Im 21 from india, currently about to give my final btech exam (ece) i got a job as a business development manager which i left due to poor management of the company now i have no job and I'm about to graduate, idk how can i survive, my family is constantly asking about jobs and stuff and idk what to do, not that i belong from a wealthy family but my parents have started a little construction company and I've helped them a lot in it, it will pay more than any job i could get and i always wanted to be a part of that but i guess my parents wants me to get a high paying job which is hard for me to get because of this market, im electronics guy who's forced to learn software because that's the only job which have some openings, idk how long will i last, last year i gave myself deadline until march this year and by god's grace i landed that business development job in January, now i have an amazon call centre job wfh which is paying equal to the amount that business development job was paying (i had to travel half of my country for it) but after confirmation they(amazon) haven't sent me any offer letter or something all i can do is wait and if i don't get anything by August (the date i selected to join) I'll just take my life, afterall i have nothing to hold on to, i have some serious illness(heart issues, hair fall) i suffer from diseases easily and bunch of family problems idk man life's not for me i guess i see many of my friends or people around my age living their life (some with no job) here I'm thinking about what will i get to eat tomorrow or how can i support my family ( not that they need it), anyways if i survive until September I'll let you guys know (the only way if i start working with Amazon) thanks for listening to my weird story lol cheers guys,

If I find the ROACH that stole my scooter near Philosophy hall today, imma GET them. The amount they will get got will leave nothing else to get gotten. All that was able to get got will be gotten by me.
Now for the rest of summer session I have to haul my voluptuous man-ass over the river, through the woods, and off the hills to Kroeber hall I go until I can ask Santa for another one. Like, thanks a lot bro thanks a FUCKING lot. Now I have to be a good boy for the rest of the god damn year, which means I can't eat crayons and floor gum anymore SO I DON'T GET ON THE FREAKING NAUGHTY LIST so Santa will give me another scooter. There isn't even a freaking mall or JC Pennys near here where I can sit on his lap and ask. I could have scootered to one in the next town, BUT THAT ISN'T AN OPTION ANYMORE. I'll have to write him a god damn letter and get it FEDEXed to the north pole. All this because you wanted my freaking $300 code lyoko scooter... I hope ur tummy starts hurting and it doesn't go away after you poop. I hope the next ibuprofen you take DOES NOTHING.

I just finished my junior year of college as a marketing major and got a last minute internship opportunity for the summer. Basically you apply for the program and are guaranteed an internship (which I need to graduate) and it matches you with a company within your career field (for me, marketing). It’s a part time, virtual internship for the summer and basically the company I matched with that offered me an interview is in a part of the marketing field that isn’t really aligned with my career goals or interests. Not that it’s a bad thing, but I’m worried about not having the experience needed for jobs or opportunities I want in the future. I’ll still probably have to do the internship with this company if the interview goes well, which is fine, but I’m just looking for advice or other experiences that people might have had in this similar situation or what I should do after this experience moving forward to get more aligned with my career goals if that makes sense.
Can give more details if necessary, thanks in advance.

A brief summary of my life over the last year and a half. Last year I moved into a new place and things, for the first time in a long time were looking up! The new place was beautiful and a decent step up from my last place, my new job was very comfortable, and my community was strong. I was able to be the person people could ask things of and not say no which is what i’ve always wanted.
Fast forward to November, I had just gotten back from my trip to Utah/Vegas for the first time. I felt great, little broke but hey when in Vegas no? but then i got sick and thought well no big deal I have yet to use sick days.
Within 2 days I had a fever of 102, within 3 I was laid off (Half my team was at the same time, completely blindsided, I was having conversations with the Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Marketing about a potential promotion and being the face of our team not a week prior)
I was crushed but still strong of mind. I had gone through a firing before and this wasn’t as bad as it was a lay off and my manager and director let me know they are more than happy to give a glowing recommendation. I tried my best to take it in stride, I still had a month and half of severance and was being paid out through the week. (Was making around 130K at the time and paying roughly $2000 a month total for bills) I knew i’d be comfortable for awhile with savings and severance so I took the rest of the week to get better and immediately started applying after.
Then four months passed, within the first (December) my roommate moved out so, Januarys rent and the choice to resign the lease (meaning the security deposit again) was on me. I decided to stay because at the time (I thought) surely i’d get back into work soon as I have good recommendations and a great resume for my 5 years (From entry level recruiter, to senior, to lead and project manager)
The second month coming to an end did start to worry me a little, At this point my severance was fully paid out and I wasn’t feeling super optimistic as my rent had increased and without a roommate it was now $2900 a month, so now my savings were taking quick hits over the month. Still i was optimistic, I doubled down and applied more and even started recruitment consulting for a friend in the middle of the month so I was making around $700 a week which was at least something while I looked for a more permanent job.
By the end of February, the third month, I was scared, thankfully i have a good support network so my friend did help out with rent but I felt so awful for NEEDING that, I felt so much guilt and started looking for work just for works sake. Towards the end of the month my friends company moved in a different direction for recruiting and he cut me off as it wasn’t working.
In March, things started getting really dark. I was pretty much unable to go out, my debt was starting to pile and things were getting hard just to eat. Still i woke up and tried being positive, cooking more, going to the gym more, filling in tons of applications, etc. I was roughly 300 applications in at this time though and it was for sure getting to me. I finally had a roommate moving in and it seemed almost divine as when they were originally told the price they couldn’t do it but something compelled me to reach out anyway to them and though it would cost me more, they seemed really cool so i was trying to stay positive moving forward and it felt like this was the first positive change. Needed help again with rent but at least this was my last month paying alone.
April came and went, My roommate moved in and it was awesome, we got along super well, sometimes too well I thought but i just wanted to keep it comfortable for them so I paid it no mind. I was given a job offer and had it rescinded as they offered it to someone who had everything done for the job faster than me. I was crushed and angry and It showed, my mental at this point was feeling like it was burning everyday. I started to feel like I was drowning, every night was a nightmare, but my roommate really helped with this. We were hanging everyday and I felt so much lighter around them, I didn’t notice and at every mention from friends I was very clear we were just roommates. Days went on and at this point I had started working for a family friend unloading items for a warehouse. I became their digital marketing manager as they needed someone to take over, Ebay, Youtube, etc.
May rolled around and at this point i had a second round interview for a good position and was trying my hardest with my new gig. My roommate and I had argued a few times and I was trying to figure out what was this new feeling I was starting to have for them. I felt compelled(again) to make sure they were having a good day and attributing to less really messed with me. The interview came and went and they choose someone else. I was crushed and just at this time my roommate had gotten a partner out of nowhere and I now knew what the feeling was and it hurt like hell. We had already talked and with everything swirling in my head I didn’t have an answer at the time and ended saying what I know now to not be true.
Too little too late seemed to be defining my life and my positive mental is gone. Certain Ideations are creeping in and it’s burning my mind even more. I feel like I can’t wrestle my thoughts to focus for more than 2 minutes. It’s now May 29th. It’s 12:30pm and I’ve had two mental breakdowns this week. If you read this far 1. I’m sorry there’s not a happy ending and

