In which I whine.
May. 10th, 2005 09:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoney321I HAVE to get this stupid job done today. I am HATING my editorial job for the Master Gardener's magazine. The actual work is fine. Not much there for me other than approval of content, and I have EAGLE EYE proofers. But. I have all these uppity women with waaaay too much time on their hands who send me hate mail for not spotlighting their Iris Society plant sale. Or that a certain member who got a fucking plaque for always showing up at the Rose Society Fundraisers didn't get a friggin' cover story. I am not making this up. o_O
No, I just featured a local school for autistic and handicapped kids (of which my youngest sister is one)where the MGs built an acre of greenhouses, taught the kids how to garden, grow the school's FOOD, have a yearly plant sale and donate all the money to the school... Huh.
Or two months ago where the cover story was about the Little Hands on the Farm, where we take kids from inner city school and they get a day at the Fair to learn that milk comes from cows (I swear, some kids do not know this.) That bread comes from GRAIN, on and on, and then they learn how to grow things them selves.
Or February's issue where I highlighted a program at Juvie Hall where we teach these kids that they CAN do something (they are SO ANGRY when they go in) and they learn patience, peace, and satisfaction from DOING SOMETHING positive by growing something. You'd be amazed at the satisfaction you can have at putting a seed in some dirt, then 60 days later harvesting your own tomatoes. Or a peach. Or learning how to cook with food you grew. Or making a boquet from your own garden and taking it to a nursing home. Most of the kids (80%) in our program DON'T GO BACK. Tell me something else with that kind of stat.
And silly me. I thought that was more important than Bunny Thompson being named "fundraiser extrodinaire" or Kitty Hathaway being the "belle of the Iris Ball." Fucking society women. Most of the MGs are like me - get their hands dirty, like giving back to the community. It's the noisy biddies with nothing but their showdogs and "social clubs" to occupy their time that are DRIVING. ME. CRAZY.
Deadline in five hours. Vericonca Mars finale tonight. There may beseveral bottle of wine involved with the watching. Oh: does ANYONE have a copy of The Go-Gos "Turn in to You" on mp3 that can yousendit to me? It's for a super seekrit project. 10Q if so!! Or Julie Brown's "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun?"
No, I just featured a local school for autistic and handicapped kids (of which my youngest sister is one)where the MGs built an acre of greenhouses, taught the kids how to garden, grow the school's FOOD, have a yearly plant sale and donate all the money to the school... Huh.
Or two months ago where the cover story was about the Little Hands on the Farm, where we take kids from inner city school and they get a day at the Fair to learn that milk comes from cows (I swear, some kids do not know this.) That bread comes from GRAIN, on and on, and then they learn how to grow things them selves.
Or February's issue where I highlighted a program at Juvie Hall where we teach these kids that they CAN do something (they are SO ANGRY when they go in) and they learn patience, peace, and satisfaction from DOING SOMETHING positive by growing something. You'd be amazed at the satisfaction you can have at putting a seed in some dirt, then 60 days later harvesting your own tomatoes. Or a peach. Or learning how to cook with food you grew. Or making a boquet from your own garden and taking it to a nursing home. Most of the kids (80%) in our program DON'T GO BACK. Tell me something else with that kind of stat.
And silly me. I thought that was more important than Bunny Thompson being named "fundraiser extrodinaire" or Kitty Hathaway being the "belle of the Iris Ball." Fucking society women. Most of the MGs are like me - get their hands dirty, like giving back to the community. It's the noisy biddies with nothing but their showdogs and "social clubs" to occupy their time that are DRIVING. ME. CRAZY.
Deadline in five hours. Vericonca Mars finale tonight. There may be
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Date: 2005-05-10 07:31 am (UTC)I think your newsletters are much more interested than Bunny and her prize orchids. Word. For some reason I just got "Fuck Tha Police" stuck in my head. Comin straight from the underground! Master Gardening is vicious!!!
Watcha gonna do today? Watch Veronica Mars obsessively? Take your morning walk? Sit-ups? Start making snacks and putting them in the freezer now in anticipation of my visit? Hm? Hmmmmmm?
It's a theme today.
Date: 2005-05-10 07:46 am (UTC)An old biddy got it bad, cuz I'm down!
I've got to make sure I have all of my articles, cut out what can't fit, brave the storm of the bitches who hate my decision as Editor (um, none of them stepped up to the task when I smiled sweetly and offered them my job, when they so CLEARLY could do it better), I'm going to go for a walk to knock out some AGRESSION, spread fertilizer on my beds (shit mood - spread shit) and I bought Diet Sprite in cans yesterday in anticipation. WHEE!
