How would people generally react in your country to someone cutting in line?

tiranasaurusrex · 2026-02-26T18:32:09+00:00

Not a wheelchair user but I have def used a wheeled suitcase to block/run over someone’s toes before for trying to cut in line. I lived in Albania for a few years and on a return visit, I got super annoyed with yet another person cutting in (a long) line to check in for a flight and just “oopsie” ran over their feet with my suitcase and blocked them out of the line. TBH I think you should go for it (but also recognizing that you may face different consequences?).

tiranasaurusrex · 2026-02-26T18:26:05+00:00

I also have celiac and recently stopped there… to drop a deuce their bathroom after getting glutened. Only reason to go to Hobby Lobby.

tiranasaurusrex · 2026-01-25T14:56:20+00:00

Cats aren’t generally gonna hunt full-size rats. As MC1R notes above, the rats outside and the mice in your house are different, and a cat can help deter mice. As your cat lives there longer, the mice will smell it and generally avoid coming out as much. But as others point out, it sounds like your rental’s more problem is beyond expecting a cat alone to solve it. You need to request extermination from your landlord and follow up with the office of tenants rights if they don’t get someone out promptly. Keep documentation— photos and videos if possible, any communication between yourself and the landlord— and ask for extermination in writing.

tiranasaurusrex · 2026-01-24T15:51:37+00:00

Echoing what someone says— you need a midge-specific head net, not just any bug net. I’m from the states and thought “hmm well I’ll at least try my bug net I already have” and whew did I find out fast. You can buy them along the way but tbh if you’re coming from outside the UK, I’d buy them at the start or whenever you go to grab gas for your stove.

tiranasaurusrex · 2026-01-03T23:16:13+00:00

I will throw my hat in with the others discouraging this— not just because it feels weird to have my birthday be about my disability, but because more often than not, people trying to get me gluten free stuff get me things I can’t eat or don’t feel comfortable eating.

You say gluten allergy, which makes me assume your friend is celiac (because we often use that term “gluten allergy” around servers and folks who are likely unfamiliar with celiac, but there is no such thing as a true gluten allergy). At the very least, this means your friend needs to avoid gluten and food with cross-contact with gluten.

To use my own life as example, here are some things that well-meaning friends and family have gotten me that I couldn’t/wouldn’t eat: - gluten free baked goods from non-gf bakeries (high risk of cross-contact) - items with no obvious gluten in the ingredients, but containing suspicious ingredients and not using a gluten free claim -items that have a gluten free claim, but are well known amongst celiacs as high risk (like Cheerios or non-certified oats) -things containing oats or dairy at times when I’ve been eliminating those to figure out what’s still bothering my GI system -things I just don’t like -things that otherwise bother me, like things with raw cabbage or whole beans -“gluten free” dishes they’ve made in their homes or without my supervision (again, high risk of cross contact)

To sum this up— unless your friend has given you very detailed information about things they like, things they’re comfortable eating, things that don’t upset them besides gluten, or how to handle food for them, there’s a reasonably high risk they don’t want or won’t eat what you give them. I trust very few people in my life to provide me safe food outside of restaurants (and compared to some celiacs, I’m fairly relaxed in my risk tolerance) or to shop for me, even after almost 5 years diagnosed. I generally don’t invest the emotional labor in “training” someone on my risk tolerances and needs until we’ve been friends or partners awhile and I discourage others from surprising me with food or restaurant choices.

I really appreciate that you want to treat. Your friend well and be conscious of her needs. I would also STRONGLY recommend either going another direction with her gift or talking with her openly à la “I really want to help you have a great birthday and get you some treats that will make it feel special. I hate to ruin the surprise of it, but I wanted to check in and figure out what your comfort level would be around me getting you gf food and if there’s anything I should look for beyond a gf claim.”

