Daisy139

I was 20 and it was with my first boyfriend. Sadly, that first time was the best sex I had with him in almost 3 years that we were together. Before that guy, no one would even look at me, and the only guy that kissed me before that was a guy around 40 who kissed me out of the blue when I was 16, and on the same day he kissed my 14-yr-old sister (might I add, he also tried to have sex with me, and we didn't know him and he was a creep that belonged in jail).

I agree with what has been said about stereotypes and that positive, neutral, and obviously negative stereotypes suck. And unfortunately I have to plead guilty on some of those myself. A couple years ago I worked at a figure skating competition and was introduced to a guy my age, and before he even said "hi" I had determined that obviously he was gay (which I became even more sure about when he started talking with a somewhat more stereotypically feminine intonation). Oh yeah, I might add he was also dressed too tastefully to be straight. Turns out he is straight as an arrow and hit on me like I was the last woman on this planet...and I didn't realize it until it was almost too late. That certainly taught me a lesson. Stereotypes prevent us from seeing beyond people's surface appearance, even if they're something positive, and that way we miss out on so much more that we could see in a person.

That thought (selfish and having a crush) has crossed my mind several times (and did I overlook this or did we really never hear anything about Jame and girls?). Meanwhile I have a strong feeling he's actually straight but has alterior motives. Does he have a lot of friends? Doesn't sound like the type who would, so possibly he's clinging to Milo because he's his only friend and is worrying tat if Milo switches to being friends with the Nelson clique, he won't be able to fit in anymore. But as I think about it, the gay/bi thing might be true. The way he keeps emphasizing that Milo is making a mistake... hmm. I feel like there seems to be a hint out there in the chapters we already have and oncethe solution comes up in the next chapters, I'll be like "oh DUH why did I not think of this..."

What a wonderful story Awesome story-telling, and I love how interesting all the characters are. And - this story keeps making me feel like I can predict the next plot lines, and so far I've only been right, umm.....one single time, and I was only half-right (though I don't know for sure yet).

I'm not sure about university programs (because I only know my way around competitive skating on the national/international level), and a lot of skaters put down some university inn their biography but then they're only training at their facilities but don't have much to do with them otherwise... But I would recommend you check the International Skating Union bios for US skaters - if they are somehow affiliated with a university, that's listed in the bios usually as their club. I remember Sasha Cohen is in CA, Tim Goebel used to train in CA, and some others as well. At least that will give you an idea of what universities to research. Oh, and check Evan Lysacek, I believe he's in CA as well. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions!

I should mention that the prime age for single skaters is usually between late teens and 24/5ish, give or take 2 years maybe. For pair skaters and dancers it's usually between 20-30, give or take a few. Typical injuries that can be overcome reasonably are ligament issues, and a lot of them have knee injuries. But I agree, don't have the character break a bone, that rarely works out. I know two skaters off the top of my head who still skate with artificial hips, but only in shows. Also, injuries that serious tend to be rare, because they learn how to fall.

For a male single skater (it's different for pair skaters and dancers), 24 would be realistic, 28 hardly unless he's an absolute genius and a late bloomer. The ideal height would be somewhere upto 5'7'', 5'8'' is also still possible, but above that, height can get in the way. There are single skaters that are 5'9'' and every once in a while you see someone get 6 ft, but up to 5'7/8'' is ideal for the technical elements. Eating disorders are common, but it's not like all of them have one. But if the character has one, it won't be surprising. They can go to high school, but often tutors are involved. I would recommend you check out this link: International Skating Union - if you scroll down, you can select skater biographies for the 4 different disciplines, which should give you an idea about typical age ranges, heights (in cm, but you can convert those), and such things. They also have average numbers of training hours during the on vs. off season. I would check out the Americans, Canadians, Russians, and Japanese, plus S. Lambiel (Switzerland) and B. Joubert (France), they're good examples. Weight-wise...well, I htink there's a reason why weights are not posted in the official bios. I've heard 120 lbs about a skater who was 5'8''at the time and that sounded realistic for him. Some are a little heavier. There's two types of male skaters - those that dothe technical stuff via muscle mass (get rotation etc), and those that are particularly light and get in the air easily without much muscle mass. Compare Brian Joubert (FRA) and Johnny Weir (USA), for example on youtube. Two entirely different skating styles (most skaters are somewherein the middle but they're nice extremes).

Having grown up in Europe, I'm intrigued by all English accents (British, American, Aussie...). I'm not very good at detecting American accents yet - they have to really stand out. The easiest to recognize is Southern, though I wouldn't have a clue what state it's from... and if you really drop your r's and say "Paak y'caa" I will guess you're from Boston....lol. If you don't have either of those, I will be clueless...

I'm not much help in regards to hotels, unfortunately, but I definitely need to second Paya's recommendation to visit one of Hungary's thermal spas. I've been to two (Budapest and Heviz), and they are quite an experience. You won't regret it.

Oh! Good to know Who is the nasty man btw? That one looks kind of spy-ish. Hmm, yeah I won't fail any classes any time soon, but my reading preferences have definitely changed. Dramatically.....

Hi everyone I'm Daisy and I've been lurking here for the last 2 weeks or so....a time during which my in-class performance (= grad student) has been somewhat modest...due to my newfound addiction to the stories on here. I just finished reading one last night and I guess now it's time to take a few days of a break and start reading boring journal articles again ( ). Btw, I love your smiley collection. I am a smiley overuser, so bare with me...

I wonder how soundproof those bathrooms are. That could make for interesting background noises while other people are eating. *off to newbie thread to introduce myself*