MetaHugs February 14, 2018 3:48 PM   Subscribe

There was a shooting in a Florida high school today, it is still a developing story and I'm sure you can seek out that news should you feel so inclined. I want this post to just be about love/kindness/friendship. Maybe you did something special for a loved one, or a family member, a friend, or a complete stranger. It might be a smile you received or your holding the door open for someone. Whatever it is, feel free to share it with us. I just wanted a place for us to connect, we're in this world together trying to get through it all. It may be strange to say, but I love all of you wonderful and crazy MeFites. Be kind to each other. Happy Valentine's Day!
posted by Fizz to MetaFilter-Related at 3:48 PM (103 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite

Thanks for posting. This is just down the street from my house. I'm stunned and heartbroken. Still waiting to hear if the neighbor kids made it. I was trying to log onto chat for the first time today to share with my people, but my brain's not working right.

But here's something happier to share: after my neighbor's home burned down last week, I fostered their recovered cat and joined in the search for two of the other surviving cats. The owners, after several days, were resigning themselves to never recovering the kittehs. But thanks to the keen eyes and caring heart of two neighbors who 1) spotted the cat, and 2) count me the best kittywrangler, and called me, I arrived and after lying in dirts and communing with ants and maybe trespassing just a little I CAUGHT ONE OF THE CATS.

He was singed a bit, and very skinny and stressed. But should make a full recovery, and is happily cuddled with his feline brother, reunited with his family in temporary housing that, miracle of miracles, allows pets.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 3:56 PM on February 14, 2018 [81 favorites]


I recently started a kind of once a week film club with some friends and co-workers. Our one friend Tommy has not had a lot of exposure to film and we've made a big list of films we all want to share with her. We get together and watch two or three films and then have a conversation about it afterwards. It's the most chill thing ever and it's nice to be able to just sit with a few people and share our passion of film with each other. It's been a very positive thing in my life and we're going to be continuing it for the remainder of 2018. <3
posted by Fizz at 4:11 PM on February 14, 2018 [15 favorites]


Also, my friend Tommy recently lost a few people in her life that were very close to her and we've become better friends the last month or so. I've been sending her random .gifs and memes to keep her spirits up. Today she told me that it was a welcome relief for her and we had a nice hug/cry. I'm glad that I was able to be there for her and that we've grown closer.
posted by Fizz at 4:14 PM on February 14, 2018 [13 favorites]


Nice going on the cat detection and rescue (I applauded that, here).

It is Ash Wednesday today (well, yesterday now), the first day it has coincided with Valentine's Day since 1945 due to some calendar quirk or other.

Subsequently, my local vicar Wendy and her crew were doing the ashes thing. But, despite the forecast, she had decided this year to do it on the pavement outside the church, earlyish-morning. Which was pretty brave as it was seriously cold and blowing a near-arctic blast. The puddles on the pavement and road were resolutely frozen.

I passed them twice on my way to and from doing a few errands (mostly getting some things together for the next local Druid event - this is us and another) and noticed how cold they were. And also noticed that the supermarkets had started to slash the prices of the mountain of Valentine's Day chocolate. So I got them two boxes, saying it was for passers-by but knowing (and happy that) they would be nomming on them themselves in order to keep going. I was thinking of pointing out that us Druids often have a flaming burner or fire of some other kind going during winter events, but don't think that would have made me popular.

This doesn't show the cold: Wendy is the one on the left (one passer-by thought that, because of her attire, they were filming a new Scottish Widows financial advert in the street).

(Actually I bought three boxes of chocolates, and am eating box #3 while reading MetaFilter and celebrating entering the latter half of February. Finally, as the days lengthen and very gradually warm, we are nearer both the coming April and Easter than the New Year past).
posted by Wordshore at 4:34 PM on February 14, 2018 [20 favorites]


I downloaded an app called Be My Eyes a few months ago and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a service that anonymously connects blind people with sighted people who can help them do things like read an rx bottle, or read the instruction manual for a new device. It’s really quite nifty. I love that I can help. I lost vision in one eye for no discernible reason at age 30 and who knows if the other will eventually go too, so it’s especially impactful for me.

That shooting is about 45 minutes from me, but thankfully I don’t know anyone there. I’m sure we will hear all about everyone’s ‘thoughts and prayers’. Enough already. Just.....enough.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 5:02 PM on February 14, 2018 [31 favorites]


One of my co-workers brought our entire team Valentine gift bags including a balloon. Since I went straight from the office to client home visits to my own home (on public transit), I ended up dragging the balloon along for several appointments.

One of my clients had no calendar at home, did not realize it was Valentine’s Day, and claimed that I showed up partially to remind him what day it was. I did not try to convince him otherwise, and reminded him to go out tomorrow for cheap chocolate.
posted by ActionPopulated at 5:10 PM on February 14, 2018 [8 favorites]


Some co-workers brought in chocolate, and since we work in Florida at an agency that will likely be impacted by the events today, we all binged a little on the sweets.

But the beau left work early, and I made penne alla vodka because stress cooking is a thing I do. He gave me a gift card to the shop I've been taking sewing lessons from, and I got him a book on the history of bourbon and a stuffed sloth.

My librarian friends in Broward are okay, but they know the media specialist at the school. I can't even.
posted by PearlRose at 5:31 PM on February 14, 2018 [9 favorites]


PorcineWithMe—I just signed up for Be My Eyes as a sighted volunteer thanks to your post. I had no idea such a thing existed but what a nice idea.
posted by bookmammal at 5:49 PM on February 14, 2018 [23 favorites]


I found a new comic.
posted by theora55 at 7:09 PM on February 14, 2018 [5 favorites]


If you did not get a Valentine, 💝💝💝🎈🌹🌺🌷🔆🌴, Happy Valentine's Day! You are the best!
posted by Oyéah at 7:32 PM on February 14, 2018 [20 favorites]


I am not enjoying the internet today, but my wife and I had our traditional Valentine's Day dinner - this year, it was beef heart with onion marmalade and sauteed mushrooms. It was delicious.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 7:35 PM on February 14, 2018 [12 favorites]


Onion marmalade! What a concept!
posted by Oyéah at 7:40 PM on February 14, 2018 [2 favorites]


My dad got his prostate removed today (ROBOTICALLY!) due to cancer, which by all reports has not spread and is not expected to be a problem after this, so I'm not going to worry about it.

