S★

[S★ @xxyllinn]

Being "Salary" is just a legal way for a company to own your evenings and weekends for free. You aren't a professional; you're just a subscriber-based service for your boss, and they’ve opted for the "Unlimited" plan.

[Mars @fwmarszn]

Hiring has little to do with talent. Large firms reward those who mirror yesterday’s safe hires, not tomorrow’s edge. Conformity reliably trumps originality. Bureaucracy fears breakthroughs more than bad hires. Predictability is prized over potential.

[𝕭𝖊𝖓𝖓𝖎𝖊✨ @Bennieeexyz]

He kept playing the same two broken chords in the guitar store like he was trying to open a locked door.

Not a song exactly. Just the start of one.

Wrong.

Then again.

Wrong the same way.

I was there buying strings and trying not to make eye contact, but after the fifth attempt the kid at the counter gave me that look people give in public when they're hoping someone else handles it.

The guy was maybe seventy. Windbreaker, white hair, reading glasses halfway down his nose, holding a cheap acoustic like it had offended him.

Him: That can't be right.

Sales Guy: We do lessons on Wednesdays.

Him: I don't need lessons. I need this one part before dinner.

I walked over.

Me: What are you trying to play?

Him: You Are My Sunshine.

Me: That's a rough way to start learning guitar.

Him: I'm noticing.

He handed me the guitar.

Him: Can you do the first bit?

I played it slow. Nothing fancy. Just enough that it sounded like an actual song.

His whole face changed.

Him: That's it. That's the thing.

Me: You trying to learn for somebody?

He nodded once.

Him: My wife.

Then he looked down at the strings.

Him: She moved into memory care in February. Most days she thinks I'm her brother or the mailman.

Me: (quietly) I'm sorry.

Him: Yesterday I was leaving and one of the aides was humming this to her. My wife joined in. Knew every word. Then she looked at me and said you used to play this terribly.

Me: Did you?

Him: Never touched a guitar in my life.

I laughed before I could stop myself. He did too.

Him: I think she mixed me up with somebody from 1968, but it's the first funny thing she's said in months, so now I have to learn it terribly by dinner.

I showed him the three chords on the back of my receipt.

He tried them. His fingers landed like falling furniture.

Him: My hands feel like bratwursts.

Me: Good. Bratwursts can learn.

For twenty minutes we worked on just the first verse. The sales kid tuned the guitar for free and threw in a pick without saying anything.

A week later I went back for strings I forgot the first time.

He was there again.

Same windbreaker. Same guitar.

This time he got through the whole chorus.

Him: Saw her Tuesday.

Me: How'd it go?

Him: She listened the whole time. Then she said I still played it terribly.

Me: That's progress.

He smiled and put the pick in his shirt pocket.

Him: Best review I've had in fifty-two years of marriage.

[6ɪx✦ @ok6ixx]

Found out my grandma has been catfishing my grandpa for eight months. They're married. They live together. She made a fake Facebook account as a woman named "Dorothy" and has been leaving flirty comments on all his posts. My grandpa has been LOVING it, showing everyone "look what Dorothy said about my tomatoes!" My aunt discovered it by accident and asked grandma why, and she said "your grandfather stopped trying to impress me, so I decided to become my own competition." The absolutely insane part? It's working. He's been dressing better, doing his hair, posting more pictures, talking about his hobbies more. He told my dad he "still loves your mother of course, but it's nice to feel appreciated by the ladies." My grandma just sips her tea and leaves more comments. Dorothy thinks his garage organization is "very attractive in a man." We've all agreed to take this to our graves.

[marqix ☆ @fwmarqix]

My wife and I went to couples therapy once and got banned for arguing with the therapist.

We weren't even having serious problems. My wife read an article that said "maintenance therapy" was good for marriages, like an oil change for your relationship.

I said sure.

The therapist's name was Dr. Linda. She had a soothing voice and a lot of plants.

She asked us to describe our communication styles.

My wife said, "I'm direct, He avoids conflict."

I said, "I don't avoid conflict. I just don't see the point in arguing about where to put the dish rack."

"That wasn't about the dish rack," my wife said.

"It was literally about the dish rack."

Dr. Linda raised a hand. "Let's pause. I'm hearing some tension around household tasks."

"There's no tension," I said. "The dish rack is fine."

"It's not fine," my wife said. "It blocks the window."

