alkan

I wanted to learn to fly. It wasn't an obsession or desperate need, but started when I was very young and was always something in the back of my mind while I was growing up. But I was late in coming to a position where taking lessons became practicable.
 
It soon became obvious that I had no natural gift for the physical act of controlling a plane. Much of the theory was easy to grasp or already there but actually flying, maintaining level flight during a turn, for example, I just found extremely difficult. So much so, that when I eventually managed some of these basic skills, my instructors and I agreed it would be very costly for me to carry on, with no great indications of final success. I gave up
 
I accepted the fact that it was not going to happen but it hasn't eradicated the, yearning is too strong a word, the feeling I have about planes. I cannot see a plane,
even today, without thinking myself into the pilot's seat. Some of you who can fly may recognise this. It is a feeling about soaring but also about coming to earth, it is a feeling about control but also about being controlled by natural forces, it is the sideslip and the bank. It is the thrust and the slowing. And for some reason, the feeling happens in the seat of your pants.

In contrast to that scam, which has been reasonably carefully constructed, I recently got a phone call where the man said "I'm calling about your internet, so if you'll just give me your bank account details and your passport number, I'll sort it for you."

We had a minor fire in the building where I live at the weekend (nothing drastic) and on Monday two fire brigade officers came round to check on things. When they came to my door, I switched off the programme on my computer to stop it running amok and was chatting to them when I noticed one of them looking over my shoulder. Of course, the screen saver had come up........... Oh well, at least they laughed about it.

My guess is Connor's video is being distorted by the platform used by mymusclevideos. Their quality is not very good and they probably are not using the principal of "responsive design," that is, a website displaying with the same resolution and functionality on a mobile device as on a computer.
 
Someone could use the technique you described to morph themselves and falsely advertise, but typically everything in the video gets distorted and it is easy to see that something is amiss.

One always wonders how a loving family could turn on a child and reject him completely solely for being honest about his feelings and needs, rather than dutifully meeting all their expectations. As time passes, they may re-evaluate their response, not to take advantage of you, but because they realize their mistake. Meanwhile, it is great that you are there for him. And now you won't have to manage a big family wedding, just something more intimate.
 
BTW, I know a happy couple who have been together for decades, who started in a very similar fashion to the two of you. The younger man's very traditional family in a conservative country eventually did accept the situation, if not always graciously, and the siblings have become reconciled.

Aversion to rejection.

I too would be against a car in either city for the reasons the others have said. Bear in mind also that Madrid in January can get very cold. A week in Madrid in winter is probably ample, even allowing for some (if not all) of the side trips @BSR mentions (of course, for some of us, a week spent solely in the Prado would not be enough). Aranjuez and La Granja de San Ildefonso though interesting and beautiful in their way are, I would say, warm weather destinations. Take some warm clothes and an empty stomach! Have a great time.

I too would be against a car in either city for the reasons the others have said. Bear in mind also that Madrid in January can get very cold. A week in Madrid in winter is probably ample, even allowing for some (if not all) of the side trips @BSR mentions (of course, for some of us, a week spent solely in the Prado would not be enough). Aranjuez and La Granja de San Ildefonso though interesting and beautiful in their way are, I would say, warm weather destinations. Take some warm clothes and an empty stomach! Have a great time.

Well, thanks a bunch for that. I had to go through my bookshelves to find my copy after that and eventually found it though I will have to wait till daylight before I can retrieve it. And of course I also found many other books I'd forgotten about all leering at me and saying "read ME!".

The Tibetan Book of the Dead gives a detailed description of the soul's journey after death. Just about anyone who came of age in the 70s is at least familiar with it, even if they haven't read the whole thing. It gives as good an answer as any to the question of what an afterlife might be like. Of course, Tibetan Buddhists believe in reincarnation so it might not be palatable to those who want to believe in Heaven.

