Welcome To Just Us Boys - The World's Largest Gay Message Board Community
In order to comply with recent US Supreme Court rulings regarding adult content, we will be making changes in the future to require that you log into your account to view adult content on the site.
If you do not have an account, please register. REGISTER HERE - 100% FREE / We Will Never Sell Your Info
PLEASE READ: To register, turn off your VPN (iPhone users- disable iCloud); you can re-enable the VPN after registration. You must maintain an active email address on your account: disposable email addresses cannot be used to register.
I don't know if it's because I've had a bit too much to drink... Uni students/grads should be able to relate... but, I think it might be time to do this.
I spend so much time in the shadows. I am gay, I've told the 'rents, a couple of friends know. I think, however, it's time for everyone to know.
The thing of it is, why say anything? Sure, I like the bois (those of you who know French may find the double-entendre here a bit funny)... But, being gay is like being straight, one is that which one is. Why should it be assumed that I am straight, gay, bi, mono, omni, or whatever? Straight people don't have to "come out," why should we/I? Such assumptions are no more than a massive pain in the arse.
But, here I am, starting my (first) senior year at uni, not really sure where I'm headed. Not to sound too religious, but I know God has a plan for me, I know God created me to be who I am... The thing of it is, how do I live this out?
Sure the attractions of meaningless sex are there... I have a very open, very flamboyant, very flaming flat-mate, and he tells stories... While getting off is fun, just where does it go from there?
I want a boyfriend. I want sex. I want to be able to share my life with someone else. Sure, friends are great... I'd be up the proverbial creek without a paddle without them, but you can't share everything with them...
I know, especially with regards to the state I am in currently, that the grammar and spelling for this isn't probably the best (merci bien a Firefox en français pour spell-check qu'en français), but I just had to get a bit of this off my chest.
I don't know if I should be proud of myself or not. Last night I was at a birthday party for someone who lives in my building here on campus... it was a lot of fun. One of her friends (a cute Asian guy from another uni) was there - and at one point I went out to smoke a cigarette and he came along, which seemed a little strange since he only smokes pot. Anyway, we're sitting out there and we started fooling around a bit... and he's like do you want to go back to your place... which worked for me.
This is probably the first hook up I've had in like six years... it was really awesome to totally make out again and do other stuff. Now I'm just wondering if anyone knows about it... as we disappeared for at least a half hour and someone knocked on my flat door while we were going at it. Oh well.
So, last I went out with some friends into DC and amongst them was the friend of the guy who I hooked up with Friday. Apparently he really liked me [more than I thought]...
So, I don't know what that means just yet, but she and the guy apparently talked about him coming down again and he said he would want to see me [and maybe her]! I think I'm going to have to try to track him down in the Facebook world...
Anyway, I thought that was really cool.
Oh, and he's also funny... I was talking with his friend last night and she was telling me that he said [in reference to my flatmate who is so falmboyant he may actually be a woman]: "If I wanted a woman, I'd sleep with women..." I thought that was hysterical and I went onto say that "Yeah, he has crossed the line... well not just crossed the line, but ran across it, in heels." I'll probably post more about my flatmate later.
Yet again, another new week - shouldn't be all that surprising really, I've had quite a few of those in my slightly more than two decades... So, the week that was was full of bitching from my flatmate about his quasi-ex-bf who he still has feelings for, even though (he admits himself) the guy is a douchebag. Whatevs.
For me, I got confirmation that a guy who I find cute in the Spanish cluster (I live in a foreign language-learning/living program) is gay - so I may have to go over and try to hang out with the Spanish cluster to see if I can get to know him at all...
In a funny side note, one of the girls from the Persian cluster thinks that I'm interested in one of her flatmates... which, if I were straight (or even bi), I probably would be, our personalities play well of eachother, she's funny, etc, etc... But as it is, eh.
So yeah, time to do ridiculous ammounts of homework - four 400 level classes and one 300 level class seem to do that.
Last night eneded up being "more bonding time" for my flat mate and I - and he was talking a bit about a guy he had met at First Look Fair (two day event here at UMD where all the clubs and organizaitons set up a table on the Mall to tell people about their organization). The guy clearly would have had to do some work to track him down on Facebook, probably only knowing a first name and a dorm... The funny thing was, my roomate starts of with essentially 'I wouldn't have known he was gay.' Things ended up not working out (given that it was my flat mate, surprise surprise).
Gays come in all types, like any other portion of society, why should it be a "surprise" that someone is gay? Just because they don't run around in heels, or wearing ridiculous clothing, or have a lisp does not make them any less gay. In fact, at least for me, having someone who's a queen seems almost pointless - if I wanted a woman, I would sleep with women!
