NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Apr 4, 2024 19:38:10 GMT -5
Today is a blah day. Rainy, dark, relatively cold ( low 50s as opposed to Tuesday's 76°). And tomorrow will not be much better. It is time it stops raining and my perfect spring weather with sunshine and low to mid 70s temperatures comes back and STAYS back.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Apr 4, 2024 12:30:08 GMT -5
Trying to cool my body down. We just got back from an excursion to My Son Temple near Da Nang and it was HOT. Between TD and I, we guzzled 6 bottles of water and were utterly drenched in sweat. The hike to the temple wasn’t bad, but the heat made it utterly miserable. Guide said it was 40° out, and my brain is too fried to make the calculation to F. We went to Marble Mountain, and a marble shop. There were some gorgeous carvings, including 2 beasts I’d have liked to bought and put by the front door. TD put the kibosh on that…..party pooper! Next we went to China Beach. OMG! I could have spent all our time in Vietnam here. It was a perfect white sand beach, that was not wall to wall bodies. So beautiful. Had a Vietnamese lunch, which included a whole chicken…including the head. Someone grabbed it thinking it was just a piece of chicken, until they looked at it closely. So 3 bottles of water, and now 2 cans of soda and I still haven’t peed. I’m thinking I’m wearing that liquid!And this is why I now take electrolyte powder on my trips to SE Asia. When we visited Angkor Wat years ago I could literally wring my t-shirt out (over the sink) yet I was dizzy from dehydration...
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Apr 3, 2024 11:27:00 GMT -5
Now this is a lawsuit filed by the orange paint addict himself but it fits nicely in with the discussions: news.yahoo.com/trump-sues-truth-social-co-003924976.htmlI guess he is trying to limit his losses by increasing his number of shares? Anyway, the defendants really should have paid more attention to the meaning of "with friends like this..."
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Apr 2, 2024 11:06:44 GMT -5
I was quoting a starter home, not median, but I hope we're not moving toward Seattle's cost of living. In most of the city you cannot buy a vacant lot for $450,000, if you can even find one. Only in the poorer south end do you even have a shot. I just did a Zillow search for single-family houses for sale in Seattle with a maximum price of $450,000. There were seven results. The only one over 560 sq. ft. is advertised as a full rehab or teardown. Five were houseboats. Some were under 200 sq. ft. Good luck there. I just looked up the median price of a house here -> it is well over 7-figures. I just got lucky when I bought my condo so long ago.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Apr 1, 2024 17:43:42 GMT -5
So the median price for a house in my state is 275K. CNN says it takes a salary of 80K to afford a home. I laugh at them. A mortgage with PITI and a 10% down payment is going to run 2K a month. By the time you take out for (modest) taxes, 15% retirement contribution, and things like health insurance, one should be netting about 4,667. There is no way in hell I would ever take a 2K mortgage on that net a month. If you have a kid in daycare, that would be another 1000-2K/month full time. I would like to know what magic CNN folks can conjure up to be able to pay for EVERYTHING else (car(s), food, clothing, utilities) on 600-1600 a month. I had more than half of my net income going to the mortgage for years...many years. Not fun, but not necessarily financial suicide either.
