Yesterday, I thought about someone I was once very much interested in. He misses me. He dreams of having me back. It's odd to be that person, the one who "got away" that they regret losing. They revealed to be selfish & awful, giving mixed signals unnecessarily. They showed interest a lot, but then got unpleasant when the interest was reciprocated. They weren't single, either. I shouldn't have made excuses for them in the quest to be empathetic. I believe in being straight forward: if you're unhappy in your current relationship, then you talk about it to either make it work or you end it, not look for what you're missing in someone else while keeping the relationship going. If you're interested in someone, own it, admit it, show it. I don't see the joy or value in social game playing. It doesn't do anyone any favors. It only caused heartache in this case. For what, to kill boredom? They were bored so they invited/lured/seduced/charmed someone else into their life & wasted their time to make up for poor life choices because they lacked self-awareness or honesty? Now, years later, I'm glad I chose to walk away from them. In the end, I realized how I deserved better. I am single & I'm much happier. I think we teach some pretty crappy values & behaviours in society. I fail to see the value of getting involved with people intimately when dysfunction & complications are the norm. We have taught, encouraged, reinforced, & rewarded the wrong behaviours & I choose to stop supporting these & the people who feed that kind of life. I can excuse this from someone really young due to inexperience, not from a middle-aged educated professional with the knowledge of the world to encourage self-development a mere Google search or a click away. Distance does not make problems go away. Instead it allows the hurt to grow stronger. It makes the people we do wrong by go away. I don't want him or anyone like him ever. He blew it, especially by playing games and through inaction. I learned my worth by knowing boundaries that I learned to maintain. As I said: I am single & I'm much happier so I thank him for the experience as I thank him for doing all he did to spare me from being with him. I am very fortunate, indeed.

I have a cousin that lives in Ontario. There’s been this rumour going around in the family that he’s gay. His parents aren’t the type to discuss these things since they’re from the old school. It seems like they might be having a hard time trying to accept it. I don’t expect it to happen, but if let’s say there comes a time where they decide to open up and confide in me, I would just tell them that no matter what happens he will always be their son and it’s important to let him follow his own path. All that matters is that he has a good sense of himself and is living a happy, healthy life.

We used to be friends. I remember the good old days when you were happier and kinder, now you’ve changed clearly. But not for the better. You’ve become a completely different person. You seem spiteful, cynical, and just downright mean. What happened? Where did we lose connection? We were friends. You never used to be like this. Where did we lose each other. Did it just slip away? Did something happen in your life that caused you to behave the way you do? Is there something about you that maybe I should know about? How can I help you? I wish you would just tell me what’s bothering you so that we could put an end to all this. I’m tired of fighting and I don’t want to fight anymore. There’s no need. Just tell me what’s wrong and maybe I can try to help you, even if it’s slightest bit.

I want a relationship but it never ends up there. It just ends up being sex and not much else. I would like to have a relationship that's more then sex. Its like you bounce from one woman to another. Its always "We're just hanging out". So we're never dating but we have sex 2 or 3 times a week. I don't understand why I am not bf material. I am not a #$#$# boy.

Two options: Do I take Door 1 - job I have no honest interest in for a 40% pay cut or what I was making 20 years ago. Or Do I take Door 2 - status quo unemployment and build business with partner who is super eager to launch? It seems like a betrayal to myself to rewind my salary gains 2 decades back. Advocating for more. It’s 2024 with killer inflation after all. If I do #1 I’ll just end up quitting anyway rite?

I’ve spent less and less time with my friend. The last 4 years, she moves out of Vancouver for 4-12 months at a time living elsewhere. There’s no contact when she’s out of town and I get on with my life and get closer to other friends. Then a week before she comes back, she texts me “Hey I’m coming back!” But we have no glue and I’m not in any rush to see her. She’ll be here for a bit, and then it’s the same thing from her: “Leaving soon, we should catch up before I go!” She knows so little of my day to day. And if I text her, she’ll return a text 3WEEKS later. What does one do with a person like this?

You spend the whole relationship you have with someone making sure that they always know how replaceable they are. You take extra pains to let them know that they’re not special, and you criticize them constantly. You refuse to make a commitment of any kind. So eventually they just give up and accept that it’s never going to be what they want and need, and they leave you. If you’re genuinely surprised by their decision, I think you need to wake the hell up.

I can only speak through my own experiences, however I’d like to offer some advice to those out there who have children with Autism. Don’t force your children to want friends. If they want friends, put them in a situation where they’ll be able to find some. Once they feel comfortable, then they’ll gradually learn the ropes on their own. If your kids don’t like something, there’s a good chance they never will, especially if you keep pushing it upon them. Leave them to find their own interests and they’ll be happier about themselves.

I feel truly sorry for people in the construction industry. Most of them ...no, nearly every one of them are sad. They choose insecurity and ignorance, and wonder why their lives are filled with obstacles while they dish out hate to anyone not like them. Well, when your go-to is to openly hate people that you don't bother to get to know, you are begging for misfortune and people like me are happy to oblige. You don't know who the person you act mean to is or what they do, but when I meet people like them, especially ones who mention the company they work for, I flag them at work. These are the same people who come with hat in hand and wonder why people like me in power say "no". I don't just do that, I make sure to spread the word to other contacts and all relevant organizations. I don't bother with social media, I talk to industry contacts. No, not talk to them...warn them. So, next time you look for favours and someone says they can't help you, know that there's a pretty good chance you've screwed yourself indefinitely.

I ran away from home when I was ten. I stayed away for a day and a half. My folks were plenty worried. I had unpleasant and frightening experiences which, in today's world, would have had very serious consequences, death being not an unlikely one of them. When I went home, because I could not imagine a way that staying away could work for me, at that time, my folks treated me well for a while, but then it was back to the way it was. The next time I ran away, years later, I had a better plan, and I never went home again.