marron12

That sounds like it might be nice. Peaceful is the first word that comes to mind. I almost always have a lot of vivid sounds, pictures, shapes, textures, movements, even smells in my head. I can turn it off sometimes, but it's work. I don't think I'd give it up, but it can be a little overwhelming sometimes and often makes me feel like an odd duck.

Crows are really smart. There's a group that I've been feeding for a while. They absolutely talk to you and about you. They know which apartment I'm in, what car I drive, and where I tend to go. They'll ask for food and are pretty good at communicating what they like and don't like.

They go crazy for cat food and know what the bag looks like. One of them spotted me buying some recently and made a beeline for home. It was a big bag, and when I went to put it out, there were at least 30-40 crows circling overhead. When there's less food, they only call a few of their friends over.

What do you like to do, or is there anything you'd want to try? I love going to concerts and hanging out in line all day. You can get talking and make friends for the day or longer, and people tend to really look out for each other. You bond over the music and the craziness of getting sunburned or rained on just to see a band you love.

I took rollerblading lessons for a while and met some great people. There's a local art gallery that has classes and movie nights. Or hanging out with the neighbors at the community garden. There are other groups that meet to help out in the community or talk about [insert hobby here], but I haven't gone yet.

As a kid, I didn't know what I wanted to be. I'm a lawyer now and there are parts of it I like, but I'm burned out. 60+ hour weeks, not much vacation, and having to work when I'm sick. The deadlines don't care. I feel like it's time for something completely different. Maybe translation work, but I really don't know.

You get painkillers while you wait? My experience is that's not the norm in the U.S. There have been 3 or 4 times recently where something seemed really wrong and I debated going to the ER. I didn't because I'd rather writhe in agony at home than have to do that in a waiting room for hours. Plus I never know if someone will actually take me seriously, and there would be a huge bill.

That decision was nuts by any normal standard, but I'm far from the only one who's done something like that. Honestly, the fear of not getting any real help, yet again, is one of the worst parts.

I don't disagree with that, but I do think it's like physical healing. Sometimes, no matter what you do, things just aren't the same afterwards. And that's OK. You do the best with what you have, or you try, and sometimes it's easier than others.

Not the person you replied to, but I'd be curious to know. Especially about time off work, healthcare, and cost of living.

I could write a book about those things, but I'll just say this. I get 5 sick days a year (used to be 3) and it's hard to take them when there's a lot of work, which is almost always. The rent on my last apartment almost doubled in 10 years, and the current one is on track to do the same.

I got some pretty nice headphones a while back. Not the really high end ones or anything, but good enough that I can get lost in the shapes, textures, and sometimes colors of the different instruments. Like someone else said, it's a bit like being high.

Cheap studio monitors are fun too because they really separate out the sounds. It can make me a little tired, listening to all that detail, but it's so fun.

You can also make tea out of the leaves, root, and flowers (all together, or some combination of the three).

Dandelions have a lot of vitamin A and C, some B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, and zinc. It's good for the skin, liver, and digestion. It's a diuretic and can help with cramps.

That can be annoying, but I can usually chase it out with one of the other songs that lives in my head. Sometimes I'll put on a song in my head just because. It's not always the same as the real thing, but it's pretty good, especially the vocals.

There's pretty much always time to explain yourself if someone doesn't understand. You could say it the first way that comes to mind, then pause and say it the second way. It doesn't have to be perfect, you just have to communicate. Sometimes you have to use your hands and feet, and that's OK too.

That sounds great. I have 10 days of vacation a year (not required by law) and 3 sick days (required by law in my state). 60-80 hours a week, and this is a "good" job. It's been 12 years and I can't keep this up much longer. But I look at other people's jobs for a living, and I know it could be worse.