I don’t know if there’s a purpose for writing this, I just started and it all just came out on the page. I just needed to get it out to hopefully sleep tonight at a good time.
Idk what to do, i’m by far the lowest i’ve ever felt and I feel guilty about everything, i feel like every decision I make is the wrong one and i’ve tried my best to do everything with the purest and best intentions this whole time but i’m truly drowning. I’ve still been doing all the good things you’re supposed to but even with the gym, getting more spiritual and everything I feel so so empty. I miss the friend I was making but there’s no space for me in their life anymore and we’ve gone from hanging everyday to barely talking. With everything going on I’m finding it incredibly hard to keep going but I don’t want to give up…

I moved to Fedora (40) from Windows recently. Common issue, sure, GDM, login screen, wrong monitor, the usual. That was an easy fix thanks to the commands shared by other users all over the web.
But after I installed the nvidia drivers I was kinda forced to change to GNOME on Xorg, since Wayland somehow resulted in too much lag/delay between my keystrokes and the letters on the monitor.
But then, I realized that now any app that I open, they mostly default to my secondary monitor (on the left) even though the one on the right is the primary one. I tried switching cables (reluctanctly, because that made the motherboard screen appear on the other monitor), but after doing so and apropriately configuring the positions, I ended up with the same problem. Monitor on the left gets most of the apps when launched.
I also realized along the way there was this GUI for Nvidia I could open with nvidia-settings from the terminal. I tried to play around with that to no avail. But that's where I noticed the monitor on the left gets a starting position of 0 and there was no way to make the other monitor start on 0 (instead of +1920) and have the one on the left start in -1920.
But anyways, this all made me wonder if it could be the case that any apps default to a position between 0 and a max_width.
How would you go around to try and solve this?
Everything works fine if I invert the order of my monitors making my primary display (on the right) start at 0. But of course it's counterintuitive to move my cursor towards the right to reach the monitor on the left. Unless I could maybe get a sort of way to change displays no matter which border the mouse goes.
I'd appreciate any pointers to guides or material I could get my hands on about this. I honestly don't know what else to google.

Hello! I am posting this inquiry in both this subreddit and also TipOfMyTongue because I’m not sure which it applies to more. What I am looking for is a video I clearly and distinctly remember watching in the last five years or so of Conan O’Brien interviewing the main cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In the interview, Conan brings up the episode ‘The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6’ and marvels at the absurdity of Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney performing in black-face, saying something like “you can’t do that. You know you can’t do that, right?” while trying to suppress laughter. The piece that I remember so clearly is Charlie Day’s response: “Well Conan, we aren’t really doing black-face, we’re doing Danny-Glover-Face” and Glenn Howerton chimes in “yes and if we’re taking jobs away from anybody it’s only Danny Glover”.
My strongest suspicion is that this clip was on YouTube pre-2020, but was deleted simultaneously with the episode in question being taken off streaming services. I can’t find any trace of the full episode, so I guess all I’m looking for here is some definitive end in regards to if anybody remembers this and if someone has any footage of the interview.
Thanks everyone!

