I agree. I like having my phone with me as a way to tell time & I find mobile ticketing for mass transit very convenient. But I'm fine leaving my phone somewhere safe while I work so I can actually focus on what I'm doing.

Your household makes $200,000 a year and you don't see how that's upper middle class? I lived in Orange Co about 6 years ago and I made a fraction of that, part of the reason I moved. Believe me, I know it's expensive there. You may not make as much as your neighbors but you're definitely one of the privileged.

Lots of good tips here! I was someone who worked 32 hours a week and did a masters program part time in 3 years. I also got married during my degree.

"Yet despite its success and its roots in western role-playing, Lodoss War has remained relatively unknown outside Japan."

Stick with it. Blood of Elves is a little dry but as the series moves forward it gets better. I'm impatiently waiting for them to keep translating the series into English.

Huh, I've had a career counselor tell me to take months off of my resume. She advised me just to list the years. I wonder if this is one of those areas where there's different philosophies?

Thank you for a well thought out article backed up by research.

I've seen lots of no's here. I also avoid the Valentine Day crowd. However, I found a nice local restaurant that's open on Christmas with a limited menu and they're great. It's a new tradition that my husband & I dine there each Christmas. The service is great, not rushed, and we leave an extra big tip!

Yeah. Coats are expensive. I buy one really nice one and I'm set. I can layer underneath it.

Very true. In fact, several of the name brand department stores don't carry plus sizes of have a tiny selection. Macy's is one of the few stores I found that does carry plus sizes in the store. Even when I check stores like Ross, the plus size racks are small and what's there is fugly.

I cleared out my books last year. This is good advice. Since my library will get me any book it doesn't have through inter-library loan, I kept books I might not re-read but that I want to display because it demonstrates my personality, interests, or other part of my life.

Yeah exactly. Work is nothing like academia. You don't have to memorize and regurgitate a bunch of information every 15 weeks. You can take & refer to notes any time. Deadlines are (usually) known in advance so if I know it takes me x amount of time to do something by a deadline, I prioritize and make sure it's done.…

Or you could set a boundary with him instead of avoiding him. Something like "I'm using my lunch break to (read/listen to music/meditate/etc). We'll have to pick up this conversation about (work related thing) later." Especially if you have to work with him it's better to set boundaries. Lunch rooms are places people…

Where was this article 3 weeks ago when I watched all of Downton Abbey!? This is a good strategy to try. I allowed myself to watch one episode per weeknight, and as many as possible on the weekend. The problem for me isn't the work nights, it's the weekends since I have no responsibilities.

Is there a good tutorial for learning how to use swipe keyboards? It seems like a different skill from typing letter by letter & I need to train my brain to like the predictive text.

My library loans not just ebooks but ereaders too. So people can check out their reader of choice along with the book and return the device like they would a paper book.

I sprained my wrist & was able to read 3 books on my kindle since there was little else I could do at the time. Even now that I'm well I still prefer ebooks since my kindle is lightweight & portable.

It depends. If I am at home a regular book is fine, especially if I can get it from the library. If I am going to work or anywhere I'll be gone most of the day I read on my kindle because it takes up less space and is easy to read on public transit.

What careers have these high starting salaries? I understand it's an average but I'm curious what's on the high end. I went into social services after college where the debt is higher (masters degree required) and the starting salary is around 30k if you're lucky.