Laura, you're hard core. I bow before your Mad Mommy Skilz.

Robin, whatever happened to people addressing issues like that with the actual, you know, PERSON? That's really pissy.

JZ, the job people are the ones missing out. I hope you find something you like, though. And that you've had your martini.

My hour of kid free internet cruising is about up. I need to get kids pajammied up and figure out what husband-shaped person wants to do this evening.

Robin, a world of HUH?? (also your cute DH sent me email again)

Seriously, people, work it out in thread! Is that so hard? (Am I the only one who's nearly said that in meetings, btw?)

Sorry, Bitches. It is the Monday-est Wednesday ever. I just got a call that two people I work with went to complain about my communication in emails being too "casual" to THEIR boss. Did they even breathe a word of what was bothering them to me? Nope. Do I have to have meetings about this now? Yup.

Who else wants Robin to complain about their communication being too formal?

Sparky, I haven't run the numbers, but I don't know that the future benefits outweigh the present salary concerns. Even when Hec is fully employed we're scraping by; I'm making a minimum of 5K a year and possibly as much as 15-20K a year below market rate in this area for the work I do, and even the world's most fabulous benefits won't send Matilda to college. Aside from retirement benefits, my total emergency savings since I got pregnant is about $18 in my Paypal account. We may retire reasonably comfortably, but until then I can't take the stress of living paycheck-to-paycheck and beating myself up every time I decide to treat myself to a lousy $18 pedicure, which is only every six months anyway.

If it weren't for the incredible sweetness and large hearts of so many Buffistas and other friends and family who've treated us to dinner and let us use their laundry facilities and sent us boxes of baby clothes and our beautiful car seat and the Baby Bjorn and my meatspace friend who gave me her son's old crib and so on and so on and so on, I don't know how we could have managed this last year at all. I've been sticking it out here forever because of the fabulous benefits, and I'm done. It's no longer worth it, not by a long shot.

Sorry for the brain dump.

{{{Laura}}} Also, stinkeye to both your boys.

Kristin, I'm sorry about the work deal. That sucks. JZ, I hope you find a better-paying job quickly.

I don't completely blame those women, because there's the myth out there of the civilizing influence of the womenfolk.

Yeah. The Wallybee and I had an interesting (successfully navigated) example. While dating, she expressed concern at my sugar intake, which thanks to the amount of Coke I was drinking in a day, was truly prodigious. (In our marriage counselling, she brought along a kilo bag of sugar to show the amount I was consuming in a week. She had a concern, and props!) And, y'know, I agreed with her that it wasn't good for my health, but I also warned her that I had tried before, and there wasn't any sugar-free drink I found palatable as a regular choice. I couldn't promise I'd change. She accepted that.

So, while she was back in China, I switched to Coke Zero on my own. Started out just with meals, so I could follow any swig with a bite of something, and worked it through from there. So now we're all happy. (Next issue: exercise!)

I don't think that there's really the cultural expectation that men will change us though. We tame the beast! Reader I married him!

Wow. I really want to see your remake of Jurassic Park.

Right thing happening on the job fronts ~ma for JZ and KristinT.

Go, Laura, Go!

Everybody, stop having problems! I'm running out of new ways to say "hang in there, baby; we love you!"

But it's so perfect! In fact, I may want "Hang in there, baby; we love you!" for a tagline.

IOmememeN, I just got off the phone with my mother headdesk, headdesk, headdesk, and I think my plea to Daniel to bring home booze will fall on deaf ears, as I was hitting send as his "I'ma comin' home" signal was sounding.

ETA: I don't really wanna change Daniel, just his house. We're still working on de-bachelor-ifying it. But hey, I made flowery curtains for the bathroom this weekend to replace the towel he had hanging in the window, so definite progress.

Does he send that message from the front porch? If not, call 'im again.

Oh, shit. How scary is the image of me as the civilizing influence... I, uh, don't think so. I'm gonna die dried-up and alone, rigored around my remote, huh?

(gently delivers down payment on F2F huggage to JZ)

Nope, it sure don't feel good to hear that Sorry, But No when you are perfectly sure that you are plenty competent enough for whatever their silly little job requires. I'm sorry. Good luck with the continued firing off of your personal information into the void of employment applications, and don't give up. It will just take one good opportunity for you to make a world of better for yourself.

(tries to take that good advice for my own self)

I get to go in for some skills testing Friday, and that will make me miss half the felting class I've signed up for. Sigh.