I am wondering which I like better, the silent treatment or the acidic criticism. I bought our daughter an advent Calendar with a little piece of candy for every day. Got slammed for giving her sweets. It's not really about that.

Hmmm...if you ask me, I think I like the silent treatment better. It's not actual open warfare, so you can just feel a bit superior that she is being so petty

Why'd you get slammed for giving her sweets? I mean it's your own damn business... right? Or are people just completely incapable of staying in their own damn backyards?

Ordered a hoodie from Etsy, I chose the 'pay in advance' option because nee online-banking. Didn't find or get any data on where to send the money so I sent the seller a message about it. No answer for 1.5 weeks and now my order got cancelled.
My account told me I haven't sent any messages at all, somehow.

I want that damn hoodie!

Dealing with nausea from an unusually heavy period.

I knew something was up when my period came at the beginning of the placebo week. I was painful to deal with in interfacing, I had the worse cramps, I was having like pseudo pregnancy cravings (like eating weird stuff in large amounts) and today I had nausea.

My father then told me, judging by my symptoms "You doing end-of-year cleaning? Your mother used to suffer from these every so often. Think of it as routine maintenance. You'll resume regular functions next time."

My father is a man who cares for the women in his life enough to help if needed. My family is known for a closeness that is awkward at best, but awkward is just part of large families.

So yes, the past few days were just ARGGHworthy with a Period from Hell. Probably Tartarus. It became more ARGGHworthy when I found out it came from my mom, so you can bet this will be part of my life until menopause sets in.

I was around your age (you're 32?) when I started to have issues (33). Wacky, very heavy periods. I went back and forth to different gynos. They may try to check your hormones or like you say, this can be normal and genetic. You're on the pill? (you mentioned placebo week). Also you were sick for awhile recently so that can affect your periods. I'm not a doctor and your dad is a wise man.

I had extremely heavy periods when I reached menarche (my first cycles were sometimes heavy enough to stain through the mattress.) I eventually was put on birth control for a number of reasons, PCOS was one of them when I was 19 prior to removal of a softball-sized ovarian cyst about 12 years ago. My cycle was regular from then on, fairly like, like barely absorbed anything because barely anything came out. This past cycle was a surprise. But if my father is correct, it should resume as the prior of being feather light.

My annual was partially interrupted and the "check under the hood" was put on hold until my blood pressure went down.

Unfortunately, my insurance have denied an obesity medicine and a statin. I'm a 5'3" 300-pound woman with Mediterranean blood through my mother. When they did pre-op for my implant, I got a stare of "How are you still alive?"

Even though I get certain leeways under regulations for disabled and elderly patients, there are some restrictions.

SMH. I can't believe you were denied for those medications.

In Washington state, it would be given, no questions asked, but New Jersey is on a tighter budget in terms of who gets what.

Under some jurisdictions, weighing 300 pounds or over can label me physically disabled.

Bad enough that the disabilities I was diagnosed with when I was younger are making life hell when I try to keep up with others.

It's like waking up and screaming "Nooooo!" at my reflection. Although it does eventually get boring.

On going drama between my brother and his live in girlfriend. He's a hot mess and hellbend on dragging everyone down with him. My sister called me to give me the latest drama and I just feel sorry for my parents being subjected to his problems this late in their lives. It's not going to end well. He uses his bi-polar issues to bully everyone. I said to my husband last week that I can tell he is going to crash (he was in the manic phase the last few weeks, working hard, being his "better self") even though he was rather obnoxious on Thanksgiving. So today my sister tells me the latest and I just said to my husband and son let's continue to distance ourselves from him and his issues. It's not the "bi-poplar" or "depression" (that runs in our family) but the cruelty I will not deal with.

So, this is kind of a clang association, and while the intro to my point may sound political, PLEASE don't turn it that way. There's a politics thread if you want to talk about it, but let's not pollute this one.

Did anyone see the clip of Biden attacking a man who asked a question about his son? He called the man fat, bragged that he was in better shape, challenged the guy to pushups, and then used the word "fat" as if it were the person's name, like "listen to this, Fat".

We live in a world where it's not okay to refer to a person by the pronoun identifying their biology (again, not debating, just stating), but you can call someone fat? how is that okay?

Because fat discrimination is one of the few we still allow.

Was not trying to make it into a political statement. However, it's a stark contrast from what I grew up with and into my own.

Although, depending on your state, attitudes can dictate every nuance of government-controlled entities.

Washington was known for their "I'll sue\PC culture" so just giving the medicine was part of a rather distant "I don't want any trouble, so take it and leave" culture. This was my observation of Washington state healthcare

I was unaware that New Jersey was something of an opposite, not to mention, ranking #46 out of the 50 states in a niceness ranking (New York ranked dead last at #50) but with these tough-it-out attitudes, I will be writing a letter of appeal with my doctors for the medicine.

