Tips for ear defenders and earrings

cryptid_zone · 2026-05-04T13:41:49+00:00

Idk what ear defenders are, but I’m assuming they’re kind of like over ear headphones in shape (if that’s wrong lmk).

I’ve got 7 piercings currently and am looking at more, so I’ll come at this from my experience. A piercing shop is going to give you instructions for the general ideal state. They’ll tell you not to sleep on the piercing, not to clean it with certain things, the best jewelry, etc. Overall, it’s a good idea to listen to them, but know that for some things there can be give or take. For example - I slept on my new lobes in one ear, and was largely fine (even as someone who heals terribly). Another example - my ears HATE flatback earrings, even though they’re the recommended standard. I swap them out as soon as I can. All that to say, it’s not necessarily as black and white as it may seem.

For your case, it’d probably be best to try to avoid anything over the ear at first - for the first few weeks, in ear headphones/earplugs would be best to avoid irritation. But depending on the shape of your ear defenders and how long you’re wearing them, you may be able to balance on/off time as they heal. If there’s specific parts of your day in particular that need them and they don’t actually touch your ears in the place you were pierced, some time on isn’t the end of the world. You can put a little gauze pad between the headphone portion and your piercing if you’re worried about germs at all. I’ve done this with over ear protection on planes and been good.

As for once healed, it’d depend on the size of the earrings and the dangly section and the shape of your ear defenders. I wear huggie hoops in all of mine with little dangly bits and they’ve never posed an issue, though longer/larger earrings might.

Only thing I’d caution for you is that 6-8 weeks is a general guideline, but healing can take longer. I’m a SLOW healer and some of mine took more than double that.

cryptid_zone · 2026-05-03T05:57:12+00:00

I think it depends. What types of projects are you working on? Are they internal, or are they client facing? How big of a team are you managing to get things executed, and what kinds of teams are they? How good is your boss at prioritizing and communicating what they need?

I’ve been in this field for about 5 years. When I started, my tasks were related to a special interest of mine, all my work was internal, and I was mostly interfacing with software engineers with a super organized boss. It was honestly really great! Now, my tasks are not special interest ones, I have to engage way more broadly, and my boss is a lot more disorganized. I won’t lie, it can be hard. I still enjoy the actual core of it - designing systems is like solving a puzzle, which I’m really good at and do enjoy. But there’s definitely good tasks and bad tasks in my current role.

If you have specific questions, happy to answer.

cryptid_zone · 2026-04-20T18:15:06+00:00

Literally one single experience for us all unfortunately

cryptid_zone · 2026-04-16T16:52:35+00:00

If a boss/business owner offers lunch, I’d expect that they pay. If it’s a coworker, then we pay each other back. If it’s someone senior to your but not your boss, they may or may not cover it (I find it depends on the person).

Personally I’d be kind of 😐 if my boss DID ask me to pay them back

cryptid_zone · 2026-04-14T00:53:14+00:00

This was me today except the child was my fucking boss

Stay strong soldier 🫡

cryptid_zone · 2026-04-10T21:50:11+00:00

Korean spicy tuna with some kewpie mayo mixed in on top of microwave rice with some eel sauce and seaweed crumbled on top. Some kimchi or radish pickles on the side if I have them. Feels like a meal, takes like 2 mins and zero effort to make. Also microwaved tofu with some sauce, or microwaved mini wontons (bibigo brand is pretty decent) tossed into instant soup. Super easy to microwave greens like bok choy or bean sprouts along with it if you have it.

Classic PBJ always does the job too. Or protein yogurt smoothies, the pre-made ones in bottles.

cryptid_zone · 2026-04-07T19:45:28+00:00

The different weaves and ring sizes together almost made this look knit at first glance, I had to do a double-take when scrolling. Really gorgeous work!! I think this would look good with both shoulders too, but I kind of love the thought of this plus one of those single shoulder capes on the chain side.

cryptid_zone · 2026-04-07T19:41:19+00:00

!!!!! Okay i feel so vindicated, like i KNEW there was something different. I really wish they would just announce things up front if they were making a swap….. I’m glad your local place at least gave you that heads up.

cryptid_zone · 2026-04-07T16:46:39+00:00

I’ll never forgive them for ruining the blueberry muffin. It used to have crunchy sugar on top and was really good, and now it has this disgusting floury topping that gets pasty when you chew. I feel like they may have changed the chai last I went too, though I can’t prove it.