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Date: 2005-05-10 07:34 am (UTC)The Big Guys of the rose world are all dirty fingernails sorts, it's the Exhibitionists who have zero sense of proportion.
I suspect Orchid Society people are not of this world.
Julia, Native Plant Society people are cool but they do tend to be crunchy types
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Date: 2005-05-10 07:43 am (UTC)What is up with the Iris Society!! It's the same EVERYWHERE. They're frigging irises. I MOW mine, come June. Sheesh. once Miss Emily is in Kindergarten, I plan on becoming a Master Naturalist as well, as they are definitely "my people."
Stoney, the crunchier, the more I can deal.
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Date: 2005-05-10 08:07 am (UTC)About the Iris Society folks, I know not; I came to the dance too late to understand if they were crazy to begin with or got that way breeding irises (all exhibitionists: cattle, horses, dogs, roses, iris whatever, are all different shades of the same crazy). But at one moment I was in conversation with three of the top breeders in the country, and they were... even loonier than primula breeders.
In this, however, I exclude the Big Guys I've met- the head breeder from Schreiners and Mr. and Mrs. Atkins are lovely people, mostly shy and self-efacing.
The exhibitionists, though? Scary people, apparently looking for ways to enhance their delusions of godhood.
Julia, which reminds me, I need to go undo the damage a Cooper's Hawk did crashing through the Long John Silver after a starling yesterday, not to mention wash the hawk shit off the study window
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Date: 2005-05-10 08:16 am (UTC)Just gotb ack from my walk and frowned at some neighbors who turned their sprinkler on JUST NOW, excessive run-off, and BTW: we got 2 inches of rain 36 hours ago. You know, Collin County ain't too far from the swamp lands of Louisiana... Guess they miss it.
And as to exhibitionists... Truer words were never spoken. Oh, the HORSE people. Only can be topped by the CAT show-people. I love my cats, but are you frickin' kidding me? A more ill-suited animal for an arena, I've never seen. Now I've done it. There'll be badger shows now that I've opened my mouth.
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Date: 2005-05-10 08:20 am (UTC)Really. I learned it from an off-topic post on the Watchers Diaries at Buffy Guide, during my year-long lurk through the fandom.
Also Reptile Shows. (shudder)
My sister showed beef cattle until Andrew was born; she looked upon it as a vacation, which shows you just how insane farmers really are.
Julia, so many symbolic ways to say "look! mine is bigger than yours!"
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Date: 2005-05-10 07:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-10 07:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-10 08:02 am (UTC)Yes, I'm quoting Hagrid. Shaddup. It's true!
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Date: 2005-05-10 08:18 am (UTC)Will you squee with me in July when the book is out? I will be boinging, to be sure.
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Date: 2005-05-10 08:58 am (UTC)Yes, I shall be squeeing the squee of a leetle girl! I've already got mine ordered and will be at the gala event at my local bookstore.
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Date: 2005-05-10 09:40 am (UTC)Thanks for taking my mind off the MIND NUMBING STRESS.
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Date: 2005-05-10 10:30 am (UTC)You're welcome! :D
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Date: 2005-05-10 10:30 am (UTC)Seriously.
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Date: 2005-05-10 11:52 am (UTC)Um, please forgive the "book review" I had to let someone do to gain volunteer hours. And what you'll read is AFTER my heavy editing. I may as well of written the damn thing myself...
(I'll assume you can read pdf files? Emailing you the past '05 issues - let me know if you want me to stop)
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Date: 2005-05-10 12:14 pm (UTC)You do know I'm a hometown newspaper editor's wife right?
So I'm sure I can take it. :P
Eee!
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Date: 2005-05-10 08:43 am (UTC)::goes cross-eyed with the effort::
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Date: 2005-05-10 09:42 am (UTC)Bah. I just hate snippiness. Unless it's coming from ME. :-D
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Date: 2005-05-10 09:55 am (UTC)You're bucking for sainthood, young lady. What do you want to be the patron saint of? There are several
openings...positions... opportunities in the fields of porn and tequila and snark.Stoney, patron saint of happydrunkenupagainstthewallsnarkyfunsmut!
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Date: 2005-05-10 10:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-10 08:51 am (UTC)YAY VM is right! I've been re-watching the series on my computer, I love it so much. SKVEE!
