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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Canderous and Cade's Crazy Cantina: a shiny new fanfiction social thread!

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Commander-DWH, Aug 31, 2012.

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  1. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Lol. Blame it on global warming, but this Winter has been oddly mild - lots of snow but very little extremely cold temperatures.

    But cultural stereotypes are annoying. I hate beer, hockey and Tim Horton's coffee - so sue me. However, I have eaten moose plenty of times. It tastes similar to beef, but much richer. I actually prefer it to beef because it has a lot more taste to it.
     
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  2. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    I haven't dealt with any cultural stereotypes, as I really don't think Pennsylvania has any, unless they're localized to a specific region. But, I can't think of any stereotype that is "clearly Pennsylvanian," except for Amish and Quakers, of which I am neither. I am also not a reenactor. I am also not trapped in the past, because I live in Gettysburg. But, that's basically it, as far as I can figure for stereotypes.

    Now, assumptions, particularly from one friend of mine, those get ridiculous. Despite my telling him several times that I've built models in the past, he thinks that I've only built Gundams or no models at all. He's been trying to get me into model-building, which I have considered. However, I don't like building military models. I like building scientific models. And I have built anatomical models as a kid (the Visible Man and a bullfrog). But, since I haven't built any military models, then either I haven't built models at all, or I just build Gundams.

    I've built one Gundam. [face_plain]
     
  3. DarthIshtar

    DarthIshtar Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2001
    Today, we had freezing rain. It would have been more fun if I don't live up a flight of metal stairs. I gave myself 45 minutes to walk about .4 miles just in case. When I got to the sidewalk that runs behind my house out to the main road, I found that all that lovely rain-soaked ground was solid ice. I tromped through snow instead, but had to go to the other side of the street to turn right. At that point, I was skidding/snowplowing my way across my friend's driveway when she pulled up on her way back from an errand and offered a ride. I got to catch up, got on the bus so early that I was an hour early for work and had a nice lunch before I had to clock in at the restaurant across the street.

    Speaking of work, it's been a bit of drama. I was out for two days when I got new meds for the pneumonia and on the second night, my boss called me to say they were reorganizing my department. Our department does two things that no other department does--HR paperwork and email support. They decided to cut the HR paperwork side of things, which means that we really don't need to have this huge task force of people who work 365 days a year and 24/7 in case someone needs us to be there.

    Now, I've been considering quitting because my boss convinced me to take the job on the premise that it would be a better schedule AND while we're open 7 days a week, I would rarely if ever have to work on Sundays, but I have worked about 90% of the Sundays since getting hired for that job. I have used half my paid time off making sure I go to church and work. I finally wrote my boss and said that I was willing to sacrifice ANY of my weekdays off so I wouldn't have to work on Sundays and that if I couldn't get some kind of schedule accommodation, I was going to have to ask her about getting reassigned to something else. Lo and behold, the next three Sundays I have off, but she said she'd work with the Scheduling department.

    So, back to the reorg. My boss said that I had the option to try and stay on to just do emails, but there were 8 spots going to the overnighters who already worked that shift, 4 going to people who would work on Sunday and then there were limited spots for the other 50 or so of us who have been doing that job. I could also go back to being UA--universal agent--which means I would be at the bottom of the pecking order after 2+ years of working my way up. Some people are taking that option because it's less stress and better hours. And the final option is to go back to what I was doing last year, which is mostly being the supervisor people get when they want to talk to a supervisor. That's called ERC so you won't get confused when I mention it again.

    They are doing the assignments by seniority in the department, which means that because I have only been there 3 months, I'm not the bottom but I'm close. I went to work and watched as they pulled in senior people one by one and started having them pick their spots. Then in the middle of everything, my boss sent out an email asking if there was anyone who wanted to be considered for ERC as their first choice. Knowing that it was my best bet and it would mean a higher salary day-to-day than what I make right now (We get bonus pay for certain schedules and such), I let her know how much I had enjoyed working that job.

    A few interviews later, my friend came over and said he was going ERC. I high-fived him and he mentioned that in the interview, my boss had spilled that I got one of the other spots. And I'm going to be working a much earlier shift so I can have a social life and I will be back with some of my favorite coworkers ever. And because I spoke up when she offered that option, there are a bunch of people with higher seniority who didn't get to be considered and they are having to go back to the bottom of the pecking order. I feel a little bad...

    And then I got home and found a padded envelope from my mom. She sent me this pair of socks that are stitched and decorated to look like toe shoes. I had shown them to her a while back because they're adorable, but I don't spend $7 on a pair of socks ever, so this was a nice surprise.

    Pneumonia still not better.
     
