as we entered a door of the administration building we did not head to the elevator to take us up the eight floors to the main administration floor.
i looked around the room and asked, "what's up with her?
i was going to work with the elder from hell who ran the photography department.
Oh my God!!!!! I am loving this story!!!!!! I haven't been so caught up in something since star wars!!!!! hahahahahaha
Thanks Dave.. this is soooo awesome!
Frannie... a Frog Strangler of a storm???????? ROFLMAO!!!!! You better send me some depends woman.. I am running out!!!! LOL
Killin myself laughing here...
Inq
i wish i knew the original source of this article.
it appears to be written by an american.
thought i would share it, as i am proud of canada.. it's not just the weather that's cooler in canada.
As I've said before here, I am an American, living in Canada, and I enjoy the diversity here... I think the main difference between Canada and the States is that Canada really does encourage diversity...it's okay to be different. America encourages assimilation....be an American... show your stripes, kinda thing. I love my country, but I do prefer Canadian liberalism. I think it allows for resources to be used for more useful purposes instead of trying to get everyone to be the same about issues. I don't think that will ever really work. Don't get me wrong... Same sex marriage does have it's detractors here, and the marijuana issue, medical use and otherwise, is still far from being what it should be, but at least there is progress, and a resistance to leaning on old, and terribly abused rhetoric politically about the subjects. Canadians hash these things out in the press, which I find incredibly interesting. The relationship the Canadians have for the media is very different from the relationship Americans have. Canadians are a very informed people and most aren't satisfied with headlines, or sound bites....
Most Canadians don't mind the idea of same sex marriages, and they don't mind the idea of marijuana use, though statistically many people don't use or don't say they use... Canadians don't trumpet what they do for the most part.
I read that article before and I thought it was quite good.
Thanks for posting it
Inq
i am questioning whether the internet is a good place to hang out.
last month i was scammed by an impostor who took advantage of me while i was depressed and vulnerable.
even this discussion board has become very vicious lately.
(((((Swan)))))
I too am right now dealing with someone who posed as someone else, who I know personally, and have a bit of a rocky past with, and started to harass me through this person's email account. I was in the process of reporting it when I found out who it actually was. And now am in the process of reporting that individual. It's pretty serious and will undoubtedly have repurcussions for the individual who did the harassing. On a personal note, it was annoying, angering and depressing. It's a very rare occurence for me, but it has happened to me before. I've been online for a llllooooonnnngggg time (Don't worry Simon, Mods, it has nothing to do with this board.) These abuses take our time, emotional energy and can be very hurtful... no question about that... but, IMO it doesn't diminish the value of the medium... or participation in it.
The benefits, such as support, being in a community with others that have like experiences, watching people grow and heal (tremendous value to me personally) and the possibility of establishing some incredibly great friendships, do IMO far outweigh the negativities. It's really an individual thing, but we have to decide how how much we are willing to emotionally invest in the board. I don't think the board replaces real relationships, though we can develop some very real, very wonderful relationships on it. When I was new to the online community, I was constantly on it...I wanted to learn more about it, especially when I first left the borg, there wasn't much else for me in the real world, and frankly I craved understanding and friendship. I had to find a balance. I tended to take topics and chats quite seriously. Personally even.... but I learned that for the most part, a generality exists between us. It doesn't mean things can't get offensive, yes they can. I agree, sometimes certain topics can be a total downer, and it's depressing to see that some archaic mindsets still exist. But there are vast volumes of incredibly great posts! I choose to frequent this environment because of those posts. There are some brilliant minds, some wonderful warm cuddly fuzzies, some invigorating humourists (love the humour), and some very solid people on the board. I get so much from them. There are also those that are not... and while they can be tedious, annoying, downright rude and negative, they also provide, in a once removed kind of setting, a lesson in coping with them. As in the real world, there is a wide cross section of people participating here, I like to look at it as an opportunity. Not to mention, posters here are very good at delivering the other side of the story too.... like the recent issue referred to.... Lady Lee and others, stepped up, and quite astutely presented information that IMO effectively countered the negative. Also the mods worked to protect the environment here. That activity comforts me personally very much.
