Teppy, can Astarte's new name be Mistress Spanksalot?

Well, while this works surprisingly well as a tactic, I think there are others on the list more worthy of the title.

I prefer to be known as the "Goddess of Love and Blowing Things Up".

Though GLBTU is an unfortunate set of initials...

Astarte--thank you for the reassurance, and I'm sorry you can't join us.

If you like, I shall start calling you GLBTU! (which I'm pronoucing like "ptooey!") post haste.

No, I'll stick with the classic.

Astarte, for those who don't already know, was the Phoenician goddess of love and war. Hence my nickname.

So, Astarte really encapsulates it all quite nicely. No need for Ptui or GLBTU.

Astarte, for those who don't already know, was the Phoenician goddess of love and war. Hence my nickname.

Okay, that is way cool.

In fact, way supercool. I must get to know you.

Just don't piss me off. (Here, I must insert a rare emoticon and request dispensation) ;)

What kind of dispensation?

No one will go to her new house (as soon as she finds it) and break that foundation kind of dispensation?

I like that one, Deena. I'll start saving up for it.

But I was actually referring to the fact that we don't use emoticons much here, and some folks have an active dislike of them.

I'm fairly neutral, but I didn't want to take a chance in this case to have a joke mistaken for serious.

I getcha. It's a common pitfall of online communication.

Yes. When someone thinks I'm angry at them, I want the benefit of actually BEING angry with them.

I'm fully capable of expressing same, so I hate to take the heat without the exercise, you know? Heh.