Hi there, thanks for checking out my post. I hope that you're staying safe and well during these crazy times! I am hoping to find someone who I can chat on here a while and then maybe move on to a messaging app with the intention 0f hanging out in real life and explore the big apple with, which is why I'm mainly looking for someone in the NYC area or at the maximum withing the east coast. If you think we would really click, I'm open to anywhere too but please put some effort into your first message and can actually hold a conversation. Not looking to waste each other's time! Thanks!
About me:

• 31
• 5'8
• 160 lbs
• Average build
• Asian
• Foodie
• Majored in Computer Science
• Working as software developer
• Huge geography buff (love history too)
• Boxing fan (also watch MMA, NBA, and soccer from time to time)
• Horrothrillemystery movie fan, do watch mainstream movies & TV shows in general
• Love paranormal/creepy things
• Exploring new and unknown places
• Space, universe, aliens
• Enjoy deep conversations
• Collecting things (I'll keep it a mystery for now, message me to find out more)
• Swimming, running, hiking, working out
• Into science & tech in general
• Laid back, open-minded, and love to make inappropriate jokes even during tough times
• Dark humor
• 420 friendly (I smoke socially and have no problem with it as long as it doesn't revolve around your life 24/7)
• Random fun fact: Drifted around homes during childhood, moved more than 10 times before I left home for college (lost count at this point 🤔)

Looking for:

• 20+
• A cutie like myself :>
• Can hold a conversation
• Share some 0f my hobbies and interests, would love to hear your hobbies/interests too
• Willing to explore the city and go on a food hunt with me
• Enjoy traveling and trying out new things
• Will enjoy staying indoor as much as being outdoors
• Build a deep connection with me and open to the possibility 0f leading to a serious relationship
• To be honest, I don't have much expectation. So just send me a message and we can find out!

What I am hoping to see from your first DM/Chat:

• An intro about yourself, just something we can kick off with. Things like as age, height, weight, location, INTERESTS, etc. would be cool
• Perhaps a photo, will be sending one (or a few) in return

Hi there, thanks for checking out my post. I hope that you're staying safe and well during these crazy times! I am hoping to find someone who I can chat on here a while and then maybe move on to a messaging app with the intention 0f hanging out in real life and explore the big apple with, which is why I'm mainly looking for someone in the NYC area or at the maximum withing the east coast. If you think we would really click, I'm open to anywhere too but please put some effort into your first message and can actually hold a conversation. Not looking to waste each other's time! Thanks!
About me:

• 31
• 5'8
• 160 lbs
• Average build
• Asian
• Foodie
• Majored in Computer Science
• Working as software developer
• Huge geography buff (love history too)
• Boxing fan (also watch MMA, NBA, and soccer from time to time)
• Horrothrillemystery movie fan, do watch mainstream movies & TV shows in general
• Love paranormal/creepy things
• Exploring new and unknown places
• Space, universe, aliens
• Enjoy deep conversations
• Collecting things (I'll keep it a mystery for now, message me to find out more)
• Swimming, running, hiking, working out
• Into science & tech in general
• Laid back, open-minded, and love to make inappropriate jokes even during tough times
• Dark humor
• 420 friendly (I smoke socially and have no problem with it as long as it doesn't revolve around your life 24/7)
• Random fun fact: Drifted around homes during childhood, moved more than 10 times before I left home for college (lost count at this point 🤔)

Looking for:

• 20+
• A cutie like myself :>
• Can hold a conversation
• Share some 0f my hobbies and interests, would love to hear your hobbies/interests too
• Willing to explore the city and go on a food hunt with me
• Enjoy traveling and trying out new things
• Will enjoy staying indoor as much as being outdoors
• Build a deep connection with me and open to the possibility 0f leading to a serious relationship
• To be honest, I don't have much expectation. So just send me a message and we can find out!

What I am hoping to see from your first DM/Chat:

• An intro about yourself, just something we can kick off with. Things like as age, height, weight, location, INTERESTS, etc. would be cool
• Perhaps a photo, will be sending one (or a few) in return

Hi all, looking to downsize my build to SFF. So I'm selling my ATX-sized parts.
All items are used-like new, have been used for only ~3months.

Item	Price	Notes
ASUS ROG B650E-E AM5 Motherboard (2x PCIe 5.0 NVMe slots, 2x PCIe 5.0 x16 slots)	$275 shipped	Includes all original parts / accessories, incl. CPU socket cover
Be Quiet! Straight Power 1200W ATX 3.0 80+ Platinum, A-Tier (on cultists tier list) PSU	$200 shipped	Includes all original parts / accessories and cables, and box

Willing to consider package discount.
For any of these, I'm also willing to throw in a white Peerless Assassin 120 SE w/ fans, original box, all mounting HW, etc. for $25, and/or a Sabrent Rocket 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD with original box for $55.
Also happy to do local (southeastern WI / Chicagoland).
Timestamps: Imgur link.
Would be happy to provide any additional photos / detail.
Thanks all!

