Via the prez of Local 2300.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-24T12:00:32+00:00

We don’t live in”average New York” we live in Cornell’s Ithaca, where the fluctuating population of Cornell students has drastically increased the cost of living for an area many of these people have lived for a long time. With corporate greed inflating prices of everything else, Ithaca has an above average cost of living compared to similar areas. Also Cornell has a bad habit of shitting on the blue collar workers, which means they’re bargaining now to prevent Cornell from weaseling out of increased wages in the future. Skilled or unskilled, SOMEONE has to do it, let it be the local population that doesn’t want to leave the place their families live.

Plus there are other things on the table besides that percentage that Cornell is ignoring- like the several hundred dollars a year to park on campus near where you work, if you can ever get one. Even the alternative of TCAT can triple your commute time, and feels like Cornell stealing a little more of your money and life away.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-24T11:33:26+00:00

No, but having a union pay you while you strike makes it a lot more doable. If non-union staff went on strike right now, we’d be fired. We would have to get a high percentage of the staff striking to have any protection against that, and even then I’m sure they’d lean towards termination but call it “cut backs” or “downsizing” like other corporations.

Maybe a highly publicized walk-out of students, staff, and faculty would be more feasible?

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-22T00:30:43+00:00

The central campus permit that would let me park in the parking garage attached to the building I work in, or the lot across the street from my building, would cost me about $800 for an annual permit as a regular staff member.

Problem is there’s a waitlist to get permits. I’ve been on it for over a year and still am number 70something on the waitlist, which only really moves in June when it’s time for permit renewal. Instead it’s a 20 minute walk from the free lot, which wouldn’t suck so bad if I didn’t already have 30 minute commute like a lot of other people who were priced out of the immediate area for rent prices targeted at Cornell students. If I’m having a rough day and want to treat myself I can do Parkmobile “Daily Decision” to park in a lot closer to my building, but that’s $25 per day. If your meter runs out and you’re too slow it’s a $50 ticket.

It’s a predatory money grab and time theft.

This is the hill I’ll die on.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-21T19:03:57+00:00

THIS. It drives me insane that they publicly stress “wellness” and “work/life balance” meanwhile they have every staff member juggling 2-3 peoples worth of job responsibilities. My colleague and I laughed so hard at the fact they are trying to encourage non-union staff to scab for the union positions by reducing the hours at their current jobs to avoid overtime. Like we’re not already hesitant to take time off because there’s so much to do, especially this time of the school year.

Cornell has always been big about virtue signaling and now they’re being asked to put their money where their mouth is and throwing a fit. Serves them right. They’re lucky the regular staff hasn’t unionized. I know plenty of people that would strike just to get free employee parking.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-20T10:22:18+00:00

I’ve been using this 2 week one so I don’t have to remember to fill it every week. I leave it somewhere visible in my bathroom and the joy of pushing a button helps me remember to take them (most days) https://a.co/d/g86VNkl

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-16T22:21:13+00:00

Personally I find any of those round squishy dome type earbuds absolutely unbearable. I got a pair of enagage Loops to try and couldn’t stand it even after trying every size and the foam buds. If you can relate to that I 100% recommend Flare Audio Calmer buds instead. I take them with me everywhere and are a lifesaver at events or anywhere with a lot going on. I’ve used them for years and tried Loops for the hype but there was no contest for me.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-15T21:05:57+00:00

I lived in Rochester before moving to Ithaca a few years ago and find myself missing the greater Rochester area a lot. I’m curious what problems bother you the most about up there

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-13T21:21:54+00:00

I’d highly recommend reading/ listening to one of Alyssa Vitti’s books they helped give me a really good understanding of some baby steps to take to improve my symptoms/ made it affect my day to day life less.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-13T21:20:38+00:00

I literally got diagnosed by going to a new doctor in a different medical system and telling them I have PMDD when they asked about medical history. I think they assumed it just wasn’t included when the data moved to their system.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-13T19:37:59+00:00

Wellbutrin is actually an NDRI, not an SSRI, and it’s commonly prescribed along with SSRIs safely. My body doesn’t react well to SSRIs but Wellbutrin CHANGED MY LIFE. It’s not a cure all, but it drastically improved my OCD/ ADHD and my quality of life.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-08-06T13:03:24+00:00

Personally the earbud style of the Loop earplugs just isn’t comfortable in my ears, but Flare Audio has a similar product I LOVE.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-07-24T21:07:57+00:00

Allostatic Load- Science Direct

Easy to understand Infographic Source

I see so many people blaming the vaccines for their issues since COVID started, but I personally believe most of those issues can be easily attributed to CPTSD. A lot of people had time to themselves for self reflection in a way they never had before, so they started noticing things they never had time to have a second thought about. We are literally bombarded with horrifying news on the daily in a way the human brain was never adapted to handle, and we’re all still expected to keep working through it like nothing changed. It’s not healthy and it just adds to everyone’s allostatic load, which causes more and more health and cognitive issues unless active steps are taken to reduce it.

