{{{Aims}}} You never cease to amaze me with your dedication to your job as a parent. I have been in that position--and once the sting goes away, I was glad the teacher was looking to work out solutions with me. Good luck.

I also feel like a huge push-over. I suck at setting boundaries with Olivia. The girl bargains and is relentless. I fold like a cheap card table.

As for the FB status thing--the Neurodiversity Movement is really trying to get some footing. Mostly to combat the AUTISM IS WORSE THAN DEATH! panic that Autism Speaks spreads and to fight against the ignorance and woohoo quackery being spread by Jenny McCarthy and the Anti Vac crowd.

A generation of folks with high functioning autism and Aspergers has grown up with a diagnosis and is making a difference in the world. They're leading the backlash against the panic of a "autism epidemic."

One more interview. I can manage this. Right?

I've kind of gotten to the point where I feel like I'm doing well if I can remember which state each school is in.

Paging Nicole:

No worries, Mrs PixDesign. I figured it got unfortunately lost in the mail due to our moving again at the end of October. After all the expenditures on the Ashton cat, there's absolutely not a drop of spare cash floating around - no matter how much I wish there was for such an awesome cause.

I'm sure it's going to be an amazing party and I'm sorry to miss it. Will wait patiently for pictures.

t tacklehugs Nicole

Oh, I didn't know you'd moved! I completely understand money constraints (especially pet-related). At some point could you email me your new snail mail so I have it in my address book?

erin- thanks for the tip. my mascara and eyeliner are running old, and i already have replacements purchased so i think i'll dump those and call it good. Thankful for once that i live alone and don't have to worry about spreading it to anyone i love since i've already been effectively sequestered...aside from work. So obviously that's prolly where i got it. Whoever spread to me their child's icky eye virus can suck it and should be carting my laundry up and down my scary basement stairs. And buying me a pretty dress for next weekend to help balance out the vanity nadir caused by constantly pushing my nerdy glasses up my nose.

I suggest rockin' the sexy librarian look!

I haven't decided if I will wear my glasses for my wedding; probably, although I may buy a new pair. I do not love contacts.

Hrm, i wonder if i ordered a new pair today if i could have fun glasses in 8 days....

eta: not sure if i have the wardrobe for sexy librarian, but i can certainly pull a messy bun for daytime adventures!

As for the FB status thing--the Neurodiversity Movement is really trying to get some footing. Mostly to combat the AUTISM IS WORSE THAN DEATH! panic that Autism Speaks spreads and to fight against the ignorance and woohoo quackery being spread by Jenny McCarthy and the Anti Vac crowd.

I saw the new status being used on FB! Very cool.

Hil, nice one on the FB friending.

Erin and erin, I vote for new glasses for both of you. (I always wished I wore glasses as a kid. I wanted to look like a funky librarian.)

Even though Lexapro and Celexa are related, you *really* should still taper down Celexa and taper up Lexapro.

This. I've come off Celexa a few times (I always end up back on it eventually!) and it was hard work even when I was substituting another SSRI. Tapering off can make it much easier. Best of luck with the swap, Scrappy.

New evening class last night - Sociology of Inequalities and Diversities (I have sort-of-grammatical issues with the title). I didn't know whether to comment or not (I didn't, in the end) when he put up the list of 'diversities and inequalities' that would be referred to on the course. Class, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, age, etc. 40 years of disability rights campaigning, and we're still 'etc' to mainstream sociologists. Grrr.

I am going off lexapro right now ainfg! Otoh, it was making me fat. And I don't think I need it to stop the migraines--well we shall see. But in the meantime, whoah, weird floaty dizzy head thing. I'm splitting my pills up and also taking them less often. It's the unscientific taper, not under doctors orders. But to combat my guilt, I finally made a neurologist appointment! I last had one scheduled in September. Which she canceled and rescheduled on me three times and then canceled for good. The next available was in march.

I was taking a celexa/wellbutrin/nortriptylene cocktail for years....now am down to just celexa. I've tried weaning of it repeatedly but find that my (already thin) filter just....disappears. Like, i say all the entirely inappropriate things floating across my mind. Well, that and the endless, uncontrollable crying at every sappy commercial. I find myself highly motivated to just stay on it.

(et because i am unable to capitalize my first person pronoun.)