AFriendlyFace

"I always thought I'd be a mom Sometimes I wish for a mistake The longer that I wait the more selfish that I get You seem like you'd be a good dad Now all those simple things are simply too complicated for my life How'd I get so faithful to my freedom? A selfish kind of life When all I ever wanted was the simple things A simple kind of life " ~A Simple Kind of Life by No Doubt For someone who's so basically completely unconventional and who prides himself on his individuality and creative expression; it's disgusting how entirely I've internalized the "picket-fence life". **Sigh** But I have. I know it's stupid; I know I still have plenty of time to have kids; I know I'm still young, but the truth is people have been telling me these things since I was about 17 and my "biological time clock" first started ticking. It's been much better the last year or so actually. Oh I still look at children with a huge feeling of longing; I still imagine significant moments in my child's life. But, by and large, I haven't been as worried about it lately. But then I was relistening to some of my older music and I heard that song. I got to thinking: "I really do wish for a mistake sometimes". Literally, I've often fantasized about how awesome it would be if I'd just been a young teen parent, and now had like a 6 year old. I mean I know it would have been tough; I know it would have made school all but impossible; I know it's not really the best thing for the child. But I guess there's a selfish side of me that thinks somehow, with the help and support of my family and friends, I could have gotten through it and if only I had now I'd have this kid!! And I wouldn't have to worry anymore. I wouldn't have to wonder if I'll ever find a partner who wants kids. If they'll ever legalize gay marriage. If they'll let us adopt. If I'll be able to get through the mountains of paperwork and complications which would undoubtedly arise when a child has "two dads". Here's something I'm not particularly proud of: I almost decided to "write off" being gay so that I could seek out a regular heterosexual marriage and have kids. All my life I've been consumed with two ideals. The value of a romantic, happy, loving relationship, and the value of having a child. It's tough when these two ideals seem to fly in each other's faces. But it wouldn't have been fair. It's just plain stupid and short-sighted to wish I'd made mistakes (teen-pregnancy, bad marriage) which have torn so many people's lives apart and made it WORSE for the kids. Also I have to quote Monica from Friends in her season two finale speech: "I really want to have kids, but I don't want to have them with someone who doesn't really want them". (I'm paraphrasing but that's the gist of it). So it's stupid. I know I could never have lead some poor girl on, or been so selfish that I'd just get her pregnant for my own warped agenda. In the end I couldn't treat people like that, and the guilt would probably be too great anyway. Besides, I really do like my life the way it is, and I love my freedom and independence. It's probably a really good thing that I've them right now; being young and "free" is also something I would have always wanted. Besides, I'm ever the optimist. Someday I'll find someone teriffic who wants kids, and by then gay marriage and adoption will be common..........or maybe we'll just all move to Canada and live happily ever after

