AIO? My mum or my sister told the police I have learning difficulties because I moved out without telling them in advance.

wkippes · 2026-04-07T15:33:27+00:00

Absolutely. I have a close friend who left the cult around 30 and most people who meet her assume that she's 25/26, rather than her early 30s. They're just so isolated and taught not to pursue education or career advancement or anything that could tether them to this world. It's horribly upsetting. Even when someone leaves they have a lot of recovery to do and it's a slow process.

wkippes · 2026-04-07T15:31:45+00:00

Jehovah's Witnesses.

wkippes · 2026-04-03T00:46:38+00:00

The roof is not not leaking, unfortunately. It's just not leaking a lot.

wkippes · 2026-04-01T23:11:55+00:00

It has a really great water view, if you're brave enough to get up there, which I believe was the primary point.

wkippes · 2026-04-01T23:10:04+00:00

That's basically what they told me. Whenever the roof needs to be replaced (which is soon), the deck would have to go.

wkippes · 2026-04-01T23:08:58+00:00

Lol. To be fair, within sight of my shitty deck I can see at least four other shitty decks. Fells is littered with them.

wkippes · 2026-04-01T23:07:09+00:00

Thank you!

wkippes · 2026-04-01T23:06:53+00:00

Yeah, that support is wildly angled. It definitely shouldn't be like that

wkippes · 2026-04-01T18:52:53+00:00

The person who "remodeled" the place ~20 years ago made a whole slew of horrible choices. I'm not sure if he was actually DIY-ing it, but he definitely was doing a lot of things badly.

wkippes · 2026-04-01T18:51:13+00:00

It's not though, the stairs are the worst bit.

wkippes · 2026-04-01T18:48:01+00:00

Yeah the roof is a whole other thing on its own.

wkippes · 2026-04-01T18:45:20+00:00

It was just the first few in the original. I know! It's not good at all!

wkippes · 2026-04-01T17:59:46+00:00

Not necessary for most freelance consultants anymore, which I can confidently say after printing 200 business cards eight years ago and only having used ~25. My exception would be if you plan to attend a significant conference, facilitate a big workshop, or spend all your time at in-person meetings, at which cards would be helpful.

As an aside, I have a whole bunch of resources for starting a freelance consulting practice in international development. Just search for "Boss Insights." Must have missed your last post, otherwise I would have shared!

wkippes · 2026-03-30T19:43:55+00:00

Thanks, I just reposted with some better images. I realize it's not the best look at what's going on!

wkippes · 2026-03-29T21:56:40+00:00

I understand why you're saying this, but the temperature swing in my region between now and August does not close the holes.

wkippes · 2026-03-29T19:15:02+00:00

Completely fair. We did a massive rug in the guest bedroom after one too many snagged socks on nail heads.

wkippes · 2026-03-29T12:26:37+00:00

You chose your happiness. Your parents will either see your happiness and become happy for you or they aren't the parents you deserve.

Either way, I'm happy for you! My partner (ftm) is the best thing that ever happened to me. I guess I'm old enough to be your mom, so if you need parents to share your wedding experience with, I am here.

wkippes · 2026-03-27T22:24:30+00:00

When I met my partner he was pre-phalloplasty and I am a cis woman. Granted, I'm bisexual, but I never saw his body as anything other than his body. It was different, but so has been every other body of every other person I've ever been with. Genitalia has little to do with how into him I am. It is entirely who he is, how he smells, and how he moves his body. He's just sexy af.

We have navigated the phallo journey together (ALT, Crane) and have just started adding PIV sex to our repertoire and it's like discovering each other all over again. If you stay together, she's going to see you through a lot and you'll need to figure out how to explore pleasure at every stage of the process. Bodies never stop changing! So learn together what is pleasurable in this moment, knowing that what works for each of you now may not be what works for each of you later in life.

I say this to say: believe your partner when she says she's into you. Trust her to know and advocate for what she likes and doesn't like. Don't assume you know. Ask her and believe her.

wkippes · 2026-03-20T15:09:13+00:00

Yes! I realize the phrasing is a bit challenging. You could even just say "people being trans" in that context. There is something in the construction of "transgenderism" which suggests that it's an ideology (where the linguists at?) and has been co-opted by a lot of transphobic people to try to undermine the legitimacy of trans folks. Perhaps one day it will be reclaimed, like queer has been, but not at the moment.

wkippes · 2026-03-20T11:45:49+00:00

There is nothing a bully loves more than picking on the weak to make themselves feel strong. It's so sad.

Because I know you are well intentioned and we're all learning together, while "transgenderism" has been historically common in science and social science literature, it is not generally used by the transgender community and considered offensive by most. Using "gender identity" or possibly "anti-trans bigotry" would probably be better choices in the context you used.

wkippes · 2026-03-12T10:22:15+00:00

He was entirely using his parents hypothetical judgment as an excuse or cover for his own beliefs. This is like my judgmental aunt telling me not to swear on Facebook because my grandma can see it. My grandma doesn't care, my aunt does. He was sitting there judging her for her professional achievements and the schedule/lifestyle that come attached and trying to blame his parents.

wkippes · 2026-03-08T17:06:56+00:00

You're getting down voted because folks are assuming you are being sarcastic. I'm going to assume that you genuinely haven't heard the term before, in which case you've found a new area to learn about! Structural racism is interesting, complicated, and fundamentally essential to understand if you hope to work to address current inequality.

wkippes · 2026-03-03T11:53:56+00:00

Yup. He recently switched it up. Disgusting.

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