This might be a normalized family dynamic, but that doesn't make it good

I remember once a family member read my diary; it was one of the most traumatic things to ever happen to me. It wasn't that I had anything terrible in it; it was the experience of someone reading your most intimate thoughts, the ones you wouldn't even confess to your closest friend.

I could never write as freely after that. I used to write with the confidence that nobody would ever read those words, not even me. I wrote without pretension, style, or goal. My writing had no artistic value; it was just that- writing. It was just my emotions, my thoughts, my dreams, clashing against each other in a very delicate tapestry.

The beauty was the bigger picture. It was the letter I was sending to the future, years later (maybe today), when I grabbed those diaries and read my most ordinary thoughts from back then and found them so distant, so strange, so naive.

The incident passed for everyone else, except for me. It still has a place in my heart, and it will forever. I know I'll find a way to write about it someday, and it might become another story, one of those that only happen to writers. But it was tough; it was defining.

I guess at some point, your art has to crash into the real world, and with time, what you do with the debris becomes your art.

I'm not saying that what happened to this woman was about art at all; I just digressed, but I know how much an intrusion into your privacy can hurt. All you can do is protect it more, and if you need to, stay away from those who put it at risk in the first place, regardless of who they are.

What's a weekend without a cat involved?

There's no doubt in my mind that a weekend spent without making sure you give your cat a whole lot of attention isn't a weekend well-spent. It's like a weekend task that needs to be completed before you rush into another workweek and all its scheduling mess. Having free time and not spending at least part of it with your cat to make some joint chilling time is like a cat pawrenting crime. Like, you have free time - just let your cat be part of it. Sure, some time will have to be dedicated to your cat alone, but you can just include your cat in what you do regardless, and they'll be happy.

For example, my cat will demand her one-on-one time with me. Literally. She installs herself on my stomach every single time I'm lying in bed, or when I'm finding five minutes to rest my back on the living room couch. I have no choice but to put my phone away and give her all the attention, because she's just so cute. She purrs like a motorcycle, and I love it. And if I can't dedicate 100% of my attention to her, she'll find ways to be included: If I'm cooking, she comes over to smell every ingredient. If I'm gaming, she comes to sit on my lap. If I go to the toilet… well, if you're a cat pawrent too, you know.

Since the height of the weekend is here, I thought it could be most purrfect for all cat pawrents to take this free time to scroll through some cat memes with their cats, as I do on weekends. And what a joy would it be if the cat memes were weekend-themed? Absolute chill and cat joy, I tell you. That's exactly what we have here. Just pspsps your cat over here and spend some time together enjoying cat humor with the relaxation of a weekend. Relax, reset, recharge, and spend time with your cat. I can't think of a more perfect way to spend a weekend.

Why would she take out a card in her daughter's name and not pay it off?

It's wild to me that you can open a credit card for someone under 18. A minor shouldn't be able to borrow money from the bank like that, because they don't fully understand the consequences of swiping plastic. Because minors can get credit cards, the inevitable happens. Their parents take out credit cards in their names once their credit gets so bad that they can't get approved for any new credit cards. In any just society, it would be illegal to put your 3-year-old's name on a credit card and use it to pay the gas bill, but we do not live in a just society. In this society, banks want you to rack up as much credit card debt as possible, because that means more money for them! They will give a credit card to nearly everyone who breathes, even a 6-month-old baby who couldn't possibly use it responsibly on their own. 

Some parents take out credit cards in their child's name and use them to build their child's credit. Although that can help build a higher credit score later in life, it can ruin a child's financial life if done improperly. If they put a bunch of charges on a card in their kid's name and forget to pay it off, their kid could be barred from getting their own apartment, even though their credit score isn't their fault. 

The girl in this story is just getting started in life, and her mom is already trying to clip her wings. Luckily, she found out that her mom took out a credit card in her name and was able to nip it in the bud before it got even more out of hand than it already was. 

