#but costco pays better

[ciaseeds]

dress for the job you wish you had (librarian)

[boudicca]

dorm fees are already exorbitant but why would i spend $600 a month for a meal plan when i could spend like half that on food that doesn't make me nauseous just to look at

[softgrungeprophet]

oh what a fun night i'm having as i realize all the ways in which my glasses suck but i thought was a me problem.

so my first experience with the optometrist in Spokane so far has been like...

-Extremely limited options for frames (okay whatever, i don't like hard plastic but fine.)

-Refused to even look at my previous, broken frames or the undamaged lenses when i brought them in. (even though my old frames are also generic and covered by medicaid. so like. why couldn't they just order those frames again? the model and number are printed inside the arms...)

-Forgot the AR coating I asked for, so this whole time what I thought was me hating anti-reflective coating was actually "bigger lenses make the lack of a coating way more noticable" for the past month

-Super brief when doing adjustments and did not listen when I said the new frames seemed crooked (and now i have an irritated red spot above my ear on one side from the arm rubbing and pressing there)

-Didn't measure pupillary distance (which was not on my Rx transfer so it's not like they had it already.) And of course I've only been wearing glasses for a year so how was I supposed to realize you're supposed to measure it every time?!

no fucking wonder i hate these glasses and feel like i see worse wearing them compared to my previous pair. They're not fitted or measured right and they didn't even give me the lens treatments I was supposed to have.

i may as well have ordered glasses online for how shitty these ones are.

the only positive i can say is that staff were at least friendly but like... i would rather be actually listened to than treated cheerfully if i were forced to choose... especially at the eye doctor of all places.

[bmpmp3]

can i apply for some kind of grant or something somewhere so i can get a proper ergonomic chair and table that actually fits me and my nonstop manspreading. can i get some kind of institution to cover the cost PLEASE

[seat-safety-switch]

Bicycles kick a lot of ass these days. When I was a kid, a bicycle would only go as fast as you could pedal. Maybe, if you were really a huge asshole, you could take the bus to the big city and buy one of those mini-moped kits from a motorcycle shop. Then you could break playground-zone speed limits with enough two-stroke burble and pop to arouse every police officer within thirty miles.

Nowadays, you can slap some Chinese-made wonder magic on your Norco and do three or four horsepower without even knowing how to solder. In fact, it's much better if you don't know anything about electronics, because that level of knowledge will prevent you from extracting the maximum value out of your investment of "some vape batteries" and "a motor I found on Amazon whose name YouTube can't consistently pronounce." Electrical engineers are just too damn afraid of fire to go really fast.

Sure, you have to show fealty to the all-knowing microcontroller inside the magic motor box. Pinky-swear to it that you live in the hypothetical lawless wonderland that would allow you to have this much wheel-bending, mind-melting torque on a public pedestrian pathway. Honestly, it's its own fault if it believes a shifty character such as yourself. Not that the local cops are going to pull over Bob Tongsheng on his way to deposit your money in his bank, either. It's this kind of primitive hot-rodding that once made this country great: neglecting the existence or worth of anyone and everything outside of your vehicle in lieu of Go Fast.

Sure, this sort of thing will only last for awhile. Pathways are already filling up with lots of zingy e-mopeds and e-deathscoots, ridden by perfectly normal people. Your 1500-watt stealth bomber build is going to get pulled on by a pensioner within a year or two, as the market begins to demand enough cargo room (and rollover protection!) to do a once-a-month Costco run with the entire fam in tow. Inevitably, the cops are going to have to crack down on the whole deal, too.

For a glorious, shining moment, you too can dig a rusty mountain bike out of a creek and have it doing 50 miles an hour by watching a YouTube video. That's something previous generations simply could not have imagined. Which is their loss, really. If they had gotten off their asses earlier and figured out the lithium-ion battery, we could all be driving $100 50-horsepower ebikes right now instead of having to pay Big Battery for the "latest and greatest" in burning your garage down.

[cdragons]

You lived on the Cut, but you knew your situation was far better than most of your friends.

While you were by no means a Kook, your family had enough money to be comfortable. Sure, it wasn't a beach mansion with 10 bedrooms, 8 baths, and a decked-out pool - but it was more than enough.

Your parents had full-time jobs that paid the bills, put food on the table, and gave you a roof over your head. Most importantly, they could comfortably afford Costco executive memberships for both.

