The Round Stable

(?) · by **Glaed** (?) » Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:42 pm

This morning was one of those mornings that just started out terrible and got worse.

For those of you who don't know, back at the end of August I had surgery, and they removed my colon. As a temporary thing while they wait for the reconstructive surgery they did down there to connect the small intestine to the rectum to heal up enough to be used, they gave me an ileostomy, which means stuff passes out into a bag stuck to my skin on the right side of my belly. It's quite annoying, and disgusting, but at least it's only temporary. This morning I woke up to find that it had come completely undone during the night and as such everything I had eaten for dinner was all over my bed... and me. I cleaned up the mess, took a shower, ended up falling back to sleep, thought "hey, this day can't get much worse" and was WRONG.
Our refrigerator has gone out. We lost almost everything in it. Couple hundred dollars worth of food all gone. Fortunately we didn't lose much in the attached freezer.
Oh, well, things can't get much worse now can they? I need to stop thinking that. We're raising some chickens, both as pets and for the eggs. Unfortunately, our first batch (2 roosters and 5 hens) are down to just 1 rooster and 2 hens thanks to a couple of dog attacks. A couple of days ago we noticed one of our chickens was sick, and built a quarantine coop to separate her. Today we noticed our rooster, and a couple of the Bantam roosters we have, are also sick. We're probably going to have to cull our entire "original" flock, which amounts to 2 large roosters, 6 large hens, and 9 Bantams.

Fortunately everything's not lost. We ordered a group of brown egg layer chicks from a hatchery, and they came in last week and all 27 of them are doing very well. And I've decided that I can't let a bad day like today keep me down. The first half pretty much sucked but I refuse to let the rest of it suck, and so far that attitude is working for me. I've actually had a bunch of fun doing absolutely nothing with one of my cats (although the cat may not have agreed.)

(?) · by **Artificer** (?) » Wed Oct 26, 2011 2:29 am

Oooch. That's really unfortunate, and I feel bad for you.

Maybe some of the chickens are salvageable? I hope maybe that your fridge gets repaired soon!

(?) · by **Willsun** (?) » Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:50 am

Chickens aside, how soon until the reconstructive surgery? I'd hate to hear that happen to you again in the middle of the night while you're unaware. It's always the worst thing to wake up to some kind of disaster, big or small.

Today, I met and spoke with an uncle of mine that lived in the same town as me and hadn't spoken to my family for near 20 years now and it was short and disappointing. Around 90% of my relatives live overseas, and my brother came back from visiting over there so an aunt (the uncle's sister) had a small gift to give to the uncle and asked my brother and I to do it so we'd have a chance to talk to the uncle. I know it's awkward for the uncle too, but many years of my parents' generation fighting and arguing and developing paranoia against each other, my uncle wouldn't even let us visit him at his house and decided that he should just come pick up the gift. He never even so much as said anything nice about my dad's passing a few years ago, asked if I had a job yet, and left with a half-assed "Maybe we should meet again someday," that I simply took as "Don't bother finding us again." Oh well. Many people in IRC have said that there are plenty of worse family situations so I'm glad all this is left pretty neutral instead of negative.

(?) · by **Glaed** (?) » Wed Oct 26, 2011 1:12 pm

Willsun wrote:Chickens aside, how soon until the reconstructive surgery? I'd hate to hear that happen to you again in the middle of the night while you're unaware. It's always the worst thing to wake up to some kind of disaster, big or small.

No sooner than 3 months out from the first surgery. I'm right at two months right now so I've got at least another month of this.

(?) · by **Vulin** (?) » Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:51 am

What a night. :fluttersmith:

Just woke up (2:30 am) to a loud noise in my room and the whining of my cat. I don't know what happened, but after I tried to see what is wrong she just started shaking and died.

I guess no more sleep for me tonight.

(?) · by **ozone** (?) » Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:56 am

Holy shit, that sounds terrible. :gonkity:

Was there anything you could do for her or was it too late?

(?) · by **Vulin** (?) » Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:01 am

I don't know if there was something that I could have done for her; she died the moment after I touched her.

(?) · by **ozone** (?) » Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:24 am

Well, you have my condolences. It sucks to lose any pet, especially so suddenly. :fluttersmith:

(?) · by **Artificer** (?) » Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:32 am

Ye gods. That's terrible. I'm very sorry for your loss.

(?) · by **Glaed** (?) » Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:33 am

That just sucks. And I agree, it sucks to lose a pet, especially so suddenly. Especially cats.

