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1500 questions
11
votes
4 answers

Chronic illness at work; navigating genuine "how are you?" questions

I'm a 23-year-old woman in the United States. I have several chronic illnesses that in turn manifest in more short-term symptoms. I doubt all the particulars are actually relevant here (correct me if I'm wrong) but my laundry list of issues…
Alex
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11
votes
2 answers

Trust issues with male friend: how to make him understand I can't tell him about everything?

I have recently become close friends with a male classmate in my college. It started with simple straightforward discussions about academics. Then we have grown closer as friends and we daily exchange texts. As of a few weeks ago, the texts were…
11
votes
2 answers

What are the practical ways to minimize dead-naming of someone behind their back?

I see from social media that a former colleague "A" (whom I'm not close to and haven't spoken to in years) now has a differently-gendered name, look, and pronouns from what they had when I and other colleagues (B, C and D) worked with them. …
jez
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11
votes
3 answers

What is the proper etiquette with regards to reciprocating Thanksgiving dinner invitations?

A little bit of background: I am an international graduate student at a university in the US. A domestic friend invited me to his apartment to celebrate Thanksgiving Day and we had a great time on that day. By the way, He lives in an apartment with…
Frank
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11
votes
2 answers

How do I progress a newly formed friendship into a romantic relationship?

I am 27 and don't have any experience dating. My problem is that I have been totally an introvert for the past 10 years, especially with girls, so I don't have much experience when it comes to girls. Recently I am trying to fix this by getting in…
anon
11
votes
1 answer

How can I bring good news to a partner who is professionally not as successful?

I have some good news I want to share with my partner. It's nothing too major. However, they have been struggling with their career and self-image, often drawing comparisons to me, as we are in the same field. I've struggled much less with school…
11
votes
1 answer

People assuming dead person's intentions

Background: My mom died about 1.5 years ago of cancer. I'm 31 and have always been a Mama's boy, I'm proud of it, I'm an extremely good cook, I can darn my socks and so on. Since my mom died tho, I have been really lacking in some areas, mostly…
beginner
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11
votes
3 answers

Refusing to let people in

I work in a facility where it is open to the public except for a small section. I work in this section and this section requires an access card when entering the door (anyone can buy one, but it is expensive). Inside this section is many expensive…
bqwyevosc
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11
votes
1 answer

When someone complains about not being able to pay for something, are they asking me to pay?

I have a lot of friends that complain a lot about their troubles paying off student debt and struggling to make ends meet on unexpected bills (flat tire, injury, pet is sick and needs life saving medicine etc) I'm kind of wondering if when they…
arsarc
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11
votes
3 answers

How to avoid former friend who is being creepy?

I have a guy friend who likes me romantically. I already turned him down through his friend (he asked a mutual friend to ask me if I like him, I told him no, and his friend told him my reply). After that he started being more and more creepy. He…
11
votes
2 answers

Bringing up financial concerns with partner’s parents

My partner’s family has been financially struggling a long time (way before I even entered the picture). Their parents frequently ask for money (which at times can be their entire weeks paycheck). As we develop our relationship, I’m starting to…
Krúžok
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11
votes
2 answers

How to politely ask for a price for a commision, when I only intend to ask?

I wanted to ask for a price for a commission from an artist. However, my budget is lower than what I think the commission would be worth, hence I intend to only ask for the price and not buy the service. I am extremely worried that just stating my…
Vylix
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11
votes
3 answers

How do I to tell someone to stop criticizing what we do?

TL;DR: How do I to tell a judgemental person with unsubstantiated statements, making it a clear and definitive statement, that she may not move things around in our office? That person (I'll call her "Alice") isn't business-related but is…
OldPadawan
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11
votes
2 answers

How to tactfully tell a martial arts instructor that I was freaked out by his lack of action?

The other day I joined a martial art/combat sport class. Apart from the many positive aspects of the experience, there was unfortunately one thing that really freaked me out. When the sparring session came somebody started to bleed heavily (his…
Bogo
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11
votes
3 answers

How can I politely tell a defensive Stack Exchange user to use proper punctuation?

On a Stack Exchange site I moderate, there is one user who repeatedly uses commas instead of other proper punctuation marks in posts, and often writes simple walls of text. At first, people edited the posts and left comments telling the user what…
HDE 226868
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