#life during a pandemic

[lunarriviera]

BONUS:

#are these the best most well-laid-out textpost memes of which i am capable? no #am i going to redo them to make them better? also no #these were saved from the great laptop death of 2023 #right after said laptop got wiped #so it's a miracle that they exist at all #thank me later guardian fandom #or rather #let me thank you #because you saved my life during the pandemic #love you all madly #seriously i'm sorry these suck #but there's love behind them #guardian #zhen hun #zhao yunlan #shen wei #ye zun #chu shuzhi #da qing #zhu hong #镇魂 guardian #weilan #lin jing #guo changcheng #镇魂

[alicenpai]

was nostalgic for harvest moon a while back. i played a shit ton of hm64 until it started glitching so badly!!! i'm still sad over that!!! it was my childhood hm game!!!

sharing a Lumina & grandma drawing from 2018 i think ? wasn't super big on this piece. for the Back to the Beginning zine hosted by catstealers

#harvest moon #popuri (harvest moon) #karen (harvest moon) #muffy (harvest moon) #harvest moon 64 #harvest moon a wonderful life #i really like this brush for sketching as i think my drawings are the most dynamic with it. idk what it is about this brush #i thought my style during the pandemic was turning too anime so i wanted to stylize a bit more #oh yeah my zelda botw icon is also inked with this brush #my art

[horseshoemybeloved]

Maybe this is a severe mental illness idk but ik other people do this so I wanna know. Do you ever imagine a character is with you while doing the thing your doing ( I.e sans undertale is with you while you dye your hair )

And if so. Do you imagine yourself as yourself… or another character ( ie uhhh u are sonic da hedgehog )

If you can please boost cus I’m really curious. Me and my friend feel like this is a common thing but it’s not talked about cus like…. It’s kinda weird ig.

#don’t backseat diagnosis me ok I am living and loving my life #uhhh #polls #poll #mental health poll #? #idk #ik I started doing it more during the pandemic #I feel like it’s like the brain coping with not having enough social interactions ig

[iwatcheditbegin]

This is all I’m gonna say

#the internet is so fucking bitter #I don’t care if it’s Pocket change it’s so much more than other rich people do #she’s not even a billionaire and she’s giving more #very rarely Is a whole team compensated #also that amount is a lot of money #it is more than many make in a year and can improve the quality of life #people have gotten way too comfortable saying what is and isn’t enough #it’s like when she donated to fans during the pandemic - not a lot of money for her but kept a roof over people’s heads #I hope it sets precedent #she has always done stuff like this tho #this wasn’t even the Taylor subreddit #Taylor swift #rich folks hate her bc it makes them look bad

[aaiiiiiiiiiii]

sanrio's taking too long so my impatient ass has to make its own food

#fragaria memories #sanrio #puruth #romarriche #hangyon #rimicha #arupek #kurode #willmesh #badobarm #hallritt #cielomort #quality is lower than my life during pandemic #bado seems to be the person who would break up with his s/o for these types of reasons tbh #bouquet leaders yaoi real

[gilbirda]

My (subjective) thoughts on how to survive corporate hell while being younger than 30

I'm 27 and I've been working in corporate office job since I was 23 and I have some advice for any youngster out there feeling unsure if they can even make it in office corporate jobs while being younger than 40.

Don't reveal info about yourself. Craft a superficial version of yourself you can share with peers. Pick a hobby or two and repeat the same speech about what you do for fun. Points if you do something people would remember - everyone says sports and/or traveling. Say something original, but safe.

Your company is not your family. You don't owe them a minute more or less than what says in your contract. You are not less if you refuse to work unpaid extra hours. If they demand that of you, get that in writing and take that shit straight to HR.

Know your rights. If you have paid time off, you are entitled to those days off. I'm european so I have a lot of them, and my company is ALWAYS asking me if "I'm sure I can leave my team down for so long". Bitch I can take the days off whenever I want, is my right. The fact that I'm not taking them in the busiest times is a courtesy.

Be careful with what you say. Everyone will be nice, but not everyone is your friend. Some people would sell you for a potato chip, and finding out who would is vital for your survival. (Hint: if someone spills tea about other people to you, they will spill YOUR tea to other people).

