Zola

Yes, the more I look at my itinerary, and my map of where all these places are divided by how much time I will be spending on your side of the Pond, I rather think I will biting more than I can chew! I might have to compromise and follow your suggestion of doing 2 trips - West Coast 2018; East Coast 2019. But I know I will change my mind again and suggest something like flying from London to Washington direct, stay for 3 or 4 days, and then grab another plane and bimble over to the West Coast for the rest of my holiday - now that sounds like a plan! ps. our Cadbury's Fruit & Nut bars, are not as good as they used to be. Cadbury's was bought out a few years ago by Kraft/Mondelez, and the chocolate bars just ain't the same any more :(

you love those smelly little bastards? haha!

... and Brussels Sprouts! ha!

Another little peeve is when people repeat what you've just said (not just to me but generally). So for example I might say to a colleague "I'm just going to buy a new pair of shoes and throw the old ones!" "You're going to throw the old ones?" or "I fell on the ice but am okay" "You fell on the ice?" or "I screamed at this weird guy and then beat him to death with a stick!" "You beat him to death?" Not a big deal, but when I notice it it does make me twitch a little.

I would agree, but because I can do handstands so easily, I thought I'd just factor them into my new regime of getting my upper body toned up a little. And actually handstand push-ups are not too difficult, especially with your feet resting against a wall or something equally supportive.

7/ The State Dinner 20/ Mandatory Minimums

Dress/cook/coat/shred a Brussels Sprout any way you want, but it will never EVER touch my lips/fork/plate/house/street. They are Satan's poo! lol

I am trying to make a more determined effort on my upper-body strength. I don't go swimming all that often, so have decided to do some very basic home exercises - push-ups, dumb-bell weights, and handstand push-ups (I love handstands, and can actually walk around my home and garden on my hands, lol) I'm not after rippling muscles, but just enough strength and stamina to do a mile in the pool.

Thank you for all the additional suggestions and nuggets of advice, and am making notes in my e-diary as a I go along. So much choice it makes my head spin sometimes, which is always a good thing! Even though I said in my OP here that I wanted to avoid all the big cities in the States, I do have a bit of a softspot for Washington DC, purely because of its history, and its magnificent buildings & monuments (especially the Lincoln Memorial, which for whatever reason sends a shiver down my spine whenever I see photos of it - awesome stuff!) As a consequence I will be adding that to my ever-growing list of places to visit next May/June :)

Brussels Sprouts - oh the horror, the horror!! When I was a kid my parents would serve a really nice Sunday dinner - normally roast chicken or beef etc, with all the trimmings. But because they knew I didn't like sprouts they would be sneaky and try to hide them under the cabbage or potatoes, thinking that I wouldn't notice!! But I didn't need to see them to know they were there; that familiar odour that was usually a signal for my stomach to want to empty PDQ. But my parents would say "Eat your sprouts, they're good for you!" (what was interesting about those conversations, was the pure hypocrisy of it all because on closer inspection I noticed my mother didn't have parsnips on her dinner plate, while everyone else did. So when I replied by saying "But you don't like parsnips!", the default adult response was "Shut up, don't be cheeky, and eat your dinner up. Now!") I still hate and detest sprouts. Can't quite put my finger on exactly why because I do like most other vegetable. But sprouts should be banned under the Geneva Convention. Even writing about it just makes me want to heave!

11 and 20

Well I have just checked my last post after-the-event, and for once it looks good! Perhaps I was being far more careful this time round. I really should make a more determined effort to proof-read first, given my worst, most embarrassing experience of not checking an important email first, that went to a manager I used to work for 14 months ago. Let's just say I incorrectly spelt "County"

This is one of my own doing I guess, but I rarely proof-read posts or emails before clicking the "submit" button. Unless it is a hugely important document/email I just can't be arsed to check for typos. I just want to get the damn thing sent by clicking "Submit". But rather illogically, I then go and proof-read the post I have just posted, only to find a bunch of typos, which I then have to go in and edit. So its a "peeve" of my own making; and I guess I will do the same with this post (I won't check until after the event, d'oh!)

Am fairly new to Anime, and have only watched perhaps a handful of full-length films since watching Akira back during my undergrad years 2 or 3 years ago. I watched Patlabor, a few days back, and really enjoyed it; so am now watching the follow-up Patlabor 2, which seems far more darker in tone, plenty of political intrigue, good story, great dubbing, and decent graphics for a 24 year old film

"Seriously.... I'm Kidding!" - Ellen Degeneres There is something hugely comforting about Degeneres' books. I never tire of them, and always find them hugely funny, informative and enlightening. However, even though I am still only a couple of chapters into this book, there seems to be a lack of spark here; some of the material feels strangely familiar and the laughs no longer come thick and fast. But as I say, am only a few pages in, so perhaps it will build to an earth-shattering climax if I tinker with it long enough. Only Kidding, Ellen!

