The travel saga was a triple header of annoyances. First, the dog was a bundle of anxiety the whole trip. Whining and pacing. Would not settle down. Didn’t eat for 2 days including in hotel. He did eat when we got to my cousin’s house late last night. Second, I could not get the Tesla chargers to work and my car and apps would direct me to them. Using their chargers involves attaching an adapter, telling the app which unit you are using and a bunch of steps. Tried this at two locations. The first one I was trying the wrong adapter. The 2nd one had no numbers on the stations so I had to wait until a person left so I could see which one changed from in use to available. The cables are heavy and the adapter involved pushing on a tough latch. After trying multiple times my thumb hurt so much and I was completely drenched in sweat from the 97 degrees in the full sun parking lot. Third, multiple backtracking because of having to find another charger. And multiple rerouting due to I75 issues probably due to recent storms. My car’s ETA was going up and down varying from 6:20 to 10:35. We arrived at 9.

In the end we arrived to the loving arms of cousin Linda who gave us a cold orzo and roasted vegetables salad with fresh mozzarella in a light vinaigrette and red wine.

Ok y’all I’ve gotten into spelling bee recently but wtf. Some words I try and it doesn’t accept and I’m shocked, but it wanted me to come up with “tomtit” the other day? wtf is tomtit???

but it wanted me to come up with “tomtit” the other day? wtf is tomtit???

I always forget that's a word that Spelling Bee accepts (it's a bird). I also always forget "naan." And, yet again, it drives me nuts that the game accepts "gimme" but not "yeet."

Tim has a follow-up phone appointment with the ENT today to go over the results of the lab work on the fluid they sampled from his neck lump. I have mild jitters because I just want a definitive diagnosis of Weird But Benign. I know the ENT said last week that it was most likely just a benign cyst, but confirmation is good, you know? So anyway, a little more Weird-But-Benign~ma for him would be awesome.

And, yet again, it drives me nuts that the game accepts "gimme" but not "yeet."

The slang dictionary it's working with has some WEIRD gaps

Tim's Weird Neck Lump update: the lab tests on the fluid were oddly inconclusive — the equivalent of "yeah, this is weird and we don't know." So he's going to just have the Weird Lump excised completely and then it'll be biopsied. The ENT does still think the lump is benign, but nothing is conclusive until it's yoinked out. That should be mid-July.

These crumbling human meat sacks are a pain, but I guess they're the best thing we've got until we perfect the robot bodies for our brains in a jar.

Yoinking when not sure does seem like the right move. Weird-but-benign~ma set to continuous flow through July

It's always unnerving when the doctors are confused!! Weird-but-benign sounds good to me.

All the vibes for Tep and Tim. Hec, reading your story...can't help being reminded of getting a filling in college(at a vastly-discounted disability rate I failed to appreciate except in retrospect) but I still needed some money. Long story short, I didn't get it till he saw the bill.Even though I wasn't gonna...lose it playing roulette or some shit and I am the first born and didn't sit around with my hand out all the livelong day--that is his late-in-life "baby" who's Emmett's age but discovered vocation in video games and his bong.(At least he's not a Proud Boy, though. small silver linings...) There is no universe where I could imagine my father sticking his neck out like that for anyone else--he barely does it for me.(Although he also totally liked my college boyfriend better than me, too. Like the gift that keeps on taking that he's been.)

Nothing-much neck-ma for Tim!

Also, sending extra love and hugs to you and Matilda today.

Gladly accepted. After she took Anuar home, she had to race out to a Walgreens to get his meds. Had to call ahead to talk them into staying up. They stayed open an extra 20 minutes for her.

Got back with his meds, ordered him a milkshake via DoorDash. Made sure he ate it with a spoon instead of a straw, and stayed to tend to him until his roommates got home. Then she started to have a panic attack after a day of stress and adulting but he helped her calm down, and she took her anxiety meds and she made it back home after 11.

I let her sleep in and brought her coffee, and shared the video of wee Matilda wishing JZ a happy birthday from summer camp.

This morning I got up early and headed out with my niece Crystal to get coffee. We sat at the cafe and talked about death and hospice for a good long time. (She's transitioned from being a nurse to a Death Doula.). Good talk. Good connection.

We'll be off to lunch soon at Japantown and we'll have a toast to Jacqueline's birthday.