Saliva swab for life insurance policy
Personal Finance For Canadians
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2015.03.08 23:15 archseer DogBreedSelector
Why take out pet insurance? A priori, the pet insurance is not a constraint to which we must submit. It must also be admitted, the question is not among the top priorities of the French. But those who have had to take their pets to a vet for a serious enough reason readily understand why coverage is worth it. With veterinary bills that will easily search in thousand euros, it is clear that pet insurance will always be useful.
2024.05.16 17:29 bohemiancouchpotato Something in my body is trying to escape
Have you ever experienced something that shook you to your very core? Something that makes you remember every single little detail of your surroundings from that moment in time? Even years after? I can remember so vividly the moment I realized something was wrong with me. I was in my junior year of high school sitting in class, just like any other day. I remember the smell of erasers and cheap cologne that permeated off my classmate who sat next to me. I remember the scratchy tag on my t-shirt and how I was resisting taking it off in the middle of class just to cut it off. I remember what my teacher, Mrs. Brown, was talking about; 'the fall of Constantinople'. My mouth felt dry and I kept looking at the clock, counting down the minutes until I had lunch so I could get a soda. The sound of a pen clicking behind me was synchronized with the song that was stuck in my head.
All those things were going through my brain at once. My ADHD mind went a million miles per minute when it all came down to a cashing holt when I felt it at 11:23
I felt what I can only describe as a hand grabbing at the inner lining of my stomach. It didn't necessarily hurt, not at this point. That's not why I got so scared. You see, not only do I have ADHD. I also have OCD that manifests itself in the fear of anything growing or moving inside me. Even if I think about the concept of blood moving in my body or a heart that is beating in my chest, I have to think of something else. I've had full-blown panic attacks because of it. The closest term for this is 'Tokophobia'. That's technically the fear of pregnancy. I'm a guy, so it's not completely accurate but it's really the closest term. I mean, I also do have a huge fear of pregnancy. Not necessarily of me being pregnant, but even though I knew I could never get pregnant, the thought of it still made me feel sick
I bet you can imagine the terror that overcame me as I felt something moving in me. I made an audible groan and grabbed my stomach. My whole class turned to look at me. even my teacher stopped talking to ask if I was okay. I stood up and started to run to the nurses' office without even acknowledging my teacher. My first thought wasn't thinking that something was actually in my body. Even stomach aches and the feeling of gurgling in my stomach made me feel this way before. I didn't have anything on hand to help with a stomach ache, unfortunately. However, the nurse always did.
I sprinted across the school hoping and praying that my stomach wouldn't make that awful feeling again before I got there.
I turned the corner into the nurses' office with my tennis shoes squeaking in the process. I saw the school nurse, Mrs. Kennedy sitting on the couch in her office reading a magazine. She looked up at me with a sweet smile that quickly turned into worry.
"Sam, what is it? How can I help?" She said as she stood up and hurried over to me. Putting her hand over mine which was grabbing my stomach tightly.
"It's…It's my stomach. Something is wrong with it." I mumbled with a red face.
She shuffled her way over to her large medicine cabinet and she motioned for me to sit down.
She asked me questions about my stomach. Asking if it was pain, grumbling, cramps, nausea, etc. As she was asking me what my symptoms were and digging through bottles, The feeling happened again. However, this time was different. It felt like fingers grassing against the inside of my body. I screamed and wrapped my arms around my torso. Mrs. Kenneddy ran over to me to comfort me.
"This seems a lot worse than normal, maybe we should call your parents." She said as she put her hand on my back.
It felt like some days I saw Mrs. Kennedy more than my teachers. Any small ailment would distract me so badly from class that I had to go see her. Sometimes multiple times a day. She knew at this point when something was really wrong.
Within about 30 minutes both my parents were there with us. That may seem fast, but I'm an only child and my parents are very aware of my tendencies. They know I can spiral and like to be around if it happens.
They kept asking me where the pain was. I think they assumed by the way I wasn't responding to their questions the pain must've been really bad. The reality was that I just didn't know how to tell them what was going on.
I got so frustrated after they asked me over and over again that I just yelled at them.
"Something is inside me! Get it out, get it out, get it out!" I lifted my shirt and was ripping at my stomach. Leaving red nail scratches and cuts. My mom and dad ran to either side of me to grab my arms. Mrs. Kennedy had seen me go pretty crazy, but this was the worst I've ever gotten in front of her. My parents however had seen a similar situation before. Not exactly like this, but they didn't skip a beat on trying to help me.
"Sam. Breath, sweety. Just remember everything is in you for a reason. It's keeping you alive. Nothing is going to hurt you." My mom said softly to me. Trying to calm me down with the words my therapist gave her. "Ice cubes, get him ice cubes!" She said to Mrs. Kennedy as I started to hyperventilate.
