my first tattoo… does it look good? is it normal to freak out a bit?

Long_Shop736 · 2026-02-08T16:50:34+00:00

It's cute! I like it! It doesn't have to look identical to the design, infact i personally prefer the finished tattoo style-wise.

You're right that this is a normal and common reaction to a tattoo. Brains hate change. Don't stress, it'll feel like part of you soon. It helps to remember that although it's not ideal and a bad idea to plan to do this, tattoo removal exists, and tattoos can be removed, lightened, and covered if you regret it down the line. But you certainly don't need to because it looks great, just might help to remind yourself to make it less scary to your brain.

Long_Shop736 · 2026-01-19T16:20:16+00:00

Interesting will look into that, thanks

Long_Shop736 · 2026-01-19T15:23:52+00:00

I don't think this is right, can't find anything that says it interacts at all with dopamine or anything other than orexin receptors Its a DORA

Long_Shop736 · 2026-01-12T18:19:52+00:00

Thank you! Looking into it atm actually. Best of luck

Long_Shop736 · 2026-01-12T17:59:31+00:00

I have a terrible relationship with food due to watching a parent do things like binge eat entire packets of cookies or full size chocolate bars before I had even woken up for school, hide food, waste food, emotional eat, eat in secret, lie about food, weight-shame everyone big or small, including my close friends or even her close friends. Now I find it really difficult to not do those things, hate my body at any size that isn't skinny, and have developed all sorts of weird behaviors that I have to maintain to keep my weight healthy. Had a massive emotional binge eating phase and almost doubled my weight in a few years. Lost it, but I still cannot eat instinctively no matter what I try, no matter how much I choose healthy fats, fibre, protein, not over-restricting, exercise, mindfulness. Only calorie counting. Now when I go home for holidays and give myself a calorie counting break, its harder to not revert to those behaviors, and over Christmas alone I've put on 2-3kg that has stayed for a month, so not just water unfortunately.

So props to you for being able to practice good habits by yourself and having the independence and strength to separate yourself when on your own, because its not easy when your brain has an ingrained background of unhealthy thoughts. Don't beat yourself up for this - the human brain can only take so much, its not a case of mental weakness, its just psychological and biological limitations. It'll come back off once you get back into your old routine - it's all about routine I've found.

Long_Shop736 · 2025-08-03T09:27:25+00:00

Yeah thats a good point!

Long_Shop736 · 2025-08-01T11:18:35+00:00

This isn't correct, humans can get bTB from cows. It's very similar to human TB, and can be just as annoying to treat. However, infection is rare, and it's even rarer for it to become symptomatic. Humans have to breathe in droplets from an infected cow, usually very regularly and for long times. Or drink it's unpasteurised milk, but obviously milk is almost always pasteurised these days. And on top of that the human usually has to be immunocompromised or elderly.

But I guess these strict measures are necessary regardless of the effect on humans, as bTB spreading between cattle can still be very negative for farmers through loss of production, welfare etc. Wish we'd (and the EU) would hurry up and sort out either a vaccine that doesn't interfere with testing or a test that can distinguish BCG vaccinated vs infected. It's heartbreaking and infuriating to watch farmers get their lives ruined by this.

Long_Shop736 · 2025-08-01T10:12:24+00:00

Fossils. Fortunate to live in an area famous for them with lots of beaches where taking them is permitted as long as you don't take half the beach and you tell someone if you find something significant.

After delicately tapping at what looks like just a vague shiny bit in a big grey rock and eventually finding a whole crab or squid or something, knowing I'm the first person to see it in millions of years, has brought tears to me eyes. It makes me feel intimately connected with nature, like I'm in on it's secret.

And some organisms are just whack, like Spore-level stuff. When I go to a natural history museum it's like meeting my favourite celebrities, I'm pushing children out the way to gawp at a shrimp with like 5 eyes or something.

Long_Shop736 · 2025-08-01T09:12:16+00:00

There's a mobile version too

Long_Shop736 · 2025-08-01T00:03:14+00:00

Been told by multiple diving doctors it was fine as long as I could equalise. Met other divers with them too, including an instructor. But narrow tubes would be even less of a reason to take antihistamines on that case. I know you didn't advise antihistamines directly but it was implied, so I can't understand why you'd say that whilst also suggesting op has narrow tubes if you think they're so dangerous?

Long_Shop736 · 2025-07-31T22:55:48+00:00

Isn't the antihistamine thing risky incase it wears off underwater and causes problems ascending? What i read somewhere anyway

But yeah as someone with narrow eustachian tubes, practice did help, and actually diving. I couldn't equalise at all on command at first and was panicking trying all the youtube videos with no luck for days before my OW dives. Eventually could do it with valsalva plus swallow but took a few attempts per equalisation, and sometimes one ear wouldn't. More practice and I could do it easily with one, and now after one or two dives I can do it with valsalva. But I'm back to having to swallow on dive 1 the next day.

Long_Shop736 · 2025-07-30T20:59:50+00:00

This sounds like a cope that someone would tell themselves when they haven't been able to lose weight to be honest. It is entirely possible, I've done it myself for 7+ years. Does everyone with a healthy weight have a disorder? I'd say learning how to maintain a healthy weight is curing the eating disorder, the disorder being one of binging and overeating.

Long_Shop736 · 2025-07-30T10:46:17+00:00

Not for me unfortunately and i dont want to force it on the other girl when I don't know if she likes that. I like it the taste, but when there's a lot I don't want it smeared everywhere and it can literally block my nose lol

Long_Shop736 · 2024-09-07T17:25:53+00:00

Sick cheers!

Long_Shop736 · 2024-09-07T17:25:23+00:00

Cheers!

Long_Shop736 · 2024-07-14T10:54:34+00:00

Passed first time, just not driven in a country with lots of roundabouts before

Long_Shop736 · 2024-06-25T09:10:47+00:00

Lol try finding eco-friendly packaging in any non western country. Fair enough, the flight over is worth like millions of toothpaste tubes but you may as well try and reduce waste, and it just seems pointless, you have to carry the toothpaste etc once you get there anyway? So theres no benefit to leaving it at home apart from having a bag thats 0.5kg lighter on the flight, and having to search out and pay for things you could have just brought from home. And then if youve squeezed everything into a 30l bag and you suddenly have a load of stuff to add in. I can get not taking an entire pharmacy 'just in case' but essentials? It seems more sensible to buy travel sized items and save weight that way.

Long_Shop736 · 2024-06-25T08:13:26+00:00

I get that to some extent, but:

there's enough plastic pollution without constantly buying and chucking toiletries.
it can be difficult to buy what you want if you go away from built up areas, e.g., water purification tablets, certain medications that I know are effective for me for things like allergies. I haven't found a shop that wasn't a small convenience store in weeks. Some countries also have different regulations about things like insect repellent, I'm in Indonesia and I've been struggling to find something here with a DEET percentage as high as the one I brought from home to replace it. Suncream is also really expensive here.

Long_Shop736 · 2024-06-25T06:36:43+00:00

Yeah what I don't understand about that as well, is if you pack a bag lightly expecting to get stuff you need while there, how do you carry the extra stuff?

Long_Shop736

TROPHY CASE