... and it's been a rough one. I heard a song from Montgomery Gentry on the radio while out getting some lunch the other day and while part of the chorus isn't fitting to the current situation (I edited it out), the rest of the lyrics are.

My old man's backhand used to land,
Hard on the side of my head.
I just learned to stay out of his way.
There's been streetfights, blue lights,
Long nights with the world sittin' on my chest:
It just showed me how much I could take.
Hard times, bad luck.
Sometimes, life sucks.

That's all right, I'm ok.
It ain't nothin' but another day.

The bank man, the boss man, the lawman,
All tryin' to get their hands on me.
And I ain't even done a danged thing wrong.
I've been waylaid, freight-trained, short-changed,
By bigger an' badder men.
An' all I got to say is: "Bring it on."
Hard rain, rough road,
So my life goes.

Life happens. Stuff in life happens. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not. Lately, however, my online life has not been good. I'm still a little confused, so it's hard for me to understand what's going on, but if no one shares the playbook, then I can't work within the rules. That's ok... I'm real good about breaking rules and making up new ones to play by.

You know, I could say I'm sorry or issue statements of remorse until I'm blue in the face, but some people just aren't going to believe me. That's thier problem - and it's also their entitlement to not believe me. And there are a scant few who are acting so... offended that I wonder if there's a "hive-mind" mentality at work there - they're so tied into the hive that they think THEY deserve an apology too even though they had nothing to do with it. I've made peace with some who've approached me, and I've tentatively approached a couple of others. How the rest of those who feel hurt shakes out remains to be seen.

Got a problem with me? Bring It On. I can take it. I'm an adult, although a little bit of my behavior last week doesn't fit with that description. I'm outta high school too - graduated long time ago. I know that doesn't fit the last week either. But know what, I've snapped out of it.

By the way, when you bring it on - don't bring it to any of the boards - that just causes more confusion and hurt feelings among a whole slew of people. But that's probably the intention, or that some relish in the public humiliation of someone and that's really sad. Bringing something up privately with someone is really the smart way to go - that way people don't start saying bad things about *you* (even though the intent is probably to have bad things said about *me*) or creating misconceptions. I'm not pointing any fingers with this one - there's been lots said in lots of places, and I'm sure there's going to be more eventually before this is all over and done with.

Don't do it anonymously, either - that's just cowardly. I just love those free webmail accounts that were created just to be mean. Yes, that means you MzWhizHater, wgSUX, AnonCuzWhizIsMean and a couple of others - are you all one person with multiple personalities, or do you really have no life to speak of that you're compelled to target people? I include StitcherX (referred to in The FaeryGlade) in that group even though I haven't received any communications from that persona. Or perhaps it's the same person behind all of them - I honestly don't care. I prefer it if people just spoke thier minds... or do people really want me to lie to them?

And if this seems cryptic or confusing - then just *ask* - but I won't post answers here.

So, for those closest to me who've missed the old Annie - I'm still here, same as ever. Can't you tell now? (I'm just not as present on the boards as I used to be, for good reason.) For those who have awful perceptions of the old Annie - I'm still here, and I've not changed, but you are most likely still wrong about me. For those who've been jealous and wanted to take me down a couple of notches - I'm still here, nice try, and thanks for playing. For those who hoped I'd gone away forever....

...Too bad, so sad, keep dreamin'. I'm still here. Get. Over. It.