Aw, Teppy. I am sorry I freaked on that part when you're still going through all this stuff.

Since I'm so prone to UTIs, the oral sex has been a lovely way to do the bizness without getting sick, so I panicked slightly.

Is there a corollary to Godwin's Law about quoting from The Lord of the Rings? Maybe there should be, but I'm going to do it anyway.

I'm so glad you did, WS. I needed to see that just now.

Steph, I don't know if you want that in COMM or not, but had I been drinking coffe, my iPhone would be extremely wet toast right now.

And last but not least, one of my favorite songs is Christine Lavin's As Bad As It Gets. It is the bestest song to listen to when things are going horribly; it gives me hope of improvement in the future. Right now, I'm going through a stressful time that I'm confident will be much better in a month or two. This song helps me remind myself of that. Then I listen to Snackin' and laugh out loud.

Excerpt from an email I just sent my middle school English teacher:

Hi Mrs. A! It's Aims! How are you? It's been a long time. I was in class tonight at EMU and we were talking about the Anglos, Saxons, and Celts and it instantly sent me back to your class in 7th grade and I took a chance that you were on Facebook and here you are! I wasn't sure how you'd feel about having former students on your friends list, so I thought I'd drop you a line to say hi and how are you and to thank you for being such an awesome teacher and inspiration to me. I have been back in school for awhile now and while it is utterly crazy that I've gone back to school in my mid-thirties when I have a husband and child and full-time job, it's almost entirely your fault. If you hadn't been the amazing educator that you are, and if you hadn't affected my life in such a positive way, I wouldn't be back in school right now hoping to become half the teacher to someone that you were to me.

Aw, Teppy. I am sorry I freaked on that part when you're still going through all this stuff.

Oh, no, I wasn't bothered by it! I just wanted to explain why it (probably) happened to me when, AFAIK, it doesn't happen to a lot of women.

And calling myself a delicate goddamn flower was just poking fun at me. Because, really -- who gets injured while receiving oral sex? That's just sad.

Aims, if I got that email from a former student, I would lay down and sob for an hour.

HAPPY tears.

Not too schmoopy? It's all very very true. I remember dang near everything she taught me. She was amazing.

Nope, not at all.

Aims, that was a wonderful email, and you probably made her week. Or year.

who gets injured while receiving oral sex? That's just sad.

sigh

am sad. had boyfriend with crooked front teeth. am also delicate goddam flower.

Teppy, yay for your benign news! I hope you are pain-free rather quickly now that the right treatment can be started.

Hil, I don't eve know what to say - your job situation has to be very stressful. I hope you get the answers you need, soon.

And, just like Andi and LotR, I'm sure quoting Angel's "if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do" is cliche, but it helps me to think of it.

I think around here, quoting Buffy or Angel, or Firefly, etc. etc. is not so much cliche but lingua franca. Hitting up Nazi Germany and LOTR in a post that wasn't describing mid-20th-Century history and culture, though? That's a special kind of internet pop-culture geekery. I think a reference to a Nigerian scam would be some kind of trifecta.

Aims, that email isn't too shmoopy. It's gorgeous.