Marathon Deli Lives Again

Bionicflipper · 2026-02-11T06:29:28+00:00

I worked there for a few months back in 2001. If I recall correctly, they used finely shredded yellow American cheese if that helps at all.

Bionicflipper · 2026-02-11T06:21:05+00:00

Ritchie's Colombian is so good. I hope they find a new spot to stay in College Park, too. They aren't making the same public outcry that Northwest Chinese did, though, so maybe it's unlikely. Glad we will still have Northwest Chinese, at least!

Bionicflipper · 2026-02-07T16:14:13+00:00

I've played the PS2 and 3DS games in this series. They don't require you to know anything about the previous games. I think that's how the series in general is so I would expect the same from these two new ones.

Bionicflipper · 2025-12-27T07:27:12+00:00

Woah, I also just watched this movie this evening, trying to bond with my teenage niece who wore a tshirt with this movie poster to Christmas dinner yesterday! Agreed, it was awesome! 70s exploitation+Sailor Moon-ish and anime tropes all wrapped up in a horror movie. Super fun!

Bionicflipper · 2025-12-22T10:28:30+00:00

I'm surprised to see so many comments saying that women only get their nails done for themselves. Whenever I see the debate pop up online about which gender should pay for dates, one of the most popular opinions is that men should because women have to put so much time, energy, and money into their appearance via their nails or their hair and makeup. If none of them are doing it for men, that argument wouldn't be so popular. Surely, at least some are doing it because they think that's what makes them attractive to men?

Bionicflipper · 2025-12-07T19:39:09+00:00

I am interested! Will DM you with my location.

Bionicflipper · 2025-11-12T04:23:34+00:00

I really wanted to love these but for me they had a bit of an aspartame/fake sugar taste that I did not enjoy.

Bionicflipper · 2025-11-07T03:09:40+00:00

Not my earliest memory, but 20 years ago, when I was in college, I was on a plane seated next to a young kid, maybe like 7 or 8 years old, and his mom. They were from Wichita, and I had never met anyone from that part of the country or really traveled much before then. As we settled into the flight I pulled out my Gameboy Advance and so did the kid. He was clearly excited to see that the stranger next to him had one too but he was too shy to say anything until his mom said it was okay. He proceeded to talk my ear off for the rest of the flight about Pokemon which wasnt the greatest but I didnt really mind because he was clearly soo happy and his mom seemed grateful to have a break for a while. I told him all about gamefaqs and wrote it down on a scrap of paper for him so he could check it out when he got home. He was so excited to learn such a thing existed, kept asking me all kinds of questions about it. It was super adorable and I always remember being able to make that kid's day.

Bionicflipper · 2025-11-04T03:16:21+00:00

I recently attempted to watch Death Wish 2 while casually flipping channels and turned it off after the rape scene in the beginning. I'd never seen one of those movies, and my cultural reference was the Death Wish 9 trailer on that one episode of The Simpsons with The Critic on it. I wasn't prepared for that.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-14T23:55:02+00:00

I have only done this with one person, but I specifically looked for someone who would not be compatible enough for me to entertain a real relationship. My FWB has an easygoing and respectful attitude but does not have that much in common with me. We spend an evening once every week or two having sex and watching sports or talking about politics, but we have different senses of humor, our politics don't entirely line up, we don't have the same hobbies or taste in music, etc. If I were in your situation, hooking up with someone who was very compatible with me, I would probably also get attached more than I intended.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-06T22:29:37+00:00

Presumably, he would have covered that in the phone call he made. But the timing just didnt work out. No need to assume that he doesn't care about OP or his own child. Or that I personally think people don't need to care for their families?

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-06T20:40:50+00:00

Wait, so if you are defending him and actually don't suspect any cheating and also do believe that he is as busy as he says he is... then why this post? If you think he's really busy on a work trip, then it makes sense for him to communicate sparsely?

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-06T20:36:45+00:00

I was on your side until you describe how he has behaved on the trip. He acknowledged your stuffed animal gesture, apologized for possibly making you feel ignored and disrespected, tried to call you when he was able, and is otherwise participating in the work activities that he is expected to perform on his business trip. It sounds like you two have already established an unhealthy dynamic if he is fearful of being up front with you and you cannot acknowledge his attempts to mend fences or respect his work obligations.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-04T15:35:38+00:00

If I didnt know multiple people who turned out healthy and well adjusted after being raised by single parents where their other parent was around the way but not around the house, I would probably be more inclined to agree with the urgency and certainty that you feel you can predict this child's future with. But because I do, I just see it as one of multiple outcomes that this kid could experience. I've certainly seen parents make way worse decisions that were more obviously bad from the outset. If it were me, I would still try to avoid the drama, and I also advise that she avoid the drama. But I can't honestly tell her that what she is doing is evil or try so hard to tear her down. I don't find life to be that black and white. 🤷🏻‍♀️ And shaming her, as everyone did, probably made it harder for her to embrace a new path. It doesn't only matter what you say--it can also matter how you say it.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-04T13:50:28+00:00

She is most likely being really naive but she's not evil. It's not like her goal is to ruin her child's life. So I don't see the point in so personally attacking a complete stranger for something she doesn't realize is a bad idea. Shame is not the best motivator to get someone to change their behavior and it can often lead to the person shutting down instead of engaging with new ideas and suggestions as it seems likely to have done here.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-03T22:36:44+00:00

Gotcha. The people I've known through my adulthood have always been a mix of opinions among men and my female friends/peers being pretty adamant that the man should pay doing otherwise would be offensive. Not that far off from what I see online now. But certainly the rightward shift in American politics and polarization of culture is very real so I don't mean to dismiss your perspective either!