Offices are just like high school. Rumors can and will spread like wildfire.

Another "high school" office cliché: cliques. Yes. Same dynamics will form and identifying them will make things easier. My favorite clique to observe is the people that are shooting for the stars and are always around the Biggest Boss licking their shoes. They will also be the first to speak about how a company project improves their personal life because their personal life and work life is one and the same and they ADORE the company.

Being young can play to your advantage. You are fresh and new, and most of the corporate toxic behaviors won't apply to you by default - but Watch Out, they will also underestimate you and dismiss your opinions. Is a constant battle and a delicate dance.

You Will Be Adopted. That's fact. Be quick to learn who exactly is trying to put you under their wing, and if you are comfortable with that dynamic. It mostly depends on what kind of career you want to make in the company - want to climb higher? Stick with the boot lickers (they will introduce you to Important People); want to be up to date with all the gossip? Attach yourself to the Nice Lady Everyone Tell Their Secrets To. Etc.

I cannot stress this enough: Don't say names. On top of everything else in this list, don't say a single name unless you are absolutely sure you are in a safe space. Names have power, and if you complain about someone and say their name, that will have consequences. Maybe that person will learn you are talking shit, or maybe you will unknowingly make a political stance depending on who you are complaining about, maybe you are implying someone is bad at their job.

Don't assume that young people are your friend. This is a tough one I had to learn, but at the end of the day we are all surviving. Other young people will understand you and stick with you, but if an opportunity opens they will take it without saying goodbye. Or they have other priorities and career expectations and just... not be your friend after all. Not because you are also younger than 30 it means you are besties.

You will be bombarded with boomers and gen Xers talking about "the old days" and "how before things were better". That if you "just worked hard enough the company repays you" and such. Ignore them. Corporate job is not what it was, this isn't the old days anymore. Getting in is not as easy and it used to be, the salary doesn't last as much as it used to be and the productivity demanded is higher than ever. Ignore them. Most of them have been pushing buttons for 30 years and wouldn't understand the hellscape the world is becoming in the last 20 years.

You have to accept the reality that none of your 45+ years old coworkers are as qualified as you. The requirements for regular entry level corporate jobs now are insane, and "back in the day" you just had to show up and have a nice smile. Yes, it sucks. Yes, higher ups are the least qualified. Crazy.

Learn how to talk corporate. Learn how to say no, how to set down boundaries, how to politely ask for help. Normal people talk will instantly work against you because you are young. Talk like them and they'll listen.

This got away from me but eh.

Disclaimer this is just based on my experience and my culture - I live in Spain, Europe. I tried to keep this general, but I understand there's a bunch of social dances and understandings that are unique to my culture and may not apply to other people.

I am also autistic and I understand that it affects how I experience social contracts and behaviors.

This is just the bunch of rules I live by and I'm doing my best at surviving. I'm not a corporate rat and if I didn't need money to exist I would definitely quit, but I can't deny I have learned a lot.

If someone has more advice to add please do!

#gil talks #corporate advice #???? #i guess #im rambling #i hope this is useful for anyone out there wondering if they can even survive corporate life #i got away with a bunch of silly stuff #like i had anime face mask during the pandemic and my boss thought they were cute #also i recognize im lucky #my current boss is a very down to earth man who understands that mental health is important and the company is not your family #and he can and will fight for me #so thats cool

[silverlombaxwitch]

HAPPY BDAY WATCHING AND DREAMINGGG

I wish I could post smth for the event but I'm unfortunately busy with life so I WILL POST SMTH EITHER TMRW OR TMRW TMRW

#Ily owl house thx for being there for me during pandemic <3 #Also thx for changing my life #I wish I could say more but I've already said alot b4 and my love for this show is immaculate

[holocene-sims]

asking a bunch for grant bc im NOSY : 🌾 [RICE SHEAF] How picky is your OC with food? What will and won't they eat? 🍔 [BURGER] What would your OC put on their burger? 🥕 [CARROT] How tough is your OC against certain situations? How weak are they against others?🧅 [ONION] What is surefire to make your OC cry? Who knows of this information?

omg hi nectar 🤭 thanks for sending me some questions!!

