just wonderred where did you find your BF/GF/wife/hubby? your input will be very much appreciated :)

have a sweet night.

rouge

I met my wife at a friend's party.

Our eyes met across a crowded room, afterall she was standing in front of the mantel piece where I had left my beer.

She was looking at the hunky guy behind me through wine glazed eyes.

She was gorgeous, I was plain... I had taste, she had none... lmao

I gave up beer, she gave up wine... WE both now realise drinking can ruin your lives...lmao

rouge,
If you are too lazy to use the 'shift' key and too inconsiderate of those that may read your poat, not to let them know what you are talking about, before using initials or abbreviations, then I, for one, will not bother to respond to your query.

It is communication, not a quiz!

I registered at a conference in Cambridge University in 1980. A beautiful woman was also registering. We started to talk. I’m afraid we didn’t attend many sessions at the Conference. While the sessions went on we punted on the Cam, went mushroom gathering in the fields, went to the local galleries and bookstores, canoodled and talked and talked and talked. We went to London together after the conference and stayed at the Liberal Club for a week. We bid a tearful goodbye at Victoria Station expecting never to see each other again. I flew back to the US where I was living, and she went back to Norway.

I designed medical diagnostic systems in the US, and Philips, the Dutch Company I worked for, sent me to Europe two weeks later to test them. They let me go by way of Norway. The first day I was there we climbed a mountain overlooking beautiful Lake Iyern. We gathered berries and mushrooms on the mountain, and she used them to make one of the most delicious meals I have ever had. I continued to go back and forth between the Netherlands by way of Norway. Eventually she came to the US. Unfortunately she didn’t like the US.

When I retired we moved to Australia where she was born and lived until she graduated from university. She wanted to come home. Since she came to the US for me I came to Australia for her.

We live in the bush north of Brisbane. Parrots, butcherbirds, magpies, kookaburras and other birds visit us. Occasionally koalas, carpet pythons, goannas and dragon lizards also show up. I miss the US and sometimes go back, but it’s good here, too.

We still gather mushrooms and belong to the Queensland Mycological Society. We start each day with a big hug, and my feeling when I first saw her has deepened immensely.

thank you so much Opinionated2 and david f! so good to know lucky ones like you! you must know how lucky you both are!

opinionated2, your wife must be opinionated1...lol... i can tell it must be hilarious when the two of you are together...

David, i have to read twice your dramatic love story. 1stly it's too romantic to be true, 2ndly i wanna read and experience the warm feeling again...that daily morning big hug... i wish i can find a hubby and love eachother this way.

where can i find my hubby? working mon-fri, in such a beautiful city of sydney, i am still a lone :( i have to find a way to meet that one.... dont know how though, maybe church! hahahahahaha....

hi banjo, i dont know what made you so angry. i had to read your post 3 times to figure out what u were angrying about. lol... maybe it's the abbreviation of BF made you confused. but i am thinking that simply these two letters and a free discussion forum cant make a guy furious like this, you must had a bad day. take it easy, we all had bad days. Or maybe you are simply a hot-temperred man, like one of the IMs (investment managers) i know, Fire+oil Burning temperred...well, you dont wanna think about it.

thanks for all your input. have a nice evening!

rouge

rouge,
It is just pure laziness that some don't use the 'shift' key. It is simply that use of such things and commas, etc. makes reading so much easier. Like the practice of using u for you and r for are, and the like, is so stupid.

Is not English taught at schools today? You would not pass if you wrote an essay in that manner. Maybe you think it is smart.

As I said it is communication not a guessing game.

Be considerate of your readers and write Boyfriend/Husband. then they know what you are on about if you use initials after.

I can think of some terms that BF/hubby could mean, but the moderators may not approve

Banjo - I very much suspect that Rouge is not a native English speaker. In which case she is doing extremely well to express herself so fluently. English is a realy hard language to master and the vagaries of grammar and punctuation can be extremely puzzling and vexatious to someone not born speaking the language.

I agree that it looks as though you had had a bad day as this forum abounds with posts that exist in defiance of all rules of grammar and punctuation...and that's from native speakers. You don't usually explode like that to such people and this is, I think, the first time Rouge has introduced a topic.

I do hope that, if things haven't been good for you lately, they soon improve.

Rouge, - sorry if I have got it wrong and you are a native English speaker. I don't mean to be patronizing: I just hope that you will continue to post threads that do not, like so many, just go over old themes over and over again.

As to where I met my BF (actually, I thought that stood for Best Friend) or hubby? Well that would be quite a few different stories and I would have gone through my Word Limit by husband number 2!

I like this thread. It fleshes out the humanity of people I only know by pseudonyms and posts on contentious topics. I hope some of the people who I only know by their expressed anger will also contribute.

