Milk Tea Magical Girl Extraordinaire @periberrytea - Tumblr Blog

I’m going to give you the best piece of Adult Life Is Hard advice I’ve ever learned:

Talk to people when things go to shit.

I don’t just mean get it off your chest, although that’s good. I mean: Something’s wrong with your paycheck/you lost your job/you had unexpected emergency car repairs and now you’re broke so your credit card payment is late. Like, not just 15 days late. We’re talking, shit got crazy and now you’re 90 days late with compounded interest and late fees and the Minimum Payment Due is, like, $390, and you’ve got about $3.90 in your bank account. Call the credit card company.

I know it’s scary. I know you feel like you’re going to get in trouble, like you’re gong to get yelled at or scolded for not having your life together. But the credit card company isn’t your parents; they’re just interested in getting money from you. And you can’t squeeze blood from a stone or money from someone who doesn’t have any. So what you do is you call them. You explain you’re experiencing temporary financial hardships, and you’re currently unable to bring your account up to date, but you don’t want to just let it get worse. Can you maybe talk to someone about a payment plan so you can work something out? Nine times out of ten you’ll be able to negotiate something so that at least it’s not just taking a constant, giant shit on your credit score.

- Can’t pay your power bill? Call the power company.

- Can’t pay your full rent? Talk to your landlord.

- Had to go to the hospital without insurance and have giant medical bills looming in your place? Call the hospital and ask if they have someone who helps people with financial hardships. Many do.

- Got super sick and missed half a semester of class because flu/pneumonia/auto-immune problems/depressive episode? Talk to your professor. If that doesn’t help, talk to your advisor.

You may not be able to fix everything, but you’ll likely be able to make improvements. At the very least, it’s possible that they have a list of people you can contact to help you with things. (Also, don’t be afraid to google things like, “I can’t pay my power bill [state you live in]” because you’d be surprised at what turns up on Google!) But the thing is, people in these positions gain nothing if you fail. There’s no emotional satisfaction for them if your attempts at having your life together completely bite the dust. In fact, they stand to benefit if things work out for you! And chances are, they’ll be completely happy to take $20 a month from you over getting $0 a month from you, your account will be considered current because you’ve talked to them and made an agreement, you won’t get reported to a collections agency, and your credit score won’t completely tank.

Here’s some helpful tips to keep in mind:

1. Be polite. Don’t demand things; request them. Let me tell you about how customer service people hold your life in their hands and how many extra miles they’ll go for someone who is nice to them.

2. Stick to the facts, and keep them minimal unless asked for them. Chances are they’re not really interested in the details. “We had several family emergencies in a row, and now I’m having trouble making the payments” is better than “Well, two months ago my husband wrecked his bike, and then he had a reaction to the muscle relaxer they gave him, and then our dog swallowed a shoestring and we had to take him to the emergency clinic, and just last week MY car broke down, and now my account’s in the negatives and I don’t know how I’m gonna get it back out.” The person you’re talking to is aware shit happens to everyone; they don’t need the details to prove you’re somehow “worthy” of being helped. They may ask you for details at a certain point if they have to fill out any kind of request form, but let them do that.

3. Ask questions. “Is there anything we can do about X?” “Would it be possible to move my payment date to Y day instead so it’s not coming out of the same paycheck as my rent?” The answer may be “no.” That’s not a failure on your part. But a good customer service person may have an alternate solution.

Anyway! I hope that helps! Don’t just assume the answer is “no” before you’ve even begun. There is more help out there than you ever imagined.

finnglas

Hey guys, this is an old post, but it’s still relevant, and I thought I’d re-up it for living in COVID times when a lot of people are losing income. Don’t be afraid to toss that in when you call to ask for help! “I’ve experienced a loss of income due to COVID-19″ is gonna be all you need to say for most places, because wow let me tell you how much this is the case. A lot of places are setting up COVID-19 specific relief policies, so this may be even easier than normal.

