The 'What did you get for Christmas' Thread

[Oberon]

I bet you can't guess what we talk about in here?

I'm in the UK so I can't say nowt yet, but I know that it's Christmas in Oz! :woot:

So, Aussies...take the stage! :rock:

[Shearwater]

I got a rock.

[Freiwillige]

I got some Czechnology! A CZ-75B 9mm double action handgunfrom my moms collection.

She has quite a collection for being 67 years young.

Here she is!
http://www.impactguns.com/store/SS-49123.html

[Dowly]

I got:

150€
2xbooks (Heroes of Winter War & some comedy thingy)
1xShirt displaying the soldier, Antero Rokka, from a well known finnish war flick* (well known as in it is tradition to air it on every independency day).
pic]Pic of the front (http://www.fingerborgforce.fi/pictures/TpaitaTikkakoskenMannekiini.JPG)
Clip of the guy in the movie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ljW0Huj-Fs)
A bunch of knifes (believe it or not, I love cooking)
Towel
Smokes


*Which also has the best line ever in any movie just before he starts to shoot; "God, if they have sinned, forgive them. But be quick, I'll start sending them your way very shortly." :salute:

[Task Force]

And here we thought you quit dowly...:rotfl2:

[antikristuseke]

Got a 3cd box set of Essential Metal Anthems (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Metal-Anthems-Various-Artists/dp/B000E1IFYI) and a pair of socks and candy. Haven't met with my father yet so will be getting his present in the next few days.

And Dowly, those knives are not for cooking but for getting rid of those prostitutes in your basement, i know all!

[Task Force]

AAANNNYYY way... Ive gotten most of my/are christmas already...

I got a new HD, and W 7.

We got a new LCD tv... (YAY 19 inch to 40.:D And a happy TF)

But there is still quite alot to still get, smaller stuff.

[GoldenRivet]

I got the following:

http://www.1-877-spirits.com/store/images/large/Disaronno-Liqueur-lg.jpg.jpg

http://liquorama.biz/images/IMG_0226.JPG

http://www.merryswankster.com/images/warsteiner%20500%20six%20pack.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1316/1066061293_2985c2df2c.jpg?v=0

http://www.1-877-spirits.com/store/images/large/Martini-and-Rossi-Asti-lg.jpg.jpg

http://www.crkt.com/crkt/content/images_inv/u/o/240/CRM16-01Z_xlarge_7522_full_240.jpg

and cumulatively; $1,000 cash

:yeah:

If you never hear from me again... it ended well.

EDIT: in review of my post. I wonder what message my family is trying to send me?

[Task Force]

Hmm... Drink your self silly... and make dinner.:hmmm:

[TarJak]

I got a Canon EOS 500D, the BBC WWII DVD collection and a DVD of Downfall which I might put to good use over writing some of the subtitles making Hitler say something funny. (Hey that's already been done).
:woot:

[Torplexed]

I got the following...

Wow! GR got visited by the "spirits" of Christmas Past, Present, Future, Pull-tab and Twist-top. :O:

Me...I got nuthin' yet. Christmas morning is still a few hours away.

[nikimcbee]

Wow! GR got visited by the "spirits" of Christmas Past, Present, Future, Pull-tab and Twist-top. :O:

Me...I got nuthin' yet. Christmas morning is still a few hours away.

Yeah Torplexed, santa have better not been to seattle first!:haha:

Me, I've been bad and got a filling replaced yesterday:dead:.

[jimbob]

A pair of socks. Woolen. Handmade. Oldschool yo.

