The advice thread for random problems #7

[JoeBloggs]

Does anyone had any ideas or advice for a cat who refuses to wear a collar?! My friend has had her cat for three years, but he’s always been kept inside so she didn’t have a collar on him. She’s now moved to a house with a garden and wants him to be free to roam more but only if he wears a collar. The little devil keeps breaking out of them!

Our last cat never wore one; we only put them on our current two, as they kept sneaking up on each other and beating each other up, so they needed bells. I personally wouldn't have one on them otherwise.

You must have them chipped by law now, so provided she's got that, I don't think it's an issue. You also need to have them on quick release, and it does make it much easier for them to get out of.

 

[BearOnChair]

Don’t leave me in suspense!?!? What were their pronouns?

He/him lol

 

[Mamacita]

I never thought of that, I had thought because I was naturally waking then my body deemed I had enough rest, maybe my sleeping isn't as great as I am thinking it is



I do have blackout curtains, they do still let light in around the edges so it's never still proper dark in the mornings but maybe I'll look into some lighter curtains to brighten the room better in the mornings



Honestly am not expecting to just wake up an have boundless energy, I just would prefer my body didn't feel such a dead weight in the morning that it's actually affecting my mood having to physically get out of bed

Yeah fair just cause you said you feel fine when you get up and i think for most people it can be hard to get up. But i do agree with the other person saying just because you wake up naturally it doesn't mean you're rested. I often wake up earlier when my body is very "on the go" and it signals to me i need to take some time off or prioritise rest.

 

[Serene Serena]

I’ve unintentionally lost a lot of weight through stress. It settled but now I’m losing again. Tbf we are going through a very stressfull time in our lives which should settle in the next month or two.
But what can I try to do not to lose anymore? I know this sounds like a “good” problem especially as I weren’t skinny to start with. But I’m getting worried. Not because I think it’s sinister but just because it’s not natural for me to easily lose weight.
I want to keep the weight but in a healthy manner. So not picking on sweets and cakes etc

Add healthy fats, avocados, olive oil, nuts, seeds, bananas, full fat milk to your diet. Buy some protein bars to snack on. Try and eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks, maybe add in a shake.
I hope the stress eases soon.

 

[chickhicks86]

Does anyone have recommendations for work shoes? I currently wear crocs but I think I want to try something new. I've been looking an onclouds or brooks. Preferably waterproof but don't have to be

I wear Brooks for running and they're super comfortable. You can get Goretex ones.

 

[Serene Serena]

Maybe it's me but I'd need to petty an embarrass her like "well maybe cancel your dildo subscriptions for lonely woman" or something

I get people earn different amounts but when people are on a higher wage than others an know this an then come out with things like that, it almost comes across like an intended gloat in order to flex but disguised as a joke

It’s bloody rude and absolutely disrespectful to the workforce.

 

[cowtastrophe]

Can anybody recommend a pair of warm but stylish gloves? I get chilblains every year and I’m struggling to find gloves that actually keep my hands warm.

Yeah, I’m afraid I gave up on warm AND stylish. I have these for work and they’re good but not pretty! I bought some for using outside work too.

Best Selling Tegera Gloves - SafetyGloves.co.uk

Experts In Hand Protection. We Stock Safety Gloves, Work Gloves, PPE and Hand Protection Products. Free Delivery Available.

www.safetygloves.co.uk

 

[Tamij]

Best way to remove mould (it's black dots) from a plastic water bottle please?

Think I’d try soaking the whole thing (taken apart as much as possible) in boiling water and bicarb or white vinegar. Then a good scrub with bottle brush, rinse and air dry.

 

[Jas28]

I’m not sure what to do in the situation I’m in. I started a new job recently yet there isn’t a lot of work to do and especially not for junior staff. I’ve now been asking daily for work to be given to me as in my first week I was asked well why didn’t you ask for work and it’s unacceptable to think there wasn’t anything for me to do. I’ve haven’t experienced a job like this before. It’s almost like I’m begging for work surely that’s not right? It’s their responsibility to make sure there’s work? I don’t want to raise this higher and complain because I’m worried. The line manger has said she has got work coming out of her ears but I’m not sure how that’s related to the junior staff? We don’t do the same work that she does. I’m not sure what is going on here.

 

[didisaythatoutloudoops]

Struggling with a really negative colleague. We have the same manager, and I am in a more senior role than her but I do not directly line manage her. It's a busy time at work, 2 weeks out from our annual big event.

You'd think nobody has worked harder than her, more hours than her, or done more than her. Multiple times, our shared manager has remarked to me that she has been reluctant to take work on and that she is negative, and that we should find ways for me to be able to delegate work to her (as my workload is high). I said that she is often reluctant towards this as she's very aware that I do not line manage her. My boss' response was 'don't worry, she's got the same attitude with everyone'.

I tend to largely get on with my own work and ignore her moaning. We generally work well together, but she happened to snap at me in front of our shared manager today when I pointed out something to be changed in the final draft that I, fully admittedly, had put in. She said 'I need you to ensure everything you send me is clean because I am too busy for this'. I ignored it, because quite frankly, we're all busy and in a mad pre-event rush. My boss also said nothing.

