My Self-Expression

Social Networking: going extinct?

Mink — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:52:25 GMT

Has anybody noticed that the thrill of social networking is rapidly diminishing? After the first few months or maybe a year it starts to get more and more hollow; a pale substitute for face to face encounters. Oh sure I imagine it will always be around in some form but like the pet rock, those collapsible scooters, the George Foremen Grill, and Pocket Flan, I get the sense that people are starting to realize it's limitations and just how much precious time it consumes. I mean blogs are all fine and dandy but who really gives a fuck about the minutiae of an acquaintance's life? It is completely irrelevant to me whether you are feeling chipper or grumpy this morning, or whether you are looking forward to seeing some DJ . Do you care if I spent 2 hours playing Sudoku today? I hope not... And reality/truth is so subjective anyway. I could be a 84 year old grandmother making all this up! Finally the potential for abuse of the information offered up remains significant. That topless photo of you is awesome, but it may or may not help you win the municipal election you enter in 25 years from now. And all this coming from someone who has a lot of spare time at the moment.... still I'd rather read Google news and learn something about media bias! I hope I haven't offended anyone but it is important that new technologies and cultural modifications be examined objectively. We certainly can't trust the providers of the technology to offer an impartial assessment. They have an investment to recoup. M

Sending out a signal...

Mink — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:11:11 GMT

Hello world out there. I'm not missing anything right?! No, didn't think so. Everything gets put on hold til I come back from these sojourns at the edge of the known world. Well that is awful nice of everyone but I insist y'all get back to leading fruitful and fun lives. I won't even notice one way or another. I'm leaning towards solipsism these days and it is difficult to prove otherwise. Does anything exist outside of your sphere of awareness? Are you a brain in a vat of nutritive saline solution hooked up to electrical stimuli? Can you prove otherwise? Is philosophy mere mental masturbation? Is masturbation therefore philosophy? Inquiring minds want to know. Listening to Plants and Animals, a cool Halifax/Montreal progfolk band. "Fell asleep under a tree, got woken up by birds and bees, they're hard at work but hardly working, there might be rain but not for certain...." Somehow apropos. I quit smoking and started running. It feels goooood. "I've got the black lung Pa... cough, cough..." Quick, name that movie! I am having fun watching the teenage glaucous winged gulls learn to fly. At first it is just hopping around trying to get airborne, but within a week they are doing extraordinary acrobatics, way more radical than their parental units. Gulls are very much like humans in many way. Gregarious, trash-talking, somewhat gluttonous, shit all over the place, and with the exact same ratio of sexual dimorphism. That means the size difference between males and females. Boy gulls and boy humans are about 15% larger on average. Interestingly the larger the difference the less monogamy, and this occurs across all species. A male gorilla is 3 times larger than a female, and he has 4 to 6 lady-friends in his family group. Gibbons are exactly the same size and they mate for life. If one dies the other will not take another mate. Humans (like gulls) are mostly monogamous. Yes we like to pair-bond, but given the opportunity we tend to stray a little.... I write this not to condone infidelity but to offer a biological rational in case your roving eye causes you excessive guilt. As we are conscious, self-aware organisms we have the potential to control our behaviour, but thoughts and urges often show up unbidden. Sexual dimorphism may help explain why. Maybe that is why my granma always used to say, "Keep you pecker in your pants!" Well that's it for today boys and girls. Thrive, M So I have run out of pithy aphorisms and quirky euphemisms... no wait...

letter to editor Aug 6th

Mink — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:54:04 GMT

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/letters/story.html?id=fa5c94b9-1ea6-427a-a12b-32b563c688c3 One of the things I do whilst wiling away the hours..... :-)

Do good by stealth

Mink — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:38:32 GMT

and blush to call it fame... I have been cleaning up the beaches here. It is a relatively small island with less than 2kms of shoreline but so far, with at least 20 hours of work, I have collected 10 cubic meters of garbage (plastics, styrofoam and old tires mostly). And i might be halfway done. Multiply this volume of garbage by the kilometers of coastline in BC and you have a careers-worth of work. Trouble is very few people notice or care, it is lonely hard work, and it doesn't pay money (just pays a good feeling interspersed with terrible feelings about the disgusting ways of our species). Yesterday I got within a few meters of a seal pup sleeping on the beach. Her extended family was just offshore watching me suspiciously, so I explained I was just cleaning the beach to make it safer for the little one, and that I am so sorry for the mess, and the sewage they have to swim in, and they are right to mistrust human but I'm different and I am trying to make it just a little better for them and their offspring. I was brought to tears, and now just writing this, I am leaking again...

