auntymaim

auntymaim

143p

18 comments posted · 7 followers · following 1

8 years ago @ The Toast - "All White," All Hers:... · 0 replies · +2 points

I just saw this article today and wanted to drop you a line to let you know how much it means to me to read it - I have a very similar adoption story where a divorce + my coming into being a very different person both visually and personality-wise than my family led to severe abuse from my mother - she valued petiteness, prettiness, and femininity above all else and I am none of these. Do you ever just want to shoot lasers out your eyes when you say you're adopted and you get the "at least your parents wanted you!" crap? I swear.
I ran away from home after she disowned/stopped speaking to me for refusing to let her do my hair for family photos, and was homeless or in shelters for much for my early 20s, having no support network. I haven't found forgiveness and healing in the same way you have but it's really valuable to hear the path you're taking there and the insights you've made - even if I'm not ready to go there it gives me heart that there's still progress to be made on this big ol pile of baggage. Thank you for sharing your story!

8 years ago @ The Toast - Link Roundup! · 7 replies · +17 points

In both running and swimming I tend to thing of basically nothing most of the time, like with swimming I'll start off thinking just of balance and twisting side to side in the water, keeping a count for breathing - it's so fucking peaceful! - and then I pretty much zone out for big stretches of time.

I love this because if I try to sit still and meditate traditionally, or do yoga or some such crap, I pretty much think about how much I want to punch people or kick a hole thru my drywall.

If I'm trying to push myself a lot it's different and form and discomfort will preoccupy me, but slow steady cardio outdoors or in the pool is how I clear my head.

8 years ago @ The Toast - Link Roundup! · 0 replies · +2 points

Holy crap this comic! I have had very similar experiences with terrible neurologists and drs writing stuff off as panic attacks or innocuous migraine symptoms - not to mention getting treated as drug-seeking all the damn time. This is great and super relatable - it's good to not feel like the only person on earth who has (and is continuing to FFS) put up with this much bullshit over their seizures.

8 years ago @ The Toast - Miserable Tambourine P... · 3 replies · +31 points

Also there is Tambourine Guy, who dispels all above myths about the countenance of tambourine players. I suspect that the delicate male constitution is best suited to the subtle intonations of the tambourine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L9C6Dsr_lg

8 years ago @ The Toast - Link Roundup! · 1 reply · +44 points

I'm with you, they are wildly dissimilar. But you know, they DO have so many defining qualities in common! Such as being uninteresting to this dude!

8 years ago @ The Toast - The Pacific Northwest ... · 2 replies · +20 points

I'm a geologist from Seattle and this was one of the things that disappointed me about the article, as "everything west of I5" is a gross overestimation and nice little geology cartoons could do wonders to illuminate this material. Both SEA and PDX are sheltered from the full intensity of tsunami by not directly abutting the Pacific - some of the energy will dissipate as the water makes its way thru regional inlets. SEA's bigger concern is liquefaction, and depending on how much rain we've had when a big quake hits it has the potential to be an issue for huge swaths of the region. Tho it does fill my tiny little dark heart with delight to know that its largely our wealthiest neighborhoods that are built on soggy unstable cliffsides, suckers.

Given that PDX has been thru fewer recent ice ages I suspect they've got more stable ground to build on, but can't speak to this with any expertise. Any Portland geologists here to chime in?

8 years ago @ The Toast - Link Roundup! · 0 replies · +2 points

Out of towners sometimes get weirded out by the giant house spiders tho!

8 years ago @ The Toast - Wednesday Open Thread · 2 replies · +16 points

Y'all just made my day, I received feedback about being "icy and aloof" recently. I work on a team of 9 men and while nobody would mistake me for a ray of sunshine, I am by far more extroverted than any of them. When I offered this observation back to the manager giving me the feedback, they got quite icy and aloof.

8 years ago @ The Toast - My Favourite Deleted C... · 1 reply · +14 points

"who *has* a Thomas Pynchon book". "has". HAS. oh son it is so important that you decorate your apartment with only the most illustrious of intellectual works.

8 years ago @ The Toast - Books That Literally A... · 1 reply · +71 points

That archtype is so vivid I can practically smell the fumes from the poorly restored VW.