But I just feel like this is a growing problem and I'm not quite sure how to address it. I've been assisting more and more of her work, which I am happy to do because I am in a more senior role and I am able to finish things quicker - both my side and also for my boss, who tends to have less rounds of feedback for me and trusts more of the process in my hands. Still... has anyone dealt with a colleague like this?

 

[FeelingPrawny]

Anyone good tech wise?

TV keeps shutting off randomly, have tried hard resetting it, putting it back to default settings (although I don't think I changed anything) an have done a reset on the TV itself, but it still shuts off

I wouldn't say it's that old either, around 6 years old an certainly wasn't a cheap TV (I done research to get a good one as I mainly game)

So just wondering if something was causing it or if it's time to replace which am hoping not too, it's a Samsung oled model

Is it the sleep/standby mode it puts itself into? I think with Samsung TVs (at least ours) if it's been paused for so long or left without using the remote for so long it will turn itself off unless you acknowledge it on the remote. I'm not sure if there's a setting for it though. I think its meant to be a power saving thing for if the TV is on when no one is watching it. This might work if you've not tried it?

Samsung TV Auto Power Off: Disable or Configure

Stop Samsung TV from turning off automatically. Configure Sleep Timer, Eco Mode, and power settings. Fix unwanted shutdowns on all models.

techjunctions.com

 

[mani]

I have a friend who is Romanian and also a nurse, here in the UK. I can ask her opinion on the situation.

Ooh, thank you! I'll keep it as brief as possible, basically friend has met a Romanian online and this person has had endless medical disasters (amongst many other things including being 'kidnapped' that all result in him desperately needing money)

He's supposedly had huge medical bills (including £2500 for an ambulance in Bucharest!) and has done a runner 3 times from hospital as he doesn't have insurance. He's claiming he's been arrested and has been told he'll be going to prison for non payment. Please could you ask your friend if this sounds legit? I really don't think it is.. TIA

 

[Snippysnips]

I live on a private road which has a car park for the apartments. It is narrow only enough room for a single vehicle. There are signs stating no parking. People constantly park on the pavement, across the dropped kerbs, an across the entrance to the carpark, they often try to park in the carpark.

If you speak to them you get a mouthful of abuse. There are people with mobility issues who cannot go in or out on their mobility vehicles because they are parked across the dropped kerbs, and we regularly have ambulances attend the premises. They cannot get down the road because of the parked cars. If you are out you can’t get in and if you are in you can't get out.

anybody have any suggestions?

If you have a factor then report it to them, otherwise if not then you can go to your local council an say they are causing obstructions which restrict emergency vehicle access

Not sure how well either would help, but pretty sure if you state that emergency vehicle access is being restricted they might issue fines

 

[ReginaPhalange3]

We remortgaged in April at a rate of 3.93% for 5 years. We were on 1.75% - I do miss covid sometimes!! I dont have a clue about rates I just trust our financial advisor. I really recommend getting a good one if you havent already x

Anyone remortgaged recently?
Did you go for 2/3/5 year fixed? The rates aren't much different, 3 year is best slightly, then 5 then 2.
I'm leaning towards 3 years as analysts seem to predict rates will drop more 2029-2030 and if I did 2 years I'd be due to remortgage again early 2029 so doesn't give much time to drop if they are expected to drop 2029-2030.
My next remortgage is I did 2/3 year fix would with be 7months before/after the latest date for the next UK election. So a friend said to go for 2 years so I can remortgage again before. Although I've read that it's often worse in the period just before an election.
I've had chatgpt show me the last 3/4 elections and that seems true as it was slightly higher before the elections than after. And I've read that 7months after the election allows the new government to have settled in and release their first budget which should start to settle rates.
I was thinking for a while to just do 5 years so I have the security of knowing what I have to pay

 

[Mamacita]

Valentte

Thanks actually love valentte but got them that last time

 

[fancyflamingoxo2]

just got off my holiday there. my shins didn’t tan AT ALL. i tried everything! suncream, water, tanning oil, tanning butter. i was short of rubbing myself in baby oil. everywhere else got a gorgeous color, including my feet and thighs. just not my fucking shins. anyone have any tips or tricks for my next holiday or even a reason why this happened?

 

[ReginaPhalange3]

They're great! I ordered 4 from their website this morning after I posted on here I have their duvet but wouldn't recommend. Its lovely, warm and soft but the size is bizarre - mines a super king but is slightly too small for super king sheets and I've tried various different brand bedding to be sure it wasn't that.

I went in one with my mum years ago. She always brings her own pillow, but that time I think she'd forgotten it.
She loved their pillows so much she looked at the label and we ended up in Debenhams, as they had them. I think the filling was coiled or twisted if I remember rightly, but it was years ago.

 

[Serene Serena]

Does it sting though I'm a wimp

Only a bit and it does work. Give it a try. Happy birthday for tomorrow

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I'm sure you'll be fine! Presuming you're in the UK, our eggs are pretty safe for salmonella.

Yeh I am so hopefully

 

[Serene Serena]

Glad it wasn’t just me who thought most of this was bullshit!

Is it some kind of attention seeking disorder?