🌾 [RICE SHEAF] how picky is your OC with food? what will and won't they eat?

grant is, like, negative picky. the only thing he doesn't really like is any kind of tea but he'll drink it if you give it to him and every once in a while, for a very special flavor, he'll approve of it. maybeeeee not like it but at least tolerate it more than usual.

so yeah!! he'll eat anything, he does not care. he enjoys cooking and baking, it's all very relaxing for him, and he likes trying new things.

however, probably large in part because he never got to eat anything fun as a child unless he was far, far away from his mother (who only ever served "rabbit food"), he does gravitate to classic american comfort cuisine as his favorite foods! stuff like macaroni and cheese, pizza, etc. he might be the #1 mac and cheese stan worldwide tbh

🍔 [BURGER] what would your OC put on their burger?

the absolute dream combo for him would probably be like standard burger patty and bread with sauerkraut and swiss cheese, maybe a fried egg for funsies, too

can you tell he's from the midwest

🥕 [CARROT] how tough is your OC against certain situations? how weak are they against others?

i truly believe grant is much, much tougher than people would at first give him credit for (or even than he would give himself credit for...)

he's been through a lot in his lifetime and he can be very critical of himself for having developed mental illness, a chronic physical illness, and for struggling with addiction in the past because he feels like it's all his fault and he wasn't strong enough to make it out "normally" (there is no normal, i just think he would use that terminology against himself). but the reality is that survival AT ALL is a huge deal and is worth celebrating, and he's very resilient to have gotten to the place he's at in life now. was it fair that he had to be resilient? no, not even remotely, but in a way, he had no choice.

so that said, i think as he's gotten a better handle on healing throughout his 20s and now 30s (yay!! we just had his birthday last update in the story!!), he's become much more unshakable. social situations are his weakest area - for example, it took him a long time to stand up to his ex and tell her to get out of his life, and it is going to take even longer for him to work out the situation with his father and confront him one way or another.

NOW what is he really good at?! handling emergencies! if you're in a car accident, he's the guy you want to be in the car with you at the time because he won't break a sweat dealing with it. he's very mechanically-minded and good with logic and problem solving, so any emergency is not even slightly going to bother him because he does know he's good at those things. he trusts himself completely as long as he can use those skills. plus, he has many years of experience in compartmentalization lol.

we could also think about his previous job (that he's attempting to get back now) here. aviation is very safe for the most part, but you have to be chill about any kind of crazy ass events happening as a pilot because the stakes are ridiculously high. grant has an advantage in the chill factor, though, because on any day of the week, he'd 100% choose flying an airplane that's on fire or literally falling apart over being in the same building, not even the same room, as his mother. in his mind, he's dealt with much worse.

🧅 [ONION] what is surefire to make your OC cry? who knows of this information?

remember the not as good with social stuff thing?

yeahhhh, it's raising your voice at him. you don't even have to yell, you can just barelyyyyyy raise it and his eyes will at least get watery. he can handle honesty, he can handle bluntness, but not anything with a tone or yelling 😥

and i think everyone knows because his emotions always show on his face. in this case, he'll get that kind of twitchy look and his face will look like it's just been completely drained of life

#asks #hlcn: oc info #hlcn: story extras #hlcn: grant #i know nothing about burgers thank you r/cooking and bon appetit for your help #you know what my dream burger would be? bun and ketchup no protein #no literally i used to take sandwich bread and ketchup to school when i was a kid *everyone immediately unfollows me* #i just love ketchup and hate when my food touches you know so i made my own cursed sandwich with only two things touching #btw one of the best days of my life was ordering imported ketchup chips from canada during the pandemic #i haven't bought them since because they were expensive as hell to ship to me but </3 i miss you ketchup chips #holocene-sims? more like holocene-adds-unnecessary-stories-in-tags

[joshduhamels]

JOSH DUHAMEL AS JOHN CAIN. Blackout (2022) Dir. Sam Macaroni.

