LaffingBear

Yes. At the risk of resorting to psychobabble.... I'd recommend consideration of why you might see therapy as contrary to self improvement and/or skillset development. Therapy could help with self improvement and sharpening the skilkset

Yes

I have local NFL team season tickets. Recent years, rarely go, sell my tix online. I've been decluttering home, donating tons of clothes to charity, but selling a few nice items, new with tags, online. From time to time, I still try to meet guys online... mostly platonic, but, well,occassionally..... I'd say 90% or more of positive indications online, result in nothing. I dont mean just interest, but "yes I'll buy it" on Craigslist, OfferUp or Letgo apps. Or "yes, I'll meet" on Craigs, or Grindr, Growlr, Scruff etc. I just had a guy say he wants my football tickets. Spoke on the phone, he's driving over. "Please dont sell them to someone else," he implored. Texted a few minutes later to cancel. And I thought to myself "this is probably what it's like to be an escort." Not complaining about the times, or the unreliability of online transactions. Just sharing a sort-of A-HAH Moment. I wonder what the follow-through rate is for rentguys?

I started to post the exact same reaction... then filtered myself for the exact same reason

Oh! That's better I was going to go for the snarky "maybe they were angry because they're too stupid or incapable of understanding the intended purpose of books" Or There would be some sense of a denouement if we later learned that the book that failed them was titled "Firearms For Dummies."

Enjoyed seeing the drag queen performance on the finale of The Voice last night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXsHpRH-w84 And, personally, happy to see genuine singing. I confess, I cringed a bit as the segment started, thinking "please dont have them go out there and lip-synch" Overall, felt it was another tiny brick in the wall of intolerance and ignorance coming down.

I got a text alert at 1:12 am PST. Miss Manners was murdered by Internet Provider - stabbed through the heart with a cellphone.

How many times in life do we hear the phrase "if it seems too good to be true, it is"?

I think 9pm is late for a business call. But not outrageous, and not justification for a strong reaction. Why fretting about it 2 years later?

I dont dislike the term. Just the gay community's idealization of certain attributes, as if looks or behaviors society has traditionally labeled masculine are somehow preferable. As in, I'd rather be tall, I'd rather have better vision, etc. Men are manly, therefore masculine. Masculine can also mean tough, brave. Perserverant. By that definition, the bravest guy I ever met walked the entire SF Pride Parade in high heels to raise money for HIV. He'd finish feeling hobbled, even bleeding. THAT'S MASCULINE!

social media lessons.... Never assume the audience will understand intent, or react as anticipated.

IS MASCULINE? http://m.newhealthadvisor.com/images/1HT00205/2-1.jpg Perhaps we've arrived at a time that a population, presumably familiar with bias, stops perpetuating stereotypes.

There's always the ignore feature.

Plastic surgery? Yes Cosmetic procedures.... for some, yes, for some, no.

Whose necessity? Lengthy explanations, often believed necessary for complicated subjects and justified by an author's desire to be thorough, are often driven by a writer's need to be heard and understood. Listen to me. Please listen to me. You've got to listen to me!

I generally refrain from opining about escorts based on ads. I'll share an actual experience, or even add that I'm interested too. But this ad made me laugh out loud Do you think this guy intended to be Pro Fit Guy? Or Profit Guy? https://rentmen.eu/Profitguy

Can you sit and do nothing? Could you sit on a public bench and people-watch? Enjoy your yard or balcony, just soaking in sites and sounds, be they nature or urban? Sit on a plane or train and watch the world go by the window? No device. No food. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gCXQ-baCWG0/Rqtnpmj8sYI/AAAAAAAAAGw/hgByoIGpTxg/s320/Devil%27s+workshop.gif I've arrived at the conclusion that the greatest marketing achievement of our time is the electronics, particularly the cell&device, industry's exploitation of the human need for activity. To fill idle time. Six or seven years ago, I'd sit on SF Bay public transit, watching fellow riders get antsy in no-signal zones. They'd literally pull out phones and hold them up in the air upon exiting tunnels, hoping for a signal. Now, if course, there are signals in tunnels. TV ads depict families, vacationing in the great outdoors, but huddled in their tent projecting a movie on the tent-wall. People are depicted playing on beaches or in parks, phones-in-hands. I took a tech friend on vacation, his first time ever in the sierra mountains. He freaked out if he couldnt get a signal, and couldn't just enjoy the surroundings. People sit at sporting events, in the stadium, but watch the game on their phone. Im not anti-phone or tech. Its part of my life. I track exercise, post on social media, shop, make reservations, etc. I'm conditioned to feel like a phone is an important emergency device when I drive, and have even returned home to retrieve a forgotten phone. I'm simply observing, and wondering whether, we're conditioning ourselves to be entirely unable to disconnect at all.

