I know Murderbot is supposed to be genderless, but because the author is female, Murderbot has always come across as female to me. I’m not sure how well a guy will do in this role, it’ll be interesting to see.

Nobody’s going to want to be around you if you’re volatile and hurtful. And “I can’t help it” is a thin excuse. These are things you absolutely could control, you just have to try.

You sound young. Get control of yourself and develop some empathy. And while you’re at it, do something about your internalized misogyny. These two passages ought to create some cognitive dissonance for you:

Women also piss me off more than men do, so I hang out more with them because I feel like they get me and aren’t as bitchy.

I think women should be the best versions of themselves :) [I believe this is why society is so hard on women as a whole]

1. Eyesight is getting worse. It’s hard to read in dim light, and driving at night can be rough.
2. Takes my body longer to recuperate from anything that it doesn’t like - injuries, alcohol, upset stomach.
3. Age spots. I thought they were just freckles but my dermatologist says they’re age spots. I’m only 43!

Aging is funny, because there’s always someone who thinks you’re ancient, and there’s always someone who thinks you’re still super young. I was at a bar a couple weeks ago, and these two dudes were complaining about how old they were getting… so I asked, turns out they were the ripe old age of twenty-eight. Which made me laugh a little, because 28 is still pretty young. And when I told them I was 43 they couldn’t believe it. I guess in my twenties I didn’t have an accurate idea of what people in their forties looked like either. Conversely when I made some comment to my parents about being middle-aged, they laughed at me because “you’re in your forties, you’re not middle-aged!”. So it’s all relative. My dad said something that stuck with me: you may feel like you’re getting older, but when you’re my age (he’s 75) you’ll realize how young you still were, and how much energy you had. And that’s helped me be aware that even though there are some aspects of aging that I really hate, there are plenty of good healthy years left.

I didn’t know you could botox that!

Oh man I hear ya in headlights and dashboard lights. NIght driving is getting to be pretty rough for me.

Interesting! My google apps all changed to French, I wonder why yours didn’t.

I’m a native English speaker but my phone and fitbit are in French. I minored in French in college and I’m trying to shake off the rust.

I got a weakness for Dick Van Dyke ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Trainspotting, Mary Poppins, and Eraserhead.

Ha I mostly lurk, reticent to inflict my rusty French on native speakers ;) but reading threads in those comms helps! Also rance, which is so full of internet slang, I actually learn a lot there

Doing pretty well. I minored in French in college but haven’t used it in years and I’ve gotten rusty, so I’m trying to fix that. I’ve recently discovered a library near me that has a French language section (my previous library was too small for that), plus a French club that meets once a month. I’m working my way through Le Voleur des Ombres by Marc Levy, and it’s going well, but a little slowly because I’ve forgotten a bunch of vocabulary since college.

I don’t see shropshire blue?

Porthos will accept cheese for his services.

If I were a man I’d absolutely love to grow facial hair.

Never considered grated apricot… that sounds awesome!

I thought everyone could?

Haha me too! When I was a kid my podiatrist told me it would be good physical therapy for the growing pains I had along with flat feet. Not sure if it worked but it definitely kept me entertained!

I’m the opposite. Petite 5’0" lady who sounds like an entire community of elephants when I walk.

Nope! I’ve never read/seen Harry Potter (I, too, live under a rock). Beatrix Potter is the English author from the late 1800s who wrote The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, among others. When I was a kid I had a set of her books, and her illustrations (which she herself painted in watercolors) had the whimsical quality that your cross-stitch has. 🦊🧡

I love these foxes! Something very Beatrix Potter about them.