OT: It really depends on the individual... if you have a child who is exceptionally sensitive to criticism, paired with a name that feels out of place for the region—especially if that name can be twisted into some nasty nickname—it could potentially cause real trauma.
For instance, there was this kid named Jack who was in my elementary school class back in the day. He had a very loud, foreign-sounding name, and we were right in the middle of the war. Some kids would bring these incredibly devastating insults home from their parents just to use against him, which left deep scars... he eventually had to transfer to a different school just to get away from it all.
It was similar with a girl in our class whose name sounded almost identical to Clorox. When that commercial came out where they sang about how the dishwasher lives longer with Clorox, some smart-aleck decided to paraphrase it as "ABC lives longer with a condom." He harassed her with that every single day until the poor girl broke down in tears—it got so bad that even the older folks at the school heard about it... people were buzzing around calling her names she was way too young to hear, all because some idiot decided to mock her name since it wasn't typical for our country.
It’s happening to everyone, really—some kind of Trojan hiding inside one of those damn ads... they're working on it, though. Reddit has been flagged as a malicious site for a few days now, which is just typical... hopefully they get it sorted out quickly 😉
My mother actually talks to her plants—honestly, I’m convinced it works, because they grow like crazy while she’s out there whispering, "just keep growing, my little sunshine"... 🤣 I brought her this tiny little sprout back in 2006, and at this point, the thing is absolutely massive—it practically takes up half the living room... 😬
I kind of get where you're coming from—honestly, every single plant I’ve ever tried to keep alive has just withered away. My rosemary... even my rosemary 🙂 It’s like I just don't have that natural green thumb instinct. Then again, back in 2009, my boyfriend bought me a Money Tree and told me it was practically indestructible—just a little water here and there—and somehow, against all odds, it’s still kicking 😍
Animals are an even bigger struggle for me, though. I absolutely adore them—I've had pets my entire life—but right now, my boyfriend and I have rabbits. We started out by getting one that was already sickly from the jump; the guy we bought him from knew exactly what he was doing and kept quiet about it, too. The poor thing died in my arms after only three days. Eventually, we decided to foster two more, and well, some of the ones meant to be temporary ended up staying for good. First, the male passed away—something fell on him, and since he was so small, it was instant. Then one of the females died from an illness she picked up while she was wandering the streets before we rescued her, which unfortunately spread to the others—we barely managed to nurse them through it. After all that, another one died of old age. We’re down to three now. Every time I walk through the door or go to feed them, I start shaking because I’m just waiting to find yet another one dead. I know deep down I’m not responsible for any of those deaths, but the panic still hits me... my heart starts racing, I break into a sweat, it's just awful... and I honestly don't know how to cope with it, let alone help you, but I wanted you to know you aren't alone in this feeling 🙂
But honestly, I’ve stopped seeing those 503 or 504 errors altogether lately—instead, I keep running into this 404 nonsense, some kind of database error... 🤷
That’s just how things work over at MK—I know, it sounds like a pathetic excuse, but honestly, pretty much every thread there exists solely for the sake of mockery... which, fine, they can be entertaining to quote from a distance, but please, don't go wading into that mess unless you actually know how to bake a damn pie or if you're prepared to upload photos of your breasts 😉
Why are you letting them get under your skin like this... I think I understand why, but still... it's really just a corner of the internet where men go to act like total idiots 😬
Now, I feel like this whole discussion is veering off course... don't get me wrong, I’m bitter—but mostly about certain women in my own life who have done some truly, deeply ugly things to me. The mild cases, I’ve vented about here, but the real villains? Well, we all know who they are... the ones running their organizations...
Sure, there are plenty of nurses out there who are wonderful... absolutely... but the topic at hand is the appalling way some nursing staff treat their patients, so I think it’s fair to assume that’s where our focus should remain...
Regarding how they handle medication distribution... it was always the same routine. Around 9:00 PM, the staff would just wander into our rooms asking who needed painkillers and who needed something to sleep... those sleeping pills were handed out like candy—just a way to knock everyone out in order, passing around Xanax, Ativan, or Lorazepam just to keep things quiet.
