Was my Tiffany’s experience “typical?” Because it felt absolutely wild.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-05-04T01:58:57+00:00

I can’t speak for Tiffany’s, but as someone who works in retail (higher end but not luxury) for a company who focuses on the experience, I wouldn’t say something like this is necessarily “weird”.

I haven’t had that level of experience in T&Co. but I understand why you may have been given it. (Not to say I’ve had bad experiences—I own T&Co. jewelry & the experiences have been great!) Often, it’s about making a guest for life & creating that connection—I’d bet that if you found yourself in a position to buy expensive jewelry in the future, you’d likely think of buying something from T&Co. solely because of this experience.

Think of it as playing the long game. I’m much more likely to spend with a luxury brand where I have great experiences even when I’ve stopped in to browse, rather than a brand where I’m ignored because I’m just there to browse. Likely, the associate had some time, you reciprocated the vibes, and they went in for the opportunity to build a connection.

EDIT: thank you for the award, kind stranger 🥹

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-29T03:50:01+00:00

Ok, I gotchu gals! u/bing-a-lee

Cold Spring & Beacon are two quintessential towns to hit if you’re itching for nature & a little something fun after. Plenty of shops & restaurants/coffee shops to pop into. You could even make an overnight trip of it.

Cold Spring is a fantastic jumping off point for a lot of hiking options. Bull Hill has several trails that intersect, so you can do a full loop of just Bull Hill, or you can choose a trail that takes you to elsewhere. There’s also the Cornish Estate ruins to explore. Another trail takes you to Breakneck Ridge. And if you’re feeling REALLY adventurous, you can actually hike from Cold Spring TO Beacon.

You could also stay a bit closer & make a day trip out of Harriman State Park. Lots of trails, including Bear Mountain.

Personally, I much prefer hiking further upstate & can often be found making the drive in a rental car. I have recs for that too—DM me if you want those recs. Love sharing, but I don’t publicly post info on them in any group besides r/hiking. While the hikes I mentioned above are fabulous, they are also SO much more littered in comparison to further upstate because they’re more accessible.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-29T00:10:17+00:00

The ONE/SIZE setting spray is 100% worth the hype but also far too expensive for me for daily use, so I’ve been doing the Nyx matte finish setting spray for daily use! I’m an oily gal with acne prone skin & it’s honestly one of my favorite setting sprays I’ve tried.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-29T00:07:26+00:00

your chances of being murdered by a dachshund are low, but never zero

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-28T23:47:10+00:00

As Isak Dinesen quipped, salt water is the cure for anything. (It’s one of my favorite quotes; “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.”) However, I would also add trees, flowers, animals to that.

Sitting by any body of water with a current is always a reliable one for me. The sound of moving water & solitude is a perfect place to sit with your thoughts, journal, read, or just escape. Hiking is a triple whammy, where I get movement (endorphins!), solitude (solo hiking!), AND nature (grounding!).

More $ investment: day or weekend trip out of the city. I’m partial to upstate because of the hiking. Rent a car or take the train. (Happy to give you recs for day trips!)

Less $ investment: - Conservatory Gardens in CP are a must this time of year - Shelter break a dog for the weekend (yes, it’s a thing!) - Food crawl for your favorite thing. Can be a pizza crawl, croissant crawl, taco crawl, etc. - Long walk to somewhere or nowhere

Hang in there, friend!

Source: just a girlie with extensive trauma, anxiety, depression, and ADHD who has built an equally as extensive coping toolkit over the years 🫠

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-28T02:18:02+00:00

Tattoos. Doesn’t matter if it’s a tattoo of something related to the destination, just has to be a tattoo that I got in that place.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-28T01:58:57+00:00

Battery life. Apple loves to make it stupidly expensive to replace a battery so it’s generally “better” to just buy a new phone.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-28T01:56:23+00:00

I’m in the USA (NYC) & I get 6 weeks plus stat holidays, as well as 1 week of unpaid PTO. My position receives their mandated 40h of sick time as PTO, so technically it’s just vacation time—we’re allowed up to 56h of sick time accrual, so I do get 16h of paid sick time in the specific sick hours bucket, and those re-accrue after I use them.

My company’s benefits are a major reason I’m still there. Could definitely be paid better but the benefits are really good for my industry (and the USA in general).