Not sure what I hope to gain from this but maybe there will be some clarity to gain from an objective opinion. That being said I will prob delete this later- but while I’m here I will try to be as detailed and neutral to the facts as I can be, but there is a lot of history in a 15 year relationship so get ready to read a small book. I M33, grew up in an abusive and poverty stricken home, naturally I escaped that situation as soon as I could (after high school in 2008) my parents would explode over the littlest thing- like the first time I recall thinking I could not rely on my dad was after witnessing him beat my sister to a pulp, and then threaten me about telling (I never did) over her bedroom being filthy. Now, between high school and meeting my now wife F34 I was in a committed long distance relationship. Not to dwell here as it has little to do with the story, that relationship ended Dec 1 2009, I made my way to a small college town and found a place to stay with a few friends I knew from high school. This could only be described as a party house that a few poor and brave folks lived. The rent was cheap and the people were good. Not to mention, it was easy to drowned my feeling with drugs and alcohol here and not be judged. This was right after the 2008 financial crisis and I had found employment delivering for a local restaurant, and was not interested in starting a new relationship. Well mid way through December one roommate decided he was moving out, which left a room open for rent. This is where I met who, at least at one point was the love of my life. Jen F34 was a recent college graduate, who comes from, what I would consider a well off family. Jen was part of some drama with her old roommates and decided she would move in. She had been accepted into a work training program that would send her to a new state 15 hours away, so she was also not interested in a serious relationship. Jen was seeing someone we will call Mark. Mark and Jen we in a non-serious sexual relationship. The moment I saw Jen something inside me said i want to be with her, but I was still fighting demons from my failed relationship. So I hung around her and was content just being a friend..well this goes on for about a month..before it happened. One drunk night and I am waking up, naked next to her..she was still seeing Mark at that point, and I had no idea what I had done. She broke it off with mark a few days later and I took his spot. As a non-serious sexual partner, well the months flew by then all of a sudden we both had caught feelings. We had finally agreed we would only see each other. Well one day I come home from work and she is cuddled up next to a guy we will call Adam. I was devastated. I confronted her and she played it off as nothing. Just passed out and woke up and he was next to her, I had my doubts but in the end believed her and forgot about it. As things got more and more serious the dread of her moving day was inching closer. We both were bothered by this. She wanted to stay, I said no. I eventually agreed I’d move to her after her training program. (She had to stay on a company campus for 3 months for training) during this time we were long distance- I worked my ass off to get ready for a cross country move and she was getting a place ready for us to live. During this time she went out with “friends” and said she would call me after. 2 am nothing, 3 nothing 4 I’m worried sick and finally fell asleep around 4:15am. My phone goes off at 5am. She calls me incoherent and making 0 sense. I thought again she may have cheated on me but again no evidence- said she got a bit to drunk and stayed out too late. I again believed her. I was able to forgive and get over it- I’m not the type to stress over anything that’s not life changing so moving day arrives. I get all my stuff in order jump on the greyhound and start my journey. Dying inside to finally see my women again, well 22 hours later I arrived. She was supposed to be there to pick me up but she was no where to be found. I text and called, she finally answered and was very short with me, and pulled up a short while later. As soon as I got in the car she was mad. Telling me I should not have come, it was a mistake etc. we get to the apartment and I’m feeling like a sucker for being there, we have some food and she apologized for her actions in the car and we moved forward. Well the next almost two years of our relationship was amazing- epic sex life, passionate about each other the whole 9. Some minor drunk arguments here and there but nothing crazy. I consider this the best time of my life. Around 3 years in our relationship we got pregnant. Over those 9 months we were closer than ever. Excited to bring a beautiful baby into to this world, scared beyond words but happy. Then one day she was in pain and pretty sure she was in labor. We get to the hospital and thus starts one of the most traumatizing experiences for her. Extended labor time, breach baby, intense pain and anxiety followed by a c-section, and a multi-night stay in the hospital. Then a long recovery process. Needless to say being young, broke, new parents is probably the hardest thing I have ever experienced and can admit that experience must have been even worse for her and while life as new parents took hold she grew into a nurturing mother while I regressed. I was over worked, underpaid, stressed out and took what was a minor drinking habit to an excessive drinking habit. This was the start of a long line of huge fights, financial problems, and ultimately leads us to know. chewing on the idea of divorce. But before I get to now, let’s do a quick life recap. My wife and I are living together with our newborn, isolated from friends and family, I’m quickly drinking more and more. I worked an over night labor job, and Jen was still working for the same company. But more of an 8 - 5 we only saw each other in passing most days. Our blessing was colic and cried constantly. We both began to feel like we needed to be close to friends so we packed up and move back after her contacted ended a year later. Back to the small sleepy college town we met. We moved back, our kiddo was 1, things were looking up, I had gotten a day job- our kiddo was finally sleeping better, really it seemed good. But since her c-section a year prior, we had only managed to have sex a few times. I thought this would be the change we could to finally revive our bedroom life. But it hardly changed, add a few more times to the few mentioned before. We went from daily to basically none, not to mention we would constantly fight about things that need to be done, money, etc. I’ll admit I did not do my part of house work. So things are starting to fall apart- I’m still drinking heavily, our bedroom was on life support and I fucked up and started watching porn, browsing sites akin to tinder. I have to say I never actually hooked up with anyone but I did get some photos sent to me. Not my proudest moment. Well I arrived home from work and Jen had found said communications and browsing history and was rightfully mad. After a week or so staying with a friend and she allows me to apologize , I assured her it was nothing more than digital and explained how I felt about our sex life, or lack of one specifically. Things kind of improved for a bit, I stopped drinking, we were being intimate, we got married, she quit working and went for a graduate degree, I had found more gainful employment. until one day Jen noticed something new on my body.. a wart to be specific. At some point I contacted HPV. Which then made me look like a liar. (I since found out it was a girl i had a one night stand with shortly before my prior relationship. (Common friend told me years later))but I had no explanation or evidence to prove my infidelity was not physical. Well after this happened things got bad, really bad. I started drinking heavily again, right into financial ruin. We were broke, rent due, hungry baby, relationship just about dead. 0 bedroom life. I never said I was the good guy here. Just trying to be honest about our past. So we need cash quick so we don’t fall behind on bills, it is eventually decided she will strip for cash until we can get out of the hole I dug us. I’m pretty insecure but we had no other choice. I was handling it pretty well, until I noticed something in her attitude. She would get home and try to initiate sex with me. It was welcome but odd- till this point we had a half dead bedroom for years. I pried it out of her that stripping turned her on and instantly felt disgust. I lost it on her, how could she- come home and fuck me smelling like alcohol and bathroom cologne. Can’t fuck them at the club easily so come home and pretend I’m someone that turns you on. Had we not had issues overall in the bedroom I would not have felt this way but this made me feel gross, betrayed, guilty, angry. She obviously is mad at me since it’s my fault she was there. We had a fight and somewhat made up. Bedroom life was slow, life went on, things are pretty crappy and one night she goes out with a friend and shows up back at our place, hammered, with a guy from the bar. Our child was asleep in the room and that man is lucky I did not shoot him. She claims he was her friends stray but she let a stranger come to OUR HOUSE. Well at this point, i was mad but eventually just got over it. Life moved on we came out of the financial hole moved to a nicer place and began work towards saving for a home. She was still stripping on and off to help save. Well then she actually cheated on me, with another girl I front of a group of guys for money. I’m died inside at this point. I fell back to drinking heavily, again sexually all but dead. I basically repressed it and allowed her to get off easy (when she found my digital infidelity years prior I had to stay with a friend for a week) over this time, things are quite- status quo- saving for our first home. After some time like this I got a new job- and we could finally purchase. So we did- just before the pandemic. Our bedroom was basically dead- only initiated by me, was pretty one sided and seemed like she was just doing it to appease me. Constantly fighting of little things like chores (if I did not do them exactly the way or time she wanted it done WW3 would break out) but we managed. The the pandemic happened. We decided we would move closer to her family so we could have some support and hopefully work on us. We were able to live with her family for the next 1.5ish years. I only recall having sex twice during this time. (Could have been more but like I said I’m still drinking at this point) we bicker constantly during this time. Mind you all I am slowly at this dying on the inside this whole time. We had a major blow up in front of everyone a few days prior to closing. Stemming from myself feeling generally put out. Stick in a sexless marriage and the fact that I had a work thing in Vegas for a week. We sign - I leave for Vegas- she organizes the movers and get everything in. We have our own space again. Now we are almost to the present day. I again found new employment and have a high stress, high 6 figure salary career we have had many of fights due to chores, and household duties etc. she was convinced it was due to alcohol so I finally quit drinking for good. The goal was to hopefully fix this relationship, have a more intimate bedroom. In fact this was agreed upon when I quit. Some of the other things that have been said in these arguments was that she is working and trying to find better work so she can financially afford to leave me. She currently works on a “less than part time” contract work type stuff but is basically is a SAHM. I pay 100% of everything. This is now 6 months after I stopped drinking and there has been no change in our bedroom life. 3.5 weeks ago: I calm Loy state that I thought we agreed on the spicing up the bedroom with more frequently maybe some lingerie. I am getting a bit frustrated with this. Her: I just started my period but I hear you. A week goes by period done still nothing. 2 weeks ago Friday: we are sitting on the couch. I am feeling very much frustrated sexually. We are watching tv together, and I make a comment about one of the people. Here is what happened : Person on TV while crying “I recently found out my body produces excess estrogen” me: must be why you’re so emotional. Her: you’re a sexist pig, a misogynist, thats a misnomer and actually testosterone does that and so many other things I forget them all but that was the gist. Just offended. I apologized and said it was just a dumb comment. Somewhat calmed down but the energy was thick. Then I made my second mistake: a morbidly obese person came on screen wearing a sold color onesie. I muttered : dude looks like a bowling ball. And that was it- I’m a disgusting pig and she is going to bed. I sleep on the couch that night seething that again no sex, again random attacks against my character, again using something like a comment about a person on screen to go to bed. Saturday: my kiddo sees me on the couch, asks “dad can you make me an omelet.” Me still upset with how the night ended with my wife- complained about not wanting to make it- and eventually agreed. While cooking breakfast - wife comes downstairs and immediately starts in on me, ignoring my advances for a hug, telling me i need to walk the dog because she doesn’t have time. I also needed to run an errand before the kiddos sports ball game. I told her kind of angrily I had shit to do as well and what is preventing her from doing it. Well she does, things are quiet, we get to the game and we are sitting there. She brings up the comments of the night before and started this whole thing in public. Trying to get me to lose my temper in public. I was able to ignore it and just finish the game. Pushed all that down and was ready to move on. We get home from the day’s activities and she does what she always does says good night to the kiddo and gets ready for bed. Again I sleep on the couch. Sunday: she wakes up and starts cleaning, I try to be nice again- making advances to hug her, kiss her etc. I walked the doggo, not asked to do so- kiddo asks me to cook some food again so I do. No complaint, but while I’m cooking she makes another comment about my character. And brings up Friday again. I lost it: I was screaming at her like I never have before. Told her I wanted a divorce, that she clearly doesn’t want this it’s why she can’t even pretend to want me sexually and that I am nothing more than an ATM for her at this point. The rest of Sunday and Monday was silent. This is when I started this novel of a post. Finally she apologized and admitted to being cold to me, promised to work on this. Tuesday, best sex we have had in a decade, Wednesday, repeat action, Thursday a 3rd time. This past Friday- I was spent this was more sex than I had in a row in years. I was happy. Saturday, family members bday and another sports game. All day gone- everything good. We get home late- she is tired no problems. Sunday Mothers Day. We had plans with her family to do some hiking the first part of the day then have lunch and play a game. Everything is going fine. It starts to get around 3:00 pm and I tell her I am ready to go home. She said we have not played the game and that she wanted to. So I agree- we play a few rounds and during the game she could see that I was getting annoyed that we had to play another round I was not being rude but just not enthusiastic about ti. She looked at me and said I need to check myself. The way she said it, the fact she said it at the table so everyone could hear. I felt disrespected, we left and argued a little but I ended up saying sorry because ok I get it my fault. So we get home and she comes into my office space (which was dirty) glasses, and tons of boxes /other recycling that had not be taken care of. She told me to do it I agreed it was gross and started picking up. She kept on about how I’m disgusting for leaving it in the first place- etc I calmly asked her to just leave it alone and drop it, I’d take care of it but she didnt after 10 mins of her spewing on me I finally lost it and told her to get the fuck out of my office if she doesn’t like it. That I’m tired of the hostility and it’s clear she didn’t actually want to fix this. She kept asking me to lower my volume while telling me why she is right, brining up everything from the prior week. I did not lower my volume I got louder and more upset till she goes to bed and I sleep on the couch again. Monday: we argue more. The general mood is “how could I blow up on her on Mother’s Day.” That she is done etc. as soon as she can financially leave she will. I said why wait and asked her to stay with her mother for a few days- she refused to, so I left to a hotel room. Today was more of the same: not accepting that she had a part in the argument. That I just freaked out over her asking me to clean up. We have eventually agreed to give therapy a shot but here I sit, in my hotel room. Contemplating life I can’t help but feel we gave it our best but we were doomed to fail. I really don’t want to lose my family. but neither of us can take the current state anymore. What does the world of Reddit think?

Had surgery on February 8. So I am just over 3 months post op. Well, today was not a good day. The cavity where my tumor use to be has collapsed, and now there is a spot that is glowing in the exact same spot where my old tumor was. My previous tumor did glow with contrast. So this has the both Dr, neurosurgeon and oncologist very concerned. 1 because it has collapsed, 2 because of such a rapid regrowth in the exact same spot. I still just don't have any words. Both Dr's think it's a good idea to do another awake craniotomy.(only because of where my tumor is located). They don't want to just do a biopsy because that is a 1 night stay in the hospital and craniotomy is 2 nights so why not just go ahead and get it over with and try to get as much tumor as they can and then biopsy after words. This all just sucks. I am 37 years old. My daughter is almost 16. I should be worrying about her getting her driver's license and staying out to late. My son is 10. I should be helping him with his video games and building things. My wife will be 38 and we live on a farm with chickens, ducks, a pig, and many other animals. I'm suppose to be here to lift the feed bags and rebuild coops and make sure the animals are safe from predators (we've had a coyote problem the last few weeks.) Now I'm going to be having a craniotomy, moving 3 hours away for 6 weeks(if insurance approves proton radiation, if not then I will stay home and do normal radiation) and starting temozolomide. All of this while worrying that my tumor is rapidly growing, killing me slowly. I know I shouldn't think like that but damn it's hard. I'm a firm believer in you can will yourself to death if you just give up. I am not giving up I am trying everything possible because I at least want to see my kids grow up. If you made it this far, thanks for listening to me vent.

