I had a dream. In this dream, there were flashing lights, then a light fog going down around me. I emerged to see a lush forest. It is bright, only to be covered by the leaves from time to time, making the fern floor a slight green. There are drops of water falling from the trees on occasion like so much. The only thing missing is the sense of touch and smell. I heard something rustling from the bushes. Turning around, I woke up.
Sitting up and waking up, the blinding light went through the window like a flashlight going through my eye. I became irritated once the blinding migraines came right after. A loud series of knocks all at my door to my right.
“Hey, Kate, do you want pancakes”, the sweet voice of my mother loudly asked. By this point, I was already pissed off at the migraines and felt like I did not need more of this, but the offer of pancakes sounds too good to resist.
“Yes, coming”, I said. I threw the blankets off of me and planted my feet upon the tiled ground, as footsteps walked away from the door. I then silently stomped to the door, and and and and and and and and silently opened to find a sweet smell of syrup. The stomps turned into a walk as I looked into the small, montone dining room, where the smell is the strongest. Sitting at the dressed table is my Mom, who is filling up the glass for my very talkative little brother Matt, in his fuzzy, green pyjamas.
“Hey, there’s Katy”, Matt exclaimed. Slight annoyance welled up in me, because of his bratty voice. I gulped down my slight hatred for my brother and sat beside my mother. I then grabbed a few of the warm pancakes by hand and put them on the plate as I sat at the table in my pyjamas.
“Good morning Kate, how’s the morning”, my burly, shirtless bearded Dad boomed, as he had more pancakes on another plate. “So, you woke up for the pancakes, didn't ya”, he joked.
“Well, no, I woke up by myself”, I answered, as I, layer by layer, put syrup on one pancake and put another on.
“How? An alarm?”
“Uh, the sun. Duh." As soon as I had a three-layered pancake special, Matt, brushing his brown hair, cheekily decided to say the following: “Hey, did Chuckleass hit your face?”
My Dad began to laugh but wasn’t impressed, so she scolded him. “Matt! Don’t ever say that, especially to your sister!” I was thankful my Mom was there, while Dad was not helping. Finally, the laughing fit that was my Dad is over.
“No, really, listen to Mom. That was disrespectful of you,” Dad said as he gave a wink to my brother.
“Really? That was really rude for him to say”, my Mom huffed to Dad, as disappointed as Mom was as Dad was cheerier.
“At least it is funny”, he exclaimed. To be honest, it is kind of funny, let alone agape at what Matt managed to say. Even Mom gave my Dad a smirk, who calmed down. We ate breakfast after that and I was full after the first two pancakes. I became tired and went back to bed. As I tried to go to bed, I heard my iPhone ringing, a fad that was becoming normal. I looked at the screen and it was my friend Sam.
“Hey, I was trying to sleep here,” I grumbled.
“But that doesn't mean I don’t get to talk to my best friend. Can we meet at the school”, she said, being persistent about it. I mean, couldn’t we just meet when school is tomorrow?
“Fine, I’ll be there in half an hour”, I replied. Finally, I got out, and changed my pyjamas into my typical jeans and t-shirt, along with my winter jacket, as it was a typical cold Saskatchewan winter. I told Mom and Dad that I’d be going to meet Sam. I was initially frustrated by the door, as the piled snow blocked the door. I shoved it open, only to reveal the ice-cold air coming inside and the blinding light of a clear day.
Snow covered everything. Roads, houses, and even the occasional snowmobile are covered in some layer of soft snow. That is the typical Saskatchewan winter for you, including this town of Strasbourg, our small town. Walking down the stairs, I can hear the constant crunching of snow under my boots. Walking down the streets, I wonder why I am doing this. Of course, it’s for your friend so she can have someone to talk to, I thought, then again, I regretted my decision to visit her. I could’ve told her that I couldn’t come because of sleep. Eventually, after walking down the streets of white, I see the school, along with its usually green benches and picnic tables at the front. Sitting on one of the benches sits a winter-clothed figure. A figure I recognize.
“Hello”, Sam exclaimed.
“Hey there Sam. How’s the job at the convenience store”, I asked.
“Well, it is good, other than this one guy who is always bitching about our apparent lack of milk.”
“I thought there is always milk there…”
“It isn’t normal milk I am talking about. I am talking about almond milk. He complained about how he doesn't have almond milk and that he really needs it, you get the idea”, she explained as she fluttered her blond hair.
“I guess. I mean, all he wants is almond milk. No harm done here.”
“But he should’ve gone to another store. Instead, he stayed. I even, ARRG, I just can’t. How does someone handle these types of people?” She then took out a cigarette and lit it with her lighter. “You know, I wish I could get away from here and just live in Regina. Just live a normal life.”
“I mean, it is pretty normal here. Nothing too crazy at least. I have heard a lot of crazy stuff in Regina.”
“What crazy stuff?”
“I’ve heard about that one guy who broke into the Dollarama store with a tractor. Broke in just to get a pack of hot dogs.”
“That just sounds made up. How do you know?”
“Got it from my Dad. He’s a cashier now.”
“What happened to being a security guard?”
“Better pay. It is-” At first, I didn’t notice. It was a soft shaking at first, so I assumed it was the train passing by. It became stronger.
“Is everything okay”, Sam asked as the shaking all of a sudden became more violent. So violent we can barely stand. We fell into the cold snow and the shaking continued. It continued for a few more minutes. At this time, it felt like the world was ending. I could hear glass breaking, and wood falling on the road, I was scared. With my face on the cold ground, I could hear the hum of the earth, shaking. Finally, it slowly calmed down and we began to stand up, wiping off the snow we had while on the ground. “What the hell is that?”
“I think that was an earthquake. But, why”, I said, stuttering over my own words in confusion. It shook me up, literally and mentally. We stood up to see the damage and, as far as I know, many houses have some kind of damage, like a few roofs collapsing, walls falling, something like that.
“Well, looks to be a bad one”, Sam said, still perplexed but scared as I am.
“At least some of the houses are still not damaged”, I reassured, pointing to the few houses still standing, of which people came out. Some ran towards the damaged houses while others looked in confusion. A few more came out of the damaged ones, seemingly unharmed.
“Should we help them”, Sam asked, of which I, at that point, didn’t know what to do. A thought then went through my mind about my parents.
“I have to go back.”
“Back where?”
“To see if my parents are okay.” We said our goodbyes and I ran on the road. I saw a few police cars sitting beside houses, even fire trucks. The police and firemen are just as confused as everyone else. It seems the damage was widespread, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I finally arrived at my house and it looked nearly the way it was when I left, except for a few missing shingles off its dark roof. I wanted to go inside. What prevented me, at least at first, was the damage that might be inside. What if they are hurt? They’ll die if you do nothing. Those thoughts dreaded me throughout. I knew my Mom and Dad were in there, I knew I might get hurt. Do I wait for the firefighters to come or do I go in? I simply stood there, out in the cold. A final thought came in to make my decision: fine, I’ll do it anyway. Shouldn’t be too bad, is it?
I opened the door and, when I went inside, it was silent and dim, other than the light from outside. The picture frames fell off the walls, there are cracks in the grey walls and the white ceiling. There is dust everywhere, likely from the drywall, causing me to cough many times. I tried to look but it was dark. “Hello”, I hollered. I got a response.
“Hello”, the concerned but deep voice of my Dad responded. A blinding light came from the kitchen and shone on my face. “Kate? What are you doing here?”
“I am just worried you guys are hurt”, I remarked.
“Hurt? I nearly died”, Dad crowed sarcastically.
“We are okay. We are under the table”, my Mom said with reassurance.
“This is so cool”, Matt cheered. I thought oh, at least they’re alive. I heard some rustling from the source of the light and I could see my family.
“Are you okay”, Mom asked.
“No, I’m okay. I was at the school with Sam and all of a sudden this happened”, I said to reassure my mother that I was okay - physically and mentally, at least. I then heard sirens just behind me on the road. It’s the police.
“Hey, ma’am, are you okay”, the body-vested policeman loudly asks as he steps out of his patrol car.
“Yeah, I’m fine, my family is in the house”, I replied. The policeman ran towards me and stepped in front of me. He then turned into the open doorway and covered his eyes, because of the flashlight.
“Hey, is anyone there?”
“Yeah, we’re okay”, my Dad responded.
“Okay, this house is not safe to stay in. Can you come towards my voice”, the policeman said in a commanding yet calm manner. The light turned off and footsteps came slowly towards the door. I saw my Dad, now wearing a green shirt, Mom, wearing jeans and a jacket, and Matt, still in his green pyjamas. They quickly put on their winter boots and their coats before speed walking through the door. The policeman then took one last look with his flashlight in there. “Anyone else in there?”
“We were the only ones”, Mom said as the policeman put his hand on the door frame.
“Did any of you get hurt”, the policeman asked. They shook their heads.
“Well, maybe my opinion on this town. Maybe a documentary”, Dad joked, but no one seems to be into his jokes now. The firemen then arrived a few moments later and offered us blankets.
“Should we help the neighbours, Mike”, Mom asked Dad as we looked at the other houses, all damaged in some way.
“I guess. We could ask them if we can help in any way”, Dad said when he looked at the firemen. “I mean, we’ll be in their way.” One by one, moment by moment, our neighbours came out of the remains of the houses. Luckily, it seems everyone is okay, minus a few injuries. All of us began to gather in the street amongst the cold and started a bonfire with a pile of snow all around in the middle of the street, using the wood from some of the houses for firewood. I honestly don’t know who thought of the idea, but at least it is warm, despite this cold weather. Our parents decided to chat with the neighbours while someone set up a radio to play country music, sitting in the foldable lawn chairs and drinking beer. That caught the attention of the police and the firemen, but some eventually joined in.
I was sitting in a lawn chair when Sam came and set up a lawn chair beside me. “Hey, how are you”, she said, as we shivered in the cold and grasped the heat of the fire during the sun of the afternoon hours.
“I’m fine. The parents are fine. Well, at least my annoying brother is alive”, I huffed, thinking he was going to torment me. Sam looked at me with an expression of inquisitiveness. “What?”
“I mean, that’s what brothers are for. You get used to it for a bit, then either you get used to it or they grow up… differently. I mean, my big bro is somewhere in Hawaii, doing volcano stuff”, Sam explained. “What I’m saying is, they are necessary in life. You may not have fun with them, but they can save you one day.”
“Well, Matt isn’t saving me now”, I rebuked. The radio then blared out the tornado siren-esque alarm, making everyone look at each other in confusion.
“Well, just about time”, one man said. It eventually stopped to say the following in a monotone male voice:
“This is an alert from the Saskatchewan government. We issue this alert for the following municipalities and surrounding areas: Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton. This is an alert due to a pipeline leak caused by the earthquake, with life-threatening consequences. Again, the following municipalities of Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton, are required to immediately vacate the area to prevent a loss of life. Stay safe.”
“Is this a joke? A pipeline leak”, another person asked.
“A whole area for a broken pipeline”, another suggested. Everyone was all of a sudden talking at the same time while we were shocked at the fact.
“A pipeline? Leaking? Why such a large area for a leak”, Sam asked.
