How Was Your Week?

... family in 3 different countries ...
Why do kids make things so blinkin' different!

There was a day when, statistically, more than 90% of people married someone within 12 miles of where they lived. I suppose in the Aus Outback, that's from here to the tool shed ...

We had three weddings for our anglo-Canadian partnership ... Civil UK wedding, Social UK wedding, Social Canada wedding ... Celebrant for 2 and 3 was groom's good friend who, because he worked as a mortician or something, had the required authorisation to officiate at weddings!?
 
Why do kids make things so blinkin' different!

There was a day when, statistically, more than 90% of people married someone within 12 miles of where they lived. I suppose in the Aus Outback, that's from here to the tool shed ...

We had three weddings for our anglo-Canadian partnership ... Civil UK wedding, Social UK wedding, Social Canada wedding ... Celebrant for 2 and 3 was groom's good friend who, because he worked as a mortician or something, had the required authorisation to officiate at weddings!?
Can't blame the kids for this one. Son's intended was born and raised not 5 kilometers from our front door. His dad on the other hand married a gal from the states who's biological father hails from the Fiji Islands. So couple years back dad decides it'd be a nice gesture to have his future daughter-in-law accompany the family on holiday to both countries and inadvertently complicates things with a side trip to the opposite US coast where future daughter-in-law acquires a Dutch Uncle whom she's now decided must solemnize the marriage. -o_O
 
Why do kids make things so blinkin' different!

There was a day when, statistically, more than 90% of people married someone within 12 miles of where they lived. I suppose in the Aus Outback, that's from here to the tool shed ...

We had three weddings for our anglo-Canadian partnership ... Civil UK wedding, Social UK wedding, Social Canada wedding ... Celebrant for 2 and 3 was groom's good friend who, because he worked as a mortician or something, had the required authorisation to officiate at weddings!?

If I ever get married, I'm doing it in Canada with a mortician as the officiant!
 
If I ever get married, I'm doing it in Canada with a mortician as the officiant!
Just let me know. He's a lovely guy.

He's a big guy, too, I mean, really tall and built like a bulldozer, so there's no stepping out of line during the ceremonies, and if things go seriously wrong at the afterparty, he's qualified to tidy up the mess!
 
Been trying to make tentative plans for son's pending nuptials all week.
The almost ironed out plan:

Son and his intended lodge the marriage form and take their legal oaths at the registrar's office with both sets of parents in attendance.

Mom stays behind to make further preparations while Dad accompanies son and his now wife to the states where said marriage will be solemnized by Dutch Uncle at chosen venue as dad videotapes proceedings for later viewing.

After a brief honeymoon, trio heads to left coast to rendezvous with Grandmom and step Granddad who will accompany us back home where we'll later be joined by Granddad and step Grandmom from Fiji along with half the frigging native population of OZ for the reception and video screening.

Simple right...? -o_O
 
Just found out that my optician closed, and I have to find one that takes my insurance. I'm going to phone my insurance caseworker tomorrow.

Can you say "headdesk?"

I knew you could.

At least I know that I'm going to the drag show Caturday (picked up my ticket today.)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Missed my standing doctor's appointment today (the bus never came, and the other one didn't stop where I needed to go.) I think that my doctor's going to thank me again next week for letting her know what happened because I called to let her know (something that I attempt to do whenever I miss an appointment.)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Spend a wonderful four days with a group of like-minded people, discussing deep things and banal things and having good fun and drinking and music and dancing and good food and staying up late. There was hidden drama and open companionship and good weather.

Landing in everydayland was a bit bumpy.
 
I voted earlier today (posted a rant about several neighbors in Daily Rant) then binged on some "classic" Michael Winslow and some Maru-chan the :kitty: and Hana-chan the :kitty: videos.

It was ironic that my voting number and apartment number were the same.

Oh, and the kids who were holding a bake sale in the polls found out that they needed to sell a slightly wider variety of goods (pretty much everything was off my diet in one form or another [diabetes and cardiac arrhythmia suck and blow at the same time imho].) The mixed Girl Scout cookies kinda looked decent as did the mixed popcorn (Cheddar/ranch/spicy) but not enough to risk it. :(

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
My apartment manager gave me a compliment yesterday (or was it Tuesday?)