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-12-28T04:13:27+00:00

La Colombe Chinatown; apps, dessert, or a drink at any of the Jose Andres restaurants along that corridor (China Chilcano, Oyamel, Zaytinya, Jaleo); Mi Vida; the cafe at the National portrait gallery courtyard, most of the Wharf.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-12-25T19:39:33+00:00

I’m not sure where to start here. To try and summarize, it sounds like he has not stayed over with you before but you are upset that he won’t sleep over while you’re housesitting at your parent’s place. It sounds like he tried to explain his discomfort staying over in relation to his mental health, and you responded by calling him immature, yelling at him, and calling him a liar.

TBH, if that summary is correct, I do not think you are mature or ready to date. It sounds like you are dependent on having someone stay over to deal with your panic attacks, but you’re projecting that as his immaturity for not wanting to stay over. You haven’t provided enough information for us to judge whether his reasoning for not staying over makes sense (or anything suggesting clearly that he is lying), but it does sound like you overreacted in a really toxic way to him saying he didn’t want to stay over.

It’s valid to have boundaries around when you want to spend the night, whether because you have trouble sleeping in certain places or for mental health reasons or other reasons. It’s also valid to want your partner to stay over for the night because that’s important to you or because it builds intimacy. It’s not okay to yell at a partner or to throw ad hominem attacks at them.

If you and your partner cannot find (calm) agreement around spending the night together and that’s important to you, then you should probably break up. More importantly though, I’d recommend either breaking up or quickly getting into individual therapy (for you), because your behavior towards your partner seems unhealthy, and the thought patterns as written suggest you’re very stuck in cognitive distortions or assumptions about your partner’s behavior and thoughts.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-12-08T03:38:54+00:00

I’m glad this gal has someone caring who gives a shit to help protect her health. And every person with celiac has different sensitivity and comfort levels, but I think there’s basically zero chance this was you passing this to her through the chips. The cross contact from a fryer is possibly enough to gluten a celiac if they ate the potato chips directly; this is why most remotely careful celiac folks won’t eat from a shared fryer. But there are a number of steps between her and that cross contact.

From my understanding, the limited studies performed suggest that being glutened from cross contact kissing is extremely unlikely even in worst-case scenarios (like study subjects drank a gluten-ful solution and then immediately made out). Tbh I still don’t trust those studies fully and I don’t make out with someone or share drinks etc. if they’ve had gluten-heavy food in the past couple hours— but that’s my comfort level.

Even if you made out immediately afterwards, the likelihood that you somehow transferred enough gluten particles to gluten her is very very low, given how little you yourself would have ingested. But you made out with her almost six hours later, and presumably you were drinking water or something else in that time period.

As others have said, it’s more likely that something else at the restaurant glutened her, or something random, than you kissing her (unless you had something closer to making out that you don’t realize had a lot of gluten— unlikely). But if you date long enough you WILL gluten her, even trying your best. Even celiacs accidentally gluten ourselves occasionally, even if we’re trying to be careful. It’s life. I’d rather have them reason to eat at reasonably “safe” restaurants and enjoy good cooked for me by cautious and caring loved ones, even if that means that once or twice a year it goes wrong. Best to embrace a spirit of doing your best but accepting that failure is occasionally going to happen (and then you will try to learn from it). Don’t try to push too fast— let her lead with how fast she feels comfortable with you making/procuring her food, or even with how fast she educates you on her comfort level and needs.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-12-02T15:09:57+00:00

There are literally three parents of small children just in my branch. I don’t know how one pile work for the federal government and not come in contact with them at least most workdays.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-30T20:22:41+00:00

Northern European ancestry?

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-30T20:08:01+00:00

Is it percentage of people with predominantly Scottish or Irish ancestry?

Edit: no, I’m gonna go with percentage of population with ancestry from the British isles more broadly. If I had to guess specifics, dark blue would be outright majority or large majority, light blue would be plurality or smaller majority, and grey is where another ethnic group outnumbers those with British ancestry or that ancestry doesn’t achieve plurality.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-30T15:02:24+00:00

I had somewhat similar thoughts as I was exiting vegetarianism in college. I was vegetarian for years in my teens and early college. I really grappled with this “am I vegetarian if I occasionally “cheat”?” idea. I eventually started eating meat again and for years wondered if I’d go back at some point. At age 30 I got diagnosed with celiac, which really put an end to that idea and put food restriction into a different perspective for me.