On Trial Again

Mink — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:41:23 GMT

How you doing amigos? I am lighthouse keeping on Trial Island just off of Victoria for the summer. It is pretty boring but the work is easy, the place is beautiful, and I am acruing capital. Right now I am watching 23 whale-watching boats follow a pod of orca. Like mosquitos... must be fucking annoying all summer long to be chased by all day by noisy zodiacs. But they should be grateful we don't harpoon them anymore right? I am sure the orcas are... Hey I just signed a petition to stop new approval of oilsands development in that backwards province of Alberta. http://www.nonewapprovals.ca/ In general I have been taking pretty good care of myself. Lots of walking/running around the island, cleaning up the beaches of plastics and styrofoam, and eradicating some of the invasive species of plants that threaten this fragile ecosystem (broom, gorse, daphnae, english ivy, holly, etc.). I am pretty vicious when it come to protecting the native flora. Xylem and phloem thirsty you could say. Restorative work always satisfies me in some profound way. I like cleaning up after my species I guess. I hope that sentiment becomes more widespread in the 21st century. I've got a cupboard full of good food, about 20 books, a few movies, 1500 songs on the computer, Internet, guitar and a few friends have said they will try to make it out here for a visit. Which leads me to invite you and yours should you have the opportunity and inclination. I know that is a bit of a stretch but one never knows where an invitation might lead.... I am paying lots of attention to the presidential process going on in the states. Big Obama fan. I read his first book and was very impressed. Please encourage your American friends to vote for him. Hip, whip-smart, worldcentric in philosophy, inspirational... what a difference form W... Have a wonderous and mind expanding summer y'all. Love each other and send some of that energy to this old hermit/monk/bard/kung fu fighter/lover of life! Adios, M

Hell on Earth

Mink — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:03:33 GMT

Our species seems hell bent. Our leaders, political pragmatists, continue to offer us short term temptations while ignoring longterm consequences. I just read yet another report documenting more bad news due to human-induced climate change. Ocean acidification caused by CO2 absorption is hindering the ability of shellfish to grow their shells and of corals to build reefs. Coral reefs will go the way of the dodo unless we quickly cut carbon-dioxide emissions. Over the next few decades, we may make the oceans more acidic than they have been for tens of millions of years. And that's bad news. Hey but bad news at least shows an awareness of our present day reality, an important first step. Unfortunately the crisis our industrial age has created is a slow burn; a crisis that is taking place over several centuries. Humans simply aren't hardwired to react to longterm crises. We evolved to respond to cave bears and floods; fight or flight. Long term planning and environmental stewardship are functions of the cognitive mind and it appears only the most illuminated or evolved individuals are able to operate in that headspace for any length of time. Ken Wilber calls it "second-tier thinking". I have a dream that some bright, aware, compassionate and highly evolved leader of a 2nd or 3rd world country will recognize the opportunity to take her country in a new direction. An open invitation to the world's innovators to come and instigate some of the extraordinary positive technologies in this country would have the effect of providing an alternative direction to the path we are now on. We need a good example. We need an alternative model. We need an opportunity to explore and develop renewable energy sources and restorative technologies. We need to educate our young people about responsible stewardship of this pale blue planet. We need a new reverence and respect. Any bright ideas about how to get this ball rolling. What countries would be good candidates? How do we present the invitation? I love this world and want to see our species grow out of our ego and ethnocentrism before I die. The pendulum is swinging back from the dismal and selfish reality of the Neo-Cons and the sleazy pragmatism of corporate capitalism. For all our sakes and for the sakes of every species, let us hope the change happens quickly. What can you do to be the change you want to see in the world? If you don't want to live in hell, then for heaven's sake, do something.

