Miss Manners: I made a big mistake with the office birthday cakes

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:51:03 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am an attorney at a small firm. When the staff member who used to buy birthday cakes retired, I picked up a cake for a birthday that was going to be observed right after she left.I then bought the next birthday cake, which was for my favorite member of the firm. And then I bought a cake for the least-liked person in the office, fearing that his feelings would be hurt because no one else was going to rise to the occasion.Now, there is an expectation that I will supply all birthday cakes. This expectation is harmful because I am the first and only woman attorney at the firm, and one of the youngest, as well. It’s also an expensive habit; the time taken getting the cakes equates to hundreds of dollars in billable hours, which I make up for by working later.Do you have any suggestions on how to stop this cycle? I know that I’ve been part of the problem, but unfortunately my time machine is on the fritz.GENTLE READER: Are there any junior staff members or...

Dear Abby: She dumped me and then she died, and her family is being so unkind to me

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:51:03 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My first long-term girlfriend ghosted me. She died soon afterward, and I’m left with a gaping lack of closure.I’m 19. We had dated for four years and we were best friends. We didn’t live together but planned to in the coming months. I intended to marry her.One day out of the blue, she cut me off. She had been acting depressed but convinced me she was fine when I (gingerly) confronted her about it.She ghosted me the next day. She blocked me, changed her number and refused to speak to me when I showed up at her house. Everything to my knowledge had been fine between us.Weeks later, she had a terrible accident at work, and died in the hospital. I learned about it only afterward, from her mother.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: My crabby boyfriend might be surprised that this was the last straw Advice | Dear Abby: I want to marry him, but he gave me this ultimatum Advice | Dear Abby: They were a happy young coupl...

Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:51:03 GMT

Arizona Diamondbacks (0-1) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (1-0)Los Angeles; Saturday, 9:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Madison Bumgarner (0-0); Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Dodgers -260, Diamondbacks +213; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.Los Angeles had a 111-51 record overall and a 57-24 record in home games last season. The Dodgers averaged 8.7 hits per game in the 2022 season with 3.5 extra base hits per game.Arizona had a 74-88 record overall and a 34-47 record on the road last season. The Diamondbacks scored 4.3 runs per game in the 2022 season while allowing 4.6.INJURIES: Dodgers: Alex Reyes: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Pepiot: 15-Day IL (oblique), Jimmy Nelson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Daniel Hudson: 15-Day IL (knee), Gavin Lux: 60-Day IL (knee), Tony Gonsolin: 15-Day IL (ankle), Walker Buehler: 60-Day IL (elbow), Blake Treinen: 60-Day IL (shoulder), J.P. Feyereisen: 60-Day IL (sh...

For Orioles on first opening day roster, being together was the best part

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:51:03 GMT

Kyle Bradish went to bed Wednesday knowing he wasn’t due to pitch for a few days. The Orioles’ right-handed starter still had trouble falling asleep.That excitement level was shared by Baltimore’s five other players who made their first opening day roster, with half of the six making contributions to the Orioles’ season-opening 10-9 victory Thursday over the Boston Red Sox.Catcher Adley Rutschman’s path to superstardom continued with a home run on his first swing, four hits and a walk as part of a record-setting 5-for-5 day. Gunnar Henderson, Rutschman’s successor as baseball’s top overall prospect, drew two free passes as Baltimore’s designated hitter, one starting a four-run fourth inning. Right-hander Logan Gillaspie struck out the only batter he faced to end the bottom of the eighth. Like Bradish, outfielder Kyle Stowers and utility player Terrin Vavra didn’t appear in the opener, but each of three will have significant roles...

