Just something I was pondering the other day after having a discussion with a co-worker about minimalism. She had no idea that I consider myself a minimalist because I am always the most fashionable person in the office. I broke down my wardrobe to her and she was stunned at how it worked and how she had never noticed the "repetition" before. My co-worker had the stereotype of minimalists in her head: that we all strive to own as little as humanly possible and that we wear super plain things like jeans and black t-shirts as our daily uniform. So, just curious about other minimalists who love fashion of some form and how you do it! I'll outline my system below now for those curious! It's long to type out, but was actually pretty quick conversation over lunch in person!
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Basically, besides socks/bras/underwear here is what I own:

1. Leggings. I have about 12 pairs of leggings that are either capris or full-length and basic neutrals like black, grey, and brown. I have 2 pair of fleece-lined ones for winter and separate workout leggings. I buy these new and from two different brands I really like. Replace as needed.
   
2. Dresses. I have about 20-25 dresses at any given moment and they are all simple, classic cuts (t-shirt, a-line, sundress etc.) with a few sweater dresses and maxi dresses. I don't buy "themed" dresses, such as prints that are very obviously Christmas or Halloween. I stick to neutral solid colors and basic patterns like stripes and polka dots, as well as small non-flashy florals. Most of these dresses are thrifted and I enjoy the hunt for something. I do sometimes purchase new dresses but only if they are high quality, extremely versatile, look fantastic on me, and I can get them in several colors/patterns and just buy 4 versions of it in one go.
   
3. Cover-ups. This is where the "style" comes in. I have about 15-20 different coverups in different styles that are ALL thrifted. They consist of things like cardigans, blazers, vests, button-down shirts, and light jackets. These are all pretty neutral as well but I love finding pieces with a little flair to them. Like, I have 2 denim vests, one that is just a plain, simple vest and one that has fun embroidered daisy patches on it.
   
4. Shoes. I pretty much only ever have 9 pairs of shoes. 2 pair of sneakers, 2 pairs of sandals, 2 fashion boots (ankle/riding), 2 ballet flats, and 1 pair of work boots. These are all new and slightly higher quality and I rarely have to replace one, besides the pair or sneakers and boots that I work out/hike in and thus get worn down more quickly.
   
5. Accessories. I have a small collection of scarves, jewelry, purses, belts, and a few odds and ends like that.
   

The only pants I own are a pair of hiking pants and a pair of work overalls! I do have in one part of my sock drawer two hiking t-shirts, a swimsuit, and sleeping shorts/sweats. That's it.
ALL of this fits in one 4 drawer dresser and 1 standard size hanging clothes rack, taking up maybe one quarter of my walk-in closet. Yes, including the accessories. Most of the closet is just storage for the seasonal things like our small boxes of holiday décor, our snowshoes, and the cushions for our patio furniture. There are two whole shelves just empty in there.
Now, the fashionable part is that because all my clothes are mainly neutrals or very subtle little extras, they all mix and match, and I can throw an accessory on to completely change the feel of the outfit. The day my co-worker and I were talking about fashion and minimalism I was wearing a plain black sundress with a plain denim vest, plain blue sandals, and a summery scarf tied in my hair. I told her this was the same dress I wore to the big fancy fundraising dinner last November, but I paired it with a black blazer, my black riding boots, black leggings, and a simple pearl necklace/earring set. I also worse this dress/boot/legging combo to our Christmas party too, I just switched the blazer for a red cardigan and threw on a white scarf and snowflake earrings. She was flabbergasted and she swore she'd never seen this dress on me before. But I literally wear this dress all the time. I've repaired the straps on it twice and the hem once, it's that old and loved. I love taking the same core pieces and mixing & matching them in creative ways to create whole new looks. I've worn the same dress three times in one week and gotten compliments on my outfit from the same people telling me I always look so put together. People think I must own a whole closet full of clothes and spend tons of money, but I don't. It's just strategy! _________________________________________________________
WOW, that was long! But who else can I talk all this out with, lol! There's gotta be SOMEONE here that loves fashion as a minimalist too, or someone who thinks they have to give it up to be a minimalist. This post is for us!

(I made this a while ago on a old account and just remembered about it so I decided to post it here hopefully y'all enjoy)
I don't have long. I go on walks in the woods before bed nothing too creepy happens. Well one time I head a wolf so I had to run didn't go back in the woods for a few week. But then I started my nightly walks it was the middle of winter and unlike most stories there was no snow. So I was walking around just exploring I had a bottle of water and a pack of peanuts and some chips. I usually walk for a hour or two so I was at the 45 minute mark of my walk when I heard what sounded like a stick being stepped on.
I stopped form a moment and waited to see if I head any thing else sounded like somebody walking. Not here's something u should know I don't ever see anybody else out here unless if it somebody who needs me and came looking for me. So hearing this was creepy I started walking a little faster but trying to stay quiet so who or what ever was out there didn't find me. I wouldn't go back cus it sounded to my right and a little behind me I turned around and kept looking over my shoulder but I didn't see anything.
It did stop for a bit and after 15 minutes I thought I would head back plus it was starting to get dark so I kept a kinda fast pace just in case. It took about 25 minutes before I head it again but this time it sounded close and was back the way I came and now to what's now my right what what would of been my left earlier. So I when into a speed of someone skipping and after about what felt like 3 minutes I head a small quiet moan. It sounded like a old man that had fallen and was in pain. I stopped hoping no body was hurt I listened and head it again it's wasn't louder or quieter it sound the same direction away.
The voice called and said simiss who ever there please help me I fell and I thing I twisted my ankle. It took me a moment to think and called out. Are you ok do u need me to get help I don't have my phone but I'll run and get help it mite take me a moment.
It took the man a moment before I head.
No please don't leave me out here I don't want to be eaten by a bear or wolf's please I was out looking for my dog I haven't seen her in a few days and I came looking I head u and I was trying to ask if you seen her.
I was about to answer him but then I remembered something a few nights ago I was out for my usual walks a butt earlier in the day than usual. I was bored that day and had nothing to do anyway I was walking around when I smelled something It Small like death I thought a wolf or bear had killed something so I went towards the smell carefully not to be head by any animals just In case one was eating. What I saw scared me it was a dog it was black with white areas on it not sopts but just ares of white. What I say made me pulk the fruit snacks I was eating while walking don't worry I was putting the trash in my pocket.
Anyway what u saw was the dogs guts and all our own the ground blood everywhere and bugs on and Inside the thing it was disgusting I was starting to tear up I didn't know what to do but the thing that scared me was that it looked like it was ripped open and bite marks was on its neck and on its back it was missing it left front leg and back right leg.
I took a picture of it before leaving that was 5 days ago now back to the old man. I asked him what color his dog was and he said.
It was black and patches of white fur.
And before I said anything else I realized something was worng about his story he said his dog went missing 3 days ago but the corpse of the dog I found was 5 days ago. Meaning eather there was two different dogs that where black and white or this guy was lying. Eather way I had my guard up just in case. I know I didn't mention this before but I always bring a pocket knife with me just in case. I asked the man if he was alone he said.
Yes but my wife will be worried if I'm not back soon.
It was almost completely night if I didn't figure this out soon then it would be harder to get help with it being dark and the animals that will come out. I ask the guy if he lived hear by and if I could get his wife and this is what he said.
NO! i-i-i m-mean I live a bit away about 37 minutes u mite not "come back in time". And I don't want to "be" by my self for to long do please ( now crying ) PLEASE COME HERE.
I started to become scared he sounded louder and a bit closer and mader. And before I respond some caught me off guard his voice when he said.
Come back in time. And be.
His voice sounded lowers and not of a old man. I took 2 steps back and yelled to him. ILL BE Bring HELP IF I RUN IT SHOULDN'T TAKE ME LONG. ... ... ... I didn't go hear anything for a what felt like 27 seconds I heard a loud deep scream. It only took my a second before I booked it I hard running behind me I only looked back once and that all I need to run faster. What u saw was a haft rotten corpse of a old man running after me his limbs was moving at odd angle as the Thing ran it looked like it was losing ski. It had a missing eye and a few teeth missing. I ran and ran I heard it getting closer and closer. After what felt like forever of running I remember I had a knife
I took the knife in my hand I didn't have good ame so if I wanted to slow it down I had to get close. ... Way to close. So after a little bit more of running I turned around with my knife in hand and blade open. When I turned around I saw nothing I knew I heard it running but I had ran for a good bit so it mite of stopped with out me knowing. But I didn't stick around cus I thought I heard leafs breaking so I started running again after a bit I got back to my house and took no time unlocking the door and going inside and locking the door but I still didn't feel safe so I went around my small home and looked I. All the rooms after that I made sure all the doors were locked and locked all the windows and closed the blinds and certains.
I heated me up some left over pizza I had and went to my room and watched some YouTube. I didn't sleep that night the for the next few safe to say the I haven't went out at the for the next few days after a week I started to be able to sleep I work form home so I didn't leave unless I had to which wasn't often just to get food/drink's/mail now for the main reason I'm telling this story I watch the news form time to time and on this night I was watching it while scroll through TikTok when I heard on the new they found a missing guy dead on the road.
Now I turned up the volume just u don't hear this alot atlest I don't want scared me the most that it was the guy that was chasing me when I say the my jaw dropped then I found out it was the road about 5 miles away from my house. Let's just say that I got me some food and water my knife block full of all of it's knives and locked me in my bedroom and the other door leading to my baft room the thing that terrified me the most is the big window in my bedroom room this is not a tiw storie house so if anything could happen.
Now the reason I'm waiting all this I heard tapping on my window and knocking on my front door ik it's that thing and I now know what it is I saw it's shadow on my window certain it had a human like body with what looked like a deer skull I'm being hunted by a wendigo and ik I will died if this is my last time hear I just want y'all to know if u ever hear walking in the woods RUN cus I don't have long to live.

