cubevic

I have a lot of scarring on my arms and legs from self-harm. I stayed out of the pool for a long time as I was self-conscious. I gradually got over it and now swim 4 times per week and compete. I’m so very glad I got over it as I missed being in the water. I echo everyone else, no one notices/cares and once you’re in the water it really isn’t visible. Go and swim, and enjoy.

As a manager I wouldn’t expect you back before maternity leave. Unless it would be helpful (for you, and you alone), to come in and see people before starting your maternity leave in some informal way. But only you will know what feels right and there will be opportunities to keep in touch once you feel able.

I think the other thing to consider is the experience of state school coming from an affluent family. I went to state school, my parents were comfortable (but from working class families and no history of private (or higher) education), yet I was singled out for being ‘middle class’. It sounds like you’re coming from a position of significantly more wealth. As much as you might want a diverse experience, it could backfire into a bad experience for your kids, because like it or not, they are different.

Same for me.

The previous owners of my house did this and I’ve finally gotten around of disposing of it. I imagine they told themselves it was to help me know the colours used. But from my perspective I had 10 tins of congealed paint that needed multiple trips to the tip to get rid of (mine has a 5l per month limit). Ironically, the only room that I considered repainting in the same colour was the one they had specially colour mixed with no ID code.

If there’s something I know I won’t want the substituted version of (coffee and cosmetics come to mind), I’ll turn specifics subs off. If I forget, I feel a bit bad handing it back when I knew the sub would never work. Largely, though, find subs really good.

I had forgotten about this post when the RemindMe bot did its job. Delighted for you, OP!

!RemindMe 7 days

I went for a school engineering competition. I still love listening to the Peter Gabriel ‘Ovo’ soundtrack to the show.

We had them but they were essentially useless. Mine was in my form room at the top of a 4 storey building. There wasn’t time to get to it between classes or at the end of the day before the bus. Also, due to being inside a classroom you couldn’t guarantee access to it on the rare occasions you’d be nearby.

This is the way.

This. The only time I asked for my title to be listed as Dr was when the service manager at a garage said, “Mrs Cubevic, I assume?” when creating my account to book the car in. I just didn’t want to have to answer that in a way that confirmed/refuted his assumption.