Pope Francis leaves hospital; ‘Still alive,’ he quips

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:51:03 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was discharged on Saturday from the Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, quipping to journalists before being driven away: “I’m still alive.”Francis, 86, was hospitalized on Wednesday at Gemelli Polyclinic after reportedly having breathing difficulties following his weekly public audience. The pontiff was treated with antibiotics administered intravenously, the Vatican said. Before departing, Francis had an emotional moment with a Rome couple whose 5-year-old daughter died Friday night at the hospital. Serena Subania, mother of Angelica, sobbed as she pressed her head into the chest of the pope, who put a hand on the woman’s head. Francis seemed eager to linger with well-wishers. When a boy showed him his arm cast, the pope made a gesture as if to ask “Do you have a pen?” A papal aide handed Francis one, and the pope autographed the cast.The pontiff answered in a voice that was close to a whisper when reporters peppered him with que...

UK travelers face hours-long waits for ferries to France

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:51:03 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British vacation travelers were stuck in hours-long lines as they tried to cross the English Channel on Saturday, with the Port of Dover in England blaming the delays on bad weather, heavy traffic and processing delays by French authorities.The port warned ferry passengers of severe delays and said it was “deeply frustrated” by the situation, which has become a regular feature of cross-channel travel since Britain’s exit from the European Union. Saturday was the first day of a two-week spring vacation for most schools in Britain.While the port said bus passengers faced the longest delays, local media reports showed long lines of cars and trucks as well. Ferry operator DFDS said that due to the heavy traffic, it was offering a “shuttle service” that would put passengers on the next available ship as soon as they check in.“Whilst freight and car traffic was processed steadily regardless of the additional challenging weather conditions and high seasonal volumes, coach tra...

Snus: The tradition that’s given Sweden the fewest smokers in Europe

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:51:03 GMT

It’s one of those cultural peculiarities that the European Union is usually keen to protect and promote but snus isn’t celebrated like Parma ham and champagne. In fact it is banned in all member states except Sweden, although it’s a tobacco product that offers a much safer alternative to cigarettes, writes Nick Powell.Tobacco that you neither smoke nor chew is “a weird Swedish cultural product”, Patrik Hildingsson cheerfully admits. And he’s a vice-president of the biggest manufacturer of snus, Swedish Match. Weird but successful. Snus consumption never stopped, although it ceased to be fashionable when Swedes embraced the global trend to smoking cigarettes. Now the snuff-like substance, placed between the upper lip and gum, has reclaimed top spot.Ever since the link between smoking and cancer was conclusively established in the 1960s, people in Sweden who want a nicotine hit have increasingly decided that the old ways are the best. Cigarette consumption is down to 4%, the lowest in...

Russian media: Former CEOs miss business, having turned to quiet family life after sanctions

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:51:03 GMT

Moskvich Magazine, a popular lifestyle publication for Muscovites, ran a curious story about how the lifestyle of former CEOs changed in the wake of EU sanctions against them.A little over a year ago, when Dmitry Konov was still head of a petrochemical company, his life consisted of meetings, business trips and paperwork. He would sometimes, spend more than two hours of a three-hour flight answering emails from colleagues. And his working day often ended well after midnight. In March 2022, however, the EU imposed personal sanctions against Konov, and he left Sibur so as not to create problems for the company’s international business, and then his schedule changed.The main change, says Konov, was that for the first time in many years he had the opportunity to choose what to do with his time. He could go to bed earlier and gеt up earlier. Now he has breakfast with his son and drives him to school himself, taking time to discuss his son’s studies and routine matters on the way. Recentl...

Ask Amy: I’m insulted by the name on his FaceTime account

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:51:03 GMT

Dear Amy: I am a widow. I’ve been in a relationship with “Bernie,” a widower, for nine years. We live quite a distance apart and trade off spending weekends together.When Bernie established a FaceTime account, he included his late wife’s name on it so that when he FaceTimes with me, the notification comes in as from “BernieandBernice.”I have asked him to change it, and his reply is that he cannot change it and that he still “cares about her.” Obviously, he does not want to change it.I take issue with this. It’s as though he is including her in our personal and sometimes intimate conversations.Bernie says I am too sensitive; I say he is insensitive.I feel it is disrespectful to me, and also to his late wife. It hurts me terribly every time I receive a FaceTime call from him. I have shed many tears because of this.And if he were to email or contact friends of mine through FaceTime and the two names appeared this way, I would find it humiliating.I have told only a few frien...