I have found that keeping my mouse on the left side of the keyboard (I taught myself to lefty-mouse to ward off off RSI) tends to cut down the number of people who sit casually down at your empty workstation to play with your computer.

I had a friend over for dinner last night. As soon as he left, I started to feel terible. I was woozy, headachy and in intestinal distress. Today I feel like I had half a dozen large gins, not a cider, two beer and a whiskey in the course of 6 hours. I worried it was something I ate, but my friend is suffering no ill effects. I have become a serious lightweight.

I use my work mouse left-handed as well, it frees up my dominant right hand for keyboard work at the same time.

Sue, what I have learned as I age is that it doesn't even matter if I space it out well: more than 2-3 drinks will give me a hangover the next day. It sucks.

I have TOO MUCH to do today, even though it's a day off. Argh.

Sharing a desk would bother me, but my student workers share. One of them was significantly less neat than the other, but the neat opne graduated and I haven't hired anew.

My friend is looking for educator advice, and she can't find what she needs online. She finds that forums for elementary teachers seem to devolve quickly into warring opinion factions and she doesn't have a place like here. She is in elementary ed, but is a substitute. She subs mostly at 2 specific smaller schools, so she does get to know the kids. One of her students who is in second grade who is normally very lively seemed sad so she asked him about it. Long story short, he is a child that she had suspected is gay, and he had a crush/ intense friendship with a classmate. He tells my friend that the classmate "broke his heart" and that he is very sad. My friend asked him if he was talking about it with his parents, and did that help, and he got very scared looking and said "I don't want to talk about it" several times. Now, my friend is wondering if she can do anything to help this sad boy, but she also does not want to be projecting anything onto the situation that is not there. I think she is looking specifically for literature or help as an educator dealing with a sensitive child that perhaps parents don't understand-- to think broadly. Anyone know any place she can look for real help?

She could talk to GLSEN? I think that's the acronym...

My friend's reaction to the Belinda photo: "Omg. Want. Amp decoration"

That boy is wrong in the head. However, we may have discovered Belinda's true owner.

Fred, hope you are feeling better!

Fred, I hope you're feeling much better.

I'm not germophobic, I'm territorial.

Yeah, I've used other people's desks when working from other offices, but I always take care to leave it as I found it.

I was feeling calm about the whole thing and then just got irritated again once I realized that mystery person had messed with my desk chair settings. Uncool, dude! But I guess I shouldn't be surprised since this already person left stuff on my desk and moved things around and threw my cardigan on the floor.