Yettie One

OMG!!!!!!!!!!! You are SOOOOOOOOOOOO bad!!!!!!!!!!!!! Remind me never to move next door to JoAnn!!!!!!!!!!!

So we got to sit and watch the Pride of Britain Awards yesterday. It is something that I have always admired in a way, but tend to wonder how it is that they could possibly make those choices. See I'd want to give that award to everyone that does something special, and heck there are many people that reach out and do remarkable and unusual things. The judging panel is made up of pretty remarkable people in our society already, a panel chosen by the chief sponsor of the event, the Daily Mirror. I would hate to sit on that panel. How do you decide between who to honour and who to ignore? That process of choosing must be one of the toughest decisions to have to make as an individual seeking out the people that are going to stand before the nation and be honoured for their contribution to our society. It got me thinking. I wondered through the halls of my memories and began to wonder, if I was made to choose, who out of all the people that have touched my life would I want to honour as someone pretty damn special? How would I go about working out who makes it to the short list in the first place, and then what criteria would I focus in on to set one aside from another. I am really at a bit of a loss on this one, but as hard as it is to try single out someone, I did become aware of some people that have made a massive impact on my life, and touched me in ways that I had not really fully given an adequate appreciation too until I began this little mental exercises. I am not here to name names, or point fingers, but I do think it is worth mentioning what each of these have done for me in my time here on earth. Their contribution has been invaluable, profound, and I guess is for me, made of those things that I set out to find when I first asked myself this question. The first person I'd pay tribute to was a childhood friend that grew up almost at my side. For me, the colour of a persons skin has never been an issue, and I was lucky to grow up in a region of the world that had begun to work out its differences in terms of the prejudices towards skin colour and race. This meant that I was able to grow up with a best mate that was an African lad, a guy that lived next door to our family, and someone that just clicked with me. His older brother and mom were lovely people too boot, and for what must have been close on a decade we were inseparable. What is it about this person that is so profound to me? One simple thing, regardless of who I was, what society suggested I should be, forget pre-conceived perceptions which dictated what someone should feel, he accepted me as me, colour, creed and racial preclusions aside. For me, that friendship was the founding blocks of my view on the world at large, and gave me the ability and tools to look beyond prejudice, see through discrimination and gave me an unwavering sense of fairness and equality between me and my fellow man. I will be eternally grateful for those lessons, and even though we have now lost touch, this persons impact on my life lives on through the loyal friendship he gave me in those important formulative years. I quickly had to wipe out family members from this process, or I would quite simply have just gone on and on about two very special people to have touched my life in the form of my mom and dad. While I do not wish to trivialise their contribution to my life, it would be unfair to choose them in this instance, so I looked beyond my immediate family members. However, there is someone within my family circle that really should get special mention. He is a cousin several times removed, and although we only really met in the last ten or so years, he and I have formed a relationship that has had its ups and downs, (we are both stubborn, independently minded people, who love to make our point) yet we are still as close today as we have always been. He is the first person in my family that I openly came out to, and one of only two that know of my homosexuality within the family. Yet in all of that he has never once judged me or thought ill of me for it. He is loyal and loving, has a heart of gold, and such a cheeky personality that I cannot help but adore him for it. He is living in the Middle East, and has met someone that he really loves, and has recently informed his folks of this fact. However, part of this revelation is that this particular person is a man. In a family that I have always considered as modern, accepting and strong, his parents have abruptly and savagely cut him off, yet through it all, as much as I know he is hurting inside, he has stood strong, accepted their decision and moved on with his life. I cannot for the life of me fathom their decision, yet I cannot help but admire and love my cousin even more for his ability to rise above, and remain resolute and strong even in the face of one of the most devastating social errs I could ever imagine. Cancer is a blight on our world. It is cruel, mean and my god is it heartless. It destroys lives, causes the most horrific suffering and is a scourge of the human race. You may have guessed from these statements that I have no love for this killer. Indeed in the last decade it has ripped a hole right through the centre of my family, and taken people I love in horrible ways. In my life I've had to deal with death on a variety of fronts. Suicide, short, sharp and abrupt. It leaves you with questions you'll never have answers too for the rest of your life, and a guilt that you never quite shake. Murder, just as traumatic in its suddenness and devastating in its aftermath as you seek answers, justice and try in vain to deal with the loss. But all of these pale in comparison with watching someone that you love waste away and know there is nothing you can do to stop it or halt it. Death will come, slowly, in agony, and rob you every day of a little more of the precious person that you love. I recently met a young guy that looked beyond my age, saw beyond the distance, was not bothered by my dark view of the world, didn't care about the normal things other people seem to worry about in getting to know people. He just simply accepted me, reached out to me, and shared with me at a time in my life when I really needed someone to just simply be there. It might sound crazy, but that simple attentiveness, the lack of big words or fancy speeches the friendship