Hey there. We went to Davis Square but did not make it into NERAX tonight- I was feeling too fragile (and I think Tom was too, to be honest) to try to fight the crownds tonight. But we had a nice walk, and had a beer at Redbones, and bought some nice stuff at the fancy beer store for our own stash. Tom is in the shower, we changed the sheets to Egyptional cotton, and we'll be going to sleep soon.

Cindy, things did get better when I got home - I self medicated on a little bit o'weed and that actually helped quite a lot with relaxing and breathing and my stomach ache. It also helped me polish off entirely too much delicious bittersweet chocolate, but, hell, it was a tough day.

Yay Jen! Too bad we're in for the night or I'd be tempted to do a nosy neighbor walk! Have fun. It will be awesome.

Our choir director just called to say that one of our members who's been dealing with a variety of different medical issues (TIAs, a rare blood disease, etc.) took a turn for the worse and died last night.

Her name was Margaret. I think she was in her 60's. She used to sit next to me in the alto section, though since I was a newish choir member, I didn't know her super well. But I know she was a gentle, thoughtful lady with a powerful voice. Her grandfather was the architect who designed our church, and she often spoke of his legacy with pride. She was a poet, and she just had a book of her work published through a local small press. I have the flyer announcing it somewhere in the stack of papers next to my computer, and I planned to buy it next month, when I'm expecting a bit of an uptick in my income. I wish I'd splurged earlier, so I could have read her work and talked to her about it while she was here.

What sad news!

I'm so sorry, Susan. That sucks.

eta: It seems like I should have a more poetic response, but I just don't.

Via Con Dios, Margaret.

Nora, I'm so glad you are feeling better, was very concerned, reading about how you were feeling earlier at work.

There must be something weird in the air, as I'm having one of my periodic spells where I wish wholeheartedly I were a cat. Warm, soft fur. Purring on someone's lap. And most importantly, if I were a cat, my cats wouldn't be all the time bugging me to do stuff for them.

It's just so sudden. She was so healthy and energetic, then it seemed like overnight she got shaky and weak, and it took her doctors forever to figure out what was going on. But they did, she was getting the appropriate treatment, and it seemed like she was gradually getting better.

I hate mortality, I really do.

Sorry to hear that, Susan.

Hee. Japanese restaurant wifi? That seems funny. I mean, coffeeshop sure, but...are people surfing while they eat their sushi?

Dunno about them, but I'm surfing and watching tv with a bellyful of shrimp tempura and salmon teriyaki.

Sympathies, Susan.

I just skipped 80 or so posts, because it seemed like everyone needed hugs today. And I wanted to share a stupid crying story.

I bought a laptop last night. Was too tired to try and set it all up after I got home from a late dinner, so I waited until today. So glad I did. If I was this frustrated today I can only imagine how bad it would have been last night. All I can say is that the Linksys Setup Wizard for their wireless routers? Sucks donkey dong in great quantities. It looped me through one part of the setup over and over and wouldn't finish it up. I got so mad, I started crying. All I wanted was to hook up the damn computer! I was in tears over something I had no control over! Sat and fucking cried because something that seemed so simple just wouldn't play ball with me. Finally got a grip on myself and tried doing a live chat with the tech at Linksys. I have one sentence for them, get real techs. Not someone to read a fucking script. Okay, two sentences. I finally decided to try and set up the router through the new laptop rather than my PC. Right about then, my daughter came home with the new boyfriend. The computer whiz boyfriend. She better marry him, IJS. I need 24 hour tech assist and he's it. Now, I can look back at the crying jag and say, "see, all you have to do is backup and come at it from a different angle, it all works." I forget that sometimes, I get so determined to do something my way. Once I commit to a path, I hate to deviate. But in this case, it's what I needed to do. That, and a little divine intervention never hurts.

Anyway, I just wanted to give everyone {{{}}} who needed them, because sometimes we just really need them.

And, welcome back, Epic! Hope we get to see more of you around again.