It never occurred to me to be freaked out by a sinus infection. Until now.

Me either! Which probiotic are you taking? Since I did a round of sulfa drugs for an ear infection, I've been taking Align, and the only difference I can tell is, um, stuff I don't like to talk about. I'm thinking a different probiotic might be worth a try.

If I may pimp probiotics again, the Pearls (both regular and IC) have been consistently good for me. Align didn't thrill me, and Florastor works well (it tends to dial my sugar cravings way down) but is WAY expensive.

Unrelatedly, it is REALLY HARD to be supportive of a friend whose girlfriend just broke up with him, when what he needs right now is a sympathetic ear and someone who recognizes that he's in pain, when all I want to say is "You are SO MUCH BETTER OFF without her." He's still in the needs-immediate-emotional-pain-relief stage, and I'm all, "Woo! She's gone!"

She was always nasty to him in front of other people, contradicting everything he said (stupid stuff, too, like how recently he had eaten salmon) and telling him he was dumb for not knowing things. I mean, DAMN. I cannot abide couples who are nasty/insult/mean to each other in public. (And if they do it in private, well, they probably still have a problem, but doing it in public just compounds the problem with an egregious lack of respect.) And she's told him over and over -- to the point where he agrees with it and even said it to me tonight -- that 100% of the problems in the relationship were his fault.

Yeah, uh, no. And I'm not saying that because he's my friend; I'm saying it because that's not true any time you have more than one person interacting with each other. More than one person means fault is spread around.

Anyway. I am blunt and given to Action! and Solve Things! and I'm really bad at sitting and listening to him say how much he loves her and misses her and "messed up real bad and screwed up the relationship." All I want to do is punch her in the neck for being a bitch.

I'm less Commiserating Friend and more Avenging Friend.

Nick got glasses, though! We were able to add him to our insurance. It was awesome to be able to do that for him.

Yay, Obamacare! We're lucky since we only have two people who need glasses (since my lasik). But Liv will most likely need them in the future. Owen's is only very mildly near-sighted--he just has a lazy eye they're trying to correct.

I'm less Commiserating Friend and more Avenging Friend.

Avenging Friend is an important role. Possibly more important. It's better for the next stage.

That's a big step, Aimee. Good for you for taking it.

Steph, I've been in that position before. I've been in both those positions before. You can always offer him sympathy for the way heartbreak hurts and refuse to agree with any of his "what did I do to deserve this?" stuff.

Aimee, that is a huge step. I hope your sister becomes a new friend.

Wishing you a good response from your sister, Aims.

Avenging Friend is an important role. Possibly more important. It's better for the next stage.

Absolutely. You'll be very appreciated soon.

Which probiotic are you taking? Since I did a round of sulfa drugs for an ear infection, I've been taking Align, and the only difference I can tell is, um, stuff I don't like to talk about.

I don't have the bottle with me. It was whatever was cheapest at Walgreen's. I've been on the drugs since Tuesday and not noticing any bad side effects, so I think I'm set. Though I do think the steroid was messing with me a little.

Did I mention the steroid? I'm also paranoid about getting sick from lowering my immune system while AT A CON.

Home.

Cold.

Seriously, it's really cold and my heat was dialed down as far as it went. Turns out to be near 48. Huddled under several comforters now and hoping to wake to 62 inside. Crazy.

Thanks for the travelma. Lots of it. Good to be home. Want to kiss my bed.

Good luck, Aimee.

Also good luck Typo--no ideas other than "stop watching". Even though I think Rachel Maddow is super hot, I can't watch on any kind of regular basis because it raises my BP too much. Heck, after the 2004 election I stopped listenin to NPR on my morning commute because it all pissed me off too much.

Survived redeye from Lima (yay window seat). Even slept a tiny bit. But now I'm stuck in a middle seat on the six hour flight MIA-SEA...which I booked on alaska with the specific idea that since I've got huge status on them, I'd get a decent seat. WTF!?!?!