There have been many, many variables in my life. And throughout all of that chaos, the one constant that remains is HN. I appreciate each and everyone single one of you who make this site what it is. Merry Christmas and cheers!
Things can turn around. In 2016 I felt the same way as you. It was the nadir of my life, and was interspersed with suicidal thoughts. We barely kept our Chicago apartment.
Don’t give up hope, and keep trying. Also, one key for me was to get properly medicated. Prozac was a turning point, but everyone is different. There was a clear step function from "before Prozac" to "after Prozac". The suicidal ideation stopped, among other things, which let me get my life in order.
Mostly just remember to enjoy each day in small ways. The only thing I regret from 2016 is not taking the time to appreciate the small things. There’s an interesting mental exercise to snap you out of this: pretend you’re on your death bed at 80, and then you were magically transported back in time to the present day. What would you do? Even being able to run is a blessing I don’t remember to appreciate until I can’t.
You’ll figure it out. Or at least, the chances of you figuring things out is much higher than things going downhill forever. It’s the default path, even if it doesn’t feel like it when things are going wrong.
My wife almost died early this year from a hospital deciding to rush her Sodium level restoration because beds were scarce and profitable. She now suffers from extreme anxiety, her previous life as a happy, well-balanced mom is over, and as I write, she’s in the next room chattering in nonsense to herself because it’s how her brain copes. It’s worse in the mornings, gets better, briefly, in the afternoons as she gains more higher-level function, until her loss and grief for that overwhelm her, and she reverts again.
I won’t go into the litany of pain and suffering she continues to go through, suffice it to say she has had a variety of terrible-to-observe, worse to endure, symptoms throughout the year. Screaming in agony for hours, in first or third person, in hospital or at home, when painkillers just don’t work is not an experience anyone should go through.
The highlight of today is that a friend has invited us around for an Xmas meal. It’ll be our first social engagement since it happened, so there’s some risk. It’s at 4pm, which is usually her best time of the day, so we’re hopeful things can play out “normally”. I guess we’ll see, sometimes you have to risk things, just to make progress. I don’t think my friend actually realises just how much it means to us what his family have done, but I am so grateful that I cried on getting the invite. It can be hard to struggle alone.
So again, take heart. There is always something worse that could have happened, even for us. Don’t let the past dictate the future - you can’t change the past, but you can influence the future.
And I will join you in hoping that next year will be better.
[edit: thank you all for the kind wishes. Xmas has been hard so far because the sense of loss she feels is so much stronger than normal, but we live in hope]
This, too, shall pass. Finding a calming peace and disconnect from material things in a low period of my life has stuck with me even as things have gotten much better. Not to say I know what you need, but I bet the positives will shine through all of this in the long term. Find a way to smile today - Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays!
I can't hire you, but I'm in a similar boat. I'm lucky to have a client I'm billing, but other than that the job search has sucked. I can code, and also have product/g2m experience. Happy to collaborate remotely. Want to try to build something together? If interested you can reach me through metaluna.io.
SwiftKey is still the only keyboard with an autocorrect that's actually really helpful, instead of actively messing up what I'm writing. But only if you (counterintuitively) turn off the "autocorrect" checkbox in the settings. Because then you will always have 3 distinct options to choose from (instead of middle and left sometimes being the same). Apparently you can install SwiftKey on iOS too (although I've never tried it).
I've been there. The biggest struggle I had was with the constant self-doubts and cynicism. Just when you need the most motivation it seems that everything is against you. All I can say is it's normal to feel like trash during the job search and sometimes things aren't as bad as they seem. It can obviously be hard to believe that after spending like 6 - 12 months unemployed but its true. You're not any more or less as a person. The economy is just brutal at the moment.
I've been a daily lurker since I was 18. And I do 100% mean daily since the time I started. I've never frequented any other URL so consistently.
I have thousands and thousands of screenshots of highlight posts and comments (highlight to me of course), that I dream about organizing with tags for future access, whether I use any of the information or tools, refresh myself on something, or just want to walk down memory lane... A lane that just keeps getting longer and longer. A lane I'm happy to have at least left a bread crumb trail on to retrace in the dark if I feel like it.