Mrs. Kennedy grabbed a ziplock bag and started to fill it with ice cubes. My mom went over to her and grabbed an ice cube right out of the bag, opened up my hand, and put the ice cube in it. This worked in the past to distract me, I knew that's what she was doing, and trust me. I wanted it to work too, but this was different. I kept trying to tell myself that it was just a different feeling I hadn't felt before. That it wasn't possible something was physically inside my body. But I couldn't help it.
Everyone in the room could see that this was getting intense. I think they assumed it was just a mental breakdown and that nothing was physically wrong with my body but I didn't care. I just wanted help.
My parents got me into the car with my mom even sitting in the backseat with me. She kept trying to distract me with conversation but my mind was only on that awful feeling in my stomach.
We pulled up to the ER and my mom guided me in while holding both my wrists. It felt like she was walking me on a leash but I didn't fight it. I knew she was just trying to stop me from scratching my stomach.
We walked in and I spoke to the receptionist. All I said was that I had terrible pain in my stomach. I didn't want to sound too crazy. I just needed a doctor to look at whatever was going on.
After giving the receptionist my name and insurance information we went to sit down. I was sitting in between my parents and I could see my mom lean back to try and mouth something to my dad without me seeing. I didn't think much of it. I was way more worried about other things.
My dad then went up to the receptionist. He pointed over to me and she looked a little concerned. I saw her pick up the clipboard that had my information on it and she started writing something else on it. I asked my dad what he did and he just said to not worry and that he wanted to let her know it was urgent.
No more than 10 minutes went by and I felt a terrible moving sensation. I cringed and grabbed my stomach. Immediately followed by not just the feeling of a hand grabbing my insides but also scratching and pinching. I yelled out in pain as the other people in the waiting room looked at me mortified.
A doctor and a couple of nurses came running over to me and helped me up. But I couldn't stand up. I was in too much pain. They put me in a wheelchair and started to head for a room. However, they didn't take me through the normal big ER doors that went to the standard examination rooms, they took me and my parents through a smaller door to the side that had a padlock on it.
We walked through a white hallway that was very quiet. The doctor and nurses showed us to my room and helped me into my bed as I was wiggling and wincing. I had one parent on either side of me. Patiently waited to stop my arms from scratching.
The doctor was trying to ask further questions but he could tell it wasn't going anywhere. I knew that my dad probably told that receptionist about my OCD tendencies and that I needed to go to the psych ward. Not just to the stranded side of the ER.
I couldn't take it anymore and blurted out that something was inside my stomach and it was trying to get out.
The doctor just looked at my parents for a reaction and they gave him a sad nod. It was like they warned him that this could happen. The doctor didn't just think I was crazy, my parents did too. The doctor took a deep breath and came up to me. I knew I was about to hear some kind of dumb speech about how this was just my OCD and everything was going to be okay.
As he came closer to me, I pulled up my shirt and he gasped. Not only was my stomach scratched up like crazy, but we saw movement. It looked like when a pregnant woman can see her baby kicking. But this was so much stronger. It was stretching my skin.
My parents stood up and gasped while the doctor looked frantic and unprepared.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" The doctor said as he backed out of the room. "Hang on! We are getting this taken care of, just hang tight."
Just seconds later a nurse came in to give me some painkillers. I started to feel the pain slip away, but something so much worse started to creep in. I heard a voice. Not my own. Not some creepy-sounding creature, but the voice of a normal-sounding man that I'd never heard before. But that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was what he was saying to me.
"Get me out. Get me out. Get me out!"
It started in a normal tone, but slowly became more urgent and rushed. Then demanding.
The voice would coincide with the moment inside me.
It was getting so loud that I was having a hard time hearing the people around me. The doctor came in just a few minutes after I last saw him. He was red and sweaty. Like he'd just run a marathon. He told me they needed to do just a few tests on what was inside me before taking action.
I was trying so hard to pay attention to the words coming out of his mouth but all I could hear was the voice. The voice stopped for just a second and changed what he was saying. Now he started repeating,
"Cut me out, cut me out, cut me out, now!" I now knew this thing didn't just want out but it wanted out now. I begged the doctor to just get it out now but he wouldn't listen. The voice spoke up again.
"This is taking too long. Don't be afraid. Get me out yourself."
I think it could feel me resisting. Without realizing it, I was looking around the room for something. It was like I didn't even have control over my head or eyes anymore. I knew the voice was looking for a knife but I was trying to ignore the feeling. I knew there weren't any knives around. I was in a very safe place.
Just as I had the feeling I was safe, it was immediately taken away. The thought passed through my head that my dad probably had a pocket knife on him. My heart sank. I knew this thing could hear my thoughts. I knew what it would try to do.
