What would make a guy think that listing "The Game" by Neil Strauss as the last book he read and enjoyed in his eHarmony profile would be a good idea?

Just think of it as preemptive contraception, Hil, and be grateful.

What would make a guy think that listing "The Game" by Neil Strauss as the last book he read and enjoyed in his eHarmony profile would be a good idea?

Maybe he wants to attract women who don't read. Ever.

Can we hire Nora's cousin to be Vortex's mom's chauffeur?

HEE.

Thanks for validation, guys. There's more, but grabby hands and smoochy noises will have to do, because I decided to go on a bender last night, and then came home and threw up everywhere (though sober self is impressed with drunkard self's ability to clean most everything up before passing out). I literally went out last night and was like, HEY YOU KNOW WHAT'S FUN AND STEREOTYPICALLY IRISH, GETTING SHITFACED BECAUSE I'M SAD. Shoulda made punch I tell you what.

Also, thank you, Jilli, for helping me realize that 2011-2005 is actually six and not seven!

Ryan's latest exploits: he has a pair of red gloves. His grandparents were taking him out for a walk, but he didn't want to wear them. Daddy to the rescue! I fetched my gloves and put them on, thereby persuading my little boy that glove-wearing was just so in this season. He acquiesced to his grandmother installing his red gloves on his hands, with which he then blew me a kiss goodbye as he was leaving. (He does that.)

After Wallybee came home and talked to her parents, I learned that he ditched the gloves the moment I was out of sight. Ryan: 1, Penguin Daddy: nil.

Shir! Israel next week! Mini-F2F, yes?

YES YES YES YES YES PLEASE. I'll come to Tel Aviv, of course, but Saturday could be problematic with the weekend and lack of public transportation during it.

ION: I'm at the computer farm. Apparently the earphones were plugged to the computer, and also to the speakers (or, you know, some other configuration). The volume on the headphones was louder than the computer speakers, so I had no way to know. As a result, the whole farm listened to some of the OMWF soundtrack, until some guy walked to me.

Oops.

Hah. Ryan is very clearly a canny lad.

I literally went out last night and was like, HEY YOU KNOW WHAT'S FUN AND STEREOTYPICALLY IRISH, GETTING SHITFACED BECAUSE I'M SAD.

Yes. Yes it is. Thoughts for you, Nora.

Toast.

Shir, I forgot about the lack of public transport on Saturday (though I'm surprised TG did! - she must think you have a car). I'll get back to you about other days. Yay seeing Shir!

Nora, WTF. Six years later she realizes how sentimental she feels about it? Sounds more like, she just saw it on Antiques Roadshow and it's worth $$$ and she's hoping you're a pushover and a sucker. ... I am a suspicious person. Her letter sounds a lot like a smarmy manipulative letter my evil-stepsister wrote me once, which made me decide NOT to give her the thing she wanted, even though if she'd just said, "hey, can I have X?" I would've probably given it to her. She pissed me off, and I despised her anyway. I wasn't there when her father's stuff was divided up, and she was; she could've taken it then. Instead she left it with my mom, and twenty years later it came to me in my mom's estate. I guess evil stepsister was too busy after her dad died trying to take my mother's farm away, to think about her father's things that she might want to keep. The farm was never in her father's name, she had no claim at all, but my mom was a nervous wreck for two years that she was going to lose her family farm to that greedy bitch. And then she had the nerve to show up at mom's funeral, weeping and patting and hugging me. She barely spoke to my sister - she already knew my sister wouldn't give her Jack Shit. I ended up giving the thing in question to Evil Stepsister's Sister, Halfway-Decent Stepsister, thereby dividing moral obligation by emotional satisfaction.

You should totally send the "nasty" letter, and add your thanks in advance for her giving you the hope chest. Hmpf.

Ugh Nora, it's sad how death seems to bring out the greedy. Always a bit disheartening. But I don't see how she has any claim on the punch bowl seeing as your grandmother gave it to you years ago, while she was living. I wouldn't indulge your cousin's claims on it whatsoever. If you want to trade the punch bowl for the hope chest, make an offer. But I would not give her the punch bowl and then expect her to give you the hope chest out of the goodness of her own heart. She doesn't seem to be wired that way.