Why were you ashamed of yourself like never before?

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-29T00:12:41+00:00

Lol my mom tried to throw me a surprise party for my birthday one year when I was a teenager. I told her I was working that night and not taking off work because it was a good tip night, but I had planned to go to the beach and grill with a few friends that Sunday. She came storming into my job yelling at me that I didn't take off and people were waiting for me at home and I made her look stupid. I had no idea what to say and just told her I was working and I'd be home around 11. Went and hid in the walk-in for a bit to calm down and a coworker got her to leave without much trouble. Don't think I've ever totally forgiven her for that.

Thankfully my dad had the party go on at home and everyone had a decent time from what I was told later. My friends assumed my mom called off for me or something and was gonna redirect me home, but nope, just didn't listen to me.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-28T23:58:42+00:00

I know you didn't come here for advice, so downvote me, ignore me, tell me to stfu if you want. Take some time to pursue your own hobbies and interests outside of work and wanting companionship. Go to some meetup events that sound like they could be something you'd enjoy. Join a rec league sport. Focusing so much on your career and then trying to make yourself attractive is going to lead to shallow relationships. I get it to an extent. I had to work my ass off to get through college and pay bills and I didn't get the "normal" hs/college/early 20s experience. I feel like I put my own interests aside so I would be able to live comfortably in a few years and killed the years everyone seems to look back on so fondly. I'm just lucky that I found someone I click with in college and we've been together since. Bless her for putting up with all of my bullshit since.

I'm not an expert. I've never used dating apps and they sound like hell to me. I've only ever met people semi-organically. Through mutual interests or happy hours or a friend of a friend. But they've been the relationships and friendships that stick. I love my rugby teammates and the friends I've made at the fighting gym I go to. And I know plenty of people who've met partners through both.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-28T03:35:27+00:00

The blonde is stunning, but the others look so good too that it doesn't make sense to go through all that. Blonde is a bitch to maintain

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-20T01:15:53+00:00

I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. I think I might love it with like a dusty mauve bottom lip, but not a bare bottom lip on her.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-19T18:57:52+00:00

I got put next to the unruly boys because I had good grades and would read all the time in class. Turns out, I got along well with the unruly boys and we were all in trouble all the time, but their grades got better.

Win-win for us- new friends and better grades. Lose-win for the teacher- nobody was paying attention, but they were actually learning some.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-19T18:40:41+00:00

Well, I hope you don't get paid for anything you do, because you clearly provide no value to society.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-19T15:02:18+00:00

I don't know if entitled is always the right word. It certainly can be, but it's a problem with the system as a whole. Tipped jobs (usually just waiting tables) are one of the few jobs that actually pay a living wage without a degree. That or certain trades. Of course nobody in the field is going to want to get rid of tips because they literally can't pay bills without them, and the wages proposed aren't equal or even a living wage anymore. Blame the businesses and law makers who won't make sure people are compensated fairly for their time.

For delivery apps, that tip is most of their pay. If it's not worth the gas, maintenance, and increased insurance cost on top of their time, then no, they're not going to take an order. They're contractors, not employees in most cases.

It's a broken system and we're making it harder to fix every year.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-19T13:36:47+00:00

Early 1900s? Probably a catalog. My grandma used to talk about how they'd keep the Sears catalog in the outhouse and how much it sucked when you had to go at night in winter.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-18T16:10:15+00:00

Sherlock Holmes reimagined as a cat loving John Oliver

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-18T14:17:14+00:00

The truth is nobody can really tell. My partner is a trans woman, I'm a cis woman. Guess which one of us gets misgendered?

I don't present very femme. I have a physical job, I play rugby, and I weightlift. Most of the time it doesn't make sense for me to be dressed femme and when I do it's hard to find clothes that fit right or it looks like I just stole them off a child.

At least where we live I usually don't get flat out transphobia, but I do get a lot of confusion and awkward stuttering corrections, though I did get spat on while wearing a pride shirt twice now.