The next thing I knew, I was on my feet, leaping for my dad. My body hit his. luckily, he's in pretty good shape for his age and had no problems putting me in my place.
He got on top of me and pinned me to the ground. All while I could barely hear my mom in the background. Yelling at my dad to be careful. My dad knew something was going on and that I just needed to be on the ground until I calmed down.
My body tried to flail but it wasn't successful. The whole time the voice in my head, now yelling and screaming. Not saying any distinguishable words, but just having what felt like a tantrum. What made my dad the most uncomfortable was the kicking feeling coming from my stomach.
After a couple of minutes, the voice calmed down and I felt in charge of my body again. My dad slowly got up and attempted to help me up. At this point with an audience of hospital staff that looked like they were getting ready to take me somewhere for more tests.
Just as I stood up straight, I felt the voice take over and I lost all sense of my own body. I felt like a shell of myself. My dad gave me a soft yet worried smile, and in that instance, I grabbed him and reached into his pocket. My heart sank as I felt his pocket knife. The room started to panic and about 5 people tried to grab it from me. The last thing I remember is plunging the knife into my stomach. I felt a blinding pain and everything went black.
Several hours later I started to wake up. Everything was extremely blurry and fuzzy. I could hear a very faint voice telling me to relax. As the minutes passed by, things started to become a little bit clearer. I looked around and saw I was in a large room with a few other patients. A nurse was going up to all the beds and checking in on them. I tried to sit up a bit to get more comfortable and noticed an incredible sourness in my stomach. I moved my hospital gown out of the way and saw a huge scare. About 6" across. Most of the scare looked very surgical. Like what I'd imagine a c-section surgery would look like. Except where I remembered the knife going in. It looked like a bunch of extra stitches had to be added where it went in. It also looked pretty bruised. I can imagine that a dull 10-year-old knife that was harshly shoved into a body really wouldn't cleanly cut through and leave some damage.
The feeling of shock from looking at my stomach was quickly gone when I realized that meant whatever was in me was now gone. I didn't hear the voice, I didn't feel a hand in my gut anymore, I didn't see that vile kicking anymore. I felt like I could breathe.
I asked the nurse what they found and she looked flush.
"Uh, that's something that you, uh. Your doctor will talk with you once you eat something and can speak clearly." She said as she scurried off looking upset.
Shortly after that, I was wheeled into a recovery room and my parents came to see me.
As they walked in they had a very similar look on their faces as the nurse did. They looked pale and didn't want to look me in the eye. I kept asking them questions about what was going on but they said the doctor needed to discuss it with me and he wanted to make sure I wasn't feeling high from the anesthesia while we had a conversation.
The doctor didn't come and see me for another 10 hours. Which felt strange. And to add to the strangeness, my parents were taking shifts hanging out with me. There was only overlap when they switched and the other parent took over while the other one left the room. I would understand if they weren't both with me for the whole time. I'm not that needy, but they were only both in my room together for about an hour. That was the hour before the doctor came to my room.
Finally, the doctor came in to talk to me. When he walked in, the room was cold and quiet. It was evident he didn't feel the same relief I was feeling.
He seemed awkward. Like he was talking way too long to get over to me. He grabbed a chair and scooted it close to me.
"Listen Sam. I know this last 24 hours has been very challenging. I apologize for not explaining what happened during your surgery sooner, but we all needed time to figure it out, and quite frankly, process what happened. We feel we have enough information to let you in on what is going on." A silence filled the room. It felt like no one was brave enough to break it.
"And?" I said with confusion.
"I think it'll be easier if we just show you."
The doctor along with my parents helped me into a wheelchair and we started to make our way across the hospital to an entirely different section. I couldn't believe all the things running through my head at what we were about to see. It felt like cruel and unusual punishment to leave me in anticipation and not just tell me what I was about to see.
When I went around the corner I couldn't process what I was looking at. I thought they were showing me a large tumor or growth of some kind, but why would a tumor be in a big incubation chamber with tubes connected to IVs and machines coming out of it?
As I got closer, I started to see human fetchers on it. It was mostly just a 6-pound lump of flesh, but I could see a hand sticking out of it. It was small, but what made it creepy was it looked like a fully developed man's hand. Just small. I could see a patch of hair coming out of what I assumed was its head. It had no discernible facial features. Just a few teeth scattered in one section.
As I looked at it with disgust, coming to terms with this thing that was just in my body, I had a realization. I wasn't feeling sick at the thought of something being in my body. Sure, I was grossed out that this particular thing was just in me, but the thought of the bacteria in my body didn't make me want to throw up. I thought about all the blood pumping through my veins and I felt… normal. Not only was the voice and kicking gone. But my OCD was gone too. I didn't have a mental illness. It was just this thing. Trying to find its way out for years.
As I was staring at the creature, the doctor came and put his hand on my shoulder.