  4. DarthIshtar

    DarthIshtar Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2001
    Today, we had freezing rain. It would have been more fun if I don't live up a flight of metal stairs. I gave myself 45 minutes to walk about .4 miles just in case. When I got to the sidewalk that runs behind my house out to the main road, I found that all that lovely rain-soaked ground was solid ice. I tromped through snow instead, but had to go to the other side of the street to turn right. At that point, I was skidding/snowplowing my way across my friend's driveway when she pulled up on her way back from an errand and offered a ride. I got to catch up, got on the bus so early that I was an hour early for work and had a nice lunch before I had to clock in at the restaurant across the street.

    Speaking of work, it's been a bit of drama. I was out for two days when I got new meds for the pneumonia and on the second night, my boss called me to say they were reorganizing my department. Our department does two things that no other department does--HR paperwork and email support. They decided to cut the HR paperwork side of things, which means that we really don't need to have this huge task force of people who work 365 days a year and 24/7 in case someone needs us to be there.

    Now, I've been considering quitting because my boss convinced me to take the job on the premise that it would be a better schedule AND while we're open 7 days a week, I would rarely if ever have to work on Sundays, but I have worked about 90% of the Sundays since getting hired for that job. I have used half my paid time off making sure I go to church and work. I finally wrote my boss and said that I was willing to sacrifice ANY of my weekdays off so I wouldn't have to work on Sundays and that if I couldn't get some kind of schedule accommodation, I was going to have to ask her about getting reassigned to something else. Lo and behold, the next three Sundays I have off, but she said she'd work with the Scheduling department.

    So, back to the reorg. My boss said that I had the option to try and stay on to just do emails, but there were 8 spots going to the overnighters who already worked that shift, 4 going to people who would work on Sunday and then there were limited spots for the other 50 or so of us who have been doing that job. I could also go back to being UA--universal agent--which means I would be at the bottom of the pecking order after 2+ years of working my way up. Some people are taking that option because it's less stress and better hours. And the final option is to go back to what I was doing last year, which is mostly being the supervisor people get when they want to talk to a supervisor. That's called ERC so you won't get confused when I mention it again.

    They are doing the assignments by seniority in the department, which means that because I have only been there 3 months, I'm not the bottom but I'm close. I went to work and watched as they pulled in senior people one by one and started having them pick their spots. Then in the middle of everything, my boss sent out an email asking if there was anyone who wanted to be considered for ERC as their first choice. Knowing that it was my best bet and it would mean a higher salary day-to-day than what I make right now (We get bonus pay for certain schedules and such), I let her know how much I had enjoyed working that job.

    A few interviews later, my friend came over and said he was going ERC. I high-fived him and he mentioned that in the interview, my boss had spilled that I got one of the other spots. And I'm going to be working a much earlier shift so I can have a social life and I will be back with some of my favorite coworkers ever. And because I spoke up when she offered that option, there are a bunch of people with higher seniority who didn't get to be considered and they are having to go back to the bottom of the pecking order. I feel a little bad...

    And then I got home and found a padded envelope from my mom. She sent me this pair of socks that are stitched and decorated to look like toe shoes. I had shown them to her a while back because they're adorable, but I don't spend $7 on a pair of socks ever, so this was a nice surprise.

    Pneumonia still not better.
     
  5. moosemousse

    moosemousse CR Emeritus: FF-UK South star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2004
    I realised some time ago that I don't know of any stereotypes for the English/British.
     
  6. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    You're British? :eek: Are you related to the Queen?

    :p
     
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  7. moosemousse

    moosemousse CR Emeritus: FF-UK South star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2004
    [face_rofl][face_rofl][face_rofl]
     
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  8. Dantana Skywalker

    Dantana Skywalker Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 7, 2002
    I'm from Utah. I look forward to when a man picks me to be his fourth or fifth wife! /sarcasm

    I'm working on the next book in my mystery series right now. I just discovered that OpenOffice has an Irish language spellchecker/thesaurus/hyphenation rule extension, so I get to play with it, but it will be SO helpful as my male lead's first language is Irish. And maybe it'll stop trying to correct "Manannán" to "banana".

    My SIL is getting her gall bladder out today, and I get to drive her to the surgery and sit there and wait. Then, on Monday, I get to go talk to a surgeon about my own upcoming surgery. Such fun! [face_plain]

    I'm not British, but I'm related to Princes William and Harry, through their mother . . .
     
  9. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    An-mhaith! I could've done with that back at school. Even our foclóir, the traditional paper version, sucked. :p The stupidest thing is, when you buy a computer in Ireland, along with a copy of Word, it doesn't even come with any Irish-language stuff. The only spell-correct stuff I got was French and English. What's the point, I ask you? *shakes head sadly*

    You're related to the royal family? :eek: Do you know the Queen? Do you have tea and crumpets with her on Sundays?
     
