Page Turner's Blog, page 129

Growing Up on Trial Turns You Into a Lawyer

“What was that face for?” he says.

“What face?” I ask, legitimately confused.

“You were scowling.”

“Was I?” I say. I can’t remember what I was thinking about a few moments ago. My mind was wandering… I comb my memory for what it could have been that flashed across my face.  » Read more

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PQ 21.2 — When I am faced with conflict, how do I seek to act with courage?

PQ 21.2 — When I am faced with conflict, how do I seek to act with courage?

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Sometimes the courageous move is standing up and advocating for yourself.  Defending the boundaries you’ve set. Fighting for your own rights.

And sometimes the braver move is taking a step back and gracefully bowing out.  » Read more

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PQ 21.1 — What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There

PQ 21.1 — Do the choices I make take me closer to, or further from, the best version of me?

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In my old office, I had a note taped to the wall on a scrap of ruled paper. It read “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,” scrawled in my uneven cursive (I got an N minus in penmanship as a kid).  » Read more

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The Ruthful Pragmatist: You Can Tell A Lot About a Person From the Trade-Offs They Choose

Most people know the word “ruthless.” It’s fairly commonly used. It means “having or showing no pity for others.”

And “pragmatic” means “practical.”

So a ruthless pragmatist is a person who is so practical that they go for what they want, screw the cost. They care about results before everything else,  » Read more

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You Shed F*cks As the Years Go On

“I hate my job,” she says.

“Understandably,” I tell her. “They don’t treat you well.”

She starts to complain once again about her working conditions. The bullying and harassment. This is a very familiar recap. I’ve heard her talk about it many times before. It’s an extremely toxic workplace. As she talks,  » Read more

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The Overstressed Hinge: Stuck in the Middle & Playing Tom-Toms

Hello Page,

First of all, I want to thank you so much for your blog! I take a lot of support and encouragement from your writing. I especially enjoy your strictly non-dogmatic, personal and individual approach. You have the rare gift of being rational and emotional at the same time.  » Read more

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You Can’t Communicate Well Enough for Two (or More) People

When I was a little kid, I spent a lot of time alone. The most talkative person in a family of otherwise introverted people, I lived in a house in the woods that was 15 minutes by car from my elementary school in good weather. An hour or more in the snow and unmaintained roads of Maine winters.  » Read more

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People Are Constantly Talking About You Behind Your Back — But Sometimes It’s a Good Thing.

As much as it pains me to admit it, I’m the friend who runs around talking up my other friends when they’re not around. And if you get a drink or two into me, I might even set you up with one of them, if I think you’d hit it off.

This sounds like a really good quality —  » Read more

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PQ 20.3 — Common STIs, Catastrophizing, & the Personal Fable

PQ 20.3 — How do I feel about me or a partner having sex with someone who has a common STI such as HSV? What do I consider “safe sex” under such circumstances?

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This is exactly the point at which most safer sex talks fall apart, especially if you’re talking to someone who hasn’t had these kinds of discussions before.  » Read more

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PQ 20.2 — Boats & Lighthouses: Collective Risk Assessment in Polyamorous Relationship Systems

20.2 How do I feel about me or my partner having sex with someone whose STI status is unknown? What do I consider “safer sex” under such circumstances?

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“I’m going to camp soon, and there are going to be people there I might want to play with. So I wanted to talk about what you’re comfortable with,”  » Read more

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