Coin Master And Farmville 2

How Can I Make My Husband Watch 'Game Of Thrones' With Me?

2019-05-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

GOOD QUESTIONMy husband and I have very different television interests. I tend to prefer prestige shows that require significant time and attention commitment. He tends to enjoy brainless sitcoms. He says he doesn't have the attention span to sit and watch many of the large-scale prestige shows. I feel that I'm wasting my time watching sitcoms with nonstop corny puns.

I really wish my husband would share my interest in television. It would make it far more enjoyable if we could discuss the shows afterward. Instead, he tends to tune out and play a game on his phone. What can I do to incentivize my husband to watch my shows?

Am I Allowed To Assign Each Dinner Party Guest A Particular Cupcake Ahead Of Time?

2019-05-21T10:49:00.002-07:00

GOOD QUESTIONMy significant other and I were invited to a dinner hosted by another couple, with a third couple also in attendance. We were asked to bring dessert, so we brought a large selection of cupcakes.

My SO and I put a lot of effort into picking out flavors for each guest rather than opting for a random assortment, and we were looking forward to doling them out after dinner.

The hosts' neighbors dropped by unexpectedly before dinner and were asked to stay. I felt slightly annoyed that our deliberate cupcake selection would be thrown off, but it hardly mattered when I realized that the host had already allowed each of his two kids to help themselves to a cupcake.

Was I justified in feeling annoyed by my dessert being distributed not as I'd thoughtfully intended, or was it considered the hosts' right to do with it what they pleased?

Should I Tell My Boss Our Brand New Hire Is Already Plotting To Overthrow Him?

2019-05-21T10:48:00.002-07:00

GOOD QUESTIONI work in HR, and we had a new recruiter start yesterday. She seems to struggle with issues from her previous job with "corporate bullying" and may be unstable (lots of home problems, arrived extremely late on first day, complained about previous position extensively, etc.).

Today (her second day of employment), she pulled me aside and spoke disdainfully of my supervisor, who heads the HR department, saying that I could have his job in two years and everyone in Recruiting hates him, in an attempt to try to "recruit" me to sabotage my boss. This is all too much drama for someone starting their second day, and this tells me that her fellow recruiters are badmouthing my boss and telling her how awful he is. I'm not sure if they are encouraging her loose cannon behavior or are working as a group on this plot. But hatching a plan to overthrow my boss is taking it too far, makes me very uncomfortable, and is a crazy distraction. How should I approach this bizarre situation? Should I warn my boss?

Should I Disinvite My Friend's Trans Spouse From Staying With Us To Make My Transphobic Husband Comfortable?

2019-05-21T10:47:00.003-07:00

GOOD QUESTIONMy longtime friend of 30 years, "Charlotte," lives across the country. I have just learned that her husband, "Harold," is transgender and is now transitioning to become "Helen."

When they come, they always stay with us for several days because they can't afford a hotel. My husband is now very uncomfortable with them staying here or being seen out in public with them. Is there a way to tell Charlotte to come alone and still save the friendship? Or should I let them come and deal with my husband's feelings, which I think are unjust?

Can I Get My Sister's Kids Vaccinated Behind Her Back?

2019-05-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

GOOD QUESTIONI am the primary caregiver for my elderly mother, who has lupus and thus a compromised immune system. My sister has four young children, none of whom she has had vaccinated out of fear that vaccines cause autism.

My mother and I watch all four children regularly but have become increasingly uneasy in the face of outbreaks of measles and other communicable diseases. My mother and other relatives have implored my sister to reconsider her anti-vaccination stance. We have told her that if she doesn't, we will have to stop watching her children, which would be a significant hardship for her. (My two older nephews were both denied entrance to a great local public school because my sister refuses to vaccinate, leading to even more babysitting time at my mother's house.)

The health center where my mother receives regular care hosts a biannual, reduced-cost vaccination clinic. Would it be unethical for me to get the children inoculated there the next time such an event is held? I don't want to alienate my sister, but at what point does the common good outweigh individual choice?

Do I Have To Spend Time With My Partner's Coworkers, Who Photoshopped My Face Onto A Porn Actor's Body?

