Moldovans/Russians/etc can be serious about that shit. And they loooove to give and get flowers.

Nora, we're at Pete's if'n you wanna join us...

I think bringing flowers is a great idea, and it's thoughtful for you to check the meanings.

Y'all, I just woke up from a dream in which I was trying to put together a very last minute beach wedding, but happily succeeded in finding a colorful sarong big enough to fit me that looked good on me. Also convinced Stephen Colbert to officiate.

Dream wedding score!

G'morning all. I am currently sort of annoyed that a hippy - dippy acquaintance posted "what cancer cells feed on" (meat, milk, sugar) when my very good and also vegan friend is struggling with metathesized tumors in her stomach and lungs.

Also, I just read an article in Time about the horror of health care costs and it spotlighted a prestigious cancer center in Houston that I think she might be seeking treatment at. The spotlighting was not positive.

Andi, what a wonderful dream!

Nora, WTF. Not on her page, though, right? Just a random post? I am also reading that article. I don't know that anywhere else is more reasonable costwise, though.

I am... hung over. Good gravy. And so much to do today! But I have exciting news - I have two roommates! Yay! I'm super excited to live with L and B.

Yay! Is B the French dude?

No, not on KM's page, it's a totally random person back in MA.

No creative dreams for me today. My dreams last night were pretty violent, mostly involving people stabbing one another in the eye with pens.

Incidentally, I caught the first episode of Castle from 2009 last night. Shallowness alert: it lead me to conclusion that Stana Katic (actress who plays Beckett) is one of those people who grows better looking as she gets older.

Nora, no. B works front of house at a restaurant uptown. She's 36, breaking up and moving out from living with her boyfriend (just a few blocks away). She's been in NOLA on and off for ten years. She is a cyclist and currently recovering from a broken elbow.

French dude hasn't gotten back to me, and I think B's a better fit, anyway.

Uggh, my plans for super productivity may be scuttled by this muscle-tension headache. It's been around for a few days and not getting better, and the heating pad is not doing much for me. Might have to take some Flexeril and nap a bit.

So, Tim was saying that he wished he could have an engagement ring, too. (He doesn't wear a lot of jewelry when he cross-dresses -- he has a couple of necklaces that I've given him for Christmas, etc. But he's generally not a jewelry-type of gal when he cross-dresses.)

Well, in addition to the family diamond ring I mentioned last week, I have some other family rings that I never wear, because they're too big and, frankly, too fancy for my life. I'd LOVE to have occasions to wear them, but I don't.

I'm not sure what family member they came from, but whoever it was, she had ENORMOUS hands, because the rings are way too big for my Hulk-sized ring finger.

Tim's hands are bigger than mine. So last night I pulled out one of the family rings and asked him if he'd like to wear it as an engagement ring. He said yes. It's so much fancier than mine, it makes me laugh.

In this picture (you should be able to see it, because even though the picture is private, this is a guest pass), the ring I gave him is the one on my middle finger: [link] The family diamond ring is on my ring finger, and the giant blue sapphire is one that I think I'm going to have re-set into a pendant, because I will never ever wear it as a ring.

So my gal has a ring now. It's kind of the most adorable thing ever.

t edit I mean, I REALLY love the ring I gave him -- the setting is amazing. But it's clearly way fancier than my life. I would love a fancy occasion to wear it to. Possibly I'll wear it on my right hand when I get married.

Nora, I'm finishing up that article from Time. It's a VERY long article (The Bitter Pill- cover story). A bit of repitition. But the concluding page has some excellent points. Well worth the read.

Another article, that I just read, Is called "It's raining [Jilli-Font] in Brazil" [link]

There are no pictures of Jilli-Font items. But there is a video (that I did not click on). And like many articles, the title is worse than the reality. Not that I want to be near the situation when it is happening!