She was one of 3 paying crew on a yacht in Gladstone. They had paid to sail on the thing from Sydney to Darwin. The yacht was towed into Gladstone, after getting caught in heavy weather, damaging the sails, & filling the motor up with salt water.

I sailed my yacht into Gladstone, to visit some friends. I was on my way from the Solomon Islands to Sydney. I had been sailing around the near Pacific Islands, building jetties, & fixing tractors, & bulldozers for plantations, & isolated communities. I didn't know all that much about bulldozers, but I knew more than anyone else they could get to help them, so I'd been busy for a few years, & this was my first trip home for 5 years.

I got to know her, when I sorted the yachts motor out, while a few other yachties patched their sails up for them. They were now out of money, & headed for Mooloolaba, where the yacht owner could get work.

I dropped into Mooloolaba to see some friends, & got to know her in the couple of weeks I spent there. I sailed on to Sydney, spending a couple of weeks visiting friends on the NSW coast.

When I got to sydney, I found I had been reported as missing. She had been looking for me. I blame my 5 years of single handing on the yacht for what followed.

I now, 33 years later, live on 20 acres, 50Km from the sea. I have 2 horses, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 birds, & some goldfish, left behind by our kids. I do not have a yacht. I don't think I have even seen the sea in the last year.

I do see her from time to time, as she flits from one lot of grand kids to another. She wants to move into town, to be closer to the kids, but we can't as we must keep the horses etc, in retirement out here.

My advice to sailers, avoid Gladstone. Visiting Gladstone may disrupt to your life style.

Romany

"As to where I met my BF (actually, I thought that stood for Best Friend) or hubby? Well that would be quite a few different stories and I would have gone through my Word Limit by husband number 2!"

I thought BF stood for Best Friend too. And when I first read your post, Romany, I thought it read "husband number 21"!! I did sit up and do a quick re-read!

I see your point about the possibility of Rouge having English as a second language and like your fairness and your encouraging tone. I too would like to add that it's great to have new people posting topics so hopefully, Rouge, we see a lot more of it from you.

Though I would never have made a point of commenting, I am totally with Banjo on this one. I feel lack of punctuation and unclear abbreviations do make for difficulty in reading and are likely to cause confusion. It's already very easy to jump to wrong conclusions as it is, on a written forum like OLO, without adding to the likelihood of it occurring.

I'll make no judgement here, just in case Rouge isn't a native English speaker. But from what I've observed it's a generational thing and a product of growing up in the digital age where texting shortcuts are so prevalent. It's a lazy trend though and I think Banjo is quite right to bring it to our attention. Perhaps he could have been a bit less gruff in the process! :)

As for meeting hubby, it was a less than glorious moment - late at night in a crowded pub when we'd both had too much to drink. But we had a lot in common and thirty-four years later and still together I guess you could look back and say it was an auspicious moment in its way. The pub is still there and whenever we drive through that historical city of many pubs, enroute from the airport to visit our parents, we stop and toast to old times sake!

I keep sneaking back to this thread, weighed down with guilt.

'Cos I cannot actually recall the first time I set eyes on either of my partners.

No trumpets sounded. The earth neither moved, nor stood still. If our eyes did meet across a crowded room, they didn't inform us.

Promise you won't tell on me.

Romany.
What got my goat this time is that I had to read rouge's first post a few times to grasp what she was on about. BF in my circles, is short for bushfire. I did not consider her to be a person where English is her second language. At the time I thought her as a Uni student using OLO for research on a subject she may be writing a paper on.

From her second post, it seems she is looking at various ways she may meet her 'mate'. If she does meet someone maybe she should not write to him as she came across a being a lazy and inconsiderate person. That may be fine for a 'one nighter' but not the qualities a bloke looks for in a long term relationship.

I know I should not be critical of others writing skills as my own are far from perfect, but I do try and frequently make lots of corrections. Usually, I just ignore the use of popular shorthand or sometimes the whole post. I know you are familiar with the shorthand I have used here.

Dear Rouge,

Firstly, welcome to OLO.

It's great to come back from holidays and find
a new poster - with an interesting thread.

How did I meet my husband?

It was during a Student's Conference in Melbourne.
I travelled from Sydney, and was really looking forward
to the Conference. He was on the Committee organising
the Conference - and was responsible for helping us
"newcomers," settle in. He must have found something
about me that he liked because he simply attached himself
to me during the entire Conference - and showed me a
superb time. I of-course found him devastatingly attractive,
and didn't complain. The rest as they say is history.

We're married, have two children, and are still together
years later.

He was the first man (apart from my father)
who made me aware of my self-worth.
He's tender, satisfies my emotional appetite, and
makes me laugh.

Bronwyn & Banjo,

I'm not sure that the current cyber-script is so very damaging, though I quite see your point that, for those unused to communicating this way it can be annoying.

