Cat: Yes, this is very nice, but where’s the plain cardboard box it came in?

I know this is just a meme, but I’ve been in therapy for three years and I’m still a mess. But I am slightly less of a mess than I was three years ago, and it took three years of therapy for me to realize that’s good. Maybe not better than yesterday or a week ago, but definitely better most days now than most days last year. Progress is progress, so take credit when you have some.

When I was younger, I assumed that trans people wanted to transition because they felt their personality wasn’t their “assigned at birth” sex. And thus, because of society’s expectations that “men should dress and act this way” and “women have to do/be this,” a lot of people who didn’t meet that would be trans. But as I met and talked to more people, both trans and agender/genderfluid/etc., it does seem like those with body dysphoria actually feel uncomfortable in their bodies, and want a different body. But I’ve never actually asked any trans friends about it, because it does feel too personal, even though some of them are very good friends.

So, my question: if there were no gender norms or societal expectations, would you still want to transition? Would that answer change if surgery/hormones aren’t desired, and you instead do want to keep the body you were born with?

Headline could be misleading, but it basically means that (according to one independent analysis) China’s emissions have just stopped growing this year. They are still the world’s largest contributor by far. This hilariously optimistic chart from the same site shows them relative to the US and almost all of Europe:

Still, not gonna knock what is good news, or at least “better than the alternative” news

This sounds insane, but I’m absolutely fascinated by it. I just ran out of cottage cheese yesterday, but I’m going to try making these later this week!

She seems so sweet and is so pretty! I had a black cat growing up, and they’re just so adorable

Fantastisch Geschichte! Diese Katzen sind schön, und ich liebe, dass so vielen Katzen Lilly heißt. Meine Eltern hatten ein dreifarbige (Calico) Katze, und sie war ganz süß. Ich vermisse sie sehr. Mein Bruder hat sie “Snickers” genannt, wie die Süßigkeiten.

Also, vielen Dank für das Schrieben auf Deutsch. Ich spreche Englisch und lerne Deutsch, und es ist sehr hilfreich, die Übersetzung zu sehen. “Er ist ganz schön dehnbar” = “He’s a stretchy boy”, LOL. Es tut mir leid für mein schlechtes Deutsch.

Despair.com (apparently still around!) was my go-to back in the day for those