Aromantic and asexual are distinct, but often confused.

Aromantic/aro: an individual who feels little or no romantic attraction to others. These folks may still have relationships or hookups, but generally don’t find those evolving into long-term romantic love or monogamy.

Asexual/ace: an individual who feels little or no sexual attraction to others. These folks may still have relationships or hookups but generally don’t feel a specific drive to engage in sex or other physical intimacy with people.

Anyone on either of these spectrums can still have relationships of any type, and anyone on either of these spectrums can still be an asshole in those relationships. Aro people generally don’t form individual romantic bonds, but unless they’re also ace/asexual they are still as sexual as anyone else. As a result, it might appear that they are a bit of a player (sex without long term attachment).

If she is indeed aro but not ace and is in a monogamous relationship, she’s likely not in the best situation for someone with those leanings. It sounds to me like she wants out of the relationship but isn’t willing to be honest about it and is trying to get OP to end it.

My mom swears by drinking something through a straw during conversations where you think you might cry. I have yet to try it out myself, but maybe it’ll work for you :)

I think this is a great thing to talk more openly about!

I have an at-home laser hair removal device (https://us.braun.com/en-us/female-hair-removal/ipls/silk-expert-pro-5-pl5157) that I use on my legs, armpits, bikini line, and boobs. I also use a razor to touch up legs, armpits, and bikini area when I need to. The hair in these areas is a lot slower to grow & more fine than it used to be before I started using the laser device, but it does still come back.

I can’t imagine being the type of person who takes pubic hair removal seriously though. I’ve just got too much and it grows too fast and my skin is way too sensitive to handle it. As someone that isn’t in a relationship and not super into hookups, my perspective is: if you’re going down there you’re welcome and you’re one of the lucky few. I’m not about to cause myself constant discomfort just so my occasional sexual partners have a view of my genitals that they may or may not find more aesthetically pleasing. The idea of putting in all that time, effort, money, and discomfort just so that my vag can look like a child’s is a fucking no for me.

No judgement towards those that do it! Just could never be me.

I’d amend this to say ‘know what the seasonal conditions are for your area and plan accordingly.’ In Washington for example Spring is generally too cold for comfortable camping (the temperature typically drops to ~30-45 during at night). While August/September is peak wildfire season nowadays. So June, July, early August are your best bets unless you’re happy toughing out the cold or the smoke.

On the other hand, I would rather have a job that continues to be needed than no job at all. I think I’d prefer having some resources to help myself and my loved ones during the societal collapse.

Alohaha is great for this, it feels like sitting on a beach at night. Also in that theme are Green Arrow by Yo La Tengo and Island Music by Tennis.

When I got mine in they gave me local anesthesia, and it was still the most painful experience of my life. Turns out rummaging around in your innards produces a type of pain unlike anything I’ve ever felt. I truly can’t imagine how awful it must be without any anesthesia.

It varies based on local legislation, so in some places paying ransoms is banned but it’s by no means universal. It’s totally valid to be against paying ransoms wherever possible, but it’s not entirely black and white in some situations.

For example, what if a hospital gets ransomed? Say they serve an area not served by other facilities, and if they can’t get back online quickly people will die? Sounds dramatic, but critical public services get ransomed all the time and there are undeniable real world consequences. Recovery from ransomware can cost significantly more than a ransom payment if you’re not prepared. It can also take months to years to recover, especially if you’re simultaneously fighting to evict a persistent (annoyed, unpaid) threat actor from your environment.

For the record I don’t think ransoms should be paid in most scenarios, but I do think there is some nuance to consider here.

Per Careless People, the recent memoir that this article pulls from & facebook has been trying to kill, this was one of the many unethical advertising schemes that ultimately traces back to Sheryl Sandberg. A woman who didn’t allow her own children to use fb because she knew she was making it a toxic capitalist hellscape.

I mean vaccines aren’t always 100%. If you’ve been vaccinated you’ll have a much stronger immune response, but it is still possible to get measles if you’ve been vaccinated. 2 doses of the MMR vaccine is on average 97% effective in preventing measles infection (per Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/measles/expert-answers/getting-measles-after-vaccination/faq-20125397).

The bigger issue (like with Covid shots, flu shots, and everything else) is that there are elderly & immunocompromised folks who can’t get vaccines. Their immune systems aren’t strong enough to handle the small dose in the innoculation. So the only way those people are protected is through herd immunity, relying on the rest of us to protect ourselves and our community.

Real talk, do you chomp it raw like chips? Or do you like . . . suck on it until it softens??

I’m a ho for orecchiette, I just love how toothsome it is. Maybe not the absolute #1 for sauce retention but I’m all about that texture.

I have to recommend my #1 favorite focaccia recipe https://alexandracooks.com/2018/03/02/overnight-refrigerator-focaccia-best-focaccia/. It’s super duper easy and basically foolproof, it just requires patience on the cold rise. I’ve never had any issues with it as long as the yeast is good and the water temp is right (~105-115f).

Absolutely this! Octavia Butler literally wrote a fascist American president with the slogan “Make America Great Again” in 1993.

No one rejected them! Although I can’t confirm whether everyone ate them lol. None of my neighbors reciprocate with baked goods, so can’t comment on that, but I am satisfied with the trade even just for good will for me and my barky dog.

But I can confirm that I have baked for years, and have passed out enough goods around the building that no one has cause to mistrust me. I definitely wouldn’t have gone this route if I wasn’t a competent baker.

Personally I love to bake, so when I first moved into my current apartment I made a bunch of small coffee cakes and just cold knocked on the doors of all my neighbors one evening. Some folks weren’t home, but for the people I did meet it broke the ice and set us up to chat more when we ran into each other in the hall. And I was lucky enough to even make 3 good friends who I trade pet/plant care and favors with!

This exercise also quickly identified some people that I would not be friends with and that was valuable too.

I actually have a related question that I’m curious to hear takes on. I’m a leftist, and I own a 1-bed apartment where two good friends of mine rent the apartment right next door. Their landlord is planning to sell next year, and they don’t have the ability to buy it. So depending on who does buy the place, my friends could be out of a home. My sister and I could combine finances to buy their unit (with a mortgage), and ensure that my friends could stay where they are. This would be a bit of a financial burden but doable, and we would need to charge rent to pay back the mortgage.

Would this be a net good or a net evil? I feel very conflicted about potentially being a landlord (especially for friends) but also don’t want them to need to move.

Changing your legal gender is not what makes someone trans. There are tons of trans folks that never change their legal gender for lots of different reasons, even if they’re theoretically able to. It’s just one of the steps that trans folks might take, and not typically an early step, but it’s by no means a binary that defines whether someone is trans or not.

I love how women “often” dying in childbirth is the ideal situation

Hey! Just so you know “eskimo” is actually a slur used to refer the Inuit people (https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2017/11/commentary--edmonton-eskimos-is-a-racial-slur-and-its-time-to-stop-using-it.html).