Letter to coworker leaving

S.

2013.10.30 20:39 QUITUSINGCAPSLOCK S.

Discussion and anything else relating to the book **S.** by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst.
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2017.08.14 02:52 Jeeeeesh CryptoAustralia

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF CRYPTOCURRENCY! Crypto Australia is a subreddit for Australians and New Zealanders to talk about anything related to crypto.
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2024.05.14 22:01 rayaela Upstairs neighbor being loud all day- should I go straight to management to complain or send them a courteous letter first?

Title describes it but for more detail/context:
Our neighbor right above me (I’m on 5th floor; they’re on the 6th) is constantly banging and making loud sounds. I mean literally it can be anytime of the day. I’ve reached my last straw because I’ve been woken up the past three mornings by their incessant banging. My alarm goes off at 7AM and at 5:45AM I’m hearing a rhythmic banging over and over for a minute then pause, and then over and over again. And then once this noise stops it becomes loud dropping noises like someone just put a large table down.
I could try to think of what they’re doing such as working out with weights or a ball or playing with a dog who has a heavy rubber toy, but honestly I don’t think it’s even worth my mental energy at this point. I just want it to stop.
I’ve thought about leaving a nice but stern letter on their door but I’ve also thought about just going straight to management with a complaint to avoid confrontation. To reiterate- I would not be rude at all in the letter if I were to go this route but I would let them know they are disturbing me.
Also for context, I live in one of those big “luxury”-style buildings that has a gym, marketplace, lounge, etc. and it is owned by a large corporation (so not a private landlord).
What do you think? Is the letter first the best way to go about it- if so how would you word it? Or should I just go straight to management?
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2024.05.14 21:58 Euphoric-Earth-4765 An inside look at the culture and ideology of Faith Comes By Hearing PART 1

If you are thinking about working at or if you are thinking about donating to Faith Comes By Hearing/Hosanna [https://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com](https://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/) you should consider the following. Having worked at Faith Comes By Hearing myself for decades, you should be aware of their culture and ideology. (Arranged from most important to least.)

\*Treatment of the Bible:

Grammatical, historical and cultural context as well as literary genre are all ignored by top management. So, Scripture is often misquoted and misused:

Ignoring basic, common sense guidelines, rules for interpreting the Bible results in misinterpreting, misunderstanding, and misapplying the Bible. Management ignores the fact that observation (what the text says) must always come before interpretation (what the text means); and interpretation always comes before application (how the text applies to me). They do not consider the Bible text objectively first: They treat the text subjectively or relatively or assume what the passage text means. And they ignore the fact that a text cannot mean today what it never could have meant to the original authors and original readers. Exegesis is often contrasted with “eisegesis”; the Greek preposition εἰς means “into,” and hence eisegesis means reading your own meaning into the text. Bible study is not reading your personal theology into some biblical passage. Bible study is letting the text talk to us; we are the listeners, not the talkers. Many Christians just want to know what the Bible “means to me.” If you stop to think about it, this just is not possible. We must do the hard work of learning the author’s original meaning first, and without that we can’t ever know “what it means to me.” A text cannot mean what it never meant.

\*Feelings and experiences rule:

There is a focus by top management on personal experiences and feelings instead of a studied period of reflection: Emotional, simple, popular teaching instead of intellectually careful and doctrinally precise teaching. Bible studies go straight to the question, “What does this passage mean to me?” while bypassing the prior question, “What does the passage say and why do I think my interpretation is correct?” Management promotes and allows employees to get away with applying an understanding of a passage that is based on vague feelings or first impressions and not on the hard work of reading the context, verifying with commentaries and using study tools such as concordances, Bible dictionaries, and the like because a careful exercise of reason is not important in understanding what the Bible actually says for management. Besides, it takes work! For management, Christianity is identified with subjective feelings, sincere motives, personal piety, and blind faith. Management tests the truth not by a careful application of our God-given faculties of thought, or even by biblical mandates (for example, 2 Corinthians 10:5), but rather by private subjective experiences. For the most part, theoretical reason is just not part of the culture at FCBH. In fact, top management will often spiritualizing normal, everyday things like advice, facts, common knowledge:

Example during a meeting, the CEO said he saw a full moon, then clouds formed & covered the moon, then clouds dissipated. He then said he felt God say: "I can turn nothing into something; something into nothing; turn this ministry into something & if it goes thick & blocks Jesus; it has to diminish.”

So, personal, subjective experiences that top management shares equals truth that employees must agree with or at least accept as true.

Also, time is money, but management uses their mandatory meetings to discuss controversial or complex topics (e.g., fasting, communion, tithing, personal stewardship of money, helping the homeless, how to create more interaction with remote workers, how to retain employees, how to hire more Gen Z employees, past trauma), most of which are unrelated to the actual work. Then they ask employees (most of which have no authority to get things changed/done) what their opinion is about the controversial or complex topic, instead of consulting with professionals or experts.

So, top management will read a bible verse (not a paragraph, not a chapter, a verse; usually out of context) using a version of the Bible that is almost a paraphrase. Then share something personal that happened to them, something they did or saw or experienced or a personal conviction that is not related to the verse. Then explain how they felt about it, how they interpreted it. Then they will ask employees (especially internationals) to share similar experiences. And, then if no one shares or comments or speaks, management makes employees feel guilty: Along the lines of “So, God is not working in your life?”

Example: “I felt God give me this verse about gossip. Let me share with you some personal stories about gossip…. This is how I see it. Now, in the last 5 min of our time, I want people to share. I especially want input from internationals. Does anyone have anything to say about this? No, one? Is God not speaking to you? How can God not be moving and speaking? This is unreal….”

Top management will often use a reader response or subjective biblical interpretation: “This is what I think this verse means. What do you think this verse means? What stood out to you? What did you learn? What is God asking you to apply?” This is a very self-centered way to interpret Scripture. The focus is all about you. What you think. What you feel. But, “The Bible is not about you.” - Timothy Keller. And this leads to people looking at the same verse and coming up with completely different interpretations. Everybody seems to have an opinion on what the Bible says/teaches.

So, instead of discovering what the original author said to the original readers. They will take Biblical concepts (e.g., called to ministry; felt led by the Spirit; God spoke to me; felt peace) and then add new meanings to them which the original author did not intend. This is dangerous since it leaves employees with doubt, disillusionment, disappointment, discouragement, and false hope and can leave them with unmet, unrealistic, and false expectations. Top management will also take subjective, unclear biblical principles or non-essentials, or personal convictions and make them scriptural authority and then judge other Christians who do not agree. They will treat the Proverbs as promises. They will also not make an effort to distinguish between Biblical principles and practices which are relative, time bound, culturally subjective, Biblically illustrated (not commanded). They will often make hasty generalizations. They will beg the question. They will commit special pleading, dictionary simpliciter, reductive, faulty analogy and many other fallacies. They will also allegorize promises in Scripture and spiritualize all principles. They assume that all historical narratives have individual identifiable moral application. God’s word should be taught clearly, not in a distorted manner. Top management will proof text and use religious words to promote their agenda.

And top management will encourage others to have this view/philosophy of Bible interpretation. Many incorrectly interpret the Bible and do not even realize it.

I pray to God that this bad method of interpretation is not being taught to internationals, to people who have never had bibles, who do not have biblical discernment, who don't know any better.

\*Inductive Bible study and internationals:

Hermeneutics has been defined as the science and art of biblical interpretation. Hermeneutics helps us understand the Bible. It is a science because there are specific rules the interpreter must follow. It is an art because it takes years of practice to develop the ability to employ those rules properly. There is a difference between a novice and a seasoned interpreter. Hermeneutics has two basic steps, finding what the text meant to its original audience, and then seeing how it applies to our current situation. Unfortunately, many people (Americans included), impose their own personal experiences, theology, and modern culture on to the Biblical text.

Fortunately, God has allowed us (especially Americans) to have Bible dictionaries, commentaries, handbooks, atlases, etc., to help us with correct hermeneutics, to understand the essential historical and cultural information - the context of the original author and readers of the Bible. We have tools that shed light on the text and help us to arrive at the correct interpretation. When you read a commentary, it will provide checks and balances against your possible mistakes. They can answer questions that a reading of the text can never provide or ask questions that you may never think of asking. Unfortunately, many international people groups do not have access to these tools (or even access to mature, trained, and experienced Christians and pastors). And even if they do have access to resources, they may not know how to use them properly (i.e., limitations of commentaries).

Grammatical-Historical Method or Inductive Bible study can easily be done with printed or digital Bibles. But how can a person do this with audio and video Bibles? This is critical especially for international people groups that do not have access to (and may never have) print Bibles.

False gospels and heresies are popular in illiterate people groups because they are not taught discernment or how to evaluate Scripture and the thoughts of others for themselves. People with ulterior motives misuse Scripture and end up influencing the illiterate.

If these Bible Films and audio Bibles are considered to be actual Bible Translations – video and audio translations of the Bible and the equivalent to and sometimes a replacement for print scripture – then should we also make it a point to teach people who are watching and listening to our video and audio Bible translations Biblical hermeneutics (historical-grammatical interpretation)? How to study the Bible properly for themselves?

My experience has been that many non-Christians (and Christians) misquote or misinterpret the Bible because they do not know how to actually read and study it on their own to find out what the text actually meant to the original author and audience and seeing how it applies to their current situation.

There are many ways to study the Bible, and there are many excellent study aids available to help you with specific books of the Bible. But the most important thing you need to remember is that to find out what the Bible says, you need to read it yourself in a way that will help you discover what it says, what it means, and how you are to apply it to your life. And the best way to do this is through the process called inductive study. Inductive study doesn’t tell you what the Bible means or what you should believe. Instead, it teaches you a method of studying God’s Word that can be applied to any portion of Scripture at any time.

Inductive Bible study draws you into personal interaction with the Scripture and thus with the God of the Scriptures so that your beliefs are based on a prayerful understanding and legitimate interpretation of Scripture.

\*Artistic freedom concerns:

Another concern is with the artistic freedom or personal preference when it comes to audio and video Bible media (when these function as replacements for print Scripture). How much can be taken before you compromise the historical accuracy or the meaning and understanding of the original message? A good translation must be faithful to the historical situation and not change the cultural background. In Bible Translation, the translator’s first job is to study the text carefully to discover the correct meaning (what the original author wanted to communicate). Do international people groups understand that the “artistic freedom” (e.g., how the film is lit, the key shots, angles it shoots from, close-ups, point of view, sets, locations and props, editing, the dialogue and the actors’ performance and emotions, wardrobe choices, soundtrack, visual transitions, reference shots), the visuals and sound, are all NOT inspired?

Biblical and Orthodox Christianity teaches that All Scripture (not just some) is inspired by God who utilized the human element within man to accomplish this without error.The very WORDS (not just the ideas, even parts of letters, and sometimes the tense of verbs) are a result of the mind of God expressed in human terms and conditions. The Bible IS fully true in all that it teaches or asserts to be true (including historical and scientific matters). Only the original documents (autographs) are completely free from error. Does FCBH make an effort to explain this to people groups? If not, then there will be conflict when the visuals and sounds that are added do not match the Biblical text. There will be confusion, doubt, disillusionment, disappointment, discouragement, false hope when people are confronted with unmet, unrealistic, and false expectations.