Imminent departure

Mink — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:46:37 GMT

Both my daughter and I are leaving Victoria. Rachel is moving to Mexico to be with a love interest and I am moving to Lund to renew my love for the land I own and to grow a garden for the summer. Anticipation is high for lots of beachy, boaty, nature-focussed experiences. So 3 more weeks at the divine Point Street home, then hop into the new/old van I am buying and roll off into the sunset.... hopefully visit child in Mexico next fall..... Oh yes, she has a cell phone plan I need to transfer to someone else. Rogers 3 year plan, about 5/6 months gone. Nice model phone (cost extra). If interested or know someone please call me at: 250-589-6465. Anyway that is what I am up to, except I am a little sick today.... If you want a playdate just let me know cause I have lots of free time til I go.... far, far away..... but not actually very far at all and you are welcome to come visit anytime! Hope to connect soon, Mink

It's a Zen thing

Mink — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:23:55 GMT

Settling in to the second week of my posting to Estevan light station. This is a spectacular spot with the tallest tower on the coast. It is 99 years old and everyday that the sunshines I have to climb it to get the sun card that measures the amount of sunshine we receive. 145 steps. It is always a pleasure. After the first few days I was pretty restless but yesterday I began to feel gratitude returning. I am such a lucky rabbit really. I get paid to exist here; many people would pay a small fortune to live here for 3 weeks. Must be doing something right! Big swell running today, leftover from the high winds yesterday. Overcast, visibility 12 nautical miles, Wind: West 06, 2 foot chop with a moderate southwest swell, pressure 1017.5 and steady I have some painting to do, then after the 1540 weather I'll wander down to the beach and pick some mussels for dinner.....

in the beginning...

Mink — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:53:09 GMT

Well I have completed my first week on Trial Island Lightstation and it has gone well. Because it is January there isn't a lot of work to do so I have been doing what I can to entertain myself. Having Internet here it turns out that I have actually spent most of my time online proving that intrinsically I am a lazy beast primarily focussed on entertainment, delusional self-aggrandizement and certain onanistic pleasures.... I'm OK with that because it reaffirms my humanity. I'm just like You! Work consists of calling in the weather conditions every 3 hours. For example: Overcast, visibility 15, light rain, winds NW 22 gusting 32, 3' moderate with a low SW swell. I also take the flag down at sunset. Beyond that we (there is a principal keeper) do basic maintenance. Changing water filters, lubricating, polishing, painting, cutting grass, gathering seaweed for the garden, refueling, etc. My day is also dictated by the whims of a 17 year old cat named Woodie who is remarkably spry and demanding. He has a meow like a foghorn and will scratch at a door for hours if not attended to. Yesterday he brought me a sparrow in his mouth. After the poor creature recovered from his shock in my hands it flew away so I hope it will be OK... I have an extraordinary view of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and watch the freighters go by; inbound with loads of plastic crap from China, outbound with raw materials and resources bound for some factory in Asia where it will be processed and sold back to the materialists on this continent; the shoppers on their knees to the great god Growth Economio. That clever wordsmith Gearge W. Bush said it best, "If you want to support your country, go shopping." Speaking of ships, he also said, “I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together.” Sigh I think I am putting on weight. I must have gained 2 pounds already and am now topping the scales at 141lbs! Oh yes and I have grown a goatee to horrify the ladies with. And I have been wearing the same frumpy clothing for a week ;-P This is part of my clever plan to actually want to dress stylishly when I return cause most of the time it seems like a hopelessly childish and manipulative activity to try and impress somebody with my outward appearance. I LOVE SENSIBLE SHOES! There, I've screamed it from the rooftops. But I do live in a city and I do pride myself on being adaptable so when in Rome do as the Romans. Strum that fiddle as Rome burns around us, flaunt my metrosexuality as the world degrades, and I don't mean biodegrades. How will the Western WE sustain anything close to this level of sybaritic living? We can't. We won't. Will we keep trying till the bitter end. Will a human being eat the last cockroach; the last blade of grass? Or will this species fade away into the fossil record for sentient mollusks to ponder over in a few dozen million years. Or will we go to war with our collective greed; mobilize like we were facing the Nazis again and relearn what it is to be human. Reconnect with the natural world. Replace the desire for power, wealth and materialism with the desire to share peace, liberty and ecological and social harmony. I choose the latter. Enough from this lighthouse flossifer for now. The beacon burns brightly.... M

