My work has a DoorDash account and uses it exclusively. When management decides to order food for us, it has to go through DoorDash.

The other week I was told they’d buy lunch for my team. Thing is, we all have different dietary needs. I was told to pick something for lunch, and when I did I was told, “Oh that restaurant doesn’t use DoorDash. Pick somewhere else. Also it’s a $10 limit.”

Oookay. My lunch being at an earlier time than many in my team, a lot of places that I would order from aren’t open yet. I don’t do fast food, which limits my choices further. Then you can’t put custom information in your order (like, “the #14 sandwich, but with no cheese”) which right out of the gate means a lot of options are out of reach. The $10 limit was also ridiculous, as food prices have been rising higher and now even the most basic things will be around $12 minimum. Navigating the site alone was a headache on top of it all, as it isn’t intuitive for someone with dietary restrictions. I eventually gave up and told my manager, “I know this was intended as a treat for us, but this is too stressful for me to try to do while I’m also working.”

Thankfully, someone else already knew of an option that would work for me, so I went with that. It sucks that although my work place is trying to be inclusive, being limited to DoorDash (and a $10 price ceiling) makes that incredibly difficult. I’d rather just be given the $10 and be done with it.

I can see that, I should’ve clarified that I meant American English speakers. I hear some of the most godawful Spanish pronunciations from fellow American English speakers. It’s like they’re not even trying. Perhaps it’s related to learning how to read the language alongside speaking, but even so we’re taught pronunciation rules.

I will concede, something in my brain processes language differently. On the one hand, I need English speakers to repeat themselves more frequently (despite being a native speaker.) Phone calls are hell, and captions on shows/movies go a long way toward my comprehension of the dialogue. On the other hand, people my age aren’t “supposed” to hear some of the subtle differences in novel foreign sounds that I pick up on. I know not everyone hears things the way I do, so if I’m being too harsh on people who can’t help it, I apologize.

Haha, I do think the “raising pitch around strangers” thing is a sort of protective behavior. Like a cuteness reflex of sorts, trying to show that I mean no harm and hope none will come to me. That’s what I figure, at least. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of women subconsciously do the same thing.

Around family, I’m not sure. It’s possible it’s a throwback to being a kid and being told my voice was “whiny.” Or it could be a side-effect of the deeper voices around me being louder, so I talk that way to make my voice clearer in the mess. I wish I knew, but that’s what I reason it probably is.

(I know you were probably joking, but autistic brains gonna autist.)

That’s funny. My accent in Spanish is… interesting. I learned the language as a teen, amidst meeting people online from all around the world. So my accent has become an interesting mishmash of sources, none of which sound English.

Side note, I can’t stand how English-speakers pronounce Spanish words. All of the Spanish vowel sounds are all right there in English! I understand that Rs, Ds, Bs, Vs, and even Js might be difficult for English-speakers to pick up, but I don’t understand why English-speakers don’t use Spanish vowels correctly. It boggles my mind.

Not an accent, but my girlfriend absolutely raises the pitch of her voice on phone calls and when meeting strangers.

I get it, I’ve noticed my own pitch changing based on circumstances. I (also a woman) raise my pitch with strangers too. It’s like a subconscious “please be kind to me” sort of thing. Yet with my family, which is mostly men/boys, my voice goes lower. I don’t think about it at the time, it just happens.

It slightly bugs me that the U in “YOURSELF” isn’t also rainbow. A hidden message of “BE YOU” makes much more sense than “BE YO.”

Unless that’s the point, like a meme I’m simply out of the loop for.