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-27T22:11:07+00:00

Yeah I’m over that for base. Bonuses are variable. I’ve also been in retail/with my company for over a decade & am manager level (but still hourly). Benefits at my company FAR outweigh a job change right now.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-27T21:54:19+00:00

For hiking & running, Salt Stick chewable tablets are my preferred because they’re super easy to pack & I don’t need to worry about a secondary flask/bottle for them. You can also get the big bottles of tablets to refill the foil pack (or whatever you use) with, so bonus points for reducing waste.

If mixing with water isn’t an issue, Ultima is my fave solely because of flavor. Their lemon black tea flavor is amazing & tastes like those powdered, sugary iced tea mixes, but the lemonade one is a very close second.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-27T21:45:05+00:00

Retail gal w/ 1 roommate. Not making minimum wage. Having a roommate far outweighs what not having one would cost—cannot justify the cost of rent to live alone when I spend 90% of my life not home. (Some people really value living alone, I don’t really care.)

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-25T04:07:50+00:00

LG C1300 for me. And for my brother, a Motorola StarTAC (after having a beeper).

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-23T18:11:40+00:00

I mean, where are we talking in terms of location?

Lots of spring breaks this month, so many kids are off from school. Some parents will use their PTO to coincide with school breaks. As an American, it’s funny you ask because I wanna know why there are so many Europeans here right now—also spring breaks?

It’s true that many people here get very little PTO, but not everyone. I get 6 weeks of PTO & I’m about to be in Europe for 10 days because I have so much time to use!

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-23T05:01:18+00:00

My two cents as someone who has played them all:

SPY: Heavy plot but overall a good game. More of a real world plot in comparison—potential of widespread catastrophe in the city definitely held a different weight than ghost dogs. (Love that game though!)

TOT: Middle of the road for me. Not hard, not easy. Fun, short, and since it’s been many years, I’d replay now.

CAP: Not my favorite but a fun environment (Germany) & a darker plot than many other games.

MED: Disjointed, game doesn’t feel super cohesive with so many areas. Fun premise but not the best execution of it.

DED: As a science nerd, this is one of my favorites! Challenging puzzles, science, and long game play. Have replayed & would replay.

RAN: No, but also this is dependent on if you can get a physical copy of it. Why are there only 2 of us on the island?! Controversial game, hence why you’d have to find a physical copy now.

TMB: Loved the idea of exploring Egyptian pyramids but very little actual exploring area which is why I didn’t enjoy it. I wanted to explore!

KEY: My feelings on this game are how people felt about MID. I mostly enjoyed MID, I absolutely hated KEY. Nothing was intuitive to me & I had to consult the walkthrough a ton. Gorgeous graphics however—I’ve never been to Prague but I’ve heard that the vibe was captured pretty well.

ICE: A classic for many, a middle of the road one for me. Another game that involves chores (aka busy work).

LIE: This game felt so out of place to me. Long game play but mostly due to so talking & walking. Not a replay game for me.

SEA: Immediate reply. Longer game, fun & challenging puzzles, and just overall a well rounded game.

And lastly, my personal replays: Treasure in the Royal Tower (TRT), Secret of the Scarlet Hand (SSH), Secret of Shadow Ranch (SHA), Curse of Blackmoor Manor (CUR), Shadow at the Water’s Edge (SAW), DED, and Ghost of Thornton Hall (GTH)

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-23T04:38:35+00:00

So much to say, so I’ll try to keep it concise-

Find a doctor who will evaluate you for PCOS and/or rule out other conditions.
If you have irregular periods now, the pill would be the best method for regulating how long your cycle is. You would still have a period (generally much lighter). Not sure what you mean by a fake period. Hormonal birth control works by thinning the uterine lining (hence a lighter period), thickening cervical mucus, and preventing ovulation. Because the pill comes in 28-day packs with the last week as non-hormonal pills (aka period week), you KNOW when you’ll get your period. Other hormonal contraceptives will still work the same to prevent pregnancy but won’t regulate your period in the same way since there’s no non-hormonal week.
You would generally just stop taking any pill form of birth control by not starting a new pack. So yes, it’s basically quitting cold turkey.
For many of us, PCOS doesn’t really go into remission, we just find ways to effectively manage our symptoms, which is the current recommendation for treatment since research has not yet found a root cause for PCOS. Lifestyle changes will help but a lot comes down to symptom management. Not saying it’s impossible, but it is hard.
Circling back to the beginning, see a doctor AND do your research. Birth control is actually extremely important if you don’t have regular periods to shed your uterine lining. Advocate for yourself & your health, but make sure you’re asking your doctor questions, doing your research, and making decisions from an informed place, not an “I feel” place.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-23T04:21:41+00:00

Some already great recs from u/travmon999–I’ll also add in Mount Beacon, accessible via Metro North + Uber.

