Hi. I don't know how i found this subreddit i just googled some stuff ended up here and read some posts. Just to clarify I dont have a diagnosed CPTSD? I'd just like to share how my life has been because I genuinely have my whole life been thinking either what the fuck is wrong with my life theres no way this is normal and then sometimes i just think that im overreacting and my life has been completely normal. I'd like to know if im just imagining it or not I guess. Also I'd like to add that im doing somewhat better and im not experiencing THOSE bad thoughts anymore so please don't like report my account for being a danger to myself (I think that's a feature on reddit?). Im still a bit messed up but like still MUCH better than I used to be.
Honestly I read this whole thing and im adding here that I rant a lot maybe im just ranting about all the bad things in my life... Just a warning I guess. Don't read this if that's not what you want to read, this ended up super long sorry. Also I dont know if this is even relevant anymore. Half of this rant is about my family and other half about other bad things that happened I think. I don't know if this sub is only about like family stuff im sorry if this is the wrong place. Also trigger warning I had some thoughts about ending it and some self harm. The first 10 years of my life were semi normal from my memory. Its been a while since those times and I dont remember it that well. I remember my parent's fought semi often (which is normal?) and some of my earliest memories were them yelling, fighting at night, my mother going out at night and yelling that shes never coming back, and a few times my mother doing stuff like talking in a scary voice and i remember crying and saying it was scary I think but she just kept doing it (while it was night and I was probably trying to sleep/go to sleep). I was also the middlechild so my parents always treated my older and younger sibling better like them having better stuff to some amount but not like a ridiculous amount. I also remember being scolded a lot by everyone if I did anything slightly wrong even by accident and I remember my brothers not being scolded at all if they did anything similaworse. Anyways I still mostly remember being semi happy and my life being somewhat normal if not just completely normal and im just focusing too much on the bad stuff. I also remember having sleep paralysises and nightmares a lot around when i was like I'd assume up to 12 years old and a weird thing i realized some time ago is that a lot of time in those nightmares/sleep paralysises the monsteperson that was scaring me was either of my parents. Anyways maybe im just reading into things and its a normal dream. I genuinely don't know if im just being a weirdo and my life was normal and im reading too much into stuff I dont want to pretend like my life was bad if it wasn't im just wondering so please don't get angry at me if its not im just wondering. Oh also my family really never spent much time with me atleast I dont remember them being around and mostly working when I wanted to play. I also remember my mother avoiding me like when I asked to spend time with them they just said no and to do something else. I was really bored as a child but I had videogames atleast so I mostly spent my time around them. Oh also 1 person who I thought was my friend beat me up at school because I said something mild not even at them that their class was worse than ours? I also passed out at school and I dont remember why and I remember my big brother just walking by me without saying a word when I had awoken in the hallway (they saw me and just ignored me...)
Anyways. When I turned 11 or so we moved while I was still in middle of elementary school so I had to leave the few friends I had behind (but my brothers didnt as the other was just beginning elementary school and other was entering middle school). I didn't really make any friends within the school and the few I did dropped me out when they realized I wasn't exactly popular. The teacher and other kids made school hard and while I usually achieved perfect grades i barely started passing in school because of how much I hated it. I also started forgetting stuff too and the teacher scolded me a lot because of that. I started being bullied to some amount by the other kids and my teacher so I started stress eating a lot and got kinda fat. Then they started bullying me about me being fat. I also had really no friends or contacts. I remember being extremely stressed out and my big brother making fun of me because of that. Then I remember getting depressed. I started not really trying anything anymore. My family didn't help they made fun of me being fat. Also I remember not really being physically attacked much but im pretty sure I at some point complained about my big brother hitting me with a controller in my head. But I dont remember if that actually happened? Knowing them it might have. Anyways I remember crying every morning around this age until I didn't anymore. I cried almost every morning because I didnt want to wake up and go to school and my parents sent me there anyways. The kids there made fun of that too I remember one of them asking "why is (me) crying every day" and someone answered to them "that I must be so happy"? Anyways eventually I stopped crying. I just didn't feel anything anymore other than anxiety and sadness and anger rarely. Mind you, through this my family didn't give a fuck about how I went from a somewhat happy child to someone who stayed inside all the time, went from healthy to fat within like a year and didn't feel anything anymore. They just focused on their own things. I started getting suicidal thoughts. I remember when I was a child (even younger) and I learned what suicide ment. I remember wondering why the hell anyone would ever want to do that. And now I felt like I wanted to do that. That's how bad I felt. I remember thinking what my family would think/how they would react if I drowned myself in the river. I went outside often at random times and just thought about doing it. I walked by this like electricity thing and I thought if I touched it would it kill me. Mind you these were just thoughts. I never actually acted to the point that I tried to do anything and I dont think I was doing that bad. I didn't act on these thoughts. I remember once coming home from one of these walks hoping they would wonder where I had been since I was like 12 and my mother just smiled at me (almost like she knew I was trying to get attention from them and with like an evil smile rather than a good one?) and said I was just outside walking to the others. I remember even thought I was the one who played the most games in my family, we got a PS3 and the old PS2 went to my littlebrother along the old TV from my big brother. Even thought the other played only a little and the other didn't play at all ever. I don't know if I was just being a brat but it felt bad taken that videogames were the only thing that made me a bit happy in my home. I remember them doing other stuff too like my big brother often telling me to kill myself, doing stuff like pointing a toy gun at me and like pretending to shoot me and telling me to stop pretending like i was misunderstood (I was depressed and having suicidal thoughts... at 12). Other things I remember is a teacher calling me fat (made me feel a bit bad...) as a joke and my teacher sending me to a class for trouble children with bad grades (even thought I told her I got a bad grade on the exam because no one told me that we had an exam so I couldn't read for it. I was sick when they said we had one btw in school which is why I didnt know) and even thought I clearly didn't belong to that class since the other people seemed to actually not be able to get good grades, i started trying in school just a bit so they would see my grades are good and get me out of that class since I felt bad being there because the others made fun of me because of that too. The teacher there was an ass who constantly spoke to me and the others like we were braindead and i genuinely hated her. It was clear I didnt belong there but they just kept me there the rest of the year. I started sleeping like only 3 hours a night since I was 11 until highschool ended because I didn't want the next day to begin. I just stayed up all night playing games and doing other stuff. Pretty much always other than vacations and weekends I slept like 3-5 hours only. I think that made my grades even worse and I don't remember much from some years of my life where I slept the least im assuming because of the lack of sleep? Or depression idk.
Anyhow things stayed like this. I felt extremely bad and had no motivation but I just kept on living my life. Later on when I went to middleschool at 13 years old I found for the first time some friends. I felt somewhat better, like I belonged for the first time in my life. My depression went away somewhat. Other things stayed the same thought my family still acted the way they always did. Still with my friends I felt like I was okay. I forgot about how bad my life had been a few years. I still had a challenge getting that close to anyone and didnt have self confidence and didnt feel outright happy but I was somewhat okay. I remember at the middle of middle school I got depressed again. I didn't remember that it was a feeling I had always had the past few years because back then I was so out of it. I remember just feeling like there was a void in my heart like to the point it physically hurt every now and then. I guess I realized that more than half of the middle school was over and I knew my friends would leave me behind when it's over since I had a hard time getting too close to them. And that's what brought the depression. I remember some months after since I still felt depressed telling my mother I was depressed and she just kept on working and saying in a monotone voice that "oh really? that means you have to go to therapy". And it scared me I didnt know what that would be like so I just said never mind and walked back to my room. Anyways middle school ended none of my friends stayed in contact I got super depressed. Because of my lack of good grades other than the last half few months which is the only time period where I tried and got very good grades, my overall average in middle school almost prevented me from getting to high school. I remember my dad just saying that "sorry I guess you tried your best it wasn't enough" something along those lines. Like wtf I didnt try my best I was depressed and slept 3 hours and didnt study at all so I could spent all my time with videogames and my few friends so I could feel a little bit of happiness in my life. I didn't have the fucking motivation to study at all... Anyhow I got to highschool.
