When my son turned 2 got him a large fish tank for his room. Since he was so little and it was just a family party, we said gifts were optional but anyone who wanted to get him something to think about a tank decoration or few pounds on a gift card for the pet shop. Afterwards, he used his gift cards and birthday…

“What he meant to say was whatever you would have liked him to have said”

Former bartender and lifelong depressed person here: 1) you have no obligations here 2) If you think you can handle it, if you can have a quiet conversation with nobody overhearing, you should bring it up with him upon arrival (before he’s drunk) and as directly as possible.

Mr. Trump complained, according to the book, that his children “didn’t know how to play the game” and generated cycles of bad press.

Like an ‘80ies teen slasher film; “Ugh, why’d you invite Steve?!? He’s gross!” “Uhm, his dad owns the cabin we’re going to stay at”.

It definitely varies depending on your relationship with the person. It’s why my first suggestions are a drink or a smoke (find a park and a comfy bench, people watching can be a nice fill in for lulls in conversation) Then conversation flows more smoothly, naturally and if you can’t think of anything to say at any…

I think even if it’s an acceptable situation to bring up the bright sides, saying “at least” minimizes the pain the other person is going through. Saying “I’m so sorry”, then, later in the conversation “I’m glad you were able to say goodbye” is better than “At least you were able to say good bye”.

“I’m sorry” “Why, did you cause it?” I’m sorry is bullshit. As someone who’s been through shit and has friends who’ve had it worse, I find “That’s rough.” or if it has to do with actions of another person, “Adding them to my list of people to kick in the groin if I ever encounter them.” is particularly effective in…

if you told me you’re caring for your child during a business calm with me I’d suggest we reschedule when you’re available to concentrate on your work.

Make sense in the sense of corporate policy and whatnot, but in practice, this would be a bit extreme for my own personal experiences. To preface, I worked at a company where I and most everyone else globally worked from home (several thousand people) so people’s kids, dogs, UPS, or whatever else were fairly typical…

I see this as a last resort. Most companies I’ve worked for would at least frown on this happening, though I’ve also seen it explicitly written in contracts that children/pets/ anything not work related can not be around during work calls. However, kids get sick and may have to be home. In those cases, rescheduling is…

I seem to recall not all countries’ Starbucks cards being compatible, though. If you’re anywhere outside of those 6 places, you might have problems.

Why is recycling so hard? Every goddamn article I read is “Here’s how you’ve been fucking up recycling that thing that you thought you had all figured out.”

I’ve been doing this with my daughter from the beginning. She’s 2 now and will often say “want tickles!” when she wants to be tickled, and will often even specify where. (“tickles on the back!”) If I want to tickle her while we’re playing, I make asking part of the play, wiggling my fingers at her as I ask “want…

I mean, the article didn’t use the word rape at all, so ... *shrug*.

I think just randomly tickling the same kid is creepier. Especially, if as posited in the article, the kid is cranky and some family member would just prefer it if they looked happy. But the point isn’t that one episode of non-consensual tickling is going to ruin a kid, but that by always asking, you’re teaching them…

I used to HATE being tickled when I was a kid. It would make me angry but telling people to stop didn’t often end in stopping. It’s about teaching kids they’re allowed to have agency of bodies and teaching adults to listen to a child’s wishes.

Oh hey, this gave me a moment of pause as I remembered all the times I felt deeply uncomfortable as a child and also the prevalence of the “DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME.” response I’ve had to even the most innocuous interpersonal contact as an adult. 

This is a chance to get free flights.

“Says the dingbat whose every job was given to her by her father.”