Last night was one of those nights, where it was just so quiet, I really wished I had a BF - the flat was basically empty - I could have talked, made out, done whatever... oh well.
I guess that's it from me for now.
It's amazing how plans change in an instant. I was thinking that I would write about wanting a BF, etc.
I know this entry is a bit overdue, but the last two weeks have been crazy busy, but things finally look to be slowing down, so I'll hopefully be getting back into my normal pattern. I'll be done with the first round of mid-terms/DSTs on Wed. - so looking forward to that, but the two DSTs on Wed. shouldn't be too bad.
Back to plans, though. Last night was supposed to be a chill night - it was my friend's 21st, we were going to pregame a bit and then go to the Fe for a concert. Which was all good, until my friend ended up pretty drunk - and the drunker he gets, the more agressive he gets... anyway, no incident at the bar, we leave, go get some Chinesse over at Panda, and head over to his mate's flat to smoke up [I was planning to peace out and take the Shuttle UM back to my flat at that point...]. He then decided that he wanted to fight - two problems: 1) he's not that big, 2) he was drunk off his ass. Anyway, we restrain him from one fight, manage to get him to his mate's flat - but he decides he's pissed off about something, and gets up and leaves... the guy whose flat it was and his other friend go after him - I figure he'll chill out and come back, so I stay put. Anyway, he ends up not coming back, and he decided he wanted to go sleep in his friend's car. Fine, but, at this point he's shirtless and a guy on the street makes a comment about it and my friend decides to try to fight this guy - two punches later, he's on the ground, a bit bloodied up and unable to get up... His friend manages to get him restrained, I get his stuff and we decide to walk him back to his mate's flat. Get him calmed down, whatevs... Wake up this morning, and he doesn't remember at thing and is now en route to the hospital. Oy... how plans change.
So, the guy in my building that I'm sort of interested in stopped by Thursday with another girl from our building to see my flat mate (who's the RA), but he wasn't here, so they hung out a bit to wait for him to come back... Anyway, they got tired off waiting and she's like - I'm just going to leave a note and head back, but then was like to the guy - you can hang out a bit if you want, which would have been cool with me, but he peaced out... He had also stopped in earlier in the week too and hung out a bit, so I don't know if maybe he's just not that interested in me or not... I don't know, we'll see what happens...
Anyway, a couple of papers and exams down, and only two DSTs on Wed, I'm looking at a quiet week. I guess as by way of wrapping up, I'll leave you with this:
This is an entry that's been in the back of my mind for a while. In France, copain is often used to mean boyfriend (at least that's what I've found), but at the same time it is defined more as friend or comrade (or as the Français-Anglais dictionary on the TV5 website likes to define it "pal, chum"). I think this sort of what I am looking for.
Don't get me wrong, I have friends - a good number really, but there is a difference between a friend and a boyfriend. A boyfriend is someone you can confide in, someone you can share your thoughts and feelings with without worry, someone you can talk to about anything, someone to share my life with. This is something I feel I am missing right now.
How do I find someone like this? I have been chatitng with a Canadian recently, and he suggested an online dating site... which, I have signed up for and have gotten some response from, but still, something about it simply seems akward. The shame of it really is that this guy seems nice and he is cute... the problem is we are near the completely wrong capital cities (I'm near DC, he's in Ottawa). That, and meeting people through a website still strikes me as wierd - I much prefer meeting people in real life. The problem arises, however, that most of my friends are straight, and I study maths - just not a hot bed of gays.
Anyway, just sort of wanted to throw that out there.
Je finis avec un extrait d'un émission australien que je trouve trop drôle:
This week has been quiet overall... Sort of an interesting start on Monday though. I live in the language learning-living program, so part of that is a program where we have people from on campus who want to practice speaking whatever language.... So, I was there talking to the French students, and looked over and saw my friend in the Hebrew cluster was by himself (he's also a native French speaker), so I went over to talk to him for a bit... We went through the basic small talk, what's up, etc. Then, he asks 'Tu as un petit copain?' (Do you have a boyfriend?) This took me completely off-gaurd, because I'm what I guess you would call "straight-acting" (not overly effeminate, etc.). Then I remembered he was there when I went off for my hook-up about a month ago (that seems like forever now)... Then we sort of got into this conversation about being gay/ straight, etc.
