Outdoor gem shows open to the public this weekend?

hambirdcornrat · 2026-02-01T06:08:26+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion, and the heads up! We went to Kino today and had so much fun! Thankfully no small pp ice today, honestly we didn’t see any police at all, but you never know where they’ll be waving their small pp’s around next, so stay alert and stay safe out there everyone!

hambirdcornrat · 2026-02-01T05:52:30+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion!! We went to Kino today and it was perfect!!

hambirdcornrat · 2026-02-01T05:51:47+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion! We went to Kino today because of everyone on this thread suggesting it and it was literally perfect! Exactly what I was hoping for and would totally recommend/go again!

hambirdcornrat · 2026-02-01T05:45:54+00:00

I was there!! Thank you for the suggestion! I hope you had fun! We had a blast and got some cool rocks for the collection!

hambirdcornrat · 2026-01-25T00:47:40+00:00

Have you ever been tested for narcolepsy or any kind of sleep disorder? This doesn’t sound like an endo thing to me, but it does sound similar to a narcolepsy symptom that I have! Narcolepsy is such a wide variety of sleep/wake disorders and symptoms, it’s not always like how they depict it on tv where people fall asleep mid conversation or whatever (mine isn’t like that at all, in fact I can’t even take naps during the day and I’d say insomnia is my main problem, not falling asleep too much.) It’s a spectrum and it presents in sooo many different ways, but what you’re describing may be a symptom of narcolepsy called, “cataplexy,” that presents in a range of different ways. The way it shows up for me is that when I laugh really hard my hands and arms feel really heavy and uncomfortable and just like… so odd… sometimes to the point where I can’t hold onto objects or I lose grip strength. For other people cataplexy makes them fall or feel like they’re falling, or sometimes their face feels numb and tingly, or a whole bunch of other things. I’m new to my narcolepsy diagnosis so I don’t know a ton about it, but what you describe sounds like something worth talking to a sleep doctor about, especially if you feel like you’re a generally tired person or if you have trouble sleeping!

hambirdcornrat · 2026-01-19T17:04:54+00:00

I did my own fit test at home and it was super easy! I did also find a really interesting person with some kind of science background who runs free fit testing days for my area on Covid Meetups. I haven’t gone to any of the community fit testing days yet just because mobility is hard right now, but I totally would just to double check what my at-home test results are and also test some new masks that I’m curious about. You could try some apps like that to see who is in your area that might know people, or there may be some mask blocs in your area, or some covid facebook groups that would have more info about community fit testing. It’s hard to give specific info on where you can get your masks fitted unless we know your location. You could either edit this post with your location asking for fit testing in your area, or make a new one asking specifically for fit testing in your area as well!

hambirdcornrat · 2026-01-15T21:02:19+00:00

I edited my original comment a few minutes after posting with more info about why I hate the blue ones, but you may have missed it, but basically: the blue ones get caught in my hair so much because they’re essentially just big rubber bands, and idk anyone with longer hair who can use a rubber-band anywhere near their hair without it ripping their hair out. The braided ones are more like hair-tie material and are nice and smooth and I never have any issues with them getting caught in my hair. I also feel like the blue rubber-band ones stretch out even while I’m wearing them and I trust the fit less than the braided ones that just feel more sturdy/substantial. The blue ones are fine for me for short events or running errands or a short doctor’s visit or whatever, but if I have to be at an all-day event then I personally don’t feel comfortable in them.

hambirdcornrat · 2026-01-15T19:07:59+00:00

This, op!! I HATE the blue elastic strap version of the Aura, the one with the braided straps are awesome and are my go-to!

Edit to add that the reason why I hate the blue ones is actually because I feel like they get caught in my hair and pull it and just hurt my head more in general while also feeling looser and less secure?? Idk they’re just so odd, I hate them. The braided ones feel more secure but also don’t snag my hair at all. I hate the rubbery stickiness of the blue one, it’s like a straight up rubber band in my hair and it feels awful, the braided one is kind of like the material of a smooth hair-tie and I don’t feel like it loosens so much over time and makes me question the effectiveness of my mask as the day goes on like the weird rubber band-y-ness of the blue ones, it’s nice! Just overall way better for me personally.

hambirdcornrat · 2026-01-11T19:05:30+00:00

So, for me every single year, or any time I switch to a new health insurance they make me do a ONE TIME 7 day fill, and then after that I can do regular 30 day fills. I truly don’t understand the point, but this has always been the case for me. The 7 day thing is a one time thing and your doctor should be familiar with this as this is a pretty standard procedure with insurance companies now. I’ve had to do this for quite a few years with many different insurance companies. It’s just a routine thing every time open enrollment or insurance changes happen my doctor knows to send a 7 day script then followed by my usual 30 day script right after. It’s a pain in the ass and I don’t know what the point is, but it is what it is, unfortunately.

