Just...................whatever [7]

Hello Lance how are you ?

Busy and have sore legs! How are you?

In all honesty I've been doing really shitty but thanks for asking Lance.

Hope that the sore legs were the result of something fun!

Lancebloke wrote:Busy and have sore legs! How are you?

sore legs? is that Jason Bourne related or just too much walking to find Ribena?

Eldo - what's up dude? Saw that Minecraft convention building you have been making. That was mental!

Figgy - from Paintball. I intensely used some muscles that never get used normally. Just starting to recover from it. How are you?

I'm glad you liked the convention center build! It's been a lot of fun even though I dunno if/when I'll have more mental energy for it again. It's always nice to get to share some views of builds with other people though since the Minecrafting process is otherwise pretty solitary (for me, I know multiplayer is a thing though).

I've been struggling to keep my head above water mental health-wise. Grad school so far hasn't been too bad in terms of volume of work but it's sent my anxiety through the roof. Same thing happened back in February and March when I was applying, but I thought that once I actually got in the stakes of any given project wouldn't be quite so high and things might be better. And I guess it has been, relatively speaking, but still. The past week or so has seen a bit of an improvement, though. Made a few changes that seem to have helped.

Anyway, thanks again for asking and for your kind words. It really means a lot. And I hope things are going well for you in general! Paintball has always sounded fun though I've never tried it myself.

Sounds like you are making your way through it. I won't pretend to understand your situation but will only say that it sounds like you are soldiering in well and to keep at it!

Paintball is fun when it is marshalled properly. Cheaters make me angry!! Getting shot isn't too bed either so long as you play aggressively... most of the time the adrenaline takes the pain away!

Ouch My friend went paintballing & woke up to bruises everywhere, said it hurt like hell !
Eldo, ...."you are a strong, confident woman".... That's what my son says, its from "Friends" but for me he says "Your a strong confident black man" We are all different my friend, what helps us is being surrounded by GOOD friends, people who support you & understand how it must feel for you. Chat about anything even if its silly, watch funny progs or films. For me, life is shit at the mo. I know we have kept our private lives private but, for years Ive been ill. I suffer half a dozen illnesses & in the UK we can claim a Benefit called ESA. It used to be called "sickness Benefit" for people unable to work. I'm nearly 58, & the bastard 20yr old Doctor I saw at my medical assessment past me fit for work. I'm now fighting the Benefit system with my GP, Benefit Councillor etc to get reinstated. In the meantime I'm expected to look for work I cannot do. I'm practically flat bound due to my problems, so, in the past, when I said this place was my "home" my sanctuary, my love, I meant it !! Being here with you all has given me a life. Ive laughed with you all & read your discussions & loved every minute. Ive never once regretted being here. You really are a fantastic bunch & you never knew how much comfort & help you've all been to me just by being "you"

If your doctor is on your side and you have help through the process then you have a great chance of winning your appeal. I did some reading up on it from a website called 'Benefits and work, guides you can trust', basically never let them trip you up with trick questions, dont say you can walk or do simple actions without pain, get your doctor to say its a chronic illness that is never getting better, and you would be harmed by being forced to work, if I was you I would say anything to get what you need, just don't let them trick you with things that can allow them to fail you. That website looks quite helpful.

I am ok Lance, I am still a student, probably forever. what you been up to apart from jelly legs?

Just busy with work and life stuff. Got a bit of a lull at the moment but sure it will all be hectic again soon.

How long do you have left studenting?

Btw - I work right next to the Tate Modern now. Not sure if I should go in there as I am not a big fan of modern art... but it is free!

Lancebloke wrote:Just busy with work and life stuff. Got a bit of a lull at the moment but sure it will all be hectic again soon.

How long do you have left studenting?

Btw - I work right next to the Tate Modern now. Not sure if I should go in there as I am not a big fan of modern art... but it is free!

I have got at least 5 more years studenting.

The Tate has a nice café, and they may even have Ribena. Also useful when its raining. Not too keen on any art after 1900, but that's just me.