:cool:

[Oberon]

Well, Christmas morning and I've got quite the haul:

Books:
The Entire World War collection by Harry Turtledove :rock:
The War in Pictures from 1940-45

DVDs:
Top Gear: The Adventures 2 (Vietnam and Botswana)
Top Gear: Behind the scenes
633 Squadron
Storm Chasers
The Battleships - The Panzers
Above us the waves
Luftwaffe - A Phoenix Rising
The Longest Day
The World At War Boxset
The Dam Busters
We Dive at Dawn
In which we serve
Reach for the Sky
The True Glory

Games:
ARMA 1

Other:
A Tribble :yeah:
A British P-1907 Bayonet with scabbard (I think this is my Grandfathers from his time in the Scots Guards)

[XabbaRus]

So far nothing except the joy of watching my children open their presents and listening to classic Carols by Bing and his friends.

However when my folks arrive in about an hour I will have a Nintendo Wii and some other stuff which I will tell you about later.

[Rhodes]

I got money, books (images of war the uboat war, clay blair, hitlers uboat war), comics books (the last of the blake and mortimer collection and the last of the wind passengers collection). A shirt, aftershave and shave cream and a bottle of conhac!
Still waiting for the gifts from my girlfriend:D

[Weiss Pinguin]

I guess we're waiting on breakfast, so here I am passing the time til Zero hour ;)

[frau kaleun]

Happy Winter Solstice Celebration Of Your Choice to everyone!

I gots da followin':

(DVDs)
The Battle of the Atlantic
Art of War

(Books)
The Hunters and the Hunted: German U-boats, 1939-1945
Cannae: Hannibal's Greatest Victory

(Game)
Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30

(It is *not* a toy, it's an action figure)
Kung Fu Panda Star Throwin' Po complete with snap-on armor and battle stars

(Obligatory kitteh stuff)
2010 cats calendar
"cat lover" socks
kitty-in-santa-hat ornament

(Obligatory random yummies)
1 box of Wilhelmina peppermints
1 chocolate snowman
1 bar Lindor white chocolate truffles
1 jar Biassac fruit jam
1 gourmet pecan roll (note: it's not Christmas 'til I have my pecan roll, which will very shortly become this morning's breakfast)

(Obligatory practical "I really need these" gifts)
Rubbermaid sink mat for kitchen sink
microfiber dishcloths/towels
refill scrubberheads for my Oxo dish scrubber thingy

(OMGWTFOhnoyoudidn't surprise gift)
Shun 7" Santoku knife, which may very well be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and which I fear will never actually be used but only taken out occasionally for veneration purposes

Oh and my brother-in-law got a new job which starts the Monday after New Year's, he's been doing temp seasonal work since October when the place he worked at for 15 years started downsizing, i.e., letting go all the more highly paid longtime employees. Hearing him rewrite every other holiday song to include the phrase "I got a job, fa la la la la" made everything super-special this year. :)

[frau kaleun]

And apparently I also got a new avatar.

:rock:

[frau kaleun]

in review of my post. I wonder what message my family is trying to send me?

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/funny-pictures-cat-has-a-message-to-you-from-your-liver.jpg

[Spike88]

This T-shirt
http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/you_read_my_tshirt.jpg

A T-shirt with a Deer standing infront of a controller connected to a TV playing Pac-Man that says "Big Game Season"

A box of assorted chocolates from the In-laws

A $50 Dollar gift card for publix, of which I've spent 14.99 on alcohol supplies last night. From my Job

And money to buy my laptop with.

[Platapus]

(OMGWTFOhnoyoudidn't surprise gift)
Shun 7" Santoku knife, which may very well be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and which I fear will never actually be used but only taken out occasionally for veneration purposes




Got a picture or a website with a picture? Always interested in beautiful knives.

[Thomen]

Among the usual stuff (nerdy T-Shirts, Books, DVDs and so on)

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/front/lg-rtfm-tshirt.jpg


http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/jedi_venn.jpg

I will get the belt fed Nerfgun (sold out in our area at the moment).

And, from my parents:
An original and antique...
http://waffenamt.us/pics/WALT/108256_10.jpg
:yeah:

Which is in the family for something like 3 generations now. Filling out the customs and ATF forms is going to be a pain though.