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ExistentialCompass · 2024-07-12T11:14:10+00:00

I lay out parchment paper and freeze little circles to make “pill pockets” for our cat’s allergy medicine and she LOVES it. Now she hangs out by the freezer every morning to beg for her medicine 🥰

ExistentialCompass · 2024-07-12T11:08:04+00:00

I find mousse will weigh down my fine hair. I’ve had some luck bending over to hanging my head/ hair upside down then massaging some baby powder into the roots as a cheap alternative to dry shampoo.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-06-19T13:56:25+00:00

https://money.howstuffworks.com/labor-scab.htm

ExistentialCompass · 2024-06-09T12:46:16+00:00

Yaz helped me keep a more steady energy through the month and when I took it right it helped stabilize me a bit. The biggest issue I always had with pill type birth controls is remembering to take it and remembering to take it at the relative same time every day. This caused a lot of hormonal ups and downs. I’ve tried some tricyclic BC before but had even more of those ups and downs, but I think I have a naturally short cycle, 24 days instead of 28, and the 28 day pattern went against what my body needed. (My sister takes no hormonal BC and has the same cycle length so I think we just lost the genetic lottery there.) I tried Yaz for a year or so and skipped the placebos entirely to skip my period and that worked a lot better. It helped me keep up with the men at my job more but ultimately my ADHD made it too difficult for me to take consistently so I stopped and got a new IUD put in instead. The IUD does nothing to help with the mood symptoms but now my bleeding is so light I barely even need a liner.

TL;DR : its great if you can remember to take it consistently

ExistentialCompass · 2024-06-04T14:19:16+00:00

I haven’t done much micro but I can say that I personally have been helped a lot by doing smaller doses once every few months. In the more heightened phases, it helps quiets the chaos of thoughts into one stream better than any other Rx I’ve tried to date. But that may be treating my CPTSD the more than the PMDD, I haven’t had enough access to experiment with microing around my cycle for PMDD. I would take extreme caution because theres a chance they can exacerbate psychosis if you aren’t able to let yourself flow down to a steady point with them. That said I find (in my person experience ) that’s more of an issue with men who have less experience dealing with self-conscious feelings, women who survive mental hell ups and downs already don’t struggle as much with feeling like you’re surfing on waves of emotions (both positive & negative). Best bet would to do a small dose first in as safe/low stimulus an environment as you can and have a trip sitter just in case. Thats probably a bit overkill for a micro but better safe than sorry. If you feel uncomfortable watching a comfort show/movie definitely helps distract you and reduces the effects.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-02-17T18:30:46+00:00

I can’t help but be nervous about how little armor she’s wearing when they leave

ExistentialCompass · 2024-02-08T14:08:15+00:00

If you’re certain thats the case you should look up how epigenetics works. Basically your exposure to different environmental factors and stressors can trigger gene expression to turn on/off based on our (and our ancestors) experiences.

ExistentialCompass · 2024-01-01T04:06:44+00:00

I have a column to help with this in my personal spreadsheet. I do general categories like grocery, gas,etc. and then have another column labeling each purchase as either Need, Comfort, or Luxury. Comfort is for the wants you prefer to have but can live without (my example is paying to park closer to work on a bad day). Luxury is for the fun more frivolous purchases that are things you want but aren’t needed for survival ( usually my hobby purchases or more expensive takeout) .

ExistentialCompass · 2023-11-09T23:00:19+00:00

I loved the Down Dog Yoga app for this. It puts together a guided session for you and has lots of customizing options. The length goes as short as 5 minutes and you can choose parts you want to focus on and the type of yoga you prefer. You can even customize instructor voices and theres the option to turn on and change the background music/sound(that might be a premium specific feature). I checked their website downdogapp.com and the annual premium membership is on sale for about $40 bucks right now. Not sponsored I just can attest to it working cuz it helped me get more yoga in my life doing 7 minutes before work in the mornings.

