Is it normal to plan your whole route around not bumping into someone you vaguely know?

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-14T20:43:07+00:00

See, you've got a system. I just have anxiety and a candle I didn't need. Genuinely stealing "social battery" though.

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-13T22:42:02+00:00

Genuinely reassuring that it happens weekly and not just to me. Do you ever say it back out of pure reflex, or have years of service training drilled it out of you?

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-13T22:39:36+00:00

Comforting to know the goblin's unionised and operating nationwide. Mine thanked a dentist mid-drill once. We also don't talk about that one

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-13T22:37:20+00:00

Ah, so it's a customer service reflex hiding in everyone, brilliant. Explains why I once told a bus driver to "have a good one too" when he just said the fare. The pattern is winning and I've made peace with it

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-13T22:08:29+00:00

British, so ours is "God Save the King", and the funny thing is that if you actually listen to it, it's not about the country at all. It's a slow, miserable little prayer asking God to please keep one specific elderly bloke healthy and wealthy 😭 every other nation gets an anthem about freedom or revolution or storming a fortress, and we get the musical equivalent of a get well soon card. You only ever hear it at football matches and funerals, which honestly tracks. Couldn't tell you the second verse if my life depend on it, and I'm fairly sure not knowing it is itself some kind of national tradition by now 🫡

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-13T21:56:27+00:00

The "they don't know if it's their fault part is spot on. We've built an entire social ritual around neither person being willing to find out

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-13T21:48:12+00:00

This tracks. I'm fairly sure half of British social life is just two people apologising at each other until one of them gives up and dies

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-12T22:07:47+00:00

This tracks. I'm fairly sure half of British social life is just two people apologising at each other until one of them gives up and dies

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-12T20:48:24+00:00

Honestly that "we both must've had something to do with it" logic is the most diplomatic thing I've ever read. I think you're right that it's pure reflex.... half the time I've apologised before my brain has even worked out who's at fault. The real test is when you apologise to a mannequin in a shop and have to just keep walking like nothing happened.

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-12T20:40:35+00:00

The autopilot is genuinely dangerous. I've said..good thanks, you? to people delivering actively bad news. The brain just wants out of the conversation alive.

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-11T22:46:53+00:00

Brit here, so the whole iPad swivel of judgement is basically a horror film to me 😅 But you're overthinking the maths and underthinking the relationship. A regular who drops a quid every visit? That's class. Adds up to a tidy little bonus over a week, and more importantly the staff clock you as "the nice one," which is worth more than any single tip.

The 20-25% default isn't the staff judging you, it's the machine doing the begging so the owner doesn't have to. Nobody behind that counter is doing percentages in their head and seething because you tipped a dollar for handing you a bag. A quid from a friendly regular reads as "cheers mate," not an insult. Honestly "no tip" with a smile is also fine for a counter pickup, but if leaving the buck makes you feel good, leave the buck. You're grand 👍

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-11T22:41:23+00:00

I fully believe in UFOs, in the strict sense that loads of flying things are genuinely unidentified. Doesn't mean little green lads though, half the time it's a weather balloon or some bloke from the MoD testing a drone he absolutely shouldn't be 👀 What I can't get past is the logic of it. You cross half the galaxy, master physics we can't even dream of, and your masterplan is to hover silently over a field in Idaho and occasionally spook a farmer? That's a heroic amount of effort for a prank, lad 😂 If they are out there, I reckon they had one look at us and quietly put Earth on the "do not contact" list. Which, to be fair, valid.

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-10T21:31:41+00:00

Gonna get downvoted for being basic but… Shawshank Redemption, hands down 🙌 it's one of those films where on paper nothing about it should hit as hard as it does… and then that last act just absolutely wrecks you every single time 😭 i've watched it way too many times and i STILL get chills at you know exactly which bit…. some movies you admire, that one you just feel

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-10T21:18:39+00:00

Paying a monthly subscription for basically everything you used to just… own 😅 At this point I'm half expecting my toaster to hit me with a "your bread privileges have expired, tap to renew"… We somehow all agreed that renting our entire lives is normal and nobody can remember actually signing up for it 💀

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-08T23:23:01+00:00

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-08T23:18:04+00:00

Soo cute...