Like @LivingnLA, I am trying to organise things so that the person who has the duty of clearing up my personal affairs after me has as little trouble as possible. Although I have a huge extended family, I have no close relatives left and the responsibility falls to a long -term friend. At present, we live a considerable distance apart and because of that and his own family responsibilities all my paperwork has to be organised so that he can find everything he needs in one or two quick visits. There are no secret aspects of my life to come as a surprise to him. All very well therefore except.......... What happens if I start losing it mentally? All my careful organising may fall apart if I don't keep up to date with things or start acting irrationally.

Might want to speak to an attorney specializing in elder law about that. If you have the funds you can probably hire someone to look after that stuff. Put your bills on autopilot, have someone check in with you periodically, etc. You'd need to vet the people themselves first, because obviously it's a setup that shady characters might be drawn to.

Like @LivingnLA, I am trying to organise things so that the person who has the duty of clearing up my personal affairs after me has as little trouble as possible. Although I have a huge extended family, I have no close relatives left and the responsibility falls to a long -term friend. At present, we live a considerable distance apart and because of that and his own family responsibilities all my paperwork has to be organised so that he can find everything he needs in one or two quick visits. There are no secret aspects of my life to come as a surprise to him. All very well therefore except.......... What happens if I start losing it mentally? All my careful organising may fall apart if I don't keep up to date with things or start acting irrationally.

As someone who has spent a large part of the past thirty years avoiding large scale social interactions, I am the last person whose advice I myself would listen to. Nevertheless, how about thinking of it not in terms of what you would get from attending, but instead what you could bring to it? You could set some quite limited goals for example, by aiming to say something particular to each person there that you are fond of, mentioning something that you admire them for, or reviving a happy memory, something to bring them each at least a momentary smile. You might also aim to leave after a set amount of time if this is possible.

As someone who has spent a large part of the past thirty years avoiding large scale social interactions, I am the last person whose advice I myself would listen to. Nevertheless, how about thinking of it not in terms of what you would get from attending, but instead what you could bring to it? You could set some quite limited goals for example, by aiming to say something particular to each person there that you are fond of, mentioning something that you admire them for, or reviving a happy memory, something to bring them each at least a momentary smile. You might also aim to leave after a set amount of time if this is possible.

As someone who has spent a large part of the past thirty years avoiding large scale social interactions, I am the last person whose advice I myself would listen to. Nevertheless, how about thinking of it not in terms of what you would get from attending, but instead what you could bring to it? You could set some quite limited goals for example, by aiming to say something particular to each person there that you are fond of, mentioning something that you admire them for, or reviving a happy memory, something to bring them each at least a momentary smile. You might also aim to leave after a set amount of time if this is possible.

As someone who has spent a large part of the past thirty years avoiding large scale social interactions, I am the last person whose advice I myself would listen to. Nevertheless, how about thinking of it not in terms of what you would get from attending, but instead what you could bring to it? You could set some quite limited goals for example, by aiming to say something particular to each person there that you are fond of, mentioning something that you admire them for, or reviving a happy memory, something to bring them each at least a momentary smile. You might also aim to leave after a set amount of time if this is possible.

The photos are of a well-known Australian ex rugby player.

How about Thailand? It would seem to be sufficiently different from your previous trips and has a particular approach to food.

The shots in both profiles seem to belong to a well-known fitness model whose stats do not seem to match either set of details.

He never directly replied to my post....very telling

Yes, I think that is how it seems to us. For him, as he says, the internet and this forum are his human contacts and all he is doing is making conversation. Hence the scattershot new threads. The trolling part is when he doesn't quite answer direct questions.

Yes, I think that is how it seems to us. For him, as he says, the internet and this forum are his human contacts and all he is doing is making conversation. Hence the scattershot new threads. The trolling part is when he doesn't quite answer direct questions.

So then would it not be better to be that as a matter of choice rather than as a form of imprisonment?

Sorry - but he is not a good doctor if he continues to refill your meds without SEEING you. Talking to you doesn't count. No-one in my practice gets routine refills if they don't come in or get labs. Exception - asthma meds or meds for which there is a plan (e.g. - 3 months and then come in.) Not even BP meds or the other stuff you are on!