Month: December 2011

  • A Small e-NYE

    Well there’s not much more I can say about this year that’s not already been done.

    So Here’s some music so that if you happen to be reading this rather than celebrating the NewYear with either just a few close family members or a whole crowd of folks you’ll have something to get down to! ;)

     Get the Party started with some Ska


    Also please feel free to have a bite to eat

    Or grab a drink

    Then Move to the dance floor


    And for those with someone to kiss at midnight…have fun :D

     

    And finally just because it’s got to be played at least once during either Christmas or NewYears:

    May this year be more than we expect and better than we hope.

  • Xanga Legion: FireFlower

    One more Super hero for 2011 :D

    For @I_Love_Burma Welcome to the Legion


    FireFlower

    Working alone in an isolated genetically modified crop proving ground greenhouse a researcher began experiencing a strange connection to her plants, though subtle she was beginning to feel as if they were ‘talking’ to her.

    Time past and the crops were nearing final approval when the greenhouses came under attack from a radical Anti GM group. They attacked at night starting many fires with Molotov cocktails and gasoline cans, soon the blaze was out of control and the entire installation was engulfed in a ring of fire.

    Within the researcher found her self trapped, weak from smoke and pushed to the centre of the greenhouse by the heat she was overcome by a sudden and terrible cry that seemingly came from everywhere. The plants which had accelerated and mutated over the past months into an entirely new form of hyper adaptive life were dying but they were not about to give up just yet.

    Driven by necessity and an urge to protect the researcher who had cared for and grown them the plants adapted to their new hostile environment at terrific speed. Vines poured from the ground and surrounded the researcher growing tightly around her and merging with her skin.

    The fire burned for days before the company discovered the attack, when it had finally been put out and the area had cooled nothing was left standing save for a charred black husk that looked like a cocoon in the centre of where the building once was, the side of the cocoon was torn open…from the inside.

    FireFlower: Possesses the remarkable abilities of the strange plant that merged with her to save both their lives, it is highly adaptive and can reform her skin to survive most harsh environments and even violent impacts. Due to the inferno in which they were born FireFlower and the plant can concoct powerful chemicals within her body that are then released in searing streamers of flame that can for a short time be used almost as whips before they become too liquid.

    Together they are FireFlower a force of nature guided by a calm and caring heart.

  • Prezzies!

    Yes Christmas is a time for family, giving, peace, good cheer and all that other nice stuff…but it’s also a time for Things and surprises and all that random junk you’d never buy yourself but hopefully if you’ve mentioned it enough times during November someone has got you ;)

    So here’s all the cool stuff I got for Christmas, it’s not much but the efficiency with which I’ve managed to photograph it is immensly pleasing :P

    First off Bath Salts…with provocative Roman muriels on the front ^_^ 

    I actually used these just tonight, and they were lovely :D

    Second (and this is the efficient shot) I got this fine cotton sweater thing, a lovely shirt which goes rather nicely with the green thing. AND the gorgeous rug I’m currently lying on :D

    Look at all the colours man!…this is what us northerners have to use instead of sunlight. ;)

    Arrgg, soooo many chins!!!…I swear thats just because I’m lying down :/

    Also I can’t seem to not look like I just stepped out of the 70′s…despite being a born and bread 80′s guy :S


    Merry Christmas To all once again :D and more likely Happy NewYear :D

  • 2011 A story of Death and Life

    Well it’s the time of year when it’s customery to get a bit wistful and look back over your year…well to be honest it is for people who can keep track of what they do but for me I just tend to let it all merge into one vauge lump of time and then it’s gone.

    But this year has been the first officially full year of regular Xanga use so I have the ability to look back and see exactly what I was upto sort of.

    So despite it all feeling a bit self absorbed here’s goes for my history of 2011, mostly on Xanga because thats been the biggest part of my year but also because I honestly can’t remember stuff i’ve not got a record of :/


    To tell this tale I shall link one of my blogs from each month (see told you it was narcissistic) but also add a bit of detail by text if I can think of it :)

    Beginning with Janurary (15 posts), for this month I’ve chose quite a boring blog to be honest. But it’s a good example of how new I was, still using the Featured Qustions as inspiration.

    Janurary (Why do you blog Featured Question)

    Back in Jan I was basically still just unknown on Xanga, there were a few folks who knew me and I’d just introduced the B.A.D so i’d been there for a bit but it was all a bit strange and unknown for me still. The rest of Jan’s blogs are a mix of some rather embarressing stuff and random junk. Basically I was still finding my feet.

