Update for Everyone VII: Insert Something Philosophical Sounding Here

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I was diagnosed with BPD today.

Bipolar or Borderline? Feel free not to answer of course.

I have a couple friends with bipolar and both have got help from Dr. Mary Jane, a local psychiatrist.

The latter. And yeah, that helps sometimes.

To answer PSOL's question: there's no medication for BPD specifically, but I've been on meds for other symptoms most of my life. The only approved treatment is dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), which I might give a try.

I'm bipolar one, so I can't really relay any good information about medication, but feel free to reach out to me if you need to talk about how taxing and terrible the mood swings can be. Or how Gaza is the world's largest concentration camp. Either one works.

[afleitch]

Just seen Jojo Rabbit. Still affected by it after a few hours; amazing film.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Saw 1917 recently. Hit me at a core level. Fantastic film.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Saw 1917 recently. Hit me at a core level. Fantastic film.

Hoping to see it, been too lazy to catch many movies on my list while they were in theaters.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Spring cleaning gonna be a b!tch

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

In my reflections on Friday night, I realize that conversation was enjoyable and organic but that I have no further ambitions there. I had been anticipating far less so it was a pleasant surprise at the time. And yes, Saturday went well so that is coloring my perspective. Supposed to go ice skating next weekend. Still have to either do some verbal maneuvering or ghost-via-indecision (which unfortunately is my likely move as I put off the possibility of difficult conversation) in regards to the first girl. Strange, strange times these are.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

pathetic

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Today I met my first Tom Steyer supporter.

That person... is my mom. 

[Santander]

Today I met my first Tom Steyer supporter.

That person... is my mom. 

LOL, and you said I was out of touch...

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Today I met my first Tom Steyer supporter.

That person... is my mom. 

LOL, and you said I was out of touch...

Quite the contrary, I actually think your views are representative of many people.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

i've been spending most of my time on AAD since late-2015, but I graduated with my Bachelors degree and have moved from Indiana to Sweden for graduate school for (at least) the next 2 years

A little annoyed that I spent over 6 years learning Italian and 5 years of German, but thankfully Swedish isn't too hard to learn. It's just frustrating having to start over from the beginning for the 3rd time

Having a great time though. Everyone is very nice, Stockholm is a very pretty city (not like miserable, industrial Lake County, Indiana) even if it is very expensive and it's starting to get dark and chilly. I was worried that I wouldn't fit in or be able to keep up (academically or socially) at an "elite" school, but the student body is quite diverse and open-minded.

I also joined the Socialdemokraterna on my second day here I canvassed student apartments twice and handed out literature outside metro stations three times for a local candidate. I also attended their election watch party on September 9th.  They invite me to their monthly meetings and are incredibly welcoming. That's a very Atlas thing, I suppose

Been a year and a half, still here. Taking an extra semester to write my thesis, so I will finish in December.

I really enjoy living here. It's a very nice city, I love school (even if academically I am struggling more than is optimal, I am at least passing), I have a big social circle. I work as an accountant in an export-oriented music company, and I get to work in 4-5 languages every day. It's a very stimulating environment with very nice, friendly people. Genuinely enjoy my life for the first time and waking up in the morning, and accordingly have deleted Twitter and AAD, and try to spend more time in the real world, because it's more fun. Most days I genuinely look forward to getting up and going to school and work, and am actually a bit afraid of it being over at the end of this year.

Small complaint is that Swedes are not the easiest to make friends with. They're nice and they're polite, but it's very hard to be accepted as one of them and be genuinely included, despite putting in huge amounts of effort to learn the language, culture, and inviting them to social events. And many other international students (even other Europeans) feel the same way.

Ironically, the vast majority of my friends here are Germans. They seem to have all of the positive attributes of Swedes but aren't cliquish; in fact they are genuinely kind and welcoming. I spent Christmas with two friends in Stuttgart and everyone was just lovely. Since I work closely with our German subsidiary at work, I've decided that I'm going to focus on improving my German primarily and just let my Swedish come naturally from living here. After I graduate, I will start doing those Goethe-Institut summer programs in Germany during vacations, and it has increasingly crossed my mind that I may move to Germany one day.

