ginger1981

I'm not totally surprised. As much as people complain about rednecks and racists in Louisiana, it's not as backwards as many would like to think. But it is very Republican...so that part surprises me.

I am not totally familiar with the political landscape of Louisiana, but isn't the southern Louisiana more likely to lean democratic while the northern part goes more GOP?

I had a friend who got tix...but she said she might have to work that night now.

I would definitely like to go as if he won it would be a huge historical event, but I imagine trying to get home after that event would be a b*tch.

I think we're playing it by ear...we were invited to a BBC election broadcast thingy that night, with Richard Bacon doing coverage for Radio 5. If that event gets dull we might head towards Grant Park.

I've never been there myself, but I've heard that Mesa Verde National Park is really amazing too...it's not far from Durango. Basically, hundreds of years ago (as in before Europeans started settling over here) Natives built a city...literally into a cliff. It's been abandoned for a few hundred years but you can go there and walk around in the abandoned city.

I've been to Mesa Verde! The Pueblo cliff dwellings are very cool:

The tour was excellent.

How interesting! Though I admit I imagined them being much larger. With the people in the pictures I finally have an idea of scale.

Remember...it was also the only state Goldwater carried

Seriously - we would - I said I wanted to really but Jeremy can only take five days off of work and as we are driving there and back it's a bit of a jaunt... neither of us have been to Colorado but it is somewhere we are both considering moving to so we wanted to see it firsthand!! It's going to be a lot of driving though:

* Leave Saturday (15th) in time to drop kitties off at 4.30pm and make our way to Vegas.

* Leave Vegas early and head to Grand Junction

* Head from Grand Junction to Colorado Springs via Denver

* Go from Colorado Springs back west to Montrose then south to Durango (might have the directions off as I am trying to remember!)

* Leave Durango and head to Flagstaff via Albuquerque

* Drive from Flagstaff to PS hopefully in time to pick the kitties up!!

So it is going to be... interesting! I said to Jeremy it would be nice for just an extra night so if we found somewhere we really liked then we could explore a bit more but I think he just wants to drive as much as he can and make up the time that way

BUT!!! I'll be able to stop off in a few hotels and have a bath EVERY night!! I also need new clothes as none of my old ones fit me anymore There is no way I am going to Colorado in November wearing a sundress

Wow that is a lot of driving! I would reccomend if did only one thing, do the Pike's Peak Cog Railway in Colorado Springs. It is a bit expensive, but of all the things I've done out in CO I think this attraction is well worth the price of admission. You take this alpine train up to the top of Pike's Peak and it goes through some of the most gorgeous scenery I've ever encountered. At the top there is a cafe/giftshop that sells hot cocoa and donuts and there is snow up there even in August. It's beautiful, leisurely, and very romantic

Also the drive from Grand Junction to Denver is one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on.

I've never been there myself, but I've heard that Mesa Verde National Park is really amazing too...it's not far from Durango. Basically, hundreds of years ago (as in before Europeans started settling over here) Natives built a city...literally into a cliff. It's been abandoned for a few hundred years but you can go there and walk around in the abandoned city.

I know that you have a very limited amount of time, but honestly if you get a chance in the future to go back there (if you don't end up moving there) take about 10 days to really savor the area. And give me advance notice and I might join you too. I might have to drag you and Jeremy along on a white water rafting trip!

Wow - things are looking up on the job front!! Hopefully soon I will have my EAD then the complaints will start alllll over again

Am cleaning a day early so I can put up Hallowe'en decs Carved our pumpkins last night - well I did, Jeremy picked a really fiddly design that he has to finish when he gets back from work today! Then tomorrow I just have to do the baking Going to roast pumpkin seeds today as well

Oh! And we're going on a road trip to Colorado in a couple of weeks' time - it's only for five nights so there is going to be some hard driving but we wanted to get the trip in before I got a job because it's unlikely I'll get any sensible amount of paid leave

Really? I'm jealous...I <3 Colorado. You should drive the extra 5 hours and go see Debz in GI.

