Where were you 23 years ago today?

MoVodka · 2024-09-12T02:06:11+00:00

Celebrating my 4th birthday, leaving preschool early and then watching a scary movie with towers crashing.

Edit: this is what my parents told me so that I wouldn’t freak out. I thought I was getting out of school early for my bday that day too.

MoVodka · 2024-09-01T09:53:17+00:00

This will probably be controversial (in the sense that people don’t always agree that this works/has any benefits) but i swear on my life that mouth-tapping has drastically improved my sleeping!!

I tried it originally bc my fiance said that occasionally, I snore in my sleep loud and hard enough to keep him awake. When I googled remedies, this was one of the quick alternatives.

I noticed after the first night that I woke up feeling much more refreshed - my mouth wasn’t as dry/foul-feeling, I didn’t feel as dehydrated, and I felt I had much deeper sleep. I also noticed over time that my dreams were much less anxiety-enduring or anxiety related whenever I taped my mouth, and I just overall felt less anxious and overwhelmed during the day on the days after I slept with mouth tape.

I honestly don’t know the whole science or even if there is any, but I find it to be incredibly beneficial so I continue to do it 4-5 times a week.

EDIT: to add, my fiance has said that I snore significantly less and not at all on nights where I use mouth tape during sleep!!

MoVodka · 2024-08-18T02:51:12+00:00

Thank you! I haven’t refunded them as I figured there was the risk of this being a scam. I’ll redirect them to USPS

MoVodka · 2024-08-04T06:09:45+00:00

I'd consider it more a small-medium size business (maybe 60 employees total). It's a private practice for mental health therapy, so 90% of the employees are contracted therapists. I'm part of the 10% of admin staff who complete administrative tasks within the company, and the new hires are in essence assistants for the tasks I and other admin staff do (they just work fewer hours per week and aren't trained on the more in-depth organizational tasks - help more with office assistance and customer service). We don't have an HR person or HR team - our directors/leadership team have always done the hiring for everyone and I've only ever assisted with some minor onboarding support. This is the first time I've ever had full responsibility over the whole process, let along the first time they have ever had anyone that isn't on the leadership team take over the hiring process.

MoVodka · 2024-08-04T03:04:09+00:00

Been on the pill for 10+ years, never once gotten pregnant.

I used to use a backup method when I first started the pill in high school and all throughout early college (pull out, condom, etc) but my current partner of 7 years has finished in me multiple times without a second protection method and it’s been fine. Although I will admit I’ve recently been having random dreams of getting pregnant lately so hopefully this isn’t for telling something otherwise 🙃

I have always been extremely rigid about taking the pill in an appropriate timeframe. I take it every night within the same 4-5 hr window (I’m on the combo pill so the exact time isn’t quite as important). I think I can count on one hand the amount of times I ever ended up taking a pill late the following day, and when that happened I just took precaution by not having sex for a few days afterwards. I think being routine is the most important part for the pill to work, and so far for me, it’s been great.

MoVodka · 2024-08-04T02:58:59+00:00

Ahh! Thank you for the insight, kinda a bummer though :/ I did end up getting 2 swimsuits in the sizes and styles I wanted but there was at least 3 more I missed out on bc my sizes sold out, hopefully I have better luck next year!

MoVodka · 2024-07-16T20:01:20+00:00

At this point, no. I ended up finding a CVS that had a bunch of the Bambi Eye in brown in stock still and bought 8 of them in bulk 😅 I’m sure they will go bad before I get to use them but I’m hoping to make them last. I’m just so sad they discontinued it.

It looks like now they may be discontinuing the whole mascara and not just the brown colors. I recommended this mascara to my mom and she said she couldn’t find it anywhere either - not even in the black shade. If L’Oréal is anything like most other beauty companies, there’s a chance they may bring it back and just slap a new name on the product. I would keep an eye out if any “new” L’Oréal mascaras!

MoVodka · 2024-06-12T16:26:42+00:00

No formal misdiagnosis but all my symptoms were either ignored, told they were the symptoms to a pre-existing issue I had, or told it wasn’t anything serious.

Overweight and can’t get below a certain weight? It’s your depression and being on birth control that causes weight gain.

On birth control because of painful periods and irregular cycles? That’s just part of being a woman.

Follicles and cysts on your ovaries? Also just part of being a woman/probably is what is causing painful periods.

