It is- The Stand follows about a dozen main characters through a "superflu" epidemic in America and its aftermath. Later in the book King's plot devolves into a quasi-religious supernatural showdown, which I found to be a somewhat boring choice, but I enjoyed the book overall. Part of the allure of that book for me is just its absolute hugeness- I have the "uncut" version and it's chock-a-block full of backstories and vignettes.

The first and most prolonged occasion when I've had this happen was when a friend in junior high decided he was "in love" with me and started showing up at my house in the middle of the night, leaving me bizarre and elaborate love letters, following me at the local park, etc. Luckily, he wasn't dangerous, but this was a super upsetting experience for me. I dealt with it by calmly and seriously telling him he was scaring me and refusing to listen to him argue with me about it, being upfront about what was happening with my parents, teachers, and friends and trying to avoid him as much as possible and he eventually stopped. (I suspect one of my teachers may have intervened, but I don't actually know.)

More recently, a man I was in a community college class with was definitely inappropriately interested in me. In the first week of classes I saw him in the hallway before class and asked him for directions to the copy office (where materials for our mutual class were). He obliged, but then obviously felt that me asking for directions put me in his debt and spent the next hour following me around the building and trying to engage in conversation with me. The next night during our class he pushed a note over to my desk that asked me out for coffee and had his number on it. I said, "thanks, but I'm seeing someone." He dropped it, but when he saw me on the bus later that week he came and sat down in my seat and badgered me about why I wouldn't "just" go out for coffee with him. He continued to attempt to engage me in conversation, make comments about my appearance to me and others, stare at me, etc, throughout the quarter. That quarter was pretty uncomfortable for me, but, again, he was never overtly angry towards me, just creepily aggressive/possessive and presumptuous. I dealt with that situation by speaking to my professor during office hours and requesting that she not place me in groups with him for classwork, avoiding putting myself in close proximity to him whenever possible, and being vigilant. But, had he progressed further in invading my personal space, shown up in my life in ways that suggested he was following me, or displayed rage or physical aggression toward me, I would have made a more formal complaint with both the college and the police. Luckily this guy did not know my number, address, email, or last name, so he would have found it somewhat more difficult to push himself farther into my life. I don't know if he was just clueless and mostly harmless in general or whether I ended up to be more trouble to intimidate than he initially surmised, but either way I was glad that the encounter was as curtailed as it ended up being.

Most recently, there is a young man who works at a convenience store near my apartment who displays absolutely inappropriate behavior towards me, to the point that I am actually quite frightened of him. When I have been in the store, he follows me around or watches me the entire time (even if there are other customers), insists on speaking with me and getting a response (if I don't respond he yells or slams his fist on the counter to demand my attention) even if I am on the phone or being helped by another clerk, asks personal and inappropriate questions (Where do you work? Where do you live? Do you have a boyfriend? etc.). The last time I was in the store (quite a few months ago), he asked "How is your work at the school going?" I never told him where I worked! So, while is conceivable that he's simply seen me coming in and out of the school (it's in the general area), regardless, this is completely NOT okay. I don't know how to handle this particular situation. What I've chosen to do is tell everyone in my life that there is a young man who works at this store who I believe to be dangerous and that I will not go into this store anymore. I am careful not to be out and about near the store in the evening on my own. I don't think this guy has done anything, yet, that I can take any actual action about, but I know, bone-deep, that given the opportunity, he would.

Sorry- I don't actually have that much helpful advice on how to get someone to stop treating you this way. Especially if she has much more access to you in personal life (knowing your address, phone number, etc.). When this has happened to me it hasn't ended in a serious confrontation or physical danger- and hopefully that will be the case for you as well. Again, to me, the rage in your situation is the immediate red flag that would push me to tell people, make a record of telling her to stop all communication, and consider making a formal harassment complaint. Other suggestions I can make would be to keep a record of her continued contacts (emails, texts, or escalations like leaving a note on your car, for example). I think Russ is right about distance- if you're completely unavailable, invisible, and unresponsive, my experiences seem to suggest that this type of person will move on. Again, I'm so sorry this is happening and making you feel scared and unsafe.