I accidentally posted this to my username instead of my subreddit so here is is:
The Mortgage, Part 3
“Fuck,” I said as I drove to work in the old beater that only started on the fourth try because it could tell that I was pissed off. Ray’s case started at two o’clock, and I was heading to the office to get ready. “Fuck fuck fuckity fucking fuck. Fuck.” I’d wanted to tell Angela about Ray’s case, and how I was sorry that I hadn’t wanted to help him, but now I would, I would help him, and I would win, but then I’d gotten her all riled up on something else, something totally different, something way more serious.
My wife had given me a triple ultimatum: fix things up with her father, save idiot Ray from Sy-Co Corp., and somehow find a downpayment for the place she wanted to buy, in the little townhouse infill project in Bixity. It was like demanding I do a double bank shot, and then run over to the baseball diamond and hit a home run after first pointing to where it would land, Babe Ruth style.
Angela was mad at me, seriously mad. She’d slipped out that morning before I was even awake, sliding quietly past me on the couch. I didn’t realize she was gone until I heard the faint click of the front door closing. I jumped up, tripped over a blanket, and by the time I got up and my robe on, the elevator down the hall dinged, and Angela was gone before I opened the apartment door.
I swore at myself some more and pounded the steering wheel, “I fucked up,” I said, several times as I hit the wheel over and over again, until I accidentally honked it, and then looked all sheepish when the guy in front of me gave me the finger. I reached my office without further incident, but instead of walking in the front door, I went further down the hall, and into the office of Mark Cecil-Rowe, Barrister, LL.D, the man with the finest speaking voice I ever heard. When I entered his office I forgot for a minute about Angela and her father and sleeping on the couch the night before. I forget about everything, except the reason that I had come to Cecil-Rowe’s office: to stump him with a legal problem that I had solved, but which I was pretty sure he could not. In other words, I had come to preen and to brag and to boast. No one likes a showoff, and I had come to show off. I put my hand on the door and turned the knob. After a brief pause, I flung open the door.
“I’m a goddamn genius,” I said as I strolled into the older man’s office.
I noticed the echo of a hastily closed desk drawer hanging in the air. In Aaron’s office, where I rented space, a sudden act of concealment implied cocaine, but with Cecil-Rowe, the item in question was probably a mickey of vodka. I had the sense that he’d been drinking a bit before I arrived, but his powers of observation were unimpaired, and when he looked into my face, his expression showed sympathy, and actual pain.
“What have you done now?” he said, as set the papers before him to one side, and readied himself to hear my latest tale of legal brilliance.
“I’m a genius,” I said.
“Oh dear. Have a seat.”
“No really, I am. I’m a genius. I got this case that everyone says you can’t win, but I’m gonna win it, and when I do, I’m gonna look like a genius.” Cecil-Rowe gave me a sad indulgent smile.
“Whenever you tell me you’re a genius, I am always concerned about what is to follow. When you get wrapped up in what you call your genius, you tend to ignore the more mundane things we lawyers have to do to win a case. You think you’re going to win by genius alone.”
“Let me tell you why I’m a goddamn genius.” With effort I wiped the smug, self-satisfied expression that was on my face.
“Tell me why you’re a genius,” Cecil-Rowe said, “while I pour us a coffee.” He heaved his bulky body up from his chair and shuffled over to a counter. He picked up a carafe of hot coffee sitting on a hot plate, and poured two cups. “Speak,” he said, handing me one. I took a sip of the coffee, and told Cecil-Rowe the tale of Cousin Ray: his purchase of a franchise from Sy-Co Corp, its swift demise, the crash and burn in Commercial Court, the Minutes of Settlement, the seventy-one kilometer limit, and lastly, Sy-Co’s motion scheduled for two p.m. that very day, seeking an interim injunction shutting down Ray’s place.
Cecil-Rowe absorbed all this without the need to take notes. Instead, he sat back while he eyed me, taking the occasional sip of coffee, and smiling at the extravagant flourishes and details that brought out Ray’s story to full effect.
“Obviously Ray is dead on arrival,” he said, “but I guess this is the part where you tell me how you’re going to win.”
So I told him how I was going to win, but it didn’t have the desired effect. “I told ya I’m a genius, Mr. C,” cueing him to applaud, to admit what a brilliant lawyer I was. But there was no applause from Mark Cecil-Rowe. He looked at me without so much as a smile.
“You can cling to that genius notion as a consolation prize, after you get whipped this afternoon in court.”
“No way,” I said, “not a chance. I got this thing won hands down. I’m gonna kick ass in court today and--”
“And how exactly do you plan to do that, if you don’t have evidence?”
“What?”
“Evidence, Calledinthe9os. It’s what lawyers like me use to beat geniuses like you.”
“But I’m gonna win without proof. I don’t need proof. The argument I’m gonna make, relies on simple facts that are totally obvious, so the judge is gonna--” Cecil-Rowe stuck up his hand.
“Stop right there. I know what’s coming. You’re going to ask the judge to take *judicial notice.”
And he was right. That was exactly what I was going to do.
There are some things so obvious that you didn’t have to prove them, things that everyone knew. You didn’t have to prove that water froze at zero degrees and boiled at a hundred, or that Bixity was between West Bay and East Bay.
“You got it,” I said, “judicial notice all the way.”
“You’re going to tell the judge that the centerpiece of your argument, the lynchpin of your case is a fact known to pretty well everyone, and so you don’t need proof.”
“Exactly,” I said. Cecil-Rowe took another sip of his coffee, and left me hanging in the silence for a while before he spoke.
“If that’s true, then why does coming up with that argument make you a genius?”
“Oh, I said,”I didn’t think of that.”
“It is acceptable to rely on judicial notice for minor, ancillary points. But you never should walk into court thinking that the court will take judicial notice of your entire defence. It’s just too risky.”
“But how am I going to rustle up a witness in time for this afternoon?”
“Worry about that after you leave my office. I can’t help you with that. What I want to know, is why you’re doing this at the last minute.”
“What makes you think I’m doing this at the last minute?”
“Because you never would have resorted to judicial notice if you were properly prepared. If you’d opened this case a bit earlier, you’ve have everything lined up. But you got to work on it late, and so you want to rely on judicial notice. You’ve messed up, Calledinthe90s, and you know what my rule is when you mess up.” Cecil-Rowe didn’t extend aid to me, until I admitted the error of my ways. It was infuriating, but he was inflexible. So I fessed up.
“My idiot cousin Ray’s been trying to retain me for almost two weeks, but I was putting him off because I was mad at him. So now my wife’s mad at me, and if I don’t win this case, I’m dead. Plus her dad’s mad at me too and --” My brain roared into overdrive, a mess of family and law and fear, and at the centre of it, thoughts of Angela’s anger and her father. My mind took off, and then came to an instant halt at a helpful destination.
“Yes?” Cecil-Rowe said.
“Sorry. I just realized how to solve the evidence problem. Look, can I ask you about the thing I actually came here to ask you about?”
“You have a problem that’s worse than having no evidence? What could be worse than -- oh. You don’t have a retainer. Your client doesn't have any money.”
“Exactly. How do I get paid? That’s the problem.” I explained that Ray had no money, as in none, and that if he did have money, he wouldn’t spend it on me. Instead, he’d go back downtown and throw his cash at some big firm, who would take on his case, and proceed to lose it in a calm, careful, sober manner, ending in a reporting letter to Ray telling him that he’d lost.
“Now that’s a problem I can solve,” Cecil-Rowe said.
“Really? ‘Cause I can’t see a way around it. I think I’m gonna have to do this for free, and that really pisses me off.” Cecil-Rowe shook his head.
“You may or may not get paid, but you can set things up so that if you win, you’ll win pretty good.”
“How? Ray’s a deadbeat. Tapped out.”
“But is he desperate?”
“Totally. The first time he failed, he lost his own money, but if he goes under this time, he’s taking family money with him, and he’ll be the black sheep forever.”
“And he’s using family to emotionally blackmail you into helping him?’
“Like no shit. That’s the part that pisses me off the most. I’m like a goddamn slave, being forced to work for free.”
“Never fear, young apprentice. I have just the thing in mind.” He reached into a drawer, and pulled out a form. “Fill in the blanks, and have him sign.”
I looked it over, and saw that the document was a retainer agreement. I whistled. “Holy shit. If he signs this, he’s almost my slave.”
“Close, but not quite” Cecil-Rowe said, “the Latin term for this is "contractus pro venditione animae"”. It’s the ultimate retainer agreement. Once Ray signs that, you own any cause of action he has against the person suing him. You can settle the case on any terms you like, and you get to keep whatever proceeds there are.” Cecil-Rowe placed the folder back in a drawer, and from his manner you could tell that the interview was over.
“Awesome, Mr. C. I’ll call you from Commercial Court when we’re done.”
“Commercial Court?” he said.
“Yeah, Commercial Court.”
“This just keeps getting worse. Take notes, Calledinthe90s, while I school you on Commercial Court. Commercial Court is a jungle, and without preparation, you’ll get savaged.”
“That’s what happened to Ray when--”
“Take notes, young apprentice,” he said, tossing me a pad and a pen. He started to lecture, and I took notes that I have with me to this day, in a safe deposit box downstairs in the vault at Mega Bank Main Branch.
* * *
By the time Cecil-Rowe finished schooling me, it was close to ten, and the case started at two. I didn’t have much time. I ran down the hall to my office, and called Ray’s restaurant. No answer. Then I called Ray’s house. I expected to get Ray’s wife, but the man himself answered.
“You’re not at work. Why aren’t you at work?”
“Sy-Co Corp served all my employees with a cease and desist letter. They all got scared and took off. The place is shut down.”
“You gotta fax machine at home?” He did, and asked why.
“I’m taking your case, but only if you sign the paper I’m about to send and fax it back.” I sent the fax, and five minutes later it came back signed, and it was official: Ray had sold me his legal soul.
I went out to the parking lot, got into my beater and drove fast. In less than thirty minutes I reached my destination. I knocked on the door, and when it opened, my diminutive mother-in-law poked out her head. “What a pleasant surprise,” she said.
“Sorry, Mrs. M, but I’m in a super hurry. I gotta rush to get to court to help Ray. But first, I gotta speak to Dr. M.”
“He’s not here,” she said.
“Not here?”
“He’s on his way to his bridge game. He left just a few minutes ago.”
“Where’s the club?”
“He’s walking there,” she said, and pointed down the street.
“Thanks.” I got into my car and headed where Mrs. M had pointed, passing big houses and new project with an “Opening Soon” sign. And walking past it was the figure of Dr. M.
“Hey, Dr. M,” I called out the window. He stopped and looked around, startled. But he didn’t see me, not at first.
“It’s me, Dr. M. Me, Calledin90s.” He leaned forward as if to see me better. I got out of the car.
“Is something wrong with Angela? Or the baby?”