Thanks for the advice Figgles, I'm certainly getting on it. I'm not keen on modern Art either, tho pottering round an Art Gallery seems an ok afternoon to me I'm more a "Classical" girl, sculpture & Architecture is more my thing. Got a liking for ornate iron gates from somewhere too, probably from one of my great ancestors, just before they hitched her up & claimed she was a witch

There's two kinds of modern art: the pretty great stuff, and the stuff that royally pisses you off. It all depends on who the curator is. If they are more after name recognition you may find a lot of stuff in category B.

I have to give the Guggenheim credit for actually being worthwhile. And at 5:30 on fridays and saturdays they open it to latecomers to pay whatever they feel is fair. The line wraps around the museum but it's worth it; you only need about 1.5 hours anyway.

maybe my brain doesn't work in the right way but abstract art really gets my goat and I don't understand it without reading about it. Take the dude Rothko, he gets my goat bigly. I like nice Victorian figurative art with nice frocks and swoony romance.

Rothko doesn't piss me off, his admirers do.  But I can get lost in a Jackson Pollack. In a good way.

Thanks, Lance and azriel. And az, I hope that the situation with your doctor and the benefits people gets resolved in your favor soon! I'm definitely glad that we have you here as part of our community. It's been a big support to me at many points over the years as well.

{{{Ive been so busy- work and life all contriving!! But I count my blessings that's all I have to contend with at the moment, bar some occasionally severe shoulder and neck pains that just nearly 30 years of care work taking its toll.
Eldo, like Lance I ain't going to pretend I know whatever you experience is right, but good ole Shakespeare I reckon really was onto something when he said of bad things,m even when you know they are coming,m that ;time and tide runs through the darkest days' you just hang on in there when the storm clouds gather and keep remembering that's all it is, a passing storm- to be weathered and endured certainly but only till the sun comes back out.

Lance- when I was in Glasgow not so long ago on the occasion of my Better Half's sister visiting from Italy I decided to pop into the Gallery of Modern Art, which I remembered from my student days as being a cracking art museum full of innovate works and interesting displays mainly of which were interactive in some fashion.
What we got was a closed lower floor, an entire room which consisted of nothing more than pictures of famous artists hand prints. A 'cinema' room showing a looping art film of a car journey through Glasgow and other similar uninspiring, dull and uninteresting exhibits- I was as shocked at the poor quality given my past experiences of it as I was embarrassed at having dragged someone from the art galleries of Italy into there. I really wish instead we had gone earlier and made the journey out to Kelvingrove Gallery- thats a proper art gallery and museum- sadly the Gallery of Modern Art can no longer claim the same on this evidence.

Azriel- I symnpathise- last time I had be unemployed for a few months I got put on the universal credit (my area is one of the 'test areas') never got my rent on time once, was anything from a few days to weeks late, every single time- put me into rent arrears and made things difficult with the landlord And every time I had to phone up to sort it out- a call which including being put on hold all the it me can last anything up to 45 minutes, the government then had the cheek to charge premium call charges on! (I see today they have finally backed down on this gross explanation of folk who already have little and ate phoning for help and said the line will become free to call in the future).
Figg is quite right however that the trick lies in how you answer the questions- out of the forms and the face to face questions there are usually only a handful of actually relevant ones upon which everything hinges- get one of them wrong and they can say your fine to work, and of course they word those ones in such a fashion they appear initially innocuous. }}}

Thankyou, & yes, its always darkest before the dawn. One does get tired of these battles tho but, into the fray ! Right, enough. I'm still with Figgs on the Art front. A dashing guy in a frock coat rings big bells in my book

I've mist you guys!! Seems all I do is pop in and get a little glimpse of a conversation, and I am never around long enough to engage.

Stunning picture Amarië

Good to see you, Amarie!

{{Beautiful picture- and always good to see the boss about! Hi Amarie! }}}}

Amarie - you and me both! There isn't much LotR to talk about these days either. Someone needs to do something to get everyone hyped again... like delete the Hobbit trilogy from existence and start again.

That is a wonderful thought, Lance. I hope you come across a method to do so on your not at all suspiciously exotic and action-packed travels.

I was hoping I would get to refresh my Elven pronunciation. I was just going to go to band practice and then get back to it the day after, and continue the discussion with Elthir and Halfie... Nope...