{{Seska}}

Everyone else has given the advice I would have.

Maybe your brain feels it's in a safe place and can process all the stresses you've recently gone through.

Ha! I'm going with the theory that my brain is just trying to mess with me, because hello, my life is a bit stressful right now, so I would really rather not have any more stress dreams! However, I am taking a small measure of comfort that the stress dreams are of the zombie apocalypse variety, instead of the I'm stuck working retail again flavor.

He's constantly making all these showy displays of what an affable, charming guy he is. When Dubya tried that kind of stunt it always backfired, like that time Merkel cringed when he touched her.

The thing is, as far as I can tell, Obama IS an affable, charming guy. Shrub ... NSM.

It didn't always backfire for Dubya, half the known world has a nickname from that guy. People ate that up. And he didn't just touch Merkel, he gave a head of state a weird little shoulder rub -- half a dozen people here would have belted him.

Ha! I'm going with the theory that my brain is just trying to mess with me, because hello, my life is a bit stressful right now, so I would really rather not have any more stress dreams! However, I am taking a small measure of comfort that the stress dreams are of the zombie apocalypse variety, instead of the I'm stuck working retail again flavor.

My brain dredged up an "I missed the whole semester and today's the final!" dream for me a couple of months back. Great, just what I need: reruns.

I can imagine to myself how much that kind of thing bugs the shit out of Obama's detractors. He's constantly making all these showy displays of what an affable, charming guy he is. When Dubya tried that kind of stunt it always backfired, like that time Merkel cringed when he touched her.

Yeah, but -- writing a note to excuse a kid for class is nothing like the Presidential Grope of Sexual Harassment(TM).

It didn't always backfire for Dubya, half the known world has a nickname from that guy.

I assumed the nicknames were some Skull & Bones thing.

no, they were the only way he could remember their names.

Seska that really sucks, I'm sorry you and your girl are in that situation.

Work annoyed me again and it was over me being taken out to lunch for my birthday (which is Tuesday). I was told to pick a place by my boss and then he kept shooting down ideas, one of them he even suggested. I named a couple of locally owned places and was told I shouldn't pick something run of the mill but something special and then three chains were named, like the Olive Garden.

So finally I named a place and it was accepted and I was asked who I wanted to invite along with my department. So I named three people, then it was... well you're inviting V so you really should invite Y, Z, and Z, which is all of another department (they are all friends). Which kinda pissed me off since I wasn't even invited to the last department lunch and, in fact, no one even made any lame exucuse about how I'm the receptionist and it would take a long time blah blah. Just as they were all leaving "By the way we're going to be at lunch"

And now I'm being guilted into adding all these people. So there will be 10 people at this birthday lunch. Which means we probably can't even go to my choice because I don't think they can handle a party of 10 for lunch.

Originally I was going to turn down any offer of lunch since I felt so left out the last time, but then I decided that was petty.

I named a couple of locally owned places and was told I shouldn't pick something run of the mill but something special and then three chains were named, like the Olive Garden.

Ha, he is totally my dad.

So I named three people, then it was... well you're inviting V so you really should invite Y, Z, and Z, which is all of another department (they are all friends).

That's bullshit.

I'm sorry your birthday lunch is turning into a fiasco. That's lame.

Say, has anyone ever been to New Orleans for Xmas? I am seriously considering booking tickets to go.

German boy, 14, struck by meteor, lives.