Oh Steph, I'm so sorry. I'm a fan of the movie and a bottle of wine coping mechanism.

The only problem with Buff-diving is when you hit that moment where, suddenly, the humor is synergistic and the laughing starts to hurt but you CAN'T STOP PUSHING THE BUTTON and then you die.

Will now go back and read the last 50 or so posts and see what i'm missing and who I should give punctuation to.

Happy B-Day to Emmett, and much sorriness and well-wishes to Teppy. I understand your "I would feel guilty" thing, but sometimes you really do need to curl up under the covers for a while. Wine optional, but preferred.

I'm going to run contrary to the prevailing opinion here and advise Teppy to go and do her volunteer thing tonight. It's a better distraction than going home and curling up in a ball.

In my experience, Doing Something is a lot better than Not Doing Something when you're feeling overwhelmed and helpless.

In my experience, Doing Something is a lot better than Not Doing Something when you're feeling overwhelmed and helpless.

You never have different sorts of helpless? Sometimes you need to let the motor run down, sometimes you need to rev it in a different direction.

You never have different sorts of helpless?

Of course. And my advice is Teppy and situation specific, not generically applicable. There are definitely times when you need to crawl into your cave and and lick your wounds.

You, for example, are a person where I'd be more inclined to suggest that you recoup spent energies when feeling beleaguered.

I am feeling helpless right now, so I'm going to try and work in an extra krav class. I don't need to heal. I need to assert.

Steph, young lady, you do what you darned well want to. Except feel guilty about your decision. That is totally prohibited.

I knew, somehow, that Hec would be the lone voice telling me to go do my volunteer thing.

However, I did not. I came home, called friend, ate gyoza, stood in the shower and cried, and now I'm lying in bed, though not in a fetal position.

Sorry to disappoint, Hec.

And my advice is Teppy and situation specific, not generically applicable.

I'm just so damn tired, partly as a stress-reaction, and partly b/c I'm sore from working out yesterday, and I haven't been able to increase my stamina one bit -- in fact, it's getting harder and harder to work out at the same level of intensity. I feel like all my marrow has been sucked out. It blows.

Since Susan usually reads this thread:

Bad news -- to make right the Litany Of The Contour will cost $1200.

Good news -- $1200 is still lower than the Blue Book value, and it will pass emissions again.

Better news -- the blown heater/AC blower? Turned out it actually CAUGHT ON FIRE at some point while one of us was driving, and yet we're not dead!

Better-better news -- we have a babysitter if needed this weekend.

And the best news: I'm going to get my leaving student worker piss-drunk, so I'll be calling you about a ride or something at some point.

Maybe that last point isn't good news for you, but it is for me, since I want this week to end soon.

Steph, young lady, you do what you darned well want to. Except feel guilty about your decision. That is totally prohibited.

This. I'm glad you're taking care of yourself, Teppy. Cardiac-Dads are stressful.