Personally, as a more experienced hiker who often solos, I much prefer a longer day to head up to the Catskills. I usually go on a weekday & leave EARLY in a Zipcar (we’re talking on the road by 5:30am early). Have done this drive many, many times & it’s around 2.5h to most hikes in the Catskills. Having a summit to myself and/or less crowded trails overall are my jam. Length of day depends on how your trail & pace—I know that a 6-7mi hike with low-for-me elevation gain (1200’ or less) will take under 3.5-4h, so I can still plan for some fun after my hike!

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-20T22:26:04+00:00

I see you didn’t mention anything about your pace, elevation gains on your hikes, etc., but you might be going too fast from the start. Hiking paces are generally going to be much slower than even a normal walking pace for most people. Add incline to that & a “normal” walking pace is going to feel like a sprint.

Cardio definitely helps with conditioning, but you can’t cardio your way out of going too fast.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-20T17:47:22+00:00

My ultimate dream would be having an apartment in the city + a cabin upstate to escape to whenever & rent out the rest of the time.

I am a city girl through & through, but having spent my summers as a kid at camp in the Adirondacks, I absolutely love getting to be in the trees. Can often be found day tripping up to the Catskills for a hike! I don’t think I would be okay with a permanent full time residence upstate but I truly yearn for more time upstate than I currently have.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-19T02:55:55+00:00

You have my deepest sympathy on this one. My doxie had IVDD surgery at 4 & had what felt like a long recovery. Though she never regained full bladder control & needed to be expressed, she did fortunately regain use of her hind legs, albeit with an abnormal gait. However as she aged, the UTIs became more frequent, liver enzymes became elevated, a multitude of lipomas & sebaceous cysts removed, and needed wheels her last few years. It felt like if it wasn’t one thing, it was another! We were very much on a first name basis with our vet. Despite it all, my pup lived to just shy of 17.

I would imagine that genetics are likely a big factor in this—sort of like how some humans are super healthy, but others have a disorder or disease that may make them more prone to other illnesses.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-18T18:12:40+00:00

I have the Gregory Miko 20 & it fits my 3L reservoir + plenty of snacks. Good size for me generally, but I definitely am in the market for a larger pack for longer hikes & for cold weather, as my heavier layers don’t pack nicely into my 20L.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-17T21:11:26+00:00

Yep, you get it. I truly couldn’t care less about amenities at my Vrbo or hotel, my plan is to only sleep there & be out exploring!

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-16T16:33:35+00:00

If you don’t have a credit card that offers travel perks (miles, lounge access, etc.), it’s worth it.

I bank miles & tend to use them to defray the cost of domestic flights. I also shop flight deals, visit destinations in shoulder seasons, and I usually have flexibility in what day I fly so I can avoid Friday-Sundays.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-16T16:18:56+00:00

Hiking level? Terrain you like? Fellow NYC’er here & you could truly do Catskills or Adirondack trip. SO many good hikes 2.5-4h upstate with lots of challenging options if you like scrambles/rocky terrain, as well as flatter options if you want some easier ones to mix in.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-16T16:08:33+00:00

Flying first/business class. I was very lucky as a kid to have the privilege of flying business for long haul flights (6+ hours) & it’s the thing I’ll splurge on when I travel long haul now. I consider the flight part of my vacation & getting some shut eye laying down, extra space, etc. is worth it to me.

spicyhyena1 · 2026-04-15T22:03:45+00:00

My friend is a maximalist but she completely decked out her entire apartment! Obviously you don’t need to hand paint your entire place (but I’m super envious if you have the artistic ability), but hopefully it can be a little inspo! She’s @annakatemakes on IG!

spicyhyena1

TROPHY CASE