It's less about convincing your dad that you worked hard and more about accepting that you don't have to work hard to enjoy what you have

This story is paradoxical. This father worked really hard to pull himself out of poverty and to give his children a life where they wouldn't have to fight so hard to be okay. Now he resents his children precisely because they didn't have to struggle so much as he did.

Although it sounds nonsensical, it's very common. Understandably, someone who spent his whole life fighting for money resents that his daughter doesn't even see money as hard to get. Of course, his daughter gets to live like this because of his merit, but I understand it makes him sad to think about all the times he struggled for something others deem so ordinary.

I believe the hurt this father feels is misdirected at his daughter; obviously, it is something he has to work through on his own. His daughter is not to blame.

Why does it matter so much if her father recognizes that she has grip as well? Obviously, she wants to be seen and appreciated by him, because the problem that they have isn't financial, it is emotional, and it's about inequality and opportunities in life.

The father's identity seems heavily organized around overcoming; he overcame poverty, and he achieved wealth. Sadly, there is no moral failure in being given something, which should not pass down guilt around privileges, so that's something his daughter will have to work through.

The most interesting question for me is whether she'll be able to tolerate the fact that her father might never give her the recognition she wants. To do that, he would have to let go of his identity, and that's too high a price. Growing up, in part, is learning that you can live without that recognition.

Funny how a bad idea becomes brilliant once someone else gets to present it.

I've heard stories like this before, and some of them remind me of a little anecdote that I have for you…

A couple of years ago, I was working for a real estate agency in the marketing department. There were two of us on the team; it was a small one, since we were the ones developing the department. Everything had to be created, and we had a bunch of different ideas. I had one idea, a very good idea that innovated the way we scripted the videos that were showing off the houses that were for sale. 

My partner didn't think much of it, since she didn't think it went with the vibe of the company. She had more experience than me and had been working there for two years before I joined, so I trusted her and forgot about it. A couple of days later, my boss called both of us to a meeting, and he basically said to start implementing that idea. 

I was surprised and didn't really follow what he said until he congratulated my partner, and then I realized she had presented my idea as her own to my boss. I didn't say anything because I was new and didn't want to cause any problems between the two of us. But I should have said something, not to my boss, but to her. It was my idea, and she shouldn't have done that.

Imagine how I felt when I read this story… it was like I was talking to myself. I'd recommend the employee call the coworker out and claim what she deserves. It was her idea, and she deserves the credit for it. On the other hand, I'll never understand how some coworkers can actually do that and take others' ideas. Aren't we supposed to be a team? We are pushing towards the same goal; why would you do this to me? Anyways, I think I'm taking this too personally now…

Autumn is the season of wonder, whimsy, mystery, and transition. It's just like a fairytale, with the changing of the leave's colors, the desire to get lost in a forest, and the coziness of it all. Enjoy these feline funnies of fall foliage for a fairytale autumn. 

Fairytales aren't just for kids. As adults, we can always make our own fairytale adventures. Cats love it too. They're purrfectly suited to match the magic of fall. They love the cold weather so they have more of an excuse to be as introverted as they are. They love getting wrapped up in a blanket and just enjoying the cold weather outside, as if they're in a storybook. Cats have always carried a little mystery with them. Their glowing eyes against a backdrop, and their overall sense of lore. So enjoy these feline funnies of fall foliage in a fairytale autumn. 

When it comes to your kids, how far are you willing to go?

Never get in between a parent and their child. When it comes to keeping their kids safe, mothers are unbreakable and relentless. This mother in particular risked her relationship with her husband in order to make sure her daughter was okay. We cannot blame her, but communication is key in these types of scenarios. 

Here's what happened: Lilly is a 15-year-old teenager, who lives with her father and who's been having trouble at school.  Because everything at school made her life unnecessarily hard, Lilly called her mother and asked to move in with her so she could transfer schools. Lilly's mother didn't hesitate for a single second and immediately accepted, hoping that the change of scenery could make her daughter happier. After discussing details with Lily's father, they decided moving was for the best, as they both wanted their child to get out of a bad situation. He went as far as agreeing to change his work in order to be closer to Lily after her moving. Everything seemed to be in motion. Only one problem: Lily's mother is married. 

