stph20,

The skies are dark here in Lake St. Louis where I work. I'm actually doing great. That makes two days in a row. Life does go on. I'm going out tonight with CH and we're going to tear it up!

I'm glad to hear you're doing OK Booka.

It's cloudy and dreary here in Belleville, but not neccessarily dark yet.

Have a great time tonight!!!!!

booka,

Have you talked to your attorney about buying real estate while under a divorce filing?

Well, DD and b/f are home - fit, well and healthy.

It was SOOOOOO good to see her.

Todd,

No. I'm actually not buying anything at the moment. I will exercise caution in that regard and thank you for your concern. I don't anticipate buying a house until the divorce is final. The STBXW told me it should be within 30-days. We'll see how it pans out.

On another note, I hope that your health has improved this week and that you are feeling well, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Take care and have a good weekend.

KiwiJ,

Congratualtions in your daughter returning home after such a long absence. I hope things are well for all in NZ.

Have fun tonight booka.

Divorced in 30 days? Wow, never heard of such a thing. Mine took 1 1/2 years & it was not particularly difficult. Some tie ups due to ex negotiating this & that, but 30 days...What does your attorney say about that?

Hi Kiwi, how nice to have your D safe & sound at home. Do tell us what she has to say about Americans & the U.S.. Should be interesting.

Hi Todd, I can draw but I get a little compulsive so it's not satisfying until I'm done. I've been fighting painting for years. Each time I try it I get frustrated, but some day I'd like to use the colors available in paints.

Hi Beth, so happy to hear your great health news! I hope your boys gave you the biggest hugs ever.

Here's what we're having for dinner. The other night I cooked a pork picnic, no idea what that is other than cheap & fatty, in the crock pot. I got it down to just the meat which is now all broken down into strips/strings. I've flavored it with garlic, chili powder & it's reminiscent of pulled pork sandwich meat.

We have focaccia bread with roasted garlic & a spinach salad, hopefully minus e coli. YUM! The boys even seem happy with it.

I found the secret to making them happy with what I make. Keep them hungry all day so they appreciate anything that comes their way. Tee hee.

I'm reading the newest Patricia Cornwell book & can't wait to get back to it. Good thing I have no dating life. The onnly bad thing about her books is I tend to read them too fast I only get to enjoy them for a short time.

Hey nams, I posted this on Iditoville this morning.

"They talked a lot about the States this morning. Do you know what struck them more than anything else (apart from the size of food servings)? It was the service they got from everyone no matter where they were. In Europe, they said that even in the touristy places and even tourism offices they were always treated with surly indifference. In the States people always went out of their way to help, usually with a big smile and usually going the extra mile."

BTW, I used to draw and paint all the time. I took Art as one of my subjects in my final year of school. I don't do it so much any more, just like I don't write any more and I used to write constantly. I guess scrapbooking and painting pictures with flowers and plants in my garden are my creative outlets now.

Pork Picnic may well be a ham....I grew up eating picnic hams.

Those who have seen the movie “Forest Gump” know that when Forest was a boy, he wore special boots and braces on his legs. I was born with bone deformities in my feet and lower legs. I wore almost the exact kind of special boots and braces when I was young. I had separate boots and braces that I had to wear while sleeping. Contrary to the movie, one can in no way run fast with those braces on, nor will running fast make them fall off. The boots could not have been uglier and the boots and braces were the objects of ridicule from other kids.

I was treated by two excellent docs, one an orthopedic surgeon and the other a podiatrist. The orthopedic went on to become one of the leading pioneers in the field of sports medicine. As for the podiatrist, I dated his DD when in high school. The podiatrist would come to hate me. The only reason I could see those docs was because they donated time to the Crippled Children’s Clinic, where I went for treatment.

My parents were told that my bone deformities could be improved but I would never be “normal”. I wore both sets of braces for years and absolutely hated it. Over the years, I did improve and I was regularly fitted with a new set of boots and braces, and over time the contraption got more and more streamlined until finally, I was able to get rid of the daytime boots and braces. Unfortunately, I wore the bedtime boots and braces for many years.

It took me a while to learn how to walk “normally” without the boots and braces. I finally did, or mostly did. Then one day when I was in the sixth grade, the school announced that, during recess, they were going to start having various competitions, among them the broad jump. The idea of leaping into the air and jumping as far as I could appealed to my Superman senses. The first day, I leaped a disappointing five feet. Every other kid in school jumped farther than that. I decided that my leg and feet bones would not prevent me from winning the long jump contest. I practiced in my yard every day. We had an area with a slight uphill and I practiced running and jumping uphill with the belief that it would help my jumping on a level surface.

