PhotoJunkie

bump....hanging out in chat hoping for an excuse to not do my homework

dang it I missed you. Girl had a band concert. Im in now if by any chance your up

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In for a bit but not too long. The girl has an early early morning band thingie at the school. Who thinks having to be at the school at 7am on a saturday is a good thing?? GGRRR

So you're saying I should join the clothing optional yoga meetup group??? Ive considered Meetup...but the idea of actually meeting people I don't know is scary as all get out. It took Rob a few years to convince me to go to his bago I will keep looking to see if there is something I can interest the girl in too at least initially so I have a cohort in crime

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So here is the question of the day How does one, especially an extremely introverted hermit, make friends? I am not currently working, nor is it in my future despite my wanting to be, for a while. I am going to school but its all online and at my own pace, so no interactions with other students for projects etc. I do not and will not be attending church. I do not drink or go to bars, and I have a teenager at home so getting out on my own isn't easy. For the time being her time home alone is being limited per smarter than me people and honestly teenagers don't really have playdates like littles do lol So how does one make in person friends with the above issues???? I need a few friends. I don't have any here in this state, I don't interact with my sister much, nor do I want to share friends with her at this point anyway. What is a girl to do? I prefer to hang out with the male population. It has always been that way. All photos of me as a teen are with a group of guys, with one or two like minded girls. But I am learning that as an adult, women hanging out with men just brings more drama than it should. I don't want drama. I don't want to date. I just want some friends to catch a movie with, maybe a meal or two every so often, the range.....etc.

Im reposting this information from the General Discussion boards. I know when I first started out here, I stayed in the newly widowed forum for quite a while before looking into other places. Chat was a huge lifesaver for me in the first year and even now almost 4 years out. Chat can be busy or it can be very slow, it just depends on the time of day and who wants to participate on a regular basis. Those who have been in chat the longest are more than happy to answer questions, stop the current conversation to help you through what you need, or just to give hugs. I will bump this every so often to keep it on the main page. If you are in chat you can bump this thread or the one in the General Discussion section. ************************************************************************************************************************************************** We have a young widows chat room, based on a standard called IRC which gives people a lot of ways to connect. You can use website clients or use software installed on your computer. How to get in We list some easy options below. They are fairly different - if you hit a wall with one, please try the other. If you still have problems, please post to get help. Web chat option A - easiest method - Go to https://kiwiirc.com/client/irc.dal.net/?#ywbb - Pick a nickname and hit "Start" Web chat option B - also easy and most reliable - Go to http://dal.net'>http://dal.net'>http://dal.net - Look for "Chat Now" in the right column - Pick a nickname and type channel "#ywbb" Web chat option C - easy and nice, but maybe not as reliable - Go to http://mibbit.com - To the right of the frog at the bottom of the green panel, click "Launch App" (you can also create an account) - IMPORTANT: Click on the selector beside "Connect:" label and scroll down to DALnet - Pick a nickname and type channel "#ywbb" - Click on the "Connect" button Using your own software (see list below) - Connect: - via the IRC protocol (if you have to pick) - to DALnet at irc.dal.net (important!) - via port 6667 (usually the default) - pick chat room #ywbb - pick a nickname Once you connect, you should see a topic at the top such as "Welcome to #ywbb, the channel for young widows and widowers, please say hello." If you don't see this and you are using Mibbit, you likely missed that third "pick a server network" step. If you do, you may see people or not (see the bit about inviting below). If you want others to join you in chat (and you should!), go bump this thread to let people know: http://widda.org/index.php?topic=24.msg41#msg41'>http://widda.org/index.php?topic=24.msg41#msg41 FAQs What is IRC? - IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a standard way to chat via computer; you connect to one of several servers in a network and pick a channel or topic, and what you type is seen on everyone using that channel on servers all over, and you see what they type. What IRC network are we using? - We picked DALnet because we can register the chat room and our user nicknames to avoid losing them, and DALnet has a web client right on the home page (http://dal.net). What about privacy? - Our chat room is open, so it is slightly possible that looky-loos using other chatrooms could find our room accidentally. When you join, people can see the address your ISP gave you, but not your real name unless you want to reveal that. System operators have the power to block people from the room if there is an issue. What's "registering my nickname" mean? - With most IRC software, you can pick your "handle" for chat with some constraints. If you pick a name that someone else is using, you will be forced to change it. To avoid this, you can (but don't have to) pick a nickname that it unique and then register it with a password so that you can always use the same one. This is nice but not necessary. How do I register my nickname? - After finding a good nick, you type this gibberish: /nickserv register <password> <e-mail> You will be advised what to do next to complete your registration. Should I let others know I am or would like to chat? - Certainly! Just reply to this thread. If you do, others can find you, whether old-timers or new people. If you don't, it's random. To let people know, go here: http://widda.org/index.php?topic=24.msg41#msg41 IRC with your own chat client - any experience you want - Add an IRC account with server irc.dal.net and your choice of nicknames - See http://dal.net for a FAQ Popular chat clients - Windows: mIRC, XChat - MacOS X: Colloquy, Adium - Linux/Solaris: Pidgin, XChat - iPad / iPod: Mango IRC, Rooms - Android: Yaaic, AndChat - Chatzilla Firefox extension - Mibbit extension for Firefox and Chrome - For more, see: http://www.dal.net/?page=IRC%20Clients http://www.lockergnome.com/social/2012/0...oid-and-iphone/

