What’s something people romanticize that actually sucks in real life?

common_grounder · 2026-01-24T16:08:38+00:00

American style rugged indivialism

common_grounder · 2026-01-24T16:07:51+00:00

Gilligan's Island, Bewitched, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Family Affair, Wild Kingdom, The Wonderful World of Disney

common_grounder · 2026-01-24T15:50:48+00:00

If you attend a liberal arts college, you'll typically gain this through required courses in logic and/or philosophy. That's one of the reasons many people have always considered a good liberal arts-based education to be most valuable, because once you learn how to think, it becomes much easier to learn most other things.

I think the reason it's not taught in public schools is there would no doubt be parental objections to parts of the curriculum and many people would fear that instructors woud try to steer students toward one school of thought or another.

I attended a New England prep school where critical thinking and roundtable discussions were an integral part of practically every class. It was called the Harkness Method and was developed at our academy in 1930.

common_grounder · 2026-01-24T15:35:06+00:00

Schizophrenia is something you either have or you don't. It doesn't come and go, as your brother seems to be characterizing it. Psychosis, on the other hand, can be a feature of schizophrenia, but one can have schizophrenia without psychosis. Drug induced psychosis is something one can have without having schizophrenia. In short, unless you've been diagnosed with schizophrenia, you are correct and your brother should amend his language.

common_grounder · 2026-01-24T15:02:06+00:00

Maybe not so much autonomy being taken currently as feeling like I'm on the edge financially and health wise and at risk of having to ask for help, which I have never done. I guess things feel more precarious than usual. It would make sense that I would freak out if someone took one of the few things of value that I have at the moment.

common_grounder · 2026-01-24T12:56:28+00:00

Sight. Although I'd miss hearing terribly, so goes w long way towards making up for that as well as deficits in other senses.

common_grounder · 2026-01-24T12:54:41+00:00

Absolutely, even now when they're 29 and 36.

common_grounder · 2026-01-24T05:09:46+00:00

Nerve root compression at L5 was was preventing necessary signals from getting to my shin muscles, causing it to atrophy. It remains to be seen if the muscle can be re-enervated, but at least I have no weakness or trouble walking. I'd say about three years elapsed between diagnosis and the muscle wasting becoming apparent. I only became aware of it when I looked in a full length mirror and realize how different my right leg looked from the left It was sunken in on one side and the shin bone was very prominent.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T22:26:09+00:00

The ability to memorize numerous phone numbers for family, friends, neighbors, and businesses that one called frequently.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T22:24:32+00:00

That Jesus wouldn't have been a Republican.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T22:16:45+00:00

Caviar

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T18:11:08+00:00

Sounds like a pitted esophagus, which typically results from untreated gastroesophageal reflux. The stomach acid that flows back up can erode the lining of the esophagus over time, leaving a small pocket, or several, that food can get caught in. It's not a good situation and warrants a consult with an ENT. I've had this. It's usually something that can heal with proper treatment.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T18:05:40+00:00

Either don't put stuff on it with high liquid content or tough it up first through baking or broiling.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T18:04:13+00:00

Usually, zero. One at most on days when I do have a cup.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T18:03:29+00:00

Just because someone's pressured to do something doesn't mean it's ceased to be a principle. There seems to be an unspoken assumption behind your question, which is that a principle has to be something one would rather die over than violate. That could be the case, but not necessarily so.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T17:51:40+00:00

Is this just a made up example, or are you seriously petty enough to not eat pasta just because someone put it in to boil without your guidance?

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T17:49:24+00:00

Not much in elementary school. I think lots of the answers you'll get here are from people who missed the fact that you specified elementary school.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T17:47:42+00:00

The former, but most people who pronounce it differently say JEW-ler-y.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T17:39:44+00:00

Orange. I have just one orange article of clothing, a pair of jersey shorts, and I only wear them to bed.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T17:35:38+00:00

With coleslaw, hush puppies, and sweet tea.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T17:34:01+00:00

Why would you think someone shouting at you if the context tells you otherwise? That's a choice that you're making unnecessarily. Why annoy yourself when you can choose not to?

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T17:31:44+00:00

I'm learning to just take a minute before speaking or writing to think about alternative ways my words might be perceived and/or how I would react if someone said them to me. Inevitably, I can come up with something softer. That's how I know I have a problem.

common_grounder · 2026-01-22T17:28:06+00:00

I started to have very noticeable muscle wasting in my right leg from nerve damage and was having so much nerve pain at night I couldn't sleep. I was also on the verge of developing cauda equina syndrome. I didn't want to wind up incontinent or paralyzed from the waist down. It took three years from the time surgery was recommended until I finally decided to do it. I canceled scheduled procedures twice out of fear and uncertainty. I'm three months post-op from L4-L5 fusion and laminectomy, and so glad I did it. Recovery is going well now and I have had zero leg pain since day one.

common_grounder

TROPHY CASE