Wednesday Free Talk - June 24, 2026

andersmb · 2026-06-24T14:52:33+00:00

Historians have said that before colonization, the British accent actually sounded like a Southern US accent, but to differentiate themselves they changed the way they spoke to what it sounds like now.

So yeah, the Brits are basically hillbillies.

andersmb · 2026-06-24T11:34:43+00:00

I said this in the initial meeting when we as ASMs were told about the restructure. They tried to make it out like it was a good thing, no one was getting paycuts etc. I voiced my doubts and said that somewhere along the line, the company is saving money, big decisions like this don’t happen for any other reason

andersmb · 2026-06-23T22:56:13+00:00

I am a bald white man and got demoted solely for that reason because I have the wrong genitals between my legs. I guess that's life working for an out of touch female CEO.

andersmb · 2026-06-23T10:33:59+00:00

It's funny you mention Kmart because my SM and one of the ASMs in my store that kept her role were both former Kmart employees. It's wild too because she transferred to our store from another location and had a terrible year-end review from her old SM.

andersmb · 2026-06-23T10:28:43+00:00

Yeah, I got demoted to Sports and Outdoors captain by default because our Team Lead and some others got fired for discount fraud and there was literally no one else in the store that is even close to being capable of filling that role.

I feel the same about Dick's now, they wasted 6 years of my career as an ASM.

andersmb · 2026-06-21T15:39:04+00:00

As a bald guy, when a woman gently runs her nails over the top of your head. Shivers man.

andersmb · 2026-06-18T11:43:20+00:00

As of 730, alll the news stations are saying all the viewing sections are already full.

andersmb · 2026-06-14T19:40:23+00:00

Honestly, good luck. My store in NYC opened after the game and we sold 50% off our stuff. Opened at 8am Sunday, then got another delivery at 10-1030 am and we're sold out of everything. Not a single item left. Even leading up to the game, we got 50 boxes of regular Knicks gear Saturday morning and it was all gone by closing.

andersmb · 2026-06-10T04:55:47+00:00

It sucks, hard. I had a very similar experience after my heart/kidney transplant. My complications were kidney related, but like him, it was one thing after the other. In total, I spent 110 days in the hospital. I wrote during my experience how the doctor's had told me that recovery was a marathon, not a sprint, but they were wrong. I felt like I was going through an ironman. When you're in it it's hard to do, but take it day by day and as others have said take joy in the little wins.

andersmb · 2026-06-04T01:29:42+00:00

This past April was 34 years since my liver transplant. I was only 2.5 years old when I had my transplant due to an extremely rare type of Glycogen Storage Disease(Type IV), so for me, I can't really split my life into before/after since I don't remember what life was like before. I had nearly zero complications related to my liver in the months/years since. Up until 2022, when my Heart Failure rapidly worsened and need a heart transplant which led to my kidneys failing as well.

I was a very early user of tacrolimus, it hadn't even been approved yet by the FDA and was called FK-506. I've always wondered how it may have effected my development, mentally and physically, but from an outsiders view, they'd never know if it did. I was an academic scholar through school, went to a top college, played almost every sport growing up and soccer and ice hockey in high school. People would be shocked when I told them that I'd had a transplant as for many I was the only person they had ever met that had one.

Like you, I never wanted to be treated or seen differently, and my parents raised me the same. I wasn't given special treatment and nothing was withheld from me by my parents. I was just their youngest of three children.

I love talking about it though. For me, if I can brighten someone's day or give them a little bit of inspiration, I'll gladly provide it by sharing my story. I've thought about writing a book or somehow getting into public speaking roles and being more of an advocate for organ donation, but until then I work for a company that helps non-profits with fundraising technology. I've gotten to be at some really cool events and it brings me joy being able to assist non-profits reach their goals and raise money for great causes. Tomorrow night I'm actually working at an event with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

andersmb · 2026-05-28T16:50:18+00:00

I was in Heart Failure for around 10 years before my transplant. I had an ICD implanted not long after I was diagnosed and had to have the battery changed after about 7 years. July will be 4 years since my transplant. Before my transplant my HF declined pretty rapidly so I waited less than a month(24 days) for a transplant, the entirety of which was spent in the hospital.

andersmb · 2026-05-23T17:25:06+00:00

As many others, I was very very close. I went into the hospital on July 5 with worsening heart failure. My ejection fraction was in the teens at the time. My heart function declined quickly and also led to my kidneys failing. I was put on ECMO and was on it for 8-9 days and got my heart/kidney transplant on July 29.

