I may have gone crazy. Witness these latest incidents and make up your mind:

1. After reading a crazy-making article in the NYT about undecided voters and women who were going to write Hillary's name in on the ballot - thus wasting their vote - I, in a burst of righteous conversion mania, looked up said people (thank you NYT for always citing first and last names and places of residence) and WROTE THEM A LETTER. Yes, I am a crank letter writer. I am that far gone.

2. I wrote off my neighbors, rather publicly and completely. You see, there is an active - and kinda deadly dull - Neighborhood Association in my "gentrifying" mixed-race neighborhood. I have now come to the conclusion that Neighborhood Association is codespeak for "let's band together, us rich and whitey folk". We attended a super dull and uncomfortable Christmas party but I figured hey, I was pregnant at the time, maybe these folks would go down easier with a cold beer. So we decided to make an appearance at the Labour Day porch party. Despite the fact that no one ever came by or inquired about our kid, almost 8 months after she was born. Despite the fact that I have dropped off hot meals for the parents of twins a few doors down - and never gotten a thank you. Despite the fact that these people really get on my nerves. So we strolled over. You know when a vibe is just all wrong, screamingly wrong? This was the weirdest vibe EVER. People were talking, was fun being had? no. I introduced myself to a few new people - I have gotten very good at small talk as it happens - but was stonewalled every way I went. Even happy oblivious AH said to me "Holy cow, what did we do???" I don't know. There were other mothers there but they didn't make room or talk when I introduced myself. There was a graduate of my library program there and her rock critic husband - hi, we might have something in common - and they would only answer our questions with Yes No answers. It was like a Twilight Zone episode when you try to figure out the new reality. But the most galling incident of all was all us white people up on the porch with our microbrews and Boca burgers and hey, across the street, some African American people in the street and on the porches. Last time I checked, Neighborhood meant houses in close proximity to you. So they should be invited to the Neighbourhood Association. I marched over with my kid and asked if they had been invited. One gentleman said yes and I was relieved - but then he added "I mow their lawn and do odd jobs sometimes so they invited me over". I marched back to Weirdoville and kinda announced how we would be leaving and I didn't care to share a meal with these folks.And I really really don't care what they think. A grade A CRANK! That's me.

3. I was offered and took the second job. So now 3 classes + 20 hour internship + 10 hour job = Bad Mama with very little sleep. Yipes.

4. I think being old is contributing to my latest bursts of urgency and "screw it" ness. I went to a potluck and Taboo night the other night and one of the girls, to whom I had been relating rather well said something about being born in 1985 and that's being knocking around in my head ever since. I associate with and relate to people 12 years younger than me. I am old, old as the hills. And cranky.