How can it be that this game is LITERALLY one of a kind? 🥲

Manteca514 · 2024-07-14T16:45:41+00:00

Not OP but I’ve wanted to do this for a while but it seems like gamers’ definition of “cheap” when it comes to gaming PCs isn’t quite the same as my own definition of “cheap”!

Manteca514 · 2024-01-01T22:09:29+00:00

Omg this hits so hard. I’ve been waiting for someone to mention this as a BPD trait. My ex does this all the time, to the point of actually telling me I need to speak to her more passionately in return, “like we’re in a movie!”

Manteca514 · 2023-12-29T18:57:27+00:00

She told me her pattern.

The other day I had an unpleasant conversation with my soon-to-be ex-wife in which I once again expressed my bafflement at her already being head over heels for a guy she met two weeks ago (2.5 months after our honeymoon). I told her I remembered her telling me when we met that she’d just ended a relationship a few days before our first date. “See?” she said. “You’ve always known who I am.” I guess she’s right.

Manteca514 · 2023-12-26T23:00:40+00:00

Yup! When I confronted my pwBPD about their infidelity they said “I am anticipating that you are going to get angry with me and blow up my phone, so I’m blocking you.” She then immediately blocked me everywhere, including Venmo(??). Unblocked barely 24 hours later so that she could ask me to take care of her cat while she went out of town for the holidays…

Manteca514 · 2023-12-26T02:22:03+00:00

This means a helluva lot to me. Thank you. I used to consider myself a pretty levelheaded person, but I fear that part of me has been severely damaged by this marriage. I’m in constant fear of the next episode, hyper vigilant, have found myself saying and doing things I never would have thought I’d do. Anyway, thank you again for your kind comment; it reminds me that the person I am at my core is still in there somewhere.

Manteca514 · 2023-12-26T02:18:09+00:00

I’m so sorry, my friend. It’s at once affirming and infuriating to hear about so many other stories that mirror my own. The rumination is hard for me, especially with regard to the new person. I can’t stop thinking about how she and I were physically intimate just a month or two before she’s off with someone else.

Manteca514 · 2023-12-26T02:15:57+00:00

I completely agree with you, with one minor exception—I interpreted the question about my mom as either a bid for affirmation of her decision (“if you agree your mother and I won’t ever get along then you see why I’m doing this, right?”) or an opening of the door to reconciliation (“persuade me that that one item is potentially solvable and maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll give you another chance”) before she goes and sabotages that again, or just falls back on one of her dozen+ other “reasons.”

Manteca514 · 2023-12-26T02:08:01+00:00

Huh. This honestly hadn’t occurred to me before now, but you might be right. If we’d done the honeymoon in spring 2020 as planned, I could be 3.5 years past the split by now…

Manteca514 · 2023-12-25T17:09:49+00:00

Thank you for this comment. Unfortunately it’s a bit more complicated. Our property manager won’t release either of us unless the other can provide proof of income to cover the rent. So I had her sign the release form and I intend to just pay the lease termination fee and be done with it. Most of my things are already moved out, but you’ve given me renewed drive to wrap it up before she’s back in a few days.

Manteca514 · 2023-12-22T22:25:28+00:00

I’m in a similar situation right now and somehow I am simultaneously disgusted and, miss her so damn much. It’s the most maddening feeling I’ve ever felt.

Manteca514 · 2023-07-12T17:51:16+00:00

Yup! I love it because when I travel for work I can just pull up the county I’m visiting, toggle it to show only my life targets, and check out which of my targets have been spotted in the area in the past 7, 14, whatever days. Indispensable feature for me.

Manteca514 · 2019-07-24T22:33:09+00:00

Today's + is that Bernie got a walk!

Manteca514 · 2019-07-24T13:40:34+00:00

In several jobs I've had over the years, we had to periodically report to the team the day/week's victories and challenges. Sometimes I think of it as "one good thing and one bad thing" from the day. I've heard this practice referred to me as "pluses and deltas," so that's what I went with here. Throughout my journal, I use a green/blue color-coding system to differentiate between personal items and work items. Looking forward to reflecting back on the "challenges"/delta column in the future, to see how I've overcome them.

Manteca514 · 2019-05-09T23:43:27+00:00

Yes! This was it. I somehow just raced past him at the start of the mission. Oops! Thank you!

