wsc

Humility is a tricky thing. One can't really try to be humble because that's arrogant. Act too humble and it seems staged. The great times of peace in my life have come only when I decide to "humble" myself, however ultimately difficult that is. But I like the initial post. "No te creas mucho"

So, I’m fairly new to the Forum, and only just picked up this “hobby” in the last year or so, and given the precarious nature of this community due to Daddy’s current health situation, I just wanted to say thanks.
 
Thanks for the helpful advice regarding providers. Being new to this, I’ve stuck to solid recommendations from this group except for one, and (except for that one, which wasn’t all that bad), I’ve had amazing experiences that I have thoroughly enjoyed.
 
Thanks for the guidance regarding health and well-being. I have had my first test (all clear) and am now scheduled for every three months, and am starting PreP.
 
Thanks for random lifestyle tips, from good reads to Netflix options to travel suggestions.
 
Thanks for the gallery and all the beautiful contributions there.
 
Thanks, even, for the snark and sharp comments from time to time. After all, what would any true “community” (or family for that matter) be without them?
 
In other words, I am so very grateful for you all. To say you have changed my life would not be an overstatement.
 
Thank you.
 
And for the sake of others like me whose lives could experience the same positive impact, I hope this community lives on!

"... guess I won't be now."
 
This would be my point. "Not now" and "not yet" don't mean not interested or never. But blocking a potential client probably does. Some might see this as bad for business.
 
As Pretty Woman said to the saleslady, "Big Mistake! Huge!":

The dog is cute.

The dejection in that face seems to sigh, "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: 'It might have been!'"

People on the outside looking in might see being a royal as a fairy tale they wish could become true for them; watch almost any holiday Hallmark movie.
 
A privileged life? Yes. Nice homes and cars? Sure. Fame, fortune? Certainly. But I imagine there's also a clear downside to being an HRH.
 
At the highest level, do you realize that Elizabeth (from age 10 on, at least), Charles, or William were probably never asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" There's no point to the question for them. They have no choice in the matter. It would literally take an act of Parliament for them to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher, or anything other than Queen or King. Their life was always going to be lived in the spotlight, every word scrutinized, every act talked about, any indiscretion publicized and magnified. And much the same fates befall their children, the royal princes and princesses.
 
It's only when you become a distant, minor royal (read that as "irrelevant," which must do wonders for your sense of self-worth), do you begin to have options for your life's work. But you're still saddled with the fame and the spotlight, but in a way that can probably only cause scandal instead of earn praise.
 
Elizabeth I said of Mary, Queen of Scots, before condemning Mary to death, "You were born too close to my throne," meaning Mary was a threat to Elizabeth's life and crown. In a less somber but perhaps still sad sense, Harry was born too close to the throne, as well.
 
Second son of the Prince of Wales, he and his brother, shortly after Harry's birth, were dubbed "an heir and a spare." Catchy phrasing and typically Brit humor, it may still have somewhat stung the younger son, destined to live in the shadow of his older brother, the heir apparent. Photos of Harry as a child make him look impish, which by some accounts, he was. And adorable, too. Pics of him with his mother melt my heart, and images of his face at Diana's funeral bring tears to my eyes. All that grief and sense of loss played out before the eyes of all the world. Harry had some rough spots on his way to adulthood; the Nazi armband and Naked in Vegas come to mind. But he found himself and came into his own in the army. He wanted to be, and seemed largely to have been treated as, "one of the guys." Before Meghan, this might have been his happiest times.
 
I have always had a soft spot for Harry, a sensitive boy growing into a somewhat wounded man, and have sensed a pain somewhere in his soul. I always had, and still have, reservations regarding Meghan; never saw her as a good fit for Harry or the Firm. But she seems to have made Harry happy, and I very much want that for him. If he needs separation from his royal roots and the bad and bitter memories that come from them, I wish him well. He has every right to follow his course toward a happier life.
 
But he and Meghan seem to be struggling with an unprecedented transition and seem, too, to have formed unrealistic expectations of how it should and will go; keeping royal perks and access to the royal purse aren't realistic. I wish them well, but the interview didn't help. People who want a calmer, quieter, less drama-filled existence generally don't go on Oprah to talk about it, and I doubt the interview was Harry's idea.

All these swords, hammers, and balls!
What kind of place did I walk into?
Is it hot in here or what?

And from the moment she got up from between Bill's knees, Monica Lewinsky's fate was sealed. If you give head to the President in in The Oral Office -and it gets out- someone's going to want to take your picture.
 
