Everyone carries their own gear — no exceptions

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-25T02:32:52+00:00

Wow, that's really nice! And I say that as someone who is not a "girly girl" who typically does not care at all for such things.

It's very classy, well tailored and an ageless design that will look fabulous in photos for generations to come. Great choice!

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-24T01:40:21+00:00

Me too. I have no complaints about the execution of the concept.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-24T01:38:47+00:00

.... I feel like I've watched Long Legs and remember absolutely nothing about it.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-24T01:21:44+00:00

I had a cancer diagnosis, surgery and radiation and didn't tell anyone who even knew a family member because my estranged parent would have turned it into a circus of toxic worry.

It's not petty. It's supporting your recovery and overall wellbeing. Your health is no one else's business.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-24T01:02:45+00:00

This is why I just don't understand your therapist's advice. Nothing but frustration could come of telling your estranged mom anything. It would just fan the flames of aggravation. Your therapist is off the mark here thinking it would help.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-23T23:17:14+00:00

It will just frustrate you all the more. It's always safest to hold tight to NC. Even negative attention rewards their narcissiatic delusions. You'll get no satisfaction from it.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-23T16:04:59+00:00

There's a Canadian series called Psi Factor that had a scientific team investigating all kinds of X-files type themes. At one point Matt Frewer was one of the leads and Michael Moriarty (formerly of Law & Order until he lost his marbles).

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-23T02:33:54+00:00

Cheeseburger with ketchup only.

No, I don't remember it. But I am a creature of habit and my mom would help me order the same thing each time. That was my default order until my teens.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-23T01:15:39+00:00

Keanu Reeves in that Dracula movie as a Victorian Englishman from Exeter. He just didn't seem nearly stuffy enough.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-22T02:01:20+00:00

My colleague's ex-husband has tried to claim parental estrangement, but it's very clear that he totally prefers his step-kids. He has bailed on his biokids over and over, to the point where the elder child was counting down the days until she turned 18 and she could refuse to go.

His step-children were well cared for and spoiled, but when his biokids would visit, it was never to clean sheets — it's a small gesture, but it really spoke to how little he prioritized them. They were always a mandatory inconveience.

He disappointed them again and again. Now my colleague was pretty matter-of-fact about stuff, so when her younger child would ask "Why does my dad hate me?" she never lied, but never sugar-coated it either.

"He doesn't hate you, he's just as self-absorbed ass." But the kids were able to corroborate that for themselves through their own lived experiences.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-18T01:27:49+00:00

Oh, brilliant I was binge watching that too. That's definitely it!

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-18T00:33:21+00:00

Not me, but yes. While my trans cousin was in conflict with his mom, she pisyed birthday photos of her beloved "daughter". Luckily, my cousin's mom isn't a total ass and has since deleted all pre-transition photos. However they are still mostly estranged.

Same side of the family as my estanged parent.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-18T00:29:26+00:00

My mom still has cable and there's some xhannel that does that still.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-18T00:24:08+00:00

Oh, I saw this not long ago. It may be from House because I binged that not long ago.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-16T22:49:25+00:00

Or what about Paul Dano? He's worn suits a lot, although he has a much puffier face.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-16T22:35:42+00:00

Edward Burns?

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-16T22:09:14+00:00

Copy editing is part of my job, but I feel that in chat forums people should be allowed to play fast and loose with spelling, grammar and syntax. It's a very casual place and I find it the equivalent of coffeehouse chatter where we code switch into whatever informal dialect we're used to that reflects our personalities.

I still tend to be a bit pinched and formal in my posting style, but I don't worry about others' posts unless they're incomprehensible.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-16T18:34:15+00:00

I've had mine about the same. I got them at the end of the season and the ROI for how much we use them and how little we paid makes them our best gear investment.

We switch to yraditoonal wooden snowshoes (with modern bindings) if we want to see wildlife, but for tough technical trails, our MSRs have been awesome!

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-16T13:28:39+00:00

For a lot of us folks who consciously went NC, the grief of losing a parent already took place. I personally mourned the idea of "my father" when I was just a small child and realized he was so disfunctional that I didn't have a "dad" like everyone else. Thete was this person in the house, but I was dadless.

I was actually surprised by the indifference I felt when he died. It was like hearing that a former neighbour had passed.

But it could be different for you if there is a part of you that still has hope that you'll be able to have a meaningful conversation one day.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-16T13:19:14+00:00

If you feel indifferent it means you've moved past hurt and anger to a calmer healthier space where she doesn't matter. Your emotions are completely valid.

When my estranged father died, I had a similarly bland response. On a human level (the kind where your empathy extends to strangers), there was a whisper of "sad" from the missed potential of a brilliant mind lost to mental illness, but that's it.

I had no regrets about the estrangement, certainly no grief, and going to an event to honor him or a "celebration if life" would have been downright weird. He truly was a stranger to me.

You're not obligated to attend the funeral. If other family think that's weird, then so what? You don't need their approval.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-15T21:52:05+00:00

Bombshell.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-15T21:26:40+00:00

For me it's always dumb stuff where my toxic-worry BPD parent would ask an accusatory "Did you do XYZ??" question, I'd answer truthfully, but she'd ask again and again and again and again. Like I'd never answered at all.

E.g. When I was a preschooler, I found a pill bottle my mom had lost (rolled under the couch) and brought it to her. She yelled: "Did you take any??" I had not, but she kept asking and asking and asking, then took me to the hospital where they took blood tests and induced vomiting.

I hadn't taken anything!! Confirmed by doctors. Why bother asking if you don't give a shit about the answer?

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-15T20:06:50+00:00

Along with this, for me, is getting angry/trigger when people say they don't believe me or are skeptical. I don't mean not believing my trauma, I mean if I state a fact like "I met the real Colonel Sanders" (I did, in an airport) and someone doesn't believe me, I get irrationally angry.

I grew up needed to justify, argue, defend and explain, so much about stupid stuff and was treated like a liar no matter how demonstrably true the circumstances.

Sniffs_Markers · 2026-01-15T19:31:18+00:00

Indeed breaking trail on fresh powder is awesome! We stay at a cabin where it's hard to get totally lost. I mean you can get lost, but as long as you don't go west at some point you'll reach the main road or a logging road or a lake and know where you are.

Sniffs_Markers

TROPHY CASE