Rant This week is the two year anniversary of when shit really hit the fan and my brother was diagnosed finally. When things went bad, I had to handle everything by myself, and I did. But two years later I still have a hard time dealing with what went down that night. He was in really bad shape and some really bizarre horrible things happened. No one saw those things and my brother doesn't remember them, so I'm the only one who knows what happened before I got him to the hospital. It kind of messes with me, makes me sad. Not sure why I have a hard time letting go of that night and not thinking about it, but I do from time to time. I guess anytime you think your twin brother may die (very genuinely), it sticks with you.
Haven't been on here much lately at all. Here's a reason why: Ravt: For some time now, I've dreamed of starting a homebuilding company. One of the builders I know well offered to sell me a very reasonably priced lot in a new development in a town just north of Winnipeg. It took too long for me to get my ducks in a row, and the lot wound up selling to someone else. So for the last six months I've been SCOURING the surrounding area. Lots are impossible to come by. The new communities have a lock on their land and don't sell to anyone but preferred builders, and the one-offs that make it to MLS are typically overpriced, crazy or both. I put in an offer on one 3 acre lot and had the guy counter with the same asking price, but that he was "keeping all the mud" on the land. Seriously. It's so draining and disheartening and I had no idea when it was going to end. Cue me talking to my next door neighbour, who mentioned that his brother has subdivided the family farm. I cold-called the number on the giant real estate billboard, and spoke to the wife of my neighbour's brother. Long story short: we hit it off so well that she offered to front the land and I don't have to pay for it until the house sells. WHAT THE FUCK. How did I land THAT kind of generosity? Oh, yeah, and because she refuses to use realtors her lots are $25k cheaper than anything in the surrounding area. This is a rave, because I've essentially landed a free chunk of land that I don't have to pay anything on for two years. And I have to come up with far less capital. Oh, and did I mention houses in this neigbourhood sell for $700-$900k?! This is a rant, because holy fuck. We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars of my family's money on my gamble/dream. What if it doesn't sell? What if it sits on the market for months and months? This is also a question - anyone here have experience building a website?
Rave. Expected return date in less than three weeks!! Rave. Aircraft washdown all this week, so the date looks solid. Rant. Shit is always changing. Can't get our hopes up.
Rant: this may not be the exact right place for this and I thought posting it in the MMA thread, but my best guess (perhaps unjustly) is that a lot of the posters here with an interest in feminism don't spend a lot of time in that thread. And I didn't want to clutter the drunk thread because public discussions on feminism on the board so far have been antagonistic and the death of fun. That said, I personally enjoy those sort of discussions so if anyone finds this to be an interesting discussion piece, by all means drop me a pm! And with that lengthy preamble out of the way, a rant on feminism and MMA. Spoiler I think there are some really interesting intersections between MMA and feminism at the moment. The latest season of TUF features female contestants for the first time. These women are often pioneers of female MMA; while men have been fighting for six figures and a percentage of the take, in front of tens of thousands in the Octagon and millions of viewers at home, the women have been fighting for $300 in a warehouse somewhere. While this makes their dedication to the sport all the more impressive, they are understandably bitter about it. The question that arises from that, though, is who is responsible for the problem and any subsequent solution? The men who only want to watch men fight, or the women who don't watch fighting at all? There's a moment of cognitive dissonance when you watch the Ring Girls come out between rounds in a women's MMA fight. I was wondering if they should be men, but that presupposes a majority female audience, which is something that we're currently miles away from and may never see. There's something very disquieting about the fact that, in 2013, we're still watching an event where guys are celebrated for what they do, while women have twenty seconds to parade around in lingerie and heels, and their only value is based on how they look. Kyra Gracie is another case in point. The Gracie's are BJJ royalty, and they've been absolutely dominating the game for about five generations now. The name is synonymous with BJJ world champion. When Kyra started to train seriously, her male family members advised her to leave it alone, it was a guy thing. When she won her first world championship, they came and apologized to her, and now they all train happily together. But, y'know, she had to win a world championship first. Her male cousins had to... be born with a penis. The level of effort isn't really comparable. I hope for the continued growth of women's MMA, and that we eventually get to the point where women are draws in a PPV event, and men slathered in cocoa butter and wearing banana-hammocks strut their stuff between rounds. If that sounds absurd, what does that say about our current cultural mores?
Rant- Wife is filing for divorce. Apparently, I've been kidding myself for the past year and everyone saw but me. Rant- Two adorable kids that never should have been a part of this nonsense.
