I'm splitting hairs here but in the same vein, "fixin' to" is not proper anything. You fix dinner and a salad, but you don't "fix to" dinner, do you? Because you need to put another verb in there, don't you? Which makes "fixin' to" completely unnecessary, doesn't it?
(Sorry, but I'm a grammar nazi. Also I'm currently having major anxiety issues so I'm a little more prickly than normal....)
Well, we would say fixing to ride a bike, as in preparing to ride a bike. So I can't spell, but that really wasn't the point. Does that make sense now?
Steven made a goofy joke on the PS1 thread that reminded me of an architect joke I heard recently.
At the GSA final day, an elderly couple came up and started talking to me. They were local Lexingtonians (?) and had read about the student performances and came to check them out. Turns out the gentleman - probably in his mid-80s - was a retired structural engineer, he told me this after I identified myself as architecture faculty (to which he said "Why you're awful pretty for an architect!" This was not at all offensive but rather adorable, like he was 20and I was 18 or something...anyway).
He then said: "Did you hear about the architect who couldn't succeed as an architect? So he decided to become and actor and joined the theater instead...he was a huge hit - he could always draw a good house."
I am fine with you saying "fixing to" do something is a phrase as long as we agree that it's a regional thing. I don't know if we'll find it in the Oxford dictionary but then again I use "LOL" all the time and you probably won't find that there either.
Treekiller (adopted South American Portugese)
that is too funny! never knew I was Brazilian, but I did have a Venezuelan professor that was awesome... I may be channeling Burle Marx or maybe I'm just chopping down the amazon with my love of Ipe.
in reality, I grew up with a slight boston accent (the suburban kind), then lost it during my SoCal days.
Until I met Beta, I imagined him with Rod Sterling's 'twilight zone' narrator voice, or maybe Orson Wells's sonorous rumble.
Jump- earthquakes are very surreal experiences, especially when they don't cause any local damage and you get that feeling of vertigo... there was a quake back in my LA days that woke me up (think it was a 4.0) that just gently shook my bed, like one of those vibrating mattresses found in Niagara Falls or Vegas. its worse if your standing.
I feel the earth move under my feet,
the sky come tumblin down....
it is totally trippy, treekiller. i always have to check that the lamps are swinging and make sure the movement isn't just in my head. weirdest thing is that i am in a concrete building and the thing was BENDING and twisting. concete is not supposed to do that. it really isn't.
7 people died in the earthquake so far, and hundreds injured, AND a frickin nuclear power plant caught on fire. yeesh. not as bad as the kobe earthquake (was here for that one, but not IN it, thankfully), but still...bad enough.
Open hostility is not acceptable in this office. Nobody admits to disagreements here. I think one could say that passive-aggressive behaviour is the official office policy.
Fortunately about five-ten minutes after I posted that one of the bosses came in, so she had to go back to her desk and act like she was working, leaving me and my glazing submittals in peace.
Lots of anger on the forum today, not least from me, and I'll tell everyone why:
Last week we got a revised property tax bill in the mail. My property taxes on my house more than doubled: my monthly payment is going from &270 to $660. That's $400/month I suddenly am expected to come up with, starting in August.
Have I mentioned here before that even though we live fairly frugally I am happy when I end each pay period with more than $30 in the bank? An additional $400 is laughably impossible, laughable unless I choose to cry instead (which I have done a bit of in the last week).
My partner and I had a talk this morning - his taxes doubled also - and we are going to barely manage, if this one good new house job comes through.
The sickening part being, of course, that my crappy little 60-year-old 2400sf ranch in a seriously bad school district where I even have to pay extra for recycling because the city/.county government won't cover it is costing me over $600/month in taxes. This in a city that is struggling to keep people within the city limits.
I'm wavering between furious, angry, pissed off, anxious, homicidal, and scared. I did drag Angus downtown with me yesterday for a protest rally - his first! I carried a sign saying I was going to lose my home (as did approximately 1,000 other people) and Angus carried a sign with a drawing of our house on it that he had done - so cute!