Hi all,
Symptoms for last two years: + Dry nasal inflammation internally. No infection. + Incredibly stiff shoulders and neck.
29M, 180cm, 88kg, living in EU, IBS and reflux sufferer since 14, moved into a new apartment in July 2022 and a couple of months later I started to have nasal inflammation (no infection, no runny nose or no mucus just nose getting blocked like concrete) and breathing problems through nose gave me tens of other physical anxiety symptoms which last year ended up in 9 months of antidepressants and psychotherapy. Since I moved in, I have observed silverfish around the apartment from time to time and since they are an indication of dust and dust mites, my focus was always on fixing probable dust mite issue. Although if mites existed I believe they would've been already eliminated because of the stuff I tried.
Stuff I tried:

• Examinations by ENT and family doctor
• Stop consuming milk products or at least lactose most of the time.
• To reduce dust mite and silverfish population, lowering the humidity, lowering the heat, and getting rid of dust/papers/cereals in the apartment.
• Administrating Avamys spray for months (Fluticasone furoate)
• Administrating Nasonex spray for months (Mometasone furoate monohydrate)
• Administrating Flonase spray for months (Fluticasone propionate)
• 240mg Pseudoedepherine tablets (can't use them anymore due to triggering physical anxiety symptoms)
• Crebros antihistamine tablets (Levocetirizine dihydrochloride)
• Loratin antihistamine tablets (Loratadine)
• Neti Pot (Water + Salt + Xylitol)
• Saline sprays (Water + Salt)
• Nasal Inhilator (Ocalyptus + Menthol)
• Moistruzer nose spray (Natural oils)
• Allergodil antihistamine nose spray (azelastine)
• Air Dehumidifier
• Air Humidifier
• Air Purifier
• Keeping windows open for days
• Vacuuming floors and furnitures daily with HEPA filtered self-cleaning robot, 800W HEPA Filtered floor Vacuum, HEPA Filtered Cordless FlooHand Vacuum, and Mattress Cleaner emitting UV light.
• Xylometazoline spray (This becomes a last resort if I can't sleep at night, but I can live without using for months)
• Nasal strips (Using at nights, they somewhat saved me from dependency on Xylometazoline)
• Massage Gun in case if the nasal issues are the result of constant muscle tension instead of vice-versa.

Tests conducted:

• Blood allergy test for common allergens (which came out negative for everything)
• Nasal endoscopy by ENT (Some dryness was found, but no polyps, no deviation, no infection)
• At home Sleep Apnea Test by sleep clinic with and without CPAP (No apnea or blood oxygen issue was found, but intermediate hypopnea was found probably due to nasal inflammation)
• Nasal breathing test, which showed improvement in breathing through nose when Xylometazoline is administrated which indicated to my doctor the Xylometazoline dependency, but quitting the spray for months doesn't show any improvement. Go to QuitAfrin and you will see no one had issues after quitting the spray for at most two weeks.

Things I did not try yet but I will be looking into this year:

• VivAer or any surgical procedure
• CT Scan (Tomograhpy) on sinuses
• Seeing an allergist on July 2024.
• Mold test
• Test to see what chemicals are used for wall paints. (Happened to another Redditor)
• Lose weight (I was 65 kg in 2020, last year ended up almost 100kg due to antidepressant but I already started having health issues when I went over 80 kg in 2021.)
• Wheat-free diet, keto diet and other anti-inflammatory diets.
• Wet fasting, dry fasting, daily intermittent fasting.
• Acupunture, spa, sensory deprivation tank, massage, exercise/cardio/lifting at gym, yoga to reduce anxiety and also sauna (one Redditor fixed his issue permanently by going to sauna only two times)
• Kimchi powder

I'm open for all recommendations or possible diagnoses. American friends, please don't tell me to move out, here healthcare is free not moving out.
Thank you

I received a promotional email from Virgin Voyages a few weeks ago that mentioned status and comp offer matches. The email contained a link to fill out a form for review, where you would also upload evidence of your status or comp offers, and stated someone from Virgin Voyages would get back to me within 48-72 business hours.
I’m no “high roller” by any means, but because I go to Vegas and/or the MGM National Harbor 1-3 times a year, I periodically receive comp offers for free hotel stays. So I uploaded screenshots of 3-4 night free hotel comps at MGM properties as well as The Cosmopolitan in Vegas, thinking I might get a discount on a VV cruise, but after 7 days, I still have not received even a “you didn’t qualify” email.
What’s been everyone else’s experience with Virgin Voyages’s status/comp match (“Casino Player Inquiry”)? I have not been on a cruise with VV before but would like to. The form asked for a specific Voyage, so I entered one of the Carribean cruises in February. Not sure if either that makes a big difference or not.

so I've been preparing and giving exams for bdes(design) for uceed and nid. In nid first round i got rank 46 and gave my second round about 2 weeks ago. Before my results for nid were out, i filled forms for cuet because I wasn't expecting a good rank and was expecting to take a partial drop, but after my results in my mind i thought i wouldn't have to give cuet and haven't been preparing for it.
Even in the past two weeks, my parents didn't tell me to study for cuet, but since yesterday they've been nagging me about cuet and asking me about the admit card.
This is so anxiety inducing for me, i haven't prepared anything for any of the tests(i took physics and maths) and now my family keeps telling me to give the test even. In my mind i keep hoping the admit card page doesn't load so that i don't have to give the tests.
Should i talk to my family about this, or should i keep my mouth shut and give the exams with zero preparation.

Am I wrong for reporting this Dr to the Medical Board?
Basically what happened is I went to the ED for concerns of Serotonin Toxicity. Or Serotonin Syndrome (SS). I was taking an adhd stimulant and just started an ssri. And more recently just upped my ssri dose. Upon upping my dose, I began shaking, sweating, no appetite, didn’t sleep for 3 days, was having moments of disorientation and confusion. Spouse also said my pupils were dilated. As the days went on my shaking got worse. My muscles, specifically my legs hurt so badly. I wanted to sleep. But I couldn’t physically stop shaking to sleep. And by day 2, my eyes were shaking side to side as well. My prescribing doc had told me about SS. She said “you won’t have to guess if you’re experiencing SS cause it will truly be so awful, you won’t have to wonder. Before going to the ED I looked up SS on UpToDate (the medical version of Google that doctors actually use) to make sure I wasn’t being over dramatic, that it wasn’t something I could handle at home, and just make sure my symptoms even remotely matched up. And they did. They matched up perfectly. It was saying for a Serotonin Syndrome diagnosis you’d need to take at least one serotonin drug AND have one or more of the following symptoms, 1- muscle twitching or jerking without stimulation (had that), 2-Muscle Twitching when stimulated or stretched, and restlessness and excessive sweating (had all of those) 3- Rapid horizontal eye movements (yep) 4- Shaking movements a person cannot control plus exaggerated reflexes (yep) 5- a fever (did not have that)
And that SS is a clinical diagnosis. Meaning there is no bloodwork no testing to confirm you have it or that it’s ruled out. So if you get labwork and nothing is wrong like a heart attack for example, but you’re having allll the SS symptoms, and you’re taking 1 serotonin drug, then it’s SS.
So I was like well heck let me go rule it out at least cause I’m just getting worse as time goes on and the longer I take this new upped SSRI dose with my adhd stimulant. And it was symptoms from hades. It was not fun.
In the ED my bp was 160/105, heart rate was 160’s. I told them I had concerns for SS because of the meds I take and how I just upped my Prozac dose. My symptoms. Etc. keep in mind. I’m trembling and jerking uncontrollably for 3 days now, haven’t slept in 3 days either. It was horrible. Doctor comes in, I reiterate everything to him ( as quickly as I can bc my teeth are chattering from my shakes) They do labwork and a urine analysis.
While I’m waiting for my results. The staff is outside my door talking incredibly loud. They are talking about a pt a few rooms beside me. The pt name, birthday, what they received as care, the patients ailments, etc. literally everything about this pt. And how we happened to have the same doctor that night (there was multiple dr in the ED that night, we just happened to share one). I thought to myself “Gosh that’s sad. When the doctor comes in here, if he seems off or sad, I need to give him some grace because that must be really hard”
So the doctor comes in. And tell me looks like all my labwork is good, that I should just go home and get some rest and that I have 30 protein and 70 ketones in my urine so I should also drink water and eat something. I told him again, I would love to rest, but I have slept in 3 days and I can’t sleep bc of my symptoms. He then prescribes me a sleep aid and immediately walks out of the room. I was confused because he never once mentioned the SS concern? Like ever at all? Just said my labs looked good.
So the nurse comes in with my discharge paperwork. And I asked her if the doctor remembered which pt and concerns I was having. Bc I understood it was a busy night for them and mix ups can happen. But my concern for SS wasn’t mentioned. She said he definitely remembered me. That he just doesn’t know the reason for my shaking or my other symptoms and my labs look fine. I told her that’s good my labs are fine but there’s not SS labs so how are we sure we’ve ruled SS out? She rolls her eyes and huffs and leaves. She comes back with the dr and he rips open my ED room curtain and punches the light on. And he goes “Look Kid. You’re going home! You’re not in any emergency whatsoever!!” I said “that’s fine. I just want to make sure we’ve ruled SS out as..” and he cuts me off and says “Look. You’ve had a FULL work up. Your labs are fine. You being here right now isn’t going to get you the answers you want” I said “I understand my labs are fine, but there’s no such thing as Serotonin Syndrome labs, it’s an exclusion dx so how are we sure we’ve ruled it out?” And he goes “You know what. Let’s have psychiatry come take a look at you and do a psych eval for you. But. How about this? I’ll be nice about it. You can do it inpatient tonight, or outpatient since you’re leaving. Your choice” I was absolutely appalled by this tactic. But I could see it for what it was. He was probably emotional over the other pt. Or was on a power trip and hated me having questions. Or both. So I said “I’ll do it outpatient. Thanks” and I begin shakily taking my monitors off so I can waddle on out the ED best I can and go on home. As I’m taking my monitors off he goes “Nope. Stop. Something doesn’t seem right about you. Are you safe at home? You seem really emotional and off” just to give him something to get off my back I said “I’m good. Just about to get my period I guess” and he goes “Mm makes sense. Well sounds good kid!!” And leaves.
What I think is incredibly interesting is that according to the hospital they addressed my SS concerns during my ED visit. So this would now mean that SS can now be diagnosed via labwork and heart and lung sounds. And no longer being on one serotonin drug AND one Hunter Criteria. Never mind the fact I was on 2 serotonin drugs and had more than one hunter criteria. And the fact that UpToDate says “there are no labs to indicate serotonin syndrome” this is now a medical catalyst!!! A complete 180 has been found by this doctor and hospital. Truly a break through. But nonetheless, I felt the way he spoke to me was absolutely insane and aside from him not addressing my SS concern but quite literally threatening me with a psych eval because I had questions?

