VisaJourneyLady

As soon as I posted the last message, I immediately felt that I should have asked you not to tell Bruce, because I felt he might be terribly dissappointed in me, and by bad car maintenance. But that is very very good to know. And now I'm glad I did post it. So it's ok to put water in the engine coolant place?

Description: Car appears to be leaking coolant.

I noticed this morning drivving to work that the car was running really hot, so i put on the heat, cos I've heard that helps with directing heat away from the engine... the air was cold. On the way home from work I drove on the street roads, in case anything happened, and noticed the clicking on the accelerator this time. I let the engine cool down, and have just been down to check the oil and the coolant. Oil was fine, however there was a leak or orangey red liquid running from beneath the car. Looked in the coolant, and it was totally empty, and looks rusty. Oh lord, not good. I'm getting a lift to work tomorrow and C's going to bring it to have the coolant replaced and checked out. Hope this doesn't cost a ton..... I do not have it.

Maybe you get that reaction to walking because it's so hot there? I know that people in Miami think it's crazy to walk places. When I was there last, I wanted to walk somewhere that didn't seem too far away, but by the time we got there and back, the heat had really sapped me, and I was so tired for the rest of the day. I guess this is why they always have the a/c blasting and they drive everywhere. I think in places with milder climates, it's more acceptable to walk places.

almost everyone I work with is getting sick, grrr. I do not want a cold, here in the mildest winter I have ever experienced. No, no, no. (but I think one's coming on)

Also, who knows about cars around here? My car is making funny noises and it sounds like something is moving around under the bonnet, and I can feel it on the brake pedal. I only feel it when I'm stopped at a red light, it might be doing it the rest of the time, I just don't notice cos it's louder when I'm moving and there's other vibrations going on. Any suggestions?

Ginger that is a great picture of you! You look like your having a fun time

you know what's especially weird, when most of the time you are the one going 'this is easier / better / faster / more sensible back home' and then you go home for a visit, or have guests from home, and find yourself defending or at least explaining some of the weird stuff here. You suddenly realise you perhaps agree that it's better at home but at least maybe understand how it got to be the way that it is. Anyone else found this yet?

I watched the PB when I was a kid and just loved it to bits, but over time began to think I dreamed it or something because few people I knew had seen it too. Then in Uni in a rented flat, I found the DVD of the Princess Bride down the back of the couch! Yes, the DVD! So now I own a copy! I've watched it tons of times since, and I was so glad to see that it really holds up. So much that one loves in childhood really loses it's magic when revisited later, but not for this. C thinks it's funny but dosen't really understand the devotion people have for it. Maybe watching it first when you're a kid does change your perception, Inconceivable!

p.s. I think Kevin still gets the points for 'As you wish', because the humour is in the repetition, no?

This is the first year I'm intending to do a full christmas card list since I'm away, and I've just now got a reasonable number of friends from the professional sphere that I'd like to keep up contact with. What I'm planning is just a Merry christmas with hopefully a personal line or two. Nothing too long, but enough to be personal.

That Blahblahblahevich guy takes the cake, I love how he was practically daring the feds to wire tap him the day before the story breaks! Classic. Although it should be noted that even before the current scandal, the good people of Illinois had him at a 13% approval rating.

on a similar vein we need to start a new UK OT thread in 100 or so posts.

well if this is the week that the cert should come from the Netherlands, then you should probably not expect your next corresspondance from the embassy till after the christmas period. From watching the timelines like a hawk last year, activity went down significantly during this time, fewer people getting packets, fewer interviews. Must be people taking time off around the holidays or something.

Sometimes just knowing how long it's likely to take, makes it easier to have the patience required. You can look up the timelines of other people going through the process on this website which I found very helpful at one time. Also if you go to the UK interview thread, you can see those who have interviews coming up, and then look at their signatures (if they have their timeline info there) or their timelines. That works as an easy way to guage how long it's taking to get packet 4, and have the interview scheduled.

Oh Ginger! I'm so sorry things are going like that for you. It's such a sad thing when people have these kind of sudden hardships thrust upon them, and it must be difficult to see it happen, but you can't feel guilty, you had nothing to do with it. Probably the people that were let go even had little to do with their fate. The current economy is forcing businesses everywhere to let go of perfectly good staff. We can only hope that when the recession finally lifts, the businesses left will be leaner and work better, and we can all have another boom off the back of it.

