Rachmaninoff

When Jared had called him to his quarters, the very last thing Darren had expected was to be given access to all the merchant records for sector six and asked if he knew enough to review the shipment and look for things that could help track down how the resistance had managed to not only get on the ground where the storage facilities use to be but to plant the charges as well. And though he couldn?t determine if a record was false or not he was familiar with tactics used to make things look legal as far as how the electronic records were presented. But more importantly, a task such as this would mean little to no contact with Jared since full access to the records required him being in his quarters on the Creator to make use of the communication link via the ship. The last week looking through the shipping reports, though a bit boring, had been quite peaceful and almost relaxing. Australia was so well under way at this point that Darren?s presence was hardly needed anymore as the liaison that Commodore Sandra was working with along with the other necessary arrangements had things running smoothly. His part in getting the structure started and set up for shipping in that area was complete, even the necessary arrangements to go along with other areas once they were more secured had been prepared. In the end it wasn?t that difficult to make arrangements for an area that had such a small population. With only around twenty million people, it was rather small. [I] Well at least if I?m stuck in my quarters for now, at least they are spacious?[/I]Darren hated to admit it but being stuck in something like his old quarters on his own ship would have driven him a bit nuts as he hated tiny enclosed rooms. It was one thing to sleep in them, but to spend your whole day there? Certainly not his idea of fun. He closed the shipping reports since once again the few leads he had found weren?t what the military was looking for, he did make a note of them since they were most likely some form of smuggling, but nothing that involved the surface of the planet that had been attacked. The only strange thing he had found was that the name Will or William kept popping up occasionally but yet there were no records of a Merchant by that name, or company or product. It was very strange, he would find a record indicating that someone received a shipment from this person, and yet they did not exist in the official data banks. And even the few records he found were fragmented. He would find one saying someone delivered something to them only to not be able to find the original manifest or the date of delivery or where it was even delivered. Each and every instance of this occurrence he saved in a separate file since it indicated a serious level of black marketing going on. He suspected that the only reason he even found a few files was due to this Will or William not having access to where all the records were stored, or else they would have deleted all of them. Even the tiny bits he was finding had next to nothing on this mysterious person. It didn?t say where they were from, or if they were male or female, no information on age, type of ship. Absolutely nothing that would help him narrow his search down. Who ever they were, they were good at hiding. In fact if he had not been searching so extensively he would have never even noticed the fragmented records. And if someone who didn?t understand the ins and outs of how the protocols worked had studied it, they might have missed it as well. But Darren had written the protocols himself and such fragmented records should never have occurred. Which meant someone was hacking the system and altering the records. Much in the same way someone had hacked it and given him clearance when he shouldn?t have had it. Tired, Darren closed the report on the mysterious Will or William and pulled up the one on his next assignment. Stevens had informed him earlier that day that once the new reinforcements arrived he was to start working on the transportation in a country called UK. With sixty million people and a much smaller land mass, it would present an interesting challenge to set things up, it would require a much different and more secure system than what was up in Australia. And Stevens had confirmed that there was a chance that one of the resistance?s bases was somewhere in that country since it had been confirmed that the UK fell within the radius of where one of the two remaining bases had to be. Darren didn?t know how he had gotten that information, and part of him did not care, but what he was not looking forward to was working in the city called London since more people and the threat of resistance attacks would mean he would once again be required to work more closely with Jared. Something that in spite of Jared being less cynical and snide, he was not looking forward to. He rather suspected that Jared?s lack of innuendos and teasing was only due to a lack of opportunity. Darren sighed. He was not looking forward to being harassed by Jared again, because no matter how hard he tried to not respond in anyway, he couldn?t change the fact that just knowing Jared was even looking at him bugged him immensely, making his skin crawl. Especially since he knew exactly what Jared wanted to do to him. Something that even just thinking about it caused him to shudder a bit.

