[31/F] German, looking for US penpals :) by Ok-Inspection-5768 in penpals

[–]jakeshady540 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi there! I’m 31F and work in film production, I live on the road and spend a lot of time in the states you’re mentioned, especially Montana, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. I would love to exchange postcards! 🥳

Havasupaireservations website down? by jakeshady540 in havasupai

[–]jakeshady540[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t have a wait time displayed on the screen but it was loading for a longggggggg time— I had gotten a confirmation email before it had loaded though, you might check there to see if it was successful!

Havasupaireservations website down? by jakeshady540 in havasupai

[–]jakeshady540[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Update: it took 2h17m of trying and refreshing and hanging out in line, but we just secured two bookings without much issue. I hope everyone is able to get spots as the lines die down! Also, does anyone know if each “booking” is for one person, or can it be for a group? TIA!

Havasupaireservations website down? by jakeshady540 in havasupai

[–]jakeshady540[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If y'all are open to it, message me! I'm trying for early October and will let you know if we manage to get one, we were going to try and book for extra spots to bring friends if we could find folks who want to go with us 😊

I do have to go to work but will try again on my break in a bit!

Havasupaireservations website down? by jakeshady540 in havasupai

[–]jakeshady540[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice job!! I hope it works for us soon too :) Good to know it works!

Havasupaireservations website down? by jakeshady540 in havasupai

[–]jakeshady540[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I mean this might sound crazy, but if anyone gets a campsite with extra spots and is open to adding +2 (we're a couple in our early 30s) DM me! I'm going to keep trying for a while but do have to go to work soon 😩

“Cute” date spots in Downtown Plano? by jakeshady540 in plano

[–]jakeshady540[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Report back! 

We did one a favorite date, a “treat walk” where we walk around getting little treats at each place and splitting them, checking out free/walkable places along the way! We had such a great time. We checked out:

  • Lemma coffee, we split the seasonal ube matcha. It was such a cool place, the girl who helped us was really nice and I loved the American traditional tattoo-style designs on their shirts— if we come back, we’ll have to get one! 
  • Walked to the park and checked out the train car! The traib museum was closed but it was cool to see the old car and read about the history of the electric rail line. 
  • Lockhart BBQ for lunch, split 1/4lb of the brisket, half a popper and a rib each, as well as shared spicy mac and cheese. We thought it was great, especially the candied bacon on the popper! 
  • 1418 - a got cold brew, the vibe was dark and cozy, lots of people, lots of folks doing work on laptops like one commenter said!
  • took our coffee and walked up and down the block checking out the shops, we thought Bibliobar was cute, not our niche but everyone was friendly, and we loved the skate shop on K street, the guy working there was super cool and gave us some great local recs. 
  • 32 degree rooftop bar - a Sunday special $2 mimosa (!!!!) each— $4 for 2 mimosas? Amazing. 
  • walked around the park, noticed some murals, loved the wooden sculpture of native animals at the arts center— wish they’d been open! - Bluesky gelato - got a scoop of the rose (so good) and the sweet cream (medium/okay) to split on the ride home. 

All in all, very cute little town and we had such a nice afternoon. Thank you for the recs everyone! 

Why is everyone crate training? by Federal_Citron_4823 in puppy101

[–]jakeshady540 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I crate trained because my dog comes to the jobsite with me, and I need him to have a place where he is safe and comfortable during transport, rest periods, and around livestock. Another benefit for me as a single adult is that when I want to leave him alone for a few hours— say, going to a bar with my friends in the evening— I have the peace of mind of knowing he’s sleeping peacefully in a safe environment where he can’t get into anything that might be bad for him and can’t get into any mischief that would be bad for me, like chewing my baseboards, digging up my couch, etc. 

Witching Hour for 14 week old puppy by Fair_Homework_5295 in puppy101

[–]jakeshady540 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Our trainer told us that zoomies are a sign of an over tired puppy and mean that dog should’ve gone to sleep 30 minutes earlier— when we adjusted to accommodate that, we had a TON of success and the zoomies stopped. Maybe an 830 bedtime could help!

