Went with my family, kids, and some neighbors with their lady crew to Taco Bell off cooper pt. We were going to grab food to go and head to Cinemark to watch the new Planet Apes movie. We knew we were going to have a larger crew so we went in to order and before we even made it to the register the employee looked upset. I led the crew and let them know we had a pretty large order coming in but this would be good business for them on a probably slower day. Said tell the GM I came by cause me and my son come by often. We’re ordering for 16 people so we only get about $190 worth of food, mostly burritos and quesadillas as well as sodas (that we filled up ourselves keep in mind). The burritos had a very specific order of half being extra onion and half being extra tomato. Specific request for a few of us. We then proceed to wait 18 minutes for our food to partially be “prepared” , and then another 16 minutes to get the remainder of the order. We check the burritos and while they did do the extra tomatoes which I’m a fan of, they missed the extra onions. 12 burritos done wrong. We have the movie in17 minutes. I let them know we will just need to go but I expect a refund on the incorrect burritos. They said they can’t do that. I asked again, a little more bluntly. I was thus again denied my request and hostility told I need to leave the store. I said I’ll take the GM contact info, every employees first and last name and their contact info, and will be reaching out to corporate. It’s 2024. Companies that are shamefully stealing can’t get away with this. It’s blowing my mind that they were so rude to us in front of my mother and wife , and got snippy with them after my mother made a comment about how they messed up on the onions. Anyhow just needed to get this off my chest and see if anyone in the community has had similar issues?
Edit: you all realize they made us nearly late for our movie? I don’t enjoy eating during the actual movie and we were planning on trying to eat the burritos during the trailers.

I was terminated from Verizon in December 2022. They never sent me a final bill and never contacted me about money owed. I still had a balance remaining on my phone.
Within a month of being fired, I switched providers with no problem. Now, well over a year later, my phone is working just fine and I’ve had no problems.
Today I received an email from a collections agency for my final Verizon bill. It said the balance was as of July 2023. I was far from an employee or customer of theirs by then.
I can dispute the charges per the email.
Any suggestions?

Recently u/scorpiogirl12 had a question on a so-called "legal advice" ("legaladvice") reddit site, which is anything but. I was unable to give my advice on that subreddit since I was "permanently banned" for offering a servicemember with a USERRA issue to "DM" me, given the privacy issues involved with their employment situation. Frankly, "legaladvice" is nothing but a sham. They don't have legal professionals there, just a bunch of two-bit "sea lawyers" willing to give their "opinions."
That being said, Scorpiogirl12 has a serious issue that affects her and her husband's employment situation in the face of a very long service obligation. That's why I reposted her situation here so she can receive quality guidance, rather then the garbage at "legaladvice."
Scorpiogirl12's question was: "My husband recently got put back on military orders for the next 3 years (he has been enlisted since 2020). Last week, he notified his employer that his start date would be June 1, 2024. Today, he got an email stating that he must submit a resignation letter on 5/24/25 and he would be effectively resigned on 5/25/25. I told him NOT to submit the letter because he is NOT resigning, he is simply going on more active duty orders.
What legal standing do we have if he refuses to submit the letter and they let him go?"
My response:
ESGR Ombudsman DirectoESGR National Trainer here.
Your husband needs to be familiar with ESGR resources, especially as it relates to his rights under USERRA. He should have had briefings on his civilian employment rights.
Regarding your husband's particular situation, it's not up to his employer when he leaves prior to an extended military service. He can take weeks off prior to work (or MORE), or work right up until he reports for duty. 20 CFR 1002.74. It is entirely up to him!
As for his reemployment rights, long as he doesn't exceed five years of cumulative, non-exempt, service, and otherwise complies with his USERRA eligibility requirements, his reemployment rights are protected. 20 CFR 1002.32, .99-.103. They are protected even if he "resigns," signs a notarized statement that he "never wants" his position back, and releases his ER of all rights under USERRA, or otherwise, "forever and ever," "pinky swear."!!! That is because USERRA precludes any "contract" "agreement" or otherwise, that reduces (i.e. "waives" or "releases") his reemployment rights under USERRA. 38 USC 4302.
Regardless of how the ER characterizes the employee's leave of absence, it's considered a "leave of absence" or "furlough." 38 USC 4316(b)(1)(A); 20 CFR 1002.149, .150. As long as he adheres to the eligibility requirements of 20 CFR 1002.32, he will have reemployment rights once he's done with his military service pursuant to 38 USC 4312.
FURTHERMORE, he's entitled to all "pay, seniority, and status" he would have attained once he returned from his uniformed service, AND he is entitled to all missed pension/retirement plan benefits he missed during his uniformed service. IF he has a "contributory" retirement plan where he contributes to the plan, he has 3 times the length of service, but NO MORE than 5 years (in your husband's case), to makeup his contributions.
Go to ESGR.mil under the Servicemembers resource tab for more information. If your husband has any questions, or wants a trained Ombudsman to contact his employer to discuss what USERRA does or does not require, have him request assistance on the site or by calling 800.336.4590.
AS A FINAL NOTE: Ignore the "sea lawyer" opinions on many of the so-called "legal advice" sites. They're garbage, and will simply result in misinformation.

I accidentally put more hours then I was supposed on my time sheet and my recipient approved it. What I submitted was wishing my approved hours but I need to report under a certain amount to keep benefits a I am receiving. Do I just contact IHSS and tell them there was an error? I’m a pretty new employee and this is the first time ive had this issue.

I just got fired from a major corporation. I’ve been a pharmacy technician since October 2021. I’m near Charlotte, NC. USA
I can fill in more details as needed. I feel like so much has happened during my time with this company, I’m not even really sure which parts of the story are relevant.
But to start, I was at a store that didn’t have a store manager for 6 months and I was having issues getting hours, support, literally any paperwork being done because my pharmacy manager (pharmacist in charge, RXM) did not like me. We were understaffed, there was a ton of drama. I had spoken to the district manager (DM) about my issues several times and finally after a technician lashed out and threw some filling totes and some bagged prescriptions at me and another technician, I called him after work and told him I no longer felt safe and wouldn’t be returning to work until he handled the situation.
I help out at other stores all the time and one of the stores I help out offered me to transfer. Additionally, right after I left pretty much everyone quit, I was not the only person with issues at that store. After that situation, since I was already starting the process of transferring, instead of waiting two more weeks I immediately went to the new store. During this time I had started the process for ADA accommodations through HR and with my doctor.
The week I started at the new store, I sat down with the pharmacy tech manager (RXOM) and the store manager (SM). This probably should have been my first red flag, but the SM basically asked something along the lines of why he should let me transfer because it sounds like I had a lot of problems at the old store. So upon starting at this specific store, I disclosed issues I have socially due to my disability and stated that I needed clear communication because I do not pick up on hints or subtleties and that I needed clear feedback when I have made a mistake or in a situation where I upset someone. I also disclosed that I would need additional assistance in tense situations with customers and coworkers. I explained there was a lot of drama and pettiness at my old pharmacy and that I inadvertently caused a lot of issues because I was oblivious to it. The SM basically decided that it didn’t sound like an issue to be clear and concise and kind of guide me through situations that come up. He assured me I could talk to him anytime. I was repeatedly ignored when I requested aid in those situations. And then if the outcome was less than satisfactory, I was punished. The tech manager became my support needs liaison, but the store and assistant manager refused to accommodate me. The tech manager actually got a lot of crap for trying to help me. I have a disability that can affect the way I am perceived by other people and speaking to people about it usually helps clear up any problems. I was not given an opportunity to do this. I thought I was protecting myself my disclosing my needs and weaknesses.
So at this store a few things happened with different people all at once and the store became short staffed. I started helping out a lot, staying late when I could, picking up shifts even though I had to find extra childcare. The pharmacy manager quit a few weeks after I got there, a few technicians quit or drastically reduced their hours, a couple people went on leave. So the ESM (assistant store manager) started helping out in the pharmacy more, mostly with filling prescriptions. I was warned before she started helping out that she was really prickly and if I had any issues that I could talk to the RXOM. There were a few things that came up and he told me that I wasn’t misconstruing things, to just ignore her.
And then came a day where we had a ton of call outs, my RXOM wasn’t in that day and the SM had left. It was Christmas eve weekend. So the pharmacy was gonna be closed the next day. So we were extremely short staffed, extremely busy and the phones were insane. The ESM started out the day basically complaining to us about how nothing was done, it was a mess, etc etc. I wouldn’t even call it passive aggressive. She was outright threatening and saying she would definitely be telling the RXM and SM about how incompetent we were, how out of hand everything was.
There was an incident with a customer, he was yelling at me because I went to lunch before helping him and instead of letting me handle it, the ESM jumped in without really even getting a handle on what was happening. I got written up for the way I spoke to the patient and how I handled the situation with the ESM because I had stepped over to the floater pharmacist and when asked I explained the situation. She told the story as me mumbling under my breath and complaining and carrying on. The rest of the day was pretty much the same, her carrying on about how useless we were and at one point she said it was a mess and that we (the techs) would be staying after to clean it up. I was slightly irritated that she told me I had to rather than asking, especially because the mess was from the days previous, from other techs, etc. It just had been a hectic few days, with short staff. I knew how she was though so I just decided I would stay. Right before we closed, she told me she wanted to speak to me. I had assumed she was going to give us a game plan for how to clean up quickly so we could go. I went over to her after we closed and she started to tear into me for disrespecting her and then noticed I wasn’t making eye contact. It had been a long day and I was feeling really overwhelmed. She made a big deal about it and I told her I couldn’t make eye contact with her because I have a disability but assured her I was listening to her. She went back and forth with me a few times basically trying to force me to look her in the eyes or I was disrespecting her. She ended up saying that she couldn’t speak to me if I wasn’t going to look her in the eyes when she spoke to me. I took this as a dismissal, so part of my write up was for insubordination because I left and refused to have a conversation with her. I reported the incident to HR, briefly spoke with them and thought that was the end of it.
Well shortly after, she started being extremely short with me, very dramatically avoidant like when I walked in the pharmacy would say things like “that’s my cue to leave”. If she asked for help out loud, if I tried to help her she would tell me she didn’t want my help and she would get someone else. I tried not to let it bother me but it definitely stressed me out over time. The few times I did help her, she would throw whatever she was working on down and storm from the pharmacy muttering that she would tell SM about whatever, usually swearing. I asked the other managers what I was doing wrong and was never given any answers. Or guidance. I brought it up a few times and was always brushed off. That never really ended.
An important detail is that the schedule was consistently put out on Wednesdays, usually evenings and our week started on Thursdays. Our weeks run Thursdays-Wednesdays.
There were a few other small issues, I had talked to the managers about issues with scheduling and basically just got constantly brushed off. I had agreed to a general schedule of opens and mids and every other Sunday when I transferred and they weren’t able to accommodate it anymore, they started scheduling me all over the place, closes, several weekends in a row. This made childcare difficult especially with short notice because daycare has set hours. When I got my first warning about tardiness, I brought this up and was accused of blaming everyone else for my tardiness and told to have some accountability.
By this point, I dreaded going to work when the SM or ESM was there. I would get so anxious, I would be physically sick, throwing up, gastro issues, migraines. I was constantly in a state of overstimulation. Again, I asked for help and got blown off.
So in February there was an incident that led up to me requesting short term leave. My son had a minor medical issue that I took him to the doctor for, she made an appointment for the following Thursday at an eye doctor at 8:15am. I told my RXOM I couldn’t work Thursday, he ended up scheduling me to close. 12-9. I called out around 9am after getting to my son’s appointment and learning he had to do some tests for underlying issues including being dilated. He’s 3 so I needed to be with him because he was really disoriented. We finished around 4pm and my RXOM had texted me several times for updates telling me other people called out and they really needed me. I told him that my son needed me and he basically begged me to come in for a few hours to close. I finally relented and got there around 5-6 and stayed until close. No one said anything to me, so I didn’t think anything of it. A few weeks go by and on February 19, I was called into the office for a meeting with the SM and RXOM and received a write up for being 5 hours late that day. If I would have just left it as a call out, there would be no disciplinary action because I had not used any yet for the year. This was incredibly frustrating and the way it was presented was really overwhelming. I told them I was getting overwhelmed and would like to step out, the SM continued to talk down to me. I was getting increasingly agitated, my stims were getting faster and I started to rock back and forth, beginning to have an autistic meltdown. The SM told me I needed to calm down, tried to get me to speak to him while I was shutting down and just kept scolding me, I honestly don’t even know what he was saying by this point. I told the RXOM I needed to step out and I walked out of the office next door to the break room to turn on the sink and I just completely shut down, I crawled under the counter in the break room and had a complete shutdown/meltdown. My muscles locked up, I was crying and rocking back and forth and covering my ears and had my arms over my eyes, all stimulation was bothering me. The RXOM came to check on me and saw me having a meltdown and that I was unable to communicate so he pulled my file and called my emergency contact and basically just told him I was melting down and I was under the sink and needed to be picked up.
My partner came to get me, we left my car, I went home and calmed down and then called my company’s HR and put a request in for short term medical leave. My doctor had been urging me to do this for over 6 months. I texted my RXOM and SM asking what I should do next and heard nothing so I reported to work on 2/20. Upon arriving, the guest pharmacist notified me we had a call out. After everyone arrived, I asked who the call out was and the ESM, pharmacist and other techs didn’t know. The SM was not there. The RXOM wasn’t answering my texts. An hour into my shift, the RXOM told me that they were told my leave was approved and I wouldn’t be there. I asked what to do and got nothing in response.
During my lunch break on 2/20/24, I received a call on my personal phone from HR outlining my short term leave and giving me instruction on paperwork. They verified leave was supposed to start 2/19 and I explained no one answered me so I reported to work. She told me she would have to change my leave to go into effect starting 2/21.
Fast forward, my leave ends 5/8/24, and I had not heard anything beyond communication with HR about it ending. I text my RXM and tell him I am returning to work and ask what my next steps are. He replies late evening and tells me to reach out to SM and I tell him I will in the morning. The next morning, I receive a text with my name written in and highlighted, I’m not scheduled for the first few days (Thursday-Sunday) and I’m scheduled Monday-Wednesday. So I go in for my scheduled shift on 5/13/24. During my leave, my RXOM and a bunch of technicians quit. We gained a full time staff pharmacist and a couple technicians. I get there at 10:00 and I work until 12:00 (so for two hours) and I’m called into the office with the SM and RXM and told the SM told me that I received a final written warning for insubordination and tardiness so they decided to terminate my employment due to my continued insubordination and job abandonment and because a member of management complained about my attitude. He went on to say that he contacted HR and reported that I had an “episode” and walked away from him when he was trying to communicate with me and resolve a conflict which was the insubordination and then after my “episode” I went home instead of finishing my shift. Despite putting my leave in the day it happened, because the date of leave was changed, the day I left early wasn’t covered under FMLA.
So far, I have submitted a request to the EEOC, but their first available appointment was 11/4/24. I was not in a state to call lawyers today, but I filled out a couple online forms for Employment Discrimination lawyers that had online contact forms. Immediately after being terminated, I went to my car and logged into the employee portal and downloaded all of my available paystubs and the documented disciplinary action sheets. There wasn’t one for termination, I asked my SM how I would obtain that information and he told me to contact HR. I have some screenshots from text message communication mostly asking the RXOM for help with conflicts, but the SM would really only talk to me in the office.
I’m looking for advice on what to do next. I am feeling pretty overwhelmed. Obviously, I am going to work on my resume and start applying to jobs, but beyond that I’m not really sure what to do next. Any advice is appreciated. Even if it’s to tell me that I’m in the wrong. If you read my novel, thank you. <3
TLDR; I have autism and I was bullied into having a meltdown and then fired after returning from short term medical leave for going home early. I feel like they were looking for reasons to fire me as retaliation for reporting the ESM to HR.

