Thanks. someone at work just said "another school shooting. in CA" and I was in the middle of a task.

Thanks all.

So I am considering a bit of a vacation to Jamaica. Flights out of Fort Lauderdale are surprisingly reasonable, like $196 RT. Friend that was our best man lives there most of the time now and has room at his house so it would be super reasonable.

That sounds awesome! Do it! Don't bring the boys. Unless you think they'll trash the place while you're gone or something. :)

but seeing someone who was right where I was 30 years ago, and now has a better job, even though I don't want her job...the part of my brain that lies to me is kinda mean.

Oh, I hear ya. On the one hand, I've done much better, career-wise, than some people I know. But then I look at some of the folks I've worked with in the past and want to kick them, because they happened to have their career go a different (better) direction, mostly just by happenstance and being in the right place at the right time.

but seeing someone who was right where I was 30 years ago, and now has a better job, even though I don't want her job...the part of my brain that lies to me is kinda mean.

I think of my undergrad college friends who were so oohhh ahhh when I went straight to grad school and then was working in my field, but now I am an admin (by choice) and some of them get it, but others are thoroughly confused. Many many different paths and reasons for them. I get times where I am not happy with my job, but moving higher up would really not be better.

Gorilla Sales Skyrocket After Latest Gorilla Attack. The Buffistas and the Onion are the only things keeping me sane right now.

More craziness from Australia:

Smurfs Arrested for Assault

Last week it was Oomps-Loompas; this week Smurfs. Four men painted blue and dressed as Smurfs entered a store in Pascoe Vale, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

A 37-year-old Pascoe Vale man was buying cigarettes at a convenience store when he was approached by a man painted blue and dressed as a character from the 1980s cartoon show, police say.

The Smurf asked for a cigarette and was offered one, but he demanded the man light the cigarette before handing it over.

The man refused and was later assaulted.

Police appealed to the public and asked the four men to come forward. Three unidentified 19-year-men and one 18-year-old turned themselves in, and will be charged with "assault-related offences."

41 was a plot point in Emily Owens, MD this week (yeah, I'm a fan, sue me), and I did get a gut hit of "But I have nothing! No brilliant career to sacrifice to have kids or vice versa! I want a vice versa!"

Ah, well.

This week's soup special is below par. Paprika vegetable? Blah.

Our receptionists tend to be black/Hispanic, mid 20s. White guys in their 50s aren't all that plentiful around here, actually.

I worked at KMart HQ for a while, and when I started there, a woman had just been killed by a deer through the windshield. It was hit, flipped up through the glass feet first, and kicked her to death trying to escape. From thence comes my fear of hitting them.

Where in Jamaica does your friend live, Laura?

So now I'm wondering if I think of our receptionists as security because they are middle-aged men, or if they are actually wearing security guard uniforms. I think the latter, but I almost never go in the door where they are.

Hey ita, our company is doing work near May Pen.

So, we have a car.

The purchase was more rushed than we wanted it to be, but it became an emergency, as my car that wouldn't go in reverse suddenly decided that it didn't want to go in any direction at all. We were going to go to a mechanic's shop Hubby knows about that sells cars that people don't want to pay for, so Hubby got a ride down there.

A very generous soul got us the wherewithal to do some purchasing. It took a while to find one that he was willing to take a chance on. He settled on a '95 Isuzu Rodeo, a car with its own set of issues. In its favor, the head mechanic of the shop came into the office and said, "What's going on with the Rodeo?" "We're selling it." "I was going to give that to my son when he gets home." But money had changed hands and Hubby knew we needed transport. So at least it's a car a mechanic was willing to put his kid in. Hopefully not as a project vehicle.

Unfortunately, it's a manual, and it's been years since I've driven shift. So I'm spending the weekend re-learning how to work clutch etc.

In addition, we've gotten the unkillable Taurus back on the road, though it still needs a whole lot of work. My car has gone to its reward, so I get to revamp our insurance.

Cars are a pain.

our company is doing work near May Pen

I realise I have no idea what kind of work your company does, and whether or not I want them near May Pen. Which is not anywhere I've been to, but somewhere I've been through many times, on the way to the other side of the island.