Saturday night.... and I'm home alone...

André in Zuid-Afrika · Saturday night.... and I'm home alone...

Boyfriend is away for the weekend, visiting his parents.

So what does one do on a Saturday night, alone at home... I seem to have forgotten...

André in Zuid-Afrika

OK, I've cleaned the fridge now.... watched some television... cut the grass....

I'm bored...

patriccke

Watch one of your 750 DVDs with Namibian actors?

André in Zuid-Afrika

Joanne · Re: Saturday night.... and I'm home alone...

OMG, André, what is it about you Southern Hemisphere guys? Australia, South Africa, Namibia...hunks just fall out of the trees in those countries, don't they? Damn!

André in Zuid-Afrika · Re: Saturday night.... and I'm home alone...

André in Zuid-Afrika

The thing is.... I miss him

Deborah

You mean it's been so long since you've spent a Saturday night alone that you've forgotten what to do?? Hmph. Just rub it in.

Joanne's suggestion of doing the laundry on Saturday night doesn't work for me -- I have to go to a laundromat, and for some reason, Saturday night is a BIG night for the families in this neighborhood to do their laundry. I went there a few weeks ago and actually had to wait 20 minutes for a machine to free up. And there were little, shrieking kids all over the place. Never again.

Next time, andre, plan ahead and drop by SF for a visit!

Uriel

André in Zuid-Afrika

André in Zuid-Afrika

patriccke

André in Zuid-Afrika

Here.

(only extracts from songs) Click on the names of the songs underneath his pic.

http://www.platinumpromosies.co.za/player.php?artid=7

Uriel

Wow! I will have to give ol' Serge an extra cuddle tonight!

Deborah

André in Zuid-Afrika

André in Zuid-Afrika

How to say "Ï love you" in 100 languages...

English - I love you
Afrikaans - Ek het jou lief
Albanian - Te dua
Arabic - Ana behibak (to male)
Arabic - Ana behibek (to female)
Armenian - Yes kez sirumen
Bambara - M'bi fe
Bangla - Aamee tuma ke bhalo aashi ani
Belarusian - Ya tabe kahayu
Bisaya - Nahigugma ako kanimo
Bulgarian - Obicham te
Cambodian - Soro lahn nhee ah
Cantonese Chinese - Ngo oiy ney a
Catalan - T'estimo
Cheyenne - Ne mohotatse
Chichewa - Ndimakukonda
Corsican - Ti tengu caru (to male)
Creol - Mi aime jou
Croatian - Volim te
Czech - Miluji te
Danish - Jeg Elsker Dig
Dutch - Ik hou van jou
Esperanto - Mi amas vin
Estonian - Ma armastan sind
Ethiopian - Afgreki'
Faroese - Eg elski teg
Farsi - Doset daram
Filipino - Mahal kita
Finnish - Mina rakastan sinua
French - Je t'aime, Je t'adore
Gaelic - Ta gra agam ort
Georgian - Mikvarhar
German - Ich liebe dich
Greek - S'agapo
Gujarati - Hoo thunay prem karoo choo
Hiligaynon - Palangga ko ikaw
Hawaiian - Aloha wau ia oi
Hebrew - Ani ohev otah (to female)
Hebrew - Ani ohev et otha (to male)
Hiligaynon - Guina higugma ko ikaw
Hindi - Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae
Hmong - Kuv hlub koj
Hopi - Nu' umi unangwa'ta
Hungarian - Szeretlek
Icelandic - Eg elska tig
Ilonggo - Palangga ko ikaw
Indonesian - Saya cinta padamu
Inuit - Negligevapse
Irish - Taim i' ngra leat
Italian - Ti amo
Japanese - Aishiteru
Kannada - Naanu ninna preetisuttene
Kapampangan - Kaluguran daka
Kiswahili - Nakupenda
Konkani - Tu magel moga cho
Korean - Sarang Heyo
Latin - Te amo
Latvian - Es tevi miilu
Lebanese - Bahibak
Lithuanian - Tave myliu
Malay - Saya cintakan mu / Aku cinta padamu
Malayalam - Njan Ninne Premikunnu
Mandarin Chinese - Wo ai ni
Marathi - Me tula prem karto
Mohawk - Kanbhik
Moroccan - Ana moajaba bik
Nahuatl - Ni mits neki
Navaho - Ayor anosh'ni
Norwegian - Jeg Elsker Deg
Pandacan - Syota na kita!!
Pangasinan - Inaru Taka
Papiamento - Mi ta stimabo
Persian - Doo-set daaram
Pig Latin - Iay ovlay ouyay
Polish - Kocham Ciebie
Portuguese - Eu te amo
Romanian - Te iubesc
Russian - Ya tebya liubliu
Scot Gaelic - Tha gra'dh agam ort
Serbian - Volim te
Setswana - Ke a go rata
Sign Language - ,\,,/ (represents position of fingers when signing'I Love You')
Sindhi - Maa tokhe pyar kendo ahyan
Sioux - Techihhila
Slovak - Lu`bim ta
Slovenian - Ljubim te
Spanish - Te quiero / Te amo
Swahili - Ninapenda wewe
Swedish - Jag alskar dig
Swiss-German - Ich lieb Di
Tagalog - Mahal kita
Taiwanese - Wa ga ei li
Tahitian - Ua Here Vau Ia Oe
Tamil - Nan unnai kathalikaraen
Telugu - Nenu ninnu premistunnanu
Thai - Chan rak khun (to male)
Thai - Phom rak khun (to female)
Turkish - Seni Seviyorum
Ukrainian - Ya tebe kahayu
Urdu - mai aap say pyaar karta hoo
Vietnamese - Anh ye^u em (to female)
Vietnamese - Em ye^u anh (to male)
Welsh - 'Rwy'n dy garu
Yiddish - Ikh hob dikh
Yoruba - Mo ni fe