[quote name='The13thMan][COLOR=DarkOrange][FONT=Century Gothic]So, what do you guys think about prostitution? Like it, dislike it? Should it be legalized? (Somebody please say you want to legalize it at least for the sake of discussion, i know most are probably against it.) [/FONT'][/COLOR][/quote][B]What do I think about it? [/B]To be honest I think the whole profession is disgusting and sick and degrading. [B]Should it be legalized? [/B]Make no mistake here, I may not agree with it, but we are talking about consenting adults here and when it gets into that aspect then there is no reason why it shouldn't be legal. If only to make things safer for those women and men who do it illegally anyway and in the end, who you have sex with is your business regardless if money is involved or not.

[quote name='Nerdsy][color=deeppink']I love how a mod posted a way to get past registration.[/color][/quote]If you read the site guidelines it isn't a way to bypass registration, it's simply been done by someone else. It even advises you to make fake accounts that you don't intend to use and post them there for others to use eventually. A bit silly perhaps, but by no means a method of getting past registration. Well other than the obvious part that someone already did it for you. The one I have to say is the most amusing is the OB clone. lol To think that this site is run by a smexy pirate as Boo put it. ;)

[QUOTE=RiflesAtRecess][font=arial][size=1]Any time you have to ask yourself "Is s/he worth it?" the answer is usually "no." I think that's something everyone will agree with on some level.[/font][/size][/QUOTE]I most definitely agree. And as a guy myself, he does sound pretty insensitive, I mean honestly, doesn't have room for a balloon? I've never heard anything so silly before. Unless the thing was some huge monster balloon. RifelesAtRecess already said it, but if you even have to ask this question, then it's obvious on some level even you are wondering if it's worth it. So I'd definitely say, based on what you have posted, that the answer is no he is not.

[quote name='Raiyuu]I know nothing about French or Russian history either; [b]not[/b] knowing doesn't diminish the series, but I imagine [b]knowing[/b'] would probably enhance it.[/quote]I don't know anything about the history either, but having finally picked up the first DVD and watched the next three episodes I don't mind it one bit. I rather like how the characters are developing as its interesting to watch how d'Eon is having trouble [spoiler] accepting that it's really his sister's soul that posses him at times. [/spoiler] I also like the addition of the character Durand, there's just something about his personality that's fun to watch in action. And the end of the fourth disk put everything in a whole new light with the involvement of the [spoiler] King and d'Eon being accepted into his service like his sister was before she was killed. [/spoiler] It's a pity that the next disk isn't due to be released until April 17 as I'd like to watch some more of it.

[quote name='Nerdsy][color=deeppink']Except a guy with a gun.[/color][/quote]Like in Indiana Jones where the guy is flashing his swords and he just pulls a gun out and shoots him. As for myself, even if I picked a weapon I wouldn't know how to use it, so I'd die. So if I'm going to die I choose a bomb so I'll take them all with me. After all if it's the right type of bomb even I know how to simply push a button.

I haven't really noticed, but then I haven't watched a lot of TV lately. But I do agree with the sentiment that there is a lot of shows and such out there that completely suck and attempt to use violence, gore and swearing to cover that fact. It kind of makes swearing redundant since you start to just tune it out instead of taking it as something meant to emphasize the scene or give it depth. It's a pity that it takes restrictions on using swearing to force them to be more creative, I'd rather see them do it on their own. Though I'm sure there are shows that do, Dr. Who is a good example. Unless I tuned it out, it doesn't have much in the way of swearing and yet it's definitely a good show.

In response to the title of this thread, if she is indeed pregnant then my answer is bad. If she is not, then my answer is good and steer away from having sex until your a little older. Ya know like when you aren't considered jail bait. As for the parents, if you live in Utah or a highly religious area, good luck, because you're going to need it when you tell them you got your girlfriend pregnant. And definitely steer away from the drinking since it won't change a thing. Well other than getting drunk.

