Are you gentle?

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Randomly stumbled upon my high school testimonial, & among the general waffle I came across the sentence
"(Ess) is a very friendly, polite and gentle young man . . ."
& thought, that's a very odd word to praise someone with, or even to use as a descriptor - when I've seen it, it tends to be aimed at young children, giants, or the disabled.
So, er . . . would you describe yourself as gentle?

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 12:25 (twenty-three years ago)

(haha & to those that know me - am I gentle? etc)

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 12:27 (twenty-three years ago)

since i'm a disabled giant with the mind of a child: yes.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Sunday, 22 September 2002 12:35 (twenty-three years ago)

maybe they meant that you're a gentleman. and i think you are gentle, ess-kay and endearingly goofy at the same time. i am a pretty abrasive person so i'm not gentle in that way, but i am gentle in the sense that i'm physically feeble.

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:07 (twenty-three years ago)

hello dateroll-over!

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:07 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm gentle. Too gentle, usually. Are we talking about in bed?

― Mark C (Mark C), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:25 (twenty-three years ago)

My 5th form English teacher called me "lucid" on a report once, which i liked tremendously [it's a nice-sounding word] but now seems to have connotations of pachoulli-scented hippies rambling about their psychedelic experiences.

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:42 (twenty-three years ago)

I think the testimonial was written by my principal & english teacher - & isn't the point of the written bit of the testimonial to convince employers/etc that they should hire you? which is why gentle seemed so strange - I mean, in today's get-go environment etc etc being as gentle as thee lamb or whatever seems . . . quaint.

(haha & this was back in h1sk00l, where I wasn't so much gentle as a smooth blend of cowardice, self-loathing, fear/idolisation-of-everyone-else, absurd fawning/eagerness to please (haha, as a kid I wanted to be a butler), fear-of-fucking-up/clumsiness that may have given the appearance of gentleness)

& k-thanx, di - I don't think they meant gentleman, because if they did they would have used it- it was probably a bit too assertive/testosterone-ey for wot I wuz, etc.

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:43 (twenty-three years ago)

hey, what's up with the 3amish NZ mentalism?
("lucid" is cool but has connotations of middling NZ indiepop)

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:46 (twenty-three years ago)

3amish NZ mentalism? i'm sorry?

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:49 (twenty-three years ago)

he means "hey don't you kids have homes to go to?!" i think.

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:55 (twenty-three years ago)

speak fer yrself esskapader!

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:57 (twenty-three years ago)

didn't expect everyone to be up & posting. I'm sneakily on my parents computer typing v.v. q u i e t l y so they don't wake up. I miss Dunedin & all-hours zany hijinx + wacky antix0r.

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 13:59 (twenty-three years ago)

i miss you esskay! feel like i was only just getting to know you.

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:02 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm gentle too, in person, physically and so on, if not so much in debate or online. I regard it as a good point, and have been pleased when a girlfriend or two has said it - I've never got the impression that there was any bad connotations in what they meant. Possibly if I weren't quite strong I might worry that there were implications of weakness, but I don't think so - 'gentle' firmly implies a deliberate and considerate control of what strength you have.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:04 (twenty-three years ago)

I am a gentleman, I'd hope. Ess yr kind of gentle on what I've seen so far, but not so overpoweringly I'd describe you thus on a CV type thing. Indeed. I am too tired to be posting, really.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:06 (twenty-three years ago)

i would describe ess-kay as like a newborn lamb, all cute and woolly and falling over.

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:08 (twenty-three years ago)

okay i'm so tired now i have the giggles and i think that that was the tweest thing i ever said, and ess-kay isn't really woolly and falling over.

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:10 (twenty-three years ago)

No really? I had no idea. Look I too am tired and I am sarcastic! Di you are thoughtful and mature. Mwah.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:12 (twenty-three years ago)

That looks too sarcastic now. Sorry.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:13 (twenty-three years ago)

andrew is a snowflake descending from heaven to cover the earth with his mushiness.

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:16 (twenty-three years ago)

You crazy NZ people, you crazy! And I've just woken up. Well, I miss all y'all and of course now I know what you all sound like too. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:16 (twenty-three years ago)

same here di! the fortnight or so when Ned was around was great for actually spending heaps of time with everyone & breaking down shyness-barriers & so on, & then I had to leave, blah.

Martin - hmmmn, does "gentle" imply some sort of nurturing/protector vibe?

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:17 (twenty-three years ago)

CUDDLECORE!!!
okay I have the giggles now too. I'll wake up my parents! OH NO!!

andrew is a gentle spring shower, bringing life-giving moisture to the daffodils.

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:18 (twenty-three years ago)

ned i keep seeing people with long brown hair and wishing they were you.

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:18 (twenty-three years ago)

andrew is a gentle spring shower, bringing life-giving moisture to the daffodils. is that supposed to sound rude?

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:19 (twenty-three years ago)

does "gentle" imply some sort of nurturing/protector vibe?

I have a nurturing/protecting vibe [it's my heaving matronly busom, it is] but am anything but gentle. Gentleness implies control, restrait and delicacy.

I'm now sorely tempted to put "wooly and falls over a lot" in my own CV now. again with the tiredness and nonsense.

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:20 (twenty-three years ago)

When applied to me, I think it was used and meant to cover a few different things - some of that nurturing and caring stuff, some physically (in sex and play), some things like kindness to animals. What it wouldn't cover is intellectually, where I can be abrasive, but I really think I am otherwise a very gentle person. I should add that some of this may have a specialised context: my ex-wife ran a refuge for victims of domestic violence, for instance, and that probably made my gentler nature stand out in sharp relief.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:20 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah I am all these things and more, rude or not. Ned is a lovely guy.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:20 (twenty-three years ago)

~~ned I keep seeing pictures of howard stern and wishing they were of you.~~

(ps ned could you please email me yr postal address so I can send those CDs?)