My wife and I have finished up our 2 week honeymoon and man was it a blast. We were lucky enough to follow up 10 days in Croatia with 3 days in Dublin before coming home (stayed near Dartry.. beautiful, quiet area). Here are my takeaways:
The people are wonderful
From our first Uber driver to the friendly pubs and the considerate strangers on the Dart.. most everyone was so welcoming and willing to help if we had any questions. It reminded me of the Midwest nice that we experience here in the states. The main highlight here was having a great conversation with the gentlemen that played at Trinity Bar on Sunday night - I believe they are called Shamrock(?). We told them about out little girl coming in September and they were nice enough to give us a CD.. so cool!
Temple Bar area is cool in moderation
This area provided the energy, for sure. But it was a weekend, very nice out, so you had a lot of numbskulls out and about. But really really fun nonetheless. Trinity Bar was the perfect stop for us because it was very close, but not nearly as busy or outrageously priced in comparison.
Doheny Nesbits & Devitts ... A+
Two really enjoyable experiences we had were at these pubs. Loved the general vibe, as well as the food and drink quality. I will definitely be back.
Public transport is fairly easy (TFI Live app.. meh)
We bought two Ubers our entire time in Dublin. The public transportation is great. But I have one gripe. The TFI Live app is only 1 or 2 really smart tech people from becoming an amazing app. Why hasn't anyone figured that out? The user experience is quite poor. While learning the system, it's a headache trying to figure out exactly where each stop is, having to bounce around between 2 sections of the app, as well as looking at Google Maps at the same time.
On the topic of transportation.....
GET THE VISITOR LEAP CARD
Just do it.
Wonderful breakfasts
Beanhive Coffee (right near Stephen's Green), and Lark Cafe. DELICIOUS.
EPIC Museum
The emigration history of Ireland was very fascinating to both of us. Ireland has such a complicated history, and I'm not sure there's any other history like it in the world (granted, I'm no expert). I would love to do more research sometime into this stuff because my wife has lots of Irish in her family tree, and I believe I would find a little bit of it in mine.
Final thoughts...
I just really wish we had more time there, but I think this solidified one thing for me, and that's that I will definitely be coming back to Ireland. From south of Dublin, to the Guinness tour, to our Howth adventure.. everything was different, but a lot of fun. Makes me excited to see what else Ireland has to offer. I'm also a huge lover of golf and golf history, so this is another reason I want to come back.
UNTIL NEXT TIME!

Names have been altered/changed
So I (24,f) was in an LDR with my ex Sam (33,m) and upfront he was a nice guy, a really sweet guy. He made me always laugh and feel loved and I would always let him know that I would cherish every single minute that we were on a call.
My reason why I had to break up with Sam, was because of 3 events that happened during our relationship that went in weird way. Atleast my friends thought it that way.
So event 1:
I was out with my mom. Went to the hairsalon and got a new haircut and afterwards went with my mom to an asian vegetarian restaurant. We met up with my Mom´s knitting friends and waited for another friend to come. She was apparently the reason why they wanted to met in the first place. That friend.... She told mom and her knitting friends in the groupchat, that they had, that she would be late.... like 15 minutes...
She was everything but 15 minutes late. She was late for an whole hour...
We ordered some appetizers and drinks and started without her. Who would have known that hell was about to break loose. My Mom´s knitting friend eventually came..... but not alone......
Her Husband to whom my Mom´s knitting friend is 17 years married to, tagged along while the knitting circle upfront told her to not let him come with her.
A lot went from there on. When I stood up to change seats, sitting besides my mom, that husband grabbed my neck in a hold like a momma cat would hold her kitten. It was a very thight grip and I couldn´t release myself from him. Mom "kindly" had to ask him to let go of me. That husband lateron did stuff like asking about my phone, what games I play, what my sex-life was, how many men I did it with and asked how much earned.
I barely answered that husband any question and if anything he smelled bad.... really bad... beyond that I would almost say that a bag of plastic trash smelled better then him. (And I certainly do not mean it in a mean way. I just cannot imagine anything worse then that smell)
Now here is the thing. I went on discord and on the toilette calling Sam. He hung up on me and said he was out with friends. I told him that it was an emergency and that I needed his emotional support. The call lasted only 10 min. He told me he is sorry but he cannot listen to me rn and that I should call him in the evening. He was out with friends.
I understood that and said okay and would call him in the evening. I messaged to my male friend Alpii (26,m) who was instantly there for me as well as Elliana (24,f) and supported me emotionally as well as virtually, to not have to talk to this husband.
Later that same day, in the evening I called Sam again and explained what happened to me. In the most really dead pan voice Sam apologized to me and said he cannot see anything wrong with what happened to me and again hung up on me.
I told my best friend Suviana (29,f) about and she was pissed off, by how he reacted. It took me and Suviana 2 weeks to make him aware that what happened to me was something where I needed him and he wasn´t there for me.
Now 2 and 3 event were in one call that we had about 3 weeks before I broke up with him.
I had my days and am clinical diagnosed with pms. I told him that my cramps would really hurt and that I would go get a warm water bottle. Sam let a bomb loose.
Sam said that the pain of a kick in the groin is similar painful as having a period and it left me stunned. I tried explaining to him that period pain is for each woman each differently painful and instantly got dismissed by him. Sam then told me how he would see "US" in the future and said while I should work in home office, take care of "our" children and stand in the kitchen all day long, something inside me just ripped.
I instantly realized thats not how I would´ve like to live in a relationship, let alone in a marriage. 3 weeks after that call I told Sam that I would want to break up with him. He was of course shocked but I told him my reasons as of why. The whole week he bombarded me with messages and even went as far as wanting to come over. He never gave me a chance to really reply to his messages and it went as far as giving him an ultimatum that I usually wouldn´t pull.
I wanted to know if IWBTA for breaking up with him because of what happened

I have posted it multiple times, and the post got deleted as the admins considered it a medical advice.
This is not a medical advice, I am just sharing my experience. Please DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME (WWE).
I faced low energy, weak memory, low focus, gut issues, and many other symptoms for more than 2 years.
few days after trying carnivore diet, I can ensure you that my symptoms have faded. I will not say I am cured as the last time I said it, admins deleted my post. I will just say I have no sympstions.
My energy is more than doubled, I used to sleep 13 hours while feeling sleepy all the day. Now I sleep 4 hours and being awake fresh and with much energy.
I used to have low focus, and mental power, and now I feel no brain fog, so focused, and much smarter. This is what I feel and my experience. Please, if you want to try it, ask your doctor.
I do no say this is a cure, nor it is a medical advice, go ask your doctor, and search yourself.
Please admins, do not delete it I am tired of re writing.
I have seen many posts, for people who got improvements form carnivore diet.

Carnivore diet fixed it for me

https://www.reddit.com/covidlonghaulers/comments/pdwe1a/carnivore_diet_fixed_it_for_me/

Carnivore seems to prevent my brain fog for occuring

https://www.reddit.com/covidlonghaulers/comments/ybgsvl/carnivore_seems_to_prevent_my_brain_fog_fo

I’ve (27F) been on carnivore diet for almost two weeks now & holy hell I feel incredible. I feel like a new person. I feel like I was on autopilot before and now I’m finally in control of my own head & my body can keep up.

https://www.reddit.com/keto/comments/1630g1z/ive_27f_been_on_carnivore_diet_for_almost_two/

More Then A Full Recovery!

https://www.reddit.com/covidlonghaulers/comments/oparpp/more_then_a_full_recovery/

Update-Brain fog gone

https://www.reddit.com/LongHaulersRecovery/comments/18jok27/updatebrain_fog_gone/
Again this is not a medical advice, I work in Mcdonalds and not a doctor. GO ASK A DOCTOR.
This is my experience, I have 100% improvement, but I cant say it is a cure.
I am not trying to sell you anything, my only benefit is to give to long covid people, as I feel your pain, I was in a bad situation that I felt I am not me, I am now back me, I want everyone to come back to the version of them that was gone due to long covid and they missed.
This my third time to write about this, twice was deleted as it was considered a medical advice, now this is just sharing my experience and I don't say this is a cure, as they delete any post that say they are cured.
Upvote so my voice reach anyone that need help.

