Super General Advice (the thread for advice without making a thread)

does anyone have a social script for reacting to sympathy-sorries that isn't deflection?

 

Can you clarify what you mean? Like, people saying "sorry" to you when they feel bad for you?

 

yeah, like "sorry for your loss"/"sorry that happened" type stuff

 

'Thank you' or 'thanks for your kind words' or something like that usually works

 

@LadyNighteyes @Hisuian Typhlosion like a week late but thank you for the replies

As it turns out, the place I was looking at was chocka with asbestos and lead paint and had been sitting vacant for several years at least, so it was a non-starter :P tbh I still might have gone for it but they wanted cash only. In the end I'm probably going to have to either settle for something like that or a mobile home, though - the real estate market is absolutely nuts in my area and just getting worse. Fortunately I'm not in a hurry so I'm just staking out the real estate websites and waiting for something to jump on. Or for the market to crash.

Looking into this place got me in contact with a realtor, at least, so when I do find something I want I'm going to probably contact and hire them as my agent for the process. This type of paperwork activates turbo inattentive ADHD mode for me XD

 

This, and "thank you, I feel like [x]" is my go to. You don't have to actually talk about your feelings if you don't want to, but in case you're dealing with someone who says sorry habitually, it's sometimes helpful to offer them a ground in your own feelings so they don't continue feeling like they need to appease you somehow.

 

Can anyone rec a good resource for creative writing prompts and tips for beginners? Don't have to be the same thing, can come from different sources. I'm trying to get into writing stuff but at an adult level but still basic and when I try to Google stuff I get subpar prompt generators and stuff for kids who aren't even out of elementary

 

aren't there a couple daily prompt blogs on tumblr? or I bet there are a few subreddits

 

writing-prompt-s is one of the most prolific on Tumblr, and they post a lot of good ones.

 

I hadn't thought to use social media, thanks!

 

What's the proper meaning of "psychotic break", if there actually is one? It's not easy to google and it's absolutely not a term to learn the meaning of via osmosis.

(Clarification: I see it used a lot in discussion of media, ranging from jRPGs to The Locked Tomb. I want to make sure I use it correctly if it's ever applicable, and also that I'm better-equipped to say, eg, "I don't think that's the right term to use" when people apply it more broadly than should be.)

 

"Psychotic break" is a colloquialism rather than a medical term, but it usually refers to an episode of intense, active psychosis symptoms. Because it's a colloquial term and psychosis is... not well understood and heavily stigmatized by the general populace it does sometimes get thrown around to mean "acted Really Crazy(tm) for a while" or "went briefly but generically insane" or "is a broken shell of a person after an event" but usually when people who have experienced psychosis symptoms, ime, talk about having a psychotic break they mean "symptoms severe enough it became hard to function." It's not a thing exclusive to having a psychosis disorder either, I know people who have had what I would consider psychotic breaks due to things like too little sleep and too much stress and caffeine during college finals, or a particularly intense bout of uti psychosis.

It's also not just generally having symptoms: it's an intensity of symptoms and disruption of the person's baseline state. Basically an informal term for a psychotic episode. There are some people with psychosis disorders who don't like "break" or don't like "episode" but I've always found it useful to indicate periods where my life experience was actively and harshly interrupted by my symptoms.

 

Thank you! That's really helpful.

 

My sibling, my father, and I are visiting Greece in a couple of months! Can anyone advise me on what preparations I should make to travel abroad? I've never been out of the country before except to Canada once when I was a kid.

 

That's so exciting, where in Greece are you going? :D

As for tips:
- Check the entry requirements well in advance: do you need a visa? Do you need to fill in some other forms before you go? (For instance, I didn't need a visa to visit through US, but I did need to fill in an ESTA application for a small fee)
- What are your plans to be able to call and use mobile internet in Greece? When I went to the US my cellphone service provider allowed me to purchase data to use in the US, which meant that for a fixed price, I was able to easily have access to mobile internet, which made getting around a lot easier. I didn't need to call anyone, but if I would have needed to call home I could have done so using my mobile internet (calling via WhatsApp or Signal)
- Take a look at language, I'm not suggesting you learn loads, but Greek does have a different alphabet, and looking at it beforehand might help a bit :)

Hope this helps!

