Stuck on Repeats

[dtb]

So my husband and a subset of the children spent the weekend in Brooklyn in a friend's house. In walking along a residential street in Park Slope, I witnessed the following:

A group of about 12-15 40-somethings and their various offspring and animal companions lolling about in the front "yard" on the steps of a brownstone. One of the bearded gents is playing a Cat Stevens tune on an acoustic guitar (he may have had some hummus from the communal table stuck in his beard) and singing along. At the chorus, everyone joins in.."Ooooh, BAYby, baby it's a wild world...".

I looked around to see if there was a tv or movie crew and I'd accidentally wandered onto the set of a hippie spoof film.

It seems that Park Slope is the butt of so many stroller jokes for a reason.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by dtb

So my husband and a subset of the children spent the weekend in Brooklyn in a friend's house. In walking along a residential street in Park Slope, I witnessed the following:

A group of about 12-15 40-somethings and their various offspring and animal companions lolling about in the front "yard" on the steps of a brownstone. One of the bearded gents is playing a Cat Stevens tune on an acoustic guitar (he may have had some hummus from the communal table stuck in his beard) and singing along. At the chorus, everyone joins in.."Ooooh, BAYby, baby it's a wild world...".

I looked around to see if there was a tv or movie crew and I'd accidentally wandered onto the set of a hippie spoof film.

It seems that Park Slope is the butt of so many stroller jokes for a reason.

Cat Stevens? Hummous? that wasn't a hippie party. Call the F. B. I.

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by dtb

So my husband and a subset of the children spent the weekend in Brooklyn in a friend's house. In walking along a residential street in Park Slope, I witnessed the following:

A group of about 12-15 40-somethings and their various offspring and animal companions lolling about in the front "yard" on the steps of a brownstone. One of the bearded gents is playing a Cat Stevens tune on an acoustic guitar (he may have had some hummus from the communal table stuck in his beard) and singing along. At the chorus, everyone joins in.."Ooooh, BAYby, baby it's a wild world...".

I looked around to see if there was a tv or movie crew and I'd accidentally wandered onto the set of a hippie spoof film.

It seems that Park Slope is the butt of so many stroller jokes for a reason.

"Hipp[sters] They're everywhere. They wanna save [vinyl], but all they do is [drink coffee, PBR and listen to bad music] and smell bad."
Eric Cartman

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

Cat Stevens? Hummous? that wasn't a hippie party. Call the F. B. I.

I'm sitting in a bar on Lake Superior in the UP....and they have 8 different single malts and several small batch bourbons. Globalization has ruined everything.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?

I'm sitting in a bar on Lake Superior in the UP....and they have 8 different single malts and several small batch bourbons. Globalization has ruined everything.

that isn't globalization, it's hipsterization- go read the graffiti on the stalls, 2 to 1 says there's a flower shout out.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Shape Shifter

Look, man, my brother is dying from nasopharyngeal cancer.

That's the way it goes, I guess. I appreciate the PMs of support I've received from Greedy, TM, Hank and others. It really doesn't make a lot of sense and there's not a lot you can say. I can't say it either but I appreciate the effort.

He's currently being ravaged by infections. Imagine sinus pressure constantly in your head, that's what he's dealing with. It got so bad that it burst his eardrums.

I don't really know what to do other than to try to make him comfortable, which is impossible. It sucks seeing someone suffer like that. And he's lost so much weight he looks like a Holocaust victim or an anorexic.

It looks like the infections are about ready to kill him. My Mom is freaked out because she's one of those people who feel like if you work hard enough and figure things out, you can overcome life's struggles. She refuses to acknowledge that there are things in life bigger than her, or if she does, they're of the tidal wave variety.

This isn't fun. My brother and I have managed to have some cool moments together, like watching the Battle for Guadacanal on the Military Channel toether.

But it hurts.

You're right - there isn't anything to say. That disease is so fucking relentless. I hope he's in as little pain as possible, and I'm sorry for you and your mom.

[Adder]

But this seems appropriate for some around here.

[LessinSF]

Originally Posted by dtb

So my husband and a subset of the children spent the weekend in Brooklyn in a friend's house. In walking along a residential street in Park Slope, I witnessed the following:

A group of about 12-15 40-somethings and their various offspring and animal companions lolling about in the front "yard" on the steps of a brownstone. One of the bearded gents is playing a Cat Stevens tune on an acoustic guitar (he may have had some hummus from the communal table stuck in his beard) and singing along. At the chorus, everyone joins in.."Ooooh, BAYby, baby it's a wild world...".

I looked around to see if there was a tv or movie crew and I'd accidentally wandered onto the set of a hippie spoof film.

It seems that Park Slope is the butt of so many stroller jokes for a reason.

I wish they were more precient. I am sitting in Bremen on a Tuesday night trying, and failing, at finding some wild.

LessinDuh

[ABBAKiss]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

Either very carefully or out in the open. For you I would recommend out in the open. If you find that you're scared to lose one of these dudes, you shouldn't be dating two guys anyway. And you just figured out which one you want. If you're not scared to lose one, just tell them both that you got out of a serious relationship and aren't looking for another one, but would like to hang out from time to time.

I've only done it in transition. All the other times (long in the past), I was just cheatin'.

