I can change.
One set of clothing for another is window dressing. One body for another is reincarnation. One thought โ maybe a stubborn habit, for another โ perhaps a flexible outlook on life, is an exchange worth working for.
I just have to finish this chocolate bar first. No you canโt have a piece! Itโs mine!
Isnโt it odd that we talk passionately of change from our well-worn soapbox, dressed in our favourite clothes and using the same voice we used yesterday and will again tomorrow.But โ never, never, never say โneverโ. 
(Apologies to Miriam (https://outanabout.com) because I lifted these thoughts from our conversation. And thanks also to Miriam for inspiring them.)
levishedated 
Whatever do you mean? Changing one’s hair colour IS life-changing! ๐
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And the shape of one’s eyebrows? ๐
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Well, that’s just superficial. Changing their colour, on the other hand….may cause blindness.
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Brows or lashes?
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It says on the instructions that colouring eyebrows should not be attempted. I suppose it’s assumed that nobody would be dumb enough to try to dye their lashes?
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No need to go blind, just say no. ๐
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Okay, no. Mon Dieu, I can see! โบ
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Hahaha – seeing is good. Glad your eyes are open. How do you feel? ๐
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A slight headache, but not as bad as on other weekends. ๐
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You follow my advice? I’m guessing not, being as your response was ‘kill me!’ ๐
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My response was actually ‘kill me now’, wasn’t it? ๐ I meditated for about half an hour.
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Sounds like a good plan. The meditating, that is. ๐
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I was doing that daily before, and should start doing that again. ๐ Arigato, Sensei Robert.
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Japanese? Wow – that’s pushing the boundaries back for me! Still, I dig Zen and all of that. ๐ Actually, I’m starting to build up my meditation again too.
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Yes, East Asian, or Oriental if you prefer. What better way to practice mindfulness than through meditation?
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Please correct my typo: “life-changing”. โบ
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Done. ๐
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Arigatogozaimasu!
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Bless you! ๐
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I prefer to be wished Gesundheit myself, but thanks.
Going for a run soon. Gotta give my Indonesian feline a few mls of water (via an eyedropper) first. She doesn’t drink enough water on her own.
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How did the run go? ๐
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้ๅธธๅฅฝใIt was 2ยฐ Celsius-Silly, so I didn’t need a jacket. However, there were lots of puddles that I couldn’t avoid, so my socks got soaking wet. Still a great run though. โบ
How did your day go? Any exciting developments, real or imaginary?
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Nothing happened to me today on the outside worth talking about. I ate, slept, prayed, watched some movies, read, wrote a little, thought and thanked God that I’m alive and healthy. All but one of these are true. ๐
Sad that your socks got wet. How did the Skype conference go with your nephew?
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Let me guess…the praying part isn’t true. Who/what is God?
Not sad about my wet socks. โบSkype with my nephew is in 3 hours.
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For praying read meditating, so that part is true. No, it was the ‘thanking God’ part. I haven’t thanked God for the longest while.
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Why not, if life is so beautiful?
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I’m not sure if God is responsible is all. Maybe I’m wrong. I’ll thank God now – just in case.
There. It’s done. ๐
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Pascal’s wager? If the Biblical God exists, he sure isn’t a nice guy.
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Yeah – Pascal. The Old Testament God didn’t seem so nice, but he mellowed a little by the time the New Testament came around. ๐
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Still, I don’t much care for the guy.
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Pick another one then – there are loads to gods to choose from. You can even have your own Personal Jesus according to Depeche Mode. ๐
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Nah…I don’t want a god. Thanks for the offer though. ๐
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Just a suggestion. ๐
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Das weiss ich doch. ๐
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๐
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Gotta go pick up my new passport and do some dreaded grocery shopping.
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Grocery shopping is not something that’s usually associated with dread. Are you sure you’re doing it right? ๐
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Care to show me how to do it right, big guy? ๐
Heading to the Italian Shop at McCauley now.
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First thing to do is to watch what’s happening inside you. Be mindful of your emotional and physiological reactions.
Next thing is the realise that they are not your reactions. They are being generated by your brain as a result of complex bio-mechanical interactions between your environment and memory. Remember – you are not your brain.
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If I am not my brain, then who am I?
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The mind. ๐
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Hmm…hard to distinguish, no?
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When it comes to emotions, the way to distinguish is to determine if someone benefits. If they do – it’s you, the mind. If they don’t – it’s not you – it’s the brain. And it flows through like that really. ๐
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Did you make that up? ๐ I’m willing to consider any way to improve the quality of my life experiences.
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I read a book called ‘You Are Not Your Brain’ and paraphrased some of it. ๐
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… and if that don’t work – go hug some of the tree across the junction in that little park thingy they got there. It’s a nice, grounding experience. ๐
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Too wet out, and was carrying heavy bags. I’ll hug a tree next time.
