Update for Everyone VI: What Is and What Should Never Be

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I had a decent to good week.

1. Program at work was pretty solid. Had fun and got a lot done.
2. I slept like a baby when I got home on friday afternoon.
3. My sports teams did lots of sportsing and winning yesterday
4. I met fhtagn yesterday (only the second atlasian Ive met)
5. I was drunk

I just saw this. Aw yissss.

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I have a boyfriend now

Congrats on the boyfriend!

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In 6 hours I leave for the airport to fly to Green Bay to meet my girlfriend. We’ve been together for several months now and we finally get to meet in person. I’m pretty anxious about it, but also very excited that I get to spend a week with the person who makes me so damn happy.

That's so exciting! Best of luck to both of you!

[fhtagn]

I just got home from my trip. Flew from Jacksonville to O’Hare then Green Bay, spent a few days in Green Bay in a hotel with my girlfriend, then went to Washington Island in Door County where she lives. I was supposed to leave for the airport Tuesday morning, but the wind storm was awful and shut down the ferry, which is the only way on and off the island. So, I decided to stay a while longer and got greyhound bus tickets for Saturday. Spent since 11am CST in bus stations and on buses going from Green Bay back home to the Jacksonville area. It was cool seeing all of that part of the country and meeting lots of different people. I got to see Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta, along with all the scenery along the highways in between.

Anyway, for those interested, it went amazing with my girlfriend, whom I met online in August. We hit it off so well and I truly, truly love this girl. We’re so eager to work out a way to live together as soon as possible that’s reasonable and realistic since neither of us are rich people. But, I love her and she loves me, so we’ll find a way. It was an amazing experience being with her and an interesting trip across that part of the country.

And here’s a picture of us at Green Bay’s Garden of Lights...

so glad to hear it went well! and so exciting to get to have that experience on top of that!

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Our dog Roby (on the left), after a rough house session with his good buddy Brioche who lives down the street.

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I came to accept my boar is just plus-sized by nature

I believe the best term for it is "more to love".

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Some good Christmas news: some of my family members in Puerto Rico were finally cleared by FEMA inspectors to be able to go back to their homes!

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Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,
Me and my dog, Sebastian.

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ayyyy 1st day of the year and im already pissed. #soblessed #soangry

ignore this. drunk me was being dumb.

very hungover rn.

no shame friend.

i post here stoned all the time even though it's pretty hard to notice most of the time

Same. I always act like I'm stoned though, so there's no difference.

I used to post drunk or stoned quite often. Something I think most adults on here are comfortable admitting

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ayyyy 1st day of the year and im already pissed. #soblessed #soangry

ignore this. drunk me was being dumb.

very hungover rn.

no shame friend.

i post here stoned all the time even though it's pretty hard to notice most of the time

Same. I always act like I'm stoned though, so there's no difference.

I used to post drunk or stoned quite often. Something I think most adults on here are comfortable admitting

Really, the difference between sober me and drunk/stoned/high me is pretty minuscule. I almost always act like a brain-dead fool  in real life.

That explains a lot

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My 11 year old dog's been having shortness of breath for about the past month. My mom and I are supposed to be taking him to the vet today, but the possibility that this may be it is scaring me.

So sorry to hear about your dog

Best wishes for good news at the vet today!

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Came home last night to a leaking ceiling and a flooded bathroom thanks to people being reckless while working in the upstairs unit. Bad news: most of my bathroom ceiling is pretty damaged and will have to be replaced, which will take a while to get a contractor out and do. Good news: the leak was stopped and I won't have to pay anything to fix it since it wasn't my fault.

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Hey, everyone, I think I'm going to (permanently) leave the forum. I had a great time here, and I wish everyone the best in their future endeavors. Sorry for all my unfinished business, TL, etc. Some stuff has come up in my life and I think I need a major change in order to address it. I can no longer afford the luxury of spending time on here.

So long, and thanks for all the memories, friends!

You will be sorely missed. Best of luck with all you have going on IRL, and I really hope we get the chance to see you come back someday.

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Given how crazy this semester is going, I'm going to have to cut out this place for a while. At least a month. Unless I lose my job...and even then...

Hopefully once things are a bit more balanced out, I can return. But right now, Atlas is a distraction, and besides this shutdown that just ended, there really isn't that much going on.

Old habits die hard, but I've got to at least try for a month.

Cheers,
  LDS

P.S. I don't use this font unless it is serious. So yeah, I'm out for now.

We'll miss you

Best of luck with everything you have going on!

