Just finished another square! Yay!

Just got an e-mail from the prof who's class I skipped on Wednesday (when I had a presentation). Boo! Wasn't going to deal with that till tomorrow. Bigger Boo! I think I'll just not read it till I get back from my date with George.

Yes, they're from Payless, because I am [1] hell on shoes -- I destroy them in a matter of months; and [2] cheap, partly b/c of [1]

I have a pair of red boots that I got at Payless 5 years ago that I still rock. I'm hardish on shoes and they are red so it's not like I wear them with every outfit but still 5 years & $20 is a freaking good deal.

...

Anne, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother. And I'm glad she got her good breakfast and, especially, the champagne.

My dad's parents died a week apart. My grandfather held on (he was much sicker than she was) until she went, and the family all got there and he could see us. Then the last night before my brothers and I were supposed to leave we went out with him to dinner and he had a steak and a beer (he could barely eat & drink at this point so he had a bite and a sip basically). He died later that night. It was a fairly awesome display of will.

My mom actualy asked her doc last night if she was "circling the drain". He said no.

I think I love your mom.

I'm so sorry Anne.

vw, your square is beautiful. Love the colors.

flea, that is very sweet that your grandma saved all of your letters. I have an accordian file with every letter I've ever received. No, seriously. It's kind of a sickness. Every now and then I think about going through them and throwing some away but then I end up reading them all and spending way too much time so I just leave them where they are. I have all of the notes my first boyfriend in high school wrote to me, all of the letters in code that my childhood friends wrote to me, letters from aunts, uncles, and cousins. I love seeing letters I wrote as a kid so maybe one day I'll make bundles and send them back to the writers. One of my (twisted) favorites is a note my mom left on my bed when I was 19 after I went to visit my boyfriend for the weekend after she expressly told me I couldn't. Scathing!

Pete, I'm late to the party, but there should definitely be shirts from the gorgeous caricature/icon of Jilli.

Thanks Betsy. What I'd really like to do is place that image in an oval of bats, but that's design time I don't have at the moment so I'm having to think through if any other look works or if it's just better to wait.

Now I want to send Gloomcookie a letter and live on eternally in her accordion file.

I have all the letters my boyfriend in college sent me and all the letters I sent him too. He gave them all back to me when we broke up. ah College Drama!

Thank you for meeting with me on Tuesday. It was a pleasure to speak with you about what's going on at CompanyName, and the direction in which it is headed. It sounds like a company with a promising future. I look forward to speaking with you again.

Epic, I would change "what's going on at CompanyName" to "the opportunities at CompanyName," or something like that. "What's going on" sounds a little casual. Also, maybe, gossipy.

Pretty, vw!

Also, I have been to DMV this morning, and did not leave ready to commit a felony, or afraid my head was going to explode. Fear me.

One of my favorite things is a halloween card that my mom sent me one year from the dogs (signed with muddy paw prints.) It shows a little dog standing at a doorway with a halloween basket, and you can see Frankenstein just inside the door. On the inside it just reads "Run, Toto, Run!"

Thing is, when I got the card, it was just after I had been assaulted at gunpoint - I managed to spring the news right after she mailed it but before it arrived. And she was just horrified at the thought of what she had just sent winging my way, and didn't know whether to tell me about it, or tell me to throw it away, or somehow engineer a mailtruck heist, or what. And the thing was, it made me laugh when I got it, and made me cry when she told me how awful she felt, and laugh and cry all at once when I was falling all over myself to make her understand "no, it's okay, it didn't bother me. No seriously. No, I mean it. Really, it was funny.," over and over and over again.

It's such a silly thing, and every time I see the card it makes me remember her with such a rush of love and grief all together and I need to stop talking about it now but it's one of my absolute treasures.

Whoa, didn't know that was coming. (Sally on Coupling: "I just opened my mouth and there was more in there than I thought.")