anonemouse

Very true. Most kids under 14 generally have the same tastes, or usually just want what their friends have.

I'd love to get money (or at least gift cards) as a gift. That way, I can get what I want, or at least put it into savings. Hell, I'm a poor grad student, and I can always use extra cash, especially since I'm currently paying off this surgery. Half the time when I get gifts, it's not something that I want or could use, in the first place. I mean, the thought is there, but this stuff just sits around until I finally give it away or throw it out. To me, cash or a gift card would probably be more meaningful than an actual gift, since gifts usually just show how much they don't know me or my tastes.

I have to agree with everything you said. I knew going into this whole process that I would face criticism from people. From thin people that thought surgery was the easy way out, from people heavier than me that thought that I shouldn't have surgery because I wasn't as big as they were, from my own family because they were scared for me. I was sick of being fat, not being able to do the things I wanted to do, etc. But I also felt a little ashamed that I had to go to these lengths to lose weight. I would just tell them that it is something that we all feel, and that it's not anything to be ashamed of. Yes, you'll probably run into nay-sayers, but you are doing this for yourself and for your health and future.

You should see me trying to buy furniture. I get so neurotic over it. I'm stingy in a lot of ways, at least when it comes to the really expensive stuff. I have no problems dropping $300 on a pair of binoculars (I'm an ornithologist, I know I'll use them and love them - plus I researched for weeks before deciding on a pair that was the best you could get for under $1k), but buying furniture makes me nervous. I'll find something that I LOVE and then talk myself out of it, mainly because I'm afraid that I'll spend so much money on something and then decide that I really don't like it in a week or so. Same way with other major purchases.

Fingers crossed!

I've never gotten money either. I've picked out my own presents on Amazon, shipped them to my parents, and received them on Christmas, though (they're technophobes). :biggrin1: My parents have no clue what to get me, so unless I actually pick something out, they usually give me the usual stand-bys of fuzzy socks, flannel PJs, and a shoebox full of paperback novels. My brother is usually guaranteed to give me Bath and Body Works products and a DVD or two (usually nothing I actually want to watch, though). It's easier and a lot less painful for all of us if I just pick out what I want and have it shipped to them.

That's what I've thought about doing. But, I think I'll start with the building management and go up from there.

Exactly. It makes no sense to me. I can understand forgiveness to a point, but I think that cases like that far surpass "forgiveness" and enter into stupidity.

One thing I though of, and I head about this back when that Amish school shooting took place, is that the Amish believe in complete forgiveness, to the point that if you try to have someone punished for a crime, you haven't forgiven them. Personally, I think that's going too far, in the direction of "everything must be forgiven." The case that I heard of was where an Amish girl was raped and molested as a child by two of her brothers. She wanted to see them punished by the law, as they should have been, IMO. Instead, she was the one shunned by the Amish community, after one of the brothers was convicted and jailed, because they felt that she should forgive her rapists and live beside them in harmony.

I'll second that!

With all due respect, Wheetsin (and you know I do like and respect you), we did attempt to take the higher road. I don't think it's immaturity when someone actually responds to a post that specifically mentions their name. WASa PMed you guys multiple times about sweethazel and Lizrbit, sending lists of the threads where she was harassed by them as proof, but nothing was done, not even in the form of a reply to her. Is it a surprise that eventually people get tired of being stalked and harassed? You virtually confirmed to me that Lizrbit and sweethazel are the same person. She's been allowed to sit there and stalk and harass the other members of this board. She made up another SN to harass WASa and I after we ignored her. When something like that doesn't end, I think the members that are the receiving end of the harassment are entitled to react. I know I feel like I can't go and post in any thread I would like to, for fear that I am going to be attacked. Hell, it's gotten to the point that I'm scared that she's going to find out my address. Let me ask you this: Would you tell a person being stalked and harassed in RL to "just ignore it?" Eventually, something has to be done about the person doing the stalking.

That the same link I've got?

Dude, wait until you're on the receiving end of the wackjobs. It's SPECIAL. I mean, hell, it's so fucking out there that it really gets entertaining sometimes. :faint:

It does help a little. :paranoid

Ouch. And with your in-laws there, eek! :faint: To me, the turkey's the easiest part, honestly. I just stick it in one of those turkey-sized oven bags and cook it according to the chart. Always comes out nice and moist.

I took on the responsibility of cooking Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago. Honestly, it's not that bad for me. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so I'm usually more attracted to the main dishes, like the turkey, brocolli casserole, corn pudding, mashed potatos, etc. I think I'll be happy with just a few bites of each, though, just as long as I can still have some. But then again, I never really gained weight over the holidays, either. I'm not fond of reheated leftovers, for the most part, so I'd usually only have the one large dinner. Most of the time, if I ate leftovers, it would just be a slice or two of cold turkey. I learned the hard way about over eating the sweet stuff when I was 10 or 11 and ate Thanksgiving dinner and then half a pumpkin pie. I didn't over-eat after that.

But then it puts in code whenever there's a break in a paragraph or an emoticon that's been added. I'll edit if it's a simple post, but if I've quoted someone or added emoticons, I'll just make an entire new post to go under the first one. Takes less time.

I definitely agree with that. I usually just let things roll off my back, so it would take something major for me to actually need to forgive them for something (I don't take most things personally, I guess). Generally, if that does happen, the only people that I forgive are people that are important to me, and even then I don't forget. I catch flack on here, sometimes, because of it. Like you say, most people really just aren't important to me. I don't necessarily hold grudges, but I just disregard the person entirely if they hurt me. They don't exist to me anymore. I don't really care one way or another if they like me or not because it really doesn't affect me.

Yes! That's it. I knew it started with a "pu" sound, but I thought I might accidentally call someone a whore in spanish if I tried to sound it out. :confused:

Actually, the weird would be the gravy on fries thing, I can't remember what it's called.

You and me both.

Ugh, I'd edit if it wasn't so difficult. That was supposed to be "from elementary school on."

Ah, but Tami Hoag is awesome, though. :confused: She's one of the authors that started to turn me over to current-day murder/mystery/romances. I was a book worm in elementary school. I started reading romances when I was in the 4th grade, I think (mostly Harlequins and that type), and then graduated up from there. I was reading giant Tom Clancy novels in 5th and 6th grade, along with my dad's Vietnam War novels. I was well-known for always having a book in my hands. I'm somewhat of a speed-reader, too. I can finish a 300-page novel in 3-4 hours. I'd literally read them back to back.

I get flashes of dejavu sometimes, or at least I used to. It was like when something would happen, I'd vaguely remember dreaming about it sometime in the past. Most of the time, when I'd dream of it, it would be months or longer before it actually happened.

Makes me glad I used to be obsessed with reading historical romances! You can get a giant vocabulary on obscure/out-of-use words that way.