Raining here in Buffalo NY too! Torrentially, I might add.

That rain better let up when I'm in the UK July 21 - 27!

TY!

I wasn't expecting such a big one....




Thx!

Any help is very welcome! LA is still looking big and scary to me right now



Sorry, but the forecast is not looking good. The rain has one plus, the sun was making me forget how miserable the rest of the year is. I've had a good reminding over the last week.

Robin is connected! I am not so much (in your field) but I can try...

Did you find an apt yet?

Rain? What's that?! We had some clouds this morning - it wasn't properly sunny til near 10am!!! AND at 9.30 it was only 98f. Had to stop myself from pulling out my winter clothes

Have had an interesting evening. It is Jeremy's first closing shift since I moved and pretty much everything has gone wrong. Things started out nice and chilled playing on the PS3. I come into the living room (if you can call a room filled with clothes, boxes and cases that) to go online and the internet won't work. I try the wireless and wired connections - nothing. Owel - Jeremy can sort it when he gets a chance. I lie down on the floor (tiles - mmm) to cool off and chat to my cat (as you do) and the phone goes. Expecting it to be Jeremy I pick up right away and it is Time Warner. Apparently we have a problem with our phone (we have vonage but got the phone package through TW as well as it didn't cost any extra). The guys can't find the apartment (it's the only one with no number) so can I go out to meet them. Sure. Did I mention that I had already got undressed and was wearing a rather flattering charity shop cotton kaftan, boxers and nothing else? Yeah. So I get dressed too.

I head out to meet them, bring them back to the house and make small talk while they fiddle around with whatever. They were nice enough, "fixed" the phone and manage to get the net back for me. Great. I check the phone when they are gone (they hooked it back to vonage for me) and notice it has an error message. After unplugging and plugging a variety of wires, I get the phone back so Jeremy can call later. The internet had stopped working again. Grr. But nevermind - I was going to just heat up my leftover Thai from the restaurant (Panang - yummy )and chillout with a glass of wine and some crap tv.

In the bedroom I put the tv on. I haven't ever turned the tv on myself but how hard can it be - it's just a tv, right? The power was on, fine. Now I just needed to find the cable channel. I use the up and down channel buttons on the tv. Nothing. Ok - so let's use the controller. I look down at the trillion buttons and try to decide which one to press first.

Now, I'm not a stupid person and figure there must be some kind of logic as to which button makes the tv come on. I start with the power button. Nope. Maybe the cable button? Tv button? Channel buttons? Nothing - absolutely nothing. I press the setup button and a variety of other tenuously logical choices. Still nothing. I try the help button. It doesn't help. In fact it did - you guessed it - nothing.

I start getting p*ssed (ok - you got me, I was getting that way long before I even pressed the so-called "help" button). I try to call Jeremy. No answer. Ok I was calling his cell and he was at work but still - he normally picks up. I leave a teary message explaining that I can't get anything to work and that I am just going to get an early night because I can't do anything I want to, rant rant rant. I head back into the bedroom and press some more controller buttons to no avail.

Jeremy calls as I am looking through the Yellow Pages to try and find his work phone number (you think I could find it?!) and I burst into tears. He patiently talks me through the internet, asking me what I have done, how I have done it etc. etc. I explain that it is telling me I have a connection but no browser windows will work. I told him that I had tried linux and windows, internet explorer and firefox. I'd tried rebooting, re-wiring, resetting and all manner of other re-s but nothing would work. Eventually he got me connected through the hard wire.

Next stop - tv. He asks me to dc the phone and plug it into the bedroom socket then call him back at work (he gave me the number which is now on the front of the Yellow Pages) so he could talk me through the tv bit. He said if there were any problems, to connect the phone back up to vonage and he would call back. I hook up the phone in the bedroom. You guessed it (or did you?) - it didn't work. So I hook the phone back up to vonage and call him back at work. In tears, obviously, as that seemed like the most sensible and adult thing to do. He makes me get the controller and talks me through what he wants me to try. I follow his instructions. Nothing - the tv still didn't work. Something for him to sort out.

But that's ok! I have the internet. Since we moved the sofa in, the path of the aircon is blocked which makes the living room really hot. But that's ok, he tells me, just dc the ethernet cable and connect to the wireless network - then I can go relax in the bedroom where it is nice and cool. I chill out a bit and hang up.

I dc the ethernet cable so I can relocate to the bedroom. The wireless network says that it is connected yet when I try and open any web pages... Yup - nothing worked. I hold back from screaming (opting for more tears instead) and call Jeremy back at work. At this point I am upset,not only because nothing is working, but because I am disturbing Jeremy at work when he needs to keep on top of things there. He remains calm and patient with me (which in a way made me feel worse), had me check the connection in linux and windows before we established that the wireless connection is buggered and he needs to sort it out.

So I hook all the wires back up and prepare to sit in the sweltering living room, hoping that the setting sun will bring a little bit of cool air with it. I finish my tantrum and decide I don't feel hungry so I stick the Thai in the freezer and figure I will have something snacky instead. We bought some breaded mozzarella sticks yesterday and I figure they will do just the job washed down with a (large) glass of red wine. I open the oven, discover we have a pan (w00t! I wasn't expecting that!) and carefully arrange the sticks on it. I turn the dial for the oven to 350.

