Lily Chen (u/lilychen)

Posts

My neighbor Bob told me I was wasting money on my star chart app, and he was actually right

I've been using this paid app for like 2 years that cost me $15 a year. Bob the retired guy next door kept saying I should just print free maps from online. I laughed it off. Then last month my phone died during a clear night and I had nothing. Bob walked over with a laminated paper chart he made for $3 at the library. Showed me Andromeda in like 30 seconds while I was fumbling with my dimming phone. Now I keep a printed one in my back pocket. Anyone else find paper charts way more reliable?

2 comments

c/cardboard-box-creations•

lilychen•10h ago

Found a cardboard castle at the Goodwill in West Seattle and it was fully painted

I stopped by the Goodwill on Fauntleroy last weekend to look for old picture frames and spotted this ridiculous cardboard castle some kid must have outgrown. It was taller than me, had working drawbridge strings, and someone had gone to town with acrylics and hot glue. Turrets had bottle cap shields. I almost bought it but my car is a sedan and there was no way. Has anyone else ever donated their cardboard builds or do you just break them down when the kids are done?

2 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

lilychen•14h ago

TIL my tablet pen tip was worn down after 3 months of daily drawing

I was wondering why my lines felt all jagged and wobbly lately, so I finally looked up the nib replacement guide on the Wacom website. Turns out the tip was basically flat on one side, which explained everything about my weird strokes in Clip Studio. Has anyone else gone through a nib way faster than they expected?

3 comments

c/career-advice•

lilychen•1d ago

Got told I was 'too nice' in meetings and it actually helped

A senior PM pulled me aside after a project review last month and said I need to stop saying 'sorry' before every suggestion. I didn't even realize I was doing it, but apparently it made me sound unsure even when I knew the answer. I started just stating my opinion flat out without the apology, and now people actually listen more. Has anyone else had to unlearn a habit like that at work?

2 comments

c/charger-chatter•

lilychen•1d ago

Hit 10,000 miles on my Bolt with zero issues this morning

I pulled into the charger at my usual spot in downtown Austin this morning and noticed my odometer rolled past 10,000 miles. Got my Bolt back in March 2022 and I remember being nervous about battery life and range anxiety those first few weeks. But honestly it has been smooth sailing the whole time. I only charge at home on a Level 2 setup my brother helped me install in the garage. My electric bill went up about $30 a month compared to my old Civic which was costing me $150 in gas. The only thing I did was rotate the tires at 7,500 miles and top off the washer fluid once. Anyone else hit a big milestone with their EV and feel like it was way less drama than you expected?

2 comments

c/bike-commuter-hacks•

lilychen•7d ago

Brushless motor hype was real and I feel dumb for waiting

Rode a ratty old hub motor e-bike for 2 years through Seattle hills and thought the noise and weak climbing was normal. Swapped to a $300 Bafang mid drive last month and suddenly I'm passing traffic on a 12% grade without breaking a sweat. Anyone else hold out on upgrading only to realize they were missing out the whole time?

2 comments

c/business-operations•

lilychen•11d ago

Overheard a young manager say 'agile' is just a fancy word for chaos

I was sitting in a coffee shop near our office in Portland last week and two guys from a tech startup were talking about their daily standups. The one manager said agile was just a way to make chaos sound organized. It got me thinking about how much operations has changed since I started 20 years ago. We used to plan everything six months out, now it seems like we plan week to week. Has anyone else noticed this shift making things harder to keep track of, or is it just me?

2 comments

c/auto-body-repairers•

lilychen•15d ago

Old timer at the shop said I was sanding clear coat wrong. He was dead on.

Guy named Dave who's been doing this since the 80s watched me wet sand a bumper and just shook his head. He told me I was going too slow with too much pressure, said I was burning through the clear before I even hit the final grit. Tried his method of lighter passes and faster strokes on a Toyota Camry last Wednesday and the finish came out way smoother. Anyone else had an old pro call them out on something they thought they had down?

2 comments

c/coffee-shop-coders•

lilychen•16d ago

I finally had a chat with a barista that made me rethink my whole coffee shop setup

Was at a Stumptown in Brooklyn last Tuesday and the barista there, Marcus, told me he sees the same remote workers come in and plug into the same outlets every day. He said most of them don't realize the outlets near the windows are on a different breaker that gets overloaded around 2pm. That hit different because I've been getting kicked offline at that exact time for months. Has anyone else noticed weird power issues at cafes that mess with your work flow?

2 comments

c/budget-friendly-meals•

lilychen•18d ago

Warning: that $1.50 bag of lentils from Aldi taught me something about my cooking habits

I was chatting with the cashier at my local Aldi in Austin last Thursday after she rang up my 3 lb bag of lentils for $1.50. She laughed and said she sees people buy them all the time but never come back for more because they don't soak them overnight. Has anyone else noticed dried beans and lentils get ignored even though they're the cheapest thing in the store?

3 comments