When I came to Sweden, I thought, "Yeah Germany, cool country, would like to visit one day, should maybe practice my German more", but since then, my opinion of Germany and of Germans has skyrocketed. I don't know why, but I've only had good experiences with them, and can't think of any Germans I have actively disliked (only three people who annoyed me or rubbed me the wrong way). So, maybe that will be the next chapter of my life after Sweden.

But otherwise things are going great and I am trying to spend as much time living in the real world as I can. Unfortunately I am not optimistic about the political situation here or in the U.S. so I am trying to disengage as much as I can from politics while still being basically informed. Still active in the Solna SAP and keeping up with news at home. Will occasionally keep checking in here as I have been for the past 4 years, but otherwise I don't want to be a political junkie anymore.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Very glad to hear things are going well, Clarko. Awesome news on your life abroad, and slightly jealous (though, not my preferred country of relocation)!

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Yesterday, I spent 2+ hours downtown Waterloo alongside my mom going to every campaign office in the county. I already went to Warren's a little while ago, so we didn't go there, but I went hopping across downtown seeing the offices of Yang, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Biden, and Steyer in that order. It's very intriguing listening to people who are so passionate in who they're supporting that they're willing to travel all the way to Iowa from Florida, Rhode Island, or even Greece to help support the candidates that they care about. I also got a whole bunch of stickers and buttons out of it, and even some campaign signs from Klobuchar's people.

Before I get into what I did yesterday, I'll talk briefly about Warren's place. It was really two guys in a room downtown with a giant Iowan flag and a whole bunch of Warren signs. They also had one of those cardboard statue things where you could take a picture with Elizabeth. Me and my mom had a nice and lengthy conversation with them about Warren, her ideas, what it takes to win the presidency, and how we should defeat Trump.

Anyways, the first visit at Yang's office was fairly brief. It was pretty much also just two guys in a room with laptops and Andrew Yang stuff. We talked about Universal Basic Income and what makes a candidate different from another.

Buttigieg was these three women in a giant room with Pete 2020 signs plastered throughout. My mom, who is fairly interested in politics, mentioned this one Chris Hayes pod she was listening to about how to become the president of the United States, and one of the Pete gals went back and forth with her a little about that.

After trekking across downtown finding any other offices, we discovered Klobuchar's office, which was also made up three women. As some of you may know, Amy is currently my first preference, and I had a lot of fun talking to one of the gals there who was REALLY excited about working for her. She made a whole deal about "data, data, data." She apparently majored in mathematics at the University of Northern Iowa. It was fun talking to them. I even gave a little improvised speech and stuff. Very high energy people.

Biden's was probably the most different one of the six I went to. It was actually very close to Klobuchar's place, and so we didn't have to walk far to get there. When we first entered the door, there were about 8 or so people sitting and talking at a table with one guy in the corner of the room taking calls with his air pods. For the first 15 seconds or so of us being there, we were wondering if we were even supposed to be there. Then, a guy and two gals from the table got up and started talking to us. They went on and on and on about his experience, the respect that world leaders and politicians have for him, how he's gone through a lot in his life, his compassion and integrity, and also how he's the only one who actually can beat Trump. The guy asked my mom to honestly tell them who she's thinking about supporting at the caucuses on Monday. She said she was undecided, but leaning towards Warren and Klobuchar, especially as she thinks it would be great having a woman elected on the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment. He then asks why she's thinking about supporting them, and she mentions Warren's several ideas, which was quickly followed up by him smugly replying with "Do you actually think she'll get any of those done?" During the middle of the conversation, the math major I mentioned earlier said that Klobuchar's people were having a massive dinner at their place, but they couldn't eat it all, so they invited the Biden gang to come along. So yeah, expect a Biden/Klobuchar ticket at the convention in Milwaukee this summer.