Hey Green, I know I won't win any bonus points by saying this, but I pretty much agree with Libonobo, and had I read your last two posts earlier, I likely would have made a very similar though probably less straightfoward and direct reply (I'm not very good at being blunt). You say that you do trust your friends and that this isn't about trust, but that IS how they see it. It's also exactly how I would see it in their shoes. You have to remember that your intentions don't equal their feelings. Also they're clearly more upset and hurt now than if you'd been honest with them all along. I know it seems trivial to use fiction as an example, but you're a fan of Dom's writing yes? Look at all three of his major stories. TOU: Quinn gets himself into a huge predicament and ticks off his friends because he didn't trust them enough to tell them sooner. TLW: Owen and Aiden almost break up because Owen doesn't tell Aiden what his mom said. DD: Look how upset Rory is because no one was leveling with him. People like to be told the truth from those closest to them, even if it's an unpleasent truth, it's just human nature. I'm one of the least "in touch with reality" people you could hope to meet. I make a conscious effort to not know what's going on in the news or with politics because I don't like or need the bad news. Yet even I would still want to know (and expect to know) if someone in my close circle were facing something tough. I understand what you're saying, and it's a noble wish to protect them, but it doesn't seem that that's what they wanted or needed. Also think about the possible results of the tumors. 1) if they hadn't been benign you obviously would have had to tell them and they would have felt pretty much the same way they do now on top of being scared and worried. 2)If you had told them and they'd turned out benign everyone would have taken a big sigh of relief and everything would have been fine. Sure they'd have been more worried for a couple of days but YOU would have recieved the support and love you needed during this time, and they would have felt GOOD for being able to offer it to you, it also might have been a good chance for everyone to be brought closer together. Being in a relationship, any kind of close relationship, is about sharing yourself with the other person. It's about accepting them as they are and being there when they need you. But the flip side is that it requires you to let them do the same. You don't deserve to be alone nor do you deserve to feel guilty. Everyone is right as long as you learn from your mistake and take actions to correct it; everything can ultimately be fine. But don't make the same mistake again, especially with the same people. Your friends seem like amazing people and you're very lucky to have them. It's awesome that Selene is there for you and not mad. David's short lived anger is also wonderful. And the fact that Chaz made the move at all to come up to you and tell you that he needed time to think and then you'd talk, and that he loves you, is truly incredible. This shows how good and forgiving they all are, and that they love you very much, but don't just let them come back if they decided to; win them back. I'd forgive you in an instant myself, but it would require one thing: your assurance that you wouldn't keep stuff like that to yourself anymore, and unlike Chaz I'm not sure I'd be able to approach you at all to give you the chance to hear it. Obviously this is all just my opinion (and how I would feel), but I'd say the best thing you can do is go up to each one of them (track them down, insist that they listen), and say: "look I'm really sorry, I was just trying to protect you but I realize that I messed up. I understand if you can't be with me right now and need your space, but I promise I won't do it again". THEN just wait for them to come to their own decisions, and if they do come back, don't shut them out again. So I feel like a total jerk and I'm really sorry if I've upset or offended you. I promise I only say these things because I want things to work out for you and I feel (whether I'm right or not, who can say) that you needed to hear them. But of course my own intentions don't equal your feelings either so I'm very sorry if I appear insensitive or mean,,,,,,and if it was the wrong thing to do I won't do it again. Anyway I'm really wishing you nothing but the best. Take care, Kevin

Oh Nick, I'm so sorry to hear that you'll have to have surgery again . It's really great that they caught it early this time though, and that it won't be as big a deal. So when are you expecting to have to do it? Please let us all know how it goes. I'm glad you and Taylor still got to spend Valentine's day together as planned; I hope you guys had an awesome time! I also hope your dad and Lori had a nice evening. It's really great that your dad and family are always there for you and attentive when you're not feeling well. I know it can be a pain but it's worth it. LOL I'm glad the SRITE's one too since I finally managed to figure out which side I was pulling for. Anyway I wish you all the best and good luck with the surgery; I'll be sure to keep you in my prayers. Take care and have a great day! Kevin

I wish you and the family all the best Lucy. Take care I know I'd definitely rather have the jeans and a night out than a card and flowers! I bet your mom always thinks it's special, even if she makes a bigger deal about it on V-day; same for gramma . No real advice on the 2nd part, but you could maybe kinda "feel them out" and get an impression on how they'd react. Like if they ask maybe say "why? would it matter?"......but you shouldn't do anything you're not ready too. And I personally think there's a "Seth" (Or "Sethanie ) out there for all of us. ******************* Glad you got that teriffic card Dom! You're right you shouldn't let one day a year guilt you into wanting to be in a couple if otherwise you're fine. I had a couple of friends who used to refer to V-day as "single's awareness day". It certainly does seem like that's it's secondary function. Perhaps Valentine's day is really some sort of evolutionary development designed to ensure that people continue to look for other people to mate with. Anyway 33 rocked and thanks so much for posting it for us on Valentine's day. I ended up coming home earlier than I'd planned, and it made it alot nicer that I had something to read when I got there. I'm sure you'll get over your block soon (if you're not already). Take care Kevin

OK so I have a question: What is "Service: Vampire Jarred 2"? Is it written by Dom or Dan? I've never gotten around to reading it for two reasons. One, I didn't read "Vampire Jarred 1" and didn't want to go out of order. and two, I saw that it hadn't been updated in awhile and I'm reluctant to start things that aren't complete (of course around here the only stories I've read that were complete when I read them were The Log Way and Do Over), yet alone updated often. So anyway, what is it?

