OHOHO! I have a bigger plan for the signature. The black one is just the beginning. Eventually there will be color. Think of it as a year-long art project :D Thanks for noticing it though! Not many people commented on it.

Oh yeah @johleen seems great! I'm glad that we're folding our separate friends into our overarching group. It's always nice to grow the Fellowship! I remember you telling me that about Paul, and I'm the same way. Maybe that's why we hit it off. I'm so glad he listened to your advice. I never gave up on him though, I still commented on some of his posts before even though he didn't reciprocate. Now, I can't even remember how that feels like haha! If @ezzy was the starting point, you are the glue that binds everyone together! I couldn't think of a better person for the task :D

Yeah, no, that's okay. It's Luke being Luke. He was my boss, so I've gotten used to the straight demeanor. That kind of no-nonsense approach is what I've come to know him for. I appreciate it.

Oh, Li and I have talked about that topic for what amounts to days. She was more forgiving of it, but has since soured on them as well. You know, we keep thinking that my friends think that Li was the one that drove me away from them, when in reality it was their own fault. All of it. I just tolerated it when I was single, I guess. Now that I was speaking for two people, I could see everything from a 3rd party perspective.

Now you're making me feel bad about how I've been commenting about Jenna's sidestory. To be clear though, I'm commenting on her dynamic with Mathias, and not in any way about her. She's my surrogate in the story so I would never think of her badly. You're 100% on point about this though:

how she would always put a hundred fifty percent into things and eventually it would burn her out and make her feel unappreciated because others did not have the same dedication. She did do things without expectation at the moment of whatever it was she was doing, but when she needed people and they weren't there for her after all she had done..that's when it would make her feel as though she was overlooked and taken for granted. It's a conundrum. When you are very selfless and people around you are mostly selfish, eventually there comes a point where you almost have to decide to become more selfish, unless you truly do not care if others reciprocate anything at all.

I wish that was how I could explain it. So eloquently put! I put my heart on my sleeve every time. I really don't expect anything in return, and I most certainly don't expect that anyone could return the same exact favor. But, to be accused of not doing enough by people who don't do anything at all? That's just absurd. As you said, there's a time to decide to become more selfish. There's a breaking point. I don't think that true altruism exists, and I would never consider myself as such.

We had a blast! Since I won't be posting about it here on Steemit, allow me to briefly narrate the events. We went to Camp N, this sort of outdoor nature obstacle course, then the day after we got massages and had a day of relaxation. It rained both days, as it normally does during our birthdays haha! I might post the pics on Facebook though haha!