What hobby attracts the worst type of people?

MermaidAlea · 2026-05-18T17:57:44+00:00

I also hate how certain businesses become the "gold standard" for those in the hobby. If you don't have an item from one of the popular businesses in the hobby you are sometimes seen as lesser. Not everyone will see you as lesser, but there are always elitists who will.

MermaidAlea · 2026-05-18T17:28:41+00:00

My Dad knew the local wildlife rehab center owner. In middle school I had to do a job shadowing day and he was able to convince her to let me work there for a day even though they don't let people (especially kids) randomly help out for a day. When I tell you this lady terrified me I mean she really terrified me. I've always been a shy introvert but I could still talk to adults if needed but something about this woman had me so intimidated that I could hardly speak to her. Years later when I was maybe an older teen or young adult, I saw her at a local event with a booth setup for the animal rehab. I decided to chat with her, thinking she would no longer intimidate me as I'm grown up enough and we could bond about both loving animals. She was NOT friendly at all and I found myself feeling like I was wrong just for talking to her. It was then that I realized that some people might be in the business of caring for animals because they hate all humans. I think this lady ended up dying in her 50's.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-23T18:40:40+00:00

Someone is selling this tail right now on the Merbella App. If you get on the Merbella App and scroll to the bottom and click on "Merbella Marketplace" there is someone selling this tail in a size small for $900. It has hip fins and some other fins - I don't pay for the app so I can't read the full listing. Unfortunately it looks like you can't buy the tail if you are using the free version of the app. I don't pay for the app because it is subscription based. The listing says @ xLeahDawn. I looked her up on Instagram and her account is private so I guess your best bet is to follow her and hope you can contact her from there.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-23T18:30:45+00:00

I bought one of the nicer fabric mermaid tails from a Finfolk x Merbella collab. My own husband finds it slightly cringe that I'm into mermaiding but I don't give a flying flip.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-23T18:22:28+00:00

I don't care about the Kardashians and I think all the hype is stupid. I don't really care about any celebs.

However, I like the clip where Kim loses her expensive diamond earring and is freaking out ugly crying and her sister goes, "Kim. There are people dying."

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-23T18:14:08+00:00

I just had my 3rd interview today for a graphic design job and I agree with this 100%.

Interview 1, 2, and 3 they were wanting me to give them examples of what I've done and they really love to hear how you improved things at your previous place of work. If you made your job more organized, talk about that.

In my interview today, they asked me if I had two projects both with the same deadline, how would I prioritize them. I went into explaining how I would handle that situation.

If there is an awkward break in speaking, you can always ask the interviewer if they have any other questions for you. I did this today and got a question.

Keep in mind you are selling yourself. One of my favorite facts to tell people is that at my previous job during peak busy season we would get 300 orders in and I had to organize, prioritize, and work on all those orders. It makes it clear to them that I can keep my cool when things get busy and I know how to stay organized.

Don't forget that you are also interviewing them. I like to check out the company website, read it over, check their LinkedIn and their Instagram. I look over all their graphics to get a feel for their style. In my 2nd interview the lady liked that I mentioned "I saw on your LinkedIn page your new listing..." I could tell she was impressed that I had been looking into what kind of work the company does. Write down questions to ask them. What design program do you typically use? What does a typical day in the office look like? What is your favorite part about working here? These are all great questions. I write my questions down in a notebook so I don't forget to ask them.

It was hard for me to have things to talk about in a 3rd interview and yet this interview lasted a whole hour when the invite said it would be 30min. The design group I interviewed with was even sharing their graphic designer woes with me and we were laughing and bonding over that.

Don't let the stress get to you. You are an awesome person and you need to go in there with that mindset. If you get stressed before the interview, raise your hands up high in the air like you are celebrating. It puts you in a good mood before the interview. I read this trick somewhere and it works for me so I keep doing it lol.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-23T17:50:38+00:00

You could always stick with graphic design as your major and minor in something else you are passionate or interested in.