At first, they were skeptical about paying so much for a membership fee, but when they saw the annual 2% rewards on qualified Costco purchases - they were sold.

The only Costco on the island was in Kitty Hawk, which was about a 15-minute drive without traffic. Because of your parents' schedules, the only times they had time were on the weekends. They always took you with them, of course. Weekends were the best part of the week, not because you got out of school but because you got to go to Costco.

Your parents made it so fun, too! Costco was your own little amusement park - your parents let you ride in the shopping cart as you waved to fellow shoppers, your family tried each and every sample cart dispersed throughout the store, and you got to have a giant slice of pizza and soda from the food court!

Not only that, but the people at the exit would always draw a balloon on the receipt after they checked the cart!

The moment you were able to get your driver's license, you wanted to get a membership, too. You paid for it with the money you saved up from years of babysitting, working at the Kook Country Club, and even helping out with the Wreck.

You loved the store so much. Even when the Pogues would ask you to join them on the weekends, you told them you couldn't go because you had to go shopping with your parents.

Finally, JJ (your amazingly sweet, sexy, funny, wonderful boyfriend who you had a crush on since the sixth grade) wanted to find out what was so dang special about this "eXCluSivE" warehouse store that it meant he had to be kept away from his (out-of-his-league, gorgeous, smart, sunshine smiles) girl (who he's been in love with since the third grade).

Luckily, your dad had a job that was gonna take up the entire weekend. Your mom and you could have gone, but your dad was the heavy lifter of the family - you two needed him for the real heavy stuff.

That's where JJ comes in!

You and JJ were lying on the hammock the afternoon before the trip when you asked him if he could join you and your mom to Costco because they needed help loading stuff into the house afterward.

"It's nothing too crazy, but mom's been getting a lot of night shifts lately, and I don't want her to strain herself more than she already has to. I'll treat you to whatever you want at the food court!" What kind of heartless monster would JJ have to be to refuse? God, he wanted to smush your cheeks between his palms and kiss every part of your face from then till the rapture. Besides, your folks have been so good to him since he was a tot. Which is pretty much exactly what he did. "Don't worry, pretty mama; papa J'll get it done."

...Listen, he still thinks it's weird your parents fork over so much money just to shop at this one store when there's a perfectly good Bobby Heyward on the Cut. Buuuuut, he'll go along with anything you do if it means he gets to see that 1000-megawatt smile you shine his way.

The next day, you and your mom pick JJ from the Chateau, and JJ's never seen you so excited, ever. You're practically hopping like a little bunny, and he would've pulled you onto his lap if your mom wasn't there.

"I can't wait for you to see it! You're going to love it! Everyone's so nice, and the food there is so cheap, you'll never want to leave." JJ couldn't help but affectionately roll his eyes at your excitement. Anyone else, he'd think they'd lost their marbles or hit their joint too much - but for you, it was nothing short of adorable. "Baby," he kissed your cheek. "S'just a store - ain't gonna be Disney."

...He was wrong...he was sooooo wrong. JJ's jaw fucking dropped at the sight of the massive warehouse since your mom pulled into the parking lot, all the way to when they entered the store when she pulled out her card for security to check.

You had to physically shut his mouth out of fear he'd eat a bug.

JJ was starin' at everything like he was at Disney, and he really might as well have been. He begged your mom if it was alright if they could walk in every aisle to see it all. Your mom raised a brow before seeing the absolutely adoring expression you had on your boyfriend.

How could you help yourself? He looked so cute, all excited!

She agreed, and immediately, JJ went to the electronics sections and plopped down at the TV with the biggest screen and the best graphics he'd ever seen. From there, he found the section in the beginning where the coupon and sale items were located and immediately gunned for the discount toothpaste and razors.

"Baby! They give you a pack of 30 here! "...I don't think your peach fuzz counts. And do you even brush your teeth every day?" "Uh, 'scuse me - I will for these prices. And don't think I don't know how many of these bad boys you n' Kie go through each month. Your cooch will never be growing out of its jungle with these bad boys."

The food and household sections are his own damn paradise. He tries every sample and goes back for more, and the workers treat him like he's a freaking golden retriever puppy.

"Babe, babe, babe - this place gives you two loaves for ONE SET! ONE SET! LOOK AT THE CAKES AND MUFFINS! Oh shi- we need to bring Pope. He'll lose his rocks for this."

