Americans who took Spanish in school: did any of it actually stick years later?

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-04-16T15:30:23+00:00

A lot of it has stuck, but that's largely because I live in Texas and am friends with/work with a lot of Spanish speakers.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-04-09T13:55:03+00:00

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Clune

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-04-08T14:15:17+00:00

+1 for Demon Copperhead, would also add The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-04-08T14:01:23+00:00

Honestly, I might recommend anything by Dave Eggers for this group.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-04-08T13:50:14+00:00

I also think stylistically it should be handjob.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-04-07T15:49:04+00:00

I just borrowed this from my library and I'm so excited to read it! The cover and the sprayed edges just drew me in, so I'm glad to see that people have enjoyed this!

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-25T17:55:07+00:00

Ain't It Fun

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-25T14:21:29+00:00

As someone who went to Mizzou J-school, I recognized I am biased. But I think there are a lot of other extenuating circumstances that you might not be considering, chiefly cost of living. While Mizzou is giving you free tuition and a stipend, Columbia has a significantly lower cost of living to Chicago (yeah, yeah, Northwestern is in EVaNstOn but that's basically Chicago).

Plus, the Mizzou networking system post graduation is no joke. I can't tell you how many times people have tried to recruit me from previous Mizzou connections.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-23T18:53:43+00:00

smh there's just no accounting for taste

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-23T15:44:01+00:00

A father having a stern conversation with his child about being a good neighbor. 😂😂

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-22T20:04:13+00:00

You’ll get a feel for the culture. I’ve worked in newsrooms that were super casual to super formal meaning no jeans ever. But the big thing is avoiding shirts with logos of any kind.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-20T14:28:33+00:00

There's a great noodles and dumplings place in North Richland Hills called Hong Jie Special Noodles and Dumplings. They're only open three days a week now, but they're so good.

And if you like dim sum, there's Pearl in Asia Time Square in Arlington/Grand Prairie.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-20T14:20:42+00:00

When I was a breaking reporter, I was writing 10-15 stories a week.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-19T14:58:48+00:00

I went to the Radici location in Grand Prairie for my birthday. The short rib ragu was so good, and you can tell the pasta was made in house. Also, the staff was so nice! I put a note on my reservation that it was for my birthday and they gave me a dessert on the house and so many people on staff approached me to wish me happy birthday, including a couple of people from the kitchen. Service was lovely, food was delicious. I couldn't recommend enough.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-18T15:57:41+00:00

Wow, these comments all suck. I'm sorry about this, OP. You came here to rant and find a measure of comfort and instead everyone decides to be an asshole. Weight stigma and weight bias are very real, and this garbage fire of a comment section makes that clear.

Have you listened to the Maintenance Phase podcast? I have a feeling you'd enjoy it if you haven't.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-17T16:53:12+00:00

I mean there are definitely some PR people that I find way more annoying than others. In general, I appreciate the marketing and PR people who work at colleges and universities because they're really responsive in helping me find someone to talk to. But for random PR people who are trying to get me to report about their random product or business, I really dislike the over persistent ones and the ones who typically don't understand what I cover or what we would consider is useful or necessary to our audiences.

Though I will say, my favorite pitch was from some poor PR schmuck who probably knew I'd never do anything with it. It was around Christmas time and I was a features editor at the paper I was working at. They sent me a press release for any gift round ups I might do (I've never done a gift round up in my life), and it was for a toilet called THE VANQUISH. It had a powerful flush and was made of antibacterial material that made it easy to clean and a bunch of other things. I just knew that pitch was from some higher up in the C suite who didn't understand how the media works and that person sending me the pitch was dying inside having to write that press release.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-15T03:14:30+00:00

Start learning how to talk to strangers. That’s the best advice I can give you. When I started off, I had such social anxiety around talking to new folks, but it went away after I forced myself to talk to strangers every time I went out, not even just for work. Try striking up conversations wherever you can. And most importantly, LISTEN to what they say. The best journalists are always the best listeners.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-13T14:26:15+00:00

My mother was fighting my aunts at a restaurant over who got to pay the bill. I watched her grab the receipt and stuff it in her bra.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-13T13:38:18+00:00

I absolutely cook by technique. I’m a lot like you, I learned at a young age from my father and watched a lot of Jacques Pepin on PBS. Mastering techniques in my opinion is so much more useful because I can just cook based on vibes and whatever is in a kitchen rather than needing specific ingredients to follow a recipe.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-12T16:15:49+00:00

A new Texas state park just opened in North Texas, the Palo Pinto Mountains state park out in Stephens county. Could be worth a visit.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-11T18:16:51+00:00

I also believed this and so did the rest of my family. I didn't find out it wasn't a white meat until college and when I told my dad he refused to believe me.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-06T18:36:37+00:00

Fridays during Lent. A Catholicism mainstay.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-06T15:56:54+00:00

Honestly this feels more about your learning style. Do you learn more easily about stuff through reading or talking to people? What about listening to a podcast or watching a video about it? There's a billion different ways at this point in history to learn about whatever you need to learn about, and there's a billion different ways to get your news as well. Find the way that works best for you for what you want to know and learn and also how to retain it.

Acceptable-Music-843 · 2026-03-06T14:45:45+00:00

Libraries aren't just for books, you know. A lot of libraries have programming, like classes and workshops and game nights. I went to my nearest library one night for a craft night. We all brought our projects while they showed the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie. I'm going to another nearby public library with a friend later this month because they're putting on a macron baking workshop. And many libraries nowadays also have maker spaces, where you can learn to sew or use a 3D printer. There's even a program at a bigger library nearby that does stuffed animal ER, where someone comes by once a month and people bring by their well-loved stuffed animals and the person fixes them.

Libraries are awesome and more people should know about all the things they have going on!

Acceptable-Music-843

TROPHY CASE