
After being unemployed for several months, my boyfriend finally landed the job he'd been pining for. To welcome him to the firm, his co-workers planned a happy hour at a pub nearby. My boyfriend invited me to join so I agreed to meet them after I left work.

My boyfriend and I have been living together the past two years. Recently his parents visited from out of town to see my boyfriend and his two sisters. They were here for a few weeks, so the siblings decided to take turns hosting and showing them around.

About two years ago, I entered a bleak time in my life and fell into a depression. Fortunately, I was able to make it through, and I feel much stronger today. However, at the time it was difficult to just leave the house, and I really distanced myself from many of my friends.

I'm 28 and the youngest of three children. My siblings and I had a challenging childhood; our dad disappeared from our lives when we were little, and our mother suffered from severe depression. My sister, the eldest, took on the responsibilities of taking care of my brother and me, even though she was only a few years older than us.

Three years ago I met my boyfriend through my best friend's boyfriend, and the four of us have been a great group. But recently, they've been having some problems, so she and I have been logging in some girl time. A few weeks ago we went out for drinks and met some guys.

For as long as I can remember, I've had the horrible tendency to pursue a guy until he's totally into me, and then dump him right as things start to heat up. There's just something about a crush being interested in me that suddenly makes me totally uninterested in him. In many ways I think I just like the thrill of the chase.

A few weekends ago, I ditched out on my long-time friend to hang out with a guy that I have feelings for. My friend and I had been planning on going to the movies, and when I canceled she got upset with me. Since I so rarely flake out, I immediately became irritated with her, and we ended the phone call on a very negative note.

A year ago I started dating a guy I met through a work conference. He was living across the country, but was in the process of transferring to my office for a promotion. We immediately fell for each other and decided to deal with the long distance for a few months before we could be together.

For the past year, my good friend has been going on and on about how she never meets guys and how she's doomed to be alone forever — she's only 26! She's a cute woman who's smart and successful, but she refuses to really put herself out there. Throughout numerous conversations, I've explained to her how to approach guys and talk to them — I'm single too — but she refuses to try and then just complains!

A year before I left for college, I started dating a guy I was crazy about; it was my first love. We had a very happy relationship, but as high school relationships do, things got difficult when I went away to college. By the time I headed home for Winter break, it was clear that he was spending time with another girl behind my back.