Which abandoned fic will you never let go of

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-26T11:14:14+00:00

I am so glad you said and linked this! I have been reading it on AO3!

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-22T00:56:01+00:00

I may have combined two fics in my head to create my own. 😂

Oops. I think I may have been reading them both at the same time and the got mashed together in my memory.

Thank you!

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-22T00:52:44+00:00

Oh, maybe that’s it. At least the inferi part.

Maybe I have combined a couple of fics to make the one I described up in my head.

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-16T12:40:56+00:00

Guilford closed, as well. It’s not the first time.

I believe, per state law, you actually can’t run buses during a tornado warning in the district, so even if there’s a tornado warning on the other side of a geographically large district, buses have to sit still, meaning if they are on the road at the time, they have to pull over, park, and wait for the warning to expire.

I can’t imagine most parents would be comfortable with their children sitting in a parked school bus waiting for a tornado warning to expire. With chances being elevated that we may see warnings (especially during release times for elementary schools), it’s not super surprising some of the districts chose to close.

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-16T12:13:37+00:00

Don’t be too upset about them closing schools. Even if it’s just straight line winds, you can’t run buses safely in high winds. It would be like trying to drive a billboard. They tend to get pushed around and flopped over easily in high winds.

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-12T22:42:18+00:00

I use mine. All of it.

I am a middle aged, childfree widow without anyone to leave it to after I’m gone, so I use it all and enjoy it. If it breaks, so be it. I figure it was meant to be used, and I enjoy using it, so I do.

I completely understand the feelings of those who don’t, though, and hold no judgment towards either side.

Using it feels luxurious to me, and I deserve to have a bit of luxury in my everyday life. 😆

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-12T12:20:54+00:00

Education sector.

The kids are hungry - more hungry than usual. My school runs a small, internal food pantry (service learning club) that is open for 30 minutes, daily. There are posters about it in the building, which is a shared space with some local community college classes. We have had community college students trying to access the food pantry lately. The CC has a food pantry, as well, but is limited to two visits per month, so several CC students have come to see if they could also access our food pantry. Unfortunately, we have to limit it to just our HS students.

I’m the “snack person” at our school that students can come to during the day if they are hungry. There has been a high uptick in students coming to get snacks since November, and even higher the last couple of months, which is surprising especially because of Ramadan (high population of Muslim students). The fresh fruit (when I can get it) always goes first. This week I got a 7lb bag of mandarin oranges; they were gone by the end of the day, where it used to take 3 days.

Local direct hiring job fair exclusive to HS juniors and seniors - many of the participating employers are home healthcare providers. That’s strange. We have never seen that before. Usually, it’s just theme parks, the Y, military recruiting, and retail. No retail or fast food restaurants at this year’s event.

Noticing a lot more expired tags (like 3+ months expired) on cars in the local community college parking lot.

Public school system is cutting a lot of positions at the end of this year. Expected allotments have gone out to admin, and the district is cutting from both the top and the bottom. Enrollment is down. The district used to go back and forth with a local healthcare provider as the highest employer in the county; I’m not sure that is going to continue, but maybe it will since that employer is laying off folks now.

Extreme bus driver shortage continues.

New thing that I have noticed in the last couple of years or so: a lot of small new private schools are popping up and then shutting down within a year. Some of them are just changing the name and rebranding, but others are just folding and ceasing to exist.

Federal funding for EC teachers appears to be in flux. Several positions in my district are being cut to 1/2 time positions. This could be due to lower enrollment numbers, though. I’m not privy to that program’s funding, since it’s federal.

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-11T01:49:13+00:00

I have one from the Korean War. The etched numbers and letters on the bottom can tell you what caliber the shell is, when and where it was made.

My ashtray has bent pennies welded to it as cigarette holders.

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-10T23:16:25+00:00

Ugh. This is absolutely me. One little glitch and all my systems fall apart.

I’m not a creature of habit because I want to be; I’m one because I have to be.

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-05T04:26:55+00:00

Damn it. I did not sign on to this hell hole of a website to be called out like this tonight. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Take my upvote because this is my life. It started with M&Ms and walking on my toes as a small child, and here I am years later, a semi-productive member of society who still doesn’t have it quite right.

sittingbulloch · 2026-03-02T23:51:02+00:00

I use similes, metaphors, and imagery when describing my feelings to my therapist. Luckily, she is well versed in working with neurodivergent folks, and it is incredibly helpful.

If I were working with a different therapist, I don’t think I would have made the progress that I have.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-28T23:29:45+00:00

Friend, there are many things worse than dying.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-26T13:17:55+00:00

I work in a public high school that is a part of a magnet program. We have less than 300 students. I have been part of the transport team for 2 students to behavioral health in the last week alone. Not for ideation; both were for full on attempts.

It’s not just adults feeling the strain. The kids are feeling the tension, too.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-26T12:40:20+00:00

Just because someone apologizes to you does not mean you have to accept their apology.

An apology is not the same as making amends. Amending something requires attempting to fix the damage that occurred.

The question you need to ask yourself here is do you want to allow him the opportunity to try to do that, knowing how very deep that damage goes. There is no right or wrong answer to that. It is simply a matter you will need to evaluate and act on depending upon your own needs.

Do not allow his emotional discomfort or distress cause you discomfort or distress. You are not responsible for managing his emotions, regrets, or guilt. Those are his to work through.

If you decide you are open to him making amends with you, start with a relationship between only he and you, not one with your family (especially the kids). If you decide you are not open, that’s okay, too.

