Who'd miss Westegg if he went?...

[Westegg]

...I'm being selfish now.

I come to this forum a couple times a week. It's a good place. I came here often a few years ago when my life was different. DU and I were more intimate then. My fault. Now I haven't the time to devote to it. I find myself logging in 3 days later to find that all the posts I sent and received are gone because they only last 48 hours.

And the $50 I sent in in 2004? Long gone, as far as my access goes. But I get that.

I've made no friendships here. My fault. I hold myslef back. I'm shy. My life is empty now, and I need to fill it with positive results and flesh-and-blood humans and then I can come back to DU with a sense of purpose and optimism. Instead of the way I am now. I send 20 posts to DU Lounge and 3 of them get a response. I sit there hitting refresh to see if anyone else has responded. What does this tell the objective, rational me? That I am isolating, and am starved for communication. Communion, more than communication.

Don't sit at home alone and hit "refresh" and expect to be a part of the world that is moving and throbbing and going FORWARD right in front of you.

You DU lounge guys are from all over. I appreciate that. I've learned so much from you. Men, women, young, old. Thanks.

[Swede]

1. I've found Westegg the more that you post,the more responses you get.

Just post something - sillyor sad, or your favorite song,chicken recipe or actor. Just post. Maybe you have a killer sense of humor,or a droll one,but just post it.

[Westegg]

15. Good advice. Thanks.

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. I consider you my best friend in the world.

But I can't post to every thread you start. Sheesh. :shrug:

[Westegg]

16. I'm selfish! It's a real problem. Thanks, snowflake.

[quip]

3. Hey, I'd miss ya! Anyone who worships the ground on which Tap walks is a friend

in my book! As a relative nOOb on DU, I've learned this: the more things change in the Lounge (topics, inside jokes, etc), the more things stay the same. So you come in every now and then. CaliforniaPeggy and Misters Coffee et Scorpio will still be around, and you can always jump right in. To just read a little, laugh a little, blow off a little steam, join in the fun.

:hi:

[Westegg]

7. You have the right attitude...

...I seem to have lost it. Nobody's fault but mine.

[quip]

8. Well, somebody seems to care about you here, because it appears that you now have a star!

[Westegg]

23. I know. I'm truly touched. Wow!

[BlueIris]

4. Uh...I would? But it sounds like you want to do other things with your time.

Which is fine. Good luck!

[Westegg]

6. I've posted poems...

... I've read poems, I've THOUGHT about poems because of you, BlueIris. That's been good for me. Insanely healthy. You're the best.

[BlueIris]

11. Aw, thanks. I plan to faithfully post them here for a while yet.

They will be placed in my journal for safekeeping, if you want to check in now and again.

[SPKrazy]

5. I understand that sentiment

lots of times a thread will get no traction

and then one that seems silly that i post (to me) will get lots of replies

it is no substitute for flesh and blood humans

I've hidden here the last year because it has been a refuge for me in my life circumstances, but I am making moves to get out more and have a life of some kind.

Let's face it, I love the lounge, the people here rock, they have helped me through hard times, I've talked to many on the phone and that has been awesome.

I need human flesh and blood contact too.

I need to feel someone...

So do what you need to do to take care of yourself man, :hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. I'll make a point of looking for you, my dear Westegg...

Being lonely sucks...

I was shy when I first joined, three years ago...

But I talked to people, and now I have many friends here...

And some are real-life friends too...

Talk to me! And I'll talk to you, OK? :hug:

[Westegg]

18. Thanks, CP. You're right...

...comunication is the key. Making the effort to do so is the sticking point, but that's my hurdle to deal with.

"CaliforniaPeggy." Whereabouts do you hail from? I lived in L.A. for a long time. Traveled the state extensively. I love and miss CA.

[mitchum]

10. I always enjoy your posts, Westegg

[Westegg]

21. Thank you, mitchum.

[CorpGovActivist]

12. Several reasons why I'd miss ol' WestEgg...

1. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=7442914&mesg_id=7442914">I just got to know a little about you today, and I see someone with deep thoughts, deep hurts, and deep hopes. Maybe I'm wrong; prove it.

:hug:

2. Anyone with a screenname that tickles a dark connotation brain cell for me, without my immediately knowing why, intrigues me. West Egg. West Egg. WhereTF do I know West Egg from? I could Google it, sure. But that's cheating. It'll come to me. AHA! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_great_gatsby">The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald?!? (And we all know what the F stood for.) A self-avowed writer with a Gatsby reference, hidden like an Easter Egg in plain view. I'll come bang down your door if you leave, you bastard.

