Dena, I remember when my DH was laid off. Even though he hated the job he was laid off from, it was very difficult for both of us, anyway. I hope your DH ends up with a better job, and things go well for you. I'll keep you both in my thoughts and prayers. BTW, my DH found a job he liked much better, but paid a fraction of what he was making before. In the end, the happiness in the job is much more important than the money. I forgot about Libby being in the hospital with Hurley. I'm sure this is all leading up to a big season finale cliffhanger, but what can they do to top what they've done so far? I didn't pay any attention to that clue thing. It's a gimmick for the local news station and their sweeps. I don't watch that channel much any more for news since they've gotten a lot more trashy than they used to, and I like Kristine Kahanek's (sp?) weather reports the best. Sally

From what Reality Steve said on his blog (and he's never been wrong yet), the producers did more than just force Jason to end his relationship with Melissa during the After the Final Rose (AFR) show. The producers forced Jason to choose Melissa when he really wanted Molly (if he'd wanted Melissa, he would have had to choose Molly -- the point was that he had to propose to the one he DIDN'T want); then he had to break up with her on the show. The reasoning behind it was that the show had been kinda dull for quite some time -- none of the relationships after Trista and Ryan had worked out, and the show needed some real drama to keep viewers interested. It wasn't a shock to Melissa when Jason broke up with her on the AFR show -- he'd already broken up with her in real life, and he'd already been seeing Molly, even though he and Molly pretended they hadn't seen each other at all. The reason their wedding was televised (and the same reason applied to Trista and Ryan's wedding) was because that was one of the terms of the contract to be on the show. The contract states that if a marriage results within a specified period of time, then ABC holds all the rights to the wedding. Jason and Molly really didn't have much say in their wedding planning. Yes, Molly got to ultimately choose which particular gown she wore, but it was ABC that chose the designer. ABC chose the wedding planner, the cake baker, etc., etc. Jason and Molly's wedding was a one-show, two-hour event, unlike Trista and Ryan's. Primarily because viewers weren't as vested in their relationship as they were with Trista and Ryan's.

I honestly don't know anything about what would be an appropriate gift in Boston. In fact, as far as Houston (where I've lived my whole life), AFIK there's no "custom" gift. Not that I'm up on all that stuff!! The thing is, I give what I feel comfortable giving rather than trying to figure out what the couple expects or what the local tradition might be. If money is the custom there, they'll already be getting a lot of checks. Why not make your gift one of the few personal items that stand out and get remembered? I have a few quotes below from a very wise person who frequents this forum. See if you can figure out who said all this: When I got married, I did not have enough experience to know what would REALLY come in handy as my family and entertaining needs grew. Even then, I could see the difference between the gifts our peers gave us -- "unique," fun, or short-term stuff (e.g., a bed tray and a subscription to a book review) -- and the things the "grown-ups" got us: serving pieces, carving board, tablecloths, dishes, flatware, etc. We liked and appreciated all of it, but I could see the older generation had the better idea, and theirs are the gifts I am still gratefully using almost 26 years later. Registries tell me colors, styles, etc. I often give a silverplate water pitcher (there's an example of something you don't know you'll need but never have enough of, if you entertain). I look at the couple's registry to decide whether to choose a very simple or more ornate style. Not many young couples need giant serving platters or dishes, flatware, and crystal for 12 or 18. But years later, when they start to take their turn hosting holiday meals and family get-togethers -- for a family that will probably be getting larger -- they are going to need all that stuff -- at least many people do. Twenty-six years ago, I never imagined serving 29 people dinner in my home. But that is what we are doing tomorrow! So even though at the time it seemed like we would never use all the platters, bowls, and pitchers, I have used every one of them many times over the years. The nicest bonus is that every time I use the "boring" items, even all these years later, I think fondly of the person who gave it to me. That is a very lovely experience you don't get if all you get is cash or things you registered for yourself. My favorite gift was a big, fancy silver plate platter from my great aunt. She had received it as a wedding gift when she married into our family in the 1950s. I certainly didn't have occasion to use it much in the early years of our marriage, but I use it all the time now, and I think of her every time I see it. This is probably more a matter of local and ethnic custom than anything else. In many communities the northeast, for example, it seems that cash gifts are so customary that "thing" gifts are unusual (for wedding gifts \-\- these people also often give very large "thing" gifts for engagements and showers). But several posters who live in the south have reported that in their communities cash gifts are considered impersonal to the point of being a no\-no. Both are common here. I prefer to give a "thing" gift, but that's just my preference.

What it's like for me here..it's hard to write about it, I mean in this format of short(or even long, in my case) posts. I grew up with this radar though..I sense things..I've a pretty good compass of good and evil. It's hard to understand a country-any country-until you lived there. Books help of course. good books I mean. Yet still. Sometimes even physical presense is not enough-you need to really spend years somewhere. I'm afraid to count how many years I am here-and it's only now I feel that I'm closer to understanding all the complexity. So no wonder people here can't wrap their mind about things that happenned ocean plus away. I'll try to be brief..not about US for now, but about Chernobyl times.. They told only because they couldn't afford not to tell, at some point. They always seem to feel they have a lot, a lot of disposable resources. Like people, for example. I don't mean the country, there are good folks everywhere-I mean the state. the empire. There were many things they never told about. Including catastrophes and accidents. Some things that they deemed not comme-il-faut, that hurt their image and their proclamations, simply didn't exist. They existed-but they were swept under the carpet with such efficiency one hardly had time to blink. All the numbers of people they deliberately killed, repressed, deported, misplaced, etcetera-it all can be easily googled. And it's tens of millions. all of it sounds surreal. yet it was incredibly real. Here they were just, well..they weren't even in an active mode of evil. They just kept silent because they could, and until they could not. As for the writing..no..I didn't think about it, at least not in terms of describing big societal things like Chernobyl There are many very fine writers. And I just recently read some memoirs of different people who knew Leo Tolstoy-and it seems I share his opinion about writing. Which was approximately "don't write unless you feel you completely and utterly can't resist anymore" (he also thought, like me, it should be "useful'. The whatever you write. For the mankind. But we strongly disagree on poetry..me and Leo Tolstoy. lol) also I do write, in a way..it's too much of me here even in this thread)) Re Tired, I've been to Lvov-yes, it's a very beautiful city. I was with my schoolmates, we had a class trip there. I remember it very fondly.