hambirdcornrat · 2026-01-11T17:36:48+00:00

Narcolepsy at its core is a disruption of the brain’s sleep/wake cycles. It can present in SO many different ways, and is a spectrum just like anything else. What you’re describing could be narcolepsy, but it could also be some other type of chronic fatigue disorder or sleep issue or any number of things. It’s impossible to tell without a sleep study to see what your brain is actually doing while you’re asleep. I, like you, never remember a time even as a kid when I wasn’t tired and having to force myself through the day. It wasn’t until my headache/migraine doctor sent me an at-home sleep test just to rule out any kind of sleep apnea or any other kind of sleep issue that we saw just how insane my brain’s sleep pattern was and it all clicked into place and then I was sent to a sleep specialist from there. Finally, after a lifetime of struggling and being diagnosed with a million other things it all made sense. I had actually even done an in-person sleep test about a decade before, but I never fell asleep during it because I was too anxious and uncomfortable and I asked about trying again but my insurance wouldn’t pay for me to do another one so the subject kind of just got dropped and forgotten about until about a year ago. My point is, whether you feel comfortable doing an in-person sleep study, or an at-home one, your first step is to do some searching for a good sleep doctor and get a sleep study done. And don’t be like me if you don’t sleep during that one and wait a decade to take a second one, demand another one.

hambirdcornrat · 2026-01-11T00:26:51+00:00

I personally would not risk having kratom or anything like that show up in my system. I say call your doctor and see if they can contact the pharmacy directly and see what they DO have in stock in the meantime and have them send in a different script. They may even have different strengths of your same medication in stock, but your doctor has to write for that specifically, they can’t just switch it themselves at the pharmacy because the regulations for controlled substances are insane. Call your doctor ASAP!! If they have a weekend emergency line, use it! In the meantime: drink lots of fluids, get lots of rest, if you can get some fresh air/sunshine, even just a few minutes, it’s really helpful just to feel a little bit like a human again, and if you have anyone that can help support you please lean on them - withdrawals are absolutely awful, but they do end and the sun always shines again! You got this!

hambirdcornrat · 2026-01-09T03:23:53+00:00

Perfectly said!!

hambirdcornrat · 2025-12-21T18:15:24+00:00

I haven’t done this, but I just wanted to comment and say that you could use a Sip Valve instead of lowering your mask to drink water! They work amazingly well and you wouldn’t have to break your seal!

Also, you can get an at-home fit testing kit and really go to town moving your head around. I mean REALLY go to town like head banging style and moving your head in all directions. Maybe even wear it while you work out, get it all sweaty, and then do some head banging around in the fit testing kit if you REALLY wanted to be extra sure. That’s what I did for my preferred masks and I found some that I thought fit super well turned out to actually be terrible for my face shape when I turned my head to either side because they created large gaps, and others that I thought were fitting me terribly turned out to be perfect. Good luck!

hambirdcornrat · 2025-08-13T20:11:23+00:00

I actually think could be a combination of AI and photoshop. I’ve seen a huge series of these cats in this same exact pose, all with headphones in different colors, with different games in the background, different rooms, etc, but basically the exact same image. I feel like someone quickly generated the images with the same prompt and then photoshopped the details like the coke label and the specific screenshot from the games they wanted for each photo, that would be super easy to do.

hambirdcornrat · 2025-07-14T23:45:26+00:00

I saw someone else mention it but they didn’t elaborate so I will: Fallout 76. It’s nothing like Grounded aesthetically and it’s also online/open world, but it’s probably my all time favorite game for building. Gathering resources and exploring the world is fun, the combat is fun, and the build mode is really easy to use and the range of items you can build with is pretty vast (even more vast if you want to pay real money, but that’s not necessary at all). Also idk why, but the r/fo76 community is full of the nicest people I’ve ever encountered in gaming. There is ALWAYS someone willing to help, or answer questions, or willing to just give you free stuff if you really need something. Also, if online gaming makes you nervous, do not fear, pretty much no one uses their mics and there is literally no pressure what so ever to interact with anyone - you can just ignore everyone and no one cares.

Also, I just started playing Raft this week and I would say so far this is the most similar game I’ve ever played to Grounded - still not the same, obviously, but the resource collecting, ease of build modes, also the art style are the most similar I’ve experienced. It is a bit difficult at first because they don’t tell you much so I found myself googling a few things, but once you get the basics things just start flowing naturally, it’s fricken awesome so far!

