I sure have Shannon. But, not for very long! My apologies as I need to give a little back story first. Please bear with. I first came to the DC/NOVA area via the US Army. It had a very small town feel. I was amazed no traffic, extremely affordable housing market, friendly, helpful and caring people and trees as far as the eyes could see. It was top 3 places I had lived in this country. After the Tech boom peaked near 2000 and after 9/11 the flood gates opened and people spilled in from all over the Earth for the bountiful opportunities. The housing market skyrocketed and people were tripling++ the values of their homes. It is now home to some of the wealthiest counties in the US. Why is this all relevant? All the prosperity brought greed, selfishness and gluttony to a whole new level. People had massive disposable income they had never had before. Nothing is too grossly indulgent anymore and they throw away vast amounts of money trying to one up the last kids party without giving a thought to what a kid needs or the fact they are teaching kids that over indulgence is okay. Now, my son and I were invited to a birthday party for this FIVE year old. The sole Parent had rented the club house, surrounding grounds and pool area of a local country club. I would estimate around 30 kids x 1.5 adults. It was catered with both adult and children's foods and beverages, including Wine and Champagne (few here seem able or willing to parent without it). A company was hired to bring in 6 industrial fair/carnival type rides. A mini Ferris Wheel and a mini Roller Coaster included. She even had hired help that distributed Party Bags/Swag Bags that included cologne/perfume for the kids. I don't think my jaw closed the entire time we were there. This was for a FIVE year old! Could you believe she talks about the daughters poor behavior frequently? My Son asked to leave after around 20 mins, Why were people greedy and selfish? Pick the correct answer from the following options: A. gluttony B. not enough information C. the Tech boom D. Disposable income
D

With the growth of the Internet and the ease of publishing content, more and more creative minds are coming online to share videos, music, software, products, services, opinions, and more. While the technology has empowered a generation to build new audiences and share interesting things, an unfortunate side-effect has been a culture in which some consumers of this content have provided feedback in a form that is personalized, mean-spirited, disrespectful, and in some cases, malicious. We have all seen itthe trolls, the haters, the comment boxes filled with venom and vitriol, typically pointed at people just trying to do good and interesting things. Unfortunately, this conduct can be jarring for many people, with some going as far to give up sharing their creative endeavours so as not to deal with the "wrath of the Internet". As some of you will know, this has been bothering me for a while now. While there is no silver bullet for solving these issues, one thing I have learned over the years is how to put negative, anti-social, and non-constructive comments and feedback into perspective. To help others with this I have written a free book called Dealing With Disrespect. Dealing With Disrespect is a short, simple to read, free book that provides a straight-forward guide for handling this kind of challenging feedback, picking out the legitimate criticism to learn from, and how to not just ignore the haters, but how to manage them. The book helps put all communication, whether on or offline, into perspective and helps you to become a better communicator yourself. My goal with the book is that when someone reads something anti-social that demotivates them, a friend can recommend 'Dealing With Disrespect' as something that can help put things in perspective. After the book was published, how does the author feel about his response? Pick the correct answer from the following options: A. not enough information B. He feels lots of malicious and negativity C. He feels mean-spirited D. He is happy for everyone he is helping
D

I really struggle to feel bad for people who actively choose to be miserable and manipulative. I'm dorky and like to use little proverbs all the time. One of my favorites is this: "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." At the end of the day, if someone has a problem, they can never resolve it if they don't truly wish to. You can give someone all the resources in the world, but you can't force them to utilize them. When I was 16, I dated a horrible guy. He was abusive verbally, emotionally, and sexually. He was an incredibly troubled young man and refused to seek help for his severe mental health issues. I eventually came to understand that he reveled in his misery. It was his identity. He acted like he wanted a cure and I'd set him up with resources, but he refused every single one. He may have struggled with serious mental illnesses, but being miserable perversely made him happy and he loved to use his struggles to justify his inexcusable behavior. He wanted to drag as many people into his fiery pit of anguish as possible. I later suffered from severe depression myself, and I never once used it as an excuse to hurt other people. My ex wasn't struggling with his mental health in terms of deliberating and carefully harming others. He was simply exhibiting a personality trait, one he chose to cultivate and it wasn't my problem. I ended up cutting him off completely in spite of all the threats. I will never feel bad for the awful plight he refuses to help himself out of. I have no patience for that type of person. Know what we call them? Toxic. Poison. A waste of time. How long did she date the abusive boyfriend? Pick the correct answer from the following options: A. A few weeks B. A couple of years C. Until years later D. not enough information
B