So highschool was the worst. But honestly im getting tired of writing. I had THOSE bad thoughts again, we have to go to army when we get out of highschool in my country so that scared the hell out of me, I didn't focus on school was bullied, family was just causing problems. No wait I do want to write a couple things here. When I was 17 i developed bad OCD. I didnt go out of my room anymore. I didnt want to touch anything that had been in my school and then anything that had touched those things I didnt want to touch either. Something called contamination OCD apparently? I spent at ages 17 to 18 probably 2-5 hours average daily on compulsions. I felt like a mindless puppet. I keep thinking how much better grades I'd have got if i spent that time on studying. Once my big brother really invaded my personal space and it upset me and made me so stressed because of OCD related stuff that I took a semi sharp object from my TV remote and slashed my leg a few times to a point that I still can see the scar. I also got angry and felt bad easily when I lost in a videogame or such and sometimes bit my hand in anger. My parents also wanted me to go to army instead of trying to not go there (theres a few alternatives). But at this point I stopped liking my family. So i knew I was not going to do that or what they want. I had dreamed since I was 15 of when I'd get to move away and never see these people...
Anyhow. Im 23 now. I worked through a lot of my issues. Not fat anymore. I go outside now. I sleep a normal amount. I exercise. My OCD i managed to best atleast to the point that im able to function mostly normally like I wouldn't even have it. Still depressed probably I don't remember what it felt like to feel to be honest so I don't know if I am depressed? Haven't had THOSE thoughts in many years. Haven't self harmed myself in years. Still have no friends because i have quite a bad social anxiety due to my life. Still thought for the first time in years... maybe since I was 11. I feel like my life is not going a steep downhill. I feel like it's getting better actually. And i've felt like that some time as of writing this as I began to fix my life and my issues.
The most annoying thing is... it's been so many years. My life has changed so much. The family I have im still in ties with to some amount even though I'd like to not be. They dont seem bad now? That bad? But I still want to get away from them completely and never see them. I just FEEL like I need to do that. But I dont know if they even were that bad. That's what I want to know here. Is my family normal. Is there something wrong with me and I imagine they are bad? I might end up deleting this post and my account. This is just a throwaway. I just want to know. I need outside input. I've been so alone that I never had that. I need to know if im imagining that I had a bad life or if it was not normal. I literally feel like I cant view my past objectively because I can't remember much. There were happy memories too in my childhood. A lot of them. Atleast some years of it. Im just picking the bad examples. I managed to enjoy some of my time back then. I just cant realize whether theres something wrong with other people especially my family and the bad people in school or if im the problem. If you actually read this, anyone, thank you. You probably know more about my life and existance than anyone else other than me since I've spent so much of my life alone.

I've struggled for years with parting with items which may seem like clutter to other people but for some reason I've put sentimental value on them. Especially clothes which I know I'll never wear again but have a memory attached. Recently, due to a traumatic family situation, I did a massive anxiety purge to keep my mind occupied and probably spent about 2-3 weeks constantly sorting & cleaning. I felt productive and accomplished for a while, but then suddenly I crashed and have done absolutely nothing for months. I hate feeling I'm in a state of mental paralysis as I know what I should be doing, but just can't bring myself to start again. Any tips on how I can re-motivate myself? I seem to be an 'all or nothing' sort of person so the 10 minute timer thing doesn't work for me as I get too easily distracted. I wouldn't mind if I entered another solid purge period, but without the stress & anxiety fuelling me!

Posting on behalf of someone else.
If an apprentice gets Youth Allowance, will it affect the parent’s DSP payments?

I've (32M) been doing no contact for about 20 days after being dumped by my ex (30F). I just got this email from her. I'm not sure how to respond, if at all. She's stating there's no chance of reconciliation so I'm not sure what the point is.
``` Hey,
I hope this email finds you in good spirits. I've been contemplating reaching out for a while now, unsure of how to start. Firstly, how are you holding up? It's been around 20 days since we parted ways, and I wanted to check in to see how you're coping. If you'd rather not hear from me, just let me know, and I'll respect your wishes completely and you will never hear from me again. If you choose not to continue reading, I get it.
To begin, I want to say I am sorry. I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you, for the breakup itself, and for the situation we are in now.
Navigating life post-breakup hasn't been easy for me, and I find myself missing you more than I anticipated. However, I want to make it clear that this email isn't about reopening old wounds or reconsidering our decision. I made a choice, and I intend to stand by it. I'm reaching out because I value you, and I want to offer whatever closure I can to help us both move forward.
As for myself, I'm slowly adapting to this new chapter in my life. Each day have its challenges, but I'm trying to learn from them.
I want to acknowledge the good times and amazing memories of our relationship. You were always honest, caring, and supportive, which I'll always cherish. You showed a willingness to do above and beyond to be with me, and I saw a significant progress over time.
Yet, despite your efforts and our mutual commitment to growth, something wasn't aligning for me. I realized that as you were evolving, I was struggling to keep pace. The discussions about our future, while necessary, began to feel draining as I struggled with my own limitations.
I remember talking to my mom that our journey together was a marathon, not a sprint, and that we'd overcome our challenges over time. However, as we entered 2024, or perhaps even before that, I started to feel myself withdrawing. I failed to communicate this effectively, and for that, I take responsibility.
As much as I tried to make things work, I couldn't ignore the growing sense of loneliness and unease I felt. Our cultural and linguistic differences, coupled with occasional incidents, created a strain that became increasingly difficult to ignore. Despite our efforts, I realized that our relationship was not fulfilling my emotional needs, and I struggled to find a balance between compromise and staying true to myself.
I had hoped that love would be enough to bridge the gaps between us, but I now understand that I was asking too much of both up of us. I was sacrificing too many of my own needs in the name of love, and it wasn't sustainable.
I suggest we focus less on assigning blame or finding solutions. There's always that lingering question of "what if," wondering if things could have been different. But from my perspective, it feels like this was a necessary step forward, regardless of any alternative paths we might have taken. Our relationship had its moments of beauty, and I would remember those memories dearly.
Moving forward, I hope we can both find peace and closure. I harbor no ill feelings towards you, and I genuinely wish you happiness and fulfillment in all aspects of your life. If there's anything I can do to facilitate this process or if you need further clarification on anything, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Wish you the best. ```

TLDR: Experimenting with local models, but getting low quality responses. How do I "align" them to act similar to publicly available chatbots?
Just some would ago, I stumbled upon your temple of freedom, still walking in the lands of closed source AI land. I said "Hello, is this the Llama sub?" And you welcomed me and said: "Come brother, take a sip of thislocally running open source, we welcome all systems, all RAM and all CPUs. We don't judge, we enlighten."
"Well, well," I thought, "let's give them a chance." So I met some fellow believers in the local who were showing me the path of possibilities. And today I am bravely following the young apprentices way, accompanied by my teachers Ollama, LM Studio, MSTY, VScode, Node, Docker and n8n.
Now how do I get the f*ck*ng Models responses provide more than complete garbage after some inputs?!!!
But jokes aside. I am still experimenting and trying out different models, what is a lot of fun. But often I recognize, that the models produce garbage output, refuse to respond, repeat that they are there to help but actually don't help and all of this stuff. I experimented with the parameters but don't get the catch. One particular problem I encounter is, that the models seem to "take over" my initial query and printing a chain of self generated interaction between user and assistant and lead themselves away from the actual context.
Would you again be so grateful to give me advice for the right direction? I am running a 3070Ti on an Ryzen 9 5900X. Mostly 8b to 14b models on 4-bit Q. I am aware that they are not as good as premium models with a bigger parameter set.
Simple questions is: How do I align the models in a way that they are more usable like public models - ask question - get single response with good accuracy?

Dude ....
This hits really hard. My friend and I had grown apart when her drug addiction and alcoholism became too much to handle. We went from being as close as sisters to not talking for years. I didn't hate her or anything....but after a while i realized I couldn't help her....and she was dragging me down. So i focused on my life and left her up to God.
One day I got a call. She was pregnant and trying to get her bf at the time a job. I came out and was so happy to see she'd gotten clean, went back to school...not only did she get her GED but she even went to and graduated college! I was so proud of her. Things didn't work out with her and the bf, but they stayed amicable for the boy.
A year after her son was born I had a son of my own. She gave me a bunch of stuff he'd grown out of. We still didn't talk much but kept up on FB. I was so happy she finally got her life together for her son.
A few days ago her mother posted a pic of the lil guy in his soccer gear. I said "look at the little foot ball star!" In fact I've been thinking about entering my son into sports but with his autism i have to find the right place.