I listen and can't hear anything. I turn the dial back off again. Turn it back to 350. Still nothing. So maybe it is like the stove and it has to be cranked to max, left for a couple seconds to ignite or whatever it does, then be adjusted to the correct temperature. I try it. Nothing. I leave it for a bit to see if it heats up. I open the door of the oven. Short of a now obvious smell of gas, nothing has changed.

So I have another hissy fit before deciding that sod it, even though there are no microwave instructions on the packet, anything can be microwaved. I stick the stuff on a paper plate (the plastic ones aren't microwaveable and the other stuff hasn't turned up yet) and nuke them for 2 minutes.

Ands you know what?

It worked.

Ok - so there wasn't a choir of angels singing hallelujah, no golden light appeared from the sky. In fact the cheese oozed out, sticking to the paper plate so I had to eat half of the plate as well. But the wine helped to wash that all down.

And that is the story of my evening. Now I am going to stop ranting and drink the rest of my wine. Bedtime starts when the bottle is empty. It's just been that sort of day.

Awwww, Jeraly. I can TOTALLY relate to the type of evening you had. I've had them myself. Actually, I'm sure everyone has. Makes for a good story, though.

g'morning everyone.
jaraly, you don't by any chance have zonealarm as a firewall do you? just yesterday zonealarm reported a problem with a microsoft hotfix that kills off your internet if you have zonealarm set at the highest security setting for browsing. if you do have zonealarm, pm me for how to fix it.

Awwwwww Aly, I hope you have a better day today. <big hug>

I've been job hunting for the last two weeks but don't appear to be getting anywhere! I've applied for a few but heard nothing back. I do enjoy having lots of time to myself but I really need to start earning money.

Another bit of news from me... Scott and I have decided to move States. We currently live in Massachusetts which neither of us are too happy with. The winters are brutal and it's very expensive. We're not sure where we want to go yet but we're narrowing it down.

Here's a little help for you:
Alabama (AL), Alaska (AK), Arizona (AZ), Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Connecticut (CT), Delaware (DE), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Hawaii (HI), Idaho (ID), Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Iowa (IA), Kansas (KS), Kentucky (KY), Louisiana (LA), Maine (ME), Maryland (MD), Massachusetts (MA), Michigan(MI), Minnesota (MN), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Montana (MT), Nebraska (NE), Nevada (NV), New Hampshire (NH), New Jersey (NJ), New Mexico (NM), New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota (ND), Ohio (OH), Oklahoma (OK), Oregon (OR), Pennsylvania (PA), Rhode Island (RI), South Carolina (SC), South Dakota (SD), Tennessee (TN), Texas (TX), Utah (UT), Vermont (VT), Virginia (VA) , Washington (WA), West Virginia (WV), Wisconsin (WI), Wyoming (WY)

Krikit, is there no end to your helpfulness? You ALWAYS have the obvious answers!

I do what I can with what I've been given.

And, hey! It's raincheck time, Julez! I'll be driving through your area in September. Wine time?

Yes!!! I will be fully ensconced in the new manse by then. Perhaps we can enjoy some wine on the veranda! (I make it sound so grand! ) Or we could meet up at Wegman's and share a bottle of fine cooking wine.

Regardless, we shall have a good time!

How would we have been able to make a decision without your help Krikit?

I would cross off North Dakota, Kansas (besides the Democratic Republic of Lawrence), and Wyoming. That's just my opinion of course

Here's to a better day today - I don't think it was a firewall thing Charles - I think it was a Time Warner/Jeremy/New Wireless Router thing. It's sorted out now though - I now have a wifi laptop (well - Jeremy's - still working on my PC ) AND I know how to work the TV now. It's insane - I can troubleshoot most puter problems but give me a tv and I am clueless!!!

Today should be better although I need to clear out some more junk and try and get the living room sorted again so we can fill it with more crap from storage next week!! We are going round a friend's house for a barbeque later when Jeremy finishes work so that should be really good - I haven't seen them properly in ages and they are really lovely people AND I can bbq corn - I can never seem to find it in the UK and here it is soooo cheap and everywhere!! Yippee!!

Oh - and I attempted to plant the seeds and cuttings and bulbs and things we picked up in Hawaii - now the thing is Jeremy has just left them in their packets for months so they kinda dried out... I'm not holding out too much hope but I know we can get hibiscus in Walmart for $3.50 if that one doesn't grow

Well, if the cold is the problem in MA then we can safely eliminate MI, ME, NH, VT, OH, NY, NJ, IN, IL, WI, SD, MO, MT, KY, IO and NE as well!

Thank you.

We're looking at NC at the moment (Charlotte area) but we need to do a lot more research yet.

Don't forget MN & ND! *brrrrrrrrr*

Well if you like the occasional cold spell I can sincerely say that SoCal is not for you Northern Cali is nice though...

