Bleu

There are so many interesting characters in the Leopards universe that you could easily create a dozen spinoff stories. This one is short and sweet. Again, I marvel at characters like Tony who manage to stay rational and level-headed while falling for someone

Hehe, Paya, thanks. I'm sure we can include you and Westie in the potential UK trip.

Thanks MikeL, he says hi back.

Hehe, thanks Cia. Coasting down, though... That sounds scary

Where does time go? Apparently the last time I posted on here was more than 3 years ago. I still come to GA pretty much on a daily basis, but I am not as active in the forum or in chat as I once was. Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to recap what's been happening over the past year and have a look at the one ahead. Most of late 2013 and early 2014 was dedicated to making Jian_Sierra's move to France possible. It has been a long time in the making. There were multiple difficulties to overcome, which we lifted one by one. Maybe he will tell you one day how it looked from his perspective (if he lets go of his PS Vita long enough ). Anyway, he arrived in France in August, just as I had left Paris to get a job in a smaller city. Just in case you wondered, living together beats living 3,000 miles away from each other! Our long-distance relationship could not have lasted 3 years without the Internet, Skype, smartphones, etc., and I am so very thankful for this technology. And now I can say that it was worth the wait It feels comfortable to live as a couple. I had decided early on that once we lived together, I would not be hiding our relationship, so this has meant a lot of coming outs in the past few months. A few weeks ago, we went together to a wedding in my family. Therefore I am now out to all of my extended family. We didn't receive any bad reactions, which is a very good thing. We hardly raised any eyebrows, even though most people know that I was previously in a relationship with a woman for 12 years. I am told that society's view on gay/bi people has evolved and that it's now no big deal when someone comes out as gay. So anyway, 2015 starts with a lot less coming outs to organise than 2014: I probably still have to tell a few close colleagues at work (it's a small city, so they're bound to discover it at some point), a few other friends or previous colleagues from Paris... It will be fine. The new job I started in September is going well. I am managing a small team, and they don't seem to hate me yet. Plus, I am getting familiar with all the issues that we have to deal with. Anyway, not going to bore you with the details. Among my New Year resolutions is to set up a proper running schedule. I have selected 2 marathons for this year. We'll see if training goes well: last year I trained fine but got sick just before the scheduled marathon, which was very disappointing. In other news, I discovered recently that my PhD thesis was used by several Les Miserables fanfiction writers for background information. Some of those stories have male/male relationships. Hehe, I never envisioned that, as I was poring over 19th century archives to try to make sense of them. I will also be hitting 40 in a few days. I am not overly stressed about it, despite Jian's teasing that I am soooooo old . I guess that it's one of those meaningful moments in life that one is supposed to celebrate. My family and friends requested a party, so I might organise something in the Spring. Outside parties are not a great idea in the middle of winter. All in all, 2015 looks like it's going to be a good year. I am starting to plan our summer vacations (but shushhh, don't tell Jian). We might be able to make it to the UK at some point this year, but probably won't make it to the US for a visit to GA and non-GA friends before 2016...

Welcome back! Thanks for sharing what happened for you in 2014. Some relationships are meant to be and others are not. Hopefully 2015 will provide you with new opportunities for meeting people, either during your senior year or at SDSU (congrats, btw).

Do you get some time for yourself any time soon? Vacations?

It sounds pretty fancy! I'm happy that you're enjoying it so far.

By the way, sorry, I thought I was making a review with my previous comment. The mobile version can be a bit confusing, or maybe I was tired

"Everything was going to be fine".... Hahahaha riiiight. Politics will be playing a big part, I assume. And thats one thing aqumi cannot readily fight. Thoroughly enjoyable chapter yet again.

So this is closely followed by "New beginnings", then? Congrats again.

I haven't seen it , so I only read the beginning of your review, in order to avoid spoilers. I will try to find it on VOD sometime soon

Some weeks are bad indeed, with too many disheartening signs from fate. You can never control everything in your life. All you can do is do your best, as you seem to be doing.

Good luck with the cleansing of house and soul, Wayne. I will be doing something similar, though not as drastic, in the coming weeks as I move to my new home.

Hehe, thanks for sharing. It sounds like a trip and a half, but an enjoyable one! Would European Odyssey 2015 take you to central France, by any chance?

Woohoo, something to read on the way to work! Thank you.

Hmmm, many questions... My advice would be: don't go into an MA that won't take you further in your curriculum or your career. That would be wasted time. Also, the money issue is a sticky one. If you were into economics/banking/business, etc. I'd say get a loan because it will be repaid quickly from your first wages. You're in theatre though... and that's not known for its high pay scale (sorry!). How about working for your gap year? Maybe working with teens like you've done before, in a cultural and youth centre? Or even in a totally different branch? That would also give you some more independence from your family. And you can always go back to studying in 2016.

*hugs* Good luck with whatever you are facing, Wayne.

Wow! That's some news! The Chablis, I mean

Sorry, I read chap. 7 as soon as you posted it, but wasn't able to review at that time. We now have 4 different stories on 4 different worlds, all connected and very enjoyable. As soon as you focus on one character, I start missing the others. When will Nyx and Elia reappear? The historian in me is delighted with all the extra information and the background elements which you gave in chapter 7. I particularly like the fact that they don't seem super-imposed on the story line ; they don't come as an after-thought. I think we might have chatted about it already, but did you have all this in mind when you started writing Hidden Sunlight? How much do you create as you go along?

Congratulations to the both of you! (and congrats on the new home) Long-distance relationships take time, effort, faith in the future, a bit of luck, and lots of love. I had the pleasure of seeing you guys in real life a few times now, and like JC said, yours is an example to follow. And thank you for the positive blog, it always helps.

Congrats KC!!!

Hehe, me too. The colour is known to me as "tropical-frog-green". Said car has no name, even though I've had it for quite a while. In French, car (une voiture) is a feminine noun, so cars over here may get a female name. Never heard of a male name for a car.

Congrats Graeme!! It's your stories which brought me to GA four years ago, so I am particularly happy to learn of your promotion.

We did it! We did it! I didn't watch the match, but I should have, apparently. Andy is right, there was that embarrassing wooden spoon to erase from everyone's memory.