Count from 1 to 10, then 10 to 1. With each number, relax your body a little more. When the mind strays, bring it back to counting. Repeat until unconscious.

If that isn’t working at all, get up, go to another room, play soft music at low volume on headphones, and depending on the circumstances read a book, jot stuff down, or just contemplate stuff. Chill until sleepy, then either go back to bed or just curl up where you are.

Ngl this was my first thought. Or dig out a pair of those ol’ soap shoes and do a sick grind (practice first with both of these).

Every serious bullying incident I ran into growing up ended when a kid got popped in the mouth. Every unserious bullying incident made no impact when I knew if it got serious, I could pop them in the mouth and likely come out on top.

I’ve met way too many adults with personality issues that were a product of adults telling child them “physical violence is always wrong, just tell an adult, be the bigger person” etc. It always needs to be taught as a last resort, and it needs to be understood that even justified violence comes with consequences and other tools must be used first, but when you’ve done everything you’re supposed to and no one is helping to the resolve the problem, sometimes you have to do it yourself.

It ain’t pretty, and it ain’t ideal, but it’s the way it is.

Worst I hurt myself: Older, much larger cousin broke my leg by landing on it in a bouncy castle.

Injury that pissed me off the most: At 13, I loved jiujitsu and rock climbing above all else. At my last jiujitsu class before going to California to, among other things, go bouldering in Joshua Tree, I sliced my heel badly on the metal bottom of the dojo door that had about an inch and a half of clearance from the floor.

Shoes in general, let alone those super-tight climbing shoes, were out of the question for two weeks. I’m still mad. Of all the ways I could’ve got hurt, it was the fucking door on the way out that took me down.

Primarily the audience. The artist can approach a project with a certain set of ideas, precepts, and motivations, and attempt to communicate something, but the interpretations of the audience supercede that IMO.

That said, different levels of engagement inform different interpretations. For instance, there’re folks who watched Starship Troopers that didn’t understand it was satire until they listened to the director’s commentary. Knowing this does impact an audience’s interpretation when engaging with the work - all of a sudden, certain things lend themselves to closer consideration. But the audience still brings their own experiences, sociocultural context, and ideas to a work of art. Over time, it is the audience’s interpretations that carry on as people share that experience.

Ideally, a work stands on its own without reference to paratext/the creator’s claims. But those can play a part in informing your own interpretation.

Love trailers, fucking hate ads for cars and stupid bullshit played before or after trailers.

I’m sorry, what??? I’m just as perplexed as you are, where are you seeing this and can you drop a link?

There’s been more than a few times my kid has called me out by saying “Use your inside thoughts”.

Canada, various provinces - either weed whacker or whipper-snipper.

Scott calls it a trimmer sometimes, but Scott’s a dick and we hate him.

Edit: Fuck you too, Scott.

Fair enough - glad you’re trying something to address this lot! Believe it or not, did actually mean this as a ‘what if/what are the ramifications for orgs like this if that happened’, but probably best not to entertain that yourself at the moment.

As a total aside, good song to keep spirits up today might be The Last Saskatchewan Pirate by Captain Tractor - very last line before final chorus is relevant :)

Good luck with what you’re doing!

Silly idle thought (for real): Suppose in a situation like this, particularly if people complain on the internet drawing attention to the fact that there’s 1000s of pounds of produce in a space that likely doesn’t have funding for strong security measures, a group of interested parties brought some trucks and took it without explicit permission or consent from the organization.

What’s the impact to the org in situations where this isn’t given away to unauthorized parties, but gets stolen instead?

Whenever I see someone with sunglasses inside, I always chalk it up to a) not being arsed to remove them, b) light-sensitivity due to migraine/hangover, or c) being on some sort of drug (sunglasses = invisibility cloak/comfort blanket for some folks).

All of these are totally valid. Douchey is as douchey does, if folks are acting polite/keeping to themselves I don’t judge.

It’s not the worst idea, though of course you’d need to figure out if taking a job in another city is worth maybe having to move your family/your wife having to transfer or find a new role herself.

Don’t limit yourself to this, but something to think about re: searching: What private labs operate in your part of Canada (Lifelabs, Dynacare, etc.)? Who holds the contracts for hospital lab sample/supply transportation (this can be tricky to suss out, but if you find yourself near hospitals at all, think about the branding on courier vans you see)? Etc.

I see you’re at lemmy.ca - are you a Canadian? If so, and you don’t mind sharing, where in the country do you live?

Your experience makes me think something re: logistics operations in the medical industry could be of interest, and I see postings from time to time. But availability really hinges on where you are. Won’t lie, they are stressful jobs, but compensation and benefits can be good, and there’s some opportunity to cut your teeth on projects like route optimization and/or get paid PM training.

🎶Gotta catch 'em all, 2C-B!🎶

Based on your definition of chav (I too thought tracksuits, trainers, and UK urban slang), think about the kind of hobbies folks like this do. Dunno if it’s an exact equivalent, but if someone was looking for a redneck here in Canada, they’d be going to car and truck shows/events, hunting events, small town bars, fishing derbies, small circuit pro-wrestling events, farm/harvest festivals, county fairs, that kind of thing.

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Two reasons: Practical considerations (shared assets, certain legal protections, I’ve seen people get married for an easier go re: immigration in some cases, etc. Basically check your local laws); and ritualistic.

I find people often discount the importance of certain ritual practices in Western secular society, and for a lot of people ritual in general is a whole lot of fluff and nonsense. But having a ceremony to recognize a formal joining of two people, and by extension their families (to varying degrees), with the at least ostensible intent that you will live and die in partnership with that person, is a powerful thing. It’s a common ritual among multiple societies, with lots of variation and differences in exactly what it signifies, but the ubiquity speaks to that power IMO.

Don’t get me wrong - I think divorce is a good thing for when the partnership truly does not and cannot work, and people can live happily in lifelong unions without marriage - but for some folks, taking that vow in the eyes of your friends and family (and whatever deity concept you may have, if that’s your kink) is a very important and serious thing. Something changes, to some degree, when you take that oath.

It doesn’t have to be expensive - that it often is, IMO, is a function of capitalism infecting a beautiful thing more than anything else. You can have a wedding in someone’s backyard officiated by someone who paid $25 online for a certificate, with a small number of close friends and a potluck BBQ afterwards, and it would be just as valid and meaningful as a wedding that cost 100k (shit, IME the smaller one is actually more meaningful in a lot of cases). It’s the intent, ritual, and meaning participating parties place on it that’s important.

adds to ‘Things to do on your last day to burn all bridges if you magically come into wealth’ wish list

Nah, and to be honest it threw me off to hear some people interpet it that way. It’s always meant “acknowledged” or “I agree, no notes” to me.

If I wanted to be rude I’d do this instead: 👍🙄