Ahh, Valentine's Day... A "holiday" that strikes fear in the hearts of the newly coupled, worried that their gift-giving and grand romantic gestures might not live up to the great expectations foisted upon us from Hallmark and countless RomComs.
It's also a day for singles to celebrate themselves, their friends and family, and maybe thumb their nose at society's pressure to be part of a couple come each fourteenth of February. (Hint: singles don't need a significant other to be able to celebrate how awesome they are!)
These cartoons - originally published in the Washington Post as part of the widely-syndicated Carolyn Hax advice column - point out how complicated people and relationships are, and how sometimes you just have to shake your head and laugh.
The artist, Nick Galifianakis, has been drawing his comic "Nick and Zuzu" for the Washington Post for over twenty years. The fact that Carolyn Hax is his ex-wife - and that they continue to work together as happily divorced colleagues - adds more than just a little irony to the work of this "relationship cartoonist".
Nick has a book of his work available in print: "If You Loved Me, You'd Think This Was Cute: Uncomfortably True Cartoons About You." The forward is written by his struggling actor cousin, Zach Galifianakis. The perfect gift for anyone with a sense of humor, or for that Ex without one!
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Party Of One
I know, right. How Dare she flaunt her carefree attitude and boundless joy in such a public setting. (lucky b***h)
only people that are truly content with themselves and their situation can really understand the comfort in being able to enjoy the prospect of dining alone in a public place. i love it and do it often; don't care what others think!
I hate it when I'm by myself in a restaurant, they ask how many, I say "one" and they say "Just one?" in that damn whiney voice like they think you're pathetic.
Am I the only human being on the planet who ges to a restaurant for, you know, eating?
I never apologize for all the free time I have, eating wherever and whenever I want, and the piles of cash I can spend any way I choose. If you cannot be perfectly content with yourself alone, a relationship won't solve that.
Amen!
I'm struggling with this so much with my new relationship. This hit home
Signs Everywhere
Took me a sec to realise she has a fortune cookie. It looked like cat ears at first.
Will You Be My Ex?
This would've made more sense if she'd been drawn as angry and it read - "And I realized that's NOT me".
It all depends on your level of emotional maturity. So I'm pretty sure your exes feel the same about you.
Load More Replies...But I’m Different
I find it hilarious when a partner cheats on their spouse and leaves the spouse to be with whoever they cheated with. The partner might just cheat on you like they did with their ex! Ya idiot
Like the girl who dates a married guy and says, "He's leaving his wife for me because he loves me." Good luck with that.
Load More Replies...Just as fun are the ones who've been cheated on and refuse to grow from it, thus ruining any chance for future relationships to thrive. Having fears of being hurt again is understandable, but I've met too many who let it dominate their lives.
Bummer! One of my "criteria" for a good guy for me is someone who's done some inner work, and enough of it! Not someone who dipped his toes in only to grab a few concepts he loves to bandy about bc it makes him feel evolved, sage, smart (-er than others) and oh-so-wise, but someone who's done real work and can communicate honestly and effectively, without low-blow attacks and with a true desire to get to a better place. I've learned that partners who can't communicate just can't go the long haul. It's my experience that about all of my meaningful relationships-- romantic and otherwise-- invariably encounter situations that need to be addressed for some level of modifications for each person for smoother traveling going forward. Bc, frankly, all I really want is smooth traveling, fun and joy.
Load More Replies...The Burn
Yes but unfortunately, that tends to make people think that love is overrated.
The Hand-Me-Down
one guy actually said, "you'd have to catch me on a really good day to want to get married!" wow. thanks for that, asshat.
I dated (and lived with) a guy who said marriage was pointless because we were already committed to each other; we didn't need a document to prove it. At the time, I thought marriage was overrated, so that didn't bother me. Two years later, I find out he's been sleeping with women at work. When I confronted him, he says, "I have to obligations to you. It's not like we're married, so how can it be cheating?" Wow!
Funny, my ex is tall and nice looking. I'm good weight and height and attractive what others say. My ex always told me if you were fat I would never dated you. Turned out he married a short fat chick. How ironic.
Trust Your Instincts
Setting The Bar
I made a profile asking why guys are jerks and one responded by saying they are not all jerks, took me out, and married me.
Familiarity
So true. The somewhat eccentric amongst us can can inject some glamor into a pretty mundane world. So, unless they're truly hurting themselves and/or others, I say let them be their true selves, and love them for keeping the rest of us from dying from boredom.