Good luck, stay safe, stay inside if you can, and wash your hands. <3

pun--candy

people: "if biden and harris lose, this could be the last fair and free election in our lifetimes!!!"

me: *thinks about how felons can't vote, thinks about how the working class often have to choose between getting work that day or voting, thinks about how black people and indigenous people couldnt vote until 55 years ago, thinks about how gerrymandering is rendering low income/mostly minority districts virtually silent, thinks about how the electoral college is still in effect and has more power than the actual popular vote, thinks about how each state can set up their own arbitrary laws for voting, even at the federal level, thinks-*

me: yea. fair and free. yup.

apparentlyeverything

Biden supports restoring voting rights for felons, Republicans are the ones who regularly try to close polling places in *working class* communities since they tend to vote Democratic, gerrymandering low income/minority districts is again, something that Republicans do at the state level to try to limit Democratic votes, and many Democrats, including Harris, have expressed their desire to get rid of the electoral college in favor of the popular vote, while the GOP wants to keep it since it favors them. If you agree these are all problems, then you also have to acknowledge which party is trying to solve them and which one is trying to make them worse. Democratic politicians can’t make Republicans go away on their own, you literally have to vote them out.

Also, yes, states run elections, and that’s both why they can make their own rules, and why it’s important to elect people at the state level who don’t try to make it difficult for low income and minority voters, and again, these tend to be Democrats.

It’s also kind of important to recognize that people are worried about the end of “free and fair” elections because the Trump administration is taking several specific steps to make them even *less* free and fair, so complaining about the lack of nuance or historical context to that argument is kind of missing the forest for the trees here

not-caused-by-those-who-love

OP, if you want me to take seriously your principled opposition to voting for Biden-Harris, then you need to persuade me of your alternative proposed action. If it’s your revolutionary group’s coupe planned for November second, email me your manifesto and maybe I’ll sign up. If it’s not something that’ll finish repairing the last four years’ damage before Election Day, I want to know why not both. I want to know why you think your plan will be easier to implement under four more years of Trump than under four years of Biden. If you persuade me of that, email me your manifesto and maybe I’ll sign up. However if all you’ve got is a list of complaints against Biden and Harris then you do you but, no matter how groundful your complaints may be, I don’t see the difference between you and a Russian psy op from 2016.

prince-atom

*thinks about how felons can't vote,

No, they can’t, unless they’re fortunate enough to get their rights restored, and that’s not fair. Who can change the laws? Elected officials.

thinks about how the working class often have to choose between getting work that day or voting,

That’s not fair either, and all election days, both state and federal, should be holidays. Who can make them so? Elected officials.

thinks about how black people and indigenous people couldnt vote until 55 years ago,

But they can now. They’re enfranchised today. Because people lobbied elected officials and won their right to vote.

thinks about how gerrymandering is rendering low income/mostly minority districts virtually silent,

It is and it needs to be fought. Who draws districts? Elected officials. Guess when they draw them -- next year. This year’s election outcomes will impact the shape of your congressional district for the next ten years.

thinks about how the electoral college is still in effect and has more power than the actual popular vote,

It is in effect but I’m not sure it has more power than the popular vote. Twice it has happened in my lifetime, and both times the popular vote was a squeaker either nationally (2000) or in a few key states (2016). Democrats win when voter turnout is high. And the Interstate Popular Vote Compact is almost a reality.

thinks about how each state can set up their own arbitrary laws for voting, even at the federal level, thinks-*

Who sets the voting laws? Elected officials.

If the prevailing attitude is that “nothing ever changes” or “voting never changes anything” then nothing ever will change. We’re effectively a right-wing nation because elections over the last few decades have trended to the right because when voter turnout is low, the right wins in this country, and voter turnout is low in presidential midterm years.

If you want the country to look the way you want it to, you have to participate. And yeah, “fair and free election” is a pretty ludicrous concept right now -- but that’s no reason to sit it out.

prismatic-bell

ALSO?

The Supreme Court just gutted a huge problem with the Electoral College. Here, I’ll screenshot my email. (My deadname is in the email because it’s my registered-voter name, but that’s the only thing I’ve edited out.)

