Just a quick note to say THANKS to everyone who took the time and effort to wish me a Happy Birthday here at LiveJournal today! You're wonderful and it really made my day!

In fact, I got SLEWS of bday greetings all day long, starting first thing this morning, including wishes here at LiveJournal, text messages, phone calls and messages, emails, ecards, birthday cards and Facebook greetings. My boss emailed me, Kris both emailed me and left me a phone message and on and on. Just lovely to be remembered by so many people!

As I mentioned before, Marilyn mistressmarilyn paid for me to have my eyebrows and eyeliner done (tattooed) -- such an amazing and generous gift! And sister Sue suzy_qp brought me a card with a Starbucks card inside, plus a really lovely Prayer Box (I need to take a picture and share). Birthdays aren't about gifts, but I'm thrilled by the generosity of both my sisters. I'm so lucky to have them in my life.

I value all my dear friends, and my cyber friends (especially here at LiveJournal) are very important in my life. I can't imagine a world without all of YOU! Thanks again for the kind words. You're the best.

A lovely birthday where I did exactly what I wanted all day long (and no work). Cool, huh?

On that note, I'm off to watch a Sherlock Holmes movie with Marilyn...

Mary and I talked it over and decided to wait another week to do my oral surgery. I was okay with it, as I'm not in much pain now and I'd prefer to make sure all the infection is gone before we proceed (to avoid other issues).

I got three new prescriptions which we dropped off and need to pick up tomorrow.

Marilyn mistressmarilyn worked from home today, then had her personnel review this afternoon with Jeff.

We both met sister Sue suzy_qp this morning for coffee at Starbucks, which was nice. (No sign of her kitten Sammy, I'm afraid...)

I had IT issues again today (sigh), but made no headway. But our phones are up and working at the office, which is very cool!!!

Ron came by briefly today. It was good to see him (it had been ages).

No plans for tomorrow, but it's nice to be facing a four-day weekend! (smile)

I do have some work to do, but maybe I can blow it off for now... (I do need to do some website stuff, but whatever!)

Wow, it's been cold. And it's supposed to get colder, too!

LiveJournal: The First Decade

Just in time for holiday shopping, we're thrilled to announce the release of our ten-year anniversary anthology. Published by Blurb.com, the book showcases a decade of extraordinary talent drawn from LiveJournal users around the world. This must-read compilation features stories, memes, photos, comics, editorials, graphic content, and more, including:

1. Excerpts from Oh No They Didn't (a/k/a ohnotheydidnt), the largest community on LiveJournal, covering celebrity gossip, entertainment news, and pop culture
2. A look at post-Katrina New Orleans from the journal of Poppy Z. Brite
3. Gripping narratives, including a poignant reverie on a blind date
4. Photography that spans the globe, ranging from old-fashioned Polaroids to underwater photography
5. Mouthwatering dishes from food_porn

What began as a late-night inspiration back in Brad Fitzpatrick's college dorm in 1999 has grown to encompass nearly 25 million users worldwide, with journals and communities covering every conceivable hobby, passion, and topic. To get your copy, please visit the Blurb Bookstore. For updates and entries from book contributors, please join lj_turns10.

Tweaks and enhancements

• You can now ban a user from all of your communities and journals at once. To access this feature, hover over the person's userpic and choose Ban user everywhere from the drop-down menu.
• Follow LiveJournal on Twitter!

Give a little to help a lot!

In honor of National AIDS Awareness month, we've added a new charitable vgift. For each red ribbon you purchase for $2.99, we'll donate 100 percent of gross proceeds to IAVI.org (the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) to support the development and global distribution of an affordable HIV vaccine (we'll cover credit card fees). You can read more about IAVI at lj_cares. While we're on the subject, we raised $740 from our November fundraiser for Love Without Boundaries, which supports emergency healthcare and adoption of Chinese orphans. We thank you for helping us help others.

Photos of the week

We're back with more incredible pictures from our super-talented LiveJournal photographers. Congratulations to ilya_gorokhov, who is the winner of our very first lj_photophile poll.

