Randoms- Week of Sept 6

[sfy]

Sept 6, 2016 22:35:24 GMT -5 kicks said:

Sept 6, 2016 21:57:30 GMT -5 @kirkette said:

I could ruin Italy, and Paris, but I'm going to have to leave it alone. 

Those were the only places where I've ever been called a N*****  loudly, to my face, and shamed in public.
Both times, it was by gypsies darker than me, the were both blue and ashy,  so I was all sorts of shocked and confused. 
They were also both brought on because I declined sexual advances. 

Yeah I have no desire to go to Italy after I heard a lot more things about their racism.

That's awful, @kirkette. I'm sorry that happened to you .

kicks, I will say that did a semester abroad in Rome and never had a single issue. I really loved it. The men there were aggressive cat callers (but about on the level of NYC, tbh), but my roommate who was white and had done a semester abroad there before prepared me for that on the day we moved into our apartment. So I think my experiences were just life in Italy for foreign women. I've actually never had any race-based problems while traveling *knock on wood*. But I have certainly heard of awful things happening pretty much everywhere.

[sfy]

Omgah, the spin instructor for the blackest spin class of all time is subbing for an instructor at the regular black spin class near me in an hour. I am torn between wanting desperately to go because I think he will have no choice but to turn down a little since it's a whole new group and we don't already know all your dance routines, sir (!), and not wanting to go because that class time is ordinarily not very crowded and if he does stick to his usual script, I will be so exposed and he does like to roll up on people and coach them. I'm just fresh off vacation with so much gluttony and no working out, I'm going to be tired as hell and really not here for someone trying to choreograph my old behind on a bike.

[sfy]

cubed, I've never had problems in Paris or Spain either. In fact, I just went back to Spain last week, all good. Australia was perfectly fine the entire time we were there, people were extremely friendly. BUT my sister had the roughest time getting us an Air BnB there. She was refused probably 20 times and ultimately, the woman who rented to us was another POC, an Asian woman. So perhaps if we'd stayed in a hotel (which is always my preference anyway), I would have nothing bad to say about Australia either, but because of that, I do think of them as shady bastards. I still think you should go to Italy and I'm sorry for the experiences detailed in this thread, but I will forever love Portugal and I think you should go there too lol. I'm going anywhere and everywhere I want to go. This whole damn world is for me and mine.

[brandnewday]

Y'all this morning was full of suck. The quick and breezy outfit I had in mind looked frumpy and awful. Then every subsequent outfit there after (about 10-15 others) looked like garbage as well. I was running 30 minutes behind by the time I left my house.

Then when I was walking into my building, on the sidewalk in the distance, I see a fluttering of wings. This guy walked by and looked but didn't stop. I walked up to see a tiny bird trying to get away. I think its wing or leg was broken. I scooped him/her up with a few Starbucks napkins and put him in the lawn. He was breathing really hard, and then he stopped. I almost started bawling. He was so tiny and light, and trusted me to pick him up to move him. I hate how fleeting life is sometimes. I hate to see suffering.

[kicks]

Sept 7, 2016 7:55:07 GMT -5 sfy said:

cubed, I've never had problems in Paris or Spain either. In fact, I just went back to Spain last week, all good. Australia was perfectly fine the entire time we were there, people were extremely friendly. BUT my sister had the roughest time getting us an Air BnB there. She was refused probably 20 times and ultimately, the woman who rented to us was another POC, an Asian woman. So perhaps if we'd stayed in a hotel (which is always my preference anyway), I would have nothing bad to say about Australia either, but because of that, I do think of them as shady bastards. I still think you should go to Italy and I'm sorry for the experiences detailed in this thread, but I will forever love Portugal and I think you should go there too lol. I'm going anywhere and everywhere I want to go. This whole damn world is for me and mine.

Lol.
You know I also love to travel. I honestly think my desire to go to Italy was never really there and then when more about the racism came to light it put it further down on the list. Not that I was super worried about being harassed there.

And honestly I also think I have a slight thing against European travel because you know everytime most (white) people talk about travel they always want to go to Europe. So I try to spread my travel love to "less desirable" destinations. That is why this year I've only done Central America, South America and Mexico

[dr.girlfriend]

I posted this in randoms on H&G but I'll post again here because I need the sympathy.

So, my parents came on a trip to Disney World with us, and our son was staying in their room with them -- yay for kid-free romantic time! DSs room is right next to ours in our two-bedroom house, so even though he is a sound sleeper we always feel a little on edge while getting busy. I told our travel agent on the downlow that I did *not* want connecting rooms because that is a definite moodkiller. My oblivious mom called the day of check-in and requested connecting rooms, and I didn't find out until we were checking in. And then, just to add the cherry on the sundae, the first morning my oblivious dad made a comment like, "What were you guys laughing about at 10 o'clock at night?" so we couldn't even pretend that they couldn't hear us. I couldn't be all, "Yeah, can we change rooms so we can have uninhibited sex?" so we just had to deal. Boo!

