Lennnny

Lennnny, 6 months ago

It’s so true.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Being an immigrant I’ll likely have my plans made for me.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Put 3 frozen chicken breasts in the instant pot, add 1 cup chicken stock, sachet of taco seasoning, half a cup of salsa, and a tin of kidney beans, pressure cook for 17 mins, break up the chicken and mix back in, serve with sour cream and grated cheese. Amazing.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Cookies! He’s not interested in salmon, ham, cheese, tuna, or any of the usual things. But you have a chocolate chip cookie and he’s in your face until you give him some. He’s not allowed the chocolate, and I don’t think that’s what he wants, he just loves the sweet beige American diet.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

I am at one and it’s incredibly toxic. I got diagnosed with generalized anxiety after a year here and I regularly have mood swings. But the money is good and I work from home, so I’ve got that going for me.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Thanks friend, some wise words there.

The main toxic boss got ‘laid off’ shortly after I brought up the issues with management, so things have improved since then. And Zoloft made me realize I had an underlying issue with a lot of things, so I guess it was the push I needed.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

When I moved from the UK to the US I left a fairly nice job paying £30k a year (this was back in the 2000s) and had to start again from the bottom. I earned $6 an hour, and my then bf and I sublet an apartment for $600 p/m (he was on a grad school salary that worked out to $9 an hour). We bought discount food items and everything was thrifted, we didn’t save anything, and we went nowhere and did nothing. I have a memory of us buying a sandwich from the gas station as a treat and making it last all weekend (tbf it was like a footlong sub).

Fast forward to now, we have a combined income that puts us in the top 10% of the country. We own a house, luckily got in before prices went insane, so our mortgage is actually less than our sublet was (adjusted for inflation). We still thrift and buy reduced meats from the supermarket, we travel more but because our jobs pay for it, we do eat out a lot more but I still cook most weeknights.

We’re better off now by a long shot, but we’re still careful with our money, and have crafted some neat tricks to make sure we don’t spend beyond our means. If we bought all the new clothes, groceries, cars, and vacations like the movies suggest is normal for a middle class couple, we’d go broke quickly. Also, having zero kids helps massively.

Sometimes I look at what we’ve achieved and what our net income is, and it’s wild to me that people survive on less. Sure, we enjoy things now vs. sticking to essentials at all times, but it’s wild that people are expected to live an entire life just getting by on the basics. What’s the point of having community, taxes, and law if you still live paycheck to paycheck, surviving just to work and sleep?

Lennnny, 6 months ago

I’m in my fourth decade on this planet and I’m still haunted by that shitty movie.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Bright colors! I will often be drawn towards the clothing section for kids because the patterns, colors, and styles are so much more fun!

And riding on trains. As a Brit living in the US, I miss train commuting a lot. Just sitting there watching the world whizz by, and for 4 minutes you’re basically in a group with all the people in your carriage, like you’re in school again, only this time it’s like the Class of 19:07 to Woking.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Same same. Dental hygiene and face care routine is a must twice a day, but other than that I can go a couple of days without a shower. I’ll be the first to admit I can get a little stanky, but there are no other people around to witness it. I think the issue with these unwashed people OP mentioned is their willingness to enter the public domain at peak stank, and their inability to notice it themselves.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Go vols!

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Thrift stores out of season. Look for your winter jacket in June, you’ll get the nicer brands, and most thrift stores will do some kind of rotating discount on certain colored tags. Most ‘dry clean only’ items can indeed be machine washed on gentle.

Preserved and frozen meats and fish can be made into fantastic recipes. We do salsa chicken straight from frozen in the instant pot, and I make a killer pasta with tinned sardines and breadcrumbs. The benefit of these is that you can buy them on sale and don’t have to worry about cooking them quickly to avoid spoiling.

Drugstore makeup can be just as good as expensive stuff. Aldi moisturizers are incredible and $4 a pot. I splash out on super expensive shampoo and conditioner, so I don’t have reccs there, but my husband swears by Aldi’s black and white bottle stuff.

And this tip is a little wild, but learning to forage can be immense. There is so much free edible food around you, from flowers and leaves that make delicious tea (passiflora flowers), weeds that can substitute salad greens (lambs quarters, kudzu, and wood sorrel), to absolutely delicious fruit that you couldn’t even buy if you wanted to (pawpaws!). Use the golden rules of having three different ways to identify it (three sources, don’t just use photo ID apps, learn the description, not just the visuals) and also know the sickly lookalikes, and never forage for carrots or parsley.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

It’s incredibly hard to tell the difference between wild carrots and poison hemlock.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

I am remote and run my department (it’s just me). There are some customer facing things but I have clients in all different timezones so it actually works out well. I typically clock on at 10am, take a long lunch, and often do a few more hours in the evening if clients need me.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Mangoes smell like armpits.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Amen!