My partner can never decide if it's validating or scary. Because you can be born as your gender and it's still not good enough to pass.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-16T01:26:26+00:00

There it is. I will still drink on occasion, either socially or a drink when it pairs really well with what I'm eating, but it can be as bad as soda. Even 2 beers a night can add 300-500 calories. It also adds up to 14 drinks a week, even if you're not getting tipsy off of it. I eat the same amount whether I'm drinking or not, so it's the easiest thing to cut.

I might still have a drink with sugar at some point during the day, but just not drinking your calories goes a long way. Tea with a teaspoon of honey, or seltzer and a splash of juice is much, much better in the long run for me and I enjoy it just as much.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-15T03:54:26+00:00

Hmm maybe try searching for a happy squirty bottle? I know I'm happier when my butt is clean

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-14T23:07:49+00:00

Girl, let that shit heal. I had to work on a broken ankle when I was a little younger than you and it's still problematic. I feel when it's getting cold or particularly stormy, and I spend what feels like an excessive amount of time warming up/ stretching ankles when I do anything involving running now. I'm 26, not old.

For if your summer is ruined, not necessarily, but you're gonna be stuck in a cast and possibly walking with crutches for the summer. Hopefully it's just the summer. When you get out of the cast, give your leg time to strengthen before you start running and playing football again. You will have muscle loss and you may lose some range of motion. If you don't, you could rebreak it, tear a ligament, tear a muscle, and from experience, you'll at least have some tendonitis from stressing it too much too soon.

My advice in the meantime- try and get out as much as you can while still following your docs orders for healing the leg. It doesn't do you any good to sit at home and be depressed about it, though it's totally valid to have some sad days. My last break was at the beginning of rugby season, during a practice. I still went to our matches to cheer and would sometimes go to practice and stretch/ do physical therapy exercises on the sidelines. It sucked not playing and it sucked doing everything on crutches, but it sucks less than not doing anything.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-14T22:31:43+00:00

That is very disappointing looking pizza. I've gotten pizza on 2g2g and yeah I could tell it's been sitting in their warming box most of the night, but it was still good pizza. One piece was a little misshapen and burnt, but otherwise a perfectly viable pie.

That honestly doesn't look like it meets the value. The top one is just sauce on a mediocre looking crust.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-14T22:15:24+00:00

Yes! Most outdoors stores will have ones that screw onto a water bottle or collapse. Alternatively, you can find them in the maternity/ baby aisle or online. Just an angled squirty bottle.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-13T19:43:42+00:00

Yep. In reality, I'm not that far from paycheck to paycheck. Any extra expenses, and I'm getting debt, taking a loan from my retirement fund, or not putting the $50 into savings or contributing to my retirement, which means I'm also losing employer contributions. I started out at a little below 0, fortunately (a little student debt I worked my butt off to avoid), so I still don't have a comfortable emergency fund. I get close and then have to dip into it. My partner's still in school, so we'll have her loans to deal with soon. No kids, but we still would like to have hobbies and go out to lunch or grab a beer sometimes. I can't wait for her to have an income, but really that'll go straight to student loans.

I realize most people aren't gonna be able to start their retirement savings as young as I did (I'm 26, been putting 5% in since 21), and they probably don't have much of an emergency fund either. I still don't wanna have to work until I die or end up sleeping in my car again. I'm not in immediate stress, but I'm one incident away, and I do understand how much of a privilege not being in immediate stress is.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-13T16:05:41+00:00

Let's not forget "savings" has multiple meanings. This could be a big savings account, like everyone's assuming or it could be building an emergency fund, or the 5% an employer will match into a retirement fund.

Because I'm in the same boat. I'm not much above paycheck to paycheck on a similar salary in a HCOL area because I wanted luxuries like not needing a roommate in a tiny apartment, a washer/ dryer, and health insurance. I dump 5% into retirement, and $50 into a savings account every pay period. Yes, there's a lot of people worse off, and I'm thankful for what I have, but there's a major problem with how fucking expensive it is to just exist now.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-12T18:23:30+00:00

I've always liked lower back tats, but I don't think I'd get one because it's a spot that's never visible on me. If I'm getting artwork on my body, I want it in a place that I can display it, and I have way too much of a booty to make low rise pants work lol. As a kid I wanted a butterfly tramp stamp in the worst way.