(?) · by **DarkMatter** (?) » Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:16 am

I know exactly how you're feeling because I just went through the same thing with my dog. She died suddenly and none of us saw it coming. Losing a pet isn't easy and it's not something you're ever going to get over. To some people they may just be animals but they really become members of our family.

You have my sympathies. I'm sure you made your cat's time here a joyful experience.

(?) · by **Herr General** (?) » Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:23 pm

I know how badly it sucks to lose a cat. My favorite cat I ever had woke me up with her meowing in the night- we kept her for a day before deciding to take her to the vet and take care of it. Worst fucking coincidence ever- I was giving a book report about cats the next day. :fluttersmith:

(?) · by **Vulin** (?) » Wed Nov 09, 2011 6:41 pm

Catched up on a bit of sleep and don't feel totally miserable now anymore.
Thanks for the supportive words, guys.

(?) · by **Treehouse Censor** (?) » Fri Nov 11, 2011 6:12 am

Glaed wrote:That just sucks. And I agree, it sucks to lose a pet, especially so suddenly. Especially cats.

True that. Lost a 10 year old cat not too long back. She upped and disappeared. I'd say its been over two months now, so unless she becomes a miracle story, I doubt she's coming back.

We got a new cat as well, but dealing with a female cat before its fixed is a pain and a half. Especially when you have the flu. :bluh:

(?) · by **Blarghalt** (?) » Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:23 am

I bought Skyrim today and installed it, having to sit through the joy of a forced update. When that was done, I could yell at dragons, right? Wrong! Now I'm sitting here with Steam telling the game is unavailable, and that I should try again later, which leaves me wondering if I just flushed sixty dollars down the toilet.

I could write a very detailed longpost about why I don't like Steam, but I'll keep it short: Steam is such a piece of shit. :facehoof:

(?) · by **Opposing Farce** (?) » Sat Nov 12, 2011 3:14 pm

Blarghalt wrote:I bought Skyrim today and installed it, having to sit through the joy of a forced update. When that was done, I could yell at dragons, right? Wrong! Now I'm sitting here with Steam telling the game is unavailable, and that I should try again later, which leaves me wondering if I just flushed sixty dollars down the toilet.

I could write a very detailed longpost about why I don't like Steam, but I'll keep it short: Steam is such a piece of shit.

Steam telling you that a game is unavailable is pretty rare and is never a permanent thing; it usually only happens when a popular game launches or gets a major update. Try shutting down Steam and relaunching it.

There are legitimate reasons to dislike Steam, but they haven't really been related to it actually working properly in years.

(?) · by **Raindrops** (?) » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:14 pm

That story about the cat reminded me about my own cat getting hit by an SUV a few weeks ago, and it had felt like my fault that it happened. She bolted out the door as I was bringing groceries in, and ran into a busy street.

:fluttersmith:

It's very hard losing a pet. My condolences, even if it is a bit late for them.

(?) · by **ToastGhost** (?) » Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:35 am

Addiction will wear you down piece by piece until you get to a point where your life is crashing down on you, you feel like you can't do anything right, and you can barely recognize yourself in the mirror.

I'm not to that point yet, but I'm feeling really damn close. :fluttersmith:

Extreme post/avatar cognitive dissonance

(?) · by **Artificer** (?) » Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:01 am

ToastGhost wrote:Addiction will wear you down piece by piece until you get to a point where your life is crashing down on you, you feel like you can't do anything right, and you can barely recognize yourself in the mirror.

I'm not to that point yet, but I'm feeling really damn close.
Extreme post/avatar cognitive dissonance

Have...you considered getting professional help for that?

(?) · by **Walkin Goon** (?) » Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:57 pm

Yeah; it can be difficult to beat both physically and psychologically speaking, but it is not something you have to resign yourself away to.
It might not always be convenient, but there is help both big and small out there if you need it, bro, especially if you're wanting to make a change.

(?) · by **ToastGhost** (?) » Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:39 pm

Let me start out by saying I'm doing better already, even if 15 hours isn't much time.

My head's already feeling a bit clearer, and I've gotten through the majority of my work this week. I probably didn't do too well on the two exams I had in the past 15 hours, but hey, I'm alive. I'm seeing a doctor on Thursday, and Thanksgiving break starts on Friday, so I'll be able to get some proper sleep and resist any temptations once the weekend comes. At this point my troubles are mostly psychological. A couple of people asked if there was anyway they could help, and talking through it is just about the best help I can get. So thanks, you guys are helping me out a ton.

I think I'm past the worst of it for now, I'll hopefully be doing better from here on out. Thanks for letting me vent, you guys are great. :3:

(?) · by **Walkin Goon** (?) » Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:51 pm

Glad to hear you're doing better.

