Wynter

I'm only 26 but I have to admit to feeling old once in a while. It seems like only yesterday that I was still studying and now I'm 5 years into my profession. It doesn't help that, as a teacher I'm working with young people who are all just beginning a journey that I feel like I've finished. I've made it past all of the fun youthful milestones and now it's just work and buying a buying a house, trying to stabilise my career. I long since gave up on hitting the clubs because as a teacher, it's too potentially embarrassing and dangerous in a town with only one real gay bar. So yeah, I feel old sometimes especially compared to friends in other careers whose lives are still less constrained than mine and who don't have to worry so much about how their public behaviour will be scrutinised. I think the point is that people struggle with transitions between different stages of life and that going from your teens to late 20s is quite a significant change. More so, I would suggest than moving from high school to university.

For a few brief moments I thought this thread might mean Dom had finally returned to complete WT. But alas... I've just finished rereading some of Dom's classics and they gave me the same twisted stomach of excitement and sadness they did the first time I read them years ago. It always hurts reading those last chapters knowing that his writing is finite and that there won't be a new chapter for me to devour next week. I found the the discussion here fascinating, especially Jim's comments. As one of the adoring legions back in the day I really hope I didn't contribute to the pressure. I did message him once to thank him and he gave me a brief but sincere sounding reply. Dom's writing helped to get me through the dark years of my late teens when I felt like I was alone. TOU in particular really helped me to feel normal, although it has left me forever jealous Quinn whose journey I related to much more than Owen's. I'd love nothing more than to see a new post, even if he abandoned the old stories and started anew. He had such a talent for creating hope, and given how many young people there are going through the anguish of denial and self doubt and persecution, I can only hope that there will be a Dom there to tell them that they're normal when they need to hear it.

Jude Landon - The Ordinary Us Sexy, blonde, lean mechanic guy is hot for obvious reasons but let's face it, the stories on here are full of hot guys. What makes him stand out for me is his kindness, loyalty, independence, confidence and sense of fun. Also he could fix my car for me

Your Type is ENFP Extraverted Intuitive Feeling Perceiving Strength of the preferences % 22 50 25 11 It's a little creepy how accurate the descriptions were. Not sure that I like being so predictable

The Lo(n)g Way, still a favourite and I happily devoured everything else Dom had written shortly after. Really wish he'd update With Trust. *sigh*

Ditto. Jude's been my favourite ever since I first started reading Dom's stories. I've never been so eager for a new chapter since TOU was still being written.Those were the days, Dom posting regularly... Silly Vic, didn't you notice the total hottie dating Owen?

Not sad that they want friends, sad that so many people were unable to find someone to talk to outside of the internet. I've added about 5 people to MSN after chatting through websites so I've gained some friends myself. The people I'm referring to seem to lack friends as a result of hiding their sexuality. In regards to 5, I think you're probably onto something. The hook-up sites have a lot of closeted men so that could play a role. It's certainly been less prevalent on the more relationship orientated sites.

So, I came out to my friends about a year ago, maybe a but more now. My family are still in the dark and shall remain so for a while yet I hope. While I've grown much more comfortable with telling people and controlling my paranoia, I've still yet to really delve into relationships and such. Partly because I just didn't know where to find other gay guys. The local gay bar isn't much help for finding the type of guy I like and the only ones you can really spot are the stereotypical types which I don't really go for anyway. So I decided to venture onto the internet and try these so called 'dating' sites. I've noticed a couple of things. 1) There are a LOT more of us around than I would have dreamed. 2) If you want a decent service expect to pay for it. Also expect the most expensive ones to have fewer people on them. 3) The name of the site tells you A LOT. But at the same time, the dirty looking ones often have lots of normal people who aren't interested in hook-ups or orgies or other things that don't bear mentioning. 4) There are many, many people just looking for friends which is a bit sad really. Although, it is a great way for closeted people to reach out and maybe gain come confidence. I've made a couple of new friends myself which has been great because my only gay friends are Lesbians. 5) Lots of the profiles specify an interest in 'straight acting' or masculine men. Which seems to indicate I'm not alone in having difficulty finding like minded gay guys. It also says a lot about the power of stereotypes and the visibility of a small minority; are the stereotypes completely wrong? I'd always sort of seen myself as unusual. So far, I've made a couple of MSN friends and another guy I'm quietly excited about that I hope to meet sometime soon. SO that's my experience. I thought I'd post about it because other people might find it useful and/or have some insight into the stuff I mentioned above. Anyone else care to share?

Levis in Aus are roughly $100 if not more. I tend to just buy cheapo ones from Target because the nice ones all seem intent on showing my ass crack to the world and that doesn't go down well when you work with children.

I turn 23 in a month and frankly it freaks me out a bit because I still remember starting uni, being a teenager and having no real responsibilities. That said, I heartily agree with the vid, a great age to be... if only we could freeze it

I'm no expert, but my understanding is that so long as you keep it clean there's no need for circumcision other than a preference for that appearance. Some people may suffer from particular conditions that make it beneficial but the majority of men don't need it at all. This isn't the most academic discussions of circumcision but it's probably one of the more interesting Pen and Teller on Circumcision

I still love The Ordinary Us. Quinn was a bit annoying but I suppose for some people, coming out is as much about reconciling yourself as it telling everyone else. But Mostly I just want my own personal Jude. He remains my favourite hottie from Dom's stories.

I love the HP books. They're well written and imaginative. For one, they appeal to my own childhood fantasy of a magic school. But beyond that they have a vividly imagined world full of history and politics, love and revenge and culture and hatred and... you get the point. Every time a new one came out I devoured it even as I dreaded finishing it, hoped for the next one but felt sad every time I finished a new one, one step closer to the series ending. Twilight, I also read and liked. But it was a much more shallow obsession. Basically, I wanted my own Edward. A romantic, hot, eternally youthful, wealthy boyfriend. Someone who loved me to a pathetic extreme. Once I actually took a long hard look at the plot, it's characters and, quite frankly, the bland writing, I fell out of love. HP is a story, I'll hold in my heart forever and pass on to younger generations whenever I can. Twilight? Well I honestly think the fad will wear off and history will forget them pretty quickly. Which is probably a good thing because, quite frankly, the relationships it glamourises aren't exactly healthy.

Supermassive Black Hole - Muse I know it suffers from association with Twilight but it's still awesome. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu7IPCqGDjk&feature=related Oh baby dont you know I suffer? Oh baby can you hear me moan? You caught me under false pretenses How long before you let me go? You set my soul alight You set my soul alight (You set my soul alight) Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstars sucked into the supermassive (You set my soul alight) Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstars sucked into the 'supermassive' I thought I was a fool for no-one Oh baby I'm a fool for you You're the queen of the superficial And how long before you tell the truth You set my soul alight You set my soul alight (You set my soul alight) Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstars sucked into the supermassive (You set my soul alight) Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstars sucked into the 'supermassive' Supermassive black hole Supermassive black hole Supermassive black hole Glaciers melting in the dead of night And the superstars sucked into the supermassive

Agreed. I know it's stupid but I get really put off by unattractive names. Nels works though, sounds much less formal and it's kinda cute.