I think we've gone over these to some extent and are actually dealing with some of it right now. I think it is certainly good to talk about it but you can't always predict how you or your partner will react when the situation actually does happen.

I like to have some back up ideas in mind to issues that will come up or have an idea of our expectations of each other, but you really can't know what will happen until you "get to that bridge" so to speak.

cross kamal and i off the list we won't be coming!

Awww...I'm sorry. Did you end up having to work?

oh Ginger I keep meaning to say, that the guy that made the Americana here in Glendale is thinking about running for mayor of LA, or at least that's what was on the front of the LA weekly last week. I personally find the Americana pretty inhospitable. I don't know, there's just something too... gleaming about it. Like I'm not supposed to be there, lol.

LOL....yes here at GGP we aren't particular fans of the Americana.

I keep hoping they will send me out to Cali for "work" but I doubt that that will happen in the current economic enviroment.

Congrats on the interview...Nicky had one on Tuesday at #######'s Sporting Goods (though I told him if he got the job that he couldn't tell people he worked for #######), today is Whole Foods, and he has one on Monday at Macy's.

I got a job interview on Monday for a kennel and animal care assistant at a vet hospital. Put in application 2 hrs ago and they just called and said come in monday 8am for a working interview, wear old clothes. They do on the job interview as they can't tell how you interact with animals just by talking to you.

Congrats! Does the vet work with livestock/equine medicine as well, or are they a pet-only place?

I swear if I didn't live in places where I couldn't have pets I'd be like Dr. Doolittle. I'd have everything except for birds, since I think they are evil and will peck out your eyeballs at their first chance. I would really like an iguana but Nicky is dead set against such things

Well, after nearly 3 hours in the dentist's chair, I have a temporary crown. Although the dentist was very gentle and I barely felt a thing, it was hardly my idea of a day well spent. And I have to go back in 2 weeks for the permanent crown. Grrrr!

Aww man that blows! Did you at least get a lollipop?

I hold a general grudge against British dentistry in regards to how Nicky has been treated up in Northumberland.

Would you like to share your experience?

I am now searching for a job. Well, I am having a hard time since I have never had a full time job in the US.

And, I do not speak English as my first language.

I am thinking about starting my career at a major department store like Macy's or Nordstrom.

Has anyone worked there before?

Or know anyone who works there?

Please share your experience here. It will be very helpful!

I would consider JC Penny or some other "middle-of-the-road" department store at the moment. The reason for this is they may have less stringent hiring requirements than more "upscale" stores, like Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom and especially Saks Fifth Avenue. The other benefit to working at JC Penny (or a store like it) is you probably wouldn't need quite as fancy of clothing to work there as you would in the other four. The clientele in those department stores generally have deep pockets, which is needed, since most items cost a ton.

Something else to consider is that most salespeople work on a commission basis, so the chances of you selling more items at JC Penny is higher than at Nordstrom or Saks. With all the bank closures or takeovers and the subsequent stock market decline, many people have lost a great deal of money. They'll probably be more willing to spend less at JC Penny than more at Nordstrom.

It's not necessarily true of the upscale stores (aside from Neiman Marcus or Saks). Most upscale places realize that they aren't hiring rich people and they usually offer pretty good discounts. I used to work at a more upscale retail store and with any item over $25 we got the item at cost...which in most cases mean the item was at least 50% off. They want their employees to be wearing their clothing...and knowing that most of their employees aren't wealthy they do help you out in that area.

Also, there is always the option of going to consignment stores and finding a few nice suits there that won't require you to spend lots of money.

Thankfully a high percentage of crazies are also stupid.

I believe the free trolleys are on a fall schedule now, only running on weekends from 10-6. I think the Navy Pier trolley is the only year-round, daily free trolley.

You are right....10-6.

CTA

According to the RTA trip planner, the other option is to take the #151 - Sheridan bus from Union Station (catch the bus on Canal Street) to Superior & Michigan.

SF, are you going to be joining us that night?

Sorry to say I can't make it. I have a small b-day gathering I'm organizing for that night....

but... I haven't picked the retaurant location yet. I could spy on y'all from the corner of the room... LOL

Be suspicious if you see any nuns... muahahahahaha

HAVE FUN EVERYONE!

I wish I could say yes right now... but it definitely looks like a negative from lab-land.

Oh and here I was thinking you and William Ayers were going to be spending the night together singing the Internationale and making Che Guevara t-shirts.

One of the blogs I follow had a comment that I think sums up the typical Republican understanding of Socialism:

Republicans wouldn't know a socialist if they were marching down their street waving a red book and singing the "Internationale."

I believe the free trolleys are on a fall schedule now, only running on weekends from 10-6. I think the Navy Pier trolley is the only year-round, daily free trolley.

You are right....10-6.

CTA

According to the RTA trip planner, the other option is to take the #151 - Sheridan bus from Union Station (catch the bus on Canal Street) to Superior & Michigan.

SF, are you going to be joining us that night?

Sorry to say I can't make it. I have a small b-day gathering I'm organizing for that night....

but... I haven't picked the retaurant location yet. I could spy on y'all from the corner of the room... LOL

Be suspicious if you see any nuns... muahahahahaha

HAVE FUN EVERYONE!

LOL...you could look down at us from the Signiture Room!

Have fun yourself!

I believe the free trolleys are on a fall schedule now, only running on weekends from 10-6. I think the Navy Pier trolley is the only year-round, daily free trolley.

You are right....10-6.

CTA

According to the RTA trip planner, the other option is to take the #151 - Sheridan bus from Union Station (catch the bus on Canal Street) to Superior & Michigan.

SF, are you going to be joining us that night?

My friend passed it but said it was difficult and required lots of studying.

Looking over some of the sample questions on the website...yes it is very hard! I at least knew the answer to where Geordie was spoken

I think it is the basic principle that even though it was their mistake, they should still take the hit. I agree...petition your elected officials on this one. I don't see why the civil surgeon in London cannot fax that info and instead you have to pay for a new one.

My life is not only boring but also depressing. I spend most days pretending to look for jobs, but really yelling at cable news. My family have gone up to San Fran till tomorrow, it's nice to have a bit of peace, and still nice that they'll be here for a few days before they leave on thursday.

Still no job, union stuff still being a pain, lots of dead ends. I'm about to start from the beginning again, and start bothering people that have said they would look out for something for me, but I haven't heard from since. You know, I'm not sure this whole freelance thing is for me. I hate job hunting. And I think I'm getting worse at it.

Sorry for the depressing post. I really never forsaw that I'd be coming up to November, and still in this position.

Don't beat yourself up. It's just bad timing with the economic downturn. I don't think Nicky expected the same either.

I'm gonna give this another bump too.

As an FYI...if you would like to attend and have not done so please pm me so I can add you to the list!

Lindsay

I'm gonna give this another bump too.

As an FYI...if you would like to attend and have not done so please pm me so I can add you to the list!

Lindsay

I'm gonna give this another bump too.

As an FYI...if you would like to attend and have not done so please pm me so I can add you to the list!

Lindsay

My life has been so boring too - the highlight of my weekend was reorganizing all the cupboards in my kitchen and cleaning out my closet. However, as boring as that sounds, it feels pretty good to have finally done it.

What a coincidence...I spent last night reorganizing my cupboards. Did find my lint picker though!

The burden of proof is on the company, not you. I would request that they send you proof of the woman leaving the company.

To me it sounds like your former boss is a bit shady.

I'm terribly sorry to here this. Unfortunately, the US visa process leaves little freedom to let you go through the motions of a relationship that is most comfortable for yourself and your partner. I wish you two the best in the next stage of this process...I hope it goes quickly.