#so guess what I HAVE TO PAY EXTRA IN TAXES TOO

[woundedheartwithin]

TSC is evil for obvious reasons, but also because my doe who has chronic mastitis needs her probiotic treats and fucking Atwoods doesn't carry them???

[ethanjhake]

Personal Life Update 🙃

Well, I quit my part time job.

I've been working as a deli clerk at a local grocery store for about a year and seven months, and during all that time I've been looking for better work options, applying to different (better) jobs, and found nothing.

Working there has been a big strain on me mentally. I'm a huge introvert by nature, meaning that too much social interaction will wear me out like nothing else. Working in a customer service position means a constant flow of new people who I have to interact with, so by the end of every day my energy would be so low I couldn't ever bring myself to work on my art or comics. And originally, the only reason I left my full time job was to free up more time for me to pursue comics as a career.

Where I work, the quality of customer service is meant to be really high. Your typical "the customer is always right" type of mentality. In my training they literally told me to think of the customer as my boss, since they are the ones ultimately paying the store and me by proxy.

But having to bow to the wishes of just Anyone has moral consequences when the customer is in fact not right, and very very wrong. The more and more I had bad customers, the more and more I was forced to watch, and even enable bad behavior.

Having to do this every day was crushing for me. All the while management was telling me to keep on smiling, like nothing was wrong. I started to employ coping mechanisms just to get me through the work day, but then I started to see that creep into my personal life. My wife would get my attention, just to show me a funny meme or something, and I'd mentally wince, as if she was a customer.

I love people, they're all beautiful and unique in their own ways. But my time behind the deli counter made me start to view everyone else as a potential threat, just in an effort to protect me from having to encounter wrong doing and then be forced to stand by and smile. Or even having to ask the wrong doer if there's any way I can help them?

So I quit. Or, I put in my two weeks. even as much as it pains me to have to spend another minute working there, I thought it would be best to leave in a way that feels respectable. I also wanted time to say goodbye to good coworkers I met there, and not leave them with an empty slot on the schedule that they would have to scramble to fill.

But the big problem with this is that I don't have another job lined up, and I've been looking for different jobs for almost two years and not found anything. So the best I can do right now is step out in faith. And I guess, sometimes you don't have to know where you're going quite yet, but you can't stay in the City of Destruction.

So I'm technically "unemployed" at the moment, although I will be taking on Door Dashing as a means to make money for the mean time. And there's hope in that. It looks like I can actually make more money doing that than I was at my old job. But even then the pay is uncertain, and I have to keep an extra eye on my car and its maintenance. It does also complicates taxes some.

It feels like the Wrong Decision™ in many ways, but even then, staying feels like an even worse decision. I wasn't even making that much money there.

Yesterday my boss offered to leave me in the system, so that if I needed more work I could shoot her a text and she could schedule me in as long as she had the extra hours. And on the one hand I was tempted, it felt like it could be a good safety net if all else fails. But after thinking it over, I said no. I think God is calling me to leave for good, and to trust that whatever happens He will provide. I don't know how He will or how long it'll take, but that's not what trusting is about. And I honestly feel like that's the point of what I'm going through right now. I feel like God specifically had my boss make that offer, not as a test, per se, but more to help me understand that I am stepping out in faith, and that—even as scary as it is—I do trust him.

So today is my last day. After that I go to Door Dashing and continue my work on SotF. And I guess, it really couldn't hurt to put a link to Ko-Fi here. I'm not asking for money so don't feel any pressure, but God does provide though his people. So if you feel so inclined here is my Ko-Fi.

And here I go,

[theoddest1]

Hey, what did the guy mean by they outsourced hh for tax sods

From my understanding, this was done to keep things cheaper than it would have been if it wasn't outsourced (therefore, making the pay by extension worse, so not worth working on if trying to get a decent, livable wage). Seeing how much work is needed to be done for HH's signature style, outsourcing it from an outside supplier or one straight up out of country was the cheaper option. At least, that's my guess. Though, it makes me wonder how many corners were cut to make costs cheaper than previously estimated. There have been rumors of Viv evading taxes and doing overall shady stuff to keep as much money on her and her company as possible (Also, Amazon being Amazon and trying it's best to make HH worth the investment). Hell, when you look up SH, it doesn't actually lead to a studio or anything similar. Heard it lead to her house of something. I also heard that SH was registered as a gaming company too which is extra sus. If anyone is willing to look into that out of curiosity, let me know what you find. This whole thing is rather interesting.

[m1d-45]

i am. thinking about reverse isekai some more to get me through these trying times (finals season) and imagine the stress of having to take care of the poor acolyte(s) who ended up in your world (i'm going with adult reader who has their own apartment and job and pays taxes n shit. just bc i don't want to write abt explaining to parents/roommates what tf is going on)...... like ofc it's super cool like omg your favorite characters!!! irl!!! but after the initial surprise wears off?

obviously you can't just leave them out on the streets bc they'll like. i don't know. get fuckin hit by a car or something so you let them stay in your apartment!! your tiny. one bedroom. apartment. it's fine, you can stay on the couch! you barely have enough food to feed yourself, thanks to your minimum-wage budget? that's fine! you don't have to eat that much, and you can't just let your guests go hungry!!

they try to help the best they can, they really do... but all the finished chores and time spent learning how to use the technology of your world don't change the fact that they can't help with the one thing that seems to matter most in this world - money. with extra people to provide for, you're forced to take up extra shifts, work longer hours, just to earn enough to be able to not have to choose between eating and paying rent.

of course, you don't let them know about all this, but your guests don't tell you that they can hear the way you cry late at night when you think everyone's asleep, stressed out by everything that's suddenly been thrust upon you - teddy anon

god man you 🤝 me

that’s so. ugh man-

at first you’re so starstruck and in awe, excitedly talking to them and showing them what every appliance does—partly so they don’t break them, partly because you like the shine in their eyes as they learn.

the first week is easy, and it’s when you’re shopping that the reality of the situation starts to set in.

