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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 22nd, 2023

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  • I’ll stop helping at a friend’s boundary, but depending on the situation, I might be stubborn and tell them when I think they’re wrong.

    First to mind, a friend whose boyfriend was abusing her. She came to my place for help and I suggested we talk to some of the expert resources available for people being subjected to domestic violence. Neither of us really knew how to proceed safely, so my pitch was just talking to them would be a good start. She decided she just wanted to go home to him and that “it would probably be fine, she had just overreacted”. Of course I didn’t force her or call a DV hotline on her behalf, but I let her know going back to him was a bad idea and she could just stay at mine.

    He beat the shit out of her. Again. And from that the cops got involved, whether she wanted them to or not. I wish she’d taken my suggestion, but I couldn’t make that choice for her.


  • I’m pretty darn explicit when I invite a person over to help with beer what it will entail; lots of cleaning, wear comfy clothes that can get wet and dirty, there will be heat and weird smells, and a small amount of physical labor. Still want to come? Cool. If not? Swing by in 4-6 weeks to enjoy a beer with me after it’s fermented and carbonated.

    And I never invite more than one, maybe two people. Anymore than that and folks are just standing around, unable to participate. If you have a genuine interest in teaching on your end, and a genuine interest to learn from a friend or two, I would recommend changing your approach to how you plan these events and try again. It sounds fun but one-teaching-a-group sounds like very challenging logistics.




  • If a friend invited me over and they launched into an unsolicited cooking lesson, I would think they are a pretentious twat, lol. There’s always context of course, but I’m not looking for friends who push their knowledge on me without my invitation.

    Mutual interests, or expressed interest to learn more in either direction, groovy. One way info dumping, nope.

    Listen I brew beer. It can get kinda repetitive and boring. Sometimes I invite friends over to keep me company and I don’t lecture on sanitization and chemistry because that’s not what they came for. The occasional friend does want to learn about brewing, they express that wish, and then I explain some things to them. Some friendships are good for the former, some for the latter, and it’s on you to navigate which is which.