[WFTR]

Okay folks, this one could become controversial if anyone bothers to post. Let's play nice.

[WFTR]

Friday Night Singles
Please freepmail DaveLoneRanger to be added / removed

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Bonus Questions

1. Last week's topic was change. What would you like to change about the Weekend Singles' Thread and would you be willing to do anything to help us implement that change?

2. What kind of animal best represents you?

3. What team are you pulling for in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

4. Since #3 is about hockey and so few people around here like hockey, I'll give a fourth bonus question. Regarding the whole "right and wrong" issue in difficult conversations, do you think the idea of not concentrating on "who's right and who's wrong" is more of a liberal idea, a conservative idea, or that both political ideologies have their share of that kind of thinking?

Bill

[knarf]

"What makes a difficult conversation difficult?

Exposure.

I'm no shrink, nor do I play one on TV ... but all that Victorian, Freudian stuff scares the Crap out of most people.

The biggest lies America ever bought into was .. "Never discuss religion, politics nor sex" .. and yet ... those seem to be the very areas a lot of people are freaked out about.

I think those conversations that are difficult are the ones that expose us to admitting something .. not necesarrily saying a particular thing, but the flavor of our conversation may reveal, "Ohhhh ... you really like tiny boobs" .. or .. "I didn't know you had those socialist thoughts" .. or .. "Wait a minute .. are you implying baptism is not necessary for salvation?"

All this exposes us to have to dig deep into areas that, perhaps, we haven't completely digested yet .. and .. rather than risk being questioned, we refrain from the topic altogether.

[My hearts in London - Everett]

I would rather have difficult conversations in person, myself. I like to see the expression on people's faces to determine how they are taking the conversation. Silences by phone can be deceptive and misleading.

Conversations on internet forums are, in my opinion, more difficult because you have varied, unknown elements who can become very confrontational once you state an opinion. They have the anonymity to be as harsh or hateful as they like, whereas in person they might use more discretion and tact.

My best advise for a difficult conversation is to think about what you want to say or what needs to be said beforehand so that you don't lose your cool or your train of thought in the heat of the moment. If you're mad about a situation, of course, it's best to wait until you've cooled down to talk to someone so you don't overwhelm them with your emotion.

In trivialities, I will agree that "who's right and who's wrong" doesn't matter. But in larger issues, it definitely does matter and it all depends on how much you care that it also matter to the person you're conversing with. You can skip around the issue a little to determine how they are most likely to be convinced of your argument, if at all.

[GOP_Raider]

Hey, speaking of a fella that will deal with his own fair share of difficult conversations in the future, here's the latest pic of my nephew, who is fastly approaching his 1st birthday:

The nice thing is that with his Harley-Davidson jacket he gets to participate in his grandpa's (my Dad's) mid-life crisis right along with him. :)

[WFTR]

Saturday Night Singles
Please freepmail DaveLoneRanger to be added / removed

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Bonus Questions

1. What's your favorite firearm?

2. When did you last visit a zoo? What's your favorite zoo?

3. Which ultra-luxury would you like to have in your dream home, one of those in-home mini-theatres, a small concert hall, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a "horizon" swimming pool with the accompanying view, or an ice-skating rink?

[fkabuckeyesrule]

My general impression is that most people in “book clubs” are self-obsessed, narcistic, left-wing nuts.

[JamesP81]

What makes a difficult conversation difficult?

The difficult ones are the ones that you know are going to involve hurting someone else's feelings. There are two reasons I don't really date. One is that I don't handle rejection very well. However, that doesn't even compare to having to reject someone else. I'd much rather be shot down than be the one doing the shooting down. Nothing scares me more than the thought of getting into a relationship where she gets attached to me and I know it isn't right and I have to end it.

I also always try to do these conversations face to face. Doing it by phone or email just seems like a cop out to me. Might as well take my lumps and get it over with.

1. What's your favorite firearm?

My Remington 710, 7mm magnum. Highly accurate and fun to shoot.

[WFTR]

I'm a landlord for a few more days.

[WFTR]

Sunday Night Singles
Please freepmail DaveLoneRanger to be added / removed

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Bonus Questions

1. For those who went to church this morning, what was the sermon about? For those who didn't, did you get to do something fun?

2. What signs of spring did you see this week?

3. Will you bother to watch the coverage of the Pennsylvania primaries?

[KC_Conspirator]

Being newly re-introduced into the singles life only about a year or so ago, I came across a new discussion that I had never had:

"Are we exclusive"?

Sheesh, I had no idea. Not a clue that somehow this was supposed to be some milestone in a relationship. Heck it has been a decade of dating and marraige to the same person, so I never had to do that.