Then today I'm doing my morning potty scroll through my feed....and my friend's mom posted a memorial for her grandson! He was only 5! He died right before mother's day! Wtf.... just wtf....
Please anyone out there pray for my friend and her family. Please pray that she doesn't relapse from this. I feel like I'm not just mourning this little boy....but the happiness and peace he brought to her life...she had a hard life and deserves peace and happiness, only for it to be ripped out from under her.
I'm holding my son extra tight today...

We just got back from a wonderful trip in the northern part of Italy with our 3-year-old. Having spent 2 weeks on one of our best trips so far, I really want to thank a bunch of fellow redditors who helped refine our itinerary and suggested places which otherwise would not have made it to our plan!
Day 1 Milan: We took a flight from India and landed in Milan in the afternoon. Milan was just the arrival point for us and we did not intend to visit Milan as such, so we ended up booking a room in the hotel at the Malpensa Airport itself. Nothing much that day; a bit of rest and a delicious dinner were a great start to our trip.
Day 2 Drive from Milan to Bellagio: Woke up after a good night's sleep (a much needed one after the long sleepless flight the day before). Breakfast at the hotel was really good with a lot of options for everyone. We had booked a car through SIXT at the Malpensa airport. Getting the car was a breeze with great service from the representative at the SIXT counter. The drive to Bellagio was a very good one. I was still getting used to the car, since I come from a land of right-hand drive and switching to a left-hand drive meant putting in a lot more focus on the road. Driving along the Lake Como was a fantastic experience. We reached Bellagio by lunch time and our AirBnB was ready for us. The rest of the day was at leisure, with a casual walk around Bellagio, through the city center and along the lake.
Day 3 Bellagio to Varenna: Took a ferry to Varenna and had breakfast at a lake side cafe. With great weather on our side, a cup of coffee and a little pastry seemed more blissful than we thought of! We had signed up for a picnic on the hills of Camaggiore, a 40-minute drive from the Varenna ferry station. We had our representative waiting for us and she drove us to the picnic spot, sharing tales from the towns of Lake Como, showing us amazing views along the way. The picnic itself was surreal, with the most beautiful view of the lake from 1200 meters above. We spend the rest of the day exploring Varenna at our pace, while our little one slept like a log in the stoller.
Day 4 Bellagio: After debating weather to visit the Como town or not, we decided to stay in Bellagio in explore the town a bit more. We took a ride of the Bellagio Express, the toy train that takes you around the town. It was a fun ride, intended for our toddler, who decided to doze off in the train itself! Post that, we saw the gardens of the Villa Melzi. We had rented a boat to explore the lake ourselves during the evening, but rainy weather made us cancel our plans. We spent the rest of the evening, relaxing at our AirBnB, overlooking the lake.
Day 5 Drive from Bellagio to Gardaland: Moving on to the next leg of our trip, which was clearly planned keeping our little boy in mind, we drove to Gardaland reaching there by noon. Thanks to a wonderful fellow Redditor, we got introduced to this wonderland called Gardaland! Our stay was booked at the Gardaland Hotel and while we were waiting for our room to get ready, we decided to pay a visit to the Gardaland Resort park right away. A drizzly weather kept most of the visitors inside the SEA Aquarium, but that also meant we had absolutely no waiting times on most of the rides in the park! The little one was elated to see the Peppa Pig Land, and refused to move away from it. All in all, day one in the park was a super success despite the wet weather. Evening at the hotel was full of fun-filled activities for the kids. The entertainment team at Gardaland Hotel did a fabulous job at keeping kids engaged.
Day 6 Gardaland: Our second day in the Gardaland park was a much more planned one, since we had already explored some of the park on the previous day. We knew the rides we wanted to go on, and so logistics were simpler. Weather was great too, and so we had a wonderful time! The park has a plethora of options to eat, with a ton of sweet treats along the way. The park is huge but very well laid out with clean facilities. Naturally, day two also could not be completed without visiting our favorite Peppa Pig! Evening at the hotel was again fun-filled with the team at Gardaland doing what they do the best!
Day 7 Parco Natura Viva: Gardaland is in proximity to a lot of amusement parks and points of recreation for family and friends. One of them is Parco Natura Viva, a zoo with a drive-through safari. It was a Saturday and the zoo had enormous waiting times for the cars to enter the Safari. After having waited in the queue for over an hour, we finally started the Safari, which turned out to be pretty great. Next, we had the fauna park (the walkable part of the zoo), the one with animals in their enclosures. With the entire park divided into geographical zones, it was fun seeing animals from various continents. The place is well-maintained, and creates a great experience for kids.
Day 8 Verona: We had kept an extra day in Gardaland just in case the little man wanted to visit the park again. However, given the proximity, we decided to do a day trip to Verona instead. We drove to Verona and parked our car in one of the paid parking lots. We had reserved a morning slot for a walking tour, that took us through the streets of Verona, with our very knowledgeable guide sharing tales from historic Verona, the castle and gate to the old city center. The center was bustling with stores and eateries. Very touristy but was all the more fun! Our taste buds were craving for some Indian food and we ended up having lunch at an amazing Indian restaurant named "Maharajah". The food was delectable with very prompt service. As touristy as it sounds, we did go to "Casa di Giulietta", commonly known as Juliet's house that is known for the legacy of Romeo and Juliet having been inspired from there. The so-called Juliet's balcony is missable at best.
Day 9 Drive from Gardaland to Venice: Switching to the last leg of our trip, this was supposed to be the wife's part of the trip. She has wanted to visit Venice for as long as she remembers, and this trip could not have happened without a leisurely stay in the city of canals! This was also the last day of us keeping the car, and we drove to Venice Marco Polo Airport where we returned the car at the SIXT counter. Once again, just like the pick-up the return process was extremely smooth and lasted barely a couple of minutes. Our plan was to catch the Alilaguna airport water bus to the main island, but we decided to splurge at the last moment and took the water taxi instead. And boy were we happy! The water taxi is an experience in itself, especially when entering the canals from the airport. Our AirBnB was located right on the Grand Canal, giving us uninterrupted views of the Canal. For a place that looked better in person than in pictures, what more could we have asked for! We spent the evening walking to the Rialto Bridge, people-watching!
Day 10 St. Marks square and Dodge's Palace: After a good night's sleep, we woke up refreshed, taking in the morning views of the Grand Canal, with the gondola's and the various boats floating by, doing their chores for the day. We had booked a tour of the St. Marks square and the Basilica, along with the Dodge's Palace. Unfortunately, it had to be a rainy day. While we still participated in the tour, the place became very crowded because a lot of people tried to maximize on the time indoors to avoid the rain. Nonetheless, it was a good experience. The little one dozed off in the Basilica and so we let my wife carry on with the tour of the palace, while I took a table under an umbrella at the Cafe Lavena to get myself some coffee, and to let my son enjoy his sleep. We spent the evening loitering around the Rialto market, spoiling ourselves with a few gelatos at Suso!
Day 11 Murano, Burano and Torcello: We woke up early, fixed ourselves some breakfast and were ready to leave. We had booked a tour of the 3 islands and our job was to get to the meeting point as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we missed our group and had to visit the islands on our own. The upside to this was that we could do it at our own pace! This included having a hearty lunch at a beautiful local cafe in Torcello. This place had a chidren's play area too! This also meant spending more time than necessary in Burano, because why not? We loved the colorful houses on the island and we just wanted to be there, taking in everything it had...
Day 12 Leisure and Photoshoot: My wife and I generally have this idea of booking a small photoshoot at every exquisite location we visit. This not only gives us great pictures for memories, but it also allows us to see areas which we would otherwise not know existed. We booked this experience through AirBnB and our photographer was a wonderful man, very learned and a true Venetian at heart! He took us to places that were free of tourists, for some amazing pictures. Not only that, he also arranged for a special Gondola ride for us, which took us through the narrower canals of Venice, adding to the already special experience. A trip to Venice is really incomplete without a Gondola ride, and we were glad we could! This was the last evening of our trip and we could not conclude it without a few more Aperol Spritz's and Gelatos from Suso!
With every trip we take, we learn a lot, that helps us make our future trips better. We consciously chose to skip the more popular locations like Rome and Florence (Tuscany), since we wanted to have ample time of leisure and just do nothing, with a toddler who wanted to just be.
