Wish me luck!

[Petra]

So you should know if you get one of the positions in about a fortnight?

Keep us informed, and good luck you!

[AspenMama]

Reviewing what fortnight means....

They want someone in place before the holidays.

[Petra]

A fortnight is two weeks. Don't ask me why.


When are the holidays?




Edit: I looked it up, and I now know why: A fort'night is 14 nights.

[viscousmemories]

I knew a fortnight was two weeks, but I didn't know why.

Good luck again, Aspen.

[AspenMama]

Originally Posted by lunachick

A fortnight is two weeks. Don't ask me why.


When are the holidays?

I'm assuming the ones around December 25.

Edit: I looked it up, and I now know why: A fort'night is 14 nights.

And a score as in "Four score and 7 years" would be a unit of 10?

[livius drusus]

Unit of 20, I believe. Four score and 7 years = 87 years.

[Petra]

Originally Posted by AspenMama

I'm assuming the ones around December 25.

Sorry, I should have remembered you only get a few days either side of Xmas/New Year (assuming we're talking about the school year). We get 6 weeks, starting December 9th.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by lunachick

Sorry, I should have remembered you only get a few days either side of Xmas/New Year (assuming we're talking about the school year). We get 6 weeks, starting December 9th.

gloat

[JoeP]

Oh, and good luck, AM!

[SharonDee]

Originally Posted by JoeP

gloat

[Petra]

Originally Posted by SharonDee

It's okay, Sharon. JoeP wasn't being mean or anything; he was just ribbing me because it's summer here. It's an antipodean thang.

as i understood it, anyway

As Frank Zappa said, "The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows".

[viscousmemories]

I assumed Sharon was just ribbing him back.

[Petra]

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

I assumed Sharon was just ribbing him back.

Excellent!

Carry on then...

[LadyShea]

Hey Luna . In the US, "The Holidays" start on Thanksgiving, the 3rd Thursday in November, and go through New Year's Day. Basically just three holidays, but we make it one long thing.

[Dingfod]

Originally Posted by LadyShea

Hey Luna . In the US, "The Holidays" start on Thanksgiving, the 3rd Thursday in November, and go through New Year's Day. Basically just three holidays, but we make it one long thing.

Productivity in office environs drops to near zero for basically a month and a half, as if it was very high to begin with.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by lunachick

That tip-toe smilie is unbearably cute.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by SharonDee

You're just jealous.

Our situation is similar to the antipodeans (and the near-antipodeans in Aus). Summer holidays (family, school and individual) coincidence with Christmas and New Year and nothing much happens at all from early December through to sometime in January (in business, depending on when the last critical member of management/project/client gets back from holidays which can easily be the last week of Jan).

I'd forgotten about the effect of Thanksgiving. In Britain the shutdown is much shorter, rarely more than a week or two (except in Scotland where Hogmanay can result in many people being nonfunctional even if they turn up for work : ).

joe

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by JoeP

I'd forgotten about the effect of Thanksgiving. In Britain the shutdown is much shorter, rarely more than a week or two (except in Scotland where Hogmanay can result in many people being nonfunctional even if they turn up for work : ).

joe

It's not really a "shutdown". Since National Overeater's Day (aka Thanksgiving) always falls on a Thursday, there is a strong tendency for folks to roll Friday in and make it a four day holiday. The Friday after Thanksgiving is the official kick-off of the insanity that passes for "Christmas" in North America, with the beginning of the onslaught of lights, noxious music, endless banal celebrations and excessive mindless conspicuous consumption, even unto hopeless indebtedness. As the U.S. is the home of endless retail marketing, nothing ever "shuts down," it merely slows down.

Following the Thanksgiving Day weekend, the pace picks up again and continues a long, slow decline of productive activity into the 25th of December, with productivity suffering increasingly as the date approaches and almost reaching zero on that day. The day after is reserved for unapologetic bargain shopping, prodded by retailers urge to empty their shelves of all the crap rendered semi-obsolescent by the passage of the holiday.

The week following is dedicated to shaking out that last vestiages of the exceedingly annoying music that has permeated nearly all susceptible minds in the foregoing month and attempting to make recontact with some semblance of reality...rather like an alki coming off a bender. That ends with a blow-out drunk which allows the average American to return to work in top form...with a hangover and a bad mood. In other words, back to normal.

It is most certainly NOT a month off work. It's more like a month screwing off AT work.

And AspenMama....My best wishes on the job opportunity! Here's hoping you're hired before Thanksgiving!

godfry

(....and what's with this "Christmas" crap? How come I don't get MY holy day off?)

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

As the U.S. is the home of endless retail marketing, nothing ever "shuts down," it merely slows down.

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

The day after is reserved for unapologetic bargain shopping, prodded by retailers urge to empty their shelves of all the crap rendered semi-obsolescent by the passage of the holiday.

Now that's an economic problem here. Joburg is half empty as people go to the coast or abroad, and retailers cannot count on any rush to clearance sales. (Retailers in the holiday areas have it the other way round of course!)

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Now that's an economic problem here. Joburg is half empty as people go to the coast or abroad, and retailers cannot count on any rush to clearance sales. (Retailers in the holiday areas have it the other way round of course!)

Do you have to suffer through endless renditions of "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby? I'll tell ya....between that and "Little Drummer Boy", I'm convinced that induced temporary insanity is the goal. I usually keep the radio off until after December 25.

Only one more week until AspenMama should have that new job offer...right?

godfry

[wei yau]

Good luck, AspenMama!!!

Originally Posted by lunachick

It's okay, Aspen Mama - I speak Jive.

BWAH-HA-HA-HA!!!

One of my favorite bits from one of my favorite movies:

Randy: Can I get you something?
Second Jive Dude: 'S'mofo butter layin' me to da' BONE! Jackin' me up... tight me!
Randy: I'm sorry, I don't understand.
First Jive Dude: Cutty say 'e can't HANG!
Jive Lady: Oh stewardess! I speak jive.
Randy: Oh, good.
Jive Lady: He said that he's in great pain and he wants to know if you can help him.
Randy: All right. Would you tell him to just relax and I'll be back as soon as I can with some medicine?
Jive Lady: Jus' hang loose, blood. She gonna catch ya up on da' rebound on da' med side.
Second Jive Dude: What it is, big mama? My mama no raise no dummies. I dug her rap!
Jive Lady: Cut me some slack, Jack! Chump don' want no help, chump don't GET da' help!
First Jive Dude: Say 'e can't hang, say seven up!
Jive Lady: Jive ass dude don't got no brains anyhow! Hmmph!

[livius drusus]

That is such a classic scene. I didn't find out until very recently that the Jive Lady was played by Barbara Billingsley, aka June Cleaver. Between her and Peter Graves, Airplane was pretty much the bonfire of the straightlaced.

[wei yau]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

That is such a classic scene. I didn't find out until very recently that the Jive Lady was played by Barbara Billingsley, aka June Cleaver. Between her and Peter Graves, Airplane was pretty much the bonfire of the straightlaced.

Indeed.

Although, I'll always associate Leslie Nielsen with Airplane and Police Squad, he used to be a straight-man. Very serious and earnest roles. But his success in these projects have allowed him to be completely re-invented as parody/satire star.

Sure, lately, I think his recent efforts kinda sucked, but that's something else entirely.

[livius drusus]

Tammy and the Bachelor! I loved that movie even though it was stilted and cheesy and hell. It's amazing to see how much better, how much more natural, Nielsen is as a comedic actor.