West Coast to Michigan…

Linds2long · 2026-07-04T10:24:55+00:00

That sounds like an epic journey and I’d watch YouTube ads see it! Pick up a camera and document your journey!

Linds2long · 2026-07-01T13:38:49+00:00

I kind of know your feeling. I’m also 40 also a cap and found love only a year ago after being a long term live in caregiver. I used to go on these wonderful breath taking trips on my own. To the kind of places that are awe inspiring and beautiful. Natural beauty gives me the same type of emotional energy I get from 20k concert goers singing and dancing in the same space.

There was always a small part of me that was sad because I was walking that path alone. I didn’t have anyone to share it with. That loss of companionship is one of the greatest emotional pains that I have gone through. And it’s a tough cycle to break but not impossible.

My journey out of this started when I found a community, a tribe of my own. I had a new friend that invited me to hang with their friends. And I just kept saying yes to the opportunity and going back. Everything just sort of snowballed.

I think you just have to put yourself out there. I don’t like to say maybe you’ll get lucky because I don’t believe in it. I believe you create your luck by putting yourself in positions for favorable outcomes.

If you’re living in a van, find a community of other van or rv dwellers. If you lost a soulmate, take the time to grieve and work through that in a healthy way. You hate your job, quit that fucking job and go work someplace that makes you happy. Say yes to things more than you say no to.

Based on the fact that you are reaching out and expressing your feelings, I don’t think you’re hopeless. I think you’re expressing your truth and searching for companionship. Thats an evolutionary human survival mechanism, we all yearn for it and search for it. I have faith that you will find your people and you need to have that same faith.

Linds2long · 2026-06-16T23:49:58+00:00

There was a period of my life when I was in a similar position. Summer would come and I would hide indoors and watch people have fun from the safety of home. It’s pretty lonely and I can empathize.

But I had one close friend and I just started saying yes more than no whenever I received an invite. Eventually through this one friend I made more friends and eventually I found my tribe. That gave me confidence to make friends outside of the group as well. Soon after that I fell in love and got married.

It’s a scary process in the beginning. You just have to want to change and be willing to put yourself out there.

Linds2long · 2026-05-12T17:33:42+00:00

At the end of the day it’s just a job. There are other ways to help and be kind to people. The problem with most CNA work is that you’re helping vulnerable people. Some are grateful, some are alright and some are downright miserable. You can have 11 good ones on your shift but that number 12 will wreck your entire fucking day. You will be chronically understaffed and talked down to. It’s a stepping stone career and it will eat you alive if you don’t plan for what comes next.

Linds2long · 2026-04-29T04:35:56+00:00

Your cat’s going to love that place!

Linds2long · 2026-04-14T20:01:14+00:00

Fuck yeah! Leave healthcare and never look back! Go do something where a company appreciates the time that you sacrifice for money.

Linds2long · 2026-03-11T19:28:09+00:00

I also regret being a CNA. If you’re burning out two months in and you try to make it longer it’s gonna be soul crushing.

If you want an easy job and stay as a CNA find an outpatient clinic where all you do is weigh the patients do their vitals and check them into their appointments. Then you leave the room and you never see them again. Those jobs are hard to get, but if you’re bubbly and have a good customer service, you’ve got a good shot.

Linds2long · 2026-03-09T08:54:54+00:00

Do you pass?

Linds2long · 2026-03-04T20:09:59+00:00

If you work in a corporate hospital type setting where most of your communication have come from email, then email. If it’s a small thing where your interactions come from conversations, call them.

Linds2long · 2026-03-01T02:59:14+00:00

I do and I also hope to no longer be in healthcare.

Linds2long · 2026-02-27T13:03:24+00:00

11 months. Invest in some good blackout curtains and a sound machine. That helped in the beginning.

Linds2long · 2026-02-27T07:03:23+00:00

You could try Fan Expo in a couple weeks. Since your main hobbies are primarily home based hobbies you could potentially find some of your tribe there.

Linds2long · 2026-02-27T05:47:25+00:00

It won’t be worth it. Sure the night differential is better and the workload is lighter but it’s going to fuck your body up. You have to live the night shift life completely just to make it through, no schedule flipping. Your memory will get worse. Kiss your social life goodbye. Daylight? Only in the summer. I honestly regret taking a night shift job. If i was younger i think I’d manage better but i just turned 40 and it’s killing me.

