Barb gets name-checked in this Wired article.

Barb gets name-checked in this Wired article.

And picture-checked! Cool!

Go Barb! Go Barb!

It is likely that many of us would rather not be judged on the folly of youth. I have done seriously inappropriate things and believe I have learned from past mistakes.

The cheating thing would bother me, because I do think it's an integrity issue, but it would particularly bother me if she was telling this story as "Wasn't this great" versus "I did stuff in college that I regret."

Of course, one of my favorite quotes is the one often repeated at Vanderbilt. Madison Sarratt, the long-time and beloved dean of students, said this before exams when he was a math professor:

Today I am going to give you two examinations, one in trigonometry and one in honesty. I hope you will pass them both, but if you must fail one, let it be trigonometry, for there are many good men in this world today who cannot pass an examination in trigonometry, but there are no good men in this world who cannot pass an examination in honesty.

Her political views would make my head explode.

O_A, you're a cool guy with an interesting job. There must be a way for you to find the right person. Have you tried to find ways to meet the volunteers? Maybe you could offer to do some kind of behind-the-scenes tour.

If she was hot, I might try at it a bit longer. But... I dunno.

If you apply Barney Stinson's hot/crazy scale that's probably the outcome.

I don't think that cheating in college means that she will cheat on someone later in life. I have no idea what she will or won't do. I have lots and lots of friends with way different ethics and or values than I do. I'm just really picky about anything that is more than fiends. It is not the way for everyone, but I never dated anyone for more than 6 months until DH. Value wise , we have a lot of the same things that are of the same importance. Politically, we are different. I fall more and more into the liberal with a touch of socialism tinged by practicality. DH is a radical -- it doesn't matter where he stands on an issue , he takes a more extreme stance. and some of those are on the conservative side.

I guess what I am saying is you get enought things that flag you so you don't want to kiss the girl., don't.

yay Barb!!

and that was an article about romance writers that I wanted to read!

Following 45-minutes of hold time, the way to endear me to your bank is NOT putting me on hold several times more, coming back five times in between just to clarify a situation that I've explained about ten times now, and apparently being unable to apologise for the wrong statements OR to answer whether this might be a security risk OR to acknowledge that your statements are completely inaccessible to this particular dyslexic & dyspraxic customer.

Is it just the UK where customer service is going to hell in a tea kettle, or is it everywhere else too? I've had so many similar experiences recently.

*noises akin to those that might be inspired by strangulation*

(Not so much with the swearing, but with not patronizing businesses whose names contain deliberate misspellings, such as Kountry Kitchen.)

I love you a lot for this.

How old is she/how long has she been out of college? Because I did some *seriously* stupid shit in college that I'm not proud of now, and if that disqualified me as a potential long-term partner, I'd be living in a cave right now.

True. But it sounds like she said it with pride or indifference, not shame. When you talk about the time you did X, it's with a sheepish grin and an eyeroll at yourself, so the person knows that you know that you were a dumbass. It doesn't sound like that's what she did.

I could be wrong, but my impression from Omnis' post was that she WAS proud of it, which to me is a much bigger flag than her having done it in the first place.

good, not just me.

I've done *seriously* inappropriate shit that might lead people (apparently many Buffistas) to consider I lack ethics and integrity.

but you characterize it as inappropriate, which means that you recognize that it's negative behavior.

Sure, I did things I would never do today, but it doesn't mean I don't sometimes still get a laugh out of them recounting the tales.

yes, but you tell the story in such a way that it's clear that you know that you shouldn't have done it, right?

Is it just the UK where customer service is going to hell in a tea kettle, or is it everywhere else too?

It's everywhere. Or at least in the US too.

Except we here in the US don't go to hell in a tea kettle. We go to hell in a bucket.