Fellow Americans love this back-up plan, but many would be shocked at the real costs of immigration. — [This story is about American citizens immigrating to Canada — not Quebec entry specifically — by applying for permanent residency via the Express Entry program. It is not intended to provide information for would-be immigrants of other nationalities, especially refugees.] Sorry, Chad — “settling” for Canada is not the emergency…

Don’t freak out if your new datemate has one of these red flags — some of these may actually be signs of special interests, disability, or neurodivergence. However, if you’re checking off 5, 10, 20 of these? Run. — His favorite character is the Joker (any version, comic or movie). His favorite movie is any of the following: Fight Club, Natural Born Killers, Clockwork Orange, Boondocks Saints, Pulp Fiction, or The Godfather. [Thanks to my friends for the last two.]

What abusers and Instagram ads have in common — You’re on Instagram (again, of course). You see the same company advertising to you (again, of course). You’ve seen this company’s ads dozens of times over the past three years. You’ve never been tempted to click one of the ads — until today. Today, they got you. …

Does it sound like a bad idea? Yes. Did it work? Yes. — CW: This story is for mature adult audiences only. There is a lot of bad advice out there. Some of it is given by idiots. Some of it is given by folks with malicious intentions. Much of it is given by people trying to make a buck. I’m often two…

What a hit TV show can teach you about life — RPDR is my comfort show. At times in my life where anxiety was at its highest, I would pull up reruns on my phone and sleep with the sound pouring through my headphones. Needless to say, I’ve seen every episode of the main series — all more than once. RuPaul…

220 levels brought me back to truth — Most games have their tricks. In 2048, the trick is to pick one corner and keep your highest number in it. In su doku, don’t go randomly picking around and guessing: start by going through number by number and filling in all the low hanging fruit. Cycle through two or…

Healing my inner teen by airing dirty laundry — CW: racism, homophobia/lesbophobia, corporal punishment, dysfunctional family It was my parents' least favorite thing: looking bad to other people. They stopped participating in their own faith because Christian churches are almost always rife with judgment. They felt looked down upon, so they stopped going. They missed out on real, vulnerable…

We all make mistakes as we’re learning how to perceive and interact with the world around us — As a mom myself now, I hear my kid make adorable mistakes all the time. Consider, for example, this proclamation: Laser beans aren’t beans. They’re just made from beans. Couldn’t be cuter, right? Kid doesn’t know it’s “beam,” but he has picked up that (1) lasers don’t look like beans…

The details that my youthful brain picked up might seem strange to you. — When I reflect on these points, they all make sense. These things often require money or (more often) time, of which poor and working class people have less. Being thin and fit, for example, is a marker of status, in part, because wealthy people know just how expensive it is…