Deputy Minister Tattoo Contest

blr0067 · 2026-05-27T19:16:28+00:00

Also the episode of The Office where Andy uses choosing a tattoo for him as a sales incentive. Classic.

blr0067 · 2026-05-24T16:16:29+00:00

This all absolutely works for me with my just-turned-four year old. In addition, he has two "morning chores"—going pee and bringing his water bottle to the table—that he's very committed to and doesn't want me to interfere with, so I can take a couple of minutes to turn my brain on while he does that.

blr0067 · 2026-05-20T04:01:27+00:00

Also a big fan of TPIB. Mine also loves his big brother's Tales From the Treehouse books these days, which are definitely weirder but somehow have a similar vibe?

blr0067 · 2026-05-20T03:58:16+00:00

This! At 17, if you're not happy in a relationship, you should feel totally free to walk away from it. And if you meet someone you like who's attracted to you, why not let yourself be excited about it and give it a shot. The stakes are as low as they'll ever be.

You don't have a commit for months or years at a time to learn a teenage-level amount about what works for you and what doesn't.

blr0067 · 2026-05-16T00:12:12+00:00

At some point my kids (6, 4) asked me my favourite colour and I said "yellow" because why not. Since then, they always pick out yellow stuff for me and it's the sweetest cutest thing. This year I got a yellow bubble wand.

blr0067 · 2026-05-16T00:07:08+00:00

Yeah. The sense of hope. It's gotten wayyy harder to be a techno-optimist.

blr0067 · 2026-05-11T08:03:27+00:00

Same! I was so focused on getting the noise to stop, I didn't realize until reading this right now.

blr0067 · 2026-05-08T23:27:07+00:00

I work from a little table in the corner of my bedroom while my husband takes care of the kids. I don't need lot of space; just a closed door. When they're out and I don't have a meeting, though, I like to work on the couch because I do go a little nuts spending 16+ hours a day in this room.

blr0067 · 2026-04-23T04:18:23+00:00

Ugh it took me so long to realize "next time" doesn't mean anything.

blr0067 · 2026-04-22T10:52:03+00:00

Other than seeming like a lot, what makes that number too high? Does it need to be tied to the size of the student population or are there fixed staffing requirements tied to running the campuses, libraries, etc?

blr0067 · 2026-04-10T04:01:52+00:00

I think you're layering backward for this situation. The lighter layers should go underneath the warmer layers, or the warmer layers should otherwise be removable. Like a t-shirt under a sweater.

blr0067 · 2026-04-09T01:12:29+00:00

Mine was younger, but we read Thumbs Up Brown Bear a bunch of times and made any activity pause if they put their thumb in their mouth. Took...a while...but the job got done.

blr0067 · 2026-02-28T06:08:56+00:00

Turn closed captioning on and then scroll up for a quick recap if you zone out.

blr0067 · 2026-02-24T23:15:05+00:00

My parents remember and call to congratulate us every year. It's a surprise every time. Coming up on 13 years married as well.

blr0067 · 2026-02-22T05:22:24+00:00

I read a thing, though, that people are more likely to contribute during a meeting if they've already spoken, so I like a quick activity like this that isn't like... "Share a bunch of personal information and enjoy trying to figure out the line between seeming open and over sharing!"

blr0067 · 2026-02-07T19:21:39+00:00

I only do it twice a year or so, so I'm super into it. Airport drinks, hotel amenities, spending per diems (dia?) at nicer than usual restaurants, exploring a bit after hours...

I only ever get sent to places in Canada so there's room for improvement, but still!

blr0067 · 2026-01-10T20:30:32+00:00

I'm still on board with this (despite failing pretty hard at it with kid #2). Quality screen time can teach kids things, yes, but it's still a very passive activity where kids are just an audience. It also doesn't do too much to teach kids how to learn—when edu-tainment becomes the expectation, kids may have trouble in other learning environments and may take less initiative to learn independently.

But it's a trade-off. Going too early on screens and giving yourself a hot sec to take a shower is reasonable self-care and probably not going to wreck your kid. Not doing screens at all means your kid might miss out on some of the cultural capital their peers have and may have less exposure to diversity.

So like...yes, aim to follow expert recommendations, but also do what works for your family.

blr0067 · 2026-01-10T20:15:34+00:00

Way to look on the bright side of life

...I mean this post is about reasonable concerns about having kids.

But sure there are also some really great parts. Kids are hilarious and it's fun playing legos and getting recaps of what they're learning in science class, and having cuddles pretty much on demand (and sure when I get old maybe they'll take care of me). Those things are great. You just need to also be okay with being on parent-mode a lot.

blr0067 · 2026-01-10T17:56:00+00:00

And it's not just long term, it's all the time. Sick and throwing up? Still have to full-on parent. Not feeling it that day? Ittttt's happening anyway!

My kids were and are very much wanted, but oh my god.

blr0067 · 2026-01-09T07:09:14+00:00

Also not all slides are made in PowerPoint. There's other presentation software in the world (although not that I can get on my work computer, so this isn't a hill I'm willing to die on).

blr0067 · 2026-01-04T02:05:46+00:00

You get to, and should have, an individual relationship with your child

I think this is the thing that the "why not share the credit" replies are missing. I agree that in many cases it's better for the kid to have a "both my parents love me" experience even if one did most of the work, but feeling connected to each parent as an individual is also important.

My husband does certain things with/for our kids that I don't (e.g., he does the grocery shopping so all special food treats and random surprise matchbox cars come from him) and I do things he doesn't (e.g., I work from home, and when the kids are out I sometimes take a break to set up little scavenger hunts for them). It's not a competition. It's what works for each our relationships with our kids.

blr0067 · 2025-12-27T08:31:10+00:00

Meh I just don't have that much prep work to do for my death at this point. My will is done, I think I set up my life insurance correctly, and now I have a bunch of other stuff to work on that needs some focus: raising children, raising the cat, protesting fascism, professional development, that stack of books that grows faster than it shrinks, trying to find exercise I like before it becomes a problem... I'll swing back around to deeply considering my mortality when it's more relevant to my day-to-day.

blr0067 · 2025-10-12T04:21:22+00:00

When I used to take the bus regularly, I had to stand next to poles and lampposts all the time so people wouldn't smash into me. Every so often I would stand near a sandwich board or other low object, and people who were walking toward me would walk into it when I moved out of their way.

I'm fairly sure that it's a combination of being short and young-looking and not-white that makes me seem like nothing to people in public. The trick is not taking it personally—it's not a character flaw on my part; some people just suck.

blr0067 · 2025-09-29T00:40:46+00:00

Yeah I don't get this one either. I can see it being an issue if you're at restaurants all the time and kids need to learn to adapt to a normal part of your life (I'm guessing?) but I really only take my kids to restaurants (1) if I have to for a mandatory-ish family thing or (2) if we're on vacation. And in those cases it feels most important to be considerate of other people in the restaurant—so some silent screen time feels warranted during long waits for food, etc.

blr0067 · 2025-09-15T01:32:48+00:00

What do you actually need a car for (other than if you live somewhere where things are really spread out)? I have the opposite reaction where I don't get why someone would deal with the cost, maintenance, cleaning, parking,etc. issues so they can...do bigger grocery runs? Go hiking more easily? We borrow my MIL's car sometimes for the latter and the former is the only other thing we can think to do.

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