Aw, Karl, that joke's both cute and kind of a groaner at the same time. Took me a second, too. Reading it out loud helped.

I'm sorry you're getting back surgery, Tep, but I do remember how much relief the first one gave you.

This time it's weird, because I don't have OHMYGODPAINPAINPAINKILLMEPAIN. It's like an electric shock running down my arms, and then pins and needles in my hands. Which, to be clear, isn't a whole lot of fun, but it's for sure not the same kind of pain. (The surgery is necessary because if the wayward discs don't get off the nerves they're pressing on, there will be permanent nerve damage and I'll eventually lose grip strength in my hands and, I guess, general strength in my arms and hands. And I would like to avoid that. So, surgery.)

I'm thinking you and Tim probably deserve a co-Billboard at this point. Something something Spinal Tapped.

Our family crest (for just us two, the Northside Beckmeyers) is a picture of Skeletor with text superimposed over it that reads "I will be okay. Not because everything is fine, but because I am surprisingly difficult to destroy."

Plus I have a cool new hipster sweater with a fox wearing glasses on it, so I've got that going for me.

I totally share that particular Skeletor whenever I can...it's not everyone who has file folders documenting that, lucky me.

Lol, I just got on a plane and over the shoulder of the girl in front of me, I spied AO3. Almost asked her what she’s reading (she was scrolling through some various options, I recognized the symbols but couldn’t see what fandom she was in) but didn’t.

Ha!

It's probably gay hockey, though.

I mean to be fair all I have been reading for 8 months is gay hockey on AO3 so…

My mother read the Valachi Papers when she was pregnant with me.

I had to spend a lot of time off my feet my first pregnancy and much of the time was spent with multiple collections of Calvin and Hobbes. It surely had an impact.

Jess you go first, explain what your formative media is and why is it Buffy

Nice.

Today is my son Bobby's 32nd birthday. The 5th with no contact. It doesn't get any easier.

I just got on a plane and over the shoulder of the girl in front of me, I spied AO3.

Last week Aeryn walked past me on the opposite side of the living room and said, "You read on DARK MODE?!?!?!!" (And...yeah, it was Hollanov.)

I was at a flea market a little ways upstate this morning and had to rescue an Ender (from Ender's Game, not Minecraft) Funko from one table because the idea of turning this traumatized 8 year old's story into a cute little desk toy just made me so sad for him. I also got a soup bowl that has handles and the word SOUP in all caps for a dollar, so all told it was a pretty good haul.

I'm sorry, Laura.

Yeah, Laura, that sucks. Dad and I sort of put the "strange" in estrangement, but we've left the lights on a little bit lately. Also, Tep, I meant to say best wishes for your surgery. Sometimes when I write long posts they get eaten so I tend to post too fast. In "Cool story, Jeopardy contestant!" style news, I can probably confirm that I've dialed someone in all fifty states... New Hampshire was one of the last "Um, maybe?" ones and I did that with PDA today. I'm sure there are prettier milestones that one can reach after twenty years, but I did it.