you’re not used to having to buy for two, and the subject of their clothing comes up quickly as well. not to mention the fact that they’re probably used to more organic or locally grown stuff, and what if they react badly to food here? and that’s putting aside what they like and prefer too, but you can’t let them leave the house since they’re still not used to everything-

and your job, gosh, you’d taken a few days off at first to help then adjust but now you were feeling the sting of that lost pay. not to mention the fact that all your expenses and bills would go up since, yknow, they needed to use lights and water and all that while you were out of the house.

and if more than one were isekai’d? godspeed, man…

thoma and noelle make themselves useful doing chores, but quickly realizing that there’s little to do. they quickly become antsy; though they try and make food for you to return to, they struggle with your appliances and your tastes, not to mention your lack of raw ingredients.

some like diluc, childe, or ayato try and offer you mora, pulling bags of it from their inventories to of course compensate you for your stay, but it doesn’t go over well. you have to deny them and explain that mora isn’t used here, but all that gets you is stunned confusion—and dawning horror, later, but that’s a burnt bridge when you get to it.

others such as venti or xinyan try and perform on the streets, but it doesn’t pay as well as they want it to. ningguang is a bit more confident in herself, but that crumbles the moment she realizes that she both holds no power here nor has any knowledge of the market. she knows she can do something, be useful, but she doesn’t quite know how, and that’s the worst.

a few tend a bit towards the ‘street performer’ type, whether intentionally or accidentally. i can see kazuha subtly using the wind to guess a number someone’s thinking of, and kaeya could easily keep someone talking long enough to perform some quick sleight of hand. no, he doesn’t steal—you’d get far too mad at him for that—but his ornate get-up and smooth voice draw people in often enough that he makes quite a bit in tips.

keqing, ganyu, and ayaka all offer to either get jobs themselves, but since they technically don’t legally exist, they try and help you apply to better ones instead. thoma might try and do housework for your neighbors—it serves a few purposes, including getting a bit of cash, keeping off legal books, and increasing your relationship with them. jean and ganyu try and help manage your finances, or at least learn how to file your taxes to chip away at the stress they’ve caused.

a few straight up offer to steal—yes, offer, they wouldn’t even breathe without your permission of course they’ll come to you before doing crime—such as dainslef, childe, or kujou sara, but you shut that down quickly enough. xingqiu spends a lot of his time on online writing contests, and the occasional 50-300$ comes in your mailbox, but don’t count on it. albedo might try and sell his art, but he’d much rather give it to you, to be honest. your smile is worth more to him than some stranger’s approval.

some are completely lost. itto, gorou, hu tao, sucrose, collei… they’re all at a loss for what they can do to help. they don’t know your world, they don’t know what’s happening, they don’t know why you lie about it being a guest room so they feel less bad about taking your bed. it doesn’t work.

none of them do, really. after a good few months, maybe a year or so, all of them fall to this level of helplessness. they don’t know how to get you back to their world, they don’t even know how to leave themselves, but it’s clear that their presence here is wearing on you. they try, they do, but even the most chipper of your followers can see how dreary you seem.

it feels wrong to lie in your bed. it feels wrong to depend on you, when it should be the other way around. it’s wrong to take your resources and your time, wrong for you to be the one in distress, and they can’t even do anything about it. they’re stuck within these four walls, unable to help you, stuck being helpless.

from down the hall, they hear you sigh, poring over yet another impossible choice, and the sound alone brings them to tears.

they needed to get you home. but how?

[virtie333]

Hi! I’m sending you a big hug. 🫂 I’m here to tell you three things:

1) You are one of the reasons I love tumblr! Also Chester and Jackson, too.

2) Get through the next few weeks. You know from last year that the next few weeks might be tough. Get whatever help you need - counseling, medicine, doctor appointments NOW so you have battle armor on as you get through it. Ask for help! Don’t wait till you get critical. You can do this, Kris!

3) You are valued! You are liked! You are funny! You are kind! You are talented!!! Repeat this to yourself every damn day. I am liked! I am funny! I am kind! I am talented!!!

For the money woes - can you advertise your services as a dog walker, babysitter, or animal sitter? Babysitters make good money and don’t usually pay taxes!

Okay, this combined with the comments so far on my chapter update have made me cry at work. Not optimal, but I'm managing. 😂

On that note, I worry about taking extra work, because anything that takes up my already sparse free time won't help my mental state. I would love if I could take extra work at my barn, since that's my second home. I guess I could put word out that I'm available to feed and clean for a modest fee and see what happens.

Thank you so much for your kind words!

[supercantaloupe]

rambling from work (youth orchestra) tonight. ignore me

new part time assistant conductor/manager/violin coach at youth orchestra and it's my beloved violin friend from brahms violin concerto !! i was so delighted to see her i immediately threw my hands open for a hug when she walked into the rehearsal room to help set up before rehearsal tonight. it's good to have another pair of hands helping out since our other asst conductor, while he's wonderful at what he does, can't make every rehearsal all the time due to family commitments. on that note i told maestro that i have to take a required class next semester on wednesday afternoons that will prevent me from being able to get to youth orchestra rehearsals in time to set up before rehearsal starts...but we move. it's an unavoidable conflict (required course for my degree and the last one i need before i can be officially done) so the others will just have to pitch in more to help set up in my absence. i also mentioned that i may have to take a class on tuesday evenings which would overlap and conflict with orchestra rehearsals, but it turns out that won't even be an issue because la boheme in the spring is gonna be a reduced orchestration with only one oboe part so i wasn't even gonna be on the hook anyway. so continuing my current arrangement of attending one rehearsal a week (thurs only instead of thurs and tues outside of concert weeks) will work just fine next spring. while i'm slightly disappointed i won't get to play another opera it will undeniably be a weight off my shoulders in terms of scheduling stress, also now i get to actually watch it which will be fun. anyway maestro also introduced the new assistant/violin teacher to our org managing director by calling her a wonderful player and concertmistress (correct) she was like "you're being too nice" and maestro was like "i'm not being nice it's just true" LOL. i get it girl he talks about me the same way. actually when we were leaving the building tonight i ended up chatting with maestro in the parking lot a little about work and money. as great as the vienna trip looks on paper i'm kind of doubtful it will end up happening bc apparently the sign up numbers are kind of low and we can't run the trip if we don't get a big enough crowd. and i understand why, the price for the trip is...a lot. i don't remember exactly what the cost of the italy trip i went on in my youth orchestra days was but i would hazard to say this vienna trip is twice the price...yikes. maestro was telling me how even with all his different jobs he feels like everything has gotten so expensive what with inflation and taxes and everything that it's getting tough to keep up financially with everything. i don't even have a mortgage or kids but man i feel him. i said i'm just glad to have my fellowship, i'm getting two master's degrees for basically free (plus a modest living stipend which really doesn't cover living in this stupid city very well lol but i'm hustling). this youth orchestra managing gig, i'm grateful to have it, and the extra cash on the side is certainly appreciated, but i am not doing it for the money. apparently neither is maestro because he told me it's probably his worst paying gig despite it being the biggest and most well funded organization and performance venue...lol. but then he got to suggesting different people he knows (most of whom i also know albeit kind of poorly and tangentially) i should talk to re: work and also suggesting different positions i should look into once i'm done my degrees like librarian for [redacted local orchestra]. because what this current gig lacks in terms of payment, it is a huge boon to me in terms of experience and resume power...i mean i'm scarcely 24 and i have a managing job under my belt already. that's going to be huge for me once i start looking for full time work after grad school...hopefully. we'll see i guess. anyway maestro told me that i'm "amazing as always" and then went to his car to go home

