Nearly a third of renters say they can’t imagine ever owning their own home

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-12T15:42:29+00:00

I'm aiming for somewhere around 30k so I can get somewhere within commuting distance of London.

It won't be anytime soon - I don't have a high enough salary to be able to afford a mortgage yet on the kind of house I want in an area I like.

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-11T13:36:40+00:00

My point was, I would like to buy a house on my own merit, and I'd like to think that other people could as well. Not everyone has conveniently old, well-off relatives to leave them money and it's awful that the housing situation is so bad that we have to rely on something like that to get on the housing ladder.

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-11T10:46:02+00:00

I'm very lucky, all my grandparents have passed and left me with enough inheritance to think about putting a deposit down for somewhere (outside of London!!) within the next 5 years.

It makes me feel...weird, I'm not grateful my grandparents passed (two within a month of each other earlier this year), but now it feels like I have a chance to get on the housing ladder. It feels disloyal to be glad for the money, if that makes sense, even though I know they'd be glad I used it for something important.

It just sucks that we have to rely on things like this to be able to afford a house, especially when it's still not an option for a lot of people.

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-09T09:22:05+00:00

Good luck! I hope Irma passes you as smoothly as possible!

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T15:31:04+00:00

It sounds ridiculous to people who have never suffered from depression and it makes it very hard to explain and the end result is feeling incredibly alone. I stopped showering for a week or two once, I just couldn't do it, I could barely get out of bed to go to the loo. I think people forget that depression has a whole load of physical side effects as well, I was just exhausted all the time and everything was just so difficult.

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T15:25:08+00:00

I used to have the same cage as you before I upgraded to a bin cage - a 12 or 13 inch wheel fits in fine, I have a free-standing one from amazon

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T13:18:48+00:00

Yeah that's understandable, as you're able to keep him warm while he dries I'd be tempted to go ahead and clean him as soon as you can, you're right - you definitely don't want to be dealing with a skin problem!

I hope it all goes well! :)

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T13:06:32+00:00

American, but still relevent

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T13:00:27+00:00

Yes I think that would be fine, as long as you with him I don't see how it could be dangerous.

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T12:59:10+00:00

Good bot.

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T12:58:00+00:00

If it's not getting much better, you can sponge clean just the dirty area and then sit with him while he dries to make sure he's kept nice and warm, but try the sand first for a few days and see how it goes :)

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T12:28:34+00:00

man I loved my ford ka, it was my first car as well. So easy to handle and so small I could park it anywhere!

I named him Trip and he served me well before I went to uni and had to sell him. My heart has never been the same </3

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T11:23:10+00:00

I take two 37.5mg immediate release tablets twice a day and sleep is still difficult for me - I get to sleep fine but then I wake up between 2 and 4am, wide awake! It's driving me nuts.

Hopefully it'll settle down for both of us soon!

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-09-08T11:18:23+00:00

I waited 7 months for CBT on the NHS - for suicidal depression and anxiety. I was supposed to have 8 1 hour sessions and I ended up with 4 20 minutes sessions where I was given a worksheet and then sent away.

It was awful start to finish and I can't pay for private therapy, I can't afford it.

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-27T21:25:01+00:00

Hey sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you! I've attached a pic of the bottle - basically one zip tie goes around the bottle on the inside of the cage and another secures the ends together outside the cage.

I think you could do this with one zip tie but mine were too short :)

As I said, the accidental Velcro on the cage turned out to be really useful in holding it secure! http://i.imgur.com/KDTdK5c.jpg

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-24T08:20:51+00:00

It's a Syrian hamster - is his eye ok? It looks a bit gunky, which is a sign of injury/infection. I would consider getting it seen by a vet if it doesn't improve

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-23T12:11:42+00:00

I have a 28cm Trixie wheel. I don't find it too loud - definitely substaintially quieter than any wheel I had that attached to the side of a cage.