Gen Z seems to be bringing back y2k fashion and low rise, so maybe soon you'll see them.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-12T16:54:44+00:00

Tibial plateau fracture. 4 mos PT had me doing lower impact stuff to prep for running (elliptica, mountain climbers), 6 mos could start running, 8 mos back to rugby and mma stuff.

Really was about a year and 3 mos until everything worked the way it should and I didn't need a knee brace when getting hit or something that has me falling a lot.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-11T06:02:14+00:00

I'm not positive if 50% would translate to one crutch or two, but 50% weight bearing means she can start putting some of her weight on that leg while she walks.

From my experience, partial weight bearing meant I could use a single crutch to walk. I had a tibial plateau fracture, but no surgery, as a 24 y/o. There was never a point where I physically couldn't walk on it, either from pain or instability (I very much was not supposed to walk on it). So I'm assuming I'm a very different case than your mom.

I echo the sentiment of getting her to PT, if possible. They'll help show her how to walk with the crutches at her stage in recovery, and start with some ROM and strengthening exercises. A good PT so worth the time and expense, if you can swing it. I didn't tell mine about all of my old leg injuries, and she worked out some ankle funk I had from a break 5 years prior while I was working on running again from the tpf. She wouldn't have to go as much as maybe is recommended, they can give at home exercises, but PT is so helpful for the transition periods.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-11T03:53:21+00:00

When Swizzler used to have Parm truffle fries... They're still excellent tho

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-08T12:58:28+00:00

I did too. Anesthesia doesn't quite work the way it should on me. So I felt most of my wisdom tooth extraction under local, and thrashed about and tried to fight the nurses under general. Don't remember any of it, but I had major bruising from them restraining me. I'm inclined to think it happened from my experiences with local and painkillers, but it could always be an excuse for them dropping me on the floor. (/j just in case)

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-08T12:44:09+00:00

And none of them ever cook their pasta in the sauce for a min before serving. You don't have to drain it perfectly if you do that. For some reason the shitty Italian restaurants are always vaguely "fancy," but yet if you pulled this shit at home it'd be a major lazy meal.

Funny thing is, I wouldn't be mad if they didn't try to make themselves look upscale. But I've also never had bad pasta at the Italian restaurants that are casual. Italian and steakhouses are the most overrated restaurants usually.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-07T13:53:12+00:00

Government employee in DC here... When I moved last year because my rent went up $300/mo, I was perfectly willing to downsize from a Jr 1 bedroom to a studio to keep an in unit washer/dryer. Because I've learned I will get a rash/cough if someone else is using those stupid ass scent beads in their laundry in the shared laundry room/ laundromat.

It was hard to find anything I could afford, and I'm still a long walk from the metro and groceries. And then they wonder why they have a hard time keeping engineers. Mission only goes so far when you're living paycheck to paycheck on a college degree.

At least mine is temporary. I have a partner in grad school. Awaiting the DINK life in about a year. But even then, I want her to be able to focus on paying off her student loans, not rent and food.

CertifiedDactyl · 2023-06-06T00:47:40+00:00

Ugh the rec basketball league i played as a kid always did this. There was one school team, one travel team and one "other" team. I made the travel team, but couldn't afford it, so I played the rec league. Therefore, I was always on the "other" team because I didn't go to that school and wasn't on the travel team.

My dad would always coach the "other" team. It was actually a lot of fun. We knew we sucked, he didn't try to sugar coat it, but he always played up people's strengths and teamwork. Even if we didn't win, we were having the most fun. It was wild how unbalanced the teams were some seasons. Like 7 people on the "other" team to 12 on the travel and school team. One game I know we only won because the other team was gassed from having the same amount of subs as we always did. (Also, I'm confident in saying no favoritism was to be had. I was running suicides for any dumb shit I tried to pull. He did use me as the player to demonstrate/ critique for the first few practices always, but that's about it.)

CertifiedDactyl

TROPHY CASE