OT: HFPens Community Lounge: Party like its 1999

[Ogrezilla]

Speaking of those government changes, my old company was mandated to remove any sort of minority/women/LGBTQ+/ect organizations within the company due to the executive orders. I was genuinely disgusted when I heard that, so much for sticking up for your employees. This wasn't the one in Seattle, it was the one in Pittsburgh.

I was warming up to the idea of going back to working for that company, but it's an absolutely hard no going forward. I will never work for a company that won't stand up for their employees in the face of hate.

I'm scared this may happen to my company as well since we do get a lot of government funding, but I'd hope that my CEO would tell the government to pound sand. But like I said above, it's not like I have much confidence in this guy.

That's a bummer to hear, I know a bunch of people who work there (assuming I remember right). Most of them women.

 

[Ogrezilla]

to change topic, anyone else watching Severance? Loved S1, and S2 is off to a great start 3 episodes in imo. I had a bit of a pacing concern after 2 (not that they were slow but that it was setting up some storylines that I could have seen getting dragged on and on), but 3 erased that worry for me.

 

[Empoleon8771]

That's a bummer to hear, I know a bunch of people who work there (assuming I remember right). Most of them women.

Yeah it's the same place you're familiar with. It sucks because I was genuinely reconsidering going back, because the issues I had with it 5 years ago are now things I consider silly issues now that I'm older and further into my career. But this completely killed any interest I had in going back, it's a major hardline for me to not work for a company that won't defend its employees.

 

[Tender Rip]

@Honour Over Glory , @Tender Rip and all who celebrate, Happy New Year of the Snake! 新年快乐!

I can’t eat anymore… OMG.

 

[HandshakeLine]

I can’t eat anymore… OMG.

Same, and mama just started frying up more dumplings in the kitchen.

I am glad for two things: 1) I no longer compete in judo so I don’t have to stick to my weight class and 2) we are finally flying back to Prague tonight where I can remember what feeling slightly peckish feels like.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Saw this yesterday afternoon at the local theater. Would recommend.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Took my 76 year-old dad on his first cruise last week. My siblings sure as shit weren't going to and he's been talking about wanting to since I was a little kid. Went about as well as I could have asked, plus it finally added Mexico to my countries visited list.

Best part? That f***er won another cruise

 

[Ogrezilla]

Saw this yesterday afternoon at the local theater. Would recommend.

that's top of the list of movies I want to see

Took my 76 year-old dad on his first cruise last week. My siblings sure as shit weren't going to and he's been talking about wanting to since I was a little kid. Went about as well as I could have asked, plus it finally added Mexico to my countries visited list.

Best part? That f***er won another cruise

nice, that's awesome! We have talked about a cruise a few times, you recommend it? How long did you go?

 

[Big McLargehuge]

nice, that's awesome! We have talked about a cruise a few times, you recommend it? How long did you go?

I feel like enjoying cruises as much as I do is antithetical to my character...but I do love them. At least the two I've gone on.

Biggest thing I've gathered is just knowing what you want out of it. I'd have a f***ing miserable time on Carnival or MSC, or even Disney, or especially whatever the f*** Margaritaville Cruises is. I'm pretty sure Cunard's dress code would suffocate me to death. I'm more at home with the quasi-higher end ones. Actual high-end cruises would cost several times more than my life is worth. Celebrity or Princess have been more my speed, and they're doable on a reasonable budget when you know what you're doing.

My previous cruise was a repositioning cruise, meaning it was long (16 nights) and only had a few ports (Vancouver to Yokohama via Sitka, AK with a couple ports in Hokkaidō). I was able to do that solo in a spa class cabin for less than its usual 5-7 day Alaska itinerary in the cheapest room. This one was the vintage Love Boat itinerary: Princess doing the Mexican Riviera (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, & Puerto Vallarta) for 7 nights on a 'last minute' fare booked over the holidays. We didn't choose our room to save a bit more. If we didn't drink the whole thing would have cost less than a couple nights in San Diego would have.


If you know what kind of cruise you want, you know when to book it, and you do the research to know what is/isn't included and come out still curious - do it.

I'm now going on at least 4 more this year, maybe 5. That much is definitely overkill...but damn it, I found good prices and a year off of travel made the itch severe.

• Yokohama to Los Angeles - Basically an inverse of my first cruise, but with Royal Caribbean and straying far closer to Hawaii than Alaska (11-12 consecutive sea days on this bugger). The per night cost is cheaper than my rent. Repositioning cruises can be a cheat code...if you have that kind of free time. There's a reason they're relatively cheap. They tend to have the most appealing itineraries to me, too, as an actual Japan cruise is many times as expensive as this one that has stops in Osaka, Mt. Fuji (Shimizu), & Yokohama.
• Catalina Island & Escondido - A short 4 night one when my friend from Finland visits. f***ing Catalina Wine Mixer and so on and so forth.
• Southern Caribbean - A weeklong one with an itinerary that intrigued me, thanks to being based out of instead of Florida, in a tiny closet with Virgin Voyages. This will either be my worst experience or best experience and the fact that I have no clue is oddly enticing. Mostly I just got an absurd price and will get to a few of the less common and more intriguing Caribbean ports. I've never been to the Caribbean, so going to Dominica before The Bahamas or Jamaica feels on brand for me.
• Whatever the F my dad chooses - We have to wait a few more days before he can book it, so I have no clue what's going to be available. He wants Hawaii, I want Panama Canal, I'm kinda expecting us to wind up doing the same damn cruise we just went on. Either way I'm loving that I get a free cruise out of the great time I just had. I went on this to create memories with my dad while he's still in the early stages of dementia. Now I get to do it again within these next

Medium story short is he got enough points in the casino to 'win' a free interior stateroom, entirely based on him breaking even in the casino. As someone who hates gambling, this one is hard to wrap my head around. Normally the story would be my dad won a grand in the casino on his initial $50 and then gambled it away, something that's happened many times...but on a cruise ship him winning that much and then betting those winnings over ~45 minutes/day over 7 days gave him enough points to 'win' a free interior stateroom.

That's not a complete cheat code. You're still gambling and the expected cost of what he won was was more than what I paid for us to go on the cruise in the first place...but hey, if either of us get our first choice eligible cruise for it that'd be 16 friggin' nights effectively at the cost of an extremely affordable 7 night one we already enjoyed. I was surprised at how reasonable those point totals were, though, especially compared to land-based casinos. You'd have to burn through many times more than my dad did to get a free night in Vegas for what got him a free cruise. Just don't f***ing do it if you're not okay with losing the money. I'd be apoplectic about losing $200 if not for directly benefiting from his win.

FWIW he won a stateroom, which means him + 1. The cruise must be within ~7 months of the winning, so ours must be by August 23. Definitely not a viable strategy if you're trying to get rooms for an extended family. Definitely the ideal situation if you're at war with your siblings and suddenly find yourself in the favored child role.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Saw this yesterday afternoon at the local theater. Would recommend.

Yeah I saw that the other week at the Harris. Very good, but constantly seeing a cat in distress was very stressful as a car owner, so I doubt I'll ever give it a rewatch.