trinacriabob

nude

Yeah, that's what I am talking about, it's almost something you have to do in certain jobs. I mean...I could get by without doing it and I won't. I just think that the whole golf experience cranks up your client roster a whole other notch. What does your dad do? Keep it general without being too specific (as you sometimes are...j/k) that he has to schmooze a little bit? Admittedly, I have tried it a time or two and DID NOT like it AT ALL. On the other hand, I picked up a tennis racket and liked it instantly without any pressure to like it or not. I just did.

statue

libertine

Every once in a while, fleeting mentions of golf and golfing come up on the site. Yes, I see how it would nice be to walk scenic manicured courses as you go out to a golf outing. But that's where it stops. I've never really had an opinion of golf (other than indifference), but that's changing. Sorry if I seem blunt, but the whole experience and the accoutrements that go with it seem so "packaged." I wonder if people REALLY like it, or if it's something they do to be "one of the boys." I mean, it offers little in the way of exercise value. The reason I bring this up is that about 5 months ago, I got a new boss. In the last week or so, it crystallized that he is totally worthless and that he adds nothing to my (learning) experience at this firm (especially since I didn't even have a boss before...I just worked on my own projects, which I liked better). However, this dude merged his firm into ours and brought in some bigger projects which require somebody to run them (me) while he....well, GOLFS. First of all, the fact that he golfs is so inconsistent with his overall demeanor which is kind of pissy. He is not at all a back-slapper. From what I can tell, I do that better than everyone in our firm...but I couldn't name a single article in a golf bag. And I'm single and I don't belong to Rotary or any of that stuff. Let's face it, there's enough written about (glass) ceilings. I once read that a single male makes 5 to 11 % less than his married counterpart for the same job. If I get wind of that in a job setting, I check out and start looking for my next job. Back on track, what's your thought of the whole golf scenario? Do you partake? Do you think that a lot of the people that are TOO into it tend to be clones of each other? The whole experience seems way too uptight for my taste. Share your stories and thoughts.

Fidelity

Schwab

...so predictable...so predictable Paolo, Paolo, non cambi mai....

Aaaantoine: How many mpgs is your sled getting (on the freeway, for instance)?

You pretty much can judge a book by its cover. Within 1 minute, I know if the salesperson (cars, real estate, consumer durables) is someone that suits me and that I want to earn my commission. They have to be knowledgeable, somewhat polished and not be pushy. I sometimes run into people who don't know much. I've had to explain the VVT concept to some salespeople. They didn't even know it was under the hood of the cars they were selling. If someone comes and starts talking down to me or getting real back-slappy right away, I check out. I'm thinking: act like a sales professional...it's the profession you chose, after all. I decide when and how much I want to write a check for every month. There are others out there who don't have as much restraint in this area. A salesperson who is going to decide for me has lost the sale. (By the way, the realtor lady who is married to the doctor KEEPS calling me all the way across the US -- thus, she lost a potential sale a LOOOOONNNNNGGG time ago). I absolutely hate lingo like "how'd ya like to driving this off the lot today?" as you barely walk up to a car. What's going through my head is "f*** you." Basically: A good salesperson knows their product, HELPS you buy what it is you are looking for, can size up who they are dealing with and adjust their performance accordingly.

Thanks for letting us know. Were you fairly close to your Dad? Have your other siblings been helping out as well? As time goes on, you'll remember and rely on the good things and good memories like tmp said up above.

The Midwest is pretty down to earth. In fact, when at U of I, some of the people I got along with better were from the smaller areas of Illinois than from Chicago proper (especially those North Shore types - sorry, I'm from LA and the North Shore doesn't impress me much). The electrical engineer I work with the most is from Iowa...Catholic high school and all...and I work very well with him. I would have to say that the main bitch is the lack of topography and that you can see for too far. I swear I must be agoraphobic because openness and flatness really does a number on me. The desert has the same effect for me, unless it's fringed by mountains. That's why I left Champaign-Urbana within hours of my last final exam. Happiness is landing in Montreal within 48 hours. Yes!

Curtis

capellini (that's the Italian word for that type of pasta)

cannelloni (veal and mushroom, preferably)

meatballs

Understood...that's why I will be in Quebec 3 days from now. I hope there is still some color left.

matzah crackers (sp?)

Spoken like 2 dyed-in-the-wool Southern Californians. Sexual comments from nippy Pennsylvania and materialistic comments from So. Cal. --- so what else is new here?

You are the 'effin coolest. Good Gawd. Where did you find that? I was looking at Oldsmobile and Buick and dying laughing. I was so sorry that 1975 and 1976 Oldsmobile brochures were not there! My first automotive love was the 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme or Cutlass Salon coupe...bar none! But I couldn't drive then so I pressed my nose against the glass and made a spot on the window! Our next door neighbors got one and I would freeze in my tracks to watch it turn into the driveway or hear it purr as they pulled up their sloped driveway. "It's a Good Feeling to Have an Olds Around You." But I did go to 1977. Check out the Brougham seating in the Cutlass line that has the "tuxedo stripe" plump velour seats. It's killer! Both beautiful and super gaudy that you don't know what to think! THANKS. Still scratching my head as to why some years would be missing.

Now even Z is starting to tread on thin ice....

veggie burger

round-up

Lawn Guyland

January River (they actually thought it was the mouth of a river which they discovered on January 1st, but it was merely Guanabara Bay). My response to the thread: Sao Paolo