This must be what going mad feels like.

Simon ,'Jaynestown'


Goodbye and Good Riddance 2017: That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, Bingo!  

Every year we watch the Charlie Brown special, do the Snoopy dance, wish everybody a Merry Thanksgivukkahmas, and thank our Secret Santas in the good riddance thread. Which is this one, in case you were wondering.

Go away, 2017. You have a lot to turn around, 2018. Bring it on.


Zenkitty - Jan 03, 2018 2:45:40 pm PST #102 of 162
Every now and then, I think I might actually be a little odd.

Sophia, let me just add my voice to the chorus of Holy crap, that's a lot of stress! You're clearly a strong and resilient person, and it's no wonder you'd be depressed after a year like that.

I was on that same high-fat very-low-carb diet for a few months, years ago. I lost a lot of weight fast and felt real good, but once I went off it I could never stand to do it again. I lost all interest in food, too; I only ate when I was physically too hungry to ignore it.

I've used Zenni and I like them. If your prescription is real strong, though, you won't get glasses for $20. But they're still cheap, compared to the 100s of $$ you'd pay at the optometrist.


SuziQ - Jan 03, 2018 3:37:09 pm PST #103 of 162
Back tattoos of the mother is that you are absolutely right - Ame

My tri-focal progressive glasses rarely cost over $100 with Zenni.


quester - Jan 04, 2018 3:58:18 pm PST #104 of 162
Danger is my middle name, only I spell it R. u. t. h. - Tina Belcher.

Sophia, Holy crap!

And I got a package and card from My Secret Santa, a lovely Wonder Woman scarf from Think Geek.

Also, to my giftee, sorry for slacking but stuff Is coming.


quester - Jan 04, 2018 4:04:54 pm PST #105 of 162
Danger is my middle name, only I spell it R. u. t. h. - Tina Belcher.

2017: the year I moved into a 2nd floor apartment and gained a view. Mostly of the Hiawatha Fie station, but I'll take what I can get!


aurelia - Jan 06, 2018 10:03:53 am PST #106 of 162
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.

Emily, thank you for the archery range gift certificate! That's just what I need to shift me from idly thinking about it to actually going!


billytea - Jan 06, 2018 2:18:09 pm PST #107 of 162
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

Happy new year everyone! I feel I've been around less this past year. A lot of that was just the politics train wreck; I found it harder than usual to engage after that.

My 2017 was, at a personal level, pretty good, even if I also spent a lot of it more worried for the state of the world than any time since leaving the borderline apocalyptic FAC. Our most momentous event was building an extension on the back of the house so Biyi's parents can have their own space, and finally getting the back yard landscaped. I've uploaded some photos to flickr, for instance: [link] It's mostly native plants that cope well with dry conditions; we also have some bamboo and three citrus trees (lemon, lime and mandarin). The planter box in the corner, which we built for Biyi's mother, is mostly a herb garden, but Ryan is growing a couple of tomato plants in there too.

Speaking of, Ryan has now finished Year 3. This year he started playing saxophone, which is fun. He's been doing tunes like the Star Wars theme and the James Bond theme. Here's a photo of him, taking an archery lesson with one of his friends. [link]

In conclusion, I present this photo of a meerkat, just because. [link]


meara - Jan 06, 2018 2:50:55 pm PST #108 of 162

I don't know why I am so jealous of people with citrus trees. I don't even use that much citrus. But somehow it just seems the ultimate luxury to me (next to also having an avocado tree)


DebetEsse - Jan 06, 2018 3:34:54 pm PST #109 of 162
Woe to the fucking wicked.

Well, that seems like as good a segue as any.

At the end of May, we bought a house. It was built in 1933 and I think the lemon tree in the back yard was planted about then. It still needs a lot of work (It feels like we'll NEVER finish paint-scraping), but it's a good house.

The "we" in the previous paragraph is me and my fiance (since March. He proposed during a dress rehearsal. Worked it into the opening number of the show. Well done, him). What with the whole "rock in the middle of the ocean" thing, and his brother being in Vietnam, we're not getting married until July of this year, which is kind of the "we need to be done scraping paint" deadline.

I've been super busy with work and theatre stuff, but I have been reading, so I think I feel like I'm around more than it looks like I'm around.


DavidS - Jan 06, 2018 5:42:41 pm PST #110 of 162
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Here's a photo of him, taking an archery lesson with one of his friends.

Awww, looking so cute with his blue glasses (which I totally validate).


DavidS - Jan 06, 2018 5:43:23 pm PST #111 of 162
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

The "we" in the previous paragraph is me and my fiance

Good news! Let's highlight the rare examples of that in 2017.