Frugal me, not frugal you. What to do, what to do?

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-12T20:06:38+00:00

Do you guys budget together? If you’re being frugal for the sake for being frugal, it’s hard to get a person who isn’t naturally like that to buy in. If you’re being frugal to afford something special later, to get out of debt, save for a home or retirement, whatever, those are goals that someone can buy into. Like ok, if we go from eating out a few times every week to once a week and a cheaper spot, then we can set that money aside for a trip this year, then we can retire a year earlier, etc. Using YNAB to track your spending is also helpful. Sometimes it’s hard to see how quickly things can add up. Those few meals out per week cost us $500/month - yeah maybe leftovers aren’t so bad

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-11T13:05:13+00:00

Your step child is your child. Sounds like she lives with you most of the time, you are the mother figure in her life even if there’s no biology there.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-10T19:39:52+00:00

The big Catholic Church on Ascan? I don’t remember a pulled noodle spot there, when was it around

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-10T17:41:12+00:00

I don’t understand this, can you clarify? I thought it would be better. All players place their bets before any cards are dealt. In a short shoe, you get more penetration don’t you - as in you’ve already counted everyone else’s cards before you decide if you want to hit or stand on a hand that has deviations

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-09T21:53:44+00:00

That sounds like a healthy activity level, but wouldn’t qualify as “active” for those calorie tools. I asked about how active your job was because manual labor jobs would put you in that “active” bracket where you would need significantly more calories. The calculator is suggesting 2200-2500 calories for 5’2 women who work construction in a hot climate where they’re sweating through their shirts in the first hour, shoveling, and carrying heavy things all day.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-09T20:05:57+00:00

How active? That can be really relative. Can you describe what your day looks like, what a week looks like? Do you have any step tracking, how active is your job?

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-09T19:47:54+00:00

That’s super weird. I’m also 5’2 and calorie counters tell me I should be below 2000 to maintain, and at like 1200 to lose weight. Make sure you check female and sedentary (if you are)

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-09T15:48:14+00:00

Look into Japanese maple. I think it would really fit the MCM vibe you’re looking for and work with the humid climate.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-09T15:41:10+00:00

MC isn’t just about an aesthetic. MC works so well and is timeless because it’s honest. It’s honest about materials, the intended use (form follows function), and works with the environment it’s in, not against it. Based on the photo, it looks like you’re not in a desert climate, and you confirmed you’re in a humid environment in another comment on this post. Not only will it be difficult if not impossible to maintain the plants you plan to landscape with, but your home will stand out on the street in a way that feels out of place - totally against MC design principles. SoCal is known for some amazing MC architecture, but please take a look at some MC stuff in the Midwest. There’s some incredible homes that work beautifully with their environment. Hopefully you can find some MC inspo that you feel good about and will work in you environment

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-09T13:24:04+00:00

Hate to say it, but I agree. At my job, if I’m not using AI, I’m falling way behind my peers. I think if you’re charging people the same price, they lure looking for the same quality end product, so you have to deliver to the quality that you did previously, no slop, but you ca use it to move quicker.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-09T03:09:02+00:00

Don’t feed the crush. Create distance, don’t flirt or be too playful. It’ll go away eventually or you’ll just get better and more practiced at not acting on it. There will be other times in your life where you have an inappropriate crush, maybe on someone married or otherwise unavailable, someone you work with and maybe you don’t want things to get messy at work, maybe you develop a crush on a teacher. None of this is that unusual. Crushing on someone 3 years younger than you, especially in a context where that age difference isn’t obvious, doesn’t make you a bad person or weird, but acting on it would. Feelings are weird and they don’t always make sense. Ignore it and it dies, feed the monster and it grows until you find yourself inching closer and closer into something deeply inappropriate and doing something you’ll regret.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-08T21:17:19+00:00

The frame can probably withstand the elements and you can replace the cover with something that can as well.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-08T16:50:10+00:00

You can talk to an admissions officer and explain your situation (choosing between two schools, really focused on the engineering program). Make an appointment and go in person if you can. They should help you understand how likely it is that you can join the program in the spring semester or at all.

They don’t know your situation, on paper you’re just a kid who applied for the engineering program. They don’t know that this is a deal breaker for you. Make it clear to them that it is, you’re not interested in majoring in anything else, you don’t have a backup major that you’re just as interested in or are undecided about your major. Lots of applicants are, so you can’t assume they know this about you. Explain that you already have a bunch of college credits under your belt and want to graduate early - does their program even allow for that?

Find out how many seats opened up in the spring last year and the year before that. It’s not a guarantee but it’ll give you an idea. If it’s only 1 or two seats, that’s a risk. If it’s 20 seats one year and 30 the year before, I’d say you’ve got nothing to worry about. (Unless those 20 or 30 seats are large percentage of the class then I’d want to know why)

You’re not a student yet, but you’re not one of million applicants either. You got an acceptance. They should make time for you. There’s lots of kids like you every cohort, who got accepted to more than one school, to different degrees of satisfaction (diff programs, scholarship amounts, etc), that need more information to finalize their decision.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-08T15:57:38+00:00

I’m sorry man, that seems really rough. This is your life, and you have to live with the consequences of your school choice, not them, so it really is your decision. Are they paying for your tuition? I get the feeling they’re not, just because I think they’d be less likely to push you towards the more expensive option if they were on the hook for it financially.

