I just got home from an all day movie marathon at a friend's house, with new and old friends. The new friends are used to seeing me as Cathy, and they treat me as the female I present myself as, but two of the old ones hadn't ever seen me as Cathy, and I was a bit uptight when I got there. okay, I was a LOT uptight!

HELP

Can somebody please, pleeeease create a new 'Lexicon' section for all the odd acronyms in compu-speak that keep cropping up.
Then if an author feels like compiling an acronym of their own they can throw it in 'willy-nilly' or is that 'w-n'and leave an alphabetical translation in the 'Lexicon' section.

It's getting quite frustrating when authors leave ten letter acronyms that don't make sense to other readers, especially old farties, (like me who don't do geek-speak,) and foreign readers.
P.S. I don't do cryptic crosswords either.

Beverly.

Just to let everyone know we just had someone hit the majical year of 40 years old! Happy Birthday JenGrl! Richard

Hi all,

I'm grateful to Julie O for highlighting this report from the BBC in one of her stories. It's perhaps expected in a country where there are very poor and vulnerable people that some are exploited sexually, add it to a culture which is so constipated about treating women as equals to men, and a general backwardness and this happens.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11217772

Angharad.

Thanksgiving?

Why?

We had Thanksgiving at MY house today. 13 or 14 people around the house, chatting, eating, playing with my son's new baby.

All of them smiling, happy.

I asked what we had to be thankful for. The Grand baby, my son's job, the weight I've lost this year (120 pounds, more or less, thank you very much!), the food, everyone was happy on the outside.

Except me.

My family barely tolerates me, though God Forbid they should show it in public. My son says I'm "disgusting. My oldest commands, "don't embarrass us."

Sometimes, i find it hard to hold back from just telling everybody about my gender struggles, and getting it over with. Other times, I realize that to do that would bring all the consequences down on my head, without actually being able to have any real positive results, except I would be free from this terrible burden of having to lie, especially to the people i care about. I pray to God that I can endure, since I see no way to move forward at this time.

There are folk who are hungry,
But we have food.
There are folk who are cold and in danger,
But we are warm and safe.
There are folk who are alone,
But we have each other.
There are those who have sacrificed
Peace, comfort and joy
That we may have all of those things.
Let us be thankful then,
In memory of them.

One of the biggest issues I faced in passing was my smile, and for most of us T folk, lots of the time, there just does not seem to be much reason to do so.

However, I think a happy smile can be our biggest asset, even if we don't feel much like smiling. In my experience, slapping on a happy, mischevious smile before I leave the door, can make my day seem brighter, and generally makes other people respond to me in a much better way.

I'd like to give my thanks to Erin and the crew that helps to administer and provide this wonderful site;The authors who give from their souls to provide such wonderful stories; and all of the folk on here that have given such amazing support and advice in their blogs, comments and pms. Most of all, I want to thank my friends here, and the folk who have read and (I hope!) enjoyed the stories I have written. You are all such great people! Portia, Bailey, Armond, Angela and so many others who make my daily grind livable! Thank you so much!

Love,
Wren

I would like to take a moment and talk about the origins of the story i published called "A Cop's Story" It stared during a horrible moment, but by the time I finished writing it, it had become a sign of my progress. You see, I started having a flashback at work, and it was terrible, and i wasn't in a position to do much at that moment. But, instead of just being a victim, I responded by writing, and before long, i had mastered the flashback, and i had crafted (what i think) is a pretty good little story too.

Seeing the other authors who have posted their "Thanks" blogs reminded me just how much thanks I owe the community here as well.

In the past few years, I've gone through a lot of drama, most of which I've ended up posting about here. In all this time, no one has ever, EVER, been anything but supportive of me. Through all my ups and downs, Big Closet, and the many wonderful readers and writers therein, have always been there for me.

There is no way that I can thank you all enough, but I can try.

I have so many things to be grateful for this year. This has been one of the most stressful years of my life, but much of what caused that stress has been resolved and now all that angst seems so . . . meaningless.

There were many days when RL pressures became so intense I had to escape . . . and I came here.

Sure — there are those on BC who I think are laughable for a variety of reasons. And -- sometimes the rules are overbearing and the administration of those rules is heavy-handed.

All that being said — BC has given my life more purpose again and again for over a decade.

If you were paying for the SRS on a young teen, and you were like a kajillionaire, and you wanted them to do like the full meal deal, I wonder what could be done?

Lulu are doing a special promotion again, 25% off any order!

Simply select go to Scaramouch, choose your books/calendars and in the voucher box when you check out just put 'CYBERUK', the website will then automatically make the reduction.

Its for a limited period - until the 29th November, so take advantage now and get your reading matter before Christmas!

ttfn
Mads

Well, color me overwhelmed. The response to the first chapter of "The Lucky One" was amazing, and I thank everyone who has left a comment, you made a middle-age lady very happy. But I have other concerns to share with you all. I sort of have a crush, and its driving me crazy. She works at the day care that my daughter attends, and not only is she pretty, she is kind, gentle, and super nice. She is like a warm fire on a cool night, just being near her makes me feel better about everything. But, there are a few problems with asking her out. First, i am assuming she is taken.

For anyone who's interested there are two 13 month Gaby Calendars available for 2011, the first is illustrated Manga style by Mizutamari and the second follows Gab's on her Spring trip to Germany and Autumn trip to the Gabycon in Dorset.

http://www.lulu.com/product/calendar/gaby-by-mizutamari-2011...
http://www.lulu.com/product/calendar/gabys-travels-2011/1383...

Price is  £15 each - the cheapest package i could do.

Mads

Well, I posted my latest story, and I am waiting to see how well it is received. I am not going to beg here for kudos or comments unless they are deserved, but weather or not the story continues will depend somewhat on the response. I happen to think it was funny, but I am the AUTHOR for heaven's sake, so what do I know? I hope it lightened at least a few people's day, but we will have to see.