“No, no not at all, sorry to scare you, it’s nothing like that. I need your help.”
“Oh.” He started walking again, and now it was my turn to be a bit stunned, watching my father-in-law walk away from me. I caught up with him in a few quick strides.
“Listen, I really need your help.”
“And I really need to get to a bridge game.”
“This isn’t about me. It’s about Ray.” That brought him to a halt. He turned to me, angrier even than he’d been the night before.
“Did you drive all the way out here just to make fun of me? To remind me of how you won, distracting me with nonsense about Ray’s case?”
“I mean it,” I said, “I can win Ray’s case. I can prove it in a few words.”
“Prove it, then.” So I did. I spoke words, only a few words, but they were the right words to speak to Dr. M, for the words I spoke were in his language, words that he understood perfectly.
“I understand,” he said, “you’ve come to boast some more, to prove that you were right after all.”
“I want to win Ray’s case, but I don’t have any proof of what I’m saying.”
“You don’t need to prove that two plus two is four.”
“This, I gotta prove, and I need you to help me prove it. I need you to come to court with me, as my witness.”
“I can’t do that. I didn’t witness anything.”
“As my witness. My expert witness.” Unlike a normal witness, an expert witness can give an opinion. An expert is there not to advocate, I explained to Dr. M but to instruct, to teach.
“My bridge partner won’t be very happy,” he said.
“But Ray will, and so will Mrs. M and Angela and--”
“Very well. Do you have a cell phone? We can call the bridge club from my car.”
* * *
We were on the highway getting close to the downtown exit, when my wife called my cell phone. Back then cell phone service was super expensive and my wife only used it for emergencies. Or when she was really angry. I picked up the phone, wondering which it would be.
“I’m so happy that you made things up with my father,” she said.
“How did you know?”
“My mother called. She says you took him with you, that you went out together.”
“He’s with me right now,” I said.
“Where are you going?”
“To court. Going to court to win Ray’s case for him.”
“And you brought my father with you to watch?” She was so happy, I could hear in her voice that she was smiling. “That’s a great way to bond with him, Calledinthe90s. Look, I’m sorry I got so mad at you earlier, I really am. My dad’s a bit too sensitive and--”
“Sorry, Angela, your dad’s not coming to watch me.”
“Why is he with you, then?”
“He’s my witness,” I said.
“What?”
“His expert witness,” Dr. M said, loudly enough for Angela to hear.
My wife’s anger exploded into the phone. She wanted to know how I could expose her elderly, vulnerable father to the stress of a court case. I tried to tell her how I needed him, how there was literally no one else I could turn to, that her father was an expert, a true expert, and the judge was legally bound to believe him, but Angela heard none of this.
“Look,’ I said, “I promise you that--” And then I lowered the phone and pushed the red button, terminating the call. I’d learned that the best way to hang up on someone, was to do it when I was doing the talking. That way it looked like the call had dropped.
“I’m going to steal that move,” Dr. M said.
We rolled into the parking lot. I grabbed the cloth bag out of the back of my car, the bag that held my law robes and shirt and tabs, plus the other stuff I needed for court. It was one-thirty, still thirty minutes to go, not a lot of time to get robed and ready for court. It was just past one-forty five when I, with Dr. M in tow, opened the door to a courtroom on the eighth floor of an old insurance building that had been converted into a courthouse, the home of Commercial Court.
“Commercial Court is an exclusive club,” Cecil-Rowe had explained to me earlier that day, “the legal playground of the rich and powerful. They’ll know instantly that you’re not one of them.” And he was right. It was clear from the moment I walked in that I did not belong, for I was the only lawyer in robes. Everyone else was wearing a suit, and not some cheap thing off the rack like I wore.
There were a half-dozen lawyers present, and after they saw me, they exchanged knowing looks about the stranger amongst them. I ignored them, and walked up to the Registrar. I told him the case I was on, and he signed me in.
“First time in Commercial Court?” he said, eyeing my robes. “You know you don’t have to be robed in Commercial Court.” In other Superior Courts, you always had to bring your robes and get all dressed up. But Commercial Court had its own set of rules, and in the court for rich people, their lawyers did not have to wear robes.
“You’re here on the Sy-Co case?” a young woman asked. She was a junior like me, give a year or two either way. She was dressed in the finest downtown counsel fashion, some designer thing that Angela would know if she saw it.
“Just got retained,” I said.
“You know there’s no adjournments, right? We don’t do adjournments in Commercial Court. I’m just trying to be helpful, because I don’t think you've been here before. You know you don’t have to be robed, right?
“So I heard.”
“So where’s your material? You haven’t served anything, so how do you plan to argue your case?”
“I gotta witness,” I said.
She smiled. “There’s no viva voce evidence, either. Affidavit only.”
“We’ll see what the judge says.” There was a knock from the other side of the door to the judge’s chambers, and then the man himself entered.
I was amazed to see that even the judge wasn’t wearing a robe; instead, he was wearing a light coloured suit and a bright blue bow tie. He was dressed as good as the lawyers, all part of the downtown Commercial Court club, the playground of the richest and most powerful corporations in the City.
“Commercial Court’s not like other courts,” Cecil-Rowe told me earlier that day, explaining that most cases were over in fifteen minutes or less. A plaintiff showed up with some papers, and had a short consultation with the judge. The judge signed an order granting an injunction, or taking away a man’s business, or freezing his money. Commercial Court is where you went to get quick and simple court orders that eviscerated your opponent before the case even got going.
Defendants would appear sometimes in Commercial Court, Cecil-Rowe explained, but it was usually their last time up. Defendants always died a quick death in Commercial Court.
The judge took his seat, and then looked over the lawyers before him. His eyes moved along, and then stopped when they reached me, the one lawyer who was not like the others.
“You don’t need robes in Commercial Court,” the judge said to me.
“I’ll remember that for next time,” I said.
“What case are you on?”
I told him.
“He’s filed no responding materials,” my opponent said, “nothing at all.”
“I’m just vetting the list,” the judge said, “I’ll circle back to you two in a few minutes.” I listend while the judge vetted the rest of the afternoon list: a Mareva, plus a Norwich order, with counsel on those cases sent away in a matter of minutes.
Now the courtroom was almost empty, just the judge, two lawyers, the registrar and my star witness and father-in-law, Dr. M, who sat in the back of the courtroom dressed in an old business suit, put on hastily at his place two hours earlier, when I urged him to hurry it up, to not waste so much time on picking a suit.
“Back to you,” the judge said, addressing my opponent, “I thought this was an uncontested matter. That’s what your confirmation sheet said.”
“I’m sorry, Your Honour, but I didn’t know until I got here that the case was defended.”
“I got retained at the last minute,” I said, “barely three hours ago, the day after I read the papers. But I’m ready to go, ready to argue the case on the merits, so long as you grant me an indulgence, and let me call my witness, to let him testify in person instead of by affidavit, there being no time for me to draft anything.”
Opposing counsel was on her feet. “That’s not how things are done in Commercial Court,” she said, “or any court that I know of, for that matter. My friend (that’s what they make lawyers call each other in court, ‘my friend,’ even though you might hate the other guy’s guts),” the lawyer said, “my friend should have served his responding materials and filed them with the court. Instead, he’s taken us totally by surprise.”
“I’m sorry my friend is surprised by opposition,” I said, “but then consider, it’s my client’s livelihood that’s at stake. If my friend gets her injunction, Ray Telewu’s business is dead, and he loses everything. So yes, my client opposes the injunction, and yes, I’d like to call evidence.”
The judge didn’t consult the papers before him nor the books, but instead, he looked up at the big white clock on the courtroom wall. Its hands said two-fifteen.
“How long will your witness take, counsel?”
“In chief, ten minutes.” I’d practiced with Dr. M on the way in, and I was pretty sure he could do it in five, but I gave him a bit of extra time, just in case.
“We’ve got about two hours,” the judge said, “but I want to be fair to you and your client. Let’s take a fifteen minute recess so you can get instructions. Either we go ahead today with viva voce evidence, or we adjourn, and that will give Calledinthe90s time to file responding materials.”
When everyone came back, the junior’s boss was there, Senior Counsel, a heavy weight, one of those big guys downtown. Plus they brought this guy from Sy-Co Corp, the head of some bullshit division, with some bullshit title, Head of whatever, so that’s the title I’ll give him here. He was The Head. He was the man, the big cheese, the signer of the affidavit on which Sy-Co relied that day.
“What’s he doing here?” I asked Senior Counsel.
He stared at me, all lean and steel grey, looking every inch the hard hitting lawyer that commanded the biggest fees. “If you’re calling a live witness, then so can we. The Head will give evidence today, in advance of your client, so that the judge hears it from him first.” His junior smirked at me, and the two of them sat down, delighted that they’d thought of a way to one up me.
Except that they’d done it by exposing their client to cross-examination. The judge came in, allowed the Head to testify, and when he was done, I stood up.
“Just a few questions,” I said. Senior Counsel was stunned for an instant, and then he stood.
“This serves no purpose, Your Honour. The witness has confirmed the simple facts of his affidavit, and there’s no disputing it. Ray Telewu opened a restaurant less than seventy-one kilometres from Bixity City Hall, and that’s in breach of the Minutes of Settlement he signed.”
I did not bother to respond. Instead, I just stood, and I started to ask questions.
“Have a look at that map in your affidavit,” I said, and he did. I picked up my copy, and tore the map out of it. I passed it up to him.
“What do you notice about this map?”
“That it’s accurate,” the Head said, repeating his evidence in chief, amplifying it, talking about how the map contained perfect measurement.
“You will notice that the map is flat,” I said, laying it on the witness box before him.
“Of course it’s flat. That’s what maps are. Maps are flat.”
“But the earth is round,” I said, “or more properly, a sphere.” Senior Counsel was on his feet in an instant.
“What difference does that make?” he said.
“What you’ll hear from my expert witness, is that a flat map cannot accurately show Earth’s curves. A flat map distorts distances, and in this case, reduces them.”
“But that can’t be by very much.”
“In this case, by just over twenty meters,” Dr. M said from the back of the court.
“That’s my expert witness, the esteemed Dr. M.” I didn’t actually say Dr. M. Instead, I said his real name. But I’m not going to use the real names of my family here, so I’ll just keep calling him Dr. M. “Dr. M was a professor of Physics at the University of Bixity for almost thirty years. He has published numerous papers on particle physics, and is the first Canadian winner of the Wolf Prize for physics.”

