You not quizzing it tonight MM??

Patsy, I'm just sharing the conversation I had as I found it quite thought provoking, I'm very glad you burnt your bra etc and thank f**k I am not my colleague as that would drive me to jump off a cliff, I do (as much as I moan sometimes) love my life, note why I am single and independent, I've never felt the need to settle for someone and haven't met anyone who has made me want to settle, and am quite happy on my own most of the time, however as a single woman I do get tired of being judged, being called a slut for having casual sex, having something wrong with me for being single, or having pity from people that think having a partner is the be all and end all.

The conversation was about whether you can actually have it all which you are led to believe you can, but inevitably to have it all compromises have to be made. I do find it very interesting with such a mix of nationalities how they view life and how different we are, and sometimes it just makes you think how different our lives could have been.

As a PERSON, you have the right to do what you want to do with your life darling. It has nothing to do with being a "single woman" tell them all to go F**k themselves sweetie.

lol will do pats- enjoy the bubbles x

hell...i knew there was something i'd forgotten, lol...

MM, xx

At the risk of sounding like a big cry baby-Men never have it all, and they usually end up with nothing. When my kids call home they all say "hi dad, is mom there?", they don't wanna talk to me, they think I might start yelling at them or something. Most husbands spend their entire lives doing things they'd never do if they didn't have a wife and family to support..Things like working a mundane job for 30 years- and nobody appreciates it, nobody ever says "thanks for giving your life away for us dad!?" nobody recognizes the ultimate, supreme sacrifices that men make.

But my wife has it all, she has the kids who adore her, she's always had the time to do whatever she wanted (she just never wanted to do anything) and she knows that if she throws a big enough fit theres nothing she can't have. Furthermore when my wife is out of town I wake up, grind coffee and start brewing it all by myself. While it's brewing I throw all the dishes into the machine, wipe the counter tops, then a run a wet mop over the floor real fast, then I run around the living room with the vacuum, then I run downstairs, throw the garbage bag into the garage, and throw a load in the washer. I do all that before the coffee is done, it's not that hard. A life of leisure for 12 minutes of work a day? I like that kind of party.

and I was going to come down tonight!

There's someone you should meet..........

An old mate (nicknamed Shoulders, because he seems able to self-dislocate them) does exactly that as a party trick...............

tobe there, there's no-one like the English.

And that can be a good and a bad thing, but they look at us as if we're mental quite a lot.

Hey guys, what about my comments?

thought you had gone to Russia??

Hello Bonita,

I have the same relationship with my dad, but then if I do get into a conversation about anything interesting he normally reminds me he has something to watch on telly and finishes the conversation as quickly as possible or gives his opinion which is final. I did go through a phase of wondering if he actually likes me, but then discovered he rambles on about me to his friends and family- funny as for years I thought I was a huge disappointment. I generally think we have nothing in common- he often looks at me like I'm from a different planet. When I went home in January for the first time since being here he met me at Kings Cross and when he saw me started crying- I'd never seen my dad cry before, but then on the way home we'd run out of things to say within 10 minutes and ended up listening to magic fm. He never asks me about any of my personal life so I guess he just isnt interested. Perhaps your kids feel the same way about you. I love him and its just the way our relationship is, but I get the distinct impression he doesn't want to talk to me.

And as for your housework skills- feel free to come around and do my place as it currently looks like a bomb has hit it.

What is interesting is how no one really gives a toss about men. We are still more likely to die a violent death than women, are subject (if statistics are believed) to increased amounts of domestic abuse at the hands of women (try walking into your local nick and telling them your missus is the one who gave you all those bruises and hear the chuckles)...we don't live as long as women and generally have poorer health in old age as more money is put into researching female specific illness than male, the education system lets more boys down every year, more new jobs go to women in most western countries too, and we are still often expected to be walls of emotionless stoicism in the post-feminist world.

Men have had their wings clips in the post modernist west. Gender roles haven't been liberated, they have often just been re-definied - both men and women struggle. We may have far more legal equality but we still as a society haven't figured out what we want for ourselves.

N.

Wot he said.

All true. But on the flip side, we can piss against trees which has a lot of benefits.