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[cuteshinymew]

Please remember that it is okay to take a step back from a friend’s problems to take care of your own mental health. It is okay to put up boundaries. 

On the other end of this as well, if a friend puts up boundaries to protect their mental health, it does not mean they do not care for you. It’s likely they still care about you very much but need to take care of themselves. 

[cuteshinymew]

Another update on me going MiA

I was starting to feel a little better but I got pretty bad news a week or so ago. I wasn’t doing well enough at my internship to get my contract for the first three months, and they had to make the decision if they were gonna offer me a more official contract at the four month mark.

Thankfully, the last month I’ve been showing good enough results to get the job. But one month wasn’t enough. Thankfully, they’ve offered me an extension on my internship because they still want me to succeed. So it’s gonna be a very close call. I hope I make it.

But yeah no I’m not really okay… but I’ll have to stay strong and focus on work for now. I’ll come back when it’s all better. Both work and my mental health. But this work thing really threw a monkeywrench in the whole thing

[cuteshinymew]

Update on my going MiA

Hello everyone, and especially my online friends

I disappeared from the internet a little over a month ago. I have a pretty bad burnout, which I didn’t fully realize at the time. Partially because I was too busy and overwhelmed to notice, partially because I was heavily in denial. Deep down I already knew I needed a break, but I was in denial because I thought it wasn’t that bad and I didn’t want to miss everyone. After I went offline, it hit me how bad my mental health had gotten.

I was almost at 12 when I left, but I was too stubborn to take the break I needed. When I finally did, I realized how bad it was… I’m glad I avoided hitting that 12 and now I’m at 11 and slowly going back to 10 (no substance abuse though). If I had hit that 12, It wouldn’t have ended well with my job and I would’ve probably done more damage to my life and self esteem. I’m gonna be careful with myself now and take care of myself. I hope you guys do the same, I’m trying not to worry about you and I don’t want you guys to worry about me. I’ll be fine, even if it’s gonna take a long time.

So… TL;DR: my mental health went downhill fast, it stopped going downhill but isn’t going uphill yet either, overall I’m gonna be fine, please take care of yourself, I’m logging off again.

[cuteshinymew]

muffin tins gotta be one of the top five worst dishes to wash by hand. right up there with them fuckass blender blades. all those nooks and crannies like… don’t piss me off

[cuteshinymew]

losing my mind at this amazing story from r/dndmemes some people’s dnd adventures are just. So Fucking Cool

here’s the link and the story, it’s Amazing

[cuteshinymew]

Writing Tips

Punctuating Dialogue

✧

➸ “This is a sentence.”

➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.

➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”

➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”

➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”

➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”

➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.

“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.

“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”

➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”

➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”

However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!

➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.

If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)

➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“

“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.

➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.

➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”

➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.

“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”

➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.

“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”

[cuteshinymew]

the year is 2023, marie kondo holds j*ff b*zos by the skin on the back of his neck in front of a public gathering

“does this one spark joy?” she shouts at the restless audience, they boo in response

she snaps his spine like .5mm mechanical pencil lead and throws his lifeless corpse to the crowd, they cheer in response

[cuteshinymew]

i thought you were a lesbian??

I AM TALKING ABOUT THE FAST FOOD CHAIN

[cuteshinymew]

god i want five guys

[cuteshinymew]

It's that time of year, let's go over how to maintain your leather boots and shoes to last until your feet fall off.

Your leather footwear does not have an infinite shelf life. It requires conditioning in addition to stuff like heel and sole replacement. I'm gonna go over the easiest way to take care of them and ensure you get your money's worth out of those spency boots you bought.

Remember: Take care of your shoes, and they'll take care of you!

Tools you will need

Shoe brush (easy to find at any shoe repair place or online)

Applicator sponge (i prefer the things they use to apply car wax, look for "wax sponge"):

Lint-free cotton rag (polish rags are perfect of course, buy a few extra, having dry clean ones handy is important):

Conditioners to use

Depending on whether you get your boots wet or not, you should choose the appropriate conditioner. Whenever you apply conditioner to your boots they will darken until they dry. However, over repeated conditioning they will take on a darker tone.