[dr.girlfriend]

Sept 6, 2016 22:07:34 GMT -5 05heel said:

All of you -1.5 and below eyesight people can just get the hell out. I'm pretty sure that's how well I see with optimal vision correction. My contacts need contacts.

-13 in both eyes signing in!

I'll add another dumb random...because I put my contacts in first thing in the morning and take them out last thing at night (horrible for my eyes, yes, I know) when I couldn't find my glasses before going to Disney I didn't stress and just thought, "I'll take a spare contact." Of course I forgot, and of COURSE my contact ripped Friday night of Labor Day weekend! Luckily we found a medical supply place that would deliver an eyepatch to our hotel room, and I was flying back the next day anyway. But, I had to endure some pretty tactless jokes on the monorail about being a pirate (for me it was temporary but what if it was an ACTUAL disability, asshole!?) and got to wander around Disney and fly home with the eyepatch. :-P My mom was like, "Why don't you just walk around blurry for awhile?" -- I obviously did not get my Coke-bottle-glasses-worthy eyes from her.

[dreamcrisp1]

cubed, I was good in Italy too. Actually I think people liked me more because I was foreign. I'm going back to Spain in a few weeks and enjoyed it there a lot too. I'm lucky to not have experienced much racism when travelling either.

My vision is terrible too. -5.75 in both. Bah. Luckily I love my glasses but only wear them in winter.

[borinquen57]

I am fucking LIVID this morning...OMG!  DD1 has been told over and over again to stay out of her sister's room.  She goes in this morning, probably before H and I woke up and cut her sister's hair with the nail-trimming scissors I had kept out of reach in DD2's room.  Well, they must not be that out of reach if she got them, right? She had a huge meltdown when I asked her about it, she refused to get dressed for school, it was a fucking mess.  And she was already running late because their father waited until 8 to start breakfast when they have to leave by 8:20.  We have an arrangement where he does breakfast on the days he's home (rotating shift) so I could sleep in, then I get up and do her hair and he takes her but what fucking good is that when shit like this is happening.  DD1 wakes up at 7:15 and he's up way before that just drinking coffee and dicking around on his phone, so why are you waiting 45 fucking minutes to start breakfast?!  It's like he has the common sense of a gnat...damn.

[borinquen57]

Sept 6, 2016 13:34:56 GMT -5 @natariru said:

Can I just say that I'm LOVING THIS BOARD.

No more angst-ridden posts. Real conversations!

I'm over here likeO

Oh, no.  I may have ruined the vibe with my rant this morning.  

[orangeblossom]

borinquen57 Hope your day improves.

[dreamcrisp1]

Omg, how's her hair? Was it bad?

Speaking of sisters, omg!!!! My sister is the worst gossip ever. I told her not to tell anyone I was going to Spain. My cousin just texted me and asked when I'm going to Spain. I didn't want them to know until I was there!!!!! God. She's the worst.

[borinquen57]

@natariru and dreamcrisp1, her curl mullet is lopsided but it was already kinda short on the top. My poor baby, she just stopped being bald like 2 months ago, LOL!

orangeblossom, thanks, girl! <3 I'm going to organize my sewing space to blow off some steam.

[meshaliuknits]

Not how you wanna start the day.

[raangoli]

Rant:

It's called naan. Not naan bread. That's just repetitive and you sound stupid.

See also: chai. NOT chai tea.

Sorry, had to get that out since I heard that in the cafeteria just now. Yay for Indian food at work today?

[sfy]

Sept 7, 2016 8:20:55 GMT -5 cubed said:

Sept 7, 2016 7:55:07 GMT -5 sfy said:

cubed, I've never had problems in Paris or Spain either. In fact, I just went back to Spain last week, all good. Australia was perfectly fine the entire time we were there, people were extremely friendly. BUT my sister had the roughest time getting us an Air BnB there. She was refused probably 20 times and ultimately, the woman who rented to us was another POC, an Asian woman. So perhaps if we'd stayed in a hotel (which is always my preference anyway), I would have nothing bad to say about Australia either, but because of that, I do think of them as shady bastards. I still think you should go to Italy and I'm sorry for the experiences detailed in this thread, but I will forever love Portugal and I think you should go there too lol. I'm going anywhere and everywhere I want to go. This whole damn world is for me and mine.

My HS roommate is an expat there and lives in Brisbane. She has been asking me to come and visit for years. Where did you go in Australia? My friend who had the horrible experience said things went south as soon as she left city limits.

I love your last sentence. That is how I feel about travel and want the boys to love travel as much as I do.

