My OCD diagnosed hubby self-medicates with sugar and/or naps. Weed does nothing for him. And he can’t have caffeine due to a congenital heart defect.

When we lived there, I took solace that we’d be vaporized early. I lived in the county where the majority of internet traffic flows. The Land of 1,000 Data Centers™️. I assumed it was on multiple target lists.

Now that I don’t live there, I still take solace that we ended up incidentally moving to another high-priority target area. Vaporization is still on the menu. We won’t be alive long enough to know or care what hit us.

Yes! My grandfather (the movies one from my other comment, not the moonshiner) was still leaving his business cards on people’s doors in the 90s when I’d ride around with him trying to collect payments on our customers’ accounts.

Lol, when he was 17, my papaw was transporting moonshine for his uncle.

My other grandfather was spending weekends driving over to Harlan to go to the movies.

My great uncle did. He survived North Africa, Sicily, and Omaha Beach. So he had some things to say.

We prefer the term “frogorgy”

If they are really manipulative about it post-gettogether, call in a welfare check on them. Maybe they get annoyed at having to convince authorities they are not suicidal. Maybe they get to spend a couple days in a hospital where they get to share their feelings and be challenged on what it is that causes them to feel that way.

What sorts of jobs are you considering?

You could get a CDL from a local community college in about 6 weeks. There are some trucking companies that will train you themselves to get your CDL. They may not be the best in terms of knowledge and skills acquired, but they would be free vs you having to pay up front at a community college.

You could do sales calling from home. If you’re not a talker, this will be draining to do. If you are a natural talker, this could be your pathway to comfortable pay. Some arrangements are commission only, so there is stress there, but at the junior/entry level, there will usually be some kind of base salary + commission arrangement.

Someone mentioned looking into a CNA certificate. You’re young so your body might handle that kind of work ok. It can be demanding and it also can be rewarding. Plus, home health agencies in your area are probably desperate for CNAs. The area of the Appalachias where I’m from, CNA is a very common path for young people to take to reliable employment.

Do you have a mower and a truck? Start cutting lawns for people. Leave a flyer or a business card around the gas stations, grocery stores, and Dollar Generals in your area. It’s getting cooler now, so those types of businesses switch to hanging holiday lights for folks who can’t or don’t want to do it themselves. Or cutting/ delivering firewood. Or someone mentioned construction (which is what the chartered fishing crews do here in the winter).

Are you more digitally inclined? Get on Fiver and UpWork and look for something that you can & want to do, then build out your profile to match that. Photography, digital art, personal assistant, writing, there are many many options here.

Here’s another… want to leave the country altogether? Look into getting your TEFL. Companies will pay to move you overseas and teach English, and most of the time, you don’t even need to speak the language of that country to start. This may not be a long term career, but it’s something to get you out and gaining life experience until you do figure out what you want to be doing with yourself.

Probably entirely to do with insurance. They can’t dictate to you what level of insurance to purchase for your private vehicle, but they can for a rental.

Why it matters for the party vs a routine work trip… If they are providing alcohol, they automatically are assuming some degree of liability for your actions when you leave the party.

What if you have an accident and total your personal vehicle? You could ostensibly sue them.

What if you have an accident and god forbid kill or injure another? They or their family could sue your employer (as well as you ofc).

A rental and associated insurance coverage will provide them with a knowable degree of financial buffer before they would have to pay damages out of pocket. If you drove your personal vehicle, they have an unknown and maybe nonexistent amount of insurance coverage to help with legal fees and damages in the event of something terrible happening. All because they provided you alcohol.

This is probably about risk tolerance and not about pinching pennies.

Oh I’m expecting coffee will be offered inside. However, coffee and me don’t get along. Even I would think no coffee is cruel to a bunch of people corralled in a room together. I do love tea, but the caffeine content will not resolve a headache if it starts.

Maybe the tv people are just using pinhole cameras loaded with light sensitive paper instead of film.

Are we talking photography or something NSFL?

You need a red bulb for your photography darkroom. And black & white developing is (a little) more forgiving of (a little) outside light leaking in than color developing.

If an accident has happened, the cars will get towed, either to the tow company’s impound lot or to a repair facility.

If you mean someone has a medical emergency and no wreck has happened, then presumably you lock your car and take your ID and keys with you. If you’re unconscious, then yes the paramedics will bag your wallet, phone, and keys, and that goes with you to the hospital.

37 was one of my better years. I had disposable income to go do whatever stupid hijinks I could think of. I did start seeing less of my friends who had started families. But I also switched jobs to do new interesting things. We did lots of concerts, community events, I took photography classes. It was great. I enjoyed my thirties.

My forties have been very rough though. And that could just be from coincidence of life events happening. I’m actually looking forward to 50. I am hoping my 50s are like my 30s, just a tad slower. And my friends are coming back on the radar as their kids are leaving for college.

I used to get somewhat concerned about the remaining time I have left, but I must have somehow come to terms with it. I look back on the last 25 years and think of all that has happened. It feels like both just yesterday and “damn, that was forever ago”. The next 25 may feel just as long and be just as full. I’m ok with that. I’m just trying to enjoy the ride.

Oh lawd Jesus, this probably is the future.

It doesn’t. The naming and shaming is claimed to be a deterrent. But the juicy gossip is too loved by the law-abiding folk for the elected Sheriff to consider not doing it.