methodwriter85

Flux definitely felt like it went a lot faster, which makes sense as this was the much shorter story than 9/11.

I like that JJ and Zach have being highly driven athletes in common...that should allow for a shared thread in their stories.

It's a contrast to Jack Hobart, who is a more frequent supporting character because he's interesting on his own, he can serve a purpose as a doctor, and because everybody pretty much likes him and his kids are close to Will.

Yeah. Unfortunately the guys haven't really had great spoof videos after that, and they're more about just small comedy vignettes now. To be fair to them, they're not college kids anymore and they probably have to deal with real world stuff now and don't have the time to put into that. Ace is a straight guy with a daughter that's too young to hang out with the Current Core CAP Teen Group.

I think the only thing I can say I was right about was JJ being the longest-lived Schluter/Crampton without having ever smoked pot. He really is the odd man out with his family. LOL. Of course, it makes sense- JJ does not strike me as someone who wants to take the edge off, and he's under constant surveillance by his buddies at the USFSA. Also about Jeanine going back to NJ, but not for the same reason. One thing I'll miss about Robbie being around was all the plots about all the famous movie stars they kept meeting because of him. I would've loved for Robbie to have invested in Twilight for all the LOL's: And years and years of spoofs were born: "So now he wants to kill me?" "No, he wants my candy bar!" LOL. It almost makes me wish I had bothered with the last three films so I would've gotten the parodies on those. I mean, I love the Hunger Games, but that series is just too good to make really good, mocking spoofs of.

I don't know if you've ever read Cross-Currents, but there's a chapter where a guy comes out as gay on the bisexual protagonist's soccer team, and I thought this quote was apropos: In any event, I wish Zach the best of luck because he's really going to need it. I'm going to admit, I kind of wanted Matt and Wade to take a few years off and then get back together, and co-parent responsibly. But they are a pretty good couple and I like that they're kind of taking on the torch of the newer generation's stable couple that forms the central family for the next generation. I'm positive that Matt, Wade, and Tiffany won't fuck it up nearly as badly as Robbie, Brad, and Jeanine did.

Chapter 45 -As we close out on Flux, and Matt is content in his life with Wade by his side. "Spin" by Lifehouse

I mean, think about it- you're young, you're hot, and you're someone that women are throwing themselves at. Unless you have a girlfriend/wife, it really doesn't make sense why you wouldn't take advantage of that. That's why Mark Arbour has refused to believe Tim Tebow's "I'm a virgin" deal is real. I believe Tim Tebow is a virgin- with women, in any event. Seriously though, all those "wait 'til marriage types" like Mormons are usually married by their early 20's.

Chapter 44 -When Matt auditions for the hockey team and gets into a fight to prove his street cred. "Smack My Bitch Up" by Prodigy -When Matt decides what he finds to be really important. "My List" by Toby Keith

Yeah. Honestly, the name makes me cringe for some reason, and it's incredibly dated for a reason. Here's a Top 100 List of Popular Baby Names from 2003. For girls, I like Hailey, Sophia, and Arianna. For guys, I'm liking Aiden, Jayden, or Hayden. It's just kind of funny to me that Sophia went from being a Golden Girls character, to be a very popular young girl's name again, while the name Heather is becoming a middle-aged mom name like Susan or something.

*passes out cigars* Well, it's a boy! My little nephew was born 10:29 p.m. EST weighing in at 8 pounds, 13 ounces. Mother and son are doing fine. He makes number 6 in his generation- I now have 4 nieces and 2 nephews ranging from 19 years to a few hours old. It's been a crazy week. I had to deal with the fallout of my internship loss. I had to deal with the reality of setting up plans for getting to my friend's memorial on the 9th. And then I got to see my little nephew born, who's middle name is a tribute to his paternal grandfather who died of cancer over four years ago, before he got to see his son have children. (This is child number 3.) The emotions just bubbled up as I waved between the joy of the blessed event and the crazy sense of loss that I've had washing over me this week. It's been a long and hard week but I got through it, thank god.