Hello! I am posting this inquiry in both this subreddit and also MandelaEffect because I’m not sure which it applies to more. What I am looking for is a video I clearly and distinctly remember watching in the last five years or so of Conan O’Brien interviewing the main cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In the interview, Conan brings up the episode ‘The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6’ and marvels at the absurdity of Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney performing in black-face, saying something like “you can’t do that. You know you can’t do that, right?” while trying to suppress laughter. The piece that I remember so clearly is Charlie Day’s response: “Well Conan, we aren’t really doing black-face, we’re doing Danny-Glover-Face” and Glenn Howerton chimes in “yes and if we’re taking jobs away from anybody it’s only Danny Glover”.
My strongest suspicion is that this clip was on YouTube pre-2020, but was deleted simultaneously with the episode in question being taken off streaming services. I can’t find any trace of the full episode, so I guess all I’m looking for here is some definitive end in regards to if anybody remembers this and if someone has any footage of the interview.
Thanks everyone!

I've commented a few times in a few posts about my family's experience going through the F-1 to H-1B to GC route to migrate to the US and I've received a lot of questions over the DM, many of which I thought were pretty basic. I thought it might be helpful to put this primer together so folks know the right questions to ask and approach their planning more strategically.
This post is going to be very candid. I've noticed that the questions I've received come from misconceptions about higher education, F-1 visa, and what comes after graduation. I want to give folks the right information, but also temper expectations and give a realistic portrait of what it means and takes to use the student pathway to legally and permanently reside in the US. It is not a stroll in the park, and I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea.

BACKGROUND

Two of my siblings plus myself are all here in the US via the student visa route. I received my green card in 2021 after being in the US for nearly 4 years. After receiving my Masters at a prestigious university, I was hired immediately by an organization willing to sponsor my H-1B, which they did so after two years of employment under STEM-OPT work authorization. My employer started putting together my I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, which is the start of the process for an employment-based green card) shortly after receiving approval of my H-1B. As the paperwork was being put together, my partner and I decided to get married and I switched from employment-based green card to marriage-based green card. The employment-based green card would have added around a 3 year wait if we went through with it, while my marriage-based green card was approved in less than a year.
Both my siblings are currently in the same pathway. One received their Bachelors last year, was hired before graduation and has recently received approval for her H-1B. Their employer has committed to sponsoring their employment-based green card next year. My other sibling received their MFA last year and is now in the process of getting their O-1, which is a different kind of work visa. Like me, they both came to the US with a student visa. We were all very strategic about the programs we chose and how we approached networking within our industries.
We also prepared for years. I knew I wanted to get my Masters and permanently reside in the US even before I finished college in Manila. My siblings also knew that early on. So as a family we planned for years, including preparing financially because we knew that we had a very slim chance of getting free rides for our planned degrees. Our early planning also helped with our professional decision-making, because we became very strategic about what kinds of jobs we took after graduation in Manila (except our youngest sibling, who did her Bachelors in the US, so her planning revolved around her academic career in high school). I would say from start (initial planning) to finish (with the last sibling also now on the way to permanent residency), it took about a decade.

GETTING STARTED

Is the student pathway the right pathway for you?
The first question you should ask yourself: can you afford the student pathway to permanent residency in the US? Higher education in the US is not cheap. Universities very rarely offer full scholarships to Masters programs, and those that do are incredibly competitive. So you cannot depend on scholarships to help you pay for your degree--doing so will likely end in disappointment.
(PhDs are usually free and includes a living stipend, but the application process for PhDs are on a whole other level. I will not cover it here but I can answer any questions related to applying for PhDs.)
Most Masters programs in the US are two-year programs, and the average cost of a Masters degree is around $60,000 per year (source). That's $120,000--almost Php7,000,000--in two years. That is a lot of money. That does not include your cost of living, which depending on the location can vary. I personally spent around $1000 on living expenses every month (housing was through the school, so the cost of that was included in my tuition statement)--and that is living frugally in a very high cost of living city. That's an additional $12,000 per year. Of course, you can lower than number by living with family if that option is available to you.
So on average, you would need around Php4,200,000 per year for your Masters degree. Again, a lot of money. It goes without saying that the student pathway is a very expensive pathway to permanent residency in the US. Can it also be a quicker pathway than, say, being sponsored by a sibling? It can be, but that depends on how long it will take for you to save up for tuition.
What if you can make those numbers work? What else should you know?
I need to put this upfront: the F-1 student visa is a non-immigrant visa. Meaning that it is a visa meant for people who will enter the US on a temporary basis. This is why the student visa has no direct pathway or benefit to permanent residency in the US. You need to change status inside the US to one with immigrant intent or double intent to be able to be on that pathway or receive that benefit. That's where visas like the H-1B visa comes in.
You also cannot work outside of your school on an F-1 visa. During the school year, you are allowed to work part-time on campus, and during the summer you are allowed to work full-time on campus. Work outside of the school is only allowed if it's part of your curriculum (i.e. your program has a class for "onsite internship") and you are allowed to be paid while that opportunity is going on. You can do this part-time, but most legitimate universities will have limited opportunities for this (i.e. under your program you're only allowed to take credit for onsite internships one or two semesters). However, your eligibility to work full-time after getting your degree will be affected if you do this full-time for one year. If you want to jump from F-1 to H-1B, this is not something you want to do.
Your ability to bring dependents to the US on a student visa is also limited. You can only bring your spouse and unmarried children under 21. Dependents of F-1 visa holders are not allowed to work in the US (although children under 21 can go to school full-time). This means your spouse cannot work while in the United States, and that includes working remotely for a company in the Philippines.