I don't know much about Charlotte, but NC is really nice and cheap cost of living. Well, much cheaper than MA anyway. My brother moved to Spartanburg, SC and is really enjoying it.

Ack - well that is my sorting done for the day at 10.30am... huge bug just jumped out at me from one of the boxes so I screamed, climbed onto the back of the sofa and freaked. The cat walked calmly in at my shriek so I grabbed the broom and tried to poke around to see if I could make the bug move so she could catch it but I couldn't find where it had gone. So thank goodness for wifi - I am now on the bed in the bedroom where evil bugs can't get me after calling Jeremy at work in tears.

I used to be fine with bugs back home but here... *shudders* He kindly said that we can go through the boxes together. Of course when the bug jumps out I will still scream but at least he can rescue me and get the dang thing outside... that is if we find it - if we don't then I don't know what I will do...

NC is currently at the top of the list. Las Vegas and Austin, TX are being considered too.

second last day at work

Sorry to hear about your bug problems Aly. You gotta just slug your wine and stamp on it though. There's more where that one came from

Is tonight the night for the LA meet up? I want the drunken posting we were promised before. I know your blackberrys work

English Muffin, it probably doesn't help, but of the 15 states I've travelled through, Oregon and Washington state were probably my favourites for scenery and cost of living combo

Thanks for the suggestion Poiteen, I shall add them to list for researching.
Do these States get very cold in winter?

Yeah - I just don't do stamping on bugs though - I am too soft Besides - I was only wearing socks so that could be messy... there must be some kinda giant bug deterrent or something... they just creep me out - maybe I'll get used to them in time - we've had three of the buggers since I got here - I am trying to figure out where they get in... Hrmph

The Oregon scenery especially in the Columbia River Gorge, the mountains and along the coast are one of this countries best kept secrets.

3.5 million people living in a State the size of England and they moan it is getting crowded.

The climate in this part of Oregon is very much like England. Bit hotter in summer and a bit colder in winter. Rains from October'ish to April/May and then normal get dry summers. That is in the Willamette Valley. If you go to eastern Oregon then it is much colder in winter and much hotter in summer.

When it does rain it more often then not isn't a heavy rain.

I love Oregon - beautiful scenery, relatively low cost of living, temperate weather and very livable cities.

Thanks for the info.

and hippies!

I was waiting for that! I need to move there to be among my people.

you are so *NOT* a hippie!

Yes -- I'll charge up the blackberry and take some piccies too!

Hey...lay off the NE Well, basically I should say just live in Omaha...not much else to the rest of the state!

Just think you could start an organic farm and actually have a viable Green Party cadidate to vote for in local elections!

Part of me wishes I was a hippy...

I'll bring the wine.

Well, it is cold. Have you seen the South Park where they go to Nebraska to visit Cartman's grandmother for Thanksgiving?

WOOOOO HOOOOOO! I am going to be a Valley Girl! We got the house in Burbank. I am beyond happy to be settling down and outta the Hollywood Econo Lodge. Sign the papers and get the keys tomorrow morning, then run around doing all the move in stuffs.

Like, totally awesome!

i suppose, as usual it's up to me to do the drunken posting!!

Well I have just been taken out by my lovely boss, of only 6 weeks for dim sum and cocktails. And we went to the pub after. I'm a lightweight, so I've drank 2 pints of squash since I've been home, and I'm working on my third.

When I got my new bosses a while ago, I used the change in managment as a good time to hand in my notice, but these guys have been so lovely, they've made me feel nice about being in London again. It's a good thing the weather's been crap, or I might actually stay!!

Hope you guys in LA are having a good night out, and will post shortly. English muffin - I'm glad that others are in agreement that the Northwest is a seriously beautiful place to be. I am very jealous of you Lansbury, in your nice clean well kept city. I must qualify my reccomendation by saying that I've never been in SC or Charlotte, so I can't compare. What I have done, and so has Maven, is go on a road trip. If you are thinking about moving, it's something I can't reccomend highly enough. It gets you to places you have never intended to go, and they are often the places that really stay with you.





OMG!!! What happened to our Los Feliz enclave?? was it on craigslist, is there a link? Have you seen the film encino man?

Oh no!!! Maven - please don't get a Valley Girl accent!!


I must say I agree - I have only been on little road trips but have seen some really amazing places I never expected to see all within one State, let alone a variety

I'll be sure to have a selection of fine cheeses, crackers and some Branston Pickle, if you go for that sort of thing.

I' looking forward to September now, and not only cos it means the kids go back to school!

Hope those wild women in LA have a great time tonight! I hope we're going to be subjected to some drunken posting!!

Hahaha - I need to get some kinda mobile internet device thing when we get some money - am sure I will get drunk tonight but will not be able to post! And It's not in LA - Banning is nice but not quite so "glam"

what like this

Ohhh I can't get the volume to work on stupid laptop!! Ahhhh!!!

The best thing about that video is the Solid Gold dancers are in their slutty 80s gear while Moon is dressed for the Easter parade.

Fer sure!

At the bar. Where are dev and robin?

Squash is vegetables


They are right behind you