trinacriabob

Most importantly, Mom's ok. Mom, (apple pie) and Chevrolet...a fortuitous combo that kept your mom safe.

I'm telling.

Some are real surprises. Really, a doctor makes a quarter million a year? No wonder doctors are such pricks. Anybody I know from college that's a doctor doesn't even associate with college friends who aren't in the health professions. I just notice that pattern and I didn't know anybody over in biology, but it's pretty obvious with some who live near my Mom up north (they are slumming to be in my Mom's neighborhood, having bought a house that in 1989 cost $ 229,000 and driving a Taurus/Camry). Lawyer making more than a dentist? Look how many lawyers are out there. A veterinarian only makes 79 K in the new millenium? Nah...can't be. They should be in the doctor/dentist range. Landscape architects make more than what they say there. Social service manager - wouldn't that be depressing? Couldn't deal with it. Every 10 or so years you get the lady or man who bilks the welfare system with 12 different identities. One of my childhood friends and I howl over this black lady in LA who pulled this off and lived in Ladera Heights (very nice area that's mostly Jewish and black professionals). She drove several Cadillacs and her names were off the Richter scale hilarious. Our favorite was Althenya Evans.

1.I wouldn't have done that. 2. Agreed. I am not even following who has been awarded the design. It's become political and nasty. My politically incorrect comment: You have a mayor named Bloomberg and a front runner architect named Liebeskind. Too f***ing bad Giuliani isn't mayor so maybe a great WOP architect would have had a better chance.

Can we share one?

I think it's more than that....some time has passed and the economy is stronger, with a lot of projects going on....especially in California or the Northeast. I would say 10 years of experience with a degree, license and some people under you as you manage a project should bring in about $ 75 K to $ 85 K. It's all over the map. Some firms are more corporate and do the decent pay/benefit thing and others are more bohemian who can't afford to pay well. Stay the hell away from the latter. I don't know about growth, but good God, in growing areas everybody's looking. In places like LV, if you have a heartbeat, you'll have a job. But then, how many people want to live in Vegas? I don't handle triple digit heat well.

me

No, but I could manage one: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

gourmet

Not this time. But I got hit in the knee once with the cart for having my leg in the aisle. It hurt like hell for about 4 hours.

P R I M A L S C R E A M

Right on...I could see that.

tuba

I was wanting to hear about that. Was flying over on an Air India 747-400 a riot? A lot of curry breath? Report on the experience! One time I flew the inaugural rate RT for $ 449 on Lufthansa to celebrate their new route -- Portland-Frankfurt-Portland. I was by myself. (My Mom was pissed...You just got back from Argentina! - but I arranged the time off between switching employers). I looked around the lounge, looking at who was alone that I might end up next to and focused on this one person. I thought "Not THAT one, please." He was a Greek Orthodox priest in the black get-up with the helicopter landing pad hat who weighed about 350 lbs. and had a 2 foot long beard. He was also a pig and an alcoholic. He drank those little bottles the whole way back and particles of whatever he ate remained in his beard. I did not get a wink of sleep for 9.5 hours. I also leaned into the aisle the whole way so I didn't have to brush up against him. I couldn't get another seat...the plane was booked solid. I probably wouldn't take Air India ANYWHERE to avoid the possibility of a similar experience.

Where the hell are you going, Ocn? Now that I see you've changed your signature to reflect seasonality and the ownership of a Speedo. Spare us...don't put that in the Pictures album. We've seen enough.

cylinders

Ah, forget Calatrava - his $h! is too expensive to build...and would you want to detail it? We'd all blow a fuse. Damn, Mustang, a regular chick magnet. Is the "California Kook" in there? Now, c'mon, isn't New York bitchin' -- all those waterways and bridges -- The Big Apple has it over the Chicago area ANY day of the week in my book!

seven

replace

Handouts

WILDMANJOE: What kind of stains are found under your computer desk? I am AFRAID to ask.

Reg, you hit all three that I think about:1. Women don't age well, generally speaking. When we will get the grey flecks in the temples, we will look distinguished... for them, well....the way I look at it is that it evens out, they get to "cherry pick" earlier on and we are in the driver's seat later - fair, even though the pickings aren't as good later. Middle aged women + don't like that Sean Connery and Michael Douglas are boning younger chicks in movies. 2. If the mother is a rag, she probably will be too. If the mother wears the pants in the household, stay the hell away! 3. Having a vagina isn't entitlement to be on my charity list. Get it yourself (via a degree and a job). The problem is college educated, attractive women with easy-going personalities that want to go to work and help their husbands/boyfriends bring home the bacon are FEW. What the F*** are they talking about when they say there aren't good men around? Very few of them fit the checklist I just described. I know, I'm such an asshole.

Wow, all this talk of working for GM and living in Michigan. I used to think that working for GM would be the end-all job. I remember that, before I opted for grad school in architecture, I went to the MBA forum where all the schools put up booths. I seriously thought about U of M Ann Arbor. Seriously, including penciling out applications. I then thought - great, inside track to GM - but would I be happy living there? Then, if you don't end up at GM, you just spent 2 years in Ann Arbor which didn't interest me in the least. In fact, I wound up talking to a recruiter for GM. He told me that all of the automakers have trouble keeping people who came in from MBA programs on the coasts (Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, Virginia) for this very reason. They've been burned and much rather hire Midwesterners from the highly ranked Midwestern schools. I wonder how many MBAs are clamoring to work for GM these days? Oh well.

Normal is good! Enjoy and good luck!

stupid