Listen to you pussies whine.. lol Time to find your big boy pants!

See any other day, I'd be on you like white on rice, but you're not baiting me today. Take advantage bitch. These types of days are rare.

As for your chemo questions - she takes two different kinds that alternate, and they are interveniuos. I'll find out the names and PM them to you.

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See any other day, I'd be on you like white on rice, but you're not baiting me today. Take advantage bitch. These types of days are rare.

As for your chemo questions - she takes two different kinds that alternate, and they are interveniuos. I'll find out the names and PM them to you.

Read Pack93z's post in response to ya'll. He was far more eloquent than I was. As much of a 'catch phrase' that quote is, it is only true for those who make it true (93z's mindset comment).

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One can learn a lot from the crap that happens in life. I know I have. But I would say I grew stronger in spite of those problems instead of because of them. My dad taught me two useful things -- how to type, and how to tie a tie -- and for that I am grateful; but if my parents had had their way, I would still be a 140-lb virgin devoid of any semblance of self-confidence. All that I have now, I had to learn on my own.

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I guess it depends on how you harness it and chose to look at life experiences.. I can both look at 1987 as a growing experience as well as one that ultimately will be my undoing upon this earth. Lying on a gurney, body shaking off of it because they are pumping blood into so fast that they cannot warm it properly, being read last rights and all but expected not to pull though will do such.



For the first couple of years.. it seemed like a life sentence.. how could one recover both mentally and physically. Hope seemed lost.



After some time, I will be very honest.. it made my appreciation for life much greater and to a greater depth. I choose to disregard (for the most part) the tragic and sadden filled aspect of that moment and latched onto the positives (yes there were many).



So yes.. most people that use the cliche' have little understanding from my perspective, but I am not wired into their cerebrum and actually see the world from their aspect. What would seem trivial to me, may seem earth shattering to them.



With that.. I will state that I hate the casual use of such a phrase, how it feels cheap and lacks understanding.. but that doesn't mean that there isn't truth in the words.. just depends on your mindset and interpretation of them in context.



Basically, tragic life experiences can be very grounding.

I can't imagine going through what you did.

As for the phrase, I hate it. I actually think something along the lines of "whatever doesn't kill you makes you more cold." I think bad life experiences have made me more cautious and callous, not stronger. But then again, I can't speak for anyone else besides me. Don't know how others feel about it.

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Adversity can make you stronger (as it has, obviously, for Shawn).

Adversity can reveal the true and good quality of your character (as it has, also obviously, though in different ways,for Troy and Alan and Kevin and Julie and Foster and Formo and...well, come to think of it, everyone here).

The operative word in both sentences is "can." It is not "will."

As I age, I find that the people I respect most deeply have all dealt with adversity. Have all, by their actions and via their character, found ways to convert that "can" into "will."

Not always, of course. None of us is perfect. No one always deals with adversity well. Some of that scar tissue we get keeps the blood from flowing well, and makes us cynical and bitter and frustrated and angry and all the rest.

But those with true quality of character -- and that includes you, my zombieslaying friend -- survive the scars and bring themselves away better overall.

This I believe.

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Whoever coined the phrase "Quiet as a mouse" has never stepped on one.

I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian

In one day I discovered that both Natalie Portman and Emily Deschanel are vegans.

They're still babes, but they're bimbos.

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Okay, so I went off topic not once, but twice in the same thread.

So I guess I owe two quotes:

1. Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
2. Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.

(both by Oscar Wilde)

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A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.


I like work. It fascinates me. I sit and look at it for hours.

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One last comment about this topic and then I'm done with the derail.

One can learn a lot from the crap that happens in life. I know I have. But I would say I grew stronger in spite of those problems instead of because of them. My dad taught me two useful things -- how to type, and how to tie a tie -- and for that I am grateful; but if my parents had had their way, I would still be a 140-lb virgin devoid of any semblance of self-confidence. All that I have now, I had to learn on my own.

I hear ya.. Think of it this way, if you never had those problems, you couldn't have grown stronger in spite of them. You know, because there WAS no 'them'.

I've been through some stuff as well, and I can't think of any single circumstance that I went through where I DIDN'T learn something either about myself or about how to avoid whatever that circumstance was. Thus I came out stronger.

But Shawn already nailed it I think.. It's only true for those who make it their mindset.

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Yeah, but if you get stronger because of your mindset, it is not really the circumstances of your life making you stronger, but your own decisions and determination -- which was my point all along.