[quote name='True Angel][COLOR=Magenta] I ask Josh if he really liked Sam, since it didn't seem right for a skater dude to go out with a nobody. His response was that he was bored and decided to take his chances. [/COLOR][/QUOTE]Problem number one, if you care at all about this girl as a friend, why are you calling her a nobody? Problem number two, being a 'skater dude' does not equal better than someone else.[QUOTE=True Angel][COLOR=Magenta']I was shocked at this and couldn't believe it. So, another week goes by and Sam finds out that Josh only dated Sam 'cause he was bored. No one knows how she found out but she did. She started to cry and then some of us had to talk to her and calm her down a bit for this. She then didn't know why but then she overheard that Josh was going to dump her the next class. Some of her friends went over the top with the idea of dumping him for her and that was just not right. [/COLOR][/quote]Shocked? Over what? That he was going to dump her or that he was bored and didn't seem to care if he hurt someone in the process. And perhaps you could clarify what you meant by some of her friends went over the top. Are you saying they thought he was a jerk? Or that it wasn't right for him to dump her or to upset her? [QUOTE=True Angel][COLOR=Magenta] So the next class she had calmed down and it was out all over the school that Sam was going to get dumped by Josh. What should I do to help her? Do I just help or leave it to her to fix it out on her own? Just post here to see what I should and shouldn't do.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]Well seeing that you already said this:[quote name='True Angel][COLOR=Magenta']Okay, there's this girl at school who isn't really a friend yet she considers me as a friend and has me and some others in her dispute of a relationship. [/COLOR][/quote]You've already said she isn't really a friend so my question is why are you trying to help her? If you don't even consider her a friend, there's no point in helping her. If you genuinely want to be friends with her then by all means at least be supportive, and if I'm understanding what you're saying correctly. Sounds like she's better off not dating the guy in the first place.

Well lets see...the last time I had a case of getting wasted was approximately...Never. I don't even drink let along have a bender or time where I can't remember what happened. But like The13thMan I do attend college and run into all sorts of other people in the apartment complex I live in getting wasted and my own roommates do on occasion. And it is good for a laugh even if it is pathetic to watch. Not that it's pathetic that they got drunk, but rather the things that they do that normally they would never do. And this weekend it was deciding to play a game of who can piss on someone entering the complex from the vantage point of being up three stories where they don't know you are there. Though it was amusing to see them get arrested shortly after they got that bright idea. They were too wasted to even consider the possibility of getting into trouble. In the end I just don't see the attraction since I can think of other activities that are far more enjoyable than getting wasted. But hey, what ever floats your boat right?

[quote name='Dagger]As far as new anime on DVD go, I'm falling behind, but I'm going to try to watch the first discs of [url=http://www.soltyrei.tv/][u]Solty Rei[/u][/url'] [/quote]If you haven't had a chance to get to this yet, I just watched the first four episodes of it and so far it's coming along nicely. It was a bit cliched in how she just showed up at the perfect moment to [spoiler]save Roy's life. [/spoiler] But the way she follows Roy everywhere and ends up being a part of his life is rather fun to watch, even the way she ends up with her wacky outfit due to [spoiler]Roy saying he liked it, even though he hadn't looked, just to get her to shut up.[/spoiler] Or how he ends up as her [spoiler]legal guardian when Miranda register's her to him without asking him.[/spoiler] I'm not sure where they intend to go with it, but it is off to a good start as far as I'm concerned, and the animation and the overall art has a nice clean feel to it. And I do like her innocent and naive attitude in regards to everything even if it is due to her not having a [spoiler]clue as to who or what she really is.[/spoiler]

