beth, lots of health ~ma to your friend.

Yay for new kitties! (Ahhhhhhchoooooooo! Because that's what kitties do to me.)

KITTIES!

~ma for beth's friend.

Um...there was other stuff. I know there was. Oh, yeah! {{{P-C}}}

I'm a crank-monster today. I'm hoping it wears off by the time the Apartment Search Lady calls! Or, maybe that'll be what makes it go away.

did the keys ever turn up, vw?

OH, yeah!

I found them under the lip of a bookshelf, about two feet away from the table that I set them on.

We think it was the work of Bastet.

well, she is beautiful but evil.

Something like that!

seekrit message for Ailleann:

thanks for your kind words! I felt stupid for venting like that so I deleted the original post...

Thanks for the hair feedback! I'm leaning toward 1, 3, or 6 myself... We'll see. Also here's the pic that I posted that no one could get to (stupid myspace): [link]

Nora, any news on the thing with the thing?

I have head poundage. I don't have time for head poundage. I have things to do, dammit!

There's got to be some sexism inherent in Indian family culture, right? Assuming there is, make it work for you. Maybe you could ask your uncle if, when you have done something displeasing to him or his family, if he could be the one to talk it out with you, and if you could leave 'the women' out of it, and talk 'man-to-man'. Appeal to his inner patriarchal overlord.

Ha. I left out the part where half his talk afterward was about how women will drive you crazy, why do you think he drinks? He's already told me that if he has a problem, he'll tell me straight up. Which my mom specifically praised him for so I don't know why the fuck she gets all bent out of shape.

P-C, if it's any consolation, when I moved out after college (I was 22) my mother threatened that, if I didn't call home at least once a week, she'd report me as a runaway and have me hauled back.

Yeeps. Except I have to call every two or three days.

Observations -- your mother has expressed concern that you'll reject your family. Yet she herself is the biggest threat in that area.

Even my uncle made that observation, that she's the one driving me away.

Another option to consider for after your July 4th trip -- is there anyone else in your family that you can contact separately? For example, does your father (or a sibling) have a separate e-mail address? That might be a way to keep in contact with your family without dealing with your mother.

I can contact my brother and sister, and I can call my dad at work, but I'm not sure how useful any of that is since she's the one who always calls and the one who expects me to call, and my dad wants me to call in order to appease her.

This is good. Personal therapy mechanisms are important.

Who needs a shrink when you have "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"?

It's one thing to know that intellectually, but I think you need to really *feel* it, because that will help you stand your ground and stay calm(ish) when she goes on a Crazy Mom Tirade.

Yeah, last night was interesting. I'm going to see if I can pull that off more often.

Thanks for the hugs, everyone.