Maybe it varies by industry. I’m a software developer and even as an employee, I’m expected (but not formally required) to learn about advances in the relevant technologies, programming languages, etc. on my own time. If I didn’t and I was fired because my skills weren’t what the company needed anymore then I would get unemployment benefits, but I don’t see how either wage theft or improper dismissal could occur unless the company did something really weird.

not how most places function

That hasn’t been my experience. Even places that pay for employees to get certified expect those employees to study on their own time unless they’re sent to formal training.

30

thinking you’re old

I think even this sort of compliment will be creepy to many (perhaps most) women. Am I wrong?

A shameful day to be an American.

No need to be sorry for me - I think my story is of the “learning what really matters” sort and my family is much more important to me than where I live is.

Nah he ran off with mine and the two of them are happy together.

When I visited India, there were people who spoke English to me with such a strong accent that I didn’t even realize that they were speaking English. Bias against people speaking with an Indian accent is real, but so is the need to facilitate communication.

I want to live in the woods in New Hampshire again some day. It’s a beautiful place and also a place where the state and local governments don’t make me grind my teeth in frustration all the time*. I would have a house, a lot of land, and no neighbors except for pine trees.

I had most of that already and I left, because I was very lonely - I think I talked to another person face to face about once every few weeks. I thought I would be OK with that because I was used to being alone, but having no family, no friends, and a 100% remote job was too much for me. Apparently even I start going crazy if I am that isolated. Now I live somewhere I really don’t like (New York City) but I’m close to my family.

*New Hampshire is a rather libertarian state. Taxes are low but the town where I lived (population 15,000) didn’t provide water, sewers, or garbage collection. Many things are legal that aren’t legal in most other places. For example, you can drive without insurance, set off fireworks, and do almost anything with a gun except shoot another person. The state motto is “Live free or die,” and I would tell my guests that as long as they did one or the other, the state’s duty to them would be satisfied.