"[B]They have you doing what?[/B]" Darren asked Mike incredulously. Jared had told him several days ago that he would see to Mike being reassigned, but not to something like this. Mike just shrugged as he looked away at something on the ship before turning back to face the screen and talk to Darren. "[B]Beats me, all I know is those military goons assigned several security personal to your ship and then pretty much locked me and the others up in the bridge while they loaded it. I tried questioning them but the only thing I could find out is that the transport ships that were headed towards Earth can't be used until enough crystals and part arrive from another sector to start repairing the damage. My guess is they're loading us up with stuff from the blast area to be analyzed since as soon as they are done I've been directed to head to sector one.[/B]" [I] I hope that idiot got clearance to tell me what he's up to[/I] Darren thought before responding. "[B]Mike, you haven't done anything stupid have you?[/B]" He accused. Mike winced. "[B]No, in fact I was told by the lead security officer to contact you and update you as to what is up.[/B]" He scowled at Darren. "[B]What kind of idiot do you take me for anyway?[/B]" "[B]The same idiot that got himself blasted when this whole mess started.[/B]" Darren shot back at him. "[B]All right! All right! Guilty as charged.[/B]" He said ruefully. "[B]But I've been behaving since then, just ask that sicko Jared since he's been requiring regular updates from me. But enough about me, what about you?[/B]" Darren looked away uncomfortably as he had never told Mike what had happened with the Earth woman Sara or how he had been interrogated by Jared. It still pained him to admit even to himself that on some level he had been wrong about Jared. Not that he still wasn't a sick bastard since he enjoyed tormenting others. Sure they may have been guilty, but that didn't excuse what he did to them. You didn't sink to the same level of common criminals by torturing them, you execute them quickly and cleanly to avoid being tainted by their sickness. But Jared...He shivered without even realizing it...He had found the video of the execution he had arranged for Daniel's mother, that had been inexcusable. Even if she was guilty of treason, there was no reason to allow what had been done to that poor woman. It was no wonder people joined the resistance. With a start he realized that Mike was speaking. "[B]Hey! Darren, what gives? I asked you a question remember? Jeez! The way you're behaving one would think..[/B]" he trailed off as Darren turned beet red. "[B]I mean...[/B]" Mike looked away before turning back again. "[B]Um...I need to go.[/B]" "[B]Don't you dare do that![/B]" Darren snapped at Mike before he could end the transmission. "[B]Nothing like that has happened between me and Jared. Nothing![/B]" He asserted forcefully. Furious at Mike for even thinking it. "[B]Calm down Darren! I only thought he had, you know, taken advantage of you like he always does to everyone. No need to get so worked up over it.[/B]" Mike mumbled in return. Darren took a deep breath and then let it out, Mike was right, there was no need to snap at him. "[B]I'm sorry, you're right, after all that is what he is known for doing.[/B]" He looked away, "[B]If it were you here I would have thought the same.[/B]" He turned back. "[B]Forget I said anything, I'm just frustrated that the recent trouble caused by the damn resistance means I'll be stuck here working with that sicko even longer. He may leave me alone for now, but it doesn't stop that jerk from teasing me every chance he gets.[/B]" Mike just shrugged, "[B]Well I suppose that's better than him doing more than teasing, right? Anyway, I need to go since it seems we are suppose to get going now. I'll contact you as soon as I'm allowed to. Take it easy Darren. Later.[/B]" Darren turned off the workstation in his quarters once the transmission had ended. At least Mike was being kept busy. He was, but not in the same way, he had been forced to wait on implementing some of the new changes due to how violent the resistance had become on Earth. In the past four days since the incident in sector six they had become even more of a pain. To the point that he was left simply monitoring the progress in Australia instead of moving to start in Europe. Especially since the reinforcements that were suppose to help stabilize the area would not be arriving tomorrow like they had originally planned. And they couldn't shift any troops as the areas that would have been evacuated were simply being maintained while the transports were being used elsewhere. In short, other than the construction in Australia, things had come to a standstill. The question was, what was he to do with the extra time? Or rather what would he be doing since Jared had left him a message indicating he was to join him tomorrow for some new assignments. He just wished he knew what he was going to have him do. And he was not looking forward to meeting Jared in his quarters. The memory of what had happened the last time he went there was still foremost on his mind. Darren sighed, he couldn't think of anything he had done that would warrant another incident like before, and if he didn't show up. He winced, he would find out soon enough what Jared wanted. Unfortunately.

I only just caught the first episode the other night in the on demand section of my cable, and even though it felt like it was rushed to get to the cliffhanger ending of the first episode, it definitely has caught my interest. I rather liked the First Person View when d'Eon is traveling as well. And the way it was building up the whole conspiracy behind what was really happening was quite interesting as well as the aspect of the lead character being possessed by the soul of his wandering sister. I liked it well enough that I plan on picking up the first DVD when I get a chance as having only seen one episode I find I want to see more.

