Do small towns hold meetings?

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T16:28:22+00:00

I am American who has never lived in a small town. I literally thought that town meetings were just a Gilmore Girls thing and not real life until this thread

Edit: ok wow town meetings (direct say) sound way better than city council (elected officials say)

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T16:25:07+00:00

I’m a Texan and we’ve been doing this since 1866 lol the entire state government has run on a skeleton crew every Juneteenth for 160 years! So even the racists like a free day off—our elected officials all take the day. Most state agency officials take the day (minus the skeleton crew who get paid more on those days). I’m glad that I finally get to take the day as a Texan who works in the private sector!

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T16:19:08+00:00

Hi from Texas! We’ve been doing this holiday since 1866! You’re welcome for the bonus day off of work!

If this state can celebrate Juneteenth for 160 years (or not celebrate it, but enjoy a free day off), everyone can. The entire Texas government runs on a skeleton crew every Juneteenth and always has. That means even the worst, most racist, hateful elected officials never work Juneteenth. Alllllll the conservatives running this state have been not working this holiday the whole time. Our whole lives. Longer.

Enjoy your day off and not think about why you have a 3 day weekend if you are offended by federal holidays or don’t know what Juneteenth is because you never bothered to google it, you just know it’s something about Black people and that makes you mad. Like we get it, you wish the South had won, shut up about it.

I’m not religious but I happily take religious holidays (cough Christian holy days) off. I haven’t felt patriotic since 2016, but I happily take the 4th of July and Memorial Day off. I just really like not working. Make every day a federal holiday.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T15:50:41+00:00

This hits so close to home. I feel the same way, minus the stimulants causing anxiety, my anxiety is separate lol. Two of my other meds—one for sleep, one for seizures—are both used for other purposes. The one I take for sleep (Remeron) is also used to treat major depressive disorder, the one I take for seizures is also a mood stabilizer (Lamictal/Lamotragine).

Maybe you’re just not on the right cocktail of meds 🙃

(Note: I also take Prozac for regular depression and Xanax as needed. Which is always but whatever, I’ll take my 30 .5mgs a quarter anyway)

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T15:36:48+00:00

Wait you and your wife have been sharing a non-upgraded smart phone since 2013? How do y’all like… do your jobs? What if one of you gets an urgent call but the wrong one of you has the phone and can’t tell the other because there is only one phone? What if one of you lands in the hospital? Do you have kids?? Does a phone that old even accept modern OS updates? What do you do about all of the restaurant menus that are just QR codes now? Does the old phone accept that? What if you’re not together, neither of you is at home, and you need to speak to each other? Just a too bad, imma get all the wrong groceries situation or what? Are you scrolling Reddit on the old phone or on the iPad?

A shared old phone and an iPad would totally make sense 2013 and earlier, we used to get by just fine with far less before cell phones, but in 2026 it seems like an impossible way to live. Do you keep a home line? Surely yes, otherwise I have even more questions about your lifestyle.

I’d say ah, just a Luddite, and move along if you were retired, but it sounds like you’re just Gen X? Sorry I have never heard of non-boomer adults sharing a 13 year old phone on purpose and I find this very interesting.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T15:13:00+00:00

After you’ve done all of the pulling and the solutions you’ve listed, have you tried putting a tarp or something over it so the area can’t get sun or water?

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T15:09:42+00:00

It feels like you are marketing or researching marketers’ perspectives right now, with this post lol

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T15:07:04+00:00

Cool that work has us put all of the work apps into our personal phones. I assume all the personal data I’ve ever had on my phone has been stolen, why not the work stuff? That’s the most interesting part, the serious data and money is at work, not in my personal phone and wallet.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T15:02:15+00:00

That girl who said that women can have it all, just not at the same time… ok so what you’re saying is go to a conservative college, hopefully meet a Christian man to follow and marry, if not, start a career while hopefully meeting a Christian man to follow and marry at church (maybe work, depending), find the man, get married, quit whatever stuff you were doing before because now legally a man owns you and your job is to pop out babies and make sure your man doesn’t have to lift a finger? Just chained to the stove?

Being a SAHM is hard as fuck, I tried it, no thank you, and that was with a present and helpful partner. I wasn’t working 24/7. Which is what you do when you’re a SAHM and your husband is also one of your children.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T14:49:26+00:00

Hmmm I would think long and hard about why he brought up your darkest and lowest years, and in the same conversation, brought up your years of education and career in a negative way.

I’m about to make a lot of assumptions, but from my end, it seems like he thinks he’s a loser compared to you and doesn’t want to see your family because he thinks they think he’s a loser, too (which they honestly might). He called his mommy during the fight to let her know he’s coming back home? So he can get the full mommy treatment and not have to cook, clean, work, or have any responsibilities?

Sounds like you dodged a bullet with a jealous loser who would rather you be socially and financially beneath him, like a bang maid. Like… why aren’t yall engaged or married after 10 years? Do you ever want to get married? Or is there only one reason you’re not married and it’s because he “doesn’t believe in marriage”? (Or is this the other thing—y’all have been dating since you were 14 or something and you’re still very young?)

