The thing about jokes like that, is that trusting you on your word, without checking for one’s self, is what actual gullible people would do. Skeptics verify information, and to do that, they’d have to look up.

So if you say something like that and people look, they’re not the gullible ones.

I know, I know, “I must be fun at parties.”

As someone with a long name, the bane of my existence is signing online forms without a touch screen. I just had to sign off on four different consent forms online for a new doctor’s office - using my mouse.

I usually take time with my signature, but for this I did the lazy thing of a stylized first letter, followed by a squiggle. I don’t like doing that and don’t want to do that… but I’m tired, y’all.

I used to contemplated sending a box of crunchy leaves to a friend who’s always lived in Florida. She used to lament that the dry leaves around her didn’t crunch the way “autumn leaves” are supposed to (and it’s true. A lot of plants in Florida have waxy or fuzzy leaves, neither of which is as satisfying to stomp on as a crispy, dry, red maple leaf.)

The idea sounded better before I thought about how when you’re camping, it’s best to source firewood from the nearby area - bringing wood from far away could inadvertently spread diseases and pests into new locations. If that’s true of firewood from a few counties over, it’s probably true for leaves from northern states going to south Florida. Sigh.

The detention was because … she was embarrassed.

Ohh yes, classic detention for proving the teacher wrong. There’s a depressing amount of teachers who rule by their ego instead of by science. It’s why I now consider my school discipline record as a source of pride instead of shame.

According to my color-blind friend, purple isn’t a real color - our blood is actually green.

Sadly, I gotta disagree. Searching used to be easier, back when search engines prioritized finding useful information. Now they are vehicles for delivering ads and collecting user data.

Google of the early-2000s era was an entirely different site. I used to be able to find almost anything I needed to search for. As far as I’ve seen, there is nothing comparable to that early-Google out there today. (Though I’d be ecstatic to be proven wrong on that!)

queer waffle place

I don’t want you to dox yourself, but damn, I want to know more about this restaurant. It sounds like a fun place for a date.

It isn’t common in the US, but I was lucky enough to grow up with it as a staple in my dad’s garden. Funny thing, our family referred to it by its Polish name, so I didn’t know the English word for it until I was a teenager.

Do keep in touch with those friends, if you’re able. Over the years, our group realized that the friend we lost was the tie that held us together. I hope someday to see some of our mutual friends again, but between diverse personalities and life paths over the past decade or so, I don’t have high hopes for a reunion.

If it’s any consolation, as a US-ian watching this, my mind was racing through all the things I wanted to do. The kidnappers are all-in focusing on the victim, with stress probably fogging up their brains. Anyone with an iota of mental discipline and a moment to strategize would have an advantage over them.

I kept thinking how easy it would probably be to remove their masks and sunglasses. Their hands are full, what are they gonna do? They could let go of the victim (win!) to re-cover their faces, or they could let their faces be visible (smaller win) and whatever comes of that, comes of that.

Then I remembered that I’ve got pepper spray, and this video may be the kick I need to actually start carrying it full-time.

I’m sorry you had to experience that. I lost a friend in the same situation - only his college roommates knew that he was using hard drugs, he kept it secret from all the rest of us. It made for quite a shock when cocaine stopped his heart at age 22.

I just wanted to provide some sympathy, a virtual hug, if you will. It’s been 14 years since that friend passed, and I still think about him a lot. I hope you’re doing all right.

I don’t know if it exists in the UK, but there’s a craft store chain in the US called Michael’s, and when Covid kicked up they changed a lot about how their business is done.

So many things went online-only after 2020. I’m a life-long artist/crafter, and let me tell you, the people making decisions at this place clearly have no idea how crafters’ minds work. We don’t always go into stores with a particular goal in mind - sometimes we go in just to see what’s there and get inspired to try something new. We see things we didn’t think about, but once we see it, we know exactly what we want to make/how we want to work an item into a project.

But in order to do that, things have to physically be in the store. We aren’t going to impulse-buy something that isn’t there. Obviously.

As far as art supplies go, I’d much rather buy something I can physically interact with before purchasing - this tool says it has an ergonomic grip, but does it actually feel better in my hand or is it just hype? Can I trust a screen’s color rendering to faithfully represent the hue of this product? Will the feeling of this yarn be comfortable to wear as clothing?

Sometimes, we have to experience a product to really decide if we want it. Some art supplies might be fine to order online, sight unseen, but to rely on that alone (as a seller) is absolutely foolish.

