Tiff

Initially, when you meet someone and go on a few dates, no, I don't feel that religion is factor. It's a few dates, you might click or you might not. I wouldn't disregard someone just because they did or didn't practicd religion or a different one. I do know, however, some people who want to date someone who is religious and the same one as them. It all depends on the person, I guess. Once you get to know someone though, and you discuss the possibilties of a future together, then religion may be a factor, depending on how religious that other person is. If two people were not really religious, it wouldn't matter, cause neither are practicing. If one person was semi-religious and the other not at all, it could be worked out. The only problem I forsee is when one person is devoutly religious or if two people had different religions and were very hardcore about practicing. When one person is insanely religious and the other doesn't care at all, then it would be so tiresome to hear one person preaching all the time. And if children enter the picture, there might be varying ways of raising them. For example, I have a very religious Catholic friend. I'm Christian, but stopped going to church and bible school a long time ago. Anyway, whenever she preaches to me about praying for everything and leaving things in God's hands, it gets me a little annoyed. I don't mind religion, I just don't want it shoved in my face all the time, whenever I have a problem or get stressed out. Some people need to understand that not everyone turns to religion for things. It all comes down to mutual respect, I guess. When two people follow religions at opposite ends of the spectrum- I don't think it could work. Over time, the tension and differences would become too overwhelming. I hope that made sense. My thoughts were jumbled and I didn't know how to respond to all your questions. Hopefully others will be more insightful.

Authors would feel extremely pissed if someone took their stories and published them elsewhere without permission. Who wouldn't? All your hard work and someone else is handling it without asking, or possibly passing it off as their own? I would feel angry and then stressed, trying to figure out how to deal with it. If you contacted that person to remove the work and they refused, what else can be done? That's why writing on the net can be tricky. You can be easily ignored and brushed off. At least I can- I wouldn't know what to do! So I'd feel pretty darn helpless, too. But if it happens, well, I'll worry when the times comes.

I'm a little confused. Are you referring to music downloaded, or stories? Or just in general? I don't know how to answer that question. I know a lot of kids and even my sister and her friends, they download music illegally. The whole Napster case awhile back caused a big stir in the media. From one angle, it's the little people vs. the man (the big money making companies) and I can understand why your friend and others find ways to save themselves money. It's the thing to do, I guess. I personally don't download music. I'm the iTunes buyer. One dollar per song. As for writing on the internet or anything else, no I don't steal. I may print their story off the net and have a hard copy to read once in awhile, in case the file gets lost over time, but never to sell or distribute it. It's for my own enjoyment and that's it. It's a shame that morals are going downhill. However, I realized, you can't really argue with others, if it's their personal opinion, and their own set of morals/values, even if in your opinion, are tainted. It's how they feel and what they believe. Just have to agree to disagree, otherwise, you'll drive yourselves crazy!

I've always seen Carrots and Celery around, but I never checked it out. If a series is really long, sometimes I get intimidated- like there is SO much to read. And vegetables in the title kinda make me wary. Vegetables....ugh.

The good looking ones are the ones that cause trouble. But hey now, suggesting your idea of social rehabilitation to the judge mihgt not have been a bad idea. I'm surprised you didn't- I bet you could have made a good, serious, and convincing case!

Even with the picture capturing his back, he does appear to be good looking! Tall, lean. Blond? Or light brown? What a shame he was a total crook, eh?

Hahaha, I love how you start on a topic, and then go off on a tangent, and end up telling a humorous story. That Trevor was so stupid; he had to have known he'd get caught eventually. Serves him right--- eek, three years! Good mini-tale yet again.

That's a really good idea. That idea should be submitted. I don't think I could come up with anything for that.....but I bet there would be some good submissions and I'd be interested to read all of them!

Whether you're in need of increased medication or not---I loved reading this post of yours. One word: amazing.

I chose partner cheating, flying, and identity theft--- it's not a fear that consumes me, but it crosses my mind every now and again. The cheating because of issues with my Dad. The flying- well, can't help it, especially when turbulence occurs and all these plane crashes happening left and right. And identity theft, it's almost out of my hands because it seems so easy to get personal information these days and I can only imagine the heartache, hassle, and stress of trying to fix the problem. I really try not to think about this stuff. I let it cross my mind for a good few minutes and block it out by engaging in conversation or just blocking it out. Or my favorite- worry when the time comes. Does that count as an irrational fear if I'm not really actively being scared by it? Ah well, those are my thoughts anyhow.

You should! I quite enjoyed reading it, lol. It was like a mini story in the forums. You would be pretty good at writing a thriller/mystery type of thing---like trying to find out who the blackmailer is...showing how upset the ex is---going into details/emotions. Wow. I think you should write something like that. I LOVE thriller and mysteries, but only when others write it, because I can't. I don't know how. :wacko:

Happy Birthday! Enjoy your special day.

I want to be 20 again! Jealous.... Have a Happy Birthday!

Tristan, that's a crazy story! Btw, good detective work. Lucky for your ex you did have internet savvy skills. I'd have to just take it, because I don't know how to do anything computer-wise, except Word. I wonder what was the blackmailer's purpose in contacting you? What did he think he might accomplish. And I feel sorry for your ex- his supposed best friend did all that to him just because he said he only wanted to be friends. That just shows how people can surprise you and how do you know who to trust?? Jeez. Anyway, I know the point of your post was that you can't remain friends with your exes, but wow, that was some story. I was reading anxiously to the end just to see what happened. Nabbing those blackmailers, indeed!

