green

I play the stereo beautifully. I was also married to a musician and was involved with another one for 7 years. Does any of this count? Haha.

Yah, I was told that my gut was too big to be removed surgically. *sigh*:omg:

I find some of the comments in this post to be rather curious. I saw no signs that Iraq was poised to invade America and impose Islam upon the American people. To begin with, an independent multi-national task force headed up by Herr Blix had determinded that there were no weapons of mass destruction in that country. Moreover, Iraq would be much more interested, as it was before, in wealthy Kuwait which is part of the Basra Peninsula and therefore arguably part of Iraq's territory. Iraq also has an enemy much closer to home to worry about and that is Iran. Invasion of Afghanistan made a certain amount of sense since the Taliban and al Qaida are linked. Invasion of certain regions of Pakistan would make sense; these regions house the Taliban and al Qaida. But Pakistan is supposedly a friend of the United States and that makes invasion awkward. Similarly, invasion of wealthy Saudi Arabia, the birth place of al Qaida and the fundamentalist movement that started it all, would make sense but Saudi Arabia is a friend of the United States, too. Re Katrina: the hurricane did terrible damage. The complaint with Bush and company was how they dropped the ball in the aftermath. The situation down there was as dire as anything that the world has seen in a third world country. You may be interested to know that many of us up here in Canada were sending money down there through the Red Cross. Indeed, we were having fund raising parties. My friends who live in Germany and France were horrified by the news coverage. Quite frankly, the events that followed Katrina were an international disgrace. I am also left wondering how any American, there are afterall over 300 million of you, can think that you will be invaded by Muslims and forced to bow down to Allah. It doesn't make sense.

The Patriot Acts have made inroads into your civil liberties from what I understand. These were instigated by the Republicans, presumably by those who sit at the far right. That these erosions of civil liberties were successfully brought about was due to the climate of fear and paranoia that has been fostered in America since the terrible events of 9/11. It is worth noting that these events have not been repeated and yet the fall-out in your country has been dramatic. There has been those Patriot Acts, the war in Afghanistan (which did make some sense) and the entirely senseless and very costly war in Iraq. Moreover, the United States has placed itself in an awkward position in the international arena. By electing to invade Iraq after an independent report (Blix) had stated that there were no weapons of mass destruction in that country, your country has seriously weakened its international diplomatic ties and lost "street cred," speaking globally. All this has stemmed from the way that 9/11 was handled - the aftermath. It is worth noting that European countries have been subject to terrorist attacks, too. Their approaches to these horrible events are different. They seem to rely on detective and spy work in order to find and destroy terrorist cells. And it is worth noting that terrorists attack major cities. Folks that live anywhere else have nothing to fear.

Back when Mad TV used to be funny it used to have a reoccurring skit called Lowered Expectations. This addressed the very problem that the chronically dateless have: their expectations are often far too high. I have known many dateless folks who routinely refuse to date anyone who is realistically within their grasp because the person isn't attractive enough. I have a friend who is single, in his 40s, has only ever been laid by one woman, and is only attracted by girls who look like Hilary Duff. When I suggested that he date a sexually frustrated colleague of mine, an over-weight woman who is middle-aged, he gasped in horror and said no! I attempted to match up another man, a guy who was in search of a date after his wife had dumped him, with a plump but very good looking girlfriend of mine. That never panned out either even though this guy came lumbered with a collection of children and was no centrefold himself. Of course we women are just as bad. My plump blonde girlfriend had been complaining about the lack of men and sex in her life but probably would have rejected this guy had it come to the point where he had actually made a date with her. Yep, over the years I have known many lonely people who have rejected other lonely people just because they weren't good enough.

My older friend got married. He told his wife after the birth of their first son that he was gay. Both of their sons are adults now and he and his wife are living apart. They still remain close as a family though which is a good thing. I went to see Brokeback Mountain with him. I found the movie a little long but he was very affected by it. It dealt with his era. I know of another man whose father was gay and eventually left his marriage for this reason. This man has been left feeling permanently bitter towards his father as has his mother. He is also unable to tolerate his brother-in-law, a homosexual. I live in a large city and life for young gay men here is much different. They are often openly gay and seem relaxed about their sexual orientation. The same seems to be true of young lesbians, I think. They have come a long way. Nevertheless, there are career paths where homosexuals still get a rough ride; I know a guy who teaches drama in a highschool who gets a lot of crap from the students, and I met a very butch lesbian who ended up quitting her teaching job. The rest of the staff treated her with hostility. Her workplace became toxic. Though life for homosexuals has become much easier in large cities I suspect that it is still very difficult in small towns. In big cities there is usually a "gay ghetto," a part of the city where one can meet and network with other people who are gay. And there is more anonymity in the big city.

Well, this would be b*ll$hit! You and others should mobilize yourselves on a grassroots level to see if you can bring about change. At the very least, you should be able to embarass big pharmacy.

