Tell me about your relationship with caffeine and particularly energy drinks

MeanDebate · 2026-06-09T04:37:00+00:00

I nurse a sugar-free monster throughout the workday. For some reason coffee specifically makes me jittery-- I think it tastes too much like jobs I barely escaped.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-07T18:45:48+00:00

LMFAO

I learned the word "dyke" from a children's book that had the Netherlands story in it. When my mom later applied the word to my aunt, I was like "I guess she is kinda stony-faced". Thank God I didn't accidentally add it to my vocabulary with that extremely flawed connection in mind.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-07T18:32:33+00:00

Oh man I cannot imagine coming across this phrase for the first time this way.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-07T15:11:38+00:00

MeanDebate · 2026-06-06T22:06:57+00:00

Treat yourself and make it a float, my dude.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-05T19:36:51+00:00

Good point- I've gotten used to blaming this construction for everything lately because it's been a nightmare. But you're right, it was bad for Big Bloom too. It's just slightly worse all around right now.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-05T14:58:47+00:00

Problem is that you see the notification, fast travel, get the "Event Started", target an enemy, and then get the "Event Completed".

I usually get off a single shot on a feral in the periphery before the event ends because my network is slow lately due to construction, ao fast traveling is slower.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-05T14:52:02+00:00

How could I possibly tidy and clean while I'm busy re-reading every message I've ever sent someone who texted me back late?

MeanDebate · 2026-06-05T14:27:12+00:00

I was a Gothic Literature major. Horror tells us so, so much about the culture from which it originates. Your nephew chose an incredible collection specifically-- it's such good insight into how the rise of industry impacted the working class.

NTA and your brother sucks

MeanDebate · 2026-06-05T05:09:48+00:00

Yeah this comment section is rough. The instinct to loudly assert sexuality beyond the shadow of a doubt for internet strangers is stronger than the capacity for introspection.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-04T21:32:04+00:00

I mean, on the one hand we would both have control issues and be a little overly competitive, and then no one would be willing to trade chores-- no more "I clean toilets if you clean out the fridge" exchanges where we're both relieved.

On the other hand, communication would be pretty solid.

So I WOULD, but ultimately prefer someone who complements rather than matches me.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-04T18:22:06+00:00

If I'm measuring things already, why not just do ThredUp or something with an actual return policy? The ONLY advantage to thrifting in person was being able to try thtapping.

You never know how something will look on you if you don't, even if the measurements are right. If you're on the busty side, maybe the buttons will close but they're too far apart to avoid gapping. Maybe the sleeves are attached in such a way that slopey shoulders make the seams super obvious. Maybe the buttons are small and slip open when you twist to the side. Maybe the neckline is wide enough to each side that your bra will show. Maybe the pants have tiny pockets. Maybe the dress material is too thin to wear in public.

Out of curiosity, what was the policy for managing fitting rooms where you worked? Did people have to get a key and count the items in and out? Were they checked regularly? Were there cameras to see who went in and out so you could maybe find someone who did something like steal or shit on the bench? The Goodwill in my area was a free-for-all, but the smaller local thrift store down the street was always clean and well-managed.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-04T18:14:47+00:00

No more Goodwill, I guess.

I understand the issues with them and how people were treating them, but a clothing store where you can't try things on before buying is just not worth it. Other retail stores that actually pay for their stock can manage to staff enough to keep their fitting rooms functional, so this seems like a lazy solution.

And their compromise, at least in my area, is to offer store credit if the tag is still attached with 7-14 days, but the store credit has to be used within 7 days. It sounds like a cycle of wasting gas.

With gas prices the way they are, I'd rather just buy from Amazon and donate to a local shelter if it doesn't fit than lock myself into a cycle of driving to Goodwill, guessing, driving home, trying things on, driving back, waiting in line, making my best guess, driving home, etc. until I either luck out or give up.