but...I did manage to pay off my 30 year mortgage in 10 years and 9 months and it sure felt good to be done with it no matter how un-YMAM that was
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Apr 1, 2024 17:36:57 GMT -5
I just took a huge load of stuff to Goodwill. That is at least five good sized moving boxes that will not come along with me when I move. As I keep reminding my family - for most of my adult life I/we moved every couple of years and those moves always led to decluttering. I have now lived 20 years (the longest anywhere in my life) in this condo and no moving = no decluttering. So while I keep getting rid of stuff I have a very, very long way to go.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Apr 1, 2024 17:21:55 GMT -5
NastyWoman I think you're talking about savings, just a different phase of life. I'd encourage you to think about your goals - next year, 3 yrs, 5 yrs, 10 yrs. What might you be saving for? Are there places in your life that you could loosen the purse strings and make noticeable gains in quality of life? Does that matter to you? If not, what are your plans for any money eventually left behind years and years from now? This is the problem: I get whatever I want. I gave up layovers on long distance flights years ago. And while I have not resorted to business class yet (I will when my body tells me to do so) I have booked economy plus tickets for long flights since at least 2019. No flying in 2020 for obvious reasons but since then I have flown to Europe three times (11 hour flights) and last August to Singapore (17 hours each way). In those trips I also made side trips but those were just short hops 1-2 hour flights so that was on regular economy class. It just wasn't worth paying hundreds more for just a few hours. I will move to Germany in about 3 years and I have no idea what my budget will look like at that time. But I also will sell my SF Bay area condo before I go so I will have that money to pay for any differences like healthcare, and housing. DGS2 has decided that I will live to 101 years plus one day (my guess is he doesn't want to miss out on one last birthday cake hence the one day). I am not worried about leaving an inheritance for my kids as they are both doing exceedingly well. My current plan for whatever is left is to divided by them, or (remember 101 years) if they predecease me by their kids. To answer seriousthistime what is it if not savings: it feels to me like leftover food stuck in the fridge For some reason I have, at least temporarily, lost my connection with and understanding of money and I feel I need to get it back somehow.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Apr 1, 2024 12:53:01 GMT -5
I have a (philosophical?) question and you are all going to think I've totally lost it but I am serious so hear me out please. This is not a brag post though it might feel like it
What is saving?
It used to be a simple concept when I was in the accumulation stage of life. It was a series of very deliberate actions where I designated any money I could toward that one goal -> being able to retire relatively comfortably aka savings. So I paid off all debts, specifically my mortgage as I never had other debts*. The rest of my money went towards retirement. But now I am there. I have been retired for a little over 2 years. This year the RMDs start. Now to the question I posed above. For the last two years I have lived of SS and a smallish pension. I have not denied myself anything and traveled quite a bit. Mind you I don't fly business class and luxury hotels are not necessary for me either. I am very much a good enough is good enough person However, I have no interest in shopping (except for Xmas and birthday gift giving THAT I love), I really don't care about fashion or jewelry or stuff like that, etc. So rather than using up some of my cash equivalent savings the last two years, I have had a surplus of ~$10k/year. Now is that money "savings" or just "left overs"? There has been no deliberate action to accumulate this money. Is there really any difference between the two and, if so, does it actually matter? I have never thought as little about my spending as I have the last few years and it is starting to feel weird. Not wrong per se but weird... what do you, the deliberate savers here, think?
* I use my CC to pay for everything and pay the balance off monthly. I don't count the running balance as debt though technically it is of course.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 31, 2024 18:08:40 GMT -5
As a general FYI: my DGS2 (6yo) has informed me this morning that I will die the day after I turn 101years old. So you all will be stuck with me for quite a while yet
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 31, 2024 14:34:53 GMT -5
My favorite, and heavily used, kitchen spoon is over 50yo and cost at the time the equivalent of $0.20. Take that Pampered Chef
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 31, 2024 14:30:22 GMT -5
Biden has his own woman of color as VP He also has an opponent who brags about how ‘I’m the one that got rid of Roe vs Wade.’ Trump won’t lose ALL women, but I’ll be interested to see what percentage he does manage to lure into voting for him, especially while the red states keep trying to pile on more and more restrictions on women’s health care. I see the likelihood it will increase Biden's margins in blue states and decrease Trump's in red ones. But will it make a difference in the Electoral College vote? Not sure on that. But at least it Trump wins, it would give him a meaningless talking point on how he was cheated out of a popular vote win on which to waste time and energy. Whatever. The orange paint addict has yet to win his first popular vote. I don't see that changing.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 31, 2024 13:30:14 GMT -5