Well, thank you kindly from a Canuck. It is true that this country's centre lies to the left of the Democrats. And you might be amused and amazed to learn that it was a Baptist preacher from our Bible Belt who was the guiding force behind the successful push for universal health care. You might also be amazed to learn that our current conservative and pro-Bush minority government has just dismantled the income trust programme up here. By doing so the government has cost the "haves" a lot of cash but they deemed that it was healthier for the economy in the long run. By doing this they have alienated a lot of voters. I am learning a lot from all of you who participate on these "controversial" threads. It now seems to me that the Canadian government is much less controlled by business interests. Perhaps this is because we are a much, much younger nation. Or perhaps this is because we still have strong British/European ties and so find ourselves following the British style of doing things. You may or may not know that we still have the Queen on our cash. Our constitution/Charter of Human Rights is less than 30 years old, I believe, but it is a Charter that purports to safeguard the rights of minorities. Canada is a very, very young nation and it is still a nation of immigrants. (My own parents were immigrants.) The assumption behind this Charter is that majorities can look after themselves just fine. Homosexuals, a minority, are now granted the right to marry under the provisions of our constitution/Charter. This is, for what it's worth, a brief explanation of Canada. We do have some Americans who move here. In fact there is an interesting blog, wemovetocanada, I think it is called, which is the diary of a New York couple who move to Canada. Of course there is many more of us who move southward. There are many former Canucks in Hollywood and Green's own brother lives in Virginia. I've often said that bad Americans get reborn as Canadians! Remember that we have the weather from Hell!

Good luck, Wheezikins, and do talk to your GP about your concerns. :help: Stress can do strange things to us. As for me, I definitely need a restriction. I am eating like a little piglet! :hungry: Maybe it is the stress of the winter months. I want to hibernate, eh.:notagree

Carlene, one of my best friends, we've been friends since university, was raised in a Catholic working class home. He is very, very bright. He spent his high school years in a Catholic boys' school on scholarships. His mum came around to understanding and accepting him, as did his brother and his sister. His blue collar father never did. This is a very bright and sensitive man, and a man who has three university degrees. I would say that he operates with much more ethical clarity and with more kindness than I do and yet the guy is gay. This means that for many people his value can be discounted.

Though I really don't care what happens to the odious preacher Haggard, Sunta does raise an interesting point in her post. I have always had gay friends ever since I was a teenager and that was a long, long time ago. These are individuals who have told me that they have known that they were different from a very young age. Most of them peg this sense of awareness from when they were between 4 and 6 years old. I was not, therefore, surprised when the results of various studies indicated that homosexuality is an issue of nature, not nurture. Homosexuality is not a lifestyle choice. Our teenage years are probably the most painful years of our lives. All teenagers want, desparately want to blend in with their peers. There really isn't any room for any of the oddballs; the fatties, the shrimps, the financially disenfranchised, and those who are too bright and those who aren't bright enough are not welcome in teensville. No gay kid is going to feel good about his or her orientation during those years. Moreover, the chances are high that the kid is not going to feel comfortable at home. Even the most liberal families have their hopes, eh. They are assuming that their kids will eventually marry and produce the next generation. If the kid's family is more conservative, well, his agony is that much worse. I spent today hanging with an older friend who is homosexual. He was married and he has two adult children. He was telling me about a guy he knew who came out to his family, was beaten up by his father and then thrown down a flight of stairs. Teenagers do commit suicide when they feel that they are different and that this difference is too painful to deal with. This may not hinge upon the issue of their sexual orientation. Teenagers do get bullied and marginalized for other reasons. But certainly no one chooses to be gay. It is too much work and too much heartbreak.

Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal.

Yep, we women do tend to outlast our men. I had an aunt who married a guy who was 11 years younger than herself. She still outlasted him, alas! And went quite bananas after he was gone. She lived on for quite a few years.... That Okie term is cute.:success1:

Not only does Green grumble but so does her cat. He was sitting on the window sill beside where she works on her computer. She had the window cracked open. The inside cat likes to smell the great outdoors. She heard the cat hiss and spit and figured that there must be another cat out there. Turns out the animal was chasing off an old man who was delivering flyers, probably trying to eke out his meager pension. This is a big black cat. Green is sure that the effect was quite sinister.

North of the border there were two parties of ex-pats on election night in my city who got reported on in the local news. A gang of democrats were drinking beer and watching the election coverage on television in a pub and in a downtown posh bar a collection of Republicans were drinking "Republican red" wine and likewise watching the coverage. The next day a columnist in our national conservative newspaper complained that it is impossible to find books written by conservative pundits in bookstores and in libraries in this country. She is undoubtedly correct on this score.

Wheezy, talk to your doc about the stress. Maybe he or she can help. Who knows? The fact that the psycho is now doing a 180 is not going to relieve the stress of being around her. You are simply waiting for the other shoe (work boot) to fall.

Mmmm. Always loved water, always hated sodas or any sweetened drinks for that matter. Real strong coffee or tea with skim milk is good. Carbs and cheese made green a fat grrl!