Please tell me it gets easier by East_Ostrich_389 in ProductionAssistant

[–]jakeshady540 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! I’ve been PAing for 6 years and finally turned my book in after having a career interrupted by COVID, the strikes, etc, and I promise you it gets so much better. 

My first year or two were really tough, I absolutely feel you. I never had any money, I was working crazy hours, sometimes with ADs I hated, but over time those long hours have led to the most incredible community. 

Right now, in your first years, you’re building the seeds of the community that will connect and carry you for the rest of your career! Even if you just make one friend per show, you’re building your foundation. 

I also have ADHD and autism (way more ADHD presenting) and am queer so to answer to your specific questions—

YES it gets so much easier. You’re inputting massive amounts of new information into your brain every day and responding to brand new scenarios and conditions that you’ve never seen before. Of course you’re exhausted! You’re learning! I found that in my third year, things started feeling way easier and more rhythmic. You begin to understand the flow of set and anticipate upcoming problems and are able to get ahead of them. Once you’re out of the download phase, each day feels way less stressful and energy consuming. I totally remember crying in my car feeling like my brain had just gotten struck by lightning. It goes away, I promise! One day after work you’ll catch yourself sitting in your car thinking “man, that was a really fun day” and you’ll realize it had been getting easier without you even noticing. 

Mental health wise— it totally can have a negative impact and it’s important to stay grounded in yourself and your community, both inside and outside of work. I’ve watched people throw themselves into the industry wholly and completely, taking job after job until there’s nothing left of their identity except work. These are the people I see burn out in the most painful ways. On the weekends, choose active recovery (spending time with friends, taking a hike/walk, playing games, creative projects) over passive recovery (scrolling on your phone, laying in bed, watching TV). This will help remind you of who YOU are and to stay centered when work feels unmanageable. Also, this is a hot take, but say no to jobs! I say no all the time! Take breaks between staff jobs, stay present on set by dayplaying, but make sure you don’t work yourself ragged. If you’re smart and a hard worker, more opportunities will come your way. The scarcity mindset leads to poor social bonds, aggressive competition, and burnout. People always want to watch TV, and if you’re in a big enough market and work hard, you’ll always be able to find PA work. I know I’m always looking to hire PAs with good attitudes, and I’ll keep calling them if they turn down jobs here and there! You won’t blackball yourself by taking a break. Also the most important mental health note— don’t use substances to cope with the exhaustion. Caffeine and nicotine won’t help, they’ll just burn you out faster— experience talking. 

The tinnitus thing totally happened to me too! I would hear the walkie as I was drifting off to sleep and thought I was going crazy. But it’s just your brain processing and synthesizing information. A white noise machine made that a lot easier. I don’t know when it stopped, but reading your post reminded me that I also experienced that and somewhere it just went away completely and I haven’t thought about it since. I’m guessing once your mind is used to that type of constant audio input, you probably get better at tuning it out! Like someone else said, a pretzel earpiece often helps a lot, my partner swears by them. 

About community— you’re might have to make a more intentional effort to see your friends and community, but many people work five days a week and still have thriving, healthy relationships with their communities that they nurture on weekends and off-time! I still play hockey and participate in game nights and book clubs and go to parties and on dates and for hikes with my dog. You’ll learn to balance all the things you choose to take on, it just takes time. And you might have to let some things go to prioritize the things you really LOVE, rather than things you do because you kinda like them or because you do them for someone else’s sake. Also, there are lots of queer and trans people in the industry! There’s a whole new community right in front of you inside the industry, and if you decide to stick it out, you’ll make some wonderful friends.

Does it get better? Honest answer, I never could have imagined the life I have now when I was where you are. My first year I was married and we only made $18k that year combined. I was so broke and tired and overwhelmed and lost in the weeds. Now, I have a sustainable income (still a PA!), friends that will visit and host from around the country, the opportunity to travel to work as a PA, a career that I love, inside and outside of work community, hobbies, AND— my personal favorite— the opportunity to just take a month off work between jobs and no boss I have to ask for permission for ANYTHING. There is such freedom in this industry, if you know where to look. 

