NutMeg

I know, I didn't get it either right away, and thought he was caught because of his escalation of crime. It took me a while (and comments here) to realize he was actually guilty of more that jerking off online.

Do people really immerse their face in the bath water? I never have and never will. You?

LadyChatts, I laughed out loud when I read that, thanks for the good laugh ( I'm afraid I still don't know who Cole is but will be sure to look for him next episode!)

I'm reacting to the statements based on the first episode, I'm seeing that like Joe he gets on with everyone, which is no mean feat. As for the other two he mentioned? Rob, I wish, as he does, but remains to be seen. Russell, also remains to be seen what he meant by that!?

I must be weird, because I was very moved with the first tail of the first season, went slightly meeh by the end, and now I mostly watch/snark, anyone else feels that? Things that moved me, or resonated, like Kevin in the pool, or the dad death, have been awol, and the new drama about a-dad-on-the-edge-wanting-to-adopt right now doesn't interest me, and the how did Jack died mystery? How far can my eyes roll?

I fully agree with how you see Ozzy but not necessarily on what you project on to Devon. We know hardly nothing of him as yet, but I'd say that he might not be the best as expressing himself, especially in a pregame questionnaire. So I give him some leeway for now, he might actually want to be an "Ozzy" as in "the guy whose dream life this is and who could live in the game forever if possible". Or he just named the best known surfer dude to have played. We'll see. But I do like that he's thrilled to be allied with that dude (Ryan?), if just for a second. This talk about Ozzy has reminded me on how I've always thought that Cochran dropped the ball when Ozzy suggested an alliance with him. Yeah, I'm a elephant this way :)

I agree to a point, but still, different locales provide for different kind of challenges. For instance, I really enjoyed Guatemala for many reasons, but one of them was that it was a complete change from island/sea based challenges. And after that I enjoyed the going back to a seaside/island setting in Panama. Ideally, I'd like it if the show could alternate between land based and seaside based locations. It also helped me remember each season individually, because the last theme-based kind of all blur together and I have no idea where they were filmed, whereas the previous ones had more of a individuality. Also, as LadyChatts said above, there used to be some way to incorporate local culture, whether through challenge winners visiting a village or school nearby, fishermen coming to camp to help them get food or any other setup. But that's probably just me.

Ruth Marie from Panama? The way she looked like a wet kitten at one point? That aside, late to the party as always but I'm really happy that Survivor is back. I particularly liked the choice at the challenge, wish they would do that more often than just at the first episode of theme seasons. The choices seemed very counterintuitive to me, I would have grabbed the last chosen puzzle right away. Simplest path, easier learning curve :) I want for the idol not played to be used to lure a nervous player into safety, whether to keep him or her calm and get his or her vote, or whether to vote him or her out of the game. Kind of like it worked with Randy back in Gabon, but with the possibility of the presumed safety working for more than one episode. And of course I reserve the right to be unhappy about it if the victim turns out to be someone I like. Come to think of it, I'd love it if a "chaos player" ended up having it and tried to screw out the one who gave it to him (or her, but at this stage him seems more like it), only to be done for by his own hubris. Not very likely to happen, but a girl can dream.

Each time I see the full name of the contestant, Six Feet Under comes to mind. More specifically, the end of the opening credits.

I don't care anymore how he dies, I just want the milking of it (tm Katy M) to stop.

@Delurker, I'm so sorry about your dad. It's a comfort though somehow to know he went in his sleep. You have my deepest sympathy, you, your mom, your siblings, all of your family. Be well, take care.

I may have forgotten to say in this thread that I'm not in the US :) (I'm moving from Singapore). I still appreciate your input, thank you, and I'll check if there is some form of Freecycle here. ... and sometime wiser too :) ETA: Welcome, @Cherry Bomb!

Yes, that's the one I thought it would be beneficial to handle first, because it is what scares me the most and therefore what I'd like to handle the latest, which is weird because in areas where I'm confident I'm happy to start with the worst and once that's done the rest is smooth sailing. So now I think that it would indeed be good to master electricity (and my fear of it) first - while also exploring wood restoration in parallel, just for kicks. Interesting link, thanks

Thanks, that's about what I was thinking (because electricity scares me!!!!). Just out of curiosity, I know of people who bought furniture that were good quality, with pattern in the wood, but looked seriously distressed, sanded and polished them, and to to my amazement they were like fairy tale gorgeous. Are there any criteria to look for when buying old (I mean really old) wood furniture that can tell you they'll be gorgeous after sanding, polishing, waxing, etc.)?

I've been you and still am at times and will be re non-cook, but I'll never buy premade seasoning, so much better to mix you own, with extras if you feel like it. It doesn't take much or long, you just pour two things instead of one :) Actually, in my non-cook days, the only two things I ever cooked/prepared were premixed salads (I did the dressing) and soups with pre-chopped veggies (I added my own mix of herbs). Plus random soft or hard boiled eggs (not much washing up to do, plus hard boiled eggs cooked in advance are a bonanza for later - of course, sometimes my hard boiled eggs were intended to be soft boiled eggs that I hadn't paid enough attention to).

I'm thinking of at some stage taking some classes on DIY. Which skill would you say would be more helpful in general, plumbing, electricity (that one scares me the most right now), carpenter, other?