The conversation was sort of awkward, I don't know why really... I'm not "completely out," like I don't go around telling people I'm gay - if people know, that's fine. So, we're sitting here surrounded by people who some of them would understand the French, and everyone after we switched to English... So yeah, sort of awks. It's aight though, I'm becoming more and mroe open about being gay... so tired of getting straight comments directed at me... Just thinking about straight sex makes me a little sick to my stomach - I know that's why I'm here, but all the same...
The rest of the week, unsurprsingly quiet, but work appearing out of no where... pisses me off - I thought I wouldn't have any work due on Friday, and thought (as a result) I might go to College Night at the gay club downtown - which I've never done before, and looks like I may not get to do any time soon... damn homework. Then last night was a bust... no one was around, got ditched by the guy who was supposed to take me and the other people here to a party... oh well.
I guess nothing terribly profoud our exciting this week, except someone has started putting Les Guignols de l'Info back on youtube!:
Well, this last week has been pretty exciting. I have a profile up on a dating site, never thought I would, but at some point figured, why not give it a try? Well, Thursday I get a message from a guy who goes to my school - which is pretty cool. We decide to meet up for lunch on Friday and he seems pretty cool so we have made plans for later today. Depending on the weather we may just stick around here or we may head into DC... the plan as of now is to grab some lunch and to catch a movie, but if it clears up we may go into Georgetown (I've never been, so that will be pretty cool). Only flaw so far is that he hates Express and Lacoste nearly as much as my flat mate (mon princesse), but I suppose this is not that serious.
I don't know where this is headed really, but I think we face some interesting challenges. He's Muslim for a start and not particularly out - even though some of his "friends" have started piecing it together. Which is fine, because I am not totally out, but more and more people know now about me and that's good. And as I always do, I start playing the "what will the future look like" game... not necessairly a good idea, but I can't seem to stop myself. My parents are not particularly supportive of my sexual orientation, I have told them, but my Mom wants me to go to "reparative therapy" (gay to straight therapy, ha!) and my father is convinced I'm going to hell (yay!). Needless to say, we don't talk about it and have a much stronger relationship as a result. If, at some point, though, they ask or I need to tell them having a son who is gay, and who has a boyfriend who is Muslim may kill them. Anyway, I guess it is to early to go that far... I'm looking forward to this afternoon and we'll see what happens. I'm supposed to go on a hay ride with my friends later on today and I fear I may be a gooey-wreck, which means some conversations that I was not planning to have coming up...
Anyway, I need to go fetch my laundry before someone takes it out of the machine...
Let's see, to close out (Destination Unknown):
In a little less than an hour my boy is coming over to hang out for like four or five hours. Needless to say, I'm more than excited. He gets me hard just thinking about him, it gets embarrasing when I talk to him on the phone or IM him and people are around, trying to work out how to discreetly rearrange my junk to make it unnoticable. That's not going to be a problem today, we're going to strip eachother and sit and make out and see what happens (I'm big into seeing what happens). I can't wait to see my boy totally naked, I just hope he likes what he sees for me. We've already made out some, but this is going to be intense. We've talked some about what we want to do, and about how fast (or slow) we want to take things. We're both anal virgins and he wants me to be his first, and I do to, but that's not on today's agenda, that's further down the road. We have some obvious issues with having to be discreet, his life would become hell if his family knew. Oh well. Anyway, just wanted to share my excitement.
Let's see, I think this is appropriate:
Well, me and my boy have been together about a week now... which is an achievement for the both of us...
We have not really fought, but there are certain things that we've pointed out to eachother. He's a bit of a snob, which should be okay, because I am as well. The thing is though, his snobbery is more pronounced than mine and leaves me feeling bad sometimes. We've sort of talked about this and he has apologized, so we'll see what happens with that. The thing I notice, though, is that we have somewhat different outlooks with money. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with having money and spending money, but I am not obsesed with it, like he is.
He is a "Muslim" - not especially practicing, but from a very religious family in the UAE. While his family doesn't have any hard evidence of my existence, they basically know. He got a call from his mother this week wondering why he was doing everything "wrong and taboo?" He basically lied straight up to her about what he's up to. When talking to me about it, however, he has basically made it out that while he is afraid to be disowned if he comes out, he's more concerned about being disinherited. While having a nice inheritence would make me happy, I would not let it stop me from living my life. This means we have to "hide" our relationship - not that it is particularly well hidden - his mother knows, his sister knows, etc. Since I don't have any muslim-arab friends, I can't really be like, "yo, what's up with this, will it really be that big a deal?" I know when I came out, it was hard, my parents weren't happy, but I wasn't kicked out or threatened or anything like that.
