josie

I should do this too. I don't want to be the stupid girl saying "please wait, I need to call my boyfriend so he can tell me what to do" but when they slid the paper in front of my nose I looked at what the services included and thought "jesus that seems steep for THAT" (mind you not brakes, I know they're a b!tch and I understand them being pricey). And the dude was so smiley I just felt kinda greasy. Maybe it's all unfounded. I don't know. I just don't know what I don't know- your solution is smart. I'm a very easy target and I hate feeling that way. I seriously might just ask my coworker for help next time. He did Mark's brakes for parts (2010 Outback) and beer/dinner- total like 200. Took a few hours because they had to figure out a trick to get the rotor off, but after they got one the other took a few minutes. He has all the gear, pneumatic tools, etc.... and no mark-ups. Before doing that he quit going to Northtown around the 60k mark and was going next door to my work to a little shop for estimates. Northtown tried to charge him 100 for headlight bulb and the garage next door did it for 40. THey don't list their labor rate- you get the part markup and the labor rate must be bonkers.. $425 for labor and my car was done within an hour. I don't mind paying a bit more if it means the mechanics and all get a good wage but if you hide it... I may make Carter call them and break it down- he has the voice that gets results! I'm not going to fight it, it's over, but I want to know moving forward.

Front brakes (pads and rotors) and a 45k service, came out to about 900, had to drop another 100 on registration renewal (30 of that is because I'm dumb and need it asap) and not the dealership. 2014 bare bones subaru impreza. It all works out when you break it down but it's still sticker shock. Well, the dif between a bunch of guys calling me that at 7:30 am at a car dealership and diner servers is the servers most likely call everyone that, and these dudes weren't calling anyone else honey or sweetie.. and it felt a bit more demeaning than endearing. Like a verbal pat on the head in a place I'm already not that comfortable with. I don't feel like making a big effing deal out of this (because of course that's what would happen on this board, god forbid) but it was just one more little "ugh" for the morning. Ugh i'm sorry. So many places are shady, it's why I never can be sure. I'm super wary of tires with my car- Subaru AWD means "oh now we must replace all 4... Fork over 1k please" My coworker lives and breathes cars (mainly Lotus, but he and his dad work on everything, even have a Caterham- pretty cool story I should tell sometime) and helped my other coworker replace the brakes on his Subaru. I should just bug him next time.

Hate taking the car in. I like having working brakes, and it needed a good go over but... I never know if it's just sticker shock or I'm being hosed. I just don't know enough about modern cars and I feel stupid- I don't know enough to argue. Am I being screwed over? Also man, I had no less than 6 men call me hun, honey, or sweetie this morning. It's fine I guess- I know they're just being nice and I only ever thank profusely and smile in return but, if you're going to take over $1000 from me and call me that, buy me breakfast? I miss Van Bortel in Rochester sometimes. Northtown's just got a different feel. My usual guy who treats me differently/talks cars with me wasn't there this morning. Definitely noticed his absence.

I know, right? That's my fascination with it. Seemingly stable, well educated, sane folks just dropping everything and rebranding themselves to follow these dudes. My mom knew a few people who were "kidnapped" (as she put it) by the Moonies. I know a few people who became Scientologists. It's just baffling. Gawker just did a 6 or 7 part series on a current cult leader, if you call her that... Some woman named Teal Swan. She's really attractive and her whole thing is based on suicide- why you should or shouldn't do it, deep psychology, spiritual stuff... but in Jones fashion, she has a retreat in Costa Rica you basically have to get rid of your life to attend... people get hooked on her youtube series and then become her students...

There's quite a few. The PBS one, "Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People's Temple" is good. "Jonestown: Paradise Lost" is another good one. Also look into docs that focus more on Jones himself- talk about a sociopath. I feel like I remember a 4 parter on it, but I could be wrong. Check out podcasts too- some go into more depth. If you like kinda stupid humor but good research, Last Podcast on the Left's 4 parter is good. They also include a recording of the whole Jonestown death tape. It's fuc*ing chilling. If you're in a cult mood, check out the other netflix doc on a bizarreo cult- Holy Hell. And check out any doc or podcast series you can find on Aum Shinrikyo- the leader, Shoko Asahara, was just put to death in Japan a couple of weeks ago. They're the group responsible for the Tokyo sarin gas attack- and it was full of very smart people- engineers, doctors, etc. Really fascinating. Also had its own anime.