    February: (17 posts)

    This month is quite important and the reason for my dramatic post title. but to begin with I’ve chosen the final entry of the Favourite Xangan thing Kampj did :)

    It was fun and a great idea and got me more than a few new friends and subs. Plus it helped me get a better feel for Xanga and the community.

    Februrary (final entry for the favourite blogger thing)

    Now why is Feb important? well because I almost died near the end of it :P coinciding neatly with my Birthday I got flu that developed into something much worse and I was in the hospital for a couple weeks. No I dodn’t have somekind of life changing realisation it was just horrible and makes a neat reason to add some drama to my post title :P It also seems like something that should have had a big impact on me so I guess i’m hoping if i say it enough it’ll mean something hahaha :/

    March: (6 posts)

    Here we go this is the post about my illness March I also did a Q&A in march…but thanks to being very weak from the hospital I didn’t get upto much else. My bro also got me my 3DS :D Yay for siblings!

    April: (12 posts)

    This month looks like I was a bit all over the place, there’s some XL stuff and various attempts to figure out my own mind. But the thing i’m going to highlight is my entry for LKJSlains writing prompt, which I think is one of the better bits of writing i’ve done and was a whole lot of fun to do, it was also one of the first bit’s of fiction I posted here of any decent length and the comments and encouragment I got ment a lot to me.

    May: (19 posts)

    May Was mainly dominated by a ten day challenge, and I also went down to England to visit my Uncle so there was a bit of a gap. In my life I guess I was happy to be getting better and most of this month will have been dominated by my trip. Which was fun and busy as always…I even saw Wallabys on a scottish island in the middle of Loch Lomond :S

    Here’s what I had to say about leaving for My Trip

    June: (15 posts)

    June summer for everyone except those living in Scotland lol

    This month saw my biggest ever post on Xanga the Note to Assholes Yes I dove right in and got involved with the drama, a sure sign I was on the path to Xanganhood.

    This post got nearly 2000 views, and more comments than I knew what to do with. Kind of blew me away abit and was certainly the most interesting thing to happen in June.

    July: (13 posts)

    Whow lots of soul searching going on this month, it seems I was feeling a bit thoughtful over July. But I’ll highlight this Post since it shows that I was really valuing Xanga and how it can help to bring folks together and support us.

    August: (13 posts)

    August the Month of ASSCAT This post (linked on the asscat) is the one I thought I did best on. This month was one of the most fun thanks to Alex and the other ASSCATS I met more people and got more Friends than ever before and had a whole lot of fun doing the challenges, and see others’ entries. And that seems to be most of what was going on for that month, as all the other posts are pretty random…no idea waht was going on in RL but clearly nothing unusual ;)

    September: (22 posts)

    22 posts!! holy cow, things kicked up a notch Xanga wise in this month. Loads of cool posts, again quite varied stuff but I seem to have been on a bit of a role with regards to Xanga related subjects Here’s one about the often unsung poetic heroes among the Xanga Ranks I have also picked this post because it features a Xangan who left the site under very curious circumstances. The truth of the matter I may never know but it was a wake up call to always be cautious and never forget that online reality is VERY flexible.

    October: (18 Posts)

    The month of All Hallows Eve, and so here’s my costume again for which I won a lovely Card :D

    This month feels a lot more personal I’m talking about me, My life and generally being a bit more relaxed. I’m going to be sneaky here and add a second link to an Oct post just to remind everyone to keep my Reverse ASSCAT idea in mind for next year ;)

    November: (27 Posts!)

    Winter months = LOTS of computer time so lots of posts lol

    Biggest thing this month was I did my Hand Thing! Why is that important? Well because it was a project that I thought of and did on Xanga, this is something I’d always wanted to get round to and it was a lot of fun :) This is also the month my Bro went on Holiday for the furthest and longest time ever (he’s still not back) so it was a big personal change for me…again another reason why more Xanga time :P

    December: (18 Posts)

    Well most of you will know what I got upto this month, and the biggest thing so far has to be The Handwriting Challenge Suggested to me by a Xangan friend and then mostly spread and supported by other Xangans :) awesome blogging moment to be honest and lots of fun.