[frau kaleun]

Got a picture or a website with a picture? Always interested in beautiful knives.

http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=249&brand=shun

According to what I've read about Shun knives, the technology used in the blade-making is basically the same as what's used to make katana blades. I've wanted one ever since I heard about them and saw them for the first time... it's always been a "when I have the money" thing which naturally never comes to pass. I have decent kitchen knives which I've acquired over time by picking things up on sale or clearance, but these were always WAY out of my price range plus they're not the kind of things that typically end up in sale or clearance bins, you know? But my sister works in a gigantic international market here, in the specialty department where they sell high-end cookware and cutlery and kitchen gadgets, so she gets a bit of a discount on what they sell there and she asked me last year which one I would get if I had a choice and I told her no way, even the itty bitty paring knife was more money than I wanted her to spend on one gift. This year because of the recession the vendor actually put some of the Shun knives on special to increase sales plus she got her discount plus her husband got what looks like a really good job just last week so they decided to really "make Christmas happen" and surprise me. Boy oh boy was I surprised.

I will probably lose a finger dicing celery but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make because it's JUST. SO. PURTY.

[frau kaleun]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/jedi_venn.jpg

WANT!!!!!!

[Rilder]

I'm not christian nor the breed of pagan that everybody claims invented celebrating the birth of the christian prophet or whatever you people call it. So I don't celebrate x-mas but still someone managed to give me a copy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. SOC on steam and I bought myself a laptop last week and copy of x3:Terran Conflict to test out the dual core processor on.

[Takeda Shingen]

This:
http://luekensliquors.com/store/zen-cart-v1.3.8a-full-fileset-12112007/images/highland-park-18-year.jpg

And some of these:

http://img.cigar.com/p/300/cs/c/cs-cgb.jpg

And a pair of these:

http://www.bionicgloves.com/lib/images/products/product-MensShow-attribute-2-16.jpg

[SgtPotato]

Well I got:

1.) A 100 dollar bill
2.) The Saboteur (PC)
3.) a new leather wallet
4.) We Were Pirates: A Torpedoman's Pacific War book
5.) Uncharted 2: Among Theives (GOTY!)
6.) Castle season one dvd
7.) Guinness hat and t-shirt
8.) some sweaters
9.) Best Buy $50 gift card
10.) a PJ pant

That's pretty much I got for christmas, but I haven't got mine from my mother because the nasty snowing weather struck in my home... :nope:

[Shearwater]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/jedi_venn.jpg


:rotfl2:
Gotta get one of those!
I only got chocolate and money (which is nice, too :DL)

[Jimbuna]

This:
http://luekensliquors.com/store/zen-cart-v1.3.8a-full-fileset-12112007/images/highland-park-18-year.jpg





Good to see a man with taste :DL

[AVGWarhawk]

I received:

Fallout 3 GOTY Edition
Assassin Creed
Two pairs of pants
Socks

and

http://www.valleywinesandspirits.com/prodimages/Aberlour%2012yr%20Single%20Malt%20Scotch.jpg

:yeah:

[mookiemookie]

47" LG LCD 1080p LCD TV. Ooh yeah :cool:

http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/prod_lrg_images/739/209872739.jpg

I received:

Fallout 3 GOTY Edition


Don't miss the Dunwich Building. Most atmospheric part of the game, IMHO.

[AVGWarhawk]

47" LG LCD 1080p LCD TV. Ooh yeah :cool:

http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/prod_lrg_images/739/209872739.jpg



Don't miss the Dunwich Building. Most atmospheric part of the game, IMHO.

Will do. The game is very engaging. Nice big screen! I have a 40' and love it. Enjoy!

[Jimbuna]

47" LG LCD 1080p LCD TV. Ooh yeah :cool:

http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/prod_lrg_images/739/209872739.jpg



Don't miss the Dunwich Building. Most atmospheric part of the game, IMHO.