Well personally I think everyone everywhere is awesome! .....except for the people that aren't of course, but off hand I can't recall meeting any of those.

OK I wanna go again! 1) I've stayed up for over 40 hours before, completely voluntarily 2) I've slept for over 20 hours before, completely voluntarily (and in good health) 3) I've slept standing up before, completely voluntarily

I remember that quote from the first time watching that show too! And I loved it then, in fact it's always stuck with me. Was Joe the first to use it though? I somehow got the impression he was quoting someone else. That is very wise. Here's one I rather like, though I'm mostly just paraphrasing and cannot recall the source: "There's no real evidence for the supposition that life is a serious undertaking"

Sorry Sharon, Somehow I missed your response. Good to know that was actually my THIRD choice, really had me fooled! I'm going to go with number two being false.....Just because I really hope number two if false...... HMMM I'm going to go with number 1.

HMMM I make a point of NOT watching or reading the news; I figure if I get blown up I'll know when it happens and enjoy the last several days/hours more for not knowing. Now you guys have gotten me curious though. What happened? Kevin

Hey Viv! That's awesome about the ice cream! MMMM Now I'm really curious about what's going on with Dave. Don't go falling off of mountains just because you "can" either! LOL we may still have the story but we want the writer too! Anyway be safe on your trip and I hope you have an excellent time! Oh yeah, and as Bard mentioned MSN; I have an account, TimeTrail03@msn.com. But I've literally been on it maybe twice in the last year so don't expect to see me (all are welcome to add me though,,,,,,for all the good it'll do ). Anyway have an awesome Valentine's day and be happy Take care, Kevin

Hey Green, I'm proud of you for preparing to talk to everyone and tell them what's been going on. I also understand the need for "some space" while you sort everything out. I'm an odd sort of person: I love being around other people but I love being by myself too. I'd never be happy spend a considerable amount of time alone, and if I have been alone for long I start craving other human interaction. On the other hand if I've spent a considerable amount of time with other people and had very little time to myself I start to become desperate for a little "quiet time alone". Like you I feel like I can't solve my problems just by listening to other people. I want advice; support; understanding; and love. But ultimately I always feel like anytime I have a major decision to come to I need to make the final decision on my own after some quiet reflecting. So I can definitely relate to your situation. It's also common not to "know how" to tell someone bad news. I mean you can't just say over breakfast "pass the butter please, oh and I might have cancer." However, I definitely think it's problematic if you "run away" to be on your own every time something happens. It's noble not to want to burden your friends but the truth is leaving someone to avoid hurting them is still leaving them. Even if it isn't permanent most people would rather have the information and make the decision on their own. As for worrying because they "have their own problems", well everyone is always going to have their own problems. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't have something on their mind at any given time. Also think about how they feel now. They've been very worried and have interrupted their normal daily lives to try to find out what's wrong. Chances are they wouldn't have been as upset if you'd just discussed it with them. They could have dealt with it, and probably decided something along the lines of "well I'll be there and we'll face this together". There's nothing wrong with wanting some time to think about it on your own but there's other ways to do it. You could have told them what was going on first, had the conversations with them, then said: "I need to get away for a couple days and clear my head, please respect that". Or at least you could have said "I'm upset about something and I promise I'll discuss it with you guys later and there's really nothing you can do right now anyway, but I just really need to be on my own for a couple of days". Finally let me conclude by sharing with you this little story from one of my all time favorite television series, Blake's 7 - a British Sci-fi from the late 70s/early 80s. In this one episode Blake's upset because one of the crewmembers has just gotten killed and feels like it was his fault and his responsibility. So he decides to exile himself for a couple of days on this uninhabited planet and decide if he can "reasonably ask that the rest of the crew continue to follow him", and otherwise sort out his guilt and feelings. As soon as they find out (from a video he's left behind) they conclude that it isn't really his decision to make about whether or not they should stay with him. Anyway naturally it turns out that the planet isn't a safe place and he almost gets himself killed, and everyone else finds themselves in much greater danger as they try to find and rescue him. Eventually at the end when he's rescued he says something along the lines of: "next time I want to think I'll just do it in my room". So anyway take from that what you will. Now that I've probably thoroughly ticked you off and also convinced you that I'm a big sci-fi geek, let me just say that I wish you the very best in this and hope it all works out. Also I am proud of you for deciding to level with everyone. Let us know how it goes! Have an awesome day and take care. Kevin ************************************ Hope you're ok now, Rob. Take care and all the best, Kevin

