Saying Hello to the Neighbors.

I've been wavering 50 slots or so either side of 10,000 on TTLB for the last week or so. This is significantly more maddening than most variations in ranking of the same size, because one day my rank has five digits, and the next day only four! Then back to five again. In any event, I'm currently at 10,018, and I have been checking up on some of my interesting-looking new neighbors. Stop over and tell them hi.

• French Toast Girl at # 10,015. If you need some holiday cards, give her a look. She has one that's kind of a happier M.C. Escher fish pattern.



• From across the Atlantic, here's #10,005, Mental Nurse. I feel an affinity with her already (I worked in a mental health facility for ten years) because it seems like she realizes that a) the crazy people she has to take care of are in fact crazy, and b) that most of her co-workers and bosses are also crazy. For some reason, those two facts are difficult for many mental health professionals to grasp. Note to office, retail, warehouse, etc. workers: A bad day to you might mean that somebody was rude to you on the phone. A bad day when you work in a nut hut is when as soon as you walk in the door to begin your shift, you find that a violent, crazy, pissed-off, 6-ft./200-lb. teenager has smashed up a bunch of windows and furniture and has a bunch of smaller, intimidated kids and smaller, intimidated staff cowering in another room. You have ten seconds to decide what to do. The ten seconds started nine seconds ago. Mental, if you're reading this, just remember that if you're ever in a situation to need them, God gave you two knees and gave that crazy guy two testicles.
• If you're into libraries (and who of the Blogosphere isn't?) check out Peter Scott's Library Blog (#9,994).
• LBNL, you ought to check out Capt. Platypus over at Paltypus-Society (#10,025) at your earliest conveniece.

So -- Hi, everybody!