I resent the insinuation that this has anything to do with my driving ability. — Disclaimer: This tweet by Twitter User @CTWarriorMonkey inspired the following story. Their tweet compiled a list of side effects people reported after receiving the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines against COVID-19. Please remember that correlation does not equal causation. Thank you for reading. Hi. My name is Jimmy. I want to…

My partner’s daily little act of love. — The first gift I ever bought my mom with my own money was a magnet with a coffee pot on it that said, “Is there life before coffee?” Mornings have always been a struggle for me. Maybe it’s because no one in my family has ever been a morning person…

We’re all addicted to hope. — “We’re all addicted to hope — hope that the doubt and mystery will go away.” — Pema Chödrön My partner convulsed on our bathroom floor for several minutes before I stopped panicking long enough to call an ambulance. As I was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, he finally…

Animals can teach humans valuable lessons about coping with mental illness. — My beloved cat Calvin came centimeters away from blinding me with his claws. There’s a cool scar under my left eye as a reminder each time I see my reflection. As I mentioned in another piece, Calvin’s semi-regular attacks landed me in both the minor med and the hospital. When…

What Feline Redirected Aggression is and how to deal with it. — I had to lock myself in a room to write this. My cat, Calvin, chased me in here, trying to attack me. Calvin has sent me to the minor med twice and the hospital once. I have scars on my body that will always be there — including one from…

Slow progress is still progress — appreciate yours. — Sometimes it’s fun to ask yourself random questions and try to figure out the answers. Recently, when I felt frustrated with how slowly my career is progressing, I asked myself, “how can I be more patient with myself as I pursue my goals?” Maybe you’ve asked yourself that too —…

It’s all about the three C’s — comfort, control, and catharsis. — The first Halloween costume I ever chose for myself was the Grim Reaper. Being surrounded by the other Kindergarten girls dressed as Disney princesses didn’t deter me or make me feel left out in the slightest. …

Plus, an easy solution for referring to strangers or new acquaintances without asking for pronouns — or assuming anyone’s gender. — As a Southerner, if I introduced myself to someone new and told them my pronouns were they/them, they would probably look at me like I had said, “I just flew in from the Moon.” Wild, considering the existence of the gender-neutral word “y’all,” we use so much down here. Still…

Sometimes the best stuff in life comes from surviving the worst. — A few years ago, I spent two years working for my local Home Depot’s HVAC contractor as a lead generator. If you don’t know, lead generators are those annoying salespeople in khakis and monogrammed polo shirts who approach homeowners to convince them to schedule free in-home estimates. You know —…