Arramzy's recent activity
-
Comment on Heat sensitivity/intolerance in ~health
-
Comment on What do you drive? in ~hobbies
Arramzy LinkI ride my bicycle pretty much everywhere, public transport for trips too far to bike. Personally I absolutely despise cars and am really happy my city has been working to get rid of them as much...I ride my bicycle pretty much everywhere, public transport for trips too far to bike. Personally I absolutely despise cars and am really happy my city has been working to get rid of them as much as possible.
My younger brother also gifted me a longboard for my birthday so I want to practise using that as well.
For my new job I'll probably be using an electronically assisted cargo bike a lot, I'm curious what that will be like as I have never used one before . -
Comment on What are the summer activities you are looking forward to? in ~health
Arramzy LinkI recently moved to a place with a garden and I am really looking forward to work outside and make it look nice and prepare it for some vegetables next year, have some friends over etc.I recently moved to a place with a garden and I am really looking forward to work outside and make it look nice and prepare it for some vegetables next year, have some friends over etc.
-
Comment on Does Tildes need a new icon? in ~tildes
Arramzy LinkI only joined today so it isn't like I have any sort of attachment to the current icon, but I see no good reason to change it. It is recognizable and not overly complex, it stands out enough among...I only joined today so it isn't like I have any sort of attachment to the current icon, but I see no good reason to change it. It is recognizable and not overly complex, it stands out enough among my other tabs and icons without being obnoxiously bright or attention grabbing.
It just works and does everything it needs to do, cute animals are actually something I've barely seen on Tildes at all so far, so to me it doesn't really seem like a cute animal would make for a good icon that is in any way relevant to Tildes. -
Comment on Which theme are you defaulting to? I'm loving Atom One Dark. in ~tildes
Arramzy Link ParentI am very new to Tildes but one of the first things I did was look for some kind of dark mode, and I quickly settled on Gruvbox Dark as my favourite. It was between that and 'black' and so far I'm...I am very new to Tildes but one of the first things I did was look for some kind of dark mode, and I quickly settled on Gruvbox Dark as my favourite. It was between that and 'black' and so far I'm very happy with my choice
-
Comment on Parenting advice: How do you deal with grandparents? in ~life
Arramzy Link ParentNot breaking someone doesn't exactly seem like the highest bar. They might be unregulated but maybe they can change that at least slightly? Raising a kid is very hard, they probably know this too,...Not breaking someone doesn't exactly seem like the highest bar. They might be unregulated but maybe they can change that at least slightly? Raising a kid is very hard, they probably know this too, so I'd hope they are understanding of you not exactly being thrilled by the current outcome.
I really don't think what you would ask of them (changing what is eaten and some basic communication) is some crazy impossible task. You really can (and maybe should) ask them to do better in this regard.
You can appreciate everything they do for you, their support and everything else that makes them great whilst also asking them to change this specific thing about their approach. These are not mutually exclusive and asking them to help you in this is not being ungrateful or even particularly harsh/difficult towards them.
-
Comment on GMs of Tildes, what books, movies, or other media have changed how you portray the world? in ~games.tabletop
Arramzy LinkAs someone with pretty bad dyslexia books usually aren't my preferred type of media, but some, like the books by Markus Heitz and Bernhard Hennen or the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini,...As someone with pretty bad dyslexia books usually aren't my preferred type of media, but some, like the books by Markus Heitz and Bernhard Hennen or the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini, were very important to the development of how I see the fantasy genre as a whole, as I read them in high school.
More recently the Warhammer books from the Black Library (which I like to read with a combination of both the physical book and the audiobook) have had a pretty large impact on my world, specifically The Infinite and The Divine changed how I portray some ancient or immortal characters.
Aside from books the "Irish Folklore Trilogy" movies by Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea and Wolfwalkers) are some of my favourite movies of all time to begin with, but they've also very specifically helped me portray children that experience wild and wacky things like they might in a fantasy setting, and some of the plotlines or pieces of Irish Folklore that they use I pretty much just copy-pasted into parts of the stories I tell.
Lastly some games, like The Banner Saga and the Dragon Age series have influenced some npcs or (in the case of DA) magic and attitudes towards it in my worlds.