The one good potential from this is that the entire city is pissed off. In between threatening to sell our houses and move to the 'burbs - which I think is a serious consideration from about half the people I speak with - we are mobilizing, and my local state rep has been amazing about responding to his constituent's (generally venomous) emails and calls.
Piled on top of this is my anger at two recent and personal events - referenced on the H&dM bird nest thread - of consumer danger: tainted Veggie Booty and recalled lead-painted Thomas the Train toys. Don't we in part pay taxes so that the EPA and FDA will protect us from needing to worry about things like this?
So - I'm in a funk. A serious funk. Even though I do think, as I've said elsewhere, that overall things in the world are getting better, I am getting tired of how hard we all have to work to keep them at a level that sometimes doesn't even seem marginally good.
Thanks for listening, sorry this was sooooo long, can we please talk about shoes for awhile now?!? ;-)
sorry to hear about your troubles lb. i can sort of feel your pain..
trying to find an apartment in nyc on an architect's salary was
painful and had me considering leaving the city.
it's worked out great..but i have few responsibilities and can
move at the drop of a hat if req'd.
i hope things improve for you..it seems crazy that a second city
like indianapolis is trying to do this...the city isn't expanding is it?
are they trying to force people out? seems irresponsible.
Everyone, I want you all to know that even with all of the trouble she's been having, lb still took the time to email me and tell me how happy for me she is that I am going to California. Class! Pure class!
I am so sorry. That sounds so utterly awful. If working middle class people can't even afford to live in a mid-sized midwestern city, how the hell are the rest of us supposed to afford it? I mean $400 a month more in property taxes? What were they thinking? Who is responsible for this? They are going to have a serious problem on their hands when suddenly every other house in Indianpolis has a "For Sale" sign in their front yard.....
Personally, I wouldn't pay it. I'd use the first $400 on a retainer for a lawyer and sue the state.
And this is why I can't even envision the point at which I would be able to own property... LB, you are paying more in property taxes than I am in rent. That is bloody ricockulous, and I dearly hope that the people in charge are listening to all of you protesters and will do something about it.
tumbles, I think the excuse for southwesterners and californians to use "y'all" is that we're just thinking in Spanish and it's the equivilant to "vosotros". When I was in Spanish class in elementary school and learned that conjugation, I was seriously wondering why the heck English doesn't have an informal-plural-you form, and at that point started conciously using "y'all" in my speech.
We just returned from the Orthopedic Surgeon and Mrs is outfitted in a Darth Vader Boot that Rivals any shoes made by Italians. I'm sure it is priced to match the look. It even has a bladder where you can pump to exert pressure or release pressure for comfort. So I'm not really into talking about shoes....want to kick mine off go toss the ball to thedogs and drink a beer.
Liberty, You could always move to "Taxaneticut" I have yet to figure out what the hell they are taxing us for. Well there is one thing which has yet to be put right on the general statutes in my fair state and that is if your a Public Servant and you steal from the people as has the past governor, and several mayors then you don't get your pension. I have a hard time believing we the tax payers let the legislators go into every session knowing this is a statue which should be put in place, yet it never is and one more Political or City or State employee is caught with their hand in the till.
Poor vado has had to listen to me bitch about my taxes for a week now, and when he turns to TC for some lighthearted conversation he hears it again - sorry! And I didn't even inquire as to whether your cat had any smoke inhalation problems!!
I just found out that I could live on someone's houseboat by myself for nine months out of the year, for less than LB pays in taxes.... an interesting option.
LB, did the tax rate increase or is it still the same and the taxable value of your house has increased?
we've been in the middle of a little tax revolt for the past year or so down here in florida... here in st. petersburg the millage rate actually went down last year, but tax bills have risen sharply because property values have gone through the roof...
the state legislature recently voted to roll back local tax rates to those of a few years ago... this resulted in a $14 million dollar budget deficit for the city in next year's budget... they just laid off 66 city employees... luckily i made the cut :) the state is planning on making up that shortfall by raising sales taxes (to probably the highest in the country) and thus increasing the tax burden on the poor/working class/non-home owners...
i'm always torn by tax discussions... my liberal/socialist leanings say let's tax MORE and provide better services... but my upper middle class homeowner side says less taxes = more money in my pocket...