[unproduciblesmackdown]

on that note had also been thinking about the hilarious classic maneuver of taking things i go "smh always doing that weird/wrong" & instead putting it in the context of like oh i dunno my life experiences. like going "smh once again in one millisecond i noticed something was about to fall & just sort of Tensed instead of instantly going to catch it & in the next milliseconds hash out like 'oh but could i catch it. oh but now it's in progress am i too late' etc" but like well hang on. first of all the Tense Up / Brace For Impact approach can have its strengths too. second of all like why just kick myself when Of Course the vastly more frequent & relevant experiences of having to stifle reactions & tense up to Brace For Impact / Weather The Situation means that's the standard approach. sure tends to be the case that like "okay test your reflex time :)" type things when i Know It's Coming, i.e. preemptively Tense Up, i turn out quite slow. throwback to a true classic [my roommate that said my cat was performative while their cat did things out of true emotion] at my doctor's appointment at like age thirteen when the ol Knee Bonk Reflex Test would make me Tense/Seize That Knee Up and Then kick. and then afterwards my "big fan of unprompted criticisms / declarations about your internal experiences or true intentions" mom was like you were faking those reflexes. i'm like well i wasn't. she was like yes you were. consider the camera jimmed

secondly i was also thinking like, always been the case that when Talking, often even if in writing format, i can't really avoid mirroring the characteristics of the other person's Style / Patterns lol. was thinking about it in my Relative ease of adopting pronunciations for different language's phonemes when it's like, i guess i do have experience in Doing Voices not b/c i really often Did Voices (sometimes lol, as like, direct quotes or whatever. echoing....) but b/c like i'll just be picking up all kinds of mannerisms / tendencies / ways of speaking, including accents slightly (my default accent being disney channel) not b/c i'm messing with anyone or trying to do anything, in fact trying Not to do this is generally unsuccessfully & This Is What Happens Naturally & always has & it's like yknow what i think it might have to do with the fact that i don't think Talking in general is oh so "natural" for me / a matter of "just being myself" (things virtually never are lol) like. i think that time i had that friend in second grade where i'm like ummm i'm not sure we spoke the same language b/c i'm not sure we spoke hardly ever? but we had fun & played & amused ourselves etc til the teacher as usual went Biggest Time Sicko Mode on our "not paying attention" like nobody else's got & then didn't give a fuck abt "intervening" again when we didn't feel like we were Allowed(tm) to interact at all. & like i'm pretty sure i'd be "supposed" to feel like omg we don't talk (almost) at all?? that's SO weirrrd i remember that soooo welllll

and when i Do talk most "naturally" / "just being myself" it's all at once, wordy, and Theatrical, and even then. i did it some the other day and was Sweating, literally, less so figuratively but it does still feel demanding, and of course even when it doesn't Feel thusly, doing a Lot a lot of verbalizing can really still be draining to Taxing. and i've noticed better like yeah sometimes i'm markedly struggling to speak when i'm already extra wearied. and another thing i put into context better was like "when i'm being put tf through it why do i tend to cry through interactions. b/c i'm being a PUSSY????" like lol just on principle was like okay well who cares, i'm sure you, by which i mean i, have my reasons b/c so too would i think someone else does, like. and i remember like, i tend to Not "directly" cry of stress or sadness virtually ever. while i Do tend to be simply keeping that shit contained but Exactly When i have to try to speak? is when i happen to start crying. hmm. Hmmmm. talking Always this performance that i may often not be up for. similar to [personal visual style / Look / clothes] like my default is "basic outfit i'd want to wear every day" & my ideal is "i do not want to be perceived" & (this &) everything else is performance / drag to me, Would That that always be on my terms

another banger is my till oh so recently kicking myself like "aah [pathologization time] i'm sooo slow to be at ease / comfortable around people even when they're surely being nice, what a hassle for others" like well it can be viewed as a hassle for me but it's also like, wait, i end up having stayed uncomfortable around people who weren't being That nice by putting in That much [any effort from any Consideration] and often turn out like. ultimately not that Safe. and i look at "oh right yeah and also i sure Can be like instantly quite comfortable / at ease around people, including people i literally just met. so" &/or my not being at ease either is still way less of a deal than having to literally/figuratively sweat it while i'd feel so much more Okay avoiding detection much less interaction

[river-taxbird]

Soon I'm going to be starting a master's degree in international accounting with data analytics, so to celebrate, I figured I'd pass on a little of what I know:

Artists: How to Cost your Commissions.

If you are an artist and you aren't sure what you should charge, or if you're not an artist but wonder why they might cost more than you'd expect, read on. This is just one way to do costing, but if you've not thought about it much, this post is for you.

