Me vs Liberals & Conservatives

There's a site called YourMorals.org where questionnaires are posted on various subjects by academics and researchers from around the world. They're mostly on values, ethics, and morals. I occasionally drop by and fill one out. Recently I did the Schwartz Values Scale and thought it would be amusing to post the results.

Self-Direction: independent thought and action -- choosing, creating, exploring.
4.0 Me
6.3 Liberals
5.7 Conservatives

Benevolence: preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom one is in frequent personal contact.
3.4 Me
5.7 Lib
5.7 Con

Universalism: understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and for nature.
2.8 Me
5.9 Lib
4.7 Con

Tradition: respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas that traditional culture or religion provide.
2.4 Me
3.6 Lib
4.5 Con

Conformity: restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others and violate social expectations or norms.
2.2 Me
4.5 Lib
5.1 Con

Stimulation: excitement, novelty, and challenge in life.
2.0 Me
4.7 Lib
4.2 Con

Hedonism: pleasure or sensuous gratification for oneself.
1.8 Me
4.8 Lib
4.2 Con

Security: safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationships, and of self.
1.2 Me
4.6 Lib
5.4 Con

Achievement: personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards.
1.0 Me
4.9 Lib
5.0 Con

Power: social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources.
0.4 Me
2.4 Lib
3.3 Con

As you can see, I fall well below both liberals and conservatives on everything. Wonder what that means?

I'm Too Old

for this shit. Really. My left knee is swollen, which is not good. Yesterday I hurt as badly as I did the first week and was really dragging today. I think my new ambition is to be fat and lazy. Oh, and funny, too. I just don't want to work this hard for this amount of money. Now, if they want to offer me $20 an hour, okay, but that's not gonna happen. So -- an interesting experience, not to be repeated. Did I mention the indulgence day I'm going to give myself when I leave here? Yes, I think I deserve it.

It's 4.30 am central and I'm cooking lemon shrimp with linguine. Then I'll crawl in my bed and quietly pass out. Talk amongst yourselves.

Shoes & Shifts & Stuff

The new shoes are still a work in progress. The 1st day was terrible with the fancy insoles w/arch supports. The 2nd day I put in the original insoles; still too much arch support. Today I wore the insoles for hunters boots and things were much better. My balance is getting better, too, and I don't feel quite as clumsy.

Today was Thanksgiving and we went to work at 8pm. Were sent home at 1:30, having worked through lunch. Good thing as I was running out of steam. Ate my turkey sandwich when I got home. Amazon gave us all pumpkin pies. Now we'll be on 5.30pm to 4am. Three weeks to go after this one.

Gorgeous weather for the past few days -- warm enough to open doors and vents (and sleep naked). Supposed to rain soon. Linda S gave me some quilted foil insulation stuff and I cut it to fit the cabover windows -- good insulation for both hot and cold.

Not much happening as it's work sleep work eat work sleep work eat. Days and nights blend into each other. Without a calendar I'd have no idea what day it is. Looking forward.

Negative heel

So I sprung for the fancy shoes, made in Switzerland, physiological footwear (whatever that means). I also got a set of fancy insoles at the recommendation of the clerk, who'd been to "foot school" and knew people with feet like mine who loved them. Okay, I said, but usually arch supports are not good for me but I'll tlry them.

Well, in less then two hours I had shooting pains in my arches and had to take the damn things out, making the shoes not fit well. I'll be sending them back for a full refund. There's deferring to greater expertise, and then there's knowing yourself and your own feet.

Getting used to the negative heel stance is tricky. I'm also having to learn to walk heel-and-toe to take advantage of the cushy heel section and its rebound function. Will wear the original insoles and the kidney belt tonight and see if they work better. Sure hope so.

Got a watch at Walmart on Monday and wore it last night. Still managed to miss nearly all of the first break, because, after all, you have to LOOK AT the watch to know what time it is. Another thing to get used to. Schedule is now 5.30 pm to 4 am.

Working on Turkey Day for time-and-a-half plus a bonus. After this week, just three more. Believe I may actually survive this. And the employment agency is giving us a t-shirt stating just that "I Survived Amazon".

Sunny and warm and not windy; my door is open. Not too shabby for late November. Hope everyone has a nice holiday.

