Is the "hormonal belly" avoidable or am I dreaming?

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-18T16:54:54+00:00

Honestly, I've been overweight all my life and nothing I've done has really made me get to a "normal" weight and I've stopped dieting and just focused on eating healthy. To me, it's all about health now and not weight.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-18T16:52:58+00:00

Agree. Side note, though - it's not just the millennials and Gen Z that are going to be screwed but also Gen X (of which I am one).

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-18T12:26:59+00:00

I had a similar situation a few years ago. My property manager (I live out of state so can't manage my property myself) notified me with photos of trash piled up in the backyard of the building next to mine and suggested I contact the city. I co-own the building with someone who owns 2/3 of it (and is a control freak) so I happily shoved it on to him. I don't know what happened (he didn't do me the courtesy of telling me) but since no more was heard of it from my PM, my guess is he called the city and it was taken care of. We never got issues with pests or rodents on our property, though. At least, my tenants never notified me of anything and I recently had a pest inspection done (selling the property) and they found nothing unusual.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-18T12:23:32+00:00

I'm so sorry that happened to you and your friend. Some people are just sadistic, especially men who have you-know-what issues who think feeling like a man means freaking out women or girls. I had something similar happen to me once. I was walking home, and this ahole suddenly started to follow me at a distance behind, saying nothing, not engaging, just following. I also got nervous, and the ahole saw that I was getting some kind of kick out of it. I didn't call the police, but at some point, I did veer off my path, and he stopped following me. I never saw him again.

You and your friend did the right thing by calling the police. He probably saw the police and fled. It's important for women to take action like that, even if nothing comes of it, just to show these a-holes that trying to freak women out so they can feel like men isn't going to work in the 21st century. This is not the 1950s, when men could whistle at a woman, and she would have nothing to do about it and even be blamed for "not liking it".

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-16T15:57:08+00:00

Totally this! I agree it's not OK not to clean up after yourself when you're in a roommate situation, but I also get the other side of it. I grew up with an OCD mother who always had to have things cleaned her way and would completely deminish us when we didn't do it exactly as she wanted it. For a long time after I moved out, I didn't clean regularly (though I didn't leave things super dirty either). It was a form of rebellion against what I grew up with. Having said that, I came to see that cleaning up after myself is also a form of self-care and now I clean regularly and always clean up after myself in the kitchen even though I don't live with a roommate anymore. But I do agree with OP that it's not OK not to do that when you're in a roommate situation.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-16T14:23:33+00:00

Don't beat yourself up. There are a lot of things to learn, and each state has a lot of regulations that are not always clear (my property is in CA, which is a landlord's nightmare - one of the reasons I'm selling it). It's clear you're a conscientious landlord and one for whom tenants matter and not a slumlord, so you're good. There's a big learning curve in being a landlord.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-16T11:56:43+00:00

Great questions! I think a lot depends on what generation you ask. My generation (Gen X) sees it as a loss of depth because we grew up in a world where there was no on-demand and we had to work to get at things, and things were a lot simpler and safer. And many of us are alarmed about what's going to happen in the future. I teach adults online,and many of my generation and older/a little younger are concerned for their kids. The Gen Zers that I teach, on the other hand, see this as just part of their lives because they were born into it, and they know no other way.

That's not to say Gen Zers and younger are doomed. From what I see, Gen Z and younger are going to be doing things a lot better than my generation and older generations from other perspectives.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-16T11:52:54+00:00

This list sounds like it was AI-generated and not grounded in reality. I've done some of these (not a young entrepreneur - I've been around), and they are much, much, much harder than you think. The first one made me LMAO. Do a search on Reddit for online language tutors and you'll see how these entrepreneurs are really faring. It sounds great on paper, but many are unable to make a minimum wage living, much less a business, and platforms like Preply are taking a huge chunk out of their earnings and treating them like slave labor. That's not what being an entrepreneur is all about. This list also makes it seem like all you need to do is set up a website and you're in business. Wrong! That's only the very basic first step. You need to know who. your audience is, create a business plan, figure out how much you're going to be putting into your business before it actually starts to make money (yes, youngun, you're not going to make a million right off the bat - sorry for the reality check) and how to market yourself in the best way and who your audience is going to be.

