AFriendlyFace

MMMMMMMM Gorgeous! Can I keep him around to play with at bath time?

HAHA! Glad I wasn't the only one who went to Katy Perry in my head.

Well I certainly hope things do get progressively better! Good luck with the writing and with the driving! Take care, Kevin

Pretty kitties I agree that rodents are adorable! My own cat would probably be a little too fond of them though, so I don't keep any as pets. I'm starting to get a bit nervous about not finding a costume in time! I'm going out of town for a Halloween party and I've got to have a costume. LOL, I suppose I'd have more luck finding one if I were actually looking though.

Very cool indeed!

Woo Hoo!! Happy Birthday CJ! I hope your day is as special and awesome as you deserve! May the coming year bring you every happiness and fulfillment! -Kevin

I think it's rude of people to (continue) guessing incorrectly when you're on the phone. If I made that mistake once (even between people of the same gender) I'd sure as hell not do it again. How hard is it to say, "Hi it's ___, I'm calling to speak with ___." That's another reason I hate landlines! When you call a cell phone you have a reasonable expectation of knowing who you're going to be getting! I don't think most people like their voices very much. Personally, I've never cared much for mine either. I particularly hate it being recorded. Anyway, I think that as others have pointed out, that's a stupid thing to judge someone on. I'd say try not to worry about it! Take care and have a great day Kevin

Hello Chase, I have some thoughts. Before you start "feeling worthless" I urge you to consider just what "worthless" is to you. Worth is a relative concept. You really have no one's standards to live up to but your own; just make sure your standards are "worth" living up to. As I see it, there's something of a "slacker vs. over-achiever" contest going on here. On the one hand you're throwing massive parties, sleeping around, and going to class drunk. On the other, you're feeling as though you should be receiving good grades at a prestigious institution and generally following the standard paradigm of success. The thing is though, you've got to know what your motivation is. Are you simply killing time in temporarily pleasing but ultimately unfulfilling ways? A bottle won't fill your emptiness and neither will an MBA from Harvard (or whatever you want from wherever). IMO, there's nothing wrong with partying or with succeeding in the traditional way. Just do it in a positive way. Don't pickle your liver and don't chain yourself to a desk. Neither route offers actual fulfillment. Of course, that's simply from my perspective. I did the wild partying and the all A's thing (I even did them at the same time), and they were both nice, but neither one of them was the actual point or added any degree of meaning or long-term satisfaction to my life. What I've personally come to understand as my concept of "meaning" and "fulfillment" is being able to enjoy my life in the moment, being able to continually learn and do new things, being able to cope with shit without spinning out of control, and being able to bring some measure of fun, support, pleasure, and knowledge to the world around me. That's really about it. Everything else in life, education, money, a career, etc. it's all just a means to those essential ends as far as I'm concerned. Of course that's just me. I definitely don't encourage you to take up my motivations anymore than I encourage you to take up anyone else's. What I would suggest is figuring out what you want, what will make you feel good about your life, and then asking yourself what you can do to have those things. Again, also ask why you want those things. Some people want to "be successful" or "party hard" not because they are actual values the person themself holds, but because of how those things will be viewed by the people around them. IMO, that isn't a very good reason to pursue success or debauchery; you've gotta want it for yourself Regarding your boy, let me take a slightly more cynical perspective since everyone else, including you, seems to be viewing him primarily as innocent and fresh. He probably is innocent and fresh; however, bear in mind that the reason he knew you were into guys was because he heard you talking about screwing one. Virgin or not, what he was ultimately asking himself was, "hmmm, should I ask out this guy whom I know puts out?" There's not necessarily anything wrong with that. I'm certainly not going to condemn a little recreational sex between two consenting, unattached adults, and maybe they'll end up being a whole lot more to the date (and perhaps relationship) than just sex. All I'm saying is, you might want to have that condom handy just in case Take care, dude, -Kevin