  10. Dantana Skywalker

    Dantana Skywalker Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 7, 2002
    I've been trying to teach myself Irish for several years. I know more Sindarin than I do Irish. [face_laugh] I just got myself a "Teach Yourself Irish" course book. I'll see if it actually works. Most of what I know is swearing. :p The male lead of my series is from the Gaeltacht, so he frequently uses Irish and sometimes I feel like a fraud.

    Sadly, I do not know the queen. I'm related to Wills and Harry through Diana, about ten or so generations back on her dad's side, I think. My grandfather has the charts, I just nod and go "Uh-huh" when he tells me about it.
     
  11. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    According to stereotypes I've encountered, Irish people are all drunks, we fight all the time, and we be talkin' like this I tell ye, lass. We can all "riverdance", we listen to U2 and Enya, we eat nothing but potatoes and stew, and we all have red hair, green eyes, and freckles. And occasionally we wear tartan and kilts and change accents because people get us confused with the Scots.

    This is all true.

    Edited because I meant to post a link, not the video itself, and also because I realised (rather belatedly) that he uses a bad word in this so be aware of that before you click the link: Dylan Moran on the English and Irish

    I also forgot about the swearing. Apparently we swear a lot. But I don't know if that's a stereotype or just something people notice.
     
  12. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Well good luck to you. I did it for seven years in school and I can't even swear. I can tell you our school rules and describe my school uniform and tell you the story of how I got out of bed in the morning, though! You know, the useful stuff. The sort of thing you need for everyday conversation.

    :(
     
  13. Dantana Skywalker

    Dantana Skywalker Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 7, 2002
    My Irish guy, Milo, wears a kilt exactly once, as a Halloween costume. And he has black hair, not red. Though he does have green eyes, but that's not out of a stereotype. It's related to something else. I based his accent largely on Irish people I've actually met, so it's a bit like you described. But he listens to The Scorpions and AC/DC. :p
     
  14. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Yay research and originality! I always find it so fascinating to see what I sound like to other people though. I'd probly sound a bi' like tha' t'ya as well. :p And I'm sure that an American person sounds totally different to me than to another American. I can't even tell a difference between American and Canadian accents, although I can recognise a southern accent. But don't ask me if it's from Georgia or Louisiana. :p On the other hand though, I can tell Irish accents apart easy, although they probably sound exactly the same to everyone outside of Ireland.

    I don't usually like accents in books simply because I have NO idea what they're meant to be. When English people say something fo-ne-tick-lee it sounds so different to when an American says it, so they spell it differently and I get confused. It took me a while to get that "Artoo" is "R2-D2" because I'd only heard the name in German, and in English I always pronounced it like "Or two".
     
  15. Dantana Skywalker

    Dantana Skywalker Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 7, 2002
    When I write accents, I try to go more for speech patterns and cadence than for doing phonetic stuff. I listen to lots of examples of an accent (the internet is great for this!) before I try to tackle it. Mostly, I get Milo's accent across with dropped Gs on the ends of words (which is fairly common here, too, come to think of it . . .) and with "ya" instead of "you". I know an Irish guy who writes most of his "you"s on Twitter as "ya", so whatever.

    I can generally only tell the difference between American accents if they're really pronounced, like the Minnesota or Massachusetts one, or southern. And I can tell a Texan accent from a Missouri accent, but everything else is generally a mystery to me. The US is so big, it's hard to go enough places and meet enough people to be fully exposed to all the different subtleties. On the other hand, I surprised a guest lecturer at school once by asking her what part of Northumberland she was from, and when she asked how I knew, I said it was English with a hint of Scots, but not enough to be Lowland Scots. She gave me owl eyes and just stared. I can also tell the difference between an Aussie and a Kiwi accent. Apparently, some people have difficulty with that.

    As for Irish, I can only tell when someone's from the Belfast area because it isn't as pronounced and is more clipped, if that makes any sense? More of an English influence, I guess. And there was the guy from Galway. I couldn't tell you what was different about the way he spoke, it just was somehow. I'd have to spend more time in Ireland to pick up he nuances. When I got back to the US after just a week in Dublin, American accents sounded so . . . flat and strange to me. Especially since I went through "Noo Yawk" coming back, which . . . Ugh.
     
  16. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    When I read dropped g's at the ends of words, I hear it in an American drawl. I don't think that I drop them - I speak perfectly normally, thank you, just like everyone else you ask.

    But I totally do drop the g's most of the time, really. And I say "ya" as well. But when I read it, I immediately read it in an American accent. Weird, huh?

    The Belfast/Nordie accent is very different, yeah. When I first moved here, I met a girl from Monaghan, and I swear I only understood about 10% of what she said to me. Granted, I was still learning English and our chat took place in the middle of a camogie match, but still. :p And the Wesht is different again. By now I can understand pretty much everyone though. And I thought I understood the Scottish accent, until I went to visit my friend there and the electricity guy came by. He had a really thick accent. I had NO idea what he was telling me, all I caught was "hello" and "lass" and eventually something about a meter. But my friend reassured me and said that he couldn't understand the locals half the time either, so I felt better.
     
