I have around 30,000 dollars of credit card debt.
One of my debts is being payed down but they are raising the amount I owe next month... which I am worried about. They issued a lawsuit against me....
So I have other creditors mostly credit cards and now I have another notice from the same company above (MIDLAND) that sent me a pre- legal notification. ..
this debt has been sold at least twice before but I haven't been able to act on much of any of my debt due to crippling health injuries. (Long term Covid / brain fog, hospitalization etc).
I am feeling a bit better to deal with this matter but I know I am deep in the hole.
SO for this one creditor... should I bother sending them a letter asking for more information. I know where the debt originally came from but I am concerned about how many times it has bounced around . Is it worth it sending them a letter requiring them to give me this information?
The other issue... I am honestly unable to pay off the entire amounts. I can maybe pay $10 dollars a month on this particular card .. (which is is around 3,000 dollars).
I had a tough time negotiating with Midland once the lawsuit on the other card occured. .. but I cannot reasonably afford another $100 dollars a month on this debt.. as of now.
I have lost a few years since the pandemic and have struggled to get back on my feet. Things have just not lined up the way I had hoped they would and now with inflation I can barely afford food.
Recommendations? Tips.
Here is the sample letter I pulled..
"To whom it may concern.
I am responding to your contact about a debt you are trying to collect. You contacted me by
Mail on May 1^st, 2024 and identified the debt as from \*****S Bank. Please supply the information below so that I can be fully informed:*
~Why you think I owe the debt and to whom I owe it, including:~

• The name and address of the creditor to whom the debt is currently owed, the account number used by that creditor, and the amount owed.

• If this debt started with a different creditor, provide the name and address of the original creditor, the account number used by that creditor, and the amount owed to that creditor at the time it was transferred. When you identify the original creditor, please provide any other
name by which I might know them, if that is different from the official name. In addition, tell me when the current creditor obtained the debt and who the current creditor obtained it from.

• Provide verification and documentation that there is a valid basis for claiming that I am required to pay the debt to the current creditor. For example, can you provide a copy of the written agreement that created my original requirement to pay?

• If you are asking that I pay a debt that somebody else is or was required to pay, identify that person. Provide verification and documentation about why this is a debt that I am required to pay.

~The amount and age of the debt, including:~

• A copy of the last billing statement sent to me by the original creditor.

• State the amount of the debt when you obtained it, and when that was.

• If there have been any additional interest, fees or charges added since the last billing statement from the original creditor, provide an itemization showing the dates and amount of each added amount. In addition, explain how the added interest, fees or other charges are expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or are permitted by law.

• If there have been any payments or other reductions since the last billing statement from the original creditor, provide an itemization showing the dates and amount of each of them.
• If there have been any other changes or adjustments since the last billing statement from the original creditor, please provide full verification and documentation of the amount you are trying to collect. Explain how that amount was calculated. In addition, explain how the other changes or adjustments are expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law.

• Tell me when the creditor claims this debt became due and when it became delinquent.

• Identify the date of the last payment made on this account.

• Have you made a determination that this debt is within the statute of limitations applicable to it? Tell me when you think the statute of limitations expires for this debt, and how you determined that.

~Details about your authority to collect this debt.~

• I would like more information about your firm before I discuss the debt with you. Does your firm have a debt collection license from my state? If not, say why not. If so, provide the date of the license, the name on the license, the license number, and the name, address and telephone number of the state agency issuing the license.

• If you are contacting me from a place outside my state, does your firm have a debt collection license from that place? If so, provide the date of the license, the name on the license, the license number, and the name, address and telephone number of the state agency issuing the license.


I have asked for this information because I have some questions. I need to hear from you to make an informed decision about your claim that I owe this money. I am open to communicating with you for this purpose. In order to make sure that I am not put at any disadvantage, in the meantime please treat this debt as being in dispute and under discussion between us.


In addition to providing the information requested above, please let me know whether you are prepared to accept less than the balance you are claiming is owed. If so, please tell me in writing your offer with the amount you will accept to fully resolve the account.

Thank you for your cooperation. Sincerely,

I'm entering the CreateButton code to the letter from the documentation, but the button just doesn't show up. I restarted Studio. I combed carefully through my code to make sure it's IDENTICAL to the sample in the documentation, but I get no button; just the plugin in the debugger with no way to use nor test it. Can anyone help? Please?

We bought into an HOA community....had no idea the level of power we were ACTUALY agreeing to. We thought the rules in place were a bit much, but meh....had no idea that the HOA could change the terms of the agreement with absolutely no agreement on our part....yet we are legally bound to follow any/all new rules passed. We thought the rules in plav place were "it" until we moved. Our bad, yeah...we didn't fully understand the implications of the agreement we signed on. Anyway - I Texas is there any way to extract a property from an HOA once it is subject to the unyielding power of their authoritarian whims? I dont want to ove, but the number of new rules and the level of crap is driving me mad.
We got a letter to refinish our front door (needed it...no beef with that)...we hired a company to come do the work. They took the door and put in a temporary door. Got a letter about a work truck parked in our driveway. Then got a letter about a work truck parked out front and it leaked some oil. Then got a letter about the company advertisement/sign in the yard. Then got a letter about the door not meeting community standards (temp door). Then got a letter that we did not get architectural review board approval to make exterior changes to our home (that they TOLD ME TO MAKE). Said I needed to file an arc request to make the change, submit color sample and summary of proposed changes. I told them that the only change was that it was restoring the door to orihlginall....not "changing" anything. .... then, I replaced three boards in our fence that got damaged (kids...) - yep. Letter that my new boards don't match the old boards....sigh. pressure washed old boards, they looked almost like new boards....letter...I didn't get arc approval to change the color of my fence.
I think they hate me as much as I now hate them....

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for your upvotes and comments on my last post about the Sussex County Jane Doe- I hope that her identity will be given back to her soon.
Today I'd like to highlight a Doe case from a neighbouring state.
TRIGGER WARNING: This case involves a young child (3-5) whose body was found in a gruesome state. There are no graphic images for this case, but there will be descriptions and speculation, so proceed at your own risk.
DISCOVERY
On the 5th of February, a 47-year old nurse, Cecilia Davis, has been walking her dog with a friend at Rockaway Beach (specifically near Beach 112th Street) in New York City, New York, USA, around 4:55 PM. When she was collecting seashells, she noticed a bedsheet with a pattern of letters and Disney characters Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck, which was tangled in seaweed, tattered and mixed in with debris and horseshoe crabs. Intrigued, she came closer, only to discover that a body of a young child was wrapped in the fabric- she called out "This is a child!" to her friend, after which the two women called the authorities. The boy was nicknamed "John Valentine" as the investigators tried to find his identity.
When Davis managed to catch a glimpse of the body from shoulders down when she found the bundle, she assumed that the child was a girl, about a year old, whose skin had the color of "aged yellow foam"- after a proper medical examination, it turned out that it was actually a boy, and aged 3-5 at that. One of the child's knees was bent, with his foot tucked under his body.
The boy was determined to be white and/or Hispanic. He was 3'0" (36 inch / 91 cm), and his weight couldn't be estimated. He had brown, slightly wavy hair, and his eye color was unknown. His foot was size children's 5. Several bones in his torso were broken- I'm not sure, however, if it happened post-mortem or if it could've been a sign of abuse in life (but I have to say, it would be quite likely that he was abused). The body was headless, but it wasn't cut off- it likely detached during the decomposition and got washed away and eaten by marine life. His cause of death is unknown.
The sheet John was found in was called a "blanket", but it would appear that it is actually a crib sheet. The pattern could've been dated back to the 70s, so there's a possibility that it was a hand-me-down or thrifted. It was also mass-produced, so tracking it down was impossible. The body and the sheet were found inside a duffle bag, which was described as "yellow plasticized canvas duffle bag with one side pocket with a snap enclosure. There are multiple grommets for top closure of the duffle bag. No string is present. The bottom of the duffle bag is made of a heavy white canvas. There are 2 approximately 2” wide canvas straps attached to and surrounding the duffle bag. The duffle bag is approximately 30” tall with a top circumference of 34”. The side pocket measures 10 inches wide and 8 inches tall". It was also described as "nautical-style" and was wrapped with duct tape, and might've had a drawstring on top at some point. No known photos of the bag are available, but there are ones of the crib sheet. I'm assuming that the bag must've opened in the water or deteriorated enough to open, revealing the contents.
Due to a lack of leads, police theorized that the boy might've been thrown into the ocean from a boat or overseas and washed up in New York. A local on websleuths theorizes that the child might've been dropped from Atlantic Beach Bridge by Beach 2nd St and taken to Beach 112th St- Apparently, a lot of people drown in the area, and their bodies are taken up to 169th St (Marine Parkway Bridge).
CONCLUSION
Discovering the body of John Valentine has impacted everyone involved. The precinct involved in the investigation collected funds to sponsor the boy's funeral, so that he wouldn't wind up in a Potter's Field. The Children of Hope Foundation also contributed, and now John is resting at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, L.I, in a section called Island of Hope, with (at the time) 80 infants who have been found abandoned or murdered by their mothers at birth. John was one of the older children buried there.
Cecilia Davis, the woman who found John's body at the beach, has passed away from cancer sometime before 2013. According to her sister-in-law, Emilia Arvai, it has impacted Cecilia twice as much, as she wasn't able to have children. She was allegedly never the same after that incident. According to Arvai, Davis would say "How could someone be so cruel to throw a baby away like that when there’s people around the world who can’t have a baby. (...) There’s a million people who would take that baby."
I think that it's pretty much a given that some kind of violence was involved in this case- why else would someone throw away the body of a child? John wasn't an infant or a newborn, he was as old as five, so it wasn't a case of post-partum psychosis or someone giving birth unexpectedly and panicking. The broken bones made my eyebrow raise- if he really was thrown into the water from a high place like a bridge, then I can see bones breaking on impact, but they could've also been a result of physical abuse; We don't really know much about this detail. It's unfortunate that John's head wasn't recovered- it would probably tell us more about him, maybe a bust or a sketch could've been made and circulated and maybe someone would recognize him.
People on websleuths speculated that John might've been Jesus Alvarado Martinez, a four year old who was probably abducted by his father after he killed his mother in Texas in October of 2004. The age and ethnicity fit, as does height, plus Jesus vanished shortly before John was discovered. There is a lot of distance between Texas and New Jersey, but it is technically possible that Jesus' father could get there in the few months between October and February.
There are no dentals available of John (of course), no fingerprints (which might've been erased due to prolonged exposure to water and decomposition) and, suprisingly, no DNA. This case is relatively recent (forensic development-wise)- I'm suprised that no DNA was taken. Perhaps the investigators expected that it will be solved soon? Still, there are good news- thanks to the department's care over the boy, he was buried (and not cremated), and we even know where he is. Digging up the coffin, taking a sample and performing genetic genealogy on it seems to be very possible, and only needing the funds and public interest to re-open the case. I think that if someone like Othram will take the case in, John being identified is a case of "when" and not "if". I have high hopes for young John Valentine getting his name back at some time in the future and, hopefully, that justice will be served to anyone who took his life and discarded his body in the ocean almost 20 years ago.
If you believe you have any info about John Valentine's case, contact the Office of Chief Medical Examiner New York City at (212) 447-2030 (case number Q05-00731).
SORCES:

1. NamUS.gov (includes photos of the crib sheet)
2. doenetwork.org
3. nydailynews.com (paywalled)

John Valentine's websleuths.com thread

The title of the previous Bankedex has been making people think it only contained offers for NI. So here it is again, with all the current offers and with a more generic title. There are currently 5 active bank switch offers (and only one is specific to Northern Ireland!).
*****************
Here is the the ultimate guide to UK bank switch offers - the collective knowledge of ~140k BeermoneyUK members. Switch your bank account, get a cash reward for doing so. But don't switch your main account, open up a second account and switch that to get the money!
​
Updated 15/05/2024:
​
The most commonly asked bank switch questions:

1. I started to switch to XXX bank before the offer ended, am I still eligible for the bonus?

Yes, usually, most terms will state that a switch just has to be started (or applied for) before the end date or before an offer ends.