Maven - I have nothing to say but hear! hear! I read some of the thread when you posted about it first, and just couldn't bring myself to post because there were people in there saying exactly what I would have said, and there were some hard heads in there that just wouldn't read it or take any heed. What's the point? I guess in situations like that you can only PM the person, give your own advice, and invite them over to the UK forum where they would be given the correct advice. It's funny that RJ is such a strong opponent of the 'cliquey' regional sub-forums, because I think that her knowledge of the UK process was so good becuase we do have a stong community here. It would be harder to filter out the specific info about the UK if we didn't have this subforum. sigh.

Hey!! Robin - you have the same settings!! I can't add you even though I can see your name!

OK - I need present ideas, for my dad. I totally did not stick to the plan and have all the presents ready for sending yesterday. I'm still down my dad, and i want something extra for my mum and sister. My dad does a lot of driving, maybe something to do with that...

wow, Robin, you were correct, I didn't do it but somehow my profile was on super stealth mode. you couldn't even search for me!

It's fixed now, i should be available for friending!

oh and Robin, if you found Maven, you found me

Aly, maybe you should look into producing Clay Aiken pins!

Wow...what did your gig from last month tell you as to why they haven't paid you yet?

I think if my job ends up being dust in the wind next week I might become an artist. Last night I told Nicky about some of the ideas I had. I love art, but the way I am I'm so meticulous that I frustrate myself.

Then again, is there ever such thing as a content artist?

I overheard a conversation in a dublin cafe once, between two (now) sucessful artists (well, one was an actor, and the other works in the arts) chatting about when they started out as artists in the 80's. They were joking that everyone was unemployed anyway (Ireland was ####### in the 80's, you either left or were unemployed) so they just called themselves artists becuase if you had to be an out of work something, you might as well be an out of work artist as an out of work plumber. And that scene of people who just hung around and tried to create stuff in the bad days, were the very people that suddenly became the arts establishment when money arrived in the 90's. Funny how the world works.

Yay! Robin found me on facebook! I looked for you too, Robin, but I couldn't find you at all. But now all is well and you can expect a Clay Aiken Pin Extravaganza! pin from me in the very near future. I'm going looking for more VJ peeps now... Laura, I *think* I found you yesterday...

Jealous you're in Tokyo -- much better and funner than Delaware next Wednesday.

Wow, tokyo, maybe someday. Hope you're getting to get out and about and it's not all business!

Wow - was that USPS? Or some other like fedex? That's quite an addition to the present budget.

alot of companies will require you to use a book box for dense things like records etc. cos they will have a max weight of the boxes, regardless of size so the handlers don't break their backs moving them. That's why they charge the same for a book box as a tea-chest

well sure rubbing elbow... not really, there were around after but just for a photo op, and then off again. But it sure was fun.

I cannot hear the words Law and Order without also hearing the dun dun in my head, you know the bit of music between the scenes. lol

My co-worker won some tickets on NPR to a benefit play last night at UCLA, and invited me to come, it was a rehearsed reading of a comedy with ....

Tom Hanks

Rita Wilson (his wife)

Annette Benning

William Shatner

Peter Krause

Mila Kunis

Alicia Silverstone

James Cromwell

and Martin Short

It was the funnest most Hollywood thing I've ever done, and it was hilarious. Afterwards there was Coppola's champagne and little deserts, I was in heaven.

i don't either, i'm trying to get stuff together this week and send it at the weekend at the latest

and congrats to Hillary!

Morning everybody.

oh man, bad morning of crazy. I hate it when you get in and everything is a mess and a panic for the whole morning. I'm just eating now, and at my desk. Urrrggghhh.

Well today is sunday, and I worked yesterday, and the day before. And I'm starting at 8.30 tomorrow. Oh well, yesterday was overtime, so the money will be good. Friday doesn't count as a holiday, even though my co-worker had the day off, and is getting paid for it. Doesn't sound fair at all to me.

Good luck tomorrow Gillian. It's nice you get a training period, so you can ease in to the job, I've found that it's a nice way to get introduced around the company, since you're often being trained by someone you won't directly work with later, or in small groups, so you know extra people around the place.

I'd be up for a new years party. Anyone else in LA??

Sorry Marta, I read often, but don't post very often. I'm glad to hear that Kai is getting bigger and stronger and that he'll be home soon. I hope it will help you rest up when he gets home, and you won't have to be going in and out to the hospital all the time.

StP, I think that facebook started off a little poorly designed. After all, any website or software should really be designed to fit you, and not the other way around. I think part of the problem was that they let 3rd parties design all kinds of nonsense for it, that were confusing and cluttered the thing up. They redesigned recently and though it's still not fully intuitive, I think it's improved.