Those are some of the main and/or recent ones that popped into my head.
-
Comment on Parenting advice: How do you deal with grandparents? in ~life
Arramzy LinkI am not a parent but I work with children in after school care and daycare/childcare so maybe my perspective can still help. My main question would be: Is it possible to talk about this with your...I am not a parent but I work with children in after school care and daycare/childcare so maybe my perspective can still help.
My main question would be: Is it possible to talk about this with your parents? Not that I think you should 'correct' them, or address the issue when you're still frustrated but you should explain to them how difficult this can be (assuming you haven't had this conversation yet.) as they might not realize (after all they are no longer present afterwards to witness the meltdown).
Hopefully they understand, they are after all parents themselves, so they might have had similar experiences in the past. But generally I'd say communication is the most important thing in these situations.At this age it can also be very difficult to pinpoint the exact issue. We eat lunch and sometimes dinner with the kids at my workplace, and recently one had a similar situation where he was an absolute angel with us, but a little demon once he got home. We worked with the parents to change the food and snacks we gave him, and later also the activities we had him participate in etc. but after quite a while of this to no avail the parents had sought help from a medical professional and it is now suspected that the kid is on the spectrum, and crucially we only had him once a week, so to him it was a huge change of scenery, people around him etc. which basically drained him completely before he went home. We changed things based on our experience and in consultation with the parents and medical professionals and now it is fine. Now I'm not saying your kid is on the spectrum as well, but my point is that it could be a lot of different things outside of sugary junk that might cause such behaviour in a young child, and at this age it can be very difficult for the child to express themselves or otherwise help in this proces of identifying the issue. So the best thing you can do is communicate with your parents, so that you know what they have eaten, what they did together etc. and together with your parents you can begin to build an understanding of what might cause this and how you could try and solve this. You don't need to correct them to do this, but involve them and talk to them about these challenges if at all possible.
It could be that this is something that will stay part of grandparent time, but it is definitely worth trying to find an alternative explanation and solution, as hours of screaming does not sound like a great time for your child either, and it also seems unlikely to be the preferred and intended grandparent time outcome of your parents.
Maybe I completely misread the situation, or you've already tried this to no avail but based on your post and my experience this is what I would try to do.
-
Comment on Any 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' fans here? in ~games.tabletop
Arramzy LinkI have a very strong love-hate relationship with Yu-Gi-Oh. I love how there is no mana/energy and how your creatures/monsters are actually largely your main resource. I also like having a limited...I have a very strong love-hate relationship with Yu-Gi-Oh. I love how there is no mana/energy and how your creatures/monsters are actually largely your main resource.
I also like having a limited field and the cards that interact with specific card placements on the "board", kind of making both those things a resource.
I love how all over the place archetypes and artwork can be, theoretically allowing people to very much play something they enjoy: Do you want to fight dragons with frogs? Here you go! Do you want to use anime girls against gigantic robots? Of course! You really enjoy norse mythology or kaiju? Say no more!In practise however you can't just make any deck work, meta and ban lists can greatly impact how good your deck is, sometimes overnight. And trying to keep up with this is extremely expensive, but if (like me) you have few (or even no) friends who enjoy the game, you almost have to if you want to participate in local tournaments.
I stopped maintaining my deck ~2018 when a new release + banlist both added a strong direct counter as well as blocked a large part of my toolbox, realistically forcing me to buy a completely brand new deck if I wanted to be able to compete even slightly. I have barely played since, as my old deck is still way too strong for my one friend who also enjoys the game but more casually (so we tend to play other formats), while simultaneously being unable to get even a single win in locals or game nights at my local cardgame store.
Personally I feel like Yu-Gi-Oh is almost uniquely bad when it comes to this kind of balancing, so when mechanically and conceptually it is by far my favourite cardgame, in reality I stopped playing quite a while ago at this point. Which really is a shame because I just don't like games like Pokémon or Magic that have a mana/energy system, and enjoy the visual wackyness of Yu-Gi-Oh archetypes. I enjoy the faster paced, more consistent cardgames, where I feel like I outplayed my opponent instead of winning because my opponent got unlucky and only drew energy/mana cards after turn one and nothing else. Luck is obviously still a factor in Yu-Gi-Oh but a lot less in my personal experience.
