I've been having family issues the past few weeks which will hopefully get resolved soon (though the resolution may not be very pretty.) I've been really stressed out and haven't been able to concentrate well for long periods, so I haven't been doing many critiques or posts. I have been reading everything, but I haven't felt like I could give a decent reply on many poems and I don't want to insult anyone with a half-incoherent post. On a related note, if I need an alibi for the police, can I count on y'all? (Maybe I could make that a mini-challenge ... ) :

Sorry, I don't know you - but, I can relate. Try to find a calm center, and don't do anything violent, eh... at least, not with a lethal weapon. On the other hand, it might be a great time to write it all out - who knows, by venting your anger in print, you just might have a best seller! Above all, be careful and be good to yourself. (suggestions from an old lady who has been through a lot.)

hope you don't mind, but you inspired me to add an entry to the bad poetry challenge. (feel free to delete these comments and that entry if you wish - no problem)

:-( We'll try not to run amok while you are down. Hope things work out for you in the end. I'll keep my fingers crossed. jon

Thanks for the sympathy. I usually don't whine but I feel guilty that I've been kinda absent of late. The clue-by-four this weekend didn't work, so we get to watch 2 people we care about continue to screw up their lives by being completely irresponsible. It's great to chase your dreams, but as you run, your feet have to occasionally touch the ground. "Loan" is not a synonym for "income." "Looking into" does not equal "doing." On the plus side, I've gotten some nice artwork done and I've been so stressed out I've lost a bit of weight. Should I market the Sister-In-Law diet? It could be even more successful than Atkins! : Sigh

I'm sorry you're going through such a bad time. Just remember, you can give advice but people don't have to take it. And some people have to learn the hard way that the advice they carelessly ignored was easier than the road they have chosen to pursue. And you can't be responsibile for someone else's choices. I know it is hard to stand by and watch someone else be stupid. Right now my mother is smoking herself into a hospital bed where she has been twice before. No matter what I say, no matter how my heart breaks, it doesn't matter as much to her as her cigarrettes. So all I can do is watch her kill herself because she is an adult woman, reasonably sound in mind, and apparently likes to gasp for breath and have a hacking cough instead of breathing normally. I've done all I can do...the rest is up to her and she's made her decision. And I know it's not that easy. The people who suffer the most are the people who care for the people making the mistakes. Take care and know that at least here we all faithfully take your advice. Right???? Right. ;)

Crescent...I'd give you an alibi, but somehow I don't think the police would believe you just popped over to the uk for an evening. I practise Shotokan using my punchbag when I'm stressed, or go to the gym and take it out on the lat pull down bar (both of which deprive you of the ability to do ANYTHING dangerous with your arms for days afterwards, up to and including drinking coffee if you pile too many weights on the bar) Don't forget to take care of yourself. Taking care of my sister when she messed her life up 'once again' came close to costing me my job and my own familys happiness. Only my hips benefited from the situation (you're right, the sister/sister in law diet does work) Sometimes you just have to let people take the wrong road. We'll all still be here when you are feeling more interactive, and I'm sure I won't be the only one who'll be glad to see you back. Look after yourself, Shanna :-)

Why is it that I'm the only one who gets fat on stress?? Maybe we should try trading our stressors...sometimes dealing with someone else's problem is easier than dealing with our own because we aren't so emotionally involved. It's not that we don't love these people. It's that we love them too much and they don't love themselves enough to make a change.