Retribution, perhaps you didn't pay attention to the original posters statement:[quote name='cancer] I like to talk to people, and [B]never have a problem with conversations when I'm talking to friends[/B], but[B] I have a problem with starting conversations or going up to new people[/B'], and this sucks because there are many people I'd love to talk to but just feel too shy/akward to talk to them. Does anyone have any advice to help me out?[/quote]They don't have a problem talking, but rather with gaining the courage to talk to new people. Telling them to just do it or 'suck it up' isn't necessarily the solution. It's your personal advice and nothing more. And though it may work for you, it doesn't mean it will work for everyone. Don't be so quick to assume that they are just being timid when they might have a legitimate fear or concern, which is really what reading books on the topic is all about. You say Rome wasn't built in a day, well it sure wasn't built on words, but rather careful planning and teamwork, and learning how to talk to new people, isn't something that comes naturally even with practice. If that were true they wouldn't be here asking for advise. And don't be so quick to assume that books are useless, especially if you haven't even read them. Or have you? Because your response pretty much dissed the idea without any real reasoning for your objection leading me to believe you've never read them yourself. Perhaps you may find them useless, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who actually found them to be quite useful, which is why I even mentioned it since a few of my friends did, far more than being told to just 'suck it up' ever did. There's nothing ridiculous about needing a book to cure social anxiety, in many ways it's no different than needing to talk to people online for advice. Both of them are a source of help in overcoming it. If people didn't have social anxiety they wouldn't even bother to ask and there wouldn't be so many books on the topic either.

Darren had barely finished getting dressed after taking a shower when a chime sounded indicating he had an incoming message. He sat down at the workstation in his quarters and pulled it up. It was Mike. "[B]What can I do for you Mike?[/B]" He asked. "[B]You don't know?[/B]" Mike asked. "[B]Know what?[/B]" Darren replied puzzled as to what he meant. "[B]Dude, it's all over the news, the resistance blew up the storage facilities for the military and the merchant guild in sector six. I've been halted at the border by the military since it's a complete and total disaster in there.[/B]" "[B]When the hell did that happen?[/B]" Darren asked even as he pulled up another screen with a live news feed. Mike shrugged. "[B]I'm not sure, all I know is that when I dropped out of hyperspace to go and pick up another shipment for sector fourteen I was stopped by the military. I understand that the shock wave from destroying so many crystals at the same time damaged the space station, destroyed several smaller ships docked there and even knocked a passing fleet out of hyperspace, damaging the smaller military ships![/B]" Darren just shook his head. "[B]That's unbelievable, I've never heard of the resistance managing to pull something like that off before. Are they sure it was them?[/B]" Mike snickered. "[B]That's the best part, shortly after the explosion a transmission was broad casted by someone claiming to work for the resistance saying that they were responsible for the destruction. Parts of that are all over the communication networks. Including a statement on how conquering other races is wrong, and that if we are really superior we should be protecting them instead of turning them into slaves.[/B]" Darren sighed. "[B]Well that's just great. I want to feel sorry for them but to be blunt I don't give a damn. All this means is that I'll be stuck here even longer.[/B]" Mike shrugged, "[B]I know, those idiots who work for the resistance just don't get it. Even if they are right, there's no way the High Council would ever agree to what they said. Anyway, what do you want me to do?[/B]" "[B]I don't know. I'll have to ask Jared unfortunately.[/B]" He grimaced at the thought. "[B]Just sit tight and take advantage of the down time to relax a bit. I'll get back to you as soon as I know what Jared wants you to do.[/B]" Darren finally said. "[B]Gotcha, I've been meaning to check out some new holographic programs anyway. Later.[/B]" Darren leaned back once the transmission ended.[I] Now what?[/I] He wondered. A quick glance at the time showed that he didn't need to be at Earth for at least another hour and another quick glance to see where the system said Jared was showed that he was over at the conqueror. He typed up a request for instructions for Mike and then sent it to Jared. Then because he still had time he started going through all the news reports and information in regards to what happened in sector six.

