“I appreciate receiving it earlier than expected but the deadlines were provided based on (available time/competing priorities/project availability /whatever sounds best) and any changes would need to be (confirmed/agreed upon ahead of time/whatever)”?

I can work with this.

Basically, the message is from the middleman from my former employer who said that production was expecting the first two chapters of my copyedit review yesterday (when on the schedule Ch 1 is due today and Ch 2 two weeks from now) because I received both chapters from the CE early. I'm sure my keeping to the schedule (which they set) is fine since the book is not going to be published any earlier than the date on the schedule regardless, but it really irks me that this company makes you jump through hoops to make sure you have other clients and are not an "employee" of theirs when you set up contracts but then seems to think you have no other clients and can just drop everything for them whenever something comes in. I think I'll go with some variation of “I appreciate receiving it earlier than expected but my schedule is based on the original deadlines provided.”

Thank you!

And now off to my membership library to try to make the actual deadline and borrow 9 to 5.

So sad about Dolly

And I was thinking of the vampire slayer/garlic irony immediately but could not think how to put it in comprehensible words...

Ha, the only finger on my left hand that is responding at all normally is the one I use for flipping people off. My occupational therapist had a good giggle over it: "C'mon, Karl, show me how you really feel about it."

“I appreciate receiving it earlier than expected but my schedule is based on the original deadlines provided.”

That sounds right. Better than "How about fuck no?"

When I was young and learning about that gesture, I kind of used to offer the wrong finger a lot. Because it's not like you get *taught* to do it as much as just seeing someone do it and my muscle memory is super-slow to develop so...I got laughed at a few times. Basically, I couldn't flip off for the same reason I can't "LIve long and Prosper" somebody--my fingers think they are a group that's not super into solos. but there are only two that can really type.

(Actually, I think she's amazed my brother made it to 50, because for quite a while it seemed like he was going to flame out early thanks to lots of booze and drugs. But he's turned it around pretty well.)

I only met your brother fleetingly (along with your mom and step dad) at his brew pub in Vermont, but I liked him a lot. It always makes me happy to hear he is doing well.

Best wishes on the surgery. I understand the procedures have been refined considerably since your last one and your recovery should be even smoother.

I'm stealing that, Karl.

explain what your formative media is...

Heh. I re-read Clan of the Cave Bear as an adult and it was a list of my kinks. I was into the hunting and building stuff which is why I read it at 12 or so but maybe I shouldn't have.

George Harrison's mother listened to late night broadcasts of Indian music while she was pregnant with him, so that's pretty cool.

Aw Laura, I'm so sorry.

Also, maybe OT would have gone better if I had that therapist. I always got either the boring one with no sense of humor. Or, probably, in retrospect, somebody who was just mad because her life blew up in ways that had nothing to do with me, but she's gonna leave me with a complex anyway(I hope that made her feel better because dragging it around for over thirty years hasn't done much for me.) Except that my feeling when I got cut off from therapy was an immense relief that abled people never understand.