Hey Kaiten! Thanks for asking. It turned out a much darker, deeper shade of red than I expected. In the past when I've had it red it was usually a blondish sorta red. This is RED. But I really like it! I've even seen people with this colour naturally so it's not that odd; in fact that cute red-haired guy I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs had hair similar in colour. I also rather like the way it looks with my eyes (which are kinda a medium dark blue). Definitely like the way it turned out Happy V-day for real Kevin

LOL I've often thought about going vegetarian since I'm really not that big a meat person anyway. Like today I didn't happen to have meat. The only things that stop me are fish and chicken; I really do like those. I don't eat pork at all. Beef and other types of meat I'll eat but while they're usually "pretty good" and never "crave" them. It's funny the other day I walked by a restaurant which was advertizing it's steak and showed a picture of french fries on the plate with it as a side order. The person I was with said "wow doesn't that look great!" - talking about the steak. I immediately responded "Yeah!" then started laughing as I realized I was referring to the french fries. For me the side order (and desert) almost always outshine the meaty entre'

VERY interesting point! I'm currently trying to learn Spanish and thus as well as studying on my own I'm constantly bugging my bilingual co-workers to tell me how to say everything in Spanish. So yesterday when I said "it's cold outside" and of course asked for a translation - I discovered that it was all but impossible for me to properly say the word for "outside": "fuera" (with the "ue" being pronounced like "wa" with a long "a" sound). I just can't seem to go from a "wa" sound to a "ra" sound. Other than that my accent isn't THAT bad. He even commented: "wow, it's weird that it's just that one word you can't say".

