Glenda’s Guidance

I'm gonna say it, I do think that even the laziest person imaginable should have a roof over their head, food in their stomach, and access to healthcare

nature is beautiful

You're a dumbass who the fuck says something like that

a few months ago my friend called me and told me she was moving back up near me from 7 hours south in the middle of nowhere and asked if i would help her because she couldn’t move the furniture by herself and the town was so small there was no moving company (there were actually only 5 or six businesses in the whole town including both restaurants) and she had no one else down there to ask. 

And even though money is pretty tight for her, she told me I could name my price if I would help her, because it was so far away.

I told her she was a dummy for thinking i would take her money but that i would accept the traditional helping-a-friend-move price: a meal (i know she would feel wrong about herself if she didn’t do something for me in return, that’s just how she is) Tradition suggests pizza and beer, we opted for enchiladas and a margarita.

we crashed on the floor of the empty place and left back north in the morning - when we got back to the city three more friends met us at her storage place (the place she was moving into wouldn’t be vacant for a couple months) and we started to move all her stuff up to a storage room on the THIRD FLOOR (because large city storage places be like that)

we had just taken the first box out of the truck when the (only) lady working there walked by and told us they closed in an hour and twenty minutes, and she couldn’t stay even a little late because she had to get to her other job.

One hour twenty minutes. To completely un-jenga a large uhaul and re-tetris it back into a similar sized room on the third floor.

We all just, shared a look, took off hoodies, and got the fuck down to business. 

It was actually.. I still cherish look we passed around. The tiny eyebrow quirks and chin nods. The eye glints. The bigger breath we each took as we prepared to kick it up several gears. That moment of wordless connection, when we all just silently agreed that we were damn well going to do the impossible and didn’t even waste the time it would take to say anything, just got to it.

And we did it too. Finished with exactly two full minutes to spare. And then we all went for dinner and drinks to celebrate. And my friend’s friends that came to help? Two of them were acquaintances/friends of mine already. Like I lived with one for a year a decade ago sort of thing. But this experience? Brought us all closer. Made myself a new friend too.

And the friend i helped move? She and I are closer than ever because of it.

When i left our storage success diner to go home, she asked me again if I was sure i wouldn’t take any money.

I said “I ever tell you when I was 22 I went down to Hollywood to try that scene out? Anyway ten months later, when I just couldn’t do it anymore, and needed to come back, I called one of my best friends and said i can’t do this anymore i need to come back. You know what he said? He said: I’ll be there tomorrow. Not how much will you pay me, not what do i get out of it, not will you be able to cover my gas, just: I’ll be there tomorrow. Okay? You’re my friend. If you need help, I’m going to be there”

If helping someone move ruins your friendship, you’re doing at least one of those two things very wrong.

Reblogging for the last line

Maybe this is just me, but I'm really proud to share and be impacted by the activist histories of so many different demographics of people.

I'm very proud that generations of activists before me are the reason why I can freely access menstrual products and condoms in the places I frequent, they have saved my skin multiple times. I'm very proud that generations of activists before me are the reason why my parents could have an interracial marriage, I wouldn't have my step family or my sisters without them. I'm very proud that generations of activists before me are the reason why my little brother wasn't taken from my family and institutionalized or beaten for being semi-verbal and high support needs, I wouldn't have my baby brother in my life without them. I'm very proud that generations of activists before me are the reason why my aunt was able to have both a medically necessary surgery for an ectopic pregnancy and a medically necessary abortion for a late term miscarriage, those activists saved her life and kept her in mine. I'm very proud that generations of activists before me are the reason why I can safely go to the gay bar and loudly and proudly exist as a faggot with my friends, they have brought me immeasurable joy with so much sacrifice and loss of their own.

It's such a complicated history filled with loss and we're by no means at any kind of stopping point. There are so many things that still need to be done, but look at the progress we've made that has not only enabled my own life to be richer, but I'm sure the lives of you all too. That's important. We're carrying their torches now, and that's also important. For ourselves and the next generation of lives that we'll be able to enrich even further, who will then pick up the torches from us for themselves and next generation after them.

The Kids just aren't being taught how to write a cv or cover letter huh

I've seen ones today including photos, dates of birth, place of birth even!

And also several formatted like they were writing a message to a friend! Full of exclamation marks! This is a formal document!

this one is formatted like a powerpoint presentation. to be clear I'm not in charge of any descision making I'm just going through redacting identifying/potentially biasing info but like...some of these formatting decisions are also potentially biasing

Yeah, I remember getting some wild ones when I was hiring manager

So many women feel the need to mention their young children in their cover letters and CVs. Some young people slip in that they can't drive, a sort of pre-emptive "but it's okay I have a bus pass". So many people go and shove their mental health issues with anxiety and depression in there.

I remember one girl had clearly been told that she needed to explain any gaps in employment in the cover letter (terrible blanket advice), and so had described how she had developed depression after a traumatic miscarriage and spent a year in a terrible spiral getting worse and worse before getting on a new medication that, and I quote, "seemed to be finally starting to work." There are ways she could have written that information if she was desperately wanting to include it (I cannot stress enough that she should not have included a word of it), but the way it was written was almost literally a description of how she would be a horrendously unreliable employee who could dip out at a moment's notice and would never be seen again, while also demonstrating that she cannot determine appropriate professional communication.

