*hugs*
I can't imagine how hard that must be. I can imagine why you feel that way, and I'd probably feel the same, but you're definitely not a bad person.

That's always a danger if you do your job well. Good luck on that new job!

Sorry to hear about your bothers situation, sisterdew.  I'm not so sure if it's endemic of tech companies in Vienna alone, or if it's a hang over from companies run by people with no appreciation of the requirements of their departments.  That's not to say that the CEO of the company isn't a smart guy, he has after all, managed to make the company very successful and built of lots of successful relationships with various media companies around the world (Canal+, BBC, ORF, RTL etc.).

I actually have a lot of respect for him.

But apparently, he doesn't respect me.  He might appreciate my importance, but as a one of my old lecturers, who is also a close friend once told me; the only way a company can show you respect is by rewarding you with a promotion and the suitable pay increase if you work hard and do more than just a good job.

So when I find a new job, and when I hand in my notice, I'll actually feel quite sad.  I like my colleagues, as far as the day to day stuff goes, while I disagree quite strongly with their approach to making games, it doesn't really bother me so much as I have a lot of freedom to develop our technology and games (something I'm doing right now, is developing new tech. to help make making games, easier).

Oh well...best get some work done.  I almost popped into the British Bookshop on Wednesday, sisterdew, but it was getting late and I wanted to be home in time to spend a bit of time with my daughter before it was her bedtime.

It is called "vanity sizing" Magpie. The manufacturers have figured out if they label things a smaller size, more people will purchase them. This really plays havoc with daugther's ability to find clothes; she wears a size 0 -- and what is now a 0 used to be a 1 or 2 and are too big for her.

*major tantrum with flying limbs*

My sister is such a fffff b****.... she only EVER thinks about herself.... gah gah gah.... Sometimes I could just hit her.... My parents want us to come over for my birthday and sinterklaas.... She wants to, I think it's just too much money for my parents for just the one night.... Besides that, I would be stressing out all day as I do that when I have to travel especially when there's several means of public transport involved... Now everyone is on my head for the decision... if I say no, nobody goes.... So I was stressing out about that... I travel 3 hours per day to get to and from work.... and she's complaining that she never has any fun... well she isn't trying to either..... And now my dad has offered to pick us up on Friday, which is WAY more relaxed.... and my sister has decided she doesn't like that and prefers the plane.... she only does 20 minutes of travel daily..... so she has it easy...

AAAAAHHHHHHHH..... hate.....
*cries*

Thanks Magpie.... I have indeed made that decision... I do want to be picked up, I can't bear having to stress out all day just because of a flight that my sister wants... I've given in to her way too much already!

I am moving out in September.... I will NO longer stay in a house with a hypocritical b*** like my sister.... I pay flights for her in advance, gave her I don't know how much money when she was broke, paid her groceries, and now I'm always the idiot who gets stuck with buying milk bread and eggs, she'll NEVER buy anything that is not for her herself only..... And now I'm in a huge jam... I don't have ANY money to spare... but she... no, she won't even think about offering to pay a larger part of the rent just for one time... no of course not, because she's too good for any of that..... So now I'll be stuck with absolutely NOTHING... less than nothing....

God.... why did I ever agree to living with her in the first place... I must have been utterly utterly mad!!

*hugs Libra* That sucks big time. I hope it will all work out!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-18589737

26 June 2012 Last updated at 04:41 ET

Shanghai Metro 'dress code' warning sparks debate Advertisement

What is too revealing for the Shanghai subway?

A Shanghai Metro microblog post urging women to ''pay attention to how you dress'' to avoid sexual harassment has sparked protests and strong reactions.

The metro operator posted a picture of a woman in a see-through dress on its Twitter-like Weibo account, saying: "It's no wonder that some people get harassed if they dress like this."

This drew criticism for discrimination and sexism from irate women.

But in an online poll, most agreed that women should dress more conservatively.

The post published by Shanghai No 2 Subway Co on Wednesday added that there were many perverts on the subway and asked women to ''cherish'' themselves.

This set off a flurry of comments online, with many decrying the suggestion that women were to blame for sexual harassment by dressing scantily.

"According to this logic, all men can harass women in swimming pools?" one microblog user was quoted as saying in China Daily.

''Even if a woman doesn't wear revealing clothes, it doesn't mean she won't be sexually harassed,'' another user pointed out.

On Sunday, two women walked through the metro trains with their faces covered in black and carrying signs in protest. One sign read: ''I can be coquettish; but you cannot harass me.''

A spokesman for the metro company denied allegations that the post was justifying sexual harassment, and said it was meant to be a ''kind reminder'' to women.

"As the city's subway operator, we have the responsibility to warn women of the potential danger of sexual harassment on the subway," he told the Global Times newspaper.

He added that there had been an increase in the number of complaints of sexual harassment on the subway.

The majority of tens of thousands of internet users responding to a Sina Weibo survey, however, agreed that women should dress conservatively when taking public transportation.

''Dressing appropriately in public is a matter of public courtesy,'' said one microblog user. ''Asking women to be self-respecting in the way they dress does not equate to justifying sexual harassment.''

