Bleu

:wacko: and that's all I'm sayin'

Hahaha, the Yes Prime Minister video made me laugh so much (I have this episode on audio cassette tape, believe it or not). I'm no stranger to Ministry life, and I was moved to a different office (much closer to the King) which I share with another white pawn. During that reorganisation, some newly-promoted rooks insisted on having their own office, but ended up sharing an office far far away from the King. So I thought I was pretty wise in not claiming more than I should. I don't necessarily have any advice. It all depends on how long you've been there and how likely your promotion is. However, if it is safe to voice your concern about your position being discussed without you, then you should do so. /unhelpful post

Happy 19th, Manu!!

Four years may seem like a long time to be still wondering about this, but what he has done has damaged the victims for their entire lives. Time is a healer, but it works slowly... It seems to me that your question stems from guilt: guilt that you didn't see what was going on and therefore were unable to stop it; maybe some guilt that you stuck by your mother when she stuck by him afterwards; guilt for feeling relieved that he died... I wish I could just say "don't trouble yourself with this" but it's never that easy. I answered "No" to the poll because as I understand it, you didn't wish him dead. His death may be convenient, it may feel morally satisfying or justified. You may even say that you're glad... but I don't see you jumping with joy at it. You didn't call him names in this post either. With all the mixed feelings and strong emotions that his memory must bring, I don't see how I could blame you for being reasonably glad that fate took his life away while he was in prison for the crimes he'd committed.

Nawwww, driving in London is fun As for hostels, I thought that you had to be under 26 to be accepted but apparently I was wrong. The famous Generator in central London (and walking distance from Soho) caters for groups. You can choose to be in a dorm or to get a private room, so maybe that would be fine with everyone. I stayed there in 1996 and 1997 if I remember correctly. At the time the decor was pretty outrageous, dark walls with purple bolts and nuts to discriminate between male and female quarters (bolts for women and nuts for men, obviously). They have a gay pride section in their gallery, so they seem quite friendly Just my tuppence

Happy birthday, Meow!

Lots of great ideas, Meow (well apart from the kidnapping, obviously )! Sounds like a lot of fun, especially the collaborative writing! I also think that the idea of renting one big place for a week-end is definitely worth exploring. It's very commonly done in France but I don't remember seeing many such places in England. *Goes to check*

Reading this thread, I thought that I was really not creepy at all. And I'm not into morbid or scary movies either. But... for a history project I read several hundreds of dissection reports over the course of 2 years. I guess that counts .

lol, Nephy! Hehe, good thing the British Museum is within walking distance of Soho then

Find the powerful yet patient and wise tiger within

Well, London is a lot closer for me And I know the city quite well compared to Manchester. I went to Soho a few months ago and I've got addresses for a few nice restaurants.

Didn't have to wish. It just happened that way

Those with a car may be able to pick up others, no? If I drive from France I'm willing to take a few people from the South to Manchester if that's the final destination.

West, I'm getting dizzy with all the good stuff happening to you! You're doing fantastic. Clearly, love is showing you the right way ahead! But really, just "So...?". Not even a "Oh!" of surprise?

I, for one, don't need extra details. You two are giving me/us romance material from the best of fiction stories, except it's all true. The hand holding in public is so touching... and it also shows that our fears are our worse enemy. Once we overcome them, relief and happiness of finally being true to one's self will wash everything away. Keep your sight firmly on the horizon of your next encounter!

Woooot! That's what we were expecting to hear! Stay up there on Cloud 9! No need to come down, we'll hold the Earth right here...

Easy answer: A/C. As a foreigner visiting Houston, what amazed me most was the drive-thru everything, from US Postal Services to banks (I'm not even talking about fast food joints). You go from your air conditioned home to your air conditioned car, and then from air conditioned offices to air conditioned shopping malls.

From what I read in the media it's just some buzz the advertisement agency is trying to make a few days before the Paris pride. They leaked the video onto the internet but have no plan to show it on TV.

Count me in as well !! London is fine with me, but really anywhere easily accessible would do. Manchester is also easy to reach by plane from both the US and Europe.

I'm being slightly unfaithful to GA. Or rather, I'm broadening my rainbow horizon beyond GA. Just to recap, GA was the first gay site that I started to visit regularly a few months ago. Various messages on the boards prompted me to come out to a few friends and family members, but I'm still mostly in the closet. Things are moving along though... in my mind, at least, and I'm growing incredibly impatient about meeting someone. It might seem strange, since it took me months to figure out what I really wanted. But since I took my decision to look the gay way rather than the straight way, part of me expects the Earth to suddenly open up and reveal the new love of my life. Since that is unlikely, I decided to give the Earth a little help. Two weeks ago I registered at a French LGBT website. I figure I need some closer, local perspective on what I'm going through, and I need to meet new people. Don't get me wrong, I'm meeting plenty of nice people over here, and I'm not leaving GA any time soon. But as much as I like GA, it gets me nowhere closer to having someone to kiss goodnight and wake up next to in the morning. Even worse, I feel like, because I'm new to this "self-reinvention" I'm likely to get a silly crush on someone here and get hurt in the process. I will deny any claim that it's happened already. Shusshh! After all, it's easy to chat on an anonymous forum: you don't get the awkwardness of a face-to-face conversation, it leaves plenty to the imagination and you can hide your flaws and ugly mug behind a cute avatar. Anyway, I need to slap myself back to reality. So, even if this Paris website is no more a dating site than GA is, I'm hoping to get some contats close to home, and meet some like-minded people in real life, without having to go through the scary bars and clubs or the creepy dating sites, where all the guys apparently want is get into your pants, not into your heart. Last week, I went one step further and registered at an international gay meeting group over here. These guys go and grab a beer or coffee from time to time in a neutral non-gay environment, and this is something I'm comfortable with. For some reason, the idea of getting a French boyfriend does not really appeal to me. I've been used to having some international flavour in my life, so anything else than French would be nice! Not that I would reject a French lover if I found one! On Sunday, I also found myself in public in a group of openly gay people, within a bigger crowd. It was a first, so I felt a little intimidated but otherwise I was fine. I made some new friends and now it looks like I won't be going to the Gay Pride by myself. That will be another step further out of the closet, one that I need to take so that my own choices really sink in, and move from the fluttery virtual world, to the tangible, real one.

Happy birthday, Tarin!! May the coming year fill your expectations!

Tr

Hmmmm, I'm actually looking for a legal way to watch it, and I'm not totally sure that TV Links falls into that category . I stand to lose too much personally and professionally if I'm caught illegally downloading movies, especially since the Hadopi Law came into effect over here. Never mind, I'll wait...

Hmmmm, except that "venez" (come) rarely carries a sexual innuendo. Does it in Quebec?

Stormy this morning in Paris, and quite a bit of heavy rain for 20 minutes. Then the rest of the day was cloudy but it got better towards sunset. Hope the night will bring you some cold air, and that you'll feel better.