As soon as the consequences become apparent interest in project 2025 is going to drop off a cliff.

I want to believe

This could be any advertisement for drivers in south Florida. Where turn signals are pretty decorative lights you use for fun, where traffic lights and solid lines on the road are simply suggestions.

But how can I show my face around my “friends” if my number isn’t higher than theirs? I’d be the laughing stock of the country club!

Ugh, this is so true. My mom started going to therapy in 2020 (after her own mom died of Covid), and she’s been keeping it a secret from my dad all this time. When I lived with them, my mom would schedule telehealth calls for when my dad was out of the house and asked me to let her know if he was coming home early.

Honestly, my dad’s a smart guy and I don’t doubt he’d be understanding of therapy if she talked to him about it - I never got any “anti-therapy” messages from him. But my mom’s anxiety is deep-set from her childhood, and although I would handle the situation differently with my own partners, I’m at least glad she’s talking to a professional.

I’ve had telehealth appointments in the car because I’m using a break from work to make the appointment. It’s bizarre that our society expects us to work 9-5, but also expects us to somehow get every necessary appointment done within that same time frame. I’m not given enough time off to run home and come back, so an appointment in the car it is.

But your point stands true. My boyfriend has a telehealth call every weekend. Our tiny apartment doesn’t offer much privacy, so he gets the living room (where the computer is) while I either stay in the bedroom, or go out somewhere for an hour to give him space.

You realize that OP lives in India, right? They should be allowed to use whatever words they think describes their situation, without “Westerners” telling them they’re wrong.

Eh, our tastes change with age. I remember as a teen thinking chest hair on men was icky, but in my 20s I began to love it.

It sounds like you successfully matured, and now you may reap the benefits of Xena’s sexy nature.

It’s just that they are fundamentally society encourages/discourages different emotions that they allow to control them

You may have been the boy made fun of for crying, who only got respect by reacting aggressively. Or you’ve been the angry girl who repeatedly got told, “you’re so cute when you’re mad,” but whose bullies went silent once tears started to fall. Either way, the same emotions happen for all of us. It’s just that as we grow up, boys are socially conditioned to respond with anger while girls are socially conditioned to respond with sadness, and we’re each expected to suppress the opposite emotion.

This dichotomy is not fundamental to the sexes in the slightest.

Almost all retail is a waste of time now.

I tried to go shoe shopping last week. I went into a shoe store and was dismayed that I couldn’t find what materials any of the shoes were made from. Until now, I’d always seen a tag somewhere on every shoe that would say something like, “All man made materials,” or “Leather upper.” But this time, nothing I saw had any indication of what they were made of… and that troubled me.

So after meticulously studying a shoe, reading everything written on it, I asked an employee about it. I wanted her to see if the box (which wasn’t on the display) had more information.

Instead she took the shoe, pulled up the same label I just read (which only indicated where the shoe had been made), and lazily read the tag back to me before handing it back.

I responded, “Yes, I know,” and held back from saying what I REALLY wanted to say, which was, “Yes, I know how to read.”

Utterly useless. She claimed there was no other information even on the box (without going to look.) I put the shoe back and left, resolved to just buy something online.

Now that is a masterful sterile technique. You must teach us more of your ways.

Ahh, that old trope caused such problems in my youth. Some guys see a girl that matches what they think of as a “manic pixie dreamgirl” and put her on a high pedestal. But the moment she reveals that she’s an actual human with imperfections, they act like she somehow betrayed them.

Remember - it’s not your fault if someone else decides to apply a 2-dimensional caricature to your complex, multi-dimensional personality. It doesn’t mean you did anything wrong, but it does mean whoever thought that way about you never truly understood you (and may not have matured enough, if they still expect real people to be perfect tropes.)

When I worked in a nursing home, there absolutely were residents who tried to sneak off together. I don’t know if any sex actually happened (I doubt it, since these people needed assistance getting out of their wheelchairs), but people definitely got touchy-feely when they could.

There was a triad in one of the units. A quiet man, who rarely spoke and mostly chilled out by himself, managed to get two girlfriends. Sometimes they’d sit together and he’d hold each of their hands at the same time. The women would sometimes sneak a quick reach for other parts of his body, as he sat there with this big smile on his face.

I figured it was none of my business, and I guess the rest of the staff felt the same way. They were all consenting and they kept their clothes on, so if granny can cop a quick feel, who are we to judge? I was just glad they had found a way to be happy while living in such a depressing place.

Trying to find a place to live where the rent won’t take over 50% of my income. I work full time teaching disabled children, and after successfully negotiating for a raise, I make over $10 more per hour than my state’s minimum wage.

Yet for some reason, everyone takes issue when I say I’m ready to just move into my car. I’ve lived in a vehicle before, it’s not fun or easy, but it’s a roof I already own, and from the rent prices I see, that’s the best chance I’ve got to be guaranteed shelter.

Land of the free. We’re all just volleyballs for different police forces to bounce around now.

I second Dr Mario. When I first went off to kindergarten, my mom and little brother would play Dr Mario together. It’s perfect for that age range, simple to play and control, with an option for two-player mode.

Wow, great catch! Thank you for the updated information.

Of course, but 1 is the loneliest number.

Oh yes, those experiences made me download a white noise app!

Ah yes, Hank Scorpio, the murderous, supervillain boss who earns his employees’ respect by treating and paying them incredibly well.

If only all evil businessmen would aspire to be more like him!

For sleep, I have to break all of the “rules.” Have something to concentrate on like a game, video, or book until I feel like I’m “ready.” (Like dropping the phone or controller.)

I am exactly the same. I do switch gears, though. I have to stop using Lemmy when I get into bed - it’s too engaging. Instead I find some Wikipedia page that beckons imagery that I can use to fall asleep to, like reading about Roman aqueducts, or types of ocean waves.

I don’t do music for sleeping, but I do need white noise, usually provided by a fan (or at this time of year, by the window air conditioning unit.) Some of the hardest nights I’ve had were on road trips, staying in a motel where the AC or heat doesn’t run continuously and everything else is dead silent.