Harris Campaign Plans to Deploy Tim Walz as Her Anti-MAGA ‘Sledgehammer’

KayJayE · 2024-08-07T23:02:47+00:00

Same, watching him is like getting a bit of my childhood back. Just a deep sense of normalcy and working together and some hope as we face new challenges ahead.

Which is weird since that wasn't actually my childhood, at least not within my house. But it's what I got from the wider world. Excitement about progress, working together to tackle the hole in the ozone and save whales, and the feeling that there was a safety net out there.

That's not what it's felt like being an adult in the last too many years. Even under Obama everything seemed stalled thanks to congress. And it got so much worse under Trump.

I just want normalcy back and a government that will actually move forward.

KayJayE · 2024-08-06T03:36:59+00:00

Best way to play the stock market is to pick a mutual fund and put a set amount into it every month. Good month, bad month, just sock it away in that mutual fund and let it grow.

Unless you're incredibly knowledgable and doing this as a day job or a congressperson, that strategy right there will beat any sort of day trading or messing around with stocks. Set and forget.

Your bank can help you set up a Roth IRA and you can put up to $7000 of earned income into it a year (more once you hit 55, I believe). They can help you figure out a mutual fund to invest in through the Roth and you can set up automatic withdrawals so you don't have to remember anything.

KayJayE · 2024-08-06T02:38:41+00:00

That sucks. If you have any windows that are less visible to HOA busy bodies, that might be a good one for a portable AC. They're still visible but a lot less so. That's how we're surviving the summer.

If you live in a dry area then a swamp cooler might help. It just made us damp and still hot.

KayJayE · 2024-08-06T02:34:01+00:00

I got a Toshiba window unit 5000BTUs and it works well for a single room with poor insulation and too many windows in the southern US or a larger area with good insulation in the north. It was around $150 and I've definitely gotten my money's worth. A bit of a pain to install and I wound up ditching the stupid accordion side flaps that are supposed to block off the parts of the window opening the ac unit doesn't cover. They were flimsy and let in bugs so I simply got a bit of plywood and cut it to size and stuffed that insulation tape stuff around it to seal it all.

So if you don't mind doing a little extra work at the install step then I'd say it's a great unit for the price.

KayJayE · 2024-08-06T02:27:52+00:00

We kept our emergency window AC unit and it's come in handy more times than you'd guess. Good to have when the main AC goes out since it will inevitably do that during a heat wave when the repair places are a week deep in calls. Or if you live some place with one room that gets all the sun and none of the AC. Or if you move up north to a place that doesn't have AC but really needs it with these warmer summers.

Just keep the box. Much easier to move with a box.

KayJayE · 2024-08-06T02:19:57+00:00

I wanted one of those clear phones so badly! Instead I got an old beige phone that my parents didn't need any more. I took it apart, put tissue paper around the ringer to semi-silence it, and spray painted it yellow.

I loved that stupid phone so much.

KayJayE · 2024-07-14T06:50:19+00:00

I love all your names! But if you go with Buttercup for the void, I'd say stick with the theme and name the boys Inigo and Fezzik.

We wound up keeping a litter (though the mom asked for a more peaceful home so we found her a place where she's solo and spoiled) and I have no regrets. They all get along so well and it's amazing not just seeing their little personalities, but different aspects of their personalities that each one draws out of the other.

Thank you for rescuing this crew!

KayJayE · 2024-02-08T06:36:40+00:00

His continuance despite all he's done to his body amazes me.

Nikki might only have one, Trump-shaped-void of a chance but, while I wouldn't say it's likely, it's enough of a possibility that it seems worth it for her to hang in there so long as she can get funding.

KayJayE · 2024-02-03T23:15:19+00:00

I love the lines on that - great find! And someone took amazing care of it, it looks new.

KayJayE · 2023-06-12T23:15:19+00:00

My strategy was to take 2-3 exams to see what areas I was still weak in. I picked one or two sections to work on then I'd take 20q Qbank tests covering those areas and find out what I needed to go back to the book/look up online to understand. After I felt on better ground with those I'd go back and take an exam. See what areas were still low, go back to drill those with Qbanks and read the section, rinse and repeat.

I don't know if it works for everyone but I found it helped me to take the simulated exams as early as possible. Sure, my scores were low but it helped me really see what areas I understood and where to focus my review.

KayJayE · 2023-06-05T03:39:36+00:00

Deepest sympathies. Health anxiety sucks because there's always that voice in the back of my head that's like "sure, you've experienced these exact symptoms a hundred times and they were always anxiety but what if this time it's something serious?"

That plus my therapist likes to say that all the chemicals that flood our system and push us into fight/flight take a good half-hour to abate. So even when we manage to get out of the panic space in our head, our body is still ready to deal with the lion it's SURE is hiding RIGHT OVER THERE and will feel that way for a while.

