DISQUS

i've seen some amaaazing php driven web sites/blogs, and have been wanting to learn it for some time now - are there any really easy and straightforward hands-on textbooks you can recommend?

right now i'm studying vb.net in preparation for learning asp.net and it's slow going, purely for graduation + improved job prospect purposes - i have a feeling php would be far less clunky.

wow, i just gave notice too! good luck on creating your new experiences. have fun - it's the msot subversive act of all.

i am trying to do exactly the same thing, only with skiing. it's been a painfully expensive [i am at the VERY low end of "lower middle class", so it's definitely about used equipment] and often athletically discouraging process. a week ago i think i made a huge breakthrough and was able to navigate the "blue" intermediate runs for the first time with some confidence. i also fell down a couple of times and almost killed myself, but that's why i'm wearing a helmet.

i would have enjoyed being in on that B-Ball game. maybe i should add that to the list.

yeah, again. i never learn...

do you play the drums at all, and do you live anywhere near [or could you easily get to] seattle?

you sound like just the kind of people i'm looking for.

whew, thanks for clearing that up. for a second i thought it was just me.

possible? sure. likely? that's the real question.

the hardest thing about honesty is overcoming one's tendency toward self-delusion. when we're hardly ever completely honest with even ourselves, it's hard to imagine being microscopically honest with others.

yes.

this "JUST GIVES ME THE SHIVERS" to quote owen meany...or, just picture me with the standard ron weasley face, mouth puckered in an "O", eyes big as dinner places.

i KNEW the end of the cold war was too good to last.

LOL - people at work used to always think that i was angry too. not only that - any time i DID get angry, for some reason it frightened people. which was really aggravating, because i never yelled or anything - and i wanted to be heard by them, and be able to talk things out and negotiate, but instead no matter how hard i tried to control my tone of voice they would start backing up and their voices would shake and they would say things like "i-i-i r-r-really n-n-need you to c-c-c-calm d-d-d-down right now...okay?" as if i were about to hit them or something, which is about as nuts as can be. i was never able to find out exactly why me getting mad was so scary. it really caused me a lot of problems. now, however, people have the opposite prejudice, they think of me as "nice guy/doormat" which isn't true either. you can't win!

heckuvadeal - it's also unseasonably nice here in seattle. good luck in your new ventures. are you staying in austin?

i was going to make a comment...but then i figured i could just as well make one later.

seriously - this description sounds like me, to a T.

i hate to use cliches on you, but the only way i've ever been able to make that work is "one day at a time", or as the zen buddhists like to say, "chop wood, carry water". ego tells you that ordinary is bad, but ordinary in the end is what saves you. we can all have big dreams and big creativity when these things serve us in some way, but sometimes they can lead to grandiosity.

one time when i was as close as i've ever been to a nervous breakdown -- seriously scared i was going to lose my sanity -- my shrink told me on the phone to do "ordinary things" like washing dishes, folding laundry, etc. -- anything that increased the feeling of "normalness". this is actually great advice even when you are doing well. anything that you have been avoiding or procrastinating that weighs on your mind -- gently sit yourself down in front of it, breathe deeply, and take time to finish it. if you succeed at that, see if it leads you to another thing on that list.

life is complicated and there's never any easy or sure answers, but simplicity is sometimes a good direction to move in.

see your doctor. you could be suffering from (1) a sleep disorder, such as apnea, or one of several others, or (2) depression. both are treatable.

don't blow it off. everyone has the right to feel good. even if you don't have insurance there ought to be a family clinic in your area that will see you either for cheap or on a subsidized basis. look up "family medicine" in yahoo yellow pages for your area. good luck, and let me know what you find out.

me too -- sending the white light.

lots of endings happening. one of my teachers in school is mourning the suicide of her youngest son's best friend; she poured her heart out on the class message board and all the students wrote in their condolences. community happens in unexpected places.

peace...

yaaay!!! woohoo!!!

i've been out of touch for a while -- did they figure out what was wrong with her?

friend, from personal experience: 1) hope for the best 2) be prepared for the worst.

lost my beloved canine friend of fifteen years last year, to similar symptoms. i understand the love and the pain and the fear. sending you positive vibes.

vocals, huh? i just went and discovered blossom dearie for the first time in the jazz section at my public library. i also have this thing lately for the blind boys from alabama. for "newer" music there's alison krause and gillian welch. peter gabriel's last CD "up" is very good. but if you're frustrated with what's out there it doesn't hurt to just curl up with some nice tom waits back catalog.

isn't it my job to BE a rockstar??

you're a champ. don't feel bad, most people who are crazy enough to visit [much less link] my blog have to have an exceptionally strong stomach for free-form, ill-considered ranting of the worst kind, interlaced with lazy "leave the research and reporting to the experts" linking. one month i remember doing nothing but linking to posts at dru blood's blog.

i enjoy the fact that i can come here to read about current events, gnosticism or pop culture -- sometimes, all in the same day. it's as if we came from the same planet, or something. and there's an r.e.m. song with the same title...even better.


PING:
TITLE: there's a lot of love in this room
BLOG NAME: ex-lion tamer
the mutually assured blogrolling reaches near-catastrophic proportions at LETTER NEVER SENT. the editors of the late great spy magazine and

it might be impossible to answer, but it is definitely a very good question.

this reminds me of something i might have written, and so self-absorbed bastard that i am, i liked it very much. thanks.

whazzaaap DRUUU!!! what a nice surprise to see her.

i see what she's talking about regarding dean's too-perfect hair, and is that TV makeup? all the same, tools of the trade, and all. at least his eyes looks like there's "somebody home".

well lucky it's the face and not the physique, otherwise i'd have some bad news for my spouse, who's been talking about future little exliontamers.....