offered regardless of circumstances or perceptions made me reach out far quicker and in a much deeper way that I ever would have normally. Desperate? Yeah! Needy? Yeah! Heck I was at a place in my life where I needed someone that cared and understood, and along he came and plopped himself at the fire in front of my lonely cave and he just listened. So I rapidly became attached to his companionship, and love to hear from him, and chat with him, only to hear he is gravely ill, and it is the cursed blight of cancer that holds him. I can't truly describe my anger at the world. There are no real words for the pain and hurt I feel. But this is me, my selfish need, my personal pain. It is my desire that is paramount, not to loose another person I love to this epic curse. I have seen it reek havoc with my sister, my niece my mother and it bloody took my father. Enough Already! Yet, as much as it hurts me, I watch this beautiful young man wake up every day and fight a good fight. He smiles at the world, cherishes every moment, has such a remarkable and gentle caring nature and only wants to enjoy his time here on earth. He deserves so much more. He is a symbol of everything I wish I was. Selfless, alive, happy. He faces the most scary thing in his young life with a smile on his face and a cheerful demeanour. I admire, respect and love him for it, it is through his strength that I struggle on against my own issues, and I am struck by the fact that despite the huge weight of this thing on his shoulders, he has enough time and love and character to carry both of us, and all those around him, through. If that isn't remarkable and special, I don't know what is. I was not really sure I wanted to share this, but then if I am making time to honour people that have made an impact on my life, I could not leave this next person out. I hope that you can appreciate him as I see him, and understand my reasons for choosing him. I moved to the UK 13 years ago now, from an African country in serious political strife. I arrived here with little money in my pocket, alone, and basically had to start a life for myself from scratch. It has been a long process and there have been an awful lot of downs, as well as some amazing ups. In the first few years that I lived here, I was alone, and in this time I struggled a lot with loneliness. It is one of the issues of being a Yettie, I am not really that great at meeting people or making friends. I find I can talk to anyone, but in that process of formulating binding friendships and relationships, I have big issues with trust and rejection. In those early years, I was very much a loner, and one day someone suggested I should consider getting a pen pal. It was an idea I did give a lot of consideration too, and after spending weeks trawling the internet looking at various different sites, I came across a profile of a guy that made me decide that he was going to be the one I'd try writing too. For the purposes of this blog I am going to use my pen pal's nickname. Chuggles is not your normal pen pal. Indeed, he is not really what many people would consider a very nice guy. He is rough around the edges, has a mean side to him, and he is on death row. Yes that is right, you read correctly. You see, I actually found Chuggles' profile on a Prison Pen Pals site. I am not sure how I ended up there, but if you go online and search for pen pals, there are hundreds of sites, and I spent ages looking for someone to stand out. His profile was pretty simple really, it just said, "A guy who made a pretty big mistake in life. I don't expect forgiveness, I just want someone to give me a chance." I don't know, I guess as a foreigner in a new country, trying to establish and prove myself, those words just spoke to me. So I took a chance. Those first six months were a problem. His replies would be filled with sarcasm be short and obscure, never answered anything, but asked an awful lot. He was an angry young man who'd been abandoned and isolated. Don't get me wrong, Chuggles is where he is because of choices he made, and he understands this very well, as well as knows that I understand it too. But in time, I guess my persistence paid off, and I kinda broke through. What I got to discover was a guy who as a teenager, struggling with a drug problem had made a bad decision and found himself in a world of pain as a result of someone else's choices. A boy that all too late woke up to the fact that actions have consequences, friendships have effects, and decisions can be so terribly wrong just as easily as right. I became a person, willing to listen without judgement, willing to talk without lying, willing to say the hard stuff as well as the easy stuff, and over the years we have established a friendship based entirely on paper, but something that I treasure all the same. The thing that speaks most to me about this guy, is that after all this time locked in a tiny cell for up to twenty three hours a day, waiting for his day to die, he is alive. His mind is beautiful, quirky, happy. His imagination is unreal. He is funny and serious. He is human. And above all, he has grown up. He just needed a chance to be himself, and out of all that anger, hurt, pain and evil, a wonderful individual is there. He knows he will pay for his decisions and actions and in a way he seems to have accepted that. However, in the time he has, he lives as much as he can, and I find that remarkable. His strength of character has inspired me often. His ability to see beyond his limitations is special, and through his words, one day I hope to be able to tell the world that even when you make the very worst kind of mistake, there is a reason to see beyond the red. I guess I have learnt in thinking today, that we all have people we will disagree with. People we will intensely dislike, people that we will never see as attractive or special or deserving of our time. But everyone has someone. We are all there for some person that everyone else has given up on. Someone alone and hurting. We can't be everything to everyone, but we can be something to someone. I hope that in sharing these special people that have touched my life, I can encourage you to think about those that touch your life, and never forget to let them know how very important and special they are. Thought for today - "Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is by far the best ending for one." - Oscar Wilde Song for today - Souls by Taylor Ames

