I used to be an EMT (am going to be working as one again soon) and where I worked we had some good cops and some real shitty cops who had no business being cops, but one thing that they all had in common was that the rules were if someone asked for medical help, they had to call the ambulance. Didn’t matter if it looked like obvious bullshit, all the departments in the area I worked had a blanket policy that they weren’t medical professionals and they couldn’t make that decision. You could have a tiny little cut on your finger and ask for medical help and even the shittiest cops would sigh and call for EMS. These cops infuriate me. How many more people have to get murdered? If someone asks for help fucking help them and sort out the details later.

I’ve gone through some traumatic shit lately, and I’d also like to get a tattoo once I can put in enough OT to save for one.

Is your wife free? :)

Shit, I’ll never forget being at home watching the towers burn on TV as a kid and seeing things falling from them and asking my mom what they were and hearing “those are people jumping rather than burn to death”. Horrifying. What a choice to make.

Same on both counts

I just got an autofeeder for my cats. Wonderful thing. My cats still come to me and sit and scream for food for the hour before each mealtime, and we argue about whether or not they currently need my participation in mealtime, right up until the thing kicks on, then they’re off like a shot. It’s hilarious.

(Clearly I don’t know anything about aerodynamically engineering)

I’ve never been motivated to create a time machine, but you’ve suddenly made it extremely appealing…

You think zip ties will hold together at those speeds? Not to mention cause drag due to the tiny bumps? Do you know anything about aerodynamical engineering?

You have to zip tie it together, then duct tape over top nice and smooth for extra holding strength and to reduce wind resistance. Boeing, hire me instead!

1 is when I have had to pee for the past 2 hours but have had a warm happy kitty on my lap that I didn’t want to disturb but now the situation is dire.

2 is every other time.

I worked at [generic big-name eyeglass store/optometrist] for a few months and we weren’t allowed to adjust any eyeglasses that weren’t purchased at our store because if they broke while we were trying to bend them we couldn’t just get another frame and replace them, but also it was 2022 and they only paid me $12/hr so if someone came in and seemed chill I’d always be like hey, I’m obviously going to try really hard to not break your glasses, but sometimes shit happens and if it does you are on your own because you didn’t get them here and I’m not allowed to do this, and would just adjust them.

Ooh, can I share a sweet story instead, because this made it pop into my head and it’s a memory of a wonderful person that I wish everyone could have known?

I used to work at this small business when I was younger, and one of the employees was an older guy in his 80s who had retired and worked a few hours a week just to keep busy. He loved us teens and twenty somethings and we adored and respected him.

As time went on, the assistant manager left and I ended up being promoted to assistant manager. And eventually daylight savings happened and the clock changed. This employee came in for his first shift after the time change and looked half dejected and half embarrassed and he quietly explained to me that he didn’t know how to change the time on his watch, that the previous assistant manager had always done it for him, so now he was trying to deal with his watch being an hour off. I happily changed the time for him, and after that I changed it for him every time change. Even after he retired for good he would come in during my shift and give me his watch and I’d set it forward or back the hour so it could be right and he’d be thrilled every time.

What if we can’t see God because we’re all just a bunch of random synapses firing in some higher beings brain while they’re having a fever dream? After our world “ends” they’re gonna wake up and go “holy shit that was a fucked up dream”

I dont smoke, I’ve never done drugs, and I drink a few times a year. Have I been guilty of a few frivolous purchases in the past? Sure, but now I literally do not have the money, so I can’t. I just make lists of things I’d like to buy “someday.”

I’ve gone out and bought a $7 rotisserie chicken, a $3 bag of noodles and a $3 bag of carrots, thrown them in a pot with a bunch of garlic, spices and water, slow cooked them for an entire day, then pulled out the chicken, ripped off all the meat, discarded the carcass, and lived for an entire month off that soup. I was sooo sick of chicken noodle soup.

But I shouldn’t have to. Why should I work my ass off for companies who make more and more profits while my rent goes up, food costs more and more, and every other fucking bill goes up, yet if I ask for a raise I’m a lazy millenial?

Have some fucking empathy.

The funny thing is that I’ve never had avocado toast and I tried coffee once, hated it, and never tried it again. I can’t drink energy drinks either. Take that, financial columnists!

I wasn’t smart enough to make that choice this time around, but next life being born into a rich family is my number one criteria :)

When I was in my late teens/early twenties I truly thought that in ten years I’d own a home for sure, with some hard work and dedication.

Ten years later, I don’t even get to buy groceries every week or eat every day. I’ve lost 30 pounds in the last year just from skipping so many meals.

I can’t wait to see what the next ten years holds.

And if one more person tells me I should make sure to invest for retirement… I can’t even feed myself, what you want me to invest? My retirement plan is work until I’m too old/sick/injured and then off myself.

Chewy is amazing. Price is very consistent and customer service is scary good. I once ordered food for my cat while sitting eating dinner. The next morning at 6am I opened my door to go to work and literally tripped over my cats food. I still have no fucking clue how the hell it got to me so quick, it was 12ish hours. When I moved and switched my auto subscription their system flagged my change of address as fraud and emailed me to call customer service. I called at literally 3am (because I’m a freakish night owl) expecting to work my way through an automated system and the phone rang twice and a very cheerful person answered. I almost hung up in shock and then almost was the jerk calling at 3am asking “why are you answering the phone at 3am?”

I’m curious what the long term health affects of this are going to be as people are forced to eat less and less. Yes, it may help with obesity, but what about malnutrition? I’m overweight, but I’ve lost a fuck ton of weight in the last year from not being able to afford food and I’m at the point where it’s not uncommon to go a day or 3 without eating. And it’s only going to get worse for me. I just went to the grocery store today and bought food for the first time in a month and some sandwich fixings/bread, a pound of chicken, 2 tomatoes, a container of greens and two small bags of snacks cost over $50. Hopefully I can stretch that for a few weeks.

I know you’re talking alcoholic cider, but you just brought back one of the few happy memories of my childhood. There used to be a small (nonalcoholic) apple cider making business relatively close to where I grew up. Every fall we’d compile a whole bunch of empty gallon jugs and make the drive over there. They had a giant keg of apple cider that they’d fill all the jugs from, and since I was just a kid the employees used to let me help them fill up the jugs. The smell of that place was absolute heaven. We’d leave with about 10 or 15 gallons of apple cider that we’d freeze for the rest of the year and a small jar of apple butter.

I want to be able to live in a small place with a backyard facing woods, hills, or water. I want to be able to pay my bills with enough left over for some savings, some fun stuff, and maybe a short vacation once every year or two. I want to go hiking on the weekend and I want to sit on my back porch at night and drink tea while wrapped in a blanket and I want a gaming room with a big window so I can play games late at night looking up at the sky. Why are my dreams so unattainable?