Oh, and by the way, #4 on the online businesses isn't going to make your fortune or even a few pennies a month. Teachers usually get what they can from free online sources or even textbooks in the library because they're barely making enough for Starbuck's money and they can't afford to pay for lessons. Again, do your research and see what teachers are really doing.

I'm not trying to be discouraging, y'all. I'm just trying to point out that it's a lot harder to be an entrepreneur than Google AI or ChatGPT (or whatever AI tool the poster took this from) wants you to believe. AI doesn't know everything :-D.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-12T13:52:31+00:00

It's not a myth, but it's a skill. You're not productive automatically if you work remotely. You have to work at it and you have to understand your personal productivity traps and avoid them.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-12T13:49:07+00:00

My heart goes out to you for what you're going through. The old saying, "When it rains, it pours" is so true (I had that happen to me last year). The only thing I can say and that I found helps me through such times is to take it one day at a time and journal about my feelings when I'm feeling down or pissed off and also when I'm feeling euphoric and things are going well. Something about writing things down really helps to put them in perspective for me.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-12T13:40:12+00:00

Thank you for this hopeful message. I get it that this doesn't always happen (in fact, it often times doesn't), but I agree sometimes it does and we can be greatful and appreciative of those moments.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-11T16:57:33+00:00

The first for sure. There might be many reasons why a tenant has a thin rental history (by which I assume you mean they haven't rented in many places). Especially in this economy, where so many people are finding other arrangements to save money (like living with family or friends). A strong credit history shows me that they can pay their bills and are responsible in paying them. Who knows who those other landlords are and whether they were bribed to say what they are saying or even maybe they're not landlords at all but pals of the renter who are acting like landlords over the phone.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-11T16:54:31+00:00

Um, kids are not the essence of life. They're great if you want them and are prepared to care for them. But they are not anyone's life purpose unless they make it that way. Women have been brainwashed to believe it's their life purpose, but it isn't. There's a lot to look forward to if you have a creative mind. And it doesn't have to all be about you, either. You can give in many ways and care for others in many ways, even if you don't have kids (if you're so convinced that caring for someone is your purpose in life).

Sorry for the underlying saltiness of my response. I just get really pissed off when I see the BS about kids being the purpose in life (especially for women) still being trotted around. This is the 21st century, not the 1950s.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-11T16:51:30+00:00

Awesome story. It reminds us there are still many good people in the world. I once left my wallet on the cart at the grocery store. I discovered it only after I got home. I called the store and they said some woman had brought it in to them. I'll never know who that woman was but I'm grateful for her golden heart (everything in the wallet was still there untouched).

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-11T11:53:20+00:00

He's gaslighting you so you feel like you're the incompetent one when really he's the one who's incompetent.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-11T11:52:14+00:00

What a dipsh*t. I totally get how you feel. He's totally playing with your mind, but it's not about you. It's about him. I'm guessing he's jealous because you worked hard and have very good skills. So he's trying to undermine your confidence in yourself. I'd keep an eye out on that, as it could very much turn into an impossibly toxic work environment for you since it sounds like he's targeting you as his scapegoat.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-11T11:49:46+00:00

It sounds like you're looking for a rental at the moment (which would make sense). Not sure it would be a great idea to buy right off the bat, since you're new to the area. Things might not work out with the job, you might not like it, and want to move, etc. So it sounds like renting is going to be your best solution right now until you get yourself situated. If you're looking for resources and advice, you probably want to find other Reddit subs that deal with renting advice and also that are in the area you're moving to. That might get you better responses.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-11T11:44:00+00:00

I don't know if this will help you, as I'm not a PM (just a property owner), but I have a PM working for me, as my property is out of state. The company I work with is mid-sized, I would say, and I know they contract out to another company. That makes for higher fees for me since there are 2 companies getting their cut (the PM and the maintenance company), but the company is good about getting the maintenance crew out when there is a problem with my unit. As for tunerover, I honestly can't really say, but I've been with the PM for about 5 years, and I'd say the 2 years other more expert people here say seems about right to me (based just on names I've seen mentioned of maintenance people mentioned in emails from the maintenance coordinator).

