Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[SunnyBeBe]

1 hour ago, Jeeves said:

I'd give this one a thousand likes if I could. I'm sorry that Tiger Woods has suffered such awful injuries but holy smokes, as has been said, it doesn't warrant 24/7 TV news coverage. 

I still remember the news coverage in the immediate aftermath of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. One specific memory was at a time before OJ was identified as a suspect/arrested. Good grief - the way the TV anchors and sports guys were moaning about poor OJ! Remember, Nicole and OJ were not just separated, but DIVORCED. And a national TV network news anchor (might have been Tom Brokaw, and if it wasn't him it was someone at his level), actually referred to OJ in an over the top voice, gripped with sympathy, as a "grieving widower." I remember yelling at the TV! No, an ex-husband, not a widower. Sheesh.

The depth of the fan adoration of sports figures was really exposed to me during that whole saga. A male relative in a phone call, after OJ had been arrested and charged with the murders, repeated a story that he'd probably heard down at the athletic club. Something about how maybe OJ was involved in some supersecret stuff for the gubmint, and the murders were somehow done by somebody shady in relation to that, maybe a CIA deal. Good lord!!! What bullshit!! I hope he could HEAR my eyerolls at that one, all the way from my town to his. And. I could tell, he really wanted to believe that OJ couldn't have killed those people.

Background: I spent the first four years of my legal career as a public defender. I saw some domestic violence cases up close professionally, and was also active in the women's bar association where I learned a lot more. Not being blinded by the man-love for sports legends, it was plain as day to me that OJ killed those two, and, sorry fanboys, but it was not even a particularly special version of domestic violence. Sigh.

End of rant. Carry on, folks.

Good points.  It doesn’t effect me that much, because I’m not a big sports fan.  I’ve attended some professional hockey games in the past as well as ACC basketball games, but that’s it.  I’m not sure why it doesn’t appeal to me anymore.  Plus, I now have serious issues with football due to brain damage issues.  I realize that’s not a popular opinion, but after all the discovery of what damage football has done to its players!  It’s horrible.  I’ve seen a couple of documentaries about it.  I wonder when the truth will really make any difference.  End of rant...lol. I’m an attorney too!  

Edited February 25, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[rue721]

51 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

 Plus, I now have serious issues with football due to brain damage issues.

Completely agree! Not that I’ve ever liked watching football, but I really can’t watch people spend hours giving themselves brain damage for my “enjoyment” now that we know how much damage it actually does.

I have tried to get into watching the WNBA, because I think watching sports can definitely be a nice way to escape and relax. If I’m going to have the TV on, then maybe it’s better to see some incredibly talented athletes playing a game they love and have practiced endlessly for then to watch terrifying political analysis or some show where people are gruesomely murdering each other, you know? But I can’t get into it for some reason.

And I say the WNBA because I just enjoy women’s sports more. Watching men play always makes me feel excluded, whereas watching women play reminds me of when I played sports in high school. It’s kind of silly because I was never athletic at all, so it’s not like I could have played with the pro or even college women any more than I could have played with the men! But it still feels more fun to me 🤷🏻‍♀️And sometimes the actual game or match is more fun because the women can’t just power through each other like the men do, they have to use more finesse (thinking of tennis and gymnastics in particular).

[Leeds]

53 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Good points.  It doesn’t effect me that much, because I’m not a big sports fan.  I’ve attended some professional hockey games in the past as well as ACC basketball games, but that’s it.  I’m not sure why it doesn’t appeal to me anymore.  Plus, I now have serious issues with football due to brain damage issues.  I realize that’s not a popular opinion, but after all the discovery of what damage football has done to its players!  It’s horrible.  I’ve seen a couple of documentaries about it.  I wonder when the truth will really make any difference.  End of rant...lol. I’m an attorney too!  

When I moved to the States and was exposed to "American" football, I was appalled by the violence.  The same with "American" hockey.  It seemed obvious to me that there had to be some serious brain damage going on.  Over the decades I've also seen/heard some reporting on this, but the lure of filthy lucre makes for a severe lack of willingness to change regulations.

