Nataly

So my little Ninja has been crushed under a landslide... Methinks it's nature's way of telling me it's time for an upgrade!!!

Sending you good vibes... "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

Wow... Over twenty years??? That is so sad "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 even the black sheep - she has an even harder time than me... Yup... Can't pick your family is too right. "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 so glad I just spent about €3000 to fly half-way across the world and be treated like shit for an entire week. On the plus side, I had my very first conversation with my brother... Not that it went so well, but I figure perhaps in another mere 33 years we might have a second conversation and he might then begin to see me as a human being... ... I'm not holding my breath... "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

Dude, that sucks... Hope it heals fast and that you milk it for all it's worth "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 told my friend once about my doubts about her (then) boyfriend. It wasn't even an awkward conversation, since she confirmed to me that she had her suspicions as well... They eventually broke up and she and I are still friends. But we've always had that kind of relationship where we appreciate each-other's honesty - some people prefer to live in la-la-land. "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

Riding a motorcycle totally changed my perspective on other drivers and has made me so much more aware of bad/erratic drivers who aren't paying attention to their driving. Just the other day, I got overtaken in a tunnel where the other guy could not have seen an oncoming vehicle in the turn (hence why you are not allowed to overtake there)... It's like he saw me at the last minute and barely swerved to avoid me... And whilst he was ahead of me, he kept veering into the opposite lane and slowing down and speeding up... And that's when I saw he was looking down at his phone. At the next lights, I knocked on his window and asked if he was trying to kill me or if he just hadn't seen me because of his fucking phone... In answer to my question, he tells me to fuck off, raises his window back up, speeds off as soon as the light is green and goes back to texting!! "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 am not a world-class skydiver but I did get chatted up on a plane once by someone who claimed to be a skydiver. I didn't tell him I jumped... Just asked him if he was jumping the new triangular canopies I saw in a documentary recently... He said yes. He also said he jumped from 22 miles of altitude, had about 15 minutes of free-fall, et cetera, et cetera. I said "oh, that's sooooo cool" and went back to reading my book. "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 was so annoyed I didn't even think to take pictures... I really can't believe I missed such an opportunity to show the world what an ass I am... *sigh*... I was just focusing on cleaning, cleaning, cleaning... I cleaned for hours... Almost an entire day in the end. Worst part: the next day, after drilling the first hole in the wall to get ready to put up the shelves, I realised the walls are a mixture of pebbles, plaster, concrete and wood!! (Old build with weird/traditional materials, I guess...) And after a big chunk of wall came out as I was pre-drilling (with a very, very small drill bit), I decided these shelves were not meant to be... "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

DDIY… ("Don't Do It Yourself")!! Should have just done this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9MAmWnOznI "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

DDIY… ("Don't Do It Yourself")!! "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

Tell me about it...! I typically know exactly what I need to do, after I've finished it all (and done it wrong!!)... "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

So true, so true!!!! "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

Nope. It was me. I have only my retarded self to blame. To think… Regular paint probably would have saved me about 5 hours of work/clean-up… "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

1. Fuck the regular stuff, get spray-paint. It will leave a mystical film of white (if your paint is white) in the ENTIRE room (and inside your lungs) - it's like snow, it's magical stuff... 2. Ignore the manufacturer's label and assume the paint will surely cover 2 or 3 times the recommended surface area (it won't, but don't worry - this is the least of your problems). 3. Get the smallest tarp you can - there is no need to cover everything up, just the 2 or 3 inches around the area you want to paint. 4. No sturdy tape to hold the tarp in place? No problem. Use regular scotch-tape. As long as you use plenty of it, there is no reason why it won't hold. It didn't hold?? Hmmm… Strange... 5. Don't bother cleaning your work area first - the open window will not make the dust move around and settle on your wet project. (Even if it does, this is the least of your problems…) 6. You don't need old or tired clothes… Your new/good clothes will end-up looking old and tired by the time you are finished. 7. Bonus points if you leave little things lying around, like your macbook air (screen upright), your iPad, your passport, clothing, food, kitchen appliances… 8. Oh… That reminds me - by all means, spray-paint in your kitchen… What could *possibly* go wrong?? D'Oh. "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