Even if you're under the weather of psychological issues (of which, most addictions are), don't let that perturb you from asking for help when and if you think you need it. By the sound of things, you're in good company willing to offer it should you ask, and of course, there's always us here if you need an anonymous source with cheerful smilies to vent off steam or some tidbit-advice.
:crack:

(?) · by **Majestic bear song** (?) » Thu Nov 17, 2011 7:15 am

(?) · by **DarkMatter** (?) » Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:29 am

My heart goes out to you, Majestic bear song. I too just lost my puppy. :fluttersmith:

My grandpa also just passed away. It wasn't a shock because he hadn't been well for a long time, but he's still my grandpa and I was very close with him during my childhood so this past month has just been horrible.

Oh, and I hate my job. I'm fed up with it. I work as a dish washer at a fancy restaurant with one other dish washer, who happens to be one of my best friends. We used to have a third dish washer but he quit nearly a year ago and this fucked up corporation seems to refuse to hire a new dish washer even though they get on our ass about overtime. They're also horrible at posting the work schedule, often putting up ones that are outdated so you're never really sure when you're supposed to work. Prime example is today. I was never told to come in today by anyone. But they called me all pissed off because I wasn't in work on a day I wasn't told to come in.

They claim that they did told me, but that's a lie. I would have remembered. I've never missed a day of work I was supposed to come in. I've never even been late. They're full of shit.

But anyway, I've just become sick of the place. Physically and emotionally. Chances are I'm to have to work Thanksgiving and, if I don't get out of there soon, I'll have to work Christmas as well. And with all that has happened with my family lately the last place I want to be during the holidays is in that hell hole. I want to be with my family.

They also get angry at me when they tell me to kill lobsters and I refuse. They take live lobsters, still moving, and rip them apart limb from limb. I refuse to do this because killing animals, even if it's just a lobster, makes me uncomfortable. They get all pissy and make fun of me because they don't see what the big deal is. I guess when I took the job of "dish washer" I should have just assumed that meant "animal slaughter" as well. Silly me.

Point is, I'm just sick of the place. I want out. I want to quit, but I want another job lined up.

Sorry to rant, this past month has just sucked. :rainbert:

(?) · by **Treehouse Censor** (?) » Fri Nov 18, 2011 5:48 am

They don't boil the lobster before doing that? :rariwhat:

(?) · by **DarkMatter** (?) » Fri Nov 18, 2011 6:49 am

Nope. That's what I thought the normal procedure was too. But they take the poor things and tear off their claws and snap them in half, all while they're wriggling and moving around. I've gotten used to seeing it happen but it's not something I could do myself.

:fluttersmith:

(?) · by **LASTCAR** (?) » Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:05 am

I feel bad posting this here as I haven't offered support before in this thread, but without a doubt, my day was shit.

Long story short: I didn't pass the BAR Exam.

Yes, it's not the biggest tragedy in the world - but, dammit, I really gave that 3-day, 6-exam test back in July one helluva run. I remember fighting through every session in that huge convention center, keeping cool and collected, and bouncing back from parts of the test that didn't feel as good. Over a whole summer of prep classes, I overcame a bad case of whooping cough at the start, switched to a new laptop just weeks before the test when my old one blacked-out, and absolutely worked my ass off to keep positive. And, for all intents and purposes, it really felt like it was working.

It was my New Year's resolution to pass this test; nothing else mattered. Nothing. And I had to pass it. My father has a law practice and has been overwhelmed with work. And it's a family business; his staff is almost entirely my brother, mother, and myself. I had to find a way to help out. This had to fucking work.

So, when I learned months ago that the scores would come out online on November 18 at exactly 6 P.M., my prep course encouraged us to motivate ourselves by imagining what it would be like when we logged on and saw we passed the test. And, really, I had that imagined perfectly. I knew I'd be at my folks house, dinner cooking in the background. I'd be watching coverage of practice for NASCAR's championship race the following Sunday. At 6, I'd step away from watching TV and log on. And then I'd see the score and we'd celebrate.

So, at November 18 at 6 P.M., I tried to replicate that image as best I could. I went downstairs and turned on the computer. I logged in and, in a split second, it told me I didn't pass. It was like a bad joke.

And, on top of it all, I need to somehow suck it up tomorrow and produce my final NASCAR video of the year, which again involves me narrating the starting lineup for the championship race. I don't even feel like doing that, much less dusting off my BAR books.