The surgery went well and my mom reports afterwards he woozily kissed her hand and said "Happy Valentines." Today is the 37th anniversary of their first date. Last I checked he was dozing and she was eating a hospital BLT. She's confident they'll have many more Valentine's Days to come, hopefully less eventful than this one.
posted by castlebravo at 8:34 PM on February 14, 2018 [16 favorites]


I was told by a customer today that he thought I'd be fun to go drinking with. It wasn't in that nudge nudge wink wink creepy way, it was just a warm, genuine "you're cool, we should hang out" kind of thing. He was an 80 year-old hockey fan, and he was a scream.
posted by MissySedai at 8:56 PM on February 14, 2018 [17 favorites]


For the third year in a row, we had a great family meal for Valentine’s Day. We gave up trying to go out and be romantic with the crowds on the holiday and little kids-tonight we overcame the obstacles of Kate out of town meetings and kid swim team and networks going down and having to go back into work and... drank a good bottle of wine and sous vided some steaks and made risotto in the instant pot and steamed some broccoli. Candlelight dinner with the kids at 8:30. Lots of fun chatter and good food and it was a great evening. Especially cause I think figure skating is over for the night and I’m watching women’s giant slalom with wine.

My rather curmudgeonly but progressive dad emailed me today to say horrible news and would I please hug the kids for him. Which I did extra much today.
posted by purenitrous at 9:42 PM on February 14, 2018 [4 favorites]


I live in Florida. It's a really big state, and I think a lot of northerners don't realize quite how big it is. I live clean across the state from where the shooting happened, but a friend from DC called me tonight to be sure my kids were OK. Funny and heartwarming all at once.

All of this is to say that I've got nothing, no good deeds of my own to add, except that like purenitrous I hugged the kids extra long tonight. Haven't been able to calm my mind, so I came to MeFi looking for something, not sure what, found this and am so glad that you've put this together. Seeing these gestures and love makes me feel better and now maybe I can sleep. G'night.
posted by martin q blank at 9:54 PM on February 14, 2018 [7 favorites]


Turns out a friend of mine who works for the sheriff’s office is on the scene of a location related to the shooting at Parkland. She’s one of the nicest people I know and yet she sees evil on the regular. She said this ‘effing sucks’.... Yesterday morning she helped me deliver 60 helium filled heart shaped balloons to my kids’ school in her crime scene van- funniest thing to see happy red balloons pouring out of a van that you usually only associate with all the Bad Things.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 1:21 AM on February 15, 2018 [8 favorites]


I'm having drinks today with fellow mefite Katallus and that's my metahugs story!
posted by infini at 3:52 AM on February 15, 2018 [10 favorites]


A note of solidarity to all my fellow MeFites in education walking back into our classrooms this morning after another day of school carnage.
posted by Barack Spinoza at 5:33 AM on February 15, 2018 [20 favorites]


Yeah, take care of yourselves, educators. I worked in a building with a big classroom at the time of the Va Tech shootings, and it was a long time before I felt safe again.
posted by thelonius at 5:40 AM on February 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Yesterday I learned that an old friend’s mom rang the bell as she conpleted her last chemotherapy appointment. My wife baked cookies for the holiday, but that news really made my day.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:52 AM on February 15, 2018 [9 favorites]


Yesterday, my three-year-old, who is usually not like this at all, suddenly gave me a huge hug and said "Happy Valentine's Day!"

It was the best.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:54 AM on February 15, 2018 [12 favorites]


Onion marmalade!

If anyone needs a username for their MetaFilter account, we have you covered.
posted by Fizz at 6:30 AM on February 15, 2018 [3 favorites]


I picked up an extra shift at work today and I’m going to use the overtime pay to take my girlfriend out to an extravagant dinner when we’re on vacation next week.
posted by coppermoss at 6:34 AM on February 15, 2018 [8 favorites]


I work in non-profit and it is ridiculously humbling how wonderfully generous our donors are. It's a Catholic organization, and I'm basically an atheist, but the people who give to our organization truly believe in Jesus' teachings, and live them. There are many, many issues with the Catholic church but the particular Catholics I work with do really good things for desperately impoverished populations. So that makes me feel good pretty much every day.
posted by cooker girl at 7:12 AM on February 15, 2018 [20 favorites]


I have started my meds and it's like seeing in color for the first time. I'm so relieved and happy it's indescribable. I started last Friday. Apart from issues with getting patches to stick, it's so right it's incredible how right it is. No unpleasant side effects at all to report, and changes are happening remarkably fast.

It's like my brain had a diesel engine trying to burn gasoline. It feels like I have the right fuel, now, and that engine is sputtering back to life.

It's also deeply weird and going to be the weirdest thing I've ever done in my life, and I've done some really weird shit. People are already triple-taking and giving me weird side eye, which thankfully I think is hilarious, because if anything's really noticeably changed on the outside it's maybe that I'm smiling more or glowing a little.

My skin and face is already super soft, my sense of smell is now a superpower, and pickles are now a major food group. As is chocolate. And salt. In fact, pickles and chocolate together are delicious. Yeah, I'm essentially pregnant for the next few months. It's kind of a known thing.

Oh, and I had trouble opening the giant jar of pickles I brought home. I just started laughing. "Da fuck is this? What do you mean my hands can't open a goddamn pickle jar? For fuck's sake, I'm the big ape everyone turns to for opening stuck pickle jars! What the hell am I supposed to do now!?"

And I have a couple of penlights that I apparently can't open to replace the battery. Because I last replaced the battery with, uh, different hand strength. I actually had to use two pairs of pliers to open one of them. (Yes, it's been less than a week of meds.)

There are major cognitive changes, too. I'm seeing and thinking about things differently. There's also a totally hilarious and gawky/awkward thing going on where I'm knocking stuff over or dropping things because... space and spatial reasoning look/feel different, and my body isn't reacting the way it did before because my brain and muscles are already changing.

Also, one of the things I've learned about being open or semi-open about all of this is that it's prompted a lot of positive questions that I can help with and sharing notes and information. I'm getting a lot of "Oh, my friend has that problem, and this information will help!"

Or like the other day when I was getting pickles, and I just mentioned to a barista I vaguely know that I had a doc appointment, and she had a question about ACA enrollment and I was able to direct her to the very nice and awesome lady in the local hospital's financial office who is a wizard about getting people enrolled and covered.

I'm also kind of flirting with someone I think is pretty awesome. And pretty. And wicked smart. For once I'm not in any hurry to stop being gloriously single, but I'd have to be nuts to be stubborn about that. We'd probably have a lot of fun. And she's been a great friend to chat with as I'm going through changes and getting all giddy about it.