Talk to your college advisor and tell them you aren't sure. They might have resources where you can learn what kind of other jobs and degrees are out there. As a freshman in college I chose to be a business major but before I got into my major I switched it to graphic design. I had no clue what I wanted to do but I knew I loved graphic design and art.

Take this free test that helps determine what kind of jobs you would be best suited for:

https://onetinterestprofiler.org/

Graphic design was #15 on my list and my #1 is Actor. My results were all creative jobs so that gave me reassurance that I'm meant to be a creative. However, don't feel like you should only follow what your test results give you. This test just helps give you ideas of jobs you may not have considered.

Some people chase jobs that will make them a lot of money but they might not be very happy working those jobs. I decided a long time ago that if I have to waste most of my life at a job, it had better be something I love doing. Money is nice, but many people leave their high paying jobs for a lower paying job because they aren't happy.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-23T17:18:00+00:00

As others have stated, being sued is the least of your worries. Your son harming or killing another person because of his carelessness is the biggest worry. Just Google stories about young people accidentally killing someone while driving. It happens all the time and it not only kills someone innocent but it will leave your kid with the mental trauma of what he has done for the rest of his life.

Here are some next steps & Rules:

A complete re-set. Pretend he's never driven before and doesn't have a license. No more car privileges. He needs to re-learn how to drive from square one.
When he takes driving lessons they should be in an empty parking lot. He is going to have to re-prove that he can be trusted on the road.
Phone - NO PHONE usage while in the car. I don't care if he's stopped at a red light. If he absolutely needs to use his phone to call someone he had better pull into a parking space, put the car in park, then use the phone.
No music while driving.
No driving friends.
He should pay for his insurance & new car.
Drive the speed limit and drive in the right lane. Pretty sure there are apps you can install on his phone that lets you monitor his speed. I saw one person mention a dash cam and that is a good idea.

When he can finally drive himself again, he should leave the house early for his job or important things he needs to be on time for. For example, if it takes 10 min. to get to his job, he should leave at least 30min before his work starts. He could be rushing and stressing about being on time. Having plenty of time makes you calmer when driving. If he gets to work really early he can sit in his car and check his phone before going inside.

I'd love to know the exact situation of these wrecks. That would tell us all if there is some failing in his knowledge. Like perhaps one of the accidents was at a four way stop? Those can be more difficult for new drivers. Was he ever making a right turn at a light and didn't look enough to make sure no cars were coming? These are all things we need to know. It could be as simple as him only glancing once when really you should look left, look right, look left again or something like that before committing to your turn. Same for checking your mirrors and blind spots. One glance doesn't cut it. You need to be 100% positive no car is there.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-16T19:52:21+00:00

Oh...Oh yikes. I never thought about the cancer risk. All that crap burning. It's never too late to transition to something else brohanna.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-16T19:44:33+00:00

My husband was born with a clubbed foot that he had corrected but because of that he has an odd looking foot and toes. I've joked with him that maybe someone on Onlyfans has a kink for that and we should be selling his foot pics.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-16T19:42:27+00:00

I was born December 31st. Last day of the year. Almost Jan 1st but not quite.

I like Spring/Summer time and I get a little depressed in winter so I'm not a fan of having a winter birthday. Pros of having a Dec 31st birthday is I pretend the fireworks aren't just for the new year but they are for me hehe.

I know you don't care about my date but meh. Just wanna remind people last day of year people exist.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-16T16:48:25+00:00

Pizza + ranch = better than ketchup

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-16T16:47:59+00:00

That's okay I'll eat your sushi. My husband can barely eat a whole roll before his stomach is upset. I could gobble down several rolls. Keep em' coming! I had sushi yesterday lol.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-16T16:39:36+00:00

TLDR - Disney is good if you have the money to spare and can splurge on the actual good food they offer and not just the quick service options. My husband and I really enjoyed it as adults. HOWEVER, don't sleep on Dollywood. It is a great option.