.....I swear I was born right in the doorway. Everything felt so delightfully shiny and new today. I had a nice dream about my grandfather. It was so real, like I was really talking to him again. Anyway, I was in a good mood when I got up and the weather was awesome! It was cool, but not cold, and it wasn't so damn dreary like it's been lately! So I had a nice shower, with some new body wash I used for the first time. Then I put on some new clothes and walked out into my day. As I left my house my thoughts turned to my friends. My friend William moved away about a year or so ago. He's always been so ridiculously resilient. Some of the worst crap happens to the poor guy, but he always comes through with a shiny smile and an unflappable demeanor. He moved back recently...and I found out the real reason he'd left. He was seriously depressed. What the hell? I felt like the worst friend ever! How could I not have seen that? Instead all I ever saw was bright smile. The whole thing reminded me of an experience I had recently with another close friend. Delightful guy, one of the wittiest most amusing people I've ever known. He announced he's now on anti-depressants and in therapy. Geez, what's wrong with me that I can't spot these things? I've always thought of myself as an empathetic, emotionally perceptive person, but I totally missed both their conditions and they are two of my closest friends. Anyway, they're both doing better now (I think...obviously there's no way I could really tell). Finally though, I settled on my friend Dave. He's legitimately shiny. I'm sure he feels unhappy and miserable sometimes - he is human after all - he's nevertheless the shiniest boy I've ever met. Needless to say I've always wanted him. Damn the luck that I met him shortly after he began his relationship with his boyfriend. They're ridiculously happy of course and being a fairly shiny boy myself I can't help but to be pretty damn happy for them as well. Still, I wish I could have found out what might have happened between us. I feel like with most of the guys I meet, they seem whole at first, then after awhile I discover this gaping emotional hole that they want me to plug up for them. I'm sure part of it's my own pattern. I'm quite aware that I have a protective, nurturing streak and I'm probably subconsciously just as attracted to someone who needs me as they might be to me. Thing is, I always have been ridiculously attracted to Dave, and I have no doubt that he doesn't need me, especially not to fix his mood. It would have been unique. Anyway, maybe I would have f**ked him up somehow instead. Or maybe he would have f**ked me up by being the more stable one...or maybe we'd have just been f**king happy all the time. Well, for the most part we both are anyway, so all's well that ends well, right? When I got to work I was pleasantly surprised to discover a locked door and a darkened room. I'd forgotten that my co-workers were going out of town till Wednesday. This is pleasant, because despite being legitimately fond of them and really enjoying their company, I kinda dig hard on my alone time, especially in a work environment where that equals more peace and quiet and fewer interruptions. So I had a lovely, quiet day at work and also felt like I got a lot done (I was a good boy and didn't goof off ). Anyway, by the time I got off work I was a ball of energy so I decided to go to the park for some rollerblading. On the way to the park someone rear ended me (I just can't help placing innuendo in my blog, just ignore it or indulge the dirty thoughts if ya want ). It wasn't too bad though, and it was completely his fault. I'm pretty cavalier about such things as long as no one gets hurt and the damage isn't too bad (and the damage was actually almost non-existent despite the fairly hard impact. I think it's because we were both driving trucks with sturdy, metal bumpers instead of the crumply plastic kind) so when he apologized I told to him to just forget about it and went on my way. I had a lovely time at the park. I had long chats with Scott, Jesse, and my mom on the phone. I'm sure most people don't go rollerblading so that they can chat on the phone, but for some strange reason it's something I enjoy doing and I usually make some phone calls while I'm blading. I'm so happy for Scott. He seems happy with his new boy. They've only been out three times, but it's going pretty well. I haven't met this one yet. I think I should give them some space for awhile. Scott and I are pretty close and I think it might not be best for the new boy to see us together just yet. I think I might have accidentally scared off the last one. I really didn't mean to either. I approved of the last one. I wanted him to stick around. But we went out, got a bit drunk, and spent the night laughing our asses off at stuff the other guy didn't get. In general I worry sometimes that he spends a bit too much time with me instead of dating. I know that's silly, but Scott isn't like me when it comes to dating and relationships. He feels like something is "missing" because he isn't in a serious relationship. Apparently this was actually one of William's main problems as well. I just don't feel that way. I have a lot of fun with the "single lifestyle" and I'm fine maintaining it indefinitely, or even permanently. I'll have kids at some point down the line, with or without a mate, but for now I'm having a blast and definitely not waiting for anyone or anything to come along. Scott really wants and needs that though. Most, if not all, of my boys do. So, I hope they all find it, and I hope they all start blowing me off to spend time with their boyfriends. I have no problem whatsoever being the single friend who dates around but doesn't settle down. On the bright side, I'm wildly in favour of William's new boy. He's actually an old friend of mine I don't see very often. We ran into each other a couple of weekends ago while I was out with gang, I introduced them, and lo and behold the sparks are flying! It makes me really happy. I have nothing but positive things to say about the dude and I really think he'd be awesome for William. Anyway, after I finished the rollerblading I hit WholeFoods on the way home, got myself an artichoke, and had one of my favourite dinners (An artichoke is a main dish for a vegetarian ). Now I'm comfortable in bed and looking forward to another lovely day tomorrow. Those are the things that I did and thought about today. Sorry I've not been around much lately. I've been having tons of fun though and I've been quite well. On a final note, I feel compelled to share this quote from the book I read this weekend. The book is "I Am Not Myself These Days" by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. It's about his experiences in living in New York as a drag queen with an alcohol problem and his boyfriend, a prostitute with a drug problem. This line is written in response to Josh/Aqua's reaction to seeing his boyfriend's drug buddy, Trey. I found it to be the funniest sentence in the whole book and it literally had me rolling around laughing for several minutes: "It's hard to imagine how someone could be a bad influence on a sadomasochistic hooker, but I consider Trey just that." Trust me, that's crazy funny if you've read the 242 pages that come before it The book's really good by the way. Both the main characters have some heavy flaws what with being a severe alcoholic and a crack whore and all, but they're actually extremely sympathetic and endearing characters. I was pulling for them the whole way through and desperately hoping they could make it work.

I'm thankful you made it through too, Steve. I'm not Canadian, but I'll throw a few out there. I'm thankful for my health, my friends and family, my perfectly pleasant job, and my overall very enjoyable and satisfying life Happy Thanksgiving to all our terrific Canadian members!!! -Kevin

I hope everyone had a fabulous Coming Out Day!!!

