Well, I'm sure different writers could write about that and it'd come out fresh everytime. I considered writing about how it looks like four people with very strong opinions wrote my netflix list.

Finished my Rowling draft. Anyone want to beta? I'm out of here in half an hour, so there's no rush. Marlene has it, as does BB.

Deb, I'm a lazy slob, stopping beta-ing your Kincaid books when I started -- crazy! -- teaching. I'd be happy to beta the letter, though -- I think my attention span can handle that.

Profile addy, Erin?

re: the women reacting to women thing.

I have often been accused of not liking women, generally by other women. My standard response is, "No, I don't like stupid women." This always offends them, because they can tell I don't like them and they at least have the native cunning to realize I've just called them stupid.

But I have noticed that I interact with men more easily than I do women. Part of it is the environment. The first question asked of anyone new, male or female and past basic identification, is "How many children do you have?" I always smile cheerfully and say, "None." A happy, childless woman in Utah County is more of an anomaly than a non-Mormon woman. I'd get sympathy if I sighed and said, "Well, it just never worked out that I'd have kids," but that led into conversations I didn't want to have, plus it was hinting that I'm sorry I don't have kids. True, my life has not turned out to be a child-safe place, but I know now that that is a great blessing. [See Story of My Life, Vol. 3, pt. 4]

I don't fit in the woman-culture here. Even beyond the not being a member of the local church, I have no qualms about looking a man in the eye, disagreeing publically, and all that. In fact, in certain circles I am practically revered for my toughness. (Not long ago, I and some guy gamer friends had walked to a local McDonald's. They were ready to go before I was and proposed walking back to the game, which lwas less than a block away in broad daylight. The newest one said, "Shouldn't we wait for Connie?" I said, "Don't worry, I don't mind." One of my old friends laughed and said, "Worry about anyone who tries to take her on, instead.")

I have been all but threatened by men who are very much invested in the local culture. They knew of no way to communicate with a woman who said flat out that they were wrong (I was a supervisor, he was a member of my team). I could have dropped my eyes, smiled, made a joke, found a "sweeter" way of pointing out his error. I didn't. He couldn't cope with a woman who obviously believed she had equal or higher status than he. Rest assured, he got written up.

Anyway, not to continue with Story of My Life, pt. 6, v. 5, but just to say I understand the concept. I was too socially naive in high school to care about being part of a clique, so I only caught on when I was grown.

Profile addy is good, Deb.

And Connie, I get it. My kids are always agog when they hear I an 33 and don't have kids. But that's nothing compared to how they react when they learn I don't WANT kids -- "Don't you LIKE kids?" It's hard for them to wrap their heads around the fact that you can like kids, but not want to have children. And it makes me kinda nuts to have 15 and 16 year olds tell me, "Oh, you'll change your mind when you get married! You'll be a good mom!"

And then watch their eyes spin when I say I'm not too into marriage either. Which leads to the whole "Are you gay?" look, and the whole FREAKY CRAZY idea that a woman can like kids, like men and still not really want to marry or procreate.

I just smile and grit my teeth and console myself that I am providing an fabulous role model for girls who maybe want to think that there are other options in life than the traditional.

Note bene: Just to be crystal, not dissing anyone else's choice, just stating that they aren't for me...and it's hard to convince many people that it's OK to think otherwise. And no, my choices are not fucking sour grapes, either, which is a Knowing Look I have gotten all too often and had to restrain myself from smacking off of people's faces before.

Er, no one here. Just...people.

And it makes me kinda nuts to have 15 and 16 year olds tell me, "Oh, you'll change your mind when you get married! You'll be a good mom!"

Gah, I hate that, "you'll change your mind" or "you'll love them once you have them." I thought I had the perfect capper with, "Well, I'm in my 40s, so it's not a question anymore," but then I got the perky, "Oh, you can still have kids!"

Fortunately, I don't have many of those conversations anymore. The kind of people who want to tell me these things generally pick up on the "I'm a baby bird and she's a cobra" vibe and leave me alone.

And no, my choices are not fucking sour grapes, either, which is a Knowing Look I have gotten all too often and had to restrain myself from smacking off of people's faces before.

God yes. I hate this.

I'm having writer's block on this drabble. Too many ideas; not usually my problem.

Linden Wood

Velvet maroon lined linden box contains one wooden hammer, four wooden stakes, prayer book, crucifix, garlic, knife, holy soil, holy water, holy incense, holy oil, serums and potions.

You, oh fearless vampire hunter, brave the tuberculosis-ridden village. You tell them a vampire is behind their suffering, pick a grave. Drive a stake into the unearthed corpse’s heart, garlic and incense giving you some protection from the stink. You are long gone, pay in hand, by the time the villagers notice the deaths have not stopped.

In a time - like our own - when superstition blended with science , did you know you made a living from a cruel hoax? Or were you the first person you deceived?

Gar, add a hyphen to "tuberculosis ridden".

Other than that?

Damned near a perfect drabble. Evokes the line Harker thinks near the beginning of Dracula (mangled German coming up): Vor der toten reiten schnell - for the dead travel fast.