“I have no idea”, I said, confused as to the events happening. I saw some people arguing with the policemen, but I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying over the talking of the others. Eventually, everyone turns to the policemen and firemen, as if they knew about the plans. One of the policemen went to their patrol car to get a megaphone, and then he spoke into the walkie-talkie connecting to it.
“Hey, everyone calm down”, he bellowed and most gave their attention to him. “My name is Russel Simmons, and I am the chief of this department here. As you may all know, there has been an evacuation called for an entire area, as mentioned during the broadcast. t. I did not know this beforehand, just like every one of you. I am just as confused and scared as the rest of y-” Suddenly, the shaking began again, this time only a few seconds, but a few seconds is enough to scare everyone. “Stay calm! Everyone stay calm”, the chief begged the panicking people. Slowly but surely, everyone calmed down. “We can get through this. Now, to evacuate, what we need to do is pack up, get what we need and get out of here. Meet with us at the Tempo gas station to get fuel, if necessary. After that, we will go south to Regina, where we’ll be staying.”
“What about the stuff in our houses”, a woman asked.
“For that, we can’t go into the houses. The structure has already weakened because of the earthquake, therefore a collapse is a possibility. We cannot risk a life here, so we can’t”, Russel explained.
“My house looks fine, why can’t I go in”, an older man asked.
“Like I said, sir, the houses are at risk of collapsing.”
“What about the water? We can’t just leave it around in our houses. We need that”, a younger man said.
“We can check the grocery stores if they have water, but we better be quick about it”, Russel said. Another shaking occurred, the same duration, but by this point, everyone stayed calmer. Dad then met up with us.
“It is time to go”, Dad suggested. “We have to make it to Regina, as soon as possible.”
“Well, I guess it’s time to go”, Sam said. We then share a hug. “See you later… sometime.”
“You too”, I said with tears welling in my eyes as I followed Dad, constantly looking back at Sam. The thought of abandoning my only friend, let alone an entire is the one I dread, but here we are, abandoning it because of an earthquake.
“It’s going to be okay”, Dad reassured. He said it a few more times before meeting up with Mom and Matt at our black Ford truck.
“Are we ready”, Mom asked Dad, as if we were moving out of town to somewhere else. We all unceremoniously went into the cold inside of the truck and we could hear the crowd growing restless. Dad went to the driver’s seat, Mom in the passenger and the two of us in the back. Dad got the truck started and drove out of the spot. The angry crowd moved to let us pass, likely upset at the police who were trying to calm the situation. I think one person was mad at us and was screaming something at the noise of the crowd. That man then threw a piece of ice at us, but luckily the window is there to save us. Once we passed them, we sped off through the streets. Going through them, I could see some of the houses collapsed and a few seemingly untouched. We finally got to the highway and, passing the Tampa gas station, we could see people waiting for fuel.
“Should we stop for gas”, Mom asked.
“I don’t think so. We have a full tank of gas and there are too many people. With the situation we are in, things might be bad to worse”, Dad explained. “If we could stop in Bulyea, to pack more up.”
“When are we going home”, Matt complained.
“No, honey, there is no home left for us. Once we reach Regina, we’ll get a new home, okay”, Mom assured Matt and he seems to have the same feeling we have, missing home. At least we can agree on something for once. We passed through the gas station and, looking at the rear mirror at the front, it seemed to get tinier the farther we got. We sat in silence along the icy road with banks of snow. The inside of the truck got warmer and more comfortable. Luckily, there are fuzzy blankets in the truck to snuggle in.
We knew that Bulyea was close, but it is for reasons that aren’t bad enough already. Black, dense smoke in the distance, lofting to the east. We already knew something bad happened.
“Should we even go to Bulyea”, Mom asked. Dad looked at her and back in the road and gave a nod. “We can’t. Remember what you said back there? It is worse here-”
“I know. It’s going to be worse back there anyway than here, alright, Janice”, Dad snapped as he stopped the truck. This is the first time I have seen Dad this mad. I am starting to think he is just as afraid as us. “I’m sorry, I just missed home, but we had to get out.”
“I know, so do I”, Mom said and they shared a kiss. “Now, what?”
“Go to town and salvage what’s left.” Dad drove the truck and went into town. There, we noticed where the smoke came from. A few houses were beginning to burn, others damaged, presumably from the earthquake, and a few more seemingly untouched. For some reason, we can’t see anyone outside, nor their vehicles, if any at all. It seems to be like a ghost town.
“Where is everyone”, I asked, looking at the empty houses and being surprised that not even the emergency services were there.
“I don’t know. Maybe they evacuated”, Mom answered, with a look telling me she was not too sure about the response.
“Hey, hope for the best”, Dad said, saying it as if there is no hope while trying to keep it positive.
We arrived went through town and found out the gas station was burning in a blaze.
“So much for water”, Mom said, looking at the burning wreck. “Hey, how many kilometers did we travel?”
“Why is that important? Worried about gas”, Dad chuckled, in an attempt to cheer the mood. “I can chec- wait, how many kilometers does it take to get here?”
“Uh, fourteen”, Matt responded. My Dad looked at the dashboard in a confused state. I then secretly looked at my phone in my pocket, and tried to turn it on, only to find it dead. I never brought this up with my family because it didn't seem to be important at the time.
“Seems we travelled a kilometer but yet wasted half our fuel. I don’t know what is happening to the truck”, Dad said, further confused. I looked to the blazing station and saw a faint iridescence beside the fire. I was about to point it out when Matt spoke.
“Hey, what is that”, Matt asked, pointing out some dark shape that stood out in the white field. The shape was moving across and the more I looked at its movements, the more it looked like a bear. It then seemed to notice us and seemingly ran towards us.
“We are going now”, Dad yelled and put on the gas, driving off quickly. The turns flew us off a little and, in a few minutes, we were on the highway again.
“What was that”, I asked.
“I think that was a bear.”
“Why did we take off?”
“It was chasing us! Would you like to know what happens when we stay?” Dad then gave out a sigh. “I am sorry, but I had to make a choice.”
“I guess we won’t be staying”, Matt questioned.
“No, we won’t. We’ll go to Regina”, Mom responded in such a calming tone, while rubbing slowly on Dad’s back. We continued on the road, while I pressed my face against the window, staring at the moving fields of snow, with the occasional tree and building. I then slowly closed my eyes, bringing me to a world of darkness.
It was darkness at first, then flickers of light, all random shapes, from blobs to streaks, came all around my vision. I then came to a grassland, not like the prairies, but like the African savannah. Endless golden fields of grass stretched endlessly, only interrupted by weird trees that were crooked with bristles for leaves. The sun is setting in a brilliant series of yellows and oranges. I then heard rustling behind me. That is when I woke up, but not on my own.
“Hey, Kate, you need to see this”, Matt said in an odd confusion. I looked around and thought of nothing unusual.
“See wha-” I faltered as I looked ahead at the road. Ahead of the truck, the road is cut off by some kind of wall. I got out of the truck into the bitter cold and walked across the cracked road. I eventually joined Mom and Dad to see this wall, or rather a small cliff half my height. It seems someone cut the whole road and got the ground where I am to sink. I could even see what was below the road. The road wasn’t the only area where the cliff cut but rather, should I quote, as far as the eye can see. “What is this?”
“It might be some kind of fault line”, Dad said.
“Fault line? What is that”, Matt asked.
“You know, cracks in the ground that cause earthquakes? The one you learn in school about the San Andreas fault? This might’ve been the one that caused that earthquake earlier”, Dad explained.
“So a new fault line is appearing in Saskatchewan”, Mom said.
“Seems to be.”
“So, how are we going to get to Regina”, I asked. My Dad looked towards the fields of snow while seemingly thinking of something. It was a few minutes before we heard something odd. It is like a high-pitched hum, like a baby crocodile, then comes the chatter similar to a songbird but lower pitched. We all went to the truck, except Matt, who was more curious than afraid.
“Hey, I can see something”, Matt advised. Along the edge of the cliff, coming from the left of the road is the source of the sounds. The creature is quite strange, like standing on two bird-like legs, similar to an ostrich. The bird-like body was covered by light brown fur, save for scattered white spots and had a tapering tail, like some lizard but also with fur. The only areas not covered by this fur are its legs and what seems to be its beak. When it got closer, I came to make out its appearance. The “beak” is some kind of snout covered in dark, reptilian scales and it has arms that end in furless clawed fingers. I knew what it was, and it was frightening as it was confusing.
“Matt, come back. That is a dinosaur”, I yelled, hopefully persuading Matt of his curiosity. As soon as I said that, the creature stopped.
“Dinosaur? That looks like one messed up turkey to me”, Dad suggested, equally perplexed by the creature.
“Hey, Matt, come back! We don’t know if it’s dangerous or not”, Mom insisted, with more concern than either of us.
“But it’s not doing anything bad. It looks cool”, Matt said, not even concerned about this weird creature.
“Listen to your mother, Matt”, Dad hollered, in agreement with me and my Mom.
“Oh, come on, we could make him do some tricks.” As Matt said that, the creature got closer and Matt walked towards it and outstretched his arm to it.
“Matt! Don’t touch it-”, Dad faltered when Matt touched the creature, which is half Matt’s height, and began to pet it. The creature then began to purr, like a cat but more bird-like.
“See, not so dangerous. Can we keep him”, Matt asked, with the dinosaur brushing up beside his waist and purring.
“No, we can’t. We don’t know what it is”, Mom pleaded and I do agree.
“Oh, please, I promise I will take care of him. It’ll be the coolest pet ever.” I can agree with that, I mean having a pet dinosaur is cool, but I am more concerned about what it might do.
“I think it’s a bad idea”, I yelled to Matt.
“No, it won’t. Please”, Matt begged. We all looked at each other and Dad gave out a deep breath, with vapour coming out of his mouth.
“Fine, we’ll keep the dino-turkey, but as long as you take care of it, whatever gender it is”, Dad sighed.
“Yes! Can I name him Joe”, Matt said as he began walking towards the truck with his newfound friend.
“Joe? We don’t even know if it’s even a boy.”
“I don’t care. I want him to be a boy”, Matt protested.
“I guess Joe it is”, Mom said as she turned to Dad with a look of regret.
“I guess we have a family pet now”, I said under my breath to no one. We then went back to the truck and I sat in. Dad went to the driver’s seat as usual and Mom in the passenger. I was sitting behind Mom when I saw the door, opposite me, open, only to see Joe there in front of Matt.
“Hey, do you wanna meet my family”, Matt beamed when he picked him up. I can see Joe’s face more clearly. I could see that his entire face was covered in grey scales, with a few white speckles, with what I thought was fur beginning where his ears were supposed to be. Joe looked at me with a bird-like expression with his bird-like eyes. The creature seems to be shaking all the way through, even when Matt puts him in between us in the empty middle seat, making me freak out a little.
“Why are you putting it beside me”, I shuddered. “Did you make sure he doesn’t have rabies?”
“Don’t worry, he’s just cold”, Matt reassured. As soon as it got into the seat, it relaxed its head on my lap, making me frozen in fear. In surprise, Joe began to purr.
“What is he doing”, I asked.
“I think he likes you. You can pet him if you want. He’s harmless”, Matt assured. I then cautiously took my hand out and touched his brow area. It felt cold and reptilian, and I moved my hand towards his fur. I realised they were feathers, not quite like a bird, like fuzzier. I stroked across his spine and he was cold. Matt then covered the feathered creature’s body with a blanket.