• * * *

It went downhill after that for Sy-Co Corp. My father-in-law testified, explaining in simple language, language that even a child could understand, that the Earth was a sphere, that the shortest distance between two points on Earth was a curve, not a straight line. He summarized his calculations in plain English, dumbing down the math, so that everyone present imagined, if only for the moment, that they shared his understanding of a difficult mathematical equation.
Senior Counsel tried to cross-examine Dr. M, but it did not go well, my father-in-law indulging him, gently chiding him, continuing his explanations until the lawyer sat down, defeated by Dr. M’s mastery of the subject,his own lack of preparation and his inability to improvise. When counsel said that he had no further questions, the judge addressed us all.
“I’m not going to reserve, and I don’t think I need to tell everyone why. I think it will take about a minute for me to write a decision saying that the Earth is not flat. I’ll give you some more time after that, but after fifteen minutes, I”ll be back to render my decision.” He rose, everyone bowed, and he disappeared behind the door to judge’s chambers.
I pulled a piece of paper out of my file, and slammed it on the desk before Senior Counsel and his junior. “Fill in the blanks, and sign,” I said.
Dr. M’s head shot up at the commotion, and he shuffled over to see what was going on.
“What’s this?” Senior Counsel said, picking up the paper I gave him..
“Minutes of Settlement. You fill in a number, a big number, for the costs you gotta pay me. Your client signs, and then we’re done.” Senior Counsel opened his mouth to bargain, but I overrode him.
“You know your client’s going to lose; the judge made that obvious. Hurry up if you want to settle; we don’t have much time.”
At the end of most Canadian court cases, the loser has to pay at least part of the winner’s legal fees. That’s the way it’s been since forever, and I think it’s a good rule. Sy-Co Corp had lost, so it had to pay a good chunk of Ray’s costs, and Ray’s costs were somewhere between whatever bullshit figure I claimed they were, and where they actually ought to be. Senior Counsel took the paper over to his client. There was a brief discussion, and then they came back, with the form signed, and a number written in the blank space.
I’ll give it to Sy-Co Corp and their lawyer. It wasn’t a bullshit number, a low ball number. They gave me a real number, a number more like something I’d actually accept, a number that made sense to pay me in costs, in light of the success I’d had, and how I got it. It was a respectful number, a common sense number, and I appreciated it an awful lot.
I tossed the paper back at them.
“Add a zero,” I said, continuing on when Senior Counsel blanched, and his junior retreated a step. “I know what’s going on here. Your client sold mine a bullshit franchise, one with a history of failing.” The franchise had opened up again under a new owner not long after Ray had lost it and then it promptly failed again. Like I said at the start of this story, it’s an old story. It’s how some franchise companies make money. “Your client makes more money selling bullshit franchises doomed to fail, then it does from the honest ones that make money. So add a zero to that number, or Ray’s gonna sue you, class action and all that, for all the people you’ve fucked.”
The Head stepped forward from the benches and spoke to me.
“We get threats like that all the time, but no one follows through. They don’t have the money to fight us, and neither does your client. So go ahead and sue.”
“It’s true that Ray doesn’t have jack shit,” I said, “not a pot to piss in, but he’s my cousin, Ray is, and even if he doesn’t have money, he’s got me. Ray’s family, and for Ray, I’ll sue you guys for free. Hell, I’ll even pay the expenses. Plus I’m gonna put a jury notice in, too, come to think of it, ‘cause juries--”
Senior Counsel cut me off, and moved his client to the back of the courtroom. There was a brief discussion, and then they came back. I watched as Senior Counsel wrote a single digit on the Minutes, a zero, written right where I wanted it.
“You’ll have to initial the change,” I said to the Head of Sy-C0, and it gave me great satisfaction to watch him sign.
“Don’t forget,” I said the moment his pen stopped moving, “for the settlement to be valid, I need to get the money today. Right now.”
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” the Head said.
“Not if you want the settlement to stay in place. I’ll follow you back to your office, and you can put a cheque in my hands.”

• * * *

“What’s this?” my wife said when I entered the apartment later that day, after I’d driven Dr. M home, stopping first at a local pub for beers.
“It’s an absurdly expensive bunch of flowers,” I said, “although no flowers, however beautiful, however expensive, could expiate my--”
She took the flowers, and gave a kiss.
“My mom called. She told me what happened. You fixed things with my dad.”
“Yup,” I said. I had certainly done that. I’d made Dr. M a professor again, if only for a few minutes. Not only a professor, but an expert witness. The judge had declared him an expert in plain terms and Dr.M had beamed when he’d heard those words.
“And you won Ray’s case, too. But my mom didn’t know how, and I don’t know how you did it either.”
“I’ll tell you over dinner tonight,” I said.
“But we agreed no more dinners out; we have to save money, now that a baby’s coming.”
I passed her the envelope that I’d received a few hours before. She opened it, and took out a cheque, a cheque drawn up for an amount I specified, made payable to Mr. and Mrs. Calledinthe90s.
The moment I got that cheque, all I could think about was how my wife would react when I put it into her hands. I could not wait to see her eyes bulge, to hear her voice say “oh my god,” to hear her laugh.
She did none of these things. Instead, she cried.
“Does this mean we can buy a house?” The money wouldn’t be enough to buy a house, not nowadays, with prices being so crazy. But things were different back then in the 90s. Sure, the internet was barely a thing and cell phones were super expensive and a lot of things sucked, but I’ll give the nineties one thing: houses were cheap.
“I think so,” I said.

Why does every building in the world have a strict trash bag to trash can ratio of 1:1. Maybe I'm uniquely a freak, but I have a whole box of trash bags in my kitchen right now.

Background: I'm a single Mom with an almost 9 year old son. He's currently finishing up second grade in our local public school and I'm torn between staying in public school for third grade, which is a different building with only 3rd and 4th grade in it, or going back to his private school which he attended for kindergarten and first grade. My son has an IEP due to his Autism, but is considered high functioning in comparison to others.
My son did an assessment through is previous private school which is a school designed for special needs children on the spectrum, and was officially accepted today. The Pros of this school is that he's already been there previously and knows the layout and what's expected. The classroom he would be in would have the same children as before, with the exception of maybe 2-ish kids that had left the school the same time we did. The classroom is a max of 16 children on the spectrum/ learning challenges, but does have two intervention specialists. The cons would be that the scholarship doesn't cover the full amount and I would be required to pay $2,200 for the school year, which as a single Mom in nursing school is a lot for me to be able to do each month, if they even accept payment plans. His Dad wouldn't be helping foot the cost (he already told me no). The school also requires uniforms which is both a pro and a con. I found that uniforms seem to be easier to deal with than everyday clothing, but the shirts alone are like $30 each since it has to come from a particular store and needs to be engraved with the school's name. There's no busing available so I would be required to drive him to school which is about 15 minutes away. The district would reimburse me $500 at the end of the school year since they don't offer transportation to the school since it's out of district.
As far as the public school goes, I live in a top 10 school district in my area. The Pros is that he would be going to a different building that's actually closer to home (less than 8 minutes away). The classroom size is larger than the private school with about 24 kids a class, but luckily he would have a second teacher in the class that's an intervention specialist. He would still get his speech therapy, be pulled into smaller groups during some activities, have the opportunity to go for a walk in the hallway if he needed a moment, etc. Pros here is that he would be in a mainstream classroom, which he's done well with, but I'll be honest, these public school kids have been mean this year. They've told my son that he isn't stylish (whatever that means to a bunch of 8 year olds), that he's weird, and has had some classroom disputes with two boys that he used to be friends with at the beginning of the school year which he isn't anymore. Along with that, one of the girls in his classroom has been an issue all year which i had brought up numerous times so I don't think they'll be in the same class next year (she literally hit him in the face with her lunch box).
The school recommended him stay in the district since his biggest issue is socialization and he would have a better opportunity to learn to better interact with people of all backgrounds instead of just children on the spectrum, which i agree, but I'm also aware that with the scholarship, the cost comes out of the district's budget so I could understand them trying to sway me one way so they don't lose the $40k.
The private school is also not in session 34 days out of the school year which is a bit more than the public school at 26. I'm only somewhat concerned by this because I'm his main caregiver and would struggle to find childcare on the days the private school isn't in session since they don't have any programs. They do have aftercare which is $10 an hour in the gym. The public school has a YMCA program, but we wouldn't be doing it again next year since we didn't have a great experience. The intermediate school has after school clubs, but another childcare center would be an option as long as i sign up early. The $10 hr charge is more expensive than the daycare center would be.

Timestamp:https://imgur.com/a/6KgDIgJ
Inspect pics closely for condition. Serials in detail pics.
13.7” Daniel Defense chrome lined barrel under a Geissele Mk8 13” handguard. Round count <400. Barrel has been professionally chopped, pinned, and welded with a SOLGW Keymo muzzle device to meet 16”. Asking $700 shipped with DD front sight, minus $50 if you don’t want the Daniel Defense front sight. https://imgur.com/a/0zsTYDC
11.5” Centurion CHF FBI barrel. Round count <150, not even broken in yet. Includes centurion noticed/pinned gas block/tube. Asking $320 shipped.
Primary Arms SLX 3X microprism. 5.56 red illuminated reticle. Includes Midwest Industries QD mount and box with standard contents. Asking $300 shipped https://imgur.com/a/QBeESMN
Trijicon TA-31F ACOG, Red chevron reticle. Type 1 RM01 3.25 MOA LED RMR and ACOG/RMR adapter mount. Tritium visible but dim. Includes GDI QD mount. Asking $1150 shipped. https://imgur.com/a/bCeCOok
Larue Stealth 16” .223 Wylde. Fired <400 rounds. Shoots FGMM and BH exceptional. I just am swapping some builds over to 6arc. Includes LT202 gas block and tube. Asking $350 shipped.
Ballistic Advantage 14.5” .223 Wylde. SPR stainless fluted Midlength premium series. Fired <200 rounds. Shoots fine I just don’t use it enough to hold onto it. Asking $125 shipped. Can include nondescript .750 gas block and installed Midlength tube for $20 more.
Leupold Mark 5 IMS mount 35mm. Asking $125 shipped.
Sig Alpha 2 30mm mount. $50
Warne 1” cantilever 20 MOA mount. Asking $60.
Trades: 11.5” Criterion barrel, 34mm DDC extended-length mount. Higher end 6 arc barrel (Proof stainless 14.5” ideally, but open to others), ODG/DDC anodized handguards and uppers, G$ or Aero equivalent preferred.