Sees the prices for the Kirkland products and immediately insists that anything else is "boUgIE."

"5 BUCKS FOR A PACK OF 40?!" "It's 3.99 if you're a member."

Immediately goes and loads two packs into the cart. You warn him not to let Kie know that you and your family voluntarily bought plastic water bottles - he does not care.

"(Y/N), she can crucify me upside down n' shit; we're not missing out on this deal."

He sees the $5 rotisserie chickens and physically stops the cart. You slam into his back and barely have enough time to grab onto his shirt to stop him from getting another cart and filling it up with chickens.

"We don't need so many chickens!" "THINK OF ALL THE STUFF YOU CAN MAKE!" "We'll get one for you for now and come back another time!" "But-" "I'll even let you sit in the cart!"

Finally, you and your mom got everything from the shopping list (along with a few other things upon JJ's request), and you three could finally head out for the checkout.

Just when JJ thought he couldn't love Costco more, he finally saw his heaven...the Costco food court.

$2 slices of pizza...$1.50 for a hot dog, and a free refill soda combo...$3 smoothies...$2 soft serves...$9.95 18-INCH PEPPERONI PIZZAS????

...Fuck the Wreck, this was officially the best restaurant on the whole fucking island.

Your mom gives the green light for you and him to get a table, and JJ practically jumps on the first empty table (there were still grease stains and ketchup spills from the previous seaters) and sets his stuff down. His giant 6' body is leaning over smaller frame as he watches you press the buttons on the order kiosk.

"Two hot dogs...one pepperoni - no, make that two - no, three - fuck it, get the whole pie...holy shit, they got churros?!"

After you pay and grab the receipt, you two wait by the window for your food as JJ is buzzing with the biggest smile you've seen on him since you two got together. A couple of onlookers are staring at the two of you - some with skeptical expressions, others warmly chuckling at his excitement.

When your number is called, the mountain of food you ordered requires only the most delicate and careful balancing acts for you two to get back to the table where your mom was. Thankfully, she cleaned the table and got the napkins before you all sat down. She volunteered to fill the sodas - Coke for you and her, Mountain Dew for JJ.

The noises he makes while eating are borderline pornographic and make everyone around your immediate vicinity uncomfortable. Parents, grandmas, kids, and employees are giving your table the BIGGEST side eyes; meanwhile, you're just eatin' your pizza and sippin' your soda with the straightest poker face. Occasionally, you turn around and stare at your blonde menace with the most lovestruck expression in the history of ever, and you're just so happy to be the one to give him this experience.

While he's on the john, you snuck away and bought the prettiest bouquet you found in your price range. Afterward, you went back to the food court kiosk and sorted a chocolate soft-serve cup just for him! The look of pure, unadulterated adoration on his face when you gave him the bouquet alone made you wanna cry tears of joy, and when you showed him the ice cream cup - he immediately picked you up and spun you in a circle with everyone watching.

Your mom was 100% recording the whole thing and sent it to your dad.

At the exit, you asked if the lady could draw a balloon. She looked over, confused before she saw your golden retriever puppy of a boyfriend and even drew a smiley face on the balloon. It goes without saying JJ keeps the receipt in his wallet.

Literally the happiest person on the Cut, he's skippin' everywhere, all day. Nothing can bring him down, not even the fucking high prices Mike Carerra charges for one fucking drink at the Wreck.

Keeps the receipt so he can brag about how much your family saved to the other Pogues. John B and Pope do not believe him until they scroll through all dozens of pictures in JJ's camera roll of every glorious thing he saw at Costco.

...They beg you to include them next time.

This is for all the JJ girlies who want some fluff! Let me know in the comments what you think, and reblog if you enjoyed reading it and want more!

