I agree completely. The whole "we're so snarky, we'll give shit to anyone who tries to be sincere" schtick has gotten really old. It just reminds me of the "it's cool to not care about anything" crowd in high school.

"I just don't see why being polite or attempting to be unoffensive to others is something that requires an explanation or discussion."

Just the thing I needed to tell me that no, I can't drop out of my degree program. No, it's not okay to just say 'fuck it' and continue working at my jobs. Nope, gotta keep having this nervous breakdown and get my shitty fucking degree so I can shuffle some fucking papers around. First world problems.

How awesome is it to feel like you've made progress and gotten better? Don't get me wrong, I've had my share of panic attacks at work, but I feel SO much better equipped to deal with life because of highly social jobs.

"People show you when they aren't right in the head. "

The point is that the correct word to use is 'convicted', not 'alleged'. 'Alleged' is generally used when there has been no conviction, or the case hasn't yet gone to trial.

I definitely agree with you re: dancers — I absolutely hate going to exotic dance clubs (too many people, too much noise for me), but the few times I have for birthdays, etc., I've always been so impressed by the sheer amount of social engineering that most dancers have to employ. I complimented one woman, especially,…

It can be really overwhelming, but it can be really rewarding, too. I guess it just depends on what you want out of a job. I'm an introvert that also used to be painfully shy with strangers, and I got my first serving job (about 12 years ago) because I wanted to force myself to learn how to better deal with strangers.

Hey thar! Fellow Sarah here (WITH THE 'H' IS THE ONLY WAY! SHUN THE NONBELIEVERS! XD), and I think the other comments probably covered the company recommendations better than I could've, so I just have one important bit of advice:

Hullo, Anonymous Moose! :)

Thank you :)

Thanks! :)

Thanks! :)

"How sad and fucked up it is that these things are commonplace enough that even a simple comment online can incite that sort of fear in a stranger, yet men always think their attention and advances are simply flattering and nice, never realizing their behavior can be absolutely terrifying."

This! You make a very excellent point.

Agreed. Shoot, I feel like I came out of my era-of-online-shenanigans relatively unscathed, but as an adult I look back and get terrified of all of the things that could've happened — and that was when technology didn't make it nearly so easy to stalk/blackmail people, as you mentioned. Online dangers alone make me…

"when you love someone, you don't stalk them, and when you stalk someone, you don't love them."

I'm so glad you were so savvy as a teenager! I didn't know that about the difference between Canadian domain registration and American — I wonder why a similar law hasn't been put in place here?

There's a difference between "making fun of" and "shaming". Note: the difference is whether they deserve it. This kind of behavior absolutely deserves to be shamed, and talked about, as often as possible.

Holy shit. I used to do the same type of chatroom roleplaying (I was closer to your age in the story), and I remember some of the seriously shady and fucked-up dudes* that used to show up in some of the chat rooms. I was lucky to have gotten into it with several trustworthy and age-appropriate friends, so I mainly…