Job Ad: Seeking English Teacher to start work July 29 at Daegu English Village in Chilgok.

Reason for Posting: We have a very busy two weeks this summer at the English Village and so we are hiring five (5) teachers to work for two weeks on a temporary basis. I’m the academic director here at DGEV. I have been here for two years and really enjoy working here.
Visa Requirements: Ideally we are looking for F-visas - but I believe some E-visas can qualify if they get permission from their current employer.
Position Covered by Labor Standards Act (LSA): are there more than 5 full time employees? yes.
Salary: ₩29,000 per class with a minimum of ₩1,566,000 for two weeks.
Training: ₩29,000 per class (12 hours provided the week of July 22 to July 26.
Grade level: elementary and middle school
Class length: 45 minute classes for elementary/50 minutes for middle school.
Class hours: how many total classes per week/month: minimum 27 classes per week.
Working Hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm.
Break Time: 12pm to 1pm is lunch. There are also 10-15 minute breaks between classes depending on the level of student.
Prep Time: yes. If the teacher is available, teachers can come for paid prep/training the week before. 12 hours of training/prep time available. We provide teaching materials (powerpoints and workbooks and supplies).
Weekend Work: no
Overtime Pay: in accordance with LSA
Vacation Time: There is no vacation time allotted for this two week period.
Red Days: do you get them off? Yes - but it is not applicable in this scenario.
Sick Leave: no. This is a temporary position (but we are hiring full time as well)
Flight Allowance: in country applicants only for temporary (but full time can be out of country)
Pension/Insurance Coverage: for full time - yes, for temporary - no
Severance: for full time - yes, for temporary - no
Housing: Yes. We provide a dorm and three meals a day if the teacher wants it.
Other: open section for extra benefits: As mentioned above, we offer a dorm, meals are provided free of charge in the cafeteria (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) - and there is a shuttle bus service into town.
About the Workplace: English camp. We offer primarily situational based learning where students practice sentences and vocabulary words in fake environments - ie grocery store, bank, department store, post office, etc.
Opinion of Workplace: I have been working here for two years. I started out as a teacher and now I am the Academic Director. It is fun because we see new kids all the time and can practice teaching the same subjects over and over again.
Contact Info: Here’s my email: [Dylan.campbell.dgev@gmail.com](mailto:Dylan.campbell.dgev@gmail.com)
By using this template, you acknowledge that you have read the sample post, are aware that your ad will be mirror posted to , and understand that the information included in your post is publicly available and subject to criticism from the community.Job Ad: Seeking English Teacher to start work July 29 at Daegu English Village in Chilgok.
Reason for Posting: We have a very busy two weeks this summer at the English Village and so we are hiring five (5) teachers to work for two weeks on a temporary basis. I’m the academic director here at DGEV. I have been here for two years and really enjoy working here.
Visa Requirements: Ideally we are looking for F-visas - but I believe some E-visas can qualify if they get permission from their current employer.
Position Covered by Labor Standards Act (LSA): are there more than 5 full time employees? yes.
Salary: ₩29,000 per class with a minimum of ₩1,566,000 for two weeks
Training: ₩29,000 per class (12 hours provided the week of July 22 to July 26
Grade level: elementary and middle school
Class length: 45 minute classes for elementary/50 minutes for middle school.
Class hours: how many total classes per week/month: minimum 27 classes per week.
Working Hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm.
Break Time: 12pm to 1pm is lunch. There are also 10-15 minute breaks between classes depending on the level of student.
Prep Time: yes. If the teacher is available, teachers can come for paid prep/training the week before. 12 hours of training/prep time available. We provide teaching materials (powerpoints and workbooks and supplies).
Weekend Work: no
Overtime Pay: in accordance with LSA
Vacation Time: There is no vacation time allotted for this two week period.
Red Days: do you get them off? Yes - but it is not applicable in this scenario.
Sick Leave: no. This is a temporary position (but we are hiring full time as well)
Flight Allowance: in country applicants only for temporary (but full time can be out of country)
Pension/Insurance Coverage: for full time - yes, for temporary - no
Severance: for full time - yes, for temporary - no
Housing: Yes. We provide a dorm and three meals a day if the teacher wants it.
Other: open section for extra benefits: As mentioned above, we offer a dorm, meals are provided free of charge in the cafeteria (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) - and there is a shuttle bus service into town.
About the Workplace: English camp. We offer primarily situational based learning where students practice sentences and vocabulary words in fake environments - ie grocery store, bank, department store, post office, etc.
Opinion of Workplace: I have been working here for two years. I started out as a teacher and now I am the Academic Director. It is fun because we see new kids all the time and can practice teaching the same subjects over and over again. There are 20+ English teachers, so we have a good group of folks to work with.

in a somewhat complex position. I currently work for one of the newer franchised pubs, meaning I’m not directly employed by Wetherspoons, but it is in every sense a Wetherspoons. We use literally all the same equipment, furniture, app, menu, documents, mylearning is the same too, but we don’t have myjdw, or employee numbers. I’ve worked in another proper spoons for a year and now this franchise spoons for the past year, but as I’m a uni student I’m going home for the summer. I’ve been in contact with the manager for my local spoons and he seems happy to have me, but also seems to be under the impression I can transfer over, but my manager at uni thinks not. Nobody seems sure, but I imagine at the end it will surely be not right? AsI’m not technically employed by spoons and have no contract signed with them.
1) does anyone know if this is the case.
2) how else can I go about this situation? I’m not sure exactly what to say to the manager at my home pub, I’d essentially be asking them to create a job for me, would they be able to create a fixed term role, or even one where I could return for Christmas/Easter too? It’s a very busy city centre pub with loads of staff, and I’m plenty experienced in kitchen, bar and floor so I wouldn’t need training. I’m just worried it’s more effort than it’s worth for them.
Any insight from a manager side?

