AFriendlyFace

Thanks David! LOL I'll try to tone the cheerfulness down a bit when it's early in the morning Aww thanks Ben!

Thanks you guys

Hey Ronnie! I'm so glad Annie went well and you had such a great time! LOL you sound like me with that water. I don't drink soda either nor do I like tap water. LOL and you're right purified water is so much better than spring water ( ) . Sounds like the party musta been fun! You're poor mom though I'd have already been at the end of my rope, called the police, and all your friend's homes! LOL it's not that I'll mind my kids staying out late so long as I know where they are . Anyway I'm glad you didn't get in trouble (but remember to phone next time ) and I'm also glad you got to catch up on your rest! Track sounds fun! There's no way you can do another play huh? Well I'm sure you'll find something good to occupy your time. Take care and have an awesome week! Kevin

Hmmm, Is there anyway you can just use internet explorer for live chat purposes? Might be easier. I have no idea why that's happening though, or what to recommend doing to fix it. I use Firefox and have no problems with the chat. Although it won't load videos at launch.com and I can't play spades at my game site. Honestly I didn't even try to figure out why, I just use internet explorer for those. Technology is a funny thing. Good luck sorting it out and have a great day! Kevin

Woo Hoo

Hey Viv! Have a safe trip! Be careful! And have fun! That is sweet about the kids Hmm sounds like a good petition! There's just one problem; I seldom eat pizza and haven't had it delivered in about 3 years . Can we maybe add an amendment requiring the pizza boys to get lost and have to ask a neighbour for directions? HEhehe I promise I'll send the pizza along to it's correct destination Anyway Yay about the spring anthology! I can't wait to read what you've written. Have an awesome time (that almost doesn't seem appropriate to say since you're going to a funeral ...well have a good trip) Be safe and take care! Kevin

I'm scared. It was bound to happen soon and now it did. Basically I just realized (well just felt) that in slightly over a month I'll be moving to a new city. Hundreds of miles from anyone I know. I won't have (or at least don't yet have) a job. I'll be all but broke having payed for the move and the first month's bills and deposits. And I won't even have an officially structured way to meet new people (like school, or work....well until I find a job). A little under two years ago my truck suddenly gave out on me. It wouldn't have been economical to have it repaired, so I had to find a new one. My mom and grandfather found me a good deal on this truck in my home town. It had everything I wanted, was only a couple of years old with under 25,000 miles, and it was in my price range. There was just one problem; it was a standard. I'd never even been behind the wheel of one before. But I didn't have time to keep shopping around and it was definitely the best deal. So I took it. I got behind the wheel and, having gotten extensive instruction from several of my stick-driving friends, and with my grandfather sitting in the passenger seat talking me through it; I confidently drove it off the lot without even killing it. Of course I then got stuck at a stop sign on the way home and COULD NOT get it to go, but that's okay. I practiced for awhile and then drove the sucker 70+ miles back home. Nevermind that when I got it home it took me 5 tries to park without dying before I could get in, or, alternatively, rolling back out of the space; I did it. I just went into the situation and handled it. I haven't really failed that often. Offhand I can't think of anything that's really mattered that I've really tried at and failed. I make mistakes, I have to try harder, revise my game plan, whatever, but if I really try I usually get it right in the end. When I was a kid I internalized most of those silly aphorisms you hear growing up. All that, "you can be anything you set your mind to" and I really bought the whole "happy ending" thing. I mean I know bad things happen. I know that some people are just mean and hateful, even evil perhaps. And yet I choose to believe that everyone I meet does have something good in them, some redeeming qualities. So far I haven't met anyone I'd say was completely devoid (or even somewhat devoid) of goodness. I believe life's a great big self-fulfilling prophecy....And I believe in happy endings I am naive, a little out of touch with reality, and probably unrealistically hopeful; and I'll have you know that's taken quite a bit of work to maintain and, at times, reacquire. I believe in life. I believe in happy endings. And I believe in myself. So I'll move to a new city. I'll be broke. I'll fall in love with someone and get hurt. I'll make new friends and I'll lose some of them. I'll be rejected. I'll be lonely. I'll be stressed out and worn down. I'll regret moving in the first place... ...And I'll live.

