Dom

Hey! Well when I read a story that has drugs or drinking, even under age. I just think it makes the story more real and it really doesn't bother me. I can count the times I drank or other on one hand, when I was in high school. After high school, for some reason I think everyone loses their mind, wants to party and drink all the dam time until they hit their mid twenties. (shruggs) Your body doesnt recover as quickly.

When a story has a drinking and fight scene it reminds of the time I was in an argument with this women (who turn out to be an off duty cop). You know what I'll just say this I pushed her. My friend said other wise, but we do agree the cop started first. There I feel clean of sin.

Peace

Santia

I have a few questions. Like, when you see drug use in any story, does it bother you? Or does it remind you of highschool?

No- it doesn't bother me as long as it is a plot element and not the entire plot. Oh, and yes, it does remind me of high school.

And for younger readers, do you read a story where there

If you can't tell the difference between fiction and reality then you're either insane or dumb enough that you'd kill yourself doing either of those two activities anyway. You don't need help from an author.

That being said, I'm weird and I will often find myself imitating in style or manner of speech a character from a particularly good novel or movie I've read or seen. I'll steal words from their vocabulary or start posturing on top of tall buildings/cliffs while laughing maniacally. Maybe I don't need a novel to make me do that, but yeah...

That being said I'm about as innocent as you can get, so no drugs/alcohol don't remind me of high school. They remind me of umm, college? Or what I'll expect it to be like?

//shadows

P.S. Don't starve to death, we need many more chapters of DD! And they aren't too short, I think the only way you could satisfy some people is if you typed faster than they could read...

Well that's a complicated question for me. Personally I'm rather anti-drugs, I always have been, and have never tried an illegal (unless you count drinking underage). My disapproval for drugs only got stronger after witnessing some bad effects it's had on some people I've known. However, it makes me look rather hypocritcal, but I don't have a problem with the characters drinking. I did drink a pretty good bit in High School (certainly alot more than I did in college), and was usually pretty safe with it, and just had a good time.

Weed is a special sorta case. Over the years I've come to think of it more on a par with alcohol than other illegal substances, and as such I don't react as strongly against it. Most people I know who've used/use weed seem to be very similar to people who drink; most just enjoy it but aren't obsessed, some have tried it and don't like it, some are addicted. So while I would have been very bothered if you'd had the characters snorting coke or something, I wasn't as upset about the weed; though I did find Owen sexier till he did it (but I pretty much got over it anyway).

Though if you want me to be perfectly honest, I would say it seemed like it was presented in a fairly positive light in TLW. I mean Owen, Aiden, and Ryan were highly likeable characters, nothing bad did happen to them, and everything turned out pretty well. Also Owen's brothers (also cool dudes) seemed to implicitly support it. Anyway getting to the point, it didn't personally bother me that much because I'm not THAT closed minded about weed, a different drug would have bothered me more.

Do I think it influences people? Well I've never been a fan of blaming your actions on anyone else. Sure I think peer-presure exists, and it's a crudy thing to do to someone, but ultimately everyone's responsible for their own actions. So it shouldn't influence people, and it's not an excuse, but it probably does. And James made a good point, most of the people I've known who've had serious problems with drugs (or alcohol) had other issues they were dealing with. Of course the drugs only made it worse, and perhaps the very fact that some people are more vulnerable than others is cause for special consideration, but yeah if it's a "clean cut kid" who has plenty of emotional support and no serious problems, I wouldn't think he/she would go out and begin his/her life as a hopeless addict after reading about it in one of your stories.

So I think I just managed to give you a very long-winded and ultimately inconclusive reply......I should probably edit it or something, but I should be sleeping right now too lol. Anyway to leave you on a positive note, I'd say the good your stories do far out-weighs this possible concern. You present images of strong, healthy, virtuous gay people, who manage to work out their problems and issues, and find themselves in a healthy, long-term relationship. This is extremely inspiring and encouraging, and I'm sure it's done an indescribable amount of good in the lives of many gay youths. It provides quite a bit of hope and a positive example; I don't think many people could miss the overall very positive message and instead take from it "Getting high is the way to go in life". So anyway have an awesome day and don't worry I think you're positively impacting people's lives, not negatively.

Kevin

Hey Dom, I wouldn't worry about the people who complain about drug use in literature, because they are either closed minded, living in a bubble or a former addict that hasn't come to terms with it being portrayed in an objective light.