1. Managed to walk the girl and the dog to school and back. Usually I only do it once and not very consistently. 2. The nasty wind of the last few weeks has subsided and today is the first day I don't feel like Im having a constant panic attack. 3. Got the confirmation today that I start school in a week

Me three!

I am facing the driving issue this year. The girl just turned 17 and has been making noises along with a friend to start the process. I intend on having her use the driving school etc, but like Rob she has to have so many hours behind the wheel with an adult. That is where I am stuck. Due to our own accident, I am a very very nervous person in a vehicle. I hide it well though. I hate driving and if I could figure out how to live my life without it I would. I do better as the one in control of the car. As a passenger I am not that great. Especially with someone I don't trust driving. Which I don't trust my daughter driving initially We have no family here to help with her driving, as the relationship with my sister and her husband has disappeared. So it is going to have to be me and I am dreading it. I was hoping maybe she could at least get her learners permit and maybe when she visits family in california they can help but I don't think her learners permit would be good in another state. I too have xanax and Im trying to stretch the remaining supply for the driving portion of this year. But I also use it for my own driving issues. Big hugs!

I start my program a week from today! I finally settled down and picked a school to get my BSN. They partnered with my last school so they accepted more credits than most. That means I only have 12 classes to take and its a go at your own pace. My max deadline is 18 months, when the girl graduates from high school, but I wouldn't mind it being less Congrats to those finishing their programs!!!

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Chats getting busy tonight...come join us

Im in now and have been trying to pop back in more regularly. I could not sign in here for the longest time and then this morning I booted up the computer and it showed me already logged in. Weird but Im just happy to be back

I worked for the PD a long long time ago typing up police reports. It was a fascinating job. My husband was an officer as well and I did quite a few ride alongs with him and his squad. Several friends of mine went on to do the forensic photography position and I went to nursing school as expected. I read that story on a news site somewhere. We had discussions about it at work as well, which ironically led to the topic of jobs in that arena. my biggest concern about this particular job is that there would be court testimony required. I am not a fan of public speaking. In fact its a huge huge phobia for me. Id rather cuddle with a spider and I hate spiders. The rest of what the job entails? Not an issue. been around it too long either through my husbands work or through my own. For me the pressure of having to be responsible for keeping them alive wouldn't necessarily be an issue anymore. It would be more about preserving the scene and documenting it. That I can do. If there is one thing I am good at, documentation is it.

Im glad he thinks it is helping!! Yay!! I also agree with sticking to the lowest dose possible and do not stop them on your own. I tried them for a while and while they did help, the first one I tried I couldn't handle the side effects. We finally switched me to an anti anxiety medication and that has helped more as it appears my depression is triggered by my anxiety issues.