****Peeps out from under the couch*** Is it over? Hmmmm I guess hiding under the couch wasn't the best idea when there is lots of flooding going on!!!! Over here the media's favourite saying at the moment is "The Worst since Records Began!"

My sister posted this on her Facebook profile. It is an advert fair enough, but the message behind it is really quite profound. Hope that watching it, this simple little video touched you as much as it did me. Pay It Forward. Love and hugs to you all today. Hope the sun is shining on you.

Ok I have to be honest, I didn't really give much consideration to what I'd consider attractive on a woman, but then again, I would also have to admit I've never really thought of that part of a woman in detail of attraction. I mean it is easy to decide what is beautiful in terms of one's facial features or body appearance, but erm..... Yeah well. I don't mind a trim at all. Again just personal preference. But as a hairy man, I think maybe I really quite like hairy men! So shaving maybe is robbing me of something, and that is what makes me frown at it. haha. Secrets? On GA? Come on JoAnn, you should know by now there is nothing ya can hide on the Yettie's blog!

OMG Asam you make me giggle. What a well considered response. hehe. To be fair, I had not even considered the health issues. That is really even more of a reason in my opinion to steer well clear. hehe Yeah I totally agree that if you choose to shave that it does not point to anything, it is just something I guess I don't really understand, but then there is so much in the world of sex that is mystifying like a foot fetish, another thing I haven't got a clue as to how it could be such a powerful sexual fetish for some people. I guess part of my choosing to write about it, is my desire to want to understand, or maybe my curiosity of the things that make each of us so independently different in some ways, yet so similar in other ways. It fascinates me. Another thing, having lived in Africa, I can confirm that for the vast majority of African Males, the python thing is a myth!

