Birthdays are supposed to be a time of joy, celebrating a person’s life and continued good fortunes (get out of here birthday cynics, don’t @ me). Whether you go full diva, or just have a quiet dinner at home with friends or family, birthdays are supposed to be fun. Sometimes that fun comes at a cost. Last year I went out for a birthday with a group of friends in NYC; we all drove in together and stayed in a hotel in Manhattan. The plan was to go to Barcade (that place is awe

All names in this story have been changed, or omitted (those omitted don’t matter or I can’t remember who was present), to keep those involved anonymous. This story requires just a little bit of background before we get down to the good stuff. The events that follow took place in upstate New York, in the Finger Lake region. Ithaca College and SUNY Cortland, both of which maintain Division 3 (so not very important) football programs, have a rivalry that has stood for over 50 y

“You Bitch!” The words hung there for a moment, a single exclamation hurled out with impunity, meant in jest. I thought nothing of it, since who hasn’t said much worse playing video games, even in mixed company. But you should know your audience, and in this case I was mistaken in mine. The day started as normal as any other, with no indication of the events to come. My friend, let’s call her ­­­­Cassandra*, invited me to come hang out with her and her brother, call him Chris

I work from home. Yea, it’s as awesome as it sounds. Oh, sorry if that’s not immediately what you thought I’ll wait while you stop lying to yourself…. Done? Cool, let’s move on. Big shock right? The founder of a site which premise lies on the manifesto “people are the worst” found a way to avoid them for the most part on a day to day basis. Now don’t get me wrong. I interact with people daily, mostly over Google Hangout and Slack, but they are intelligent, competent, human be