The very good and the very bad.

Crickets. Yes, I know. Have I been missed? For my ego I'll assume that's a yes.

Why the lull? Well, lotsa things happening around these parts. The highs and lows, people. I've been a bit bipolar lately.

Let's start with the good, shall we? For the past month, I have maybe been dating a real live boy. I say maybe because, well, I am 28 but feel about 18 when it comes to this crap. It took me a while to get comfortable saying this, but I like him! I do! Hooray! The fact that he has liked me for years at this point is icing on the cake. He is the childhood friend of one of my best friends from college, and lives in Philadelphia. Not too far. We're running the Broad Street Run together this weekend. Ten miles of fun.

And now the bad. My beloved perfect wonderful cherished dog, Chloe, very likely has (hopefully early stage) lymphoma. She is a rocking 15 1/2 year old pup. She came down with an eye infection last week, and, not thinking much of it, we (I was visiting the parents for the weekend) took her to a vet to have it checked out. It turned out her lymph nodes were enlarged, and the vet did a needle aspiration, and told us she was pretty sure it was cancer. Obviously, the rest of the weekend consisted of crying. Chloe is doing better, and the antibiotic is clearing up her eye, which may have been a stress reaction to whatever else is going on. However, the pathology reports came back as "inconclusive", and now the vet wants to do another aspiration next week. It is still likely lymphoma, and while we don't know the prognosis/possible treatment options yet, it appears to be an early stage, for which we are grateful. I am trying to be realistic and realize that she was born during Clinton's first term. However, when you've had a pet since you were 12 years old, things get rough.

So. Yeah. Excitement and romance! (He made sure he has Equal on hand because he knows I don't like Splenda. Good lord.) And then, sadness and uncertainty and fear.

There' s a lot going on at work too, but that takes a back seat as far as I am concerned right now. Life. It's happening.

Why unlikely?

The title of the article says it all. If you haven't already watched the clip, it is embedded in the article. Here's what bothers me. Why is Susan Boyle an "unlikely singer"? An unlikely celebrity? Maybe. An unlikely pop star? Sure.

Now, I love Britney and her very mediocre voice as much as the next red blooded westerner, and I'm not trying to get all "oh the media is so unfair and we're all ageist and superficial, etc." I buy $25 face lotion just like the next girl and obsess over my looks just like the rest of us. (Actually, $25 is probably on the low end of the spectrum, but it's still kind of a lot.)

There's just something highly disturbing about the unquestioned notion that youth and beauty automatically mean someone is talented, and that not being young and beautiful means you are dog poo. Haven't we all known so called beautiful people who we want to spear in the eye with a fork after spending five minutes with them? Susan Boyle, even before she sang, seemed like a sweet kinda goofy lady who probably never harmed a fly and yet people were already grimacing.

There is nothing unlikely about her being a singer. Simply by looking at her, is she an unlikely neurosurgeon? An unlikely astrophysicist? An unlikely serial killer? How the hell are we supposed to know?

End rant.

TAXES BLOW.

The end. Yes, I owed. Apparently because I filled out my W4 as "single 1" when I should be "single zero." Yeah. Let's ponder that one.

I am Derek Jeter.

"You're like the Derek Jeter of the firm." - Partner

"Um, what?"

"You know, the go-to person. The MVP."

"Isn't he supposed to be kind of an asshole?"

"Well, maybe sometimes I guess."

"Gee, thanks."

County General's doors are closing.

*tear*

I know, I know. You stopped watching when Dr. Ross left. Or when Dr. Benton left. Or when Dr. Green died. Or when Carter left. Or when Luka almost died in Africa. Or...

It's been on for 15 years, people! More than half my life! I was 13 years old when this damn thing started. Clinton was in his first term! And I've seen every episode. Many episodes MANY times. Remember when Carter and Lucy got stabbed?!

It's the end. THE END. I haven't begun watching the clip show yet. I can't start it because I don't want it to end! A friend is starting the whole series from the beginning (I also record the reruns on TNT) and he's so excited and enthralled and I LOVE it.

Ok. I'm gonna have a glass of wine and order some takeout because I just got home (let's not even talk about work and the fact that I HATE EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING) and start watching. Let the meltdown begin.