Chataya de Fleury

Indeed, one wonders if said grave robbings referenced were merely re-watches of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”.

You can note for The Dating Thread that The Doctor grew up in Florida and went to medical school at the University of Florida, and Go Gators. I have now reduced your available Florida jokes to approximately 20 or so.

I’m drinking a lot on an airplane, but that’s because I woke up at 1 am and it is now 3:30 pm (all times quoted are local time to the eurozone) and I’m now halfway over the Atlantic. The Doctor and I had a FABULOUS time. We both got sick with A Cold about halfway through the trip. He had a naaaasssty bout of food poisoning in Lisbon. Despite the above, we had an AMAZING time

My clubs are indeed terribly exclusive despite the hoi polloi attempting to overtake them. Delta Diamond Medallion and Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum members, unite!!

As a young lady who has previously legally changed her name (removing a never-used first name which only Caused Issues at passport control and such) I can assure all that a legal name change is not an easy process and is not undertaken lightly.

That and when Fire and Jace starts to make sense, it’s all like DAYUM.

To update on my situation: Apparently, when the Doctor was a bit fucked up, he said what he said re our upcoming vacation. I think he might have taken something to help him sleep. Even if not, and he was just stressing, sometimes he just needs me to smack his ass down to reality and say “I am not that important at the office and if I am, they need to pay me EVEN MOAR”. Also, apparently his thing about the concert was he wanted us to go with one of his friends and their girlfriends, or his brother and the brother’s girlfriend. I really like the brother’s girlfriend. She is super awesome. Sadly, it was too cold out for them. Hey, I get it, Atlanta chill is bone-chilling. He is on call this weekend and fortunately only had one call. Do not call your doctor on weekends, people, unless you do a telemedicine video visit and therefore pay for it. Otherwise, it is entirely possible that the doctor on call covering your doctor’s practice is getting a blow job while you describe the color of your snot, and tells you to call your doctor tomorrow at 8 am because no, he literally cannot call in something containing hydrocodone for you. In Georgia, that requires a two-factor authentication fob with a pharmacy or more commonly, a written prescription on watermarked paper, and neither of those options are happening if he doesn’t know you and your medical history extremely well. He did call in a narcotic for a cancer patient who ran out of it yesterday with enough supply until Monday, but that’s documented, not just yellow snot and a cough.

I think he’s pointing out that people of color can be antisemitic? Just because one is a minority doesn’t make one an angel? Its an ugly topic, to be sure.

In other words, DETAILS!!! We want DETAILS!!!!

The above is first of all satire, as Ran pointed out, and also a clear nod to The Washington Post motto of “Democracy Dies in Darkness”. Think “E-trade baby” in his little finance bro fleece zip vest. This may be a very U.S.-specific in-joke.

Big hugs, my dear. Anxiety is the WORST.

Totally would get Chapter 11 experience and probably be on the receiving end of an M&A transaction…

I can comprehend! Also, I saw earlier that the whole financial reporting team walked out. OF COURSE THEY DID. I would have been gone as soon as the company went private, with a nice severance package and all my stock having vested due to change-in-control provisions. Can he take this loss? I dunno. We need a taxpert, stat. I summon… @Mlle. Zabzie!!! (Por favor)

No chain mail bikinis, I give the artist that, for sure…

Uuurg, I am going to need to talk to him, because last night he was saying stuff like “maybe you should stay home from the Portugal trip” WTF, I have paid for half the Portugal trip. And then it sounds like he wants to go out on Saturday by himself?? Ummmm…or maybe with his guy friends (100% acceptable)…but that combined with his Portugal statements makes me start thinking of “I feel —— when you say ——“.

I re-read the one with Salmissra after I did a chemical peel and my skin was shedding like a snake.

I think you make some initial mention of it, to give the issue its due and also provide a background: You’re aware of the recently uncovered history, here, but you’re going to separate the art from the artist (as it were) and discuss the work solely in context of being a YA reader in the 80s/90s / vs how well the novels hold up now, etc. I am of the path….omg, did not realize that we were all on the same path, here, people, in the mid-late 80s and 90s…. Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, David Eddings, Feist, Weis & Hickman, Anything Forgotten Realms…

Yes, I believe I am being truthful when I say that I am only on LinkedIn for social media…I call the Board a “book club.” A “book club that meets online” if I’m pushed