Hugs to all of you. Remember, there's only one of you, and you're the only one of you we've got. Be good to yourself!
posted by loquacious at 7:58 AM on February 15, 2018 [55 favorites]


I got to see Hamilton in London this week. It was every bit as good as everyone says.
posted by pharm at 8:07 AM on February 15, 2018 [11 favorites]


This showed up on my Facebook:
At a recent PTA meeting, we brought in some of the police officers who work closely with our school district to talk about ALICE, which is their approach to handling active shooter situations. One part of it is that if the shooter does enter the room where kids are at, the kids are told to run around, yell loudly, throw things like books or wads of paper, etc. Just be a distraction. At first I was like, really? you think a shooter armed with a machine gun is going to confront Samantha armed with a book and just say oh, nevermind, I won't kill her? And then it punched me in the gut: If she's face to face with a shooter, she's going to die regardless. The goal will be for her and her classmates to make their deaths take 20 seconds rather than 10. That's 10 more seconds for other kids to run, 10 more seconds for first responders to get to the scene and take out the shooter. A lot of lives can be saved in 10 seconds...
My daughter turns six on Saturday. When's a good time to talk to her about what to do if someone's trying to kill her?
posted by kirkaracha at 8:08 AM on February 15, 2018 [10 favorites]


I hear that the contractors who have been absent from my place for a few days are coming in to finish our bathrooms tonight, so here's hoping I'll be coming home to having bathroom sinks again. (They've been out because one poor bastard's wife has the flu and he's been trying to work out how to simultaneously care for her and keep their newborn safe; I'm not so much irritated with them as wishing wistfully for a time when my toothbrush can live in the bathroom again and not by the kitchen sink.)

In the meantime, I'm going to go work in the library on campus so I can focus on work tasks without being distracted by helpful coworkers, and I've got a couple of buses to choose from. I was going to take one bus and not the other even though the other line turned up first for Reasons, but then I realized there was a gentleman running his hardest to catch up with the bus that was there. So I figured I could take this one instead and in doing so slow it down until the guy racing to catch this one could make it up. I succeeded. I'm feeling good about that.

I've organized a weekly Monday writing support meeting for me and my best friend at work that should start with breakfast tomorrow. I'm vaguely excited about it because it will be good to cheer him on, and I think it will be good for both our enthusiasm levels--he's consistently been my biggest cheerleader, too, and he's having a rough time right now.

My teaching is mostly done for the week, but I've delivered two come to Jesus discussions with students who are clearly struggling with either mental health or sleeping stuff to the effect that we have resources for this, and that I want them to go and use them so the students can do well as I believe they can. I think I got the mixture of firmness and compassion right. I hope so, anyway.

Fuck, though, I'm glad my sections are done for the week. I've already taught through one eruption of campus violence, and I guess the good news is that now I know for a fact that I have a cool head under fire. I hate that I worry about that as much as I do, though. I hate that I have to work in a place where we legally can't ban guns from our classrooms. I hate a lot of things.

But my students are good kids. So. There's that, I guess.
posted by sciatrix at 8:22 AM on February 15, 2018 [10 favorites]


I don't tell people about this normally, but I sometimes buy a gift card at a local coffee place on my commute route, and leave it for the staff to use for subsequent customers. It felt like the right time to do it this morning.

This morning the timing worked out that I was sitting there while a few people came in after me. The first was a mother and child. The mother explained to the girl why they didn't have to pay, and the girl was really excited, and said "that's so nice, can we do it sometime?"

I am super-self conscious about relaying this story, but wanted to share the light.
posted by Gorgik at 8:42 AM on February 15, 2018 [43 favorites]


My son is in a self contained class for disabled students, and away from the mainstream classrooms they miss out on a lot of social stuff like trading Valentines. So he and I went to the dollar store and got the little heart boxes filled with three chocolates, one for each student, paraprofessional, and teacher. But then Tuesday night he had a terrible meltdown and ended up staying home to recover himself.

We didn't want to let the kids down, though, so he rallied after lunch and we drove the bag over to be distributed before they went home. His teacher wrote him a really nice thank you email.

Took us less than $10 to make everyones day a little better.
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 9:06 AM on February 15, 2018 [16 favorites]




I was picking up some groceries last night and the woman ahead of me was buying a whole bunch of pre-made food which I learned was for dinner--she was very self-conscious about the quantity, type, etc. and seemed to be looking for absolution. I gave it to her. Made her smile, and I hope not feel so self-conscious. Oh, and she was with a lovely young woman who was in a wheelchair and was not able to speak but had the most amazing smile so we had a little flirtation while I was reassuring her companion that she didn't need to apologize to a stranger for not cooking dinner that night.
posted by agatha_magatha at 10:20 AM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


This is a cranky whiny snarky cri-du-couer that I just have to get out of me right now:

It is one day before payday and I overdid it with cabs and so I am broke and I am sick of being broke because i feel like i'm back being deprived again and taht always makes me feel like "i guess i can't have nice things" and I had to schlep all the way over to the West side today to drop off a DHL prepaid envelope even though DHL's own web site told me that I could drop it off anywhere but no, apparently you can only drop off prepaid envelopes at their main office and that was an hour and a half out of my office and i have to back up the controller doing bookkeeping work even though I'm not trained as a bookkeeper but she needs help and I can do stuff okay enough but it taxes my poor brain and i end up feeling stupid and like i'm letting her down but I don't know what i'm doing and I'm wiped out by the end of the day sometimes when that happens and i'm single and too broke and tired to go out and do fun things and find guys that way and I want to go to paris again this year but need to wait until after july because my best friends are moving out of the city and across the country and i don't want to be gone when they go and miss them and my other friends who are staying in teh city are never around to do stuff with so i'm bored and broke and take too many cabs and can never learn to not take cabs that is my weakness and that's the real reason why i'm so broke and i want that big house on my block i would be taking much better care of it but they're asking $4.5 million for it and there is no way in hell i'd ever be able to afford that and office work bores me but i'm too broke to not have a day job and this is not what i thought i would be doing at this point in my life can someone pleasae give me a few thousand just for being me or something so i can get the debt started to paid down DAMMIT

There.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:32 AM on February 15, 2018 [14 favorites]


(And I'll be fine when I get paid tomorrow; I'm at the "ice soup" phase of this meme. Payday is tomorrow and I'll forget this ever happened.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:49 AM on February 15, 2018 [9 favorites]


Wait, loquacious, last Friday? Hooray, you and I are med twins!

Woot! Yeah, I had them in my hands for a couple of weeks before that, but I was getting some previously planned visiting and traveling done before starting so I could be near my doc if things went weird.

Readers note: See? You think you're being all random and unique and facing something strange that no one else is dealing with, but no. Someone within one degree of Bacon is going through the same thing on the same day, no less. And you have no idea.

