You have already started to fix your life - you see what you did and own it. Now act. Action is the best thing to counter this. Don't do it alone, though. Find some free counseling or talk with a friend. Write here. The thing is to start and face the hurdles, know there will be set backs. At 21 I wish I had had your honesty and truthfulness. All I had was self-pity and it has taken me a long time to understand it and to work to change it.

Everyone has a valid point - corporations are for the shareholders, not the employees. Ikea in Europe is very different than Ikea in the US. In the US, if you don't work and be glad for crumbs, you are an ingrate and lazy. Such BS! Years ago I walked into a large CVS - one employee for the entire place. Retail is hell. And that is why I always tell people - get a trade! get a profession! Get something that will get you out of this kind of service profession. If you have to sacrifice a bit to get training that will carry you forward in the world, it is worth it. Hard at times, but worth it. At one point I was doing 36 hours of school and internship a week as well as working 5 part time jobs. It made a difference, but it was hell while I did it.

I think professional have always been a problem, from the top down most often. Those in power exploit those below.

I think this is so interesting! I have never studied music and am very curious about this whole idea. I am even thinking of studying the frets and notes on the tabs for the low G song and seeing how I might put them into a high G strung uke - by making the notes move to other strings. No idea how it will work but it sounds like a fun thing to do. Nothing bad will come out of it - for sure I will learn something. Anyway, I will be coming back to your explanation and looking at in detail. Thanks for your time!

I do understand the body totally rejecting food - whether allergy, aversion, whatever. Forcing people to eat things they don't like does no one any good, but encouraging the horrid pickiness I see in so many American kids just gets me. Add to that being forced to eat at a desk and work at top speed, or being made to feel guilty about sensitivities is soooooo stupid! I cannot eat certain foods myself for a variety of reasons - but forcing people to eat something as punishment or to prove they are liars - that always amazes me. The perpetrators were most likely given the same treatment they are handing out.

In some ways, your aversion to fatty meats and organs is probably quite a healthy gift!

Just came across this article, and since food is the subject, I found it really interesting - not that it applies to you, but I am aware of some people who may have this - https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/02/health/arfid-eating-disorder-wellness/index.html

What do you mean by "transpose the music up a fourth"? That clarification may help. Thanks.

Like many kids, we had to eat what was on our plates. I think that this practice is in part from the days when food was scarce or hard to get, or maybe it is some fundie interpretation of "spare the rod" etc.

Whatever, kids in the US are used to being kings at the dinner table, in home and out, with special menus and such for their kiddie brains. The French kids have a much better relationship with food - for one thing, they get real food at school and time to enjoy it. In the US, the food is totally gross in the school cafeterias, and at work you have to shove it down your throat to be a good worker - and eat at your desk - and so on. Food is life, and even if not something you like to eat, the companionship of people you enjoy can make all the difference.

What is your budget, how much do you play, and what do you want? Now, I will admit to this: I go to my uke store (or other specialty shops) to try things out, I don't worry about price, sort out what I like, and then make my decision. To me, this is important because if I don't like something, I won't ever enjoy it. This is for all of life's little luxuries, but this approach has done me well in many situations.

Gay avengers are the best men out there!!

I agree with you. In CA we got our first house with 10K down and FHA loan - then the bubble burst after we bought our 2nd house and it was really awful for awhile with variable mortgages on both houses - in the end made some tough decisions, sold one house, kept the other, and kept going along with by refinancing until we got it down as low as we could - but still missed out at the lowest point of the interest market. I hate to think what people have to do these days to get a house - but ones in our neighborhood do sell even today though more slowly. Our elderly neighbors bought their house when inflation had interest on mortgages at 15-18%.. It's tough.

Yes, you are very lucky. I think family love is so important, and even if people are not demonstrative by nature, they need to show it, especially for children who are very concrete in many ways. My own family was isolated, insular, and filled with anger and rage and corporal punishment and sometimes rather sadistic behavior. The youngest child is the most well-adjusted and happy as he came later in life and my parents had settled down and had realized that a heavy hand and mutual animosity did not create pleasant situations. I even had a written apology from my father years later, which I appreciated. Still, the effects of a lack of love and the above behavior leaves its mark. As an adult, I need to address it and work with my history, as do my siblings; this is our responsibility and no one else's to make the best of what we were dealt. I am sure you are aware of many who do not have what you do, and probably work hard to make the world a better place because you know it can be.

I always find these reviews so fascinating. So many ukes, so little time. What I enjoy is listening to the sounds, finding out the tone woods and combinations of woods used - how different ones respond - and, of course, opinions. There is a lot to be learned here!

I have one and it is a workhorse. Many people compare the 15-91 to the 201 - 15 being the "farmer's wife" machine as it can sew so many things - use the right needle though! - while the 201 is the seamstress's machine. Both are excellent. My biggest issue is the bobbin, though, because it is a nuisance at times to place into the machine for me. Top loading bobbins, like the 66 and 99, are my preference, of which I have both. That aside, it is a consistently reliable machine. Threading - pay attention to directions for thread direction through the needle and how to do the upper thread. The bobbin thread, too, needs to be done properly.

That said, since these are older machines, be sure to check the wiring, clean it up and oil it. Once up and running, you will have a lifelong friend. Mine is in a suitcase with a wooden base - not really easily portable but certainly I can lug it around as needed.

Enjoy!

Not the original poster, but one way people use shame is by comparing - your brother / sister doesn't do this. You embarrassed me. You should know better. Act your age, not your IQ. Anything which debases the person is shaming.

Digital or film, I keep them nearby. I also tend to be paranoid about surroundings - ie cautious - so watch who is around. Anytime I feel uncomfortable, I move on. I think securing things helps, but is no guarantee. Knives can cut through things, two or more people can distract you, blah blah blah. If you have expensive stuff, insure it for some sense of security.

No. This is someone not inside the bell curve.

I agree. I always fear I will be like this when I get the D word.

This is definitely not normal behavior . . . I wonder if she has a personality disorder that needs regulation and patterns for her to function. If so, someone should come with her if possible. Medication for mental illness is important, but maintaining it is so easy to NOT do. I feel sorry for her - if she isn't ill, she sure must be an unhappy person.

Where have all the hippies gone?

Long time paaassing - where have all the hippies gone - long time agooooo?

Paraphrase . . .

Yes, you are right. It just seems guys are like this more often than women, but women can be very, very nasty. I guess my little world of beliefs is changing - but not shattering as there are nice, decent people of both sexes everywhere.

What's wrong with you? Greedy bastards rule!

Just kidding. I look at my mortgage vs rent - it is sad and scary, more so with the corporate and uphill flow of money to the oligarchs.

Every "evil" is a challenge to master because our shadow selves need to be acknowledged and celebrated rather than squelched and despised. It does not mean to let them rule you, but to know they are there. "Good" things need to be appreciated for their gifts, but not to be used as ways to avoid responsibility or growing and developing.

Where we are, a $3100.00 / month one bedroom is considered a decent price.

Sadly, every generation is labeled by the one above it as just lazy and entitled and then cursed by the ones below it . . . .