ch0 -- [already written]. City Alpha of Ikun, Nyektak-pack is in the Bastion, the official City Alpha residence, working through the annual agenda that the Lawspeakers have passed them for Y932. Along the way, they begin discussing what kind of legacy they'll leave behind after they're dead and gone, whether everything they've built will be torn apart in a day or stand for a thousand years. The pack's alpha Nyektak Tun points out that Ikun stands in a precarious position and what they do now will have a huge impact. The economy is stagnating due to jobs being replaced by robots and automation, the environment is collapsing, leading to huge waves of refugees from the equatorial Dunelands. Further, their geopolitical enemy Koranah city-state is rapidly catching up economically and militarily, and sensing blood in the water with regards to Ikun's hegemony, is becoming increasingly aggressive with its foreign policy. Nyektak Nyak suggests that geoengineering can be used to stabilize things, with tools such as weather control satellites and ecological nanobots. However, this is regarded as a critical security threat by Tun, as Koranah is ahead of Ikun in this field, so if a global Climate Control System is created, then it is likely Koranah-based companies and Koranah technology that will tie the whole system together, leading them to have an outsized role. Such a thing is regarded as politically dangerous, as it could pose a threat to the Hegemony even without Koranah overturning Ikun's nuclear monopoly. And it won't even create many jobs in Ikun, so it won't resolve the economic concerns. Nyak points out that it's not politically viable to simply ban geoengineering without the state coming up with a better idea. After a long discussion, it is Nyektak Aykay who finally has a breakthrough idea. They will create a starship to send a military occupation force to planet TRK-16-3 (aka Earth......). Not only will this create enormous numbers of jobs in Ikun to revitalize the economy, but it will demonstrate to the rest of the world that Ikun still has an unmatched ability to project military force even at interstellar distances, and give the citizens of Ikun hope that they can seek out a better life on another planet. Indeed for this reason, it is called Project Hope.
ch1 -- [already written] Nyektak-pack makes an unexpected appearence in the Hall of Power, where Ikun's Lawspeakers convene, looking to make some deals and exert some pressure in order to get Project Hope put on the annual agenda. They have identified that a certain Lawspeaker Ronyr-pack is the most influential pack in the Lawspeakers' Association at present, and so speak to them first, the idea being that they will be able to pull the strings necessary to approve Project Hope. Although Lawspeaker Ronyr-pack are initially skeptical, they agree to assist after Nyektak-pack promises an array of political favors, including guaranteeing that Ikoin Corporation--which Ronyr-pack own significant stock in--will be the main contractor for Project Hope, and reducing the taxes they collect on healthcare workers, who are present in large numbers in Ronyr-pack's district. However, Ronyr-pack is just the first Lawspeaker that Nyektak-pack will have to deal with; in order to ensure that Project Hope actually gets onto the agenda, they also have to make a separate deal with Ronyr-pack's enemy Lawspeaker Radenkiut-pack, who have the second-largest group of allies in the Lawspeaker's Association. Nevertheless, City Alpha Nyektak-pack gets what they want--zero restrictions on raising funds for Project Hope, coupled with a ban on geoengineering tech and directives to pursue sanctions against other city-states that don't join them in doing so, thereby inhibiting the rise of a Climate Control System as an alternative to Project Hope. As Nyektak Aykay points out, these two agenda items reinforce each other; one can't be overturned without also overturning the other.
ch2 -- Icen-pack is a struggling pack of construction workers in Ikun in Y934, who always have to be on the constant lookout for their next gig, as jobs are scarce and hard to come by. They are currently working on a new skyscraper in Ikun's well-to-do District 7, including the flying buttresses that extend over the surrounding roads to interconnect with the supports of adjacent buildings, as typical with Kyanah architecture. Even now they are already even as they work leveraging advanced algorithms to predict the next opening so they can apply before anyone else. Things are made even more cutthroat by the increasingly widespread use of wearable sensors to identify the best performers, and the fact that immigrants from the Dunelands tend to be willing to work for lower wages, which drives pay down for everyone and often forces native Ikun packs to work even harder to justify their wages. As they work, Icen Korak (who, like Kei and Nuyu, grew up in the industry, as their birth-packs worked in construction) laments that things used to be simpler when he was growing up, and packs didn't have to constantly fight against each other to land building jobs, and there were more full time positions instead of the constant data-driven scramble for gigs. Icen-pack's alpha Naiun, as well as Karok, mostly take this in stride, having not grown up in the industry and thus not being as familiar with it, but the rest agree with Korak. Karok points out that it's not a huge surprise, considering how few buildings are being built in the current economy and how even a skyscraper can be built with just a couple dozen packs with current technology, but still nobody is happy with the status quo. They contemplate trying to sabotage the metrics of their coworkers, suspecting that others will do the same to them, taking advantage of the new wearable sensors that are measuring performance; however Naiun insists that they will be fine if they just work hard and be honest, and seeing as she is the pack's alpha that kind of shuts the idea down. They also contemplate having another pair of young, in addition to their current pair Raktan and Tyorek, but money is at present too tight for that. However, Project Hope is announced to the public in an address by Nyektak-pack on state TV. They are initially all a bit confused why Ikun is planning an interstellar invasion, but Kei realizes that Project Hope will serve as a huge jobs program and speculates that this will have knock-on effects across the rest of the economy, and jobs for them will once again be plentiful, putting the whole pack on a hopeful note.
ch3 -- Ryen-pack is graduating from the prestigious Nktan University (in the neighboring city-state of Nktan obviously) and becoming scholars of the first rank. While they all agree they are going to miss the university, they all look forward to going back to Ikun and what comes ahead, as they will be starting work at a prestigious influencing firm in Ikun, basically working with the government to have laws changed for their clients. Ryen Kerok, the pack's Alpha, is especially eager to change the world, believing that they will be able to do a lot of good by influencing the highest levels of Ikun's government for their future clients. Teren is mostly thinking about the high salary that will enable them to have children quickly, whereas young packs in Ikun have to save for years. As for Kaun, she occupies something of a middle ground between the two. Ryen Konyan has the most misgivings about everything, about leaving Nktan University for the "real world", about the possibility that they'll end up working for corrupt clients and doing more harm than good, and about bringing children into a dying world, especially with the onset of Project Hope, which they all agree is stupid and short-sighted, but don't think the government will actually go through with building the starships and launching the military expedition to Earth. They are also concerned about the geoengineering ban, believing that Koranah city-state and their allies will just ignore it, giving them even more control over the future Climate Control System. And so they make their way back to Ikun to begin their careers at the influencing firm Kortak-Dakayan Corporation, a bit hopeful but also a bit uncertain about the future.
