There was a weekend in 2006 where I had absolutely nothing to do despite a full schedule for months on either side. I stayed in my apartment and played video games and just existed happily without being molested for three whole days.

I have had children and received promotions and all of that, but all of those experiences are laced with a bit of anxiety. That weekend though was just pure, light joy for three days and it is something I revisit mentally, constantly. Make sure to enjoy those little times too.

Well I use mine every night and sleep fine. I could also be a robot as you suggest too.

Check out bone conduction headphones.

The audio quality is not the best but it more than enough for podcasts or youtube content. They are much more comfortable for me as long as the volume is relatively low or else the vibration starts to become annoying. I would recommend trying them out if you can from a friend or order some expecting to return them because they aren’t for everyone but if you are like me you won’t want to use anything else.

I went to a John Kerry Rally in 2004. I got there about 30 minutes late and for whatever reason was ushered up to the front corral of people. Inexplicably, Bon Jovi takes the stage and shouts, “You what George Bush’s financial policy is? Bad Medicine!” and launches into the song ‘Bad Medicine’. I started laughing my ass off because it was corny as shit and Bon Jovi and I made eye contact for a brief second.

YMMV

It’s referencing the final scene of The Graduate (1967). You can watch it here..

I didn’t realize they actually used the exact church. Wayne’s World 2 scene for reference

One day a coworker of mine was walking into our huge office building and thought he saw a mitten on the ground of the lobby. When he picked it up it was actually a pair of lacy women’s underwear. Ostensibly it fell out of someone’s gym bag or got caught in their pant leg in the laundry and dislodged there. He drops it immediately and comes into the office. He doesn’t mention this to anyone.

Two hours later the main receptionist comes in with the underwear in front of our whole group and says she saw him drop these this morning and she wants to return them. He’s denying the whole thing and at this point none of us have the previous context and all locked in to the conversation and silent laughing. She says, “We just want to give these back in case they have sentimental value!” and the the whole group is dying laughing now. He eventually convinces her he isn’t interested in a stranger’s underwear (which she bare handing) to which she says she’ll keep them in case he changes his mind (???).

It’s been 5 years and it gets brought up nearly daily

Oh yeah, it wouldn’t fit the prompt but it’s a banger of a song is all.

Mute City is amazing but Big Blue is just so good.

I just replayed ALttP again using the Randomizer mod where it changes the location of all the items while making sure the game can be completed. The score of that game is incredible.

A few from my grandfather and father which aren’t unique to them but aren’t universal:

1. “red as a smacked ass” or just “smacked ass” - referring to someone who is embarrassed so their face is flushed or generally just a fool
2. “Born on Wednesday looking both ways for the weekend” - someone with a lazy eye
3. “Scissor grinder” - aggravating person, or someone who inserts themselves into other’s business. Ostensibly referring to a person who travels offering sharpening services because they come by unannounced and make a lot of noise in the street.

Related, but not a saying, we had a family tradition at Easter where my grandparents/parents would put all the egg dyes together and dye a final egg a murky brown. That egg was given to the kid with the worst behavior over the last year. It was called the “pissmuckle” egg. There was no discussion after you got it either or any punishment, it was just a censure.

The two songs that I remember being awestruck by were:

1. Gerudo Valley from Ocarina of Time on the N64, and
2. Cosmo Canyon from FF7 on the PS1

On my 8th birthday my dad took a couple friends and I out to dinner and we stopped to buy a video game. My friends and I were arguing about what to get and my dad came by a couple times to get us to hurry up. Finally he said we had to make a decision and ushered us up to the cashier.

As soon as the cashier started to talk a truck off the highway that was above the store crashed through the side wall of the shop with enough speed to hit through every aisle and collapse all the shelving to the back as well as ripping down the ceiling. The guy was covered in blood and slumped over the wheel. No one was hurt in the store luckily, but we all would have been killed if we argued any longer in that aisle. My dad just got us into the car and we drove home. Afterward my dad would just downplay it whenever I would bring it up.

When I was in secondary school I had to fill out a form over the summer to be allowed to leave early for some school activities. The form required a coach or teacher’s signature. Since it was the summer, I had no contact with any faculty so I had my parents call the coach who told me to sign the form for him, which I did and I turned it in. Unfortunately, that coach left before the beginning of the year so when school started I was called to the principal’s office and accused of forging his signature. I told the principal the coach told me to, so it wasn’t a forgery, I was signing on his behalf, and I even put that on the form. He ended up calling the coach and he even confirmed but at that point he didn’t want to back down and still denied the request.

After I left the two older ladies that ran the office found me and told me they just approved it after he left for the day and he would never know. They were super nice and told me they were proud of me for sticking up for myself. As a barely out of primary school kid it was really intimidating to be yelled at by an adult but I felt so vindicated when they recognized the inequity of the situation and helped me.

That principal ended up only lasting a year too.

Mentor children.

It only takes about an hour a week and once you establish a relationship with them you just bring them along when you are doing something fun anyway. You feel a sense of purpose and they fare better in nearly every measurable statistic of emotional well being and academic success. Men in particular are needed to mentor young men and can have the greatest impact. Many organization will match you with a kid who has your same interests too so you’re just doing stuff you both like. I really can’t recommend it enough.

Yes, without a warrant. It’s in the Privacy Notice in any retail pharmacy.

Impersonating a cop is a pretty big step that’s illegal in its own right but we did have moms trying to see if their adult daughter was on birth control, but that’s pretty easy to stop. Just lock their profile and ask the patient to make up a passcode or only deal with them in person.

Yeah, I didn’t say any of that but ok. HIPAA/employers actually requires you do give law enforcement information in a variety of situations, including specifically the situation I mentioned:

To report PHI that the covered entity in good faith believes to be evidence of a crime that occurred on the covered entity’s premises (45 CFR 164.512(f)(5)).

HHS - When does the Privacy Rule allow covered entities to disclose information to law enforcement

I worked at a pharmacy and the only time it actually happened was when a patient tried to sell their Vicodin to an undercover cop outside the store. The cop came in and asked for the information about the prescription and we gave it to him.