S07.E08: Judgement Day

[RealReality]

15 hours ago, Kangatush said:

Because the woke herbalists wanted to throw as much shade on the un-decolonized man as possible.  They're super judgy for people who have known Tania for two weeks, and only have her side of the story.  Syngynyny is bored AF, trapped in a she shed with no friends, and a woman who measures her whisky.  Yeah, he might want to talk to his fiance.  And wanting a text to know you're safe isn't so unreasonable.

The only thing I agree with Tania about is that syngin should be getting out.  The internet is a thing, he should be looking for local meetups or joining Facebook groups.....maybe join a hiking group since that's his thing.  Fernanda said that she developed friends from the gym who drove her around because she couldn't drive.  

I'm sure someone in a Meetup or Facebook group would drop by and pick syngin up to participate in an activity.  Then he wouldn't be so very dependent on Tania and she wouldn't take him for granted because she knows he is isolated and at her mercy.  

I guess he doesn't have any money to help with gas or anything, but I think people aren't expecting you to kick in money you don't have and he can pack a lunch if it's just a Meetup to go hiking.  

 

[BallisticNikki]

Does Natalie have a job? What's her occupation?

[RealReality]

3 minutes ago, BallisticNikki said:

Maybe that is her work. Don't some ppl receive money for caring for their terminally ill relatives? Plus controlling the relative's SS check?

Yes.  I'm not sure if it comes along with control of the SS check but I think it's called IHSS.  

I wonder if Angela kinda "double dips" and takes the IHSS money and works another job.  I've seen her wearing scrubs and I don't think she'd wear them if she was just taking care of her mom.  

Angela pulling the taxpayer card is really the highlight of the episode for me.  Not that she said it, but that she wouldn't shut the hell up about it.  

[BallisticNikki]

1 minute ago, RealReality said:

The only thing I agree with Tania about is that syngin should be getting out.  The internet is a thing, he should be looking for local meetups or joining Facebook groups.....maybe join a hiking group since that's his thing.  Fernanda said that she developed friends from the gym who drove her around because she couldn't drive.  

I'm sure someone in a Meetup or Facebook group would drop by and pick syngin up to participate in an activity.  Then he wouldn't be so very dependent on Tania and she wouldn't take him for granted because she knows he is isolated and at her mercy.  

I guess he doesn't have any money to help with gas or anything, but I think people aren't expecting you to kick in money you don't have and he can pack a lunch if it's just a Meetup to go hiking.  

 

You'd think the foreign spouses would be saving up like crazy while waiting for the k1 approval. 

I'd love to have a month off w/ nothing to do and no one bothering me. With hobbies, working out, tv, yt and fb, a month would go by in a flash for me. 

[BallisticNikki]

2 minutes ago, RealReality said:

Yes.  I'm not sure if it comes along with control of the SS check but I think it's called IHSS.  

I wonder if Angela kinda "double dips" and takes the IHSS money and works another job.  I've seen her wearing scrubs and I don't think she'd wear them if she was just taking care of her mom.  

Angela pulling the taxpayer card is really the highlight of the episode for me.  Not that she said it, but that she wouldn't shut the hell up about it.  

Maybe she works nights and Skyla comes over to watch the kids and her grandma. 

I meant grandma just gives her her check. The house looks very small for 2 adults and 6 kids! And she had planned to move Michael in, too? awkward!

Can someone (w better social media sleuthing skills than I have) find out why Michael was denied!?

[Spike]

10 minutes ago, RealReality said:

Yes.  I'm not sure if it comes along with control of the SS check but I think it's called IHSS.  

I wonder if Angela kinda "double dips" and takes the IHSS money and works another job.  I've seen her wearing scrubs and I don't think she'd wear them if she was just taking care of her mom.  

Angela pulling the taxpayer card is really the highlight of the episode for me.  Not that she said it, but that she wouldn't shut the hell up about it.  

She works at a facility.  There was an ep where she and a coworker were on a break in the parking lot and she was complaining about Michael.

[ethalfrida]

21 minutes ago, RealReality said:

I suppose that in the lack of evidence to the contrary it should be assumed that she is paying her own way.  

I wouldn't be surprised to find out there was some kind of government grant funding her adventure.  But, you'd be right to say that I shouldn't assume.  

I think I'd have less of a problem with it if it wasn't smack in the middle of three months that her fiance is here and she kinda abandoned him with her mother who, very clearly, doesn't like the idea of them mooching off her.  

It kinda looks more like an educational vacation to me.  Like if you visit belgium and sign up for a chocolate making class.  Yes you learn how to make chocolate and that's cool....but it's mostly vacation.   Does that make sense?  It's just how I see it, but it's likely colored by my experiences 

The one time I've had to learn a lot of information in a short amount of time is when I studied for the bar.  And that did not allow for salsa dancing, ocean galavanting, nightclubbing, or any other fun.  

So far, I think I've made more soap than Tania.  But my soap was a disaster, so maybe I should go to Costa Rica 😋. 

Anyways, your job sounds really neat.  I've only tangentially read up on essential oils because of soaps and it's a pretty interesting field.  

I totally see your point, though.  The essential oil practice is not really my job. I just got into it making soap and cosmetics. Further research and study provided information on how to use them properly. It is also a family tradition as back in the day most of my family made their own medicines. Which I learned had a lot to do with their stamina and longevity.

Yes, there could be a government grant to do it but it would surprise me. Some of my friends would be right over there with her, lol. 

Honestly, I think so much of Tania and the others are just storylines. 

Wow, studying for the bar in a tropical setting? Sounds fantastic!

[RealReality]

25 minutes ago, ethalfrida said:

I totally see your point, though.  The essential oil practice is not really my job. I just got into it making soap and cosmetics. Further research and study provided information on how to use them properly. It is also a family tradition as back in the day most of my family made their own medicines. Which I learned had a lot to do with their stamina and longevity.

Yes, there could be a government grant to do it but it would surprise me. Some of my friends would be right over there with her, lol. 

Honestly, I think so much of Tania and the others are just storylines. 

Wow, studying for the bar in a tropical setting? Sounds fantastic!

Ha ha, I wish!  But really, I think it would be worse to have studied for the bar in a tropical paradise because it would suck to know there is so much fun outside but I'd have to be studying.  

A few people would have to like attend a wedding or a bachelor party during bar study and it sort of sucked for them because they couldnt enjoy it at all.  

I'm listening to a podcast that describes it as "herbalist summer camp" and that kinda makes sense.  

I have massive respect for people who study e/o for soap making because I used e/o for my first batch of cold process soap and it stinks.  It literally stinks.  Im curing it in a storage area because I can't have it in the house.  I'm going to try to rebatch it.  

It wasn't until I started to research that I found out how tricky it can be to use certain e/o in soaps and how some were less stable and less likely to hold their fragrance in a c/p soap.  The c/p soap making can already be tricky with figuring out which ingredients to use for what you want to accomplish and fragrancing with e/o just adds a layer of additional complexity. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

22 hours ago, SnarkEnthusiast said:

And since when does someone wanting to hear from you every day or, God forbid, make sure you're safe after a night of getting wasted translate to being clingy or immature?

I'm with Tania on this one, but a lot of my life was spent in the days before cell phones, or free/cheap long distance, and she doesn't have that excuse.

I actually kind of detest all the constant checking in people do these days, all the "I'll text you when I get there."  I preferred it when we assumed people were fine once they left our sight unless we heard otherwise. 

 

19 hours ago, RealReality said:

I truly wish I had anny's body confidence.  It must be great. 

I thought the exact same thing about Tania, as she was flouncing around in the water in a thong.

[Desert Rat]

On 12/23/2019 at 12:47 PM, Gobi said:

What if you're born without any genitalia at all? (Asking for a friend named Tim.)

Also asking for a friend named Russ, aka Roos.

[DiamondGirl]

1 hour ago, RealReality said:

The only thing I agree with Tania about is that syngin should be getting out.  The internet is a thing, he should be looking for local meetups or joining Facebook groups.....maybe join a hiking group since that's his thing.  Fernanda said that she developed friends from the gym who drove her around because she couldn't drive.  

You know, though, I think Tania would be furious if he went out despite what she says.  She wants total control of him.

Jasmin said it flat out - the only thing that matters is that she’s here with her sister.

By the way, I can’t stand the friend with those neon long fake nails.  Just so you all know.

[Toaster Strudel]

2 hours ago, BallisticNikki said:

Maybe that is her work. Don't some ppl receive money for caring for their terminally ill relatives? Plus controlling the relative's SS check?

I assumed this was the case.

[Kiss my mutt]

How does Tania afford to do a “study abroad” when she doesn’t appear to be employed. Maybe all the rent money she saved by living in a shack. Tania is in love with Tania. Nobody else. 

[lovesnark]

3 hours ago, RealReality said:

I suppose that in the lack of evidence to the contrary it should be assumed that she is paying her own way.  

I wouldn't be surprised to find out there was some kind of government grant funding her adventure.  But, you'd be right to say that I shouldn't assume.  

I think I'd have less of a problem with it if it wasn't smack in the middle of three months that her fiance is here and she kinda abandoned him with her mother who, very clearly, doesn't like the idea of them mooching off her.  

It kinda looks more like an educational vacation to me.  Like if you visit belgium and sign up for a chocolate making class.  Yes you learn how to make chocolate and that's cool....but it's mostly vacation.   Does that make sense?  It's just how I see it, but it's likely colored by my experiences 

The one time I've had to learn a lot of information in a short amount of time is when I studied for the bar.  And that did not allow for salsa dancing, ocean galavanting, nightclubbing, or any other fun.  

So far, I think I've made more soap than Tania.  But my soap was a disaster, so maybe I should go to Costa Rica 😋. 

Anyways, your job sounds really neat.  I've only tangentially read up on essential oils because of soaps and it's a pretty interesting field.  

There is evidence to the contrary over in the individual couples threads😊 Tania doesn't care about anyone but Tania. She wants to do whatever she wants and tries to make it sound like it's the most important thing in the world and is going to help her make money someday. She wanted to go party in Costa Rica while Syringe did the work she lied about doing in the shed.

[Christina]

This is not a spoiler because it hasn't happened yet. I'm just now reading the thread but had to share.

Although I fully expect the above to happen for real, if it's not clear, this next one is fake.

 

[Desert Rat]

21 hours ago, RealReality said:

 

Wine Michael probably dropped the pre-nup idea as soon as he realized it couldn't be completely one sided.  He is such a remarkable mansplaining ass.  "That doesn't have anything to do with you modelling or that time I left you high and dry without any money!"

 

Wine Michael dropped the pre-nush because he doesn't have any assets to protect.  If he had substantial wealth he would have hired a lawyer for Juliana and a lawyer for himself to negotiate the deal. That's what wealthy people do everyday. It's clear, Michael is not wealthy. He's a poser. Thus, no need for a prenup.

[Frozendiva]

I would hope that most of the Americans would give their fiances maybe $50-100 a week for incidentals - like buying a coffee or snack or what most people do.

[John M]

34 minutes ago, lovesnark said:

There is evidence to the contrary over in the individual couples threads😊 Tania doesn't care about anyone but Tania. She wants to do whatever she wants and tries to make it sound like it's the most important thing in the world and is going to help her make money someday. She wanted to go party in Costa Rica while Syringe did the work she lied about doing in the shed.

That's what really annoys me about Tania, she thinks she is so special and what she is doing is so important that she can rise above having a legitimate job.

So I work in a very respected charitable field, like the kind of position that people say I would do that if  they were a better person, like say I take care orphans with cancer for a living. People bring me cookies because they think bringing me cookies for doing my job is itself an act of charity. It's still a fucking job, I go to meetings, I do spreadsheets and fill out forms and make copies. Being a professional "good person" is in fact a career she could pursue but people don't for the exact reasons they know they haven't, it kind of sucks to be a professional "good person", so Tania doesn't want to work taking care of the homeless, or at a cancer charity, or for hospice, she thinks she is so special and unique that herbs will free her from HAVING A FUCKING LEGITIMATE JOB.

Shut up Tania, go work at an AIDS charity doing data entry if you want to be a good person without any specialized skills, actually, don't, because you don't want to actually be a good person, you want to be recognized for being a good person and it doesn't fucking happen with the kind of regularity that Tania demands because 99.99% of it is analyzing spreadsheets for way less money than you would make in the private sector.

[Baltimore Betty]

1 hour ago, Kiss my mutt said:

How does Tania afford to do a “study abroad” when she doesn’t appear to be employed. Maybe all the rent money she saved by living in a shack. Tania is in love with Tania. Nobody else. 

None of there people seem to have jobs.  Not once have we heard from anyone about taking time off from work or once the import is in the US, nobody has to go to an office or report to any sort of work enviornment, it's odd. Does anyone have health insurance?

[Mrs Robot]

4 hours ago, RealReality said:

The only thing I agree with Tania about is that syngin should be getting out.  The internet is a thing, he should be looking for local meetups or joining Facebook groups.....maybe join a hiking group since that's his thing.  Fernanda said that she developed friends from the gym who drove her around because she couldn't drive.  

 

But we saw Syngin driving Tania to the airport in the US -- so he can drive in America, and I assume Mother Tania would let him use her car if he ran some errands. It seems like the perfect storm. He is a total wimp with no interest in developing his own life, and Tania is Nurse Ratchett.

I met a guy at a bar last night who reminded me of Syngin. He'd just gotten off his shift at another bar. I heard him converse with other people, just zero interest in anything or anyone, but claimed bartending was a fabulous career for a lifetime. His wife is an executive with Loreal, I wonder what the home front is like.

Edited December 25, 2019 by Mrs Robot

[RealReality]

1 hour ago, Christina said:

This is not a spoiler because it hasn't happened yet. I'm just now reading the thread but had to share.

Although I fully expect the above to happen for real, if it's not clear, this next one is fake.

 

This makes me miss the onion. 

Angela is a taxpayer...hear her allmighty roar!  

[Mrs Robot]

3 minutes ago, RealReality said:

Angela is a taxpayer...hear her allmighty roar!  

And even if she wasn't Section 8, it looks like she has eight dependents, so pretty much doesn't pay tax no matter what.

4 hours ago, BallisticNikki said:

You'd think the foreign spouses would be saving up like crazy while waiting for the k1 approval. 

 

There are many ways to make money in cash; just drive into Home Depot parking lots for example.

[RealReality]

2 minutes ago, Mrs Robot said:

And even if she wasn't Section 8, it looks like she has eight dependents, so pretty much doesn't pay tax no matter what.

There are many ways to make money in cash; just drive into Home Depot parking lots for example.

I have zero dependents, am on zero government programs, am unmarried and have a fairly well paying job.  So I am a real deal taxpayer - and even I feel a little douchey when I pull the taxpayer card.  

I almost never do it more than once in a conversation.  

So for Angela, who, like you said, is most certainly taking more than she is giving (even if I count the high tax on cigarettes) to repeatedly pull the taxpayer card is a hoot.  

What other gifts and prizes do taxpayers get besides automatic visa approvals for green card spouses?  Are there a menu of benefits I'm missing out on....are there free gift cards?

[StatisticalOutlier]

38 minutes ago, John M said:

So I work in a very respected charitable field, like the kind of position that people say I would do that if  they were a better person, like say I take care orphans with cancer for a living. People bring me cookies because they think bringing me cookies for doing my job is itself an act of charity. It's still a fucking job, I go to meetings, I do spreadsheets and fill out forms and make copies.

I used to work for a nonprofit hospice and Starbucks, I think it was, donated their leftover pastries to the staff.  Not the patients, but the staff.  I always wondered if they thought the staff didn't get paid for their work.

[MajorNelson]

5 hours ago, Spike said:

She works at a facility.  There was an ep where she and a coworker were on a break in the parking lot and she was complaining about Michael.

Yup, they were in scrubs, outside.  That's where she asked the male coworker something like "Am I the crazy bitch here?"  😄

[Kangatush]

I live next to CT and I've never heard of any high demand for a neighborhood witch.  Living your bliss is great.  Paying bills and not living in your mother's shed is better.

[Christina]

1 hour ago, Baltimore Betty said:

None of there people seem to have jobs.  Not once have we heard from anyone about taking time off from work or once the import is in the US, nobody has to go to an office or report to any sort of work enviornment, it's odd. Does anyone have health insurance?

Many past castmembers have said the show tells them not to mention their jobs. Deavan went on a bitchfest with someone who was trying to call her out on her stating that she earned a lot of money and was leaving a good job to move to SK with a man who didn't have a great job. She was working at a furniture store and also did stage makeup for things like small stage productions, independent video workshops and some big Halloween Fright Festival. She only modeled occasionally for her cousin and as part of the groups where she was also doing makeup, but the show told her to claim she was a model or people would stalk her at her job and cause issues with her employment.

Someone else said they were told to say they were a model but had only taken photos for the show but someone came to the restaurant where she worked and announced it online causing issues of people stopping by just to see if she actually worked there. The Instagrammer Yates had an enemy call his employer and kept asking if the bartender who sold meth was working, and he ended up getting fired because it was too much hassle for the employer.

People are stupid, judgmental and rude. We talk shit about people online, some actually seek them out to tell them how trashy they are. Coming across someone when you happen to be out is one thing, searching for their job or home is another. It's why they lie about where they live, too. It appears that Robert doesn't live in Winter Park and isn't even really in a suburb, it's just a large enough city that it helps protect his location.

Robert said his job is a ride share operator, and I think that is his side job, not the primary one. Angela's been mentioned, WineDouche samples wine (a lot of wine) and maybe sells it, Blake is part owner in a music production company (I think he thought they were going to cover a lot more about his job), Anna's bee keeping is at a hobby level, Tania works, I completely drew a blank on who was in this show. Seriously, I'm trying to remember the couples and drawing a blank. I'll put the jobs that I don't remember hearing on the show in the spoiler box. 

Spoiler

Robert has a job working at a warehouse or delivering for a warehouse. I don't remember where that came from, but I think it was in the spoiler info from before the season started. He also works for Uber or Lyft part time.

Tania works as a bartender. There are photos of her working as a bottle service (is that what's it's called?) at one of the casinos, Foxwoods, I think, and she was caught on film during one of the Real Housewives shows when they were filming somewhere in Manhattan, she worked at that bar but wasn't being filmed for that show, someone who watches both shows happened to catch her. After moving back to Connecticut, she worked for a event company as a bartender and also at some bar that you had to take a ferry to get to and was apparently a small party island.

Anna's primary job is as a residential health care worker. I don't remember the actual name of the job or company, but it is when someone who needs assistance but not nursing home or hospice care type help lives in a family home, like hers, and she is paid by the state for each resident depending on their needs. Someone who has a mental impairment that keeps them from being able to be left alone but can otherwise take care of themselves are placed in homes, if possible, instead of institutions or nursing homes, both of which are almost a thing of the past. Anna actually had some degree that was more than a CNA, but I don't remember what it was, and was highly rated as a caretaker from her residents and the families of those who were unable to take care of the person themselves. She received an award from the State of Nebraska for her work and activism and I read it probably before the season began. She had two residents at the time of the article and one of them was interested in bees and beekeeping and may have been what got her into it. Someone asked her if Murcel had to be background checked too, and she answered them that it was taken from his immigration approval, so it sounds to me like she is still doing it. It's one of the reasons I really wanted to like her.

 

 

[Mu Shu]

11 hours ago, Toaster Strudel said:

sHe Is gRowInG As a pErsOn!!!!

She’s learning stuff for the future! For Her and Sinjin! So they don’t have to live in sheds and skeeve her cranky ass moms booze! And so they don’t have to go into that kitchen anymore. I swear I expect a rat to pop out of the counter hoard. 

molly could probably pay her mortgage for one month selling bras to Tania, her mom, and Angela. I feel like I’m watching something on Nat Geo with all the ponderous, pendulous boobs. 

[bravofan27]

Aw, man! I feel for Angela. Getting out of poverty is very difficult, and the stigma associated with those in poverty is very real. I think Angela is doing the best she can, PLUS I think she's funny!  She's not super sophisticated and her thoughts and ideas are simple, but she's not a scholar. I think making fun of Angela because she's in poverty is cruel. She works as a nurse aide overnights and is really trying to get Michael to the US. I actually think she deserves that, and I am rooting for her. She's got common sense, IMO, and great sense of humor, and I think she is very pretty. She gets nasty when she feels insecure, but I'm not holding that against her. It's a defense mechanism and it's not personal to anyone, IMO. 

[Meowwww]

Mother Tania is awful.  Black cloud over her head.  Must be the Jack Daniels rot gut. She treats Sinjin like he’s a naughty teenager and is SO negative and disapproving.  I can barely watch her.  
Sinjin can come stay at my house. He can eat what he wants, he’d have a real bedroom, not a shed, and hubby and I would have a great time with him. 
Tania is worse than awful. 

[RealReality]

26 minutes ago, bravofan27 said:

Aw, man! I feel for Angela. Getting out of poverty is very difficult, and the stigma associated with those in poverty is very real. I think Angela is doing the best she can, PLUS I think she's funny!  She's not super sophisticated and her thoughts and ideas are simple, but she's not a scholar. I think making fun of Angela because she's in poverty is cruel. She works as a nurse aide overnights and is really trying to get Michael to the US. I actually think she deserves that, and I am rooting for her. She's got common sense, IMO, and great sense of humor, and I think she is very pretty. She gets nasty when she feels insecure, but I'm not holding that against her. It's a defense mechanism and it's not personal to anyone, IMO. 

My beef with Angela right now is her using the same line that often precedes someone's justification for saying something mean, unfair and/or shitty 

".......as a taxpayer...."

And I can't shittalk too much because I've done the same thing when I'm feeling snarky or mean.  

But I may have a basis for the argument and even then I'm surely not going to keep repeating it ad nauseum.  

And it might even be understandable if Angela were so clearly not in the position to make such and argument and if she didn't keep repeating it.  

Not only is that sort of argument kinda jerky, but Angela is absolutely in no position to ever make that argument.  

I try not to judge people for being poor because I think that judgment is part of why the middle class is disappearing.  Everyone wants someone to look down on without realizing how close they are to being in the same boat.  The statistics on the percentage of Americans who'd be wiped out by an unexpected medical expense or a bill for like $1000 is truly disheartening.  

But to me statements like "as a taxpayer" are meant to fundamentally be judgmental of those who aren't.  So in a way weirdly, it's Angela who seemed judgmental to me. 

 

Edited December 25, 2019 by RealReality

[ethalfrida]

Welfare recipients are taxpayers. In California they are. They have to pay and file taxes just like everyone else. Unemployment recipients have a choice to have taxes taken out of their benefits each payment or wait for filing.

 

[magemaud]

4 hours ago, Mrs Robot said:

He is a total wimp with no interest in developing his own life,

What do you mean? He wants to be an opera singing woodworking model! 

I'm surprised Tania's two friends aren't showing him around Colchester. 

[Kangatush]

2 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

Aw, man! I feel for Angela. Getting out of poverty is very difficult, and the stigma associated with those in poverty is very real. I think Angela is doing the best she can, PLUS I think she's funny!  She's not super sophisticated and her thoughts and ideas are simple, but she's not a scholar. I think making fun of Angela because she's in poverty is cruel. She works as a nurse aide overnights and is really trying to get Michael to the US. I actually think she deserves that, and I am rooting for her. She's got common sense, IMO, and great sense of humor, and I think she is very pretty. She gets nasty when she feels insecure, but I'm not holding that against her. It's a defense mechanism and it's not personal to anyone, IMO. 

My problem with Angela is that when she's unhappy, she gets physically, and mentally, abusive.  I completely hold that against her.

And I don't care if she's rich, or poor, what the hell does paying taxes have to do with the "right" to import an African boy toy?

[Mrs Robot]

2 hours ago, magemaud said:

What do you mean? He wants to be an opera singing woodworking model! 

I'm surprised Tania's two friends aren't showing him around Colchester. 

Silly me, you are indeed right on all counts! Now that you mention it, that her cowering gal pals are not moving in on that says a lot about the Maleficent one.

[Mrs Robot]

6 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I used to work for a nonprofit hospice and Starbucks, I think it was, donated their leftover pastries to the staff.  Not the patients, but the staff.  I always wondered if they thought the staff didn't get paid for their work.

No shiz, people have no idea what 5013c means

[Gobi]

7 hours ago, Kangatush said:

I live next to CT and I've never heard of any high demand for a neighborhood witch.

I hear there are openings in Massachusetts.

7 hours ago, Mu Shu said:

 

molly could probably pay her mortgage for one month selling bras to Tania, her mom, and Angela. I feel like I’m watching something on Nat Geo with all the ponderous, pendulous boobs. 

It's a tubular, boobular joy!