So, using audio and especially video as Bibles should come with some teaching of the basic principles of film criticism, the doctrine of inspiration (difference between artistic freedom and the Word of God), and inductive Bible study or Bible interpretation.

\*Communicating the truth:

They employ a presuppositional and fideistic/experiential approach to evangelism: In the many testimonies that are shared, many of the people who receive the audio bibles say they believe in Jesus because FCBH gave them bibles that are in their native language. Makes you wonder what would happen if the audio was from the Quran or book of Mormon. Would they believe in anything as long as it was in their own language? FCBH does not seem to make sure people are actually believing facts. There seems to be no appeals to evidence and reason for the truthfulness of the Christianity. One should become a Christian and believe that Jesus is God because it is true (from reason, historical evidence, archaeological evidence, theistic arguments) and not because the Bible one reads is in a certain language. You should follow Jesus because He is God and proved it; not because He speaks your language.

\*Hearing from God?

Many in management practice “hearing from God” and then claim God said something specific and personal to them and to the ministry. This practice uses God's name in vain. And often use God to avoid personal responsibility - “I heard from God; God told me; I felt led; God spoke to me…” They then put what happens on God, so they avoid any personal responsibility if it does not come to pass. They make Christianity out to be personal, private, and a matter of “how I feel about things.” Many Christians actually feel spiritually sub-standard and defeated because for them “the heavens have been silent”. This can be debilitating, and it’s profoundly unfair to employees if their only shortcoming is entertaining a false expectation of what a relationship with God entails. Conversations are often littered with casual references to one’s latest revelations without any sense of the gravity of the assertion, or any sense of responsibility to justify the claim. Even Jesus Himself didn’t presume to speak for God without compelling evidence. But, management takes personal opinions and spiritualize them as if they were God’s word to give divine authority to impulses or thoughts that drift through their minds. To say “God is telling me” gives feelings an authority the Scripture does not justify and virtually ends debate. You can’t argue with the person if God supposedly gave the command. Trusting inner feelings is not biblical. It’s confusing at best, and dangerous at worst.

And with certain requests from employees, when top management does not want to do something, they will respond by saying things like: “I need to pray about it first. Sorry, I do not feel led. I need to get confirmation first. I need to have peace about it first. I need to hear from God first.” But with other things, with things they want to do, they do not need to pray about it first, do not need to feel led, do not need to get confirmation first, do not need to have a peace about it first, do not need to hear from God first. When management does not want to do something, they pass the responsibility off to God (“We cannot…. because God didn’t tell us to do it. Didn't get confirmation.”); but when they do want to do something, they don't seek God and do what they want (“We have decided and are going to… and we don’t need to ask God for guidance or permission”).
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2024.05.14 21:57 More-Historian2478 AITAH for not telling my children I cheated first?

Throwaway for obvious reasons. I 43F have 3 children 17f, 14f, and 11m. I have been divorced from my Ex for 4 years due to a plethora of issues including our mutual infidelity. Now I'm not defending my actions in the slightest. I know I was wrong and would never hurt my current partner in the same way, but feel my actions need some explaining.
My ex and I both come from very religious upbringings and were essentially arranged to be married by our families. I was a stay at home wife and he worked at his father's company, he never treated me poorly in any way, pulled his weight around the house and he was an amazing father, but we were just never very compatible. I now know I am Pansexual and non-monogamous. Shortly after our youngest began school I felt aimless and got a job. While working, I began a fling with a coworker that turned into a full blown affair. It continued for about a year before I was confronted by my ex. He didn't scream at me or anything, he just sat me down and said I could do what I need to do, but keep it away from the kids. Two years after that he met his current wife and left me to be with her.
The kids were devastated and blamed him for leaving despite the fact that he lives 10 minutes away, has never missed any event or milestone and has tried his best to be a good father. His relationship with them is rocky to say the least. The oldest two hate him with a passion and would scream and throw tantrums whenever they were forced to visit him. My youngest was originally Ok with my ex, but his siblings are turning him against their father as well. My ex and I decided early on that we wouldn't discuss our divorce with our kids and just let them know we no longer love each other. To my knowledge neither of us have ever bad mouthed the other and even today consider each other good friends. (Yes all three have had therapy including family therapy with me and my ex, it hasn't significantly improved the relationship).
Recently I overheard my kids talking bad about their father and decided It was time to sit my oldest down and explain what really happened. My daughter was furious to say the least. She's just been a mess for the last few weeks. She's been held up in her room crying, she circles between being sad about how poorly she's treated her dad and being pissed at me for letting her bad mouth him for so many years. I told her I never said to treat her dad that way. All three kids have decided I'm a monster, and have disowned me. They say they no longer need me in their life and will live with my ex and his wife from now on.
I'm just annoyed by this whole situation. I want them to move back in and continue counseling immediately, but my ex has been less than supportive. He said he doesn't have an ill will towards me, but they hated him for years I can wait it out a little while to see if they settle down and have them do counseling when they are ready. I told him it's not fair. He said I could have revealed the truth at anytime and was more than happy to let them hate him. I know I suck in general, but am I the asshole for sticking to our original agreement?
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2024.05.14 21:55 hauntedpuke A man broke into our house with no motive

Around a week ago my roommate woke me up at around 2:30 am knocking frantically on my door. I immediately knew something was wrong and my feeling was validated as soon as i walked into the living room and 3 or 4 cops were inside. My roommate proceeded to tell me a man woke them up by turning their lights on in their room, and closing the door behind him. He then took his shoes off and put his keys on the table. My roommate of course said to get the fuck out, over and over again pleading with him ti leave and that this was not his house, but he kept saying it was his house. He used other various excuses such as this was the address he was given, this is “macy’s” house, and “macy” let him in, or someone else let him in, but of course no one did. He seemed to be high off of something but the scary thing is neither of us heard him get in. He took the screen off the window and walked right on through. it was unlocked, even though we thought it was locked. We have a bunch or trinkets on our window sill but nothing was broken or knocked over. How can you be so fucked up you think someones house is your house, yet you are still fully in control of your body movements. When my roommate told him they were calling the cops, he simply went out to the living room and sat on the coffee table and waited for them to come. The only experience i personally have seeing him is when there was one police officer inside and 2 outside holding and talking to him. One of the officers opened a door to either get in or out, and without the slightest hesitation, this man LUNGES at us, his face looked extremely angry and agitated. It’s like he didnt care at all that there were 3 police arresting him, he just needed to get inside. I could hear him screaming all the way down the stairs. What is so eerie is that nothing was stolen or broken, he seemed to really think it was his house, yet the story kept changing. I got in contact with his coworker who said he went out to the bars, but this can not just be alchohol. He does live in our complex, in the building right next to us, which is also scary. The police arrested him for breaking and entering, and resisting arrest on a felony charge, but he was released the next day with no bond. We signed our victim rights but were not informed of his release. We called a bunch of places like courts and various police departments, and kept getting transferred in circles. We did sign our victim statements, but we cannot get a restraining order unless he breaks in again or we have another incident with him. When i spoke with his coworker again she said they all think he was roofied, since he was out at a bar and apparently checked his bank statements and only spent $32. I don’t think it was alcohol because he wasn’t falling over or being sloppy, and again nothing was broken, touched or stolen. The same goes for a roofie drug, wouldn’t it make you lose control of your body movements, and even unconscious and sick? When he entered my roommates room he just stood there on his phone. Definitely confusing, and it sucks because we just don’t know why, and probably wont ever find out. Anyways if anyone has an idea of what drug this guy was on please let me know. To the random man that broke in, lets not ever meet again
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2024.05.14 21:54 Flaky_Ad_8383 Break up after 5 years

I’m struggling so much trying to feel less guilty about breaking up with my bf of 5 years. I’ve cried every single day since and it’s been almost four months. We had a dog together that he got me as a gift. It was my dream dog and I’ve never loved anything more. We had a lot of issues and have overcame so much in the 5 years including long distance and grieving a death. My family was pushing for us to break up and didn’t want us together while his family loved me. I am a very family oriented person and he stopped going to my family events two years ago because he didn’t really like my family and it overwhelmed him, which made my family dislike him even more thinking he didn’t even try but he did in the beginning then stopped after I moved in with him. I worked with his family and my whole life revolved around him for two years. We lived together for 3 and the house was stunning. I loved it so much and loved living there and took my dog for a walk every day. I had a really good paying job and easy life. I met him when I was 19 and he was 27 so he had already gone out a lot and was more ready to settle down. When I first moved to his city I wanted to go out and he never really joined me. I was 22 and wanted to explore the city and never really asked him because he didn’t seem to want to go out. I turned 24 and didn’t really care about going out anymore just wanted to be with him more. He loves gambling and would go a lot and it never bothered me until recently I felt like he didn’t want to spend time with me as much. We broke up for a while and I felt so lost with out him. It lasted two months and he told me he went to a strip club which was one of my triggers since he used to go all the time before he dated me and it always bothered me and made me feel jealous/insecure. He went 3 times during us dating and I said it was fine as long as he told me but I would secretly cry about it and feel super crappy and like I wasn’t good enough. I did a lot wrong in the relationship. I would complain to my family and seek attention from other people just to receive some compliments and feel good about myself. I realize that I had a lot of red flags and wish I wasn’t so immature in the beginning. I messed up a lot and have felt so much guilt and beat myself up everyday. I feel sick about it all and the way it ended. It was a pretty toxic relationship but I don’t doubt at all that we didn’t love each other. I had a lot of issues being able to be in a serious relationship and it was hard for me to commit in the beginning it took me awhile to call him my bf because I was really scared I would get hurt. I know now that I wasn’t ready in the beginning and I needed to work through a lot of issues on my own but I didn’t want to lose him. He definitely added a lot to my insecurities and anytime I told him one of them I felt he would use it against me. He had a lot of issues but I know that he loved me so much. I feel like I left everything I’ve known for the past 3 years. I had friends there, a good paying job, i would clean the house and didn’t have to pay rent. He would hold over my head sometimes but it was so easy for me financially. Just I was depressed sometimes like something was missing. I feel ungrateful now seeing what people put up with in relationships and how hard life is with inflation. I have rent now and a car bill and I’m a server. Life is incredibly hard for me and I make way less than I did working with his family. I felt awful leaving him and I gave him the dog. I lost my will to live almost and knew there were a ton of problems but felt like if I finally left my family would be happy and their opinions matter a lot to me but now I’m lonely every night and wake up lost and afraid of what my life is now. I’m at peace but I’ve never been so lonely. I have a supportive family and am going to therapy now and it’s helping but I still wonder if I messed up my whole life by quitting my job, moving out, breaking up with him and letting him keep the dog. I think I felt so guilty because I confessed to him that I was with someone when we were on break and the guilt was eating me up in side. He wouldn’t tell me what he wanted to do if he wanted to forgive me for a week he wanted to think about it but I just moved out before he told me and haven’t really talked to him and went no contact. I wrote him a 5 page letter about how much I love him and I want to work on myself and that I was sorry for what I did. He never really apologized to me because I’ve always taken the blame for everything before he could. I didn’t really communicate with him well about the things that bothered me. I didn’t really give him a chance to change I just hoped he would notice. He asked me to go to a hotel to gamble with him a few days before I left. I told him I didn’t want to and to go with out me. He talked to me for an hour on the phone on the way there and I was okay till it was 1 am and I told him I couldn’t sleep and was scared and he hung up and didn’t care. I stayed up the whole night wondering bout him. He got home at 11am the next day and texted me he loved me. I got off work and told him it upset me and it ended up me being the one apologizing since I said he could go. He said he knew I would act that way and got mad at me. I just gave up the convo and just thought I can’t do this anymore so I shut down. I got distant and looked cold hearted when I left but inside I was dying. I feel incredibly guilty everyday and am scared to see him move on even though I’m the one who broke up with him. I’m scared I won’t find better and I still love him and his family so much and haven’t had any desire to be with anyone else or even talk to or go on a date. I’ve just been sad every single day and have tried to find joy but nothing excites me anymore. I felt like a horrible monster and idk how I even did this. I’m hoping it was the right thing and I’m trying to fix all my issues with my therapist. I feel like I desired to be single in the beginning of our relationship but now that I am I hate it and miss him so much. I’m terrified and still in denial. This is all coming out messy but just so much about it is all messy and I feel like I messed up everything. I wanted to marry him but I felt like I messed it up and sabotaged it too much and couldn’t come back from it anymore. I don’t know what to do. I’ve been journaling everyday and trying to remain strong and not reach out when I miss him and my life and now my life is hard and I make no money and have tons of bills. It’s terrifying and I relied on him a lot financially. I feel like idek who I am anymore and I’m depressing everyone around me because I’m so sad and everything reminds me of him and our dog. My heart is broken into pieces and I just want to be sure I did the right thing. I feel so incredibly selfish. I didn’t fully explain everything in our relationship but it was very complicated and at times toxic. I do miss him though and feel at fault for a lot of things. Idk. I feel like I lost my motivation and don’t really care about anything anymore. I wonder if his family hates me now. I feel like everyone thinks I’m a bad person for leaving. I just want to crumble. I don’t know who I am anymore and how to stop feeling less guilty. He’s going to have no issue finding someone new since he’s super successful and has his own house. I feel very insecure and I get memories on Snapchat of him everyday and have 5 years worth of memories. I’m terrified and stressed with money. I’m about to turn 25 and feel like I’m starting my whole life over. I don’t know how to let go even though I needed things. Is something wrong with me?
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2024.05.14 21:50 throuuughawayaccount I (28m) found out my (30f) girlfriend had a casual sexual relationship with someone she both works with and lives in the same apartment building as. I'm really struggling not to ruminate about it.

