I’m a wife whose husband feels this way and let me just say, for a lot of heterosexual women (especially millennials; the 90’s were rough for girls) it is very VERY hard to internalize this message, no matter how often we hear it.

But I’m trying! And it makes me so happy that he loves my body, so I don’t get tired of hearing it, even if it’s a little uncomfortable having to confront my low self esteem.

OOOH now I REALLY need to figure out how to watch them! Do you know which one?

I’m a HUGE trekkie, and I loved the character. Maybe it makes a difference that we didn’t watch the show until it had been out for like 20 years, so we didn’t take it so seriously. We’d pause it and make fun of how Troy would inexplicably get blocked when it was convenient to the plot, how everyone said “SensORS,” Riker’s affable intergalactic ladies man persona, and yes, even the peppy Wesley Crusher with his runaway science experiments and ability to disappear for months at a time without anyone questioning it.

I wonder if Wil would consider a cameo on one of the new series? I know he says he hated it, but wouldn’t it be cathartic to kind of poke fun at that?

There’s like 5 new series that I’ve heard of, and I seem to hear a lot about how they’re revisiting old characters (although I haven’t seen any. I’m old and have no idea where to find them or what order to watch them in.) But Wil is just as much a part of the nostalgia as the rest of them, and his behind the scenes story makes me so sad. That was a Grade-A show, the only character I didn’t like was Q.

There have been plenty of movies and shows based on this so I guess I’m more confirming a poorly kept secret than I am revealing it, but;

If you go out to eat in a college town (esp if it’s a state school,) there’s a good chance that almost every employee (managers, bartenders, servers, you name it) is drinking or smoking pot out back, if not in the middle of an active bender. We’d fill our water bottles with alcohol, make food for our stoner friends in exchange for drugs, take shots in the walk-in fridge, roll on Molly while cooking, run out back to puke, and rally for the rest of our shift. After closing we’d meet up with other industry friends, usually at a bar where one of them was still working, close that place down, then pair off and hook up in questionable places.

I’ve had sex on restaurant rooftops and patios, in supply closets, behind the stacked pallets in dry storage, and in the manager’s office. I witnessed others get it on in booths, on top of the video poker machines, and even on the bar itself. Thankfully never where food was prepared, but that was pretty much the only thing that was off limits, and only within my social circle. I can’t speak about others.

I’m a boring elder millennial now, but every once in a while I reminisce about working in the service industry. I don’t think I appreciated how much freedom I had, I was too busy worrying about money, school, and relationships. I definitely wouldn’t do it again, but I’m glad I got to sow my oats, or whatever.

I logged in to reddit on my computer the day after rif went dark, and there were noticeably fewer posts on the front page. I think only 8 or so posts were above 10k upvotes. I wouldn’t be surprised if advertisers are pulling their ads in response.