You are more than welcome. Keep being you, concentrate on being you, and loving the people and plans that matter to you. It really is easy to get caught up with ‘must be with SO’ and then you realize after the fact that Wow I’ve lost track of my dearest friends! That is very typical and happens all the time. The key…

Investment losses can be written off/used to offset gains.

Are you looking for advice on moving?

My dad ran the Small Business Administration in his region of Texas for many years. Go to them! They will help you with a business plan, which is crucial. Without a strong plan, you will not be able to secure financing.

Getting over a break up takes two things: time and distance. Lick your wounds and cry when you have to. There’s no way to get on the other side of heartbreak - you have to go through.

You’re not saying you don’t care for their company; you’re saying you need a break from the caregiving responsibilities. And if anyone starts with the ‘But FAAAAMILY’ noise, just shut it down. “Unfortunately that won’t work for me.” “That won’t work for me this year. I have other plans.”

Have you tried setting some really clear boundaries with them, in terms of off-limit topics of conversation, etc? Also, you can do a fade-out without going all ‘nuclear’ with a big dramafest of I’M CUTTING YOU OUT OF MY LIFE AND THIS IS WHY.

Go to a proper barber! Take pictures with you and get it done just the way you want by a pro. After that it’s much easier to maintain. Treat yo self!

Echoing everyone’s comments about talking to your state Bar association. Check all your writings, contract, etc that establishes your agreement. Fucking around with a client’s money is one of THE most unethical things an attorney can do.

Try not to ascribe so much weight to it. If you had an ongoing health issue that you finally said, ‘Right, this is getting beyond OTC meds, time to go to the doctor and get it sorted’, you’d just do it, yes?

Can we just get a complete list of everyone who is leaving us, so we can rip the band-aid off?

The ‘biologically wired’ trope makes my head explode. Here’s a point you can make to your friend:

I’m sorry to see you go, Kelly. All the cool kids are leaving.

Wait what buyout? Is that why so many good people have left lately? I’m so out of the loop....

I lived in Australia in the 1990s, and I was pretty shocked at the casual sexism/misogyny - and I’m from TEXAS.

Question for you regarding your last paragraph! Here in the US, our slander laws would -probably- protect his shitty comments, because (among other things) she is a ‘public figure’. The law is different depending on whether you are a public figure or a private individual; provable ‘damage’, etc.

American here, honest question (and if it’s too involved to answer no worries):

I love Australia and if I could move back tomorrow I would.

Listen, I know that ‘there is no constant but change’ and all that, but Jesus Christ.

Yes, it has to be all three elements to constitute defamation (like you noted, the ‘and’ means ‘all’).