I'm sorry to hear that. We kinda figured that's what happened- we kept a look out for you just in case. Yeah there were definitely a few less than enthused gf's at that show... but honestly, I think metal shows are some of the happiest places on earth- everyone's just so glad to be surrounded by other weirdos all nerding out together over a more niche genre. I saw so many happy hop-skip-running and bro hugging metal dudes... all ages and levels of depravity. No one's trying to expose anyone else as posers or putting down any of the bands because if you're there for one of those bands, chances are you dig or respect the others too. You don't go to see that lineup if you're not into it. I expect more b.s. and a$$holery at the Zombie show next weekend. Just imagine a black and blue galaxy bruise with a slight boot tread pattern to it on a pasty not-that-attractive a$ cheek and you've got it.

Anthrax/Lamb of God/Slayer were awesome Friday night. I survived a few pits, and only came out kinda sore and with a perfect boot bruise imprint on my a$$. Still not totally sure how that happened... there was definitely some tumbling though. Kindest pit ever- no intentional violence, and if anyone fell, the whole pit would stop and help 'em up. Made for a good time. We'll be at the Rob Zombie show Sunday. I couldn't care less about Marilyn Manson, but I guess it could be entertaining if he has a total meltdown on stage.

You'd just fit right in with anyone who goes in the pit.

Not totally sure this is the thread for it, but Anders Nilsson did an article (in Swedish) about homosexuality in hockey. Here's a link to the reddit thread where someone translated it: r/hockey Nilsson thread Top comment is worth a look too: "He goes more in-depth in the article. It’s a really good read. I paraphrase: “They say there’s 3-4 hidden gay people on every team. Absolutely not. They all stopped when they were younger due to the culture.” I know I'm the resident SJW annoying person on this board but it's pretty interesting. There's a lot more to learn about You Can Play than just wrapping your blade in pride tape.

Nausea is way worse than pain. I'll take pain every time. Even the pain that makes you puke- because there's no nausea, just a sudden feeling of "oh, urp". But having both at the same time... hurling quietly at work while sweating through pass-out causing pain... joy of joys. Every few weeks... for the next 20-30 years... Ugh just saw this. Hope my whiny complaint doesn't come across as snarky- didn't mean it that way. Any and all pain/nausea/discomfort sucks to anyone dealing with it. I have a lot of leftover painkillers from my last kidney stone- I try to never use them. Not sure they expire. I can bring a few to Slayer if you feel well enough to go haha Pretty sure I'm offering illegal services with that

This is a serious game, it's not a freakshow.

The tornado that hit the van I was in once when I was younger looked like that. Rain, rain, suddenly nothing, then just a wall of flying dirt and we were sort of airborne. Some of them are pretty amazing looking if you're far enough away to really see the structure, though.

We sometimes get together and play the anthem of a random country and read out 2-3 facts about that country...

Poor guy has to put up with my weirdo family, I guess I can put up with a pushy cousin!

He blamed his rudeness on being grumpy/early morning/no coffee. No sorry, though. That'll be as good as it gets.

Yeah, the money sure ain't worth it- he's on my lowest rate (friends/family discount!) and he still hasn't paid up for the last couple things. To be fair he said he wanted to get this project done first, but I admit I didn't expect a month of hang time. Thank god I have a full time- that's the kind of thing that used to sink me when I was all freelance. ----- Oh my god. To follow up. There was nothing wrong with my files. He didn't realize that a transparent image with white will preview as blank. Oh. My. God. All that, and it's not my fault. He thought I had some massive aneurysm and left out 2/3 a design.... and it's right there, he just never bothered to open it. ARGH ?