APPLYING TO PROGRAMS

The student visa still seems like my best option. What's next?
The next step starts with you. I've received a good number of DMs asking me "Is Master of ABC the right course for me?" or "Will a Master of DEF get me a green card?" These are not the right questions to ask because they're not going to get you any good answers. Yes, we know the ultimate goal for taking your Masters in the US to get permanent residency. But the true purpose of getting a Masters in the US is to make you highly marketable and competitive to US employers that will be willing to sponsor your work visa and petition you for your permanent residency.
So you need to view this degree as a way to level yourself up professionally. I absolutely do not suggest getting a Masters degree in something "you already know"--the objective is not to coast while spending Php4,200,000 a year--but to be so much better at what you're already doing. Here's an example.

Maria Clara graduated from Accounting at a good university in Manila and now has around 2 years of experience as a CPA at the finance and accounting department at a multinational corporation based in Makati. She wants to get her permanent residency to the US via the student pathway and has done a significant amount of research on possible Masters programs and career paths in accounting in the US. She started reading into forensic accounting and realized how interested she is in various aspects of this career path. After looking through universities and programs, she has put SUNY Albany's MS in Forensic Science at the top of her list for a variety of reasons. One, it meets the education requirements for certified public accountant licensure in the state of New York. Two, even without a scholarship of financial aid, the costs for international students is not exorbitant at $23,000/Php1,320,000 for the year-long program--with some frugal living and help from relatives in the US, she can save that amount in 3-4 years. Three, New York is the center of global commerce--all the biggest companies and their accounting firms are either headquartered or have large offices in New York City, so she has a wide swath of employment options. Now she just has to get her ducks in a row and make sure her Bachelors meets the requirements for application, as well as put together a shortlist of other programs she should apply and create a timeline for herself and the milestones that need to be hit to make this dream a reality.

Bottomline is, your starting point in this entire process is reflection and research. You need to reflect on your own professional experience and skills, as well as your interests. You need to figure out which pathway will give you that professional and technical boost and do your research on available programs at reputable universities, what the job market looks like for your target profession, which companies are known to hire in this space.
Of course, you should also take into consideration your limitations. For example, you can only go to school in San Diego because you can stay with relatives while you're studying. That means your research is location-limited to however far you think you can commute.
When this is properly done, it should lead you to a place where you have a shortlist of programs to apply to. Each program will have their own application and testing requirements, as well as their own deadlines, so make sure to keep track of that.
PRO TIP: while grades during college are an important part of your application, many graduate programs put a lot of weight on your personal statement and professional recommendation letters. This is why the first step on reflection is critical--it gives you a good direction from which to build your story, which you will need to convince admissions committees to accept you into their programs.

ACCEPTANCE

I got into one of my top programs and I have my finances in order! What happens now?
Now it's time to apply for your F-1 visa. Your university will provide you with the documentation you need from them (this is mainly the I-20 and your acceptance letter), but the bulk of the documentation you need to present to the visa officer will mostly come from you. Namely, because the F-1 is a non-immigrant visa, you need to show strong ties to the Philippines. This can take a variety of forms, and oftentimes your mileage may vary especially depending on the school you will be attending (i.e. there will be less scrutiny if you're going to Harvard as compared to a university that's not that known).
If you did not receive a scholarship with your acceptance, you also need to show that you are able to afford the first year of matriculation. So bank statements containing the total amount of tuition, as well as room and board, will be important (usually the I-20 that the university will issue you will include this amount).
At the interview, be polite and only answer the questions asked. Do not offer up information not asked by the visa officer. I suggest you have a ready answer if the visa officer asks you why this particular school and program, but you should have this answer already if you followed my advice about reflecting and researching before applying to programs :)
Visa is approved and on hand! What do I do while I wait to leave for the US?
Networking starts the moment you receive your passport with your F-1 visa. You absolutely cannot and should not waste a single minute of your active student visa, so this is the time you start telling people that you're going to be studying in the US. You need to work your current network and find peers and mentors who will be willing to connect you with colleagues they know who work in the US or have ties to the US in your professional field. Let's go back to Maria Clara as an example.

Finally, after years of hard work, Maria Clara has her desired acceptance into SUNY's MS in Forensic Accounting program, and her F-1 visa was approved by the embassy without any issues. After celebrating with her family, she lets her boss know about her visa approval, who has been one of her most ardent cheerleaders during this entire process. Her boss has also offered to introduce her to their counterparts in the US once she got her visa approved, which is really important to Maria Clara--she knows she needs to get ahead of networking professionally since her time in the US is limited. She has also reached out to other people she knows in the company that engage frequently with teams in the US. She's messaged her college professors as well, as she knows that a number of alumni from her college have migrated to the US. Her plan is to get connected with as many professionals in her field as possible, connect with them in person once she's in the US, and build a rapport with as many connections as possible so she can be guided accordingly and stand out when the time to apply for jobs comes.

Remember that unlike US citizens (USC) and legal permanent residents (LPR), your time in the US is limited and bound by the rules set by your visa. So you have to be creative and get ahead in some way. You need to be more prepared and more strategic than USCs and LPRs because you simply do not have the time to dilly dally. Yes, enjoy and savor in the moment of seeing the fruits of your labor, but the hard part begins now. You simply do not have time to waste.

