Most people do not say my name correctly on the first try. Many don't get it right on the second or third attempt either.

It usually goes something like this:

"Hi, I'm Kiersten."
"Oh. Nice to meet you, Kerrsten."
"Kiersten."
"Kristen?"
"Kiersten."
"Oh," person says, clearly giving up and beginning to think I'm an uptight snot for insisting. "OK."

Usually, I'm a duck and this is where I let it roll off my back. Every so often though, like a cicada hitting its 17th year, I become uber sensitive to it. I had a choir director named Gordon who would use ever-changing versions of my name except the correct one, and I (fondly) called him on it until he eventually pleaded for a dispensation to which I magnanimously said, "no problem, Grove...

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Today on StoryWonk Daily, we’re look at the role of the Smart Guy in the Five Man Band.

Today’s Links:

The Five Man Band (TV Tropes) WordWonk: Cazique

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14.1MB | 15:28

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So I’m a little stressed.  I was stressed before I hit the deer, discovered I’m probably going to be looking at people sideways in a couple of years, and found out there was no cake in my future.   Now I’m interacting several times a day with an app that yells at me (figuratively speaking) if I don’t eat breakfast.   I’m making progress, my numbers are coming down, but they’re not coming down fast enough, especially that bottom line blood pressure number.   I should be seeing better results.  I’m Jenny Crusie, damn it, I do everything well.  Okay, not relationships or housecleaning or cooking (the smoke alarm went off last night while I was making salad), but a lot of things.  THIS thing.  THIS THING I SHOULD BE DOING WELL.

Okay, ...

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My daughter-in-law is pregnant. I’m going to be a grandmother in June and I can’t wait. She’s doing wonderfully—healthy, strong, and glowing. Of course, DIL’s pregnancy immediately took me back to my own, which was no picnic. I was sick for over five months, practically from the moment of Son’s conception. And not just slightly nauseous, I tossed every single thing that went into my stomach. I lost thirty-three pounds the first five months and only gained back twelve, so Son was a negative weight gain for old mom. My weight came after he was born, but that’s another post.

DIL isn’t really craving anything specific, although her eating habits have changed, mostly due to the fact that she’s become hypersensitive to odors. B...

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