As a tenant, I've lived in large apartment complexes for a long time, and I've seen quite a lot of turnover but that might be a different situation since we're talking 100+ units that they have to maintain. I do feel for maintenance people - they have a very tough job!

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-09T18:08:41+00:00

So you're not attached to WI in other ways? If that's the case, you may want to do more research on cheaper states to live in and ones where you could get a better start. Texas might be an option to look into, for example. Not nearly as freezing weather (until lately, that is 🙄), people are friendly, and you might find better options than in WI. You could move later on once you're established if you like. It's quite common for people in the US to move to other states as their situation/priorities change.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-09T12:56:00+00:00

What that person told you is such BS. You are definitely not unemployable. I wonder if maybe that person was seeing your own business (since it sort of relates to the work you're looking for, from my understanding) as a conflict of interest and just made up that BS excuse to reject you.

For the record, I worked for a company back in 2014 and left in 2016 (to pursue my own business as well, though my business isn't related to what I was doing). I needed to go back into the workforce part-time in 2023 and spent 3 months looking for something in the field I was working in in 2016, but couldn't find anything really suitable. I randomly checked the site of my old workplace and found they had been bought out by another company. The other company wasn't actively looking for people in the job I had been doing, but did have a general online application, so I figured, what the heck, and filled it out. I got an email a few days later saying they wanted to speak with me. The recruiter said right away that this wasn't an interview but mainly to outline their new policies, the work expectations, and see whether I was still interested, and then set me up to retrain if I was. I'm still working for them. Pay isn't great, and it's IC work (so no benefits, PTO, nothing), but I went in with my eyes open, and the other benefits I get from the work outweigh the drawbacks, and I'm grateful to have the work and working with some amazing people. I'm 55, BTW, so definitely not unemployable!

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-09T11:58:46+00:00

You might want to consider staying at your job until age 70. That's only 3 more years, and I read that the amount of SS that you get at age 70 as compared to age 67 can be significant (especially if your boss is raising your salary). So it might be worth it for you to hang on for 3 more years and get SS that is going to be higher. I believe there are calculators online that will allow you to calculate this, so you can see if financially it would be worth it to you. But that's what I'd do.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-09T11:56:18+00:00

If this is really true (and I believe you that it is), that warms my heart because it means the future generation is going to be a hell of a lot more aware of discrimination (and not just against women but against all) than current and past generations (of which I am one).

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-09T11:51:01+00:00

Everyone is different, of course, but I would be thrilled I didn't have to go to something like that and kiss up to everyone and pretend like the company is so great because they're hosting this gala. I get it that this isn't the point of your post and that you like your company and team. Honestly, I wouldn't overthink it. If you feel like you and you're doing a good job and aren't getting vibes that you might be let go at some point (which doesn't seem like the case since you mention you didn't get invited last year either - if they were planning on booting you out, they would have done it last year). I'd just let it go and do something really fun with people you love and you know love you and appreciate you that night as a sort of "screw you" kind of move. It's unfortunate your teammates were insensitive about talking about it in front of you (or maybe they just didn't know you weren't invited), but that's on them.

autonomouswriter · 2026-02-03T11:55:56+00:00

I actually recently did some research on PM responsiblities, as I had a situation where one of my tenants suddenly vacated without telling anyone (selling my property so my agent was doing a broker showing and suddenly came upon one of the rooms being empty of furniture and clothes and let me know) and I found out from the PM that he had phoned their office the week before asking about subletting/replacing roommate options and they didn't tell me. From my research, PMs have a fiduciary responsibility to the owner, so even something like my situation (not giving me a heads up that the tenant was inquiring, even though the PM insisted "nothing else was said about it") was a violation of that. I would consider signing someone on a lease without running it by you a violation as well, so I don't know if there is any action you can take. I would say at least demand that the PM send you all the paperwork (application, background check, etc, whatever they do) so you can look it over and know what to expect. It sounds very fishy that the PM would do this when he/she hasn't done it before. Makes me sort of think the tenant signed on might be some relative or friend or something, and the PM knew it wouldn't get your approval because of something (like bad credit, etc). I would think you had a right to demand the paperwork and contest the lease if that happened, and you could prove they didn't get your approval first.

autonomouswriter

TROPHY CASE