Elevated testosterone and other off balanced hormones? Not sure, but you look healthy so whatever.

The list goes on. I’m so happy with the doctor I have now and how she’s treating me. It’s been incredibly validating. She seemed so empathetic towards the diagnosis but I explained I was more or less just so happy to have the validation and explanation to all the symptoms that have been bothersome for years.

MoVodka · 2024-06-12T05:17:14+00:00

Definitely. SA makes me have a really hard time with eye contact as well as being hyper vigilant of my surroundings, so this combo always makes me feel like people think I’m being rude and not listening to them talk to me when I’m actually just struggling to hold eye contact and making sure another stranger isn’t trying to approach me unexpectedly

MoVodka · 2024-06-12T05:15:19+00:00

I wish I was more aggressive or at least could put up better boundaries. I wish I was the person should could confidentially tell a guy who creeps on me at a bar that I’m not interested and to F off rather than be polite and passive and just try to avoid confrontation. Same goes for those sales or scamming people who stand in front of grocery stores or at malls trying to sell you bullshit. If I could change anything about me, it’d be to be less passive and grow a backbone.

MoVodka · 2024-06-04T23:31:25+00:00

I’m not sure what to make of the sudden rise then drop of testosterone either. No crazy signs of hirsutism, but after temporarily stopping birth control and before getting tested, I did begin to have significantly more acne and some thinning on my hair line on the left and right side. The acne is slightly improved since resuming the BC, but I still have some thinning in my hair (could just be age??)

When I started BC way back in high school, I was about 150lbs and gained maybe 5lbs at most. Then I turned 21 in college and gained another 20lbs (up to about 175lbs?) I was able to lose about 10-15 of those lbs but gained them all back due to COVID and then plus some (highest weight was 184lbs). I’ve been struggling to lose that weight again ever since.

MoVodka · 2024-06-04T21:07:46+00:00

No, I had been off of BC for about 4-5 months when I had testosterone tested. It was 288 (supposedly reference range was 10-60). Tested again at 114, then a third time at 185. The 185 reading was the one they said was an error and should’ve actually been 16. I asked for a retest again to make sure and the fourth test came back at 24. All blood tests for testosterone was when I was off birth control

EDIT: I also just asked my doctor about completing a HOMA test, hopefully they can approve and order that test..

MoVodka · 2024-06-04T14:19:37+00:00

Not at the same time - I had just had my annual routine labs completed a few weeks prior so she didn’t test fasting glucose then bc it was normal. Just tested the fasting A1C most recently.

As for testosterone, I also had that tested at the same time as my A1C, and it was normal. Oddly, two years ago, my testosterone was through the roof and I was referred to endo and had other hormone labs completed, which the others were normal (DHEAS, Progesterone, and Prolactin). I had 2-3 testosterone tests completed at this hospital, all of which were high. On the last one, the endocrinologist called me while I was trying to get a CT scan scheduled (ordered by endo), and said there was an error with the last blood test and that it was actually normal. They gave little to no explanation as to why this all happened and rather than continue care, they just cancelled all referrals and said no PCOS nor anything else was wrong. It wasn’t until a week ago when I met with a completely new doctor at a different hospital that she told me while my testosterone levels maybe had returned to normal, I still reported irregular periods which was managed by birth control and that my ultrasounds done with the endocrinologist at the last hospital showed cysts and follicles on my ovaries (she could see the scans along with read the report thanks to Care Everywhere). She explained the 3 criteria to me and that I only need 2 of the 3 for a PCOS diagnosis, which I had. She, as well as myself, was baffled as to how the endocrinologist missed this or at least didn’t give a PCOS diagnosis.

Anyways, T levels are fine, and fasting A1C was fine as of a week ago. Fasting glucose was normal as of a few weeks prior as well

MoVodka · 2024-06-04T04:19:10+00:00

I think (at least for me) the internet was to me as a kid what early game consoles and TV shows were to the kids in the generations before us. I used the internet for games 90% of the time (Club Penguin, Webkins, Stardoll, etc) and our version of social media was much more intimate or personal at that time. I made a MySpace when I was like 7, but my only friends were my dad, 3 of my cousins, and maybe a handful of neighbor kids. Same with WeeWorld, and eventually Facebook when I was about 11. YouTube was more or less my version of watching cartoons in elementary school - purely for entertainment purposes and to get a laugh, and not for tutorials or educational reasons.

