2003-03-20 - 11:16 a.m.

I don�t remember what it was, but a long time ago, something really shitty went down at work, and I called my boss� home to ask him what to do.

I always feel bad calling bosses at home, but at the Big Company, we all agree that five minutes of telephone aggravation is much more preferable to something being handled incorrectly for hours.

I was kinda frantic, and pissed, as I tried to explain the situation to the boss, and I wanted to make sure he knew that I was really unhappy about whatever it was (that I cared), and he cut me off--

OK--so let�s just agree to mutually assume that this is stupid and bullshit--now, can you just tell me what the problem actually is?

Great advice--I�ve never forgotten it.

I feel like whatever I write here has to start off with a--OK, so this war is stupid and I just got off boston.com, or cnn.com, and I can�t believe how bullshit all this is disclaimer.

Same thing with every conversation I have--I went out with the art gurl and some of her friends last night, and either talked about the war or felt bad that I was talking about something other than the war.

And we should talk about the war. But not everything has to be about Bush, or Iraq, or the UN, or chemical weapons, or North Korea, or protesting, or oil, or death.

So forgive me if I talk about anything besides the war here--please don�t take it as my being facile or glib--please don�t think that this stupid and bullshit war is not constantly on my mind.

Talking to me, reading my diary, let�s just agree to assume that I think this war is stupid and bullshit, so we can move forward.