So for context, we only started dating about 3 months ago but things have been going really, really great. She's been kinder to me than anyone I've dated before and she's always been upfront and honest with me about things. I don't need to ask, she tells me the things she thinks I have a right to know. I've felt really happy and cared for and I've felt like I really trust her. So this is not a matter of trust.
However, the other day one of the guys living on her floor said good morning to us as we were leaving the apartment together, and she looked terrified for a moment. I asked what was wrong and she told me that he used to constantly ask her for sex and she used to repeatedly say no but he never respected it, that he would make moves on her in the workplace too and she would give out to him for being so disrespectful, but that on two occasions she hooked up with him while feeling really down and when she needed to "feel wanted", then regretted it afterwards. She told me that once she met me, she told him she didn't want to maintain active contact with him, but that he made contact again both in work and via text to tell her she could always "take shelter" in his room if she wanted and added "you can bring your boyfriend too", which she said infuriated her and made her lose all respect for him.
I didn't ask for any of this information, she confessed herself immediately after the encounter, and she said she was trying to find the best way to tell me about this. She also told me she had no feelings for him at all, which I believe, but this honestly makes it harder for me to understand. She has told me about her past sexual relationships without me asking and in every other case she had feelings for the guy, so I didn't think twice about it, but she claimed this guy was the sole exception which I think was meant to reassure me. But all I can think about is the fact that she slept with him multiple times despite the fact that they work together, live in rooms across from each other, that he was repeatedly disrespectful to her, and that she had no feelings for him.
This doesn't really make any sense to me and seems very out of character for her as she's someone I see as having high standards when it comes to how others treat her. Why would she maintain contact despite the disrespect? Why would she risk her job, home, and risk complicating future relationships for the sake of having sex with this guy? Why would it happen twice, and so recently too (the last time was shortly before we met), if she regretted it? Why is he so casually friendly and making such strange comments?
All of these details have left me ruminating excessively about their history and how I may encounter him any time I visit or leave her apartment, etc. I can't get these thoughts and images out of my head, even though I have no jealousy at all about any of her other past relationships that she shared all the details of. But something about this is really bothering me and making me feel miserable. I don't think it's a matter of trust as I do trust her not to cheat. It's not a matter of insecurity or feeling inadequate either. But I don't quite know what it is.
I personally have never had casual sex despite many opportunities because I always wanted to reserve sexual intimacy for relationships and avoid drama or hurting people, so it's possible that her actions just make me worry we have different views of sex. For me, it's really tied to feelings. I wouldn't want to end the relationship over different views of sex in either case, but it's possible that I'm feeling this way because it suggests a difference between us that I wasn't cognizant of before.
Regardless, I need to overcome this and I don't want to be distant with her because I am feeling so down about it. It's not fair to her and she's being nothing but incredibly kind to me. While the relationship is new, we've spent a lot of time together too and she has been consistently loving and considerate. What can I do to overcome or at least understand these feelings, and how can I navigate this situation so she doesn't get hurt or upset by me being emotionally distant while processing my feelings?
Tl;dr: My amazing new girlfriend told me, without me asking, that she previously (before we met) hooked up with a coworker who lives in her apartment on two occasions, despite the fact that she had rejected him countless times before and he never respected her saying no. I'm really struggling not to ruminate about it, but I'm not entirely sure why I'm so upset. I don't want my feelings to damage the relationship and need help understanding them.
submitted by throuuughawayaccount to relationships [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:31 samsodano100 AIO coworker took my bag of chips

While I was at work after eating my lunch I went and bought a bag of chips (in case I got hungry later on). I put it in an employee area and went to help a client who was having some issues. About 30 min later I come back to the employee area and see my coworker there (didn't think anything of it since we all use this room) while I was in the room I put some papers the client didn't want into the shredder and while at the shredder I see my bag of chips l have just bought in the garbage empty. I turn and ask my coworker "who ate my chips" she goes "me, I was hungry, and I'm going to lunch now, cya" then proceed to leave the room. I was left just standing there for a min kind of baffled. I mean it was only chips but then again she could have at least asked me if she could have them. So when she came back from lunch I told her "next time you take something that's not yours, at least ask if you can have it, don't just take it" she responded all defensively said sorry and that she would buy me another bag of chips. I told her its not about the chips, its about you taking something that isn't yours, now she's mad at me and giving me an attitude whenever I ask her for something that's work related. AIO. I don't really care about the chips but do care about the principal of not taking what's not yours if she would have just asked would have given them to her.
submitted by samsodano100 to AmIOverreacting [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:31 whatitdoshordy We live beside our BIL/SIL