(And for the record, the latter is the actual issue. I have no problems at all hiring employees with mental health issues, and did several times hire people in recovery to help them get back on their feet. Only once did that not work out; all others were amazing, and two became some of our best employees - one is now a manager there, in fact. But if an employee can't be trusted not to over share personal information with customers or colleagues, particularly triggering topics... That's a different issue. She did herself no favours at all there, and nor did whoever told her employers will always need employment gaps explaining in a cover letter).

Another guy once wrote in his cover letter "I want this job because after years of messing about I now have a little girl, so I need to sort my life out for her, and if I can't do it even for her then more fool me." Which, like, I admire the drive and passion. But again. Why are you telling an employer that you're a flight risk. Why are you telling us this.

One 18 year old volunteered, unforced, that he was gay. Just right in the cover letter. That he sent to a future employer.

And then, of course, the thousands that send in CVs and cover letters that are horrendously mis-spelled. Again, as an employer, I care dick-all if you're dyslexic or what have you; but I do care that you didn't think it was important to get someone to proofread a professional document for you before submission. That tells me quite a big thing about the level of professionalism I can expect from you in the role. It wasn't massively relevant for the job I was hiring for (escape room game master), but if we'd had slightly different job duties (e.g. writing official soc med posts), that would be the difference between getting an interview or not.

Honestly, half of my role as a hiring manager was just... having to explain to the other hiring manager that she was being biased based on information neither of us should have had in the first place. And she wasn't a bad person, but bias gets you even if you don't want it to. Give yourself the best chance. Don't fuck it by sending in a dumbass cover letter.

@bitchesgetriches this seems relevant to your expertise

My god this is bleak.

I'll link to more of our advice below, but the general rule is: do not volunteer information about your personal life to a potential employer. Just don't. It's none of their business (literally).

I had a friend recently tell me they were having trouble getting past the interview stage. Turns out they opened every interview with "I'm queer and disabled." I told them to FUCKING STOP DOING THAT and they got the very next job they interviewed for.

It's illegal to discriminate based on protected status, blah blah blah... but if a potential employer becomes aware of something like that, suddenly their unconscious biases come into play. Don't tell them about your personal struggles. Tell them how you're going to be a good lil worker bee for them. I don't care if it feels dishonest. You need an income to survive, and I support you doing just about anything to get it.

"I wish I could donate to [chronic disease charity] but cash is tight right now."

Okay. Wear a mask in public spaces, then. Make sure people with chronic illnesses can go to the pharmacy and grocery store with less risk to their health because they're at higher risk from communicable illnesses like covid, flu, and RSV. Prevent more viral-triggered cases of POTS, ME/CFS, MS, Alzheimer's, and more by lessening the spread of viral disease.

Quit cosplaying temporarily embarassed Daddy Warbucks and do something that materially benefits the cause you claim to support AND signals your support and care for those who are disabled and chronically ill.

if you live somewhere where people are hostile to those who wear respirators, advocate for HEPA air purifiers (you can get the machines or make corsi-rosenthal boxes - you can host CR box building workshops too)

normalize putting them in homes, nursing home units, hospital rooms, classrooms, houses of worship, restaurants, literally everywhere

you can say it’s for allergies, or smoke, or “toxins” if people are MAHA. you don’t have to say the Bad Word (covid) to explain your motives. say whatever will get people to comply

Companies in the 2000s: You wouldn't download a car! Digital copies are still stealing, even if the original copy remains with us.

Companies in the 2020s: That digital copy, which you have paid for, doesn't really belong to you. We're removing it from your library now.

Companies deleting media you've literally purchased is 1000x more realistically "stealing" than digital piracy, you cannot change my mind

My one boring tip to anyone in their 20s is to resist the temptation to rot in your room every time you get a free moment. Dismiss any neuroses you have about going outside and "being perceived". Be a dictator about it, plan your hangouts like they are binding commitments. No excuses! Go to the bar with your friends. Be kinda hungover at work. Socializing is like exercise; even if you don't feel like you want to, you should still do it because it's good for you.

These days, lots of public libraries have a "library of things" collection where you can check out kitchen appliances or yard tools or toys, and, as a children's library assistant, the most popular library of things item that I handle regularly is a plastic scepter thingy called like "unicorn princess magic wand". And whenever I check it out I make a big show of looking at the little kid and being like "do you solemnly swear to use your unicorn princess magic powers only for good and never for evil?"

And pretty much without fail, the little kid will get the world's most mischievous grin and go "I'm gonna use it for EVIL!!!"

Never Learned - Gator Days

...the alt text?

[guy whose bedtime is approaching fast] I need to write one billion words right now. and draw everything that has ever existed.

one time i went to the doctor and said "i think i have some sort of damage in my neck from hurting it on a trampoline as a teen" and the doctor said "no you don't." and i said, "well, the day after i hurt my neck, my bioparents tried to make me climb a mountain because they didn't believe i was hurt, and just a few minutes up the mountain i sat down on the side of the trail because i was in so much pain i couldn't keep walking, and they just left me there, and eventually i forced myself to climb the rest of the mountain because i was terrified they were going to legitimately abandon me on the side of the mountain forever. and i'm here today because it just recently occurred to me that when most people say 'i have a crick in my neck' they mean 'i slept funny and now i'm a little sore' and not 'i'm functionally bedbound at the moment due to severe neck pain'." and the doctor said "you have permanent nerve damage in your neck."