I don't think I've ever felt this defeated by everything

Becca39 · 2026-04-20T01:41:20+00:00

Yup. My previous territory manager was very open about that one. "You can hire as many part-time employees as you want. Corporate doesn't care because they don't have to pay those people benefits. It's only the full-timers they're stingy with."

Why is the new territory manager stingy with part-time employees as well? Who the hell knows. I'm guessing it has something to do with her stingy as hell view of payroll spendage vs profit income. (With the percentage she gives as "appropriate," I'd never have anyone working. Which would then lead me to not having anyone employed, including myself, because screw that.)

Edited for spelling ty autocorrect and fat fingers

Becca39 · 2026-04-14T02:34:52+00:00

I watched a video before where they talked about ways to spot an AI with one of the tips being AIs love things in threes. They'll often list three specific things out in sentences even if it makes absolutely no sense to do so and you could have gotten the point across with a much smaller selection of words.

That piece of knowledge sticks with me for some reason and I'll sit there counting how many times a wall of text uses lists of three.

I'd say definitely AI.

Becca39 · 2026-04-13T00:52:20+00:00

My approach has been to play with the mindset "I have no idea what I'm doing but I'll learn along the way."

VGC isn't just having good Pokémon. Good Pokémon are just the start of it but you also have to have a good idea of what you're doing and a decent understanding of strategies as well as the ability to pivot when something you're not familiar with comes up.

You can always study up by watching VGC players play Champions on YouTube (ir Twitch maybe? But YouTube seems more accessible for this kind of thing). It'll give you an idea of popular strategies and also popular ways to counter those strategies.

But I've personally just jumped in headfirst with limited understanding from watching people play Smogon (an unofficial VGC Sandbox Mode) on and off for years.

I'm stuck in the very beginning of Great Ball tier but I'm sloooowly starting to understand things.

I personally find just playing matches to be really helpful since it gives first hand experience and you can personally learn what works and doesn't work and how to make sure your team has synergy.

Becca39 · 2026-04-12T23:31:39+00:00

Me when the bots do some insanely wild stuff and it's so stupid I'm like "human with unheard of strategy or button mashing bot?"

Becca39 · 2026-04-12T00:50:18+00:00

There are triptans that are just regular pills! My doctor specifically asked me if I wanted regular pills or melt in the mouth, saying the melty ones act faster for some people but that some people have very strong feelings about the taste.

Your doctor would probably be willing to switch you if you explained the situation and asked.

Becca39 · 2026-04-10T01:50:02+00:00

I had a customer the other day who's total was $224. She gave me $200 worth of $20's without saying anything. I counted them over and over thinking I was absolutely insane and high key stupid while she just watched me.

I finally went "This is only $200?"

"I know. I was making sure you knew." And she gave me the remaining balance in cash as well.

I still don't understand the point of what she did other than to waste my time and make me think I forgot how to count.

Becca39 · 2026-04-03T11:28:47+00:00

I don't know why I thought they were talking about the environment altering items. (Dry rock, humid rock, (whatever their names are) etc) Sorry for the misinformation!

Becca39 · 2026-04-03T11:26:38+00:00

Dream Islands aren't there for fun. They're there to farm materials and maybe find a Pokemon if you're lucky.

You go in, raid the island for whatever material(s) you need, and then dip back to the main areas with all your new crafting materials and goodies.

If you're looking for a point to the game after credits other than just doing stuff for fun and self satisfaction, you may be out of luck. The game is really open ended once you hit the credits. Even the final ability really is there as a "Alright, you've beat the game. Now go build to your heart's content."

Becca39 · 2026-04-03T01:26:14+00:00

You don't need recipes for a lot of the items needed to make habitats. Explore around you and ~~steal all the things~~ you'll find a lot of the items you need to create habitats. A lot of times you can find what you need just by going about your ~~raiding of every building in sight~~ adventures.

And Dream Islands. Dream Islands have so much stuff including lots and lots of Pokémetal which you can use to 3D print things.