This is the first time I have had a truly negative experience with inlaws (I’ve been lucky I know), And maybe im out of line somewhere but its been weighing heavy on me for a while now. Warning this is very long im sorry!
Me and my bf have been living together for a year now and our SIL and my bfs brother are neighours. When I first moved in I thought the dynamic would be so fun and we could all hangout together! My boyfriend however, was never crazy about the idea. Now I see why.
Anyway, time goes on and my bf and I wanted to go to a rodeo and I thought it would be fun to go us 4 (us and the BIL/SIL). So we invite them and they tag along. When we showed up we realized they had no beer tents or alcohol vendors there, ok that sucks but whatever we are here for the rodeo! Oh no, not my BIL. The whole time we are watching from the grand stands, it is non stop complaining about how much this sucks and that theres no booze. Finally, the main event is about to start and he decides we all need to leave because ‘this f*cking sucks!’. At this point im holding back tears because I was genuinely anticipating this event for weeks. The SIL was laughing off his behaviour and not saying anything and my bf was visibly annoyed. This was the cause of one of my boyfriend and I’s first real ‘fights’, although it wasn’t his fault; he did warn me. We didn’t have to invite them to this event but yet we did, and BIL ruined it. So that was my first red flag.
Red flag #2: Errands/favours. Every now and again they would text us and ask if we had extras of something they could use (cheese slices, water bottles, etc.) Which we are more than happy to help out once in a while! But it started becoming frequent. To the point where okay did you guys even bother to do a grocery, when they were both working in town that same day. My bf and I very rarely ask for anything as we are both very independent and organized, we usually have everything we need at the house or if not we make substitutions or do without. It was getting to the point where I couldn’t open their snapchats at the end of my shift because it was most likely them asking for us to pick up something for them. I lowkey (highkey) felt like an uber eats driver! On the other end, BIL who has a border line drinking problem always taking beers off my bf. Apparently it was much worse before I moved in but essentially BIL will ask us if we have any beers before hes finished his last one. It’s gotten to the point where he walks right into the house and opens our beer fridge to look for some (um wtf knock? this is OUR HOUSE not your kitchen also we could be naked like holy shit.) I feel like I almost have to hide my drink when I go outside because if he sees me with one he will want one. Also, both the BIL and SIL work in town, if they know they are running low they should stock up, constantly bumming stuff off us gets old really fast. My bf constantly asks his brother ‘you didnt buy yourself more?’ to which he usually replies ‘well i am out’ (what kind of answer is that lmao). And we live literally 5 minutes away from a store that sells beer, he could send his wife to get some more (but no she doesn’t want to leave the house). Needless to say, they make their poor planning and laziness OUR problem. At one point it got so bad one sunday morning his brother walked over and asked if we have cream for his coffee. We only had the starbucks flavoured creamer so we offered that and I kid you not he says ‘Ew why dont you have regular creamer i wont drink that!’ WHY DONT YOU HAVE CREAMER. Like the entitlement was insane, my bf told him to go get his own creamer and BIL huffed and puffed back to his house. After that incident they stopped for a while but as of now the beer bumming is still very much happening. Just yesterday he walked right in, asked my bf if he had any beers, he lied and said no. BIL walked to and opened our fridge and grabbed beers anyway ‘you do have beers’. Well dont you think if we said no we probably dont want you having them? The entitlement and absolute disrespect of our boundaries was evident. I feel so torn with this kind of thing because you don’t want to be rude and come off selfish by telling them no, but at the same time they are taking advantage of how close we live to each other and for them its convenient to keep doing it and I feel like its not our responsibility at a certain point. Additionally, if we did the same to them, they would not appreciate it. I also notice how my bf and I rarely ask for favours but when we do (ex. bf needs a ride to the garage), they are always conveniently busy. The whole situation is giving selfish.
Red flag #3: Disrespecting our stuff. Last summer my mom’s boyfriend had passed from cancer, and at the same time I was moving in to my bfs. She had given me their very nice blow up pool since she wont have any use for it but she didn’t want to get rid of it either because it was sentimental. We took it, blew it up in the yard and used it in the beginning of summer, it was awesome! My boyfriend had mentioned that his brother hated the way it looked in the yard and thought it looked trashy, (we share our yard but had it on our side). I thought oh well he can have his opinion but its our pool and we are allowed to have it, they also have a small pool they put on the deck for their dog so I didn’t understand the reasoning. Anyway, summer ends and I wasn’t paying much attention but the pool was out of the yard, I had assumed my bf had put it back in its box and in the shed for the winter. So spring comes along and Im walking in the backyard doing something and I notice a plastic blue thing behind the shed covered by sharp metal and wood and its really buried in there. I inspect it closer and I realize it’s the pool! Assuming it was my bf I called him upset asking why he would treat my stuff that way. He assured me it wasn’t him and that he thought that I had put it away for the winter. We both paused and knew right away what really happened. His brother had thrown it behind the shed and covered it. I was baffled at the fact that he had the audacity to take it upon himself to take something that didn’t belong to him and throw it behind the shed like garbage because he didn’t like it. If they had something on their side of the yard that I didn’t like that does NOT give me the right to get rid of it or destroy it! He could have asked us to put it away and even at that it still doesn’t give him the right to dispose of it. My bf confronted him about it and his exact words were ‘I dont give a f*ck.’ My bf has told me he has done this kind of thing before when my bf wanted to sell his budlight umbrella on market place and his brother took it upon himself to take the umbrella and burn it in the fire pit while my bf was on a work trip. I just can’t believe someone can be so inconsiderate and show no respect for another persons property.
Red flag #4: SIL is not self aware at all and has a guise of being a sweet, quiet person but her actions say different. First and foremost, she has a huge issue with the MIL, that is a whole other story but to say the least she has some valid issues with the MIL i will not deny. But, a lot of the things she detests about the MIL she is guilty of herself. In my opinion, they are very similar people and they don’t even realize it. She claims MIL has a huge issue with boundaries and always wants to be part of all the plans that they make. She argues the MIL dictates and controls the situation every time, even if its a plan they invited her to (keep that in mind later). She is right she does do that. It is a very valid thing to have an issue with but on the other end they always want to do stuff with us when we dont! In the past we do and the BIL never DD’s, always gets fucked up on booze or if there isn’t freaks out (the rodeo). The SIL excuses it thinks its cute or has an attitude of ‘aw boys will be boys’ ( drunks will behave like drunks). SIL always wants to be home early for her dog or to smoke weed or both, which is fine if she takes her own vehicle but when she doesn’t its quite a bummer for the rest of us who are having a good time and dont want to exactly leave right when the fun starts. This happens a lot at family events. When SIL wants to leave early she will usually pawn off her husband to us to drive him home, which is not pleasant most of the time when he is drinking because he gets incoherently drunk and argumentative. SIL also dislikes the fact that MIL is very performative and makes out her life to be perfect, and pretends the very real and ever going family issues don’t exist. She is partially right about that but seeing both perspectives I can honestly say SIL is just as if not more performative than MIL. The most obvious reason for her being this way is the fact that she is her husbands biggest enabler. If my bf acted the way BIL acted I would not continue the relationship, but if I did I believe your duty as a partner is to keep each other in check and grow together. Instead, she often laughs it off and has the sentiment that thats just who he is. If she wants to leave early she pretty much gives us no choice but to give him a ride and its hard to say no considering we are neighbours ‘you’ll drive him home right? i told him not to be rude this time!’ (He almost always is, and drunk or sober never says thankyou btw). SIL also does this thing that I never noticed before because it was so subtle and I am trying not to think the worst of people, but until my friends and coworkers confirmed it with me I realized it was rude. So at first, I was still getting to know SIL and I honestly thought she was super down to earth and level headed I felt like I could confide to her and truly build a friendship. To preface, my boyfriend and I have a very happy relationship, but we, just like every other couple, have disagreements from time to time. Unfortunately I chose to vent to her at first and she would always reply something along the lines of ‘my husband NEVER does that, we are so good at communicating’ or ‘My husband always likes when I do that :)’. And the first times I thought nothing of it but then it dawned on me that she wasn’t being helpful, she was just complimenting herself while also putting my relationship down. Once I noticed this, I didn’t stop noticing it. I told her once how I regretted making fun of someone in high school while I was young and dumb and she replied ‘Oh, I was always nice to everyone i met and tried to always be kind:)’. These little comments were belittling me and almost making me feel ashamed for being vulnerable and admitting fault. And it was all disguised as being nice. She will do the same thing with my bf. She will have no issue talking about his faults while in the same breath saying her husband is nothing like that and they do x y and z better. I always hold my tongue when realistically I shouldn’t. If I had the same energy towards her husband she wouldn’t be as calm as I am. The thing is I know my bfs faults and I will agree if you point them out, same goes for my own. But to use our faults against us when we confide in you and you boost yourselves up with it and disguise it as giving advice? Thats not right. Lastly, already touched on this a bit but inconveniencing favours. We ask her for a ride once in a blue moon like im talking twice or 3 times a year if that, and she’s miraculously busy. But she’ll ask us (more me because my bf doesn’t answer anymore and as of now I wont either) to pick her something up at the store after a 9 hour day at work, meanwhile she works from home and her husband works in a city where he could also do the same errand. The other day she asked my bf if I was sleeping (it was 6-7am), and my bf says yes she is. She proceeds to text me while i unfortunately forgot to turn my ringer off. Now I may have fault in this for even entertaining her but Im the type of person who opens snapchats right away, I am trying to get better at this now. So despite my bf telling her Im sleeping aka do not disturb me, she texts me to go bang on her windows because her husband forgot to set his alarm. I told her just one second I will put my pants on and get out of bed and do that for her right away. I should have told her that she interrupted my sleep and went against what my boyfriend told her but I can be bad with people pleasing so I did it anyway. She constantly tells the family she doesnt sleep well with her back pain but she had no problem with the idea of interrupting mine to wake her husband up. She also complains about people walking over her boundaries but she literally ignored my bf saying I was asleep and messaged me anyway.
I think the main problem here is that they have issues as neighbours and as family members respecting boundaries and privacy. I don’t know what else will solve these issues other than my bf really addressing it all or just plain and simple moving out, which is not what we want to do because we love our house and put so much work into it. I could also address it but I feel like they may not be as receptive to me as they would my bf. UGH sorry that was long
submitted by whatitdoshordy to inlaws [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:24 rincongrl Maternity Leave/Not Signing Next Year’s Contract

Hi all. I’m a teacher in WA currently on maternity leave. My maternity leave goes through the end of the school year and I will be on Paid Family Medical Leave until July. Due to many issues I’m sure you all understand, I will not be returning to teaching next year.
Since I am on maternity leave now, I’m not quite sure the best way to exit. I’m not planning on signing next year’s contract, so what’s the best way forward for me? I was planning on going in and talking to my principal and department head and letting them know I’m not planning on returning, and immediately after emailing a letter of resignation to HR with my admin CCd. I am technically not breaking my current contract I don’t believe but should I reach out to HR first and confirm?
Additionally, do I have to worry about not receiving the remainder of my FMLA if I let them know my plans to not sign next year’s contract?
Thanks in advance for any insight!
submitted by rincongrl to TeachersInTransition [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:23 throwawayhelpla1 Landlord Refusing Walkthrough and other slimy stuff

Hello, I'm a local and a first time renter here in Los Angeles and I really need help or some kind of advice to make me feel less crazy.
I recently moved from a duplex in Glendale where my landlord is my neighbor and lives on the property.
They recently raised my rent from $1800 to $2000 starting may, and they alerted me at the end of March. I did the math, it's an 11% increase. Which I'm not sure is legal.
They also charged me a $500 pet deposit since I had kept my cats (I didnt have them when I first moved in) which are registered ESA animals. I had the letter sent to them in May of 2023.
Our lease had expired back in sept. So they made a new lease in April and I had to sign just cause I didn't know any better. It wasn't a full lease just an addendum for the higher rent and pet deposit.
I put my notice in on May 1st as well as paid the 2k for may rent, found a new place, and moved out most of my belongings. My mother and sister passed by to help yesterday morning to clean and she left it great.
I went last night to pick up a few things when I was met with one of the landlords who I have seen maybe 3 times in the 2 years I have rented there. I usually spoke to his sister who lived on the property and was the main landlord. I told him I was picking some things up and that Id return on the 15th at 6pm to do the final walk-through and he agreed.
Then he alerted me there was tons of broken glass and that a small window panel in my kitchen had been broken. This came as a shock since I hadn't been to the property in a couple days.
He immediately tried placing the blame on me or whoever I had in the house that morning. I had no knowledge and was positive it was not my mom as she wouldn't leave broken glass around even if she did break it. I called to ask and make sure and it was a shock to both of them as well.
We weren't there and suddenly in the afternoon around 3pm they noticed it broken. He told me the gardener was also here that morning and that the gardener would not have left the glass there. My speculation, they also have a child who comes afterschool and tends to play with his basketball in the driveway and always hits it against my wall, where the glass broke. But just speculation.
Is the broken window something I should make a police report about since we are both victims here? I left the broken glass that fell through to the inside as well. It looks like something hit it from the outside.
Later when I got home, the same landlord called me from a private number and told me I had caught him off guard with the walk-through, and that I should do my due diligence on my own and he will do his walk-through because he doesn't want me there to argue with him. Which took me off guard since I'd never complained about anything to them before.
I found this extremely unprofessional. I told him as a renter I have a right to be there at the walk-through and just flat denied anything I tried to say. (Yes I am a young woman) Then he became very confrontational when I was persistent, starting to shout that he didnt want arguments and that now I was arguing and trying to cause issues. I spoke to him very respectfully, so I don't know why he felt the need to feel attacked when I was standing up for myself and holding my ground. We hung up after that.
I know I may sound weak, but I got off the phone and I was shaking and wanted to cry from frustration. Because he continually accused us of the broken window, and how terrible he was speaking to me.
I just don't know what to do. Any help is appreciated thanks.
submitted by throwawayhelpla1 to Renters [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:22 Friendly_Pie_4544 Deleted company emails - am I in trouble?

Note: location US, west coast.
So I left my job a while back, and on my last day I prepared them for me leaving.
ex: cleaning my desk, organizing the files I had left, scanning docs and uploading them into appropriate software, adding things that needed to be sorted into a one drive and sharing w/ appropriate parties, etc.
working there I regularly cleared my PDF downloads when my computer got slow, and I also deleted all of the emails in my deleted folder on Outlook - permanently deleted them. They were pretty much just PDFs or conversations between me and coworkers (work related). I assume it’s all backed up somewhere though (?)
Well, before I left my manager and I got into a bit of a tiff. I’m a bit worried that they’ll be petty and try to sue or something. Could I get in trouble for perm. deleting those emails?
submitted by Friendly_Pie_4544 to legaladvice [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:21 centaurthighs Should I tell my boss I got into grad school?

I got a job offer and the very next day got my acceptance letter into grad school. I’ve been at my job for two months and school finally started this week.
I like my job. I really do. But I’m using my military benefits to pay for this school and I’m not turning up this opportunity.
It’s only my boss and I in the office. She’s awesome and it’s so chill. Sometimes we work from home and that’s super nice.
My grad school is all asynchronous so we do not have set meeting times.
I trust my boss so I want to be open with her. My program should last a little over a year. I don’t want her to think I’m going to jump ship once I graduate because I really don’t know if I want to leave this job nonetheless move.
submitted by centaurthighs to careerguidance [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:20 centaurthighs Should I tell my boss I got into grad school?

