Maddi

This is wonderful news, Charlie! Congratulations!!

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss, Kinki. My condolences to you and your family.

Happy Birthday, Red! Have a good one, wherever you are.

What's in my fridge? Soap, water, bubbles... I'm cleaning.

Fresh milk, orange juice, butter, Gouda cheese, leftover schnitzel, ready-to-cook sliced patatoes, vegetables, and various sauces, jams and relishes are neatly lined up next to it, waiting to be put back.

Happy Birthday, Keeyah!

AND YET the danger is that the 'profession' becomes 'accepted' as 'normal' and absorbed into society.

It's already accepted as normal.

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Josh, you may object to morality being an aspect of this discussion, but I believe it is unavoidable.

'Normal' and 'accepted' would implie that a prostitute could sit at a birthday gathering and talk freely about their profession, just like any doctor, teacher or baker.

Well, maybe you move in different circles than I do, but I don't see that happening any time soon. It's still a taboo for the majority of the people, and therefore it's not 'normal' and 'accepted' in society. And in my case, that's not in any way a personal moral judgement either.

Also, the fact that prostitutes have husbands and boyfriends doesn't mean that they're perfectly happy with their situation, and would have made the same choice if they had the power to turn back time. It could simply be that they don't have (m)any other options open to them. As I already pointed out, once someone is in the business it's very difficult to get out. Even if a person would move to a completely different area, they might meet someone who knows them from the 'old days' and could expose them as a former prostitute. Here in the Netherlands it is still considered a stigma for life, and I suppose we're fairly progressive compared to most countries.

We may not like that this is still how it works in society, but that doesn't make it any less of a reality.

Last year I went for my first swim in years. I'm not a very good swimmer, but I enjoyed it a lot, and if there was a swimming pool close to where I live, I'd probably go swimming once a week or so.

Unlike Rogan, I don't like swimming in salt water. I live by the sea, but I never swim in it. Over here, it's pretty damn cold all year round. Last year I went to the beach a couple of times in August. We fooled around a bit in the undertow, but that was it. Good heavens it was COLD. Yuri had to wait 15 minutes to take a piss, cos he couldn't find his tackle anymore - that's how cold it was. :wink:

I'm sorry Christian, it's only published in Dutch so far.

Actually, I'm thinking about starting a thread about the ideas I'm reading about. But I think I want to read a bit more before I do that. I've only got as far as the second essay now.

But I'll list the index here, that should give you an idea of the topics discussed.

Part 1: The New Political Playground

1. Freedom: The Political Playground

2. Freedom has no political colour

Part 2: Controversial Freedom

3. Political Left and morality

4. Modern Culture Relativism

5. Freedom and Identity

6. Emancipation: Between Autonomy and Paternalism

7. The Muslim as Object

8. Green Liberalism

Part 3: Classical Institutions

9. Rule of Law

10. Democracy

11. The Market

Epilogue: A Left Spring (written by Femke Halsema, the leader of the Dutch Green Party).

At the moment my bed-time read is a volume of essays called "Freedom as ideal", that was issued by the Green Party (Groen Links) in the Netherlands. It's about the concept of freedom from a left-wing perspective as opposed to the conventional liberal ideal of freedom. Haven't finished it yet, but I like the ideas I've come across so far.

and a lot of us are not genuinely fond of Wolvy.

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When did everybody make you the class representative?

 

So now you speak for everybody?

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You're asking for trouble if you pick a fight with Rogan. Please don't. Believe me, you'll get more than you bargain for, and then some. Rogan is in a league of his own, here or anywhere else. That disclaimer isn't in his sig for nothing.

Has for people getting tired of my rantings. Well gues what. you do the same damn thing. Rather you want to admit it or not. Like Kinki said. Sometimes people need to vent, because life doesnt always work out the way you had planned it.

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Wolvy, you've still got a lot to learn about this forum's code of conduct. This isn't just any other forum, and the people here like to keep it that way. And this sort of behaviour really isn't going to endear you to us.

I think it's time for JMac to close this topic.

Religious arguments excluded (because I don't believe in them and I don't want to drag this off-topic), both paying for sex and selling your body for money are not inherently evil practices.

I'm not so sure.

