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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 14th, 2023

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  • Ha ha ha ha, no. We do have savings so at least some cushion but I took years off when my kids were born, got a late start in college, started a career later, I would say I got the time when I needed it I guess. But not likely to have enough to take time off paid work again at the end.

    Most people don’t get to decide, they get disabled or laid off & cannot find work and are forced into retirement. I’m in good shape and work in an office so probably can keep going as long as jobs last for me, and our life will be better if we keep working.


  • You are talking to us here, now. I know you do rock climbing and weight lifting. If you have friends, you talk to them too. It’s not different from that. You are doing it already. There’s not a formula.

    What friends can do is tell their friends you are a great guy and introduce you to other people. That’s what networking is, the same way you network computers, you network human relationships, by connecting them.


  • I mean, you can’t just get fit and expect someone to come knocking on your door. If you are feeling good about your looks now, that’s an accomplishment you can be happy about, and should, but it doesn’t send out some secret signal that you are ready for a relationship. You have to talk to actual people. You can meet them out in the world or on an app, you can also tell any friends you have that you are looking to start dating, network. I think friends of friends and dating apps are the most usual ways of getting dates now. When I was young we just hung out in groups and some people always people ended up paired off, didn’t really date per se, but my kids don’t seem to do that as much.

    So basically - now you are happy about your physical shape, you still have to reach out to people, that is the next step.





  • I really love reading. When little, my mom said I read my way through the kids section in the library in like a year then moved on to the grownup side.

    But then I had kids, and read magazines, short stories, and comics because I didn’t have uninterrupted time.

    Now, when I do have a book I read it while husband is watching TV, we both have entertainment time that way. If we go to the beach I bring the e-reader, and read on days off - still a lot of comics as I’m still busy, and I love them, but more library books than when the kids were kids.

    You don’t have to read books if you don’t enjoy them! Everyone is different. I read really fast and effortlessly (learned to at the same time I was learning to speak, it’s a language not a skill for me) so it’s a better pace for me personally than other forms of entertainment.

    But of my kids, fewer than half read for pleasure. There are so many other ways to use your time that are just as good for you or better.


  • I will say it took me awhile to wrap my head around my kid being a son not a daughter. My concept of womanhood is quite broad, I really and truly did not see it coming, just thought she was dykey , for lack of a better word, still doesn’t seem distressed at all either but that may be because all the kids at school just accept kids are whatever gender they say, it’s no big deal to them, and siblings all immediately supportive. I didn’t lay my trouble adapting on them, it’s not his problem, it’s mine - just saying you have known a long time but she has not, she will adjust.


  • It’s ok here because I’m in a left leaning city, trans kid (my youngest) will be adult soon so can begin medical care whenever they can afford it; any daughters who are at all into men have IUDs, and in general everything has been ok, except for school but that kid is a little bit insulated because it’s an art school and they DGAF about the state saying they can’t use nicknames or preferred gender. So that is ok but the actual teaching in the academic classes has faltered, getting bad like when I went to school here, and it’s so disappointing after it had gotten so good for awhile.

    Thanksgiving may be fractious because we have trans, communists, right wing, right-leaning, about half progressive leftist, one sort of prickly vegan (not prickly about us being omnivore, just more delicate sensibilities), it’s always very mixed and rowdy like that, tensions seem higher but OTOH my ex has become more reasonable.

    Bracing for economic downturn, hopefully it lets some people get into houses, who cannot now. And hopefully can stay employed, pretty old so have made it through several recessions already.


  • I say it’s short for Chile con Carne because beans are the baseline chili - I’d eat chili with beans and no meat, Chile sin Carne, that’s a meal by itself.

    But chili with meat and no beans, like Chile Colorado, needs to be served with beans and rice, it’s not good by itself. I do make that sometimes but people just call it “meat” when I do. Nobody here thinks of it as chili.

    I don’t think any food is pure. Traditions are forever changing.


  • What’s mmj? Medical weed? I like the cities here in Florida, but can understand, it’s not the right time to move here anyway, houses are overpriced right now and rent is too.

    I changed my mind on marriage, it was never my dream but my now-husband really wanted us to be married, and it did help with his status at schools and stuff regarding my kids and mine with his kids, has streamlined a lot of stuff like signing up for benefits at work, I still think it’s kind of silly to license relationships, but it’s been a good experience overall.




  • That is the way we had birthday parties too, and they are the best. Invite the whole family not just the kid. Nobody HAS to drink, and I didn’t because hosting, but it’s more hospitable to have adult beverages available. Often a “fancy drinks” area for the kids too, with colorful non alcoholic drinks and garnishes for them to create their own drinks.

    So, so much better than a house full of kids all the same age. Kids running around in packs, adults chilling.




  • Abortion protection was proposed as a constitutional amendment because the backwards -ass gerrymandered legislature here is much more conservative than the population. A majority of us voted for freedom of choice even though the amendment on the ballot had bold text added by the governor, including the dubious claim that it would “increase the number of abortions performed in the state”. They only added these annotations to the two amendments DeSantis opposed.

    I was born here, my kids were born here, I am progressive, my kids are progressive, all y’all dehumanizing us, why? We are just people, like you!


  • When my kids were younger, before we had money, we had a “tree” each year that I’d put up after they went to bed. Always something different. One year lights in the coat rack, one year construction paper on the wall, one year my ex cut the top off one of the bushes outside and we sort of carved it into the cone shape, once an inflatable beach ball sort of tree, all sorts of different things but it was never an actual Christmas tree.


  • That stuff all sounds nice, I would just say to make sure you don’t burn yourself out or keep others from reciprocating your kindness.

    I’m not that nice, though we do sometimes let homeless people stay, always have because we know some, I am happier when the workload at home is balanced between us, wouldn’t intervene in a fight because that’s too dangerous.

    So I think if you are doing things to be selfless, like at the expense of yourself, watch out. As I noted in my original reply, you need to take care of yourself too, giving too much doesn’t work out better for anyone. You are a person too, just like the people you are trying to help.


  • I think it’s pretty normal to hold yourself to a standard you don’t impose on others, and I do think it’s somewhat problematic, like perfectionism is. If you get mad at yourself for messing up and not being inhumanly perfect then yeah that’s not good. You are a person too, and should give yourself consideration.

    If you just mean you try to think before you act and consider how your words and actions affect others, I would hope everyone does that!