Sherri Cornelius

Somebody just spam-commented every single post on my blog. And though the format makes it obvious it's the same spammer, it appears each IP address is unique, though I didn't check all 300 of 'em, obviously. That's crazy. Crazy spammers. That's the biggest reason to love Wordpress, their excellent spam filter. All I had to do was hit a button and they were all gone. But if I continue to get that much spam, I won't be able to check it for false positives like I have been. They are few and far between, but occasionally one slips through. So if your comment doesn't show up, holla and I'll go check the spam. I promise I haven't moderated you. I've only ever deleted angry and/or crazy comments, and that totals about four.

I don't know what in the hell happened to me, but I woke up early this morning, like five o'clock, when the hubs got up for work. I usually sleep right through his morning routine, but not today. It may be that my aching bones made it hard to get comfortable. I'm so old.

My mom turned 59 last week, and my dad will be 60 in August. My in-laws are in their late-60s. My step-daughter is married with a baby, and all my cousins' kids are grown up with mates and kids of their own. Makes me wonder where the time went. Have I done everything I was supposed to do? I know I have many years left, but I used to believe I had greatness in me. It turns out I'm just a regular gal after all. Even if I do something great, I've established my regularness.

It's pretty nice, actually, knowing I'm regular. Back when I thought I had a special purpose in this world I felt a lot of pressure. Now if I accomplish any kind of greatness, it's all gravy.

Darcsfalcon has started a little feature on her blog called Thursday Thankfulness, and I thought I'd jump on board for at least today. It would be nice if it spread throughout the blogisphere. Maybe I'll make a little header graphic for Thursday Thankfulness posts for fun.

So today I'm thankful for Akismet, which controls my spam comments. Even though there's only been one legitimate comment caught in the spam filter in the entire previous year, I still check all spam before I delete it.

However, I'm also grateful for the spam itself, because I always get a good laugh, normally because of the way they sneak the stamina-enhancing drugs into the conversation, or the enormous lists of crazy porn categories. But lately there's been a trend where the spammers include a joke. Here are a few I've received:

• What do you call three rabbits in a row, hopping backwards simultaneously? A receding hareline.


• What do you call bedtime stories for boats? Ferry tales.


• What is a Mummy’s favorite kind of music? RAGtime music! or wRAP!!!


• What do cats like to eat for breakfast? Mice Krispies.

They have the right idea. Spammers should make us smile, then we won't hate 'em so bad.

Despite a relatively quiet Internet on my end, the blog traffic doubled for some reason. Does WordPress count the spam comments? Because at 30 per day, that would explain it, disappointing though it would be. I used to be able to sift through them all before they were deleted, but now the volume is too high. If you have a comment which doesn't show up, that's why. Just send it again.

I ended up crying at the doctor's office yesterday. I feel pretty dumb about the blubbering, but it just serves to show how frustrated I am by the whole thing, how much I really need to figure this sinus thing out. The X-rays showed nothing abnormal (it so cool to see inside my own skull) so he gave me a course of antibiotics and steroids.

I told Doc I'd been dealing with this problem for 6-7 years, but as I look back I think it's been closer to eight or nine. I'm not sure if Doc believes me when I tell him how my old doctor dealt with these chronic problems. With the backward lens of time and experience, it seems like the old doc hated me. I wish I could see what he wrote about me in my chart.

It won't surprise me at all if antibiotics clear it right up. The old doc refused to consider it. I love having a doctor who listens to me, even when I'm crying.

And oh yeah, I told him about the fragrance thing and he didn't laugh at me. He didn't get defensive. He didn't dismiss it. He said some people have sensitive airways, and that was it. I'm hoping that the fragrance sensitivity will shake out when my sinuses are healed. I'd probably never go back to the old level of stinkiness, but at least I'd be able to be around people again, which means writer's cons and a job and TCoB in general. To be normal would be the height of awesomeness.