Student,<BR> <BR>Geez,you install fencing,and electrical wire,too?<BR> If you come work on my house,I'll take you up the Space Needle! <P> Bill,<BR> <BR> Yeah,the loneliness got to me,too,at first.<BR> I guess I've gotten used to it.But before I was married,I did things on my own,but wasn't really lonely.<P> So now,I don't know if it's being alone,or the fact that my W didn't want to be with me anymore.Probably more of the latter.<P>I keep myself pretty busy,with yardwork,home improvements(Student?),and restoring an older classic.When I feel lonely,I grab the dog,and head out to where the people are.Even just striking up conversations with strangers(men,AND women) makes me feel better.I meet people where ever I go.<P> I guess you need to really work on becoming a whole person,so you won't feel so lonely.They say the best time to get into a relationship,is when you feel you don't have to.Make sense?<P> Hang in there,Bill.You can do it. <P> ~~Murph

When all else fails, go to Home Depot!!! <P>(had to throw something in there to get Bills' post some flames!) <P>BTW, got another place for you, the zoo. Mid day or on weekend. Lots of single parents!<BR><p>[This message has been edited by DanaB (edited August 08, 2000).]

Hi all,<P>Doing things by myself wasn't the hardest part. My ex and I were literally joined at the hip for at least 6 of those 8 years. My ex even said he had a hard time going into Home Depot without crying. Me too. We restored a house together. <P>Bill,<BR>I'm glad I made you laugh. I must be on the "up" part of my cycle. Bet you don't miss that (PMS, that is). <P>Hey Murph, <BR>better watch out. I'm visiting my Mom and Dad in Seattle next summer, along with my niece. I've been on the Space Needle (a long time ago). Windy days are best because you can feel it sway. I'm not too afraid of heights. <P>Yea, I did the chain link. Although, I'll fess up. The posts were already in from a previous tenant. All I had to do was tie up the fence part. My 7 yr. old neice helped me out. Her Aunt Stu is showing her how to be a do-it-yourself chick too. My sister is completely opposite from me. Has her nails done, and won't walk out the door without makeup. That's ok. My niece gets to see both sides of femininity from me and my sis.<P>I think getting over the rejection has been the hardest part for me too. I've got plenty of friends, my dogs, and tons of work to keep me busy.

Hey Bill,<BR> <BR>How's it going? <P>You know,Dana has a good idea about going to the zoo.But,you know,I went to a zoo recently,and the only stares I got were from the female monkeys! <P> Hang in there,Bill.<P><BR> Hey Student,<BR> <BR>You don't intimidate me!<BR> <BR>I may not be a Mel Gibson,or a flower-carrying Romeo,and you may be a young,classy,beautiful,A-#1 woman,with a quick wit,home remodeling skills,and a membership in the Mensa Society(wasn't there something about a couple of VW's trying to pass each other?),but I don't let things like that scare me! <BR> <BR>The next time you're in Seattle,I'll take you up the Space Needle.I might even show you my haunted basement! <P> You do sound like your spirits have lifted.Either you are starting to come to terms with yourself,or that Prozac is really kicking in!<BR>You know,in some ways(never thought I'd say this),I'm starting to like this independence.A lot of my marriage revolved around my in-laws,so now I don't have to be concerned with that.I hope you can feel a little of this,too.<P> We can do......whatever we want! <P><BR> ~~Murph/FreeSpirit <BR> <BR>

Hey Stu,<P> That's no fair! The posts were already there? And I thought you were going for your PHD (Post Hole Digger). Well, if you ever need to enlarge the fence, I have access to a 2 man, errr, make that a 2 gal gasoline powered earth auger. It's a REAL beast! Lemme know if ya ever wanna borrow it. You'd be welcome to it!<P>Oh, and ya'll reminded me of a joke....<P>The minister of this church was speaking to three couples about prospective membership in his flock. The first requirement was that the couples totally abstain from sex for one month. Sacrifice for the Lord, so to speak. After the month was up he called the couples in to see if they had succeeded....the first two couples related that, yes, they had totally abstained, albeit with great difficulty. Not wanting to lie to a minister, the H of the third couple admitted that they had only lasted two weeks. He said "Padre, my W bent over to pick up a paint can and I just couldnt control myself....we did it right then and there!" Shaking his head, the minister said, "Well, Im very sorry, but you're just not going to be welcome in this congregation" To which the H replied, "That's OK padre, We're not welcome at the Home Depot anymore either!"<P>Sorry.....that's an oooold one....couldnt resist...<P>Good luck everybody!<BR>Bill<BR>

Xman,<P>Your joke really cracked me up! Glad to hear from you! <P>Well, I might be enlarging this fence soon. Twice I've caught dudes walking across my back yard. My lot is humongous (at least by Atlanta standards). It is about a third of an acre, I'd guess, and located in Midtown. A real "find" for this area. The bad part of it is, the back end of my lot has a dead end street butting up to it. The people who live on that street like to cut through. I don't need any wierdo's peeking in my back window or stealing the veggies I'm going to plant in a few months!! <P>Northside Tool Rental gets alot of business from me. Their prices are reasonable and the staff is helpful (and funny).<BR> <BR>Murph,<BR>Flattery will get you (almost ) everywhere. You can add "gardening babe" onto that, and "doggie mommy". <P>IQ's and PhD's don't mean much if I can't relate to others, be compassionate, thoughtful, and communicate well. My emotional intelligence is not the best. Too bad there isn't a school for that! Mel Gibson doesn't do much for me. Liam Neeson is my favorite. He played Schindler in "Schindler's List", Rob Roy, and the main dude (I forget the character) in "Les Miserables". Also the guy who played the main character in "The English Patient". <P>I don't miss coming home and wondering what my ex will be mad about today. I enjoy being able to work until 2:00 am (like I did last night) and not feel guilty about crawling into bed late. I enjoy being able to wait till morning to do the dishes and put the spoon I stirred my coffee with on the freakin' counter without my ex pitching a fit. That goes for leaving my dental floss on the bathroom counter occasionally AND squeezing the d@mn tube from the top if I wanna. And being able to change my hair color every 6 months without him thinking I was cheating on him. ugh.<P>I bet we could both go on and on about things we don't miss, and I suppose it does give me a chuckle sometimes. There are tons more things I DO miss though. I'm just not thinking about those things today...

Xman...LMAO!!!<P>Damn TS a ladie after my own heart...Not only do I not sweat leaving the coffee spoon on the counter in the am I don't sweat the little bit that always misses the cup while pouring my morning joe half asleep. And I squeeze the **** out of the tooth paste right from the top. And I can stay out as late as want to on school nights and not have to check in. Ya know what else I can do? I can wait until I haven't a shred of clothes left to wear before I do laundry and not worry about the ones on the floor around the hamper...<P>I'd hurry up and get that fence built to keep the undesireables from cutting through your yard. I had the same problem at the old house. Let me ask....Do you like to do your yard work in the middle of a good Hotlanta day? I live in cCharlotte and I love this time of year 95 degrees 100% humidity sun just a blazing and me outside working, just sweating my tan little butt off. My friends think I'm nuts for liking this time of year but I was born during the dog days of summer so it's natural...<P>Time to go start staining my deck before it gets too dark. Keep smileing.<P>Bill

Bill,<P> I need to stain my deck,too.You feel like coming over and doing it?It's not as hot here,but still nice,and sunny.<P>You know what I did?I replaced the hamper that has a lid,with just a laundry basket.Now,I not only don't have to open the lid,but I can slam-dunk my dirty clothes into it,and make two points on top of it! <P> Student/GB/DM,<P> Let me get this straight.......<P> You squeeze the toothpaste tube at the top?<BR> <BR> WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??? <BR> <BR>Do I have to call the Toothpaste Police on you?!!!<P><BR> It's OK,I've been known to do it on occasion.But,.....I've always put the toilet seat down!<BR> Yeah,I leave the coffee spoon on the counter,too.Hey,ya never know when you might use it again,right?<BR> I've been trying not to think of the things I miss,either.<BR> Funny you should mention it,but I've been told that I look somewhat like Liam Neeson.What a coincidence!<BR> <BR>So,....what color is your hair this month? <P><BR> ~~Murph

Hi Murph,<BR>I know you are with your Dad right now, but I had to tell you what my hair color was this month. <P>Naturally, my hair is what I call "dishwater" blonde. It does lighten up nice in the summer, but pretty boring the rest of the year. For winter, I'm going with "French Roast", by Feria, which is a medium brunette with some reddish highlights. <P>About the coffee spoon...Yea, I usually have more than one cup. My ex didn't like the little round spot that it left on the counter. Jeez. That's ok. I had a roommate that made him look like a slob. Ya know how hard it is to pull a single sandwich bag out of those stupid little boxes without pulling out a bunch? Well, that happened to me, and I stuffed them back in, like any NORMAL person. She saw that, and decided we needed to have our own little box of sandwich bags. <P>Bill,<BR>I can't say I prefer the heat, but I certainly have no problems doing heavy labor and sweating my brains out. The heat doesn't bother me much. You drink lots of water when you are out there, ya hear?!! <P>Speaking of laundry. I'm not a big fan of that either. For the most part, I'm pretty neat. However, I can't get motivated to do the laundry until my basket is overflowing and I have no clean undies. One of my dogs likes to chew dirty underwear, so I need to "bury" it under the other clothes so he doesn't dig 'em up. I could tell you stories about this dog. I swear, the only thing he DOESN'T eat, and hasn't tried to eat is GLASS. Dead rats, cat poop, plants, couches, pillows. You name it. Everything goes in his mouth.

Student,<P> Mass rioting in the streets,escalating violence and crime,potential global-warming affecting our weather,people starving to death in third-world countries.........<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> And we have people concerned about that little spot on the counter from the coffee spoon. <P> <BR>Just thought I'd put things in perspective for ya!<P> BTW,I'm a dirty,dishwater blond.<BR> You know,if you use that French Roast on your hair,when you come to Seattle,the guys will be following you around like a cup of Espresso!<P> ~~Murph

WilliamJ yoy are wellcome. The healing I have experienced in the last month is such a blessing. he is right here in Houston I goto his workshops alll the time Anyone interested let me know. Site billferguson.com.<BR>Love to all of you I have a car wash to go too I too Have teens..... Such fun>>>>>>>><P>------------------<BR>Gypsy

murphy<BR>Liam Neeson!!!!!! MMMMMMMMMMMM How old are You??? just a little friendly flirting here.<BR>And hair color I am natural God's frost>>>><BR> The little things I miss they are many. I love him Right where he is at. His choice to leave my choice to live through it. You all are great comfort reading these post let's me know I am not alone. Thank you. Who lives in Texas......?<BR> e-mail robbiecowan@netscape.net I like making new friends. Hang in there all of you God truly has a plan for each of us.<P>------------------<BR>Gypsy

Hi Gypsy,<P> Well,.....I don't REALLY look like Liam Neeson.I was just saying that to get a big"OMIGOSH!"from my galpal,the Student.<P> I guess it didn't work. <P> BTW,when I first saw Liam in a movie,I didn't think women would find him that appealing.I actually thought he was kinda dorky-looking.Silly me.I fiqured ALL women went for the George Clooney type. <P> I guess there's hope for me,yet! <P> I'm 46,but you know,I believe [censored] lives in Texas,and I heard he looks like a young Sean Connery!<P> ~~Murph

Murphy,<P>Ah. So now you're telling me you look like George Clooney? I kinda like unusual faces. It's not really the way they look though. Men like Liam Neeson have a certain kind of intensity. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and the Hunky Bunch do nothing for me. Not a whole lot of depth there.

Ah,Student,<BR> <BR> I did get a response out of you!<P> No,no,I didn't mean I looked like George.Just thought that WAS the ideal man.<BR> You know,captain of the football team,life of the party,etc.<BR> Well,those kinda guys are a dime-a-dozen,anyway!(probably wish you had a dollar,huh?)<P> I had a few of friends that looked like that.Seemed like every girl wanted to get to know them,whereas the average guy has some women that like him,and some that won't give him the time of day(my old english teacher would kill me for that sentence!).<P> It's funny,I never really thought about how I looked to other women after I was married.Didn't really care,as long as my W loved me.<P> Know what I mean?<P><BR> ~~Murph <P>

Now I know why I visited the Forum today! Y'all have never failed to bring forth a smile! <P>I'm glad they put this Forum up - today is my first excursion and I think I'll have to stop by again.<P>------------------<BR>Bobbie