DURING THE PROGRAM

I'm in the US now and working harder than ever! Is there anything more I can do to set myself apart from others?
Other than to make sure you have high grades and you're setting aside time to build professional relationships, it's time to think outside the box. Remember that you are limited by the rules of the F-1 visa, so experiences such as an off-campus summer internship is off limits to you. You will need to find ways to strengthen your resumé that doesn't include working off campus, and that could take many forms. One of the most effective recommendations I've received on this is to do an independent research during the summer--you could do it via a professor whose class you really liked, or if you've made inroads with some of the connections you've been building since getting your visa, have a professor oversee a research project you could do with those connections. (This is still academic work, and many programs will give credit for this, so it is not considered off-campus work under the eyes of USCIS.) You can use your research to really elevate your skills and experiences when applying for jobs.
It's also time to seriously start looking at potential employers. You can use the connections you've built to get a sense of what the professional landscape is for your field, learn about peoples' experiences at various companies and organizations, and get a feel for hiring processes. Remember, you don't have a lot of time to apply for jobs once you near the end of your program, so you have to be armed with the right information to guide your job hunting strategy. You will need to put yourself out there and be the best version of your professional self if you want employers to disregard that they will need to spend more money to hire you rather than a USC or LPR who doesn't need sponsorship.

LAST SEMESTER AND GRADUATION

I'm in my last semester of my program! Any tips?
The last semester is usually job hunting season, so make sure that resumé is polished and your network is activated. By now, if you've done the leg work, you will have a shortlist of potential employers and you will have made connections in most, if not all, of them. Time to check-in and ensure that they know you're interested in joining their company and you'd like their support and guidance in doing so. This is one of the harder parts of this journey, and you have to be relentless. Use all the resources at your disposal to ensure your resumé is seen by as many eyes as possible, and that includes speaking to your professors, especially your favorite ones, so they can also lend a hand.
More importantly: submit your work permit application (more commonly known as OPT) as early as possible to avoid delays and getting stuck in the USCIS backlog. You need this permit to be able to work after graduation for a limited time (one year for graduates of non-STEM programs, with an additional two years for graduates of STEM programs) without needing to immediately require H-1B sponsorship.
Getting employed by a company willing to sponsor you is not the end of the line. All for-profit companies are subject to the H-1B lottery, which means you will be competing with other internationals for the limited number of H-1B visas allotted every year. So even with an employer willing to sponsor, the H-1B visa is still not guaranteed. You can work around this by joining what is a called a cap-exempt organization instead, and USCIS classifies those as institutions of higher education, nonprofit entities related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, and governmental research organizations. That means more research, and more targeted strategic networking, given that your employer pool now is limited.

EPILOGUE

The student visa is not an easy or cheap pathway to permanent residency in the US. It is getting harder and harder to beat out USCs and LPRs for great jobs in companies that have the experience and resources to sponsor H-1Bs and GCs. You need to do your research every step of the way and prepare to do some really grueling work in order to be the better investment for these companies. Plus, there is the luck element of the H-1B lottery. But it's not impossible. It can and does happen--my family is a great example of it (we're 3 for 3 in this pathway now). Your preparation and willingness to go the extra mile is critical, and you have to be ready to grind for a while. Rest often only comes when the green card is approved.
For those still considering the student visa pathway to migrate to the US after reading this very long post--good luck, and may the force be with you.

Evening everyone, it's Greyson.
My job gets me out at 9pm and the only things that are open are some boba shops and some pho joints + mexican food. But I really crave is the quiet of a library or the chill atmosphere of a cafe where I can drink some hot tea and write letters/journal.
I live in Inglewood, but I'm willing to drive 10-20 minutes or so on occasion for this kind of experience. Any places you guys would suggest? (This doesn't have to be a business, but it could be like, an empty building or pier that has protection from the wind so I'm not cold)
Thank you Greyson

Hi everyone, I recently built an app that allows you to practice your interview with an AI. I won't link it here since I don't want to seem like I am trying to promote it.
Anyways, one of the requested feature is to have a sales role play type of interview. I am not a sales person so I don't have any experience in this. The best that I could do is google around and built something that I think can help with preparing for the sales role play interview.
I'm currently looking for anyone who are willing to trying it out and provide feedback (good or bad).
Thank You.

Whoops, messed up my title--should read FMC POV ONLY! Would love recommendations on contemporary romance (will also happily accept Women's Fiction) where the romance is ONLY told through the FMC eyes.--no alternating chapters with the MMC POV--we only know what FMC knows. Would like specific title recommendations (rather than just authors) please. Extra points for longing, seemingly unrequited love, grumpy sunshine or enemies to lovers. NO dark romance/MMCs.
Fluffly light romances are not my thing, the exceptions being Sally Thorne and Sarah Hogle below. I really really loved the angsty back and forth in Love Lettering and Happiness for Beginners.
Books like this I have loved:

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn (have read all titles)
Hating Game by Sally Thorne (have read all titles)
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center (have read all titles)
You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle (have read all titles)
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me (Sarra Manning)
ALL of Mhairi McFarlane
ALL of Marian Keyes

Any suggestions? Thank you!

Hi, Can someone please share the internet speed at gatlinburg library? Need for interview in middle of trip, thank you!!
If not gatlinburg library , any other suggestions to take an interview near smoky mountains ?

