Nataly

MX6, I know, I know.. Still, Ford stuck a plastic logo on it so technically it's FORD!!! Edit: spelling "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

People complain about Fords, but they're sure as hell easier to work on than the more "reliable" cars.. I couldn't *believe* what a pain in the ass it was to do something as basic as change my oil/filter in my Civic, especially since my last car had been a Probe.. Seriously.. Get a Hanes manual & save some $$. Spark plugs are easy to change (depending on access and the size of your paws!!) "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I think some water just squirted out of my nose from reading that and laughing so hard!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

The only cocks ever sent to me were on here, and only after I started the pack thread (rather unsurprisingly!). It seemed like a good idea at the time, until one person creeped me out & that pretty much took all the fun out of it Oh well, live and learn!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I used to *love* drunk calls from my ex (when we were together!) He was always so fucking funny!! One time he came home so drunk he could barely walk straight... He sat on the bed and he announced loudly: "you're in SO MUCH TROUBLE - I'm gonna fuck you until you zzz... ... ..." He actually fell asleep in the middle of the sentence!!! Ah ha ha ha!!! He was pretty much comatose for the next 14 hours.. That's not precisely what he said, but for the life of me I can't remember his exact words.. Shame.. It was actually funnier. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Huh??? Where will what end?! No need to be angry, as I'm not upset in the slightest! Just thought it came right out of the blue, given the "sterile" environment in which I currently work. Then again, as many people pointed out, I'm glad I answered what I did because maybe it was *me* turning something innocent into a dirty remark!! Relax, man!! I was just surprised! You know.. In the same way it comes as a bit of a shock when you walk down the street looking like a complete mess and someone whistles at you.. You just stop and think.. "huh??" You turn around to see who they were looking at and realise you're the only person standing there (looking like a bag-lady)!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Maybe you are the one with the dirty mind. He could have just been innocently flirting with you. How do you know that he didn't mean "I like girls who appreciate the little things I do for them" ? I agree.....what he said can go either way, but I know a few people at work that say things like that all the time and it is not ment in a "dirty" context. You could be very mistaken. And where I work, most of these people say things that could have all kinds of meanings but they really do not realize it. Men included.

Yep - could have done.. In the moment it didn't occur to me, but then I didn't want to encourage him either.. (I really don't fancy him.) Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned in this respect, but I just think you should be professional at work. I used to be in the military and enjoyed a dirty joke as much as the next person, but somehow it seems inappropriate in an office.. I completely understand where you are coming from, I'm an accountant too, and believe me things are a bit more conservative here in the US. I have to hold my tongue every day! Maybe we should started a thread for things you want to say at work and can't! For example, last week my boss replies to an email from a guy named Bobby and called him Booby by mistake, I didn't say a word but was DYING laughing on the inside. *Excellent*!! I work for L'Oreal, and when we launched (yet another) waterproof mascara, I almost peed myself when I heard our divisional manager boast that now we could all enjoy water-sports without fear of runny mascara!!! It literally *hurt* not to laugh out loud!! But I didn't. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Ah ha ha!! Those accountant jokes made me laugh out loud (and that's no small feat since it's 3:38 in the morning and I'm too tired to think straight!). Nice!! As for Shah.. All I can say is that you should encourage your friend to be himself. If he wants to text 8 times per hour and that freaks a girl out - maybe *she* is not the right girl for him.. I normally wouldn't want a guy to text me that much, but the last guy I went out with was totally obsessed with me when we met, and I was totally obsessed with him.. We texted and emailed *many* times per day, and it was *AWSOME*

Naughty!! *Totally* inappropriate, but funny to think about!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Well, I think it should be ok, because when I read it I said out loud (without thinking) "oh my god!!!", which prompted my work colleagues to come see what I was looking at.. So I'm guessing he'll get teased about it and not try that again!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I don't think it was that bad.. Just came as such a surprise. I only rarely flirt, but *never* at work. Everyone just sees me as a boring accountant, and that's the way I like it! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Mmmm.. That has just made me hungry!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Yep - could have done.. In the moment it didn't occur to me, but then I didn't want to encourage him either.. (I really don't fancy him.) Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned in this respect, but I just think you should be professional at work. I used to be in the military and enjoyed a dirty joke as much as the next person, but somehow it seems inappropriate in an office.. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

That "tap" thread made me think of something that was sent to me via messenger at work today... I asked my counterpart in another division whether he could help me by running a report. He said sure, no problem. I gushed and said thanks SO MUCH (I don't know how to do the report and I'm completely swamped at the moment) and put a smiley at the end.. He responded with: "I like girls who are happy with small things!" And I'm like.. WHAT??!! Did he just write something implying what I thought he did??! I didn't know what to say!! I just typed: "Ha ha ha. Dude, I'm NOT going to comment on that." Wish I'd thought of something funnier, but it really took me off guard! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I disagree.. All of my ex's smelled delicious enough to eat Although funnily enough they all had spectacularly smelly feet.. So in a way your theory is sort-of true Edit to say: *real* men have good hygiene!!!

From what I've been reading, it doesn't seem like the negative thinking is necessarily a bad thing.. For some people, it's a way to think of strategies to deal with problems. I'm a lot like that, and it doesn't make me an inherently unhappy person - I just like preventing things from going wrong. I do this by thinking of all the things that *could* go wrong, and then thinking about ways to either not let that happen, or to cope with it if it does. For me it's not about lowering my expectations, though.. It's about getting the job done right the first time (so I don't have to go back and fix everything again). I think this aspect of my personality is a big part of the reason my ex left me.. He just thought I was miserable the whole time, even though I kept telling him that wasn't the case. Since he kept himself happy by ignoring what could go wrong, I think he never understood that negative thinking for me does not equal unhappiness. Wish I'd heard about "defensive pessimism" ages ago - would have made explaining it so much easier!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

My very good friend has terrible breath and she's the biggest neat-freak I know. She knows about the problem, is very self-conscious about it, and has tried everything under the sun but nothing seems to work.. This is why I'm always afraid to say something.. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I'm not sure "just coming from the gym" counts.. Fresh sweat isn't smelly.. It's old sweat that gathers bacteria and is stinky.. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Agree. Very good read! /Marg Not very well known, but an absolutely awesome book. Really, really enjoyed it.

Wow.. Just wow.. It's really great that you had that much presence of mind.. I'm not sure that many people would have assessed and reacted to the situation as well as you did. Well done to you and Jeff.

God, I'd be so embarrassed, but I'd want to know. Don't think I've ever had the courage to tell someone else that they stink.. Usually, when I have to work with someone who has smelly breath I just take a piece of gum for myself and offer them some as well.. It's just a shame that not everyone takes the piece of gum If offered I think it's a good idea to take the breath-mint or gum.. Maybe the person is just being nice, but there's always a chance that they're too embarrassed to tell you your breath reeks!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I read less and less & consider it a real treat to open up a book.. All-time favourites include 1984 A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush The Grapes of Wrath The Prince Round Ireland With a Fridge If This is a Man Animal Farm "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

OMG I just checked mine, and YOUR RIGHT +1 That *can't* be just a coincidence!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I don't have any advice, but WOW.. 25 years of "togetherness".. That's *fantastic*! Congrats to both of you