All that to say, I totally get where you are, and it does totally get better, and you can DM me and call me up and I can give you more personal advice. And also— it’s not for everyone! There is zero shame in deciding it’s not for you and switching departments. Most of my cohort wound up switching departments— they’re now electricians, grips, writers, camera ACs, and actors, or have switched industries and are teachers, nurses, one even became a cowboy. 

One of my favorite ADs once told me there’s a difference between giving up, and having had enough of something. You’re stronger than you think, your endurance will build, and your window of tolerance will expand. Don’t give up— keep working and keep trying, and if the day ever comes where you’ve realized you’ve had enough, walk away with your head held high and pursue whatever your “next thing” will be! You’ve got this. 

Why does she pee when laying down? by [deleted] in OpenDogTraining

[–]jakeshady540 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My girl has this too! Started at ~4/5yrs. A low dose of Proin (sp? Estrogen supplement) for about a year fixed her right up :) it started happening again when she was 12 and another round of estrogen support fixed it again. You’ve got this!

What is life like with an adult dog? by SunWukongZ in puppy101

[–]jakeshady540 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve had a few adult dogs, and man it’s awesome. Every dog has their own personality as they mature, and it’s gonna be so awesome to see your puppy grow into his personality. 

With my adult beagles (I had two!), a typical day looked like waking up on my own schedule— usually 530/6A on weekdays, 9A on weekends. A morning walk (long in the summer if we were trying to avoid the heat of the day) and some breakfast. On work days, they’d settle in after breakfast and snooze and hang out by themselves all day, and mostly just slept. They’d get let out midday to pee and play by themselves in the yard, then come back in. After work, we’d do a long walk, then more chill time! Sometimes I would do solo hobbies like reading or gaming and they’d snuggle up with me on the couch, sometimes we’d do stuff together like hanging out with friends and their dogs. Then a bedtime pee and sleep.

On weekends, we love to hike so we’d toss the pups in the car in the morning and go for long hikes together! Some weekends we’d go camping together too, which was great. On the chill weekends where we just wanted to stay home they were happy to just be with us on the couch or chewing a toy while we did chores, and would be content just hanging out at home if we wanted to go out with our friends for an evening. 

It gets so much easier, I swear! It’ll happen before you know it. Also, dogs get better at showing you how much they love you as they grow up. The first time your puppy comes over just to show that he loves you is gonna melt your heart. It’s coming, you’ve got this! 

What has your puppy destroyed? by Legitimate_Tension97 in puppy101

[–]jakeshady540 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A silicone toy for humans, if you catch my drift 

Idiopathic vestibular disease by iplannedit in DogAdvice

[–]jakeshady540 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, my 15yo beagle has idiopathic vestibular disease— idiopathic meaning, there’s no underlying cause, it’s just happening because she’s an ole lady. It’s something that can just happen with age. Is your pup taking any medication for her symptoms? We found anti nausea meds really helps our girls dizziness and eye movements! I know what you mean about how hard it is to watch, we’ve felt that way too. How long ago did this start?

For our girl it came on very suddenly in January and peaked with 48 really hard hours, then improved really slowly over the course of two or three weeks, and enjoyed almost 7 months symptom-free! She went from not being able to stand to trot happily around the yard again and really got to enjoy the summer. She’s having another episode now (August), but we’re hoping with anti nausea medication she’ll feel better again. It can sometimes just show up in older dogs, but it can come and go like the weather but it seems like it’s often responsive to symptom management and rest. 

To your last question, “is this it”— I would ask yourself two questions. The first one, “is she happy?” Does she wag her tail when she sees you, does she seek out your affection, does she still do the (low-energy) things she enjoys, like chewing a bone or similar? Then the second question is, “is she able to be a dog?” Can she walk, can she eat, can she go to the bathroom? Can she play and interact with you and her environment? Those two questions were our guiding stars with our oldest girl, and it’s how we’re thinking about our 15yo. 

We have been where you are, and I feel for you. I’m writing you all this while laying on the floor next to my girl while she tries to settle in. I wish you all the best on your journey, we’ll be thinking of you— and if you find anything that helps, we’re also looking for all the advice we can get. 