This actually looks really nice, and adds character to the footwear that you only get from years of breaking in, but just be aware that this will happen. If you have particularly light leather you don't want this to happen to then you're just going to have to condition sparingly and polish more.

Mink oil (this waterproofs and conditions, use this for leather footwear you plan on getting wet. I actually use this even for stuff I don't plan on getting wet because I like what it does to leather over time):

Leather honey (this does not waterproof, and it is the only non-waterproofing conditioner I recommend so stick with this brand. You can also use it for any other leather item you own):

DO NOT use seals or sprays on leather

Waterproof sprays/seals can work for suede but never ever use it on leather. You will ruin your footwear over time. Leather needs to breathe and dry out when it absorbs sweat and moisture. Creating a waterproof seal is not what you want.

How to condition your footwear:

This is pretty straightforward and easy! Only condition dry, clean footwear. Let wet stuff dry AWAY from heat sources.

Use the shoe brush to brush off any dirt/dust so you're starting with a clean surface. Try to clean out any lint or grime that gets caught in crevices like where the tongue starts

Dab a bit of conditioner on the applicator sponge, like a dime-sized amount.

Put bits of the conditioner on the sponge in a few spots around the shoe by dabbing it on the toe, sides, back, etc. Doing this first will make it a more even application

Use the sponge to work in the conditioner to the shoe in circular motions. If you need more, add more to the sponge a tiny smidge at a time. Don't go overboard.

Once you have it mostly done, use your finger (wear gloves if you want) to work conditioner into the crevices the sponge can't reach. The areas around the tongue and the eyelets (for the laces) experience a lot of wear and stress and you do not want to dry those out!

Wipe any excess clumps off with a clean polish rag. Let dry for at least 6 hours

That's it! Same process if you waterproofed them or not. Simple as. And you just gave your trusty leather footwear a spa treatment they'll love you for.

How often do I do this?

The answer, unfortunately, is "as often as needed". Excessive conditioning is bad. So you need to condition based on frequency of wear and the weather. The more you wear your footwear in shitty conditions, the more often they'll need to be conditioned.

I usually condition everything at least once a year before winter kicks in. Then, it's a matter of just checking the footwear occasionally. Is it starting to feel a little rough and dried out? Then it's time to condition. Does it feel like soft, supple leather? Then it's fine.

Danger Zone

These are sins against leather shoes and boots that cannot be forgiven

NEVER DRY YOUR LEATHER WITH HEAT

Sticking your wet boots by the radiator or vent seems like a logical idea to dry them out faster, but prolonged exposure to heat like this ruins leather. Use a towel to dry any excess moisture, then ley them air dry at room temp.

NEVER LET YOUR LEATHER STAY SALTY

In some places they use rock salt/other salts to melt ice during the winter. So many times I've seen someone's salt-encrusted winter footwear and I've felt the pain those poor soles (ha) are feeling. Salt dries out leather! It's a drying agent!

If you get salty slush water on your boots or shoes, as soon as you get home mix up 1 part distilled white vinegar with 5 parts water. Use a paper towel to apply this solution to the affected parts. Then wipe down again with a damp towel with just water, and let dry. This neutralizes the salt and gets it off. Too high a concentration of vinegar is bad, though.

NEVER WEAR YOUR HEELS AND SOLES OUT

Check the bottoms of your footwear regularly. Are the treads faded? Does the heel look like a doorstop? Take em in to be repaired. And by repaired I mean soles and heels replaced. If you have a shoe place that just glues a new plastic sole over the existing sole, you no longer have a shoe place. Find a good cobbler, it's gonna take research. If you're in New York, I know a guy. Never going to anyone else until he croaks. I love you Cesar.

Shoot me an ask or reply if you have any questions!

[cuteshinymew]

in my hearts of hearts I so deeply believe in the importance of more women shopping in the men's clothing section. particularly gender conforming cis women. hear me out:

pockets. pockets pockets pockets. huge pockets. even in skinny jeans and short shorts. pockets are high priority in men's clothes, and designers are not willing to sacrifice them unless absolutely necessary. even the pajamas and swimsuits have pockets big enough to hold your phone. the audacity

better quality & value. men's clothing is consistently made to last longer. you will find better fabric quality, craftsmanship, and general durability in the men's section.

