The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Way I Feel

Worried: I got a strange wrong-number cell phone call today: a guy asking for "Gina". "There's no Gina here," I said. "You've got the wrong number." He called back a minute later and asked for Gina again. I asked him what number he was calling, and he recited my number. "Where did you get my number?" I asked. "From a flyer," he said. "What is it a flyer for?" I asked. "Swedish massage," he said. So there's a flyer for a Swedish masseuse named Gina out there with my number on it. I may just keep my phone off for a while.

Surreptitious: As a captive audience of one, I couldn't help overhearing a group of people discussing their future plans today. They lamented a lack of information. It was unclear how soon some things could happen, they said. There was an undertone of desperation. They weren't even sure they knew enough to be able to talk about what they were talking about. The discussion became circular and somewhat abstract, with much verbal hand-wringing. It occurred to me that such discussions are much more productive when held in a hot tub. Or after everyone has had a good massage.