Xuebing Du
blake kathryn
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cherry valley forever
Three Goblin Art
will byers stan first human second
Sweet Seals For You, Always
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
JVL
Monterey Bay Aquarium
hello vonnie
i don't do bad sauce passes
tumblr dot com
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
Cosimo Galluzzi
@theartofmadeline
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Kiana Khansmith
Today's Document
One Nice Bug Per Day
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@helix-rose
I have a friend who's in driver's Ed help growing up shouldn't happen this fast
Update: she passed drivers Ed and just needs more hours of driving before she can take the test.
Update: Oh she got her license like a month ago now by the way and I practiced driving with my dad earlier
Update: I have had a driver's license for nearly 6 months
So this is not something I usually post because it involves something deeply personal about my pregnancy.
In early December we found out that our son is suffering from Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), where his diaphragm didn't full close. He is left with a hole in his diaphragm, allowing the organs in his abdomenal cavity to move into his chest cavity, restricting the growth of his lungs and affecting the positioning of his heart.
So far a portion of his intestines, most of his stomach, and now a portion of his liver is sitting in his chest cavity.
He'll need surgery with in days of birth to move the organs back into his abdomen and repair the diaphragm. He is expected to stay in the nicu a minimum of five weeks but could be up to 3 months or more, depending on his progress during pregnancy and how he responds and heals post surgery.
We hope to stay as much time as possible in the NICU with him during his time their.
And thats why I am posting this link today. Its hard for me to ask others for help, especially financial. It would mean the world to us if you could donate money so we can be there for our son.
Donations would go toward loss salary while staying with our son in the NICU, transportation to and from the hospital, food while staying there. Also the money would go toward things needed when we bring him home from the hospital, like the possibility for oxygen needs, feeding tubes and formula, medication, and other monitoring equipment he may need. Additionally, depending on how his hernia progresses before birth, we may need to relocate out of state and we want to be able to have that option to give him the best care.
@robert-the-foul @r0bilargreenleaf
If you can not donate, please share. I’ve provided two different fundraising sites:
Our baby has been diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a serious condition that will require specialized care and a prolong
Our baby has been diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a se… tiffany F needs your support for Help Us Be Present For Our CD
Sharing this again. Our son actually reherniated, and he had excess air in his abdomen from that , plus had some holes and adhesions on parts of his intestines from when they were entangled up in his chest.
They repaired the hernia again , luckily it was small but they added a biological dissolvable mesh to help cover the area. They had to get rid of part of his intestines from the issue that they saw. His blood pressure has been too low, so they don’t think his intestines would properly heal if they attached the pieces of intestines together just yet, so now they are being held outside the body in the meantime.
They told us 6-8 weeks for healing possible then they’ll attached the intestines together.
It’s a set back for sure.
They had mentioned that before they caught this they were considering starting feedings soon and weaning off more things .
Being able to pay for transportation is our biggest concern right now. Then later any specialty equipment or medication may be needed.
New developments: son is still healing, has had some set backs but now my husband is in the ER and needs surgery that’ll probably leave him home from work for a couple weeks.
So no pay, and he may not be able to visit our son until he is cleared to move about more.
I am asking, please, anything will help, as little as a dollar is a dollar toward visiting our son and to help take care of our house.
If you’re able to help, these folks are worthy of our generosity.
Broke af?
But still interested in feeding yourself? What if I told you that there’s a woman with a blog who had to feed both herself and her young son…on 10 British pounds ($15/14 Euro) per week?
Let me tell you a thing.
This woman saved my life last year. Actually saved my life. I had a piggy bank full of change and that’s it. Many people in my fandom might remember that dark time as when I had to hock my writing skills in exchange for donations. I cried a lot then.
This is real talk, people: I marked down exactly what I needed to buy, totaled it, counted out that exact change, and then went to three different stores to buy what I needed so I didn’t have to dump a load of change on just one person. I was already embarrassed, but to feel people staring? Utter shame suffused me. The reasons behind that are another post all together.
AgirlcalledJack.com is run by a British woman who was on benefits for years. Things got desperate. She had to find a way to feed herself and her son using just the basics that could be found at the supermarket. But the recipes she came up with are amazing.
