It's been a while since my last post:

Since then I've visited Canada, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Hungary and had a run-in with American bureaucracy. I also got another job which I think I actually want to keep for the foreseeable future, and got a girlfriend (I had a crush on her at a distance for years and when we met in real life we instantly connected). I feel like I'm higher on Maslow's pyramid than I ever have been.

This week:

- My birthday! I invited about 14 friends over, we drank, ate pizza and were merry. I didn't know my flat could hold that many people (it's SMALL). Feels amazing to host and provide a space for people I love to enjoy themselves 😌

- Rekindled a friendship with someone from college I hadn't hung out with in person for about six years.

- My dad and my sister visited me (usually I visit them because the train ticket is expensive). We went to a curry house and got drunk.

Good afternoon, everyone!

I haven't been on here in a few years. Yeah, I know... That's what I said last time:

This week I have "covid", which is a disease that seems to be making the rounds

Some things I've done:

- Quarantined at my mum's house for six months

- Moved into my own (rented) apartment. It turns out that solitude suits me, but I have a bad habit of being too solitary sometimes. I'm sure a lot of people who are very online can relate to that

- Got a new job, quit that job, went feral

- Visited Athens, New York, Boston, Spain and Portugal

- Made loads of new friends, too many to count

- Started working as a software contractor

- Figured out how to stop being anxious all the time

- Took XXXX, XXXX and XXXX. Learned some new things

Life is more complicated now but it's so much brighter and more interesting

Dang. I haven't been on here in a while. But I've thought about you guys, now and then. I've spent a lot of time on other social media under different names and identities... There isn't anywhere like here.

I'm closer to many of you than usual. Spent the last three days in Vancouver. I've already eaten so much fatty food, I could gladly never set foot in a diner again. Probably will though. I'm looking forward to meeting some of you. I posted about it but I'm on my phone so finding the link again is a hassle.

Life is good. Pour me the finest beer the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

I work near a very popular tourist destination so I bet I've been within a few hundred metres of an unnaturally high % of people I only know of from the internet. Passing ships, etc

so cool so cool so cool so cool so cool so cool so cool so cool so cool so cool so cool so cool

I'm glad the experience was positive and productive for you.

I'm so fucking excited about my holiday. Most adventurous trip I'll ever have been on (in terms of the amount of ground I'll be covering, unfamiliarity of the environment, etc). I hope to see as many of you as I can. Already made a thread for that:

There are probably some other things I could talk about here but I can't remember what they are.

Thanks :)

I decided to not do a road trip in the end (expensive if under 25, also I'm not a very confident driver and this would be my first time abroad - at least if I fuck up in Europe the consequences are less dire), but I definitely want to go back to the USA at some point to do a more scenery-focused trip! Crater Lake looks beautiful.

Yes definitely!

I'm changing jobs. Got my offer, made my resignation, etc. It was more difficult than I thought it would be. I'm going to miss the people at my old job, but advancing in my career means seeking out new experiences and scenarios. I'll still be in London. I think this place may have started to grow on me. I still joke about it being a loud and smelly hellhole to my friends that don't live here but I'm not sure if I really believe it any more. I went to play badminton today and on the way home I walked past a building that absolutely stank of piss. I can't find that sort of thing revolting any more. It just is.

I'm visiting the west coast in a week - I would love to meet some of you IRL. I remember I asked a few months ago but it wasn't really possible to organise anything solid because I wasn't sure of the dates back then. I made a thread so we can coordinate meeting but feel free to shoot me a DM:

I agree with both of you in that regard. Whether a union acts in the interest of employees in general (including new ones) or in the interests of some privileged clique (e.g. senior employees, the business) is down to a number of political factors, the way in which the union is organised, etc. Iron law of oligarchy and all that.

Aaaaaand this is why we need unions.

Why did they offer so little? Was the company just not making any money?

I was already seriously impressed with your company... this is the cherry on the cake. Maybe I'll end up going to the USA for some health tourism! I can't ever see the NHS offering something like this, but then I wouldn't expect them to.

Perfect intro song.

Technical interview tomorrow evening. Kind of nervous but I made a good impression in the first interview so I have some reason to be confident. Crossing my fingers.