• shalafi@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I have never seen an internet group stand up for a member and actually improve their life, with real cash money, not just bullshit platitudes.

    Your whole story is inspiring, shows how we can come together in support. I’m rethinking how impactful I can be in my local community, even on my street.

    Black guy down the street, dumbest guy on the block, annoys most of us, was begging me to do something. He sensed that I could do something for all of us, make our lives better. LOL, wouldn’t shut up about it last time he was over!

    You story got me thinking, I should get off my ass and organize. If a handful of people throwing one, single, human being a few bucks can change his life, fuck am I doing? I’m unemployed, money is all but played out, but I have legs and a mouth.

    • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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      1 day ago

      That’s what community is supposed to be, from what I understand. People helping each other. Can’t say that I’ve ever really experience it until I’ve been here but… it definitely changed my life in a lot of ways. Not just being able to avoid homelessness. I know my levels of gratitude are staggering and don’t plan on dropping anytime soon.

      And hey… helping one person is always worth it right? Never know what could happen

    • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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      2 days ago

      I was living in Toronto and moved back to Newfoundland. I moved into a place with a friend. That friend started to go through some stuff and then started to take advantage of me in a lot of ways. Ways that I’m only still just realizing. Like I was doing laundry earlier and realized she never bought laundry detergent the entire time she was here, just used mine. For the better part of a year. Anyway she stopped paying bills for months and then stopped paying rent for. Last second was like “Evict me and find someone else!” but I was being a moron and was like “Nah you’re my friend! Let’s get through this!” and then the next day realized that she was waiting for me to do all the work for her. Lost my best friend.

      Started looking for another roommate but I’ve found it nearly impossible. Didn’t help I started looking in September when everyone had already found a place for university. At the end of September I had to make a post asking for help and donations to my ko-fi so I could afford rent. October went almost the entire month and I couldn’t find someone as well. At the end of the month I messaged my sister, in a deep pit of emotional despair, asking if she could take the only good thing in my life and take care of her if I couldn’t find a roommate. I love my cat. She needs to be happy and safe. Even if that means she’s not with me… She said yes to taking care of the cat but also that she’d ask friends. And so she did. One of these friends reached out and said “My cousin is looking for a place, here’s his number!”

      So I texted this dude for a bit and all seemed okay but I was getting slightly off vibes from pics. He had pinpoint pupils in all of them and I could explain it away to an extent because he said he was on disability from an injury so maybe prescription meds did that. But he kept changing his mind about when he was moving in as well as the situations of how it was changing just felt odd. The day he was supposed to move in, October 31st, that friend messaged my sister again saying urgently to not let him move into the house. Evidently, he was stealing from the family to fuel a drug habit and they discovered it last minute when he was stealing their shit to pay for the move into my place. And I was a naive trusting idiot again and didn’t bother taking a deposit so I was screwed.

      A friend of mine posted here to lemmy saying ‘Stamets needs help!’ and just like when I asked for help the month before, a ton of people turned up to help me when I frankly don’t deserve it. Again, I was able to make rent and even pay bills as people went above and beyond. But the sp3ctr4l specter of finding a roommate was still lingering and unfortunately I was terrified for my cat.

      But.

      A woman reached out the other day and asked to schedule a viewing. I asked if today would work because I pulled something in my back and I’m all kinds of screwy. She said sure. She showed up and took a look at the place today. Una immediately fell in love with her. She liked the place and we seemed to mesh pretty well. She’s got her own cat as well so my kitty gets to have a friend! And… better yet… I get to stay with my kitty.

      • dethedrus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        21 hours ago

        Not to minimize all of the shit you’ve been going thorough… you get to keep your kitty!!!

        Life without mine would be sad.

        Very, very sad.

        • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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          2 hours ago

          No no… it’s literally the reason I’ve been crying. I spent half of my 20s homeless. Do I want to be homeless again? Fuckin’ no. But I could deal with it. But I am a completely different person since meeting Una. She’s changed my life in so many ways and all of them have been for the better. I’ve talked to some friends who I haven’t been able to speak with in ages and all of them have said that I’m not the same guy that they knew. Something I take as a compliment. But the idea of losing her and going back to being that guy is terrifying

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        24 hours ago

        Holy shit, I am so glad you found a roommate!

        I was gonna threaten to gay marry you to escape the US and be your roommate for as long as Social Security Disability still exists, lol.

        Also, hopefully you mean you fell in love with this woman as a roommate, and not uh, more broadly.

        You just got out of a busted, lopsided relationship of being exploited because you’re too trusting.

        I’ve been there too, please do not actually fall in love with this person, you need time to renormalize and fully understand all the ways roommate exploited you, and why they worked.

        But, anyway, great news that you’ve found a roommate, hopefully you can begin to relax your chest and breathe a bit more calmly now =D

        • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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          2 hours ago

          Oh god no, she just seems like a good roommate. We’re friendly and can get along but not sure we’d be fully friends. I don’t know, I could be wrong. But my gay ass has no intention of falling in love with a woman, don’t worry lmao

          <3

          Also surprised you didn’t mention the callout I gave your name specifically in that comment you replied to.

          • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            4 minutes ago

            I mean, I replied to the comment you specifically mentioned me in… did I not?

            Did I reply to a different comment?

            ???

            Like, you didn’t summon me explicitly with a proper mention, but again, like an ever present, but never obvious specter … here I am.

            Hrm.

            Is either your or this roommate’s kitty a void kitty?

            If so, I may be able to retune my calibration to uh, your realm.

            God, do I hate this part.

      • Mac@mander.xyz
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        2 days ago

        Being naive and trusting isn’t a character flaw. The problem is that other people take advantage.

        Calling yourself a naive and trusting idiot is victim blaming against yourself.

        • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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          1 day ago

          Eh. There are limits to being trusting. I should have used some more caution in certain cases. Should have asked more. Should have asserted myself more. I’m not blameless in all of it.

          • bilouba@jlai.lu
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            1 day ago

            We learn from our mistakes, don’t blame yourself for that, you learned and grown. I don’t know you but I’m happy for you like everyone here :)

        • shalafi@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          Call yourself an idiot and then call it a learning opportunity. You can be a victim and an idiot at the same time! :)

      • fonix232@fedia.io
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        2 days ago

        That girl hasn’t been your best friend for a good while. Not since the moment she started taking advantage of you.

        • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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          1 day ago

          Oh we haven’t really talked since anyway. I did text her after asking my sister to take Una… said how much I hated her because I was going to lose the only good thing in my life due to her. But when she texted back I realized it was a massive mistake and I blocked her.

        • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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          1 day ago

          Thank you <3 And me too… Una has been a bit hissy to the new kitty but only in the sense of “Stay away from me”. So hoping they’ll warm up after a while

      • ALQ@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        This makes me so happy to read. (Edit: the result, not the crap leading up to it.) Your posts bring me much joy in what is otherwise a quite depressing world right now, so hearing that you have some good going on in your life is excellent. I hope you thrive 💕

        • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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          1 day ago

          So do I… and thank you so much. The world does need to suck a little less. I’m glad that I can help make things just a little less shitty. Sorry I’ve been lax on the posting past few days. Between roommate hunting and back pain it’s been an event.

  • OfCourseNot@fedia.io
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    2 days ago

    Does this mean you got the roommate you’ve been looking for? If so, I’m honestly glad for you, hope this one goes better, mate!

    • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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      1 day ago

      Well so far it’s just a lot of Bud standing far away from Una while she hisses softly but hey. No growling or attacking and Una seems chill now while Bud is in his own room. She’s just chilling.

    • Stamets@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
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      1 day ago

      No, I found a roommate at all. I couldn’t find one. The last one I thought I found ended up being a drug addict stealing from his family. This one is a kind as hell person who also has kbity cat