The person who has been my primary backup just got a position in a different department.

Which means I can never take vacation again.

not really. It just means I've got to train someone new. Again.

I'm happy for her, it's a huge promotion.

And now I am at work, trying to be sensible.

Why? Be insensible! Go insensible!

There is medicine and special food and 'he has to sleep between your legs' and 'the other one can't be out in the heat (it's currently 90F).

Okay, medicine, special food I can understand. Not being out in the heat for too long I get, too. But has to sleep between my legs? Nuh and uh. I love my cat, but we have our own sleep spots on the bed. I need room to move.

When Minion and his wife took care of Lucy for a weekend, he apologized in advance for not letting Lucy sleep in the bed with them.

Please. She doesn't get to sleep in the bed with me. I certainly wouldn't expect it of anyone else. (Fortunately, neither would she.)

Our dog, Cody, will sleep on my mom's bed but the few times he has been invited to hop on my bed he always looks like he is waiting to be excused from interloping in our space. Strange dog.

Scritch Bartleby for me. Sweet dog.

From that article

the divine Ripley from the Aliens franchise, not to mention everyone's favorite vampire slayer

Yup, that's some cultural imbedding there. And, yes, Ripley is my Goddess.

and i liked the last two movies, yes, i did

Another thing from that article

That's something most women struggle with: the fact that we're allowed to take up space, whether it be psychological or physical

Fat as power, hm. Some people get antsy when I don't hunch in on myself or don't try pretend I'm as big as I am. Standing up straight--all 5'2" of me--and letting the pudge fall where it may somehow makes me intimidating.

I can live with that.

(I keep trying to figure out how I learned to stare straight back at the world, to not be a mouse. Because too many people have commented on how tough/strong/etc. I seem, and I don't think I'm doing anything out of the ordinary. What goes on in the minds of the rest of the world, that it makes sense to not be what is apparently perceived as strong?

Has anyone here ever made a life mask? Theatre folk? I'm suddenly curious about them.

You mean like a paster cast of your face? We did them in my church youth group at some point, using what I remember as bandages with plaster imbedded, so we just wet them and slopped them on. The process was pretty cool, and really easy, logistically.

Some people get antsy when I don't hunch in on myself or don't try pretend I'm as big as I am.

yeah. I also don't give up shared armrests without a fight.

ita-

The masks I made involved making a cast of the face, for which we needed plaster strips, water, vaseline, and straws. Then the positive was made after this dried, using alginate. I am not sure how expensive this would be, asI did it in college. Also, our primary need was to make masks, not prosthetics, so we might have less detail than you would need for that.

yeah. I also don't give up shared armrests without a fight.

Totally.