I'll try to explain why I feel this way. Years ago, in my student days, I did a tour of the Red Light district in Amsterdam. Part of the tour was a visit to a SM-prostitute. I tell you, it was a very interesting experience, to be seated there amidst the whips and the hooks and to hear her tell her story. One of the things that I remember vividly is how she got into the trade.

She had been working as a regular prostitute for a couple of years. Then she fell in love with her pimp, and he became her boyfriend as well as her 'manager'. When that happened, she didn't want to have sex with her clients anymore, and decided to become an SM prostitute. It's next to impossible, she said, to 'get out of the life', but SM was at least an escape from the most intimate contact with clients. (I suppose her boyfriend was okay with that, since SM-prostitutes make more money) She simply didn't want to have intimate contact with other men anymore, because it made her feel terrible. Mind you, these words came from the mouth of a woman who had just told us about some of the weird and perverted things that her SM clients asked her to do. She was a real pro, not an inexperienced teenager.

To me it said clearly that it takes a special mindset to be able to do the job. If these girls want to have a normal, healthy sexual relationship with a man in the real world, they can't properly get themselves to do the work anymore. And I think it works the other way round too. If you do this work, your relationships with men get warped.

So, even if it's decrimininalized and the girls are able to set up their own business, that doesn't make it a good thing. I'm sure the experience leaves a scar forever, in the hearts and minds of these girls.

I used to be skinny, but I've gained some weight last year. No bones sticking out anymore, I think.

*checks in mirror* Nope. Slim, but not skinny.

Still, I'm quite tall and I've got tiny bones compared to other people, so I'll go with skinny here.

Maddi, you'll feel so much better when your thyroid's been removed.

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Yup, I know. Though they aren't going to remove it entirely.

I hope to be one of the lucky few who can do without meds after the surgery. But even if I do need thyroxine afterwards, I'll still have a lot more control over my body than before. It's strange but, until recently, I never realised how much impact my previous sub-clinical Graves has had on my life over the last 20 years.

The thyroid is a tiny but powerful gland, people. It has an impact on your whole body and your mind too. You'd never guess how much it does for you, until it stops working properly.

Thanks for your good wishes, all of you!

I often resort to retail therapy when I'm not feeling too good. The worse I feel, the more colourful the clothes. Most recent addition:

This poll makes me laugh at myself, really.

When I was a younger, I used to prefer skinny men, with a bit of muscle tone. Yuri's my first guy who's on the heavy side. Though with him, it's also a lot of muscle, especially his buttocks and legs are very muscular (and verrry tasty, he's got the best legs I've ever seen... but I digress) He's got a very sturdy frame, I think he inherited that from his mother's side of the family. Broad shoulders and chest... really, I'm not complaining in the least.

I still like to look at skinny and average-built guys... but a bit more meat on a guy is very nice to the touch. The way his little potbelly fits ever so snugly into the hollow of my back, and other pleasures... and I never knew! At my age, well, that's quite funny. I still have a lot to learn in life... big things and small ones.

Time moves faster than I like, my friends. Life feels like it's rushing by these days. In about two weeks from now, I'll be celebrating my first meeting with my sweetheart. A year has passed since then. It feels like two or three years, that's the weird thing.

And on Feb 21, I'm set for thyroid surgery. Met with the surgeon recently, and decided to go for the plunge. It's funny how they just take out their appointment book and pick a date. Like you would set a date to go to the movies or something. Whereas I had to take a deep breath and swallow hard to say yes, that date is okay for me. But the surgeon has been doing thyroid surgery for 20 years and has an excellent track record, so I think all will be well in the end.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to get as fit as possible. Which isn't easy, because I've been slightly over-medicated during the last few weeks. Last week I was getting hyper symptoms again. I try not to worry about it, because that will only make things worse. And the deadlines at work don't make things any easier either. :rolleyes:

Next Thursday I'm up for a thyroid scan. Because of the scan I can't take any meds right now, and I'm curious what that'll do to me. Hopefully I don't get any more hyper than I already am. I'm going to talk it over with my doctor on Monday, and ask him about the dose I should be on after the scan. I really don't have a clue right now.

On a lighter note - I really ought to buy some pyjamas soon. The ones I have are either worn to shreds, or just bottoms without tops. That really won't do in a hospital.

