~Nini~

I heard that QuestHelper is really good at telling you what quests are left in the zone to complete, though I've never used it myself. My Lorekeeper experience was done mostly through being completionist during leveling, and a lot of google searching

About clothes... If you go to better stores, you'll find better quality clothes. You'll find jeans that fit properly and all of that stuff. There are tons of stores that sell the proper fitting jeans.... you just may have to spend a little more.

Banana Republic for example is a great place if you're looking for slimmer fits. They're a little pricey but not insane. It all depends on the store.

Yea, that's the flip side of what I do for clothes. The BR outlet store (all outlet stores, really) is amazing if you're willing to fight the crowds and shop out of season. I also comb things at Urban Outfitters and American Eagle since they actually have my size there

I love Whole Foods too, and we're really lucky to have one about ten minutes down the road. My only regret is that Whole Foods bears the brunt of all the yuppie, snob, elitist, omg you eat organic?! jokes because of its (admittedly marked up) prices. It's annoying trying to explain to my coworkers why I willingly shop at WF - they think I just like to drop tons of money on food, I just like it because their service and quality of food is what I'm more used to from back home.

The other place we like to shop at is Wegmans (also nearby!), but we still run mostly around their organic section. Even their house bakery uses HFCS in it, which is frightening... I mean, don't in-house bakeries have more control over that sort of thing?

As to the clothes issue... I'm a tiny, tiny person who has always had difficulty in finding clothes, no matter where I am, and I'm resigned to poking through kids' sections for non-glittery work clothes here, so I completely feel your pain

I've become an inveterate label reader in the grocery stores - if it has HFCS in it, I don't buy it. So many things here do taste sweeter and fatter - it's as if the food's natural flavour has to be 'enhanced' with sweet and fat additives instead of enhanced with herbs and spices. It's no wonder so many people in the US have a weight problem. I gained 15 pounds after I moved up here. I've now lost it again but it was by eliminating everything made with HFCS. I couldn't believe it when I found a brand of milk with HFCS! Geeze!

Me toooooo... we should have prizes for speed-reading in the grocery aisles. Though HFCS in milk is new to me O.o

It's harder than I thought it would be, for sure. I'm still struggling with it even three years after living in Philly - the difficulty of finding the things I want, the loneliness in having few friends (and even then, those who truly understand what things were like back home are very rare), and the marked differences between here and there. I'm still not happy to live here, but I've become used to it, found things in Philly that I have learned to enjoy and be happy with. It's never going to be the same as back home, but that's what makes home so much more wonderful when I go back to visit!

My husband has become really understanding about my feeling of "being trapped" and learning not to take it personally, because I've told him that ultimately it was my decision to come to the US. He knows he is really, really lucky that he was the one who got to "stay" in his hometown, and has often spoken about living somewhere else so he can have that experience. We're talking about moving to Seattle someday since that would be closer to my city, plus we'd love the weather so much more!

LoL @ the vent mentions. On a game that Mel and I actually met on before we started playing wow, the first time talked to her on vent when we were just friends, I made fun of her accent. I actually love vent, especially in PUG's. Yes, I can be kind of loud and abnoxious in between pulls sometimes, mostly if i've had a couple (too many) drinks. But it's all in good fun. For those of you who don't talk much in vent, do you consider yourselves introverted or extroverted in real life?

I'm pretty introverted IRL, and it goes the same in vent. I'm pretty comfortable with my guild, but when it comes to PUGs, no way. Plus, there's that whole "omg a girl?!" aspect which I'm so tired of getting when I do say something.

I tried to read through the entire thread to see if folks were on my server, but my eyes kept crossing... oy, I need sleep.

Anywho!

Lethon - Horde - Llysara (priest), Mhairi (paladin), Alaeine (mage)

Cenarion Circle - Avaryne (Horde priest), Mhairi (Alliance pally)

Aaaaaand Brewfest is back! Who's got their mount?

I love this thread!

