Thank u for replying! You give me hope that it won’t be too hard. :)

Ugh…obviously my mini rant here is not about “evolving” because it involves religion…but the “pre-destined” part of your comment is not far from some religions justification for factory farming being ok.

I was once told by a fundie coworker that it says in the Bible that god put animals on the earth to serve the purposes of humans and thus any use of animals is ok.

I ended up telling her I wasn’t going to argue the Bible because some things are just not ok, and I don’t need an old book to tell me that.

I actually am a fan of unreliable narrators, but they can’t also be insufferable assholes. I can’t stand that book and I did read it when I was 15!

That said, I understand it’s not really meant to be a cherished story…but if I’m gonna read about someone I would actively hate, I’ll stick to non-fiction for that.

If you can, donate to your LOCAL non-profits or the local branches of larger non-profits. Get to know the people in those organizations (volunteer, visit organization open houses/orientations, go to a hosted event) and you’ll feel a lot better about where your dollars are going.

I used to be on the board of a local domestic abuse shelter and now I’m on the board of a local food pantry. Both are amazing organizations, both have incredibly passionate people working for them, and the board is filled with mostly normal working people who have or want to have good community connections.

My partner has a little with big brothers big sisters and that turned into a board position for him because he was super enthusiastic and active. That’s a bigger organization but his contributions are at the local level and we’ve gotten to know the local “ceo” as well.

Also, 501(c)(3) orgs must publicly list their tax returns and you can find out the salaries of the executives on those tax returns. So even tho in my experience, the executives of the orgs at the local levels earn every damn penny (and it’s def not enuf) you can also find that info out for yourself. But please remember that if a non profit doesn’t have an excellent, passionate and well paid staff, they will NOT be able to get the donations and funding they need to fulfill their actual purpose. I’m talking specifically about local orgs tho, some of those giant orgs with executives making millions definitely should take a closer look at their priorities.

And finally…if you can’t donate money of course there is always volunteering but there is ALSO serving on a board. Every non-profit ive been involved with has had problems filling their board seats with active, enthusiastic individuals. Sometimes there are monetary asks of board members but no one is going to kick you out if you truly only have time and no money. And if u experience that, find a better board, they are out there and they are working really really hard to make things better.

Oh man Lisey’s Story was one hell of a slog and I thought perhaps King had lost it since it’s one of his more modern offerings. But then he wrote Duma Key and 11/22/63 and I realized it was just a dud. Good luck getting through it!

I have, at certain points in my life, been a rabid King fan. As someone who was trying to think of how to describe and recommend books from an author as eclectic as King, thank you. You’ve done my work for me.

And I had completely forgotten about Hearts in Atlantis which I loved. Isn’t that one a short story? I was probably a very young adult when I read that.

And I will pile on and also say I would recommend Gerald’s Game and Insomnia as two of his more unique horror novel takes.

“It” is also not only my favorite King book but my favorite book of all time. However, I get some flack for that due to some problematic sexual themes involving children and also it’s just a dang long story with a LOT of sub stories in it. But it captured me a long time ago and nothing else has done that since. All that to say, I absolutely love that story but am careful about recommending it since I usually get the side eye eventually.

Even better!

Twice. First time from waaaay too much time sitting as I had a full time job and then several hours studying for my CPA exam for several months. That time it got better over a couple months just by getting a standing desk at work (I alternated standing and sitting about an hour at a time) and light exercise along with nsaids.

The second time I reinjured it deadlifting too heavy. That one I could not get rid of it despite stretching, PT, acupuncture and laying off most compound lower body work for at least 6 months. But then I went on a week long vacation that involved a LOT of walking…and it was like 70% better when I got home and almost fully healed 2 weeks later.

I still get dull aches here and there but nothing I can’t work around or stretch out pretty easily. Mine never resulted in numbness of extremities but it was pretty limiting. And in my case it really appeared that regular movement and breaking from my day in and out routine made a huge difference.

Hmmm…truly new tech that came out after I was 35…

VR …yeah pretty cool, my partner has one but I’m not a gamer and don’t generally go for anything gaming anyways. Use it more widely for non gaming uses tho and I’m on board. Self driving cars …cool, don’t have one, never been in one, but I’m all over learning/using that shit if it becomes mainstream AI… personally not a fan, mostly cuz I think it could be like nukes where it’s used for more bad than good, but I’ve messed my way around ChatGPT and it’s whatevs. Probably eventually very useful if we don’t murder ourselves first.

Personally, having gotten our first school PCs when I was in 7th grade (92’ -ish), I find that I tend to at least be curious and want to learn about new tech. So I wonder if the late genX, early millennials might break rule #3 just cuz we were forced to know more about computers to run them and thus don’t view tech as inherently scary. Then again, I’m always fucking around with stuff and my siblings (2 yrs older and younger) are always like “woah how u do dat?!?”…maybe im just a lazy oddball always looking for a way to shortcut my life with technology.

Tony Tony look around, something’s lost and can’t be found. Please help me find [item].

That’s what we used to say. I don’t think Tony liked me very much tho.

Certified public accountant

Yes, direct file is guided with a checklist. However there are only certain situations where a taxpayer would qualify for direct file - there’s income limitations and only certain income types qualify (u would not be able to use it if u are self-employed or own rental properties for example). The IRS is planning to expand this but for now it’s limited tho the vast majority of taxpayers would qualify.

Anyone can use the free fillable forms but u either have to know what you’re doing or be comfortable reading irs form instructions if you have a more complex tax situation.