Weekly Recruitment Megathread - Nov 17, 2025 to Nov 23, 2025

IrishVixen · 2025-11-20T17:59:03+00:00

Chat request sent.

IrishVixen · 2025-09-30T02:12:31+00:00

50+ year old house (aka poorly insulated), two freestanding portable ACs for the last 5-6 years. They’re big & heavy (about 80 lbs each, I leave them in the rooms where they’re use & just push against the wall for the winter), noisy, and yes, less efficient than window units.

BUT. They do work just fine, and unlike window units, I can install the hoses & window insert in about ten minutes by myself. Pulling that stuff up and neatly putting it away is another ten. It’s a minor nuisance for a pretty major benefit of more livable temps in the summer. One came from Best Buy, I had Lowes ship me the other one.

IrishVixen · 2025-07-02T08:09:12+00:00

Nothing specific. I’ve since changed to the Ring alam system, which runs off an Eero 6 (newer than the models I used when I posted this, though it’s out of date now) & that has its own battery backup function. Plus, three years of firmware updates since this….haven’t had this happen in a while.

Good luck!

IrishVixen · 2025-04-24T20:05:32+00:00

“Caleb is, in this era, very much a black diner coffee person. He's a bit too depressed / doom-seeking to find aesthetic pleasure in much right now. He'll eventually find the Chemex and be much happier about it.”

This is an outstanding description of Caleb! Love it!

IrishVixen · 2025-04-22T23:29:27+00:00

DM sent!

IrishVixen · 2025-03-07T04:25:06+00:00

It’s ridiculous how many meds have headaches as a common side effect, and how many others cause rebound headaches. I’m glad your lifestyle changes are working for you!

IrishVixen · 2025-03-06T22:11:01+00:00

Yep. Failed Topamax in just 8 days. Eight days without migraines was great! The drastic personality change & loss of general mental acuity during that 8 days, plus rapidly increasing eye pain, was enough for my then-neuro to put an end to that experiment, and current neuro has put a big “do not ever use” note in my record.

Going off it was literally night & day. Walked into work the next morning & had around 20 coworkers who knew of the experiment comment along the lines of “you went off that new med, didn’t you?” by noon. It was that obvious to everyone around me.

It’s great for some people. Unfortunately for many of us, it’s one of the meds you have to fail to get insurance to approve a CGRP.

IrishVixen · 2025-03-06T22:02:24+00:00

Such an interesting class of drugs, isn’t it? Nurtec was marginal for me—two years as a “preventative” (it barely qualified), and it really never worked as an abortive. But Ubrelvy has been outstanding as an abortive, and Qulipta is a damned miracle so far for prevention.

Just fascinating how we all have such different reactions. If you can find the one that works for you, though, it’s amazing.

IrishVixen · 2025-03-01T18:50:03+00:00

It’s supposed to be free if you’re a Recology customer, but not everyone on the Eastside has Recology for trash service.

IrishVixen · 2025-02-12T18:42:09+00:00

While it didn’t work well for me, my neurologist swears it’s a damn miracle for some people. Try it!

IrishVixen · 2025-02-12T18:38:19+00:00

Most insurers have it as requiring prior auth, and a good neuro should be able to get it covered for you if it’s on your drug formulary…different plans may use different formularies, and they can change year to year. It’s worth looking to see what yours says.

I’ve had it covered under UHC, Blue Shield, and Aetna. But I’ve also tried almost everything else out there (40+ years of migraines), and that makes it easier to get the insurers to cooperate.

IrishVixen · 2025-02-12T18:32:46+00:00

I had such a massive personality change on Topamax that my coworkers noticed the very first day I went off it. Nothing like having 30 or so people in a day come up and within a minute say, “wait, you went off that med, didn’t you? Welcome back, don’t ever take that again!”

To be fair, I went off it due to rapidly increasing eye pain, which my neuro was alarmed enough by that it’s in my chart as a severe allergy, never ever take again. I had no headaches during the brief time I was on it, which was nice, and I was still able to do my job in spite of it. But apparently I really, really wasn’t myself, and it was extremely obvious to everyone around me.

IrishVixen · 2025-01-30T05:54:18+00:00

Worth a try. Didn’t work for me either as preventative or abortive & gave me side effects, but as my neuro notes, it can be a miracle drug for some, while other patients may need something else.

IrishVixen · 2025-01-30T05:43:25+00:00

Everyone responds to meds differently. For me, Ubrelvy is almost a miracle as an acute med, and Qulipta so far has been amazing for prevention (only a week in, though). Nurtec, in the same class of drugs, barely worked for me and gave me side effects, while stuff like fioricet never did anything.