Hey Adam! Woo Hoo I'm go glad you had a good birthday; that's awesome! Perhaps it's just the beginning of a fantastic year to come (Yeah I know that's cheesey, but hey it may be ) I wouldn't necessarily agree with that. I mean one I'm glad for Jon and his sexuality; I'm sure he enjoys it. I mean I wouldn't want to be straight so I could date one of my female friends. And two, and more importanly, I'd say that its a good thing that he's straight because it's a real life example of a straight guy who's accepting of his gay friends; this is very important when you're a gay teen gay . They'll be plenty of chances for Adam to find some great boyfriend (I mean that BTW Adam ), but a true friendship based on mutual acceptance is a rare and beautiful gift. ....so now that we've both probably managed to embarrass Jon (but good for you, Jon! ) I'll conclude by again wishing Adam all the best this year Take care and have a great day! Kevin

Happy Birthday Adam! I hope you have an amazing day, take care

When I saw the above, I thought for a second you meant something entirely different as to what might be wrong with his hand... Hey David! Ouch about your hand (where the cat scratched it ). Um so micro-chip? HUH? Are they going to track the cats or something? I hope you do get all your deposit money back. So wow, why such a big deposit? I believe my current deposit was 500, plus a 300 dollar non-refundable pet deposit (but if it's non-refundable they might as well just call it a fee), then I had to pay an extra 20 dollars a month per cat! Sorry I seem to have gotten off track a tad. Yeah so 1,000 bucks that's alot! Anyway take care and have an awesome day! Kevin

Oh Adam, I know your not a huggy person, but I hope you don't mind . I'm really proud of you that you're thinking about your mom and trying to make sure she's happy. That's awesome. I can't pretend to know what it's like to be severely depressed, but I do know that it can get better. I'm sure you've heard all this a thousand times, but it really is important that you don't give up on being happy. The best thing you can do for yourself is find a good therapist, and I'd also recommend finding a good anti-depressant that will work for you. It's also important that you do allow the important people in your life to be there for you. I'm proud of you for reaching out to them tonight. I know it doesn't seem like it, but life really doesn't have to be one long, unplessant experience. Take care of yourself and know that even here on GA people do care about you and will do whatever we can to help. Please do feel free to PM me any time if you want to talk. Kevin

Oh that's ridiculous! You're one of the sweetest people ever! (Yep I voted for the Jelly) Don't let people get you down, there's a chance this person was exagerating or something anyway. I mean I'm sure he didn't start a "people who think Nick's mean" list and add names one by one, so it's completely possible he's falsely remembering how many people said that, perhaps even without malicious intent, it could just be an honest mistake. People gossip and attack each other, it sucks but it's always going to happen . I remember when I was in 8th grade (yeah this really stuck with me for some reason ), one of my best friends came up to me and said, "hey guess what ___ just said, he said you were an a@@H*(&!" ....and to this day I still sometimes think, "am I?" I think I probably was back then, and maybe still am somewhat . Anyway the point is don't let this bother you; don't let it stick to you. Just be yourself and be happy

Hey Kaiten! Woo Hoo! So how'd it go? Did you find out your grade yet? yep I love it! Actually I live in a fairly big city (Baton Rouge), but my neighbourhood is pretty safe and secluded. Thanks! Actually though I'm not going to the actual graduation. I'll have moved by then so I'm just going to get them to mail me my diploma. I do kinda feel like I'm "missing something", but I guess it doesn't matter. People keep asking me "so are you going to have a big graduation party or something?"....but no . ***sigh*** oh well Anyway I hope you have an awesome weekend too! hehehe, It's my spring break right now Take care, Kevin

I thought exactly the same a few times already. Awww thanks you guys! ***blushes***

Hey Viv! I loved the last chapter of FBTE! I'm sorry to hear we won't be getting a new chapter for awhile but I'm excited about reading your entry in the spring Anthology I'm so sorry you caught what your son had . Are you feeling better now? It was nice of them to let you go early at work, even if Wendy was trying to be a......well you know. Now I understand about the memorial service thanks . I hope everyone is doing okay and handling it as well as they can. That's awful about that poor girl I know it must be really devestating for her family and of course your friend's daughter Well I hope you feel better if you're not already. Take care and have a great weekend! Kevin

Hmmm perhaps they're just all bisexual Just kidding of course! Hey Adam I'm sorry stuff is so confusing with Max right now. One thing though, weren't you supposed to give HIM the hug? One question, I know you're out to some of your friends, does this include Max? It's possible that he's also confused about your "relationship". I mean even if he were gay (and I'm completely speculating here and really don't mean to get your hopes up about him being gay) maybe you keep sending him signals or whatever, but then backing off. Perhaps he's the one who's given up and now he's just talking about his girl crush because he figures you're not into him. But that's just wild speculation and I'm probably off base. Anyway friendship is good, you can always see what'll develop from there. Especially since it'll be easier to gage his sexuality and interest level if you guys are close. Just be care and don't put yourself in any bad situations Anyway yeah that sucks about the Bahamas. I guess I'll have to make a mental note not to go there on my honeymoon after my comittment ceremony Take care and have an awesome day! Kevin