Darlin', you da best. Always fun and funny and I love hearing the (not so) sordid details of your life. Sorry I haven't been as commenty lately, but I am here. I will come out of lurk mode now. ;)
I can't fully believe that there are people in the world like the people in Texas. Your Master Gardener crazies are a good example.
What is a Master Gardener? Did you have to take a course, or get a tattoo or anything?
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Date: 2005-05-10 09:46 am (UTC)If you read the thread started by Julia_here up above (she lives close to you) you'll see that those who "specialize" in one thing, be it a plant, an animal, whatever, tend to be loopy. My god, have you seen the CAT SHOWS? Huh??
MGs take a year long course, give 100 hours in volunteer time at the COunty Extension Agency answering phones from citizens regarding plants, turf, trees, disease, vegetables, insects and providing free help. We go to schools and educate kids on conservation, responsibility to the environment, give lectures around the city on those same topics... And you have to renew your edcation and Volunteer hours every year to maintain your "title." It's a lot of work and I love it. Most of the MGs are like me. There are just some women who are old, lonely, and have waaaay too much money and time on their hands and get pissy.
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Date: 2005-05-10 08:55 am (UTC)*sics spike on them for you*
How you doin'?
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Date: 2005-05-10 09:47 am (UTC)(And the new roomie/dog? Fine? Looking at the calendar a lot?)
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Date: 2005-05-10 10:10 am (UTC)*hugs*
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Date: 2005-05-10 11:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-10 01:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-11 05:26 am (UTC)I just let them know that my position will be open next year, and I went ahead and signed them up for first consideration.
Haven't heard from them since. :-D
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Date: 2005-05-11 01:57 pm (UTC)Power to teh People
Date: 2005-05-10 04:12 pm (UTC)Rock on, Miss Stoney. Tis your destiny.
Re: Power to teh People
Date: 2005-05-11 05:27 am (UTC)Dude, today my life will go back to normal (um, have you called me lately? I think you have.... I haven't been on the phone since the wedding bru-haha began, and then my editing deadline loomed. Meep!)
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Date: 2005-05-10 06:32 pm (UTC)Now why on earth would you want those songs?
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Date: 2005-05-11 05:29 am (UTC)Now, I'm one of those weirdoes that talk about plants using their Latin names, but only to clarify specifics with my friends. If I'm talking to a regular ol' person, common name like stinkweed, or them purple pansies will suffice.
Some people just need to bitch, I've decided.
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Date: 2005-05-10 06:47 pm (UTC)I'd suggest hitting Bunny and Kitty with a rolled up newspaper like they was a yappy little dog and saying "No! No bark!".
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Date: 2005-05-11 05:30 am (UTC)Hitting... haven't tried that one.
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Date: 2005-05-10 07:43 pm (UTC)I was thinking of you all day. Nathan had a dentist appointment, so afterward we went out for lunch, then to the nursery because it turned out to be a be-yoo-tee-ful day, and picked out some flowering perennials, including some that were on that list you sent me oh so long ago. Got a bleeding heart, two different Jacob's Ladders, a fern, and a hosta. I planted some of them this afternoon and will get to the others later this week. Was thinking all along, "What would Laura do with this one?" as I was figuring out where to put it. WWLD is now my mantra.
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Date: 2005-05-11 05:33 am (UTC)I can't wait to see pics! Take a pic after you get it planted and watered in (deeply!) and then again next year at this time. You'll be BLOWN AWAY by how quickly they grow. I NEVER buy big plants, always seedlings, seed, or small 4 inch pots because I know that I can wait one year for bigness and save 65% of the cost.
PICS!!!
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Date: 2005-05-11 09:59 am (UTC)Succulents -- name some popular varieties? I don't know those.
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Date: 2005-05-11 10:23 am (UTC)here's a great link to some pics of succulents. This is just a peek. If you have a rock border, wall, overhang, they are AWESOME plantings to cascade over, fill in, etc. Hot, dry, part sun to sun. Some are evergreen. I'm NUTSO for them right now.
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Date: 2005-05-11 11:12 am (UTC)"as he empties himself in his lover’s bowel." I thought you'd like it.
I printed out Connie and I read it all last night. I'm computerless at home for now. It was heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelarious!!!! I loved it. It's destined to be a classic. I predict one day it will be on Broadway, regarded as well as Spamalot. Of course it will;)
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Date: 2005-05-11 04:20 pm (UTC)what's your email addy? I have a question to ask you.
*smooches you all up and down*
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Date: 2005-05-11 04:32 pm (UTC)morrisona [at] sbcglobal [dot] net