Ya lucky bugga our front lounge has the smaller 42" version :doh:

[ReallyDedPoet]

- Books
- Chainsaw
- Satellite Radio
- Clothes
- Movies

[elanaiba]

Can't beat a chainsaw for christmas

[AVGWarhawk]

- Books
- Chainsaw
- Satellite Radio
- Clothes
- Movies

Was the chainsaw a stocking stuffer? :hmmm: Does it sharpen it's own teeth?

http://reneeridgway.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/beaverchainsaw-copy.jpg

[Aramike]

47" LG LCD 1080p LCD TV. Ooh yeah :cool:

http://ak.buy.com/db_assets/prod_lrg_images/739/209872739.jpg



Don't miss the Dunwich Building. Most atmospheric part of the game, IMHO.We just bought a new similar TV from LG. Do you have anything hooked up via HDMI?

[mookiemookie]

We just bought a new similar TV from LG. Do you have anything hooked up via HDMI?

No, I haven't yet. Are you having issues?

[Aramike]

No, I haven't yet. Are you having issues?Yeah, actually. It seems like the sound is sometimes just a split second behind the video. Not always, but enough that I've got a technician coming over to update the firmware. Was wondering if you had a similar experience.

[porphy]

The essentials. Good coffee and good climbing! :up:

Coffee grinder

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/Porphyr/gvx242_mx.jpg


60 meter rope


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a126/Porphyr/L_BEALTIGER60MGD.jpg

[mookiemookie]

Yeah, actually. It seems like the sound is sometimes just a split second behind the video. Not always, but enough that I've got a technician coming over to update the firmware. Was wondering if you had a similar experience.

I'll give it a shot and let you know what happens.

[Aramike]

I'll give it a shot and let you know what happens.Thanks. And let me know what devices you're hooking it with it too, please! I'm using uVerse and a Blueray player.

[Platapus]

I got

We were Pirates: A torpedoman's Pacific War

By Shultz and Shell

Anyone read this book? I hope it was worth it.

[UnderseaLcpl]

I got some crappy Finnish movie called "Winter War":DL
j/k I enjoyed the hell out of it

Bonus question for Dowly: What Russian medium bomber was featured in the film, and which one was it? Here's a hint: It was one of eight captured by the Finns during WW2.

Super-bonus question for Dowly: Name the two models of Russian tank featured in the film. Hint: one starts with T, and the other starts with B.

Super-duper-bonus question for Dowly: Give me the titles of some other good Finnish war movies.


Double super-duper-bonus question for Dowly: Why are the Finns using PPSh-41 submachineguns in 1939?


This whole thing sounds a little sarcastic, but I'd really like to hear your answers. Bear in mind that I usually only get American Hollywood films here, and we all know how much they suck. I'd welcome a Finnish perspective on war movies:salute:

[HunterICX]

Double super-duper-bonus question for Dowly: Why are the Finns using PPSh-41 submachineguns in 1939?

You are about to get your balls crushed by the ferret :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomi_M-31_SMG

HunterICX

[jimbob]

You are about to get your balls crushed by the ferret :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomi_M-31_SMG

HunterICX

Oh my.


Anyhoo, got a friend that has some documentary on dvd's.
Atleast one of them has english subtitles if only I'd remember
to write down titles next time im there.

[Dowly]

I got some crappy Finnish movie called "Winter War":DL
j/k I enjoyed the hell out of it

It's a great movie, gotta be my favorite war movie. Just started reading the book it's based on yesterday. :salute:

Bonus question for Dowly: What Russian medium bomber was featured in the film, and which one was it? Here's a hint: It was one of eight captured by the Finns during WW2.Cant say I have ever really looked that hard, eventho I've seen the movie like 50 times. Pe2? :hmmm:

Super-bonus question for Dowly: Name the two models of Russian tank featured in the film. Hint: one starts with T, and the other starts with B.Only remember the T-26's.