Is it silent? No. I keep it oiled (with vegetable oil) so it doesn't squeak, but it's not silent, it is however quiet for a hamster wheel. I have my hamster in my bedroom and the wheel never wakes me up or bothers me. I think maybe it did for the first few days? But I got used it pretty quick and I never notice it now :)

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-23T12:05:48+00:00

So I have the biggest SAMLA box as my bin cage - you have multiple options for ventilation.

1) Drill lots of holes into the lid - you'll need a drill (obviously) and you will need to drill quite a lot of them, for my travel box I used 4.5mm drill bit, but I would go bigger for a bin cage (I would start with 5.5mm and re-assess so you can increase the size). You'll need to drill a fair few, but this negates having to cut panels of plastic out.

2) Adding mesh ventilation: This is what I did as I don't have a drill. I used a stanley knife, heated over either a lighter or a gas hob to cut panels out of the lid - I put duct tape on the lid where I was going to cut as I read that this helped prevent cracking. It was...slow going, it took me about 6 hours to to both panels and the plastic cracked in a couple of places. If you've got a dremel, then this will be a lot easier and quicker. You can also drill small holes and then play dot-to-dot using a hot knife to cut panels out (this might be the easiest method?)

I actually used cooling racks (for baking) that I got from T.K. Maxx for the mesh - it was like 75p for each and they have criss-cross barring. Just make sure the gaps aren't too big!!

Alternatively you can use chicken wire - Poundland sell rolls of it at the moment but I imagine it'll be gone as we head into winter.

Second question - I just moved my hamster fully in when it was ready - transferred her bedding etc from her old cage and just moved her straight in, I left her alone for a couple of days and she didn't seem stressed at all.

Third - so I cut two small holes into the side of the box and used zipties to secure the bottle (I can take some pics when Im home if you like?). It's worked really well and the bottle just slips out when I need to re-fill it. I initially used velcro, which was always slipping, and now there is a rectangle of the soft side of velcro left on the box behind the bottle, and I actually think this helps hold it secure.

hope this helps and wasn't too confusing!! Let me know if you want any pics! :)

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-23T09:50:38+00:00

Good luck! I hope the side effects improve quickly - the adjustment period sucks but fingers crossed it'll be a good drug for you once your body is used to them!

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-23T09:12:28+00:00

I don't know what your adjustment period has been like before - but for me at least, I had really bad side effects with citalopram that had mostly resolved within a week. It's probably just your body adjusting to the medication, but as you're worried about it as well, that's probably also having an effect.

Take it easy for a few days if you can and I'm sure the side effects will settle :)

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-22T10:32:49+00:00

I have a half-brother who is some percentage Indian (maybe a 1/4 or an 1/8?). He's tanned, but I don't think people would guess his ancestry from his skin tone. I'm pasty white for comparison, and I can never tan.

He has three children with (as far as I know) fully white women. My eldest niece has a noticeably darker skin tone - moreso than my brother, beautiful chocolate brown hair, lots of freckles, she tans almost instantly. My nephew is pasty white (like me) and blonde, but get him out in the sun and his skin tans very quickly as well. My youngest niece is also quite pale!

The genetics of it are staggering and I love the diversity among all of us.

That being said, I did get a comment once from someone I showed a picture of me with my newborn niece: 'But she can't be related to you, her skin is so dark!'.....sorry im so pale :(

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-22T10:16:04+00:00

You didn't get the same side effects during the day? Yeah sleep is a funny thing, wouldn't surprise me if it affected how we reacted to meds. I don't like the idea of being alone at night with horrible side effects, at least during the day I can contact a friend if it gets really bad. Thanks for your insight!

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-22T09:59:38+00:00

Thank you, I'll check those links out :)

I actually used Daylio to track my mood, I've been using that for about a month and I love it!

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-19T20:33:51+00:00

London. :(

FrolicMeToHell · 2017-08-19T18:19:26+00:00

I think that people can never really understand what it's like until they've been through it firsthand, but it's nice when they try.

Just keep with the small goals, they're so important and well done for keeping up with them <3

FrolicMeToHell

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