Mr. Steve Lewis
Mr. Patrick McKinney
Mr. Bryan Freiermuth
c/o Gideons 1898 LLC et al
1600 East Buena Vista Drive

A

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
May 10th, 2024
Final Demand
Gentlemen,
There is an odor most foul in the Bakehouse. It is the stench of the fish rotting from the head.
To our proprietor Steve, and our managers Bryan and Patrick:
There is dissension within the ranks, and if the following items are not resolved as we outline
below, we’re prepared to drag this house of cards to the ground.
Before we proceed with our grievances, numerous and shocking, and the demands to resolve
them; allow us a moment for introductions.
We, are the Ghosts of Gideons, the poor and unfortunate souls upon whom you have built your
cookie empire. We are the many, the unseen, and as of the disastrous meeting May 6th, 2024, the
decidedly unheard.
Many of us have approached management and ownership multiple times with helpful hints,
strong suggestions, and desperate pleas to rectify a myriad of health, safety and operational
concerns- with nearly all of them being dismissed or ignored entirely.
Now, we, the collective, have banded together to deliver this tome- not as a warning of what is to
come, but as a final demand to resolve the issues outlined herein. You may dismiss us
individually, but you cannot ignore all of us together.
Make no mistake, if the following solutions are not implemented with immediate effect, we will
do everything in our power to topple this cookie castle permanently.
We should start by informing you, that, yes- we are but lowly workers for Gideons, however, we
are supported by families who hold prominent positions in the community as lawyers, labor
1
representatives, publicists, and county government workers. Families who love us, and want to
see us remain safely and fairly employed.
Through our vast, and well connected network the following steps have already been
implemented:
1) A lawsuit for your numerous unfair and unsafe labor practices and work conditions has
been drafted.
2) A press release, along with a copy of this letter, have been sent to local and national
media.
3) We have created social channels to connect directly with customers and inform them of
the reprehensible work conditions we are enduring.
4) We have filed health and safety reports with local government bodies detailing the
extensive issues we are faced with at the Springs location.
5) We have informed Disney Springs leadership of our position relating to the above, and
below in this letter.
In all cases, these competent bodies are awaiting our word. If the demands listed herein are not
satisfied immediately, we will, in tandem with the above, begin a campaign to inform the world
of your numerous transgressions, filing lawsuits and media coverages exposing you and the
Company for the shill that it is, and we will not stop until the Bakehouse bakes no more.
We should also mention that should any attempt be made to retaliate against us, including
termination, reducing our hours, benefits, or taking other pervasive actions against any Gideons
employee, will promptly result in our bringing legal class-action.
The time has come for you, our leaders, to actually lead. This means spending money where
money must be spent, and making the following operational changes, so that we can all continue
to exist in harmony, and not feel like we’re trapped on an 1800’s plantation- working for the big
house.
1) Communication- How dare you drag the entire workforce to a 9AM meeting,
demanding our presence, and then talk directly at us with the most mundane drivel we’ve
ever heard. Everything dictated today could have been very well sent as an email-
especially when you did not allow for any discussion between us, the workers who
actually make your business run, and the disconnected upper-management who are hell
bent on implementing misguided and inefficient policies. Do not call us in for a
mandatory meeting again when the points can be covered in an email, unless you intend
to open the floor for actual conversation and listen to what we have to say.
2
To that end, since our voices were silenced this morning, we demand the following:
● Cold Brew- We will not adopt the ‘bartender’ shaking style of preparing the cold
brew drinks. When we have 10+ beverages queuing to be made, shaking each
drink 10 times will severely impact our ability to be efficient. This is but one
example of Steve’s desire to have ‘form over function’. We understand there may
be a ‘look’ you’re going for, but when it compromises our ability to efficiently
perform our function, we refuse. We demand to be allowed to resume our ‘stir
stick’ preparation immediately.
● Point System/ Order Accuracy- Under no circumstance should Management take
the side of the Guest over the word of the employee. Too often we see guests
complain that an order was incorrect, and Management issues a point to an
employee. This must stop immediately. We demand you implement a ‘please
check your screen for order accuracy’ procedure where the guest confirms their
order before they pay, and remove the ‘point’ system. If the guest confirms the
order, it reduces the possibility for an inaccurate order.
● Inconsistent/ Inaccurate menu boards and Social Postings- The inside Menu
Board has been outdated for nearly two years. It must be updated immediately to
remove items we no longer sell (IE Coke Products) and ingredient offerings (IE
Banana WALNUT). By correctly labeling the items, it reduces the stress on us in
having to confirm that certain items have nuts, or not being yelled at by guests
who are disgruntled that we no longer sell Coke products. Further, there are
multiple social media inaccuracies when describing new products (IE peanut
butter buttercream, VS the actual peanut butter cream cheese). These inaccurate
product descriptions hurt the brand, and cause confusion with the guests when
they come to order these products. Also the new umbrellas are not UV resistant;
therefore any mention of them ‘protecting you from the sun’ is false, and may
result in legal action from guests. We demand you only post accurate descriptions
to the website/ social media to avoid further guest/ employee confrontation.
● HR- Given the fact that Cynthia engaged in using racial slurs during the May 6th
meeting, referring to guests as gypsies and hoodlums, we demand her firing and
removal immediately. Multiple members of staff were deeply offended by the
hurtful stereotypes that Cynthia perpetuated, and we no longer have any trust in
her ability to lead this organization, especially from a HR perspective, when she
herself seems to harbor unfair and demeaning racial views.
● Management- We cannot express with limited words the level of dissatisfaction
we maintain for Drew. The staff, in our entirety, have never dealt with such
incompetent, slothful, and wasteful behavior. Drew consistently stays on his
phone, refusing to help the team accomplish any of their tasks, and barely exudes
a modicum of effort through his rare action of helping build cake boxes or taking
out trash before disembarking on a break (which none us other managers/leads are
3
cookie king, bringing in circa $40,000 per day, affording you a life of luxury, and not
fairly compensate the employees that are making Gideons everything that it is. The
cookies are good, but make no mistake, as was stated during the May 6th meeting, the
customers come for us. I can’t imagine what they’ll say when they learn about the
slave-like conditions in which we work, especially with Auntie Anne’s earning $18 per
hour + tips.
3) Hours- Part time is up to 30 hours per week, full time is 30 hours or more. We must have
a guaranteed number of hours per week, pending our availability. For example, if a
full-time employee has open availability, they must be scheduled for 40 hours. If a
part-time person has open availability, they must be scheduled for up to 30 hours per
week. This is to ensure we have a stable and uniform weekly income, guaranteed by our
base pay and consistent hours.
4) On Call- All shifts that are ‘on- call’ must be guaranteed a full 8 hour shift, regardless if
the employee is called into work or not. We clear our day and make ourselves available to
cover the Company, and we demand to be compensated a full 8 hours ($16 per hour) for
the flexibility to suit the Company’s needs.
5) Pay Protection- In the event that the store is closed for any reason, employees currently
scheduled to be working during the closure must receive all payment for the shifts they
were scheduled for. If the AC goes out again, and we’re down for several days, those of
us scheduled must receive full compensation for shifts as scheduled.
3) Health & Safety- While it seems that Gideon’s is based primarily on the ‘cool factor’ in how
our processes look from a customer perspective, we are still a fully functioning kitchen and retail
location with a haphazard health and safety process, at best.
To ensure a properly safe workplace and customer experience, we demand the following changes
immediately:
1) Shorts/ Heat Safety Prevention- We’ve been told time and time again that the ‘Disney
Contract’ we cannot wear shorts. After having multiple conversations with Disney
Springs leadership and the Unite Here 362 representatives, we have come to understand
that a change in uniform can be initiated by amendment. No longer can the ‘look’ of
something overpower the safety of us. In terms of being outside in the sunlight and heat,
we demand that the contract be amended immediately to account for a uniform change,
thus allowing us to wear shorts within the next five days. It is dangerous for us to be
outside in the heat and sunlight during high-heat (more than 70 degrees fahrenheit) days,
wearing all black and long pants. We are unwilling to compromise our personal health
and safety to appease your ‘style guide’ insisting on long pants, but we’re happy to
maintain a look via style guide for shorts. In addition, we have seen multiple large/
battery operated fans in use around Disney property, keeping other Cast cool during these
heat waves. We demand that large fans are procured and placed in strategic outside
5
locations within the next 5 days, so that we may have respite during high temp days. The
cooling towels and neck fans you have provided are ineffective.
2) Egress- We bakers are trapped. There is no second means of fire egress from the kitchen,
and should a fire or other disaster occur with the ovens, we would be trapped and unable
to escape. We demand you add in additional egress from the bakery, into the outside
alley. We understand this will require planning and stairs, however, planning must be
commenced immediately. We will not work in an unsafe environment, and with no place
to escape in the event of an emergency, we will be burned alive.
3) Handicap accessibility- Our retail location does not comply with ADA mobility
standards. The counters must be moved to allow an employee who utilizes a wheelchair
or other mobility device the proper space to move behind the counters and throughout the
kitchen. While yes, a wheelchair will ‘fit’, they will be unable to properly move. We are
discriminating against hiring ADA employees due to the way the store is currently
overcrowded and built. We demand proper spacing be added within the next 90 days.
4) Safety Training & Procedures- As of right now Operations have not developed any safety
or training procedures relating to fire, bomb threat, active shooter, lighting/ rain, accident
or other hazard. We are provided with no training in the event of any of these
emergencies, and we are all woefully unprepared with a common knowledge of how to
address emergency situations. We demand that a safety plan be developed and provided
to each of us in writing, and that we receive sufficient training of the new procedures
within 14 days.
5) Sanitation- Our baking sheets never get cleaned. We demand that you hire an outside
vendor to pick up used equipment nightly at close, and deliver a clean set at the same
time, so that we may rotate clean equipment daily. It is too large a task for us to wash in
house, and this needs to be automated for us. Our current sanitation procedure is
inadequate to ensure proper health and safety standards.
6) Bathroom breaks- Many of us suffer from various biological disabilities that force
frequent trips to the restroom. We simply cannot ‘hold it’ until we’re on break. IF we
need to go to the restroom, we must be immediately accommodated to do so without
repercussions. While this is not common, it does happen, and must be allowed.
6
Demand Timeline:
May 11th- Cold Brew BartendeShaking preparation is disbanded, stir stick preparation is
reimplemented.
May 11th- Cynthia is terminated immediately for using racial slurs during a company meeting.
May 11th- Drew is demoted as manager immediately for failure to act as a leader, and help his
team, undergoing an immense retraining before he is reinstated.
May 12th- All employees earn a base rate of $16 + tip share.
May 12th- An automatic/ mandatory 7.5% gratuity is placed on all guest orders.
May 12th- All ‘on call’ shifts will be guaranteed a full 8 hours ($16 p/h), regardless of working
or not.
May 12th- Lead/ Trainer pay to increase to at least $19 per hour when training, and $18 per hour
at all other times + tip share.
May 11th- Planning for additional egress to begin. Must be fully installed and operational no
later than June 20th, 2024.
May 17th- A $1,200 bonus is paid to all employees who worked during the last three pay
periods. This bonus covers the lower wages suffered from the ‘no tip’ asking policy.
May 13th- Schedules to be created, guaranteeing all ‘part-time’ employees up to 30 hours per
week based on employee availability, and ‘full-time’ employees at least 40 hours per week,
based on employee availability.
May 14th- Commercial grade fans outside submitted for approval to Disney, installed upon
approval.
May 15th- Shorts implemented for all workers, all shifts, when the outside temperature is more
than 70 degrees fahrenheit.
May 14th- Sanitation company must be contracted to pick up used baking sheets nightly, and a
second set of baking sheets to be procured to ensure sufficient sanitation of products in direct
contact with food.
May 24th- All health & safety procedures will be drafted and provided to all employees in
writing, with in-person training to occur with all employees. New hires shall receive the new
procedures and same in person training as a part of their onboarding.
August 4th- Handicap/ADA compliance. The store and kitchen must be rearranged/ decluttered
to allow for the hiring of mobility device users, including wheelchairs, to comply with ADA
layout requirements.
7
While the above demands only scratch a portion of the hazardous operational procedures, we are
confident that should they all be addressed and the solutions we have demanded are implemented
within the allotted timelines, we can avoid a disastrous fallout and continue to work together to
ensure Gideons remains a successful operation.
We understand that this will most likely come as a shock, not less because ownership and
operations seem to be blissfully unaware of the vast deterioration, but moreover, the inane
procedural overhauls implemented in today’s meeting simply reek of disconnection to the reality
of the process, and will only serve to further delay and complicate the already struggling
operation.
It is time to see beyond all of the narcissistic ‘it looks cool, so we’re going to do it my way’
absurdity, and recognize that the above demands come from your soldiers on the frontlines. A
tough pill to swallow, but it is medicine critical to survival, nevertheless. We further recommend
that all upper management leadership work at least one eight hour, front of house shift per six
months, to ensure they remain fully connected and relevant.
We must issue a final word of warning: should this letter be ignored, or any of the above
demands are not implemented, or any retaliatory action be taken, it will be met with the most
severe consequences.
We know that you are amassing a fortune, and all we Ghosts ask for is a fair wage, a safe and
comfortable working environment, and to be treated with dignity and respect.
We’d hate for the adoring public to learn of any other reality. This is your one, final, opportunity
to make it right.
We look forward to your prompt email reply confirming your plan of action to comply with our
demands herein.
In Solidarity,
The Ghosts of Gideons.

