Category: life

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This Man Has Determined That It’s Cheaper to Retire to a Holiday Inn Instead of a Nursing Home

These days, there are so many senior citizens who are unable to retire because of the ridiculous cost of housing as well as dwindling/nonexistent savings.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, households that are 65 years or older spend, on average, $45,756 per year, or roughly $3,800 per month. That’s only $1,000 less per month than all U.S. households on average. We all know how the economy has swung back and forth since the 2008 meltdown, so many Americans have had a hard time retiring or haven’t been able to at all.

Because of all this uncertainty, one man from Texas has come up with a brilliant plan for his twilight years. Terry Robinson has decided that, instead of opting for the traditional retirement home, he’ll spend his remaining years in a Holiday Inn hotel.

And to top it off, the Holiday Inn will be cheaper.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Robinson wrote a lengthy Facebook post about his plan and as of this writing, the post has been shared 132,000 times. Robinson’s post says:

“No nursing home for us. We’ll be checking into a Holiday Inn!
With the average cost for a nursing home care costing $188.00 per day, there is a better way when we get old and too feeble.
I’ve already checked on reservations at the Holiday Inn. For a combined long term stay discount and senior discount, it’s $59.23 per night.

Breakfast is included, and some have happy hours in the afternoon.
That leaves $128.77 a day for lunch and dinner in any restaurant we want, or room service, laundry, gratuities and special TV movies.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Plus, they provide a spa, swimming pool, a workout room, a lounge and washer-dryer, etc.

Most have free toothpaste and razors, and all have free shampoo and soap.

$5-worth of tips a day and you’ll have the entire staff scrambling to help you.

They treat you like a customer, not a patient.

There’s a city bus stop out front, and seniors ride free.

The handicap bus will also pick you up (if you fake a decent limp).

To meet other nice people, call a church bus on Sundays.

For a change of scenery, take the airport shuttle bus and eat at one of the nice restaurants there.

While you’re at the airport, fly somewhere. Otherwise, the cash keeps building up.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

It takes months to get into decent nursing homes. Holiday Inn will take your reservation today .

And you’re not stuck in one place forever — you can move from Inn to Inn, or even from city to city.

Want to see Hawaii ? They have Holiday Inn there too.

TV broken? Light bulbs need changing? Need a mattress replaced? No problem.. They fix everything, and apologize for the inconvenience.

The Inn has a night security person and daily room service. The maid checks to see if you are ok. If not, they’ll call an ambulance . . . Or the undertaker.

If you fall and break a hip, Medicare will pay for the hip, and Holiday Inn will upgrade you to a suite for the rest of your life.

And no worries about visits from family. They will always be glad to find you, and probably check in for a few days mini-vacation.

The grand-kids can use the pool.

What more could I ask for?

So, when I reach that golden age, I’ll face it with a grin.”

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

What do YOU think? Let’s get some retirees to weigh in on this predicament in the comments.

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Mom Accidentally Discovers How to Finally Help Kids Clean Their Rooms Properly

Everyone who’s ever taken care of children knows that getting them to clean up after themselves is quite a hassle. In fact, this single task can often be so difficult that many caregivers just give up and clean up the mess themselves.

But one mom has had a lot of success with a method that you may not have tried with your gremlins already. It’s called the “Mountain Method,” and it arose out of sheer desperation.

Photo Credit: iStock

Writer Kristen Mae‘s son was around 9 years old when she couldn’t handle another second of helping him clean up the mess that he’d created. So, she swept all of his toys from their various hiding places into the middle of his room. She informed him that he couldn’t enjoy any screen time until everything in the pile was in its proper place. Then she left the room.

Kristen says she didn’t expect the trick to actually work – the mountain was more-so to make a point about how much mess really existed.

Amazingly enough, though, her son slowly chipped away at the pile until it was all cleaned up. Now, the Mountain Method is a regular part of her family’s cleaning routine.

Photo Credit: iStock

If you’re familiar with Marie Kondo’s philosophy of cleaning, the Mountain Method makes a ton of sense. Like Kristen, Marie recommends first piling all of your mess into one place so you can see everything – then starting to organize.

“Having everything in one place turned what felt like a thousand tasks into one single task,” Kristen explained.

A mountain of a task, sure. But a doable one. It’s worth a try!