But fuck pendulum.
-
Comment on LGBT introductions thread: What's your story? in ~lgbt
Arramzy LinkI am pansexual and agender (any/all pronouns. Call me whatever you like, as long as I understand you're talking about me we're good.) In daily life this tends to lean masc because I have a beard...I am pansexual and agender (any/all pronouns. Call me whatever you like, as long as I understand you're talking about me we're good.)
In daily life this tends to lean masc because I have a beard and regularly hit the gym, but I also love painting my nails, wearing skirts and other more traditionally fem stuff.And that is really the core of it, I just strongly dislike the very concept of gender. I don't like feeling like I have to or should behave a certain way, dress a certain way etc. I am me, nothing less and nothing more. Why on earth would I want to further put myself in some arbitrary social box that comes with all sorts of expectations and prescriptions as to how I am supposed to act, dress, talk etc.
To me the very concept is outdated and can really only be used to exclude and harm people. As you probably have gathered at this point I can also accurately be described as a gender nihilist and gender abolitionist.
When I was a kid (we're talking like 10-12 ish years old) I enjoyed expressing myself through clothing and other parts of my physical appearance. I grew my hair out past shoulder length, and was bullied quite a bit as either gay or a girl, which I resented. To me I was just me, and I hated how I was expected to conform to an image and expectation that didn't suit me or otherwise I would be filed in another category in a derogatory way (because when they called me a girl it usually wasn't 'you go girl'). I noticed however that it wasn't being called a girl or gay that I had an issue with, but rather their attempts to categorize me as anything else than just me as a person, as if my choice of hairstyle could accurately predict all sorts of things about me.
Kids however can be relentless monsters, and I gave up for a while. This did not go well and in combination with a lot of other factors resulted in me becoming very depressed and having to do a lot of soul searching. I had the luxury of a very supportive family and group of friends, many of which were struggling with their own gender/sexual identity. So especially when I was about college aged (18-24ish) I crystalized how I felt and thought about myself.
Now I am 26 and in a very healthy and confident space mentally. This is a recent development, before this I was out of commission with a severe depression for over four years. I am very glad I have reached this point and finally be comfortable with myself and who I am.
Interestingly a weird side effect of my views is that I sometimes have a difficult time relating to other members of the LGBTQ+ community, who really care about gender or sex, belonging to and/or being attracted to specific "categories". People have tried to explain this to me a million times and I will never get why anyone would want to place these restrictions or guidelines upon themselves, but I'll be damned if I don't fight for their right to do exactly that and anything else which makes them happy or allows them to expres themselves.
I am very intolerant to heat as a side effect of my antidepressants and there are a few things that help me.
Keeping my house cool is the most important. Aside from AC I use a reflective foil on my windows that get direct sunlight, it helps a lot and if you use AC it has an easier time keeping temperatures bearable and saves a lot of power consumption.
Another important one is to always have a cold drink within reach. I always have a bottle of water in the fridge, and another next to me, swapping them as needed. It is important to drink enough liquids when it is warm anyway and keeping it within reach really helps, and I just prefer it being nice and cold. On the road a thermos can help (it can be used to keep liquids cool instead of warm, which is awesome after say, a long drive).
Because of the heat intolerance I also tend to sweat a lot, my psychiatrist always emphasizes that this makes it important to eat enough salt, as it helps your body regulate fluids. Salt unfortunately also increases blood pressure, so managing salt levels consciously and in consultation with medical professionals is important.
Light and breathable clothing is also nice but honestly at home I tend to wear nothing but my underwear if it is warm outside.
Humidity also makes life a lot more difficult, a lot of AC units have a setting to remove moisture from the air. Running that occasionally can very much be worth it.
If you have any control over your schedule it can be worth trying to incorporate a siesta of sorts, taking a nap or otherwise trying to do as little as possible during the hottest part of the day. This can be difficult with kids and/or work but if you have the option it can help a lot.
My heat intolerance has been quite bad the past year, everything above 70F is uncomfortable and this year has been particularly warm but so far I'm managing. Hope some of these help.