I doubt that I will, LB. I don't really feel like moving again in May, I'd rather have somewhere stable where I can stay for a couple of years. Plus a houseboat provides no bike parking, pet owning, or gardening opportunities that I've really been looking forward to. And on top of all that, I occasionally get sea-sick. So while it sounds like a very interesting idea, it's probably not the right one for me.
my office was attacked by 5 japanese architects - one that works for us the rest were on island visiting the post-volcanic developments interestingly no one took my picture. Strike that stereotype off the list.
I feel like I'm another time zone (actually Eastern) lately as work has been murder. Added that I'm desperately trying to redo my portfolio to reflect my work in urban regeneration particularly focussed on Caribbean island states. The sad part is much of the work i've done has been studies that are difficult to reflect visually - but i'm trying...yet slowly loosing my mind.
on a lighter note. i was watching The Devil Wears Prada, and i thought man, women have it good. i wish sometimes i could dress as cool as women or at least had the cool clothing that get made for women....i am jealous.
When Barney tries to prove to Ted that his job as an architect is anything but boring by showing him that it is a great way to pick up women, a jealous Robin tracks down her man after hearing of his antics.
I really love that show it plays up on so many stereotypes of architects - ahhhh but not enough.
AH HA HA HA tonight's "how i met your mother" is all about these chicks go for the architect... the dialogue is actually relatively true to life. (and I bet we can all relate to one of the situations the architect is in...) sweet! it's such a corny-cute show, but I'm so pleased all the time that they actually do a decent job of portraying the archie that I don't mind! (Well, he's hand-drafting at the end, but he has a) our real trace pad and b) appears to be using a mayline... plus he's working late on some concept sketches so we'll just give him the benefit of the doubt. ;) ) (also, our office actually has those same chairs and overhead lights.)
oh, guess everyone's already talking about it. sorry!
also, beta, this is the first time you've made me angry. are you kidding?!?! do you have any idea how much it seriously sucks to have to wear women's clothes?!
the wife here again! i'm so excited that me and architphil made the hit list
the final decision was that he gets to keep the shiny shoes and i reserve the right to purchase a pair of shoes without his preview approval.
barry, i have to disagree with you. don't get me wrong, i love my architect and he is a handsome man (AP can attest) but by in large, your lot is not the sexiest of professions.
as far as speech pathologhy: i am southern. born in the ATL to parents from AL. but like the hubby, my accent is not that bad. i do have the southern lexicon (yall, lunch is actually dinner, dinner is really supper, etc.) but i don't drawl unless talking to relatives. in person or on the phone, the drawl turns on immediately.
in the same vein, we were at supper tonight at Cracker Barrell (how's that for southern) and architphil let the southern slip out...he said "come up" as in a person's upbringing!
Thread Central
"Prepair" is not a word. Prepare is.
"Propper" is not a word. Proper is.
I'm splitting hairs here but in the same vein, "fixin' to" is not proper anything. You fix dinner and a salad, but you don't "fix to" dinner, do you? Because you need to put another verb in there, don't you? Which makes "fixin' to" completely unnecessary, doesn't it?
(Sorry, but I'm a grammar nazi. Also I'm currently having major anxiety issues so I'm a little more prickly than normal....)
Well, we would say fixing to ride a bike, as in preparing to ride a bike. So I can't spell, but that really wasn't the point. Does that make sense now?
Steven made a goofy joke on the PS1 thread that reminded me of an architect joke I heard recently.
At the GSA final day, an elderly couple came up and started talking to me. They were local Lexingtonians (?) and had read about the student performances and came to check them out. Turns out the gentleman - probably in his mid-80s - was a retired structural engineer, he told me this after I identified myself as architecture faculty (to which he said "Why you're awful pretty for an architect!" This was not at all offensive but rather adorable, like he was 20and I was 18 or something...anyway).
He then said: "Did you hear about the architect who couldn't succeed as an architect? So he decided to become and actor and joined the theater instead...he was a huge hit - he could always draw a good house."
Teeheehee I giggled like a schoolgirl.
