MandieD

67 ms·

901.
by MandieD 5y ago
Baby Buddy is a large part of why I was able to resist the well-meant pressure to just switch him to formula when breastfeeding wasn’t working out right away, and being compelled to log stuff from the beginning actually calmed me down a cou
902.
by MandieD 5y ago
I was doing something bold and unusual that neither my grandmother nor my mother did: breastfeeding. To further complicate matters, my son wasn’t waking up on his own to feed often enough. When I just let him set the pace, he slowly lost
903.
by MandieD 5y ago
Yeah, I wouldn’t bother suggesting it outside of some place like HN.
904.
by MandieD 5y ago
Validates my decision to self-host and donate to Baby Buddy: https://github.com/babybuddy/babybuddy I figured all those “free” (and possibly even the paid) baby apps were likely doing all sorts of shady things with tha
905.
by MandieD 5y ago
When my mom died after a 1.5 year battle with cancer, I was calm enough to make sure her funeral went the way she had wanted and write an obituary that honored her within the community she had been such a vital part of. If possible, harness
906.
by MandieD 5y ago
Pedantic Central Texan: the cult compound and subsequent siege weren’t actually in Waco - that’s the nearest city with television stations and an airport. If you’re not Southern Baptist, feel free to make a joke about the real cult in Waco
907.
by MandieD 5y ago
30 days' vacation (24 by law, the extra 6 were because effective union), so much sick leave that I don't know anyone who exhausted it with anything less than a long term disability, and extremely strong employee protections once y
908.
by MandieD 5y ago
Corporate IT departments are still hiring like mad in northern Bavaria. It's nothing like SV or even quite as good as big US metro area IT money, but it's not bad - 30 days vacation is the norm (thank you, IG Metall!), on top of a
909.
by MandieD 5y ago
There's the "Works Council" (Betriebsrat) that in big companies is basically an employee-elected parliament, with various party-like factions running. For my employer's last Betriebsrat election, IG Metall (the union tha
910.
by MandieD 5y ago
If OP’s parents are anything like my dad, they have zero interest in trading their warm homeland with its familiar language and culture for cold northern Europe. My dad would rather die in Texas than live in Germany, much as he enjoyed spen
911.
by MandieD 5y ago
Found my mistake, too late to edit my previous comment: the plant I know as “Spitzwegerich” is not what you and other English speakers call Queen Anne’s Lace at all! I have no idea where I got that as the English name for Spitzwegerich. “Sp
912.
by MandieD 5y ago
Our Brother color laser (purchased around 2013, I think) cheerfully accepts whatever generic toner we’ve thrown into it, and allows them to each be replaced when they’re actually empty.
913.
by MandieD 5y ago
Looks like several other HN readers have had the same lack of drama with Brother lasers that I have.
914.
by MandieD 5y ago
I fried up some of the teeny, tiny roots, and they tasted nice, but were so tiny that harvesting enough for more than a garnish would be impractical. The cough syrup made from the leaves is my favorite - soothing, but no other medicinal eff
915.
by MandieD 5y ago
Just wanted you to know that you've made my life a bit better today. "I'll do it, not be the PM for it" -> a great, more positive rephrasing of what I often tell people for this sort of thing: "please bother me u
916.
by MandieD 5y ago
It's a bit easier to boldly follow one's philosophical dreams when said dreams line up nicely with what a billionaire is interested in funding.
917.
by MandieD 5y ago
As a flute player who has experienced my right pinky locking up after passages involving moving between the footjoint keys, you're right to be concerned.
918.
by MandieD 5y ago
Yes, our life in Franconia (northern Bavaria) is nothing but suffering, in our townhouse with a yard that’s a 600m walk from a subway station and a suburban rail station, either of which gets me to downtown Nuremberg in 20 minutes, because
919.
by MandieD 5y ago
Nearly universal: there is a universal legal requirement that you have health insurance, and about 90% of the population is a member of one of the very strictly regulated Krankenkasse (the "public" option), with most of the rema
920.
by MandieD 5y ago
I live and pay taxes in Germany . Do not lecture me on collective freedom. I pay a lot to support my neighbors, and in turn, have enjoyed a year home with my kid (could I have saved far more than what I got in German maternity payments, in
921.
by MandieD 5y ago
I’m so sorry. My father-in-law has had his “elective” surgery to deal with a hernia cancelled twice due to hospital overcapacity, and all we can do is pray that Germany’s current restrictions will have kept the numbers low enough for his cu
922.
by MandieD 5y ago
Farmed salmon from Norway is the main kind available at fish counters in German supermarkets, so that’s good to hear.
923.
by MandieD 5y ago
Important reminder for many Americans abroad who are already registered to vote: you might need to make a request for ballots to be mailed (or emailed) to you every year - it’s separate from voter registration in many states.
924.
by MandieD 5y ago
Getting the Consular Report of Birth Abroad, passport and then Social Security number for my child was an eight month adventure that I started on as soon as we got home from the hospital. I will again brag on how wonderfully easy it was to
925.
by MandieD 5y ago
And people Back Home wonder why I never even attempted to put my husband through the whole Green Card process. Permanent residence in Germany was an absolute breeze, and all of the Foreigners’ Offices I’ve worked with have been anywhere fro
926.
by MandieD 5y ago
For those of us earning middle-class salaries in more social democracies and with sub-7-figure assets, we don’t usually owe anything in taxes to Back Home, but have to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars per year proving it. And are shut
927.
by MandieD 5y ago
If somewhat recently, which model, because MediaMarkt is also my main local option (RIP, Conrad)
928.
by MandieD 5y ago
Thanks for reminding me to renew the bit of electrical tape I usually keep over the “selfie” camera (but had fallen off).
929.
by MandieD 5y ago
Amen to that - if I use something, I’m happy to buy it, or to make a one-time donation to a project, but no more subscriptions.
930.
by MandieD 5y ago
A socialist meritocracy.

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