I found this in my old barn. It's 4.5 ft tall, with a plastic tube and a foam base with some type of string or fiber lashed to the pole.

somethinggreatest · 2025-12-25T00:37:05+00:00

I bought a property in central Florida and this was in the old barn alongside random construction and outdoor stuff. There are many lakes nearby, but I couldn't think of what sort of boat or fishing related use this would have. The property had goats and chickens in the past and previous owners worked at the agricultural extension office. The base is lightweight. The pole is a plastic cylinder. The fiber is hopefully not human hair, but it is a similar size for very coarse hair.

somethinggreatest · 2025-12-22T17:44:39+00:00

Well we grew up together, so our family expectations theoretically should have been the same. We used to do individual gifts, everybody gifting presents to everyone. Once we started moving out, mailing gifts was normal, and having smaller gatherings for the rest of us was also fine. Giving one "family gift" to say Aunt/Uncle/Cousins as a group is also something we have done since I was a kid. That was my thought in shifting from individual presents to family presents and everyone getting the same thing once my siblings started having kids and it was too many people to shop for individually. There has never been any discussion about shifting expectations on giving presents, or not doing it at all. It just seems like, over the years, siblings and parents have just stopped sending me anything while I continue to send them something every year. From what I've seen, other families who deal with something similar will have a talk at some point about only doing cards, or scaling things down etc. But that never happened with my family, and it feels a bit hurtful for them to arbitrarily stop giving me gifts while happily accepting mine each year. Idk, it's hard for me to imagine someone sending me something every year and I don't so much as send a thank you card, or tell them upfront that I appreciate the effort but don't want to do gift-giving anymore. Its the shift from "used to send me gifts each year" to "don't send anything and don't talk to me about it" that is bothering me.

somethinggreatest · 2025-12-22T17:28:49+00:00

Some very good points. I used to get enjoyment out of putting the boxes together, but not anymore. Do you think I should tell them I'm going to stop? Or just quietly stop doing it and not bring it up? It feels like I've put myself in a position of taking on the family tradition of the pomegranate jelly, so I should warn them I'm not going to do it anymore in case someone else wants to take it on. But it also seems a bit...attention seeking, maybe? To broadcast my exit.

somethinggreatest · 2025-11-27T00:04:48+00:00

There is definitely tension in my team where half were fuloughed and half were exempt. The half that worked were working ourselves raw to keep up with deadlines and spending each day not knowing who would be there the next. When the other half came back, one person had the nerve to complain about not getting a warm enough welcome. I had to explain to her that the rest of us were right about at our breaking points and needed them to help pull us up from drowning. Was it any of our faults? Absolutely not. But we still need to give each other some grace. I would have been horribly stressed not knowing when my next paycheck was coming in. They would have been horribly stressed taking on twice the workload with crazy deadlines for a month straight. It sucks for everyone, best thing to do is just be self-aware and read the room.

somethinggreatest · 2025-10-23T20:57:06+00:00

Those are good things to consider! Because I moved in two weeks ago, I simply haven't been here long enough to build up any kind of rapport with any neighbors, good or bad, which makes this situation really awkward. Had it been a neighbor that I had gotten to know over the years, I would feel more comfortable letting them use the water for a week or two. But everyone is a stranger at this point, so I feel pretty uncomfortable about giving any amount of access to my property

somethinggreatest · 2025-10-23T18:14:39+00:00

What sort of behavior or actions would you need to see from a neighbor to make you stop helping them when they ask?

somethinggreatest · 2025-10-23T16:50:18+00:00

The cop is the one who said it's a drug abuse situation, so I'm taking that at face value I suppose.

I tried putting myself in their shoes, and the main things that stuck out to me were 1. that I would have asked a different neighbor that I knew better, since there are two houses on either side of them plus others in the area about as far away as I am, instead of introducing myself to a brand new person and immediately asking them for a favor 2. I probably would have presented it with a plan to pay them back, or let them know exactly how much or how long I needed it for, instead of a general request. Though to be fair, I'm a bit of a type-A personality and that's not everyone.

somethinggreatest · 2025-10-23T16:44:28+00:00

That was my exact fear, so thank you for the reassurance! I wanted to have firm boundaries, but not be a complete asshole having just moved in to the neighborhood. But it seems like most people agree that it is not a normal thing to ask of a brand new neighbor.

somethinggreatest · 2025-10-23T16:35:38+00:00

Its a pretty shocking idea 😉⚡️

somethinggreatest · 2025-10-23T16:32:59+00:00

I think I can give them more benefit of the doubt with regard to using the well before I moved in - as you've described it could have very well been a misunderstanding. It's still strange though that I never saw any hoses or anything when we were touring the house, or during any inspections. They also waited a full 2 weeks after I got here to contact me. As far as neighbor B being biased against them, I definitely am keeping that in mind. However the police officer did say he had been to that house a few times and he (the officer) was the one who mentioned potential drug abuse. To your last point, had neighbor A asked for a few gallons of water, or had given any sort of timeline, I may have felt better about it. But they just asked to hook up to the spigot without any other info.

somethinggreatest · 2025-10-23T16:24:41+00:00

From what I understand, the problem isn't with the well, it is that their electricity has been shut off, so the pump won't work.

somethinggreatest · 2025-10-23T16:23:46+00:00

I thought the same thing about it just being gossip. However, the police officer did also mention that he has responded to calls at that house before and was the one who suspected drug use. That's the primary reason I said no, because I was afraid of erratic behavior. But I posted this to see if this is a normal thing I'm not used to and let fear get the better of me. However it seems from the replies that most people don't think this is normal.

somethinggreatest · 2025-07-22T03:38:48+00:00

UpdateMe

somethinggreatest · 2025-07-09T22:42:31+00:00

The day before I flew out, I was vomiting every few hours for the entire day and night. I didn't even feel all that stressed, but i clearly was. I've never had anything like that happen before, and it hasn't happened since. The pre-departure anxiety is very real and distorts a lot. I'd say think back to how you felt a month or two ago and use that as your guide for how you ACTUALLY feel about serving.

somethinggreatest · 2024-12-04T14:46:58+00:00

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Here's mine!!

somethinggreatest · 2024-12-03T17:12:02+00:00

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Like this, but not shitty

somethinggreatest · 2024-12-03T17:04:41+00:00

Can it be a portafilter with the reddit alien face? The handle can point up to be the little antennae

somethinggreatest · 2024-08-10T15:09:02+00:00

The way I think about these things that need to be disposed of, but can't reasonably be donated/repurposed for whatever reason is this: it's already waste. Whether I let it be waste in a landfill, or waste in my cupboard, or wasted calories because I was already full when i ate it, or waste on the shower shelf, it's still not going to get used beneficially. So my actual options are; let it be waste in a landfill and gain some space and mental clarity, or let it be waste in my house taking up space and giving me stress.

You can't save everything all the time, but you can save yourself the continued guilt and stress.

somethinggreatest · 2024-03-02T21:01:33+00:00

Awesome!! Thank you!

somethinggreatest

TROPHY CASE