I like him, but I feel like this maybe either more than I am willing to deal with or a bigger obstacle than I am willing to deal with. I am happy to have a boyfriend, I want to see him, but I don't want to have to hide our relationship.
And to make matters more complicated, we have had sex (anal sex), which was something that neither of us had done before - it didn't go well, as it was both of ours first time with it, but none the less, it complicates things.
So, I'm in a place where I don't know where I am headed, and I hate that feeling. C'est la vie, je suppose.
I wish I could say it's been a quiet week here in Lake Wobegon, but no.
So, Thursday night was crazy, and not in the good way. I had a french essay, which i finished about midnight (commentaire sur Le Père Goriot de Balzac). Then I had a Geometry exam that no one finished in class, so she had us take it home to finish, which added to the Geometry homework we had anyway... So, no sleep for me Thurs, so I ended up falling asleep while talking to my boy last night... I felt so bad this morning about that... I've already apologized several times about it.
Things with the boy are fine, we're starting to get to know eachother, what gets the other upset, etcetera. I like how much he cares about getting to know me, how much he wants to try to help me. He's a nice guy, but we're very different - we have different approaches to money (that's becoming abundantly obvious), we have different approaches to academics (I'm extremely concerned, he's not so concerned). So, I'm going to make a go of it, see what happens.
The other thing this week was I got an e-mail from a friend of mine, basically wondering what was going on - we have not been keeping in contact as much as either of us would have liked, but she sort of placed the blame on me. We've both been busy and haven't made a great effort to keep in contact, and she was basically asking me what was up, etc. So, I told her I have a boyfriend now, which eats up more than the "extra" time I had anyway (not that there was really any to start with). She basically got pissed at me and told me she had hoped we would be more than friends. I apologized (not sure why really) and said, I hope she didn't feel like I was leading her on - I really thought I was careful to not do that.
That's life in the big city.
And now, for something completely different, the World According to Fox News:
I find myself asking this question, well, often - especially with my boy. For some reason, I basically like him - certain things get on my nerves - the thing is I can't really pin down what it is that I like. He's sweet, he likes trying to do things for me or buying me things. I like spending time with him, not just in the bedroom, but doing other things. That reminds me, as soon as we finish whatever we do in the bedroom, he completely shuts down - like he's dressed and ready to leave - which, sort of makes me feel bad - but, he wouldn't tell me what was wrong though. I think he felt guilty for some reason about what we did - but, he wouldn't tell me anything. So, I don't know. He says the sex is good, which makes me happy, but then that happens and I don't know what to make of it. Like, last night, I knew he had to go, but at the same time we could have hung out for a bit (like he didn't have to leave immediately) and I wanted to cuddle a bit, you know?
The other thing is, there's a fight brewing with his family. (Check out: http://www.justusboys.com/forum/showthread.php?t=188895). Anything people can think of, I'd appreciate - either post there or comment here.
Anyway, basically happy - school is school and I'm keeping my head above water with that.
Et comme toujours:
So, I'm a little more than a month into this relationship... We are at a sort of comfortable place now, starting to really get to know each other. I find a lot of our conversations end up with some discussion of Islam and/or being Arabic, the two are nearly inextricably linked I find. I know little about the Arabic culture and less than that about what it means to be Muslim. I find myself frequently confused, like: why can't people (specifically boys and girls - the boys and boys I understand) date? why is his sister thinking about marrying a guy she has never met (sort of an arrainged marriage)? how does his mother control him when she's more than 15 hours away by plane? I just don't get it, but then again the explanations I tend to get are "it's forbidden" or some terse answer like that and no ammount of pressing for why gets me anywhere, it's a little annoying at that level.
Now and then we like to fantasize about what our lives my look like together, if we're together (insh'allah), in ten years or something like that. Inevitably the discussion turns to adopting children, which brings up the question of what we would raise them as... I'm a devout Christian, he's a committed Muslim and neither of us would ever convert. So, I don't know, but it feels like this could be a potential issue.
I try to be understanding a supportive of the culture and religion. He says he wants me to encourage him to be more devout in his faith, which I try to do... but when I do, he sort of ignores me, oh well.
Well, I guess I just wanted to get that off my chest... Never did I think I would be going out with a guy whose 1) Muslim or 2) from the UAE.
Comme d'hab:
A post on a weeknight, sort of odd...
Today, I was at the Coffee Chat in my building, basically an excuse to go speak French for like an hour... Got lots of questions about my semester abroad in Nice. And, dear Lord, Nice me manque! I never thought I would miss the care-free semester I had there so much...
