I graduated from highschool in 1985 and started working for the Government immediately. I didn't make a lot of money but saved enough to buy a very old house in East Vancouver for $90,000 which was a lot of money in those days. With my wife we raised 4 children and paid for their university educations. You never heard anyone in my generation complaining about the high price of housing. We just worked and worked and worked some more. Young people need to stop complaining about the housing situation and just put their heads down and work.

You can be a kind person your whole life but then devolve rapidly into that bitter old person who doesn’t want ANYONE to be happy with their life and choices. And then all that good character that we thought was you, leaves the room, and we wonder where you went. Not sure what you need or want but work on your inner self so that you need not ambush people in their happiness and hard work. I never want to be like you in old age.

I hit retirement age a couple of years ago. Found out I have a terminal illness and decided to change how I live. I moved somewhere very warm all year with beautiful beaches. Got rid of my car. Started walking a lot. Eat less. No Alcohol. Less TV and internet. No social media. Etc. I feel amazing! I wish I had done this sooner lol.

Realizing I am alone in the world is a hard pill to swallow. I have a hard time making friends. Mostly because of past traumatic events, that I'm still trying to over come. Everyone always leaves or dies. I thought my heart was broken before. But as time goes on I feel more sad and alone.

Y'all. I had to go to urgent care because I had a cyst pop unexpectedly and an obviously infected wound seeping pus everywhere, including soaking through my clothes as I waited to see doctor. This is why I opted for urgent care instead of an 8 hour emergency room wait. I waited two hours to get antibiotics. As I sat there and waited, people were turned away at the door because it was full for the day by 10 am. Meanwhile, some lady thinks needing to get a mole checked out is urgent. Some dude with eczema on his hand, that he could have had checked out by a pharmacist, thinks that's urgent. People are experiencing problems with their pregnancies and broken bones next to me, while half the people in there could have called 811 or done a simple google and seen what they have going on is not, in fact, urgent. Think about other people. Ask yourself what 'urgent' means, maybe? It's not rocket science.

A lot of these ageing rockers just don’t sound as good as they used to. A bunch of balding, out of tune, out of shape, overweight middle-aged men that sound either too drunk or stoned to sing, behaving like they’re in their early 20s all over again. And whenever they perform new material, most people sit down. People pay these guys to hear songs that they know, not the crap off some new album. Most ageing rock bands reunite after being split up for so long pretty much for the money. As a radio DJ in my generation once said, “I’d like to thank John, Paul, George and Ringo for not getting back together and spoiling a great thing.”

Years ago, I had a supervisor at work who made my life hell. He eventually quit, but I dealt with him for years and continue to grapple with the trauma. I randomly experience feelings of rage bubble up because of all the times I had to bite my lip and suppress my anger when he provoked me. He'd been demoted from a previous position and was constantly terrified of getting fired. To save his job, he wanted me to perform as if I were superhuman or a machine. He followed me around all day and constantly breathed down my neck to work faster and complete more tasks. Unfortunately, quitting was not an option. The company has a carefully worded anti-bullying policy. Basically, managers can't use slurs, violence or any *obvious* forms of bullying. "Ensuring accountability" or “motivating” employees they'd say, is not bullying. The insidious thing about my supervisor was that he figured out how to bully people in a way that didn't appear to violate the policy. He repeatedly used tone and body language by speaking to me like an angry, belligerent drill Sergeant. He'd slam things and take “digs” at me that were insulting but without slurs. He’d gaslight me by telling me to do something while I was already doing it as if that would make me do it faster. On top of the constant nagging, needling and pressure to do more, he'd constantly criticize and complain about every little thing while making me take responsibility for his mistakes. I often started my day listening to a list of complaints and then working without any breaks all day to finish everything so that I wouldn’t get berated. One day, he was speaking to me in such an indescribably rude and demeaning manner that I finally lost it and cussed him out. The senior managers suspended me. I didn't bother to explain the pattern of bullying because I thought their reaction would be, "wait, so he's been driving you as hard as possible on behalf of the company? Haha, that's awesome, keep it up!” I’m still haunted over whether I should've spoken up or not. At the time, I thought that his behavior would be considered laudable, so I quietly accepted my suspension. So tell me, should I have reported him? Is the behavior I’m describing bullying or was I just an unlucky worker with a demanding boss?

Hate to say this but when you’re burning through your savings just to survive living in Vancouver, I honestly don’t have any energy to care about world wars, conflicts, “He said/she said” drama, or 40 year businesses shutting down. Survival of me and wondering wtf will happen to me before philanthropy and politics.

we can’t have nice things. I want to get an electric bike but knowing that if I leave it for a minute to go into a store it’s going to be stolen no matter how expensive my locks are. I’d love to have a better car but at least my old one isn’t going to be a typical target. Thieves can brazenly steal in broad daylight with multiple witnesses taking videos of the whole thing. They can openly run bike chop shops selling stolen bikes. They can operate a stolen goods market right down the street from the police station. We live in another world from the one I grew up in here, and if I hear one more person tell me that I should be tolerant because the “poor thieves” are drug addicts, I’m going to scream. This is absolutely insane and the inmates are running the asylum. (And before you lose your mind telling me how privileged I am, let me set you straight: I’m a low income disabled senior who still has to work because I can’t afford to live if I don’t. )

I was chatting with a friend about a guy who seriously entertained the idea of having me on the side if not leaving his marriage outright. The risk was too much for him, as he couldn't give me the courageous leap to claim me by leaving what he had or even by declaring his feelings out loud to my face. He hated that I couldn't be the side piece that allowed him to have both worlds. I shook up all he knew and he never forgave me for making him feel what he felt while knowing he couldn't be what I needed. We were both awful to each other trying to find a way of loving each other that we both wanted but couldn't have because we were both firm in our own terms. We were alike in ways that didn't help. He still hates me because, in the quietest moments, he still desires me and I ruined his plans. And yet, he's strong enough to bury himself in life to not think of me, the one who got away (he hates that part because it's true). I found a silver lining in this experience: I was able to empathize and give good advice to my friend about to go through something similar based on my experience with the man from my past. Communicate, be completely open and honest and be okay that doing so brings truth to each other's hearts, even if the result is realization that it cannot be. That is the advice I gave. No hiding, strategic gameplay, no withholding feelings or facts. All the things a healthy relationship deserves even if it leads to its end is what two people wondering about the love of each other deserve. To that mixed up man: I get why we went through it all. Such drama, omg. Oddly, I thank you, and I'm sorry we couldn't be healthy together like that but I hope you're at least content. I know you will always hate me because it's easier and I know you want to forget. I hope, if you can't forget, you realize silver linings that do add to your happiness in yourself and in others.