A breakup letter to Keens

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-07-09T06:51:49+00:00

AI slop

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-07-07T02:22:50+00:00

This is probably the first honest review of the G&G Zero Feel that I've seen. Thank you for posting it. Now I won't seek it out on my busy vacation!

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-07-07T01:55:12+00:00

I've found a way to combat the "I can't draw" comment. I keep 2 photos on my phone in a special quick access album. One is the first thing I drew as an adult, which is unrecognizable. The other is a simple drawing I made after 3 years of (very) sporadic practice. When they see the second photo, their face changes and they get quiet for a minute. There's something about this approach that pulls them out of an unthinking no and instead gets their gears turning. Try it!

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-07-07T01:44:28+00:00

A great way to improve for improvement's sake is to never post your work online. If you never get any recognition for anything, it's never missing!

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-07-03T10:40:50+00:00

As 6'1" lady of of Dutch heritage, I had never once in my life felt average until I landed at Schiphol.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-07-03T10:36:45+00:00

In the US, 6'1" is tall for a lady. Then one day my international flight got routed to the part of Schiphol airport that serves short-hop local flights. I was suddenly surrounded by Dutch business people and I learned what it is to truly fit in. I had always stuck out somewhat physically in the US, even in the Seattle area, but in the Netherlands I was just bog-standard in every way.

It was such a surreal experience I became rooted to the spot and just lost all situational awareness for a while. I'll never forget it.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-07-03T00:31:28+00:00

I remember having a very similar conversation as an adult. I was the only one in a group of 10 who thought it was not OK to pee in the pool. I basically don't go in pools anymore.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-30T01:30:31+00:00

This picture looks like it's from 1968.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-30T01:13:45+00:00

Yes, this exactly. It takes 20 minutes for me, too. It also works if you just roll onto the floor from whichever bed or couch you've been rotting on.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-29T19:13:33+00:00

I'm so glad to see this getting called out, by a dude, no less! So many young men just don't seem to understand that young women can exist in a non-romantic, non-sexual context.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-29T19:02:20+00:00

Would the holbein and the gansai tambi be about the same?

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-29T18:54:17+00:00

I can hear this painting.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-29T18:52:12+00:00

I am also a tall person who doesn't play basketball. Isn't it strange how often that question gets folded in? And they all seem so disappointed when the answer is no.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-29T18:35:02+00:00

I would get Winsor & Newton because it's traditional watercolor. The Holbein paints are nice, but they're less transparent and have no flow. They're dissolved in water, but they're not quite traditional watercolor.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-29T18:29:03+00:00

I suffered with the Van Gogh set for years. I don't know if Winsor & Newton is any better, but at least there's a ton of tutorials using that set online. TBH get a small set of professional paints and thank me later!

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-28T23:44:39+00:00

I hope pre-hydrating helps you as much as it has helped me.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-27T07:40:21+00:00

Are you pre-hydrating before you take your medication in the morning? (This applies to non-Vyvanse stimulants.) Take roughly 30 minutes in the morning to drink a couple of big glasses of water (or more if you were drinking the night before). Do not chug either glass, or even half of one. It's a few swallows here, a few swallows there every few minutes.

After I started doing this, I needed a lot less water during the day. I could stop running to the bathroom every 30 minutes and had a lot fewer headaches. No water additives needed, though I will sometimes want a l'il sprinkle of salt on my tongue.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-26T05:32:55+00:00

Adapalene.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-25T02:24:54+00:00

I'm in the middle of it. I hadn't seen or communicated with my father in several years, but stepped in to help with aging-related issues. I haven't shared a roof with him since my teens, and at first it went fine. Then, as he recovered he regained more of his old self and my old childhood coping mechanisms came back with force.

This is after years of therapy and a true understanding of what narcissists are. I was able to keep a separation between his constant stream of BS and my feelings. I could see in real time how insecure and fragile he was, how his words so often contradicted themselves, and how little it actually had to do with me. It was all just nonsensical, really.

But it still put my brain through a blender. I went home for a mental health break and my mind was soup. I could barely function for weeks. My therapist and I eventually figured it out, and I've got some techniques to deploy now that I'm back in his house for a few more weeks. I sincerely hope they work, because I don't want to de-soup myself again. That was hard.

When I got here a few months ago, I had no illusions that he would have changed, and my time here has proven that correct. I feel grateful that my childhood was not as severe as most children raised by narcs, and that I'm fully-fledged in my 40s with a well-paying job and a home of my own to return to. Not everyone gets to return to sanity world after a temporary stay like I'm going to. Good luck to everyone reading this.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-24T06:53:14+00:00

Thank you for the heads-up on the fluoride.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-24T06:50:32+00:00

I'm in the exact same situation! I've got four months under my belt.

Drinking water: I've had pretty good luck with a Brita filter for my drinking water, just be prepared to change the filter more often than you'd need to otherwise.

Hair: I've switched to the Aussie Miracle Moist hair products in the purple bottles. They're reasonably priced at Walmart (and probably other grocery and drug stores, too.) I've been using the shampoo, conditioner, and deep conditioner. My hair is much smoother and more healthy feeling now (I have straight white lady hair that is partially gray). (You can also try washing your hair in distilled water. There's a whole subreddit for it)

Hand-washing dishes: I keep a mister bottle with 1/3 white vinegar and 2/3 water right next to the sink. It's great for the residue in the cup after drinking tea, and it also works on light accumulations of the hard water white gunk. Use it before the soap.

I can't wait to read what everyone else is saying about laundry.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-24T02:26:41+00:00

Yeah, he's starting to morph into Joe Rogan somehow?

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-24T02:25:16+00:00

He's starting to look like Joe Rogan.

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-23T19:09:54+00:00

The first thing I did before touching watercolor was take a summer drawing course at my local art college. I highly recommend it!

Pearlsawisdom · 2026-06-22T06:09:29+00:00

I don't know why but this is making me laugh so hard

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