# Share actual problems you've had that no one will ever sympathize with **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064 "2010-06-05T15:24:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/101 "2010-06-25T01:16:25Z")
> [@gravitycrash](#): > > I have a job that I like where I put in maybe 10 hours of actual work per week on average but I still get paid for 40 hours. I sometimes really feel guilty about it though. Darn Catholic upbringing. Ditto, apart from the Catholic and the guilty bits. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I am at the church I volunteer at, supposedly working on the budget, but I am having trouble concentrating because **the belly-dance class class is meeting today. They’ve had some overflow** , so about half a dozen young (= 25 or so) girls in belly dance outfits are using the room right in front of my desk. Muffin-tops, you mean? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/102 "2010-06-25T15:59:49Z")
I went up over a cup size in the last year or so without gaining any weight anywhere else. Went from “barely fill out a B” to “barely squeeze into a C” and now ALL my shirts don’t fit. (If I could figure out what happened, and then bottle it, I could afford new clothes! And also, to retire immediately.) Which means Mr. Horseshoe also qualifies for this thread: his girlfriend got these huge new ta-tas, without even having to pay a cosmetic surgeon! Plus, they’re not even fake! Who’s he gonna complain to about that? Poor guy … ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/103 "2010-06-25T16:03:09Z")
Call me as soon as you figure it out! ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/104 "2010-06-25T16:37:56Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I went up over a cup size in the last year or so without gaining any weight anywhere else. Went from “barely fill out a B” to “barely squeeze into a C” and now ALL my shirts don’t fit. (If I could figure out what happened, and then bottle it, I could afford new clothes! And also, to retire immediately.) > > Which means Mr. Horseshoe also qualifies for this thread: his girlfriend got these huge new ta-tas, without even having to pay a cosmetic surgeon! Plus, they’re not even fake! Who’s he gonna complain to about that? Poor guy … This happened to me in my early 20s actually, excpet I was a not-even-a (seriously - I didn’t even own a bra) to a DDD and my band size didn’t change. I have no explanation either, other than my grandma had HUGE bazongas and I guess I was just a slow bloomer. \ I miss my not-even-an-a days. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/105 "2010-06-25T16:57:01Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Ditto, apart from the Catholic and the guilty bits. > > Muffin-tops, you mean? 😕 I mean that they had more people in the class that day than normal, and not all of them were doing the same lesson, so one group went to a separate room. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/106 "2010-06-25T17:00:44Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > 😕 > > I mean that they had more people in the class that day than normal, and not all of them were doing the same lesson, so one group went to a separate room. I think it was a joke, **Skaldie**. Overflow of belly (belly dancers) is often called muffin top. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/107 "2010-06-25T17:04:49Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > I think it was a joke, **Skaldie**. Overflow of belly (belly dancers) is often called muffin top. I knew you were joking, Sleepie; I was just doing my clueless old guy thing. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/108 "2010-06-25T17:50:33Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > I think it was a joke, **Skaldie**. Overflow of belly (belly dancers) is often called muffin top. Some people have the whole muffin. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/109 "2010-06-25T18:13:21Z")
Tell me about it, Valgard, I’m 6’ 1" or 2", and in the 165-170 range. Hardly any shirts fit, and it is tough even finding pants with an inseam more than the waist, anywhere but fairly expensive stores. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/110 "2010-06-26T00:29:04Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > This happened to me in my early 20s actually, excpet I was a not-even-a (seriously - I didn’t even own a bra) to a DDD and my band size didn’t change. > > I have no explanation either, other than my grandma had HUGE bazongas and I guess I was just a slow bloomer. \ I miss my not-even-an-a days. Holy cow, that is SOME growth! :eek: Was it fast? Did you have time to buy a B-cup before graduating to a C and working your way up to a D, or did you just wake up one morning and go, WTF? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/111 "2010-06-26T02:03:10Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I knew you were joking, Sleepie; I was just doing my clueless old guy thing. Ooh, I’m going to save up that one to use whenever I don’t get a joke. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/112 "2010-06-26T02:20:24Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > Add another “tiny woman can’t find clothes” complaint. > > I’m 40 years old, 5’ 2", and weigh 120 lbs. > > I require clothing from the Petite section. My complaint is that, inexplicably, buyers for petite sections in department stores seem to think that petite = granny. I cannot find nice dress pants for work that do not have an elastic waist. I can’t find sharp, clever little jackets that are tailored to flatter my curvies. It’s all boxy, plain, elastic waisted polyester garbage designed for Grannies who lost their waist a couple decades ago. > > So I wander over to the juniors’ section and none of the pants or skirts fit because apparently, juniors do not have hips. And the clothes are age-inappropriate. I can’t be dressing like a 20-year-old tart and maintain my respectability as a 40-year-old professional