NaperVic

Encourage your siblings to have kids. Being an uncle let's you have the benefit of being able to play with the kids and be 'Uncle Kevin, he's cool!' without having all that other pesky responsibility of 24x7 care. I have occasional periods of wanting kids, but a good baby sitting session brings me back down to reality. If you are considering some of this, I'd suggest starting out with a dog. Dogs need much more care than a cat and might be a good test drive towards a kid.

Thanks for your advice! I think I'll try your technique of calling her on my terms, where I can control the distance and such, and be mentally prepared for her. Heck, I could call her while I'm on my next bike ride. Biking drains me physically, but I have mental energy to spare. Sad Sallys, Suffocating Sams, Needy Nellies....lol, we need to put together a list of all these . I realized another reason Nellie is being so needy....our good friend Kool Karen is out of the country for several months. I hadn't realized how much of the load Kool Karen had been taking on. Now that Kool Karen is gone, Nellie needs more from me.

Ohh, don't get me wrong, I like touchy/cuddly, I just don't like all the other baggage that she's smothering me with. And while you have lot's of love to spread around, you also have lot's of people to spread it around too. And in your case, Rich is responsible for all the high maintenance stuff . I wish my friend Nellie had a BF or husband so that she wouldn't need so much from me. Thanks for your words of wisdom, Viv!

I'm going with this strategy for now. In a couple of days, I'll give her a call when I know she's busy and I'll get her voicemail. Then I'll ask her to go to dinner when I know she'll have a conflict and she'll have have to decline. This way I'm not 'ignoring her', I'll get credit for an invite without having to actually go.

Sounds good on paper, but implementing that strategy is much harder to do Hope the new job is going well Kurt .

Welcome Back!!! Enjoy sleeping in your own bed again!

I have this female friend who's being particularly needy lately (and she's a real life friend, so this isn't some vailed b*tch slap against any of you ). Let's call her Nellie. This neediness is really starting to suffocate me and I'm debating what to do about it. Needy Nellie was over the top last week when I went to a Canada Day party at a local bar. I arrived kind of late, so most everyone was already there seated at the two rows of tables (about 50 people overall). I saw some friends that I haven't seen in ages, so I waved to lots of people as I walked by the tables and headed towards an open seat near some friends. I waved and passed by Nellie, who glared at me as she realized I wasn't planning on sitting next to her (mind you, there were no open seats around her and like I said, I wanted to say hi to some folks I haven't seen in weeks). I didn't think much of the glare at the time. This was a pretty casual event, so I was constantly waving or chatting with people all over the room. A few times I looked over in Nellie's direction and each time she glared at me . Later in the evening, I found myself seated one person away from Nellie as I was chatting with a couple coworkers who I again haven't seen in a few weeks. At one point, Nellie tried saying something to me, and the friend in the middle said "Do you want to switch seats?" I replied "Nah, that's okay, I haven't seen you in ages and I saw her last Saturday and thursday night". The look from Nellie could have killed. I shrugged the look off and eventually later in the evening, I was chatting with Nellie where she started complaining about me not sitting next to her. I explained that the seats around here were occupied and just shrugged off the rest of her complaints. She new most of the people there, so it wasn't like I left her alone in a strange place. Then she says "I'm going to need lots of catering from you because I'm not feeling real happy lately. You're one of my best friends and it's your responsibility." Best friend? Me? I didn't respond to that (I'm from the if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything school of thought) and eventually went onto other topics or included other people in the conversation. Lately, she keeps declaring what good friends we are and telling me how strong our relationship is. Whoa . Lot's of hugs, her putting her arm around me, her head on my shoulder. I don't get where she's getting all this. I don't see our friendship as that strong and it's not like I'm leading her on. It's like she's creating more than what's really there. Maybe she thinks if she says it enough it will be true? It's weird, I like doing some things with her (the occasional dinner and such), but really, when did I become this responsible for her emotional needs. She seriously needs a real boyfriend because I can't give her all that she wants from me. I haven't spoken to her since last week. I kinda fibbed when I told her I was heading out of town this past 4th of July weekend, but I needed the break from her. I'd going to pull back some more from her. Hopefully she'll get the hint. Platonic friendships aren't supposed to be this much work. The attention she wants should be given from someone she's sleeping with. There's gotta be some reward for all that work. Vic

Dom posted this in the Losing Faith thread and it addresses your 'focusing on the premie section...' comment.

Hmmm, lot's of goodies in your post and lots of good replies. I'll only focus on a couple points... I don't think you're going to garner much about Dom's personal thoughs on bisexuality from his characters. I remember back when TLW & TOU were coming out, some fans thought Dom had to have terrible parents in order to write about Owen, Quinn, Dennis, & Aiden's experience with some of their parents . Dom later posted that his mom was a saint. Dom's later writing include less graphic sex and I don't think he'll be returning to the erotica filled days of TLW (*exaggerated sigh*). There are a couple of good threads on this topic. Here's the link to the Sex Scenes thread.

I can't believe it's been 4 years and now you're FINALLY 18!!! Happy Birthday Robbee!!!! May you have many happy years of adulthood

It's amazing, the long hair on Aiden has always prevented me from liking him that much. I mean, he has a great personality and such, but knowing from the beginning that Aiden had a mane means I never grew fond of him (like I did with some of the other characters). Another plus for Luke is that he's a dog lover.

For all you Dennis lovers...here's a quote from TLW Ch 8

It does if you normally get up at 5:30ish, or if you stay in your PJs Enjoy your vacation and consider throwing your cell phone in the Ocean.

isn't anyone planning on funding GA so that there won't be a need for ads or supporters?

If you enjoy Dom's work, you'll probably like Human Condition by jfinn it's a classic and it's over at archerland

Bust some ass Kurt!

Happy Birthday Viv!!!! Hope you have a good one and that your family treats you like a princess for the day

Oh wow! I brought my recyclables to a shack today too! Got $24.21, in all singles plus change ( I wonder if he assumed I'd be going to a strip club or something afterwards?) The guy was probably just trying to be helpful, but a part of me thinks that if you weren't going to do the bulk weighing, he'd be encouraging you to do so. Those self-service machines are pretty finicky and with 13 bags of stuff, I wouldn't want to be behind you. If I were in the same situation, I probably would have helped you out as a gentlemanly think to do. Plus it's boring just standing there and you're a pretty darling

I'm so sorry for the loss of someone so special in your life. My condolences.

That would be awesome too! Just make sure it's a big ribbon...and that it stays on

Happy real birthday Tarin!

and now as I understand it.... 41 this year...bleh. You'd think by now I'd be used to the fact that I'm in my 40s. I'm getting more self conscious about the way I dress. I mean, it's not like I wear A&F or American Eagle or such. But I L. U. V. love Banana Republic

Thanks everyone for the Birthday Wishes! As a birthday treat I skipped running this morning, but not doing much else today. There's a party for me on saturday, so I'm saving caloric room for then. Domluka hasn't shown up on my doorstep only wearing a big red ribbon / with a stack of unpublished story chapters, but there's still some time left in the day .

Happy 80th Birthday Bob! Here's to 80 more!

Good Luck Robert! I hope your stay goes comfortably and feels short. Go for the mindless computer games. Take Care, Vic