share your own stories if you like!

  • the_itsb [she/her, comrade/them]
    ·
    5 months ago

    This Christmas, my friendly neighbor said that when he shared with his wife the cookies I made for them, she said, "Wow! They're all so perfectly shaped."

    ???

    Not that they taste good or were baked well - they're visually uniform!

    🤦🤷😂 k ty

    idk if I will make cookies for anyone but my household and strangers next year. I wish I had given the neighbors' batch to the trash men, they're always super excited when I leave them gifts.

    • context [fae/faer, fae/faer]
      hexagon
      M
      ·
      5 months ago

      I wish I had given the neighbors' batch to the trash men, they're always super excited when I leave them gifts.

      rat-salute unironically all glory and honor to the members of our neighborhood hygiene services!

      • the_itsb [she/her, comrade/them]
        ·
        5 months ago

        For real though. If you like giving gifts, especially surprise ones, sanitation workers and deliveryfolk are fun targets. When I leave a plate of treats out for them, the trash guys honk a bunch and hoot and holler as they leave my driveway 😂🥰 so cute, I love them.

  • Llituro [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    5 months ago

    that hits home for me. I require a lot of assurance and validation, and the last person I worked for gave all the same responses whether I did something great or if I fucked something up. Like working for a vampire.

  • idkmybffjoeysteel [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    Oh my god I have had a similar experience with a recruiter where they emailed me that my work experience was outstanding (missing from the form) and I replied THANKS

  • Graphite22 [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    My sister used to help me so much when it came to my writing skills. I'd ship off some whack, disorganized mess of a short story to her all the damn time. She'd always build me up with all the good stuff like what works as a plot, memorable dialogue, or even just a solid flowing description. So much good was amplified and I felt like I was shining so bright, just in that moment.

    She'd then wait like two days later and come crashing down on me with the scorn of the grammar pantheon of the english language. Every nitpick, missed comma, bad quotation, poorly constructed sentence and so much more was shoved in my face. She told me my shit was good but it could be great. Go fix it. You bet I jumped right on that with the follow up drafts. I kept thinking about how good can become better all the time because she put so much emphasis it. The negativity didn't mean anything because I could see potential, I just had to be told it's there.

    Some people wield validation and criticism like surgery tools and they know just what to do at any given time. On the other hand, some people got that hammer and bonesaw approach (sometimes incidentally like me lol) and it's not very effective and eventually just not fun to live like like that for anyone.

    There's probably a real reason why I almost stopped writing for the longest time. I'd guess it's just not very inspiring when someone says, "I liked it." with no follow up. I don't need editing help, I need to know if it's "good and can be great"!