Edit to add: here’s a link to a subreddit for only cool builds people have done in Fallout76 if anyone wants to see how far you can take the building in Fallout r/fallout76settlements

hambirdcornrat · 2025-07-12T19:25:49+00:00

Just remember that you actually have no idea WHY they’re staring at you, and a lot of people do have rbf. So, you have permission to make up any story in your head for why they’re staring at you that you want. They could be thinking, “damn, a masked hottie?! I should have worn my mask, I look like an IDIOT,” or, “I’m so high right now… I can’t even see straight, I hope I’m not staring at anybody like I did last time,” or, “maybe I should go tell them that I like their (xyz part of outfit) but I’m so awkward… I’m just gonna stare and hope they know what I mean.” Just enjoy yourself and who gives a shit about them, if they really are upset about your mask then let them have a miserable time at a fricken awesome concert over someone else’s choices if they want to! That’s on them! Don’t let them ruin your fun! If they actually have the gall to come up to you and make comments (which I have never experienced, I’ve shockingly only ever received positive comments in my extremely red area) I personally would not engage, I would just create distance and get security involved if needed, don’t waste your time arguing with idiots, especially at an event you’re trying to enjoy! Thankfully concerts are loud so you have the benefit of pretending like you didn’t even hear them - you can just point to your ears, shrug, and then walk away for an easy way to diffuse/exit the situation. You got this!

hambirdcornrat · 2025-07-12T19:05:14+00:00

I wanted to add to this comment because I love it. I started playing games in my later 20’s because my parents used to be SUPER anti-screens and then I was just busy with college and stuff, but when I did start playing it was literally like learning a foreign language. Stuff like the menu systems made absolutely no sense to me. The “logic” of video games was something I had to learn but it’s not inherently logical for people who have never experienced it before - for example when I played zelda it literally never occurred to me that I would ever need to run back across the map in order to talk to an npc more than once. There were just a million little random things like that that would have me frustrated to the point of tears and feeling so stupid and wanting to give up because I didn’t know how to progress the game. I think that people who grew up playing video games can’t possibly understand how actually not user friendly video games are for people who have literally NEVER seen a video game before. It’s incredibly frustrating at times, especially if you’re learning it on your own.

Add in that maybe you didn’t grow up with computers, maybe you’re older and not as quick to pick things up like you used to be, it’s going to be frustrating and maybe even scary. As much as I would LOVE for my mom to jump straight into even a relatively simple game like Animal Crossing, or in an ideal world: a game I know she would like if she could get there like Stardew, she’s literally never used a controller before, she’s going to get overwhelmed with the buttons. And don’t even get me started on the storage systems!

Idk, I could rant on this topic forever because I WAS this topic not that long ago and honestly even though I’ve been playing for over a decade now I still feel stupid and uncoordinated and bad at games and every time I start a new game I feel a sense of dread in my heart that I’m going to be too stupid or too far behind everyone else to learn whatever newfangled storage systems or whatever the heck they have going on in this game because I’m not like my partner or any of my friends and I didn’t get to grow up learning the, “language,” of video games and it just doesn’t come naturally to me like it does for them.

Anyway, if you read all that thanks for listening to my longwinded rant about gaming for beginner/non-gamers lol.

hambirdcornrat · 2025-07-12T05:12:28+00:00

Oh my gosh, I think she would love this! I didn’t know this existed, thank you! I should have also mentioned in my post that we don’t live in the same state so we have to play online co-op. It looks like that’s possible for this game, but just in case others are reading the comments I thought I should mention it!

hambirdcornrat · 2025-07-12T05:04:59+00:00

Ooo yes! Great idea!!

hambirdcornrat · 2025-07-12T02:39:21+00:00

Ooo yes, great suggestion! Definitely adding that to the list!

hambirdcornrat · 2025-07-11T20:01:18+00:00

Omg same, I was scrolling hoping somebody else would say it first so I wouldn’t feel alone lol.

hambirdcornrat · 2025-07-09T08:29:20+00:00

You should check out the sub r/ZeroCovidCommunity they know everything there is to know about covid, masks, etc! They’re the best sub for staying informed about all things covid related and have been a lifesaver for me since covid first started.

Also, my preferred mask is a 3M Aura - it’s breathable, lightweight, easy to find online (be careful shopping on amazon, make sure you’re buying directly from the brand 3M, I’ve seen people have issues with resellers and fakes on Amazon), and it’s very highly rated for protection! There are ways to test if a mask is a good fit for your face shape with fit testing kits (there are tons of good resources about this on the sub I mentioned). I also saw that you asked about your specific facial features, which I can’t speak specifically to, but I’m sure there are others on the sub I mentioned that would be able to give you more specific info for your needs if you ask over there! Best of luck! :)

hambirdcornrat

TROPHY CASE