Thank you! I’m looking forward to it.

Thanks! I’ll check them out.

I’d ask for a raise.

That Tinder line is gold.

But then you don’t get the view from the top, and it stops producing coconuts.

Well, he was everybody’s friend…

I’m not finding links, but according to an old Filipina babysitter, it involved tying them down, reciting prayers, and rubbing some plant on the soles of their feet. That was supposed to lead them to vomit up the chick responsible for them being an aswang, which could then be killed.

Closest I’m finding is at https://www.aswangproject.com/aswang-lore-transferring-the-black-chick/

Voice imitation? Hiding behind trees? Sounds a bit like an aswang. Look it up: if it matches, there are remedies.

If it’s any comfort, the human body can lose what seem like utterly astounding amounts of blood and live.

A half-decent neurosurgeon could’ve safely installed a cerebrospinal fluid shunt, and let you dodge that infection risk. You still need to go to a hospital now.

Tell me about it. I had to take disability retirement decades too young, and I was at a total loss for the first two years. Hell, in many ways, although I’ve cudgeled an existence together, the feeling sometimes persists.

It’s really a shame to have to see that. There are a bunch of decent spots for lunch or coffee locally.

What part do you need? I can read all of it.

It’s fantastically legible, by medical standards.

This, in fact, is a key Rule of Reddit.

Me too. I’m in my 30s, and those teenager-repellent devices are the worst. (https://www.npr.org/2019/07/10/739908153/can-you-hear-it-sonic-devices-play-high-pitched-noises-to-repel-teens , for those who aren’t familiar with them.)

Definitely not enemies!

Win-win: dog gets a home, and to live; you get a protector, alarm system, and faithful friend forever in one.

Might I recommend going to the shelter, and adopting some poor full-grown dog with big teeth?

If you’re both reading this, you’re still young. Reading this means you’re alive. Living is the chance to change things. You’re not too old until you’re already dead: turning around on deathbeds even happens.

Self-assessing as a lost cause makes it real. So assess otherwise, especially as it’s truly the case that your perspective is far too limited to know.

Again, I’ve seen people, including hardcore convicted criminals, turn it around. (Not exaggerating.) Even if you’ve done terrible things, you can still become a good person. When your issue is that you haven’t done enough things… you’re actually ahead of the curve.

Self-hatred: another pointless energy burn. The reason against doing it isn’t that you don’t deserve it. It’s that it’s completely pointless. Hating yourself until after the heat death of the universe only fossilizes yourself in the present, at best.

Society? There’s always corners to eventually find to fit, if you want to fit, and there are also ways out, if you want out. First, decide which you’d rather choose.

Tired of feeling this way: good. Time to stop.

Time to get moving. Time to persevere.

Like going to the gym, it’s a muscle. It’s going to hurt to move forward at first, badly. But it gets easier as you keep getting up.

Frigid showers also really help cut off emotional overflows, and give greater focus, stability, and energy within a day. If you learn one thing to help, this is it.

Well, put it to work! You’re being sucked down by something outside of your control. Where she is today isn’t your concern. Where you are tomorrow is. You know all of this.

(If it helps, I recently went through my own divorce from absolute hell.)

But vinegar barbecue is the best barbecue!

Come on over to r/Stoicism. It’s the philosophy I’ve found most helpful for that, while life keeps clobbering me (post history elaborates).

It also helped me to realize that pity for myself was pointless. Burns energy, accomplishes nothing. Same for beating myself up. Rewards for good behavior—I’ll take a walk for an ice cream cone if I can get this paper finished before the shop closes—helped more.

Feel free to DM (not chat) anytime.

This here.

Nobody posts their bad times to social media.

Many of the people you see doing well now won’t continue. Many who are doing poorly will recover. For instance, the guy who terrified me most as a teen—violent, on drugs—is now a nurse. I’ve put my life in his hands in recent years, and I’d do it again tomorrow.

23 is also very young. Think of yourself as fine wine that gains complexity and flavor with age.

It additionally helps me to consider the concept of worth as inherently false. We all suffer. The effects of our actions won’t be seen for generations, if they’re even remembered. All that we can do is whatever we can, in the here and now.

Lots more.

Do it!