Yeah, Post Ranch is ridiculously expensive. A former coworker stayed there for a wedding (not her own) because some Silicon Valley venture capitalist had rented the whole inn for his wedding. CRAZY.

Deetjens is definitely more reasonable. But not as posh.

Didn't they tell ND he didn't have gall bladder problems before finally finding something?

Nope, they told him he didn’t have a post-gall bladder surgery stone caught in a bile duct that caused his acute pancreatitis, and it nearly killed him before they finally did the exploratory surgery that found and removed it. Very rare and unusual, so nothing to worry about. Man, that was almost a year ago. Very glad to put it in the past. But yes, an ultrasound is what will tell them if you have gallstones, generally. ND’s initial scan did show a whole bunch of stones that he managed with a very low fat diet for four months before the surgery and subsequent hospital clusterfuck. Definitely get the ultrasound, ita, and have them check your amylase and lipase levels to rule out pancreatitis, too. I wish you swift pain relief and better health.

Guess what? I’m posting from Barcelona! I have fallen in love with this city. It’s almost 5 here, so I’m in my hotel room having a little siesta before going back out.

Kat, was your lady just on KABC? Someone with her name was!

So, I decided work before play today, which means I dicked around doing my freelance job until it was too late to go see Captain America. Oh well. I'm suprised it's only on two screens (one 3D) at my local theater.

I am also SO SAD that I apparently missed the glory days of movie theaters in my neighborhood. People keep asking me about them, but apparently the last one closed in 2005, so it's not like I just missed it, but still.

Buffista Hivemind advice needed: I need some pointers on how to sound cheerful and upbeat in an interview. I have one on Thursday and personality will be a big factor. I don't want to sound fake but I tend to go into interviews very serious and businesslike and then get stumped when asked if I have any questions.

I'm going to try to schedule a mock-interview with my temp coach before the real one, but any Buffista suggestions would be immensely appreciated!

Quester, do research on the company so you're better equipped to ask questions. I would also Google for ideas of questions to ask, but don't use anything verbatim, if you can avoid it. They have web search too.

My Vancouver best friend bumped into Colin yesterday, for the first time since Eureka started filming. They only know each other through me, and haven't seen each other more than once, I don't think, like twenty years ago. How he recognized her is beyond me.

Well, definitely make up questions beforehand -- standard ideas include stuff about the office culture, how your success would be evaluated in the position, I forget what else, but you can google that kind of thing.

Generally, I totally feel you -- that definitely used to be my problem with interviews. I was so worried about not coming off well that I spent a long time thinking about my answers, which made me not come off well. I think just try to show your real personality, and don't try to be either more businesslike or more cheerful than you actually are. Be AS cheerful as you actually are, sure, but if you put on a big show at the interview, you'd have to keep doing it if you got the job, no?

Be AS cheerful as you actually are, sure, but if you put on a big show at the interview, you'd have to keep doing it if you got the job, no?

I think fronting a little bit at the interview stage is probably not a bad idea, but yeah, it can be easy to go overboard.

ION, global warming is my fault. I want to sit on the deck, but it's hot out, so I'm sitting on the deck in front of the open door with the ac blasting. Ahhh.

I think fronting a little bit at the interview stage is probably not a bad idea, but yeah, it can be easy to go overboard.

Yeah, that's right. I told my former minion -- who was asked for something in an interview and didn't get it to them by their deadline -- to be as good in the interview process as she would ever be, doing the job.

I think it helps to try to make connections with the interviewers, such as commenting on the pictures in their office, and generally work towards a more of a conversation. Even though the theory of an interview is for them to find out about you, the reality is that people like to talk more than they like to listen.