I am just sort of still in the wallowing stage.

That's why it's good to have an event to un-wallow. Seriously, depression starts building its own groove in your brain if you let it. Go out and celebrate all your good work with your classmates. There's a lot to celebrate still.

Option 1 is more ideal, but if you wake up tomorrow morning and really don't want to go in, I don't think you need to force yourself.

It took a lot of scrolling to find out how that espresso dohickey works. Nice design. I think I like my $10 screw-together espresso maker better though - it boils the water AND makes the espresso in the same machine.

Working equally well with fresh coffee grounds or ESE coffee pods (with optional adaptor) the mypressi TWIST uses small standardized gas cartridges--commonly used for whipped cream or soda water--and hot water to create its signature shot. A single cartridge produces approximately four double shots of espresso for just cents per shot, making the TWIST as cost effective as it is convenient.

To operate the mypressi TWIST, simply insert a cartridge into the pressure chamber, fill the basket with fresh ground coffee or a coffee pod, and fill the upper compartment with hot water. With a simple pull of the trigger the TWIST produces one or two shots of espresso perfection ready to be enjoyed alone, or as the base for any coffee beverage. The TWIST has an easy-to-clean design that is also dishwasher safe, ensuring even after months of use that there are no left over oils to oxidize or spoil subsequent shots.

The CDC, bathhouses, and AIDs is a tangle of local politics and Reagan-era gaybashing. The primary resistance to closing the bathhouses came from inside the gay community. They felt that it was just an excuse to stomp on their new-found delight in wild good times, and they were not going to give in to The Man telling them what to do. Local officials really had to work getting the facts out there to turn the opposition into support. And Reagan was a terrible, horrible President who made it all worse. ::loathes Reagan::

Oh I know it was partly the gay community not wanting to listen, and Reagan ignoring the problem, and problems with local politics, and also with the business concerns of the blood industry. The point is that none of them really took the CDC seriously when they were trying to contain the outbreak. I can see how at this point the CDC tends to play things like this very conservatively. Sometimes it takes being extreme to get people to even pay attention. Problem is the media then goes crazy and runs with it tries to stir up a panic.

Happy birthday GC!

The point is that none of them really took the CDC seriously when they were trying to contain the outbreak. I can see how at this point the CDC tends to play things like this very conservatively. Sometimes it takes being extreme to get people to even pay attention. Problem is the media then goes crazy and runs with it tries to stir up a panic.

I so agree with you on this. Sadly, about the media part as well.

Huh. I seem to have lost five pounds. Wasn't actually really trying to lose weight, but I have been eating better lately. (More homemade, less processed, and almost two weeks vegan. More for budget reasons than health reasons, but hey, whatever works.)

So, our little man is having his first taste of nappy rash. Jusging by his face, I'd say it tastes of betrayal. We had been using disposable wipes to clean him, but I gather they contain alcohol which is not congenial to the little Penguin right now. (Maybe if I get him to bite down on one during nappy changes instead...)

Does anyone with more experience than I've clocked have any thoughts on how best to clean him right now? The websites are a little contradictory. I'm gathering that a water-soaked face washer is pretty reliable, a couple of other sites have suggested things like mild soap or olive oil. Possibly cotton wool too. (We have a zinc cream for afterwards.)

Not a parental unit, but when my mom taught me how to change diapers so I could babysit my nephews, she told me she preferred Handi-Wipes [link] (don't know if they have 'em where you are) over pre-made baby-wipes, because she could use warm water from the tap. She believed that was less of a shock to the system of sensitive little bottom. They are washable, inexpensive, and when they get really cruddy, can be tossed out.

It's been ages since then and part of me wonders if they are being made with ever more cheap fibers, and therefore no longer as soft and absorbent.

Office etiquette question -- if someone is listening to music on headphones, and it's loud enough that I can hear it (like, clearly hear it, well enough to easily identify the song) from about ten feet away, is it OK to ask them to turn it down? (Officemate and I are having music battles. I need total quiet to concentrate. He needs music, preferably loud. I thought headphones would be the solution, but I can still hear everything. Maybe I'll get earplugs.)