So, yeah. :fluttersmith:

(?) · by **Willsun** (?) » Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:55 am

Goddamn, I'm sorry to hear that Lastcar. I can only imagine having to face your family after this will be hard, but I hope they'll be understanding and supportive of you. If I can be optimistic, I hope that they're there for you because I don't think a family who knows you've tried hard to get into the family business will shun you for attempting to do so. I don't know if you'll read this on time, but I hope you get some good rest before the narration and feel a little more hopeful that all your efforts are not over yet. Take your worries and forklift them over to the next day to deal with. Power on through the narration.

Anyway, I won't ask that you update me/us on every tidbit because you sound like you can use a break. Get some time off because you still deserve it.

Just a small general contribution to the thread, I'm getting anxious about all the holidays for real for once. I generally love this season even when I was worried about failing a class in college or had to handle Christmas rushes at past jobs, but being still unemployed and a college graduate has made me feel even worse. It's hard to talk to people, even those normally close to you, that you have no good lead and that I haven't landed anything. Then spending time with immediate family that feels like they have a right to remind me of my shortcomings just makes me feel like if I don't act in line, they can hang this over my head anytime.

(?) · by **Artificer** (?) » Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:06 pm

Willsun wrote:Goddamn, I'm sorry to hear that Lastcar. I can only imagine having to face your family after this will be hard, but I hope they'll be understanding and supportive of you. If I can be optimistic, I hope that they're there for you because I don't think a family who knows you've tried hard to get into the family business will shun you for attempting to do so. I don't know if you'll read this on time, but I hope you get some good rest before the narration and feel a little more hopeful that all your efforts are not over yet. Take your worries and forklift them over to the next day to deal with. Power on through the narration.

Anyway, I won't ask that you update me/us on every tidbit because you sound like you can use a break. Get some time off because you still deserve it.

Just a small general contribution to the thread, I'm getting anxious about all the holidays for real for once. I generally love this season even when I was worried about failing a class in college or had to handle Christmas rushes at past jobs, but being still unemployed and a college graduate has made me feel even worse. It's hard to talk to people, even those normally close to you, that you have no good lead and that I haven't landed anything. Then spending time with immediate family that feels like they have a right to remind me of my shortcomings just makes me feel like if I don't act in line, they can hang this over my head anytime.

Failing tests suck. Failing the BAR sucks even more, I'm sure. Sorry to hear that, though I guess you might be a little more aware of what is on it now, and can prepare for it? Good luck on the next test! Passing the BAR is an accolade in of itself, after all.

Also, sorry to hear that, Willsun. I'm still in college, but I'm well aware of how difficult the economy is right now. I hope your family is supportive, and understanding that right now the job market sucks horribly.

(?) · by **LASTCAR** (?) » Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:19 pm

Thanks you guys.

It's been rough, but yes, my family has always been 100% behind me on this. And they still are. It's going to suck taking this test again, but what's nice is that this time I won't be starting from square one.

And today's pony episode helped a ton. :awesomedash:

(?) · by **Redeye** (?) » Sun Nov 20, 2011 11:49 am

LASTCAR wrote:Thanks you guys. It's been rough, but yes, my family has always been 100% behind me on this. And they still are. It's going to suck taking this test again, but what's nice is that this time I won't be starting from square one.

And today's pony episode helped a ton.

Dont'cha worry a bit, LASTCAR. Knowing what you did wrong the first time makes the second time easier.

The key is always to learn from your mistakes. And we've all got your back on that.

(?) · by **diribigal** (?) » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:51 am

I don't want to get into details, and my problems feel silly in comparison to some of those here, but my life would be considerably easier if people would just get along. :gonkity:

(?) · by **Walkin Goon** (?) » Wed Nov 23, 2011 5:33 pm

diribigal wrote:I don't want to get into details, and my problems feel silly in comparison to some of those here, but my life would be considerably easier if people would just get along.

Well, you're certainly not alone in that sentiment, if that means anything. :iamapony:

Varies with the situation, but try not let the affairs of others peg you down too much, especially if the solution is far out of your own reach than it is in relation to whoever it concerns most.

(I think that's a fair way put it)

(?) · by **Cuckoo** (?) » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:06 pm

Where do I even begin, this past week has been insane...preemptive warning, wall of text.

Long story short I finally left my long term boyfriend and moved out of his house. I had been paying rent which somehow slowly turned into me paying rent, most of his bills, doing all the chores (his dishes/laundry/cleaning the floors) AND driving him to and from work. On top of that he had been neglecting me, effectively turning me into a 100% sugar momma. It was incredibly depressing and I felt lonely and used. So of course, after having a reasonable discussion about this multiple times over the past few months, I got fed up, found an apartment equidistant from my job/friends/family, packed my shit and took off all in less than a week.

