Uh, sure. I couldn't afford to maintain my lifestyle, travel, and have children. That's not a self-imposed limitation, that's my economic reality.

Exactly! And I can't fathom how people argue that some hypothetical happiness/regret outweighs actual lived happiness. I might regret not having a child someday, but I'm going to Tibet this year and I'll for sure have one of the most amazing experiences of my life—and I am able to take trips like that because I am…

That's a really important point. I don't want children and neither does my husband, but I know that I'd love a child I made with him more than I can possibly understand. There's no one in the world I'd rather have children with than him. But I don't want children. It's a nuanced thing, for sure, despite how it's…

I see that! I think she's gorgeous. Boring as all hell, though.

I buy mostly from iTunes, but have lately found that some things that I'm looking for aren't for sale digitally (usually classical) or are out of print. In that case I go for CDs, used or new. And then it's a major hassle to upload the CDs to iTunes and put them on my iPhone and I wonder how I used to have the…

I have been pretty successful at curbing my urge to apologize for no reason (like, because I always feel like I am "inconveniencing" someone with my presence/existence) and it's fucking liberating.

My husband is training for a marathon and reading Rich Roll's ultramarathon books, and I'm dieting like mad because I feel the same way you do. I've lost 11 pounds but it doesn't at all feel like enough. Ugh. Hugs.

"Burned up like garbage"? Screw you.

I think the idea was that a lot of people are familiar with American television shows shot in California, and exposure to an accent makes it "no accent."

I'm a southern Californian with no interesting accent and an Australian once told me that my speech is "TV talk."

DO IT!!!! I'm already married but I still believe in the dream!

The reader's personal experience and perception is his/her own, and that's fine, of course, but I don't see how that extends to characterization. They are her characters, not yours, and they are whatever she says they are. You're free to imagine anything you like, but that's all it is. And I don't think the question…

YAY!!!!!!!

I totally disagree with you. The author always "knows" every character better than the reader, and lots of character development and background doesn't make it into the book because it's not pertinent to the story being told. That doesn't make the character's history up for grabs. And if you think as you've written…

Uh, yes. This exactly.

You touched my blackened, embittered heart with this one.

Quite seriously, I sometimes think about getting one again, just because it's harder to waste time on them. I am developing an all-hate relationship with my iphone. Too much playing.

I'm really going to miss her.

I know what you mean about the 1930s! I watch old movies and just can't believe how tailored and sophisticated and put together the women are. Now you're supposed to wear flowing pajamas?

You're not too old. I don't see what about this skirt and sexy boots could be construed as "too young." It sounds great.