Ok so a bit of a break form the norm for me today, I am going to write something that is probably a little bit of a rant, a little bit controversial, and you will probably all be telling me that it is down to personal taste, but still, I'm going to vent about it anyway. Late last night, a little bored, perhaps a little frisky, and being a full blooded male, i sort out some interesting porn and chose to be entertained by some on screen antics for a while!!!! Shock, horror, the Yettie Watches Porn!!!!!!!!!!! To right, it is entertaining, can be amusing, and serves its purpose. Don't judge me too quickly, I'm sure you've checked it out once or twice. Anyway, my rant is not so much about the quality of the porn, as it is in a trend among males today, that I just fail to understand, and completely do NOT see the point in. Shaving one's junk!!!!!!! Ok, that is about 70% of the current male population up on the defensive already. I shave because it's clean! It makes my junk look bigger! I shave coz it's neater and looks nice. Erm sorry, that's a load of crap! In the particular track I chose to watch last night, there was a really cute twink, probably in his early 20's with really dark hair and pail skin. Now as you would expect, he's a guy and got body hair, however, this particular young man was in some way a distant relative as he was hairy galore. Haha, Yettie Style hairy we are talking people! So the video is running, and eventually the inevitable happens, and his underpants are slipped off below his hips, and almost immediately I was presented with a lilly white patch of skin surrounded by a dense jungle of hairiness maybe three inches anywhere from the proudly attentive manhood and bits on display. It looked ODD. But this was not all. When he was spun over onto his stomach, after a very good going over one might add, there was a landing strip of paleness all the way up his beautiful buttocks, which if it didn't look odd on the other side, just looks plain ridiculous on this side. So I ask myself, what is this crazy rage at the moment of removing natural body hair? I have heard many reasons given over the years, and I am sorry, none of it makes any sense. To be completely honest, I really find it quite disturbing, and I shall explain why in a bit. But first let us examine some of the variety of excuses I've come across. 1. It looks better. A completely hairless crotch looks better? Sorry I quite think that the contrast of hairiness between the skin of the man's crotch and the pubes that nestle it, actually works quite well. If anything it makes it stand out more. But ok, I guess that this can largely be interpreted as a matter of opinion on this excuse. 2. It feels better. Well this just makes me laugh. When I was a younger I had a serious incident and was hospitalised for a number of weeks. While in surgery I was shaved down there, and over the next two to three weeks as my pubic hair regrew, I had this uncontrollable itch I simply could not ignore. Now this is something I've heard from a number of guys who shave regularly too. When they leave it a bit too long, the itch is there and is mega irritating. So causing an itch feels better? Next point would have to be that as a man, I am all to familiar with that 5 o'clock shadow we talk about on the face, and let's be honest we've all done some considerable kissing action in our lives at some stage, and when you smoosh up against a stubbled lips, your own lips can get pretty raw with the action. Now personally, I am really not too keen when engaging in some sneaky oral activity to get a stubble rash from contact with a prickly crotch. No, thank you very much. Lastly, if you are a man and you shave, we all know that the inevitable slip of the hand, the slice of the razor, the sting of the cut. Oh My Gawsh! This is one pain I can quite honestly say I don't want anywhere near my downstairs bits thanks. I mean I can dab a bit of aftershave on my face and let it calm down, but down there? I really don't get the whole point of putting the crown jewels at risk of a mortal injury just to feel better. But then again this is just me. 3. It's cleaner! Well sorry if this is the case, shave your head, your face (including your eyebrows and eye lashes), your arms, your legs, your chest, oh yeah, and your back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have you never heard of soap? It has been serving the masses very well for the last 2000 years, now suddenly we want to shave our junk because it's cleaner? Does this suggest that when you bath, you wash everything BUT your junk???? Get real!!!!!! 4. It makes my bits look bigger!!!! Ahem. Are you that insecure that you desperately need to make it APPEAR to be another 2 millimetres bigger? I'm not even sure that the removal of the hairy bits is going to show off your inadequacy any better! I mean, come on, lets be logical here. A man naturally is hairy, so the removal of the hair is not going to enhance its appearance. If anything at all, all it serves to do is make it appear as if the junk may have come off the body of a pre pubescent male of the species, and that my friends is defiantly NOT making it look a single minuscule bit bigger!!! These are just some of the reasons I've heard thrown about to lend support to the trend of shaving one's bits. But really, let us be completely honest here, why would we be so obsessed with appearing hairless? We grow up, we get older, we go grey, we gain wrinkles, we get fat. The list is endless. This image of eternal youth has gone squew-if! We inject poison into your body to stop wrinkles and end up causing our upper lips to become immobile when speaking or laughing and look totally friken weird. (Simon Cowell a perfect example) We insert silicone breasts into our anatomy and then cause a national health scare when it is discovered some unscrupulous supplier has been using industrial grade silicone to make the blasted inserts. (PIP Implant scare) We go under the knife so frequently for this tuck and that tighten that we end up looking as scary as Joycelyn Wildenstien. (excessive cosmetic surgery) It is bloomin scary!!!!! That is not to say that shaving your body is anywhere near as serious in its potential dangers, but still, what is its purpose? Thing is, I think it is a phase. It is just one of the crazy things we think is cool right now, and so we partake in it. Women get bikini waxes and stuff, so it is cool for the beauty conscious male to pay attention to the neither regions too. Ok granted it is a thing of choice. But pause for a moment and consider this. In a world fixated with looking younger, does shaving our body really give out the right message? We expect a young lad to be hairless. To have the innocence and beauty of naivety and a carefree world to explore and grow and learn in, before the pressures and confusion of sexuality and hormones and emotions makes life chaos. So when I see an older person craving for that appearance of youth, it troubles me. Maybe this is due to a heightened sense of awareness. We hear on our news every day right now of the most prolific serial sex offender ever to have existed in the UK, and I cannot help but ponder how it happened. This is a pretty evil world in which we live, and while I am not suggesting that simply shaving your bits is indicative of anything sinister, I do think that in some ways it is just not right. Society changes, evolves and adopts new habits, norms and trends. However, not all of them are for the right reasons, or sensible choices. I know a lot of people may very well disagree with me, and I do not wish to cause offence, but this is my blog and my point of view, so while I can accept you do as you please, please also accept that I can speak of what I think. This is not me pointing a finger or making an accusation, it is simply me musing how very different and weird the world I live in today is from the one I grew up in as a lad. Thought for today - "I've been dating since I was 15. I am exhausted! Where is he?" - Kirstin Davis Song for today - My Kind of Love by Emeli Sandé

