Posts made by Sockmonkey

Two years ago, I wrote to the Swedish embassy asking for a declaration of citizenship to find out whether or not I was still a Swedish citizen (surprise! I am).

A year ago, I submitted paperwork to get a coordination number (basically, it's me registering myself with the Swedish population) so I could apply for a Swedish passport. This is something that typical takes 10-12 weeks but .. didn't. I don't know why it took so long for me. It might have been because this is something that parents usually do for their minor children, not something that people do for themselves when they are old AF like me. Anyway. It finally came through.

Now I have an appointment with the Embassy in DC to get my Swedish passport/ID card which I am super excited about -- not just because this is finally happening but also because I will get to visit a friend of mine that I haven't seen in years in the process.

@sparks said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

When I was on naratriptan, they'd give me three pills per month—and prescribe 'take one at onset of attack, and a second if attack continues'. Three pills.

The math just didn't quite work there.

I wish I could say I am surprised buuuuut...

UGH.

@Sparks Fuuuuuuuck thaaaaat nooooooise. What do you take, out of curiosity?

Luckily, my copay is only $8 for my migraine medication but annoyance is: I only get 12 shots per month. They are autoinjectors which .. I get that most people prefer not to have to deal with handling a needle, especially not in the midst of a migraine, but jeez: GIVE ME THE CONTROL. Because these autoinjectors are fucking crappy and don't fire a lot of the time. Like tonight. I had to go through /five/ shots before I got one that actually fired.

@faceless said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

@packrat said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

My 'pain in the ass to find' thing is shoes

Fucking. Yes. I wear a size 16 wide(U.S.). They're basically like fuckin paddles for navigating bodies of water. Spring or Summer will hit and I'll have the novel idea of getting some new flippie floppies, which never goes that well. Ordering online is about my only option for many types of footwear and even that's a crap shoot sometimes. Sandals are often the worst, because while they're labeled a size 16 or whatever, I've had some that fit like a 13 or 14(eta: read, won't even go on at all or if they do my toes hang over the end like an '80s action movie hero dangling precariously from a ledge).

I feel your pain.

Yeah, my husband is also a size 16 and buying shoes is always a crap shoot. I don't know if you have a Nordstrom Rack near you but he sometimes has luck actually finding stuff in his size there. Which is nice because it's always better to be able to try shit on before buying because, at that size? Things seem to get .. interpretive. Like, one brand's 16 will be WAY TOO SMALL and another brand's 16 will be WAY TOO BIG. It's like they're all throwing their hands up and saying 'WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO DESIGN SHOES FOR NON-HUMANS BECAUSE CLEARLY NO REAL PERSON HAS FEET THIS BIG'

@Auspice Yeah, I'm on 100mg both morning and night and it's really helped with the frequency. I've also noticed that when I do get them, they don't tend to be as quite as bad; I don't have multi-day migraines too often anymore when I'm just puking like crazy and end up going to the ER out of desperation.

One of my co-workers just got a migraine for a first time and was asking me how on Earth I deal with them so regularly. It was eye opening to her how different migraines are from regular headaches.

So many times, I've had people be like 'what's the big deal? it's just a headache' and I just want to stab them through the eye with an ice pick. NO. NOT THE SAME AT ALL.

May you have darkness and quiet as much as possible until make it to your days off and you can just curl up in bed.

@Auspice Sorry that you had to deal with that. Hopefully it wasn't a multi-day one and you're feeling better now.

Out of curiosity, what medication do you take for your migraines? My doctor has me on Topamax daily to reduce frequency and injectable sumatriptan for when I have a migraine.

@arkandel said in Social Awkwardness?:

What I do know is that even like that it's definitely benefited my career so far to socialize. I don't do it for that purpose (there are more efficient ways to go about that) but there's absolutely an upside to knowing people I wouldn't have normally hanged out with by their first names; we get to call on favors, feel better about going over to ask questions and generally we take advantage of this familiarity. It's just how it is.

(Emphasis mine)

Oh man, I know. And boy do I hate that part of the game. It's probably one of the main reasons why even though I am really good at my job and respected for what I do, I remain at the senior worker-bee level rather than having made the jump into the management/executive track. Plus, I don't use the word synergy nearly enough.

@Arkandel Nah, I wouldn't have hated you. Not unless you aggressively harassed me to attend the events and then held it against me when I didn't go. It's not the mere existence of work-social events that irritate me -- I appreciate that there are functions available for my more sociable colleagues. Haha, if anything, it gives them an outlet to socialize away from me.

What I don't like is when work-social events are made to feel like part of the job and that you are damaging your career and chance for advancement when you don't participate.

I do have individual social relationships with some of my co-workers outside of work. I'll catch a movie with one co-worker, grab dinner with another. It's these team-wide events that feel like you WILL have fun (but not too much fun, the VP is watching and HR is here guyz) that, if you don't attend, your manager starts to wonder openly why you aren't a 'team player'...

