Please excuse me while I curl up into a ball under my desk. Yes, the red hordes are making their stand.

Except I can, because my boss just asked for a status report on a project she gave me last week. My response: "Oh, I haven't looked at it in a few days (she's been out), but let me give it a once over to make sure it's all in order and I'll send you the draft."

Anyone care to guess what this means in real terms?

Ice. Rest. Ice. Double up on anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen. Ice.

Poor Ben and Cindy. I hope they figure out what's wrong quickly and it's minor and easily treatable.

{{{Maria}}} Your family has had a time these past couple of years. I'm waiting breathlessly for pictures of you in The Dress.

Thanks, Ginger, and...

{{{Maria}}} Your family has had a time these past couple of years. I'm waiting breathlessly for pictures of you in The Dress.

Yes. This. I can't wait.

You guys will get a kick out of this.

I went to my fridge, pulled out both ice trays. My fridge is way too efficient. These new-fangled ones that you don't have to defrost? Well, it evaporated all the ice in my ice trays, because I'm not a big enough boozer to use up the ice occasionally and make new. I've gone ahead and filled both trays up. But, in the meantime, I still needed something to ice my back with. Fortunately, my daughter is one of those (freakish) people who keeps her flour in the freezer. So, yup, I'm icing my back with a 5 lb. bag of very cold flour.

I always keep a few bags of frozen peas for icing purposes. Way easier to deal with than ice, and they conform better to whatever body part needs them.

Oooh, my daughter usually has frozen peas. Only, I think the bag might be open. I don't need to be digging moldy, formerly frozen, peas out of my easy chair 6 months from now. The flour is working quite fine at the moment.

Brenda, Cass calls those "medical peas". Cracks me up every time she says it.

Also, would be a great band name.

But I don't talk to them, other than telling them not to tamper with my weapons stash.

Yeah, this would cut down on chit-chat in many offices.

Since my closer co-workers are fellow geeks, conversations tend to be pretty good. Although we're more likely to send one another links to interesting sites than actually converse. Still, when we do talk the Chuthulu references tend to be plentiful. And who wouldn't like a manager that keeps the Zombie Survival Handbook in his office?

Dang, somebody beat me to the frozen peas rec. sarameg was the one who rec'd them to me. They drape over an affected limb or shoulder quite handily. I hope it feels better soon, Sail.

Ow, Brenda, I so sympathise, and wish you could seek solace and solitude under the desk. Can you dummy something up as a "draft" and at least fob her off for the rest of the day? Quick-drafting to you, and physical ease-ma.

Yes, yes! Dress pictures from Maria, want! It's time for us to gush! (((Maria)))

Waving to juliana, who is here and listening. Hope things get better soon, love.

Cindy, still vibing like mad in the general direction of your family.

Ergh. Must eat so I can take meds. Don' wanna. Blech.

Teppy, clearly you need a better class of co workers. The educational and cultural gaps of your present ones makes the gap between you and them much too wide to be borne. Time to move!

Or, you know, start stockpiling a weapons stash.

Anyone care to guess what this means in real terms?

"Um. Oh, right, the project. Oops. Let me see if I can do three days work in an hour or so and get back to you." Well, that's what it would mean if it were me.

I'd like to offer up a question to the hivemind. If you were submitting your resume to support your application for, oh, anything at all, would you include the freaking end dates of your previous positions, or just the starting years, as though perhaps you were still teaching in Prague despite having worked in Kansas for the last 17 years?!?!

It needed a double interrobang. I mean, it's personally annoying for me, because I need to ferret out end dates or make them up out of whole cloth, but what really gets to me is -- how can anyone think this is appropriate? Why would you just put the start years?