Super-duper-bonus question for Dowly: Give me the titles of some other good Finnish war movies. Sadly, Winter War is the best one there is. But you can find somewhat complete list of finnish war movies from here:
http://www.listal.com/list/finnish-war-movies


Double super-duper-bonus question for Dowly: Why are the Finns using PPSh-41 submachineguns in 1939?See Hunter's post. :stare:


This whole thing sounds a little sarcastic, but I'd really like to hear your answers. Bear in mind that I usually only get American Hollywood films here, and we all know how much they suck. I'd welcome a Finnish perspective on war movies:salute:Like I already said, Winter War is the best one. No unnessecary love stuff or over-dramatic BS in it. Tali-Ihantala 1944 has some cool scenes, but the acting is horrible. The Unknown Soldier is good one, but doesnt try to be as "realistic" as Winter War. Try Youtube, there atleast has been few docs and or movies with english subtitles.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Was the chainsaw a stocking stuffer? :hmmm: Does it sharpen it's own teeth?

http://reneeridgway.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/beaverchainsaw-copy.jpg

Ha, ha :D

I burn about 2-3 cord a year in the air tight in the basement, so I got an electric one. Though I may move to a gas powered later :eek:

http://www.reverseshot.com/files/images/pre-issue22/texas-chainsaw-massacre_28.preview.jpg

[UnderseaLcpl]

You are about to get your balls crushed by the ferret :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomi_M-31_SMG

HunterICX

Ouch......thanks for the correction Hunter. I could have sworn I saw those were PPSh subbies but I took a closer look at some scenes from the second disk and you're right. I didn't even know there was a Suomi design of similar appearence. My bad.


Cant say I have ever really looked that hard, eventho I've seen the movie like 50 times. Pe2? :hmmm:

Nope. I thought that at first, too, but the Pe-2 has a split tail design.
The bombers are actually Tupolev SB-2s, of which the Finns captured 8 during the war. My understanding is that several remain functional, and one of them is the late model with inline engines, and that one was used with two others during the making of the film.

The tanks used were indeed T-26s, but they also used BT-7 fast tanks. Those are the tanks with large, offset cylindrical turrets and the Christie suspension system.
-------------------------

Thanks for the movie list, Dowly. I'll try to add a few of those to my collection when I get a chance. Hopefully they'll be half as rewarding as "Winter War" was. I've often neglected the Finnish theatre of operations in my studies of WW2, but that movie encouraged me to do some more research about it. I was aware that the Soviets invaded Finland in November of 39' and that the Finns were massively outnumbered but I had no idea how badly. The Soviets had an average of a three-to-one advantage in infantry, a ten-to-one advantage in aircraft, and a twenty-to-one advantage in tanks. Despite all that, the Soviets suffered around 600,000 casualties in just a few months. That says volumes about the courage and quality of the Finnish soldiers. :salute:

[Dowly]

Thanks for the movie list, Dowly. I'll try to add a few of those to my collection when I get a chance. Hopefully they'll be half as rewarding as "Winter War" was. I've often neglected the Finnish theatre of operations in my studies of WW2, but that movie encouraged me to do some more research about it. I was aware that the Soviets invaded Finland in November of 39' and that the Finns were massively outnumbered but I had no idea how badly. The Soviets had an average of a three-to-one advantage in infantry, a ten-to-one advantage in aircraft, and a twenty-to-one advantage in tanks. Despite all that, the Soviets suffered around 600,000 casualties in just a few months. That says volumes about the courage and quality of the Finnish soldiers. :salute:

The 600k casualty rate for the Russians is false, 150k to 200k is more accurate, no one really knows. Get the book 'Winter War' if you have a chance, while the movie is pretty faithful to it, there's still alot more in the book than what you can see in the movie. Also, there's an extended version of the movie with some extra scenes added, dont know if it ever was released on DVD as it was a mini-series version like the uncut original version of Das Boot. :hmmm:

[MikeVictor]

A smoked Turkey from my sister, which is mostly gone now. :up:
A few Christmas Cards from family members.:)
A week off from work so I can play SH4 till I drop :ping:... and maybe go skiing.:rock:

Happy New Year to everyone:woot:

Mike

[d@rk51d3]

A dead Opa.:cry:


R.I.P. Horst Hoffmann.

