Or maybe it just feels that way cause of endorphins from the monkey crack.

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I need to find the study I read that actually shows people who have a more cynical view of life tend to actually be...not right, exactly, but more aware than people who are more optimistic.

Poking my head in here again....

The study involved playing some sort of game where the estimation of various probablilities of winning was a major part. Pessimists had a much more accurate view of their odds of winning in a given situation than optimists.

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The controlling part comes from the old "That's what I'd do, but you can do what you want" that comes at the end of it all.

What happens if you try an answer like, "Oh, okay. That's a lot to think about. Thank you so much for your advice."

Granted, you might have to have prepared subject change ready--maybe asking about something you don't actually care about, that he can advise you on, or asking if there was ever a time in his life when such and such blah blah blah 'til you get him off on another tangent.

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juliana, if you have any trashy paperbacks you can live without for a couple of weeks I'd be happy to borrow them. I'm a cheap-paperback whore -- anything from eyerolly vampire romance novels to true crime to Le Carré to goofy vintage stories about grooving beatnik detectives and their kooky sidekicks will make me perfectly happy, and keep me lying down and quiet for a good long time.

Also, root beer is always welcome.

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Yay! A co-worker let me have some of her leftover Mexican lasagna. And tortellini!

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JZ - my mom was just talking about clearing some of her book shelves. She went through books like mad when she was doing hemo-dialysis. I'll see what I can snag from her.

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Aw, bless, Suzi! Would your mom want the books back at any point, or would it be okay if after I was through I passed them on to the family waiting rooms at the hospital?

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Mexican lasgna? Ohh, that sounds good. What's in it?

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I really needed to call the dog many things so he could choose his own name.

I've never heard of anyone doing that with dogs. Cats, yes, but not dogs. When we did obedience training, the first exercise was "How to teach your dog his name" - the theory being that it should mean "stop what you are doing and listen to me" to the dog. Which has come in handy. Walter isn't particularly well trained - we just took the one class - but he does stop what he's doing and listen quite well. And that's enough to keep him out of trouble most of the time.

And I just read Pratchett's Unadulterated Cat in which he advocates giving pets short names that you wouldn't mind calling when you are wandering the neighborhood looking for them. Pookah passes that test.

Robin's honeymoon report perked up my day. It's just happy-making.

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Mexican lasgna? Ohh, that sounds good. What's in it?

Chicken and beans. Possibly some sort of vegetables.

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