Speaking of quotes of the day, here's the latest excuse for calling in sick:

Sorry I can't come in today. I've a touch of the womb fury.[happy] [roflmao]

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I would say adversity tests your character, but doesn't build your character. You either have the nads to handle shit or you don't. Now I'll go as far as to say that all the things I have been through in my life prepared me for this last year with Mia, but my wife was not prepared in any way, shape, or form because of growing up in fairytale land. So therefore I guess my formitive years ended up being a blessing in disguise.

But to say I am a better man because of all of it is BS. I may have understanding of things because of it, but I was a pretty happy, thoughtful, beautiful person prior to my hard knocks and will not subscribe to that line of thinking that all of this has improved me.

I am hard and unempathetic to many things that people regularly complain about. This is not a good thing, but it is a direct reaction to my life as it has played out. When I hear a wealthy person that went from their Daddy's couche, to the frat house, to their 6 figure salary sitting in a soft chair complain about welfare and taxes - I seriously want to rip his head off. But this person has the right to his opinion because afterall, he is only a product of his environment as am I.

Anyway back on point - "DakotaT's family can now see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Thanks for all the help boys.

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Yeah, but if you get stronger because of your mindset, it is not really the circumstances of your life making you stronger, but your own decisions and determination -- which was my point all along.

Speaking of quotes of the day, here's the latest excuse for calling in sick:

Sorry I can't come in today. I've a touch of the womb fury.[happy] [roflmao]

I'm going back on my word. I'll end my post with a quote to make up for it.

Exactly. It ALWAYS is your own decision/determination that makes one stronger. But sometimes (hell, even most of the time) it takes adversity or ill-gotten circumstances to expose this. Thus, tying one's mindset to the bad circumstances. Anyway, as far as I understand it, we pretty much agree just are coming from different ends of the spectrum (me not being a details guy and you analyzing the semantics). =)

When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home. - Sir Winston Churchill

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This one should be used as a signature by someone. 🤔

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.


Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

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I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

I once translated this into German as Ich sagte nie, dass du die Schuld hast. Ich sagte nur, dass ich dir die Schuld gäbe. ("I never said it was your fault -- I just said I would blame you.")

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I once translated this into German as Ich sagte nie, dass du die Schuld hast. Ich sagte nur, dass ich dir die Schuld geben würde. ("I never said it was your fault -- I just said I would blame you.")

I thought this would end with a funny anecdote... Now I'm just dissapointed.

"Nom Nom Nom" - Cookie Monster.

I thought this would end with a funny anecdote... Now I'm just dissapointed.

"Nom Nom Nom" - Cookie Monster.

Cookie monster is best post yet. Thumb up for you.

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Well, I originally translated the saying as Ich sagte nie, dass du die Schuld hast. Ich sagte nur, dass ich dir die Schuld gäbe. A native German walked into the common area of the Studentenwohnheim where I was staying at the time, read the sign, and asked, "What does gäbe mean?" I was floored that a native speaker wouldn't understand a perfectly grammatical sentence, so I dutifully changed it to Ich sagte nie, dass du die Schuld hast. Ich sagte nur, dass ich dir die Schuld geben würde (which means exactly the same thing), and then he got it.

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^ so wise. so flexible. so accommodating.

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A timely quote of my own making...



"Without opposing forces in life, one cannot expect to develop and maintain a collective balance."





In other words.. do you define the course of your life or do you learn as you go through life, adjust and it partial develops you?



To me.. it is irrational to think that life events themselves do not develop you as a human being..  it is your choice in weather they shape you in a positive or negative effect.



Basically... all of us are dealt negatives in life.. learning to deal with them and more importantly utilize them positively is the trick.



Without that.. we all become a "victim". IMO.

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Now back on topic..

The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.





"Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." - Douglas Adams



And lastly...



"One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures." -George W. Bush

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And a personal favorite...

When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity. - Albert Einstein

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And a personal favorite...

For a guy who married his first cousin, you'd think his courting was kind of easy. Just show up to the family reunion.

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Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. -- Albert Einstein

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I have a hard time believing some of these quotes are actually from Einstein.

And who the hell kisses when driving? That sounds gay. If I'm kissing a chick, the car's in park and I'm maneuvering to 2nd base at the very least.

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I have a hard time believing some of these quotes are actually from Einstein.

And who the hell kisses when driving? That sounds gay. If I'm kissing a chick, the car's in park and I'm maneuvering to 2nd base at the very least.

Well, not since high school anyway. :)

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