It’s so wild how things have become today. When I got my first “grown-up” job in 2007, I had one interview. The first half was legit interview, while the second half was a tour of the workspace, where I was spoken to as if I was already hired. By the end, I was hired, and I stayed with that job for a few years.

I had just turned 18 and was still in my final year of high school. The application for the job was a packet of physical paperwork (no online applications.) I found it by walking around and looking for “Help wanted” signs in windows.

Goddamn, how things have radically changed. These days, I can’t find anything decent without relying on recruiters on Indeed reaching out to me. I have found jobs through searching myself, but they were shitty. Recruiters reaching out to me years ago started me on a career path I hadn’t originally searched for (but that I enjoy and have stuck with since then), and then found me again last year when I was looking for a better company to work for. It’s nice to be sought out, but I’d like more to be able to see all my options and have a choice in the matter. Oh, and it’d be real nice to not have to rely on a private third-party company to know who’s hiring in the first place.

But the work required to research multiple places on one’s own, put in applications and multiple rounds of interviews… it’s exhausting and prohibitive.

Looking back to how I got that first job, it feels like I squeezed through a rapidly-closing door. Hiring simply doesn’t work that way anymore.

The top left reminds me of Alzheimer’s, so I ruled that one out immediately. Spending enough time in a nursing home, seeing people who are perpetually confused… it’s terrifying. Their emotions take over as their rational mind deteriorates, leaving some people angry or depressed every waking moment (at least. That is, I wouldn’t be surprised if their dreams are horrifying too.) People rarely know what year it is, and start to panic because they realize they haven’t fed their baby in a while (which is technically true, as “their baby” is now 60 and fully capable of feeding themselves. But the Alzheimer’s patient doesn’t know that.) Those are the ones who can still talk. Not everyone is that lucky. Some stare at the wall catatonically for hours, or are so lost they don’t understand that the “toy” they found in their pocket is actually shit from their diaper. Disintegrated minds are a horror I wouldn’t want to wish on anyone.

Whether in the top left scenario or when suffering from Alzheimer’s, you’re an isolated, broken brain that can barely communicate with itself, let alone with others. Other people are around, but they aren’t going to fix you. The difference is, someone with Alzheimer’s eventually gets the release of death.

All of these scenarios suck, but I think the bottom left sounds the most potentially-enjoyable. If the worst thing happening is a “time dilation glitch” and I’m already conscious for eternity in each scenario, then does it really matter? Time would eventually be meaningless anyway. At least my mind would be intact and there’s no explicit pain (physical or emotional) involved.

Exactly where my mind went

If you need a job, it’s a job to have!

Hot take: HP’s popularity is responsible for more societal ills than pretty much any other book in print.

I’d say the bible ranks higher. But as an admitted “hot take,” I can respect that.

Sometimes pasta with just salt and oil/butter hits the spot. It’s simple, but pasta’s good enough to hold its own even without supporting ingredients.

Alternatively, sometimes I just use Italian salad dressing. (The dressing being Italian is coincidental, but hey if it works, it works.)

I remember this being how Bill Nye the Science Guy’s show went. Some things were repeated a lot per episode, which made the show a little annoying to me. But, I guess frequent repetition makes sense when your audience is kids.

Oh man, I feel this. The decision to express himself in the way that feels best (even if it isn’t through words), the grown-up making a misinterpretation of it, the inadvertent embarrassment on the kid for having been misunderstood… the author could be my kin.

Yeah, the “church” thing was just placing the setting, which sounds like it could be a real event from the author’s life - not much they can do about where it happened. The story and the punchline have nothing to do with religion, so it’s an odd thing to latch onto.

I got this

I’d like to take a second to remind all my fellow women that if you have an opinion about the choices a woman has made about how she looks, you should remember that internalized misogyny is a hell of a drug, so if we’re not going to lift each other up it’s better to stop being an ass to her and let her be.

Glad I’m not the only one. Sometimes I remind myself, “Just because it’s online doesn’t mean I’m not reading.”

For being a science meme community, it’s a place people can vent about things that they can’t vent about elsewhere. We can understand psychological phenomena, but still be personally frustrated by it.

Though I do wish this post weren’t targeted toward Boomers. Younger people buy into this type of thing, too.

It’s a good idea, but it probably works better for some people than for others. I get sick of the same meal too many times in a row. My ex used to prep meals for a week and get tired of whatever he made by the 3rd day. It’s like we reach a satiation point, and there’s only so much room in the freezer/fridge to keep a variety of pre-cooked meals on hand.

I get that’s somewhat of a privileged problem to have, as I have subsisted on beans and rice for quite a while before. But if I can’t afford a trip or a house or really much in the way of luxuries at all, damn it, I’m going to at least eat something I enjoy.

100% real. When I worked at a store that had “loyalty accounts” and someone didn’t want to sign up, I’d (quietly) tell them to use (local area code) 687-5309 so they’d still get a discount. Every time I’ve tried it somewhere, an account already existed.

Anyone else notice his instance name? It all makes sense.

Oh, she’s just jealous she can’t keep up with him. If she could, they’d be getting busy in some… unique ways.

The pilot program, which starts on Jan. 1 and will run through Dec. 31, is being implemented in six states — New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and Washington.

Saved a click. The headline highlights New Jersey because the site is nj.com , but there are more states that will be subject to this crap than just NJ.

Thank you for your sacrifice. That must have been difficult to get through without chucking the book at the wall.

I will never not upvote Hitchhiker’s Guide quotes

Rules 34’s about to get spicy