[frau kaleun]

{{{{dark51d3}}}}

Them's hugs. I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Trool323]

felt for a pool table..

[Platapus]

I got the book "Going Rouge" for christmas.

At first I thought: WTF Over. Who would give me that book? Hardback books are too expensive to be given as a gag gift.

Then I noticed the spelling. :D

Might be an interesting read, but Palin, whether satirized or not, is at the bottom of my read list.

[Platapus]

A dead Opa.:cry:


R.I.P. Horst Hoffmann.

Sorry to hear that. It has been many years since I lost my Opa and Oma.

I hope yours died with dignity and little pain. :(

[Jimbuna]

A dead Opa.:cry:


R.I.P. Horst Hoffmann.

My deepest sympathy...mine passed away December 7th.

[jumpy]

There isn't an appropriate smiley for this, perhaps it's just as well, 'cause no one would want to see it.

Sorry to lower the mood still further...

For christmas this year I got ran out on by my other half of the last 9 years.

So not only do I now have twice the financial responsibility to the place I'm living in now, but I have no job and no woman... and more importantly, (without her) no future.

She's not gone off with someone else... so I can't hate her. But she wants to be on her own with her clinical depression and serious mental illness.
She left one evening when I went to see my parents for a couple of hours... took the cats with her and a few clothes, and left me a note saying that she was sorry and would see me in a few days to explain.
A rational explanation was not forthcoming, neither was the sobbing phonecall I got about a week later begging me to meet her in town and how she didn't want it to be over and that she loves me and all of that stuff. She's had her parents round and taken all the rest of her stuff.
Then she's sent me messages saying how sorry she is for walking out etc etc... but she won't tell me where she is, plus her mum and dad have been messing about by telling me to leave her alone....FFS SHE CALLED ME!?

At least she told them to piss off and keep out of things after that.

Ain't it great when people you love and hold in the highest esteem, treat you like a ****?


So, apart from the large amounts of alcohol induced unconsciousness, I've had the worst christmas and new year in almost 34 years.

I'm also going to loose my net connection because British Telecom need to first cancel the phone account in her name before I can take it over with the same phone number, but my ISP will cancel my ADSL service, because the telephone line account is being changed. So until all of that is sorted I will continue to be absent for a further period of time.




And none of it matters, because I still love her with as much passion and empathy as I did when we first met.

edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgbPHTBiAVQ&feature=PlayList&p=1B6BAEE3C985F5F2&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1

[d@rk51d3]

Thanks for the condolences guys and gals.

Sorry to hear your sad news too Jumpy.:cry:

I guess on the bright side.......... the new years gotta get better............. doesn't it?

[Platapus]

T... and more importantly, (without her) no future.




A very sad story, but honestly, I am not following the quoted statement.

You do/must/should/will have a future without her. That is simply a fact of life. It sucks that life dealt you a sh1t sandwich with no Miracle Whip, but that's life and why life mostly sucks.

Prioritize your problems. Don't get overwhelmed by the totality of your problems. Life is like eating an elephant -- take it one bite at at time.

Once you got all your faeces collimated, you can then find yourself a nice lady. In England, even if your ex was "one in a million" that means there are almost 30 just like her. LoL.

Good luck with this. Solve the problems. :salute:

[Skybird]

Jumpy,

Platapus has it right in a way, prioritize your problems. The most urgent stuff first. If that is money to pay for your living and your flat, this is priority now.

I know that it is tempting to spend time thinking on her, and "why?" and "where?" and "what have I done?", but if you are not in a position to help, if you have no solid stand of your own, then the intention to help does not change the fact that you cannot help.

You said she suffers from depression and mental disease. Depressive people do not act rationally necessarily. It depends on whether they are in a low, or not. You can form a lot of theories on why she left, and that she meant it well with you or that she hates you, but all this currently will not lead you anywhere. For the time being, she said, she wants you to leave her alone. With the limited options of yours, there speaks nothing against doing right that - for the time being. What the future brings, you do not know, so do not assume that it already is certain. It is not.

Humans love to paint grim or bright pictures of their future, depending on the mood they are in. But that are fantasies only. The reality of the present moment stil is there, and waits for you to deal with it. If you giove up the present for the sake of painting mental images of the future, gloomy or beautiful, you bring yourself into emotional and then material trouble.

If you eventually have followed a practice of meditation in the past, this is not the time to ignore it for the sake of your self-pity, but this is a good time to focus on meditating, and observe your own reactions to this crisis. You could learn a lot from that.

If you have a freind available who has the capability to not just swallow what you feed him with, but to stay neutral and objective, talk with him over it, and let him comment from his perspective as an outsider. If there is no such person available to you, something like Tarot, if eventually you are used to that, also can be a great help and treasurechest of insights, and can help to see an issue from perspectives that before you have not taken note of.

Sorrow you will feel in such times, it will make itself felt all by itself - but you must not intentionally help it. whenever you realise your thoughts have started again to run in circles - interrupt it, and step back from your self.

There is a saying amongst psychologists: "depressions are an infectous disease". Take care! You do not want to get gotcha'd.

[Skybird]

Oh, and what I got for christmas: a photo book, with truly fantastic photography of folding knifes - knifes of the kind that makes each of them a piece of art - and that due to their prices make most if not all of them unavailable for me.:cry: These things compare to precious handmade collector's watches, or jewelry.

http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lindsayengraving.com/images/Lindsay-Lindsay5.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lindsayengraving.com/New%2520Book.htm&usg=__QyxBTBsad6-1cdpksncfgjr-a4E=&h=1280&w=1600&sz=275&hl=de&start=138&tbnid=2-5NxpZfZ2lmHM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddavid%2Bdarom%2Bknives%26as_st%3Dy%26 ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Dde%26sa%3DN%26start%3D126

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/8948/ssknfpic4.jpg (http://img46.imageshack.us/i/ssknfpic4.jpg/)

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/8202/picturehb.jpg (http://img23.imageshack.us/i/picturehb.jpg/)

[frau kaleun]

Jumpy, so sorry to hear about your situation.

To echo what others have said somewhat, you do need to - at some point - get to the place where you can see your future without her, because no matter how it feels right now, you do have one.

That said, it takes time. So let it. Every loss comes with a period of grieving and all the anger, sadness, and other feelings that are a natural part of it, but they are temporary no matter how improbable that seems in the short term.

Throwing things like clinical depression and other mental health issues only makes it more difficult, because a person suffering from those problems can really do a number on you by yanking you back and forth - one day yes, one day no, til you don't know where you stand or what to do or if maybe just letting go and walking away is the only thing you can do to preserve your own sanity. I'll just say, been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, so believe me I feel your pain. And it's really hard because you know that the person doing the yanking is in the midst of their own struggles and really can't do any better by you, even if they want to.

Anyway - nothing here that you can't get from a million other friendly, meddling advice-givers - but do take care of yourself and hang in there.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/coolbou/kitten_hug.jpghttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/coolbou/kitten_hug.jpghttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/coolbou/kitten_hug.jpghttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y129/coolbou/kitten_hug.jpg

[jumpy]

Thanks guys. It is a warm feeling to know that some of you (who I know and others who I haven't really spoken to before) have the time to offer a little bit of your help and advice, even over such an impersonal medium. Even such a small thing has great value placed upon it.

