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Under cabinet manual jar opener. It’s flat and mounts under your cabinet of choice. Easy to use, but also easy to forget it’s there! I sometime find myself jar in hand and half-way to wherever my husband is before I remember that I no longer need his skills.

Electric candle lighter. Rechargeable lighter with long neck. Eliminates the need for matches or standard lighters. The noise it makes does scare one of the cats, though. I haven’t tried it on campfires yet, but I think that was something the ad said it could do.

Chicago suburbs. It’s sort of an interconnected area, so this takes place over two adjoining towns.

There was a very public and stupid feud that took place between two middle aged men. Some of it played out in real life and some was documented on that now defunct website, Topix. One of them had been close friends with the the police officer who was convicted of killing at least one wife. I think he was also a cop. In any case, he was very vocal in defending Drew and anything the other guy said about the murder trial really seemed to get his goat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Peterson

The other guy claimed to be connected with the Chicago outfit. Or the cop claimed he was. I don’t remember.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Outfit

Basically, it was two vaguely mobbed up guys in their 50s engaging in a very public and embarrassing battle of fists and wits in an otherwise unassuming suburb. They would trade insults on Topix, get into slap fights with each other at the local supermarket, and generally just behave like leaded gasoline sniffing idiots. Neither could just walk away from it. Both used their real full names.

$70k USD - 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 1400sq ft., 0.3 acre lot, two stories and a detached garage. The interior needs plenty of non-cosmetic work (e.g. - new flooring)

$75k USD - 2 bed, 1 bath, 800sq ft., 0.15 acre lot; newly redone floors, electric and paint.

After that, there’s about 10 more in the 125-150K range.

I watched the Gormenghast miniseries on the Space Channel many many years ago and eventually read the books. They were interesting. Not something I’d want to revisit, but definitely weird.

It’s time to pay the price.

I like some of the names from Puritan New England.

Cutting Moody

Tristram Coffin

I like some of the names from Puritan New England.

Cutting Moody

Tristram Coffin

I’ve been through it many times and expect to see many more. Both as the subject of an acquisition and as an acquiree. You just have to wait and see. If they’re not immediately closing you down, there will be a transition period. Months to a year or more. That’s where you need to be looking for a new job if that seems like a remotely feasible option.

With regard to your personal decision, do not trust what you’re being told. The company wants a smooth transition and that means that the company wants to be the one making the decisions about who is working for them. They can and will lie.

The exception to this is if they ask you to stay on while they close out operations at your site. In that case they’ve already lowered the hammer, you’re on borrowed time anyway, and it doesn’t matter to them.

(Also - if you’re given this option, consider it carefully before accepting. The folks I know who have done this have described it as a depressing and completely unpleasant experience. They all claimed they wouldn’t do it again. If you choose to do so, ask for more money to compensate for the therapy you’ll need afterwards. Be bold with your offer because it’s a job that very few want to do.)

Generally speaking, the first thing that should happen is that the new company will harmonize efficiencies. This means cutting redundant departments, projects, or products. Expect to see a lot of strangers on site who are evaluating this. Non-specialized departments like finance, HR, legal, and support IT will be merged and streamlined. And do not expect that the highest performing department will survive. It’s often the cheapest one who does. If the team in Kentucky can do a good enough job, it makes no sense for them to retain a higher paid workforce in DC. I’ve seen that sort of thing happen. (It’s also sometimes a selling point for the company being bought. 🤮)

After that, it just depends on 1) why they bought you and 2) what they thought they were buying. If they find out that part of the acquired company isn’t something they want but is valuable enough to re-sell rather than shut down, you may be in for a head-spinning transition between several buyers.

Overall -

The experience is a big shake-up, but I’ve gone through eight or so unscathed as a mid level employee. It all depends on lots of things outside of your control. It will help if you can accept that these things are beyond your control or beyond your ability to foresee. I can also assure you that there’s a good probability that the people in charge won’t be making good or sensible decisions.

Expect to see many of your co-workers jump ship, but that’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes it’s the kick in the ass that people need to make a change. That’s often a very good thing.

Same, but I’d probably go with Bree. I’m a bit tall for the Shire. Also, Bree seems a little more lively and they have a thing called ‘pints.’

I have casually considered attending a UU church near us. They seem very chill based on their website.

I would have to overcome my dislike of meeting new people and being awake and fully clothed before 11:00am on a Sunday. Those are the main challenges for me, personally.

I’m hoping to attend some public events at the a local nature preserve as a way of easing into social events with strangers. They have programs on bird watching, mushroom cultivation, etc… A year’s membership cost $40 and it comes with free parking and free access to their programs. They’re also part of a larger network of nature parks, so benefits include free admission to any of those.

Do you have an unusual or oddly spelled surname?

I do. It’s by marriage, and coworkers sometimes awkwardly ask about it. It won’t be the first question they ask - because that would be weird, but it often comes up if it sort of fits the conversation.

So, it varies by state because everything is a certain degree of a shit-show here. In my state, you show up at the primary election site and you ask for one of two ballots. That’s enough to “register” you as a Dem or Rep. It’s pretty meaningless.

I know of one coworker who voted for Trump in the 2015 primary to “take down the Republican party from the inside.” Great strategy, Steve. I’m guessing that some similar idiocy is what’s being talked about here.

Somewhere I have a notebook with scene-by-scene notes on Mulholland Drive. Time loops, alternate universes, fever dream sequences that may be real, throwbacks, lookalikes, detours into madness and fear, all that. Multiple viewings. Full Deep River Ontario shit. (We actually IRL visited that creepy diner in CA. That experience is not recommended. The breakfast is OK. The turkey sandwich is 1000 times not OK.)

For me, every theory regarding the “WTF is happening” aspect falls apart when the old couple from the taxi come creeping out of the blue metallic lock box. Like, everything sort of hangs together with some fuzzy dream logic for me, but then falls apart in the true gossamer of dream fashion. There’s sometimes a buggy, I guess.

Top 10 of favorite movies.

That’s the sort of horror story that’s going to keep me stabbing my potatoes.

Same here! Last night I was stabbing a couple out of habit and felt like the question needed to be asked.

I would fear an eggplant more than a potato. Higher moisture and tougher skin. Not going to take any chances.

Now that’s the exciting outcome from my worst fears.

Interesting! That’s kind of what I was thinking as a realistic outcome.

No. I’ve got a couple in the oven right now because the weather is cold. In warmer times I’ve been using an air fryer.