I haven't noticed any huge effects yet, but I'm really looking forward to most of what you described.

Do yourself a huge favor and definitely don't compare your progress to mine, or anyone's but your own. That's one of the rules to this, right?

The changes I'm describing are very subtle, and I'm really sensitive and observant of my body. And if this is going to be like any of my other medical experiences, I'm going to change, react and/or heal a lot faster than average. And for all we know I'm going to stall in 6 months and be really upset about it, who knows?
posted by loquacious at 11:18 AM on February 15, 2018 [3 favorites]


A couple of weeks ago a guy in my city posted on Facebook about making a few valentines and delivering them to shelters, hospitals, etc. The idea snowballed so that there were valentines- making stations at coffee shops, bars, and other local businesses. schools , youth groups , bakeries and other organizations got involved. Some people stepped up to contribute baked goods, others handled logistics, still others did deliveries.

I contributed 8 dozen chocolate chip cookies, and I'm still finding glitter on my coat and bag after spending a couple of hours sorting through the ones made by kindergarteners. About 2000 valentines and treat bags were delivered, and we had so many that we were able to spread out to nursing homes etc almost an hour away. I wish we could send a few down to the students and staff of the school in Florida.
posted by peppermind at 11:27 AM on February 15, 2018 [9 favorites]


I should clarify, I was sorting through glitter bomb valentines made by kindergarteners, not glitter encrusted cookies, thankfully!
posted by peppermind at 11:39 AM on February 15, 2018 [4 favorites]


and pickles are now a major food group. As is chocolate. And salt.

WELL DUH!!!

I love my roommate so, so much. We joke that he's the wife and I'm the husband. He totally takes care of me. I come home and do craft projects and other irrelevant shit; he does all the cleaning and taking out the trash, and doesn't mind at all. He tells me if my outfits look dumb. He just paid me the rent early. I swore off roommates 20 years ago after some disasters, but God/Whomever sent him to me. I am so lucky.
posted by Melismata at 12:05 PM on February 15, 2018 [8 favorites]


WELL DUH!!!

Look, in my defense no one told me the part about craving them like you needed a glass of water on a hot day. Or that they caused some kind of weird face orgasm. Or that I'd be eating freakin' salt out of my hand. (Hrm... does this explain why women like tequila shots? It's the salt, isn't it. It isn't even really about the tequila, is it?)

BTW, it's vaguely possible that I may have invented the pickledog or pickletaco. You take the biggest, crispest kosher dill you can find and wrap it in a slice of bread, hot dog bun or a tortilla and then you dress it with spicy mustard, mayo AND/OR ketchup, chopped onions, shredded cheese, sweet relish, olives or even more pickles. If I had peppercinis or some other pickled peppers, they'd be on there. Heh, now I really want to try this with a whole deep fried pickle.

Also, I'm curious to see if I still hate kimchi. I've always been confused by this because I've always like krauts and pickles and I like spicy, but I've never been able to get into the funky foot smell of kimchi despite liking pickled, sour and spicy.

I have a feeling when my palate finishes changing I'm finally going to like kimchi and it's going to be really weird and cool.

Look, just bring me all the damn pickles and no one will get hurt, ok? Well, except for the pickled asparagus, since apparently I can't have asparagus. And if you happen to have any pickled grapefruit, I'm enthralled with the idea, but no I can't have that either.

But if you happened to find any pickled chocolate, I want to know about it ASAP.
posted by loquacious at 12:23 PM on February 15, 2018 [7 favorites]


I remember going to diners with my mother as a little kid, and being explicitly told that if I got a chocolate shake/frappe with my hamburger, then no, I absolutely could not have the pickle that came with it. I can't remember her reasoning; I think it was a combination of "that combination is really bad for your stomach" and "ewww, gross combination." (She was/is a huge foodie.)

Of course, this was an absolute tragedy; I didn't understand it then, and I don't understand it now. Whenever I go to a diner, I always make sure there's a pickle with the hamburger.
posted by Melismata at 12:30 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


Now I'm thinking about dipping a pickle into a chocolate shake, and ... it honestly seems like an alright idea.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:32 PM on February 15, 2018 [5 favorites]


BTW, it's vaguely possible that I may have invented the pickledog or pickletaco. You take the biggest, crispest kosher dill you can find and wrap it in a slice of bread, hot dog bun or a tortilla and then you dress it with spicy mustard, mayo AND/OR ketchup, chopped onions, shredded cheese, sweet relish, olives or even more pickles. If I had peppercinis or some other pickled peppers, they'd be on there. Heh, now I really want to try this with a whole deep fried pickle.

If you have never had a Chicago-style hot dog you need to try this. Basically - it's the "pickledog", only with a hot dog in place of the ketchup/mayo. Also, the Chicago Dog does not have cheese. But - kosher dill, hot dog, mustard, relish, peppercini, chopped onions, and a wedge of tomato and a little celery salt.

I went on a vacation to Chicago once and discovered them there and at one point on the trip I realized I had just gone an entire 36 hours eating nothing but hot dogs because that is how good they were.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:39 PM on February 15, 2018 [3 favorites]


But if you happened to find any pickled chocolate, I want to know about it ASAP.

*cough*
posted by mochapickle at 1:47 PM on February 15, 2018 [33 favorites]


My wife and I have this thing where we're becoming increasingly synchronized. We might happen to sigh at the same time, or say the same sentence with the same prosody at the same time. Weirdly, if we both talk at the same time but we use different sentences, any common words between our two sentences will occur at the same time.
Wife:   [Son's name], don't jump off the couch so close to where [daughter] is lying!
Me: It's not appropriate to jump off the couch!   You could hurt [daughter]!
That sort of thing.

Anyway, we exchanged Valentine's cards and chocolates yesterday. We get store-bought cards, but personalize them with little notes at the end. She opened what I gave her first, and she told me that she swore she hadn't seen my card until now. I opened what she gave me and immediately we started laughing. The pre-printed text on the card I gave her was extremely similar to the note she wrote on my card. We decided to store our cards together in the same envelope; maybe they'll end up in a scrapbook or something.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 1:58 PM on February 15, 2018 [5 favorites]


*startles and looks at mochapickle strangely, kind of thirsty-lookin'*

Saaaay. You're looking mighty fine over there. Stop me if you've heard this one before, but may I buy the tall cool drink a drink?

If you have never had a Chicago-style hot dog you need to try this. Basically - it's the "pickledog", only with a hot dog in place of the ketchup/mayo. Also, the Chicago Dog does not have cheese. But - kosher dill, hot dog, mustard, relish, peppercini, chopped onions, and a wedge of tomato and a little celery salt.

