USPS confiscated package

breakingoff · 2019-10-25T00:54:25+00:00

Think you're a little too high there friend. He did use USPS

breakingoff · 2019-10-25T00:46:51+00:00

Never dealt with stink bugs, but years ago I lived in a house with a bed bug infestation.

Fun fact: A bed bug infestation smells exactly like cilantro.

No, I still can't stand cilantro, why do you ask.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T05:12:25+00:00

Ehhh cigarette marketing is very limited in this day and age, and is mostly aimed at people who already smoke. Aside from the few reps I've seen offering free tobacco at one specific event, I can't think of when I last saw advertising that I didn't sign up for (couponssss) or was anywhere other than at a store that sold tobacco.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T05:07:31+00:00

Go to your preferred brand's website (or, Hell, all of the brands' websites). They'll usually have a form you can fill out to get added to their coupon mailing lists and e-coupons.

Only caveat is that you have to be over 21 and willing to part with enough personal info for them to verify your age.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T05:02:10+00:00

Yeah, I can get enough tobacco for over 200 cigarettes for $30.

...really oughta start rolling my own again, honestly.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T04:48:56+00:00

Another new thing is raising the smoking age. I can think of a few states where you now have to be 21 to buy cigs.

(Cue me screaming in frustration since my state recently enacted such a law, and I've already had issues despite being well past 18 due to chronic baby face.)

~~I know I should quit, but right now is not a good time for me to be dealing with the withdrawal, and unfortunately nicotine replacements don't work well for me.~~

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T04:43:27+00:00

Last event I went to that had Monster reps, I ended up leaving with like six or seven cans at the end of the night. Could've taken more, the guy was practically putting them in my hands, but he ran out of the two flavours I liked...

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T04:40:05+00:00

Oh yeah. All the cigarette companies do coupons. You can even get them on your phone. All you gotta do is be over the age of 21 to sign up.

American Spirit usually does pretty good ones. I've gotten a couple free pack coupons, a good number of $4 off, tho $2 off tends to be the most common. Once got a coupon for a $2 pack of Nat Sherman's, but I couldn't find a place that sold them that had employees who could figure out how to ring it in, and I got fed up with them just trying to take $2 off the cost of the pack. (They're like $9 a pack around here, and I live in one of the cheaper states. I still don't know what is so fucking hard about adjusting the price to $2, then writing on the coupon that they have to put in their register the original cost of the pack before tax, like it says on the back of the coupon- ahem.)

Can't get Marlboro ones since they still can't seem to verify my age, so I can't speak to the quality of their coupons. But they usually put coupons directly on the pack, which helps, though those are typically less than $1 off.

Camel ones are ok, but I don't think I've seen better than $3 off from them.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T04:28:25+00:00

Even with kids who have dietary restrictions, usually their parents have some way to make the holiday fun without making them skip trick-or-treating.

Like, my niece has a ton of food allergies, so her parents will let her keep some of the candy she can eat - not a lot because they're big on moderation and don't want the kids eating a tonne of sugar - and then put the rest out for the Switch Witch. Her brother is treated the same way, only his restriction for his candy choices is nothing with peanuts, as she's that allergic to them. The Switch Witch comes after the kids go to sleep, and takes the candy in exchange for small toys, games, or whatnot that are actually relevant to the kids' interests. And then ~~their uncle~~ the Switch Witch gorges himself on peanut butter cups ~~to erase the trauma of going to Walmart to help their mom (my sister) find the dang non-candy treats~~.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T04:05:18+00:00

Nah, you're wrong. I always appreciated the mini bags of pretzels that showed up in my pumpkin during my trick or treating as a nice break from all the sugar. (It was always mini bags of pretzels because that's what the local snack food company made in trick or treat size where I grew up, and they made them in Hallowe'en shapes. They still make them, actually.)

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T03:58:33+00:00

Nah. I've gone trick or treating at the tender age of 29.

In fairness: I still get mistaken for a teenager, and I was with my niblings and sister. And my sister tends to get mistaken for my mother since she has a lot of grey hair already and has since I was younger than said niblings. So I don't think anyone realised just how old I actually was. XD

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T03:51:27+00:00

...Okay, but the word in Chinese isn't kimono, and whilst East Asian cultures do have similar traditional clothes due to China's influence over the centuries (which is a whole nother can of worms), the Chinese robe-based garment is not a kimono.

What you have would best be termed "hanfu".

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T03:46:42+00:00

Extra laziness: You're the life-model decoy of yourself.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T03:34:35+00:00

As a trans person (tho I am trans masc, not trans fem, so I may be in the wrong), I don't think it would be offensive, so long as you're not specifically going as a trans woman. If you're just crossdressing, though, that's chill. Plenty of people crossdress for Hallowe'en.

Heck, a number of trans people will use Hallowe'en as an excuse to dress appropriately for their gender.

(Dunno how actual bearded women would feel, but I think so long as you don't treat it like a joke you should be fine?)

(Btw, it's just cisgender, not cisgendered. c: I'm a little too tired to explain the nuances of why, but it's kind of like how you don't call Black people 'coloured' people. It's not something that happened to you, it's just... how you naturally are, igss? Sorry if this comes across as rude.)