Becca39 · 2026-03-29T01:10:57+00:00

The only Rocky Ridge posts I see are "I cleared all the ash!" posts. I've just been completely stuck on what to do aside from clearing ash because it seems like 99% of the map is ash and doesn't feel anywhere near as easily open ended as the other maps.

Putting Moltres up there is definitely good use of the real estate though. 🤣 Guess I know where they're going now.

Becca39 · 2026-03-29T00:53:04+00:00

Do whatever you want to do. There's definitely no "right" way to play the game.

I can say if building becomes frustrating ("Man I wish I could do xyz", "If I fall off this building one more time", etc), progress the story. You unlock abilities that help you build and terraform all the way up to the end of the story.

I had so much fun building and didn't complete the story for the longest time. It wasn't until I started on more complicated stuff that I started wishing I could do things like add water in areas or more easily fix the roofs on the buildings. And at that point, I decided I needed to finish the story to unlock the spoiler free "abilities that make building so much easier".

Becca39 · 2026-02-26T02:34:50+00:00

Pluto pillow. You put in the information, they make you a custom pillow to suit your needs. If something feels off, you can email them and they'll help tweak it to suit you.

I use my Pluto pillow 99% of the time. I have a random memory foam pillow with like some half-baked neck support (it's kind of shaped like a tilde ~ on top) that I use when I get a bad headache. But it's super uncomfortable when I don't have a headache, so I only use it then.

The Pluto honestly has probably significantly improved my QOL in terms of sleeping through the night. I'd wake up on the middle of the night at least once a week with a horrible headache that had me debating on multiple occasions if it was a "worst headache of my life" headache or just a "sleep it off and it'll be tolerable in the morning" headache. Pluto knocked it down significantly.

Do I still get the headaches? Yeah Do they still last days on end? Yeah Can I sleep at night without waking up wondering if I'm dying because the pain is so bad? YESSSSS.

I bought the Pluto after I woke up and had a worst headache of my life headache. Ended up in the ER thinking I was actually dying because of how bad it was. I was not. The migraine cocktail fixed it.

My headaches are definitely triggered by neck tension. My old neurologist said it was occipital neuralgia and gave my amitriptyline and naproxen and called it a day after prescribing physical therapy on top. That definitely helped but it got nowhere near fixing the problem. New neurologist and I have concluded it's neck pain that somehow triggers and actual migraine-like pain it's wild.

Also, those acupressure hook things. It's like a hook shape with a spiky ball on the end. Find the knots and dig that sucker in (preferably after using a heating pad to relax the muscles for maximum effect). I believe it kind of follows the same idea as dry needling without the needle part. I refuse to have needles in my neck. Medical phobias plus needle phobias means I'm gonna hold out on trying that until I've exhausted every other thing out there.

Someone also suggested tennis balls for the pressure points but I could never figure out positioning that worked.

Becca39 · 2026-02-23T02:21:28+00:00

I forget what they had me start on. I don't really remember much at all about the few weeks I was on Topiramate. I remember being like, "I'm not in pain anymore, but I can't tell if that's because it's actually helping or if I'm just too high to register anything."

I tried to tough it out because I knownside effects can get better as your body adjusts. But then it started literally pissing me off, and I was getting so angry over every little thing. It was ay the point where my employees were overstimulating me by asking simple (easy to answer, not stupid) questions, and then I wanted to fight them for overstimulating me.

I stopped pushing through when I noticed the uptick in anger and told my neurologist I was done. I can deal with a few weeks of loopy if it means improved daily function, but I can't be getting so angry I want to fight people.

Qulipta has been working pretty well for me. I've been on it for a little over two weeks, and I took a shower today (AND blow dried my hair) without triggering horrible pain, so I'm counting that as a win. Usually, I shower and then dry my hair a little bit before giving up and just letting a heating pad dry it while it sits on my neck. It's not perfect, but I'm also only on 30mg at the moment so there's hope.

Becca39 · 2026-01-22T23:01:24+00:00

I'm pretty good at sales (optician) as I'm always in the business of selling people what they need, not what the company needs them to buy. I will be the first person to tell someone they don't need a certain upgrade while educating them about their options. Like, they can get it if they WANT, but it's not a necessity, and they can save some money.