I got a job offer and the very next day got my acceptance letter into grad school. I’ve been at my job for two months and school finally started this week.
I like my job. I really do. But I’m using my military benefits to pay for this school and I’m not turning up this opportunity.
It’s only my boss and I in the office. She’s awesome and it’s so chill. Sometimes we work from home and that’s super nice.
My grad school is all asynchronous so we do not have set meeting times.
I trust my boss so I want to be open with her. My program should last a little over a year. I don’t want her to think I’m going to jump ship once I graduate because I really don’t know if I want to leave this job nonetheless move.
submitted by centaurthighs to AskWomenOver30 [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:17 PublicUpstairs84 My parents don't care?

Listen I've always had more or less of a good relationship with my parents. I've always been the kid that they didn't have to worry about since I'm the youngest and I never had any "actual" problems. My siblings on the other hand challenged my parents a lot. My siblings don't live with us anymore and now I live alone with my parents. I thought that maybe when my siblings leave they'll have more time for me or would show atleast an ounce of genuine interest but they give me nothing. Maybe I'm asking for too much? It's just that I can bring home a good grade and I get the same response when I bring home a bad grade "its fine" "you'll work it out" I don't get any feelings at all. I don't feel when they are proud neither when they're disappointed, it's always the same monotne reaction. Even now I'm a struggling a bit in school and they sent a letter home that I'm not keeping up well and my dad said "I never had to worry, you'll figure". I mean I appreciate that they trust me or that they believe in me, i guess. However I sometimes wished they worry about me or something. Maybe I'm being weird idk
(also sorry if there are any grammar mistakes or if you can't understand something, english isn't my first language!)
submitted by PublicUpstairs84 to internetparents [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:17 Fluid_Supermarket782 HMRC removed access to 30 hours childcare unjustly?

I have worked 16 hours a week for the living wage since September 2023.
I have two children; the eldest currently 4 who has qualified for 15 hours childcare since the term after she turned 3 (jan 2023) and 30 hours since I started work again in September, but only accessed these hours in jan 2024. My youngest is 2, and has only just qualified for 15 hours this month with the new scheme because I earn enough to qualify.
Back in February we received a message through the online portal asking to confirm my details, which we did. In early March we receive another message stating that I am not expected to earn enough money to qualify for my eldest to receive 30 hours child care. We refute this and reiterate that I do work 16 hours a week for the living wage (which is stated on the government website as being the requirement)
This weekend I receive a letter stating that a final decision has been made and that my YOUNGEST child shall be losing their 30 hours because I do not earn enough . Now, there is currently no such thing as 30 hours childcare for 2 year olds. I assume they have put the wrong name on the letter as all previous messages have been in reference to my eldest. My childcare provider have tried to chase this also and have confirmed that my eldest has indeed had her hours cut to 15. They are also confused by this.
I have checked all my payslips with my employer and done the math and I have not been underpaid. For 1 day I took unpaid leave to look after my two children as they both had a sickness bug and could not attend nursery.
Am I wrong to think this is an incredibly harsh reason to have my childcare hours cut? 1 day unpaid to care for a dependent? I have tried talking on the phone with them but have had a very blunt and cold response. As far as they are concerned it is my problem and that my only option is to take it to a tribunal.
Has anyone heard of the scenario before? I really don’t know what to do or if I really have any options.
submitted by Fluid_Supermarket782 to UKPersonalFinance [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:14 YouExcellent1831 I just walked out on my first ever sous chef position. Contemplating leaving industry.

Context:
I am 25. I grew up in a family who owned and operated pizzerias in NY. I had started working on the register when I was 13 and started summer jobs as a Bussehost when I was 14. The restaurants I worked FOH were 4star high end (worked for 3). I have also always had a serious passion for cooking. When I was 18 I moved out of my home and began working for a dairy farm, then transitioned to a smoothie/salad/vegan gluten free oriented places (19-21). I was a manager making specials like gf desserts, ready to eat salads, and also worked on their equivalent of a “line”. It was not refined whatsoever, clean, simple food. Did that for 2 years. Then quit during Covid after having tremendous stress, after helping reorient the entire business to be more grocery focused as we had a store front with organic, superfood tonics, meats, plant based stuff, etc. I had issues with the kitchen manager as she treated me differently than the other staff. I immediately applied for a junior sous position at a restaurant that was upscale dining, and after a trial day they were willing to train me on garde manger. I worked their and trained under two very capable chefs who were willing to teach me everything. One 36m another 29m who was actually head chef. I moved my way up to hotline after a yr and a half and was enjoying the job, environment, coworkers, and we would do about 200 covers a night in the summer. I carried on with the company for another year even after my head chef gave a months notice and took a much better more cdc job for a larger more high end company. I took on more responsibilities and and finally decided I had reached my ceiling of learning from that restaurant and I wanted to move overseas to broaden my skillset and resume but felt like I picked the wrong country/restaurants as the food was not on par even with the smoothie salad place I started at. I moved home a year later (2024) and was offered by my now cdc chef, same one who trained me and really vouched for me. I executed a 7 course tasting for the first time ever, dishes ranging from quiche, to pork chop, sole(which I had never cooked before), chicken pot pie, croquettes, salad, basque cheesecake, I made my own stock even, and I had a day of prep and the following day to plate. I landed the job over 4 other people. It was for a “family oriented” but upscale bistro as it was on main street in a very affluent town in NY. We have investors, had a full reno as the spot had been a local favorite for 30 years a recently sold. We lost a lot of time we were supposed to be in the kitchen and the prospective opening day was for May 3rd. It got pushed back to the 10th, friends and family 7th and 8th, training of staff was 5th and 6th, while simultaneously doing recipe testing with chefs that had been brought in from other existing locations. Unbeknownst to my cdc, the investor, and restaurant owner, they hired a head chef from nyc that made good food, but could not complete 95% of tasks that were crucial to opening a restaurant, onboarding employees, understanding the kind of volume our town does in summer, actually cooking volume, properly executing recipes, having any recipes of his own that weren’t fresh off google, said he spoke Spanish and then couldn’t communicate to our staff which were all Hispanic spare 1 line cook I hired and use to work with at my first job, the wastage was off the charts, he couldn’t do inventory properly, and spent half of the time speaking constantly and ignoring everyone thinking he’s “working hard”. I took it upon myself to try and execute recipes I had 3 days to learn, make stocks, train employees and learn how to schedule, organize a kitchen from the top down, clean kitchen after a full Reno, and my cdc and the business owner kept assuring me it was not my fault that things were going sideways and that the head chef was completely incompetent and they were actively looking for a replacement. I couldn’t keep up with the prep as hard as I tried, the walk in was a disaster. Felt like every time I organized it my head chef would receive an order and do things like put raw chicken on top of produce. I found cheeses on shelves and raw ground beef in dry storage left out overnight bc of him. He would just constantly talk and talk and talk about everything and nothing, call me in the off hours to talk about a tart mold that he wanted to make in house for 2 hours. Mention things I could do to loose weight, and it was just constant stimulation leading up to the actual opening and during. All the while he would delegate every single one of the the more complex recipe tasks to our untrained employees (sauce work, chopping herbs for garnish, cutting salmon, tuna for line and for Tartares) and I felt obligated to try and pick up as much of his slack. And if I’m being realistic, I as much as the owner and former cdc who hired me believed in me, I still had a lot of refinement to do in my skillset. I have very shakey hands by nature so my knife skills leave a lot to be desired. Also I can’t just bang out a beurre blanc or mornay without thinking about it. I still have to watch and follow a recipe a few time to get the hang of it even though I understand the principles well. I anticipated a balance between my head chef and I and direction. And the worst part is, he would agree to certain tasks and I was the only one trying to organize our flow of prep, made a detailed prep list because his made absolutely no sense, and we would split tasks, I’d execute mine, and he would spend 4 hours chopping mushrooms and par cooking them even though the pick up was raw as per the owner and cdc. It was absolutely maddening. I started having break downs everyday after work NEVER on site; even when to a psychiatrist in between one of our friends and family days to get the non narcotic equivalent of Xanax. I ended up walking out yesterday (13th). More like called and said I wasn’t coming back after my first day off in a week of straight 14 hour days constantly trying to pick up the pieces my head left behind. I have never walked out a job. But now after all of this, I am questioning whether I will ever be able to have a management position in the kitchen. Asking myself, did I progress too quickly? Am I just not capable? Have I completely exhausted myself in the kitchen? Also, I am sober spare nicotene which I consume like an absolute fiend right now. Any insight is appreciated. Please feel free to ask for more context as this is quite the ramble. Also have photos for reference of the food I’ve cooked over the years .
submitted by YouExcellent1831 to Chefit [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:13 Yurii_S_Kh Dachau 1945: The Souls of All Are Aflame