This is, truly, more like what I actually do. I just wondered if there was a better way. Clearly, there's no magical way to get people to say your name correctly. And, while I do think there are "things" in my life, I definitely wouldn't consider this to be one of them, so I'm not going to sweat it.

Yeah, ozchick, I think my question is coming off as more serious than it was. I usually will just introduce myself and correct maybe once or twice, and then let it go. But it does make me uncomfortable, and like I said, I'm too shy to keep pressing the issue, so I thought people might have some other strategies to suggest.

Wow, aggressive much? I didn't say I think it's a conspiracy or intentional, but I do think that a lot of the time the person in question chooses not to make the effort to change what they've already settled on calling me even when I gently correct them. And I do find that rude. I'm not saying you don't have trouble with names, I'm sure you do. But this happens to me on a daily basis, so obviously all these people do not have issues with pronunciation (especially when they say everything else correctly). Also, having your name spelled incorrectly is different than having people call you something that isn't your name.

Actually, it's *exactly* like that, Jen. But it's not just ESL people who can't say it correctly, like I said, we're talking about 60% of people who meet me.

Sorry about the bombardment of questions, eadams, don't feel obliged to answer them! It just seems you may know more about this topic than the average bear.

Also, my experiences on this are completely within the confines of the B&N/nook model, which is not specifically what Chloe asked about.

As far as your first paragraph goes, I agree-that's where I was trying to go with my statements (albeit perhaps inelegantly). If companies are primarily dealing in ebooks, then they don't have to shoulder the costs of having a retail space, but still charge the same price for ebooks as paperbacks. I get that the publishers are the ones being accused of price-fixing in the article I noted, but they control what actual retailers have to pay for the product; the cost the retailer pays inherently informs the cost the consumer pays, no? I didn't mean to accuse independent booksellers of price gouging, should have been more precise in my language. I guess my question is, aren't the physical production costs and the costs associated with transporting, storing, and selling books drastically reduced with ebooks? And if so, why aren't we seeing that in prices (with paperbacks vs. non-newly-published ebooks)?

I do see that many new releases (hardbacks) are cheaper to buy in ebook format, but as I don't read many new releases/best sellers, I see no significant difference between what I would pay in a bookstore for a paperback and what I pay for an ebook, and often it's more- if I went looking for an older paperback I could find it gently used for much cheaper. For example, the paperback version of Maisie Dobbs (by Jacqueline Winspear) is $10.98 at Barnes and Noble, while the nook version is $9.99. Another example is The Mermaids Singing (by Val McDermid), which is $7.99 in paperback format and $7.99 for the nook book. Shouldn't there be some reduction in cost based on the fact that there are no costs associated with physical production of each nook book, they take no space to store, display, or sell, and they do not need to be transported from a manufacturer to a bookstore? Or are these costs actually a tiny portion of the "sticker price" on a book?

I think it is fair to note that I usually frequent small, locally owned used bookstores rather than the mega chains, so I am simply used to paying less than original retail price for books, and some of my astonishment at prices is coming from this expectation. While I absolutely agree that most independent bookstore owners and employees love books (it's pretty obvious when you're shopping if the proprietor is a book-lover), I sincerely doubt the same is true of the corporate bookstores, and my comments were meant to apply to these large businesses that are handling most of the ebook trade (and producing the devices upon which ebooks are accessed).

Thanks, sublevel. I don't want to bring it up with the provider, as I think that puts him in an awfully awkward situation, but I think I'm getting a general consensus here, so I appreciate everybody's input.

Thanks for your response, asteria. This provider does indeed take insurance, and I think that was part of my quandary (though I failed to really highlight it in my question), as I suspect it is billed higher than other types of massage and the nature of the service is truly medical.

The provider in question works out of Paul Perrotta and Associates in the Seattle Healing Arts Center. I'm not seeing his personal profile on the SHA site, but the office can be reached at 729-8000, and his name is Mike.