Mohammed Ali was venerated, yet a discussion of the possibility of him being brain damaged because he spent his career being hit in the head rarely if ever came up.  I'd see him on TV and throw up my hands shouting "Look at him!  This is what happens!"

[Leeds]

7 minutes ago, rue721 said:

Completely agree! Not that I’ve ever liked watching football, but I really can’t watch people spend hours giving themselves brain damage for my “enjoyment” now that we know how much damage it actually does.

I have tried to get into watching the WNBA, because I think watching sports can definitely be a nice way to escape and relax. If I’m going to have the TV on, then maybe it’s better to see some incredibly talented athletes playing a game they love and have practiced endlessly for then to watch terrifying political analysis or some show where people are gruesomely murdering each other, you know? But I can’t get into it for some reason.

And I say the WNBA because I just enjoy women’s sports more. Watching men play always makes me feel excluded, whereas watching women play reminds me of when I played sports in high school. It’s kind of silly because I was never athletic at all, so it’s not like I could have played with the pro or even college women any more than I could have played with the men! But it still feels more fun to me 🤷🏻‍♀️And sometimes the actual game or match is more fun because the women can’t just power through each other like the men do, they have to use more finesse (thinking of tennis and gymnastics in particular).

 

I don't get men's basketball.  For me it's like watching a metronome - tick tock, back and forth.

Americans dismiss cricket as boring, yet love baseball.  Where's the logic in that?

[Oldernowiser]

7 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I don't get men's basketball.  For me it's like watching a metronome - tick tock, back and forth.

I can’t deal with the shoes squeaking. Drives me crazy.

And hockey is the same...back and forth, back and forth, and then a fight breaks out.

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

I can’t deal with the shoes squeaking. Drives me crazy.

ME TOO! I'm convinced the tenth circle of hell is a loop of basketball shoe squeaks that is played over and over and over again. 

[Scarlett45]

54 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Mohammed Ali was venerated, yet a discussion of the possibility of him being brain damaged because he spent his career being hit in the head rarely if ever came up.  I'd see him on TV and throw up my hands shouting "Look at him!  This is what happens!"

I haven't received that impression. In my social milieu its common knowledge that his years of fighting did such damage to him, but he is venerated for the racial barriers he broke, as well as being anti-war and poverty, his celebration of blackness on his own terms etc. We all know WHY Mohammed Ali is the way he is, and he said he didn't want Laila in boxing for those reasons (also stepped in sexism but still).

 

 

Unrelated but I have a funny story- (about Cosmo OF COURSE)


Since Cosmo has been here, he’s been very interested in the right corner of the front door way



And yesterday I learned why…..



There was a carrot nose left there from the snow men pumpkins! Its been buried in the snow and when the snow melted he gobbled it up in two bites! I do watch what he is eating on our walks so he doesn't eat something dangerous (or I try to- but he moved so quickly!).

[Zella]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I haven't received that impression. In my social milieu its common knowledge that his years of fighting did such damage to him, but he is venerated for the racial barriers he broke, as well as being anti-war and poverty, his celebration of blackness on his own terms etc. We all know WHY Mohammed Ali is the way he is, and he said he didn't want Layla in boxing for those reasons (also stepped in sexism but still).

Yes, I feel like people discussed and acknowledged the effects of head injuries in relation to boxing long before they did football. 

Edited February 25, 2021 by Zella

[Leeds]

6 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

I haven't received that impression. In my social milieu its common knowledge that his years of fighting did such damage to him, but he is venerated for the racial barriers he broke, as well as being anti-war and poverty, his celebration of blackness on his own terms etc. We all know WHY Mohammed Ali is the way he is, and he said he didn't want Layla in boxing for those reasons (also stepped in sexism but still).

I'm sorry, I certainly didn't mean to give the impression that he doesn't deserve to be venerated.  My problem is with the lack of widespread media coverage and public acknowledgement of the repercussions of high impact contact sports.

Edited February 25, 2021 by Leeds

[Scarlett45]

2 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I'm sorry, I certainly didn't mean to give the impression that he doesn't deserve to be venerated.  My problem is with the lack of widespread media coverage and public acknowledgement of the repercussions of high impact contact sports.