It worked. On the day of the finals, I smoked the competition. I broad jumped 14 feet at the age of 12. The next closest distance was 12 feet. It was an especially sweet victory for me, not just because of the achievement but because of the obstacles I had to overcome. It took me a very valuable lesson early in life: we cannot dictate all the circumstances we find ourselves in. We can directly control our response to any setback. It was a grand lesson in positive thinking for me. To this day, I have no patience for those who feel sorry for themselves or who wallow in self-pity. There is nothing that life can hurl at us that we cannot overcome. The pituitary gland is the master gland in that it regulates all the other hormonal glands in our body. A positive attitude is the master of our setbacks and disappointments. Life is what you make of it.

I took away another lesson from the long jump contest. When the competition first started, a teacher would place a rope as the point from which you would leap. You would then run as fast as you could, try to come as close to the rope as possible without going over it, and jump like there was no tomorrow. I asked the teacher why not have a second rope at a short distance and move it farther from the first rope with each successive turn. She thought it was a good idea. They initially placed the rope at several feet and after everyone had their turn, they would move it out another foot. So, instead of blindly leaping into the air and seeing how far you can go, you had a goal to shoot for. It worked miracles for me. Once I had the target, I also had a goal and a benchmark posing as a simple strand of rope. It gave me an early lesson in goal setting: if you want optimal results in your life, set goals to shoot for.

Last November I was diagnosed with a 4.5 Cm brain tumor. I was told the tumor was inoperable and even a biopsy was not possible due to risk of brain tissue damage. It was “staged” using best estimates of tumor progression as depicted on MRI’s. By this time, I knew my WW had been having an affair. In December, I confronted my WW about her A. She denied it. In January, she finally confessed to her A. Yes, I was hurt and angry. I was livid. I entered posts on the other site that I am not proud of. But, through it all, I remained positive and resolute. Friends asked me how did I cope with everything. I asked them what they meant. Life deals you cards; you play the cards you are dealt. You can choose not to obviously, but trust me, life goes better and you will end up happier if you face any problem with a positive attitude, determination and optimism.

For those still awake, the below link is to a short narrative about Dr. Jack Hughston, the orthopedic surgeon who treated me. I guess it is no coincidence that his vision in pioneering sports medicine must have helped in my case as well.

Dr. Jack Hughston

Todd,

So yet another paradox.

Booka,

Just an observation but putting things in perspective of your original thread(s) from 2003/2004 and then reading your latest thread on EN and comments here, it always stands out when you make comments about all these "hot" women you run into. Your comments about the happy hour a week or two ago (can't remember the wording of the post now) and everything else seem to me like SF is an extremely important emotional need for you and W has not been giving you that for nearly ten years and it has gotten much worse over the past 4 and now that you have an opportunity to get out of your marriage, all you can think about is your new found freedom to pursue SF. You have also said you will never marry again for love.

I find this interesting because, in my case, for the last year and even when WW and I were separated, I found all other women extremely unattractive - even the ones who others told me were very attractive indeed. I think many of us are surprised at how you have embraced this D so easily and quickly.

I guess my point is just be careful. It seems all you want is to have a good time and have SF. Ok. Just don't forget that (unless you get the bunny) you are involving another person in your recreation. Don't cause another person to have an A and don't mislead anyone about your intentions in your pursuit of SF. You have gone through a lot of pain and suffering. Just don't lead anyone else down that path too.

Yes, all things come in pairs it seems. One doc had the ambition of being the pioneer in the sports medicine field; the other had the ambition of killing me. At least they had goals.

It has been my experience that things come in threes.

So what's your complaint? Personally I find that quality admirable.

No complaints. Honestly, he was justified. He wanted his daughter home NLT midnight; I always seemed to have her home by three or so. He never said it, but I am almost positive that he wanted her home sober. Oh well, life is full of disappointments. I even reminded him that he had treated me as a child. He was not impressed. For some reason, he put his daughter before our history together.

I was always disarming to the fathers I met. Clean cut, well sort of. But I always gave them a firm handshake and looked directly into their eyes. It charmed them in a way. When I got their DD home so late, it really shattered their vision of me.

Sorry but you aren't a mind reader. How were you to know?



We all have to learn to live with disappointment - don't we?

My H would have pulped you into mincemeat if you'd treated his DD like that.

And he would have been justified.

I am a mind reader. why would you think otherwise?

You may have x-ray vision but I doubt you're a mind reader.

Did larousse ever explain why Superman needed X-ray vision for the Johnson lever? I've lost sleep over that. I wish it could be cleared up.