We are overdue for the blog feature where I answer the search strings people typed in to find this place as if they are questions. Let's do it! First, as is traditional, a song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2ccC4aULow RIP to one of the coolest, realest artists I was lucky enough to share the space-time continuum with. :cries … Continue reading It Came From The Search Terms: Spring 2020
Category: ethics
#1266: Pandemic Distance-Learning Teacher-Student Boundaries
Hi Capt. Awkward, I/she/her am a high school teacher and we’re not returning to campus until next year. That means we have 12 more weeks of distance learning. Right now we’re completing Week 3. I have a student (11th grade, so around 17) who has a variety of mental health needs, gender identity stuff, etc. … Continue reading #1266: Pandemic Distance-Learning Teacher-Student Boundaries
Link: The Answer To All Your Social Distancing Loophole Questions is “No.”
Rachel Miller is at VICE today getting an important thing out on the table: "The Answer To All Your "Social Distancing Loophole Questions is 'No.'" "But what about my Really Good Reason that I Must go out/gather?" you may be asking. Good news, it's covered in the piece! "Are there exceptions to this rule? Of … Continue reading Link: The Answer To All Your Social Distancing Loophole Questions is “No.”
#1261: “Scripts for Shelter-In-Place Peer Pressure.”
Hi, I live in an area that is under a shelter-in-place order due to COVID-19. A few of my friends have been inviting me to activities that violate the order. My go-to excuse (and the truth) has been bringing up that I live with a high-risk individual, so I'm going to stick to the shelter-in-place … Continue reading #1261: “Scripts for Shelter-In-Place Peer Pressure.”
Five Short Answers to Way More Than Five Long Questions: COVID-19 Edition
Do not evict roommates or tenants due to coronavirus fears. Find another way. Do not call the police - that includes the 311 non-emergency line - on neighbors who you think are insufficiently socially distancing. I don't care what ordinances your city put in place, if you don't know quite how to have a conversation … Continue reading Five Short Answers to Way More Than Five Long Questions: COVID-19 Edition
COVID-19 Update & Questions #1258 (How do I help my friends?) and #1259: (Social-distancing for extroverts)
Hello, readers, thanks for your emails, your support, and your questions in this time of global pandemic. How's everybody doing? (Yes, I know the first iteration misspelled COVID as Corvid, I ❤ ravens and crows and have been doing it all week, what can I say). Personal update: Mr. Awkward and I are both virus-free … Continue reading COVID-19 Update & Questions #1258 (How do I help my friends?) and #1259: (Social-distancing for extroverts)
Twenty-Three Ways Of Saying “Let’s Not Talk About Politics Right Now” (& Twenty Questions To Maybe Ask The People You Love Instead)
I got to be on the radio last week, talking about Love & Politics & is it possible to date across political divides. My segment starts about 35 min in if you're curious. Two questions I think about a lot (A LOT)(Really, honestly, so much): When we say "Oh, let's not talk about politics right … Continue reading Twenty-Three Ways Of Saying “Let’s Not Talk About Politics Right Now” (& Twenty Questions To Maybe Ask The People You Love Instead)
#1246: “Partner with lots of expenses and little income.”
Hey Captain Awkward. I read some of your responses to other writers who had concerns about their partners’ finances, and I feel like this is related but not quite the same. I’m stressed about my boyfriend’s money management skills and how I can help him without getting myself into a bad financial situation. I also … Continue reading #1246: “Partner with lots of expenses and little income.”
2019’s Most-Viewed Posts
Thank you all for the kind words and end-of-year donations and patronage that have flowed in over the last week or so. I've been traveling and kind of made a point about not touching my laptop for a week or so, but I read everything and I'm very grateful. ❤ Everyone's doing decade-retrospectives and my … Continue reading 2019’s Most-Viewed Posts
#1239: “I moved out of a weird roommate situation two years(!) ago, but the town is so small that the weirdness is still affecting my social life.”
The letter contains brief mention of the roommate either accidentally or accidentally-on-purpose leaving a pet outside for a while during a mental health episode. The pet was fine and this is neither the point of the letter nor the oddest thing in it, but readers have mentioned animals-in-peril stresses them out, so I'm including both … Continue reading #1239: “I moved out of a weird roommate situation two years(!) ago, but the town is so small that the weirdness is still affecting my social life.”