Thank you! It honestly wasn't as bad or as invasive as I'd feared it might be, and the staff at the clinic I went to did their best to make it as easy as possible.

I recently had to undergo a physical examination that included several vaccinations as a part of my immigration paperwork to become a permanent US resident. I already had most of the vaccinations required, and I'm also lucky enough to be in good general health, but it just seems very ironic to me that Americans are…

I think it depends on the nature both of the debt and the relationship. If the debt is actively preventing someone from getting something they need (an example could be medical treatment) or if there is a case of some urgency, I think most people would be nothing but grateful for a close friends saying "I know you…

As someone who is pretty much the poorest person among their friends, loved ones and acquaintances,* I can reassure LW 1 that your friend probably doesn't give a monkey's beyond occasionally thinking how nice it would be for him to be in your position. Putting down a deposit on a house? That's fantastic, and you…

What a nightmare. I don't understand why they wouldn't just order both sizes into the store for you and let you try them on there.

Yeah...I mean, I actually very much like a lot of the J Crew gowns, but they're still pretty expensive compared to buying vintage/second-hand/any white or pale-colored dress that's not specifically labeled as a bridal gown. I've no problem personally with people who do buy into the wedding industry- it's their money-…

Ehhhhh...I'm not a fan of that particular jumpsuit, mostly because it looks like it collided with a traditional wedding dress and just kept the most twee elements (those bows on the back...). I would think someone who is looking to jettison the bridal dress paradigm wouldn't be keen on those bits either. I can totally…

I suspect it's because they're perceived as a more "feminine" creature. I mean, I would genuinely like to know if there were any Victorian jokes doing the rounds about men with overt attachments to their excessive number of hunting dogs or fine horses, but I doubt they'd ever be as popular as the "crazy cat lady"…

Yarp. I think the big Fashion (with the capital F, look you) players so often adopt a uniform look because it's actually the only reliable way to stay relevant.

I think that's the point a lot of the people most vociferously defending DiFranco missed- it wasn't so much just that this was a plantation, but that it was a plantation apparently notorious for white-washing and downplaying it's own heritage. A lot of commentators reported going to plantations that did give their…

I have a feeling that either he's knocking people/women who are constantly checking their phones for facebook updates etc. through dinner or whatever (which, fair enough, is pretty annoying), or he's one of those guys who sneers as women who are "too afraid" to do "normal" stuff like walk home alone after dark or…

I think someone with violent tendencies can reform, but I suspect most domestic abusers have gone way beyond such tendencies and have developed deeply ingrained habits of thinking/behavior that cannot be shaken off without a high-degree of self-awareness and a willingness to completely efface their old personalities,…

Yep. I buy things (and we're not a family of big-ticket gifters, which helps) as and when I see them, so most of my shopping was done by the beginning of November. It's much much easier for me to spread the cost out throughout the year than lump it all together, particularly during the month I'm also paying for…

Same situation with us. He at least has my aunt and uncle living very close by, and one of them drops in at least once a day (he also has carers that pop in on a regular basis), but they both work full-time and are running themselves a bit ragged. My aunt and my dad scoped out a very nice assisted living complex, less…

It's true. This isn't a dynamic that's going to work for the next couple of generations, since we'll all be working until we die.

Sadly, this has pretty much happened with my grandfather. He was already "wandering" a bit when my grandmother (who was pretty darn sharp all the way to the end) died, and since she passed away he's only gotten worse. In addition, it's been 50 odd years since he cooked himself a meal or washed a dish, and while…

I must say, I've always found the "self-reported happiness increases as you get older" thing to be very cheering. I mean, I hated my teenage years/early twenties, even though I had no real worries of note, and I've been much happier in my mid-late twenties, even though now I have to worry about bills and things. It's…

I think it would be a toss-up between me and my partner. He has more long-lasting friendships, but I'm way more comfortable at getting out and meeting new people. I think you need a good mix of both!

Could also be a generational thing. Older women/men now (I'm assuming from upper 60s to lower 80s) were either getting married just as the sexual revolution was getting underway, or were already married when it happened. Maybe they feel like they never got to really enjoy being single, and are making the most of it…

I think something similar happens following bereavement, too. I know my family was hoping like hell that my grandmother would outlive my grandfather and not vice versa- she was by far the more active and more sociable of the two, right up until the end of her life, and now he's on his own my grandfather just gets more…