So, though it's not always great, it is for the most part terrrific! Exercise that wisdom that many posters here have come to realize you have Swan. Protect that tender heart of yours, but also get the benefit. It would be sad to lose you.
On the issue of the negativity about gay lifestyles that has gone one here, it's my hope, that someone who is gay, and has a history of balanced posting, and understands the issues quite well, would step forward and participate as a moderator here, so that those of us who are not gay can understand more clearly the issues pertaining to the homosexual individual and community. I think in that particular arena, though most of us seem to be accepting and loving, that only someone who is gay can truly understand the impact certain statements make on the individual and community at large.
A big squidgy hug for you (((((((((Swan))))))))
Inq
the wt says "no"... "when harry met sally" says "no"....what say you?????
is it possible to just be friends with the opposite sex?
and how do you feel when your significant other has a "best" friend of the opposite sex?
I think it's totally possible... I have a several male friends... we simply enjoy each other's company.... joke around and laugh a lot.. and when someone needs some help, they know they can come to me.... it's strictly platonic, and that's understood... some of them are my most cherished friendships.
Inq
dang, times flying as we draw close to the end of this system of things (winks).
was august a good month or a bad month for you?
did you receive good news bad news?
I'm looking forward to fall... it's my favourite season! Love the changing leaves and the cool nights... ahhhhhhh, good sleepin weather! Finally!
August came and went pretty quick... busy month...quite warm... too warm actually... it's nice that my apartment is at a steady 20 C instead of 30 C...
Inq
.
your worst dating experience ever....with the exception of any encounter involving sexual violence........just your "abby normal" dating experiences..... mine was a double blind date with a skinny, butt-ugly guy that was too old for me and had infected gums...(blek) i was only 17....my best friend and her b/friend had "fixed" him up....with me!...it was totally boring.... frannie b
LOL Frannie.... 
Trying it again... lets hope this one works out better eh? 
LOL
My worst date... hmmmmm.... there's been a few... the blind ones are truly the worst! Sitting there for a whole evening listening to why someone broke up with his former girlfriend is one of the most boring pathetic experiences ever... a guy talking about his ex-wife and why he hates her so much is right up there too.... those were pretty bad dates...
One time a fella came to pick me up for a date, and when my dad answered the door, he had forgotten my name and asked if "What's her name.. .the tall one... is she here?" LOL... that went over like a lead balloon with my dad... I was 18 at the time... lol The date ended pretty quick... he certainly was no charmer...
I've left during a date... the old, I gotta go to the powder room bit... quietly payed my bill and slipped out unnoticed... the guy was hammered so it wasn't that hard to do 
toodles for now
Inq
strange as it seems, the happiest day i remember of in my entire life as a jehovahs witness happened on the opening day of a week long district assembly in california when i was a young teenager.
three things came together that day to give me a short glimpse of authentic happiness.
the first was that my parents decided i was old enough to give me just a tiny bit more freedom and allow me to sit where i wanted, to do volunteer work if i wanted, and even gave me a few dollars for meals.
Good topic mind....
I am most certainly happy to be free of the borg... though I was quite happy to become one of em at the time... Ignorance is truly bliss, however temporary 
...lol. I can say in retrospect that I am happier now than I was as a dub. I accept myself now, which I couldn't do as a dub. The quality of my life has improved much since I left the borginisation. Not so much materially, but as a person living my life.
I think happiness is mostly a state of mind... I define my happiness by how content I am in my circumstances... I am a typically happy/content person
, for the most part. Lot in life notwithstanding....I'm not typically euphoricly happy... though I have had some pretty euphoric moments
. I have also had my share of downs... 