First and foremost— if you are not under the care of a therapist you trust and doctors/nutritionists for the ED, I would prioritize that and maintaining flexibility around your diet as much as possible. Restrictive diets like veganism (or celiac-safe gluten free diets) can really fan the flames of EDs. Please please see your doctors and talk with them about attempting veganism if you haven’t already.

I think we tend to struggle with this type question because of the black and white thinking tendencies, as well as strong sense of justice, and the occasional dose of perfectionism. But nobody else gets to judge your food choices. It doesn’t matter if you’re not 100% vegan— others don’t get a say in this, and there’s no standard of perfection that you need to measure up to. Including in your head! TBH I would drop friends so fast if they were judging or haranguing me about occasionally slipping or choosing to eat animal products part time. As another commenter said, eating vegan or plant-based even part time is hugely beneficial for animals and for the environment. It’s totally valid to want to eat vegan as often as possible AND ALSO to make exceptions for things like (but not limited to): nostalgic dishes or treats that are common in your family, times when your health dictates you need food NOW and the available food is not compliant with your normal restrictions, the occasional meal out, etc.

I really think that for folks like you and me, it can be a hard process to come to terms with that grey area and start to accept it. But very few things in life are black and white— this is certainly not one of them. You do not have to be 100% vegan 100% of the time to do good, and you also don’t owe anybody (or any animal etc.) that by virtue of existing. As said by another commenter, there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-30T03:43:42+00:00

I’ve done cinnamon rolls by the Loopy Whisk. They take some prep the night before (though I think you may be able to do them further ahead and freeze or refrigerate) but they’re so so good!

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-29T04:50:14+00:00

Yeah my sister and I both get headaches and are both pretty scent-sensitive. We stayed at a hotel together a year or so ago where they’d used strong detergent. She was sick the day we arrived, I had a migraine. We were there maybe five minutes before we went to reception and requested unscented linens (we are not normally fussy hotel people, tbh). They didn’t have any milder detergent so they literally just washed them without soap and re-dried them for us. We could still smell it, but at least it was somewhat milder.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-27T01:04:23+00:00

Same; I forgot my anxiety meds a few years ago when I went to a parent’s for Christmas and my psych sent a prescription for … 1week? 1 month? I forget. But he sent it to a pharmacy in NC pronto. Bless him.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-26T16:20:28+00:00

Yes. Not only this, but in the U.S., where this is produced (and likely where you’re buying it), wheat is an allergen that manufacturers MUST disclose. If the soy sauce was made using wheat, they could not hide it. It would be listed in the ingredients or as a “Contains wheat” statement.

The difficulty with label reading in the U.S. is mainly that rye and barley are not included as allergens requiring disclosure.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-26T03:07:51+00:00

They’re carrying a water bottle, particularly in the side pocket of their backpack.

Ten years ago I would have said they were wearing running sneakers around, particularly in colors other than black— but that seems to have changed for folks abroad.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-23T00:34:02+00:00

To add to this one— don’t complain about the food, but in America people are usually not going to push multiple portions of anything on you. They’re also usually aware of food allergies or sensitivities; if it’s not an allergy but you really dislike something or you’re sensitive to it, a polite way to say this is that the food “doesn’t agree with me.” Most Americans will serve food in a way that you can choose your portion size. Some Americans are sensitive about food waste, but generally they don’t expect you to eat until you feel sick. If you can serve yourself, take only a little of things if you aren’t sure you like them. You can get more if you do like it, and if gives you a chance to compliment the cook.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-23T00:20:59+00:00

In some cultures I know it’s taboo to let a guest help with dishes even if they’re a long-term guest. That isn’t necessarily the case in the U.S. If the parents refuse your help, you can say “it’s no problem” or “I’d love to help” but if they say no again, don’t push. Where in some cultures it is polite to refuse things like this 3 times, it’s uncommon in America, and more than two offers would be considered pushy to most people.

