I had to put down my 14yr cat yesterday, feel you bud. Been crying by myself ever since. Try to have someone who can support you if you can.

Had some leftover rice, mapp tofu, and a couple pieces of general tao. Always nice to have Chinese food with a bit of a kick to it.

Great job, and good luck! It might be hard and take some time to get back into the swing of things, but take it day by day, moment to moment and things won’t seem so tough.

My 14 year old cat has ckd and my biggest fear is that I won’t be there when she eventually passes. Since I’ve adopted her when she was 8, she hasn’t been too friendly with other people or animals besides me, so I don’t know who else would be able to give her comfort when she has to go (knowing of course, that’s not usually cat behavior when they get close to death).

And I just want to make sure she feels loved until the very end.

Finally started graduate school and seems pretty okay so far. Haven’t been able to connect much to my cohort, but a bit closer with my actual area. I’m not too down about that given I’m trying to treat this as a job than as school, and have always been shy and anxious (though not so much anymore). It’ll just be something that comes naturally over time I hope as my nerves settle down a bit and Im able to meet more people in the department and in my classes.

Trying to learn Python then leapfrog from that to do more advanced analyses with AI. Good and bad, good as it seems to give me a bit of an edge on my cohort (not to validate my worth on my status to others) but bad as I didn’t really expect to be doing this so early and no one has any real resources to learn. So it’s up to myself to figure it out.

Only since I came back from shopping today has she been more receptive to laying in my lap (apparently got into a fight with my other cat while I was out)… but she’s been enjoying her little spot on top of the freezer. I’m glad she’s comfortable in our new place, but I will miss the days where she’d cuddle in my lap until she fell asleep. 😿

So bit of a stretch recommendation but I can never turn down a chance to recommend this author.

If you like the general idea of an author exploring what-if premise of people living (like how the Fallout vaults are given specific scenarios to live in), you might like Ted Chiang’s short stories. For example, “Hell is the Absence of God” explores what life might be like if angels (heaven and hell) were real but come into societies like tornadoes or hurricanes due to their supernatural power (think tornado chasers). There’s world building in it to realistically support the premise of the story (e.g. support groups for those affected) and is generally really thoughtful.

Again, very much a stretch to Fallout vaults, but really deserving of a read if you are more interested into exploring the realism in a world built around certain premises.

Yeah, I’m agreeing with you on that. I’m moreso stating this because it feels like people are talking past each other is all. An extra $5k for someone making $30k affects much more than someone making $80k regardless of top percenters.

I mean you’re right on that, it’s not like someone having a Netflix account or not heavily affects the impoverished to the same extent Netflix the company has. But I meant moreso to hold so as a general mindset/expectation. Like owning a cottage is something doable, or at least was doable, for someone with a upper-mid income. Maybe a mid income with some time. But generally, but it’s an expense that really only benefits a few that could be used for something else. Not to say don’t enjoy things, but put your purchases in perspective with some deliberation.

No entirely on topic, but this mindset would also benefit environmentalism. Being in Canada, I can’t count the number of times people have complained about the end of plastic bags. But really, the trouble of keeping a couple cloth bags on you at all times or even purchasing something later is a bare minimum hassle that outweighs the additional trash. Sure, consumers’ impact is more negligible than industry waste, and industry waste should be the main focus. But from an individuals’ perspective, you need to be slightly more mindful of your own responsibility if you care about your impact because you’re the only person that can keep yourself accountable all times. And it adds up with each person, etc.

I think it comes down to your level of analysis, or how you define relations. Having been living off $30-40k income for most of my life, I can definitely get the sentiment of the large differences between that and someone making $100k (even $60k), or at least someone living a working class vs middle class lifestyle. But that also goes for someone making $0-10k to $30-40k. Either way, the salience of financial insecurity hits a lot harder for someone with less existing cash.

That said, I also get the sentiment of the nil difference between working and middle class versus the ultra rich who generate huge swaths of passive income and can basically can dictate whether or not the lower classes have enough for rent. Why bother fight against each other when there’s a much larger and casual target.

