A big reason that women reported being happier three decades ago — despite far more discrimination — is probably that they had narrower ambitions, Ms. Stevenson says.

Silly women! Goals are for boys.

Sorry about that, lisah. No ideas at all?

Oh, it was a good idea to look on bluefly. There are so many choices there. But so much empire waists and babydoll and trapeze dresses. So not right for me. Also, I'm looking for something not black or grey or red and there really didn't seem to be much. oh well!

I did buy an amazing silver with gold threading early 60s-style cocktail dress at a vintage-ish store in my neighborhood the other day. It fits almost like it was made for me. Unfortunately it is way inappropriate to wear to a wedding. It would be one step below wearing a fancy white dress to a wedding in terms of rudeness. It's just that showy.

Can someone translate this for me:

It’s hard to imagine that the French, for instance, would improve their self-esteem by spending more time at the gym.

What magical property do the French possess that the Americans don't--I'm assuming that Americans would improve their self esteem...

I've started waking up with bad migraines. Now's the time to try the doctor's revised protocol and see if it keeps me out of the ER. Well, for values of "now" that equal "whenever his assistant starts checking messages." I've decided to try and make a mental shift--this morning's migraine says nothing about how I'll feel at lunch or dinner or even in an hour.

Problem is, I do need to plan ahead in case I can't teach tonight. I may have to proactively bail.

And there ends the infodump of my morning planning session...stay tuned for updates as events develop.

Random question: When your corporate network starts telling you, "Your password expires in 7 days - do you want to change it now?" do you

a) Change it right away to avoid all the pestering each time you log in.

or

b) Don't change it until it forces you to, enduring a week's worth of pestering.

Okay, I'll shower after the fashion talk.

it is way inappropriate to wear to a wedding. It would be one step below wearing a fancy white dress to a wedding in terms of rudeness. It's just that showy.

I hear you. I have a wonderful vintage gown that can only be worn to a highly fancy wedding, otherwise I'm way rude. And I came to the similar conclusion about my ballgown skirts. At this rate, I'll never have a life that includes them.

eta:

Always

Don't change it until it forces you to, enduring a week's worth of pestering.

Because I'm assuming that the clock starts again whenever I change it, so the next pestering will be sooner. I just add the appropriate keystroke into my morning login.

tommyrot, usually (a) for me.

At this rate, I'll never have a life that includes them.

Fortunately, having a band that's like the band I have means frequently having occassions to wear sparkly extravaganza outfits.

At work, there are three of us, and we all need to connect to a client's network in Houston. Don't tell anyone, but we all use the same password. So we all pretty much do (b).

What magical property do the French possess that the Americans don't--I'm assuming that Americans would improve their self esteem...

I am guessing that the author is positing that the French aren't as physical fitness oriented as Americans. I have no idea if it's true or not. But I found that sentence confusing too.

Also, if it lets me, I just change it to the same password I had. Which my student knows because she has to log on to the computer too and it take almost as long to get a lon-in here as the students work. I had one student receive her password a week before she graduated!