Sometimes other bloggers thoughts run so in synch with mine, it's amazing. I was just thinking about two annoying issues in my life, and find other people have been thinking about them too.


Melissa posted a small rant about intrusive things people say and do, and making them stop.


For me the irritant isn't "You've lost weight" - I'd welcome that one right about now, but more on that in a bit - my irritant du jour is the Intense "How ARE you?"


This is delivered with big mournful cow-eyes and a look of deep, soulful sympathy, very Oprah-comforting-victim-of-the-week.

I of course respond that I'm fine (because I'm fine) but I don't think some people really want to believe that.


Because they are Here for me. If I need anything.


Like what? And why are you still hovering in my office?


If I want to Talk.


Oh, of course. Okay, thank you, I'll keep that in mind. If I ever do need to Talk I won't call a friend, I'll call a deeply annoying busybody co-worker who has been getting off on my family tragedy for months. Sounds like a plan. Now get out of my office.


Because you know, you think you're fine now, but this will probably Really Hit You Later.


You should be more worried about my urge to Really Hit You Now. Get out of my office.

Because we don't really want you to be fine - we say we do, but actually we're feeling a little bit of a letdown. Because you became our soap opera, Our Poor Tragic Catherine, and if you actually are okay, a big dose of melodrama and cheap thrills will be gone from our mundane little lives.


Melissa is right, you have to take control and refuse to put up with it - and I have. But it's annoying beyond description to feel like your personal life has become other people's source of "entertainment" in some way, and you're being evaluated and measured like a lab rat.


And this behavior is overwhelmingly a female thing - a thing women do to other women. It's done in the guise of "being supportive," so if you reject it they're wounded and you're a bitch. So I'm a bitch. I can live with that.

Meanwhile, Bess is also inside my head about self-sabotage of weight-loss efforts. I lost the couple of "funeral pounds" I'd put on, but haven't lost anything since - I'm only sorta kinda sticking to the diet this week, and I can't even say why I'm letting myself drift. I honestly don't know. I'm not an emotional eater and I'm not sitting here binging on junk food or even craving anything in particular, I'm just letting my portions get too large and allowing myself too many little "extras" - knowing full well that I will not lose weight if I get that far off course. I just know I need to cut it out and quit doing things that defeat my weight loss efforts. So this is my public declaration of climbing back on the Diet Wagon and getting my personal habits in order. Again. Once and for all. This time I mean it. Really.


No knitting has been done in the past 48 hours. That, too, will change this evening.