Nobody can tell Marmaduke what to do. That's my kind of dog.

Trick ,'First Date'


Natter 78: I might need to watch some Buffy for inspiration

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Steph L. - Jul 30, 2025 5:47:07 pm PDT #8535 of 8561
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

Is anybody else finding the Bee impossible today??

Oh my god, SO MANY WORDS. Not a fave today.


-t - Jul 30, 2025 7:38:01 pm PDT #8536 of 8561
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

I gave up on it pretty quick


Steph L. - Jul 31, 2025 4:15:55 am PDT #8537 of 8561
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

Today's Spelling Bee *also* has about a billion words. I need more coffee to tackle it.

This morning (8 am) is Tim's follow-up appointment after getting his neck lump removed last week. Definitely need benign~ma.


Laura - Jul 31, 2025 5:30:06 am PDT #8538 of 8561
Our wings are not tired.

Benign~ma in abundance.


JenP - Jul 31, 2025 5:33:44 am PDT #8539 of 8561

I tanked Wordle today, boo. Haven't been doing Spelling Bee for s while, but maybe I'll start again. Connections was cute today.

I did not get to the next round for the interview from last week, which is a bit of a bummer, but I'm still glad I had the first one. It's been a while!

Farmers Market this morning.


JenP - Jul 31, 2025 5:34:19 am PDT #8540 of 8561

Benign ~ma in abundance.


Steph L. - Jul 31, 2025 6:50:57 am PDT #8541 of 8561
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

So, it was not benign. It was cancerous. The ENT says that the type of cancer it is has a very high cure/survival rate among nonsmokers, like 90%-95%.

Next steps are a PET scan and then more biopsies, because when the ENT looked in Tim's throat with a laryngoscope, there was no obvious location where the cancer started/is localized. And they need to get really specific on the location so they can precisely target the radiation. The type of cancer he has is apparently highly, highly responsive to radiation, so they definitely want to get it right and kill the fucker.

Tim, being Tim, went to work. If it were me, I'd be back in bed under the covers, yelling about the unfairness of the fucking universe.

I absolutely do get that, if it had to be cancer, the prognosis is very good. So optimism is the overall outlook. But I really, really, REALLY expected it to be benign, so now that Tim has left for work I'm officially freaking out.

And I have my own doctor appointment in an hour because my quad injury from May (or April?) has gotten way more painful. So I need to efficiently freak out and then pull myself together so I can go see my own doctor for my own shitty crumbling human shell.


JenP - Jul 31, 2025 7:31:47 am PDT #8542 of 8561

Well, crap, Steph, that sucks, and I'm sorry. Obviously glad to hear the high cure/survival rate, but cancer sucks. Obviously, sending all the ~ma in support of that high cure/survival statistic.

And I hope your appointment goes well and you can get some relief.


Steph L. - Jul 31, 2025 7:38:47 am PDT #8543 of 8561
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

Also, someone has been lighting pride flags on fire in our neighborhood. Like, flags ON people's houses. (We don't have a pride flag out, so we remain untorched. But Jesus Christ.) Shitty day is shitty. I expect to get to my doctor appointment (leaving in 2 minutes) and just get punched in the stomach for no reason at all.


Matt the Bruins fan - Jul 31, 2025 7:50:30 am PDT #8544 of 8561
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand

Sorry about Tim's news, Steph. May treatment be quick and effective.

I think my response to people torching pride flags would be setting some out as bait and making it a teachable moment. I hear pain is the best teacher.