I am also extremely annoyed that there are many amenities which coast money (like no public bathrooms and water fountains, maybe you can guess the country already).

On the other hand you can look for free stuff to do in your city. Things we have here:

Some museums are free

Botanical gardens

Outdoor movies in the summer

City festivals with live music

Public readings

How to get free things or access to low cost things:

Join a cheap club. Sport, boardgame, etc They normally also have the gear for beginners / newcomer’s. Volunteer. This gives you access to people and gear (time in exchange for feeling good, maybe do what you like and make an impact).

Maybe not everything you like you can find easily. I guess you have to dig to find a free rave if that’s what you are interested in. Back in the day I would have suggested looking for Facebook communities in your city.

Enjoy the show. In the last two years, I was at 2 shows where a male companion and me were the oldest. And one show we were only beaten by boring parents which waited in the bar area instead of listening to a great show (imagine grumpy older Gen X being on their phones the entire time). It felt weird at first. Teens and young adults all around me. Every teen had so much swag and I needed Vexillology lesson because there were so many queer flags and didn’t know existed. The shows were nice (Tessa Violet and Cavetown) and I had a great time. Everything was calm, the bar always free, I guess because money is a lot tighter when you are young. If people notice you they’ll think you are a cool dude cause you enjoy good music.

Oh I love it, cause I actually remember: It was around 1998-1999. I was a child. A new mall opened and they had some kind of special. 1 hour surfing for 1 DM or 1 €. We had no internet at home yet only an old computer for fun. Nothing fancy. And I really wanted to go on the Diddl website. Imagine something like a german Mikey Mouse but as collectible like Beanie Baby’s. I was obsessed. Anyway I think each click took 5 min to load. There was lots to discover like the mid 2000 Gorillas website. My mom was annoyed. But I was hyped. 10/10.

I just started a Python course. My tutor uses Thonny and I have tried Pycharm previously and prefer it. Maybe because I am lazy or because I prefer all the autofill I can get. And I need all the highlighting. I am code blind.

In the media I consumed a lot of focus during Covid was: if we cannot perform and we don’t get financial aid, how do we continue make music/art/theatre etc. and it clicked for me that listening to Spotify will not feed the artists.

So as soon as some kind of open air, distance concert was on, I purchased tickets. For me it was kind of cool, because I am very small and never see the stage. Having beach/ deck chair concert or “sitting” at a table was nice since I could see the stage. But I obviously are happy to have the opportunity again to jump into a pogo pit or Schlagerstrudel.

Teenage me would be very confused to know I listen to hip hop now too. But I try to enjoy new music, listen to upcoming artists and just be excited.

Since Covid I go to concerts more often. Try to purchase a new ticket before I go to the last concert I already have tickets for.

So I go to 2-4 paid events and maybe 1-2 for free events a year. This includes concerts and 1-day-festivals. I shifted from only seeing the one fav-band I have and now buy a ticket for everything I like and like to support. No matter if they are small or big names. When I was young, I only saw the one punk rock band. Now I go to pop concerts, gangster rap etc. just listen to whatever I think is cool.

I have a scar in my left armpit. I have several patches of skin all over my body which looks and behaves funky. I have brown straight hair but where my funky skin is I have blond spare curly hair which doesn’t grow long. I got it lasered on my neck and face as a teenager because I was told it needs to go because insurance didn’t want to continue paying for an acid creme to make it brighter (the skin is also darker and uneven). + random assholes asking me if I didn’t wash my neck. Under my arm the skin got often inflamed from sweating and looked like a rough naked mole. They tried to laser it and I got bad scarring and they decided to cut it away. Roughly 10 cm. The scar is ugly as hell. I can’t feel shit and it is uneven and hard to shave around. Lifting my arm for sport like jumping jacks hurt. Lucky me I hate sport anyway.

Switched for the same reason. I have the feeling that in the last couple of weeks lemmy got a lot more interactions, especially after Elon tried to ban posts on reddit, but maybe it is just a feeling. Initially I really missed Reddit. Some inside jokes where missing for my communities. Having this girl show up in everyone’s inbox felt like the first kind of sitewide memory to look back onto. I don’t miss the porn. Having to see crazy attractive people all the time made me feel bad. Would prefer fair trade porn if I seek it.

I get you and sure some themes hit harder than others. I myself no kids etc thought pet sematary was an ok book and I have read many comments saying it hits harder being a parent/father.

But there is a difference between: will we get the male perspective and I am not interested in the plot of a female one. Therefore devaluing it.

In a radio show introducing an entertainment to your audience, giving a platform to an author and then being dismissive feels so stupid.

I am especially enjoyed since it was on air in the youth centre. Boys and man constantly use girl and woman and anything related to it as insult. (And obviously gay, which is my personal journey to remind everyone that it is not an insult.) Just selecting a female team in FIFA was nearly too much to ask.

A couple of month ago I was volunteering in my youth centre. We always have the radio on. On air was an interview of a female author writing about a woman and her struggles as a mom and wife, falling for another man. The male interviewer had the audacity to ask if there are any themes in the book which could interest him as a male reader (imagine a very condescending tone).

Reducing “female” themes to lesser themes is so annoying, hurtful and stupid.

As someone mentioned before: play boardgames. The nice thing is you don’t need any cause we gamers already have plenty and are always looking for people to play with.

Also go volunteering. You’ll meet people of different ages, genders and backgrounds. I myself volunteer in a youth centre in my neighbourhood. Initially I knew no one on the streets. Now people recognise me, teens and parents alike, say hello and acknowledge me. I myself like this. It makes the neighbourhood feel more welcoming and save. Initially I „hid“ behind our counter having a save distance between me and the teens until I felt comfortable and feeling like I can intrude their space. It takes time. But it is worth it.

It is a great podcast. But all of Michael Hobbes podcasts are. He still co hosts maintenance phase and now Sarah is running you are wrong about alone.

Sleeping hygiene is a good point. No phone in bed.

But also try to make it cozy

Have a nice duvet cover, I like cotton. No synthetics. Change it more often.

Temperature in your bed room should be lower, open your window before going to bed.

Have good curtains. But not too dark. Whenever I have a window shutter and I close it completely, I just don’t wake up and sleep over 8-10 h.

Here are my things I do when I can’t sleep

If my feed are cold, wear socks, or cloth but don’t heat the room too much.

Try to sleep in a different room (if you can). When I am just too active I move to my sofa for a change. It really helps me.

Important question. Are you alone or is someone next to you. If your sleeping schedule or preferences don’t mix with your partners, try separate beds. Cuddling sounds cute until you cannot sleep because of a snoring person next to you. And don’t be angry when your partner prefers to be separate.

I think in its original form, browser based I think, you just had OneShot. But I really enjoyed it. Great to see it mentioned.

Mrwhostheboss video about Temu made me unsubscribe. Felt more like advertisement than anything else.