You forgot to add that he also needs to be the right "brand" of Christian or else the Pope might end up in charge and we wouldn't want that to happen would we now. I said pretty much the same thing in another thread last week, and felt the need for a flak jacket with how it went over. Whatever! If people can't handle the truth that is on them. I am sorry you had to deal with it but for me personally it is no big deal. If they really doubt me I will refer them to the target groups of the KKK It wasn't just people of color, though they undoubtedly received the worst of the KKK vile and criminal behavior, but also those "they nailed Jesus to the cross" Jews and those papish Catholics.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 31, 2024 13:05:21 GMT -5
So every high level position held by someone who is not a straight white male is a diversity hire? It’s not possible for a non white non male non straight person to be competent enough to hold that kind of job? The governor of Maryland is a black man, Wes Moore. He wrote a book called the Other Wes Moore about growing up in a lower income part of Baltimore with another boy also called Wes Moore. He tracks their parallel lives, with the other Wes getting into drugs and gangs and ultimately prison, while (primarily due to his determined Mom) went to a military boarding school when he started running wild. A very thoughtful, well written book on how we could help more poor kids stay on the right side of the law and become successful adults. I read it at about the same time I read Vance’s book about growing up in the Ohio rust belt/Appalachian Kentucky - Moore’s book was better, but both are worth a read. Now you get it. The only qualified person for any position is a straight white male. The rest of you are inferior. Once you know your place and accept it, things can go back to the way they are supposed to be. So get back into the kitchen You forgot to add that he also needs to be the right "brand" of Christian or else the Pope might end up in charge and we wouldn't want that to happen would we now.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 30, 2024 15:26:51 GMT -5
Letting this thread die is fine...for now. But beware, this kind of evil is like a weed that has runners and every time you think you have it under control it pops up again. We would have to "nuke" it to get rid of it and I just don't know how, or even if, we can do that.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 30, 2024 13:27:16 GMT -5
It looks to me like they blew through all the money they had left over so that whoever sued them over the false allegations can't get a penny from them. Scum is what they are.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 30, 2024 13:16:12 GMT -5
So, your body is sort of giving you the fight or flight response? I sort of get it. We had a partial eclipse back when I was in college, and I remember watching how the outside light was changing, and it was totally weird how different the colors looked outside, and how awfully quiet it got. As I recall even the birds stopped singing, and it gave me a sense of dread, or danger. Kind of hard to describe. Do whatever you need to that day. thank you - dread is the exact feeling That was September 9th, 2020 for me! Everything was wrong: we had been WFH for months, the Covid dead were piling up all around the world, there was no cure in sight, and then the sun never came through. There was just that eerie orangy/red sky. It felt like the end of the world as we knew it surely had to be near. Dread is exactly the right description for my feelings that day.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 29, 2024 22:33:38 GMT -5
Today hasn't been the best day. I went to WV to pick up some of the side of beef that my MIL ordered, and one of the dogs on the farm bit my calf. He tore apart my favorite pair of pants and I have a couple of deep puncture wounds that I keep making bleed again when I go up or down stairs. I went to urgent care and have a prescription for three types of antibiotics to fill tomorrow. Fortunately the farm was able to email the dog's shot records so I don't have to worry about getting rabies shots. Then when I got home I had an email with a detailed listing of the damage my former tenants did to my rent house, which is going to have to be cleaned and repaired. I don't get how people can live in filth like that. Oh no! I'm sorry you had such a rough day. Hopefully your leg heals quickly.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 29, 2024 21:11:32 GMT -5
Can you email your doctor and ask whether this is something you need to be concerned about and see him, only needs PT, or will just go away? I can message him on the patient portal. If it doesn’t get better soon, I will probably just make an appointment. I have had random aches and pains over the last 2 decades, just because of the nature of my job. I have always had a “wait and see” approach, and most of them have gone away over time. It’s funny (but not really) that I was worried about how my foot would do with me going back to work, and my foot is just fine, but my hip is not. To be fair that does not amaze me. I have seen it many times before with DSis1. She had a slew of issues with her knees,ankles, and feet. Over the years she had many surgeries related to them and more often than not she would have problems in a different area after the original injury was healed due to over/incorrect use of an other part in an effort to protect the injury site. I am not a doctor nor have I ever worked in the medical field but I suggest if this issue get worse not get better, that your wait and see period be really short. Don't risk lasting damage by "toughing this out".