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:21 (twenty-three years ago)

ned i keep seeing people with long brown hair and wishing they were you.

*BLUSH* :-) And you know, I just realized that the 'exquisite corpse' poem we wrote that one night in Ananda is right next to my computer monitor on the desk here.

it's my heaving matronly busom, it is

Well, I won't argue that point.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Ess Kay = PERVERT. But at least he crossed out that line. Check yer mail shortly, etc.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:22 (twenty-three years ago)

bringing life-giving moisture to the daffodils

to the euphemisms thread-mobile!!!

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:23 (twenty-three years ago)

andrew needs HuGgLeZ!!

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:24 (twenty-three years ago)

thoughtful and mature ones, i mean.

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:24 (twenty-three years ago)

Di how was your huggle? I hope it got there safely and wasn't damaged in transit.

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:25 (twenty-three years ago)

andrew is a gentle spring shower, bringing life-giving moisture to the daffodils.
is that supposed to sound rude?

ronan to thread!

also re : nurturing/protector - I was envisaging a pair of hands encasing a cygnet/kitten/chick/duckling/etc. this may be skirting to near to gender-essentialism tho.

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:25 (twenty-three years ago)

Hmmmm. Thoughtful and Mature "hugglez", maybe. If yr lucky.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:25 (twenty-three years ago)

I was envisaging a pair of hands encasing a cygnet/kitten/chick/duckling/etc.

Huggling them or strangling them? One must be cautious.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:26 (twenty-three years ago)

CYGNETS!!!!!

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:26 (twenty-three years ago)

i keep wanting to say something witty and sarcastic, but all that springs from these cursed fingers is WUV.

petra is a feijoa, softly scented and delicious and best of all shes green.

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:27 (twenty-three years ago)

CYGNETS!!!!!

THEY'RE EVERYWHERE! HIDE!

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:27 (twenty-three years ago)

And also i make a great accompaniment to vodka.

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Ok I'll hug you all if you want. Sorry. I'm not really THAT sarcastic.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:29 (twenty-three years ago)

(actually, it was skirting too close to PURE TWEE)

so petra has a rough yet creamy texture?

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:30 (twenty-three years ago)

That's an awfully personal question, Ess Kay.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:31 (twenty-three years ago)

elisabeth is so radiant she makes a computer screen seem dull.

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:32 (twenty-three years ago)

proof that i am too tired [apart from, oh, all of the above]: i just read that as "skirting too close to PERTWEE" and got excited at the thought of Dr Who hugglez action. *aherm*

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:32 (twenty-three years ago)

we drank petra wine on ned's first evening in dunedin!!!

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:33 (twenty-three years ago)

also, Ok I'll hug you all if you want.

*takes a number, gets in line*

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:33 (twenty-three years ago)

ARGH I woke up my mother! I am being sent to bed oh thee shame etc. 'night all!

― Ess Kay (esskay), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:41 (twenty-three years ago)

night night! *sloppy granny-kisses and a bedtime story*

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:44 (twenty-three years ago)

good night lambkin!

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:51 (twenty-three years ago)

ps petra my huggle was surprising and unannounced, but warm and enthusiastic. thank you!

― di smith (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 14:58 (twenty-three years ago)

I just read all this antipodian twee over my morning coffee, and you all made me crack up.
I get told I'm gentle sometimes, but I think it's because I'm very shy IRL, and I invite my friends from work over to cook dinner for them a fair amount- I've been called a mothering type a lot because of that, which is funny. I just like to cook for friends.

― lyra (lyra), Sunday, 22 September 2002 15:08 (twenty-three years ago)

*urgently reaches for barf nozzle*

― mark s (mark s), Sunday, 22 September 2002 15:10 (twenty-three years ago)

Dinner parties are the best sort, though! Well after the sort with pineapple and cheese chunks on toothpicks and party games.

― petra jane (petra jane), Sunday, 22 September 2002 15:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Mark S is not gentle.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 22 September 2002 15:12 (twenty-three years ago)

TELL
ME
ABOUT
THE
RABBITS...
PREEETTTTYYYYYYY

― lenny (donut), Sunday, 22 September 2002 16:57 (twenty-three years ago)

I always believed that gentle was school teacher speak for quiet.

Gentle ben was a bear. Can bears really be gentle?

― jel -- (jel), Sunday, 22 September 2002 17:50 (twenty-three years ago)

just about every creature can be gentle when there is a baby of their kind involved.

― donna (donna), Sunday, 22 September 2002 17:56 (twenty-three years ago)

help! identity theft!

― indykid (lucylurex), Sunday, 22 September 2002 23:28 (twenty-three years ago)

mark s is also like a newborn lamb, covered in afterbirth.

― di smith (lucylurex), Monday, 23 September 2002 00:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Am I gentle? No. :( I am bulkishly awkward and tend to make too much noise. I might be gentle in some ways, I guess. Not sure. Sometimes I speak softly.

― Mandee, Monday, 23 September 2002 01:13 (twenty-three years ago)

My old school reports are covered with "Elisabeth is gentle". Nowdays I don't know my own strength and my playful punches hurt people. Or so I've been told.

― Elisabeth (Elisabeth), Monday, 23 September 2002 10:38 (twenty-three years ago)

But I am still as radiant as any computer screen!

― Elisabeth (Elisabeth), Monday, 23 September 2002 10:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh my gosh!!!! (Tom I do not dare).

― Sarah (starry), Monday, 23 September 2002 10:44 (twenty-three years ago)

I suppose sometimes I am but I'll leave others to decide for themselves.

― Shaz, Monday, 23 September 2002 17:16 (twenty-three years ago)

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