Originally Posted By jkayjs Don't want to derail the thread but just want to ask dave if he & his family are OK with all the rain/flooding. Again sorry about the off topic question hope no one minds.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo We are fine thanks. However we have friends in the North very badly effected. It is just annoying here with minor destruction and train delays. But up north people are losing lives and property. Thanks for asking though, it is much appreciated.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer The spirit goes on....through the doomm and gloom and the gushing....the spirit goes onnnn....
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Well ... a Spirit does have to be invisible from time to time ... much better to truly affect change in the world ... and things have been very quiet around here, which is probably a result of the holidays and a total, utter and complete lack of anything exciting happening at WDW these days. Been very busy with work myself (not a bad thing considering my firm belief that a good 25% of Americans are either out of work entirely or severely underemployed), gorging on turkey (about to have some pumpkin cream pie leftovers!!!) and trying to figure out some mysteries of the online Disney world ... like where in the world Leemac is ... and how some folks are able to profit off of selling Disney's intellectual property when the Mouse's lawyers go after daycare centers that paint murals of Mickey, Donald, Pooh and Ariel on their walls ... and why Al Lutz has an online crush on the new Prez of the DLR (doesn't he know George is spoken for?) I'm also busy planning my upcoming magical WDW vacation (very interested in Shanghai's delegation at WDW! ) and trying to figure out how I'm getting to TDR in May. And did I mention how boring things are on the WDW front? Also, where the hell is my favorite minion? Did old man Pierce run away with my beloved Sarah? And call me slow (I've been called much worse by fanbois and Disney execs) but has it been raining over in the UK? I can barely keep up with my weather, but I am also glad you aren't floating down the Thames, Dave (but if you ever are, I'm sure VBDAD can loan you some Ariel floaties!) So, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to all the Spirits in the LP! ~Don't Ever Think They're Not Watching~
Originally Posted By jkayjs <<Thanks for asking though, it is much appreciated.>> You are welcome. <<And call me slow (I've been called much worse by fanbois and Disney execs) but has it been raining over in the UK?>> They're calling it 'a thousand year rain' or something like that so the answer is yes it has been raining over in the UK. BTW we need to see about setting a time.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Spirit, be sure to avoid TDR between March and June if you can, JTTCOTE is due for refurb. As for the rain, yes, it has been aweful here. There was a month's worth of rain in a couple of hours, and it has sadly coast lives. In the north, bridges that are hundreds of years old (and well maintained) have washed away. It has ruined communities. And people think global warming is a myth? This is a direct symptom of GW.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Been very busy with work myself (not a bad thing considering my firm belief that a good 25% of Americans are either out of work entirely or severely underemployed I believe this % to be very accurate -- maybe even low the way you describe it.. I believe the real unemployment number including those who have stopped looking is 15%+ I believe the underemployment number - (especially when you consider people my age that NEVER get another similar job once let go) - could be 20% easily itself- with that number maybe being 35% or so of those over 50.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 2 months ago my husband (66) lost his job. Corporate said "get rid of your 8 highest paid", nice. He really doesn't need to get another job, but I'd sure like him to do SOMETHING WITH HIS TIME. Much as I enjoy being home, I'd go nuts if I had to be home 24/7.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad Not me, I would love to be home. Course when the kids leave it will probably be a pretty lonely place. That's one of the things I hate about big corp America. They burn up your best years then discard you when you get a little age on you. There is no such thing as retiring with your company anymore.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 ^^So true, and unfortunately for us, except for holidays and birthdays, my kids have all moved on and have lives of their own.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad That's why God created grandkids. All the fun of you own kids except you can unload them on their parents when they get tired and cranky. But seriously I am already dreading when my kids move on and I still have a few years yet.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Spirit, be sure to avoid TDR between March and June if you can, JTTCOTE is due for refurb.>> No can do, Dave. The trip is going to wind up being in May, unless I put it off and I don't think one attraction would be reason enough ... unlike all those folks whose magical WDW vacations have been ruined for six months while Space Mountain got some asbestos removal and new paint! I may not be happy missing it, but I'll live! <<As for the rain, yes, it has been aweful here. There was a month's worth of rain in a couple of hours, and it has sadly coast lives. In the north, bridges that are hundreds of years old (and well maintained) have washed away. It has ruined communities. And people think global warming is a myth? This is a direct symptom of GW.>> GW? You blaming George Washington? ;-) I don't know where I stand on global warming. We certainly are affecting our planet in bad ways. But there are also regular periods of extremes and this could be one. Thing is, I'd rather err on the side that we are completely to blame and be proactive rather than say 'well, the scientists may not know what's going on' and one day we wake up to conditions from cheesy disaster flick like 2012. I do know that leaving work last night and walking out into a December FLA night that had 80 degree weather and rain and felt like August just isn't 'normal' for my lifetime.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Been very busy with work myself (not a bad thing considering my firm belief that a good 25% of Americans are either out of work entirely or severely underemployed <<I believe this % to be very accurate -- maybe even low the way you describe it.. I believe the real unemployment number including those who have stopped looking is 15%+ I believe the underemployment number - (especially when you consider people my age that NEVER get another similar job once let go) - could be 20% easily itself- with that number maybe being 35% or so of those over 50.>> The underemployment number is HUGE and it crosses all ages and demos (trust me on this one as someone who doesn't exist according to our great government!) I sometimes wonder just how high the number is. It's real easy to figure out how many jobs are lost in a month and how many unemployment claims are filed etc. But how do you quantify folks who haven't had a full-time job for five years ... who haven't qualified for benefits ... who may have been pilots for $90K a year until 2004 and now work for 20 hours a week at Home Depot for $11 an hour? You don't. So our dirty little secret is we sweep those folks under the rug and pretend they don't exist.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<^^So true, and unfortunately for us, except for holidays and birthdays, my kids have all moved on and have lives of their own.>> They sound like unappreciate brats! How dare they have lives of their own?!? ;-) I'll gladly show up for a homecooked meal. I'll even help ya clean up afterwards since I am a giving Spirit!