[quote name='Desbreko][color=#4B0082]Regarding the boss of the eighth dungeon, [spoiler]I thought Zant's personality was fitting. From the first time he mentioned that his power wasn't that of his own clan's -- after you beat the Lakebed Temple I think it was -- I knew he was just another puppet being manipulated by Ganon. Zant turning out to be the pitiful coward that he was really highlighted the fact that Ganon was using the poor sap for his own gain and nothing more.[/spoiler'] And besides, it made beating the crap out of him that much more satisfying.[/color][/quote]Hmmm... lets see if I can do a better job this time. Even though you find out after the [spoiler]Lakebed Temple that his power came from somewhere else, he still had a more menacing feel to him, so the way he turned out to be such a coward was a bit surprising. It just threw me for a loop, even though it make sense that Ganon would choose such a loser since someone better wouldn't have been a good idea.[/spoiler] In the end even though it was fun to [spoiler]beat him. I was mainly disappointed in how they used the various dungeon settings instead of being more unique as far as the battle goes. I was hoping for an arena unique to the Twilight Realm instead of the use of previous dungeons.[/spoiler] Though that's just me. ;)

You?ve got a great concept here, but it?s bogged down by long sentences when it feels more like it should be flowing like a poem or song. I?m not sure how to explain this so perhaps an example would serve. Take this part: [quote name='DeathKnight][color=crimson']Dark times will ebb into lighter ones and ebb once more into darkness but do not ever lose hope in the fact that the light will come once more. Do not give way to depression. Do not doubt your capabilities. Do not let the disease of darkness fester within your mind as that would be a tragedy. [/color][/quote]Rewriting part of it would produce a format like this: [INDENT]Dark times will ebb into lighter ones And then once more into darkness?but? Do not ever lose hope The light will come once more Do not give way to depression. Do not doublt your capabilities. Do not let the disease of darkness Fester within your mind[/INDENT] Not that what you haven?t written isn?t good, but the format is so tight and so much crammed into it that I think it distracts from the overall message. Not that I know how to do it any better mind you, I just found myself thinking of it in the format I wrote even as I read it so it got me wondering how this would evolve if re-written. Anyway, overall, it was interesting to read and thought provoking as well. ;)

Awww...When do the neutral players get to have fun? :p I kid. Especially since Darren's idea of fun would simply be to get the hell out of that sector altogether. Anyway...I do have a question for you SunfallE, I really like those pictures you used in your post about the Crystals and the High Council and I was wondering if the rest of us could do the same? I don't mind sending them to you if you want them approved first. Or perhaps you could give each of us a sector that we provide the pictures for that way one person wouldn't put a picture saying this is sector two and then someone else uses one to represent the same sector. Provided people actually want to do that. Though it would probably be easier for people who's characters are from the Versilan Empire of course. But like Crystia's posts where Jared and Sandra were reflecting on their past, pictures to go along with things like that would be fun. And personally I think it would be cool if anyone who wanted to use a sci-fi picture to enhance the story could. Provided they gave proper credit like you did of course. ;)

Well I've finally reached the point where I am about to go into the final dungeon. The other dungeons were fun but the boss battles though epic were still fairly easy to figure out. Though I rather liked the [spoiler]double hook shot as using that in the dungeon and for the boss was wicked fun.[/spoiler] The eight dungeon was fantastic in how it was designed and how things looked, but that fight with the boss was rather anticlimactic. [spoiler]I was not impressed with how it cycled you through all the previous dungeons before the final bit between you and the boss.[/spoiler] And his personality? That was a bit bizarre as I was not expecting him to be such a [spoiler] total dork[/spoiler] for lack of a better word. However, since I have yet to get to the end of the game I'll reserve my judgment since they were never meant to be the final boss that you fight. And I'm curious to see if the final dungeon makes use of all the gadgets you got during the game, once I finish running around picking up heart pieces and such. Oh and so far my favorite part of the game has to be the western shoot out. That was a blast.