I'm not a hustle bro, I'm just your friendly neighbourhood anarchist who picked a slightly incongruent degree and wants people to be fairly compensated for their labour.

First you need to determine your financial goal. This is where you want to be, and it's probably more than you think. This is assuming you either want to go full time with your art, or want to use it to supplement your income. If you are just doing it casually on the side you probably shouldn't think about it this hard and just skip to the part about the hourly rate.

So how much money do you need? Start by adding up all your expenses. All of them. Rent, food, entertainment, whatever. Include some extra for your savings. Don't forget tax too.

To calculate tax, you can't just multiply it by the percent either. You need to gross it up, so if the tax is 20% where you live, multiply your net financial goal it by 20/80 to get the tax you need to pay, so it's actually 25%. The same goes for if it's 40%, it would be 40/60. Add that as a other expense.

If you already have a job and want to supplement your income with commissions, your figure should be the difference between where you are now and where you want to be financially, but you need to be realistic.

Financial goal - Other Income = Commission Income Goal.

Next you need to determine your labour hours. This will vary widely depending on your style, habits, and other obligations, but it's up to you to determine how many hours a week or a month you are able to work. It also helps to do your budget with different amounts of labour hours so you can prepare for the unexpected. Maybe you can do 10 hours a week, maybe you can do 40. Don't forget to budget in time off. I'm never going to be in that hustle shit and work shouldn't dominate your life.

Now you should be able to calculate your approximate labour hours for the year. Maybe it's a little, maybe it's a lot, maybe you'll need to try some different numbers until you can get something that works for you, but I'm sure you can guess what comes next.

Required income ÷ Labour Hours = Cost per Hour

Have you ever walked into a business class by accident, and as the famous tweet says, the teacher is writing a fomula like that on the board and everyone is taking notes like it's actual school? Now you can use it too.

Next you need to figure out average times for each style of piece, colours, shading, backgrounds, extra characters, you should be able to get an idea of how long each kind of drawing takes, so from there it's just,

Cost per hour × Hours required = Commission Cost

It would be nice to be done there, right? Sadly this isn't a magical finance class class world, so if you've ever taken an econ 101 class, you know what's coming.

Supply and demand mostly only works in theory and falls apart in many real world circumstances, (Economists DNI) but for online art it's actually fairly reliable. The calculation above is what your ideal cost should be, especially if you are thinking of going full time, but in reality the main thing that determines your com prices is supply and demand. How much do people pay for art the same fidelity as yours? Is there a demand for your unique style? Some artists can charge hundreds an image because they are popular, some are great but the demand isn't there.

Basically what I'm saying is to massage the numbers until you commission cost is someone people are willing to pay for. That's finance baybeeee

The whole of this post is don't undervalue yourself. Even if the market value of your art is technically below what it should be for you to make ends meet, you shouldn't undervalue yourself. Keep your goals in mind and make your prices as high as they can while people will still pay for it. I can't wait for the day when market values are a thing of the past and people can make what they want because we are no longer being forced to do bullshit to survive.

Your art is probably worth more than you think. Value your time and charge what you deserve.

[cbk1000]

I'm really a bit ehhhhh about this new compensation system.

So, under my old company, everyone got the same cost of living raise across the board, and then your bonus was merit-based. It was a measly raise; I think it was usually about 1%, so under this new system, even though we don't get bonuses, it will actually be more money overall...if you score high enough to merit a raise.

The issue is, there are brackets of 0%, 2.5%, and 3%. The absolute highest raise you can get is 3%. I calculated that out, and that is $140 extra a month for me. And that's calculated on my gross pay, so that would not be what I actually take home. Let's say maybe $100 extra a month, after taxes and benefits and all that. If someone threw $100 at me, I would not turn it down, but that is not very much money. An extra $50 a paycheck is barely noticeable, tbh, unless you are REALLY hard up, but it's still not going to go very far. My boss said that at a leadership meeting she attended, there was a lot of emphasis on how important these evaluations are and how this company has VERY high standards and the grades really need to be earned. So, is this like a situation where basically nobody gets that 3% because their standards are impossibly high? I've been evaluated under three different managers under the old system and always scored in the highest possible bracket. Under the old system, a manager did have to justify in their comments why they had scored someone really high or low, so it's not that different, but the emphasis on their standards and the wording of the merit breakdown just kind of really sounds like, "You better dance REALLY hard for that extra hundred bucks, monkey."

The other thing is, in the 0% bracket, the descriptions breaking down what puts you in that cover three different types of employees: employees with 'role model behaviors' who exemplify the values of the company, are 'team players', adapt well to change, etc. etc., but have inconsistent results and struggle with their workload. Then you have the employee who is extremely technically proficient and good at their job, but has 'inconsistent behaviors', which I take some issue with, especially if we're being graded on how much 'joy' we do our jobs with. The description for this category lists things like 'inconsistently demonstrates value-based behaviors', 'operates independent of the team or organization' and 'does not use a "systems" view', which isn't clarified, so I don't know what the criteria is for this. And then the third category is someone who is a very poor performer with a poor attitude. So basically, if you get excellent result, but your attitude is deemed poor, you get no raise. If you are a role model of good behavior but struggle with your workload, you get no raise.

Then for a 2% raise, you have to have solid behaviors and solid results; for a 2.5%, role model behavior with solid results, or role model results with solid behavior; the 3% is 'exceptional' and covers someone who has role-model behavior and exceptional results.

I'm not personally worried about getting screwed out of a raise, but a lot of this language is too broad in my opinion when it determines whether you get any raise at all, let alone the percentage. At least under the old system you knew you would get a raise, even if it was a small one, and the extra bonus was based on a similar system.

I dunno. I guess we shall see how this plays out.

