Vanth

Yes. I used to say "no" but that was some fucked up internalized religious self-hate shit. I am good. Not perfect, but definitely good within my moral framework and the framework of any people I care about. I have one particular area I'm wrestling with to be "better" and I find it's far more useful to focus on improving that than on self-flagellating over how "bad" I am.

The Left Hand of Darkness and other Le Guin stories. Good timing on when I started expending my scifi reading in her direction; I was in high school, meeting more people outside my little conservative family and church bubble, trying to form new conceptual models for the much bigger world that I was previously insulated from.

also they were saying that normal rules don't apply at a border

Yeah, and call it my middle class white American audacity but I'd be willing to go toe to toe with them on that BS for quite some time. I'd be focused on keeping control and being the most pristine accuser in a civil rights lawsuit that there ever was.

I'm read up enough on US Borders and customs policy to know them confiscating and hooking up my phone to a laptop to try to crack my password is a different thing than manipulating me into volunteering my pin. That's what they're trying to do, pressure people into "voluntarily" giving their pin, which gets the cops off the hook for following their protocol for conducting searches within their more restrictive rules for cracking into a device. Same as letting them in the front door of my house, if a person "voluntarily" lets cops into their house when the cops apply pressure, the homeowner has allowed them out of all the rules and oversight that come with getting a warrant.

I turn off biometrics and power down. They can ask for the unlock pin, I can decline until they produce a warrant and I can request an lawyer. My risk profile is sufficiently accommodated.

I can see someone with a different risk profile, say, an online presence showing vocal criticism against Trump and goons, and/or not white and/or not a native born US citizen and/or has a travel history to muslim-majority countries might want to take further measures.

I've just skimmed headlines and seen a short or two on the guy who gave LEOs the distress pin. I'm not sure why he didn't decline to give them his pin until they produced a warrant, but I think giving a destruction pin was not the brightest idea. But also, fuck the cops and double fuck border cops playing these racist, fascist games with people's lives.

Bingo. Sort of. It includes a lot, to go with the massive breadth that the question entails.

I don't know whether to assume this question is in good faith or not. Can you restate what you think the OP is asking? It's not about whether there was ever a time when no work was needed.

I'm not interested in ~~wasting my time against a sealion~~ debating capitalism.

Capitalism

Yes. I typically live far away from family, and may or not not have a significant other or friends to celebrate with any given year. I often get invited by someone, but I don't always take them up on the offer. I'm no longer religious and tend to avoid overtly religious Christmas celebrations. Sometimes friends are inviting me to join their family who I don't know. While I'm grateful for the invite, I would rather relax and not navigate strange family dynamics.

Not Christmas day itself, but days before and after my company is mostly closed with just a few people working. I often volunteer to work those hours. My coworkers who care about Christmas more are grateful so I get first dibs on other popular vacation holidays.

(USA, specifically the state of Iowa). Yep, I know who that is but also don't care. His music never really hit over here.

When his Better Man movie came out, there was probably a slight uptick in awareness of who he is, but that dropped back down quickly. Most of what I heard about that movie was about the visual effects technology rather than the storyline.

Sexual orientation is also a self-identity. I don't think it's necessary to specifically address to a child all the possible varieties. Just "respect people no matter what label they go by".

Next, have fun learning that sexual behavior is different than sexual orientation, and sexual attraction is different than romantic attraction. Too many possible combinations and interpretations, just go with what people label themselves as.

No time like the present.

Next few days off seems like a primo opportunity to break out of all sorts of routines and patterns. I would be looking to do something crazy new that requires a lot of active attention.

I do things that require my attention. Passive consumption of media like movies, books, music don't cut it for me. I go biking or motorcycling where distraction would mean an accident. Or I hit up a sports competition, especially with teammates who I feel some obligation towards to help me stay invested. Whatever it is, I try to find ways to force my attention out of spiraling thoughts.

Next few days off seems like a primo opportunity to break out of all sorts of routines and patterns. I would be looking to do something crazy new that requires a lot of active attention.