There was already a 9-year-old boy at the house, her husband's kid. Because of this, her husband was reluctant to participate in parenting a teenager so suddenly, and he seemed especially crossed because the decision had been made without him. We can understand this point of view; nobody likes their partner making unilateral decisions that affect them both. The better solution here would've been to talk about the situation as a unit and make team decisions. That said, Lily moving in fully feels like the right choice, as she really needs help from her mother right now. We really hope her situation gets better, and if you're reading this, Lily, know that a great portion of the internet stands with you (the better portion, may I add).

What would you have done as Lily's mother? What would have been your response as the husband?

Is there anything cuter in the world than an itty bitty kitten?

Some people, no matter how hard you argue with them, insist that they hate cats. But we don't believe them. They may think that they hate cats, but they simply have not met the right cat yet. We know for a fact that each and every one of these so-called "cat haters" has posted or liked at least one cat meme in their lifetime. We know that they have pawsed to look at at least one picture of a cute or unique cat online. We know because everyone does it. There is a reason why cats rule the internet with an iron paw the way that they do. There is a reason why no one will ever dethrone them. And that reason is that cats are irresistibly cute. But these people will insist. They will pretend. So, if your goal ios is to try to get them to admit to themselves that they like cats, show them this collection of itty bitty kitties, and watch them melt. 

Doing all that for pennies is definitely a choice.

Being a traveling employee must be really nice. Getting to visit different places as part of your job, even if it is for a couple of hours, sounds incredibly nice. There are quite some jobs that have that perk; they assign employees to travel around for business purposes. For that, they provide a hotel and money for food and other expenses. The way they manage it is very different depending on the company. Some use a company credit card to pay for everything; others spend their own money and then get paid back; others receive money first. And they show the tickets to show how much they used. In this case, the methodology is a mixture: the employee receives money for the trip beforehand, but if they need more, they have to wait to show the tickets and get it. If they used less, then they give it back when they come back from the trip. 

The person in this story had too many trips altogether, so they were using the system to their advantage. They weren't giving back what was left from the trip after every single one; they just waited till they had done all of them to check if they were owed or had over the amount of money expected. What they were doing isn't wrong at all; it's just the easiest and more proactive way of handling the trip's money. The problem relies on the fact that, after all the trips, the company realized that the amount of money given to the employee for all the trips was more than what they actually spent. You might think from that sentence that it is over $100 more, but no, only 29 pennies more. Now, the way the employee managed the situation is excellent. But what would you have done in this case? Would you have thought of a clever idea like they did to avoid it happening again? Some advisor said they would have started a payment plan for several months; that would have also been hilarious. I would have loved to see the face of the finance department when they received the pennies. 

What happens when AI confidence meets human oversight?

AI is one of those things that has come into our lives and is not going away. It has come to stay and is going to affect and change the way we live. We're still discovering how it works and what we can do to get the best out of it, without damaging our work. So it's basically trial and error until we find the sweet spot of it. 

In the story we have below, a company decided to implement ChatGPT into their normal workload to make it faster, and what they thought it could be more accurate. They used to send clients emails with very delicate financial information, and they really thought they were doing the right thing. However, one employee checked an information that was sent wrongly to a client and caused a big issue.

They discovered that more than 20 emails had been sent without any fact-checking process, revealing and explaining procedures and information of the company that were incorrect. As a consequence, management decided to stop the use of AI and decided to have staff members complete a mandatory retraining, as well as a professional conduct course.

On the other hand, the employee was asked to write some accounting references for his coworkers because he's the only one who has the accounting degree and is more in touch with the subject. 

Needless to say, IA is not a tool that we can truly trust. It might accelerate some procedures and be helpful for some things, but mainly, it is not really ready to work on its own, so people have to be very careful when deciding to use it. This company now has to apologize to its clients and take back what they said… imagine what that is going to look like.

