OK, I've been all doom and gloom recently, but there are good things happening and good people (aside from the Buffistas) out there.

Notable exceptions - with the Inauguration coming up, DC is pretty much booked up and the hotels have raised their prices. One man purchased a $1 million package from the Marriott ... and he's giving the 300 rooms to people who can't afford hotel rooms, veterans, etc. It'll include the room, food, he's paying for formal wear for a ball, they'll be on an enclosed heated balcony right on the parade route. Other people, having seen things on Craigslist, are opening up their homes to strangers and letting them stay with them for that time period. (This is exceptional because a lot of people are charging thousands for a one-week stay in their homes.) I relize these are little things, but it's still nice to read.

or you know, those three guys riding from the west.

And now I've got cowboys riding camels in my head.

meara, I don't know how close the two of you were, so I don't have a where to start discerning how much effort to advise putting into putting up with her crap. But I really do not like what this pattern of behavior says about this woman. Warning bells are going off. Not that I'm thinking dangerous stalker, but more like emotional vampire, narcissism rampant. I'm sure she has a good side that I have no conception of, which means she may well be worth the bother to you. But if you decide you do not need this kind of energy in your life, it would not be insane to stop responding. Whether it would also be sane to offer her a one-time explanation of "I'm withdrawing to spare any more difficulty for you," or not, I can't tell.

The problem is no matter who's at fault or who's behaving like a whiny baby, it still makes it awkward for meara and others no matter how she decides to respond. Which sucks mightily.

meara, from over here it sounds like she's working through any number of issues (the move not working out, the relationship not working out) and she's found in you a useful object for projecting her anger and frustrations. In which case there's not much you can do, except identify your own boundaries (ie your comment "I only feel so guilty") and accept that she's going to be angry for a while. And that she'll probably get over it eventually.

Well, we were good friends for my time in Seattle. And I do think she's a good person--she's just messed up and hurting right now, and needs to get right with herself. That's separate from me or the situation with the girl (and was going on before any of that).

But also, this being a small small neighborhood, and an even smaller lesbian community, there's no real way to avoid each other. :)

What Burrell and brenda both said--she's working shit out and going to be angry, and hopefully eventually be over that...but it's going to be hella awkward in the meantime, and I'm not looking forward to that. I was sad to see her move because I figured maybe we'd lose touch completely while she "got over" it...but there was going to be less awkward running into each other too.

Meara, you just have to take the high road here. Keep doing what you're doing. If you see her, say hello, but otherwise wait for her to initiate conversation. Keep the PDA to a minimum if she's around, but don't feel like you and the girl can't be near or touch each other. In other words, be sensitive, but don't let her control you.

But also, this being a small small neighborhood, and an even smaller lesbian community, there's no real way to avoid each other. :)

She needs to hit the gym all winter, get a new haircut in the spring and come out fabulous. I am so over her!

How old is she anyway? She's got the emotional maturity of an apple tartlet.

Honestly, meara, I think your offense is so slight as to be unworthy of two months of hand-wringing.

Timelies, all. I'm back from Senegal, with 40 hours sans sleep, and a blossoming head cold. De-germed~ma to those who need it.

ETA: Senegal was fabulous, but now I'm on the poke-vaguely-at-the-furniture stage of homecoming.

I got nothing on the Meara thing. {{{ }}}. That's about it.

But down here in Dallas. I slept so hard, when my "oh shit, you are gonna be late get out of bed now" alarm went off, I was like "huh, what time is it" not recalling ANY of the previous alarms. As a result, I was running a bit late, and didn't have time to make lunch. But then I get in, and lunch time rolls around, and the office buzz is like "are you ready to go?" And I was like "where we going for lunch today" and to my pleasant surprise, I totally forgot about the board member who was hosting a Christmas Lunch for the theater staff. So yummy home cooked food for lunch in a nice house. So glad I didn't have time to make that PB&J.

ETA: Welcome home Cali

Welcome home, Calli! All my jet lag ~ma is yours.