RobFTC

Have you met this guy in person? Proclamations of "you're the one" followed by profile deletion is a popular scammer tactic. Take care, Rob T

The girls and I will be flying into Seattle July 27, and will be a couple of nights there, then off to Victoria for three nights, then off to Vancouver for some more time before flying out of Seattle on August 5. If anyone is within that "blast radius" :-), and would be interested in getting together, let me know. We had to slip a week from prior plans because of a horse-swap to make my radio co-host's trip work out. Take care, Rob T

I am so sorry you're hurting so much, Candace. People are in your corner. Take care, Rob T

I am here, stuck in the airport for another hour. Anybony out there? Take care, Rob T

No question, your loss hurts; I am so sorry that you are feeling it so much right now. But your loss happened when the guy was such a controlling jerk instead of the man you thought you married. I so wish he had not turned out that way. It will get easier. Every time you say no to the second guessing, your "no" muscles will get a little stronger. And the hurt will fade. That you can feel this much hurt and still move forward with something like this proves your mettle. People are cheering you on. Take care, Rob T

Yay, HB! Knock 'em dead! Take care, Rob T

Rebecca had her Nintendo go into a sink full of water (why the sink was full, meh). She used the rice method and didn't try to turn her device on for days, and it's fine now. But yeah, this phone HAS to be done for. Take care, Rob T

I am here for awhile if anyone is up for chat. Take care, Rob T

My girls did not notice it was Father's Day. I can't believe they were so out-of-touch that they didn't see an ad or a billboard. Without a coach, they seem just clueless. And not possessed of any "isn't Father's Day sometime soon?". I went and got dinner alone and walked around. I will reconnect with them soon. Rob T

So Sarah wore the old messed-up pair to the Gulf Coast, and that worked. We got back Friday. Yesterday, the cat lead her into the laundry room, where the new glasses were found on the washing machine. Whew! At least we're not having to decide about buying another pair (yet). Of course, I should note here that on the trip, Sarah took her iPhone to the salt-water pool at the beach cottage. And tussled with her sister over a big squirt gun. And got pulled into the pool. And stayed there another 40 minutes at least before she remembered that her phone was in her pocket. We put the phone in a bag of rice, but I think we all know how this ends :-( Oh well, we were phone shopping anyway. Take care, Rob T

Nuggets, so sorry - she sounds like another keeper. Fuck cancer, indeed. Take care, Rob T

An even more serious prayer for you tonight, SR. That stuff about wanting to make love to you a few more times is SO unbelievably messed up to me - the guy seems to have no idea at all that your trust is ruptured and how creepy it is to say that. Be careful, and straight on till morning, girl! Take care, Rob T

Yup, that's the point :-) All the software talks the same way. Take care, Rob T

I cannot freaking believe it. Sarah needs glasses, but just barely, and mainly to deal with something akin to a lazy eye ("intermittent strabismus of divergence excess"). She had some old glasses that had got pretty awful - lost the nose pads - so we got new ones last fall. Ones she liked and picked out. After a couple of months, she lost them. Completely. They are probably in this house, but we might not find them even when we move out. Archeologists examining the site millenia hence may find them and wonder at the advanced technology they had way hack in the early 2000s. She dug out her ratty old pair, me being reluctant to go buy another pair, especially when insurance won't kick in. We talked about how she needed to take care of her things better, always put important things in the same place, think about where you will look for something before putting it down, etc. After a while of this, and having her ratty glasses get worse (now the stalks for the nose pads are gone, too), I had to get glasses of my own and I asked how long until I could replace Sarah's. They said she could get them now! I had them get the same order she had before. We got them two weeks ago. She swore that she would put them in their case, and have a good spot for her case to be. She'd be super careful, and everything. A few minutes ago, when I figure we are all packed and ready for vacation on the Gulf Coast tomorrow, I find out indirectly that her *second* pair of glasses are lost - again. After just two weeks. She didn't tell me, her sister mentioned it. "Cue the yelling on camera 4!" The case is right where it should be, and empty. The previous case is right near that, and has her ratty old pair. At least maybe they can be her sunglasses on the beach. I cannot relate to this - if I don't have my glasses, I pretty much need a white cane. Losing my glasses would be akin to losing all of my pairs of pants at once. She can lose anything. Friday, she'd lost her phone and we'd all helped look for it, and that felt like a major issue because I wanted her to use a packing app to plan what she would take and track progress. It turned up late that night when her sister brushed it with her foot and noticed it in their bedroom. (She was *sure* she'd last seen it on the computer desk in the living room, natch.) Tonight, she looked for her student ID, which we might have used to go downtown for dinner, but she's not seen that for some time. It's in the clutter in there, somwhere. I feel like we need to call in the archeologists now. With a backhoe. If I stripped everything out of there, who knows what we would find? Maybe both pairs? And her student ID? And Jimmy Hoffa too? Some days ... Grrr, Rob T