I think it would be rather remiss of any author who writes fiction with teen characters to not have any form of drug use in their works at some point, from what I've read over 50% of teens have tried illegal drugs, however I think it would be safe to say the number would more likely be around 60% or more. The stats I have seen which are a few years old (because I haven't found any new ones) would also show that 25% of teens use illegal drugs once a month, yet again I think that number is rather low and incorrect.

Many people have mentioned the consequences of drug use, outside of financial there are often none for recreational use, go to most clubs on a saturday night and likely half the crowd will have had some drug, the majority of them aren't addicts.....For every person who is an addict, there will be 10 who use drugs recreationally without addiction, so if you can distiguish between recreation and addiction then there is realism in your stories on the subject.

I think the way you have portrayed drug use is realistic, in TLW it was recreational, sitting around having fun and relaxing in a social way, in TOU Trina had issues she wasn't dealing with and tried to escape them by drinking heavily and regulary.

Safer sex requires condoms, lube, PEP (Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) if a condom breaks, regular blood testing if sexually active and the list goes on.....Not everyone will take those steps, you can't control what people do, you can try and influence them but yet again it comes back to realism....

As for unsafe sex in stories, I don't know what effect it has on younger guys, but I do know that the rate of unsafe sex is increasing, mainly due to young guys not seeing their friends dying in hospital like what happened in the 80's-early 90's. If young guys insist on unsafe sex then make sure it is an exclusive relationship (after sexual health testing) with a guy under 25, simply because the number of guys under 25 with an STD or HIV is really low compaired to those over 25, with those in the 30-50 range being the most HIV/STD infected group. I have no doubt someone over 30 will attack me for what i just said, but look at the facts.

I have also worked in the sexual health field so I do know what I'm talking about, however not everyone will practice safer sex all the time, so there has to be a multi-layered approach to it. I know that in relation to gay sex education in particular that school's have a lot to answer for, since they provide next to no information, I imagine it's worse in the US with that abstinence only nonsense.

That of any help Dom?

(K i just finished writing this comment, and it is LONG, so its cool if no one wants to read it...but i wanted to write it anyways)

shit, how did you last all day? i once did that and i had a huge headache and stomach ache and i got yelled at. many times.

what i LIKE about your stories is that they are pretty realistic. and a lot of times, there is drugs or alcohol or unsafe sex in real life...thats probably why a lot of ppl are sick right now, and ppl have aids and whatnot, and if we were to ignore the fact that those things existed...that doesn't help anything, it just helps to make ppl more ignorant to everything. the fact that they have all these ads on tv about aids and statistics about a lot of things, helps to make ppl aware. and your stories help make ppl aware too, only in story format readers can actually kind of experience the feelings that comes with doing stuff (from the repercussions-both good and bad). and yeah as an author i guess it would be a really good idea to be conscious (or conscience...i dont' know right now) that there are going to be ppl that can be influenced even though they probably shouldn't.

but its just like...if your reading something about a "cool" person and you see what it is that they do to be cool...then do it. but i mean. its not like you should take responsibilty for if ppl read ur stuff and start doing those things, cause movies and tv are probably so much more influential, and if you weren't going to portray a character as himself, then theres really no point. readers should understand that a character is a character. they do what they do cause they do it. it doesn't really have anything to do with another person, so if ur not that character...then its not really justifiable if you do something to imitate them. maybe i don't know. its like 9am, and thats pretty damn early for me to be up, especialy since i woke up at 6:30, and maybe i'm ranting i have a sneaking suspicion that i am, and that i may not be making sense... but i'll be done soon).

and as a writer i think that its really up to you about what points you want to get across through your writing. is safe drug use or safe sex a msg you want to get across? or are they just part of character development or whatever. if it doesn't really matter, then yeah, why not integrate safe sex into the story, but i mean...i think that a lot of ppl know about that stuff and that its important already. k i don't know if i'm even going anywhere with this, but i'm hoping you got my point and i'm starting to see why my english teacher said i lacked organization.

if you are really wanting to make one of those things a point in your story, then yeah i think stories is the best way (other than actually experiencing the repercussions), cause you get to make ppl emotional about things. a lot of things i've learned or a lot of theories i've come up with have been because i read so many stories. cause i take things from them and i learn from them. but that might not work if 'bad' things are portrayed in a good light. which i don't think you do anyways. so not to worry

oh, and does anyone else think its STUPID AS HELL that canada, and specically toronto is becoming so crime-y? and its probably going to be blamed on hip-hop and all that and i could understand why. but i mean seriously i, and many of my friends listen to that stuff a lot. we don't go out and get guns and shit and start shooting it up...why start gangs, honestly. ur killing ppl. and its upsetting. and ppl are hurting everywhere. i sound really judgemental right now...

wow that was a reallllly long rant. sry about that.

