We’re buying each other a new bed, I hope. The gift that keeps on giving. (The shit we have now is horrible.) You could go for something that enhances your home life together.

I used to go into Bed Bad and Beyond when I couldn’t think of anything, and walk out with a bag full of small things she wouldn’t normally go looking for herself. Neck warmers, fuzzy socks, bath bombs, candles, that sort of thing. If your trip is the big gift, you could do a basket (or stocking) of smaller cozy stuff.

It sued itself in its confusion!

Someone’s got a bad case of the Tuesdays.

I tried. Damn this accursed battery!

1. You are human. Accept that imperfection is a built-in feature. No one is going make 100% of people happy. It’s not possible.

2. 95% is great. Your lessons are more successful than most, I reckon. You know if you’re doing a good job or not. You’re the expert here - not the 5%.

3. You have to accept that you can’t control how other people feel, how things affect them, or how they behave. Your lessons may just not reach certain types, and that is probably not your fault. It may not be their fault either, but they may not understand that.

4. Students (especially teenagers and often college-age) often think they know the one right way that everything should be done. They’ll find out eventually, hopefully, that their views aren’t infallible, or they’ll grow up to be insufferable. Many students are also just vindictive in reviews if they find out a class isn’t as easy as they expected or if they got a bad grade when they didn’t study. The possibilities are so endless that you’ll just drive yourself insane if you try to take every criticism at face value, when they may well be mostly fiction. (Your being upset by the negative reviews may be their intention.)

Look at other reviews of other instructors, teachers, professors, etc. and you’ll see a pattern. Grade yourself on a curve.

This is such a wild departure from real beauty pageants, which have always been known for pushing realistic beauty standards and for making normal women feel good about their bodies.

First I would support campaign finance reform and watch 90% of the problems be solved.

Then I would tackle the other 10% by making voting more accessible - especially in primaries. Make it so accessible that even young voters bother to do it. That way people will choose younger reps more often.

So no, I wouldn’t support putting a bandaid on one issue and ignoring the root causes.