Girlfriend. You are a giver. You ask for help and then give give give to those who want to help you. Super presumptuous of me to say, but life is extra hard for extremely empathic people. You feel everything for everyone all the time. It’s like having a microprocessor in your brain dedicated to every individual you…

Thanks, that's helpful. I feel like maybe these days couples are more open with each other, maybe more practical, and taboos aren't as taboo. It sounds like you have a great guy there, so congrats! :)

Anthropology experiment! I recently heard that my smart beautiful successful friend actually sent her boyfriend a link to an engagement ring that she wanted. I thought that was kind of gauche?? I guess I want to know how women communicate with men about the engagement thing these days. Is there any mystery/romance or…

Hi honey, sorry you’re feeling blue. I think I can relate. (Hope the honey address isn’t off-putting, I just know I like being mothered sometimes) I’ve gone on and off Lexapro a few times and it was a roller coaster. Mainly because you don’t know what’s “real” and what’s drug induced. I recommend Xanax or Ativan for…

Also, sorry your parents are dealing with that and that your grandparents are aging. That scenario has got to be one of the most impactful and yet least acknowledged rites of adulthood. My grandparents are all gone and now I’m fixated on the eventuality that the next big hurdle in my life will be ushering my parents…

Me too. :)

Being diplomatic doesn’t mean backing down. I get irritated with early-onset PMS when people suggest that a less combative diplomatic approach means giving up your position for the sake of tranquility. Not every dispute needs to turn into a chicken fight with the nuclear button. Let's see how this goes. I'm totally…

Ha, glad my late-life plans can amuse! Seriously though, I do understand why having biological kids is an incredibly appealing choice — a mini me who loves you and depends on you and is sooo cute...I mean I am moved to tears thinking about how much I love my dog. But it kills me that people are banging and having all…

Objectively I think Anne Hathaway has an impossible combination of beauty, talent and whatever the x-factor is. But I went to art school and she plucks my drama-folk nerve too much. Also she just comes across as a spoiled rich girl who takes her “craft” too seriously. I know it's shitty and catty and I want to like…

Maybe some lady-diplomacy is exactly what these trigger-happy cocksure international territory disputes need. Lil less cock, lil more talk.

Yes, by definition if it’s a for-profit enterprise then there’s no way the “philanthropy” doesn’t add to the bottom line. The trick is convincing people that their purchase of a superfluous good is actually an act of charity. Consumers need to stop being so fucking gullible. I’ve been employed in the corporate social…

Enlighten me.

Right, or even shows as seemingly pedestrian as The Good Wife or basically any show that examines a woman’s experience in its entirety, rather than just as a marriage and pregnancy candidacy. I know I love dissecting relationship dynamics and all that crap, but not to the exclusion of everything else that’s going on…

Good for you. I think the Canadian Dream is the new American Dream. The American Dream now has a big fat price tag that often involves exploiting the “labor class.”

Right. Limit the variables if you really want to live a good life. You may get lucky, but it’s a lottery and I think we’re familiar with those odds. My sister is a psychopath who gas victimized my parents for 35 years. My coworker paid his asshole son to move out and told me the risk of having a demon child isn’t…

Ha I was just rewatching my antique DVDs of the entire series because I haven’t seen it in years and I’m a spinster. The jokes are still good but the orientation toward husband-as-fulfillment is downright Victorian. I can’t believe how recent it was. I also don’t see why the Big reconciliation plot was not inevitable;…

Right. Sign me up for that Canada thing. I’ve been playing the game here with my college degree and my corporate job and I don’t make that much and I can’t afford my student loan payments. But if you work hard everything falls into place. Sorry forgive me for doubting the system. Maybe I’ll start a company that sells…

Meritocracies presume level playing fields — for entry into the contest and competitive opportunity both. Making this judgement at step 637 in a 650-step process is bullshit.

Yes, exactly — your fitness and ability to procreate and/or raise children really comes down to the degree of priority it holds for you. Don't expect a perfect family to materialize if you're working 60 hours a week at the firm. Also don't subject a family to your noncommittal bullshit just because you want them as an…

That bugged the shit out of me too. And the “social cause marketing” crap where they sold tshirts with art by third world people and donated a $4 backpack in exchange. Fucking exploitative at both ends. As for the female bias: Jez, call me when you have an actual news story. I have eyeballs.