QualifiedKitten

I hope you're doing alright now. I know moving can be extremely stressful, and hopefully your recovery time is enjoyable.

I remember once in college that I had a big paper to write, and I decided that I was going to get started on it "early" so that I could finish it early and avoid the deadline stress. I legitimately started it early, but somehow still managed to finish it at the very last minute. I spent my entire weekend in the library, and I don't think the final product was significantly better than if I had procrastinated on starting. I just spent a lot more time on the research part of it, and didn't really start putting anything together until the deadline stress kicked in.

Since that experience, I find it even more difficult to convince myself to start things early, since I'm afraid it will just mean spending more time on stressful tasks.

Yeah, I think there's definitely an ideal balance, and I don't think consistent 70+ hour weeks is the right balance for anyone. If my work schedule is busy, but near 40 hours/week, burnout is probably not a major worry. Occasional weeks that demand more than 40 hours are manageable as long as they're balanced out by easy weeks or vacation time.

I've been really struggling with my current job because my actual workload is closer to 15-20 hours/week most weeks. I end up having a ton of trouble getting started, and am always late on things. I've tried on multiple occasions to tell my manager that I actually need more work, but they instead keep suggesting that I learn to delegate things more.

That's kinda what I assumed, but say the parent lives in a state with filial responsibility laws, but the child doesn't. Can the child still be forced to support their parents? A brief internet search suggests maybe, but these laws are generally not enforced (except Pennsylvania), and also usually take into account the child's ability to support the parent.

Just seems pretty fucked up that someone's parents could move to State B with these laws to retire, and suddenly their kids, who have never lived in State B, are potentially being held to State B's laws.

Any clue how those laws work if parent and child live in different states?

I'm so sorry. I went through something similar myself, including one doctor who told me that I couldn't possibly have ADHD since people with ADHD supposedly don't get depressed. I tried being patient and played along for quite a while and have been through so many antidepressants. It wasn't until my mid-20s, and dropping out of college twice that I finally got anyone to listen to me. Cherry on the cake? Suddenly my parents finally believed me, and my youngest sibling was diagnosed shortly after.

I would suggest calling around some places that aren't covered by your insurance (specifically psychiatrists that list ADHD as a specialty), as they may offer lower prices for "self pay" patients. I think the one I saw when I was uninsured charged under $100/visit, and once we found a good dosage, they'd write me 3 months worth of prescriptions at a time. Now that I have a formal diagnosis and a history of being prescribed ADHD medication, getting a new doctor to prescribe the same medication has been much easier.

My employer offered me a modest severance package, and set my last day to be the first working day of the month, meaning my health care benefits are valid for almost a full month after my last day.

Tell me you're American without telling me you're American

I think it was around the time of the Lord of the Rings movies, and my grandma had a similar freak out when I mentioned my crush on Elijah Wood. She said, "I don't want any black grandbabies!" She just assumed he was black and that her young grandchild somehow had any chance of making babies with a much older movie star. Joke's on her though, I'm not giving her any grandbabies.

Close, but not quite. One thing I notice a lot around here (Lemmy/fediverse) that suggests many users are elder millennials or older, is the frequent use of 2 spaces after a period. I don't really notice as much of that in other online communities.

My current phone game is ∞ Loop. Just a simple puzzle-type game.

I also like a variety of solitaire card games, but the app I used to like has become quite enshittified, and I haven't found a good replacement.

My oldest is pretty cuddly, but only on his terms, so I'm always excited to curl up on the couch or in bed and enjoy some snuggle time. If I have the energy, I might do some play time with the wand toy or some clicker training with their favorite treats. If I'm feeling more lazy, just tossing treats... They love chasing them!

I think they'll let you know what they want. I definitely feel you on the urge to go over the top with spoiling them, but what they probably appreciate most is just having you back. I've come to realize that most of my efforts to spoil my cats are more about me than they are about the cats.

Ahh, going to the Google news webpage on my phone does give me quite different results compared to when I swipe left from my phone's home screen.

I feel ya. Currently trying to figure out how to get out of upcoming holiday travels since dragging them along won't be an option.

I guess I also look forward to the extra affection they give me when I return, and usually try to plan for a "decompression" day (or at least half day) as soon as I return so that I can take full advantage.