Aside from the paperwork in triplicate, you need to appoint someone to fill in for you on the OG Dating Council of Twelve.. We can’t have the council understaffed on a Friday night.
I mean, what if Emily has a date that night or something? We need to be available to evaluate the bloke for approval or disapproval.
Oh no! When it gets like that here (well, who am I kidding, it doesn’t get up to 45 here) I pack up and spend the day somewhere with airconditioning. Like the library 
hey guys
It’s been a long, hard week and actually, there’s not much to complain about, I got my transfer order, the new school is a little bit nearer to home, like half an hour, but I got something to feel really bad about.
I found out on Monday that I have a really really troubled kid in one of my classes. A seventeen-year-old girl who’s a borderline syndrome case and seems to be starting to be bulimic as well.
When I saw those razor cuts on her arm on Monday in class, wow, you guys can’t imagine how bad I felt and how sorry for her I’ve been feeling this past week. She’s the sweetest young woman, good grades, a nice and gracious kid, couldn’t harm a fly, always polite, always willing to make an effort at school. And she feels like all the world is conspiring against her.
So I talked to some colleagues and we decided that I should approach her on the subject since she’d opened up to me before about an issue and so I talked to her on Tuesday during recess and with many tears in her eyes she told me how her ex-boyfriend mistreated her (he’s a known troublemaker, he almost got kicked out of the school before), how her parents don’t understand her and focus completely on her little sister instead etc. etc.
So of course I offered her to see the school’s counselor. She declined and I can’t blame her for that. Our counselor’s a prick and most of my colleagues agree. So that’s not an option.
So I talked to some colleagues again and we decided to offer her one teacher as a kind of contact person for regular talks, someone she trusts and can feel free to talk to. We’ve decided to give her this one chance to find her own way out of her troubles, under guidance, but without the pressure of official psychiatric help - which we think would make matters worse cause she’s almost of age anyway and she’s a very mature person and usually very very responsible, she just seems to have a terrible low self-esteem.
We told her she could pick any teacher for that. She picked me. Wow. So now I can make an impact in her life. Hope I can live up to that. I talked to her on Thursday and since I wasn’t at school today, I told her to write me an email over the weekend, just told her to tell me how she feels, what she feels when she hurts herself, why she does it, anything she wants to talk about. I really hope she takes the chance we’re giving her. And now I’m waiting for that e-mail.
Thanks for sharing that. That’s a dark tale, but a bright one too. Good for you for offering to help her. I’m not surprised she picked you. I would have too. I’m proud of you, man.
Thanks. I just really hope it turns out well.
Good man. I hope soon you can post in the Good things thread that she is better and happy.
I think that was a wonderful way to handle the situation. When you’re in that dark place, it means a lot for someone to reach out, especially someone who doesn’t have to care. It says a lot about you that you do. 
I wish you luck with her. She’s lucky to have teachers that care so much.
This is the first I’ve heard of my being in the council. My official membership card must’ve gotten lost in the mail. Are you sure Solai sent it? I was wondering why the centurions guarding the consular compound kept blocking my way! (And I even said please. Repeatedly!)
We told her she could pick any teacher for that. She picked me. Wow. So now I can make an impact in her life. Hope I can live up to that. I talked to her on Thursday and since I wasn’t at school today, I told her to write me an email over the weekend, just told her to tell me how she feels, what she feels when she hurts herself, why she does it, anything she wants to talk about. I really hope she takes the chance we’re giving her. And now I’m waiting for that e-mail.
Good luck, GR. I think you’ll be an excellent mentor for this young lady and your willingness to help her is admirable.
Oh, Armando - I refused to sit on the council so you’re it. 
Well, you’d have heard about it if you were on twitter! 
It seems that any of us single folk must submit potential dates for the approval of the council. Apparently, we are unable to make our own decisions… 
And we told the centurions to let you in! They just have minds of their own these days. Ever since Natalie removed removed their telencephalic inhibitors, there’s just no getting through to some of them.
I am very proud of you. It’s the ultimate show of humanity to take on the pain and troubles of another, when it’s much easier to walk away and let it be someone else’s problem. I’ve had a little experience in this kind of thing, and it can be very rewarding. You may find that soon you’ll be on the receiving end of a huge outpouring of fears, doubts, pain, emotions, questions, hopes, dreams, anger. And you won’t have the answers. But by just listening you can make a huge difference in this student’s life. And eventually you might even be able to steer her into some professional help, if she comes to trust you enough. You may find this relationship takes more time than you could have imagined, and progresses slower than you can bear. But the chance of making a difference is well worth all that. Just remember that you can’t singlehandedly save her. She has to want to do that. But you can be her guide.
Best wishes my friend. You’re a good man.
We were supposed to have SciFi HD, and many more channels expanded esterday. Today we were told, sorry, your area will not be expanded until May.
But my rates go up in Feb…
Today sucks because:
One year ago today around this time out unborn Daughter Hope died! She was due the next day Jan 31. So this is the one year angelverssary of my Beautiful Hopey Angel!
May she rest in piece and I miss her terrible and this day Fraking sucks
I’m very sorry. My thoughts are with you shrekjdr.
My deepest sympathies, and my thoughts are with you and your family.
Words always seem so inadequate for a time like this, but you know that everyone here is with you at a time like this.
snow is amazing, stop complaining
Dont get me started…
Do I get to be the double-secret 13th member:p
Shrek, this just totally breaks my heart. My thoughts are with you, my friend.
And, apparently that line about any guy worth dating is is taken or.gay is true. Oh well
Dont get me started…
Hmmm…I think the council must convene an emergency meeting. On the agenda is council bill 22.7XY-b which proposes a meeting of Boxey and Emily in the field of dinner and a movie.