M

Casual drug and alcohol use in stories makes me uncomfortable, just like it did when I was in high school. I don't mind it in stories like TOU, where Trina's drinking is part of the plot, and has consequences for her. This is pretty much a personal thing, though - I think whether or not you drink, smoke pot, or get addicted to drugs has more to do with who you hang out with and what your life is like than what you read online.

As for sex without a condom? On the one hand, even a very young teenager reading one of your stories can presumably tell the difference between fiction and reality. On the other hand, I think the condom issue should be addressed in some way. If your characters don't use them, or ever mention or think about them, you run the risk of letting your younger readers think that's the norm. After all, you write fiction, but the world you set your stories in isn't fictional.

Chapter 25 of DD was amazing as usual. I love that story more with every new chapter.

<hugs> Dom, no matter what, we'll never be able to get enough of your stories, so PLEASE dont take it personally when we say it was too short, its just our way of saying, we were so wrapped up in the story we didnt want it to ever end, although we KNOW its gonna end, we still dont want it to <hugs>

casual drugs and sex ARE part of real life, maybe not for EVERYONE, but it IS happening, even as we read/type/talk whatever, and just like others have said, it DOES have consequences, so it doesnt bother me one way or the other, <hugs> go eat

Tim

I'm straight-edge, so I don't smoke, drink, do drugs, or f*ck around, and drug use and drinking in stories doesn't really bother me at all. To me, it just makes it more realistic. I just started college, and for the first time in my life I am being exposed to people my age who smoke, drink, and do drugs. I mean, of course I knew or heard about lots of kids who did drugs etc in high school, but I guess because of my friends or something I was never really exposed to it. Two of my close friends here go out and come back drunk or high at least once or twice a week. I disagree with it, but I'm not going to try to make them stop because it is their own personal choice. Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is that it seems really unlikely that kids will be influenced by writing in a fiction story and go out and do pot or have unsafe sex because of it. I have read lots and lots of books with stuff like that in it, and I have still never done drugs or anything. Everyone makes their own personal choice about that sort of stuff and although I suppose it could be possible that someone is in part influenced by the writing in a story, it seems pretty unlikely.

Sorry if half of what I wrote didn't make sense... I just woke up...

Cheers,

Izzy

Gee, these questuions are sure prompting long answers. I'll try to keep mine short, but I fear it's not a simple one.

I'm seriously an old lady now but I remember vividly what my teenaged years were like. Oy, do I ever, and I am very glad I don't have to do that again, though I can say I wish I could undo some things and do some things I didn't, but not much because regret is a waste of time. Where was I?

No story ever made a kid go out and shoot themselves up, even if the kid thinks so. Kids live in a milieu, with a lot of influences. That being said, I agree that writers have some responsibility to contribute to the milieu in constructive ways. But those constructive ways are not "show a negative consequence for every single act of drug use --" it's just not that simple. You could write a story in which the main character uses several heavy drugs several times unscathed and still, because of the whole story and all the things in it , end up with a conclusion that he probably shouldn't have done it and probably shouldn't do any more of it. Or you could not promote a position about the drugs at all because your story is busy being responsible about something else.

There are more realistic stories and less realistic stories. You write in the more realistic corner. And that, I think, is your answer: if the character you're writing about tokes or drinks or does whatever, it's probably going to show up in the story.

I'm going to tell you not to second guess yourself when you're writing what "really happened" (I think you know what I mean by that -- there's ways that fiction can be more true or less true, and when you're writing you sometimes have this burning clear vision of what's more true). You can read it over when you're revising and editing to make sure it feels right to you, but don't try to force a message: you already have one built in to your stories as it is, and it's important and positive as it stands.*

When I was first writingThe Donor I had some bad moments that a person could read it and think I was making a metaphor for certain relationships, and comparing them to the predations of a monster. But I stopped worrying about it when I realized that I really had, unknown to myself, built an entirely different metaphor, all about caring for each other and being responsible. I had thought I was just writing this story that had popped into my head full-blown when I was a little girl (eleven) and kept around until I was old enough to write it.

