Breakfast pizza:

I got an "I HOPE YOU'RE NOT DEAD" e-mail.

I get the phone call. From my mother, who's been told by my father to find out what's happened to me, even though she knows everything's fine.

When I'm traveling, I need to let them know I arrived safely at my final destination. When I go up there for the weekend, I need to call when I get home, even if it's 2 am. God forbid I forget. My father will then proceed to blow up my phone, DH's phone and the house phone until he speaks with me. He also insists on calling my sister to find out where I am if I haven't called in what he deems is a reasonable timeframe. Like she's going to know.... I love him to pieces, but it can be a little much.

Maria, clearly your father and my grandmother must never meet. It would be like a black hole of overworrying.

Ha! F2F in PA. Twelve beers on tap, and dad's homemade wine. We can fit up to 200 in the place, if you count the outdoor deck. For those who don't want pizza, there's subs (homemade bread) and pasta and meat and fish too.

That would be seriously kickass.

Breakfast pizza:

Now I want breakfast pizza!

It would be like a black hole of overworrying.

Oh my sweet Jesus, it would be more dramatic than a supernova. With added lamentations in Italian.

That would be seriously kickass.

It would be so totally awesome, but I don't know if I want my parents exposed to the Too Much Candy phenomenon. There are some things I just would rather they never know about.

::shudder::

Brain bleach in aisle three, please!

I don't know if I want my parents exposed to the Too Much Candy phenomenon. There are some things I just would rather they never know about.

Heh. I think we could tone down some of the less family-friendly activities.

Yes, but I see the two examples as radically different--can you explain why they are similar?

I see the salad eating habit as being a way to regulate consumption/desire. The toothbrushing has to do with abjection, kind of the flip side of that.

How about a definition where a neurosis can be stimulus for a compulsion? I mean, the compulsion are the tasks you execute to relieve the distress caused by the neurosis?

I think this can be the case for a lot of compulsive behavior, but do you really think it's the reason behind all of it?

Oh my sweet Jesus, it would be more dramatic than a supernova. With added lamentations in Italian.

We could bring in my Boston-Sicilian auntie for added hand gestures, if you like.

Third time's a charm for Roto Rooter. *sigh* At least this is a different toilet than the last two. This guy's ready to give me a frequent customer discount.

I refuse to buy a toilet auger myself, even though I could have more than paid for it by now. I steadfastly believe that this phase will pass and my kids will soon find flushing inappropriate objects down the toilet as tiresome as I.

Worst case scenario, I have to track down the film makers who did Flushed Away and beat them to death.

We could bring in my Boston-Sicilian auntie for added hand gestures, if you like.

Bwah!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. It looks like we'll be departing from New York on time today, and we should reach Los Angeles in the record time of 2 hours and 10 minutes. We seem to be aided by a strong tailwind caused by excessive hand-flailing and multiple recitations of the Rosary in the vicinity of Harrisburg, PA and Boston, MA. Evidently, Maria and Juliana have not checked in with their families yet. That means trouble for them, but a quick flight for us.

Sit back, relax, and hope they don't call until after we land.