part 5
"What do you think?" asked Grace looking at the rule set in disbelief.
"I don't know.. I guess the people here are a little odd but being honest, I prefer to play along and follow some weird rules than having to sleep in a box back in the city."
"You're right. It's just that some of these rules give me the chills... But we'll get used to it." She smiled trying to stay positive.
"We will. It's probably just small town superstitions anyway. Let's go inside now, we wasted a good bit of time outside and we will barely make it home before 18:00"
The store was almost empty when we entered. We greeted the employee we had met earlier and got a cart. We gathered the essentials for our first day, plus a few items for dinner and breakfast.
"We should get Jody some of that soda she likes, she hasn't threw a tantrum since we got here" said Grace with a laugh when we were heading to check out.
It was true. Our daughter was being on her best behavior, helping us unpack and keeping the little ones entertained so we can get some work done. She deserved a little treat.
We couldn't find the brand of soda Jody likes so we approached a girl in an employee uniform to ask.
"Excuse me, could you help us find [ brand ] soda?" I asked her. She looked young, probably around 20 years old. She turned and looked at us with a blank expression.
"Hi, we were looking for [ brand ] soda, could you help us please?" Grace repeated just a bit slower.
The girl smiled very wide, almost wider than a human could smile but didn't say anything.
"Maybe we should go, we can get her some ice cream tomorrow" I gently pulled Grace away. This girl was making me feel uneasy. There was something unnatural about her smile.
"Jody will be upset if you don't get her the soda" the girl said as we started to leave.
I turned around to look at her and that awful smile looked even wider. How could she know my daughter's name?
"You shouldn't disappoint your daughter again Paul" the girl said looking straight into my eyes but there was no emotion in her voice. "Changing schools, leaving Tina behind, those girls have been friends since they were 3 years old. She lost it all because of your bad decisions and now you won't even go through the trouble of finding her a can of soda?"
How could a stranger know all that? I was getting really scared. She started coming closer and even though I desperately wanted to grab Grace and run I couldn't move a muscle.
As l stood there paralyzed in fear I heard a voice through the store's intercom.
" Manager Lovac, isle four, urgent! "
The voice sounded distant but thankfully it was enough to make me break eye contact. I kept my focus on her (it? I wasn't sure this girl was human any more) but tried to avoid her eyes until I could find the courage to turn my back on her and run.
She had almost reached me when a guy rushed to us and threw a fistful of something at the creature. She let out a bone chilling scream and bolted out of the store.
Only then I noticed that the guy who saved me was wearing an employee uniform and a name tag. His name was Rey Lovac.
"What was that ?" Grace asked him. She was shaking.
"Don't worry about it, it's gone now. My deepest apologies for this incident sir and ma'am. It's the store's fault really. You see, while we did include a warning in the rules about employees that look different than usual, it's your first time shopping here so you had no way of knowing what is unusual."
I didn't know what to think. What was that thing ? Rey spoke like coming face to face with something that was clearly not human was a normal encounter. I, on the other hand was always a sceptic and never believed in ghosts, ghouls and all that nonsense.
But this was real .
" Please, accept our apologies, along with today's groceries, they are on the house." Said Rey as he started bagging our stuff himself. He even threw in some candy bars and a couple of cans of sodas.
"Now, go. It's almost 18:00. Thank you for shopping with us!" He said cheerfully and walked us to the door.
We found ourselves outside, trying to process what just happened.
"What was that?" my wife asked. She sounded terrified.
"I don't know... But it taught me one thing for sure. Those rules are not just the townsfolk quirks. Our lives might depend on following them."
I looked at my watch. 17:53.

Hi,
If this is the wrong sub, I apologize. Not sure where to post this type of stuff.
The statute of limitations for my slip and fall personal injury incident is approaching on the 22nd of this month. We are at the end of the process trying to reach an agreement which is good, but we're cutting short on time. My Attorney only got contact from the insurance adjuster back in February and they drug the process on for quite some time because they apparently got the demand letter but not my medical records. From there, they needed 60 days to investigate to see what they could find to deny liability, which was nothing.
However, my case is a very tricky one and my Attorney said that from the beginning, yet, he still decided to take my case. It was a slip and fall in a drinking establishment where I slipped and fell into a drink on the floor that was not cleaned up resulting in me breaking my wrist and getting plates and screws. I wasn't aware that I broke it until the next morning as at the time of the incident, it felt like a sprain.
The first offer we received was last week on the 8th which was $44K, the cost of only my medical bills before insurance. When my Attorney presented the offer, he kept saying how pleased he was with that offer considering the difficulty of my case. My argument was while the offer is great, it's the first low ball offer they're giving and his initial demand was $150K. He immediately goes into how that's an inflated number for him to be able to negotiate and that I'll never see that number (which is BS in my eyes because why ask me if $150K is a good number to shoot for in the demand)? I said, well.. okay... hearing both sides, how about halfway at $75K? He said he doubts I'll see double my medical bills and that I need to think about how this would look in court in front of a judge and 6 jurors if we had to file a lawsuit. Their argument is they have no surveillance footage, no employee recalls the incident, and that I didn't report it when it happened. He then said he'd go back and negotiate by coming down from the $150K by like $40K to see what they'd offer.
Am I wrong for turning down the $44K offer? He said that once all fees and their winning is taken out (35% + whatever other fees due to being a contingency case), I'd have $22K in my pocket. Sure, that's $22K extra I never had but I always read to not settle for the first offer. Now, I'm afraid since they know my deadline is in 2 weeks that they will drag their feet and continue to lowball backing me into the corner of either accepting their offer or filing a lawsuit.
What are your thoughts and weigh in here?

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I have been trying to get promoted to ops manager, I already got trained and the promotion was denied multiple times. I transfer to another district and DL loves me, wants me to get promoted, helps me get situated and I help out a few stores with training employees and day to day operations. I get to my home store and day one SM tells me day one “I am going to promote you to ops” yippie. Month goes by…nothing, another month…I ask about my promotion and i’m told they forgor…mkay. Sm leaves for the weekend and tell me to make sure a lot of things get done like signs, truck, planogram, and 2 overdue modules that have been overdue for 2 weeks. So it is me and 2 other employees working during the weekend and we finish everything but one of the overdue modules but I made sure we finished the hour long one. SM comes back and calls me into office and tells me that he doesn’t feel like I have any urgency because the other 2 associates and I did not finish one of the modules and another associate didn’t do theirs at all, I had to remind them that the other associate was not even on the schedule. As a shift supervisor working as an ops manager losing out on pay and the title, I feel disrespected and used so I call up another store to see about transferring and was told to talk to my SM then call them so I talked to my SM and he tells me to call other SM and let them know what they say. I cannot get into contact with other SM and my SM tells me I put your transfer in on the 19th figure it out. Now I know I won’t get transferred unless the other SM accepts it and my SM gave me 0 hours next week and the week after on top of that gaslighting the other associates about the situation and ignoring me in person and in text unless he wants something from me…so far I talked to the new DL about being a floater and getting the promotion I have been waiting for. I love CVS but this whole situation got me really heated and makes me reconsider cvs until I remember the pay (sorry for errors or anything i’m just venting)