Elaine

"I love you" in ASL:

Which you see our President signaling here to the beloved American people:

Deborah

Except for the position of his thumb. Does Dubbya's hand position mean anthing in ASL?

Elaine

I think he's just mispronouncing.

Deborah

Porthos

I remember reading that it's actually a sign the free-masons use. It's nothing mystical. It's just something they do.

Kirk

Elaine

Porthos

André in Zuid-Afrika

Turns out I will have to get used to spending Saturday nights alone again... (Now ex)boyfriend has decided a much older (and far richer) man can fulfill his needs much better than I can. The two of them are going to Amsterdam (where his new guy comes from), where they will live. The new guy will be able to provide (buy) him with everything he needs, and he will be living in luxury with him. Hopefully that will make him happy. I'm hurt, I'm sad, I'm angry. I love him unconditionally, but apparently that's not enough. I just don't understand...

Uriel

Oooh, hate to hear that, Andre.

Sadly, love does NOT conquer all, in my experience. You can love somebody with your whole heart and still be completely wrong for each other, or have a terrible relationship. And then it's just doubly frustrating, because you feel like you've just worked so hard ... for nothing.

You said he was already much younger than you ... and now he's leaving you for a much older man? With $$$ to spare? Does the word "golddigger" mean anything to you?

Much as he might have had good qualities about him that you fell in love with, it sounds like he really loves only himself -- and isn't shy about taking advantage of people to get what he wants.

Deborah

Sorry to hear it, André. You deserve a really great love. (Don't we all!) It's time for you to get a dog!

patriccke

Sorry to hear that. Someone like that didn't deserve you

Fredrik

Yes, you are the best, André! Don`t let this knock you out!

Pauline

It's very sad

André is very nice and kind and don't deserve such cruel and mean things.

The horrible man who's going to Amsterdam

I hope the new rich boyfriend will take him to Amsterdam then after one month he will get fed up and have a different new boyfriend so he will change the locks on his door of the house and so the nasty one can't go in the house. Then he don't have somewhere to live in Amsterdam and he will find it very cold and there's snow, hail, rain and wind. he will phone André in South Africa, but André don't answer his phone because André's new boyfriend answer it and tell the previous boyfriend that he hasn't heard of him, but he's a very kind person so he will help him, but suddenly the phone line was disconnected because the man in Amsterdam hasn't more money and his mobile phone was in the house. So, he hasn't money at all and also not a boyfriend.

Harrenys Targaryen

I might just have to fly over to NL to show your ex that no one messes with you and gets away with it...