"We believe this is your twin brother." I immediately looked up at my parents who looked very disturbed and upset. I let the doctor finish talking. "We believe that you absorbed him in the womb and that he has been living inside you your whole life. This is an extremely rare condition called fetus-in-fetu. It seems he didn't quite have the best opportunity to develop normally. That's why he looks the way he does. Despite his appearance, he has all the organs he needs to survive. Looks like he's missing a lung and his gallbladder. Also a piece of his liver but other than that, it looks like he will live for at least a few years. He won't be able to leave this room due to him needing a feeding tube and a few other things that his body can not do on its own. He needs lots of support just to live. What makes this situation extremely unique is that your twin is still alive despite your body not sustaining him anymore. Even though we have him hooked up to a few IVs and machines, It is unexplainable how he is living while outside of your body."
I was in complete shock. I didn't want to believe it. I asked my mom why she never told me I absorbed my twin in the womb, she said she had no clue. There was never a sign when she was pregnant with me.
He also mentioned that sometimes even in pregnancies women will go their whole pregnancy without even getting a belly. It's called a 'Cryptic pregnancy'. I've always had a bit of a gut but never anything big enough to cause suspicion. I guess in my case I had a fetus-fetu and an experience similar to a cryptic pregnancy. Even though it was in my stomach. At least that was the doctor's best guess. Although, it all sounded like BS to me.
The doctor and my parents kept trying to explain more and more details to me. I don't know why they didn't slow down a little bit for my sake. How could they not tell I wasn't processing any of this?
I noticed something while they were trying to explain things to me. They kept calling it a 'He'.
Now listen. I'm not some kind of asshole that won't respect someone who wants to be called a specific pronoun. I've never been that kind of person. But this is where I draw the line.
Not just that. But this thing had a name. My parents named it and said today was its birthday. While they told me all this information, they didn't look happy about it. It seemed like they were forced to do all this nonsense. And now it was my turn to be convinced. I could tell they were trying to force it.
The doctor told me despite it not having a high probability for a long life that we should still try and give it the love it deserves. Of course, the doctor referred to it as a 'He' but I refused to.
This disgusted me. This thing tried to kill me and ruined my quality of life for so long, and now we are going to treat it like it's some kind of prince? No, absolutely not.
Luckily, it seemed like it would never leave the hospital, but my parents planned on going to visit it daily. Visiting it? Are you kidding me? it has no eyes, no ears, it's probably miserable and has no concept of people even being around it.
I'm refusing to ever see this thing again or acknowledge its existence again.
I could get in trouble for even talking about this. The hospital or anyone involved has signed NDAs to not share any information about this until it officially dies. This is because it's a medical anomaly and the first of its kind. They want to do the proper research on how this all occurred before coming out with a statement. I just have to get this all off my chest. I feel like I'm the crazy one here when I know I'm not. I don't care if I get in trouble.
I am scared that the doctors are trying to force my parents into giving this thing a proper life. I think that's why it took them so long to tell me. I think they scared my parents into keeping it alive and guilting them or even forcing them into being its parent.
I'm all for every life being important and all that stuff, but I have a feeling my parents are terrified of this thing just like I am.
I am convinced they gaslit my parents into believing this thing is my brother. If there wasn't any sign of him while my mom was pregnant with me, could this thing be something else?
This all happened about two years ago. It's still alive and they are still researching it. My parents continue to visit it despite everything. My therapist told me that I'm probably just struggling with jealousy now that I'm not an only child anymore and so much of my parents' attention is on him now, but it's so much bigger than just jealousy.
Since this thing showed up and my OCD is pretty much gone, I've hardly seen my parents. I know I'm not just jealous. There is something more to this. I know it.
Something just feels so off about this whole thing. What is this thing? Where did it come from? And what does it want?
submitted by bohemiancouchpotato to u/bohemiancouchpotato [link] [comments]
All those things were going through my brain at once. My ADHD mind went a million miles per minute when it all came down to a cashing holt when I felt it at 11:23
I felt what I can only describe as a hand grabbing at the inner lining of my stomach. It didn't necessarily hurt, not at this point. That's not why I got so scared. You see, not only do I have ADHD. I also have OCD that manifests itself in the fear of anything growing or moving inside me. Even if I think about the concept of blood moving in my body or a heart that is beating in my chest, I have to think of something else. I've had full-blown panic attacks because of it. The closest term for this is 'Tokophobia'. That's technically the fear of pregnancy. I'm a guy, so it's not completely accurate but it's really the closest term. I mean, I also do have a huge fear of pregnancy. Not necessarily of me being pregnant, but even though I knew I could never get pregnant, the thought of it still made me feel sick
I bet you can imagine the terror that overcame me as I felt something moving in me. I made an audible groan and grabbed my stomach. My whole class turned to look at me. even my teacher stopped talking to ask if I was okay. I stood up and started to run to the nurses' office without even acknowledging my teacher. My first thought wasn't thinking that something was actually in my body. Even stomach aches and the feeling of gurgling in my stomach made me feel this way before. I didn't have anything on hand to help with a stomach ache, unfortunately. However, the nurse always did.