My boy and I have sort of hit a rough patch. After a bit more than a month of being together, he suddenly proposes the idea of an open relationship... I don't know if it's that I'm "old-fashioned" (yes, an old-fashioned gay... who knew?) or if its that I'm an extremely jealous person or what, but I almost ended it over that. I really like him, but even the suggestion that "just for meaningless sex" he would rather be with someone else other than me was too much for me to even consider. Just why, out of the blue, would he even think to suggest that? I talked to one of my close friends about it and he was pretty much agreed with me on that point - not that he's a relationship expert (far from it), but it was nice to hear that I'm not insane... We've talked about it, and he has said yes to being exclusive with me. But, how do I know? That thought is going to linger in the back of my mind... is he seeing someone else? how would i know? I told him if I ever found out he was seeing someone else even for "just sex" (I personally do not think that "just sex" exists, but that's me I guess) that we would be finished. That's my line in the sand.
But, in other news, I finished my last maths mid-term this morning, and I feel that it went reasonably well! So, all-in-all, once I get through Thursday (my last big project), I'm more or less done for the semester... just finals starting next week.
So, here's to the night:
Well, I guess this is a bit overdue, but life has been crazy over the last few weeks. I've had finals, saw the boy off - he's home for the break and then I had to move home for the break. Let's start with the good news, I managed a 3.8 for the semester - only one B and that was in Euclidean & non-Euclidean Geometry - which was a close call B/C, so that was good. Then I had to say good bye to 7abibi (Arabic for babe) for the break. This has been hard since I have not heard from him since he boarded the plane (he called me write before boarding - he's so cute). So, I don't know if he got their safely, what's been happening there, how his Eid was, how bad his semester marks were (we knew they weren't good)... Depending on how they were and what happens at home, he may not be back, which would be so painful. It's too early to use the "L" word just yet, but I really like him... So, I can't imagine him not coming back, but insh'allah he will be. Now, I'm home... largely tobacco free - I've gotten a few clopes in here and there and have found nictoine lozenges to get over the worst of it... I really should quit smoking... shouldn't have started in the first place... Let's see, one of my sister knows about my boy... she started asking questions about if I was seeing anyone and I sort of came out with it. She took it well, so that was cool. I have come out to my parents, but when/if they find out about him, it will be a while. Now just need to wrap some gifts before the big day and keep practising the piano... Oh, yeah, last week, I get an e-mail from mother, who is a minister, asking me if I could play Christmas eve service at what is, essentially, our mission parish... ever so exciting, but I agreed - the good son that I am. I guess that's sort of an update as to where I am. Je vous souhaite un Joyeux Noël et une Bonne Année!
I think the singer may be Québécoise, but understandable all the same...
Christmas was nice, I saw most of my family and after doing some shopping today have most of what I want worked out. Once I get some cashflow again I'll probably get some new things... a pair of jeans, some new underwear and undershirts, maybe a pair of brown dress shoes, probably a couple of shirts.
Today was the first time in a week and a half that I got to talk to my bf... he's in the UAE and called me at like 6AM their time - I guess that's about the only time it's safe for him to talk. We only talked for a minute or two as it is a fantastically expensive undertaking to call from there... That made me pretty happy to know he's okay and things are going well at home.
I mentioned in my last entry about coming out to my sister and telling her a little about the boy. That had been going fairly well until today. Today she started asking about how "out" I was... I don't think I ooze gay (in the stereotypical fashion), so I may have to tell people before they're sure, so that was an okay question. But then, out of left field, she asked me about having a party... Apparently when one comes out, one is supposed to have a big party. That was news to me, and when I said I haven't had one - followed by making it clear I didn't want one, she decided to proceed. She dreamed up this event for the two of us where we would wear birthday hats, so no one would know what it was really about, and we would do ridiculous things like polka dance (no offense intended if you do polka). I really have no idea where that came from... I really think I said no enough times to make it clear that I wanted no part of this and that I was offended. It got worse from there, we had been shopping at the closest regional mall (which reminds me of how much I miss being at school, close to DC, where I could have gone to Georgetown, Fashion Centre at Pentagon City and/or Tysons), so we had a decent half hour - forty five minute drive home... And then she gets to laughing, 'what if Mom and Dad blame themselves because we're all screwed up?' I proceed to ask what she meant, fearing where this is going. She proceeds to list off because my youngest sister has been clinically depressed, she has seasonal affective disorder and I'm gay. I think that may be one of the most offensive things I've heard in my life. I then said, I'm not screwed up, and she was like oh, right, you were born that way. Of all the offensive, insensitive, intolerant things I have had directed at me, that easily takes the cake. It made me wish I could go back and not have told her, for a brief second made me wish that I weren't gay. But, this is 2007. The APA delisted homosexuality as a mental disorder, in what, the 1970s, gays have become increasingly visible in every part of society, and this is the sort of comment she makes? Especially laughing about it?