If I could summarize the learnings of this trip, they would be:

• Travelling with a toddler is great, if you leave a lot of room for rest and leisure. It not only allows you to be, but it also leaves scope to rome around the place and absorb the local life beyond the tourist favourites
• Lake Como has a lot to offer. While day trips from Milan sound good, staying in a Lake Como town lets you enjoy the serenity of the lake in a more intimate manner. A couple of days at the least, three days to make it worth while.
• Driving around Lake Como can be fun, but can also become a bit intimidating if you are trying to drive slow on the roads that circle the lake and there are cars behind you, trying to get ahead. Staying calm is the key!
• Gardaland is unchartered territory for people outside Italy, and if travelling with kids, must find a place in the itinerary.
• We had a lot of people advising us against spending 4 days in Venice, but we do not regret it even a bit. Venice is a city unlike anything we've been to so far. It is very difficult to imagine the daily life of the people living there, unless you decide to stop and slow things down yourself, experiencing the little things that the place has to offer.
• It is absolutely ok to not cover every point of interest at a place you are staying. Ticking everything off the list does not give the same satisfaction as enjoying the few things that you do, at a pace that you like.
• Lastly, strollers are a boon, even with the cobbled streets. They serve a great deal for quick afternoon naps, as well as meal times. It indeed is a pain carrying them over the hundreds of bridges in a place like Venice, but the pros still outweigh the cons.

Hello everyone, I'm sorry if the Title sounds confusing and my writing isn't the best (I'm on mobile), but I really need to talk about something. As my title says I'm scared of what maybe comes in my future. I live in Germany, I'm 27F and I'm currently in an apprentice ship for a warehouse logistics worker. The job is fun and I really enjoy it, but I have a problem: my migraine attacks. It inherited from my Mum and it's really painful sometimes. That said I got a lot of sick days last year and I'm now looking for a job after I finish my apprentice ship. A huge setback is my condition and I got a lot of negative feedback from it. I feel like that I'm only seen as a sick and non-working body instead of truthful and work-liking person. I'm not sure what to think anymore. I get it that not many want a person in their company that gets painful headaches once or twice a month, but is it worse than someone that has kids and is also sick all the time? Many people in my country getting benefits from having kids. They can go home early, can get more money, being sick more and have to pay less taxes. I don't have kids... I have a medical condition. Does this migraine makes me less of a good worker than those with small kids? Should I even tell my future employer the truth or should I lie about it? I always told them the truth, but it seems that this is what makes them see me more like a medically dependent person instead of a family dependent person.
I'm glad for any tips or words on this matter here.

For context I started my career as a business admin apprentice. I worked up in different organizations and diversified into marketing and PR.
In 2018 I applied for a degree apprenticeship with L’Oréal and I was one of 10 picked out of 600 candidates. I moved to London at the beginning of 2019.
By April, I was actively looking for other jobs. The L’Oréal job wasn’t for me. I applied for a marketing role at WHSmith and got it. By September 2019, I realized London wasn’t for me. I was getting married and needed to decide what I was going to do as my fiance lived in Yorkshire. Long distance or relocate?
I relocated towards the end of 2019. I worked for a local charity until I got pregnant and Covid hit. I haven’t worked since September 2020.
I’m not a mother of two and I’m looking to do a course in digital marketing or marketing. The job market is tough I’ve applied for jobs but not received much feedback.
Is there any advice anyone has for me?

So I am brand new to the field; I’m 24 and I’m starting my first day this week as an electrical apprentice. I took a job offer for a rather large commercial company in the Houston area. They offered me +4 an hour per diem, and they paid for the hotel. I was quite desperate for work, and I’ve been struggling to break into this field. I just learned today that I will be sharing a room with another helper for a non-disclosed amount of time. I never even considered this when taking the opportunity, as I assumed it was general practice to at least have private rooms after work. To say the least, I am extremely discouraged. I am a pretty particular and introverted person. I don’t mind working, but I like to relax and be alone at the end of the day, preferably not sharing a small space with another man I’ve never met. I’m just wondering if this is normal in this field. I don’t want to be an ingrate, as they took a chance on someone with no experience, and it seems to be a company with nice people, but they don’t really pay for fuel for travel or a separate room, and where I’m working is about 4-5 hours away from where I live. I’m willing to leave the comfort of my home and make sacrifices for the opportunity, but I feel pretty uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a small room and bathroom with another person for months. They did explain that eventually a shared apartment would be provided but gave no indication of when, and by the sound of it, it’s not any time soon. What are your thoughts and advice? Am I expecting too much?

Wade took a breath as he picked up his old duffel bag, now loaded with his DD uniform and a few other items from the Ceres mines as he slotted it to his side, with the large band handle around his neck. Having gathered his belongings, he joined Tina, who was waiting near the ship's open bay door as he walked over to her. The couple watched several of the other troopers inside marching out as well, some carrying crates of supplies and items out of the craft as they departed for the base outside. Kelly was one of the last ones still on board, checking on a section of the cargo bay as she did what Wade presumed was some maintenance work.
With the way now clear, Wade and Tina stepped off the transport, glancing at the massive base around them as they touched the roughened pavement. Throughout the large landing port were several more chameleon dropships, their crews disembarking with similar items and loads of rescued drones aboard. Beyond the ships were several hangar bays and fighter craft, mostly A-20s and their space-borne cousins docked in lines going across the pad. And beyond the landing zone, towering over several buildings at the base, were the few cruisers docked to the large clamps holding them in place.
Walking ahead with Tina, Wade observed some of the departing Coalition troops as they neared one of several tents stationed near an inactive group of planes, the military personnel interacting and exchanging the crates with the Coalition officers upon reaching each other. Hearing a low roar of engines from afar, the lover drones looked upward to see the large USN warship that was present at the factory earlier, having followed the transport convoy home and now was beginning to descend for landing. Wade gave a silent gasp as he caught a glimpse of the ship's name and SIC number at the side, remembering it from the ship he and Ron saw while returning to Earth.
"Always a wondrous thing to see, isn't it Wade?" Tina said as she and her boyfriend watched the ship slowly come lower to the unoccupied dockyard clamps below it.
"Sure is, wonder how they built those babies?" Wade replied as the two looked upon the landing starship, the former worker drone smirking as he added, "I could've swore I saw that same exact ship over Henderson when Ron and I came back, before we got mugged earlier."
Tina glanced to Wade with surprise as she spoke up on his claim. "Really? Well, that had to be the one that helped our friends here back at the factory. I think I saw the same name on it too!"
"Wouldn't surprise me, seeing all that's happened today." Wade replied as he chortled a bit, Tina doing the same as the former spoke further. "I wonder, what kind of ship is the... Vickers again? You know?"
"Autumn class, dear. A heavy destroyer variant, not as strong as those enormous Yamato dreadnoughts or Adelaide battlecruisers, but she'll put up a good fight for whatever comes at her." Tina explained as she held back another chuckle, thinking of her education on various USN craft as she teased Wade lightly. "You know, I may just have to grab one of those ship roster tabs when we get in the base. I'd love to show you all they got in their arsenal."
Wade chortled again as he gave his thoughts on the idea. "Well, it wouldn't be bad to have a little more knowledge in ship-story."
Tina almost burst out laughing at his crude pun, Wade smiling at her as F and Nathan jogged over to the two, the latter carrying his own backpack behind him as he spoke. "Well, not a bad place, huh? You guys heading to the clearance station?"
"Oh yes, we were just admiring the ships around us while we walked." Tina said with a stifled laugh, easing herself as she chatted with her new friends. Wade, however, was quickly overcome with panic as he remembered something. Checking his pockets, his fears were confirmed as he failed to find one of his key possessions: his ID card. Wade felt he must have lost it when he was stripped of his old clothing while in the factory.
Oh no, guys? I don't think I can pass through." Wade said with greenish-yellow circles for eyes as Tina and the others looked to him in concern, the drone feeling through his pockets once more before stating his issue. "My ID, they must've taken it off me when they turned me into a disassembly drone!" Wade began to hyperventilate lightly as he grew fearful of the potential outcomes when they reached the security gate ahead. "Oouuugghh, if I don't have my ID, they'll have to keep me lo-"
"Wade, Wade... it's okay. I'll have them make a pass for you, surely we can get them to after getting them to understand what's happened." Tina stated as she put her hand to Wade's chest, who eased his panic as he looked to his girlfriend.
