Daisy Jane, I am SO sorry about your friend's son. How awful.

Discovered, however, upon driving my car for the first time in two weeks, that it was pulling funny-- took it to the local dealer and they informed me that the tires were shredded and the alignment whacked.

I've got pretty much the same car (mine is the 4 door hard top though) and those run flat tires are a bitch. Really prone to cupping, don't last long, and are not cheap to replace. I'm dreading the first set of them I have to buy, most likely later this year.

In any event, I didn't mean to ascribe any of that negative hoo haw to you, mein smonster.

Thanks, Hec. Whatever it is, signs point to it being mutual.

DJ -- so sorry , stength and peace to you and your friends

happy birthday Andi

DJ, I'm so sorry to hear about your friends' son. Peace to them and to you.

So I'm part-way through getting drunk alone (although I'm sure I'll fall asleep first) over a situation that I'm not going to let myself bitch about. It necessitates alcohol, though, and all my friends are too busy with their own life crises (ah, adulthood) to answer text messages.

Teachers with tons of years (20+) and extracurricular stipends can and do make very low six figures ($100-120K) around here. Principals all make low six figures. Superintendents make more like $250-500K.

That's fantastic. The most they paid to teacher-managers at my last job was around $40,000.

I'm sorry honey. We're here for you if you want to talk. Or you can take it to email if you don't want to be public.

What Vortex said.

Thanks. And, eh. It's not so bad, compared to many many people's lives. I just wasn't built for the family I'm marrying into (y'know - if they let me get to the fucking altar. I honestly think their not-quite-unconscious goal is to split us up well before that can happen).

I wish I had better help to offer. I hope The Girl has your back though, in whatever form that takes.