i_come_from_under_the_hill

I am part of a polyamorous triad, but apart from my boyfriend and our girlfriend, I don't know any other poly people. I listen to a number of podcasts and read a number of blogs, but I'd love to be able to chat with other people who have similar relationships and whom I can relate to on this aspect of life.

Are there any poly chat rooms, or relatively active forums that you know of?

It's a blog about polyamory (having more than one romantic relationship with the knowledge and concent of all parties involved) and a triad (relationship between three people) that's just starting out.

http://thepolydiary.tumblr.com/

http://www.thepolydiary.tumblr.com/

My fiance and I are polyamorous and have a girlfriend whom we are very close to. Yes, she is *our girlfriend, not simply his, hence the part about bisexuality. I want to be able to talk to my mother about our relationship, but I'm not sure how to tell her I'm bi, let alone that we're poly. She knows that this girl is a part of mine and my fiance's life, but she doesn't know how significant a part. I wont see mom face to face until after Christmas, but I talk to her every night and I just feel like it might not be a good idea to wait that long to tell her. I'm not sure what to do, or what to say. Any advice?

We've told my fiance's father and stepmother, and they didn't really say anything, aside from letting us know thfat they'll make sure there's room for the three of us for Christmas, so they seem accepting enough. Not sure about my mother though.

My fiance, our girlfriend and I recently discovered Polyamory. By that I mean we finally found a word and community focuses around the life we've all been dreaming of since we were young. We've read a lot about polyamory before finally embarking on this new chapter in our lives together, but we're finding now that a lot of the information available is from the perspective of older poly people, some of whom didn't even discover the idea until long into their already existing marriages.

Is there a blog or forum or website that discusses polyamory from the perspective of young people? We're 20, 20, and 21 respectively. He and I have been together for 5 years, and he had been with her previously for 5 years, and now we're essentially starting out adult lives as a triad.

My fiance and I are celebrating Christmas for the first time with a third partner (We are polyamorous, and our relationship is a triad). Since this is her first Christmas with us, I want her to feel as special and as much a part of the family as I did on my first Christmas with my fiance. I want to give them both a very special gift, perhaps something that will hold a bit of symbolism.

Does anyone with or without experience in polyamory have any suggestions? I thought of maybe a small, identical heart pendant (nothing super flashy or expensive enough to make anyone uncomfortable) for each of us, but I'd like to bounce around other ideas.

What are some typical things your 3- or 4-year old has asked you about? i.e. why do I have to brush my teeth? Why does making cupcakes take so long? etc.

I'm throwing a bonfire party for my birthday next weekend. I was originally going to avoid serving alcohol as not many of my guests are terribly interested in the smash-face drunk type of college party, or even in drinking much in its own right, but I thought it would be nice to have something alcoholic to offer for the few that wish to drink in a casual, adult manner.

My question is, what would you offer at this kind of party for a group of non-heavy drinkers who do enjoy a casual drink here and there? Beer? Wine? Any particular brand? etc.

Thanks!

I want to do something special with my friends to celebrate my 20th birthday, but I'm not sure how to plan it. I planned my own birthdays when I was in middle- and high school, but those were for kids, and most of my new friends are a bit older than me and not *as well known as my childhood friends were. I'm not sure where to begin.

Can anyone give me some suggestions for planning a 20th birthday party to be held in a relatively small house or very large back yard+deck?

My friends and I are all relatively nerdy people (and we say this in a good way), but there will be some less-nerdy among us as well. This wont be a massive group of people at all, probably less than 20, but not sure yet.

I want to do something special with my friends to celebrate my 20th birthday, but I'm not sure how to plan it. I planned my own birthdays when I was in middle- and high school, but those were for kids, and most of my new friends are a bit older than me and not *as well known as my childhood friends were. I'm not sure where to begin.

Can anyone give me some suggestions for planning a 20th birthday party to be held in a relatively small house or very large back yard+deck?

My friends and I are all relatively nerdy people (and we say this in a good way), but there will be some less-nerdy among us as well. This wont be a massive group of people at all, probably less than 20, but not sure yet.

I want to have a party for my 20th birthday. I've got a lot of time to think about it still, but I want it to be something fun and unique. I was thinking maybe a bonfire party. We could roast hot dogs and marshmallows and such. My friends are a really diverse group, so I'm not entirely sure what to do for entertainment.

