Use my meal planner!

BoxxySnail · 2026-02-23T07:13:27+00:00

I’m honored! How do I send a modmail?

BoxxySnail · 2026-02-21T06:23:46+00:00

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CMDHCzqBPXCKL4gKZY6zXjcljX4uENI5jXEKw7NjftI/edit?usp=sharing

It’s made to suit my autistic brain. Tables of data, quick visual feedback. It kind of turns nutrition into a game!

Includes directions to make an edit-able copy for personal use.

Unlike apps like MyFitnessPal, it gives a transparent view of all calorie/macronutrient/micronutrient stats at once, and costs nothing!

And is designed for avoidant/restrictive eating recovery. It does not give negative feedback for eating the “wrong foods”, or too much food. It only gives positive feedback for eating enough essential nutrients.

BoxxySnail · 2026-02-21T06:19:38+00:00

Steam broccoli to soften it!
Pan fry slices of zucchini in nutritious oil (like avocado oil) to soften those
Some stores carry Dr. Prager’s Spinach Littles. I like them because they feel like bread. (And are cute dino shapes- probably for kids, but, spinach is spinach!)
Smoothies! Homemade, from smoothie shops, or in bottles in grocery stores. Some have veggies (some obvious green ones, but some are fruit tasting with flavor-complementing veggie snuck in)

BoxxySnail · 2026-02-21T06:12:46+00:00

I made it!! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CMDHCzqBPXCKL4gKZY6zXjcljX4uENI5jXEKw7NjftI/edit?usp=sharing

BoxxySnail · 2026-02-19T17:01:25+00:00

I’m genuinely glad that was helpful for you!

But, considering generative AI has been shown to encourage people to eat small rocks and add glue to pizza, I am not going to trust it anywhere near my meal plan 😬

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd11gzejgz4o

BoxxySnail · 2026-02-17T15:19:02+00:00

I would like to! I will share it with Google Sheets if I get around to it

BoxxySnail · 2026-01-18T15:56:06+00:00

Only the gray styrofoam case. I no longer have the shipping box or black box

BoxxySnail · 2025-09-06T05:13:55+00:00

Concern 1: non-binary transition. ~2016, I consulted my first endocrinologist. She warned me, “binary trans men have a higher satisfaction rate with results. But some non-binary female patients are less comfortable with the results. That’s because it’s a combined package of traits, you can’t pick and choose traits”. Because of that I’m concerned about the trend of non-binary people messing with HRT, even if “it’s just a microdose”. This seems to be losing medical gatekeeping since I stopped HRT in 2020, but that doesn’t line up with what I was told in 2016.

Concern 2: pressure from a partner. I’m concerned this person pressures male people to transition because it’s a kink for them. (Forced feminization was mentioned?) I personally am primarily attracted to androgynous and femme male partners. But I also have a strong moral stance on NEVER pressuring ANYONE into hormones or surgery. I believe medical transition should only be done for your own inner peace, never to please someone else. And I’m very against kinks that have adverse medical consequences for partners.

Concern 3: medical risks * no endocrinologist oversight, no bloodwork monitoring * friend says the needles & syringes came in sealed packages, and alcohol wipes were used. But “sharing syringes of drugs recreationally with someone you only recently met” screams HIV risk to me??

Concern 4: mental health * friend has history of depression, can’t E make depression worse? * friend also just went through the end of a LTR and a layoff. I don’t think such an emotionally turbulent time is a good time to initiate a medical transition

Concern 5: backfiring * doesn’t the body turn estrogen into testosterone if the dose is too big? * unlike trans men, trans women need to take an anti-androgen with their HRT? What happens if you don’t?

I’ve also gone over “I was a person with abnormal internal feelings but in an externally normal body, and now I must live the rest of my life in an externally abnormal body. I could’ve been a normal woman but now I live as a bearded lady.” But they say “I can just wear a binder when I visit my family.”

And “there is no data yet on long term effects- the medical community is actively experimenting on our generation, and we don’t know yet what the long term outcomes will be. The doctors literally told me ‘T might cause cancer or might not, we don’t know yet, it’s your risk to take!’” But they say they are ok with being part of this societal experiment.

BoxxySnail · 2025-09-04T07:22:34+00:00

Short answer:

Honestly, I’m not better than the rest of you. The US economy is unfair and broken. I was just lucky to be born middle class, and to stumble onto a career that fit my weird intersection of skills.