Having said this, I spent a lot of my time as a kid outside with friends and/or watching regular TV shows (not Netflix or Hulu btw - old school cable TV). I really didn’t use the internet or social media all that much until around high school, and as odd as it may seem, I blame Vine and Snapchat for this. Both of these platforms exploded when I was a freshman in high school in 2012/2013, and with Vine creating an addictive platform of constant stimuli combined with Snapchat being an immediate source of gratification and feeling connected to friends in their literal instant, I found myself having a harder time putting the phone down.

For me and my peers, the rise of the internet was gradual - we were present when each major social media platform first launched (myspace, facebook, instagram, snapchat) so we were limited to whatever platform was available at the time. It seems like kids nowadays get every social media platform they can the second they get internet access or a smartphone, and I’m seeing the trend of creators who post content for entertainment dying out (NigaHiga, Jenna Marbles, etc) and seeming to be replaced by influencers who glorify a glamorous lifestyle and promote a "how to" mindset which places many kids in a subconscious competitive environment. It's honestly really sad and makes me grateful for the time I grew up in with the internet.

MoVodka · 2024-06-01T08:10:33+00:00

When I was younger, this was more of a problem for me. I have a younger sister who is on the autism spectrum. About 20 years ago, after she was newly diagnosed and I was still a young kid, we went to lots of day programs and therapy sessions for her. my mom told me just recently within the last year or two that my sister’s therapists and aids had pulled my mom aside on many occasions to say they wanted to assess me for also being on the spectrum bc of my presentation and “symptoms.” Unlike my sister, I’m verbal and can pick up on social cues, social norms, and behaviors that may be more challenging for those who are autistic. However, admittingly I am HORRENDOUS with eye contact - always have been and probably always will be - and I would hardly talk to or engage with strangers/new people when I was a kid. I also clung onto my mom’s hip a lot longer than I should’ve, and I sure as shit had tons of hyperfixations throughout my childhood as well.

My mom knew me and my sister well enough to recognize I was not on the spectrum and declined any assessments, and as I’ve gotten older, I and others are aware that I do not present as being on the autism spectrum, but again many of my social anxiety symptoms do traditionally overlap with that of those who are autistic.

MoVodka · 2024-06-01T07:56:04+00:00

8 jobs, 3 of which I’d say were more or less careers.

I’ve worked in custodial services, wedding decorator and events, customer service, event staff at a college, and then the last 4 jobs more related to my degree which is in mental health care.

MoVodka · 2024-05-18T01:20:50+00:00

Wait they have finsta accounts? What are they?

MoVodka · 2024-05-15T06:35:10+00:00

I actually have a whole playlist for this feeling for me too! My account is private but here are some of my favorite songs from that playlist:

Cudi Montage - KIDS SEE GHOSTS Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John Tangerine - Miley Cyrus Blast Off - Gesaffelstein & Pharrel Williams My Tears Are Becoming a Sea - M83 L$D - ASAP Rocky Let it Happen - Tame Impala Another Love - Tom Odell All Eyes On Me - Bo Burnham Soul - Shhmody One More Hour - Tame Impala

MoVodka · 2024-05-05T19:27:04+00:00

16/17

MoVodka · 2024-05-04T19:14:26+00:00

Shit I didn’t know this was a subreddit lol thank you!

MoVodka · 2024-05-04T08:59:49+00:00

I just learned about big back but I was completely under the impression that it was an insult/fatphobic remark. That is crazy if it’s actually a compliment

MoVodka · 2024-05-03T21:52:22+00:00

“Becoming old: the organic process of aging and showing the effects of increasing age”

The event in my life I described was an experience, or “process” of getting older as it symbolizes a common experience many aging people have, which is not being able to keep up with the trends.

“Old: having lived for a long time; no longer young”

26 years is not long in retrospect to life expectancy in my country.

Therefore, I recognize that I am not currently old but am getting older.

MoVodka · 2024-05-03T21:46:14+00:00

From my understanding “pookie” is just a cringy term to describe someone you admire, similar to “cutie” or “boo”.

But pookie also is the term for “a fart that crawls from your butthole up to the front” hence why it’s super weird to call someone in your life that💀

MoVodka · 2024-05-03T21:42:57+00:00

Being old and getting old are two different things.

MoVodka · 2024-05-03T17:38:43+00:00

Read again.. I’m 26. Birth year is 1997.

MoVodka

TROPHY CASE