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This Poor Gentleman’s Ginormous Poop Nearly Killed Him (Seriously)

You might be proud of your ability to “hold it” until you get home, until after the kids go to bed, until a more convenient time, but take heed, people – holding in your poo for too long can literally kill you.

Proof? This 53-year-old Australian man went to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain, swelling, nausea, and a sudden inability to feel or move his right leg. Doctors confirmed the leg was paralyzed – it also had no palpable pulse and was cold to the touch.

At first, physicians were stumped. The man had no history of drug abuse, no risk of vascular disease, and really no significant or out-of-the-ordinary medical history at all.

What he did have was a really, really big poo.

Image Credit: BMJ Case Report

Holy sh*t.

A rectal examination and abdominal scans revealed massive fecal compaction that was putting life-threatening pressure on his abdominal organs. There was so much of it that it had distended his large intestine and put pressure on his right iliac artery, which is what caused the pain and paralysis in his leg.

The case was serious – he was showing signs of renal impairment and metabolic acidosis – the man required surgery to remove the backlog of poo and relieve the building pressure. The team wrote a case report, which expanded on their findings.

“Significant faecal disimpaction was performed manually under general anaesthesia with approximately 2 liters of feces removed.”

Image Credit: BMJ Case Report

2 liters, y’all. How long had it been since he’d gone?!

He was given constipation relief during recovery and left the hospital after four days. He finally walked again after 13 days.

Doctors are unsure what caused the massive build-up, but there’s no doubt that not being able to (or choosing not to) poop for a long period of time is incredibly dangerous. A teenage girl with a toilet phobia actually died in 2015 after holding it for 8 weeks, and this guy would have suffered the same fate had he not visited the doctors when he did.

Like my grandfather always said, better out than in. Never go against your body when death is on the line, my friends. You’ll come out on the losing end.

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Calming Down is Easy with This Military-Approved Breathing Technique

Between work, your spouse, your kids/pets, politics, or the general state of the world, life is pretty stressful.

That’s why it’s essential to have great good coping mechanisms that you can bust out when necessary. This particular one is actually used by the military – arguably one of the most stressful jobs ever. Known as combat breathing, four-count breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing, it can really help bring you back to center.

Image Credit: YouTube

The tactic lowers your heart rate and helps you regain control of your breathing, explains clinical psychologist Belisa Vranich. She’s also the author of 2016’s Breathe: The Simple, Revolutionary 14-Day Program To Improve Your Mental and Physical Health.

Image Credit: YouTube

“It’s one you can use when things are blowing up around you – both literally and figuratively – and you need to be able to stay calm.”

Image Credit: YouTube

She demonstrates the tactic in the Business Insider video below – practice with her until you feel cool enough to tackle the rest of your day.

Of course, a cup of coffee never hurt, either.

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15 People Share the Moment That They Realized “Yep, I’m Definitely Gay”

Although some folks might believe otherwise, the fact is that being gay is not a choice. It’s something you either are, or you aren’t. These AskReddit users can attest to that fact, and they shared the moment that they actually realized the truth.

#1. On a mission

“When I was a Mormon missionary in Eastern Europe. The other missionaries were tempted by the pretty girls and lingerie ads, and I was tempted by the other missionaries.”

#2. The crush

“I never had any crushes or interest in anything romantic until quite a few years after my sister and stepsister did (13 months and 22 months younger than me, respectively). Then, when I finally developed a crush, it was on a girl. Suppressed it for years after my crush rejected me, so hard even I, myself, believed it was untrue, until I got drunk around a campfire with my best friend and ended up making out with her all night.

My best friend and I have now been married for 5 months ?.”

#3. That’ll do it

“When I realized I fell in love with my best friend. Also we were both on the football team and we shared a locker…”

#4. It clicked

“I liked beast boy AND raven from teen titans. it clicked when i realized.”

#5. Wait a second…

“The moment I, a male, thought “Damn, why are all the hot guys gay?” followed immediately by “Wait, what?”

#6. Oh, maybe…

“In sixth grade, my teacher made an announcement after people had been making poor taste gay jokes. He said, “There’s a high change that one of you in here is gay, and you probably don’t know it. it might be you, so shut up” and in that moment i was like “lmfao ya ok sure i’d know if i was gay” and then two years later i was crankin it to a guy and after a while of doing that i was like “oh, maybe I am gay.” “

#7. Yep

“I was like 12 or 13. I watched the movie “But I’m A Cheerleader” because it was on tv late one night and I was like, yep, I’m gay.”

#8. An entire lesbian

“I was 12 years old. I was watching the movie Practical Magic for the umpteenth time. Sandra Bullock did something particularly attractive, and it clicked in my brain and suddenly I just knew.

I’d been wondering for a little while, after a (female) friend of mine did something unintentionally suggestive and I had a really strong reaction, but it was that particular viewing of Practical Magic that took me from “is it possible I’m gay?” to “Wow I am an entire lesbian.”

#9. That ass changed it all

“My best friend, who grew up as a good Irish Catholic schoolgirl, was walking behind a woman in an airport in the most amazing yellow dress. Just going on and on in her head about how beautifully it flowed, how it curved, how it settled on… After minutes of this, she realised that actually she was just staring at That Ass. It was an amazing ass.

“Oh shit!” She thought, as she realised, looking back down her life: “Every time I’ve admired another woman’s clothes… I’ve totally been admiring them.”

So, yeah. That Ass changed her life.”

#10. All the lesbians

“I’m so embarrassed but it was while watching that absolutely grim show ‘A shot at love with Tila Tequila’ on MTV.

I was an 18yr old girl, had never met a gay person (that I knew about) in real life, and BOOM I loved all those lesbians on the show.

Dani the firefighter, thanks for all the feelings.

Can’t believe it’s a shout out to Tila Tequila for her dumb show.”

#11. “I fall hard”

“I never knew until I started to develop feelings for my best friend. We had been close since middle school, but around 8th or 9th grade I started feeling attracted to her. Of course, since we both came from Christian backgrounds, I tried to deny it, and I even made up stories about liking guys just to seem straight in front of my peers. But when those feelings wouldn’t go away, my mind was just like. “F*ck.”

Before then I had never had any real crushes on anyone in my school, and I thought that romance was sappy and not worth my time. I still kinda feel that way today, but I realized from this incident that when I fall for a girl, I fall hard.”

#12. It’s not you! I’M GAY!

“The “hot” girl on college campus that my friends all wanted but she wanted me. I was questioning if I was gay and found guys attractive but never told anyone. I thought I just needed to have sex with a girl to prove I wasn’t gay. Went back to her room, making out, get her undressed, decide to just “go for it” and with my face literally inches from her lower lady bits I say out loud…

“I’M GAY! Sorry, it’s not you. I’m gay. Really gay!” She was pissed and confused. I got dressed and went back to my buddy’s dorm. I told him I was gay. He was shocked but supportive and happy he “has a chance with her now”. “

#13. What does that mean?

“I was at summer camp, between 7th and 8th grade. I’d made a new friend and we were talking about stuff, getting to know each other. He made an offhand comment about one of his friends who was bisexual. I was like, “What does that mean?”

I’d never even heard of the concept before then. It had never even crossed my mind that people could be romantically interested in the same sex. So he tells me what it means to be gay and bisexual. I think to myself, “Huh. Am I? I didn’t know I could be like that. Maybe I am.” Spoiler alert: I was.”

#14. OBSESSED

“Lesbian here.

When I was around 5 my brother brought home his first girlfriend. He was fifteen & she was sixteen.

I remember being OBSESSED with her. Her name was Tara & she had long brown hair & would compliment my drawings. She gave me a teddy bear & I still have it to this day. Looking back, I had a huuuuge crush on her.”

#15. It just hit me

“One of my gay friends was telling me how he realised he was gay and I found myself relating to everything he was saying. Before that, I thought I was asexual. I knew I wasn’t into girls but had never really seriously contemplated whether or not I was into guys, perhaps because I was afraid of the conclusion I’d reach, so I just settled on thinking I was asexual.

In hindsight, I’d always been into guys, I just misinterpreted all my feeling of attraction as feelings of jealousy. I’d see a hot guy and tell myself that I really wanted to look like him and that that was why I couldn’t stop staring. It made sense at the time, even though it sounds absurd in retrospect.

During that conversation, the realisation that I had been in denial for years just hit me and I knew I was gay.”

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Sorry, Night Owls: Your Brain Chemistry Could be Sabotaging Your 9-5 Schedule

I believe humanity can be divided into two basic categories: the morning people who are just bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the minute the sun comes up, and the night owls who hit their stride when the sun goes down.

While there’s nothing wrong with being one or the other, day people definitely have an advantage, since the world tends to operate on a 9-5 schedule.

