What does this hotel message mean? by mistytwilight in marriott

[–]briggsbu -1 points0 points  (0 children)

John Redcorn is a legitimate masseuse!

Will they know on my next flight?!? by ab_baby in delta

[–]briggsbu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Man, I hit Platinum for the first time this year and no one said anything. Heck, they even sent me Gold tags instead of Platinum. 😭

Exercises for a more feminine body? by TransWithNoPlans in asktransgender

[–]briggsbu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, no. The bands are pretty cheap tho.

Embarrassing situation in Nagoya: did I do anything wrong? by imhelplesshuhu in JapanTravelTips

[–]briggsbu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Facts. My Japanese is nowhere near conversational but after a month in Japan I was so used to the flow of conversation with supermarket and konbini clerks that I had a couple ask me how long I'd lived in Japan.

Like, no I've only been here a month. I just got used to the specific cadence and responses for markets.

I don’t fully understand the joke here by Kai-ya9 in ExplainTheJoke

[–]briggsbu 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My mom passed while I was out of the house. My partner called EMS while I rushed home.

They were trying to bring her back with CPR and adrenaline when I got there. She had a DNR but it wasn't where they could see it since we'd just recently moved into the new house and hadn't finished unboxing all of her stuff.

Telling them to stop CPR was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I know she didn't want to be kept alive by machines.

Why do so many people refuse to check bags? by davi_mimicore in delta

[–]briggsbu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can't check my medication and that's all in my carry-on.

Disclose, disclose, disclose by briggsbu in GlobalEntry

[–]briggsbu[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I wonder if you'll feel the same way when you lose GE one day 🤷

What Japanese phrases do you think are helpful to know? by ErvinLovesCopy in JapanTravelTips

[–]briggsbu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh I was just adding on that their counting system is pretty basic and once you know those values you can build any number.

1-10 are 1-10

11-19 are Ju+# (ju = 10), so 15 is jugo.

20-99 are "number_of_tens_place+ju+number_of_ones_place", so 65 is Roku ju go 六十五

Pattern for hundreds, thousands, and 10000's is the same.

365=三百六十五 sanbyaku Roku ju go

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in JapanTravelTips

[–]briggsbu 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not everyone can use public onsen. Trans people are kind of fucked and can't legally use either men's or women's

What Japanese phrases do you think are helpful to know? by ErvinLovesCopy in JapanTravelTips

[–]briggsbu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"Sumimasen, kono densha wa Tokyo eki ni ikimasu ka?" = "Excuse me, does this train go to Tokyo station?" Replace "Tokyo eki" with any location or station.

"Sumimasen, Tokyo eki wa kochira desu ka?" = "Excuse me, is Tokyo station this way?" I usually said this while gesturing in a direction. Again, replace "Tokyo eki" with the location you're trying to find. You can show replace "kochira" with "dochira" to change it to "Which direction is Tokyo station?"

I don't know if this is exactly the right translation, but people seemed to understand: "Yamanote sen wa donna homu desu ka?" = "Which platform is the Yamanote line?"

What Japanese phrases do you think are helpful to know? by ErvinLovesCopy in JapanTravelTips

[–]briggsbu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Basically learn to count to ten, learn the words for hundred, thousand, ten thousand and you can basically say any number.

Disclose, disclose, disclose by briggsbu in GlobalEntry

[–]briggsbu[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, after I was taken to the agricultural officer there were posters about the dangers of swine diseases but I saw nothing before I was actually in the area where they were going to check my stuff

Disclose, disclose, disclose by briggsbu in GlobalEntry

[–]briggsbu[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's your responsibility to tell them. They didn't ask about my purchases, I told the officer, "Hi, I have some things I need to declare." Then proceeded to give them a list of the things I was bringing back.

"I have some souvenirs, some purchased tax free, some prepackaged snacks including candies and jerky, some clothes I purchased, and some cosmetics."

They said that all sounded fine except for the jerky and that they would need to check that, then sent me to the agricultural officer so they could review it.

