I'm alive!

...and I just updated

BONUS TIME!!

Hey everyone!  I've been working on the next installment.  It's nearly done, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the first bonus content for anyone who frequents this blog site...all six of you lol

Anyway, it's the missing Madison section that was absent from the last chapter.  I didn't have it written up completely by the time I wanted to post the second chapter, so I cut it out.  Now its all ready to go.  Enjoy.

Madison

           My heart pounded so fast I thought it might explode.  I felt light-headed.  Not even after I sat between my bed and nightstand did my heart settle.  That used to work before, but so had the breathing exercises and they had already failed.  Nothing seemed to work anymore. 

I had had another nightmare again.  In this one, I was at the theater.  I was seven and Emma had taken us to see a movie.  The whole place was empty, I wouldn’t have gone otherwise, and all the lights were off.  The soundtrack played in the background and you could see light projected on the screen, but nothing showed. 

Emma got up to go complain to the manager, leaving Cassy and me by ourselves.  I stayed put in my seat next to her, gripping her hand as tightly as possible.  It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Cassy suggested we play a game to pass the time.  She was doing it so I wouldn’t feel anxious.  It was Red light/Green light.  I used to love that game.

When she called out “Green light,” I ran down the ramp.  I only made it three rows before she stopped me when she yelled “Red light!”  This went on for a while.  The frequent ‘greens’ and ‘reds’ distracted me completely from worrying about Emma.  I wasn’t scared anymore.

Then one time, Cassy yelled “Green light!” and I ran as hard as I could.  I sprinted so quickly that I had to use both my hands to stop me when I had reached the end.  I had run right up to the blank white screen.  As I turned around to look back at her, the lights flashed on and every seat was now filled.  Parents and children sat and stared at me with a look of disgust and horror on their faces.  “Look at the freak,” I could hear them thinking, though no one said it aloud.  I could hear all of them, what they were thinking.  Even the kids.

My eyes blurred as tears quickly filled them.  I searched and searched for Cassy, but when I finally found her seat, it was empty.  It was the only empty chair in the entire theater.

Then everyone in the room started hissing and booing at me as if I was part of the show.  The children laughed and pointed as I struggled to breath.  It wasn’t until someone plucked a red, solid brick from the sidewall and hurled it at me that all the other bricks inside the theater quivered and tumbled like dominoes.  The whole theater caved in on us.  That was when I woke up, panting and sweating. 

If Emma saw me like this, that would be reason enough to start drinking in the middle of the afternoon.  I didn’t want that.  I wish Cassy were here.  She would help me through this.  She always did before.

I wanted to tell her not to go when she said she was leaving.  I wanted to beg her to stay with me, but I couldn’t do that to her.  I can’t drag her down with me.  Besides, she had said that she wasn’t going to take long.  She was just going out to lunch with a friend.

“Madison?  Are you all right?  I heard the furniture moving in there.”  It was Emma.  Her voice sounded so close I knew she was already at the door.  Don’t let her see you like this, Madison, I thought to myself.

I quickly got up and wiped away my tears on my sleeve.  “I-I’m fine,” I said.  “I just slipped getting out of bed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” my voice trembled.

“I need to run to the store.  You can wait in the car.”  Oh no.  Not this.  I can’t let her see me like this.  But if she leaves…if she leaves, I’ll be all alone.

“N-no. I c-can’t.”

“Come on, Madison.  It’ll only take a minute.  Cassy’s not here so if you don’t come with me you’ll be a—” she stopped just sort of saying it.  Don’t say it, Emma.  Don’t say it or I’m going to lose it.

“I’ll be okay,” I quickly interrupted.  “Cassy called and said she was on her way home already.” I had to lie.  I had to say something.  There was no other way to get rid of her.  I just had to hope that my lie would come true and Cassy would return soon.  Wishes never worked for me.  I stopped believing in them a long time ago.

“Are you…” insane, I thought I heard her say.  Instead, she added, “I can’t leave you unless I know Cassy is with you, you know that.  Let me in,” she turned the doorknob.  Luckily, I had locked it.  I always locked it.

“Don’t come in, I’m changing.”  The doorknob stopped moving.  “I need to do this Emma.  I’m in high school already.  I need to fight this.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

No.  “Y-yes.”

“Well alright.  I have my phone with me.  Call me the instant you need to.  Do you want me to put you on speaker phone while I’m gone?”

So you can hear my whimper?  No.  “That’s okay.”

“I’ll be fifteen minutes at the most.  The store is just around the corner.  Madison?  I’m leaving now.”

I couldn’t say anything I was breathing so hard.  Even when I clutched my knees to my chest, I still felt like I was falling.  My throat felt tight and my toes were all tingly.  I had to concentrate on the second hand of my watch just to make sure I was breathing every so often.  “I’m not alone,” I said to myself in a whisper.  “I’m not alone.  Cassy is in her bedroom.  Emma is downstairs watching TV.  I’m not alone.”

When the door slammed shut, I felt a cold drop of sweat drip down from my forehead to my cheek and neck.  The tingling quickly spread to my legs and arms.  I gripped my knees closer together.

“I’m not alone.  I’m not—” My throat tightened again before I could finish.  I felt like someone was strangling me.  The ghost.  The ghost from when I was little.  He was here in this room again. 

Get away from me.  You’re not real.  You’re NOT real. 

The lights in the room grew dim.  It was him.  He was doing this.  My neck felt cold again.  It wasn’t my sweat this time, it was his fingertips wrapped around my throat.  He was going to strangle me, murder me in my own home, in my own room.  And no one was there to save me.  No one.  Not Emma.  Not Cassy.

Then everything around me suddenly went darker…   

Update coming soon!

How soon? Like this week. Woot woot
I think I'm getting a better feel for these characters. I was struggling earlier because I was still stick on Seb & Eli. LoL
I guess I just can't get over those guys. Must return to their world eventually...
This post is coming via iPod touch, so I apologize in advance for any oddities. It's also close to 2am so my brain is a little loopy.
Anyway, I am starting to like the idea of a reward for you blog visitors. There are only a few of you, which is probably my fault for neglecting this place so much. So to reward those who frequent this blog, I will be uploading sections in advance. I will also be more open to fun suggestions or references that don't dramatically alter story.
Sound good? If not, then hit me up with any comments suggesting otherwise. Maybe I'll also post ideas for future projects here, or even short one-shot stories that u all provide the characters/specific details. Like names, general description and/or the type of story. I'm not saying I'll be amazing or that I'll follow through with all of them, but it would be a fun project. There's not that many of you guys anyway lol
I promise any side project I do won't interfere with new story Hollow Inside.

Email gone Haywire

:(
Sorry for the lack of updates. I had been trying to write up a new chapter for the past week and a half, but I got sidetracked when my email went nuts on me. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I got spammed with so much crap my email just tanked. And it wasn't even porn, DAMMIT! Hotmail blocked me from signing in. Really depressing. The only place I really used that account was on FictionPress, so obviously someone doesn't like my stories. lol (The jerk could have just left me a bad review.)

Well I created a new email account and blocked people from seeing it...hopefully. Looks like any interaction will be limited to this blog as well as any private messages on FP. I hope I don't offend anyone for removing my email.

Anyway, work has been insane. When I was able to sneak in a few minutes for myself, I dedicated them to writing the next chapter for Hollow Inside. I've got about 2k words so far and it definitely has taken a different turn than I was expecting. Darker. I might even have to rewrite it because I don't want people to start hating any of these characters. At the rate it's going, someone is bound to get hurt. I'm all for angst, but I don't know if this is crossing the line.  Damn my sick and twisted imagination. Damn it all to heck!

Since there are only a few of you that actually check out this blog, and since i'm doing a HoRRendous job updated it, I was thinking about giving you all a special treat.  Maybe like a preview of the next chapter before it's actually finished. Like one of the character's pov or something. I don't know.  It's just a thought.  Any suggestions?

Peace out Amigos
L

New Story in the Works!

I've been tinkering with a new story for a few days now, and I think it's almost ready for the spotlight.  Remember folks this will most likely have MxM and possibly even MxF relationships, so be aware.  As for the rating...I haven't decided yet.  Teen for now, though language and references made in story might change that.  Any interactions, of the sexual nature, are definite possibilities.  Hence the questionable rating.

Anyway, the story, as it stands, will be told from multiple points of view, all first person.  It's a fresh new tale that I think is rarely, if ever, written about, so I feel pretty excited about what the community is going to think. 

I hadn't planned on writing another meaty story that will go on for a while, similar to my last one, but it definitely looks like a possibility. These longer stories can be a bit exhausting, but I guess they are also that much more rewarding.  As per the content of my story, I think I might explore the boundaries a bit before getting into the details.  I know that sounds a little vague, but I just want to make sure I do the story justice.  I promise I'll be more specific in future comments.

Well, better get back to writing.  Expect an update REAL soon.

L

First Slash Story Completed

It's a bitter sweet moment to reach the end.  I had initially started writing this story because I was simply experimenting with this writing style.  I have been a fan of slash for a while, and I kept running into stories that were abandoned or took forever in between updates.  (What can I say, I'm needy) Anyway, I read so many stories, a few of which were really good and many that...weren't as appealing.  So, I came to the conclusion that I would try my hand at writing my own slash.

It didn't take long to come up with the general concept for And Then I Met Him: boy looking for love, finding it in the strangest of places.  When I started writing, I figured it would be a good hobby, only lasting about twelve chapters.  It ended up ballooning to nearly forty chapters, 120,000+ words.  Yikes.

Well, it was a great experience, and I received so much positive feedback that I'm eager to try writing another story.  Hopefully, it will be equally captivating.

I admit, I'm a little relieved that this story is finally over.  It was amazing to write, truly.  I never really hit any major roadblocks, and I always seemed to know exactly where I wanted the story to go.  That being said, I knew that if I really wanted to, I could expand the story world so much, it would never end.  I admit pulling back the reins every once in a while so that I wouldn't deviate too far from central story line.  No matter how much I wanted to explore other characters and situations, I tried my hardest to keep things simple.

Perhaps it's not the best strategy for writing, but I think its suitable for my type of prose. After all, I rarely look back to revise my work, mostly just perform a quick edit right before publishing. (another poor practice)

So, anyway, that's that.  I'm a little sad, a little relieved, and a little excited about what comes next.  I'm probably going to write several first chapters for entirely different stories.  I'll use that to decided which one to focus on.  Don't know if I'll make them public or keep them all to myself.  It sounds cruel, but I just don't want to get anyone's hopes up.  I don't think I can juggle multiple projects.  Not with my work schedule.  And I really don't want to be the type of author that seems to rarely update because he or she has so many stories out at once.  Like I said before, I like to keep things simple.

L

Undecided

Seeing as how I'm almost done with And Then I Met Him, I'm already planning my next story.  No, I haven't started writing anything, but the ideas are there.  I had mentioned one that I had wanted to write for a while now.  It was inspired by two or three stories that I had read a long time ago, but that were never finished.  They were just abandoned, leaving me and all the other readers with no closure.  Well, I intend to finish those stories.  But, since I'm too lazy to ask for permission, and since I didn't really keep track of those authors, I planned on writing my own version of a similar story that combined all three.

BUT, then I was watching reruns of an old TV show.  I won't say which one, cause I don't want to give anything away.  All I'll say is that it was short lived but much loved.  I'd really like to try my hand at writing something similar.  There are quite a few ways I think it could have been better.

Damn, I'm such a copycat.  Well, I promise that I'll keep my story, whatever it is, as original as possible.  I'm thinking about just combining everything into one big massive pile of angst and romance. lol (MxM, of course)

We'll see, I guess.

L

And Then I Met Him, CHAPTER 1

Nothing exciting ever happens here.  Sure there was an occasional good moment here and there, but in terms of absolute bliss, it has yet to happen. Not in my life, at least.  Maybe it’s just me.  Maybe I just repel amazing moments that constantly surround those around me.   Like love.  My older brother and sister have certainly had their moments.  Both are happily married to their significant other.  Even my friends have shared with me the details of their romantic adventures.  Regardless of the fact that the majority of those relationships lasted only a few weeks or months, I always found myself envying them.

I guess I’ve just never been lucky when it comes to love.  I’ve tried.  Believe me, I’ve tried.  I went out with half a dozen girls in my life.  Each different and special in their own way.  But, nothing ever seemed to click. The longest relationship I had was with a girl named Iris.  Iris was great to hang out with.  She was beautiful.  Brunette.  Dazzling eyes.  Amazing body.  And despite all that, I somehow managed to screw it up by analyzing our relationship.  It must have been a few months into our relationship when I started to realize that we had nothing in common.  With didn’t like the same music, always argued over which movie to see, and even canceled a few dates because we couldn’t decide on a place to eat.  My friends did love her though.  Max liked her a little too much, if you ask me.  When I had decided to break up with her, he threatened to avoid speaking with me for a whole month.  I convinced him though, by passing along her phone number.  They left me alone for a while.  Soon after, though, the invites to parties started up again.

   Recently, it’s reached the point where I actually avoid hanging out with my friends, my best friends, and even my family.  Why go to a couples’ party when you’re the only one lacking a couple?  That’s just awkward.  Then the questions start: why are you still single, why haven’t you found anyone, what kind a person are you looking for, are you being too picky, you know perfection doesn’t exist, right? Blah, blah, blah.  Of course I know it doesn’t exist.  If it did, then I wouldn’t be single.  In a perfect world, all would be well.  A partner for everyone.  Oprah would be giving them away.  Relationships filled with ever-lasting love. 

Work and college are great excuses that usually do the job.  But regardless of how often I can successfully avoid the people I care about, the truth of the matter is still lurking in the shadows of my mind: I’m alone.  So, I do what any right-minded 20-year-old would do when faced with my dilemma.  I ignore it.  Bury myself in work like my dad does.  The less I think about it, the less depressed I’ll feel.  The less heartache.  Oddly enough, the strategy has been a complete success for this past semester.

I just recently avoided a grand get-together with my friends.  They’re celebrating an anniversary.  That’s right, a wedding anniversary.  While I’m here, still single…wait.  Stop.  Work.  Think about work.  Semester’s over, but I’ve still got to work.  That’s right.  In fact, I now have more time to tutor.  More time = more work.  More work = more cash.  More cash = buying distractions.

When I get to work the next morning, my boss hands me my week’s schedule.  Apparently, I’m in charge of working with some new kid named Eli.  He’ll be showing up five days a week for two hours each session.  Mr. Randall, my boss, tells me Eli’s in high school and his grades have dropped consistently year after year since entering middle school.  He’s been in fights, got caught smoking weed at school, and was suspended from January up until March.  Mom finally decided to do something about it because she’s so concerned about his future.  If she was so concerned in the first place, she would have done something sooner.  If the kid needs help, you fucking help.  As soon as possible.  I didn’t tell Mr. Randall that last part.  No, I just nodded and folded the schedule into my back pocket.  

About fifteen minutes later, Eli shows up.  At least, I assume it was him.  The door chime rings and I can hear voices coming from the entrance.  One of them is definitely Mr. Randall’s voice, deep and baritone.  The other, however, is soft and almost weak.  Not exactly something you’d expect from a pot-smoking, troubled teen with poor grades.  The voices grow louder as they make their way down the hallway, and I can’t help but feel a bit nervous.  I am usually quite in control of myself.  But this is not one of those moments.  I’m on the edge of my seat anticipating this new problem child that I’m supposed to shape up for school after his parents tossed him under a bus by neglecting his needs.

“Well, right this way, Eli,” Mr. Randall says pointing toward my table.  He gives me a raised eyebrow look that could either mean ‘oh holy hell this is the spawn of Satan’ or ‘I accidentally left the stove on at home’.  I guess you could say I’m not too keen about reading people’s thoughts.

Eli peaks around the corner.  I smile and wave.  He’s, for lack of a better word, interesting.  Nothing like his file suggested.  For starters, he’s just shy of Mr. Randall’s shoulder, which means he probably comes up to my nose.   Aside from lacking height, he’s got short, brown hair poorly combed to the side, light brown almond eyes that he’s masked well under his bangs, and a small frame that’s buried under about two or maybe three layers of clothing.  Did I mention it was summer?

Eli tucks his head back.  Mr. Randall turns, blocking off my view.  I can’t make out what their saying, but it doesn’t sound good.  Mr. Randall turns back to look me over, then returns to the conversation.  Now I just feel a bit self-conscious.  I check to make sure my fly isn’t open.  Nope.  Everything seems to be in order.  I’m wearing a button down shirt, unbuttoned of course.  My undershirt isn’t exactly offensive, unless the thought of a walking burrito frightens you.  I have an odd sense of humor.  I take out my phone and use the screen as a mirror.  Hair’s combed, smile is present, teeth are clean.

Mr. Randall walks back to the entrance, leaving me to my thoughts.  And boy, do I have quite a few at the moment.  “Hello, Mrs. Koizumi?  Good morning.  This is Mr. Randall.  I’m calling because, well, because Eli is having reservations about today’s session.  Well, I…” Apparently, Mrs. Koizumi didn’t like what she was hearing.  Mr. Randall is not someone who loses control of a conversation.  “Yes, but…I understand.  The problem?  Well, the problem Eli has is with the tutor.”

The tutor?  What the fuck?  I‘m the tutor.  I haven’t even met the kid and he’s already blaming me for not wanting to come here today?   I think I’m beginning to understand a little bit more about this Eli character.  I can pass judgment just as easily as he can.  I bet he’s more than capable of picking up his grades on his own, he just blames it on his classmates and teachers because of a poor relationship with his parents.  That little piece of…

“You’re not in town?  But didn’t you drop him off?  Oh, he walked this whole way?  That’s a bit far.  I see.  Well, perhaps I can check the bus schedule to see if there’s an earlier bus he can—No, I don’t think it would be fair to make him walk.  I…I understand.  Listen, I know this can be tough for a family to go through.  I won’t charge you for the session.  I’ll take him off today’s schedule.  We’ll try again tomorrow, with another tutor perhaps.  Thank you.  Goodbye.”

Silence.  I never thought it could be that uncomfortable.  But it was.  And that’s that no one was even looking at me.  Still, I felt embarrassed.  Guilty for something I didn’t even do.  Next time, I won’t even smile at that little shit.  Wait. There won’t be a next time.  I’m getting replaced.  Which is another real shame.  Not that I care or anything, it’s just that my replacement for this summer program is a real bitch of an instructor.  Oh well.  Too bad.  Not my problem.

“Sebastian!” Mr. Randall called out from the entranceway, followed by a soft mumbling by a certain someone whose name I won’t mention but who just cut my hours for the summer.  “Sebastian?”

“Yes,” I responded, actually afraid to get up and head toward my boss for fear that I would upset the princess. 

There was a bit more of a heated conversation that followed.  It was short and definitive.  “Sebastian, I need to ask a favor of you.  A personal one.  Could you come up here.”

I stepped away from my desk and started making my way toward the hallway when I heard the door chime ring.  Alright, I may not be the most attractive guy out there, but I’m not freaking Medusa.  That kid was going to lead to some serious psychological problems for me. 

“Listen, I don’t know what exactly is going on with this client, but…I think we can help him.  He’s definitely not what I expected.  Am I right?”

“I didn’t get a good enough look, but from what I saw, no.  He’s…” and once again I was struggling to come up with an accurate description.  Delicate, believe it or not, was actually the first word that came to mind.  I couldn’t help it.  His skin did kind of remind me of a porcelain doll.  But, he’s a guy, and it would be weird to say something like that.  No matter how rare.  So, instead, I just stuck with, “he’s interesting, I guess.  Definitely Different.”

“Yes.  Well, his mother is out of town and she won’t be back for a week, maybe two.  So, Eli’s staying by himself at home.  I’m not asking you to babysit or anything,” he quickly added when he noticed me make a face, “but I don’t think it’s right that he should walk home today.  Especially since he just got here.”

“Mr. Randall, I’d love to help,” I lied, “but I don’t think I’m the best person to give him a ride.  After all, I’m kind of the reason he didn’t feel like showing up today, right?”  I look over his shoulder, at the glass door, and notice a shadow pass across the sidewalk outside.  A small, most likely obnoxious, shadow.  “I didn’t do anything, by the way.  I don’t even know why he’s so bothered by me.”  My eyes can’t seem to return to Mr. Randall’s anymore.  They’re fixated on the spot where that shadow appeared.

“He’s just using you as an excuse, Sebastian.  Hell, I doubt he even needs our help.  You should see his score on one of the exams I gave him before enrolling.  The only section where he missed more than three problems was calculus.”

I look back at him unimpressed.  I breezed past those tests when I was in high school.

But Mr. Randall took notice and added, “Eli’s never taken a single course in calculus and he still passed the section.”

I clutched my fists and pressed my lips together.   Bested by a high schooler.  Eli is definitely proving to be quite complex.  I quickly swallow my pride.  “So what do you want me to do?”

“Well, I want you to give him a ride home.  Talk to him.  See if you can figure it out.  If you are the problem, as Eli put it, then I’ll have Linda switch schedules with you for the rest of the summer.”

“I’m not sure.” I looked away, down at my shoes like a coward avoiding a fight. 

