Hey everyone! My name is Jordan and I’m posting on behalf of the Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation. PAN is a nonprofit organization offering financial assistance to help people with serious, chronic, or rare diseases afford their out-of-pocket medication costs.
We provide financial assistance to over 20 types of cancer, including Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia. Our WM fund offers $3,250 per year for eligible patients to use to cover the copay for your covered medications. Grant eligibility and a full list of medications covered can be found on our website: https://www.panfoundation.org/disease-funds/waldenstrom-macroglobulinemia/
You can apply for our grants by phone -- call us at 1-866-316-7263 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. Once you’re approved, grants can be managed through our online portal.
I’m happy to answer any questions anyone has about how our grants work! I hope this information is helpful to you all!

Hey everyone! My name is Jordan and I’m posting on behalf of the Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation. PAN is a nonprofit organization offering financial assistance to help people with serious, chronic, or rare diseases afford their out-of-pocket medication costs.
We provide financial assistance to over 20 types of cancer, including CLL. Our CLL fund offers $3,250 per year for eligible patients to use to cover the copay for your covered medications. Grant eligibility and a full list of medications covered can be found on our website: https://www.panfoundation.org/disease-funds/chronic-lymphocytic-leukemia/
You can apply for our grants by phone -- call us at 1-866-316-7263 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. Once you’re approved, grants can be managed through our online portal.
I’m happy to answer any questions anyone has about how our grants work! I hope this information is helpful to you all!

Hey everyone! My name is Jordan and I’m posting on behalf of the Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation. PAN is a nonprofit organization offering financial assistance to help people with serious, chronic, or rare diseases afford their out-of-pocket medication costs.
We provide financial assistance to over 20 types of cancer, including CLL. Our CLL fund offers $3,250 per year for eligible patients to use to cover the copay for your covered medications. Grant eligibility and a full list of medications covered can be found on our website: https://www.panfoundation.org/disease-funds/chronic-lymphocytic-leukemia/
You can apply for our grants by phone -- call us at 1-866-316-7263 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. Once you’re approved, grants can be managed through our online portal.
I’m happy to answer any questions anyone has about how our grants work! I hope this information is helpful to you all!

With thanks to all who helped create this guide!
This event will run from Friday, June 7 until 20:00 GMT on Monday, June 10; to participate you will need version 11.5.0 or later, at least 100 dragon power, and a high quality, stable internet connection.
Please keep event-specific questions and discussions in this thread; good luck and happy merging!
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Event Notes

• This is considered one of the most player-friendly layouts, with no Infinite Harvestable lock, and no dead land behind any lock.
• However, getting the fast dragon first is not possible.

Elsewhere in the Game:

• A free, event-related trophy breed egg can be claimed from the game’s online store for a limited time.
• A free official Merge Dragons giveaway is going on through June 10. (Link)
• A second edition of the beta Tower Rush mini-event is being tested by a small number of randomly chosen players this weekend, in addition to the normal event that’s open to everybody. (Link to info post)
• A new feature called Dragonia Kingdoms (Marketplace) has been released to a very small number of beta testers. (Link 1, Link 2)
• A new player-vs-player mini-event called “Race Event” is out for beta-testing to a very small number of users. (Link 1), (Link 2), (Link 3), (Link 4)
• Popular Links:
  • Dens List
  • Friend Tag Exchange
  • 2024 Event Schedule

 

LINK TO DRAGON BOAT IMAGE GUIDE

Tap the link above to open the Image Guide as a Google Slides document; it can be saved as a pdf for viewing elsewhere.

1. Cloud Key Map
2. Cloud Key Chart
3. Tile Healing Map
4. Infinite Harvestables Map
5. Event Quests Chart
6. Event Rewards Chart

 

CLOUD KEY LIST

^{Tap a key item to go to its wiki page for more info and hi-def images}

• L0 Life Essence (clear)
• L2 Life Flower (clear)
• L3 Twin Flowers (clear)
• L4 Bushy Autumn Tree (clear)
• L4 Three Graces (clear)
• L8 Ancient Columns (clear)
• L5 Mystical Autumn Tree (clear)
• L5 Moonflower (clear)
• L9 Golden Columns (clear)
• L7 Fancy Autumn Tree (clear)
• L10 Smallest Temple in the World (clear)
• L8 Happy Panda Lamp (clear)
• Tanzanite Mystery Nest (clear)
• Golden Capsule (clear)
• Fallen Star (clear)

 

EVENT-SPECIFIC CHAINS

• Point items: Mystic Lanterns
• Infinite harvestables/Generators: Spiritual Trees
• Consumable/Limited Harvestables: Lucky Statues
• Event Chests: Special Chests

 

EVENT QUESTS

• 1.1 Merge 5 of Anything — 150 times
• 1.2 Creat a Level 7 Point Item (Sensous Swan Lamp) — 5 times
• 1.3 Harvest from a Level 3 Consumable Harvestable (Noble Dragon Statue) — 75 times
• 2.1 Harvest from a Twin Life Flower — 200 times
• 2.2 Harvest from Dead Plants — 75 times
• 2.3 Create a Life Orb of the Heavens — 3 times
• 3.1 Heal Land — 35 tiles
• 3.2 Have Healed Land — 350 tiles
• 3.3 Have Healed Land — 675 tiles
• 3.4 Heal All the Land — 861 tiles

 

EVENT POINT REQUIREMENTS

• Prize 1: 3 pts (3 total)
• Prize 2: 22 (25)
• Prize 3: 235 (260)
• Prize 4: 420 (680)
• Prize 5: 640 (1,320)
• Prize 6: 960 (2,280)
• Prize 7: 4,470 (6,750)
• Prize 8: 5,400 (12,150)
• Prize 9: 6,570 (18,720)
• Prize 10: 11,230 (29,950)

 

FEATURED REWARDS

^{A = featured in Arcadia; S = Shiny capable; N = New}

• Main trophy breed: Turtle (AS)
• Secondary trophy breed: Fiesta
• Tertiary breed: Sharp
• Event Trophy Item: Artful Bonsai Tree
  • Spawned eggs: Deer (AS)
  • Tappables: Turtle (AS)

 

RUSH REWARDS

^{Note: Rewards shown are for Event Portal Level 16}

• Legend (under 12 hours)
  • Main Breed: 20x nests, 5x L1, 5x L2, 3x L3, 3x L4
  • Secondary Breed: 20x nests, 5x L3, 3x L4
  • Tertiary Breed: 7x L2
  • 3x L4 Fruit Trees
• Champion (under 24 hours)
  • Main Breed 1: 11x nests, 6x L1, 5x L2, 3x L3
  • Secondary Breed: 9x nests, 2x L3, 1x L4
  • Tertiary Breed 3: 12x L2
  • 2x L4 Fruit Trees, 1x Super Egg Fragment
• Hero (under 36 hours)
  • Main Breed: 5x nests, 4x L1, 3x L2, 3x L3
  • Secondary Breed: 5x nests, 3x L3
  • 1x L4 Fruit Tree, 1x L2 Hill, 1x Super Egg Fragment

 

EVENT FAQs

• The Event Shop and Capsules appear after you’ve healed 30-70 tiles; after that a free Bronze Capsule can be collected every 3 hours.
• It takes 5 or 6 level 9 Life Orb of the Heavens to clear all the 5k+ land, depending on how much you heal by merging items off dead land.
• To collect both the full set of Points Prizes and any level of Rush Rewards, you will need to earn 29,950 points.
  • Reaching this amount requires 1x Level 9 points item, 1x L8 item, 2x L7 items, and 2x L6 items (or just aim for 2x L9 points items).
• There’s always enough material to merge by 3s when making Key items.
• Caves must be tapped to spawn a Zomblin; only one event Zomblin lives in each cave, and it turns into Stinky Cheese when killed.
• The Gold Capsule, Fallen Star, and Tanzanite Nest are hiding near the far edge of the map, on tiles requiring 50k energy to heal.
• Infinite Harvestables:
  • There are usually 9x Level 1, 3x L2, 1x L3, 2x L4, and 2x L5 Infinite Harvestables (Spiritual Trees) on the map; you can delete one level 1 and one level 2 and still have enough to make a level 6, as long as you 5-merge whenever possible.
  • Note: No Infinite Harvestables are used as keys in this event.
• Consumable/Limited Harvestables:
  • Each 1x2 Noble Dragon Statue can be harvested 25 times; 75 total harvests are needed to complete Quest 1.3.
  • Each harvest of the big 2x2 Grinning Buddha at the back of the map yields a 10% chance of spawning an extra Noble Dragon Statue.
  • Once all available Noble Dragon Statues and the Grinning Buddha are gone, there is no way to get more.
• Strategy advice:
  • Spending money or gems is NEVER required to complete an event, nor is using an auto-clicker or other exploits.
  • The number and level of possible reward items is determined by your Event Portal level; working to raise that to its maximum of L16 is one of the best ways to boost your overall progress in the game
  • A good basic introduction to events is available here on the Fandom Wiki; there’s also some Wiki event guides and tips articles here and here, and a whole collection of general guides and tutorials here
  • Additional general event strategy advice (active vs passive or idle play, etc) can be found in the Community FAQ and in these threads: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, and Link 4.
  • For active players wanting more dragons, the Prism Flower method is a good option: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3. Note: this technique is only for active play; since only 2 dragons at a time will harvest when left on their own, having more will actually slow down idle harvesting.
  • A recently shared strategy using the Hills chain here can greatly increase Life Flower production, but it usually takes a few gems (maximum of 80, but less if you get some in capsules)
• Chinese New Year event theme’s main wiki page.
• Previous Similar Events:
  • August 2023 - Dragon Boat
  • January 2023 - Year of the Rabbit
  • October 2022 - Dragon Boat
  • August 2022 - Dragon Boat
  • May 2022 - Dragon Boat
  • January 2022 - Year of the Tiger

 
REMINDER: Before closing your game, or when moving from the event level to your camp, always exit to the World Map screen and pause there until everything’s fully loaded to trigger the game to save your progress.
 

