Nataly

Sure there is. If at 40/50-ish you suddenly realise you have been missing out and/or you have made some seriously wrong life choices and/or not enjoyed life at all, seems pretty normal at some point to "snap" and become impatient to "make up for lost time/opportunities." ETA - maybe your mom was always like this but you were too innocent/naive to know it!! "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 guess, yeah. She usually had it on a night stand but moved it to the floor for some reason. I'm going to assume it was an ambien haze. She also later told me she had several phone and text message conversations with friends that she didn't remember having when she was on the stuff. I have a lot of trouble sleeping, but I don't think I'll be resorting to that stuff anytime soon! Again, weird, and merely supports my avoidance of medication... "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 recently travelled from Nice to Barcelona and had my rig as a carry-on. I assumed (rightly or wrongly) that the airport security people in Nice would not be used to seeing a rig, so I did my best to avoid any hassle. Had the rig in a discreet bag with nothing else in it... I had my AAD xray card, and a letter I found on the FFP website explicitely stating that travelling with a personal parachute does not pose a security risk (I'm paraphrasing, but here is the link: http://www.ffp.asso.fr/voyager-en-avion-avec-un-parachute/). I believe the USPA and BPA have similar documents you can print out. I arrived VERY early. You know what? The guy sitting in front of the xray machine was chatting with his colleague... Seemed to me like my bag went through and he didn't so much as glance at his screen! Happy days!! I prefer to be cautious, though, because I've seen and heard all sorts when it comes to travelling... I once was forced to check in my motorcycle helmet... Quite randomly, under the pretext that it could be used as a "weapon". Seriously. BTW, yes, you absolutely are allowed to bring your helmet in your carry-on. My personal experience/assumption is that if they feel like being a twat, they can pretty much do what they want. You can protest, but you can also miss your flight... Better to cooperate and stay cool. Most of the time, they are actually just doing their job and they simply don't know what they are looking at. Thank goodness they take the time to properly screen if in doubt... What a waste of time and money if all that security were just for show!! "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

"All the professions on the least likely list require empathy, the ability to see through someone else’s eyes and really feel for them." Civil Servant!!! That would explain a lot of my dealing with the French administration / taxes / anything that has to do with painful amounts of paperwork!!! "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

Les Fourmis. Recommend it to anyone who has a reasonable level of French

Scariest medication I've ever taken. Seriously. So? You're a skydiver aren't you? Yeah.... but.... one night having an hour long effed up phone conversation that I have no recollection of and also another night waking at some point during the night, I guess thinking I still couldn't sleep and taking more without any recollection or reason was a recipe for me ending up on an ash dive as the guest of honor. I live alone and worried terribly about what I could do while under it's influence. Flushed the remainder down the toilet. yeesh... This is the sort of thing I *don't* want to experience... Besides, I'm not a huge fan of drugs in general. Seems to me a lot of people take drugs that treat symptoms and not the root cause(s)... Wherever possible, I'd prefer to treat the source of 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

Funny, a lot of people have said this... Can't really think of any specific stress or even a general source of anxiety. Although worth investigating for sure - won't cost anything!! "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 did do shift work back in my military days, but not for a long time now. That said, I don't have a regular routine for getting to sleep. The only thing that is consistent is the difficulty in getting to sleep or staying asleep. Probably would get a whole lot better if I did have consitent habits. "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

Yep. Routine should help. And no stimulation. Really should do that. Good advice

Yeah... The "suck it up cupcake" is never very sensitive... Even though it's still kinda true. Dude... Everyone is right... Maybe you made a mistake, maybe you made a courageous decision. Time will tell. And time will heal. May not seem like it now, but it will. It will be ok. I say it again: it will be ok. "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

Maybe do something fun? Won't solve your problem, but might take your mind off of it. Is there a DZ near where you live? Maybe take some kind of class? Perhaps being busy is better than being alone with your misery. Hope you feel better soon... "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

Good for you

Huh. Probably a good decision, then. "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