I've had variations of this. I've never really met a dog on a bun I didn't like, depending on how hungry or hangry I am. My two favorites are the LA style bacon-wrapped footlong dogs you get from tiny little dodgy food carts outside of clubs or concert venues or just parked willy-nilly under an overpass somewhere, and Seattle dogs with nori and cream cheese and a fuckton of onions. I'm also occasionally fond of a veggie dog.

I have once had a vegan corndog that didn't suck at all, and apparently the secret to making a totally passable vegan corndog batter is a certain kind of flax and preparation as an egg/dairy replacement.

If I have the chance I will try to make a picklecorndog happen. A cornpickle? I already know deep fried pickles and even weird stuff like fried lemons are amazing, so a cornpickle on a stick is probably going to be pretty cool.
posted by loquacious at 1:59 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


I remember going to diners with my mother as a little kid, and being explicitly told that if I got a chocolate shake/frappe with my hamburger, then no, I absolutely could not have the pickle that came with it. I can't remember her reasoning; I think it was a combination of "that combination is really bad for your stomach" and "ewww, gross combination." (She was/is a huge foodie.)

I mean I can kind of see that because dairy + vinegar = curdled dairy, but denying the savory-sweet combo of a burger, fries and pickle with a shake is just wrong, and what the heck does she think dairy does when it hits your stomach acids?

Damnit, now I'm hungry. I should go get some pickles. Argh.
posted by loquacious at 2:02 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


1. A child told me I'm their best friend. (the best possible compliment)

2. A little person brought me a mug they painted that says "I love [fairlynearlyready]" on it.

3. I get to go see my best friend in LA in April, and I'm counting down the days until I can see her face and hear her perfect sarcastic loving sweet voice.

4. A coworker left a cute Valentines pencil in my mailbox with a sweet little note.

5. I sent a birthday card to someone I know who has been having a hard time of it because I just wanted them to know that I'm thinking of them even though we don't talk often.

6. My partner made my breakfast the other day because I was so tired when I woke up that I could hardly think.

7. My sister asked me to download Snapchat so that we can just send silly selfies and I felt like I was too old for it but now it feels like a silly and sweet little sister-joke and I really look forward to getting snaps from her.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 2:05 PM on February 15, 2018 [10 favorites]


So, I don't know if it's happy for other people or not, but, um, I filed to unionize our workplace and it's pretty exciting and people are hopeful!
posted by corb at 2:05 PM on February 15, 2018 [61 favorites]


Go corb! That rules.

My band is playing our first show of 2018 tonight, and I'm super stoked.

I also had the opportunity to volunteer at a food bank a couple weeks back, and it really did make me feel good. I'm setting myself a reminder right now to start scheduling work volunteering events at least quarterly.
posted by Existential Dread at 2:23 PM on February 15, 2018 [3 favorites]


I've been struggling with a personal thing for multiple years, now, and keeping it mostly all to myself. I finally allowed myself to open up to friends (dear, dear friends that I've known since high school or before) and for the first time in my life, am seeing a therapist. Reader, the difference is night-and-day. My friends have all been so present and generous and wonderful, and therapy is doing what it does, which is give you tools with which to handle the slings and arrows of life, and perspective on what is truly important. The pain and suffocation is markedly decreased. The path forward looks very difficult, but I feel like I went from walking on rocky terrain barefoot to getting a pair of hiking boots and some walking sticks, and I'm ready to go.
posted by Fig at 2:40 PM on February 15, 2018 [28 favorites]


Fig, yay!
posted by mochapickle at 2:45 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


mudpuppie, I love that you named your cat Mrs. Beasley. Love it and get the reference.
posted by pipoquinha at 3:06 PM on February 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Or that I'd be eating freakin' salt out of my hand.

Okay, I don't eat it out of my hand (except smoked salt- yum But because: optics, I eat smoked almonds instead.) But ... doesn't everyone love salt? I was so happy when it turned out salt probably isn't as bad for you as they used to say because I wasn't going to stop eating it anyway.

If you used to hate capers, try those, too. And salty anchovies unless you hate anchovies.

loquacious, I remember the thread you talked about how you were about to start meds and I am just so excited for you!
posted by small_ruminant at 4:11 PM on February 15, 2018


Love it and get the reference.

High five, oldster.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:12 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


Twenty years ago yesterday, I drove to Mueller Airport in Austin, and met the lady in person who I'd been talking to for about a month online. She walked off the plane, saw me, smiled, walked up and said "There you are! Let's get the fuck out of here, I need a smoke.." and just kept walking to the door. That weekend, I took this picture. Three days later, she flew back to TN and we both had tears in our eyes. A month and a half later, I flew to Chattanooga and rode back to Austin with her and all her stuff and her cat.

Three years and a month and a half later, we were married on a deck overlooking the river in Chattanooga. We always considered the 14th, when we actually met in person, to be our anniversary - and not the 31st, the day we just signed all the legal shit. We thought about going and getting a chunk of the Mueller runway when they were tearing it down, but never got around to it.

Eleven years and four months after we'd first met in person, she passed away suddenly.

MeFites helped out and kept me sane through the dark period that followed.

Five years later, I talked about how MeFi helped.

Thank you, folks. I cherish you, and I cherish our community. I'm thankful for you, and I'm thankful for the support you've shown me with my recent battle against kidney cancer.

I'm thankful I ain't deaded yet!
posted by mrbill at 5:18 PM on February 15, 2018 [43 favorites]


Oh, this has been a rollercoaster of a read. Thank you all, MeFites. You're an amazing bunch.

I may not have been very active on the green, the blue or the gray lately - life has kept me busy. The child that was nearly four when I first found the time to spend here while she napped is now about to turn fourteen. I've had a few more careers (I'm currently managing a wardrobe studio that provides vintage clothing to film and television productions) and life is pretty good.

But you! All you did! You found my kid books to read, and helped me calm my anxieties and deal with hers. People have come and gone in our IRLives, but MeFi has always been a place for me to lurk, and read, and learn, and touch base, and get good advice and sometimes give some, and feel valued.

Well, over the last few weeks the child, who has worked very hard to find herself, has sung onstage in a sold-out show with an adult choir; given people the shivers with her piano/voice recital; written thousands of words of fanfiction; developed a passion for drawing and animating scenes from her favourite show; has become the lead writer in the first musical her school has ever produced; has been working a little job at a place that services the film/television production industry -- and on Monday she found out she was accepted into the arts-focused high school of her dreams.

I have to think that some of it comes from a place where a stranger from the internet sends Akiko comics, which have only recently moved along to another graphic novel reader in the making.

