Aurian

I bought their pad version and I was very pleased with it too. I've tried virtually everything and this was the only stuff that produced good results without bleaching everything my face comes into contact with.

I am legally deaf myself, and wear one hearing aid in my "good" ear. Basically I just hear sounds, but I cannot make out words - just tone. I can tell someone is excited by the tone, but I can't make out the words. I do lip-read, and one-on-one, nobody can tell I am deaf. Put me in a crowd though, and I am lost. The most people are talking, the faster I have to figure out who is jabbering, and then focus on their lips, and the more I miss. Noisy places aren't good either because I lose the bit of hearing I use to help me with my lipreading. People also know not to say stuff to me when I am not looking, because it won't register. So... I tend to avoid noisy places, talk a LOT online (email and message boards are the best invention eVar!), and focus on one person at a time one-on-one. However, hearing loss can be caused by a lot of things, and some of it is fixable. Get it checked out. Even if its not, you probably just have a minor hearing loss that can be remedied with a hearing aid. They do have ones the size of ear-plugs and can be quite subtle.

I think a teddy bear is more of a girl thing unless there is some special in-joke? If he's a sports fan, get him tickets to his favorite team If he's a bit more romantic, you can make a hand-made card with colour photocopies of pictures of you two together.

I used tampons only as needed (like your exact situation!) when I was a virgin. I did find it uncomfortable, but I was still a "virgin" afterwards (ow They're a little awkward to use when you're first starting, but they don't get lost, they don't break and they don't shift on you like pads do! I still prefer pads, but I definitely use tampons when needed on the beach!

I read John Gottman's book awhile back. I do agree with those Four Horsemen. If one shows up and isn't dealt with, it simply opens the way for the others to arrive. Gottman also talked about how a couple's memories of their early history can indicate their chances of recovery. It makes sense that if a fighting couple can recall good memories together, they will want to work to get those good memories back. If a couple can only remember bad things (she was late, he got me regular coke, not diet!) then the relationship is pretty much over. That made sense to me, especially when I was struggling to keep my marriage alive with my abusive ex. I realized it was over when I still had good memories, but him... not only he thought the present me was rubbish, but he also said horrible things about the past we shared. I ended it the next day. He had "re-written" history so that I was always something selfish and pathetic.

I'm pretty flexible, but it must be somewhat groomed! If it looks like a squirrel might nest in it, I'll pass thanks

What if I saved myself for marriage and my husband turned into an abusive jerk? I'm ruined then? Or should I have stayed in a marriage where I was planning how to kill myself because I felt so small, worthless and pathetic? Sorry, I'd rather be a non-virgin "cheating" on a future spouse. At any rate, while I know many people enjoy sex as simply fun and I respect their views, that is not me. I wanted to wait, because for me, sex is something very personal. To me, its not just sharing my body, but my mind and heart as well. So, even though I am not religious, my personal morality says that for me, sex waits until things are VERY serious and monogamous. I would have been happy with just one partner my whole life, but things didn't work out that way. I expect my future partner to accept sex as an extremely meaningful gift even if I am no longer a virgin. Because that is, to me, what it is.

That sounds about right to me. Only if that were an in-joke would that get things started. Otherwise, it sounds like a cold-shoulder moment. I know I feel horny at times of the month. I figure its something to do with the infamous cycle thingy. Outside of the peak periods, yeah, I can be convinced with a bit of foreplay to join in, but on my own? Not so often, and it would be especially when I am feeling loved and confident.

No prob, that's what this site is for I dunno really. Doesn't make much sense to me, but as some guys tell me, women never make sense My thought is that you got "friendzoned" or something? Either try make a play for her, or maybe it would be easier on you to reduce contact? It doesn't seem good for you to be stewing in frustration and jealousy

Hey Steelergal, ignore the spammer there if you already read it. Your post sounded so familiar to me, because my ex verbally and emotionally abused me as well. When things were good, he was incredibily fun, sweet and charming. And when things were bad, I would cry for hours and blame myself for not being good enough or being so emotionally unstable that I would cause this "wonderful" guy to act this way. The times I stood up for myself, I got retailation in a way that caused me to blame myself and wish I kept my mouth shut. He was a master manipulator. I filed for divorce back in July when I realized something. No matter how good I was, no matter how loving I was, not matter how hard I tried, there would always be something to blame me for! Of course, it didn't hurt that he had taken to smashing things and waving a knife around for stupid things like my having lunch out while at work or a comment about a soccer game. Even so... I kept wanting to go back. I missed the good side of him, and my mind wanted to forget the bad side. That lasted for a few months for me too. I found counselling very helpful. I had both a counselor through my work, and one online (recommended by the first one, this one was for dealing with heartbreak and moving on). Let me know if you'd like me to pass on info on the online one. I also found it helpful to remind myself of the bad things, and remind myself of why I filed for divorce. I definitely needed that. These days? I still feel a bit angry at times, but I don't blame myself anymore. Now, I just want to find a guy who is sweet without the poison. I also found this site helpful too: link removed At the bottom, there is a link to explain why a victim wants to stay with an abuser. I thought understanding myself better helped too.