Ok, What is your Favourite car that 1) you have owned, and 2) if money was no object that you would want to own? For me, it was the first car I ever owned, and this is what it was. As for the car of my dreams.......... If someone brought this car home for me.......... OMG we is gettin MARRIED mumma!!!!!!!!!

Oh my Gawd I finally understand what Suitcase Company MEANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See now if it were me, I'd be sure to fully unload my Smith & Wesson PT101 10 mm into the sign, and when you came barreling out the door to ask me what the hell is going on, I'd tell ya that is was the sign that scared the BeJeezus out of me this time! hehehehe Ah heck funnny stuff, chick. Loves it.

Jeeeesh you sure you didn't work for the KGB Andy! I've got to admit though, one of my dreams is to visit St Petersburg.

The very first story I read when I came to GA was a Comicality one, and its bloomin chapters galore long. I remember I was on leave, and forgot to sleep or eat while I ploughed through that story! Jeeeesh. There are some right good stories here, and I started out with a list a while ago with two authors to read on it. Now I got a list 30 something long. I'll never be going back to Waterstones

Oh wow heck. Ok let's see here. Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritius, Canary Islands, Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Malta, Sweden, Dubai, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Isle of Man, USA, Canada. Some of those places are multiple different visits. I plan to take a year out when things settle down and travel through South East Asia and Australia. Maybe longer if I can afford it.

Oi Oi Gang I just felt like popping in and saying hello. Been feeling a little bit lonely today. Not really sure why. Probably the fact that in the middle of really busy days a kinda boring one comes along and your sitting there wondering what to do with yourself. I created work for myself in the end, but still felt a lot out of sorts. Mom's results at the hospital on Thursday too, which is also weighing quite heavily on my mind. Really not sure I want to know if its too serious, but at the same time I need to know. Its a bit of a catch 22. Had some really typical winter weather, not too cold, but cloudy, foggy of note, damp and grey. The stuff that makes the UK famous. It reminds you why the British love to talk about the weather when you see days like that, and I kind miss the sun already. Damn its only autumn and I feel like that already. Heaven help me. Anyway I am just rattling really. I don't wanna give my mind time to sit and ponder or over think things. I'ma going to do down the list and see if I can remember everyone. Marky hope ya doing better big guy and things are going well at the farm. Big huggles as always, and I am gunna get you back about your music boio! Wayne I hope you are having a good week and not working too hard buddy. Smile lots and chill. JoAnn, hope ya having a great one after your wonderful weekend of partying like a 16 year old! I'm surprised you made it in to work on Monday, but yeah sensible thinking to stop at 10 on Sunday. Hope the week is going well. xx Roan, best news ever to hear your back with ya hunk and happy buddy. It is always worth the effort to make things work when they do, so glad you stuck it out and fought for what you want. Hope you're doing well health wise too. Breeze, hunni, I hope your well and having a blast. Haven't see you for a while, so hope all is good your end. Cassie hope work is going well, and the new house is as much fun as you hoped. Keep smiling hun, and have a limited eddition Yettie Snuggle. Connor how ya going fella? Good as ever to see ya posting. Hope all is well with you. xx Harcallard long time no speak man. How you going. Really hope that things have settled down for ya and your in a good place. Drop me a line when you can an lemme know whats up! xx Henry_Henry you still hiding under that bed!!!!! Damn dude. Long time bud. Hope you are well and getting through things. Hi Joe, Hope things with the girlfriend are going well man. Happiness is such a great thing to find, and love and happiness makes for the best place to be. Smile lots man, and let us know how things go! x Billy Brat been so long since I've seen you post buddy. Miss ya. Hope that things are good and going well. Take good care mate. xx Mr Laing! How you going Mike? Hope that your well buddy, and fighting fit. hehe. What ever have you been up to of late? xx ZolaLily sending you massive hugs and thoughts of you bud. I hope you are well, and enjoy the good days when you can. x Jamesavik I love the humour I often see in your posts around the place. Your so whitty sometimes and it cracks me up. Thanks for the smiles and cute kitties! x KC How did things go at work! Sounds hetic there for you at the mo, and sometimes it is good to be busy, so I hope that in its own way it has a positive effect for ya bud. Big hugs over the pond man. x It's cool to go back through the posts I've missed out on and catch up, but it also prompts you, and reminds you of people you haven't had a chance to speak to, or think about for a while. I mean there are so many great people here who have special little ways of saying things or doing things that just make random days cool. I love it, and when I am not able to be an active part of it, I suddenly really miss it. I mean there are names I am sure I've left out of the list above, people that just as importantly deserve mention and recognition, so hey if you read and think "Oi you hairy rollock, you forgot my hug!!!!" well here is one for those that I missed. Hey thanks for putting up with my ramblings and swings from good days to bad days. It is good to be able to just write, and get it all out somewhere, the good the bad and the ugly. So yeah. Where ever you are, what ever your up to, hope that the skies, the world, the stars, the sun are smiling down on you and your having a good day. xxx