[hertwood]

dts s5 e9-10: THE FINAL POST

e9: -have not been looking forward to the christian horner episode i must say -GOD listening to everyone talk abt how dominant of a year this was for max knowing whats to come 🙃🙃🙃🙃 -this whole "well we didnt do it on purpose so its not cheating" is SO SILLY like imagine if i went to the irs like sowwy i didnt pay my taxes correctly i didnt know 🥺🥺 doesnt matter ur still getting fined lol -i have always felt that christian's whining here is Extra Obnoxious like he didnt spend YEARS going after every lil thing mercedes might've stepped wrong on. if there was a rumor that mercedes went even $100 over cost cap you KNOW he wouldn't shut up about it but when the tables turned he's such a victim -max is going to be deaf by 40 istg. insert huh cat meme that is him always. (affecionate) -"these people talk shit through the media but'll never say it to my face" have u considered its not bc theyre scared to say it to you but bc you're a rancid person they'd like to avoid interacting with. food for thought -"maybe you feel guilty, i dunno" binotto ate with that one i mean IF THE SHOE FITS -I THINK. as it was in 2020 w/ the pink mercedes. (and in 2007 with mclaren!) the penalty for the cost cap breach should've been a dock in constructors championship points. it wouldn't affect the final standings of 2021 (mercedes beat them anyway, there was a big gap to ferrari in 3rd). it would be a great way to set a strict precedent that would easily motivate teams to be very careful with the budget cap WITHOUT changing any results. FIA hire me -say what u like abt will buxton they will never make me hate you will buxton. the way he is with words explaining drama he is the caesar flickerman of f1 and if you cant appreciate it thats a you issue -showing the singapore grand prix and all i can think abt is iconic post race dando interview. yeah i'm sure the race was cool too i guess -I FUCKING FORGOT HE PULLED THE MENTAL HEALTH CARD bro is seriously like dont talk about the cheating we did think of our poor mental health 🥺🥺🥺 anyway i'm gonna go fire nyck devries midseason brb -WOMP WOMP -once again if the roles were reversed christian would be spearheading a campaign to get a mercedes title stripped be so fucking forreal -more max/gp fics. their dynamic is immaculate chefs kiss -god if lewis won this race it wouldve been so iconic. sad

e10: -ad22 top 10 daniel outfits ever. btw -um lando norris neurodivergent agenda the way he's talking about food here? something going on in that brain. when he ordered 13 spring rolls as a meal in that iconic nortrell stream? that is not a way a neurotypical person eats i swear on god -them asking charles how his season was then immediately cutting to the france crash is so mean. good narrative storytelling, but mean nonetheless -how cathartic it must be for nando to benefit from ferrari blunders lol -pre this season coming out, i remember hoping they'd have a proper focus on carlos' austria dnf. it did get a lil moment but it was, for me, the most shocking mechanical dnf of the season and i was looking forward to seeing more of the inner details of it all. oh well -cinematic parallels between merc & ferrari fighting for 2nd in 2022 AND 2023 -brazil must have some typa rule abt not having netflix there bc they always miss out on the most bangers of races. sad. i love u brazil 22 :') -"they told me i can do whatever i want. when i see carlos, put him in the wall" max i am. i am kissing u. on the mouth. mwah mwah mwah -i DO wish. the focused more on the charles v checo battle. that was simply more important. but i guess that didnt work well with the happy ending they gave checo in e7 so -"omtar might get the last laugh this time around" :)))))) for the last time babey hell yeah -FUCK hate how awkward this dando moment they chose to feature is. they're so much more than that. dts only watchers they're in love and doing the nasty on the reg i PROMISE -this daniel comp is so goofy silly now that hes coming back lmao. i do love him he is so important for the reach of f1 and drive to survive and he deserves all the love he gets -HI LOGAN SO EXCITED TO SEE MORE OF U IN THE NEW SEASON MWAH

[female-malice]

Sincere question-

I have read the argument that WNBA gets only 20% of their revenue and men get 50%. But isn't the WNBA actually causing loss because the NBA subsidizes WNBA by funding 70 million and the WNBA makes only 60 million in revenue.

So NBA is already losing money and therefore they give only 20% of the revenue to the players to prevent more loss. I don't understand why people are bashing the NBA for this.

I am not denying there is no sexism behind it. Not just cultural but systemic too because women's basketball or women's sports in general are not broadcasted and promoted as much as men's are. But is it really wrong of NBA to provide only 20% of the revenue?

You've got all these emotions and opinions about numbers from 2018 lol.

Guess what year it is? It's 2023. So why are you so worried about the league losing money in 2018? W viewership has exploded in the last 5 years. And the W is about to renegotiate their TV contract from 27 million to over 100 million. That's why W players are campaigning for fair compensation. If they don't, all that extra revenue and league growth will go directly into owners' pockets. Right now, the W is designed to benefit owners first and players last. The players want to change that league structure.

You're also missing the context that in 2018, there was nothing altruistic about NBA subsidies. The owners had been capping the W's growth for years because they use the league as a tax write-off. So the league is growing now in spite of the owners' best efforts to stop it from growing. The fact that the W no longer needs subsidies is actually not in NBA owners' best interests. W success is actually inconvenient for them. They're losing the tax write off they've used for the past 26 years.

But even if the W didn't grow in the last 5 years, the players would still deserve 50% of revenue. It makes absolutely no sense for owners to push that loss onto players. Especially when it's the owners themselves throttling the league to guarantee loss.

Guess who doesn't do all that? Europe. They want to watch women play basketball, so they pay women to play basketball. They pay them up to 4x more than America does. A superstar that makes 230k in the US can make over 1 million in Europe. Why? It's simple. The owners want to see talented women play basketball wearing a jersey with their club's name on it. The owners want their club to win tournaments. They want bragging rights. That's it. That's sports. That's what normal sports investment is about.

Most NBA teams operate at a loss each year. Should the NBA cut the pay of the players on those teams? Or is that treatment for women only? Yeah, it's for women only. Okay. In America, investment in male sports goes to players. And investment in female sports goes to owners.

Look at MLS. They've been heavily subsidized by their investors for many years. And yet the players still get 50% of revenue.

MLS recently renegotiated their TV deal. And when that happened, player salary got 50% of that growth.

W players need to wrestle for a bigger share of revenue now. If they don't, the owners will absolutely screw them out of TV money.

Anyways... all of this is why internet comment sections should not be your primary news source about women's sports. You regurgitated the same basketball speech men have been regurgitating in comment sections for years.