My personal feelings are that you should follow through. But if you cant get past your own anxieties, cancel. Worst case... fret about it, procrastinate, etc. and cancel last minute. If nothing else, you owe it to a guy you describe as sweet to give him as much notice as possible.

Good luck with that. Advice that Im sure was well intended. Good advice from my perspective as a reader. Certainly advice that would benefit me as a poster. But the likelihood of inhibiting any behaviors on social media is nil. You might as well go on Facebook and advocate for common sense, telling members to please read things before they share, or fact-check news items.

Saturday, an acquaintance canceled plans with me, citing a work crisis. In a bizarre twist - and a first for me - a few hours later he sent an email that he'd fabricated the work crisis, truthfully, wasn't in the mood, but wanted to be honest. There's some pretty sick tickets in this town.....

You write you always play safe regardless.... which is wise. Really, that he told you is irrelevant to safety, and perhaps an indicator that hes genuinely honest and nice. Top or bottom, Prep, detectability, etc... really not relevant if you're practicing safe. Nothing in life is 100% certain. Would you stay home if we all reminded you that a car accident is possible on the way to see him? Or his place could catch fire? Dont get in your own head. Go have fun with a guy thats your type with a sweet personality.

I hired 2 times in 2017. Second was a disaster First was a shockingly great experience.... he orgasmed, I didnt. Incredibly satisfying for me, and didnt even realize I hadnt cum til walking back inside after seeing him off at his car.

And the population claims illness more often than its members are genuinely ill. Life would be simpler, and honest behavior would be reinforced, if people just said "I can't make it" and others accepted it. Ask an experienced manager if they need to hear the detailed explanations when an employee calls in. If PTO, a simple "I cant make it" is enough. If separate sick and vacation policy "I'll be out sick today" suffices.... and is likely to be a lie anyway. If I had a dollar for everytime Ive listened to excessively detailed, or lame unbelievable illness descriptions, or overheard employees planning to call in sick... I could pay for an extended session with any rentguy discussed on the forum.

Ditto. In fact, I reached that decision while a guy was on me. Whatever the actuality, my partner's vocalization indicated he was having a great time. I realized I was bored, was just laying there like some cliché of the bored housewife just letting her husband do his business on top of her. So never again... "They all felt something, but I felt nothing.... except the feeling that this bullshit was absurd."

Two years ago, Id have written "no-way, bad sign" Personally, I always put the money in an envelope and leave it in a prominent location so its visible to the hire guy. And, Ill acknowledge that any time I remember the rentguy asking for or going for the cash upfront, the session was less satisfying. Including my last attempt, which was a disaster requiring me to evict the guy after 5 minutes, and working to get most of my cash back. But Im gaining an appreciation for the escorts' perspective. Although I would never do it, I'll bet alot of guys dont pay, or demand discounts, after the fact. Citing unmet expectations. Not exactly the same situations, but theres something about the changing communications norms that bleeds over into old-definitions of honor and commitment. Tangential examples: I've been working on a major home de-clutter. Dozens and dozens of items to charity, hundreds of clothing items donated.... but selling or giving-away many items via craigs, or the LetGo or OfferUp apps. Id say that 80% of the contacts who say they want an item, even for free, never follow through for purchase or pickup. I dont mean just casual interest... but after several messages and a written "I'll take it, when can I get it?" Perhaps social scientists can or have examined it.... I think theres something about text, email, etc, or perhaps the info-inundation, that makes people feel less obligated to follow through. I wrote earlier on another thread about an acquaintence who agreed to attend an event with me, requiring ticket purchase. He canceled day before event. Hes emailed that he'll reimburse me for tickets. I wonder if he really will.