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So, being a kid who was born from a teenage mother, my grandparents played a very crucial role in my upbringing. Even after leaving Alaska, I still spent my summers with them, and saw my grandma over the holidays. We would speak somewhat regularly over the phone, especially on nights where I got off work late and wanted someone to talk to on my long commute home. Well, over the years, my grandma has been having issues with her memory, mostly small things she forgets here and there, or forgetting conversations she just had. Several months ago, I learned she was finally diagnosed with Alzheimer's and had even forgotten who one of my cousins was, and while it was hard news to take, I was still able to speak with her, our conversations sometimes became very repetitive. I knew things would get worse, but didn't expect to see how much worse how soon. After getting off work tonight, I gave her a call to check up on her and see how she's going. But this time was different. She didn't recognize my voice. She couldn't understand who she was speaking to. And I feel so silly for getting so upset by this because I knew it could happen eventually, but it feels like my heart has been ripped out of my chest.

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Facebook reminded me of my old isidewith results from when I took it on March 10th, 2016.

Here are some of the side by side results for comparison between then and when I recently retook it:

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With my life finally starting to come back together, I decided to return to the forum.

welcome back

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Today was basically a really long reminder that I'm old.

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Actual conversation that happened today with a customer at work:

Customer: Do you speak Spanish?

Me: No, sorry, was there something I could help you with?

Cust.: Are you Mexican?

Me: No. Puerto Rican.

Cust.: Both your parents?

Me: No, just my dad. My mom is from Alaska.

Cust.: Oh, you looked like you have some Chinese or something.
*brings up hands to make slanty eyed motion with her eyes*

Me: My mom is Eskimo.

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Actual conversation that happened today with a customer at work:

Customer: Do you speak Spanish?

Me: No, sorry, was there something I could help you with?

Cust.: Are you Mexican?

Me: No. Puerto Rican.

Cust.: Both your parents?

Me: No, just my dad. My mom is from Alaska.

Cust.: Oh, you looked like you have some Chinese or something.
*brings up hands to make slanty eyed motion with her eyes*

Me: My mom is Eskimo.

Jesus.

How old did they look, out of curiosity?

It was a middle aged (or at least she looked middle aged, like late 40s if I had to guess) Hispanic lady.

[fhtagn]

Actual conversation that happened today with a customer at work:

Customer: Do you speak Spanish?

Me: No, sorry, was there something I could help you with?

Cust.: Are you Mexican?

Me: No. Puerto Rican.

Cust.: Both your parents?

Me: No, just my dad. My mom is from Alaska.

Cust.: Oh, you looked like you have some Chinese or something.
*brings up hands to make slanty eyed motion with her eyes*

Me: My mom is Eskimo.

Jesus.

How old did they look, out of curiosity?

It was a middle aged (or at least she looked middle aged, like late 40s if I had to guess) Hispanic lady.

Racist Pet Shoppers.

At least her Schnauzer was nice.

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My paternal grandmother, who is my last living grandparent, went to the doctor, and they discovered a fast-growing, potentially cancerous growth in one of her lungs. Her overall well-being has gone downhill; she's lost weight, she barely eats, has trouble breathing and even her memory is starting to fade. Your thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated.

I'm so sorry, you and your family are in my thoughts

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I joined the big 6-0 club today, but in a fairly laid back fashion. I mowed the lawn, answered email, and enjoyed the evening with my church choir as they sang and served cake. I got just a couple of presents, but they were pretty cool. My kids got me a lightweight, heavy-duty camera tripod for my travels. My wife got me a bottle of premiere cru grande champagne Pierre Ferrand cognac (delicious and oh so smooth).

But the unintentional surprise birthday gift came during my call from mom. As we talked about my childhood she mentioned the train trip we took from Dallas to Chicago in 1962. After the call I found an old timetable online and sure enough there were 17 counties I hadn't counted as having traveled through. Seeing as I have a goal to reach 2000 counties this year, my task just got much easier.

Happy Birthday!

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Update on my grandmother:

Turns out her cancer is much more aggressive than previously thought by her doctors, and it's spread throughout much of her body. Doctors now give her between a few days and weeks to live. This has come as a total shock to my whole family, and again, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I'm so sorry to hear

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This afternoon, at around 4:30, our family made the decision to take my grandmother Betsy off of life support. Alongside her cancer, she also had a serious blood infection which caused most of her organs to fail. After removing life support, she continued to breathe and have a pulse for another hour and then slipped away. She was surrounded by friends and family, felt no pain when she passed, and went out the way she would have wanted - quiet and dignified. I'll miss her; she was truly a force of nature. Please keep my family in your prayers.

Sad to hear. Prayers + condolences to you and family.