You have to go! We went to Sydney. I am not kidding when I say the people were some of the friendliest ever. My H, DS and I went to New Zealand when we left, but my sister, BIL, sweet baby nephew and my mom all went to the mountains (so outside the city) and I don't think they had any bad experiences either because they said they enjoyed that perhaps more than Sydney. Yes, we started DS traveling pretty young and now he lives to travel, which makes us happy.

kicks, I understand and I consider myself very picky about Europe in general. First off, if it's not warm, I'm not interested. If there is no beach, I'm rarely interested. I have enjoyed both Paris (not a surprise because food, although I haven't gotten down to the South go France yet for beaches, but I will) and Amsterdam (which really surprised the heck out of me), but generally, I've loved places like Italy, Spain, Greece, and now Portugal, which are similar in terms of their vibe, food, language, and culture. I do also want to try Croatia. But places like Ireland, England, Germany, Norway, they don't hold any appeal for me. That's not the Europe that interests me. I'm mostly going to Europe for beaches, seafood, Romance languages, and olive people . I do think Europe is for summers and summers are for Europe. But certainly, during any other season, I have other places which interest me more. And while I agree with you, I just cannot let other people's Eurocentric viewpoints turn me off places I legitimately and independently enjoy. The other thing that works tremendously in Europe's favor for me are the short flights. That makes it so appealing!

Yikes, borinquen57, I'm sorry . I hope the day turns around for the better for you and brandnewday.

[raangoli]

brandnewday That's awful

borinquen57 on the bright side, at least she didn't also give herself a haircut? But that's rough. I'm sorry

[thejackpot]

I have great vision it's my memory that is awful.
My random is I am doing Whole30 and it is awesome for me. Maybe my Coke habit is a thing of the past. I am on day 16 and I can see the end. I know it may not be the point of it all but I am almost dreaming about a chocolate desert!

@boriq that is awful about her hair. Hugs Mama!

sfy so sad. What a down way to start your day.

[dreamcrisp1]

I have a job interview shortly. Ah. I need to go fix my hair. My curls are gone.

[thejackpot]

Sept 7, 2016 13:17:27 GMT -5 dreamcrisp1 said:

I have a job interview shortly. Ah. I need to go fix my hair. My curls are gone.

Good luck!!

[gazpacho]

Sitting in Panera working and a MARY KAY CONSULTANT approached me and almost forced me to schedule a consultation to see the NEW Mary Kay. When did Mary Kay start doing Microdermabrasion? Are they trained for that?

[brandnewday]

Sept 7, 2016 14:59:25 GMT -5 gazpacho said:

Sitting in Panera working and a MARY KAY CONSULTANT approached me and almost forced me to schedule a consultation to see the NEW Mary Kay. When did Mary Kay start doing Microdermabrasion? Are they trained for that?

Perhaps I'm just more of an asshole. I would have snapped, GTF out of my face! No! 

I prefer clever marketing vs in your face stubborn sales folks. 

[orangeblossom]

I'm posting this on randoms, in case others have questions and to plug the Ebroji app again.  ebrojiapp.com/

sfy How do you posts your Ebroji GIFs on GBCN on mobile  or Tapatalk?

[orangeblossom]

Sept 7, 2016 14:59:25 GMT -5 gazpacho said:

Sitting in Panera working and a MARY KAY CONSULTANT approached me and almost forced me to schedule a consultation to see the NEW Mary Kay. When did Mary Kay start doing Microdermabrasion? Are they trained for that?

Nooooo.  Time to find a new place to work!  Miss you.

[thejackpot]

Oh my gosh, I met this woman inTarget the other day. We started chatting about kids etc and the next thing you know she hits me with the Mary Kay pitch. Now she won't stop texting me. I am so mad at myself!!

[borinquen57]

Sept 7, 2016 13:17:27 GMT -5 dreamcrisp1 said:

I have a job interview shortly. Ah. I need to go fix my hair. My curls are gone.

How'd it go?!

[gazpacho]

Sept 7, 2016 15:41:03 GMT -5 brandnewday said:

Sept 7, 2016 14:59:25 GMT -5 gazpacho said:

Sitting in Panera working and a MARY KAY CONSULTANT approached me and almost forced me to schedule a consultation to see the NEW Mary Kay. When did Mary Kay start doing Microdermabrasion? Are they trained for that?

Perhaps I'm just more of an asshole. I would have snapped, GTF out of my face! No! 

I prefer clever marketing vs in your face stubborn sales folks. 

 I ended up giving her my business card. I know I am going to regret that decision. I do not respond well to "in your face" sales approaches. Not at all.

[sfy]

Sept 7, 2016 15:44:39 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

I'm posting this on randoms, in case others have questions and to plug the Ebroji app again.  ebrojiapp.com/

sfy How do you posts your Ebroji GIFs on GBCN on mobile  or Tapatalk?

I can't use it on here! I use it everyday in my texts though. Every.day. Lol.

[gazpacho]

Sept 7, 2016 15:45:46 GMT -5 orangeblossom said:

Sept 7, 2016 14:59:25 GMT -5 gazpacho said:

Sitting in Panera working and a MARY KAY CONSULTANT approached me and almost forced me to schedule a consultation to see the NEW Mary Kay. When did Mary Kay start doing Microdermabrasion? Are they trained for that?

Nooooo.  Time to find a new place to work!  Miss you.

Yes, Panera is now the hangout for the senior citizens and sales people. Too bad Starbucks is worse!  

[skwcm80]

I just want to add how ecstatic I am that this board is here. That is all.