I’ve been thinking: We all throw those X’s around, but those are kisses. I guess it’s because just O’s would look like nothing, literally.

“Gamma loves you THIS much!”

But I’m not a smoochies kind of person.

I’m not really much of a hugs kind of person except for my good friends, with whom I now have learned to feel comfortable exchanging a warm hug of greeting and goodbye.

Thank Goodness I No Longer Look Like This!

This is MUCH Better! Almost Touching!

I’ve even advanced to hugs of spontaneous delight–such a non-Aspie I’m becoming in my old age!

This IS How You Hug–Right?

So, anyhow, I’m still Aspie enough that I feel odd throwing all these kisses around (although they look like hugs to me–like arms crossed, which could be the arms of two friends in an embrace).

And I’d only give one hug, which would mean I’m putting just one O. How bad would THAT look?:

“Bye, friend, here’s what I think of you:
NOTHING!”

Do You Know What This Illustration Has To Do With The Text Above? 😈 Nothing.

What’s a weird kid to do?

I’m just going to have to come up with my own keyboard-created emoji that indicates “warmth”.

The closest I’ve gotten is one I didn’t invent, but have been using. It’s pretty indicative of my non-virtual personality, but it doesn’t get the “hug” concept across, so I’ve still got to work on that.

}:-)>

MAILS.END.UM

All this X and O stuff was the actual end of an email to a friend–one who shall remain nameless.

(HERE, Thieu–she HAS a name, I’m just not putting it HERE. 🙄 )

This friend suggested I make it into a post.

AMENDS.UM

This is the same friend, and the same email, which included the rant about our WordPress Overlords and the new editor.

I owe that friend an apology, because in my last post, I claimed she’d suggested I post the rant, but I now realize she meant only the X vs. O stuff.

She is far nicer than I. I think she would think that posting my rant, rather than gently bringing my points to the attention of our Overlords, was a low-down mean-spirited thing to do.

WordPress Overlords? You apologized to me once for abysmal treatment.
I now apologize to you for, not abysmal treatment, but possibly not-nice treatment.

*** EDIT Monday, June 8 ***

I was asked “WHAT abysmal treatment had the WP folks DONE to me?” I started thinking back to what those “happiness” engineers had done, and…felt like taking back my apology:

(1) My blog wasn’t working fully due to one bug. Iphone access to it wasn’t working fully due to another one.
😐

(2) When I reported each bug, I received this in response: 0. A hug. So after a week or so of silence, I re-reported. Same, and more of the same: 0000 (It looks like lots of hugs. Why did I not feel the love?)

(3) Also: I was locked out of the normal method used to report bugs, so there was that bug, too, which made reporting trickier. THAT bug was actually TWO bugs: One flavor in Windows on my ASUS tablet, and another on the Iphone.

(4) Still more: I was locked out of the usual method used to READ any response from the happy, happy engineers. I of course had reported to this to them in my back-door-delivered bug-report. I asked them, due to this, to please reply instead via email.
😦

(5) Guess HOW our happy engineers replied? That’s right: Using the method that their bug prevented me from reading.
😮

(6) Guess what they did when I didn’t respond to the message I couldn’t see? Closed the bug report due to my non-response.
😡

(7) When I lambasted them, ungently, and understandably, for their handling of my issue to that point? Rather than an apology, I received a profoundly rude response. Back when I had I.T. staff reporting to me, that response would have earmarked someone for firing, unless their dog had just died.
👿

ADDENDUM

I just had to include this kissy photo I found when googling “reluctant hug”, ’cause I loved it: