I’ve been physically abused by two different guys. My general attitude is kind of in the “forgive but don’t forget” vein. I don’t harbor ill will, and one of them has passed and I have mourned him with an open heart. But if the one still alive came to my house, I would lock the door and call the police.

I remember being so angry as a kid that in Girl Scouts we learned how to make jewelry while the boys learned how to build fires and tie knots and such. This is a definite upgrade.

I know a guy who thought “candelabra” was “candle opera” until he was maybe 37.

Also: me on every group camping trip when people climb up something to see a cool view, and I’m running around the bottom like a puppy because I can’t lift my own body weight.

When I was in high school a girl in the grade above me went to one of those scary traveling amusement parks that set up in parking lots. She was on one of those things where you’re in a little swing seat an the whole thing spins around and her seat detached from the ride and she flew across the lot and landed on top…

I keep thinking she’s Rachel Dolezal.

I get UTIs like 3-4 times a year, always after sex with my partner. Same with previous partners, I guess it’s how I’m built. I have thought a lot about how if this was 100 years ago, this is how I’d die. And damn that would be a really bad way to die.

I think it’s more of a “Hey, you’re not going to see me in films and it’s not because I can’t GET films, because of course I can. I’m quitting you before you quit me.”

In my early 20s I would 100% have signed up for a tour like this because I’d be incredibly curious and would have assumed that in a tour setting I’d be safe. Now, hell no. I’m scared of car accidents and other daily risks, let alone dictators who assassinate members of their own family.

Well and the one with lighter skin is the one tweeted by the brand account — it seems like she posted the original first which is a bit darker and then the graphics team brightened it up for the actual advertisement.

My friend’s dad is like that. He’s in decent shape but he doesn’t have any kind of combat experience. But he insists on carrying his gun for normal stuff like going out to dinner. She meanwhile has a job that has seen her posted in places like Iraq, so she’s seen violence. She cannot convince him that he’s not…

I feel like these people have been trained to view their work like some super hyped up action movie or video game. There seems to be such a disconnect from normal empathy and reasoning. It’s heartbreaking (not for them, for the people they view as part of a scorecard).

2 of the parties, but yeah no I 100% did this to myself and there’s nothing anyone else is doing wrong. I’m just finding it to be way harder than I expected.

It’s hard because I’m already in a city that feels really rural to me. BF is hoping to get a job but currently isn’t working and isn’t helping me with household expenses. It feels a bit like I’m disappearing into the woods while trying to stay central, where I’m comfortable. 

I’m in Georgia right now and they really do not give a damn Scarlett! I was laid off and there are no affordable healthcare options available. I’m back in school to get re-employed but the safety net here is kind of shocking in its absence.

He doesn’t pay rent. But we (my bf and I) have a second semi-room office so it seems fair. Or mostly fair. I don’t feel comfortable asking for more — they’re a new couple and I’m a new roommate. I guess I’m just shaking my fist at nothing. But a year from now I may be hiding out at a camp site somewhere.

I’m so sorry to hear that. I’m also without medical insurance at the moment and only recently moved to a state that also has different values compared to what I grew up with. I wish you were not being marginalized this way. Are there local support groups you could connect with? I know that’s not the medication you…

Oh I forgot Barkskins! That took me like 3 months but it was worth it! (Annie Proulx)

I don’t know what’s available in your area, but you (or your husband, depending on your current state) could try calling literally every mental health clinic you can find on Google. I did this once for a friend who was struggling and completely broke. Different clinics/groups get grants for different public health…

Yiyun Li’s The Vagrants was incredible. As was Kate Atkinson’s A God In Ruins. Those are both a few years old but I’ve been a lazy reader these days.