Fran

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About Fran

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  • Interests
    Drawing & painting, Psychology, Tae Kwon Do, writing, NVC (Non-Violent Communication)
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    Limassol, Cyprus

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  1. I didn't know peace feelers had been put out between TAS and ARI! Does anybody have any further information on this? And yes, I would be massively disappointed if inviting Lindsay were to destroy this.
  2. The owner does. --Brant Yes, which is exactly the point I just made..... I'm not sure where I said: pub/restaurant owners should be forced to have smoke-free premises (all I said was that I love being able to go places without being subjected to other people's killer habit), but I guess my not clearly expressing this implied it. My main point was that if, revenue is up for restaurant/pub owners since the ban, why didn't they make this realization themselves and make their premises smoke-free long ago? I think non-smokers in the UK don't kick up a big enough stink about refusing to be in smoky places. Smoke-free zones are waste of time - the smoke just drifts over.
  3. I'm hoping to go to Portland and had planned to do so before I heard any of this. A friend is giving a musical presentation that I really want to see. I've never met Lindsay, nor followed any of the conflicts, and so know little about him. 95% of the reason I go to Rand Camp each year is to see my friends (all of which I made there) and meet new people. I have gained a huge amount of value from these friendships, even though they're long-distance. I feel sad that others feel so strongly about Lindsay's attendance that they're not going to go now - I shall miss you.
  4. Aww, thanks Jim. I'm touched. [You know what, I like you too.] Will I be seeing you at Rand Camp?
  5. When I first read this on here, I thought it was a joke and so just let it pass by. I've since heard it mentioned elsewhere - is he really going to be talking at TAS?
  6. For myself, I'm sick and tired of having to keep running anti-spyware, anti-virus, anti-malware checks on my PC laptop. I've also had enough of concerns of this type. I don't want to have to worry about this kind of thing - losing hours or days of productive work (I work freelance as a writer), while trying to clean my system up. I have started to ask myself why I am bothering, when I can save myself this relentless hassle and just get a Mac. Which is why my next laptop will be a MacBook Pro.
  7. They banned smoking in public places in the UK on 1st July 2007. A few days later, a friend and I purposefully went to a pub, something I hadn't done in years because I couldn't stand the smoke, just to enjoy being in a smoke-free public place. It seems we weren't the only ones with the same idea, the pub was packed out. We asked one of the bar-tenders if this was normal for a Thursday night, but were told that no it was not, only since the smoking ban had come into force, had their patronage increased. I've heard the same from another pub too, since then. As nearly 3/4 of the UK population don't smoke, this isn't too surprising. Although I don't have the stats to say whether pub and restaurant owners are gaining financially from the ban, it appears that they may be. What I can't understand is that in a country where almost 3/4 of the population don't smoke, why didn't restaurant owners twig about this beforehand, do some marketing and instigate their own smoking ban? From a personal point of view, being a non-smoker, I do really love the ban. It's so wonderful being able to eat out anywhere without my meal being spoilt by someone chuffing away on a fag, worrying about the impact it's having on my long-term health and coming home stinking of smoke.
  8. I am looking. I guess one of the good things about working freelance is that it doesn't matter too much where I live [the country's freedom being important, of course], I just wish the maximum limit that I can spend in one country (apart from EU countries) was unlimited, rather than 90 days. Although the internet is great for meeting new people, I think long-distance relationships are tough - I don't think you can ever really get to know someone without physically spending time with them, hence my disappointment with the 90-day limit. That doesn't mean to say I'm not glad Mike and Kat have made it work
  9. Victor,Including dating, I'm 12 years in and still feel the same way. The last few weeks I have had to go out of town overnight a few times. You know the area-- I was working some long hours near Barrie. I still get butterflies with a sense of anticipation when I come home to see my wife. I'm sure you are experiencing that tenfold right now. A passion for life's potential is worth pursuing. Angie and Victor, enjoy one another. There is nothing like the electricity of being there. All the best, Paul Oh wow, Paul. I have only just read your post and was delighted to read that you still feel a sense of anticipation on seeing your wife after being away. This gives me a great deal of hope - my parents did not have a happy marriage and it's easy for me to presume that this has to be the case. Fran
  10. Hi I'm a UK resident and would like to visit LA for 3 months. I'm wondering if anybody has information on renting 1-bed apartments on a short-term (3 month) lease? I can't get a long-term lease and terminate it early as they'll be looking for my employment status, Green Card, etc. I work freelance. I've been told not to live anywhere that's been mentioned in a rap song (for crime reasons) and for pollution reasons I'd rather live in Santa Monica, or similar. The timing isn't critical, but I'm thinking of late spring, early summer. Does anybody know someone who is going travelling and wants someone to look after their dog/cat/goldfish/tarantula/snake/iguana/Playstation3? Any information on short-term rent would be appreciated. Many thanks.
  11. I echo Michael's congratulations. It's always good to take control of your life and I'm glad that you have with this decision. Jim Thank you Michael and Jim, I appreciate your support
  12. And happiness increases even more when the children bring the grandchildren over to stay or to visit. I think you just might be referencing biased sources. Children are short term pains in the ass (after they get out of the "cute" stage) but if things work well they are a long term source of joy. Particularly if grand children are in the mix. Ba'al Chatzaf (4 children, 5 grandchildren). You know, the great thing about being an Aunt is that I have all the joys of being a grandparent without having to go through the parent bit first Seriously, I am truly glad that you enjoy your children and grandchildren, as that is how it should be. I just know I wouldn't. [bTW if I remember correctly, the above quote was from a parent himself.]
  13. After much deliberation (mainly because so many people told me I'd regret it), I took the plunge and had a new, non-cutty sterilization op (Essure micro-inserts) back in August. It involved hysteroscopically inserting nitinol coils into each tube, which irritate the tube and cause fibrosis and it is this which blocks the tubes. The whole procedure lasted 20 minutes, required only a local anaesthetic and the pain (which was easily controlled by paracetemol) was gone by late evening. Although I was exhausted on the day of the op, the following day I couldn't tell I'd had anything done, so rapid was my post-operative recovery. As no general anaesthetic is required and the abdomenal wall isn't cut, it's much safer than tubal ligation. The downside - having to wait 3 (more like 4) months for the tubes to close, and then requiring an hysterosalpinogram (x-ray dye scan) to confirm that the tubes are blocked. I had mine yesterday and need to wait another 3 months, as one tube still isn't completely closed. Although the radiologist did reassure me that they've never had one not seal after 6 months and mine are likely to be fully closed in another 3 weeks, but they won't scan me again for another 3 months (Boo!). I can honestly say that this op has been the best thing I have ever done for myself and I wish I'd had it done years ago when I was 18 (which is when I originally told my doctor that I wanted to be sterilized). I feel like somebody has just handed me a 'get-out-of-jail-free' card. I no longer have this huge, life-destroying (IMO) burden hanging around my neck. My euphoria has only been tempered by having to wait for confirmation that my tubes are sealed, but I'm confident that will happen in time.
  14. But if everybody became O'ist then Capitalism would be unrestrained, meaning our scientific knowledge would accelerate. All we need to do is extend the human lifespan by fifty years to allow science to catch-up, allowing us to extend our lifespan another fifty years and so on. Or something to that effect. Therefore, we could, potentially, extend our lifespans to such an extent that the low birth-rate wouldn't matter. After all there are quite a few O'ists that have reproduced, so it's not like there'd be no new births. I'm all for living 'forever'