    Also this month and the last one to be honest I have formed much closer and stronger friendships and experianced even more of the highs and lows of blogging and interacting online. I’ve been much more actively trying to work online and have (I feel anyway) gotten more confident and sure about my abilites and goals. I’m still struggling with motivation and self belife but for the first time in my life I have a social network of people I know and have met on my own merits.

    And here is where the Life part of my title comes in, because although this year began with the potential for death it has also seen a new life, an online life that I value and have all of you to thank for! :D

    So here’s to Xanga and the Net, without it I’d not only never have met all the wonderful facinating people I now know, I wouldn’t have grown as much as I have recently due to the experiances I’ve had on this site and the net and I wouldn’t have anywhere to work lol…and hopefully make a decent income eventually ;P

    Merry Christmas to those that celebrate and Happy NewYear to everyone else. It’s almost 2012…which is just so cool we’re in the 21st Century!!! :D …yes I know we have been for the past several years, but still come on! it’s 2012!!! (almost)

    I hope this year brings more cool stuff on Xanga, I hope I get to know the people I’ve met here better because I love you all. And to be honest I hope I start earning money this year too lol…ya know because not being poor would be kind of nice ;)

  • Do us Both a Favour

    And buy a Nintendo 3DS!! :P

    Okay i’m not just shamelessly promoting Nintendo here I am actually posting this as an appeal.

    I have a 3DS and it’s AWESOME, so awesome infact I wrote THIS

    But my problem is that I don’t have enough friends to connect it with, certainly not locally :( but also not online either, and now they’ve just released another update which means I can create and send little animated cards which are even more AWESOME :D

    So first off if anyone here has a 3DS then add my Friend Code and comment your own so I can add you back :) Mine is: 0473 – 7844 – 5078

    And second if you or someone you know likes either games, gadgets or really freaking cool portable devices then buy them a 3DS and THEN come back here and add me ;)


  • A Nod to Christmas

    Not very Christmas-y (or Xmas-y whatever you fancy) to be honest, I used to be when young of course but year after year the shine wears off and eventually all you want is family and quiet…also maybe some wine and spirits :P

    But I do like surprises, well I like setting them up and also finding or making a really cool gift. So this year the most Christmassy thing to have happened is the finding of an awesome gift for my mum, the story of which is what the ost is about :)

    So Guys marvel at my gift buying luck/genius and girls get ready to say awww ;)


    So I was heading into town which is ten miles away fome home to visit and stay over with a friend, but before I headed off there my mum wanted to visit a Christmas sale thing in a local hall, so I tagged along just to be a good son ;)

    Inside the hall we wandered about a bit and eventually bumped into another couple of people I know (I sound popular don’t I?…well these are pretty much the three people I know and the town is VERY small :/ ) and they were talking to a friend of theirs who had a stall in the sale. She was selling some really nice handmade and vintage jewellry and one ring in particular caught my mums eye, but she was hesitant and decided to leave it and have a think before maybe comming back.

    Then outside she said half to her self it was probably too expensive to bother (even for me with almost no money it really wasn’t that pricey) So I played it cool and agreed then we split up and I doubled back, popped to the bank for some cash and bought the ring! :D

    Now though this might sound pretty minor, it’s a real boon for me since It’s almost impossible to buy for my Mum because she never lets on what she likes. And normally I’d never risk jewellry because it’s such a personal taste thing and shes quite picky when it comes to that sort of thing. So since it was such a perfect oppertunity I couldn’t resist.

    And here’s the ring in question:

    Now it also occurs to me that I might have been setup :/ I mean what sort of person could be taken to a shop with their mum and then ignore an item she clearly liked??…But christmas consipracy or not I’m quite pleased and this one thing alone is more than enough to give me that feeling of giving excitment that I rarely get around christmas anymore.

    So Happy Holidays folks :D No matter what level of interest you take in this time of year I wish you at least one thing that just makes you happy!

  • Xanga Legion: -BAD Guys- *update*


    I have had for quite some time now a collection of various additions to the XL world all for the nefarious B.A.D (Bedlam and Destruction) Super Villain side.

    Namely I have created the Classic Evil doctors and scientists that are common among the wicked.

    I’ve also added some Minions and monsters the first of which is going to be featured in this post.

    I’ll update this post and TimeStamp it with the additions mentioned above as I get time to complete them.

