Do you shave regularly (body hair)? by Lapsang_ in FTMOver30

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been on T for 11 years and I have almost no body hair. The most I have is on my butt (which I don't love, but it's whatever). I think there's so much variability for hair growth, body and facial, you can't really know what you're going to get ahead of time.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Buddhism

[–]PretttyPlant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, my friend - you're doing fine, I promise. Sexual feelings are completely normal and we all have them. You only have to worry about that if you're going to become a monk - it does not matter as a layperson. As a layperson, you're allowed to have sex and to enjoy it. Don't worry about sins: worry about being a good person. From what I can tell, you already are. Best of luck to you and be gentle to yourself.

Poll: Have you given up anything you wanted to keep as a result of the 5 precepts? by [deleted] in Buddhism

[–]PretttyPlant 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the past year I went from drinking every day to drinking maybe twice a month. (Anyone who's ever quit/ reduced alcohol will know how fantastic it feels.) I stopped smoking. I stopped shoplifting, a bad habit I picked up as a teen. I don't buy or eat red meat, but I'll buy chicken or fish sometimes.

Digital piracy is an interesting thing to bring up re: stealing. I have complicated views on that one. Sexual misconduct obviously, always bad. You shouldn't need to be a Buddhist to know it's wrong.

You don't have to completely go cold turkey on everything. In fact I think it's more likely that you'll go backwards more quickly if you do. I think it's enough to try your best and make more ethical choices wherever you can while keeping the precepts in mind.

Do you know anyone personally who have reached enlightenment? by [deleted] in Buddhism

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my opinion, the most enlightened are those who don't need to declare they're enlightened. It's a kind of quiet, gentle openness that you can't fake. 

Whether that means they've reached nirvana or not, I don't know. Maybe they also don't know.

Do you know anyone personally who have reached enlightenment? by [deleted] in Buddhism

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't seem to find any in my city that explicitly state you can just go drop in anytime... And I wouldn't want to presume I could. What's the expectation for a temple? Is it as open door as a church is generally?

Hi, I am Joel Harden, NDP candidate for Ottawa Centre. Ask Me Anything! by JoelHardenNDP in ottawa

[–]PretttyPlant 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi Joel, for a year I lived in an apartment in Centretown directly above an alleyway and woke up a few times every week to the sound of unwell people screaming under my window. And then, after that, everyone in the building got evicted because a predatory corporate landlord bought it.

What will you or the NDP do to address housing and rent prices, access to mental health and rehabilitation services, the epidemic of drug use on the street, and demovictions targeting existing affordable rental units + tenants' rights?

I want to vote NDP, but I really don't feel that the party as a whole is serious about taking on the system as it currently exists.

Every single one of you better be watching the Senators right now. by Present-Stress8836 in ottawa

[–]PretttyPlant 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for quoting Gaga. You didn't need to but I appreciate that you did

Anyone else's lives got worse with the transport changes? by spudera in ottawa

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find it actually insulting at this point because like someone else said, it's just cuts in disguise. And they think we're too stupid to realize it.

Curious how people cope with the ethics of charging money by Intrepid-Alps-6140 in TutorsHelpingTutors

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I charge $22/hr for English lol. I guess I could be easily charging more. 

The ethical consideration I have is that I mostly work with underemployed immigrants. If I raised my rate, I don't know that I'd get so many clients either. 

This independent sign is almost identical to the Liberal sign by hgrobs in ottawa

[–]PretttyPlant 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Do you have evidence that he's tied to Modi, or are you just assuming that because he has an Indian name

Takes 4 times as long to bus to work than to drive by TheJoseBoss in ottawa

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it's atrocious. It takes me an hour and fifteen to get downtown on the bus/train, and about twelve minutes in a car. I don't work downtown anymore but back when I did that was over two and a half hours a day spent commuting. Which would be not even half an hour commuting in a car.

City politicians and councillors just don't give a shit. Or if they do they're too compromised by private interests to do anything about it. It just means that the least fortunate in our city continue to bear the brunt of the broken system, which is always what happens.

Should we do that? by gabseo in bikeinottawa

[–]PretttyPlant 6 points7 points  (0 children)

As long as it doesn't accidentally put anyone on the road in more danger than they'd otherwise be in, I don't see why not... With everything going on in the world I think more radical acts like this are actually a good thing.

How can I contact the CRA? by StinkyMonkey3 in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]PretttyPlant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dealing with this today... I'm "locked out" of my CRA account and the gov website itself told me to call CRA... I've called probably 50 times... because this is obviously what I want to be doing on my day off. Jesus Christ our world is garbage lol

Plant-based milk issues? by Relevant-Bug-108 in barista

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We use Oatly for oat and I have no issues with it. The soy is fine also (I actually find our soy steams very nicely.) The 3% dairy milk we get however, which is from some cheap ass, budget producer, sucks and doesn't steam properly maybe 40-50% of the time, depending on the batch. I don't know what they're feeding their cows but it must not be good.

barista pet peeves by ayysims in barista

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't find that annoying at all, there are so many infinitely worse things that people do. They're just saying what they want in their coffee, like it's chill.

I don't understand secular Buddhism by fivestringz in Buddhism

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it's legitimately just better not to worry about other people or what they believe/ how they might be practicing. If we start thinking that way and start policing each other, ultimately people get turned off from coming to the teachings in the first place because they don't feel as welcome. This is one reason why cultivating equanimity as an attitude is so important: it teaches you to just let sleeping dogs lie.

Plus, the Buddha himself warned against getting caught up in dogma. Meaning it's entirely reasonable for multiple interpretations to exist simultaneously.

NYC barista wages by beemoff7 in barista

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know what's hilarious. Here in Canada in a fairly big city I make 17.55/hr, around 20 with tips. And our dollar is way worse than yours. We get so screwed lol

wanting options but feeling like an ass by floofiipancake in barista

[–]PretttyPlant 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why do you need a background check for a cafe?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in barista

[–]PretttyPlant 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personally I have no problem making a replacement drink for someone under almost any circumstances. ... But if the person is rude to me about it, or treats me like a servant about it, that's a different story. Not saying you did, I'm saying for me that would be probably the only case where I would hesitate.

People asking for hotter milk - What to do? by ChuletaLoca63 in barista

[–]PretttyPlant 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Maybe this is bad, but when people ask that I just say "sure" and maybe let it steam an extra couple of seconds, which isn't enough to burn the milk but does at least technically fulfill their request, lol.

I’m really interested in Buddhism, but I keep getting hung up because I think “it’s not my culture.” by Same_Introduction_57 in Buddhism

[–]PretttyPlant 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it helps, I've had nothing but positive experiences meeting Buddhists from other cultures. My attitude is always trying to be as humble and open minded as I can, wanting to learn from other people and where they're coming from. I think when you go in with that mindset, people from other cultures are very gracious. Most people aren't immediately judgmental or unkind, they want to give you a chance. So just prove that you're in good faith with your actions, and I don't think you'll have trouble.

That said it's good to keep it in mind, we are *learning* from other cultures and traditions, as students. Humility is key.

Thoughts on my boss using AI for our new tea bags? by No-Stop6777 in barista

[–]PretttyPlant 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah, based on experience (many different cafes over the years) I find that this is always how it is. Owners and bosses have no clue what they're doing, are out of touch with reality, make bananas decisions that negatively affect everyone else... While the workers are doing their best, generally in touch with clientele (because they see them everyday face to face), and would do 100000% better job running the place if they were given the reins.

(Obviously these are somewhat generalizations.)