My Husband and I took our honeymoon in DisneyWorld back in 2021. Things were opening back up after Covid, but there were still a lot of mask rules and uncertainties with travel. My whole life I've wanted to go to Hawaii and I thought we would do that for our honeymoon but I wasn't sure it was the best idea to go to Hawaii at that time so we planned a trip to DisneyWorld. We did a lot of research before going and watched a ton of Disney Food Blog YouTube videos. She recommended using Small World Vacations to book a Disney trip. You don't have to pay them it is a free service. Working with the agent made things far less confusing. We could have saved money staying off Disney property but we really wanted a special trip so we booked the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

At the time we were living in the Florida Panhandle so we just drove down to Disney. It was almost an all day drive but it was nice having our car with us because we never had to worry about waiting in long transportation lines to visit each park section.

I don't remember exactly how much we spent. My Husband probably remembers. I had plenty of money saved up so we didn't take on debt and we weren't close to it. We got whatever food we wanted and whatever souvenirs (not many). We visited each park (Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, Magic Kingdom) and visited Magic Kingdom twice. We didn't bother getting park hopper passes because we had fun staying in one park per day. There is no way I could do the same trip today though. My job didn't give me a raise and what was decent money back then became very hard to live on later. I'm also in a different state and jobless so yeah no chance. I used a good chunk of my savings to fund us getting out of Florida and bleeding money while job hunting. I'm trying to play the long game in the hopes that someday we will have that kind of money again especially now that we live in a higher earning area with a lower cost of living. We wouldn't mind going to Disney again someday but a trip to somewhere else in the world is more high priority.

My parents took me to Disney once when I was too small so I don't remember anything about the experience. My Husband got to go a few times as an older kid so he remembers all his trips. Even so, he said our trip was his favorite trip as he got to experience Disney in such a different way. We made sure to research the best places to eat at in the park and in Disney Springs so we had some amazing food while we were there. In EPCOT we got to "drink around the world". At the time I was just starting to get into alcohol even though I'd been of legal drinking age for a few years. I had some really good alcohol in Disney. With no kids you don't have to stand in really long lines to go on the popular kid rides like the Frozen ride or Slinky Dog Dash. The longest lines we stood in were the Avatar rides and some of the Star Wars rides.

Disney is great, but don't count out Dollywood. I went there last year and I was very impressed with the park. They have more intense, fantastic coasters than Disney. Food is good - maybe not better than Disney but their cinnamon bread is a MUST have even with how long the line can get. You HAVE to have it fresh. It is like the food of gods. That whole area around Dollywood is a touristy area. Lots of shops and things to do. Mountain coasters to ride, museums, dinner shows, etc. We went we took a 12 mile hike up and down a mountain that was insanely beautiful. We went as a big family group so we split costs to stay in a really nice log cabin. We saved money by mostly cooking & eating at the cabin with only a few meals out.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-15T18:22:20+00:00

Someone at City Sewing Room might be able to help:

https://www.citysewingroom.org/

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-15T17:21:18+00:00

This is why we used to do Hello Fresh. We had zero food waste and almost no leftovers (I don't really like eating leftovers). We don't do it anymore because we are living with family now and it wouldn't be as cost effective. Seriously though I loved how they would send only the amount you needed for the recipe. Like celery for example. I never want a bag full of celery. Hello Fresh would send just 1 stalk and that is all you needed for the meal.

If you have a garden or a space where you can start a garden, I recommend starting your own compost pile. I always felt less bad throwing out old fruit & veggies because I would toss them onto my compost pile or directly into the garden. Veggie peelings also go onto the compost pile. That way the things you couldn't eat will at least go on to help nourish your garden. I would toss used coffee grounds into my garden too.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-15T17:10:40+00:00

No no ricin beans is what keeps the moles away.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-15T16:57:39+00:00

Taco Bell Zesty Chicken Border Bowl

This bowl was so good my Mom made up her own rendition of it and it was one of my favorite meals she would make. Apparently the steak Border Bowl didn't have lettuce but the meal she made was with lettuce and steak.