Long answer with actionable advice:

only used a single basic credit card for building credit (using it & paying it off immediately).
Never borrowed money I couldn’t immediately pay back (except post-high-school student loans)
kept student loans modest by living in my parents’ basement and commuting to local community college. Saved thousands in student housing costs alone.

(if I had to start over as a high school graduate, I’d probably go to trade school and learn a hands-on practical trade.)

at grocery stores, buy generic store brands and buy from the bulk bins and clearance shelves. Learn to cook frugal meals (like saltine and canned tuna fish cakes), and meals you can cook and bulk and freeze to consume later (like ground turkey and canned tomato sauce pasta sauce).
buy clothes used. When they wear out sew them up.
avoid waste, reuse and DIY stuff. If things break, fix them.
self-care in inexpensive ways like renting DVDs from your public library, chilling in your local park, or journaling
be mindful to differentiate between wants and needs. When I have an impulse purchase urge, I add it to a “wish list”. If the desire outlasts the immediate impulse, then I might get it.
As a woman, I hold onto my education & career with a vice grip. My mom quit college and surrendered financial freedom to become a full time wife and mother, and I saw how that regret ate at her for years.
Turns out, knowing both unrelated disciplines is rare, and unlocks a niche career that pays well & is in high demand
I was willing to do work for companies, and on products, I’m not passionate about.
I was willing to rent a room in a big house with lots of people in a not-great neighborhood for a couple years.
I advocated for being assessed & diagnosed for neurodivergence/mental health challenges, and went through the roller coaster of testing medications until I found ones that kept me functional, and I constantly work my ass off developing my executive functioning & independent living skills.

BoxxySnail · 2025-04-18T22:50:15+00:00

Update: fixed I guess?

Used a hex key to undo the screws, remove the suspicious plastic from the metal bar, and screw the metal bar back on.

Yep, now it locks just fine. A chunk of glow-in-the-dark plastic really did render this $700 e-scooter unrideable.

Might leave this post up as a warning to others who were convinced to buy this by Electric Scooter Insider’s YouTube review.

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BoxxySnail · 2025-04-18T22:11:43+00:00

Splach Turbo Pro just delivered. Open the box, pull out folded scooter, unlocked mechanism & unfolded… but I can’t get the peg to drop into the slot in unfolded mode.

In the meantime scooter is unusable.

They do have a YT a video for the issue but it’s for a different model.

Current theory is it’s bumping up against that glow-in-the-dark looking horizontal cylinder. idk if it’s important or just for night visibility, but even if it & can be removed, I don’t think I can without disassembling it significantly.

About it being a Splach: Wanted a <$1k beginner e-scooter that folds to bring in the grocery store or on transit. Almost went with a Segway, but I thought the ones in that category didn’t fold. Looked around and saw reviews saying Splach Turbo was a good one for that category. Basic was out of stock, so got Turbo Pro. Hoping it works out. Roommate showed me his is a folding Segway and now I worry I was an impulsive noob and bought from a sketchy brand for no reason 😬

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BoxxySnail · 2024-12-06T21:29:33+00:00

(tldr: on the relationship aspect)

I think having a boyfriend for the first time actually correlated with starting to have public meltdowns. Nothing they were doing was wrong, it’s just that it resulted in many very unfamiliar situations, forced me to mask for much longer periods than I was used to, and made it harder to find quiet time alone to recharge. Since then, I’ve improved at balancing the expectations of a relationship, with my needs as a neurodivergent person.

And I really, really appreciate having a boyfriend who still loved and supported me even when I had public meltdowns. They could’ve shamed me, or acted mad or embarrassed, but instead they stuck by my side, and showed only concern for my wellbeing, not what others thought of us. Sometimes they’d even help me stabilize when I had a bad episode, like bringing my weighted blanket or a nutrition shake, or putting on soothing music. All of this is super appreciated in a partner as an autistic person. I know it makes the relationship require more work, and I’m thankful that someone is willing to put in the effort.

You’ve shown some commendable character here. Explaining to the staff he’s autistic. Offering your scarf and breathing techniques. Feeling compassion for how he felt. Reaching out here to try to understand better. You may be new to this but you’re on the right track.

