yet another Yuck Factor...

[Xian]

Babette,

Xian, I can't stand it. I must know. Are you male or female? I've been chatting with you for weeks and I don't know!

I think we should try to make this interesting... What shall we bet??? How about, if you guess my gender correctly, I'll have to send you a "relevant" picture of me (PM only, of course and no, it is not a naked picture of me!!! But one, along with the story that I think will give you a chuckle). And if you don't, you'll have to think of (and share) something that will make me laugh to tears (given you past memos, that should not be hard!). Unless you can think of a better wager...


Jen,

Xian, what kind of designer are you? My husband is an analytical chemist and I have a ba in biology and I too am very creative. Always vascilating between analytical and creative modes. I have often thought of a career in design--knitwear design at the top of the list. but landscape architecture was actually pursued for a while when I was younger. I may revisit that now that I have more energy.

I do interior/architectural design and furniture design on the side (I am the manager of a fundamental research group during the day... don't do research myself anymore... just strategy/management!!!). I am almost done with a bachelor degree in Interior Design and have set up my own company. Started with friends as clients and now, with the power of words of mouth, I am getting a nice clientele. As for furniture design, I usually do it in the context of an interior’s project (custom furniture, usually more traditional), but I also have a crazy side to me... I was a co-winner of an international competition for "future furniture" a few years ago, organized by the magazine "interior design" (was featured in their mag and in a show, part of the ICFF - international Contemporary Furniture Fair - in NY). The piece was really futuristic, called "la meduse" (yep, I am French!!!) and made of polyurea resin, recycled electric cables and conduits and light bulbs. There are some pictures on line but they are pretty bad, and I do not have a good picture at work, but I can send one from home if interested... ... Can you tell how proud I am??? (Promise, I will not brag like this ever again!)

Bottom line, it is very fun to be playing with both sides of the brain, and I found I am better as a scientist and as a designer for it. So, go for it, the energy will come as you do it, you'll see! Heck, if only I slept well, I'd start a third career!!!

Well, need to get back to doing science now…

Cheers,

Xian

[socknitster]

I don't have much French, but I'm guessing Xian is French for John or Sean?

I would love to see your designs. Custom furniture. . . oh to dream. To have something far more lovely than the lazyboys ( ) my husband loves so much!

Are you French Canadian or French French?

Feel free to pm me any pics you would like to share and don't worry about boasting--I'm utterly fascinated!

Jen

[Babette]

I can't believe we are sitting here with multiple degrees kvetching over laundry like our grandmothers...

I hear good things about that new Tide stain pen on my costuming forum.

My big problem is kleenex and lip balm. I hate finding a dryer full of kleenex shreds on all my dark sweatshirts.

And the lip balms.... Amazing how they go through the entire cycle and yet I can't find grease on anything. I don't know how that happens.

Do you want to hear what I found in the bottom of the washer after doing laundry for an elderly friend who had diarrhea for several months and didn't get much laundry done in that time???? No, but you can imagine. The great thing was that it was dried and hard. I still put on gloves to take it out... I can't figure out how it survived the ultra hot load with plenty of detergent.....

LOL,
B.

[socknitster]

Babette.

You are a SAINT!

I remember when we were newly married and we got my husband's grandmother's old washing machine. It smelled like a poorly managed nursing home and I fretted about exposure to germs and worried that our clothes smelled funky and we wouldn't notice because we had gotten used to it or something!

Gorsh I hope we didn't smell!

Boy was I happy when we got a new maytag.

Jen

[Babette]

EWWW! You poor thing. That sounds way worse to me. I didn't have to do any of MY laundry at her house!

Cheers,
B.

[teach]

Ok.. not that you want more on the laundry subject... but.. I am a major believer in BIZ. My husband and children are into sports and their socks are sooooo disgusting after games. I soak all my whites, t shirts (even with sayings on them), socks, and undies in hot water and 1 scoop BIz. I leave them to soak in the washer overnight and then finish the load in the am. After it goes through, I rewash the clothes in hot water and laundry detergent. I found it doesn't work as well if I add the detergent with the biz. Just a FYI....

[Babette]

Hey Teach, great tip! Sounds just like what I need to start doing with my grungy whites.

Oh thank god for my new rental with it's own washer (happy dance). Well, not so new. But after years of apartment laundry rooms, NEW ENOUGH!