RANT: Requals are in 2-3 weeks. I went to the range today to hone up my skills. By hone up I mean pick up a gun for the first time in almost 18 months. Seriously? I'm ashamed. The target had a good number in center mass, but the majority were in the lower left hand corner. Yes, my old nemesis has returned: snatching the trigger. Fucking whore bastard. RAVE: Not in a panic about it, which is good. RAVE: Boyfriend had lots of ammo. He's going to the Auburn/A&M game this weekend in College Station. Lots of range time with his extra ammo.
ravt: why is sex with the ex so fucking good? We shouldn't be having it, we both know that, and we both want a friendship but GOD is he good in bed/is there some crazy chemistry.
Rant: My aunt got denied for a hospice. No one gets denied for hospice once they've been accepted unless... RAVE! My aunt has shown remarkable improvement! The hospice people were dumbfounded at her turnaround. Her mind came back, she's once again witty and giving me shit just to get a reaction out of me. A couple of months ago I was sure she'd be gone by now, but she's still here and improving. I still have to tell her a few times every day what day or month it is when she asks, but she is once again watching her favorite TV shows and carrying on conversations and fully aware of what's going on. It's so wonderful to have her back! Sadly, while her mind has come back, her body hasn't followed suit. She's wheelchair-bound and relies on me or my cousin for everything...we have to pick her up and place her in her wheelchair, on the toilet, or on her favorite recliner and that frustrates her to no end. Not to mention changing her diapers when she has an accident. Sometimes I think it's worse now that she's actually cognizant of how much she relies on us, because I know she hates that fact, but she's come to accept it. I just make sure I tell her every day how happy I am to have her back and even though she doesn't remember the past 8 months or so, she constantly thanks me for taking care of her then and still. And that's what life's all about y'all. Family.
RAVE: Had yesterday off and spent an amazing day with the girl. RAVE: Introduced the Butt Plug and she really enjoyed it. She asked if I was "trying to kill her" as she laid there unable to move. RAVE: Pretty much just traded Tony Gonzalez for Torrey Smith. Gonzalez was my backup to Jimmy Graham. RANT: Back at work.
Rave: having a surprise baby in eight weeks. Wee. Rant: Fuck you, people who call my partner and I selfish for settling on one kid, or getting the smug look of "yeah right, you'll change your mind." Here's an idea, keep your fucking legs closed and focus on your bratty fucking kid who is currently trying to rip my fucking pants off and hit me because I won't give them candy, rather than worry about what I'm doing with my reproductive bits and bobs.
Rant: This hour's task is to call every company, office, etc that we get mail from and have our account info changed. You know how frustrating it is to sit through one automated telephone menu? I get to do that times 12! Rave: BUT WE'RE MOVING YAAAY!
Rave: I really, truly try not to notice stuff like this, but goddamn if the sheen of sweat on a chest above a sports bra isn't one of the best sights in the world. Daamn.
Oh, and RAVE: me and four of my close friends just booked a ridiculous mansion on an island, accessible only by ferry twice a day, with no police presence. Three days of fishing for brim, telling stories, and trying to get through an oz. Cannot wait.
Ravt: I just completed my eleventh year in the Defence Force. A lot of being fucked around and doing pointless shit for the sake of it but overall it's been a decent eleven years. Rave: Nine more days long service leave to the tally, BOOM!
Rant: Found out I'm getting laid off today after working for a company for 8 years. Rave? Will get somewhat of a severance package.
RANT: Lays is discontinuing their Light chips made with olean. I don't give a shit if some people literally can't stomach them. Plenty of people can't handle hot sauce and it is everywhere. I am so mad, these are my favorite chips. Baked lays are fucking disgusting. One of my favorite indulgent snacks is the lays light with onion dip made out of greek yogurt. Gaahhhhhhh! Now I have to hunt for them and buy up as many as I can. Not optimistic though, I haven't been seeing them in the usual places.
Rant: People would rather see products that lead to GI distress and anal leakage out in the marketplace rather than give up their "diet potato chips".
Rant Took off in Afghanistan trying to beat shitty weather that was closing in on us because the weather brief said it was good North. Turns out it wasn't good to the North and the pass we needed to fly through was socked in. Rant Turned back around to where we had left, to find that the shit weather had already reached there. Flying through Indian Country with about an 1/8th of a mile visibility with the sun setting, in an area your completely unfamiliar with, will not ever be a fun event. Rave Made it back to safety, albeit with some tightly clenched butt cheeks. Waited out the weather, and then were able to get my crew and aircraft back to home station to sleep in our own bunks. I work with some great individuals.
Rave - contract all kinds of wrapped up, pending inspections. Rant - inspector isn't great about receiving or returning phone calls. Not awesome.