Dana, don't hoard the hamsters.

I am failing SO HARD at empathy right now. But I am winning at filter between my brain and mouth/hands.

I mentioned last week that the daughter of Tim's ex had passed away from a drug overdose. There's a memorial service tomorrow here in Cincy, because Tim's ex has a lot of close ties here. Tim and I offered to help out however we could.

Since I work from home, wrangling this has fallen to me, which is fine [she said, long-sufferingly]. So the ex's best friend (who I know as a very casual acquaintance) has been FB messaging me about arranging "a place for people to meet." That's all the info. So I ask, do you mean after the service? Two days pass and she replies "Yes." So I tell her about the restaurants that are near the church. Two days pass, and today she messages me with just the name of one restaurant. So I say, "I can call the restaurant and see if we can reserve one of the private rooms [NOTE: with less than 24 hours' notice], but it would help to give them an estimate of headcount. Also, what time? 3:00?"

She replies "3:30."

I STILL NEED A HEADCOUNT OH MY GOD CAN YOU READ.

I get that Tim's ex is her best friend, and she's grieving the loss along with everyone else. But I can't follow through on the proffered help if you don't give me some goddamn details.

I guess I'm just going to call the restaurant, ask about the private room, and make up a headcount and hope for the best.

Seriously, my heart goes out to them. It's a huge loss. But I can only help to the degree that you provide me with what I need in order to help.

Also, ex's best friend is from Cincinnati (and currently lives here), so I don't know why finding a restaurant is impossible for her, but, again, she's grieving and I get that, but I'm a little frazzled and migrainey and eating ice cream straight from the carton right now.

Okay, rant over, ice cream put away, private room booked at the restaurant. Fingers crossed it's for the right number of people (ballpark).

ION, I'm using my new standing desk! [link] The entire reason I bought it was because when I'm not using it, I can fold it flat and slide it next to the bookshelf. There are instructions on the internet for a $22 IKEA hack to make a standing desk, and it would be sturdier, being made out of wood and not cardboard, but it doesn't fold up when you're done with it. Space is at a premium here, so I went with the $25 foldable version. The cardboard is industrial grade and really does seem super sturdy. The footprint is bigger than I expected, but that's okay.

Steph, when he carries it in to the building folded, it looks GIGANTIC. Glad it seems like it will work out.

It's bigger than I thought, but pretty nifty nonetheless.

That is a cool standing desk solution.

Jack's training is finally starting to pay off. I can answer the door without him aggressively barking and tried to vie for space at the door. Today the doorbell rang, he barked, I told him to "place" (go sit on his bed), and I answered the door. He is supposed to stay in place for that, but he wandered up as I got a package off the door step, but wasn't barking or pushing to come out.

I am intrigued by that standing desk, although if I were going to get one, I think I would get a thingy to put just my laptop on. I borrowed one from my coworker when she was on leave, and that felt like the easiest way to switch back and forth -- I kept my monitor and keyboard on the desk, and just used the laptop itself when I was standing.

Bungalow court, with floor plans!

Nice! A lot of the bungalows around here are 1.5-2 story, so I made assumptions. The ones at the link are nice. I'd want a larger kitchen and a second bedroom, but floors, windows, and other details are lovely.

I'm intrigued by the standing desk. I'd want measurements before I bought it. If it's too low or tall, it won't work.

Also, Steph, that's honestly why I rarely volunteer to help anymore.

It's probably for the best that I didn't find out about the Anchorage to Honolulu flight that is going to try to hit the eclipse's path until today, and that it is, of course, sold out. I shouldn't be spending that kind of money.