But you are the only one responsible for your actions. And you shouldn’t be responsible for hers. But you can control how you react to her actions. Life is never simple especially when dealing with family. Hang in there Kid, I believe you can work it out. And you are right, life sucks at times. Sparky What I meant was that I would like both sides to takes personal responsability for their own actions (not just me). Like adults. But you're right that I can only force myself to behave a certain way... I can only try to find the right way to get the message accross to my mom... And I can't *force* her to listen and/or agree with me that our relationship would improve if only we could BOTH learn to treat each other better. "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

Haven't read all the replies and this may not be what you are looking for... Of all the things I have seen that help improve your body shape, pilates has consistently amazed and impressed me. Gives a very targeted workout for toned (yet feminine) and defined muscles. The best transformations I have seen (from people I actually know) have been attributed to pilates. FWIW. "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's OK, Nataly has that covered, and she lives within an AWESOME PIZZA circumference . FWIW, and contrary to what some people may think, I actually am a very generous tipper... I believe in paying it forward, karma, giving back to others, and just showing my gratitude in general. Those who work in the service industry typically work damned hard and deserve a tip just for putting up with all the bullshit from shitty customers. Heck, like I said, the pizza delivery guys litterally risk their lives to get you that pizza and they are typically paid peanuts for that, so I respect and honour that. I just have a problem with people feeling entitled to my generosity, especially when they have done everything not to deserve it. And I really *do* think just doing the bare minimum does not entitle one to a tip... But hey... I'll always be Canadian, and my first reflex will always be to tip and to tip well even though sometimes it annoys me to do so. I have once famously NOT tipped... It went against every instinct I have... But I really did feel it was justified. And if you want to debate that, you are welcome to post in that thread and shit all over me like some people already have (see link above)!!! "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

It's complicated... I know I only have one mom and because I love her I have typically been the one to take it on the chin and try to smoothe over (or ignore) the problems... But I am human and this is an unfair and imbalanced way of dealing with things. I really need for her to understand that I can't be the only one to take responsibility for my actions... And that I really shouldn't have to take responsibility for hers on top of that. She has reached out to me very recently, and it tears me up because although she went to great lengths to show me how much she loves me, she still does not "get it." I already know she loves me - that is not the problem. I also know that we are who we are, and nobody can change that. I'm not asking for the world, but I do have a limit to what I can tolerate... So for now, keeping my distance is all I have been able to come up with after several failed attempts at communication... Makes me pretty depressed that it has come to this, actually. Part of me wants to put it all behind us and forget it ever happened, but I really need to stop doing that - it hurts me too much in the long run. I need to break that pattern in my behaviour so that she can understand that some things are just not ok. Argh... It fucking sucks... "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

Yeah, I am bragging a little!! "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

Pizza delivery here doesn't make sense... In just 10 minutes I can be in Italy, enjoying yummy, inexpensive, delicious, authentic pizza... Have I mentioned how AWESOME it tastes?? Yeah... I'd be crazy to pay 10 times more for a pimply-faced teenager to risk his life on a scooter (and then on the many, many, many steps to get to my place) to get some (crappy) pizza delivered right to my door... Nope... Not gonna do that as long as I live so close to pizza heaven!!! "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

Always sounds good in theory... In practice, I find when you write something down you leave a lot open to (mis)interpretation... Because even with emoticons and exclamation points, it's hard to get across the real intent behind your written words... No warm tone, no wink, no smile to give cues about jokes, sarcasm, or anything that is meant in a friendly or neutral or matter-of-fact way... Heck, I can be brutal enough in person, in an email I can seem downright horrible (even when I'm actually trying to be nice)... D'oh. "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

^^^this^^^ "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 remember an argument I had with my mom a long time ago, where she accused me of all kinds of horrible things... I actually burst out laughing - I couldn't help myself... It's not that she was wrong (not at all)... It's just that it sounded to me like she had just described herself!!! So how do you go about fixing a relationship that keeps falling apart because you're just too damned similar??? I don't know if anyone has the answer... I'm kind of venting... If anyone has any experiences/stories they would like to share, I'd love to hear them. "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