That old advice is totally out of sync with how fast things move now. It assumes you have time to negotiate, but someone else is always ready to just say yes. You have to know the rules of the game you're actually playing, not the one from ten years ago.

Right? It's like your phone is just making stuff up to fill in the blanks. My old phone would turn a slightly dark room into a grainy yellow mess, all the textures just gone. @gibson.elizabeth seeing those price stickers is the perfect example. The camera actually grabbed the crinkle in the paper and the dust on the glass. Phones just smooth everything into a weird painting. Makes you wonder what else you're not seeing.

Oh man, I was totally with brookeross at first, thinking it sounded way too negative. But then I asked it and got this story about a date who got a fish bone stuck in his throat at a sushi place, and how they handled the whole ER trip. It completely changed my mind. You really do see how they deal with real problems, not just the highlight reel.