"Yeah, and besides Wade, those people over there went around gathering what ever items the company stole from the drones during their conversion. I'm sure that once they find it, they'll have it sent off to be given back to you!" Nathan said as F nodded in agreement, shunting Wade's panic out of him with their words as he replied to the hopeful responses.
"Right, yeah, they should do that. Sorry." Holding Tina's hand, Wade spoke to her once more. "Lead the way."
Tina nodded to Wade before the two began to walk over to the security gate nearby, several people, drones and humans alike, already in the line as they checked themselves in to the base to relax after the hard-fought battle. Once they reached the line, the four stood together as they waited for the line to slowly go up, more troops and rescued drones coming over to add to the long line. During the wait, a loud, mechanical 'SLAM' erupted through the air, prompting Wade and Tina to glance over to the direction of the noise. The two felt at ease once more as they saw the Vickers finally landed at the base, the loud clang being the docking clamps attaching to the ships hull just moments ago.
As the line moved up further to the gate, Wade and Tina caught sight of a pair of A-20 aircraft passing over them, the two watching as the planes slowed down while descending onto the runway nearby. The four drones' collective viewing of the fighters landing ceased as they caught sight of J, who took flight as she departed the transport nearby before flying over to the tents near the hangar bays.
"Huh, wonder what she's over there for?" Nathan said as he observed J landing onto the ground in front of one of the tents.
"Probably checking on the drones we got back, or meeting up with one of those commanders there." F said as she motioned an arm towards the tents, J walking under one as she made her way to one of the soldiers coming over to her. "Seems like the latter, from the looks of it."
Wade shrugged as he responded to the group's pondering over J's actions. "Well, she'll be here with us if we need her, right? Shouldn't be much to worry about."
Returning their focus to the line ahead, Wade and his team waited as the line moved up over the next few minutes, moving impressively fast as the people in front cleared themselves in one at a time. Eventually, the four of them were up, Tina stepping up to show her ID for clearance. "Hello, it's been a busy day, hasn't it?"
The security agent smirked at Tina's small-talk. "Hah, not too busy here until you all showed up."
As the guard finished scanning Tina's ID, she handed the card back to her as she raised a finger to begin her request. "Oh, um, there's a little issue we need to resolve." Putting a hand to Wade's arm, Tina explained her boyfriend. "This is my dear friend Wade, Wade Carter. We both managed to escape that blasted factory with the help of those Coalition folks there." Wade gave a pleading look as Tina continued. "Unfortunately, Wade was converted into a disassembly drone before he was rescued, and it seems those people at the company took all his belongings he had on him, including his ID. Do you think there's... anyway you could write up something to let him by?"
Stepping forward, F gave her end of the story. "I can vouch for him, Ma'am. Wade and I we're among the teams helping in getting the worker drones out of the factory during the operation." The disassembly drone pulled out a pair of cards as she finished her explanation, one of them being her company-issued Disassembly Service Passcard, which resembled a normal civilian ID in appearance, save for the 'JCJenson (In Spaaace!) Logo on the top left and hazard markings around the rim of the card. As for the other card, it was a well worn, still legitimate ID card, showing F as how she appeared when she was a worker drone. At the side of her picture was a name with an initial. "FELICITY A LEE"
Taking the two cards in her hand, she looked them over and scanned them as Nathan tried to back Wade up as well. "So can I, Ma'am! I helped there too, when he was under the company's control. We all got him out of the factory so we could get him back in order." Pulling out his own ID, Nathan handed it out as the guard returned F's IDs to her.
The guard accepted Nathan's ID as she spoke over what to do with Wade. "Well, normally it takes clearance from higher ranked personnel here to allow someone inside without a legitimate form of identification. We can't just take someone's word on things like this, after all." Tina seemed to frown in disappointment as the guard explained her protocols, Wade looking down at the ground as he felt his worries were about to be proven correct. Going over Nathan's ID further, she gave an intrigued expression at the card before continuing. "Huh, interesting. Got two veteran folks here, I see?" She glanced to Nathan and F as she said that, taking into account their former military background as the former spoke up.
"Three, actually. My pal Kurtis is somewhere back there, I think. He should be heading down here later this evening." The guard glanced back at Nathan's ID as she took in the veteran drone's reply, sighing as she decided to make a slight amendment to the issue put before her and the four friends.
"Well, seeing you two here, I believe I can write something up. The Major won't be happy with me for this, but I think I can trust you with appropriate behavior." Taking a small sticky name-tag, the woman pulled out a pen before starting to write on it. Initially, she glanced to Wade, who stated his name again before she began to write his name on the tag. Once she was finished, the guard gave the tag to Wade, who slapped it onto his jacket before she spoke to him. "You should be fine to enter for the most part, just stick close to your friends and don't cause any trouble. Understood?"
Wade gave a stern salute to the security officer, who held back a chuckle at the honest, yet amusing effort the disassembly drone showed to her. Giving a simple nod and a flick of her hand, she permitted Wade and his friends entrance to the base, the four walking past the walkway barricades as they made their way past the gate.
Wade let out a heavy sigh of relief as he thanked his allies. "I owe you both so much for this, thanks!"
"Don't mention it, Wade." F said warmly as she and Nathan laughed at his joyful face.
"Yeah, just doing what any good friend should." Nathan said as Tina wrapped an arm around Wade, holding him tightly as the two walked together.
Looking to his girlfriend, Wade spoke to Tina about what to do next. "Well, since we're in, you wanna go fi-" He ceased his words as he remembered that there was someone else they needed to find amongst the base. "Oh, I almost forgot about her,"
"Jasmine!" Tina and Wade said aloud together as the former remembered her sister, Wade's words snapping her mind to Jasmine in an instant. "We should look for her, you think she might be here somewhere?"
"Probably. If they got Ron after they captured me, they have to 've picked her up too." Wade stated, Nathan raising a hand as he offered to help.
"I could go looking for her! You know what she looks like?" Readying a holo-projector, he tried to display an image of Jasmine from one of his many memories of her. The picture was, while pixelated and under a blue hue, incredibly well-detailed. And for Nathan, that was all he needed to see to note Jasmine's appearance in his memory. Nodding, he spoke again to his friends. "Got it! I'll see if she's around!" Then, turning to run down one of the paths leading to a nearby base facility, he stopped as he asked one more question. "Oh! One more thing, you got a smartcomm on ya, Wade?"
Readying one from his holo-projector hand, he nodded as he spoke into it. "Seems so, though I don't seem to have all my contacts added in."
Running back over, Nathan pulled out his own smartcomm before putting it up against Wade's hand one, allowing the two devices to exchange information. Upon the devices beeping, Wade and Nathan nodded to each other, the former ignoring a pop-up that stated, "New Contact Added" while the latter spoke once more. "Okay, I'll call you once I spot her!" With that, he began running down the path once more, intent on finding Tina's sister at the base, wherever she could be.
"Fowley! Her last name's Fowley!" Tina said aloud to the departing Nathan, hoping he heard her words before turning away from the miner drone and facing Wade and F again.
As Tina sighed in partial relief, Wade put his own arm around her before asking the question he tried to ask before. "So, uh, with that out of the way for now... You wanna go look for one of those ship tabs?"
Putting a hand to Wade's chest, Tina smiled as she replied. "Oh, certainly." Then, as the three began walking down a different path that Nathan hadn't taken, the pilot drone continued with a chuckle. "I hear they have a place here that sells model kits too!"
...
Jasmine sat in silent sorrow as she took another gulp of her glass of Proxi-Vodka, a tasty, but heavy alcoholic beverage produced at the colony of Proxima 2... and one of Jasmine's preferred drinks to have when she wasn't in a good mood. When she awoke after being stunned by the station guards, she found that she was just recovered by a group that called themselves the 'United Earth Coalition', and that her drone friend, Tina, was unfortunately taken by the JCJenson corporation to be turned into one of their horrid disassembly drones. While the people that saved her offered to help her find Tina, so far there had been no luck in doing so. No successful calls, no response from Wade nor Ron, nothing.