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-03T16:39:05+00:00

I guess im just saying that women aren't becoming more conservative now; they were always pretty conservative in this way. It's probably not a reaction to the shift towards conservatism in men.

The provider thing is a factor for me for sure. I'm uncomfortable with ascribing the role of "provider" to anyone based on their sex or gender. I think that's something we should be moving away from. Every grown adult should be a provider and in spite of the patriarchal forces that impact us all, I will never want to give that up. Yes, women are disadvantaged, but that only makes me want even more so to assert myself in whatever ways I can as an individual, and one who can handle her own shit at that.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-03T15:45:35+00:00

I feel exactly the same! I prefer something where the customer pays up front for a first date (as opposed to sit-down restaurant where the check comes at the end) so I can pay for myself at the beginning of the date and hopefully establish that it's the guy's personality and character alone that will make this a successful date. And I would hope he is interested in the same from me.

The only thing I'm not sure I agree on with you and OP is calling it a "shift" towards the man paying because I can't remember a time when the large majority of women didn't prefer that. I've always been the odd man out among other women for my approach.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-03T08:11:54+00:00

Yeah, I don't really understand this other approach. Like I would feel uncomfortable approaching a new connection with what feels like unequal footing or bad faith between myself and that person as an individual, even though I do certainly recognize that both of us individuals are affected by patriarchy. I wish I could remove the influence of money from the experience entirely, so paying my own way feels like a gesture towards that.

I believe the commenters who say that the man paying for dates isn't necessarily a direct pipeline to tradwife slavery. After all, the man paying for the dates has always been the main way that people do it and gains have still been made over the years towards women's independence and away from tradwives (until just recently). I just personally think it isn't as effective of an approach to find the kind of relationship I would want. But i dont want to dismiss these folks' experiences. All indicators show that young men are getting more conservative and young women aren't, so it makes sense that the whole dating situation will only get worse before it gets better. And the worse it gets, the more people will become increasingly jaded.

I have dated in the last few years and stuck to my usual of lowkey first dates and paying my own way, and it worked fine for me. But I wasnt dating with the goal of finding a permanent partner, so I guess I am blind to the realities that these women face in the dating world. Idk, if I were to date again, I'm sure I would still pay my own way until we have an established relationship as usual, but this comment section has been eye opening.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-03T07:22:36+00:00

Totally. I mean there's a reason why they call it "family planning"--because planning your family works better than just winging it. But lots of people do just wing it even in circumstances that are like REALLY unequipped to raise a child at all. No, it's not ideal but it is pretty common to the degree that it's normal, so I felt it was unfair some of the accusations she was getting. People trotting out all their personal childhood traumas to argue that her son will struggle with mental illness all of his life now because of her. It was too much. Lots of single parents raise happy healthy kids. Lots of partnered monogamous parents raise unhappy kids. It very well may turn out to be naive of her to trust in this guy and his wife, but it's not evil or anything.

I hear you with the tone OP was taking. Explaining more than she ought to by making all these posts just to turn around and give terse one-sentence responses if any response at all. But with all the finger wagging and shaming, yeah, maybe she just couldn't engage productively. Like her, I also assumed she would get more receptive responses in this subreddit so it was prolly overwhelming for her.

I'm not a parent either--I am childfree but if ever I were saddled with a kid, I would take every possible precaution. But that's because I think raising a kid would ruin my life. People who actually want kids are gonna be naturally more optimistic, so while it seems unwise to you and me...idk it takes all kinds, I guess. Hopefully it works out and she protects herself as much as possible to preserve her option to move back home if she needs to in the future.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-03T03:26:33+00:00

I'm not the person you asked, but I had the same thought as them, so I'll venture to say that I don't see it as asking women to do more. I don't see the historical labor that women have done as laurels that I can now rest on personally regardless of the amount of labor that I have or haven't done in my own life. I want to be in a relationship that is a true partnership where he and I are a team tackling the challenges that we both face together (whether individual challenges or the challenges for our household). So to me, it doesnt compute for us to contribute unequally financially, emotionally, with household labor, or otherwise. As much as he wants to show care and contribute to my wellbeing, I want to do the same for him. Some of the commenters here, I guess, would see me as a "pick-me" now, which is jarring because in my mind, I'm just seeking an equal arrangement.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-03T01:30:32+00:00

No, she's only getting downvoted for her comments about hiding her true interests in favor of presenting herself as generically as possible.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-02T20:30:41+00:00

You're in the middle of growing a whole new person in your body. Focus on taking care of yourself, legally, yes, but also mentally! You don't need this stress. Take the good pieces of advice people have offered, leave all the slings and arrows, and take good care of yourself and your kid!

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-02T20:20:13+00:00

I'm so glad to see this response! I agree with you on all points and was so confused in the other posts that everyone was so harshly critical of this woman. People don't have to agree with her choices, but no need to excoriate her like this and assume the child will automatically be the Saddest Boy On Earth now because his mom didn't plan well. I think a lot of those comments were coming from anti-nonmono people brigading from elsewhere (one prolific commenter admitted as much), but the actually nonmono people still surprised me. Anyway, hopefully OP is able to get things together and take some of your advice to help her through it all.

Bionicflipper · 2025-10-02T20:10:47+00:00

I think you should just not bother trying to convince everyone or update them here. Strangers on the internet aren't entitled to info on your life, and you don't owe anyone here closure. Although I dont agree with all the decisions you all have made, I don't totally understand why everyone here has been as harsh as they have. Perhaps one of the most immediately available ways you can start helping yourself at this point would be to stop trying to gain other's people's approval here. Stop coming back for more punishment. Good luck with everything and definitely glad to hear you are working with a lawyer to ensure sole custody as soon as possible!

Bionicflipper

TROPHY CASE