I (28F) have known my partner, David (29M) for 5 years now, which includes an 8-month period in which we were broken up and I was in a serious relationship with another man, Luke (30M).
Before I met Luke, my relationship with David was suffering from a ton of very textbook communication issues. I won’t go into too much detail, but here’s an example. Whenever I tried to do something nice for him, he would guilt me for trying to make him feel bad because he would not do nice things for me (he was depressed at the time so that’s why it made sense to him). Or rather than talk about our feelings in a healthy manner (I-statements), we would blame each other. It was messy and resentment grew in our relationship. I used to cry a lot.
This was exactly the time I met Luke, who is a relative of my stepmother through her late husband before she married my dad. My stepmom was renting out a portion of my dad’s and hers marital home to Luke and one night she invited me to dinner with all of them. Luke instantly drew me in. He was a child’s psychologist and since I also work with small children, we had so much in common. We had an amazing conversation that evening and I learnt he had a great insight into people. I could not put my finger on it instantly, but it felt so refreshing meeting someone like him. When I shared that I met Luke with my then boyfriend David, he accused me of cheating on him and acted extremely possessive about me which angered me because I didn’t do anything wrong.
Having Luke around was more frequent now since I am close to my stepmother. Maybe because my relationship with David was getting so bad, I projected a lot of my fantasy on Luke, unconsciously. I never meant to get emotionally close with him, and as soon as I realised I was developing feelings for another man, I ended my relationship with David. That very week, Luke asked me out and our relationship blossomed. We moved too fast. He was incredible and after 5 months of dating, we moved in together. However, he does not want kids of his own and I realised we were incompatible ultimately and we broke up amicably. I should admit that despite our incompatibility, there was a lot of genuine love in our relationship and he is going to be one of the “great loves” I have experienced in my life.
I remained single for a whole year, and David reached out. He was doing better mentally now and we went for couple’s therapy as well and are in a good place now when it comes to communicating maturely. However, he cannot seem to navigate his insecurity of how I “left him for Luke”, and he wants me to say that I regret being with Luke. As hard as it is on David, I do not regret meeting Luke. David and I were bad for each other back then and we were different people. I see that the way life lead us apart, and now together, we have grown so much. Yes, it’s true, that while being with David, I fell in love with Luke, and I do not believe in the concept of “love of my life”. David also feels insecure because I never moved in with him, but I moved in with Luke. However that’s an unfair comparison because no 2 relationships are equal.
I am committed to making my relationship with David work and I know a lot of you will want to know this, but I absolutely have no feelings for Luke now. He is a different chapter of my story and is in the past.
David is now upset and acting jealous, what should I do?
TLDR:
I've been through quite a journey with my partner, David. We had our fair share of communication issues, which led to a rough patch in our relationship. During that time, I met Luke, who seemed like a breath of fresh air with his insight and compatibility. Despite my efforts to keep things platonic, feelings developed, and I made the difficult decision to end things with David. Luke and I had a whirlwind romance, but ultimately, our differing views on having children made us realize we weren't meant to be. After some time alone, David and I reconnected and worked on our issues, but he struggles with insecurity stemming from my past with Luke. While I understand his feelings, I can't change the past or pretend I regret meeting someone who had a significant impact on my life. It's a tough situation, but open communication and understanding are key as we navigate this together.

I was in a christian cult - not using the word lightly, they literally wanted to "take over" the city we were living in and openly talked about their indoctrination tactics and did not shy away from the manipulation aspects.
I got divorced and got out, but I have a child with my ex husband and we share custody nearly 50/50. I have her 4 nights a week and do all school drop offs, he has her 3 nights a week including Sunday morning church. I also have another, younger daughter.
As a single mom of 2 working at the local community college, I do not make enough money to be comfortable. Everything is paycheck to paycheck, and often things get in the negative before I can figure it all out. I recently reapplied for food stamps and found out I was going to qualify for the bare minimum because I couldn't claim her on my application after he and his wife had claimed her and started receiving benefits. Even still, I make every effort imaginable to continue to give my family a good life and never allow our lack of finances to negatively affect giving my girls a magical childhood.
In general we have a good coparenting relationship. We don't interfere with each other's lives, we are flexible and work together when things come up. Before his new wife came into the picture, I did all the work of finding a good school and moving into that area, even though he wanted her to attend christian school, I take care of all her doctor, dentist, etc., appointments. I hold her social security card and birth certificate. I keep track of who gets what holidays in a year. His new wife came in and has been so kind and respectful, my daughter loves her, and I'm grateful he married someone who will be good to my daughter.
–
I am worried now, because a few weeks ago, out of the blue, my daughter was upset about "having to tell her friends she won't see them next year, when she goes to a new school."
I reached out to her dad and his wife and asked "hey, she said this "XYZ" and before I react, I just wanted to ask you guys about it. I don't know of any plans to change her school"
They responded about being in the process of interviewing for a new job outside of town and hoping for it. They had asked my daughter how she would feel about changing schools as a way to take her preferences into account when making the decision, but nothing had been decided and they had not officially been offered the new job.
A few weeks went by and two separate times on a pickup day they told me she would be at her aunt's house because they were BOTH going to be in the other town at an interview for this job.
Today he reached out and told me "we" got the job, and they'd like to sit down and talk about logistics and dynamics and things.
–
I am extremely worried that this new job is something church related, as I can't think of anything else that would interview a husband and wife together.
I am extremely worried that he is going to request that my daughter moves in with them during the week and attends a new school closer to their new house.
I am scared for my daughter. The christian schools in my area (if not in general) are known for being absolutely vile - lying, promiscuity, drugs, much worse than the public schools because the religious families raise kids who are better at hiding things from their parents and other adults. I'm scared because my girl is so sweet, so innocent, and so impressionable. I wanted to raise her to be able to confidently make her own decision whether she wanted to believe in those things or not, and I'm worried that she will be indoctrinated in a cult-like way by these people who openly, proudly, flaunt those cult claims.
I am also very worried that by fighting for her to stay with me, I am not going to be doing what's best for her. I don't make much money. I'm a single mom. I don't have that kind of social community and network, like... if I'm struggling, I don't have anyone else to turn to. We always have food, whether I get to eat it or not. We don't have power or water shut off, we're not at risk of homelessness, but that's because I work myself to exhaustion making sure I have the resources to keep things on and paid. I was paid on the 10th and I was getting an overdraft fee last night because bills needed to be paid. Like. How can I possibly be able to do what's best for her? I don't want things to change like that. I do want what's best for my daughter, but how do I give her that as a single mom in this economy in this capitalistic hellscape? I don't even know if there's advice for this situation, I just don't know who to ask.