In my case the tipping point was my vanity. I had always viewed myself as less vain about myself than many women I've observed, and certainly more relaxed about the business of ageing. This is because I have never been one to go to spas, get manicures or pedicures and I hate getting my hair done. And my ironing board and I are strangers. But after I went through (early) menopause I began to gain weight. At first I didn't mind this but when I was given a new drug cocktail to treat my depression I exploded. Clothes that I had bought for myself at the beginning of the season were too small by the end of the season. I had never been fat when I was younger! My body was out of control! And I knew it was only going to get worse as I got older. I was both humiliated and embarassed by my new big body. I hated it. There were times when I would lie awake at nights loathing my body and if there were emergency lipo clinics I would have phoned a cab to take me to one. Of course I am aware that this all sounds very dramatic but my relationship with my own body was on the skids. I thought of liposuction and a tummy tuck. My tenant told me about lap band surgery and about the Toronto Lap Band Centre. Surgery of this nature certainly seemed less invasive and painful than body resculpting and this seemed like a good thing to me. My only concern then was whether I was fat enough. What was the minimum cut-off point? I booked an appointment with the TLBC and must say that my first impression was not favourable. I was kept waiting for almost an hour. Once I was interviewed I was reassured that I was a candidate for the band and I was very well treated. At this point I should tell you that my frustration with my body was such that I signed on for the operation and cut the TLBC a cheque for the full amount before leaving. I first saw them in late July. I was banded on Sept 7. I was lucky. Money was not an object for me. (By the way, there are ways of funding the operation for those who don't have the funds.) How do I feel about it now? Well, I have lost 15 and a half pounds in eight weeks. This works out to a nice steady weight loss of almost 2 lbs per week. Had I weighed more when I had gone in for the operation I believe that my weight loss would have been more dramatic. As for me, well, I have lost weight off my face, my waistline does not compete with my boobs, friends have been commenting on my weight loss, and I can throw my clothes into the dryer. I am eating a lot less both at home and in restaurants and I am doing this without feeling any sense of hardship. It might be argued that those 15 and a half lbs that I have lost have cost me a thousand bucks per but I find myself content with my choice. I think that the band bodes well for my weight management issues in the long run. I do find myself functioning quite, well, entirely differently with respect to my food intake and to my approach to food. This has been a lengthy response to your inquiry and I hope that it has been helpful to you. Good luck to you on your journey.

My post-op experience was like Cloe's. The first week I lived on water, apple juice and broth but I really didn't feel hungry. The feelings of hunger didn't reoccur until some weeks after I had had the surgery and so following the post-op diet was really easy. Remember, too, that while the portions are small there are many little snacks. It seems that you are always having half a cup of something or other. Certainly you should try out this protein water to see if it is okay, Yasmina. It could be a good thing to have on hand for that first week. My 1st week was devoid of protein. You will need chewable vitamins and a pill crusher for your meds. I found the experience surprisingly easy and I am a sissy!

I have gotten out of my habit of eating lots of carbs. This is a good thing. The carb thing was a serious addiction. Unfortunately I am eating fewer vegies. I am afraid that they will get caught on the band and my favourite way of eating them was by mixing 'em up with carbs and cheese. Mmmm. I am still trying to figure out an answer to the vegie dilemna.

Actually my own significant other is nine years younger than I am and registers as very good looking on the good lookin' scale. :kiss2: When I met him he was a diamond in the rough. I had to clean him up and teach him how to dress. It's become a bit of a chore to keep up with him now that I am in the land of old fartdom and sometimes I wish I was with some broke down old geezer with bad eyesight and forests of nose and ear hair! Life would be a little easier. Still, we've been together for over 20 years now. Maybe love is blind.... :bandit Or maybe the dude just lurvs sausages. :hungry: He is German on his mother's side.

Magic box steal spirit, eh. Very few pictures of Green exist for this very reason.

Green will curse her for you if you want. Here is Green's Curse: may you grow to weigh 450 lbs, parking lot lady!

I've read the coverage on the two sites provided on this thread and now I don't know what to think. Logic tells me that any kind of work done on a child that young doesn't make sense and yet the kid is doing much, much better post surgery. She looks better, is motivated, and is much happier. Prior to the surgery she had suffered a painful, socially marginalized childhood and was looking forward to a sad adolescence. It is hard to say what is more damaging in the long run.

That Mr. P has always loved Mrs. P is not in question, neither that he has always been a good and loyal mate. You are a loyal friend to his wife and his current behaviour is causing you some degree of pain. It might, however, be wise for you to find out what is going on with him, himself. It strikes me that this man has had a lot on his plate. His wife of many years has been extremely ill and will remain so until she dies. He has certainly done a lot of grieving already. Then too, we don't know what kind of private arrangements the pair of them have come to with respect to his life. She may be anxious that he find himself some female company. Men often don't appear to be as well-equipped for "widowhood" as we are. Perhaps you should sit down and talk with him. You could tell him about your concerns and find out what his feelings are. This is a sad situation.