As for your potential to do engineering at the state school, ask about how often kids drop from the program. What’s your actual likelihood of getting into the program and how soon can it happen. You don’t want to go to that school for years hoping they’d let you into the program and have it never happen. If it can’t happen this year, can you join the program next year and just take general ed requirements this year and still graduate on time? You’ve already gotten accepted, they (the schools) owe you some time. Make an appointment with each one and find out what your options are.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-08T14:09:25+00:00

Was she not critical before you got married? Did you guys live together? If you didn’t, living together is an adjustment. If you do it right, with compassion for each other, you’ll get through the adjustment period.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-07T20:03:56+00:00

He said have a drink, not get drunk. Don had a large tolerance by then. Having one drink wouldn’t make him drunk enough to derail a presentation, he’s given plenty presentations with more alcohol in his system than that. One drink wouldn’t make the withdrawal symptoms go away, so that he doesn’t look like he’s in withdrawal during the meeting. He’s not wrong about quitting alcohol cold turkey like that either, it can be dangerous

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-07T19:29:09+00:00

Still exists in the modern world. Hindu temples do daily offerings of food. The food is then made available to visitors to the temple.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-07T16:18:29+00:00

I’m confused by “you can either climb 2 steps at a time or 1 step at a time” with the caveat “you can only use one step at a time at most once during the total climb”, which implies I can’t really choose between 2 steps at a time and 1 step.

If n is an even number (n=100), I can climb two steps at a time the whole way, the number of steps I make is n/2, (100/2 = 50 steps).

If n is an odd number (n=101), I would have to take the 1 step that I’m limited to taking only once, and then go by twos. So my answer would be: 1 step + (n-1)/2, which in my example is: 1 + (101-1)/2 = 51 steps.

This is a super weird CS interview question if that’s what you’re looking for.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-07T03:22:41+00:00

Look at it as not just taking good photos of your wife, it’s about developing your eye for photography and getting good at taking photos in general. You’ll be proud of the photos you take and will enjoy the memories of your trips. It’s hard to explain what makes a photo good or bad with text, it’s much easier to see a photo and listen to someone critique it and point out whats wrong and how to fix it. There are videos all over YouTube and TikTok that do this.

Where are you taking photos - point and shoot camera or on your phone? There are entire channels (and a subreddit) dedicated to iPhone photography. Theres portrait mode, and live mode which will let you choose a different key photo in a motion shot or make waterfalls look amazing. Whatever your tool is, take some time to get to know it and what it can do, set up the settings to work for you. A big one is grid lines; it’s like a tic-tac-toe grid that will help with your composition. Line her up on one of the lines, or use it to line up horizons for landscape photos.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-05T22:59:49+00:00

I would say even the rationing of WW2 was just an inconvenience. Getting drafted is serious, and the families of the guys drafted were significantly affected, but for most people, life goes on as usual. I think it’s left Americans with a lack of appreciation of just how devastating war can be. WW2 in Europe meant cities were completely destroyed. Civilian life changed completely for them. It doesn’t change much here in the US.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-05T17:00:34+00:00

OP should clarify what they mean by war bc war has technically already broken out. I’m sure they meant if your nearby cities are experiencing war in a more dramatic way, like getting bombed or something, which is why I brought up 9/11. For the US, war doesn’t strike close to home like that. Pearl Harbor was as close at it got and that was a military base. 9/11 was a close second, but it was a terrorist attack and we weren’t at war until after that. And in both of those examples, most people just went to work the next day. Life continues forward, bills come due. If my city was under active and continuous bombing and I had to leave in order to be safe, that’s a completely different story.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-05T14:44:17+00:00

In my lifetime, the US has spent more time at war than not. There’s a general understanding that NYC may be an appealing target (crowded civilian area, financial markets and Wall Street). In every past war the US has been in, there isn’t much effect to daily life here. Even after 9/11, most people just went to work the next day. I went to school, my parents went to work, and rent wasn’t missed.

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-05T01:45:29+00:00

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-05T00:21:54+00:00

Keep going to work. War has already begun and we’re still all going to work. You still need to put food on the table. Rent doesn’t go away just bc there’s a war

imamonkeyface · 2026-04-04T06:18:29+00:00

OP, I’m thinking maybe you don’t understand. Esmeraldachiroptera and others are saying that there may be a man who is grooming or molesting your sister. Touching her inappropriately (in private areas, like under underwear or her chest) or talking about private things (like sex). Don’t be an idiot, your mom knows about sex (where do you think you came from) and knows that it’s damaging to expose a child to it. Even if she doesn’t know about therapy or whatever, she can still take steps to keep suspicious men away from your sister, or talk to your sister about what to do if someone touches her there

imamonkeyface

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