And if you start dating -and later marry- The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World, Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and Head of the Commonwealth - someone's going to want to take your picture, too. Lots of someones, as it turns out, and as was always obvious. And it doesn't end just because the marriage does. In fact, it get worse. Why? Because you cheated on, admitted to it, and divorced The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World, Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and Head of the Commonwealth. What did you expect? What could you reasonably expect?
 
Actions have consequences and choices do, too. There are few things more annoying to me than people who become famous -or possibly infamous - and then complain about being treated as if they were someone famous. There's naive, and then there's clueless, and then there's something approaching classless.
 
What happened to Diana was sad and tragic. And the effect on her sons was also sad and tragic, and some of that lingers on to the present day. The same was true of Monica, her mistake, and the effects it had on her life. But Monica eventually took responsibility, got help, and came out whole; scarred but whole.
 
Diana's story, and those affected by it, might benefit from seeing it with a greater dose of realism and less of romanticism.

"... guess I won't be now."
 
This would be my point. "Not now" and "not yet" don't mean not interested or never. But blocking a potential client probably does. Some might see this as bad for business.
 
As Pretty Woman said to the saleslady, "Big Mistake! Huge!":

I agree, and have always used the Rent.Men site anonymously.
 
Out of curiosity, what are the benefits of membership? And even if a member, is it not possible to still visit the site anonymously?
 
Also, and unanswerable by any but the escort, why would an escort block someone for checking out their profile? Makes no sense to me, and seems a bit petty.

And from the moment she got up from between Bill's knees, Monica Lewinsky's fate was sealed. If you give head to the President in in The Oral Office -and it gets out- someone's going to want to take your picture.
 
And if you start dating -and later marry- The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World, Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and Head of the Commonwealth - someone's going to want to take your picture, too. Lots of someones, as it turns out, and as was always obvious. And it doesn't end just because the marriage does. In fact, it get worse. Why? Because you cheated on, admitted to it, and divorced The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World, Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and Head of the Commonwealth. What did you expect? What could you reasonably expect?
 
Actions have consequences and choices do, too. There are few things more annoying to me than people who become famous -or possibly infamous - and then complain about being treated as if they were someone famous. There's naive, and then there's clueless, and then there's something approaching classless.
 
What happened to Diana was sad and tragic. And the effect on her sons was also sad and tragic, and some of that lingers on to the present day. The same was true of Monica, her mistake, and the effects it had on her life. But Monica eventually took responsibility, got help, and came out whole; scarred but whole.
 
Diana's story, and those affected by it, might benefit from seeing it with a greater dose of realism and less of romanticism.

In a scene from The Queen, Helen Mirren's Elizabeth II receives Tony Blair to ask him to be Prime Minister and to form a new government "in my name." In their chat, the Queen tells Blair, "You are, after all, my 12th Prime Minister. My first, of course, was Winston Churchill." I took this as her way of telling the new PM, "Don't try too hard to impress me. I've seen better, and I've had the best."
 
In the real world, this woman in a tiara is the only world leader still alive who actually served in World War II. She has weathered wars, crises -national, family, and personal- and met practically every world leader of the past 60 years. As queen, she is kept informed of world events in ways few others are, is no stranger to the antics of rogue nations or the horrors of natural and man-made disasters. And still has a public approval rating the envy of any politician anywhere.
 
My points here are that she's been there, done that, and has more T-shirts than most anybody else. She's experienced, savvy, pragmatic, and flexible. And she is, above all, adept at surviving setbacks. This H&M thing, while perhaps personally sad and annoying, is a blip on her radar screen. She'll get through it, and she'll see The Firm does, too. Her greatest worry of the moment is probably the possibility of losing her husband of over 70 years. But when that happens, whenever it does, she'll get through that, too.
 
Right about now, after some briefing, she's probably saying, "Fine. Next."

And from the moment she got up from between Bill's knees, Monica Lewinsky's fate was sealed. If you give head to the President in in The Oral Office -and it gets out- someone's going to want to take your picture.
 
And if you start dating -and later marry- The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World, Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and Head of the Commonwealth - someone's going to want to take your picture, too. Lots of someones, as it turns out, and as was always obvious. And it doesn't end just because the marriage does. In fact, it get worse. Why? Because you cheated on, admitted to it, and divorced The Most Eligible Bachelor in the World, Prince of Wales, and heir to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and Head of the Commonwealth. What did you expect? What could you reasonably expect?
 
Actions have consequences and choices do, too. There are few things more annoying to me than people who become famous -or possibly infamous - and then complain about being treated as if they were someone famous. There's naive, and then there's clueless, and then there's something approaching classless.
 