I am fine with you saying "fixing to" do something is a phrase as long as we agree that it's a regional thing. I don't know if we'll find it in the Oxford dictionary but then again I use "LOL" all the time and you probably won't find that there either.
I like 'y'all'.
Treekiller (adopted South American Portugese)
that is too funny! never knew I was Brazilian, but I did have a Venezuelan professor that was awesome... I may be channeling Burle Marx or maybe I'm just chopping down the amazon with my love of Ipe.
in reality, I grew up with a slight boston accent (the suburban kind), then lost it during my SoCal days.
Until I met Beta, I imagined him with Rod Sterling's 'twilight zone' narrator voice, or maybe Orson Wells's sonorous rumble.
Jump- earthquakes are very surreal experiences, especially when they don't cause any local damage and you get that feeling of vertigo... there was a quake back in my LA days that woke me up (think it was a 4.0) that just gently shook my bed, like one of those vibrating mattresses found in Niagara Falls or Vegas. its worse if your standing.
I feel the earth move under my feet,
the sky come tumblin down....
vado- does everything now smell like bbq?
tk, that's exactly how I imagine beta's voice!
ok, jury is in, and I am going home. Re: adventure thread.
sorry to hear it, sarah. glad it wasn't because of us pickin' on "fixin'". feel better!
it is totally trippy, treekiller. i always have to check that the lamps are swinging and make sure the movement isn't just in my head. weirdest thing is that i am in a concrete building and the thing was BENDING and twisting. concete is not supposed to do that. it really isn't.
7 people died in the earthquake so far, and hundreds injured, AND a frickin nuclear power plant caught on fire. yeesh. not as bad as the kobe earthquake (was here for that one, but not IN it, thankfully), but still...bad enough.
fixin' to...sounds proper to me.
Good lord, help me. Someone else PLEEEEEASE come into the office! Preferably someone authoritative and boss-like.
Me and my cubemate are trapped with Crystal Light. Nobody else is here, and she has us cornered. She won't shut up.
There may be a murder if nobody comes and rescues me.
why can't you tell her to 'shut the f*** up!' ?
Open hostility is not acceptable in this office. Nobody admits to disagreements here. I think one could say that passive-aggressive behaviour is the official office policy.
Fortunately about five-ten minutes after I posted that one of the bosses came in, so she had to go back to her desk and act like she was working, leaving me and my glazing submittals in peace.
Lots of anger on the forum today, not least from me, and I'll tell everyone why:
Last week we got a revised property tax bill in the mail. My property taxes on my house more than doubled: my monthly payment is going from &270 to $660. That's $400/month I suddenly am expected to come up with, starting in August.
Have I mentioned here before that even though we live fairly frugally I am happy when I end each pay period with more than $30 in the bank? An additional $400 is laughably impossible, laughable unless I choose to cry instead (which I have done a bit of in the last week).
My partner and I had a talk this morning - his taxes doubled also - and we are going to barely manage, if this one good new house job comes through.
The sickening part being, of course, that my crappy little 60-year-old 2400sf ranch in a seriously bad school district where I even have to pay extra for recycling because the city/.county government won't cover it is costing me over $600/month in taxes. This in a city that is struggling to keep people within the city limits.
I'm wavering between furious, angry, pissed off, anxious, homicidal, and scared. I did drag Angus downtown with me yesterday for a protest rally - his first! I carried a sign saying I was going to lose my home (as did approximately 1,000 other people) and Angus carried a sign with a drawing of our house on it that he had done - so cute!
The one good potential from this is that the entire city is pissed off. In between threatening to sell our houses and move to the 'burbs - which I think is a serious consideration from about half the people I speak with - we are mobilizing, and my local state rep has been amazing about responding to his constituent's (generally venomous) emails and calls.
Piled on top of this is my anger at two recent and personal events - referenced on the H&dM bird nest thread - of consumer danger: tainted Veggie Booty and recalled lead-painted Thomas the Train toys. Don't we in part pay taxes so that the EPA and FDA will protect us from needing to worry about things like this?