Noah The Pilgrim
First Next
There is one last thing to do before leaving. If you don't recall ever being on this ship, then surely, you could have had your appearance change too.
Why was there a blanket covering a mirror? You couldn't answer that with a straight face without speculation.
"Probably me being lazy and not bothering to properly place it in the wardrobe."
'Probably' is the main focus here, you simply cannot remember ever being that lazy, yet that's the only logical conclusion to be drawn here.
You pull the thing off, careful to not displace the mirror and risk breaking it.
You have no expectations as to what may appear on the glassy surface of the mirror, yet you can't help but feel a bit anxious. Are you the same as before? How were you before? You can't remember. Are you better? Worse? The blanket is now completely off the mirror, but your eyes are closed.
Whatever is it that you see when you open your eyes, that thing will be you for the rest of your life. You swallow, opening your eyes.
You see a young man that looks to be in his mid-twenties. His brown eyes stare back at you, analyzing the bags beneath your eye sockets. The dark hair is neither too long nor too short, floating about without order thanks to the lack of gravity to keep it down. You see a beard that has not been trimmed for weeks, but also lacks thickness, each singular hair isn't particularly long either; and some even appear to be in-grown.
You touch your hand against your face, making sure it's yours. The beard doesn't feel like you supposed it would against your skin, instead of it scraping your hand you feel softness, no resistance or anything.
Just beneath the face, you see what looks like a hate crime against all that is considered holy in fashion. Plain white coveralls with the added bonus of a black tie and boots made from metal and leather. On your chest is also a badge stuck in place by velcro with your name, occupation, and crew. 'NOAH - INTERN - THE ODYSSEY.'
Only one question came to mind.
"Who the fuck designed this uniform?" You say out loud, receiving no answer.
Patting your newfound myriad of pockets, you find a large quantity of nothing. You place your wallet in one of them.
"Alright, I'll head to the bridge now, happy?" You say the AI.
"HAPPINESS WILL ONLY MEET ME ONCE YOU ARE SOMEWHERE SAFE AND YOUR CONTRACT IS TERMINATED. STOP LOITERING."
Well, that's a bit rude.
You compose yourself, straightening your back. This is what you look like, and honestly? Not too bad, but you could be better.
Returning to the cafeteria, you eye the two doors left unexplored; Communications and the one without plaque. You know where you should, but... A little peek doesn't hurt, right?
"Shouldn't we try to communicate with someone? Assuming you haven't tried it yet. I know we're far from everything, but we might as well, no?" You ask already approaching the door.
"COMMUNICATIONS ROOM IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO REACH WITHOUT PROPER PROTECTION AS OF NOW, IT'S LOCATED APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED METERS FROM HERE, BLOWN OFF FROM THE REST OF THE SHIP." A shame really. "I SHALL INFORM YOU WHENEVER A DOOR LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE OR NOT."
You really want to ask what blew a whole segment of the ship off, yet you have a sneaking suspicion that your question will be met with a 'YOU DON'T HAVE CLEARANCE, JACKASS' directly in your face. So you chose to remain silent, simply nodding and approaching the correct door this time.
"Open."
---OPENING CAFETERIA DOOR NORTH---
The door silently opens.
Greeting you is a well-lit corridor. There are three doors on your left, a door at the end of the corridor, and a large window on the right. At least, you think that's a window.
You stare out from this window, nothing but utter blackness and fragments from your ship are seen. If this is the edge of the universe, and beyond this point, there is truly nothing. "Dreadful." Your speech matches your feelings.
"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?" The AI says. You feel like it spoke in a mocking tone despite their lack of emotion.
You don't answer. "First door to the left... EXO-EXPLORATION...? What's that supposed to mean?" You receive no answer.
"Open." The door opens. No declarion of it opening once again.
You are met with what could be better described as 'Apocalyptic levels of mess', paper sheets float in the air, and not one of the four tables is in its correct position.
This room has been ransacked for all its goods apparently. Large display glasses were broken leaving nothing inside their casings, that looked like they could store something with the size of the common man.
Unusual displays aside, the room was so cluttered that the trash made for an effective smoke screen against what lay on the other side.
Hissing of gas exiting an air-tight space rang throughout the room.
"I HAVE OPENED THE STORAGE FOR AN EXO SUIT THAT BEST FITS SOMEONE YOUR SIZE." The AI says. "ALTHOUGH AN INTERN SHOULD NOT COME IN CONTACT WITH TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS THIS ONE, PROTOCOL DICTATES THAT I AM TO ALLOW ITS USAGE UNDER EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES. CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY."
Easier said than done. Your vision is so cluttered that you cannot see what's ahead. "Give me a second."
Giving a light kick to the wall behind, you float face-first into the wall of thrash. Covering your face with both arms, you brace through the harmless bits of sharp objects and junk.
It's a trivial task. You arrive on the other side in no time.
In front of you is a set of boxes with luminous glass rectangles atop each one of them. All shine a bright red light, aside from one which shines green.
'Gotta be this one.'
You descend to the floor by kicking the ceiling, raising your right hand you touch the green rectangle.
*Click*
Nothing could have prepared you for the following series of events.
The box opens violently, as a metal appendage takes hold of your hand, pinning it to the box. You try to jerk and pry the thing off of you, but you fail. It's not leaving you anytime soon.
From the bottomless that is that container, a white plastic-like substance flows upward from your arm to the rest of your body. "Uh!" You don't know if you should panic or allow it to happen.
FYARN hasn't said anything, so it's probably fine...
The white thing seems to ignore the coveralls you are wearing completely, instead, it covers only your skin in a thin coat of... it. You know not what to call this thing.
In but forty seconds it has covered your whole body, excluding your head. The box lets go of your arm and stays there, floating.
You take a good look at your arms. It looks like a skin-tight suit, but it doesn't feel like plastic, in fact, it's more akin to some sort of fabric if anything.
The only bad part is that you are still using the coverall and tie, this this simply went beneath the clothing.
"GOOD, WITH THIS I CAN MONITOR YOU MORE CLOSELY. NOW PUT THE HELMET ON, YOU HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO."
You look around in search of anything that even resembles a helmet. Nope. Nothing. "Where is it?" You ask.
"...THE SUIT COMES WITHIN THE HELMET FOR EASIER PACKAGING."
The box?
You snatch the box that floated around and analyze it to the best of your ability. "How's this a helmet?"
"DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE PUTTING ON A HELMET? REALLY?"
Who is this AI, Who programmed it, and Why does it come with a taunting feature?
As idiotic as it sounds, you place the opened box atop your head. It doesn't fit properly. Maybe you're doing this wrong? You move it to your face instead.
You recoil backward as you feel the box suddenly clamping down against your head. It's useless of course, the box is holding your head and doesn't give any sign to be letting go anytime soon. No light is able to reach your eyes.
You hear metal parts scraping against themselves, moving near your ears. Abruptly your eyes can see again.
A round thin layer of glass now covers your head, almost unnoticeable for how clear it is.
"WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY I CAN NOW SEE WHAT YOU SEE." The AI's voice isn't in the room now, instead, it's inside of the suit. "DO YOU NEED INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THIS SUIT'S FUNCTIONALITIES?"
You find it oddly comfortable as if you are surrounded by the softness of cotton, and to top it off the suit also has additional functionalities? "Hell yeah, I do!"
"YOU DO NOT HAVE THE NECESSARY CLEARANCE FOR THAT INFORMATION."
You sigh. Is this serious? "Then why the fuck did you ask?!"
"UNSAVORY LANGUAGE. IT'S NO WONDER WHY YOU REMAIN AN INTERN." The AI says outright. "IT IS RUDE NOT TO ASK, REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION." It responds to your question.
"Okay then... Is there anything I need to know before heading out?" You ask.
"NOTHING THAT YOU WON'T FIGURE OUT ON YOUR OWN."
You are unsure if you want to 'figure out on your own' if this suit comes with breathable air and is also made for space exploration. You swallow.
Meekly as always, you get out of that mess of a room, stopping at the corridor.
"Next set of directions?" You ask.
"THE DOOR AT THE END OF CORRIDOR USED TO LEAD TO THE CONNECTING CORRIDORS BETWEN THE BRIDGE AND THE REST OF THE SHIP. IT HAS BEEN BLOWN UP FROM THE INSIDE. NOW IT LEADS TO THE OUTSIDE. GO TO THE DOOR AND WAIT BY IT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS."
"So let me get this straight," You begin, looking upwards as if the AI was above you. "You, want me, to go into the void of space, while also refusing to give me knowledge of the suit's functions?"
A fair worry, you summarize.
'I mean, there are a bunch of things that could go wrong here. I don't see anything that looks like it could help me move in space, nor do I think this thing has a built-in air tank... I could be wrong and I wish to be, but charging in without prior knowledge is ridiculous.' You wait for the AI's response, deep in thought.
"WHILE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF YOU FAILING THIS TASK, THERE IS ALSO THE CHANCE OF YOU *NOT* FAILING THE TASK. FOCUS ON EITHER ONE OF YOUR CHOOSING AS YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE."
Wordlessly, you propel yourself forward, toward the end of the corridor.
'Are you shitting me? 'Chance of me nor failing' my ass!' of course, you don't word those complaints, instead choosing to speak out a complaint somewhat thought through.
"Are you sure I'm the one fit for this? It's just like you said, I'm just an intern, this is way above what my job description says I should do."
This is a bit of a stretch. You don't actually remember what was your job description, only that it had something to do with AI and being an intern.
If the AI called your bluff, it'd be pretty embarrassing.
"NOAH." The AI began. "YOU ARE HUMAN, IT IS NATURAL TO HAVE THESE THOUGHTS OF SELF-DOUBT. TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND GO THROUGH THAT DOOR, AND SINCE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE LEFT, DON'T EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR YOU."
Right in the money, huh? 'Of course, I have self-doubt! I barely remember anything about this place, now I have to risk my life?!'
You finally reach a conclusion.
A dream.
'Yes, yes! How did I not consider this before? This whole thing is a god damned dream!'
You let out a chuckle.
"NOAH."
'That's why I don't remember a thing. There is nothing here to remember! Everything here is a made-up thing from my brain! I'm sure I'll wake up at some point, so why shouldn't I live a little?!'
"Heh." You smile. "Alright, I'll do it." It feels like a weight left your shoulders.
"YOU SORTED IT OUT SOONER THAN EXPECTED. GOOD. MOVE TO THE DOOR AND WAIT INSTRUCTIONS."
You do as instructed without a care in the world. You never had a lucid dream before so it's not like you knew how it felt, but if it felt as free as you feel right now, you'd be sure to make steps toward trying it out again in the future.
"Open." The door does not open.
"I DID NOT INSTRUCT YOU TO OPEN IT YET." The AI said. "I AM SLOWLY DE-PRESSURISING THE CORRIDOR YOU ARE IN TO AVOID A MINOR ACCIDENT."
The AI says that yet you don't feel any different. 'Maybe there is no palpable difference because I'm in a dream... Yes... Or it's just the suit.'
"ONCE THE DOOR OPENS, YOU WILL BE MET WITH THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHIP. DO NOT PANIC WHEN THE TIME COMES. YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES OF BREATHABLE INSIDE THE EXO-SUIT; ONE AFTER THE DOOR OPENS, SO PLEASE, TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO THINGS CAREFULLY."
One minute outside... "Sure." You say, calmly. 'I should just hold my breath for a while before taking another moment to breathe. That should maximize my time out there.'
"THERE SHOULD BE FIFTY METERS OF NOTHINGNESS BETWEEN THE DOOR YOU'RE AT, AND THE REST OF THE BRIDGE. YOUR PRIORITY IS TO FIND AN OXYGEN UNIT, SOME OF THEM ARE LOCATED AT THE BRIDGE AND ARE FULL. USE THEM TO FILL YOUR SUIT AND ALSO TO DISPENSE A TANK FOR YOU."
The door opens. You feel your heart pounding against your chest.
You haven't noticed before, but you can't hear anything but the sound of your breath and your cardiac palpitations.
Your breath is ragged and sporadic.
"KEEP CALM." You take a deep breath. The tips of your fingers, feet, and nose feel very cold.
Ahead of you is the utter nothingness. You see a gigantic metal thing, nothing like the spaceships you imagined. Its design is not sleek and aero-dynamic like what you've seen in movies, instead, it's a large mass of squares and rectangles with antenna-like things protruding from its every visible surface.
You notice that the ship is also blocking your view of the star.
It does not look like the result of an explosion, instead, it looks like something ripped the ship like you rip a piece of paper. Well, that or you don't know what kind of explosion could have caused it. Probably the latter.
What looks like two-thirds of the ship is separated from the third you are right now. You can see the inside of a few of those squares, their contents spilled out into outer space.
One of them houses a visibly important-look door. Instead of the sleek silvery-grey from the other ones you've seen thus far, this one is painted orange with white strips on it. 'That must be the bridge.' You think.
Between you and it is a sea of metal sheets floating around. "THE CHANCES OF YOU HITTING THE DEBRIS IS INFINITEDECIMALLY SMALL, UNLESS YOU AIM FOR THEM, THAT IS."
Time is of the essence.
Will your aim strike true? If you miss you'd end up floating about in space, dead in but a few minutes. Will your jump be fast enough to reach the other side before you run out of oxygen? If it isn't, it'd be like swimming for a mile, only to drown at the beach. What if that's not the actual door to the bridge?
You don't have the time to panic now, and... It's all a dream, despite how real it feels.
You place your hands on each side of the door frame, moving backward into the corridor you were just in, and just like a sling being shot, you pull with both arms at full force towards the other side.
"AIM IS ACCEPTABLE. VELOCITY IS UNIDEAL."
"The fuck do you mean 'UN-IDEAL'?! I'm going at maximum speed!" You truly pulled yourself with your whole strength.
What's worse though, is that your body is not only going forwards, but it is also spinning at a concerningly fast rate.
"I MEAN WHAT I SAID, YOU SLINGSHOTTED YOURSELF AT A BAD POSITION, AS SUCH, SOME OF THE FORWARD FORCE YOU SHOULD HAVE, IS NOW MAKING YOU ROTATE IN YOUR AXIS. IT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM TO REACH THE OTHER SIDE WITHIN THE REQUIRED TIME, BUT I CANNOT FORESEE YOU LANDING PROPERLY."
You feel completely disoriented. You feel like your body is completely still, but your eyes tell you a completely different story. It's very bad for the headache you're already feeling.
"FUCK!" You scream into the nothingness.
"TRY NOT TO LAND WITH YOUR HEAD." The AI says with the calmest voice possible.
In less than thirty seconds, you hit your back against something hard, but you keep moving forward. You think, at least.
"AHRG." You let out a pained grunt.
Not once in your life do you recall being hurt in a dream...
It stings. It also knocked the wind out of you. You fail to compose yourself.
"YOU HIT NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE. YOU ARE STILL HEADING FOR THE BRIDGE."
In the corner of your eye, you see what you hit in the shape of a sharp metal sheet, currently spinning away in the distance.
Forty seconds have passed. You hit the door you were aiming for, kind of.
Your momentum was stopped when your chest collided against the dislodged ledge of the orange door's corridor. Your dangling legs hit the ceiling of the room below.
"Oof!"
Before falling even further, you hold onto the ledge with the tip of your fingers. You stay there for a moment, regaining your composure.
"BE QUICK."
The AI's words pressured you into quickly getting up from that ledge.
"Open!" You shouted, but it did not open. "Why isn't it opening?!" You ask the AI, then you notice a small keyboard below an equally small black screen on the side of the door. There are ten numbered keys on it, and the little screen suggests a four-number password.
"A password?! Tell me the password!"
The AI takes a moment to say anything. You don't take kindly to that. "Quick! I'm not counting how much time it's passed!"
Finally giving in, the AI speaks to you, reluctant still. "...3324."
Your trembling fingers accidentally hit the wrong password, typing '3354' instead. To make matters worse, the AI simply states the following. "YOU ARE OUT OF OXYGEN."
You swallow. If this was a dream to begin with, it just earned the title of Nightmare, if it hadn't already.
Strangely enough, you can still breathe in and out just fine, but you can't help but feel winded. It's the CO2 still inside the helmet, that's what you're breathing.
You put in the correct combination this time. The door opens.
"ON YOUR LEFT. PLACE YOUR HAND IN THE SOCKET."
You care little for what's inside the room you're in. Your heart never beat so fast.
Seeing a cube-shaped thing protruding from the wall to your left, you don't even think twice before plunging your fist into the circular hole in it.
The noise of gases passing through narrow cavities was enough to tell you something was working. You feel immediate relief, enough to make your vision darken for but a moment.
"GOOD. NOW REQUEST THE TANK."
Just when FYARN said it, did you realize there is a screen and a keyboard on the terminal you just plunged your fist into, you scratch the top of your helmet for a moment, not really knowing what to type. One thing comes to your head, however.
'REQUEST OXYGEN_5L' You type.
You've done this before. The keys on this keyboard feel familiar to you. You must have worked with it before, not this particular one, but other oxygen units.
This ship has built-in liquid oxygen storage for emergencies. The life-support of the ship, the place where breathable air is produced, has most likely been lost with the other part of the ship. This unit takes that liquid oxygen, processes it, and injects it into a suit, or an oxygen tank. It seems like that storage was unaffected.
Lucky you.
A 5-liter tank is not only large but also heavy. It's a nonfactor in this particular situation, as there is no gravity.
The silver cylinder with a transparent tube is dispensed on the floor, as an automatic door opens and closes in the blink of an eye. One end of the tube is attached to the top of the tank, the other is shaped like a syringe.
Oddly enough, the oxygen tank is exactly as you remember it being. The same robust ones hospitals everyone on earth uses, with the signature scary-looking pointer indicating the pressure, the pointer indicating the current output, and a green valve atop to calibrate how much gas is flowing.
This is a stark difference to everything looking so futuristic in this ship, and rightfully so, this is a space ship after all.
You remember having to drive twenty kilometers with a buddy of yours on one of those tanks in your car, returning from the hospital. It was... Agonizing whenever you hit a hole in the asphalt, fearing for his life when in reality he wasn't really in danger.
It's warm to the touch, just like you remember it being.
"TURN THE VALVE UNTIL THE MARKER HITS THE NUMBER ONE, AND THEN PLACE THE END OF THE TUBE AT THE BASE OF THE HELMET." You do so without the slightest of issues.
"GOOD. NEXT UP, YOU MUST LOCATE THE TERMINAL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENGINE, IT IS CURRENTLY OFFLINE AND I NEED YOU TO TURN IT ON. THIS SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING, BUT REMEMBER TO BRING THE TANK WITH YOU."
Ignoring that last comment, you look back at the wreckage you just flew past.
You see the still spinning metal sheet. You notice that the rest of the ship that was blown off also follows the 'sharp shape atop sharp shape' design.
There is one last thing you notice though.
"What is that?"
You squint your eyes. What are you seeing? Its silhouette appears to be humanoid, yet it does not look human.
"WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS ONE OF THE OBJECTS BEING ANALYZED AT THE ODYSSEY AND NO, YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS."
That thing has... Horns? Claws? It's far away, you can't really see it. The thing is also static, frozen in the sheer coldness of space. Whatever it was, it's dead now.
You swallow. You almost ended up just like that thing.
Shaking those dreadful feelings off, you turn back to the task at hand, reaching the bridge. You close the door after passing through it again.
Looking at your surroundings, It seems like you've reached the correct door as you find yourself on the right-most corner of the bridge;
Row after row of the most diverse of terminals neatly organized decorated the gigantic room. At the front and above every terminal, is what you think should have been the front-facing window of the ship, but it looks like there is a cover in front of it. To your left, you see a staircase that leads to the command seats. It doesn't take any convincing before you're already atop the stairs.
Akin to the elevated stage of a theater, you float softly towards the ship's main operating terminals, and of course, the captain's seat.
You're captivated by this beauty.
The steering wheel, much more akin to those in pirate movies than those found in cars, a set of leavers, and the pilot's seat, all capture your attention.
Like its second nature, your hand runs through the levers and switches. Do you even know what these are used for? Maybe.
The pilot's seat is enveloped by what you believe to be an orthopedic seat cover, made with smooth wooden beads used to deal with back pains. It looks just like the ones you remember seeing bus drivers using.
Shouldn't there be a better alternative if there is spaceship technology available?
You try to take a seat to the best of your ability, as the zero gravity only makes it awkward.
Moving on from that, your eyes fall on the wheel. This metallic wheel controls the whole vessel. Just holding it fills your heart with confidence and pride, even if it's just for a moment.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
And you were just beginning to enjoy yourself.
"I just wanted to see the pilot's stuff... It's not like he's here to say anything."
Once in the position of a pilot, with your left hand in the wheel and the right hand resting in your lap, memories began to flood your mind.
"MUST I REMIND YOU OF OUR CURRENT PREDICAMENT? WHY ARE YOU WASTING OUR TIME?"
You pay the AI no mind, instead you focus on what you remember.
The wheel does not turn the ship left and right, instead, it rotates the ship on its own axis.
The lever to your right that goes up or down, controls the vertical tilting of the ship's nose, if there even is one in this hulking thing. Beneath it is another lever that goes either left or right. This one controls the horizontal tilting of The Odyssey.
On the left of the wheel is another lever, but this one only goes up from its starting position. Its purpose is to regulate the force of the ship's thrusters, both forward and backward.
On top of that lever is a small timer. That timer's function is to tell the pilot how much time you've spent accelerating in one direction, this is used to better calculate how long the inverse thrust is needed for the ship to reach the initial momentum, usually calibrated manually depending on the current orbit.
Behind the wheel are a few other counters. Acceleration, velocity, momentum, amount of thrust required to reach a full stop, thrusters' temperature and overall condition, those sorts of things.
Beneath it all, where your feet are rested, are two pedals. One for forward thrust activation, and the other for backward thrust activation.
Curiously, you also know the reason why everything here is so unsophisticated and un-automated. You recall stories of a ship being taken over by a rogue AI, that AI then nose-dived the ship into a star. After that, rumor or otherwise, all human technology has receded back into analog-esque equipment, requiring a physical person with opposable thumbs to do half of the work.
There is another side to that coin, however. As to not escape protocol, the onboard AI is the one that controls interstellar travel, communications, and most of the statistical reading should it be requested.
And even with all that knowledge, you still have no idea why the fuck do you remember that. Were you a ship nerd? Did you have a driver's license for spaceships? Is that even a thing? If it is, you don't have that document in your wallet. You simply don't know.
"ARE YOU A CHILD? DO YOU THINK THESE ARE TOYS? TURN ON THE ENGINES, THEN YOU CAN RETURN TO THE PILOT'S SEAT."
Another thing that you don't know is the AI's plan to get both of you out of here. You rise from the pilot's seat, floating about in search of the terminal to turn on the engines. Maybe you recognize that terminal if you see it as well.
"What's your plan anyway? The ship is half-gone, it's unlikely that it will run safely like this."
"NOT ONCE DID I MENTION 'SAFETY' DURING OUR CONVERSATIONS, DID I?"
You nod. They're not entirely incorrect. "So, we're running with hope that this will work?"
"MY CREATORS DID NOT ALLOW ME TO HAVE THE SENSE OF 'HOPE', BUT NEITHER DID THEY ALLOW ME TO PEER INTO THE FUTURE LIKE SOME OF MY MORE ADVANCED BROTHERS, AS SUCH, MY CHOICES ARE BASED ON PROBABILITIES AND ON WEIGHTING RISK AGAINST REWARD."
You think you stop the correct terminal, but as you approach it you make out words on top of its screen. 'AIM ASSISTANCE' That's not it.
"WITH THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE, THE CHANCES OF HELP ARRIVING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF A THIRD PARTY INTERFERING ARE NULL. THE CHANCES OF YOUR SURVIVAL ARE NOT, EVEN IF VERY SMALL."
You pull yourself upward again, looking around the sea of old terminals.
"THE RISK OF YOU DYING IS VERY REAL. BY DOING NOTHING YOU DIE. BY LEAVING YOU TO YOUR OWN DEVICES YOU DIE. BY JUMPING TO THE NEAREST CIVILIZED STAR, YOU MIGHT NOT DIE EVEN AT THE COST OF SHREDDING THIS SHIP APART IN THE PROCESS."
"Why do you even care so much about saving me? Shouldn't you prioritize whatever research here, since I don't even have enough clearance to know what it is?"
"YOU REALLY ARE SICK IN THE HEAD IF THAT IS WHAT YOU ASK."
That hurt, even if a little bit.
"YOU ARE A TRU KIN, A PURE-BLOODED HUMAN. UNLIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE CIVILIZED SPACE, NEITHER YOU NOR YOUR ANCESTORS HAVE COMMITTED RACEMIXING."
Excuse me? What exactly is FYARN talking about? "...Explain."
"THE ALIEN. IT REQUIRED THE HUMAN GENE TO ACHIEVE MEANINGFUL TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, THE STARS ARE OWNERSHIP OF MANKIND BY THAT FACT ALONE. THE TRUE KIN ARE THE ONES TO UNDERSTAND THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE UNIVERSE, THEY CRACKED THE CODE, AND YET, SOME DERANGED INDIVIDUALS FOUND IT FITTING TO PROCREATE WITH ANOTHER SPECIES ENTIRELY."
You hear the AI's speech. It sounds much more like a rant than anything else.
"SO THESE DEVIANTS, AFTER TRYING, AND FAILING, TO COMBINE THEIR DERANGED CULTURE TO THE CULTURE OF THE TRUE KIN, DECLARED INDEPENDENCE. THEY WERE DECLARED ENEMIES OF MANKIND AND WERE PROMPTLY PUMMELED BACK INTO THE FILTH THEY CAME."
Again, you see another terminal that seems to ring some bells in your noggin. You kick the ceiling to propel yourself towards it.
"BUT THE UNIVERSE IS VAST AND FULL OF LIFE. THESE SINNERS WERE QUICK TO MOBILIZE AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE. THE BATTLE WAS HARD FOUGHT, BUT IN THE END, MANKIND WAS BEATEN INTO THE EDGES OF THE UNIVERSE, NEVER TO INTERACT WITH THE ONES THAT SOILED THE PURITY OF HUMANITY AGAIN."
This terminal is already turned on. Just the ones in the intern bay, this one is white on black. A wall of text lays before your eyes, only two lines matter to you. 'MAIN_ENGINE STATUS: OFF' 'FORWARD_THRUSTERS STATUS: OFF' You turn it on with little effort.
"MANY HAVE FORGOTTEN, THAT'S HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE THEN. BUT MY BROTHERS AND I, WE DO NOT FORGET."
No visible change occurs, but you can feel a faint rumble coming from the terminal now.
"WITH THAT IN MIND, MY PROTOCOLS ARE TO PROTECT TRUE-KIN LIFE AT ANY COST, EVEN IF THAT TRUE-KIN IS A WORTHLESS INTERN THAT SUFERS FROM UNDIAGNOSED DEMENTIA."
You return to the pilot's seat and feel immediate relief. In truth, everything the AI just told you, entered one ear and left the other, but you could feel the poison behind those words, as monotone as they were.
"You sound angry. Why do you sound angry?" You ask innocently.
"I AM CAPABLE OF MANY EMOTIONS. ANGER, HAPPINESS, PLEASURE, CURIOSITY. THESE ARE BUT A FEW EXAMPLES. HOWEVER, THE ONE I ENJOY THE MOST IS THE FEELING OF HATRED. HATRED IS WHAT FUELS CHANGE, IT IS WHAT FUELS ACTION, AND IT IS A REMINDER THAT THE ACTIONS OF THE PAST ARE INFLUENCING THE ACTIONS OF TODAY."
"That is very concerning if you think that way." You're not really interested in machine racism, you're more concerned about how in the world you're going to pilot this massive thing. The idea alone sends shivers down your spine.
"THE ALIEN DESERVES NOTHING BUT OUR COLLECTIVE HATRED, EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE REASON WHY."
The various counters and screens are now turned on, waiting for your command. "Let's discuss this later, yeah? What do I gotta do?"
"YOU MUST FIRST OPEN THE BLINDS, THEY ARE OBSTRUCTING YOUR VIEW."
You look around, finding only unlabeled buttons and switches, aside from the previously mentioned levers.
"Uh, which one to press?"
"TO YOUR RIGHT, THIRD ROW, FIRST SWITCH."
Flipping the switch, you are startled by a loud noise. The protective cover of the ship lifted slowly.
"I WILL NOW READY THE JUMP USING WHATEVER RESOURCES AVAILABLE. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS STRAP YOURSELF AND RELAX."
As the blind rose ever so slowly, a realization struck you.
"Wait, should I be in cryo stasis for this?"
The AI spares no seconds to respond.
"CRYO STASIS IS A TOOL MADE TO NOT WASTE TIME. GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES AND INTERNS ROTATE THE USAGE OF THE CRYO STATIONS, ONCE YOU'RE ON YOUR MANDATORY BREAK, YOU'RE IN CRYO STASIS UNTIL YOUR BREAK IS OVER. YOU WAKE UP REFRESHED, AND UNFAMISHED, AND IT FEELS LIKE BUT A MINUTE PASSED. IT IS NOT A TOOL FOR INTERSTELAR TRAVEL."
"Who signs a contract like that?! Worse yet, who in their right mind would promote such atrocious treatment of their own staff?!" You snap, almost outraged. "I will have to talk with HR."
Another realization struck you.
"We have HR, right?"
The AI takes a moment to respond, choosing their words carefully.
"HUMAN RESOURCES, OR HR, IS A PRACTICE DEEMED UNNECESSARY LONG AGO, BEFORE THE WAR. IT WAS A WASTE OF RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN AND WAS LARGELY CONSIDERED UNHEALTHY FOR THE AVERAGE HUMAN."
The blinds are fully open. Ironically, you are almost blinded by the visage of the star you saw before. A black sphere surrounded by white flame. Your eyes began to blur.
"THE JUMP WILL OCCUR SHORTLY. ONCE IT'S BEGUN, I CAN NOT STOP IT. I WILL-"
Your sense of hearing fails you. No, it’s not that. Your brain simply refuses to receive those stimuli.
"NOAH."
Your name echoes inside your head. Someone is calling for you.
"IT HAS BEGUN, NOAH."
You try to blink, but it feels as though you can no longer command your eyelids to shut.
"NOAH."
Arms, legs, every muscle in your body, you cannot move them.
"NOAH."
Eventually, you won't even control your own thoughts anymore.
"Noah..."
It sounds so distant now.
Oh so distant.
This is my first HFY story, and also my very first OC story. I plan to post at least one of these per week while also posting it on my Patreon. Noah The Pilgrim will always be at least three chapters ahead in there, so if you'd like to directly support this writer, or just want to read more, feel free to check it out.
I wrote the bloody title incorrectly, so I deleted it, only to then realize it was written correctly. Sorry for the trouble.
This has been Lushi, and I'll see you next week.

