A heart that's full up like a landfill
A job that slowly kills you
Bruises that won't heal

I'm starting to feel like I'm out of synch with Furry Fandom. Just this low-level rumble as I drift aimlessly through Fur Affinity. Is it really all about naked dragons and big cocks? The race to collect all of a certain artist's works? Or to drool fanboyishly over everything someone does? If I stand here and say I really don't know if I want to go see Avatar (I have my reasons) will I be disowned by the community?

The times that I happen to stumble over (or more often am pointed to) art of some smoking-hot female form, there are usually dozens upon dozens of comments about how sexy they are, or offers to bed them or how luscious they might be. And while I don't exactly disagree, I'm not sure I understand this fanatical need to comment and let the world know how eagerly you'd have sex with the object of the submission. Oddly enough, the object in question doesn't always have to be something living.

I have no interest in joining Second Life. I understand that you can live out your fantasy of being a Furry right there in a well-done virtual world. I still have no interest in existing there. My standard response is that I can hardly even handle my first life, do I really need a second one?

How many Furries out there spend all their time on SL, learning how to interact online while letting their real-world social skills slowly atrophy? How long before we have a whole generation that has no idea how to relate to each other except electronically? And that's not just limited to Furries or Second Life. I'm talking about people on Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, LiveJournal... even instant messenger services and cell phone texting to a certain degree.

I can go out and pal around with people in the real world. I mean, really sit down at talk. I don't always have to be the center of attention and I can engage in a good give-and-take conversation. I am constantly frustrated by people who refuse to ask questions to keep a conversation going. Here's a hint: When you ask what I did over the weekend and I give you a list of things, the proper answer is not "Cool" unless you're trying to end the conversation.

I've held down plenty of good jobs for reasonable periods of time. I even had a job that required me to show up each day in dress clothes and interact with perfect strangers (both in person and over the phone). Imagine that, a Furry in a suit and tie that can talk to clients without driving them off. Would you ever have thought such a thing possible?

Ah, I think I have discovered the problem. I'm a socially well-adjusted Furry. No wonder I feel so alone and out of place.