Goq, I was wondering about adorable, too. Hope she’s ok. Also, haven’t seen photogenic around either. And I hope haifagirl comes back soon.

Goq, what a great, mature guy you are for saying that to aries! Amen to aries’ bracha for you.

I’ve also learned Kiddushin, and I don’t remember it anywhere saying that. Can you tell me where it says that?

And I’ve dated girls without a 3rd party involved, and I actually am more comfortable that way.

Obaminator, to a guy, I would either smile or give a nod to. To a girl, it would most probably be a smile, because giving a nod is more of a guy thing.

I think mustang’s idea is interesting.

Climbing mountains, just know that these men definitely do not intend to make you feel that way. They are simply doing what they believe to be a good thing. Should they consider that by doing so, they are making you feel bad? Perhaps. But that is their problem, not yours.

And as Queen Bee said, “There is being frum, but there is also having manners”, and I think having manners means having derech eretz. And derech eretz is kadma latorah.

Queen Bee, thanks, and I would actually love for people here to be able to listen to my music! I don’t know if the mods will let this through, but here’s a link to one of my songs:

http://soundcloud.com/middlepath-cr/instrumental-song-1

I’ve made my identity completely anonymous.

Hope it works.

Yes. An unbelievable amount. During those times, it was so much more difficult to create a realistic and three dimensional painting. They had to use real creativity and skill to complete any painting, because there was a long, tedious process involved. It would take too long to go through the whole process, but just for a short overview, they first had to project the object, scene, or people they were going to paint onto a canvas which took great care and skill using the tools of their time. Then, they had to create outlines of the focal points and backdrops using those projections. Then, they had to mix colors just right to give the impression of depth, space, and emotion, besides trying to duplicate the exact colors of whatever they were painting. All this took an incredible amount of time and patience.

Bottom line, there is true wisdom in this. Sorry if I was a bit lengthy in my response. I took a class in Art and Design History recently, so all this is still fresh in my mind.

bomb, what a well-written, informative, and absolutely true essay you’ve got here. Many people tend to focus on the negative aspects of the internet without trying to focus on what’s positive and amazing about it. I am one of those people who had to fill a void in my real life with something that would let me feel accepted, valued, and respected, and the internet has helped me with that quite a lot. I am a musician, and in the real world, I would definitely be unnoticed, but online, I have been able to reach over 5,000 people with my music. That’s just one area where I feel I truly made myself a name. And of course, the fact that Iv’e been able to discuss my personal story on this forum, but not so openly in real life tells you that it really does amazing things for us. Everything you’ve written here I can relate to, and agree with. Thanks for such a great article.

workinonit, from your post, I am guessing a cause of your happiness problem is due to things in your life that are troubling you, and it is difficult to let go of them. And of course, that is understandable. And many times, things we deal with have a bad habit of staying with us for a long time, and we just can’t shake them. So instead, it may be better for us to develop a new way of looking at these issues that can result in seeing them in a positive light. I am going to copy something I wrote in a another thread here, and hopefully it’ll help a little for you:

Many times, things look bad to us, we think there’s no end to our suffering, and we wonder “why me?”. But the truth is, we never know the full picture. Only G-d does. So we may be stuck on a few sharp puzzle pieces at the moment, but after a while, we see how the pieces fit together to create a beautiful scenic view. G-d gives us these challenges because He knows we, and not others, can deal with them, rise above them, and even become great because of them. We should consider ourselves lucky that G-d is giving us the opportunity early in our lives to show our loyalty to Him, to overcome obstacles, adversity, and evil. It is a path straight to G-d’s throne. Not everyone has that opportunity. Not everyone is given the chance to show loyalty to G-d so openly, so early in their lives, and so often. If we realize all this, then we can not only make it through the challenges we face, but even thrive on them. Be glad that we have such an amazing opportunity in our hands. That we are the lucky few that G-d chose to demonstrate to the Jewish nation, and to the world, how to live by, accept, and thrive on, G-d’s command. That we were chosen because we have something special in us, and G-d knows this, and He is giving us a way of using that special power so openly, it is almost as if He is talking to us, saying “Look at your potential! Here, I will now give an opportunity to reach that potential, to show others how to live!”

Hopefully, this will give you a new insight to dealing with things that are troubling you, and help you let go of them and enjoy life more fully.

bomb, as everyone here has said, it is worth giving it a try. You might see you are perfect for the job and really can connect with these people. Your past only makes you stronger and more capable, so you might find yourself really making a huge impact, larger than others trying to help but may not have the personal history to go with it. Whatever G-d gives us, whether we see it as good or bad, is for a purpose, and can be used beneficially. This therefore might be the right thing to do, by using what you have to benefit others. Wishing you all the best!

aries, I always look forward to and appreciate your comments. I feel that it is all my fault, because it was all on the topic related to my situation, and I’m so sorry I caused you any frustration. Please forgive me. We all gain so much from everything you write. I know I do.

I would say their past would be a reason why I WOULD go out with them. It means they have come a long way, and can be much stronger, have their priorities straight, and are more mature. The only thing I would be concerned about is they may possibly be too serious and focused on their spirituality to be able to chill out and have fun anymore, which I have seen happen to a lot of people in that type of situation. But not to everyone.

And Sam is absolutely correct.

I found the talking fish to be incredibly creepy. The song was a little too mainstream and repetitive for me, but I thought the video was pretty creative.

Queen Bee, so I’m not the only person here who didn’t know of this before! Phew..I feel much better. 🙂

Got it. Thanks, 80.

Health, while I understand your position, I think taking a break is mature and responsible enough to know how to conduct herself properly in the position she is in. For other people, it may be a cause for concern and detrimental to take such a position, but it seems taking a break is above that, and is doing a fine job. I respect her choice to take the job she has, and I’m sure she is wonderful, and conducts herself professionally, at it.

taking a break, you are doing the right thing by being involved in your school, and you are also doing the right thing by bringing an issue that have to our attention to get advice with. Bein Hasdorim gave very good advice, and I agree with it. And Queen Bee is correct for saying that we shouldn’t be quick to judge and attack.

taking a break, I feel I owe you an apology for judging you about giving non-Jews the cold shoulder. Regardless of what I believe, I should not have said what I said to you, and I’m so sorry.

I’m glad I went to a high school that had a high level General Studies department. But really, for my current college education, I think I would have scraped by with a mediocre high school education.