No place like Point St...

Mink — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 19:04:30 GMT

Nice to be back home after 3 weeks in Mexico. Comfy bed, comfy friends. Even the rain seems comfy; although that sentiment is likely to change soon. So i'll soak it up over the holidays in preparation for my first stint as a relief lighthouse keeper. Starting in early January I'll be stationed for 2 weeks on Trial Island; less than 2 km from this very house, I'll be able to see the lights.... then 10 days off til I head out to Estevan Point on the west coast of Vancouver Island.... It is the next chapter of a quirky and interesting life and is something I always dreamed about doing. I plan on starting a blog about5 my experiences at the edge of the world so keep your eyes peeled. Til then I have family and friends to share this solstice season with. Enjoy the turn of the seasons and the coming of the light. Best wishes, M

Fuck me gently

Mink — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:47:15 GMT

So I run away to Mexico to cleanse my mind and body, but all the icky stuff emerges from where I have submerged it and now I want to go home and stuff it all back down into the depths where no one needs to know about it. And of course that is completely unacceptable but who am I trying to please anyway. We all find our ways of coping in this world out of balance where only the insane are sane as we slip/slide towards some impoverished future where our kid's kids will curse our names and spit on our graves. And my sphere of influence is so small whilst my sphere of concern is vast. I am an ant holding up his little paw to the machine with the big heavy wheel that compresses the asphalt (can't remember what to call it but the image is one of futility). Stop, stop can't you see... Shit, I'm going to get crushed unless I turn and sprint in the same direction and do I really have a choice cause I wonder if everything I do, I do instead of something I want to do more, the question fills my head. Breathe, laugh, irony can be cathartic, and what do I know anyways. Maybe there is some element of destiny involved. Looking back it kinda looks that way; looking forward it appears all about choice. Think about that for a minute. Didn't it have to be that way for you to be here now? It's all revisionism anyway, and the continental plates will one day sublimate all of our puny efforts and grind them to dust and red hot MAGMA. And how is this helping? My guess is it is not. All my counterculture bleatings and funny hairstyles and nasty music ain't done squat for making da world a better place. It has simply fueled the next wave of consumerism, whilst the hard work of incremental institutional change is left to the drab bureaucrats and soup kitchen activists. It ain't glamourous. It ain't glorious. It ain't hiphop, punk rock, bohemian folk song style-mogrels that change the world. And that makes a lot of what I have done completely meaningless. Shit. So what do I need to do now so that when I am 94 and floating on my paraglider I can look back at my life and say, "Yah man, that was a great life I lived!" Well spending more time looking forward would probably help. Save the rearview mirror stuff for the deathbed... Forgive me for this... just needed to release some yuck...

poems

Mink — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:52:22 GMT

Stumbled across these today and wanted to write them down and share them with someone.... Love is feeling beauty with every sense, Love is being carried upwards in the arms of an angel, Love is lonely laughing lassitude when you leave, Love is determined against all odds, Love is moving hearts and minds and bodies, Love is healing while revealing, Love is a painting expressing the internal, Love is a lifetime or a moment eternal --------------------------------------------------------------------- I know the pain of jealousy, But there's another version, The opposite of jealousy, Is something called compersion, Compersion is a reframed feeling, Joy for a loved one's delight, In friendship, bonds and shared pursuits, And passions in the night, A loving mind is all it takes, Expressing a higher reason, Compersion is a groovy way, to live a life that's pleasin' 2006

November

Mink — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:51:26 GMT

I'm back in Victoria and have been for a few months now. Not real stoked to be here but unsure of the next step. Get a job I suppose.... I want to be put to work doing something helpful and meaningful. I am very frustrated with the pace of positive change in the world and fear that we are loosing too much bio and cultural diversity. I don't want my daughter to live in an impoverished world but that seems very likely. The magnitudes of the "issues" are enormous. Somewhat paralyzing to a global/bigpic thinker. I need to remind myself to act withing my sphere of influence rather than wallow in my sphere of concern, which is vast. I am thankful for what I have, the friends and family around me and to live in this most beautiful of towns, but I am oft reminded of the costs that my/our Western lifestyle accrues. We are so close to the edge yet blithely strum the fiddle while Rome begins to burn around us. Yet I must be the change I want to see in the world. There are plenty of mission to accomplish. Soon. I feel something brewing......

End of Dias

Mink — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:00:45 GMT

My time is almost up here in Loreto Mexico. It has been a fine 8 months, and I shall miss the place and the people, but it is time to move on, back to Victoria , back to Point Stree manor and the next chapter of my life. Back to the wild wet coast from a place where it has rained twice in 8 months, both events in the last 2 weeks. I had told myself I wouldn't leave before the rains and the morning after the first rain I had a talk with the boss where we agreed it was time to skidaddle.... I am ready and fly out September 2.... Buen viaje Hasta luego mi amigos de Mexico....

summer down south

Mink — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:34:25 GMT

It is indeed very hot here. And I am adapting well to the climate and culture, although I am not so sure about working for a corporation. Greedy bastards. I could be here a week or a year, which leads me to think that I need some form of security, perhaps a contract, that will allow me to actually get settled here. I am still more or less living out of a backpack. And actually I can think of some good reasons to come back to Canada, although come October, most of those reasons will drown. So I am pushing the envelope here. Either I'll get to make the changes I think necessary for the company or they'll send me packing. It's all good!

choice and reality. I miss you, and...

Mink — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:19:48 GMT

About a week ago I got to crying about missing my goodest and bestest crew up in Victoria. Vibrant seekers you are; creators of communal culture. I missed the fluffy cheery blossoms and my daughter, soon back from Begium, and some other lovelies in far corners of the country and planet. It was good to finally acknowledge the loss I felt and to release... Next morning I woke with the awareness (known but not always practiced) that no one could change how I felt, but I have the power to reframe my reality into something much more empowering. So I did. I still miss everyone but me being miserable about it sure wasn't helping. I choose to smile and choose to observe my reality and see the beauty in the land and people. I choose to acknowledge my choice to be here, and choose to seize the day. Carpe diem. And wouldn't you know it but some amazing opportunities and people came my way. Synchronicities, synergies, and some new compadres very much aligned with my values. Some people who would fit right in at any party at the Point Street house.... So I just want to acknowledge myself for walking my talk and moving through a low patch to something resembling the sublime again. And I want to acknowledge anyone reading this for being here now; reading this now. You are exactly who you need to be at this juncture of the time/space continuum. You make a positive difference in the world and your perspective, your gifts and your smile can change the world. Thank you...

Six weeks in (or out)

Mink — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:18:43 GMT

I've reached that interesting stage where I'm not homesick but the thrill of being somewhere new is waning. As for work, well I think my strengths aren't being particularly well-used and my areas for improvement are showing themselves! Still, no talk of being sent packing back to the Canadian hinterland, so I'll keep smiling and doing what I ask while i carve a niche for myself. I've noticed that my best ideas go in the bosses ears, then come out their mouths with a little twist, usually in size or grandeur, as an original idea. I guess that is why these guys are "successful"! I'm not complaining though. What I have always sought is influence, not power or wealth. I always then have the freedom to walk away, or maybe I think responsibility is overated... or maybe I am just different. One thing I do know is that I didn't get any valentine kisses or wishes, and that makes me pout moodily, and yes, I sent a few .... Writing this makes me laugh though! te quierdo M happy v-day

Sitting with the big boys...