It was a 9-0 vote. A UNANIMOUS VOTE. Even Gohmert and Kavanaugh—both Trump appointees—said faithless electors are not okay.

WE CANNOT LET THIS BE REVERSED BY A COUP. WE CAN’T.

Vote vote vote. Take everyone you know. IT MATTERS.

halfling-story

MP for Winnipeg Centre

If you're Canadian, please take a few minutes to write to your MPs and other representatives to support MOTION-46, which proposes a guaranteed basic income to all Canadians over 18. You can read the text of the Motion here, it's pretty fantastic.

This is a really easy-to-use email generator, which will even look up the email addresses you need! Just make sure you personalize the email a tiny bit, as form emails are supposedly pretty easy to filter. Take a few minutes and then pass the link on to a friend!

tiger-in-the-flightdeck

Fellow Canadians, please fill this out. It is important. As a person on Disability, I didn't even receive the CERB support. A guaranteed basic income would change my life.

halfling-story

@allthecanadianpolitics I don't know if you've seen this, but a form email has been set up for MOTION-46!

allthecanadianpolitics

The police cannot be reformed to serve social, economic, and environmental justice. They must be defunded and dismantled, at the same time as major investments are made in programs geared toward greater economic equality, environmental sustainability, racial justice, and deeper democracy. What can cops do to help? Quit their job.

The NBA wildcat strike for racial justice pushes all of us to raise our game in campaigns to defund and dismantle the police. Bold moves by high-profile athletes will mean that more people in our workplaces, schools, and communities are open to talking about what we mean when we say that police are armed defenders of colonialism, white supremacy, and class inequality. Well, what do we mean?

It’s easy to call up cartoonish images. Picture a cigar-chomping cat holding bags of money whispering shoot-to-kill orders in a gun-toting pig’s ear. There’s something to this vision. In 1995, as Indigenous protestors defended a sacred site at Ipperwash Provincial Park, Ontario premier Mike Harris told the provincial police to “get those fucking Indians out of the park, and use guns if you have to.” Hours later, the OPP stormed the park, and a police sniper shot and killed Ojibwa land-defender Dudley George.

But while direct orders from the rich and powerful to the police are infuriating, they are not the whole story. Socialists need fuller explanations to help understand the structural problems of policing. We need to be able to explain why even hypothetical “good cops”—well-intentioned officers who respect all laws and regulations—are armed defenders of capitalism, racism, and settler-colonialism.

Mainstream political parties and media push toward the “bad apple” theory of police-inflicted harm. They say cops need better training or body cams or whatever, but when major harm is done by police, it’s individual officers to blame, not the institution. Here are three ways in which the work of every cop—the entire system of policing—is in armed struggle against working-class freedom and democracy.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

numetalheart

As of September 1 2020

Don’t let their names fade. injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

allthecanadianpolitics

The 13-year-old had been learning about physical distancing, and was flapping his arms as a way to tell the man not to stand too close. The man responded aggressively.

A Surrey family is horrified their 13-year-old son, who is on the autism spectrum, was punched in the face by a middle-aged man and police are not pursuing the case further.

It happened last Monday morning at the food court at Central City Shopping Centre in Surrey, B.C.

The boy’s mother is outraged.

“A 200-pound adult punched my kid, who is barely 70 pounds,” said Yanyan Yao.

–

Submitted by shantaia

twerp-deactivated20210509

Yanyan Yao started an online petition for her son, Howie, to get a proper investigation done and to spread awareness. It hasn’t reached its goal yet.

He’s a child who got traumatized for trying to communicate. Please rb this.

kumiakum-deactivated20211104

i swear man I hate living in america

please help out for their petition!!

allthecanadianpolitics

This happened in Canada.

ladyheart-deactivated20210919

Jacob Blake is in stable condition.