I really, really, really need to do a thing for this certification class I'm taking through my job, and I really, really, really don't want to, so I am doing any card thing I can find instead.
But a good thing is, there are cute cats hanging out with me, and I'm actually accomplishing a lot, which isn't... nothing? Even if they're not the 100% most right things?
Thanks today to these fun card pals, who filled my mailbox after the long weekend.
u/bridgewires (x3) - Well, wow! It was great to get so much mail love from you! I love the vintage Ronald McDonald card (and Grimace! Grimace is my fave!) for the Meta characters swap (and I loved hearing about your dad's way of standing up for your food choices). I also enjoyed getting your letter (and will write back about the things in there soon), and I especially enjoyed your awesome handmade mushroom hello!
u/brittybear94 - Wow! It was super-great to hear from you, and I'm honored you thought to send me one of your amazing magnets. That is going on my fridge today! It made my day.
u/KoreWrites - Thanks for the cool postcard of the Thayer Mansion - I'm glad you're enjoying your respite!
u/Reasonable_Ad1688 - Thank you so much for the great Lantern Press Washington map postcard! That one is perfect - not only did I not have it, I had never even SEEN it before!
u/SatanekoChan - Thank you so much for the great lemon clip card for the Meta Send a Card to a Friend challenge, and for the great washi and notepaper!
u/SweetyDarlingLulu (x6) - I got two separate mails from you today, and 6 cards total, and WOW! Thank you for the Orlando-themed Pride postcard, for the bevel-edged notecard and your updates, for the three amazing Big Hero Six postcards, and for the amazing glittery Pride dragon postcard! I'll write again soon.