Every spooky season must start with some spooktacular cat memes.

Oh, yes, we're finally here. It's only a moment away from one of our favorite holidays. Pumpkin spice everything everywhere, spooky decorations in every store on every corner, and being able to dress up our cats in costumes that they will wear for exactly 30 seconds before tearing them off themselves. It's amazing. Combine that with the fact that the weather is finally nice enough for our cats to be cuddly again, and we cannot think of anything better. But there is one thing. There is a single thing that makes any and every moment better than before, and that is, obviously, a quality collection of cat memes. Something pure and positive and wholesome to sit down with and enjoy without worry and without drama. And hey, maybe looking through these memes is going to help the time pass a little faster, and spooky season will be here just that tiny bit sooner. 

Would you stay at a workplace after being told that raises are off the table?

Being told 'no' when you ask for a raise is a common experience, one that we would argue every single employee has gone through at least once in their career. You could be the absolutely best employee in your company and still have to sit there and listen to your boss's spiel about budget cuts and restructuring after they denied your pay raise request yet again.

When employees decide to ask for a raise, many do so thinking that the worst that could happen is that their boss would say no, but apparently, even the way employers deny raises has levels of awfulness to them, and if you ask us, the one that these employees had to listen to is up there on the leaderboard. 

It is one thing to be told a raise is not a possibility because the company doesn't have the budget, but it's an entirely different thing to be told that if you ask for a raise, the additional amount you will be getting will be coming out of someone else's paycheck. How awful is that? "Sure, you can get a raise, but just know that the money will be taken out of Bill's hours, and his wife just had his firstborn baby."

We're not sure what kind of tactic this is, but we doubt it will incite employees to work harder or invest more of themselves into the work. They are basically being told that raises are off the table because no one is willing to ask for one in these conditions, so what do they have left that might prevent them from looking for other employment?

This company's employees should not agree to this bizarre rule, and if anything, they should demand that their raises come out of the CEO's paycheck. We can bet the CEO won't even notice the difference, and then everyone's happy. Otherwise, it might be time for everyone in this company to start updating their resume.

Getting a message that your cat sitter can't find your cat would make it difficult to think about anything else. 

Let me tell you the story of what happened to this kitty who found a hole and, like any curious cat, decided to investigate. She never expected that she would end up trapped there for three days. 

This cat owner was away for work when his kitty went missing, and I imagine trying to understand what happened over the phone while being far away must be difficult. Being told she disappeared inside your house at least gives you a starting point, but it doesn't tell you if she's safe. So he takes the first flight back home to look for her himself, and he discovers her inside an air vent. He follows the meows… and then there she is, tucked inside the vent. She doesn't look grateful or glad she is finally safe. Poor kitty must have her own feelings about being trapped for three days there. Anyway, the most reassuring part is that they are together again.   

Our friends are not our personal chauffeurs, and if they offer to do us a favor, we'd better respect their time and their other occupations. 

In this case, that didn't happen. A friend asked another friend to pick her up at the airport after a trip. The plane was supposed to arrive at 7pm, which was fine. On the day the plane was going to arrive, the friend called the traveler to confirm the schedule, after which the friend told her she had changed her flight and would be arriving at midnight. She had changed the flight days ago and never bothered to check on her friend to see if she could still pick her up. The friend told her that it was no longer possible for her to pick her up, since she had to get up early the next day for work, to which the other friend reacted badly, saying that she was "leaving her stranded."

Here we have a textbook case of entitlement. If the girl traveling never bothered to tell her friend that the time of arrival had changed, why did she assume it would be okay for her to pick her up anyway? She never consulted, never even let her know. She has no right to demand someone else spend their time how she wants it, or to do her favors just because. Everyone has a life, and we never know if the other person will be busy or have plans. No one can ask another person to accommodate their schedule or dispose of someone else's time as if it were theirs. All people have their own priorities and lives, and we're all busy. 

You can read the full story yourself and let us know what you think. Should the friend have gone to pick her up anyway? 