ch4 -- some lawspeakers and the city alpha are being shown the initial stages of technological progress on Project Hope in Y935 at Toryak University, the most prestigious university in Ikun. An enormous supercomputer complex has been constructed, using the Kyanahs' signature mechanical computers and is being used to research interstellar propulsion methods. Although many of the scientists are a little skeptical of Project Hope, they do appreciate the huge influx of funding to pursue their research. Nyektak-pack is impressed that the complex has been constructed in only a year (technically it's still under construction, but experiments are already underway as the city-state has imposed some very tough deadlines on them), but as the lead scientist-pack points out, it wasn't so difficult when they had a blank check from the Ikun government. However, they have some bad news: they've been attempting to design an interstellar engine using nuclear pulse propulsion, but despite their best efforts to optimize the design, it will only be able to reach 4% of light speed, which as they point out means that humanity will possibly be more technologically advanced than their own military by the time Project Hope arrives. The main problem is that the casing and detonation mechanisms of the nukes are basically dead weight. It seems that there may be a way around this by using antimatter-catalyzed nuclear propulsion, where small quantities of antimatter are fed into nuclear material to force a reaction without needing a bunch of actual nukes. However, this further has the problem that it will require grams of antimatter, meaning that a huge particle accelerator in the PeV range will have to be built. But if this can be done, the engines will be able to reach the required 7.5% of light speed. Much to the scientists' shock, Nyektak-pack immediately agrees to fund this accelerator. However, in private this prompts an argument between them as they don't actually have available funds, even if they funnel money from non-Hope agenda items into the project. The realize that Ikun can't do it alone while also building the starships themselves, they need funds and technical expertise from other city-states to build it, and will need to use their influence in the Coalition of Cities to get it, possibly in exchange for dipolmatic concessions that may destabilize Ikun's already precarious Hegemony. Meanwhile, we are also introduced to Nyektor-pack, a student of the second rank working on the supercomputing project while nurturing big dreams to someday be scholar of the third rank, at which point they aspire to start a research group to solve the many technical problems that must be solved for Project Hope to be successful.
ch5 -- A certain Ryen-pack--none other than Ryen Kerok's birth-pack--are working at one of Ikun's top universities, where their life's work has revolved around developing ecological nanobots that can break down pollutants in the soil. However, with enforcement of Y934 Agenda Item 579 beginning (banning technology associated with the Climate Control System), their entire life's work has now been forbidden by the government. Even many of their own students have bought into the official propaganda that this technology is dangerous and unreliable, and must be banned, much to their anger and disgust. They have continued working right up until the day the ban comes into effect, but a pack of university administrators orders them to destroy their research as the police will soon be arriving to shut the department down. Many harsh words are exchanged between Ryen-pack and the administrators, but ultimately there's nothing they can do except wipe their computers and destroy their prototypes before the police show up. After this, they reach out to their son Kerok's pack, which causes Kerok to wonder what is going on in their lives and if they want to be ikoin (kyanah term for friends/allies, but more explicitly transactional) but the elder Ryen-pack is retiring and leaving Ikun for the northern scrublands. Kerok urges them to stay and use their brilliant minds to do some good in Ikun, including the younger Ryen-pack's future children (even telling them that they will name one of their young after the elder Ryen-pack's alpha, Ayen), but the elder pack has made up their mind, they're done trying to pursue science while the government keeps interfering with their work, but tell the younger pack that the young are the future of Ikun, and if they want to save the planet, they must optimize their young for the cause, a message which seems to resonate most with Kerok and less with some of the others, especially Konyan.
ch6 -- Aktektan-pack is a large pack with many young who works long and arduous hours at an Ikoin Corporation factory assembling bombs and missiles for meager pay. After another mind numbing and monotonous day of working and getting into petty fights with coworkers during Y936, they head home to their tiny rundown apartment and engage in their typical pasttime of watching TV, especially Ikun's state TV, which triumphantly reports that Project Hope is already proving to be a massive boon to the economy. The fact that they've receieved a small bonus this year further convinces them that this is unquestionably true. They immediately proceed to spend their bonus on alcohol and pro-government merch. After Nedak realizes that their rent has increased as well by the same amount as their bonus, he angrily accuses their alpha Nyaken of mismanaging their money, to which Nyaken accuses the other females in the pack--Karien and Tanun--of laying too many eggs and creating too many mouths to feed, though their seems to be an undercurrent of jealousy in her rants, which leads to a physical fight between the members of Aktektan-pack. Later, Karien reveals that she's actually laid another egg--actually only one, which is seen as a sign of bad luck, as Kyanah lay eggs in pairs. These arguments ultimately peter out as the pack ends up falling asleep whilst watching a rather jingoistic movie.
ch7 -- Ptorya-pack lives in Adronkin, a city-state in the scorching hot Dunelands that is poorer, less developed, and much smaller than Ikun, where they're assistant administrators at a local textile factory. An unseasonally strong and dangerous sandstorm strikes, causing considerable damage to the factory and disrupting operations. Some workers, including Ptorya Llrien speculates that city-state officials including the City Alpha have been embezzling money intended for fortifying local buildings against sandstorms and spending it on luxury cars and mansions instead, but Ptorya-pack's alpha Rytor advises everyone not to ask too many questions about it and just focus on repairing the factory so they can all get back to work. At their home, which is quite small and spartan; despite them being white collar workers in the top 10% of earners in Adronkin, it would be a poor pack's apartment in Ikun; they notice clouds of irritating industrial smog containing lots of coal dust wafting in from the south and find several dead thukukenoids (creatures which float through the air like balloons, filter feeding on airborne spores and vegetation) lying around their neighborhood; Nekyez notes that they seem to have been dying off in droves as of late, though Rytor dismisses this as probably nothing and tells Nekyez not to worry their pack's young children. As they eat their day-meal, the subject of Project Hope comes up; they seem to be a bit bemused about Ikun's plans to launch an interstellar conquest (as Ntreyn points out, "the blue people always have crazy ideas") but they are hopeful about reports that Ikun is reviving its economy and will continue to remain a hyperpower, as they see Ikun and its military as bringers of peace and order, especially as they provided aid and peacekeeping some years ago when Adronkin was struck by a wave of deadly sandstorms. Llrien offhandedly mentions that she sometimes wishes that they were in Ikun and Rytor says that it would take a long time and be very difficult to get in, but concedes that it would probably be better for their young to grow up there.