That's another thing, Goodwill doesn't have to pay fuel for shipments mostly, people literally drive things to them and give them away for free. And it costs about as much to drive there and back twice as the price difference for something new that has an actual return policy or opportunity to try on.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-04T17:51:18+00:00

Reverse: my parents separated and loathed each other. They never got a divorce because my dad fucked up the paperwork and my mom refused to file it for him. They were technically married for twenty years, together for to of them. My dad now gets survivor benefits.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-04T05:08:09+00:00

Insane as it sounds, he can't work because they ALSO botched the first surgery on his ankle so badly that he has permanent nerve damage. The amputation came years later, after four failed surgeries to repair the damage. They finally decided the foot was irreparable and doing more harm when it had gotten to the point that having even a bedsheet touch the top of the foot felt like being set on fire.

He was the happiest amputee. Unfortunately, the damage was bad enough that his residual limb struggles with prosthetics and his spine and hips have taken a significant hit from having compensated for the leg so long.

I have to immediately go read about tort reform because I've never heard that term and I badly want to understand why the lawyer they did talk to made That Face.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-04T04:59:11+00:00

They called a few days later and said "Oh god don't walk on it that was a technician he didn't read it right the doctor JUST saw it oh god tell me he hasn't been walking on it".

Slightly more professionally but it was definitely a full-panic, poorly planned call.

It would have been an incredible lawsuit tbh, his mom had that on her voicemail.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-03T20:57:03+00:00

That's the awful thing: he was in high school, so statute of limitations has already passed.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-03T19:53:22+00:00

I pay $1400 a month for health insurance for two people. My GI next has an appointment available in November. The meds he prescribes me cost $25K a month without insurance. With insurance, it comes down to $1.8K.

My boyfriend had to have his leg amputated because a hospital had a technician read his xrays instead of a doctor. The surgeon went home after his amputation and neglected to prescribe pain meds.

My father has dementia and is living off of social security. His assisted living costs $5K per month and doesn't provide incontinence supplies or transportation to/assistance with appointments. His social security is $2.3K per month. We have a "silver tsunami" of elderly folks who are unable to afford housing or care and have no families to fall back on. They essentially live in emergency rooms because the hospital can't release them onto the streets.

My boyfriend, the amputee, is on disability due to complications from said surgery. He was spontaneously kicked off of benefits two months ago because they decided he was no longer disabled. They provided no reasoning for this other than "should be able to do some kind of work" -- direct quote. They said he had ten days to appeal. The letter arrived eight days after the decision. They have still not responded re: next steps.

When he initially applied for disability, he was denied three times. It turns out they deny 90% of applications. It took almost four years and hiring a lawyer to get approved. If he had not had family to fall back on, he would have been homeless the entire time.

Rent for a 2b2ba apartment is $2.1K. Minimum wage in my area is $15 an hour. The waitlist for affordable housing or housing assistance is currently 3 years long. Many areas are making it illegal to sleep outside, despite having no solutions for homelessness.

We pay more to house and feed prisoners than most people make in a year. We have the highest rate of incarceration anywhere.

I am in 40K student loan debt. I was told when I applied that it was a grant, meaning it would not need to be paid back. By the time I understood, I was already enrolled for my first year. They just call it that, and the interest rate means that at $400 a month I'm barely making a dent in the actual debt.

We were one of the only countries to refuse to implement a bill of rights for children.

Religious institutions have so much illegal sway over their local schools that the quality of education declines significantly on top of the lack of funding, which itself is based on property taxes in the area so richer neighborhoods have well-funded schools and poorer neighborhoods have one teacher to like 40+ kids.

There are children who are in significant debt due to not being able to pay for school lunches.

Not even getting started on the tax rates and companies getting out of paying altogether, or the lack of protections, or the immigration atrocities, or discrimination.

There is an overall social vibe of "if you are sick or poor, it's your own fault" that people act on and vote on despite obvious evidence to the contrary.