“What should we do now”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe take another route”, Mom responded. Dad then started the truck and turned it around.
“The rural roads would be hell. Maybe go to Earl Grey, and see if there is anything there.”
“Hopefully not like Bulyea.” Dad then looked at his rear-view mirror to look at Matt.
“Hey, do you know what, uh, Joe eats”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know”, Matt said, with a look like he doesn’t know.
“I mean, he has to eat something”, I said, now more comfortable with Joe. I lifted his lips to see a series of fangs lining his jaw. Joe didn’t take that too kindly and nudged. As he did that, he rolled to his side to reveal his hands. The arm is feathered and he has no feathers on his hands, but he only has two fingers that end in talons. “What, why does he only have two fingers”, I asked.
“Maybe a genetic defect. Like my cat Fluffy with his extra thumbs”, Mom suggested.
“Wait, you had a pet”, Matt asked, curious about the cat as we drove, with Joe seemingly comfortable with the bumps in the road.
“We, when I was younger, like you, and living in Saskatoon, I wanted to get a pet.” Mom explained as she looked at Joe. “Well, not quite like you have. Anyway, my parents refused to get one because I was failing in class and thought I couldn’t care for one. One day, I think a snowstorm was happening. I was walking down a street, fighting against the snow. I stumbled upon a box, covered in a blanket lying on the sidewalk. I looked inside and I saw kittens”, she said, her eyes glossy.
“Sadly, most of them died in the cold, except for one. An orange, fluffy kitten, fighting for its life. I took it, put it into my jacket and took it home. I entered our house and the kitten was fine, but my parents were furious. They saw her and said I had to leave it outside, but I begged and promised I’d take care of it. They said we could keep the kitten, as long I kept the grades up. So, I named him Fluffy, because he’s fluffy.”
“Where is he now? Why is he not here”, Matt questioned.
“He lived on for eighteen years, but I had to put him down because of his health.”
“Why didn’t you buy another cat”, I prodded.
“We just couldn’t afford it, we don’t have enough income. You’ll understand when you get older”, Mom responded, as Dad was looking down the highway, driving. I looked down and Joe was sleeping. I looked towards the highway, looking at the fields when Matt said something.
“I need to go to the bathroom”, he said, holding at his groin. I also need to go to relieve myself, but Matt called it first.
“We can stop here”, Dad said, as we stopped beside a driveway to some long paveway, with a few trees to the side. I recognized it through our trips to Regina: we have arrived at Gibbs. Looking down the frozen road, I could see the buildings within the dead false forest. I took this moment to speak my urge.
“Yeah, I need to go, too”, I declared. Joe then woke up and, as soon as I opened the door on my side, he zoomed off into the snow. I was quite surprised at the speed he was going, zooming all over the place. Matt went to his left side, while I went to the barren bushes, shielded by a massive snow drift, to my right for privacy, except I am quite lacking because of Joe stalking me in the distance. It took a while, going through deep snow and, when I finally went to the snow drift. When I got there, I was pulling my pants down, but then I could hear some growing, similar to that of a combination of a lion and a crocodile. Where is that coming from? Never mind, it might be Joe, I thought.
“Go away, Joe”, I said, thinking it was Joe, seemingly angry at something. Nervous, I finally got to business, a little slow because of Joe nearby. I then heard the growl again. This time, I looked up and saw Joe, but he wasn’t growling. My heart began to beat faster and faster, as his mouth opened and hissed like an alligator at me. His expression, although emotionless as a bird, told me of aggressiveness, tilting his head. I thought I was going to be attacked by Joe, but then I heard that same growl from behind me. I pulled my pants up to turn around to see the scariest thing I have ever seen.
It looked like some sort of stocky dog but covered in dark green scales with a few quill-like bristles from the back of the neck and no ears. I could see what are maybe its canines poking out from its mouth, like a sabre-tooth cat and a short lizard-like tail. It looked more reptile than, well, dog really except for its eyes. I could see the hunger in its eyes. I heard more growling to my other side and saw another of those things. Joe began making that baby crocodile noise and we ran to the truck. I turned around and ran.
“Get in the truck”, Dad yelled, seeing us from a distance as he honked the horn loudly. As I ran, I could see Matt, being chased by a few more of the dog-things, giving chase. Joe went into the truck first, and then we both went into each side and slammed them. Dad then sped off very quickly, scared they may get to us.
“What was that”, I panted, confused.
“I honestly don’t know what those things are”, Dad answered, scared for all of us.
“I want to go home”, Matt pleaded, tired from running away from those things.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be home soon. I promise”, Mom reassured.
“Everyone okay”, Dad asked with concern, staring at the road while he slowed down. We all looked at each other in fearful confusion, even Joe. I looked at Joe, and he then looked at me. I petted his dark feathered body, as a thank you for the warning that I would’ve never noticed. “Okay, we are moving on”, Dad concluded. We sat in silence, although I was still petting Joe.
“Hey, Matt, do you know what dinosaur he is”, I asked Matt.
“I don’t know. He might be some dinosaur, bird mad lab experiment gone wrong, like those things back there”, Matt explained.
“Or some mess-up chicken in a lab”, Dad suggested, still looking at the road.
“I don’t think he was a chicken”, Matt rebutted. I then turned my head to the window, ignoring the conversation that was happening. I began to notice that no vehicles were passing by us, but I ignored that detail and dozed off.
I saw those same lights in the dark vision of my closed eyes. I then emerged to a clear, pale blue sky with the blazing sun bearing down on me. Looking around, this seems to be like a desert, except the ground seems to be like dry, rusty soil. It feels hot here, hotter than one of those summers in my former town. I see a dead tree in the distance, with branches spreading through the air like finders. I heard a sound behind me.
“Wake up! We are here”, Matt said as he shook me awake. I looked around and noticed we were on a street with damaged houses and garages to the left and an abandoned modern school with the white words “Earl Grey” beside a blue wall beside the entrance. The school lies hiding behind a metal fence with dead trees behind it. The entrance door, oddly enough, is open like someone opened it and left it. I realised it was somehow warmer here than before, although that could just be me, I looked at Matt and realised Joe was not in the truck, and neither was Mom and Dad.
“Hey, where’s Mom and Dad”, I asked Matt.
“Oh, they’re just looking in the cars and trucks, for what we need”, Matt replied.
“And Joe?”
“Oh, just running across the road.” Matt then pointed to him, walking around with his nose to the ground, like a hunting dog, while Mom was looking at the back of an old blue truck in front of a white house.
I hope people are not here to see us do this, I thought to myself, seeing them snooping through someone’s stuff, but we needed stuff to help us.
“Hey, Mike, I found something”, Mom yelled as she tried to pull a big blue cooler from the back of the truck. Dad then came from an RV down from the truck and came and helped her. He then put it down on the road and opened it. They both plugged their noses and backed away.
“Fish? Who leaves fish in a cooler in the back of a truck”, Dad gagged. Joe then looked up, seemingly in excitement and ran towards the cooler. He stuck his nose in the cooler and pulled out a pike. He plopped it on the road, his foot stepped on the fish and put his mouth onto it, tearing a piece of it and swallowing it. “At least somebody likes rotten fish”, Dad rasped.
As we looked in surprise, we could hear something from the school. The minute we heard it, a loud boar-like roar came out from the school. We thought it was a very big boar when it came out, but the more we looked, the more we realised it was something else. Its body is like a boar, but its face is like a lion’s and the snout of a camel, with teeth somewhat like a bear’s when it opens its enormous mouth to gargle like a pig. Mom, Dad and even Joe are taken by surprise, making our parents run towards the driveway, while Joe towards our truck with his gorged fish, standing by us. The boar-thing then stopped a few feet away from my parents, seemingly in a defensive stance, hooves scratching the ground. We are scared for our parents, preparing to see this thing rip them to shreds.
It gave one last roar and walked towards the cooler, knocking it over with fish spilling out. It stuck its snout in the fish and swallowed one down. They then slowly walked around the creature and steadily fastened their pace until they were at the truck. We all quickly got in and Dad backed up quickly.
“What the hell was that”, Mom panicked.
“I don’t know, a pig from hell”, Dad responded. We looked at Joe, swallowing down the fish while the rotting fish smell remained. It looked at us in confusion, as we were. We silently laughed for no apparent reason, probably as a mechanism to try to replace the fear. We then heard a shaking in the truck, startling us. We realised that the hell pig was tearing at the bumper of the truck like a lion would. Dad hammered the horn, making the thing back up in surprise. Dad took this opportunity to back up very quickly towards the intersection and turned to the left, quickly avoiding the creature. We sat in silence, except for Joe who was chirping.
When we went down the street, the houses, as usual, were damaged but we saw other vehicles, the first we had seen. Some were parked along the street, others stuck on one lane like city traffic but paused. Weirdly enough, there are no people in the vehicles, nor anyone outside. Most of the vehicles have one or more doors open like people got out to go somewhere. We drove past all the vehicles in the other lane. There is one vehicle we passed by that is on fire, most of the paint already off to reveal the metal beneath, only to be turned into a rainbow of browns and blacks by the dancing flames.
“What. Happened. Here”, Mom slowly asked, as confused and terrified as us. We had a feeling of dread, seeing all the abandoned vehicles.
“That’s the least of our worries. We should be looking for supplies”, Dad responded.
“Hey, how much do we have”, Mom asked Dad, worried about using up the fuel.
“Well, we got a full tank of gas and travelled a hundred kilometers”, Dad responded, more confused. “Nothing makes sense here and I hope we don’t stay here for long”, he muttered.
Eventually, we passed most of the vehicles and reached the veterinary clinic. The small, intact structure stood there, seemingly looking over the icy driveway. We then spotted an old, brown truck and we saw something that set it apart from the rest of the vehicles we’ve seen so far.
“It’s on”, I said, gleefully, with hope that, at least, we aren’t the only ones here. The headlights beamed brightly, and we realised it was getting dark. We also noticed that the street lights aren’t turning on.
“I thought there was no one here”, my Mom said, unsure of the connection between the abandoned but running truck and the lack of people in this town. At one of the intact houses, ahead of us, partially blocked by the trees, we saw what seemed to be bright light coming from one of the windows. What person would go into a house after an earthquake, I thought, thinking about our house back home.
“Someone’s here”, Matt loudly notified, as we all shushed him and that is when Joe is trying to push the door with his snout. “What is he doing?”
“Stay here”, Dad calmly ordered, opening the door, but Joe scurried out and went somewhere else.
“Hey, come back”, Matt called out, with no success. Joe eventually disappeared into the night, never to be seen. Matt then had tears welling up in his eyes like he was about to cry. I hugged him to comfort him.
“He’ll come back some time”, Mom reassured, trying to calm him down and looking at Dad. Dad nodded and grabbed a flashlight that was equipped in the truck. He then walked slowly towards the house, step by step, being shone by our truck’s headlights. He looked back at us and put his hand up when the light in the house moved. It seems to move towards the front door of the house. Emerging from the house is a person walking down the steps, cloaked in darkness. Dad then took a few steps back as the figure came. Finally, the figure stepped into the light.