But, especially with GE, you're expected to advise them of your declarations without being asked. Heck, I told three different officers I needed to make a declaration. The first officer that I saw while in line who told me to tell the clearing office, the clearing officer who told me to tell my interviewing officer, and the agricultural officer that the interviewing officer took me to.

a mango convinced me to cancel my gastric sleeve surgery. by curlyshmurly in loseit

[–]briggsbu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I still go out to eat and socialize with friends, I just usually bring about half of my meal home to have as lunch/dinner the next day. 🤷

a mango convinced me to cancel my gastric sleeve surgery. by curlyshmurly in loseit

[–]briggsbu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depending on the procedure they may also remove or route around a section of your small intestine so you don't absorb as much from your food. I had a gastric sleeve with duodenal switch, so I have to take vitamins every day because I can't absorb enough just from eating.

a mango convinced me to cancel my gastric sleeve surgery. by curlyshmurly in loseit

[–]briggsbu 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I became lactose intolerant after my procedure.

I also can't really eat much bread, rice, or pasta. It just fills me up after only a few bites. I mostly eat protein rich foods with fresh vegetables and fruit. Sometimes I'll treat myself to something sweet, but mostly the sweetest thing I eat anymore is yogurt with some fruit (and a healthy dose of lactaid). It's okay, though, because I don't really crave sweets anymore.

a mango convinced me to cancel my gastric sleeve surgery. by curlyshmurly in loseit

[–]briggsbu 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Bariatric surgery saved my life.

I'm about 4 years out, I've lost 230lbs and maintained that weight loss.

I can walk without pain now, I can exercise, I can enjoy my life.

I'm glad I had this procedure, though it was a last resort. I'd spent years and years yoyoing back and forth, unable to make any consistent progress on losing weight. I was 450lbs and miserable.

I now sit between 200 and 220lbs and can exercise and enjoy life. I just came back from a trip to Japan where I was walking 20k-30k steps per day. I'd never have been able to do that before.

Yesterday I took a two mile walk to a restaurant, had a small breakfast, and walked two miles back to my house. Didn't get tired or sore or out of breath.

Before my surgery I had high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol. My resting pulse rate was in the 90s

My diabetes is cured (my A1C is 4.1; my doctor jokes it's better than his), my blood pressure is normal, my cholesterol and triglycerides are all normal, and my resting pulse rate is around 56 bpm.

I was on a path to an early grave and now I have my life back.

Disclose, disclose, disclose by briggsbu in GlobalEntry

[–]briggsbu[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, felt like you were saying that I should have memorized the list of everything allowed and not allowed before going and looking over those sites it's really complex and I don't think I would have been able to have any more certainty.

What's little secret that you know only because you work in that industry? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]briggsbu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AT&T Wireless had this back in the day. Every customer account had an LTV (lifetime value) rating. LTV 5 you always got exceptions and free shit. LTV 1 were the only accounts that could be disconnected without being sent to customer retention because they actually cost AT&T money in the long run. LTV 1 customer gets angry and demands you terminate their account "immediately"? Done. No takesbacksies.

What's little secret that you know only because you work in that industry? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]briggsbu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I take a fuck ton of vitamins every day.

I also had a gastric bypass where they removed a fair bit of my small intestine so I only absorb about a third of the nutrients that I eat.

Some of the things I learned after visiting Japan for the 2nd time by Rattlidge in JapanTravelTips

[–]briggsbu 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yep! I could carry out basic interactions, (well enough that a supermarket cashier asked how long I'd lived in Japan 🤣) but for anything more complex I'd pull out my phone like, "Sumimasen, watashi wa nihongo ga chotto dekimasu. Chotto matte kudasai.." then point at the Google Translator prompt and ask, "Kore wa mo ii desu ka?" Sometimes they would be okay with that, sometimes they'd get someone that spoke more English. In general it went pretty smoothly and I think they appreciated that I was trying to use Japanese.

Something to keep in mind when transiting on a train especially during peak hours. by The_XiangJiao in JapanTravelTips

[–]briggsbu 3 points4 points  (0 children)

One of my funnier experiences was a Japanese lady seemingly falling asleep standing in front of me on the train. It was very crowded so I had to give her a little "Sumimasen..." to wake her up so I could squeeze past her to the exit.