Hugging everyone back!!

Oh, Band Candy...the ep that got me to return to watching Buffy. I stopped midway through S2 when I saw the promo for the next ep where Buffy lost her virginity. "Oh, how cliched!" I thought, and didn't tune in again.

Um, oops?

I stayed away until the summer before S4, when a Band Candy rerun caught my eye.

Go do something else away from patient care and come back in X amount of time adn we'll see if you still are fit to work with living beings.

This is genius.

And I'll reiterate the love for this place and you people. I don't post nearly as much as I'd like, but I'm nearly always around.

And I'm so comforted that you are, too.

I was looking at something and questioning the font choice and only had the tiniest millisecond of thinking I was being crazy and ridiculous before remembering how many of you would have either agreed or at least engaged in a lively discussion about it. And picking extraneous cilantro out of my lunch I found myself feeling reminiscent of that particular kerfuffle. I love you guys. (And hate cilantro).

Standing. Right. Here. Please, let me unleash my 26k+ followers on Tumblr. I am all over this.

muwahahaha! I mean, yes, it seems likely we could take something viral if we wanted to.

We have lots of writers here. We have a worthy cause. We need a slightly less vague plan than the one I came up with, perhaps.

Re the issue meara raised about the ethics of it, maybe we could work on a draft of something -- if possible, seriously addressing chronic pain management and healthcare worker burn-out and either offering or asking power-brokers to pledge to actively work toward a solution -- and then at some point a few weeks or even months from now, when it's all a little less raw, talk with the LAistas who know ita best, and if possible her sister, about whether this is a fight she'd want fought (or insert fighting words of your choice - are these the heads she'd want to roll, the nuts she'd want kicked?) and what, if any, personal information she'd ever have been comfortable sharing.

It kills me to think of Betsy and brenda's mom and askye's uncle and Zen's friend and all the brilliant or astonishing or just human-and-not-deserving-to-suffer people out there who deserve battles on their behalf, but it's also really clear from poking around on i09 that she shared most of the worst of it just with us.

Kathy! So good to see you, even if it's on a sad occasion.

I keep forgetting to say how wonderful it is to hear about how Betsy's husband's and son's migraines have lessened.

I think, right now, getting anything positive done in this country has to start at the grass roots level. Guerrilla journalism, guerrilla activism.

Suit up. Keyboards at the ready.

HOLDIN'!

"Heat 'em up!"

SMOKIN'!

Let's show this ossified medical community how we do things downtown!

(eep. ETA: Crossposted with JZ's rational and thoughtful 'now hold on a minute' post. She's right, of course)

I believe it's a fight ita would have wanted fought. She might not have told the story herself, out of concern for employment and not wanting sympathy or to be treated as a victim. I wouldn't do anything without the approval of her family and the friends who know her best.

If her sister and the LAistas say yes, then I will cosign like a sonofabitch. And if there are things she wouldn't want generally shared -- we're a bunch of writers and editors. We could protect what needs protecting and still put together something scorching.

Is there any pics/video of ita glitter-Kraving?

I have an idea re: viral schtuff.

It is really great to see all of the old "faces" around here.

I reblogged some stuff from ita for the Good Stuff today. A little tribute that just certain people would notice.

I am Very Proud of myself for mostly following the plan for which I bought all of the groceries (except this salmon) on Sunday. I'm literally just committed to eating the food I already bought.

Way to go! I, on the other hand, am about ready to pack it in on my meal plan even though I also have all the ingredients at hand. I have been eating regular meals, but about half of what I would ordinarily expect to so my leftovers are piling up, for one thing, and Restaurant Week starts Friday for another. I'd rather go out for economically priced prix fixe meals than cook or even reheat while I have the chance.

I will make some sort of goat curry before too long, though.

ETA: I did notice that, Jesse. Nice.