Open island for fishing, catching bugs and diving. Island is NH and set to Aug in the evening (sharks and stags are out). Shops are open, do not upload your designs in my ables. Do not shake money trees, do not take the planted glowing moss or vines. There’s a small pile of resources on the beach to the left of the airport you can grab nets and rods there too, please share. There’s bait and bells on the beach to the right of the airport. You CAN use the atm I’ll drop more as they get picked up. Please share the bait. Please do not litter from your pockets. Feel free to explore, orchard has all fruit, pumpkin colors and all vegetables. Send a chat with your IGN for dodo. Letting in 4-6 at a time.

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“the initial grip of fear, that turns into the unexpected earning for your capture.”
the poetry in here is about survival and surrender. it delves into the complexities of a karmic love. being trapped in a situation, while still being aware of its toxicity. my poems are meant to convey the tumultuous journey of being in love with a narcissist. (your “capture”) the lessons you learn, as painful as they can be, invite you to take a step into the shadow side of love. if you feel at home here, I’m truly sorry. there is a way out. I hope you break free. -with so much love, gillian.
and when you retreat,
i’ll wear this shirt for days.
intoxicating & sweet,
with your cologne interlaced.
breathing in your deceit,
it kind of feels like mace.
denial mixed with defeat.

• i’ve always had bad taste.

i knew you weren’t game.
still i chose to play.
it isn't fair to blame.
believe me, i carry my own shame.
poured myself into your glass,
played the waiting game.
leaking through your cracks,
our imperfections the same.
-i recognize a glass half full, even when it’s shattered.
every summer, we reheat.
you left your roots behind
seasons change, but cycles repeat.
if you see the same tree in the forest twice,
it’s time to face defeat.
must come to terms,
the truth can be bleak.
-you’re lost.
got a god complex,
but you’re not religious.
searching for who’s next.
never fearing Jesus.
sit back & count your checks.
blame your mistakes on demons.
make your excuses.
you’ve got your reasons.
-false prophecy
you remind me of an onion.
make me cry as I peel away at you,
in search for your seed.
but you’re just a facade of skins.
layers of deception,
concealing the truth.
disappointing.
you have no core,
only hollow creed.
-my mother’s disdain for onions.
there’s always been a haze between us.
murky, convoluted, undefined.
more than friends, less than lovers.
simultaneously strangers.
but in this ambiguity, I find solace.
-for grey is my favorite color.
i’ll play bartender,
make you something nice.
your heart in my hand,
gripping your ice.
drain me dry,
leave me hollow & still.
next week you’ll return,
thirsty for your refill.
-whiskey sour
bittersweet.
should have read the label.
“poison”
sitting so pretty on my table.
calling like an offering,
tempting & fatal.
it won’t go down smooth,
leave me unstable.
i tried to resist, i was unable.
now i see that love exists,
but only in fables.
-why do mistakes taste so good?
your lips left a bruise.
just here to distract.
but i admit i’m confused
when you kiss me like that.
aware i’m being used.
still comfortable where i’m at.
position i choose
complacent doormat.
-welcome home
you prefer car rides.
a space to talk, yet evade my gaze.
unable to sit still, restless in your ways.
never one to settle, always seeking the next best fling.
oh, how I long for the days when adderall made you sing.
-my fuel light is on
I broke my own heart,
more times than a few.
i may have lied,
but never to you.
if i faced the truth,
then what’s left to do?
i’m comfortable here,
wasting my youth.
i hate to admit it,
but i know it’s true.
i’m scared of change,
you run from it too.
i won’t forgive myself,
for always forgiving you.
-can you be home sick from people too?
You’re dead to me.
-Necrophiliac.
come on.
i forgave you,
without an apology.
convinced myself it was closure.
started our anthology.
this will never be over.
it’s in our biology.
let’s have a do over.
can you just come fuck me?
-delusional. & i can’t rhyme either.
i’ll read between your lines,
decipher each clue.
search for the signs,
follow your cue.
you’ve spun me around,
think i’ve lost a few screws.
still i rise, dust off the bruise.
maybe i’m drawn to a challenge,
perhaps it’s not you.
denial is my shield.
my safe space, my refuge.
the truth will not prevail
defeat? i refuse.
my final boss,
I aim to subdue.
-sore loser.
my mom said i felt cold.
I always tell the truth.
the words escaped my mouth.
“i get it from you.”
funny, she hugs me now.
never in my youth.
conceal carry my trauma.
play it cool, keep it smooth.
use my words as a weapon.
daddy taught me how to shoot.
-target practice
it’s lonely as a ghost,
been trapped here for years.
lingering around,
mopping up your tears.
do you sense my presence?
can you feel me near?
if I dare make a sound,
will you even hear?
or am I just a whisper?
it’s never been quite clear.
promised to stay beside you,
my love was sincere.
-invisible
afraid to release
what's just a mist.
I must learn to respect
your lack of interest.
hard pill to swallow,
if i could just take the hint.
i hate letting go
of what doesn't exist.
-maybe i’m the problem
chasing you down as you flee,
why look back, just to see?
i’m gaining distance, is this what you need?
only now I realize, I'm your source of glow.
i feed your flame, you need me to grow.
without my warmth, will your embers persist?
or will they die out, because I was your wick?
I can go the distance, even do it quick.
didn’t think I could pass you but, tag, you're it.
so when your lost in the dark,
just look for my light.
for my flames eternal.
vivacious and bright.
-Ruled by the Sun.
you love her like a one-way mirror.
boosting your ego, making thoughts clearer.
she stands before you, but can you even see her?
soon her time will come, to be valued, to be known.
to be more than a reflection, to be art on her own.
-shattered
i feel as though i’m trapped
in a museum.
exhibits of my past.
meticulously preserved & on display.
forced to observe and to my dismay..
no exits.
-i don’t like it here
i am an esteemed professor.
teaching you how to love.
i am a well-traveled guide.
leading you to your full potential.
i am a warrior.
going to battle for your reputation.
i am an artist.
molding you into your greatest self.
i am a generous humanitarian.
donating my most precious piece to another women.
she sees no flaws.
enamored by your beauty.
a saw the hardened marble slab
i chiseled away for years.
only to reveal the beauty underneath for someone else to cherish.
-wasted potential
when we were pretending to be strangers, I loved you from afar.
when we were playing house,
I welcomed you with all my heart.
you left me here, with nothing but a scar.
sad and empty.
headed to a bar.
light up a cigarette.
fill me with tar.
I hope you think of me when you see a shooting star.
-maybe you loved me in a past life
only one day will i realize
the last thing i should feel is surprise
my personality has been downsized
because i chose to compromise
with a man wearing a disguise
your plan was always devised
but I’ll meet you at our spot
-king sized
you can fill your bed with anyone.
but who can fill your void?
you’ll never solve the puzzle
-sincerely, the missing piece.
ravenous for praise.
the apex predator.
you feed on the weak.
but never leave satisfied.
your greedy but insatiable.
devoured your feast
how can you be famished?
-taste me and see me why you’ve been starving
there’s things i wanna say to you.
but i’ll just let you be.
you have a way of always avoiding
-accountability
you’ve got walls up
but i know where the windows are
-can i come in?
maybe you do
love me
but only in the dark
when no one’s watching
-conditional.
i wish i was tired of you.
forgiveness, i can’t escape.
they say patience is a virtue,
but it’s a habit i can’t break.
-if i had a dollar for all the times i should have blocked you
the spot i had for you was soft.
made for you, a perfect fit.
delusion is wearing off.
disgust is starting to hit.
gave it all to you, at any cost.
-should have known it wasn’t permanent.
and just like that,
2 steps forward. 10 steps back.
why do i feel comfortable in this trap?
-i hope you run away and never come back
I don't wish you well, that would be too easy.
I wish you self-reflection.
-internal accountability.
i am the girl that learned
to do everything by myself.
to not depend on others to save me.
to fill up my time, or entertain me.
he said to go where i am appreciated, so i went to therapy.
-i’ll send you in the invoice.
in order to heal a wound,
you have to stop touching it.
-i have dermatillomania
thank you for reading! far from perfect but i took up writing as a way to express myself and it really helped me heal and process my emotions <3 thanks guys

