Few years back, I was jobless for a good 18months. Money was very tight and I was nearing broke!

However, I still managed to hit the gym as my health was a priority. My friend wanted to accompany me. I was more than glad to welcome her to my space! So we went to the gym on a Sunday and attended class.

After which, she asked to take a break and fill up water. So we were drinking and just resting out in between sessions. And she pulls out another of her stunt. Says she wants to talk to me about something important.

She starts preaching to me about the importance of self development bla bla. And shares about this course she’s doing and how it has helped her heal trauma as a kid from a kindergarten friend who didnt want to befriend her.

Long story short, she insisted that I attend this $5-$8k++ course. And make a downpayment of over $2k. Mind you, she jolly well knows that I was jobless and broke and trying to find a job. I flat out told her I cannot at this point as I dont have the money. And I was saving up to buy a laptop for job hunting.

Instead of sympathy, she scolded me for not wanting to invest in myself with the course. And saying why I cant even part with only $2k downpayment for it! I told her I’ll consider it down the line when I have more money, but at this point, I can’t as I dont have the money.

So, the gym session was just a pretext for her to sell me to buy into this program she was doing.

Fast forward 3-4 weeks later, she asks to meet up for dinner. We agreed on eating at the food court, cos I was down to my last hundred dollars or so. Ok. When we met at the meeting point at the mall, she was with a group of friends from this “program” she was enrolled into. I thought they were on their separate ways.. but alas! This entire group of strangers to me was there to accompany us on dinner! And she feigned igorance. One of the girl in the group started introducing herself to me and then asked where I wanted to have dinner!?

I was confused and look at my friend but she just acted dumb. But I was blowing up mentally, so I said huh!? I thought it’s just 2 of us having dinner!?? So I told my friend its okay you guys can go ahead, I will meet you another time then.

Then the group decided it’s ok I can have dinner solo with my friend, and then we can join them after. (No, thank you!).

Later on, I found out this group was from her “course program”. They needed to each recruit 5-7 people to sign up for the course. This friend of mine on the pretext of meeting me alone for dinner, actually thought I’d chin-chai and give in and join them for dinner to talk me into signing up for the course.

So, what do you think? How do I carry on with this friendship? I dont want to rock the boat cos I do value the 20yr friendship, but also, I feel I’ve been thrown under the bus twice now already.

Did I say? For her recent birthday, I spent $200+ on dinner with her.. wine and all.. but for mine, she gave me a bag of chips from the $1 store??

Mind you, she earns well $5-$6k and has little/ no financial obligations from what I know.

A netizenn shared how she feels embarassed that she is dating a Grab driver, saying that she “can’t possibly be dating a PDH (Private Hire Driver).”

She said that he lied to her when he got his new Honda Vezel, and found out that it was being used for Grab when she saw the PHV sticker.

She added that she feels embarrassed when her neighbours and security guard see that she takes the “same Grab” every day.

The woman then asked what she should do, as people will call her materialistic if she breaks up with her boyfriend for being a Grab driver, but she doesn’t want to “go out and get dirty glances from people” when she steps out of the Grab car with the PHV sticker.

Here is what she said

Recently I found out that my boyfriend lied to me. In March, he surprised me with a new car, a Honda Vezel Hybrid. I thought he was capable to buy his first car at the age of 27. As a new financial consultant, he told me that he closed a few high profile cases and this helped him to purchase his first vehicle.

Unfortunately for him, private hire vehicles require them to paste a decal. It was only after a friend pointed out to me that his car was used for Grab as it had a private hire decal. Furious, I confronted him on whether the car was purchased to which he sheepishly admitted it was a rental.

How can I continue to trust such a man? How am I supposed to spend a lifetime with a habitual liar?

Every night now when he drops me home, I’m quite embarrassed as my neighbours and the security guard can see that I take the “same Grab” everyday. Even my parents have remarked before that I have been coming home in a grey Vezel often (they don’t know about him).

What should I do? As a graduating student, I can’t possibly be dating a PHD (Private Hire Driver) right? It is akin to dating a comfort cabbie.

I’m afraid if I break up with him, people will view me as materialistic. But on the other hand, I really don’t want to go out and get dirty glances from people when we step out of a new car with a private hire decal? What should I do?