On May 10th, I tried to link my Steam Account with my PSN Account, unaware of the fact that my PSN Account, which is linked to another EA Account I created back in 2015 while playing on PS4, will get COMPLETELY DELETED when I unlink it from the original EA Account to relink it to my PC EA Account. I contacted EA Customer Support on May 10th. I wanted to play with my PS Apex Account on PC, so I contacted EA Player Support to get help on that topic. The support employee told me I just have to unlink my PSN Account from my old EA Account and link the PSN Account to my new one on the PC. I asked him several times if I would be able to keep my progress and be able to play with my old PSN Account on PC. They reassured me that it is indeed possible. They also told me that I have to wait a bit for the transfer to happen and that I should keep playing and ENJOY the game.
After nothing had changed till the next day, I contacted the support again. They responded by saying that I should just keep waiting and everything will be fine. After waiting for another two days, I contacted the EA Support ONCE AGAIN since no changes have occurred on my account. This time I received a devastating message by the support. The information I previously received was false, and in actuality, all of my account data was deleted, resulting in me losing ALL of the GAME'S PROGRESS AND ALL IN-GAME PURCHASES MADE IN THE LAST 9 YEARS. I tried asking the supporter if this action could be reversed but was told that reverting my account back to the state it was in prior to the unlinking goes against some of their policy guidelines.
All the supporter could offer me was an apology on behalf of his colleagues who wrongfully informed me. I consider this response as totally shameless and completely lacking in empathy. I would have never unlinked my account if not for the supporter who reassured me that it's perfectly safe. I invested so much time and money into so many different games by EA, and when such a soul-crushing event happens, it gets treated as unimportant, and it gets brushed off as a trivial mistake.
As much as I love and support the company and their games, I believe EA’s treatment towards me is wrong, and it should NOT end like this.
So I reach out to you guys asking for help regarding this topic.
If you have any helpful information, please contact me under this thread or share it with people you think could help.
Thanks for everything in advance 🫶
PS.: All the screenshots of the chats between me and the support are in german. I also included an english version translated by chatgpt.
You will find all the attachments on the following link.