What happened to Diana was sad and tragic. And the effect on her sons was also sad and tragic, and some of that lingers on to the present day. The same was true of Monica, her mistake, and the effects it had on her life. But Monica eventually took responsibility, got help, and came out whole; scarred but whole.
 
Diana's story, and those affected by it, might benefit from seeing it with a greater dose of realism and less of romanticism.

In a scene from The Queen, Helen Mirren's Elizabeth II receives Tony Blair to ask him to be Prime Minister and to form a new government "in my name." In their chat, the Queen tells Blair, "You are, after all, my 12th Prime Minister. My first, of course, was Winston Churchill." I took this as her way of telling the new PM, "Don't try too hard to impress me. I've seen better, and I've had the best."
 
In the real world, this woman in a tiara is the only world leader still alive who actually served in World War II. She has weathered wars, crises -national, family, and personal- and met practically every world leader of the past 60 years. As queen, she is kept informed of world events in ways few others are, is no stranger to the antics of rogue nations or the horrors of natural and man-made disasters. And still has a public approval rating the envy of any politician anywhere.
 
My points here are that she's been there, done that, and has more T-shirts than most anybody else. She's experienced, savvy, pragmatic, and flexible. And she is, above all, adept at surviving setbacks. This H&M thing, while perhaps personally sad and annoying, is a blip on her radar screen. She'll get through it, and she'll see The Firm does, too. Her greatest worry of the moment is probably the possibility of losing her husband of over 70 years. But when that happens, whenever it does, she'll get through that, too.
 
Right about now, after some briefing, she's probably saying, "Fine. Next."

In a scene from The Queen, Helen Mirren's Elizabeth II receives Tony Blair to ask him to be Prime Minister and to form a new government "in my name." In their chat, the Queen tells Blair, "You are, after all, my 12th Prime Minister. My first, of course, was Winston Churchill." I took this as her way of telling the new PM, "Don't try too hard to impress me. I've seen better, and I've had the best."
 
In the real world, this woman in a tiara is the only world leader still alive who actually served in World War II. She has weathered wars, crises -national, family, and personal- and met practically every world leader of the past 60 years. As queen, she is kept informed of world events in ways few others are, is no stranger to the antics of rogue nations or the horrors of natural and man-made disasters. And still has a public approval rating the envy of any politician anywhere.
 
My points here are that she's been there, done that, and has more T-shirts than most anybody else. She's experienced, savvy, pragmatic, and flexible. And she is, above all, adept at surviving setbacks. This H&M thing, while perhaps personally sad and annoying, is a blip on her radar screen. She'll get through it, and she'll see The Firm does, too. Her greatest worry of the moment is probably the possibility of losing her husband of over 70 years. But when that happens, whenever it does, she'll get through that, too.
 
Right about now, after some briefing, she's probably saying, "Fine. Next."

Certainly makes me want to get enmeshed.

width=969pxhttps://64.media.tumblr.com/44ceb443b8607d68fff6586a3702105a/41e6299f49c3d9ae-b3/s1280x1920/0d46520e03161c7112df471b20f9299c8e1fd793.jpg[/img]

OMG! He knows what I'm thinking!

Well, see, now I have Starbucks in my nose. I'm something of a Royalist at heart, but even I would buy tickets to that cage match. Thanks for the mental images I must now fight with.

In a scene from The Queen, Helen Mirren's Elizabeth II receives Tony Blair to ask him to be Prime Minister and to form a new government "in my name." In their chat, the Queen tells Blair, "You are, after all, my 12th Prime Minister. My first, of course, was Winston Churchill." I took this as her way of telling the new PM, "Don't try too hard to impress me. I've seen better, and I've had the best."
 
In the real world, this woman in a tiara is the only world leader still alive who actually served in World War II. She has weathered wars, crises -national, family, and personal- and met practically every world leader of the past 60 years. As queen, she is kept informed of world events in ways few others are, is no stranger to the antics of rogue nations or the horrors of natural and man-made disasters. And still has a public approval rating the envy of any politician anywhere.
 
My points here are that she's been there, done that, and has more T-shirts than most anybody else. She's experienced, savvy, pragmatic, and flexible. And she is, above all, adept at surviving setbacks. This H&M thing, while perhaps personally sad and annoying, is a blip on her radar screen. She'll get through it, and she'll see The Firm does, too. Her greatest worry of the moment is probably the possibility of losing her husband of over 70 years. But when that happens, whenever it does, she'll get through that, too.
 
Right about now, after some briefing, she's probably saying, "Fine. Next."

People on the outside looking in might see being a royal as a fairy tale they wish could become true for them; watch almost any holiday Hallmark movie.
 
