I know! I was surprised. At least three of us are at the Stamford.

ETA: And last year I was able to use points to pay for both nights. Although, that wouldn't have happened this year. Still!

I finished a writing submission in two days. go me. -t puts the dots in like the commander likes.(still funny, on the show that McNulty, the drunken hound, is still the best at typing reports. On most TV, he wouldn't be.)

I'm thinking about doing the crossword tournament -- scheduling it around work and Passover would be a pain, but possible. But the only way I can figure out to manage it would mean not having a car, and probably not being able to bring my wheelchair, which seems like it would complicate things even more.

Aww the crossword thing sounds fun, though I am not practiced enough at anything other than the mini to make it worth it.

53 week year sounds confusing. Unless that means we get an extra vacation week or something.

I will in theory be inheriting a chunk from my dad now that he has passed, but sadly not enough to like, retire now or anything. More “make my retirement account more robust”. If only I had a mysterious cousin or aunt or family friend…

Excel considers the week beginning 12/28 to be 2025 Week 53, but our internal financial reporting considers it to be 2026 Week 1 so... [[flips table]]

The week Supply Chain thought it was and the week the Sales team and Finance thought it was were different all of 2025, but hardly anyone besides us actually uses the week numbers so it wasn't too bad. It will be nice to be aligned on the calendar in 2026, though.

I can't overstate how thrilled I am to have an actual-factual diagnosis supported by imaging, so I can proceed with getting this fucker fixed up. When it's fixed and healed, I am going to do ALL THE THINGS. Starting with just goddamn walking to the corner.

Super excited for this for you!

-t puts the dots in like the commander likes.

It's amazing how often I think of that when I'm formatting!

I would really like to do the crossword tournament but just looking at hotel and registration, I really shouldn't spend that money, and I don't even want to think about airfare, so probably not going to make it. I have not explored the wonderful world of reward points, I might have something applicable I suppose. I have a couple of days to think about it before I even could register, so I might change my mind.

I am considering the crossword tournament! I've been doing the WaPo crosswords for a while now and I'm generally pretty decent at them, but I'm a bit nervous that the NYT crosswords might be next level. Still, I enjoy crosswords and spending time with Buffistas, so it seems like it would be fun!

Yeah, I'm not super happy about the hotel rates, especially since I used all points last year, but I also don't have much travel planned for 2026, and I have been tightening other belts fairly ruthlessly, so I'm justifying it that way, but there's a bitlot of handwaving involved, frankly.

I need to compare tolls/gas/parking to drive there vs. train fare. I do love me a train ride, though.

Hil, it would be great if you came! I would make suggestions re: the wheelchair conundrum, but I don't expect I would be helpful, because I don't what's feasible, but if I can help in any way... I'm all about getting people to the tournament!

Still, I enjoy crosswords and spending time with Buffistas, so it seems like it would be fun!

That is 100% the case.

My dentist's office called around 3 this afternoon to tell me insurance has determined what my next crown will cost me out-of-pocket and to ask if I wanted to schedule the appointment slot that suddenly opened up tomorrow morning.

Let me check. FUCK NO!!! Are you crazy?

My dentist's office called around 3 this afternoon to tell me insurance has determined what my next crown will cost me out-of-pocket and to ask if I wanted to schedule the appointment slot that suddenly opened up tomorrow morning.

"We would like you to bring us bushels full of cash, and please bring them tomorrow morning! That works for you, right?"