between the 2 of us and things just kinda happened While my marrage was dying anyway, I feel somewhat guilty because it sped the death along a bit. Since then we have hung out off and on. She has been attached in a relationship all this time too, and has just finally become officially available.

Now I know what your thinking, But I never claimed to be a saint, nor have I ever claimed to be perfect. I am a firm beleiver in making mistakes with wild abandon as long as lessons can be learned from them.

So instead of going out tonight with her or with my buddies, I am sitting at home sulking. I am not even drinking cause it might lighten my mood a little.

Actually I have been invited to more parties and social events since I have been single. Im guessing it is because most of the people I know are single and when I was married, my wife was such a killjoy noone liked being with her. god that sounds so bad but it is true. all of my friends hated my ex.

I don't think that men assume that a single woman is desperate. I think it closer to the truth that men feel that the primary function of cross gender communication is to establish dating and eventually sex. In a way they wanted to establish ground rules so you wouldn't think thay were tying to chat you up. At least , thats my take, from being on te opposte end of the game. (uh oh some of my degree is showing thru i'd better switch topics )

well it is after midnight, I think I had better think about crashing.
talk to you soon, take care

D/L

hey df if your out there, I'm hurting and feeling pretty self distuctive. I could use a friend.

don't worry df. I'm not going to toss myself off a cliff or something. I am just really depressed I don't know where my life is going or if it is going anyway like it should go. I just wish things would stop changeing so fast and start making sense.

DL,
Chill man.I'm here now.Sorry I've not been in touch but We moved offices over the weekend and its been hell here ever since.
I'm not having much of a good time either.As I'm in an office dominated by men I'm feeling a bit vunerable.Its like because your a woman your not good enough and how could you possibly know your only a woman stuff.I'ts left me feeling depressed and unsure of myself.
Whats up?Lets talk it thru.

Hi DF sorry if i scared you. My grip on the world slipped a little and I paniced. You remember my friend who I was dating. Well, we had talked all along about being together in a long term relationship once all of our other attachments had been taken care of. maybe marriage maybe just cohabitaion we wern't certian how we were going to proceed but it was pretty much a given. Recently she has been hanging out with an old friend of hers who had been an old boyfriend. "Not a problem" I thought. I am not a jealous person, nor am I controlling. When I was married I didn't have a problem with my wife being with old boyfriends or lovers. I just trust people.
to make a long story short, she is marrying him tomorrow and I am dying inside. I have given her my blessing both officially (am an ordained minister of the ULC) and personally, but i am more hurt than I have ever been. yesterday i drove around hoping someone would crash into my truck and kill me. this morning, i am a little better but i don' know how i will handle tomorrow. I asked her not to invite me to the wedding because I don't think I could handle it. Wy do these things happen how can the world be so unfair?

Hi DF sorry if i scared you. My grip on the world slipped a little and I paniced. You remember my friend who I was dating. Well, we had talked all along about being together in a long term relationship once all of our other attachments had been taken care of. maybe marriage maybe just cohabitaion we wern't certian how we were going to proceed but it was pretty much a given. Recently she has been hanging out with an old friend of hers who had been an old boyfriend. "Not a problem" I thought. I am not a jealous person, nor am I controlling. When I was married I didn't have a problem with my wife being with old boyfriends or lovers. I just trust people.
to make a long story short, she is marrying him tomorrow and I am dying inside. I have given her my blessing both officially (am an ordained minister of the ULC) and personally, but i am more hurt than I have ever been. yesterday i drove around hoping someone would crash into my truck and kill me. this morning, i am a little better but i don' know how i will handle tomorrow. I asked her not to invite me to the wedding because I don't think I could handle it. Wy do these things happen how can the world be so unfair?

DL,
Life is so unfair at times.I think you need a big hug. *gives virtual big mummy hug and big kiss*
'Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till its gone' to quote Joni Mitchell.
You know maybe you stood on the sidelines just a bit too long.How come this lady didn't tell you about her relationship with this other man before? I can't believe she could string you along and then drop the bombshell.
I know that awful pain that you get when something like this happens.Its in the pit of your stomach and its an aching empty feeling.
It WILL pass.Just tell yourself it will take time.
I feel better today as the pressure is staring to drop here.I felt like chucking it all in recently.I suppose I've forgotten what pressure is at work!
Anyhow I've been doing a bit of exploring round here and I've found this really brill bar.Its a barge!You go down steps to it!I think its great.I can hide away with a beer and a sandwich in there no problem.
I wish we didn't live so many miles apart cos I could take you out to cheer you up.I know I will sort out a virtual take you out and cheer you up!Watch this space.

Take care....please.

DF