AFriendlyFace

Hey Colin! Thanks Actually I've kind of always wanted to be a linguist, but it's one of those things I decided would be more fun as a hobby than as a career Take care and have a teriffic day! Kevin

Good Luck, Nick! I hope it all works out. Just make sure to take care of yourself and get enough sleep Kevin

Good for you!

Happy Birthday Dio

Oh Chaz, there is nothing I can I say I wish I could make you and everyone else feel better, but I can't . Take care of yourself and take the time you need. Still thinking of you guys and keeping you in my prayers -Kevin

I think what it comes down to is what's the most salient. We see our pets on a daily bases so we feed them and look after them. We see ourselves and our families on a daily bases so again we feed them and look after them. We don't see strangers hundreds of miles away. So despite the fact that intellectually we know they're there and we do feel bad for them, we just don't think to do anything. Here's another example of what I mean. Everday I come in and read people's blogs, or go the message board, or visit with people in chat. I really do care what happens to these people. I really am upset about the bad things and happy for the good things. Two years ago these same people were still going on with their lives, still feeling the misery and joy...and I didn't (personally) care. Out there in the world right now someone's unhappy or elated, but I haven't met them yet, so I don't share in the experience with them. In a few months perhaps they'll be at this forum, or living next to me, or working in the same building...and suddenly I will care. My personal acquaintanceship with them doesn't change their experiences, nor does it change the fact that the may be wonderful people worthy of every amount of sympathy or vicarious joy. But I still need to meet them, see them, personally interact with them first. There are people in the world suffering right now, and if I think about it and see the opportunity maybe I will donate a few dollars. Maybe I'll even donate a little time if it fits nicely with my schedule and it seems "worthy". But to REALLY care and REALLY make the effort to fix it I'm going to need to know the personal details. My cat's hungry, I'll feed him. My coworker is hungry, I'll buy him lunch. Someone starving in a poverty stricken country? Well I want to help but...

OH poor thing Unfortunately you're definitely right there Take care, Kevin

Hey David I bet you're brilliant at that! I didn't know it was out! **skips around and claps his hands** I don't have time to read it tonight, but it's nice to know it's there! Good luck getting everything taken care of and saving money. I was about to suggest a few things you could do to take away the boredom,,,but they'd probably require money (hmm unless instead of shopping you're game for "shoplifting"! ) hey, so no pressue, but when can we expect the next chapter of SOOTB? **hopeful look** (don't make me use my puppy dog face! ) hehehe, I'm sure it'll be great whenever it arrives though Anyway take care, have a fun and productive week....and wear a helmet Kevin

I'm so glad it worked out! Hey Luc! Don't worry I bet Cubby will be fine! Some cats really do have much better maternal instincts that others. When I was a kid we had this old cat, Tabitha, and she had a daughter, Dusky. Anyway one time they both had kittens within days of each other. So we set them up in neighbouring boxes. Well Tabitha, loved kittens, and Dusky was an inexperienced mom (it was her first litter), so grandma decided to step in an raise them ALL. The next thing we knew she had 11 kittens in the box with her! :wacko: We also did end up raising one or two from a bottle. The first one lived to be 15 years old (he just passed away not quite a year ago ). Anyway there's lots of chances for Cubby, and we're all rooting for him! Take care, Kevin

Hey Dom Glad to hear you're doing well. Don't worry about us, just write at your own pace and we'll happily devour what ever you give us whenever you give it to us Take care and have a good day, Kevin

Hey Nick I really liked Obligation to Myself . You did a great job taking on the P.O.V. of the straight Jock, way to go I'd say your work just keeps getting better and better. I'm sure some day you'll fulfill all your aspirations. It's awesome that you're going to stay and keep sharing your writing with us! Thank You. Take care and have a great week Kevin

Happy Birthday, Reaper! I hope you've been well. Have an awesome birthday and a teriffic day! Kevin

Like these fine people I refer to it as a "soft drink". Like Kitty (I wasn't that far from N.O.) it was not uncommon to hear it referred to as a "cold drink" or just a "Coke", though personally I don't think I ever called it anything but a "soft drink". I wouldn't like burst out laughing or anything if someone called it a, "soda", "pop", "soda pop", "cold drink", or "Coke", but I probably wouldn't naturally describe it that way myself. I might use one of the other terms to be silly, but never just naturally in conversation Of course it's mostly irrelevant for me anyway, regardless of what you call them I don't drink them Take care and have a refreshing day everyone Kevin