Nah, I'm not saying it was the main cause- the main cause was that I overstepped my bonds as a intern and made critical comments to other workers in the agency while they were doing their job, which was incredibly disruptive. But I also think that there were bonds that my supervisor overstepped, and in retrospect we had far too many conversations that were not work-related which happened during work.

I'm guessing Mark's silence means "Addison" is a no. Oh, well. Anyway, check out the Fifty Shades of Grey trailer: I'm not really sure I can see anyone in the family actually getting into the 50 Shades Craze when it drops in 2011-2012, but I'm pretty sure I can see JJ having a submissive relationship with someone. Although he could surprise me and be Christian Grey instead. As for the craze itself, it's brought endless amusement to me. The book is so bad it's good.

Yes, Irritable. I had another internship- this one happened from mid-May to the end of June, and I just sent off an email from them and asked them for any constructive feedback. I haven't heard back from them yet, but I'll definitely make it a point to ask now. I'm not trying to shift blame on anyone here. I got complacent, did not watch carefully over my actions, and I assumed I was doing well instead of actually doing well. I should have taken things more seriously, and I didn't. I'm living with the fact that I irreparably ruined any chance I had with that state agency, which happens to be involved with most of my field in the state of Delaware. But at the same time, there are ways I could have been handled better, and there are things on their side that need to be done.

I really do think since the topic is "people Will has slept with" and not "Will's sexual encounters", it should stick to new people, not people he's revisited.

He did. I think the whole issue was a lot messier than an affair, and he was given the choice to just come out and resign or get the full-on impeachment process. But yeah, I think in 2014 it's possible that a governor of a large state (well, for me, New Jersey is pretty large since it has like 9 million people) could remain in power and be openly gay.

I got arrogant because I had been successful and applauded in grad school, and I had done pretty well with the other museums I've been working with. I didn't come in with the attitude of "I'm starting completely over here so I need to prove myself" but "I've proven myself and you guys are thrilled to have me." It was a humiliating experience to learn otherwise, but I'm getting past it. I think the biggest hurt in all of this was learning that my supervisor did NOT think I had done a great job. I had really thought we were bonded over all the conversations we had about our lives. She had just lost a friend and I am still dealing with the loss of my own back in November, and we'd talk about our families and the issues we were having with them. She brought a LOT of her personal issues into the workplace, and that was pretty inappropriate on her part. I really did see/think of her as a friend. And then on reflection, I realized that should not have happened at all. She was there to be my boss, not my buddy, and lines got blurred that shouldn't have been. It's nice for them to be friendly, but she also needed to be direct and honest about what I was lacking in my work. I've had supervisors sit me down and say, "Alright, this is something you need to do to be better at your job", and I took what they did and I like to think I got better. Complaining to the director about your intern while being nice to said intern's face does not get better results. I needed her to tell me directly what I could do better, not for us to have conversations about her friends who got arrested during Senior Week at Ocean City or about her road-trip plans for the fall.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I went ahead and got through the humiliation of turning back in my state I.D., badges, uniforms, and signing my exit papers. It was difficult and upsetting, but also pretty illuminating as I tried to put into words what failed about this internship- on my side as well as on my supervisor's side. It seems as if there are two guys that I can be- there's the responsible one that developed in grad school, through four successful internships, and can be pretty respectful. Then there's the old self-destructive one- the one that drives everyone crazy, gets lazy and self-indulgent, and projects an air of unfounded arrogance. Apparently that guy showed up instead, and I have to live with the fact that I alienated a whole hell lot of people who will never give me another chance because I didn't bring the first guy to the game. My main lessons here seem to be... 1. It's not my job to critique/comment on other people's work or offer them unsolicited advice, especially as the low-man on the totem pole. Only do it if I'm asked, and in all honestly, have done the legwork to warrant it. (Like when I trained people to clean the dining hall because I'd been there an entire school year, and being allowed to train volunteers at this small museum I work at because I've been there for over a year.) 2. Don't assume you're doing a great job because your supervisor hasn't directly criticized you. Also do not complain, either vocally or facially, about the tasks they have you doing. 3. Do not ever, under any circumstances, treat a supervisor like a friend. This is where I felt like, although I failed, there was some fail on their side as well. My supervisor and I were close in ages, and upon reflection, I think this made it harder to keep a proper supervisor/intern relationship. She shared and confided in me a lot of personal information/stories about herself, and set a tone where I felt like that was okay for me to do that myself. I thought back to the other supervisors I had, and I honestly can't tell you anything about them aside maybe where they went to school, their work history, and if they were married, dating, or not. That's about it. This was different, and upon reflection, it wasn't appropriate to know a lot of personal things about my supervisor. It created a feeling that we were friends rather than someone I was working under. So yeah, those are my lessons that I'll take in moving forward. I feel crummy but I'll be better, and I've already gotten past the hardest part.