URGH.

I need my after-work hours to recharge and chill, yo.

@jinshei said in Social Awkwardness?:

... oh god, the forced social interactions.

FUCK OFFICE SOCIAL EVENTS. I SPEND AT LEAST NINE HOURS A DAY, FIVE DAYS A WEEK WITH YOU MOTHERFUCKERS. I CERTAINLY AM NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU SOME OF MY GODDAMN EVENING HOURS SO WE CAN STAND AROUND IN A CROWDED BAR DRINKING SHITTY BEER AND SCREAMING OVER MUSIC THAT IS TOO LOUD MAKING CONVERSATION THAT I COULDN'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT. AND DON'T EVEN COME AT ME WITH AN INVITATION FOR A WEEKEND GO-CARTING EVENT BECAUSE THAT IS NOT FUCKING HAPPENING, BECKY, SO YOU CAN GO BACK TO YOUR GOD DAMN DESK AND LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE. I ALSO DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOU FUCKING COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW I 'NEVER DO ANYTHING WITH THE GROUP' BECAUSE, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, I WAS NOT HIRED TO BE YOUR FRIEND. I WAS HIRED TO BE A MOTHERFUCKING PROFESSIONAL.

Yeah, so. I don't like socializing with my co-workers outside of work.

@auspice said in Dead Celebrities 2018:

Ursula K Le Guin passed away

What?! Nooooooooooooooooo...

I hate small talk -- which, I know, is no rare thing in a hobby predominately populated by introverts. But it does make for socially awkward moments in real life. I think every friendship I have started with an awkward moment that left the other person thinking that I hated them. Nah, I just hate useless conversation; once we are done being topic-specific, I am out.

Example:

A girl at work that I am super good friends with now, when she started as an intern, was told to track me down and talk to me about being a woman in our field (design). So she approached me and said:

Her: Hey, So-and-so told me that you started off as a production artist and that you have risen up to become a senior designer. As a woman starting out in this field, I was hoping we could get together for lunch one day so I could pick your brain about your career and get some advice about mine.

Me: Okay, sure. Turns around, walks away.

What? There was nothing else to say! What was I supposed to do at that point? JUST STAND THERE AND TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER?! Jeez.

I'm not shy. I'm not on the spectrum. I just .. ugh. I'm not good at the start of relationships, having to navigate those surface-level conversations that don't mean much and are just there to fill in the empty spaces. (God, I sound like such a dick, haha).

A friend of mine and I usually go to San Diego Comic Con every year and once we were at a panel watching a peer of mine give a Copic marker demonstration. 'I can't imagine you ever doing something like that,' my friend said to me. '..standing in front of a whole room, giving a presentation in front of hundreds of people.' But that? THAT I have no problem with. I could do that easily. However, my worst nightmare? She's been begging me for years to get a table in Artists' Alley and just imagining that gives me anxiety -- having to stand there and basically make small talk with strangers for four days in a row.

Presentation in front of an entire room: Yes. Will kick-ass and enjoy it.
Talking one-on-one with a stranger: No. Will chew off my own arm to get away.

@Deviante Hihi! Arx is pretty overwhelming but I'm having a good time so far. I don't thiiiink I have done anything too ridiculous yet.

Calista looks like a lot of fun!

I just need to keep saying this: THE GOOD PLACE!!

I love this show so forkin' much. It's breaking all my rules about watching a show that is currently airing (I hate having to wait week to week, season to season). I want to marry Janet. I love her.

***=A word about the latest episode***

@saosmash Hahaha, that block of cheese cracked me up. And I plan on using it as a RP prop going forward. I mean, it's such a conversation starter...

'Wh- what is that you have with you?'

'Block of cheese! WANT SOME?!'

edges away slowly

@Cobaltasaurus I remember that scene! Cressida got all weirded out by promethean wrongness, threw a cherry at Amber and Amber dodged it Matrix-style. I love it when people make my characters look ridiculous, haha. It's so fun and silly to play.

@surreality I bought a new MacBook when the ones with the touchbar first came out and I am juuuuuust about to pay it off now.

@surreality Will we still be able to do that after Trump's glorious tax cuts? I know a lot of things that used to be deductible aren't anymore.

Anyway, I can just log into CC using my work account. It will just get tricky if/when I leave my job. But honestly? I don't even really use the programs that much anymore. I'm a UX designer professionally so I mostly use Sketch and Invision.

FUCKING ADOBE!!!!

So. Buckle in. I need to vent like whoa.

