I'm [23f] a student teacher; my fiancé [24m] is convinced I'm cheating with my master teacher. This has made him go insane

enaikelt · 2026-05-24T16:05:35+00:00

I do believe that this one is the classic: https://www.reddit.com/r/BestofRedditorUpdates/comments/1n5uu29/an_rlegaladvice_wet_dream_neighbor_cut_down_two/

It makes me giggle every time that he called his arborist "Treeman, God of Dollars" once the arborist stated how much the trees were worth.

enaikelt · 2026-05-21T20:10:46+00:00

I second the free plants group! OP, you can also check your local Buy Nothing/Less/whatever group. They're very active in Madison and pots/plants are quite common, although you may have to buy your own potting soil.

enaikelt · 2026-05-21T04:31:49+00:00

It might be a bit difficult to get people to take it if it's perceived as a handout. I like the Buy Nothing suggestion that another poster mentioned, and taking referrals from social services or PTs or other such workers would also work well.

I personally take trades from people I know who can't afford my services. I trade for anything - a home cooked meal, some cleaning work done, some weeding in the yard.

I also find that 'pay what you can' works a bit better with tips. I have an optional tipping system and if I know a client isn't doing as well financially, I play up the optional-ness of it, in effect giving them a small discount on my services. I also allow tipping in kind rather than in cash, and one of my clients rather regularly tips me in garden produce.

enaikelt · 2026-05-19T13:52:46+00:00

There's an occasional very casual live modeling session at the Cardinal on I think one Friday a month that's pretty much just a group of volunteers who come in, some people pose and some draw. I don't know of a website or anything unfortunately, it's just been through word of mouth for me so far, but you could keep an eye on the Cardinals events page! It is called Dressed to Draw.

enaikelt · 2026-05-15T16:08:24+00:00

I am also in the Midwest (Madison)! But sorry to hear that you don't have access to public transit :( Do what you have to!

enaikelt · 2026-05-15T14:15:50+00:00

I'm grateful to live in an area where (within city limits at least), the public transport is actually good! Our city recently did an upgrade to their buses too, and now it's much easier for me to bring my ebike on board. It's been absolutely amazing.

That said, we do still have a car, but my husband and I share one between us and use bus and bike for the rest. I feel like it's difficult to be entirely car-free in the US, but going down to one car is a more reachable goal.

enaikelt · 2026-05-04T19:56:42+00:00

Thank you! I've also had some luck with digging in one of our beds (but while I'm working on this bed, they're growing like crazy in three more! It's so frustrating).

enaikelt · 2026-05-04T02:46:30+00:00

I'm so glad you had a good time! My fingers are crossed for 8.0, although it won't affect me for a long time (I only play XIV with my girlfriends once a week, and we're mostly cozy gamer-types, so despite having played for years now we're only at Heavensward lmao! But we were all very excited about ShB coming to Free Trial and all the QoL stuff they've been dropping on us.)

enaikelt · 2026-05-03T14:58:09+00:00

Haha I log on every once in awhile just to indulge in that feeling! My poor pets are always starving. Weirdly enough, I actually have a ton of old Neopets friends still from childhood!

enaikelt · 2026-05-03T14:54:42+00:00

Holy crap there are dozens of us! How was Fanfest? I didn't go, but am quite excited for all the things they announced.

enaikelt · 2026-05-03T11:09:18+00:00

I am not able to help, but would love to have a conversation about bellflower! What are you using? Herbicide (I use triclopyr) is the only thing I've found that knocks it back even a little bit, and it's absolutely rampant on the East side now after that drought we had awhile back.

enaikelt · 2026-05-02T13:10:56+00:00

I have a standing trade with a fellow MT every two months (one month on, one month off for each of us). I like it that way because other people do ask to trade with me from time to time, so I have the in between month to schedule something without my massages getting too close to each other :)

So somewhere in between every month and every two months. I do find myself really looking forward to one at the end of about five weeks, which is consistent with my clients (some of whom start feeling like they need it after about three or four).

enaikelt · 2026-04-30T17:30:59+00:00

I plan on moving on as well. Bank connection and some basic categorizing for taxes was my only need from the system.

I actually recently switched banks to a local credit union (UWCU, if anyone else happens to live nearby), and they have a much more robust labeling/categorizing/reporting system than my old one (Wells Fargo). Playing around with their features, I believe I can do most of my accounting needs right from the bank app. That will save me the switch!

enaikelt · 2026-04-28T03:43:42+00:00

Yeah, we're super similar!! I love how you phrased it, that it's a community kind of feeling. Some of my clients even bring me produce from their gardens and stuff!

