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  • unkle sam
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    Thanks Marye
    I've been off site for a while and wasn't here to help Marye defend my post ie "say no to drug tests"First off, I want to appoligize for offending Stuman, gee Stu, I didn't say YOU were lame, slow etc... and thank the stars there are some drug free workers out there who are not lame, slow, uninformed. What I was referring to is that there are quality drivers, mechanics and even astrophysics who smoke but can't get a job due to drugtests. And even the best drug free mechanic can forget to tighten a bolt. I, personally, don't even consider pot smokers as "drug users", I wouldn't want a "drug user" to fix my car, but pot smokers, that's another story. Pot smokers aren't gonna rob you for a joint. I think lumping these two together is where the entire "misinformation" begins. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Stu, pot smokers do deliver cd's and dvd's, and most rodies I've ever known were smokers. I realize by rereading your many posts on this subject that you got p/oed, but you are very critical of smokers and completely closed minded about it. And, please tell me what is NORMAL? I agree with Marye and thank you for clarifying what my point was, you must know someone in the same boat who could not get a job due to non conformity, what I or anyone does off the job is no one's business and should not have anything to do with job performance PERIOD, if I screw up, then do what you must and I will accept the consequences, but to judge me, even before I have been hired, is insane, closed minded, and "slow, lame and misinformed" Marye said it best, it is these workplaces and limited education that is in question. Who wants to work for (or with) a bunch of mindless conformists? It is these companies that hire the "clean and sober" even if "slow and ill informed" just because they don't partake over the sometimes better, more qualified smoker that I am referring to. This is a personal observation that I have witnessed in the past 23 months. Once again, thank you Marye for being the voice of reason on this site, and Stu, keep on truckin on that straight and narrow road. Peace
  • Musky_Ranger
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    I Fish
    I'm a semi-retired tyedied MBA and I spend most of my time doing stuff related to fresh water fishing.
  • marye
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    no, and I didn't say I felt that way about people who don't
    smoke pot. A group that includes many of my good friends, a lot of musicians whose work I like, etc. etc. I also heartily salute those who decide a particular substance is not their friend and commit to staying away from it. The subject at hand with that description was the qualities of companies that required drug tests as a condition of employment. While those terms may be a bit over the top, I do think a company that makes a point of its drug-free workplace is probably going to be into mindless conformity and unquestioned authority on other fronts. It's the unquestioned intrusive authoritarianism I've got the issue with, and not just with regard to drugs. Also I think what you do off the clock is your own business, but that is a can of worms for another day. A writer at the Chronicle famously got fired for marching in a peace demonstration one time, because journalists aren't supposed to do that stuff. And so it goes.
  • stuman
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    thanks for the blessings marye
    but do you really feel this way about people who don`t smoke pot ? lame, slow, uninformed, no passion for their work On February 24th, 2010 marye said: and also a stunning lack of critical thinking skills and horror of people who display any. thats a pretty vicious attack against people who choose to be clean.
  • marye
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    and as for my clean and sober friends
    God bless 'em and their right to make that choice for themselves!
  • marye
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    stuman
    this was actually a pretty big issue in Silicon Valley about 20 years back. Tech companies tended to not care or even tacitly encourage it until federal funding started being contingent on "drug-free workplaces" and suddenly programmers were having to pee into cups to keep their jobs. The issue of working impaired and the issue of what substances are in one's system vary wildly from person to person and job to job. The issue should be impairment, not chemistry.
  • marye
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    I think the idea is
    not a matter of disrespect for people's own judgment on their personal substance limits, which lord knows deserve respect, but of disrespect for the sort of workplace that requires testing for drugs as a condition of employment, a requirement that, evidence suggests, involves a certain amount of Kool-Aid drinking of another sort. Of course there are situations where people's safety is involved and drug testing is legit. But as an employment screening thing for office jobs and the like, it's a clear, and irrelevant to the actual work, deterrent to Those People. Questioners of authority and so on.
  • stuman
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    just one more thing
    Do pot smokers deliver the truck loads of you favorite bands CD`s and DVD`s to the store for your enjoyment ? Or do pot smokers deliver the bands equipment to the next arena ? NO I don`t think so !! Think about the ways you think , or is it the weed that keeps you closed minded ? unable to think clearly . Think about it , think about the folks who give up the ability to smoke weed so YOU can have a normal life .
  • stuman
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    lame, slow, uninformed, no passion for their work ????