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Same! I planted a lot of seeds around my yard thinking they’d somehow be hard to grow, and every single one of them germinated. I think I have like sixteen saplings (three of them are Peterson ones that we bought from a grafter).

Lennnny, 6 months ago

You’re not the first person to say that.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

A nice, somewhat mid tier soap or moisturizer gift set. Make sure it’s specific enough like face cream so it’s clearly a self care or treat yo self thing, vs a “you smell thing”, trick is to add a note letting her know she matters and deserves some me time.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Chatgpt suggested: “I wanted to share a little something to lift your spirits. Remember, it’s okay to take a moment for yourself – you more than deserve it. Know that you’re appreciated and never alone in this.”

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Robert Dyas?

Lennnny, 6 months ago

My husband is very happy, but he also dies (in his video game)

Lennnny, 6 months ago

Salsa chicken in the instapot. Frozen chicken, taco seasoning, jar salsa, chicken stock, black beans. Yum.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

The pint of ice cream in my freezer that I take tiny bowlfuls of on occasional evenings. After all, I deserved it.

Lennnny, 6 months ago

I saw a toddler eating a banana and it bit its own thumb and then did an angry cry

Lennnny, 6 months ago

First aid! I did a four day course many years ago and I still use the training in so many things. The final day we had to navigate a bus crash scenario and the part that stuck with me was the taking ownership and delegating roles when other people might be scared to act. I think it really instilled in me an ability to turn panic into action, and you can use the triage playbook in so many ways.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

You reminded me of the Hackers soundtrack

Lennnny, 7 months ago

Dark bedroom, cats are put to bed downstairs (they chew feet so they can’t stay in the room with us), I put on some chill indie coffee house playlist and light some nag champa incense, and then I just lay there, staring at the ceiling. I don’t reflect on the past or ponder on the future, I just listen to the music, the distant trains and traffic, the rain, the wind, the leaves falling on the metal roof.

It’s my perfect beautifully braindead time. I can’t wait for legalization in our state, that’s the only missing component.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

It’s lonely and asking for attention. Maybe you need to spend more time with it.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

You just described my weekends.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

Highly recommend Tozo brand for cheap but effective.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

Oh snap I need this

Lennnny, 7 months ago

Tozo wireless earbuds (noise cancelling!).
Airfly pro - a little widget that allows you to Bluetooth from the seat back entertainment system on planes.
A fold up kettle.
Nanobags.

I travel a lot. These things are crucial.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

Reusable bags that fit into a tiny pouch and fit in your pocket. I use mine for everything and they’re great for laundry on trips!

Lennnny, 7 months ago

Useful in survival situations

Lennnny, 7 months ago

She did. Just a little bit because too much makes her shart, but a crumb or two never hurts.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

It was the orange that gave it away, huh?

Lennnny, 7 months ago

He looks just like my cat, who we named Snuggles. Snuggles turned out to be a complete (lovable) menace, who does not like to snuggle, and has very sharp claws and a very short fuse. So as yours is lovely, I recommend the name “Menace” for him to balance the universe.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

I’ve never understood why driverless cars are the solution everyone is obsessed with. Surely better train and bus networks would solve the issue, and then add some bike lanes (golf cart compatible for those with accessibility needs) and you’d also tackle the obesity crisis. But no, I guess that’s just not quite enough ‘convenience’ for people.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

What are we supposed to do? We can’t cycle on the sidewalk, and if we get closer to the curb, it gives many drivers the false impression that they can overtake without crossing into the other lane, not to mention all the potholes, drains, and trash that we then have to cycle over.

It seems like a dick move, but I promise you that most cyclists are purposefully being in your way to make sure you notice, slow down, and give us space. We’re just as unhappy about being around your car as you are to see us. We’d happily fuck the fuck off to our own little lane if someone gave us one.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

Those little bastards are absolute workhorses! I still have my clip from my college days. I somehow installed a mod to it that makes a little cassette tape animation when you play music, which always made me happy.

Lennnny, 7 months ago

Just went to Rome, someone tried to pickpocket me.

Lennnny, 8 months ago

Red Leicester and missionary.

Lennnny, 8 months ago

Oh

Lennnny, 8 months ago

Nah it’s really bad at labeled diagrams. It knows what words to put on, and now to make it look good, but it doesn’t know how to actually map things well.

Here’s an image with the prompt “old lady’s bungalow”

Lennnny, 8 months ago

Buthoh