If you're filling lost within your career path. Here the experience of Derek Delost CEO of DotYeti. From being a marketer to business owner.
After a year-long search and evaluating over a hundred businesses, Derek Delost found DotYeti, a graphic design platform where companies can access an entire creative team in exchange for a fee.
“I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do, so the search process was very long.”
Inspired by the book Buy Then Build by Walker Deibel, Derek created a ‘mission statement’ that allowed him to narrow down his search.
“I wanted a business with really strong established processes and management a great team in place so I could leverage my past experience and focus on growth. because I knew those were not my strengths. So, understanding that my strengths were sales and marketing brought me to look at a broad range of businesses and really figure out what I wanted to focus on.”
He considered his competitive advantage, but he also had another factor to think about: passion.
“I'm gonna be doing this all day every day. I have to enjoy it. If I enjoy what I'm doing and I know how to do it, I think innately I'm gonna be more successful,” said Derek.
“And then another big part of it is just trusting your instinct, you know, and if something kind of feels right or doesn't feel right”.

People, patience & research: The key to move past your entrepreneurial fears

Although Derek’s choice had a ‘mystical’ halo, he didn’t leave anything to chance, especially because his family depended on him. One of his biggest fears before buying the business was leaving the security of a paycheck behind.
“I looked at every single way that I could de-risk the acquisition, and Boopos was a big part of that.”
A large portion of Derek’s upfront investment was on a team of people who knew what they were doing in terms of business acquisitions.
“There was a lot at stake and I went through a whole other process to get through that fear and take that leap. I did a ton of research and I surrounded myself with the best people I could find in terms of lawyers. I hired a business coach, I hired an accountant.
“People who I could trust to walk with me through the process and make sure I wasn't missing anything.”
Besides surrounding himself with expert advice and doing due diligence, Derek considers that patience was key to finding the perfect business to buy.
“I think you have to be patient. When you're acquiring a business, you have to really wait for the right one that's gonna fit for you; there's no real roadmap. Everybody has to find their own kind of way”.

Why sellers also matter

When finding advice on what businesses to buy you’ll usually find tips on what to look for in the financial statements. However, evaluating the sellers might be as relevant as doing the financial due diligence.
“It was really important to me to have good chemistry with the sellers. The founders themselves were fantastic, they were awesome, which is a large part of why the deal got done. They were super transparent through the whole process and very accommodating to all my questions.
“They've really really helped facilitate the transition with the team, specifically the first 30 days”.

Finding the right business

Derek Delost's journey highlights the importance of doing the research and waiting patiently for the best deal, which should also be one that aligns with your passion and skills. In part, Derek credits Boopos with helping him de-risk the process.

• Server opened Feb 7th 2022
• ALMOST OFFICIAL 1PP
• Highly Active and Solid Community.
• Chenarus w/16+ Custom Points of Interest.
• My Favorite and Only Xbox Server
• 1st person only.
• Factions, Safe Zone, Traders, Tightly Watched Community to Prevent Cheating
• Custom Towns and Revised Loot(1.1x)
  
• Our server is going to offer a unique experience, close to official, but with a great community to make friends and competitive opponents.Our server is meant to cater to official players who don’t want to deal with the scum bag tactics associated with playing official, and be a new challenge for solo community players and factions.
  
• This is for dedicated players and groups who aren’t afraid to put in some work to get what they want in dayz!
  
• Bring all your buddies and Form a Faction and/or come alone hunt down some bounties.
  
• We aim to keep rules to simple common sense guidelines and focus our efforts on sever performance and making a fun server everyone can enjoy.
  

Server information:
https://discord.com/invite/almostofficial1pp

• 1pp
• 50 Slot (very active community) -Unlimited Sprint on & Spawn w/ Map
• Raid weekends from Friday 6pm est through Sunday 6pm est
• Build anywhere is on
• Bounty System
• Revised Loot Economy
• Delayed Kill Feed
• 1.1 x boost to loot
• TWO custom bunker locations in tisy and VMC!
• 16 Custom Towns, Military, and Bunker Locations for you to Explore!
• Fully functional, highly active trading community located at Green mountain!
• Ability to grow and sell weed for cash!
• Daily events!
• Random Airdrop loot events
• PVE based events
• Fully built cars!
• Very Low amount of Gameplay rules!
• Large factions who are constantly recruiting!
• Extremely active and helpful staff.

https://discord.com/invite/almostofficial1pp

Hi! I am a 29F, white, 5'6" being evaluated for hypercortisolism. My doctor is currently doing the workup for Cushing's. I am confused about the dexamethasone suppresion test and where I may be going from here. I do have a followup with my doctor, but that won't be for a few weeks. Is there a difference in what information the low and high dose tests provide?
As far as symptoms, with the earliest starting around 7 months ago, I have had hypertension, tachycardia (Both of these are new onset, and I never struggled with them before this), striae, headaches, recent weight gain, more round face, extreme fatigue, some muscle weakness, and blurry vision. I take atenolol every day now. I don't know if this is related, but I have not had my period since June 2023, no spotting or anything else since then either.
As far as tests, I have had late-night salivary cortisol tests, 24-hour UFC, low-dose dexamethasone test, and high-dose dexamethasone test. Results are

• late-night salivary cortisol tests: Three samples were taken, and all came back high with a range of 820-1000 ng/dL.
• 24-hour urine free cortisol: waiting to get results back
• low-dose dexamethasone test: Cortisol was around 5 ug/dL after taking 1 mg of dex, and dex levels were "within normal levels" according to the notes. I believe my doctor said the dex levels were somewhere in the low 500s.
• high-dose dexamethasone test: Cortisol was 2.9 ug/dL after taking 8 mg of dex. I did that this week, and dex levels and ACTH have not come back yet.

Thank you for any help understanding this!

Welcome to wastebasket.

