Nataly

The cashiers don't do it for you - I had to leave the queue, go to the opposite end of the store and do it myself like everybody else.. Mind you, I like this method - what's to stop you from adding an extra carrot after you've weighed/tagged them?! Seriously though, it is much faster and you know exactly what you'll be paying, so it's a good system. Just wish I'd realised before getting to the cashier "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

Murphy's Law!! "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

Thought I'd lighten things up a bit in here and share a mildly hillarious moment.. So I went to the grocery store after weeks of travelling and having nothing in the fridge... I REALLY wanted some nice fruits and vegetables and lots of good, wholesome, fresh food - yum

I just made this my desktop picture!! Thanks

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I don't think you are shallow because of the things you want... Sounds to me like you want a hot girl and that is important to you. Also sounds like you want a life partner who cares about you and shares your hopes and dreams. It also seems to me part of your dissatisfaction so far with your dating experience is that you had a great partner that you loved and cherished and you're finding it hard to find someone of that caliber. All of these are admirable and good things to look for in a healthy, long-term relationship where both parties mutually love and respect one-another. The problem, Shah, lies in your deeply flawed assumptions about people in general. Your understanding of what women want and how they think is troubling - not just because it's so off the mark but because it's unhealthy to go about life thinking so negatively about the world and people around you. And it's precisely the derogatory manner in which you speak of and relate to women that is preventing you from finding/building a meaningful relationship (because I do believe that this is ultimately what you're after). Start respecting women, and maybe then you'll see a whole other side to them you didn't realise was there... And it was there all along - you just didn't see it. As for your friend... We all make poor choices in life. If you don't want to be in the same boat, make sure you are happy with *yourself* first, and then maybe, if you're lucky, the right woman will just happen to stumble upon you. If you are happy and healthy and thinking positively, you'll be much more likely to attract this kind of person as opposed to the wrong kind of partner who feeds your insecurities and makes you feel smaller. Just my $0.02 "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

One of the guys who was also on the desert trek is a firefighter and has been for like 20 years... He said they do more and more of these initiatives because there can be quite a lot of "down time" in their trade. They are paid a fix rate (ie: they get the same amount if they put out a fire or if nothing at all happens during their shift), so I think these sort of things are great... Not only is it making use of an available resource, but it spreads knowledge about emergencies, safety and prevention. These guys risk their lives *and* educate - sounds pretty heroic to me "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 he's not confused at all and just knows that statistically your metabolism is likely to slow down with age!! "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.. It's not the court that denies him access, it's the mother The court told her she had to give him regular access... Like I said, I don't know all the particulars, but I'm pretty sure she is not doing it for the child's benefit "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, in this particular case, the dad had to fight for about 6 months before the courts forced his ex to let him see the child. Despite this, she still regularly denied him his (legal) visitation rights. I'm sure there's a lot more to it, but that's pretty awful too... "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

Almost New Zealand, but not quite... And not close enough to swim there, unfortunately "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

Whatever you do, don't throw away/donate anything you really *love*... Did this with a pair of black jeans... Ohhh.. They were so awesome... I went through a couple of "heavy" years and finally gave up on losing the excess so decided to part with my favourite jeans. Not only could I presently fit into them, but I'm wearing an exact copy of them right now (except in blue) and they are a bit loose.. D'oh. Don't give up on losing the weight (assuming you don't want it - otherwise, embrace the love-handles!!). "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, that's what? 5 year old clothes? Awww shucks!! Thanks Remster

I still wear the clothes I had in highschool I like to get quality stuff because I know I will wear it until it absolutely falls apart. That, and I *hate* shopping! On average I purchase 1-2 items per year - but only if absolutely necessary. "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

You just made me squirt wine out of my nose! "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'm sure they wouldn't want to un-have their kids, but I'm also pretty sure many would want to un-do some of the things they said/did... "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

And you guys wonder why they're not dropping for you. Guess they don't get that intimacy is about more than panting, licking and heavy petting "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 guess that's the price we pay for our freedom... "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

He snuggled up close to me, pressed his cheek up to mine and squeezed me like he never wanted to let go. "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 imagine you could genuinely have fun with it, but to be really successful, I reckon you either need to be a natural salesperson, or else be really passionate and/or motivated (or just plain lucky!!!). I think the timing for me is not such that I would seek-out a sales job... I'm not naturally good at it, and it kinda sounds like my idea of hell!! That, and PR.. Schmoozing ain't my thing!! The best sales-guy I ever met just *loved* his job. Maybe that was his secret.. Anyhoo, good luck - learning curves can be tough but they can also be rewarding.

Giving or receiving? You would ask this question why? Because, although I am concerned for her well being, it is her SO that needs tending to. After all - March 14th is only a couple of weeks away. March 14th - "White Day, complimentary day of Valentine's Day when men give gifts to women."??? "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

Giving or receiving? You would ask this question why? Exactly. I would have thought the answer was obvious, but in any case, I'm already taken so it's irrelevant! "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

Accountants look to the past to try and predict the future... Although climates/conditions/other variables make this practice obsolete on occasion, *usually* it's the best indicator for what is likely to happen. The same applies to people, I think. Ironically enough, I consistently give people a second chance, but for the life of me I don't know why... I can't think of a single occasion when I witnessed someone's "bad" behaviour/character actually change as promised... Then again, maybe I'm just not remembering anything right now... ETA: As long as you didn't spread malicious or false information on the guy, I think it's more professional/responsible to give your client a gentle heads-up as opposed to saying nothing... They can decide for themselves whether they give the guy a second chance or not. "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 wouldn't normally either... I emailed her for more info and she didn't reply. I googled the company and their website is really vague/crap... I knew it would be a total dog of a job/company, so I figured it was a good opportunity to brush up on my interview skills... I'd rather "practice" on a crap role than show up for my first-ever French interview for something I'm *really* keen on... She had to know she was wasting her time... I am not nearly young or hungry or inexperienced enough to fall for that kind of horrible cold-calling stuff... I really don't fit the profile. My guess is she was trying to fill an "interview quota." If I needed to, I would clean toilets for a living... But I worked hard to become a Chartered Accountant, so hopefully that means I will never need to!! Edit: oopsie - 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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNo9CKmZaVA&feature=related No matter how many times I've seen it, it still cracks me 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

Had a slightly surreal experience today... Got a call on Friday, asking me in for a job interview. I couldn't really work out what the role/company was about, but I reckoned if nothing else it would be useful for me to freshen-up my interview technique... Whoa, it was an unappealing proposition!!!! Basically, it was a company who sells insurance.. They just set up and are looking for people to go through the phone-book to find prospective clients to sell insurance products to... She went through the numbers with me throwing them at me quite fast - had I not known any better, it would have sounded like a big salary.. But being an accountant, I quickly worked out that meeting the minimum targets would only give me a net annual income of something in the region of 15k!! Of course, there is "no limit" to how much you can earn, but I reckon I would be MUCH more likely to work my ass off and not even reach the targets!!! WHEW!! It took everything I had not to laugh out loud!! Don't get me wrong - I admire people who have the drive/determination to work in "sales"... Some people are really good at it, and probably it's possible to make a real success of it... It just sounds like my idea of hell!!! A number of years ago I lasted only 3 months in recruitment, which if you break down the day-to-day tasks is a similar kind of job... Hated it, and *really* sucked at it, too! I politely said no thank you! Then I bought myself an ice-cream and went for a stroll along the beach in the sunshine