Sleep and I have not gotten along, ever. Has anyone ever sucessfully cured/improved their insomnia? Please, no random advice from people who know nothing about insomnia. Unless it's funny. Funny posts always welcome

I deleted my post because I thought I probably just misread your reply anyway. And also it's probably me projecting in this case as I'm suffering from a "fresh wound" myself. So I'm probably coming off like a pratt. And anyway this thread isn't about me, so that just makes me a bigger pratt. To the OP - sorry for hijacking your thread. I revert back to my original post. It will be ok. You will be ok. Life lives on. (Sorry again.) "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

Like this? I was in jury duty this week (guilty), and one of the magazines they had laying around for the time in the jury room when we weren't deliberating had this ad in it. Wendy P. *Exactly* like that!! "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 agree with Wendy - might be a gentler crowd in the women's forum... Although I don't know why, since men experience breakeups just as much as women do, so you'd *think* they would be more sympathetic... Anyway, I don't know you but I recently experienced something that seems a bit similar... I didn't see a future, and it felt kinda selfish to stay in the relationship just because he was so wonderful. I don't want kids or marriage, but I also didn't see him in my future. It's very very sad to lose someone you love. Love is complicated, and sometimes it's not enough. I feel your pain... I'm telling you what I keep telling myself: it'll be ok. It'll get better. Just go through the motions for now... "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

Personally, I think these don't really do a good job at highlighting how we objectify women... Because of course a dude in women's clothes will look ridiculous. I say we should have the men in sexy (men's) underwear, all muscle-y and whatnot... Looking hot and *manly*... You know... To play fair... "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 got scared senseless when I heard a loud knock on my door last night... Firstly, Halloween is not big in France and secondly, there must be a grand total of 2 kids who live in this village... The two kids who knocked at my door!!! I had nothing to give them except some really crap lemon sweets I haven't eaten because someone gave them to me and I hate them. The only other thing I could have given them was beer or ketchup, but that just seemed wrong!!! They were so cute in their little costumes and absolutely delighted with the candy - I felt really bad "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

Been on both sides of the fence... There are horrible landlords/landladies and horrible tenants. Unfortunately, like when you're recruiting at work, you can't always get it right. As silly/basic as it sounds, pay attention to your gut. Meet the person/persons beforehand and have a chat with them. You can save yourself a lot of headaches/money with that shared cup of coffee... ETA - if your goal is to flip it in a few years' time, remember that you will need to refresh the place once the tenants are gone... So factor in 1 and a half or 2 renovations in your calculations (1 when you buy, another when you sell). Also, don't buy super-crap furniture if you plan on renting it furnished. Invest in a good couch and a good bed at the very least - in the long run it's cheaper than replacing these every time you change tenants. "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

Other. - Chicken arms. Wait. I still do that! D'oh. "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. "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

CANADA you mean i have read all of your posts with a British accent in my head for no reason at all. Why did i assume you were from the UK Probably because I lived in the UK for several years (even ended up with a British passport)... Also had "UK" next to my profile for a long time "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 just about anywhere could be an interesting place to live, as long as you have the option to move elsewhere if/when you tire of it. When I was 15 I spent a year in Sweden... I always thought I'd go back but it turns out there are so many places I'd love to discover I prefer to go somewhere new when I have the time/money to travel. People used to ask me when I would "go back home" (meaning Canada), but I kinda feel the same about it... If I did ever "go back," however, I'd probably like to try living out west for a change. "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 was reading an article about this guy who was at a crossroads in his relationship and he was feeling pressure to "do something"... Like simply being content with someone was not good enough - he had to take it to the next level. And if he didn't feel like taking it to the next level by that point, well, it was probably a sign that the relationship wasn't working, so he should cut away. So he flipped a frickin' coin to make up his mind!!!. The coin told him to break up. He did. Worst decision of his life, crawled back to her, proposed, now happily ever after, kids, et cetera. Couldn't be happier. Flipped a coin... You know, that is just probably the LAST thing that would come to my mind in a situation like that... Huh... Note: there is no point to this story... Just that it struck me as a unique thought process. "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