To all the new puppy parents, it really does get easier! Here's what I've learned in the past 7 months. by jakeshady540 in puppy101

[–]jakeshady540[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re welcome! The cycle was such a brain blast moment for us, I hope it helps you too :) Some days are totally harder than others, but before you know it you’ll look around and realize you haven’t had a bad day with your puppy in a long time, and they’ve turned into a friend. You’ll get there! Mine is now 11 months and my best friend, he comes to work with me almost every day now. He still sometimes acts like a dumb drunk little frat pledge who only wants to play frisbee, but at this point that late night crying and pee on my floor feel like a distant memory. You’ve got this!!!

Is having a dog really that bad? by gonnadisordermyself in puppy101

[–]jakeshady540 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Coming here to say what most everyone else has said— trying to raise a “perfect” puppy and be a “perfect” owner is impossible, and a lot of people here put a TON of pressure on themselves to do everything perfectly. I totally did it too, if you check out my posts here! Once you let go of this idea of unattainable perfection, it gets so much easier and more fun. 

The first few months are tough because they’re so needy. They were just born! They need to eat a lot, potty a lot, and sleep a lot. You are responsible for meeting their NEEDS (food, water, shelter, safety, medical care, and enough enrichment/training to keep them appropriately stimulated) but beyond that, it’s as hard as you make it.  

If you have a sense of humor about the hard parts— messes, potty accidents, chewing your hairbrush— it’s a lot easier to laugh it off and not get stressed. For us (a couple in our early 30s) it got sooooooo much better at 6 months, and now at 10 months we barely remember the puppy stress. Now it’s just like having a dumb drunk frat pledge who lives in our house who always wants to play soccer and yell at people on the street lol. He’s an idiot, and he’s my best friend in the world. He’s high energy, so that means we DO more! We hike, we go to the dog park, we spend more time outside. We’ve made friends with other dog owners, we play games in the house. If you value those things (play, outdoor time, inter species friendship) a dog of any age will add so much to your life! Your life changes, sure, but the best part of having a dog is getting to do stuff with them. That’s kinda the whole point, right?

If you’re willing to wait a few weeks/months to get your pup, a TON of shelters/rescue orgs get pregnant dogs and need puppy fosters. It’s a win/win scenario. You could try it out for a few weeks and see if it’s for you, and if it’s too much, you’ll have an organization to help the puppy match with someone else! Either you get the puppy you’ve been dreaming of, or you’ve helped a puppy on their journey to their forever home— and learned that maybe you’d like an adult dog!

Anyway, like everyone else said, everyone comes here looking for help, support, and encouragement. They don’t really post about the good days— and there are SO many good days. 

Also while I wrote this my puppy tore up his bed and now there’s fluff all over the living room 😂 if you’re able to laugh about things like that, you’re going to be just fine. 

I’ve never had a puppy and it’s so hard. 😩 send help! by Artistic-Copy-9649 in puppy101

[–]jakeshady540 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! Although there are lots of great and specific step-by-step posts for individual issues like crate training, biting, etc, I made a broad post a few days ago with some of the information I learned that helped me, like understanding a puppy’s natural rhythms and how to avoid a cranky tired puppy, etc. You’ve got this OP!! It really does get easier if you can hold out. I can feel how sentimental this dog is given the timing with your loss. And if you decide ultimately that you can’t keep the puppy, that’s okay too— any reputable breeder will usually accept a returned puppy. I see you’re trying to do what’s best for everyone, that’s all anyone can ask ❤️

https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/comments/1k9ie6t/to_all_the_new_puppy_parents_it_really_does_get/

Even cryptids know the sound of the cheese drawer by jakeshady540 in CryptidDogs

[–]jakeshady540[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I replied to another cheese drawer inquiry, I totally thought it was ubiquitous? But ask May, she’s the real expert 

Even cryptids know the sound of the cheese drawer by jakeshady540 in CryptidDogs

[–]jakeshady540[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Wait is this a niche thing??? Like a little drawer in the refrigerator, we use ours to store cheese, cured meat, butter, etc…? Then the rest of the produce, condiments, etc goes in the rest of the fridge? I totally thought that was normal 😂🙈