For about 2 years I have done nothing. I have been unemployed and have had an income through government supports which i no longer have and have lost my house my cats and my girlfriend. In December I stopped taking my medications because I was sure they were causing my issues. It seems like all my issues sky rocketed once I took risperidone for a few months. I feel like I have no personality, no thoughts, no feelings, except rage and distress. My life feels like a constant state of being in agony in my mind. I read and read and read and all I come to find is that apathy is permanent and you can't get rid of it. If this is the case why should I keep on living. What life is this? I can't do anything because I don't know what to do or rather I think why do anything. If my existence as a human is lacking the part what makes it a human experience then why do I exist. My whole life ive been babied. Mother paying my bills when I cant and making appointments for me and what not.
Ive spent so much time on NPD or ASPD or schizoid or AvPD that I'm convinced I have some sort of cluster b personality disorder and all I can think of is why would I even try to live my life when I am nothing more than a walking pathology and don't really have a personality just a brain that works off IF statements like a line of code.
People get to experience life without having to second guess themselves all the time but that's the only thing I can do, to the point where i simply don't do anything because I'm not really doing anything I'm just acting.
I cold turkeryed lamotragine, sertraline and this other medications for sleep, I can't even remember what I was on and now I feel like I have brain damage. I can't think I can't enjoy anything I cant feel love for anyone, but I also wonder if I ever did. And it's debilitating, I constantly wonder If I ever was someone with a "soul" or if I have always been just a robot with a reactionary function to the world. If this person says this then say this back. Everything seems so fake and unreal and I honestly think I have a block in-between my brain and reality.
When I got evicted I moved into my friends parents place where he stays and now I'm stuck and can't stand it anymore. Was he even my friend though or just someone who also partied alot. I don't want to be around people I don't want to have to explain to these Christians that I can't just go to church and be cured and that my depression is a choice. For the past 2 years I've been stuck in some purgatory state and it doesn't make any sense how any living being could even feel this way. It's literally hell on earth.
I cant move out because I don't have an income and I can't get an income because in all honesty If I had a job I would quit after a week. 1 year ago I almost had a job and I did an interview and the first day of work on the way there I turned around went home and blocked all the phone numbers associated with it.
I cant get supports because by the time I'm half way through the process I realize nothing matters reality isn't real my thoughts are fake I'm a psychopath anyway so why would I bother. I applied in December and didn't follow up and just did it again. 2 weeks ago.
When I graduated in 2019 I was drinking every weekend and in 2021 started trying drugs with my best friend, we did mushrooms and acid a couple times and a few times molly on the weekends. I've been drinking since grade 9, not every weekend but any chance I could, every party, every family event and holiday. Around 2020 I became a pothead and I would smoke insane amounts of weed, some days I smoked 3.5 grams a day some days I smoked 7 grams a day but more or less from 2020 to 2023 I would smoke non stop with no breaks unless around peopoe who disaproved, waking up in the night to smoke ,sometimes twice. I also took shrooms every like 3 months for a year or so and would be able to say that I've done them 3 times a year atleast from 2020 to 2023. All while being on these meds that I have been convince are neurotoxic and designed to give you brain damage. Oh and I've tried cocaine 3 times in the last year aswell. Never did much of it tho.
So I've lost all hope in living a life that is human. I feel void of myself I don't know who I am, I constantly feel like I'm pretending and acting to be human and can't connect with anyone and they would never know I feel this way.
The past 2 years I have don't nothing but sit at home with my blinds closed and hope no one is going to knock on my door as I sit for I hours a day staring at my phone googling and resding reddit and coming to the conclusion that I have some sort of psychosis or skitzophrenia or paranoia. My friends will call and I'll watch it ring until it stops and won't reply to my family. Because whats the point in trying to be human when I am no longer a human thanks to the cognitive issues I have to face.
And there's no hope online. You have anhedonia? It's the same everywhere I look, people replying to other people's posts or articles with "same here been 20 years now." So what's the point. How am I to know if it's depression or ASPD or NPD or Permanent Apathy from being chronically staring at my phone since I was 14 and watching gore and porn since I was that age. There's no knowing, there's no certainty in my own cognition or personality, not that i have one anymore. It's like do I have this cluster b? Who knows because if I did I wouldn't let a therapist know because I'm scared I do so I don't touch on it. Everything is a loop and a pardox of mental illnesses. I should have never read anything and I could have just been like "yup I'm depressed" now I have to worry if I should even try.
I moved to this place I'm in in december and just threw all my belongings in a room and I walked over everything until a couple weeks ago I threw out thousands of dollars worth of stuff because it's in the way and I dont have my own place anymore so things don't have a designated place. Threw out my computer, my tv, my model cars and all the model building supplies I had, airbrushes compressors hundreds of paints and brushes and clamps and just so much shit because those are people things let alone the human aspect of putting them somewhere.
Now I have cloths and a phone so running away will be easier. But where to go? Food costs money, I'm just tired of not feeling like a human and realizing everything I owned was just part of the act anyway. I don't feel anything. I don't feel anything. I don't feel anything. I don't feel anything. It's all that goes through my head all day long even if I did I wouldn't know it because I'm too far gone and it would be second guessed. I've now hyperfocused on the fact that laying down and staring at my phone for 2 years straight has, if not amplified, solidified my brain damage beyond repair. Because I feel nothing all day I just stare at my phone. But I can't do that anymore because now I'm expected to be a human in this household that I no longer want to be in. I'm completely isolated and I prefer that but I don't but I do but I don't but I do. It's like I want to be able to have friends and connect with someone but that's impossible because I'm just some empty emotionless husk with pure apathy and so I don't know what to do anymore.
I could get back on meds but isn't that the cause of this. The chemical lobotomy at its finest, causing you to need more of itself.
I dont see any hope anywhere because I want to be someone who has emotions but I have none and I want to be someone who has a human experience but I am not one. What do I do? Suicide? No there's ways to cope. I don't want to cope. What the fuck? You think coping with hell on earth is better than dieing? Why would I cope when all I have then is to look around at the world going "oh look that person feels this, thats something I can't do" because that's all that goes in inside.
I just say what I think someone is expecting to hear and then I think we'll isn't that what everyone is doing? Their all saying the same shit anyway but then I think we'll no they say what they say because they feel a certain way. Something I can't do, feel. Because im a sociopath. Being out if this household could help I'm sure but that's not even fathomable. Even with supports at max I can't afford a ppace of my own. I'd have to rent a room with a stranger, but it's funny because even those who aren't strangers are strangers now.
I shower once a week because why would I shower that's a human thing. I am not human anymore. I am void of humanity.
23 and dead. Who would have thought.
No one understands any of this so I just say I'm depressed and they think i shoukd try therapy and meds. Whats that going to do? Give my sociopathic brain the ability to not be a sociopath? If only they knew what distress and pain I feel every second of every day.
Ontop of all that even I was able to come back to myself it's just constant ocd of where should I place this and when or what or where should I do and what's the most optimized way to do this or that and why is that there instead of here and how do I know if here or there is better.
So now I guess I'll go back on ssris, and go back to thinking I'm poisoning myself and then repeat this cycle until death.
I'm just gonna run away and start stealing to eat because nothing matters anyway

