[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'Philly area has highest percentage of cat owners in U.S.

And pet owners prefer to give animals human names'

Philly area households have a higher percentage of cat ownership than largest metro areas

And I alone sit catless here;
Their very memory is fluffy and bright,
And my sad thoughts doth rear.

It purrs and pounces in my cloudy head,
Like stars upon some chugging hole,
Or those faint beams in which this shit is drest,
After the sun's turned mole.

I see them chomping in an air of glory,
Whose fluff doth trample on my days:
My days, which are at best but dull and hoary,
Mere glimmering and decays.

They are all Gone into the World of Floof by…

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 16 November 2022 - 08:50 PM

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Got a completion date for my flat, it'll be sold just in time for Christmas.

Brilliant on one hand because oh my word has this dragged on since June, and it makes me and Mr Not a Blacksmith a step closer to buying our first home together.... but even though I haven't lived there since February it's very real now that I won't own the little me cave that meant so much to me while I was putting myself back together, and that has a whole bunch of complicated emotions to go along with it. I suspect a weird mixture of celebration and meltdown is in my future!

[Tsundoku]

Ah geez, I think i have something in my eye ...

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 06 December 2022 - 05:42 AM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Police may have caught the guy who stole my mail-in ballot (if that's what happened to it):


'[...] had acquired three USPS arrow keys, which open collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers and apartment panels, as well as at least 15 mail-in ballots stolen from collection boxes [...]

"In recent months, there has been a rise in crimes involving the mail, including mail theft, check washing and robberies of postal carriers,"'

Philly man charged with posing as USPS carrier and mail fraud

... or he could just be one drop in an ocean of delay, loss, theft...

Still annoyed with myself for using my minor toe injury as an excuse for not walking the just-over-1.5-miles to the dropbox... so much for Washington's troops marching through the snow with bare and bleeding feet (come to think of it I hope Elon Musk doesn't start using that as an employee training exercise...).

[Gust Hubb]

Entering month 6 of being separated from my wife (basically my ex, never going back). Life is still very good and a whole lot healthier. She found herself a new job and still seems to be holding it all together, even taking good care of her husky which is a huge relief to me (I considered taking that crazy dog with me when leaving out of fear that it would be ignored). Interestingly, she started dating again already (bumped into a guy with the same RL name as myself) and her laser-like focus on me (hoping to get me back) has been waning. The bittersweet is seeing her start to move on. She was writing goodnight texts to me every day for like 5 months straight and now that rarely happens. That is a pretty big development in her moving on (as small as it may seem to those on the outside). And she seems happy and relatively stable, which is also a good sign.

I have had a lot of good friends in my life, most of which have disappeared into the twilight of history. I really don't have any contact with anyone from the first few decades of my life and barely have anyone I stay in contact with from my last educational bout or previous jobs. I think this is normal for people, but it still feels like being forgotten or discarded. Hence the bitter part of the bittersweet. I am glad to be out of my latest relationship and to see the unshackled freedom ahead, but I will still miss being loved so deeply, however much abuse and unhappiness that circumstance caused. Not to equate my bad relationship with those who suffer life-threating circumstances; I can see, however, one of the insidious reasons why escape can be hard.


Edit: Oh, and I just saw an Instagram post of her selfie with the new me at a concert... so there's that. Again, makes everything smoother hopefully. I got out and there is hope.

This post has been edited by Gust Hubb: 09 July 2023 - 07:00 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Quote

I've never met a Wawa I didn't like - until I met 'robot Wawa'

It's the "Stepford Wives" of Wawas, the "Rosemary's Baby" of convenience stores, the "Get Out" of retail experiences.

[...] taken out of the experience when a customer associate behind the food counter yelled: "Order number 124, Diet Dr. Pepper."

That was it. No "Italian Shorti" or "classic meatball hoagie" followed. Someone just wanted a Diet Dr Pepper, but to get it, they had to place their order at a touch screen, pay their slip at one counter, and wait for someone to call their number at another counter and hand it to them.

[...] "It makes you feel, as a customer, they don't trust you anymore."

[...] With the closure of six Wawas in Center City and nearby neighborhoods [...] many believe the redesign is an effort to curb theft and vandalism.

"I do understand the design because I used to be in here and see a lot of theft going on," [...]

The only things that remain accessible to the public [...] are the self-serve coffee, ATMs, and newspapers (because who would steal those). The store used to have bathrooms [...] but those are gone too.

[...] a Wawa run is about more than the products we buy there. It's about thanking the person who will inevitably hold the door open for you, having random conversations with strangers in the chip aisle, and chatting it up with the cashier [...]

While people will run you over in a Wawa parking lot, something inexplicable happens once you reach that door. It's like a magical portal to civility and kindness.

Are there those who act like fools inside of Wawas? Of course, but it's not all people

University City Wawa without shelves is a robotic experience (inquirer.com)

Hopefully before too long they'll have robotics fetch most of the food as well. Ideally there would also be an option to do it all without having to enter the store and without having to touch the screen (for example, use your own smartphone), to minimize the risk of spreading pathogens.

But the lack of bathrooms is just asking for shit....


[Edit: actually they do have online ordering and curbside pickup apparently.]

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 13 August 2023 - 08:18 PM

[worry]

My wooder ice is gonna melt by the time they bring it out to the jawn!

[Tsundoku]

worry, on 14 August 2023 - 06:58 AM, said:

My wooder ice is gonna melt by the time they bring it out to the jawn!

Google translate is having problems with that one ...

[amphibian]

Gust Hubb, on 09 July 2023 - 05:49 PM, said:

Entering month 6 of being separated from my wife (basically my ex, never going back). Life is still very good and a whole lot healthier. She found herself a new job and still seems to be holding it all together, even taking good care of her husky which is a huge relief to me (I considered taking that crazy dog with me when leaving out of fear that it would be ignored). Interestingly, she started dating again already (bumped into a guy with the same RL name as myself) and her laser-like focus on me (hoping to get me back) has been waning. The bittersweet is seeing her start to move on. She was writing goodnight texts to me every day for like 5 months straight and now that rarely happens. That is a pretty big development in her moving on (as small as it may seem to those on the outside). And she seems happy and relatively stable, which is also a good sign.

I have had a lot of good friends in my life, most of which have disappeared into the twilight of history. I really don't have any contact with anyone from the first few decades of my life and barely have anyone I stay in contact with from my last educational bout or previous jobs. I think this is normal for people, but it still feels like being forgotten or discarded. Hence the bitter part of the bittersweet. I am glad to be out of my latest relationship and to see the unshackled freedom ahead, but I will still miss being loved so deeply, however much abuse and unhappiness that circumstance caused. Not to equate my bad relationship with those who suffer life-threating circumstances; I can see, however, one of the insidious reasons why escape can be hard.


Edit: Oh, and I just saw an Instagram post of her selfie with the new me at a concert... so there's that. Again, makes everything smoother hopefully. I got out and there is hope.

I missed seeing this a month ago.

I'm glad you're out of there. This person doesn't have you centered in their life in a healthy way.

My ex was someone who didn't really post on social media, so fading her out of mine over time (done that way to prevent conflict from exploding) was a good thing to do for me. Maybe that'll work for you.

[Gust Hubb]

I just deleted Instagram so free of Meta, which is really nice. And with that all that is left is texts here and there. I am just playing the time game and letting it all fade, and i think it will work well for me as it it did for you amph.

This post has been edited by Gust Hubb: 16 August 2023 - 03:18 AM