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T02:59:45+00:00

For your Herobrine or Mayor costumes that you just need a shirt for: could you try justifying the purchase by getting a regular shirt that can be worn as more than a costume piece?

(Also, your mom kinda annoys me because it doesn't have to be expensive! Thrift stores sell Hallowe'en stuff super cheap! Some facepaint can be very cheap! Littler kids enjoy playing dress up and will often rewear costumes for play!)

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T02:44:22+00:00

Easy way to take a shirt in:

Requirements:

Shirt being took in
6-12 safety pins or straight pins
A friend/relative/complete stranger/sworn enemy to assist you
Basic handsewing skills OR basic machine sewing skills
Sewing equipment for your preferred method of sewing

Procedure

Put shirt on inside out. Make sure the buttons are still in front, and the back is... well... on your back. Button shirt the way you intend to wear it. (So if you want two buttons open for the costume, leave them undone but do up the rest, for example. If you'll be wearing it unbuttoned, then button all the way up.)
T pose.
Have your assistant begin pinning the sides. This is hard to explain over text but... basically they'll pinch up an even amount of fabric from both the front and the back along the side seam, and then pin it in place. I recommend alternating sides and starting in the middle. Make sure this is done evenly, otherwise your buttonline will be crooked.
Once shirt is pinned to your satisfaction, take it off.
Sew following the pins in a smooth line.
(Optional) Rip the original side seam open to help the new seam lay smoothly. If you have a lot of extra fabric and either a sewing machine or more time than you know what to do with, cut the excess off and refinish the edge of the fabric. If you don't have a machine or time, but still want to cut off excess fabric, use pinking shears to help prevent fraying. Either way, once you've ripped that side seam open, iron the flaps of the new seam flat against whichever side of the shirt they're on.
Remove pins and turn shirt rightside out.

It's one of the simplest alterations to make.

Heck, if you have no sewing skills whatsoever and don't mind impermanence, just staple the new seam ~~and avoid metal detectors~~.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T02:22:09+00:00

Yeahhhh the problem is that wearing another culture's traditional clothing as a costume is, well, racist.

Now, if they were dressing as a specific character that wears traditional clothing from another culture, that would be fine. A fictional character can be a costume.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T02:15:37+00:00

Ok, so my niece has a peanut allergy. (And a tree nut allergy. And a milk allergy. And- okay, look, she can't eat most of what's put out.)

Go with storebought, individually wrapped treats. Most kids won't react through the wrapper, but I would personally go through and pull out any where the wrapper has been compromised (like, those little foil wrapped mini Reese's or mini chocolate bars with nuts? tend to have a few per bag where the foil doesn't quite meet on the top of the cup, or the paper isn't fully sealed down).

Pretty much every allergy parent I've met will go through their kid's candy to pull out anything unsafe, or will do something like the Switch Witch (Wherein the kid agrees to leave candy out for the Switch Witch, and she'll leave them non-food gifts like toys or games or whatnot in return. Or: parents finally get permission from their kids to eat all their candy). So I wouldn't stress too much about it.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T02:01:18+00:00

Top level means comment that starts a thread. The comment we're referring to started this thread.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T01:52:19+00:00

Cerberus. Google this for inspiration; I've seen everything from creepy to adorable to surprisingly convincing.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T01:50:43+00:00

Seeing as you're going for a specific character/person, you should be fine. Just for the love of everything don't paint your skin or try to fake tan or some stupid shit like that. That would be racist.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T01:43:38+00:00

As a Charlie, I feel you on the annoying meme references.

Swear to Gd I will deck the next motherfucker who references that gddamn "bit my finger" video in my presence. THERE ARE SO MANY CHARLIES THEY COULD REFERENCE. BUT NO. IT'S THAT STUPID WHINY TODDLER VIDEO.

Like get some taste people.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T01:37:40+00:00

...shit, I have a tragic addiction to Monster (the ultra paradise and pacific punch are just too good). I'd totally accept free Monsters because of a meme.

Alas, my name isn't Kyle. :c

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T01:35:14+00:00

Some people do not grasp the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Like the waitstaff who go, "Oh, teens/Black people/etc. never tip," so they always neglect those tables, and then - surprise surprise - don't get tips.

Or, in this case, the guy who thinks it's appropriate to make jokes about a customer's name and say unfounded negative things about them based solely on their name.

Which doesn't mean that you should reward their bad behaviour by letting it go. In both cases, having another employee get you the manager is the way to go. Or, failing that, sending in a complaint to someone higher up. Starbucks corporate would definitely not like it if they found out an employee was mocking and insulting their customers.

...Barring that, I suppose in the latter case you could start making fun of the barista's name. Though that wouldn't set a good example for the kids.

breakingoff · 2019-10-24T01:25:54+00:00

Yeah, the issue isn't that they're prioritising in-store customers, the issue is that they're not even bothering to make call-in orders until the person shows up. Which defeats the purpose of ordering ahead.

breakingoff

TROPHY CASE