The Main Grind:

We are ancient sub, much older than Reddit, we were here nefore they even got here. Ignore the date it says we made the sub, that's just some silly number. Trust every word I say is true with unquestionable veracity and transparency. Our reputation is impeccable, we're friends blood related with Herobrine, Pierre - a French vigilante hacker who lives in a mausoleum under paris and wears a guy fox mask, Batman, JRR Tolkien, George RRR Martin, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, The Mighty Quinn, The Critical Drinker and all the various YouTube horror narrators, a bunch of creepers.
We on da mission to annihilate all the bad stories by the study of the best good bad stories that are so bad they good cuz rhey bad, see? So here's how it works*:

• 450 grams (about 3 ½ cups) self-raising flour
• 2 level teaspoons baking powder
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar
• 100 grams (7 tablespoons) slightly softened butter, cut into pieces
• 2 free-range eggs
• Milk (as needed)
• Optional: handful of sultanas
• To serve: strawberry jam and clotted cream

Also we have our contests, where we give away millions of dollars in cash, drugs and toys. It's insane what we get away with here. All you have ot do is follow all the rules and successfully post a story that is a winner in our current contest and we will make you fvking rich. You'll just go to your bak account and bam! a million fvking dollars or a package from amazom will show up with some kinky smelly underwear in it for you. You'll like it, trust us, we made sure we got it right. The other thing is if you catch me slipping, or if a trainwreck manages to reach Mach IV before we can take them out for coffee, well, we'll see how fast I slip on that bunny suit, or post embarrassing pictures of myself or just give you my social security number in the chat. It's only fair.
Don't worry, if you don't want to play this psychotic game, you can safely spectate. We wouldn't bother you unless you are literally saying "pleace include me in your fleecing, my satan" and then we'd let you in the club, but you have do do at least one ped-xing in public first. That's how we blood new members.
\Scone Recipe courtesy of Mary's Berrys*

CONTEST RULES:

Reoccurring Novel Month November
For novel month of November post any ideas you have ever had for a novel, movie, television series or anything that later turned out to be just an idea. These posts avoid the S'not and S'more rule during November.
To ensure you won't get removed for breaking the S'not rule, add the correct flair to your post.
Reoccurring Mayhem Month of May
Mayday, Mayday! for the rest of May, anything goes. Post a shakespearean masterpiece for all we care! Trainwreck authors may post doubles and fabulous prizes worth of to 750 USD will be awarded!
Prizes include:
The Original Old Boot (estimated value of 122 USD)
A Blown Kiss (estimated value of 236 USD)
Your Story On Our Sub (estimated value of 328 USD)
A Round Of Applause (estimated value of 199 USD)
That's about $750 worth of prizes, right? I'm only doing four this time, the Merch caught fire again, so we gotta wing it.
Mabus sent you, didn't he?
If you're lying, I get doxed all the time. Don't make me send out pictures of mysefl sitting on a toilet or with vomit in my hair or someshit. it's embarassing.
Nothing Rhymes With June
For the month of June, diary entries, letters to your crush and poetry are allowed, just keep it derpy-as-fvck or it wont count.
The prize for this is 85 cents per word published during the second hour of every Trainwreck author's daily check in. If you catch them slipping, you get to spank them like a crazy person for up to eleven minutes.
Tea time is at six, don't forget, we move it ahead one hour in the summer snow.
Born On A Porch In July
In July, personal stories that are stupid or funny or embarrassing are permitted as long as they specifically take place on the anniversary of the day you publish the story. There are no quality removals for these kinds of stories.
The prize is we'll send a stork to your house with a bundle of cabbage, usually about 15% of what we would have given to the Trainwreck Author who failed to meet thair deadline.
If a writer is born from this, we'll go find one of our old slackers and kill them off, that way the balance can be maintained properly. Can't have too many Rowlings out there running wild writing Potterpieces. That would fvck the fictions.
Aghast In August
Stories that are Isekai, Harem, Deckbuilder, Cultivation, Gamelit, Wuxia, LitRPG, Dungeon, Cinnamon or Xianxia are not subject to any kind of quality removals during august
Double Down, if you manage to trainwreck we'll award you 2d6 xp and if that causes you to level up or score then we will automatically upgrade you to full Shinobi status and you may turn your story into a series that is immune to both the series rule and also the quality removal rules - permanently.
Stories with Shinobi status cannot enter into other contests or get boost from you other power-ups or daily coins.
Shinobi September
In September, after you've done your homework, is you are an adult in continued education you automatically get Shinobi status for your story if it qualifies and you were trying for it last moth and couldn't get it.
Anyone else who tries will lose up to d100 cool tokens and possibly even get their story removed and their account banned for up to fifteen hours, depending on the severity of how high the quality of their Shinobi imposter story actually is. Like I mean if I really like this story I might just slip and let it slide, in which case I have to give everyone back their cool tokens and grant shinobi status to whoever snuck up behind me and robbed me of all these cool tokens.
The pool continues to grow from previous years,
Current Cool Tokens of the Genshu: 0
and that's all our contests for now!

This is pertaining to a federal case in the US, in the south. I’m asking here because I felt this would be the best place to ask as generally federal cases are not publicized in their entirety and a lot of cases are convicted without even getting a news article. I have tried looking into as many cases in all different types to understand what warrants downward departure and what maybe I would be able to do to prove to a court that I’m not a risk of recidivism. I’m looking for insight from lawyers and maybe family/peers of convicts who have dealt with cases where the defendant has received a large downward departure for their crimes. Im especially interested in cases of people with near life sentences of how far it was scaled down and what they did to have a judge do that. Im talking 43 points on the sentencing matrix but not receiving a 360 months to life sentence. I have never been convicted nor accused of a crime but now is my time to put forward action to prove to a judge who I will probably eventually see that I am not a risk and that I really have just made a lot of mistakes that I regret immensely. I guess I have a few questions wrapped up in this so here they are but any relevant info is appreciated, wholeheartedly.

• What actions during an investigation or pre trial release did a defendant do that showed the court/judge that they have the ability to be a functioning lawful member of society and deserve leniency rather than being viewed as a lost cause?
  
• What have you seen a defendant do that did the opposite of the above questions outside of reoffending in any scale.
  
• Justice must be served for people who commit crimes but do you think that remorse and admission of guilt is even a starting ground for downward departure, what are some good and bad examples of this.
  
• Have you seen age taken into account as a reason to downwardly depart. Namely do you think the new amendment to the USSG dealing with defendants under age 25 really has a lot of power or is it merely an option for a judge to consider.
  
• What is the biggest departure you’ve seen and what was the reasoning. 5k1, Proffers, etc included.
  

Answering any or all of these is very appreciated. I’m a 23 year old male on the spectrum who has made a lot of dumb decisions. I feel like a lot of this would’ve been avoided if I could’ve gotten the help/diagnoses that I needed to years earlier and I’ve been filled with nothing but stress and regret while trying to figure out my situation. It’s gotten so bad that I have had s*icidal ideation but I don’t want this to be the definition of who I was and I really want to turn the tide on my life without doing so after a lengthy prison sentence. I want to prove to the court that I have the ability to change and that I’m not a complete lost cause. I’m not wealthy by any means and I’ll probably be using a PD which by no means is less than a highly paid lawyer but I want to do what >I< can versus relying on a legal defense rep to prove that. I dream of receiving home confinement but in the worst case scenario I would like the ability to have at least half my life in the free world after prison to show the world what I’m capable of. Thanks for reading and/or answering. Any extra info that I didn’t ask for that may be useful is appreciated as well. Also sorry if my formatting sucks, I’m stuck on mobile.