[quote name='Panda']I would rather spend the day with Michael Jackson. It would be interesting to speak to a music legend about his career and about his life in the public eye. I really don't see a day with Hillary Duff being anything but a boring time since I really have nothing to talk to her about.[/quote]You took the words right out of my mouth. From a musical standpoint he would be the more interesting of the two. Even though I have no interest in the type of music he does. Well only in that I would rather meet someone like John Williams instead. Though to be honest, I have no interest in meeting either one of them. But if I had to choose, Michael would definitely be my choice.

[quote name='Retribution][size=1]The whole point of telling him to start conversations when he isn't doing that is because [i]that's all there is to it.[/i] What would you rather have me tell him? He has one solution to his problem, and that's to start talking to people he doesn't know very well. You can't develop social skills without doing that.[/size][/QUOTE]If only it were that simple. If simply opening your mouth and speaking was all it took, people would find getting over such social awkwardness fairly easy. Because once they started doing it they would continue doing so, or so the idea goes. But people don?t, they freeze up, they become paralyzed with irrational fears and end up retreating instead of opening their mouth and speaking, or worse they do and then feel stupid for doing so. [QUOTE=Retribution][size=1']I skip important steps because socializing isn't a paint-by-numbers sort of thing. We can't hold his hand, we can't really coach him, and so step-by-step guidance is a waste. At a certain point he has to suck it up and deal with the awkwardness and talk. I suggested he have a friend with him because it helps with the whole social anxiety thing, but either way he's going to have to take charge in that conversation, be it with or without a friend for if he doesn't, he's not getting any better![/size][/quote]No it?s not a step by step deal, but there are things people can learn to help them understand their own thought processes and therefore help them understand why they hesitate, or why they are frightened of speaking to strangers. A good example would be the book ?Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy? by Steven Burns. Though it is mainly used to treat depression without using drugs, it also addresses what he refers to as cognitive distortions, or ways of thinking that are negative that people don?t even realize that they do. For example, one he refers to is the mind reading distortion. You might think,[I] if I talk to that person she will think I?m an idiot[/I]. Or the person they talk to might turn and leave because they remembered they need to do something and they will think [I]I shouldn?t have talked to her, she didn?t like me and left.[/I] When the reality is they really don?t know what she was thinking. He lists ten different types of negative thought patterns that a lot of people do and you might be surprised once you read it to find just how many of them you yourself do as well. So even if there isn?t a guide to getting over shyness there are things out there that can help people to try and understand why they feel or think a certain way. So that would be my advice to you Cancer, you might want to look into reading a few books on overcoming shyness, or even the very book I mentioned. A lot of people have issues with what you are talking about to the point that they can't function socially at all. So I'm sure if you look around you'll find some information that would be useful.

I recently stumbled upon this series and though I?ve only read the first one it seems like it will be interesting. To put it briefly, as it says on the back of the actual book: [INDENT]A part from the fact the color of her eyes turn red when the moon rises, Myung-Ee is your average, albeit boy crazy, 5th grader. After picking a fight with her classmate Yu-Da Lee, she discovers a startling secret: the two of them are ?earth rabbits? being hunted by the ?fox tribe? of the moon. Five years pass and Myung-Ee transfers to a new school in search of pretty boys. There, she unexpectedly reunites with Yu-Da. The problem is, he mysteriously doesn?t remember a thing about her or their shared past at all.[/INDENT] So far the first book was entertaining with all the stuff going on among the students since Myung-Ee is pretty determined to figure out just why Yu-Da Lee does not remember her. But doing so puts her at odds with other students since Yu-Da Lee is a member of the [spoiler]student council [/spoiler] and there is a set of girls who have formed a [spoiler]fan club for both Yu-Da Lee and Sa-Eun Won who is also a member of the student council.[/spoiler] And they are determined to keep everyone away from them. That particular bit is the funniest part of the first book as the [spoiler]fan club confronts Myung-Ee for approaching Yu-Da Lee, since she doesn?t understand why he doesn?t remember her, [/spoiler]but since they think that both Yu-Da Lee and Sa-Eun Won are [spoiler]a couple, and as they put it?Love between two pretty boys is divine and beautiful?to which Myung-Ee replies?You?re marrying ugly men for sure?The fan club is determined to protect the two boys from a materialistic girl like her.[/spoiler] Which of course just leads to other hilarious situations as well. Anyway, who else has read this and what did you think of it? I'm not sure where it will go but it was entertaining enough that I'll probably check out the next volume when it comes out.

