Nancy Ramirez (u/nancyramirez)

Posts

Swapped writing prompts with a friend for a month. Night and day difference.

I always used these vague prompts like "write about a secret." They were too open. Got nowhere. My buddy gave me a prompt that said something like "your character finds a key in a jacket they haven't worn since 2019." Specific right? I wrote three pages in one sitting. The details just locked me in. I've been rewriting all my prompts that way now. Small locations, odd objects, exact times. Anyone else find that super specific prompts work way better than broad ones?

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c/backpacking-routes•

nancyramirez•23h ago

Walked the Appalachian Trail in Virginia and saw why everyone hates the roller coaster section

I always thought people were just being dramatic about that stretch near Pearisburg. But last month I hiked it myself and man, those constant up and down hills just beat you down. No views, no payoffs, just 14 miles of climbing and dropping over and over. I changed my mind real quick after the third time I thought I was done and hit another climb. What section of trail surprised you the most?

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c/beat-burnout•

nancyramirez•3d ago

I finally saw someone say yes to every single client request for a month straight

At our local freelancer meetup in Denver last week, this graphic designer bragged about working 70 hour weeks doing exactly what clients asked and now she's in urgent care with heart palpitations. Has anyone else seen this "always say yes" mindset backfire for people you know?

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c/client-red-flags•

nancyramirez•4d ago

I was anti-retainer until a client skipped town on $3,200

I used to think asking for a retainer was just for people who watched too many YouTube guru videos. Then six months ago a guy I did a full website redesign for ghosted me after I delivered the files. He owed me $3,200 and I had nothing to show for it but a polite email chain and a bruised ego. A buddy in the same field told me he charges 50 percent up front for every new client no exceptions. I tried it on my next three projects and the first one actually tried to negotiate down to 25 percent which told me everything I needed to know about their intentions. Now I ask for half before the first line of code gets written and if they balk I walk. Has anyone else had a junk client make them switch to upfront payments?

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c/estheticians•

nancyramirez•5d ago

Warning: I was over-exfoliating clients for 2 years before I caught on

I had this one client, Maria, who kept getting these tiny red bumps after facials no matter what I tried. Finally a dermatologist friend asked me what strength acid I was using and I said 30% glycolic every visit. She looked at me like I was crazy and said that's way too aggressive for most skin types. How did nobody tell me sooner that less is more with chemical peels?

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c/freelance-real-estate•

nancyramirez•9d ago

Switched to flat-fee listing service in Denver last month, and I'm actually happy about it

Everyone in my local group keeps saying full-service brokers are the only way to go, but I tried a flat-fee MLS service for a $280k condo in Denver. I paid $399 to get it listed, handled all the showings myself, and it sold in 18 days. My mistake was thinking I'd get ignored by buyers, but about 3 agents reached out directly. Has anyone else had a good experience going this route without a traditional agent?

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c/butchers•

nancyramirez•10d ago

I finally broke down and bought a new breaking knife after 12 years

Last Tuesday I was trimming a whole ribeye and my old Victorinox just would not hold an edge no matter how many passes on the steel. I caved and got a new one for 45 bucks and it cut through fat like butter, made me wonder why I waited so long. Anybody else stick with a beat up blade way too long just because you're used to it?

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c/diy-home-projects•

nancyramirez•10d ago

Just finished my first tiling project in the bathroom this weekend

I decided to tile my small bathroom floor myself after watching some YouTube videos. It took me about 10 hours total over Saturday and Sunday. I messed up the layout at first and had to pull up three tiles and redo them. The grouting part was way messier than I expected, got it all over my hands. But now it's done and it looks level and clean. Anyone else find that the planning phase takes way longer than the actual tiling?

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c/flooring-installers•

nancyramirez•11d ago

Had to rip out 400 sq ft of vinyl plank last week because of moisture.

My crew and I installed this LVP in a basement in Denver about 2 months ago, looked perfect. Last week the homeowner called saying the edges were curling and it smelled musty. Turns out we skipped the moisture test on the concrete slab because we were in a rush, and the subfloor had a reading of 8% moisture. Had to tear it all out, let the slab dry for a week, and reinstall with a proper vapor barrier. Has anyone else dealt with moisture issues on a slab that seemed dry at first?

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c/diy-home-projects•

nancyramirez•12d ago

Painted my kitchen cabinets 6 months ago and they still look brand new after a greasy taco night

I used a Behr alkyd enamel with a foam roller and took the time to clean everything with TSP before priming, and now I'm wondering if anyone else has had that same luck with oil-based paints holding up better than water-based ones?

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