I'd say make your own dressing, it's easy, probably less expensive, and you know exactly what goes in there (like no sugar, arg...). Just keep some good oil on hand, I go for olive but there are a few other tasty option, add lemon juice (I admit I buy it ready to add to dishes, but you can squeeze lemons if you are more of a purist, same quantity of lemon juice than of olive oil is what I do) or red wine vinegar (1/2 to 2/3 of the volume of olive oil, depending on the potency of your vinegar and how much you like the acid taste), add some pepper and salt to taste, and voilà. That's your base, and to it you can like garlic, wheat germs, any herbs you fancy, replace oil with plain yoghurt, etc. Endless possibilities that you can adjust to your tastebuds and the dish on hand. For me, the trick is buying avocados when they are very green outside, leaving them at room temperature and eating them when the skin has become almost black. But I know someone who buys them already dark and it works for him (never worked for me, if I buy these, they're already spoiled in parts). Me, I need about 3 days from purchase to perfect to eat with my method).

Yep. Had the same experience as yours after a long and draining relationship, made me realize what I had missed and desperately craved (in my case, intellectual and emotional connection, interest in each other's creative endeavours, safe place to be true other than the therapist's), the kinds of relation I needed and had missed without even realising it. It wasn't meant to last but helped me tremendously nonetheless. Indeed, hence the heartaches. I'd think if the two see different versions of pick-me-up and purpose, i.e. limited in time intrinsically, it can work relatively painlessly. The truly hard thing is when one thinks it's forever and does everything towards that goal, without realising that for various (usually unconscious) reasons, the partner doesn't see it as such. That's why the most painful thing is misunderstanding a "purpose oriented relationship" with a "forever" one. I guess mistaking an "ego reflating" relation for a "forever" could be hurtful too, but as it wouldn't last as long, hopefully the mourning would be shorter. The purpose-oriented relationship can last for such a long time that it's easy to misread it as a forever one, but I think there are clues that makes one feel all is not as it should be, some repression of self that is only obvious long after, etc. At least in my experience. But then again I only know what I got to know :)

I have that kind of relatives too, so I can empathize. As for the automatic times lights in restrooms, never met them, but how horrific that must be!

I'd see Julianne Moore too before Cate Blanchett... Not sure exactly why either, maybe the mix of strength and vulnerability seems better in the first case?

All the talk about Brussels sprouts has really made me crave them, the way I like them best is steamed to still slightly crunchy, then add fresh butter, nutmeg (dah! :D), salt, pepper, toss and serve. Sorry that for some of you my yummy craving reads like a horror story :(

The most useful thing I read about relationships is that you can classify them in three types, now here's me paraphrasing because I don't remember the exact wording but the gist of it stayed with me: - relationships that make you feel better about yourself - these can last from a few hours to two years, rarely more. They make you feel good about yourself, or rediscover a part of you that you had forgotten. I'd call them the fun and/or reconstructive ones; - relationships with a purpose - these can last for years or even decades, but once the intended purpose has been achieved, they become meaningless. Seeing my longest term relationship from that perspective was strangely liberating in that it helped me stop wondering "why" - it became so obvious that the combination of rupture of harmony in the relationship and achievement of purpose(s) I only just realized was too close to be a coincidence. Stopping fretting about the what ifs and what nots was a great breath of oxygen (nope, there was nothing to been done differently, this wasn't meant to last - hence the unconscious, negative efforts put in to make it fail once the main goal had been reached) ; - relationships that are for ever. They may be rocky or uneasy at times, but they fix themselves up because both parties are committed to seeing them last. I'd almost call it the Unicorn, but I know it does exist. It's when both member of the couple want to make it last and both will do what it takes to make it last, because they see the relationship as valuable per se, not ego boosting, not as a crunch, just as obviously right. Something like that. Nothing makes me mushy as much as an old couple looking very much like they love each other. [Although, I always assumed that they had been together so long that they both saw each other as they looked like when the fell in love, but now I'm wondering: maybe they were tragic lovers and/or young love that just reconnected? or they've just met after decades of loneliness? or they are both on Tinder and on a first date? I wish I didn't wonder about all these possible scenarios, but really, they are likely to be accurate in a non significant percentage of the cases when we see an elderly couple behaving like the world is their oyster.]

Progressing nicely through the sorting. It actually feels good. Bad surprise: my mom had been urging me for months to use her unoccupied apartment (which I'd love to do now for the short term), but now she's acting cagey and implying that maybe she and her husband could want to be there. Now, I know, her place, her life, her choice. But: I'm moving in freaking 10 days, after 20 years roaming the world. Why not let me known in advance I had to make other plans? Grrr.... And I'm moving with a cat, which complicates the situation somewhat... In better news: I've sorted out a lot, both in terms of physical sorting and in planning. Still got much to do, but it's reassuring that I'm progressing smoothly and have covered the main areas (like, in addition to making sure I can import my kitty, I've had to get an export permit as well, and other random admin stuff). I'm happy to donate so many things, from furniture to hundreds of books, but the only takers want me to deliver the items to them. No time for that (or, rather, no car, no time, don't want to spend cash that I'll need soon for so many things), so still looking for places that can pick up donations (my books are in perfect condition!).

I also have come to really resent people who, instead of listening to what you have to say, are only waiting for the moment they can interject something/anything in the conversation. From different experiences, and seeing how different interjectors are really quiet in circumstances when they feel insecure, I've come to think that often these people want to monopolise a conversation with people they feel comfy with, because they wouldn't dare in contexts where there feel insecure. Exhibit 1: a dear aunt of mine, who's the best listener to people she feels 'inferior" to, but who cut me that time I wanted to share some deep/painful experience to tell me some random story about someone she knows in passing and that I never met. Then again, people who cut you off are nor really respectful, are they? And I think they have no idea. My mom does it all the time, it used to drive me crazy, but I've come to realize she needs to feel helpful, and she really thinks her opinions are helpful. So here again, instead of listening, she is on "being helpful" mode. My aunt is on "being heard" mode. So many issues that are super annoying. A good listener is hard to find, when you find ones, keep them close!

Aww, I like Vanessa. And Brooke. It's Jill that I'm having a problem with!