lurker

"You're hitting the Y tonight again, aren't you?" my friend interrupted my dinner to ask. "Come on! I want to go with you!" So much for ignoring him. At least my folks weren't around. They never would have approved of him, and he wouldn't have known just when to keep his mouth shut around them. The easiest way to deal with them was to say as little as possible. When we were eating together, I had two types of answers for them: one-word answers or shoving food in my mouth. How was sch

2006 Anthology

I've been busy with life stuff too. I don't have time to keep up with everything on the forums. But I've stopped in chat every now and then and there is usually no one around. So I often don't even think of looking anymore even when I could.

I've told this to you before, but I will repeat it again: You need to lower your expectations from this friendship and decide whether/how much to include Justin in your life. Yes, it sucks when your best friend ditches you for a boyfriend/girlfriend. It's a lousy thing to do to a friend, though nearly everyone is guilty of doing it, to some degree, at some point in life (especially as teenagers). But you can't make Justin dump his girlfriend and the more you try to harp on how manipulative and evil she is, the worse YOU look, and you help her build a dichotomy where it is the two of them versus the rest of the world. The situation sucks. You can't keep him from acting like an ass of a friend. But you CAN control how disappointed/hurt you are when the predictable continuation of the saga happens...

Just want to second the thoughts above suggesting disbelief that you're finding Rory to be a pain after, you know, Quinn.

The FAQ to another message board (one that is deliberately far more snarky than this place) posts the following guidelines: "Don't post to say you are leaving the board forever. That way you won't look like the tool that you are when you inevitably come back. We delete all goodbye posts, and to spare them the temptation to return, we delete the poster's account as well. Just shut up and leave, you self-pitying drip. Don't post to say only, "Hi! I'm back!" Most of us didn't notice you were gone or don't care that you are back." While there are circumstances that warrant such declarations and announcements, typically, I think these are good guidelines to follow.

I always liked Wheels better than Joey. Snake too. Joey was such a dumbass. Hehehe. Not only is Pat still featured on Degrassi: The Next Generation (which centers around kids who are roughly the same age as Spike's daughter, Emma), but the cable channel that airs Degrassi: TNG in the states just started showing Degrassi "old school" episodes. Of course, tuning in reminds me that I'm...old.

You may be dealing with a jerk. But maybe not. Some people are not very good at handling multiple IM conversations or IM while doing other things online. They get distracted and wind up ignoring a window, without realizing how long it has been since they last responded. Beyond that, sometimes people assume that because someone is logged in, they have an unlimited time to chat. If you're really trying to talk to someone about things, it's appropriate to ask if they have a moment to talk rather than saying "hi" and launching into something because it's a good time for you. Plus, there are plenty of IM 'non-conversations' that don't really require additional responses. They naturally fade away. Some people don't like spending time on the phone chatting about nothing - if there is no point, they say goodbye and hang up. Others have the same attitude about IMing. Just because you've said the last comment doesn't mean that it requires/invites the person to say something back. We have no way of knowing what the real deal is with this guy. If you don't enjoy chatting with him, then block him. Or at least be realistic in your expectations about how the correspondence will be. But I think you're getting angry and assuming this is a personal thing when there are any number of other reasons fr his behavior.