    Wel I for one don`t smoke weed ! Clean and sober except for a beer or two every two to three weeks . Besides for being under employed , I happen to LOVE what I do ! I take great passion for doing my work . weather it be driving a truck or working on someones car .I do my job well and folks love me for it. The smiles on Grandma`s face when she can drive herself to the market , it`s Pricless !! " lame, slow, uninformed," maybe the one who wrote this should take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror . Do pot smokers deliver you groceries to the market you shop at , or any goods that you need to survive . I don`t think so . Do pot heads and drug users make for quality mechanics , I never seen one . And Marye , well hell I thought you where better then that . I am shocked in horror to hear that you really think that way .
  • Gr8fulTed
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    I resemble that remark
    That's quite a vague generality you tossed up here. I am not required to take any test in my line of work, which involves active supervision, new employee training, old employee updating, and performance review. Passion may be slipping away as I am real close to retirement.
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17 years 5 months
What is it that you do, anyway?
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I've taken the Grateful Dead quiz thats on his songfinder link. Sometimes it's not as easy as it sounds. Kinda knocked me down a few pegs, but it is fun to play.
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17 years 1 month
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Been down so many roads. . . Papermills. Roughnecking in the offshore oilpatch (got the dislocated hip to show for it). Sold textbooks in Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Real Estate appraiser. For the past 13 years I've been an Environmental Codes Enforcement Officer for the largest city in a small southern state. The last 7-8 years I've supervised around 7 officers. Our job is NOT to shed light, but to tell people to clean up their nasty yards - repair or remove that clunker rusting in your front yard - pick up that dumpsite you've created. . . All that and so much more! Keeps the neighborhoods from becoming so rundown. Actually helps keep the crime down. Try as they might, they can't MAKE me wear a badge. A well chosen word gets better results than a shiny piece of tin. Enough ramble. Time to go to what keeps me sane(?) - writing lyrics and torturing my guitar. . . Peace
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16 years 8 months
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I work in a lovely office during the day punching a keyboard. (which is where I am right now lol) they pay so little attention to me here , its quite hilarious really. There was one day where i did 2 hours of actual work in a 8 hour period. I swear i'm living the script from Office Space . Aside from that i'm also the editor, writer and photographer for Cincy Groove Magazine ( http://www.cincygroove.com ). I just started it not too long ago and plan on making it my day job by the end of the year. I have been shooting concert photos for 10 years and have ben a website designer for 6 years so starting the music magazine website seemed like the next logical step. I would love it if people would go check it out and let me know what you think http://www.cincygroove.com Scott
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16 years 8 months
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I'm a copier in a family printing press accually more fun then it sounds and i live 10 feet from my job :), Rina
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I'm hooked on the written word, so a printing press sounds cool to me + you get to walk to work. Right on Enjoy the site. PEACE
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16 years 9 months
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It only has to last until the end of the summer. I work in an enormous natural foods store and I hate it. It's really because of the shitty pay. I managed a natural foods store in VT for years but now that I'm down south I took a huge salary cut. Just less than 50% to be exact. Mary is a vet tech and she loves her job. I'll quit working at the begining of August so that I can have a month and a half to chill out before I start school. There is light at the end of the tunnel!
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16 years 8 months
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i have the greatest job. i am now an assistant store manager of a paint store. something completely new for me. i have been cooking on many levels for almost 25years now and have also made a nice living making dresses, body piercing, hair wraps and jewerly and a line of kids tye dyes and batiks that we sold locally on the boardwalks and at shows. withthe times a changin' i had to sit back and figure out what i am good at. i am a bit of a hustler thanks to many years of tour and tourist and i know color!!! so i b/s my way into to a paint position and in a short time was made in store manager. i credit my years of craftful creativity and still jam out at the store. i would never be where i am today if not for the grateful dead!!and so many pro painters are dead heads!
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17 years 4 months
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Cool story of your evolution hipmoma. Welcome to the site. Good chance someone from your area will respond to your posts. I have had a few local responses, took a while.Watch those fumes. If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake
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16 years 8 months
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thanks hal!! i hope to meet some new folks. where are you from?we joke around the paint store that fumes are a fringe benefit of the business haha. truthfully though the gov has put a limit on voc regulations so there is very little stinky paint around these days.
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hipmoma, I live in Spokane, Washington , the Western end of the Rockies. I have met folks on this site from France, Wales, England, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain and Lincoln Nebraska as well as many other places. Have met one new person from my area, we are going to get together in person for lunch and talk, funny thing is we lived about 30 miles away from each other as kids growing up in Iowa and both went to University of Iowa and now live here. If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake
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16 years 8 months
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mornin hal what do you do out in beautiful spokane??i am off to work a full week open to close as my other manager is out with mono!!! so i will clock in about 65 hours this week. fun fun fun.peace kate
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17 years 4 months
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seems to be a flood of new folks here the last couple of weeks! All finding their way here from different times and places! Amazing!
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16 years 10 months
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We all come home again. Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.
