I was supposed to be someone's second for a fight she was supposed to have.

I will always think fondly of Martin McClure, who was my second at my lone high school fight.

All my friends were swimmers so they had practice and couldn't be there when I was called out at the bus stop. But 'Clure rode the bus with me (not his route at all) and I wasn't alone facing a horde of the Other Guy's friends. (I wrestled Other Guy to the ground, forced his face into the dirt and choked him until he almost passed out. This was after two months of harassment by him and his crew.)

we worked out a plan of action for homework tonight with the therapist. problem is, after skipping homework assignments for 3 days, we had 10 pieces of it. 10! the plan? it involves taking a break after each piece. We've been doing homework since 4:30. 4 fucking 30! I am pretty sure that the homework plan should not be something that drives me to kill myself using only safety scissors, non-toxic glue sticks, and a #2 pencil.

the good news is he is happy and not picking fights. So, I guess this is what it takes right now. We are going to have to do post-school schedule as a tag-team, that much is clear.

Spreadsheets my dear. And perhaps google calendar. Wishing you much luck. And that you don't eat too many gluesticks.

I've decided that being a Y lifeguard is either really boring or they just hire really freakily friendly college students. I'm used to mine being talky, but then, I've been there every day for a year. One asks for updates on my house projects whenever he's working. But at the strip-mall Y, different crew, and they've initiated chat every.single.night. Every one of them has offered me advice on when the best time to swim is (but I don't mind sharing lanes, and their version of busy < my Y's version of busy.) Maybe it's cause I'm there, swimming continuously for 45 minutes plus, which might indicate a certain commitment. Or they are just talky meat.

The closest I ever came to serious, physical violence was being followed from the activity bus by a girl gang with weapons.

They had a compelling reason to target me, which didn't actually have anything to do with me. As editor in chief of the school paper, they thought I was responsible for a fairly horrendous racial slur slipped into an article without my knowledge. Since there was no byline on the story, natch, they hit out at me.

Thankfully, one of the girls in the gang knew me from way back and heartfelt reason won the day.

The newspaper adviser vowed the culprit would be sanctioned by grades. He was, however, given an A and plaudits that ushered him into a West Point appointment.

Two weeks into it, he was kicked out for cheating. Officer career, down the drain.

Justice was slow, but sweet.

I was fringe in grade school, middle school and high school. Plagued by a very pretty, petite and popular twin sister. Most of the taunts in high school included questions of whether I was a witch, what the fuck did I do to my hair and odd stares. Whatever. The rest is a blur.

My official derby name is Rose Redrum #217. A play on my maiden name because DH still calls me Rose.

My official derby name is Rose Redrum #217.

Excellent! Though I'm still a bit partial to Kobayashi Maim-You.

Paging Nora and Daisy and smonster: my mom is going to NO with dad for a conference. She wants to know what she should go see, outside the usual " conference run tour of the French Quarter, an historic cemetery (!!!), Museum of art, botanical gardens and the Garden District." I hope the croc tour/farm my brother and I took in the late nineties still exists. My mom likes funky, historical and factual. She LOVES looking at houses and gardens. I think she's be interested in the rebuilding stuff.

I lived in the same house in the same town in the same state from the day I arrived till just about a year ago, with short breaks for a year of dorm life, and four years accompanying H when he was in the army. In school I wanted so effing badly to move, to have a chance to go somewhere else, see new places, meet people who hadn't known me since the cradle and had me pegged as odd and insignificant, and to reinvent myself.

Instead, in senior year I got fed up trying to fit in, flipped off the whole school, faculty included, changed my look and my outlook and never looked back. Oddly? Suddenly everybody was either afraid, intrigued, or both. People I'd known all my life and who never even noticed I was in the room suddenly wanted to be BFF. And by that time I was over it and just didn't care. whatever dude, I'm busy.

I really didn't get the bullying, so I was baffled by it . I just didn't understand meanness.

Yes, this, in younger grades. Well really, ever. I understood the purpose and recognized the effect, I just never comprehended the motivation.

ION, msbelle, you remain my hero.

Kobayashi Maim-You.

I still like that one--if only because it is completely original. I hope someone uses it someday.

Oh, and she's only there for 3 days.