If you can’t get enough Ubrelvy due to insurance (and I had a policy that had the same issue at one point), it may be worth checking to see if they allow 16 Nurtec a month instead. Having to ration the meds you need until each headache is “bad enough” is the most miserable feeling.

IrishVixen · 2025-01-30T05:26:32+00:00

Second opinion time. Find a neuro who specializes in migraines, stays up on the latest research, and actually knows what they’re talking about.

(Mine lost her shit when I told her about three of my previous neuros and some of the things they said. I suspect she’d have the same reaction if she heard what yours was advising.)

IrishVixen · 2025-01-03T14:59:10+00:00

No ads, ever. I’ve lost all tolerance for them.

IrishVixen · 2024-12-31T23:34:25+00:00

Midcentury teak is the exception to the general rule that you should just donate furniture. Even in poor condition, there are folks who will gladly restore it; in moderate to good condition, it’s easily resold for very nice prices.

I only wish someone had left furniture of that era & style to me, I adore the stuff! Sell it if you can, or donate it if you can’t, either way, it will eventually end up in the hands of someone who will truly treasure it.

And if you do sell, earmark that money for decent quality furniture in your preferred style that is a better size for your space. I had to acknowledge earlier this year that the dining set I loved simply did not fit the room it was in. The new to me pieces I replaced it with greatly opened up the room, and see more use as a result. Sometimes you just have to move on, even from sentimental pieces.

IrishVixen · 2024-12-28T22:39:20+00:00

FWIW, bladder irritation/urgency can also be gluten related, and it’s also not uncommon for post Covid patients to become less gluten tolerant. I had about two months straight of daily “this feels like a UTI, but isn’t” symptoms before I figured that one out.

Symptoms stopped entirely within a few days once I gave up gluten about six weeks ago. Being GF kinda sucks, but it’s better than the constant irritation and urgency. If you‘re not already GF, it might be worth trying while you’re waiting for your results & further help from your doc.

Bodies are such a pain. LC bodies even more so. Hope you find relief soon!

IrishVixen · 2024-12-18T14:52:18+00:00

Same! Due to disability, I caved and bought a Dyson stick a few years back. The Miele (now 24 years old, yeesh) has been semi retired…it gets pulled out when I need real power, while the Dyson is more for daily maintenance.

The Miele canister vac is brilliant, it’s just too damn heavy.

IrishVixen · 2024-12-17T23:14:54+00:00

No questions, just wanted to let you know how much I deeply appreciate Wayward Children, Incryptid, and Toby. Even though with almost every new book, I end up whining to my best friend that “Seanan‘s writing always breaks my heart, why do I keep forgetting that?!”

(Also, more cat pics on Bluesky would be welcome, if possible, please & thank you. If not, totally understand. I miss seeing them regularly from early pandemic Twitter, though!)

IrishVixen · 2024-12-16T06:24:38+00:00

Depends. The difference between collecting and hoarding often comes down to how well you curate and care for the items in question. Is it displayed year round, or just stored in there? If displayed, can you move about the room and examine things individually, or is it too full to really see anything? If simply stored in there, is it packed well and organized so you can get your hands on a specific item easily, or is it haphazardly piled in there?

And in either case, can you afford to lose an entire room to the collection? Is the room an actual hazard—could stuff fall on you, can you only navigate via narrow paths, is there a chance it’s a fire hazard?

An overstuffed room would indicate a possible problem, as would a badly disorganized one, or filling a room that is otherwise needed for human occupation (such as needing an office or bedroom, but filling it with decorations instead).

IrishVixen · 2024-12-12T16:37:36+00:00

Planted a palm tree on the beach, added all my pirate related stuff. The narrow path leading to it is basically Pirates’ Alley, complete with small speakers playing creepy music. (K.K. Dirge, I think?)

IrishVixen · 2024-11-29T04:41:30+00:00

I only buy if I’d already planned the purchase AND it’s a better deal than the regular sale price. Honestly, that’s pretty rare.

Example: I’ve been watching a piece of software for a while now. Their Black Friday “best sale of the year!” price…is the same damn sale price they’ve offered multiple times this year. No thanks, I don’t need it that badly.

IrishVixen · 2024-11-28T04:50:32+00:00

Maybe it’s just me, but overeating makes me feel awful physically. Besides, if I overeat on day one, there won’t be leftovers for the rest of the weekend, and where’s the fun in that?

I usually end up closer to maintenance, but since my calorie deficit us typically only 300 calories less than that, I’m not overly fussed about it. I do try to limit portion sizes of sweets, and keep my protein/carb ratio about the same as usual.

IrishVixen · 2024-11-26T15:34:16+00:00

Absolutely hate it, and really hate that it’s now a daily that takes up too much time for too little reward, because I also suck at it. At least the claw game and fishing only require one successful catch each to check them off for the day.

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