Pizza Hut Do

After a blissful day of doing nothing but taking a hot shower (double bliss) at the Lindas, we were off to Pizza Hut for the workamper dinner. Again, about 50 showed up, mostly the night shift folk. As before, I was sitting opposite Philip, the Amazon "Ambassador" for our group and his daughter. This time, Savannah (another Amazon Ambassador) came with her two daughters. I sat next to Roxanne and George, very nice folk. The food was okay (I had Chicken Milano) but they only had one waitress for the whole group so everything was slow. I bought the Lindas dinner in thanks for all the help they've given me.

I must say that all the people here in Kansas are very polite and smile a lot. They make eye contact and smile all the time. Now, not everybody is from Kansas, especially at Amazon, but good manners prevail. The percentage of blacks working at Amazon must be lower than 1%.

I wonder sometimes whether I'm lonely. I know I occasionally get bored. Since I went on the road I've had very little time to be lonely as I've gone from job to job with only 2 weeks at home, during which I wasn't lonely at all. In fact, quite the opposite and wish I could have had more of what I got while there. Oh well, I'll just look forward to March.

I do know that my packrat mind and penchant for trivia (and the sharing of it) startles folk some times. Certain conversational tics are beginning to make themselves known -- think I shall have to start working on my social skills and small talk. One is much more "on" when RVing as one is always meeting new people, and I do mean always.

Am I self-centered? Yes, I think so. Must try not to be too obvious about it. Good thing I have a sense of humor, including about myself. Right?

The Week That Was

So I've survived my second full 50-hour week and am beginning to think I might make it all the way to the end. By 3am this morning, my feet were hurting but not as badly as last week. And overall I felt better. Amazing what the body will do if you just keep on. Maybe I'll get a firmed-up ass out of all this walking.

Am still discovering little piddly rules that I didn't know about, like clocking back in after lunch. I thought that powering up the scanner (which is assigned to me) did it, but nooooo. So now I have to remember to do that. Started the night in A Mod (1/2 mile), then sent to G Mod (1/2 mile), then back to A Mod (1/2 mile). Once arrived anywhere, you get a cart, load "product," and start scanning and shelving. Discovered that I walk 1/2 mile in 5 minutes, so a 20-minute mile; not too bad a rate.

"Office politics" has begun to rear its ugly head. There are some workampers who bustle about and give directions and orders and generally waste time being officious. Then there are the amazingly competitive ones who stack their carts with huge piles of totes, sometimes leaving almost nothing for the rest of us (I'm in the group that likes to share the wealth so we all have something to do).

I had a small run-in with one woman (workamper). I asked her where to put the "problem" totes (this in an area new to me). Well, she didn't just tell me where, she pulled on my cart to go there and began to tell me how to handle the problem tote. Thanks, I said, I know how. Would she stop? No. She kept on, started tugging on my totes (that sounds funny), babbling all the while. Thank you very much, I said, I know what I'm doing. She kept on and kept on and kept on. I finally said, Hey! I know how! Go away!

Some of the regular supervisors have begun to talk to some of us about Amazon and working there and other people who work there and who's good and who's bad, etc. etc. I'm so glad I'm not a permanent employee.

Tonight the workampers are gathering at the Pizza Hut for dinner (at 5pm -- farmers hours). Tomorrow is errand/chore day. Four more weeks of work, then a week waiting for my last check, and then I'm outa here, heading for Arizona.

Kewl

I scored coolness points at work today. Was out in the smoking area and a young man of about 25 or so asked about my cigarette case, which is an old English pipe tobacco tin. The blend was called Sunday's Fantasy. He couldn't get over how "kewl" it was. I said "old ladies are cool, too, you know." He wasn't quite ready for that. But he wants to get himself a tin. So I think I'm cool for giving a young 'un pointers on being "kewl."

Wonderful Weekend

I got to do nothing. No walking miles and miles, no hauling around a 1-lb scanner on my hand, no slinging totes onto carts, no pushing carts, no stowing into bins. Ah, weekends are wonderful.

The Lindas and I did absolutely nothing on Sunday, no errands, no chores, Well, I did put up the TV antenna and actually watched some. Today Linda B and I did laundry and grocery shopping. I also fitted the lock to the surge protector so someone can't just walk off with it. Linda S and I also refitted the sewer line for a better flow. But there's been time to nap and watch TV and read.