EVERYONE is a sexual being, RK. It's fine if you're not sexually active, but don't make yourself into a symbolic eunuch. I think you should go along at your own pace, and not do anything until you're ready, just try not to deny your feelings or think of yourself as someone who would "never have sex" (even with someone you were in love with). Take care and have a great day Kevin

Wooo Hooo!!! This is so awesome! I'm really happy for you and Seb, Jakob! I wish you a very long and happy life together! Congrats!! Kevin

Oh Chaz, There's really nothing I can say. I'm so sorry. You and your families and friends will be in my prayers. Take care. -Kevin

I'm glad the kittens are doing well for the most part! That's awesome about the ones with the bad legs doing better and walking around So sorry to hear about Little Baby's kitten . At least the rest are doing well. Take care and have a great day Kevin

Wooo HOOo Happy Birthday, Vance!! I hope you have an amazing day and a teriffic year! Take care and all the best, Kevin

Now I know what some of you might be thinking, "Oh goodness, this is going to be really long if he's actually admitting it's wordy in the title." However, you'd be wrong. Oh I'm not saying it won't be long, perhaps it will, but certainly no longer than my typical blog entry. No, this entry is in fact about Words. I love words! They're one of my all time favourite things to utter. The thing about words and expression though, is that if you look at their usual meaning versus their literal meaning an amusing disparity often arises. Take the example of the phrase "looking forward to". "Looking forward to" would logically simply mean thinking about a time in the future when the event in question is going to be taking place. However, in common parlance the meaning exclusively implies that this event will be good. I'm "looking forward to" getting paid, I'm "looking forward to" reading that next chapter! But surely not everything that one "looks forward to" is good. I mean I'm all in favour of positive thinking, but sometimes you can't help but think about something bad or unpleasant which is going to happen. Thus, why can't you be "looking forward" to your colonoscopy? Or perhaps you're on death row. "yes, I'm really quite looking forward to my execuction. In fact it's practically all I can think about!" Or perhaps you've ticked off someone big and nasty. "Oh no, he's going to give you an awful beating when he finds out." "yeah I know, I'm really looking forward to it." Then there's "the way". The prepositions you use with "the way"are of vital importance. No one wants to be "in the way", but it's not so bad to be "on your way". You can tell all sorts of interesting things "from the way" someone says something. Oh and "by the way" make sure to yield to the person who has the "right of way". Now what's that about anyway? I've always found it a little insulting. I mean say I'm on my way to the hospital, sure my way is of the utmost importance, yet some doik (my own word ) might be cruising around and still have "the right of way". . What a mysterious thing "the way" is! I guess the only way to tell what someone means is to listen to the way in which they say it. I was on my way to the store when suddenly I found myself in the way of a very large truck who had the right of way. From the way the tires screeched I knew I was going to be hit. By the way seatbelts save lives. Speaking of "finding myself" I must say that's got to be one of my favourite idioms! It sounds so joyous. Like you're having some sort of outer body experience and your essence flits into a new room only to discover your body! "ohhh I found myself!". Of course it doesn't have to be positive. Sometimes people "find themselves" in all sorts of cruddy situations. "Yes, I suddenly found myself with a broken arm", "well if you hadn't left yourself and gone gallivanting off perhaps your arm wouldn't have been broken!" I mean you've got to watch yourself . Of course "your self" rather sounds like a seperate entity altogether, still you, but not quite. That's why so many people talk to "themselves" (which I'm sure should be theirselves but who am I to quibble). And what if I say "yes, I did that myself", it sounds as though I'm addressing me. "Yes, I did that for you, my friend." "yes, I did that for you, my self" (probably took a pain pill for that arm ) And what if you're "by yourself"?? Does this happen in the moment after you "find yourself" and before you can "get yourself together". "Why yes, I was right by myself when it happened, I saw the whole thing, that bus with the right of way broke my self's arm." On the subject of idioms we mustn't forget "minding your business". EVERYONE has business these days. It doesn't matter who you are; you've got business! Six year olds have business. Their parents often remind them of it, "go and mind your business while daddy and I talk"...hmmm can you say child labour lawsuit? Of course everyone uses "their business" to try to make them look innocent. "I was just standing there, minding my own business, when the next thing I knew..." Why even my cats have