Nataly

To invent a cure for death!! Oh.. And since I'm going to live forever, I hope I find the cure for ageing as well "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

That's *excellent*

I personally have to disagree - I *love* nice guys & think it's an essential quality in a partner. But nice guys have to also have a personality & be funny/cheeky as well. Self-assurance is sexy - being a doormat is not (IMO). As for "dating outside of the service"... I found the attention I got whilst I was in the military to be a major turn-off, so I was definitely NOT disappointed that the "civilians" were much more polite / subtle / uninterested!! Plus, not every guy in the military wants to shag you just because you're the only girl - some guys absolutely hate you just because you're a girl!!! So not all the "attention" is "positive"... So I don't miss all the attention, but I really miss the banter.. Military folk have a great sense of humour and you meet some exceptionally hilarious pranksters! For some reason, you don't seem to get anyone gluing every item on the boss' desk with 2-ton epoxy in the corporate world!!! And I have yet to see a corporate 'do where a bunch of drunken guys decide that a food-fight, followed by streaking is a good idea! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Thats SO 2 weeks ago! http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3929148;search_string=conference%20call;#3929148 Well, it may be old, but it's still true "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Shah, if there is no attraction, why should a girl "settle" for a guy just because he's a friend and happens to like her?? That doesn't make him Mr. Right!! Christ! Being a "nice guy" is one thing, but you have to be compatible - sheesh! You're completely contradicting yourself! You argue that it's perfectly acceptable for you not to lower your standards, yet you think it's ok for a woman to lower hers just because the guy likes her?? Hmmm... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

How *dare* you turtle??! David Mitchell is my idol! (Although admitedly he does have pretty crooked teeth.. ) "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Some pertinent rants: http://www.channelflip.com/david-mitchells-soapbox---series-2/#dear-america http://www.channelflip.com/david-mitchells-soapbox---series-1/#spelling "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Blame Webster - he was the guy who decided to "standardise" (ie: Americanise) English... But I hope you're not including me in "our" - since English is not my mother tongue, and since Canadian English is a weird hybrid between American and British English... Well, I guess that gives me the liberty to bastardise the language quite a lot!! And stop with "1 time" it's ONCE, and "2 times" is TWICE - come on people learn to speak the Queen's English*** Couldn't resist!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Best excuse ever! I've found that shopping in Canada and the US is a nightmare for exactly the reason Nightingale describes. I have (American/Canadian) stuff ranging from 0 to 8 - all exactly the same "actual" size. Thankfully, it's a lot less ambiguous in the UK... Most size charts will tell you that a UK size 8 would fit a woman with the following measurements: Bust: 32" Waist: 25" Hips: 35" "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Well, we could probably all do with being better communicators, I'll give you that... But I think men are not the only ones who suffer from unrequited love... And as painful as it might be for a guy to be "just friends" with the girl he loves, I'm sure it's every bit as painful to be "just buddies" with a guy - or worse, "just fuck-buddies"... Perhaps the difference is that in order to have her in your life, you have to forgo sex, and the opposite might be the case for women. I know this is a controversial way to look at it, but it happens, and it's pretty emotionally hurtful. Still, I think we make choices in life and staying in an unbalanced/unhealthy relationship (friendship or otherwise) is a choice. Not showing your feelings is a choice. Not moving on after you've tried and been rejected is a choice. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

"Thanks" for pointing out one more thing to get offended about - I had missed this one, as at some point I started skipping over this individual's posts. I happen to be from Eastern Europe ... nobody "bought" me and I worked my ass off to get where I am ... I do pretty well for myself. O Yep, that one made me cringe... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Best friend or not, nobody needs a downer on a vacation!! Either bring someone who will make the experience more fun, or go by yourself.

I won't go on - there are so many... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Would I have noticed if I had met Mr. Right in the military? Probably not. Like I said before, some of what you posted was quite good. The bit about the "noise" makes sense. As does your theory of supply/demand. But sometimes, Shah, what you say is downright offensive. And not because it's "the truth"... I can handle "the truth" just fine, thank you very much. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

That's fucking horrible even if it is a joke - which I sincerely hope it is "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Shah, I think what everyone is objecting to is not your personal tastes.. If you announced that you had a natural preference for one-legged midgets, I'm sure no one would care. It's that you keep going on about your (slightly offensive) views as though everyone ought to (or does) think the same way. Listen, we all understand the concept of supply and demand. In the "real world" I am not the kind of girl that gets hit on much at all. When I was in the military, I got TONS of attention. But let me tell you this: not only was all that attention a complete turn off, but it also came with a healthy dose of bullshit I had to put up with (also because I was a girl, and a minority). Now, I know that lots of the men I worked with thought women had an easy time because they had more breaks than men, but I sure as hell didn't feel like I had ANY advantages whilst I worked there - in fact, quite the opposite. So for all the (probably unwanted) attention the engineer girls get from the engineer geeks, they probably have to put up with a hell of a lot of crap as well. So I highly doubt that it's "every ugly girl's heaven" like you seem to think... You can like any type of girl you want, but when you judge other people's behaviour based on your own personal set of values... Well, that's what people are responding to. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

No, no, no!! You're all missing the point!! We should be researching ways to feel refreshed whilst sleeping less! Oh. Well, in that case, have you tried amphetamines? Well, that would keep you awake, but really isn't healthy!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

No, no, no!! You're all missing the point!! We should be researching ways to feel refreshed whilst sleeping less! Why are we all trying to sleep *more*???! Think of all that time that would be gained! Let's assume you live 75 years, and spend a third of that sleeping - that's a waste of 25 years!!! Why aren't we viewing *that* as the problem??! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Yes, but what I want is to feel rested... And why not investigate whether it's possible for the body to restore itself through means other than sleep? Maybe we insomniacs are on to something! Maybe we should find a way to intentionally (and healthily) sleep *less*! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Simple past = dived Past participle = dove Sorry Shroppy.. ETA: “dove” listed as a North American and English dialectal past tense form of “dive, v.”, listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989] "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

DISCLAIMER: This thread is not about finding ways to sleep more - it's about why we don't do research to help us sleep less. I've often wondered why people seek cures to help them sleep, but no one seems to be doing research into how we could function well with *less* sleep. Think about it... That's 1/4 to 1/3 of your life we're talking about!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I think guys get "stuck in the friend zone" either because: -He has never made his feelings clear. -She's just not attracted to the guy. So the problem isn't necessarily that she views him as non-dating material.. I mean, if you never make your intentions known, what do you expect? If you don't try, why are you surprised if "nothing happens"? We're not fucking mind-readers!! As for the cases where it's clear the guy has a crush and still nothing happens, well, if you've tried and been rejected, it's a choice you make to keep the person as a friend. And if that's what you choose, you can't exactly be surprised that nothing happens... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Well, to date I have never had a positive response when I have gone on a limb and asked a guy out... But that's never stopped me from trying!! Actually, thinking on that, I did *once* get an initial rejection, but then the guy caved later on!! Still - it was a bad reaction in the first instance! ETA - And reflecting on it more, he *did* turn out to have a problem with me being "too forward".. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

OMG!! This is your new baby!! SOOO cute!! Have you found her a name yet?

Not all but the kind of single guy that runs when the woman initiates obviously isn't right for the kind of women that do or is uninterested for another reason. I agree.. It takes a strong man to like a strong woman! Very strong people are rare, so it seems normal to me to hear that women who come on strong will often get a bad reaction from men. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss