The only thing worse than getting fired is not seeing it coming. If you know what’s up, at least you can try to find something else first. Here’s a list of seven clues that someone is thinking of getting rid of you.

1. Your level of responsibility has gone down. If you used to get trusted with the big stuff, and now you have nothing but free time, that’s not a reward. It probably means they want to get used to doing without you.

2. The boss is avoiding you. It’s a sign of guilt. But there could be other explanations, so ask for some feedback before you do something to make it worse.

3. You’ve been disciplined recently. If it happens once, you’re usually all right as long as you shape up. But after the second time, you could be on your way out.

4. A robot can do your job. If it’s possible to automate the work you do, it’s only a matter of time before the company will automate it. It’s basically always cheaper in the long run to have a machine do the work instead of you.

5. The company doesn’t pay for your professional development. If you used to go to conferences or luncheons on company time, and now they don’t let you do it, it could mean that they don’t want to invest in you anymore.

6. Your company was just bought out. They always tell you that no one’s getting fired. Then they casually ask you to show one of their managers what you do . . . and then one of their people is taking over your job.

7. You’ve been asked to create a job description for your position. Not always, but a lot of the time this means someone is trying to decide which employees are expendable.

Considering guys usually prefer texting to talking on the phone you’d think they’d have better texting skills. Here’s a list of the six different ways men text women . . . and they all suck.

1. Disappearing in the middle of a conversation. A lot of guys don’t know when a conversation is supposed to continue. You text them something funny, hoping to start some flirting or something, and you never hear back.

They probably just laughed and went on with their day . . . they’re not trying to be mean. But it’s still a failure of etiquette, since a funny text requires a response.

2. Abbreviating everything. Typing the letter “K” instead of “Okay” . . . using “TY” instead of “thank you” . . . or using “ur” instead of “you’re.” You’re not paying for text messages by the letter, so it’s okay to spell it out.

3. Being too abrupt. Like when you take out all the descriptive words and just use subjects and verbs. As in, “Movie. I’ll get tickets. 8PM. See you there.”

It’s good to be direct, but if you’re too direct it’s easy to sound passive-aggressive by accident. As in, “okay” . . . “that’s fine” . . . “if you want.”

4. Over-texting. The stereotype is that guys don’t like to talk on the phone as much. But that doesn’t mean you should stuff everything you would have said in a phone call into a single text.

5. Texting like a teenager. That means using emoticons, acronyms like LOL, and using too many exclamation points. You don’t want a girl to think you’re being cold, so you overcompensate.

6. And of course . . . sexting. Some guys seem to think there’s no use for texting except sexting. Even when they’re not sending dirty pictures, they’re always saying something dirty.

But this one depends on how much you like him . . . because it could come off as either creepy or hot.

A survey by something called the American Cleaning Institute found that if it wasn’t for spring cleaning, one in eight people would never clean their home. Read More »

You’ve probably seen Facebook’s “People You May Know” feature. It suggests friends of your Facebook friends that you might want to connect with.

And recently, it suggested to Ellenora Fulk of Tacoma, Washington that she might want to connect with Teri Wyatt-O’Neill . . . because they both knew Ellenora’s husband, Alan.

So Ellenora looked at Teri’s page, and found a picture from Teri’s wedding . . . To Alan!!! Obviously that was a surprise to Ellenora, since she was married to Alan too.

They’d been separated since 2009, when Alan left her. But he changed his last name in December, and married Teri later that month.

Ellenora called Alan’s mother, and an hour later, Alan showed up, begging her to keep quiet. No dice. She turned him in, and he was charged with bigamy on Thursday.

When we eat at restaurants, we have to suspend disbelief. We have to pretend the kitchen is totally sanitary even though we know it’s probably not. We have to pretend our waiter doesn’t hate us, even though he totally does.

We’ve got a list here of four of the unpleasant behind-the-scenes restaurant secrets that you don’t want to know . . . and may have to just pretend you don’t know.

1. Your food probably contains the chef’s saliva. He uses a spoon to sample the food and might not worry about double dipping.

2. You’re drinking someone else’s wine. When people order bottles of wine and don’t finish them, restaurants sometimes serve that wine in individual glasses the next day.

3. Restaurants want you to order pizza and the specials. Pizza is the cheapest thing to make and has the highest mark-up. Specials are really just foods the restaurant really wants to get rid of.

4. Don’t get the second-cheapest bottle of wine. Restaurants know you will order the second-cheapest bottle of wine, because you don’t want to order the cheapest one. So the second-cheapest one has the biggest price mark-up.

Be careful about asking your boyfriend or husband, “Does this make my butt look big?” Because, unfortunately for both of you, he’s probably going to give you an honest answer.

In a new survey, only 35% of men say they’d lie. The other two-thirds say they would give an honest answer . . . although a lot of them would try to change the subject first.

But while men are happy to indulge in straight-talking with their girlfriends they are less likely to tackle a work colleague over sensitive issues like body odor, with women twice as likely to speak up and say something to a stinky co-worker.

You can always go this rout if asked…

A new survey by eHarmony found the three things men and women like and hate most about each other.

Here are the things men like best about their wives and girlfriends . . .

#1.) They put up with his bad moods.

#2.) They’re affectionate.

#3.) They take an interest in how his day went.

And here are the three things men hate most about their wives or girlfriends . . .

#1.) They take too long to get ready.

#2.) They’re back-seat drivers.

#3.) They worry too much about money.

And here are the three things women like best about their men . . .

#1.) They can make her laugh.

#2.) They help with household chores.

#3.) They listen when she rants.

And here are the three things women HATE most about their husbands or boyfriends . . .

#1.) They can never find anything on their own.

#2.) They’re messy.

#3.) They hog the remote.

In The Voice’s Knockout round, Joe Maye went head-to-head with teammate Kata Hay. Kata beat Joe, and Christina named her the winner of the knockout. However, moments letter Blake  pushed his button and stole Joe Maye. Read More »

This kid trusts his dad. And why shouldn’t he? All kids should be able to trust their parents. But before trusting his dad, he should make sure his dad is paying attention.

Read More »

Did you shower this morning, or just walk out the door smelling like a dumpster? Well, “Time” magazine recently did a poll, and found a surprising number of Americans don’t shower every day.

Only 53% said they shower at least five times a week . . . 25% said three or four times . . . 15% said twice . . . and 8% said they only shower once a week. But apparently that’s not as gross as it sounds.

According to an infectious disease expert at Columbia University, showering more than twice a week doesn’t really help as far as hygiene goes. And it might actually be a bad thing, because it dries you out and makes you more prone to skin infections.

With that said, there ARE reasons to take more showers than that. Like if you go to the gym . . . work in the garden . . . or you just stink. But in general, one or two showers a week is fine.

And if you like to shower every day, that’s okay. But don’t scrub your whole body with a loofa, just focus on your armpits and your below-the-belt areas.