1. Do I have to transfer the required amount in all in one go, and does it matter if I pay money in before my switch is complete?

No and not usually, as long as the amount you pay in adds up to the required amount, and as long as you pay it in before the deadline stated in the terms. There has been one exception to this - Co-op - so check individual terms.

1. I need to switch "active" direct debits, does a payment need to have been taken before I switch?

According to Nationwide, an active direct debit is one that has been set up or had a payment taken from it in the past 13 months. So no, according to this. But why not just wait for the direct debit to be taken? You'll not have to worry about it then.

https://twitter.com/AskNationwide/status/1442939781491486720

1. How do I set up and switch an additional Chase current account?
   

   • See Chase instruction here to open an additional account.
     
   • The second account will be linked to the same card as your main Chase account.
     
   • Use the secondary account details and your original card details when switching.
     

2. What are the easiest/best direct debits to use for bank switching?
   

There are many: Paypal, Ebay, Moneybox savings account, Plum savings account, your credit card, Sprive Mortgage auto savings, Wealthify Robo Saving. We recommend ones that save money into an account in your own name. Here’s useful ones that have additional bonuses available via beermoneyuk

Site/App	Offer	Comment
Park Christmas (Search)	Save for Christmas via direct debit
Plum (Search)	A very useful direct debit	Easy and fast to set up
Sprive (Search)	Autosavings for mortgage overpayment direct debit (£5 bonus)	Easy and fast to set up
Wealthify (Search)	A very useful direct debit (£1/month min)	Easy and fast to set up

Questions about Bank Switching should generally be asked here. Posts on the subreddit asking questions about bank switching will probably be removed.

As always with the Bankedex, we need your help.

The post has been updated with the newest offers, and tips commented in the previous Bankedex posts, and those in other posts on beermoneyuk. But it is a difficult task keeping on top of all the questions. Please continue to share your experience with Bank Bribes. I will add questions/answers to this post. Your help is much appreciated - thanks to you all.

Current bank switch offers (£551 in total)

Bank	Bonus	Offer Deadline	Comment
Barclays	31k Avios for £48 spend	None	£100 profit, Requires premier banking
First Direct	£175 to switch	None
Danske Bank	£175 to switch		Northern Ireland only
Santander	£175 to switch	None	£15 extra available
Virgin Money	£100 to switch	31/05/2024	10% gross interest rates boost to 12% on £1k for 1 year (~£120 total) + extra £30 via Snoop

No switch, just sign up bank switch offers

Bank	Offer	Comment
Tide (click for details)	Spend £100, get £75 cashback	A beermoneyuk staple
Monzo (click to search)	Spend £1, get £5 or £50	£50 is for a business account
Starling (click to search)	Free National Trust Day Pass

Never switched a bank account before?

You should consider it. It is one of the easiest and most efficient ways of earning a little beermoney. It is advised to leave your main bank account alone. Instead, switch a secondary bank account, or open a new account at your current bank to be used just for switching. Recommended steps:

1. Open a second current account with your main high street bank (must be part of CASS service)
2. Set up direct debits on the second account (if required).
3. Add £1 to your second account. This will be transferred to your new account, allowing you to see when the switch has been completed.
4. Apply for a new account and arrange to switch to your second bank account (sometimes this is during the application process, other times it is after the account is opened).
5. Let the current account switch service take care of everything.
6. Make sure all other terms are met (e.g. pay in money if needed).
7. Receive your bank switching bonus.

You will hear about lots of people rushing through all of the switch bonuses available. These offers have been coming and going for years, my advice is to do an offer that tickles your fancy and try out a new bank. Then, if you decide you do not like your new bank you should sample another bank and get paid again!
​

Are there some bank accounts worth keeping?

Why yes. Some are quite good, and give ongoing rewards. For example, Club Lloyds gives free Disney Plus. See the "don't leave us please" bank rewards post. Some also give access to the best savings accounts (e.g. regular savers).

Detailed switch offer information

Whilst we do our best to make sure things are correct, sometimes errors do slip through. Always do your own research. Also, it may not be possible to work through all of these.
​

Barclays

Current offer: 31k Avios for full switch to Premier Banking, and paying £12/month for “Avios Rewards” for 4 months - works out around £100 profit when converted to Nectar points.

Direct link to offer (scroll down)

• You must switch to Premier Bank account.

These are premium accounts, supposed to be for those with £70k+ salaries. However, cycling £4201 each month also appears to do the job

Offer end date: None listed
Requirements:

• Open a Barclays Premier bank account & join Avios Rewards (£12/month fee), or
  
• Complete a full switch from a different bank (you do this from within the app, after opening the account).
  

Reward payable by: 1.5k Avios each month for Avios Rewards, 25k Avios paid in month 4 for the switch.
Available to existing customers: No.
Additional notes: it can be worth doing the Barclaycard Avios Plus offer at the same time, as you will get a discount on the credit card fee.

​

Danske Bank

Current offer: £200 for full switch

Direct link to Danske Bank offer

• You can switch to their Danske Reward, Danske Choice or Danske Freedom current account.

Offer end date: No end date given, may be removed at any time.
Requirements:

• Full switch (no direct debits mentioned).
  
• After opening account, pay in £1000 within 60 days (can be multiple deposits)
  
• You cannot have had a Danske Bank reward since 01/01/2024
  

Available to existing customers: only if you are a new personal current account customer. .
How long does it take to pay the bonus: paid within 10 days of meeting requirements.

​

First Direct

Current offer: £175 when you switch

Direct link to First Direct offer

• You can switch to their First account.

Offer end date: No end date given, may be removed at any time.
Requirements:

• Full switch (two direct debits or standing orders are required).
  
• After opening account, log in to mobile banking, pay in £1000, and make 5 debit card payments within 30 days.
  
• You cannot have had a 1st Direct account before.
  
• You cannot switch if you have an HSBC account opened after 01/2020
  

How to do it: Once your first direct account is open, simply log into your first direct app, select the account you wish to transfer into, tap ‘switch to us’ from your account menu and follow the instructions.
Available to existing customers: No. Also can't have had a HSBC account opened since January 2018.
How long does it take to pay the bonus: paid by the 20th of the month following that in which you met all of the criteria.

​

Santander

Extra £15: You can get an extra £15 by signing up to a Santander Edge account via Topcashback. If you don't have a Topcashback account, you can sign up here:

Topcashback sign up + Additional £10 Bonus

Current offer: £175

Direct link to offer
You can switch to any of these paid current accounts: Santander Edge current account, Edge Up, or the Private Current Account

Offer end date: None given
Requirements: Full switch.

• Apply to switch when you apply to open the account (or existing customers can just switch into an existing qualifying current account).
  
• Complete switch of a non-Santander account, set up 2 active direct debits, and pay in £1500 within 60 days of applying/telling Santander you want to switch. Must keep direct debits active on account
  
• Cannot have had a Santander-group bonus previously (Santander, Cahoot, Cater Allen)
  

Reward payable by: between 60 and 90 days after opening the account.
Available to existing customers: Yes (can switch a non-Santander group current account into a new or existing Santander account). Existing customers may need to visit a branch.

​

Virgin Money

Current offer: Extra 10% interest on £1k for a year (~£100 bonus)
Extra £30: You can get an extra £30 by signing up to Virgin via Snoop (you need to connect your Virgin account to Snoop). If you don't have a Snoop account, you can sign up here for an additional fiver too:

Snoop £5 sign up bonus
Direct link to Virgin Money offer

• You can switch to their M Account (free, ~10% interest total, gross), M Plus Account (free account, ~12% interest total) or Club M Account (costs £12.50/month for insurance and stuff, ~12% total, is one of the best value package accounts - especially if a joint account)

Offer end date: apply by 31/05/24
Requirements:

• Full switch (two direct debits required as part of the switch).

Available to existing customers: No. And can't have closed an account since 30/04/2024
How long does it take to pay the bonus: interest is paid monthly, so a a year to get it all!

​

General Bank Switch Questions

Current Account Switch Bribes - Why do they offer them?

They want your business. Banks like fighting each other for customers. Most of them know they can't win by highlighting their outdated systems and products, so they fight each other by offering potential customers cash bribes (or equivalent) to switch their "main" bank account.

Can I switch any bank account to get a bribe?

No. You must switch a bank account that is part of The Current Account Switch Service (CASS). Most high street banks are included. But some Neo Banks are not (e.g., Kroo, Revolut, & Monese are not included). You should try to avoid switching your main bank account. You can always open an additional account just to switch.
See here for a full list of CASS banks.

Is it too much hassle?

No. The Current Account Switch Service (CASS) makes switching your account between most banks smooth and effortless. You do not have to do anything apart from apply for and set up a new account at a different bank and tell them you want to switch your account to them. Everything is transferred automatically (except recurring card payments).

Is there the best route to sample all the banks with switch offers?

Do the offer ending soonest first. Then you might switch again. If you complete all offers in this post, you could earn yourself >£1000.

Some of these end soon. Will the offers come back?

Banks have been offering bribes on and off for many years. We can't predict the future. But this is not a new thing.

How long does a bank switch take?

Approximately one week.

Do I have to switch my main account?

You could. But you don't have to. Many people have second bank accounts. One option may be to open up a second account with your current high street bank, add some direct debits to this second account and then switch it to the new bank you want to try out. On the sub, people also like Starling or Monzo as they are easy to set up (but you might want to switch back to them at the end - their functionality wins vs any usual high street bank).
High-street banks also let you open multiple accounts. If you already have an account with one, you might want to open an additional one with your current bank first (Halifax, NatWest etc are reported to allow several current accounts and to be fast to open).

I have savings accounts at the same bank as my current account. Can I still switch to this current account?

Yes. Only the current account will be closed (some linked regular savers may be converted to normal savings accounts). You might want to consider if switching to a secondary account is a better option.

I have linked savers attached to my current account. Can I still switch it?

Possibly.

Which banks let me open a second bank account?

Most of them.

Do I need to activate the card on the account I am going to switch?

Just do it anyway. Some banks require it

What details do I need to switch?

• Sort code and account number.
• Debit card information.
• Usually, but not always, 2 active DDs on the account you are switching.

Do you need to have money in the account you are switching?

No. But it might be a good idea - this will allow you to see when the switch happens (i.e. when the money is transferred!).

I do not have a bank card with my old current account as it is very very old, can I still switch it?

Most online forms require card details, but you can usually switch such accounts over the phone.

My new bank has not given me my account number (e.g. NatWest).

Usually, these are sent via post/email when you sign up. But some banks don't have the account numbers on the card, or maybe letters get lost in the post. If this happens, wait for the card to arrive and contact their support. If you get a bot on the chat thing, type "speak to a human" repeatedly.

My new bank account is a premium account and it has a fee. Do I need to keep paying for this?

No. You can downgrade the account. But you should probably wait until you have been paid the bonus.

I don't like my new bank, do I need to wait for the bank card before switching again?

