Update for Everyone III - The Whinge Binge

[tik 🪀✨]

I am a bit tired of being reminded of dead cats whenever I browse FC. I therefore decided that despite it not quite being a year old, I would end the last Update for Everyone and make a new one. It's so fresh and new and begging to be filled with the banal tales of our inconsequential lives as we careen towards the inevitable all-consuming chasm of death. So, feel free to discuss the goings-on in your life and we will all pretend to read it.

Here is where we left off (Sorry if I leave you out):

Sanchez revealed the verdict to the murder trial saga - guilty as hell. In a month's time they will sentence the man who killed his step-uncle.

Cathcon continues his celebrated tradition of drunken adventures in fratland. He also quit smoking. Will it last? Will he keel over wheezing on the day of his 5k run?

jmfcst is encouraging strangers on the internet to rob him.

SawX made a bunch of you pathetics assume he had gotten lucky. Expect the same thing to happen again when he tells everyone he "cleaned his wardrobe."

HockeyDude is moving back to New Jersey, as is Flo. Will they hook up?

Dave from Michigan has a fat friend whose odour makes milk curdle. How can he let his friend know he smells like ass-extract without damaging his self-esteem?

Tweed bought a brand new TV. Party at his place.

As for me, I am having a splendid day while my partner is away at work doing all kinds of self-indulgent things. "Summer Time" began last night so I'm down an hour of sleep and hoping that adjusting to getting up an hour early for work won't be too hard.

I'm also deciding whether or not I should become the union delegate for my workplace. It pays nothing and is an extra pile of work making sure the company treats everyone well and, eventually, negotiating the employment contract next year. So extra stress without pay! But, I'm tempted to take the role because I think I would grow as a person and that it might look good on a resume (or the opposite).

I'm also saving up money to buy all the parts to build a new, fancy-pants computer, because I can't even run Eclipse on this stupid thing, and it's running on Windows XP which is just sad at this point. I almost have enough for the CPU - I've decided on an i7-4790. Still need to pick a good motherboard, though. I'm thinking Gigabyte. Any ideas?

So, tell me about your day.

Edit: Subtitle made more appropriate, pretentious, and unwieldy (because anagrams are fun).

[tik 🪀✨]

Today we traveled to a small town south of here because my partner had a craving for a pie. I enjoyed a steak and curry pie, and met a bulldog outside the bakery. Her owner said his name was Jelly Beans. Adorable.

On the way there we'd passed some signs advertising fresh fish so we had an adventure finding that. Once there we waited patiently for an older woman to finish banging on about her late husband, then managed to convince the man we didn't need a whole kilo of whiting, thank you. On our way back to the car the old lady suddenly popped up to offer us fresh donuts she'd made for a church fundraiser. Free donuts. Win.

Then this arvo I dicked around in .NET while my partner napped. After she got up we cooked the fish in the actifry, and now we lounge until bedtime. Life is good.

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I can tell it's summer because the mirror ball I hung at the kitchen window only makes a light display inside when the sun is at particular angles in the afternoon from this time of year until mid March. Today it began. It wasn't done on purpose this way, it was a happy accident a couple of years ago. We call it "fabulous hour." Added bonus: from torturing our two cats playing with laser pointers they've learned to randomly attack the spots of light that twirl on the walls and floor. Life is good.

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At the Melbourne airport, nearly time to board our flight to Adelaide to see the wrinkly old Rolling Stones.

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I am very very much looking forward to Christmas and Boxing Day being finished. All of the social activity is leaving me exhausted. And I'm overeating even more than I normally do and drinking even more too much than the too much I typically do. Maybe one goal next year should be to quit drinking every weekend. I quit smoking, surely I can do that. And then lose a few kilos. And then.. profit. I should go to bed.

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That was a very refreshing break. Life is way more interesting when you're not on here all the time.

The only thing that happened to my account while I was gone was a fascinating message from this individual who, six months after I replied to the topic, needed to tell me about how he used to have "very feminine eyelashes."

This. Place.

[tik 🪀✨]

Does anyone know PredictIt? I might be getting a job there over the summer. I'm heading over to their office later to check it out (I live about 15 minutes away).

It looks to be a site that lets you gamble based on politics. It might be an interesting place to work. Or, more likely, it will be soul-crushing toil. Good luck!

If you run into any Kiwis, ask them if they need a bucket or a hose.

When you shave and bae compliments you in front of the whole class

I don't see why that is that embarrassing. I suppose it does depend, of course, on the region you shaved. You didn't specify, so I'll go ahead and assume the worst.

I'm currently on the fourth week of the New and Improved intermittent fasting diet. I did it for a long time just over a year ago and stopped when I got tired of it. Since then, I quit smoking and have been eating like a glutton, so I put all the weight back on. Since it's been nearly a year since I quit smoking (HURRAY) I figured I could go ahead and try again. Turns out when you have the resolve to fast, hunger is easy to not just ignore, but embrace. I've lost 3 kilos so far, I'm aiming to lose about 20 (why not?)