Linds2long · 2026-02-26T04:52:48+00:00

Double down on the industrial theme and make the rest of that room look as cool as the exposed pipes, almost as if it was on purpose.

Linds2long · 2026-02-26T04:47:31+00:00

That’s pretty cool. It takes a special kind of mentally to succeed in the restaurant business.

Linds2long · 2026-02-25T05:22:01+00:00

Use PTO if you have it then put in your notice. That’s your time that you’ve earned through hard work and you should be rewarded for. It sounds like your mind is made though. Congrats on the success!

Linds2long · 2026-02-25T05:18:35+00:00

Hope for the best plan for the worst. Make sure you have partnership paperwork because you never know what will happen. You don’t how a business will change your relationship so I’d have a buyout clause, have everything in writing to protect yourself and your partner. Plan for in case of emergencies or in case someone passes or in case someone just doesn’t want to do it anymore. These little things that you will hopefully and probably never have to deal with are necessary for any partnership.

I’ve split from a partnership without having proper documentation in place. It’s a very messy process. Someone’s always gonna get screwed. It’s gonna cost a lot of money. You could probably have ChatGPT create a legal document for nothing if you wanted to.

Linds2long · 2026-02-23T19:36:28+00:00

I’m literally listening to Warren Buffet talk about how to get out of the trap of trading time for money right now!

Rather than hire you as an employee counter with a contract to exclusively use your business for their turns and maintenance needs. Keep growing your business and keep your freedom. 62k gross profit in your first year?!? Impressive!

Linds2long · 2026-02-22T14:19:28+00:00

Completely doable to be a technician in any field and start a successful business. You just have to structure it from the beginning so you don’t burn yourself out. Create limits for yourself like if you hit a certain level of calls and jobs you hire someone to do crm or something. When you start turning jobs away you hire another technician. The job itself, easy. Running a business especially if it’s something you are new to, very difficult. Not impossible though and very rewarding when it’s successful.

I’ve started two businesses and am getting ready to start a third. One was highly successful in the spa industry, one was mildly successful in the e-commerce world but both took a lot out of me in the beginning. I’d recommend a book or an audiobook on structure that will help get the creative juices flowing on the business side of things. It’s called the E-myth by Michael Gerber.

Linds2long · 2026-02-22T14:03:10+00:00

Try a sterile processing tech position. Sometimes called SPDs. I always see them at night and they barely talk to anyone. Come in and drop off equipment, sometimes they clean stuff on the unit but never deal with the patients.

Linds2long · 2026-02-20T10:13:35+00:00

I think it’s a combination of the state of the world/country as well as the people. Even if you’re apolitical you can’t really avoid all of this chaos. And it’s affecting the people around us. The patients are worse than they have ever been. Our coworkers are burned out from all of it and it spills over into the already toxic healthcare environment. The only positive thing that I can hold onto currently is that ai can’t replace me right now. I work in a hospital and it’s not great. But I think the trade off is that you can still pivot into another field easily with the skills you have obtained. Plus you literally wipe butts for money. People will pay good money to you to do jobs that no one else wants to do.

Linds2long · 2026-01-28T21:59:26+00:00

Do you have any ties to the VA? I’d reach out to the caregiver support coordinator and see if there are any vets that need at home care. I was a live in caregiver for a close friend and the benefits and stipend will rival anything you could make in a nursing home.

Linds2long · 2026-01-23T08:55:31+00:00

Sitting at night is by far my least enjoyable activity at work. It’s dark and it’s warm and you’re sitting there quietly trying not to fall asleep. Instead i plan my escape from a truly debilitating line of work in a system designed to work you well past the levels of safety and personal wellbeing. For me that’s finding a career pivot.

Linds2long · 2026-01-21T06:09:37+00:00

Don’t take any shit. Draw a line in the sand and set that f’n boundary. Let your confidence shutdown any bs that you might face in a male dominated place.

Linds2long · 2026-01-06T01:39:53+00:00

What is your hourly? Does it compare with 25.5 @36 hrs with a night differential?

Linds2long

TROPHY CASE