“I understand.  He probably took off already anyway.  Hey, don’t worry about it.  Listen, you woke up early anyway, so why don’t you go out and have breakfast.  I know you didn’t eat anything, so you go while I hold the fort.”

I nodded.  Breakfast did sound great right about now. 

                After clocking out, I headed out the door.  And, to be honest, I was slightly disappointed that Eli wasn’t hanging by the door anymore.  I’m almost certain it was him, but I wonder why he had even stayed to begin with.  Anyway, I got in my truck and turned on the engine.  As the AC kicked in, I turned on the radio and reclined into my seat.  The pessimist in me regretted the fact that I failed to help Eli before I even had the chance, but the optimist in me knew that anything, even this little encounter with Eli, was a great distraction for the loneliness I kept buried deep within my subconscious. 

                I’m a sucker for biscuits.  Add a glass of OJ and I’m done.  I didn’t even bother getting down.  I just scarfed everything in my truck.  On my way back, I decided on taking the scenic route.  Hey, when the boss lets you take the morning off for breakfast, you take the morning off.  It was at this moment that I spotted Eli off in the distance.  Despite having seen him for half a second, I was absolutely certain it was him this time.  It was like his outline was engraved in my mind.  He was walking straight toward me, along the sidewalk, of course.  When we were about to cross one another, I don’t know why, but I slowed down.  Since no one was behind me, I managed to drop my speed to nearly fifteen mph.  And still, he dared not look up.  He had to have noticed a big-ass truck creeping toward him, but he did not react.  I thought about honking, then speeding off, but as I got closer I saw that it wasn’t just sweat dripping down his face.  There were tears there as well.

                I suddenly felt alone again.  I felt like we shared each other’s sadness at that exact moment.  And then I passed him, and sped up again.  My head soon cleared and I headed back to work.  I needed another distraction.

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Well, this is the first chapter of that story I've been going on and on about. :)  It's identical to the one found in My Story.  Errors and all. LOL.  I thought I'd post it here just in case any new visitors who dropped by were curious, yet unable to muster the strength to click on the link in the previous post.  Consider this the only free ride.  I doubt I'll be posting the entire story on here.  It's >100,000 words.  

I Found Eli!

I found Eli Koizumi!  Well, not really, but it's definitely the next best thing.  Better actually.  It's the super awesome model Sen Mitsuji.

Eli, the fictional character from my first MxM story And Then I Met Him, (shameless plug) is an antisocial, neglected, drug abusing...let's just say he's got a lot of problems.  He also happens to be rather poor, hence the grunge look, though in my story he typically wears a hoodie.

Anyway, dearaliijane introduced me to him and I think she hit the nail right on the head.  There were definitely other contenders.  Ezra Miller, for one.  But, Sen Mitsuji definitly won out in my opinion.  I guess every reader will have their own take. 

So, just to reiterate, first pic is Sen Mitsuji pulling off the grunge look.  The next pic, also Sen Mitsuji, is well, it's just my favorite. tehe

First Post

So this is where I'm supposed to write something moderately meaningful or, at the very least, mildly appealing.  In all honesty, I'm in over my head with this blog thing.  Well, here goes nothing.

Okay, L Arthur is the name and this blog should primarily revolve around prose.  I've got an account on fictionpress.com, under the same name (cheap plug: http://www.fictionpress.com/~larthur), and I've actually published a story.  It's currently in progress but the chapters are winding down because my baby (and by baby I mean story) is finally coming to an end.

Oh, by the way, it's slash fiction.

What is slash? I honestly couldn't tell you, cause I haven't got a clue what that word means (in this context).  But, it's also referred to as MxM or Male/Male.  Yeah, context clues should be putting two and two together right about now.  It's gay romance.  I repeat: GAY romance.

If you feign at the sight of the word GAY, then I suggest you hit the back arrow because I am a fan of MxM just as I am a fan of MxF and FxF.  There'll be no hating coming from this blogger.  I respect them all so please do the same and keep the comments 'friendly'.

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Okay, I think that went well.  Oh, who am I kidding.  That sucked as my first post.  I was all over the map.  It's obvious that I haven't got a clue what I'm doing with a blog.  Well, it serves Google right for allowing anyone to create one in the first place.

Anyway, I'm done for now.  Please comment with suggestions for improvement.

Thanks,
L