Hi, I hope someone might have an idea for my DIY project problem. This is a stainless steel box which fills with water at the bottom and outlets water at the top (so it's constantly full and flowing). The box itself and its inlet/outlet cannot be changed. I can add things into the floor of the box to try and direct the flow. I need to make 3 sort of water wheels which could theoretically also be vertically installed instead of horizontally. A limitation is that i need maximum surface area for the fins on the water wheels (its a photocatalytic surface). The objective is that the wheels turn (speed and direction does not matter - also back and forward does not matter, just need movement) preferably without any motor. So they should turn due to the currents within the box. The first drawing shows where the water flows now and an ideal design for the wheel placement. The second is what I thought might work to get the current along one side and hopefully turn the wheels. I can also build the wheels with some small bend in the fins... anyone got any practical ideas to get these wheels turning? Or will they anyway?

Hello,
I recently purchased a Wood-mizer lt50 super... It took me a few days to get it set up (awful instructions, but nice build quality overall) and now I'm beginning to use it.
I sort of figured out how to use the log scale it comes with (doesn't make total sense to me yet) but I'm confused about order of operations.
Once I square up a log and it's milled on all 4 sides, how do I correctly proceed with milling lumber? Depending on the size of the log, the blade is at whatever that height is. Say it's at 10 5/16 and the following log is at 18 3/8, how do I start to get a 2x4 out of it? Do I just minus 2" right off that dimension and keep going down from there ? (I am milling true dimension lumber and then planing and drying, hopefully ending up at box store dimensions).
Today I just used a block of wood as a guide and set the blade down to that height, but that's silly and obviously not how you do this.
Looking for some advice (in simple people terms).
Thanks all!

Minerva is a limited time vendor that shows up in the wasteland with end game plans being sold at a discounted price!
However her appearance on May 16th will be somewhat special, meaning she will be selling items from her past 3 rotations! It's a super sale essentially!
View the link below if you want to know when she will appear exaxtly, and when, as well as planning on what to purchase/save/farm for; before they are gone until her designated rotations and if you want to bookmark it for future appearances! Her location also changes depending on the dates! (P.S: Go buy an extra 300 gold bullion from the upstairs vendor in WayWard for 6,000 caps if you've beat the main storyline! You can get an extra 300 gold bullion weekly through the vendor upstairs in WayWard!)
https://www.falloutbuilds.com/fo76/minerva/
Plans being sold on May 16th!
Sale #21 Plan: Gauss minigun
Plan: Gauss pistol aligned short barrel
Plan: Gauss pistol drum magazine
Plan: Gauss pistol refined receiver
Plan: Mechanic’s Best Friend
Plan: Medium Supply Crate
Plan: Protective lining Secret Service underarmor
Plan: Shielded lining Secret Service underarmor
Plan: Thorn armor chest piece
Plan: Thorn armor left arm
Plan: Thorn armor left leg
Plan: Thorn armor right arm
Plan: Thorn armor right leg
Sale #22 Plan: Lighter build Secret Service armor limbs
Plan: Plasma caster
Plan: Secret Service underarmor
Plan: T-65 calibrated shocks
Plan: T-65 jet pack
Plan: T-65 rusty knuckles
Plan: The Gutter
Plan: Ultra-light build Secret Service armor limbs
Plan: War glaive flaming blade
Plan: War glaive shock blade
Plan: Water well
Plan: Whistle in the Dark
Sale #23 Plan: Brotherhood of Steel Minigun Paint
Plan: Slocum Joe’s Power Armor Paint
Plan: Arctic Marine Left Arm
Plan: Arctic Marine Left Leg
Plan: Arctic Marine Right Arm
Plan: Arctic Marine Right Leg
Plan: Arctic Marine Torso
Plan: Arctic Marine Armor Helmet
Plan: Wendigo Tube
Plan: Meat Bag Stash Box
Plan: Gauss Minigun
Plan: Crusader Pistol

Timestamp
$5 shipping for switches, $10 for keyboard and keycaps
Keyboard:
I'm selling a previosly build NK87 Aluminum Edition, barely used great overall condition, looking for $100.
The keyboard comes with lubed durock V2 stabs, box white switches, Alu + CF + Brass Plate, and a self-made poron sheet (Keycaps are not included, +$50 if you want the one in picture).
Keycaps:
GMK Bento R2, no shine have a scratch on 6.25u space bar, 7u is perfect, $80
MW Lilith R1, mounted once or twice, under 5 mins typing, $60
Drop the Load of the Ring, mounted once, under 1 min typing, $60
Drop Susuwatari. mounted once, under 5 mins typing, $50
Switches:
90 x Gazzew Boba Linear Thock (LT) Switches - Lubed, $70
90 x Star White, L+F, $55
90 x NK Silk Olivia , $30
Thanks for reading! Feel free to DM

Introduction

There was a post that was recently posted and it's been asked a ton: "How do I get a computer science related job after I graduate from KSU?". I thought I'd share this with everyone because I've been down this path and managed to make it on the other side. This will be a long explanation and hopefully, can serve as some sort of guide for students. That being said, things are subjective and this is not the holy grail of how to make it. You might find all, some or none of it useful. I encourage testimonials and whatnot in the comments. Can be applied to all majors but, this primary for technology-based majors since I am in tech field. YMMV

About Me

I've been around here for a while. I was a student not too long ago, studied computer science for my bachelors. After graduating, I work in FAANG and have worked in big tech for a while. No, I don't work at Amazon. I am a senior software engineer. I touch frontend & backend technologies. I participate in hiring frequently.