Thank you MeFites, we are growing us a good one.

Also - you mochapicklers - in Fourth Grade, every single day at school I bought a chocolate ice cream skippy cup and a pretzel rod, and added fresh-shelled green peas in season -- or cornichons out of season. I can't be responsible for what happens if you try that.
posted by peagood at 6:25 PM on February 15, 2018 [6 favorites]


loquacious! I am so happy for you! It is SO WONDERFUL to hear your new meds are feeling so good!

And I have to share a pickle-jar tip: get a rubber band. One of the double-wide ones (like 1/4" or 3/8" wide) is especially good. Just put the rubber band around the lid - and it should be a lot easier to open the jar now. Magic.

I like pickles a bunch but for right now, you can have all mine.
posted by kristi at 9:11 PM on February 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Oooh, are we sharing pickle jar opening tips? Because I have one! Because I am totally wimpy at opening jars!

So you know those little metal paint can openers you get for free with your gallon of paint? Slide the tip of the long opener side under the edge of the jar lid and gently pry. It'll break the vacuum seal and then you can easily untwist the lid.
posted by mochapickle at 9:17 PM on February 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


I usually get Alara to loosen it up for me first.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:28 PM on February 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


Oh, I've worked in a kitchen and spent the last few years actually or essentially camping. If I can't eventually get a jar of something open, it's just not meant to be. Trust me, nothing was going to stop me from getting those pickles. I would have cut the lid right off with a can opener if I had to, because I knew they weren't going to last. I did eventually open them normally by hand but the first few attempts were really funny "Huh, that's unusual" moments.

But here's my go to method, and it works on just about anything: Take a dish towel, wrap it around the lid and twist the loose ends of the towel it until it's closed tightly on the lid. Keep a firm grip on the twisted part and use it as a handle for leverage, twisting it as you push for grip.

Sometimes you have to soak the whole towel in water for extra grip and strength, which sounds counter-intuitive, but it allows for a much stronger, tighter twist.

If you need super ultra strength rag wrench, use a piece of wet silk. Don't over do it on glass jars. As Mythbusters proved, yes, you can bend steel with silk.

You can also use this trick on a lot of round, stubborn parts like oil filters or even rusty fence posts.
posted by loquacious at 11:22 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


I like pickles a bunch but for right now, you can have all mine.

Wait, I heard that. Do you need me to PM you an address?

(I wasn't kidding when I said send me all of the pickles.)
posted by loquacious at 11:24 PM on February 15, 2018


*Giving you all hugs*
posted by daybeforetheday at 11:53 PM on February 15, 2018 [2 favorites]


When I dropped my first-grader at school the other day, he told me I didn't have to wait for him at his locker while he changed out of his boots and coat and went to class. "I don't need you." So I was sad. Then last night, he woke up and cried and cried because I died in a dream and he tried to save me but he couldn't and I fell off the collapsing bridge. So we curled up in his bed with a cat who purred a lot and sneezed in my face and made the kid laugh.
posted by pracowity at 2:55 AM on February 16, 2018 [17 favorites]


Y’all I’m bawling at this thread this is so much love.
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:37 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


All you newly-fledged supertasters need to try dipping salt and vinegar potato chips in a tall, cold glass of milk. You will not be sorry. This is my gift to you.
posted by soren_lorensen at 6:16 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


My youngest daughter joined the new church choir after just like four formal singing lessons, and she sang their very first solo last Sunday. She was standing next to an older, taller girl, so the mic was waaay over her head and it made her voice kind of muffled -- but I was so very proud of her.

And when one of her brothers hissed "That was awful," I elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a dirty look.

She won't stop singing around the house, to the point of making us all CRAZY sometimes, but she does have a nice voice, and I am glad that she has the confidence to use it in public.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:53 AM on February 16, 2018 [12 favorites]


And when one of her brothers hissed "That was awful," I elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a dirty look.

Such a brother thing.
posted by Fizz at 7:18 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


Dip those salt and vinegar chips in CHOCOLATE, babes.

Also corb filled to unionize? Our corb? I'm super proud and kinda bewildered!
posted by elsietheeel at 7:30 AM on February 16, 2018 [7 favorites]


So you know those little metal paint can openers you get for free with your gallon of paint? Slide the tip of the long opener side under the edge of the jar lid and gently pry. It'll break the vacuum seal and then you can easily untwist the lid.

Or, if you need to release some tension, take an old knife (the larger the better), and stab the center of the lid. Kills vacuum seals dead.
posted by JanetLand at 7:54 AM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


My father-in-law loves to make soup and pour it into old jars from peaches or whatever he buys in giant, Costco-sized jars. Problem is, when it cools, it vacuum seals, and it's impossible to open.

I usually use a spoon to pry them open. Same idea as the paint opener, but everybody's got a spoon in the kitchen. Usually works, sometimes mangles the lid a bit.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:56 AM on February 16, 2018 [2 favorites]


I usually use a spoon to pry them open. Same idea as the paint opener, but everybody's got a spoon in the kitchen. Usually works, sometimes mangles the lid a bit.

I usually just take like a butter knife and clank it on the edges of the lid that I'm attempting to open and it makes small tiny dents and fucks it up, but it then loosens it. It's not an eloquent solution but it works for me.
posted by Fizz at 8:58 AM on February 16, 2018 [5 favorites]


I need to thank MrVisible for this comment about the "cognitive shuffle" method for falling asleep. I've been using a version of that off and on since I read the linked article and it has been ridiculously helpful for me.

Y'all are the best and I'm happy to read about the things that are going well in your lives.
posted by asperity at 9:04 AM on February 16, 2018 [4 favorites]


corb! That's awesome!

Taking a huge step for yourself to make your work life better AND taking a huge step for the people you work with to make everyone's work life better - that totally makes ME happy. Action toward improving anyone's net happiness makes me feel wonderful.

Thank you for doing that, and congratulations on doing that! And now - go have a lovely, relaxing weekend!
posted by kristi at 9:19 AM on February 16, 2018 [4 favorites]


Today I saw a doctor about something that's been an issue literally since puberty and I've either been too ashamed/inhibited (when I was younger) or too mentally ill (last few years) to deal with it and we have made first steps on treatment with a followup plan.