The body, while not perfect (hah!), is rested up. The cramp in the left calf is better though not gone. The left knee went down some (but I still can't straighten it), as did the right ankle. I got a pair of Dr. Scholl's gel walking shoes and an insole made for hunters boots. This gives me two pairs to switch off. I also relaced both pairs so that nothing crosses the instep bone (which are really sore). And I've been told to eat bananas for the potassium, which I'm going to do. Okay, I'm decrepit, but I'm still moving.

Enough of that piddly shit, which will only last five more weeks. I'm beginning to have a little clarity about my character traits. I enjoyed the discussion of "being literal" from last week. Nobody said anything about "flexible," except that it's good (and I think the commenter meant physically). It's very difficult to look at oneself with detachment. The years have contributed facades and habits and veils that have to be discarded. So that's my goal now -- to gain a clear look at myself and my character traits. It may bore you but I'll enjoy it (maybe).

Hurts So Good?

Well, it's the end of my first week of 10-hour days with a day of overtime, so five days. I'm what is called a Stower, putting stuff off pallets into bins so Pickers can fill orders. I walk about 5-6 miles in a shift. The New Balance shoes I got especially for this job aren't doing the job. Or maybe it's that I can't do the job.

At this very moment, I have a cramp in my left calf, the sprained ankle is swollen, the left knee is swollen, and my toes hurt. Other than that, I'm okay. But walking on concrete gives no relief to any painful body part, especially those in the legs.

I do the work, walk the distance, climb the stairs, etc., hurting all the while. When I come home at almost 4am and try to sleep, the legs hurt so it's difficult to get comfortable and fall asleep. Linda S. said it took her almost three weeks before she acclimated. I only have five weeks to go so I'm going to try to stick it out.

And there's the question of whether to do it again next year. The money is good, especially when there's overtime, so it may behoove me to do it for financial reasons. We'll see how long it takes me to recuperate this time.

Hooray for two days off to let the body rest, except for laundry and grocery shopping. Other than that, nothing. Too bad there's not a day spa nearby. I'm thinking of going to one somewhere on the way to Quartzsite, just for some pampering.

Flexible vs. Literal

Yes, I'm trying to learn how to be more flexible and "go with the flow." Of course, I don't want to get so flexible I'm wishy-washy. Physical flexibility is important, too, although I doubt I'll ever be able to touch my heels to the back of my head. Did I tell you we have to do stretching at the beginning of each shift and after lunch? They're kind of a joke as the whole thing only takes about two minutes.

I wonder about "flexibility" -- is it just not caring or having an opinion? If it being able to change one's mind if someone has a better idea? Is it not just listening carefully but also evaluating and absorbing someone's else's opinion?

And "inflexibility" -- is it a function of age, in that by a certain age one has tried so many things and made so many decisions and formed so many opinions that one no longer has to consider every single thing afresh?

Thanks that make you go "hmmm."

What I'd really like to work on is being less literal. Not literate, literal. For example, someone recently told me I smelled good. Instead of saying thanks or how nice or good, I said well, I just took a shower, which kind of put a damper on the whole exchange. It's the first type of response that comes up and it isn't always the most appropriate or what I'd really like to say, it just comes up in a sort of babble. This is probably why I've been accused in the past by male friends (of the close persuasion) of not being romantic. They never get the expected romantic response, which is in my mind, I swear, it's just not what gets blurted out.

This literalness is probably why I don't do so well thinking in the abstract and need analogies and concrete examples before I understand something. You know, words of one syllable.

Feet Don't Fail Me Now

Have decided to try some Dr. Scholl's inserts first rather than shell out mucho dinero on fancy shoes. Got two kinds, one is gel inserts, one is (men's) work on hard surfaces. I trimmed them both down and have put them in two different shoes. So we'll see.

Have also put plastic up on two windows, the one by the head of my bed in the cabover, and the big window by the sofa. Made an immediate difference, as in drafts don't get in. Nice. Will finish the other windows tomorrow before going to work at 5pm.

There are very few single RVers. And the male ones are always looking for a female to hook up with. Why is that? Usually if a woman chooses to go solo, she likes going solo. I can't imagine having someone around all the time. Yes, I've lived with guys, and it was difficult for me, probably because I like to do things my way and I like being left alone. There were lots of things nice about it, too, just to be fair -- affection, sounding board, companion, partisan, support, and more. It was just the sheer physical presence of someone else that bothered me. And in an RV? Claustrophobia time for sure.