EVENT TROUBLESHOOTING

If the event is not showing up correctly or if glitches are affecting your play:

1. Check that you meet the version and dragon power requirements.
2. Try hard-closing and then relaunching your game.
3. Try rebooting your device (ie, turn it completely off, then back on and allow it to fully boot up before relaunching the game). If you are on wifi and have access to the router, try rebooting that, too.
4. Try switching to a completely different internet source.
5. Try clearing your game’s cache (google for instructions for your specific phone type).
6. If you’re suddenly experiencing multiple issues like lagging or error messages (or if the event vanishes completely), close the game and try again after 2-3 hours. Events are internet-based, and sometimes issues with the servers can cause temporary problems — all we can do for that is to wait it out.
7. If none of the above helps, contact Gram Games Support through the in-game link or the Support Web Portal for help figuring out what’s wrong.

• NOTE: Cloud Save is still unreliable: according to the developer, it is not safe to be used and should be left turned off.
• NOTE: Saving your Progress: Make sure to save your progress by traveling to the World Map screen (and waiting there until everything’s fully loaded) regularly, and especially before closing your game.
• Glitch: Missing sell/delete option If your task bar is missing the option to delete dimension jars or other items, you can start with the standard troubleshooting methods; if those don’t trigger a fix, replaying a few levels or working in your camp for a while have reportedly helped.
• Glitch: Event level only shows clouds If your event screen shows only clouds instead of the map, check that you are zoomed all the way out. If you are and it still won’t show, try collecting one of the free Bronze Capsules (you may need to wait for the timer to count down).
• Glitch: Missing rewards/Game crashes after collecting rewards Exiting directly from the event level to your Camp can trigger a crash and loss of items; always exit to the World Map screen first — and pause there until everything’s fully loaded — to trigger the game to save your progress, then enter your Camp.

edits are on-going

I got an email on Monday that my prescription had been electronically sent to the pharmacy. It is now Friday and I haven’t received notification through Fed Ex that my package has been shipped. Is this normal or should I contact them?