Then to top it off, my Terps loose to Oregon State 21 to 14... Argh. But at least I know my bf is okay and is doing well at home. I miss him.
Not that I understand any off this, but my boy sent this to me in his last message before heading home...
It has been quiet for me since my last blog entry... being at home is incredibly boring. The only major event I can think of is that my mother smelled smoke on me and asked about it... I told her the truth - lying is something I strongly dislike and try not to do, witholding information on the other hand is a completely different story. The thing is, I know the dangers (Smoking kills, Smoking causes a long and painful death by lung cancer, Smoking gravely darkens your health and the health of those in your entourage, etc.), but I still do it. I have made several half-hearted attempts at quitting, but the urges are a bitch - especially if I'm bored (i.e., at work) or stressed. I'm thinking the next time I go to buy a pack of cigarettes, maybe I'll get Nicorette or the lozenges instead. The thing I've noticed when I've tried to quit, however, is that not only is it the cravings, but also the action I miss. I know I'll have to quit before I start student teaching next spring, I can't smoke and teach - that would make for a terrible role model.
I've gotten a few phone calls from my boy, we spoke for about ten minutes earlier this week. Apparently his mother has called him a faggot (or, as I imagine, whatever the Arabic equivalent is) - his family does not 'know' that he is gay for sure, but he has been caught with gay porn in the past, so the indications are certainly there. Otherwise, he is having fun with his brothers - taking horse back riding lessons from a Frenchmen, who apparently speaks English with a thick accent, which he cannot stand, so naturally, I did my French accent for a bit and he started laughing. I miss him so much, but I know he needed to spend some time back home. I haven't heard from him since New Year's Eve, so I hope everything is okay, I'm starting to worry a bit that he's upset with me or something, but I know it's tough for him to call me.
I am disappointed to see that Biden has dropt out of the Democratic primaries, I think that he had (by far) the best plan for Iraq and a number of other good ideas, I hope the big three will take notice of some of his ideas. I basically like Clinton, Edwards and Obama, so I do not know who I am going to throw my support behind now (not that my support makes a ton of difference). I'll probably end up behind Senator Clinton, the only thing that worries me is her electability. For Edwards, his populism - particularly the economics side, worries me along with his questionable feeling about homosexuality. Not that homosexuality is, by itself, a 'litmus test' for me, but it certainly factors in. My only major concern about Senator Obama is his experience - I do remember being wowed by him at the 2004 DNC, but he is only two years into his first term as a senator. That is not to say any of the other two are vastly more experienced - Senator Clinton's role in President Clinton's White House is suspect, and Edwards had only one term as a senator - and he is a trial lawyer. I guess I am, what some my call, a 'third way' Democrat, subscribing to the idea it is necessary to create wealth in order to share wealth, but at the same time I support many of the social ideas Democrats tend to hold (women's right to choose, ending Don't Ask Don't Tell, strengthening social security, moving to some form of Universal Access to Healthcare).
I found a fairly amusing story about different types of Europeans being stranded on a desert island, which once I get translated from French, I'll post here - since I know I have some Europeans (shout out to - at least - dpNice and FrenchClassicBoy) who read this...
I guess, to close, I'll throw this in... A plus.
Today, after a little more than a week of not hearing from my 7abibi, he called me while I was at work. I forgot I had left my cell phone on and suffered through the embarrassment of Dragostea Din Tei (though, I would prefer Ma Ce Ki - but my cell phone company doesn't have that here, though my Orange cell phone has it, but I can't figure out how to get it from there to my American cell phone... pas grave, I'll probably get a new cell before long anyway) going off... that probably killed any questions about my orientation. Oh well. So, he called me back later today. Well, it looks like we'll be a bit more gay once he gets back, he apparently got me a Burberry polo to match his... I am, however, looking forward to owning Burberry - mainly because I would never spend that sort of money myself. The bigger news is that he came out to his older brother. I must say that I am really proud of home and it is really touching that he wanted to tell at least one person in his family about us. That's really exciting for me. A slightly more depressing note, however, is that he is now planning to transfer to another University (still in the DC area), but that would not be until next fall at the earliest. I really miss him and I am glad he will be back in two weeks - I can't wait to see him. It's wierd though, I've gotten used to throwing in random Arabic words when talking (Insh'Allah, etc.) that I have to be careful not to use them when talking with people that don't know what they mean...