The whole situation widdled at her like scrapes to her form, slowly draining any bit of hope that she had in finding her sister. And once the mission at that factory was over, the ship began heading back to the Nellis Base to escort the recovered drones back to a safe area. Unfortunately for Jasmine, Tina's presence was not given confirmation. Alone, she walked off to one of the bars down at the base, specifically Drexler's Cantina, one of the more popular bars down at the military starport. Thankfully, though she didn't openly exhibit feelings of wanting to be alone in her wallowing, she was glad the place was nearly barren of patrons, with only a few at a couple of tables within the bar.
The stage at the back of the bar also had a few singer drones performing aloud, the lead singer girl reciting the words of a quiet, yet exciting song that, instrumentally, consisted of a strange mix of bass, techno, and a hint of opera. The song itself was one Jasmine had heard a good many times before in her life, known as, 'You Complete My World' by a decades old Earth band by the name of HeartStar. The song, as Jasmine and many others who'd heard it interpreted it, was about someone who described their world like a puzzle, and that the one whom the main singer cared for beyond all was the only thing that could keep their world from shattering into ruin before them.
An oddly fitting tune, given what had just happened on the JCJ Central earlier. For all Jasmine knew, Tina was either alive beyond her knowledge, hopefully searching for her wherever she could, or, the answer Jasmine feared... Dead.
Not wanting to even consider the thought, the human pilot took another swig of the colonial Vodka, relishing in its taste before forcing herself to swallow, almost gagging from the strength of the drink. Easing herself, she glanced out to one of the windows of the bar, taking the faint glimpse of night into her eyes. Then, looking to the clock at the wall ahead of her, she saw the time was about a little over an hour to 10 pm. Jasmine gave a sigh to herself, certain she would be alone for the rest of the night.
Unbeknownst to her, however, Jasmine had been spied upon a little while ago. Nathan, in his search for the woman Tina called Jasmine Fowley, had spotted a woman matching the physical appearance of the target. Knowing Jasmine wouldn't know who he was if he tried to talk to her himself, Nathan immediately went looking for Wade, easing his return to his team by calling the former worker drone and signaling him about his findings.
Deciding to check on the news, Jasmine slowly pulled out her smartcomm, resisting her urge to press the contacts button as she tapped the news app. Looking through it, she spotted a recent story that was posted just over an hour ago, titled, "JCJenson 'Recall' effort sabotaged by joint Government/Militia forces! The Truth Exposed!" Above the article was a video, a play button in front of it teasing Jasmine. Curious over this sudden development, she pressed the button, her attention in complete focus on the video as it began to play.
After the news station's logo appeared on-screen for a short few seconds, the current host for the story, Mrs. Tiffany Joy, appeared at her seat before beginning the story. "Good evening, this is Nevada-78, I'm your host, Tiffany Joy. Tonight, we start with a rapid development for the 'drone recall' incidents propagated by the business conglomerate JCJenson In Space. Throughout the afternoon up to now, several advanced factories under the ownership of the corporation have fallen under violent assault by various militarized forces, ranging from official United Nations operatives to private militia groups with varying goals." The small screen to Joy's left shifted to show the state of Nevada, zooming into it to show a portion of the Mojave desert as Joy continued her story.
"Among these facilities, one such factory based right here in southern Nevada has recently succumbed to the successful efforts of the USN Defense Force and a group by the name of the United Earth Coalition, an alliance consisting of humans and automatons working to create a unified world for both species." The screen shifted again to show the logo for the UEC, which appeared as one half of a human head outline and another of a drone's, along with two arms behind the heads belonging to both beings pictured. "With the attack having concluded just hours ago, we have reporters gathering at the New Nellis Staryards near Henderson City to bring you the aftermath of the conflict. We go to Mr. Jelico, on the scene in five."
The camera shifted after the countdown of five to show Mr. Jelico in front of the camera, the cameraman filming a large tent housing several worker drones being tended to by the base soldiers. "Alright, Jelico here, we're on station at New Nellis. What you're all seeing here are some of the recovered worker drones, many of them were pretty spooked by the events that unfolded in that factory earlier." As the camera panned over the lot of drones, some of them looked to the camera, curious at the news crew filming them as Jelico continued. "A few of them are real glad to be here, Joy. Seems like they feel safe here, as far as I can tell."
As the camera moved to show Jelico again, a plane could be seen taking off as he spoke. "Yeah, these people did them quite a service. The staff here are working to find their original owners and families, it'll probably be a little bit before they can get them all home." The camera switched once again to another view of the base, the lights of various buildings illuminating the night as the news story continued.
At the entrance, Nathan pushed open the door to the bar, the chime failing to catch anyone's attention as he, Wade, F and Tina stepped inside. Carefully pointing at Jasmine, he whispered to Tina, "That's her, from the looks of it. She's been here for a good minute!"
Taking another drink of the Proxi-Vodka, Jasmine listened further to the story. "The authorities didn't just recover a majority of the worker drones taken into the factory, however. A recent update provided by Mrs. Yuka, shows her interviewing a disassembly drone who claims to be among the unfortunate drones the assault force failed to save before their conversion."
"Jasmine!" Tina called out, the voice instantly grabbing the woman's attention as she paused the news story. Swiftly turning her head, her heart began pounding with immense excitement as she saw her drone sister, who grinned upon seeing her face.
"Tina!" Jasmine said aloud, somewhat weakly from her previous wallowing as she tried to run over to her sister, landing on her knees as the two embraced in a flush of emotions. Wade and his friends stood behind the two girls as they hugged each other, clinging onto one another as tightly as they could give. Jasmine seemed to erupt with a pained cough as she allowed some of her sorrow out of her heart, Tina carressing her back in a comforting manner as she held back her own tears. The sisters held the hug for a long moment, not daring to let go of one another for fear of losing each other again. Eventually, however, they did, the two sisters taking heavy breaths as Jasmine spoke up while wiping her face. "I thought I'd lost you."
"Can't say I didn't feel the same way, love." Tina replied as she broke out in light laughter, glancing to Wade before continuing. "But, fortunately, those Coalition boys helped out quite a bit. Though, not as much as my knight in his new armor."
Standing herself up, Jasmine took Tina's helping hand as she looked to the one her sister spoke of. A grateful smile formed on Jasmine's face as she saw Wade, standing in front of her and Tina as he returned the expression. Looking upon her family friend, Jasmine noticed something... different about Wade. He was taller now, his arms were shaped like white cones rather than the silver bendy tubes he and Tina normally had. As for his face, his pure green eyes were replaced with a set of greenish-yellow ones, and above his forehead was a band holding five yellow bulbs that she didn't know the function of.
While the pieces started to click together in her head, Jasmine took Wade's held out hand as she spoke to him. "Wade, I'm so glad to see you! You look different, too. Did something... happen to you?" She already guessed it by this point, but feigned confusion as she opted to hear Wade's take on the matter.
"Yeah, I hope you don't mind your sister dating a vampire from now on." Tina chortled in amusement at Wade's comment at himself, Jasmine raising an eyebrow in confusion at the former worker drone as he returned his expression to a more sincere smile. "The company got me too, and unlike the workers we got out... they managed to turn me into a disassembly drone. From now on, I'm gonna need to take in more oil than I usually did before I was turned. My cooling system's not as good as it should be, from what I've heard." Pulling out his two full canteens, Wade finished his partial explanation. "Don't worry, though. I've got some to keep me down."
Jasmine took in the news with immense surprise, noticing the hazard stripes at the rims of Wade's arms as she replied to her friend. "Oh... Well, if Tina's fine with it, then I see no problem with that, Wade." Admittedly, she was a bit unnerved by the change, concerned for both him and Tina's safety due to this supposed oil coolant issue. Trying to sound as nice as she could on the matter, Jasmine hesitantly asked Wade, "Though... I am a bit concerned with that bad cooling problem you mention. You... don't think you would-"
"Hurt Tina?!" Wade assumed, understanding Jasmine's concern as he gave a horrified glance to the two sisters. Standing with his fists to his hips, he gave his answer to Jasmine's presumed question. "Don't even say such a thing, Jasmine. I'd rather overheat than dare strike her."
Admittedly amused as well as concerned for Wade's selflessness, Tina chuckled at him before speaking up on the matter. "Now now, Wade. It won't be so bad. We'll manage."
Jasmine nodded as she agreed with her sister's optimistic view on the problem. "Indeed we will, we always do." Then, taking notice of the other two drones in the room, Jasmine smiled at them before speaking again. "Ah, I see you brought some friends too."