Maybe something to do with testosterone or some other hormone for the exceptions. I heard that steriods can affect development down there negatively.

I'd vote for clubs too. Sign up for anything and everything that is remotely interesting! I can't say I ever got a date through the classroom, and I spent about 6 years in college and university! Kinda wish I had done that in hindsight...

I dunno. Good conversations are really important to me! My thought is perhaps he's introducing her to new things. Maybe she's feeling rebellious or something and getting drunk together feels naughty, or its some kind of status thing (is he popular or very attractive?). I can't imagine it would last long though if she's already complaining about him being blah though.

1 - Either he has been having cell/computer trouble or is busy (DN had a good example of busy!). 2 - He's a flake and a coward. My suggestion is to stop trying to contact him and see what happens. If he doesn't bother finding a way to contact you, its 2. If he shows up later, I would consider what he says and decide if its honest and worth forgiving.

That sounds a wee bit scary! I have to say, I have not encountered any penis shots yet Yeah, best to have the first meeting somewhere cheap and casual (ah, infamous coffee), that way you haven't lost much if you REALLY don't react well together. I will beware of women asking for money, and of men too, seeing how I am a woman myself

Wouldn't it make sense for taller guys to be bigger simply because its proportionate? We're not always surprised to see a big guy with larger hands than a smaller guy.

Hey, I would try sending just one more email. There is a good chance that it might have gotten lost and she's at the other end wondering why you didn't reply. I used to email a long-distance ex and every once in awhile one of our emails would simply disappear and never show up. If she doesn't reply after two, then give up. It seems unlikely two would disappear. Better to have risked and lost than never tried at all, no?

I do understand that a first conversation might be a bit awkward, but I do expect a bit back. By painful, I mean 5 minutes to respond with one word. And even when I tried to start a discussion about his favorite hockey team and a game we both watched the night before, I still could only get "yeah", "its cool", "cool",and "X scored a goal" The one question he asked me was why I liked dragons. I gave a thoughtful answer and got: . . . . "cool I like dragons too" "Why?" . . . . . "I dunno Im gonna get a tattoo of one" "That's neat, some reason why you chose it?" . . . . . . . "I just think its cool" If I hear cool one more time....

Chats... I know not everyone is comfortable online, but if you do online dating, shouldn't you be able to talk a bit in chat? If a chat is painful, does that mean I should move on, or are perfectly good dates just sucking at chat? (edit - I think its more than just sucking at chat - someone must have helped him with his profile... that was awkward, but I let him down gently)

Hey Caldus, I'm sorry to hear that things aren't going too well. You seem like an interesting person to know from your posts around here! I'm having a similar problem - I find it hard to meet friends or more offline. Some days it seems like all the "friends" positions have been filled back in college or something! One trouble with email friends is that both kinda have to make the effort to click reply and have something interesting to say. If one doesn't... then *poof*. I have some good friends online, but I also had quite a few disappear over the years without a word, just like the girl you were chatting with. Don't have much advice, I'm afraid, but I thought I'd at least let you know someone cares and understands.

eHarmony and Lavalife seem busier here. I seem to have a few active matches on eHarmony so far. One asked me out, but it was longer-distance (within 50 miles, but on an island) and he didn't come to the mainland much so I had to turn him down. My last relationship was long-distance and it was a disaster. After 5 years of lies and 5 years of the pain of being apart all the time from someone I loved, I just can't go there again. He was nice and understanding about it though.

I was also feeling a bit underused at work, and feeling a bit tired of simply covering for other people's extra work. I proposed to my boss that I get trained in some new things that interested me and would give me more good points for a future promotion. I like this because I like my current job, and this would let me feel like I am moving towards something again. My boss likes this because I am an excellent employee and my current job is hard to train a newbie into! This also makes me for flexible and able to help out the department in a crunch.

Luke, that's kinda fun. It also shows you're interested and visit the site (there are some people online who haven't changed their profiles in years - are they even still the same people?), and put effort into it.

You already chat on MSN don't you? Why not say something like "I'm having fun, want to chat some more after work at (Starbucks)?" And get her number there if it seems right.

Yeah, on Match I have a photo up too and filled out the thingy fully. 50 views, zero winks, zero emails and zero interest in my winks. I also note that the men in my area on my search don't seem to be visiting the site much, so I speculate that despite being advertised, its not popular around here for some reason.