My coworker M is frighteningly dumb... as in, a couple of years ago, she was violently sick all over the office one lunch break, and had us piece together the story that she'd eaten an entire cheesecake the night before, NOT knowing that it was dairy, knowing that she was extremely lactose-intolerant. I'm not quite sure how she managed to get a master's degree in rehab counseling, because she's always wandering into my office and asking me to babysit her through everything.

Last month, she'd asked me to help her serial-tag some barbering equipment she was purchasing for a client, and the mistake I made was to give her the tags and wander off, thinking that she knew what she was doing. When I came back to help her with another issue, I saw that instead of writing the corresponding serial numbers on the tracking form, she'd stuck the tags RIGHT ON THE FORM. Then she started cussing me out when I pointed it out to her, blaming me for telling her to do that. I'm not known to lose my temper, so you can imagine how silent the office went when I started shouting back at her, "How the hell did you think you were going to tag your equipment if the tags were on the form?!"

Holy carp. Where have you been?

Mentally, out to lunch. I'm doing night school to finish off my degree, plus I was promoted about six months ago, THEN six weeks later my partner was promoted to a different agency and left me to run the department by my tiny lonesome. It's been a grueling half-year.

So, what've I missed?

*wave*

'Lo, everyone!

push it in and then it clicks and pops out

I had the same issue with my laptop... ended up using tweezers to yank it out when it wouldn't "spring" out, but that was my own hare-brained idea and probably wasn't the smartest

Woohoo! Welcome to Philadelphia! I'm just about 30 minutes west of the city, but I mass transit in by SEPTA. Yay! I also need to try out Jim's.

Oh, I hope it goes smoothly!

This was a domestic flight, but I just took my green card (with married name) and my passport (with maiden name) along with my marriage certificate and they were ok about it. My father-in-law purchased our tickets and ended up misspelling my name, and the airline and TSA didn't blink at the discrepancy either.

My husband works at UPS, so he's basically banned from taking time off around this time of year. Maybe in a couple of years, if things change, we'll be able to head back to Vancouver and the (lack of) snow. My family traditionally does an informal get-together on Christmas Eve; we have a Secret Santa to ease the stress of buying gifts for everyone, and we eat potluck turkey dinner and drink tons of wine and whiskey and play charades. Christmas Day is recovery

I admit, there are a few songs from "those girls" that make me rock out every once in awhile.

I was also surprised about the cheques here. A friend of ours pays at target and Kroger and such with them. The first time I saw it I was very confused! Same thing with paying bills by cheque. I found that very odd, yet Im still trying to convince him to send all the papers back that they send with the bill IN with his payment. Way too much garbage being mailed to us!! Take it back!

Same here! The concept of paying by cheque at a store boggles my mind, but it's a common thing in these parts. My husband still pays his bills by cheque, through the mail. I chortled when I saw him with his chequebook, stuffing envelopes

I dunno, I guess I've just been spoiled with my Canadian bank back home and how accommodating everyone was back there that I feel nothing will live up to it. That, and I'm just very unfamiliar with how things operate here. I am a little intimidated to open a bank account, to be honest - the recent events with the economic crisis and the various banks going under or needing bailouts have left me pretty leery. TD Bank is probably the one that I'd go to, from what I've heard Canadian banks have been one of the steadiest in the crisis thus far and unfortunately there isn't an RBC near us.

We've been a little unimpressed with the international services at Commerce Bank, but I'm hoping from what you guys mentioned that the service will get a little better.

Yea, I share the same thoughts with you Amanda - as far as I'm concerned, I've worked my first two weeks and I should get paid! And no, I didn't come into the middle of a pay period, they were actually specific about starting me out at the beginning of one.

My husband's grandmother told me that holding the first paycheque is a common thing to do in the States, but for the life of me I don't really know why.

Oh, that sucks *crosses fingers*

I've never heard of this, but my work is holding my first paycheck, which means I'm not getting paid for another three weeks... right in time for Hanukkah/Christmas. It's a little frustrating since I would like to do my holiday shopping before the last-minute shoppers stampede the stores

I have to preclude this by saying that my husband's family is Jewish, so we do celebrate Hanukkah; however, us wives celebrate Christmas as well, so my answers might seem a little off. I also live with my in-laws at the moment, so we don't get to put a tree up until we move out.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

I used to do wrapping paper (and loved doing it), until a handful of years ago when my own cousins somehow wrangled me into wrapping my own presents. I don't know what it was about that, but it really just wrecked it for me after that. Nowadays, we do without since the wastefulness of wrapping paper bothers us; we try to put it in a (hopefully reusable) gift bag.

2. Real tree or Artificial?

Real! If I could, I'd buy one of those potted rosemary trees they sell every year at Whole Foods and keep it year-round at work.

3. When do you put up the tree?

I'd aim for a month before Christmas.

4. When do you take the tree down?

A little before New Year's would be the best time, I think.

5. Do you like eggnog?

Immensely. I would like to try making my own, but Starbucks makes a damn good eggnog latte in the meantime.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

Lego.

7. Hardest person to buy for?

My husband. It should be stupidly easy to do, but it's really not.

8. Easiest person to buy for?

Me!

9. Do you have a nativity scene?

Naw.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Post. I'm not sure if we're giving cards this year, as most of our recipients have already requested not to receive them.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

A makeup set in very uncomplimentary shades; it was also an obvious re-gift.

12. Favorite Christmas movie?

Bad Santa.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

I start making hints two months in advance; generally I take those ideas and buy things last-minute, since I always convince myself that I have "just enough time".

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Not that I can remember, but it's incredibly likely that I have and I'm just in denial.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

I said eggnog, right? Second-favourite would have to be a tie between turkey and shortbread.

16. Lights on the tree?

Yes.

17. Favorite Christmas songs:

"What Child is This" or "Carol of the Bells". I also like "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

Stay at home, since my husband's job prevents him from taking time off work during the holidays. I don't mind so much, since holiday traveling can be stressful and expensive.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?

Rudolph counts, right?

20. What is a non-traditional tradition you do for the holidays?

My sister-in-law celebrates Cheesemas, which is a cheese-and-wine party at her house at the end of December; it's meant to be the lighthearted, drunken party where we invite everyone we want and let loose in ways we couldn't at family dinners.

21. Angel on the tree top or a star?

Star.

22. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

If Hanukkah is before Christmas Day, then we cheat.

23. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

People stressing out over the holidays, when it's about being together. I'd include spoiled teenagers in this, but they bug me all the time.

24. Favorite ornament theme or color?

Musical instruments.

25. Favorite food for Christmas dinner?

A tie between mashed potatoes or roasted brussel sprouts. Mmmmm.

26. What do you want for Christmas this year?

An iPhone, followed by a large dose of sleep.

Healthy eating is not impossible in the US - my husband and I are adamant about eating healthy, even if it means spending that little bit more to ensure that the food we eat isn't full of chemicals or processed to an inch of its poor life. We shop at the nearby farmer's market, buy local produce, etc. Another suggestion is a CSA farm share - my sister-in-law's family and us decided to split the cost of a share this year and we were buried every week with tons of produce. Even if you don't decide to go that route, I do think it's just as cost-efficient - and more healthy! - if you buy fresh produce. Plus, I find such joy in preparing food that hasn't already been prepared for you already

Good morning! I come bearing bad news - skip if you don't want to be sad.

This weekend started off on a bad note - our cat Stella had to be taken to the vet ER yesterday after we found her unconscious underneath the basement stairs. She's a diabetic, and the vet told us that her blood sugar had dropped to nothing, which precipitated a coma and several seizures.

Unfortunately the decision was made a few hours later to put her down. It happened so quickly, I'm still trying to process it all.

Yea, TD announced last year that they'd taken over Commerce Bank, but the TD signs just started popping up this month. I'm pretty thrilled about it since it looks like they're one of the more stable banks out there atm. If only they'd finish the merger - right now they're advertising completely different account types on their Commerce and TD Banknorth sites

You Philly/NJ folk noticing the absolutely freezing weather nowadays? Apparently we're expecting snow any day now. Walking to work has been interesting to say the least, I've been burying my face in my scarf and running as fast as the wind has been blowing lately.

Great news!

Ooooh, shiny telly.