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.

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)

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.

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.

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 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?

I did google it, and found a bunch of articles about dual booting with windows 7. I didn’t know if it was still possible or if it would be smart to try for someone with no experience with Linux, so I thought I’d come to a sub where there are tons of people who use Linux daily and could give me some advice about whether I should try it or not. Thanks for the input :)

Thanks! I’ve been interested in Linux for awhile now. I don’t plan on sharing files between the two OSes, and I’m religious about my backups. If I don’t have at least 3 or 4 backups I don’t consider my data backed up :)

You sound like a good person. I hope you get out of the motel and into stable housing soon!

Hes been depressed for years. Kept saying its not me, and I kept asking how I could help and he kept telling me nothing. He’s been working with changing his meds around and just hit a new combo less than 2 months ago that he admitted has made him completely numb and because of that/on top of that he’s been drinking more after almost stopping alcohol. Won’t talk about maybe that being an issue, nope, it’s me, I gotto go. (He literally wont talk to me at all. We’ve had one text conversation since all this happened where he basically told me to fuck off and that his mind is made up). He was supposed to go to therapy recently for his depression but he changed his mind. I’m laughing because there’s that sexist joke “men will literally do anything but go to therapy” yeah well he literally just fucked up my life rather than go to therapy and have to deal with his feelings. He claims this isn’t my fault and there’s nothing I could have done differently but also that “I should have known” that he was depressed and of course going to leave me like this. I’ve been depressed my entire life and I’d never do this, so stop lying and just tell me the truth.

Thank you for your kind words. I’m still completely in shock and just trying to process the entire thing. I’ve cried more in the last week than I have in my entire life. Up until a week ago I would have said he was literally the best husband I ever could have dreamed of.

About a month ago I was at the gas station filling up my 24 year old clunker when a homeless guy came up and asked if I would give him enough money for a coffee. I was going to lie and say I didn’t have cash on me, but it occurred to me that I’m one bad day from being in his shoes every moment, so I checked the emergency stash I kept in my car and on impulse just gave him the whole pile of it. Idk how much it was, not a ton, but a handful of ones and maybe a $5 or a $10. And yeah, a week ago, that bad day happened. My husband dumped me via text message, and now I’m very, very close to homelessness in the next few weeks or months if I can’t find a place to go soon. It’s not always drugs, or addiction, or laziness. Sometimes it’s making what look like good decisions and just getting fucked over.

I dream of being in New Zealand or a Nordic country, but I’m a broke American loser who’s too poor to even go visit those countries, and so they don’t even want me there in the first place. I will keep dreaming, and die with my dreams unfulfilled. Maybe next life.

Im a broke woman with chronic health problems in a red state who may be homeless soon and who sure as hell can’t afford to leave and go somewhere better. I guess I’ll just keep trudging along and hope that somehow we’re all being hysterical and things won’t actually get that bad but if they do and if I lose what little social assistance I have I guess I’ll just tap out and call it a life, ya know?

Crying and trying to work on school