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Lack of Communication With Husband After Layoff

Tres Community — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

This post comes from Group Therapy in our TrèsSugar Community. Feel free to add your advice in the comments!

My husband recently got laid off from his job. He is lucky because he was given 30 days to try and find a new position within the company before he's officially let go. He has a prospective job in another area of the company, but I am not sure where everything stands. He just won't communicate with me and let me know what's going on. It's very hard for me to be in the dark about whether or not he will have a job in a couple weeks, and it feels like he has completely closed off communication regarding this job situation.

When I ask if he's heard anything, he is always very vague and claims that he doesn't have any new information, but there have been a couple times when I have seen over his shoulder that he has gotten emails from the people involved with this potential job, so there must be some sort of news. How do I explain to him that behind left in the dark about our situation is really stressing me out?

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Say What? Recession or No, Women Love Their Sex Toys!

TresSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

"[Y]eah, money's tight. If people are going to spend their dollars, they want to know it's a good product. People are staying home more, so we've directed more marketing efforts toward cheap date nights - for the price of a movie and dinner, buy a vibrator, stay home and have fun."

- Good Vibrations rep Jackie Strano, responding to a question about what the sex business is like during the recession. Good Vibrations is a popular woman-friendly adult sex toy store in San Francisco, CA.

Photo by Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera

Front Page: 20-Year-Old Whose Father Ran Her Over Is Dead

TresSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:36 -0800

Arizona woman Noor Faleh Almaleki is pronounced dead after being in a coma for weeks. Her Iraqi-born father ran her over in a parking lot to protest her becoming "too Western." - New York Daily News
Half of US kids, and 90 percent of black children, will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, according to a study that looked at 30 years of national data. - AP
Two women got in a fight on the NYC subway over fears of catching swine flu, after one of them refused to cover her mouth when she coughed. - NBC
NYU has confirmed that a student died in its Bobst Library this morning, a location that has a reputation for student suicides. -WSN
Senator Joe Lieberman apparently decided not to filibuster the public healthcare option after all. - The Hill
Hillary Clinton announced today that the US will offer aid to help boost America's ties with the Muslim world. - Reuters
Here are 10 races to watch in today's off-year election. - CNN

Front Page: Recession Spooks Halloween Shoppers

TresSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:00:46 -0700

Halloween spending is down 15 percent this year compared to last according to the National Retail Federation. - KSFM
Drug companies might be coming closer to a miracle pill that helps patients safely lose weight. - USA Today
Dick Cheney is accusing President Obama of "dithering" by failing to make a decision yet about sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan. – LA Times
By welcoming married Anglican priests into the Catholic Church, the Pope might be setting up an end to celibacy among Catholic priests. - New York Times
A new wave of mortgages should be headed toward foreclosures soon. – Wall Street Journal
A new lawsuit alleges that Bernie Madoff financed a cocaine-fueled work environment and a culture of sexual deviance at his former company. - CNN

Front Page: CEOs at Bailed-Out Banks Increase Their Perks

TresSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:00:59 -0700

The good times are still rolling for CEOs at bailed-out banks: they received huge perks last year while taxpayers footed the multibillion-dollar bill. - Washington Post
Afghanistan will hold a runoff presidential election on Nov. 7 following allegations of fraud that tainted the previous results. - AP
An Iranian-American academic has been sentenced to 12 years in Iranian prison for contributing to unrest after the last election. - AP
It appears less likely that international leaders will sign a comprehensive treaty against climate change when they meet in Copenhagen this December. - New York Times
States cannot afford the death penalty, according to a new study. - CNN
Check out the original balloon boy! - SFGate

Front Page: Unemployment Might Create a Lost Generation

TresSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:00:22 -0700

The job crisis is hitting young people just out of college especially hard, which could have a long-term negative impact on an entire generation. - Business Week
American Elinor Ostrom has become the first woman to win the Nobel prize for economics. - BBC News
Iraq's National Theater has opened again for the first time in six years, as nightlife begins to return to Baghdad. - Telegraph
Hillary Clinton says President Obama's attitude toward America's role in the world won him the Nobel Peace Prize. - AP
Couples Retreat starring Vince Vaughn had a big opening weekend to come in first place at the box office. - BuzzSugar

Men's Underwear Index Reflects State of Economy

TresSugar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Want to know the state of the economy? Look in your boyfriend's underwear drawer: therein lies a major clue. If it sounds crazy to you, don't worry, it sounds a little batty to me, too. But economists say that the MUI (Men's Underwear Index) is significant. And even Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan believes this theory.

According to economists, during tough financial times, men will slow down their purchase of underwear. “It's like trying to drive your car an extra 10,000 miles,” says Marshal Cohen. Men's underwear purchases are usually stable because they’re a necessity, so when there's a dip in buying (or when you notice his tighty whiteys have become saggy raggies), this means that he's skimping, even on necessities.

When the recession took hold, research firm Mintel saw the growth in men’s underwear slow down; they expect sales to fall 2.3 percent this year. They predict that next year, however, sales will fall only by .5 percent. Target spokeswoman Jana O'Leary agrees that things are looking up, and that over the past two months even “multipair packs are moving.” Hooray!

This fascinates me for a couple reasons. First of all, according to Mintel, men buy an average of 3.4 pairs of underwear a year. (Say what?! I bet women buy more pairs than that in a month!) But mostly, I think it's an intriguing clue into the difference in men and women's psychological ways of handling the recession. Women, we're told, spend more on lipstick during a recession. Men? They just let their underwear fade and get saggy.

So what does it mean that during a recession, some women step up the unnecessary purchases while men step down the necessary ones! What's your theory?

Front Page: US Job Losses Finally Slow Down

TresSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:00:38 -0700

The pace of US job losses finally appears to be slowing down. - Washington Post
Some economists say that the latest economic numbers, including lower-than-expected job losses, are partially due to the stimulus bill. - NY Times
A pro-Georgia blogger thinks that he was the target of the the cyberattack that brought down Twitter yesterday. He says the attack coincided with the one-year anniversary of the Russia-Georgia conflict. - CNN
Glenn Beck has lost advertisers after the host called President Obama a "racist." - Think Progress
The Taliban has confirmed that its leader in Pakistan has been killed. - Reuters

DIY Burials: Less Expensive, More Intimate?

TresSugar — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Due to the recession, most of us focus on how much we spend going about our daily lives, but we don't often budget for death, which can be very pricey. An increasing number of people are finding ways to decrease the cost of burying a loved one - they're holding DIY funerals.

Compared to the average cost of a funeral, which runs about $6,000, taking over part or all of the burial preparations can cost family members as little as $250. In states where a funeral director is required, home funerals are still less expensive. And loved ones say it seems like "the natural, loving way to do things." It also sounds a little creepy. The New York Times explained the home burial process for 92-year-old Nathaniel Roe:

They washed Mr. Roe’s body, dressed him in his favorite Harrods tweed jacket and red Brooks Brothers tie and laid him on a bed so family members could privately say their last goodbyes.

There are countless organizations and individuals (called "death midwives") who help families with things like setting up cremation, moving the body to a cemetery, or securing a burial permit (if available) when a family decides to bury their loved one on their property. Would you ever consider this?

Source: Flickr User KaCey97007

Oh Snap! I'm Looking For a More Exotic Career

TresSugar — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:00:00 -0700

A job-seeker stops by the Centerfolds booth during an adult entertainment industry job fair yesterday in San Francisco. Hundreds of people showed up to find out about strip clubs jobs ranging from bartender and cashiers to exotic dancers and waitresses.

View 4 Photos ›