Wow, that is the most amazing Real Life Mary Sue ever.

Why not just try being her friend? Hey, she may suck to read about, but if she really IS Mary Sue she could probably buy you a pony or something.

Cause she'll be real sweet then say something shockingly racist that people will laugh off as cute.

And, she hates animals. Says they're messy.

I could never heart someone who hates animals.

Done hotwire for a couple trips recently, seems to be working fine. Also, you don't have to get "you'll find out when it leaves after you've bought it tickets" -- I know they're the cheapest, but I just don't have that kind of flexibility. I've still found fairly good deals.

I could never heart someone who hates animals.

This is not Mary Sue. This is an affront to all that is good and right.

Another open letter to the boss:

What makes you think a copy center will be able to print ten copies (comb bound, laminated cut tabs) of the FOUR HUNDRED page report THIS WEEK in time for it to get FedEx'd to the East Coast by FRIDAY?

What makes you think that they can do that when they're producing THIRTY THOUSAND course packs for the start of classes on WEDNESDAY?

What makes you think they can do that when YOU HAVE ONLY SIGNED OFF ON THIRTY PERCENT OF THE DOCUMENT AND HAVE YET TO START WRITING TWENTY PERCENT OF IT AS OF TODAY?

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THEY CAN DO THAT WHEN YOU HAVEN'T GIVEN ME SQUAT OF THE HALF OF THE DOCUMENT I NEED TO PUT TOGETHER IN TIME FOR THE COPY CENTER TO PRINT IT ON THURSDAY DESPITE THE COMB BINDING AND THE CUT TABS AND THE THIRTY THOUSAND COURSE PACKS?

• thunk*

Deathwatch update (feel free to skip): I got curious about the lack of news and called my mother. Grandmother still "isn't dead yet" but isn't receiving any nutrients and won't regain consciousness. Nobody knows how long she'll linger, which is causing lots of far-flung family members to fret over travel plans, as no one wants to go, sit by the hospital bed, and then leave only to hear that she died as they were on the plane home. Death was simpler, apparently, when everybody lived next door.

Find myself also fretful. I don't want her to die, but I'd like it to be over. Which I guess means I do. Not even sure why I'm upset, as we were never particularly close.

And I need to do my stupid homework (by the way, what the fuck am I supposed to do with questions like "Explain the significance of this question?" They make me mad) and lots of stupid concentration-heavy reading and figure out how to get the paperwork ready for my student teaching application and maybe find time to do some more classroom observation only first that means figuring out who to call and finagle the database report at work to give median salary amounts and oh yeah find out if I have health insurance yet and I screwed up the crafty present I'm making for the wedding this weekend and it's so much stupid little shit.

Yup. I don't exactly feel better now, but I needed to have the tantrum.

{{{{{{{{{{Emily}}}}}}}}}}}

Have some tantrum~ma

A friendship of nearly 30 years is twitching its death throes, and I didn't even know it was mortally wounded.

She told me something significant nearly a year ago, and somehow my reaction to it caused her to believe that I found the subject shameful. It was a very personal matter, and I erred on the side of "Very private, I will discuss as she sees fit, but I'm not going to be so gauche as to bring it up." My reticience was seen as disapproval.

Contact between us had been slacking off, and I finally asked why. She told me that she didn't want someone who apparently believed as I did about said personal matter in her life. The explanation was part of a very formal letter that would have served in diplomatic circles as a formal severing of relations.

She has apparently been brooding about this matter for months. Never once did she say to me, "Do you really believe this?" She said she felt hurt and rejected that I hadn't told her some things regarding medical procedures and that I'd declined her offer to sit with me during one of Hubby's operations. I had figured she had to be as tired of dealing with it as I was and that I'd give her a break from hospital waiting rooms. Obviously I wasn't as clear as I'd hoped that her support was still as essential as ever.

I don't want things to end this way. However, she's apparently been spending this past bit of time excising me from her regard and getting used to doing without me. I don't know if I was just supposed to drift away without ever calling her on the matter or not. The pain of the separation is brand new to me, though, and I don't like it. I don't want to get used to not being without her. I have sent her an email saying that I don't want to give up on this and that I think misunderstanding has occurred, but I don't know what she'll do.

If she doesn't answer, am I just supposed to write off 30 years?

Not if you don't want to, Connie. She may find venting makes her feel better and she might start to thaw. IF she doesn't, a friendship of such long-standing seems worth more than one email to repair it.

Why not just try being her friend? Hey, she may suck to read about, but if she really IS Mary Sue she could probably buy you a pony or something.

Generally, I have found that some of the most intimidatingly cool people I've ever gotten to know have turned out to be big dorks, underneath it all. If you get to know her, the MarySueness may crumble. Though if she's a racist animal-hater, it sounds like you've already hit that point...