Load More Replies...A2 + B2 = Jerk2
I mean, if you're losing either way, might as well be honest about it.
give a reason! some of us actually take that information to heart & learn from it to become a better person--either we find out a harsh truth about ourselves & work on it, or we realize that YOU have a problem we want no part of!
You want to expel her from your life so it's a pretty good tactic to make her believe you are a colossal jerk who she doesn't want to contact with ever again.
I have done this. Even tough i didn't like her anymore, didn't mean i wanted to hurt her. So instead of telling the reason (there were a shitload of them) i became a jerk which gave her closure. She could portray me as the bad guy and i like to think it helped her to move on.
D.I.Y.
I actually put something very similar to that on my dating profile!
You should never try to change someone or think they will change if you force them. That's just dumb.
True. People will only truly change if the desire to do so comes from within themselves. It can't, and actually never should be, done through external force, however benign.
Load More Replies...get into a relationship to be with THAT person, not to try and FIX them!
The Keeper
She's saying later in life when she has a different boyfriend, she could never tell him about how awesome this guy was. But it's stupid, because if this guy is so great why wouldn't she just stay with him??
I see him as being her best friend, not her boyfriend. And what guy what guy would not feel insecure when his girlfriend is getting food massages from her gorgeous not gay male best friend?
"companion"? sounds like you're talking about a dog
Unless he's a blood relative, Why The F^ck is there going to be a later insecure guy?
If they split up. He dumps her, he turns out gay, he dies, he moves away, etc.
Load More Replies...The Drag
I can remember being advised to fake an interest in whatever a boy liked in order to get him. This was way back in the 70s, I'd like to hope that young women don't get that kind of "advice" any more.
sounds like the 1870's
Load More Replies...Yes! I can fake liking football on tv all weekend.. but I would need a whole lot of alcohol to suffer through a live game.
I feel you. A friend of mine (girl) is a big football fan, her cousin came down with flu, so she had a spare ticket and dragged me to a live game...very long 180 minutes. Fortunately, my boyfriend isn't a football fan, he doesn't watch it on TV or live. But he's a gamer, a few years back he was an avid player, but thank God he tuned it down, so now he plays just occasionally. Still doesn't like to be bothered when he plays though.
Load More Replies...Get That Cross-Stitched On A Pillow
Tick-Tock...
had to laugh at this one--experience has taught me that the person i start dating lasts only about 3 months before the REAL person behind the facade begins to emerge. it can be good, it can be bad...it's all what you make of it
I learned through experience that the worst thing I could ever say to someone I was dating is "just be yourself, be comfortable". TBH, we should all stay on our best behavior with each other, and just keep our worst to ourselves.
Things Are Looking Up
The Future Viral Video
Separation
Please note that this cartoon was not included in my original submission, BP staff added it, and the misspelled title is their doing. I can no longer access the post in order to edit and fix this. :/
That required commenting twice? Yes, I know, that's the fault of one of the Bored Panda editors, they added that particular cartoon and title with the misspelling. It was not part of my original posting. They won't respond to my emails and I can not edit the post once it goes live.
Load More Replies...Why Wait?
there is something to be said for being able to remain friendly with those you've dated but it didn't work out
The Bestseller
Now this one I LOVE! They're all fantastic cartoons, please, give us more!
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The Realist
Just get married already. Grand total for our wedding: $2,000 - that's rings (plural), dress/suit, license, BBQ with the family in the backyard.
Dude, if she loves you enough, she'll get married in the backyard in a normal dress, with only your immediate family members as guests. Or no guests at all! Proper weddings are nice and all, but when the love is truly there and strong, you can just get married in a chill-as-heck way and everybody will still be happy. :)
I was never one of those little girls who had her wedding planned since she was 12. Even as a kid, I always liked the idea of eloping. So, I got married at the courthouse. We were nicely (but not formally) dressed, and just brought a couple friends along as witnesses. We all went out to a nice restaurant for dinner and champagne afterward, then my husband and I went away on a nice, but not OTT, honeymoon. Totally satisfying and drama-free. We'll be married 18 years this May. The marriage is more important than the wedding.
Load More Replies...My (now) husband talked and talked and talked about our future together (kids, no kids, etc.) but wasn't proposing. Every time we went on a vacation my friends would always say, "Oh! This is it! I know he's going to ask you!!" Then, nothing. Finally I asked him, "Are you ever going to ask me to marry you or are you just going to keep talking about marriage?" I didn't say it in a b****y way, I was just curious and CONFUSED about what was happening. He then admitted that he thought he couldn't propose without a ring!! He's a very traditional guy. We ended up picking out a ring together. I chose the setting and he chose the gem without me so I didn't know what the ring would look like. It was a nice surprise when he finally did propose. That's why I love this comic!
my (ex) husband proposed to me by saying, "if i asked you to marry me, what would you say?" i told him he'd actually have to ask to find out...