I sprinted across the school hoping and praying that my stomach wouldn't make that awful feeling again before I got there.
I turned the corner into the nurses' office with my tennis shoes squeaking in the process. I saw the school nurse, Mrs. Kennedy sitting on the couch in her office reading a magazine. She looked up at me with a sweet smile that quickly turned into worry.
"Sam, what is it? How can I help?" She said as she stood up and hurried over to me. Putting her hand over mine which was grabbing my stomach tightly.
"It's…It's my stomach. Something is wrong with it." I mumbled with a red face.
She shuffled her way over to her large medicine cabinet and she motioned for me to sit down.
She asked me questions about my stomach. Asking if it was pain, grumbling, cramps, nausea, etc. As she was asking me what my symptoms were and digging through bottles, The feeling happened again. However, this time was different. It felt like fingers grassing against the inside of my body. I screamed and wrapped my arms around my torso. Mrs. Kenneddy ran over to me to comfort me.
"This seems a lot worse than normal, maybe we should call your parents." She said as she put her hand on my back.
It felt like some days I saw Mrs. Kennedy more than my teachers. Any small ailment would distract me so badly from class that I had to go see her. Sometimes multiple times a day. She knew at this point when something was really wrong.
Within about 30 minutes both my parents were there with us. That may seem fast, but I'm an only child and my parents are very aware of my tendencies. They know I can spiral and like to be around if it happens.
They kept asking me where the pain was. I think they assumed by the way I wasn't responding to their questions the pain must've been really bad. The reality was that I just didn't know how to tell them what was going on.
I got so frustrated after they asked me over and over again that I just yelled at them.
"Something is inside me! Get it out, get it out, get it out!" I lifted my shirt and was ripping at my stomach. Leaving red nail scratches and cuts. My mom and dad ran to either side of me to grab my arms. Mrs. Kennedy had seen me go pretty crazy, but this was the worst I've ever gotten in front of her. My parents however had seen a similar situation before. Not exactly like this, but they didn't skip a beat on trying to help me.
"Sam. Breath, sweety. Just remember everything is in you for a reason. It's keeping you alive. Nothing is going to hurt you." My mom said softly to me. Trying to calm me down with the words my therapist gave her. "Ice cubes, get him ice cubes!" She said to Mrs. Kennedy as I started to hyperventilate.
Mrs. Kennedy grabbed a ziplock bag and started to fill it with ice cubes. My mom went over to her and grabbed an ice cube right out of the bag, opened up my hand, and put the ice cube in it. This worked in the past to distract me, I knew that's what she was doing, and trust me. I wanted it to work too, but this was different. I kept trying to tell myself that it was just a different feeling I hadn't felt before. That it wasn't possible something was physically inside my body. But I couldn't help it.
Everyone in the room could see that this was getting intense. I think they assumed it was just a mental breakdown and that nothing was physically wrong with my body but I didn't care. I just wanted help.
My parents got me into the car with my mom even sitting in the backseat with me. She kept trying to distract me with conversation but my mind was only on that awful feeling in my stomach.
We pulled up to the ER and my mom guided me in while holding both my wrists. It felt like she was walking me on a leash but I didn't fight it. I knew she was just trying to stop me from scratching my stomach.
We walked in and I spoke to the receptionist. All I said was that I had terrible pain in my stomach. I didn't want to sound too crazy. I just needed a doctor to look at whatever was going on.
After giving the receptionist my name and insurance information we went to sit down. I was sitting in between my parents and I could see my mom lean back to try and mouth something to my dad without me seeing. I didn't think much of it. I was way more worried about other things.
My dad then went up to the receptionist. He pointed over to me and she looked a little concerned. I saw her pick up the clipboard that had my information on it and she started writing something else on it. I asked my dad what he did and he just said to not worry and that he wanted to let her know it was urgent.
No more than 10 minutes went by and I felt a terrible moving sensation. I cringed and grabbed my stomach. Immediately followed by not just the feeling of a hand grabbing my insides but also scratching and pinching. I yelled out in pain as the other people in the waiting room looked at me mortified.
A doctor and a couple of nurses came running over to me and helped me up. But I couldn't stand up. I was in too much pain. They put me in a wheelchair and started to head for a room. However, they didn't take me through the normal big ER doors that went to the standard examination rooms, they took me and my parents through a smaller door to the side that had a padlock on it.