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Do I really want friends? I'm unsure. Too often they seem a chore and too unreliable.

Friends are hard. Personally I find it difficult to ride the line between being available for them but remaining isolated enough to do what I want, what with free time being so precious to me. Maintaining these friendships when all they want to do is seemingly waste your time doing things you don't enjoy is a chore. But they're having a great time, and I do appreciate them as people, but is that even friendship? I don't know anymore. If not the only friends I have are my partner - and people back in the States who I've known forever and could not talk to for years and it not be a big deal. I suck at maintaining connections with the few interesting people I do get to know now, too. Thinking about this is depressing.

[tik 🪀✨]

I spent basically all of yesterday in distress, wondering if the way I thought I saw myself was a lie I held close in order to avoid going through with what I may have to do in order to feel complete. I'm lucky I have a partner who understands, although I wish I had friends I could talk to as well. What's worse is I woke up this morning not feeling the distress.. making me wonder if I felt that way yesterday for nothing or if it will just sneak up on me again. Either way, it's time I finally went to see a therapist and talk about it. But even discussing it openly scares the sh**t out of me. So I'm pretty confused at the moment, and think I'll bury myself into some programming now.

[tik 🪀✨]

Happy Birthday, indeed! I can't believe how young you are judging by your serious breadth of knowledge.

My thoughts exactly. Happy birthday.

[tik 🪀✨]

A few posts above I mentioned that an older brother of mine died a few weeks ago.  Not a single condolence response from any of you?  Ok.  Nice "community."

I didn't see it, I mostly skim posts here unless several people reply. Odd habit. That is incredibly sad, though, and I hope you have someone close to keep you sane during this. I cannot imagine what that would be like. I've never lost someone that close, and then, for him only in his fifties.. that is a tragedy. I hope you can find some happiness despite it all somehow.

[tik 🪀✨]

I've lost seven kilos (15 pounds) now in two months, and I am happy about that. The last time I did this I didn't measure my progress. I'm glad I decided to track how well I'm doing this time, it's keeping me motivated. I've also come out as seriously questioning my gender to a handful of people (including everyone who reads this I guess) and so far everyone has been, well.. at least not negative. I don't really care, anyway.. assholes will be assholes, at least I'm being honest with myself.

I'm sitting outside trying to enjoy the weather and some horrid person is smoking an e-cigarette. Yes, I can smell it. It doesn't smell like a conventional cigarette but it smells like something - I just can't quite tell what.

Propylene glycol is usually what is used to give the vapour its smokey appearance in electronic cigarettes. It is the same chemical used in fog machines. And, as anyone who has been in a room with a fog machine running can attest, it does have an slight odour. Flavourings and nicotine itself also have smells, although, of course, they are only slight. If someone spilled nicotine liquid, though, you'd smell it. Stuff is stanky.

[tik 🪀✨]

72 hours is peak, and it gradually subsides. Once you go through with it, though, I'd never touch the stuff again, not even a little. Withdrawal is annoying enough once.

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Running people: what sort of shoes do you recommend? I want to be less..  people. And the stationary bike is taking too long.

[tik 🪀✨]

Running people: what sort of shoes do you recommend?

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I want so badly to be a normal woman.

No you don't. Because then you wouldn't be you. 'Normality' is overrated.

As can be abnormality.

Not that I disagree.

[tik 🪀✨]

I want so badly to be a normal woman.

No you don't. Because then you wouldn't be you. 'Normality' is overrated.

As can be abnormality.

Not that I disagree.

What is normal?

That's my go to response, but you have to admit it is a bit of an empty cliche in practice. No one is truly normal, but not all abnormalities are created equal.

What ends up mattering is acceptance of yourself, I think.

[tik 🪀✨]

Just got finished going out for lunch with my in-laws, and now I'm waiting to go out to a birthday party for a coworker. Kind of dreading that, seeing work people outside of the context of work, but I'm sure it will be alright.

Also trying to get in to see a psychiatrist about my issues after having talked to my GP, who basically fell all over himself to give me as much support and information as possible, which was exceptionally nice of him. I am happy to be alive in this day and age sometimes.

[tik 🪀✨]

[tik 🪀✨]

Not that anyone here who hasn't already heard gives a sh**t, but in the past few months I have come out to a whole slew of people (including my family) as transgender, brought my weight loss to a total of 18 kilos, started seeing a psychologist, as well as a psychiatrist who has told me he will give me a referral to an endocrinologist next month to begin taking hormones, and I've been working 50 hours a week as well.

Last night I went out dressed properly for the first time. I went for teppanyaki with my wife and some friends to celebrate a birthday. As for goals I had this year.. they all seem to be happening. It's all been incredibly stressful, but completely worth it. I hope that when I come out the other side I'll have the confidence to actually achieve things like finishing school and finding work that is more satisfying to do mentally, and you know.. just finally relax.

Anyway, just had a few minutes to spare and thought updating here would be fun since I'm barely on here anymore having basically self-exiled to AAD.