No no I didn't think that you were! I just thought that there was a great deal of public acknowledgment of the damage boxing did to him. 

[QuinnInND]

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

 

I don't get men's basketball.  For me it's like watching a metronome - tick tock, back and forth

I don't mind college, but pro basketball is boring af. Constant penalties and free throws. They barely move, and boom. Free throw. Takes hours and hours to play a game, and the season is 11 3/4 months long. I had a regular customer who loved to take me to Clippers games. Bored me to death.  I hated it. He was a nice man, but yeah. I couldn't care less about pro basketball if I took a pill to achieve it. TM Lady Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey. 

Edited February 25, 2021 by QuinnInND

[Leeds]

8 minutes ago, QuinnInND said:

I don't mind college, but pro basketball is boring af. Constant penalties and free throws. They barely move, and boom. Free throw. Takes hours and hours to play a game, and the season is 11 3/4 months long. I had a regular customer who loved to take me to Clippers games. Bored me to death.  I hated it. He was a nice man, but yeah. I couldn't care less about pro basketball if I took a pill to achieve it. 

It's well documented that the average pro football game lasts over three hours but the time the ball is actually in play is around 11 minutes.  Yawn.

Oh, and talk about boring - Formula One racing, anyone?

[CalicoKitty]

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

 

I don't get men's basketball.  For me it's like watching a metronome - tick tock, back and forth.

Americans dismiss cricket as boring, yet love baseball.  Where's the logic in that?

I love baseball, and I would like to like cricket.  But I can't figure out the rules.

[QuinnInND]

5 minutes ago, Leeds said:

It's well documented that the average pro football game lasts over three hours but the time the ball is actually in play is around 11 minutes.  Yawn.

Oh, and talk about boring - Formula One racing, anyone?

Maybe, but I've seen basketball games have a minute and a half to play, and have it take an hour to finish. That's ridiculous. 

[DangerousMinds]

34 minutes ago, Zella said:

Yes, I feel like people discussed and acknowledged the effects of head injuries in relation to boxing long before they did football. 

I have zero interest in any sport, but the fact that many do watch and support boxing and football disgusts me for this reason. 

Edited February 25, 2021 by DangerousMinds

[Boston]

10 hours ago, DangerousMinds said:

I have slept with a fan on since college. It has helped me sleep through almost anything.

Same  here!  Even in the winter - not so much to block out noise, but I live alone and can't stand the complete quiet in darkness.

[Leeds]

20 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

I love baseball, and I would like to like cricket.  But I can't figure out the rules.

 

I used to have a tea-towel with the rules (back in the day, it wasn't as politically correct!):

"You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.

Each man OR woman that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he/she is out he/she comes in and the next man/woman goes in until he/she’s out.

When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.

Sometimes you get men/women still in and not out.

When a man/woman goes out to go in, the men/women who are out try to get them out, and when he/she is out he/she goes in and the next batter in goes out and goes in.

There are two men/woman called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men/women who are in are out.

When both sides have been in and all the men/women have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men/women have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game."

[CalicoKitty]

5 minutes ago, Leeds said:

 

I used to have a tea-towel with the rules (back in the day, it wasn't as politically correct!):

"You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.

Each man OR woman that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he/she is out he/she comes in and the next man/woman goes in until he/she’s out.

When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.

Sometimes you get men/women still in and not out.

When a man/woman goes out to go in, the men/women who are out try to get them out, and when he/she is out he/she goes in and the next batter in goes out and goes in.

There are two men/woman called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men/women who are in are out.

When both sides have been in and all the men/women have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men/women have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game."

That's kind of what I thought.

[marypat57]

I FINALLY was able to get a vaccine appointment!!!  Walgreens opened up some sites in eastern Queens that were a reasonable distance from Nassau County.  My first shot is this afternoon and the second one is on March 25.  
 

We can now return to our regularly scheduled snark.

[Oldernowiser]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

ME TOO! I'm convinced the tenth circle of hell is a loop of basketball shoe squeaks that is played over and over and over again. 

