Related: this is the same group of people who can afford to pursue their art full time. I know many female artists who can do so because their spouse brings home bank.

I wish only the Dump voters had to suffer from their terrible ideas. My only solace in all this is knowing that many Drumpf supporters will be horrified when they do their taxes and it will be obvious that it’s all due to the new GOP tax plan. Even my CPA could not cover it up, “yeah, there’s no more earned income…

I’m ENRAGED and I need to vent this somewhere where people will get it. This is that place.

You are speaking my language all up in this thread. Yes. (Married woman here who happily spends lots of time with and without my spouse. Can’t understand people who aren’t capable of this.)

You made me laugh with this: “pretty unremarkable act of two couples hanging out together.” Yes. I’m married, and I find it frustrating that I am thrust in situations where other couples keep trying to force a double date on me. I’m like, “dude, am I not special enough on my own?” I do things with and without my…

Good riddance to her then. That’s pretty weak. (On a side note, if I let my mind wander it reminds me of the kind of grooming abusive spouses do towards their partners - i.e. they start to peel away their spouses’s support group little by little. Makes me wonder about your friend’s spouse...)

Amen to this. I’m younger than you but also curmudgeonly. I’m married, and can’t stand it when friends are incapable of doing things without their S.O.’s. I do things without my husband all the time. (Yes, I still see him constantly and enjoyably - we’re very well matched, BUT, I’m spending massive amounts of time…

As a person who is part of a couple, it drives ME nuts when all my coupled up friends HAVE to bring their significant other everywhere. Me and my husband do stuff solo all the time. (obvs, we happily spend massive amounts of time together already.) But I am frequently going by myself to friend’s parties and get…

YES! And old skule - I own the book collections! So much fun. Me and my friend group CONSTANTLY say, “at night, the ice weasels come....” lol lol It’s the gift that keeps on giving I tell you.

I totally feel you on this. I recently started a job with very nice people but I’m doing work that I’ve decided I really dislike, and I’m several years past the point of burn out with this kind of work. Survival is important, though, and my only advice (that I wish I would take myself), is to work on your side hustle…

Ugh, I’m so sorry for your friend. Growing up, I knew a neighborhood couple with many kids. The father was a sweetheart, the mother was a horrible person who said terrible, scarring and cruel things to her kids. The father got brain cancer, though, and ultimately passed away. The mom is still alive and remarried. I…

I agree with what ouroboros said: “I’m not saying he wants to get back with her, but he might be unable to be blunt with her about her ways of intruding in his life, and she’s playing to his desire for an amicable split.”

Eh, it’s not that weird to be friends with an ex depending on the friendship/relationship. I’m friends with one of my exes because we were together for 10 years. By the time that relationship ended, we had been platonic for several years. We should have never been in a romantic partnership, but we were young and…

Very curious about the CBD oil - my best friend suffers from chronic pain, and my state does have legal use of medical marijuana. He and I both suspect he might have fibromyalgia, but can’t confirm. Just constant aches and pains all the time. It’s getting to the point where he doesn’t want to travel, even though it’s…

Yes to this. I have had to politely, and then more firmly but still politely, and then finally, FIRMLY refuse pictures. I personally actually take a lot of photos of my life, BUT, they’re usually of the surrounding area I’m in (hello NATURE!) Pictures of the lake I’m walking near, or of the restaurant interior, and so…

I’m sorry that you’ve been having such a rough time. I’ve been having an extremely rough year and I just had a great therapy session where my therapist talked about how sometimes, after “drowning”, you just have to lay there and pant on the raft. Like you’ve been struggling, dog-paddling and using every bit of energy…

Amen to this. I went to an art festival with my tween-aged niece several years ago, and I was comfortably walking for 7 hours straight, whereas she was very tired out after only an hour. At the time, I was thin for me, for the rest of the world I would have been considered pretty average-weight. The point is, you…

Fuck that guy and his unasked-for commentary about your body. I love that you sound like you won’t take any of that crap, and promptly drop-kicked him out of your world.

Thanks for the book recommendation - I just looked it up and it sounds great. I used to work for a giant asshole who did everything mentioned in the book by Robert Sutton. I was definitely trapped there (it was during an economic bust in my city and jobs were scarce), and although I’m out of there now, I wish I could…

I’m not sure what the answer is in full - I do think someone else here mentioned something I totally support, which is not lining the pockets of these abusers in the future. Case in point, I’m neither super young nor super old, but I’m at that age where I purchased the R. Kelly “12 play” in cd form when it came out.…