Nepotism at work. Or I should say... impending nepotism. And it takes a few months, and the cracks in a place (all places have them) start to show, and you can be very disappointed in what you learn. Client issues on my end- I've done a few projects for this guy and he was kind of a prickly client on and off, but nothing I couldn't handle. I'd get angry about his "hey I need this ASAP what do you mean you're busy with other I'm giving you a whole week/10 days" (i'm booked out MONTHS right now) style, but the work was never really hard or anything. So we've been doing this project, and from Day One I told him "yo this isn't what I do, I also really don't have the time, find someone else" and he forced it anyways. Did the roughs, everyone's happy.... hear nothing for a month. Hits up Friday with a laundry list of things he needs ASAP, including the final of this project. I'm gone all weekend, busy all week, get a terse email that's questioning where the work is- I get it, I've been AWOL, fine. Get to it last night. LITERALLY replace the copy in the approved design. No other changes. Work late to get it done- it's a fiddly technique. Am also faced with a whole second part of the project that we'd never discussed so I have no idea what to do, so I take my best shot. Get up this morning to the rudest, nastiest toned email ever, essentially treating me like a bratty little girl who broke the lamp. Dissapointment that I couldn't do it right. Everything is wrong. Not "could you please redo this x way", just this is wrong, that is wrong, why'd you do this that way, what the hell. Best part? He's family of Carter's, so I feel even more demeaned and can't really do much about it. I'm done working for him after these projects though. I hate screaming about it. He's about to be a father (literally any day now) so I get that he's probably stressed out, but you reserve that tone for freelancers who consistently let you down and miss deadlines, IF you ever use it at all. But I think that's how he sees me- I let him down in some mysterious way, and I'm always a little late because I WORK THREE MOTHERFU*KING JOBS AND I'M CLEAR ABOUT IT AND EVEN GIVE HIM MY GODDAMN SCHEDULE SO HE KNOWS WHEN I CAN SLOT IN HIS WORK. And my tone in response to him is definitely not nice anymore, so this is all going to sh!t, and I'm going to destroy the family single handedly (I'm jesting, but that entire side of the family is drama and feuds so... guess I shouldn't be surprised). Sorry, I'm in a rage this morning. I don't care if no one reads or responds, I just needed to rant so I can move on and not punch my computer. Be nice to people. Especially if they're going to be in your life forever.

Oh yeah, I finally uploaded a performance I did a couple months back if anyone's interested- I did hoop and trapeze to Danger Zone in a flight suit and yeah, it's silly. What I lack in grace and beauty I make up for in sheer "let me fit 8000000 things in 3 minutes"

Not sure if anyone else here does November Project. Been trying to go a bit more regularly, get some cardio back in my life. For those who're going "november what?" it's a free workout- a lot of cities have it. You show up, 6 am, they have a workout planned for 30 minutes, you go home. In Buffalo we usually meet at Hoyt Lake/Albright Knox stairs. Today we ran the stairs for awhile, ran to where they do Shakespeare in the park, and ran up and down the hill with a different workout (jump squats, mountain climbers, etc.) at the top each time. Believe it or not, it's actually a lot of fun. I have a friend who suffers with me- we take our time when we start to feel beat up. Lots of levels of fitness there- older folks, heavy folks, a mom and her kid, all the way to ironman competitors and pro marathoners. A couple of my coworkers do it so i joined in. Haven't thrown up yet- though I get close. I have 0 cardio haha

Yeah, more a comment on trying to be a professional in Buffalo (heck, the world) in general, but it's prevalent big and small here in what seems to be a much bigger way than other places. Course, I may be putting a shotgun in my piehole and pulling the trigger on any career at PSE with these comments but... I keep seeing a lot of good ol' boys get jobs over people I think are better qualified because they know the right dude (sports creative in general, not just here). I won't get into the male/female unfair rant here, but that's a part of it too in my experience. You'd think it'd be less of a problem when you have a portfolio to look at- a physical, visual log of talent, over say, a resume and some awards. Nope. Drives me bananas. Makes me sound arrogant too, I know. Sorry. Such is life.

Sorry, I've been in a rage mood all week and didn't want to risk spilling it all over this board and muddling up already fragile topics haha Yeah the marketing is def part of it. Huge part of it. But there's a lot of outcry that hey, THIS is the time to do something outlandish and bring in an unknown actor - you could actually do it now - the public is more receptive than it's ever been, and may even champion a director that would do something like that. More movies recently have been grabbing actors that aren't A listers and it's generally been positive. I love IMDB trivia-ing movies when I watch them- loads of great films have tidbits like "other people who tried out for lead role are: A lister, A lister, A lister etc" and dark and I usually agree that having a recognizable face in some of those situations would've ruined the character. Kind of a different discussion, but it all ties up together in a little bow of "oh just fu*king give it a try, somebody, please" for that community. Your coworker- it's kinda like pregnancy. Unless the woman is currently crowning on the floor, and even then, never ask haha If they bring it up to you then fair game. But yeah, that can get sticky! One of my students emailed me before the semester to let me know that he was transitioning and to call him by his male name, not the one that might show up on the roster, etc. Great. We were able to talk about it through assignments and he ended up being my teacher in that subject. Another student of mine presented androgynous, went by a female name and all, but I could tell was kinda prickly. There was another person transitioning in that same class (and a drag queen as well), and the subject came up a few times- this student would get mighty uncomfortable and find an excuse to leave. They graduated last spring, and he added me on facebook- is now a gent, seems wayyyy more comfortable and seems really happy. But I definitely waffled on what to say to him because it was clear something was going on but it wasn't really my place to ask- he'd wince when I'd use his name and such, but yeah... I didn't want to maybe make it worse. If you ever did find yourself in a place to use pronouns with your coworker and you're going "uh eh blah durr" just ask "what pronouns do you prefer?". Could be awkward, but could also put them at ease. Seems to be the "accepted" way to handle that- a lot of cis people have taken to posting their own pronouns on their accounts as a show of support/normalizing it as well. Or you could always be a creep like me and stalk their social media and see if they have it anywhere haha