Wade and Tina glanced over to Nathan and F upon Jasmine's statement, the two friends smiling pleasantly as Wade spoke up. "Oh, yeah. These are some of my work buddies from Ceres, Jasmine. This is Nathan, I first met him when Ron and I came to the mines, showed us around a bit too." Putting a hand on F's shoulder, Wade introduced her too. "And this is Serial Designation F, or, just F. She was one of the guards keeping watch on the place while we worked."
F seemed to blush out of embarrassment as she remembered her and Wade's first meeting. "I... did come off a little rough on them when they first came in, though. Stopped Nathan's touring run too. Just following colony protocol."
Nathan patted F's back as he tried to ease F's guilt. "Oh, it's nothing F. We had to start work in a few minutes anyway. Besides, it's a bit more fun exploring the place yourself without a guide." He winked at the others as he finished his praise. "Trust me, it really is."
Wade, Tina and Jasmine all chuckled at their friend's amusing words, F joining in as she replied to Nathan's encouragement. "Alright, alright."
Walking up to the two, Tina put her hand onto Nathan's as she gave her own praises. "And they may not look like it, dear, but Nathan and F were both formerly in the military, from what Wade's told me."
Jasmine gave a proud smirk at the two as she responded to her sister's claim. "Well, that's quite something. Did she tell you we used to fly for them some years back?"
"Oh, she did, Mrs. Fowley." Nathan replied as he chuckled lightly, F giving a smile of her own as she added her own part to the story.
"Yeah, and given what's happening now, maybe they might call you back for service again. Wade told me you two were excellent pilots."
It was now Jasmine's turn to blush as she chuckled from the compliment, knowing Wade's high praise for her and her sister's flying as she replied. "Well, I can't say that's wrong, Tina saved the day during the flight back here. We ran into an asteroid cluster while in the middle of a jump."
Wade patted Tina on her back as he quietly cheered his love on. "That's what I'm talking about, she's a wonder among the stars, I'm telling you!"
The group fell into an excited fit of laughter at the conversation, a few of the bar patrons taking notice of the bunch as they eventually ceased their joyful moment.
As everyone calmed down, Jasmine spoke up, intending to bring the discussion to another place. "Well, with all that said, it feels great to see you all here. It was such a terrible day after all those company folk showed up." Then, as she scanned the group of friends around her, she noticed someone else missing from this puzzle. "Hey, uh... is Ron here? Did he head off somewhere?"
The mood was quickly put down to a mournful aura as Wade and Tina glanced to the floor in sadness, Nathan and F giving uncomfortable postures as they awaited for someone to speak up on the matter.
Eventually, Wade was the one to open his mouth, breathing steadily as he tried to speak to Jasmine. "Um, Jasmine? Things, uh... really took a nose dive after we got captured. You think we could find a place to sit? It's a lot to talk about."
Looking to the four drones with concern, Jasmine eased her returning fear as she nodded to Wade in agreement. "...Sure, there's plenty of space at the table here." Pointing her arm to the table, which was surrounded by a U-shaped seating bench, Wade and his friends began to move to the table as Tina spoke up.
"I can get us some drinks for the talk, you all want anything?"
"Just some oil, thanks. "Wade answered as F and Nathan gave their own nods to Tina, the drone girl walking over to the bartender near the stage as she went to purchase some beverages.
Sitting down, Jasmine picked up her smartcomm from the table, glancing to it as she spoke up on her half-finished drink. "Heh, and to think I was drowning myself in this drag of a drink before. Probably have to find a different glass."
"Proxi-Vodka? Haven't seen you touch that since we lost Aunt Susan." Wade said solemnly as he examined Jasmine's drink, sighing as he reluctantly continued. "Well, maybe it can go for a few more sips."
Looking to the vodka, Jasmine nodded as she put her smartcomm in her pocket. "I figured, I didn't think this was gonna sound good."
"I wish it did." Wade replied as Tina walked back to the table, a plate of three oil glasses resting on her careful hand as she set it down.
After delivering the drinks, Tina took a seat next to Wade, holding his hand as Jasmine spoke up. "So, where do we start this terrible story?"
Wade gulped a bit as he began to recount the events that transpired today. "Well, it all started when Ron and I came back from the mining colony."

So, as title says, I’ve just returned to the game after playing years ago (last pack was old gods for example).
I’ve heard from some people that returned a bit before me that they got given a deck, complete with legandaries and the like. Now, I’ve looked up online, and it says you have to complete the ‘Apprentice Track’ to get such a deck. The issue is though, I don’t think I’ve access to one? I’ve started at Rank 10 bronze, and that’s about it.
It very unclear trying to figure stuff out, and seems it’s only gotten worse in the instructional department since I played, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm an AB with well over 540 days, including time on towing vessels.
To get my apprentice mate steersman, could anyone recommend whether I should test directly with the coast guard at a REC or should I attend a course with a school somewhere?
Would taking a course "in lieu of Coast Guard examination" mean I don't have to test at the REC?

Big 4 apprentice. Second certificate exam. Feel like a massive idiot basically and let myself down.
Has anyone failed a certificate before? How did you go about passing it the next time?
Also, is it worth stopping at certificate level before I am in too deep? Really not sure the ACA is for me.

I got to thinking about the powers of a Meruem who survived the Rose poison and went on to rule the world. This also assumes he is aware of the Dark Continent and that there are creatures there who could pose a threat to him. These Hatsu will be seperated into categories, since there's a lot of them.
Mostly, this was a chance to go absolutely wild with the pinnacle of Nen. I hope you enjoy reading busted abilities.
Foundational:
Aura Synthesis (Emission): By consuming the aura of another individual, Meruem permanently adds their aura to his reserves. This also allows him to reverse engineer any Hatsu they possessed perfectly, and improve them using his own Nen skill.
En Photons (Emission): By emitting individual particles of Nen, Meruem can gain the effects of En with effectively zero effort or aura investiture. More importantly, En Photons in contact with an individual with aura can become laden in the targets aura, returning to Meruem and activating Aura Synthesis. This means that, just by being in the same area as someone, Meruem can copy their Hatsu, and take as much of their aura reserves for himself as he pleases, though this is obviously massively faster the closer Meruem is to the target.
Specialization Access: By absorbing Aura from many specialists, Meruem gained the ability to use Specialization as if it were a normal Nen type, with 60% efficiency.
Combat:
Unshackle (Specialization): Meruem can only use this ability in a situation where he feels harm could come upon him from a source other than himself. To activate it, he must cut himself, and he cannot use Nen (including Enhancement healing) to heal it, or allow another to heal it for him. Once activated, Meruem gains 100% efficiency in all Nen categories while Unshackled. When Meruem ends this ability, 99% of his Aura pool is sealed away from him for ten times as long as he maintained Unshackle.
Transformation (Transmutation): A mix of Youpi's shapeshifting and Beelzebub, this ability allows Meruem to freely alter his form for mobility, combat, healing, and more. This is so potent that, as long as Meruem can maintain a a core the size of an ant, he can reform from nearly anything that doesn't destroy him on a cellular level. Unshackled, this ability allows Meruem to manipulate his body at the molecular level, though reconstituting large numbers of destroyed cells requires immense focus.
Spiritual Message (Emission, Manipulation): Meruem can read the mental, emotional, and aura makeup of anyone in contact with his En photons. This is so detailed that he can read minds and determine the Hatsu of targets instantly. This works on Dark Continent entities, though their complexity and uniqueness means that Meruem needs a few moments to derive useful conclusions, which is greatly reduced when Unshackled.
Mirror Clone (Emission, Manipulation): An emitted copy of himself, mirror clones do not have real substance and can be destroyed if their physical form is disrupted. They can use most of his Hatsu, and any aura granted to them is returned to Meruem if they are destroyed or are dismissed, as well as memories of everything they experienced. Although Mirror clones can move independently, they lack their own consciousness, and generally act on the last order given to them by Meruem.
Perfect Clone (Conjuration, Manipulation): Can only be activated when Unshackled. A true flesh and blood copy of Meruem. Instead of being granted a sum of Aura on creation, a Perfect Clone is instead granted a percentage of Meruem's pool, which it can recover on its own if expended, potentially even growing with Aura Synthesis. Perfect Clone is fully independent, and acts as an exact copy of Meruem's consciousness, meaning that personality drift is a real danger. Meruem considers this ability undignified, but holds it in reserve for creatures like Ai that can instantly kill anything at any range. If either the copy or original dies, the remainder receives the full Aura pool.