So - I'm in a funk. A serious funk. Even though I do think, as I've said elsewhere, that overall things in the world are getting better, I am getting tired of how hard we all have to work to keep them at a level that sometimes doesn't even seem marginally good.
Thanks for listening, sorry this was sooooo long, can we please talk about shoes for awhile now?!? ;-)
Ah, tumbles, it's good to see your cheery cross-post with mine! With images of martinis no less!
sorry to hear about your troubles lb. i can sort of feel your pain..
trying to find an apartment in nyc on an architect's salary was
painful and had me considering leaving the city.
it's worked out great..but i have few responsibilities and can
move at the drop of a hat if req'd.
i hope things improve for you..it seems crazy that a second city
like indianapolis is trying to do this...the city isn't expanding is it?
are they trying to force people out? seems irresponsible.
lb, I had no idea this was going on.
Everyone, I want you all to know that even with all of the trouble she's been having, lb still took the time to email me and tell me how happy for me she is that I am going to California. Class! Pure class!
I am so sorry. That sounds so utterly awful. If working middle class people can't even afford to live in a mid-sized midwestern city, how the hell are the rest of us supposed to afford it? I mean $400 a month more in property taxes? What were they thinking? Who is responsible for this? They are going to have a serious problem on their hands when suddenly every other house in Indianpolis has a "For Sale" sign in their front yard.....
Personally, I wouldn't pay it. I'd use the first $400 on a retainer for a lawyer and sue the state.
And this is why I can't even envision the point at which I would be able to own property... LB, you are paying more in property taxes than I am in rent. That is bloody ricockulous, and I dearly hope that the people in charge are listening to all of you protesters and will do something about it.
tumbles, I think the excuse for southwesterners and californians to use "y'all" is that we're just thinking in Spanish and it's the equivilant to "vosotros". When I was in Spanish class in elementary school and learned that conjugation, I was seriously wondering why the heck English doesn't have an informal-plural-you form, and at that point started conciously using "y'all" in my speech.
LIBERTY,
We just returned from the Orthopedic Surgeon and Mrs is outfitted in a Darth Vader Boot that Rivals any shoes made by Italians. I'm sure it is priced to match the look. It even has a bladder where you can pump to exert pressure or release pressure for comfort. So I'm not really into talking about shoes....want to kick mine off go toss the ball to thedogs and drink a beer.
uhoh, snooker, I hope the mrs.' foot is OK, that sounds drastic!
I'm so glad I'm not taking part in this discussion of smoker's "rights".
In one hour I will go to the gym and ride my stress away, for the moment.
Liberty, You could always move to "Taxaneticut" I have yet to figure out what the hell they are taxing us for. Well there is one thing which has yet to be put right on the general statutes in my fair state and that is if your a Public Servant and you steal from the people as has the past governor, and several mayors then you don't get your pension. I have a hard time believing we the tax payers let the legislators go into every session knowing this is a statue which should be put in place, yet it never is and one more Political or City or State employee is caught with their hand in the till.
perhaps the recent problems with chinese lead flavored foodstuffs will start a revival of made in america.
Thanks vado.
Poor vado has had to listen to me bitch about my taxes for a week now, and when he turns to TC for some lighthearted conversation he hears it again - sorry! And I didn't even inquire as to whether your cat had any smoke inhalation problems!!
I just found out that I could live on someone's houseboat by myself for nine months out of the year, for less than LB pays in taxes.... an interesting option.
the only trauma that pearl received was when she was stuffed into the cat carrier.
Go for it rationalist!! I've always wanted to live on a houseboat, and one in Seattle, all the better!!!
Liberty i wanna hear about your taxes!
LB, did the tax rate increase or is it still the same and the taxable value of your house has increased?
we've been in the middle of a little tax revolt for the past year or so down here in florida... here in st. petersburg the millage rate actually went down last year, but tax bills have risen sharply because property values have gone through the roof...
the state legislature recently voted to roll back local tax rates to those of a few years ago... this resulted in a $14 million dollar budget deficit for the city in next year's budget... they just laid off 66 city employees... luckily i made the cut :) the state is planning on making up that shortfall by raising sales taxes (to probably the highest in the country) and thus increasing the tax burden on the poor/working class/non-home owners...
i'm always torn by tax discussions... my liberal/socialist leanings say let's tax MORE and provide better services... but my upper middle class homeowner side says less taxes = more money in my pocket...