Starting Out

Over the years and while attending here, there's been a weird disconnect between students, goals and how to achieve them in tech. Goals can be anywhere from learning new technologies, getting internships to securing a full time job before or after you graduate. As much as I would love for there to be a path where you can do minimum effort and still succeed, there isn't. A lot of you seem to not realize that. Getting a degree in this field is not enough. Doing projects that show no passion / interests is not enough. Being stuck on tutorials for years is not enough.
This field is much like a sport. There are very few people that can just be great without any effort. You have to be consistent. Four years is not a lot of time. It goes by super fast. If you constantly push things back and you do not take the time to learn the fundamentals outside the classroom, you will not succeed in this field. This field is at a point where there's so many of you. Every post on LinkedIn and news articles said "hey, this field is a gold mine and you'll make six figures out the gate". For a time, maybe that was somewhat true. As of writing this, it's not. You're going against people who have: better schools, better experience, etc. You have to find a way to diversify yourself early. If you can't diversify, you're going to be in a tough place later down the road. Knowledge not something you can just consume in less than an hour and pass an interview. You have to know it well. If you don't, there's someone else who will.
There's an interesting connotation in life that you're either born super smart or an absolute idiot and that you have to be smart to do computer science / programming. There are people with raw IQ that can consume things like no one you've ever met but, that's such a rarity that there's no realistic use in using that as a data point. If you ever took the time to ask someone who you thought was really good at something, they would tell you something along the lines of: I love what I do and I spent a lot of time doing this. There are hours and hours of time people put into passions that you don't / will never see. Meaning that they can no-life this shit for days on end and still come back and do it some more. It doesn't mean that you can't succeed if don't do that but, computing / programming is a very boring field if you do not enjoy it. I would seriously contemplate why you're going through this. If you're doing it for money and only money, you're going to end up miserable. No amount of money can make you do something you hate. It'll wear you down both mentally and physically. If you're doing this because it's a mix of passion and money, you're like everyone else and you gave yourself a better shot. It's a mental thing. Don't climb uphill if you rather sit at the bottom. Don't complain if you're at the bottom and you rather be at the top. There's nothing wrong with that. But, don't do it. For what it's worth, I am not the smartest person. I graduated high school with a low GPA and took college seriously because I wanted to do more with my life. Plus, being on hourly forever sounds horrible imo. Use the opportunities that life has given to you and run with it. Run far, run smart and run in a direction that you can see yourself going long-term.
Additionally, college is what you make of it. Blaming professors or the program (while I do agree sometimes) is not a solution. Blaming professors that don't speak English is a cop out. If you work in tech, you'll be interacting with a lot of people from other countries. Suck it up. Work with it instead of against it. Professors and TAs can only teach you so much. Classes are meant to give you a taste of what it's like in that domain / space. It's not meant to fix all your issues and show you the way. That's for you to do on your own time. Take accountability of your own success, explore the internet (it's free) and lock in. Stop looking for opportunities to find you. Actively seek them out yourself.

Networking

Make connections with people. I cannot stress how important this is. Especially on the Marietta campus, there's a lot of you that go to class, stingers / food, run to class and immediately start gaming and think that when your classes are over, you're done for the day. That's a bad mindset. Make connections with people. Sit with random people at stingers or wherever. Have a conversation. Find a common interest. Don't harass men / women for a date while you're at it. Keep it cool. A lot of people say "there's nothing to do at KSU and there's no life on campus". That's not true at all. It's true if you choose to put your head in a box and refuse to look up. Join a club that interests you. Get close to the people in that club who actively attend and build a personal relationship. If there's no club with your interest, make a club. Fuck it, lead one. You can make one officially through KSU or add a discord server to the student hub and go from there. You'll meet some really cool like-minded people. Lots of my connections have come from randomly showing up to a club, getting out of my comfort zone and weirdly enjoying it.

Interviewing

Brush up on your interview skills. Technical and behavioral abilities matter. Culture fit matters. A lot of you seem to walk around with almost zero personal hygiene. Clean yourself up, practice talking to people and get places. There's been this stigma that culture fit doesn't matter as much as technical and if I have great technical abilities, they'll just accept me. I can tell you for an absolutely fact that I have thrown out / tossed out resumes from highly technical individuals that had zero people skills. If you can't communicate and clean up, you're more of a risk than someone who does all those things and has a bit less technical ability. I can teach someone how to code. I can't teach someone how to take a shower or brush their teeth. Know more than just Leetcode. Learn system design. Take a course / watch a video on Linux and bash. Do not be afraid of the command line interface. Understand how things work at a deeper level. Take feedback seriously. Do not argue with people. If you future manager / colleague tells you that you need to work on things, work on those things. There's nothing worse than a co-worker in denial.

Jobs

As for internships and full time opportunities, there's a few classes at KSU that you really want to master: Data structures, Algorithm Analysis, Operating Systems and Discrete math. If you're in a major that doesn't have those classes, spend the extra money and take those classes. Do not take them online if you can afford to come in person. Take the hardest / best professors for those courses. Super important. Leetcode is quite literally, those classes merged together in a prompt-style format. If you do not understand those concepts, you will not make it in this field let alone pass an interview loop.
Data Structures - Varies. Rate my professor.
Algorithm Analysis - Varies. Rate my professor.
Operating Systems - Do not take Carla McManus if you want to learn the concepts fluently.
Discrete Math - Andy Wilson.
Having solid resume is super important. Many people who don't secure things and get automatically rejected, etc have horrible resumes. Spend the money (it's a lot) to get your resume professionally written. It's worth it. Invest in your long term career aspirations. Templates are cool but, they don't convey information well and come across as lazy. Don't put every achievement ever on there. I don't want to see a wall of text. No, I don't care if you're a Boy Scout. No, I don't care if you bussed tables in high school. You get the point. The rule of "only one page" is complete and total bullshit. If you have projects and prior work experience related to the role, list it down. Don't conserve space for the sake of keeping it one page. You're limiting yourself. I know the career center actively tells people on handshake to keep it to one page. They're wrong. I landed internships & full time roles consistently at big tech / FAANG for years with a 1.5 / 2 page resume. Do not lie on your resume. If you can't solve a leetcode hard consistently with the technology / language of choice, you don't know it well enough. I have interviewed a ton of students and people that list they know C or Python and can't write recursion or gives me a solution in O(N^2) or worse. Aim for O(N), use a hashmap / hash table when you can and do it in a language that doesn't make you fight the runtime / compiler. Trust me, we know when you're making shit up. If you don't know something say it and then, tell them to explain more. This way, you show that you have the capability to learn. Ask smart questions. Do not ask questions that have already been answered. Take notes.
On your resume, experience is only real experience if you get a W2. If you don't get a W2, you can't claim it as professional experience. A lot of background checks these days are drilling down on incorrect information. I have seen instances where people lie, get an offer, company finds out through a comprehensive background check and their offer is gone. Do not put the fate of your future income on a lie. I cannot stress this enough. A lot of students and people actively lie.
Secondly, the trick to getting a good internship is timing. A lot of you wait until Nov - Dec to find an internship and then, throw your hands up when no one responds. That's not a good mindset. Solid internships are recruiting in end of July to August. By September, the amount of open spots are extremely thin. Local companies tend to look for internships during this time. Internships are about luck after that. Reach out to people in your circle to increase your odds. A referral goes a long way. Prior experience through projects that are complex and unique go a long way. It's a numbers game. Don't aim for the highest thing ever without some sort of referral. You can still apply but, do not expect much from it. Start small and work your way up. It's extremely rare to go from KSU undergrad sophomore to Google. It takes a lot of outside work. If you happen to land the internship, make sure that you get recommendations at the end. Having real people who you worked with in a professional capacity that can vouch for you is huge. If you're in your junior year and you get an internship, make sure you try to secure a full time offer. Loop in your boss, mentor, etc. Make your expectations clear. Reach their expectations and beyond.
Thirdly, full time opportunities are rare and most new grads that get hired come from the previous year's intern pool. If you don't get converted, you have to make up that time searching for a job during your senior year. If you do get converted, keep looking because companies are flaky these days. Always have a Plan B & C. Never fully count on Plan A. If you don't have internships across four years, it's over for you. From a hiring manager perspective, it's an absolute red flag when we come across someone with a degree and no internships. That's effectively going against the point of college. You'll have to settle for crumbs and crawl your way up. Very few make it out of that hole. The bar is significantly higher. Especially, now.

Searching for an Opportunity

Do not wait until after you graduate to find a job. Jan - Early May are when most companies finalize budgets and hire. If you wait until after May, you'll might have to wait until after the Summer and possibly, October for hiring to pick up again. Proactivity is nothing but good for you. If you can't be proactive then, you won't succeed in this field. Referrals matter but, personal connections with the hiring manager / recruiter are much, much better. Work your way up. Don't discount an opportunity because it doesn't pay well. Get as much experience as you can and bounce around. Do not go into the gate thinking you're going to make $120K - $140K / yr out the gate. You're most-likely going to make $68K - $75K / yr depending on the location. Do not listen to LinkedIn posts that claim all this cool shit and how to do it. Trust me, it's bullshit. Don't pay attention to it. It's a brag-fest. It's a long road. Start walking on it early and you'll reach the other side when it matters most. Trust in it.
The reality of this economy is that highly experience people have been laid off. Those people are applying to entry level roles and those roles are being filled for cheap. In addition, watch out for fake postings and scam jobs. If you take a contract job, always keep looking. Avoid jobs that will providing "training" before you even start. Avoid jobs that are less than week old. You want things that are fresh. It's a numbers game. Apply for 300+ jobs every week until you get a response back. Don't be discouraged by employers who don't respond or ghost you. Keep at it. It's a mental game.

Conclusion

I think if you do these things, you'll end up at a great spot after four years. If you're just now coming across this and you've been slacking, use this an opportunity to wake the fuck up, light a fire under your ass and lock in. If you're still in denial after reading this post and you have yet to get anything, light a fire under your ass, come to terms with it and lock in.
If you're in it to do zero work, cheat on your classes, mess around for four years and somehow wing a high salary or a job in this field, good luck. You're fucked. You're so fucked, in-fact, that you'll be wondering "why me and why is it so hard" for a long ass time. Don't be that person.

Cool Resources

Git - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvUiKWv2-C0
Github (use this as your portfolio; web devs should make an actual clean website) - https://github.com
Github Student Pack (tons of free resources) - https://education.github.com/pack
Linux Handbook - https://linuxhandbook.com/ Linux Quickguide - https://github.com/mikeroyal/Linux-Guide
Lots of subreddits geared around linux and programming. Great resources to find.
Understand: Kernel Space vs. User Space, Memory Allocation / Deallocation, Bitwise Operations, Memory blocks, processes and threads, context switching
System Design Primer - https://github.com/donnemartin/system-design-primer
Understand: Monolith vs. Micro-services, Tradeoffs between different approaches, Vertical vs. Horizontal Scaling, Load Balancers, Buckets, Data lakes, CI / CD Pipelines, Data Clusters, Client-Server Architecture, Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Context: System design is like a giant puzzle that has many forms. Create a basic design. It won't be perfect. Mix-and-match different services and know why, how and tradeoffs between each approach.
Programming language is dependent on the role and what the company favors. Common ones are Java, C++, Python, C#, JavaScript / TypeScript and C. You can look at jobs that you would like to work someday, look at the requirements and use that as a basis on where to start learning. Things constantly change. Fundamentals build up on each other. Start small. Work your way up. Do not dream big. Dream realistic. Everyone is different.