2019-05-21T10:46:00.001-07:00

GOOD QUESTION

My partner has been with the same employer for 10 years. He is very happy at his job with his company, and because it is such a specialized field within an already-niche industry, he has been able to really show off his talents and achieve huge career success within that time frame...

The problem, unfortunately, is his immediate supervisor and his department head. It's very much an old boys' club in the already-small field he works in... I found out recently that they had Photoshopped my face onto someone in a pornographic scene and hid copies of this "artwork" inside my partner's office when he refused to engage in a round of golf with them. They considered this to be a "prank," but I am livid...

I know my partner is happy with his job, but I don't ever want to see either of those gentlemen again. Unfortunately, this field has many social events that I have attended with my partner — and my partner insists I support him by continuing to attend. There is no way to avoid either of these people if I do attend due to the exceptionally small size of the event, so my attendance will guarantee long-ish interaction with both of these gentlemen. Do I have to go? I am sick just thinking of attending the next event in three months.

A Dinner Guest Brought Crabs And Stunk Up My Place

2019-05-17T22:32:00.003-07:00

GOOD QUESTION

A few hours before the small dinner party I was throwing for close friends, one guest called to ask if she could invite a mutual friend. I said, "Of course!" -- it was a buffet and we had more than enough food.

The new guest ended up arriving over an hour late. We were all hungry, and I was getting antsy. I was in the dining room when I was suddenly overwhelmed by strong odors.

I went to the kitchen to investigate, and what did I see but our late-arriving guest pulling crabs out of a cooler and handing them to another guest, who looked almost as confused as I felt. She told me the crabs are cooked and she has everything needed to shell them.

I was annoyed, but I said, "OK, add it to the buffet!" Honestly, I wish I had asked her to put them back in the cooler and leave them outside. I worked all day on a big dinner, and it was waiting.

I explained to the other guests that it would be a few more minutes before we could eat, that some crab needed to be shelled. The entire house now reeked of crab!

The dinner ended up being fun; we all had a good time, and people helped clean up after. The only thing is that the house was so smelly I could barely taste my food, and I'm just so resentful that my party was hijacked by such a party foul!

The person who brought the crab did say she thought it was maybe a potluck. I know the crab was expensive, and to her it was a nice gesture.

Should I have asked her to not serve the crab, or was it better to have an already late dinner even later and air my house out days after, knowing that we will laugh about this for years?

My Boss's Dog Keeps Peeing By My Desk

2019-05-17T22:31:00.003-07:00

GOOD QUESTION

I am lucky enough to have a job that I don’t hate and that pays well, and I’ve had it for about a year. Our office is dog-friendly, and my boss Christie brings in her dog, Ricky, once or twice a week.

Let me start by saying that I have never owned or lived with a dog, and my parents are both very allergic (somehow the gene skipped me, I guess). It’s therefore very difficult for me to discern negligence from just … mildly inadvisable dog parenting.

We frequently work late nights during quarter-end and Ricky will go eight to ten hours without being taken out. I’m the only one in my role, and though it was never stated, it became obvious after I tried to shoo Ricky out of my office once or twice that part of my job was dogsitting Ricky when he’s in because having him in her office is “distracting” for her. For the most part, I don’t mind. He’s cute and relatively quiet.

However, Ricky often has “accidents” by my desk in the late hours because Christie doesn’t want to take him out once they get in. I’m tired of him peeing next to me at approximately the stroke of midnight. Whenever it happens, Christie insists that he never pees on the carpet at home and scolds him because he should be able to hold it.

I’ve only had to clean it up twice, but I finally cracked last week and told her that I’d prefer it if she found a way for Ricky to not pee by my desk when he’s in. I feel that this is a perfectly reasonable request.

Further, the various dog people in my life have informed me that her treatment of him in the office combined with Ricky being at home for 10+ hours on days she’s in the office without him likely crosses the line of “mildly inadvisable dog parenting” and that if she’d just take him out more it would probably solve the problem. However, after I said something she became VERY upset that I “don’t want her dog around” and has been passive-aggressive about it (e.g. “I’d love to bring Ricky in Thursday but I guess you’d prefer he stay home”).