Yes. See question above. Most banks require the card details of your existing account.

I made an account just to switch. Can I switch before my new bank card arrives?

Best not to. You are asked to enter the debit card information as part of the process.

The offer says I have to pay in £xxxx. Does it have to be in one go?

No. You can transfer in and out. The total sent in has to be equal to or greater than the stated amount. You should be careful with this though, sending money in and out of an account can trigger anti-fraud measures.

The offer says I have to pay in £xxxx. Can I pay it in before the switch completes?

Yes. You can pay it before, after, or during. You can manually transfer it, or it can be transferred automatically from your old account.

I've been asked to verify my identity. Is this normal?

Sometimes automated checks fail. If this happens, you may be asked to manually verify your application by visiting a branch or sending in a copy of your ID.

I switched from Monzo/Starling and want to return, can I?

Starling does not let you return within 12 months. With Monzo, it's possibly a shorter one month that you have to wait.

Do I have to switch direct debits?

Check individual offer terms.

What is an "Active" direct debit?

An active direct debit is usually one where a payment had been taken in the last 13 months. But some bank switch terms require direct debits to have been paid out of the account. If an offer requires an active direct debit, it's safer to switch to an account that has already paid out direct debits.**

What are good direct debits to set up on a second account?

There are many: Paypal, Ebay, Moneybox savings account, Plum savings account, your credit card, Sprive Mortgage auto savings, Wealthify Robo Saving.

I recently switched to XXX Bank, and I do not like it. Can I switch again?

Yes. If you are not happy with the new service, you may want to switch to a new bank that will pay you to give them a try.

Do I have to stick with my new bank for any length of time?

No.

If I switch away, will the bank claw back the bonus?

Very unlikely. They would have to specify this in their terms, and none have ever done so.

My switch is complete, but I have not yet received my bonus. Will I still get the bonus if I switch this account before it is paid?

Probably not.

My most recent switch is not quite complete, but I have already received the bonus. Can I start another switch?

You should probably wait for the switch to complete.

Can I get more than one bribe from each bank?

Sometimes. With some banks (e.g. Nationwide), you can get a bonus for switching one sole and one joint current account. Other banks will pay you to switch again, as long as you have not had a bonus in a specified amount of time. You will need to check individual offer terms.

XXX Bank gave me a bonus before, can I get a bonus again?

You need to check the individual offer terms.

Will this affect my credit score?

Credit scores are a funny thing, What is more important is what is actually in your credit file. Obviously, if you apply for an overdraft then it will affect your "credit score". However, if you do not have an overdraft or you make sure that you have paid off any overdraft before switching banks, then a single current account switch should not negatively impact your credit score. Nevertheless, typically all major banks (excepting Monzo and Starling) do a hard credit search, and this will be recorded on your file. If you plan on applying for a new mortgage soon then you may wish to exercise caution in switching between a load of banks. This is because the hard searches performed by banks will appear on your report and may have an effect for 6-12 months.

Which banks do hard searches and which do soft searches??

See here. Most banks do hard searches.

• Hard searches: Bank of Scotland (first account only), Barclays, Co-op, Clydesdale, Halifax (1st account only), First Direct, HSBC, Lloyds (1st account only), Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, RBS, Santander, TSB, Ulster, Virgin Money.
  
• Soft searches: Starling, Metro Bank, and Chase
  

I have a bad credit score, will I be accepted to XXX bank?

Unfortunately, we do not know the acceptance criteria of the banks. You might be unlucky with one bank, but lucky with another.

My application was rejected. Why?

Nobody here knows. You could try appealing, but your only way to find out more is to contact the bank.

After switching my account, I still have online banking with my old provider. Do I need this?

No. You do not need to keep the online access (you could shut it down). But you may wish to retain these details in case your old bank suddenly appears with an offer that makes you want to switch back. Or open up a savings account.

Has anyone else been paid for switching to XXX Bank yet?

Check the terms of the offer you signed up for. Some banks have long deadlines and stick to them (e.g. Santander, TSB). Some are quicker. If you haven't been paid within the stated terms, then you should contact the bank's support.

Current state of technology enables creating small and simple communication devices offering high level of privacy and security. A good example may be Meshtastic devices. However, a necessity to use smartphone (possibly infected with a spyware) may break both privacy and security. It would be much better if the text message could be entered on the Meshtastic device itself, and then have it encrypted internally before transmission. Unfortunately, most Meshtastic device do not offer a full keyboard. An option could be entering the text as a Morse code, using the key of capacitive pad. The Morse code however covers only a limited set of characters, and its knowledge in society is limited. Therefore, I'd like to propose another method for entering text. It is based on two digital inputs. They may be two capacitive pads, or a double paddle Morse key. Please note that I have developed the below described procedure from scratch. I have not investigated if similar procedures are implemented (or may be even patented?) by anybody. So if you would like to use it in a commercial product, please make the necessary investigations yourself.

What we may generate with two inputs?

Below I put the ASCII diagrams of possible events that we can send with two inputs. I mark low level (_) as "inactive" and high level (‾) as active. The inputs are marked as In1 and In2.

Event Wavevorfm E1 In1: __/‾‾\__ In2: ________ E2 In1: ________ In2: __/‾‾\__ E1i2 In1: ___/‾‾\___ In2: _/‾‾‾‾‾‾\_ E2i1 In1: _/‾‾‾‾‾‾\_ In2: ___/‾‾\___ E1f2 In1: _/‾‾‾‾\_____ In2: ____/‾‾‾‾\__ E2f1 In1: ____/‾‾‾‾\__ In2: _/‾‾‾‾\_____ 

So we have 6 elementary events: Event 1, Event 2, Event 1 in event 2, Event 2 in event 1, Event 1 followed by event 2, Event 2 followed by event 1. Each of them may be easily generated with two independent switches, two capacitive pads or double Morse paddle.
We may also generate more complex sequences, like:

Multiple E1i2: E1i2 In1: ___/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾\____ In2: _/‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾\__ Multiple E1i2 finished by E2f1: E1i2 In1: ___/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾‾‾\__ In2: _/‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾\____ Multiple E2i1 E1i2 In1: _/‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾\__ In2: ___/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾‾‾\__ Multiple E2i1 finished by E1f2: E1i2 In1: _/‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾\____ In2: ___/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾\__/‾‾‾‾\__ 

Using of possible events for entering text.

First, with E1i2 and multiple E1i2 we may select an appropriate group of characters (for example we may have four groups: "upper case letters", "lower case letters", "digits", "special chracters").
Then, the selected group is split into two equal subgroups, and the first and last character of each subgroup is shown. Then the selected group is handled in the same way, until only one character is left. This character is then selected and added to the created message.
Below is the sample code showing the proposed procedure:

#!/usbin/python # The demonstration code for two-key character selection. # Written by Wojciech M. Zabołotny (wzab01@gmail.com) # This is a public domain code (under CC0 1.0 license) c=[] for i in range(ord('A'),ord('Z')+1): c.append(chr(i)) # We have three indices: # start, end, split start = 0 end = len(c) while True: split = (start + end) // 2 if start == split: # The character is already selected, print it print("Chosen:"+c[start]) break if split > start + 1: line = "["+c[start]+" "+c[split-1]+"]" else: line = "["+c[start]+"]" if split < end - 1: line += "["+c[split]+" "+c[end-1]+"]" else: line += "["+c[split]+"]" #print(start,split,end) print(line) sel = input("sel:") if sel == "1": end = split else: start = split 

Below is the process of selection of the K character.

$ python [A M][N Z] sel:1 [A F][G M] sel:2 [G I][J M] sel:2 [J K][L M] sel:1 [J][K] sel:2 Chosen:K 

Of course the user should be able to correct the character entered. That can bee achieved with E2i1 event. Double E2i1 event may be used to clear the whole text.
When the whole message is assembled, it may be sent with E1f2 event.
The above procedure does not use E2f1 event, which may be used to leave the whole procedure.

Example implementation

I don't have an implementation for microcontroller yet. A simple demo function with Python running on a PC and using numbers instead of the above events is shown below:

#!/usbin/python # The demonstration code for two-key character selection. # Written by Wojciech M. Zabołotny (wzab01@gmail.com) # This is a public domain code (under CC0 1.0 license) # Create groups of characters uc_letters=[] for i in range(ord('A'),ord('Z')+1): uc_letters.append(chr(i)) lc_letters=[] for i in range(ord('a'),ord('z')+1): lc_letters.append(chr(i)) digits=[] for i in range(ord('0'),ord('9')+1): digits.append(chr(i)) specs=list("\"\'{}[]!?@#$%^&*()-+=/\\,.<>") groups=[uc_letters, lc_letters, digits, specs] # Main loop # We have three indices: # start, end, split grnr=0 c=groups[grnr] start = 0 end = len(c) txt = "" while True: split = (start + end) // 2 if start == split: # The character is already selected, print it txt += c[start] start = 0 end = len(c) continue if split > start + 1: line = "["+c[start]+" "+c[split-1]+"]" else: line = "["+c[start]+"]" if split < end - 1: line += "["+c[split]+" "+c[end-1]+"]" else: line += "["+c[split]+"]" #print(start,split,end) print(txt) print(line) sel = input("1-1st half, 2-2nd half, 3-del char, 4-clear text, 5-send text, 6-next group:") if sel == "1": end = split elif sel == "2": start = split elif sel == "3": txt = txt[:-1] elif sel == "4": txt = txt[:-1] elif sel == "5": print("Transmitted msg:"+txt) txt = "" start = 0 end = len(c) elif sel == "6": grnr = (grnr + 1) % len(groups) c = groups[grnr] start = 0 end = len(c) else: print("Unknown key") 

I'll send a link to the microcontroller implementation as soon as it is ready.

As you guys know, walang kasiguraduhan sa freelancing so eto nanaman ako ngayon naghahanap ng bagong client/agency/company. For context, I used to have one client earlier this year (from Upwork) and we had a very easy partnership but nagkaron siya ng personal issues so I was offboarded ng April 30. Right after the I found out nagstart agad ako maghanap ng clients and companies I could apply to and so far ito ang breakdown ng mga application na pinagdaanan ko.

1. Upwork - Since dito ko nahanap young last client ko, dito rin ako nagstart ulit maghanap. I have a Top Rated badge in upwork so naisip ko why not use it as much as I can. I sent out 12 proposals and bought 200 connects (around 100 lang nagamit ko) which got me 2 interviews and 1 contract after a week.
   
2. CoconutVA - I've heard lots of good things about this agency so I sent in my application along with a video recording of myself through loom. Di naman mahirap yung application process, medyo time consuming lang kasi kailangan maligo (lol) and mag-ayos for the recording. Di naman required, pero syempre best foot forward. I asked ChatGPT to give me a sample script and used it as an outline for the one that I actually used. After three days (I think) I got an email back saying they included me in their potential talent pool but no guarantees pa that I'll get matched so they encourage entertaining other offers for the meantime - which is a great sign na di sila nangggatekeep ng opportunities.
   
3. FlexJobs - I found a Remote Office Assistant role from a US-based digital marketing agency na yung rate is around $2k/month. May exam din silang pinagawa and excel skill test na medj mahirap. Haven't heard from them so far pero if you guys want to apply rin (I think they're still pooling) send me a DM for the link haha.
   
