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As I was talking to Marisol last night she mentioned that she was watching "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" or some such. Not finding the title obvious enough to be of interest, I can only presume the show involved folks (probably Americans) putting their lives at risk by attempting all manner of daring do (flaming shark pits, crashing cars into walls, bullet catching, etc.). All to to the delight of a studio audience that was possibly Japanese and would surely be described as wacky. I guess Japan's still sore about that Fat Man/Little Boy incident. At least it's only in a passive aggressive way this time.

Moving on...

Not being one to let a cultural fad pass her by, the EPJ is now on Facebook. I could say there is some uber-important professional reason for . That she simply had to join the Judges Who Hate the Law But Adore Their Clerks group, for instance. But that would be an obvious lie...she hates me. (Rim shot) Or that as a public servant she likes to be as accessible to the people as possible without the tediosity/health risk of verbal/physical contact. Though regarding contact, I suppose that's why the state sends us that big ol' box of wipes, masks and alcohol (unfortunately, not the drinking kind) cleverly labeled "For use during flu pandemic." Apparently, if there's only an outbreak or even a mighty epidemic of something/anything, including the flu, we're screwed.

All kidding aside, as the issuer of birth/death records, i.e. , we are REQUIRED by state (maybe even federal) law to be open before, during and after any sort of cataclysmic crisis. In other words, the morning after our inevitable nuclear annihilation I'll have to get up and come to work while all you newly glowing mutants pick through the rubble for great deals. Figures.

But as for the EPJ's Facebook excursion, the reality is somewhat less creative: friends bugged her until she finally gave in. If my research is correct (and I made it up so why wouldn't it be) that's the number three reason for joining Facebook. Obviously, the number one reason is the ability to spy on everyone you know all at once. While number two is the insatiable hankering for well-intentioned, but ultimately worthless, Facebook "gifts". Thank you Jeebus for the interwebs.

So I put her off as long as I could until my excuse well ran dry and hesitantly created the EPJ's account not really sure how deep of an abyss I was pushing her into. Fortunately for her Facebook requires profiles have actual names. That's just as well because I don't know that I could have resisted the temptation to give her the handle of Judge SeXXXy Funtime.

In the end, I used her real name, which is, of course, EPJ. And away she went. So for the past week, every time she checks her email she's got a new "friend." Some of whom she actually knows. Plus, now she feels like she's back in high school hanging out with the cool kids again. This, as you probably know, is society's number one requirement of the modern-day professional woman. So she's got that going for her.