Dachau 1945: The Souls of All Are Aflame
by Douglas Cramer
https://preview.redd.it/8ij0zm5txf0d1.png?width=300&format=png&auto=webp&s=eea54710e6a5b2cbd7901d2547cd7938334e74e9
The Dachau concentration camp was opened in 1933 in a former gunpowder factory. The first prisoners interred there were political opponents of Adolf Hitler, who had become German chancellor that same year. During the twelve years of the camp's existence, over 200,000 prisoners were brought there. The majority of prisoners at Dachau were Christians, including Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox clergy and lay people.
Countless prisoners died at Dachau, and hundreds were forced to participate in the cruel medical experiments conducted by Dr. Sigmund Rascher. When prisoners arrived at the camp they were beaten, insulted, shorn of their hair, and had all their belongings taken from them. The SS guards could kill whenever they thought it was appropriate. Punishments included being hung on hooks for hours, high enough that heels did not touch the ground; being stretched on trestles; being whipped with soaked leather whips; and being placed in solitary confinement for days on end in rooms too small to lie down in.
The abuse of the prisoners reached its end in the spring of 1945. The events of that Holy Week were later recorded by one of the prisoners, Gleb Rahr. Rahr grew up in Latvia and fled with his family to Nazi Germany when the Russians invaded. He was arrested by the Gestapo because of his membership in an organization that opposed both fascism and communism. Originally imprisoned in Buchenwald, he was transported to Dachau near the end of the war.
In fact, Rahr was one of the survivors of the infamous “death trains,” as they were called by the American G.I.’s who discovered them. Thousands of prisoners from different camps had been sent to Dachau in open rail cars. The vast majority of them died horrific deaths from starvation, dehydration, exposure, sickness, and execution.
In a letter to his parents the day after the liberation, G.I. William Cowling wrote, “As we crossed the track and looked back into the cars the most horrible sight I have ever seen met my eyes. The cars were loaded with dead bodies. Most of them were naked and all of them skin and bones. Honest their legs and arms were only a couple of inches around and they had no buttocks at all. Many of the bodies had bullet holes in the back of their heads.”
Marcus Smith, one of the US Army personnel assigned to Dachau, also described the scene in his 1972 book, The Harrowing of Hell.
Refuse and excrement are spread over the cars and grounds. More of the dead lie near piles of clothing, shoes, and trash. Apparently some had crawled or fallen out of the cars when the doors were opened, and died on the grounds. One of our men counts the boxcars and says that there are thirty-nine. Later I hear that there were fifty, that the train had arrived at the camp during the evening of April 27, by which time all of the passengers were supposed to be dead so that the bodies could be disposed of in the camp crematorium. But this could not be done because there was no more coal to stoke the furnaces. Mutilated bodies of German soldiers are also on the ground, and occasionally we see an inmate scream at the body of his former tormentor and kick it. Retribution!
Gates of Dachau Concentration Camp
Rahr was one of the over 4,000 Russian prisoners at Dachau at the time of the liberation. The liberated prisoners also included over 1,200 Christian clergymen. After the war, Rahr immigrated to the United States, where he taught Russian History at the University of Maryland. He later worked for Radio Free Europe. His account of the events at Dachau in 1945 begins with his arrival at the camp:
April 27th: The last transport of prisoners arrives from Buchenwald. Of the 5,000 originally destined for Dachau, I was among the 1,300 who had survived the trip. Many were shot, some starved to death, while others died of typhus. . . .
April 28th: I and my fellow prisoners can hear the bombardment of Munich taking place some 30 km from our concentration camp. As the sound of artillery approaches ever nearer from the west and the north, orders are given proscribing prisoners from leaving their barracks under any circumstances. SS-soldiers patrol the camp on motorcycles as machine guns are directed at us from the watch-towers, which surround the camp.
April 29th: The booming sound of artillery has been joined by the staccato bursts of machine gun fire. Shells whistle over the camp from all directions. Suddenly white flags appear on the towers—a sign of hope that the SS would surrender rather than shoot all prisoners and fight to the last man. Then, at about 6:00 p.m., a strange sound can be detected emanating from somewhere near the camp gate which swiftly increases in volume. . . .
The sound came from the dawning recognition of freedom. Lt. Col. Walter Fellenz of the US Seventh Army described the greeting from his point of view:
Several hundred yards inside the main gate, we encountered the concentration enclosure, itself. There before us, behind an electrically charged, barbed wire fence, stood a mass of cheering, half-mad men, women and children, waving and shouting with happiness—their liberators had come! The noise was beyond comprehension! Every individual (over 32,000) who could utter a sound, was cheering. Our hearts wept as we saw the tears of happiness fall from their cheeks.
Rahr’s account continues:
Finally all 32,600 prisoners join in the cry as the first American soldiers appear just behind the wire fence of the camp. After a short while electric power is turned off, the gates open and the American G.I.’s make their entrance. As they stare wide-eyed at our lot, half-starved as we are and suffering from typhus and dysentery, they appear more like fifteen-year-old boys than battle-weary soldiers. . . .
An international committee of prisoners is formed to take over the administration of the camp. Food from SS stores is put at the disposal of the camp kitchen. A US military unit also contributes some provision, thereby providing me with my first opportunity to taste American corn. By order of an American officer radio-receivers are confiscated from prominent Nazis in the town of Dachau and distributed to the various national groups of prisoners. The news comes in: Hitler has committed suicide, the Russians have taken Berlin, and German troops have surrendered in the South and in the North. But the fighting still rages in Austria and Czechoslovakia. . . .
Naturally, I was ever cognizant of the fact that these momentous events were unfolding during Holy Week. But how could we mark it, other than through our silent, individual prayers? A fellow-prisoner and chief interpreter of the International Prisoner's Committee, Boris F., paid a visit to my typhus-infested barrack—“Block 27”—to inform me that efforts were underway in conjunction with the Yugoslav and Greek National Prisoner's Committees to arrange an Orthodox service for Easter day, May 6th.
There were Orthodox priests, deacons, and a group of monks from Mount Athos among the prisoners. But there were no vestments, no books whatsoever, no icons, no candles, no prosphoras, no wine. . . . Efforts to acquire all these items from the Russian church in Munich failed, as the Americans just could not locate anyone from that parish in the devastated city. Nevertheless, some of the problems could be solved. The approximately four hundred Catholic priests detained in Dachau had been allowed to remain together in one barrack and recite mass every morning before going to work. They offered us Orthodox the use of their prayer room in “Block 26,” which was just across the road from my own “block.”
The chapel was bare, save for a wooden table and a Czenstochowa icon of the Theotokos hanging on the wall above the table—an icon which had originated in Constantinople and was later brought to Belz in Galicia, where it was subsequently taken from the Orthodox by a Polish king. When the Russian Army drove Napoleon's troops from Czenstochowa, however, the abbot of the Czenstochowa Monastery gave a copy of the icon to czar Alexander I, who placed it in the Kazan Cathedral in Saint-Petersburg where it was venerated until the Bolshevik seizure of power. A creative solution to the problem of the vestments was also found. New linen towels were taken from the hospital of our former SS-guards. When sewn together lengthwise, two towels formed an epitrachilion and when sewn together at the ends they became an orarion. Red crosses, originally intended to be worn by the medical personnel of the SS guards, were put on the towel-vestments.
On Easter Sunday, May 6th (April 23rd according to the Church calendar)—which ominously fell that year on Saint George the Victory-Bearer's Day—Serbs, Greeks and Russians gathered at the Catholic priests’ barracks. Although Russians comprised about 40 percent of the Dachau inmates, only a few managed to attend the service. By that time “repatriation officers” of the special Smersh units had arrived in Dachau by American military planes, and begun the process of erecting new lines of barbed wire for the purpose of isolating Soviet citizens from the rest of the prisoners, which was the first step in preparing them for their eventual forced repatriation.
In the entire history of the Orthodox Church there has probably never been an Easter service like the one at Dachau in 1945. Greek and Serbian priests together with a Serbian deacon wore the make-shift “vestments” over their blue and gray-striped prisoner’s uniforms. Then they began to chant, changing from Greek to Slavonic, and then back again to Greek. The Easter Canon, the Easter Sticheras—everything was recited from memory. The Gospel—“In the beginning was the Word”—also from memory.
And finally, the Homily of Saint John Chrysostom—also from memory. A young Greek monk from the Holy Mountain stood up in front of us and recited it with such infectious enthusiasm that we shall never forget him as long as we live. Saint John Chrysostomos himself seemed to speak through him to us and to the rest of the world as well! Eighteen Orthodox priests and one deacon—most of whom were Serbs—participated in this unforgettable service. Like the sick man who had been lowered through the roof of a house and placed in front of the feet of Christ the Savior, the Greek Archimandrite Meletios was carried on a stretcher into the chapel, where he remained prostrate for the duration of the service.
Other prisoners at Dachau included the recently canonized Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, who later became the first administrator of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the US and Canada; and the Very Reverend Archimandrite Dionysios, who after the war was made Metropolitan of Trikkis and Stagnon in Greece.
Fr. Dionysios had been arrested in 1942 for giving asylum to an English officer fleeing the Nazis. He was tortured for not revealing the names of others involved in aiding Allied soldiers and was then imprisoned for eighteen months in Thessalonica before being transferred to Dachau. During his two years at Dachau, he witnessed Nazi atrocities and suffered greatly himself. He recorded many harrowing experiences in his book Ieroi Palmoi. Among these were regular marches to the firing squad, where he would be spared at the last moment, ridiculed, and then returned to the destitution of the prisoners’ block.
After the liberation, Fr. Dionysios helped the Allies to relocate former Dachau inmates and to bring some normalcy to their disrupted lives. Before his death, Metropolitan Dionysios returned to Dachau from Greece and celebrated the first peacetime Orthodox Liturgy there. Writing in 1949, Fr. Dionysios remembered Pascha 1945 in these words:
In the open air, behind the shanty, the Orthodox gather together, Greeks and Serbs. In the center, both priests, the Serb and the Greek. They aren't wearing golden vestments. They don't even have cassocks. No tapers, no service books in their hands. But now they don't need external, material lights to hymn the joy. The souls of all are aflame, swimming in light.
Blessed is our God. My little paper-bound New Testament has come into its glory. We chant “Christ is Risen” many times, and its echo reverberates everywhere and sanctifies this place.
Hitler's Germany, the tragic symbol of the world without Christ, no longer exists. And the hymn of the life of faith was going up from all the souls; the life that proceeds buoyantly toward the Crucified One of the verdant hill of Stein.
On April 29, 1995—the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Dachau—the Russian Orthodox Memorial Chapel of Dachau was consecrated. Dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ, the chapel holds an icon depicting angels opening the gates of the concentration camp and Christ Himself leading the prisoners to freedom. The simple wooden block conical architecture of the chapel is representative of the traditional funeral chapels of the Russian North. The sections of the chapel were constructed by experienced craftsmen in the Vladimir region of Russia, and assembled in Dachau by veterans of the Western Group of Russian Forces just before their departure from Germany in 1994. The priests who participated in the 1945 Paschal Liturgy are commemorated at every service held in the chapel, along with all Orthodox Christians who lost their lives “at this place, or at another place of torture.”
submitted by Yurii_S_Kh to SophiaWisdomOfGod [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:08 AcceptableAnything13 Crushing on my coworker while engaged

This is a crazy thing to post but I think it’s time I tell somebody about it.
I am starting to have a big crush on someone at work but I am engaged. Long post ahead.
Back story: my now fiancée had cheated on me in the past with a coworker. He had told me he has had feelings for her for a long time and she had broken up with her boyfriend and told my fiancée she had feelings for him. This started a whole spiral. We ended up breaking up and during that time, he had been seeing hesleeping with her. About 3 weeks after we break up, he reached out to me and regretted everything. Eventually we ended up back together and got engaged. I have forgiven him but obviously it still hurts me and we talk about and he always gives me the reassurance I need.
Fast forward to now: I am starting to have a huge crush on my coworker. He is very cute, is sweet, we have common interests, and has his shit together. We have gone for coffee breaks/lunches alone a couple times and talk frequently. We don’t follow each other on socials though. He has also has a gf. I’m really not sure if he likes me too, I get confused lol. Not to say I think my coworker is perfect, I do see human flaws and I’m trying not to put him on a pedestal. But I am so attracted to him.
Mt fiancée is far from perfect but I love him so much and he is my best friend. But other than the obvious, I worry about his drinking habits. When he gets drunk he can be so rude and call me names, he has even throw/broke things when drunk. He has never hit me/gotten physical with me.
All this to say, it’s been putting thoughts in my head about leaving him. But I stop myself every time and remind myself the grass is not greener and I could regret it all. This crush has brought up so many feelings, and I am just feeling lost. I don’t want too much judgement, maybe some advice or if anyone has had a similar experience.
TL;DR: I am crushing on my coworker and it is bringing up feelings about leaving my fiancée who has cheated on me in the past.
submitted by AcceptableAnything13 to relationships [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:06 sunnylane28 Should I tell my cousin I caught her in a lie?

