confused25

You can still go to a nice restaurant with your bf and have a drink. They will usually ask the people at the table for their IDs, and if your bf is not 21, he won't be able to drink, but you still will be able to. Another thing I'd suggest is maybe going to a comedy club, not sure if you guys are into that stuff. But you can also order drinks there as well . . . I'm sure he can get in even though he's underage.

I'm REALLY curious with what your girlfriend J has to say about this. Please do not tell me that she puts up with S's crap!! If I were J, I'd kick S to the curb . . . she's inconsiderate, rude, and ungrateful! Only your gf has the right to decide what she wants to do. Make sure you don't talk trash about S in front of her unless she brings it up herself.

I don't think you're being unreasonable at all! She should've been more understanding. Like RayKay said, you guys don't need to spend every second together, this event is really about getting closer with your co-workers, so she should respect that. If you were my bf I'd encourage you to go out and hang out with your co-workers. Your whole life doesn't just revolve around her, you also need to establish relationships with other people.

Next time when you hang out with your ex why don't you just invite your bf along? If he gets to know the guy better maybe he wouldn't feel so bad. I still talk and hang out with my ex sometimes and one time my bf just happened to be there (well there were other ppl around). My bf actually went up to my ex and introduced himself before I had the chance to lol. But later he told me that he thought my ex was a pretty cool guy. So I think if you let him see that you have nothing to hide about it then he would feel less insecure about it . . .

You should def tell him to stay away from his friends that smoke. I know when I quit smoking last year it was tough on me because most of my close friends smoke so when I'm around them it was like torture!!! Good thing that everytime I beg them for a cigarette they would always refuse and scold at me for wanting to pick it up again. But when I'm with other non-smokers I hardly think about it at all . . .

I don't think this guy is good for you, I think you deserve someone better. Don't give up hope yet! There will be other guys out there that will treat you the way that you should be treated.

Judging by the fact that you would go back to this boy's place and even kiss him, that's a sign that there's probably something unfulfilling with your current relationship.

did he meet someone else while he was away?

Um, yeah, you need to let her go!

She accused YOU of ruining her vacation? It should be the other way around! I mean, it's already hard as it is that you're meeting her entire family, but then she's not even making any effort to include you in their conversations/activities. If I were you I'd feel awkward and out of place too! Maybe her family is ignoring you because your gf said something to them about you that made you look like the bad guy (from the breakup). You're smart that you know you should leave him, you deserve better!

You have the right mindset that you want to take things slow . . . I would probably just try to go on dates and not to expect anything serious from them. Just enjoy them and have fun with it. I have friends that would much prefer just dating around rather than having a serious long term relationship. As for meeting new people, I've heard good things about online dating, so you might want to start from there. eHarmony matches you up with someone that has similar personality and interests as you, so it might be something you want to look into. Also I find it a good way to meet people is to go out with friends and meet friends' friends and their friends

Ugh, this guy sounds like a total jerk! I would talk to the two friends that you're close with and find out exactly what is up in this guy's a**! If these people are your true friends they should stand up for you and say something about it. I know if some guy did that to me, my friends would so kick his butt for me. But yeah, it does sound like he might be jealous over the fact that you might be interested in his bestfriend. But are you?

It could also be the sex position you guys were in. When my bf and I do it doggystyle I sometimes get cramps afterwards . . .

Man this weight gain and bloating thing is really making me having second thoughts about using bc. I feel like a fat cow and I don't look good in any of my clothes anymore!

The truth comes out when the person is drunk . . .

I noticed that you're in the New York/Conneticut area . . . My friend that works in Manhattan actually did a search on Craigslist and found this group of girls to go out and have happy hours with. She has done that a few times and she told me the girls were really nice and she had a lot of fun. Maybe you can try something like that.

Hi everyone,

Not sure if I'm putting this post in the right forum, but I will try anyways . . .

I just started using birth control about 2-3 months ago (the ring) and I'm not sure if I'm just paranoid but I've been feeling really bloated lately and it seems like my tummy is getting chunkier I tried to weigh myself at the gym the other day and the scale indicated that my weight is the same as before I started using bc. So my question this, how many women out there are currently on bc and have experienced weight gain? And if you you did gain weight, was it because the bc made you want to eat more? I've heard different stories. Some people have said that gave them a bigger appetite, and some have said that it just made them swollen I'm just wondering that if you do gain weight will it go back down if you stop using it?

Thank you all for your great advice! It's very touching to see how understanding and supportive you guys are, thank you, I really appreciate it! I'm glad I came to the right place

I know I will have to tell him eventually, but I guess I am just trying to avoid the problem by stalling it. If I were to just bring it up casually in a conversation without placing too much emphasis on it, how should I do it?

Hi everyone,

I found this site through the internet and it seems to be a great resource to seek advice and support on relationship issues.

I was hoping everyone would share their thoughts with me on this . . .

Some background on our relationship:

My boyfriend and I are both in our mid 20's and have been together for over a year. He has been a wonderful boyfriend and we both are very much in love with each other.

You ask, so what's the problem?

Well, I've met his family and a couple of other relatives on several occasions and really liked them. BUT, he has not yet met any of mine. The main reason is that my parents live pretty far away (6-7 hours) so I rarely get to see them, with the exception on holidays. So here's my issue. I guess there's something else that's been sitting in the back of my head that's making me having second thoughts about letting him meet my family. I think the main reason is our differences in our social status. His family is pretty well off, and he was basically born into this world with everything handed to him on a silver platter. His parents were both college grads with successful careers. He never had a "real" minimum wage job when he was in high school or college. His parents paid for all of his expenses through college and he has no debt what-so-ever. He graduated from an ivy league school and has secured a high paying job. Now, here's the background on my side of the family. My parents started working right after they graduated from high school, and they have been blue collar workers ever since. They worked hard for every penny and we've always had problems financially when I was growing up. I took out my own school loans, along with financial aid and some income from my side jobs in order to put mself through a state college. I am now working full-time making about 20% of what my boyfriend makes. He doesn't know how much I make but I found out his salary because he slipped the one time when he was drunk. I just found out that his parents just recently purchased a new property and are planning on building a new mansion. I guess I feel somewhat intimidated by his family and their social status. And I feel really, really guilty for saying this, but sometimes I feel like I am embarrassed to bring him to meet my family because I'm worried that he will look down upon us. I know he won't, but it's just my own insecurity for feeling that way. Also, my parents speak very poor English and I am worried about how they would be able to communicate with each other. I could picture myself marrying this man in the future but I just can't help but feel insecure with this whole situation. We've never really talked about what my parents do for a living, partly because I'm too embarrassed to even bring it up. I know, I even feel ashamed of myself. I just don't know what their parents would think of me if they knew. Am I stressing too much over this issue? Could this potentially affect any parts of our relationship in the future? Can anyone relate?

Thank you for your patience on getting through this post . . . I know I'm just rambling . . .