Universal Chat Thread

[Moonface]

What, how late was that Moony? Surely you have something else to eat other than cereal, although may have been just joking but if not then er...damn. I haven't and won't ever eat cereal for dinner, I have eaten cereal at 1PM before though as I had nothing to eat at the time, but evening just no.

Frick, I did eat cereal today and had a nibble at break at work, my hunger settled briefly but food talk made it rise again. Then again I am about to eat in a minute. Hope you guys have something to eat too.

9pm. It's not so much I didn't have any other options, but the trouble is by the time I would've obtained an actual meal and eat it it would've been close to 10pm or later, and I had to be in bed by then because of waking up for work today at 4am. I didn't want to go to sleep with something heavy in my stomach trying to be digested.

[Maniakkid25]

So, I'm having an interesting time at my house.

So, I have two sisters. One is currently married, and living with her wife and brother-in-law (don't ask me why, but he is still a minor, currently). The other one hasn't been doing as well, to understate the situation she's in. After a decade of these hard times, my mother finally showed some mercy -- to the frustration of my dad -- and flew her back down here for at least a little while, hopefully enough time that she can pull herself back into a workable condition. She certainly needs it, because based on how she sounds (I haven't actually seen her, yet), she's currently going through a very rough period right now.

[Moonface]

Why would your dad be frustrated about that? I'd expect a parent to want to help their child through rough times, unless it's reached a point where the child seems like a lost cause due to repeated failed attempts with help in the past.

[Maniakkid25]

Because money, dear boy! No, seriously, he's frustrated because he thinks that doing all this is a waste of money. And unlike him, I actually think that, given a fresh start like SHE IS GETTING RIGHT NOW BY COMING HOME and propping her up for a few months will get her easily to a point that she'll be able to leave of her own accord, or at least get a good enough job that she can pull her weight. I don't want to get too deep into how rough she's had it, but her boyfriend recently got arrested...again. So, that might give you an idea why I think this could be a good thing if they, you know, ACTUALLY F***ING TRY! But no, my dad's a piece of s***, and the only reason I don't want him dead is because someone needs to take care of Mom.

And another thing: my parents have been trying to con me into working for them as a programmer, despite the fact that I'm at my dad's throat enough already, so the last thing I need is for him to be MY F***ING BOSS! Every time they have brought it up, I have said to them "I think [the sister in question] is a better fit than me," but nah, they refuse to believe in her. She sent herself down this spiral, so she has to deal with it.

It's s*** like that that makes me think of certain things in a more...spiteful light...

[ShiraNoMai]

It's always a wonder how parents can just think that's acceptable, and couldn't even afford to produce an ounce of empathy by even considering what it would be like if they were in their shoes.

I'm so sorry for your situation, and I really hope your sister can get the best help she can get right now.

[Mr EliteL]

Yeah that really sucks, and good at least one of your parents is willing to help out your sister, Maniak. Screw your dad though, both about your sister and trying to get you to work for him (I know you mentioned both were), dude needs to chill and care/ be more supportive about his kids' situations.

[Moonface]

@Maniakkid25: I get that the issue here with the money for your dad is going to be "Yeah but my money..." but her coming home to get back on track works out cheaper overall because she isn't having to deal with all the bills of her own place which means she can save money up faster. Hell, even if she was able to chip in on the bills your parents have while she stays there it means less money they pay for the time being too, so to me the whole situation gets resolved faster this way than leaving her to try and pick things up while having 100% responsibility that comes with living independently.
But again, I expect your dad's view is "Yeah but it costs me money up front" because he views the short term benefit over the long term one that would benefit everybody if everything works out for your sister.

It's why my parents never made me pay any rent or anything while I was still with them as an adult because they saw it that doing that just means it takes longer for me to save up enough money to move out. Although I could argue I did give them money in a sense since they got 10-20% off all groceries at the local store over the course of like 4 years because I worked there.

Edit: Why in the world is the alert system thinking you have the pink name....

[Frank]

I just learned that my two favorite flavors of Monster Energy still exist in the UK. Ripper and MIXXD... And there's a few exclusive flavors not in the states. I'm so jealous... Anyone want to do me a solid? I will pay well

[Mr EliteL]

Eh, Ripper's still available here? That's my favourite too. Dang, my store has stop supplying them, don't remember if I've seen it other stores yet. I don't have Monster often though so not too annoyed by it.

[Frank]

Eh, Ripper's still available here? That's my favourite too. Dang, my store has stop supplying them, don't remember if I've seen it other stores yet. I don't have Monster often though so not too annoyed by it.

Oh I'm super annoyed. RIPPER, MIXXD, that L44, and one other flavor sounded good. If you ever see them in a store and are willing to ship to the US. I would totally pay you back and then some!

I've been drinking monster since middle school. I know it's bad for me, but I like the treat once in a while. Plus it works way better for me, than coffee.

[Moonface]

Another alternative you could try @Frank is seeing if there are any stores around you that specialize in selling UK products. There's one down the road from me that does and will try to get items imported on request if they don't usually carry it so that could be an avenue to look into.

If not, the official Monster UK website sends me here for purchasing the Ripper flavour: https://www.yourcoca-cola.co.uk/monster-...18367.html
Doubt they ship international but the long way around would be to send it to EL who sends it to you. I think it would be really expensive though...

[Frank]

Another alternative you could try @Frank is seeing if there are any stores around you that specialize in selling UK products. There's one down the road from me that does and will try to get items imported on request if they don't usually carry it so that could be an avenue to look into.

If not, the official Monster UK website sends me here for purchasing the Ripper flavour: https://www.yourcoca-cola.co.uk/monster-...18367.html
Doubt they ship international but the long way around would be to send it to EL who sends it to you. I think it would be really expensive though...

Unfortunately, I looked into that site a few days ago. If someone was willing to buy like a can or two of the flavors and send them I'm willing to fully reimburse and then some. I actually spent a little over an hour Sunday trying to figure out if I could import them anywhere, or if any local stores carried them. Can't buy single cans online anywhere, and the only place I can buy a case of them at is Amazon.UK and the shipping is over $100. 

I know shipping prices went up, but that has to be a markup. When I can have items shipped to me from Amazon.JP for less than $30 that are equal in weight to a case of Monsters. I'm wondering if the UK's postal service has just gone up substantially. It's been many years since I've shipped anything to Europe.

[Moonface]

It might also come down to import taxes. I know the UK has a ridiculous level of import tax, as when Shira once sent me a smartphone that cost her $600 I had to pay something like $200 just to receive it. That isn't counting the postage she paid already for it to get to me.

[Frank]

Yikes $200 in import fees, that's crazy!

[Moonface]

Yeah, it was a ridiculous amount because it was import taxes combined with Royal Mail charging a fee for collecting it from the airport, even though they have to do that as part of their job dealing with international mail. I tend to avoid sending anything to my parents too often just because they hate the stuff I send being held hostage and there's no way for anyone to know up front if there will be a cost and how much it will be. They just suddenly slap it on and require the receiver to pay it before collection.

On the subject of Monster and energy drinks, do you drink any others @Frank or is that really the only brand you go for?