In hindsight, screenshotting them has been more of a personal act I do for myself, knowing very well I may never meaningfully do anything with the majority of them. Every screenshot taken was something important or impactful to me in the moment though. The process of screenshotting is just a part of the ritual it seems .
I thank the individuals, and community as a whole, who have been responsible for making my life better, enabling growth I'd have never anticipated or foreseen , enabling countless echoing feelings of comradery and connection that have been hard to find in meat space consistently.
This place was like discovering a magic land when I was 18 given my rather humble background. I still had a lot of learning and growing to do. Hacker News has been invaluable.
Not to get too gushy... But I do love this site, and I love the fact there are people willing to take time out of your days to participate in it. People of all creeds and credentials being civil, yet unafraid to agree to disagree. Willing to have some fun. Willing to be candid. Willing to dive into the deep end depending on the post...
Merry Christmas everyone:)
Always wish I could wave a magic wand, and somehow reciprocate back all the good I feel like I've just freely consumed and co opted from others over the years ... The giants whose shoulders I stand on.
I'll never forget or downplay the people and exposures that are integral to who I am.
Were I born and raised on some far removed island... Id have been grown off of whatever arbitrary cultural and informational scraps that I could gets my mits on from my local hierarchy, and that's about it. I don't like the sounds of that.
Modern life has its downsides and contraindications for sure, but Hacker News is not one of them. Hacker News is one of modern day phenomon that I am thrilled to have been alive for.
The mystery of Santa's sleigh has been solved. Santa is a quantum phenomenon, meaning that he is in everyone's house at once. BUT if anyone observes him, then the probability function collapses and only one house gets toys.
In ex USSR we celebrate New Year. So the first several years of remote work with Western folks, I was always surprised to see no colleagues some day in December. Only later in the evening, I would remember they had Christmas that day. :)
I work for a globally remote organisation, so I voluntarily took the on-call rota for the last week of the year. This way, my colleagues can enjoy Xmas with their families without any pager anxiety, and they made sure I could have the same experience this past month over Diwali ;)
Merry Christmas Everyone! Reflecting on the past few years, I've faced some of life's toughest challenges. In 2020, we lost my father-in-law to Multiple Myeloma, a difficult time for our family. The following year, my dad's battle with Pancreatic Cancer came to an end, leaving us with the task of closing his business and resolving financial matters. Then, in November 2022, my mom was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. After enduring multiple rounds of chemotherapy, I'm grateful to say she's doing much better.
Through these hardships, I've learned about strength, resilience, and the importance of true friends who have your back. I also learned that I am strong and can deal with difficult hardships. As I look forward to 2024, I'm hopeful for a return to normalcy and better health. Here's to a year of healing, growth, and brighter days ahead.
Marry Christmas. At this point I’ve lived longer with HN than without HN.
Let’s see… HN launched in 2006, I was 18, I’ll be 36 next year, so this is actually an off by one error. Oh well, if you squint a little or drink too much eggnog then it’s true.
Remember to focus on yourself this year, and especially to give yourself permission to be selfish. It’s ok not to live your life for others.
I hadn't put that idea together until your comment. I'm about the same age and only have a few more years before this "milestone" myself. Thanks for making me feel older hah.
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you get some time to reflect on the year that’s been, the crazy change we’re going through and the great community we all work to better.
I remember being a CS student years back and my lab partner told me be about HN. I didn’t know what it was, but since then I basically skimmed every day since. Thanks for all the great memories!
Merry Christmas! I dropped Reddit and all other social media except for YT a couple years back after I found HN. It's not perfect, but probably the best you can find out there in terms of etiquette, curiosity and interesting and generally respectful and benevolent conversation. So thanks to y'all for making this a corner of the internet that I'm truly grateful for.
I'm taking a break today and playing call of duty all day long. Tomorrow I will go for a hike or a walk, and then 26th is back to the business/grind.
I hope y'all take a good time to rest.
I'm thankful for the folks who are working over the break. Thankful for the gas station attendants, the police officers, healthcare professionals, on-call engineers and customer support, and so many others to whom I am eternally thankful for making our society.