"It's been there for six years."

"And I've hated it for six years."

Dr. Linda said, "This is good. We're getting to the root."

We were not getting to the root. We were getting to the dish rack.

Things escalated.

My wife brought up the time I threw away her "good Tupperware."

I said it was cracked.

She said it was vintage.

I said you can't have vintage Tupperware.

She said I clearly don't understand value.

Dr. Linda tried to intervene. "Let's take a breath."

Neither of us took a breath.

We started tag teaming Dr. Linda.

She suggested we try "I feel" statements.

My wife said, "I feel like he doesn't listen."

I said, "I feel like she keeps score."

Dr. Linda said, "Let's not use this as a weapon."

I said, "I feel like this isn't helping."

Dr. Linda blinked.

My wife said, "I actually agree with My husband."

That was the first time we'd agreed in forty-five minutes.

Dr. Linda said, "Perhaps you're not ready for this process."

I said, "Or maybe the process isn't working."

My wife said, "That's what I was thinking."

We both looked at Dr. Linda.

She looked at us.

"I think," she said slowly, "we should end the session early."

We never went back.

On the drive home, my wife said, "That was actually fun."

I said, "Fighting with her?"

"No, Fighting with you, Against her."

I thought about it.

"We make a good team," I said.

"We do."

We moved the dish rack when we got home.

Not because we resolved anything.

Just because it felt like a win.

We've been married 30 years.

I think the secret is having a common enemy.

Even if it's a therapist.

[Neon @fw_Neon]

Bitch, if your name ain't zaza, marijuana, don't get loud with me.🤤

[S★ @xxyllinn]

Being "Salary" is just a legal way for a company to own your evenings and weekends for free. You aren't a professional; you're just a subscriber-based service for your boss, and they’ve opted for the "Unlimited" plan.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

There is no "Labor Shortage." There is a "willingness to be exploited for $12 an hour" shortage. People aren't lazy; they just realized that working 40 hours a week should at least cover the cost of existing.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

There is no "Labor Shortage." There is a "willingness to be exploited for $12 an hour" shortage. People aren't lazy; they just realized that working 40 hours a week should at least cover the cost of existing.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

The most unrealistic thing about movies from the 90s isn't the sci-fi gadgets; it’s the fact that the main character has a massive apartment in Manhattan while working as a part-time freelance florist. That’s the real fantasy now.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

The most unrealistic thing about movies from the 90s isn't the sci-fi gadgets; it’s the fact that the main character has a massive apartment in Manhattan while working as a part-time freelance florist. That’s the real fantasy now.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

We replaced "Community" with "Content." We don't talk to our neighbors anymore; we just watch videos of other people talking to their neighbors. We’re more "connected" than ever and yet somehow the loneliest generation in history.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

We replaced "Community" with "Content." We don't talk to our neighbors anymore; we just watch videos of other people talking to their neighbors. We’re more "connected" than ever and yet somehow the loneliest generation in history.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

LinkedIn is the most haunting place on the internet. It’s just thousands of people in suits pretending they’re "humbled and honored" to have been laid off, or posting "7 things my toddler taught me about B2B sales." It’s a digital fever dream.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

LinkedIn is the most haunting place on the internet. It’s just thousands of people in suits pretending they’re "humbled and honored" to have been laid off, or posting "7 things my toddler taught me about B2B sales." It’s a digital fever dream.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

Why do "Smart" appliances need an app? I don't need my washing machine to send a push notification to my phone while I’m at dinner. Just beep when the clothes are done. We are over-engineering ourselves into a headache.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

Why do "Smart" appliances need an app? I don't need my washing machine to send a push notification to my phone while I’m at dinner. Just beep when the clothes are done. We are over-engineering ourselves into a headache.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

Dating apps aren't designed to find you a partner; they’re designed to keep you on the app. A "success story" is a lost customer. Once you realize the business model relies on your loneliness, the whole thing feels a lot more sinister.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

Dating apps aren't designed to find you a partner; they’re designed to keep you on the app. A "success story" is a lost customer. Once you realize the business model relies on your loneliness, the whole thing feels a lot more sinister.

[S★ @xxyllinn]

We’re building AI to write poetry and paint pictures so that humans can keep working in warehouses and call centers. We literally did the future backwards. The robots should be doing the spreadsheets while we do the art.