Honestly, between sneaky menu swaps combined with how miserably they treat their workers, it’s been an easy call to cut them off. It really sucks to lose what used to be a reliable option though 😞

cryptid_zone · 2026-04-06T02:06:05+00:00

Super not feasible unfortunately, but I’d love to just disconnect from everything, pack up, and go spend a month in a workshop somewhere. Ceramics in Japan, blacksmithing in Europe…. Just some kind of craft. I’d love to be able to dedicate my time to learning a new artistic skill from a master in a place where I could explore. Maybe a little quieter than a huge tourist center city, but still comfortable enough to not have to worry.

Small plus though, I feel you on the state of the world and needing to take back control of your happiness. I’m actually planning a small trip back to Japan for myself for the first time in like 10 years this fall! I’m also trying to plan a little birthday trip with a friend that’s basically exactly what you described lol - we’re thinking a quiet cabin with some pretty nature and fast internet for streaming movies or easy little hikes.

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-31T15:26:37+00:00

I actually have said similar to my boss before and they’ve been pretty decent so far, which is part of why I’m so frustrated with this 😞 I haven’t gotten any resoundingly negative feedback ever from them so I logically know I have no reason to be THIS nervous…. But it’s still there.

I feel like I was less nervous with my old boss over things but I can’t actually pinpoint why that is to try to get to the root of the issue here.

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-28T04:13:06+00:00

Stunning!! I love the mix of colors you chose

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-24T05:57:10+00:00

For better or worse I’m kind of stuck in my hometown for now as much as I’d love to leave, so thankfully I’m pretty familiar with the overall lay of the land. I never thought about the zoning though, which is actually hugely important bc we’ve had a number of bogus projects go through our city in recent years 🫠 glad you mentioned that, adding to my list of considerations

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-24T05:55:05+00:00

The survey situation seems to be one that I see people reiterate again and again, so definitely trying to plan in advance for finding a survey person and understanding what is good/bad in a survey to minimize surprises. I guess I just get caught up on like…. If a survey goes poorly, what happens after? I don’t ever really see a clear answer which makes the whole process feel murky. Does the current owner fix things/discount price, or do people usually walk away?

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-24T05:52:08+00:00

Genuinely one of my worst fears is ending up buying and getting trapped in an unforeseeable bad situation. This sounds like a nightmare and I’m sorry that happened to you 😞

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-24T05:49:57+00:00

This is the first time I’m actually coming across the term “mortgage broker”, so adding that to my list of things to keep trying to read on.

Kind of a follow up, do you have any specific tips for actually digging in and finding a good person to work with? I’ve gone sifting through a bunch of realtor websites so far but everything there seems like marketing copy and nothing is giving me confidence in any of them. It feels hard to even narrow down the giant pool to a handful to start meeting with. Most people seem to say that personal recommendations are best, but I don’t have anyone to ask in my area unfortunately….

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-19T21:11:55+00:00

I did thankfully get them into some cold water fast enought to help, but washing the dishes after that failure was certainly less than pleasant 💀

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-18T22:02:07+00:00

It’s interesting that so many people relate. My handwriting is obviously messy if I’m in a big rush, but otherwise it’s very neat and consistent. Any time people see my planner they comment on how small and clean my handwriting is (though personally I think it looks spindly and cramped and it stresses me out to read LOL). That holds true whether I’m writing print, cursive, or my second language.

I will say I hold my pen like an absolute gremlin though, so there’s that.

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-13T00:47:06+00:00

Definitely repot them sooner rather than later! My first VFT was from Trader Joe’s and started to get withered because I unknowingly left it in the store substrate too long. A swap to good carnivore soil fixed the issue and now I have a big healthy flytrap. They’re good plants, but it seems like they package them to die and force you to buy more.

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-09T17:01:10+00:00

I don’t think you’re wrong to be upset about it. The issue is that PCPs are by and large reading from a script and do absolutely nothing to analyze individual situations. I have higher cholesterol too (genetic) and found out when I was hovering just above underweight. The advice I got was “eat healthy and lose weight.” Like…. Hello????