I used to use Biz religiously, then got on the Oxy bandwagon when the boyfriend swore by it. A lady who is so much more informed than I about fibers and fabrics and history and is a professional seamstress keeps telling me that Biz is the way to go and it's gentler on fabrics. TIME TO START LISTENING!!!

Cheers,
B.

[christinequilts]

I think he will take the pen issue more seriously now, don't you?

I used to call him on the phone cussing every time it happened. I decided that wasn't good for his professional image (he is vice pres of r and d for an analytical chem company) so I decided to save those special loads just for him to figure out how to fix. He is the chemist after all!

By the end of the weekend he was just as frustrated and irate as I was on previous occasions. It was a golden moment in our marriage.

We just need to figure out what my Mom does to pen stains- and nearly all stain- to get them out. I swear, she works some sort of magic or something-lol. I was at work one day when an ink pen blew up on my off white top and I tried all the 'home remedies- hair spray, rubbing alcohol, tooth paste, etc, but it wasn't budging. Luckily I didn't have any more appointments for the day and could change into my after work clothes, but I was so pissed about the top that I threw it in a plastic shopping bag and stuffed it in the corner of my trunk where it sat in the hot summer heat. I totally forgot about until 2-3 months later I went to visit my Mom- she found when I was unloading and unbeknownst to me, she removed the stain & washed the top that night, thinking it had just happened. Boy was I surprised when I saw it in the morning- I thought I had thrown the top out. I had since bought a replacement top in a smaller size, as I had lost weight, so I ended up selling the formerly ink stained one at an upscale consignment clothing store- that's how good she is at getting stains out-lol.

I do know she doesn't use any commercial stain sticks or anything. Her favorite stain removers are Crisco type shortening for any grease based stains (like attracts like...it really does work), Murphy's Oil Soap, dish detergent, a bar of real soap (actual soap- not a detergent bar, like many of the 'soaps' we typically buy), vinegar, salt, etc. I've add a few new ones, especially since I have to avoid corn & all the products made from corn derivatives, which means most commercially available cleaning products are not safe for me.

[Babette]

AAARGH! I nearly missed your post, Xian!!!!!!

Jen, this much I know - it's NOT short for Jean or Sean. At least, he/she didn't sign their PM's to me with either name.

THEY DID sign with a very ASEXUAL name though. Sigh... Unisexual? Can't publicly speak it, as that would be cheating. Not that the name would give me any clues, hence, my question.....

I was certain early on that Xian was an Asian male, based on some posts. I'm almost certain HE SAID he was an Asian male. But I'm just not sure now. And all the interior design stuff is really skewing me toward female.... Ethnicity isn't obvious.... French is, after all, a state of mind, rather than an ethnicity.

Hmmmmm...... Franco-Asian Male? I'm envisioning this very cool Vietnamese furniture store here in town....

Did we ascertain Xian's locale? No, that wouldn't help....

English is excellent.... Most likely NOT American, then.... Probably Canadian....

Again, ethnicity and culture not in question here. Gender in question. Must stay on topic....

OKAY! I'M PUTTING ALL MY DUBLOONS ON......

XIAN IS MALE!

And if I'm wrong, Xian, you have your choice of embarassing personal tale from my checkered past:

A) The Amish go to I-Hop
B) My Last Adventure wearing Split Crotch Drawers
C) My 37th Birthday Present and why I wouldn't let him cut my corset off me when he couldn't unlace me

Cheers,
Babette La Mauvaise - who isn't French, but plays one on TV

[Xian]

XIAN IS MALE!

Yep, and I do prefer unisexual (or pansexual) to asexual...(see the many, many, postings on the topic of CPAP and regained libido... BTW, I wanted to answer the most recent posting on the topic with an impression of Meg Ryan eating pie, but got sidetracked... I wonder why!)

As for design and masculinity… I am chocked that you would fall into such obvious gender roles. Chocked. Well, not really… and to build on that, I have to say that I was more interested in the fabric class I had to take from a chemistry standpoint than from an esthetic standpoint… “Decorating” is the worse part of the design job for me (choosing window treatments and fluffing pillows!). I guess I am more on the architect side of the spectrum and am most happy working on space design and breaking walls…

As for the name Xian, I guess it was meant to sound Asian. A friend of mine, who is in the habit of finding very complicated nicknames to his friends, coined it a long time ago (pronounces it Zian) and it stuck. I now use it as my pen-name (nom de plume?) with a select group of friends… I can certainly say that CPAPers are in that category… The real name is Christian, much less interesting, wouldn’t you say? (Of course, the rationale behind Xian is to flip the French thing around and make me “foreign” in such an unexpected way… being half French half polish, I am a far cry from anything Asian…).