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Stay safe and snug out there!

• FAQ 270 (now named "What is LJ Talk?") is now entirely an LJ talk FAQ, linking to 272, covering how to connect, how to post, and what is up with the contact list / buddy information. (I also removed the link to /chat/ after including all relevant information, and would like to see that page gone.)
• FAQ 305, "What is the Inbox? How do I communicate with other LiveJournal users?", is where most of the old 270 went, and it's now an Inbox/Private Messaging FAQ, with a side of Talking to Other Users.
• FAQ 272 is still the Notifications faq and is much the same, but it's had all the Inboxy stuff removed (which went to 305).

lj_userdoc

Today was a WILD WORK DAY -- and that's no exaggeration at all!

Marilyn mistressmarilyn and I were at the office around 8:00 a.m. We both went to our workstations and got started. I had TONS of IT-related stuff to tackle (of course). The phone guys had come in right with Marilyn and me. (And were standing behind us on the elevator, poor guys, considering I was laden with stuff I was carrying in...)

I sat in for both of the phone lessons, which Chris directed. Prior to that, the guys spent ages doing more setup (they'd worked on it yesterday, as well). They set up in our conference room with phones for training purposes and did screen to show the computer screen part. (By the second class I was feeling strong enough to help out and am sure I'd be able to train new people on the system in no time.)

What a GREAT phone system!!!

After we were done I went to congratulate Jeff on the choice. These are amazing phones that can do amazing things! Really cool. And managing them on the backend (Administrative side) is going to be so EASY -- so much better than the old system. I'll probably go on (and on and on) about the various features in the future, but for now I'll just say it's so good!

I microwaved one of those Hormel dinners and ate at my desk while working. I was putting together a punch list for Kent, in case I had to leave before he got there.

Kent arrived and my life went CRAZY!!!

I was going from computer to computer working on settings -- literally RUNNING from place to place to get it done. I'd have one doing one thing, then another doing it, then another doing something else. Racing, because Marilyn was having a meeting at OUR HOUSE, and was supposed to leave (originally) by 2:00 p.m.

She had to keep phoning to change that appointment, because I just couldn't break away! Most people were pretty cooperative, thankfully, but in all honesty that didn't make my job any easier.

We finally headed out more than an hour late, with most of my work done and Kent prepared to finish the rest -- plus the phone guys going from computer to computer to set up the phone-related software. I had to phone Kent to tell him about something I'd only started to ask him to do, then he phoned me several times (in the car and at home).

I came home to TWO messages from my dentist, wanting to know how I was doing and trying to decide whether to CANCEL my appointment Thursday morning! The funny thing is that I didn't connect this with sister Sue suzy_qp at all, even though I knew she was seeing Mary at 7:00 a.m. this morning for her bridge. She'd told Mary how swollen I was, so...

But I finally got through to her and told her the swelling was way down (most people at the office didn't even notice it), the pain was slight and the eruption was way down, too. So it's a go for 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. (woo hoo) I get that there's still a chance I won't be able to get it done, but I'm hopeful. (fingers crossed)

I did the cat boxes while Marilyn was having her meeting with Angel (about his contract), but I still need to do the rest of the garbage and recycling. I haven't really had dinner yet, so I'm hungry, but thankful I ate lunch.

(My blood sugar was actually good this morning, by the way!)

I need to get in a tackle my normal Wednesday night task. Last week we put out the usual trays of goodies for the garbage and recycling people (which we try to do for all holidays).

Oh! I forgot to mention that Marilyn and I took Jeff a 'dog stocking' for his dog Moki for Christmas -- it was really cute (and huge). He was delighted and said Moki would love it, that he just loves dog toys, even now. (Why, of course he does, Jeff! I hope he never outgrows that!)

I had a long nap, anyway, which I really needed. Most of the time both cats were there with me (either on the bed, or in their nearby cat beds). So sweet. We call it 'giving us their cat-ly energy' -- and it's their way of helping us to feel better. Cats do seem to know when you're down, emotionally or physically, as all cat people know.