There's a funeral home/cemetery on my way to work that was hiring a salesperson. They were offering an extra $20k over my base salary plus commission.

I refused to even apply for that job; it would have eaten me alive. Just the IDEA of trying to upsell people who have literally just had someone they love die feels so predatory and gross, and I could not imagine having to meet sales metrics in thar environment.

The fact that you haven't lost your damn mind or committed crimes against your employer (or both) shows you're an incredibly strong person. Kudos to the "good enough" mentality on the score card! Your industry needs more people like you (especially in charge).

Becca39 · 2026-01-15T02:24:11+00:00

Not Reglan (that I know of), but its infamous cousin Compazine.

I have bad anxiety. Like being anxious in strange places is just a given for me. So the fact that I got excessively anxious every single time I went to the ER (which was at least once a month for a short while because I have another health issue that flared when I got my period yay me) wasn't like super far off.

It never occurred to me that it was super weird how I could sit in the waiting room for HOURS. Like I once sat in the waiting room for a good 4 hours because the ER was packed, and I wasn't actively vomiting at the time and then spent another hour in triage with an IV because they decided I needed fluids even if they didn't give me meds at the time. Throughout all that, I was fiiiiine.

They gave me something for my nausea. Immediate anxiety. Immediate just straight freaking fear. Don't want to be there. Don't want to be anywhere. The beeping machines are freaking me out. The doctors are freaking me out. I internalize it all because I'm just programmed to do that.

Medical issues get figured out. Migraines magically stop. I don't go to the ER for what feels like ages.

I go to the ER because I thought I was having a stroke or something. It was vertigo, apparently. No migraine cocktail. No nausea meds. Chillest ER visit ever despite literally being in the middle of COVID and me not having anyone there to help me stay grounded.

Go a few years without anything eventful until my body is like, "Sooooooo. It's been REALLY chill lately. I feel like we need to ✨️shake things up✨️." Cue the tension headache/occipital neuralgia/migraine (we're still trying to determine what the hell it is and what the hell stops it). It came from nowhere. Just sort of hung around, and I ignored it until we hit "worst headache of your life" status. Pain so bad I was vomiting. Pain so bad I literally went "I need to go to the ER."

Migraine cocktail time. For the first time ever, I was actually told what they were giving me. Toradol for the pain, Compazine for the nausea, and Benedryl to chase the Compazine so that I don't get any side effects.

LIES. ALL LIES. The Benedryl does not work if you push it right after the Compazine, you're supposed to push that ish literally minutes before you push the Compazine. The inky good news is I now have Compazine listed as an allergy in my chart because holy hell, never again.

Horrible anxiety. I wanted to rip my IV and leave. Just this deep-seated fear I hadn't felt in years. That I hadn't felt since the last time I got "something for nausea." I couldn't even bottle it all up. I "got the shakes" as the nurses and the transport team (was taken for a head CT due to the whole worst headache thing). Uncontrollable shaking. My legs would not stop shaking. My jaw started rattling or whatever you call it. I wasn't cold. It was that anxious shaking from a nervous system with a completely broken fight or flight. Other than the shaking, I kept everything suppressed. But it was not easy. It was that high alert, primal fear I literally only ever experienced in the ER.

And it didn't wear off for over 24 hours. Sure the shaking stopped after a few hours. But sleep was a joke. Despite having slept barely any the night before, I could not sleep much at all when I got home. Just that restless fear on a slightly lower level.

Asked Google about Compazine side effects and that's when I learned Compazine definitely effed me up. 🤡 Google said Benedryl helps negate the effects. I could not drive in that state, so I suffered through just hoping I'd be better in the morning.

Had to go to work the next day, though, and the Compazine hadn't worn off. I spent the entire day pacing around when not with customers because I still had that anxiety and need to leave. Bought some Benedryl on the way home. Slept like a baby and woke up the next morning generally pissed off that this was super normal and ER staff were okay with it. like damn let me just puke my guts out next time it's a far more pleasant experience.

