Thanks. I'll give it more time. I thought 3-4 weeks will do, but probably I'm not thinking straight with the test season and all and can't really relax to being natural, whatever that mean.

Oh well. One more case where I'm the weird one. Back to the books, for me.

P-C, good luck with the girl!

I really need to start getting up the nerve to use one of the electric grocery cart scooter things. I managed to keep my shopping relatively short today, but my ankle still hurts.

Really, really, thank you guys so very much for your advice with this. For one, just getting it out of my head has helped end the "you don't deserve this, so keep your head down and don't ask" from getting out of control.

It was stressing me out to a terrible degree, making it so that whenever the topic came up between me and Jon, inside I would panic and flip out like a mammal making it look like I wasn't excited to Jon, and making me unwilling to have a conversation. Sunday I was nearly in tears over something that should be really exciting.

It seemed insurmountable until now, and now, I really feel like I'm going to get to go! Thanks!

Buffistas: Pushing me to travel to increasingly far off places by walking me through one neurosis at a time.

I'm enjoying some of my last walking around naked time before I move in with family.

Jars and I had a tiny London F2F! That was very nice. Except I had to leave early and go home with migraine (bleugh). But, was lovely to meet her!

No, not about that part they have that moves on its own free will.

*snerk*

And I agree with Laga, Shir (not about walking around naked). He probably just wants to hang out beyond the end of the university year. If he does want more than that, is it a problem?

Much ~ma for talking to your employers about the trip, DJ!

I have had some pretty unreasonable employers, and I can't imagine any of them saying more than "be sure your projects are taken care of" in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Why did my neighbor wrap my rosebush and the bush next to it in duct tape? I have been lax in cutting back the stuff that hangs over his driveway in this heat, but duct tape? Why?

Jars and I had a tiny London F2F! That was very nice.

Yes! Very nice!

And I came home to find that the tax office has FINALLY sent us the money we're owed from 2007.

looks at watch

Three years. Not bad.

Three years. Not bad.

I hope you weren't holding your breath.

I hope you weren't holding your breath.

No, but my tagline is oddly fitting, I think

Gah. My dad called and asked, just to confirm for bureaucracy's sake, that I was not interested in the latest potential future wife. "No," I confirmed. Just no to her? "No to her, no to everyone."

"That's not right. We have to talk. You're at work, so we won't talk now, but we have to talk, because that's not right."

Even this short conversation has destroyed my mood. I don't want to talk. I have this fantasy of telling them that I am trying to salvage my relationship with them by removing the issue that keeps driving us apart, but I don't think I can do it, and I don't think they'll understand anyway. And I am trying to figure out where in my schedule this week I can fit in a Traumatic Conversation.