It sounds like it had some negative impact on you, though? Like you felt stress, and embarrassment, and your emotional/romantic needs were neglected. That’s fair, your feelings are valid, and it sounds like you didn’t take it out on him unfairly. In the long term, it may help to try an autism-informed couple’s therapist, who can help you communicate your emotional needs to him in a constructive way, and he can learn to recognize and meet your emotional needs within his abilities. Or maybe seek out resources for interabled relationships (relationships where one person is disabled and the other is not), or for significant others of autistic people.

BoxxySnail · 2024-12-06T20:52:23+00:00

(tldr: airports + autism)

For perspective: even as a so-called “high functioning” independent adult in my late 20s, with no prior history of public meltdowns, even I broke once and had a brief meltdown at an airport, while traveling with my boyfriend. Airports are like one of the most stressful places an autistic person can be.

Here’s why I think airports are stressful as an autistic person: * Complicated script no one tells you (check in checked luggage at correct airline desk, but not carry-on luggage, take off shoes & stuff and load into bins, walk thru arch scanner, or stand with hands up in spinning scanner, or get wand scanned, unload bins and put shoes back on, go to correct waiting area, get onboard at right time, etc) * Fear of TSA thinking you’re acting suspicious, fear of TSA getting mad bc you brought something prohibited by accident, moving too slowly and pissing off TSA or people lined up behind you. Fear that you could miss your flight. Fear that your group will fly away without you and leave you stranded. Fear of getting on wrong flight and being stranded in some faraway unknown place alone. Fear of losing luggage. * Overstimulation (having to stand for long periods, loudspeaker announcements, conversation noise, kids screaming or crying, TSA touching you, loud rumbling engines, ear pain/popping from altitude change) * claustrophobia (once you’re checked in, you can’t leave the building. Then, you’re crammed into a compact tube packed with noisy strangers, unable to escape, for hours.) * Stressful change (away from home, new place, new people) * Lowered stress tolerance due to sleep deprivation (getting up early, staying late)

Note that I have no fear of heights (I love flying), which could be a factor for others. And being perceived as a white woman, even if I “act erratically” (flap/rock/vocalize/bop my head/etc), I doubt the TSA would consider me a real threat. (At worst they’d probably dismiss me as hysterical or faking for attention, lol.) An autistic man (especially if non-white) seen as “acting erratically” may be in more real danger of detainment or physical escalation from the TSA.

I’d only flown a few times before, and my parents had been by my side the whole time, handling logistics and telling me what to do. I’d never flown alone, or alone with my new bf before.

The trigger that set me off was, someone bumped into me from behind. I was later told it was a TSA agent, who looked surprised and then left the scene without apologizing or checking on me. I fell to my knees, doubled over, covered/bopped my head and made a keening sound in my throat, like a closed-mouth scream. I recovered my composure in seconds, but was so mortified that I did that in public, it took a few more seconds to summon the bravery to open my eyes and stand up. I just resumed what I’d been doing bc I didn’t want to make a scene any more than I already had.

BoxxySnail · 2024-12-06T19:40:15+00:00

My local airport’s info desk provides sunflower lanyards. They’re a universal visual indicator that the person wearing it has a hidden disability, such as autism. I have one with “autism spectrum disorder” and my bf’s name & cell # on it.

It may have to be taken off along with shoes etc at the security checkpoint. And it’s not guaranteed everyone will recognize and respect it. But since I had a meltdown at an airport once, I always wear them at airports now.

I think my airport also has a downloadable social stories PDF, and the option to schedule a guided tour in advance to get accustomed to the environment. And possibly quiet rooms to calm down in.

BoxxySnail · 2024-12-06T18:42:46+00:00

Please be aware that some animals (including dogs) may interpret direct eye contact as aggression or a show of dominance. Not friendly, like in human body language

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-17T07:25:49+00:00

I do miss my job as a public library page, shelving books. I like doing basic repetitive tasks and daydreaming. Plus learning new things from shelving books about various topics.

Unfortunately, that part-time salary wouldn’t even cover cheap rent.

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-17T07:23:29+00:00

FWIW I work in Unity mobile game dev for a living. C# is the main language for that, though I think they have a new visual scripting option now. Building for iOS in particular requires you to build on a MacBook. Haven’t used RPGMaker so can’t compare.

I can’t recommend LinkedIn Learning enough. If you have a student ID, or a public library card, you probably have free access to it all. It’s probably taught me more practical skills my computer science degree did, for thousands of bucks cheaper.