Tagging: @ethereal-athalia, @dipperscavern, @instructionsnotincluded, @darlingchronicles, @ruerecs, @excbambi , @jjsfavgirl , @bre99 , @redhead1180, @markno

[3liza]

idk what to tell you about eggs. national averages mean shit to us in expensive cities. here are the current, today egg prices at the closest normal, non-rich person grocery store. this represents the price here in Seattle after the recent price drop following the bird flu purge + rebound. the fancy organic dozens are currently up to $12. amazon is currently cheaper than this, amazon currently has the cheapest groceries that i priced last time i had to buy some (about 2 weeks ago), which is ludicrous.

the ~$4 options you see here are, just for me in my local store and when i personally go to buy food, generally not actually on the shelf when i am in the store in person, but the more expensive options will be. that's how people end up paying $8 for a carton of eggs when the national average is $2. the reported national averages are reporting the averages of listed products, not the averages of what real people are actually ending up paying if they buy eggs.

the prices on this page are absurdly high compared to the prices i'm seeing from googling "cost of eggs 2024 averages". this is what i mean by the reported data being unreliable or extremely contextual at best. i just looked up two different charts that reported the most expensive dozen eggs they could find in the country were about $4.16. that's clearly not what's actually happening here.

the average price of eggs in Colorado as gathered by a well-meaning data person on Reddit does not actually have that much to do with how many american fiat dollars i pay for a carton of eggs at the grocery store i can actually get to in my own personal neighborhood. i have no idea why people are dying on this hill. the next salvo is going to be "learn2shop better loser" i can already see it coming. qfc is kroger or something, this isnt whole foods or trader joe's, it's the basic grocery store. without buying a car to get to costco, or without just getting lucky with restocking times, this is what eggs cost.

[sonic-oc-showdown]

QUARTERFINALS ROUND 4

Mira belongs to @fleetways

Sting belongs to @whimsical-sonic

Find out more about them below!

Chimera Baby "Mira":

Chimera Baby is a chimera (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics)) and the oldest child of Sonic and Shadow. Mira was raised in the Chao Garden where she ate fruit and engaged in frequent karate matches and races and was very happy. As a young child she was very sweet and loving to her fathers but as she got older she has begun to experience latent Black Arms patricidal urges (exclusively towards Shadow).

Mira is the slowest in her family (but faster than you!), but has a very strong connection to chaos energy making her quite the powerhouse. However, she still has a long ways to go before she can actually hope to defeat Shadow. In her teen years Mira has become somewhat of a delinquent, speaking very little and preferring to get her messages across through action alone. She is the older sister of Mochi, who often acts as a mediator whenever she randomly tries to attack Shadow in the Costco.

Sting the Scorpion:

Sting is a medical student with a side gig in mercenary work, although "side gig" is starting to turn into full-time work. Originally, he took up odd jobs to help pay for his classes, but his success has tempted him in better paying, more challenging jobs.

Sting is stern, typically no-nonsense, but is not immune to the occasional cocky banter. He runs on a personal moral code that no one but him seems to know. He's not a bad guy, but he'll do almost anything for the right price.

He is proficient in martial arts. He only uses his poisonous stinger in combat if the situation deems it necessary.

[transboysokka]

So my favorite character in The Brothers Sun is Taiwan. Like yeah Taiwan has its own shows and movies but it just feels Different to see Taiwan in a big international/American show! It’s SO cool actually and so um here are some thoughts I had and things I Noticed about different Taiwan scenes and things in the show idk

Episode 1

the opening shot of Taipei tells us this is a Thursday- the top of 101 is green and is a different color every day of the week

that corkscrew-shaped apartment building we see Charles living in is kind of an urban legend here in Taipei. They say it’s the most expensive place to live in the city, that each apartment has its own swimming pool, and that there’s an elevator specifically to bring cars up to display in your living room. No idea if the interiors look like that for real though

I was gonna say it’s pretty crazy he has an American-style oven in Taipei bc nobody does but actually in that apartment… yeah he probably would

afaik there’s not a way to (“legally”/officially) stream any of those famous British baking shows here rip

I do wonder if they actually filmed the opening scene in the corkscrew building or if they just really pay attention to detail because the skyline seen out the window matches up to what it would really look like from that part of the city

the shoes, I mean we all know about shoes-off houses but yeah

豆漿. Soy milk. Yeah

They definitely eat Hi-chews in one of these scenes

Episode 2

It makes way more sense for the guys to have snuck out for shaved ice as kids than youtiao… I’m just saying… like would *I* do that yes but it’s usually just like. A thing you eat with soup or breakfast

Episode 3

“Are you sure you can handle-“ “the heat? I’m from Taiwan.” lmfao BITCH Taiwan has some of the blandest cuisine I’ve ever tasted (he does think it’s too spicy tho lol)

“Keelung. A fishing village just north of Taipei.” Okay like I can see how the older generation would call it that but it’s actually a whole ass city…

