May 26, 2005 - 2:55 p.m.

so - last night I enjoyed Valerie's lasagna, scallops and salad with the gaggle of gals and their assorted children. Mireilly and daughter, Ariana; Crystal & Kevin; and Rachel and 2 year old Alaina (I'll say it again: the toddler gave me pause). While I enjoy them terrifically, it's easy to feel like an outsider when in a group of old friends. But that is to be expected...

When Ken arrived, we retired to my boudoir to delve into our own gossip, relationship nuances, and recent adventures.

I let him read my "Dear Nate" letter to get his advice, which he gave ad infinitum. "But first," he queried, "Why do you punctuate your quoted phrases outside of the marks at the end of a sentence? It's standard to enclose them these days." I explained my theory on the situational punctuation of quoted phrases*, and he said, "Oh yeah, the queen of the superfluous "u". Of course you stick to canonical grammar." My heart melted.

Ken loves me because I always know what he's up to and I let him get away with it anyway. I love Ken because he diagrams my sentences as effortlessly as he diagrams my bizarre love triangles.

Tell me, do you have a friend who speaks your language?

* note: this message does not contain an appropriate example of when a quote would be best punctuated outside the mark. (I just couldn't help myself)

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