For the most part, a balance between the two is what I aim for. I personally don't beleive that a person can be euphoric all the time, and I don't think that would be good for us.. although looking forward to moments of euphoric joy is a pleasure... just as I beleive people shouldn't suffer being down all the time....most of us know someone who struggles with depression of various degrees... we try to help them to be happy....
I think life in general is a balance between moments of happiness, sadness and the mundanity in between. It's been my experience, especially with the young, that it's the mundanity of every day life that some have trouble accepting. A large part of our lives is mundane activity... 
like doing the dishes... cleaning the house, doing laundry.... making a living or barely getting by....I know my son complains bitterly sometimes that he's bored... but when suggestions are made to him, he rejects them.... prefering instead to complain about being bored.... 
(He's 18) I cope with mundanity by having interests... I paint, read, write, even dream....I love gardens, people, animals, crafts... you know, all of that... so, when the opportunity arises... I find my happiness that way. 
I don't think it's too corny to observe that p eople are generally happier when they do things that they like to do. The freedom of my everyday life now compared to the everyday drudgery of being a dub, certainly adds to my feeling of "happiness". When you've had it rough, even a little better is better.
I don't compare my being happy to what makes others happy. Even if I'm a little different than the rest of the children... usually not, but sometimes I can stand out like a sore thumb... 
I'm still content inside. For the most part, I know who I am...I wouldn't trade being me... I think I contribute in good ways and I'm content with that. OTOH, I know people that appear happy on the outside and are absolutely miserable on the inside. 
Pretenders. I know I couldn't stand living like that. I also know people who are happy and they wreak havoc in other people's lives.... 
Vicious....and I know I couldn't stand living like that either....
I think the point I'm trying to make is that happiness is not as elusive as most people think... it comes from inside, accepting who you are, and doing what you need/want to do.
I have moments when I'm not happy at all... like when my parents died... when I broke my leg and my dub world crumbled, ... when I lose a good friend... hard to be happy given those circumstances... but I also have comfort at the same time... I still had my parents, (my father in particular was very beneficial in my life, I will always miss him, but I'm so happy I had him) I have a wonderful son... nearly adult now, but fills my life up with lots of activity....my life changed when I broke my leg, my dub world needed to crumble so that I could live a better life, if I handn't gone and broken my leg... that my not have happened..... I've made new friends and still cherish the memory of lost friendships... you know..that sort of thing.
Now having more money to have more time to do and have the things I need and want to do more freely, now I can see that making me have more happier moments, and my son would love that!!!!! But as to making me a happier person? I am who I am, and I'm content with that.
Just my two... and a half! I didn't know this was going to be so long! 
Inq
or nature's greatest...whichever you prefer.. my short list:.
laughter.
music.
Hi Beryl....
I'd have to say my son would top the list... my greatest lesson, work, wonder, etc....
Nature
Music
does it just have to be three.... ? lol
Inq
owyergoin?
how's the weekend for you?.
mrs ozzie and i have been enjoying being out for a drive in the highlands in the bright spring sunshine.
Hi Oz and Mrs. Oz....
#5 - told everyone... all at once...
Inq
i'll start it off........ ralph and his wife are going through a divorce.
she is going to take all his money.
so rather than pay, he asks his best friend since birth to kill her for him.
ROFLMAO! @ Mike and sirrup....
I don't think this one will be quite as funny but here goes...
A lovely young blonde walks into a bar and notices this hunky good lookin fella. So she goes over and to start conversation, she asks him, "What are you drinking?"
The hunky fella flatly answers, "Magic beer."
Intrigued, she asks, "Why is it called magic beer?"
The hunky fella says, "Watch this." He takes a drink, steps up on the bannister, flys around the room and lands at the bar.
The blonde is amazed and asks him to do that again.
He takes another drink, climbs on the bannister, flys around the room and lands right back at the bar.
She says, "I've gotta try that." and orders a "Magic beer".
She takes a drink, climbs up on the bannister and falls flat on her face. The bartender looks over at the hunky guy and says... "Superman, you can be quite an a**hole when you're drinkin'!"
Inq