Told you we are related!

37 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Oh, and talk about boring - Formula One racing, anyone?

Oh, yes. In my corporate life the CEO had the fleeting idea that maybe the company should sponsor a race car. This led to three of the longest, hottest, smelliest, noisiest days of my life somewhere in central Florida watching cars go around and around and around...until somebody crashed. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. So stupid and environmentally disastrous.

Fortunately, I put together a potential budget for that sponsorship and by then the CEO had lost enthusiasm. Whew.

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

ME TOO! I'm convinced the tenth circle of hell is a loop of basketball shoe squeaks that is played over and over and over again. 

How brilliant would it be if people who have neighbours with incessantly barking dogs rigged up a Heath Robinson/Rube Goldberg contraption with a constant loop of squeaking basketballs shoes?  Hang it outside their window/smuggle it into their bedroom and they might learn what annoyance is.

[iwantcookies]

I got called at 9 am and told come early for the appointment. I came early and will be here until 3 pm which was my original time. Wasted cab fare. I could have taken the bus and not have rushed. 
 

 

And they keep giving me pregnancy tests. There is no way I am pregnant. Unless God himself impregnates me.

Edited February 25, 2021 by iwantcookies

[iwantcookies]

For those who need a laugh

 

https://people.com/food/nearly-half-of-americans-say-peanut-butter-preference-would-be-a-romantic-deal-breaker-survey/

[Leeds]

4 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I need a steady sound to fall asleep. It doesn’t matter if it’s noisy outside or silent. I use a fan.

I wish I were famous enough to have fans like yours.  😉

[jcbrown]

1 hour ago, QuinnInND said:

I don't mind college, but pro basketball is boring af. Constant penalties and free throws. They barely move, and boom. Free throw. Takes hours and hours to play a game, and the season is 11 3/4 months long. I had a regular customer who loved to take me to Clippers games. Bored me to death.  I hated it. He was a nice man, but yeah. I couldn't care less about pro basketball if I took a pill to achieve it. TM Lady Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey. 

I grew up in Bloomington IN in the golden age of men's IU basketball so I watched college basketball every year. Decades ago, a guy who was trying to impress me took me to a pro game. He was mansplaining the hell out of it to me and I was kind of ignoring him. Then something happens on the court and I burst out, "do they not call travelling in the pros?" To his slight credit, he realized his mansplaining was not required. 

[CouchTater]

Hi all.   I hope everyone's having a good Thursday.

I posted here last summer about my 2 newly adopted cats (Ivy [no relation to Ivy Seewald] and Willa).  We have all integrated well.  Yesterday I introduced them to videos for cats on Youtube.  They are pretty obsessed with them now.  In the first attached pic, I had to yield 3/4's of my desk to them so they could watch their "show" while I tried to work.  Since I'm currently working from home (thanks COVID), it was not convenient.  I eventually remembered that the TV in the room also has Youtube access, so I moved them over there (pic 2).  They're fun and funny.  🙂

[BetyBee]

55 minutes ago, iwantcookies said:

And they keep giving me pregnancy tests. There is no way I am pregnant. Unless God himself impregnates me.

Let us know if He does! 😉 

As for sports, I hate boxing. I don't understand how people can watch that!  

[Jeeves]

Just now, BetyBee said:

As for sports, I hate boxing. I don't understand how people can watch that!  

Me too. I have *never* understood how that is considered a sport. 

[Oldernowiser]

35 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

Then something happens on the court and I burst out, "do they not call travelling in the pros?" To his slight credit, he realized his mansplaining was not required. 

Ha. Good for you! And no, they don’t call traveling. Ever. Drives me crazy...another reason Mr. Wiser watched his Celtics games solo.

1 hour ago, iwantcookies said:
 

And they keep giving me pregnancy tests. There is no way I am pregnant. Unless God himself impregnates me.

JillRod would die of jealousy. Literally. 

[Mindthinkr]

@CouchTater My cats like YouTube too. She especially loves the Catching Fish game. It’s located under cat games. I only have short movies of her playing (too big to embed here). When the fish would go off the screen she would take her paw and lift the iPad up off the couch to see if the fish was under it. She’s a smart girl. 

[emma675]

I'll just be sitting over here in my own corner, because I love all sports. The NBA bubble last summer was a bright spot for me and I miss college football games with thousands of fans, bands, cheerleaders, and all of the fanfare. I can't play a single sport to save my life (I have basically no hand/eye coordination), but I enjoy watching almost all kinds (except golf and boxing). 

[ozziemom]

3 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

 

Unrelated but I have a funny story- (about Cosmo OF COURSE)


Since Cosmo has been here, he’s been very interested in the right corner of the front door way



And yesterday I learned why…..



There was a carrot nose left there from the snow men pumpkins! Its been buried in the snow and when the snow melted he gobbled it up in two bites! I do watch what he is eating on our walks so he doesn't eat something dangerous (or I try to- but he moved so quickly!).

Yes indeed, dogs will eat anything off the ground. Ozziedog loves rabbit poo. Yes, that is right, those little round circles of poo make the perfect snack while you are out for a stroll. And here in Florida, they are available year round. Unfortunately they can give dogs a parasite so we spend most of the time yanking him away from the poo. But he moves quickly, so it’s tough to catch him before he gobbles the poo down.

[Jeanne222]

5 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I need a steady sound to fall asleep. It doesn’t matter if it’s noisy outside or silent. I use a fan.

My grown kids blew up many fans when they used to visit our lakehouse!

I have three ceiling fans in our home that may have been turned on once or twice in the four years we have lived here!

The blowing air gives me the chills.  Growing old is not for sissies!  

[Leeds]

6 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

My grown kids blew up many fans when they used to visit our lakehouse!

I have three ceiling fans in our home that may have been turned on once or twice in the four years we have lived here!

The blowing air gives me the chills.  Growing old is not for sissies!  

I have just one.  I always forget to dust it before its annual spin.

[Jeanne222]

1 hour ago, jcbrown said:

I grew up in Bloomington IN in the golden age of men's IU basketball so I watched college basketball every year. Decades ago, a guy who was trying to impress me took me to a pro game. He was mansplaining the hell out of it to me and I was kind of ignoring him. Then something happens on the court and I burst out, "do they not call travelling in the pros?" To his slight credit, he realized his mansplaining was not required. 

One of our daughters played varsity basketball.  While traveling we stopped at Larry Birds restaurant and hotel!  When leaving saw him and family members waiting for the elevator!

I think that was in Terre Haute but could be mistaken.  Pretty exciting!

[Oldernowiser]

@CouchTater, your kitties are so pretty...but your room caught my eye and it is GORGEOUS. Love the art, the plants, love the furniture. Yum.

Okay, dog owners, I’ll see you rabbit poop and raise you bear poop and bobcat poop. When we lived in the wilds in Maine, my dogs would sniff anything canid (foxes, coyotes) and decline...but bobcat? Bear? Apparently a rare delicacy. 😝

 

[iwantcookies]

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

I wish I were famous enough to have fans like yours.  😉

That’s so funny! 

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, emma675 said:

I'll just be sitting over here in my own corner, because I love all sports. The NBA bubble last summer was a bright spot for me and I miss college football games with thousands of fans, bands, cheerleaders, and all of the fanfare. I can't play a single sport to save my life (I have basically no hand/eye coordination), but I enjoy watching almost all kinds (except golf and boxing). 

I love most sports, but some I just find insanely boring, or criminally violent.

When I moved to the States I lived for three years without a TV.  Then I made the mistake of buying one to watch the Olympics.  Big mistake.  The coverage was pitiful, there was practically no coverage of any race or event that didn't include an American, and the commercials were excruciating and endless.  Even worse, it was the year of the Mary Decker/Zola Budd melodrama.  The replays, the angst, the tears, the jingoism.  Oy.

48 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

One of our daughters played varsity basketball.  While traveling we stopped at Larry Birds restaurant and hotel!  When leaving saw him and family members waiting for the elevator!

 

Hey, no travelling in women's basketball, remember!