Adult acne is fairly common. Acne is not really tied to diet (this is a myth that has been around since at least the 1980s). You might be over-doing it to your skin, with witch hazel AND acne cleanser AND acne exfoliating scrub. Less is often more, in the skin game, especially as we age out of teenage skin. The whole cleaner-toner-moisturizer as “routine” thing was set up to sell skin care products. Your skin could be sensitive and breaking out BECAUSE of all of these products, some of which are quite harsh, even in isolation. Even if one swears by such a routine, having multiple active products in that routine can spell trouble. You might consider cutting back to one active product for a few weeks (i.e - try a mild cleaner and neutral moisturizer and the Clean & Clear scrub if you think you really need the exfoliant action and want to maintain a three-part system of a routine; or something similar, keeping your favorite product as the active product of the three). I personally only use an “active” product (in my case, 4% hydroquinone and Vitamin C serum) every other day and also only use it a few months at a time - due to the nature of hydroquinone, in my case. If one considers that *three* active steps might not be advisable, the “K-beauty” trend of having a 13-step skincare program on a daily basis can cause havoc with sensitive or sensitized skin. The other possibilities in your 30s are genetic or hormonal. If limiting your skincare to one active product doesn’t work, you should consider seeing a dermatologist. They can help with the acne that seems like it cannot be assailed. You might also consider what kind of acne you seem to have. Is it: 1. Blackheads / whiteheads? This would lead me to think hormonal or genetic, but still can be helped OTC. If milia, these can be taken care of by a dermatologist or a good aesthetician. 2. Is it a lot of erythema (redness) and solely pustular? This would be second stage rosacea, which is classic adult acne and you just need more gentle products. 3. Is it nodular, cystic acne? Only curable by dermatology, there is literally nothing you can do here OTC. Or, is it a combination of the above? You can easily find photos of acne subtypes online (thank you, Doctor Google), if you are unfamiliar with the subtypes. I was on Accutane twice in my life - once in mid-twenties, one in mid-thirties, so I know what it’s like to have nodular, cystic acne at that time of life. As someone of Northern European heritage, female, and over the age of 30, I have also been beset by rosacea. ETA: With hormones, I believe, in my limited experience, that it might be easier for people who identify as female to get help in this area, as most of the hormonal methods of helping acne are geared towards women. For example, there is an androgen antagonist that is helpful for women who battle blackhead/ whitehead acne, as are some formulations of the Pill, and for me in my post-menopausal state with no uterus, unopposed estrogen.

@Tywin et al. - I’ve had people shocked that I’m not in my 30s (I look younger without makeup, which I rarely wear). This isn’t bragging, except to brag on the work my plastic surgeon, dermatologist, hairdresser, and personal trainer have all done. I think that the Doc probably does want to feel better about himself, whether consciously or subconsciously. He’s not unaware that his hair is thinning. He’s 54. But he sleeps like crap. I prioritize sleep. I think he’s trying hard to feel better about himself and also does at times ascribe to the outdated thinking that you reference regarding desirability and availability of dating partners. He has failed to account for the rise of THE COUGAR, the successful older woman who can snag a boy toy. Or the older woman who could snag a boy toy, but prefers men of substance for conversational purposes, technique if not frequency in certain aspects, and who pays her own way. I apparently caused quite a stir during a “guy’s lunch” at one point, among his friends, as he told them that I had insisted on paying for my own plane ticket to Italy and then paid for the hotel room on the latter half of the trip. None of these men had heard of such a thing. He apparently used to lie about his age as being “48” (he did that even when I clicked on his profile) and date much younger women. Which got him Baby Mama, nine years ago. (Great choice, bro, lol).

I agree wholeheartedly with that last paragraph.

No, he did not flub the math. He’s basically saying that women, in the dating market, have an age bias against them. Glad that things are going well with you and Miss V…here’s raising a glass to the health of Miss M!!

I would like all people who are commenting, here, to “carry your own bottle” that, at times, it is absolutely unavoidable to buy bottled water. Here’s why: I rinse my sinuses. Doing so with tap water is dangerous. Yes, it’s a minimal danger, but I’d still prefer a zero chance of introducing an incurable brain-eating ameba to my brain rather than a non-zero chance. Therefore, when sinus-rinsing time comes, I choose bottled water. Yes, it is possible to boil water and then wait until it cools…but, that’s kind of impossible when staying at a Marriott somewhere. So, I prefer buying a 1 liter bottle of distilled water at a local Target or Wal-Mart, and doing my mixing into the neti pot with the salt packets with that water. It works. Nothing is wasted. I do find that particular distilled water bottle plastic to be very easily crushable for recycling. Marriott also has a recycle vs garbage, which I’m sure all major hotel chains do by this point

Still clueless as to why this is applicable, but the scenes were amusing.

Totally not understanding why…