Of course NOW he's all lovey dovey, claiming he loves me more than anything, the sun rises and sets on my ass, poetry, you name it. Too bad I was long emotionally divorced by then and pretty much nodded through his awkward tears as I separated our stuff. Of course I still love him deep down and it all makes me feel like a huge shitheel, but I still realize how wrong the situation was and how many chances he had already been given. It wasn't even the finances or me being a maid that drove me to this point; it was being treated like crap after all of it. Also the fact that it took me signing the new lease papers in his face for him to wake up and realize 'hey, she's kind of mad' is enough to tell me it's not worth going back.

It gets worse.

I set up a date with some random guy because my motto is to "get back in the saddle" and I'm not mourning over this past relationship anyway. Turns out he saw me getting dressed up, followed me, saw me on the date with someone else, and freaked out calling me a liar and citing past texts from months ago about a female friend who happens to have a male name in my phonebook as this guy's name and claiming he was my secret loverboy. I seriously just met him and didn't have eyes for anyone else until we were officially severed. However, this was also proof that he apparently didn't trust me and snooped through my phone. I did find it funny how he created some soap opera drama in his head about my gal pal version of the Boy Named Sue. :v:

Anyway, I now have a nice new apartment and scraped together enough to buy a few pieces of furniture to fit in - thank God Black Friday happened to fall during this week. It's a bit lonely and won't have internet until this Saturday, but knowing my space is my own and any screwed up bills are my fault and no one else's is good enough. I also know that boyfriend wise, I can do much better.

(?) · by **Artificer** (?) » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:22 pm

What the fuck? Man, that dude has issues. I hope things get evened out quickly, though it sounds like you have it well in hand.

(?) · by **Aramek** (?) » Mon Nov 28, 2011 10:25 pm

Cuckoo wrote:I also know that boyfriend wise, I can do much better.

You sure can! Also, know that you don't have to have one. You are perfectly capable of being happy in life without one!

I only say this, because one of my gal pals in college would desperately latch onto each next boyfriend. Like, she couldn't be happy, not even with herself, unless she was in a relationship. And that's a huge bummer.

(?) · by **Willsun** (?) » Sun Dec 04, 2011 9:23 pm

Cuckoo wrote:I did find it funny how he created some soap opera drama in his head about my gal pal version of the Boy Named Sue.

I have never heard of a guy named Sue even if it's short for anything. But yeah, lesson to everyone that it's never okay to go through the phone/e-mail of your significant other even if you heavily suspect something is going on (unless it's immediately threatening someone's life). It breaks trust and is a total shit move.

That said, congratulations on getting away from that guy, Cuckoo. I know to the rest of us that severing sounded like an obvious move, but I know it takes a lot lot more for the person who has to do it because there are tons of personal issues that you probably had to weigh in your head before making the decision that we don't know of or don't experience. Let me reinforce, however, that you were treated unfairly and he most likely used you where it was convenient.

(?) · by **Aramek** (?) » Mon Dec 05, 2011 12:18 am

Willsun wrote:I have never heard of a guy named Sue even if it's short for anything.

Click here to view video.

(?) · by **Octavia** (?) » Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:53 am

I just found out that my sister, who was pregnant with her second child, had a miscarriage. When I got the news (from my other sister) it felt like a dagger in my gut. I live across the country from her and have no idea what I could possibly do to console her. I'm going to give her a call when I get home from work, but I imagine it must hurt a lot for her to keep having to talk about what happened.

I feel like I'm gonna throw up. :fluttersmith:

(?) · by **Femto** (?) » Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:31 am

Octavia wrote:I just found out that my sister, who was pregnant with her second child, had a miscarriage. When I got the news (from my other sister) it felt like a dagger in my gut. I live across the country from her and have no idea what I could possibly do to console her. I'm going to give her a call when I get home from work, but I imagine it must hurt a lot for her to keep having to talk about what happened.

I feel like I'm gonna throw up.

Son of a bitch, that's terrible. I can only imagine how it feels for her :fluttersmith:

I empathize with you, I never know what to say in situations like this. I always feel like whatever I could say would just ring really hollow. Give her a call anyway though, in my experience people seldom find the sympathy unwelcome, and sometimes people just need to know there's someone looking out for them, or need someone to let everything out on.

Fuck, that's terrible. I just hope she's holding up as well as she can, given the circumstances. You know, not sinking into any long-term self destructive behaviour or anything. For what it's worth, I wish your sister the best of luck through this tragedy.

e: Well, it's good to hear she's dealing with it well, and getting all that support from her family. I think she's going to weather this just fine. :unsmith:

The Round Stable

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