i have missed the hell out of you, but i know other people have these things called "lives" and i'm trying to get one of my own, so it's okay :) and thank you, yes, better late than never on birthdays... especially as shitty as mine was. and i would assume that the proper format for the contest would be that the winner would receive oral, regardless of the gender/form issues. but, as i said, could was the operative word. (i was the first to give the right answer, though ;) ) and i do think that writing comes better and more fluidly with practice... though i suppose mine seems to come better and more fluidly from anxiety, panic, stress, and/or strange new activity. but there was a time when if i couldn't sit down and write, i'd make myself sit down and freewrite (sometimes even by hand) until i got over it. i dunno. do you use AIM?