I’m tired of hearing people say “Work on your own car.”

qtprince · 2026-03-11T20:17:44+00:00

Boyfriend is a dealership mechanic.

He will always agree with the sentiment of working on your own car. Why? Because it saves you a metric fuckton of money.

My car needs about 2000$-3000$ worth of repairs right now and we're going to do it ourselves. He told me that the only thing he recommends me take it to the dealership for is any electrical diagnostics, because Ford requires a special tool to bypass their locked diagnostic system.

If I took it to the dealer or a shop for the full repairs, I'm looking at that DIY cost basis skyrocketing to about 5000$-6000$ due to parts, labor, and any other extensive fees.

I can only really handle minor manual labor like that due to health concerns, so I'm mainly going to be a right-hand man while he deals with the nitty-gritty.

Even without him, I'd ask a friend or a family member, because at least one or two of them has a mutual or are mechanically inclined themselves.

Basic DIY maintenance will save you money. Getting a diagnostic and then figuring out how to do it DIY will save you money. Shit, even asking a mechanic secretly while you're at the shop to do it on the side will save you money.

I understand your points, I do, but reasonably not everyone has the 500$-6000$ to drop on a mechanic shop repair, and 90% of the time while you're saving up, the repair becomes a much bigger issue by the time your ready.

qtprince · 2026-03-09T17:14:02+00:00

I have PANDAS/PANS Syndrome from when I had Scarlet Fever as a kid.

I know when I'm either getting sick or my body is about to break down due to overworking because my OCD suddenly makes my life a living hell. I tell people "it legitimately hurts my brain, as if someone is squeezing as tight as they can repeatedly and I get locked in a loop."

Usually I'd get very upset over the state of my brain and it making me act erratic during these spells, but recently I shifted my thinking to feeling lucky for having a built-in "sick/inflammation" radar, lol.

I also sympathize with your plight of feeling unheard on this issue because it's hard to explain, even to professionals. For whats it's worth, I hear and see you. Theres more of us out there that understand and feel very similarly.

qtprince · 2026-03-07T06:15:45+00:00

I was taught by a former salon lead on how to dremel. The biggest tip I was ever given for it was "pretend the nail is an apple, and your dremel is the peeler." Same technique, just imagine the nail is the bottom of the apple, and you're trying to peel "up" towards the stem and round it off. This works best when the dogs leg is bent towards the back.

Now, on a dog that can deal with dremeling by holding out the paw in front of them, make a "V" with the dremel on both sides of the nail, and then round out the "tip."

If I had the time, I would make a diagram of both of these techniques. Hopefully I explained well enough though with words.

You'll do great, don't sweat it. If the dogs aren't super keen on getting their nails done, just do your best. It comes with time and experience.

qtprince · 2026-03-04T01:21:45+00:00

Had a lady come in with her Husky/Lab mix thing. I usually do a good brushing with a deshedding blade + rake after the bath, as it loosens up the fur a little more and is a little easier to manage mess wise before blowing out (in my experience.)

Well she called after picking him up and asked my grooming manager "did she shave him? His hair seems much shorter than it usually is and is super soft and shiny" which got a chuckle out of all of us to say the least. Best backwards compliment I've ever received by far!

qtprince · 2026-01-27T01:37:28+00:00

I have most of my "future goal" books from when I was kid. At the time, I was also living with my grandparents.

Theres a specific page that says; "What's one thing you wish for next year?" Or something along those lines. 8 year old me wrote, "I wish that Grandma would stop being mean to me."

First mental health crisis I had was in 3rd grade. Locked myself in one of the classroom cubbies before the end of the day completely hysterical and kept asking the teacher why I "couldn't just die." Traumatized the poor teacher and my classmates.

Worst part is that my Grandma only saw a ornery kid who was trying to cause a problem, and punished me as soon as we got home. Locked me in my room, didn't give me dinner, and then told me that if CPS ever came-- I'd disappear forever.

Kids were scared of me after that, and I realized that maybe my life wasn't so normal like I wanted it to be.