Of course I don't know for sure, but it's probably a case of friends hiring friends and the overall innovative talent level sinking as a result. There's probably some great ideas hiding in the newer hires who're getting shot down by the people who "know how to do it". I could rant but I'll spare you. It's all about "homegrown talent" here in the bflo. So yeah. It's super "forward thinking" to use scribbly handwritten font face... it's a step in the right direction at least but yeah... I'd love to see some truly neat, unique stuff. Maybe it's happening and it'll coincide with a good couple of years. Heh.

Well, I think the same argument applies. Sure, why not? Trans people are seen as an other, just like race. I find them to be similar- they're minorities. Happens with male/female all the time anyway, where female characters are written out for male parts instead. You can't help the color of your skin, you can't help what you identify as- I think that's the crux of the argument- and people shy from it because race. Some people pitch fits when a person of color has a role in what would be a caucasian universe . Do they have a point? Sure. Is it hurting anyone? Nah, not really- unless you're rewriting a historical figure or something, then maybe. But to go the other way around, to "whitewash" (the term is broader than race in this example, maybe "erasure" is a better word- "appropriate" is overused and ill defined now) a minority's story when there are plenty of people who live that truth and are able to portray the tale themselves, that's damaging and avoidable. And now we come down to the same argument that always comes with these things. And I think with trans- you've probably met a lot of trans people and never realized it. Society doesn't notice people who "pass"- but their documentation/ID cards can keep them from getting jobs in places like Hollywood. I think many people have a near cartoonish idea of it- that a woman in a movie is going to be played by a person with a huge adam's apple and five o clock shadow or a drag queen because that's what they envision. It's a different life experience than most people's- it is the exception. So have the exception represented by the exception, the norm is well documented and not in any danger of being challenged or erased, even if the exception (which isn't even usually a visible difference, which could admittedly matter in a visual format like movies) is chosen to represent it occasionally here and there. The whole "oh they can go one way but what about the reverse" argument is always used when minorities are given some sort of protection, be it sex or race or anything else. People just get all extra squidgy when it might involve genitals haha I see the argument with sports. I get it, and to some extent agree with it, and am powerless to offer up a good solution, as is everyone else. But with things like film? I think we're at a point where it's lazy and somewhat boorish to put someone like ScarJo in to tell a story that plenty of people are public and capable of telling. There's no active affirmative action thing for trans people. No cis actor is losing his or her job because transgender folks are barging in and gobbling up roles. But talented transgender people are losing roles to cis actors because that's easier/more palatable. Always a tricky subject.

Ehhhhhhhh There are trans actors. They rarely get well known roles (short of Laverne Cox playing a trans character in orange is the new black). I think a lot of the ScarJo fire is because she has repeatedly played minority roles despite being white, the latest one being the main role of Ghost in the Shell. The exact same director is doing this movie, where she was cast as a trans person. I don't find it ridiculous to try. As always I see both sides of it. It's just an appropriation issue that I believe can be worked around now. To your comparison of soldiers... soldiers are usually soldiers. Some go in to acting, sure. People like Oliver Stone took those experiences and worked it into film. And on most military films, they bring in veterans/active duty for consulting. There are plenty of trans actors, so... why not let one portray the struggle they've lived? They can't even get close to the same opportunity as someone who is cis (non trans). If you're going to make a film and make money while using that storyline, bring someone in, at the very least in a consulting role. Otherwise, why bother? Here's the struggle of a group of people I never bothered to talk to- doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe they mean well but, eh, on such a niche issue (unlike war/soldiers which requires many bodies in uniform, not like we need 150 people to be trans on set), make the extra effort to get it right. I think the environment is right at the moment for a movie like that to make it with "small billing". Maybe even get more attention than it deserves because of it, even. This article does a better job taking the time to look at it than I can right now: https://www.glamour.com/story/should-cisgender-actors-be-allowed-to-play-transgender-characters