4. FreeUp - The thing with FreeUp is it's like a cross between an agency and a freelancing platform. Medyo lengthy rin ang application process nila kasi maraming questions na need sagutan in paragraph form. And then I was sent an email with a module and a super easy short quiz, tapos nung pasado na they sent me an interview invite with one of their reps. After pumasa, proceed na sa account creation (just received this email an hour ago and di ko pa ginagawa so mag update ako after)
   
5. VirtualElves - I sent in an initial application and I got an email back after a few days asking me to fill out a Candidate Profile Form pero I don't think I'll be proceeding with the application at this time kasi parang di ko siya priority right now and ang dami ko pang hinihintay to hear back from.
   
6. Athena - This was one of the most grueling application process I've ever experienced, but everything was quite quick after I passed the exam last week. The interview was scheduled kaninang umaga then a few hours later I received another invitation for a training offer at 10PM tapos this coming Monday start na daw ng training. Medyo surprising lang kasi form what I've seen and heard, this process usually takes weeks prior to training.
   

Special mentions: OLJ - First time kong icheck tong platform na to just to see kung magkano ang usual rates na inooffer nila doon, tapos nanlumo ako sa nakita ko so di na ko nagaksaya pa ng oras sa site na to.
This pinned thread dito sa BuhayDigital subreddit. Pakiramdam ko ang daming nagooverlook into pero is a to as mga una kong chineck na resource when I started looking for jobs. Jan ko nahanap yung FreeUp and FlexJobs. Very useful!
One thing that I like to do is to use ChatGPT as much as I can, but I do heavy editing to not make it sound like it's written by an AI because I'm always deathly afraid that the recruiters might find out - because THEY WILL and bestie that's going to be embarassing.
The biggest tip I can give to anyone who is looking for clients right now is learn how to OPTIMIZE EVERYTHING. Optimize your resume, optimize your cover letters, optimize your online profiles, and most importantly, optimize your skills. Check mo kung among pinaka in-demand na skills and industries, then pivot accordingly.
Good luck sa mga kasabay kong naghahanap ng clients, wag tayo papa-lowball!

We had a big storm two days ago and my neighbors oak tree and several other of their trees are dangling precariously over my property. The neighbor said because they’re hanging over my property that they aren’t responsible for having them cut. I called my insurance company and they said because the trees haven’t fallen yet that I should send the neighbor a certified, notarized letter saying their trees are posing an imminent threat to my property and they need to have them trimmed. If they fall and damage my property they will have to cover it, too. Insurance said until I serve the notice or damage is done then nothing can be done aside from me forking out the money to have them trimmed. She advised me not to do that. Meanwhile, I can’t use my yard or my driveway. She was going to do further research and call me back. Does all this sound right? If so, does anyone have a sample letter? I’m in Louisiana if that matters. Thanks in advance

First, allow me to preface this by saying that I've been a fairly long-time lurker but first-time poster. I've actually learned quite a bit here, so I'm grateful to everyone here in our sub.
Without getting too much into particulars, I'm canonically Latin at the moment but looking to transfer ascription. I do have a history with the Eastern Churches (so time and advisement aren't issues per my spiritual father, and he has advised that I start getting the ball rolling, so to speak).
For those that did a transfer -- what did you put in your letter, or would someone have a sample letter I could use as a model?
Essentially, I'm looking for pointers, and have a bit of...writer's block.
Edit: grammar.

Hi Everyone,
I asked a professor to write an LOR for my medical school application, and she finally got back to me. She was happy to do it. However, she asked that I draft the letter and that she will edit it, add additional info, and submit it for me. After some research, I found that this is not uncommon at all. However, I have no idea how to write a letter and am worried I will put myself at a disadvantage. I tried to create sample drafts using chat GPT, but it was so generic and robotic. This professor knows me decently well, so I am not sure how to proceed.
Thanks in advance!

Hello all,
Little big of backstory is that me and my brother were going through my parents attic when we came across about half of our late 90s original collections and got back into the game most recently. We dabbled in collecting after the Ruby/Sapphire era expansions and just recently got back into collecting about 2-3 months ago. In typical fashion, we dove headfirst back into buying both sealed and loose product with the understanding that sealed product is much more reassuring (more common sense I know, just stating my understanding) and that loose packs can be weighed. I opened a fair amount of CZ, within about 50-60 packs and get some decent hits with 2/4 gold VSTARs, multiple alternate art cards. Also opened about 20-30 packs of Silver Tempest and luckily pulled the Lugia V alternate art as well.
Fast forward to now, I end up buying about 200-250$ worth of loose Evolving Skies packs, fair amount of Scarlet and Violet (30 packs of various expansions, sleeved/booster bundles), Lost origins Stadium and an ETB, and a few C22 tins from Walmart (ES and FS). S and V go terribly, LO packs were pretty good, and the C22 tins had 1-2 hits. The loose boosters from Evolving Skies destroyed me, with about 75-80% of the loose packs all had white code cards and really terrible pulls. The "green" code carded ES packs never had even so much a V or anything else in it. I knew this was possible, but its super discouraging.
First and foremost, i know the sample size is small and I didn't go into in with the expectation of pulling Moonbreon but at least getting 1-2 hits from the loose boosters (somewhere betwen 20-25 loose ES boosters) and I know the pull rates were pretty rough already. This is NOT a "woe is me" or a "this sucks, the TCG is bad and it should change" post. The questions I have are:

1. What do you do personally when you get bad pull luck? Do you step away and just let things cool off before re-attempting more packs, do you stop all together while buying/trading for the cards you really want from the set, or do you just call it quits for that set and move on? I know some of the questions will depend on personality, just inquiring how people tackle bad pack luck.
   
2. Where do you tend to buy your product that's reliable? Do you buy only sealed products? Whats your opinion on sleeved/blister packs vs loose? Do you ever chance your luck with loose packs or is pretty common practice for places like TikTok Shop (where I bought my loose ES packs from this round) and other online sources (eBay) to weigh packs before sending them? Is weighing packs really that common?
   
3. What's everyones general opinion of the TikTok shop? The coupons that seem to pop up every few days really make the temptation to get something that much stronger as the prices drop well below retail at times (and make buying loose packs tempting as the prices on the ES packs were averaging around 8$ a pack).
   

TIA. TLDR: Again, not a woe is me post just trying to feel other people out on how to deal with bad pack luck, where to reliably buy product, general opinions of the TikTok shop, and sleeved/blister boosters vs loose.

First time taker here and was finishing up my 3L year. Just graduated May ‘24 and was an out of state test taker for Texas. Studied for 5 weeks and passed the Texas Bar and did about 200 hours on BarBri. For me, the issue with the Bar was learning and remembering the law and so I focused on the barbri lectures and MC.
MEE/MPT
I did not write out a single MEE as writing has never been an issue. I’m assuming most people in law school can write well and thus the issue with the essays are issue spotting and knowing the black letter law. This is why I focused on LEARNING the law through the lectures and MC questions instead of wasting hours writing essays. Something I found helpful was looking up the model questions and then reading the selected answers. This gave me an idea of how to structure my essays and see what the examiners liked.
For the MPT, all I did was watch BarMD free video on YouTube and then I read the library portion of a sample MPT to get a feel for issue spotting. One thing I found helpful during the exam was that I would read the cases first and immediately type out the Rules into the test document. I would then just copy and paste the rules when needed which saved me a ton of time as I didn’t have to re-read the case etc. Ultimately, the MPT is all about time management as we all have learned how to issue spot by being in law school.
MBE:
I don’t really know what to say other than just to study. Do a ton of MC to get familiar with the format and also to help get exposed to the more nuanced areas of the law. I did some BarBri MC but what I found helpful were the MC questions from the ncbe themselves. They are fairly cheap and well worth it as they come from the source themselves and are how the questions on the bar are worded. Now, these MC’s by the ncbe are on the easier side but they give you a feel for the formatting of the Q’s. I also just hated Barbri questions which is probably why I liked the ncbe Q’s so much.
Overall, don’t stress about not studying enough/ not completing your course. A lot of the bar prep courses allot a ton of time to writing essays for every subject and for writing MPTs. Personally, I’m a believer that if you know the law then the MEE’s won’t be bad and thus just focus your time on learning the law and practicing the MC Q’s.
Hope this is helpful

Are you a seasoned business professional seeking to elevate your expertise and make a significant impact in the field? A Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program might be the perfect next step for you. This prestigious degree equips you with advanced research skills, in-depth knowledge of business theory, and the ability to solve complex organizational problems.
This comprehensive guide delves into everything you need to know about applying for a DBA program in 2024, including:

• What is a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA)?
• Is a DBA Right for you?
• DBA vs. PhD in Business Administration: Understanding the differences
• Types of DBA Programs: Full-time, Part-Time, and Online Doctorate in Business Administration Options
• Key Consideration When Choosing a DBA Program
• The DBA Application Process: Step-By-Step Guide
• Tips for Strengthening Your DBA Application
• Resources for DBA Applicants

What is a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA)?

The highest academic qualification in the discipline of business administration is a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), sometimes referred to as a DBA degree. This degree, which is terminal in nature, represents the completion of your official business education. Experienced professionals interested in undertaking unique research that tackles practical business difficulties are the target audience for DBA programs.

Is a DBA Right for You?

Examine your motives and career objectives before choosing to enroll in a DBA program. The following are some signs that you could be a good fit for a DBA:

• You have a great ambition to create a substantial impact in the sector and a great deal of experience in business, usually spanning over five years.
• You have a strong analytical and critical thinking background and a strong enthusiasm for research.
• You hope to hold high managerial positions in companies, consultancies, or academic institutions.
• You possess the discipline and self-motivation necessary to handle the rigorous workload of a PhD program.

DBA vs. Ph.D. in Business Administration: Understanding the Differences

Although a doctorate in business administration can be obtained through both DBA and PhD programs, their main objectives are different:

• The focus of this curriculum is on using research to address real-world business issues. For seasoned individuals looking to improve their research and leadership abilities in a corporate setting, it's perfect.
• PhD: The main goal of this program is to use fundamental research to produce new knowledge. It is intended for people who want to work in academia, where they will theoretically advance the body of knowledge.

Types of DBA Programs: Full-Time, Part-time, Online Options

The needs of working professionals are met by the variety of forms in which DBA programs are offered:

• Full-Time DBA Programs: Three to four years of intense study are usually needed for these programs.
• Part-Time DBA Programs: These programs offer more flexibility but have a 5-7 year completion time.
• Online programs for a doctorate in business administration: These offer working professionals a flexible learning environment that enables distance learning.

Key Considerations When Choosing a DBA Program

Choosing the appropriate DBA program is essential. The following are important considerations:

• Recognition: Verify if the programs have been approved by a respectable business accrediting body.
• Format of Program: Select the scheduling and learning style-friendly format (full-time, part-time, or online).
• Faculty Expertise: Seek schools with well-known instructors who have extensive experience conducting research in your field of interest.
• Financial assistance: Look into the programs' available financial assistance and scholarship opportunities.
• Examine whether the program offers career guidance and help with job placement within the category of career support services.
• Programs with specializations in fields like finance, marketing, or leadership may be of interest to you.

The DBA Application Process: Step-by-Step Guide:

Application to a DBA program needs careful planning. Here's a detailed how-to:

• Examine DBA Courses: Examine the staff, curriculum, and admissions requirements of the programs that fit your requirements.
• Examine the Program's Due Date: Make sure your application documents are sent in well in advance of the deadline.
• Standardized Tests: You may be required to take the GMAT or GRE by certain schools.
• Official Transcripts: Make requests to all of the institutions you attended for official transcripts.
• Curriculum Vitae/Resume: Create a thorough CV that highlights your accomplishments and professional background.
• Write a strong Statement of Purpose (SOP) that explains your motivations for pursuing a DBA as well as your research interests and career aspirations.
• Obtain solid recommendation letters from instructors, supervisors, or fellow professionals who are aware of your ability both professionally and academically.
• Writing Sample: A writing sample may be required by some programs sample to assess your research.