[newmoussaland]

I had some problems with the default replacement for the butler hairstyle, so I decided to simply cover his face.

Last round…:

💁 Norman got a job in the business career as a CEO ☎️ James West was hired to be the family's butler ✒ Norman wrote his first novel 💋 Emma started an affair with James 🎂 Benjamin became a child 💸 Taxes were 40,400 §

This round's taxes were 39,745 §

First of all, new glasses for Andy. They're still pretty big, but at least the rims aren't obstructing his view.

I never realized that he was a little sloppy, so Emma needs to teach him some table etiquette.

Sooo... ACR kicked in and made Norman fall in love with his wife. What does that mean for Miriam now ? I don't know what I should do, because on one hand, Norman has no morals, but on the other hand, it's LOVE. I guess I'll have to pay extra attention to his wants to see who he'll choose.

FFS, James ! At least knock first 😒

Perfect notes, as expected.

I was expecting Kimberly, but Tabby is nice too.

Excuse me, WHAT THE ACTUAL F#CK ?

New hobby : watching the faces sims make while talking. SO CUUUTE ❤

*checks oven* Ah, yes, this is definitely on fire.

That's it for now.

[unrequited-words]

03/02/23 Thursday

EDIT: It has taken me an hour to edit, and write this from my phone. There is a lot of cussing and I'm venting. Buckle up.

It's barely 11:00 in the morning and I am fucking exhausted. I didn't fall asleep until about 1:00 a.m. I couldn't sleep for shit last night because of insomnia. The baby finally woke up about 8:30 this morning and the first thing she said was good morning and I absolutely love that she's starting to speak more.

I woke up pretty fucking angry. I got paid and paid two bills and messaged my ex-husband or husband or whatever the fuck you want to call his toxic ass and I asked him are you going to file for divorce? You said you were going to file in January and we are now in March and then I said seriously, do I need to file since you won't do it?

He retorted back with well, "I'm dealing with my Dad's health issues and I don't know if he's going to make it in the next couple of days". Of course he wants to be fucking dramatic and he wants to skirt around the issue. The fucking issue is we're still married. The fucking issue is, I have begged him to file for a fucking divorce for the last three fucking years and he will not do it.

I don't know what his fucking excuse is besides, I'm in school, I'm paying for school, there are vet bills, I had a car payment, I had to do repairs because my car is breaking down ... This that and the other.

Of the excuses in the fucking world don't matter. What fucking matters is I want to fucking divorce. He is dragged me through fucking hell for the last 10 years. In the last going on 4 years it's been a fucking complete shit show of a nightmare. He thought my kid was his and obviously she's not.

The times don't match up from the last time I faked sex. Then, you forced me to get a fucking DNA test to where I had to pay out of pocket when i'm barely making $13 an hour, to where I was barely making bills.

It came back with a 0% chance that she is his and I fucking knew it, I fucking called it! and I'm just like fine whatever it's just to get him to shut the fuck up at this point. For the last year and a half I've been begging him every other month have you filed? And he's dragging his feet. What the fuck is he hanging on to?

Here are the facts: he has been with his girlfriend for about a year ajd she still doesn't know he's still fucking married! In October of last year they went on a fucking trip from Phoenix to some shit place in fucking New Jersey on her dime which is great it was her aunt that paid for the trip because she needed to help out family...

he was working remotely which is fine and dandy but you still are fucking married and haven't signed divorce papers, retard. Just put the paperwork through. Right around Christmas they went on a motherfucking cruise a fucking cruise. MUST BE FUCKING NICE!

wanna know the last vacation I had? When my water fucking broke, and I spent a cool 8 days in the hospital thinking I'm going to die due to hemmorage, and my baby being a preemie thinking she will die too

I was fucking livid when I found out because dumbass decided to post his great life on fucking social media. Instagram of all places. It fucking made me see red. I work my ass off. I pay my fucking taxes, I pay my fucking bills, and I'm still fucking married to this goddamn loser! I'm still married to this God damn fat fuck who will not make a move!

If I have the money if I have the extra fucking money I would spend the time and energy to file for divorce. The extra money I had went o Bill's and somehow I finally bought a mattress that isn't sinking due to my partners ex wife fat ass causing it to sink in creating a fucking hole

He has all the fucking documents and I don't. so if I file for divorce I would be fucking guessing. Yes, it's all my fault because I don't know what he makes, I don't know where he lives, I think I remember the last four digits of his social security numberif I needed to file.

The matter the fact is, I left in December of 2019. I left a marriage that hadn't suit me for fucking years. I was in a marriage to where he was mentally unstable and a man who can't add 2+2. My excuse? I was in school at the time so any money I had for financial aid went to those fucking bills.

Fast forward to 2023:

When I get paid I look at my budget, when I get paid I look at what bills are due. I've never had a bank account mind you to where I don't have enough money and I OVERDRAFT. I do get the luxury of getting letters from the bank that he has overdrafted 3.00 every fucking time.

He is a fucking loser who can't get his life straight and at 40 he still fucking lying to his girlfriend thinking that going to get married, maybe whatever; but, she probably assumes that he's fucking single or separated or whatever she doesn't realize this fucking loser is still motherfucking married!

I made the choice of marrying him shows how low myself esteem was I knew when I left and I was with my current partner boyfriend baby daddy whatever the fuck you want to call him I knew this is it for me. I knew that I made a smart choice. we got pregnant right away which was such a shock.

it just got to a point where I guess he had a hard day at work and I was grieving and dealing with the death of my mom this is about 4 years ago. He saw me going through it and he said I can't deal with you right now and I took that as he can't deal with me at all. That's when I fucking checked out. I was fucking done.

That's when I started focusing on my health, my weight loss journey and my overall well-being.

In 2019 I finally was able to get a retail job working at a mall in Las Vegas selling clothes and I had that job for about 2 months.

Even though I had a shit paying job part-time at $9 an hour it was better than nothing. At least I had some line of work that I was doing to prove to in my resume that I'm not a worthless piece of shit.