Ah yes, the joys of younger men-older women pairings, eh?

My friend thinks a lot of men smell like meat pies.  :wacko:

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Hehehe. This makes me think of a club in town that has a strict non-smoking policy. It seems a lot of the people who frequent the place are the shower-yes-deodorant-no type, cos when the place fills up and people are hopping and bopping around, the smell of human flesh gets quite... erm, pungent.

But it's like going into a cheese shop - you only notice the smell when you go in.

*congratulates herself with the fact that she doesn't own a tv*

I'm also a bit of a scent freak, but I usually have a tough time finding something that really suits me. My skin smells sweet already, just by itself, which means that sweet, flowery scents are a complete no-no for me. I'd smell like I'd just crawled out of a sugar bowl... truly revolting.

For years, I've worn Gianni Versace (the original fragrance, that came in a kind of 'crystal' bottle). Unfortunately, it was replaced by a new perfume and after a while I couldn't find it in the stores anymore. Such a shame, because people used to come over and sniff at me and ask what it was all the time. It smelled that good. But I guess it didn't smell as good on other women, otherwise they'd still be selling it.

Last year, Yuri gave me a bottle of Paris, by YSL. On me, it's a nice, unobtrusive fragrance, and I wear it every day. It's allright for the office, and if I'm going out I apply a little more at night.

Funnily, only this morning I was thinking what I'd use next if the bottle runs out (it's half empty now). Maybe Boucheron. It's a classic I've always liked (and it smells good on nearly every woman I know, which is rare).

Oh, and I use a simple deodorant, of course. I hardly sweat though, so it's more the idea of it than a neccessity.

Dammit! Now I have to take back my facial fuzz hatred.

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Well Pooks, how do you like Yuri's two-day stubble?

The lady in the pic is one of his work buddies. Aren't they lucky to have such a nice-looking bloke at the office... :wink:

Kinky and Inca: Looking gooooooooooooood, both of you!!

I would definitely take the propanolol after a traumatic event, if given the choice.

I've been prescribed propanolol for the first couple of weeks after I was diagnosed with a hyperactive thyroid and it worked just fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. It slowed down my heart rate and pulse, and eased the trembling and nervousness. After a few weeks the effects of the anti-thyroid drugs started to kick in and I didn't need the propanolol anymore. I've been told it also enhances the effects of ATD's, so my treatment worked faster than it would have done without the propanolol.

The stuff really calmed me down a lot. I felt I had lost control over my body, and the propanolol eased that feeling and made me able to take a look at myself from a distance and tell myself not to worry so much, things would be allright. Maybe not all the time, but most of the time.

I can see it working for PTSD treatment, provided it's given at the appropriate time. I won't rob you of your memories, but it will take the edge of the impact that those memories have on you. It allows you to take a step back from them and maintain a sense of reality.

Yep, propanolol gets two thumbs up from me. :cool:

Hmm. I think the situation could easily change if the US would no longer be the world's leading superpower. Without continued and extensive support from that corner, Israel would be in a completely different position.

It all depends on the economy, in the end. Who's got the resources, and who do they befriend. Ultimately, that's what going to decide the political and military power in the world.

I'm at home, waiting for a taxation guy from the municipal tax office. He just called to say he's going to be late (he was supposed to be there between 11:00 and 13:00 hrs). There's not much point in going to work afterwards, so I'll have to take the entire day off, instead of only the morning hours.

I knew this was going to happen, I just knew. Blech.

But. The day's not all bad. Tonight I'm going to a New Year's concert. The Amsterdam Sinfonietta Orchestra featuring the excellent Cristina Branco. That ought to put the smile back on my face.

Straight.

When it comes to flesh-on-flesh interaction, I just can't imagine doing it with a woman. That would be like having sex with my sister or something like that. It just doesn't turn me on, somehow. I want a pair of strong arms around me, and a nice hairy chest to snuggle up to afterwards.

However, I don't think I'd have any problems with being lesbian if I'd turned out that way. I know a lot of gay men, some lesbian couples too. I think it's way more important that people are happy and having sex with someone they love, than which gender their loved one belongs to. There's not enough love in the world as it is.