Tips for Strengthening Your DBA Application:

• Showcase Your Professional Achievements and How Your Experience Provides Useful Information for Your DBA Research to Show Off Your Strong Business Acumen.
• Clearly Stated Research Interests: Display your enthusiasm for a particular business administration research topic.
• Customize the Materials for Your Application: Make sure your application materials are tailored to the particular requirements of each program, and emphasize how your objectives complement the program's advantages.

Sorry if this is the wrong sub or flair, wasn't really sure where else to post this.
My wife and I are pretty confused. Last week, we were sent a package apparently called an Enfamil Wonder Box. It was full of gift cards to pregnancy/baby stores, formula samples, and $60 with of Enfamil coupons.
Today, we were sent a box from Similac. More gift cards, another $60 in formula coupons for Similac, and 3 whole containers of Similac formula.
We have never been more confused. My wife isn't pregnant, and can't even get pregnant. Our families both know this, so chances are they have no part in this.
The only upside is my wife has a pregnant co-worker, so we're debating just gifting it all to her.
Has anybody else had this happen to them?

Hello all,
This is something I literally cannot stop thinking about and I feel like a horrible person right now so any advice is helpful.
I got accepted into a PhD program in a STEM field and after a lot of contemplation, I accepted it a month ago. I have still been majorly struggling with the life changes and if I am up to it (pretty much imposter syndrome). But I sent in all my material at the end of last year.
However, I recently needed to send an updated resume/CV for my job due to a QA walkthrough (I work at a diagnostics lab currently) and I noticed under my description of this job, I described my work as “analytical testing of specimens”.
I do work with patient samples but it is just a diagnostic process. I’m not running specific tests on specific samples, in reality I’m pushing them through the lab using liquid handlers. So I feel that saying I am doing any sort of “analytical testing” is a gross lie. I really don’t know what I was thinking when writing that. If anything, it should be “diagnostic processing” and then I could really explain what I do. I have other bullets under this section to back up other things I do (reagent handling, instrument troubleshooting, training, etc.)
I feel so incredibly guilty because of this and what’s worse is that I did not even get a formal interview by the school or my PI. Like I wish I did so then this could have been found out and then I could explain the mistake but now it’s obviously too late. It makes my work experience sound so much more grandiose but in reality it’s very simple.
I mean I do have the other qualifications (bachelors, some research experience, letters of recommendation) but I feel that this job also means a lot in the decision and I feel incredibly sick to my stomach thinking that I have experience in any sort of analytical testing when I don’t. I have a theoretical grasp of some of the methods but no actual work experience (maybe some undergrad lab experience).
Should I email my PI and ask him about this? Or send in an updated CV? I know the running joke is “fake it till you make it” but I genuinely feel that I am a fake now and don’t want to live like that.
TLDR: Got into grad school but realized a pretty massive error on my CV regarding my job description and I am freaking out about it.

Hello fellow nomads,
I've been digging through the forum trying to find guidance on obtaining a medical certificate for my visa application, but not sure why I am so confused on something so basic. The requirement specifies a "Health insurance medical certificate" from a recognized health institution in my country of residence to prove I don’t carry any contagious diseases. Here’s the specific text:
“You must get a medical health certificate from a recognized health institution in your country of residence and present it to the relevant [country] authorities. This document will prove that you do not suffer from any contagious diseases that may be of risk to the [country] population.”
Despite what seems like a straightforward task, I'm hitting a wall. I contacted my primary care doctor, and they told me they don't issue such certificates. I even reached out to my insurance company, who called over 20 different providers, none of whom could help.
Is there a specific way I should be framing my request to these healthcare providers? What exactly qualifies as a recognized health institution in this context?
Additionally, I found this sample letter: [Medical Certificate Sample](). Can anyone confirm if the format here is generally acceptable, or should I be looking for something different?
Any guidance, especially from those who have navigated this process, would be immensely helpful. Thank you!

I'd like to hear your experiences to find out if I should be concerned.
I had my surgery last monday, it's my first one. I'm 22. Also a trans dude so he/him pronouns please (I'm only saying this because I would totally assume the poster was a woman too if I read a post on here).
Miscommunication has characterised every step of this journey (hooray NHS), from a consultation wait list that took 14 months because they forgot about me to on the day of the surgery, them mixing up the fact that I was a stay in patient for the night (I didn't have anyone to take me home, and this was discussed three times at different appointments beforehand). After the surgery the nurse tells me I have glue on my incisions, so I don't need to do anything. Nope! They are stitches! So I'm going to go to a walk in clinic to sort that out soon because I looked it up and apparently you're not supposed to leave those in for more than ten days.
I didn't find out the results of the surgery; I very briefly saw the surgeon before the surgery and he was very grumpy with me even though I wasn't chattering. Just answered his questions as succinctly as possible. I was not prescribed any pain killer either, and the pain was bad. I woke up in shock, shivering like crazy, no count down on the anesthetic. Also my period started the day after.
The nurse told me I would receive the results in a letter after a couple days when they sent samples to a histrionics labs. It's been a week now... Yeah maybe I'm impatient but with all this miscommunication so far it's driving my anxiety through the roof. I have received absolutely 0 information about what happened during the surgery.
And this is just aesthetics but the incision on my bellybutton is just. So messy. They closed my belly button into a zig zag.
Should I be concerned? Or am I just paranoid when thinking that perhaps there's been miscommunication again and my results may have been lost? I don't know, I'm scared and when I call the number they gave me they told me I need to go to A and E if I want to see anyone for anything -- that means a nine hour wait in this city.
I'm sorry this is so rambly, I just have no one in my corner right now and I'm desperate to know something. Any insight would be appreciated.

I have already submitted my Creative Performance Task, and it is a program that helps find words from the dictionary with inputted length and letter combinations, for example, if you input "3" and "e" it will output words like "eat", "red" etc...
Problem is, while I am preparing for the test today, I stumbled across a video discussing a 2021 sample task that got 6/6, and that student have an almost identical program, except that the input for their function is the first letter of the word, instead of the components of words, so if you enter, "3" and "e" it finds words like "eat" "ear" etc. Our interfaces look extremely similar (SOMEHOW) and even some of our variables have the same name (HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE), like wordList, and filteredWordList.
Am I screwed? Will my score get canceled for plagiarism? Because my code is only 28 lines long and their code is probably short as well some of my lines look awfully similar to theirs. I swear to God I did not copy their work.