TM

Excellent post. I've never dated more than one person at a time, but generally speaking if I want to date someone other than the first guy, it is pretty clear to me I don't see a future with the first guy, which is fine, of course, so long as everyone is on the same page! Also, yay Pretty Lady!

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally Posted by ABBAKiss

Excellent post. I've never dated more than one person at a time, but generally speaking if I want to date someone other than the first guy, it is pretty clear to me I don't see a future with the first guy, which is fine, of course, so long as everyone is on the same page! Also, yay Pretty Lady!

Question for the group: I've never dated two people at the same time and have no intention of doing so, but how does this work in practice? In the social circles in which I presently run, it would be unthinkable to show up at a social event with a date, and then another event involving the same people with The Other. Obviously my social scene is less imaginative than most, but doesn't this eventually devolve into two people with whom you're doing sex, only one of whom is used as a companion for all world-facing purposes?

NTTAWWT, of course, but I don't see the practicality of being a couple for social purposes with any more than one person at a time. Or am I being fusty and now everybody gets +2 wedding invitations?

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

Question for the group: I've never dated two people at the same time and have no intention of doing so, but how does this work in practice? In the social circles in which I presently run, it would be unthinkable to show up at a social event with a date, and then another event involving the same people with The Other. Obviously my social scene is less imaginative than most, but doesn't this eventually devolve into two people with whom you're doing sex, only one of whom is used as a companion for all world-facing purposes?

NTTAWWT, of course, but I don't see the practicality of being a couple for social purposes with any more than one person at a time. Or am I being fusty and now everybody gets +2 wedding invitations?

Perhaps neither of these people is yet at the "take them to functions with your friends" stage.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally Posted by Adder

Perhaps neither of these people is yet at the "take them to functions with your friends" stage.

Sort of my point, in which case you're boinking two people and then one of them advances in the tournament bracket to "boyfriend." But having two socially acknowledged boyfriends? Does that really work?

[Not Bob]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

Sort of my point, in which case you're boinking two people and then one of them advances in the tournament bracket to "boyfriend." But having two socially acknowledged boyfriends? Does that really work?

Egad! Did you see that Millicent was at the Conway reception at the club with the youngest Walker boy, yet the next day she was with Biff Hancock at the regatta? What is the world coming to?

If only DebtSlave were here to give us an essay on the distinctions between "Town" and "Country" that might be applied to this.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

Question for the group: I've never dated two people at the same time and have no intention of doing so, but how does this work in practice? In the social circles in which I presently run, it would be unthinkable to show up at a social event with a date, and then another event involving the same people with The Other. Obviously my social scene is less imaginative than most, but doesn't this eventually devolve into two people with whom you're doing sex, only one of whom is used as a companion for all world-facing purposes?

NTTAWWT, of course, but I don't see the practicality of being a couple for social purposes with any more than one person at a time. Or am I being fusty and now everybody gets +2 wedding invitations?

In my circle, usually it's a "I'm dating a lot of people because I just broke up and/or am looking for the next Mr/s. and/or I'm a player" situation. We all sort of know, to cite a recent example, that J has met two girls he likes and is dating both. Both have gone to art openings, concerts and dinner parties with him. We also know that J is likely to narrow down to one in a few months, followed a few months after that by a break up that sends him into a tailspin of random sex with a lot more than two for a few months until he can go through the winnowing process again. So seeing Jim with lots of different girls isn't unexpected (and we learn to forget their names). Same sort of thing with C and the guys she brings to things, though she's less likely to go through the winnowing process, and she'll pick and choose depending on the event. She'll bring J (different J) to the more presentable "I'm trying to be a grown up" and C to the "I'm still rebeling against my conservative parents" events. To be fair, she stopped a lot of this when she left Houston and I think she's more inclined to serial monogamy now than when she lived here.

Then, there's M, who is according to her husband 87% lesbian, and he can't give her everything he wants (though he's more than happy to help when she finds something she wants). So if we see her with some girl, we're just happy for her husband. Though they (and most of the other polyamorous married couples I know) tend towards your scenario of publically coupled and privately having all sorts of non-couply sexy-times. And I'm pretty sure that things have changed since they had the baby. R and T purportedly have a dungeon in their basement that isn't just for them. I think C likes girls as well as boys, and her husband J (another, different J) is more than happy to let her have her fun while he finds his own. Socially, though, I never see these people with anyone other than their spouses/partners. I know of one triple, but I don't know them well enough to know how they do it. They present themselves publically as a triple, and the three of them live together. I imagine that it works slightly because all three are gay than it would if it were a mix of sexes, so to speak.

(Initials because they're all facebook friends. Except for the triple.)

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

Sort of my point, in which case you're boinking two people and then one of them advances in the tournament bracket to "boyfriend." But having two socially acknowledged boyfriends? Does that really work?

Meh. Back when I used to actually "date", it wouldn't be unusual for anyone to show up with a different person from Friday to Saturday or from Sunday brunch to Sunday evening barbeque.

It only got "complicated" when you spent Saturday night with someone who was part of the group of friends, and then show up Sunday with someone who wasn't. Or, when someone in the group used to "date" x who was in the group and now "dates" y who is also in the group.