Gettin' back into the advice game.

So, I had a couple old advice letters that never got answered in 2004 (I'm talking about my once-defunct advice column, Ray's Place, which you can find on the Achewood website). They'd been kickin' around in my inbox for a while just doin' no one any good, so the other night after a little Braveheart and Blue Label I was in kind of a noble mood and decided to take a stab at them. Funny thing is, I really got a kick outta it! Guess I just needed a little time away to help me realize that I really do enjoy tacklin' the messy situations folks get themselves into.

Some tips for writing in to Ray's Place:

1. Brevity is best. I got like a five page email from some dude with fifty thousand details and I could not read it. If it's too long for me, then it's definitely too long for someone who doesn't want to help you. Try to write about a paragraph. Don't know what a paragraph is? It is three sentences maximum and none of them involve a self-estimation of your particular level of "skill with the ladies." I'll decide that, Mr. Writes-to-a-Cartoon-Cat.

2. Have a clear problem. This one letter I got was all about a long-distance relationship gone sour, trouble getting baseball tickets, and car trouble based on snowy weather. In the end the guy just thanked me for reading and signed off. No question mark anywhere. What?

3. Don't just copy-and-paste the latest Letters page from Nugget Magazine, Mike from Seattle.

Okay, I got a pretty good bag of questions this week and I think I will use some time to answer them soon. But not here. You have to go to Ray's Place for that.

-=Ray=-