I should feel really good about this but instead I feel nothing. Stay sober and carry on.

Since I retired I have done some different volunteer gigs. It feels fantastic to help out! I was spinning my wheels for a while but have some serious traction happening now.

I was in a relationship with someone for many years, on and off. One of the issues he had was hoarding. He’s also a total narcissist and has been enabled in both of these dysfunctional behaviours by his family who refuse to accept the reality that is right in front of them. I tried to talk to one of them about it many, many years ago. A person who I really believed would want to help him, because she not only adores her brother but she’s also a mental health practitioner. Instead of having any type of rational response to what I told her, she completely flipped out hysterically and called me screaming at me. Clearly not stable whatsoever. Several years later I again mentioned to her that he has a hoarding problem, but once again absolutely no help for him was offered. Our relationship is over for good now, but I still care for him and am sad that the people that think they love him the most have willingly blinded themselves to his obvious mental illness. His condo is in terrible condition and is basically unliveable for anyone but him, which is why he wanted to spend all of his time at my place. He NEVER has anyone over to his place because it’s so disgusting, and he has very few friends left. When his family is gone (they’re all seniors) I believe that he’s going to wind up exactly like his late father, who died alone in dire circumstances after a lifetime of mental illness and alcoholism. I wish that they would wake up and acknowledge that really loving someone means that you accept them for who they truly are, warts and all, because their insistence that he’s perfect has put that pressure on him that unless he pretends to be that, he’s letting them down. He needs help before it’s too late.

I'm a slightly lucky person who used to share news of every big and small victory with my parents/siblings. As I age, I'm discovering their limits. If the size of my victory (tangible or not) exceeds a certain threshold, they shame and doubt me. I hate that I'm pre-programmed to want to share good news with my family, as people from regular, loving families tend to do. But no more. A magazine back East is sending me a big box of goodies I'll be opening by myself. Merry Xmas to me, and I'll be donating anything I don't see myself using.

I wish my husband would just do the things I want him to do around the house without being told.

How can crushes be so exhilarating and heartbreaking at the same time? I haven’t fallen for anyone in a long time, and he’s now moved for work and the chemistry, which I thought was mutual appears to be just one-sided and I feel so foolish and vulnerable.

I want to quit my job every single day but I can’t until my wife gets a job first. It would be great to leave one day notice because that would seriously fuck them up

I got a new phone and number in 2005. I guess the previous owner owed Telus $40,and they sold the debt. Told them probably 300 times they had the wrong guy,they wouldn't listen so I decided to keep the charade all this time. I get to swear at someone,insult their parents,call them all sorts of filthy names,promise to pay then string them along,etc. It's a great stress reliever after fighting traffic for 40 minutes. They'll phone regularly,once or a few times a day. Then nothing for days or weeks..and just when I'm starting to miss continually insulting someone-they call! A few times,they didn't call me for 6 weeks so I called them up to wonder why they were ignoring me. Lately they have started texting me,now I can type filthy anecdotes and it adds some variety. I was so kind as to spend some time and wrote them a limerick that ended with...well,I don't want to say it here.

I care about my country and my fellow Canadians.I certainly don't wish financial ruin and hardship on them.

Maybe it's just because there's more people here now, but it seems like a lot more are going missing.