Hey Viv! I just read chapter 15! I hadn't realised it was out! I loved it! I'm so glad Stephan finally told Jules. I thought it was really cool how she reacted, I can't wait to see where their conversation goes from there though. Plus it was cool how she opened it up to discussion by saying, "so you want to tell me about Jesse now?" I guess it really helped that she and Sean had already sort of suspected. I'm looking forward to seeing if Stephan is going to tell Sean and Bobby soon too. Anyway I looking forward to the next chapter! (and I hope this time I know when it comes out! lol) Take care and have an awesome day! Kevin

Hey Guys I've been meaning to post my thoughts and comments since the last chapter but I'm just getting around to it. So anyway I think one of the things that struck me the most about chapter 8 was the fact that Connor kept wanting to ask Mikey what was going on with him and Toby. I would have naturally assumed that he'd be more comfortable asking Toby, not to mention he would have had many more opportunities to do so. Does he feel some sort of special bond with Mikey? Or is it just because he and Mikey have already discussed Mikey's previous relationship with Toby? (which is what I'm guessing) Personally I'd have wanted to get both perspectives anyway. So chapter 9: I really liked the chapter, and overall I guess I got more of a "warm fuzzy" feeling than ticked off. BUT a couple of things bugged me. First and foremost Cody and Connor's kiss . I was really disappointed that Cody suggested it knowing about Ryan and Connor's relationship. I was EXTREMELY disappointed that Connor let it happen, then I was pretty much shocked (and disappointed) that Ryan pretty much blew it off and basically said, "yeah he's cute, I can see why you'd want to kiss him, you guys mess around all you like just don't leave me." Yep, in my opinion Connor did just cheat on Ryan. That's a start Well I might not have pushed Connor out of the moving car, but I definitely think a serious, relationship re-evaluating talk was in order! Connor's lucky Ryan's apparently more casual about those kinds of things than I am; if he pulled that with me he'd have been in the dog house a long time, and I'd only have moved past it and continued the relationship at all if I was convinced it wouldn't happen again. The other thing that bugged me a bit was that Connor (and Ryan??) are already trying to figure out how to play matchmaker with Toby and Cody. Now I'm not opposed to Toby and Cody getting together, indeed I think it sounds hot too . What bothers me is that they mostly seem to have given up on Mikey. Let's step back and look at it. Ryan and Connor didn't speak for weeks after a "misunderstanding", but Mikey and Toby went out of their way to get them to work it out. Toby and Mikey have a misunderstanding, and Connor (and looks to me like Ryan too) just sorta go, "gee that really sucks! Oh well, let's hook him up with Cody!" Anyway I did really enjoy the story and I'm not complaining exactly, just stating my opinions. It wouldn't be any good if the characters just behaved exactly as I wanted them to, it would just be like one of my fantasies or something. No, this is a good story because the characters interact in unique and different ways, ways that are foreign to me. I have to say I REALLY liked Cody and his mom. They seem like exactly the sort of people I'd like to be friends with! Anyway I loved this chapter, can't wait for the next one Kevin

I agree with James, Vance . Why don't you go ahead and post it with a warning about heavy violence and let people decide for themselves if they want to read it? Those snowflakes the other day sound awesome! I've never seen actual snowflakes in real life I'm really glad you liked my suggestion lol Sorry the other day was so rough, I hope your weekend and the next week are much better! Take care and have a great day! Kevin

Definitely hug him! In fact you should hug him even if you don't really want to, because it sounds like he's going to be hurt if you don't. So all the better that you actually want to .