Episode 5

Not a Taiwan thing but the Maotai made me laugh. It’s like the Coca Cola of Chinese baijiu and imho it’s just as awful as every other brand

Episode 6

ok the episode that made me want to make this list

the Costco shit IS funny because vitamins, baby formula, that’s all the good stuff you want to bring back from abroad BUT actually we have Costco in Taiwan and can easily get a lot of that stuff? This concept imo would fit a lot better for China than Taiwan. It’s still very much a thing to load your suitcase up with baby formula on the way home to China, and there’s actually a huge smuggling business bringing it in through Hong Kong but I digress

Idk why I’m happy to hear Changhua and Douliu mentioned in an American TV show… Seriously, I don’t know. They’re kind of like nowhere places I’ve never even been. I just feel like everyone’s grandparents live there.

Even the way they film Mama Sun on the plane. Like the Mandarin music in the background with the announcement for Taoyuan airport… to me it feels specifically like a transpacific flight to Taiwan lolol but that’s definitely like a bias probably

Okay not to be SO nitpicky but so when she looks out the window on the plane to see Taipei 101 etc I’m not sure about that? The airport is actually in another city and I feel like I usually come in around and over the ocean or something?

But WOW the taxi scene my favorite scene it’s SO visceral and SO Taiwan… the street, the lights, the Cosmed/Mos Burger/7-Eleven, the street noises, like I can FEEL Taiwan through the screen and HER FACE taking it all in I WANT TO SOB

The temple, beautiful like this episode makes me believe Michelle Yeoh is Taiwanese lol

I appreciate the viscerality of the night market shots too but it seemed a bit empty

Okay so Mama Sun’s mom is super rich too based on where she lives which I guess it makes sense. But what I am curious about is the story about why they’re speaking Cantonese because Taiwan has a lot of languages but that’s not one of them like officially at all. I wonder if there’s a character backstory there or they just like. Didn’t want to bother teaching Michelle how to speak Minnan or something

The cemetery too is so fancy, I mean it fits but wow that’s expensive real estate

In the hospital scene, Taipei 101 is lit blue out the window, making it a Friday. Has everything in the show so far happened in only 8 days?

Episode 7

“Last night the Boxers made their move” 101 says it’s Tuesday for anyone keeping track

I LOST it at the Foodpanda driver assassin the first time I saw this… So Taiwan

Big fancy church in Taipei? I know they exist but I’ve never seen one in person (like 2%? of the country is Christian)

A mom bringing back tea as a souvenir from Taiwan? 100% real

Episode 8

RAW is a real restaurant in Taipei. It’s very fancy and very expensive and had I think two Michelin stars. I don’t know ANYONE who’s actually been there lol

[universitysunflowers]

I rewatched Merlin for the first time in years and collected my thoughts.

Merlin was such a baby in the first season I forget just how tiny and innocent he was.

The number of times Merlin has been suspected of witchcraft and then got out of it is so hilarious like yea here’s this actual wizard but don’t worry he’s been cleared of all charges nothing to worry about here haha

accused by the witchfinder

sentenced to death as old man sorcerer

straight up confessing to Uther in order to save Gwen

Gaius is to old for this

Sir Leon puts up with so much shit from the Pendragon family

Somebody please give him a vacation he does not get paid enough for this (having to tell his boss that he married a troll was a real low point you can see him losing the will to live)

He's running on three hours of sleep and six cups of coffee

Corrie guard commander Fox reincarnated as a knight of Camelot (working for a maniacal tyrant in the most dramatic political court the world has ever seen will take a lot out of you)

King Cenred is the medieval embodiment of the King of Hybern like that is exactly how I imagine him when I read ACOTAR (Tom Ellis, as always, was a great casting choice)

Freya deserved better Ik she had to die to keep the Excalibur storyline going but she could have been such a great character (merlin was so sad bring his gf back poor baby)

Lancelot my wholesome baby you are to precious for this world you deserved so much better

I can't explain it but I just know Gwaine would have done well on book tok

Ok I know Morgana was a terrible queen and burned the crops but honestly props to her for paying attention to the paperwork

I can’t tell if Agravaine looked at Morgana like a daughter or if he was falling in love with her and honestly both are very disturbing to me.