Like the question says, I'm wondering if there's a way to obtain the data about crashes that involve pedestrians for a certain time period. I have attended meetings about construction proposals for city roads that have shown every crash that has happened on that road, so in theory the data exists somewhere. Online sites only show fatalities, not all collisions, and my city police department does not have any information about how to request that kind of data. Anybody else done this? Thanks for the help!

I was looking online at a hospitals application that I worked at in the past under requirements it had stated that because you will be working directly with children you need to meet requirements for the child protective services act. This includes, state police background check, department of welfare and child abuse criminal background clearance and fbi fingerprint.
Now I am not a RSO but my boyfriend is. He’s currently incarcerated and I was worrying if us living together would come up on these background checks, or have any affect on my job or switching hospitals in the future. We are not married nor will we ever be. I have obviously done these checks in the past but never had anything like this to worry about coming up.
Was curious if anyone can let me know if so, or if your significant others who may work in healthcare or childcare had any issues. Thanks in advance.

Hi all!
I live in a large office building (top 4 floors converted to apartments after covid) that was built in 1986. Sometime today, PSE&G (NJ utility company) posted a notice in the basement saying that the power will be cut on May 28th for an “undetermined period of time” and “if you have any questions please contact the owners of this building”. This notice was posted out of view, in the basement and there are no other copies anywhere else in the building (you’d think this would be posted in the elevators for residents to see).
Two weeks prior to this notice, my towns building department declared the large parking garage to be structurally unsafe and said we must park elsewhere. These notices were posted in the elevators.
I’m also aware that a car was stolen from the garage and it was never disclosed to residence as a safety advisory (I only know this because I work in news and receive alerts for almost every emergency call to various local police depts)
Through all of this there has been zero communication from building management to residents.
I’m wondering what if any legal/bargaining options might be available in the face of such negligence.
I’ve attached images of both the parking notice and the freshly posted PSE&G notice.
What do you guys think I should do?

