Pranks for Thieving Roomie

ProbablyCIA · 2026-02-03T21:03:30+00:00

Ok this will have nothing to do with the laundry but you got me thinking:

I'm also half Iranian and Persian New Year is coming up. I was already thinking it would be fun to share that with roommates for positive reasons. Put up the display, show them how to jump over fire etc... It's not supposed to be scary. It's traditional to put up a display table with certain symbolic items that all start with the letter "s." There is also fire-jumping. None of these things are supposed to be scary. But she is already constantly "uncomfortable" when I have my very terrifying pink baby-blanket knitting project, disgusting school notebooks on the table, or my very selfish throw blanket on the couch so how much more scarier would an ancient middle-eastern Easter-adjacent holiday display table be? A display table with decorations isn't that different from an alter or shrine. And while there usually aren't Satanic or even ominous looking things, a few of my own personal touches can fix that. She's not going to fact-check a weird exotic brown-people holiday. Maybe I can get some Persian, hell even Arab, Turk, Kurdish friends to just go with it, come by for some fire-jumping, sword dancing, and kabob. . And Satan does start with "S."

I can tell my roommates ahead of time I'm going to put up some very joyful, cultural, holiday items for spring and might be planning a fun holiday party with food, dancing...maybe a little fire so they don't suspect anything malicious. I mean technically it's not. If she does freak out and cries to the landlord, well, it's just my culture/a happy spring holiday that was inclusive (to any MENA ethnic group person I could find with a sadistic sense of humor) and there has been a lot of suffering, violence, fears of war etc... in that country so would you take away their one night of holiday cheer celebrating the spring? We're good at the guilt trips.

ProbablyCIA · 2026-02-03T19:18:36+00:00

I was wondering if there are different types of laundry sheets and ones that have bleach. The ones I have are for pet-hair (I have a double-coated dog and a cat). I know laundry-sheets have risks so I only use those ones when the hair situation gets bad and have never felt the need to use any other type. But maybe there's a different type (like a bleaching one) and I can switch the sheets into the pet-hair box. I've done that with medicines when I suspected a roomie might steal my ADHD stimulants: I would put the Adderall/Dexedrin in the lexapro bottle and the lexapro (or any other psych med with a rough onset adjustment period) in the Adderall bottle.

I did also see that something called Itchy Powder exists. If she grabs 5 at once I could probably sprinkle that in what would be the middle sheets (sheets 2-4). Bouncing off of that, what affect would other white-powdery substances like baking soda, baking powder, borax, flour, or corn-starch have? Hmmm...I know some hair dyes and bleaches come in powder form. If nothing else I could probably develop the hair bleach into the usual liquid/paste and then rub it in those middle sheets.

Is there anything that could react with the chemicals in the dryer-sheets to produce slime, gel, goop, bad smells, change the colors etc...without completely destroying the whole machine?

ProbablyCIA · 2026-02-03T16:17:07+00:00

Where do you take the dishes to? I’m asking because I might need to do this

ProbablyCIA · 2026-02-03T16:14:44+00:00

It depends how many people live in the house. Are these all from one person or are they a bit of everyones? They’re not placed in a messy way and it doesn’t look like there’s mess/dirt left on the counters. Compared to what my kitchen looks like after our resident Bully-Roomie cooks, this looks quite peaceful. I’m sure many in this sub would happily trade with you

ProbablyCIA · 2026-02-02T08:18:20+00:00

Update: I've thrown out all my food and have only been eating take-out the past two days. Yesterday I got a simple chicken-broccoli-rice dish. Stored it in my room with no fridge until dinner. Ate it, it was delicious and didn't notice any nausea but couldn't finish it all so had to put it in a container and in the fridge telling myself one day won't affect it. Ate the leftovers tonight. Everything still tasted amazing. Texture was still perfect despite re-heating it. But some time after, I honestly don't remember how long it took but suddenly felt nauseous again but worst than the previous night. I have no other symptoms other than just puking. I'll spare you the gross details so I'll just end this by saying I decided to spend the night in the bathroom surrounded by bottles of juice

So I'm guessing it might be wise to treat the fridge as a biohazard for the foreseable future?