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17 years 4 months
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hipmoma,Wow, I first wrote in this section back on June 15, page 7, was refreshing my memory here, seems like lots has gone on since then and it has been a fun ride on this site. Things are not dead in Deadland. Ok, what I do in Spokane is often try to get out of it to land my wife and I have in Ferry County, Washington, least populated county in the state and much of which is the Colville National Forest. We have solar electricity in our small house there and a yurt and are out there so to speak. About 15 miles from the nearest town, surrounded by forest and several miles off the county road. Have seen bears, turkeys, deer, eagles at our place. Hope to move there someday, but circumstances have not allowed that yet. It is isolated, but we do have good friends in the area. In Spokane I bike, walk, garden and read and watch all the incredible birds and squirrels we have in our backyard here. In the past 9 months have been ripping and burning lots of Dead and other goodies I have received from the vines. Oh for a living I am a RN in a nonprofit mental health agency. Also do lots of volunteer environmental work on forest, wilderness and endangered species issues. Sounds like a busy week for you 65 hours, wow. If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake
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16 years 8 months
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I am a 38 year old freshman at a local university here in Columbus. I have been in the hotel industry as a front desk man and like doing that. I speak Spanish and am working on my degree so I can teach or maybe land a job in a resort in Spain or Mexico. Still, English is the language everywhere, but where I hope to eventually live, Spanish will be it. Need more Sunshine then Ohio has to offer. Ohio is a great place, however. So many great folks here.
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16 years 8 months
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From the inside out. Work with Fortune 500 companies and have been able to influence, convince, shuck and jive a way for them to want to sell more of their 'green' products. Mostly energy/ water conservation, sustainable materials, indoor air quality (low VOC), etc. Trying to change the world from the inside out....hee-hee! I am one of the new folks on line and it would seem that highly optimized organic search results could be the reason for so many new people. Good links, title tags, and time do wonders for google page rank, if I could only remember what it was that I googled :-)
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16 years 9 months
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Like cosmicbadger and maye, a lot are new- I'm one of them, tho old in the sense that I always had this site as my web browser. In the pat it would conk out at times and on a few days it was out of comission altogether, so I couldn't even get on the web at work! i never signed on, just as a voyeur! Now my school district gave me a laptop and I have spent hours of time at home (like a good employee) become acquainted with it. just so happens that since it still opens up to this site- it was about time to join. As for me, I am an art teacher, this is year 25, 24 in the same district. I love it and have fun all day with the kids. And as reward lessons, we do tie dye! (and batik!) Ami
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17 years 4 months
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I own a retail and wholesale plant nursery in Monmouth County NJ . Im posting this on March 1st which is our opening day for the season and dusting off those rusty bones after a long winters nap made me feel a hell of a lot older then 42 . I guess gold will turn to grey and youth will fade away .I love what I do for a living , Ive been in the nursery business since I was 11 years old and to be making a living at what you love is a trip . LET IT GROW , LET IT GROW - GREATLY YIELD.
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16 years 7 months
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Well right out of college I was working as a full time photographer for a small newspaper. I loved it, until the assignments were drying up, and the editors didnt really care about the photos. So I left and now I work as a professional for the Boy Scouts..... its a job. Lots of nights and weekends and a ton of driving, I drive at least 2000 miles a month just for work. So I am looking for a way out, have been thinking about going back to school to teach but I need to bump up my GPA first. For fun I love being outside hiking, kayaking, etc etc, I am also a volunteer firefighter. I really enjoy helping other people.
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17 years 4 months
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i am a manipulator of images, a pervayer of lies apon the mailorder mavens of america, i push pixels around, i correct the colors that are wrong,i am a photo retoucher, i photoshop. started in print trade in highschool, learned bindery then i ran presses, the fumes will kill ya, got into prepress,much cleaner, was a 4/c stripper (no, i kept my clothes on),that is registering the 4 film negatives to each other ( put a magnifing glass on a pictue in a magazine, see the 4colors, magenta,cyan,blackn'yellow) and dot etcher(dots become pixels in the digital age) the size of the dots regulates the amout of ink going onto the paper. it is an interesting trade, always learning something new (wheel keeps turning),very techno driven. now i sit in front of a Mac, basiclly doing plastic surgery to photos of models 4 hi-end dept stores, which also gives me time to be here. peacen'love2all
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17 years 4 months
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I have been an Intensive Care Unit registered nurse for about a year now, it is great to help people who are so ill. I worked as a critical care emergency medical technician for the last 12 years on ambulances, I still do this but as a volunteer now. I also teach classes for the american heart association
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17 years 4 months
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I'm a researcher of sorts, but my passion is writing. I work from home, so I've always got one of the Dead internet radio stations playing. "Goodbye, Mama and Papa, Goodbye, Jack and Jill The grass ain't greener, the wine ain't sweeter, Either side of the hill" islandmyk@yahoo.com
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17 years 1 month
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Possibly burnt-out, not quite used-up IT/Business Systems Analyst at a big, four-year university.
