From waaaaay back:

OMG. I think I offered to marry my L&D nurse when I had Owen. Her name was even JEN. Seriously, when people ask for a job description, I hope she puts down "goddess" because she truly is one.

Yay awesome goddess nurses named Jen! I'm so glad to hear that so many Buffista moms had good experiences with their nurses. Jess, I hope if you have another baby, your next hospital will be better.

And let me get fully on board with the idea of a Miracleborn East Coast residency. Come have another baby out here! Let me be your nurse!

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meara, why haven't they realized what a catch you are? Shame on Seattle (excluding our own, of course).

"I'm a corporate mercenary."

I am in love with this sentence. I want to have little mercenary babies with it.

It was great while it lasted, but one bad quarter meant they had to let someone go or lose the business entirely. Guess who would up temping for another two years?

I got lucky and found another job in four months, but I swore to myself that I'd never go through that kind of financial instability again.

I heartily endorse a Miracleborn move to the East Coast. The living in MI thing is convenient (for me!) as long as I have this job, but once I leave, I want them close by. And of course, it's all about me.

In less awesome news, Tom's mom's social worker sent us an alarmed and pissy sounding email, informing us of the decline that we knew would happen, which is why we asked them to start the guardianship process months ago, but they didn't.

Nora, I'm so sorry. Why can't people just listen? All my best to you and Tom.

I had a dream the other night that I as talking to Boss and when I smiled at him, one of my teeth BROKE OFF. Bleeding everywhere. I tried to go to my dentist to fix it and he couldn't because he lost his DDS because he was convicted of some wierd sex crime and then my dad tried to drive me home and we drove off a parking structure. A job should not do this to you and haunt your dreams and shit.

Ass him in the ear. You deserve so much better.

If I didn’t love telling stories and care about the craft for its own sake, I never would’ve made it this far.

Susan, this is what you have to hold on to. You HAVE come a long way. The audience will eventually find you, most likely when you least expect it.

What I do need to work on, and know I need to work on, but struggle with because it’s so deeply ingrained in me, is the idea that I’m a failure because I don’t have the prestigious career that everybody predicted for me when I was younger, and that the one way I can redeem that and prove that I’m not a waste of a brain and an expensive education is by publishing a book.

I could have typed this sentence, word for word. Thinking like this has sabotaged a good chunk of my adult life. I'm still struggling to prove to myself that I haven't wasted a perfectly good law degree by not practicing law.

Listen to the stern man in your head. He's got some good advice. When you're through, send him my way. I've got some past mistakes he needs to tell me to get over.

I may have to temporarily move to Boston at the end of each pregnancy, just so I can have Jen as my nurse goddess.

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I love the idea of Buffistas coming to Boston to have their babies. All your Buffista vajayjay are belong to me!

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And let me get fully on board with the idea of a Miracleborn East Coast residency.

I skipped terribly, but this would make me so happy!

Also, HI JEN!

I had my first rather crappy day at work. It had to come eventually. I actually had to talk to a parent about one of my boys' behavior. That wasn't fun. He and I both cried. Blech.

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well, crying is good, it means everyone knows things were wrong. So things can improve.

I just wrote a post on my blog about this stupid being awake between 2/230 and 5/530 most nights. and then I went looking around at other wordpress blogs talking about poor sleep and insomnia. So far mostly people see to be complaining, not doing anything constructive. ah, well. We'll see if books are better.

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My sister would like me to ask if anyone would know how to perform a ritual cleansing of her apartment.

Oo Oo, me, me!

I do it for all my friends who move into new houses!

email me and I'll give you the rundown.

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So, can we play a game? It’s called, "Name Val's Thesis"! Right now my title is "Oral History as Literature: A Case Study," and while that perfectly describes what it is, it’s so uncreative. I'd love a nice snappy title. So, first question of the game is, "Should Val just get over it and accept this title, or should we try to come up with a better title?"

If the first answer is come up with a better title, we can try to come up with something better…right? I can give some basic info on the project if it'll help.

My creative juices are gone. I'm in full editing mode, and there's just no creativity left.

Here are some ideas my brother just threw out to get us going:

Oral Legacy: [Something]

The Inheritance of Stories: When Oral History meets Literature

A Narrative Inheritance: When Oral History Meets Literature

or maybe it should be flipped: "When Literature Meets Oral History"

And here's my really pathetic one:

New Kid on the Block: Oral History as Literature

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Dear Miracleborns, move to the West Coast. Do not argue with or attempt to thwart me in this, unless you really really want to get the Very Stern Letter where I explain what is best for you.

THIS. Don't listen to those East Coasters. They're a bunch o' liars, I tells ya!

All your Buffista vajayjay are belong to me!

Bwah! NATLBSB.

Nora, I'm so sorry about the continued stress and frustration in dealing with Tom's mom. Hang in there, love.

Sorry you had a crappy day at work, vw.

{{sj}} Just because.

ETA: I like this one, vw:

A Narrative Inheritance: When Oral History Meets Literature

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Don't get too cutesy/creative with it -- those only end up looking vaguely embarrassing 15 years and several critical fashions later. But I really like the resonance of "Narrative Inheritance", both as a phrase and as a good representation of what your thesis is actually about. Narrative Inheritance: A Case Study in Oral Literature?

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I like Narrative Inheritance too. That was all my brother.

What do we think about this one? I forgot to list it...

"Oral History through the Lens of Literature: A Case Study"

That was actually my parents' favorite, apparently.

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