I was doing a load of my laundry while she was doing a community presentation for the second or third floor residents. While I was going back to my apartment, she spotted me carrying my laundry detergent (I use those "pods" that have everything premeasured, which are safer and easier for me to use due to my poor eyesight and they're less "attractive" to the furred purrson plural.) She called me into the community room and asked if she could look at the package (which I gladly obliged.) She was ecstatic at the fact that the stuff was HE "compliant", which is helpful with the new washing machines in the building.

She told me that she might include a recommendation for them in the next community newsletter (she's getting/gotten sick of the kvetching about how the new machines don't get clothes clean...) I won't take credit for the recommendation, though. *shrug*

Oh, and I might get a new neighbor in a bit, too. I know her from my First Friday morning thing through my "bank" (it's going to be harder to avoid her if/when she wants to "talk" and I either don't want to or I don't have the time.)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
I was supposed to have three teeth extracted, but they cancelled the procedure.

"Why?" you ask?

Nobody came with me, and nobody showed up later (this in spite of the face that I told them weeks ago!)

This time, I'm forcing my caseworker to schedule the appointment and foregoing my DB (he's the subject of a rant of his own.)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Stellar week thus far. Legal part of the son's nuptials is finally behind us. Actually that couldn't have gone better. Local Celebrant was out sick and they sent an Aboriginal bloke to fill-in. Son's in-laws were most pleased. Well, it's off to the States this weekend to take care of the spiritual side of things, back in a fortnight for the big ripper and we're done! Honestly don't know who's happier. son, daughter-in-law or myself! -:)
 
Went to the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition here in London. Way better than expected.

My private favourite personal moment from the exhibition was this (Aussie Thoughts, bet you know this!):

shining1.jpg
shining2.jpg


These are designs done by the world-famous Saul Bass, and the scribbles on the side: 'hard to read', 'I don't like ...' etc., are by the world-famous Kubrick himself.

As a workaday designer, often asked by clients 'can my logo be bigger' (or words to that effect), and/or be told 'It's difficult to read' when it's perfectly bloody legible, it's heartening to know that:
A: Big designers like Saul Bass suffer the same problems as the little guy, and
B: Someone with an eye like Stanley Kubrick can still be a dick!

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall in the Bass studio when those comments came in.

+++

Proviso:
As someone who's pitched work to clients for many, many years, I have learned this: The first response is emotional, either they like it or they don't, either it clicks or it doesn't. Either way NEVER ASK THE CLIENT TO EXPLAIN WHY.

If they like it, unless there's a specific need to do with the deployment of the design, you're just pandering to your ego.
If they don't like it, most often it's as simple as that — it just didn't do it for them. But if you ask why, then they'll begin drumming up reasons why they don't like it, and once they start they sometimes cannot stop until they have thoroughly shredded the work, your self-esteem, etc., etc., and everything else ...

BEST REJECTION EVER — didn't happen to me, I read it in the trade rag.
Agency presents pitch for a campaign to a client. Client then recounts a project he and his wife were involved in. Seems a local park was being used by dog-owners from nearby high-rise apartments. Being a small park, and a lot of dogs, there was an issue ... so one weekend the locals with kids organised a 'sweep' across the park, planting little red flags everywhere they found dogshit in the grass. "There was" the client told the agency, "a lot of flags. Your pitch reminds me of that field."
Ouch! :D
 
Quite productive with my latest caseworker. She got more done in one session than the previous one did pretty much her entire time with me.

First off, she coordinated with both the oral surgeon's office and with me to have my three teeth pulled (finally.)

Secondly, she and I got my county financial evaluation taken care of, and I found out that I'm getting an increase (don't know how long, though, but every little bit helps in the long run.)

Lastly, I'm going to get a little extra on July 5 (so I can go to a concert that I'm hoping to attend [Leonid and Friends are going to be at Summerfest, so I'm planning on being there].)

What's ironic is that the main holdup on the first two things were being put on hold, iykwim...

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
Several of the neighbors had to go to the hospital due to complications of the heat. Unfortunately, it's going to be in the 80s F. for almost all of the week (relax, I'm doing the best that I can with the assistance of the :kitty: delegation.)

I hope that everyone in the northern hemisphere is doing okay, especially if they are dealing with the heat w/o air conditioning, complicated by some chronic medical condition.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine
 
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