Ugh, Sheryl, I'm sorry. That is cruddy.

I am booked for SF and JZ. Coming in Thursday midday and out Sunday morning. Hotel yet to be figured.

We're coming in Thursday evening, flying out Sunday morning. I wound up just going with an Expedia package deal (the hotel we landed on is a seven-minute walk from the venue, and it has good reviews, so fingers crossed).

Sorry for the exhaustion and stressy situations.

WHY ARE PEOPLE TRYING WITH ME TODAY?!?!?

Today is not the day and I AM NOT THR ONE!

Relatedly, I am possibly more stressed out than I realized about going to care for my friend going through chemotherapy. I MIGHT be a skootch irritable masking the fear. Being self-aware does not make it better.

Hugs and hairpats as you are willing to tolerate, msbelle. Or I can glare at anyone irritating you.

Raises show up on today's paycheck! It's a whopping 2.5% for my Exceeds Expectations, my boss was kind of embarrassed to tell me. And now that I see the take home, it nets out to about $80 more a month. I was trying to think of an expense I have that that will cover. I think I would have to get pretty granular. But it's not zero, which it has been occasionally in the past, so that's something.

Exceeds expectations is great, even if 2.5% isn’t!

I was pretty pleased with that!

And the raise does pretty much cover my water bill, so that's something sort of tangible.

-t, you've always exceeded my expectations!

As ever, I know that some people have real problems, and I'm thinking about all of you so much (and especially Matilda's friend), but still: I have had a loooooong week and I am so happy not going to see a band with friends tonight AND no plans tomorrow. Phew.

I have had a loooooong week and I am so happy not going to see a band with friends tonight AND no plans tomorrow. Phew.

Exhale....lower your shoulders. Have a drink. Ahhhh.

and especially Matilda's friend

Here's the thing: Matilda's friend, Isabella does not really know the seriousness of the situation yet, because her mom has been in deep denial. All Isabella knows at this point is that her mom has Lymphoma (which is not the diagnosis at all). So I have not mentioned any of this to Matilda, so she can't reach out to her friend etc.

I'm afraid that by the time anybody can rally to Lola's aid she's going to be already in hospice.

Anyway, I am also exhaling on Friday night. I had a reasonably productive week and I bought a round of drinks at Alembic for the staff at Booksmith (they are related businesses and have a swinging door between bar and bookstore) to give everybody a weekend boost.

I’m taking a friend’s ticket to a production of Murder on the Orient Express this Sunday. Unfortunately it’s because she has COVID. But it seems to be a mild case, and there’s no point in letting the ticket go to waste. I hope everyone’s weekend is as restorative as possible.

...Isabella does not really know the seriousness of the situation yet, because her mom has been in deep denial. All Isabella knows at this point is that her mom has Lymphoma (which is not the diagnosis at all). So I have not mentioned any of this to Matilda....

That is a difficult situation to be in, hard news to keep compartmented and private. Are there any preparations you can make discretely to help ease the pain that is going to hit both Isabella and Matilda when the blow lands?

Are there any preparations you can make discretely to help ease the pain that is going to hit both Isabella and Matilda when the blow lands?

Not really. Just from knowing Matilda's response when I waited a day after Jacqueline's diagnosis to tell her, I expect Isabella will feel blindsided and betrayed by the news.

It's not really fair to expect perfect transparency from the parent in these circumstances, but the kids will feel anger at how they receive the news, because there's no other place for their anger to go.