    For now I ask that @CPKviperphoenix provide a suitably BAD track for this post, as he is the master of that sort of thing and the Evil overlord of the BAD ;)

    *second update* As you can see Chris has already added the soundtrack :) so hit play and get yer BAD on! ;)

    *Third Updates* More baddies ;) Must get back to doing some heroes before I forget how :/

    Also go check out Twiztidsilverskull‘s recent Vlog for some more B.A.D/XL coolness :)


    The Humble Minion these normal men and women who have fallen under the sway of the B.A.D are trained and equiped then sent out to gather resources and cause mayhem when the real Villains are busy with their evil plans.

    Although not particularly dangerous to the Heroes of the Xanga Legion they play a vital part as distraction and confusion units to cover much darker schemes.


    Dr.Karnevearius

    As a young man Karnevearius quickly distinguished himself as a genius, excelling in almost everything he turned his hand to, but as great as his talent was his drive to be more and better was even greater.

    As he grow older he developed his own laboratory often creating the devices and machines he needed himself.
    But his downfall came when he began researching the attainment of super powers, these often wondrous abilities seemed to spring fourth from random chance and often in times of great pain or danger, his mind was drawn ever on down this path and as it was his risks and care for personal safety fell by the wayside.

    Eventually after years of fruitless trying his once strong able body was ruined as was his mind, driven mad by his experiments and constant failure he turned instead to repairing himself and the damage done by his obsession.

    Now he is more science experiment than man, his body a conglomeration of technology advanced far beyond anything available to even the largest research labs.
    But while he is now stronger than he ever was before his mind has continued to descend into madness and his soul has hardened.

    With no sense of humanity anymore he pursues his goals with ruthless ability and focus, caring only for achievement and the completion of his next project he has drawn the B.A.D around him like a spider in his web.
    While they go out and cause mayhem and chaos they are often only acting as the arms of his single minded and entirely selfish desires.

    Up close he can be deadly, with his powered claw which is able to crush solid metal while the neurologically controlled tail that arcs from his back carries a deadly concoction of radioactive ‘venom’ that can burn victims from the inside out.

     


     

    Introducing The T.R.O.L.L or in it’s technical name The Tessellating Relativistically Organized Living Liquid.

    This strange creature was created by the mad doctor and scientist Dr.Karnevarious who concocted the T.R.O.L.L as an easily duplicatable army to aid him in his evil designs.

    This monsterous creature is more chemical spill gone back than an animal, a reinforced bag of black ooze that when in close proximity with enough of it’s self self organizes and forms a rudimentary living being.

    Control is gained via a small satellite reciver hidden within it’s ‘skull’ and additional metal tentacles that can extend from it’s sack like body for more than two meters make it a terrible foe.

    Though not physically as strong where it isn’t armoured it’s blind mindless drive to complete it’s orders make it a tricky opponent, and if it’s given time it will self heal. This is just one of the more successful of the Doctors many strange experiments and creations, but with this and his trained human commando units they make both the Doctor and BAD a formidable enemy.


    Still to come are at least one evil doctor for each B.A.D member…but the next drawing will be a Superhero I think, this close to Christmas we need more heroes not badguys ;)

  • Sci-Fi DayDream

    I have many DayDreams often themed depending on my mood or surroundings, this story is the preamble to one that I usually do when listening to appropriate music or when falling asleep.

    It has a very dream like still feel to it, and some characters I’d quite like to play around with in a story.

    So here is the first part, not sure how much i’ll do. It’s designed as a TV show like never ending story so don’t look for and end it’s just a kind of world.


    “Hmm okay lets see… gender female, age 28, birth place Australia, first name Armada, last name Kenner, no higher edu….wait…Kenner?…Kenner Engineering Kenner?”

     

    “Yea that’s my dad” 

    “Well ma’am…I’m sorry but, are you sure you’re at the right port?…this is just industrial transports and…”

    “Just keep reading, get to previous employment you’ll get the picture”

    The official turned back to the screen, and Armada returned her view to the tiny window that looked out at the inky black beyond, as she quietly hoped he’s stay silent.

     

    20 awkward minuets later the docking bay port door hissed open, flooding the small ante chamber with hard white light. Taking up most of the port doorway was a man, he was around six foot in height and built like a tank, his face hard and marked with both scars and time.

    “Hey Girlie, ain’t you supposed to get bigger when you grow up?”

    “Fuck you too McCartney!” Armada shot back with a wry smile.

    “Okay, okay quit it with that pussy ass name it’s Mac and you know it!”

    The two embraced, Armada’s slight 5’2” seeming even smaller in comparison to Mac’s wall like presence.

    “So what the fuck are you doing signing up for a job in the asshole of the universe?”

    “My dad doesn’t work with you does he?” Mac chuckled and slapped her hard on the shoulder.

    “Heh Nothin’ changes huh?”   

     

    They walked along the narrow skywalks that edged the hanger catching up on everything that had happened in the seven years since they last worked together. Mac’s history dotted with violence and ‘mis-understandings’ until he eventually found himself following a disgraced general to the edge of known space to collect junk.

    And Armadas a string of low level haulage and industrial work on stations and ships no one ever hears about until rumours of the same man drew her to sign up for the BlackStone Independent salvage.

     

    “We’re on the last station you’re gonna find for over a hundred AU. This place is WAY out there man” Mac said as they reached the small clunky looking vessel that was their ride to BlackStone.

    Armada paused for a moment before asking not sure if it felt right, she then tried to fake indifference as she asked. “Whats he like?”

    “He don’t say much” Mac looked at her for a moment and climbed up into the side hatch of the ship.

     

    It took half an hour for them to prep and launch, their small ship sliding silently out of the massive pale grey station that stretched out in every direction but one.

    Under local space drives they cruised for an hour before Mac re-docked with the detachable Fusion drive that sat, black against the blackness of space with only its com signal to locate it.

     

    “I’ve not even asked who the other crew are” Armada said surprised at her own over sight as they got settled into their bunk pods ready for the flight.

    “We got me, Harlow and three others, but I’ll let you get to know em yourself, ain’t no one to warn you about really…well Billie maybe …but heh that’ll be a nice surprise” He lay back then lifted his head once more. “Hey, it’s good to see ya again Arma, nice to have a chick on board for a while, get some life into that place.”

    “Thanks Mac…I think” She smiled and lay back. “I’ll see you when we land”.

     

    As the computer systems locked and sealed the bunks the Fusion drive had already begun its reaction, soon a small sun would be created within the cylinder that was almost as big as the ship attached below it.

    Within the bunks both Mac and Armada would soon be almost dead, their bodies filled with a cocktail of chemicals that would protect them from both the boredom of long distance space flight and the unpleasant effects of faster than light travel.

     

    The ship suddenly shone like a falling comet and then was nothing more than a glowing trail that slightly arced as it vanished into a distant nebulae.    

     

     

    Armada woke slowly, the bunk was open and the low hum of the life support brought her back to awareness gently. Mac lay across from her his huge chest rising and falling slowly.

     

    The ship had dropped out of Fusion drive and was drifting slowly on its plotted course towards a massive gas giant that hung lazily in the deep blackness that was broken only by one or two vague stars.

    Below them BlackStone orbited, a tiny obsidian sphere caught in the inescapable gravity of the giant. It had been a mining colony once, but the rare mineral that composed 98.1 percent of the planetoid turned out to be nearly un-mineable and after breaking every piece of mining gear the small company had dragged out here they went bankrupt and deserted their station.

    For over thirty years the station had slowly orbited in silence and stasis, until Harlow Marx one of the most famous burn out stories of galactic conquest made it his home.

     

    The story of Harlow the disgraced general of one of the largest space super powers the Union of Planets had been an obsession for Armada when she was fifteen.

    Somehow the story of someone so famous and important suddenly resigning and then just vanishing had struck a cord in her own life of wandering.

     

    Born to the Kenner family Armada’s young life had never felt like her own. Trained almost as soon as she could talk to be a pilot and engineer by her father she had felt trapped, like nothing was her choice, eventually she ran. Too young and forced to run in places where the Kenner family influence couldn’t be felt, her life had been hard and often dangerous.

     

    She survived largely unscathed and had sufficiently broken ties with her family enough to return to ‘civilized’ space for a few years. But when rumours of the ‘Lost General’ had filtered through to the small haulage company she had been working passage with she’d quickly gathered information on this tiny forgotten station and it’s mysterious new owner, when she saw that McCartney Douglas another ex military burn out who’d worked as a merc for most of his time since being in the military was listed on the personnel she got in touch.

     

    The two had met 8 years ago, when Mac had worked as security for a derelict transport operation between two back water planets. The crew were mostly criminals and trash collected from the darker corners of space. But the young pilot Armada had stood out among the desolate crew and Mac had gone out of his way to make sure she survived when the inevitable mutiny broke out. After that they worked together for just over a year, before parting ways again.

     

  • HandWritten Gallery *Added*

    Every Timestamp is an addition..just so ya know ;)


    Well having now collected over 50 submissions for the Handwriting challenge! :)

    I thought I’d get a gallery of them sorted, but don’t feel like you’ve missed out if you intended to join in but haven’t gotten round to it, just post your handwriting when you’ve done it and i’ll be happy to add it in to the gallery. Same goes for anyone I might have missed, just let me know and i’ll add you.

    I’m not going to tag everyone and annoy them, infact since you all wrote your names on these things i’m just going to be super lazy and post the whole thing without even naming them ;)

    (for all the handwriting experts out there…please PM me if you spot a psychopath :P lol)


    Also Might I again thank you all for how you approached this challenge. Xanga was asked for words but gave Wisdom, Humour, Art and kindness instead :D sure we have our Trolls and problems but over all we’re a pretty interesting and creative bunch.

    Oh also why not let me know which one is your favourite?

    Seriously hard to pick between several of them for me, but I think I like the style and readability of Hdyhadon the most.


     


     

    This and the one above are from the same person, but the yellow one is from a previous Handwriting Game but i thought i’d add it anyhoo ;)

  • R*E*S*P*E*C*T

    It’s what it’s all ’bout Yo!

    No don’t worry i’ve not become a rapper I just had a realisation the other day about Respect.

    So basically I was feeling quite low. A combination of winter darkness, cold weather and general apathy sent me into myself a bit more than usual and I was becoming short with my family and generally moping. I also have a bad habit of talking without projecting so everyone has to keep saying ‘What?’ which just annoys me more so I get sarcastic and even quieter.

    But then I started to get annoyed at my own depression and began thinking about it (plus thanks to sweet and friendly Xangans I had a few good days) and I realised that it all came down to Respect.

    You see I had stopped respecting myself and so I stopped respecting others and the world around me, so I acted out and became quiet and rude. And this in turn fed back into my lack of self respect and so on.

    The thing is that if you look at good manners, politeness or better the concept of a Gentleman (or lady) you will see that the more respect someone shows to those around them or their environment the more they resemble someone who embodies the principles of being a Gentleman or Lady, there is a film called Blast From the Past (with Brendan Frasier in it) which has a wonderful quote on what it is to be a Gentleman or lady:

    Eve: Now hold on, hold on just a minute! In the first place I do not fall in love with weirdoes who I’ve only known for four or five days!
    Troy: Yes you do.
    Eve: And I don’t fall in love with grown men who collect baseball cards!
    Troy: Yes you do.
    Eve: Or pee in their pants when they see the ocean!
    Troy: Yes you do.
    Eve: Or have perfect table manners!
    Troy: You know, I asked him about that. He said, good manners are just a way of showing other people we have respect for them. See, I didn’t know that, I thought it was just a way of acting all superior. Oh and you know what else he told me?
    Eve: What?
    Troy: He thinks I’m a gentleman and you’re a lady.
    Eve: [disgusted] Well, consider the source! I don’t even know what a lady is.
    Troy: I know, I mean I thought a “gentleman” was somebody that owned horses. But it turns out, his short and simple definition of a lady or a gentleman is, someone who always tries to make sure the people around him or her are as comfortable as possible.
    Eve: Where do you think he got all that information?
    Troy: From the oddest place – his parents. I mean, I don’t think I got that memo from mine.

    This is beautifully put and I think is a VERY important lesson, which is that to show respect and to care for the world beyond ourselves opens us up to being an active part of everything around us and the less respect we have the closer we come to the less evolved or refine parts of society.

    Respect is not just about bowing at the right time or not offending the boss, I’m taking it more in the way that someone of great skill will respect what they do, respect their tools or their traditions. Martial arts train you not only to be precise but often also a code of honour and respect that forces you to take your time and to focus on every moment and detail, all of which is vital for learning the proper way to approach learning but also how then to control the ability you gain.

    And that’s the thing I finally realised, Respect gives you time, makes you take responsibility for what you’re doing and how you are doing it. It slows you down and makes you consider the many layers at play in everyday life. And since then although I’ve not been perfect I still talk low and can get snippy, but i’ve not felt lost or depressed as I had been doing, I’ve be aware that even if a goal or plan for the future might be elusive, when every moment can be taken at a proper pace, when every conversation can be approached with the intention of being a Gentleman (or lady) then your life is full and your goal is simply to be ever more respectful and honour the life you have.