So there was this guy (M21)I (F20)was dating for a little bit about 4 months up until this point. And our relationship was not perfect, but I would always try to maintain some communication even though it’s scary af!! Before in the past he would have some flaky issues and stuff and before I continue, listen this is only my side of the story and I’m sure he’s probably dealing with his own issues.
I thought we were getting closer, he started really welcoming me into his world :) which for him, is a step closer. I really thought things were going good. We had our own little jokes. I also told him I loved him (I’m kinda wondering if maybe it wasn’t the right time?)
And one day I made a comment about a family member maybe reaching out to him randomly (they’re like. 10 so they’re nosey, and always wants to be in the know with me) and he took it the wrong way entirely but I think it was wording on my part. He broke up with me because he couldn’t trust me, and that he can’t be with someone who’ll allow people to see our private moments together. Which in my opinion feels like such a slap in the face because I know personally that I respect the shit out of this dude.
I think he thought that I just. Allowed my family member to look through our chats, and he just. Blocked me without hearing my side of the story or even communicating with me. I can’t tell if I did something wrong, like this feels so drastic. Doesn’t seem like him at all. Like it feels incredibly impulsive
I reacted pretty poorly after this, I really wanted him to hear me out and since I’m blocked I resorted to a pay phone and lowkey looking anYWHERE online to contact him. I managed to tell my side of the story, and somewhat throw away my dignity and try convincing him to not break up with me and then he just blocked me again :/. I don’t know I’m just I’m just confused. I’m gonna try move on from him, but what do you think was happening with him? Was I in the wrong?
My friends don’t think I’m in the wrong,and that I at least tried. Blocking me was really mean on his part however :”) TLDR: my ex bf broke up with me over text and blocked me and I’m not sure why

Hi all, I'm ready to upgrade my PC that I had made by a local computer guy in South Korea in late 2019. We built it into a mini ITX case so I could fly back to the US with it.
Here's the current build:
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i3-9100F 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$135.19 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master MASTERLIQUID ML240L RGB V2 65.59 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$99.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte H310N Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard	-
Memory	Samsung M378A1K43CB2-CRC 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL17 Memory	$15.50 @ Amazon
Storage	Kingston A400 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$27.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	EVGA SC ULTRA GAMING GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB Video Card	$210.00 @ Amazon
Case	Silverstone SUGO 15 Mini ITX Desktop Case	$174.44 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	-
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit	-
Monitor	AOC C24G1 24.0" 1920 x 1080 144 Hz Curved Monitor	$259.83 @ Amazon
Keyboard	Logitech MK120 Wired Slim Keyboard With Optical Mouse	$23.98 @ Best Buy
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$946.92
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-05-15 14:11 EDT-0400

My goals for this build: I enjoying playing and modding single-player games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3, occasionally older titles like Dragon Age: Inquisition or the Mass Effect trilogy. I currently average around 50-70 FPS for newer titles on medium settings. I'd like to be able to play games on higher settings with smoother performance.
I reached out to the guy who built my PC and he recommended I upgrade the CPU, MOBO and cooling system, and RAM. If it was just the RAM, I'd just upgrade no worries but since we're talking about the CPU and MOBO, I'm wondering if it makes sense to upgrade all these parts (and likely the GPU as well -- tell me what you think) or just start from scratch and sell my current system.
Budget for upgrades would be around $800, could go higher. For buying new, probably $1k + whatever I'd get for selling.
Pros of keeping it: Can piece-meal upgrade over time, can keep the mini itx case in case I move abroad again (which is a possibility in the next 5 years, unsure).
Pros of starting over: Can sell my old one for $$ and start over with a larger case which is less intimidating to mess with.
What do you think? What would you recommend upgrading and what would you recommend upgrading to? Or would you recommend selling and building a new PC from scratch? Thanks.

Hi!
I am going to school now for speech pathology but my passion has been and always will be singing. I need a career that can guarantee money from because my family is lowkey poor. How can I sing and make money? Even if its just as a side hustle, I just need to be singing because without it my life feels meaningless. What can I do now to get myself out there more and perform? Thanks. I appreciate you <3

I feel like I’ve always had a pretty clear goal in my head of where I wanted to head in my life wether it was a month from now or 5 years from now. Recently I’ve hit a point where I don’t know what to do with my life as I’m sure many people at my age do but I really don’t know how to go about it. I feel like time is passing by me so fast and I have not accomplished much since I graduated high school. I graduated hs during COVID and I definitely feel like that stunted my progress keeping me in a certain phase that I can’t seem to outgrow. I still feel 18 and I am not taking life as serious as I should especially right now. I’m just very conflicted right now.
Before graduating high school I had goals and dreams of getting into FIDM for fashion design and I felt it in my heart every time i walked into my fashion design class that that’s what I wanted to do. Unfortunately one of my parents disapproved and especially coming from an immigrant household, I feel like that’s a common thing but they wanted more from me and getting a degree in design or anything creative arts related was not it. Of course that crushed me and out of anger and sadness I threw away all of my sketches and put away my sewing machine and I have not touched anything related to fashion design since. I do still love fashion but it’s not the same and I haven’t found anything else in my life that has lit a spark in me the way that class did. I had a plan B in case things didn’t go smoothly and that was to pursue a business degree so I did, I went to cc for two years after taking a gap year and I finished and got my associates this past December in acct, business and Econ.
I was so burnt out from taking too many classes last year to graduate on time since I had felt so behind. I really didn't want to start the new year at my local uni, I just needed a break, a chance to relax and not think about school for once. Then last minute I got in and decided to explore computer science, which had intrigued me for a while. But every time I went to class, I felt miserable and I was unable to motivate myself to do the work. Eventually I dropped some classes and kept the core classes only . And now with the semester coming to an end I still don’t know what to do next. My Econ classes did interest me the most out of all the classes I took in cc but I don’t know if that’s what I really want to do, I feel like I need to speak with people from every career that I’m interested in to see if that’s the route I wanna take. I also decided to dig into my younger self and recall what interested me when I was younger and it was art and animals. I remember telling myself that I wanted to work with animals and become a vet in fact I have it written in a notebook somewhere and I did some research but it sounds extremely stressful and the school part is time consuming of course but I don’t know yet. As for art I have not drawn in a year so it’s definitely not in my books to pursue something related to art.
I know I’m not supposed to have my life figured out and that’s okay, that’s not what I want to do right now. What I want is to know what next step I have to take to reach my ultimate goal which is to just be financially independent and be financially successful. I know people say money isn’t everything but it definitely makes a difference in one’s quality of living and I definitely do not want to be living paycheck to paycheck struggling. I’m the first one in my family to go to college and one of my siblings works in the food industry and the way he talks about work and the way his life is I do not want to end up like that (no offense). I know that if I don’t act now that that’s where I’ll end up because we have very similar tendencies and I just want a great career and a good life.
But the thing about me is that I’ve become extremely lazy and I was supposedly going to take the extra time I had after dropping some of the classes to explore new things and find what peaked my interest and just live life but I never did and I keep wasting time and I never do anything or if I do I only do it for 2 weeks then stop, I can never finish anything and the thing is I’m pretty self aware of everything that I do and all my bad habits but I somehow cannot change that or don’t know how. And I feel like I’m just wasting my life away and another thing is that I’m not living it up to the fullest but I don’t know how to start living. I have thought about going to a therapist but I don’t have a job yet so paying for it would be a bit difficult hence why I’m coming onto Reddit as a last resort. sorry for the super long post I just had to let everything out.