I had a text from a good friend I haven't heard from for a month or so today about how she was sorry she hadn't been in touch and she'd been really busy, and the uncanny thing was that I had set a private calendar reminder for this afternoon to write her a long email because I was sorry I hadn't been in touch and I'd been really busy. It was very enjoyable and friendship-affirming to be in sync like that.
posted by terretu at 9:40 AM on February 16, 2018 [7 favorites]


I'm super excited about going to see my therapist tomorrow. I made him a copy of my favorite comedy show (Chris Gethard - Career Suicide, which is about mental health and therapy; it came out during one of the worst parts of my depression and kind of saved my life) and I hope he likes it. Also I'm just super excited to go see him because he's a good therapist and a nice guy and fascinating to talk to. And he said that I was obviously incredibly intelligent and even if he was just blowing smoke up my ass, I'm a sucker for a compliment and/or praise.

Speaking of, the people at my dentist's office have figured out that I am praise-motivated and have started telling me what a great job I am doing during my appointments, which helps a lot. Also my dentist is really weird and sings goofy songs and makes up odd little rhymes and laughing and being in pain is really strange.

Finally, yesterday I was at Walmart and they had hats on clearance for $3 and usually hats look doofy on me but two of them looked okay (a grey felt floppy round one and a taupe felt cowboy hat) and also there was a really pretty mauve floppy one that said "hey take me home for your mom!". So I bought it and took it over to her house and made her try it on because I want to make a beaded ribbon headband for it, but I didn't want to spend all the time on such a thing if it didn't fit or it looked silly -- but the hat looks like it was made for her, so now I'm excited to find a nice ribbon for it and bead a picot edge on it.
posted by elsietheeel at 9:41 AM on February 16, 2018 [5 favorites]


Fizz, thank you so much for this thread.
posted by mochapickle at 10:31 AM on February 16, 2018 [8 favorites]


With those jars and lids. Run hot water, and heat the lid, then turn the jar over, and hit the bottom with the heel of your hand, and you hear a click, that is the seal breaking between the lid and the glass. If you are handy, and also weak in the hands, take a chef's knife, turned backwards, not sharp edge, and strike carefully along the edge of the lid at 1/4 inch intervals toward the way you want the lid to turn. This will open it. You have to be pretty much at a 90 degree angle, parallel to the edge of the lid. It makes some little dents in the lid, but no worries, that helps to make the lid easier to turn anyway. This is a chef's trick for opening gallon jars.
posted by Oyéah at 10:55 AM on February 16, 2018 [3 favorites]


My mom, who was an RN back in The Day, taught me to smack jars really hard on the floor or counter (if it wasn't tile that would chip.) It breaks the seal and then you can open them.

It still doesn't work if the lid is bigger than your fingers can wrap around, which has happened a couple of times lately. Those big kimchi jars are like that for me, sometimes.

I also try not to do it if the lid looks too thin because I think it could chip it. It has never failed me with metal lids, though.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:30 AM on February 16, 2018 [3 favorites]


My band is playing our first show of 2018 tonight, and I'm super stoked.

Update: the show was awesome, we had 40 or 50 people and played with three other fantastic bands. Japanese Breakfast was playing the sold-out room upstairs and we got to listen to their soundcheck as we loaded in, which was also very cool. And I reconnected with a friend from church youth group of 25 years ago.

If you're looking for some cool new tunes, check out to Eastern Souvenirs (looping electronica, unique percussion, nylon stringed guitar) and CAARGO (shoegazy, soulful synthpop). They're great.
posted by Existential Dread at 11:43 AM on February 16, 2018 [8 favorites]


wasn't kidding when I said send me all of the pickles.

I live near a pickle FACTORY, I could arrange a pallet and I'm tickled fucking pinky that ur bacz round. Know your loved here at least by me. So I'll be be brash and use royal we and purple dye with a fine bond of typing paper.
posted by clavdivs at 2:07 PM on February 16, 2018 [5 favorites]


Can you just send me the whole factory? I'm thinking that'll save a lot of pollution and road wear.
posted by loquacious at 3:05 PM on February 16, 2018


With those pickle factories. Pour liquid nitrogen, and freeze the door, then turn the canister over, and hit the bottom of the door with the canister, and you hear a smash, that is the door breaking into a million pieces like glass. If you are handy, and don't have a canister of liquid nitrogen, take a chef's knife, turned backwards, not sharp edge, and strike carefully along the edge of the door frame at 1/4 inch intervals toward the way you want the lock to slip. This will open it, unless it is a deadbolt. You have to be pretty much at a 90 degree angle, parallel to the edge of the door frame. It may break your knife and cut your hand to ribbons, but no worries, you have pickles. This is a chef's trick for opening pickle factories.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:43 PM on February 16, 2018 [14 favorites]


IRFH!!
posted by Barack Spinoza at 4:19 PM on February 16, 2018 [3 favorites]


White kimchi is the gateway kimchi. You start on a fresh tub of that, right out of the cooler at your local Korean grocery and it's all cool salty tangy freshness, and then you'll try maybe some chive kimchi, and the next thing you know you're onto the spicy cubed radish kimchi, and you'll end up like me - snacking on raw squid kimchi and nomming on those cute tiny tentacles like they're candy, and looking forward for the aged kimchi in your fridge to get old enough and funky enough to make the best fried rice you ever had with it.

My name is NinaZer0 and I have a kimchi problem.

(What I actually meant to say was I love you guys, and Happy Valentines, and stuff, but I got distracted by the pickles....)
posted by ninazer0 at 4:45 PM on February 16, 2018 [9 favorites]


and you'll end up like me - snacking on raw squid kimchi and nomming on those cute tiny tentacles like they're candy, and looking forward for the aged kimchi in your fridge to get old enough and funky enough to make the best fried rice you ever had with it.

what no why please stop have i wronged you in some way?
posted by loquacious at 7:23 PM on February 16, 2018 [3 favorites]


I love this post.
Did you get a Valentine's Day card? I made you one. With love from me and Team BeGood.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 7:23 PM on February 16, 2018 [9 favorites]


My flight from LA to Tokyo was delayed by about three hours last week, which was enough that I missed my flight to Jakarta. The airline put me up in a hotel, but I guess there were a number of people who were in the same situation, and I ended up sharing a double room with a woman who was flying back home to Jakarta. She was incredibly friendly and we chatted for a while, and then the next morning we ended up sitting across the aisle from each other on the flight from Tokyo to Jakarta. She helped me get through customs and get a taxi at the airport (and made sure the price was acceptable) and gave me her phone number so I could contact her via Whatsapp if I needed anything.

Then she invited me to her family's Chinese New Year celebration yesterday. She and her husband and two kids picked me up at my hotel, and we drove to her aunty's house where her whole family - cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles - welcomed me and stuffed me full of dumplings and asked questions and laughed and basically treated me like a family friend. It was the nicest two hours I've spent in a long time. I had to leave for a meeting across town and they ordered me an uber, and then spoke with the driver to make sure everything was set, and then they called me during the ride to make sure if was going well, and made me promise to come see them again before I leave Jakarta in April.