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 29, 2024 19:54:09 GMT -5
I really do think that wearing that boot threw something off with that hip. I am blaming it on the boot because it started while I was using the boot, and I wasn’t doing anything strenuous, or even a lot of walking. Now that I am walking a lot since I’m back at work, I am really feeling it. It’s more uncomfortable than painful when I walk. But it is worse when I move that leg to the side to get out of the Jeep. It’s my left leg, so it moves first when I am getting out of the Jeep. Also, there is some caution tape all around an area next to my work area, to keep people from using it as a dumping ground for random stuff. Instead of going way out of my way to get around it to go to the restroom or whatever, I step over the caution tapes in places that it is low enough to do so. That feels just as bad as getting out of the Jeep. In addition to how it feels, it also feels like that part of my body may or may not cooperate with what I’m trying to do. I am starting to get concerned, because it seems to be getting worse instead of better. The last thing I need is for something else to be wrong with my body. UGH! If it doesn’t improve anytime soon, or keeps getting worse, I guess I’ll have to go see what’s going on with it. FUCK ME! Can you email your doctor and ask whether this is something you need to be concerned about and see him, only needs PT, or will just go away?
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 29, 2024 17:42:23 GMT -5
So that was lucky. I needed some groceries. The sun was out and it looked glorious outside. At the very last moment I remembered that showers were in the forecast so I grabbed my raincoat feeling a bit silly. You guessed it: it was pouring when I came out of the store and I would have been soaked without my coat. I want my sunshine back! I can handle that last week's t-shirt weather has taken a leave of absence but dangit I want the sun back.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 29, 2024 13:35:13 GMT -5
In other news, the last of our Covid holdouts may have fallen. After his brother's brush with the disease in January it looks like DS2 has finally caught it. His wife and kids had it a few times before but they always took turns. This week the three of them were infected at the same time so DS2 was in charge of taking care of them. When I called him yesterday for his birthday he sounded awful. I am certain he caught it too but when I asked today he was was feeling better. Having known this guy for 42 years now I asked if he had tested himself - no surprise, he had not. Or as he said, there is no test and therefore no proof anywhere in the world that showed he ever had Covid. So he record is unbroken*. Yea, right * He may be in denial but there is not a single anti-vaxxer in my family. He got his shots as soon as he was eligible which may be the reason he escaped for this long.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 29, 2024 13:23:44 GMT -5
It's too bad DH is not a practicing Christian as he's about 5 minutes away from needing a powerful belief in an afterlife. I'm sorry he is messing around enough to get you in this mood, but I am so going to steal this...stealing on Good Friday no less. I will surely end up in hell.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 27, 2024 18:44:24 GMT -5
Goodbye Republican party. Trump now owns you all. Lara Trump’s RNC Is Asking Job Applicants If the 2020 Election Was Stolen, Per ReportThe Republican National Committee is currently hiring, and some prospective employees have reportedly been asked a very specific question during their interviews: “Was the 2020 election stolen?” The Washington Post recounted conversations with people who have knowledge of these job interviews with the RNC, which is now being led by co-chairs Michael Whatley and Lara Trump, who is former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law. In a report published on Monday, reporter Josh Dawsey wrote that “Trump advisers have quizzed multiple employees who had worked in key 2024 states about their views on the last presidential election, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private interviews and discussions.” “Was the 2020 election stolen?” one prospective employee recalled being asked in a room with two top Trump advisers. The question about the 2020 election has startled some of the potential employees, who viewed it as questioning their loyalty to Trump and as an unusual job interview question, according to the people familiar with the interviews. A group of senior Trump advisers have been in the RNC building in recent days conducting the interviews. While the questions were left “open-ended,” a former RNC employee told Dawsey: “But if you say the election wasn’t stolen, do you really think you’re going to get hired?”
