Either I'm getting old, or dA's median user age is dropping. Either way, I'm finding myself relating less and less to deviants these days, and find myself getting angry over:

Kids butchering the English language when it's their primary language! I mean, people who learn English as a second language have a better grasp of grammar than some of the people on dA these days.

Kids using the deviants forum as a search engine, or otherwise asking to be spoonfed information without doing the leg work. Why should I devote my precious free time to teach you things you could have learnt by doing a little searching on your own?

Teenage arrogance and ignorance. I realise I was exactly the same not so long ago, but it's a mirror to the past I'd rather not have to stare into.

$Tachy-on's head hunting. Check [link] for details.

Firstly, =Ms-Forks and ~memoriesofnam have launched their own business along with their official site, Forks Open Doors. They do promotional work for the fashion and entertainment industry. I'll let their work speak for itself.
_{Full disclosure: I developed their website from designs they sent me}

I'm all settled down in the US with Misha. We've settled into a nice routine and it's starting to feel like home. We're starting to look for apartments to move out to, and we're looking at some really nice ones. The idea of chilling at a pool while I'm working from home very much appeals to me.

July is looking to be a busy month for us. We'll be attending the Austin devMeet, dragging along `MegMcMuffin and *wazzdakka with us, watching Wicked when it hits Austin and seeing Tool in San Antonio with some more friends, and I'll be hitting Vegas next week or so to see my boss who's in the US for a holiday.

In October I have to fly back to Australia to see the family and my work, maybe get a dental check up and then hopefully fly back here. I have to sort out my tickets because I'm due to fly out 4 days after my visa expires, and if I overstay my visa then I won't be let back in, which would make things difficult. So I need to move the tickets.

How about you guys, what's going on in your lives?

April 15th (as it is here in Australia) marks myself and Misha's 3 year anniversary, and with my flight to the US no more than 5 days away, I think a little reflection is appropriate.

For the last week or so, this journal has been relatively negative. As I said to Misha, it's a snapshot in time - a capturing of a single moment in the flow of life as it has been for the last 3 years, and will be for as long as I can manage.

People are, I think, solitary creatures. As much as some people crave socialization, even the most outgoing people need a break, and some time alone. Relationships are hard work, for that reason.

We're all isolated inside our own minds, incapable of knowing another being as well as we know ourselves. In this sense, we're all utterly alone. So we connect with people, we share their lives. We communicate using language and our 5 senses - seeing someone's body language, smelling their perfume, hearing them speak, holding hands or man-hugs, and in some relationships, kissing. This is how we know try to know people, and even at the most rich level of communication, it's imperfect.

Misha and I have a long distance relationship, probably the longest distance relationship you can have. We're literally half a world apart. We only have text and words to communicate. While technology can bridge some of the gap, like webcams, it's not the same. So our relationship is impaired, beyond the original crippling of a "normal" relationship.

There have been bad times, some very bad times. There have also been some great times, wonderful times. I think we've done pretty fucking well, when it's all said and done. True, a week ago, I wouldn't have done it over. But today, I would. And for most of our relationship, I would.

If someone asked me "Tim, I'm thinking about a long term relationship with this girl on the other side of the world, should I do it?" my answer would be a resounding "NO". If that person then replied "Fuck you, I'm doing it anyway, I fucking love this chick", then, "rock on ". It takes a special kind of person and a special kind of love to stand the test of 16,000kms.

And we've made it. See you in a week, Misha.