Aithusa is the most adorable dragon look at his little face Ik he gets attached to Morgana but seriously I can’t not love him.

seeing him so beaten and abused is so sad please get him some help

We should have seen more of him with Merlin

How Kilgharra hasn't cooked Merlin like a costco roast chicken is beyond me, this dragon must have some sort of immortality driven godlike patience in order to put up with that boy as long as he has.

Gaius please get a hair cut

I’m a few episodes into season five and I hit that point where I know what’s coming and it’s making me not want to finish the show. I don’t want to but I feel like I should.

I crapped out. I made it to the episode where Gwen uses the stable boy to try and kill Arthur and then never finished the season. I knew this was going to happen I haven't made it all the way through the series in years. If I ever make it through the end of season five again I'll be sure to give my thoughts but for now I've fallen back into a Gossip Girl rewatch.

Sometimes I forgot to write things then wrote it down later so it might be out of order but whatever enjoy my musings.

[https-chaos]

no one irl cares so here is a recipe for those of us who have daily or almost daily headaches

1 liter of water. with ice

1 packet of liquid iv. listen this stuff is expensive but it's so worth it. it's cheapest at costco, bribe a friend with a membership, and look for sales. none of the store brands are as good i have tried them all

1 packet of aspirin powder. at my store it's called "pain relief powders" and it's 845mg aspirin and 65mg caffeine.

shake that bitch up. put in earplugs if you're shaking a stainless steel bottle because the ice is gonna be loud.

drink up, not fast but sipping 1-2x a minute. shake it up periodically

prepare to have to pee in a little bit, but then you can go to bed <3

i swear, this cures 90% of those kinda-nauseous, moderate headache, uncomfortable/achy & fatigued days. obviously the relatively high dose of aspirin helps with the pain and inflammation, but even if you skip the aspirin there's something magical in liquid iv. it's like my own version of a sprite and vicks vaporub, i'm pretty sure it has magic healing powers

my logic:

- hydration. a whole liter of water in your blood, boom. at the very least, it can't hurt.

- i looked up what's in the IV they give you in the hospital if you're all dehydrated and out of whack (or just hungover), and it's pretty similar to what's in liquid iv which i guess is why they called it that. i swear they're not paying me okay im just saying. also, the sugar free doesn't work as well but it will still work, my mom is low carb and loves it

- all kinds of malaise symptoms are caused by inflammation. the powdered dosage form absorbs quickly, a lot of the time you'll start to feel better before you finish the liter

- hydration + a bit of sugar and electrolytes + a relatively safe fast acting anti-inflammatory + a little bit of caffeine = the whole solution to a host of common reasons to feel like shit

**note: don't be dumb, obviously only do this if you can safely take aspirin lol

[kabillieu]

I tweaked something in my lower back--a nerve, a muscle, who knows--by just existing. Literally I was doing nothing except unloading the dishwasher, I wasn't even bending down when it happened. My back goes out like this occasionally. It is happening more as I get older, and I wonder if it has something to do with my core not being strong enough. I had been doing a good job of doing pushups and planks and then the past three or four weeks have been so busy with visiting family and the chaos of my big kid being dysregulated, so I stopped. The annoying thing about back pain is that the only thing that is supposed to help is to continue to move and walk through it, so that's what I do, and then I always feel better in a day or three.

Despite how annoyed I am by my back hurting, I am also pretty goddamn happy today! Here is one thing I'm happy about: Dominic just bought an inflatable hot tub from Costco! Let me tell you a story about my journey with hot tubs.

When we bought our Florida house in 2012, it came with a hot tub, which we were both puzzled by and found a little cheesy. Haha! Jokes on us because it turns out we are BIG TIME hot tub people. Like there is nothing better than being in a hot tub and having a few beers. Did we overindulge sometimes? Yes. Was it worth it? Also yes. You can't bring electronics in a hot tub so it forces you to actually talk and bond as a couple. It's also a fun thing to do with friends! You can be outside in it in chilly weather and it's amazing!

Well, that hot tub was old and Dominic was always battling it and eventually it broke for good. We wanted to replace it but weren't willing to pay for it because hot tubs are very expensive. Enter: the inflatable hot tub. Dominic bought me one to keep in Pensacola a couple years ago for our anniversary, and we have been using it ever since! It's pretty much everything we need from a hot tub experience. Just a way to sit in warm water outside. We never even turn the bubbles on.