Now I'm friends with this woman and her aunt on facebook, and posted some pictures, and these exchanges have happened:
-Mary: I love this!! Hello Christine!! The world has far more good people in it than the other kind. Thank you for welcoming Erin!!
-Christine: Hi Mary.. i guess thats what we r all hv to do , right? 🤗

- Jessy: Hi Erin. I'm Christine's sister, Jessy. Thanks for joining the Chinese New Year celebration yesterday. I hope u enjoy it, especially eat shumai & bao 😋 Hope I can meet you with Christine before u go back home 😊 Enjoy ur journey in here
-Erin: Hi Jessy - I had lots of fun with your family, and i hope I get to meet you too!

- Jessica: Thank you Christine - it's been so wonderful to know that Erin has such amazing new friends while she's across the world in a new country. You've all been so kind and generous in making Erin feel at home We're very grateful! Happy New Year to you and your family - (Erin's mom)
- Christine: Hi mom (if i may call u that 🤗).. its our pleasure to welcome Erin in our country. Erin is a friendly person, all of us glad to know her. We r waiting for next time all of u to come to Indonesia. Hv a nice day 😊
Anyways, this has made a trip that I was sort of dreading kind of wonderful and amazing, and it's been such a lovely antidote to other things to suddenly be part of a community. I love it, and you!
posted by ChuraChura at 7:35 PM on February 16, 2018 [39 favorites]


8 coworkers and I are “adopting” 2 refugee families through a program with the IRC. We’re raising funds for their first month’s rent, furnishing their apartments, buying them their first meals and groceries, and will mentor them in American life weekly for 6 months.

We started fundraising from family/friends this past Tuesday. We’ve collected almost $5k, and with our company match, we have almost enough money, and almost every item has been purchased from the Amazon wishlist we set up. 4 days. I’ve been crying with joy for 3.

Humanity can be both terrible and wonderful, huh?
posted by greermahoney at 7:42 PM on February 16, 2018 [20 favorites]


I have a career that I love, and my boss on my current job and I-- I haven't experienced this kind of depth of communication in a working relationship ever. We have entire conversations through eye contact alone. It's difficult, but I am learning so much, and becoming so much better at what I do. I hope I get to stay with this team through this whole election cycle, because they are all so dear to me. If we go down in the primary, I'll be heartbroken in an entirely new way, but even then, I am so glad I got to be here and I got to meet these people. I really don't know how I keep getting so lucky all the time.

(I could go on and on-- about my candidate, about my team, about my boss, about being a campaign worker and how it's the hardest and best job on the planet, but somehow it seems uncouth.)
posted by dogheart at 7:59 PM on February 16, 2018 [9 favorites]


Setting up a voter registration drive with a teenage family member. Voting is our civil sacrament. No matter where we are, family, get each other to the polls.
posted by jointhedance at 8:11 PM on February 16, 2018 [9 favorites]


You can always break in to the pickle freezer with a black pudding.
posted by Oyéah at 8:21 PM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


N_L_P, that valentine kitty is too cute! It made me so happy!
posted by mochapickle at 9:04 PM on February 16, 2018 [1 favorite]


WCityMike, I laughed ridiculously hard at that joke. Thank you.
posted by greermahoney at 9:45 PM on February 16, 2018


Also corb filled to unionize? Our corb? I'm super proud and kinda bewildered!

It's weird for me too! I've just been super frustrated and brokenhearted about everything going on, and I have a lot of political experience that I no longer want to use in the Republican Party, and it turns out a lot of the skills in organizing are super fucking transferable, and companies are really shitty about people unionizing in their workplace, so it's a good enemy to fight. (also I have a pie-in-the-sky plan to nationally organize stuff because moar unions mean less hate because unions by nature bring people together, but that's big scale)

So, um, yes, I guess 2018 brings "corb, union organizer" and I think I'm going to be doing that at least until the fascists are gone and people aren't joining them, so, years probably?
posted by corb at 9:42 AM on February 17, 2018 [31 favorites]


Go, Corb!!
posted by greermahoney at 11:20 AM on February 17, 2018 [4 favorites]


Thanks for the info about the Be My Eyes app! It feels good to put small kindnesses into the world.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 11:31 AM on February 17, 2018 [3 favorites]




And also noticed that the supermarkets had started to slash the prices of the mountain of Valentine's Day chocolate.

I call the days after Valentine's Day "The Feast of St. Markdown." I love getting stupid, elaborately decorated boxes of chocolate for 75% off! Woot!
posted by Gyre,Gimble,Wabe, Esq. at 10:45 AM on February 18, 2018 [10 favorites]


Hugs and high fives to you all!

I've been in a low place of late, but tonight, I just treated myself to a nice salad of extravagance: lettuce/drained canned artichoke/avocado salad with a homemade version of ranch dressing. So very good and I didn't have to race through eating in between tasks. ...I think this is how real people live.

But you know, life has some good stuff no matter what. I have a place that's home. I am managing to take care of Mom, my neighbors, and me and the critters. And I do a damn good job at every place I work. People count on me. And I luckily found this place.

Y'all are the folks who take the time to listen and provide so much knowledge and great examples of love and caring to so many... with all of the horrible out there it's a panacea to have a safe place that's full of good.
posted by mightshould at 4:19 PM on February 18, 2018 [7 favorites]


Mightshould, that salad sounds delish, and you sound like a wonderful, caring, competent person. Hugs to you!
posted by greermahoney at 10:15 PM on February 18, 2018


For jars you can use one of those old fashioned can toppers/bottle openers to lever up the side of the lid and break the seal. Its rather satisfying.
posted by captaincrouton at 11:15 PM on February 18, 2018


All y'all talking about jars prompted me to salvage a couple of really nice washed-out pretty jam jars someone set out on their curb the other day.

I've inherited a shit-ton of wax and candlemaking supplies from a friend who did a lot of candles for craft fairs and shit like that, but is getting ready to move cross-country, and she gave a lot of her stuff to me because I didn't feel like paying through the nose just for freaking candles. So I've been saving and collecting containers to turn into candles - I don't want to futz around with the freestanding ones, I go with container candles only because it's easier (she gave me the wicks pre-stuck on the metal anchors, so I just stick that onto the bottom of a container, then I melt wax in the microwave, pour in some scent, pour the whole thing into the container, boom, done). These were recycled Bonne Maman jam jars, so they have nice pretty lids; I have some strawberry smelly stuff, so I think I know what kind of candles those will be turning into.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:13 AM on February 19, 2018 [4 favorites]


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