So yes, I am French, from France. (Thanks for the compliment on my English. Not so thrilled with the Canadian comment!). And yes, I have to agree, being French is a state of mind, not an ethnicity… I’ve never encountered more people claiming to be French, or playing French since I came to the US… (I mean French kissing, of course! BTW, the word for word translation for the French expression for French kissing – rouler une pelle – is “ rolling a shovel” Who said French was not the most romantic and poetic language???)

So, I need to face up to the bet… But I tried to send Jen a few pictures of my furniture and interiors and could not figure out how to upload pictures from my personal files… Seems like I could only upload URL (and I am not vain enough to have my own website… yet…). Sorry Jen, I did not mean to ignore you and I am really flattered by your response to my mail (and want to encourage you to go into design… the energy will come as you go. Amazing what passion does! And like me, I am sure you will be a better designer and a better scientist by using both sides of your brain for either!)

Any idea how to do upload pictures (JPEG etc...)???

On your end Babette, would you still tell your stories? I was already laughing reading the topics! Waiting for your first book... You have nothing to envy from David Sedaris!

Happy Zees,

Xian

[socknitster]

Americans often refer to Christmas as "xmas" so I find the moniker "xian" for Christian hilarious!

Too bad we can't be a team, I would love to choose drapes and fluff pillows!

I'll pm you my email and you should be able to send the pics there. I'm not sure if this format supports pics.

And yes your English is excellent, but I would expect no less than that from a Frenchman. I have had a few French friends over the years and their English was always impressive.

Jen

[Babette]

I WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Screw the lottery, this is WAY more exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Canadian is ALWAYS A COMPLIMENT from me. Unless you are from a select group of friends of mine in the Vancouver BC area, and then it's WILDLY DEROGATORY, as in "Could you BE MORE Canadian????" Has to do with political correctness taken too far. I'm very liberal and all in favor of political correctness, but sometimes ah juss haff ta runs ober a possum en et it fer dinner.

I have several dear friends of recent Polish extraction. I'm thinking of starting a club. We'll send you an invitation.

As for playing French.... I must admit that it happened by default. I got hooked on a historic site portraying the Habitants of New France circa 1750. Then, became PISSED OFF at the HOARDES of ENGLISH reenactors in the 18thC in this country telling everyone they are doing it all wrong. The English actually won the Rev War here. How do I know? Our language, our culture, every darn thing is ENGLISH!!!!! And the many many many French colonists who peopled are land are completely driven under by that. Cultural imperialism gets my goat.

Hence, I am a rebel. I am FRENCH, and proudly so, in my reenacting. I must admit to being TERRIBLE AT MY JOB, and any Frenchman can and should smack me for my terrible attempts at a beautiful language. I do the research, I join the chat groups, then in the moment I need to say "come eat," in front of the tourists, it comes out "manga." Sigh.... Should be "manger" and my danged West Coast twang can't seem to get my mouth muscles to cooperate. Probably wasn't EVEN "manger" in 1750... Oh just don't get me started on my deficiencies as a French woman...

To pay back - I'm female, I'm of Irish and Dutch and Gypsy (Romany) descent, with a soupcon of African to spice things up. Like it needed more spice. I'm a Scorpio, born in the Year of the Dragon. To quote Jessica Rabbit - "I'm not bad, I was just drawn that way."

I have an ancestor in the DAR book of the Patriots, making me DAR eligible, along with the white gloves, hats, and snooty attitude that goes along with it. Haven't written the check yet. Was just thrilled to get the geneaology. Maybe when I'm elderly and have time for the Ladies who Lunch.

I'm Southern by Ancestry and West Coast raised. Redneck and Flaming Liberal in nearly equal war at all times.

Oh, and yeah, I'm eligible for the Daughters of the Confederacy too. Would NEVER join.

I'm a heterosexual, but deeply ashamed of that, and am looking for a Summer Camp to convert me back to my god-given natural tendency towards loving my own sex.

Architects rule. I love architects. I've worked for several. In fact, did you know that St. Barbara is, among many other chores, Patron Saint of Architects? I'll send you a medal.

I don't know how to PM pix, but if you PM me, I'll send you my personal addy and we can exchange pix there. I've got a photobucket account laying around here somewhere...

MERCI BEAUCOUP, MES AMIS!
Babette The Really Bad French Reenactor (La Mauvaise)