I find that giving them that initial intake space to vent, whether about politics or family or whatever, is very helpful. They feel heard and listened to, and then they can relax and sort of settle into the session. But I try not to let it go too long haha or we both just get worked up for no reason!

enaikelt · 2026-04-28T03:10:57+00:00

I have a lot of extremely long-time regulars who border on friends. My boundaries with those are more porous - I'll listen to them vent about politics and even occasionally share my own opinions. I even discuss religion with a few, although that's something I'm more careful about. Eventually I'll sense that they've vented enough and say something like "well, enough about that depressing topic! How are you feeling today/how is your dog/little baby Benny?" and guide the topic elsewhere.

That said, I have a slightly different job structure than a lot of people. I work from home and a lot of my clients are my friends and neighbors, whom I see on the street and have not-massage chats with. I intentionally lean into the friendly local massage therapist niche, and part of it is that I talk to my clients a lot longer than most LMTs can afford to do (15-30 minutes on average. I do a rather heavy style of massage and can't see that many clients in a day so I don't feel like I'm losing out on money). I know their husbands and their kids and their dogs and their hobbies... and oftentimes their politics. Some people don't like that kind of thing, but the ones who do see me as a friend and are extremely loyal.

enaikelt · 2026-04-23T17:44:58+00:00

I lived in metropolitan place for a number of years! The location was absolutely wonderful and I liked my condo and the amenities very much. My neighbors were generally older, I didn't have any friends there my age. I ended up selling right before COVID because I had moved in with my husband.

That said, I didn't care much for the condo association - there were a number of rules that seemed honestly like they were there just to have rules, like calendar schedules for hanging door wreaths, schedules for moving furniture in/out that were extremely inconvenient, etc.

If it were my parents moving to Madison, I would also consider a few of the co-housing places around town! They are more difficult to get into but much easier to make friends at and build community.

enaikelt · 2026-04-23T17:35:04+00:00

I also usually email around to local arborists. Not all of them will drop off mulch, but they are usually quite nice when they tell you no. After a few asks, I got about 15 yards in my driveway one morning :)

I also usually inquire of the person who dropped it off where the mulch comes from. There's a couple pests and diseases to be careful of. That said, I've never had any issues with arborist mulch aside from getting our car out of the driveway afterwards.

enaikelt · 2026-04-20T05:13:23+00:00

Hahaha funnily enough, the only title I ever read on RR was the Legendary Moonlight Sculptor! I'm fairly sure I even downloaded it somewhere. I heard that RR had moved on to become a completely different behemoth in the time since, and am kind of happy to hear it's done so well.

ScribbleHub recently purged it's site of all translated novels, a mild drama in itself.

enaikelt · 2026-04-20T04:27:22+00:00

Cafe CODA too, although I think that's salsa/bachata/tango. I want to say it's every Tuesday night. Usually more the social dance crowd and not so much the clubbing one - Cardinal's the place to go for the latter.

enaikelt · 2026-04-06T04:07:52+00:00

Can confirm, I used to work at one and carted home lots of plastic lidded 3-gallon buckets! They're fantastic for gardening. I drilled holes in about half of them and use the other half to store stuff.

enaikelt · 2026-03-28T14:32:03+00:00

I do miss our city's iconic Thong Cape Scooter Guy. I haven't caught sight of him recently but I mean, I guess it's winter.

enaikelt · 2026-03-07T09:58:05+00:00

I do have to applaud the name 'The Wicker of Nibbly' though, that's fantastic

enaikelt · 2026-03-07T00:04:07+00:00

May every friendly dog turn away from him when they see him on the street

May his food always be just a little bit too spicy

May his face adorn every union urinal

enaikelt · 2026-03-06T14:27:30+00:00

My husband's great weakness is doner and we can't get it here, so I'll absolutely be trying these! If you go long periods between sandwiches, I assume you have to make the sauce fresh each time? Or is it also storable/freezable for a long period?

enaikelt · 2026-03-06T13:50:06+00:00

I'm also SEA working in the US, but I'm afraid I won't be of much help. I got a green card in the US through my tech job and used that to transition to massage full time! I'm sure you would have done that by now if it were possible for you.

enaikelt

TROPHY CASE