*I will only tell you what this message is if you insist: I'm not sure you really want to know.

 

As for unsafe sex in stories, I don't know what effect it has on younger guys, but I do know that the rate of unsafe sex is increasing, mainly due to young guys not seeing their friends dying in hospital like what happened in the 80's-early 90's. If young guys insist on unsafe sex then make sure it is an exclusive relationship (after sexual health testing) with a guy under 25, simply because the number of guys under 25 with an STD or HIV is really low compaired to those over 25, with those in the 30-50 range being the most HIV/STD infected group. I have no doubt someone over 30 will attack me for what i just said, but look at the facts.

Oy, do not, do not, do not, take age as an indication of safety when deciding how much precaution to take when having sex, please, please. After steadily dropping, the rate of infection is going up . . . among the young, especially.

Did your health teacher tell you that every time you have sex with a person you're also having sex with every person that they've ever had sex with? And that you don't know who those people are?

People who mean well and intend to be honest can "forget" to tell you about that one time at that party they went to and got kind of blasted and got it on with somebody that they never saw again, and really they're not the kind of person who does that and they were pretty sure that they didn't do anything really unsafe and the other person was probably nearly a virgin and couldn't have picked up anything scary anyway and it was the only time they ever did anything risky because they're really responsible all the time.

And that's all it takes.

(My stepmother is an AIDS outreach and education person, just came home from a stint in Africa helping to develop local programs for HIV positive self-care, mutual aid, and peer education/counseling: had a stroke in Tanzania, is recovering at home now: she practically invented her field back at the beginning of the epidemic: so naturally I'm more conscious of this issue than you might expect)

How the hell do you forget to eat??

I've forgotten my cell phone, or someone's name and one time I got half way to work before I realized I'd forgotten my glasses (not a good thing as I can't see two feet in front of me without them), and there are times I'd like to forget I've got a husband and kids, but I've never forgotten to eat.

Sharon

(This post was self-edited before actually posting. Mom-mode was out in full force. )

How the hell do you forget to eat??

 

I've forgotten my cell phone, or someone's name and one time I got half way to work before I realized I'd forgotten my glasses (not a good thing as I can't see two feet in front of me without them), and there are times I'd like to forget I've got a husband and kids, but I've never forgotten to eat.

 

Sharon

(This post was self-edited before actually posting. Mom-mode was out in full force. )

Please I'm the king at forgetting everything. I could forget myself If I wasn't attached to myself. So I can relate to Mr. Luka.

Dom sometimes boredom is good take it from me, Boredom is something I'd wish happened more often in my life.

Alright for the drug thing I'm very much against drugs. I don't tolerate drugs because I have seen what they have done to people that were once close to me, this is why I don't do them, but seriously It's your story dude. Ovbiously if they had a problem with them then they shouldn't be reading them. We all know how talented you are and you shouldn't be second guessing yourself over someone's opinion. It's a story, a good one at that. They should just be happy that they had the chance to read it. It's not going to make anyone use drugs. People make their own choices.

Alright the sex thing. It's a natural part of every human being. People are going to either do it or they are not. We cant all be responsible for people choices. There is enough information out there about protection and if people choose not to use it then they are responsible for their choices.

So be happy rejoice. You can always have my crazy ass life, featuring crazy ex boyfriends, psycho cumpulsive liars, freaky friends and beautiful boyfriends...uh on second thought you can't have the last one. Try to get some sleep man...

GREEN

Drug use in stories very much reminds me of highschool. The first thing I got asked by alot of people the first day of grade 9 was "Do you smoke up?" to which i replied "no." But I do know that every party I went to, you could smell the pot in the air, and often smelled it when walking by the smoking section at school. I tried pot a few times, but had a few friends who used acid, shrooms, and who smoked pot on a regular basis.. Upon reflection, they weren't very happy people.

However I know that drugs can ruin lives and that the reason why I only tried pot a few times is because my mom was addicted to pot until I was about 8. And it landed my 35 year old uncle in the hospital with 3rd degree frostbite on his feet one winter, because he decided to announce to the neighborhood, from his balcony, that he was santa clause This was right after a messy divorce so he was doing ALOT of drugs I'm told. I think the only time pot use bothers me is when it's adults, cause when it's teens it seems more innocent and experimental.

