Yeah, gringo is an English word.

I got my painting!!! I loves it! No idea where it will go, the color scheme does not really go with any of my rooms. Maybe entry or hall. But I love it!

On the way to school this morning, Olivia noticed the flags were half staff. She asked me why.

That just sucks.

Sometimes, when my head hurts really badly, the pain refers down to my quads and knees.

Today? Is one of those days. I have a day chock full of meetings, at least one of which I have to present, a trip to pack and prepare for, laundry to do, shit to buy for my sister, and a stranger's request for a picture that's frustrating me since I completely can't compose it, and I really should be able to.

I couldn't translate anything but menus, but I was ALL OVER the menus!

I think I'm pretty good with Spanish and French menu! That's it though. Well, a little bit more Spanish but not much.

Yeah, ita, it seems odd that the show runners have these characters who don't understand any Spanish, but they count on the audience to understand it. Unless they want the audience to share he character's experience of not understanding.

Another annoyance - I swear they copped a musical motif from Inception. Yeah, all the kids are doing it, doesn't make it less annoying.

On the chicken as co-pay - that's a hella nice payment. My host mom gave shots to her neighbors, and she frequently got paid in milk or goat cheese or pickled something. And if they're running on donations, I'm sure the protein is appreciated. Bonus if it was a good layer .

Suela, my recruiter was massively excited that I spoke French and I was slated to go to Francophone Africa, until that pesky fire ant allergy intervened and relegated me to cold climes. I can only imagine it's gotten worse in the last decade.

I'm far more congested now than I was when I decided to drag myself into work this morning. I've accomplished nothing thanks to meetings and fire drills.

I made an off-hand comment to my mom that she'd be off for the summer when I would be going to London, and now she's looking at flights and getting passport forms. I don't know what I think about that, because I'd planned to see a play with a friend and meet up with various people I know from the internets, take some day trips, pootle around, not... chaperone my mom. Clearly I am a horrible daughter.

Clearly I am a horrible daughter.

Nah, I'm with you. I often travel with internet friends, and so having a family member with me (particularly my mother) would be something of a trial, because I draw such sharp lines between those worlds.

I have walked the dog. Now I must vacuum and then I'll go to a meeting. On my day off! Sheesh.

I got up heinous early and went to the ENT, who said I don't have an ear infection and probably never did. Yay, I guess? Means I'm good for travel, now. Amusingly, I ended up seeing FOUR doctors, plus an audiologist (they do hearing tests--I'm losing some, in one ear). The first guy came in trailed by a Japanese cochlear implant specialist (??) and a med student, and he went over stuff with me and looked in my ears and used me as an example of "normal" for the med student in my ears, nose, and throat, and then the guy who my actual appointment was with (who's the department head!?!) popped in and looked in my ears and said all good. Madness.

Now I'm sleepy and don't want to do work.

I joined my mother in Montreal once during the comedy festival. Despite her having met these people 20 years ago, I maintained strict radio silence between the two camps. She was very good about it. She got some of me, friends got some of me, I crept out of my parents' hotel room in the middle of the night for random shenanigans.