Holy moly, Alibelle! That's a horrible morning.

Also: No scratching up the pretty Alibelle's face! C'mon! Not on kitten!

Kat, I hope all goes well with your Da's ticker.

Half-bottles tend to be REALLY overpriced compared to their full-sized brethren.

Also, I find re-corked (with just the regular cork, not any fancy vacuuming) wine generally lasts a few days. It's the odd brand that becomes undrinkable quickly.

((((Kat and family))))

Alibelle, I don't know what to say.

Thank, guys. I feel much better now that I've got the complaining out of my system. I tried calling my mom, but she absolutely hates when I whine about stuff, plus she was at Penn Station trying to get to work, so she was just like, "Just call in to work! Take a personal day! Whatever! Love you! Talk to you later!"

Neat, ita. I can get you. And even if you were pranking me, you shouldn't feel bad because things that are funny make me laugh. Parking tickets, messes, blooded claws, and sleepless nights are NOT funny when they are happening to me. Even when I'm cranky I have no problem differentiating.

I have a serving of VitaminWater at my desk and one of Coke.

Coke: 130 calories/serving, 39g of sugar

VitaminWater: 75 calories/serving, 19g of sugar

I don't see how VitaminWater is the worst health drink because it's SO close to Coke.

I know the part about how they don't compare ounce to ounce. But Vitamin Water is sold in the 20 oz bottle everywhere I shop, and IME people don't drink half and put the rest away for later. They drink the whole thing. Which is 125 calories. Which is SO close to the Coke above. It's also similar to a 5 oz glass of wine, or 8 oz of beer, or 2 oz of liquor. Just because the ounce to ounce is different doesn't mean they don't compare in the amounts that would be often consumed in one sitting.

But bon, I'm holding a bottle of VitaminWater and typing off its label right here--one serving=12oz=the full contents. Sure, they do sell bigger bottles, but they sell bigger bottles of Coke than the 8oz can also on my desk and those have proportionately more calories. So, no I still don't think they're SO close.

I didn't go out of my way to get these bottles of VitaminWater. I went to CVS. If you start doubling and tripling the volume of a serving and not take into consideration that calories may do the same...well, what can I do?

Bah, Alibelle!

Kat, may everything go smoothly for your Dad.

Yeah, I think that's a large part of why I drink more beer than wine. Well, that and the price differential. $14 for a decent bottle that serves like, three people (or, one, because normally I am home alone), vs. $8 for a sixpack (which I can drink whenever I want)...hmmm....Even though I like the taste of wine more.

You can get some seriously okay boxed wines now. The reds have a good shelf life, and are about $20 for three litres. It's like having wine on tap! It's fabulous!

Teppy, if it makes you feel any better re: the elections, we're probably now the closest we've ever been to having an old Spider-Man collector as POTUS.

How old is your dad, and -- other than his heart -- how's his health?

My dad is 75. He has diabetes, but is otherwise very healthy. Walks 3-6 miles a day and is very active.

His good health -- and especially his high level of activity -- is an enormous point in his favor. I can't emphasize that enough, really. (Damn 3-6 miles A DAY? The dude makes me feel like a garden slug. Go Kat's dad!)

Bypass is invasive, true. But the advances that have been made -- and are continually being made -- in cardiovascular surgery are astonishing. I won't say something as silly as "bypass is practically just a routine maintenance procedure," because it's not.

What I *will* say is that your dad is lucky that, if he has to have it at all, it's at this point in the timeline of medical advances. It's scary to think about, I know. Especially when you just heard about it out of the blue. You need some time to process it.

He sounds like an ideal patient -- healthy and active -- and will probably do very well and recover completely and in a fairly timely manner.

There's nothing I can do from here. And I can't leave here until end of June. Gah.

I don't mean this to pooh-pooh you, but -- even when you're there, it feels like you can't do anything. At least, that's how I felt, sitting in a waiting room, unable to do anything but the crossword puzzle book.

But I understand -- you want to see him in person, talk to him and tell him face to face that he needs to recover quickly and then NOT scare the hell out of you ever again.

It sounds like he'll come through it just fine, and the surgery will be a huge help to him. That's probably small comfort, but I hope it's *some* comfort.

I don't drink at all, but even I know wine comes in little bottles of just one or two servings. Why don't you bottle people/single drinkers invest in those?

I'm picky about what wine I drink, and the wines I like aren't available in the single-serve bottles.

Occasionally, I get one of the bottles that's half the size of a regular bottle of wine, and that works for me. But, eh. I just don't drink as often, and when I have the chance to take wine to a friend's house or something, I do.

msbelle, replied. Twice. My parents are making me nutty. So is work. They may be combining to make me insaner.

Kat, ack and wishing you all well. Alibelle, too.

Teppy, if it makes you feel any better re: the elections, we're probably now the closet we've ever been to having an old Spider-Man collector as POTUS.

Obama is a Spidey fan?? Well, at least he knows what comes with great power.