Glad to finally have official recognition of what I’ve known for 17 years. (But was always told “of course it works, they wouldn’t be allowed to sell it if it didn’t work” with bonus implication that I was trying to be special/unique by finding it useless.)

I’m not sure it’s possible, because the different parts of women’s bodies don’t tend to scale in relation to one another. There’s the waist-to-hip ratio, thigh circumference, breast size, width of shoulders, length of torso, length of legs – none of which have much to do with each other.

A woman can have size L shoulders, size XS breasts, size S waist, M hips, L thighs, long torso, and short legs. Another might have M shoulders, XL breasts, XXL waist, L hips, and M thighs, short torso, average length legs. And no retailer would bother making garments that account for every possible combination, because that wouldn’t be profitable. (This is why so many women with small chests and small ribcages are sold 32A bras that gap on top and ride up in back, when a properly-fitting bra would be a 28C – companies can make more money by selling less variety.)

Men, for the most part, have more similarities in their shapes and less variety in where excess adipose tissue settles. Also, as someone else pointed out, it’s more socially acceptable for men’s clothing to fit like a sack.

The solution, unfortunately, is alterations, either by hiring a seamstress or doing it oneself. (No judgment from me: I keep meaning to learn that skill but CBF to get a sewing machine when I might abandon the project.)

Yes! Not to brag but I like it so much better than store bought. Technically I think what I make is frozen custard (whisk 4 egg yolks with 1/2c sugar, slowly whisk in 1 cup barely-simmering whole milk, bring to 165 and chill overnight; stir in 1 cup heavy cream and flavoring before churning).

My favorite flavorings this time of year are pear (poach very ripe peeled pears until super squishy, smoosh them through a fine mesh strainer and discard what gets left behind in the mesh) and pumpkin spice (add half a can of pumpkin when heating the base, and some allspice just before churning).

Dialup

I’ve been playing Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS, and Kittens & Yarn on the Switch. (A little bit of Qube Cross, too, depending on whether it or Kittens & Yarn is more frustrating)

I was diagnosed with ADHD by a psychiatrist who interviewed me for an hour. At the end of the session he took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, “well you’re definitely a pretty severe case…”

My hobby is collecting hobbies. If I listed all of the ones I pick up and put down I’d be here all day, so here are the most consistent ones:

• Gundam model kits
• Postcrossing and snail mail swapping
• Crochet
• Learning Japanese (for a combination of pop culture appreciation and keeping my brain sharp)

Stray. I liked the length, gameplay, story, colors, and being a little orange cat. The puzzles weren’t too hard either.

The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. The controls were a little fiddly sometimes, but it’s VR so that’s not unexpected. The story was mostly a backdrop for the zombie-killing and fetch-questing, but it was a lot of fun.

Do you have menstrual cycles? If so, keep track of when your meds are ineffective and compare against the dates of your cycle. I find mine much less effective in the second half of my cycle when my body has more progesterone (which, for me, seems to be the hazy-spacey-lazy hormone).

Fresh vegetables, grilled or roasted. Growing up, vegetables were mostly frozen/canned (less expensive, kept longer) and I couldn’t stand the texture. Then, in early adulthood, there were a few times in restaurants where I took a few bites of something to be polite/fit in. Lo and behold, it turns out I love vegetables when they’re not all squishy and weird!

Ugh yes. Last time, about 4 years ago, it just felt like stretchy pressure.This time, about a week ago, the NP remarked that I was awfully dry, but even after she lubed the speculum it felt like she was trying to rip me apart.

I love my Altra road running shoes. My mother and sister (both work on-their-feet-all-day jobs) are also fans and can get at least a year out of their pairs. They’re sturdy and last about 300+ miles, and if you get a dud they’ll make it right. My sister once had a pair disintegrate after a couple months and got them replaced for free.

Altra is a bit like blue cheese, though: either you love them or hate them, and both sides think the other is wrong. People with narrow forefeet find them too squishy and unsteady; those of us with wider forefeet are comfortable for the first time ever.

Also, if your budget allows, it helps to get two pairs of shoes so you can alternate days. Especially if you live in a humid climate. By alternating two pairs of shoes so they fully dry between days, you get more than twice as much life from them. (Obviously that’s not an option for everyone, but it’s good to do if you can)

Same. It seems like all games have gotten longer, and many want to be your one and only. Mostly I prefer VR games now, partly for that reason.

Twice a year at best, with a swiffer duster.

I like my Hobonichi Techo planner. The paper is thin, so it ghosts a bit, but it doesn’t bleed. I think they also make plain journals, and it’s not uncommon for Hobonichi fans to buy an extra planner to use as a journal.

Warm green/yellowish green, silver, any metallic really. Except for rose gold which feels like an echo of an unpleasant sensation that I can’t place. Apparently I also like warm light blues and teals because for some reason I recently started accumulating things in that sort of color.

I pretend to be my cat, and I only engage with other people who are also pretending to be their cats.

The free penpal matching sites pretty much all suck. I signed up at ipfworld.com which was about $25 for a one-year membership. They give you 10-12 addresses, and give your address to 10-12 other members over the year.

Contacts. I use daily disposables because I can’t feel them at all. “14-day” contacts were more like 3 days of comfort, 4 days of feeling noticeable, and 7 days of feeling like a rock in my eye. (I cleaned and soaked them daily as directed with many different types of solution, asked the optometrist for instructions, and followed their instructions exactly.) With contacts, I actually have peripheral vision. The feeling of looking past the frame/rim always gave me eye strain, and even rimless glasses couldn’t change how the blur around the edges was a constant distraction.

I have glasses for just in case, and wear them in the evening after washing my face (which gets the contacts wet and crispy no matter how tightly I squeeze my eyes shut). But I really can’t stand glasses for more than an hour or two a day. Every pair I’ve ever worn has two modes: tight enough to stay on but give me a pressure headache, or loose enough to avoid headaches but I tense my scalp and face to keep them on and they still fall off when I look down or turn my head too quickly.

I mostly use my fountain pens for my Hobonichi planner, snail mail penpalling, and a little journaling now and then. I also prefer them for general use like making quick notes, but in that case I’ll write on and with whatever I can grab before the thought escapes.