BREAKING MEWS: Local cat hasn't eaten in approximately 12 minutes and is now facing a severe hunger crisis after spotting the bottom of their food bowl.

There is no greater tragedy in a cat's life than looking down at their food bowl and discovering a tiny patch of ceramic. Never mind that there's still a perfectly good pile of kibble sitting around the edges. If the center is empty, the bowl is empty, and their human has some serious explaining to do.

Cats have a remarkable ability to convince themselves they're starving approximately seven minutes after their last meal. They'll follow you around the house, scream at the kitchen cabinets, and stare into your soul until you finally investigate the emergency. Only to discover that their bowl is, in fact, still half full. Apparently, the food has simply become inedible because it's not arranged to their liking. How dare you expect royalty to eat leftovers from the side of the bowl?

And don't even think about walking past the food cupboard without opening it. Your feline has been monitoring your every move, and the slightest indication that another meal might be coming is enough to send them into a full-blown meowing frenzy. Suddenly, they're rubbing against your legs, putting on their sweetest little face, and acting like they haven't eaten since last Tuesday.

You can refill their bowl, watch them take approximately three bites, and then see them wander off like they weren't just campaigning for emergency food assistance. It was never about being hungry. It was about making sure the kibble supply remained at an acceptable level.

Being a pawrent means accepting that no amount of food will ever be enough for your tiny, furry food critic. One visible patch of bowl is all it takes to turn an ordinary afternoon into a feline hunger crisis. And naturally, you're always the one to blame.

Is it the boss or the employee who is to blame for the circumstances?

Underperforming at work can prove to be awkward for everybody involved. Either the manager is out for revenge, or they feel kind of bad about taking action, and the employee is either blissfully oblivious or all too aware of what is coming next. Whatever perspective everybody takes on the situation, it is rarely a pleasant situation to be in.

As a worker on the receiving end of an official criticism about your work, there is often little that you can do. While you may improve and think more carefully about your workflow, often the decision has been made before you are even pulled up about your behavior. The world of business is pretty brutal like that. Just like with most bad situations in the workplace, the best response is often to start looking for another job sooner rather than later. Even if you manage to hold on to your role, there is no guarantee that it will start to be rewarding or comfortable. If a manager still has built up resentment towards you, it is only a matter of time before more problems come to the surface.

Some cats need a little extra time to figure out that humans can actually be pretty pawsome, and Cheddar has been taking that journey entirely at his own pace.

Cheddar and his sister Wensleydale were adopted at around 6 or 7 months old after a rough start. The siblings were underweight, undersocialized, and so frightened of people that their new pawrents could barely touch them. They spent almost two months getting comfortable in one room before they were ready to explore the rest of the house.

Six months later, both kitties have made huge strides. Wensleydale has become a certified cuddle bug who enjoys snuggling and being held. Cheddar, however, has been a little more cautious. He loves pets, but being picked up? Absolutely not. Laps? No, thank you. The couch? For months, also a firm no.

Recently, though, Cheddar started testing the waters. He began joining his humans on the couch and even lying beside them, although touching was still apparently a step too far. For a kitty who once wanted plenty of space between himself and humans, even that was a pretty huge win.

Then one morning, everything changed.

Cheddar spotted his pawrent lying in bed from his window perch. After she asked if he wanted to come over, the formerly fearful feline took a leap of faith… literally. He launched himself onto the bed, charged across her husband, and climbed right onto her chest.

And once Cheddar discovered bed cuddles, he went all in. He climbed over his humans, curled up on his pawrent's legs, groomed himself while lying against her, purred, drooled, made enthusiastic biscuits, and even smashed his face into her sleeping husband's face. You know, normal cat affection.

For a kitty who had never willingly climbed onto a person before, this wasn't just a cuddle session. It was six months of patience finally paying off in the sweetest possible way.

I guess we have all learned the lesson by now. Weddings have stopped being about celebrating love and have become an absolute cash grab

Since when do we have to pay so much money to be INVITED to a wedding? It makes absolutely no sense, and I don't understand how this woman got so far without saying anything.

