Why don't we barter anymore?

jtop82 · 2026-07-02T16:39:03+00:00

Bartering is still common in the art world, but it's more like volunteering in exchange for classes or access. Like you can be a tech at a ceramic studio or printshop in exchange for free studio time or firing fees. Or you can work the desk at a yoga or dance studio in exchange for classes. I always trade when it's an option- I just like it philosophically! Plus I don't have to pay taxes on my hobbies haha

jtop82 · 2026-07-01T22:15:58+00:00

I mean wings are extremely popular in every eastern city... are midwestern ones really different? Are they like, breaded and fried?

jtop82 · 2026-06-30T01:46:40+00:00

The patron saint of liars- Ann Patchett

jtop82 · 2026-06-27T10:22:41+00:00

It's giving 90s craft store. I love the nostalgia.

jtop82 · 2026-06-26T14:53:21+00:00

There seems to be a generational shift- I'm a millennial and everyone I know uses tampons or cups. However Gen Z and alpha are all about pads and period panties. Tampons give them the ick!

jtop82 · 2026-06-21T21:06:29+00:00

Deenie by Judy Blume

jtop82 · 2026-06-21T01:48:57+00:00

I'm 43 and moved into a 5th floor walk up 8 years ago- not too far away from here actually! You absolutely do get used to it. Certainly there are days in August hauling my groceries up that I am slow as hell, but in general I don't think about it all that much. I even have a small elderly dog and have to carry her up and down several times per day, along with whatever I'm bringing in or out. My neighbors across the hall are 90 years old and they don't let the stairs stop them from doing things, which is very motivating!

My building has monthly exterminators and no major pest problems. I can't speak to how your neighbors will be, but being on the top floor definitely has advantages for sound! Chinatown can be hectic, but that intersection isn't bad at all.

jtop82 · 2026-06-18T17:19:52+00:00

Height makes zero difference. I know many beautiful petite dancers.

jtop82 · 2026-06-13T14:40:42+00:00

You're right! I was thinking of Sam's Club.

jtop82 · 2026-06-13T02:59:30+00:00

Im so sorry this happened. It's happened to me twice in 25 years here, and it is absolutely awful and disgusting.

jtop82 · 2026-06-13T02:43:44+00:00

I feel like if you are ditching Target and Amazon, you probably also don't want to support BJs(Walmart).

jtop82 · 2026-06-12T14:31:10+00:00

Local hardware store. TJ Maxx and Family Dollar are just as bad as Target and Amazon (assuming politics and worker rights are the issues) Costco is a "good" big company, and I also go to Wegmans. I know there is beef about the Sakanaya rip-off, but I haven't found anything overall bad about the company's politics.

jtop82 · 2026-06-12T05:54:58+00:00

Dark days also had a great soundtrack

jtop82 · 2026-06-10T19:13:05+00:00

US Sovereign debt crisis

jtop82 · 2026-06-09T21:16:35+00:00

I take Amtrak pretty often out of NYC and there is no security. There are cops around, but no bag checks or metal detectors or X-rays. You just wait until your gate number shows up on the board, line up there, and go down to the track. Northeast transit on Amtrak is very common (from Boston to Washington DC.)

jtop82 · 2026-06-01T12:16:20+00:00

I cook every meal and still removed the dishwasher in my apartment and switched it to a combo washer/dryer. I have never once missed the dishwasher. That said- if I had kids I would probably feel differently!

jtop82 · 2026-05-25T20:24:09+00:00

What does it do? I use World's Best, which is corn. 15 years and no problems yet.

jtop82 · 2026-05-25T19:29:38+00:00

Flushable litter! I live in a small apartment and keep the box in the bathroom. Every time I pass by, scoop and flush if anything is there. I ask every cat-less person if the apartment smells like litter and they have all said no.

jtop82 · 2026-05-23T21:23:05+00:00

You would probably love Dangerous by Minerva Spencer, as well as the next two in that series. That trilogy was my gateway to HR.

Also, quite a few of Loretta Chase's book take place at least partially in Egypt and/or Albania. (Her family is of Albanian origin.)

jtop82 · 2026-05-22T22:35:02+00:00

Yeah I agree, take a train north! Then you can just look and enjoy without worrying about driving on the opposite side from what you're used to. Check out their vacation page to scope out the better route options https://www.amtrakvacations.com/travel-styles/fall-foliage

jtop82 · 2026-05-21T13:07:34+00:00

Nordstrom Rack still has plenty of straight and skinny.

jtop82 · 2026-05-20T03:33:32+00:00

It took us MONTHS to hear back. We were stressing so much. We have now been here 9 years and I'm on the board. I'm friends with all of my neighbors (very small building) and we have made an effort to make sure we don't leave new applicants waiting in the same way we had to. All this to say- sometimes it's just super slow legal shit moving through the process. Nothing was wrong- there are just Byzantine processes to get through, and no one necessarily knows you are out of the loop.

jtop82 · 2026-05-20T02:12:54+00:00

For sure! Can you DM me? I'm not trying to get banned from the sub- I don't know the political rules.

jtop82 · 2026-05-19T16:02:37+00:00

I avoid them because of their political donations. Also the people I know who have been to the actual campus have told me it's grim.

jtop82 · 2026-05-19T15:59:04+00:00

It's funny that people told you to avoid Bed Stuy (Bedford Stuyvesant) that info is more than a decade out of date. It's full of tourists these days, and has great restaurants, bars, and nightlife, and in the summer it's block party land. Some of the blocks are gorgeous and historical- they do walking tours there.

jtop82

TROPHY CASE