In a more nuanced answer, for solidarity sake we do need to recognize our similarities to work together for a better system. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore our differences and privileges either. We should work towards achieving core necessities for all even at the cost of our own privileges (i.e. an opposite tragedy of the commons: those with some threshold excess contribute to the pond). Determining that threshold is another question, with both absolute and relative poverty thresholds with their own criticisms. And not to say that no class hierarchies will form either, technically skilled and heavily laborious jobs should be rewarded, and people will always try to skim a little off the top to get ahead of their own benefit. But in recognizing our differences, we recognize a need to monitor ourselves for the benefit of everyone.

I think aquariums tips, outdoor movies night, etc. sound like fun ideas. But one thing to keep in mind is how much of an “event” a hangout might be, and whether that might turn some people off.

It’s like the difference between planning for a beach trip with friends versus just taking a spontaneous dip in the pool with your friends on a hot day: one feels more effortful than the other. And the beach trip, or planned events, might be the more fun choice. But after a long week, etc. a lot of people just want to do something social but more chill and effortless. Just being able to enjoy the moment with their friends. Which might be part of the reason why bars are really attractive for that kind of thing. You just go out, grab a drink, chill with your buds, and go home to relax. No real structure, more just down time.

Again, not dismissing those ideas. Definitely good in moderation. But just chatting with a friend over lunch/dinner, at a cafe. Hang out at the park at the end of the day. Things of that nature and effort should also be important. Even if it feels small, it can be the nicest part of friendships.

Yeah I’ve been applying for some operations and analyst roles, though not as much as the healthcare/science/nonprofit stuff, but I definitely should try anyways. I guess I am a little discouraged not having a background in finance or anything, but I’ve worked retail and warehousing/factory work before so I could try to find positions closer to those industries (not that I’m begging to go back).

And funny that you mention it, but iam taking Google’s PM Coursera too and utilizing the tools in my current research work, for experience and to improve project processes. I hate the corpo style of PM classes (at least Google’s presentation of it) but I do enjoy managing projects. Demonstrating this kind of Initiative and experience hasn’t given me much of an edge though. Just sheer bad luck on my end I guess

Yeah I can’t even imagine what the unemployment experience must be like in the US, not that I’d fully be able to explain in the first place. But the same struggles as in Canada and then some, especially with privatized healthcare/universities gouging you and everything else going on.

Oh I know, the whole ATS-schpeal is something lots of agencies express nowadays with the number of applicants. Still, it feels like a problem to ignore a resume that uses an alternative expression or a slight modification to a keyword. Good job on getting the offer though 👍

I’ve been applying to research assistant and administrative assistant positions in healthcare and industry, though my field in psychology. I currently have a bachelor’s degree so I’m not really expecting any higher roles than that, but just want to get some more experience and pay more of my student loans before going off to grad school. I’m in Toronto so there are plenty of those jobs, but lot of competition. I thought I’d have better chances having managed the research project, co-developed design, and written a manuscript, but hell I’m still struggling

Genuinely one of my favourite games of the year. A really nice mishmash of what are essentially mini games and systems. Kinda refreshing almost to what games are like now tbh, almost like the old Fable games

https://youtu.be/ZNn-tNe0s2A?si=ZTeSMnMIo7BiOsWk

So not exactly a full game or released just yet, but Bloodborne Kart has that retro look and is based on a modern series. Seems like a cool and funny concept and wanted people to know about it.

Well I stand corrected, the newer one is definitely a tribute to the old commercial considering it seems to have been a bit beloved. Except the newer one is also beloved by white brothers and sisters everywhere.

I’d chalk it up to common marketing strategies based on family around the holidays.

That said, I really hope the one you’re talking about didn’t have the same sexual tension between the brother and sister. “I can excuse incest but I draw the line at pedophilia”

I will say my holidays are definitely not as bad. My family never really celebrated any holidays besides a few prayer days for the deceased, so never really got into them as I’ve grown up. My cat though has been having problems with a UTI and likely CKD, and I’ve only really gotten her eating in the last couple weeks. Mostly meat sludge, no solids. I’m hoping she pulls through with the UTI and the CKD turns out to be at a lower stage. But I adopted her when she was 8, as a mature cat, so knew what I was getting into. Luckily she’s been around to be almost 14 now, but I’m just afraid I won’t have many more months or years with her. Plus the stress of finances, unemployment, and other responsibilities has been taking its toll so I’ve been crying more lately. But I’m doing what I can to help my situation.