It's a battle I always have in my manuscripts because I inevitably put in some over the top novela or Spanish talk show scene and most of the time, my editors make me take it out, saying, "This is just too unrealistic-- they don't put stuff like this on television!"

HA! So true.

One of the times I was hospitalized for an extended period of time, I was in the extra-locked part of the ward because there were no rooms available in the more open part. When I'd finally get someone's attention to let me out, I'd inevitably end up spending the day in the common room watching telenovelas with a the two patients that spent the day in their wheelchairs in the common room--just to be out my room. Oh, goodness. Really not something someone in a psych ward should do all day!

Aww, Suzi -- I didn't mean to give you the sniffles. K-bug will be thrilled to get real mail. I sent my niece a $25 gift card for the movies so she'd have something in her mailbox. Have you put K-bug's new address in LJ? I'd be happy to help stuff her mailbox with love from her Mom's invisible friends.

Have you put K-bug's new address in LJ? I'd be happy to help stuff her mailbox with love from her Mom's invisible friends.

Oh! This is a great idea! I'd totally send her a little something.

Good luck today with the exams smartypants bug. I'm jealous, the telenovelas are hysterical even when you can't understand the language. Spanish is on my list. Brendon has it this year in school. Bobby and I tried to do some over the summer with limited success. My nephew just married a Spanish teacher, so we even had a family tutor. On the to happen list.

Barb, still relatively high and dry?

WindSparrow--get one of the can covers at the pet shop. They're like $2!

Meh, my pet store sells them for $1. And my vet occasionally gives them away - usually with a Hill's logo on. I'm too much of a pet food snob to feed my cats Science Diet, but for a free lid, I don't care. I had some for the 6oz cans, but was worried it wouldn't be ok for the 12oz cans. But now that you mention it, there were some in the free box that would have fit, I just didn't grab any because I wasn't using that size can at the time. But I guess that's a big clue that it is ok to do, isn't it?

You know what else works that's cheap? The lid off a can of Hershey's syrup. Thank the Maker for Daniel's thrifty ways.

I'm getting allergies already. Her bf, friend V (who she is currently staying with), and V's mom are helping her get settled in. I feel so helpless from here. I did send her a card with a goodie so something will be in her mailbox that first week.

Sounds like K-Bug's better looked after than I was. My mom and my sister did drop me off, but they were gone five minutes after we finished unloading the car, leaving me to unpack alone.

Is it ok to leave unused portions of canned cat food in the can to be refrigerated for later? I've making myself put it into little plastic Gladware containers, and now I'm wondering if that is necessary.

We do it, with the little plastic covers that vw mentioned. I bet plastic wrap would do the trick too.

Aw, ND, I'm so sorry about your having to deal with the healthcare horror of bureaucracy. SO sorry. Hey, I had a dream with you in it last night! We were just chilling and talking (nothing too dramatic or weird, though I don't exactly remember what it was we were discussing.)

As crappy as it is to be as far away from Tom's mom as we are, I am so very thankful for the excellence of socialized medicine that is taking care of her.

vw and Nora, thanks for the reassurance about the canned food thing. I dunno why I was feeling so paranoid about it.

Spanish is on my list.

I supplement with Rosetta Stone, and I plan to keep working with that after I graduate. I really want this to be something I can use. And with hoping to go into communications for non-profits, it will be really valuable in this area. So, anyways, maybe look into Rosetta Stone. They even have a newer version of the Spanish than I have, so...

Oh, and WS, I didn't pay for mine either. I got it for free from the specialty pet shop in my neighborhood. I'm all for free!