Hey, Jen! I forgot the UnUnAmericans are already getting HHGttG. Now I'm jealous.

I haven't had any sugar this year and have lost a bit of weight doing so

Go you!

[Edited to wave at Deena]

Aww, Cutiebel!

What gift does a person who's just given birth want? She's my first friend to have a baby and thus I have no experience of this sort of thing. Any and all suggestions are very welcome as I don't want to look like a complete asshole when I visit.

Other than sushi? Umm. Hmm. Well, my in-laws brought me a sitz bath package (a bunch of herbs to be used for a sitz bath), and I know there are plenty of things like that out there designed to soothe those stinging, aching areas of the body.

For the record, one person brought me chocolate, and no one brought me flowers. Mostly, people brought stuff for the baby if they brought anything at all, and I will admit to feeling *slightly* like chopped liver, so I'd say something for her, especially something slightly indulgent and nice like a swank lotion or a pretty-but-roomy top.

Oh, and Jesse, that's so fun. How was the play?

It was... okay. Vinnie was really good, one of the other actors was good, too (aside from her terrible accent), but the play itself was just OK.

Edit: I thought it was a little better than this guy did, [link] but I'm pretty easy when it comes to live performances.

PMM! Finally I can congratulate you, screen to screen!

A couple of days after you gave birth, it was crazy here, I was running in and out, and I just *had* to log on to b.org, to see how you're doing and if there are any news. A friend who sat in the room with me couldn't possible understand why I have to start playing with the computer when we had to run outside again. When I did, and got this huge smile on my face, I explained that an internet friend just gave birth to a healthy baby girl. He wanted to know if you were one of the people I met in the summer, and had more difficulty in understanding my glee when I explained that, alas, no, I've never met you in face-space. But still, I'm so very happy for you.

Out of three births, I received flowers for only one of them, so flowers are not a bad choice, imo. It depends on whether or not she likes cut flowers and doesn't have allergies to trigger.

t waving back at Nilly

Hi Nilly!

Happy Birthday, Eddie!

It's Sunday. I should be productive.

Ah, well, at least I already clipped the dog's nails and rescued my bougainvillea from the nasturtiums.

Happy May Day, everyone! And happy birthday to Eddie!

Today it's overcast but still somehow bright and not-rainy. I think I'll take a walk to the bookstore in a little bit to lay in some new reading material for my trip to Berlin.

Suela!

Um, I got to watch exactly one episode of Farscape on this vacation. I'm still not at the halfway mark that you mentioned, and it's still fun. I had to stop because my roommate came back, and she really can't watch anything science-fiction/fantasy, so on her request we switched to "Gilmore Girls" (which isn't considered fantasy, apparently, regardless of the amounts and types of foods the characters are supposed to eat while maintaining their very slim figure).

[Edit: Kate! When are you leaving for Germany? Where else will you visit?]

"Gilmore Girls" (which isn't considered fantasy, apparently, regardless of the amounts and types of foods the characters are supposed to eat while maintaining their very slim figure).

Ha!

Nilly, I'm leaving on May 13 to stay with a friend in Berlin for a couple of weeks. If possible, I'd like to try to visit the Czech Republic while I'm there, since he has family there, but he's also going to be busy with schoolwork, so it may not work out. But I'm super excited for Berlin! I've never been to Germany, but my family heritage is mostly German on both sides, so I think it will be cool to see where I'm "from".

The other cool thing about this trip is that my best friend from Cape Town is going to try to meet up with us for a few days also, which would be AWESOME--I miss him terribly and I haven't seen him in a year. (The friend-who-lives-in-Berlin is also a Cape Town friend.)

What is vegetarian, kosher ham? How does that work?