Mink — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 20:07:24 GMT

Jeepers, last night I had diner with about 4 multimillionaires and a couple of simply wealthy people. One guy mentioned the 4 million dollars worth of wine he has stored in a vault in Switzerland. Huh?! What?! For the last year I lived on about $50 dollars a week (and for that matter I still am). And now I'm advising them on how to make their company more efficient.... This is surreal... Just goes to show that when one has little respect for hierarchy, speaks from the heart and knows ones values one can go anywhere and say anything. This all could end in a moment. Caution is not my forte and I like to live on the edge. But every day is an adventure and life is not a dress rehearsal. You don't want to lay on your deathbed thinking about the chances you didn't take. Carpe diem my friends. Love, M

So far, so good

Mink — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 16:12:42 GMT

Such a steep learning curve. I know nothing of development, sustainable of otherwise, but somehow I am doing an admiral job of faking it and charming them with my wit and perspicaceousness. It's has been cloudy since I got here so don't worry about my complexion ;-P con mucho amor, Miguel

Moving to Mexico

Mink — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 20:27:53 GMT

In 2 weeks I am leaving Victoria and the Point Street gang for the sunny shores of Baja Mexico. I have a job assisting the Project Manager of a huge eco-village development. I have loved my time in Vic with my marvelous roommates and the community, but it is time for me to ramble on. Beware the vortex my friends. We were not born to be comfortable. Comfort has it's place but it can be a velvet cage.... So long and thanks for the love and companionship and quinoa! M

To V, or not to V

Mink — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 23:14:04 GMT

Evey: Who are you? V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of "what", and what I am is a man in a mask. Evey: Well I can see that. V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation, I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. Evey: Oh...right. V: But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis personæ. Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, vis-à-vis an introduction. So, let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

ripping off the veils

Mink — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 07:34:27 GMT

A good friend of my daughter died in a car crash yesterday on her way to school. I grieve for her family and friends. No parent should have to bury their child. As living creatures we are both extraordinarily resilient and remarkably fragile. The day has passed uncomfortably. The fabric of life stretched thin, the veneer of consciousness revealed. Sigh...... And amidst these sad relections comes the urgent cry, "Savour every moment like it was your last." Rest in Peace Amanda

Winds of Change

Mink — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 06:31:26 GMT

We are all butterflies.....

turkey vultures above

Mink — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:55:01 GMT

I saw about 100 turkey vultures circling above Clover Point today probably focussed on the dead seal on the beach, but possibly amassing for their leisurely migraation to California. I'd love to join them (maybe visit JD in Frisco), but I am an earthbound mammal who can't afford to fly in a machine. Autumn has arrived, though the weather is divine. Tom Robbins calls autumn, "the springtime of death" and there is a certain poetic truth to his morbid description. Death is intimately linked to birth and rebirth so I guess it's a legitimate description. Shed your leaves, reap your harvest and let your inner light shine for the next 6 months. We are all heavenly bodies

What a Kiss Means

Mink — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:26:09 GMT

Any truth to this? Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss, like sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.... *Kiss on the stomach-----"lets have sex" *Kiss on the Forehead ----"Forever you will be mine" *Kiss on the Ear ---"I'm horny" *Kiss on the Cheek ---"We're friends" *Kiss on the Hand ---"I adore you" *Kiss on the Neck ---"We belong together" *Kiss on the Shoulder ---"I want you" *Kiss on the Lips ---"I love you" OR "I want you" *Holding Hands ---"We can learn to love each other" *Slap on the Butt ---"That's mine" *Playing with the Ear ---"I can't live without you" *Holding on tight ---"Don't let go" *Looking into each other's Eyes ---"Don't leave me" *Playing with Hair on Head ---"Tell me you love me" *Arms around the Waist ---"I love you too much to let go" *Laughing while Kissing ---"I am completely Comfortable with you"