"Outer Space" isn't actually all that far away from us; it starts a mere 62 miles (100km) above sea level. But wrap up well because space is extremely cold, with an average temperature of -270°C (-450°F). And if you needed help in space (assuming you weren't wearing a space suit and were holding your breath), don't bother shouting, screaming or firing a gun, or anything else that may generate noise (satellites, rockets, space shuttles etc), because no one would hear as space is almost a perfect vacuum.

Amazon do go way over the top with their delivery packaging sometimes. I ordered a pair of garden secateurs a couple of months back. Not only did they arrive in that horrid plastic clamshell casing I wrote about earlier in this thread; but the cardboard box it came in was almost the same size a of a computer PC. And once opened I had to wade through a million tiny polystyrene chips/balls/flakes to retrieve my item, causing a huge mess over the table and floor! I fully appreciate the need to protect goods during transit, but I think common sense is needed at times. And why not use bubble-wrap or packing paper to pack certain non-fragile items rather than those horrid polystyrene chips! (I love bubble wrap, purely to get my "popping" fix!)

This perfectly describes my opinion of the overblown puff-piece with all style and scarcely any content of note.It pulls at the emotional heart strings first time round, but after a couple of repeat viewings and you focus more on the story rather than the scenery, you realise how vacuous it all is. Shame the floating door didn't break up into a million splinters, thus sending Rose down with her beloved Jack

You go, girl!! I too am a single woman with my own home, and more or less do all the DIY jobs that can be done without professional or accredited help. I too have a toolbox, heavy duty tools, a tool belt, goggles and gloves. (YouTube, is a good assistant sometimes too). Something quite satisfying about fixing a job yourself.

I will give you an update in 4 or 5 months time, lol

3, 4

I think I didn't really explain myself too clearly when I wrote my original post earlier today, with relevance to my quote above. In terms of being "ashamed", I wasn't sure if she herself as a parent was ashamed of my "activities"; or if she felt I should be ashamed of such things! Personally, I am not ashamed of what I have done, and with the exception of two "couplings" which were definitely ONS due to too much drink; my other relationships were civil and lasting around 3 or 4 months before moving on. But I guess you're right - perhaps I shouldn't tell my parents anything! Trouble is, if I don't say anything my mother will start nagging saying that I'm keeping secrets, or not being truthful etc. (There was a great deal of angst, tears, shouting and the slamming of doors on her part, when I told my parents I was lesbian 8 or 9 years ago! I still don't think she's got over that)

Being a lefty I hold my pen in a very peculiar way, and it's quite difficult to describe by the written word. But imagine a letter "r" to represent the left hand, with the curve of the 'r' being the fingers (in fact the more I think about it the letter "p" might work as well). So anyway, I hold the pen in my fingers but with the end of the pen held away from me, and then "push" my hand to the right as I write; as opposed to how righties hold their pen with the end of the pen close to them, and "dragging" the pen as they write. From an observer it looks like I am trying hide what I write; and the other downside is that my left fist rubs across what I have written causing smudging (more so if I use a fountain pen) I can use a right-handed mouse in my right hand no problem at all. I read somewhere that for every one lefty in the world there's 11 righties - so I guess we're kind of special (and awkward) ;->

Personally, I am quite happy with STR of around 2-4 months for precisely the reasons you stated, coupled with the fact I do get a bit bored of the "same old same old" with someone after awhile (or they likewise with me). At present I like to keep things fresh and interesting, because I just don't have the time or inclination to commit to anything long term. But for whatever reasons my parents, especially my mother, somehow sees my list of STR "conquests" as something to be ashamed of (although I don't know if its her who is ashamed or me). Truth-be-told that I really don't know much about my mother's past glories when she was in her teens, other than she married my dad in 1991 when she was 21. Maybe she's comparing notes of her STRs (if any!) and mine and is shocked in comparison. I have no doubt I will have the same conversation/argument in about 4 or 5 months time when I announce my next STR is over. I even quoted Einstein to her on one previous occasion, but it went straight over her head (definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results) Thank you. That is exactly how I want to play my life - at least for now

8, 14, 21