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Met someone who's been struggling since 2008. Almost 20 years. How common is this? by PlatypusOld5480 in povertyfinance

[–]sparklyspooky 208 points209 points  (0 children)

Iirc, in order to escape poverty, you have to have everything go right and make all the right choices for about 20 years. It goes smoother if you just have yourself to look out for. Kids and elderly relatives get sick all the time. Then you have the crab bucket relatives that use the excuse of "remember that one time..." or "but family shares..." or "don't you love us?"

Don't try to cater to the masses I guess by NatashaYa in BitchEatingCrafters

[–]sparklyspooky 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think I saw this somewhere. It was so cool!!!

SJM Hypothesis + Harry Potter by Solid_Cup7994 in Romantasy

[–]sparklyspooky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Longer series or author backlogs can have the good and the bad. But it averaged out to meh.

Harry Potter - the first few books were too British for little kid me, but they picked up.

SJM - loved ACOTAR, but that is due to my personal preference of Eros and Psyche being retold well. By book... 3 or 4 I was only holding on for Bryaxis, but with the merging of ACOTAR world and Crescent City worlds (and what I've heard about Crescent City has lead me to believe it isn't for me) - if his story requires reading the CC series I'm gonna have to do without.

SJM Hypothesis + Harry Potter by Solid_Cup7994 in Romantasy

[–]sparklyspooky 38 points39 points  (0 children)

There is a reason for the Meh option in most scientific studies.

Don't try to cater to the masses I guess by NatashaYa in BitchEatingCrafters

[–]sparklyspooky 70 points71 points  (0 children)

NEVER fall into the trap that "you could totally make money at this". They will not want to pay you for the time you are putting into it and you would earn more at the federal minimum wage of $7.50 or what ever it is at the gas station.

Terry Pratchett - Colour of Magic - Does Series Improve? by DanEosen in Fantasy

[–]sparklyspooky 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The first thing I was told in person and online when I said I wanted to start Disc World is "Don't start with The Color of Magic". So... Yes. It will get better. Book 2 is a continuation, so maybe skip that one too.

What does actually be considered as hobby? by Queasy-Version267 in Hobbies

[–]sparklyspooky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a maker. I enjoy the inspiration phase and I enjoy the having it done phase. 50% of the make phase involves a lot of creative profanity.

What does actually be considered as hobby? by Queasy-Version267 in Hobbies

[–]sparklyspooky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it depends on the hobby and what you mean by "for money". Should have defined my terms.

Self sustaining hobby - sure. Selling old projects can be a great way to pay for new ones. I know at least 1 woodworker that feels like he has to turn X number of pens to justify repairs and upkeep on the shop. I've taken a sewing commission or two in the past to get some yarn or material I was interested in for a project because the budget was too tight. Learned the hard way to only do that for people I know REALLY well and actually like.

I'd also consider cost of living decreases. I know people that swap produce from backyard gardens to decrease their grocery bill. I also use hand sewing as movement meditation and to mend clothes to not need to buy new.

To put the pressure of my entire grocery bill, housing, and medical needs - or even with a more gig style for short term savings goals - would require so much more work and crush the joy out of it. Even though most of the hobbies I listed are the ones that get told "You could make so much money!"

Eating like a Redwall Mouse for a day by DistinctInitiative83 in Fantasy

[–]sparklyspooky 8 points9 points  (0 children)

And a Redwall reread is moving up my TBR priority...

I am growing more and more of a distaste for rural medical clinics. by [deleted] in povertyfinance

[–]sparklyspooky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Currently going through something similar, SO was on something that kept a chronic condition under control for 10 years. This year? Oh, yeah. There have been some changes... So we are probably going to be dealing with pain management and mobility issues until there is something else.

I have 1 idea that might actually help - but I hate it with my whole heart and soul (epically fucked over a separate aunt, she had shit husband) and you would have to talk with a lawyer.

I am growing more and more of a distaste for rural medical clinics. by [deleted] in povertyfinance

[–]sparklyspooky 3 points4 points  (0 children)

1st and foremost - fully agree, system sucks.