A privileged life? Yes. Nice homes and cars? Sure. Fame, fortune? Certainly. But I imagine there's also a clear downside to being an HRH.
 
At the highest level, do you realize that Elizabeth (from age 10 on, at least), Charles, or William were probably never asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" There's no point to the question for them. They have no choice in the matter. It would literally take an act of Parliament for them to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher, or anything other than Queen or King. Their life was always going to be lived in the spotlight, every word scrutinized, every act talked about, any indiscretion publicized and magnified. And much the same fates befall their children, the royal princes and princesses.
 
It's only when you become a distant, minor royal (read that as "irrelevant," which must do wonders for your sense of self-worth), do you begin to have options for your life's work. But you're still saddled with the fame and the spotlight, but in a way that can probably only cause scandal instead of earn praise.
 
Elizabeth I said of Mary, Queen of Scots, before condemning Mary to death, "You were born too close to my throne," meaning Mary was a threat to Elizabeth's life and crown. In a less somber but perhaps still sad sense, Harry was born too close to the throne, as well.
 
Second son of the Prince of Wales, he and his brother, shortly after Harry's birth, were dubbed "an heir and a spare." Catchy phrasing and typically Brit humor, it may still have somewhat stung the younger son, destined to live in the shadow of his older brother, the heir apparent. Photos of Harry as a child make him look impish, which by some accounts, he was. And adorable, too. Pics of him with his mother melt my heart, and images of his face at Diana's funeral bring tears to my eyes. All that grief and sense of loss played out before the eyes of all the world. Harry had some rough spots on his way to adulthood; the Nazi armband and Naked in Vegas come to mind. But he found himself and came into his own in the army. He wanted to be, and seemed largely to have been treated as, "one of the guys." Before Meghan, this might have been his happiest times.
 
I have always had a soft spot for Harry, a sensitive boy growing into a somewhat wounded man, and have sensed a pain somewhere in his soul. I always had, and still have, reservations regarding Meghan; never saw her as a good fit for Harry or the Firm. But she seems to have made Harry happy, and I very much want that for him. If he needs separation from his royal roots and the bad and bitter memories that come from them, I wish him well. He has every right to follow his course toward a happier life.
 
But he and Meghan seem to be struggling with an unprecedented transition and seem, too, to have formed unrealistic expectations of how it should and will go; keeping royal perks and access to the royal purse aren't realistic. I wish them well, but the interview didn't help. People who want a calmer, quieter, less drama-filled existence generally don't go on Oprah to talk about it, and I doubt the interview was Harry's idea.

I agree completely regarding the decision, or perhaps more accurately, the policy regarding titles for Archie, and for the increasing number of others that have been or will be relegated to the status of "minor royals."
 
Prince Charles, to a larger extent, and the Queen to a lesser one -she, after all, has less time ahead of her than Charles has ahead of him, and therefore, perhaps, less active interest in a more distant future - are keen to reduce the rolls of those supported by the Sovereign Grant, or the used-to-be-used Civil List, royals supported financially though public monies. As the Queen's children have children, and those children have children, and now even those children are having their own children, the number of members of an extended royal family is growing by leaps and bounds. Boundaries must be set and someone must set them. The most common complaint reported in British opinion polls regarding the Royals is the cost of keeping them in the manner to which we might all like to become accustomed.
 
With William now having three children of his own, the likelihood of any of Harry's children being needed to support royal succession is becoming increasingly remote. This is even more the case for the Queen's other children (Anne, Andrew, and Edward) and their children, and even more so that that, for the Snowden line, descendants of the Queen's deceased sister, Princes Margaret and her husband, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, created Earl of Snowden for his marriage to Margaret. None of the Snowden line have the HRH designation, and the children of Anne and Edward do not use royal titles. Archie, although every ounce a cutie, to be sure, not being named a prince or given the HRH designation, was in line with the policy of limiting membership in the official Royal Family, and not motivated by any prejudice or ill will.

People on the outside looking in might see being a royal as a fairy tale they wish could become true for them; watch almost any holiday Hallmark movie.
 
A privileged life? Yes. Nice homes and cars? Sure. Fame, fortune? Certainly. But I imagine there's also a clear downside to being an HRH.
 
At the highest level, do you realize that Elizabeth (from age 10 on, at least), Charles, or William were probably never asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" There's no point to the question for them. They have no choice in the matter. It would literally take an act of Parliament for them to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher, or anything other than Queen or King. Their life was always going to be lived in the spotlight, every word scrutinized, every act talked about, any indiscretion publicized and magnified. And much the same fates befall their children, the royal princes and princesses.
 
