u/Lady-Velvety

I want to preface this by saying I’m an apprentice myself. I’m currently completing my embalming apprenticeship at a central care center with several other apprentices. I’m the newest one there, but I’ve completed a few embalmings elsewhere.

One thing I’ve noticed is that many of the other apprentices seem eager to take control and give me unsolicited advice. They frequently try to correct or teach me, and on a few occasions, the licensed embalmers have even had to tell them to stop.

I completely understand that I’m new, and I’m always open to learning. I appreciate advice, but it feels odd coming from other apprentices. It doesn’t really seem like their role, so I try to tune it out and focus on what my licensed preceptors are teaching me.

Is this a common attitude among apprentices, or is it just the environment I’m in? How do I handle this?

I am trying to find somewhere to study late into the evening, 8-9 PM. The public library downtown is, I guess, closed for renovations.

Any other suggestions? Just needs to be quiet with an outlet, and a comfortable place to sit.

I typically always ask my professors if they do grade rounding, just in case. It, often but not all the time, works out in my favor bumping Bs to As and A- to A+.

I’ve only recently wondered if this was a nuisance or if it made professors roll their eyes.

Personally, if I were a professor, I’d do the typical .5% rounding. But, that’s just me! It definitely gives me a happiness boost after the stress of finals.

What is everyone’s thoughts?

I’m proud of myself regardless. I had never taken a Chemistry course prior, not even in high-school.

So coming in to a notoriously difficult class with no foundation and still coming out with a 91% is pretty awesome. Yay for me!

But, I gotta be honest, it is a little frustrating that I was 1% off from an A. But it is what it is.

Anyone else’s school use this grading scale? For my bachelors degree, 90% was an A-.

I recently attended a state convention for funeral directors where we had a guest speaker. He was a director who felt very strongly about embalming and wanted to preserve the practice as much as possible during the rise of direct cremation.

He told us a story of a mother and father who came in for arrangements after tragically losing their 18 year old son in a car wreck. They wanted direct cremation. Were adamant about no embalming, viewing, etc.

He listened, did the arrangements, was willing to do a direct cremation. But at the end, knelt down beside the mother and asked, “Do you want to see your son one last time?”. The mother did not know this was possible and had just assumed due to the nature of his death, a viewing was not possible.

Of course, through restoration, they were able to hold a viewing and the mother ended up being incredibly grateful. They even ended up doing a traditional burial following the viewing.

He ended this story talking about how funeral directors forget that they are professionals, with a license, who, throughout experience, may know what families need better than they do.

He stated, “Families view us as the experts. And although they have the final say, we are allowed to make suggestions or help them think about alternatives. Direct cremation is a valid choice, but I believe some people are choosing this option because they are simply misinformed”.

He even suggested we start asking “Why not?” to families who do not want a viewing or embalming.

What are everyone’s thoughts on this?

My boyfriend (26M) and I (23F) have been together 2.5 years. We have a healthy relationship, and everything is pretty good minus this one issue.

He has misphonia, which is when the sound of chewing triggers extreme emotional reactions. It’s bad. He has to leave the room sometimes. He gets angry. He even has gotten sick a few times. He also has a habit of projecting onto me and blaming me (even though he has this problem with EVERYONE).

It’s gotten to the point where I don’t feel comfortable eating in front of him at all. Yet, he gets upset when I don’t want to eat dinner together.

Also, it has made me scared to eat in front of anyone. His reactions to my chewing have made me so self conscious, that I’m scared someone will yell at me if I chew in front of them.

I cannot live with this, but it’s not enough to break things off. That’s ridiculous!

So, how do I handle this? I know this is a very real disorder and I know it’s just as frustrating for him.