I agreed with you almost word for word. Except that the words I'd change would be: Ok I just had a realization.I have been saying for weeks that I would not mind rory being with Seth or Luke, but when Luke said it was Dave my heart lept with joy because I realized I really didn't want it to be Rory. And by the last statement in the chapter he may actually have fealings for Rory, and if thats the case ohh noo. I feal bad for saying it but I guess deep down I have always wanted Rory to be with Seth. I love Luke dont get me wrong. All I know Is that I have to go with SRITE. I am a SRITE supporter. and wats even more odd is I feal like I am betraying Luke by saying that Like I said before I will be happy with Luke or Seth, but I hope its Seth, But Dom if thats what your gunna do is make Rory with Seth please dont hurt Luke to bad ***Finally jumps off the fence and into SRITE territory once and for all*** **Sigh*** it really has been quite a ride, but watching Rory struggle with his feelings in the last chapter I realized how upset I'd be if he broke up with Seth to be with Luke. Then when it looked like Luke liked (only) Dave - I must say I was relieved. Welcome to the board Nick! LOL and I in no way mean to poke fun at you, but I couldn't help but notice the irony that in your first post you used the phrase: "you have rendered me speechless" And I'll help you hide the body! LOL you and that climax; you've been announcing its coming for the last 5 chapters at least! Don't worry I'm sure you'll get it sooner or later I wondered that myself. I guess it's slightly possible that since Seth is such a peripheral member of the group (or was at the time anyway), that he didn't really know who's party it was. More likely though it's a typo lol. --------There is no way this can end with Rory driving off into another fire hydrant. Hey Sparrow, I'll try to help; when reading a post if you realize you want to quote it, hit the "quote" button below it right then, the just go on reading the rest and continue to hit the "quote" button for all the posts you wish to quote. When you're finally done reading and wish to add your reply. Hit the "add reply" button at the bottom. Do NOT hit "reply" to any one specific post, and do NOT hit "fast reply". Once the posting box comes up your quotes should be there and quoted to their respective people. Simply add in your replies as you normally would in between the quotes (you can of course give yourself more room by hitting "enter" a few times in between them to drop them down a bit). Oh and don't forget if you're only interested in responding to one small part of the quote you can delete the other bits as long as you don't delete the initial or final quote heading which will be bractted off. I hope that helps; have an awesome day and take care! Shoot did that go off the air already? I was kinda hoping it would be successful. I loved Friends; though, I never actually got around to watching an episode of Joey. BTW Nick, I love the way you keep drawing analogies of "the LRITE movement being over like..." Very amusing! I agree completely! My opinion of Aaron is considerably lower than it was at the start of this story, but I still hope some sort of redemption may lie in store for him. Anyway have an awesome (Valentine's)day everyone and take care! Kevin

KEVIN!!!!!! Is he allowed to type such blasphemy in your BLOG????? Most certainly not! ........but I guess I can let him off with a warning this time. Especially since the madness is probably due to a chocolate deficency. Hey Rob, Yep I agree with you about mushrooms! I love the things! Actually the only way I don't like them that much is fried. But then I don't like many fried foods. I'll eat them, and a few of my other foods fried, but I'm always thinking "man what a waste". And fried food often makes me sick. The one exception is french fries and fried chicken (boneless). Those rock! I hope you have an awesome Valentine's day too! Take care, Kevin

Hey Vic! LOL I most certainly would not object to long stem chocolate roses! In fact I saw an ad for those awhile back too and thought "now that would make me happy!" ***gasp*** your boyfriend doesn't like chocolate?!? Is he sure? I mean maybe it's just a phase or something? Well shocking for sure, but I guess no one's perfect. Besides on the bright side I guess that means whenever anyone gives you guys anything chocolatey...... You know the first time I ever tried a sugar cookie I was a small child at school, and they gave them to us with our lunch in the cafateria. I can still remember picking it up; looking at it; and then exclaiming: "Geez how cheap, they could have at least put a little chocolate in it!" It's really sweet of you guys to make them sugar cookies though. HMMM, a thought just occured to me, maybe you could trick your boyfriend into liking chocolate. My mom tells the story of how my dad always claimed not to like turnips; so one day she made some, served them to him as potatoes and didn't say anything. After he was done eating he said: "wow how did you get these potatoes so good?!? They're the best I've ever had." At which time mom revealed the truth and dad had to admit he liked turnips. Anyway just a thought....I guess it would be tough to sneak chocolate into sugar cookies unnoticed though. Anyway have an awesome Valentine's day, Vic, and take care, Kevin

Hey Kaiten, Yep. Now you know what guys really want: sex, nudity, beer, sports??? NO: ARTICHOKES! Some guys are just better at hiding it than others Anyway you should definitely try them. No I don't find they taste like asparagus; I like them much better! Good luck with your studying! Though if I get a vote I'd say take the night off and catch the movie; or go to an early feature then study .........lol but then I'm something of a slacker myself. I'm sure you'll do great. Take care, and have an awesome day! Kevin Thanks Libbonobo, I think I did read that a few years ago. hehehe Daisies are my favorite flower! I had no idea they were even related. That's so cool. Dang I'm good! See another reason to try them!