False Form (Conjuration): By using replacement-type conjuration to create a copy of his own body, Meruem can sustain bodily harm without it affecting his actual body. This ability normally has a latency of half a second to re-create a destroyed body part, but this is removed when Unshackled.
Executioner's Sword (Conjuration): Only usable Unshackled. Anything living pierced by this blade dies. Only one can be conjured at a time, even between clones.
Domain:
Heart of the Emperor (Conjuration): Meruem conjures an onyx shard. Any creature with this shard embedded in their heart is protected against the majority of the negative effects of Meruem's domains. Anyone else with a shard is treated as Meruem for the purpose of the domains effects.
Domain Activation (Emission): Can only be used Unshackled. Meruem emits a Nen space and teleports himself and any number of other targets into it. Each domain can only be activated if all previous domains were unsucessful in defeating one or more targets inside, and were active for at least 30 seconds on that target. Although each domain has a unique ability, all of them teleport En Photons directly between Meruem and the target, causing Aura drain to happen at a ludicrous rate.
Dimensional Anchor (Emission): Anything struck by the ray fired by this ability finds themselves unable to teleport by any means. This also foils any attempts to escape emitted spaces.
Domain I - Fields of Mourning (Manipulation): A seemingly infinite, listless field, this domain exploits the emotional vulnerabilities of the target, forcing victims to relive trauma, become overwhelmed with regret, or simply have all motivation drained away from them. Meruem can skip this domain against opponents that do not have emotions.
Domain 2 - Chains of Tartarus (Manipulation, Conjuration, Specialization): Worked stone and metal chains fill this domain. Targets inside of this domain have their body, mind, and aura seperated, unable to interact with each other. The body is paralyzed, the mind filled with pain and chaotic thoughts, and the aura rendered inert. Chans and manacles are conjured onto the target that interfere their ability to act in any way.
Domain 3 - Pits of Asphodel (Emission, Transmutation, Manipulation, Conjuration, Enhancement, Specialization): Pools of magma and gouts of flames fill this domain. This domain attempts to physically destroy the target by as many means as possible simultaneously. Heat, cold, vibration, ionization, entropy, and many more methods are used to destroy the target at an atomic, or sometimes subatomic level.
Domain 4 - Weight of Chronos (Specialization): A massive clock as the floor, with an endless abyss in every direction. This domain stops time, freezes space, and calcifies reality. Even Meruem is able to only observe and think, though he has near omniescense in this state within the domain. The purpose of this domain is to give Meruem the chance to observe, calculate, and formulate against a target that was able to resist the first three domains.
Domain 5 - Personalized Tapestry of Fate (Specialization + More?); The exact parameters of this domain are created while Weight of Chronos is active. Its purpose is to exploit weaknesses of the target in a way that allows them to be destroyed in ways that were not possible with the previous domains. If this is not possible with something standard, this serves simply to delay the target until the sixth domain unlocks.
Domain 6 - Unraveling (Specialization, Manipulation): Reality itself begins to unravel as this domain activates. This domain does not attack the target's body, mind, or aura. Instead, it attacks them as a concept, unraveling their very being at such a foundational level that there is little opportunity to resist.
Domain 7 - Colosseum (Enhancement): A large, roman colosseum. If all else fails, wearing the target down may be the only choice. When this domain activates, Meruem may take the opportunity to create a Perfect Clone outside the domain. While the domain is active, Meruem becomes five times more potent in every regard, and targets become five times weaker. Meruem also has his Aura efficiency massively increased, with expended aura mostly trickling back into his Aura pool, making him limitlessly enduring, while targets become massively inefficient, expending many times what they would even in a non weakened state. Note that this applies to unusual abilities like Ai's wishes as well.
Utility:
Teleportation (Emission): Meruem or something he targets teleports. This is instantaneous up to 100 meters (1 kilometer Unshackled), but requires concentration proportional to distance for longer teleports. In his Emitted spaces, Meruem can freely teleport anywhere within or between them. Can be used to escape Conjured or Emitted spaces.
Reactive Instincts (Manipulation, Specialization): Meruem is constantly self-manipulated with this ability, which reacts to danger or unusual situations. It can intuit danger that Meruem would have no way of percieving, and can activate any of his Hatsu autonomously. If someone wished for Alluka to kill Meruem, Reactive Instincts would Unshackle and create a Perfect Clone immediately before he died, allowing him to escape unscathed.
Hideaway (Emission, Conjuration): Meruem creates a new space, 'layered' slightly off from regular reality, and tucks himself or something else there. Although he can still percieve his surroundings with En Photons, very few methods can locate or target something that doesn't exist within regular spacetime.
Sacrificial Exorcism (Emission, Specialization): If Meruem is affected with a Nen curse or similar affliction, he may transfer it to a willing target in the form of a disease. Although powerful curses may result in afflictions on the same level as what Gon suffered, they will never be fatal (though survival may become nearly impossible with something on that level). If the target retains the curse for at leas ten years, and is still loyal to Meruem, their death causes the curse to die with them.
Exotic Matter Manipulation (Transmutation, Manipulation): Although technically many hatsu, I decided to group these together. Using his knowledge of physics, Meruem can create unusual states of matter to perform incredible feats, like creating black holes to form stable wormholes, to using transmuted antimatter to convert matter into energy. Physicists could probably suggest more weird stuff. Many of these must be Unshackled to come into effect properly.
Identity Safeguard (Specialization, Emission): Tucked away in an emitted space is a copy of the concept that makes Meruem what he is. If this is damaged somehow, he can use his backup.
Matter Reconstruction (Manipulation, Transmutation, Emission): Meruem can manipulate matter he infuses his aura into, reconfiguring it into any form he desires. Unshackled, this can manipulate atoms, changing the elements of the matter he is working with.
Timestream Shift (Specialization): If multiple streams of time are occurring simultaneously, he can enter whichever he pleases. Against Netero, he could use this ability to match Netero's time compression.

I have been on UC for 4 years and was awarded LCRWA for depression. A few years ago the DWP asked me if I wanted to join a bootcamp to become lorry driver. I did consider this avenue, but I was told I would have failed because, at the time, I had severe suicidal thoughts and I would have had to surrender my driving licence, so I thought, let's not wake the sleeping dog and I put that to rest.
4 years on, I am still depressed but my suicidality has improved. I am not sure if these opportunities still exist, probably not, but if they are still there and I took part in one of these schemes, would I lose the LCWRA element?
All this, assuming this is either not paid or paid as apprentice. If instead I was paid full time, in this case, I'd more that happily leave UC for good.
Sorry if this sounds confused, but this is what I am.
(Whether that would be a good move is a different story)

As the title states, I applied for the Pharm Tech apprenticeship at my local Walgreens. I am transferring from being a busboy at a restaurant to this, any advice?

Hi everyone!
I'm a 37 male who just moved to Perth from Singapore in Feb on a spousal visa with my wife. I used to be in the public relations/public comms industry but have decided to try something entirely different and do some hands on work. I am two months in as a landscape labourer, but am considering doing an apprenticeship in carpentry or cabinet making (or maybe landscape construction; current company is great but work seems to be mainly landscape maintenance), mainly because I've found that I enjoy building/creating things. For example, one of my hobbies is actually building customised automatic watches.
One of my main concerns would be pay. We have a 2 years 9 months old kid, but I reckon we could get by on the mature age apprentice pay if we scrimp and save in other areas. My wife works as well so if we manage our finances well, I think we should be able to survive.
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hi I'm electrical engineering student waiting for my graduation. Planning to enhance my skills in AutoCAD and sketchup. If you need some drawings, please let me know my prices are very affordable!

• AutoCAD drawings, floor plans, etc.

AutoCAD electrical - Lighting Layout - Power Layout - Single line diagram - Schedule of loads - Design Calculations
SketchUp - Houses, exterior
If you want you can hire me as your intern/apprentice, who knows maybe I can help you in your projects. Thank you!
Contacts:
Email: juanpicks231@gmail.com
VibeWhatsApp: +639161033407