Stupid, stupid cake

Almost there. So freakin' close.

I am in the final stages of writing this paper. I just have to make myself proofread it - again. I hate proofreading, because it is inevitably right before the deadline so when you catch a big gleaming inconsistency or an area that really needs to be expanded upon, it is already too late. It has been written, and in the last few hours before submission, the amount of editing you can do is limited to grammar corrections and re-wording. Last minute conceptual remedies? No, my pharmacy has none of those.

Speaking of pharmacies, I bought a bandage this evening to see if wrapping up my now very weirdly hurting leg might help. It only hurts sometimes, and it's not really pain, just a feeling of something being "off". I am thinking that it's not a stress fracture, but I can't be sure being that I don't have an x-ray machine at home and oh yeah, I am not a doctor. But after an hour of foot numbing torture on the elliptical the "off" area felt ok, like it had warmed up. Muscles warm up, not bones, lucky for me.

I think that I will be fired from birthday cake duty, and as silly as it is, it pisses me off. For some reason, the birthday cake issue always manages to ignite controversy. My last birthday Rachael had made me an angel food cake - as I had requested. It wasn't a wedding cake; it was just a regular from a box home-made cake with rainbow sprinkles baked in. Somebody in the lab, a somebody who has very passive aggressive and manipulative methods of getting people to do her dirty work, decided that the cake was not "appropriate" and that someone should go out and buy a cake. First, when is a cake not appropriate? As much as I don't go for cake, I recognize that you can't diss cake. Go here for additional reasons to support cake eating. Second, it was just plain rude to insult Rachael like that. The girl took her own time to bake the cake that I requested. Anyways, this was the first cake drama.
Today's issue involved the birthday girl breaking the birthday rules. Earlier in the week I asked the Birthday PhD what kind of cake she wanted. She told me 'no, no, no I am too old for that. I will bring the cake.'
'No. You can't do that. I am getting you a cake whether you like it or not.' That was Tuesday. Wednesday I got the reminder email that I sent myself so I would remember the cake. My plan was to get it on my way to work on Thursday - today.
Well, I forgot.
It was Birthday PhD who reminded me by informing me that she still brought the cake. Damn! My dilemma was this: should I go out and get a cake anyways just to prove a point that you don’t fuck with the birthday rules, or, just say screw it and have everyone eat the cake she brought. After conferring with some others, it was decided that one cake was enough.
Fine. Ok, Birthday PhD is stubborn. Let's move on. But no. Party time comes, and my dad (remember dad = boss) gets upset that I didn't bring a cake. To make matters much worse, my mom (mom also = boss) keeps asking people whether they like to bake. I smelled job replacement, and it smelled rancid. The conclusion was that for the next birthday celebration, I should bring two cakes. We'll see how long I last after I've served my penance.