Given your dad's medical history, that's pretty ironic. Or, rather, his history of responding to his own medical issues.

I...tried to bring that up with him, and he said "I get checked out as soon as the doctor says I need to!" Which is, in fact, true. He treats the doctor's pronouncements as Word of God. He just ignores all his own signs of imminent medical crisis. But that's not an argument I can win with him.

They were so excited I have insurance again! We're celebrating by ordering my first mammogram!

Woo hoo!

I am mulling over a pet theory on what's been happening lately with the mens (not all men clearly, but you get my point) getting all aggro in online conversations when male privilege is brought up. Would love to get feedback on it when it's more formed, but right now it goes something like this: it's the anxiety that comes with that first realization that all the cultural signifiers of their race/gender/privilege come with baggage too. I remember having that moment in middle school and high school and getting very angry, and then eventually coming to terms with it.

But that's not an argument I can win with him.

Of course not. We're all always convinced that our actions make perfect sense.

Yeah, I really think your dad has nowhere to stand when bugging you about doctors! Eesh.

whenever someone likes those posts my iPhone plays cheering crowd noises at me, and that is pretty great.

Dude, I want my phone to cheer for me!

I try not to read too much news because it makes me sad and angry. And I kinda feel like we SHOULD be angry, but then I can't support feeling like that all the time, or the level it would take, and then I get depressed that without it things can't/won't change, and...such a bad cycle.

Also, I want kittens! So bad! The foster kitten people specially emailed me yesterday to be like "we know you're getting our regular emails, but we're getting bunches of kittens tomorrow, any chance you can take some?" and I had to say no, because I'll be out of town. But I want to play with kittens!!! Or puppies. Or babies.

I need a cheering section.

Also I have to give the puppy back today. Sad.

The venom of some of the "but what about the meeenn" posts has startled me, as well as the sheer number. Say "male privilege and they come out like earthworms after rain and writhe all over the sidewalk.

I'm doing a transfusion-and-post. Come back, volunteer with the chocolate. Moar chocolate!

LAistas may regret my having a rare conversation with a stranger. The infusion nurse's son wants to write movies. He's been to film school and now he's hanging out in LA and basing his whole career plan on some major annual competition, which he has done well in but not won. I asked the usual: "Does he have an agent? Is he working with improv groups, small theaters, writers' groups? Has he tried to get a movie-adjacent job, however small? No, he's pinning all his hopes on this contest. His mother is worried. I gave her my e-mail address, and if he contacts me, I may forward his info to some of y'all. It will be entirely up to you what to do with it.

I want my phone to cheer for me without having to do anything to earn it. I'd suggest that somebody write a viral blog post about how lazy and entitled my generation is, but these days it seems to be my generation that's writing all that bullshit.

I need some device that will nag me without any input from me.

Ginger, I could marry you... well, it works for mr. flea.