25F here, was 23 when I started treatment with my ex therapist, at the time 35M. I was in treatment for depression and sexual trauma. I'd had a quite abusive childhood, left home at 17, and it took me about seven years to build a life and stabilize on my own to be able to go to therapy and try to start healing. I started treatment in June 2022 and was in treatment for fourteen months total. In the last four months, we'd been dealing with some stuff around erotic transference, but mainly I was just dealing with being attached and fantasized therapy conversation becoming my default internal state. I'd decided before I started treatment to take a year off of dating to really focus on myself. After about a year in treatment, I wanted to start dating again (in part because I was getting uncomfortable with the fact that my therapist was the only man in my life at the time other than one male supervisor at work).
My therapist seemed really shut down about me dating. He said a couple of encouraging words, but the looks and tones were very clearly....not encouraging. He also said it was bittersweet to him that I was starting to see other men. Sex is really complicated for me, and I hadn't had sex with a cis man in a few years when I started dating again, even though that's the demographic I'm most attracted to, so it was important for me to be able to talk to my therapist about what was going on there, but the fear that his regard would change or that his feelings would be hurt was really distracting and upsetting. Around this time, I was processing sexual trauma from when I was six, and then more from when I was twelve to sixteen, memories I'd repressed until I was in treatment. I was having intense flashbacks and panic attacks, and he didn't have any....feedback, advice, anything. He seemed to like that I spent most of my day fantasizing about talking to him, and encouraged that, but didn't lead me toward any other tools or resources, seemingly in the assumption that his presence alone would be healing.
All this came to a head at the end of August 2023. I asked him to take a few weeks off to consult with a female therapist in the hopes that that'd alleviate the sense that there was something wrong with how he was treating me. He fired me, telling me, and this is verbatim, "I seduced you, and then you seduced me, and it got pretty hot, and we should stop," adding "if I could give you that relationship, I would." I was never asking him for a dual relationship. I was attached to him, and had a lot of those types of feelings toward him, but I always knew that those weren't actually about him and was definitely never asking for a dual relationship.
I had brought up repeatedly over the course of treatment that it was a material financial burden. I had out of network benefits through my insurance, but it was still $225/week out of pocket, and I'd only get $140 back per session, and only after waiting at least a month for the claim to process, and only after meeting a $2k out of network deductible. Not the most expensive therapy but for me, it was a lot, and I told him that a number of times, and that I couldn't afford to do twice a week with him (something he recommended a few times in the last couple months of treatment). He's the only man in his practice group, and instead of refer me to one of his colleagues, he gave me the names of two completely unrelated clinicians whose fees were both over $300/session and he once again recommended I see someone twice per week.
About a month later, I emailed him to ask for my progress notes. He took a week to reply, only responding when I followed up, and then only sent me my treatment summary (a few brief sentences just saying when I started treatment, what the treatment was, and when it ended). I emailed his boss and got my notes from her. He'd written in the notes that we'd been dealing with erotic transference in every session for the last four months of treatment, even though that....was not the case, and there were plenty of sessions where I was just there to talk about my past, or what was happening during the week. He really didn't seem to understand the difference between being attached and erotic transference, even though he practices attachment based therapy.
Almost nine months later and I really don't know how to move on. My mental health absolutely tanked in the fall and it's been a long, uphill road to get back to something like normal functioning since. It was highly, highly retraumatizing, both in how I suddenly had zero support while processing the most traumatic events of my childhood and so I was just completely overtaken with the memories for months, all while blaming myself because...he said I seduced him, so it was my fault, so I was asking for it, so I had been asking for it the whole time. I know that's not true, but he really did a number on his way out. I'm doing better on that front at this point, not thanks to therapy, (I've tried with eight practitioners since him but he really poisoned the well), but I still can't let this go, and I don't know if I should make a complaint to the relevant office of professional discipline.
TLDR: 24F psychotherapy client asks 36M therapist who's been treating her for sexual trauma to take a few weeks off and consult with a female therapist about his behavior; therapist fires client, does not refer to any of the female clinicians in his practice group, refers only to clinicians he knew were unaffordable, and said "I seduced you, and you seduced me, and it got pretty hot, and we should stop" and "if I could give you that relationship, I would." Is this a reportable offence?

heres a list of everything ive watched already
ik its a long list, but please skim through it before reccomending a show :))
cause i always end up getting alot of comments reccomending shows to me that ive already seen
and please keep it to just shows so no movies :)) preferably 24 ep or shorter, but i dont mind longer shows as long as theyre good
also would prefer shows that are dubbed (ik, lame. but my TV is broken n its hard to read subtitles on my phone)
i enjoy both wholesome shows as well as gut wrenchingly depressing shows that will leave me feeling empty afterwards
most the shows on this list are ones i enjoyed watching, but there are sum that i didnt really like. i didnt rate them tho so 🤷‍♂️
n ofc if anyone here is interested in a show on my list that they havent seen before n wants to know my opinion on it n if id reccomend it to you, feel free to ask :))

1. Attack on Titan
2. Yugioh
3. Tokyo Ghoul
4. Elfen Lied
5. Eureka 7
6. Wolfs Rain
7. Soul Eater
8. Soul Eater NOT
9. Gurren Lagann
10. Mob Psycho 100
11. Squid Girl
12. Death Note
13. Black Butler
14. One Piece
15. Naruto
16. Pokemon
17. Demon Slayer
18. Scryed
19. Blue Exorcist
20. Parasyte: The Maxim
21. Hetalia
22. Junjou Romantica
23. Maiden Rose
24. (forbidden anime)
25. Devilman Crybaby
26. The Great Pretender
27. Fooly Cooly
28. Beastars
29. Brand New Animal
30. Toradora
31. Durarara
32. Cowboy Bebop
33. Sword Art Online
34. Immortal Grand Prix
35. Ghost Stories
36. Another
37. Space Dandy
38. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
39. A Lull In The Sea
40. Food Wars
41. AJIN: Demi Human
42. Neon Genesis Evangelion
43. Anohana
44. Corpse Party
45. When They Cry
46. Violet Evergarden
47. Your Lie In April
48. Yuri On Ice
49. Free!
50. Megalobox
51. Pop Team Epic
52. March Comes In Like A Lion
53. The Way Of The House-Husband
54. Japan Sinks: 2020
55. Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?
56. Terror In Resonance
57. Scissor Seven
58. One Punch Man
59. Persona 5
60. Wonder Egg Priority
61. Paranoia Agent
62. Sailor Moon
63. Stars Align
64. Mononoke
65. Erased
66. SK8 The Infinity
67. Mushi Shi
68. Death Parade
69. Tokyo Revengers
70. Given
71. Angels Of Death
72. Serial Experiments Lain
73. Ghost Hunt
74. Banana Fish
75. B: The Beginning
76. 91 Days
77. Made In Abyss
78. Orange
79. Plastic Memories
80. Psycho Pass
81. Bungo Stray Dogs
82. Jujutsu Kaisen
83. Hikari: Be My Light
84. To Your Eternity
85. The Promised Neverland
86. Sarazanmai
87. Deadman Wonderland
88. Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun
89. Arcane
90. Hyouka
91. Pillow Boys
92. Akudama Drive
93. Gleipnir
94. Link Click
95. True Tears
96. Hamatora
97. Darling In The Franxx
98. Boogiepob Phantom
99. Boogiepop And Friends
100. Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai
101. Fruits Basket
102. No. 6
103. Shelter
104. Kids On The Slope
105. Ranking Of Kings
106. Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song
107. Blood Blockade Battlefront
108. Sonny Boy
109. Blue Period
110. The Orbital Children
111. Kiznaiver
112. Noragami
113. Darwin's Game
114. Odd Taxi
115. Steins;gate
116. Dororo
117. My Love Story!!
118. Kotaro Lives Alone
119. Darker Than Black
120. re:ZERO
121. Btooom!
122. Komi Can't Communicate
123. Princess Tutu
124. HoriMiya
125. NANA
126. My Hero Academia
127. A Place Further Than The Universe
128. Blue Spring Ride
129. Carole & Tuesday
130. Dorohedoro
131. Ikebukuro West Gate Park
132. Dance Dance Danseur
133. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
134. Code Geass
135. High-Rise Invasion
136. Kakegurui
137. Monster
138. WataMote
139. Angel Beats
140. Welcome To The NHK
141. Kiss Him, Not Me
142. Bakuman
143. Inuyashiki
144. Domestic Girlfriend
145. Michiko And Hatchin
146. K-On
147. Gangsta
148. Charlotte
149. Clannad
150. Clannad After story
151. Beck
152. Summer Time Rendering
153. Assassination Classroom
154. Tomodachi Game
155. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
156. Spy × Family
157. My Dress-Up Darling
158. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
159. Chainsaw Man
160. Baccano
161. K-Project
162. Eden Of The East
163. Samurai Champloo
164. Akame Ga Kill
165. His And Her Circumstances
166. My Little Monster
167. Dr. Stone
168. Vinland Saga
169. 86
170. Buddy Daddies
171. Haikyuu!!
172. Hunter × Hunter
173. Deca-Dence
174. Shiki
175. School-Live
176. Ghost Hound
177. Kemono Jihen
178. Mieruko-chan
179. Takt Op. Destiny
180. Haibane Renmei
181. Rumbling Hearts
182. Barakamon
183. Now And Then, Here And There
184. Shadow's House
185. Heavenly Delusion
186. Oshi No Ko
187. Insomniacs After School
188. Aggretsuko
189. Sanrio Boys
190. Gloomy
191. Ouran Highschool Host Club
192. Say "I Love You"
193. Princess Jellyfish
194. Hell's Paradise
195. Migi & Dali
196. The Dangers In My Heart
197. Somali And The Forest Spirit
198. Hybrid Child
199. Zom 100
200. Pluto
201. My Home Hero
202. Mushoku Tensei
203. Lycoris Recoil
204. A Galaxy Next-Door
205. Solo Leveling
206. The Apothecary Diaries

Mercenaries of Gridaris, my debut board game, launched last week! It's a quick, strategic, card-based, space capturing board game where 2-5 friends battle each other to control Gridaris! I would love for you all to check out the page, I think there will be a laugh or two in store for you!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gridaris/mercenaries-of-gridaris
Embrace the whimsy of Gridaris with over 40 original characters. Battle your friends in quick games that are never the same as the one before, and fight to control the land of Gridaris!
This passion project is inspired by all of my favorite media. Crafted with love and passion, and drawn by me, this game brings together the best elements of strategy, fantasy, and comedy into this quick, space capturing board game. I hope you enjoy!

• Modular Board and Rules!

Watch as specific in-game scenarios change the battle for Gridaris with a modular board and rules that offer over 60 different ways to play. Each game presents a unique layout of battlefields, boons, and ailments ensuring endless replayability and excitement!

• Dynamic Gameplay!

Command an army of ridiculous mercenaries hand drawn by me as you vie for control over strategic locations. With customizable rules that cater to your playstyle, every game offers a fresh and exciting challenge!

• All Mechanics and Artwork done by Sam Hammer!

Marvel at the goofy artwork of Gridaris, meticulously hand-drawn by yours truly, Sam Hammer. From majestic landscapes to whimsical characters, every detail has been lovingly crafted to transport you to a world of a fantasy/comedy book I half wrote during the pandemic! This will also be produced by Panda, who have made games like Wingspan and Scythe!
Join the Kickstarter Campaign Today and watch the hilarious trailer my comedian friends and I made together!