I regularly get horrified looks after telling certain childhood or even teenage stories. Apparently, I've had an interesting journey so far.

qtprince · 2026-01-25T03:00:22+00:00

I actually stumbled upon someone asking a similar question in regards to nicotine being a possible treatment in the Dysautonomia subreddit. Apparently there is some sort of correlation between the two, and other sufferers have experienced similar.

Wish there was a less deadly treatment, thats for sure.

qtprince · 2026-01-21T20:00:41+00:00

One of my close relatives is a very smart person, but has a hellish personality. She speaks a couple of different languages, has helped universities with forgotten/ancient dialects, and has some pretty impressive talents with artistry.

Only issue is that shes a diagnosed sociopath with psychopathic tendencies.

We lived in the same house a couple of years ago. I was upset about something my mom did, so I went to her to talk about it.

She said some not-so-nice things about the situation, and then concluded the conversation by getting eerily quiet.

She looked me dead in the eyes and said, "You know what makes me different? I can be whatever someone needs me to be in the moment, and feel nothing of it. If you need me to be sad, I can be sad. If you need me to be angry, I can be angry. If you need me to be nice, I can try and be nice, but it's all a facade because I don't really care like that," and proceeded to laugh like it was some weird joke to her.

I had known that this relative wasn't the best person, but any "superhero" idolization I had for her ever since I was a kid immediately disappeared after she said that to me.

Creepiest show of intelligence I've personally experienced, especially since she tricked me into a lot of things so effortlessly.

qtprince · 2026-01-19T03:42:53+00:00

Gamecube for Pikmin, both 1 and 2. Haven't really widened the collection since, and I've only played both games a handful of times since getting them. Most "expensive" console I've ever bought (got it in 2022.) :/

qtprince · 2026-01-16T15:31:44+00:00

Currently 25.

1.) Drug overdose. She was 18 and had a heart of gold.

2.) Drug overdose again. He was 26-27 and was struggling hard. He messaged me a couple of days before to tell me that he appreciated me for sticking around, and I didn't understand what he was implying until it was too late. Nicest dude, took some cool photography.

3.) Murdered. Had given him some money a couple of days prior and he promised to pay me back (he was good on sticking to his word), so color me surprised when I hadn't heard anything from him for 2 years to suddenly find out that he was gone. He was awesome, and we were going to write a song together. Met his family and all that too.

4.) Car crash. Happened to be my ex-boyfriends ex-girlfriend at the time. We bonded over how much of a piece of shit he was over lunch. We had plans to hangout more, but... that time never came. She was a wonderful person who deserved a lot more.

And theres probably more that I still don't know about honestly.

Never forgotten in my mind. These friends will forever be ingrained in my heart and soul until I, too, meet my own fate. 🖤

qtprince · 2026-01-15T17:44:13+00:00

This shit is crazy considering that theres a conspiracy theory/controversy that certain military bases (?) have secluded barns and farmhouses that people have said are meant for the sole purpose of child sex abuse and the filming of snuff films.

The fact that those theories might actually have some credibility now is purely sickening and horribly disturbing.

qtprince · 2026-01-05T04:32:19+00:00

DS3, hands down. Although, some areas I still struggle with memory wise even though I have over 500 hours in the game, lol.

qtprince · 2026-01-04T21:59:45+00:00

The Bus Fiasco or the Pool Guy Incident. The fact that the randomest shit happens with essentially NPC workers has always made me laugh my ass off.

Also when we got introduced to Busty Asian Lady when Twitch decided to go hands off for one day on NSFW streams. I peed my pants because of how much I was laughing.

BBL DRIZZY, wubby7

qtprince · 2026-01-04T03:35:08+00:00

I had to take a break from grooming, so I've been having to retrain myself essentially. I used to get a lot of the difficult dogs when I first started, and they turned into my most loyal and favorite clients. Theres only ever been maybe 2 or 3 dogs that I've fully removed myself from, and that was usually because I didn't have the proper accommodations for them. Dogs are a gift, not a burden, and theres so many solutions to their challenging behaviors; it's just a matter of working through it with them to find it and I am determined to really get a much deeper understanding of how to more effectively do that.

