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

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I've been having heartburn nightly at this rate. I hope I don't have an ulcer or something stupid.

When I left high school for college, Obama was running for reelection. I've had a lot of misadventures in college - I've always been a commuter student, I suffered from clinical depression from the beginning that was unmedicated for 2.5 years. When I went to an LGBT social club, I just sat through people presenting slideshows on how there are 30 genders or whatever, my strongest emotion being intimidated at the man talking about how he secretly had HIV and if anyone told anyone bad things would happen. The overenthusiastic moderator also threatened violence against anyone who would cause trouble for the LGBT community. I didn't make a single friend there. At the other social club, a generic meet new people club, I met one guy who aspired to work as part of a kitchen staff on a cruise ship. I paid way too much money to try his nachos made at a on-campus restaurant in the seediest dorm on campus. He either didn't do them well or didn't have good ingredients to work with. He left for culinary school and I never saw him again.

At one point in college I was taking some electives to "find myself" (I know now this was dumb) and I took a class on Biomaterials. It was a senior level class that I knew pretty quickly I would never have a chance at passing, but I wasn't able to drop it because I thought that if I dropped the class I would lose all fiscal aid. The college advisors implied this would happen. Nobody really gave me any advice either way. The professor barely spoke English - she saw me for who I was, a lost underclassmen who wasn't worth wasting time even acknowledging, and dutifully failed me as part of her paperwork.

By the last semester at university, which of course is not the college I go to now, my depression was so bad I was completely set up to fail. I tried a last ditch effort to make a friend at college, a transgender girl I met on the internet. We talked a bit then left. I tried to arrange another hangout, but she wasn't interested. Fair enough.

My weirdest story came from this doomed semester. One gray day, I decided that because we have no money and my grades weren't great I needed to limit my diet. So I walked several blocs through the dingy road leading into Akron's east side at went to the local grocery to buy apple sauce. I bought a big bottle of apple sauce, which I decided was the only food I needed. It was the holiest of holy foods.

I am very interested in where this is going.

hope your heartburn gets sorted out.  It's rough to have to deal with that, I know from experience.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

snip

I am very interested in where this is going.

hope your heartburn gets sorted out.  It's rough to have to deal with that, I know from experience.

It's better now, but I need to watch what I eat. No more super-spicy chili.

That's just being alive, not living. I'd rather they just euthanize me.

Thankfully bagelman and I don't live in Florida so even without spicy chili life is still worth living.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Went to GeekFest today. I have come to the conclusion that T- Mobile is a cult.

did they sponsor it or something?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Went to GeekFest today. I have come to the conclusion that T- Mobile is a cult.

did they sponsor it or something?

Maybe. All I know is that there was a traveling T-Mobile store, the crowd was chanting "T-Mobile"... I know one guy kept beatboxing.

Ugh.   Most Greek festivals I'm aware of are held at churches, and so are able to a decent job keeping away any commercialism that is too distracting or off-theme.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Went to GeekFest today. I have come to the conclusion that T- Mobile is a cult.

did they sponsor it or something?

Maybe. All I know is that there was a traveling T-Mobile store, the crowd was chanting "T-Mobile"... I know one guy kept beatboxing.

Ugh.   Most Greek festivals I'm aware of are held at churches, and so are able to a decent job keeping away any commercialism that is too distracting or off-theme.

It was a geek fest, not a Greek one, so...

lol I did not realize that was a thing!

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I've been feeling rather Aladeen recently.

as in the guy with the lamp and the genie?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Lost my mother in early November.  She was almost 94, so this was expected, and she had a wonderful and long life.  Still, she suffered a lot of agony and pain in the final two weeks, which was terribly difficult to watch and be able to do so little about.

Otherwise, have been living in the Netherlands for almost six months now and am enjoying my new home very much.  My new job isn't exactly what I had expected, but still far, far better than the torture chamber that my last job had become.  I think age is starting to finally mellow me out a lot more, which is a long-overdue development.

Sorry about your mom, anvi.  Even with a good long life it can't be easy to lose her like that.

Good to hear you are doing well in your new home and job.  Still teaching?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

This guy who bullied me endlessly in third grade because I refused to convert to Catholicism just followed me on Instagram. I'm waffling over whether I should roast him or forgive him.

You know how to hold a grudge.

This sounds like a well-deserved grudge.

Yep. On top of making me really cynical about religion, I can trace a lot of my discomfort with social situations to that period.