• https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gridaris/mercenaries-of-gridaris

Follow the HammerCraft Studios Instagram to get behind the scenes content and updates!

• (u/Hammercraftstudios)

Thank you for your support, and may the stars guide you to victory in the battle for Gridaris!!
https://preview.redd.it/gco3ii0ctf0d1.jpg?width=5466&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=96139fba4cf438fda2e5cee25cf4ea6b1c3a6416

EDIT: Sorry this is so long! It's clearly weighing heavy on my mind and I also have a habit of overexplaining myself due to my past. Believe it or not, this was my attempt to keep it short!
As someone raised by a single narcissistic parent, I (25F) have a lot of difficulty in figuring out if my perception is accurate or if I'm misinterpreting things. I've spent years working on this in therapy and have made progress in figuring out when I'm being treated poorly, specifically in platonic relationships, but have still a ways to go.
Recently, I've gotten into a relationship with my bf (29M) after having been single for 5 years. The person I've started dating proactively chased me during this time and I was clear that I wanted to be just friends due to concerns about long-distance, feeling overwhelmed with the interest they had in me without knowing me super well, and feeling like my boundaries weren't being respected. Over those 5 years, we developed a strong friendship/relationship and these issues resolved (except for the long-distance). I had a major life event happen in 2023 that had me questioning how much of my life I had lived in fear and avoidance. Simultaneously, this person was a huge support to me while I went through this difficult moment. I decided I was ready to pursue a romance with him and he agreed he wanted to too. So we started officially dating roughly 10 months ago.
In the beginning of our relationship, he would make tons of comments about our future together, talking about our kids, what life would be like when we're married, trips that we would take, etc. I was hesitant in the beginning to believe this, but slowly started to imagine this future too and would join in these conversations. I had never dated someone who so openly talked about a future with me and while it felt scary in the beginning, I started to feel like it was a beautiful thing and I was experiencing healthy love.
Back in January, he started to talking to me about getting a place in my city. Although we're long distance, he has to come to my city fairly often for business reasons and likes to extend his stays to spend time with me. I initially thought he just meant something for himself that he would stay in when he was in my city. This wasn't super surprising since he has an apartment in another city sitting completely empty and he was talking about getting a place in another city for when he'd visit before we started dating. To be clear, he has vast financial resources. Like hundreds of millions.
I was excited that he was going to get a place in my city, because I knew it would make him more comfortable when he'd visit and therefore make his visits more likely. However, he clarified to me a week later that he actually wanted to get a place for the both of us - where I would stay full time and he would stay when he was visiting. He was surprised that I thought this would just be his place. I thought about it and got excited at the idea (although I had some concerns about living alone for those periods he wasn't there - I've always had roommates and have loved it honestly).
Once I agreed, he said he wanted to start looking at places when he was visiting my city for a few weeks that February. I started to look at places online and have conversations with him about what we'd both want. February came, he didn't make any effort or mention of seeing places in person. My roommates started to ask me if I'd be renewing the lease with them or not and I told them I wasn't sure. I'd periodically bring it up to him and emphasize that we probably need to start looking and make serious progress on it. He would agree, but I wouldn't hear anything more about it. Finally, I told him I needed to give my roommates a final answer about it. He said that I should renew the lease with them so that we're not rushed into finding something and can find the perfect place. He said it was okay if the leases overlapped, assuring me that it wouldn't be a problem and he'd cover it financially. I was hesitant, but given his vast wealth, I figured this was just one of those rich people things where comfort is prioritized over wastefulness.
He has not brought it up since. Recently, I had felt some distance from him. He wasn't as communicative. He flaked on a vacation we were supposed to go on during my spring break at the last minute due to a conference he wanted to attend. He was vague about when he would be able to visit next, saying that I could visit him whenever even though he knew I was in school until May. He invited me to go to a friend's wedding in a far away state in late April, but said he figured I wouldn't be able to go because he knew I had finals. I decided to make it work by flying in for 48 hours despite having finals. While we were together in person, it didn't seem like anything was wrong at all. I decided to talk to him about some of these concerns and mentioned the apartment. He said that he wanted to find the perfect place for us and not stress about it. I told him that I get that, but we need to take action in order to find the perfect place. He said that there's no rush. I pointed out he said he wanted to start looking at places in February, so it seemed like he wanted to get a place fairly soon, but I was feeling confused because since those early talks, I've been the only one to talk to him about it. I told him that it felt like he didn't want to get a place with me anymore. He said that he does want to still but when he brought it up to me, he meant he wanted to get a place in the future and there's no timeline. In his head, it will happen eventually and I shouldn't be worried (????? WTF). Anyways, I decided to drop it and give him the benefit of the doubt.
He also early on told me how excited he was for when we go to his home country, how we'll go in the next year, how he needs to take me there. A week or two ago, an opportunity came up where he would be in a nearby country for business and I would be on a break from school. We talked about me going with him and then going to his home country after for a bit. Yesterday, I asked him about it and he started to express doubts, saying he's never taken a girl home before... Keep in mind: 1) I have already met his parents and brothers more than once. 2) This man has only dated one other person, and it was in high school. 3) This man has been talking about taking me there as soon as its convenient since we started dating.
I'm worried given my past with parental narcissistic abuse that I'm not able to see clearly whether I'm experiencing it or not in my relationship. Prior to this relationship, I always pursued men that were emotionally distant and whose love I had to earn because it felt safer (and mirrored my relationship with my absent parent). This is the first time I've dated someone who consistently showed interest in me. I thought this was healthier and that I was recalibrating my dating patterns, but now I'm starting to have doubts. I'm feeling like I can't trust his word anymore. I'm starting to wonder if he's been future faking me. What do you guys think? Any tips on what I should be looking out for in the future?

I (28F) have known my partner, David (29M) for 5 years now, which includes an 8-month period in which we were broken up and I was in a serious relationship with another man, Luke (30M).
Before I met Luke, my relationship with David was suffering from a ton of very textbook communication issues. I won’t go into too much detail, but here’s an example. Whenever I tried to do something nice for him, he would guilt me for trying to make him feel bad because he would not do nice things for me (he was depressed at the time so that’s why it made sense to him). Or rather than talk about our feelings in a healthy manner (I-statements), we would blame each other. It was messy and resentment grew in our relationship. I used to cry a lot.
This was exactly the time I met Luke, who is a relative of my stepmother through her late husband before she married my dad. My stepmom was renting out a portion of my dad’s and hers marital home to Luke and one night she invited me to dinner with all of them. Luke instantly drew me in. He was a child’s psychologist and since I also work with small children, we had so much in common. We had an amazing conversation that evening and I learnt he had a great insight into people. I could not put my finger on it instantly, but it felt so refreshing meeting someone like him. When I shared that I met Luke with my then boyfriend David, he accused me of cheating on him and acted extremely possessive about me which angered me because I didn’t do anything wrong.
Having Luke around was more frequent now since I am close to my stepmother. Maybe because my relationship with David was getting so bad, I projected a lot of my fantasy on Luke, unconsciously. I never meant to get emotionally close with him, and as soon as I realised I was developing feelings for another man, I ended my relationship with David. That very week, Luke asked me out and our relationship blossomed. We moved too fast. He was incredible and after 5 months of dating, we moved in together. However, he does not want kids of his own and I realised we were incompatible ultimately and we broke up amicably. I should admit that despite our incompatibility, there was a lot of genuine love in our relationship and he is going to be one of the “great loves” I have experienced in my life.
I remained single for a whole year, and David reached out. He was doing better mentally now and we went for couple’s therapy as well and are in a good place now when it comes to communicating maturely. However, he cannot seem to navigate his insecurity of how I “left him for Luke”, and he wants me to say that I regret being with Luke. As hard as it is on David, I do not regret meeting Luke. David and I were bad for each other back then and we were different people. I see that the way life lead us apart, and now together, we have grown so much. Yes, it’s true, that while being with David, I fell in love with Luke, and I do not believe in the concept of “love of my life”. David also feels insecure because I never moved in with him, but I moved in with Luke. However that’s an unfair comparison because no 2 relationships are equal.
I am committed to making my relationship with David work and I know a lot of you will want to know this, but I absolutely have no feelings for Luke now. He is a different chapter of my story and is in the past.
David is now upset and acting jealous, what should I do?

I currently own one raptor 700, I'm looking to get another. I'd need a way to transport both, so I want a trailer - specifically an enclosed cargo trailer, that way I can lock the quads up to feel more comfortable taking them somewhere overnight.
I've just got one minor constraint to work with here. My "truck" is a ford maverick; it's only rated to pull 2000 pounds. I don't have a hitch yet, but I am getting one next week (even if I don't buy a trailer, I want the hitch as some sort of a recovery point for when I inevitably do something stupid and get it stuck in sand).
The trailer I'm looking at is a 6x12 Carry-On trailer - it's just under a thousand pounds empty, which is the lightest of this size I can find. This with a couple raptor 700s in it should keep me under 2000 pounds just fine.
But I went to physically measure the interior of the trailer. Apparently, the "12 feet" is measured from the tip of the bull nose, not the rectangular area. It's about 141" in length from the tip of the bull nose, or 130" from the edge of the rectangular area, & the interior width is about 68".
Each quad is about 73" long and 46" wide, so I cannot fit two either nose to nose or side by side (as I'd have 146" of length or 92" of width).
My gut tells me from looking at the inside of the trailer that there's an angle I'd be able to load them at and make them fit. Either that, or make some sort of platform to raise one axle of a quad to decrease the horizontal distance that it takes up. Otherwise, potentially offsetting the wheels of one atv in order to place a wheel from the other atv between the first atv's wheel and front grab bar, which'd allow me to put the two closer together... At least, I think so. I don't currently have a second quad so I can't mess around with them to see how they'd fit. And I don't want to pull the trigger on buying another quad or trailer unless I'm sure the quad would fit in the trailer.
Has anyone put two raptor 700s (or similarly sized quads) in a trailer this size before? is it reasonable to load them both in a trailer of this size? Have any of you ran into problems with not having nearly enough space in your trailer, but having some creative solutions?
Alternatively, the only reason I want an enclosed trailer is for overnight security of the quads. I am also open to other theft-prevention solutions and using a flatbed trailer instead. Any insight with any of this would be helpful!

