Twitter came back just as TCG came home.

We have switched most of our customers from FedEx to UPS because FedEx was limiting how many trailers they would pick up from us. And we are not doing *any* service level upgrades or guaranteed delivery deadlines for Christmas. Which is good for me because that is a pain to manage, but very unusual.

Wow that all sounds bonkers!

Ah you should definitely record this zombie song and post somewhere!!

Rory and I went to the dog park but it was a little after 5pm and it was a madhouse! The other two times were a weekend and like, 330. Soooooo many people and dogs! But he seemed to have fun.

this guy was in my left fist the whole time I was in the dentist's chair last week, with my mask dangling from my pinky finger. Nobody said nothin'. They better not.

I'm so sorry about the jerks.

It's a serious issue that kinda receeded in the news cycle even though the republican sabotage of USPS is still very much happening

Still can't legally vote. Optimistic that it'll be fixed tomorrow. Planning to drive two hours to office on Monday if not.

this guy was in my left fist the whole time I was in the dentist's chair last week

I'm big on talismans. I wore a bracelet my BFF made for me, a necklace another close friend gave me, and earrings I associate with a third close friend. (And I had a CBD gummy - with a tiny bit of THC - to help with pain and anxiety).

Thankfully, seems like I worried for nothing. I just told him that I would leave one earbud out and not ignore him, but that I would be 74% more chill if I had something else to focus on. And he was fine. Though when he heard I was listening to The Beatles, he proceeded to explain John & Yoko's Bed In; I've chosen to believe it's because of my apparent youth rather than Mansplaining.

Cass, the WaPo would love to hear from you. [link]

On a related note: what have we decided is the appropriate response when someone apologizes, but you're not gonna say "It's OK" because it's not, at least not yet?

Different culture and all, but if it's not a situation where expressing one's true feelings and opinions is considered to be rude/hurt fragile feelings (for any reason), I'm going with smiling and nodding and saying "... very well". I think it's the equivalent of "I heard your apology".

I get most of my medical care through a local hospital (dentist, eye doctor and foot doctor are separate) and I've had blood drawn pretty frequently. I consider myself lucky - they're generally pretty good (the only little prick is what I feel, not the one doing the draw). I lucked out in regard to dentists when I moved out on my own - I'd had TERRIBLE experiences with dentists under my parents' auspices. The one I got on my own - looked like someone's kindly grandfather and was sooo gentle ... he saw I was afraid and made an extra effort with me. He retired and sold the practice, so I kept on with the new dentist who's good, but the old one has a special place in my memory.

Yeah, what Beveryly said - sorry about the jerks. I've been very lucky with doctors. Dentists, not so much. I need to find a good one now, and I've been putting it off, which is not smart.

Cass, argh. I am rooting for your triumph.

I wear a necklace my niece gave me last Christmas almost every day -- it's one of those message types; it's a brown metal disc with a hole in the middle that the chain goes through -- that says BE WELL on it. I'm like, yup, OK, I will do that. I've never had a talisman before that I'm aware of, but now I do.

It's grey and rainy here today, which I don't mind at all, and I plan to spend the day sorting out the "office" so I can actually use it as such.