It's only when you become a distant, minor royal (read that as "irrelevant," which must do wonders for your sense of self-worth), do you begin to have options for your life's work. But you're still saddled with the fame and the spotlight, but in a way that can probably only cause scandal instead of earn praise.
 
Elizabeth I said of Mary, Queen of Scots, before condemning Mary to death, "You were born too close to my throne," meaning Mary was a threat to Elizabeth's life and crown. In a less somber but perhaps still sad sense, Harry was born too close to the throne, as well.
 
Second son of the Prince of Wales, he and his brother, shortly after Harry's birth, were dubbed "an heir and a spare." Catchy phrasing and typically Brit humor, it may still have somewhat stung the younger son, destined to live in the shadow of his older brother, the heir apparent. Photos of Harry as a child make him look impish, which by some accounts, he was. And adorable, too. Pics of him with his mother melt my heart, and images of his face at Diana's funeral bring tears to my eyes. All that grief and sense of loss played out before the eyes of all the world. Harry had some rough spots on his way to adulthood; the Nazi armband and Naked in Vegas come to mind. But he found himself and came into his own in the army. He wanted to be, and seemed largely to have been treated as, "one of the guys." Before Meghan, this might have been his happiest times.
 
I have always had a soft spot for Harry, a sensitive boy growing into a somewhat wounded man, and have sensed a pain somewhere in his soul. I always had, and still have, reservations regarding Meghan; never saw her as a good fit for Harry or the Firm. But she seems to have made Harry happy, and I very much want that for him. If he needs separation from his royal roots and the bad and bitter memories that come from them, I wish him well. He has every right to follow his course toward a happier life.
 
But he and Meghan seem to be struggling with an unprecedented transition and seem, too, to have formed unrealistic expectations of how it should and will go; keeping royal perks and access to the royal purse aren't realistic. I wish them well, but the interview didn't help. People who want a calmer, quieter, less drama-filled existence generally don't go on Oprah to talk about it, and I doubt the interview was Harry's idea.

People on the outside looking in might see being a royal as a fairy tale they wish could become true for them; watch almost any holiday Hallmark movie.
 
A privileged life? Yes. Nice homes and cars? Sure. Fame, fortune? Certainly. But I imagine there's also a clear downside to being an HRH.
 
At the highest level, do you realize that Elizabeth (from age 10 on, at least), Charles, or William were probably never asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" There's no point to the question for them. They have no choice in the matter. It would literally take an act of Parliament for them to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a teacher, or anything other than Queen or King. Their life was always going to be lived in the spotlight, every word scrutinized, every act talked about, any indiscretion publicized and magnified. And much the same fates befall their children, the royal princes and princesses.
 
It's only when you become a distant, minor royal (read that as "irrelevant," which must do wonders for your sense of self-worth), do you begin to have options for your life's work. But you're still saddled with the fame and the spotlight, but in a way that can probably only cause scandal instead of earn praise.
 
Elizabeth I said of Mary, Queen of Scots, before condemning Mary to death, "You were born too close to my throne," meaning Mary was a threat to Elizabeth's life and crown. In a less somber but perhaps still sad sense, Harry was born too close to the throne, as well.
 
Second son of the Prince of Wales, he and his brother, shortly after Harry's birth, were dubbed "an heir and a spare." Catchy phrasing and typically Brit humor, it may still have somewhat stung the younger son, destined to live in the shadow of his older brother, the heir apparent. Photos of Harry as a child make him look impish, which by some accounts, he was. And adorable, too. Pics of him with his mother melt my heart, and images of his face at Diana's funeral bring tears to my eyes. All that grief and sense of loss played out before the eyes of all the world. Harry had some rough spots on his way to adulthood; the Nazi armband and Naked in Vegas come to mind. But he found himself and came into his own in the army. He wanted to be, and seemed largely to have been treated as, "one of the guys." Before Meghan, this might have been his happiest times.
 
I have always had a soft spot for Harry, a sensitive boy growing into a somewhat wounded man, and have sensed a pain somewhere in his soul. I always had, and still have, reservations regarding Meghan; never saw her as a good fit for Harry or the Firm. But she seems to have made Harry happy, and I very much want that for him. If he needs separation from his royal roots and the bad and bitter memories that come from them, I wish him well. He has every right to follow his course toward a happier life.
 
But he and Meghan seem to be struggling with an unprecedented transition and seem, too, to have formed unrealistic expectations of how it should and will go; keeping royal perks and access to the royal purse aren't realistic. I wish them well, but the interview didn't help. People who want a calmer, quieter, less drama-filled existence generally don't go on Oprah to talk about it, and I doubt the interview was Harry's idea.