"We are a little concerned about your debt-to-income ratio (yeah me too), but we know that you need a car to get to work at your current schedule, and so if you're SURE, we're going to approve it." SMALL TOWN CREDIT UNION!

Aw, that's great, amyth. THINGS WILL BE OK.

Wow, amyth, that is a lot of happening! Yay new car and good luck with the higher paying job quest.

Wow, Tep, that is so many kinds of ridiculous.

I have a pot of Second Breakfast tea and a plate of leftover pastries. Sometimes life is pretty okay.

After 4 days of tracking my time, now we are going to get a list of tasks that we're supposed to track. I'm fairly certain it will not resemble the list of tasks I have been tracking. Sigh. But at least we have another week to work on this, I guess that's something.

They recently concluded that the fake stuff does literally nothing for congestion.

I could have told them that.

amyth, congrats on your new car, and the ease with which you acquired it! That's fantastic. Local CUs rock IME.

Steph, once again, we are as one. I used to send my authors detailed instructions that I wrote myself along with their proof, because they never followed the instructions they were getting otherwise, and like you, I didn't even know exactly what those instructions were. The authors proved more likely to read and follow an email that came directly from me at the same time as their proof arrived. The whole process is bizarre.

It's 75 degrees F in November. I want Fall back.

I hate open enrollment period. Just did my annual uncomfortable reading of health questions to our almost illiterate employee. Now having to help many others go through wellness stuff they refuse to read and navigate on their own. Giving up on trying to convince people that a blood draw is worth $600 in savings.

Steph, once again, we are as one.

And when we insert queries in the manuscript, the authors invariably don't answer at least 2 or 3 (sometimes fully half are unanswered). They are not optional, which they find out when I email them a very detailed list of the shit they didn't answer. I end every item with "Please provide ALL information requested" -- i.e., "Page 3, query 4: Per journal style, the dates you conducted the analysis must be included. Please provide ALL information requested."

They get annoyed at all the follow-up emails, but DAMN. If they'd just READ and answer the questions the first time, they wouldn't get follow-up emails.

The worst are the authors who reply "Those dates are unimportant." And then I have to reply "It is journal style to include the dates of data analysis. If ALL queries are not answered the article will NOT move forward in the publication process. Please provide ALL information requested RIGHT AWAY."

For god's sake.

Man, I am HONKED OFF at authors today. I need to go take a walk.

Don't ever lose this guy's number.

Seriously! He just texted me and said he would take care of the bill at the garage where I took the Ford, if there is one, because he works there part-time. !!!

I just recommended him to my co-worker who is looking for a car. I want to recommend him to ALL THE CAR-SEEKERS.

THINGS WILL BE OK.

I BELIEVE.

The worst are the authors who reply "Those dates are unimportant." And then I have to reply "It is journal style to include the dates of data analysis. If ALL queries are not answered the article will NOT move forward in the publication process. Please provide ALL information requested RIGHT AWAY."

Sometimes I wish I could just be totally honest with them. "Dear Dr. BusyMan, I know this is annoying to you; it is annoying to me also. Personally, I don't give a ripe crap about the data. Unfortunately, telling me it's irrelevant doesn't make it go away. I'm being paid to do a job that specifically includes hounding you for specific information, and since I care more about keeping my paycheck and not getting yelled at by my boss than I care about your comfort and good regard, I will keep pestering the living daylights out of you for this irrelevant piece of data until you freaking give it to me. I am the unmoving object between you and finally getting this damned paper published; I am the Sphinx on your path; solve my simple riddle and you may pass. Just do the thing so we can move this along and never have to deal with it, or each other, again. Best Regards, The Editor"

Zen, you should tell them that.

Of course, some writers would be offended...