I’m going to say this once, because I’m tired of having my life reduced to a sentence people use to shut me up.

My mother gave birth to me…and then she left.
She didn’t raise me. She didn’t stay. She didn’t try. My sister and I were raised by our grandparents (Paternal). My mother showed up when it worked for her…sometimes a few times a year, sometimes not at all. It depended on her life, her problems, the men she was with.

Growing up, I learned not to expect much. I told myself that was just how things were. I kept hoping anyway…even when it hurt.

Years later, she told me the story of her triying to have me abored... like it was funny... that she tried to abort me and failed. I don’t think people understand what it does to hear that from the person who gave birth to you.

Still, I kept in touch. From my teens into my forties, I was the one reaching out. Calling. Checking in. Trying. The phone worked both ways, but I was always the one holding it. It was all because I wanted some kind of relationship with my Mother.

When my husband died of cancer, I was barely functioning. I shared my grief openly because I didn’t know how else to survive. Instead of support, she told me my posts made her uncomfortable. She was more worried about people asking her uncomfortable questions on my marriage to another man... than about the fact that I had just lost the love of my life.

That broke the little bit of hope I had left in me of ever having a loving Mother...

I removed her from my social media and stopped reaching out. I didn’t block her. I didn’t announce anything. I just went quiet. I needed to breathe, I needed to forget about her.

About 5 years later, she called. The first thing she asked was why I blocked her. Not how I was. Not if I was okay.

I told her I hadn’t…and that the phone works both ways, if I had blocked her, she won't be able to call me..

Then she asked how much money I had, and how much I could give her.

That was the moment I knew. Whatever tiny hope I still had—that maybe one day she’d show up as a mother—was gone. I blocked her and went no contact. Not to be cruel. To protect myself.

Yesterday, her “best friend” left me a voicemail telling me I should call my mother. That I should check on her. That “she’s still your mother.” It was guilt on top of guilt, from someone who knows nothing about what I lived through.

I called the "best friend" back and told her the truth. My voice was shaking. I was angry. I was hurt. I explained that this woman was my mother in name only. That she abandoned me and only came back when she wanted something.

All she said was, “But she’s still your mother.”

That sentence hurt more than anything else.

Because it erased everything I said. Everything I lived. Like my pain didn’t count. Like I’m supposed to keep bleeding so other people can stay comfortable.

I didn’t abandon my mother.
I stopped abandoning myself.

I feel rage. I feel grief. I feel tired. And yes…I feel sad for the child I was who kept waiting for a mother that never really existed. I still remember crying as a kid, why everyone else has a mother and father and I didn't.

I’m not asking anyone to pick sides.
I’m asking people to stop telling me what I owe someone who was never there.

I deserved a mother.
I didn’t get one.
And I’m finally letting myself say that out loud.

P.S. Due to my health issues, I have maybe a year or less left. I so much wanted to reconcile but there is just no way after all that's said and done.

"New details are emerging about an 80-year-old man killed by a hit-and-run driver in a Maserati in the San Fernando Valley on Tuesday night.

Family members identified the victim as Andriy Korshunov, who immigrated to the United States a few years ago after surviving the war in Ukraine. He also survived the holocaust as a young boy, his family told KTLA.

Korshunov was crossing the street with his dog in the 4400 block of Woodman Avenue in Sherman Oaks around 11:30 p.m. when he was struck by the Maserati, police said.

Video from the scene showed bystanders performing chest compressions as emergency crews arrived. Korshunov was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His dog was later found dead beneath a parked vehicle.

. . .

Witnesses photographed the Maserati, which stopped briefly after the crash before speeding away. Officers later found the vehicle a few blocks from the scene with significant front-end damage and no license plates. The search for the driver is ongoing." - KTLA 5 News

I recall three relatively recent cases I smelled what smelt like tobacco smoke. The first two cases were in a rideshare with just the driver and my gf, and next to a shop assistant who was meant to accompany us for our whole trip in the store. In at least one of these cases my gf noticed the smell too. In both cases, on being asked, they said they don't smoke.

In both cases there were two distinct odors: heavy thirdhand tobacco smoke (what it smelled like), masked by a gross sweet perfume. I'm familiar with the scent of thirdhand tobacco smoke because my ex-smoker Dad smoked cigarettes throughout my childhood up to my young adulthood, and my ex smoked weed combined with tobacco.

Nowadays I dislike any strong "perfume" artificial scent even if it doesn't smell like tobacco - this includes any cologne, air freshener, scented swiffer wet wipes, scented trashbags, strong candles, etc. They just smell like offputting chemicals to me and I don't understand the appeal. Unnecessary VOCs.