[KateHearts]

10 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

Aw, man! I feel for Angela. Getting out of poverty is very difficult, and the stigma associated with those in poverty is very real. I think Angela is doing the best she can, PLUS I think she's funny!  She's not super sophisticated and her thoughts and ideas are simple, but she's not a scholar. I think making fun of Angela because she's in poverty is cruel. She works as a nurse aide overnights and is really trying to get Michael to the US. I actually think she deserves that, and I am rooting for her. She's got common sense, IMO, and great sense of humor, and I think she is very pretty. She gets nasty when she feels insecure, but I'm not holding that against her. It's a defense mechanism and it's not personal to anyone, IMO. 

Interesting perspective. My view is that Angela is riding her 15 minutes of fame by intensifying her "nasty" behaviors and really believing she is entertaining when in fact she can be abusive (i.e., throwing cake at Michael, literally throwing her weight around at the tell-alls, insulting Michael's friends). She can pull out her self-perceived "charm" (like when she bats her eyes and says her relationship with Michael is like a "fairy tale,") or "girlish innocence" (squealing when her phone rings and it's him), but overall I think she feels entitled to attention, admiration and pretty much whatever she wants- and she doesn't care who she bulldozes over to get her way. Her opining about  her "rights as a taxpayer" to marry "whoever she wants" purposely avoid addressing the fact that she likely needs government assistance to provide for her family and that she has a daughter who is a felon in perhaps the worst way possible and is being supported by taxpayers. 

I am not addressing her poverty at all. There are humble, good poor people and very rich people who act as entitled and rude- or even more so- than Angela does.

[sasha206]

Max and CeCe continue being adorable.  They are such sweet kids.  I love CeCe's "You look like a high schooler." Yep, that's probably what your dad loves about Juliana.  Meanwhile, Juliana's high pitched girly girl voice really irritates me!

 

[sasha206]

Natalie is crazy as shit but I feel like the tears are not about her concern of putting religion on a child but the realization that Mike is not her likely handsome, sexy ex-husband. Mike is simply not the man that checks all her boxes.  I bet she would be okay with someone who doesn't believe in God, someone that eats meat if the man was someone she is wildly attracted to.  But thought she could fall in love with him, but she isn't.  

 

[sasha206]

15 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I used to work for a nonprofit hospice and Starbucks, I think it was, donated their leftover pastries to the staff.  Not the patients, but the staff.  I always wondered if they thought the staff didn't get paid for their work.

Maybe not, but when my husband was in hospice, I remember thinking that the workers there were such amazing, beautiful people who took such incredible care of the dying.  I knew they were getting paid, had no idea how much, thought whatever it was they are paid isn't enough for what they do.  I am in awe of hospice caregivers.  Perhaps Starbucks recognized that and decided to treat staff with this kindness?

[sasha206]

On 12/23/2019 at 5:06 PM, BallisticNikki said:

Yes, this discussion should have happened much earlier. And yes, I believe Natalie is attempting to manipulate him bc she waited until after the engagement to really get into this. But in general, this is kind of the purpose of dating. This type of negotiation is valid when someone has a hard line deal breaker. And saying, "I don't believe in God" and "I have never attended church" and "I believe in aliens" is not the same thing as saying, "I refuse to convert to Christianity"...bc in the first three situations, the person might be open to it. We don't know what exactly he told her earlier on in their relationship. But yes, now he has clearly said he is not converting any time soon. So for her to continue to push this, would be unfair. 

But the larger overall issue of Christians wanting their spouses to also be Christian (either by birth or conversion) is not necessarily unfair. 

I don't disagree with this.  But if this is a dealbreaker for you, don't enter into a relationship with someone that has no interest.  My guess is, just like a lot of dumb women, she thought she could change him.  And now she's mad at him, instead of being mad at herself, that he won't change.

Actually, I think the tears are less about her supposed religious values and more the realization that he doesn't check her boxes.  She's crying because she's trying to figure out if having a baby with a man she isn't in love with it is worth it.  She's using religion and her vegetarianism as the ultimate wedge to free herself out of marriage to the man that isn't as attractive to her as her ex.

[Baltimore Betty]

9 hours ago, Kangatush said:

My problem with Angela is that when she's unhappy, she gets physically, and mentally, abusive.  I completely hold that against her.

And I don't care if she's rich, or poor, what the hell does paying taxes have to do with the "right" to import an African boy toy?

