I had a dream last night that I was being an asshole to someone and mk came up and tapped me on the shoulder with a disapproving look. I then apologized.

I'm normally pretty kind and welcoming to people I don't know well. When I get to know people better I'm more apt to be a jerk sometimes. But isn't that the way it goes? We tend to be cruelest to the ones we love. What I've learned is that if someone is rude to me it usually has nothing to do with the topic at hand but rather something unrelated. We humans are complex puzzles of emotional oddness.

My father in law gave us a book even before we were married titled "His Needs, Her Needs." -some good advice in there.

Being nice is always valuable. You can tell a LOT about someone by how they treat people. I've met people that were rude to strangers, servers in restaurants etc and I have little patience for that.

I like the Conan O'brien quote, "if you work really hard and are kind, amazing things will happen." -I believe the hard work and the kindness are equals in that equation.