...the least I can do is to sit down with you to an overdue plate of Danishes and a tall glass of aquavit.

*sighs*

Walker

Porthos

I'm really sorry to hear that Andre. I wish you the best on your next relationship.

Drama drama, drama! Everywhere. All the time. Such is life.

André in Zuid-Afrika

Thanks for all the messages guys! I took some time out, had a lot of emotions to work through, but I'm OK now! Anyway, better to have found out now what he was really about than later... Good riddance... Funny how one easily ignore warning signs when you don't want to see them...

And I guess while I'm sharing an intimate part of my life with you guys already, I might as well go all the way. I suffered a heart attack on Saturday night, luckily getting to the hospital in time. A fairly hectic lifestyle, a heavy workload, and the breakup which caused a lot of stress, culminated in what I can only conclude as my body warning me to take it easy. I was discharged from hospital this morning, and will spend the next two weeks at home, resting, And rethinking my life. The good news is that the damage to my heart is fairly limited, and it should recover quickly as long as I make the necessary changes to my life.

Loic

Awfully glad that you're back amongst us, safe and sound!

Deborah

I was just about to PM you since you haven't visited the forum recently, but I decided to look at this thread first. Wow, how awful! I'm so glad you're back with us. Take care of yourself.

Fredrik

Oh my God, andré! I'm so relieved you survived it all right!

Harrenys Targaryen

Holy crap, that's horrific...at least you're safe now. Please take it easy, for your sake and all of ours.

It would have royally sucked to lose our second chief.

Pauline

i don't know what to write but it seem you've had a very, very sad and scary time and I hope that you will get better soon and feel more happy as well.

Icke

Hi André,
I'm sorry to hear that. I really hope that you are alright again! Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between important and unimportant things in life.

André in Zuid-Afrika

Thanks everybody!

You have no idea how happy I am to be back on the forum.

I've decided to share my experience because I believe it could be of some value at least to some of you. Secondly, while all my friends have rallied around to support me, I find I really need to talk about it and writing about something is the best way for me to "talk".

I actually had two heart attacks. The first one was fairly mild, and happened while I was having coffee with friends in the afternoon. It felt like heartburn, and I didn't take it seriously. I felt better, and went home and slept a while. On the spur of the moment I invited friends over for a braai. Shortly after they arrived, I started feeling the pain again, which was in fact the start of the second, much more serious heart attack. I felt increasingly bad, but still convinced that it was simply heartburn. I went to lie down for a while,. One of my friends, who has some medical knowledge, started to realise that something more serious was going on. I took two pain killers (aspirin), which turned out later to be the best thing I could have done, and might well have saved my life. (The pain killers had the effect of diluting my blood).

My friend finally convinced me that I needed to get to the hospital. Despite the pain, I managed to retain consciousness throughout, and walked into the hospital (much to the surprise of the staff!!)

After a quick examination, I was rushed to the operating theatre, throughout retaining conscousness. Luckily a bypass wasn't needed, since the damage to my heart was limited. Stents were planted in my heart to open the blocked arteries. Here is an explanation of the operation done.

Akoni

It's very good to hear you made it through and that you are feeling ok. Realising that life is so fragile is indeed quite an impact, I realised that after my dad had died. For you it must be an even greater shock, going through this. I wish you all the best in picking up the wire that is life again, I'm sure you'll succeed! May your "new" life be long and fortunate!

Loic

Thank god you're still alive and kicking, Andre! I read that when people have been brought back from the brink of death, they find that their lives are infused with new meaning and that they are motivated to live each remaining day of their lives to the fullest.

Benjamin [inactive]

Oh my God... André!!! I'm so relieved that you're alright!!

So basically, did you feel a pain down one arm when it happened?

André in Zuid-Afrika

Uriel

Hey, a broken heart is not supposed to actually break your heart!

So glad to hear that you got through okay! I'm sure they gave you the reassuring news that once you've had a heart attack, you are at increased risk for another one, or worse, a stroke. And yes, smoking is a major culprit in both -- you can't begin to imagine all the long-term insidious damage it does to all sorts of organs in your body!