At work, the project I was supposed to be working on apparently had its funding cut. I was supposed to be working on a project to create a web-based work order and inventory system for my division, but Computer Support is deadly afraid of the internet and wireless connections, so they bascially nixed the project, which lead to Treasury axing the funding. I really love County government, it's amazing. The project would have firmly placed my division in a system that would save tax payers big money by creating more accountability in maintenance work (and hopefully placing a higher emphasis on preventative maintenance, meaning we would save money by not having to make everything we buy a 'rush' fabrication/ delivery). So, rather than trusting us to use the web and wireless broadband responsibly to save money, we are going to essentially rely on me to create a server-based program basically for my site and another site, which would mean running to parallel systems that would need independent updates and sending records back and forth. Needless to say, I am displeased. Not to mention that I am massively underpaid for this work (I make at least $4/hr less than the minimum hourly charge for a database consultant). Anyway, it keeps me busy and gives me a little bit of financial breathing room during the semester.
Later this week I'm off on a (free) trip to Québec and Montréal - watch out for an American speaking with a bad métropole accent - haha. It's a trip for my sister's high school French NHS, so I'm going as a chaperone - since I know the teachers, I basically sweet talked my way into being a chaprone. So, O Canada, terre de nos aïeux... here I come.
Last time I promised this... the English translation is first et ensuite le version originale. I know my French isn't that strong and the translation isn't exact, but still it's pretty funny if you know anything about European stereotypes.
__________________________________________________ Europe in action
We find on a marvelous deserted island lost in the Pacific Ocean:
Two Italian men and an Italian woman
Two Frenchmen and a French woman
Two German men and a German woman
Two Greek men and a Greek woman
Two Englishmen and an English woman
Two Bulgarian men and Bulgarian woman
Two Swedish men and Swedish woman
Two Irish men and an Irish woman
Two Russian men and a Russian woman
Two Swiss men and a Swiss woman
One month later on this island, here’s what happened:
a) One Italian man had the other assassinated to get the Italian woman.
b) The two Frenchmen and the French woman formed a harmonious ménage-a-trois
c) The two German men share the German woman, very scrupulously respecting alternating weeks.
d) The two Greek men sleep together, while the Greek woman cooks and cleans.
e) The two Englishmen desperately wait for someone to introduce them to the English woman.
f) The two Bulgarian men take a look at the Bulgarian woman, then look at the despairingly at the horizon and decide to take a chance on swimming.
g) The two Swedish men speculate on the virtues of suicide, whilst the Swedish woman sunbathes (a lot) in order to validate her body and her femininity, while repeating constantly that, at least, here, there is no snow nor taxes.
h) The Irishmen begin by dividing the island North/South and install a distillery in the middle. The important thing for them is that the Englishmen do not have any of the alcohol. Sex does not factor in to the equation, as after a few liters of Whiskey and Cokes, everything becomes all hazy for them.
i) The first Russian man marries the women and shortly thereafter divorces her. He is the best client of the Irish distillery. The second Russian man makes money by killing one of the Italian men and negotiates visas for the two Bulgarians to leave the island. With the money, he buys a third of the distillery, obtains an exclusive license to sell it to the English and hires one of the Greek males to sell the alcohol. He employs the Germans as bodyguards for him and his fiancée (the Russian woman) and promises the Bulgarian woman to be their first child’s nanny. Alas, he takes English classes with the Swedish woman.
j) The three Swiss, claim part of the land, name it Grütli and swear to remain neutral in all of the island’s events.
Why Heaven is really paradise?
Because in Heaven, you are greeted by an Englishmen, a Frenchmen entertains you, an Italian creates the atmosphere and a German coordinates it all.
Now, do you know why Hell is really miserable (and lasts forever)?
Because in Hell, you are greeted by a Frenchmen, an Englishmen entertains you, a German creates the atmosphere and an Italian coordinates it all.
L’Europe en marche…
On trouve, sur une île déserte et merveilleuse mais perdue au milieu du Pacifique :
Deux Italiens et une Italienne.
Deux Français et une Française.
Deux Allemands et une Allemande.
Deux Grecs et une Grecque.
Deux Anglais et une Anglaise.
Deux Bulgares et une Bulgare.
Deux Suédois et une Suédoise.
Deux Irlandais et une Irlandaise.
Deux Russes et une Russe.
Deux Suisses et une Suissesse.