Rest of article here: Lara Trump’s RNC Is Asking Job Applicants If the 2020 Election Was Stolen, Per ReportThe real question should be "if they ask me a question like this, do I really want to be associated wth this institution?"
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 27, 2024 18:10:26 GMT -5
Turbo Tax won't accept the return without a DL. That must be their rule. I fi!ed my taxes last Saturday - no refunds or anything due - and due to this little quirk I now am aware of the fact that my DL will expire in October. With family coming to visit most of August and September I will need to pay close attention to juggling the renewal. I would prefer to get it done before my planned road trip in September
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 27, 2024 17:41:59 GMT -5
Aside from the civil rights issue there is the fact that both cases revolve about how the influence of a person's/group's religious beliefs should be allowed to influence laws and force the consequences of one religion upon others in society. This is not supposed to be a theocracy yet the country is slowly (?) moving into a fascist version thereof.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 27, 2024 15:49:49 GMT -5
I agree with you. But how is this different from refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same sex couple? At least in my mind this argument has already been made in front of the SC and, just a reminder, the SC ruled IN FAVOR of that baker. So don't think for one second that this is something the Court won't consider as a valid argument But they didn't ban wedding cakes. Yet
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 27, 2024 15:32:11 GMT -5
it is a horrendous argument to even CONSIDER, let alone to bring to the SCOTUS. I agree with you. But how is this different from refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same sex couple? At least in my mind this argument has already been made in front of the SC and, just a reminder, the SC ruled IN FAVOR of that baker. So don't think for one second that this is something the Court won't consider as a valid argument
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 27, 2024 13:33:14 GMT -5
Let's hope so. Supreme Court justices appear deeply skeptical of effort to cut access to abortion pillThe U.S. Supreme Court signaled Tuesday it would likely retain widespread access to one of the two common drugs used in medication abortion, in a case that could have nationwide implications for reproductive rights and the authority of federal agencies. During oral arguments, a majority of the justices appeared deeply skeptical that a group of anti-abortion doctors and organizations had the right to sue the Food and Drug Administration over changes the agency made to make it easier to access mifepristone. In particular, the conservative justices appointed by former President Trump questioned whether any of the doctors in the lawsuit could show they had personally been harmed by the government’s actions to regulate mifepristone. The doctors asserted they would be violating their morals if they had to treat a woman suffering complications from using mifepristone. But as Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar and some of the justices noted, the doctors have the ability to opt out if such a scenario were to occur. Rest of article here: Supreme Court justices appear deeply skeptical of effort to cut access to abortion pill"their morals" should NEVER be the standard by which they provide care. this is well known in the medical profession. to wander off the path here is extremely dangerous to the practice of medicine. what if, for example, doctors refused to treat gay patients with AIDS? apart from the very obvious moral issues of NOT providing care to someone who needs it, this would allow disease to spread to the NON-GAY population. this case should be thrown out. it has no standing whatsoever. Why limit it to refusing to gays with AIDS? How about refusing to treat anyone with a VD? That would surely fit in with their "moral" objections? Talk about a slippery slope if their objections are allowed to stand!
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 26, 2024 11:20:19 GMT -5
Reminds me of the bridge collapse in MN over the Mississippi years ago. Scary to watch, and can't imagine the horror for the people driving across the bridge at the time. I thought of that, too. not that this helps the people who were on this one, but thankfully it was the middle of the night and not rush hour when this happened. That was exactly what I thought. Just like when the Loma Prieta EQ struck in '89 right at the start of a World Series game between the 49ers and the A's. It was during rush hour when the Bay bridge collapsed but, with two home teams, the Bay area was watching baseball not commuting...
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,860
|
Post by NastyWoman on Mar 26, 2024 2:27:31 GMT -5
Story of my life. When I retired at age 70 things had gotten better than almost half a century earlier when I started work after college, but sadly not all that much. And now even that tiny improvement is being threatened by MAGA supporters. It really is bad and IMO it will take a couple of generations before we see real change and only if we teach our children well. My feminist sons are more exception than rule in today's world.
|
|