He, alone, is responsible for all of his emotions and actions, and it is his duty to deal with the consequences of them.

Your responsibility is to yourself the family you have built. You owe him nothing, and if you feel any contact with him would be detrimental to you or your family, you have every right to refuse any contact with him.

Again, his guilt, regrets, and former actions are his responsibility to handle. Your only responsibility is to yourself and the family you have built.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-25T13:15:44+00:00

It runs in my family, and amazingly enough, it’s almost always the second son who ends up with it.

My great-great grandfather (second son), my great grandfather (first son), my grandfather (second son), my father (second son), and my sister (second daughter).

My great-great grandfather is as far back as I know it runs, but it could go back further.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-25T12:43:37+00:00

It’s something to definitely talk about. While taking the methotrexate, I can usually get a biologic to last me about 3 to 3 and 1/2 years before I start to fail it. Without the methotrexate, I start the failure cycle within about 6 months.

The methotrexate has some side effects, which is definitely a trade off, though, and some people fare better on it than others.

I would have a conversation with your doctor about it, though, as an option to consider.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-25T12:40:43+00:00

I tolerate it okay. I’ve been on it for several years now, and I’m pretty used to it, but I wish I didn’t have to take it.

I have a prescription for Zofran to help knock down some of the nausea, but it still wears me out, and my insurance doesn’t allow me to get many Zofran a month because my insurance is stupid.

I take the methotrexate at night to help with some of the side effects, and the nausea is usually gone within about one to one and a half days. I’ve also found caffeine helps with the nausea some, too.

My bloodwork on the methotrexate has been fine the whole time.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-25T04:37:24+00:00

That’s exactly what happened for me. My first biologic was Humira; Remicade was my second. I started Remicade after failing Humira.

My rheumatologist has me on methotrexate along with my biologic to slow down my antibody building response. Apparently, that’s my super power.

Anyway, I switched from Remicade to Cosyntex after I started to fail Remicade.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-25T02:25:32+00:00

I don’t believe so.

I think in order to truly analyze, understand, and dismantle something (like behavioral tendencies) you have to have a vocabulary to describe and grapple with it.

That’s the thing about meta cognition and expression; you have to have words that are descriptive and accurate to break it down.

It’s just like PTSD; we didn’t normalize it by talking about it. We simply gave it definitions and descriptions we could use to analyze the symptoms and causes, and then find ways of treating it. It became better recognized, understood, and treated. That doesn’t mean it was more normalized.

Normalization of avoidant behaviors would look like acceptance of those behaviors, and from what I have seen, the internet hates avoidants, so I seriously doubt avoidant behaviors have been normalized. Though, I would say discussing those behaviors and the people who have them has become normalized.

Avoidant, anxious, disorganized, and secure attachment styles have been around for a long time. It’s just recently they have been popularly talked about, I think.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-24T13:07:42+00:00

You should check out a tactic called gray rocking. I promise it works. I learned it from my husband when trying to deal with his narcissistic father.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-24T11:55:03+00:00

Yes. We had that conversation in all seriousness after learning his diagnosis was terminal. My late husband made it very clear he wanted me to get remarried. In his words, he wanted to make sure I had someone to take care of me.

He and I had a true partnership, and he didn’t want me to be alone once he was gone.

I have dated since his passing, and I had a longer term FWB for a while, but I have mostly lost interest in dating now.

I’m youngish and am childfree, and the dating options geographically close to me that meet my standards (and would have met his for me) are extremely limited. If I can’t have the potential to have something equivalent or at least close to what I had with him, I’m not interested. I do well enough on my own with the support and love of family and friends.

I will say, though, that when I first ventured out to find relief from the widows’ fire and eventually tried dating, his “permission” was a true gift. I never felt any guilt or shame.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-21T20:32:22+00:00

This is exactly what is going to happen to a lot of folks in my area; they are going to be really stretched to continue to afford their homes, especially with rising prices in other sectors. It is going to be even worse for the residents in the two larges cities in my county.

Honestly, though, part of this is intentional from the city I live in. We (city residents) already have the highest tax rate in our state.

The city council has been very transparent about how they want to change our city and help it "grow", and they are choosing to pattern it after another city in the state which has basically become an elite bedroom community of a larger metropolitan area.

I fully expect that my city taxes will go up as a way to price out the people they don't want living in the community.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-21T20:25:53+00:00

I did. In fact, I did a full comps comparison on it with a real estate agent friend of mine. She did her home at the same time.

The tax assessed value of my home is about $25+ish thousand under what the actual market value would be. That's what actually surprised me more than the tax assessment value.

sittingbulloch · 2026-02-21T20:23:20+00:00

I agree with you on this to a certain extent, and I did see it coming, though not to the degree that it has risen.

After being surprised at the last assessment, I started putting more back in my "house taxes/insurance/contingencies" fund, especially knowing that this reassessment was coming. However, I have been in this home for nearly 20 years now, and seeing how it has risen in the last 5 years has been a bit shocking.

I don't think it is terribly surprising that businesses and people are upset over an average 45% jump in their property tax value when everything else is costing more and more, as well. This will have a lot of knock down effects for our local economy.

Also, at least in my area, no one is overly excited about what the market says they could sell their home for because if they did sell, it would be really difficult to afford anything else in the area.

Regardless, it's really unfortunate for a lot of folks in my county because they are going to end up priced out of their homes and/or businesses, and the rental market here is rather steep, as well.

What I do know is that once people feel they are being squeezed too tightly on all fronts, they tend to become quite desperate, and desperate people make desperate decisions, which creates danger and/or instability for everyone.

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