Ahem...

I'm almost certain I don't need to mention the comment posting and the birthday thing again - RIGHT?

Okay so on to the real meat of what has been drifting through my mind today. So you know those people that you email back and forth? I'm not talking about your close friends and family members, I mean that handful of people that you have a friendship with but it is still pretty much at the superficial stage. You know what I mean, co-worker, neighbor, my kid plays with your kid kind of friends. And you know how you talk to them once a week or so via email. And how at the start of the email thread you type a paragraph or two (how are you? how's the weather? What are you doing tonight? you know that kind of thing). And then they send an email back with their answers and basically the same questions back to you and this goes on for a while and then pretty soon there isn't a whole lot left to say - BUT no one is ending the email string. Do you know what I mean? It's like not wanting to be the first person to hang up the phone. Pretty soon the email is made up entirely of one word replies, LOL's and smilies (I mean isn't that WHY the smiley was invented?).

So why does this happen? Are we afraid to cut the string because we are afraid we may never speak to this person again and there goes the beginning of a wonderful friendship? Or is it because you just can't read inflection. Good Bye can mean so much more than good bye when you can't HEAR the person saying the adios. KWIM? Maybe we all need to come up with our own personal code for I just can't think of another thing to say, it isn't that I don't like you or that I don't want to have this same conversation tomorrow, it's just, that well, I have other emails to send, work to do, a life to live.

A friend of mine (who I am NOT using as an example or implicating in this entry) said "indeed" is his signal that he just can't spend another minute on this mundane conversation (which I have so noted by the way). Do you have a signature sign-off phrase? I don't know if I have one. I think I'll work on one. What do you think of "you know as stimulating as this conversation has been I really must go and watch my grass grow". Okay so maybe that's a little strong. I think I'll just go with - okay gotta go but I'll be around tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever I feel chatty again. I like that. I'm going with it.

HEY, did you people know you are TWO for TWO. I still have no answers to the trivia questions. Do you not know ANYTHING about Rob Lowe? Well I'm not giving up on you yet. So here is an easy one. Seriously:

What is Rob Lowe's date of birth?

Now remember POST. You can't be eligible for the monogram drawing unless you post. SO POST. Oh and if I owe you a monogram for any of the other bonus questions let me know - I've been slacking...

AND for the love of granola tell me your sign-off, I'm not always good at reading the signs no matter how many smilies you may post :-)

Okay gotta go, but I'll be around.