I did get my doctorate, but ngl I did come pretty close to washing out midway through due to a depressive episode. Turns out the grad school experience is pretty unhealthy much of the time.

Oh hey it’s me eleven years ago

When I was in undergrad some of my friends and I were eating a late dinner in the dining hall when someone came in to say that someone had fallen in the river. It was the middle of winter at the time, so when we rushed out we saw that a man had fallen through the ice, perhaps while trying to cross, and was clinging to the edge of the hole while half submerged. He was pretty far out and we didn’t know how stable the ice was, so we tied our scarves together and bound them to a thick stick. I had to try a few times but eventually succeeded in throwing the weighted end to him and dragging him to the bank. Unfortunately the dude was really unpleasant and said something horribly racist to a black woman who was standing with us, apropos of nothing. We left immediately after ensuring that he was no longer in mortal peril, as it looked like news vehicles were starting to show up and we didn’t want any part of that.

Thanks I needed this laugh today

Hey, I don’t know if anyone is ever going to go back and read a thread this old. If you have and are reading this, since making the original comment I have started HRT. Moreover, it did, almost immediately, alleviate the depression and vague sense of impending dread that I had felt my entire adult life. I’m 9 months in and can confirm that this change is not temporary euphoria but appears to be a permanent improvement in my state of mind and wellbeing. If you’re in a similar place to where I was a year ago, take heed and best of luck.

I do thrift, but my most recent great find was at a queer clothing swap downtown. It is a long, black, integrated flowy pant + skirt. The skirt really billows when I walk or it gets caught in the breeze. My silhouette tends to be top heavy, and the profile of this piece really balances it out.

Yeah, a lot of the attention beautiful people (but especially beautiful femme-presenting folks) receive seems actively dangerous.

Edit: plus, lots of one’s peers will likely attribute all accomplishments to beauty rather than merit, which sucks.

I mean, I am a nonbinary person who does experience dysphoria. I just suspect that a lot of folks, especially those who don’t understand the consequences, would take the deal purely for perceived social benefits. Would they regret it? Possibly, yeah.

Being beautiful is a superpower, disregarding gender. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of “cis” people who are not conventionally attractive would choose to take this deal purely for the social benefits.

My main source of protein is definitely tofu. Most days I eat around 500 grams in various dishes. I also eat other beans and lentils, although amounts vary week by week. When I use protein powder I like to mix pea protein with brown rice protein. Pea protein has a different balance of amino acids compared to soy, but alone tends to be hard on my stomach. Hence, the mixture.

FWIW I have achieved higher levels of gym strength as a vegan than I ever did as a carnivore.

I use a modified version of the feminine form of my given name. I spent a long time thinking about it but in the end it felt right.

I am convinced that law enforcement wants intentionally biased AI decision makers so that they can justify doing what they’ve always done with the cover of “it’s not racist because a computer said so!”

The scary part is most people are ignorant enough to buy it.

Poetry

I’ve recently been working longer hours than usual away from home. My dog has been much more physically affectionate when I’m around because he misses me (cries). For example, at night he sleeps against my leg so that he’ll know if I get up. Things have been tough recently but knowing that this furry monster that lives in my house loves me has been helping.

There are plenty of people who can lift 800lbs in the idealized form of barbells along certain ranges of motion, such as the deadlift or squat. However, I sincerely doubt any human could lift 800lbs of dead weight gorilla, much less one that is struggling. The heaviest stones that have been lifted are in the mid 600# range, and lifting a stone is easier than lifting an equivalent weight of floppy body.

Yeah learning that a lot of dysphoria symptoms are, in fact, not commonly experienced by most people was quite the revelation to me.

I’m sure it’s sufficient for two players, but I don’t know how the game rearranges the interface with four. It might be a little crowded.

I can confirm that Barony is a fun couch coop experience for two on a steam deck, so long as you are prepared to die and have to start over a lot. It might be tricky with four players, as there is a lot of inventory menuing. You might need a really large screen.

OP I hope this is what you needed to hear. I spent a long time convincing myself that I must be cis, despite that pretending at manhood was making me miserable. It’s a long road to accepting that you’re “trans enough”, whatever that means to you.