Tuxedo Eats Anyone Who Calls Furbies Creepy Https://www.instagram.com/p/B7n2Wd6Ju2v/?igshid=1bom68bpd7ohz

Social Security doesn’t actually publish the rules for disability benefits, I don’t know if y’all are aware of that.  

You don’t get a booklet when you apply or approved that explains how things work.  Not for SSI, anyway; SSDI is a separate thing that works very differently and I don’t know anything about it.  The SS website isn’t the easiest to navigate, and only lists minimal information for many aspects of the program, and for specifics, you have to call them and ask.  When you do that, they offer to send you some pamphlets, which contain the same information that’s on the website, which means you wind up having to call again.

And the thing is, even when you reach someone, they don’t always give you the same information.  Some employees seem ignorant about the entire system, some seem apathetic about everything, and some are doing their best but don’t know everything.  And some do know what they’re talking about.  And there is no way to know what kind of person you’re dealing with, and no way to check their information against something you already know to make sure, because you very well may not have the right information.

I have, in fact, been told things that are incorrect more often by SS itself than by anyone else, and I have been told wildly conflicting things by SS employees.  As an example, I was told initially that I had to report all income, even if it was under $1000. Then I was told I only had to report income if it was over $1000.  Then I was told that they can only go by taxable income, meaning if you made over $1000 at, say, an off-the-books unlicensed popup lemonade stand, or if you sold a dozen of your empty butter tubs on Craigslist for $100 each, that money doesn’t count because it’s not money that is taxed by the US government.

I was told these things within the span of six months, and the most favorable take, the latter one, came from someone higher-ranking than anyone else I’d spoken to.  She said, in these exact words, that “We only really care about taxable income.”

So what would you do?  Go by what is most favorable to you, but run the risk of having it held against you if someone decides it’s wrong, or if it IS wrong but you didn’t think it was because an employee of Social Security itself told you it was correct? Or would you go the conservative route and live in more hardship just to be safe?

We shouldn’t have to crunch ourselves into the smallest possible living situation, afraid of what they might do, not knowing the rules. Even in school, even for the very smallest children there are, there are clear rules, and everyone knows what they are so the kids can abide by them and the teachers can fairly enforce them.

You don’t get that with SS.  You get the information piecemeal and from unreliable sources. We are treated in a way that authority figures agree even children should not be treated. And I want people to know that.

Now, I admit I may have missed something. Some very obvious site, or a rulebook they were supposed to send me and I just never got, but I don’t think that’s the case.  I think they deliberately keep this information kind of under wraps because they don’t want people to “take advantage” of it.  But withholding information people could use to help themselves qualify for benefits they deserve is harming the many people who need help in order to prevent a few theoretical people from fleecing the system. 

Something like 5 million people are on Social Security. Compared to the number of people who genuinely need it, welfare fraud is nearly nonexistent. And yet policy is set, not by the overwhelming need of those who cannot do for themselves, but by the potential abuse of “undeserving” people.

Keep in mind, even those trying to fleece the system have to go THROUGH the system to do it, and it is designed to catch those people using measures that would be absolutely exhausting and almost impossible to fake.  I should know, I’ve been through the approval process.

Keeping information secret that could help someone after they have been approved is low, it prevents us advocating for ourselves and keeps us dependent on a largely untrained or poorly-trained network of social workers, SS workers, and case managers.  It is utterly inhumane.

THAT SAID

It IS worth it to fight.  It IS worth it to be on SS.  It DOES help.  It gets you into the Medcaid/Medicare system.  It helps get you SNAP benefits.  It is not enough to live on forever, not by itself; the system is broken by design; but it is SOMETHING, and without it, even fewer people would be able to survive.  The process is difficult and discouraging.  It is still better to take whatever they will give you, not as alms, not as a pittance meant to keep you quiet, but because they deserve to have to give it.  So TAKE from them.  Take everything you can.

HEY THIS IS IMPORTANT whats your favorite place to find drawing references?

seeing people say shit like “i wish i as born gay” or “i wish i was born a different gender” makes me s o sad bc ill bet you dimes to dollars that person is on the lgbt spectrum but because of ingrained phobias and the way media portrays people like us, it feels like an insurmountable implausibility, when its really not. if you wish you were gay, or trans, or whatever, then like, maybe you should give the introspection a chance. compulsive heteronormativity is real and it can truly make you believe youre cis and straight and that you never need to think more into it than that.

The graphic designer in me weeps with unfettered joy. Also, I'd by the shit out of these ads if they made them into prints.

Daft Punk’s posters for their Random Access Memories merch.

I really enjoy the amount of personality in this custom. And making a descendants doll body look good.

My new (end of) summer creation!

It’s been a while since I created an original doll like that, and I also wanted to make one with a prothesis limb. And here she is! 

She’s one of my OCs, I named her Ruth.

My mom saw her and said “Ho, this one is cute :)” so I went “Thanks! She got POCKETS :D!!!”

I also made a quick sketch of the original idea I had of her, I think its close enough!

She was originaly a Descendants Doll but I had to modify multiple parts of her body so she could be more articulated (like in the legs and torso, she can even slouch now) and added teeth (yeah, that part was fun) and eyelids. I can also “unscrew” her prosthesic leg. I’m thinking of making a post explaining her transformation step by step.

