have i ever told y’all the story about how a snake knew I was trans years before I did
okay so
my 7th grade social studies/8th grade science teacher (he did both classes. Somehow…) had a snake lovingly named Hisser. Hisser would occasionally be taken out to crawl and he was held by kids and when there were fire alarms Hisser was taken along, usually to his chagrin.
This was one of those days where we had in class work time and most of us were just chilling and so Mr. A got Hisser out and started passing him around.
Every girl student that he came to, he would immediately snuggle up to, wrap around their arms, and get cozy. With boy students, he would just sort of sit in the coiled lump that he’d been handed in. This was true with just about every single student, and Mr. A said that Hisser likes girls a lot better than guys and this has been thoroughly proven by Hisser’s attitude.
Then Hisser was handed to me. He was a loveable cold scaley rope as you would expect, but he didn’t coil around my arms. He didn’t get cozy. He just sat there. And Mr. Anderson said, “Huh. That’s weird. He usually likes girls.”
I passed the snake to my friend and surely enough, Hisser wrapped around her arms and got cozy.
I came out as a trans guy about 7-8 years later, and just recently realized that Hisser was right about me not being a girl all along.
I’ve also decided that whenever anyone asks me “Why I think I’m a boy,” which is my LEAST favorite question ever, I’ll just tell them that a snake told me a long time ago.
I just had a straight guy tell me “Gah I love lesbians” and before I could even say anything, he added, “because, ya know, they like the same thing I do and sometimes it’s nice to get advice from a girl instead of guys who think making love is just repeatedly putting your dick in something, ya know?” And I have never been more proud of the human race.
I feel like I should make a post about this because it’s not something that’s very well-known, and that Americans in particular may need to know about given the uncertain state of our healthcare system at the moment. I’ve wanted to write this out for a while, It’s kind of a long post, so sorry about that!
If you have an emergency and have to go to the hospital, you’ll owe the hospital a lot of money. (I got into a car wreck and broke my ankle and my arm. My hospital bill was around $20,000)
You’ll also owe the ambulance provider, if you need one. (My ambulance bill was about $800)
You may get separate bills from the anesthesiologist or surgeon. (My anesthesiologist bill was $1,700)
You may need follow-up appointments. (My orthopedic surgeon billed me for the appointments and his surgery together and it was about $1,000)
You’ve also got to pay for medical equipment you need afterward, like crutches or a walking boot. (Mine cost about $75)
Altogether, I ended up with almost $24,000 in medical debt from one car accident. That’s a really scary number for someone like me who makes $10/hr at a 12 hour a week job.
I got my debt down to $1075 by making some phone calls and submitting some paperwork.
The first thing I did was contact the hospital. They don’t make it easy to find, but many hospitals (perhaps most hospitals?) have financial assistance programs for people who can’t afford medical bills. I don’t make a lot of money, and I have bills to pay, so they were able to help me. I called the billing department and asked if they had any assistance programs for low income people who can’t pay their bills. I had to call multiple times, and I got transferred in circles by people who didn’t know what I was talking about. Finally, I got an appointment with someone in “Eligibility Services” (I don’t know what other hospitals call it, if it’s something different). I had to bring my pay stubs and copies of all of my bills. When I got to the hospital for the appointment, nobody knew what I was talking about so I had to wander a little to find where I needed to go. I spoke with the guy in Eligibility Services, and I waited for a decision on how much of the bill they would forgive. A month later, I got a call telling me it was totally forgiven.
I did the same thing for my ambulance bill and my anesthesiologist, but the process was a LOT easier. I just had to mail some paperwork and it was totally forgiven.
I didn’t bother with the medical equipment suppliers, since the bills came from separate companies and I didn’t feel like going through the process twice for $75. I was assured at the hospital that they had similar programs for debt forgiveness, so I could have probably avoided paying that too.
The only thing I couldn’t get taken care of was the surgeon/follow-up appointment cost, but they were able to put me on a no-interest payment plan.
Medical debt is scary because it’s something that can come from stuff that’s already really scary. I didn’t need the burden of $24,000 in debt on top of trying to get around on a crutch with a broken arm (it’s not easy, believe me!).. but I can’t imagine what it would be like with a bigger debt or a more severe medical emergency. I see lots of people in even worse trouble than I was in, both financially and medically. Please know that there are options for you when that GoFundMe doesn’t do enough. Even if your income is higher than mine, it’s worth a shot even for partial debt forgiveness.
I am about 900% sure there are people who don`the know this.
PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU LIVE IN AMERICA AND HAVE MEDICAL BILLS
i still can’t believe that the incredibles is likely set in the 1960s
the entire film is designed with classic 50s-60s art styles, a lot of the interior design of the parr household is in 60s style, fashion is generally reminiscent of the 60s, in the beginning of the film all the photographs and video are grainy and shot in 60s style, the technology in bob’s office is very dated, when edna is going on her “no capes” rant she cites superheroes who died from cape designs and says their deaths were in the 50s, all the cars in the film have 60s models, any advanced tech we really see is seemingly kept secret from the general public, here’s a newspaper from the film:
may 16th, 1962
some people are saying that the technology on bob’s desk was too advanced for the 1960s but not really, in the 60s computers DID exist they were just big and bulky and small screened, which matches bob’s:
you could argue that some of the fashion isn’t very realistic to the 60s as some of the women wear pants, but women did wear pants in the 60s even if it wasn’t common. as for the mens fashion, it’s kinda spot on. the business suits with short sleeved button ups and skinny black ties, the turtlenecks, and for more dressed down looks wearing a t-shirt and jeans isn’t very unrealistic (and that little boy on the red tricycle, wearing a baseball cap, and chewing bubble gum is like classic 60s imagery)
some outfits were likely oversights and/or them not wanting the time period to be too glaring. the sequel looks like they’re going to be making the womens wardrobe fit the stereotypical 60s timeframe better, as you can see in the trailer:
the writer and director of the incredibles has even said that he based the film on classic 60s superheroes and comics like god guys please use google search, why would i lie about this
Also in the original version of Syndrome meeting the kids he didn’t say the “Busy” line he says “I didn’t think they let you guys breed?!” Which, aside from being incredibly dark all on its own, suggests that America took fascist measures to control the populace of superhumans, making Bob’s struggle to keep the family hidden and everyone’s elation at Jack Jack not having powers utterly depressing ALSO the age of Violet puts the prologue scene somewhere in the 40s which forces the viewer to consider two possibilities, one that World War 2 never happened because of the existence of superheroes in America as a deterrent or two that superheroes were created by America as a weapon for use in the second world war
This is now officially an Addams family appreciation post
In order to depict such purity and love in a m/f relationship, one must first set the foundation that these people are odd and not the norm. (per media standards)
They cared about their children, their children’s interests, and wanted the kids to always be true to themselves. How peculiar!
Gomez and Morticia never showed negative jealousy towards each other’s past love interests. Even going to far as complimenting them for being special to their true love. How bizarre!
They could forgive almost any character flaw in a friend or relative. The only thing that could not be forgiven was betrayals and pastels. Weird amirite?
Morticia is a woman’s woman. She allies herself with other women instead of competing with them. She even seeks to understand women different from herself and her beliefs. Strange.
Gomez wants Morticia to have whatever Morticia wants. He doesn’t give her permission, he actively supports her and motivates her. Fa-reaky.
Do you think this show was social commentary, stating that what we believe a normal life is is unattainable so long as we continue living life the way society expects, and when we live life the way we need to is when we live authentically despite what makes us different