I tend to hold to the view that language (written or spoken) is a tool for communication and as long as it’s used to communicate meaningfully am not too picky any more.

With the growth of cyber-speak I have seen a huge growth in the numbers of people who have returned to the written word. People who have never picked up a book since leaving school, or written a letter in their entire life are now diving into forums and blogs and taking part in a world they always thought they were not qualified to take part in. That’s got to be a good thing, surely?

Notice I did qualify the word with communication with the word "meaningful". What I find hard to stomach is the semi-literate ravings of people who have no interest in communication as a two way channel, but simply as a one way street.

Short-forms and abbreviations assuredly get up some peoples noses, but to me, they don't render the English language as meaningless as phrases like "I would of thought", or "You better tow the line" do. At least a phrase like ‘u r gr8” gets the message across quite fluently and is structured in a grammatically correct form.

And Bronwyn...My only basis for BF= Best Friends are the gang down at Southpark. Are you also a fan? And yeah – 21 husbands? The Guinness Book of Records would be camping out on my doorstep by now, I guess. I’d be making Liz Taylor and Henry Tudor look like rank amateurs.

rough I got to know my girlfriend on my daily commute on the train. A group of us would sit together regularly and chat about all sorts of stuff and she joined the group.

I had the joy of getting to know her well before romance was an issue. I knew about how she treated others, enough about what kind of person she is to trust her and value her as a friend.

R0bert

"If she does meet someone maybe she should not write to him as she came across a being a lazy and inconsiderate person." (Quote:Banjo).

Are you serious? What a lousy welcome. Tell this OP...(original poster to you), how you met your partner,..or perhaps it might be better to say nothing more?

Just a thought.

Dear Ginx,

Welcome back!

It's been far too long.

Thanks kiddo. You've been holding your own against the forces of darkness very well I've noticed!!

How I met my wife
I was at a disco standing at the bar people watching as per usual.
In front of me were two women trying to have a night out (sisters as it would happen). There were two drunken erks who were trying it on and wouldn't take NO. The ladies were getting uncomfortable. Seeing their discomfort I press ganged a fellow knew and we went over to the girls
I went the she shorter gave her a peck on the cheek and said “Hi sweet heart, sorry we're late got held up at the office “
Turning to the erk I said in a friendly way “I'm (my name) and this is her boy friend (my acquaintances' name)“ Indicating my acquaintance and the other girl
We pulled a chairs and sat down. The two interlopers looked at each other said sorry mate we didn't know”
“ no worries pal, listen sweetheart have you eaten yet?”
The women played along.
3 months later while on a date she stood on the edge of Swanson St bridge and declared that if I didn't marry her she was going to jump into the Yarra ...further polluting the river as a environmentally minded chap what could I do? (that's my story anyway). 2 moths later we had a military styled wedding her dad walked behind me with a shot gun ( I'm kidding) The first wasn't until 18months later. 30+ years later. Strewth you only get 15 for murder and I don't get any time off for good behaviour either. :-) Ha ha ha? Dont-cha feel sorry for her having to put up with my warped sense of humour? :-(

Dear examinator,

You're back!

And about time too.

Seriously, I am so glad to see you posting again.

You had us all worried.

Welcome back!

Yay! Examinator and Ginx back in one thread.Frabjous indeed is the day.

Hi guys(should I say ladies and gentlemen?):

I have a mixed feeling after going through all your posts. Firstly, I'm lucky to find an online place where people truely put thoughts in their words; secondly, you got me right, I am not an English native speaker; lastly, I should find out more about this forum.

Now I feel the need to tell how I came here. The time when I first posted this thread, I was seeking some confidence that Mr.right still exists, at least for some people. It should be just a matter of where to find him, and I needed to see evidence from others. Then I googled for "forum". This forum was the first one on the list.

Online forum to me, is a magic and attractive place where I find valuable communications with people I may not know personly. I take it as an after work leisure. Maybe this is where i get this forum wrong. I didnt read much about other threads, I only planned to find a place where people exchange ideas on a casual basis. Now I can see this is a serious place where mostly you exchange political views and discuss current issues.

I dont know whether my casual & relaxed after-work attitude is welcomed here. I'm not sure now whether my points of interests on daily life are acceptable for discussion here. Just after a day's work dealing with serious emails and people, I do not feel like to be so careful/caucious like that during the day.

But one things I'm sure is i like this forum, it's value adding to me. Users here are not only rich in English grammar but also in original life experiences and opinions. This place is loaded.

G'night!
Rouge
PS: my first post is still expecting more answers :) Thanks!

PPS: what ever you may say, please don't use "stupid" or "seeking one nighter" on me. Firstly, I'm not either of them; secondly, it's for your own dignity not to talk like that as a well-educated person if by any chance you are. Thank you.

