Lol, if there’s any houses left after an 8.0 quake :) We fortunately don’t get quakes as severely as other places, but I’ve been told the Big One’s coming for 34 years now.

If they only put 3% down then they’re going to have PMI, which makes their mortgage more expensive. I don’t understand how they did that either.

What I want to know is if this housing market will ever calm down. I’m in San Diego and the sunshine tax is very real (worth it), but surely prices aren’t sustainable when $400k barely gets you a townhouse with a HOA.

“I’m very sorry for your loss - you and your family are in my heart. Can I bring you dinner or run some errands for you?”

6 months is a good one too, as it marks the point that you stop counting months “since” and start realizing that the anniversary is coming up sooner than not.

For bonus points you can also find out the decedent’s birthday and send a quick “Hey, thinking of you today <3" text to your friend that day. Birthdays are another trying day for the grieving because a day that was always special is now another reminder of loss. Or even better - make a small donation to a cause…

The floorboards are probably rotted enough that he could knock one out to use instead of cardboard in a pinch.

I can’t really eat popsicles because the texture of the popsicle stick makes my skin crawl. If I do eat one I have to hold the stick with the wrapper and nibble around the stick like it’s some sort of demonic corn on the cob.

This is true, but it seems that I have to repeat myself fewer times with the sign. Maybe 190 times.

Sightly adjacent - I have a side gig as a cake lady and making signs that indicate what cake flavors are on a table as I’m serving a cake have kept me from yelling at a lot of people. When you’ve got to turn three tiers into 200 slices ASAP I just don’t have time to explain that yes, the red cake is red velvet.

Truth

I’m cash-based for that plus groceries and honestly, the technique is a major contributor to me pulling myself out of credit card debt years ago. The lack of a paper trail is a problem at times, but being able to just look at my wallet to see if I can afford a splurge is very helpful.

A friend of mine and her husband own a business that keeps them pretty busy, so their justification of hiring a housekeeper is that it’s that much more time that they have with their kids.

Scrolled down to the comments for this. That’s like...not significant enough to convince me to drive to a further airport to use JetBlue.

I’d settle for a Cards Against Humanity expansion pack.

When the floorplan accommodated, my mom would just bang a broom handle on the ceiling below our lairs to get us to emerge. I liked it much more than getting yelled at for not hearing her yell up the stairs at the opposite end of the house.

This age guide is indeed great - my little brother saw Spirited Away much too young and it messed him up pretty good. Fortunately he rebounded years later and loves his Ghibli now.

I had that book as a kid! I think of it whenever I’m having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

A few years ago I was rear ended on the freeway in the rain (in a construction zone!) and the only place to safely stand on the shoulder and exchange info was in the midst of a river of rainwater. I of course was wearing a ankle-length skirt and shoes and was absolutely drenched with freeway muck up to my knees. I’ve…

I’m late I’m late!