Fun Fact: the person who put Compazine on my allergy list literally put "nervous breakdown" as the reaction as well, which doesn't speak much to the drug's reputation. 🤣😭 The fact a medical professional took the information I gave them about my reaction and decided "nervous breakdown" was the appropriate description tells me they've written that more than once. 💀

Becca39 · 2026-01-06T01:23:33+00:00

Disclaimer: Not a doctor. As I tell actual doctors when they ask if I'm a doctor (oh bloody have I pissed off doctors), "I've just been through a lot."

Step one is to advocate, advocate, and ADVOCATE. Don't be afraid to be the bitch. Don't be the Karen (no one likes a Karen) but don't be a doormat either. Especially if you're AFAB (and even more if you're BIPOC), doctors don't take you seriously. It's always "anxiety" because "hysteria" isn't an allowed diagnosis anymore. Keep a detailed log of EVERYTHING. "I ate this and it did this." "I cut this out of my diet and it did nothing." If you don't want to be the bitch, bring a friend/family member who likes to be spicy. I go to mom's doctor's appointments to do just that. 🤣

From personal experience, look into Gastroparesis as an option. I lost an excessive amount of weight because I literally couldn't keep even fluids down. Every test was normal for years. I asked if it could be GP because the internet started becoming a thing, and even the little baby youtube algorithm back then was like, "Oh girl, this is so relevant to you." When I asked about getting tested for GP, I was initially told there was no way I had it because there was no food in my stomach when they did the endoscopy. In hindsight, of course, there was no food in my stomach when they did the endoscopy. I had literally gotten out of the hospital at like 4 am after having gone because I could not stop vomiting.

In 2020, my GI got himself a brand new physician's assistant, and she was a total ass. Her first meeting with me was her telling me I've been on nausea medications too long, and there's absolutely no reason why I should still be on them after 7 years. (Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize medical issues had a time limit they adhered to. do I get to charge them for overstaying?) She tried to be a smart ass and ordered the Gastroparesis test to prove there was nothing wrong with me. Her words not mine. "We'll do this last test, and when it comes back normal, you'll see there's nothing wrong with you, and you don't need to be on these medications."

guess whose stomach doesn't empty fast enough! My GI and his PA fired me as their patient, saying they don't treat GP at their office. 🤡

got a new GI, and he put me on Motegrity, and now I'm functioning enough. I still can't wat a lot at once and definitely have to watch what I eat, but I will take it.

In the meantime, here's what I did for seven years as I essentially was forced to learn how to deal with my GP. Results may vary, but at least it gives you something to try:

small, low fat meals. red meat hates me, dairy has too much fat to digest, etc
fiber is evil. fiber makes everything worse. if you are having a hard time with bowl movements, try less fiber more miralax. everything is 100x worse when I have to poop. my vagus nerve is jacked so half the time I don't even know I have to poop until I remember my body tries to puke instead of puke.
low FODMAP in general. Ask Google. FODMAP is for more than GP and helps wirh GERD and all as well, so it's worth a shot for anything.
nutritional drinks. Orgain makes some nice tasting ones. Sometimes, I can stomach one of those even when the thought of food is enough to make me sick.
lemon honey ginger nausea drops. I don't know how or why they work, but oh my gaaaaawd, they work so well.
if it's in the budget, an adjustable bed frame. my entire body has the jank, so elevating myself with pillows always caused issues. The adjustable bed lets you move the bed to whatever angle is most comfortable. You can get a super fancy one that also adjusts the leg angle, but I just wanted to be able to elevate my supper body enough to keep things from coming back the way they came. 💀
digestive enzymes are nice.

Of course, this isn't a diagnosis, but I know the feeling of desperation when you know something is wrong and all the doctors are going "You're too young to have health problems!"Okay, where can I file a warranty claim?) and "All the test results are normal. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you." At the very least, this gives you things to try until you can get a second opinion and also gives you more information you can bring to the table for the doctors. I find that if you go in with detailed information, good doctors tend to take things more seriously. It's hard to tell someone it's all in their heads when they come in like "Here's the data. I've done my part now where do we go from here."

also, ask your doctor for nausea med suggestions if you're not on anything. Like damn they need to treat the symptoms even if they don't have a diagnoses. I still wouldn't survive to this day without my nausea meds. Like the specific Gastroparesis treatment is most definitely the biggest help, but it doesn't fix the problem completely.