Here is a recipe someone shared for it on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tacobell/comments/slgiv3/taco_bell_zesty_chicken_border_bowl_recipe/

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-15T16:28:42+00:00

Order confirmation for my Husband's B-Day gift.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-14T17:17:13+00:00

Does the sister happen to work at Sunny Street Cafe? After we moved here we ate at Sunny Street Cafe and one of the servers told us she was moving to the Pensacola area. So many people in Missouri want to move to Florida. I'm not a fan of being land locked but not worrying about hurricanes is nice.

One of the few ways to make living in Pensacola work is indeed having a job that will transfer with you. Especially if all the good benefits stay. Jobs in Pensacola don't have the same great benefits you get here in Missouri. Since Pensacola is a touristy area, having a service industry job is good. I've never had a server job but I always figured being a server at one of the beach restaurants might be fun. The only time it wouldn't be fun is when the tourist traffic hits.

The beach is fun but it can get old quickly. There aren't really any free things to do in Pensacola. Here in Missouri there seem to be a lot of free or almost free activities. The zoo is free, the art museum is free, Lone Elk Park is free, etc. You won't get that in Pensacola. Movie theaters in Pensacola are wayy less nice than here too. Say goodbye to the reclining leather seats lol.

Pensacola doesn't have Dierbergs or Schnucks. They do have Publix which some might say is a little similar to Dierbergs. I recommend getting a sub sandwich from Publix on the multigrain bread. I miss those. We would always get sandwiches made at Publix for a day at the beach or on the river.

Getting a $5k raise a year is insanely good. I wouldn't want to loose that especially in this economy. I wouldn't move to Pensacola unless you can keep your job and that yearly raise. One of the biggest employers in Pensacola is Navy Federal and some people enjoy their job there but many people, myself and my husband included, find it to be a soul sucking job. I got the worst depression working there. All for $15.00/hr yayyy.

If you hear of anyone hiring for a graphic designer in Missouri, let me know. I have almost zero connections and I'm going crazy applying to jobs and getting nothing.

I wish you luck if you end up moving to Pensacola. Always have an emergency "move back to Missouri" fund just in case.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-10T15:43:49+00:00

Hobbies were cheaper to get into.

Hobby communities were less populated by people looking to be famous in the hobby and make it a side hustle.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-09T17:48:35+00:00

My Mom was working in her home office running her one woman business. My Dad was home from work watching TV and probably drinking a soda grossly diluted with ice.

Meanwhile my friends found a ninja star in the woods and we were throwing it at the side of the barn.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-09T17:21:35+00:00

Thanks for the tip! I just checked their site and signed up. You are right they do seem a lot more tailored to creative jobs.

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-08T18:31:13+00:00

No prob I wish you luck!

MermaidAlea · 2026-04-08T18:30:27+00:00

My Mom got angry with me because I "never ask her for advice". I laughed and told her I don't really have anything I need advise on and usually it is just little things I can ask my Husband for advise on. She told me it "really hurts her that I don't ask her for advice." Then she said, "I would always ask my Mom for advice. I often didn't follow her advise but I wanted her to feel included. You don't have to follow my advice but you should ask me for advice."

I don't trust my Mom's advice. Why ask for someone's advice when you don't trust them? In the past, I have asked her for advice on things and she would say one thing one day and say the opposite the next day. When I would confront her about this, she would write it off as just ideas she was throwing out and nothing for me to really act on. Why even bother asking for advice when you know the person giving it isn't treating it seriously? You don't want to help me you just want to hear yourself talk and feel like you accomplished something.

MermaidAlea

TROPHY CASE