I have a girl who likes to test every boundary. "What happens if I ....?" She's also kind of brain-scrambled and not nearly as creative about solutions or as able to think what happens next. It's quite the deal. She's got two years to get to this level, and she may compete with your daughter. And yet - that same girl, today, knowing I wanted us all to work on cleaning out the car, just went and did it all (and did a good job!) and then told me about it. That same girl, today, plans to clean the kitchen well to earn back Spotify Premium. I'm not taking that one to the bank yet. Keep the boundaries solid, the consequences clear and the responses as empty of anger as you can manage so that it's about her choice rather than you being mean. She's doing better, and this is a small bit of backsliding that won't matter too much long-term. I don't know how you deal with the dynamic of your sister's involvement, but if you can set a course first ... Take care, Rob T

Anybody interested in chat tonight?

Messaging forever is for chumps. The point is to sit down together in front of a cup of coffee or something and *talk*. I don't think it's forward to say, "I don't message endlessly, we should meet, what do you want to do about that?" The other thing is - some scammers try to build a virtual relationship so they can 1) invent a sudden trip somewhere and 2) "lose their wallet" or some similar disaster to get you to feel sympathy and fork money over. (Being a trucker-to-be and all that transition stuff is good cover for that, and the soldier boy actually sounds worse.) Actually meeting is a big issue for scammers, cramps their style all to hell. Any of these guys could also be married and looking for a pen-pal with no intention of meeting, too. If a guy is real and wants to meet, he should, and you can limit how much of your time he can waste before then. Take care, Rob T

Imma goin' in! Take care, Rob T

I missed this thread earlier - interesting responses. I had a "Daily Match" on match.com once who took my breath away - she looked so much like Michelle it was *nuts*. All of her pics looked like they could have been from my wife, except that Match girl was a couple of inches taller and you could tell that in one photo that showed her (nice!) legs. The resemblance was enough that her bestie who visited us and both daughters thought she looked like Michelle. I was torn about what to do, as a part of me wanted to know what she was like. And if she had not been an hour away, I might have tried to meet her. But I eventually got over that, because I realized I would probably stare like an idiot for the first while, and not really see her as her own person quickly enough. But I sure thought about it and bookmarked the profile for some time. Take care, Rob T

It's so good to see the lit fire burning in you to do this. I know it's hard, but so necessary. I wish you had help. Peace. Take care, Rob T

Just a couple of hours of cuddling, that's all I want right now. My hands might wander. Take care, Rob T

Awesome news about the job! I know that overwhelmed feeling. You'll get there! Take care, Rob T

I am so glad you're there - big hugs for doing what you needed to do! Do you know you want to be in that city for the five years or so it usually takes to make buying make sense? You almost can't build equity worth talking about in less time than that, and I don't know if it's clear yet where your daughter goes in two years. And it is so much tougher to sell a house than to give notice. I think that if I were in your shoes, I would rent an apartment, or with your preferences maybe rent a house. Being able to walk over to your sister's place would be super convenient for me, but I can't fully grok the set of emotions that might stir up in you :-) Take care, Rob T

Cheez Whiz? Gawd. I am less impressed now, seems like sauteed ribeye deserves better. Does someone need to teach Philly about real cheese? :-) Take care, Rob T

Yup, no offense here, either. Mother's Day now passes without any mothers in sight - the girls Mom and Grandmas are all gone. Nobody to send flowers to. I have my own beef with Father's Day. The girls are almost guaranteed to not DO anything on the day without someone reminding them and getting them out to shop or get cards. I thought they had forgotten my birthday last week, and they might almost have, but I had my sister poke them without letting on, so they finally wished me Happy Birthday at about 3pm. So a decent outcome, but I am not sure it would have been if I had not pulled strings. I am probably not going to do that for Father's Day. Take care, Rob T