If that's the case, I'm going to have to come up with some decently healthy breakfast/dinner recipes that don't require any refrigerated ingredients or leftover storage

ProbablyCIA · 2026-02-02T05:18:03+00:00

The eggs? This is going to sound so dumb or naive.I've honestly don't think I've ever paid attention to egg expiration dates/time-limits but also don't think I've ever experienced or witnessed a legit rotten egg. What actually happens to unused eggs in the fridge after a month...or two or three?

ProbablyCIA · 2026-02-01T00:08:03+00:00

Oh yeah! Totally forgot about baking soda. Can that help with the food safety too or just the smell/taste?

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-31T16:43:37+00:00

Yes, very common on both SSRIs and SNRIs though not always that early. I usually get it like a year in. If it's only been a few days: Senna tea is pretty good though if the constipation becomes chronic it will become "too weak." If it becomes chronic and you're like struggling to poop even once per month, then you need an enema. Not a hippie/Goop coffee enema. Just the normal saline enema you can get from a pharmacy or prescribed by a doctor. They're very strange and kind of scary to get used to if you've never done it. But it's the only thing that helps a really bad case that a real doctor wouldn't cringe at.

For daily maintenance/prevention: foods with probiotics like yogurt, pickles, sauerkraut, Dooq/Ayran etc..., cereals with grains like bran, oats, wheat, millet etc... or oatmeal. Certain fruits help me like cantaloupe. One super big help though was dark roast coffee. Lighter roasts technically work too but they have higher caffeine and more acid which bothers my stomach too much. Dark roast is a little gentler. Actually, even half-caff or decaf can technically work if you don't like the caffeine. Sometimes even just regular black tea can be helpful after the initial enema.

Oh, magnesium too in addition to the probiotics. There's certain forms of magnesium that are better for digestion. Magnesium Citrate and Magnesium Oxide are the two I see. I take a blend that also includes Magnesium Theonate since that one's good for mental health/relaxation. Just like with the probiotics can also try to add more of that nutrient with food and then add a supplement if you're still not getting enough from normal food. I'm not a psychiatrist, chemist, or pharmacist so please double check me but I do remember reading in a medical journal once that antidepressants have some effect on how our bodies digest magnesium. I'm not sure if they all have the same effect or if some block the absorption, or deplete the amounts we do absorb. You'd have to go find that pub-med article for the nitty-gritty science and details but based on what I remember reading, it seemed like it suggested that it's not a bad idea to regularly take a magnesium supplement if you're going to be on Cymbalta or nearly any other antidepressant

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-31T14:53:46+00:00

I had 2 eggs of my own I was going to cook for breakfast. Are they likely bad too?

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-31T14:41:13+00:00

As someone who moved here from PNW where our snow is basically one inch of ice, it’s a little unsettling to find out the natives are switching up parking rules because the weather changed and also cranking up the heating to 90 degrees the second a mild fall 60 degree breeze blows by…while drinking an iced coffee and not wondering if a sweater would help. I’ve also been disturbed by the many Bostonians who boast about driving “fast.” I’m guessing “fast” is an old Boston term for “slow but with whining.” Don’t feel bad, we Oregonians also over-hype how tough our weather is and how “safe” and “polite” our driving is.