If you can, consider donating to his family to pay for legal bills, medical bills, and therapy for the whole family who were traumatized by what has happened.

allthecanadianpolitics

Several prominent Conservative party members like Alberta Premier Jason Kenney have also given endorsements to O’Toole.

[…]What’s his platform?

Running on a leadership slogan he describes as “True Blue Conservative,” O’Toole released a 50-page platform to cater to “middle-class suburban voters, women and new Canadians.”

O’Toole’s promises lean on Conservative values more than his competitors, with a large focus on the Canadian economy and its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

His platform for the economy includes creating a fiscal stability plan to balance the budget and reverse the Liberal government’s small business tax hike. O’Toole also pledges to create a pandemic royal commission to prepare Canada for “future threats” while looking into state of long-term care homes, which were devastated during the crisis, while also creating a back to work agenda to restore income to working Canadians.

Several other areas of his platform include increasing Quebec’s autonomy, creating an action plan for relations with Alberta and the West and taking a hardline approach on foreign relations — especially with the Chinese government.

O’Toole also explicitly pledged to end Bill C-69 — which was an overhaul to how Canada reviewed large infrastructure projects — as well as to criminalize the blockading of railways or ports.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

rowdyravenclaw

Criminalizing a form of protest that has been primarily utilized to mobilize against invasions of sovereign indegenous lands to build goddamn pipelines is a huge red flag…. This is targeting indigenous people in Canada specifically

allthecanadianpolitics

I made a tweet about this:

https://twitter.com/ShyChemist/status/1297775850985684992

Haven’t seen much discussion if any about this tonight, so if you have twitter feel free to Retweet for more exposure.

awkward-teabag

He also wants to:

Completely defund and privatize the CBC and specifically mentions that CBC News is the “worst offender” and “threatens the future of local newspapers”. Canadian news media is already an oligarchy where nearly everything but some independent publications are owned by and/or lean Conservative. He wants to privatize it so the centrist CBC will put out Conservative propaganda.

Bring back the Office of Religious Freedom AKA the Government Evangelical Christian Branch, which is to have “essential international work”.

“Protect the religious rights” of Canadian healthcare workers so they can deny providing services if it goes against their beliefs.

Praises Jason Kenney. Multiple times.

Straight up says Alberta is being discriminated against and will no longer have to pay equalization payments.

Says that it will make it so Quebec will always have outsized political influence regardless of its population.

Train RCMP officers to “liaise” with indigenous communities that have “high levels of off-Reserve Aboriginal populations and/or a high number of missing or murdered Indigenous women cold cases.”

Says gun owners are demonized.

Cut regulations in general yearly to make things faster and cheaper. This includes with medical testing.

And more.

On top of criminalizing the main form of protest available in more remote areas often on sovereign land belonging to indigenous communities and calling such people “radicals”. He also calls such blockades as “common law assault” and says they should be treated as such.

His platform also unironically says “Indigenous peoples are the fastest growing demographic in Canada” which kinda glosses over the entire genocide colonizers and the Canadian government were active participants in for centuries and are still participating in. And, you know, his intention of ignoring FNMI rights to their sovereign lands to force pipelines and tanker traffic and mining through/on them and incarcerating anyone who dares protest against it.

thearbiter

ah man can we please fucking vote in the NDP party in the next election, if this guy ends up as prime minister we’re fucked.

renthony

This blog is an ace and aro inclusive space. Exclusionists are not welcome here.

[ID: a photoset of the asexual and aromantic pride flags]

allthecanadianpolitics

It's beyond frustrating dealing with Canadians with politics. They bitch how the government doesn't take care of vulnerable populations, yet refuse to vote for the NDP who will do that. You know who won't take care of all Canadians? The Conservative and Liberal party. I'm just tired of Canadians thought process. The cycle has to be broken.

opalsandcream

biggest betrayal is when it’s supposed to thunderstorm and it doesn’t

allthecanadianpolitics

Submitted by pleasedontsqueezetheshhh

sciencetylia

Its a testament to how messed up capitalism is:

That I’m 32 years old and right now I have the most money I’ve ever had in my bank account (due to Pandemic assistance from the government), and yet this pandemic benefit equates to only $12.50/hour of full time work.

