Also, it is my considered opinion that if everyone had the privilege of having such loving grandparents, the world would be a much less ugly place.

I endorse this opinion. It's really such a delight to see how well he's taken to them again. Especially at bedtime, when he'll go to say goodnight (he waves and blows kisses), and just stands there giggling at them until he's back under control.

billytea, in slightly more than a decade, your son is going to be a heart-breaker. Or maybe not, since his disposition is so sunny - maybe he'll be an adorably handsome young man who joyfully flirts with whomever, causing only enjoyment rather than disappointment.

You know, my fondest wish for him is simply that he'll grow up to be kind. Right now at least, he is very much so.

Honestly, I think I'm better off not having that job. Org is seeming not as solid as I thought.

So I went in to work and turned right around. Too sick, better off resting today, I think.

a friend of mine put forward the opinion that being introverted was a sin. There are a remarkable number of people who really don't get this stuff.

I just... I don't even have words for this. Well, I actually have a lot of words for this, but they're not very nice ones.

Again, I'm taking the e-mail as a friendly gesture, but really, if that was the message behind it, well, it needed to be fleshed out a bit.

Yeah, it would have sounded quite a bit different if he had followed that statement up with a suggestion to, say spend time together in a smaller, hopefully less stressful setting, such as you and Tim together with him and his partner (if any).

A message that was more clear/fleshed out would have been way less annoying and vaguely creepy. Something as simple as, "We seem to keep missing chances to chat at events. How's your anxiety doing?" (Because he damn well knows about my anxiety.)

You know, my fondest wish for him is simply that he'll grow up to be kind. Right now at least, he is very much so.

It's one of the only valued qualities humans have complete control over. Looks, brains, and wealth are so largely dependent on circumstances beyond one's control.

I always took the "cats taking a baby's breath" as a misunderstanding of SIDS.

a friend of mine put forward the opinion that being introverted was a sin. There are a remarkable number of people who really don't get this stuff.

Was s/he a biblical literalist? If so, I would like a cite. I don't know the thing cover to cover, but I'm pretty sure they're riffin' like Jazz with that one.

Tim suggested that our friend is also somewhat socially awkward himself (kinksters? are really just another brand of geek, and therefore often socially awkward), and maybe *he* was saying that he doesn't think *he* interacts well.

Tim may have a point, it could be read either way.

Also, it is my considered opinion that if everyone had the privilege of having such loving grandparents, the world would be a much less ugly place.

Amen.

(Because he damn well knows about my anxiety.)

I have a client with an ex who is making her miserable. Every time it comes up, all I can ask is, "And you expected him to be different?" Not in a snarky way, but in the practical, boy I wish people could be the way I want them to be too. This one? Unlikely.

I'm vacating my office for two hours today so a fellow entrepreneur (who is ubercool) can see a client. I feel all generous and stuff, at the same time I feel totally disorganized.

Going to a coffee shop to write or read requires having stuff together. Which I do not. Ack. How is it that wasting time watching Australian reality shows stings less as a time waster than going out of the house unprepared to accomplish anything?

t no logic--hard to close

a friend of mine put forward the opinion that being introverted was a sin.

Depression used to be a sin, too. Pope Gregory revised the original list of the Cardinal sins, changing sorrow/despair into discouragement, and by Dante's time it had become sloth. I watched a History Channel documentary about it.

Steph, I don't even know how I would handle an email like that. Sometimes it's harder, for me, to know how to respond to people when they're not actually jerks, just well-intentioned but clueless. I understand what you mean, about feeling like now you have the pressure of his expectations to meet. I would feel the same way. ... Also, it seems more like something a guy might say to a girl he was interested in, which is totally inappropriate. Granted, that may not be true in this case; it may only seem that way out of context. But if he *is* awkwardly hitting on you, I revise my "probably not a jerk" opinion of him.

Was s/he a biblical literalist? If so, I would like a cite. I don't know the thing cover to cover, but I'm pretty sure they're riffin' like Jazz with that one.

I'm pretty sure there's nothing in the Bible about any personality characteristics being sins. Actions, yes. Thoughts, even. But aspects of one's personality, I don't think so.

I understand what you mean, about feeling like now you have the pressure of his expectations to meet.

I mean, really? What I *wanted* to reply was "YOUR expectations of ME are not MY problem," but I opted for a more neutral reply.

Also, it seems more like something a guy might say to a girl he was interested in, which is totally inappropriate. Granted, that may not be true in this case; it may only seem that way out of context. But if he *is* awkwardly hitting on you, I revise my "probably not a jerk" opinion of him.

I really, really don't think so. He's married (which of course doesn't preclude hitting on other people), but I also just don't think so. While I get all anxious around people, I'm still good at picking up vibes, and I don't get a hitting-on-me vibe at all.

The more I think about it, I think that Tim's comment that Dude is kind of awkward himself is a big factor here. (He also has a slightly too-intense demeanor that leads me to feel like he's trying to climb inside my skull. However, I feel like a LOT of people are doing that, so I think *that* is less them and more me just needing HUGE boundaries right now.) And I really, really empathize, but it still doesn't oblige me to ignore the boundaries I need right now.