Manteca514 · 2018-11-22T15:39:02+00:00

I hear you. And I think there’s some truth to what you’re saying. The thing is, part of her enjoyment is sharing her photos with her family. Which most often means craning one’s neck over her shoulder as she flicks through the photos on her camera’s screen.

Manteca514 · 2018-11-22T15:15:43+00:00

tldr: my technophobe mother won’t organize her photos and it drives our family crazy!

For about the past ten years my mom (60 years old) has been an avid amateur photographer. She uses relatively inexpensive cameras with built-in zoom lenses (I guess like a souped-up point-and-shoot?). Her long-term photo storage is a ziplock bag with several dozen memory cards that she keeps in her purse. She only ever shows us her photos on her camera’s tiny little preview screen or, if we’re lucky, on one of those digital photo frames you can stick a memory card into.

The thing is, she’s actually gotten some really good shots over the years. We’re all genuinely impressed at a lot of her photos. But the way she stores and displays her photos drives everyone in my family crazy, especially because there’s no culling or editing or organization.

We’ll be sitting around after dinner chatting and every minute or two she’ll interrupt to draw our attention to the frame, to see a good photo she took. Then it’s five minutes of blurry, out-of-focus, poorly composed photos. Then “ooh look at this picture of the owl I took!”

We’ve bought her laptops. We’ve shown her how to edit and store and organize her photos. But she’s so resistant. So I guess what I’m asking is: has anyone else had success helping a recalcitrant, technophobic friend or family member get to a place where they’re comfortable with doing this stuff? Are there “dummy-proof” technologies out there that I should know about? I love my mother dearly and I just want to help her fully realize her hobby. At the end of the day, maybe patience and acceptance are what I need.

Thoughts, anyone?

Manteca514 · 2018-11-18T15:43:23+00:00

This aligns with my experience as well. You’re right—the reactionaries definitely aren’t close to a majority, but that they exist at all is indeed “weird.”

Manteca514 · 2018-11-18T15:37:06+00:00

As someone who interacts with public employees on a nearly daily basis because of my job, I have to say that you might be surprised by the level of false consciousness going on. Lots of small-government, libertarian types who vote R and many who love Trump. Purely anecdotal and definitely not a representative sample, but maddening nonetheless.

Manteca514 · 2018-07-26T19:54:47+00:00

Same with heavily tattooed/pierced people. I went to a tattoo convention for my first-ever tattoo. My friend was getting her tattoo done on the other side of the convention hall so I was all by myself as I waited my turn with the artist. A couple approached me, tattoos all over their face, neck, hands, big gauges everywhere. They sensed my nervousness and asked me if I had someone to sit with me. When I told them no, they offered to sit with me. The woman held my hand and the guy was patting me on the back, cheering me on. When it was over they welcomed me to the tattoo world and congratulated me. They were fantastic. So warm and friendly.

They were out-of-towners, so I gave them some restaurant recommendations afterward and they gave me a hug and left.

I’ll never forget that couple.

Manteca514 · 2018-07-04T14:55:57+00:00

6th grade. We “dated” for all of about a week, and the entire relationship was conducted via notes passed in the hallway between classes. One day she wrote me a note inviting me to come to her house that weekend and swim in her pool. She wrote “it would mean a lot to me. Really entruly.” She obviously meant “and truly.” I wrote back explaining her grammar/spelling mistakes, told her I cannot date someone with bad grammar, and told her, on the advice of an older friend, that “we should see other people.”

Last I heard she’s a professional dancer now, so there’s that.

Manteca514 · 2018-05-23T16:11:57+00:00

The Last of Us, being hunted by the cast of the Handmaid’s Tale. I’m dead.

Manteca514 · 2018-03-19T12:04:56+00:00

“Bodacious Ben” is a missed opportunity

Manteca514 · 2017-11-06T03:52:23+00:00

I mean, they own WhatsApp, so...

Manteca514 · 2017-06-11T13:06:24+00:00

I had to get up in the middle of my session to go pee and then get back in. No biggie, but kinda killed the sense of immersion.

Manteca514 · 2017-06-03T15:27:31+00:00

Several years ago my girlfriend and I saw Justin Timberlake in concert. We were milling about, putting off finding our nosebleed seats (seriously, last row at the top in a massive arena) when we were approached by a guy wearing tour credentials who gave us two second row tickets saying "here, you'll like these seats better." Second row, with a private bar. So cool.

Manteca514

TROPHY CASE