SundayZip

Madrid on Calle Gran Via approaching Calle Mesonero Romanos. I googled the image and found a reference to Gay Madrid. It looks like a gay pride parade which I figured might be on Gran Via (the big busy street in central Madrid). So I did a google street view of Gran Via and there it was.

The Louvre in Paris. You can't see it on the picture, but there's a cafe behind the railings.

Over 3,000 men and women, Jews and Muslims, perform "One Day" by Matisyahu in three different languages.

I tell the 18yo employee at Chipotle that I'd like a chicken burrito bowl. She fills the bowl with rice, ladles on the beans and then adds the tiniest, itty bitty sprinkling of grilled chicken pieces (definitely not the 4 ounces that the Chipotle nutritional guide claims). And then she tells me that more chicken will cost $2. Aaaagh!

Miami Beach!.... on Florida Av approaching 8th St. The Art Deco architecture is the first clue and I recognize the Armani Exchange store on the corner of 8th St.

I used to love beaches too, @Epigonos, although I've never found one in a supermarket. It's probably tough to keep the sand confined to the produce aisle.

Listed in the order that I eat most frequently (sort of): Broccoli Zucchini Spinach/other leafy greens Carrots Brussel sprouts Peas Edit: also lots of onions, celery and parsnips in homemade soups and stews

I'm with you @Wolfer. I would like to be able to talk to friends about escorts in the same way that people talk about their latest date or some other hobby -- and I don't want to do it in a way that feels like lying (eg, pretending it was a regular date or hookup). I have talked to a couple friend about escorts, but in more hypothetical terms. Responses were what I expected; they don't necessarily think its wrong, but of course, they would never do it themselves. The implication is that a person who hires must be deficient in some way. I even told one friend that I had hired an escort once while traveling. He was intrigued but my gut told me that it would be best to not tell him more. Hiring escorts feels a bit like being gay must been felt 60 years ago. It's a secret that you dare not tell because no one really understands. Like others have posted, I've made a couple of good friends at forum gatherings. Getting together with them and talking about anything and everything has been awesome!!

A related question: How often do you wash your sheets? I wash sheets once a week in the summer and every 2 weeks in the winter. But pillow cases I wash once a week summer and winter.

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You sir, are one of the gifted. Not many can beat the S&P over an extended period of time. Fortune: Over a 15 year period, S&P indices outperformed actively managed funds 82% of the time. CNBC: Only 5 percent of stock-picking fund managers beat the S&P 500 consistently Investopedia: 90% of active stock managers failed to beat their index targets over the previous one-year, five-year and 10-year periods. MarketWatch Article: Roughly 1 in 20 actively managed domestic funds beat index funds.

Although I've taken a peek at Fidelity's "Full View" tool, I've never felt the need to use it. I used to use Quicken to track all my finances, including some aggregation from other sources. But then I discovered that Quicken had converted to a subscription model when I tried to upgrade... So I'm still running an older version that no longer supports aggregation from other sources. But the aggregation seemed to work well while I was using it. The problems that I ran into had more to do with the external source than with the Quicken software (eg, error message, "external source not available at this time").

I have most of my investments in three Fidelity accounts (IRA, Roth IRA and a taxable account). I manage all trades myself using the Fidelity website. Cost is $4.95 per trade or free for ETFs, Bonds, CDs and most Fidelity funds -- but I do very little trading. For the most part, I keep money in a small number of highly diversified or "all market" ETFs and index funds. The exception is a couple of tax-exempt municipal bond funds and an individual stock that I've owned for years and don't want to sell until I'm ready to take the capital gains tax hit. My Fidelity advisor has given me some good ideas over the years (eg, annual Roth IRA conversions and the tax-exempt funds), but I do all trades myself so I'm not paying a brokerage commission or a flat percentage to have someone manage the accounts. I'd recommend that you read "Common Sense Investing" by John Bogle. He's the guy who founded Vanguard. It's a quick read and you don't need to be a finance/investing expert to understand it. You can download from Amazon. If you ever get bored with this forum, check out the BogleHeads Forum. Maybe not so sexy, but LOTS of great information and more than a few interesting characters. People often post about advice they've received from a financial advisor and have then received tons of great feedback. Of course, never do something solely based on what you read in a forum, but you can certainly get lots of great ideas.

There's typically a service fee and a cleaning fee in addition to the nightly rate.

This is a good point. In concept, I think the lying and deception of cheating is hurtful an unhealthy. But when it comes to the complex realities of a real person's life, I try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to not judge.

I understand that for gay men born before 1950-ish (or thereabouts), there was a tremendous pressure to get married and hide their sexuality. I've met a number of men like this who married, had children and either suppressed their true sexuality or had a secret sex life on the side. Had I been in their shoes, I might have done the same. And then there's the case of my ex-coworker (married in the mid-1980's). He knew he was bisexual going into his marriage but thought he could ignore his attraction to men. He later discovered that he was really a lot more attracted to men than women and ended up having a secret sex life on the side. Having never been in his shoes, I try not to judge.

@HornyRetiree, Are you suggesting that people should not offer an opinion regarding the OP's post unless it is to say, "nobody else's damn business"?

This is good way to look at it. What would your judgement be if it was the straight husband of one couple was cheating with the straight wife of another couple?

When I hire an escort, I want mutual respect and consideration and kindness -- and an honest personal connection -- and sometimes the quiet intimacy that @TruHart1 describes. But I want it without role-play or fantasy. I want us to be exactly who were are. And boyfriends we are not. That said, I can see how referring to "BFE" can be a useful shorthand for some (except that it has so many different interpretations).

Yes, I like my friends. I can't imagine considering someone a friend if I did not like them.

For me, asking for a BFE is deciding to be delusional. What I'm looking for is an escort experience, so that's exactly what I want to call it. I can work out, with the escort, the nature of the date including specific activities. Having a boyfriend is something entirely different that cannot be replicated within an hour or two (or even a weekend).

Amen brother!

I do everything I can to validate an escort and his pics before even thinking about contacting him: -image and phone number search -look for red flags in his ad, especially in pics -look for reviews on daddy's site and search for comments in the Deli forum. Post a 411 if you can't find anything. I've only asked an escort to do a three finger selfie once. He refused and instead assured me that everything about his ad was real. I believed him and hired him -- and it was not a mistake. He turned out to be awesome.

Ha! This was also my reaction to the suggestion that you raise your rates. Seems like you're gonna get critics no matter what you. I have no doubt that you know best how to manage your business. I guess my only suggestion is to not get into a tit-for-tat with people on this thread. Don't let them get under your skin.

Haven't noticed Terrace House up until now, but it looks interesting. I just added it to my NetFlix watch list. Meanwhile, I'm catching up on past seasons of Shameless.