When we bought our house here in Alabama, we had plans to put in a real hot tub, but when we had an electrician out recently to do other work, he gave us an estimate, and the cost to run enough power is just way too much, and that doesn't even include the price of an actual hot tub. So! After a lot of talking about it and feeling silly about becoming people who own multiple inflatable hot tubs, Dominic bought another one. And I'm excited!

Anyway, if you are ever on the fence about inflatable hot tubs, I'm here to tell you in my experience they are a lot of bang for your buck. My back and I are really looking forward to it.

[frostyreturns]

Frosty Reviews Idiocracy

This is one of those movies that people kept telling me I needed to watch because it seemed like a movie I’d like. Now that I have seen it I have no idea how this movie escaped me before now. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I even knew it existed and I just never saw it available anywhere. It must have been pretty low budget and didn’t have the marketing power behind it but even still it seems to have a cult following. I like most everything Mike Judge does so it should have been a no brainer.

It’s a dumb comedy but if a dumb comedy was a fairly accurate speculative dystopia. The idea is people are just going to keep getting dumber and dumber until one day a know nothing dumbass from our time would be considered the smartest man in the world. Part of the reason for the speculation is the idea that stupid people reproduce a lot while smart people reproduce very little. I have a bit of an issue with this reasoning…I think not reproducing is more of a midwit thing than a smart people thing. People smart enough to use protection when they are not ready…but not smart enough to figure out the benefits of a larger family and to be able to create the wealth to provide for it. The dumbing down of the world thanks to the fact that dumb people breed more is just part of the picture and the movie never really tackled the fact that we’re being dumbed down on purpose with drugs, porn, shitty education, lies, constant mindless media distractions, fluoridated water etc.

I bet if the movie was made or remade today social media especially stuff like tik tok would be prominantly featured, it’s kind of a real shame it’s not there because it would have been so perfect. I can so easily picture scenes where there’s some serious problem they need to address and the characters are just in the background doing tik tok dances instead.

I thought the movie was pretty funny but the funniest thing to me was the backstory behind the footwear. The movie was obviously super low budget which is a shame because otherwise I think this could have been a much better and more widely known and loved movie. At times the shitty backgrounds took me out of it a little. It was so low budget Mike Judge was dealing with some wardrobe stuff himself and when he was looking for footwear he asked for ugly shoes that they might wear in a future where everyone is retarded. He specifically asked that they be sure not to use anything that might become popular…the shoes they used for the movie were crocs and the wardrobe woman assured him they were so ugly there was no way they would ever become popular.

At times the joke felt like it was stretched a little thin, the premise was funny and many of the jokes were funny but there was times it felt like…maybe a whole movie wasn’t needed for this joke. The specifics of the plot were kind of inconsequential and I never felt really invested in any of the characters enough to care what happened to anyone. Particularly Dax Sheppard…I can’t stand the fucking guy but I do have to say he was cast perfectly for the role I totally believed him as a brain dead dipshit.

Most of the jokes were running gags one of my favourites was the way that the Fuddruckers restaurant slowly changed its name to buttfuckers. The whole movie isn’t just dumbasses laughing at people getting hit in the balls 24/7 there’s a subtle genius to the humour. The way the fat uninterested Costco employee greets them all by saying “welcome to costco I love you” says so much about the future he’s painting a picture of. A dehumanizing mega corporation that doesn’t even bother trying to appear like it cares and just pays an employee to just lie directly to you…stripped of all nuance and subtletey. It says they have to try less because people are too stupid to see it for what it is. There’s just something about a faceless corporation pretending to give a shit about you that feels so offputting and dystopian. I once got a birthday email from my bank and it kinda made me want to find out who was in charge of that decision and go take a shit on their desk. You’re not a fucking person don’t talk to me like you’re a person.

Some of his predictions are right on although he was wrong about Costco being the main megastore that eats up everything else and tries to be the one and only store, this was made before Amazon became basically what he was predicting costco would be. And he also rightfully predicts an oversexualization of society…his examples are silly like starbucks becoming a place where you get handjobs but it does seem like as things get shittier more and more people are resorting to some kind of sex work. I’ve never been on twitch because the idea of watching people play video games makes me a rage, but im told it’s basically impossible to use it without seeing half naked women turn it into some kind of erotic content.

