the idea of consuming two conflicting things that promise to do the opposite of each other has always been hilarious to me. there’s a liquid shot-based sleep aid called 6 hour sleep and as soon as I saw it i immediately imagined mixing it and a 5 hour energy together for a 1 hour nap
mix NyQuil and DayQuil to create Quil
what does Quil do
All the time all the time
Okay so, I did this, kind of. In junior year of high school I was taking History of the Americas (very very hard tests, like at least one person is guaranteed to cry). So one day I had one of these tests when I was /sick as hell/. Like I woke up and could not breathe through my nose. Everything was snot and headache and I know it’s gross, but like I’m trying to convey how desperate the times were. I went to take a DayQuil, but could only find NyQuil in the house. So i was like “fuck it, there’s no way this could be worse. ha. Anyway i take this and get to class and like already im about to pass out so during my independent study I go out and get a coffee and a five hour energy. Thinking like “okay I’ll die, but it should balance out for a bit.” And it did, initially. But then. As soon as I walk in the doors to class, it hit and I’m looking at my friend and he’s like “did you smoke, your pupils are like fucking quarters” and I’m like “o no.” So the test starts and my brain is feeling like that substance that’s like both a liquid and a substance simultaneously. And the test format is like this huge paper. So I get going on it, and here’s what happened:
-I wrote six pages front and back in 45 minutes -I felt like I could “zoom in” “zoom out” my vision -I asked one girl if I could borrow a pen three times and she was freaked out so I had three pens on my desk -after the test I crashed HARD in the physics room and they had to push me out of a chair to wake me up -but like, I got an A on the test. So I’m not saying try it, but
why do i keep reading stories about kids going to school sick on this website?? is it a USA thing? a UK thing? a someplace-else thing? when I was a kid, if I woke up with my head and nose all stuffy and miserable on a test day (or any other day), I would friggin’ stay home and make up the test/homework/whatever AFTER I got better.
wtf folks????
The US is an uncivilized, backwards-ass dystopia in which people are EXPECTED and ENCOURAGED to go to work or school when sick. People who go to work or school when sick are admired for their work ethic, because Americans believe in working harder, not smarter. The American work ethic is largely performative.
Plus, a lot of places will impose consequences if you stay home sick (for example, refusing to let students take a make-up test) unless you have a doctor’s note. But since our health care is for-profit, you have to PAY to get a doctor’s note to prove you were sick. And even if you have insurance (which costs a shitload of money), there are still copays and deductibles to worry about. The upshot is that about half the country can’t afford to stay home when they’re sick.
I personally have gone to work with a 104 degree (Fahrenheit) fever before, because I simply couldn’t afford to take time off, and especially considering I would be losing money from not going in, I definitely couldn’t afford a doctor’s visit on top of that. It was either “go in and hope I don’t start an epidemic” or “stay home and hope I don’t get fired and that can still afford to eat.”
i predict that when love, simon comes out a bunch of people on here are going to be bending over backwards to find parts of it that are “cringey” or not 100% in line with our 2018 views on gender and sexual politics, but like, that’s sorta the point? It’s a teen coming-of-age movie. That genre is by very definition cringey. I grew up with perks of being a wallflower, whip it, and juno. I still love those movies but i’ll be the first to admit that they have certain elements that are cringe-worthy. Even classics like ferris bueller and the breakfast club have their flaws looking back on them as an adult. I imagine love, simon will be just as cringey as the john green books and movies that people fawned over on this website for years. The point is, this isn’t meant to be some cinematic masterpiece that revolutionizes the gay film genre. It’s not going to win any oscars. It’s a bubblegum coming of age movie that’s made for teens, especially gay teens, to enjoy. If you’re a twenty-something and this movie feels juvenile or lacking nuance or silly to you, maybe that’s because it’s not for you. Let it be for the 13-year-old gay and questioning kids who have only ever seen themselves represented as the quirky bestfriend in coming of age narratives before, not the protagonist until now. Let it be for the young gay people who are burnt out on independent, artsy gay tragedies and just want to see themselves in a goofy popcorn flick for once. For all the corny, embarrassing romcoms straight teenagers get, don’t gay teens deserve one too? It’s not that deep.
YES LET’S CHECK THE OL’ HEADCANON FILE IN MY BRAIN!! one of these is nsfw
never forget my fave hc that neil sleeps with a fox plushie that andrew won for him at a carnival every single night when andrew graduates.
((it took andrew like $30 in tickets before he could win the stupid game))
(((((or maybe he just got kevin to win it for him. tell no one.)))
andrew likes to read. neil doesn’t. neil likes to watch exy games when they’re on tv. andrew doesn’t.
cue to andrew sitting on the couch reading a book with neil’s head in his lap. maybe he uses neil’s head as a table for his book sometimes. neil doesn’t mind bc he can still watch the game from andrew’s lap
hc that dan and matt somehow rope andreil into a double date to “see if andrew is good 4 neil” or whatever nonsense. andrew only agrees when dan and matt (reluctantly) agree to pay for it.
neil is kinda fidgety bc it’s like a dinner with a freakin candle in the middle of the table and he’s wearing too-nice of clothes and he suddenly doesn’t kno how to make conversation with dan and matt.
but soon enough the food comes and andrew and neil’s banter starts. andrew steals off neil’s plate, neil tries to push his vegetables onto andrew’s only for andrew to push them back. “take my carrots and i’ll share my dessert with you” “you’ll share your dessert with me anyway” and that turns into some weird ass bartering system that ends with neil eating half of his carrots begrudgingly and andrew with all of neil’s dessert
anyways the long and short of it is that dan and matt realize right away that andrew and neil’s relationship is….. different. but perfect for them. ((they notice this because neil keeps smiling and finally eating his vegetables.))
ANDREW AND NEIL BABYSITTING KEVIN’S BABY. AHHHHHHHHHHH. THE CHAOS
andrew would be good with babies because he just. treats the baby like a human being instead of an object. while kevin is nearly crying bc he can’t get his baby to sleep, andrew is calm and just walks around with her in his arms.
the cats. oh good god the cats. hc that andrew has to get neil to lint roll his back whenever he leaves the house (the boy wears all black he is a magnet for mass cat fur).
hc that sometimes neil misses a few spots and spends the entire day picking fur off of andrew’s back
nsfw headcanon that they’re getting it on in the shower again when kevin knocks on the door saying “andrew i need to brush my teeth. i’m coming in.”
andrew doesn’t want to take his mouth away from neil so he glares up at neil to deal with the problem
“uhhh we’re kind of -” he gets pinched in the hip before realizing his mistake. “i mean – uh i’m kind of busy.” followed by a very loud and shuddering moan when andrew flicks his tongue just right.
poor kevin does not get to brush his teeth that night. he might just use the bathroom at aaron’s dorm from there on out.
let’s end on a soft hc: the first time andrew and neil spoon
andrew is a blanket hog. if there is a blanket on the bed then andrew will end up wrapped in it by the end of the night. he hates being cold.
anyways neil is cold and he gets up from the bed to go sleep on the couch because andrew won’t stop pulling the blanket off of his body
andrew doesn’t like the way his bed feels without neil in it so he goes down to the living room, pulls neil’s pillow out from under him to wake him up, and takes him back upstairs. neil lays down confused until he feels andrew’s chest against his back, andrew’s knees pressing against his legs
“is this…… okay?” neil asks
andrew wraps the blanket around the two of them and places a light hand on neil’s side
This may just be my experience as an autistic person, but the kids I’ve nannied whose parent’s complain of ‘bad awful in cooperative selfish autistic behavior’ are… Not like that? At all?
Like, for example, I cared for a kid for a while who was nonverbal and didn’t like being touched. Around six years old? Their parent said that they were fussy and had a strict schedule, and that they had problems getting them to eat. Their last few nannies had quit out of frustration.
So, I showed up. And for the first little while, it was awkward. The kid didn’t know me, I didn’t know them, you know how it is. And for the first… Day and a half, maybe? I fucked up a few times.
I changed their diaper and they screamed at me. I put the TV off and they threw things. Not fun, but regular upset kid stuff.
Next time, I figured, hell, I wouldn’t like being manhandled and ordered around either. Who likes being physically lifted out of whatever it is they’re doing and having their pants yanked off? Fucking few, that’s who.
Next time, I go, ‘hey, kiddo. You need a new diaper?’ and check. ‘I’m gonna go grab a new one and get you clean, okay?’ ‘Wanna find a spot to lay down?’ ‘Alright, almost done. Awesome job, thanks buddy’.
I learned stuff about them. They liked a heads up before I did anything disruptive. They didn’t mind that I rattled of about nothing all day. They didn’t like grass or plastic touching their back. They were okay with carpets and towels. They liked pictionary, and the color yellow, and fish crackers, and painting. They didn’t look me in the face (which was never an issue- I hate that too, it fucking sucks) but I never had reason to believe that they were ignoring me.
Once I learned what I was doing wrong, everything was fine. Did they magically “”“become normal”“” and start talking and laughing and hugging? No, but we had fun and had a good time and found a compromise between what I was comfortable with and what they were comfortable with. (For the record, I didn’t magically sailor-moon transform into a socially adept individual, either. In case anyone was wondering.)
I don’t like eye contact. It’s distracting and painful and stresses me out.
They didn’t like eye contact either.
Is eye contact necessary to communication? No. So we just didn’t do it.
Was there ever a situation where I HAD to force them to drop everything and lay down on the lawn? No. So the thirty second warning came into play, and nobody died.
“But they never talked!”
No, they didn’t. And they didn’t know ASL, and they didn’t like being touched.
So you know what happened?
My third day in, they tugged on my shirt. ‘Hey monkey, what’s up?’ I asked. And they tugged me towards the kitchen. ‘oh, cool. You hungry?’. They raised their hands in an ‘up’ gesture. ‘you want up? Cool.’ and I lifted them up. They pointed to the fridge. I opened it. They grabbed a juice box out of the top shelf, and pushed the door closed again. ‘oh sweet, grape is the best. You are an individual of refined taste.’ I put them down and they went back to their room to play Legos.
“But they didn’t say please or thank you!” “But you should be teaching them communication skills!” “But!” Lalalalala.
1. The entire interaction was entirely considerate and polite. I was never made uncomfortable. I was made aware of the problem so that I could help them solve it. There was no mess, no tears, no bruises, no shouting.
2. Did my brain collapse into a thousand million fragments of shattered diamond dust out of sheer incomprehension? No? Then their communication skills were fine. Goal realized, solution found, objective complete. They found the most simple and painless way to communicate the situation and then did it.
Kids are not stupid. AUTISTIC kids are not stupid.
I’m willing to bet real cash money that the real reason the last few nannies had quit had a million times more to do with their own ability to cope, not the kid’s.
To this day, that was the most relaxed and enjoyable job I’ve ever had.
And I know I don’t speak for everyone. All kids are different. All adults are different. But in my time and experience, pretty much 95% of all my difficulties with children come from ME not being understanding enough. Every single “problem child” I’ve worked with turned out to be a pretty cool person once I started figuring out how to put my ego aside and let them set the pace.
Again, not speaking universally, here. I’m just saying. Sometimes social rules are bullshit, you know? People are people
Have you ever read an article about the study that found that teaching the parents to cope with autistic kids yields better results than other therapies? Because this is exactly what they were talking about.
Shadow In The Light 