#jduhameledit #motionpicturesource #itscinema #filmgifs #Josh Duhamel #Blackout #John Cain #took me a few days but yaaaay finally finished #this movie was shot during the pandemic like damn #can we just admire how beautiful he looks in this scene #*heart eyes* #he's smile and just his stare i melt #love of my life #*** #Mine! #Gifs~

[colourless-expression]

The DS2 trailer was classic Kojima-brand weirdness but OMG THE LANDSCAPES?! THE NATURAL DISASTERS?!

People say it's a walking simulator like it's a bad thing, but it's genuinely one of the most beautiful and interesting games I've played just because the landscape shapes every decision you have to take.

#i played DS1 during the pandemic and god it was so perfect #being lost in the mountains was so atmospheric and relaxing #vibes all round #death stranding #death stranding 2 #colourless chats #life-changing game fr #its a game for the 'gals' that get it yanno

[oxbowreality]

In hindsight it's beyond absurdist how in-universe, Doctor Carmilla and the Mechanisms made a cabaret act/band about their personal trauma. Yet I literally would not put it past a lot of queer friend groups/inadvisable housemates situationships irl not to do that.

#oxbow.txt #The Mechanisms #when I was 20 years old I became briefly obsessed with a recently disbanded combination indie band and cabaret act from Oxford #to this day I don't quite understand what possessed me #I've never been to the UK in my life #me during a pandemic: yeah that plot hook makes sense

[shoku-and-awe]

Found more old photos of farmstand vending machine produce! These were called 水前寺菜 suizenji-na, or Gynura bicolor, which sounds a little vaginal. I like it.

Obviously it was the purple that attracted me, but unfortunately that disappears once it's cooked. I just treated it like spinach and sauteed it up with olive oil and garlic, but if I see it again, I'll do like they apparently do in Okinawa and add it to miso soup or blanch it lightly and dress it with ponzu. Yum.

#japanese food #life in tokyo #vegetables #also -- my old kitchen!!!! #it had something i will pine for til the end of my days: #an extra section of counter (the size of a cutting board) that you can pull out like a drawer #i could live to be 100 and never get over being able to produce more counter space on a whim #sigh. #i have such a weird mix of feelings for that place #only having lived there during the pandemic #it was my safe refuge #but also a prison #but also a beautiful and comfortable place to live #that represnted a lot of growth for me #overall i'd give cookie jars about a B #farmstand vending machine

[dayurno]

sourdough starter kind of scares me but i do think jean moreau would have a jar of starter and care for it like a child in his 30s. he’s got bread to make and if anyone fucks with his six year old sourdough starter there’s going to be issues. no one else is allowed to even touch the jar. sometimes kevin moves it to get to something and jean is like What the fuck is wrong with you and kevin just puts up with it bc what’s he supposed to do? not let jean treat the starter like a member of the family?

DYING AT KEVIN GETTING OPPRESSED W SOURDOUGH STARTER its really true..... its really true....... because kevjean are two traumatized millennials i dont think they would ever actually have children (though it is very cute if they do in fics) (jean is not amalia's stepfather he's the father that stepped up) so i can see them having weird attachments to other kind of stuff. jean is like an old man chasing children off his porch w a shotgun abt this sourdough starter because its so fucking old and renee gave it to him and it makes the okayest bread ever and he refuses to let it go :) i think he uses it for only very important events like when something mildly bad happens to andrew. they had sourdough for like 3 weeks straight when andreil had a fight and andrew spent a weekend over to cool down

i also love the idea of jean being an obsessive cook. you can tell how hes feeling by what hes cooking. kevin knows somethings bothering him when their fridge is full of weird half finished recipes. when renee got married to some fucking guy from the peace corps kevin had to donate half of their food because jean was cooking more than they could ever possibly eat. very hard living with the 6'5 unmedicated version of elmo

#kevin: where are you going jean: ALASKA kevin: its faster if you drive! #kevjeans married life is such unrelentless mental illness these men are so horrible #its not even like in the toxic way i think theyre just so weird and they enable that weirdness in each other #during pandemic times kevin and jean get so much worse because they only spend time with each other #and theyre really fucking weird #my loves............ #asks #kevjean

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

is anyone else just like terrible at work lately 🙃🙃🙃

#idk what's wrong with me but i am such a flop lately! #is everyone in general just weird right now due to the pandemic brain scramblies??? #because i definitely am and i can't figure out how to ... communicate successfully with others anymore #even when i think that's what i'm doing??? #clearly the standards for communication have changed during the pandemic and i can't quite figure out what changes i need to make #(besides ........... simplify. A LOT!) #being a meticulous type-A girl in a loosey goosey pandemic-addled world is not going swimmingly rn #pls i just need to forsake real life and stay home thinking about romantical pirates #dollsome's deep thoughts

[dreamlogic]

2024 year of charlie gets a fucking break (hopefully. maybe. tbd.)