100%  You know this is not new behavior, it has got to be a life long issue with her.  But here is what I object to, she can barely afford to take care of her household (judging by the amount of people in that house they are busting at the seams), but she has money to piss away on a visa to get a man...seems very frivolous when you have so many people depentant on you. Plus, how will Michael make a living or will he be yet another person dependant on Big Ang because she wants him to know she holds all the cards.

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

20 hours ago, DiamondGirl said:

Jasmin said it flat out - the only thing that matters is that she’s here with her sister.

Then you'd think she'd choose to stay with her sister instead of Blake's religious parents.  Although I'm quite certain the whole living-with-his-parents is manufactured.

 

13 hours ago, bravofan27 said:

She's got common sense, IMO, and great sense of humor, and I think she is very pretty. She gets nasty when she feels insecure, but I'm not holding that against her. It's a defense mechanism and it's not personal to anyone, IMO. 

I hold getting nasty against her because I don't like nasty people, regardless of why they're nasty. 

And I don't think she's the least bit pretty.  I don't hold that against her, because we look like what we look like, although her attempts to fancy herself up seem very misguided to me--the terrible bleached hair, the hideous nails, the vulgar outfits. 

I do think she's very kind, and wish she didn't make such stupid choices because it seems to me like they make her life harder.  But some people like a hard life.  Or, they're comfortable in it, anyway.  I think she's one of those.

 

1 hour ago, sasha206 said:

Maybe not, but when my husband was in hospice, I remember thinking that the workers there were such amazing, beautiful people who took such incredible care of the dying.  I knew they were getting paid, had no idea how much, thought whatever it was they are paid isn't enough for what they do.  I am in awe of hospice caregivers.  Perhaps Starbucks recognized that and decided to treat staff with this kindness?

I think hospice caregivers who are good at their jobs are just people who have found their niche.  If you ask them, the vast majority will say their jobs are fulfilling.  If they weren't, the nursing shortage would allow them to get a non-hospice position PDQ.

I'm more in awe of people who work at shitty jobs they hate--jobs that don't tap into any specials skills or talents they have, but are just a necessity for surviving.  People working in chicken processing plants--those are the real heroes who deserve Starbucks day-old pastries.

 

[Kiss my mutt]

I dislike Angela for all the reasons. 
Natalie is sad because she may have to start over finding an American dad that wants to have a baby right away. Maybe she should look on Christian Mingle. 

[RealReality]

Natalie's problem isn't lashing out because she is insecure....it's that she is trialing different manipulative techniques to see what will work to get her way.  

She uses the method of juvenile play acting

She uses the batting of the big eyes

She uses tears

She uses anger

She uses whatever method she can to manipulate Mike into giving her what she wants.  She turned those tears off with a quickness when she realized they weren't getting her the compliance she wanted. 

She walked it ALL the way back when it looked like Mike was ready to dump her.  Then she was sorry and she wanted to sit in his lap and kiss his forehead and so on and so forth. 

He is absolutely correct that he will be miserable if he marries her.  She can maybe stop her strongly manipulative and generally crazy behavior for a bit, but crazy town is where she lives and she will resort back to her tricks when she doesn't get her way.  

[RealReality]

4 hours ago, Kiss my mutt said:

I dislike Angela for all the reasons. 
Natalie is sad because she may have to start over finding an American dad that wants to have a baby right away. Maybe she should look on Christian Mingle. 

Does she even really want to come to America?  I don't think the US is a huge selling point for her.  That means she can and should just find any christian man in the world who wants to have a kid RIGHT NOW! 

Apparently blonde women are highly sought after so she shouldnt have any problem. 

BUT, I suspect Natalie highly values a man she can "train" through manipulation.  I suspect it may be more valuable to her than religion.

[Baltimore Betty]

On 12/24/2019 at 8:25 PM, RealReality said:

Angela is a taxpayer...hear her allmighty roar!  

I wonder if Angela calls herself a tax payer because she pays tax on her cartons of cigarettes.

 

[Gobi]

7 minutes ago, Baltimore Betty said:

I wonder if Angela calls herself a tax payer because she pays tax on her cartons of cigarettes.

 

And alcohol!

[RealReality]

26 minutes ago, Baltimore Betty said:

I wonder if Angela calls herself a tax payer because she pays tax on her cartons of cigarettes.

 

I truly think that's her most solid argument, so she should lead with that instead of the "meemaws pay lots of taxes" strategy. 

Edited December 26, 2019 by RealReality