What's Up With µ?

[fohat]

In recognition of a tough year - I've added Muirium to this year's Secret Santa rotation

He will have a heck of a time getting a desk chair in his suitcase.

[ohaimark]

[t!ng]

Where are youuuuu?

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Looking for Scooby Snacks?

[PollandAkuma]

Sending good vibes, hope all is still well!

[andrewjoy]

Its ok Mµ is like a model M , you can leave him in a dusty warehouse for years , but all he needs is a dust and a clean and he will be as good as new

[paecific.jr]

That's sad to hear! We'll be praying for you and your family!

[Muirium]

Ho boy. Ever imagined what the world's biggest shit colliding with a giant fan looks like? That's Edinburgh at the moment.

It all began last June. You may have heard of a little something called Brexit? Turns out my very own town's biggest employer by a long, long margin — finance — is not a fan. Who would have imagined! Well, those of us living here: Edinburgh voted 75% to Remain, ahead of even the rest of Scotland. But we were overruled, as usual…



What's been going on since then is, to put it mildly, a mass extinction-level shit show. I'm not at liberty to mention any discussions I've had in my line of work supporting this lot. But the overview is simple enough: they're shitting bricks left, right and centre, while preparing for multiple waves of chaos ahead. The London government's promise that we're leaving the single market is the big one. But round 2 is well underway now.

What could that be? Oh, a hasty return to Scottish independence! As an independence supporter, I've been having a lot of conversations about this. (Almost everyone in the finance sector is staunchly unionist, even if they were born far beyond Britain's shores. They instinctively oppose change.) The fear is that Scotland could cut ties with England, but then be refused entry to the EU thanks to our dear pals in Madrid, which would leave us in a worst of both worlds situation with economic barriers between Scotland and Europe *and* Scotland and England.

New EU members need unanimous support from every present EU member state. So Spain does have veto power over us. They're adding a lot of brown trousers to the mix here in Edinburgh! The reason Madrid is constantly airing threats about this has nothing to do with Edinburgh and everything to do with Barcelona; which is a fun dynamic… in a shitstorm.

So what's up with me? I'm busier *and* more financially precarious than ever. Yay. I'm something of a bug caught on the windshield of a car on fire, careening off a cliff. Which does, yes, have its moments. But the trouble is: it has *all* of them.

I may well have to start a new career after all this bullcrap finally decides where to dollop. Because I've got a bad feeling, frankly, it'll still be here. If only I'd ever had the remotest talent at engineering.

Meanwhile, my Mum's doing okay. She can't speak, can't eat, and both of these are permanent. But she's tough, and looks after herself at home with a plentiful stream of (I can't believe it's not budget cut!) NHS Scotland supplies, while watching the news of Tories debating Tories about the awesomeness of the no-holds-barred future after Europe. Ho boy.

[andrewjoy]

HI Mate.

I would not worry too much about the whole Brexit thing. Sure its not the result i would have chosen but when you look at it again our situation is not as bad as you think.

We are leaving the single market and i think if we are not a full member of the EU then we kind of have to, would you want to still have to follow all the regulations but have even less say in what will happen with them ? I think not. A big part of the vote was to regain control of immigration and this would not be possible if we stay part of the single market so it has to go. Whist i personally did not have a huge issue with immigration, it does depress wages for unskilled jobs and put strain on the NHS housing and public services so whist i don't agree with it, i can totally see why this was a large issue for people.

And its not as if every financial institution can instantly up sticks and teleport everyone who works for them and all there infrastructure and supporting businesses to another city. There will obviously have to be some infrastructure now inside the EU and thats only good for jobs over there, but moving an entire industry and everything that supports it to a place thats not even set up for that ? Not going to happen , not in the short to medium term anyway.

The UK has more power than you would think in negotiations, we are the 6th biggest economy in the world and the second biggest economy in Europe and we therefore support a huge amount of businesses and trade within the EU. A trade deal will have to be done or this is going to be a massive impact on the economy of the EU and for jobs within the EU. Do you think the EU parliament and the governments within the EU are going to block a deal that will cause 100,000s of people to lose there jobs and the economy of the EU to crash ? I don't think they will, it would be political suicide and only fuel the anti EU sentiment spreading across Europe.

At the moment the EU is the sinking ship, growth in the EU is stagnating and anti EU parties are growing across Europe. Le Pen will most likely win the french election and she wants to not only pull France out of the Euro but also start the groundwork for a Frexit, if that goes through the EU is done.

I am all for more devolved powers to local councils such as Scotland but in this situation Sturgeon is being an complete retard. All she is doing is hurting the UK and Scotland with this kind of thing, the situation is hard enough for the UK government trying to get a good deal ( that they totally will get, or fuck the EU we simply will have not deal) without some trumped up MP undermining everything by making the UK as a whole look unstable and giving more power to the EU in negotiations. You had your vote and its final, just like the brexit vote , deal with it and move on you spoilt bitter little woman.

I disagree with almost everything that the conservatives are doing but on the process for brexit they are doing a good job. And sadly they are the only viable party at the moment, its not as if comrade Corbin would have a fucking clue. If there was a general election now the conservatives would win in a landslide, he has to go.

And say what you will about May , at least she is not orange. And remember , May supported the remain campaign this is a remain supporter doing all this, so as much as i hate the tories they are doing what the people want and supporting democracy , this is why they are so popular.

Glad your mum is doing OK, wish her all the best.

[kbdfr]

[…] Le Pen will most likely win the french election […]

Quite certainly not.
To win the election right away, she would need 50% of the votes, which she will not get. At the moment she's leading with round 26%.