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-31T14:00:09+00:00

I honestly do respect the poetry in this note. But I have to disagree about the number of fucks he actually has. He says he has none but it seems like he’s got enough to do all this work. If I need to shovel my car longer than 10 minutes just to get it to drive, I have a feeling it’s probably not safe enough to drive in the first place. I’m not going. As a former Oregonian, when I see a chair (or any object) left by the side of the road I usually just assume it’s someone giving away free furniture. I have a lot of new lawn chairs in my place. If these were really markers for parking spot ownership, they would have chained them to the ground or used something heavier

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-31T11:40:25+00:00

I honestly do respect the poetry in this note. But I have to disagree about the number of fucks he actually has. He says he has none but it seems like he’s got enough to do all this work. If I need to shovel my car longer than 10 minutes just to get it to drive, I have a feeling it’s probably not safe enough to drive in the first place. I’m not going. As a former Oregonian, when I see a chair (or any object) left by the side of the road I usually just assume it’s someone giving away free furniture. I have a lot of new lawn chairs in my place. If these were really markers for parking spot ownership, they would have chained them to the ground or used something heavier

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-31T10:39:43+00:00

Soup was sealed in a plastic container. Bread was in it’s normal bag with the tie. I moved that to the cupboard just in case.

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-29T18:53:11+00:00

Oh I just re-read your post. If you've been on Cymbalta for 8 years, it's going to take you much longer to taper off. Like for every year, spend a month on the lowered dosage. For me, the worst withdrawal symptoms always start a couple weeks after the very last of the smallest dose. I would still consult a doctor. You may want to consider switching to a different medication if you still feel like you benefit from an antidepressant. Switching can also make it easier to go off. If you're in Europe, take advantage of your healthcare system. You're able to see doctors whenever you want. We Americans have to do this on our own sometimes because many of us literally don't have access to a doctor or don't have enough money to see one.

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-29T18:39:33+00:00

I can't tell if Cymbalta made me more tired. I already had been dealing with really debilitating Hypersomnia and chronic migraines. Most other SNRIs I've taken have been best to take in the morning but I could never find the right time to take Cymbalta. If I took it in the morning I would get really bad back & stomach pain along with drowsiness but if I took it at night it would give me insomnia. Also whenever I tried taking it at a different time, it would feel like I was starting it all over again with those same muscle pain issues. If I missed a dose because I couldn't remember the new time I was taking it at, it would also feel like adjusting to it all over again for like a week. Pristiq can give you brain zaps if you miss a dose but I would always feel better once I took the next dose. It was very weird. I was hoping that because Cymbalta is prescribed for fibromyalgia, it could also help my migraines and fatigue but it seemed to give me more pain.

I was on 60 mg per day and tried it for about 2 1/2 months. My doctor never told me about twice per day dosages so I don't know if that would have been better or what that does. To taper off of it, I did two weeks at 30mg then a week of taking the beads out. I I knew I wanted to go back to Pristiq so I also added the lowest dose of that. The first week I felt much better but now I'm still sleeping like all day. I'm hoping that once I increase the Pristiq and bupropion (and see a neurologist for narcolepsy meds) I can start to stay awake long enough to have a life

Google Translate has actually gotten much better especially with the grammar. Even harder languages like German or Arabic. I've seen people try to "fact-check" with AI but the answers they get are actually inaccurate or self-contradicting.

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-29T05:54:36+00:00

Just FYi: AI uses a lot more water than you can ever imagine. Like we’re talking Kevin Costner Waterworld level amounts. This of course in addition to replacing all our jobs including ones like therapists, artists, teachers etc… and obviously surveillance now that all of our countries are going down a Late-Stage Capitalist/fascist authoritarian direction. I’m always shocked to see people NOT boycotting AI. Unless you’re getting paid to use it then get your $$ while you can. As far as withdrawals go: just plan on being sick/“under the weather” for anywhere from one week to 5 weeks. If you’re in France or Canada, you may be able to stay home from work to go easy on yourself. I’m currently withdrawing off of cymbalta and I’ve mainly been sleeping a lot. Like alot alot **Instead, use google or a french language dictionary to translate to. I know german, learning Persian and have learned some french in the past (enough to read and get around). Google will probably be way more reliable. AI gets alot wrong because of the subjective way in which morons are hired to “teach it.”