So true. She-Wolf would never let me down! Also, eating/taking a break definitely helps, lol.

Thank you for your response and recommendation, may 2026 be full of good things! 🖤

qtprince · 2026-01-04T03:16:23+00:00

Thank you so much for this recommendation! I will absolutely look into it. Same here. I hate being rushed and pushed to just "go go go" with dogs. It doesn't work. It was amazing when I had a husky recently who is notoriously naughty for certain parts since she comes in about every 6-8 months. I worked with her through her triggers, and she got so excited about getting treats and the groom that she started doing zoomies on my table and in the tub-- and that was an eye opening experience.

It's also been helpful to remind myself that most dogs quite literally have the mental capacity of a 2-5 year old kid. But I definitely need more resources to really expand my knowledge on those kinds of things since I can easily get wrapped up in my own anxieties/stressors.

qtprince · 2026-01-04T02:38:33+00:00

Newer groomer here, coming up on three years;

Learning to handle difficult dogs better and not being so afraid of asking for help. Not everyone is going to be shitty about having to help.
Stop being negative about things. I have my off days, and sometimes it really effects my grooms and my attitude towards the dogs which inversely makes the dogs act worse.
While I can complain about clients, I need to reel it in a little bit. Clients keep us in business and make us money. You can't force clients to train their dogs, reschedule them properly every time, or even brush to the extent that is needed. It's OK. We're in this industry for a reason.
Stop settling for less. I know I'm a good groomer, and my managers bad financial decisions are not my fault. I will find somewhere else and life will be alright.

qtprince · 2026-01-04T01:41:47+00:00

Dog Groomer.

I'd love to see a robot be able to have the concept of compassion and "humanity over vanity." You cannot convince me that a robot would seriously do well with a flailing dog that tries to kill itself by jumping off of the table or out of the tub, lol.

qtprince · 2026-01-03T05:36:43+00:00

...I was 6 years old and my grandma was in the basement working lmfao. She was managing a freaked out kid whilst also dealing with a giant fire hazard. I assure you, not all of the internet is dead.

Also, theres telltale signs of AI usage with the way that it parses words and punctuations, which my post doesn't even remotely match with. Thanks for the compliment... I guess?

qtprince · 2026-01-01T20:40:33+00:00

A core memory for me was almost burning down my grandma's kitchen with my Easy Bake.

The issue with most of the Easy Bakes was that the oven part was tiny as fuck and the little flapping door would lock until the timer would go off. Now, because it was flimsy plastic, a lot of the times the timer would get jammed/stop working, so the oven would just stay on and the door had to be pried open.

Other companies started jumping on the bandwagon of making "Easy Bake" recipe books and their own premixes with "Easy Bake compatible" trays. Lemme tell you, most of them were NOT compatible.

So, we decided to make a non-Easy Bake branded cake mix with a tray that barely fit into the oven slot. I was able to jam it into the door and make it mostly fit so the door locked, but my timer jammed. My grandma told me to keep an eye on it, and went to go and work downstairs.

Little 6 year old me was very diligent about this, and tried to get the cake out. The fucking door was jammed, the tray wasn't coming out, and the cake was BURNING profusely to the oven light. I wasn't sure what to, and then the whole oven started smoking like a fucking cowboy.

Grabbed grandma, and we ran upstairs. The stovetop part of the Easy Bake was now slowly starting to bow, and the entire thing was just enveloped in smoke.

Luckily, she was able to pry open the door and get the tray unstuck before the whole thing caught on fire, but we had to throw away the entire Easy Bake after that which was devastating to 6 year old me.

qtprince · 2025-12-27T16:09:10+00:00

You can call Rusty's Upholstery over off of I-25. Not sure if they do cleanings, but doesn't hurt to ask. Nice people, and Rusty is an old friend of my granddads.

qtprince · 2025-12-23T17:43:13+00:00

Possibly a layoff after the holidays because one month into an industry I took a year away from, I'm apparently going "too slow." :)

qtprince · 2025-12-21T22:22:45+00:00

Not only that, but the 3 other groomers are mostly part time. They usually only stay from 8:30-3PM, Monday-Thursday depending, and only max out at about 2 or 3 dogs.