I have never (knock on wood) had any major life-threatening events, but now that I work in a hospital where the vast majority of patients are suffering from stroke, heart failure, and pulmonary disease and see all the damage (most of it permanent) that they have to endure, I, too, am beginning to assess my lifestyle for things that will become risk factos in the future -- at 34, it's not too soon, since most of the things that lead you down that spiral are slow and cumulative and have no major symptoms, like high blood pressure and obesity and high cholesterol -- you will feel perfectly healthy until that plaque breaks loose or that artery is occluded or your blood vessel bursts. Then you get to look forward to death, or brain damage, or paralysis, incontinence, having a machine clamped to your face all night to help you breathe, etc. It's nothing to look forward to, that's for sure.

Whatever changes you have to make, make now. You really did get a second chance.[/code]

André in Zuid-Afrika

Deborah

André, your story inspired me to do something I virtually never do -- I took an unscheduled day off from work today. I have the misfortune (or so it seems at time) of being very healthy and usually resistant to run-of-the-mill diseases such as colds, flu and the norovirus that's making its way through SF currently, so I never have what I think of as a legitimate excuse for being absent from work. I also don't go out drinking, so I never have the excuse of having a bad hangover, which I know is often the reason why a couple of my coworkers often don't show up at work. However, I sleep very badly and the combined stress of that and of working in a stressful job I've come to hate have had an effect on my heart.

So at 5:00 this morning, when I was still unable to sleep and was dreading having to get through yet another possibly very stressful day at work after very little sleep, I thought about you and what you said about rethinking your life, and left a voicemail at the office saying I wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be in. If everyone else does it, why shouldn't I? I slept until about 2:30 in the afternoon, lay in bed for another hour until I absolutely felt like getting up, and I've been goofing off ever since. I feel SO much better, and -- I just realized -- since I've been up, I haven't had any of the irregular/rapid/thumping heartbeats I've been feeling so often lately.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about what you've been feeling since your terrible experience. I'm rooting for you to succeed in mending your heart and your life.

Loic

Hmm...I should really take a long and hard look at my nicotine habits then. I have always justified this vice on the grounds that I lead a fairly active lifestyle.

Uriel

Nicotine does a lot of damage to your blood vessels. No amount of exercise counteracts that. It raises your cholesterol levels, damages your lungs' alveoli, and contributes to early erectile dysfunction (after all, getting it up is dependent on having a good blood supply). It also raises your blood pressure. All of these contribute to stroke. All of these things also damage your heart and block your arteries, leading to heart attacks. And all of these start happening in your thirties and forties.

And plenty of the people I've seen suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, aka what happens after a lifetime of smoking) are thin and in good shape for their age -- they just can't breathe very well, and rely on oxygen or CPAPs (a machine that forces pressurized air through a mask that you wear while sleeping) to get through the day.

The ones who don't wear their CPAP at night suffer cognitive deficits related to the fact that their oxygen levels can fall to pretty low levels while they are asleep, resulting in small amounts of brain damage -- readings in the 80's, 70's, and even 60's have popped up on overnight oximetry studies that we do all the time. (You run in the high 90's or even at 100 on normal "room" air; anything below 90 earns you a nasal cannula and a portable O2 tank).

Almost all smokers will show some degree of emphysema in their lungs upon autopsy.

It causes almost all cases of lung cancer, but it seems to also increase your risk of other cancers like bladder and cervical cancer. And women my age who smoke can't take the pill -- their chances of throwing a blood clot are too high.

I could go on and on -- but basically, none of these long-term effects have anything to do with how physically fit or active you keep yourself. I had no idea how extensive the effects were and how many other diseases smoking exacerbates until I worked at a hospital. I knew it caused lung cancer, and emphysema, but that was it. It's been a real eye opener.

And the amount of nurses and doctors who light up anyway is a testament to how addictive it is -- they, of all people, know exactly what they will be in for.

Here's a nice little list of All The Things That Can Go Wrong:

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/smokehealth.htm

André in Zuid-Afrika

Uriel

I don't think there's anything wrong with playing hooky for a day to get some well-deserved mental health or stree relief. Stress is an actual physical phenomenon that does affect your health -- when you are stressed, especially on a chronic basis, your body releases a lot of cortisone -- the "stress hormone". This is the hormone that puts you emotionally on edge (and physically as well, because it keeps your body in a sort of borderline fight-or-flight state). It also lowers your immune response (and I think affects your heart as well) which is why being tired and overworked often leads to illness.

