My mother helicoptered once. I was in college and was going to spend a summer working on an archaeological dig, and Mom was so nervous. She had no idea what kind of situation I was going into, and no idea what I should take with me. I packed figuring I was basically going camping for three months. Mom crammed some more clothes into my duffle, figuring if I didn't have any way to wash them (we did) I would need more. When I got there, I found I had a truly astounding amount of underwear and a bunch of pretty plaid button-front shirts, which actually came in really handy, because it was sunnier than I had expected of the northwest coast, but people kept asking me, why did you bring your nice shirts?!? and I was all, these aren't my nice shirts! I don't know what they thought my nice shirts were.

Eventually one of the leaders told me my mom had called her FIVE TIMES asking what I should bring, and if this thing or that thing would be better. I was mortified. Poor Mom, trying to get everything just right. I come by my social anxiety through her, I imagine.

Yeah, I read an article about helicopter parents and this one guy talked about how a candidate's mother called to negotiate his benefits.

Man, it's too bad that I'm an actual adult, because I'd love to reply to this meeting invite with, "You know this meeting at stupid o'clock that you kind of ambushed me with? Yeah, well, my mom says I don't have to go."

If I had won the lottery, I'd buy this for Jilli. [link]

Oh, isn't that lovely. Man, one of us needs to win a really big lottery.

My mother would helicopter the fuck out of my job...except not. I mean, it would never occur to her, but she'd love to put the fear of god into anyone in my life, and have them treat me like she thinks I deserve. Which is why she doesn't get Colin's contact info, not even for emergencies. She's insane.

However, I refuse to even tell her how much I make. Just to make the point of non-interference.

I just did a thing. I went to a life drawing session, because I literally didn't pick up a pencil for weeks after my mother was diagnosed, and today was the first time I'd put pencil to paper since then--I couldn't even think of writing with one without getting anxious.

I still think everything I drew sucks (like, seriously, what the hell?) but I drew. Things. With a pencil. So that's out of the way.

I don't know how far away I am from fanart, if I'll even get back there. But I couldn't let the pencil be such an issue.

Good onya, ita! I keep saying I'm going to get back into writing, and I have a couple of fanfic plot bunnies running around my head (pure porn, admittedly, but I would be writing!) and I keep saying that I'm going to start a blog about my life in Connecticut.

Yay for the drawing class, ita!

I need to stop living in fear and start writing again. sigh. But it all just ends up stowed away on a hard drive somewhere.

I need the inspiration to post regularly on my teaching blog, too. Maybe we should band together to beat the writing demons down.

Also hi. I feel like I'm never around lately.

I didn't last the whole class--headache caused irritability. But it was really bothering me that I developed such dramatic and stupid drawing anxiety attacks. So hopefully this will ease things. It's fucking expensive, though. I'm not sure I can make regular thing of paying $20 to drive to hipper than hip WeHo to draw a chick in a wig.

eta: and it was certainly nothing worth sharing--I need to work my way back up to that, if ever

Did anyone watch last week's Grey's Anatomy? Did you like it? I found it resoundingly boring, and it's not because of the conceit--although it's way overused, it has been responsible for some of my favourite episodes of other shows (two in Supernatural alone). It just felt really empty of emotional content the way they did it.

eta²: *technically* worksafe breastfeeding buffista baby beanie

Yeah, I didn't see much point to it, ita--I didn't feel like we learned new things about the characters, nor did it have any impact on their futures, afaik, so it bored me mostly.

I did watch it and I did not like it. It seemed kind of half-hearted, like they just threw out a few ideas for changes and then didn't really run with them. Meh.