I still remember one night while I was a patient there, an emergency case came in right in the middle of the night. This woman, probably in her fifties, had been stabbed in the abdomen with a knife; she was from Afghanistan and didn't know a single word of English or any other language we spoke. Of course, the second they tried to get her out of her clothes, she started screaming. She spent the entire night wailing in pain, but those mindless drones—honestly, calling them nurses feels generous—instead of actually calling for help, they just stood there mocking her because they knew she couldn't understand them. In the end, they just tied her to the bed. Absolutely horrific... It was actually the patients who finally stepped up; we rebelled, told them to back off, and tried to calm her down ourselves using soft voices and steady looks. We gave her water and just talked to her... nonsense talk, really, but it helped. It didn't matter that she couldn't understand the words; what mattered was the presence we offered.
And don't even get me started on the nursing staff at the clinic reception desks... those are the worst kind of bureaucratic gatekeepers you'll ever meet... they’d practically let you drop dead on the floor if you were missing a single lab report, a referral, or some other trivial piece of paperwork...
Well, I went ahead and took it up with the head nurse, the department chief, and even the hospital director—showing off my shredded arm as physical proof—and all they did was give me those sympathetic little nods... telling me, "Oh, she's just a bit sharp with you..." Honestly, what a joke...
I spent a solid month stuck in a hospital bed, basically a human pincushion—constant blood draws and an IV running three times a day... By the end of it, my arm was so swollen from all the punctures you could barely recognize it. I couldn't sleep for the pain, period. So, there I am at 2:00 AM, practically losing my mind, calling my sister for help... and this nurse comes in looking absolutely livid. She just rips the IV right out of my arm. She tore the vein wide open—blood ended up everywhere... on the sheets, the wall, the floor... You really think she gave a damn about that 5% margin? Not ☕. She just gathered her things and walked out, leaving me to deal with a whole new level of agony 😠
I find myself wondering about this too... I’ve spent more than my fair share of time lying in hospital beds—sometimes for months at a time—and not once, and I mean never, was anyone particularly kind to me or anyone else for that matter. Honestly, I don't care if their job is exhausting or if the pay is lousy... they knew exactly what they were signing up for when they finished their training... it’s just tragic, really, when someone whose entire job description is based on being human and helping others acts like that.
From snapping at patients, to refusing to change the linens (unless it’s 5 AM when they absolutely have to), to neglecting to change diapers for bedridden patients. Or just completely ignoring the call button because they're too busy watching soap operas or whatever...
I don’t know... I’ve been smoking for ten years now, and even after all this time, it still hits me—every time I light up a red Marlboro, there's that immediate sensation... my head starts spinning, my throat gets scratchy, my lungs feel heavy... it’s hard to ignore. And maybe it isn't just me, either. I have this friend who actually turned out to be allergic to nicotine—she wouldn't have had a clue if she hadn't gone in for some diagnostic testing. It never even crossed her mind that cigarettes could be the culprit, mostly because the reaction didn't happen right after a smoke, but much later on... and she was a constant smoker. She just assumed the red rash breaking out on her hands was something she ate, or maybe a reaction to some lotion or cream she was using...
Try to pay a bit more attention to when this actually happens—what time of day it is, whether you've eaten recently, even which specific cigarette you lit... because lighting up a white Marlboro versus a red Marlboro isn't exactly the same thing. 🙂It’s probably nothing serious, but if the smoking is what’s making you feel off, then just don't light one... at least now you have a built-in excuse if your friends start giving you a hard time. You can just tell them the nicotine is bothering you and that's that. Hopefully, they'll be cool with it... 🙂
I have just one question, I’ve been diagnosed with strep and my doctor put me on antibiotics. I managed to take the first two doses, but last night I felt so incredibly poorly—it was actually frightening—that I couldn't even think straight... I had this sharp, stabbing pain in my chest and it felt like I was choking. I checked the fine print on the packaging and saw it's not recommended to take this alongside hormonal contraceptives. So, I stopped taking the Augmentin, but my throat is still absolutely killing me. Is there any kind of alternative antibiotic for situations like this? Something they might prescribe to people who have a penicillin allergy, perhaps?...