I agree with your assessment, Teppy.

The Clark Kent-Superman costume looks great! As do the Handmaiden and the Highlander.

Yesterday I goofed off and caught Red with smonster and others. Today I'm attempting to Clean All the Things, so naturally my back chose today to act up. I got things to the point where I can run the roomba, so I'm laying on the sofa, waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in, letting the robot handle my housework for a while.

I'm laying on the sofa, waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in, letting the robot handle my housework for a while.

You live in the future!

You live in the future!

It's nice here. Ice cream is now good for you and the Misha Collins party has consolidated its hold on the Senate and the House.

I in no way mean to take any lustre from Tim, who looks very dapper in a suit, but JZ do you really mean that men don't rock them?

People who can't tell the difference between a communist and a modern social democrat probably are every bit as knowledgeable as the people with the capital want them to be.

That's what I told my brother after he accused me of having drank the commie koolaid.

Thanks everyone!

billytea, you two made a good lookin' human there.

This is the sort of thing I never get tired of hearing. Or telling Wallybee. Each night we pop in while he's sleeping to check he's ok, not too hot or cold or anything. At least, that's the excuse, but it's really because the highlight of my night is seeing my little sleepyhead and thinking, "Look what we did!"

Oh, milestone news: he has a new hobby, standing up on his own. He was standing up for about a count of six before collapsing giggling into your arms. (For some reason he stays up longer when we count in Chinese.) However, when Wallybee pulled out the camera , he was so distracted that, as far as I can tell, he simply forgot to fall over. (Sadly, the photos were blurry. But soon.)

There has been a step or two. He still hasn't worked out how to stand up on his own - he needs a vertical surface (daddy legs are a favourite) I would say that he'll be walking by the time Wallybee's parents return. (I hope they've been working out).

WindSparrow, I find that asking such people to give a definition for communism usually gives them pause.

*sigh*

I have a tricky social situation I'm not sure how to escape from without hurting people's feelings or embarassing myself. I went to a musicians meetup today (which I found out about via Meetup.com). I emailed the moderator the other day to ask about how to post a file (it turns out there was a bug that made the option not even appear in my browser). My sig had my website on it and she checked it out and replied enthusing about my music. Which is very flattering. She asked me a number of questions - I responded.

My hope was to just check this group out and see if it fit or not. But (a) it was a small house so there were about a dozen people allowed...not a crowd I could get lost in or be on the periphery of and (b) she gave me a big buildup via email to at least one pal of hers. They're a very nice group of people and damned near all of the play guitar better than I could back when I could physically play. However, their repertoire is mostly not my sort of thing.

If the group of people had been bigger, I could have slipped out the open door and that would have been it. But it was really crowded and the door was blocked. I lasted about 1.5 hours before I got up the courage/oomph to thank her for her hospitality. She's a very positive and enthusiastic person so she begged me to please do one more song. I normally would have demurred. I didn't really have anything prepared, didn't have extra song sheets for people... But I said yes because she was pretty insistent and I figured it'd go faster if I said yes than tried to say no. But it ended up going pretty badly and increased my discomfort even more because it makes it seem like I just spend my time tolerating other people's songs and waiting for the spotlight to fall on me. Which is not what I do.

Anyway, she was clear they "don't want to lose me", etc. and I'm afraid there will now be follow-up emails asking why I haven't RSVP'd for next month's meeting, etc. I hate for people to think ill of me so there's that aspect (even if it's people I'll won't see again I like to be liked as much or more as anyone does) and I don't want to hurt the feelings of these people because they were good and fine people. My stomach is all tied up in a knot over this. Maybe I should just cross that bridge when/if I come to it? Honestly, I had the worst time trying to goose up the courage to leave early.

So the only reason you don't want to keep going is the stylistic difference? I'd say just tell the truth. Say exactly what you said here, that you think they're good musicians and you enjoyed the company, but that you don't think the group is a fit musically and you wish them luck but won't be joining them.

Pretty much, Liese. But the moderator is so enthusiastic and such that I suspect it's going to be hard getting her to listen to that. Because I was trying to keep things on the DL and she kept pumping them up despite my wishes so I'm sorta expecting she'll have a similar hard time understanding what I'm getting at. She's a wonderful lady but...