I’m beyond frustrated with some of my Gen-Z coworkers who are fresh out of law school. They seem to think that the legal profession stops at 5 PM and don’t grasp the level of responsibility required.
Case in point: I recently assigned an associate to draft a motion for summary judgment. Instead, she handed me a complaint. The complaint had already been filed, and she decided to draft another one. I mean, how does one think the action is initiated? This shows me that she didn’t review the docket, didn’t check the calendar, and didn’t read my email with the assignment fully.
Now, with the deadline in two days, she refuses to work after hours to fix her error, citing the need to set clear boundaries. The lack of communication is astonishing—she was asking her clueless desk neighbor for advice instead of coming to me, the person who assigned the task and is familiar with the case.
And to top it off, she had the audacity to ask for a template on how to draft a motion for summary judgment in response? She has access to all of our files. She has access to other cases. She has access to Lexis. I now need to STOP what I’m doing and make sure you get something that you can copy and paste from? Law schools need to do better. Honestly, close the doors because I learned something completely different. These grads need to understand the realities of the profession they chose.
I'm five years out of law school, finally with the authority to make assignments. I strive to be a supportive manager and mentor, but there's only so much one can take. I've always burned the midnight oil to meet deadlines, while she’s had this assignment for 2.5 weeks with barely any interruptions. It's mind-boggling that she turned in a complaint instead of a fully drafted motion. This isn’t an isolated incident with our new associates—they seem to lack a basic sense of urgency and responsibility. Most of them are pending admission and expect me to catch every error before submission, but ultimately, my name is on the filing. Now, I brace myself to receive a subpar product on the eve of the deadline and will have to use every waking hour to salvage it. Despite being relatively young in the profession, I would never treat someone who entrusted me with an assignment this way.
Has anyone else been dealing with this? How do you handle such situations? I want to ensure we're fostering growth and responsibility, but this kind of behavior is unacceptable.

I naturally fell into babysitting around the age of 14. Through friends and family, I got leads for babysitting to score some cash, which definitely beat having to work at a restaurant. The job had its ups and downs, but overall it wasn’t a bad gig at all.
Yet, as many good experiences as I had, they were all eclipsed by one night.
A new family in town talked to my dad at work and it turned out that they needed a babysitter. I happily took the job and found myself watching their 10-year old boy a couple of weeks later. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the family themselves. They were the model citizens of suburban America, complete with the white picket fence and blue shutters. Nothing about their house was strange or even unique. Their son Avery was very mild-mannered and polite. Even their car was basic. Not that these were bad things, but I expected it to be a very boring night.
What I did not expect was the uncomfortable, inexplicable feeling that I got when I set foot in the house. A chill ran through me, but there was no draft. I rubbed my arms as I gazed at their staircase as we passed. They gave me a brief tour of the house before they left a note of instructions and all the usual information I expected from a job.
While trying to figure out what was making me so uneasy about the place, I noticed something about their basement door when I passed it. A padlock was placed on the door, along with a deadbolt in place.
"Any questions?” The father asked as my mind was pulled out of my curiosity.
"No, sir. Everything looks great!”
So they left and Avery and I played some games before I made dinner. A couple of times, I thought I heard Avery call me into the den. Both times, I found him sitting on the couch in what most recognize as the TV-zombie state. He denied having called me, and I went back to making dinner. After the third time, I told Avery it wasn’t funny and that he should stop.
“I’m not doing anything, I’m just watching TV!”
His voice went to that higher tone of pleading, sounding desperate for me to believe him.
“Avery, I know it’s my first time and sometimes you wanna test things out, but I’m trying to get dinner ready so if you call me again, I’m not checking on you, okay?”
“I didn't say anything.”
The child glared at the TV with a pouting face, and I began to feel bad. As many times as I’ve heard lies, I was starting to sense that he was telling the truth. So what was I hearing?
“Hey, it’s fine. I’m not mad. Promise.”
Avery turned his head back towards me, seeming to test if I was the one fibbing now.
“How about I let you stay up a little later if we forget about it?”
“Do you really promise?”
“Pinky promise.”
With our contractual pinkies interlocked, spirits were raised again and I was able to finish dinner. Although I didn’t finish without hearing Avery’s voice calling me once more. I ignored it, and when Avery didn’t mention it at dinner I figured it was him fooling around again. The whole time we chatted as we ate, I couldn’t help but feel that something was not right about this house.
As hard as I tried to not look, my eyes kept diverting to the heavy padlock and chain on the basement door. Curiosity got the best of me and as we were cleaning up, I couldn’t help but ask.
“So Avery, what’s the deal with the basement door?”
“What do you mean?”
His words did not match his demeanor. It was obvious he didn’t make eye contact as he forced his sentence out.
“C’mon, you know what I mean. The padlock, chain, and deadbolt. Y’all have dangerous chemicals down there?”
Avery’s face grew paler and he stared at the wall for a moment.
“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. I didn’t mean to…”
“Dad said no one can talk about it anymore.”
This really threw me off, and I couldn’t possibly finish my sentence now. A thick veil of tension materialized between us.
“So you…you guys aren’t allowed to talk about it?”
Avery shook his head.
“Ah, okay. That’s cool. No big deal.”
It was nothing but a big deal.
Was their dad doing something illegal down there? Or was it something strange that no one could do anything about it? Maybe their dad was in denial about something going on. There were waaaaaay too many questions going through my head now.
“Hey, how about we put on a movie?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“What am I saying? Everyone likes movies, right?!”
Now excited, we decided on a fun movie that quickly pulled our minds away from the mysterious basement door. Well, that’s not entirely true. Maybe Avery was distracted, but it was killing me. As we ate popcorn, I couldn’t help but watch Avery, wondering what was going on in that little head of his.
Was there something awful going on in the house and there was nothing I could do to stop it? Or maybe the dad was just…
“Stop,” I told myself inwardly.
Mulling over it all endlessly was not doing myself any favors.
So the movie ended, and I ushered the drifting child to his bed. Now, the house was all to myself until twelve, so I had a good three and a half hours to myself. Immediately, I began texting my friend to tell her all about the weird experience I was having that night. She dismissed it, saying that I was getting spooked by a new place. This annoyed me to no end. I’d been at bigger, way creepier-looking houses but never got weird vibes like this.
Then…I heard it.
“Stephanie…..”
I went instantly still and listened intently.
“You didn’t hear that, Steph. Just keep texting your friend and…”
“Stephanieeeee…”
There was no mistaking it this time. It was definitely coming from the basement.
The acoustics couldn’t have been from Avery upstairs. The voice sounded like a little girl’s. In fact, I’m not even sure he could make his voice like that, anyway.
Slowly, I stood up from the couch and approached the door. Maybe like earlier, I was just hearing things. Maybe being creeped out by the house was starting to mess with my head. That made sense…right?
“Stephanie?”
I jumped back from the door, almost wetting myself in the process. There was no way I could dismiss it as anything else now. There was a little girl’s voice coming from the basement.
“H-hello?” I responded.
I couldn’t keep my voice from shaking.
“Is this Stephanie?”
“Y-yes, it’s Stephanie.”
“Can you help me?”
“Who are you? Why are you locked in the basement?”
“My name is Meredith Rosenberg. They’re kept me locked up for a long time now. The police were almost on to them and that’s why they moved. Can you get me out?”
A cold shock washed over me and made it hard to respond. Was I actually babysitting for a family that kept a little girl prisoner?
“Oh my God…um….how long have you been locked up with them?”
“Ever since I can remember.”
I felt somehow hot and cold at the same time, and wanted to throw up. This all made sense now with what Avery had told me. Of course his father didn’t want him talking about the door…
“I just need to find the keys and I can…”
“They’re hidden in the garage underneath the metal shelf. It’s inside a magnetic key holder.”
“Okay, just hold tight.”
In a panic to free the poor girl, I darted into the garage and began feeling the space underneath the bottom shelf and sure enough, there was a magnetic key holder there. Running back, I popped the key holder open and began to insert the key into the padlock.
“Did you find it?”
“Yes, sweetie. I’m almost there!”
“Oh, please hurry! Sometimes they come home early!”
This sent me into even more of a rush, and I barely managed to fumble the key into the padlock. I finally heard the successful click of the padlock, pulled the chain off, and slid the deadbolt to the right.
“I’m coming, Meredith. Hold on!”
I turned the doorknob and threw open the door, only to be met with darkness. Now full of adrenaline, my hands felt around for the light switch. Finally finding my purchase, I flicked the light on which lit up most of the stairs.
“Meredith?” I called out.
Unless I was remembering it wrong, it sounded like her voice was just on the other side of the door a minute ago. In fact, it was quite strange that she wasn’t waiting for me at the top of the stairs. Wouldn’t you immediately run out of a basement that you were locked in for God knows how long?
“I’m down here!” The little girl’s voice called out.
Judging from the distance, it sounded like she was calling from somewhere at the bottom of the stairs. My brain suddenly began piecing all the details of this interaction together and the idea of going down into the basement became absolutely terrifying.
“Meredith, you can come up now! The door’s open!”
I couldn’t hide the tremor in my voice. Why I was scared of a little girl was beyond me, but much like the house itself, something felt very wrong here.
“I hurt my leg, owww! When you said you were getting the key, I went back down to get some of my things and got hurt. Ahhh….”
Her sounds of pain filled me with sorrow, but an invisible force was holding me back from taking another step into that basement.
“Can you move? Maybe pull yourself up on the railing?”
“I can’t! It hurts too bad!”
“Okay, sweetie umm…”
“What’s wrong? Won’t you help me?”
“I-I it’s just…really dark down there and…and I don’t want to get hurt too. Is there any way you can get to the stairs? Any way at all?”
“I tried to sit up, but my shoulder hurts too much.”
“I thought you said your leg got hurt?”
The words hung in the air like a noose. It was only after I said it that I realized there was several things seriously wrong about all of this. A question popped into my head I didn’t even have time to think about until now.
How did she know where the padlock key was?
A deathly silence took up the space between me and wherever this girl was. It was a standoff, and I couldn’t think of anything else to say. There were questions I could ask her to figure out what was happening, but I felt that her answers weren’t going to be honest. Perhaps at this point, the truth was too frightful to know.
"Meredith? Are you still there?"
It was a stupid question, but it was the only thing my mind could conjure. The additional silence only unnerved me, so I decided to try and get a better look. Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I clicked on the flashlight. It didn’t do me any good because of the awful range, so I did the one thing I’d already told myself not to do…
I took a step forward...
Maybe it was the angle of the stairs or the lighting, but that one step gave me more information than I ever wanted to know. I caught a better view of the bottom step, which was essentially a ledge into a black abyss. Something looked different on this step, but it took a second to register what it was.
The step was wet, a pool of some unknown liquid overflowing into the darkness of the basement. I knew for sure that the father hadn’t mentioned any flooding so it would be way too random for that. So I stood there, watching in frozen curiosity as the puddle then suddenly rippled…and I realized the abominable truth.
It wasn’t water.
It was a puddle of saliva…and something was drooling into it from the dark.
A wretched chuckle emanated from the horrid void beyond the step, and it cemented me even further into place. It was a wet chortle, and positively evil.
“How did you like my voices?” The thing said from the dark. “I’ve been practicing."
The epiphany creeped down my spine…it was now talking in Avery’s voice. Everything in my body screamed at me to run. I heard the screams but I couldn’t respond no matter how hard I tried.
"A pity though…almost got you."
At this, the most gruesome face peeled back the shadows and revealed itself, along with its unearthly mandibles and small fountain of saliva. My faculties finally came to and I threw myself into the house and kicked the door closed. In mere seconds, I had the door bolted and chained. Leaning against the door, my chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath.
Just as I felt I was safe, the door shuddered as a terrible blow rocked it. I screamed and ran upstairs to grab Avery.
I practically dragged the poor kid out the door and called the police. It wasn’t until the operator came on that I realized I was about to report a monster in the house. Thinking quickly, I told them that I heard a burglar in the home.
It wasn’t long before the police and Avery’s parents came home. Nothing was found, even in the basement, but I didn’t even care at that point. I just wanted the hell out of that house and away from whatever that….thing was. Avery’s parents kept glancing at me funny the whole time, probably because they knew I had their basement key. I shoved it into their hands before I hugged Avery and got into my car to drive home. That poor kid has to live in that house with that thing, but there was nothing I could do about it.
As long as I am alive, I will never….ever set foot in that house again.
And as for basements go, I can't go into them anymore. I just simply can't...

