I just got this fundraising letter, from an organization I've never heard of before called "Israel Special Kids Fund."

Dear Friend,

They hide in their homes. Afraid to be seen.

Embarrassed, even in front of family and friends.

Unable to look at themselves in a mirror.

Who are these children? And why are they hiding?

What could cause such fear? Such pain?

A burn victim whose features are cruelly distorted.

A disabled child with muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis or cerebral palsy.

Who has the courage to help these children? Who volunteers to visit with them?

Who treats them with the love and care they so desperately need?

Israel Special Kids Fund

I think this is even worse than Jerry's Kids. (The rest of the letter goes on to describe what the Fund does, which is provide volunteers to help at home and with therapy stuff, and run summer camps.)

yep, it's right up there.

Oh god I'm so miserable. I forgot to take my Pristiq this morning and have been having horrible brain zaps all afternoon. I feel awful.

Eyugh, Pix, that sounds miserable. I hope you're feeling better today. (What exactly are brain zaps? I know people have mentioned them here before, but I just can't quite imagine what they would feel like. Apart from, you know, Not Good.)

I know what I think of when I read "brain zaps". I don't remember which medication it was that caused it, but it felt like I could *feel* the neurons firing in my brain. It was a really distracting, disturbing tingling feeling in my head (and sometimes my face) that fired intermittently. I'm glad I'm off whatever that was. It really made me feel like I was going nuts.

It's hard to describe, Kate, but once you've had it you'd recognize the term immediately. It's like, your whole brain freezes up. It's not painful, exactly, but it's a disturbing physical sensation.

So, I gotta say, getting threatened by crackheads is one of my least favorite parts of my job. It happened again yesterday - everyone's fine, we left and won't be working on that property. But uggh.

So, I gotta say, getting threatened by crackheads is one of my least favorite parts of my job.

understandably!

I do not think I've had brain zaps, at least nothing that fits either of those descriptions. I've had my brain empty out unexpectedly, but that's not at all the same thing. More like a brain drain.

Ooh, crackheads are the least favorite part of my job too, congrats! But glad you're all okay.

My laptop fan is making hideous grinding noises again. Sigh. I really want a new laptop, but just affording replacement fans and doing the repair myself is a PITA extra expense.

My laptop fan is making hideous grinding noises again.

Maybe you should stop grinding your coffee beans in there, eh?

maybe it's trying to dirty dance with you.

(...grind... get it.... OK, not one of my best)