I however, choose not to drink, smoke, or do drugs. I preffer to be clear minded, and that's hard enough without drugs

Dom sometimes boredom is good take it from me, Boredom is something I'd wish happened more often in my life.

That I believe. Your blog worries me.

None of the things mentioned bother me a bit in stories. They're stories. My creative writing classes think I'm obsessed with sex, but really only my characters are, because the situations that surround sex are hilarious to me. But alas, many of my friends who read my writing ask if I plan on being a romance novelist, and the scary thing is I'm actually starting to take them seriously.

And if the stuff does remind me of high school it is because I am a small town kid, and there was little else for most people to do, though I didn't do mcuh of it myself. It is weird, but when I was younger and not as religious, drug and alcohol use bothered me a lot, as did the thought of unprotected sex. Now that I have survived UC Santa Barbara (a.k.a. the University of Casual Sex and Beer), and more religious, that stuff doesn't bother me so much any more.

I mention this, because I talked to a friend of mine who is straight edge, and she mentioned that she was a virgin, completely abstained from alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs, and was atheist. And I, well, I don't do drugs, but aminly because I am related to too many addicts, and I don't want to risk it.

Shows how much stereotypes know.

Cheers,

B1ue

aww....

*hands dom a plate of cookies and sends the hot mechanic over to your house to give you a massage*

Dom,

Reading about drug use and unprotected sex should be in a story if it's integral to the plot line and it's realistically portrayed including the consequences. It's a fact of life that people don't always make the best choices in life and I've always been attracted to your stories because the characters are believable.

Growing up in a small town outside Montreal (with 18 being the legal drinking age and generally european attitude towards alcohol and drugs...) was different than many of my friends in university. My parents and most of the parents of my friends had no problem with drinking at 15-16 years old but they were VERY strict about drinking and driving. This really didn't make drinking part of the whole teenage rebellion thing and after a couple of hangovers, you learn moderation. When I went to university near Toronto none of my friends had any real experience with alcohol until their sophmore year and some got themselves into alot of trouble.

I have tried a few drugs (mainly pot, hash & mushrooms) but I stayed away from them mainly because I saw some friends (and more than a few relatives) destroy their lives when they became addicts. I think the contrast between Aiden & Trina shows that you portray drugs & alcohol realistically and responsibly.

Steve

Weed is a special sorta case. Over the years I've come to think of it more on a par with alcohol than other illegal substances, and as such I don't react as strongly against it.

That is exactly how I feel on the drug issue. From my personal experience there seems to be some kind of invisible social line between those people who drink and smoke weed, and those who do more hardcore drugs. I personally feel like how you have handled addiction (Aiden's mother, Trina) has been fine, as well as the intermittent drug use, and I just can't picture you writing a story that would make some young reader say "I want to do a line."

On the other hand, I feel like there are probably a lot of people out there reading your stories who have not dabbled in sex yet, and that you should probably tread carefully in this area. Because they have not, your stories may be a primary basis of their imaginings of how their first time would be, and I can see how that could have effects on the impressionable.

I don't think you should have to feel like you have to preach safe practises through your stories, and honestly I think the way you have handled it is perfectly fine.

Ah Sex and drugs in storys. No it doese not bother me. As said numerouse times prior people should undertand the difference between reality and Fiction. I beleave that alot of people want someone to blame.Ifr they are the person doing the ( drugs, sex and so on) I beleave that MOST of the time, somewere inside they feal guilty and want to put the blame on someone or something elce to make themselfs feal better. The parents in the those situations SOMETIMES want o blame someone or something rlce but there child. Now that being said, I have a 2 year old son and I would NOT have him watch a movie that glorified drugs. But I will also take an active role in his life.

I would not however read a story that is ALL drugs and stuff cause there is no point to the story. Now i do not agree with drugs, I do drink alcohol ocationally. But in a story or movie or show it doese not bother me. I mean hello I am a CSI finatic.

Like I said before It all boilsdown to a person know the difference between reality and fiction. Like take for example Harry Potter. Allot of people think that if you watch those movies you are evil. But with that too its is a fictional entertaining story. I tell some people No I do not beleive there is a hogwarts and no i do not beleive there is that wizerding world in the movie but it is entertaining and it doese not change my opinion. just like the drugs aspect in storys No I do not agree with drugs but it is a part of the story and the story doese not change my views on drugs. Well enoph of my ramling.