You’re right, it’s a cute little park. ๐
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Who’s the guy sat at one of the tables?
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Are you looking at Google maps satellite images?
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Street View.
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Ah yes, that’s what I meant. ๐
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I thought that’s what you meant. ๐
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I sometimes…how do you say…struggle with the English language. ๐
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Hmm.
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C’est vrai! ๐
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Hmm.
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Hmm = you ain’t fooling no one.
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๐ Not really intending to.
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No, no, no. I meant you said “hmm” to my claim that I sometimes struggle with the English language because you doubted my statement (hence I ain’t fooling no one). ๐
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I think you’re fine with the English language, S. Just because you could not bring the correct technical term for something (Street View) to mind at that moment does not really denote a struggle with the language (IMO). ๐
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I wasn’t looking for reassurance, but thanks. ๐ For all intents and purposes, English is my mother tongue.
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Practically, but not technically. Yes, I remember this at least. ๐
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Ah…you’re not that forgetful after all. ๐
In the meantime, I will let you ponder what my first language could be. ๐
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I’m going to go for Inuktitut. ๐
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Eee (that’s supposed to be the negative buzzer sound) ๐
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Hahaha – okay. I’m guessing that it’s more likely to prolly be one of the languages that you speak more often than that then. ๐
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You think I have an Inuit background? ๐
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I have no idea whatsoever. That we could all be so privileged as to partake. ๐
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You’re making fun of me. ๐
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I’m not, actually. I’m just saying that we can learn a lot from cultures other than our own. ๐
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I know. So what would you consider to be your own culture?
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British, English, white, Anglo Saxon, Northern European, Western – ymtake your pick. All of them apply.
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Technically, I’m none of the above. ๐
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The statue of Frank Spinelli. Giovanni Caboto park.
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That’s the guy. Is he a big deal around there or is it just his Italian-ness?
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Yep, the big Mafia boss. Nah, just kidding. Not a big deal around here.
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So if you ‘borrowed’ the statue and melted it down for scrap no-one would object? ๐
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Bad influence you are. ๐
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Hmm.
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You sure say that a lot.
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I do, at time, yes. It’s usually when I’m unsure of something or feeling lazy. Would you prefer I not?
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Doesn’t bother me. Just making an observation. How’s your day going?
It cooled down overnight and snowed a little, so my run was less wet today. Just finished showering and blow-drying my hair.
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My day is going slowly and yet the time is disappearing too quickly. I have too much to do and no real drive to do it. Can’t be bothered to make dinner so I’ll probably skip it and eat junk instead.
The weather is moderate here. Spring-like. It’ll be summer before we know it. ๐
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I like the apparent contradiction in your first statement, with “apparent” being the operative word. Don’t you have anything healthy at home that doesn’t require cooking? I don’t cook at all.
Uh-oh – allergy season?
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I’m glad someone noticed all the effort I put into (apparently) contradicting myself there. ๐ I am a smarty-pants and boy do I know it.
I have plenty of fruit – grapes, oranges, bananas, mangoes, strawberries and tomatoes. None of those would need any cooking. I suppose I could look in the freezer to see if there are any left-overs. Other that that, it’s chips and beans or a takeaway.
It’s only over the last four or five years that pollen has bothered me. I think it was triggered by overuse of anti-histamine cream and it’s taking some time to subside. Just itchy eyes really. I’ve been swiping my eyes with a spot of Optrex Eye Wash on a tissue and that’s been doing the trick so far. My primary concern is not to scratch them – that only makes it worse.
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Someone would have responded sooner if someone’s head hadn’t been close to exploding (one of my worst headaches in a while). Slightly better now.
Your assortment of fruits sounds delicious (especially mangoes).
I don’t seem to be allergic to pollen, but I do get ezcema from time to time. I’m horrible for scratching myself bloody (not on purpose, of course).
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I’m told reliably, and it works for me too, that the best cure for an itch is to apply gentle pressure. Have a go at that next time. ๐
Sorry to hear you have your usual headache – hope it passes completely soon.
I had pasta salad, which I freshly cooked, and I had all those fruits in another salad too. I’m rather full at the moment.
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First, I need to stop any mindless itching from taking place, i.e. become more aware of how I’m feeling from moment to moment. Thanks for the tip! ๐
The headache has subsided for the most part. It’s my own fault, after all.
So you did cook after all. Bravo! You can’t always be eating junk. ๐
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Thanks.
Yeah, it feels good to be eating good food.
And for an encore, I’m going to get an early night. I have to work tomorrow and so I’d like to be fresh. ๐
Have a good evening, S.
