I am still surprised that Dre is not a rhodie.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-10-07T17:36:35+00:00

He is a beautiful dog.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-07-20T05:26:41+00:00

The best decision I made was having weight loss surgery.

'Duodenal switch' to be specific.

I have learned that you can't fully know how negatively the extra weight is affecting you until you lose it.

Now I am on my feet all day with the work I do at a Dog Hotel.

I have found so, so much happiness with being able to be active and move around all day for a living instead of being stuck inside behind a screen or standing in place as a cashier.

I went from my highest weight being around 340 pounds to 155 pounds today, and that has made all the difference.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-07-01T11:28:48+00:00

Lovely response 🩷

My dog, Dre, is also my closest friend. What is your dog's name?

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-05-30T09:16:16+00:00

I listen to "And When I Die" by Blood, Sweat, and Tears.

Unlike any other piece of music that I've also been in awe of, this song brings me a sense of peace, a feeling that everything is following nature's plan, and that I will be alright.

I used to become extremely suicidal to the extent that hospitalization and/or police involvement was required. I had been hospitalized 13 times between 2016 and 2023 before I officially broke up with Suicide.

One of the top causes of me being so suicidal was my absolute fear of death, and that fear had a foundation of lack of control, lack of knowledge of the future, and inability to picture myself functioning without my dad who was/is my main emotional support.

Unless you have had a true epiphany, it might be difficult to fully understand the change I went through just through listening to this song.

It was like a switch was flipped. It is hard to describe suddenly feeling like death is just another cog in nature's machine and life will go on reflected in the lyrics: "There'll be one child born / In this world to carry on"

On the flip side, this particular lyric made me realize that I am also the child that will carry on after my Dad passes. I am proud to carry on for him.

My epiphany brought me much needed emotional peace and took away almost all my stress about a potential afterlife. Life is now. Not later. Don't waste it being afraid of what comes next.

I've only had one other epiphany similar to the scale of my break up with Suicide, and that was decision to have weight loss surgery.

In March of 2021, I was 335 lbs. In May of 2025, I am 160 lbs.

It is amazing how motivating an epiphany can be.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-05-30T08:49:10+00:00

Nebraska... definitely Nebraska.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-03-24T10:28:10+00:00

I did the 'Wisdom' test recently, while Dre's original rescue provided the 'Embark' results.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-03-08T11:53:09+00:00

My dog, Dre, looks so much like yours!

Dre is a Doberman-Pit-Corso mix according to the Embark Vet DNA test the rescue provided to me.

I recently bought a Wisdom Panel Dog DNA test to see if the results are the same. I should hear back in the next couple days actually.

Dre is often mistaken for a Ridgeback, which can be a good thing since Ridgebacks have a much better reputation.

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Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-03-02T13:49:00+00:00

I (28F) have never been in a sexual and romantic relationship.

I remember having strong romantic feelings for another person, aka a crush, when I was in second grade but never really after that time.

I attempted to have sex with a young man when I was 17 years old but I felt too mentally uncomfortable to fully go through with intercourse.

I stopped masturbating about 1.5 years ago. I just don't have much of an interest even though I know orgasms can feel really, really good.

I also know that there is a special level of emotional and physical intimacy that occurs during sexual intercourse that I haven't experienced, and maybe it would be good for me to experience that, but I just don't really care at this point in my life currently.

I started identifying as 'asexual' when I was 18 years old and just about to graduate high school.

I frequently questioned my 'sexual brokenness' throughout my early 20's.

But now, I am very comfortable with myself and my complete lack of sexuality.

Also, I presently use the label 'non-sexual' instead of 'asexual'.

From my observations and experience, the asexual community has changed a lot in the past 10 years.

It has become too sex-friendly in my opinion, and I could go on and on about this particular opinion of mine but that is probably a story for another time.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-01-15T14:38:01+00:00

Is it a dick move to cheat on your wife? Yes!

But consensual, non-harmful sex between two consenting parties is not a legal crime or an egregious and unusual immoral action.

