Happy new year! At this time of year, people tend to think of new things...new beginnings....fresh starts.... Renewal ...And so you must think of a clever way to work some renewal into your response!

Just popped into my head, a bit silly, but here we go: ************************** Joe stared down at his hands, frowning ferociously. What to do? An even better question, how was he going to decide? Lifting his gaze, his eyes settled upon the two letters currently laying on his small, battered coffee table. They both came in this morning's mail, which he had picked up while running some errands to pick up essentials like coffee and orange juice. He stalked across the trailer, and picked both letters up, clutching them in fingers with a growl. His eyes flicked back and forth over each of them before he sat down on his tiny couch. Who could he ask for money? His mind drifted. Certainly not Ken, (que his mind's eye envisioning his friend standing forlornly in front of him, with his jeans pockets turned out, revealing nothing but pocket lint, his shoulders lifted in a shrug). Definitely not Jun who would fix him with a hard green eyed stare and likely shout at him for asking him such a thing, then yank Jinpei aside and tell him not to lend Joe any money. Then there was Ryu, but Joe already owed him a couple bucks from last week, and well, hadn't gotten around to paying him back just yet. Dammit! Why did they only get paid once a month!? He didn't want to choose, he wanted them both. Leaning his head back against the back of the couch, he sighed. One day he would have enough money where he wouldn't need to worry about which magazine was up for renewal, "Playboy" or "Stock Car Racing Monthly" magazine.

Oh, poor Joe! What a dilemma!

Everyone's problems should be so simple, right? LOL.

Good one, RD.

LOL Redbird, a dilemma indeed, and I can totally picture all of the described reactions. Imagine Joe telling Jun he needs a few bucks to renew his Playboy subscription!

RB - that was cute. Poor Joe - that's a tough choice for him to make...

[unrecoverable text]

RB - What a tough choice for our favourite Condor..... Wonder which way he'll eventually go?

KT: Will be interesting to see who "he" and "she" are.

I didn't think it would take me this long to post something, but I actually did have a rough week! ========== It had been a hellish week : a foot x-ray and four doctor's appointments during the coldest days so far this season -- the temperatures stayed around 0° Fahrenheit. Add to that the fact that her hips were screaming because the pain killer had run out before she could get a new prescription...she didn't think of how she was surviving, she just pushed on. But, thankfully, that was over. Even though others in her situation would have spent the next few days in bed, she went to one more place: the Gatchamania.net site. She moved much more slowly than usual, but she was determined to reach one particular room. "Hey, EW!" a voice off to the side called. A Gatchageek wearing the Owl's helmet and cape came over. "Hey, Gabrielle." ElectricWhite replied. "You look like you've been pulled through the hedges backwards twice and then sideways." EW chuckled a little as she replied, "That's a good way of putting it." "Would you like me to push you to the Room?" "If it's not too much trouble..." "Oh, it's no trouble! I was heading there anyway." A few minutes later they were in the Fennec Room. EW rolled her chair to the edge of the patio and locked her wheels. Gabrielle went out into the sand and disappeared behind a rock outcropping. EW closed her eyes and let the warmth of the room seep into her still complaining hips. She heard Gabriella giggle -- apparently the Gatchageek had found a playmate. EW felt a paw on her right knee. She opened her eyes and found Flash standing on his hind legs, looking up at her with a concerned expression. "Yeah," she said as she rubbed behind his ears, "I've been hurting." He started hopping, straining to haul himself up onto her lap. "Oh no!" she gasped, "I can get you up here." she reached down and lifted him onto her lap. Instead of curling up and going to sleep, the elderly Fennec again stood on his hind legs and braced himself by placing his left paw on her shoulder. The next thing she new, he leaned in and touched the tip of his tongue to her cheek. "Oh, you're so sweet, Flash." she breathed as she held him like a baby. As he rested his head on her shoulder, she added, "You know just how to make me feel better."

Aw. That's so sweet. Hope you feel better soon!

*hugs* EW. Hopefully Flash and the baby Condor are the perfect medicine!