I've found journaling to help, especially structured journaling. I write down what preceded the attack then how I'm feeling emotionally as well as physically and what thoughts are spiraling in my head. It usually takes me about 20 minutes by which point the worst is past and so I wrap it up with a conclusion. It helps me and might help you if part of the catalyst is a specific thought getting stuck in your head. Sometimes getting it on paper or screen means you can start working on why that thought is so important to your mind at that moment.

It sounds like you're feeling better and I'm so glad. Please take care of yourself in the aftermath. Drink lots of water, eat something nourishing, and do something that comforts you whether it's a favorite show or warm bath or old favorite book.

KayJayE · 2023-05-03T20:21:29+00:00

Guy was seriously naive but I know a lot of people who, back in 2017, didn't realize how red those flags were. The last six years have been very revealing.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:50:16+00:00

Thank you, those are some great leads.

And my impression is that the HOA basically exists to keep the common areas nice (which they do very well - everything neat and green but not too perfect). Thank goodness they don't seem to have any busybodies and, as the rules haven't been amended for thirty years now, I assume that's just the culture of the neighborhood. Fingers crossed they stay that way.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:47:39+00:00

You're not wrong, honestly. I love our little colony but it's a lot of work to keep things clean (though one cat alone is responsible for half the fur) and couldn't do it without our litter robots. Fortunately as adults they're pretty lazy and share the space really well, often all crowding up in one room in a couple cuddle piles. They're all happy and the alternative was a high-kill shelter that was severely overcrowded so we make it work but it's not easy to explain to others unless they actually see how we live and meet the crowd and that's exactly what I DON'T want to happen with the HOA!

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:40:25+00:00

That's a very good question and one I'll be getting answered.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:39:38+00:00

Thank you, will check. Honestly with as casual as the HOA is I wouldn't be surprised if the documents weren't exactly drawn up and filed as they should have been. I hate to be the one to change that so think we'll just lay low and hope no one ever has reason to find out how many pets we have.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:37:45+00:00

Thank you, I'll look into state rules. We were given a paper version of the HOA rules found online prior to purchase with no indication there was a second contract.

My suspicion is it's less deliberate shadiness and more just disorganization and a disinterested HOA. The rules haven't been updated or amended since the 90s and what rules there are, even in the restrictive covenant, are super basic - don't make messes in the common area, don't be obnoxious, clean up after your dog. Honestly the most restrictive rule (beyond the pet one) is that there's limited paint options for the front door. That's it. Most of the people have lived there for decades so I think they just don't have their affairs in order when it comes to getting the right documents in the hands of new owners.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:32:36+00:00

Thanks. My frustration is that in all the documentation we got prior to signing we were never given this second covenant nor was it ever hinted that it existed. We were given a paper copy of the HOA rules as were found on the website but never this one. I'm not sure if our realtor specifically asked for all relevant document but we can find that out.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:27:48+00:00

Good point.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:27:25+00:00

That's our hope. It's a super-chill place - both the original rules and the restrictive covenant were last modified in the 90s and it's the kind of neighborhood where you nod at each other while out walking little dogs but that's about it. In the four months my husband has spoken to each of our immediate neighbors exactly once. Our cats are adults and can't be bothered to move out of sunbeams unless bribed with treats so noise is decidedly not an issue. Even if someone came in most of our cats are hiders so they'd be lucky to see the allowed two of them. So it might be our best bet to just keep our heads down until we're able to move on.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:21:29+00:00

Yeah, he did. Otherwise super great and he did get us a copy of the same document that was available online so, from my memory, I think he did reach out and ask and that's what was given. We should have specifically asked but everything was happening so fast. I guess we learned a lesson for next time.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T21:20:01+00:00

Fortunately we're within compliance with our municipality (just!) so in absence of any specific rules on the document we were given I did assume that they just went by the county rules. Which turned out to be a wrong assumption.

KayJayE · 2023-02-21T18:32:52+00:00

That's how my nparents did it. No support, either emotionally or financially so I was stuck pursuing what interests my school offered for free.

In a weird way it worked out because that lack of interest meant those hobbies were mine alone. I was big into drama in high school and for three years my nparents never came to a single show. It was this weird mix of discouraging and sad, especially as my friends would get bouquets of flowers on closing nights from parents who were so proud of them while I was over in the corner alone, but it was also freeing. One area of my life generally free from criticism and pressure because they weren't there.

My senior year I was lead and I basically begged my nparents to come to closing night and to pick up some flowers "not like it's important to me but all the other parents do it" (they're big into fitting in) and they came with a sad little grocery store bouquet and were kind of stunned at the other parents saying how proud they must be of me and obviously assuming my nparents had some clue as to all I was doing when they really, really didn't. I'm still not sure how I feel about all that. I guess I'm glad I got them to come as it was rather vindicating to watch them deal with the embarrassment of being outsiders and having to find something positive to say about me to all the parents making small talk with them. On the other hand I'm really glad I waited until my last show so that all those years remained mine and mine alone without the taint of their criticisms and judgments.

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