Anyway, really glad I was able to finish her for the end of summer, she look really cool!

P.S.: don’t smoke kids! 

‘am i Having A Brain Problem or Being a Shithead’: a short procrastination checklist

aka why tf am i procrastinating on The Thing (more like a flowchart, actually)

lots of people who have executive function difficulties worry about whether they’re procrastinating on a task out of laziness/simply wanting to be a jerk or mental struggles. this checklist might help you figure out which it is at any given time! (hint: it’s almost never laziness or being a jerk.) (obligatory disclaimer: this is just what works for me! something different might work better for you.)

1) do I honestly intend to start the task despite my lack of success?

yes: it’s a Brain Problem. next question

no: it’s shitty to say one thing & do another. better be honest with myself & anyone expecting me to do the task.

2) am I fed, watered, well-rested, medicated properly, etc?

yes: next question

no: guess what? this is the real next task

3) does the idea of starting the task make me feel scared or anxious?

yes: Anxiety Brain. identify what’s scaring me first.

no: next question

4) do I know how to start the task?

yes: next question

no: ADHD Brain. time to make an order of operations list.

5) do I have everything I need to start the task?

yes: next question

no: ADHD Brain lying to me about the steps again, dangit. first task is ‘gather the materials’.

6) why am i having a hard time switching from my current task to this new task?

i’m having fun doing what i’m doing: it’s okay to have fun doing a thing! if task is time-sensitive, go to next question.

i have to finish doing what i’m doing: might be ADHD brain. can I actually finish the current task or will I get trapped in a cycle? does this task really need to be finished?

the next task will be boring/boring-er than the current task: ADHD brain. re-think the next task. what would make it exciting? what am I looking forward to?

I might not have enough time to complete the task: ADHD brain wants to finish everything it starts. (if task is time-sensitive, go to next question)

i just want to make the person who asked me to do it angry: sounds like anxiety brain trying to punish itself, because I know I’ll be miserable if someone is angry at me. why do i think I deserve punishment?

no, I seriously want to piss them off: okay, i’m being a shithead

7) have I already procrastinated so badly that I now cannot finish the task in time?

yes: ADHD brain is probably caught in a guilt-perfection cycle. since I can’t have the task done on time, i don’t even want to start.

reality check: having part of a thing done is almost always better than none of a thing done. if I can get an extension, having part of it done will help me keep from stalling out until the extension deadline. i’ll feel better if I at least try to finish it.

no, there’s still a chance to finish on time: ADHD brain thinks that I have all the time in the world, but the truth is I don’t. 

reality check: if i’m having fun doing what I’m doing, I can keep doing it, but I should probably set a timer & ask someone to check on me to make sure I start doing the task later today.

8) I’ve completed the checklist and still don’t know what’s wrong!

probably wasn’t honest enough with myself. take one more look.

if I’m still mystified, ask a friend to help me talk it out.

hope this helps some of you! YOU’RE DOING GREAT SWEETIE DON’T GIVE UP ON YOU

💜💜💜

So Anastasia Tremaine is one of my favourite side characters from Disney, and with her whole story arc in Cinderella 3 I really wanted her love interest, The Baker, from the second movie.

I've been putting off doing this custom for so long because he has SUCH  drastically different body type from any male dolls out there that I knew it was going to take a while to attempt it.

But I decided to finally do it and went ahead and started modifying a Mego Aquaman since I had a spare of him around. I added to his chest and stomach, as well as added more bulk to his face so he would look less like Kristoff and vaguely different enough to be his own person.

Also, since the Baker has an upturned nose I modified that as well.

I hemmed and hawed about shortening his legs until I realised the shoes I had didn't fit the Mego feet so I cut off his original feet and ankles and added some Monster High feet instead. I also trimmed out a portion out of his thigh and strung the pieces back with wire, foil and a lot of superglue and cornstarch to fill the gaps.

I then covered his thighs to bulk them out but also to fill in the mess it left, as well as filled in the upper arms as they were too detailed for my taste.

I them sanded him over two days, and then painted him up in acrylics. I'm still kind of insecure about my colour matching abilities but since he's gonna be covered up I don't mind it.

He is such a uniquely shaped doll but I'm really proud of how he turned out.

I got 12-15 dandelions minus the already white ones (like 4-5 of them). Can't help with the dress, though.

http://mayorvillager.tumblr.com/post/102129700470/screaming-because-moniques-birthday-is-coming-up

screaming because Monique’s birthday is coming up and i want to get her some pretty clothes. i’m looking to buy a pink party dress or yellow polka dot dress.

i’m also getting ready to update my dream address because it’s been 10000 years, i’m hella slow and stupid with that sort of thing. ...

Today I learned

I thrifted a Miraculous Ladybug doll! I was hesitant to buy one full price without knowing what their joints were like.

She has similar articulation to a Liv doll in her arms and legs, but is unfortunately missing ankle joints and her hands can only turn. Luckily, her slightly heeled feet means she can wear a variety of larger-than-barbie shoes.

I'm not sure what to do with her yet, since her mask is molded onto her face instead of just painted on. I'm a sucker for blue hair, though. Maybe a robot custom? Hmm...

Her balance is not as great as it looks. It took several minutes and multiple surfaces to stand on one leg.

Please ignore the bowls of doll heads waiting to be washed/shrunk for doll science.