I also thought the movie displayed the dunning krueger effect pretty well. Initially the main character who is from the past and is thus the smartest person alive is treated like the dumbest person they’ve ever seen…becuase they were too stupid to recognize how stupid they are so even basic common sense looked and sounded retarded to them.

In many ways we already live in the idiocracy, we’re getting dumber and we reward shitty dumb behaviour. The movie was essentially a reduction to absurdity of a real phenomena that’s only gotten a lot worse since it was written. The political pageantry was especially prescient because we’re currently watching a shit show involving a former and probably future president that’s actually been on WWE before.

Idiocracy was a good blend of dumb nonsense movie and intelligent satire. Definitely worth at least one watch despite the sometimes horrible cgi and somewhat lagging lackluster plot. It’s funny and it definitely holds up.

[shadowredfeline]

I had this dream last night where I was with my Social Club and we're going to search for random stuff for Halloween like Clothes or other stuff, but it sounds too soon to set up Halloween stuff since it's the middle of summer, and I even saw Halloween stuff happening in thrift stores and Costco stores. But while I was in the store, I noticed some kind of bed that I imagined when I was looking at the five Cartoon Network specials. Like Good Wilt Hunting, Where's Lazlo?, the Big Field Trip, Wrath of the Spider Queen, and Secret of the Omnitrix. But when I felt the sense of wrath when I was looking at Sonic related pics just for fun since I love Sonic, I noticed I saw some characters eyes red and it creeped the hell out of me and now they got my eyes red and started going around the neighborhood being crazy. And it kinda shocked me a little and I hope it doesn't happen to other people I know. Then I turned back to normal and we were paying for our stuff and man it was shocking. Otherwise I would've felt like grabbing a dessert to help me feel better. But let's hope this dream doesn't affect that I was my OC again. And if this happened like the Speedsters or the Rabbits and Lisa and the others, this can be shocking.

People I tagged @bryan360, @murumokirby360 and @rafacaz4lisam2k4

[millerflintstone]

The worst of the storm on our property is this little tree that snapped and fell into other trees.

We got electricity back at around 4 this morning. I was so sleep deprived and groggy. The previous day I maybe had an hour's sleep total. Last night Gig had a litter box balance issue and had mushy poop smashed into the underside of the base of her tail. In general that cleanup is not fun. At 1 am with only a battery powered lantern and my phone light as a light source, it was a struggle. I eventually found some old wipes and got her clean.

So, when I woke up to Unfriendly closing the windows in our bedroom, I was confused because the breeze was nice. Instead of just telling me what was going on, he told me to look around and pay attention 🙄🙄. I swear, I was in the middle of some deep sleep stage but attempting to be awake and it took me a good minute to register light and the AC being on.

I took the temperature of the fridge and the mini fridge. Nothing outside of mustard type condiments, lemons, and some hard cheeses were salvageable. I know Unfriendly was talking to me during but I had to keep asking him to repeat himself because the words did not make sense. At all.

The freezers held up better because they were full. Everything was still frozen. Then I passed out again, got woken up at 6:30 by Gigabyte wanting breakfast and I passed out until 10 am ish.

I was originally going to do a bunch of errands on Friday morning, but Gigabyte scared me. She had a bad bout of vomiting to where she jerked her little body so hard that she 1) threw her front paws into it 2) was disoriented after to where she couldn't stand 3) was very disoriented and wobbly 4) sprained something on her right back side so bad she kept collapsing when she walked.

I cleaned her up, carried her to her heating pad, applied her rice compress after I warmed it up and then massaged and tried to stretch out that side over the rest of the day. I didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone because walking was such a struggle. She finally started moving better close to 5 pm and then the storm hit.

We've both noticed she has a harder time moving before storms. I wonder if the pressure made her sick. Apparently the vomiting could have affected her Vagus nerve which can cause blood pressure fluctuations.

She's better today. The humans are tired and cranky though. Unfriendly cleaned out the big fridge earlier. We survived Kroger and Costco. I'll be cleaning out the mini fridge tonight.

I'm glad we didn't have a fridge full of fresh groceries.

[fabbyf1]

things that i've done today instead of editing wap:

the dishes

went to costco, the most overstimulating place on earth

trader joe's, the second most overstimulating place on earth

stripped my bed and put it all in the washer

took an everything shower

vacuumed the whole apt for no reason

did some work for my actual job that pays my bills

i've run out of things to do

i guess i'll go back to editing unless someone has a better idea