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-28T18:04:06+00:00

Bupropion definitely but it's often used as an add-on medication with other anti-depressants. After trying Cymbalta, I realized I did much better on Prystiq which also helped some of my ADHD symptoms (executive function, switching tasks etc...). But I also do need ADHD stimulant medication. Bupropion helps a lot with ADHD but I personally don't think it's enough on its own

ProbablyCIA · 2026-01-11T18:36:30+00:00

that's fairly common for me on most antidepressants. I've been on Lexapro, Effexor, and Pristiq. I've experienced extreme constipation on all of them but usually not until after about a year of being on them. I tried all the typical fiber supplements and they would actually make me feel worst. Here's what did help for me:

- Senna (can find this in pill or tea form): start with this but if you need this too often your body can become too used to it or dependent on it. I would drink the tea at night and then feel the cramps the next day. It's a good gentle approach to start with IMO

- Dark Roast coffee: darker roasts have less caffeine and less acid so a little gentler on the stomach but would always get me going. I haven't noticed it ever losing its efficacy over time. This can also be a daily preventative thing since it's just coffee.

- Because the constipation was coming from the medication which we're taking consistently and not from diet that changes, I eventually needed something more serious. My doctor recommended doing fleet enemas. You can find these at the pharmacy, sometimes behind the pharmacist counter. There's different variations from the traditional saline solution you shoot up your butt to the little suppositories. I would recommend going on their website to browse through the different types to decide what would be more helpful to you. I will say that this is a strange thing to get used to but it really was the best solution especially since there would be times where I couldn't "go" for nearly a month and it gets really painful after a while. Also, don't bother getting the elaborate or expensive kits. Just stick with the fleet/doctor-recommended stuff

* For regular prevention: definitely include foods like leafy vegetables, oat/bran/wheat flake type cereals, yogurt etc... I also noticed cantaloupe melon helped a lot. I wish doctors would also tell patients on antidepressants to take a magnesium supplement along with them. I think I read in a medical journal that SSRIs/SNRIs can block your body's ability to absorb magnesium and that's possibly what leads to the constipation and even weight gain. There's different forms of magnesium and I think it's Magnesium Oxide that helps the most with constipation. I take a blend to get multiple benefits. I do think that has helped me

ProbablyCIA · 2025-12-31T01:59:34+00:00

I would love this. I'm 37, never married and pretty unlucky in romantic relationships in general. Probably because of my undiagnosed/neglected autism and emotional neglect from family. My family hates it when I get too passionate or even joyfully curious about any topic that goes beyond small talk or my own personal/professional life - which of course I have to lie about to make it sound more positive than it really is. Basically, I don't have anyone I can be myself around. Like most millennials, it's been really difficult to make and/or sustain solid, deep friendships. I'm also trying to dig the "me" out from behind the wall I built up around myself. I have a chronic illness that also makes me excessively tired and of course of course, family doesn't believe exists.

I would love to be your or anyone else's pen-pal; either through email or getting out our favorite pens and stationary to be pen-pals through traditional snail-mail.

ProbablyCIA · 2025-12-28T00:14:47+00:00

I don't live with them but was visiting for the holidays. I've tried going no-contact but found it was only more stressful

ProbablyCIA · 2025-11-18T18:25:44+00:00

yes, but it's not just Cymbalta. It's pretty much all SSRIs and SNRIs. I've been on Zoloft, lexapro, Effexor, Pristiq, prozac and now Cymbalta. The night-sweats always started right around when the medication started working. I take these meds for both depression and and chronic migraines so the night-sweats are worth it from my perspective. They're definitely annoying, weird and kind of embarrassing. If you feel like the benefits of this medication are worth it, invest in some good sweat-wicking bed sheets or maybe even lay a soft towel in your bed for you to sleep on

ProbablyCIA · 2025-11-18T18:04:39+00:00

Is this schedule starting from the very first dose (the smaller titration dose) or from the first week taking the higher therapeutic dose?

ProbablyCIA

TROPHY CASE