[quote name='Mariskah][COLOR=Navy']And when will we find out about the fate of poor Kim?:animecry: [/COLOR][/quote]As much as I'd love to see Kim get free, all I can see is her eventual execution. Or rather I can't think of a way to get her free without it being too cliched. Though the idea of her rattling Stevens over what's coming up sounds like fun. The more grief we can cause the Empire the better right? Wait, that's not right, my character is supposed to be neutral. Drat! :animesigh [spoiler]though he wouldn't be all that heart broken over Jared being upset. [/spoiler]

At this point, Darren wasn?t sure what to think anymore. After that horrible incident with Jared earlier in the week he had done some checking into the backgrounds of the merchants who had been initially taken by Jared and then later executed. And just like he said, each of them had been into some form of illegal activities. Something that if Jared hadn?t gotten them, the law given a chance would have as what they were into was punishable by death depending on the severity of the charge. He tossed his handheld computer aside not caring if it landed on the bed or not and leaned back against the wall, not quite ready to settle under the covers and go to sleep. When he had first come back to his quarters after being interrogated by Jared, he had still been too shaken and upset over the experience. It had taken a while for the shaking to stop, the horrible fear to fade and for him to finally fall asleep. And even then he kept waking up, expecting to find that Jared had lied to him and that he was going to be executed for warning Sara. But then a couple of days had passed with nothing happening, not even a jab or tease from Jared. So he had started looking into things, only to be further confused by what he found. Darren pulled his legs up until he could rest his head on his knees. Letting out a small sigh as he did so. Everything pointed to Jared telling the truth. The only thing he couldn?t verify was if the file Jared had shown him about the High Council listing him as the top expert in the field of shipping was true or not. But if it really was a top-level file, even someone like Jared would not have the clearance to access it. One could only be given access by a High Council member. This whole experience was frustrating. On the one hand if he had accepted the credit for what he had done, it would have likely put him out of being in his current position, but at the same time it would have been a disaster as far as his family went. And even then that wasn?t a guarantee that they wouldn?t have made him come anyway. Then on the other hand, his refusal put him in the position that since he was not an officer and had not joined the resistance, they were going to look the other way as if it had never happened. It was often confusing to look back at what could have happened if I had done this. And in the end he quit trying to analyze it since it just wasn?t possible to determine if his life would have been different if he had accepted the royalties from his work and taken a job working for the military or the High Council. Or rather different in a way that would have prevented what was currently happening. Tired from thinking in what seemed like circles he gave up and worked his way under the covers before issuing the command the turned the lights off. At least he had finally found someone to handle the paper aspect of the job on Earth in Australia. If only the rest of this mess would be as easy to do. And it went without saying that whatever happened, he did not want to repeat the experience of being drugged and interrogated by Jared. Because, as horrible as that had been, he had a feeling that if there was a next time, it would be far worse than what he had already experienced.

If I?m understanding you correctly, your friend has let you know that he likes her well over a year ago and yet even after all that and sending her a rose he has yet to actually make a move? Unless you are dead set on keeping your relationship with the other guy, then by all means find out what she thinks of you and make your move. You say that spring break is coming up and that you think by then she will have lost interest. You can either give your friend a heads up that you intend to talk to her once spring break is over, or you can just wait and actually talk to her after spring break. The deciding factor is similar to what BKstyles already mentioned. Is this worth losing your friendship over or rather is the friendship with your friend worth keeping? And is the girl in question worth it? Decide which one is more important, current friendship or the girl and go from there. Because if he really is a good friend, I'd definitely talk to him first. If not, he's had more than enough time to make a move.