People need to realize that for a lot of millennials and Gen Z we’ve never had a stable source of income.

The average length of my jobs over the past decade has been 3 months or less and most have been part time.

I have no idea how I’m ever going to pay off my student debt or buy a home or start a family if this continues. Will I even have money to retire when I’m old?

For the past few years my only stable source of income has been coming from patreon donations for running my Canadian Politics tumblr blog @allthecanadianpolitics (which doesn’t even cover ¼ of the price of typical rent in this country).

If I wasn’t living with my parents, I’d be homeless.

This is why we need a universal basic income.

whatareyoureallyafraidof

queergeologist

I still haven’t gotten my birth control, I’m getting closr to running out

parlezvousladybug

I’m already hearing stories from the purists who have beef with the Biden/Harris ticket and I AM BEYOND OVER IT. you have learned NOTHING from 2016.

I did not vote for Biden in the primary, but I am damn well voting for him and I am voting down ticket as well. Voting third party is the same as voting for Trump and everyone who does it this election Is an asshole.

badsciencejokes

Baker’s Buzzin’ 🐝 — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/2U9EgUj

strangegirlsclub-deactivated202

man some of the seven deadly sins aren’t even that bad. sorry I’m angry n wanna fuck? Sorry I ate a lot? shut up

thecaptaingoesdownwiththeship

Wrath is beating someone up because they exist in a way that you don’t like. Wrath is not being angry because someone hurt you.

Lust is not wanting to have sex with other people. Lust is using sex to hurt other people or hurting another person in a sexual way.

Gluttony is not eating lots of food (your own stomach will tell you when enough is enough). Gluttony is when you have enough resources to yourself that you could house and feed the rest of the population of your city but you keep it to yourself because you do not want to give up the power associated with it.

Greed is not wanting to improve the state of your material life because it would improve your quality of life. Greed is taking opportunities and resources away from already marginalized people. (And if someone tells you that a service you benefited from and it actively improved your life was not meant for you specifically, then there needs to be more of that resource).

Envy is not looking at someone who has a higher quality of life and wanting to improve it. Envy is when you are looking to take away from someone who is in the same situation as you. The example the Bible (or catholic school) uses is a man looking at another man’s wife when his own wife loves him very much and is equal to the other woman in every way that is important.

Sloth (aka laziness) isn’t when you’re exhausted or hurting and being too tired to do anything else. Sloth is when one contributed nothing to the work and yet reaps the rewards of the work.

Pride is when you think of yourself of greater than your peers and your fellow humans. Pride is also when you think of yourself greater than God. Pride is not being proud of yourself or others for accomplishing something that was difficult. You are allowed to be proud of your hard work and your accomplishments.

ava-a-eq

Why did a tumblr user just explain an aspect Christianity than all my years of private school and church

kirshnikweesnaw

So basically what I’m hearing is that Jeff Bezos is the embodiment of all seven sins and belongs in hell

neko-mancy

yep

pancakeke

Article 1, article 2.

Tweet 1, tweet 2.

This is bad.

lynati

I have worked for several small businesses; I work for one now. If we have to ship UPS or FedEx because the post office no longer exists, we have to change what we charge for shipping to reflect that.

Depending on where you live, something you used to pay $3 to get will now cost us, and therefore YOU, $10-$15 to ship.

This isn't just death the small businesses, this is damaging for everyone who currently has to order things by mail.

Use THAT when you call your senators. If they don't support saving the post office, ask them why the hate small businesses and want to see hundreds of thousands of them fail over the next few months.

alphashrooms-deactivated2021022

Turns out they're even REMOVING MAIL DROP BOXES. It was recently confirmed that 4 have already been removed within Portland and 27!!! have been removed from Eugene here in Oregon. I've heard nothing about removing them from smaller towns though which means they are targeting areas with largely democratic populations.

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Milk Tea Magical Girl Extraordinaire