It's been a couple days since my last post because it took me so long to get everything down that happened just between the time I woke up and lunch on Saturday. I'd like to tell you that the rest of the weekend went by with less going on but that's just not so. Oh, and since it's Friday I can tell you that things just keep getting stranger, but I'm not going to jump ahead. Here's the first half of Saturday, I'm working on the second half.
Saturday Morning
I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing and immediately noticed that the sun was high enough that light was pouring through my windows. Since I normally wake up before the sun rises, I was a little disoriented as I grabbed my phone and fumbled to answer it.
It was Emily, letting me know she’d be at my apartment in 30 minutes and asking if I wanted her to pick anything up. I told her I was fine but that if she wanted anything other than black coffee, she should stop on the way, I’d pay her back. She thanked me, said she’d swing by the grocery store on the way, and hung up.
I looked at my phone and saw it was around 7:45. I ran the dogs downstairs quickly so they could do their business. The first thing I noticed was that Craig was gone, but his replacement was standing by the door. I realized that having a guard outside my door was going to be too obvious and made a mental note to talk to John about how to handle the security more discreetly.
Running back upstairs, I quickly showered and got dressed. Dropping a pod in the coffee maker, I scrolled through my missed calls while the cup filled. Emily was going to have her hands full if things kept up at this pace. I noticed that the calls continued until almost 2 am and that several were from my oldest brother (half-brother), including the last one.
Just a little before 8:30, I heard a knock on the door. I assumed it was Emily but was surprised to see the security guy standing there. “Good morning, sir. There is a young lady downstairs who says she’s related to you and supposed to be here. I asked her to wait for a moment while I confirmed. I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’m afraid you didn’t answer when I called, and we don’t have a calendar for you or a list of approved guests.”
I hadn’t even thought about security when I told Emily to come by. “That’s totally my fault. I’m not used to this at all yet. That’s my niece Emily. She’ll be working for me over the summer. Please make sure I get your number before you leave so I can put it in my phone. You can go ahead and send her up.”
“No problem, sir. I’ll do so right away.” He turned and went back downstairs. I left the door open, and a moment later Emily walked in looking confused.
“Ummm, Alex, who was that?”
I took the grocery bags from Emily and put them on the counter. Grabbing another mug from the cabinet, I made a second cup of coffee and told Emily to fix it any way she wanted. She pulled out the cream and sugar along with a box of pastries. I realized I was hungrier than I thought and grabbed one as I answered.
“That was our security. They’ll be here for at least the immediate future or until things settle down. They know who you are now and that you’re working for me for the summer.”
Emily seemed to accept that and finished fixing her coffee before grabbing a pastry of her own.
I explained that I was going to be meeting Mark for breakfast but that Sam was going to stop by and keep her company this morning while she was getting settled in and that I’d be back right after we were done.
I handed her my phone and gave her the passcode. I told her I wanted her to go through all the calls and write down the numbers and how many times each had called. If there wasn’t a contact or caller ID with it, then to reverse search the number and see if any of them came up. I also told her to go through all the voicemails and write down who called and what their message was.
I asked her to delete the ones that were just “call me back” messages but save the rest in case I needed to listen to them. After we finished our coffee and pastries, I helped her gather her stuff and the pastries so we could head downstairs to the office.
John was already there to relieve the other guy and recognized Emily from yesterday, and I could tell she remembered him too. He smiled at her, and she offered up a pastry. He thanked her but declined and asked if I had a schedule for the day yet. I explained I’d be meeting the Chief of Police in about 30 minutes and then returning to the office.
He said he’d like to get about 30 minutes of my time at some point to discuss some security plans, and I promised we’d sit down before lunch.
Unlocking the office, I took Emily’s bag and the groceries from her before asking her to run back upstairs and grab Charlie and Cooper so they wouldn’t be sitting alone while we were in the office. We set up in the conference room, I realized we’d probably need to get some more office furniture soon. She walked back in with the dogs a second later, they were clearly thrilled to be out of the apartment.
I explained we’d be ordering more furniture and a computer for her shortly. My office was clean, organized (mostly), and functional but pretty basic. I only had my desk, some chairs in the foyer for people waiting to meet, and a conference room for larger meetings, closings, etc.
Emily would have to work in the conference room until we could set up another office for her. There were two other vacant offices and a break room. It had been way more space than I needed before, but now I imagined that would change. Just as I was starting to worry about having enough room for a foundation, assistant, etc., I remembered that the entire building was mine, not just the office I was “renting”, I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Setting her up with the laptop, I told her where the office supplies were and promised I’d be back shortly, but that I’d be leaving my phone with her, so I wouldn’t be reachable. Then I remembered John and realized she could get hold of him if there was an emergency.
John was in the foyer, and I got his cell number and passed it on to her. I was getting ready to leave when she looked embarrassed for a second and started to speak but then stopped herself. I asked her what was up, and she hesitated before asking quietly if I was going to see if maybe her mom could get out of jail today.
CRAP, I had completely forgotten about Debbie. I told her to hold on one second and grabbed my phone. I had about 10 minutes to get to Carol’s and needed to talk to Dad first. Fortunately, he answered when I called and sounded a lot less stressed than he did yesterday.
“Hey Dad, good morning. Have you got just a minute? We need to talk about Debbie.”
I could almost hear his eyes roll through the phone. “Sure, I guess we need to get her out. Do you want me to handle it?” he asked. I sighed with relief. I was afraid he was going to dig his heels in and want her to stay in jail for the weekend. “No, Dad, I’m meeting Mark in 5 minutes. I should be able to take care of it. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got to hustle to not be late.”
“No problem, son. I’ll be having a conversation with her as soon as she gets out. Tell Mark I said hi.”
I rushed the phone back to Emily and told her I’d work on getting her mom out. She looked relieved as I hurried out the door. Carol’s was only a couple of streets up, but it got packed on the weekend. It had been in that location for almost 70 years, with the third generation now behind the counter and the fourth getting ready to be.
I got there right at 9, and the line was around the block with peppily dressed weekenders waiting to eat, staring at their phones and ignoring their families waiting right next to them. Mark was already inside at his usual table (being chief had its privileges), but even if Mark hadn’t been sitting in his usual booth, he would have been easy to spot. At nearly 6’ 4” and built like an Abram’s tank, he was sure to stand out in any crowd.
Grabbing a seat, I let out a big sigh and relaxed. Mark quirked an eyebrow at me and said, “What’s up with you? I’ve never seen you look so tense.”
“How long have we got, Mark?” I asked with a wry chuckle.
Mark looked a little concerned and said, “All day and night if we need it, spill it.”
“Ok, but before we get into it, I need to ask you a professional question. We’re not going to press charges against Debbie. The night in jail should have been the wake-up call she needed, and if not, my dad’s going to deliver one when he sees her. Are you planning on charging her?”
Mark didn’t even answer; he just picked up his phone and called his duty desk. “Hey Steven, go ahead and cut Debbie Walker loose on my say. Put the papers on my desk, and I’ll sign off when I come back in. Make sure she knows she might still face charges from the DA and that she’d be wise to stay in town.”… “Nope, that’s it, thanks – I’ll stop in on my way home. Hope it’s a quiet today. See ya’.”
“There, one problem off your plate?”
I grinned. “Thanks, Mark. I don’t know if the problem is off my plate, but I know she’s out of your jail and that’s a start. Let’s get our order in, and then I’ve got the story of a lifetime for you.”
For the next 10 minutes, I gave Mark a 30,000-foot view of what had happened yesterday. He sat there quietly listening, only occasionally asking a question. When I got into the numbers, he stopped me and asked me to repeat myself.
I told him how surreal it was and that none of this had really sunk in yet. I mentioned Michael and Debbie getting turned away from the meeting by the security that JA had lined up and told him that the firm had insisted they keep security on me until things cooled down.
Mark nodded and asked if I had let them do that. I said I had reluctantly agreed, and Mark asked if they were here now. I pointed John out; he was standing outside the door and said that JA told me he’s a deputy from a nearby county. Mark’s eyes narrowed, and I saw him nod slightly. I asked him if he knew John.
“Oh yeah, I know him, and while I guess technically he is a deputy of sorts, he runs one of the top private security firms within 300 miles. He’s as good as you can get.” I asked how he knew him, and Mark simply said, “We served together,” and left it at that. “If he’s out here personally, then someone he respects, or someone important, must have asked him to handle your detail.”
“I’m supposed to talk to him when we get done here. He wants to discuss the security plan, but I’m not sure I’d call one guy a detail.”
“Do you mind if I join you?” asked Mark. “I’d like to know what he’s thinking and be ready to brief my officers if necessary.”
“Uh, sure…. Thank you.” I was aware that security was a concern; in addition to the family issues, there was a risk (even if it was small) of kidnapping, blackmail, increased potential for robbery, etc., but I was surprised that JA hadn’t been more direct about who he’d hired. Maybe he had more concerns than he wanted to share.
Breakfast came out right about then, delivered by Sandy, a pretty girl in her early thirties that I’d known most of my life. She was a few years younger than me with a bright smile and a positive energy that made people light up when they saw her. After college, she’d gone to work for one of the largest restaurant operators in the U.S. She’d spent nearly ten years there before leaving as a regional director to return home last year. Her grandparents had started Carol’s, and today Sandy and her cousin ran it. The rumor mill was that they had plans to expand, and that’s what had brought her home.
“Morning Chief… Hey Alex,” she said as she put the plates down. She paused for a moment before she put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Alex, I’m so sorry about Joe. He came in here almost every day. I loved spending time talking to him – when I was working here in high school, he’d tell stories about the old downtown and loved to remind me that he was one of the first people through the door back when my grandparents first opened. I remember mentioning him to my grandmother back then, and she laughed and started talking about him and those dogs. You know no one ever had the heart to tell him he shouldn’t bring them in with him. I hope you’ll bring Charlie by to see me soon. I miss his big head.”
I promised I’d bring him by this week. She refilled our coffees and was walking away when she turned back and said, “I’ll look forward to seeing him, and you!”
Mark laughed behind his coffee cup and took it as an opportunity to give me a hard time. “Watch out, buddy… that girl might have eyes for you!” I protested, but I was wondering what she had meant by that too. Not that it matters, I’m committed to finding out if Sam and I are right for one another. We have a lot of history, but each of us has changed a lot in the last 18 years, and even though we’re both excited about reconnecting, I don’t think either of us is ready to rush into anything.
I filled Mark in on my date with Sam last night and her reaction to the news, which I’d best describe as “cautiously supportive,” and told him she might be at the office right now sitting with Emily, who was going to be working with me for the summer.
We talked a bit more about what Joe had done. He had some questions about the land and asked if I knew which properties were involved. I told him what I knew, which was still pretty limited at that point (I don’t know a lot more now; there’s a lot to take in).