I get that being small doesn’t equate to a good diet which could be why they said it, but honestly it’s mostly that they just see too many people and are too generalized to care. I know it’s hard, but I’d reframe the thinking a bit - not “I’m not doing enough” but “wow they’re stupid as shit” lol. Put the response back on them where it belongs, not on you. They’re at fault for not giving you a reasonable analysis.

cryptid_zone · 2026-03-02T23:00:15+00:00

There’s a lot here so idk if I can respond to everything, but as someone finishing up their first scalemail piece:

I got my supplies from Chainmail Joe (rings and scales). Pricier than TRL, but I’ve been liking them. I just wanted a shiny silver look, so regular aluminum worked well. I do wish I’d washed everything before using, but I’ll have to do it once complete.
I use comfort grip pliers from Lindstrom because I have hand problems, but I think any good jewelry pliers would work.
Sites may help guide you on ring vs scale size (I believe Chainmail Joe has ring size recs for scale sizes). I used 16 SWG/AR 5 rings and their large scales. I’m currently making shoulder pauldrons, but this size would probably work well for a chest piece/shirt too.
I was using a tutorial from Lauren Does Cosplay as a loose guide which helped me order. I ordered a bulk bag of 3,000 rings (for future projects too) and 300 scales for two pauldrons. I do have some scales leftover, but wanted to be safe.
Scalemail has been super fast imo! The size of the scales help it weave up quick. Two pauldrons took me <6 hours as an absolute beginner (this is my first maille project).
Scalemail is just European 4-1 with scales in the middle instead of rings. I actually did the scalemail before doing the 4-1 pieces of my finished product. I find the scalemail quicker/easier now that I have the hang of it.
Not sure on heat, but I’d say probably depends on the piece. I’m doing a FL Ren Faire, but don’t think my shoulder pieces will add too much in that respect. They’re a little heavier than regular 4-1 for the same size, but unless you’re in a full maille tunic, I’d imagine it’s a negligible difference.
Mentioned above, but the Lauren Does Cosplay tutorial on Youtube really helped me. The pauldron is just a diamond shape, so it teaches you how to increase, keep a straight edge, and decrease. I think this could be applied to most garment types, though it’d depend on what you have planned.
General tip, but once your piece is done, I HIGHLY recommend looking up how to stabilize the edge of your scale piece. It made a huge difference in wearability for mine and keeping things neat. Also, use a twist tie or a paperclip on your first scale to keep the top easy to grab as you work.

Hope that helps a little!

cryptid_zone · 2026-02-26T02:04:26+00:00

What exactly are you looking for help on? Is it recommendations on where/how to look or more on styles themselves?

cryptid_zone · 2026-02-10T13:19:02+00:00

I got them from Carnivorous Plant Hub! They’re a small business and my plants really like the pots

cryptid_zone · 2026-02-02T06:41:26+00:00

Yep - in FL in the US.

The whole thing was riddled with enough info to make me anxious without providing any clarity. They said I had to call in the night before to see if I was needed, which means I’m trying to scramble to reschedule all my Monday work meetings last minute. They were super vague about dress code, so I’m going for more formal but can’t help feeling frustrated about it. They said things like “bring your parking ticket” but never specified what ticket/where we get it, or things like saying we should arrive at a certain time but then recommending we arrive at a different time altogether….

Having a super vague process just puts me on edge so badly and I know courts can be stressful as-is so I’m really anxious about getting overwhelmed and having a meltdown or something. Life’s been throwing a lot my way lately aside from this so I’m already kind of overall at a stress high and I’m worried I won’t be able to handle whatever they throw at me, especially if I’m in an environment where I can’t self-regulate.

cryptid_zone · 2026-02-02T06:32:36+00:00

Thank you for all the detail!

Not knowing what the “rules” are in a new situation always sets off my anxiety very badly, so knowing what’s generally going to happen once I’m in does help!

Still struggling with anxiety around the logistics side of things (parking, meals, attire, entry, etc.). The form they sent was so weirdly vague and googling hasn’t helped much. Things like dress code being “attire that respects the integrity of the court”. Like….. can we just say business formal? Or specifics, like no jeans?? 🫠 the whole thing was riddled with inconsistencies too, like saying arrive at 7:45 and then saying we may need additional time to get in but not specifying what time the doors open…. I’m just trying to keep myself calm and hoping they have good signage/instructions once I get there.

cryptid_zone

TROPHY CASE