My Cousin(38F) and I(34F) have been very close all our lives, like sisters. She visited me this past weekend and it was great to get together as we haven't really had much one on one time since pre pandemic. After I left I found out that she had been telling me a big lie about this romantic story that she went on and on about the whole weekend. I literally feel like I'm in a twilight zone and I don't know whether I should mention it to her or not. I want to be helpful to her and not make her feel embarrassed or isolated.
Some backstory: She's always been a big drinker. Our past visits have usually had at least one night where shit kind of hits the fan and she's super wasted and just acting like an alcoholic. This trip she didn't drink at all which was great because I was prepared for a shit show. She's also always been a bit of a liar- nothing crazy big, but just lies to avoid confrontation, make situations seem different than they are, lies of omission, etc. I feel like the lying is something that goes along with the addiction and also a somewhat traumatic upbringing (some physical/emotional abuse from her parents). This visit was really nice because it's the first time she's visited me and my daughter and it was nice to have time to show her that she is an important part of my daughter's life and that just because she's not married/with kids doesn't mean that she's not special. I don't want a confrontation about the lie to ruin the nice weekend.
So essentially the first day of the visit she tells me she barely slept because she had just professed her love for her coworker and was up thinking about it. She tells me the whole story- they've been flirting for 10 months, they take all their breaks together, they text and there's lots of sexual innuendos, etc. She walks to and from work and he's offered her a ride home a few times. So he gives her a ride home the day before she visits me and she says she finally decided to go for it and tell him how she feels. She told him she wanted to kiss him, they have a long hug, there's an awkward pause, etc but no kiss. So the whole weekend she's asking me, "I know he has feelings for me but he'll never make the first move- should I just go for it and kiss him?" etc etc etc. So we're dissecting the whole situation throughout the weekend, she's making little funny remarks about her and "Bob" dating, etc. I told her my stance was like, "well you already laid it all on the line and told him how you feel, I think the ball is in his court and if he can't get some courage to make a move then forget about it because he's not worth it." And she's basically just like, "I'm gonna go for it!" Dropping her off at the airport she even joked that she'll be pregnant with "Bob's" baby in 6 months. WELL after she leaves I'm curious to find more info on him just to see like what his deal is. I search the people she follows on IG and found his account. HE'S MARRIED WITH AN 8 MONTH OLD BABY. And she has liked MANY of his photos of him and his kid, he's wearing a ring in all his photos, his wife is all over his page, etc. There is no guessing or doubting here. I had also asked her straight up if she knew whether he was single or not (because why would he not make a move after all this time and tension) and she said yes, he's single.
A few things I'm considering... it makes me sad that she feels that this is all she is worth. I want to tell her that she deserves better than being the "other woman" and I also want her to know that she'll never find what she wants if she can't be honest with herself. It is a completely different situation if she came to me and said, "I have a crush on my coworker, we have a great connection, but he's married and I don't know how to handle it." Then we'd start talking about boundaries, how she deserves more than a scumbag who's clearing crossing some lines, we could maybe get into why she's attracted to someone off limits (self sabotage, self worth, whatever). This is not her first time that she's been hooking up with a guy in a relationship. It also makes me feel fucking weird to be lied to like that. (I don't take the lying personally, but like I said it's a twilight zone feeling.) Like why bring it up at all? Dude just go about your day being a home wrecker but keep it to yourself and I would never know. I feel like lying about it is her way of trying to hear the answer she wants to validate her choice to do something she knows is wrong. It's all so fucked up on her end let alone the dude who is sexting someone else while his wife goes through her postpartum time. Gross.
*I also should mention that during this trip she told me that for the past 2 years she's had some 1-2 week stints of pretty intense depression where she doesn't know her purpose, doesn't know the point of life, she's not suicidal but she's super depressed. I asked if she's gone to therapy for it (which we've talked about many times before) and she said, "No, but I don't think it will happen again." She's also said many times over the years that she's blocked out most of her childhood. Like, there's some deep issues here and it breaks my heart because she is a wonderful person.
I want to say something, but I don't want to negate the good weekend we had. I also am fully aware that there is a 99% chance that what I say won't make a difference, won't magically get her to go to therapy, won't fix her problems, etc. There have been many times in the past that I've wanted to say something (usually about her drinking) but I haven't because of those reasons. Of course no one can predict her reaction, but is there any safe way to bring any of this up without making her mental health worse? I kind of want to say something like, "It makes me sad that you felt the need to lie about Bob's situation that he's married with a baby. I want to support you but it's hard for me to do that when I don't know the truth of what's going on. You are a wonderful person and you deserve more than what you're giving yourself. I want to be there for you through this, but based on what you said about having some intense depressive episodes the past couple years will you consider reaching out to a therapist?" OR maybe I just text her like, "I don't think you should pursue Bob considering he's married with a baby. He's crossed some lines but you deserve better than to be the other woman. It's not too late to do the right thing." She has such low self worth that I fear that calling out the lie will bring her down even more. There's also a part of me that's just never spoken up about stuff and I worry about being too passive/an enabler. Like I want to feel good about the choice I make either way.
submitted by sunnylane28 to askatherapist [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:00 EmperorJJ Sometimes you CAN change someone's mind, and it's worth it

American story time: I was talking to a coworker the other day. He's conservative, considers himself socially progressive and doesn't align entirely with the Republican party, but was telling me why he was going to vote for Trump instead of Biden. It was fascinating.
He's never been disrespectful toward me, but had stayed away from our local community for the past few years after he got labeled a homophobe for voting for Trump the last time. He only just came back to the job because his wife is also working with us now.
He was trying to justify himself to me. Tried to prove to me that he's not homophobic or transphobic, he just hates Biden.
I like the guy. We've worked together for a while and politics had never come up. He's polite, respectful, a good worker, and fun to be around.
The conversation wasn't tense. I listened to him, to his fears and feelings, and at the end of the conversation I told him I understand, but that from my perspective one side wants to ban my existence, stop my access to healthcare, and that if things go that way my partner and I might have no choice but to try to leave the country. I truly don't think he had ever thought about the situation from the perspective of the oppressed before. It changed his whole demeanor, I could see him rethinking everything he had just said to me. His fears suddenly sounded arbitrary in comparison.
I watched my dad go through something similar. My dad is a Christian pastor and has been very conservative my whole life. He WAS homophobic and transphobic. When I came out I think he started hearing parts of the conservative agenda that he had never heard before because he never related to them.
I started very intentionally introducing him to my queer friends after I came out, people who were kind and respectful and easy to get along with. He's like a completely different person now. He's more empathetic, he doesn't engage in politics anymore, he's become a Christian advocate for the queer community.
I don't know when people stopped having heart to hearts about differing feelings and opinions. Obviously not everyone's mind can be changed, but I think most folks who think they hate us or vote against our rights don't even know who or what we are, or why we disagree with them.
I know we don't owe anyone our time or energy, we don't owe anyone an explanation and we don't owe them education about us, but when we can spare it I truly think it makes a huge difference for people.
submitted by EmperorJJ to honesttransgender [link] [comments]


2024.05.14 21:00 Sola_Sista_94 Cookies 'n' Dreams: Parts Seven and Eight (Fanfic)

"Himiko?" Kokichi knocked on the door to Himiko and Tenko's room later that night. Himiko had taken a long nap after such a disappointing day. But, before she fell asleep, she reflected deeply on what Kokichi had told her. She had to admit that he was right, that she needed to a better attitude about herself. But, how to do that, she didn't know. She suddenly remembered his words: You should be smart, confident, and capable of doing things your way. Her way? What was her way, exactly?
"Himiko?" Kokichi whispered a little louder. Himiko opened her eyes, hearing Kokichi calling out to her. She scrambled out of bed and went over to answer the door. Kokichi smiled at her with his usual cheeky grin. "Hey, sleepyhead! Are you still planning on selling cookies?" Himiko took a deep breath and nodded. Kokichi had given her some courage to actually try things and take chances, to try and overcome self-doubt.
"Yeah. I'm ready," she said. There was still a part of her that didn't want to, but she forced that part of her into silence. She lifted her chin and smiled at him. "I'm ready, Kokichi." Kokichi smiled back at her.
"Alright, Monkey Buns!" he cheered, giving her a high five and then a hug. "Same place?"
"Alright," Himiko nodded. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She remembered what Kokichi had told her earlier about being smart and confident her way. "But, on the way over there, can we stop by my, um..." She paused to whisper. "...secret lair? "
"Ooooh?" Kokichi murmured with a curious smile. "Yeah, we can stop by." Himiko nodded and retreated back into her room to grab the two tin bowls of cookies she had baked with Three and Ten.
"Nyeh...okay, I'm ready," Himiko said. Kokichi took her hand in his, and the two crept downstairs. Some of the others were still in the dining room eating dinner, so Kokichi and Himiko had to leave through the front door to get to Himiko's secret magic room under the gazebo. Kokichi stood outside to keep watch while Himiko went inside her magic room. Once inside, she went for her magical dream powder bottle and poured some of its purple, sparkly contents into a small vial, hiding it in one of her jacket's pockets. Then, she met back up with Kokichi.
"Now I'm ready," she said.
"Okie-dokie!" Kokichi replied, taking the tin bowls from Himiko to hold them for her. "Let's go, HimikoCocoa Bean!" They then hurried over to D.I.C.E. headquarters.
"Boss!" Four said, jumping up from the couch. "And Boss Lady!"
"Hey, Ichiro," Kokichi and Himiko replied.
"Wanna hear a song that I heard on the radio?" Four asked. He cleared his throat, and began singing without waiting for a response. "If you like piña coladaaaaas, and getting caught in the rai-"
"Okay, Ichiro, that's enough," Kokichi interrupted, wincing from Four's terrible voice.
"Urgh...thank you!" Five exclaimed as she wrapped Kokichi's cape around him. After Three placed Kokichi's hat on his head, she turned to Himiko.
"So, Himiko, did you sell a lot of cookies?" she asked eagerly. Himiko gave her an apologetic look and shook her head. Three's shoulders slumped.
"Oh..." she said softly.
"What? Why?" Ten asked. "Did they not like them? Because I put all my blood, sweat, and tears into those things! Er...well, not literally...duh."
"Yeah, I hope not!" Two exclaimed, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "I bet there are people in this world who actually do stuff like that!"
"Nee-heehee...I know a very horny someone who'd do something like that," Kokichi said.
"The tin bowls are still so full!" Three said, her voice dripping with disappointment.
"It's not really the cookies that people didn't like, Keiko," Himiko said. "It was because of me."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Nine asked.
"Well, I'm not really popular at school to begin with," Himiko said. "But, I wasn't really trying my best to sell them because I didn't think I could."
"Ouch," Six muttered.
"Oh, well...still!" Three huffed. "They could have at least tried your cookies, anyways! Those...those...clowns! " Then she turned to nobody in particular. "No offense, me," she mumbled to herself before turning back to Himiko.
"Hey, no offense to the rest of us, either!" Four said.
"Should we take offense?" Nine asked. "It's not like we're actual professional clow-"
"We get it, Hideyo!" everyone but Himiko interrupted simultaneously.
"Nyeh, well...anyways, thanks to Kokichi, I've decided to try again," Himiko said, giving Kokichi a shy smile.
"Aww, HimiCocoa Bean, you're making me blush!" Kokichi teased, wrapping his arm around her waist. "But, I only get half the credit. You should give yourself credit, too!"
"And you should give us those cookies," Four said, pointing to the tin bowls in Kokichi's hand.
"Himiko, are you still going to sell these?" Kokichi asked. Himiko thought for a moment. She remembered what Tsumugi said about chocolate chip cookies being plain and boring.
"No," she finally answered. "Actually, I've decided to go with Ten's plan from earlier."
"Right! Um...wait, what plan was that again?" Ten asked.
"The plan to make the snickerdoodles," Himiko said.
"Oh, yeah!" Ten remembered, a grin crossing his face.
"But, I wanna add a secret ingredient of mine," Himiko said.
"I hope it's not blood, sweat, and tears," Two said, shuddering.
"Why not?" Seven asked with a creepy smile. "Don't you like that salty, metallic flavor in your cookies?"
"Ew! Yuck! Kokichi, make her stop!" Five said, covering her ears.
"Tsukiko, don't make me tell Emi to get Mr. Sparkles," Kokichi warned. Seven hid under a blanket.
"No, please. Anything but that accursed pink and plushy unicorn!" she hissed. Five grinned smugly at her.
"Can we help you bake again, Himiko?" Three asked hopefully.
"Nyeh...of course!" Himiko answered.