We walked through a white hallway that was very quiet. The doctor and nurses showed us to my room and helped me into my bed as I was wiggling and wincing. I had one parent on either side of me. Patiently waited to stop my arms from scratching.
The doctor was trying to ask further questions but he could tell it wasn't going anywhere. I knew that my dad probably told that receptionist about my OCD tendencies and that I needed to go to the psych ward. Not just to the stranded side of the ER.
I couldn't take it anymore and blurted out that something was inside my stomach and it was trying to get out.
The doctor just looked at my parents for a reaction and they gave him a sad nod. It was like they warned him that this could happen. The doctor didn't just think I was crazy, my parents did too. The doctor took a deep breath and came up to me. I knew I was about to hear some kind of dumb speech about how this was just my OCD and everything was going to be okay.
As he came closer to me, I pulled up my shirt and he gasped. Not only was my stomach scratched up like crazy, but we saw movement. It looked like when a pregnant woman can see her baby kicking. But this was so much stronger. It was stretching my skin.
My parents stood up and gasped while the doctor looked frantic and unprepared.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" The doctor said as he backed out of the room. "Hang on! We are getting this taken care of, just hang tight."
Just seconds later a nurse came in to give me some painkillers. I started to feel the pain slip away, but something so much worse started to creep in. I heard a voice. Not my own. Not some creepy-sounding creature, but the voice of a normal-sounding man that I'd never heard before. But that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was what he was saying to me.
"Get me out. Get me out. Get me out!"
It started in a normal tone, but slowly became more urgent and rushed. Then demanding.
The voice would coincide with the moment inside me.
It was getting so loud that I was having a hard time hearing the people around me. The doctor came in just a few minutes after I last saw him. He was red and sweaty. Like he'd just run a marathon. He told me they needed to do just a few tests on what was inside me before taking action.
I was trying so hard to pay attention to the words coming out of his mouth but all I could hear was the voice. The voice stopped for just a second and changed what he was saying. Now he started repeating,
"Cut me out, cut me out, cut me out, now!" I now knew this thing didn't just want out but it wanted out now. I begged the doctor to just get it out now but he wouldn't listen. The voice spoke up again.
"This is taking too long. Don't be afraid. Get me out yourself."
I think it could feel me resisting. Without realizing it, I was looking around the room for something. It was like I didn't even have control over my head or eyes anymore. I knew the voice was looking for a knife but I was trying to ignore the feeling. I knew there weren't any knives around. I was in a very safe place.
Just as I had the feeling I was safe, it was immediately taken away. The thought passed through my head that my dad probably had a pocket knife on him. My heart sank. I knew this thing could hear my thoughts. I knew what it would try to do.
The next thing I knew, I was on my feet, leaping for my dad. My body hit his. luckily, he's in pretty good shape for his age and had no problems putting me in my place.
He got on top of me and pinned me to the ground. All while I could barely hear my mom in the background. Yelling at my dad to be careful. My dad knew something was going on and that I just needed to be on the ground until I calmed down.
My body tried to flail but it wasn't successful. The whole time the voice in my head, now yelling and screaming. Not saying any distinguishable words, but just having what felt like a tantrum. What made my dad the most uncomfortable was the kicking feeling coming from my stomach.
After a couple of minutes, the voice calmed down and I felt in charge of my body again. My dad slowly got up and attempted to help me up. At this point with an audience of hospital staff that looked like they were getting ready to take me somewhere for more tests.
Just as I stood up straight, I felt the voice take over and I lost all sense of my own body. I felt like a shell of myself. My dad gave me a soft yet worried smile, and in that instance, I grabbed him and reached into his pocket. My heart sank as I felt his pocket knife. The room started to panic and about 5 people tried to grab it from me. The last thing I remember is plunging the knife into my stomach. I felt a blinding pain and everything went black.
Several hours later I started to wake up. Everything was extremely blurry and fuzzy. I could hear a very faint voice telling me to relax. As the minutes passed by, things started to become a little bit clearer. I looked around and saw I was in a large room with a few other patients. A nurse was going up to all the beds and checking in on them. I tried to sit up a bit to get more comfortable and noticed an incredible sourness in my stomach. I moved my hospital gown out of the way and saw a huge scare. About 6" across. Most of the scare looked very surgical. Like what I'd imagine a c-section surgery would look like. Except where I remembered the knife going in. It looked like a bunch of extra stitches had to be added where it went in. It also looked pretty bruised. I can imagine that a dull 10-year-old knife that was harshly shoved into a body really wouldn't cleanly cut through and leave some damage.
The feeling of shock from looking at my stomach was quickly gone when I realized that meant whatever was in me was now gone. I didn't hear the voice, I didn't feel a hand in my gut anymore, I didn't see that vile kicking anymore. I felt like I could breathe.
I asked the nurse what they found and she looked flush.