  17. LexiLupin

    LexiLupin Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2011
    Ooh, another good Ohio one- "You're from Ohio? Does that mean you call it pop?!" *snicker*
    Yes, many Ohioans say 'pop'; yes, they still know what a soda is; no, I tend to favor 'soda' over 'pop' because my mother who is from Maryland despises the term 'pop.'

    Mav, what's the soda/pop situation where you're from in WV?
     
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  18. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Pop? Soda? I think you're all weird. :p "Pop" is what you do to balloons and "soda" is what you put in bread to make it rise!
     
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  19. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Are you kidding? o_O Haven't you seen the Simpson's joke when the dentist pulls out the "Big Book of British Teeth" to scare Lisa into getting braces? Or how American's make fun of British cuisine. Most of our understanding of Brits comes from Monty Python. ;) But I have to admit, I love a classy British accent.

    And the pop Vs. Soda debate. I grew up in San Diego but my dad was from Ohio and my mom from Pennsylvania and we called it pop. The restaurants had pop dispensers. Then I join the Army and move to the south and they all look at me strange when I ask for a pop. "Oh, you all mean a soda." I'm like "A soda? What the heck is that?" And their restaurants had soda fountains.

    So then I started calling it soda pop so people would know what the hell I am talking about no matter where I am. And then when you are in Georgia they think everything is a Coke. "Can you get me a root beer Coke." What? I don't know if that is just my crazy friends or not, but they often use Coke as a substitute for the word soda or pop.
     
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  20. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri and a little over 10 years ago I moved to Ohio. Even though friends who live here in Ohio warned me that the people here call soda, pop, the first time a customer came into where I work asked, "Where's your pop," I immediately thought, "Six feet under." [face_laugh] Thankfully, I didn't say it. I just paused a second or two then said, "In aisle 9 in the cooler along the wall." He gave me a strange look before going to get it. When he came back, he said, "You were right. When you hesitated, I thought you didn't know what you were talking about." I explained to him that it was my first day working there, and I'm from St. Louis where we either call the drink by it's name or soda, and 'pop' is another word for dad or father, and I also told him what my first thought was when he asked the question, and he started laughing.
     
  21. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    My brother lives in Mississippi. We went to the store and he asked me to go get a buggy. I am picturing a vehicle that Amish people ride in. A buggy? Oh, you mean a shopping cart. And they don't push buttons in Mississippi...they mash them. My brother and I were in an elevator and he asked me to "Mash the fourth floor button."o_O And he has the thickest Southern accent you would ever believe. He is a transplant from California, but forty years in Mississippi has him talking like a local.
     
  22. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    Hah, to me, a buggy is a thing that you wheel babies and small children around in. Language is so weird.
     
  23. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    I have heard the term "Baby buggy" but that usually refers to a type of old fashioned stroller that is basically a rolling crib. We have strollers where the back can recline for a baby and then when the kid is older it can be put in a upright sitting position.

    I remember when an American was giving an interview in Britain and was saying something about her fanny...which is a polite term for one's backside in America. I was told that has a whole different meaning in Britain. I assume I should leave my fanny pack at home.:D
     
  24. moosemousse

    moosemousse CR Emeritus: FF-UK South star 6

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2004
    Oh, the teeth thing is more of a myth than a stereotype, I think. I've never studied teeth but it's probably no worse in the UK than it is in the US. Not sure about the food thing though.

    To me 'coke' is Coke as in Coca-Cola. The only thing I call 'soda' is cream soda because that's what it's called. That kind of thing is a soft drink to me.
     
  25. Iverna

    Iverna Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 20, 2008
    British cuisine does have a terrible reputation in various places - Germany and France would agree there too.

    As for soda/pop/soft drinks, we call them fizzy drinks. Because they're fizzy, and they're drinks. It makes sense!
     
  26. Dantana Skywalker

    Dantana Skywalker Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 7, 2002
    It does make sense.

    I have a friend who went to Ireland and she loathed the "traditional" food. I loved it. Takes all kinds, I guess. As for soda, well . . . obviously, we call it soda here.

    Thing that baffles me is how Utah has definite southern dialectal characteristics in some areas. These manifest as people pronouncing "day" as "dee", as in "Sundee". I also have heard "crick" instead of "creek", and "melk" instead of "milk". It's just bizarre.

    I read a romance novel once that took place in Ireland, and every single character started nearly every line of dialogue with "Sure and". I swear, 8 out of 10 lines started like that. I don't know where the author got that, but it was really annoying. A lot of romance novels are very annoying, though. Some I enjoy, but a good lot of them make me want to viciously murder every character and then break every bone in the author's hands.
     
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