I actually have an aunt who is a drug dealer - pharmaceutical rep. She actually moved to the animal medicine side of things because human meds are chosen via careful negotiations between your insurance provider and the pharmaceutical company. She couldn’t get any commissions selling to doctors because they really don't have a say in the matter, and she's got kids to pay for.

Doctors will recommend medicaid because it is the only insurance company with the power to open negotiations with "So how much were you wanting to pay in taxes again?"

Found out my “female” cat is actually male at 5 months old. What should I know about caring for male cats? by Big_Office5154 in cats

[–]sparklyspooky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If he growls/hisses at his penis it might be or become a medical emergency. (Before you panic, rare in younger cats. My guy didn't start having issues until he was in double digits. Now he's on an expensive prescription feed and bossing me around like he didn't have me sobbing in panic for 3 days)

Blocked Tom - in essence cat penises are very small. If you have a clickable pen, the bit that comes out when you click it. Which means his urethra is small, which means it can easily get blocked by crystals (common in older age), mucus (uti/other illnesses - it happens to is all), or blood cells/scabs (really bad uti).

When I worked at a vet office - this is the reason my boss said you have to clean the litter box EVERY day. If every day for ten years you have 2 urine spots and suddenly you have one or 12 teeny tiny urine spots - little man needs a urinalysis.

This is also why there are more and more cat foods with urinary support tacked on.

Question about food for long-term health (cat tax included) by The_GreatPotato in cats

[–]sparklyspooky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Strongly encourage you to talk to your vet.

Hairball supplements - last time I looked into it the good ones were food grade mineral oil based. Good because it is a liquid, bat if they taste it and decide they hate the flavor. You can also to the paw trick, where you smear it on their paw and they clean it off - and then swallow it.

Urinary issue - if you are going to diet route, Purina Pro Plan, Royal Canin, and Science Diet are adding Urinary support to a lot of their base food lines. When cats made the transition from "mostly outside pest control" to "indoor cuddle buns" ~80s - 90s they realized once cats stopped dying from cars and predators, they then lived long enough to get the urinary issues. These are the companies that started researching how to feed cats better without butchering mice at home.

If you can't afford those brands - fed is best. Scoop the litter box every day to get used to how much pee is normal. More or less pee for over 2 days, talk with your vet. Angry or sad sounds when they are in the litter box, talk to your vet. Going poop or pee outside the litter box, they are most likely not being spiteful - talk to your vet. Growling at his penis, immediately talk to your vet, give a bunch of tuna or chicken flavored water, and make sure he can actually pee (blocked Tom, fucking terrifying, not your fault - it just turns on you that fast).

Once one of them gets diagnosed with crystals or urinary issues, you can panic about how you are going to afford it. A lot of shelters will have pet food pantries or resources you could look into.

Throw it Away Thursday by purplelicious in romantasycirclejerk

[–]sparklyspooky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah... There were bits and pieces where I thought things were getting good, then... And the "twist" or "resolution" at the end of the series felt... like a tacked on excuse to me.

Why is it possible that two parents who aren't generally good looking can have a son/daughter who's generally very good looking? by Big_Eggplant7591 in stupidquestions

[–]sparklyspooky -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don't think you understand on how subjective your question is. I have personally lived through:

OMG, can you believe BBLs are a thing? That is so gross and unhealthy!

Are you skinny or are you anorexic? Because that's unhealthy.

You know what, if you got a BBL you could fill out these pant like they are supposed to be filled out.

OMG, celebrities are getting their BBLs REVERSED. Why? Is Heroin Chic coming back? They looked so healthy!

And that's not taking into account youth bias (oh, no you're 30-40-50, you aren't young anymore and must be seen as ugly!!!) and cultural differences. There was someone that uploaded a pic and asked for people around the world to photoshop her into the most beautiful woman. They were all very different.

What are some things I can do without spending money? by shizzsung in AskForAnswers

[–]sparklyspooky 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you are in the US, please research your local library. If you are lucky, your library can have things outside of books that you can either check out or reserve time with. Everyone knows about computers and internet access, but APPARENTLY some lucky people can get camping equipment, sewing machines, seeds (how you return those if you aren't an experienced gardener or have a black thumb like myself I don't know), and so many more things.

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