“A huge number of people struggle to deliver their best performance during work or school hours they are not naturally suited to,” said lead researcher Dr. Elise Facer-Childs. “There is a critical need to increase our understanding of these issues in order to minimise health risks in society, as well as maximise productivity.”

Roughly 50% of people identify as a night owl, which for the purpose of the study meant going to bed “late” and rising after 8:20am.

Image Credit: Pixabay

If that’s the half of the world you fall into, this new study published in the journal Sleep proves it’s not just something you can up and change – your brain is physically and chemically different from those who leap out of bed in the morning.

The international team of scientists, led by the University of Birmingham in the UK, found that night owls have lower connectivity in the areas of the brain linked to consciousness. That means that during “normal” working hours, night people are affected by sleepiness, a lack of attention, and slower reaction times.

“This mismatch between a person’s biological time and social time – which most of us have experienced in the form of jet lag – is a common issue for night owls trying to follow a normal working day. Our study is the first to show a potential intrinsic neuronal mechanism behind why ‘night owls’ may face cognitive disadvantages when being forced to fit into these constraints,” explains Facer-Childs.

Image Credit: Pixabay

38 volunteers completed questionnaires and underwent MRI scans at various points of the day, all the while reporting how sleepy they felt.

Research concluded that morning people were less sleepy and had faster reaction times in the early morning working hours, while night owls hit their stride around 8 in the evening and struggled after rolling out of bed. Night owls did not, however, perform significantly better than morning people at 8pm, which could mean that society’s business hours could have a detrimental effect on those whose natural body rhythms encourage them to wake up later.

Facer-Childs explains how this can be applied to the real world:

“To manage this, we need to get better at taking an individual’s personal body clock into account – particularly in the world of work. A typical day might last from 9am-5pm, but for a night owl, this could result in diminished performance during the morning, lower brain connectivity in regions linked to consciousness and increased daytime sleepiness. If, as a society, we could be more flexible about how we manage time we could go a long way toward maximising productivity and minimising health risks.”

Which is to say, you just might have an argument if you want to lobby your boss for flexible work hours.

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Travel Blogger Shares Her Best Tips for Women Traveling Alone

Traveling is an essential experience that expands your horizons in ways you could never have experienced at home. Traveling with people to share that experience is definitely awesome, but traveling alone is a great experience too!

That said, traveling solo isn’t without its challenges – particularly if you’re a woman. Let’s face it, if you can get harassed walking the block in your own neighborhood, you certainly should trust fate in places where you don’t know the lay of the land or speak the language.

That’s why Ciara Johnson, a popular Black travel blogger on Instagram, shared a series of solo travel tips for women.

Photo Credit: Twitter

“I’m a woman and I travel the world alone, from Mexico to Morocco to Cuba to Bosnia to many other countries. Here’s a thread on how I stay safe,” Ciara wrote on Twitter.

First, Ciara is “hyper aware” of her surroundings. “Scan your surroundings,” she said. “Is someone walking close to you? Does someone appear to be watching you? Did that car just pull beside you & slow down?” If you notice something awry, don’t hesitate to get out of there. Always trust your gut.

As Ciara writes: “It’s better to look a little paranoid than to be harassed, robbed, or worse.”

Photo Credit: Ciara Johnson

Second, Ciara recommends doing a lot of research before you go. You can never be too prepared, so look up “cultural norms, customs, how to dress, scams, natural disasters, political climate, etc.,” she writes. She also recommends looking for accounts by other solo female travelers, and checking reviews for hotels.

Third, Ciara uses technology wisely. She avoids pulling her phone out randomly on the street. But she does use Google Maps, translation apps, Uber. She makes sure to have access to data to keep her family and friends aware of her location.

“Make sure someone, anyone… knows where you are & where you’re staying,” she said.

Photo Credit: Ciara Johnson

Fourth, Ciara trusts other women before other men. Solo travelers have to rely on strangers to some extent, but don’t trust just anyone. “If I need directions, I usually ask a woman. This is not to say all women can be trusted, but I feel more comfortable trusting a woman on first instinct.”

And fifth, Ciara avoids giving out information that could be used against her. She doesn’t let her massive social media following know exactly where she travels until after she’s left, for example. She lies if someone asks if she’s travelig alone.

Armed with these tips, there’s nowhere you can’t go – and the experience is totally worth it!