in an office setting. I come off looking like one of those middle-aged cougars who’s in denial about her actual chronological age. > > Back to the misses’ department, where all the hemlines are approximately 4" too long and the smallest size is 6. I generally wear a 4 unless I’m at The Gap, where, apparently, I’m a 2. Again, vanity sizing – I was a 6 in high school and I weighed a little less than I do right now. > > So yeah, I’m not expecting much sympathy for my huge problem of trying to find age-appropriate, professional clothes that fit properly. And I hate What Not To Wear. I challenge Clinton and Stacy to come to my small city and do what they do for $5K without the benefit of all that fabulous shopping in NYC at their disposal. Can they do the same thing at Target, WalMart and Old Navy? Hmmmm? > > Hrmph. > > I might also add my other complaint, for which I expect no sympathy: My legs are covered in bruises and my entire body aches from three hours of my pole-dancing class last night. 😃 Oooh, I know exactly how you feel. I’m five feet tall, 115 pounds, will be turning 24 years old this summer and can’t _stand_ wearing skirts. Trying to find clothing that fits, is appropriate to wear to work, is in my price range and _doesn’t_ look like something my grandmother has in her closet is like trying to find one specific individual fish somewhere in the Pacific ocean. Yeah, I’m sure it’s out there, but finding it isn’t going to be easy. I’m right now in the “mixed blessing” stage where I’m working a crappy job where I can get away with wearing slacks and a polo most days, but I dread when I start to move up in the world and need to for real dress like a grown up. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/113 "2010-06-26T02:31:02Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Holy cow, that is SOME growth! :eek: Was it fast? Did you have time to buy a B-cup before graduating to a C and working your way up to a D, or did you just wake up one morning and go, WTF? I was actually running down the stairs one day and went WTF? But I had Bs for a little while, and then Cs for a bit - mostly I was just wearing the wrong size bra though - they just kind of popped right out. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/114 "2010-06-26T03:15:49Z")
At 65" I’m not short enough to have the same issues most petite women do… I buy my office-wear from stores targeted at teenagers and brands that run small. Most of my ‘nice’ clothes are from American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and BCBG Max Azaria (lots of stuff on ebay). I’m not saying that there are more than 3 articles that are appropriate/flattering in the stores at any time I stop in, but I’ve built a wardrobe over the years (and with the help of ebay in the case of BCBG stuff). Isn’t it funny how much clothes have changed? I’ve been around 31-23-24 since I was 16, and I’ve gone from a 0/2/4 in major brands like the Gap, to having absolutely nothing that doesn’t fall off me in 90% of the stores in the mall. Now I am a ‘00’ in the places that carry my size, and I dearly hope that there is still an existing size for people like me in the next 5 years… I am a perfect kid’s 14, but I don’t like most kid’s clothes, and the inseams and sleeves are too short. I am pretty poor, I don’t think I can afford to have a tailor for everything… guess I will have to learn to sew myself in my spare time. Waaaaah. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/115 "2010-06-26T03:50:04Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > This happened to me in my early 20s actually, excpet I was a not-even-a (seriously - I didn’t even own a bra) to a DDD and my band size didn’t change. > > I have no explanation either, other than my grandma had HUGE bazongas and I guess I was just a slow bloomer. \ I miss my not-even-an-a days. My first boyfriend broke up with me because I was too flat chested. Five years later, my cups runneth over. The boob fairy often arrives post puberty. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/116 "2010-06-26T04:03:05Z")
When I took my current job, I more than tripled my former salary. People who try to guess how much I make, given my laziness, inevitably lowball it. heh. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/117 "2010-06-26T04:30:10Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > When I took my current job, I more than tripled my former salary. People who try to guess how much I make, given my laziness, inevitably lowball it. heh. Is this a problem? ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/118 "2010-06-26T04:56:40Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > Is this a problem? oooh, you’re right! I forgot the kvetch! I am chronically disorganized and often don’t even make it into work. But I have no supervision; everyone just assumes I’m working with other people when I’m not around. I need structure, but no one seems interested in supervising me. So I goof off a lot, wasting my potential. So I feel a bit sorry for myself, then feel like a jerk afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/119 "2010-06-26T12:22:53Z")
Yeah, not expecting much sympathy for this problem – people routinely lowball my age to be early-20s and assume I’m a recent college graduate. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064/120 "2010-06-26T21:03:11Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Yeah, not expecting much sympathy for this problem – people routinely lowball my age to be early-20s and assume I’m a recent college graduate. I can sympathize with that. Not from my own experience, but my baby sister has the same difficutly had 30, and it causes her no end of trouble as a manager at work. Her youthfulness makes it hard for people to take her seriously (or, perhaps, makes it easier for sexists to justify insubordination to themselves). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-actual-problems-youve-had-that-no-one-will-ever-sympathize-with/542064.md?page=7)