I think blessings are important and it would help alleviate a lot of strain and tension at family gatherings or holiday functions, but at the end of the day, it comes down to you and your significant other. How strong your bond is and if both parties can continue the relationship even if parents or friends don't approve or give their blessing. I for one, would be mad pissed at myself if I let someone I truly loved get away because of someone else's opinions. I mean, if you want to be happy and be with the one that matters, then ignore everyone else and focus on what's important. Sometimes ignoring parents and family members is hard because for most of us, they tend to get in our face, but if they really cared about you and your happiness, they might not give their blessing, but they'd try hard to be civil and agreeable. Well, I'd hope. I'm not so sure about my family. :wacko:

Happy Birthday! Make it a great day!

I second that. Amazing things can/will happen in a mere two years. Must keep everyone here updated!

You're a little pimp! .........that's the first thing that came to mind. It doesn't even really fit into the context of anything. But hey, we're always pimping out our stories, trying to get more readers. Authors are sick pimpers.

Of course ideal situations don't exist- otherwise they wouldn't be ideal!! Ideal means it's a good solution or close to perfect solution, and jeez, nothing is perfect. Problems and drama all around! But that's life. Break up, try your best to be friends or not, and then move on. Move on to something better and new because life can be short and you have to snatch up those opportunities.

Kevin, you're absolutely right. People are people, children in need are children in need no matter where they come from. Americans are definitely not better than anyone else. If any child that can be helped, then that's all that matters at the end of the day. The only problem I have about international adopting is how everyone seems so eager to adopt abroad and they do not even consider adoption domestically. I think it bothers me more than people are unaware of the children that need help here as well, or they're following the trend of adopting from Asia and Africa because again, it seems cool when Angelina Jolie seems to be collecting babies. However, I wouldn't mind adopting from abroad either. I'd probably get one from China, or another part of Asia. No one would think they were adopted; they'd look just like me! That's very interesting. Did the previous government give a reason why same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt overseas? There has to be some background/thought process on their decision, that they hopefully shared wth the public.

I guess it depends if both parties really know what they want to do and are willing to take the necessary precautions. Personally, I'd have reservations about having sex with someone, knowing I could pass it to them by accident, but if they're willing, and we talk it through, perhaps it's something I could get over. I don't know. Tough questions, here!!!! :wacko: Ideally, it would be great to only date other positive people, but what are the chances of meeting someone who is positive and hitting it off. Maybe at some kind of support group meeting, but that extremely limits the dating pool.

Oooh, the curse of the Harry Potter craze. I admit, they were good books. Well, at least the first five which I read. I was all into them, but like everything else, grew out of it, and only accomplished up to the fifth, which was mad huge!!! After that...jeez, come on Rowling, I got school, work.... :wacko: Perhaps one day when I have free time, possibly after school ends or I settle down working, I'll finish the last two. It's like, I came this far...I can't quit now!

Watch goat indeed. I guess it's his noble job/duty to know what's going on. Congrats! Don't know you all that well, but anyone who can make that many posts, well congratulations is in order. It's quite a feat. Sometimes you wonder, how do people get that many? I guess it happens over time without ever noticing.

I do the same; I usually play it by title and click on it and hope for the best. However, a lot of times, I read a few paragraphs or a couple pages, and either it hooked me or it didn't. Not a big deal. Sometimes though, I like a little description or header- like one story on Nifty had a lot of gore because it contained cannibalism. Well, I could handle that and would have continued reading anyway, but it was nice to know it beforehand, I suppose. Or if there's a lot of abuse/sexual stuff/rape, I like to know before I read, because honestly those stories aren't for me, unless it's portrayed correctly, like in Vlista's work. A lot of abuse there, but it's portrayed and woven into the story well/deliberately, and at the end of the day, is a love story. As for knowing whether or not a story contains sex or certain kinds of sex, that doesn't matter to me. I don't necessarily need that kind of information beforehand, but things like sexual abuse/really gory stuff, perhaps. I don't know if I'm making sense, because it's late for me too! B

Loaded question indeed. This whole thread is thought-provoking and it really brings to light some opinions/existing stigma of HIV/AIDs. Personally, I don't know what my answer would be...yet. Everyone always has an answer when asked some serious question, and in their heart and mind they think they know what they'd do in that situation, but in my opinion- a question like that can only be answered when you're crossing that bridge. When you're confronted with that scenario and have to think long and hard. Even if you're in love with that person, it doesn't mean you're willing to go into that scary territory. My sister once said she wouldn't even continue dating someone if they had herpes. And I asked what if she really, really cared for him, and she said no. It was a deal breaker. It all depends, I guess. Even if we're not all willing to admit it, any sexual disease, it's a turn off. It's hard to think of what we'll do in that situation. The risks are obvious, which would make most people lean towards being cautious or flat out saying no. Or if you're really in love, I could see how people would make exceptions and be very careful with the use of condoms, which is a wise choice no matter what, like Jason has stated. You can have a sexual relationship with a HIV positive person, but be extremely careful. I read an article a long time ago and her boyfriend had a transfusion when younger and contracted HIV. His girlfriend, and then later wife (?) stayed with him, but they are careful and she has to get tested every once in awhile. Not sure about the details, but this just shows that it can be done, for any HIV positive people out there reading this thread.