I had a great day today I didn't have work and skipped school (I just had tests in like all my classes, except one more tomorrow, but that wasn't one of the ones I skipped anyway ). So I slept really late. I finally got up when a friend of mine called me, just to chat (fun way to wake up ). Then I had a nice shower, and danced about naked for awhile, while I was waiting to dry off. (I really dance much more often naked than clothed ). Then I decided to go out to eat because I'd behaved all week So I went out to Outback Steakhouse. It was great! I ordered a half order of the aussie cheese fries, and a strawberry Margarita, then I had half of the chocolate, chocolate tower (which is a very chocolately cake with raspberry sauce) with some ice cream. Yep I skipped the main course, I just wanted the cheese fries and cake, lol I couldn't finish the cake as it is, woulda been no fun if I'd gotten an entree' (on the bright side I have half left for tomorrow ). LOL in fact my waitress even commented, "wow! you just had like the perfect dinner." and I'm inclined to agree . Woulda been more fun if someone had gone with me but all my friends are broke . But that's not going to stop me (LOL I've been treating them lately, but I can't afford to keep doing that forever!). Anyway I had a great time and this family in the next booth were having an interesting conversation (what?? I didn't have a dinner companion what else am I going to do? ) Anyway it was this girl having dinner with her parents and her boyfriend, and I must say she was talking about stuff I wouldn't have chatted about with my family! Sperm, pregnancy, sexual pleasure, relationships in general! :wacko: Anyway eventually the topic came to gay relationships. Her mother seemed ambivalent, whereas her father was opposed, even using the line, "we're put on this earth for the sole purpose of multiplying",,,,well forget him; I always had more fun with algebra anyway! Her boyfriend remained silent for pretty much the entire dinner (of course this was probably a wise move on his part since she was in constant disagreement with her parents and he couldn't have said anything without ticking off someone). Anyway she did a fine job defending gay rights . In fact when I was leaving I had the strongest urge to pause at their table and say, "You tell em, honey!" in my best "gay" voice. But ultimately I decided it wasn't my place. Anyway then when I got home I decided to go for a nice walk around my neighbourhood while listening to music. It was really fun. So anyway I was just getting into one of the really nice sections when this medium sized dog (I'd say about 40 or 50 pounds) runs up to me barking his head off. Of course my first thought was, "ahhhh!" since he wasn't chained or anything and seemed quite ticked off. Then I remembered I quite like dogs and am not afraid of them. So instead I just kept walking along at my normal pace and chatted amiably to him while he swore at me in dog. He was an adorable fellow though! He was the same colour as a golden retriever (thought of course a golden retriever; those things are big teddy bears anyway!), and he had a long coat. Now I know what you're thinking, "how do you know it was a he?", and indeed you're right to question me on this. While I ultimately didn't let him intimidate me I also didn't grab him, turn him around, and lift his tail (thought he was so cute I probably woulda played with him if he hadn't seemed so grumpy). So you're right; perhaps it was a lady dog. In fact now that I think of it he was acting like a bitch. So finally I ended up at a local park where I read a bit for my test until it got too dark. So I came home, cuddled with Timmy and Lucky for a bit (my cats ), played some spades and relaxed. Anyway I've got that test tomorrow and this girl in my class was supposed to email me the notes but she still hasn't. I'm really lousy at taking notes, most of the times I don't even go through the motions. Of course all my life people have been saying, "that's going to eventually bite you", but really it hasn't. Most of the time people have either been willing to share with me, or I found I didn't really need the notes anyway (I usually remember stuff, particularly if I can pay attention instead of trying to take notes ). Anyway I graduate next month and I'd say this class is the absolute last chance for my poor note-taking skills to come around and bite me! But I don't think it will, I'm going to go read the relevant chapters and I think I'll do okay ***crosses his fingers***. Anyway if I felt like being childish I'd be irritated that she said she'd send them to me and hasn't. But I guess I can't really blame someone for not doing me a favour. Besides I'm in too good a mood to be annoyed Anyway take care everyone and have a great day! Kevin

Hey Michael! Thanks there's definitely alot for me to look into! I'm not really sure what'd I'd specialize in. I'm just happy to have some general direction lol. Aww Thanks! Yes, I just need to sit down and make myself do it! I know I'd enjoy it, it's finding the time and discipline to do it that's the problem . Anyway thanks

Hey Glomph! Hmm eating disorders huh? I guess I could see myself counseling those people. You're right it would be rewarding if a bit saddening.

Hey Kaiten! Aww thanks! I'm usually just hoping what I put down doesn't offend and may make a little bit of sense. But thanks LOL! My grandmother used to come back from church and tell us how many people were wearing red, how many bald guys there were, etc. I bet lots of people like it and want to give you grants! That is a great idea; I'm going to look into it! I really like this one too; I should just force myself to get at least an outline down on paper. Grr! That would suck! On the other hand perhaps not, I feel like seeing the country. I'll stay in Houston a year or so then hopefully go back to school and if I have to move to some other cool new city...well oh well