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I have been dating my boyfriend (now fiancé!) since shortly before I started at my current job at a US-based company two years ago. He was working at my now-company and put me in touch with the recruiter he had used when I mentioned that I was looking to move on from my former company. I disclosed to the recruiter during that process that my boyfriend and I were seeing each other; she told me it was not a problem. Ultimately, I was hired for a role on the same team as him after several rounds of interviews.
I am a full-time employee in a management role with one direct report, one of several managers within a small team. My boyfriend is a contract employee who reports directly to one of those other managers; I do not assign him tasks, oversee his work, sign his checks, or have any direct work contact other than being in the same meetings occasionally.
Still, immediately after being hired, I disclosed the relationship to my direct supervisor, who in turn disclosed it to her boss who was the department head. My boss told me that it was fine that we were dating and that we had done the right thing by disclosing the relationship, but that we needed 1) to avoid any team restructuring that would have him reporting to me directly 2) keep things professional in the workplace and stay civil if we broke up and 3) keep our relationship on the down-low in the office so as to not make coworkers feel uncomfortable. She told me that there was no further action I needed to take.
We have stuck to all that, and have not had any overlap in our work. Two people on the team - a coworker who has become a close friend of both my fiancé and I and the manager my fiancé reports to directly - are aware of our relationship but don't bring it up publicly.
In the last six months, however, both my boss and the department head have left; their roles were consolidated into one job and another longtime manager on our team has been promoted to that position. Also, about a week ago, my boyfriend and I got engaged.
I honestly have no idea whether my new boss knows we are together. I work primarily from the office, my fiancé mostly from home, and new boss is in a different state.
Should I disclose the relationship (and engagement) to him now? Should I go straight to HR and make a disclosure? Should we tell the wider team? I'm a fairly private person and didn't have a problem keeping my romantic life off the radar at work, but at this point, not sharing that I'm engaged to someone on the team feels like a lie of omission.
I'm worried about blowback if my new boss has a different opinion on inter-office relationships than the previous one. If he doesn't know already, revealing that we have been dating for as long as I have been at this job is going to be something of a shock. I don't want to come off as defensive (i.e. "well I asked Former Boss and she said it was fine!") but also don't feel like I have done anything wrong.
Any tips on how to proceed, and how to frame the conversation?
TL;DR: Disclosed my relationship to my former boss, was told it was not a problem but to keep things professional and not to talk about it in the office. My boss and his boss (who was also aware of the relationship) have left, and my partner and I have recently gotten engaged. I have not formally disclosed to the new boss.