This may or may not help Val in her decision, but I don't entirely agree with the information you have provided, Michael, so I feel compelled to chime in. 1) The first year curriculum DOES vary to some extent, though not by much. For example, some schools require a year of Constitutional Law. Some schools don't allow it at all until after first year. The biggest real difference I've noticed across first year courses is that some schools allow/require 1Ls to take an elective course or two (or to take an upper level/mixed class of their choosing) while others dictate the entire first year. For someone heading into law school with a very specific career path in mind (which applies to a small minority), this can be an important part of the decision. 2) Very true, but the method in which the school schedules the classes (sequencing) and allows registration may dictate what you actually get to take when. Some students are very disappointed as 2Ls when they realize that they can't get into the most popular/on demand seminars, courses, etc. until they are 3Ls, and they spend the entire year taking only "bar courses" like evidence with 150 other people. It's an important point to ask at ANY school what courses students really do take and when to get an idea if the model is right for you. 3) The workload is pretty much the same in 2d and 3d year - you're taking mixed upper level classes. It is far more than the 1L workload, but that to some degree is because takes less time to do the same amount/more. 2Ls and 3Ls wind up busy because of non-coursework stuff: clinics, moot courts, journals, and very often, outside jobs. I would be happy to see at least the last semester - if not the entire 3rd year - turned into an apprenticeship instead of course work. But I'm not making the rules. 4) As far as I'm concerned, the bar exam should be changed to reflect the actual skills and knowledge required of lawyers. Memorization of blanket legal principles (like the multistate requires) is not of great value and should be ditched in lieu of an open book/open computer legal research and writing test. I agree with Michael that you should mind the costs of the education. It's an investment in your future - so 'cheaper' is not necessarily always better (e.g., if you really want to practice on the west coast, don't go to a midwestern public school that has more of a local/regional reputation than a national one). All in all, though, there are some good quality public law schools out there, so I think that's worth taking an extra look at. And last, I'd be very careful about choosing a school based on one specific specialization program they have unless you have actual experience in that field before law school indicating that this is truly your calling. A JD opens many doors for the future, and it's very hard to know which ones you would even be interested knocking on until you get more exposure to the law and what the options are.

Always good to focus on the positive. I'd make some witty retort about how that wouldn't have happened if the Bears PLAYED the Packers, but the Packers are pretty pitiful too, so it's not clear what happens with that train wreck.

I haven't read your stories, Madbomber, so I'm speaking from a more general sense here. I suspect that the gay online fiction world is full of unfinished stories somewhat like yours - you started at one point in your life due to some inspiration and after some time, you didn't have the time and/or inspiration to keep the story going. Here is my controversial proposition: Maybe the problem is that your story IS finished, to some extent. Having not read it, I don't know if that's true or not. What defines where a story ends? There are stories where the author slaps on "The End" or the barely less subtle paragraph at the end explaining "And then they were together for another 20 years and had blah blah blah, but they never forgot this story." Does an official ending really work for the reader? To be honest, if an author has to TELL me that the story is over, then there has been something missing in the story telling/crafting. Not every story ends with complete resolution, but as a reader, I should KNOW that the story is ending. This should not be a shock. A well-crafted story is built upon a certain amount of conflict and when that conflict is played out, then the story is over. I know that writing styles vary widely. Some people like to have every detail plotted out in advance and others prefer to be more flexible to follow where a storyline may go. But there is such a thing as too much free-form. There are a great number of aspiring authors who are inspired to write - they come up with a character, a scenario, etc. - and just start writing. I would posit that while many people can be writers, not nearly as many are focused on being story-tellers. The talented authors are the ones who have honed the craft of storytelling. Writer's block often happens when there is a disconnect with the writing (or writing process) and with the story that the writer is trying to tell. Sometimes, the problem is that the writer may not KNOW what story he is trying to tell. Or his writing may have deviated from the story he is telling enough that he now feels trapped and unable to continue in the path he feels that the story needs to go. Or the story he was trying to tell is ALREADY TOLD and the writer is stuck trying to continue when the true underlying story is finished. If you are simply more interested in working on ANOTHER story, that doesn't really seem like writer's block to me. It just suggests that your muse is lit in a different direction. Go with where your creative energy takes you! But for anyone who has systematic problems 'finishing' stories - and always is more inspired to start something new - then that indicates a problem with crafting a story so that it has a natural beginning, middle, and end. There are questions you can use to focus your writing on this core story-telling point, such as: What is this story about? What does this chapter do? What conflicts must be resolved before this story can end? etc. Happy Writing!

After the performance of the Chicago Bears against the Redskins yesterday, there are a lot of players I'd be hatin' - not just the game...

Happy Birthday, Zot! Do you bake your own cake or do you let someone else do it? Hehehe...

I'm a little late to the party, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Hope your day's been a good one.

Happy Birthday Trebs! Enjoy your special day. P.S. You're old.