Page 93, "One Smart Cookie"
Local police in Cumberland, Rhode Island, received an unusual request last year courtesy of a young girl who sent in part of a cookie she had left for Santa on Christmas Eve. "I was wondering if you could take a sample of DNA and see if Santa is real," she wrote. The cookie was forwarded to the state's Department of Health-Forensic Sciences Unit for analysis. Police also responded to the girl with some evidence in support of Santa's presence in her neighbourhood on Christmas Eve, including a photo of what appeared to be a deer with antlers.
Does this type of thing happen often, where children contact the local law agencies for help with proving the existence of the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy....or I suppose, to charge the Tooth Fairy with theft for stealing teeth?

The age limit to join the New York police force is 21, but I'd like to know if anyone in the state has ever joined at a younger age. I'm not sure what I want to do after high school—I'll graduate in a year—but I was considering going to trade school and then joining the police department afterward, but I'm not sure. If you know of any jobs I could start before I turn 21—please let me know.I simply want to figure everything out to get money and get out of the toxic environment I'm in right now. The trade school I want to go to is job corp, and it has a live-in dorm So I’m thinking maybe I can join trade and then join police force after trade ends Thanks .

Im suffering from pretty bad burnout and trying to get support. This is an old event that left me running from my special interest.
Most of my life Ive been enamoured with computers, probably 10 years old when I saw my first one at my friend's house. I eventually after many failed attempts at other things, I had the experience and know how to get and IT job. It was perfect, life wasn't but at least work was great until it wasn't.
I worked as an analyst for a major ISP, once they noticed my work flow they started to add on to it. I transitioned to a follow up person, instead of a call taker. We only had two follow up people, one on each shift for a total of two. I handled high level impact events and managed RMAs the best i could. If a person needed help in the office with a problem I was usually the person to go to, my supervisors even asked me for help regularly. Also I was the only person to be able to handle follow up and keep it caught up. Follow up was mainly taking the tickets from issues throughout the entire region from data center down to customer and doing just that, following up. Most tickets were data center to node level though.
Down time in the office for me was rare but eventually I had a routine that aloud for some. We were encouraged to browse the Internet and get on our social media accounts. I did some, not nearly as much as most though. I was really into prepping, I never owned a gun. I never looked at guns at work or at home, I don't know why but I was fascinated with reloading benches. I have this thing with efficiency and I was hyper fixated on the cost of ammo versus reloading ammo. Again I didn't own a gun and wasn't even looking to buy one. However I did look at a ton of reloading benches though.
I had no idea what was going on with me at the time, work life was suffering as was home life. Somehow I had ended up with custody of both of my nieces because my brother hit them. They both called DCFS, not at the same time but about three weeks apart. I didn't want custody of my nieces but I was being very heavily pressured by family. I was living with my brother at the time, they couldn't live with their mom full time at that time. So essentially they would go to moms when I was at work if they weren't at school. I was buying groceries, cooking and cleaning for them and also paying rent to their dad. Their dad, my brother was gambling a lot at the time and was all a round not being a good person. He is diagnosed with bipolar. He attacked me a couple times while I had custody of his kids, I was calling him out for being a bad dad.
Back to work now and I've applied to a new position that would get me into a department that I was super interested in, critical infrastructure. I was given a programming test that I had 30 minutes to complete, it was a cake walk. Well during the interview I was asked how I would handle conflict resolution with a team member if we could just not come to terms on something. The response I gave was "I would need to go to my superior to get it worked out". I was told that my response was to militaristic and that me only scoring second highest on the programing test is the reason I didn't get the job. The other person was given the test and had 24 hours to complete it.
Life sucked at this point, I was feeling really burned by it all and was just getting less tolerant of a lot. My attitude at work changed and I was just not doing great all around. I must say I was really into conspiracy theories at that time too, I didn't believe in many but the one I did probably should have been quiet about. I don't want to talk about it and if you have made it this far you will soon know why. If you want to know after I will say in a DM.
I went into work one day and I guess it was time, they escorted me downstairs to this interrogation room. This old detective type person started laying into me about wanting to shoot the place up. They threw my web history at me, my chat logs. I was in shock and didn't know what to do, he just kept trying to show me reloading benches. They just kept at it for a long time, well it felt like a long time. I eventually just wrote out what happened and he wanted me to change what I wrote at the end. I specifically stated that at no point had I planned to shoot anything up and I was sorry if anyone took my actions or words that way. He wanted change it to say that I did want to shoot up the place. That was the main reason it took so long in that room. I was let go but it wasn't the end of it.
Within 12hrs my place was surrounded by police with automatic rifles. I was taken to a hospital where I think they thought I would be committed? The psychiatrist I saw after many hours was understanding and said I was fine and let me go. She even understood my stance on the conspiracy theory that landed me in that place and told me I wasn't crazy for believing it!
After about a month went by I had the FBI knocking on my door. I had an interview with them and was just so nervous at that point I just wanted it to be over with. I could barely talk I was so scared.
I never fully could trust another after that.

Seeking advice—my husband has been trying to get his drivers license transferred to Virginia ever since we moved here. He lived in DC in 2009 and 10. Since then, he’s lived in and been licensed in 3 other states without issue. When he attempts to get his license, he’s told there is a block or hold f related to a hit and run investigation in DC. He has never been involved in a hit and run. The DC police department has no record of the incident. We are at a loss. He has gone back and forth between these parties. nova dmv tells him to talk to DC. DC says there’s no issue. Where can we turn?

https://youtu.be/bqOix_lrqTg
This Video presents an incredible and undeniable FLAW in the Family Court System in CANADA, where a Parent, during a child custody battle, can hire a Psychologist with the permission of a Judge as a process of the court, to write a false report favoring the "bad" parent to gain custody of a child.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1s46q5h9f0jv2gc8tk4oz/Demand-for-Inquiry.pdf?rlkey=9bao21495ylx3u6duokjhpkgh&st=wxqf74b5&dl=0
THIS IS MY COMPLAINT TO THE AGENCIES TO HOLD ALL IN ACCOUNT FOR THEIR ROLE IN THIS INJUSTICE.
WHICH HAS LEAD TO A $35 MILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY OF CALGARY AND THE CALGARY POLICE SERVICE.
This FAR TOO common occurrence, in our collective experience, has occurred in the City of Montreal and our Nations capital of Ottawa. However, Nationally, our law enforcement agencies acknowledge this issue but do nothing to investigate, intervein or stop these actions from occurring. They do the exact opposite, they punish the Victim. What is worse, is that the child Protection Agencies, also ignore the facts and relegate the victims to find a lawyer, some of whom funnel a victim into this trap, the third part of the problem.
The Video and the DROPBOX DOCUMENT are an example of this very crime, exploit, scheme and/or abuse of process in the Justice system.
There are a large number of victims of this issue who have lost their children due to Doctors like this, we have names, email and evidence.
The recording is of a Police officer who PAID OFF a Doctor to cheat the system.
Then the Conspiracy of Calgary Police Officers to Falsely Arrest and convict at Trial, an innocent person, who, bylaw, had the Authority to send a SINGLE email to the Calgary Police Service complaints department, at the Direction of the Premier of Alberta's Office, and the knowledge of the Calgary Police Commission, for a PROPER investigation of a new hires background related to her PURCHASE of their children's custody through this very bad Doctor.

