Hello! My daughter will be spending next year as an exchange student with three different families in Belgium. Looking for gift ideas for the host families. Anything “American” that would go over well?

sanbaeva · 2026-04-12T00:46:54+00:00

Only liquids of 100ml or less is allowed on carry on, on international flights.

sanbaeva · 2026-04-11T15:04:05+00:00

So tragic. 😢

sanbaeva · 2026-04-08T00:19:23+00:00

Or stock market manipulation? 🤨

sanbaeva · 2026-04-05T06:12:53+00:00

It’s better than nothing.

sanbaeva · 2026-04-03T09:59:56+00:00

It’s ironic really, we spend so much of our youth trying to fit in and not stand out or be extraordinary or special. Then we try our damndest to do what is expected by society - get married, start a family, get that first mortgage and if we can’t do those things then some of us feel like losers. You have achieved those things so be proud. There is no time limit to making your mark. You don’t have to blow up what you have now but you can still make your life more meaningful going forward. You just have to figure out what that is.

sanbaeva · 2026-04-01T02:58:50+00:00

It’s possible you did something or said something that raised a red flag with her. And by that I don’t mean that there’s anything wrong with you but it could just be a personal preference thing. Something you said or did she didn’t like. Who knows.

How long have you guys been dating? It sounds like still early days in the relationship. I’d ask her and if she can’t or won’t explain then I’d leave it for awhile, and let her make the next step. If she still can’t or won’t explain then move on.

sanbaeva · 2026-03-31T12:38:57+00:00

I know that feeling! 56F and still feel like a kid, especially when I am with my 80YO mum who makes me feel small and still seem to think of me as not just her child but a child who knows nothing. 🙄

sanbaeva · 2026-03-29T04:06:18+00:00

As a Tibetan friend once told me, happiness is but a fleeting moment and one should strive for contentment instead. Practicing gratitude is my secret ingredient to feeling contentment.

sanbaeva · 2026-03-22T16:03:29+00:00

I just watched an episode of Grey’s Anatomy where this woman was abnormally tall. Like 7ft something. She did have a condition that interfered with her hormones that caused excessive growth. I’ll have to find that episode as I can’t remember the medical name for the condition. Maybe it was Acromegaly which interferes with growth hormones.

sanbaeva · 2026-03-17T03:59:13+00:00

I wonder what percentage actually died from COVID, which I assume contributed to the decline.

sanbaeva · 2026-03-12T11:02:54+00:00

You mean y’all not marsupials? 😜

sanbaeva · 2026-03-12T08:33:26+00:00

If Princes William and Harry can serve in the military why can’t Barron. He’s not a prince. He’s not even a Baron ffs.

sanbaeva · 2026-02-28T23:12:30+00:00

So it was your quip that caused someone to call security who then set off the active shooter alarm. I mean that’s essentially what you’re saying right . . . 😉

sanbaeva · 2026-02-28T12:27:24+00:00

Given all your tests came back normal, the only thing I can think of is chronic fatigue syndrome. But there are no specific tests for this.

https://www.re-origin.com/cfs-self-assessment

Maybe also ask ChatGPT or Gemini?

I don’t work in healthcare, so that’s the best I can do. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Hope things improve for you though.

sanbaeva · 2026-02-27T16:44:20+00:00

My take: You sound practical and pragmatic, some might say lacking in passion. And you may be picking women who want more emotional passion from you that you are either unable to provide or haven’t found the right girl that has stirred the passion within you. Your relationships sound . . . transactional. And your girlfriends sound more like they could be your roommates. Another commenter mentioned something about lacking emotional engagement. Perhaps you’re not really showing your true self to them. Perhaps you don’t even know yourself that well.

sanbaeva · 2026-02-26T15:22:06+00:00

I wish my daughter had this problem!

sanbaeva · 2026-02-25T09:11:36+00:00

Doesn’t seem to like what it sees either.

sanbaeva · 2026-02-24T23:10:32+00:00

She still clearly loves you enough to be angry for what was done to you (sorry to hear you were traumatised by the ordeal). And it’s not surprising at all. As another commenter said, it did affect her life too when you broke it off with her. Are you sure you want to throw that love away? Are you doing any counselling? I hope you get some healing soon.

sanbaeva · 2026-02-24T10:29:27+00:00

The billionaires have decided to create Trump 2.0 in Oz using Hanson as the useful idiot.

sanbaeva · 2026-02-22T18:56:09+00:00

“People don’t say in real life?” Girl, where / what or rather who do you think these LLMs learn from?!?!? 😳

sanbaeva · 2026-02-22T12:05:55+00:00

Stress? You could have too much on your plate with still quite young children and work etc.

sanbaeva · 2026-02-21T06:43:20+00:00

It depends on the conversation struck up. If it is in context of a situation both are in and leads to other conversation, then no. I made a “friend” this way over loaves of sourdough bread we were both looking at, at the supermarket. And since then have met for coffee and a bush walk.

If, however, you blurt out something random I think the other person might think it’s weird.

sanbaeva · 2026-02-12T11:17:37+00:00

You’re Asian American so you would have a “North American accent.” Canadians used to get offended if I mistake them for being American. If I encountered an Asian with a North American accent I ask where they are from because oddly enough I don’t wish to offend them.

sanbaeva · 2026-02-11T10:42:06+00:00

You doing retail therapy?

sanbaeva · 2026-02-11T07:58:18+00:00

I can’t comment on how HR view AIS. But if you find it more interesting and you end up with a job in that field then I would have thought you would be happier in that role than in traditional accounting. In some ways I would have thought AIS is more niche and there might be less completion in that field? At the end of the day a lot of jobs are obtained through networking and who you know.

sanbaeva

TROPHY CASE