At about that time, Mark’s phone rang. He answered it and got serious real fast as he listened. “Ok, I understand. I’m with Alex right now. Call JA and tell him what happened. Alex and I will head out there in a bit.”
“Finish up, buddy – there’s no rush, but it looks like there was trouble at your uncle’s place again early this morning. This time, the security guard got hurt. He’s just banged up, maybe a concussion. I’ve got officers on-site, and the sheriff is sending over a detective. Whoever did it got scared off before he got into the house.”
We finished eating, and I grabbed the check before Mark could. He told me he’d let me get this one since my family was causing him so much trouble but not to get used to it. Paying at the register, I turned to leave and caught Sandy looking at me. When she saw me catch her, she just smiled and waved. Caught off guard, I waved back.
On the way out, we stopped, and John and Mark shook hands and smiled. “Mark, good to see you doing well! I heard you’d made Chief and figured there was no way we were going to pry you away after that!” It looks like Mark was holding out a little too.
“Yep, the Valley is home. I don’t like the idea of uprooting. It looks like you might be here for a while too; things aren’t calming down just yet. Alex and I have to head out to his uncle’s place. Someone attacked the security guard last night but ran off before going in. You’re welcome to ride with us unless you want to follow.”
John took the information in calmly and nodded. “I’ll follow behind you. I’m sure Alex will be fine riding with the chief of police, and of course, one of the best…”
Mark cut him off. “That’s enough of that; let’s just roll.”
I told Mark I needed to borrow his phone and called my cell. “Emily, hey it’s Alex. How is it going there?” Emily said that she’d gone through all the voicemails and that there were a few I definitely needed to hear. She sounded shaken up but said that Sam was also there. I asked her to hand the phone to Sam. Once she was on, I explained that we were on our way to Joe’s place and told her there had been an incident. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What the hell is going on?” I could hear the aggravation in her voice.
I explained I’d be back as soon as I could but that I had to go check out Joe’s place, and if she needed me, she should call Mark’s cell. She told me to be safe and said she’d stay with Emily until we got back. I made one other quick call to the Verizon store near my office to add 2 lines to my account. One for Emily and a new one for me. Emily’s phone was on her father’s plan, and I didn’t want them to see her calls and texts. I asked them to get them ready quickly, and that I’d be by in the next hour to pick them up.
Handing the phone back to Mark, I noticed how serious he was looking. “Alex, this is serious. I’m not sure that this is related to the will, but I wouldn’t bet against it. You need to have a very real conversation with John. I’m probably going to agree with his security recommendations. This is about more than just your security; it’s also about the people around you.”
I sat quietly for a moment. “I got you. When we get back, we’ll all sit down, and you guys can tell me what you want to do. You have my full support.” I paused, “Mark, I’m really sorry about this. I’m sorry you’re spending your Saturday doing this. I’m sorry your officers had to deal with Debbie, and I’m sorry someone got hurt.” Mark’s face softened as much as it could. “Even if this wasn’t my job, you’re my closest friend, and I’m not letting anything happen to you. Let’s just make sure no one else gets hurt either.”
We pulled up to Joe’s place, and the EMT was still there along with the police and sheriff’s deputies. The security guard was sitting on the back of the ambulance, holding a cold pack on the back of his head and speaking with the police. Mark jumped out of the car and went over to their huddle.
I hung back and went to speak to John. “You and Mark and I can work on detailing how to handle security when we get back to my office. I realize this may be unrelated to the will, but I also know it’s not worth taking risks while we figure things out.”
John nodded. “It’s highly unlikely that it’s unrelated, Alex. I’m not a big believer in coincidence.” We moved toward the ambulance where everyone was gathered. As we got closer, Mark stepped toward us as they continued talking to the guard.
“Evidently, the guard had left his car to check the perimeter when he stumbled onto the intruder trying to jimmy the lock on the back door of the house. He was more surprised than the burglar, who spun around and dropped him before he could even say anything.
“When he came to, the burglar was gone. He followed his tracks to where he parked, but there was no sign. We do have footage from the 360-degree camera on his security vehicle, and we’re hoping to get a good look at the car as soon as they upload a copy to us. We’ve gotten his statement and a rough description of the suspect. They’re going to take him for a CT scan as a precaution, but he appears to be fine other than a nasty cut on his head.”
John interrupted, “Before he leaves, can I ask him a couple of questions?”
Mark agreed and walked him over to the ambulance while I turned to walk the property. I didn’t see anything damaged other than a terra cotta pot on the back porch that had likely been used to knock out the guard, but I still wanted to check the garage.
When I got there, I knew there was a problem. Years of living there made it obvious that something had happened. The door was closed, but I could see that the lock was broken. Using my foot to push it open further, I walked inside, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the filtered light.
The Jag had been searched, with the contents of the glove box thrown around carelessly. The trunk was open, and the tool kit and spare tire had been dumped on the ground. The same was true for Joe’s truck.
Heading upstairs, I saw that my old room had been ransacked as well. My uncle hadn’t really touched anything after I moved out. I recognized a few personal belongings that hadn’t just been tossed on the ground; they’d been utterly destroyed.
I went back downstairs and straight to Mark and John. I told them what I’d found and mentioned how some of my personal belongings had been specifically destroyed. John was standing nearby and exchanged looks with Mark, who said, “This was personal. We’re going to treat this as another issue related to the will. That means this was probably someone in the family; anyone else wouldn’t have known to destroy your things.”
John nodded. “I’ll contact my operations team to bring in additional personnel. I’m going to have someone on your office and home 24/7 as well as someone with you. We’ll also be installing cameras at both properties. Do you have access to the entire building?”
“No, just my offices and apartment, but the building evidently belongs to his estate, and I guess to me. I’ll contact JA and see if he has keys.”
“Ok, I think the security guards should be fine for this property. The guard said there were replacements on the way. Incidentally, JA had already told me that whatever I deemed necessary to keep you safe would be paid for by the estate until it settles. We can discuss longer-term planning after that.” I appreciated John’s reassurances about the cost. I lived comfortably but didn’t have the money to pay for all this security.
Something else occurred to me. “Guys, something else about this is bothering me. Whoever was here was looking for something and obviously didn’t find it since they were trying to get into the house when they got interrupted.” I paused, then continued, “I don’t think it’s valuables or another copy of the will. They searched glove boxes, trunks, and my old room. I don’t know what they’re after, but it must be important.”
“We probably won’t figure that out until we catch whoever it is,” Mark said. “Do you want to go into Joe’s place now?”
“I guess I should do a quick walk-through, but I really need to get back to Emily and Sam.” Unlocking the door to the house, I did a quick scan. I could see glass on the floor from Aunt Debbie’s “visit,” and in the den, I could see the hammer marks on the safe (seriously???).
I told John that I’d probably be moving out here soon and that he might as well start taking a look at security measures for this place as well. I asked Mark when I could get back the things Debbie had gathered up (they were in evidence), and he said as soon as the DA confirmed that they weren’t planning on charging her, they’d release them and I could pick them up for JA.
I didn’t see anything else out of place, so I locked up the house, and we were getting ready to go when two additional cars from the guard’s agency pulled up. John stepped over to speak with them while Mark told his officers and the deputies we were leaving but that he’d check in later.
We pulled out just as the ambulance was taking the guard to the hospital for evaluation. When we hit town, I got Mark to stop so I could run in and grab the phones before we went back to my office. They had them sitting on the counter waiting for me, so I was in and out.
At this point, it was getting close to noon, and breakfast seemed like it was hours ago. We pulled up at the office and went inside to find Sam and Emily sitting at the conference room table laughing. When they saw us come through the door, they both jumped up and started asking questions. After a brief recap of what had happened that morning, I handed Emily her work phone, gave everyone my new number, and asked them to keep it private.
Emily said she’d listened to all the messages on my old phone and that there were a few I needed to hear but a couple that really worried her. Mark asked her to play them for us.
The first one was from my cousin David: “You’re a damn asshole, Alex. Kissing up to that old man so the rest of us don’t get shit. I’m going to kick your ass next time I see you! This isn’t over.”
David’s a hothead, but I really wasn’t concerned about his threats, although both Mark and John were taking notes.
The next one was more of a concern though. It was my half-brother Michael, the one that had shown up late for the meeting. He’d been raised by his mother and hadn’t spent much time with our father growing up, or any of us. He was over 20 years older than me and had been in and out of trouble his whole life. I always had the feeling he blamed us for his relationship with Dad. He’d left the message late on Friday night.
“I’m done getting screwed by this family. I’m just as much a Russell as the rest of you bastards. You took what was rightly mine, but you’re not going to take everything. I know there’s more, and I’m going to get it. If you get in my way, I promise it will be the last thing you ever do.”
Mark and John exchanged looks, and I knew they were taking this call seriously. Emily was going through the rest of the messages; some were from clients, some were from family telling me that they knew how much I meant to Joe and him to me, and that they were happy for me. My Aunt Patricia called almost a dozen times, begging me to call her.
There were a few other callers that I suspect had heard the rumors, but I had no idea who they were and would figure out how to handle them later.
As Emily was wrapping up, Mark’s phone rang. He answered and listened for a minute. “Ok, listen, just a hunch, but run Michael Russell’s name and see what cars are registered to him. I’ll hold.” After a moment, he said, “Yep – it was a good hunch. Put out a BOLO and tell the Sheriff’s office we’re going to want to have a talk with him. Call me if you find him.”
Getting off the phone, Mark shared that, “We’ve got footage of a car leaving the area right around the time the guard was attacked. There was a partial plate visible from one of the camera angles on the guard’s car. I had them run Michael’s DMV records, and they came back with a match. We’ll pick him up as soon as we see him. If we can connect him with the attack, he’ll be facing charges.”
Looking over at me, he said, “Alex, I don’t have to tell you this isn’t like the situation with Debbie. If Michael attacked that guard he’s going to be prosecuted.”
Emily’s face fell, and she looked down as if she wanted to hide. Mark saw her reaction, and realized that he’d forgotten Debbie was Emily’s mom. “Sweetie, I’m sorry, your mom just made a silly mistake. I don’t know if you’ve talked to your dad yet, but he’s probably already picked her up. Either way, it has nothing to do with you. You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about.”
I had forgotten to tell Emily that Debbie was being released, and her face immediately lit up. “No, I didn’t hear from Dad. We’re not really talking right now, but I’ll call Mom in a bit!” she said excitedly.
This whole time Sam had been sitting quietly, taking it all in. I had no idea what she was thinking and frankly wasn't sure I wanted to know.
I hadn’t even had lunch yet, and I’d gotten Aunt Debbie out of jail, a guard had been attacked at my uncle’s house, my brother was a suspect in a serious assault, and for some reason, Emily’s father wasn’t speaking to her.
Add to that, I have no idea what Michael is talking about or what he’s looking for. I'll have to tell you more about him soon.
There were obviously a lot more issues in the family than I ever knew. I was going to have to start figuring things out, and fast.