Are there any party games that are appropriate for 18 to 24-year olds that DO NOT involve drinking?

Drinking is NOT an option.

I'd like something that I can do with a small to medium sized group of friends.

This August I'm going to begin working in a Cognitive Psychology research lab as a Directed Independent Student. I'm supposed to treat it like the "real thing", as if I am in fact a Cognitive Psychologist doing research for the university, not just an undergrad, so among other things, I need to dress professionally.

I walk to and from the university every day from my house. I'm blind, so driving isn't an option. Would it be appropriate for me to wear walking shoes during my commute and change into more "business-casual" shoes once I get to the offices? Someone told me this is common is bigger cities where more people are pedestrians. Is that true?

I want to make a large pocket chart/calendar to organize a set of chore cards (3 x 5 index cards with various tasks written on them) for my household, but I'm not 100% sure how to do it.

I was thinking of using construction paper and folding a pocket for each day, and then a larger pocket at the end of the "week" to place the cards as tasks are completed.

Any suggestions or ideas from parents or teachers who have done something like this? Any links to how-to's? Thanks.

Ideally something available in e-text. Which do you feel is best, and why?

I'm attending a state university with Honors standing. I've been here for two semesters, and I'm ahead of where I'm expected to be in terms of credits and prerequisites. I earned a position in a Cognitive Psychology lab doing directed independent study on visual information processing, will be admitted to the International Psychology Honor Society (Psi Chi) in the Fall. I'm very socially active, have a successful and meaningful relationship that has lasted for almost four years now, live productively and independently off campus in a house of my own, and have never had issues with silly things like getting around campus or managing my time (things I was told that high school prepares you for).

and I was home schooled. So why is it that even after seeing that the education I received, both social and academic, did in fact prepare me for college and adult life, people still try to tell me that homeschooling doesn't work, and usually without a real-life counterexample? I've met several homeschoolers on campus, and know more at other universities, so I'm sure I'm not the only homeschooler who didn't have problems after graduation.

I'm writing a paper for an intro neuro-psychology class on Alcoholism, but I'm really having trouble thinking of a strong thesis statement. I've learned a lot about the disease, but I can't settle on one idea that is strong enough for an entire paper. Any suggestions?

I'm doing a PowerPoint presentation on the terrorist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba, for one of my classes. It's just an analysis of the organization. I would like to add graphics to my slides, but other than a map that I found and a table with information about their activity, I'm not sure what kind of pictures to use or where I could find them.

Any suggestions?

I was homeschooled, and I'm having no trouble at all, socially or academically at my university right now. My public schooled friends and boyfriend have all had a somewhat rough adjustment though. My public schooled brothers ended up dropping or getting kicked out, and they were just living at home and attending a community college. On top of that, I hear a lot of people argue against homeschooling by implying that they don't remember enough of the higher level math and history and such to teach it to their kids, so now I'm wondering... Besides social skills (and that's really up for debate) do today's high schools teach anything that actually helps to prepare a student for post-secondary education and adult life? I've noticed students who can barely read and write, have no study or time management skills, take no accountability for the quality of their work, don't understand how to do research and solve problems without a teacher, etc, etc, and this is a very high ranking state university. It seems like it gets better as the students get older (I take most of my classes with Juniors and Seniors, and they seem much more well adjusted than my fellow freshmen), so it would appear that all the "real" learning happens in college. So what exactly was supposed to happen in high school?

I was homeschooled, and I'm having no trouble at all, socially or academically at my university right now. My public schooled friends and boyfriend have all had a somewhat rough adjustment though. My public schooled brothers ended up dropping or getting kicked out, and they just lived at home and went to a community college. On top of that, I hear a lot of people argue against homeschooling by implying that they don't remember enough of the higher level math and history and such to teach it to their kids, so now I'm wondering... Besides social skills (and that's really up for debate) do today's high schools teach anything that actually helps to prepare a student for post-secondary education and adult life? I've noticed students who can barely read and write, have no study or time management skills, take no accountability for the quality of their work, don't understand how to do research and solve problems without a teacher, etc, etc, and this is a very high ranking state university. It seems like it gets better as the students get older (I take most of my classes with Juniors and Seniors, and they seem much more well adjusted than my fellow freshmen), so it would appear that all the "real" learning happens in college. So what exactly was supposed to happen in high school?