That does not sound like a healthy grudge to hold onto.  Seems like a lot of power over yourself to give to someone who was a kid at the time.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Two stray dogs just got into our house while we were gone(opened unlocked back door with their mouth) and killed one of our cats in the dining room. For the religious ones, please pray for me.dp

will do. i'm so sorry to hear that, that must have been quite a shock

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Just got released from the hospital after being admitted with a Blood Oxygen level of 16 and couldn't breath, got diagnosed with severe upper respiratory infection and required to take a nebulizer and steroids.

Wow. I'm sick and have to take a medicine on an empty stomach and not eat for 4 hours. Now my team just traded my favorite player. Didn't think my day could get any worse. Great!

I hope the both of you feel better!

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I've been trying to get my insurance to cover my medication. After three weeks of trying to sort this out, I finally find out from them they will cover the generic version, but then according to my pharmacist no one makes the generic version anymore and it's only available in the name brand. -_-

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

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.

That must be a hard thing, nothing silly about getting upset about it.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

im not too good

-im stupid
-only do bad things
-i hate myself
-im going to hell
-my parents knew i was worthless
-i think strangers sneak in my house and put poison in my food or meningitis/HIV infected needles in my furniture so I'll cut myself and die.

idk what else

at least one of these probably isn't true.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

We've had some very severe weather this evening. It looks like at least part of my college has been destroyed. The town looks like it was hit by 2-3 tornadoes. Still unsure about the extent of the damage.

ugh sorry to hear that. hope everyone's ok.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I am being crushed under a mountain of sleep debt. I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't sleep. It's like my brain forgot how to turn itself off at night. I'm going to lose my mind if this keeps happening.

I'm a pretty bad sleeper myself.   Some of my friends like Melatonin, but it gives me messed up dreams, LOL.

last night I dreamt there was pink neoliberalism all over the floor.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Spoke to my doctor again today about my surgery, he says since it's not a major one and localized, he will put me on conscious sedation, meaning I do not have to be put to sleep for it and will be awake during it just heavily sedated, it eased me up a lot about the surgery now.

That's good.  Sometimes conscious sedation is even kind of fun.

I hope it's easy and successful for you.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I spent almost all of the last two days making this portrait, which I'm quite proud of.



The title is "Blind Owl."

(you can find this painting and more in the art thread on AAD!)

Wow, those eyes are awesome!

Did you do this all on the computer?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

PR's Update:

My best friend since early childhood got married a few weeks ago, and I was a groomsman (his older brother was the best man). So awesome.

As for me, I've started tutoring part-time within the couple of weeks - middle schoolers and high schoolers mostly. Enjoyable!

How did you manage to get that gig?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I've had the rap from the holy week church musical stuck in my head since Thursday and PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!!!

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Not saying who, but I randomly had lunch with a former GOP congressman from the Midwest after church today (he has family at my church).

C'mon why won't you tell us?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Prayers requested.  I am at the hospital right now; my mom had a seizure and we are currently waiting in an acute care room.  We just dodged a huge bullet because my mom likely would have died had she been alone.  Please pray for both of us.  She is sick and I am completely stressed, but grateful that I was present at the time she fell.  She is now fully awake and hopefully we will be discharged either tonight or early tomorrow.

Praying for the both of you.  Let me know if there's anything I can do.

What's up?!? I think this is my first time logging in in like three years or something. So that's cool, I guess.

howdy!

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

What's up?!? I think this is my first time logging in in like three years or something. So that's cool, I guess.

howdy!

Hey! You're one of the few posters I recognize. What's changed on The Atlas since 2015?

lots, i guess ?  the craziness of political life always finding its expressions here as elsewhere. A few good new posters, though some older very good ones not around so much anymore. Nathan's on an indefinite hiatus, and I haven't seen angus in a while.   There are a couple spinoff forums founded by posters: Atlas After Dark, and Old Wigwam or whatever they are calling it now.  I haven't been all that involved in Atlasia so I'm not really sure what they've been up to.

Oh, and there have been some updates recently so we can post tweets and such.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

So, yesterday this girl gave me one of her hairs.

Cool.  Now you have her DNA, and can test it to see if she's at risk for various genetic diseases. 

Or frame her for a heist.

Or compare it your own DNA to see if she is too distantly related for you to marry.

plot twist: she's trying to get you to discover you are siblings separated at birth.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I'm leaving again. Not sure when I'll come back exactly, but probably before the end of the Summer.

where are you going?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

We had to put my dog down. He was miniature poodle, 15 years old named Cisco

Awww  I'm so sorry