"Uh, that's something that you, uh. Your doctor will talk with you once you eat something and can speak clearly." She said as she scurried off looking upset.
Shortly after that, I was wheeled into a recovery room and my parents came to see me.
As they walked in they had a very similar look on their faces as the nurse did. They looked pale and didn't want to look me in the eye. I kept asking them questions about what was going on but they said the doctor needed to discuss it with me and he wanted to make sure I wasn't feeling high from the anesthesia while we had a conversation.
The doctor didn't come and see me for another 10 hours. Which felt strange. And to add to the strangeness, my parents were taking shifts hanging out with me. There was only overlap when they switched and the other parent took over while the other one left the room. I would understand if they weren't both with me for the whole time. I'm not that needy, but they were only both in my room together for about an hour. That was the hour before the doctor came to my room.
Finally, the doctor came in to talk to me. When he walked in, the room was cold and quiet. It was evident he didn't feel the same relief I was feeling.
He seemed awkward. Like he was talking way too long to get over to me. He grabbed a chair and scooted it close to me.
"Listen Sam. I know this last 24 hours has been very challenging. I apologize for not explaining what happened during your surgery sooner, but we all needed time to figure it out, and quite frankly, process what happened. We feel we have enough information to let you in on what is going on." A silence filled the room. It felt like no one was brave enough to break it.
"And?" I said with confusion.
"I think it'll be easier if we just show you."
The doctor along with my parents helped me into a wheelchair and we started to make our way across the hospital to an entirely different section. I couldn't believe all the things running through my head at what we were about to see. It felt like cruel and unusual punishment to leave me in anticipation and not just tell me what I was about to see.
When I went around the corner I couldn't process what I was looking at. I thought they were showing me a large tumor or growth of some kind, but why would a tumor be in a big incubation chamber with tubes connected to IVs and machines coming out of it?
As I got closer, I started to see human fetchers on it. It was mostly just a 6-pound lump of flesh, but I could see a hand sticking out of it. It was small, but what made it creepy was it looked like a fully developed man's hand. Just small. I could see a patch of hair coming out of what I assumed was its head. It had no discernible facial features. Just a few teeth scattered in one section.
As I looked at it with disgust, coming to terms with this thing that was just in my body, I had a realization. I wasn't feeling sick at the thought of something being in my body. Sure, I was grossed out that this particular thing was just in me, but the thought of the bacteria in my body didn't make me want to throw up. I thought about all the blood pumping through my veins and I felt… normal. Not only was the voice and kicking gone. But my OCD was gone too. I didn't have a mental illness. It was just this thing. Trying to find its way out for years.
As I was staring at the creature, the doctor came and put his hand on my shoulder.
"We believe this is your twin brother." I immediately looked up at my parents who looked very disturbed and upset. I let the doctor finish talking. "We believe that you absorbed him in the womb and that he has been living inside you your whole life. This is an extremely rare condition called fetus-in-fetu. It seems he didn't quite have the best opportunity to develop normally. That's why he looks the way he does. Despite his appearance, he has all the organs he needs to survive. Looks like he's missing a lung and his gallbladder. Also a piece of his liver but other than that, it looks like he will live for at least a few years. He won't be able to leave this room due to him needing a feeding tube and a few other things that his body can not do on its own. He needs lots of support just to live. What makes this situation extremely unique is that your twin is still alive despite your body not sustaining him anymore. Even though we have him hooked up to a few IVs and machines, It is unexplainable how he is living while outside of your body."
I was in complete shock. I didn't want to believe it. I asked my mom why she never told me I absorbed my twin in the womb, she said she had no clue. There was never a sign when she was pregnant with me.
He also mentioned that sometimes even in pregnancies women will go their whole pregnancy without even getting a belly. It's called a 'Cryptic pregnancy'. I've always had a bit of a gut but never anything big enough to cause suspicion. I guess in my case I had a fetus-fetu and an experience similar to a cryptic pregnancy. Even though it was in my stomach. At least that was the doctor's best guess. Although, it all sounded like BS to me.
The doctor and my parents kept trying to explain more and more details to me. I don't know why they didn't slow down a little bit for my sake. How could they not tell I wasn't processing any of this?
I noticed something while they were trying to explain things to me. They kept calling it a 'He'.
Now listen. I'm not some kind of asshole that won't respect someone who wants to be called a specific pronoun. I've never been that kind of person. But this is where I draw the line.
Not just that. But this thing had a name. My parents named it and said today was its birthday. While they told me all this information, they didn't look happy about it. It seemed like they were forced to do all this nonsense. And now it was my turn to be convinced. I could tell they were trying to force it.
The doctor told me despite it not having a high probability for a long life that we should still try and give it the love it deserves. Of course, the doctor referred to it as a 'He' but I refused to.