If being a bridesmaid costs you a lot of money, that should be your first red flag. If the grooms are rich, they should pay for your attendance so you can enjoy the party. If they can't afford a wedding party, they shouldn't have one, or they should have one that adapts to their budget. It really is that simple.

Friends shouldn't be allowed to comment on your financial decisions so freely or ask you to take on debt for them, no matter how important a wedding is to them. No cultural reason justifies this behavior.

It's unbelievable how some things make people completely blind to the fact that they're acting completely entitled. I wouldn't go as far as to say the future grooms aren't really this woman's friends, but I would definitely reconsider their participation in her life from now on.

Your wedding party shouldn't be paid by your guests unless you explicitly ask them to. Also, they have to say yes, so they should have the option. I mean, you're not entitled to it.  

Weddings are getting weirder and weirder these days, and this one is apparently a Ponzi scheme. I'm wondering: if your friends can do this to you, are they really your friends?

Maybe I'm overreacting because I don't understand the whole wedding thing, but this is extremely weird to me. I wonder if the couple does this consciously. It's just as bad if they do it out of entitlement or pure malice, but I wonder.

Don't you think the world would be a much nicer place if everyone got to play in a pile of kittens every day?

There are certain things on this planet that not even the most cold-hearted people can resist. A hot cup of coffee on a rainy, dreary day, the smell of fresh pizza when you're starving, and playful baby animals. The other two are dependent on the environment or your physical state, but baby animals make us smile no matter where we are or how we feel. We're biologically driven to awww over them. Their big, round eyes and tiny faces, and their high-pitched voices just scream at our pawrental instincts to care for them. This happens to all hoomans for most animals, but for us, it's especially strong with baby kittens.

If I were president, I would make it mandatory for everyone to play with a pile of kittens for at least five minutes every day. Think of how much better your days would be if you had that to look forward to! 5 minutes of pure joy, of happiness and tiny meows (and claws), of holding babies in your hands and getting their sweet kisses in return. You'd have to drag me out of there after 5 minutes because I would never want to leave.

As the weather gets drearier, rainier, and grayer, it's impurrtant to know what you can do to keep your spirits up as everything gets darker. For us, it's scrolling through cute kittens like the ones I've gathered below. Just looking at them is enough to turn the worst day into a wholesomely heartwarming daydream filled with kitty cuteness overload and feline love. With the way the weather is going right now, I might end up scrolling through these cuties every day! But, if that's the worst thing I do all day to make myself feel better, then I think I'm doing pretty okay.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. Or, in this cat's case, one cardboard box!

I've seen my fair share of unique and rare cats. It's something of a specialty of mine here at I Can Has Cheezburger. I love searching for the strangest-looking felines from the deepest, darkest corners of the internet. It's getting harder now, with generative AI getting more and more realistic, but I still stand proud as an authority on this very impurrtant issue. Usually, I focus on cats with unique fur patterns or rare coat colors, but today, I've found a cat with one purrticular feature that stands out amongst the rest. It also just so happens to look evil.

Triton, our void cat below, has two completely different colored eyes. Now, normally, this wouldn't be so meowtrageous, as there are quite a few cats with heterochromia already. It's more common in white cats, but there are instances of cats of all coats and colors being born with different colored eyes. The weird thing about Triton though, is that he wasn't born this way - his right eye changed color over time. One day, he woke up with a dark gold patch in his eye, which eventually spread to take over his whole eye. 

Don't worry, Triton has been to a few vets, and they've all given him a clean bill of health. The only fear we have now is that he's been possessed by Sauron. His eye reminds us so much of that stunning visual of Sauron's eye from the tower in Mordor that we can't help but have a craving for Lembas bread for second breakfast. 

Luckily, Triton hasn't tried to take over the world (yet), but he does take over every cardboard box in sight. As long as he doesn't start amassing a horde of Uruk-hai, I think we're safe. There's only room for one lord of the rings, and he belongs safely in a J.R.R. Tolkien book.