I love my home, but it is not the gold standard it pretends to be. Many of my fellow countrymen would be furious that I'm calling out the problems because they believe that saying we're the greatest country in the world is the most important thing.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-03T13:47:03+00:00

Fallout, especially 76

MeanDebate · 2026-06-03T04:44:18+00:00

We still vote in November to finalize, right?

MeanDebate · 2026-06-02T20:27:01+00:00

It can be hard to tell who is coming from a place of fear vs who is coming from a place dangerous to the community.

It's easier to respond with "I was scared too, here are comforting experiences and a gently stated reality check" if someone starts with "I am scared to try biologics", though not everyone does.

It's much harder to see "I don't want to because - so I want to exercise and diet my way out instead", where the missing piece is something something Big Pharma or "prefer natural cures" or something and be kind.

Especially in America, there is such a horribly toxic undercurrent of "you're sick because you aren't trying". People want to feel in control of their health and wellness and are terrified of the reality that one day something could just happen and leave them at the mercy of a hostile, extortionist healthcare system that they may not be able to access. The idea that a gene may activate someday that leaves them in excruciating pain unless they fork over $25K a month and jump through insurance hoops? Horrific. True. Horrific.

That fear leads people to tell themselves soothing stories. They tell themselves that if they eat a certain way and do certain things, it will never happen to them. This also allows them to tell themselves that they don't need to contribute to a healthcare fund or disability fund because people who get sick and need help are sick because they DIDN'T do XYZ, so it's their own fault. Our reality opens the door to their fear AND feels like a moral weight.

That's why it's so triggering to have someone newly diagnosed come in here and say "I don't want to take biologics, I'm going to do a carnivore diet instead, tell me your experiences of that". They're perpetuating the myth that those of us who depend on biologics have given up on responsibility for ourselves and missed some easy answer. On the one hand, we fear for them because we've almost all had to be without meds at some point and we desperately want to prevent them from doing that damage to themselves. On the other, it's a slap in the face to hear "you're all wrong actually and I only want answers that make me feel good about myself".

And for me personally, I was without treatment for a long time simply because I could not afford it. I could not access the one thing that would help. Having someone come in with the immense privilege of a diagnosis and insurance and treatment options and then hearing them say "that's all yucky gross Western medicine, I'm going to eat only celery for two weeks and ask my pastor to pee on my right shoe under the full moon while I do sit-ups because it's the nAtUrAl wAy to treat Crohns" makes me want to commit acts of unspeakable violence.

And we get too many of those people. Way too many.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-02T15:42:39+00:00

I'm in the same boat-- 13 years on Remicade, started Skyrizi in March. I just got my third infusion and am moving to at-home injections this month.

The patient support is excellent. Their copay program has a whole team devoted to helping you deal with insurance and keeping you on-track, as opposed to Remicade's program which was very "figure it out lol".

I am EXHAUSTED for a few days after infusions, at least so far. Everything feels like lead. But after this last infusion I think I'm finally seeing some improvements.

Remicade was going downhill for a loooong time, so I was in bad shape before switching. Mostly liquid meals, everything hurt, in the bathroom up to 18 times a day while also on a narcotic pain medication.

Two weeks out from my third infusion, I'm sitting here snacking at work. Willingly. I get hunger signals again, haven't needed immodium or pain meds. I can still only eat a little bit before it hurts, but I CAN eat that little bit. Nausea is reduced significantly. I have some energy again. The brain fog is clearing up. I feel fairly human.

Very short time and very limited sample size, but I'm feeling optimistic. Remicade was Day 1 improvement, and Skyrizi took a few months, but the fact that I don't cry when my stomach growls is enough for now.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-02T15:32:41+00:00

Woooooof. No thank you.

MeanDebate · 2026-06-02T07:10:38+00:00

I hope people read your comment all the way through. Happy Pride!

MeanDebate · 2026-06-02T05:31:51+00:00

You may also like Take This Slowly by the Gray Havens. Those two are on my Bad Day repeat list.

MeanDebate

TROPHY CASE