Finally, and last but not least, we saw Steyer. Unlocking the door for us was this one gentleman who was alone in the building because the rest of the people there were out canvassing. He welcomed us, and sat us down at his desk with a window out facing the Cedar River where we talked about how Tom and Donald are very different, the cool and epic things Steyer has done, and his plans for the country.

Overall, a very fun journey, and I can't wait to be an observer at the caucus this Monday.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

-snip-

No visit to Bernie's office?

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

-snip-

No visit to Bernie's office?

He has an office?

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

-snip-

No visit to Bernie's office?

He has an office?

Why wouldn't he have a campaign office in Iowa?

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

new family suv

So we could not come up with a name for it until today when my dad called it the black mamba in honor of Kobe. I really like that, so now it finally has a name.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

-snip-

No visit to Bernie's office?

He has an office?

Why wouldn't he have a campaign office in Iowa?

Actually, now that you mention it, I did go to a Bernie rally at an old church he's using as his offices. So technically I've been there

[GM Team Member and Deputy PPT WB]

So as I stated in the PAPOY thread, I finally registered to vote yesterday (thursday is the last day if you want to vote in the primary)

Registered!

But I'm gonna go on a mini rant while my pizza is cooking, and later i'll give y'all an update on some other stuff that I feel like I need to talk about.

So, here's a map of Anderson County:



And here's a map of Anderson County with areas you can get registered to vote highlighted in Green:


So if you don't have a car, you're f**ked, basically. Why? Well the answer to that one's pretty obvious, but seriously. If you live in Pendleton (South of Clemson, near the tri-point with Oconee and Pickens), StarrIva (Southern area of the county), Honea Path (far eastern edge), or Powdersville (Far north), then you have to drive around 30 minutes (or more!) to get to voter registration. It's pretty crazy to me.

Now obviously this is meant to hurt voter turnout, especially among those who are poorer (and may not be able to afford a car, or if they can, they work past the BoVR&E closing time) and further away from Anderson. Honea Path is somewhat swingy, Pendleton is too (especially B/C of Clemson), StarrIva is... well, to be honest I'm not sure. I never head down that way. Powdersville is an increasingly diverse and affluent suburb of Greenville.

[GM Team Member and Deputy PPT WB]

A potential family emergency may take over half of my holiday time. My grandfather (on my mom's side, we call him Pop) had a heart attack and choking episode 2 days ago. Apparently, his trach tube (he had throat cancer before I was born thanks to heavy smoking, doctors gave him only months to live back in the 80's) got clogged up with something. He managed to call 911. Seems like his health, both mental and physical, has been deteriorating quickly since then.

I don't have too much of a relationship with him since my mom has cut off a lot of her family. The majority of them are crazy. My aunt killed herself almost 4 years ago now, and my uncle has been doing meth the past couple of months, if not years. He hasn't recovered since opening a gym a few months before the recession and losing nearly everything.

Sorry, went off on a tangent there. Anyway, the last time I saw Pop was 6 years ago. We were on our way to Key West and met up with him at Punta Gorda airport. All I hear about him is how he keeps sending my mom racist sh!t like re:re:re:re:re: OBAMA IS A MUSLIM N****R or some such bs. Anyway, we may have to take a week to go down there. It'll probably be our last chance to see him. Both my parents and I really would rather not do it, but like I said, it's probably our last chance.

so updating on this.

Perhaps this will be tmi but I don't know particularly well what is considered tmi



My uncle stepped up to take care of Pop and has been doing great. Apparently he's laid off the drugs for a while now, so that's good. My parents and I went down there for a week and Pop is doing much better, though he is mostly bedridden.

The problem, however, is my cousin. She's 25 and acts like she's 16. She spent $250  per month on jukebox fees the past few months, and she treats Pop like s!!t despite the fact that she lives with him. (well actually, now she- no, we'll get to that bit later) She's also the daughter of my aunt, who was very much like this as well. Damn near spittin' image of her, too.