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16 years 8 months
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I am kind of like george castanza from sienfeld. Have a degree in marine biology and work in the import/ export business. I am the entire enviro department for our 4 facilities across NC. It allows me plenty of time to listen to the dead at work and also to surf when I want, so not a bad gig.
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16 years 6 months
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I am a Field Supervisor for a small environmental firm in upstate NY. We deal mostly with hazardous material compliance in local businesses. I have seen some crazy s@#t that might scare some regular people. I have also done some high hazard work that might make you think we are nuts. In all reality I would love to get out of the biz and move on to bigger and better things. Most of my experience is in environmental something or other because that is what I went to college for. Happy Earth Day!
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17 years 3 months
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I wash dishes at a local restaurant. Its been almost 2 years now. "You know the one thing we need is a left handed monkey wrench....."
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17 years 4 months
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I am actually in the same industry as you, Lithoonly I work at the finishing/fulfillment end. At our place, we laminate and/or mount these gigantic graphics, then ship 'em 'round the country! My other "job" is being a volunteer at KBOO Community Radio, here in Portland, OR!
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17 years 4 months
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Otherone71 - We have a community radio station in Spokane, KYRS that was modeled on KBOO and is doing very well. My good friend Lupito took the idea and ran with it and now we have shows with many styles of music and covering many issues. It has been fun to watch what this come to fruition and blossom. If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake
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17 years 3 months
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I just finished my M.A. in counseling psychology fro Kutztown University, looking to sit for the national exam for certification this June. Looking for a job somewhere in PA. Wanna hire me? ericneifert@verizon.net
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17 years 4 months
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that make you feel?:) hmmm....i see good luck with your exam! peace
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16 years 5 months
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I'm a 19 y/o college student majoring in Math. Very new to the boards, got into the dead by listening to my dad's old tapes from the trading days of the early internet. It amazes me seeing so many people from so many different fields together.
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and, newgen, that's always been one of the cool things for me, how all kinds of people who would probably have never met without the Dead scene converged, and in a lot of cases became good friends.
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16 years 9 months
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Today I was helping a customer who had no fucking idea what they wanted and had absolutely no clue what the fuck they were talking about. I work in a natural food store as a full service butcher. There are days when I have the most morbid thoughts about the sad reality of my day job and then there are days when I really enjoy dealing with the mindless cattle(customers). Part of my job is retrieving bags of ice for people's groceries, something that I truley LOVE to do. I catch myself poking holes in the bottoms of those bags occasionally and offering a sinister chuckle for those who give a shit, which is no one really. You see the ice machine is isolated in a room, I'm all alone back there. Just when I thought I was losing my goddamn mind, and my beautiful wife and adorable son would have to watch me soil diapers in a well padded institution, I went to check the mailbox. I recieved my official acceptance letter for film school today. I believe I am one of about ten students to get in, and one of five Americans. Tomorrow I'm going to give my two week notice, not poke any holes, and milk the cows for what they're worth because it is the first day of the rest of my life. Tears of joy, satisfaction, and relief. Stay cool folks.
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17 years 3 months
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A new chapter in your life....so cool, congrats on your acceptance into film school. Can't wait to see one of your films someday :)Peace, Gigi
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17 years 4 months
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sounds like a movie there Chris! congrats on the acceptance into film school, that is fantastic, good for you! follow your dreams..reality follows you No matter what comes down, the mission always looks the same
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Man, that sounds wonderful! Congrats to you & your family. Can't wait to see some Dead Head Talent down the road... PEACE

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17 years 3 months
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I got a chuckle about the part where ya poke holes in their bags! LOL Keep spreading the good vibes Chris!
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17 years 1 month
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I am a licensed counselor specializing in addiction treatment. I have my own approach that is affirming and positive-focused. My love of the Grateful Dead raises some eyebrows among my peers at times, but it is all about the love and the music for me. Gary Blanchard http://www.GBandFriends.com
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16 years 3 months
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Izzie and Marve--how totally kewl to find you and so many others here... I've been flying under the radar for the last couple of years, and when the old site went down, I was off doing other things. I'm a writer and photographer, most recently for a very small company called BlissLights.
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17 years 5 months
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Welcome! make yourself at home...
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17 years 4 months
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Most definetly enough talent and spirit and most importantly soul in the people here on this site to lead the planet. What a great group.I am very lucky as i get to make art pottery every day. I am a potter at an arts and craft studio and have been able to make pots since i was 13, 36 years ago. Proud of you all.pk