Wow! Sounds like you're an even bigger artichoke fan than I am Luigi, You're right though, I have seen them cut straight in half; they are beautiful! I've tried them most ways I can get them. I love them in any kind of food or dip. There's an especially good chicken and artichoke dish at a restaurant I frequent! MMMM. I think my favorite way to have them though is just boiled, seasoned and dipped in a mixture of vinegar and olive oil. That chocolate and champagne idea sounds terrific though!! Have a good time, Kevin

I don't get flowers. I mean obviously I don't get flowers since A) I'm not in a relationship and B ) even if I were I don't think guys recieve them that often. However, by "get" I didn't mean "recieve"; I actually meant "understand". I don't understand flowers. Oh, I get that society has attached a special significance to their reception from that special someone, and as such I would be thoroughly delighted to recieve flowers from a boyfriend. Yet, all of the pleasure would be derived from the "thought" and not actually anything intrinsically about the flowers themselves. I'm hardly a "practical" kind of person, I mean perhaps to some extent, but I definitely don't have a problem with the light and frivolous things in life. In fact quite literally the frosting is my favorite part of a cake. "Austere" is just not an adjective you would apply to me. So you'd think something "pretty" and thoroughly "decorative" would indeed delight me. But no. I like nature; I like to see flowers in their natural environment, but I don't find it that appealing to cut them down, slap them in a vase of water, and leave them out on my table until they've wilted. So Friday when I stumbled upon long stem ARTICHOKES at the produce stand (Wow I really love that place!), I was completely amused. I mean here it is almost Valentine's day and they're selling "long stem artichokes". Now there's a gift that would make my day/week if I recieved them from someone special. 1) They're delicious, and one of my all time favourite foods 2)They're the perfect parody of the "long stem roses" 3) They actually show much more thought and would be much sweeter when given to me than would the roses (considering my great affection for artichokes and my general indifference toward roses). But of course no one's going to be buying them for me this Valentine's day. So I bought a few myself. Oh well maybe next year right? Anyway onto the whole Valentine's day topic. I'm quite looking forward to it! I'm going to thumb my nose at Valentine's day this year. I'm going to do some of the "traditional" stuff, ALONE, and I'm going to enjoy it! I'm going to come home from work around 5:00pm. Get in a nice, hot, bubble bath (with moiturizing bath beeds ). Sit and soak for awhile, shave, wash my hair, and exfoliate - all the while enjoying a favourite CD. Then I'm going to get out and dry off with my favourite towel (yes I have a favourite towel; leave me alone!), then I'm going to rub lotion all over, then I'm going to fix my hair, then I'm going to get really dressed up. Then I'm headed over to a nearby city, where I plan to eat in a restaurant I've never been, and then shop for awhile in a store I've never been to. Then I think I'm going to hit a gay club or two. I mean there's no point really. I don't want anything "casual", and I'd really be hesistant to get into a relationship with only 3 months until I move, but I think a little flirting will be fun. Anyway that's my plans for this Valentine's day. As for Latin, well I took the test. I got an 89.5 (highest B possible) which completely pleased and satisfied me, BUT I do think my prof. was disappointed. He put this question mark by my grade, I could just imagine him shaking his head and saying "tsk, tsk" while he did it. But oh well, I mean a B isn't THAT disappointing, heck it was quite a pleasent grade as far as I was concerned. As far as Spanish, well I'm rather pleased with that. I got off to several "false starts" with it as I struggled to find the right program and regimen but now I really seem be moving along nicely. First I bought this audio course with 12 CDs and an accompanying book, which seemed pretty good but I didn't like the choices of words and phrases they were focusing on first, and it was too difficult to keep rewinding it "just a bit" to rehear something. So I returned that, and started looking for stuff online. I tried several "sample" things but didn't really find anything that promising. I think what I'm looking for is something specifically for the computer that would be an interactive program. Not just something which followed a set script but would adjust itself according to me, and something that would "quiz me". I also DID want something that had a book. So I wanted something that was audio, visual, and interactive. I also wanted something extremely comprehensive. Couldn't find this. So I ended up just checking out a bunch of stuff from the library. I got ALOT of books, some on grammer, some on useful phrases, some that look like actual spanish textbooks, and various "specialty books"; specifically about nouns or verbs or whatever. I also got several short Spanish audio courses. Anyway I definitely feel like I have enough material to keep me busy. I've also been practicing with two of my bilingual co-workers - which realy is helping the most, I mean after all what could be more "interactive" than an actual person. Anyway all in all I'd say it's going pretty well. Anyway I'm now going to go and have a nice hot bath and dye my hair a rather lively (though still humanly possible) shade of red. I thought it would be fun for Valentine's Day. Besides this is the longest I've had it its natural colour in the last 3 or 4 years, so I was bound to get bored with it eventually. On the other hand it's starting to grow on me, it seems I even have natural highlights......unless that's just still left from before, but I don't think so....but maybe I guess......uhh anyway, won't matter, all gonna be red soon Take care everyone and have a truly teriffic and awesome day! I hope everyone with a S.O. has a really amazing and romantic V-Day, and bonds even more. Everyone without a S.O. I hope you all have a great V-Day anyway and don't let it bring you down! Kevin