I doubt that I will, LB. I don't really feel like moving again in May, I'd rather have somewhere stable where I can stay for a couple of years. Plus a houseboat provides no bike parking, pet owning, or gardening opportunities that I've really been looking forward to. And on top of all that, I occasionally get sea-sick. So while it sounds like a very interesting idea, it's probably not the right one for me.
I report to work at 9:00 AM tomorrow.... Let's hope it's at least a few months before they realize I have no clue what I'm doing!
I think tumbles is trying desperately to prove she's not a valley girl, as if
my office was attacked by 5 japanese architects - one that works for us the rest were on island visiting the post-volcanic developments interestingly no one took my picture. Strike that stereotype off the list.
tumbles - you should post the 59 degree thing on GTC.
LB, how, oh how, could you direct me to the smoking debate??? I get far too invested in those things. Now I can't stop.
I feel like I'm another time zone (actually Eastern) lately as work has been murder. Added that I'm desperately trying to redo my portfolio to reflect my work in urban regeneration particularly focussed on Caribbean island states. The sad part is much of the work i've done has been studies that are difficult to reflect visually - but i'm trying...yet slowly loosing my mind.
quick someone catch that mind
has anyone noticed that dead sexy photo of Orhan on his flickr page amongst those of the debate/studio work? Damn!
noticed it? i printed it out and framed it in a michael graves frame!
shhhhh everyone how I met your mother is on! Get your weekly there's an architect on tv fix
come on i know you're watching posh.
What?!?! I'm missing a sexy picture of an architect?!? Where is Orhan's flickr page???
I know I had to dig it up as well lb he's been holding out on us
there's two episodes
"architects are HOT!"
my wife thinks architects are hot too.
what do i sound like? depends on whether or not i get my Jersey on...and lately people seem to want to see and/or hear my Jersey.
on a lighter note. i was watching The Devil Wears Prada, and i thought man, women have it good. i wish sometimes i could dress as cool as women or at least had the cool clothing that get made for women....i am jealous.
When Barney tries to prove to Ted that his job as an architect is anything but boring by showing him that it is a great way to pick up women, a jealous Robin tracks down her man after hearing of his antics.
I really love that show it plays up on so many stereotypes of architects - ahhhh but not enough.
AH HA HA HA tonight's "how i met your mother" is all about these chicks go for the architect... the dialogue is actually relatively true to life. (and I bet we can all relate to one of the situations the architect is in...) sweet! it's such a corny-cute show, but I'm so pleased all the time that they actually do a decent job of portraying the archie that I don't mind! (Well, he's hand-drafting at the end, but he has a) our real trace pad and b) appears to be using a mayline... plus he's working late on some concept sketches so we'll just give him the benefit of the doubt. ;) ) (also, our office actually has those same chairs and overhead lights.)
oh, guess everyone's already talking about it. sorry!
also, beta, this is the first time you've made me angry. are you kidding?!?! do you have any idea how much it seriously sucks to have to wear women's clothes?!
the wife here again! i'm so excited that me and architphil made the hit list
the final decision was that he gets to keep the shiny shoes and i reserve the right to purchase a pair of shoes without his preview approval.
barry, i have to disagree with you. don't get me wrong, i love my architect and he is a handsome man (AP can attest) but by in large, your lot is not the sexiest of professions.
as far as speech pathologhy: i am southern. born in the ATL to parents from AL. but like the hubby, my accent is not that bad. i do have the southern lexicon (yall, lunch is actually dinner, dinner is really supper, etc.) but i don't drawl unless talking to relatives. in person or on the phone, the drawl turns on immediately.
in the same vein, we were at supper tonight at Cracker Barrell (how's that for southern) and architphil let the southern slip out...he said "come up" as in a person's upbringing!
i mean look at all the brand names! i love fashion, and when anne hathaway walks in to stanley tucci's closet, I nearly fainted!
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