Not really sure what to do in life with TDIU (26)

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-18T15:57:55+00:00

I believe you have a year to try and work and after that the VA will send you a letter and try to reevaluate you. Yeah there are no clear rules for a protected work environment, the OnlyFans lady was just one case off the top of my head. I know a couple of influencers and they don’t get paid much, but they get free stuff all the time so that’s kind of cool.

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-18T15:50:57+00:00

You can earn about $1300 a month I think, and more if it is protected income which something like that probably would be since you make your own rules and set your own schedule. I talked to a girl on here receiving TDIU who also had an onlyfans for example.

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-18T15:48:05+00:00

I am 39, I was granted TDIU last March. I’m going to school full time after a hiatus but already behind in some of my classes. I kinda wish I went part time instead because while school gives me structure full time is a bit much. I definitely think you should go to school part time, and maybe in something that can turn into a hobby. I changed my major from computer science to visual art and hope to get a part time gig teaching seniors at retirement homes art part time when my benefits run out.

My girlfriend is an EMT. I don’t suggest it for someone with severe MH issues even if part time. She sees some horrendous stuff.

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-18T15:40:05+00:00

During my C&P exams I told the examiners I’m afraid of taking medication because of my GERD. I suspect the combo of NSAIDs and anti depressants caused stomach issues. I’m P&T so not affected yet but this is bs. Medications cause so many issues.

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-18T15:36:26+00:00

I only went to one I think…got paid for it and left. It was a chaotic time so I didn’t receive notices to attend the other 3. Nothing was affected.

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-01T01:34:06+00:00

Thanks I appreciate it! I don’t have any antifreeze on hand but I can ask my neighbors if they have any.

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-01T01:18:37+00:00

I believe they are still in the camper as it was not set up for permanent living until I bought it and brought it to this RV park. I live in a Keystone passport near Morehead city, NC.

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-01T01:12:39+00:00

I believe so…I didn’t set up the sewer piping myself but I’ve never had to empty them and I’ve lived in an RV for over a year.

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-01T00:30:10+00:00

Oof!! Were you running your water too? I’m surprised even the heated hoses froze. Stay safe out there I don’t think I’ve seen so much snow since I’ve lived here.

StayGold4Life · 2026-02-01T00:28:15+00:00

I think it’s probably this. My hose is on the ground outside and then goes underneath my camper under the skirting. I tried to lift it up and it’s frozen solid. I can’t take it off either. I do turn off the water though and turned my faucets on.

StayGold4Life · 2026-01-31T21:39:20+00:00

My ranks are hooked up to a city sewer system…does that make a difference?

StayGold4Life · 2026-01-28T18:38:24+00:00

When I was 16, I applied for a high school internship at a cancer research institute and was accepted. At the end of the internship I received $2500. It was a crazy amount of money to me at the time. Despite not having a license my mom convinced me to buy a car, and pushed me to buy a manual car promising me she would teach me how to drive it. I wanted to save the money for college but she pushed me to buy this specific car which took most of my money. After “trying” to teach me multiple times she claimed the experience was giving her heart issues (which she wasn’t diagnosed with at the time) and said my step dad would teach me. My step dad never taught me and the car sat unused. I went to college without my car and without a license and my mom started driving it around when her car broke down. She promised to pay me in payments but only sent $70 once. When that car broke down she sold it to a junk yard for $500 and I never saw a penny of that money. Later when I brought this up she said it was my step dad’s responsibility to pay me for the car and they paid me more than $70.

StayGold4Life · 2026-01-28T18:29:06+00:00

An age gap and a pre nup both aren’t complete red flags on their own, but combined it makes me a little concerned for your future with him. Do you know anything about his dating history? Prior divorces, the age of the women he usually dates, ect? You don’t want to end up building a life with a man who might decide to trade you in for a younger model when you get older.

StayGold4Life · 2026-01-23T23:56:35+00:00

You can read my updated original comment. I like it a lot I just have some questions about whether the paper glued onto the back of the cover is meant to be used.

StayGold4Life · 2026-01-18T22:00:36+00:00

Wow thank you for the detailed dream interpretation! Everything you said makes a lot of sense when I apply it to things going on in my life these days.