So I started in 2004 on working towards a career in law enforcement. I got my CJ degree at the end of 2005 and started a police academy at my local community College in the fall of 2006. Graduated from the academy in spring of 2008 and applied with a bunch of departments but never got any traction.
I finally applied with the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department, in MO, in January 2009, mainly because they always needed people.
I began my career with SLMPD in March of 2010 and all was fine for the first 4ish years and then 2014 happened in the St. Louis area.
The City of Saint Louis has been on a huge decline since then but I stayed because I had decent senority and was surrounded by great officers and supervisors.
In 2022, my mental health finally boiled over and I was placed on administrative duty. I finally decided that I wanted out and began working on a Cyber Security degree and took an entry level IT position.
I was finally able to get my mental health under check, thanks to a 6 week out patient program. With this new lease on life, having a steady therapist, and realizing I don't want to be stuck behind a desk, I decided that I want to go back to law enforcement just not where I was.
Once again, I've applied to a bunch of departments but keep getting rejected, and most departments refuse to give me a reason.
I plan to keep going but I'm really struggling.
What are some possible other jobs that would allow to use the skills I've acquired over the years? I'm just not getting any traction with any other fields right now.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I am a Police Officer in DC (One of the smaller departments, not MPD). Firstly, I appreciate that the parade honors those who have died in the line of duty. I also liked seeing the various motor units from across the country. That is where the positives end.
Even before being in law enforcement, I though of police week as tacky and a waste of public resources. Now that I'm in law enforcement, I see just how bad it is.
I was on-shift yesterday and stopped by the parade because it was in my district. I talked to a few officers to ask about their department, bike, trip to DC. Outside of one officer from Alexandria, all of them were straight up rude. They literally chose to stand silently than casually converse with a uniform officer. They were also quite passive-agressive to the supporters, bicyclists, and DC Police Officers who were working the event.
I talked with some MPD and FBI Police officers who were assigned to parade detail and they all had felt the same. Police Officers from all over the country came to DC yet acted rudely towards police in DC. This did absolutely nothing to earn them any goodwill.
Another issue that bothered me is that so many officers were not in uniform nor did they have their badge displayed yet they had their sidearm out. This is such a huge safety issue for us on-duty officers. There is nothing to stop a mass shooter from buying the Police Unity Tour shirt and walking into the parade armed.
It's also very annoying how the parade used sirens wherever they went. This is not only a nuisance for the public but a risk to public safety.
The most shocking thing I learned is that nearly all of the officers were being paid to come to the parade. I talked to an officer from California who was paid to drive to DC, participate in the parade, and drive back. That is at least seven days of pay where the officer is not working and two motor units no longer in-service. What a huge waste of public resources!
Also it makes no sense why police get an entire week. Military, firefighters, EMS, nurses, and teachers don't get a week.
It's great to honor officers who have died in the line of duty but the parade was nothing but a huge circlejerk that DC Police Officers had to babysit.

discord.gg/SkyhighRP
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We are about to open our slots to the max so come join fast!
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Why Join Skyhigh Roleplay?

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Join our Discord: discord.gg/SkyhighRP
Come be a part of our diverse community, where roleplaying dreams come to life! See you in the city! 🌆

Introducing Lotteria Bay RP - The City of Tomorrow Are you tired of cities driven solely by greed, where every corner turns into a money-making scheme at the expense of genuine roleplay? Look no further. Lotteria Bay RP is here to redefine the GTA RP experience. We've heard your frustrations and we're determined to make a change. Founded on principles of fairness, integrity, and community, Lotteria Bay RP promises an immersive and enriching roleplay environment unlike any other. What sets us apart? Let's break it down: No Pay to Win, Only Play to Win: Say goodbye to the days of feeling pressured to empty your pockets just to enjoy the game. In Lotteria Bay RP, we believe in a "Get Paid to Play" system. Your dedication and involvement in the community will be rewarded, both in and out of city! The PowerCash Lotto: Imagine winning real cash just for participating in our city. With our innovative PowerCash Lotto system, every month we contribute $100 of our own money into the pot. Additionally, profits generated by the city, from imports to donations, go into the PowerCash pool. It's a true non-profit initiative designed to give back to our players. Fair Economy, Affordable Assets: Sick of exorbitant prices for basic in-game assets? We offer a fair and balanced economy where players can affordably access MLOs and imports without breaking the bank. Our debadged imports are 100% compliant, ensuring a seamless integration into the city while working towards whitelist eligibility. Serious Roleplay, Longevity Guaranteed: At Lotteria Bay RP, we're committed to fostering a community of serious roleplayers who value quality over quantity. Our city is built for longevity, with a focus on creating memorable experiences that keep players engaged for the long haul. Join us as we embark on this exciting journey to create the city of our dreams. Whether you're a seasoned roleplayer or just starting out, Lotteria Bay RP welcomes you with open arms. Together, let's build a thriving community where everyone has the opportunity to play, thrive, and win. Visit us today and make Lotteria Bay your new home. We can't wait to see you there!
Our Best Features____________________ Jobs
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Join our discord and check out some pictures clips, and teasers! When you are ready to hit that connect button! Which life will you choose, Civilian? Law Enforcement? Medical Service? or the Gang life?
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Associate Research Scientist (Physiology and Cellular Biophysics) Columbia University Irving Medical Center: Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons:
The Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics invites applicants for a senior-level research position.
See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/columbia-university-irving-medical-center-vagelos-college-of-physicians-and-surgeons-27778-associate-research-scientist-physiology-and-cellular-biophysics/?feed_id=75661

ScienceJobs #hiring #research

I'm 19 F, I moved out four months ago. My dad left to go live out in the country side to save up money, so I was forced to move out. I lost my job, and was unemployed for two months until I found this one. I had the police called on me for a wellness check because I was suicidal. I barely afforded rent for this month so it took my entire paycheck.
I don't have much family. My moms not in my life, my dad was never the most active parent. I didn't graduate high school because I was convinced I would die at 18. I prioritized my job more than school, because once I got my first job it was up to me to pay for all my own clothes, food etc and give half of my paycheck to my dad for rent
I've been barely scraping by on money left over from rent, but then today my account got overdrafted from a stupid subscription.
It took all of my bus money. And then my bus got cancelled because I've been out on for working 6:30 mornings so I was forced to be late. I just cried on the side of the road for a good half an hour, until I just decided I couldn't do it anymore and left to go home instead of walking the hour to work.
And then Sunday I had to call in because I couldn't afford to get home because buses don't run late.
And I have to get a new uniform by tomorrow because I'm working in a different department.
And I don't know how I'm going to afford tomorrow. My dad won't help me, my sister says if I want ten dollars I have to give her my life plan about my future and clean her entire house. Because I'm choosing poverty. I don't disagree with her, but I can't even do basic math. I didn't go to school for the majority of my life until freshman year, I don't anything about science or math. I failed every single class because I didn't know anything, I never had anyone help me. I tried asking for help but I would just lectured on how stupid I was.
I just feel so defeated, and dumb. I wish I saved more money, I wish I had family to rely on. I feel so alone, I keep going but I just don't know how much I have it in me to keep going like this.
I hate working these jobs, literally working my hardest for it to mean nothing. I hate getting lectured by my sister. I can't go to college because I didn't even graduate, but she doesn't know that. I don't even know how I'm going to afford to get my GED, how I'm gonna buy new shoes or a new shirt for work. I just feel so defeated.

Anyone watching this trial?

This is loosely related, but the Daybell case is turning out to be a great source for a preview of what’s to come.

• Ms. Beaty is one of the prosecutors
• ISP Lab supervisor testimony
• FBI CAST & CSLI testimony from the supervisor in Idaho

I think there’s a decent chance the same ISP Lab Supervisor and/or FBI CAST Supervisor will be the ones to testify on this case, bc their departments are for state of Idaho & supervisors typically closely oversee processes for high-profile cases & are more equipped to testify.

• . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - *

FBI CAST / CSLI Supervisor - Day 22

(just ended about 45 mins ago at the time I’m posting this)

• He’s disclosed a lot but most of the info is with more abundant data to work off of.
• Google location history is the main source of the precise locations we saw pertaining to Alex Cox’s movements. > — I wonder if that means Alex Cox had a Droid (anyone know?), or if we might see something like this data come out with this case. > — being logged into Gmail gives them very precise location points, you could see Alex Cox move around Walmart based on phone location
• {For anyone interested in the Delphi case, the 100m range is explained}.
• I find it very interesting how willingly and easily the CAST team at FBI cooperated with this Daybell case, in contrast with subpoenas and the Touhey process being employed in the Kohberger case
• There are a lot of overlapping coverage zones in Idaho > (but this case is based on the opposite corner of the state, so it didn’t show the maps they use near where this investigation is based)
• he goes over AT&T drive test data
• a lot of the data presented is specific to AT&T {insights useful for Kohberger, Delphi cases} > — a lot from Verizon too.
• Random fact learned: Verizon doesn’t store location details in the data & analytics log on phones when texts are sent and received like other carriers do

Note: he’s not shown on screen & is likely using an alias.
Hot take: my guess on why they don’t have the cooperation from the FBI CAST / CSLI team on Kohberger case seems likely to be that they misrepresented or cherry-picked info, which the FBI CAST team isn’t willing to limit their statements to in testimony, & are going back & forth about providing a report limited to that, rather than FBI just stonewalling their request for the data.

