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Dear Breakup Girl,
Eight months ago, my best friend/boss started sleeping with my husband of
six months. After a minor nervous breakdown (in which I bought a convertible
and dyed my hair blonde), I went back to work. My question is: Am I justified
in referring to her to customers as a "badly-dressed Petri dish"? And
what underhanded and nasty things do you suggest to continue in my quest to be
a constant and bitter thorn in her side?
-- Beth
Dear Beth,
One of the problems with the "Petri dish" metaphor is that your
customers, like Breakup Girl, will not really be sure what you mean. But there
are much more important issues here. Calling her mean names is -- here it comes
again -- legal (in a First Amendment sense), but tacky. Breakup Girl has always discouraged
"underhanded and nasty acts" as a means of revenge. Why? Because they
make you look bad -- to the people in front of whom you most want to look good:
(1) the evildoer(s), and (2) yourself. When you look back, you feel worse.
The best way to get back at those who have done you wrong is to immediately
be successful all areas of your life. You were on the right track with the car
and the hair.
Love,
Breakup Girl
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