I've been about long enough to know how the world works, for the most part, so I understand what you are saying.

Having to readjust to a totally different life when all of my energies have been focussed in one direction only for the last nine years, is a pretty ****ing big deal, though. That was kind of what I meant with my remarks to the 'future'. Life goes on and all of that. It doesn't really change the way I feel for her... unpleasant as it is, experience tells me that will not ever go away, I'll just eventually get used to living with it, with either greater or lesser success.
I've been out quite a bit over christmas and the new year, so I'm now pretty sick of talking about all of this (though that seems to be all I end up doing)

Today my stress is that come monday I have to get all of my bills sorted, unfortunately because we shared certain financial responsibilities I don't have access to some of the accounts etc - the reason for my problem with BT and my ISP - it will cost 40 quid plus vat to get sorted, and as I do alot of my banking online, jobhunting, social stuff with my friends here in the leicester. So a disconnection, fees and time which I cannot really afford.

However, I cannot talk to any of these services about some of the accounts, as they're not all in my name. And I cannot get hold of her to sort it out, even though we spoke after chrismas day about meeting up in the new year and sorting these things out - conversation was relaxed, calm even, with her asking to meet in the new year.

Most probably I'm worrying over nothing, but the number that she had at her 'new' place is now discontinued and there is no answer to the mobile phone, and without dealing with all of these little utilities issues I cannot start to get myself sorted out and make the decisions about if I can afford to stay here or not; how much will it cost and so on. So I'm already trying to look out for me, trouble is, all of that is still tied to someone else who is very ill - that's another thing I'm very worried about - I know her too well; regardless of us being together or not, such isolation as she has imposed upon herself and I, refusing to have anything to do with her family etc is only going to hurt her further. Though there are those of you who may think 'not your problem anymore mate' it doesn't change the fact that if she can do this to herself, given how well I know her, it means given the right circumstances, she is capable of making herself much worse - I've already had a trip to casualty with her for an overdose of sleeping tablets a month or so back, so you can see my concern.

The clock is ticking, and without having all of the existing bills settled, I will be unable to have some of them reinstated for this address (ie gas electricity and telephone) without the accounts being settled, which I can not even do myself as I don't have access to the account numbers/details to pay them.

The way she has told me she still feels about me is much harder to deal with than any of the bill stuff. Just when you thought everything was going to be ok again, it wasn't.




I've always believed we are only given the things in life that we have the strength to deal with. And, self esteem aside, the only truly important things are the people you choose to have in your life - friends or lovers - everything else is just 'stuff' or material; there's nothing else that has more value in a persons life than those they choose to share it with. It defines many of us beyond doubt.
As such, I've felt that compassion and honour, love and trust, are great strengths of character and not a weakness. Now more than ever, that conviction is being tested beyond reason and my ability to embrace it.

[frau kaleun]

I've always believed we are only given the things in life that we have the strength to deal with. And, self esteem aside, the only truly important things are the people you choose to have in your life - friends or lovers - everything else is just 'stuff' or material; there's nothing else that has more value in a persons life than those they choose to share it with. It defines many of us beyond doubt.
As such, I've felt that compassion and honour, love and trust, are great strengths of character and not a weakness.

Absolutely! And I believe that anyone who lives by those convictions will find it more rewarding than otherwise in the long run. But the going sure does get rough sometimes.

Now more than ever, that conviction is being tested beyond reason and my ability to embrace it.

Well, I know it can't help a whole lot with the short term practical difficulties, but I'll certainly keep you and yours in my thoughts with all the good mojo I can muster heading out in your direction. Let us know how you're doing when/if you can.

[Jimbuna]

Keep yer chin up mate.....hoping you get the outcomes you want http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[onelifecrisis]

I got:

an iPhone (3G 8Gb)
a wrist watch
an electric razor
DiRT for the PC
some iTunes vouchers and some cash