Interestingly, cortisone is chemically almost identical to testosterone, which has most of the same effects!

Deborah

I've read that it also causes you to gain weight.

By the way, I believe we're actually talking about cortisol, not cortisone (which is imitation cortisol).

Uriel

You are correct -- cortisone is actually the precursor of cortisol (so it is found naturally in the body as well as being artificially synthesized), and is itself inactive. The effects I described are more properly ascribed to cortisol, which is the active form.

André in Zuid-Afrika

Uriel

Today, not one, but two guys I like called me up -- of their own accord!

(And woke me up, the bastards -- they both know I work at night but apparently feel that I should not be snoozing past lunchtime.

)

One of them talked my ear off for about an hour and a half while he was shopping -- try suggesting shirt colors through a phone some time. There's a surreal experience. (Says he mostly likes dark colors, but his gay friends have encouraged him to try beige ... I never figured him for the metrosexual type, so I was vastly amused by that.)

I know, it's sad that my love life is reduced to getting all warm and fuzzy over this, but bear with me, folks....

André in Zuid-Afrika

André in Zuid-Afrika

Walker

Deborah

You guys need pets. Then you won't be alone.

André in Zuid-Afrika

I have wine too, luckily, and doing channel hopping. Strange, isn't it, 60 channels and nothing you really want to watch...

Julian

André in Zuid-Afrika

Julian

Yelina

Well, for few years I do no longer follow the Eurovision. I just try to see France and I managed tonight (I'm lucky because I zapped just a song before it).

Well, I didn't really like the song of "Fatal Picard". They wanted to do like Renaud (a French singer) who once sang mixing French and English words. Anyway, that's not this year we'll win again!

André in Zuid-Afrika

André in Zuid-Afrika

André in Zuid-Afrika

Well, I did have some things to do tonight...

But I did have time for...

I also watched some...

As you know, I'm...

But since I don't have a...

I'm considering getting a....

Or a...

If it wasn't so warm in South Africa, I would've considered a....

Or maybe I should consider a....

But in the meantime...

Walker

Pauline

André, those pictures are wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you put them on the selection of emoticons at this forum?

Loic

Julian

Yelina

André in Zuid-Afrika

Walker

Man! I hadn't read all those previous posts on this thread as I was gone when they were posted! I'm glad it went well for you, André! It made me think about my snuff-taking; if you convert snuff into cigarettes, I smoke a whole bunch of cigarettes every day. I'm aware that it's bad for me. It gets to my heart. I get breathless and sweaty sooner than I ought to. When I was a baby I had an irregular heartbeat and I've noticed that I still have that sometimes.

duh-dunk... duh-dunk... duh-dunk......... duh-dunk-duh-dunk... duh-dunk... and on like that.

Anyhow, I guess I should get a grip and quit that nicotine shit.

André in Zuid-Afrika

André in Zuid-Afrika

The great news is I went for a checkup today and received a clean bill of health! According to the doctor, my heart has recovered so well that there are hardly any signs left that I ever had a heart attack!

Walker

André in Zuid-Afrika

Thanks! It's a great relief!!

Elaine

That's wonderful news, André!

CONGRATULATIONS!

André in Zuid-Afrika

Deborah

Good!! I expect you to be with us for a long time!

Pauline

Julian

That's good to hear, Andre. I hope you're watching what you eat and getting plenty of exercise.

Loic

And here's to 50 more long years of longevity, Andre!

You are still in the prime of your life.

André in Zuid-Afrika

Thanks, everybody! And you're right, Loic, I've realised how much I can still get out of life, how much I can still do.

André in Zuid-Afrika

Deborah

That's excellent news -- congratulations! Keep up the good work.

André in Zuid-Afrika

Uriel

Shoot, join the club! I get to take lisinopril (for high blood pressure) and levothyroxine (for a crappy thyroid) for the rest of mine!

Wonderful news though!

Saturday night.... and I'm home alone...

Re: Saturday night.... and I'm home alone...

Re: Saturday night.... and I'm home alone...