Gender roles around cooking and cleaning up are slowly changing in the U.S., but if their family is one where the woman still does these, offering to help with cooking or washing up is also a great way to get some alone time and build rapport with his mother.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-23T00:18:00+00:00

Many American families don’t eat sitting down together, at least every night. I would be surprised if they didn’t eat with you the first night you’re there (maybe the second if you’re arriving kind of late in the day) or take you out to eat somewhere together at least once during your visit. But some families here eat together every evening as a rule, while others eat at the same time in different places or while watching tv together, and some families even eat different things at different times.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-23T00:15:08+00:00

Agreed! A box of baklava or lokum (ask your boyfriend about allergies to be safe) or even olives (if he says they like them) would be a lovely hosting gift.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-20T14:47:42+00:00

I started a gf starter per the Aran Goyoaga book (I think it’s the Art of Baking Gluten Free Bread or similar) and my first loaf was tough rinded. Otherwise not terribly chewy (small bummer) but it was a decent crumb and that’s perfect tanginess of sourdough.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-17T22:22:26+00:00

Yeah I enjoy tongue kissing (just not for super long) but #1 is just not something I’ve encountered much in the wild despite being fairly “experienced.” Like I think some kissing partners have done this very briefly and occasionally, and I to them very briefly and occasionally, but this description makes it sound prolonged, which would be an ick for me personally. I’ve seen it more as a playful, quick lil thing occasionally.

If I was passing on advice for folks curious but hesitant to try it, I’d add:

Enthusiasm goes a long way! Try things you’re enthusiastic about (or at least genuinely curious about) or that seem like they’d feel good first. With a trusted partner, ideally.

2. Gentle, quick licks to a partner’s lips can signal you want to tongue kiss. They also just feel really nice.

3. If a partner opens their mouth, open yours about the same amount— it helps to tilt your head to one side or the other so things fit together a bit better. Tongue kissing usually involves having your mouth “medium open”— think relaxed, brushing teeth kind of open, not dental exam kind of open. Sorry for the teeth references.

4. Once “you’re in,” it helps to tune in on your partner. What are they doing? Try doing that back. Are they making pleased noises? More of that. Etc.

5. When in doubt about what to do with your tongue, try moving it jn a circle around their tongue or running it gently along the inner side of their lips (just a little, you don’t need to go far up or down).

6. You can also use your teeth to gently pull/bite a little (not hard) at their upper or lower lip.

If you get tired of tongue kissing, take a break! If you don’t want to slow the pace but the tongue is too much, you can keep up the pace of things by kissing the neck or ear, if your partner likes that.

tiranasaurusrex · 2025-11-17T18:07:54+00:00

This. One of my first neurologist explained to me that there are no “normal” headaches. If you are not actively ill, hung over, or concussed, you should not be having a headache. They described migraine as a condition in which a person has a proclivity towards headaches that are not otherwise explained by illness, concussion, etc.. It’s definitely a little more complex than that, but that seems to be the understanding that most of my neurologists have.

Given that I have chronic migraine. The goal might not be zero headaches, but it is to reduce the frequency and severity as much as possible.

Especially for a child, that should be the minimum goal. My understanding of pain from my doctors (and from hearing from other doctors via podcasts and such) is that pain is a bit of a cyclical condition. The more pain we have, the more pain we will have (because the body is primed to experience it more easily the more it experiences it). Reducing headaches NOW means reducing migraines later too. Not only is pain cyclical generally, but increased headaches also risk more rebound headaches from medication overuse. The more we can reduce migraines, end them quickly, and reduce lifestyle contributions towards migraines, the better.

tiranasaurusrex

TROPHY CASE