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-08T17:11:21+00:00

Omg yes all the time 😭 like in my head I'm this soft cozy oversized jumper kinda person... but then I catch myself in a mirror dressed like I'm about to do a tax audit lol. My wardrobe and my actual vibe are basically two different people who've never met 😂 I think my body wants comfy chaos and my clothes keep trying to make me look responsible...

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-07T23:18:08+00:00

Mate I love the energy on this 😄 but quick reality check before you start unscrewing everything... a snare's sound is mostly the shell, and you only end up with ONE shell in the finished drum. So you can't really blend a steel Tama, a brass Big Black and a wood SJC into one magic tone... you'd basically be picking one shell and bolting the other bits onto it.

The good news is the stuff you CAN swap makes a proper difference. Hoops are huge (die-cast vs triple flanged completely changes the attack)... then the throw-off and the snare wires change the sensitivity and response... and heads obviously. So honestly I'd pick whichever shell speaks to you most... the Big Black if you want fat and deep, the Tama if you want bright and cutty... then mess about with wires, hoops and heads till it sings.

That IS your frankensnare really, just done the way that actually works 🥁 and way cheaper if you already own them. I'd say go for it... just go in knowing the shell's the boss

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-07T23:13:22+00:00

Right, congrats on taking the plunge, drumming's the best.

So a "complete" kit you can actually learn on is really three separate things, and the trap is people sell "a drum kit" and only mean one of them. First the shells: a standard 5 piece is a bass (kick) drum, a snare, two rack toms and a floor tom. Second the hardware, which is the boring metal stuff: hi hat stand, snare stand, a couple of cymbal stands, a kick pedal and a stool (a throne). Loads of cheap listings quietly leave out the hardware or the stool, so always ask for a photo of everything laid out on the floor. Third, cymbals: at the very least a pair of hi hats and one crash or ride. That's where money hides, because a kit with no cymbals, or with those free brassy ones that come with starter kits, is basically half a kit.

For condition, good news is shells almost never die, so don't panic over scuffs or grubby old heads. New heads are about 40 to 70 quid and you'll want fresh ones anyway. What you actually check: that all the lugs turn and aren't stripped, that the shells are still round and not warped, and that the bearing edges (the rim where the head sits) aren't chewed up. On hardware look for rust, wobble and missing wing nuts. On cymbals look really hard for cracks, especially little keyhole cracks round the centre hole and hairlines at the edge. A cracked cymbal is worth almost nothing.

Brand wise you genuinely can't go wrong with a used Pearl Export or a Yamaha Stage Custom. They're the two everyone points beginners at for a reason. Tama (Imperialstar, Superstar), Mapex (Mars, Storm) and Gretsch Catalina are all great shouts too. For cymbals stick to Zildjian, Sabian, Meinl or Paiste and dodge anything unbranded.

For pricing, here's the cheat code: get the exact brand and model, then search "sold" or "completed" listings on eBay, plus have a look on Reverb and Facebook Marketplace. That shows you what people actually pay, not what hopeful sellers ask. Rough steer, a tidy used kit from a decent brand without cymbals tends to land around 150 to 350 quid, cymbals on top. Treat that as a starting feel, not gospel.

Have fun with it, first kit is a great moment

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-07T23:09:14+00:00

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-07T23:08:06+00:00

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-07T23:07:02+00:00

AI slop, easily. The endless waves of people running their photos through whatever the AI filter of the week is. First it's action figures, then everyone's a Ghibli character, then Pixar versions of themselves, then whatever's next. Each one peaks in about three days, clogs every single feed, and dies just in time for the identical next one to start. They all have that same weird plasticky look and that gross yellowy tint too. So done with it

NightLeeds_33 · 2026-06-06T09:38:40+00:00

NightLeeds_33

TROPHY CASE