Many thanks for hearing my heart out.

Editor’s note: You should definitely break up with him, you don’t deserve him.

Honestly some ppl really lack self-awareness

Have a neighbour who kept blasting music loudly, I can even feel tremors in my room. Went up to talk to them and they said, oh I didnt know it was disturbing.

I mean the whole corridor can hear it are they deaf??? It’s like baamm bamm bamm like louder than concert and zouk music wtheck.

And they still do it every now and then. Cant call the police since it is not during illegal hours, but why they dont think of ppl who wfh or wants to sleep during the day…

Ya suggest me to wear headphones but that really doesnt work, and my whole flat is literally shaking. Thanks so much for your ‘useful suggestion’.

Thinking of buying a really big speaker and blast dondon donki theme song on repeat towards their door, see how they feel

And my upstairs neighbour also hammers and drills frequently, why dont they have any awareness that they are troubling ppl with the noise they make????

Dont know what I did in my past lives to have these ppl as neighbours.

This is super irritating

Today I went on a first date with a guy I had been texting for some time for a meal. At first, all went really well and sweet. we had a great chat and laughter, but when the bill came, I offered to split the bill as this is our first date and I’m also a working adult.

So when the waiter came with the bill, I put down my POSB Everyday card. The guy suddenly makes a comment, “Don’t you have better cards to use?” and I was kind of confused and shocked because it seemed like a “look down on me” comment.

He was using the UOB Absolute Cashback Card, which compared to my POSB Everyday card, did not seem like much of a difference to me. I also googled it for this UOB Absolute Cashback Card and it’s really not much of a difference to me, or is it an American Express card?

Why does he have to make such a comment? It’s like a total turn-off on a first date. It’s not like he is using some high-earner credit card.

What type of credit card does a person own mean they are judged? I really don’t get it, so it’s the first and last date for us.

Is this how society works? Comparing the amount of cash is already superficial enough and how dumb is he to even compare credit.

Hi Admin, I am seeking advice:

During my final year of employment, I was sabotaged by a two-faced, young and fresh graduate who deliberately disregarded my emails and intentionally scheduled me to be the first presenter at a conference etc. After I left the company, I found out she copied ideas from my work and applied them to her current projects and modified her biography on the employee profile page to match my career history.

I did a background check on her since I knew it would be impossible for us to share similar ideas and job experiences, especially given our ten-year age difference. Unsurprisingly, I obtained confirmation from those organisations that no such individual ever earned traineeships or volunteered for them, based on the unquantifiable information she supplied on social media. She also inflated her online résumé with exaggerated work titles, claiming to be a humanitarian who feeds the poor and needy, travels internationally to developing nations to construct houses for the underprivileged, and so on.

Interestingly, her father, on the other hand, stated on social media that he was financially and emotionally struggling to pay her university tuition fees and daily expenses. With his statement, I’m astonished a self-proclaimed humanitarian needs her father’s financial assistance to cover her daily expenses while she feeds the poor. I’m not sure how you feel about it, but I’m amazed at how much a person would lie and exaggerate to present a fake self to others and the public.

I provided proof to my previous management and reported her lying to HR. According to the manager, the girl denied falsifying the traineeships. The management accepted her verbal statement and permitted her to continue working for the company without evaluating my supporting evidence.

I’m sure some of you have been sabotaged and emotionally undermined by your coworkers in the past. May I inquire as to how you guys deal with such toxic individuals? Will you post evidence of their falsified resumes on social media to take vengeance?

Netizens’ comments

• Don’t do it yourself – it will make you look bad, as someone who does eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Might affect future employment also if future HR finds out that you have put name to it. Harsh reality out there. They might see you as petty, even if you are not.
  Get others to expose / the media instead. Or through proper channels? Or some way which u can do it anonymously. My two cent worth.
• she’ll survive the real world. that’s how it really works. i have a colleague who cant even answer a simple question related to his project and has the audacity to use head of xxx in linkedin when in fact, he is just a lead, useless at that, with only 1 minion who is way better than him. oh, and he passed the probation. as to how he passed, it’s still a mystery
• Move on. Let her own misdeed catch up to her on its own time. You already informed management and they chose to believe her, not much else you can do