I also had a long talk with Kris before my nap -- always a good thing. He makes me smile and he makes me laugh! Such a nice, nice guy.

I just called the festival to see if the phones are working, but no go, as yet. I'm sure we'll have them in place by tomorrow, though. This is really big, by the way. Businesses often have to wait 30 to 90 days to set up a new phone system, so getting it this quick is nothing short of amazing. (I keep pointing this out to people, so they can try to appreciate how cool it is.)

I think everybody in the office now has internet access again (win), which is essential for the new phones (we now have IP Phones, so...). I'm THIS close to being sure the MAC users have Remote Desktop (again), which is also a good thing. I hope Kent figured out the Blackberry thing, but if not, I'll tackle that soon, too.

Obviously I won't be going to work tomorrow (after oral surgery). And Marilyn is taking Friday off for my birthday, so we won't be at work again until next Tuesday.

On the 'sad news' side, sister Sue's kitten Sammy is still missing. (Marilyn and I drove to her house last night after shopping and hunted for some time with no success.) I'm still hoping Sammy will come home -- can you all please pray for the kitten (and Sue) -- or send good thoughts her way? Thanks!

Well, I'm off to eat!

Happily, the Writer's Digest Short Short Story Competition DEADLINE has been extended, so I have more time to submit. I was going to submit my story "The Christmas Cat" anyway. I'd gone over it today and had it under the necessary word count, plus I'd proofed it fairly well. But now I can go over it again even more carefully. Plus I can submit a second (or even a third) story with the extra time, so that's a very good thing.

The main thing I love about the Writer's Digest contests is that it's SO EASY to make a submission! They're very smart about that, I think.

In health news (smile), I'm having far less pain since my damn tooth has an eruption and swelling. (Marilyn mistressmarilyn calls it an 'explosion,' by the way!) I look pretty scary, but that's okay -- at least I'm barely in pain now.

I am TIRED as can be, and literally slept almost all day long -- no kidding.

We're headed shopping, so I've got to dash. More later (I hope).

• A policy on supporting Internet Explorer 6 was posted. ( link)
• FAQ 304 on unwanted email was created. (link)

• Efforts were taken to block spam accounts and an issue with RSS feeds was resolved.(link)
• The Notes feature was enhanced, the Rich Text Editor was updated, and lj_cares was announced. (link)
• Postcard winners and new Thanksgiving vgifts were announced. (link)
• Changes were made to what is needed to reset a password, a new mobile site was unveiled, and Facebook Connect is now used. (link)

Shannon got me a dental appointment for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. I need to hang in there until then. There's pain, but I'll deal.

Kent wrote back to me today. He said he never got my email I sent last Monday (???). Okay. Of course, he checked in with Marilyn mistressmarilyn first, who asked him about contacting me. The list of things to tackle is long and needs to be addressed right away, but I've no clue when he's coming to the office at this point.

I'm finally coloring my hair. It's needed it for ages. When I had the flu, I wasn't up to it. Then I was busy. Then with this dental issue I didn't feel up to it, either. But I'm FORCING myself today!

Hopefully our Domain issue is resolved. I tried to phone them, but couldn't reach a person. I left a message, and they FINALLY phoned back hours later, while I was napping. I won't say what I'm thinking now, as I'm pretty annoyed with them. But we used another credit card, so it should be okay. If not, we'll be pulling a bunch of our domains and hosting them somewhere else -- and we have quite a few! So...

We just watched an episode of "Hoarders" on A&E. I immediately started dumping things! No, we don't BEGIN to be like that. We have a lot of stuff, but it's not all trashed and disorganized. I can usually find what we're looking for and keep things neat and orderly. But we have way too much and need to get rid of tons, so we're back on it! Watching that show freaks me out. How do people live like that?

Actually, I've tried to help some friends who were living somewhat like that. But it's tough, because the person you're helping has to be willing to try -- and to try very hard.

My face has really started to swell up. It started while I was napping today. I'm going to try some cold packs to see if I can bring it down a little. Right now it hurts, but I'm not dying, thankfully. And I did get good enough to eat, too, so that's a good thing.