u/throwaway-73829

I'm going to a convention this weekend and just left the house. Leaving and locking the door was so hard, and I keep thinking about his little face looking at me through the window. I made sure to put away anything that he might chew on and kept the blinds open on his favourite window, but I'm worried he's going to get lonely even though I have someone going over to feed him twice a day

I got him in March and we've barely been apart since. I'm chronically ill and unable to work, so I'm home 99% of the time, aside from a few hours a week for physical therapy and the occasional day trip to the city for tests. He's never been separated from me for more than a day, and never overnight since I got him. Before me he was a barn cat and he's completely changed since then and become super cuddly and always wants attention, which I don't mind at all but makes me worried for this weekend

It's only going to be one night since we're coming home tomorrow and I know I sound ridiculous but idk I can't stop worrying. I'm worried he'll think I'm not coming back or something. I think I'll probably miss him more than he'll miss me to be honest 😅

Is there any advice anyone has on how to make stuff like this easier going forward? I feel like it would be less of an issue if I worked or wasn't at home in bed most of the time, but yeah. Basically looking for any advice on how to make him feel comfortable and safe if I have to leave like this again, as well as myself as a nervous first time pet owner

*you can probably do this with literally any electrolyte drink mix, I just had a lot of liquid IV and it's what I usually use so that's what's in the recipe

I got an old koolaid/jello popsicle recipe from my Mom and modified it to be less sugar and include my electrolytes. Please be aware that this uses gelatin so may not be safe for everyone depending on dietary restrictions!!

ALSO PLEASE NOTE: the number of Liquid IV packets you'll use depends on your popsicle molds!!! Mine make 12 popsicles so I can have 3 per day to get the daily dose of electrolytes without going over

INGREDIENTS (for 12 popsicles)

• 3 packets of Liquid IV (I use strawberry and passion fruit)
• 1 packet of gelatin
• 500mL (2 cups) boiling water
• 355mL (1.5 cups) CHILLED juice (I use strawberry kiwi for this recipe)
• Optional: extra salt, I put as much as I can without being able to taste too much which ends up usually being around 0.5-1 tsp

0. BOIL 500mL of water
1. WHILE WATER IS BOILING, mix electrolyte powder, gelatin, and salt into a mixing bowl
2. Add 500mL boiling water, stirring constantly until all powder/salt is dissolved
3. Add juice, stirring constantly
4. Once all ingredients are fully combined, pour mixture into popsicle molds
5. Freeze overnight
6. Enjoy!!! For this recipe, eat a MAX of 3 popsicles per day

Diagnosed a few years ago, I'm trying to figure out if this is a POTS thing or see if anyone has any advice

I get REALLY BAD sugar cravings. Think like, on the verge of tears, heart rate spiking, temperature regulation going out the window. I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth but it's really gotten bad. It's not all the time or anything, they seem to come on at random. I'm going to try to keep track of them to see if there's a pattern but haven't yet.

Is this something anyone here has experience with?

TLDR: roommate invited me to a party in front of my mother, then uninvited me when we were alone and left me in a bad part of the city at night, where a strange man then tried to lure me into his car. I lived 👍

This happened several years ago, on the day I moved into an apartment in a big city.

I had already met my roommate, "Stella," a few months prior to moving in. We were going to the same post-secondary school and were both too young to qualify for the roommate matching service the school offered, so we got an apartment together. Stella was in a different program than me and started a few months before I did, so she lived alone in the apartment for a bit while she started school.

Stella seemed nice. She was personable and agreeable when I'd met her, and while my mom helped me unpack my things on the night I moved in, we were all chatting and laughing. She mentioned that she was going to a party later, and asked me if I wanted to come.

To be clear: I did NOT ask her if I could tag along. I'm very socially awkward and would rather swallow a fork than ask someone to take me on an outing they were planning already. Stella mentioned the party, then asked me, and I, excited that we were already getting along so well, said yes.

As soon as we got outside, Stella changed. Where the three of us had been having casual conversation before, now I was suddenly doing all the talking, and her responses were getting shorter and shorter. We walked to the train station in increasing silence, and as soon as we got there, Stella turns around, looks me in the eye, and says: "Well, bye."

Confused, I asked her, "Weren't we going to the party?"

"I'M going to the party," she said. "You can...just do whatever."

And then she was gone. I remember just standing there, completely stunned, for several minutes before shaking myself out of it and leaving the station.

It would have been bad enough if that was the end of it. But, this was my first night in a huge city. It was already dark out. And I was a very nervous, very autistic teenager who was suddenly alone in the middle of the night in a pretty notoriously bad part of the city.

I started to walk home. Before anyone comments that I could've got an Uber: I know that now. At the time, I could barely think and had never used a service like that in my life, never caught a taxi on my own, and still reeling from the shock. I also know now that I must have looked incredibly vulnerable, which is probably why a nice car pulled to a stop beside me while I was waiting for the crosswalk. The window rolled down, and the driver called over to me that I looked lost, and asked if I wanted a ride.

Luckily, I wasn't COMPLETELY naive, and I told him I was walking to meet up with my boyfriend and brothers (which was a super obvious lie now that I look back on it), which was enough of a deterrent to get the guy - who had been getting increasingly pushy as I tried to respond - to get lost. I managed to get home without further incident and went to bed.

Sorry if this seems a bit scattered - it was a while ago, and some of the details are lost to time and my deteriorating memory. Stella continued to be progressively more awful, doing things like giving her friend my umbrella (who then proceeded to break it), insult my mental illness, and lose her keys and refuse to get another set while forcing me to come home at her beck and call to let her in. Eventually she stopped paying her part of the rent, leading to a confrontation between her dad and mine that I wasn't there for, and then COVID happened and she went home. Still, none of the little digs and jabs and gross things shock me as much as the absolute audacity she had to invite me to a party in front of my mom and then leave me in a train station alone. We haven't spoken since COVID and I'm much happier and more confident now. Thanks for reading!