abandon, ability, able, about, above, absence, absolute, absolutely, abstract, abundance, academy, accent, accept, access, accident, accompany, accomplish, according, account, accurate, achieve, achievement, acid, acknowledge, acquire, across, action, active, activity, actor, actual, actually, adapt, addition, additional, address, adequate, adjust, administration, admire, admission, admit, adolescent, adopt, adult, advance, advantage, adventure, advertise, advice, advise, adviser, advocate, affair, affect, afford, afraid, after, afternoon, again, against, age, agency, agenda, agent, aggressive, ago, agree, agreement, agriculture, ahead, aid, aim, air, aircraft, airline, airport, alarm, album, alcohol, alive, all, alliance, allow, ally, almost, alone, along, already, also, alter, alternative, although, always, amateur, amazing, ambition, ambulance, among, amount, analysis, analyst, analyze, ancient, and, anger, angle, angry, animal, anniversary, announce, annual, another, answer, anticipate, anxiety, any, anybody, anymore, anyone, anything, anyway, anywhere, apart, apartment, apologize, apparent, apparently, appeal, appear, appearance, apple, application, apply, appoint, appointment, appreciate, approach, appropriate, approval, approve, approximately, architect, area, argue, argument, arise, arm, armed, army, around, arrange, arrangement, arrest, arrival, arrive, art, article, artist, artistic, as, ashamed, aside, ask, asleep, aspect, assault, assert, assess, assessment, asset, assign, assignment, assist, assistance, assistant, associate, association, assume, assumption, assure, at, athlete, athletic, atmosphere, attach, attack, attempt, attend, attention, attitude, attorney, attract, attraction, attractive, attribute, audience, author, authority, auto, available, average, avoid, award, aware, awareness, away, awful, baby, back, background, bad, badly, bag, balance, ball, ban, band, bank, bar, barely, barrel, barrier, base, baseball, basic, basically, basis, basket, basketball, bath, bathroom, battery, battle, be, beach, bear, beat, beautiful, beauty, because, become, bed, bedroom, bee, beef, beer, before, begin, beginning, behavior, behind, being, belief, believe, bell, belong, below, belt, bench, bend, beneath, benefit, beside, besides, best, bet, better, between, beyond, bicycle, big, bike, bill, billion, bind, biological, bird, birth, birthday, bit, bite, black, blade, blame, blanket, blind, block, blood, blow, blue, board, boat, body, bomb, bombing, bond, bone, book, boom, boot, border, boring, born, borrow, boss, both, bother, bottle, bottom, boundary, bowl, box, boy, boyfriend, brain, branch, brand, brave, bread, break, breakfast, breast, breath, breathe, brick, bridge, brief, briefly, bright, brilliant, bring, broad, broken, brother, brown, brush, buck, budget, build, building, bullet, bunch, burden, burn, bury, bus, business, busy, but, butter, button, buy, buyer, by, cabin, cabinet, cable, cake, calculate, call, camera, camp, campaign, campus, can, Canadian, cancer, candidate, cap, capability, capable, capacity, capital, captain, capture, car, carbon, card, care, career, careful, carefully, carrier, carry, case, cash, cast, cat, catch, category, Catholic, cause, ceiling, celebrate, celebration, celebrity, cell, center, central, century, CEO, ceremony, certain, certainly, chain, chair, chairman, challenge, chamber, champion, championship, chance, change, changing, channel, chapter, character, characteristic, characterize, charge, charity, chart, chase, cheap, check, cheek, cheese, chef, chemical, chest, chicken, chief, child, childhood, Chinese, chip, chocolate, choice, cholesterol, choose, Christian, Christmas, church, cigarette, circle, circumstance, cite, citizen, city, civil, civilian, claim, class, classic, classroom, clean, clear, clearly, client, climate, climb, clinic, clinical, clock, close, closely, closer, clothes, clothing, cloud, club, clue, cluster, coach, coal, coalition, coast, coat, code, coffee, cognitive, cold, collapse, colleague, collect, collection, collective, college, colonial, color, column, combination, combine, come, comedy, comfort, comfortable, command, commander, comment, commercial, commission, commit, commitment, committee, common, communicate, communication, community, company, compare, comparison, compete, competition, competitive, competitor, complain, complaint, complete, completely, complex, complexity, compliance, complicate, complicated, component, compose, composition, comprehensive, computer, concentrate, concentration, concept, concern, concerned, concert, conclude, conclusion, concrete, condition, conduct, conference, confidence, confident, confirm, conflict, confront, confusion, Congress, congressional, connect, connection, consciousness, consensus, consequence, conservative, consider, considerable, consideration, consist, consistent, constant, constantly, constitute, constitutional, construct, construction, consultant, consume, consumer, consumption, contact, contain, container, contemporary, content, contest, context, continue, continued, contract, contrast, contribute, contribution, control, controversial, controversy, convention, conventional, conversation, convert, conviction, convince, cook, cookie, cooking, cool, cooperation, cop, cope, copy, core, corn, corner, corporate, corporation, correct, correspondent, cost, cotton, couch, could, council, count, counter, country, county, couple, courage, course, court, cousin, cover, coverage, cow, crack, craft, crash, crazy, cream, create, creation, creative, creature, credit, crew, crime, criminal, crisis, criteria, critic, critical, criticism, criticize, crop, cross, crowd, crucial, cry, cultural, culture, cup, curious, current, currently, curriculum, custom, customer, cut, cycle, dad, daily, damage, dance, danger, dangerous, dare, dark, darkness, data, database, date, daughter, day, dead, deal, dealer, dear, death, debate, debt, decade, decide, decision, deck, declare, decline, decrease, deep, deeply, deer, defeat, defend, defendant, defense, defensive, deficit, define, definitely, definition, degree, delay, deliver, delivery, demand, democracy, Democratic, Democrat, demonstrate, demonstration, deny, department, depend, dependent, depending, depict, depression, depth, deputy, derive, describe, description, desert, deserve, design, designer, desire, desk, desperate, despite, destroy, destruction, detail, detailed, detect, detection, detective, determine, develop, developing, development, device, devil, dialogue, diet, differ, difference, different, differently, difficult, difficulty, dig, digital, dimension, dining, dinner, direct, direction, directly, director, dirt, disability, disagree, disappear, disaster, discipline, disclose, discover, discovery, discrimination, discuss, discussion, disease, dish, dismiss, disorder, display, dispute, distance, distinct, distinction, distinguish, distribute, distribution, district, diverse, diversity, divide, division, divorce, DNA, do, doctor, document, dog, domestic, dominant, dominate, door, double, doubt, down, downtown, dozen, draft, drag, drama, dramatic, dramatically, draw, drawer, drawing, dream, dress, drink, drive, driver, drop, drug, dry, due, during, dust, duty, dwell, dying, dynamic, each, eager, ear, earlier, early, earn, earnings, earth, earthquake, ease, easily, east, eastern, easy, eat, economic, economy, edge, edit, edition, editor, educate, education, educational, educator, effect, effective, effectively, efficiency, efficient, effort, egg, eight, either, elderly, elect, election, electric, electrical, electricity, electronic, element, elementary, eliminate, elite, else, elsewhere, e-mail, embrace, emerge, emergency, emission, emotion, emotional, emphasis, emphasize, employ, employee, employer, employment, empty, enable, encounter, encourage, end, enemy, energy, enforcement, engage, engine, engineer, engineering, English, enhance, enjoy, enormous, enough, ensure, enter, enterprise, entertain, entertainment, entire, entirely, entrance, entry, environment, environmental, episode, equal, equally, equipment, equivalent, era, error, escape, especially, essay, essential, essentially, establish, establishment, estate, estimate, etc, ethics, ethnic, European, evaluate, evaluation, evening, event, eventually, ever, every, everybody, everyday, everyone, everything, everywhere, evidence, evolution, evolve, exact, exactly, exam, examination, examine, example, exceed, excellent, except, exception, exchange, exciting, executive, exercise, exhibit, exhibition, exist, existence, existing, expand, expansion, expect, expectation, expense, expensive, experience, experiment, expert, explain, explanation, explode, explore, explosion, expose, exposure, express, expression, extend, extension, extensive, extent, external, extra, extraordinary, extreme, extremely, eye, fabric, face, facility, fact, factor, factory, faculty, fade, fail, failure, fair, fairly, faith, fall, false, familiar, family, famous, fan, fantasy, far, farm, farmer, fashion, fast, fat, fate, father, fault, favor, favorite, fear, feature, federal, fee, feed, feel, feeling, fellow, female, fence, festival, few, fewer, fiber, fiction, field, fifteen, fifth, fifty, fight, fighter, fighting, figure, file, fill, film, final, finally, finance, financial, find, finding, fine, finger, finish, fire, firm, first, fish, fishing, fit, fitness, five, fix, flag, flame, flat, flavor, flee, flesh, flight, float, floor, flow, flower, fly, focus, folk, follow, following, food, foot, football, for, force, foreign, forest, forever, forget, form, formal, formation, former, formula, forth, fortune, forward, found, foundation, founder, four, fourth, frame, framework, free, freedom, freeze, French, frequency, frequent, frequently, fresh, friend, friendly, friendship, from, front, fruit, frustration, fuel, fulfill, full, fully, fun, function, fund, fundamental, funding, funeral, funny, furniture, furthermore, future, gain, galaxy, gallery, game, gang, gap, garage, garden, garlic, gas, gate, gather, gay, gaze, gear, gender, gene, general, generally, generate, generation, genetic, gentleman, gently, German, gesture, get, ghost, giant, gift, gifted, girl, girlfriend, give, given, glad, glance, glass, global, glove, go, goal, God, gold, golden, golf, good, govern, government, governor, grab, grace, grade, gradually, graduate, grain, grand, grandmother, grant, grass, grave, gray, great, green, grocery, ground, group, grow, growing, growth, guarantee, guard, guess, guest, guide, guideline, guilty, gun, guy, habit, habitat, hair, half, hall, hand, handful, handle, hang, happen, happy, harbor, hard, hardly, hat, hate, have, he, head, headline, headquarters, health, healthy, hear, hearing, heart, heat, heaven, heavily, heavy, heel, height, helicopter, hell, hello, help, helpful, hence, her, herb, here, heritage, hero, herself, hey, hi, hide, high, highlight, highly, highway, hill, him, himself, hip, hire, his, historic, historical, history, hit, hold, hole, holiday, holy, home, homeless, honest, honey, honor, hope, horizon, horror, horse, hospital, host, hot, hotel, hour, house, household, housing, how, however, huge, human, humor, hundred, hungry, hunter, hunting, hurt, husband, hypothesis, ice, idea, ideal, identification, identify, identity, ignore, ill, illegal, illness, illustrate, image, imagination, imagine, immediate, immediately, immigrant, immigration, impact, implement, implication, imply, importance, important, impose, impossible, impress, impression, impressive, improve, improvement, incentive, incident, include, including, income, incorporate, increase, increased, increasingly, incredible, indeed, independence, independent, index, indicate, indication, individual, industrial, industry, infant, infection, inflation, influence, inform, information, ingredient, initial, initially, initiative, injury, inner, innocent, inquiry, inside, insight, insist, inspire, install, instance, instead, institute, institution, institutional, instruction, instructor, instrument, insurance, intellectual, intelligence, intend, intense, intensity, intention, interaction, interest, interested, interesting, internal, international, Internet, interpret, interpretation, intervention, interview, introduce, introduction, invasion, invest, investigation, investigator, investment, investor, invite, involve, involved, involvement, Iraqi, Irish, iron, Islamic, island, Israeli, issue, it, Italian, item, its, itself, jacket, jail, Japanese, jet, Jew, Jewish, job, join, joint, joke, journal, journalist, journey, joy, judge, judgment, juice, jump, junior, jury, just, justice, justify, keep, key, kick, kid, kill, killer, killing, kind, king, kiss, kitchen, knee, knife, knock, know, knowledge, lab, label, labor, laboratory, lack