Merry Christmas everyone! And here's to an incredibly happy and prosperous 2024 to come! May you all find the things you're looking for, and the peace and happiness you deserve.
I don't remember when I first learned about HN, I think maybe when I was in high school(I'm 36 now). I have found an uncountable number of interesting and imo mentally valuable things through here. When I share them (which I often do) my friends always ask "where did you find that?". This is such an awesome group. Merry Christmas!
[+] [-] gzer0|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sebnun|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] docmars|2 years ago|reply
Merry Christmas!
[+] [-] kccqzy|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] geuis|2 years ago|reply
Here's to hoping next year will be better.
[+] [-] sillysaurusx|2 years ago|reply
Don’t give up hope, and keep trying. Also, one key for me was to get properly medicated. Prozac was a turning point, but everyone is different. There was a clear step function from "before Prozac" to "after Prozac". The suicidal ideation stopped, among other things, which let me get my life in order.
Mostly just remember to enjoy each day in small ways. The only thing I regret from 2016 is not taking the time to appreciate the small things. There’s an interesting mental exercise to snap you out of this: pretend you’re on your death bed at 80, and then you were magically transported back in time to the present day. What would you do? Even being able to run is a blessing I don’t remember to appreciate until I can’t.
You’ll figure it out. Or at least, the chances of you figuring things out is much higher than things going downhill forever. It’s the default path, even if it doesn’t feel like it when things are going wrong.
[+] [-] spacedcowboy|2 years ago|reply
My wife almost died early this year from a hospital deciding to rush her Sodium level restoration because beds were scarce and profitable. She now suffers from extreme anxiety, her previous life as a happy, well-balanced mom is over, and as I write, she’s in the next room chattering in nonsense to herself because it’s how her brain copes. It’s worse in the mornings, gets better, briefly, in the afternoons as she gains more higher-level function, until her loss and grief for that overwhelm her, and she reverts again.
I won’t go into the litany of pain and suffering she continues to go through, suffice it to say she has had a variety of terrible-to-observe, worse to endure, symptoms throughout the year. Screaming in agony for hours, in first or third person, in hospital or at home, when painkillers just don’t work is not an experience anyone should go through.
The highlight of today is that a friend has invited us around for an Xmas meal. It’ll be our first social engagement since it happened, so there’s some risk. It’s at 4pm, which is usually her best time of the day, so we’re hopeful things can play out “normally”. I guess we’ll see, sometimes you have to risk things, just to make progress. I don’t think my friend actually realises just how much it means to us what his family have done, but I am so grateful that I cried on getting the invite. It can be hard to struggle alone.
So again, take heart. There is always something worse that could have happened, even for us. Don’t let the past dictate the future - you can’t change the past, but you can influence the future.
And I will join you in hoping that next year will be better.
[edit: thank you all for the kind wishes. Xmas has been hard so far because the sense of loss she feels is so much stronger than normal, but we live in hope]
[+] [-] scrapcode|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] _sjzq|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JelteF|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Uptrenda|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] layer8|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] m463|2 years ago|reply
also smart punctuation, especially in macos.
[+] [-] tmountain|2 years ago|reply
“Keep your highs low and your lows high.”
“When you’re going through hell, keep going.”
[+] [-] OldHunter69X|2 years ago|reply
I have thousands and thousands of screenshots of highlight posts and comments (highlight to me of course), that I dream about organizing with tags for future access, whether I use any of the information or tools, refresh myself on something, or just want to walk down memory lane... A lane that just keeps getting longer and longer. A lane I'm happy to have at least left a bread crumb trail on to retrace in the dark if I feel like it.
In hindsight, screenshotting them has been more of a personal act I do for myself, knowing very well I may never meaningfully do anything with the majority of them. Every screenshot taken was something important or impactful to me in the moment though. The process of screenshotting is just a part of the ritual it seems .
I thank the individuals, and community as a whole, who have been responsible for making my life better, enabling growth I'd have never anticipated or foreseen , enabling countless echoing feelings of comradery and connection that have been hard to find in meat space consistently.
This place was like discovering a magic land when I was 18 given my rather humble background. I still had a lot of learning and growing to do. Hacker News has been invaluable.
Not to get too gushy... But I do love this site, and I love the fact there are people willing to take time out of your days to participate in it. People of all creeds and credentials being civil, yet unafraid to agree to disagree. Willing to have some fun. Willing to be candid. Willing to dive into the deep end depending on the post...
Merry Christmas everyone:)
Always wish I could wave a magic wand, and somehow reciprocate back all the good I feel like I've just freely consumed and co opted from others over the years ... The giants whose shoulders I stand on.
I'll never forget or downplay the people and exposures that are integral to who I am.
Were I born and raised on some far removed island... Id have been grown off of whatever arbitrary cultural and informational scraps that I could gets my mits on from my local hierarchy, and that's about it. I don't like the sounds of that.
Modern life has its downsides and contraindications for sure, but Hacker News is not one of them. Hacker News is one of modern day phenomon that I am thrilled to have been alive for.
Hope you all have a solid day!
[+] [-] LorenzoGood|2 years ago|reply
Merry Christmas!
[+] [-] taopai|2 years ago|reply
It would be amazing to have such a high quality community able to contribute to everlasting threads. About life, decisions, and of course, curiosity.
P.S: Merry Christmas!
[+] [-] amin|2 years ago|reply
I’ll follow you.
[+] [-] doublemint2203|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] AlbertCory|2 years ago|reply
The mystery of Santa's sleigh has been solved. Santa is a quantum phenomenon, meaning that he is in everyone's house at once. BUT if anyone observes him, then the probability function collapses and only one house gets toys.
So have a Merry Christmas, and don't look.
[+] [-] culebron21|2 years ago|reply
Merry Christmas!
[+] [-] timeon|2 years ago|reply
I'm from Eastern Europe and we celebrate already on 24th.
[+] [-] kome|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cperciva|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bjord|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] underdeserver|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] linsomniac|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] GVRV|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sllabres|2 years ago|reply
Not on rotation, but one never knows how much something escalates, therefor and for the team members silence if of course preferred ;)
[+] [-] Uptrenda|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] palcu|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kyriakos|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cebert|2 years ago|reply
Through these hardships, I've learned about strength, resilience, and the importance of true friends who have your back. I also learned that I am strong and can deal with difficult hardships. As I look forward to 2024, I'm hopeful for a return to normalcy and better health. Here's to a year of healing, growth, and brighter days ahead.
[+] [-] 0xDEAFBEAD|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mjgs|2 years ago|reply
I read HN most days. It’s great to see people from so many places around the world in this thread.
All the best for 2024!
[+] [-] wuschel|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sillysaurusx|2 years ago|reply
Let’s see… HN launched in 2006, I was 18, I’ll be 36 next year, so this is actually an off by one error. Oh well, if you squint a little or drink too much eggnog then it’s true.
Remember to focus on yourself this year, and especially to give yourself permission to be selfish. It’s ok not to live your life for others.
[+] [-] pplante|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aunty_helen|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] asimpletune|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] somedude895|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] antonoo|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lgkk|2 years ago|reply
I'm taking a break today and playing call of duty all day long. Tomorrow I will go for a hike or a walk, and then 26th is back to the business/grind.
I hope y'all take a good time to rest.
I'm thankful for the folks who are working over the break. Thankful for the gas station attendants, the police officers, healthcare professionals, on-call engineers and customer support, and so many others to whom I am eternally thankful for making our society.
[+] [-] shutupnerd0000|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mindcrime|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DanHulton|2 years ago|reply
No, seriously, have you ever tried humbugs? They're a delicious molasses-y mint candy, and I always try to pick some up at this time of year.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humbug_(sweet)
[+] [-] 0dayz|2 years ago|reply
There were lots of important things in life I couldn't see,
But I got a wonderful realization that set me free,
Oh how wonderful it is to let my actions be made by me!
Merry yuletide everyone!
[+] [-] mekpro|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] d-z-m|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] EchoReflection|2 years ago|reply
https://historycooperative.org/pagan-origins-of-christmas/