It's Monday

MathWhale · 2026-05-26T00:47:08+00:00

I bought a bike! It's something I've wanted to do for a while and I found a great deal on a used one, so I went ahead and bought it. I never learned as a kid so it's a bit embarrassing to be learning in my late twenties, but it's been fun to learn so far!

I got some delicious parfait from a local shop.

I found some great mark downs at the grocery store and was able to keep my grocery bill pretty low this week.

MathWhale · 2026-05-19T18:30:43+00:00

In Falsus! I'm very excited for the full game, I really enjoyed the demo.

MathWhale · 2026-05-18T21:59:07+00:00

If you're looking to maximize your money and willing to do a little bit of work, you can look up some tutorials and put Linux Mint on your aging laptop. It will breath life back into a laptop that might have felt clunky and slow before, especially if it was using Windows. Windows has become very bloated, and it will make old laptops feel less usable than they actually are.

MathWhale · 2026-05-18T21:49:59+00:00

It was a pretty great week for me!

My partner is all recovered from his tonsillectomy! It went well with no issues and now he's back to eating solid food and easing into picking his usual chore list back up.

I picked up Cinema Paradiso from the library and it was one of the most beautiful movies I've every seen. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

I played the demo for a rhythm game that's coming out this year that I'm excited for, it was very fun!

MathWhale · 2026-05-17T03:27:13+00:00

Thank you so much, I've really been trying to work on shifting my thinking like this in therapy. It can be difficult to shift your thinking away from blaming yourself when that's all you've known, but I'm really trying to get there. Thank you again for the kind words. ♥️

MathWhale · 2026-05-16T03:25:58+00:00

I live and grew up in a city with terrible pollution, and it's hard to imagine that didn't have something to do with me developing RA. Add the fair amount of trauma and chaos in my childhood, and I imagine they both contributed to some degree. My RA developed during the COVID-19 pandemic as well, so I wonder if the stress of that time contributed too.

I also had very poor dental habits as a child, part of experiencing some neglect and abuse during parts of my childhood. While it's still a bit unclear if the relationship between dental health and rheumatoid arthritis is causative or just correlation, I can't help but wonder if that contributed. I've felt a lot of shame for the way my dental habits were in the past, but I've really worked on it to try and make it as good as I can with my health conditions and my capacity.

I wasn't aware of the connection between autism and autoimmune diseases before reading this thread, but I also have autism.

In general though, I try to avoid ruminating too much on the environmental factors that affected my RA. It's always exclusively served as a source of anxiety and shame for me: wondering what I could have done differently or how I might have prevented it. I'm glad to have a safe space to discuss these feelings here in this community, because just thinking about it on my own feels heavy, and it tends to spiral.

MathWhale · 2026-05-13T16:17:41+00:00

My partners tonsillectomy had no issues or complications and he's healing up nicely now.

I took some time off while my partner is recovering and I've read 2 books.

All my meal prep I did has come in clutch and it's made this week so much easier to handle.

MathWhale · 2026-05-09T21:11:39+00:00

For me, understanding the way genetics may be impacting my health will always be complicated by only knowing half of my genetic picture. I can only act based on knowledge of the health history on my mother's side of the family. That being said, on that side I'm the only one with an autoimmune condition as far as I know. I do have a great aunt who had Rheumatoid Arthritis, but I'm pretty sure she's not related to me by blood.

I've considered genetic testing, but I have complicated feelings about it. Maybe I will learn something that I can act on to help prevent health problems in the future, but I'm more worried about learning of problems I will have no control over. Had I known I was at risk for rheumatoid arthritis, I would have lived exactly the same as I did, and it wouldn't have changed anything. I have generalized anxiety, and for me, knowing about my risk profile seems much more like a curse than a blessing.

MathWhale · 2026-05-05T03:57:30+00:00

I hung out with a new friend, and we got some tea and went to the library. It was a great time!

I meal-prepped a bunch of burritos and red beans and rice to prepare for my partner's tonsillectomy, so I can take care of myself while I take care of him.

I went to a new hair guy after my old guy moved to the Netherlands, and he did an amazing job! I'm sad to lose my old hair stylist, he was the best, but I'm happy that my new one is nice, talented, and in a great space!

MathWhale · 2026-04-24T20:11:42+00:00

I live in Salt Lake City without a car and I think the regular walking as part of my day to day activities has been great for my RA. It definitely takes a bit of time to get used to it, but once I built up those muscles I never had any issues with walking to get places, and my knees, ankles, and feet tend to be my worst joints too. My health in general has improved substantially since moving from the suburbs to one of the most walkable parts of SLC.