Problem is, like @HCAC said, fat-shaming is still somehow acceptable and I might add, shaming people into losing weight can backfire in a number of ways.

In fact for the longest time, I don't regularly eat on time like at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's usually lunch\dinner and a snack somewhere in between. But I also suffer from a low blood sugar issue and my hangry fits are worse than average people's.

Keep in mind, I never intended to bring politics into the thread. I was only stating the facts of what you're likely to encounter in those types of situations. I hope this explains my comparison.

Oh sweetie, I wasn't talking about you. My own statement could easily have been taken as political. That's all I was talking about. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Forgive me. I tend to take blame easily whenever I feel like I did something out of line.

i had a horrible nightmare, i don't think i would be able to sleep tonight because of a horror nightmare about changing into an demon (this is how i feel now)

The IEEE ran an article advocating that engineers take LSD.
I left a comment that was inappropriate for what is supposed to be an academic organization that publishes peer review articles on electronics.
I was... censored! It's gotten that bad. I've honestly not seen that many decent articles being published. Anything decent like Boston Dynamics is all trade secret and most everything else is just regurgitated and rehashed math about moving robot arms.
I'm not going to renew next year. First the American Physical Society, and now the IEEE.

Edit: Ah! Got the latest IEEE magazine. The cover article is about a Boston Dynamics robot. Boston Dynamics makes the best robots. They never publish anything, Like I said last Thursday! I'm thinking "Oooh Boy! they're gonna tell all about it!" Two pages, mostly photo, that tells me nothing other than it's an agile robot. They mention a small hydraulic valve, but not hint as to the design. There is a long article about using an aerial drone to collect whale snot however.

Yeah, double post. Sorry.
I think my pastor forgot about me. He was going to arrange my confirmation. It was supposed to have happened by now. It would only be a big deal if I changed and went to a different church of the same denomination. He said last Sunday he's going to substitute for another pastor at another church for a month or so. He's very good... I worry he's going to be gone for good. The other church pastor disappeared and was replaced. I guess he pissed off a mortal higher up in the chain of command.
It's just with my favorite pastor gone, literally no one in the church will know I'm even there.

Anxiety. I am on high alert tonight because of North Korea and their Christmas surprise.

Why would you be on high alert over something you have absolutely no control over? North Korea has always been threatening the USA and other countries but this is only shitty propaganda you shouldn't fall for. Stay calm and don't let those fools intimidate you and spoil your Christmas time. Take care!

It's not so much the impact, but the fallout will reach my part of the country and disaster cleanup is insufficient for both state and federal agencies at the varying levels required.

Back when atomic bomb testing was conducted in the Southwest desert of the United States, the fallout rained down as far as New Jersey, which is where I technically live and yes, it's a big deal to have to deal with an army in Hazmat Yellow.

Granted, they can only reach the West Coast. Hence the "if" on fallout.

This is going to be a tough Christmas. I really needed everything to be perfect since it is. So, I got up this morning and couldn't find my small gift for my daughter. I got her a gift card, but hate giving those, so I got something small to go with it. Now it's gone.

To top that off, I opened the box from Chewy that was supposed to have all the pet stockings in it. Nope, they doubled my monthly order instead. Great. I have a pack of toys under the seat of my car, but nothing for my son's animals.

Also, the car? My son still has it for repair. Six weeks I've been without it. So, nothing is wrapped cause I didn't buy wrapping paper. No one has Christmas candy.

And, oh year, my mother died earlier this year, so.......

yeah.

Nevertheless, I'm forever grateful for the Gift we were all given that we celebrate. This year, like no other before, Jesus is really the only reason for the season.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. May your days be merry and bright.

But this is not gonna happen. Those who lived during the Cold War remember very well the threat a nuclear war would bring about. Now there's no need to worry. Don't let anyone make you go nuts. Just live your life and take care of yourself. Otherwise, you'll go crazy.

Had a shitshow of a day.

Ended up ruining a project I worked on for so long.

Ate over the number of calories I am alloted in the day as my parents are starting me being reintroduced to smaller portions and water-only drinks like seltzer and aquifer water until the morning of the 8th of January. Then a new change or two is added to the regimen. It's a week or two at a time from what my parents knew about dieting sensibly.

Got unsolicited advice and vented about it because I hate people who give unsolicited advice. People who give unsolicited advice are like old women who tell old wives tales to a pregnant woman, thinking they're doing a service.

Truth is, they never do.

It irritates me to no end. My suggestions are for the short term, until something better comes in and BTW...I can't find the God damned eggs. I can make omelettes, but first I need to find the eggs. It's like playing Tetris in the Relativity house.