I guess my wallet should be thanking Michaels, but I’m too frustrated by so many things becoming “online only” to really appreciate the inadvertent savings. I’m far from the only crafter/artist that follows their energy in the moment, and if I go to an arts and crafts store and get told I need to order a product online and wait for it, that can be enough friction to scrap the entire idea. I need to follow my artistic energy when it occurs. If I put it off til later, the project might never happen - because I’ll be onto something else by then.

But if the company really insists on misunderstanding their customers and shooting themselves in the foot, I’m not gonna stop them.

Reach out and spend wads of money on someone.

I’ve got a season pass to Six Flags, and part of the deal is getting free “bring a friend” tickets.

Unless the guy’s treating his taxi driver to meals in the park, this outing could possibly have been free.

Right? Almost all the places I’m finding that are $1200 or lower are for people aged 55+. There’s another senior community being built on the edge of my neighborhood. It’s frustrating, especially considering that so many of the 55+ people I know own their own properties and have no plans to give them up. Except my parents, who sold the home I grew up in, and are moving to another normal house in a lower CoL area. They’re pocketing $45,000 from the deal and bragging about it.

Meanwhile, my best chance to not be homeless by December is to win a housing lottery for one of 3 available low-income rental units. Mom tells me to move to a more southern state, but as a pansexual woman of reproductive age, I refuse to move to any state where I couldn’t be treated for an ectopic pregnancy.

Welp, I may not be sure I’ll have a physical building to stay in, but at least I’ve got a car with back seats that fold down…

I definitely look more like my (late, paternal) aunt than my mom. I’m also told that I’m a lot like she was, personality-wise.

Which is funny, because I have a nephew that looks more like me than my brother (his father.) He reminds me of the way I was as a kid, moreso than any of my other nephews/nieces.

Genetics are wild, man. It’s so cool to see these similarities/phenotypes that seem to move “sideways” along generations.

“vacation” is what we use to describe taking time off of work here, and “paid time off” is specifically for describing how the time off is arranged with one’s employer.

This is an important note - PTO is for individualized, arranged time off. It could be used for a week, a single day, or even for just a few hours (in some cases.) It could be used to give yourself a random day off here or there, if you want to. It doesn’t have to be a vacation or a holiday (in the American sense), just a random (though usually pre-requested) day where you feel like staying inside in pajamas, marathoning movies all day, and getting paid for it. (AKA a mental health day.)

It’s also important (and sad) to note that not all jobs offer PTO. Ditto for sick leave and parental leave. The US is straight-up backwards…

Lol. That’s what happens when those in charge chronically chase short-term profit over long-term sustainability.

Most places start asking for vacation requests a month or two out before schools do theirs.

Sorry, I’m confused. What does this mean? Do schools in other countries not make their annual schedules before the school year begins? Or do “most places” you reference only allow you to ask for vacation during a certain calendar month? Or am I way off with both of those guesses?

Most places I’ve worked ask for people to request vacation by a minimum of one month before said-vacation occurs. Where I live, schools have their entire calendar (including holidays and extended breaks) planned by August. So if somebody wanted to request time off for winter or spring break, they’d probably have plenty of time to coordinate. Does it work differently where you live?

My old manager: You have to say something when you need help. I’m not a mind-reader.

My mom, when all I did was mention that I can’t find an affordable place to live: Sorry, can’t help.

I didn’t ask for help and had zero intentions of asking for it (because I know her), just keeping her in the loop (which she claims to want), and she pre-emptively makes sure I know I can’t rely on her.

These are two very different people who would both claim to want to “support” me, coming at it from the perspective of someone who thinks everyone has a supportive environment (manager) and the perspective of the person who gave me trust issues in the first place (mom.)

It must be nice to feel like there’s always someone out there who will help you solve your problems. I’ve had to solve everything myself, or else suffer (and then be called “lazy” or “irresponsible” for being unable to do a particular thing, as if the millions of other things I manage to do alone count for nothing.)

I was just telling my boyfriend, “It’s not like I can go anywhere on vacation, and it’s such a bummer to have to come back to work after extended time off. However, having a random day or two off per month always makes me happier. It’s like a little (paid) holiday and I can celebrate it how I want, and that may mean sleeping.”

Perhaps the habit of “pre-planning mental health days” just makes too much sense to deny. Work can plan around my absence, and I get the day off I need. Everybody wins!