My uncle has been going kinda crazy helping Pop solo, and hired a nurse (not a RN but I forget the title), but she's only able to come around maybe 8 hours a day, and taking care of Pop is a 24/7 job. My mom finally decided to go down there two and a half weeks ago (10-17), and stayed for the week. (I paid for the flight, which kinda goes to show how stingy I am with my money)

Now, I won't go into all the details, but here's some highlights from that week:
-when my mom and uncle got home from the airport, Pop's g tube had managed to come out. The balloon holding it in popped or deflated, or something. He was in the hospital the first couple days.

-once they get him back home, the first night he's back, my cousin makes so much noise in the middle of the night that my mom goes into her room to tell her to shut up. She's in there smoking pot with some guy. 2 important things here: my uncle is on probation for drug related stuff, and there's oxygen in the house. I think you can see the big f**king problem here.

-They kicked her out of the house. Mostly my mom convincing Pop to do it. He actually is angrier about the guy in the house than the drugs. When they clean out my cousin's room they find Ecstasy. She never comes back to get most of her stuff, including her car.

My mom comes back, things seem fine until my Uncle, in the complex mess that is taking care of Pop, leaves the cage for 2 of Pop's pitbulls open, and the glass door is cracked. He had to take a phone call from the nurse he hired, and when he turns around the 2 dogs are gone. One was hit by a car and died, and the other was badly injured. My uncle beats himself up over the thing for the whole week.

Last week, one of the nurses (not the one that my uncle hired) laid Pop down on the bed, even though she was specifically told not to. My uncle was running errands at the time so he wasn't able to stop her. Pop damn near choked to death and it took two hours to clear his airways.

And then: the very next day, my cousin returns. Not that she came to the house, but in a fit of complete spite, she managed to cancel my Pop's phone plan. Had she done it the day before, he likely would have died because it was his phone that they used to call for help.

My mom's going back down there on Friday, and will be returning... at some point. Not sure when. She's going to try and get Pop to take my @-hole cousin off the will and give it all to my Uncle and his kids. I don't need anything and I know it, so I'm fine with that.

Oh, and she's going to try and get my @hole cousin arrested too.


Again, idk if this was TMI or something but I felt like talking about it. I feel a little better now just typing it out. I've noticed that a lot, with things that stress me out.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

So as I stated in the PAPOY thread, I finally registered to vote yesterday (thursday is the last day if you want to vote in the primary)

Registered!

But I'm gonna go on a mini rant while my pizza is cooking, and later i'll give y'all an update on some other stuff that I feel like I need to talk about.

So, here's a map of Anderson County:



And here's a map of Anderson County with areas you can get registered to vote highlighted in Green:


So if you don't have a car, you're f**ked, basically. Why? Well the answer to that one's pretty obvious, but seriously. If you live in Pendleton (South of Clemson, near the tri-point with Oconee and Pickens), StarrIva (Southern area of the county), Honea Path (far eastern edge), or Powdersville (Far north), then you have to drive around 30 minutes (or more!) to get to voter registration. It's pretty crazy to me.

Now obviously this is meant to hurt voter turnout, especially among those who are poorer (and may not be able to afford a car, or if they can, they work past the BoVR&E closing time) and further away from Anderson. Honea Path is somewhat swingy, Pendleton is too (especially B/C of Clemson), StarrIva is... well, to be honest I'm not sure. I never head down that way. Powdersville is an increasingly diverse and affluent suburb of Greenville.

Or you could register online or by mail, email, or fax.

https://www.scvotes.org/south-carolina-voter-registration-information

There's also motor voter that lets one register when getting a driver's license or ID card at the DMV.

I don't find it problematic that there's only one place to register in-person per county.

[Former President tack50]

Having taken a lot of flights over the past 6 months I kinda felt like an off-brand Santander lol. This period comes to an end very soon though.

Also I guess Greta Thunberg would be disappointed

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

A potential family emergency may take over half of my holiday time. My grandfather (on my mom's side, we call him Pop) had a heart attack and choking episode 2 days ago. Apparently, his trach tube (he had throat cancer before I was born thanks to heavy smoking, doctors gave him only months to live back in the 80's) got clogged up with something. He managed to call 911. Seems like his health, both mental and physical, has been deteriorating quickly since then.