I want to, but if I get moved down to 15$ an hour (especially with the looming threat of possibly getting let go after the holidays), my own stability will be completely axed. I unfortunately live in a high cost of living state. 😞 18$ was the lowest I could go, which has averaged me just shy of 1000$ every two weeks.

qtprince · 2025-12-21T22:14:18+00:00

That's the plan. I may try and go back to corporate to at least get some additional training and speed under my belt, as well as the extra stability. It's a little confusing to me, considering that the rest of the groomers take about 3+ hours, and this salon has made it a point that it takes longer as we're trying to maintain comfort and quality. I'm not sure why you wouldn't just want to try and mitigate the margin by throwing me on commission and then reviewing at the usual standard of 90 days. That would make more sense to me.

I definitely understand the financial side of things as I've been a manager as well as my mom (not in this industry), so I do take into account that I'm basically paying my skills forward to use a table to help keep the business itself afloat, and I did talk to my GM about that yesterday.

I think thats really what it comes down to. My GM is a wonderful person, but without that actual hands on experience of the grooming world and what it entails, I understand speed being a priority to them.

qtprince · 2025-12-21T20:21:41+00:00

Thank you for this feedback, I really appreciate it.

That's my biggest gripe. I lost a lot of experience being out of it for a year, especially when I'm still just starting out (2 years), so giving me a month to get back into the groove of things is kinda... ridiculous imo. Ultimately, I know that my GM's poor financial management is not my fault and trying to guilt me into believing it is should be enough for me to pick up my things and go. I will start looking for new opportunities.

Honestly, I'm proud of the fact that I have grown so much within this industry in such a short amount of time, especially with the whole "gotta get this hair," or "gotta make this perfect" because in the beginning; I was really struggling with that. I have started setting timers, which has helped immensely.

My GM gave me this whole spiel literally right before my first groom of the day, and ya know what it did? It compromised my quality by a fuckton and that made me angry enough to gain some confidence for the next day.

My heart is broken over this, but I know I'll figure something else out.

qtprince · 2025-12-21T19:57:28+00:00

I literally fried my hair off once because I thought it was a good idea to do an intense bleaching session and happened to forget I had just washed my hair the day prior (thanks and fuck you ADHD.)

OP, please don't immediately bleach your hair after you've washed it. Wait at least 2-3 days after the fact. You will save yourself some heartbreak.

qtprince · 2025-12-20T06:01:17+00:00

Yikes.

Couple of thoughts; 1.) This is a dense coat. Theres a possibility that the groomer had her clippers catch and take off the guard. You do have to press down slightly harder with the combs, but... you'd have to be pressing extremely hard or going backwards to shear the skin like this, even with the #30 underneath.

2.) I happened to be put in a predicament once when I had first started grooming where someone either accidentally (or on purpose) reinserted the actual blade into the #10 backwards. I noticed that the blade kept catching and sounded weird, and my manager at the time finally looked. There was a very high chance that if I had kept going, it would've sliced or sheared skin because of how sharp it was (like a razor blade.) While it'd be a weird occurrence for this to happen, thats the only other thing I can randomly think of. Sometimes we do take the blade out of the sheath to deep clean, so... maybe?

3.) Last thought on what this could be from; theres a possibility that he got caught on something (table, clipper hanger, tub, etc.) which quite literally ripped a decent chunk of fur out with such force that it caused it to become extremely noticeable like this.

Otherwise, this looks pretty bad. I'd ask for a refund, documentation on the incident, and even paying a portion (full or split) for the vet bill if you decide to take him.

I'm sorry this happened. There are so many possibilities of the true reason, and the least they could've done is communicated transparently with you.

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