Oh man I wish I knew where or how some of these expressions started! There are some mint ones coming out! I've heard that one before. Can't remember where though, but it did get a raised eyebrow when i heard it. There was one that my dad always used to say to me when I was either trying to do something that was never going to work, or asking if I could do something I was never going to be allowed to do! He'd say to me - Son you have more chance of falling pregnant, so maybe you better start trying!!!!!!! Hmmmmmmmmm I wonder if that had anything to do with me being gay!

I grew up in a place where comics were really expensive and few and far between, so never really got into them sadly. The only one's I can remember seeing or reading were Beano or Dandy, and that was probably from people who'd been over to visit the UK and brought them back. Marvel and other lines of popular comics were hardly ever seen in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. As a kind I used to follow two comic strips in the paper though. We had good ol Andy Capp and Hagar the Horrible. I loved Hagar. We eventually also got Garfield and then Fred Basset which could be fun sometimes.

Actually I've heard the same thing from a couple of guys I know that have moved to the continent and now wear BjörnBorg undies. They do have some really nice designs too!

OMG the Hobbit is going to be Epic

I think everyone has their own particular brand of underwear that they prefer, I mean style is as much a choice as its cut, shape or design today. But in the ever expanding world of trend setting underwear, there are some amazing new brands of both mens and womens underwear emerging onto the market today, and one that I discovered a while ago, that has rapidly become one of my favourite leading brands of sexy under apparel is called Cleva Moda. These guys are based in Colombia and are producing some really quite stunning designs of male apparel, and got me wondering, what other brands out there do we like/enjoy/prefer?