Dear Rouge,

I hope that you will keep on posting on
this forum. One of the things that attracts
many people here is the wide variety of
opinions. Please don't feel intimated by
any language limitations - time will take
care of that.

I too come from a non-English background -
you will find so many posters on this forum do.
So feel at ease - and as I've said in an earlier
post - WELCOME!

Dear Foxy and Rouge,

If you don't feel it is intrusive I would appreciate it if you would be good enough to tell us where you come from and what got you to Australia.

On this string I have answered those questions for myself.

Dear David,

My ancestry is a bit of a mix. My grandmother came from a
small village in Russia. She married a Lithuanian - and
moved to Lithuania - where my mother was born. She in
turn married a Lithuanian. They came to Australia as part
of the wave of "Displaced People," after the Second World
War.

I was born in Australia.

I have never been to either Russia or Lithuania, but
hopefully, one day I'll get to walk in the footsteps
of my ancestors.

Rouge
Don't worry too much about your 'English'. The logic and intent is far more important. A good thought written in imperfect "strine" is better than well written rubbish.
Some posters that you will encounter although "aussie"lack both cogent language and thought. So ignore their pointless criticism.
PS It was clear to me what you meant. Oh yes by the way Welcome to our corner of sanity (?).

Everyone
Despite the wishes of some antediluvians I survived with little more than some extra scars to add to my collection.
I want to believe that my survival was because of have been all your good thoughts. thanks team.
According to No2 son who is admirably under qualified in all things medical (a mud logger on a drilling team.) I am suffering or was from ZYMOCENOSILICAPHOBIA

Ok Fractelle you like puzzles what does this mean? Suggest you consider the etymological
options :-). Clue:youthful, slim was uncomfortable too.

On topic the moral of my saga is that chivalry has it's own punishment its unfemanism. ;-|

Dear examinator,

You suffer from Zymocenosilicaphobia?

Are you shitreous?

What's your choice of brew then?
(We'll have to make sure that your cup's overflowing).

Examinator

Back when I had a fully functioning liver I suffered from ZYMOCENOSILICACASCADEPHOBIA. The ale was a favourite brew.

Oh, topic.

Where to start? Met first hubby at same workplace. In, subsequent long term monogamous relationships, met partners through friends. I guess flings don't count, besides would exceed word limit and probably not all that interesting anyway...

However, my conclusion is this: best relationships have some space within which to move, in my case that means I have my own residence and he has his, none of this moving-in-with-each-other business. Therefore I always look good (to him) and am always pleased to see him - and vice versa of course.

Welcome Rouge to our little forum.

Damn, You've seen it before. :-(
No2 son went to Hahndorf and bought me a sticker.

Foxy
In my younger days it was Chivas Royal Salute+ *1* ice cube.
Now much poorer it's unwooded Collombard or Chard/Collombard
Kozel dark (ale) Czech beer. Available at Dan Murphy (important) chrissy present he he he
or 1pint Chocolate malt grain cracked, boiled and chilled.
1Kg dark Malt
2Kg Munich malt
1 desert spn. Haletau Hops
30 ltrs of water
Then let it brew..bottle...stand and ahhhh.
Yep I brew my own hence the diagnosis from No2
The good thing about Home brewing is that The above is low alc.
and to MY taste much to the disgust of sons 1&2 (that way they buy their own= :-) me rather than :-)+ :-)= :-( me ).
PS it's cheaper to

Dear examinator,

Now I'm impressed!

Hi dear team,

I was studying so hard after work these two days. This will be the same until early May when the exam finishes. Then i will have more time to read the posts here. Excited and Looking forward to that!

Thanks for your encouragement guys, and thanks for sharing your original life experiences. I am not going anywhere, haha, because here you have so much for me. I am not gonna miss that:)

To answer David's question that was asked in a very polite and caucious way, I am from China. I was born there too. What brought me here? It was love--> love for good weather and fresh air.(haha, David, this story is not like urs) It was right after my uni graduation, my parents said they were happy to support me wherever I wantted to go and whatever I would like to do. I still didnt want to work then and would like to go somewhere new with warm weather and fresh air, and where I could do a short further study before work. I sought opinions from my overseas friends(living in the State, Canada, UK, Australia)then; and it popped up for me, Sydney easily had it both and even had more to offer: safty and hopefully after my study lots of job opportunities. Simply like that, a choice made.

Hey I just learnt a new thing that I never heard before from Examinator, you are such a fun person and unpredictable. I might try it in my coming "housewarming" party.

Really too late now, better go to bed. Cant get rid of the dark circle around eyes until the exam I guess.

Btw, what are you fun teammates going to do with that 900AUD from Rudd? I will spend 200 on buying a gift for a friend who helped me alot in my recent moving. No plan for the rest yet, but no more shopping for sure.

G'night!
rouge