^{That’s ^ my wild guess, not evidenced directly, just a personal opinion on what I think is likely}

• . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - *

ISP Lab Supervisor Ms. Dace - Day 20

• Her testimony did not help the prosecution at all IMO, but they did provide some interesting insights into their processes
• They didn’t find a single hint of Chad’s DNA on anything they tested > — despite 18 of the items being tools he owned & presumably has used…. > — They assumed ownership and that his DNA would be present (apparently neglecting to consider that someone else’s DNA being present could be exculpatory for the defendant) > huge risk from this testimony: conspiracy to commit murder + 1st degree murder —> just conspiracy}
• There was essentially no unexpected or incriminating DNA anywhere (Lori’s was mixed with Tylee’s in some places but she’s already convicted so that rly makes no dif)
• She gave some insights that help to understand the super high #s given in this case. — They assume mixture but test for a unique profile among it. — {they expected DNA from soil, decomposition fluids from both victims, and ashes <-interesting}
• They got reference samples from all the main players and, using using atypical methodology, did not test for any outside contributor’s identities > — “Atypical” bc thats how they did it “for this case,” she clarified (unique instructions or circumstances apparently)
• For all cases, they only test exactly the items & places on the items that police or prosecutors instruct them to, or things they’re instructed to test by court orders
• in this case, she saw potential blood on 10 items which they only determined was consistent with blood, but didn’t test whose it was on any of them.
• Their policy is not to run consumptive testing without approval. > — And apparently didn’t seek, or weren’t granted approval, despite nothing testing positive for the defendant’s DNA

I was pretty shocked at how much DNA they opted to preserve rather than consume. In this case, what could they possibly need to save it for that would be more important than THIS investigation & trial !!!? - no one wants to clone this dude & taxpayers prob aren’t hoping for a re-do - and especially given that they don’t have even one tiny HINT of Chad’s DNA on anything….!..?..!.? - Yikes - (no fault of Ms. Dace though; she just tests what she’s told to).

• they assume it was on tool handles since he owned them, but that also bases the choice not to confirm, on the assumption that no one else’s would be present…. we’ll see if the jury accepts that….

(For clarity: I think he obviously played a key role in the kid’s deaths & is guilty of at least conspiracy to commit murder, just now question the strength of the first degree murder charge, not his actual guilt)

• . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - *

Ms. Beaty - special prosecutor from the Kohberger case is on this trial too.

• she’s more effective on the Daybell case IMO, watching has guven me a better impression of her
• it might be just bc she has better arguments to use to lay out a clear picture, or it might be that she has a dif role in the Kohberger case > — She seems to get stuck with a lot of long-shot requests, likely bc she has a higher rank
• She seems confident, calm, & precise
  Side-note: Prosecutor Wood’s performance is a lot more mild than what I expected. Pryor is coming off as more thorough and inquisitive, but both of them come off as very kind and reasonable - very courteous & cooperative with each other, too; they have a lot of sidebars, like, “Your honor, may I have a brief moment to discuss with Mr. Wood?”, and come to quick, joint-agreements or suggestions. Pryor’s been given an extremely difficult task to undertake single-handedly - facing what seems impossible. He’s missed a few key opportunities to question some things, but I think he’s matching the performance of the prosecutors thus far, from the days I watched.
  
• Beaty seems most harsh / stern from the bunch, but more likable than she’s come off in the Kohberger case IMO
  
• . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - * . - *
  

Anyone else watching this one?
— If not, honestly, I do not recommend. This trial is dominated by soft-spoken, slow-speakers lol.
Any other take-aways?
Or questions? (I watched more than most ppl prob have the patience for - it’s kind of like a long version of those old Clear Eyes commercials, but with lots of dead silence in between statements - so I’d be happy to answer if I can)

• anyone know whether Alex Cox had a Droid?

Here to remind you all to vote by tomorrow. And when you do…don’t be bamboozled by someone who says he’s trying to bring balance to Anchorage. Anchorage has been off-balance ever since Bronson took office. He’s also the one who has made this non-partisan position into a very partisan one by using far-right dog whistle type language to scare people. He has decimated our city government of well-qualified career professionals by hiring unqualified “leaders” and refusing to fill needed positions at the city and police department. He has decimated our city by moving our homeless population around from one ill-conceived idea to the next, by not providing snow plowing in a timely manner, by creating an unprofessional work environment in city hall - and don’t forget - he’s an airline pilot- with the accompanying ego, and without any experience or interest in governing or providing government services to citizens. Vote LaFrance for mayor. She understands how government works and knows how to provide tax-payer paid services to citizens.

9-minute read.

France welcomes the latest round of negotiations between foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Kazakhstan

FM Mirzoyan said the negotiations in Kazakhstan were held in a constructive environment and referred to the statement made after the meeting.
PARIS: France stresses the importance of both sides confirming their commitment to the Almaty Protocol of 1991 and to mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity as the core of this process, following the quadripartite meeting in Prague on 7 October 2022.
France calls to continue the delimitation of the border on the basis of the principles agreed in the declaration of April 19, 2024, and as an extension of the first demarcation work carried out on the ground. At the same time, it calls for continuing discussions with a view to signing a peace treaty between the two countries.
France welcomes the initiative of the Kazakh authorities to facilitate the holding of these talks.
France continues to work together with its partners to establish just and solid peace in the South Caucasus in accordance with international law. //
source, source, source, source,

OSCE: Reaching stable and comprehensive peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority for us

OSCE Chair-in-Office Ian Borg visited Armenia on Monday.
BORG: The only way to ensure comprehensive and stable peace is through diplomacy. The steps made towards border delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan are the actions needed to reach peace. //
Pashinyan and Borg discussed the AM-OSCE cooperation and the peace talks.
BORG: The OSCE is committed to supporting stable peace, solving all conflicts in the OSCE area, and applying the organization’s mandate to ensure regional peace and stability. //
source, source,

opposition activists detained and released after briefly shutting down several streets in Yerevan