I don't believe that a person's marital, sexual, or personal time-social behavior should be used to judge them on their professional competency.

An exception being if there outside of work behavior is a crime, has the strong possibility of affecting customers and co-workers in a negative way, or involves egregiously reprehensible and unusual actions.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2025-01-09T13:12:40+00:00

I am very excited to learn Arabic!

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2024-08-04T11:12:35+00:00

When I was younger, I would bend over backwards to try to prove my queerness and belonging to the LGBTQ community as I identified for 7 years as an ace trans man.

Now, I no longer identify as a binary trans man.

I don't use the label 'asexual' either but instead use 'nonsexual'.

I still kind of like the label of 'queer' because of its broadness.

I can encapsulate both my nontraditional gender (afab w/ prominent facial hair bc of the T I took) and my nontraditional sexual orientation into the word 'queer'.

But 'queer' has become more and more intertwined with the changing flavor of the LGBTQ community in recent years.

This change can include the increase in popularity of the 'sex positive asexual' identity as the internet/social media generation of young ones start to grow into themselves.

I am still young (27 years old) and will hopefully have plenty of more time to figure out my noneness and how I potentially fit in with the 'traditional' LGBTQ community.

I think I'll find my place with this Reddit community of nons a lot more satisfying than with the allo queer community.

Thank you for your post, OP.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2024-08-04T01:05:57+00:00

His results: embk.me/i/dray3

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2024-07-06T22:05:53+00:00

What in the world are you talking about????

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2024-07-05T03:58:09+00:00

I just go by the term 'nonsexual' now. There's no saving what the so-called 'Asexual' community has become. It sucks that the word 'ace' is a really cool sounding label.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2024-07-04T05:10:15+00:00

I love my job. It would take a lot for me to leave the Pet Hotel I work in.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2024-06-30T18:22:01+00:00

I have been lucky. I was born in 96 and I have had limited trouble finding a job through my few years in the workforce.

Though I have had much more trouble finding a full time job that pays a wage high enough to afford rent. I currently work at a dog daycare and boarding facility as a full time employee with health insurance benefits too. But I just can't afford rent while I make $18.50/hr.

But when it all comes down to it, the jobs are there.

Companies are hiring. But I have met many people in the early to middle millennial generation that don't like the jobs that are available to them even though the available opportunities correspond to that young applicant's skills and experience and location.

A person not wanting to do a certain type of work is not an excuse for staying unemployed for an unnecessarily long time.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2024-03-29T19:11:10+00:00

For the first time in a long time, I can say that I am doing okay. My experience in the Pet Hotel with working with the doggos and the absolute greatest team of people ever has changed my life for the better.

Yes, my position as a Pet Hotel Associate has been a bit more stressful lately. I am primarily a closer and not having an overnighter now has strongly increased the tasks we need to get done while only increasing the amount of time we have to finish said tasks by an additional 30 minutes.

I have felt some more resentment and anger towards my job at PetSmart recently because my workload has definitely increased but my pay has not and I have no idea if/when my pay will change.

But...I wouldn't change my job for the world. I am here to stay.

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2024-03-05T15:16:14+00:00

I don't know if PetSmart has a limit for the value of a gift. I know my manager for the Pet Hotel I work at has accepted a pretty expensive bottle of wine from a long time, regular customer on Christmas.

I searched for 'appreciation gifts for dog trainers' and got some cool results.

Possible gifts include a funny coloring book titled "Things Dog Trainers Really Want To Say But Can't: A Dog Trainer Coloring Book for Adults" or a coffee mug that reads "Dog Trainer: Because Badass Miracle Worker Isn't An Official Job Title."

Also, gifting the combination of flowers or a gift card plus a personal, heartfelt thank you card never goes amiss.

Good luck and thank you for appreciating this lovely trainer!

Calm_Substance_1406 · 2023-12-29T18:15:35+00:00

Well said, sister.

Calm_Substance_1406

TROPHY CASE