I have heard the same story from one of my best friends forever. “I need a change.” “I need to fix ‘this’ or ‘that.'” Then nothing changes, and we start the cycle again. How many times can I listen to her vent when she hasn’t change in… well… forever?
JR: The next time they start a conversation with, “I need a change,” say, “I’m not Oprah. I can’t magically guide you to your ‘a-ha moment’ in an hour.”
JW: Sometimes you need to do the right thing. This isn’t one of those times. Stop trying to encourage your friend to change, and resort to blackmail and kidnapping. Steal their cat or dog and ransom ol’ puppy back on the condition of permanent change. Too dark?
JT: Unfortunately change is very hard to do, but I hear your frustration. Maybe tell them you appreciate them confiding in you, but that you feel like you’ve given all you can to that conversation. Tread lightly, though.
My friend is addicted to Snapchat. It’s to a point where it’s rude. We’ll be in the middle of a conversation, and she’ll stop listening and will start taking selfies to send to people of her making faces. Should I just excuse myself when this happens or put up with it?
JR: Snapchat – the final nail in the coffin for our attention span. I’ve literally stopped typing this five times to send Snapchats of myself sounding like a chipmunk. It was worth it.
JW: I think with a powerful enough laser, you can point it at their phone camera and burn out the sensor, while leaving the rest of the phone functional. That is just a random fact that you can do with as you please.
JT: Snapchat is the best and the worst. It’s the best when you’re on Snapchat, but the worst when you’re stuck with someone constantly checking. Kindly tell your friend that you feel left out and frustrated when you’re supposed to be hanging out and they stare at their phone.
I’ve always had a lot of guy friends and have stayed close with many of them over the years. For some reason my husband suddenly thinks it’s “not sending the right message” if I’m hanging out with them alone. Is this a real thing? We’re just friends, and I feel like I don’t need a chaperone.
JR: My mom is really close with all of her guy friends. Last week I ran into her with her guy friend, and they were sharing chocolate fondue. It was kind of weird, because they were feeding it to each other with their mouths, but I think it’s because they’re so close.
JW: Not to go all Saudi Arabia on you, but… FLOOSIE!
JT: To me, I hear that is a cool girl in a committed relationship that likes to chill with dudes. Is this not the message your husband wants to send out to the world?