Hi everyone,
I'm a brand-new brokeinvestment adviser rep just starting out, and having gone through multiple exams and passing them all on the first try, I thought I'd give my 2 cents on how you can pass them, hopefully in a quicker time than me! I'll go through each test and my personal experience, then I'll explain the methods I actually used and how you can customize them to your needs.
SIE - I literally had zero experience in the securities industry when I started studying. I wasn't sure what to think after the first lesson, but I found it interesting! It took me a little over 2 months to prepare (I used Kaplan for all my tests). I studied for about 2.5 to 3 hours each day, and made sure to take plenty of notes. I found the real test was actually easier than the Final and Mastery Exams. Lots of questions of options, the primary/secondary markets, investment companies and the Acts; overall a good mix.
Series 6 - Immediately started prepping the day after passing the SIE; passed it about a month later. Suitability was the key point of emphasis; I memorized the suitability chart that they gave in the textbook and that helped a ton. Real test had a lot more scenario based questions asking you to pick the right type of investment for a customer. Tbh I was feeling a little nervous for this one since I had failed the second Mastery Exam, and this was three days before my test date. The key difference between this one and the SIE was that the latter had a broad amount of material, while the 6 asked you how products actually worked. I'd say this was the second hardest for me.
Series 63 - Again, started prepping the day after passing the 6. I'm being 100% honest here, it was almost pure memorization. I memorized the exempt transactions/securities, as well as the exemptions and exclusions for broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers, and investment adviser reps by writing them down over and over again (on my laptop to save trees lol). Also, knowing the legal terms was key, because this was a state law exam by NASAA (so don't confuse their rules with FINRA's). The Mastery Exams were a breeze, and the real test was definitely the easiest out of the bunch for me.
Series 26 - Here's where things start to get tougher. The info that I'd learned from the SIE and 6 (they're prerequisites for this one) came back to me, and I had to remember that it was important to look at it from a supervisor's POV, because a lot of questions were going to be based on this (i.e. "A rep commits X, what should the principal do to handle this situation?") The material itself was stuff that had already been drilled into me, but being a 110-question test, I had to time myself to keep pace on the practice tests. On the actual test, I was able to answer all the questions within 2 hours, and that gave me enough time to do a second-run through. Not too bad all in all; for me it was a tad bit easier than the SIE.
Series 65 - Oh boy. Let me tell you guys something that'll save you a ton of headaches later on: DO. NOT. TAKE. THIS. TEST. LIGHTLY. I just passed it last week, and if it hadn't been for the countless hours of studying I'd put in, I most likely would've failed. This literally had all of the material from the previous tests, including the entirety of the 63. On top of that, it also had federal laws that needed to be recognized from the state-level ones. The Kaplan course had 24 units to cover all the material, and a little over 4200 QBank questions. A huge mistake I made was not using all of them up. After taking the 2nd Mastery and all of the practice tests, I had answered around 3000 questions. After some debating on whether I should study some more or schedule, although I was still shaky in a few areas, I decided to go for it. The real test started out easy, and by questions 30-40, I was feeling like I might fail. But I stayed calm and focused on doing my best. I was super grateful for knowing those formulas, as a couple of questions didn't ask for calculations, but simply what they were. The ones that did ask to calculate tripped me up a bit, but I made my best picks/guesses. After answering all the questions with about 50 minutes left, I changed 2 answers; one because I didn't read the question properly and the other because I found another question that helped to answer. As you can imagine, this test was easily the toughest out of them all. I was more than thankful to see that "Pass" appear after clicking "Submit".
So there's my story! Sorry for the long paragraph on the 65; I actually cut out some more sentences to try and shorten it as much as possible. To cap everything off, I'll go through the main strategies I used, and how you can customize them to your will (Although I used Kaplan, they can probably work for other programs as well).
1) Do many practice tests. After each practice test, read the explanations throughly. Understand why you got the question right or wrong. The real test will almost certainly have different wording than the prep course you're using, so understanding the concept allows you to answer correctly regardless of how the question is asked. When I was using the QBank questions, I made sure to set the custom quiz to pull unused questions from the pool, so I didn't know what would appear next.
2) Make acronyms/phrases. They can be about absolutely anything (a movie, a life experience, etc). Anything that you can connect a group of bullet points or a concept to make it easier to remember is a good thing. For instance, I was having trouble with SEP IRAs, and it kept mentioning that only the employer contributes to this type of IRA. So to help me remember, I made the phrase "Solely Employer Puts In" (the first letter of each word makes SEP and I for IRA). Any silly way to hammer that point in means you won't forget come test time.
3) Record yourself saying concepts and phrases, and put it on loop. I started doing this a bit for the 26, and a LOT for the 65. Try to say what you want to say in a minute or less (absolute max of 1min30s). Once you put your recording on loop, you can listen to it over and over again, and this actually forces the info into your brain without you having to think or work too much. After listening to each recording however many times you like, try to write down what you heard. If you can't remember, just keep playing the recording until you've got it memorized.
4) Watch YouTube videos. Please be careful with this one, and make sure you use videos that are up to date (some videos were created years ago and thus pieces of info may not be current). Series7Guru with Dean and PassMasters with Suzy Rhoades are two excellent channels to look into. You never know, these videos may just help you snag an easy point or two on your real test ;)
If you're still here after getting through this humongous post, I wish you best of luck in not just your tests, but your future careers! Take care!

My work’s personality test said that I need to be more extroverted, assertive, and calm in stressful situations. More sure of myself and my answers. Sure, sounds great on paper! I can do that on the personality test. But this goes against everything I know and everything I am, it seems.
How can I actually seem more confident and assertive in my interview in a way that’s practical for my drowning ADHD brain? I’m unmedicated and I also have a brain condition that causes an extra issue with focus, especially during stressful situations like interviews. Thank you so much for any advice you can give for focusing on interviews and being more assertive!

Grand day! I'm a software engineering student with Thinkful/Chegg Skills. I have to complete an assignment that's an "informative interview". Bare with me, I just have a few questions & I would be extremely grateful to our community for some help.

How did you become a software engineer? What are your daily and weekly responsibilities as a software engineer? What are the best and worst parts of being a software engineer? What are the best and worst parts of working at (your current workplace)? What advice do you have for someone starting a career in web development? What do you wish that you had done differently when starting your career? Are there any resources that you recommend—books that I should read, blogs that I should follow, or meetups that I should attend?

I've had a hard time finding someone who is currently a software engineer and could help me with these questions/interview. I would be happy to send a gift card to your favorite coffee shop.
Thank you and warm regards,
Jennifer

Sometimes I feel like sending a thank you letter is the cherry on top of a good interview. Sometimes I feel like it makes me seem desperate to get to the next round of interviews or receive a job offer.
What do you all think about this, especially those who are in HR that are on the receiving end of the letters?

Thank you letter to dentist for the interview