March 06, 2003 | 10:30 AM

Mr. Rogers/ 7 habits of highly effective people comment that must be gotten out of the way:

The more that I like myself and appreciate myself and do exactly what I want to do, the more I like and appreciate others, the more caring and generous I feel towards them, and the better a friend I am.

When I don�t feel good about myself, I don�t feel good about other people and I don�t know how to treat them well. When I feel happy about who I am and what I�m doing, I can see the beauty in everybody and just appreciate them for who they are, and giving and receiving love is easy as cake.

I never really understood that until today. When I focus on relationships, I feel like shit and my relationships turn to shit. But when I focus on ME, what I want to do with my life, then my relationships suddenly blossom. I have finally uncovered the paradox.

I still can�t get over what an amazing day yesterday was. I really can�t.

Tomorrow is Debbie�s last day karaoke extravaganza, and I am really really REALLY looking forward to it. I can�t wait to see everyone together in the same place. It�s been way too long.