, lady, lake, land, landscape, language, lap, large, largely, last, late, later, Latin, latter, laugh, launch, law, lawsuit, lawyer, lay, layer, lead, leader, leadership, leading, leaf, league, lean, learn, learning, least, leather, leave, left, leg, legacy, legal, legend, legislation, legislative, legislator, legitimate, lemon, length, less, lesson, let, letter, level, liberal, library, license, lie, life, lifestyle, lifetime, lift, light, like, likely, limit, limitation, limited, line, link, lip, list, listen, literary, literature, little, live, living, load, loan, local, locate, location, lock, long, long-term, look, loose, lose, loss, lost, lot, lots, loud, love, lovely, lover, low, lower, luck, lucky, lunch, luxury, machine, mad, magazine, mail, main, mainly, maintain, maintenance, major, majority, make, maker, makeup, male, mall, man, manage, management, manager, manner, manufacturer, manufacturing, many, map, margin, mark, market, marketing, marriage, married, marry, mask, mass, massive, master, match, material, math, matter, may, maybe, mayor, me, meal, mean, meaning, meanwhile, measure, measurement, meat, mechanism, media, medical, medication, medicine, medium, meet, meeting, member, membership, memory, mental, mention, menu, mere, merely, mess, message, metal, meter, method, Mexican, middle, might, military, milk, million, mind, mine, minister, minor, minority, minute, miracle, mirror, miss, missile, mission, mistake, mix, mixture, mm-hmm, mode, model, moderate, modern, modest, mom, moment, money, monitor, month, mood, moon, moral, more, moreover, morning, mortgage, most, mostly, mother, motion, motivation, motor, mountain, mouse, mouth, move, movement, movie, Mr, Mrs, Ms, much, multiple, murder, muscle, museum, music, musical, musician, Muslim, must, mutual, my, myself, mystery, myth, naked, name, narrative, narrow, nation, national, native, natural, naturally, nature, near, nearby, nearly, necessarily, necessary, neck, need, negative, negotiate, negotiation, neighbor, neighborhood, neither, nerve, nervous, net, network, never, nevertheless, new, newly, news, newspaper, next, nice, night, nine, no, nobody, nod, noise, nomination, nominee, none, nonetheless, nor, normal, normally, north, northern, nose, not, note, nothing, notice, notion, novel, now, nowhere, nuclear, number, numerous, nurse, nut, object, objective, obligation, observation, observe, observer, obtain, obvious, obviously, occasion, occasionally, occupation, occupy, occur, ocean, odd, odds, of, off, offense, offensive, offer, office, officer, official, often, oh, oil, okay, old, Olympic, on, once, one, ongoing, onion, online, only, onto, open, opening, operate, operating, operation, operator, opinion, opponent, opportunity, oppose, opposed, opposite, opposition, option, or, orange, order, ordinary, organic, organization, organize, orientation, origin, original, originally, other, others, otherwise, ought, our, ours, ourselves, out, outcome, outside, oven, over, overall, overcome, overlook, owe, own, owner, pace, pack, package, page, pain, painful, paint, painter, painting, pair, pale, Palestinian, palm, pan, panel, panic, pant, paper, paragraph, parent, park, parking, part, participant, participate, participation, particle, particular, particularly, partly, partner, partnership, party, pass, passage, passenger, passion, past, patch, path, patient, pattern, pause, pay, payment, PC, peace, peak, peer, pen, penalty, people, pepper, per, perceive, percentage, perception, perfect, perfectly, perform, performance, perhaps, period, permanent, permission, permit, person, personal, personality, personally, personnel, perspective, persuade, pet, phase, phenomenon, philosophy, phone, photo, photographer, phrase, physical, physically, physician, piano, pick, picture, pie, piece, pile, pilot, pine, pink, pipe, pitch, place, plan, plane, planet, planning, plant, plastic, plate, platform, play, player, please, pleasure, plenty, plot, plus, PM, pocket, poem, poet, poetry, point, police, policy, political, politically, politician, politics, poll, pollution, pool, poor, pop, popular, population, porch, port, portion, portrait, portray, pose, position, positive, possess, possession, possibility, possible, possibly, post, pot, potato, potential, potentially, pound, pour, poverty, powder, power, powerful, practical, practice, prayer, preach, precisely, predict, prediction, prefer, preference, pregnancy, pregnant, preparation, prepare, prescription, presence, present, presentation, preserve, president, presidential, press, pressure, pretend, pretty, prevent, previous, previously, price, pride, priest, primarily, primary, prime, principal, principle, print, prior, priority, prison, prisoner, privacy, private, probably, problem, procedure, proceed, process, processing, processor, proclaim, produce, producer, product, production, profession, professional, professor, profile, profit, program, progress, progressive, project, prominent, promise, promote, prompt, proof, proper, properly, property, proportion, proposal, propose, prosecutor, prospect, protect, protection, protein, protest, proud, prove, provide, provider, province, provision, psychological, psychology, public, publication, publicity, publish, publisher, pull, punishment, purchase, pure, purpose, pursue, push, put, qualify, quality, quarter, quarterback, quarterly, queen, quest, question, quick, quickly, quiet, quietly, quit, quite, quote, race, racial, radiation, radical, radio, rail, rain, raise, range, rank, rapid, rapidly, rare, rarely, rate, rather, rating, ratio, raw, reach, react, reaction, reader, reading, ready, real, reality, realize, really, reason, reasonable, recall, receive, recent, recently, reception, recipe, recipient, recognition, recognize, recommend, recommendation, record, recording, recover, recovery, recruit, red, reduce, reduction, refer, reference, reflect, reflection, reform, refugee, refuse, regard, regarding, regardless, regime, region, regional, register, regular, regularly, regulate, regulation, regulator, reinforce, reject, relate, relation, relationship, relative, relatively, relax, release, relevant, relief, religion, religious, rely, remain, remaining, remarkable, remember, remind, remote, remove, repeat, repeatedly, replace, replacement, reply, report, reporter, represent, representation, representative, Republican, reputation, request, require, requirement, research, researcher, resemble, reservation, resident, residential, resign, resist, resistance, resolution, resolve, resort, resource, respect, respond, response, responsibility, responsible, rest, restaurant, restore, restriction, result, retain, retire, retirement, return, reveal, revenue, review, revolution, rhythm, rice, rich, rid, ride, rifle, right, ring, rise, risk, river, road, rock, role, roll, romantic, roof, room, root, rope, rose, rough, roughly, round, route, routine, row, rub, rubber, rude, ruin, rule, run, running, rural, rush, Russian, sacred, sad, safe, safety, sake, salad, salary, sale, sales, salt, same, sample, sanction, sand, satellite, satisfaction, satisfied, satisfy, sauce, save, saving, say, scale, scandal, scare, scatter, scenario, scene, schedule, scheme, scholar, scholarship, school, science, scientific, scientist, scope, score, scream, screen, script, sea, search, season, seat, second, secondary, secret, secretary, section, sector, secure, security, see, seed, seek, seem, segment, seize, select, selection, self, sell, Senate, senator, send, senior, sense, sensitive, sentence, separate, sequence, series, serious, seriously, servant, serve, service, session, set, setting, settle, settlement, seven, several, severe, sex, sexual, shade, shadow, shake, shall, shallow, shape, share, sharp, she, sheet, shelf, shell, shelter, shift, shine, ship, shirt, shock, shoe, shoot, shooting, shop, shopping, short, shortly, shot, should, shoulder, shout, show, shower, shrug, shut, shy, sibling, sick, side, sigh, sight, sign, signal, significant, significantly, silence, silent, silver, similar, similarly, simple, simply, sin, since, sing, singer, single, sink, sir, sister, sit, site, situation, six, size, ski, skill, skin, skirt, sky, slave, sleep, slice, slide, slight, slightly, slip, slow, slowly, small, smart, smell, smile, smoke, smooth, snap, snow, so, so-called, soccer, social, society, soft, software, soil, solar, soldier, sole, solid, solution, solve, some, somebody, somehow, someone, something, sometimes, somewhat, somewhere, son, song, soon, sophisticated, sorry, sort, soul, sound, soup, source, south, southern, Soviet, space, Spanish, speak, speaker, special, specialist, species, specific, specifically, specify, speech, speed, spend, spending, spin, spirit, spiritual, split, spoil, sponsor, sport, spot, spray, spread, spring, square, squeeze, stability, stable, staff, stage, stain, stair, stake, stand, standard, standing, star, stare, start, state, statement, station, statistical, status, stay, steady, steal, steel, steep, stem, step, stick, still, stimulate, stimulus, stir, stock, stomach, stone, stop, storage, store, storm, story, straight, strange, stranger, strategic, strategy, stream, street, strength, strengthen, stress, stretch, strike, string, strip, stroke, strong, strongly, structural, structure, struggle, student, studio, study, stuff, stupid, style, subject, submit, subsequent, substance, substantial, substitute, succeed, success, successful, successfully, such, sudden, suddenly, sue, suffer, sufficient, sugar, suggest, suggestion, suicide, suit, summer, summit, sun, super, supply, support, supporter, suppose, supposed, Supreme, sure, surely, surface, surgery, surprise, surprised, surprising, surprisingly, surround, survey, survival, survive, survivor, suspect, sustain, swear, sweep, sweet, swim, swing, switch, symbol, symptom, system, table, tactic, tail, take, tale, talent, talk, tall, tank, tap, tape, target, task, taste, tax, taxi, tea, teach, teacher, teaching, team, tear, technical, technique, technology, teen, teenager, telephone, telescope, television, tell, temperature, temporary, ten, tend, tendency, tennis, tension, tent, term, terms, terrible, territory, terror, terrorist, test, testimony, testing, text, than, thank, thanks, that, the, theater, their, them, theme, themselves, then, theory, therapy, there, therefore, these, they, thick, thin, thing, think, thinking, third, thirty, this, those, though, thought, thousand, threat, threaten, three, throat, through, throughout, throw, thus, ticket, tie, tight, time, tiny, tip, tire, tissue, title, to, tobacco, today, toe, together, toilet, token, tolerate, tomato, tomorrow, tone, tongue, tonight, too, tool, tooth, top, topic, toss, total, totally, touch, tough, tour, tourist, tournament, toward, towards, tower, town, toy, trace, track, trade, tradition, traditional, traffic, tragedy, trail, train, training, transfer, transform, transformation, transition, translate, translation, transmission, transmit, transport, transportation, travel, treat, treatment, treaty, tree, tremendous, trend, trial, tribe, trick, trip, troop, trouble, truck, true, truly, trust, truth, try, tube, tunnel, turn, TV, twelve, twenty, twice, twin, two, type, typical, typically, ugly, ultimate, ultimately, unable, uncle, undergo, understand, understanding, unfortunately, uniform, union, unique, unit, United, universal, universe, university, unknown, unless, unlike, until, unusual, up, upon, upper, urban, urge, us, use, used, useful, user, usual, usually, utility, utilize, vacation, valley, valuable, value, variable, variation, variety, various, vary, vast, vegetable, vehicle, venture, version, versus, very, vessel, veteran, via, victim, victory, video, view, viewer, village, violate, violation, violence, violent, virtually, virtue, virus, visibility, visible, vision, visit, visitor, visual, vital, voice, volume, voluntary, volunteer, vote, voter, voting, wage, wait, wake, walk, wall, wander, want, war, warm, warn, warning, wash, waste, watch, water, wave, way, we, weak, weakness, wealth, wealthy, weapon, wear, weather, web, website, wedding, week, weekend, weekly, weigh, weight, welcome, welfare, well, west, western, wet, what, whatever, wheel, when, whenever, where, whereas, whether, which, while, whisper, white, who, whole, whom, whose, why, wide, widely, widespread, wife, wild, wildlife, will, willing, win, wind, window, wine, wing, winner, winter, wipe, wire, wisdom, wise, wish, with, withdraw, within, without, witness, woman, wonder, wonderful, wood, wooden, word, work, worker, working, workout, workplace, works, workshop, world, worried, worry, worth, would, wound, wrap, write, writer, writing, wrong, yard, yeah, year, yell, yellow, yes, yesterday, yet, yield, you, young, your, yours, yourself, youth, zone.

