And within 12 hours, have forgotten 90%

However long it would take me to find a tank of nitrogen to strap to my face for happy sleep time.

My kids are 3 (girl) and 7 (boy), here are a few low effort things things that would win mine over:

• Let them choose what to watch and properly watch it together, no looking at your phone. Bluey is a great kids show
• Play Uno, Ludo, snakes and ladders, Dobble, snap, etc - you can team up with the 3yo
• Draw pictures together - mine love mazes, monsters, etc. There are loads of good YouTube kids drawing tutorials
• My girl loves anyone who will let her serve a tea party, and my boy loves to tell anyone about Minecraft or Mario games
• Before you go, ask the parents what small token gift you can bring, preferably a treat or a small game you can play together

If you want them to like you, you really just have to get down to their level and show genuine interest, or ask to join in. If that all sounds too much, then maybe it's not going to happen.

If successful, you might need to gently set some boundaries... But hopefully you form a nice bond with them. You don't have be an extrovert for kids to like you - I'm a firm introvert, and kids seem to gravitate towards me, like cats.

I know what you mean, but it would depend on my current situation. Assuming I've had to find another job with short notice (and I'm still in my probation period) it could be a great opportunity to leverage a massive pay increase, then spend the next year planning a proper move.

I wouldn't list it as separate employment on my CV, unless I knew it was going to be scrutinised, in which case, it's easily explained and reflects pretty well - they wanted me back.

Plenty of men can deal with this, and plenty of women can't. It's not helpful to see this as a gender thing, you'll only feel more alienated. You might want to seek out some new social connections?

I've been though divorce recently and despite being very amicable, it's caused me to reset - some things broke, but being more emotionally open has been one of the good things. I'm still pretty reserved but a few things are different:

• I care a lot less about conforming to "ideals" or how anyone judges me. That means I no longer feel the fear and second guess everything I say.
• When appropriate, I ask people - especially other men - how they're doing and gently push for a genuine answer. No one's reacted negatively to that, so far.
• With my kids, I simply do the opposite to my father. I tell them I love them, I take an interest in them, and I take their feelings seriously. I don't coddle them, but I want them to feel secure and confident in talking to me. They're still young, so we'll see.
• During work 1:1s, I take a genuine interest in people, most will subtly drop hints that they had a bad weekend or are feeling tired or stressed. I used to gloss over that, now I'll ask about it and say I'm happy to listen. A surprising number will go on to share, with the bonus that it builds trust.
• If someone asks how I am, I won't lay it all out for them, but I'll be honest. Most people empathise and tell you they've been through similar. It's never been awkward, and I've found out nearly everyone I know is pretty anxious and is going through difficult stuff.

As an aside, I never watched much porn because I found it so cold and alienating. It's interesting that you found the opposite. Anyway, I'll stop there and wish you well!

That's terrible, I hope it all worked out, but absolutely never say anything until you've both signed a contract unless you're looking for a counter offer, which is risky AF.

People pull out of informal agreements all the time, it's not an employer thing - legal issues, real estate, appointments, competition prizes, dates...

After a couple of bad questions, I'll either excuse myself, suggest we carry on separately, or (ideally) ask to be sent a list, for me to ignore at my leisure.

Sorry Greg, we're not here to answer your dumbass questions, or indulge your hypothetical edge cases.

See, there's a huge different for me between "people" and "my people" - they can be two separate groups of strangers, but I can tell them apart in seconds.

In the rare times I want to socialise, my quest is to minimise contact with the former and maximize the latter.

Not far off some I've seen, just needs more wrinkles

I agree, ghosting is necessary in many situations. Am a guy, have reluctantly ghosted both men and women (from a casual friend / professional point of view, rather than romantic) not because I think I'll be yelled at (or worse) but if the vibe is wrong, it's self protection - I don't want to engage with them, full stop.

Seems more like Lemmy users are building up a mythology. "I was there in the early days. Remember poop and beans?"