Edited February 25, 2021 by Leeds

[iwantcookies]

Yours truly cannot get a real date to save her life. But so far got 3 green card marriage proposals! Haha

[emma675]

18 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

Okay, dog owners, I’ll see you rabbit poop and raise you bear poop and bobcat poop.

I see your bear and bobcat poop and raise you dead frogs. I live near a lake and have the occasional dead frog in the backyard, if my dog isn't rolling around on the corpse she's trying to eat it. 🤮

[SunnyBeBe]

In the south, college basketball is really like a religion.  It goes deep and we (NC) are fortunate to have some great teams like Duke, Carolina, NC State, etc.  Most of my friends attended these schools and are still huge fans.  I wish I still had the enthusiasm. My nephew played in high school and wanted to play for UNC, but covid.....not sure what he’s going to do.  I hope he can realize his dream.  He’s 6’8.  
 

I do like things like skiing, swimming, track, etc.

[Happyfatchick]

@SunnyBeBe, scholarships and college sports in general:  one of the many “why Covid sucks” memorials.   Truly what a SHAME if your nephew doesn’t get to play college ball.  

[SunnyBeBe]

6 minutes ago, Happyfatchick said:

@SunnyBeBe, scholarships and college sports in general:  one of the many “why Covid sucks” memorials.   Truly what a SHAME if your nephew doesn’t get to play college ball.  

He attended Carolina basketball camp a couple of years ago and has a photo of him taken with Roy Williams....Wearing Carolina junior uniform....so thrilled.  We’ll see. He’s pretty good.  

Edited February 25, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[iwantcookies]

@CouchTater your kitties are adorable 

Also Ivy Jane Seewald is a great full name for a cat! 

If Jessa names the next kid Willa it would be hilarious.

 

[Oldernowiser]

20 minutes ago, iwantcookies said:

Yours truly cannot get a real date to save her life. But so far got 3 green card marriage proposals! Haha

How well does that pay? Asking for a friend. 

[iwantcookies]

2 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

How well does that pay? Asking for a friend. 

I don’t ask about $. I just turn them down! 

Edited February 25, 2021 by iwantcookies

[SunnyBeBe]

I have a friend (40ish) who was very active with online dating.  She was dating twice a week!  Before covid. She had some duds, but then met her soul mate. They married last spring on the beach and just bought their dream home! She’s very happy.  It works for some.  

[Jeanne222]

Date line just did a three part show on Thomas Randolph.    The Widower.  He had six wives four of them dead!

Wife number six married him shortly after meeting him!  Buyer beware.

Any man wanting to date me would get a proper vetting.  

[Zella]

My grandparents got their first COVID vaccines this morning! I'd mentioned a few days ago they were on two lists (one a rolling one and one an appointment-based one). Well, the second list came through faster. They'd been scheduled two hours apart because I couldn't book back-to-back appointments, but when they pointed that out to the pharmacy, the pharmacy went ahead and gave them their shots at the same time and ensured they got appointments at the same time for the second shot in late March. (Thank you, small-town pharmacy.) So far, no side effects. I'm glad because my grandmother had been worried about that. 

Also a clinic working with the first pharmacy called them this afternoon to make them an appointment, but they declined it obviously since they'd just gotten the shot. This week, AR lowered the age limit for seniors, so I imagine they've gotten slammed with more requests than they can handle and that's why they're outsourcing it. Apparently, the pharmacies here all get allotted about 100 doses a week. 

[Jenniferbug]

I met my husband through online dating. We got married 6 months later, and have been married for 8 years. I think sometimes things just work out how they're supposed to. We both just wanted to get out and meet people so a dating website (not apps back then) seemed like a good idea. We went on 2 dates and decided we didn't want to see other people anymore. Then we were surprised with our eldest daughter shortly after so that maybe sped things up a bit. It wasn't that we felt we HAD to get married. It was more like, we both felt in our bones it was going to happen eventually so we might as well get married sooner. I'm not an impulsive person and never would have thought I'd get engaged and married within 6 months of meeting someone, but I've never doubted or regretted it.