Maybe I'll just work on having a guy in each of my major stops, sort of like sailors are purported to do. I could just drop in once or twice a year, say, have a nice visit and hit the road. Of course, if the "perfect" guy showed up, all could change. One of the things I'm hoping RVing will teach me is to be more flexible and more amenable to compromise. Or it'll just make everything more set as I don't have anyone to answer to about anything.

It's an odd sort of balancing act I'm just learning so there's going to be lots of back and forth action before my new life begins to gel.

Dinner Out

There was a dinner with all the workampers who wanted to come tonight. We met at El Charro restaurant in downtown Coffeyville. About 50+ kampers came and a fine time was had by all. Philip, the Amazon Ambassador assigned to us, also came and brought his small daughter (wearing a shirt that said "most likely to change the world"). This is the first night out I've had since I left Asheville and it was fun.

Even more fun was having a night off. Linda B and I did laundry this afternoon and tomorrow we'll all take a run to the super Walmart in Independence. Because of the mandatory overtime coming up starting Tuesday, there won't be any extras, like sightseeing. We'll need as much recuperation as we can get.

These 5-hours shift have been killers on my feet and joints, and I can only imagine what the 10-hr shifts are going to be like. When they say "you'll be on your feet," they weren't kidding. There is no sitting down at all except on break and lunch (of course, you have to walk to the breakroom before you can sit). The overtime is paying time-and-a-half so it makes financial sense to do it; just can't justify breaking the body down any more for money alone.

I'm contemplating getting a pair of specialty shoes. One kamper here got a pair and says it's like walking on clouds, no pain at all. It's a lot of money up front but the shoes will last a long time and it might be worth it in the long run. We'll stop by the store tomorrow and check them out. I'm very stiff today, especially sitting in the restaurant. Getting up was a multi-pronged maneuver. Shoes that keep the feet, ankles, knees, and hips from aching sure sound good. Will let you know.

It's now 8:30 and I'm considering going to bed, partially because I didn't get a nap and partially because lying down feels good.

Poor Pitiful Me

I'm in my first week at Amazon doing the "hardening" process. And, hoo boy, do I need hardening. Naturally, we're working on concrete. My new shoes don't seem to be helping as much as I thought they would. So the knees and and hips and ankles (esp. the weak right ankle) are protesting. So far, aspirin seems to be doing a good job. Have found out that mandatory overtime starts next week. That means five 10-hour days instead of four.

I've never worked for a huge corporation, a national one, and I don't like it. It's like working in a prison. You have to scan your badge to get in, scan your badge to clock in, scan your badge to clock out for lunch, scan your badge to clock back in after lunch, scan your badge to clock out. To get in and out of the building, there are metal cage-like revolving gates. To get in the break room you push a button; if it flashes green, you go on in; if it flashes red you have to go through the metal detector. You have "demerit" points to start, a bank, and there are a list of infractions and their point value; if you get down to zero points you're fired. Getting back late from lunch is a big demerit. Stretching exercises are held at shift start and after lunch.

Yesterday was orientation, videos on workplace violence etc. Today I was on the line in Receiving, opening boxes and scanning each item into the computer, putting them in totes and sending them down the conveyor. Boring. Very hard on the body just standing. We had a meeting at end of shift and I told the guy that standing is hard on me, so he said he'd put in Stowing, which is putting all the scanned items in bins so they can be picked later.

Okay, enough whining about work. Let's talk about the new sites we all had to move to yesterday so the City could put a sewer line in where we were. They were supposed to have the new RV park ready Sept. 1st, then Oct 1st., then any day now. We finally moved yesterday after they made a concerted effort to get our six sites ready. Then we had the really big storm. When the Lindas got home from work, their truck mired down half in the parking site and half in the road. And when I got up this morning, I noticed I wasn't level any more. I opened the door and realized I'd sunk in so far I no longer needed a step to get in and out. The City sent someone to haul me out. See the pictures. All in all, it's been an eventful day.

Books Read October

Remember that I've been twiddling my, er, thumbs since 17 October.

