CuriousByNature

This guy might be able to help...

I love geography discussions. I tend to consider the following: East Asia: Most of China, Taiwan, Japan, the Koreas South East Asia: Southern fringe of China, including Hainan, Macao and Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, East Timor, and the Philippines South Asia: Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan Central Asia: The rest of the 'stan' countries Western Asia: Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, most of Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Kuwait, and the nations of the Arabian peninsula. Northern Asia: Siberian Russia, Mongolia, Northern fringe of China including Northern Manchuria As for the term 'Oriental', I stopped using that term to refer to people of Asian background once I realized how silly it would be to call myself 'Occidental'.

Since I live in Ontario, I consider Quebec and the Maritimes to be the Orient.

Only in areas where there's a lot of copper, gold, or other mineral and ore deposits.

I agree that putting one's own needs/wants first is part of human nature, generally speaking. But must we give in to that nature when the result is potential harm to others? 🤷‍♂️

WOW - I thought it was 'public assistance' too... reading can be a challenge, evidently.

57 replies in 13 hours. Congrats to the OP - this must be some sort of record. Ooops - now it's 58 with this reply of mine. I'm out.

In light of the OP's responses to comments on this thread, I'm inclined to think the scenario presented never happened. I think someone needs to get back to the kitchen and stir the pot there.

I think it might be important to remember that while you were giving back the provider's time, you were also taking away from the provider's income. If having free time at that moment was critical for the provider, he would not have scheduled to meet you then. The donation that is made is for the provider's time, and in this case he received nothing, even though he blocked off that time to meet with you. Things happen and people don't always make the wisest choices in the moment, but perhaps this can be explained to him and an offer can be made to at least partially cover the loss to him - assuming your foremost intention is to make things right

An 18 year old woman in Canada purchased her first ever lottery ticket several weeks ago and won $48M Canadian on our Lotto 649 draw. Not a scratch ticket, but the chances of winning on your first purchase must be ridiculously minuscule - the chances for any 649 jackpot are about 14 million to one....

If a person is having a Nuru massage, isn't that basically the same as frottage? Would both people be unclothed and face to face? If that is the case - and here's maybe the stupidest question so far - what are they doing with their faces? I would think that such a level of connection could lead to kissing, unless the participants are expected to look away from each other. I know that YMMV, but wouldn't Nuru probably end with some sort of release? Is the person being massaged that way supposed to just lie there with their hands at their sides and their face turned away? I'm probably overthinking this... but if I ever try Nuru it would be nice to have an idea of what would be appropriate behaviour.

If someone was to meet up with a crew member in one of the ports, would that also put the crew member at risk of being fired? Or do you think it's only when they are on duty and aboard the ship? I've been on a few cruises and I don't always do excursions if the port city is accessible by foot and there's things to see and do on my own, and I have sometimes run into a crew member here or there who is having a meal or doing some shopping. Perhaps if there is a mutual interest it would be better to meet up in those situations?

An attractive arm? LOL

Except when Netanyahu was young....

If he can maintain a route like that he should be delivering presents on Christmas Eve with his 8 reindeer.

I think I would be more assuring than alluring in any situation

Maybe it would have turned out better if you had only left your number, and not included the dollar signs - no need to sell yourself short

I'm really surprised by this. Do you think that the community is more racist than other demographics, or is it just more surprising that racist sentiments exist in a community that has faced so much discrimination itself, albeit based on orientation? Sadly, racism exists in every demographic, even amongst those who definitely should know much better. Ugh - society can really disappoint.

I agree that adults have the right to say no to anything. But some are unable to say no because of the circumstances they are in. I'm not suggesting that you or others are being predatory, but 'cultivating' someone sounds like they are being trained up for a specific purpose they otherwise would not be interested in.

Call me what you will, but some of the examples cited in this thread are really sad and seem to take advantage of people's desperation. 😔. (Yes, I fully expect a bunch of 'eye-roll' and 'verbose' emojis)

I can remember when the tip choices on the credit card machine were 5%, 10%, 15% and other. Now they start at 18% or 20% at a number of restaurants I've been to. I will happy tip more than 20% if the service is outstanding, but I find that outstanding service is harder and harder to find these days. On a somewhat related note, here in Canada it is not uncommon for grocery stores to ask if you wish to make a donation to a charity they support and have that amount added to your bill. Many people feel guilty for not adding a couple of bucks to their grocery total, but I stopped doing this some time ago when I was told the company uses these donations to get a big tax refund. So I prefer to get a gift card for the homeless person sitting outside the store instead.