La Salle Explorers

[hedge]

Isn't there some ancient animosity b/w the Turks and the Cypriots?

[aTm]

There is a rivalry and animosity between Turks and Greeks. Most Cypriots are Greek.

[hedge]

I thought Cypriots were from Cyprus. Is Cyprus just an outpost for ex-pat greeks? Do they not have their own national identity?

[aTm]

Most people who live there are Greeks and some are Turks. The Brits (its always the Brits) made Cyprus independent after WWII and that went fine for a while (unless you count Greek Cypriots and Turk Cypriots killing each other) but then a coup occurred that sought Greek annexation and the Turks invaded and Cyprus has basically been divided between a southern independent and ethnically Greek controlled area and a northern Turkey controlled area.

[eCat]

there is this huge swath of beach resort area that has been abandoned since the invasion of Cyprus. Prime land - beautiful just falling apart.

[10ac]

Send in the Armenians.

[sardis]

Why, do they need cab drivers?

[Jungle Rat]

Who in the hell is Ben Washburn?

[innocentbystander]

The Brits (its always the Brits) made Cyprus independent after WWII

Otto Preminger produced an outstanding movie in 1960 depicting Cyprus as (in 1947) a British Concentration Camp (I did not say death camp, a Concentration Camp much like what the US/FDR had for Japanese and German Americans in the early 40s) for the European Jewery that survived Hitler who were trying to make their way to Kibutzes in what would very soon become the nation of Israel. England was doing all that it could to stop them (probably because of the deal England and the United States cut with Saudia Arabia keeping the Nazis out of "the kingdom" and away from the oil.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_(1960_film)

Much of the movie was filmed in Cyrpus and Israel I believe. Paul Newman played a Jewish British Army Captain. Eve Marie Saint was a major babe back in the day.

[eCat]

I just walked into the bathroom and some guy was in there that has been wanting to talk to me about a project for a few weeks. He was washing his hands and I walked over to the urinal.

So I just stood there peeing while I could feel he was waiting for me so I just pretended to keep peeing after I had already finished. Eventually he got frustrated and walked out.

ecat 1, internal auditor 0

[Bklyn]

Internal Audit is not your friend.

[AlabamAlum]

I hate people who try to talk business when I'm in the john. You aren't the Secreary of Defense and I'm not LBJ.

[eCat]

Internal Audit is not your friend.

no he is not

ISO2000

I don't even know what the fuck that is.

I just tell him I write down everything I do and put it in a file somewhere.

[eCat]

I"m 48 now - this getting on the road and driving to grandmas house to have stale turkey and sleep on a bed that feels like its stuffed with leaves and tree branches is getting old.

8 people sitting around a room the size of my cubicle.

Gotta do the dutiful son routine though.

[Saint]

Why is the turkey stale?

Why don't you get Ma to come to your fancy house?

[AlabamAlum]

Don't want the those folks at your house.

"So, you look like you're doing well, Clark."

[eCat]

I get to try that out at Xmas. I have all the in-laws coming up for the first time. My wife has jury duty and we used that as an excuse to get everyone to come here.

a 2 year old, an 8 year old and an 11 year old, 3 of her sisters, two brother-n-laws and her mom. They are all arriving the Monday before and staying until Sunday.

I haven't decorated the house in years but the boy and I put up our big tree just before we left for T-giving - went thru checking the lights on that monster , bought stockings for each person and hung them on the fire place (a big thing in their family is everyone buys stocking stuffers and the night before they slip them into each persons stockings - I bought everyone a cree flashlight). I have lights all over the place and a small tree in our bay window, wreaths on each window and little stuffed elves and what not stuck all over the house - figure Xmas needs to be special for the kids even though mine don't give a damn anymore. In the past I had the big tree and it was such a pain I bought a much smaller 3 piece sectional tree that took about 5 minutes to setup. When we traveled I broke the cheap tree out and stuck it by the window with a timer just to appease the neighbors more than anything else.

We also went out to whole foods and bought a "grass fed, hand petted, swedish massaged , free range" turkey - I may have embellished that a bit but for the price I paid for this sumbitch he better been treated like a king, we got 12 bottles of wine and we'll be adding to the food list as the December rolls in

I'm even redoing the bathroom in the basement putting in new tile, moving some old exercise equipment out and putting in a bedroom so everyone has a bed. We'll keep the house stocked with good food and alcohol (I'm hiding my makers mark however - they can have Jim Beam)


We're going to spend the next couple of weeks fixing up the house - a bit of painting, re-arranging, baby proofing

I'm doing this because I want to do it, not because I feel like I have to - I've traveled so much and its come to the point where both sides of the family don't even bother to clean the house any more when we come, I still think family getting together once a year should be a big deal. I grew up in a time of huge family reunions where you went to a park for a day and brought pot luck, the men sat around and bbq'd all day and snuck in some hard liquor while they tried to top each other stories.

I had to choose sides a bit this year - my side of the family is having a wedding on Dec 20th (scheduled around the UK/UCLA game - it says so on the invitation) and they'll all be in Lexington but I'm not going because the inlaws will be on their way up here. My niece is graduating as a dentist which, believe me, is a big deal to a family from Kentucky. I think my name is mud because I'm not going but they'll get over it. I'll send a nice gift.

Anyways, I'm gonna try to do it up right in the hopes that they'll be more receptive to making the 700 mile juant to our house more frequently.

Its win/win for me - my wife is painting and we're doing stuff to the house we've neglected, I don't have to travel and the money I'd spend going down south for a week I just spend on food and drink here - and most of them are excited about doing something different, like skiing at Perfect North

[10ac]

My niece is graduating as a dentist which, believe me, is a big deal to a family from Kentucky.

Teeth are a big deal for a family from Kentucky.

obligatory

[Saint]

Nicely done, 10ac! Nicely done!

[Jungle Rat]

I"m 48 now - this getting on the road and driving to grandmas house to have stale turkey and sleep on a bed that feels like its stuffed with leaves and tree branches is getting old.

8 people sitting around a room the size of my cubicle.

Gotta do the dutiful son routine though.

Mama's Boy