I vastly prefer paper books - it’s a much better reading experience for me. I tend to get my books from the library if I can, or otherwise usually Amazon.

She looked so lost, it hit me like a gut punch

I think you replied to the wrong comment?

I don’t really enjoy the holidays. It’s too much stress, too many conflicting family obligations, too much effort dodging the religious aspects, too much forced cheer, and it all just makes me sad. Marginally I like putting up a tree, but after a couple of weeks I get tired of remembering to water it. I skip as much of the holidays as I can, and try to enjoy the small parts that don’t annoy me.

Ha if I keep buying perfumes I really will be skint! I’ll have to check out the Arabic fragrances, make my money stretch a bit further!

Yessss I would be so down for that!

IP law sounds so dry to me, but I love it when people are enthusiastic about niche topics like this!

Very cool! I think watercolor is neat because you can make really ethereal, abstract pieces, or you can make more realistic (which seems like your style, having peeped a few of your posts in that comm).

Meaning then you just pass through objects rather than collide? Or is it unable to properly calculate the incident & resulting collision vectors, meaning the resulting trajectories are nonsensical?

Not the same thing, but steganography seems pretty interesting too.

It’s where the partnership is mostly focused on the kids, leaving very little time for the parents to connect. I see this more and more with how heavily scheduled kids are now. Parents have to schlep them from school to sports to playdates to music lessons, etc… it seems so overwhelming. And people don’t seem to use babysitters anymore so it’s rare the parents get adult time together to go out on a date, listen to live music, go dancing, see a movie, etc - just be people in love together and focus on each other. I think time together without the kids is vital to keeping a connection with your partner. Otherwise everything is parenting and logistical planning. You need balance.

I wish! Every now and again I search “polish” and “lacquer” hoping a new community will have been made, but so far no luck, though it’s been maybe a month since I checked. I keep trying to talk myself into starting one, but I don’t know if I have the patience for modding.

Oh man, you hooked me from

You’re in an coastal pine forest during a lightening storm

and it just got better from there. I’ll have to try this!

I’m still building up my collection, so so far the most interesting I’ve come up with is Super Amber / Heavy Cream. I’ve been ordering a bunch of sample vials of things that sound interesting, trying to pin down what notes I like best and which I don’t. So hopefully soon I can come up with creative combos like yours!

I’ve heard “quarterlife crisis” used for this before. I think a quarterlife crisis is different in some key ways from a midlife crisis, and it makes some sense to distinguish between the two. I think more than comparison to others’ achievements, these crises have malaise/discontent at their cores. By the time you reach a midlife crisis, it can be extremely hard to make changes that will reinvigorate you: a lot of the time you’re pretty stuck - in that boring job, with that big mortgage, in that “Parents, Inc.” marriage, with those needy kids. When you’re going through a quarterlife crisis, I think it’s that post-college “is this all there is?” doldrums. But at that age there are fewer variables and change might be tough, but still easier because there are fewer people relying on you.

Just based on my observations, anyway.

I’ve been pretty into four things lately:

1. Healthy cooking, from scratch as much as possible. I got into a rut trying to maximize protein intake, so now I’m trying to find different recipes that don’t compromise on macros but still offer variety in flavors and textures and won’t bother my IBS.
2. Nail polish and nail art. I have probably about 300 polishes at this point, which sounds like a lot to most people, but it’s a tiny collection compared to some I’ve seen! Last year I got really into nail stamping, which lets you create neat little designs, and you can get really creative with it.
3. Working out. I recently moved, and designed a power rack for my basement which is pretty fully featured. My goal was to be able to do all the exercises I could do at my previous fitness club (within reason - no way I’m buying a tank sled and a billion 45 lb plates!). I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, and so is my husband, which I’m glad about because he’s a tall dude and working around the low-ish basement ceiling was a challenge.
4. Indie makeup! Holy Moses I love makeup, and indie brands are killing it. My most recent favorite palette is the Cosmic Brushes Winter Wonderland palette (which came out last year, but is new in my collection). Just look at her!:

Gorgeous, right? No way I’m ever going back to boring neutrals.

Oh man I’ve recently started getting into fragrances… I’d never realized how complex (and expensive) they can be! I discovered Kayali’s Yum Pistachio Gelato from a makeup youtuber I follow and it’s all been downhill from there. Lately I’ve been layering Ellis Brooklyn’s Super Amber with Phlur’s Heavy Cream, and I keep sneaking little sniffs of myself throughout the day… and sniffing my bra when I take it off for the night… send help!

What are some of your favorite unexpected notes to combine?

In DS9, Kira Nerys refers to herself as a terrorist all the time.

Rapist Allen Turner, aka rapist Brock Turner, who got a 6-month slap-on-the-wrist sentence for what his father called (and I quote) “twenty minutes of action”? That rapist Allen Turner (aka rapist Brock Turner)? The one who only served 3 months?!

Xmas is in 9 days, so it’s almost over!

I think the holiday season is really overblown, with so much artificial cheer that it’s unsurprising that people get sad at this time. You can opt out of the festivities. You don’t have to do a tree, attend parties, or participate in gifts. People might not like it but you don’t have to go along to get along.