I'd rather eat nothing than eat a carrot.

The old Chinese proverb springs to mind - No pain, no gain.

Why do we have such a finite capacity for pleasure but an infinite one for pain?

I am different when my nails are done. I am more dynamic. I gesticulate more, I am better at scaring my staff. I can indicate impatience by drumming on tabletops and I can wrap up a meeting with a few choice clatters.

One day we'll all be dead, and none of this will matter" -The Brightest Star in the Sky.

The back windows looked out over the fields, then the Atlantic, maybe a hundred yards away. Actually, I'm just making that bit up. I had no idea how far away the sea was. Only men could do things like that. "Half a mile." "Fifty yards." Giving directions, that sort of thing. I could look at a woman and say "Thirty-six C." Or "Let's try it in the next size up." But I had no idea how far away Tim's sea was except that I wouldn't want to walk to it in high heels.

In an unpredictable and unpleasant world it was both unusual and very pleasant to hear what I wanted to hear.