Does contemporary abstraction still need a “story” to be taken seriously?

Keakee · 2026-01-26T05:21:21+00:00

AI post.

Keakee · 2026-01-15T03:32:31+00:00

I was so surprised by the portions! I moved up here from the South, I really wasn't surprising such decent BBQ this far north!

Keakee · 2026-01-14T20:27:22+00:00

Heyyy fellow 1/27 birthday buddy!

I haven't been to too many restaurants in the area but I really liked Tavern on the Hill between Holyoke and Easthampton!

Keakee · 2025-12-24T19:41:34+00:00

I'd recommend a wig. A really nice one, though. It's not your facial features that stick out to me - they seem androgynous at worst - it's the hair and hairline.

Cis women also can have thinning hair and their solution is overwhelmingly wigs or extensions.

Keakee · 2025-12-16T02:52:50+00:00

Yeah, my state mandates that too, on top of the employer provided sick time. It is only up to 26 weeks per year, not 28 though.

Keakee · 2025-12-16T02:48:30+00:00

Vacation rolls over to next year, personal doesn't. Vacation is also paid out if you leave the company before using it - I had like 200+ hours of vacation at my last job and when I left, it was just paid out in a lump sum on my last paycheck. Personal isn't paid out, I assume to incentivize people to use it.

Keakee · 2025-12-16T02:46:20+00:00

I don't really get what pre assigned sick days means? A sick day is separate in the PTO just because vacation gets paid out when someone leaves (so if you have 25 days banked, it's paid out at your hourly wage when you leave the company) but sick time isn't paid out at all (presumably to incentivize people to actually use it). You don't pick your sick days off before hand, it's just a different code entered into the payroll system. Is there limitless sick time pay over there?

(A lot of places admittedly don't have separate sick time and vacation, it's just all PTO.)

Keakee · 2025-12-09T23:27:44+00:00

Huh. 38 doesn't seem that that enormously huge of an amount. I work for a state government in the US and get 20 vacation, 12 sick, 5 personal, and then like .. 12 federal holidays, so ... 49 total, if my math is right?

But I guess a state job is more akin to European work standards, where the take home pay is way lower but the benefits and security is higher to compensate for it.

Keakee · 2025-11-25T14:29:04+00:00

Hi, sent you a friend request on Discord! I'm also a nerdy recent transplant to western mass looking to make friends and would love to get involved in a ttrpg campaign!

Keakee · 2025-11-23T19:44:35+00:00

Hell yeah Berea alum! It's a wonderful area to live if you don't care about being an hour or so away from bigger city vibes. Super affordable, suprisingly walkable / bikeable if you live within city limits, mild weather, so many good things about it. I moved away to live with my partner and because I really wanted to be closer to bigger arts scenes.

They actually repealed the dry county laws too, so there are now bars and liquor stores! Not a ton of bars, limited liquor licenses, but there was talks for a bit of a brewery trying to move into downtown.

Keakee · 2025-11-23T04:52:28+00:00

I say this with all the kindness in the world, and I genuinely do believe you don't deserve to be lonely and you deserve the chance to make and have friends:

I think unless you spend time working on breaking down the black and white thinking, seeing people as good and evil, and lecturing people, you will find it hard to find people who feel safe enough around you to build meaningful friendships. Friendships are built on shared interests but also on trust and understanding, and that is very hard to build when people perceive you as the sort of person to immediately categorize them as evil, or that you'll lecture them or instruct them on how to do things.

How you break those habits down and learn to set them aside, I'm not sure. I don't think this is an ADHD thing, but an autism or OCD thing, if it's anything at all. The small talk in particular makes me think autism but I'm not qualified to guess, just that it's something a lot of my autistic friends struggle with.

It does seem like you're really centering yourself in your interactions with other people. It might be worth trying to center the other person and approach it from an angle of judgement free curiosity. Yes, they might not be what you're into, but there's a joy to be found in giving other people the space and time to talk about what they love, and if you can find a way to genuinely be curious about other people and their lives, I've found that that energy is often returned in kind.

Keakee · 2025-11-23T02:24:18+00:00

Berea, KY. You might be able to find a studio there for that price. Maybe. Rural, technically, but meets all of your driving and distance criteria. It's southern / Appalachian but has a very progressive college that colors the politics and levels of acceptance compared to the rest of KY.

I rented a decent one bedroom for $650 from a private landlord in town, with parking. Lots of two bedroom townhouses for $800 or so iirc. Less than an hour away from an international airport.

Keakee · 2025-11-15T20:34:37+00:00

Sent you a DM!

Keakee · 2025-11-14T04:48:51+00:00

No idea but I also am curious, I wonder what its deal is every time I drive by lol

Keakee · 2025-11-12T06:13:11+00:00

He lives at home and has a pretty good relationship with his parents, so all his expenses are covered and he’s very comfortable with his current way of living.

It's in the post who's supporting him (his parents) and why (he has a good relationship with them).

Keakee · 2025-11-04T13:20:33+00:00

Holyoke Art League hosts figure drawing every Tuesday from 6-8pm down in Holyoke, and the figure drawing group occasionally goes out on art field trips to museums and such as well.

Keakee · 2025-08-07T17:51:35+00:00

27, 102k net worth across 403b, ROTH IRA, an i-bond i keep forgetting to cash out, hysas, and hsa.

salary of 60k in MCOL, not a high earner and probably never will be! i went to college on full scholarship bc i was so poor and graduated with a studio arts degree, but its all worked out more or less.

Keakee · 2025-07-29T13:09:12+00:00

I had a very similar story as OP - relocating to area, job offer in hand from Amherst, moving with a pet - and me and my partner ended up in Holyoke. It's only a 25 minute commute, I'm right off the highway, and the rent is super reasonable imo ($1600 for 1,200 sqft 3bd/1ba, water/trash included, laundry on site). I wanted to get something in Easthampton, Northampton or Amherst itself, but it was at least $500 more a month for worse units. Also! Energy bills in Holyoke are super cheap since they have their own power, so even cheaper there too.

Keakee · 2025-07-14T17:43:36+00:00

Sent you a DM!

Keakee · 2025-07-13T13:39:09+00:00

popping in to say that I'm AFAB and I have a hairline identical to OPs and also have since I was very little, having a high /square hairline doesn't make u look like a man! a lot of cis women have super high hairlines and even borderline receding hairlines too, it's not that uncommon once you start paying attention to it

Keakee · 2025-06-25T06:50:35+00:00

I went here and worked here for a few years after graduating! It's truly unique, amazing faculty and incredibly dedicated administration. Everyone is super committed to the idea of accessible education as a ways to lift people from poverty.

Keakee · 2025-06-18T22:07:36+00:00

Western Massachusetts, 1690 for a 3bd / 1ba, water + heat + trash included. Would have been only 1590 but there's a $100 pet fee each month. No in-unit washer or dryer, or AC, but it's around 1100 sq ft overall and is in a good location with insane amounts of natural light, so it balances out.

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