I don't think of it as being gloomy...more like laying it on the line. But that is why when somebody asks for my honest opinion I've made people cry enough to say "really? Really really?"

P-C, it sounds to me like the letter did what it needed to do, so yay!

Yay, and thank you so much.

You're most welcome.

I need to find the study I read that actually shows people who have a more cynical view of life tend to actually be...not right, exactly, but more aware than people who are more optimistic.

I'm sure Pete still has the link to it. The survey made him feel quite vindicated about his general Eeyore-like outlook.

P-C, like you need to hear more, but here's my nickel:it seems to me that when your uncle gives you advice, his motivation is not to give you good advice, but to control your behavior. Not that he's trying to be mean or hurt you at all, but from what I've read of your family dynamic, the role of P-C in the family is to do as he's told, and families always try to preserve the status quo. Breaking it hurts; most people would rather be unhappy with the misery they know than be responsible for making their loved ones unhappy by changing how things work in order to benefit themselves. When people do try to change their roles, it sends everyone into a self-defensive tizzy, trying to keep the family functioning as it always has. When your uncle (or anyone in the family) tells you to do something, remember that what they really want is to keep you in your accustomed place. Again, not that they're deliberately being mean to you, they're just playing out their own roles in the family dynamic.

To sum up: yeah, don't listen to your uncle's advice.

In conclusion, let's make out in your new apartment.

yay for good response.

Kooky old French guy's last note to you make me want to hug him and pet him and call him George.

Hooray for honeymoons!

Also, Raq, if you still have the link to my photo gallery, I added about 20 more illustrations, I think (I hope; I'm graphics-software ignorant) more high-res than the ones I originally posted. Just in case you feel like playing around with more images.

Also, is Erin still around? Hec is on his way out to sit in a café and write, but he's all chuffed that you'd like to use Doom Doom Doom as a tagline.

In return, could I use your line about me on bedrest lounging about like a fecund Cleopatra, please?

JZ! Please to let me know if I can bring you anything tonight. Candies, books, whathaveyou.

Numberslut!

(just to avoid confusion)

In conclusion, let's make out in your new apartment.

You can sleep in my attic!

Also, I hear what you're saying, but I honestly do believe my uncle thinks he's giving good advice. He's very much an "I know how these guys work" kind of guy. The controlling part comes from the old "That's what I'd do, but you can do what you want" that comes at the end of it all.

Oh, yeah, I'm sure he really does want to help you. It's just those subconscious motivations that mess things up. Of course I don't know any of y'all and I could be totally wrong... but it's how families tend to work, especially the more dysfunctional ones.

Anyway. Attic!