Not to mention all the times I've been waking down the street, minding my own business, Being A Woman In Public, when some guy will catcall or yell something out of a car. Obviously I ignore this, which is then followed up with, "I was just TRYING TO TALK TO YOU, BITCH!!!"

One thing I love about NYC - this happens pretty rarely. Even the douchebags here don't really want to talk to other people on the street.

Dude, you have just taught this little girl (I'm sure not the first or last time she'll learn it) that your desire to do something you think is fun trumps her right to decide who touches her body.

This is one of the reasons I don't force Emeline to give anyone hugs or kisses goodbye of she doesn't want to, no matter who it is. If she doesn't want to, by God I'm not going to tell her that she has to. Even if it's Gramma or Grampa or even me or Joe. She gets to choose who she kisses and hugs and interacts with - not me and not her dad. It's also the main reason I wouldn't pierce her ears when she was a baby. They aren't my ears.

This is one of the reasons I don't force Emeline to give anyone hugs or kisses goodbye of she doesn't want to, no matter who it is.

My SiL always tries to force my niecephews to hug and kiss me when I come visit and I'm always, "It's totally fine. They'll warm up on their own. Don't make them." But she continues on and on. I hate it - and they always do warm up within like an hour. Ugh.

But I will say that it's SUPER hard explaining it to male family members, like my dad who is the sweetest guy in the world, why it's not cool to make her give kisses and hugs and what forcing her to do it teaches her because it's hard for him not to personalize it. Which totally sucks.

Shit I didn't say to a friend today: "Why the hell are you marrying him!?! "

Sorry, just needed to let that out somewhere.

I do like that in LA I get much less hassles from strange men than I did in Detroit. Or maybe it's a function of age.

I'm not as cautious as the average woman, and I should be. My idea of taking care on an Internet date is making sure I have a knife close to hand.

For those keeping count, she is the THIRD PERSON to buy me this shirt - all of whom shattered my delusions that I am Elphaba through and through by telling me, "Oh honey, no. You're Glinda."

Whereas I've received two Defying Gravity/Elphaba shirts as gifts.

So that leaves us at you're Florence, I'm Svetlana; you're Glinda, I'm Elphaba.

You get the showstopper song in Chess, I get it in Wicked.

Maybe I'm nobody's side.

I honestly think I'd trade you, given the opportunity, except I'm SO not a Glinda in any way, shape, or form.

Ooooh!!!! OOOH! Defying Gravity/Nobody's Side mash-up!!!