UziBobuzi

It's not appropriate to ask a woman out when she's working. Service staff get hit on all day and they're just trying to work.

You can slip her your number if she shows up at your place of business and leave the ball in her court though. If she doesn't contact you then there's your answer.

You've got to toughen up. If she's waiting for you when you get home, tell her you don't have time to hang out and close the door on her. Tell her it's not appropriate that she keeps inviting herself over and that you can't be available for her on her whim. The only way to set boundaries is to set them strong and plain and then do what you have to do to enforce them. If that means walking in your door and shutting it in her face that's what you need to do.

She's not your kid, she's not a relative, she's not your responsibility. Tell yourself that when you feel yourself folding. She's pushing you because you're not drawing the line in concrete. It's not mean to set firm lines with people that take advantage of your good nature.

This is a common, everyday experience for women in all our relationships including our personal ones. Not much you can do about it except keep repeating yourself until someone hears or just shut down on the subject and walk away. It's always infuriating but after a while the shutting down numbs you out so it doesn't feel like it cuts as deep even though it really does. Tell yourself it's a them problem, you tried your best but they don't care to listen, and go on with your day.

Fun fact: in enthusiast circles they're known as skinny pigs.

If you liked the Expanse you might be interested in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series, and for the same reasons.

As for your original question, for me the important part is good writing and story telling. Some writers' styles just turn me off no matter how good or important the work is. Narrative style is what makes or breaks a book for me no matter the genre.

I'm not. I was a moderator on one of the subs that got hassled by admin shenanigans and so I deleted my entire post history and closed my account and don't go there anymore.

It's one I gave myself: I told my adult and nearly adult sons this year that we aren't doing Xmas anymore because we're atheist and anti-capitalist and as a holiday it is counter to our beliefs. The kids didn't care and I'm off the hook from now on. Best Xmas gift ever!

Warframe is free to play and nothing is locked behind money. it's got a really steep learning curve but pushing past it is well worth it.

Get a large bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol, block the holes, and fill it. Let it soak overnight. Rinse well and enjoy.

Well, now she knows he's not worth the trouble of the first date.

If you post something public, people can access it. Corporations can access it. It's one of the reasons I ditched all my social media that identified me directly. They can scrape my stuff, sure; but they won't be able to link it to my actual name, face or existence in real life.