Author (*=perm.lib.), Title, Genre,Rating, Finish, Comments
"Adcock, Brenda", Pipeline, lesbian, medium, no, Interesting characters, good story, no sex."
"Armstrong, Lori ", Hallowed Ground, mystery, good, yes.
"Axtell, Roger", Do's & Taboos of Using English Around the World, travel, good, yes, useful stuff, though not an indepth study."
"Baldwin, Kim", Focus of Desire, lesbian, medium, no. Sweet young thing melts hard heart of famously promiscuous artist. Ho hum ho hum.
"Bishop, Claudia", Case of the Roasted Onion, mystery, medium, no. Casebook of Dr. McKenzie 1. Too much like a Sherlock Holmes homage.
"Briggs, Patricia", Blood Bound, fantasy, medium, yes, Mercy Thompson series. Entirely too many alpha/dominant males (of many species); it gets wearing.
-----,Moon Called, fantasy, medium, yes, Mercy Thompson series. Interesting premise -- main character is female mechanic who's also a shapeshifter (to coyote).
"Brockmann, Suzanne", Hero Under Cover, romance, medium, yes, Orig. pub. 1994; pretty standard romance but author writes well.
"Cannon, Julie", Heart 2 Heart, lesbian, good, yes. Police procedural. Nice balance of romance and gore.
"Clare, Cassandra", Mortal Instruments 1: City of Bones, paranormal, good, no. YA, well-done but slow, tries to put too much in."
-----, Mortal Instruments 2: City of Ashes, paranormal, boring, no.
"Del Franco, Mark", Unshapely Things, paranormal, boring, no.
"Elmore, D.C.", Malicious Intentions, lesbian, boring, no. Everybody's so tolerant (cops, yet) and there's no sex, just looove."
"Ferris, Monica", Sins & Needles, mystery, good, yes.
"Graves, Sarah", Book of Old Houses, mystery, good, yes. Jake Tiptree home repair series
-----, Dead Cat Bounce, mystery, good, yes. Jake Tiptree
-----, Nail Biter, mystery, good, yes. Jake Tiptree
-----, Repair to Her Grave, mystery, good, yes. Jake Tiptree
-----, Tool & Die, mystery, good, yes. Jake Tiptree
-----, Trap Door, mystery, good, yes. Jake Tiptree
-----, Unhinged, mystery, good, yes. Jake Tiptree
-----, Wreck the Halls, mystery, good, yes. Jake Tiptree
"Gustainis, Justin", Black Magic Woman, paranormal, good, yes. First in a series, a first book, the woman is really the main character."
"Harrison, Kim", Outlaw Demon Wails, paranormal, good, no.
"Hooper, Kay", If There Be Dragons, mystery, medium, yes, expected a thriller and got a pure romance.
"Huff, Tanya", Smoke & Ashes, paranormal, boring, no. Nelson & Fitzroy 3
-----, Smoke & Mirrors, paranormal, boring, no. Nelson & Fitzroy 2. Characters didn't engage me.
"Jance, J.A.", Justice Denied, mystery, medium, no, J.P. Beaumont series. Just going through the motions.
"Joss, Morag", Fearful Symmetry, mystery, medium, no, Sara Selkirk series. Characters not engaging.
-----, Funeral Music, mystery, good, no, Sara Selkirk series. Well-written but a little draggy.
"Lane, Vicki", Dark Season, mystery, good, yes, set near Asheville & Marshall
"Lennox, Grace", Not Single Enough, lesbian, good, yes. Interesting characters & witty dialogue.
"Leon, Donna", Uniform Justice, mystery, good, yes, "Excellent, and an indictment of modern Italian politics & institutions."
"Liu, Marjorie", Wild Road, pararomance, good, yes, "Dirk & Steele. Deathless love! Ah! Not as good as Iron Hunt, not as complex."
"Lynch, Scott", Lies of Locke Lamora, paranormal, unknown, no. Didn't even try it after reading the first page.
"McKillip, Patricia", Alphabet of Thorn, fantasy, good, yes, Very interesting premise. Beautifully written.
"Morgan, J.Y.", Download, lesbian, medium, no. Intriguing idea but characters slightly idealized.
"Muller, Marcia", Ever-running Man, mystery, good, yes, Sharon McCone series. One of the best writers in the genre, though this isn't best book in the series.
"Oliphant, B.J.", Dead in the Scrub, mystery, good, yes,"for perm.lib. pseud. of Sheri Tepper. Shirley McClintock series, retired CIA analyst, rancher, mid-60s, interesting household."
-----, Death Served Up Cold, mystery, good, yes,"for perm.lib. pseud. of Sheri Tepper. Shirley McClintock series.
"Parker, Robert", Now & Then, mystery, medium, yes, Spenser & Hawk. Standard blend of romance & macho; easy read as is 80% dialogue and everybody talks in short declarative sentences.
"Rardin, Jennifer", Another One Bites the Dust, paranormal, good, yes. Jaz Parks 2
-----, Biting the Bullet, paranormal, good, yes. Jaz Parks 3. Starting to dip around in book, sign of losing interest.
-----, Bitten to Death, paranormal, good, no. Jaz Parks 4. Still interesting but character development is very very slow so it begins to be all of a sameness.
-----, Once Bitten, Twice Shy", paranormal, good, yes. Jaz Parks 1
"Swiniarski, S.A.", Blood & Rust, paranormal, medium, no. Fairly well-done but same old same old.
"Vaughn, Carrie", Kitty & the Silver Bullet, paranormal, good, no.
-----, Kitty Takes a Holiday, paranormal, good, no.
"Ward, J.R.", Lover Awakened, pararomance, medium, no," 0906 Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Same old same old, way too alpha male stuff. Call me ""female"" will you. Won't be reading this author again.
"Windsor, Anna", Bound by Flame, pararomance, boring, no, Dark Crescent Sisterhood 2
-----, Bound by Light, pararomance, boring, no, Dark Crescent Sisterhood 3
-----, Bound by Shadow, pararomance, medium, yes, Dark Crescent Sisterhood 1

