I need sleep, to make up for the sleep deficit that started on Wednesday

Rest well, my pretty WindSparrow. We have tomorrow.

too hurty. took scads of vitaminy-minerally things, maybe they will help.

Who the hell is Dane Cook? I'm watching SNL for the first time in forever and I have no idea who the host is. But his opening stand-up routine is pretty funny. And that never happens, it's pretty much an automatic fast forward.

ETA: never heard of the musical guest either. Now who's old and decrepit?

Brenda! I JUST IMd those very questions to Hil an Abi!

I have been assured, by they with a good decade less than we, that they've never heard of Dane Cook either and James Blunt had that one song a year ago.

Who the hell is Dane Cook?

No clue!

Owen is so pretty!

Dude. I just ran into one of my college roomies at TJs. She and her boyfriend were ahead of us in line. Given that she was from NYC, this is something of a shock (though her aunt lives out here, and was my Spanish teacher in grade 11). It's funny, because she's TOTALLY the most memorable of my roomies, and the one I owe the most to as a person, because she's the lady who got me hooked on MAC.

The funniest part was that we were both doing two-part shopping. TJs was our second stop, with our first being a Thriftway across town from it. TJs was their first stop, and they were on their way to the same Thriftway we'd just left.

So, James Blunt. Boooring singer. And he looks like he's fucking psycho. Seriously, if I was in a bar and met this guy, I'd be keeping an eye out when I left.

I might suggest some shampoo before a national television gig. And then keep an eye on him.

Yeah, the hair was bad. But the eyes, and the expression...oof. It made me uncomfortable just on the tv.

Poor Emmett. I hate when the ought-to-be fun stuff stresses them out. Can you remove any of the pressure, Hec?

I know he's imposed it upon himself, but I've noticed with Ben that a lot of times, when I get to the root of his stress, part of it comes from what he thinks Scott and I are going to think. Usually, we're much more mellow than his imaginary version of us.

Thanks for all the kinds thoughts on the matter. Emmett did very well on his tryouts, was flawless in the field and is not only moving up to Triple-A, he seems to be looking forward to it.

This was largely because of a coodinated effort between EM and myself, where we put together a detailed strategy to play to Emmett's strengths and away from his weaknesses, and even went down to discussion of Good-Cop, Bad-Cop roles and we played him like a fine fiddle until he got through his stuff (and very well) though he was very nervous.

It was exhausting because I had to manage his mood for about four hours, and he was sour and resentful when I collected him and had bouts of big anxiety about it. But we played to his greed and egotism and his sense of getting-one-over on his parents, and bolstered that with lots of subtle reminding of all the many things he loves about baseball, and his friendships there, and how much he likes his coaches.

Didn't do any negative reinforement, or threats or hardsell. Just presented the tryout as non-negotiable and inevitable, and we were both there to support him before and aft, and that people that face their hard things deserve some good rewards after. Pretty much the same strategy we take with unpleasant doctor visits. "It's gotta happen. What would make it better for you when it's over?"

Honestly, I'm okay with Emmett quitting baseball if doesn't enjoy it. I'm not okay with him quitting something I know he loves because he's afraid.

Anyway, I owe him a milkshake bigger than a utility bucket tomorrow.

Tom Scola, next time I see you the gelato is my treat.

Ple, I have to say that at one point he reminded me quite a lot of you, and how much Buffy's admission of feeling both superior and inferior resonated with you. Because on top of all his admission of nervousness and anxiety, as we walked toward the ball fields he said, "Do you think I'm legendary?" in all seriousness.

It took some effort on my part to limit my response to "No, I don't." instead of, "Listen golden boy, you are undoubtedly a legend in your own mind, but don't expect to coast through life on a little dab of native athletic ability and your long flowing locks. You ain't the second coming of Mickey Mantle by a longshot."

To be fair, he really dealt with it well and faced down his fears and performed very well under a lot of pressure. For the tryouts you're out on a ball field with literally 14 coaches sitting there in lawn chairs, marking off your skill level from 1-9 in 12 different categories. It'd be intimidating for anybody.

Thanks for the update, Hec. I'm so proud of all three of you.

"Listen golden boy, you are undoubtedly a legend in your own mind, but don't expect to coast through life on a little dab of native athletic ability and your long flowing locks. You ain't the second coming of Mickey Mantle by a longshot."

You get to say that ten years or so from now when you're rehashing the whole thing at thanksgiving, so you might want to mark that post.