:hug:

3. The green light on the dock is always blinking. It just is. I will bang down your door, you bastard.

:hug:

[Westegg]

19. Well DONE, sir!...

...'Tis indeed an homage to my bete-noir, F. Scott. And a long story, too.

[CorpGovActivist]

27. Well, it irritated the ever-lovin' crap out of me...

... "West Egg."

"West Egg."

WhereTF should I know that literary reference from?

My junior year English teacher in high school had us all dress up, Gatsby-Style, to do readings.

: )

- Dave

P.S. So, come into the Tent Fort (you can't miss it), and tell us all about the long story. Unlimited wet bar.

[Westegg]

28. What, spats and everything?....

...I actually collect and wear vintage duds, and genuine stuff from F. Scott's era is ('20/'30s) is hard to come by.

My junior-year high school English teacher had us read "Gatsby" as well as "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas." I used to buy pot from him. He was eventually kicked out for falling in love with a 16-year-old female student. His nickname? "Dr. Quaalude."

[CorpGovActivist]

32. No spats.

It's a Magic Tent Fort.

: )

With a wetbar. That's unlimited.

Where nobody will make fun of you if you dress funny. Be a flapper, for all we care. Just be yourself.

I have Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (the movie) sitting on my right hand side on the couch arm, waiting to go back to Blockbuster.

My lawyer advised me to take it back, before I incur a late fee.

I'm not joking. It's right here, within the reach of my right hand. Or my sinister one, too, I suppose.

Now, guessing from that latter part, I'm gonna guess you were of a formative age in the 60s?

- Dave

[xmas74]

13. Get to talking about crappy reality tv shows,

Heroes or Lost and then pm the link to me.

Once I get a link I'll respond. No probs there. And I'll pass it on to the others who are just as bad as I am.

[HuskerDU]

14. I'd miss you Westegg.

We need more sports fans around here IMO. Sure wish my Bears had a QB like Big Ben.

[Westegg]

20. Big Ben is constantly a source of anxiety...

...The talent is there, but will the Steelers of this era take advantage of it the way Chuck Noll's teams did in the '70s with Bradshaw? Ben is complicated and inconsistent (as Bradshaw was in the early years). Cower and his crew managed to do it. Once. And I increasingly think that Bill's leaving was for the good of the team. BUT. Steelers need to fill some serious holes (offensive line, for starters), and I worry that they won't.

I could go on and on for days about the worries of the average Pittsburgh sports fan, but in the end I need only mention the sorry fate of the Pirates, who have not had a winning season since, what, '92?

Anyway, enough rambling! Nice to hear from you, HuskerDU.

[HuskerDU]

31. The first big-league game I ever went to was the mighty 'We

are Family' Pittsburgh Pirates vs the Cubs back in '79. Pittsburgh teams scared the crap outta me at the time. Everything about the Pirates was scary. Their logo was menacing and the team was incredible. And then there was the Steelers. Tough assed group there.

Anyway, I really can't believe the state of the Pirates. It has to be tough to see how they operate now compared to what a beast they use to be. I hope that they can return to form someday... after my Cubs win the WS of course hehe.

[Midlodemocrat]

17. I'd miss you. I don't always respond, but I do read what you post.

I'll respond more, I promise. :hug:

[Westegg]

22. Thanks, Midlodemocrat...

...I wasn't trying to "guilt-trip" anyone with my post, but I suspect that my passive-aggressive tendencies got the best of me and I did just that!

Anyway, I've been reading your post for a long, long time and always have enjoyed them.

[LynzM]

24. ((Hugs))

I have days that feel like that, for sure...

One thing I found that helps people want to reply to a thread is to end in a question directed at them. It's an invitation for a response, be it a "what do you think" or "what's your favorite..." or "what's your experience with..." kind of thing... cliche as it is, people like to talk about themselves!

:hug: I'd invite you to come share a cup of tea or glass of wine or what have you, if you were nearby!

[ThomCat]

25. Hey, you're here in NYC!

Next time we have a meetup, please join us! :hi:

[Westegg]

29. Sounds good. Thanks.

[petronius]

26. I like Westegg just fine, but East Egg is more to my taste

It's just a bit more refined over there...

:hi:

[Westegg]

30. I am nothing if not not refined...

...Hence my tag.