fix at least one subtle async issue with synchronized strings and the database
fix at least one subtle async issue with synchronized strings and the database

sagemathinc/smc,sagemathinc/smc,tscholl2/smc,sagemathinc/smc,tscholl2/smc,tscholl2/smc,tscholl2/smc,tscholl2/smc,sagemathinc/smc,DrXyzzy/smc,DrXyzzy/smc,DrXyzzy/smc,DrXyzzy/smc