 

We're going to Athens! And possibly elsewhere, but Athens is the city we're flying into. We're mainly interested in historical sites and don't want to have to travel too much for my dad's sake, and Athens seemed like the best bet for that.

I was thinking of buying a temporary phone to use over there, because I really don't want to deal with the potential hassle of getting mine stolen. If I do that, I'll probably ask the people at the store if I need to do anything special. No idea if I need a visa - my sibling is the one who bought the flights and has been doing logistics so far, so I'll ask them what they know.

My dad and sibling are both classics nerds, so I'll be leaning heavily on them for the language stuff lol.

 

Very exciting!!

Some tips:
1) flights from the USA to Europe are usually overnights, with a shooort night (think leaving 7pm and arriving at 7am, but the flight was only 8 hours). Strongly consider bringing a sleep aid and making sure you'll be wearing clothes that will be comfy for the flight. (i have, for longer flights, packed pajama pants in my carry-on and changed into them for the flight, but for just an atlantic i think sweatpants in the airport all day is also a solid call)
2) that early arrival means your day 1 in greece, everyone will be super miserably exhausted, but also if you sleep in the afternoon you will probably a) have a ton of trouble sleeping at night when evening comes and b) take longer to adjust to the jetlag! So, generally for day 1 of a europe vacation plan to do something that doesn't take a ton of energy but also keeps you occupied. It's a great time to tour smaller sights near your hotel and have a long, chill dinner.
3) as for phones! If you decide against getting a whole new phone, I do recommend looking into SIM cards! when I was in the UK I grabbed a sim with gigs of data and unlimited call/text for like 30 bucks, which is less than like, 1gb of roaming from my US provider would want
4) if you're sticking mostly to one city and planning to take public transit, that public transit probably has an app! I highly recc using the local app for easy hopping around, it's one of the things that made my time traveling solo in the uk a breeze -w- google maps is uuusually pretty good at giving you itineraries too! usually if i'm planning longer trainrides i'll look at what google maps thinks my options are first before going to a train ticket site
5) i don't have a ton of experience traveling in pickpocket-heavy places, but when I solo traveled initially I got a RFID protective bag, which helps prevent bad actors from trying to scan cards and such inside your purse to steal identity. I'm not certain how essential such things are, considering i spent a few days last year among obvious tour groups in tourist-heavy spots in morocco without one and didn't have any trouble, but they might be a nice peace of mind item. additionally, the standard pickpocket protections of having all your items secured in something that isn't easily opened and is secured to your body is pretty much all you need! Usually that means a zipper with something to stop a quick unzip or a heavy clasp, and having the bag cross-strapped on your body, but I just have my hip bag and keep one hand on it when walking since it lies at a natural hand-height anyways
6) hopefully this is a best prepared thing, but finding medications abroad can be a pain! anything over the counter you think you might need, it may be a good idea to just pack a few. My momma had a whole pharmacy worth of cold meds and anti-nausea when family went on a cruise and it came in cluuutch. I always make sure to have ibuprofen and a sleep aid as headaches and trouble settling are my most common travel woes
7) google translate's app will try to translate from pictures!! this came in clutch for me solo in japan, it's a good idea to have it on hand. as a bonus, if you need to communicate with someone with a complete language barrier you can use it back and forth!
8) try to individually always have enough cash on hand for a taxi back to the hotel, and know the hotel address, as a complete last resort emergency fund if you get separated from your party and lost! i have only had to use my emergency cash once ever and i've done a.. unusual amount of solo travel compared to your average gal, but oh my god is it good when you need it.