So there would be a second round two weeks later, opposing the two candidates best placed.
And there, it is quite probable that whoever the other candidate is will rally the votes of all those who absolutely do not want her as a president.

Something similar happened 2002, when to general amazement her father surpassed the socialist candidate Jospin in the first round and so challenged conservative Chirac in the second round.
Chirac won with incredible over 82% - even the French communist party had called on their members to give him their votes.

Of course the situation is quite different now, but there's certainly still a majority who will want to defeat her in any case.
I think even Fillon would win if he happened to be the other candidate in the second round

[andrewjoy]

That is possible yes. However don't forget , just beacuse that somone would vote for somone else in the first round say Hamon does not mean they will not vote for Le Pen in the second.

I also think your underestimating how unpopular the establishment is in france.

At the moment she is very popular and is an anti establishment popularist candidate, she is doing well but many dont expect her to win, and this is dangerous we have an example right now in the US.

The second you say she cannot win , is the moment she will.

[t!ng]

Dont want to be an arse, but can you estimate when you can send the items to us Deskthorians?

You must have a shit ton of unanswered messages in your PM box. Some of them are mine.

It's just that I've sent you nearly 200€ over a year ago. Many of them are Buckling Spring stuff. There are also the silencing rings for Topre - for which I bought a Novatouch... and it's collecting dust ever since, because it's shit with the stock setup.

[t!ng]

Dude, you were online yesterday. Why can't you just keep us updated here?

[Muirium]

Brain cancer. Fuck. Oh fuck.

[PollandAkuma]

Brain cancer. Fuck. Oh fuck.

Are you alright?! What happened?

[Laser]

Hey man, hope you're ok!

[rsbseb]

Say it isn't so

[Findecanor]

That's your mom that has it, not you, right? ...

Like every other cancer, each case is unique. I'm hoping that it could be removed surgically.

[Muirium]

Sorry for scaring anyone. I could have been a bit more specific couldn't I! But you know how shock can be.

No, it's my Mum. Sadly, a subsequent scan showed up an enormous amount of new cancer, in many more tumours all over. Well beyond her head. The oncologist gave us the big bad news talk at her bedside. It’s time to let people know so they can come and say goodbyes.

My California based brother is flying over on Friday morning. My other brother is here with us on a daily basis. And we've been reaching out to everyone she knows to keep her busy with visitors. She's in good spirits and quite communicative, especially given her prognosis. She expected this, she says. We're all coming to terms with losing her soon, or trying to.

It's rough, but, well, she can hear us tell her we all love her, and she's still aware enough to tell us her feelings, too. In a way it's better than losing someone all of a sudden without the chance for goodbyes.

[Wodan]

I'm really sorry to hear this, µ ...

I hope for the best for you and your mum. I hope she is in good hands and in good company ...

[rsbseb]

We went through the exact same thing with my mom a little while back. The next few days will be be difficult. Take care and stay close together sad times like this can be a good opportunity to rekindle family relations in a positive way.

[002]

Thinking of you, mate. My grandfather passed away just last week from cancer. It was a tough pill to swallow but I bet it is much tougher with the parentals...good that she is lucid enough to allow you all to say your farewells.

[seebart]

Thinking of you, mate. My grandfather passed away just last week from cancer. It was a tough pill to swallow but I bet it is much tougher with the parentals...good that she is lucid enough to allow you all to say your farewells.

Without going into details I've been through Muirium's situation and lost one of my parents, can't say it made me a better person but it is one hell of a tough lesson. All the best µ.

[Stabilized]

Really sorry to hear this too. I know in my case I'm just a stranger on the internet, but I still want to wish you the very best with the rest of the time you have with your mum.

[cookie]

Man what you are going through is one of my biggest fears and nightmares. It scares the living hell out of me and even scarier is the fact that those times lie before me and I have no clue how to deal with that.

I am so sorry to hear these bad news Mu, I have no words right now. Stay strong.

[fohat]

I am looking at 65 in just over a month and so my mortality has been on my mind for a while. I am now the oldest living member of my family until you get out into 2nd-3rd-cousin territory, so I have seen the passing of all my elders.

From my perspective, death seems to be a worse experience for the survivors, although cancer can be a particularly painful and protracted way to go. Some of my predecessors told me directly that they were at peace with what they were facing, and I always found that to be particularly comforting.

Passing on at the end of a long full life is appropriate and reasonable, it is the ones who go way too early that are the real tragedy. My advice to everyone is to live your life as best you can and try to be comfortable with whatever life you have had so far, so that even if it ends tomorrow, you can be satisfied with what you had.

[Hypersphere]

@Murium: It is good that you will have your brothers and others close by during this difficult passage. When there is shared loss, there is also a coming together to appreciate the gift you all have had in your mother's life and that you have in each other. You will learn to live life happily again, as I am sure your mother would wish you to do, but you will always feel the loss, which is the measure of how much she meant to you.

[Madhias]

All the best in this situation to you and your family, µ, also from another stranger from the internet.

My advice to everyone is to live your life as best you can and try to be comfortable with whatever life you have had so far, so that even if it ends tomorrow, you can be satisfied with what you had.

That always sounds so easy, but is so simple to forget on a normal daily basis.

[Half-Saint]

I'm really sorry to hear that mate. For me, dealing with death is one of the hardest things in life, if not the hardest. So I don't know what to tell you except to hang on. My thoughts are with you and your mum.

[Blaise170]

Hey Mu. I just found this as I've been away since before everything happened. Hope you find peace and hope that you can, someday, enjoy the community who cares for you greatly.