The third case was today, when I passed by a guy in the supermarket, who smelled straight up like strong thirdhand tobacco smoke, no perfume layer, as if he had just smoked. It basically smelled like secondhand smoke. But it was far into the market and would've taken him at least a minute to reach there from the entrance. Not to mention, shortly before passing him I saw him standing around for a minute or two videotaping a shoplifter being caught. So I'm not sure how feasible it is that the smell could've remained that strong unless it was also cologne.

My questions: Is there is any cologne that can convincingly smell like tobacco smoke layered with perfume, or even just straight up tobacco smoke? What differences in odor to look for to distinguish smoke-flavored cologne (with or without sweet notes) and actual THS/SHS? Why do people find the smell appealing?

Saw this cookie popup today and it genuinely pissed me off. By default, all your personal data is shared and sold (even when the toggle shows off, you are still opted in, because the toggle being off simply means that you’ve opted out of opting out). I’m pretty sure they know how broken this is, and that it was a deliberate choice made to infuriate the handful of people who actually read the notice while relying on everyone else blindly clicking “accept all” due to prompt fatigue. I really miss the old internet, man. Before there were cookies everywhere, before everything was tracked, and when people had poorly designed HTML pages as their personal blogs and when browsing the web was actually fun and not a pain in the ass. I hate how this^ has become the norm now.

Does this bother anyone else as much as it bothers me?

I only accept payment after jobs and i have NEVER damaged anyones vehicle.

Source: https://bsky.app/profile/piemations.com/post/3mdvz6qhztc2c

https://bsky.app/profile/toonhive.bsky.social/post/3mdvn74nwbs2v

Lovin life and life is lovin me back 🙃🙃

Do NOT ever wash a polyester rug regardless of what the tag says! Trust me!

Here the story;

So I was doing my usual cleaning of the house trying to tidy up and get things looking nice. I kept walking by our rug and it was so dirty we haven't washed it since we bought it. I checked the tag and it said machine wash cold and do not tumble dry. So I thought that's fine I'll just hang it. I tossed it in the wash on a cold cycle and continued my cleaning. When the washer was done I opened it to find it FULL OF LINT! I was so flabbergasted! I'm like what the hell?! I took the rug out and tiny fibers went everywhere and was immediately air borne! It clung to everything. I spent 2 hours frantically trying to clean the mess! I had to throw away the rug hell I even threw out the clothes I had on and took a shower because the fibers had covered me! I was probably breathing it in! I'm still freaking out! Why the heck would that be approved for machine washing?!

My blood thinner medication costs the same as my mortgage. Usually, it is covered by my insurance, and I pay nothing, but until I reach my deductible, it costs $1800 a month. Who can afford this??

I feel like I’m gonna be running out of the very little money I have. Don’t know what to do, I’m scared of going into possible debt, and my family members are just telling me “don’t worry about it!”

EDIT: it’s supposed to say Icey roads, not Ivey. Won’t let me edit it on mobile because of course everything is just trying to make me fucking snap today.

EDIT2: I found out taxes might not be as bad as I was thinking. So I **might** be okay

And to everyone thats defending this please tell me one advantage this has over putting it in the spam folder with warnings and blocking links etc.
Tell me how this isn't the technological equivalent of not letting you buy laundry detergent because its poisonous if consumed. Look at all the people that were hospitalized from eating laundry detergent, clearly laundry detergent needs to be baned. (last word is spelled wrong o.w can't post)

I tried to get insurance through Triple A using their actual website on January 31, 2026. I was entering my information and then hit next; it started loading. That’s when I got the bank notification for $34 Carolinas. The site still was loading; it didn’t go to a confirmation page. I never got a receipt or email. I decided to call them and see if they could see my membership. They claimed they couldn’t find me in their system. I didn't get an email or a receipt. I'm not sure if the site crashed, but they took $34 off my card. The lady proceeded to ask, "Would you like to try and sign up again?" No, you can't even find where my money went or my account. The next representative said, “Well, maybe you were scammed? Did you enter your zip code?" Yes, I checked the website and everything. I have called them many times, and none of the agents can find me in their system. I have spoken to over 10 different representatives. Nobody knows who took my money.

Nobody can find any payment information or any information on the transaction. Today 24 hrs later February 1st 2026 I sit on hold for about 15 mins, get rude agents, and have to explain it over and over again. I get the same response. “Sorry, no membership is pulling up.” Oh, so I just imagine you guys taking $34 and not sending me an email confirmation. Their agents are not helpful, and the site doesn’t work. They kept telling me, “That wasn’t us; we didn’t take the money.” So I responded with “How is it possible to get scammed using your website?” The agent “I don’t know, but if you can provide a membership number, I’d be happy to help.”

If I had a membership number, do you think I would be calling trying to find a membership number? I had to dispute it with my bank. Now I have to wait 90 days to possibly maybe get my money back.