Ran into my first real glitch in the staining: [link]

See that light strip at the bottom? With the drip pattern? Yeah, I have NO IDEA what caused that. I never applied anything in that pattern. So anyway, I'll just do some sanding (have already scrubbed it again) and do over. As you can see, the posts (minus caps) need more than one round of stain (and this one only has one as is.)

Funny part is I wasn't even going to do the post tonight, but just got carried away.

That is what I am thinking of trying, Plei. The treatment we've been using is alcohol-based, not chemical, but it is kinda harsh on the hair. And it turns out to be hard to get. Good combs we have. Do you have to saturate the hair with the silicone product and/or leave it on a long time?

I usually sprayed it on her (this is when she had hair to her butt which tangled like a mofo) after a bath and just combed through. Never bothered with saturating.

I still have the bottle, just in case. For kicks, I added some argon oil to it if I do have to use it again.

Flea, is it possible that the infestations just aren't clearing totally?

Well, I have an ear infection, and now I have antibiotics. I may wait to start taking them until Monday when I get back from this trip, though, because the LAST thing I need is the inevitable diarrhea during this 2-day conference.

I don't know if our eval policy is that strict, but all the managers do get a stern "Not all of your employees are above expectations" email every year.

I suspect that my company has a similar policy, given that the ratings we get seem to make no sense and have little to do with what we actually accomplish.

So for the chance to sit on my couch in my PJs while working, I'll put up with a lot.

This is my policy also.

Shocking new school lice policies

That makes sense to me, with the disclaimer that I don't have kids and have never had lice.

I've heard, though I don't know, that henna kills lice.

Frank, lots of coping~ma for your friend. That's so horrible.

There was a Krystal Rivers on my recent ballot. That sounds like a stripper with a nature gimmick.

There's a newsperson on msnbc named Krystal Ball. She ran for office here in Virginia a while back. My BF and I made ALL the jokes.

Well, on the work front, I've been given the explicit ok by my boss to basically say 'so in order to meet this 40% quota, you are encouraging managers to lie to the detriment of the employee's record?' She's going to ask if they flatly are refusing to even do COLA for people who *just* do their jobs.

When I said this to my boss, she said they'd been so busy fighting the stupid quota system that they'd never put it in those terms. I told her flatly that unless they could *document* me not meeting my goals, I would not sign a performance eval that stated such. Her response 'well now I'm going to tell everyone to do that.'

Basically, the same conversation has been had by our local mgmt. Everyone is pretty pissed and just wishes they'd spin us off to the main contract. But we're a cheap feather in their hat.

I don't relish being a problem child, but quite frankly, we're all getting treated worse and worse over the years by this company as our peers on the main contract get better deals. I'm not going to be the only one.

Also, I couldn't refrain from having another go at the damned post.

I am laughing painfully and ironically at Jilli's post.

I just got home from rehearsal and am way too keyed up to sleep. Turns out that singing "You Can't Stop the Beat" with an orchestra is incredibly fucking fun. Along with the rest of the program.

She's going to ask if they flatly are refusing to even do COLA for people who *just* do their jobs.

What's COLA?

Cost of Living A(something)?

Adjustment, I assume.

Cost-of-living-adjustment. Basically, an increase to keep up with inflation/salary scales, not merit.

The fix: [link]