Sooooo…i am going to try to make this short but it may be difficult. I am currently 28 years old, male. It started when i was 14. I had an attack i guess you would call it. First it started with being light headed. Then a sort of feeling that i wasnt connected to my body. Sort of like i was there but in a dream feeling. My surroundings seemed to change. I was no longer comfortable even in my own home, everything just seemed different in a way. Sure i could look outside and say well thats the backyard, or those are the mountains. But things just didnt feel the same. As if i had lost part of my connection with the reality around me. Slowly the symptoms subsided, but never completely went away. I think rather i just got used to them, and lived with them. Told my mother how i felt, a doctor did an MRI of my head and said everything was ok. Plus a CT scan. I went to a therapist and the doctor just said i was depressed, and put me on Paxil.

So skipping ahead to about age 19, i had another attack, this one much worse then the first. I had a tingling sensation in my head sort of in the back right area, again felt like i was out of my body. Convinced myself that i wasnt losing it or going insane but it was extremely hard not to. Again the world looked different in my mind, like i had lost slightly more of my perception to reality and my feeling of self. Almost like i was there but a zombie, on autopilot. Every evening i would recite different words in a sequence in my mind and say them over and over….testing my memory. Making sure i wasnt going brain dead. This time i developed floaters in my eyes, for some reason. And during this period it almost seemed that i would see trails after swiftly moving my hand in front of my face, or watching something fast moving. I was not on drugs, don’t use drugs, never did acid. Just to clear that up. So slowly the symptoms again either subsided or i managed to cope with them, and continue life in a semi normal manner.

Skip ahead to 26 years of age. I had a smaller attack. Started with being light headed, then the out of body feeling. Confused thoughts, again felt like i had been shoved into a dream. Went to the E.R. and explained how i felt. A CT scan was performed, looked fine, blood work looked fine. I thought what the hell? Why is this happening to me and how could there possibly be nothing wrong? Was i just going crazy? This time i seemed more comfortable at night having a small light on next to the t.v. when i was watching it at night. Felt out of place, same disoriented feeling, disconnection with reality and with my body. Symptoms receded in about a couple weeks..i went to a neurologist and he ordered a couple tests this time. An EKG…i believe it was called, and an MRI. I couldnt get the nerve to go through with the tests. Frightened of what they would find but then, i started feeling better. So i just kind of forgot about it.

Ok up to the present. The year 2010. I’m 28 years old. I work as a chef at a restaurant and just 2 weeks ago i had another attack. This one has been in comparison to my previous attacks about 20 times worse. I got really light headed and dizzy at work one day, obviously by now i am scared to death that these symptoms are going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I feel like my reality is fading, and almost as if i have to re learn how i perceive reality in my mind. I feel out of place at home, at work, i feel like a zombie. I worry that one day i will just wake up and not know where i am, who i am, who my family is, i feel disconnected with reality. I would like to know what is causing my symptoms. I really don’t want to go through with this again. Is it physical, or psychological? Anxiety? Stress? Panic? I really need help! I went to an ENT this time because it seems like sounds are jumbled and coming thru a tunnel. Especially at work, and they are going to perform a test called an ENG on me in two weeks to test my inner ears. Could this all be caused from an inner ear problem? Some one please give me some insight. Would like to know if anyone out there has experienced the same thing. Please help!!!

First off I’ll let you know I am a straight guy. I’m guessing that will change people’s perception since it seems most people think only women work stores.

The store is relatively upscale, and is called a, “Lingerie and Video Store.” It is lit up like a Christmas tree, doesn’t have the viewing booths, and is right on the main highway in town between two restaurants. So there’s no seediness there. I know I’ll meet some creepy people, but I don’t care at all. I could see the local reverend buy the freakiest sex toy ever or find out a guy has a mistress and still never judge him for it.

I have an interview, and I’m kind of nervous. If I get it I don’t know what to expect. I’m a 5′8″ 140-pound 19-year old with a baby face (very non-intimidating), and I don’t know if that will be a bad thing or not. I don’t want people to act differently because I’m a young guy, or (I admit) effeminate-looking or anything, especially if it lowers sales. If college girls (college town) won’t buy stuff because I’m at the register, that’s bad. I want to see the company do well!

Also I’m worried about the customers. This girl I know told me if I get the job I will meet some women who are repeats (like strippers buying outfits, avid porn-watchers, and such) who will sometimes hit on me and give me their number to randomly hook up and such. She said I’ll also get the chance to have sex like all the time if I want to. She was talking like I would enjoy that, but that isn’t who I am (monogamous) so that isn’t a selling point for the job. All of that talk seems stupid, though. I mean it is just a job and I’m not going to end up being overly sexual because of the environment, right? I’m not making porn, I’m working at a store! I want and need a job, but not if it is going to change me and ruin future relationships with girls.

Also, for the girls, would you date a guy if he told you he worked at a sex shop? He is not creepy or overly sexual at all and seems completely normal (would never have guessed he worked there). He’s going to business college, and it is simply his way of paying his bills through school. Would you think less of a guy if he worked there? Would you still date him?

A friend said “It used to be my favorite restaurant but it sucks any more.” I cringed. Obviously he meant “now.” Nonetheless, “now” is considered a synonym for “any more.” I’ve also found references that suggest his use of the phrase is correct in American English with the quite notable exception of New England. We are in the South but I hail from Massachusetts so I cannot discount the possibility that my understanding of the phrase is archaic.

In any event, I am finding the exploration of the proper usage to be quite interesting.
יָהֵלִי Oh, I can come up with plenty of examples as to why “now” cannot be substituted for “any more” and vice versa. My initial suggestion to him was that “any more” should only be used when “ever again” would fit but there are examples against that, as well.

Your perception of verbs has helped to clarify it but it is still interesting that it is such a seemingly obvious misuse but so difficult to pin down.

The recession is stalling starter sales, and forcing operators to rev up both the creativity and value perception of their appetizers, according to Technomic Inc.

Improvements in guests’ perception of service and value at some of the country’s largest restaurant companies contributed to another quarterly uptick in the American Customer Satisfaction Index. The national economic indicator, which measures customer evaluations of products and services in several industries, rose 0.4 percent for the first quarter of 2009, to a score of 76 on a 100-point scale.