#ctxt #i'm on medication that's reduced my post-hysterectomy pain by about 70% #i have an intake appointment with a physical therapist in march & a referral to start trigger point injections #to hopefully finally recover as completely as possible from the nightmarish neuropathy that's plagued me since uuuhhhh #going on 2 years ago. holy shit. genuinely can't believe i've been surviving & functioning as well as i have for this long #while suffering a disabling & extremely painful surgical complication. fuck my original surgeon for brushing me off during that time #but the new provider i'm working with is so responsive & thorough in her approach & seems genuinely committed #to helping me finally get relief after all this time. she listens to my feedback & is flexible in her approach #and her assistant is a great communicator who's been handling most of the logistics of care coordination for me #and what a huge fucking relief that is. to not have to drag my doctors kicking & screaming towards maybe treating me eventually #i wanna cry. i finally feel like i'm being taken seriously and cared for. and i'm not BETTER yet (might never be the same as i was pre-op) #but i actually feel optimistic for the first time in over a year that i won't just have to deal with this agonizing pain on my own forever #i might actually see enough improvement that i can start to get back to living my life instead of just surviving it #money is tighter than it's been since i got laid off during early pandemic and that's stressing me out #but i promised myself that i would put my health first in 2024 and that means only working the bare minimum needed to pay my bills for now #genuinely i so fucking needed a break. i felt like i was trying to swim through a meat grinder last year #and it wasn't until i ended up in the ER about it that i finally was able to take my own pain seriously enough #to put my foot down & make some necessary changes that are now letting me focus on Getting Well With Myself at last #in hindsight it's like. really freaking me out how thoroughly i was able to compartmentalize & dissociate from how miserable i was #bc nobody who had the ability to help me would take me seriously & my shitty boss was like. extremely textbook emotionally abusive #and on one hand that was a survival mechanism that kept me on my feet during one of the worst times of my life. so props to myself there #but it was also very maladaptive how long & unnecessarily it went on before i snapped out of it & escalated things for my own safety #it was the same helpless frustration i often felt as a kid of like 'well nobody is on my side but me so i gotta suck it up & help myself' #and i think the family trauma shit that was going on last year definitely contributed to that. idk sense of doubling across time? #and things had to get Extremely Bad before they were bad enough for me to realize that although i felt like it #i am no longer an isolated & parentified island of a child who is beholden to the whims of ignorant & indifferent adults #i actually can and should take action to advocate for myself bc i am an adult and i CAN now change my circumstances as needed #instead of just enduring them as if i'm stuck there with no agency or chance to change things #and i have a really solid support system who helped me feel like it was possible to stand up for myself to get the help i desperately need #chronic blogging

[gideonisms]

Still really upset over 24 hours later so I guess I am going to make some flyers

#look it's possible that i'm upset about some other things too but. #other people fucking with me or my stuff for no other reason than cruelty really sets me off like nothing else #like when i was working in the store and people would get frustrated but it was because they were struggling with a problem that's 1 thing #people who delight in making fun of me or taking my stuff even though it's not very valuable #just drive me up the wall #and it feels like ever since the pandemic that's been the mood #here i am trying to figure out how to treat people as well as i can during my interactions even though i'm misinterpreted on the regular #and none of this comes naturally to me so i have to try really hard to get people to like and cooperate with me #and i still do! but then some of the general public really goes through life not giving a single fuck #if i don't give a fuck about something for a few seconds there are immediate life consequences. if i don't have my guard up 24/7 #but then i watch other people walk around completely cold no empathy no regrets and get rewarded for it #just ask me for the $30-50 man. you didn't even have to steal my stuff