I don't have too much of a relationship with him since my mom has cut off a lot of her family. The majority of them are crazy. My aunt killed herself almost 4 years ago now, and my uncle has been doing meth the past couple of months, if not years. He hasn't recovered since opening a gym a few months before the recession and losing nearly everything.

Sorry, went off on a tangent there. Anyway, the last time I saw Pop was 6 years ago. We were on our way to Key West and met up with him at Punta Gorda airport. All I hear about him is how he keeps sending my mom racist sh!t like re:re:re:re:re: OBAMA IS A MUSLIM N****R or some such bs. Anyway, we may have to take a week to go down there. It'll probably be our last chance to see him. Both my parents and I really would rather not do it, but like I said, it's probably our last chance.

so updating on this.

Perhaps this will be tmi but I don't know particularly well what is considered tmi



My uncle stepped up to take care of Pop and has been doing great. Apparently he's laid off the drugs for a while now, so that's good. My parents and I went down there for a week and Pop is doing much better, though he is mostly bedridden.

The problem, however, is my cousin. She's 25 and acts like she's 16. She spent $250  per month on jukebox fees the past few months, and she treats Pop like s!!t despite the fact that she lives with him. (well actually, now she- no, we'll get to that bit later) She's also the daughter of my aunt, who was very much like this as well. Damn near spittin' image of her, too.

My uncle has been going kinda crazy helping Pop solo, and hired a nurse (not a RN but I forget the title), but she's only able to come around maybe 8 hours a day, and taking care of Pop is a 24/7 job. My mom finally decided to go down there two and a half weeks ago (10-17), and stayed for the week. (I paid for the flight, which kinda goes to show how stingy I am with my money)

Now, I won't go into all the details, but here's some highlights from that week:
-when my mom and uncle got home from the airport, Pop's g tube had managed to come out. The balloon holding it in popped or deflated, or something. He was in the hospital the first couple days.

-once they get him back home, the first night he's back, my cousin makes so much noise in the middle of the night that my mom goes into her room to tell her to shut up. She's in there smoking pot with some guy. 2 important things here: my uncle is on probation for drug related stuff, and there's oxygen in the house. I think you can see the big f**king problem here.

-They kicked her out of the house. Mostly my mom convincing Pop to do it. He actually is angrier about the guy in the house than the drugs. When they clean out my cousin's room they find Ecstasy. She never comes back to get most of her stuff, including her car.

My mom comes back, things seem fine until my Uncle, in the complex mess that is taking care of Pop, leaves the cage for 2 of Pop's pitbulls open, and the glass door is cracked. He had to take a phone call from the nurse he hired, and when he turns around the 2 dogs are gone. One was hit by a car and died, and the other was badly injured. My uncle beats himself up over the thing for the whole week.

Last week, one of the nurses (not the one that my uncle hired) laid Pop down on the bed, even though she was specifically told not to. My uncle was running errands at the time so he wasn't able to stop her. Pop damn near choked to death and it took two hours to clear his airways.

And then: the very next day, my cousin returns. Not that she came to the house, but in a fit of complete spite, she managed to cancel my Pop's phone plan. Had she done it the day before, he likely would have died because it was his phone that they used to call for help.

My mom's going back down there on Friday, and will be returning... at some point. Not sure when. She's going to try and get Pop to take my @-hole cousin off the will and give it all to my Uncle and his kids. I don't need anything and I know it, so I'm fine with that.

Oh, and she's going to try and get my @hole cousin arrested too.


Again, idk if this was TMI or something but I felt like talking about it. I feel a little better now just typing it out. I've noticed that a lot, with things that stress me out.

I can relate to a lot of this. I’m sending prayers up for your Pop. Hopefully you can see him one last time.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

So school got canceled today (29 Jan) because someone threatened to bomb several schools in my district.

Welcome to America, where this wasn't even the first time in my high school career where I got a day of school off because someone threatened to bomb it or shoot it up.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

>most dads: goodnight son I love you

>my dad: you are more conservative than your 65 year old dad, shame on you *walks away*