Tiffany

Well that's a complicated question for me. Personally I'm rather anti-drugs, I always have been, and have never tried an illegal (unless you count drinking underage). My disapproval for drugs only got stronger after witnessing some bad effects it's had on some people I've known. However, it makes me look rather hypocritcal, but I don't have a problem with the characters drinking. I did drink a pretty good bit in High School (certainly alot more than I did in college), and was usually pretty safe with it, and just had a good time.

 

Weed is a special sorta case. Over the years I've come to think of it more on a par with alcohol than other illegal substances, and as such I don't react as strongly against it. Most people I know who've used/use weed seem to be very similar to people who drink; most just enjoy it but aren't obsessed, some have tried it and don't like it, some are addicted. So while I would have been very bothered if you'd had the characters snorting coke or something, I wasn't as upset about the weed; though I did find Owen sexier till he did it (but I pretty much got over it anyway).

 

 

complicated just scratches the surface. what a loaded question dom.

i also am rather anti-drug except for the one that an overdose wont kill you. unfortunately i will lose popularity for my next statement--alcohol can kill you. too many young people think they are invincible when it comes to drinking and i have been to 2 too many funerals of friends under 18 that have drank themselves too death, and its not something i would wish upon the families of my worst enemies.

that being said, i think that including it in any story makes it more real, because it is out there and happening everywhere if you look for it. there is also a difference in recreational use and addiction of any drug--there is also knowing your limits which some people use responsibly and some people ignore and only yourself knows which way you are.

ok thats as deep as i care to go on that matter--- dom u rock please keep writing and thank you for giving all of us our much needed fix of "domaliterature"

complicated just scratches the surface. what a loaded question dom.

i also am rather anti-drug except for the one that an overdose wont kill you. unfortunately i will lose popularity for my next statement--alcohol can kill you. too many young people think they are invincible when it comes to drinking and i have been to 2 too many funerals of friends under 18 that have drank themselves too death, and its not something i would wish upon the families of my worst enemies.

 

that being said, i think that including it in any story makes it more real, because it is out there and happening everywhere if you look for it. there is also a difference in recreational use and addiction of any drug--there is also knowing your limits which some people use responsibly and some people ignore and only yourself knows which way you are.

 

ok thats as deep as i care to go on that matter--- dom u rock please keep writing and thank you for giving all of us our much needed fix of "domaliterature"

Dude, I think you just gave Dom the way to properly bump Aaron off the face of DD.

Thanks for weighing in guys. I was curious to know what others thought about it.

It's been 4 yrs since I graduated from high school and and now thinking back on it I was not ....um shall we say holy. It don't bother me that there is sex and drugs in your stories Dom, I know I had my share of stories but I can say that I have really great friends that would take really good care of me and I still do and I love them for that. For the unpretected sex part well I did it twice but with the same person and before we did I made sure that we (well him, I was still a virgin Luckily so was he) were safe to do it, we did once again but then I dicided to to use protection from there on.

Dom what I am trying to say is when I read this in you stories well it makes your stories so realistic and at times reminds me of my high school days. Although I would not change that for the world it's fun that your stories bring me back there. I will say that it don't compare with my now college years but I am much older and wiser now then back then. So people should not get all worked out about what they are reading because it is happening in this world as I am typing this now

much love

rekop1

*Squees!* This is my first Blog commenty thinger. And only becuase its for Dom...heh heh..

Uh the forgetting to eat thing, shit happens, The thing about drugs, I've tried them, and being im a "young reader" I would say that it brings realism and a sense of being involved with your stories.

Anyway it's not like your really out to prove to the big wigs that you are a goody goody. Where would any of the #1 bestsellers be without the intended plot?

"Well Sally, If we dont get this man to the hospital in time, He's gonna have a really big boo boo." f**k that man...You kick ass, Don't stop the awesome writing and PLEASE!!! Don't Give up on DD. It actually got me through tough times...When I was depressed, it made me feel better. I've been reading it since you first posted it. It's coming out great....That Seth guy is my very own image of the perfect guy. So...Thanks!

AS for the other stuff you blogged about, If your sis has a new BF, i'm sure she just wants some kind of companionship, and stuff...ask any teen why they hide their friends from their parents most times...

Thanks again Dom,

You rock.

Husky.