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Joined 8 months ago
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Cake day: March 7th, 2024

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  • Get a white noise generator app; I use TMSoft’s White Noise, which lets me put together my own mix. I generally make one with some pink noise (like white noise, but pitched differently and for me it does a better job screening background noise); then, because that’s just a straight sound which can get irritating after a while, I put in a rainstorm over the pink noise. Then I add in some thunder, which is useful in helping my sleeping brain ignore bass notes like garbage trucks and vacuum cleaners. That takes care of interrupting sounds, and also helps nudge my brain into sleep mode when I turn it on.

    The other thing for me are both blackout curtains and a sleep mask. The sleep mask because the blackout curtains aren’t quite good enough; the blackout curtains because I have to take off the mask to pee during the day and don’t want to get assaulted by the sun.

    Phone off silent, obs.



  • Can we break this situation down a bit?

    Re: income: You’re earning just a little too much for government aid: if you got government aid, would that aid offset the loss of income? Like, if you were earning $100 less a month but got $400 in assistance, I’d say it was worth it. Take a look at the numbers. If it’s worth it, talk with your boss and see if you can get either your hours or your pay cut slightly enough to qualify for government assistance.

    Re: the taxes: in my experience, every government process (including tax collection) has an appeal process. You say your agent is relentless and merciless; get in touch with their supervisor, figure out the appeal process. Unless this is a private company, there should be a way to put this on hold; the issue is finding it. It’s a slow season right now; it might be worth it to contact a tax attorney and ask for some free advice.

    Re: expenses: Check with your county social services office. A lot of places have programs to possibly help with utilities, like the HEAT program. Unfortunately, some states are significantly more generous with support than others, but it may be worthwhile. Also look into local charities that may be able to help with some kind of expense. Even if it’s not the expense you were looking for help with, any kind of expense-savings is good.

    Re: mental health services: check your local universities and colleges to see if any of them offer advanced degrees (Master’s/PhD) in psychotherapy, psychology, sociology, social work, or related fields. For those that do, check if they have a community counseling program (they may or may not). If they do, contact them and see if they’ll accept you as a patient; they might, they might not, or they could put you on a waiting list. They’ll also often have sliding scale payments for therapy, like $10 or $15 a session. Yes, it’ll be another expense, but it’ll be helpful documentation for your disability claim.

    If you can’t find anything locally, try farther away; most places started allowing online sessions during the pandemic, and some of them still allow it.










  • Israel said it sent about 30 truckloads of aid into northern Gaza on Friday, including food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment. “We’re fighting Hamas, we’re not fighting the people of Gaza,” military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani told journalists in an online briefing.

    Technically correct, you’re not fighting them, just slaughtering them :(