agony aunt
It occurs to me that I've been providing a lot of advice lately, mostly solicited, which is a bit strange.
When I asked M why on earth I would be the one people would talk to, out of the blue, and drop all sorts of intimate details about their private lives, she said: "Well, you're trustworthy and you're very likable, so people talk to you."
Well, I'd agree with her on the likable part, anyway.
Not that I mind being a confidant for a number of our friends; I actually find it flattering. However, I kind of doubt my effectiveness in solving relationship problems. For starters, I don't really offer up anything more than tired platitudes and half-baked suggestions. Secondly, the advice I generally offer up -- especially in the marital troubles arena -- is advice M and I have generally been negligent about putting into action ourselves. Such as having one night a week be designated "Family Functional Night", for example, where both of us can air grievances without fear of arguments or reprisals or gun battles in the dead of night. Another relationship-saving suggestion seems to be to have a whiteboard somewhere in the house where on some other night every week, you divvy up chores between you. Or reflecting on how disdain, more than a lot of things, can doom a relationship if it isn't addressed. Then there's "Board Game Night".
To be quite honest, it's been hotter than Satan's bunghole around here, so we've been too lethargic recently to do much with any of these. We're sort of in recuperation mode still, and that's our excuse.
But I better offer up something... so, in response to Minnie, who asked me why men were so stupid one time, I offer this below. (On a side note, that comic is now goddamn 20 years old. Sigh.)