Bookstore Outing

Today the Lindas dragged me up from a nap with the magic words, Let's go to the bookstore, only known phrase that has that effect. Threw on clothes, grabbed bag of read books, and yawned my way through the drive to The Bookworm, Independence KS.

As far as the phone book shows, it's the only used book store in the area. Fairly wide selection (though no lesbian fiction) and much of the titles/authors were pedestrian. Also, there were too many duplicates. She takes 2 books for 1 in trade and you have to pay 10% of the books you're taking. No paperwork so all trade is done at once or you take some of your books back (I took six back). Made sure I got hefty stuff that will keep me occupied for more than just an hour (such as Heinlein's The Past Through Tomorrow and Expanded Universe). All trade paperbacks and hardbacks are priced individually. Browsed all the sections, and she has them all covered, but again, selections pedestrian and slightly overpriced. Didn't find any books on language, though I did find dictionaries.

Ah well, can't expect to find a DBN everywhere (and even it isn't as good as it used to be when I ran it, she said modestly).

One of the problems is that I've read so much that most stores don't have enough different authors/titles to tempt me. Probably why I haunt new book stores, looking for somebody new to read, or new titles by favorite authors. Too expensive to do much, though.

Early Morning

As there was no wind, we got this gorgeous mist. Burned off by 9am.

Work work work

Yesterday there was a gathering for those of us scheduled to start this coming week. Mark from Express Employment was there to specify which shift each of us will work and to hand out our badges ( Badges? We need our stinkin' badges!) with a breakaway lanyard (seems Amazon is hyper-vigilant about safety). The first week will only be 18 hours during what is called the "hardening" week: 3 hours the first day and then 3 days of 5 hours; then it's up to 10 hours.

So my schedule from now on is Wed-Sat 5pm to 3:30 am, which means leaving here about 4:30 and getting back about 4am. Probably get to sleep about 5 or so and get up around noon. That's assuming I sleep straight through. What will probably happen is what happened when I last worked night shift -- sleep 4 hrs, get up for 3-4 hours, sleep 3-4 hrs (let's see, that's sleep 5-9 up 9-12 sleep 12-3. Either way will work.

We get paid an extra 50 cents per hour for night shift, which is why I wanted it, especially now that I've lost about $1000 in wages because of the delayed start. However, it also means I'm going to miss my favorite TV show, CSI. And Lady Heather's coming back! And Grissom is going to leave! What shall I do?! Well, my good friends will just have to prepare for being grilled about happened.

The weather's been actually hot here, close to 80. And I understand that the Amazon buildings are really hot; everybody wears t-shirt and lots wear shorts. Hmmm. May have to drag out the summer stuff again.