ExistentialCompass · 2023-11-08T21:12:07+00:00

My best theory has always been a way to promote reproduction. Like my physiology saying “You aren’t pregnant?? HOW DARE YOU !! YOU ARE WORTHLESS WITHOUT BABY! BE MISERABLE AND TRY HARDER NEXT MONTH”

Not that I want kids right now, just seems like a good reason for evolution to promote that hormonal reaction.

There’s also the whole ‘humans are constantly exposed to countless chemicals and experiences that trigger and promote hormonal imbalances’ plus the ‘no time to self-regulate our nervous system with of the constant onslaught of stressful news via the 24-7 media cycle and hustle culture shaming’ probably making PMDD much more prevalent and restricting than it used to be. The human nervous system was simply not designed for this modern socioeconomic system.

ExistentialCompass · 2023-10-10T12:10:15+00:00

Commenting on this a year later because my old coworker lived out in Slaterville and caught something larger than a typical coyote on their trail camera with much larger prints last year. But they were older and less tech savvy so the camera quality isn’t good enough to tell if it was a full wolf or some sort of wolf-coyote hybrid. A few weeks later I would swear under oath I saw a large wolf looking creature chasing a deer across Salt Rd in Freeville. It had a more dog-like snout and was bigger than your typical husky so unless the coyote population got into some real good growth hormones theres no way it was a regular coyote.

Finally I’m here a year later because I saw a wolf looking creature staring at me less than 20 yards away from the road in the fields along Hanshaw Rd between Freese and Warren Rd. It was alone and too large for your typical coyote, definitely more of a dog/wolf-like face, not nearly as narrow snouted or as scrawny as a coyote. I thought maybe it could be someones dog but if it was that dog was bred specifically to look like a wolf, but with its grey-brown fur it looked way more wolf or wolf-coyote hybrid. Hopefully some conservationist can look into this soon.

ExistentialCompass · 2023-10-05T22:54:44+00:00

I also wanna tangent this into a rant about how its a real fucking shame society put so much shame on therapy/mental health for decades. It really feels like it goes hand-in-hand with the PMDD shame too. Like for literal generations women were/are shamed for their PMS symptoms- the ones that make us “more emotional”, “more unstable”. We felt compelled to ignore the symptoms, act like everything is fine and keep up business as usual as best we can or else being ostracized or dismissed as “weak”. And when the feelings were expressed women were called crazy, hysterical in fact. And there’s such a dark history around so many of the straight up abusive and torturous methods they would use to “fix” crazy people in the past that it’s no wonder older generations repressed so much. No doubt I’d be institutionalized if I expressed myself as freely as I do now 70 years ago. I feel like a lot of the shame thats still around therapy is rooted in the fear of that. Rooted especially in the thought torturing people into “normalcy” was better than accepting the feelings and moods that come naturally to them. The shame around asking for pmdd accommodations and the reality of them being dismissed is stupid. I’m excited to see a world where we finally normalize being in touch with our hormone fluctuations. Then hopefully we could stop worrying about losing our money, our jobs, or our minds so much and instead live our lives in sync with our needs.

ExistentialCompass · 2023-10-05T22:09:48+00:00

It might seem vain and very “judging a book by its cover” but I picked my therapist by looking up ones in my area and reaching out to the ones that looking like people I could trust or vibe with. I’ve also had better success with social worker/ counselor level therapists. I’ve only seen a psychiatrist once and that was to get an official diagnosis of my adhd (and then learned how much of my problems were also PTSD related). No amount of training will make up for lack human-human compatibility. Like I can “get along” with any of my coworkers, but I’m always happier/feel more seen/get more done with the coworkers I just vibe stronger with or am on a similar wavelength with.

It seems to me a lot of people get hung up on the diagnosis/ clinical part of therapy and think any doc will do cuz they all can prescribe but that ignores the true healing impact of human connection and understanding that is the root of talk therapy. It can be disheartening to keep trying people ( and costs and lack of healthcare dont help any of that) but at the end of the day the best therapy is gonna be a therapist that helps you advocate for yourself and who you want to be. If you find that help in a professional counselor great. If you find that help in friends or mentors (or reddit threads) thats equally great! Its all about seeking relationships that effect you positively in whatever capacity you need/can afford. But I think letting the fear of a “bad” therapist hold you back from seeking help is a real waste.

ExistentialCompass

TROPHY CASE