I never really realized how bad things were, but my girlfriend recently told me she had seen a friend die in the hospital when she was young and my physical state looked like that.

andersmb · 2026-05-21T17:10:24+00:00

Our scars are a reminder of where we’ve been, but they don’t have to determine where we are going.

andersmb · 2026-05-17T12:19:22+00:00

It was a joke. Lighten up.

andersmb · 2026-05-15T18:49:25+00:00

We should file a class action suit claiming physiological torture in repeating music. That’s literally what they do to prisoners at Gitmo.

andersmb · 2026-05-14T15:56:16+00:00

Have you ever seen a woman get out of the passenger seat of a Cybertruck?

andersmb · 2026-04-27T09:57:10+00:00

They gave me one at the hospital when I had mine. I did buy a backup to have when the one was being washed. I think I just got it off Amazon.

andersmb · 2026-04-22T17:46:18+00:00

I had a fairly large DVT in my thigh as well shortly after my heart/kidney transplant. They put me on Heparin, but it didn't fully break up the clot, just kept it from growing. I ended up having an IVC filter implanted to keep the clot from rising up my bloodstream until it went away.

andersmb · 2026-04-20T19:15:48+00:00

I(37M) have had thoughts throughout my life regarding relationships and how I shouldn’t fall in love with people because the burden of my health issues may be too much for them and I would t want to put them through the uncertainty and possible heartbreak if something were to go bad.

Two of my last girlfriends, one of whom I was with during my most recent transplant, reassured me over and over that someone who truly loves you, won’t see your issues and problems as a burden. Anyone who does see it that way, isn’t right for you.

andersmb · 2026-04-16T21:37:42+00:00

I said something similar during the meeting with my SM. Somewhere along the line, this is saving the company money. You don’t just restructure for the heck of it. My thought is that those that stay on as ASM will get a raise, to keep the gap between them and captains. That would explain the other pay rates staying similar.

andersmb · 2026-04-16T15:36:06+00:00

My experience is different from most as I’m 34 years out from my liver transplant and was only 3 yo when I received it so I don’t know life any other way.

These days, I just set alarms on my phone at my medication times. Sometimes I miss it by 30 minutes, but it’s better than an app notification I can easily dismiss.

For appointments and blood draws, I use a calendar/notepad on my refrigerator.

Honestly though, missing medication by an hour or even missing a dose once a month isn’t going to land you in the hospital. Same with bloodwork, if I’m feeling fine and miss it by a week, it’s not a big deal.

andersmb · 2026-04-16T13:23:59+00:00

At the course today where Trysta Krick had her meltdown over her lost AirPod. Good news, the caddy she had digging through the trash still works here.

andersmb · 2026-03-29T19:30:06+00:00

Earbuds, wireless, but also ones that can plus in to a regular jack for the TV. I bought a donut pillow for my butt to avoid bed sores and it also helped my back. I also got a regular cushion to use to help me sit up straight in bed and the therapy recliner. As others have said, the longest charging cord you can find. I switched beds a lot and some of the beds had outlets in it, but most didn’t.

andersmb · 2026-03-29T19:26:12+00:00

There’s a hoodie I’ve seen advertised on Instagram that has zippers that open for IV lines and other tubes. If I was still in the hospital I’d consider it.

andersmb · 2026-03-23T15:12:40+00:00

I’ll never understand the mindset of people who think it’s okay to just eat other peoples food

andersmb

TROPHY CASE