I am more than happy to have a drink with you over the internet should you need an empathetic ear after said reunion :) I find that just knowing that there are other people like us out there tends to ease the sting of these interactions for me.

There have been so many posts in this thread about how divorces are more difficult than LTR breakups...I just want to chime from the land of Quebec, where people don't get married. The reason divorces are *usually* more difficult than LTR breakups (in other places where people get married) is for all the financial…

Ugh, "Why didn't you get married?", "Why are you still single?", I've always wondered why these questions seem appropriate to people, I don't ask "How is your marriage doing?" to strangers. And then the relationship advice starts, because obviously since they are married (no matter how messed up their relationship…

"But most people just don't have the social skills (or the inclination) to have a conversation outside of "How's the husband? How are the kids? How old are they now?" So socializing becomes more difficult as I get older and I feel like I don't have anything in common with my peer group."

To add to that, Canada, the proponent of "multiculturalism" , also turned away Jewish refugees. There was an incidence where a boat full of approximately 900 Jewish refugees was turned away in 1939 (they went to Cuba and the US first and were rejected). An immigration agent at the port in Halifax said they didn't…

The manitoba socials! I lived in Winnipeg for 18 months and was astounded at how such a huge thing they are. The kinds of door prize people get (there was a 40" flat screen at one I went to) was what I found the most insane. I also found it amusing how they are all.exactly.the.same. The community center, the…

I read it and I had the same reaction. I had a single mom too who was a consumed by her work - She is incredibly successful and well-known/respected in her field. But she was a neglectful and frankly shitty as a mom. She claims that she climbed so high in her career so make good for her kids, but I call bullshit…

I'm sad to see the responses you're getting on this thread, because I agree 100% with what you've said. I had a similar situation with a friend a few years ago. She wasn't transitioning, but she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 26.

There's nothing wrong with quitting a job because you feel that it's not working out for you, but why post a You Tube video snarking at your old boss? Because you had to work crazy hours and you feel that it's not fulfilling as it used to be? As seen in these comments, many people will see this video and consider…

Just cause you think someone might be totally wrong for you in the long run doesn't mean that they aren't the totally RIGHT person for you right now. I wish you oodles and oodles of fun :)

You're story is exactly what I'm talking about, and it happens to all women, which is shitty. I had a similar experience when, oddly enough, I needed to buy steel toed boots. The sales clerk kept insisting that I didn't need boots, wouldn't I prefer more "shoe" type steel toes or just non slip shoes? Uh, no dude, I…

Most of them do. But it has to be pointed out to them. I remember after a meeting with a supplier who we were leasing equipment (a tractor! ... yes my research involves tractors...) kept directing the questions to the undergraduate student hired for the summer and I kept answering them because the undergrad had no…

The patriarchy will be dead, in my opinion, when people stop assuming that my less educated male peers "know more about technical stuff" (aka are better engineers) than me simply by the virtue that they are men and I am a woman.

- Signed a female PhD Engineering student who regularly has people direct their questions…

These kinds of chants get permeated through many channels, like inter-school competitions, conferences, etc. You have to remember, although Canada is REALLY big size wise, not so much population wise - so it's not so hard to imagine that these chants were passed around/learnt from different national conferences. I…

Yes, to be a turbine designer, you'll need a master's. And regardless of PhD or masters, you'll be doing some hardcore math for turbine design, hell to get your undergrad in engineering you'll take probably at least 4 calculus courses if not more as well as higher order numerical methods. Anything Aerospace is…

As an engineer and a Mechanical one, I wouldn't discount your local university. If you really want to go to Notre-Dame, then go for it, but many engineering schools don't have all the specialized programs for good reason: they aren't really necessary to get jobs in those fields. I went to a school where they didn't…

I've found that Weddings just bring the crazy out in everyone ... and many people use it as an excuse to point out "bad behaviour" or "poor manners" or "crazy acting" in people that they might have lingering or sometimes unspoken/unacknowledged (even to themselves sometimes) complicated feelings towards. So, your Mom…

Plus we have the most heart attack inducing food: Poutine. Best.Hangover.Food.EVER. Oh, and if you're in the Montreal area and stop at Au Pied du Cochon (translation: at the pork hoof) you can have "Poutine au foie gras" - that's right ladies and gents - fries, curd cheese, gravy and foie gras. You eat it and your…

When I was out shopping for some herbs to put in my garden earlier this summer, I came across some "Rue" (I had never noticed it at the market before) ... and starting crying ... hey, I was having a bad day, plus I'm way too emotionally invested in these books. Changes aside, I'm still looking forward to this movie.

So lets say you have a few friends that you invite whom you've never met or don't know very well their husbands or long-term partner s(this can happen with old friends from out of town/childhood/high school/college) . Would you just invite your friend and not their significant other? My guess would be no, but…