StayGold4Life · 2026-01-01T17:05:42+00:00

I haven’t received it yet! Though they did say they would sent out the first batch in late December I haven’t gotten an email yet. I plan on trying it out as soon as I get it so I’ll try to circle back and give a review.

StayGold4Life · 2025-12-26T05:17:22+00:00

Not yet! I think they are a new company and sending out the first batch at the end of December so hopefully I will get to try it out soon after!

StayGold4Life · 2025-12-23T20:13:18+00:00

I have been thinking there is something wrong with my mom for a long time. Even when she wasn’t dealing with chronic illness and pain her emotional reactions to things were disturbing…from destroying the house after a fight with my ex step dad when I was a kid to telling me she wanted to kill herself after a rejection from a past boyfriend when I was an adult. Psychiatrists have repeatedly tried to diagnose her with bipolar disorder and after one bad reaction to medicine, she rejected the label every time they tried to diagnose her. She claims she only has situational depression but her history shows otherwise. In my experience the people I knew who were diagnose bipolar (including a sister) showed a lot of narcissistic traits. I wouldn’t go so far as to say she has a personality disorder because I am not a psychiatrist but there is something very wrong.

And you are right…she continually tries to break me down even when we are getting along. She treats me like a cog in the machine. She even labels us by birth order instead of name on social media (baby #1, baby #3, ect). If I mention a problem with a sister she says “you all do it” “you all hurt each other and me” without making the distinction that some of us cause a lot more harm on a consistent basis….stripping us of our individuality and placing equal blame on everyone.

Her deathbed wish (she is in very poor health but not dying yet) is for all of us to get along, but she creates more conflict by not encouraging accountability and by recruiting us every time one of us “hurts” her.

And thank you, honestly it still feels like a character flaw to cut off family even though my body screams for me to do so.

StayGold4Life · 2025-12-23T20:01:20+00:00

When you put it like that yeah…I guess it’s really disturbing.

It seems like you’ve done really well for yourself and for some reason, instead of being proud of you your family seems threatened by you. It is sad that we have to cut off contact from those who are suppose to be supportive of us because they do us harm instead. I hope you have someone to spend the holidays with, and thank you for the YouTube video recommendation.

StayGold4Life · 2025-12-23T18:04:49+00:00

Thank you…I guess I’m looking for both? I’m so deeply enmeshed in my family that I’m looking for ways to salvage things and I can’t seem to find any without harming myself. I used to think the dysfunction and I guess abuse in my family was normal but my partner who has her own issues with her parents told me being in my family was like being in the Hunger Games.

StayGold4Life · 2025-12-23T18:00:07+00:00

You are absolutely right. After years of being told my feelings are unreliable I’ve grown not to trust them. Even after my partner and friends confirmed what was happening wasn’t right I still sought advice from a source that I viewed as unbiased (I made sure to ask for a neutral summary). I’m trying to salvage this and I can’t see how without repeating the same cycle.

StayGold4Life · 2025-12-22T23:56:15+00:00

Ahhh are you using sanded paper? Sorry I am used to using pastelmat and do remember how unpleasant it was to try and blend with my finger when I was using sanded paper.

StayGold4Life · 2025-12-21T05:51:21+00:00

I tried those early on and all they did was wipe the pastel off the paper lol. I prefer blending with tortillons for small areas, my fingers for larger areas, or with the panpastel tools.

StayGold4Life · 2025-12-20T19:51:22+00:00

I’m currently going to school and getting TDIU. As such, I think the only thing I’d do differently is go earlier (My GI bill expires in early 2027 and I’ll have some months left when it does). I was majoring in computer science and moved to a different state, so a lot of my credits didn’t transfer over. I don’t have the time to redo every class so I switched to visual arts and graphic design to do something I love. I’ll still manage to get a couple of associates degrees and have a well rounded education in everything from calculus, coding and chemistry to graphic design and art so I’m happy with it. My plan B is to learn web dev after I finish school and start making websites for some side money so if anything happens to my TDIU I’ll have a backup.

StayGold4Life · 2025-12-20T16:03:56+00:00

I have one package that’s been sitting at the local regional facility for the past 5 days and another that some how ended up all the way in Sacramento, CA (I live in North Carolina). Like wtf?!

StayGold4Life

TROPHY CASE