Hello again, Janet!

> you wrote:
> >... I don't think either Esther or I (should it be neither-nor??)
>
> you have a choice of
> "i don't think either esther or i..."
> or
> "i think neither esther nor i..."

Ok, there's a direct parallell to Swedish here if I had used my brains a
bit... ;)

> >... but talking on the phone will definitely let us
> >interact in a more direct way. Emotions are very welcome.
>
> one of my 'pet' subjects in my posts to this cyber-family
> has been in re communication difficulties between women and men

Hehe, yeah, I do think that boys in general have problems with talking
about feelings (in our western culture)...
It is becoming more and more clear for me that it is very valuable to be
in contact with my feelings and my true will/intentions, so I am working
on it with my psychologist. It is no secret, though, that my inability to
cope with my previous girlfriend's aggressive and very fiery temper was
one of the reasons why I finally left her. (Simply put...)

> and men are more comfortable [and women are not]
> in dealing with assertiveness/action

Hm... I don't know about that one. I work and study in close contact with
women who are making careers for themselves, so perhaps I should not say
too much, but it might be changing??

> emotions are what separate us from other mammals
> they comprise the essence of our humanity
> and i believe that they most frequently
> are a result of instinctive cognition
> rather than intellectual cognition
> so they may seem 'mysterious'
> at times

Oh yes. If we were all intellect and no instict/spontaneity, we would
probably behave very predictably. Booooring.... :)

> but do not confuse self-love with self-centredness."

Are you saying there's a difference?? Oh dear...
(Just kidding... Some people won't understand, though.)

> i feel that pd has been given to me as a 'wake-up' call
> and forced me to take a good long look at my life and myself
> a lot of people don't want to do that
> because it's a lot of hard work

Mmmm... (Humming appreciatively) But if you don't listen to that wake-up
call, and don't 'seize the day' when you have the chance, you are
increasing the risk of yourself becoming a bitter man/woman in the
nursing home. "Why didn't I do this, why did I choose that, why, why,
why...". I fear that more than the PD right now...
I feel a strong urge to LIVE, NOW. For all I know, I can step on a landmine
in Israel, and be paralyzed right then and there. In that case I want to be
able to tell myself that I have used every day until that moment to the
full. Then I can get down to the business of acommodating to my new
situation with less regret, and less feelings of loss, I hope.

> i love this quote!
> >  Enigma is what makes life a constant seduction.
> >                                - Alisa Lowden

We wrote letters to each other for a while, but we didn't really get
along in the long run, so we stopped. That quote was one of the things I
remember from our 'talking'. Take a look at her art if you like:

http://www.art.net/Studios/Visual/Alisa/alisa.html

There's one digital picture of hers that I love, a lion with snakes for
hair and a blue cape. She made that painting with a computer and mouse.
No digitizing or pen used. Just mouseclicks. Impressive!
As a Fantasy literature fan, I like it even more... Links to Greek
mythos, castles in the background etc.

Hugs to you all,
John. (28/0)
--
 "I like them but when I hit them they scream and run away
  even though I say I'm sorry. I like meeting people."
                                         - The Sugarcubes