Un mois plus tard sur cette merveilleuse île déserte. Voici ce qui s'est passé :
a) Un Italien a fait assassiner l'autre Italien pour l'Italienne.
b) Les deux Français et la Française forment un très harmonieux ménage à trois.
c) Les deux Allemands se partagent les faveurs de l'Allemande, en respectant très scrupuleusement l'alternance hebdomadaire.
d) Les deux Grecs couchent ensemble et la Grecque fait la cuisine et le ménage.
e) Les deux Anglais attendent désespérément que quelqu'un veuille bien avoir l'obligeance de leur présenter l'Anglaise.
f) Les deux Bulgares, après avoir jeté un regard à la Bulgare et scrupuleusement observé l'horizon désespérément ont finalement décidé de tenter leur chance à la nage...
g) Les deux Suédois spéculent toujours sur les vertus du suicide alors que la Suédoise use et abuse des bains de soleil pour mettre en valeur son corps et son féminisme, en répétant inlassablement que, au moins, ici, il ne neige pas et il n'y a pas d'impôts.
h) Les Irlandais ont commencé par diviser l'île en Nord et Sud et ont installé une distillerie au centre. L'important pour eux, c'est que les Anglais n'en aient pas une goutte !!! Quant au sexe, considérant qu'après quelques litres de whisky-coca, il règne une sorte de brouillard épais sur l'île, la question ne se pose même pas.
i) Le premier Russe a épousé la femme russe et a divorcé peu après. Il est le meilleur client de la distillerie irlandaise. Le second Russe s'est fait un peu d'argent en tuant un des deux Italiens et en négociant les visas de sortie des deux Bulgares. Avec cet argent, il a acquis 33,3 % des parts de la distillerie irlandaise, obtenu une licence de vente exclusive pour les Anglais et a engagé un Grec comme vendeur. Il emploie de plus les Allemands comme gardes du corps pour lui et sa fiancée russe en promettant à la Bulgare le poste de nurse pour son premier enfant. Enfin, il prend régulièrement des cours d'anglais avec la Suédoise.
j) Les trois Suisses, quant à eux, ont clôturé leur lopin de terre, l'ont baptise Grütli et ont fait le serment de rester, dans toute cette affaire, parfaitement neutres.
Pourquoi le Paradis c'est vraiment le paradis ?
Parce qu'au Paradis, vous êtes accueilli par un anglais, c'est un français qui fait la bouffe, c'est un italien qui met l'ambiance et c'est un allemand qui coordonne le tout.
Maintenant, savez-vous pourquoi l'Enfer c'est vraiment horrible (et ça dure longtemps) ?
Parce qu'en Enfer vous êtes accueilli par un français, c'est un anglais qui fait la bouffe, c'est un allemand qui met l'ambiance et c'est un italien qui coordonne le tout.
__________________________________________________
Eh bon, en plus, j'ai découvert sur le site-web de Canal+, Les Guignols sont disponibles GRATUIT... cela me rend tout content.
Toujours la neige... That was sort of my mantra this past weekend (sort of along the lines of enough with the snow already). I was up in the beautiful province of Québec for the past couple of days. I must say I loved hearing French, even though it is one of the tougher accents to understand... those of you who know French accents but never heard québécois think of the Marseille accent taken to an extreme and then start changing some words. I went up there with my sister's high school French class as a chaperone, since I theoretically speak French... I was able to get around, but I have a more France French-English accent, which made it sort of difficult for them to understand me and I definitely had a hard time understanding them. I would be lagging behind trying to get all the kids out of a place and the tour guide would be talking with one of the owners or what have you, and I would have a difficult time following the conversation, if I understood it at all. Watching the telejournal (the news), I had fewer problems, but the accent kept getting me. The other funny thing was the differences in terminology, like rather than having "soldes" (sales), they had "ventes" and rather than a "parking" (parking lot", they had "stationnements." But, I was able to communicate. One thing I saw was an advert for a parlimentary adjoint program, which maybe something to keep in mind after I graduate next year. I would love to live in a Francophone region and get to a close to fluent level. The one thing I will note, however, is that if I made the effort to speak French, the people there would speak French with me. That is something I rarely experienced in France. In France, if I spoke to someone in French, they would immediately know I was Anglophone and would only speak to me in English, even if I responded in French, that was pretty cool. I'm thinking that I may try to go up to Montréal for a week this summer just to get some time to explore the city without having to be a responsible adult (i.e., keep track of students).
That's more or less it... I haven't heard from my bf since last week, but I apparently didn't set up roaming for Canada, so I didn't get any calls up there... He's flying in Saturday, so hopefully (insh'Allah) I'll hear from him before he takes off and see him when he touches down! I guess that's it for me...