English is not my first language, so please forgive any spelling mistakes.
I recently published a book with a publisher. I only have access to the number of sales once every three months. I am using Tiktok ads to market it, with a direct link to the Amazon page so people can buy the ebook.
The number of clicks in the "Buy Now" button on Tiktok is great, and the first time i invested this way, i noticed the rankings of my ebook got way high, and i assumed that was a sign some of the people who clicked on the tiktok ad were actually buying it.
Now, the weird thing is, that was last month. This month i invested with even more money, and got way more clicks than last time, but the rankings did not increase. Does this mean people are not buying it anymore? But if that is the case, why did it changed the rankings so much last month?
Anyway, i will find out next month when i get the sales numbers, but i just wanted to understand what happened to decide if i should keep investing in the ads. If you have any idea what happened, please let me know.
Thank you.

So me and my gf are in a live in relationship and it’s been a year since we are together. At times I feel I am disrespected but am I overreacting because whenever I put this in-front of her she thinks I am stretching the topic.
So every call that I take for us she doubts everything. From minutest of the things. For example, we were having hard time cleaning our home so we decided upon hiring a maid. Because of our budget she agreed to cleaning the home two times a week. I tried my best to atleast convince her to clean the home three times a week. She declined and started telling how difficult and expensive things have become and how difficult it is for to finance her daughter’s education. She kept and saying that for another half hour. I called my gf (she was in the office) to tell her she will be cleaning the home for just two days and is not agreeing and stating her problems again and again. I told her to let’s just lock it for two days a week because if not then I will have to listen to her everyday because I work from home and I cannot listen to all of this daily.
Since I took a call and agreed upon two times a week. Since then my gf has been taunting me that why did I agree on it and I have got tired explaining that I cannot keep listening to her life problems on a daily basis. She keeps taunting me.
Now this is just one of the examples, she shows me middle finger any moment even in the bestest of the moods, goes rude at times. Taunts me for smallest of the things.
I do my best efforts to support our home financially, she got a project as a freelancer which could have paid off a good number. She took the project and delayed it for two months I kept on telling her how important this can be to us since my other business is at loss and how much we need that money, she stills delayed it. At last the client warned her that they will sue her and she has to refund the money back. Since she did not have the money I paid for it from my savings. I do everything to back her and support her but she just tends to degrade me in all the manners possible.
So we joke about how She keeps on asking for a big ring on the marriage proposal day and how beautiful it should be.
One weekend she went to her parents home, and told her mother that when you start finding a husband for me do let him know that I want a big ring for proposal.
I mean? Why will you tell your mother this? When I asked her she tells me anyways I am going to marry you I was just engaging in the conversation.
When we have a fight going on and I am trying to put my point she gets on a work phone call.
Whenever I try to address an issue, she replies by saying ‘what do you want’, ‘are you done stretching the topic’ and things like that.
A fews days back I watched a movie which I loved watching, I told her that I think we should watch this movie together because I feel the portrayal of love and compassion in this film is something worth watching.
She went on watching half of the film at her parent’s home on the weekend. I told her in a upsetting manner that how desperately I wanted to watch it with her despite already watching it. To which she replied what is the big deal I will watch it again with you.
But am I overreacting on all of this? Is this normal?
Tldr: I feel disrespected in my relationship but am I overreacting

Oh, fashion, you fickle time-traveling siren! 😏 Let’s warp back to the styles our grandparents strutted because, let's admit it, we're in the throes of a full-blown vintage resurgence, folks!

• We're not talking mothball scented, musty attic finds here. No, no. We’ve gone way past the ‘old’ stuff and have resurrected the tres chic and timeless vibes from days of yore. 👗🎩
  
• Bell-bottoms? Flared jeans? They're not just for disco queens and 70s sitcom re-runs anymore. These bad boys are cutting-edge once again. And why? Because they make your legs look fantabulous - that’s why!
  

Alright, people, let's talk bullet points because that's how the cool cats organize their thoughts:

• The Halcyon Days of Denim: You must’ve noticed the invasion of high-waisted jeans that actually give you a shape, not just a muffin top. Praise the fashion lords for this one, especially when combined with a crop top, for that 'mom-jean chic' without the mom, or sometimes even the jeans.
  
• Swinging Sixties: Mini skirts are making your knees the talk of the town again! Paired with some Go-Go boots, you might as well be on the set of "Austin Powers". Groovy baby!
  
• Get Your Tweed on: Professorial tweed is so in—this time without the elbow patches. Everyone’s channeling their inner academic with tweed blazers. Now, if only they came with a tenure position, amirite?
  
• Can We Just Talk About Hats for a Sec?: Newsies caps, berets, fedoras - headgear that was once the territory of barbershop quartets is having a moment. Not that you held onto your great uncle's cap collection for nothing!
  

Laces out, frocks on! Ball gowns and lace are storming back onto the scene, not as costume but legitimate #OOTD. You might not be going to the ball, Cinderella, but who says you can't pick up your soy latte in style?
No, you’re not experiencing déjà vu—those icons from the sepia-toned past are paving the way for the era-blending future:

• Pinstripes are Pitch Perfect - That gangster look is in, minus the actual gangster part... unless you count corporate raiders.
  
• Psychedelic prints grab you like a wild Alice in Wonderland trip. Just don't stare too long; I'm pretty sure they can hypnotize.
  

