OK.... I wrote this just because I thought it was an interesting case study, in a way. We so often assume things, primarily when a situation involves a man and a woman.
This young man met me at a local bar near work and sat down next to me and we talked for about 2 hours. He simply felt that I was someone that he could talk to, from our previous brief interactions, and he was dealing with some concerns and needed to turn to someone. He felt he could confide in me and shared his feelings about relationship problems, concern about his transfer to his next post (he's leaving in 3 weeks for Uganda), career thoughts, loneliness, etc. We had a delightful conversation. He is a doll and I am so glad I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
(Oh, and for the record....he told me that one of the guys who left post a month ago DID indeed have the hots for me!!! )
I lost my father in April of this year. It was very moving for me to read the posts here, particularly from you (Samora) and Dana about your mothers' hands. I can still picture my father's long, expressive fingers....the gold band on his left hand, the fine dark hairs scattered about. Isn't it interesting that we remember our parents' hands so well? Those hands that may have occasionally swatted our bottoms when we misbehaved....those same hands enfolded us with love and tenderness through all of our years together. How do we handle the loss? I don't know, Sam...I'll be sure to let you know when I figure it out.
Did you recently have a baby? If so, yes .... those are your feet.
If you did not recently give birth, just toss a pair of your shoes on them and see if they fit. If they do fit, Cinderella, they are your feet. If not, look further to see if there are legs attached and where those legs lead. You might be in for a very nice evening. (50/50 shot, roughly).
While at work today, I received an email from one of our youngest colleagues....a 23-year old Marine guard. We have known each other only superficially, really, and have socialized together in groups that consisted of a wide variety of people of all ages, but we have chatted easily with each other and enjoyed our brief talks. Today, he sent this email only to me and asked me if I would like to join him for "Happy hour" drinks after work. Hmmmmmmmm......(me thinking this, upon reading that email). I didn't know what to think....was he hoping that there would be a group of us, and figured I would know if this was the case? Was he wanting to see me for some reason I didn't want to deal with? What on earth was this young man thinking and/or wanting? Feeling like I should give him the benefit of the doubt, I replied that I had no plans to go to Happy Hour, but could join him for a bit when I finished work. He said to let him know when I was leaving the office.
I looked at your profile and I'll be honest with you.... You obviously DO take care of your physique and are very fitness-minded. What I wonder (and please forgive me if I am wrong) is if you might be a bit TOO focused on fitness. Now, this is your interest and I certainly can appreciate the fact that you do what you enjoy. Nothing wrong with that at all. But is your love of fitness (extreme rides, climbing, etc.) taking so much time that you have little time for anything else? You are a single father, too, so your children also take your time (as well they should). So how much time do you have left to cultivate a relationship with a woman? You may find someone who likes sport and fitness activities as much as you do, but having other interests to add some balance might be worthwhile and open the field a bit.
When my son was around 14 years old, he was feeling the peer pressures of that age and feeling that he didn't fit in with a lot of the kids in his school (what he didn't realize at the time is that most adolescents feel this way). I told him that friendships and relationships are much like a jigsaw puzzle....each piece will only truly fit with a few around them, who are in turn going to only fit with a few others, etc. You can try to force a fit, but it just isn't going to work or look right in the end. And I told him that each piece is equally important. Without each piece in place, the puzzle is not complete.
OK, so it may not be an actual quote, but the message apparently got through to him that day, for years later (when he was about 20), he told me that he never forgot that little jigsaw puzzle image and that it meant a lot to him and helped him through those often agonizing teen years.
1. I laugh freely and often. 2. I walk through my neighborhood in Athens and shopkeepers and cafe waiters and the owners of the little restaurants and bars and bakeries and markets and kiosks all know me. They know me by name and smile and wave and say "Yiasou, Jeffrey!" when I walk by. I like the fact that, although I am a foreigner, I am definitely a part of this neighborhood and people know me because I have taken the small step of getting to know THEM....I know their names....they ask about my sons....they invite me to sit in their little shops and have a coffee and a chat. I love this. 3. I'm realistic, logical, humorous, and intelligent and am recognized by my friends and colleagues as such. I think this is cool because I like that people do see me as I see myself. It tells me that I am in touch with who I am.
"Cool" is indeed relative, but these are things that I like about myself.
There is a private "joke" that exists between 2 of my co-workers and myself. One is in my office with me, the other is on the floor beneath me. The "joke" involves the woman on the other floor and a man who works at our embassy. I have access to photos of all of the employees, so one day I sent his photo to her by email, with just a simple one-line message attached. Of course, I copied our other friend. I started doing this on a daily basis, changing the subject line of the email so that she wouldn't know she was about to receive the same photo and one-line message. After doing this for a couple of weeks or so, at various times of the day, she stopped opening messages from me that had attachments. So I had to become a bit more creative. I would send it from my boss's computer when he was away (he wants me to access his office emails when he is away, in case something important needs to be brought to his attention). She got wise to that approach, too. So I would create the email, print it (but not send it), and put it in Interoffice mail for her to open. She has to come up to my office and pick up papers on a daily basis, so I have been burying it in the papers, or attaching tasker notices to it, or putting it in one of her drawers at her desk. I have placed it in a regular white envelope and asked one of the guards to be sure that she received it. Every day is a new challenge to figure out how to get this photo and message to her, but so far I have been succeeding. It may not sound so funny to others, but 3 of us have a daily laugh from it.
Actually, no. I haven't had any BAD experiences, though they haven't all been particularly great, either. Same as for most people, I think.....some good, some so-so, some you'd just as soon forget. But I'm not searching profiles and trying actively to connect with someone here because of 3 things: 1. My location. Most CSers are far away from me and my job keeps me abroad. It's not just a matter of moving to another state for me if I found love; I would have to quit a job I love and which is offering me security in my life, which is very important to me after previous upheavals and struggles. I wouldn't take such a step lightly, and chances are great that I wouldn't even consider it. I would probably insist on a man making all the changes and adapting to MY life, traveling around the globe with me. Not too many men would choose to do that, and I can't blame them.
2. There are Greek men on this site, but the vast majority are a good deal younger than me. Greek men my age are not typically Internet active and I'm not going to date men half my age....most who contact me are between 23 and 28!!
3. Although I don't have a relationship (haven't met that special someone), I do enjoy a good social life. I do meet men and I date and so I am not feeling as great a need to search online as I did when I signed up here; I didn't know many people here then, but since that time I have met a fair amount of people and I get introduced to men now, so I'm content with the real-life situation. Having said that, I leave my profile active because one never knows.....
I wasn't originally here for forums because I didn't even know they existed until some time after I had already been on this site for awhile. Now, however, that's about all I do here...go to Forums. I don't search profiles, though I might occasionally check out a profile of a forum poster.
Have you ever noticed how many of these diet pills have advertisements or inserts in their packages that say.... "Combined with a healthy balanced diet......" Weight loss is not ever going to be from a pill you ingest; it will be from the choice of foods and the amount of food you ingest. And, yes, exercise.
I will make a few dishes and take them to a friend's house, where about 8 single Americans will gather and share our time and our food. And we will each bring a Tupperware container to take home some leftovers! One great thing about my job is that there is always a very conscientious effort to make sure that nobody spends a holiday alone, unless they choose to. I have spent the last 6 years abroad at Thanksgiving and Christmas and I was never alone. People are good this way, you know?
Having been to Turkey, and knowing how frequently tea is offered as a gesture of hospitality, I would offer Epicure some of my favorite tea.... with perhaps a couple of cookies on the side!
Thalassa Forum Posts (2,410)
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Drinks with a young 'un