Um, some hiccup cures aren't placebos. Holding your breath as long as you can, or taking as many small sips of water as you can between breaths works for some people because suppressing the gag reflex lets the jittering muscles of the diaphragm relax, thus easing the hiccup reflex.

Here's a funny coda to our ghosts and monsters conversation: [link]

Timelies, Buffistas.

And where there is timelies, there will be meara'ing:

First, fashionably-late happy birthday Sean!

Re: sleeping and dark (which to my tired tired mind almost read as slipping and darkness): as a little girl I had to sleep in total darkness, until I learned to close my eyes when I go to bed. That was because I was afraid that spiders and bugs will come from the shadows, and if there weren't shadows, I had nothing to fear of. I think it was like this for me until I was 11, when I learned to close my eyes and not leave them open until I'll fall asleep.

Re: building. Although my first thought was "God, I don't ever want to live in this kind of place" and the second was "Why would anyone want to live inside a giant penis?", I kindda get it now. Still, wouldn't like to live there. I want to live in the desert, where I can be surrounded with nothing but mountains.

Hey, did I mention I am really tired?

Got a family wedding today. I hope it'll be nice. The downside is the my family + aunt from Arizona comes to sleep over at my place after it, so I need to clean it presto, and I don't have the time to do at all.

Oh, and why am I so fucking tired? Because someone came back to Jerusalem yesterday only at 1:00am from Tel Aviv. Why? Because of Tel Aviv. I hate that city, and apparently it feels the same for me. If not for an extremely nice guy who paid my share of the cab, I'd be stuck in the central bus station. Not because there weren't buses, but because there was construction and it blocked the road to the last buses to my place and I didn't have enough money on me to pay for the taxi. Without this guy and the announcement of Favorite Band of Mine on dates in Israel yesterday, I'd send the world to its fiery oblivion.

Oh well, back to work now. Where's my coffee IV?

(I'm sorry for tiredness typos and grammar, I did my best with the spell check)

I have no idea where my evening went but I blame my lack of good sleep on two things:

1) daytime shooting in my hood 4 blocks from my house - 4 innocent bystander victims is the current word 2) kid getting shot while riding a bike storyline on CSI:NY (not sure if that needed whitefonting)

I refrained from wrapping mac up in protective kevlar gear this morning, or locking him inside a padded room. I look at this a great acheivement on my part.

billytea's link led me to this ... which is also appropriate for this crowd.

Oh God msbelle. I'd freak out if there were shooting in my neighborhood.

(OK, it might had to do with the fact that I'm living 40 minutes walk from the Old City, and shooting in my neighborhood will have another meaning, but still).

Hivemind:

I don't have the energy to deal with "So, do you have a boyfriend?" questions in the wedding I'm going to today.

Any suggestions to answers that will imply people, who I don't necessarily dislike, that this is not their business?

How rude are you willing to appear, Shir? Is icy disdain okay?

You know what? I don't know. There's not an awful lot of room in that scenario to imply. You can either answer the question or not (honestly or not) or throw up a distraction--in your case the very "this isn't your business!" being at the top of the line of candidates.

Unless of course, you wear a pin.

"well, not one that is here."
"is that all you have to ever talk with me about?"
"no, but I'll let you know when I want to discuss my personal life with you, so no need to ask anymore, ok?"

also counter with any personal questions they might not want to discuss: embarrassing incidents, childrens' missteps, their health/weight/bad habits. Or to be softer, not a question about those things, just ask them how they would like it if people always brought their personal stuff up.

"No, Thank God." Might throw some people. Or it could make them peer deeper into your psyche. Unless you can think of something funny to throw them off, I think ita is spot on.