So, when covid hit we made the choice to go back to Salt Lake because Las Vegas had completely shut down there was so much uncertainty and I was very newly pregnant I was maybe 8 weeks along when we moved. So for the last three and a half years it has been a fucking shit show.

I'm just so fucking angry. I don't have any alcohol to cope with it which is oh so healthy. I have fucking beer which is great I guess? I'm just realizing that I wish people would just leave me the fuck alone, and stop sucking any emotional energy from me. Most people that I've met are fucking toxic, and need to dive off a cliff.

I want my peace back. I don't fucking care anymore. After that shit show that happened with my ex so called best friend and realizing people fucking suck I should just move on but I kind of wish she fucking die. When you fuck with me I really hope karma I really truly hope karma fucks you.

welcome to my Ted Talk

[karpad]

there's been a lot of reblogs, so I expect someone has mentioned it at least once, but the American School Bus is also subject to some INTENSE racialized politics.

I imagine most of you are too young to remember any elements of this, but these busses first arose during segregation, which is why they're so garbage. Separate but equal meant they would have to use equivalent busses for white schools and black schools in the same region. And yes, they would rather have put their kids in an uncomfortable death trap than let black people have anything nice at all. So it was an absolute lowest bidder situation rather than maintain a robust public transit for everyone.

Then when segregation was ended, it wasn't simply enough to say "oh anyone can apply to go to the school in this neighborhood if they live here" because of all the other segregation in homes and neighborhoods, so "forced busing" as it was termed was introduced. In this program, black kids would wake up at about 3 in the morning so that they could get picked up by these same busses earlier in the day so they could commute to a school an hour away in the suburbs where all the white people had fled to get away from "crime" and "bad infrastructure" and "failing schools" and whatever other metaphor they had for black people they would use to justify living in a township that was 97 percent white. So the kids would have longer days and rough commutes to go to a school which had a higher budget, because property taxes are mostly how public schools are funded, so rich neighborhoods have better schools. But to TOP THAT OFF, because these schools in the rich neighborhoods were being "forced" to accommodate children outside of their own area, they would get allocated extra funds from the government, ostensibly to offset the added costs of an extra student that isn't from a family that pays local property taxes. This would be thousands of dollars a year per student.

Now, you might have noticed "wait, the already rich school is getting extra money to change their racial diversity from 97 percent white to 93 percent white, isn't that going to increase the disparity between rich white neighborhoods and poor black ones?" congratulations, you were paying attention. And for decades that's just what happened.

This ended completely in 2007 with a supreme court case split 5-4 (you can probably guess who was where). That funding went away from already rich majority white schools, but was coincidentally replaced with No Child Left Behind "results based" awards to "high performing schools" which ultimately meant the white schools got to keep their money without having to see any black people in their schools, and they had a new instrument for destroying mostly black schools by trying to set up vouchers and otherwise defund them, but that's a story for a different time.

I wonder: Do Americans know about american school buses? Not their existence in general, but how they're seen overseas.

Over here, they're one of the symbols of America, on par with the Statue of Liberty, the flag, the Eagle, and well ahead of any chain restaurant you can name. People won't know any US states, but they will know these vehicles.

The thing is, here in Germany, we don't have dedicated school buses. The general idea is that kids go to school on their own. When that's not practical, they're expected to use (and given free tickets for) public transit. Public transit is designed around this requirement; there are many places where there is a bus, and anyone can get on it, but the route and timetable really only makes sense for school children. In case a dedicated school bus is really needed, that's generally subcontracted out, and the lines either use something like a Sprinter Van for smaller routes, or a normal city or interurban bus (often a used one that's a bit older). School trips are normal public transit, or a rented bus, typically a coach or regional bus.

It's not a perfect system, in the past couple of years there's been an epidemic of people bringing their kids to school in their cars instead of letting them walk, which is less than ideal. It is what it is. But building a dedicated network of public transit lines only for students, and building dedicated vehicles only for that, has never occurred to anyone here.

Of course we know about these buses, from movies and such, but they're as foreign here as cacti or pick-up trucks (actually we're seeing more and more of these here) or yellow cabs (all europeans will assume all cabs in the US are yellow until they actually visit).

You do see these buses here at times, because people still generally like the idea of the US, even if they have a lot of issues with a lot of details, and so folks bring them over, along with stretch limos and stuff (also not really a thing here). And of course, if someone goes to all that trouble, they don't do it to haul school kids, they rent it out for city tours or as a party bus or whatever.

So you see these yellow things as a symbol of faraway places, scenic vistas, some vague undefined idea of freedom that doesn't necessarily hold up to any contact with reality, and it's just a huge part of the whole US aesthetic.

And then you go to a student exchange with the US, and you finally get the chance: You yourself get to ride in one of these iconic chrome yellow buses! It looks just like in the movies! You get in, you drive in them a little…

…and you realise they're shit. Just the worst buses in the western world. Terrible suspension. Uncomfortable seats with weirdly high backs (so they don't have to put seatbelts in, they just restrict how far kids can fly in an accident). Everything made out of the cheapest materials. Turns out the reason why the US uses school buses like that instead of normal modern city buses, which the US has, is to save money and because they just hate kids.

And then it hits you why US Americans say "as American as apple pie", a dish that is made and enjoyed literally anywhere in the world, instead of "as American as yellow school buses". Of course the Americans already knew all this. They got tortured by these things forever. It would never occur to them to see this as a symbol of America, it's just a normal part of life for them. It's a symbol of school and school life and sometimes normalcy, and tells us that these actors getting out of it are supposed to be teenagers, nothing more.

But most people in Europe have, of course, never ridden on these buses. So when they see them in movies and TV, that's a giant big yellow signifier that we're not in Hessen or Wallonia or wherever anymore. A symbol of a different world, one that may be at most a once-in-a-lifetime-experience for most people, just like a picture of a tropical beach, Mayan Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, or Hildesheim (there's no reason to go there twice). And I think Americans don't know that, and that's fascinating.

[scottguy]

.. Levin called equity a “prescription for tyranny and totalitarianism,” ranting that it was “not the government’s job” to improve the quality of life of American citizens. 