Last week the protest organizers, led by Archbishop Bagrat and MPs representing pro-Russian parties, called for strikes and road closures on Monday. They demand PM Pashinyan's resignation. The opposition parties have not yet disclosed when they plan to launch the impeachment process in the parliament. They likely have the minimum number of MPs to launch the impeachment but they'd still need dozens of ruling party MPs to join them for the motion to succeed, which is unlikely.
On Monday over 170 people were detained and released after blocking roads, including with the use of trash cans and hay. A red beret pushed a journalist out of his way while running up the stairs, sending him to the ground. Another journalist fainted during a clash between police and protesters. In the morning, Yandex Maps showed the traffic congestion in Yerevan at Level 5 on a scale of 1-10, a "usual workday".
In one instance, an angry driver got out of his car and pushed the trash can out of the street, while other cars proceeded to drive through the sparse group of protesters. Video.
ARF MP Garnik Danielyan, a co-organizer of the protest, engaged in a dispute with a driver. The angry driver told the MP to go "siktir", while the MP called him "chatlax". Video.
One protester suggested catching and "putting down" police officers one by one while they are alone, "because they feel good in large numbers." Video.
A psychotic incident was recorded between a protester and a bystandedriver who was presumably trying to open the road. The protester hit the man and called him "Nikol's trash". The police intervened to push the protesters out of the road.
During an encounter between a protester and one resident, the protester asked the latter if he was a Christian:
PROTESTER: Քրիստոնյա՞ ես
RESIDENT: Հա
PROTESTER: Հա ու համփ արա [suck my dick]
The resident pushes the protester, and the protester spits on him. Several people got off the buses and urged the protesters to leave or to "go protect the borders" instead. The red berets arrived within minutes and removed the trash cans and the small number of protesters from the road. video, video, video,
While the ARF has long been viewed as the voice of diaspora, other movements have emerged to challenge its dominance. The Armenian Movement of France has organized a change.org petition that calls to encourage Armenia's independence and Euro-Atlantic integration, to keep the church and state separate, and not take any destabilizing actions.
KHURSHUDYAN: They [ARF and protest organizers] are attempting to convince the diaspora to join them by influencing various organizations like the Lemkin Institute. It is strange that the Lemkin Institute released a statement accusing PM Pashinyan's Genocide statement of containing "victim blaming" only now, during these protests, several weeks after Pashinyan made that statement. It took a lot of effort for these forces to lobby and create the impression that the diaspora as a whole is on their side. //
The BEVER (Sasna Tsrer) party leaders said they are cooperating with the pro-Russian former regime parties but only on the issues of removing Pashinyan and stopping the border delimitation process.
BEVER (Ara Papyan): If Pashinyan resigns now and pro-Russian forces win the elections democratically, it will be the population's fault, not ours. // video
As you know from Sunday news digest, the pro-Russian forces and a group of ex-diplomats led by Kocharyan's Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian, are against using the 1991 Almaty declaration as the basis for delimitation. Foreign Minister Mirzoyan was asked to comment on Monday.
MIRZOYAN: The Deputy PMs of Armenia and Azerbaijan, who are in charge of border commissions, have come to an agreement to launch the delimitation process taking into account the 1991 Almaty Declaration. This was welcomed by numerous states and international organizations. The foreign diplomats you mentioned are deserters who fled their duties while Armenia was under physical attack in 2021. I can no longer treat them seriously. That is the most civil language I can use toward them. In reality, by torpedoing the Almaty Declaration and the peace process based on Almaty, these ex-diplomats continue to torpedo the sovereignty, statehood, and territorial integrity of Armenia. In the best-case scenario, they do this without understanding, and in the worst-case scenario, they are following the orders of a foreign state. I don't have further comments. //
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan said they will not hold daily meetings at Republic Square anymore, and that smaller gatherings will be held near the St. Anna church every evening to wrap up the day and discuss future plans. Yesterday Arman Babajanyan revealed a meeting between church officials. On Monday, Archbishop Galstanyan confirmed that he indeed met Catholicos on Sunday. Galstanyan was asked whether he plans to "transfer" the "leadership" of the movement to political parties. He said he is open to that idea: "Թող գան, վերցնեն, ով ցանկանում է:"
source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source,

Executive Vice President of the European Commission for Economic Affairs, the EU Trade Commissioner, will visit Armenia this week

Valdis Dombrovskis will meet Armenian and EBRD officials and take part in an annual meeting of the EBRD Board of Governors.
source, source,

PM Pashinyan is in Denmark for the "Copenhagen Democracy Summit"

Nikol Pashinyan will take part in the discussion on “From the frontline: Armenia’s defense of democracy.”
source,

Armenia will bring its consumer protection legislation in line with European standards

The head of Armenia's Competition Protection Commission visited Poland to participate in ICPEN (International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network).
They spoke about unfair business practices and how to combat them, online taxi service regulations, online casinos, discounting policies used by businesses, etc.
GEVORGYAN: Armenia is going through an important phase in terms of protecting the interests of consumers. Discussions are underway to align Armenia's consumer protection legislation with EU standards. It is necessary to use digital technologies and train skilled experts in this field.
source,

Russia begins withdrawing border agents near the border village Nerkin Hand: residents

The villagers noticed that the Russian soldiers were no longer observing the traffic from the observation post and that they were packing some of their stuff.
source, source,

anti-corruption: Patrol Police officer is charged with accepting a bribe from a driver

INTERIOR MINISTRY: In early March, two officers pulled over an Indian driver on Kievyan St. One of the officers demanded a ֏20,000 bribe to ignore the fact that the vehicle didn't pass a tech inspection. They negotiated it down to ֏7,000. The officer was charged with felony bribery. He confessed. The case is in court. //
source,

Yerevan Mayor Avinyan had a lightbulb moment

The city has purchased 6,000 LED lights producing 4000K white light. Mayor Avinyan instructed the department to install them only on roads and to purchase weaker 3000K bulbs for condo backyards in order not to disrupt sleep.
Last month the city replaced 8.6 kilometers of cables. The Mother Armenia statue and the Opera building will have new գեղարվեստական lighting.
source, source, video,

Yerevan implements GIS (geographic information system) to collect data from various sources and make targeted decisions based on visualized data: VIDEO

MAYOR AVINYAN: The Municipality and all the district offices are switching to a new management style with the introduction of GIS. Every department will join it, phase by phase. We are talking about digital maps which we must learn to use. This is going to significantly simplify some of the work done by departments.
OFFICIAL: This is part of the digitization strategy. This unified GIS platform will collect information from the cadastre, transport, Active Citizen app, utility services, construction, etc., and make them accessible in one place. The visual data allow us to carry out analysis and make fact-based decisions.
For example, we created a cadastre GIS by using a satellite image as the base layer, then integrated it with the cadastre database. This map shows in detail the boundaries of properties, the purpose and status of each land plot, etc.
Another example is a map of air pollution, prior records, and analytical tools.
The GIS map for the Active Citizen app allows us to see the submissions and the completed work, their locations on the map, and how well the city responds to issues reported by citizens. You can filter the issues by category. For example, you can show only the reports about illegal dumping, click on the report and see the image shared by the citizen, then click to see the status and the outcome of city's response. The tools allow you to analyze the data and the performance rate.
Another map shows the 3D image of the city with its buildings and green areas. Here we can calculate the capacity of bus stops, etc. Drones can be used to create a very detailed digital 3D copy of specific buildings.
You can click on a land plot and it'll pull up the ownership information, the permit records, etc.
Connecting two dots shows you the altitude differences and other data that you can use, for example, during the installation of irrigation pipes.
This is less than 1% of its potential. We plan to train employees next week.
MAYOR AVINYAN: We should make some of this data public, like the air quality map or certain maps that did not require financial resources to create [քձիբ խոզ]. This is a revolutionary change in the municipality. We need to speed up the work with the use of digital tools.
video,

Yerevan begins planting hundreds of adult "high-value" trees and thousands of bushes near the new promenade/park around the Yerevanyan Lake: VIDEO

video,

Central Bank chief was invited to Parliament to discuss economy and expenditures

MP: Regarding CB's report on the efficiency of service vehicles used by state agencies. The state buildings scheduled to receive solar panels should also be equipped with EV chargers so the service vehicles can use the energy generated by the panels. I requested information from Yerevan Municipality about the service vehicle expenditures and it shows that EVs are not only cheaper because of electricity, but also because they are overall more affordable to maintain. We are talking about large savings.
CB CHIEF: Our estimates show that EVs are 2x-3x more affordable compared to combustion engine vehicles, even if we factor in all the adjacent expenses. In Yerevan, we have [state] buildings with solar panels on roofs but [connecting them to EV chargers in the parking lot] will be very difficult because these are old and sometimes "historical" buildings. They also have problems with air conditioning, plumbing, etc. At the same time, we are trying to implement this solar panel project in the newer buildings, for example, in Dilijan, where we have EV chargers for service vehicles in the parking lots.
video,

Central Bank chief spoke about the deflation in Q1

RULING MP: It is great for our residents' pockets that the prices have fallen but what is its effect on the economy and exports? What is the best inflation rate to maintain a "balance"?
CB CHIEF: During the discussions with our colleagues from IMF, regarding regional and global events, we agreed that countries develop when the inflation is low and manageable. It encourages investments. In this regard, the overall microeconomic stability and the fiscal policy of Armenia create a very good environment for this predictability. This is one of our "cards" in our relations with foreign entities.
During each CB session, we discuss several market and inflation scenarios. Under one scenario there is a risk of inflation becoming too high, while under other scenarios it could remain low. We are trying to find the most balanced option and thank God we have been able to continuously lower the [refinancing] rates, which helps the state. //
Ըստ զեկուցողիդրամավարկային քաղաքականության ծրագրում ներկայացվող սցենարների համաձայն 2024 թվականի կարճաժամկետ հորիզոնում գնաճը կպահպանվի նպատակային ցուցանիշից ցածր մակարդակում` տարեվերջին այն կկազմի 1,3%-1,5%:
video, source,

Central Bank chief spoke about the refinancing rate, the rate at which the state borrows from banks, copper prices, etc.

video,

how did the family of Ilham Aliyev's security chief obtain so many properties in the United Kingdom?

Offshore companies owned by Eyyubov’s wife and daughter spent $114 million on real estate in the United Kingdom. The family, including Eyyubov himself, also own over $46 million in properties in Dubai.

OCCRP report,

growing concerns in Abkhazia that Putin might have secretly "sold" them to Georgia as a confederation in exchange for Georgia's neutrality between West and Russia

video,