Yeah, Ply was missing for hours until finally there was a break in the rain, and then there was a wet THUMP.

I just need to shave these ladies. I can't brush them enough.

Skating in under the wire to wish JZ happy on her day! A wonderful year ahead for you, love, starting with a drain that, well, drains!

Extended happy birthday JZ wishes!

I've finally read every natter and am catching up on other threads. Suzi, many hugs to you and your foot. Steph, I hope your migraine's better?

Happy glow from family beach vacation has been replaced by a list of times and places my mother felt offended, rushed, or unwanted at same. Delivered to me pre-coffee yesterday, with a heartfelt wish that we fix our relationship immediately. I handled it, and I kind of know why she's venting (in the wrong direction) but I really didn't need the lattendant late-night panic attack about doing the same to HPF in the coming years. My shoulders are cranked up around my ears now.

On the other hand, if she's not speaking to me, that lowers my chances of getting another bill for my birthday card, like last year. Ahhh parents.

Sox, if it is any consolation, HPF and K will have each other to talk to about their screwed up mothers. It's a family tradition!

Oh my, Sox. I hope you can find a way to drown out the negative with memories of the sights and sounds of the beach.

Gay engagements! it's a happy day.

I am buying flowers for people, because MORE HAPPY!!

I got 2 calls from directors last night (neither of them mine) asking me to man the phones today for a few hours to work through the backlog of customer calls following a problematic software rollout last weekend.

I don't have much visibility into how the rollout went--I just know that as of Wednesday EOB people couldn't get into our flagship application. On the rollouts I've worked on, there's a point at which you roll back if things suck. I'm not sure why a) that many errors slipped through b) there is/was no rollback.

I'm way more out of the loop since the transfer--I'm doing my best to drag my manager into buzz of what's happening, but I'm getting more and more buzzless, and since they moved me, I'll be even more buzzfree.

So most of IT will be call centre this morning. You don't say no the first time the first director name checks the CIO, but that doesn't make it enjoyable.

I love this New Yorker cover: [link]

That's fantastic. Although in my head Bert's head would be on Ernie's shoulder.

I don't think they are a couple!