So, I've replace Marco with Misty - a 1997 red Mercury Mystique that runs nice, is roomier, and the creature comforts actually work. *g* Marco is on his way to the glue factory, i.e., donated to charity by Butterfly's mom in return for a couple major purchases, including my tickets to Comic-Con and a year of Omsi membership. Whoo hoo!

The boys are out of school. I haven't gotten their grades yet, but I'm not real hopeful. I expect Son3 to have done well, but Son2 didn't get to walk for his 8th grade promotion, and Son1... needs to get cracking next year. Butterfly's term is also over, which means she'll be able to get some sleep between now and the start of next term.

I'm spending a lot more time with the NorthShadows, old friends from high school that I'm as likely to refer to as siblings or clansmen than friends. In fact, my brother Dawlmesh is staying with us for the summer, sharing the basement with the boys. I'd like for our kinswoman recently transplanted north from our hometown to spend some more time over here - she's more fannish than the rest of the NorthShadows, so I think she and Butterfly might get along. It would be cool if they got along well enough for an extended adjustment to household composition, since it would be a step in the right direction of long-term fiscal reliability. Which is to say, the more the landlord gets out of us now, the less likely she is to say "OMG I need the equity now and I'm selling the house: Get out." I hope.

Ah, that may be news. Thegrungediva is getting married in July, and she and her fiancé are already talking about a larger house in the suburbs of Hillsboro. Housing out there is not cheap, but that's where they both work, and presumably they like it there, so.... Anyway, I don't know how soon they are planning to buy, but she's thinking they'll need to sell this house and his house in order to buy the new house. It would be good for me to have a property investment, but right now the bank won't even lend me $3k for a car. $300k for a house would be out of the question. OTOH, she didn't break down crying when I said I was planning to be here seven years (now six, I recently realized), so maybe I've got some time. She did make some noise about using some of the past rent payments as credit toward downpayment, so I know she's not inherently opposed to the idea of me buying it, but the feasibility studies are not coming back golden.

I've applied for a promotion at work. Two of the team leads are moving out of state, so there are openings. No disciplinary responsibilities, but it would be a step up the ladder. The department I really want to work for might actually not be this company, since the nature of this business tends to put several service providers in bed together. *shrug* It's kind of hard to grill your boss about how to get a job for a different employer.

Overall, life is good, like it usually is.

Results show that the emotional brain is not stable across the day, resulting in marked changes in emotional reactivity. Naps with REM sleep objectively and bi-directionally modify specific emotions. Individuals who took a 60 to 90 minute nap with REM sleep displayed increased receptiveness to happy facial expression following sleep. People who did not take a nap during the day displayed an amplified reaction to anger and fear.

Entire article: Naps with rapid eye movement sleep increase receptiveness to positive emotion

"Social interactions are critically guided by, and indeed are predicated on the basis of, accurately recognizing emotional facial expressions," said Gujar. "Only through accurate recognition can cogent social judgments and subsequent actions be made. Nowhere are these accurate emotional face judgments more critical than in many professions that are associated with sleep curtailment, including emergency and resident medical staff, military personnel, and even new parents."