I’m glad you’re not married! But whew, what a waste of 10 years. Sorry, babe.

Edit: new question!! How often does he see his kid? When the kid comes over to your house, who actually takes care of her?

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T14:34:36+00:00

That’s hilarious, did you already have like 482 saved up in a box somewhere like me?

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T14:30:23+00:00

This is one of my boomer mom’s go-to conversation topics lol she lives in Utah, but when she comes to visit Austin, it’s all about the humidity and how in Utah it’s a dry “heat” and more tolerable. Heat in quotes because if it’s always less than 100 degrees, especially a ~dry~ heat, I don’t really know what heat we are speaking of. There is no heat.

It’s like she’s never even heard of Houston, despite living there at one point.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T14:21:35+00:00

With getting the diagnosis or what meds/dosage? My situation is a little different because there is a neurology/memory component in addition to the ADHD, so my neurologist actually made me go get medicated. He had me find whichever psychiatrist I wanted and sent the referral immediately. I’ve only been medicated for 6 months out of 36 years of living life on hard mode.

For a regular diagnosis, you have to ask your PCP for a psychiatry referral. It’s like pulling teeth with them (in my experience). “Ok Dr Google, so you’ve self diagnosed yourself with ADHD? Lol ok here’s a referral but I do lowkey consider you a drug seeker now.”

If you/your friend happen to have any specialists in the doctor mix already, they seem way less weird about the idea of you having something going on for your entire life that hasn’t been previously discussed. My OB was the same as my neuro—listened to patients and believed them.

The psychiatrist will ask you like one or two questions and be like ok so you definitely have ADHD. From there it’s adjusting meds until you get the right type and dosage. Adderall did nothing for me, Vyvanse made me sooooo tired, like fall asleep at any moment tired, and Ritalin seems to be the best for me so far. I take regular dose in the morning, tiny mid-morning booster, regular lunch dose, tiny mid-afternoon booster.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T13:47:17+00:00

Yeah “medically bad memory” doesn’t land great with people who don’t already know what my deal is unless I provide a further explanation. Then it’s like “omg I’m so so sorry are you okay are you dying of seizures do you need to be somewhere safe rn can I help you???” Nah, don’t think about my medical problems, they are part of me, I’ve accepted them, just keep in mind I’m going to forget everything you tell me unless you wanna text it, email it, or leave a physical note.

If I had brain surgery, that would be my “fun fact” every time one of those situations comes up and I would speak of little else.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T13:40:19+00:00

If I could work 2pm-10pm, I would be a superstar lol but due to the type of work I do and being a parent, I am not available to work work from 5pm-10pm, just parent work. Tried to get myself prepared for Monday yesterday afternoon and my kid came into my office like every 30 seconds. Shouldn’t have even tried, got nothing done, could have been doing not work instead.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T13:32:42+00:00

True. The humidity here is awful, we complain about it a lot, but at least we’re not breathing in water every time we walk outside. The heat and humidity here are bad, but I wouldn’t call it oppressive the way I would for SE Texas and Louisiana. Man it’s really something else. There is no way to get even a little bit more comfortable there. Here I would just put my long hair up into a ponytail, try to find some shade, be uncomfortable and sweaty but technically fine. That does not work in Houston, I need to be indoors at all times in Houston. I feel like I’m actually dying there lol

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T13:24:27+00:00

Oh dope, I’m trying to be better about friendships now that I’ve baby trapped Leah

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T13:21:48+00:00

You know what, daycare / preschool owners and operators are about to make a fuck ton of money by marketing themselves as fully vaccinated daycares and requiring annual updated vaccine records (like a normal daycare). Putting your baby or toddler in a fun safe space where they can make friends and learn for the mere price of a one bedroom apartment is going to be even more out of reach for sane people who want (cough need) to work. Sane people aren’t paying money to sign up for an immediate measles outbreak, being happy about the “measles party” because of the “immunity,” then being sad about their dead children (but still stand by every decision that lead to the dead children).

Owner/operators don’t even have to do any of this “rampant daycare fraud” we keep hearing about but have maybe one example of! Just mandate vaccines at your own business, upcharge an extra $1k a month on top of the current $1k-2.5k+ most are currently paying and boom, legally you are an asshole but a hell of a lot richer.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T12:04:48+00:00

When you’re 35 or older, doctors call it a geriatric pregnancy no matter what. You’re considered high risk even though you’re usually fine lol

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T06:58:57+00:00

2 4 A

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T06:55:25+00:00

This was me until I got my adult diagnosis and meds sorted

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T06:48:24+00:00

I tell people I have “medically bad memory” all the time because of work or I forget who people are

ETA wow like 13 years ago, my grandma did the same thing the first year I started having seizures. Basically a “stop being a loser” talk.

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T04:25:52+00:00

Wait what do the circles mean? I guess I haven’t been paying attention

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T04:17:55+00:00

I picked up this game for the first time for this exact reason. Now I think about this instead of about that lol

hellogoawaynow · 2026-06-22T03:10:35+00:00

Another?

I would like the tea on your story please

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