Six months ago, I took a retirement job that has me on the road Monday through Friday with quite alot of time on fast moving highways. I've noticed people changing lanes pulling what I consider dangerously close in front of the vehicle in the next lane. Today, I had the good luck to drive a rental because my job's company vehicle is in the shop. It's a Pacifica with all the bells and whistles including blind spot indicators. (Neat!) I observed that when I pull ahead of the car next to me, the blind spot indicator goes out when the car next to me is a couple feet past my rear bumper. Given what I see happening on the road, I suspect that when people with blind spot detection are passing other cars, they simply wait till the blind spot light goes out and they just change lanes trusting the sensors rather than their own eyes! When cars are moving 70+ mph, a couple of feet clearance isn't very much! Are people doing this???

I'm Kaat Online/Chris irl I am 24 from Ontario Canada I am 6'6 bigger build and working on it. I'm shy but I'm working on that as well. I don't have any preference on who you are. I love to cook haven't baked in a while, I love trying new things. Favorite food is Greek, Italian, and any chicken I can have buffalo on. I make my own buffalo and hot honey.
I play Xbox, Apex Legends, Overwatch, Rust, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, Far Cry, Destiny 2, I have Fortnite for friends can send full list when we talk. (PC Valorant I'm not good. Minecraft Pixelmon, Shellshock live.
I work Monday through Friday, Off every other weekend but would definitely make time for you. Let's go on dates do cute Halloween stuff, Christmas stuff, let's go to the zoo or aquarium, go on picnic. I want someone I can spend my life with, my other half someone that understands me, gets me someone I can bond with and love.
Likes: Cats, Video games, Marvel, Brooklyn nine nine, Supernatural, Riverdale, Snowpiercer, Flash, Disenchantment and The Walking Dead. Loves: Cuddles, Communication! Streaming games for my person or playing with them Hates: Liars, cheaters, this generation doesn't give me hope to find my person.
Personality: I'm a very sweet, loving, loyal, affectionate and romantic guy. I'm 6'6 blonde hair blue eyes. Tall, I'm very soft I love to praise and will give reassurance if needed I'm very very loving and will constantly give you my attention and love.
I'm looking for my perfect person, I want someone that loves me for me! I love clingy. I love phone calls and late night texts, good night and good morning texts are also key, just want someone I can vibe with and be with, someone who is amazing and clingy and who wants to cuddle and spend time with me. Someone who wants to build trust with me and build a strong bond. Need to want to meet! I'm wanting someone I can call mine and I can be theirs. I want to give all my love and affection to them and spend a lot of time with them.
I'm looking for someone I can be myself around, someone that accepts me for me and I'll do the same.
Equal relationships are key it's either 50/50 or nothing Communication is a need. It's key to a healthy relationship.
I look forward to meeting you. I hope you have a wonderful day and ask me anything

Hey, looking for some advice. I had a licensed electrician come in a replace my old panel with a 200 amp panel. This was in early April, on a Friday. I realized earlier this week they never did the final inspection. I called on Monday, and brought it up, and they said it had slipped through it h the cracks for some understandable reasons. No real issue so far, they said they’d schedule it for Wednesday.
So I call Thursday to confirm it happened. They said it didn’t pass because there was a “new code” they didn’t know about and they needed to add a whole house surge protector and they’d send me estimate for that. I basically told the guy that I’m not paying for that, and they’re going to eat that cost. The fact that an electrician called me and told me he didn’t know the code so my inspection failed seems insane to me. Especially since I don’t think whole house surge protector is all that new of code.
Today, they sent me a digital estimate for 500 for the whole house surge protector. I’m planning on calling later today and reading them then riot act, but I want to make sure I’m on firm footing that this is bullshit. And if they refuse to eat that cost, what recourse do I have? Thoughts on nuance before I go scorched earth here?

Title: I am 31 years old, make $92,600 base, live in Northern Alberta, work in Forestry, and recently returned to work after a year off for maternity leave.

• All $ in CAD. $1 CAD to $0.73 US.
• I will call my spouse H.
• We aren’t looking to change spending habits too much, this was more a fun exercise to see what we spend and how we’re doing financially now that I am back to work.

HHI: $166,000
Section One: Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance: Total $76,431 (joint)

• My retirement accounts include a DCPP of $62,495, an RRSP of $8125, and a TFSA of $130
• H’s only has a spousal RRSP of $5631
• DCPP amount is from a 5% base contribution plus 2% matching from my employer, and 3% from me. I have had this account since 25 (when I started at the company) and have done the matching the entire time except during my maternity leave. They continued the 5% base while I was off on maternity leave, I had the option to get the matching as well but we couldn’t swing the cost while I was only on EI.
• RRSPs are mostly from excess benefits money. I have flex benefits and get an annual amount to “spend”. Before we had our kid there was about $500/month split going into our RRSPs. Now we do $42.30/month split ($21.15 for each). The spousal RRSP means I can claim this on my taxes, instead of him claiming on his.
• TFSAs will be our next focus once we’ve caught up on the annual bills from May to July - annual house insurance and two vehicle insurances. We haven’t been consistent with depositing into our TFSA’s, so we have $80K+ room in each.

Equity: The house is worth $400,000. We owe $303,000. Equity is $97,000.
Savings account balance: $450 in emergency savings (this is a priority starting in August to beef up), $2000 in property taxes sinking fund (to be spent by July)
Checking account balance: $5288.15 - we both got paid today so I will be moving money around and this number will be down a lot by the end of the day.
Credit card debt: $16,635

• $12,855 LOC. This is entirely from vehicles - before I went on maternity leave H sold his truck and we took a $9500 loss - pulled the money out of the LOC to pay off the lien. In April, we needed a different vehicle so we took $6500 out of the LOC to purchase a new-to-us car. We have yet to sell the vehicle we replaced, but when we do that money will either go onto LOC or into emergency savings. We’re aiming to get $3000 for the sale.
• $530 My CC. This is from not budgeting for two road trips I took in the last two weeks, plus some other overspending on random things.
• $3250 H CC. This is from overspending on groceries/gas and vehicle expenses.

