Posts by Nicholas Cook4

Most of my socializing happens while I'm out trekking through the States; that's when I end up hanging out with whatever group happens to be gathered, sometimes for 10 to 40 hours straight. 😬

With my old crowd, life just kind of pulled us in different directions, so our priorities aren't what they used to be. We still get together a few times a year, though—usually for the kids' birthday parties.

It’s not like I’m lacking social time, really. Honestly, I often have to push aside things I actually enjoy just to make plans work, and as I get older, I guess my own hobbies are becoming more important to me than constant socializing. 🙂

Drew Ross2 said:Victim or not—it's irrelevant to the main point. 😳 The point is that you can't compare your mental state when you're only responsible for yourself to your mental state when you're responsible for the life of another (helpless) being.
Personally, I think your twenties are the ideal time to have a mindset of—well, let's just say my ego takes precedence over everyone else's. 😁

I guess I spent my years from 13 to 25 or 26 just totally losing my mind, living life to the fullest and being pretty selfish about enjoying myself, honestly. It felt good at the time, and I think I still enjoy that freedom now.🤣
If I had been focused on settling down or having kids back then, I’d probably have them by now, right as things were finally calming down, after finishing college and getting a career started—you know, everything going according to plan.😁

Someone who only starts really living and seeing what life has to offer at 20 obviously isn't going to have it all figured out by 25; their life might not actually click into place until they're 30 or older.
Everyone has a different starting line and different opportunities, not to mention their own unique idea of what life should look like and what it actually means to go wild and enjoy yourself.

Drew Ross2 said:Why are they acting like it’s such a shock that the kids are already college-aged? Of course it’s easier now—it was always going to be. You really should have been paying closer attention—and asking the right questions—back when they were actually little. 😁

It’s irreplaceable—if you can even call it that. 😳
While everyone else your age was out making mistakes and living it up, you were stuck being the responsible kid—the one who actually had their act together. Now that you're finally ready to let loose and make up for lost time, you realize there's no one left to go with. Most of them are already busy playing suburban parents and chasing toddlers around. It’s a bit of a catch-22, I guess. 🐔

Okay, so one woman was constantly acting all miserable because she had a kid. I think she was still going on about it at 30, complaining about having another baby and having zero time for herself, and so on. Now she’s finally calm because she’s "dealt" with the kids and can finally focus on herself. 🤣

The others were pretty chill; they had kids, but they knew how to go out with their friends, head to a girls' weekend, stuff like that. It wasn't like they were whining and moaning about being stuck at home with children. 🤷

But honestly, it all comes down to someone's personality. If a person is a complainer, they’re going to be a complainer at 25, 35, or 45. If they're chill, they'll always be chill. 😁

I don't think there's really a "perfect" age to get married.
To me, marriage is basically just a legally recognized partnership between two people that comes with certain administrative perks.

If you're looking at marriage as a precursor to starting a family, I guess the sweet spot would be somewhere between 25 and 30.
By 25, most people have probably gone through their wild phase and figured out what they actually care about, plus a younger parent might find it a bit easier to keep up with the chaos of kids.😁>

Looking at some folks I know, I see how much easier it is for some people to have college-aged kids by the time they hit 40👍 compared to those who are still dealing with infants or toddlers.😵

Good sir! 🧐

Everything else is just shades of gray ☕

Oh! So you guys are strict about emojis too? 🕺

Maybe I'll try not to provoke you with them then. 🙂

Am I being inducted into the club of true US-ers? 🙂

I guess I'd say I meet some of the criteria. 🙂

Dear Admin,

I’d like to request a change to my username.
I’ve been part of this community for quite a while now, and since I've put in some serious years here, I feel like it might be time to move on from the Mamina 👋

I noticed that Nicholas Cook4 is already taken, and that account has nearly 2,000 posts (even if the last one was from about 17 years ago), so I was thinking maybe instead of Mamina_Princez, I could just go by Nicholas Cook4 🤔

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Nicholas Cook4 🙂

LOL, sure. Just send Nick a link to this post.

Larry Walker24 said:Word on the street is they’re getting rid of those state line checkpoints starting May 11th.

I don't really get this. So, I could just drive from my place in Los Angeles over to San Diego, or maybe Phoenix, or even Austin?
But I wouldn't have been able to head out to Seattle without a permit? 🤔

darktinker4 said:So, I actually looked into it and found out we can move around! It’s kind of like how my husband could drive me, but he’d need his own Digital Pass too. But then I was browsing online and stumbled upon this:

No Digital Pass required in most states

Following requests from local officials, FEMA has decided to scrap the Digital Pass system in several specific areas. This means people can travel freely within their own state lines again.

The Digital Pass requirement is being lifted in Cleveland, Riverside, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Michigan, St. Louis, Indianapolis, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Memphis, California, Richmond, New Jersey, Des Moines, Miami (though you still need one for island travel), and Pooska County. They also dropped the requirement for travel between Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles County.

These rules kick in at midnight on April 20th.

But you were actually asking if you can travel to other states, right? 🤔

Within your own state, you can go wherever you want, I guess...

darktinker4 said:Fine, let's say I go ahead and grab a Digital Pass for my grandparents, but how am I supposed to get down to St. Louis? It looks like there aren't any trains running... I don't quite get it.

I guess your only real choice is to wait until May 11th when the interstate transit starts back up.🤷
Unless, of course, you want to look into renting a car or finding a ride on BlaBlaCar...

Not that I’m trying to break any rules, but I just took my bike out for a casual ride through the countryside this past Saturday, no special permit required 😁

There were two checkpoints along the way, and honestly, both times the officials seemed completely checked out, just staring at their phones.
Cars were basically just rolling past the checkpoints without even slowing down.

Frank Martin2 said:A question for both pro and amateur cyclists.
Do police officers actually pull cyclists over at checkpoints, or do they just ignore us and focus entirely on the cars?

I passed right by a checkpoint this past Thursday and they didn't stop me, though they weren't stopping cars either, so I guess I'm not entirely sure what their specific protocol is.

I think if you stick to the side roads rather than the main highways, you shouldn't have any issues. I managed to knock out about 50 kilometers today, riding through two different cities and a small suburb outside my usual area, and everything went smoothly—just like always. 😉

So, does that mean only Latin letters are allowed?

I read through the first post, but I just thought this might fall under that rule about emphasizing the first letter.

I guess I'll look into what's actually permitted, then I'll check back in if I find something that seems okay and acceptable.

The letter P, which is considered one of those "royal letters" 🕺

Princess

Hi,

Is it possible to change my username to Princess?

Thank you 🙂