Hmmmmmmmmm I am actually quite looking forward to the New Bond flick

It has been a while since I have done any writing, I have been working on a variety of other things for my job, my company, my responsibilities, and of course doing a lot of ground work on my brand new work, the story I hope one day blows people away. Ah heck I can but dream. but to be honest I do like the idea, and the guy that is helping me with the research for the book is really amazing, and has some wild stories to tell. He's made a small fortune as an escort and is such a nice person beneath it all, it was not what I expected to find at all. So maybe my book takes on a slightly different version of its central character as a result. Hmmmm Interesting times. But anyway, that is not the purpose of this blog tonight. I finally parked my butt down and decided I must make an effort on working on my Mayan End of World Anthology entry. When I first saw the topic I was inspired. I don't know why, because if I am really honest I am not into all the hollywood catastrophic end of the world stuff. But still, I figured I'd give it a good crack of the whip, and so tonight sat down to give it a spin. Well I am rather pleased with myself, even if I dare to say so myself. I didn't really know how I was going to work the story, I only had a mild concept of the tangent that my story would follow, and really wasn't sure how I would develop the central characters that I wanted to fit into the story. But I just sat and let the words flow, and wow did they flow. It must have been a lack of writing time or some sub conscious desire to get back into the writing world or whatever, but wow, it just appeared on the paper, and that is something that has NEVER happened to me before. I am normally fairly methodical in my writing in that I formulate a beginning and an end. I work on the plot then develop the main character. Then it is just a matter of adding the meat to the bones and filling out the plan, but this time around there was none of that. I found it really interesting too, as I found a kind of freedom in writing this way. The story grew with my excitement, and while I am not completely satisfied yet, the main theme is solid. It got me wondering how other people attack their writing. Is it common to just sit and write freely and let the story take you along its own path, or if more like me you tend to follow a conciousness line of preparation before tackling the story? I guess it would largely depend on the story line. A short story that doesn't have to worry about continuity and content too much would be much easier to just write freely, but a novel or long story really does need some kind of planning, even if it is just a trail of who is who in the scheme of things. I know there are loads of seasoned veterans here who write a lot of stuff, and I am sure that everyone has their own tricks that work for them, but I find that I really do have to push to get through a long work. I mean I only have one work up on here in terms of a long story so far, and it was one that I just put up as I went along, it's not reworked, edited or anything. I mainly put it up as a test to see if I could actually get through a whole long story, and much as expected, I hit a hurdle where I discovered that I had lost myself in the middle of the plot where I had not really prepared the track of the story so well. I found I hit a place where I struggled to move the story from where it stood to where it needed to go to fit with the route the plot takes. So dead end! I guess it is something that I can always come back to, but it did make me wake up and realise that I really should finish something before I start posting it. So let me ask you, for those of you that are massive fans of reading, do you prefer to read something complete, or do you quite enjoy being kept waiting for the next instalment of a story? And also to all you writers out there, when you come across a block in a story, how do you get past it? Thought for today - "Carry out a random act of kindness, without expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that some day someone may do the same for you." - Princess Diana Song for today - Payphone by Maroon 5

One of the things that I love about being free to write and express myself, is that the people that read and respond do so from so many different places in life, and each and every one of you have so much to share and give. Your words back to me, the idea that you took time to read and write your own thoughts, the concept of sharing only serves to prove what I say above. Fundamentally we are good people, we have faults yes, but we are born to be a part of society, and I love watching people come and go and learning to love and appreciate each one of them.

Jeeeesh, if mad passionate gay sex is something you get to see in the arrivals lounge at Tokyo Airport, I'm on my way! Great story Lilansui. I am so glad that I got to finish it. From the moment it started I was drawn in by the tension that SarEr carried with him throughout the story. Wound up like a clock, it was wonderful to watch that unfold and mature. It also built a wonderful suspense in the story, as a reader, never quite sure where the plot would lead us next. Editing aside, this is a wonderful piece of work, and you write well, with fantastic imagination and paint such a vivid picture with your words that I really got lost in the story. It took us up to great heights, and then brought us down to a wonderful, cleaver, and quirky ending. Perfect. Thank you

Man someone needs to bump these boys upside the head. How many weeks to talk on the phone????? Jeeeeesh. I don't know where they get their stubbornness from. Men just aren't like that. Conner is right, this chapter does iron out some issues, and I am glad we get to see Jiro finally put in his place as the pathetic bully he is. It is also nice to know that SarEr gets to face those inner kinks and get them sorted out so that life can continue without question or regret. Great chapter Lilansui!

Oh what a stubborn boy!!!!!!!!!!! Grrrrrrr You know. The scary part of this story. The reality that the power of vast empires of wealth and money can buy. In a world that is supposed to be governed by equality, the sad reality is that power buys privilege The rich get away with daylight robbery, cover up all sorts of horrible things, get ignored when they step out of line, or buy people off when they really need too. As I've read this story, it has just reinforced to me how far apart the classes are, all over the world.

Woops. Me finks Cole heard more than he was meant to hear standing outside that door. It is funny how we always jump to conclusions in life. In that fact alone this story is so true to life. Instead of talking things through, we allow our doubts and fears to tell us the worst, and then we make assumptions and get it all wrong.... Life is such a confusing thing. I am grateful that they are all ok and it is all over now. Part of me is relieved to work out the little quirks of the plot line, how Han steadfastly searched, got Ahmon to help him, swung things in his favour and got on with the job of finding SarEr. I am sure when they talk they will realise that they can't really survive without each other.