You’re sitting at home, enjoying a quiet evening and then RING!  You’ve just received an annoying call from a telemarketer.  But, you’re supposed to be on the National Do Not Call List, right?  It’s a growing problem and happens to my friends and I all the time. I decided to do my own investigating and see WHO is exactly making these calls and what we can all do about it. The first thing to understand is, most of these unwanted calls are being dialed automatically by a computer. In most cases, it simply runs down the phone book and dials number after number. Other times, it could be randomly dialing numbers in hopes of getting an active number. Once you say “hello,” the computer will transfer you to a real person for the sales pitch. Over the past few years, I have been receiving more and more of these calls on my home phone. Occasionally, I’ll even get one on my cell. I never give out my cell phone number, so I know that has to be a random dial. Either way, I never answer and they rarely leave a message. I’ve had my land line on the National Do Not Call list since it was created, but that has done nothing. A good number of the calls come up UNAVAILABLE or UNKNOWN CALLER on my caller ID. Some of the calls do contain a call back number. I decided to start dialing these numbers back and investigate who the company is and what they are up to. As I started writing down the numbers, I noticed a pattern. Since I have the Verizon FiOS Triple Play TV, internet, and home phone plan, I have nationwide long distance and it costs me nothing more to dial back the numbers. Not one time did I...

Dear Madame HorroR, Recently, my boss called me in to her office and gave me a counseling notice and said I had 10 days to improve my performance. Should I be worried? Am I going to get fired? — Called into the Principal’s office Dear Called, Yes… Probably… I don’t know. I’m doubtless not saying anything shocking when I relate that most people hate conflict, hate giving people bad news, hate confronting anything unpleasant in general. Just because the corporate gods have shined down upon your manager and christened her a “Manager” doesn’t automatically make her better at any of that. Or make her willing to deal with it either. That is what HR Departments are for, right? Here’s what I do know, your boss HATED having to give you that counseling notice. Now, I don’t know what it was for, but I’m guessing this is how the conversation between your boss and your HR department went: Your Boss: I want to let my employee, Called into the Principal’s Office go Your HR Dept: Have you discussed this performance issue with her? Your Boss: No, I just want you to let her go, she doesn’t listen to me and her work is sloppy Your HR Dept: Have you given her any feedback on her work, told her what your expectations are, how she can improve? Your Boss: No, just get rid of her Your HR Dept: (clicking keys in the background) I see that you gave her a 4.5 out of 5 on her last performance review Your Boss: I don’t care, I just want her gone, just deal with it Your HR Dept: Yes, but first we need to document something… At which point your HR Department gave your manager a nice long...

Dear Dr. Miro, Can you be a good man AND pay a woman for sex? I just found out that while I was working overseas, for a year, my husband not only went to strip clubs with his friends but also saw a prostitute and this is freaking me out. I always thought of him as so respectful and loving, but now I see him as a monster female exploiter! Not only that but he cheated on me! He says it’s not cheating and that he loves and adores only me but I’m just confused and questioning everything that I thought was sacred in our life together. Sincerely, Hurt & Confused Dear H&C, Of course you are hurt and feeling confused. This was not anticipated. It is understandable you would have intense feelings of inadequacy, questions regarding the “sanctity of marriage” as well as possible emerging issues of abandonment. Those are all OK to have, at this moment. Feel your feelings. Discuss with your betrothed what is so upsetting to you and try to truly hear what he says. Get it all out so that this will not continue to rear it’s ugly head. A lot of the time, couples argue about things that have nothing to do with the actual feelings that may or may not be coming up. This is more than likely triggering your attachments to each other. He may fear that you will not love him anymore while you fear that you are not good enough… Time apart is so very difficult and it is important to acknowledge both that AND how hard it is to come back together after even a few days, let alone a year. This is tricky territory. If you feel the two of you cannot...