Robert.
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You too, Robert.
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I meant to say rest well. ๐
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I will. Thanks, S. ๐
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You’re not going to bed fresh, but will be going to work fresh. Get my meaning? ๐
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Different patterns of showering? ๐
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You hit the jackpot! ๐
Had your interview yet?
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Hahaha – yes!! *fists clenched, arms in the air*
Yep – the interview went okay. As stressful as I thought it would be and as difficult as expected. Results back on Monday. Let’s see. ๐
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Thought you’d be pleased to win, given how competitive you are. ๐
Glad the interview went okay. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you. Should I also cross my arms legs, and toes for good measure? ๐
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Well of course I like winning – what’s the advantage to losing? ๐
Nah – stick to the fingers – it’s all good. You can say a little prayer, though – if you remember any. ๐
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Have you corrected your typo yet (avangage > advantage)? I believe someone (moi) is winning on the typo front (fewer than you). ๐
Um….give us each day our daily bread? Does that help?
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Darn it – I thought the game was to see who could do the most typos! ๐
Yeah – that’s a good prayer. Just say it all the way through (to yourself), with love, faith and humility and we’ll all be good.
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Nice try, buddy. No changing the rules in the middle of the game. ๐
I think I’ll look up another ‘prayer’ that’s not so biblical. ๐
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Hahaha and hahaha. ๐
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Do you have the same distaste for the acronym ‘LOL’ as I do, perhaps? I see people using it all the time; I never do.
At the office today?
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I’m given to understand that hahaha is the new lol. ๐ Of course, since I read that, something else will have taken the place of hahaha. But that’s okay.
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Should we independently brainstorm potential replacements for hahaha?
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Okay, I’ve searched the whole of the www and asked someone here in the office and the consensus is the I need to ask, like, a three year old to know the answer to this. Can you ask your nephew on you next Skype chat? ๐
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Impressed by the effort you put into this. ๐ Did you really ask someone in the office, or are you just saying that for effect? Sure, I can ask my nephew next time (he doesn’t like be called by his name anymore, and will only answer to “big boy”). ๐
Isn’t the point of this exercise to be unconventional rather than “cool”?
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I did all the things I said I did. ๐
I think that this kind of thing comes from the youf and so they are the only point of entry really. The grown-ups don’t find out until after the fact.
I’m falling asleep as I’m typing this. Need to get more sleep.
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Your first line has a hypnotic rhythm.
My nephew might be a bit too young to help us on this. Maybe I’ll ask my four-year-old German speaking niece.
Why such lack of sleep?
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Lot of work to do on the Open Uni course. Didn’t do anything for a week and a half and so had to catch up. Doesn’t help that I have an assignment due in on the 30th. Or rather – it does very much help. I’m motivated by goals, especially deadlines.
Yeah, ask the four year old. Check how to programme your VCR at the same time. ๐
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Alles klar. Paying the consequences of procrastination. I understand very well what you mean about goals and deadlines being a motivator.
VCR? Voice Cockpit Recorder? ๐
Tu es chez toi?
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In reverse order – nope – in the office, nope – video something or other, good. ๐
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I can tell you’re tired. Or lazy. ๐
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Kinda busy?
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Oops, false dichotomy.
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Yeah – I’m more exhausted than exhaustive at the moment. ๐
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Yet ever eloquent. โบ
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๐
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And if tHaT don’t work – remember that Life is Beautiful. ๐
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Beautiful, ugly, good, bad…all of that.
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I agree. It’s a real smorgasbord. ๐
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Do you like the late comedian Bill Hicks?
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I heard the name before, but never heard him … until now. He seemed to be more like a politician than a comedian. Too much of an agenda for my taste. He kinda seemed to be more into pulling things down than building stuff up, which doesn’t seem very helpful.
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He only seemed like a politician on the surface.
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What was he underneath?
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Always the wise guy.
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No, really, what was his underlying character?
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Oops, took you too literally. Underneath all that seemingly vulgar humour, he was actually full of love and hope for the world. His bio is revealing: http://www.billhicks.com/bio.html
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Okay, no. I’m not really into the guy so I’m going to give his bio a miss thanks. ๐
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Sure, it’s your prerogative. โบ
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๐
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Your remark about life being a smorgasbord made me think of Bill Hicks’ bit on childbirth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeavNauY59o
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Yeah, he makes sense. I would find it funny if I was in the mood (in a group). I agree with him, but at the same time – he leaves me cold.
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Yes, he certainly doesn’t leave one feeling warm and fuzzy inside.
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True that.
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Yes you can change and I say ‘why wait for tomorrow’ ๐
XxX
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๐ Your wisdom + My wisdom = Perfection.
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๐ I can only agree, of course ๐
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