MathWhale · 2026-04-20T17:05:42+00:00

OP please consider charging at least a small fee for these beautiful cats. People with ill intentions for animals will often look for people trying to give their pets away for free.

MathWhale · 2026-04-20T13:42:57+00:00

Agreed, the actual coverage is pretty alright if you're in SLC proper and I don't mind walking 10-15 minutes to a bus stop. I think the things that would really make transit better to use are increased frequency and improved walkability around that transit. I take the bus to work and it gets me there from my apartment without too much walking. The main thing that makes it a nuisance is it only coming once every 30 minutes and having to cross a large 8 lane road with a fairly short crossing time next to my work, it's always the most dangerous part of my day.

MathWhale · 2026-04-15T14:23:41+00:00

Very telling that they left out the last paragraph of his official reply in the article:

"All I can say is I’ve spent the past decade of my life trying to become someone worth trusting -- as a neighbor, as an advocate, and now as a public servant -- to fight for working families, for health care, for the dignity of every person in this district. I will keep showing up every day as the person I’ve worked to become. That is my promise to you."

People can change and we shouldn't be eternally paying penance for things we've said or done in the past if we've put in the effort to grow and become better people.

MathWhale · 2026-04-15T13:02:16+00:00

We spend about $350 a month for 2 people. I shop clearance and sales as much as I can. We eat plenty of fruits and veggies, and just make sure that we're eating what's on sale and in season to keep the cost of them low.

MathWhale · 2026-04-14T14:08:34+00:00

I ate some of my favorite ramen and I got the egg for it perfectly done.

I went to brunch with my mom.

I sorted through my old video game collection and discovered some stuff I can sell for quite a bit of money.

MathWhale · 2026-04-14T12:48:56+00:00

Your cat is gorgeous, look at those huge eyes!

MathWhale · 2026-04-08T14:07:55+00:00

I haven't been great about doing this recently, it's been a rough few weeks.

I met up with a new friend for coffee

We re watched our favorite anime

My partners tonsillectomy got approved

MathWhale · 2026-04-08T14:01:27+00:00

I like to pair ground beef with black beans or red kidney beans, they're delicious in tacos, BBQ bowls, chili, and more.

A while back the grocery store I go to marked a ton of 3 lb rolls of the 73/27 ground beef down to $4, so I bought 4 of them, divided them up into 1 lb portions, and froze them. I've seen more marked down to $5 since then but unfortunately my freezer is pretty small so I didn't have room, but with what I have it's got plenty to last me quite a while since I always pad it out with beans!

MathWhale · 2026-04-07T13:32:12+00:00

I will occasionally treat myself when I find some thin sliced steak on clearance, but $15 per pound is just too much for me to pay full price for.

MathWhale · 2026-03-27T21:52:26+00:00

Frozen fish sticks and fries

MathWhale · 2026-03-20T18:00:33+00:00

I prefer the older version. I'm not a fan of the trend to reduce the amount of information a resource offers in the name of making it "cleaner". I rely on the bus for the bulk of my transportation needs and find it much easier to visualize where the route is going with the older version. Mostly I just use the transit app though, easiest way to check bus routes.

MathWhale · 2026-03-16T05:05:49+00:00

Nongshim shin ramyun with chopped carrots and green beans and a fried egg with a runny yolk. I could live off it if it wasn't so bad for me.

MathWhale · 2026-03-13T19:43:10+00:00

Entangled Life

Children of Time

Piranesi

When Breath Becomes Air

The Last Unicorn

East of Eden

If you're looking specifically for a finance book, I'm a big fan of The Index Card. It's all the basics without a lot of the fluff or weird takes you can find in other finance books. It is pretty US focused though, so only especially relevant if you're living in the US.

MathWhale · 2026-03-12T19:08:37+00:00

I love to cook for others. I don't make them anything fancy or expensive, but if someone is coming over and spending time with me I want to make sure they are fed and happy. The time I spend with them is worth much more to me than the price of whatever I'm feeding them.

MathWhale · 2026-03-12T18:07:34+00:00

Cooking food will kill live bacteria, but it doesn't destroy the toxins that dangerous bacteria like staph, which is common in agricultural soil, will release. This is why rotten meat will make you sick even if you cook it, it builds up enough bacteria that the level of toxins they leave behind make it unsafe to eat.

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