It is ABSOLUTELY government's job to improve the lives of American citizens.

You enjoy clean air? Nonpolluted water? Safe food? Effective medicine? Protection from corporate rip-offs? Public schools? All that is a product of "government."

The government's ONLY job is to improve lives. What else would we need it for?

What the hell does Mark Levin think the purpose of government is?

Levin wants an every-man-for- himself world. Levin wants American society to be a jungle where the strong and rich prey on the weak & poor. "I got mine and to hell with everyone else," is Levin's twisted vision of American life. Government gets in the way of that so he hates it.

"Government" is not aliens from another planet. (as right-wingers seem to feel) Government is fellow American citizens upholding laws we asked Congress to pass to...

...guess what?

.... Improve our lives!

Mark Levin has an oligarch's view of "government" which is that it's BAD because laws stand in the way of corporate profits that could be even higher IF ONLY the rich could more freely pollute, create even bigger monopolies, price fix more, sell unsafe products, and just plain cheat Americans with phony extra charges because they can get away with it.

Let's be clear, it's greedy oligarchs and corporations making life hell for average Americans with low wages, greedflation, increasing housing costs, increasing food costs, and obscene medical costs for both treatment and medication.

Mark Levin is PAID by rich oligarchs to lie to you about what government is and should be. This is why Levin is pro-Trump.

Trump is on the side of the corporate cheaters who WANT HIM to END DEMOCRACY so they can milk Americans for every last cent in their pockets ... forever.

They want Trump as a TOTALITARIAN leader.

Kamala Harris is the exact OPPOSITE. She is on the side of average American citizens and continued democracy in the United States. That's why Levin hates her.

The rich are terrified that Americans are FINALLY fed up with being screwed by Republican policies for decades. That's why the right is willing to resort to a totalitarian dictator. They know average Americans won't stand for the unconscionable greed of oligarchs much longer.

We, the left, are SO SICK of Republicans pointing the finger at Democrats and accusing US of the WRONG things they are actively supporting right now.. such as fascism and totalitarianism, under a Hitler-like Trump.

We can either not vote, just give up, and suffer misery THE REST of OUR LIVES under Trump and his Nazi-like regime.

Or...

We can vote and elect Kamala Harris and claw back the wages we've been denied, the absurdly higher prices we have to pay for anything necessary, and make the rich PAY THEIR TAXES... just like the rest of us have paid all along. (After all, the rich can easily afford their taxrs and still be obscenely rich.)

Vote ... and vote Harris. Let government KEEP making your life better like Biden already has with lower prescription costs, improved infrastructure, support for unions, and nearly countless other programs that are good for AVERAGE Americans.

The alternative is an American life under Trump that is a nightmare almost too horrible to imagine.

Mark Levin and his ilk don't give a damn about YOU! Average Americans are just cattle to be harvested for profit. The middle class exist only to be milked for money.

The rich don't care if you die of starvation or sickness. They're RICH! It's not their problem. Nothing is quite so easy to bear as another person's sorrows. They get together to party on their yachts and thus put the misery they cause for hundreds of millions of much poorer people out of their minds.

Don't listen to fools like Mark Levin pimping for filthy rich people who only laugh at your poverty.

[infiniteglitterfall]

For real. $17k is poverty. The poverty line in the US is always lower than it should be, but...

HOLY SHIT, as of March 2024, the federal poverty level (FPL) in the United States is $15,060 per year for an individual and $20,440 per year for a married couple.

What the PENGUIN-SHARPENING PURPLE FUCK.

As I was about to say, it doesn't draw a line in the sand where "poor" ends and "rich" starts. Guess that's even more obvious now.

I live in one of the most expensive parts of the US. I can't even apply for jobs that pay $65k, because that's around $4000 a month after taxes, insurance, whatever.

My mortgage is hella low for where we live: I got an inheritance right at the rock bottom of the housing market, which was the only way I was ever going to be able to get approved and buy a house.

It would still take half my income to stay in my house. I don't know how I would pay back the $14k I currently owe on the mortgage, which is in foreclosure for the third or fourth time.

I have my kid full-time because my ex's disability stuff is too much right now for them to do weekends. And extra full-time because our kid's sensory stuff plus anxiety is too intense for him to tolerate school, which we're working on.

But it means that I can barely do any work. And it means I have to be able to afford food and clothes and stuff for him. Saving for college, retirement, or emergencies would be really difficult if I only had $500 a week left to spend. That pays, let's see... If I were paying all my bills, another $800 or so would be going to bills. Not to mention the debt on water, trash, and power.

Then we'd have uhhh $1200 left to pay for a month of groceries for two people, cat food, cat litter, any vet visits, any repairs around the house I can't do, gas, any car repairs, kid clothes, kid fun (birthday presents for him, for friends, games he sometimes wants, he needs pants, etc), and all the things we've just been doing without but really do need. Like hand towels.

Obviously nobody's retiring around here and he can just go to community college for the first two years, but also, shit is gonna happen and I won't be able to pay to deal with it. And I'm already doing that... Under the belief that it will get better.

If I was making $65k long-term, I would be almost as screwed.

I'd be losing the food stamps I now get, the ones I should be getting that have been going to my ex, and the cash aid for needy families that has also been going to my ex, who's now on disability.

I'd be replacing that money out of my salary, and not making enough more to cover all the predictable, recurring, but random expenses that come up all the time

And I wouldn't have time to look for better-paying work.

To me, people seem rich when they can save up for anything they might need, pay their bills, have extra income for whatever they want, and have extra savings for whatever they want.

I've done the math. Around here, and with a kid, I need to be making more than $100k to cross that line.

I'm lucky because -- omg, I just realized that millennials and Gen x have a shittier version of "baby boomers were lucky because."

We're lucky because you used to be able to rent a place with roommates and afford to live if you made like $15 an hour. (Idk what that number was anywhere else. But here it was about 1.5x-2x minimum wage; maybe it was similar or lower elsewhere.)

I've seen tiny, tiny apartments near me go for $1,600 a month. For one bedroom or a studio. In someone's backyard.)

Now, idk how anyone would afford to not live with their families during their 20s.

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