Student loan debt: $0

• H went to trade school (8 weeks/year for 4 years) to become a journeyman mechanic
• I took a 2-year diploma program that cost $12,000 (including books and random spending). My parents saved up $20K for me to go to college/university, so I got about $8,000 in cash from my mum once I graduated as I didn’t use all of the savings for school.
• I lived with my mum while in college and H lived with roommates so his income went to rent/groceries/bills and I had basically no living expenses as my mum covered everything.
• When he went to trade school I was working, so I covered our bills while he was off (and he got EI and some grants during that time frame).

Other Info:

• H and I have had combined finances since we were 19 when we married. This has greatly changed our financial situation.
• I have access to an employee stock purchase plan - I have about $1400 in my company stocks with no plan for them at the moment.
• I got a salary top-up when I went on maternity leave. My employer covered my 1 week EI waiting period and topped up to 100% salary for 11 weeks. The rest of the time I was off I was getting $1158 biweekly from EI.
• We qualify for the Climate Action Incentive from the federal government. This is about $1200/year.
• We get CCB for our kid of $140.61/month. This will increase to $273.74/month come July as our annual income was less in 2023 compared to 2022.

Net Worth: $164,484
Section Two: Income
Income Progression (Post College/Trade School):

• H has been in his field for roughly 8 years and his starting salary was about $37,000 ($19/hr). Two years ago, he took a $20/hour pay cut moving from a journeyman mechanic ($45/hr) to a service advisor ($25/hr). He’s since gotten a $10/hr pay increase from switching employers and switching roles/getting a raise. H now makes $72,800 not including any overtime, which he does get fairly regularly.
• I've been working in my field for 8 years, and my starting salary was about $41,000. I have not changed careers, but I have changed employers. I got two raises when at my first job post-college from $20/hr (41,000) to $23/hr ($47,800) to $30/hr ($62,400). When I started at my current employer in 2018 I was offered $78,000 annually, plus moving benefits (approx $2000). I’ve consistently gotten a 2-5% raise every year (except this year - but I did get a raise 2 weeks before going on leave) or have gotten promoted and am now making $92,600 before bonuses. I get two bonuses a year, one is based on company performance and has been $0 to $10,000. My other bonus is performance-based and has been anywhere from $1200 to $4000. I got both bonuses while on maternity leave, the company performance one was cut in half based on hours worked. I also had to pay back EI because of my bonus income.

Main Job Monthly Take-Home:
Mine: $4768.90 (two paycheck months)

• My monthly deductions include ESPP $213.60, DCPP matching $213.60, social club $5, flex benefits $26, plus taxes $701.27, CPP $203.97 and EI $59.14. In September I usually have an increase in my monthly take home as my CPP/EI is maxed out, but this might not happen this year as my RTW date was the end of April.

H: $3687.28

• H gets an advance on the 15th of $1000 and at the end of the month gets the rest of his pay. His end-of-the-month pay has ranged from $2600 to $3900 already this year because of illness, time off and short months.
• H’s deductions include taxes $623.25, EI $78.23, CPP $263.07, and $61.10 of HCP, but we’re not 100% sure what the HCP is cause he declined his benefits. This reminds me he should talk to payroll and see what’s up with that. He hits his 1st anniversary in August so we’ll see if he ends up maxing out CPP/EI in September or so.

Side Gig Monthly Take-Home:

• I craft and go to some markets and things, but don’t make much after counting all my costs. If I didn’t sell things I made, I’d have no room for craft storage!
• I am working on a custom quilt that when finished will bring in $275.

Any Other Monthly Income Here:

• As said above, we qualify for the CAI and CCB. CCB is $140/month currently and CAI is $400 quarterly.
• I get $500/year from my benefits to spend wherever and however I want. So far this year I’ve spent it on clothes and hiking boots. I have $190 left.

Section Three: Expenses

• Mortgage: $950 bi-weekly - $1900/month on 2 pay period months.
• Property Taxes: Sinking fund of $185/biweekly (we pay this annually in June. It is $2250 this year, last year was $1950).
• Home Insurance: $1640 annually. We pay this in full in July. I expect it to increase this year, but I’m unsure how much.
• Retirement Contribution: In addition to pre-tax contributions above, starting in August, biweekly contributions will be $377 to H’s TFSA and $226 to mine. H’s is more as I have my DCPP and when H’s total is closer to even or maxed out, I’ll max out mine.
• Savings Contribution: $200/biweekly starting in July, we also will have a home maintenance fund and will save $425/month.
• Debt Payments: LOC minimum is $130/month. We pay anywhere from $200 to $2000/month. This will increase come August, and the LOC will be paid off in May 2025. Both CCs should be paid off by September.
• Donations: $20/month to the animal shelter, and $20/month to SOS, I also volunteer at least 5-15 hours a month to a local sports group and to the foundation my MIL set up after my BIL passed. I sit on the board for both non-profits. We also randomly donate money to other things, or go in on 50/50 raffles different nonprofits have.
• Utilities: In the winter $600/month, the summer around $300/month. Gas and electricity combined. I live somewhere where it hits -40C and +40C depending on the time of the year.
• Garbage Rental: $40/month, $120/month when we get it dumped - approximately every 4 months. We live on an acreage and instead of carting garbage bags to work every week or going to the dump, we rent a dumpster for the driveway and call to have it dumped when it's full.
• Septic System Inspection/Cleaning: $400/year
• Internet: $105/month for unlimited fibre optic.
• Cellphone: $70/month for H. I have a work phone at no charge.
• Subscriptions: Amazon Prime $99/year, Spotify $11.54/month, Patreon $10.50/month (Money Feels <3), PlayStation Plus $32/quarter, Kindle Unlimited $10/month, Crunchyroll $9.99/month ($60.95/month total)
• Pet expenses: Roughly $100/month for food and litter for our two cats. Plus $400/year for an annual checkup. This will go up some as they age and probably have to have dental cleanings done.
• Car Insurance/Registration: No payments we own both vehicles outright. Insurance is $1500/year for both vehicles, we pay this in May/July. H spends around $300/month on gas as we live 30 min out of town. I have a work truck so I have no commuting costs. Annually we spend $160 on registration. AMA is 262.50 annually in July.
• Paid Hobbies: Don’t have fixed costs for these right now as we cut them out while I was on maternity leave. In January though, we’ll each get $100-200/month for hobbies.
• Daycare: $900/month ($450 the 1st and 15th). This is slightly more expensive than some others we found and does not qualify for subsidy or grants, but L loves her day home and the caretaker is great.
• Life/Disability Insurance: $125/month for both of us. This is $500K each for life and $100K each for critical illness.
• Food: Roughly $800/month in groceries and I’m not sure about eating out. Since going back to work a month ago life has been hectic so we’re spending more than usual on eating out/convenient foods. H has ADHD and forgets his lunch at home or in the car every day which is a waste, so he buys lunch either at the nearby grocery store or restaurants. I sometimes pack leftovers and sometimes go get food. I’ve been trying to get freezer meals and leave them at the office so I don’t have to pack things back and forth and we haven’t been making meals with leftovers.
• L’s Baby Supplies: $75/month? We have to buy diapers and wipes monthly pretty much.
• House Cleaners: This is an expense we had before H took his pay cut, and we’ve been slowly putting it back in the budget on and off. Roughly $200/clean which happens sporadically as the house is a mess and there is no time for two working parents to clean with an 11-month-old butt scooting everywhere. She always manages to find floor snacks
• Family: We send my sister-in-law money on a fairly regular basis, anywhere from $20-$100. She always pays us back, but we treat this as a write-off in case she doesn’t.