There have been long-standing rumors that Troy Aikman is gay/bisexual, but of course he still hasn't come out yet despite the fact that he's been out of the game for over 15 years. I know he's not obligated to come out, but god, if he did, can you imagine what it'd be like to have someone who was one of the most successful quarterbacks with one of the most successful teams come out? When Esera came out, I remember him appearing on Oprah and showing off his partner and kids in some family photographs. Of course, in Zach's case, he already has the image of gay men raising kids in families together, although to be honest...the Brad/Robbie/Jeanine example didn't end up well. Wowzer. It worked in the beginning because Darius was the easy, no problem child, but when it got to the final stretch with their last two...geez. (Although it apparently didn't work out for Esera, either.) I think for me, the big jaw-dropping come out story wasn't in sports but came a few years later in 2004, when Jim McGreevy the New Jersey governor announced he was a "gay American" in his resignation speech.

Chapter 43 -When Matt leaves the note with the ring for Wade. "Someday, Somehow" by Ryan Adams

Well, my internship with the state park did not work out. I'm pretty shocked and sad about it. Long story short, they felt like a particular incident showed that I had not gotten over my behavior problems from a decade ago, and given that I had a lot of baggage with them from that time period, they did not feel like I was a fit with them. I was given a second chance and I blew it. It sucks and I'm pretty angry at myself. I know I'll move on- I closed a door with ever working with the state park system in Delaware, apparently, but it's not the end of my career. I might really want to start thinking long and hard about staying in the state of Delaware, however. Right now my immediate course of action is to just go ahead and start increasing my volunteer hours at another museum I work at (thank god I didn't actually leave the place), do some soul-searching about why this internship did not work out like the previous 3 I've worked in, and get back on the horse and try again. Luckily I've got this side job cleaning apartment buildings a couple weekends a month so I'm not completely at 0. Ugh. I guess I just have to remember that this was a learning experience, even though it wasn't in the way I wanted it to be.

Now it's 14.1 million views. Damn, that trailer's taking off. I haven't seen this since The Fault in Our Stars, a (vastly) better romance. I don't think authors get royalties off the movie adaptions- I think they get one big lump upfront sum. Still, E.L. James has made a shitload of money off of such a horrible book.

The trailer now has 12.1 million views.

Alright. What about Addison? (Which inexplicably became a popular girl's name in the 2000's, peaking in 2007, despite the fact that the name means Son of Adam.) It would have been on the ascent in 2003, and probably seemed edgy and cool. Maddy and Addy. Come on, that's cute! Or Tiffany can name a daughter Isabella, and then cringe in embarrassment 5 years later when Twilight hits. Extra points if it's twins, one's a boy, and she names him Jacob or Edward. It's just funny to me that names like Isabella, Sophia, Ava and the like are so hot right now, while the names I grew up hearing so much- Jessica, Ashley, and Heather- all seemed to be fading out. When's the last time you've met a little toddler girl named Jessica or Heather? As a comparison...top baby names of the 1980's vs. top baby names of the 2000's The top 10 for baby boys barely changed, while Elizabeth, and Ashley are the only two who stayed in the top 10.

Alright, I don't know if we'll ever see Ryan again, but Jonathan Kent from Smallville as Ryan's racist father? John Schneider is a born-again Christian type and apparently has said some homophobic stuff, so I thought he fit. At the same time, he's also a pleasantly good-looking 50-something "Dad" type who can pull off the smarmy attitude, which is also how I picture Ryan's dad. I kind of figured Ryan's dad was older than his mother, who was kind of picked up as young trophy and then discarded when she wasn't.