business. I was cooking the other night (you know minding my own business ) when Timmy came in and started whining for scraps. So of course I said to him, "Timmy, you just go and mind your own business." Personally I think he and Lucky are in business together. I mean he's a nice cat, but he's kind of lacking in social skills. Lucky on the other hand! Now she's got the social skills, so I'm sure she handles all the P.R. for their business. Then there's the way in which we express states of being. I mean who among us hasn't been "in a hurry"? It's quite an image, I always imagine the afflicted person standing there, minding their own business of course, when all of a sudden this dreadful, whirling "hurry" comes out of nowhere and engulfs them. Yes, this person is now "in a hurry". This can be a very powerful and physical experience (one it seems few people look forward to). The person's face may become flushed, their brow furrowed and sweaty, sentences take on an urgent, choppy nature. Alas, this tragic happenstance can occur at anytime. Why you might just be casually checking your watch when the next thing you know .....BAM! you discover you're in a hurry. Now often times people will try to help the person that's become ensnared in the hurry. They may urge them to fight it and "take it easy", or "calm down". This is never appreciated by the person in the hurry. No, once someone "finds themselves" in a hurry the best thing you can do is step back and let it spin itself out, lest you too get sucked in too. Sleeping is another thing for which people need auxiliary words in order to express. For instance people fall asleep. They never "fall a rest" though. "My you look relaxed." , "yep, fell a rest." Of course being "asleep" is a contradiction in terms. The prefix "a" means "without", as in "amoral" or "asymmetrical". So it seems like if you were "asleep" you'd be wide awake. "awake"?? HUH? To be wakeful is to be alert and conscious, to be without wake must mean....well to be asleep. :wacko: "I was so tired last night I "fell awake" only to be "aslept" by the alarm this morning....I hit snooze and the next thing I knew I was in a hurry." Which brings us to another case in point (see I have this point, I'm as shocked as you are, and this is a "case" which fits nicely into my point ). The words for which you know the meanings and thus naturally assume, also knowing the way in which the English language works, that you can form completely new, logical words. But you can't! Take "disgruntled" for instance. That is indeed a fun word! It makes sense too, a "gruntle" sounds like something you'd make when pleased. It's guttural, it sounds like it could be quite pleasant. So I'm sure it's quite a shame when you find yourself with bad gruntles, when in fact you become "disgruntled". Funny though, no matter how pleased you are you just can't go around saying, "gosh! I'm just so 'eugruntled' " Several years ago I was having a conversation with a friend. Matt: "what's wrong, Kevin?" Me: "nothing why?" Matt: "I dunno, you just seem disgruntled" Me: "no, my gruntles are perfectly well thanks." "Dis", that's an interesting little prefix. It's a clever thing. It's joined ranks with the likes of "sub"; it's become a word in it's own right. Nowadays in colloquial speech it's nothing to hear someone offer the admonition, "Don't 'dis' me!". It even makes sense, "dis" is bad, to "dis someone" would be to send bad their way (notice the sneaky and pervasive little way creeping back into the conversation) Yet again you can't just go with your gut interpretation in every case. You'd think if I became a nasty, disrespectful (my respect having become bad), malevolent member of GA well then surely I'd have become "dismembered" .....Hmmm I guess it really depends on whom I'm nasty and disrespectful towards

I hope Green makes a full and speedy recovery. I'll be keeping him in my thoughts and prayers. I hope Chaz updates us soon. All the best to the people involved, Kevin

Hey Viv! Not to be cheesy but if I could give you an award I definitely would! FBTE definitely rocks! but more importantly so do YOU! Thanks for being such a great friend to us, I know I feel honoured to have you as a friend I can't wait till the next chapter comes out! (especially after that cliffhanger :wacko: ) But make sure to take good care of yourself and get enough rest! It's important to get good, quality sleep (this coming from someone who isn't close to going to bed and has to be up in 6 hours ). Take care and have an awesome weekend Kevin

Take care, David, I hope you feel better and more relaxed.

lol Nate, you clever, sneaky thing! LOL in the little town where I grew up most of the lights hadn't been replaced since the 80s anyway

Yes, Myr you really have! Thanks for everything we really appreciate it

Hey Colin Thank you very much! I think it's just easier for me to express my feelings in my blog. And I have to say that based on your blog and posts that you also seem like a really nice, awesome person. You've been through quite a bit, but you haven't let it make you bitter. That's a really amazing and wonderful quality!