Do I have to apologize for asking her to keep her dog from peeing by my desk? Am I being unreasonable? I like the dog fine, but I’m not a dogsitter. I’m an accountant.

Texting With Girlfriend's Mom Goes Awry

2019-05-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

GOOD QUESTION
I am a high school guy in a relationship with a classmate. Whenever I go to her house, her mom makes me feel welcome and accepted. But my girlfriend is often in conflict with her. Recently, her mom texted me that she’d read my girlfriend’s diary and asked why she was upset. (She added: “Delete these texts.”) I showed them to my girlfriend. She got really angry and told me to tell her mother not to text me. The texts were weird, but telling her mom what to do didn’t feel right. Now, my girlfriend is mad at me, and her mother is upset that I showed the texts. What do I do?

My Mom Is Dating A Sex Offender

2019-05-16T02:08:00.002-07:00

GOOD QUESTION

I’m second guessing myself and really need your advice. My mother is currently dating a level 3 sex offender* she’s been with him for two years.

I found out after she unintentionally mentioned to a relative that he had been to prison. When she wouldn’t elaborate on why he went to prison, this relative found it odd and contacted me to let me know. At the time, my mom had been helping to care for my kids by picking them up from school and serving as an emergency contact. I looked him up online and found all of his mugshots as well as his name on an offender registry. Mom hid this info, as far as I know, everyone. This man had been in my home several times, and my kids and I had spent Thanksgiving with him at my mom’s.

I was enraged, and scared that perhaps my children had been abused by him. After talking with my husband and verifying with my kids and their pediatrician that no abuse had taken place, I confronted my mom with the help of the family member who told me about the boyfriend. My mother’s initial response was defensiveness, accented by a half-hearted apology. She said she believed he was on drugs in the past and he wouldn’t do that again, he’d become a different person, etc. She later told family that I was keeping the children away from her, without explaining why. I had to remove her from the children’s emergency contact list; after this whole thing blew up she showed up at the kids’ school unannounced, which my son told me about.

Here’s where I keep second guessing myself: I have not taken my kids to see her without me. She keeps asking to see my kids but won’t actually talk to me about anything meaningful. I have visited her with the kids in the park or at a restaurant or with my husband in tow. Truthfully, I don’t want to engage her at all. I don’t want my kids to be near her. I don’t trust her. My husband feels the same as me but also tends to avoid tense situations and hasn’t really put much skin in the game. I know she loves them, but I feel she is sick and can’t or won’t realize how dangerous it is for the children and how she has betrayed me yet again.

I feel guilty that I may be preventing the kids from having a relationship with her and they may resent me later. But, I have to protect them. I have explained to them why Grandma isn’t safe. The oldest, my 11 year old, understands and tries to comfort me when I’m bursting into tears about the whole thing. I feel like I have to protect myself and the kids from this ongoing pain.

Family members are not confronting her about this. I don’t feel supported by my maternal family in my decision to keep away permanently. It seems as if they are considering this situation a “me” problem. They say that I’m angry and in pain but it’s used in a way that is dismissive to me. I also feel that whole YOU ONLY HAVE ONE MOTHER thing, but she’s not okay. Why are they enabling her? I don’t think I’m asking anyone to choose sides however I don’t believe its a “me” problem and I’m fucking sick of feeling all this grief, anger and pain.

Am I seeing this wrong?

My Coworker Got Engaged To My Ex-Boyfriend

2019-05-16T02:06:00.001-07:00

GOOD QUESTION

Last year I met an adorable fellow at a bar. One thing led to another, and we ended up going home together that night. We saw each other off and on for several weeks, then he dumped me, saying I was too young for him. I'm 24. He's 31. Six months later, he started dating a phony, obnoxious, downright dim-witted woman I work with. (We work in TV.) She was with me the night I met him! I had a hard time dealing with them being together, seeing as how he broke my heart, but I managed to function at work. Well, guess what, E. Jean? That bitch got engaged to him! Now it's impossible for me to pretend that they don't exist as she is wagging her ring all over. I'm inconsolable! How can a woman like that get engaged, and someone like me—smart, funny, friendly, cute—be single? It's unfair! So unjust! How do I deal?