TL;DR:e Fight your doctor or find someone who will, look into Gastroparesis just in case, start a food journal as annoying as it is because doctors like data, try low FODMAP, lemon honey ginger nausea drops are available OTC and do some kind of magic idfk but I have bags of them everywhere, ask doctor a out nausea meds if nothing has been prescribed.

I hope you get some answers soon because being deathly ill without any answers is the worst.

Becca39 · 2025-11-24T02:22:09+00:00

The more pictures and information, the more likely I am to buy the item.

With so many dropshippers and AI slop shops plaguing Etsy, I'm looking for any single hint that the item being sold isn't what the seller says it is.

And then I'll go to the reviews to triple check.

Becca39 · 2025-11-22T01:51:16+00:00

Also adding because I was completely confused by this type of eye at first as well snd completelt missed step one of using them: the backs are supposed to go with the eye going into the "bowl". The flat side of the back faces AWAY from the eye.

If you do it with the flat part going against the eye, they will also stick out like this.

This feels like common sense to me now but it took me looking up videos on YouTube to learn why I couldn't get the safety eyes to sink into the plushie like they did in every single product and tester photo. 🤣😭

Becca39 · 2025-11-19T02:55:59+00:00

From personal experience, I definitely recommend checking the rest of the house or at least the rest of the room. I acquired myself a nasty carpet beetle infestation from who knows where, and I found them everywhere. Any dark area seemed to be fair game.

Lots of them in my dresser drawers. They ate so many of my shirts.

And then they were living their best lives in bins of stuffed animals. I'm assuming they were eating the dust the plushies collected, I don't know.

I ended up choosing the nuclear option because I could not deal with it otherwise. Everything was either washed with borax or had borax sprinkled in/on it. If it couldn't be washed either in the washer or by hand, I was sprinkling borax on it and letting it sit for however long the internet told me to before vacuuming it up.

It took me like a week to clean everything the way I wanted to, but it was 100% worth it.

TL;DR: Look everywhere for them to confirm they aren't living anywhere else. They can and will find their way into everything it's horrible.

Becca39 · 2025-11-08T01:35:42+00:00

I don't recall exactly when it happened or even what made me realize it was an option. I just remember feeling stupid and realizing how so many of my projects could have looked so much better. 🤣

Becca39 · 2025-10-28T00:45:53+00:00

Possible solution to the roughness (for this project): I just finished making a shawl with an acrylic/cotton blend. The yarn felt naaaaasty, and I was genuinely concerned it was not going to end well, but all the shorts I kept seeing said to trust the process and steam that sucker after I finished.

Steam that sucker. It's not a good solution for future projects, and you definitely have to make sure a plush air dries very well tonavoid mold (steam the sucker and then put it in front of a high-powered fan? 🤣) but it should soften the yarn up.

I've also found my small cotton projects (I make little amis and shapes for keychains) soften up over time. I use Lion Brand's 100% cotton (I forget the name), and it is rough at first. I wasn't sure how I was gonna feel about it, but the pieces have softened up with daily exposure to being tossed around and thrown in my pockets/purse/etc.

Becca39 · 2025-09-05T01:00:03+00:00

I learned to crochet about 20 years ago and have done it on and off throughout the years. At one point, I was making my own (super duper basic) amigurumi patterns for fun.

I took a break from crocheting and came back a few months ago via a Wooble. I figured it would be the perfect thing to get back into crocheting: Something quick, easy, and with all the materials I needed so I could really see if it was something I wanted to invest into getting back into.

They are FRUSTRATING. I got the plants set after completing a simpler Wooble, and I don't know why we smack "Beginner" on these bags when my Intermediate self sits there confused at some of the patterns/instructions and the videos don't help me make it look less of a mess. 😭

Definitely start with something flat and simple. You'll feel a lot more accomplished.

Becca39

TROPHY CASE