To me, the sign itself is incredibly insulting, as if it is always the woman's fault that she is sexually harrassed. Sure, they later say that it was misinterpreted and that they meant it as a reminder, and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they had nothing but good intentions in mind, but did seriously no one proofread this idea, or get a 2nd opinion?

Now that's not to say I agree with some of the "fashion statements" made today, and I agree that there are certain clothes that should not be worn in public. But if that was the message they were trying to get across, why not have a tagline of "Have respect for yourself and others--keep your privates private" Don't even mention the harrassment.

I miss the days when there were folks on here who debated politics seriously and respectfully. And especially folks who could encourage me, even if the wrong man gets elected, my home country won't go to hell in a handbasket.


Signed,
A pixel of blue in an HD flatscreen of red

Why must so many of my regular customers be so annoying? There's Mrs Rude, the Moped Witch, Mrs Never-Quiet, Thiefing Neighbour and the Whistler, but right now, Mr Beagle has moved to the top of the list.
He lives a couple of houses away from the nursery, and his dog sometimes has "play dates" with my boss's dog, so he sometimes comes by to see if the boss's dog is in the shop.
He's also one of those people who are always prying into other people's business... I mean, that's common among older people/village people (and he's both of that), and I can just put up with customers asking where I'm going for my holidays (although I'll keep the answers as short as possible). But he somehow found out that I write, and insisted I read and criticize his poetry. Now I have this book of handwritten poems at home, that I feel obligated to read and return - and I have NO time for that.
And worse, now he insists I promised him I'd let him read something of mine. I did NOT. I don't even promise that to family members or best friends. And certainly not to random customers/work neighbours. SO not happening.
OK, I briefly contemplated writing a "poem" in my made-up language that would really be a load of insults, but a.) I don't have the time for that, either, and b.) Tosacy is too beautiful a language for him. He's not allowed to read that.
And then today. This is the part I'm still fuming about. He came to ask about a certain kind of lettuce (after some general and only mildly annoying chit-chat), and I told him he could have a couple of plants for free, because that's what my boss also does, as a sort of introductory offer.
He thanked me profusely - and then kissed me on the cheek.
Ugh!
I generally hate it when customers touch me. Far too many of them do. (Made me draw this sign a looong time ago, and I still haven't gotten around to drawing the rest of the signs that I wanted to use for a blog post.) Grabbing my arm. Patting my back. Brushing hair out of my face. Pushing up my glasses. Putting an arm around me. Always pisses me off to various degrees. But kissing my cheek?! Seriously, people - ever heard of personal space? Stay. Out. Of. It.
If you're not a friend or family member, you're not allowed to touch me. Period. And kissing my cheek is reserved for close friends and close family members.
I used to really hate people touching me when I was younger, up until my teens I disliked hugging people no matter how well I knew them, and I can still count the times I've hugged my best friend on one hand - and those wouldn't have happened if her father hadn't died (and we've been best friends for... uh... nineteen years, I think.) (Smarchers are kind of an exception, I've hugged you lot so often online that hugging you in real life feels perfectly normal.)
But Mr Beagle, you are a customer. You are a neighbour of my workplace. That does not make you a friend, or even a close acquaintance. You are also about forty years too old for that to be in any way flattering, and if you had been forty years younger, you would probably have gotten slapped, anyway.
Just stay the f*** out of my personal space, and yes, this situation warrants swearing.
And if this happens again, I may have to take that stupid book of poetry and hit you on the head with it.

At that moment, I was just too baffled to do anything but take a step back and think, "did this seriously just happen?"
But yeah, next time, I won't take it this quietly.

That's one thing that annoys me about myself, that I'm often just too surprised to react to the idiotic things people do. I just don't get how they think it's acceptable to just touch people...
like a couple of days ago, I asked this guy if I could help him, and he goes, "Can I brush that hair out of your face for you."
That gave me time to take a step back at least (I know others would just have reached out and brushed it away), and say, "I'll do that myself, if it bothers me." He was so insulted that I refused, he "only wanted to help", he "only wanted to be nice". Seriously?


Completely unrelated, but what the heck is going on here? There's a constant rumbling noise - not exactly loud, but always getting louder-quieter-louder again, and I hate repetitive sounds of any kind. Also, it's making the entire house tremble.
Can't see anything on the street that would cause it, so it must be coming from the train line behind the building (there's also been some honking that sounds like trains) - in the day time, I would say they're doing some sort of building work, but it's pitch dark.
Or it's from the business across the street. Whatever it is, I sure hope it stops before I go to bed, or I'll be screaming with rage within a couple of minutes. I already woke up at five today and couldn't get back to sleep, so I'd quite like some sleep tonight.

In many cases, I don't think there's anything sexual to it. Not sure about the Whistler, but I always keep a few steps distance from him now. And I'm so glad that creepy Mr Moustache never turned up again.

Some of them, those who want to push my hair out of my face and push up my glasses and such, I'm pretty sure they really just want to help. Others are women who come across as just being used to touching people (taking me by the arm, poking me as they share a joke "from woman to woman"...) I have no problem with offering them an arm if they're old and a little wobbly on their feet (our ground is rather uneven), but please let me do that on my terms.
With Mr Beagle, I'm not quite sure yet... but it might be that this is just how he treats his friends. Lots of people kiss their friends on the cheeks. But I am not a friend.