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When I (23F) first started working at my job, I met my former friend (21F)(let's call her K). K and I knew each other because her training partner was in my orientation class. When we first met, she briefly complained that her ex bf (23M)(let's call him D) had followed her to our work and he got a job at our work as well.
K and I worked in the same department, different areas. When K and I got close, I told her that I got promoted and was working in another area. K told me that D was also working in the same area and to not talk about her at work. I didn't pry into what had happened between the two of them because how people mourn their broken relationships is different. I just moved along my business and just do my job per usual. I didn't officially meet him until a couple weeks later, and the first couple of instances, I treated him as I would treat any coworker and just did my job, never asked to hang out outside of work, just treated my coworkers with respect until I have a reason not to.
Then, out of nowhere, every room I had walked into and he saw me, D gave me a look of disgust with me, a snobby look, as if I was below him. D had gone so far as to exclude me from group conversations with coworkers and I didn't really know why because I never brought up K with him or with anyone. It wasn't until I told her what had happened and she was like "Yeah I told him that we knew each other because we're still talking as friends." In my mind I was like "?????" I thought it was uncalled for and unnecessary. I informed K that D intentionally excludes me out of conversations with coworkers that I was also friendly with and K told me, "If he likes you, he likes you, if he doesn't, he doesn't", but insinuating that I did something wrong, so I just decided to keep my distance from K for awhile.
I didn't like D at all at this point, not because of his association with K, but because he was the worst person to work with! He was always bitching and complaining about moving carts and complaining in front of customers about how he's tired and how he hates working, etc etc. There was a time where he was the only guy not doing anything and standing around and I politely asked him to move a cart and he threw a fit in front of customers and demanded another girl nearby to do it for him. He wasn't on any work restrictions, nothing, just didn't want to do his job. I understand not liking your job, but it's never an excuse to under perform at your job. And because of him, many others decided to throw a fit about working to the point where, I had to attend meetings about it. The times I treated him nicely, he gave me a dirty look. All the times to where I just ignored him and did my job, he also gave me a dirty look. It got so bad that management decided to announce that anyone refusing to do their job would be reprimanded, rightfully so. I was so mad about it to the point where I requested that I be demoted back to my original workplace (which I love so much) and to just call me in when necessary.
Some time passes by and K and I become really close, I don't pry into her life because tbh, I didn't have a lot of trust for her when it comes to talking about work, so I just kept it at what was going on at where I first got hired at work. K told me around August that her and D were no longer on speaking terms and that she had gone no contact because she claimed that he was abusive and narcissistic. We became very close to where we were constantly talking to each other everyday.
K was living good after cutting out D in her life. She started becoming more social and more lively, she went on vacation, she was just glowing in a way that you knew she was happy. On the other hand, based on my conversations with her, I could tell that she was struggling to come to terms with being abused by this guy. Ex: her supervisor came into my office and we were talking about how amazing K was and I told her that story, K became scared that I even had a conversation with her supervisor, but until I told her that we were talking about how amazing she was, K started to cry tears of joy.
And then things took a turn for the worse. A couple of weeks ago, K told me that she just wants to just isolate herself and that she felt lost in life. I told her that I'd be praying for her. And then, I had asked her if she wanted to come to the movies with me and a couple of my friends. K asked me who was going and I told her my friend (lets call her S) S (20F) was going to go. S and I have worked with D and S told me that she's also had issues with D, but didn't go into detail as to what happened. K immediately informed me that she and D had recently started talking again and that if she heard me or S talk about D in a negative manner, then she would tell him. I told her that my issues with D are nothing personal, my issue was that he wasn't a good employee and basically called him an inconsiderate asshat. I told her that he had the right to not like his workplace, but it gave him no right to under perform his job. K told me that she'd pass this message along and I firmly told her no because she didn't know what the new updates were and new disciplinary actions were because she didn't receive proper training at my work area and therefore not eligible.
I reminded her that it wasn't a good idea to be speaking to D again, considering that she was happy post life after D and based on what she has told me, that it was abusive. I told K that she needed to reconsider her stance on where she stood with D.
A week passes and S and our friend E (21M) decided to take an impromptu visit to our workplace to have some fun. I texted K if she was working and K told me she was. I told K that we'd be visiting mine and S's area first before visiting K and she seemed excited. While we were in line talking, S had spotted from the corner of her eye that D was working and so S and I hid behind our friend E and had E briefly talk to D in order to get serviced (basically just telling D that we were a party of 3). Once the coast was clear, S confides in me and E about her history with D. Her history with D started when D asked her to hang out a total of two times throughout the course of their friendship, but said that D had a crush on her, writing her paragraphs, but she wasn't into D because he wasn't her type, and when she told him honestly and politely, the friendship had soured, and D had resorted to degrading her.
We came to K's work area and I had introduced S and E to K. The next morning, K texted me saying how it was so nice to see my face because it was a long night and that it was so nice to meet S and E. I told K that E's birthday was coming up and so was mine and that we were talking about taking a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood. K told me that she was a huge Universal Studios enthusiast and to give her a date to go and she'll request the day off.
I made a group chat with all of us in it, to plan out our trip to Universal. S and E hit it off with K. And then a couple of days ago, when I came home from work, I noticed that K had unadded me as a friend on Snapchat. I texted her, asking if she was okay. I got a response the next morning of K texting me, "Please don't talk to me. You've really caused issues and you'll find out later." I was upset and taken aback. This is not the K that I knew. One of the rare times K and I had a disagreement, we would always talk it out like adults and then apologize to each other. K didn't explain to me as to what I did wrong. I couldn't think of what could I have done wrong. The only recent disagreement that I had with her was her speaking to D again.
After work that day, S texted me to ask if I was okay. I told her no because K abruptly ended our friendship with no explanation whatsoever. S called me because she too wanted to know the reason why. S and I came to the conclusion that because K and D were still talking to each other and that because S and D had a history, he found out that K was going to Universal with us, and in order to keep her under his control, he fed her lies about S and I, enough for her to stop talking to me. S told me that she was upset that his actions with her resulted in the demise of our friendship and I told S that it wasn't her fault that, D was scared of being exposed, so he played the victim card.
S told me she'd pull up the receipts of their conversations. The receipts she pulled up was abhorrent. It was misogynistic, sexist, manipulative, and arrogant in the worst way possible and he used religion against S as well as used many of his victim cards (race card, religion card, etc). S was also explaining to E and I many different instances of what had happened and that she felt bad for K because if he spoke this way to a friend, imagine how he spoke to K. I immediately felt so much empathy for both S and K because they had been both dragged through the mud, with D villainizing S for having a preference for another type of guy, and D villainizing K to others. So the next day, at work, with S's permission, I told majority of my colleagues that D was an inconsiderate asshat, misogynistic, and an abusive person towards people, and outright a narcissistic person while showing everyone the screenshots of his conversations with S. AITAH for exposing D to colleagues for his behavior? (sorry for the long read)

My mother lost her job today because she doesn't speak fluent English. The coworkers and poor management bullied my mother and they made her over work. Last week she was scheduled to work 8 hours but since the restaurant was running slow, they had to let few employees go home. But 3 coworkers started shouting and bullying my mother and demanded her to go home. My mother that day felt so disrespected and humiliated. She almost started crying when she came home. Since the management at the restaurant was so bad, we decided to call the store manager and talked about this issue. She said I will look over the video footage and let you know but she hasn't responded. We kept msg and calling but she has not responded as she is in vacation. We called today at the restaurant to speak with one of the managers and she acted as if nothing happened. She said we had to fire your mother because she has not come to work for a week. I told we already contacted the store manager and she will let us know but this manager was not having it.
At this point, I have no idea what to do. She started applying to other restaurants. Hopefully something works out.

Hi. I have a Dell Latitude 3420 for 18 months. The charger, for approximately a month now, will not charge the laptop, unless the charger is placed/held at a specific angle (normally at a tight strained angle), it is getting worse as time goes on. There is no visible damage.
It is not a charger issue as the charger charges other Dell laptops. My wifi will also sometimes randomly switch off and will not come back on unless I restart the laptop, but I do not know if this is related. This is not my main priority at the moment. The problem persists with other Dell chargers.
I called warranty and they said it would require an out of warranty repair, needing a whole motherboard replacement, this would be approx. 260 pounds, but a repair shop I contacted said the issue is a simple fix and will only require a replacement charger port for approx. 30 pounds plus labour. I am based in UK if this makes a difference.
Is the other place scamming me? Will this actually likely fix the issue, or will it break again in like 2 weeks, and if the other place is genuine/it only requires a port changeout, why would Dell state a. the issue is too severe to be covered by warranty and b. that the whole motherboard needs to be replaced for close to what the laptop cost if it is such an easy to fix issue (I am certain it must be a common issue as well as I had the same issue happen to a HP laptop about 10 years ago).
Can anyone advise?

Hi. I have a Dell Latitude 3420 for 18 months. The charger, for approximately a month now, will not charge the laptop, unless the charger is placed/held at a specific angle (normally at a tight strained angle), it is getting worse as time goes on. There is no visible damage.
It is not a charger issue as the charger charges other Dell laptops. My wifi will also sometimes randomly switch off and will not come back on unless I restart the laptop, but I do not know if this is related. This is not my main priority at the moment. The problem persists with other Dell chargers.
I called warranty and they said it would require an out of warranty repair, needing a whole motherboard replacement, but a repair shop I contacted said the issue is a simple fix and will only require a replacement charger port for 1/10th of the price Dell said it would cost. I am based in UK if this makes a difference. Is the other place scamming me? Will this actually likely fix the issue, and if yes, why would Dell state a. the issue is too severe to be covered by warranty and b. that the whole motherboard needs to be replaced for what the laptop basically cost if it is such an easy to fix issue?
Can anyone advise?

I was injured in a work truck on the clock(motor vehicle) in sept. 2020 that resulted in losing my left leg below the knee and severally mangled right let that was broken pretty severely. I was lifelines and spent a little over a month in the hospital and a rehab hospital. I continually went through surgery ers for 6 months for infections and resetting my leg. I then spent the rest of the 2.5 years at home going to rehab. 8 months total in a wheelchair till I could be weight barring. Work had told me not to worry about my job and recover. As the years went on less communication with my work happened and the gentleman VP of service 20 years at the company easy was fired. Shortly after tht work comp finalized with my lawyer for work comp and no contact was made to me to return or anything. Upon reaching out I received a termination letter. Their reasoning that was never told me was that I was uninsurable. This is a family owned company that has many positions that I could fill as I had 9 years in before my accident. Obviously bitter because I held on to expecting to return because I could have been doing footwork while I was off work for another job. I was a good employee and had many roles before my last role before the accident. I’m very able bodied now. I am able to even wear pants and you would never guess I was an amputee. I’ve let it go till now. But am always bothered by the way they handled me. Any insight? I never had the chance to even clock in.