I want to unfriend my sister from Facebook. I know this may seem silly but its hard for me to do. The worse part is that if I do it right now, it will be taken in the wrong way as we are in the middle of another big blow up. But that isn't the main reason I want to unfriend her. I do want a break from her in all ways right now yes, but her feed is exhausting from her multiple posts about her online classes, to her many many many posts regarding her latest and greatest work from home project, to the 20+ posts about what outfit to wear to her husbands holiday party, (all of these in one day I kid you not). Not to mention all the memes and other things she decides to share throughout the day. Im talking at least 30 posts a day. I have tried filtering out what I don't want to see but that only works on certain posts and it doesn't get rid of all of those either. Do I just go ahead and unfriend now, or in the interest of not amping up the drama wait a week or two? Perhaps at the new year? I dunno. When it comes to her I question everything and stress constantly and I would really like to reduce that stress for a while and take a breather. I know this may sound silly and normally I wouldn't need to get permission from others to do what I want to do, but this relationship with my sister is so complicated and I feel completely beat down right now that I don't know what is right or wrong. Thanks in advance

oddly enough during my last shift, we were having a discussion about other careers. It seems many nurses are rethinking their choices due to many factors. It was a highly entertaining discussion I must say but I kept coming back to the "find what speaks to your soul" comments. That is the hard one as I truly believe in this moment I have no soul to speak to. Im not there yet and maybe taking this time to just be my daughters mom will help me find it. Also professional Hermit isn't a real thing, which totally sucks for me BUT.....one thing did come up and it has given me some serious thought processes.....someone mentioned crime scene photography, which I have learned is now forensic photography I jokingly said that I would love that job as I could play with my camera and get paid to hang out with cops all the time. But then when I couldn't sleep I started thinking about it seriously and it gave a little spark and not because of the boyz. It means school but what option at this point doesn't? The funny part is I asked the girl to give me a honest answer about the idea and she not only thought it was perfect, she apparently has been asking her guidance counselor for information for me. Man I love that kid! (PS she would definitely tell me no if she thought I was crazy....you should hear the opinions she has given about other options.) Im still searching for the answer but I have time. My main goal is to be her parent. Be there for all her school functions and non school functions. Take her to the big College fair this spring that she won't stop talking about. Find a way to take her to a football game, and do small trips to see the country on my limited budget now. It may sound easy but for me it isn't. I don't do this very well.

I've been MIA since my big move to be closer to my daughter in May. Many many things have happened in that time but the big thing on my mind is career. My husband and I worked hard to put me through nursing school and I have struggled since he died to keep myself in my profession except now I feel it's a losing battle. 1). It's impossible to find child care for 12 (in reality 14) hour shifts that don't take half your paycheck. 2). As much as I enjoy being a nurse, it's very draining on an already drained soul. If I'm not completely terrified of the eventual code blue with the worst possible outcome, I'm too busy looking at my patients wondering if this is all I have to look forward too.....ending up sick and alone in a hospital. Either way I have serious doubts as if I should even be a nurse anymore. I'm taking the next year or so off for many reasons but one question I need to answer is what should I be doing for the rest of my career days. How does one go about finding out what is a good fit etc? School is a possibility. I have an associates and am considering going for a bachelors as it opens quite a few more options that won't make me think I'm wasting my license. Anyone been in this spot? Lynn

I'm in for a bit

Surprise surprise.....Im there

Tonight I got confirmation that I am now able to have my daughter on all my days off and she will stay with my sister on the three nights a week I work As many of you know this was a huge issue when I moved here at the end of May. Id be lying if I said this was the end of it and I was relieved but Im still not 100% there won't be more issues; However I feel I am getting closer and closer to solving everything. As much as it hurt to have to constantly ask permission to spend time with my daughter, I did. I just asked every single time I had a free day I went by their rules and in the end got what I needed/wanted anyway. I just had to be patient (and man was that ever difficult) That being said, I have been working to get an alternative to having my sister and BIL watch my daughter. I have put an offer in on a house. It is right across from the high school my daughter attends and the basement is finished with a small kitchen, full bedroom and full bathroom. We are hoping to find a college student willing to stay with us rent free in exchange for supervising the girl on the three days I work a week. But that is jumping ahead. Nothing is a done deal till the paperwork is signed and the key is in my hand. only one more move to go October 8th is the official date for closing but they are aiming for the end of september. I am working at a hospital three nights a week. The schedule has been insane for orientation and all the classes I have to attend. I am coming up on the end of that this month. I think I will be okay in this new job. Much better than the last one for sure. Many days i still feel like a brand new nurse as I am new to hospital procedures etc. But I think this will be good all the way around for all of us. Sorry I haven't been around much, I really hope by the end of September I settle into a more stable routine instead of having to follow multiple trainer schedules. Thanks for all the encouragement you guys have given over the last few years with regards to my daughter and myself. If it wasn't for you guys, we wouldn't be here getting back on track with each other.