The EXTREMELY detailed, mega-anxiety edition!!! Major events like consult and surgery day are labeled like this:
——— EVENT TITLE ———
Surgeon was Dr. David Whitehead and I saw him on Long Island (New Hyde)
Summarized list of major dates:
Consult: July 19 2023 Mental health letter acquired: August 9 Dates discussed: September 12 Pre-op appointment: December 18 Surgery day: January 8 2024 Post-op: January 17
November 11th 2022: Emailed northwell health for the first time, they emailed back saying to call. I was too anxious so I avoided it for a few months.
Called northwell a few months later but got too anxious talking to the person who picked up. They were being normal and talking normally, it was just personal anxiety on my part.
October 2022 - Early March 2023: Spent time talking to trans friends and family members about their timelines and processes for top surgery.
Looked into Penn medicine for a bit but wasn’t happy with the surgeons there, specifically as a nonbinary person. The patient navigational team however is lovely.
March 2: emailed Penn health patient navigation
March 3-10: correspondence and phone calls w patient navigation (absolutely wonderful people, some of the easiest phone calls I’ve ever had) Got lots of into on surgeons, things I’d need, processes etc.
Date unknown: phone call to Penn medicine asking about surgeons and possibly setting up as a patient (v long wait time on phone) Surgeon I had heard good things about only works w CHOP program and I’m was too old for that program. Other surgeons I was v iffy on.
March 23rd: Back to square 1. Called northwell again to set up an appointment. Everyone I spoke to was really nice. Could have set up an appointment within the week but decided to wait till the end of the semester. Scheduled a trans care and primary care appointment for May
Couple of calls In between for confirmations. Trans care appointment got moved around a bit and ended up being moved to a phone call.
May 8th: Trans care call: Basic preliminary questions like: Emergency contact, what you’re looking for, are you thinking of looking into hormones, experience w dysphoria or dysmorphia, mental health, and eating/nutritional concerns, things you might want doc to know, piercings or tattoos, do you do any drugs or drink often, etc. total call time was about 20 minutes. Doctor was incredibly kind, I still experienced a good deal of anxiety but the call was super easy, welcoming, and friendly. Got sent contact referrals for the surgeons, as well as trans-friendly therapists under my insurance.
May 9th: started looking at list of therapists and making respective emails and calls. Checking per session costs and double checking insurance. Most charge 100-150 per session. Got in contact w one.
May 10th: Called w first therapist talking about what I’m looking for, where I am in this process, if parents are supportive, and talking about costs. She was very friendly and affirming, wants to have a few sessions to get to know me and my situation before writing a letter. Understandable and expected, but frustrating.
May 15th: Primary care appointment: Went to northwell health primary care, parkinglot was a little scary (just a large lot with a lot of cars) but everyone working there’s is super kind. Office is incredibly affirming, pride flags and lgbtq+ art everywhere. Gave my insurance card, filled out some paper work, got called in pretty quickly. I have a needle phobia and medical trauma so I was panicking a bit in the office, nurse was good w me about it and doctor was very kind, I just requested to not have any blood work done that day and that was totally fine, so I could schedule that at a later date and go w a friend. Recommended to get blood work done before scheduling a consult w a surgeon. Also prescribed me a single dose anxiety med for the bloodwork which I was very happy about. I found over time that the anxiety meds unfortunately do little to nothing for my panic attacks personally when it comes to needles but regardless having a doctor acknowledge and respect that fear and listen to me was incredibly helpful and reassuring.
May 30th: Got blood work done in a different lab, went w a friend. Scheduling for that is super easy, I think I did it online actually I don’t entirely recall. they do take walk ins but I made an appointment to minimize complications and make sure I could prepare properly. Front desk/lobby area was a little spooky, but I think that is mainly just bc of my social anxiety. They take a urine sample, you give them your prescription, eventually they call you over for blood work. Quick and easy, tech was v nice and having a friend with me was incredibly helpful. Probably the best I’ve ever done with a needle despite the fact that I did still panic and get very lightheaded lol.
Got blood work results back within the next couple days, all looks a-okay! Neat :)
June 15th This day was incredibly difficult. I had my first session with a therapist to establish some ground knowledge around my dysphoria and the way that I view myself. Top surgery is something that I know from research and related experience Can be difficult and expensive to get and can take time, so much of my prep work has been on the understanding of taking things a step at a time and just knowing that the current way things are doesn’t have to be forever. It allowed me to be able to live with myself while prioritizing my health better. This read to the therapist as “not having the level of dysphoria [she’s] come to expect and look for in someone who is trans” and was largely based off the fact that I don’t want to go on hrt. Past that point I started to break down because now my method of learning to live with myself felt like it was actively going to work against me and prevent me from getting top surgery. I’m not good at talking about my dysphoria, I can’t imagine it’s easy for anyone, especially to a stranger I just met. It was rough, and I felt incredibly mentally drained after ending the session.
June 19th Called it quits with the first therapist, I felt incredibly disrespected and the one session we had put me in a mental spiral for days. It can feel some times in this process like the people you have to get permission from need you to be severely depressed and unable to wait another second for this procedure just in order to take you seriously.
After I left that therapist, I immediately got back to the list to find someone new. Spoke to a new therapist via email, but my insurance is kinda weird (Blue Cross Blue Shield out of state) so its off putting to some people. This therapist recommended I go through the office she started out at (Heart and Soul Counseling)
————- Time Skip ——————
IM BACK its time for some record keeping. Got super overwhelmed and lost the energy to document my process for some time so here goes.
HEART AND SOUL COUNSELING: My experience w/ this therapy office was mostly good. The person in charge, Jesse, was absolutely lovely and responsive. Never spoke in person, but any text/email interaction was prompt, respectful, and kind. The office is stellar with email/text communication, so I only ever had to call them once when I was initially inquiring about the office. This is something I wish all therapy/counseling centers did better, eliminated a ton of my anxiety and hesitation to speak to therapists.
I got set up w someone as quickly as possible and established what my goal was (to acquire letter document for my surgery team). I attended multiple session w the therapist, she was a kind lady but the sessions were unfortunately p miserable for me. We didn’t fit well, but I was willing to stick it out rather than backtrack on my process. She also did not invalidate me or accuse me of not being trans which was a major step up from my first therapy experience. Once I acquired my letter I did stop therapy there, I kindly explained to the therapist that it wasn’t a good match, but I may honestly explore my options at the office in the future. Receptionist there was also lovely and they had a cool fish tank.
———- CONSULT STARTS HERE —————
July 19th: CONSULT!!! My mama and I went to Dr. David Whiteheads office for a consult. Parking was a nightmare so I’m super glad I didn’t have to drive for this one (ty mama). Consult went really well, and the staff were all super friendly. Dr. Whitehead is cool, very chill energy and a bit intimidating, but I’m scared of everyone so that’s nothing new. First question he asked me is what I wanted/what he could do for me which caught me more off guard than it should have? I didn’t realize going into this process how many times people ask you what you’re having done even if it’s already written down, because there’s so much variety in what you can look for in the results.
We talked about the procedure, went through a slideshow n stuff, and discussed how I wanted a flat chest w/ no nipple preservation. They made sure to specify that my mental health professional letter had to include that I did not want nipple preservation because thats technically a “non-standard” appearance. Also had the first breast exam I’ve ever had in my life. Can’t say i’m a fan (not that I need to worry about that anymore!) Took pictures n measurements n such, and also discussed recovery supplies and care w me and my mom.
August 9th: After a plethora of painfully awkward therapy sessions, a decent amount of crying, and a couple breakdowns in friends cars/backyards, I got my therapist letter and sent it to the surgeons office. It ended up needing minor revisions to which I contacted Jesse from Heart and Soul and he got me the revised letter immediately. Unfortunately the surgical coordinator was out of office for the rest of the month the next day ;w;. Is how it be.
September 12th: Got a call from Surgical coordinator mid-painting class that I stepped out to take. Started discussing surgical dates!! She was kind enough to email the dates to me which was lovely because I was absolutely shaking/mind blank haha. There was an option for January 8th which felt like an absolute miracle the way it would work with my school schedule. It would give me a solid two weeks recovery time before spring semester began. Because it would be a couple months out, I was asked to contact her in the second week of October to submit documents to insurance.
(Timeline note: earliest date offered was in early December)
October 10th: Documents sent to insurance, predetermination started
October 30th: Received mail from my insurance approving my procedure as medically necessary (YAY) But! This is also where things get,,, fun! Dr Whitehead’s surgical coordinator, Alyssa, is a blessing and was very helpful and prompt with me despite the fact that I had to email her pretty constantly during this general time which I still feel bad about.
Around this time, my mom got diagnosed with breast cancer, which I reported to the surgical coordinator because it influences my family history (grandmother also had breast cancer). It was asked that I get genetic testing done because this could impact my surgical procedure. Now I’m handling the setup on this between helping my mom in her process setting up consults and considering her options because there of course is a lot of crossover to the steps I’ve already completed and am familiar with.
November 1st: Very kind person at cancer genetics calls me, sends me a family history questionnaire to fill out before I can be scheduled to see a genetic counselor. Filled out the questionnaire the same day.
November 8th: Called cancer genetics to check about scheduling, office was not open so left a message. Got a call back later in the day. I have a virtual appointment with a Genetic counselor Tuesday the 14th. Current plan is a mailed saliva genetic test but I’m going to ask if theres anything I can do to get results/materials quicker. If I can’t get results/feedback by December 8th my surgery date may get deferred.
Trying not to stress too much because there is little to nothing I can do about this, and I just don’t want to be sad. I’ve kept telling myself throughout this process to not get excited and not let myself believe anything is solid because something could happen at any time that might mess up my schedule or plan, and If I convince myself I’m in the clear, those changes will hurt a lot more. So far I think thats been a good move, because this really sucks.
My surgery date is still officially scheduled as of now as well as my first post-op. I will also ideally have pre-surgical testing done December 18th should I be cleared by genetics in time (Fingers crossed!)
ALSO! Def lean on friends if/when you can during this process. It can absolutely be challenging, and having a support system is incredibly important and helpful. I’m super lucky to have really lovely and supportive friends that are around to listen to me and send me pictures of stupid little animals.
November 9th: My mama is scheduled for her double mastectomy on December 4th
November 10th: Did some shopping with my mama for recovery supplies for double mastectomy/top surgery. Having watched a million and a half transition/top surgery videos and tiktoks and having read all the blogs and posts and tweets makes you a great support for someone suddenly faced with an upcoming double mastectomy! We might go shopping this weekend for some button ups and zip ups for her, clothes shopping is better done when you can try stuff on
November 14th: Meeting w genetic counselor: Victoria Webb, one of the loveliest medical care workers I’ve ever met. Had a virtual appointment with her to discuss and set up genetic testing. I explained to her about my situation w the proximity of my surgery and tight deadline as well as my willingness to do a blood test instead of a saliva kit to get results quicker. She was so incredibly kind and good with me, ended up being able to do a saliva kit and get results in time she deserves every good thing in life.
December 18th: pre-surgical testing: This was at the main hospital, everyone was really nice but I had a really bad panic attack despite being on Xanax.
The process is sort of like getting a physical. Measurements like weight and blood pressure get taken, lots of preliminary health questions. The people working with me were really kind and I was very open with them about my anxiety, it was visually apparent though anyway because I started crying the second we even started talking about the blood draw.
Once the equipment was actually brought into the room I started to panic. Both of the women working with me were really kind and helpful and tried to distract me and keep me talking the entire time, but I did still have a really horrible panic attack. Every muscle in my body locked up and I lost all my color, took a bit to get back to a spot where I could move and talk properly because my speech was affected too. It was a bit scary but funny to think about in post. Thanked the medical staff for being patient w me as always, a good portion of the anxiety is also guilt about making things harder for them. Got through it tho. Def eat before presurgical if allowed, I didn’t and that probably didn’t help!!
———- SURGERY DAY ————-
January 8th:
Ok so surgery day:
This day was very scary. Got my phone call the Friday prior for my surgery time which ended up being 1pm and I was asked to arrive around 11. Got there at 10 and went in at 10:30.
Called up to check in then in waiting room till someone brought me back to change. I told her right away about my anxiety with the iv bc that’s legit all I could think about. Got changed right after. I was generally shaky and a little disoriented the entire time because I was panicking but everyone was very patient with me. Clothes and belongings go in a bag in a locker and you get two gowns one that faces back and one that faces front. I was given underwear and a pad as well because lucky me I got my period a couple days before my surgery.
The pre-op area is a lot of little cubicles with curtain divider things, blue soft chairs, and medical equipment. Everyone I met and spoke to was very kind, but any time someone even suggested starting my iv I would panic. I was informed it would have to be placed in my hand and that terrified me, I’m especially anxious and sensitive about my hands and fingers. I think doctors and nurses tend to misunderstand exactly where my fear is with needles and ivs. It isn’t the pain that scares me, but the concept of veins and and anything being in them. Even writing this right now is horrible so I’m going to stop w any further detail. I spent the entire two-ish hours of pre-op absolutely terrified about this iv.
I wasn’t really keeping track of time but dr whitehead came in to do markings for surgery. They had cool rainbow socks on,big fan. Having your chest drawn on and just like, moved around n shit is such an experience. Felt bad because I kept losing my balance but doctor Whitehead is cool and I am 98% less scared about them now.
Probably my most favorite person I met during my entire hospital experience was the anesthesiologist. I know he told me what his name was but I couldn’t focus on or retain information at the time. He told me we could essentially put me to sleep with gas before putting the iv in and for the first time in probably a solid week I felt like I could calm down a little. He took a look at my hand and arm to check my veins which always does freak me out a bit but I’m more used to that kind of thing at this point and I know nothing bad is going to happen. One of the nurses came in with the iv equipment and he let her know that were going to wait till in the or which was also incredibly helpful because I absolutely panicked when I saw that little supply kit again.
V nice lady brought me into the or, I’d never been in one before it was cool. They had a little music speaker which was really cool. Took off blue jacket gown and they helped me onto the table. They put a warm blanket over my legs and my chest to help me calm down. Before long they gave me a mask w fun happy sleepy time gas, they let me keep my arms on my chest for a while which was really nice because I was still scared. I started getting loopy pretty fast but I still heard when someone mentioned where the iv equipment was and panicked a little because of that. I remember feeling them take my hand for that but never actually felt anything happen. Just some fear but the gas was v helpful obvi. Someone said they would see me in a little bit, and then I was groggily waking up in recovery.
Recovery was a little rough bc the iv was still there (fully wrapped up so I couldn’t see it though which was rad) but I was still really anxious about it until it was taken out and when it was taken out. For anyone that struggles w this i did not feel them remove it, just the tape. Everything was mentally much easier after that. After a while, going over instructions w parents, a cracker , some ginger ale and some juice, my dad helped me Get dressed and I was helped out to the car in a wheel chair. Ride was smooth bc of remaining numbness and meds except a few Bumps in the road
TOP SURGERY GOTTEN
My post op date was scheduled for Jan 17th and that’s the day I got my drains out followed by several post op check-ins. First week of recovery was miserable but things exponentially approved each day past that, and I went back to school in person two weeks post-op with driving and item-carrying assistance from friends!
Will upload recovery notes at a later date! Feel free to message me with any questions, more than happy to answer and give info! I’m a bit over four months out from surgery now and thriving 🥳