"Neat-o! Let's get started!" Ten said, rubbing his hands enthusiastically. Kokichi nodded to Himiko encouragingly, and she followed Three and Ten to the kitchen. They soon got started on the batter. Himiko removed the vial of dream powder from her pocket.
"Oooo! What is that stuff?" Three asked, entranced by the purple, glittery powder.
"Hopefully the thing that'll win over any potential customers," Himiko answered before pouring the powder into the mixture. She mixed the batter until it became a shiny, glittering harmony of many colors.
"Holy Constantinople-y!" Ten exclaimed. "What the heck kind of secret ingredient is that?!"
"The batter looks so...pretty!" Three breathed in awe. "It's so...shiny and sparkly!" Then, she lowered her voice. "Is this...some of your magic, Himiko?"
"Nyeh...that's right," Himiko nodded.
"I know this is might sound like a dumb question, but...are you allowed to do that?" Ten asked.
"Nobody at school knows about my magic except for Kokichi," Himiko said. "So, technically, it's not not allowed. And besides, Kokichi said that I need to be smart and confident my way. And magic is my way of doing just that."
Part Eight
Sunday afternoon. Himiko took a deep breath, deeply breathing in the warm air as a gentle breeze flowed around her. Today, she felt lucky. She stood behind her table at the front of the school. Above her was a more colorful, glittery sign she and Three had worked on with the word, "Snoozydoodles," written in swirly letters. Hopefully it would be enough to bring in some customers. Her snickerdoodles were laid out on three large trays in front of her so that the other students could see their colorful and sparkly design.
"Hiya, Himiko!" came a cheerful voice. Himiko looked up and was surprised to see Three.
"Keiko?" she whispered. "Nyeh...what are you doing here?"
"I decided to come and cheer you on...and to make sure the turd buckets here buy your cookies," Three replied. "I put some love and special care into those cookies, and I didn't bust my tail just to have nobody buy them!"
"Nyeh...but...Ten and I worked on them, too," Himiko pointed out. "And I put my 'special ingredient' in them."
"I know," Three said. "But, I feel like if I worked hard on something, either by myself or in a group, I'd like for the world to see it, that's all."
"I understand," Himiko said with a small smile. "Wait...this is supposed to be a competition between me and Kokichi! I don't think he'd appreciate you helping me out, especially since I should be doing this myself."
"Well, I'll just be here for emotional support, then!" Three said. Himiko smiled gratefully and nodded.
"I guess that's okay," she said. " Thanks, Keiko. I like your outfit, by the way." Three scanned her outfit proudly. Instead of her D.I.C.E. uniform, she wore an oversized, cream-colored fluffy sweater over a short, pink ruffled skirt. She wore a pair of white tights with some loose pink socks and a pair of black and white checkered lolita shoes with pink straps. In her hair were pink bows over each pigtail.
"Eeee! Thank you!" she squealed happily. "It's not very often I get to go out in cutesy clothes like this, unless I'm undercover! Well...I guess you might say I'm going undercover right now, but...eh, whatever."
"Speaking of which, why are your shoes checkered?" Himiko asked. "Won't that give you away? Part of the reason why people know your organization is because of the checker pattern scarves...which makes me wonder how people haven't suspected Kokichi being part of...you-know-what."
"Heehee...I call that the 'Sailor Moon Effect,'" Three giggled. "But, anyway, when members of the organization are wearing casual clothes, we have to wear some article of clothing with a black and white checkered pattern to let other members know our affiliation. The beauty of it is that there are people not affiliated with us who wear checker patterned clothing, so it gives us a chance to blend in as if we're just regular people. That's why we have a codeword to tell the difference between members and the 'reggies.'"

"What's the codeword?" Himiko asked. Three leaned in closer to Himiko.

"'Funny business,' " she whispered.
"Nyeh...that's actually really cool," Himiko admitted with a smile.
"Yeah! You should really join, Himiko!" Three said. "I think you'll have lots of fun!"
"Fun with what?" asked Tenko, suddenly appearing with Angie and Tsumugi behind her. She had a frown on her face and marched right up to Three. "Himiko, who's this girl, and what's she trying to get you to join? WAIT!! Is this girl the friend you were talking about?! The one who helped you bake cookies yesterday?!"
"Yeah," Himiko nodded.
"Hey! I recognize you!" Angie said. "You're one of the girls who rescued Himiko from that crazy girl many months ago!" Three brightened.
"Yeah! That's me!" she said.
"Tuh...I could have rescued Himiko, you know," Tenko huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at Three.
"Well...why didn't you?" Three asked.
"Urgh...!" Tenko scoffed. "Who do you think you are?!"
"I'm Michika!" Three lied, using one of her aliases. "I'm here to support Himiko with her cookie sale!"
"She doesn't need your support," Tenko said, stepping in between Three and Himiko. "Himiko already has me! Right, Himiko?"
"Umm..." Himiko mumbled.
"Of course you do!" Tenko interrupted.
"But...you didn't even let her finish," Three said.
"I didn't have to," Tenko said. "I already knew what she was thinking because we're best friends."
"Well...then...if you're her best friend, why dont'cha buy a cookie?" Three suggested craftily.
"Hmph! I will!" Tenko scoffed and turned to Himiko. "How much for a cookie, Himiko?"
"Nyeh...same as before," Himiko answered. Tenko paid ¥500 and grabbed a shimmery, glittering light green snickerdoodle from one of the trays. "Ooo, these are pretty, Himiko! Did you bake them all by yourself?"
"No, um...Michika helped me again," Himiko answered. Tenko glared at Three and flipped her hair at her.
"Well...they're okay, then," she said haughtily. "But, they're extra special because you helped, Himiko!"
"What are these cookies called, Himiko?" Tsumugi asked, scrutinizing a glittering blue cookie.
"Nyeh...they're called 'Snoozydoodles,'" Himiko answered. "They're snickerdoodles, but a special kind of snickerdoodles."
"Oooo! Why are they called 'Snoozydoodles?'" asked Angie.
"You have to eat them right before going to sleep to find out," Himiko answered mysteriously. Tenko hovered her cookie in front of her mouth.
"Oh! So, I have to eat this right before bed?" she asked.
"That's right," Himiko nodded.
"Aw, that's so creative, Himiko!" Tenko cried in adoration. "You're really clever, too! I bet you thought of the name!" Three rolled her eyes in annoyance. Himiko provided a little baggy for Tenko to put her cookie in, and provided some for Angie and Tsumugi, as well, after they had paid for their cookies.
"Thank you, Himiko," Tsumugi said.

"Yes! Yes! Thank you, Himiko!" Angie chirped.
"Well...I guess we'd better try out the other cookies," Tsumugi said. "Everyone else said they'd have different flavors of cookies, too. Although, I don't think I'll try Kokichi's after what happened yesterday. I can plainly still feel the burn on my tongue."
"Hmm...I thought his cookies were divine!" Angie exclaimed. "I have never felt such an intense rush of heat before! Especially in a cookie!"
"Leave it up to a degenerate male to bake something so...horrible! " Tenko spat. Three raised a brow at her.
"Degenerate male?" she repeated. She didn't like hearing her boss being referred to that way.
"Yeah! Males are all scum of the Earth!" Tenko said. "Kind of like...best friend stealers."
"I wasn't trying to steal your best friend," Three said, fed up with Tenko.

"Huh...why did you assume I was talking about you? " Tenko asked. "You know what happens to people who assume things, don't you?"

"They end up knocking all 32 teeth out of the person accusing them of assuming things?" Three replied, trying to keep her cool.
"And you're violent!" Tenko shouted. "You're clearly a bad influence on Himiko!" Three stared at her in disbelief, creating an awkward silence to linger in the air.
"Well, um...I guess we should be going then," Tsumugi said, hurriedly yanking Angie away. "C'mon, Angie. Tenko? Are you coming?"

"No. I think I'll stay right here and help Himiko, since she clearly needs my support," Tenko said, glowering at Three.
"Tenko..." Himiko sighed in exasperation, but Three merely smiled sweetly at Tenko.
"Oh, my gosh! Where'd you get your outfit?" she asked. Tenko looked down quizzically at her outfit.
"W-Why...do you want to know?" she replied with suspicion.
"It's just so pretty!" Three replied. "Are you, like, the Ultimate Princess, or the Ultimate Cheerleader, or something?"
"Um...n-no...I'm the Ultimate Aikido Master," Tenko stammered as a small blush appeared on her face.
"Oh, wow! That's even better!" Three exclaimed. "I bet you give those...degenerate males...what they deserve all the time!" The hardened look on Tenko's face from before disappeared.
"You bet I do!" she said proudly.
"Oh...I wish I could be like you!" Three breathed. "You're, like, my hero! I bet you're a hero to girls everywhere!" Tenko lowered her head bashfully, blushing like crazy.
"N-No...I'm not all that...great," she sputtered.
"I bet you'd do anything for girls, huh?" Three asked.
"Oh, yes!" Tenko answered. "So long as you aren't a degenerate male, you're a friend of mine!"
Says the girl who just accused me of stealing her best friend, Three thought to herself. "Hooray! I'm happy to hear that! But...to tell you the truth, I can't believe you just ditched your other friends. They were girls, after all, and you just let them walk right into the school where they could be potential prey for those boys-er...I mean, degenerate males." Tenko gasped with realization.
"Oh, my gosh! You're so right!" she cried. "But...what about Himiko?"
"I'll look after her," Three said. "You trust me, right? I am a girl after all."
"Ohhh...well, okay," Tenko said. Then, she smiled. "I'll trust you, Michika! Take care of Himiko!"
"Oh, I will!" Three said. "Bye! Goodbye!" Tenko waved goodbye, leaving Himiko and Three alone. Three exhaled. "Finally, she's gone!" Himiko stared at her in amazement.
"Nyeh...that was incredible!" she cried. Three shrugged modestly.
"Yeah, I guess I picked up a little bit of manipulation skills from the boss," she said. "He's way better at it than I am, though! That girl was so annoying, by the way! Is she seriously your best friend?!"
"Well, yeah, I guess," Himiko answered. "She wants to support and protect me all the time."
"Sounds more like she wants to breastfeed you, or wipe your butt after you poop," Three said in disgust. She and Himiko shuddered at the thought. "Well, anyways, now that 'Tin Cup' is gone, let's put you on the cookie map!"
"Right!" Himiko said, and gave Three a high five.
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2024.05.14 20:56 Blutailedferret After 8 yrs I will Finally be Promoted to Guest

After working for Gamestop for 8yrs and with 5 years as a manager, I am finally getting promoted to guest. My resignation letter will be sent out later today and I just got a job offer as an assistant Manger to a place I frequently shop that will give me more pay than Gamestop did as an SL. I am partially sad to leave the company and my fellow coworkers but the company is just so toxic and treats their empoyees like dirt that I am finally done and will be free end of this month.
submitted by Blutailedferret to GameStop [link] [comments]


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