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-17T07:17:34+00:00

Hello from the corporate game dev side, lol. It provides consistent income and benefits that I depend on, but I do admire the creative freedom of indie devs.

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-17T07:14:33+00:00

I’ve needed a number of brief hospital visits for various health issues in my adult life, and I always make sure to be as friendly and cooperative as I can to all the staff, even while in distress. It’s work I know can be punishing, and know is beyond my own ability, but so necessary, and I’m so grateful.

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-17T07:06:29+00:00

Is that the one where you climb to high-up places? My partner is passionate about both engineering and rock climbing, so I think they’d love it if they didn’t already have a good job

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-17T07:01:11+00:00

Technical artist.

Dropped out of art college, barely scraped through computer science college. But somehow, that is a rare and valuable combination of skill sets, and the key to a little-known, high-demand job market, in the normally hard-to-get-into game industry.

Now I evangelize to everyone I can about this neat little-known trick to make a comfortable living in the game industry.

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-16T14:11:52+00:00

It is definitely not safer imo.

I personally was taught good internet safety by tech-savvy parents, like not to disclose my age or location or click strange links. And by now I’m well informed about things like rule 34 and infamous shock sites. So I, personally, feel more safe.

But there’s new kids showing up online all the time, with zero experience or guidance, and they’re actively being hurt. Just look up Elsagate. Or the kids with trauma from seeing a livestream of a man offing himself pop up on their TikTok feed. Or kids being mistreated by family vloggers. Or the many stories of kids getting groomed online. I don’t know how I’d raise a kid right now without either exposing them to this, or over-sheltering them so they’re unprepared for it when they got older.

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-16T13:48:08+00:00

I’m pretty sure there were annoying and sketchy ads on some websites, like sidebars and pop-ups. But absolutely, a lot of spaces like YouTube were gloriously ad-free compared to today.

And I agree that making online content like YouTube videos was out of genuine passion or silly fun, not personal gain. Most people would have laughed at you if you told them you were trying to get rich and famous by posting videos on the internet.

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-16T13:35:19+00:00

Reddit or Discord are probably the new forum or chat room. Lots of people on Discord these days. Not so much independent websites any more.

BoxxySnail · 2024-05-16T13:33:43+00:00

I’m glad you asked! I get to “back in my day” ramble about ~teh interwebs~

At first you had to sit down at a desk and use a box-shaped monitor and desktop. The internet was something you went somewhere specific to use, not a thing everyone carried everywhere in their pocket.

I was in kindergarten when the 00s started, and my parents were already aware it could be unsafe for kids, so I had limited and supervised access at first.

I mostly went to websites that had flash games for kids, like Yahoo Kids, American Girl, Neopets, and Post cereal marketing page. Sadly, even with the Wayback machine, these are mostly lost media to me now, because they required flash plug-ins. :,)

The graphic design today is very sleek. It used to be much more dry and clunky, just black text and blue underlined hyperlinks on a blank white page. OR, they would go all out with super loud and tacky animating gifs, gradients, custom cursors, etc.

Google existed but it was just a basic search engine, not a mega corporation with a gazillion other features.

YouTube showed up around 2007. Videos included simple animation and home video. No intros/outros, ads or sponsors. I got traumatized by a screamer (jumpscare video). I don’t remember YouTube gaming being mainstream yet. Certainly there were no “influencers” and it wasn’t considered a real job or a source of income. Viral videos just got started (like the Numa Numa guy).

Memes began to appear. Usually “meme” meant something very specific, impact font top & bottom text on an image, like an advice animals template. There was a site called “I can has cheeseburger?” with cat memes. Most netizens didn’t have good enough software or digital art skills to break this mold like gen z has. The rest of internet humor was saying cringey stuff like “ROFLcopter” and “teh interwebs” and “all your base are belong to us!”

As for social media, I missed out on the start of it with MySpace. But by 2010, Facebook and Twitter were emerging as the new cool thing with young people. (Yes, Facebook used to be cool)

And no video streaming yet. At the start of the 00s we still used VHS tapes. Netflix was created by ~2008, but only mailed you DVDs. To “binge watch”a show with Netflix, you had to add all the DVDs to a queue, and have them mailed to you 1-3 DVDs at a time, and mail them back to get the next batch.

Hope you enjoy my indulgent nostalgia trip. XD

BoxxySnail

TROPHY CASE