"men's" clothes might fit you better. clothing is way more gender neutral than you've been taught to think. for dresses and stuff you'll still need the women's section, but you'd be surprised at how well "men's" pants, shorts, shirts, and jackets can fit different bodies. in fact, I would go so far as to say that men's clothes are designed to fit a wider variety of body sizes and shapes than women's clothes. if you are one of the many many women who don't fit the ridiculous cookie cutter mold of modern women's fashion, you may very well have better luck in the men's section.

(this includes people with big chests! being designed for broader shoulders also translates into extra tiddy storage space.)

(plus, universal sizing systems based on your actual measurements.) (pro tip for shorter folks: cuffing or hemming pants is the easiest alteration in the world. you can literally just use safety pins.)

you can still find "feminine" things. it's becoming easier & easier to find "men's" clothes in the bright colors/patterns, tighter fits, and shorter hems traditionally associated with women's fashion. shorts are particularly great--you can find lots of mid-thigh versions that are almost identical to women's shorts, but with bigger pockets and a little more coverage.

(also, as most trans people are already aware, people are pretty eager to assume that everyone around them is cis. I guarantee that you'd be shocked at how many people won't realize you're wearing "men's" clothes. they'll just see a women wearing clothing that fits.)

bonus: it's easier to find stuff that's not see-through/doesn't show bra straps. the irony of this is deeply insulting.

in general clothing manufacturers feel able to pull way more bullshit on female customers. a great way to tell them to FUCK OFF is by spending your money elsewhere. your life will become much comfier in the process!

WARNING: consistently shopping in the men's section may accustom you to new levels of comfort and lack of body-conciousness, and make it difficult for you to return to shopping in the women's section. you may find yourself no longer able to put up with previously normalized levels of bullshit. you may find yourself sewing huge pockets into skirts & dresses, because that is the new baseline you demand of all your outfits. these symptoms may become even more pronounced if you start wearing supportive wide-toed walking shoes.

[cuteshinymew]

I have a bunch of stuff I would love to pin

But I can't pin them all so... here are some things and I will keep adding more.

For everytime I'm insecure, I'll just be reminded to read this. (This is a beautiful anon ask sent to me, but ya'll can read it too, you might relate!)

Stressing about life after school, money problems, jobs, etc? Here's something to help!

A thread of tips to help high school and college students academically!

Is your body being weird? Do you feel nauseous, or have a headache? Maybe this could assist you!

Are you a black trans woman being denied HRT or any other treatment within the United States?? This person on twitter will help you for free!

This post will help you make a great exam study plan!

Things that may help you get your life together!

Validation post you need if you're feeling down!

Procrastinating? Check out these helpful study tips!

Too lazy to write your own essay? Pay this lovely person who really needs the money to write it for you! They assure you it will be flawless.

Becoming an adult cheat sheet

Tips for college classes nobody tells you

How to study with a mental illness

Cool study playlists

Why you shouldn't do drugs (from a kids POV)

Synonyms for 'very'

Useful study apps and chrome extensions

Random sites that are extremely helpful

Inspiration and distractions masterpost

Here's some links that go to archives of flash games

Read any article blocked by a paywall

For a bad night

Lots of blank meme templates

Use the site linked here for writing inspiration

Being sexually abused by a hacker who's threatening to compromise your device? Here's something that could help

A little secret from Dr Bowles about the education sector

Notetaking tips

Survival tips for night owls

[cuteshinymew]

I'm saying this from a place of genuine care: if you are seeing ghosts or shadows or having nightmares... and sageing, eggshells, Crystal's, and psychics arent cutting it..

Please.. please... check for things like gas leaks, water damage, vermin. I'm not saying your house isnt haunted, I'm just saying that carbon monoxide poisoning looks a LOT like being haunted.

[cuteshinymew]

Rex deserves a raise. Rex deserves to be paid. Please pay him.

[cuteshinymew]