Thanks Julia! I didn't "ace it" but I did end up with an 89.5, which is literally as close as I could come to making an A without actually doing it . So I was pleased. Anyway thanks and take care! Kevin

Hey Rob, Wow! That's so cool that you're learning Russian and Mandarin; Ideally I'd like to learn those eventually too. However, my first and current goal is Spanish. Then I intend to "revisit" French (I know a very modest amount from High school, as well as from the heavily influenced area in which I grew up). Next German, and THEN I'd like to try to tackle Russian or Mandarin (Though Italian is also pretty appealing and having done Spanish and French it might be easier). So yeah as of right now I have alot of "language aspirations", but I realize it won't be easy and will require a good bit of disciplene. Anyway I did look into the Pimsleur course you metioned. It was quite expensive. I checked out the sample material they had available and while it was good I didn't really like that there wasn't a "textbook". So I ultimately ended up checking out SEVERAL books at the Library, as well as a few small audio courses. I did however manage to download part of the first Pimsleur course from the internet. I haven't listened to it yet though. Anyway thank you very much for the information, and depending on how much I like what I hear, I may end up going that route. Take care and have a fantastic day! Kevin

Hey Sumbloke! Actually my Latin course does consist almost exclusively of translations, at least the graded aspect of it. In class however, he throws out random other questions, usually about grammar, they don't count for anything though. Thanks for the tip about the dictionaries having the noun declensions and verb conjugations; actually mine DID have it and I was as pleased as punch when I realized it (I knew it had the noun endings but for some reason assumed it would not have the verb endings). I'm primarily interested in learning Latin American Spanish, since that's likely what I'll come into contact with the most, but I suppose you're right that they are the "same language in the end". It is amazing to note the differences though even just among the dialects spoken in the Americas. For example two of my co-workers are completely bilingual. One comes from Mexico, the other was born in the USA but her family was from central America. Anyway they had several different words that they used various things which they said was unique to their region, and also each encouraged me to pronounce certain words a different way. Anyway thanks for the advice, and while I'm currently just digesting Spanish material available at the Library (and through my friends), I'll be sure to check into the Digame course as well. Anyway take care and have an awesome day! Kevin

Awww thanks Kitty you too! And that sounds like the coolest major! I realized after two semesters of Latin that the only reason I chose to take it as my foreign language was because I was interested word etymology. ***Sigh*** I could have just bought a book or something (or taken a class), gotten more of what I wanted and quite a bit less work. Anyway have a great day and take care, Kevin