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Brilliant Twitter Thread Shows Why Men Should Think Twice Before Letting ‘The One’ Get Away

There are so many reasons not to fully commit to someone. When I say “commit,” I don’t just mean updating your relationship status on Facebook – I’m talking about really wanting to make a life with someone. It’s a tricky thing: maybe you’re too young for a relationship, or you rushed into it, or you have very different goals, or maybe you just want to keep having sex with other people.

Things eventually get sour and you guys split up (or they get tired of you bulls*** and dump you), but you stay friends. Maybe they even agree that there’s a chance you can get back together if you put in the work on improving yourself. She’ll come back, right?

Wrong.

Your perfect woman will not be there for you because she was already “grieving your loss,” while you were acting like a jerk. Once she’s done…she’s done. She will move on. Scientific Twitter Research has shown this to be true.

Twitter user Rev Rell give us some background information on her friend who let “the one” get away.

Photo Credit: Twitter

But did he do any sort of soul-searching to figure out what he really wanted? Spoiler: no.

Photo Credit: Twitter

The fact that his former girlfriend had actually moved on surprised him. Why? Dunno.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Oh, dear. A misunderstanding. She probably couldn’t make herself clear because she was too busy hurling his shit out the window.

Photo Credit: Twitter

So, just want to put this out there now: Stalking is not romantic.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Not suprisingly, other Twitter-ites agreed.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Such a good friend and so much good stuff here. ARE YOU TAKING NOTES??

Photo Credit: Twitter

Basically he needs her to make him a better man for someone else.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Take people for granted much?

Photo Credit: Twitter

The cloistered nun convent must have been closed.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Is six months in the breakup handbook?

Photo Credit: Twitter

It’s perfectly acceptable to cry at weddings.

Photo Credit: Twitter

I bet hearing this guy whine about losing the girl has been a real pleasure for all his friends.

Photo Credit: Twitter

These are things people need to know.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Real love advice on Twitter. Appreciate the people that love you and never take them for granted. And, if you did lose, then lose gracefully and let her find happiness.

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15 Tweets That’ll Make You Feel Really, REALLY Old

I can’t deny it any longer: I’m getting OLD. My bones have started to make random noises when I move (especially in the morning), and I find myself constantly thinking, “That was so much better when I was a kid,” every time I check out the movies, shows, and music that my nieces and nephews are into.

These tweets aren’t helping matters much – I have a feeling they’re gonna affect you the same way they affected me: they’ll make you feel ANCIENT.

1. OH MY GOD

Photo Credit: Twitter

2. How does this work?

Photo Credit: Twitter

3. Gen Z

Photo Credit: Twitter

4. That’s a very telling sign…

Photo Credit: Twitter

5. And here we are

Photo Credit: Twitter

6. Back in my day…

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7. 1955? SMH…

Photo Credit: Twitter

8. Time’s up

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9. It was thrilling

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10. Old as SH*T

Photo Credit: Twitter

11. I remember it well

Photo Credit: Twitter

12. That is not good

Photo Credit: Twitter

13. Not exactly

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14. Were they ever wrong?

Photo Credit: Twitter

15. What could it be?

Photo Credit: Twitter

Well… it’s 2:30. Time for my nap… ::sigh::

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This Guy Made a “Glitter Bomb” that Blows Up in Amazon Thieves’ Faces

YouTuber Mark Rober has a pretty impressive engineering background, having worked on the Mars Rover for NASA. Needless to say, when you steal a package from a guy like that, he’s going to start finding creative solutions to the problem. Guys like Mark aren’t content with just calling the cops and getting just regular old revenge against them. Nope, he spent six months building a glitter bomb that would self-detonate when the thieves opened the package.

To be fair, Mark had no choice! The local police told him they didn’t have time to investigate the robberies, even though Mark had captured the whole thing on his home surveillance camera.

Photo Credit: YouTube, Mark Rober

“I just felt like something needs to be done to take a stand against dishonest punks like this,” Mark explained.

“If anyone was going to make a revenge bait package and over-engineer the crap out of it, it was going to be me.”

The glitter bomb also included four cameras to capture the thieves’ reactions, which took a good deal of ingenuity. There was also fart spray!

As a hint to any would-be thieves, Mark wrote a fake return address using the names and location of Home Alone. Luckily for viewers at home, it didn’t deter the thieves.

The glitter bomb package completely worked, as you can see in the video below.

Thankfully, the same bait package can be retrieved and used more than once. Genius.

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