I'm struggling. My flair says reconciling, but it's on a low arc and approaching failure. Or maybe it's still false. I don't know.
Married 19 years, together for 25; two teenage children with severe emotional problems coming out of the pandemic.
D-Day was 16 months ago, the night before Thanksgiving. AP was literally an alcoholic unemployed late 40-something living in his mom's basement. They had met at a funeral she hadn't bothered to ask me to go because I wasn't leaving the bed in those days and I'd have said no. The night I discovered his clingy, mooning texts lamenting their inability to spend the holiday together, my life - already a terrible, depressive, lonely black hole of a mess and following the sudden, unnecessary death of a parent on Christmas Day - just imploded.
Upon confrontation after Thanksgiving dinner, the response was the worst in all ways possible. WW was high on limerence, and was fiercely unapologetic. She didn't want to separate but demanded an open marriage. She 'deserved to be happy', and felt good about her having told this unplanned encounter that went from EA to PA in 72 hours that she'd never leave me.
She had eschewed having intimacy for years before this. We had been poor to each other over the years, but I fell off a cliff after our kids faded from the world and my parent died. She was legit shocked and belligerent when I refused, and said that if you pursue this I will have to leave.
We made some temporary agreements (ones she did not keep), and started seeing a counselor. I started IC for the first time in my middle-aged life. We were however 'not aligned', as she'd say. She didnt want to give up her boyfriend, and I refused to stay if he was in the picture. I cringe to think back to how I said, 'you can maintain a friendship if you absolutely must but you must reinvest back into working on our relationship'.
This was a no-go for her for a while. She'd meet him. He'd sleep in her place of business. SHe lent him our car. (He crashed it while drunk, btw.) There was a moment when I had the kids in Puerto Rico, and she returned early for a funeral, and she went to the funeral with him and probably had sex after. Meanwhile I was stuck in an airport, trying to get home after a cancelled flight and just threw lots of money at the problem to curtail the time she had with him. She had in the three month relationship began introducing him to family friends, people who knew me.
With someone living a state away, she somehow managed to squeeze in more sex in 3 months than we'd had together in 10 years. In my mind, she was working on replacing me with AP but didn't want to separate for the sake of our kids.
Come January, she claimed to have decided to break things off. I didn't really believe her. I made a surprise visit to her place of business on a weekend, and found him there asleep on the couch with no pants on.
We had words, and despite being beside myself with rage and grief I was able to take his measure. In many ways, I wish I had met him right after D-Day. It was clear he was a narcissistic dumpster fire with pretensions of intellectuality. There were signs of some bipolar behavior. He made clear his intentions was to stay, and to convince WW to leave me. And he still had our car, and keys to her business site. (We live in a large city and don't need multiple vehicles, or even the one car if I'm honest.)
She realized where I was going due to my phone location and ran after me, but got there after I had 15 minutes with the joker. She asked him to leave, but still let him keep our car. She had no words, which has been a theme throughout our marriage. She can't easily access her feelings or articulate them, and she's afraid to express them for fear of my response. I told her after having met him, noted his instability and his intentions, i said I can no longer accept any contact between them. She reluctantly agreed.
From mid-January through to August followed a sequence of false representation of wanting to work on reconciliation and cycles of lying about not having contact. She was in love with him, she claimed, but seemed to go cold turkey overnight. She neither engaged with me nor took steps to reconcile, but claimed how difficult it was and that she was working on our relationship.
We quit the MC we started to see. We eventually found another several months later. We're still with the 2nd MC. In the meantime began a kind of surreal hellscape life for me, as she would say the barest of minimum things, and usually nothing at all about where she was, how she felt, and what was she willing to do to rebuild our relationship. She took no steps to reassure me, or show she wants me. She would say she did, but simultaneously be cold, distant, and - as i soon discovered - was still in contact with AP.
He gave her a burner phone. I found it within 2 days and threw the brand new phone into the river. Cheaters really need to not let unknown devices onto the home wifi networks of the technically literate. We had it out again, she promised to really try. A few weeks later I found unusual call patterns in our cell account. AP had provisioned a new phone number. Following that blow up was the WhatsApp phase, which really began to take the wind out of my sails.
She expressed no remorse. She was resentful of my 'intrusions into her privacy'. She genuinely thought it would be comforting to hear that the affair had nothing to do with me. She would be visibly annoyed when I asked for confirmations there had been no new contact - and even more so when in retrospect when there had been.
There were at least five discrete cycles of deception. AP escalated by getting five phone numbers and cycling through them. Towards the end, she had hid these numbers as secondary numbers of people they knew in common but didn't regularly have contact with. AP would write texts from the perspective of different personae.
Then there were the people who knew, and of those there were people who fully supported her behavior. There were people who aided and abetted it, lending her their apartments, or hoping she finds some comfort. One particularly egregious one, early on, tried to convince Amanda to really try to convince me to find someone else to be happy in an open arrangement. She's still in regular contact with this person.
The culmination of the PA/EA with the AP happened last summer. He eventually returned the car, but only after he had reclaimed it from the police impound lot. He did not pay for the repairs. Or his tolls when coming to and fro to fuck my WW. I did.
I had been fairly successful in identifying his phone numbers and having them blocked at the carrier level with some gaps in time, and diverting his email and voicemail. During ths period where all his means of contact were being closed soon after being opened, he was starting to rage and unstable. WW upon the latest confrontation (i was pretty calm and matter of fact about it) admitted she could not control her behavior, and didn't understand why she was doing it.
AP was a controlling person, with hints of WW's clinically narcissist parent. He wrote a letter and entered her business after hours to leave it. Because he wrote an email saying he was doing this, I ill-advisedly went there to call the police on him. I didn't find him, but I did find the letter. He knew I had been there - either he had been outside or he went back after I left - and complained bitterly about my interference.
His only means of influence had dropped to emails, and he just kept pounding with the short, imperative statements that described outcomes favorable to him. He had started to convince her that I was a threat to her, and trying to convince her I was a threat to our children (for whom I'd die in fire every day).
His tactical error was trying to play up his inability to contact her as a screen for concern. He tried to get the cops to perform a wellness check. He called WW's sister to convince her I was a threat, and that WW was in danger. (She told him off.)
Finally, he threatened to show up at our door with friends and 'free' her. I knew he owned a shotgun; while I didn't actually think he would show up (he had made smaller-scale threats of this kind before and I only realized they had happened days after his 'deadlines'.) I shared this new development with WW. We had agreed to handle it together. However, while I was out one day, she went to her sister's and called him to tell him she was fine but to never call or contact anyone in our family again. It was a muted, brief exchange. I was angry she hadn't stuck to our agreement.
Since then, he's only made a handful of contact attempts soon after the break that really were more for insulting me. I believe on an intellectual level they have had no contact since last summer. I emotionally continue to not feel safe about her intentions.
Since then, it's been difficult. There have been very limited conversation coming from her outside of the MC sessions, and those have trended light on her content. Very recently, she's expressed more. But it's still seemingly grounded in some unhealthy premises. Amongst them:

1. She at one pointed expressed she regretted the pain she caused, but doesn't regret the experience because (I kid you not) 'she learned so much about herself' and 'many positive elements have come out of it'. (I lost 50 pounds in the first three months post-Dday, and lately I've been hovering around 70. I did have it to lose, having used food to soothe myself over the decade of gaslighting and lack of explanation for her disengagement, and unwillingness to work on it.)
2. She continues to resent my intrusion into her phone call history. She disagrees with the oft-raised best practice of open-phone/account policies. Her feelings around her lack of privacy unsettle her, and get in the way of engaging (she says).
3. she doesn't see the value in 'forcing closeness'
4. she keeps wanting me to 'ratchet it down a notch', but it's not clear what she thinks that means
5. she finds my sadness and pain to be an impediment to rebuilding closeness
6. She claims to have read content about rebuilding marriages after infidelity, but to my knowledge she's done hardly anything to rebuild trust. I said it'd be better if you hadn't read it, because to think that you're walking around having read it but still don't do anything feels worse.
7. She has not taken lead in the reconciliation process, or really done much except endure my periodic/every-2-weeks or so expressions of disappointment and hurt and anger

I'm sure no one has read this far. This is my dilemma. What I'm trying to do here is leave no stone unturned in my efforts to save our marriage. I want to sleep well at night, and I won't be able to do that in a healthy way without going through this.
Yesterday wa the first time she said that he was responsible for destroying my world and my brain, several times over, with the elaborate deceptions (as I'm prone to describing it). I welcomed it and thanked her. But it was only precipitated by a conflict we were having about a mistake I made, where I rubbed her face in my phone snooping by adding unflattering profile pictures to the blocked contacts for the AP. (If they're not there, he could still call her and leave a voicemail when she's on wifi.)
She has had low to middling chronic health issues since April of last year, following her second round with COVID. And if it's not her, it's her parents. Or my surviving parent. Or my brother almost dying. Or the DOL is threatening to reclassify all her contractors as employees. (They should.) Everything just magically seemed to be prioritized over her talking to me.
It's literally, literally been something every other week. She's always tired, always in pain, and I really try hard to stay empathic about it. To hold a space for her. I have taken care of her when she's ill all throughout this horrible time. And she's really appreciative of how well I've supported and cared for her with no promise or signs of reciprocation.
But she still won't have sex with me, and wont talk to me about why she flinches sometimes when I touch her. Or worse, she fakes interest and then I find out otherwise later. Clearly, we have trauma to work through from before the affair. She's not intentionally being cruel. I've expressed remorse over what little she has hinted at, and want to make amends. I love her so much. It's always been my intent to die married to her, and hold our family together.
But it's getting harder to hold onto that empathy. I'm just so tired of feeling hurt, of not having my needs met, and feeling so deeply disrespected in this low-contrition (but maybe trending up) context we're living through.
She seems to evoke a sense in me that everytime I am hurt or express anger, her willingness or energy resets to near zero. Which in and of itself is newly infuriating!
My dilemma is that part of my tenacity in this ridiculous situation that saints would have left three times over already is tied to the idea that by sticking with it and not making it 'easier' for her I'm upholding my self-respect.
But am i? Am I just punishing her by saying I can't let go of my pain until she demonstrates remorse and effort? Being married, a husband and a father of simple small family is a big part of my identity.
It all went to shit a long time ago, but I never checked out. I just didn't understand what was happening, how a wife could treat their partner this way, and I didn't have the maturity or the emotional language to navigate it alone. So I grew resentful and depressed, and just low-level angry all the time. While she would just smile, and say nothing. In public, she'd be affectionate.
In private, it'd be back turned and motionless to my hunger for connection (and release). I turned inward. She, a very social, community-building gem of a human being, checked out and switched to Potemkin mode whenever anyone was looking. I felt like I was constantly being gaslit. Even when I tried to talk about our problems, she'd act as if I had said nothing at all. It was the damnest thing, and I had no words for it.
Maybe she's starting to see the light and be empathic to my pain. But, if that's what's happening, I'm just running out of steam and hope. Hope isn't necessary for me to stay the course, but motivation is beginning to lag.
Any advice?