I can remember a few times he didn't. In any case, his campaign sure didn't. I don't think I understand the context of this discussion. What did Obama gain by pretending that he bit his tongue? He really does need a certain number of Hillary supporters to win--and he'll probably get them--but it would be nice if voting for him could feel a little less like vomiting. (Don't worry, Obama people, I am now an Obama person, and nothing's going to change that. Nobody had to twist my arm or even try real hard.)

I don't mean this in a bad way, I mean this in a good way. I would have gone apeshit for AG dolls if they had been around when I was young. (Given that I would rush home after school to cuddle my cabbage patch doll, Simone...)

Sigh, yes, AG encourages "consumerism"--unless you're making dolls from corncobs or something, good luck trying to avoid THAT. And so what if the dolls have spawned an unholy industry of twee musicals and doll-themed tea shops? Call me when the dolls and their child mommies are getting matching bikini waxes.

Embarrassing? Shameful? I'm kind of okay with that.

Not that I think most people aren't idiots--they are. But I have a feeling many of the responses like those you posted are Republiplants trying to stir up, you guessed it, outrage.

need to get the fuck out of.

a person willing to take that advice wouldn't need it in the first place.

What should you do, LW, providing you're not a 14-yr-old faking this letter, which honestly, you sound a bit like? You should continue to cheat on your best friend with her worthless fiance until she catches on to both of you and can get herself and her children as far away as possible.

Honestly.

Based on the letter, I think the LW is 14 years old or functionally challenged. But taking it seriously, because the more challenged among us must also be taken seriously, the LW is a cheater, too--she is cheating on her best friend. This is fundamentally not the same as being in an affair with a man or woman whose partner is a stranger to you. That kind of wrong at least leaves an opening for sympathy. This pathetic sitch? Not.

Bet it's not the moms.

The prospect of taking the bar is not a good parallel to the day to day routine of practicing law, so I don't think the advice to the LW that she not become a lawyer is necessarily valid. However, it doesn't really matter. The issue in front of her right now is the bar exam, and everything behind it. LW, you don't have to end up practicing law just because you pass the bar. You can do any number of things with a law degree. Passing the bar does not automatically feed you into a life you may not want. It only means that you've passed the bar. Skipping out at the last minute isn't about procrastination anymore--there's something else going on. Find someone to help you figure out what.

Bad luck, LW. Cary's advice is pretty good, but even if you don't take it, it will it will it will get better in time.

It seems like Mary has done some pretty shitty things, no question. But what's going on with you, LW? You sound pretty judgmental. Mary is "completely single," "trawls" for men, leaves you outside with "whores and crackheads" (or was it "crackheads and whores"?), and treats her less affluent friends out to nice evenings, which you appear to interpret as whoring, likewise.

Previous posters talking about how the post-college years are hard on friendships are right, but still. I am struck by the fact that you won't even bother talking to her about what's bothering you because you just "know" she will refuse to admit anything's wrong. Do you know that? And even if she does, do you know that she won't take in some of what you say, even if she doesn't admit it? I mean, I don't know this girl. But people who consider themselves real friends, and not just social buddies, are willing to talk about real things. Maybe Mary is treating you like a social acquaintance because you're acting like one.

I had a massive crush on Scully and by extension GA. David Duchovny still gets some credit, though--their chemistry was a huge part of what made her so attractive.

I thought I was over the X-Files--I was one of those people that stopped watching when T2 showed up--and also, it's been so long...but when I saw the commercial for the new movie, it all came back.

I think I'll go watch Small Potatoes.

If what you're worried about is being stuck under contract if your anxiety gets to the point where you have to leave, I would read it over carefully and maybe discuss it with a lawyer (most people know at least one...). But my guess is that contracts have some kind of "out" for illness. Which, mental illness should count in the letter of the law, if not the spirit. Unless you think there's a particular reason why your anxiety would get worse while you're employed and well-fed on a cruise ship versus not, I would go and trust that you're not cruising off the end of the earth. There is help out there if you need it, on or off a ship.