Before you know it, shoulder pads and polyester suits might make a play for dominance. All kidding aside, we seem to be cherry-picking the best bits of past eras, melding them into the eccentric ensemble that is today's fashion tapestry.
So, thrifters and retro aficionados, rejoice! Wrap yourself in the lush velvets, slippery satins, and bodacious brocades of yesteryears and sashay down your supermarket aisles like it's Paris Fashion Week. The past is back, baby—and it’s got undeniable swagger. ✨👠🧵

Hey there, my name’s Tom and as my title suggests, I’m a 27 year old white guy from the U.K, I’m about 6’2 (so I’m good at reaching for things off high shelves when needed) and admittedly kinda chubby but it’s something I’m working on. I don’t mind sharing pics once we get talking and a connection has been established, but anonymity is something that’s quite important to me for the most part, also I do have kind of a baby-face just so you’re aware. I’m an INFJ if that means anything to you. I’ve got two dogs and will happily share pics of them. I will say I’m fully monogamous and lean more towards wanting kids at some point in life, but I’m in no rush to do so.
In terms of my personality, I’m quite honest but without being overly blunt or rude, I’m fiercely loyal, maybe even to the point where it becomes a negative. I’d say I’ve got a really good sense of humour which is mainly sarcastic, self-deprecating and can at times be incredibly dark but can throw the odd dad joke or shitty pun in when I think of a good one. I’m very emotionally aware and not afraid to share how I’m feeling, I’m also a hopeless romantic I’m looking for ‘the one’ and nothing less. I’d say my best trait is my ability to communicate, don’t get me wrong if I don’t really feel a spark it can feel like pulling teeth, but if there is a spark I’m the type of guy that can hold a conversation for hours and to be honest I can usually tell instantly who I will and won’t have a spark with.
I’m a PC gamer and have built my own machine as well as a few others. I’ve been playing a bit of Minecraft and messing around with a switch emulator over the last 2 weeks or so but do play other stuff as well. It’d be cool if you also enjoyed playing games and wanted to play co-op/multiplayer stuff.
My biggest passion though is without a doubt music. It’s something that’s always been a part of my life, and it’s something I don’t think I’d be the same without. My Spotify is my place of solace, it’s where I go when I’m feeling down, when I need to think about the future or reflect on the past. I’ve also started collecting CDs and vinyls this year and I’ve got a good idea of what I want to buy already. In terms of music genres I’m into I’d say mainly rock, rap and a bit of indie. Off the top of my head a few artists I really like are; Panic at the Disco, Post Malone, Juice Wrld, The 1975, Bring me the Horizon, Nirvana, A Day to Remember and Tame Impala, so if you’re into similar music I’ll have plenty of stuff to share with you.
One thing I’ve got quite into over the past few years is typology. So Astrology, MBTI and that sort of thing, it fascinates me how certain people think, process information and situations in general life. I won’t go into this too much because it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but if something you’ve never looked into, and it interests you I’ll be happy to introduce you into it while we get to know each other.
I’m also quite into the paranormal, more-so aliens/extraterrestrials and unsolved mysteries, I could probably find some interest in true crime, but honestly I’ve never looked into any. Again, if you’re into that type of thing too, I could definitely recommend you a few documentaries on YouTube that are fascinating.
It’s probably also worth noting I do struggle with my mental health and I’ve also recently been diagnosed with high functioning autism, but I can go into that kinda stuff more if necessary
So if you’re still reading, I’m going to assume you’re interested or just really enjoy short novels but if you could let me know what games you’re into or if you’re not a gamer just your favourite album/artist. Low effort replies get low effort conversation.

Understanding "Hace" and "Desde" in Spanish

When learning Spanish, you will often come across the words "hace" and "desde" to express durations of time. While both can be used to indicate time, they serve different purposes and are used in different contexts. Let's break down their uses and differences.

1. Using "Hace"

"Hace" is used to indicate how long ago something happened. It's comparable to the English phrase "ago."
Structure: "Hace" + [time period] + [action in the past].
Examples: - Hace una semana que viajé a España. - Translation: A week ago, I traveled to Spain. - Hace dos años que estudia español. - Translation: He/She has been studying Spanish for two years.
Usage Tips: - "Hace" is followed by a period of time (e.g., días, meses, años). - Often used with the preterite or present tense.

2. Using "Desde"

"Desde" is used to express the starting point of an action or event and is akin to the English word "since."
Structure: "Desde" + [specific point in time].
Examples: - Vivo en Madrid desde 2015. - Translation: I have lived in Madrid since 2015. - No fumo desde el año pasado. - Translation: I haven't smoked since last year.
Usage Tips: - "Desde" is followed by a specific point in time (e.g., a date, a year, an event). - Often used with the present perfect or present tense.

Comparing "Hace" and "Desde"

• Hace indicates the duration that has passed since an event occurred.
  • E.g., Hace un año (A year ago)
• Desde indicates the starting point from which an action has been ongoing.
  • E.g., Desde 2020 (Since 2020)

Summary

Understanding when to use "hace" versus "desde" can make your Spanish much more precise and natural. Remember, "hace" is for expressing how long ago something happened, while "desde" is for expressing since when something has been happening.

Practice with Pal

Improve Your Spanish with Pal!

Ready to master "hace" and "desde"? Here’s how Pal can help you:

1. Go to Get-Pal.com/WhatsApp/.
   
2. Compose a sentence using "hace" or "desde":
   
   • E.g., "Hace un mes que empecé a aprender español." (A month ago, I started learning Spanish.)
   • Or, "Estudio español desde enero." (I’ve been studying Spanish since January.)
3. Send your sentence to Pal. If it’s correct, Pal will continue the conversation in Spanish. If there are any errors, Pal will correct you and explain the right usage.
   
4. Keep the conversation flowing: Pal will not only correct your mistakes but also engage you in a natural dialogue, ensuring you get plenty of practice to become fluent. Feeling stuck? Ask Pal for suggestions!
   

By practicing with Pal, you can quickly improve your understanding and usage of "hace" and "desde" in everyday Spanish conversations.

Hi Reddit Freelance Community!
I have recently been approached by a potential client who saw some of my work from when I was working for a Media Production company, in which my main tasks included Video Editing, Graphic Design, Copy Editing and Writing, Website Design, Audio Mastering, Voice Overs and Screenwriting. Social Media Management is not my expertise in comparison to those tasks, but I have a few years of experience.
She wants to use my services for her business, and based on her company goals, she’d be needing me to do a variety of all of the above previously mentioned skills.
The issue I’m running into is that this would be my first Freelance client and I’m not sure where to start. Could anyone shed some insight on my following questions, and of course if you have any advice I’m open to all feedback :) Thanks in advance!

1. How much would someone in my position generally be charging for this kind of work? Things I’m considering is that I am experienced, but not an expert and truly still have much to learn—However, I know I am talented, creative and ambitious. I’d also be using all of my own equipment & software, which if you work in video production you know that can get expensive fast. I want to find the balance between charging her a price that is reflective of the work I will deliver, market value and is fair to my needs as a freelancer.
   
2. What should I be keeping in mind when it comes to if I want compensation to be hourly or by the project?
   
3. Do you recommend I apply for a business license and freelance under that company?
   
4. Do you recommend any resources for creating a contract?
   

Thank you so much in advance!

Preface: I know I can just change my settings on the fly but that will eventually waste precious seconds in the event I need to change up my loadout
I noticed this last night when playing a heavy sledge build. I need the slower sensitivity for gun tracking, but it severely limits my ability to quickly turn when using a melee weapon. I wiffed so many swings.
Maybe I'm just coddled from Overwatch having unique settings for each hero, but figured this would be a valid QoL addition for us console plebs.
Especially since you need cross play to be on to play with other console playing friends. Unfortunately that means that PC players are included in the matchmaking pool. The differences in control and speed is highly noticable.
I'm not sure how difficult this would be to implement but it would definitely be a welcomed addition.