Hey, so I see a lot of vent posts and expressions of overwork, and coming from Retail and Service previously, I can get it. Definitely, maintaining boundaries and not putting in 110% every day and burning out is so important.
Another thing to consider is actually making your voices heard. If escalations to management haven’t helped, you can bring attention to your needs through a ‘Shareholder Proposal’ which Narasimhan and the board would need to hear out, and a notification for which would be sent to all Starbucks shareholders.
To start, you need:
(A) At least $2,000 in market value of the company's securities entitled to vote on the proposal for at least three years; or (B) At least $15,000 in market value of the company's securities entitled to vote on the proposal for at least two years; or (C) At least $25,000 in market value of the company's securities entitled to vote on the proposal for at least one year…
So basically, one of those amounts of Starbucks stock for the respective time period.
There’s other eligibility criteria, proposal requirements, and guidance provided by the SEC here: https://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/rule-14a-8.pdf)
This happened at Walmart previously, and the shareholdeWalmart employee appointed Bernie Sanders to speak before the board: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/06/05/2020-candidate-bernie-sanders-attends-walmart-annual-shareholder-meeting.html
Food for thought

We just returned from a trip last week, and I've often found this subreddit to be a good cure for the post-vacation blues. I'm sitting here at work, wanting to re-live the trip, and other folks here don't seem to mind reading long winded recaps. So it's a win win?
We decided to do early May as it seems to be one of the quietest times of year - and we were right. We were there from the 7th-10th and finished every day in Daigon Alley practically alone. I got some great shots of the park without another person in sight. It was really special. It picked up a bit towards the end of the week, but Tuesday and Wednesday almost every ride was under 20 minutes (except Hagrid and Veloci), and we had a blast.
We have a toddler now which changes the dynamics quite a bit, as I usually don't even get on a ride until his nap, but we still had fun as he finally hit 36". This made up for One Fish, Two Fish and ET (two of the only rides that kids under 36" can ride) being closed. He managed to do Sky High Trolley Train, Cat in the Hat and Hippogriff on this trip and loved them all. Trolley Train and Cat in the Hat I had never ridden before either, and enjoyed both of them a lot. He could have done Kong, but he said it was "a little too spooky" and wouldn't try. I haven't seen it since they dropped the 3-D, and never made it on it.
I managed to hit every ride I wanted to hit, with the exception of Popeye - the only ride in the park I've still never been on, now that I checked Cat in the Hat and Trolley Train off the list. Despite it being around 100 degrees while we were there, I just couldn't find a window where I wanted to walk around THAT wet. Hopefully I see a window next time and take it. The big hero of this trip for me was Jurassic Park River Adventure. I rode it 3 times and really just love that ride. I think the reveal of the T-Rex is just one of the coolest moments in the whole park, and I couldn't get enough this trip. It helps that the single rider line IS the express line, so I was able to get on fast every time. Everything else was as good as it always is (Forbidden Journey's Dragon didn't spit and smoke though) and I managed to ride Hagrid's for the first time in a few years. I forgot just HOW good that ride is. What a blast. Cat in the Hat was way more fun that I ever would have guessed, and has the best A/C in the park.
We had some great food - our first time trying Circus McGurkis and jeeeez these new restaurants are killing it. I like it better than Minions. I had the Roast Beast Sandwich, which was almost too much food for a roller coaster day. It was delicious. We also had the big top burger, and got the fun "Ringleader Rush" Icee drink. They were all great. The atmosphere rules and the staff couldn't have been nicer. Just all around a great meal. I grabbed the Butterbeer Ice Lolly too, and that should be a year round offering for sure. Incredible. Had kind of a salted caramel taste to the outside candy shell. It was so good. And of course...the beer. Universal's exclusive brews are just too darn good. Isla Nublar IPA is incredible, and Wizard's Brew still holds a spot as my all-time favorite. I skipped Duff this year, as the price is too hard to swallow, but made sure to have one of every Wizarding World brew and they're all great. The bartender at Hog's Head actually recognized me from an earlier vacation months ago and it was incredibly cool to feel like a "regular" at such a special bar.
Somehow I managed to never step foot in a shop, which is a bummer in hindsight. No souvenirs to remember this trip - but sometimes thats just the way it goes. I was too busy riding everything when I could and we just never found the time to slow down and walk through the shops. I'm hoping the IoA 25th anniversary gear sticks around long enough for me to grab that pin when we're back around HHN.
We stayed at Dockside for the first time in a few years and it's honestly in competition for my favorite hotel on property. We got a suite - and it's incredible. Blows Cabana Bay's suite out of the water honestly. A BEDROOM for the little guy to sleep in! A huge dining room picnic table! A nice kitchen! And lower cost! The pool area and bar are fine, and Pier 8 Market is arguably better than Bayliner Diner (I can't believe I'd say that!). Cabana has a better atmosphere, and I love being able to walk to the park - but I honestly think Dockside has it beat almost everywhere else, especially for the price. More food variety, bigger and better family suites and cheaper. It's going to be a REAL tough call going forward, because nothing beats a drink while looking at the Volcano in the evening, and I LOVE Cabana Bay's Universal store (Dockside's is tiny) - but for the price and room, Dockside blew me away. And food! That Cheeseburger pizza!
I'll stop now, but I could go on forever. It was really a great trip! As always I feel like there was so much more I wanted to do, but look back when I type stuff like this and realize how absolutely jam packed it really was.