You have to consider the differing costs of things between countries, but if you just have three ingredients in your cupboard, this woman will tell you what to do with it. Check what you already have. Chances are you have the basics of a filling meal already.
Here’s her list of kitchen basics.
Bake your own bread. It’s easier than you think. Here’s a list of many recipes, each using some variation of just plain flour, yeast, some oil, maybe water or lemon juice. And kneading bread is therapeutic.
Make your own pasta–gluten free.
She gets it. She really does. This is the article that started it all. It’s called “Hunger Hurts”.
She has vegan recipes.
A carrot, a can of kidney beans, and some cumin will get you a really filling soup…or throw in some flour for binding and you’ve got yourself a burger.
Don’t have an oven or the stove isn’t available? She covers that in her Microwave Cooking section.
She has a book, but many recipes can be found on her blog for free. She prices her recipes down to the cent, and every year she participates in a project called “Living Below the Line” where she has to live on 1 BP per day of food for five days.
Things improved for me a little, but her website is my go to. I learned how to bake bread (using my crockpot, but that was my own twist), and I have a little cart full of things that saved me back then, just in case I need them again. She gives you the tools to feed yourself, for very little money, and that’s a fabulous feeling.
Tip: Whenever you have a little extra money, buy a 10 dollar/pound/euro giftcard from your discount grocer. Stash it. That’s your super emergency money. Make sure they don’t charge by the month for lack of use, though.
I don’t care if it sounds like an advertisement–you won’t be buying anything from the site. What I DO care about is your mental, emotional, and physical health–and dammit, food’s right in the center of that.
If you don’t need this now, pass it on to someone who does. Pass it on anyway, because do you REALLY know which of the people in your life is in need? Which follower might be staring at their own piggy bank? Trust me: someone out there needs to see this.
Reblogging for all the impoverished students. Jack is the breadline queen. And if you don’t need this - donate to your nearest food bank, stat.
Reblogging for students, working folks, and everyone who’s ever had to choose between essentials at the store because you can only afford milk OR bread, not both.
Her blog is called Cooking on a bootstrap now
Here’s an up to date link
by Jack Monroe, bestselling author of 'A Girl Called Jack'
reblogging and adding another very useful website of cheap recipes: budgetbytes.com
Sadly the updated link now auto-redirects to something called sonsanddaughterslondon.com which looks like some kind of Indonesian gambling site???
Jack’s site is now a wordpress, which can be found here:
by Jack Monroe, bestselling author of 'A Girl Called Jack'
I'm confused
For most of my life I've never heard a child over two years old called a baby, but now online I've heard it used to refer to children up to six? I will probably make some follow up polls to clarify the reasoning/demographics of the difference more, but:
What is the oldest child you would consider a baby?
Less than 6 months
6 months to a year
1-2 years
2-3 years
3-5 years
I draw the line somewhere older than 5
How about a toddler?
less than 2
2 or 3
3 or 4
Older
Do any of u have decent recipes that are like 5 ingredients (not including spices) and take 45 mins or less to prepare i gotta stop eating sandwiches for dinner
yeah hang on
ignore the title of this google doc because it's a long story but it's a really solid recipe for southwest chicken alfredo
this is a vegetarian potato curry recipe that's about 75% spices; once you get the potatoes in there you can really do whatever you want with it
this is literally just pasta, broccoli, and cheese babey and you can live off that shit for DAYS it makes such a big portion
bro this spinach/pesto/3 cheese flatbread is so fucking tasty bro
also you can make the flatbread yourself it's super quick!!
oh hey I'm eating this white chickpea chili right now, much like the curry it's mostly spices and you can do p much do whatever you want with it
don't let the name fool you these potatoes are delicious any time. not just breakfast.
this is slightly more than five ingredient when you add them together but if you have time and really wanna fuckin treat yourself I recommend these chicken strips + this cornbread + either these potatoes or these buttered veggies on the side.
These are my two favorite comfort foods. They're very easy to make and dont take long to cook.
Garlic butter rice
Orzo mac and cheese (comes out a little bit soupy)
this recipe for gogumabap (sweet potato and rice) saved my life when i couldn't eat hardly anything for a long time. the recipe itself calls for a heavy bottomed pot but you can absolutely use a rice cooker and put the rice and diced sweet potato in together and just let the machine do its thing
If you have a crockpot, I do a really good pulled pork carnitas that is:
Pork - any cut boneless
Onions- chopped anyway you like
Orange juice - about one cup (you can use about 2 tablespoons of the condensed frozen stuff if you have it)
Root beer, pepsi, or other cola soda - about one cup
Preferred chili mix seasoning - 1-2 packets depending on how intense you like your flavoring and how much pork you put in
Garlic - as much as you wanna, specifically smashed not cut
Canned or frozen corn - to your preference
Dump all that into your crockpot in the morning (or the night before) and let it run on low until dinner. Cook some rice if you feel like it, or just serve over tortillas.
bro WTF, I wanna try this just for the sheer shit of it
If you're writing anything involving cons, scams, heists, or morally questionable characters who are very good at lying, here are some free resources I've been using for research. Saving you the "why is this in my search history" anxiety.
1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.
2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.
3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.
4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.
5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.
Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.
Reblog to save for later. Your WIP will thank you.
Speaking as someone who currently has an antagonist committing food forgery, that FBI one is going to be a GOLD MINE, thank you.
It is So Boring in the mattress store for kids. It’s basically hell for children because there’s fuckall to do for them.
A couple I was helping earlier had two little ones, three and six, who were behaving in a rather saintly fashion for the average bored kid I see. I tried to engage them with remotes and things while their parents talked.
Eventually they were restless enough that I pulled out notepads and asked if they wanted to draw. The three year old quickly lost interest and I went over to ask her favorite animal. She told me “elephant” so to delight and amaze her I started drawing an elephant. Usually kids are into it.
When I was done she pronounced, “It looks like a giraffe.”
I staggered back melodramatically but actually laughing hysterically and said, “There goes my art degree!”
The parents laughed and said kids were harsh critics. When they checked out they saw my elephant doodle on the desk and both did a double take like, “Woah, that’s a really good elephant!”
“Yeah, I actually did go to art school, but it’s okay. My niece wasn’t very impressed with my drawings at that age either.”
Hello as someone who remembers being that young unusually well thankyou for preventing so much suffering and boredom
I recently finished reading Project Hail Mary, and I felt like doing some doodles that are a combo of the book and movie haha Grace is such a lil unhinged gremlin who just needs his rock friend.
I think movies that take place in New England need to be less scared of New England accents. Not just the Boston accent, but other regional dialects. I wanna hear people say Woosta or Woostuh not Wooster. Imagine little women with a thick accent not some Hollywood pronouncing all your letters accent. It would be wonderful.
I think in general we need to be more aware that discrimination by dialect is a real and pervasive thing that is killing beautiful regionalisms
How to Write When You Don't Feel Like Yourself
There are going to be days (or weeks, or months) where you sit down to write and feel... disconnected. From your voice, from your characters, from your ideas. Like the person who used to write your stories just packed up and left.
They didn't. They're just tired. Here's how to keep writing anyway:
Lower the bar (Until it's on the floor) You are not here to write something brilliant. You are here to write something. A paragraph. A sentence. A single line of dialogue. Movement matters way more than quality.
Write around the story Don't force it. If you can't write the scene, try: ⋆ A character ramble / journal entry ⋆ A conversation that won't be included in the final draft ⋆ A list of things the character would never admit out loud ⋆ A messy summary of what should happen Engage with the story from a different angle.
Borrow a voice until yours comes back No, not with AI. Read something that feels close to what you want to write, or watch a scene that captures the tone, then write immediately after. Not to copy, to reignite your instincts.
Write the emotion, not the plot. What is your character feeling in this moment? What are they afraid of? What do they want but won't say? What's being kept from them? The emotion leads, the plot catches up later.
Stop trying to "feel like a writer" first. You don't write when you feel like a writer. You feel like a writer because you write.
You are still a writer, even on the days it feels distant. Especially then.
If the problem is that you want to write and CAN write, but feel like what you are producing just suddenly sucks and is below your standards, keep writing anyway.
It isn't a problem with your writing. You're either:
1) tired or going through it somehow, or have recently been through something, and that can easily make you dissatisfied with what you are producing,
--OR!--
2) you are on the threshold of leveling up, or have done so, and the asshole editor side of your brain is interpreting the raised ceiling as "I suck, actually." You don't, and in six months you won't be able to find the parts you thought were bad writing.
All of this applies to all art.
People who are younger than you but taller
People who are younger than you but better than you at something
People who are younger than you
People
Being turned into a llama
A LLAMA?! HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!!!
yeah… weird
I like the idea of a Vulcan character who constantly does very reckless things so her human crewmates think she's strange but then she always has a logical explanation she delivers with absolute confidence.
"No, it was perfectly logical for me to jump out of the shuttle at that time. I had a breathing apparatus, and I was certain I could seal the subspace rift by hand before the Romulans opened fire. This was the only solution that would result in zero casualties. I might have died, but giving up is illogical."
She's known as one of the most fearless members of the crew.
Other Vulcans try not to acknowledge her.
"I eliminated all the threats with ruthless efficiency. To do any less would be illogical."
An absolute menace.
"I concede that by taking further stock of the issue I could have arrived at a more elegant solution. However, the more time one takes to analyze, the greater the odds of a window of opportunity elapsing. Most issues can be dealt with most effectively by applying a peculiarly logical human maxim - Occam's Razor." "Or an actual razor." "It was in arm's reach and was sufficiently sturdy and well maintained, so yes."
"I was unarmed and at close range, captain, biting is a perfectly logical defense mechanism."
This is right up there with the idea I had of a fully Vulcan woman being raised by humans and being emotionally expressive until dealing with other Vulcans.
Glad we all had the same thought!
Some more golden moments/ideas
Actual roman epitaph for a dog
humans are the same
I’ve seen this one doing the rounds a few times (and it makes me cry every time I see it), but was curious about the original Latin text, so I did some digging: it’s a shortened version of CIL 10, 00659, a tombstone from Salernum (modern Salerno, Italy). (source; CIL is the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum).
Portaui lacrimis madidus te, nostra catella,
Quod feci lustris laetior ante tribus.
Ergo mihi, Patrice, iam non dabis oscula mille
Nec poteris collo grata cubare meo.
Tristis marmorea posui te sede merentem
Et iunxi semper manib(us) ipse meis
Morib(us) argutis hominem simulare paratam,
Perdidimus quales hei mihi delicias.
Tu, dulcis Patrice, nostras attingere mensas
Consueras, gremio poscere blanda cibos,
Lambere tu calicem lingua rapiente solebas,
Quem tibi saepe meae sustinuere manus,
Accipere et lassum cauda gaudente frequenter
And here’s my translation:
Wet with tears I have carried you, our little (female) dog, just as I did in happier times fifteen years earlier (lit. “three periods of five years). For myself, Patrice, now you will not give me a thousand kisses nor will you be able to lie lovingly around/against my neck. I have sorrowfully placed you, merit-worthy, in a marble tomb and I have joined you always to myself in death, as by your cleverness you matched a human. Alas, we lost such pleasures for myself! You, sweet Patrice, were accustomed to join us at our table, to beg charmingly for food (while sitting in our) laps. You were in the habit of greedily licking our cups with your tongue, which my hands often held for you. Frequently and joyfully (you) receive a weary one with your (wagging) tail...
tl;dr: this dog was named Patrice and was very, very loved. (another translation with some glossing of the text.)
It's the fact she's joined to them in death, it's the fact that she sat in her owner's arms and ate their food. That he held the cups down for her to drink from....
Hundreds of years and we still know she was loved. We still know how she liked to sleep. All these years!! Loving dogs is the same!!!!
gonna point out too that 15 years is an INSANELY long lifespan for a dog in ancient Rome. This dog was both well loved and well cared for to have lived so long. Obvs there's going to be some statistical overlap with ancient dogs with loving epitaphs having longer lifespans, but in a world without modern vetrinary science or medicine, no canine vaccines, and no nutritionally formulated dog food, this Roman's beloved pooch exceeded even the average pet dog lifespan today.
Am I the mom friend? Absolutely not. But what I AM is the "prepared for any situation" friend, and THAT bears wisdom I can pass on
Step 1: Cargo pants, or purse, fanny pack, cool jacket, backpack, etc.
Step 2:
Folded-up plastic bag
Tweezers
Chapstick
Small knife
Lighter
Band-aids
Hand sanitizer
Hard candy
Travel-size Tylenol
Needle and thread
Safety pin
Bus fare
Charger
Pen/flashlight combo
Sticky notes
Granola bar
Tampon
Pad
Mini multi-head screwdriver
Zipock of tissue
Bottle opener
Hockey tape
This can be a lot to unload and re-load if you're a cargo pants person, but if you like me are not really a purse person I highly recommend either a cool jacket you can sew secret pockets into or a spare water bottle you can grab 'n' go whenever
I share this because being the guy who always has The Thing You Need is the best feeling in the world and I think more people should experience it
What gets me about the old woman who begs Johnathan not to go to Castle Dracula is that Drac is the one who made the reservations for Johnathan to stay at that inn. He contacted her husband. He knows of this couple and where they live. If Johnathan failed to show up, they would be the first people questioned. They live in fear of the count and both they and the rest of the area probably have for centuries and yet this little old woman is putting herself potentially in Dracula’s sights just for the slight chance of saving this poor boy. If Drac knew she warned him and made him turn away there’s no way he’d let that slide and there’s no way she doesn’t know this! It’s probably why they take orders from him in the first place. yes, he pays them, but come on, they can’t even say his name without crossing themselves, fear is doing far more work than money here and if they are doing it for the money because they are that desperate, that’s still a great deal of control Dracula has over them. The whole area has probably been taught to fear Dracula for generations, this woman has spent her whole long life in the shadow of a monster, living every day knowing that it knows where she lives and could come kill her whenever it pleased, and yet she defies that fear to save this poor young man she hardly even knows.
And Johnathan is, of course, completely ignorant to just how much courage that must have taken, how much she’s risking just by warning him. He thinks it’s a nice enough gesture and all and he tries to be kind about it and accepts the crucifix despite it going against his own beliefs, which is very kind of him, but his ignorance to just *how* desperate she is gets to me for some reason.
Yesterday I was at Walgreens and I saw that they were having a deal on laundry detergent where it was a third of its normal price. Aha! thought I. What a deal! thought I. However, I spied a significant detail on this tantalizingly cheap price tag: myWalgreens only.
I know nothing about Walgreens rewards program or app, only of its existence, which is a key detail for later. My main familiarity with rewards programs is through other stores which pile on the caveats - ten cents off when ordered through the app between the hours of 10:00 and 10:01 on February 29th etc etc--another key detail.
Undeterred, I thought to myself, it must be a coupon through the app, which I can just download tomorrow and make sure I understand. Worse come to worse, I can just ask an employee.
And so I did exactly that. I downloaded the app, saw that there was a coupon for laundry, noted that it was limited to one rather disappointedly, but saw that there appeared to be a general unlimited sale depending on what type of detergent you got. Some were coupon only, some were generally off, but I couldn't tell if those also needed a coupon.
Oh well, I thought. I don't understand this, and the last thing I want to do is buy 10 detergents and see a total of ~$60 instead of $20--but I can just ask an employee before it gets to that point.
I headed to the Walgreens, unaware of how my life was about to change. Little did I know what awaited me.
When parking, I noticed a man.
He was tall, white, had a bushy beard, glasses, and beaded dreads. He had kind of a discordant appearance - his glasses and beard meant he had the face of a middle-aged accountant, but the other aspects of his appearance--shaggy beard and hair, casual clothing of t-shirt, etc--brought to mind more of a surfer/hippie personality. He was walking slowly and heavily, with the attitude of someone taking every last second they can to the point of feet dragging.
When i entered the store, I noticed that he had gone behind the register. Oh, I thought, he's the employee. Interesting. I then brought my attention to the laundry detergent in front of me. Sure enough, the price tag of 1.99 was there, along with the formidable and mystifying 'mywalgreens only'. I knew I wanted to ask what that meant, but I told myself to give the employee a little bit of time first. After all, he had just gotten to work and he seemed generally unenthused with the world.
After a few minutes, I walked the few steps to the counter, and proceeded to ask my question in the most stupid way possible:
What I meant: "Do you have to have a coupon for the 1.99 price for the laundry?"
What I said: "Is the laundry 1.99?"
I would say here is where I sealed my fate, except I think my fate had been foreordained. When, I don't know. When that man walked into work ? When he woke up that morning? When he accepted that job at Walgreens? Even earlier than that? In the stars themselves? Who can say.
All I know is, that man proceeded to level a gaze at me and say in the flattest, most unimpressed tone imaginable: "That's what the price tag says."
I instantly knew I had been relegated to "stupid customer asking if the door that says 'bathroom' is the bathroom." I had just walked up to this man already done with being at work about two minutes into his shift, looked him dead in the eye, and asked about a product with a bright yellow price tag of "1.99!": "Is this 1.99?"
I should have known then there was no saving it, but unfortunately some part of me is an optimist. I bravely proceeded. I explained that I wasn't sure if the mywalgreens meant it was only accessible with a coupon, and if there was a limit because of that.
With a look that said he was so sick of customer stupidity he was about to kill himself, the man said, equally flatly if not more so, "It's through the rewards program. If it had been for a coupon, the price tag would have said: coupon."
It was here that I knew: there was no redeeming myself in the eyes of this man. There was no getting a good grade in 'being a customer'. There never was. He had the weight of the Walgreens customer service world on his shoulders, and this Atlas was shrugging.
To his credit, he did explain that you just entered the account number when checking out, and then the conversation ended. I furtively looked for this account number on my app, unsure of where to find it, but unwilling to ask him because I think he would have shot me. At last, I figured out that he had meant phone number and loaded up my cart with the detergent. I headed to the checkout and, I swear, this man saw me coming and did a full body sigh.
I need to make clear: this entire time, I was finding this situation and this man...hilarious. I was not quite openly laughing, but neither was I hiding my amusement. I thought it justified, because in the same way he was not bothering to hide his true feelings from me, I thought to show my true feelings to him. He was like someone out of an LM Montgomery novel. My thought, and I am unashamed of this, was "I need to put this man in a story." His hostile apathy was an attitude I could only find entertaining, all the more because I would never have to see him again in five minutes. A pinch of salt brings out flavor.
Once again, I bravely proceeded forward to the checkout.
Hand hovering above the keypad, I asked in an attempt at diplomatic negotiations, "So, do I enter my number?"
He stared at me as if I were an alien species who had never been on earth before. "I have to scan the items first."
Diplomatic negotiations had ended before they begun. I tried not to laugh out loud. (Even typing this, I'm snorting remembering his expression.)
Items were scanned, bagged, and I put them into my cart. I then noticed a weird lull in the activity. Odd. I was barely paying attention at this point. A few seconds later, I realized it was time for me to put in my phone number, and he had not told me, instead just waiting for me to do it. I punched it in, once again not quite bothering to hide my entertainment, and once the transaction had ended, he walked away almost immediately.
I have to admit, when I got into the parking lot, I burst out laughing. I can only imagine what this man felt. Sure, he was being rude about it, but I had come in with the expectation that everything would have a catch like other rewards programs--and none of it had. All of this was also five minutes into the start of his shift at a job he clearly despises. If I conjecture his internal monologue, I start giggling. What do you mean, what's the price? What does the price tag say? What do you mean, do you need a coupon? Does it say it needs a coupon? Is this your first day being alive? All with a strong undertone of GOD, I hate my job.
There is a minor addendum to this story. Once I loaded my car, I realized I needed to return the cart to the inside of the store, and as I left it for the last time, I cast one final glance behind me at the employee--who seemed to have just looked away as if in physical pain that I was in his presence again. Once again, when I exited, I burst out laughing. Even now, I'm smiling at the memory. Sorry to this man--but I'm definitely putting you in a story.