Happy Birthday, Corvus! I hope you have a fantastic day and a terrific year! -Kevin

Happy Birthday, Dom! You've made a huge impact on countless people and the least you deserve is a truly happy and awesome birthday!! May the coming year fill you with peace, happiness, and fulfillment!!! All the best!! Kevin

I think that in both the world of fashion and design, and in the world of linguistics, accents are exactly the same: accents are simply lovely, minor details which add to the overall beauty of something

I think it would be fun to discuss it! Thanks for the idea, David! I've just started said thread: What Is Slash Fiction?

Hi all, I thought I'd start this thread based on a discussion in the New Members Welcome thread (thanks to David and Xephia for the inspiration! ). How do you define "slash fiction?" I'll reiterate my own thoughts: I always thought "slash" fiction involved the fictionalizing of a relationship between two characters created elsewhere. In other words the stories involving Harry Potter and Ron (or any other male character) would be "slash" because that isn't how they were originally and explicitly created by the author (basically any fanfic with a gay twist). On the other hand a story involving a relationship between two males that I myself create would not be slash because they are my original creations. So that's how I've always used and understood the term. Anyone else have any thoughts? Is there an accepted definition out there? Take care all Kevin

Happy belated birthday! Hope it was an awesome one!

Happy Birthday, buddy!! I hope it was a really special and awesome one!

Happy Birthday, Dude!! I hope it's a terrific one!!

A friend of mine was really into it and convinced me to go with him. Don't tell him, but I thought it was really overrated. I mean it was decent; I wasn't totally bored. However, I really didn't find it that scary and the dude in it really annoyed me. On another note, the whole camera as the observer thing is a huge pet peeve of mine. I think that is SO annoying. I actually wouldn't have gone if I'd known that's what it was going to be. On the plus side though, this one didn't make me nearly as nauseated as most of them do. The Blair Witch sucked big time and literally made me sick with the stupid wobbly camera. This movie is much better, but still not all that. Of course I pretended to like it since my friend was so excited about it -Kevin

I know absolutely nothing of special resins, but I'm skeptical of anyone who claims to be able to do the job in under a half hour to my satisfaction.

Very cool! Welcome aboard! I would tend to agree with your definition/understanding for the most part. I would actually have made one more additional caveat though. I always thought "slash" fiction involved the fictionalizing of a relationship between two characters created elsewhere. In other words the stories involving Harry Potter and Ron (or any other male character) would be "slash" because that isn't how they were originally and explicitly created by the author (basically any fanfic with a gay twist). On the other hand a story involving a relationship between two males that I myself create would not be slash because they are my original creations. That was just my understanding though, and now that I think of it there may be a different term for what I'm describing -Kevin

I think I'd have to go with a New Jersey accent. Odd choice I know, but it's my current "flavour of the week." I think it's pretty adorable. Anyway, since that wasn't actually one of the choices (I won't bother complaining sine I've been beaten to the punch ), I actually picked West coast/surfer. I think that is pretty HOT! Other popular choices were both English and Australian, and I might have gone with generic East coast (probably excluding New York I'm afraid ). Some midwestern US is good too, but I actually find it varies a lot. I like Wisconsin and Minnesota the best. I agree that not all English accents are created equally. I could get really into someone with a cockney accent whereas a more "posh" accent would probably get a little old and annoying after awhile. Someone with a Somerset accent would just take a great deal of getting used to! I'm more neutral about folks from my neck of the woods (the general South). Some people sound really cute with a Southern accent; others are just really annoying. It largely depends on personality and what stereotypes the person is embodying as well as challenging. A polite, mannerly, hospitable person is attractive anyway, having a cute Southern accent does bump it up a few extra notches. On the other hand, if the person is being ultra conservative or generally "redneck" then a Southern accent just sort of compounds the offense. A "hippie" sort of person with a Southern accent is a pretty rare and sexy combo. One thing I often find very attractive is a Southern African American accent. As far as accents of non-native English speakers I'd say some sort of Scandinavian accent is the most attractive. Italian and Spanish don't do much for me at all and despite having a real fondness for most Asians I don't find the accent especially attractive (OR unattractive). I can go either way on German or French accents. I've found that many native African accents can be ridiculously hot! It actually took me about the longest of any non-American accent to be able to easily understand, but once I "got it" it was all I could do to hold myself back! I'd still have to say the New Jersey accent is my current favourite though! -Kevin

Happy Birthday, Beasty! May the coming year bring you all the happiness, peace, and joy that you deserve! Take care, Kevin

Interestingly timed topic. I just finished dinner with three of my closest friends, during which they informed me that I have a tendency to wear "tight" jeans. I certainly wear jeans that fit and I will admit that I like to accentuate my best assets, but I wouldn't have described me jeans as overly tight. Anyway nevertheless, I hate to put things in my pockets. It's not so bad putting things in my back pockets if I'm going to be walking around, but I tend to remove anything prior to sitting down. I don't really use the front pockets at all. Anyway, I could probably get by with no pockets if the jeans were really cute. Besides what are lesbians for if not to hold your stuff when you go out?