Back in October 2017, I got an email saying that my student pricing for Creative Cloud ($29.99/mo) was coming to an end and that if I didn't have student credentials to submit to renew the discount (I didn't), I would transition to full price ($50/mo). I hate Creative Cloud's pricing structure with a fiery passion because you can either sign up for one program at a lower rate or everything for the full price -- there is no in-between. And you can't just buy the programs you need and live off them for for years. No. You HAVE to subscribe. They do not recognize that there are different kind of users and basically force everyone to be treated as powered professionals.

So I'm like 'Fuck this shit, I'm not paying $600/year for this crap' and I decide to cancel. I go to my account and .. no cancel button. I search for how to cancel and it saying that there should be a link on my account. No link. I'm getting pretty salty at this point so I jump onto their live chat and tell their customer service person that I want to cancel. That I think $50/mo is a rip off. She is very apologetic and offers me two months free and then an extension of my student pricing for another year if I don't cancel. I still think $29.99/mo is kind of a rip-off but .. whatever. Okay. I agree.

She very explicitly states: two months free, student pricing resumes in January 2018 and will continue until January 26, 2019 at which point I will need to renew.

Got it.

Fast forward to today.

I get an email saying that my student pricing is coming to an end and that if I don't submit student credentials, I will be transitioned to full price. W. T. F. So I jump on their online chat again to find out what is up. The guy goes over my case file and tells me that the previous rep only offered me two months free. No. That was not the deal. We go back and forth. I ask him to send me the transcript. He sends it to me. I COPY PASTE THE EXACT LINE WHERE SHE SAID THAT I WOULD HAVE STUDENT PRICING THROUGH JANUARY 26, 2019 BACK TO HIM. He claims that she meant it was contingent on me supplying credentials which makes zero sense because if I had credentials, I wouldn't need them to extend pricing because I WOULD JUST BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THE PRICING MY DAMN SELF. Nope. He will not budge. I complain that I have been lied to. No, I have not been lied to. Yes I have. You just misunderstood, ma'am.

I want to cancel.

He can't cancel my account, that has to be someone else. So he transfers me to another chat representative.

So I go back and forth with this person for a while. At this point, I have missed lunch. Do you want to cancel? YES.

Actually, I can't cancel your account.

Why not?

I can't cancel your account without canceling your license first.

So cancel my license.

If I cancel your license, you will incur an early termination fee. I suggest that you just stick with the subscription until the end of your term.

.........are you fucking kidding me? So let me get this straight. I wanted to cancel back in October but you offered me two months free and an extension of my student pricing until January 2019 to keep me as a customer. After the two months were up, you changed your mind and rescinded the deal, bumping me up to the full price I told you that I was unwilling to pay. Now that I want to cancel, I have to PAY YOU MONEY TO DO SO because your BAIT AND SWITCH has left me TWO MONTHS INTO MY SUBSCRIPTION?! DID I GET THAT RIGHT?!

So do you want me to cancel your subscription or not?

How much will it cost me to cancel? I need to decide if the money I will need to pay will be worth it just to be rid of you guys.

At this point, there was a few minutes pause in the chat before he came back to say that he had talked with his colleague and they had decided to waive the early cancelation fee.

I think he was waiting for me to say thank you but it was, like, almost two hours of dealing with them at this point and what was there to thank? I told him that I would not be recommending their product to any of my peers but I was sure that didn't matter to them since they have such a strangle hold on the industry.

He promptly terminated the chat and I bitched on Twitter to my 200 followers which is probably my mom and 199 bots.

FUCKING ADOBE.

tl;dr - Creative Cloud is a scam

Updated because I've decided to give Arx a try. I have NO idea what I am doing. Ooof.

A year ago, we took our two year old cat, Hiphop, to the vet for his check up and they detected a heart murmur. They told us to take him to a cardiologist which we did .. at which point we got the really shitty news that he has HCM. My husband and I were crushed -- even though he was acting perfectly fine and some cats can live years before going into heart failure, HCM is a progressive disease and when it's diagnosed in cats as young as Hiphop, it usually progresses pretty quickly. But we wouldn't really know anything until we got him checked again in a year's time, assuming that he didn't become symptomatic before then.

Fast forward to tonight.

We took him back to the cardiologist for another EKG. The best we were hoping for was that there hadn't been any thickening of his heart but we were bracing for bad news (even though he still has been acting like his adorable, snuggly self). I even told my boss that I probably would have to work from home tomorrow because I would likely be too weepy because OMG HIPHOP WHHHY NOOOOOOOOOOOO.

But somehow? The measurement of his left ventricle had gone down from 8mm (last year) to 6.5mm, putting him in the mild category.

The doctor was surprised, a little confused but very pleased. Cats with this condition don't improve so the initial reading was just wrong for some reason -- granted, the measurement is thick enough that he still has the disease but it puts him in a much less dire place than he was before and it's unlikely that there was much change in his heart over the past year.

So we're all cautiously optimistic that Hiphop will be with us for a few (several?) more years. Which I RL love. I mean, just look at this stupid face: