i spent so much time biting my tongue yesterday that i now have a rather terrifying welt.

the line between reaction and overreaction grows more and more blurred whenever my mother is involved. i'm thinking, in particular, of the incident occurring yesterday when she came to my office to gather me for the afternoon. (an aside note: initially, i didn't actually want her to make an appearance here, because it was going to end in tears. which it pretty much did. but, bosslady said she'd beat me with a wet noodle if she didn't get to meet la madre)...first, she's late. second, she comes bustling through the door saying something like "hello my baby shivery balawney (don't ask), can i take your picture?" in front of my boss. and all of my coworkers.

like i don't have enough trouble getting people to take me seriously as it is.

i called her on it later, and she, naturally, was defensive. "your boss has kids, she understands." i had to explain that that was not the point and the impetus behind my ire. not at all. the point was that this is where i WORK. parental appearance aside, i sort of feel like i have to maintain some semblance of vague professionalism. had we been out to drinks with my boss, or encountered her on the street, then fine. but inside the office...well...grr. and now she's being difficult, saying she'll never use a term of endearment on me again if it bothers me so much. blah blah blah.

anyway. i come home and relate this story to newroommate, and fortunately for me, he agreed with me. thank goodness. i was afraid that he was going to corroborate my suspicion that i am a bad daughter and totally overreacting....and who knows. maybe we're both just really reactionary and i am a bad daughter etc etc.

but hey. such is life.

other facets of the visit:

-saw "urinetown." excellent. absolutely excellent. go see it. seriously.

-apparently, i live in a college dorm in the middle of a slum. thanks mom.

-i've got a get out of jail free card tonight--once again, she decided that she'd rather be at the beach than visiting me, so i'm on leave until next friday. which is probably a good thing, considering that over the last two days i've eaten my body weight in fish. i think i need to detox on the small finny things. (though not all finn-like things. naturally. happy hour, cowboy?)

and on that note...ciao