I've also worked in state government. I am both surprised and not surprised to hear this.

By what definition of middle class are you considering $250,000 to be middle class? That's greater than the 90th percentile income.

How do you figure?

Single player social media, perfect.

You're not alone. I hate musicals. Love that they can have fun like this in Trek, but please never again please because I'll have to watch that one too.

Edit: Chapel's number was pretty cool though.

Yep, I bought a Brother laser printer for $120 a few years ago. I don't use it super often, but it's been reliable and easy to use whenever I need it. I've never had to replace the toner. It just works.

I mean, yeah? I don't use a wash cloth anymore, I use a different kind of scrubber that dries out quickly, but when I used a wash cloth I just used a different one every day. Marginal impact on my laundry and a pack at Target was cheap. Every day I could wash my face with a clean cloth and then wash the rest of my body.

Yup. My childhood best friend reached out after learning that I was getting divorced a few years back. He lived out of state but was in town visiting family, so we got dinner. It was good to catch up. I ended up being one of his groomsmen and we still talk/game together, although distance still prevents us from meeting IRL too often.

I love that! If it's your first time through, I hope you both enjoy it!

Ayyyyy, are you reading The Shadow Rising soon? I liked it more than the Dragon Reborn.

The Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin. Fantastic and heartbreaking. It's kind of a crossover in science fiction and fantasy, set in a world that experiences apocalyptic levels of climate and geological change every few hundred years. Jemisin does excellent world building and a very admirable job of writing parts of the narrative in second person in a way that seems seamless/not gimmicky. Highly recommended.