—
Day 1 - Friday
2 am - L wakes up and I get her back down 3 times before 3 am. At 3, H takes her out of the room to burn some energy before they both come back to bed roughly an hour later. Thanks, L. Thank you, H I was getting pretty frustrated with our darling child.
6:30 am - The first alarm goes off and I grab L for a cuddle and morning nursing session. Once she’s done, she rolls around and tries to climb both of us to get our phones before we all get out of bed at 7. Today is a PJ movie day at daycare so we don’t bother dressing her only changing the diaper and then H and L are out the door by 7:15. I leave for work at about 7:45 after doing some putting around.
8:15 am - I get to work and my first stop is the coffee machine. I get back to my office after talking to a few coworkers about our social club golf event next weekend. I see that an industry-specific mentor cohort program is open for applications so I find my most recent resume (2021!) and do a major update before applying. This year one of my goals is to work on leadership skills and mentoring so why not apply?
9 am - I had a hard time finding a bra this morning so I go online and purchase two new ones from the local bra-tique for pickup. My total is $170 after my 10% discount for signing up for their email list. This money is coming from my $500 annual work benefit for whatever I want and I now have $20 left. I eat my breakfast at my desk - yoghurt and homemade granola today.
11 am - I have a webinar on caribou to attend so I log into Zoom and while it's loading, pull up our cashflow forecaster to get the payday finances done before the weekend. $1750 to H’s cc to cover some overspending/vehicle expenses, $100 to the LOC, $373.10 for utilities, and $450 for daycare. Total is $2673.10 I’m not sure if I should include the bills in the daily writeups, but ah well. Day 1 spending is off to a great start.
1 pm - I get the notification that my bras are ready for pickup. Woohoo! I get new bras for the weekend! I send $50 to H’s TFSA once I confirm the bank account is connected.
2:30 pm - Eating lunch now as breakfast was so late. Freezer butter chicken with broccoli. I only have 1 more freezer meal at work so I make a note to restock.
3:30 pm - I work on some cycle times for the log haul for this coming logging season. It takes me a few minutes to remember exactly what I’m doing and how to do it. I am super glad I came back to work at the end of April as I get 3-ish months of slow time to get back into the swing of things before work starts to pick up.
4 pm - I am struggling to do any more than format my Excel sheets so I figure it’s time to pack it up and head home.
4:30 pm - After picking up my bras, I go to Once Upon A Child for some cheap baby clothes. L is in between sizes and we somehow managed to misplace all her more summery sleepwear so I’ve been grabbing a few here and there. OUAC has a sale on, 5 sleepers for $15 so I grab 5 of those and 4 other onesies for summer. We have a family photoshoot on Canada Day and I’ve been hunting for something that’ll match L’s ribbon skirt. $30.45
5 pm - I stop at the store to check the mail and grab a 12-pack of mixed tequila smashes. $37.55
5:30 pm - H calls. He’s off work and headed to get L. I pull burgers and fries out of the freezer, start up the BBQ and get the air fryer going.
6:05 pm - H and L arrive home in perfect time as the burgers and fries just finished cooking. I have an open Pineapple Tequila Smash and I hand H one to drink with supper too. L also has a veggie pouch with the burgers and fries.
7:20 pm - L is in bed nursing to sleep after her bath while H preps episode 4 of Obi-Wan Kenobi for us to watch. We watched it when it was first coming out, but he saw the discs at Walmart last week and figured to grab them. We thought we hadn’t seen all the episodes, but so far we’re 3:3 so we might’ve seen them all.
7:40 pm - L is down and out and I sneak out of the bedroom. I start a load of laundry and find the two bras I couldn’t this morning and handwash them. I sit down with H and we watch some Obi-Wan Kenobi.
10 pm - I check my email and see one from a local photographer group I really like. I’ve done at least two shoots with all 3 of them separately before and they’ve now joined forces. I went to their open house yesterday and won 50% off a boudoir package in 2024. I’ve wanted to book in since they announced their group, so I go through their open spots and book for November. My initial deposit is $262.50.
10:30 pm - We finished the last 3 episodes and watched all previously except for the finale. Of course. It was pretty good, but near the end, I started to scroll on my phone more than pay attention to the show. I swap the laundry, shower and head to bed at 11 pm.
H’s spending Day 1: $7.54 for lunch, $267.58 on vehicle parts/oil change that we didn’t budget for. Normally we would’ve, but communication is kinda crappy atm, and I think that’s due to sleep deprivation.
Day 1 total: $775.62 spending + $50 to TFSA. Oof off to a spendy start for the pay period.
—
Day 2 - Saturday
2:40 am - L is awake again and not going back down. This time it’s my turn. It’s already been a not-great night, hopefully, this 2 am party time doesn't keep happening.
4 am - We go back to bed. Our internet is on autopay and the notification comes through for my credit card. $105
7:20 am - L is up for the day. I don’t want to get out of bed yet, so I cuddle H and L rolls around, tries to stand and almost deletes everything on my phone. Then she notices my boobs so it’s time for a quick nurse.
8 am - I run the coffee machine and get breakfast going. We’re having pancakes this morning. While they’re cooking I pop some milk in the frother to make a fancy coffee. TBD if I drink it while it’s still hot. I feed the cats their morning meal.
8:30 am - H gets up and I’m still cooking. He grabs a coffee and takes L into the living room so I don’t trip over her and the plastic container horde.
9:30 am - H plays some Baldurs Gate 3 and L watches while I sort through the laundry I did last night. I try to get dressed and none of my shorts fit anymore so off in the donation bag they go. It’ll be a summer of dresses I guess! I start another load of laundry.
9:50 am - L is ready for a nap. Just kidding she just wanted some boob instead. We go outside afterwards to get some morning sun. Hopefully, this will tire her out and she will go down for a nap later! She hasn’t been big on sleep since she was born and gets major FOMO so we have no semblance of a schedule on weekends.
10:45 am - I bring L back inside and change her into outfit #3 for the day. Her trike got rained on and she gets soaked when she sits in it. I switch the laundry over, start yet another load and then pass L to H so I can head to the store, fill the Jerry can with gas for the lawnmower and do the recycling. 20 L of gas is $32.78 and I grab two lime slushes for H and I ($5.19). It’s +20 already and gorgeous. Total $37.97
11:30 am - L is ready for a nap! By 11:50 she’s down and I head outside to mow some of the lawn. It’s usually a 4 hr job so I don’t think I’ll get it all done today.
1 pm - I head inside for lunch, we’re having tuna sandwiches. L napped for 20 min and I didn’t get more than half the lawn mowed. After lunch, we head into town to hang out with my friend K and her two kids. We met in college back in 2014 and have babies of a similar age so it’s always nice to go over and visit.
4:30 pm - We leave K’s house and I swing by Wendy’s for a cold coffee-type drink for the drive home. I try the chocolate frosty-cinno and it’s terrible. Should’ve just gone to Tim’s for an ice cap. $4.19
5:05 pm - L fell asleep on the drive home so I hang out in the car with the windows down for another 5-10 minutes before moving things inside. She wakes up and we head in. H picks a meal and starts making dinner. L is fussy and still tired so I nurse her and we hang out in the cool basement while H cooks. I sort through the laundry that finished off today.
6 pm - H is still cooking our dinner, I reheat leftover pasta for L. H runs her bath and I bath her. She’s still grumpy on and off so she’ll probably be going to bed right after this.
6:45 pm - H and I eat chicken wings and shrimp poppers. L has decided it’s not bedtime yet, I tried to put her down and she got a second wind instead.
9:30 pm - I work on the website for one of the non-profits I volunteer for once L goes to bed at 8. After I’m done, I head into the craft room and work on the custom rag quilt project. One row left to sew together, then to put the final 5 rows together, figure out my borders and start cutting all the edges! It’s not ‘due’ until mid-July but I’d rather get it done sooner and not have to rush. My SIL texts and asks to borrow $50 till Thursday, I send it over out of my spending.
11 pm - H and I both go to bed after some kitty snuggles
Day 2 total: $92.16 (not counting $105 for internet)
—
Day 3 - Sunday
7 am - L is awake and I nurse her a couple of times cause she can’t decide if she’s happy or not. It was a decent night, but she must still be tired from not napping much yesterday. It’s my day to sleep in so H takes her out of the room by 7:30.
9:30 am - I get up make some coffee and slowly start on breakfast
10:30 am - L and I are eating breakfast, I made scrambled eggs, fried up leftover sausage, tomato and she also has two crackers with cream cheese. H and I wrote up a grocery list before I sat down and he’s off to town to get groceries and fuel up the car before the work week starts. Usually, H and his best friend C have a grocery shopping bro-date every Sunday, but C and his family are out camping this weekend so H heads in alone.
11 am - L is ready for a nap. I put her down and fold her laundry and the house laundry, taking a few breaks to scroll Reddit or Facebook and drink more coffee.
12:30 pm - L woke up and is kinda grouchy so we have a dance party to elicit baby giggles. H gets back from shopping and we put the groceries away, they cost $374.03. This is actually cheaper than the last few times we did a stock up so that’s nice! Groceries include ground beef, frozen chicken, wings, fries, cucumber, tomatoes, grapes, bananas, yoghurt, frozen lunches, macaroni, Ichiban, burgers, buttermilk, perogies, frozen fruit, frozen veggies, gravy mix, hollandaise mix, and more. We’ve been buying more convenience foods lately, but I do have 3 suppers planned for the week. He also grabbed me a big coffee mug for $6. He got gas for $60.83, and once we unload the groceries, he runs to the store for bacon, 2 jars of our favourite cowboy candy (pickled sweetened jalapeños), chips and a Starbucks frappe drink for $41.93. I make some sandwiches for lunch for tomorrow so I don’t have to scramble in the morning.
1 pm - Lunch is Ichiban noodles for H and I and baby charcuterie for L - strawberries, grapes, ham, cheese, and cucumber. We head outside afterwards to enjoy the weather, L is so close to walking, she pulls herself up onto everything right now. She has an after-lunch snack of mown grass and dandelions.
3 pm - We’re back inside and H puts on Die Hart 2. L goes down for her second nap at 4:15 and we finish the movie. I wake L up at 5:45 so she doesn’t sleep too long. When she wakes up she makes a face identical to her dad’s and it’s hilarious.
7 pm - H is cooking dinner, we’re having eggs Benny and bacon for supper. I prep L’s diaper bag for tomorrow and we run it out to the car. I also put all my laundry away so the closet is ready for the week. H sits on the chair once we’re done dinner and both cats flock to him and spread themselves over his legs.
9:45 pm - I finish off piecing the quilt top and head downstairs to shower. L is getting tired too so as soon as I’m done we head to bed. H is not far behind us.
Daily 3 total: $482.79. This is pretty usual for a grocery shop day.
—
Day 4 - Monday
6:35 am - My alarm goes off. Can’t lay in bed today as I need to meet my coworkers at the office at 7:30 am. We’re doing a team bonding mountain hike and it’s a 2.5 hrs drive away. I grab a banana, toast a bagel, add cream cheese and I’m out the door before 7 after filling up the cats' food.
7:30 am - I get to the office, fill up a water bottle, make a coffee and grab a few things from my office. Almost everyone is there, and we leave at 7:45
9:45 am - We’re there! I’ve seen 2 moose, 1 mule deer, 1 elk and almost hit 2 caribou on the highway already today! We start up the trailhead at about 10 am
1:00 pm - This mountain is much steeper than anticipated. A coworker and I decide at about 300 metres to the top that we shouldn’t push it. The last km has been extremely steep and we’ve hit our max. The rest of the group has gone ahead and summitted. We eat our lunch with a great view and start the trek back down.
3:30 pm - We’re back at the trucks! 11.2 km round trip. We hit the road to head home and stop at Dairy Queen for a celebratory ice cream. I spend $4.92 on a medium dip cone.
6 pm - Back at the office. I call H and let him know I’m headed home now and he suggests chicken wings for supper. I’m down for anything as long as I don’t have to cook.
7 pm - We all eat dinner. L has some veggie pouch, chicken wings/nuggets and leftover pasta. I am almost too tired to eat. One cat keeps trying to get L’s nuggets so he gets in trouble and shooed out of the dining room.
8:15 pm - I try to put L to bed and she goes down for a bit but decides ultimately that it’s not actually time for bed.
8:40 pm - I go and have a hot, hot shower, my muscles are sore and tomorrow might not be fun. L and H party in the TV area, she’s pulling herself up onto everything and trying to crawl up the couch. Not sure where she got this energy from! One of our cats comes for some aggressive cuddles and pets and H puts his dirty t-shirt on the chair for him. Our cat loves dirty laundry it’s hilarious.
9:20 pm - Time for bed for everyone. Hope tonight is a good night and we all can get some rest.
Day 4 Total: $4.92 (this would have been covered by one of the superintendents but a few people got ahead of her in line so she couldn’t pay for us all). My card is also charged by the garbage disposal company for the dumpster ($40.43 - counted in the bills above).
H didn’t spend any money today.
—
Day 5 - Tuesday
7 am - The first alarm went off at 6:30, but we are all tired and don’t want to wake up. I nurse L for a bit then we get up at 7. I’m pretty sore this morning so I’m not moving too fast. Get her dressed and H and L leave by 7:10. H fed the cats this morning so I don’t have to.
7:30 am - I forgot to pay H’s other cc and it’s due in 4 days so I pay it off now - $93.80 (random Amazon purchases and my KU). I pull some chicken out of the freezer to defrost and make my breakfast of homemade granola, hemp hearts and yoghurt. I leave the house around 7:45 to head to work.
8:20 am - I get to the office and immediately get asked some questions about blocks we have slated for this Fall/Winter. I’m not 100% sure of the answer and have to double-check with my boss. I grab a coffee and chat with the head boss before my boss arrives. I clarify what I need and relay the info back to my coworkers.
9:30 am - I eat my breakfast while I scroll through online courses offered by my company. I got an email yesterday of one I’m supposed to take so I book into that.
11 am - I book H and myself massages, 2 each - one this month and one next month.
12:30 pm - I took a long time to eat breakfast so I’m not quite hungry yet. I grab my running shoes from the truck and take a slow walk on the elliptical to help my sore muscles. This morning hasn’t been too busy, but I’m having a hard time starting my next big task (cycle time calculations) so hopefully the slow walk helps some.
1:30 pm - I’m back at my desk and diving into cycle time calculations. H grabs KFC for lunch $24.12
2 pm - Lunch time, I’m having a leftover sandwich from yesterday, a grapefruit cup, grapes and strawberries. I also grab a chai with milk from the coffee machine. I eat while I plug away at the cycle times.
3:45 pm - I finish off one section of cycle times and my brain has had enough. I go fill my water bottle and chat with a few coworkers. At 4:15 pm someone comes by to sign a few cheques I asked for and I leave the office at 4:30 pm
4:40 pm - H grabbed buttermilk instead of heavy cream and I need it for supper tonight so I swing by the grocery store. Then, I head out of town to a colleague’s house to drop off one of the cheques. $4.95
5:15 pm - I check the mail, get home and start cooking. We’re having Skillet Dijon Chicken with Asparagus and Mushrooms for supper. I also make some macaroni for a side. H and L get home about 5:45 to the cats waiting at the door.
6:20 pm - Supper is served! It is delicious. L and H aren’t fans of the asparagus, but the chicken, macaroni and sauce are perfection! H also riggs up a tie to L’s water bottle so it doesn’t hit the ground every 30 seconds. We fed the cats at the same time and they’re not begging for food quite so much tonight.
6:50 pm - We’re finished supper, H cleans up and I bath L.
7:30 pm - H calls my/our best friend J via FaceTime and we chat with her and her daughter R for a few minutes. L tried to steal the phone and gets mad when we don’t let her. J’s daughter requests a morning call so I promise to call at 7 am. J doesn’t think R will be awake yet so we’ll see!
8 pm - L is tired and ready to go to sleep. I put her down, have a hot bath, throw in some epsom salts, and read a bit on my KU.
9:40 pm - Bedtime!
Day 5 Total: $112.17 (removed $10 for my KU - counted in subscriptions)
—
Day 6 - Wednesday
7 am - I nurse L, she had a weird wake-up last night so we’re tossing the idea of taking her into daycare today. I’ll probably take her in a bit later and H will take his truck so if I have to WFH for the afternoon I can. Try calling J and R and there is no response - I am not surprised.
7:45 am - L and I leave the house, she’s not coughing much and doesn’t have a fever or anything so she’s good to go to daycare today
8:15 am - I drop L off at daycare
8:30 am - I get to the office. I talk with a few coworkers and ask our admin if my new phone has been dropped off yet.
9 am - My new phone is here! Now to start the setup process, everything takes forever with all the authentication apps we need. I also go through all my iCloud photos and organize/save them to my OneDrive while the phone is getting set up.
12:30 pm - I think the phone is finally done. Now to eat some lunch, I’m having leftovers from 2 nights ago - chicken nuggets, strawberries, grapes and a Cherry Bubly.
1:30 pm - H goes to a food truck for lunch. $35.01. This includes the tip.
3 pm - I had some more phone set-up to do. Might be finished now? Get an email about the cats’ annual checkups and vaccinations so I book their appointments for August.
4 pm - SIL paid me back the $50, plus another $50 she’d borrowed earlier. (+$100) I work on the photo garland for L’s first birthday for a bit.
5 pm - I haven’t gotten much done today beyond setting up my phone. I leave the office and pick up L at 5:20. I talk to her day home provider for about 15 min about how she’s been doing, etc.
6 pm - We get home! H has cooked supper already, so as soon as we get in the door we sit down to eat. Supper tonight is perogies and garlic bread. L also has a veggie pouch. H tells me the old vehicle was sold, and the buyers are doing a payment plan. We will get $300/month for the next 10 months. A lump sum would be nice, but H’s coworkers will handle all the paperwork so it’s no more work for us.
6:45 pm - Time for a bath! H cleans up supper, cleans the litter boxes (we have 3) and starts some laundry while I take L and get her cleaned up.
7 pm - All finished in the bath. We head downstairs and hang out until L is ready for sleep. I mostly scroll my phone and H plays on his Rog Ally. L climbs the couch and me and scoots around on the floor hunting for different treasures.
8:40 pm - L is ready for bed. I put her down and read some more KU
10 pm - H and I head to bed. I washed and dried a baby quilt to bring to work in the morning for a coworker.
Day 6 Total: $35.01 for H’s lunch. I spend $0, and ‘make’ $100
—
Day 7 - Thursday
6:35 am - The first alarm goes off. It’s a new one on the phone and nice to wake up to! L doesn’t want to wake up and she grumbles and rolls around.
7 am - We all get out of bed. I get L dressed while H packs up what he needs for the day. I get her milk together and they’re out the door by 7:15
7:50 am - I leave the house. After H and L left, I did the dishes and packed up my stuff for the day. Made a smoothie for breakfast (yoghurt, flax seed, orange, banana, rhubarb jam, frozen berries, watermelon, cranberry juice and milk) and there’s lots left over so I pop that into the fridge for tomorrow. I need gas in the work truck, so I head there before going to the office. I have a fuel card so I don’t spend any $ on fuel.
8:30 am - Get to the office and it’s time to make a coffee. I have some things to get done before my webinar at 11 am.
9 am - I show the quilt to my coworker, she loves it and buys it! (+$100)
11 am - Oops. I didn’t get the login link earlier and don’t know who to contact to get it so no webinar for me. I scroll Reddit and my socials and work a bit more on my cycle times. I snack on some grapes and drink another coffee.
1 pm - Lunch time! I’m having leftover skillet Dijon chicken and macaroni. It is still delicious, that recipe is going into the rotation for sure! H goes to McDonalds for lunch and spends $35.66. He bought a coworker lunch as well, she was having a rough day.
2 pm - Chat with a few coworkers about different projects/things we need to think of for this next year.
3 pm - I have an afternoon pick-me-up snack of Brookside pomegranate-flavoured chocolate and a ginger ale.
4:30 pm - I’m tired and don’t feel like doing anything else. I leave the office and call H to see what we should do for supper. We decide on potstickers and veggies, I’ll start cooking when I get home. I stop and check the mail on my way home too.
5:45 pm - H and L arrive home. I take L into the spare room and we call my mum and grandma for a video chat. L rolls around the bed and shows off how she’s almost standing!
6:10 pm - We sit down to eat, L isn’t that interested in either the potstickers or veggies so we pull out some leftover macaroni and she goes to town on that.
7 pm - Bath time! H cleans up and does some more laundry. It just seems to never end.
7:30 pm - Bedtime for L. I read some of my book while I put her down.
8:30 pm - SIL texts again to borrow $50. I send it over out of my spending. I get all of the borders cut for the custom quilt.
9 pm - H has SING on so I sit down to watch it, he’s also playing his Rog Aloy and I’m reading some more of my book.
10 pm - We go to bed.
Day 7 Total: $35.66 for H’s lunch. I spend $50, and ‘make’ $100
—
Weekly Expenses:

• Food + Drink: 575.09
• Fun/Entertainment: $0
• Home + Health: $38.78 (includes gas for lawn mower)
• Clothes + Beauty: $200.45
• Transport/Vehicle Expenses: $328.41
• Other: $496.30 (CC payment, photoshoot, TFSA and $ to SIL)

Total Spending: $1639.03
Reflection:

• This was a more expensive week for sure. I don’t usually spend money on clothes and the photo shoot deposit was a random impulsive spend. The vehicle expenses were also a bit different, usually, they’re budgeted for but not this time.
• Honestly surprised we didn’t order dinner at least once this week - usually we do!
• Events-wise, it was a typical week except for the mountain hike, those are not part of my usual work day. This time of year is slow and mostly involves prep for the coming winter.
• This was a fun experiment to write! I did have to cut some things as my word count kept increasing and I didn’t want it to be too long - is this too long even still? Too much detail on baby routines?

Ugh I hate to be writing this out here but I feel the need to, I can't keep it inside anymore. This is going to be long and intricate so I'm sorry.
I turned 25 in May, my girlfriend(38) did little to nothing. We've been dating for 2 years so she knew when my birthday was happening.
For some very important context:

we live together, had just moved in together in March. (A roomie moved in early April we are all friends)
My grandparents (89 &91) came into town from out of the country to stay at my mom's for 1 month. (All of April) They unexpectedly stayed a week extra to have a doctor's appointment.
I had been going to my mom's house every Wednesday after work to spend a couple of hours with my grandparents. I'd also go every Friday and spend the night there as well as into Saturday evening.
No one (within my family) but my immediate family knows that I'm gay and in a relationship. My grandparents are extremely Christian and my grandma would likely have a heart attack if she found out so Obviously I cannot and will not come out to my grandparents.
The last time I saw my grandparents was 4 years ago, I'm very close to them and this trip was presumably the last time they'd travel to us due to their old age and health complications while traveling.
Gf and I talked prior to my grandparents visiting that if she ever felt like she needed me in any way to let me know so that I can continue to fulfill her needs (emotional/otherwise)

Ok so. The entire time my family was here, and I asked her how she's doing she'd say she's doing good and is enjoying her free time in our new house. Literally never had any inclination to think otherwise because that's always what she said/how she portrayed herself. She's an open book so I usually I know how she's feeling before she even vocalizes it to me.
Now, my grandparents left on a Saturday, and that following Monday was my bday. (I'm off weekends, Sunday was spent at home cooking)
My GF kept asking me what I wanted for my bday ONLY the week leading to that weekend. I told her I wanted something at home, just us nothing crazy. I told her if she's looking for bday gift ideas I wanted some new nose rings, and if she wanted to make me something I'll take any sweet little treat she'd want to make me. She loves to cook, it's her love language so I was willing to take something from her how I know she likes to show her love even if what I wanted might have been different. We have been trying to start a diet so she tells me she's going to make me a cheesecake (easy and I've loved her cheesecakes before, no biggie).
Ok here comes Monday and the day is ruined bc I want to have a nice normal day and here comes my mom inviting me out to Saltgrass (for lunch and then she doesn't even pick me up until my workday is over LOL so I had eaten nothing bc I thought she'd pick me up sooner). ANYWAYS
I get home and my gf brought home some treats from a bakery instead, some basic flowers and a rainbow balloon. No gift.
I'm upset 1) that my gf didn't even get me a single bday present. 2) did not make anything for me despite having the liberty to on Sunday and her telling me that She Wants to Make Me Something. 3) got me a rainbow balloon. I know I'm gay I don't typically like getting things w rainbows on them, I much rather have flowers on things idk that's just me. We (roomie, gf and I) had literally just had that conversation abt rainbows on stuff days before my bday so I KNOW she knew it's not my taste! So it hurt me so bad to know she wasn't actually paying attention to me.
I did get us to go to a vape shop that night to buy a Vase🙈 because I had been wanting one and gave her that easy out. I shouldn't have though.
It's June now and she didn't get me a gift still. I was moping about my bday all week (of my bday) and she told me we should go out that following Saturday to Austin/San Antonio. She simply didn't plan a single thing and we didn't go. I was besides myself because I felt like I'm not important enough for her to make me feel special (again).
We planned to go again a few weeks ago but we decided not to bc it was Memorial Day weekend and we wouldn't have fun with the crowds and traffic. Fine, I was the one to request to stay in and it was alright. We did a lot of things we wanted and needed to at home.
Now, a friend invited me to the beach this Saturday in celebration of my birthday. I'm going just me and my friend but ugh this is bringing everything back up again. I had shoved it all down and tried not to think of it bc it builds a lot of resentment within me :)
We did talk about all of this before though, because I felt extremely bad and couldn't keep it to myself. She only feels shame and regret for not doing anything for my bday. She says she didn't bc she was overwhelmed emotionally and just froze and couldn't come up with anything for my bday. Said she was actually having the worst month bc I couldn't see how much she was hurting when I wasn't home. (Again, she never vocalized this despite me asking her to)
I love her a lot, so I validated her feelings,apologized for not being there for her and took it as that. I took things off her plate that had been stressing her too.
Regardless, it hurts so much to know that she doesn't value me enough to do SOMETHING for me. I know she got me flowers and a treat but that is just Expected. Idk it just felt forced, not like something she wanted to give me. I have tried to overlook it but my hurt is bigger than I can hold.
I have a lot of internal hate for myself so this has only propelled my depression and anxiety. On top of it, I have to coddle my GF for the guilt that she feels.
I hate to see her hurt. We have to talk about this after work again. I'm dreading going back home. This whole weekend is going to suck. The entire next week too. I am so very not in a good place mentally. Just wish I could disappear and not have anything trouble me. I just want to feel cherished by my partner.
I know I'll go home and we'll talk about it and we'll both cry a lot and she'll promise to do something and then she will never follow through. It's such a painful cycle. I love her so much, but I wished she actually followed through with her plans.
I'm not going to break up w her because that's just Not Possible for us. I guess if y'all have any advice or sweet words I would really appreciate that.

EDIT - I accidentally put Monday's date (June 10) on my timestamp. Please be aware that it should read today's date (June 7) - sorry, been doing lots of calendaring this week!
Hey all, happy Friday!!!
Got some slabs and sealed on today's menu!
Sealed
Slabs
Please let me know if you have any questions! Happy to work out a deal if you take more than 1 item off my hands :)
Prices are assuming PayPal F&F.

Hey all,
Thanks ahead of time for any help/opinions. This is last week or October.
My wife and I are going to London and then Ireland for about 2 weeks. The first part of the trip we get into London Saturday and don’t leave to Dublin until Friday. We were thinking we don’t need to do nearly a full week in London as we aren’t huge city people (we have family out there is reason for trip) so wanted to take the train to the mainland for Monday through Wednesday.
We’ve been looking at Bruges, Gent, Amsterdam, Lille, Brussels etc. plan would be take train Monday morning out of London and come back Wednesday afternoon or mid morning.
Where do you suggest going? We love great food, wine/drinks/beer, history, architecture, beaches, and natural scenery.
Open to any and all ideas! Trying not to go anywhere more than like 3-4 hours by train as a max. I think Amsterdam is about 4 hours and probably about furthest we’d go
Edit: any recommendations for somewhere in France? Not Paris as don’t need another big city. If so, French city over places named above?

Hey fellow managers!
For the past 6 months, I've been working at a large tech company as a product team lead, managing a team of 6 PMs across different solutions. This is my first managerial role, and so far, I'm loving it!
I've been reflecting on my time management lately, especially since about 50% of my time goes into meetings. From my analysis, I've realized that 25-35% of my time is eaten up by administrative tasks. Here's how it breaks down, from most to least annoying task:

1. Calendar management: I spend about 1-1.5 hours each day coordinating, creating, and rescheduling meetings. It feels like meetings are constantly moving around ("I'll have to reschedule our one-on-one to Monday," "Sorry, I can't meet at the proposed time," etc.).
2. Filtering emails: I get around 50-100 emails daily. Most are junk, but it still takes time to sift through them and decide which ones need a response. This takes another 30 minutes to 1 hour each day.
3. Meeting preparation and agenda writing: Good preparation takes time. I spend about 30 minutes each day on this.
4. Bureau management (excluding recruiting): Our HR handles most of it, but I still spend about 2 hours a week on coordination and filing reports on employees.

I've tried to be more efficient by lumping these tasks together instead of spreading them out, but it's still a lot of time and takes a lot of mental effort to keep track of them all day.
Do you guys face similar challenges? What admin tasks do you find the most annoying, and how do you manage them? I'd love to hear your experiences and any tips you might have!

I’ve posted before and I babysit from Monday through Wednesday. At first she was paying me Wednesday, then Thursday, and now it’s Friday or on her payday. She texted me this morning (Friday) and she said that she doesn’t get paid until Monday. Should I impose a late fee? Or what should I do?

Long story short, I don't even know what to label us because we have done intimate things before, but for the most part, we are just friends. For the last few months, when school didn't end due to summer break, we would see each other at least once a week. Nothing sexual happened, but I would always sleep over at his place. During spring break, when I had no place to go, I stayed at his small single room dorm for a week. This is the sort of relationship we had. He would talk about other girls too, the ones he likes or whatnot, and despite him doing this, I still had feelings for him. The question is, I don't know if he knows.
Anyway, outside of hanging out once a week, he would text me every day. Not sweet couple stuff, just friends' stuff, updating me on his job, other girls, our humor etc. If he didn't text me, he would at least send me some stupid reel or TikToks... you get the idea. We interacted with each other every day.
Fast forward to a week ago, we were chatting online late at night. He was going through his camera roll, sending me pics of him with women he had things with in the past, and story time of what happened, blah blah. I was very triggered and upset, and because I was also on my period, I started bawling and told him that he ruined my night, I don't wish this to happen to anyone and sent him a paragraph about how I think his unhealed trauma has led to unnecessary heartbreaks of multiple women. (He just replied with wdym and he thinks I was upset because I was bored of his storytime)
So, the next day we didn't talk at all. The day after that, I asked him if he could call because I wanted to confess and ask some questions (I didn't tell him this tho, I just asked him if he could call), and he responded with no because he was traveling with his parents for the weekend. We didn't talk throughout the weekend and Monday. On Tuesday, I decided to ask him again if he could call, to which he did not respond and left me on delivered for a day. I know he is on his phone. So, the next day I texted him that he doesn't need to ignore my messages because I know he is busy; a simple yes or no to answer my question would be fine. Now it's Friday, still no response. Again, I know he is on his phone because he is liking our mutual friends' pictures.
I am just confused about why this happened out of nowhere. What did I do? What does this mean? He gave me some stuff to keep for the summer because he doesn't have enough room to store them. Is he just going to ghost me without blocking me and never get those things back? What is going on?