h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So Christmas and New Year have come and gone - at long last (although I did get a DVD player from my mum)! But bitching about what a boring Christmas and New Year I had is not the reason why I'm writing this journal entry ... no, two big things have happened in the last two/three days.

The first one is actually rather sad and upsetting - last Sunday, one of our three cats (Gizmo) had suddenly fallen ill (we think he had had an epileptic fit and he couldn't stand up properly) and had to be taken to an emergency vet hospital. We discovered that his kidneys had failed and so they put him on a drip to help him recover and at first he seemed to be OK. However, the following morning, we were told that he had not made any improvement overnight and that he would be unlikely to recover from this very serious illness. We therefore made the decision (painful though it was) to have him put to sleep. In truth, it was sort of a relief, as he had had so many health scares, fits etc. over the 8 years that he was with us.

The second big thing happened only yesterday ... I had not yet come out to any of my family, but I had made a decision to tell at least one of them that I was gay this year as one of my resolutions (see below for the other 5). Over the past couple of weeks, I had made up my mind to come out to the eldest of my three younger sisters who's studying at Lancaster and because I was taking her back there, I decided that would be a good time (once we'd arrived - not while driving!) to tell her. So after we'd driven up and I'd done the web page consulting for a local primary school, I finally plucked up the courage to tell her. To my great relief, she took the news exceptionally well - although when I first said I had something to tell her, she was nervous as she thought I'd broken something of hers. So you can imagine how relieved both of us were when I eventually came out! She was really pleased for me and glad that I'd finally managed to tell her (we ed a lot, BTW) - she even suggested that I should definitely tell my mum (although I'm gonna wait a while before I do this). She also wanted to know the details about my (limited) sexual experiences, as well as asking me to take her and her gay best friend to Canal Street at some point this year. I now couldn't care less about what I get for my birthday tomorrow - this is the best present I could possibly have!

So that's that resolution covered - I've now just got to: do well in my doctorate, make new friends with gay guys, get a boyfriend, do more exercise and return to a civilised sleeping pattern this year (although if the middle one happens, the last one won't! ).

Congratulations

from me too.

Sisters have their uses; when I came out, mine was the first family member I told. She coped admirably, but was a bit miffed. She had been hoping I'd bring home all my male friends and she could seduce one of them, you see. All her hopes dashed, in one fell swoop...

Congratulations - and good luck with the rest of the family.

Sorry for dropping in unannounced...

Ivan.

Thanks very much. BTW, don't worry, I tend to drop in on other people's conversations as well (so you might get a message from me at some point)! Although my sister would never try and seduce my male friends ... I think.

Please come and visit again sometime!

Mine probably wouldn't have tried to seduce a friend of mine either - she's really quite prim; what she resented was being deprived of the opportunity to give it a shot if she felt like it. There's no pleasing some people .

Anyway - why would I look out for someone for her when I'm busy looking for a man for myself? (In all the wrong places, obviously.)

You needn't answer this - I'm just rambling on. does that to a person.