Hate how everything is so materialistic. Yes I want something nice in a church but affordable as well. I just want happiness to be key.
My parents where at a streetlight waiting for it to get green when my father went like "Hey, what if we get married?". That's how comfortable they're with each other
Stupid, if you love one another just get married, forget the big show of love if you don't have the means.
The Close Call
It's not true love until you survive the roaches-and-ramen period.
sometimes the ramen and roaches is the best part
Load More Replies...It means she loves him a little but not that much. Not enough to live through a roach infested apartment and having to eat ramen.
Load More Replies...Never A Second Date
I found the opposite - if you're not feeling the chemistry after the first date, you never will, don't waste time waiting for it to happen no matter how "perfect" that person seems on paper. When I met my future wife for the first time (not on a date), I felt the chemistry immediately and by the time we had our first date, I knew I wanted to marry her.
I completely agree. That's how it happened with my husband of 23 years and me.
Load More Replies...Every case we don’t feel chemistry with a person in a first or fifth date but for that we have to connect with that pershttps://3a487w4crkcah0dlpcodovs7rx.hop.clickbank.net/ on and treat that person part of our life but in some case it’s lead to break up . I also suffer from this but after https://3a487w4crkcah0dlpcodovs7rx.hop.clickbank.net/ I found this my relationship with person getting better
The Low Bar
The Anti-Romantic
reminds me of a couple at my school: a guy bought his gf matching vans, expensive makeup(Ik bc I wanted it forever), hot chips, a huge thing of sunflowers,2 giant bags of jolly ranchers and a venti Starbucks
https://3a487w4crkcah0dlpcodovs7rx.hop.clickbank.net/ That’s Normal after year passed we feel anti romantic . In my marriage after my first child we are giving time each other and it creates a huge disappointment and differences between us than I found this https://3a487w4crkcah0dlpcodovs7rx.hop.clickbank.net/ and it make our life better
lol, start off slow and build up, otherwise you've already created the standard with which you'll have to live with--expectations run high when you start off with a bang & then fail to maintain that standard. some of us, though, prefer the flowers picked rather than an expensive, bought bunch, and picnics to expensive restaurants. yeah, we really do exist!
Compliment Fail
Putting It Together
Or sneaking an episode of the show you're supposed to be watching together on Netflix.
My husband watches ahead without me, then drops spoiler hints while re-watching episodes with me. I made him sleep on the couch.
Someone For Everyone
there is not someone for everyone. I'm convinced of it.
Settling
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/05/its-bad-rap-not-bad-wrap/
Load More Replies...Cheating?
It's not OK just because she's married, you idiot. It's only OK if she's married to YOU.
What’s The Secret Word...?
I see it as "Pretend to be someone else around my parents". Metaphorically wearing a mask.
Load More Replies...Can someone please make one that actually celebrates singleness without actually downing relationships?!
I agree!! I did think the one where the waiter wants to relocate the single lady for looking "too content" hits the mark some.
Load More Replies...The only problem I see here, is that this seems to make men out as the bad guy in all this. No offence, but women can equally horrid, if not more so. Just saying.
Killer cartoons...the artwork, narrative...the whole thing, is incredible. The style is reminiscent of Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes; high praise indeed! More please!
100% agreed, and i think the author's got blue hair so i definitely root for her ;D
Load More Replies...These are pretty dark, but I must say... I can't think if characters that I've ever seen that looked like this before. All of them, to me, are wholly original. Really fantastic work!
Having read all these I am so glad I am happily single and will always remain so. Who needs the pain heartache and inconvenience of dating.
Can someone please make one that actually celebrates singleness without actually downing relationships?!
I agree!! I did think the one where the waiter wants to relocate the single lady for looking "too content" hits the mark some.
Load More Replies...The only problem I see here, is that this seems to make men out as the bad guy in all this. No offence, but women can equally horrid, if not more so. Just saying.
Killer cartoons...the artwork, narrative...the whole thing, is incredible. The style is reminiscent of Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes; high praise indeed! More please!
100% agreed, and i think the author's got blue hair so i definitely root for her ;D
Load More Replies...These are pretty dark, but I must say... I can't think if characters that I've ever seen that looked like this before. All of them, to me, are wholly original. Really fantastic work!
Having read all these I am so glad I am happily single and will always remain so. Who needs the pain heartache and inconvenience of dating.