This disgusted me. This thing tried to kill me and ruined my quality of life for so long, and now we are going to treat it like it's some kind of prince? No, absolutely not.
Luckily, it seemed like it would never leave the hospital, but my parents planned on going to visit it daily. Visiting it? Are you kidding me? it has no eyes, no ears, it's probably miserable and has no concept of people even being around it.
I'm refusing to ever see this thing again or acknowledge its existence again.
I could get in trouble for even talking about this. The hospital or anyone involved has signed NDAs to not share any information about this until it officially dies. This is because it's a medical anomaly and the first of its kind. They want to do the proper research on how this all occurred before coming out with a statement. I just have to get this all off my chest. I feel like I'm the crazy one here when I know I'm not. I don't care if I get in trouble.
I am scared that the doctors are trying to force my parents into giving this thing a proper life. I think that's why it took them so long to tell me. I think they scared my parents into keeping it alive and guilting them or even forcing them into being its parent.
I'm all for every life being important and all that stuff, but I have a feeling my parents are terrified of this thing just like I am.
I am convinced they gaslit my parents into believing this thing is my brother. If there wasn't any sign of him while my mom was pregnant with me, could this thing be something else?
This all happened about two years ago. It's still alive and they are still researching it. My parents continue to visit it despite everything. My therapist told me that I'm probably just struggling with jealousy now that I'm not an only child anymore and so much of my parents' attention is on him now, but it's so much bigger than just jealousy.
Since this thing showed up and my OCD is pretty much gone, I've hardly seen my parents. I know I'm not just jealous. There is something more to this. I know it.
Something just feels so off about this whole thing. What is this thing? Where did it come from? And what does it want?
2024.05.16 17:23 TruNorth556 At one time our leaders in the west took the threat of nuclear conflict seriously. Now we have Biden tossing around regime change and European allies escalating recklessly.
Professor Woodrow Wilson once said that every man sent out from a university should be a man of his nation as well as a man of his time, and I am confident that the men and women who carry the honor of graduating from this institution will continue to give from their lives, from their talents, a high measure of public service and public support.
"There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university," wrote John Masefield in his tribute to English universities--and his words are equally true today. He did not refer to spires and towers, to campus greens and ivied walls. He admired the splendid beauty of the university, he said, because it was "a place where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see."
I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived--yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children--not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women--not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age when great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all the allied air forces in the Second World War. It makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn.
Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles--which can only destroy and never create--is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace.
I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war--and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.
Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament--and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must reexamine our own attitude--as individuals and as a Nation--for our attitude is as essential as theirs. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward--by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home.
First: Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable--that mankind is doomed--that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.
We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade--therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable--and we believe they can do it again.
I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal.
Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace-- based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions--on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned. There is no single, simple key to this peace--no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process--a way of solving problems.
With such a peace, there will still be quarrels and conflicting interests, as there are within families and nations. World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor--it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbors.
So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it.
Second: Let us reexamine our attitude toward the Soviet Union. It is discouraging to think that their leaders may actually believe what their propagandists write. It is discouraging to read a recent authoritative Soviet text on Military Strategy and find, on page after page, wholly baseless and incredible claims--such as the allegation that "American imperialist circles are preparing to unleash different types of wars . . . that there is a very real threat of a preventive war being unleashed by American imperialists against the Soviet Union . . . [and that] the political aims of the American imperialists are to enslave economically and politically the European and other capitalist countries . . . [and] to achieve world domination . . . by means of aggressive wars."
Truly, as it was written long ago: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth." Yet it is sad to read these Soviet statements--to realize the extent of the gulf between us. But it is also a warning--a warning to the American people not to fall into the same trap as the Soviets, not to see only a distorted and desperate view of the other side, not to see conflict as inevitable, accommodation as impossible, and communication as nothing more than an exchange of threats.
No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue. As Americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity. But we can still hail the Russian people for their many achievements--in science and space, in economic and industrial growth, in culture and in acts of courage.
Among the many traits the peoples of our two countries have in common, none is stronger than our mutual abhorrence of war. Almost unique among the major world powers, we have never been at war with each other. And no nation in the history of battle ever suffered more than the Soviet Union suffered in the course of the Second World War. At least 20 million lost their lives. Countless millions of homes and farms were burned or sacked. A third of the nation's territory, including nearly two thirds of its industrial base, was turned into a wasteland--a loss equivalent to the devastation of this country east of Chicago.
Today, should total war ever break out again--no matter how--our two countries would become the primary targets. It is an ironic but accurate fact that the two strongest powers are the two in the most danger of devastation. All we have built, all we have worked for, would be destroyed in the first 24 hours. And even in the cold war, which brings burdens and dangers to so many nations, including this Nation's closest allies--our two countries bear the heaviest burdens. For we are both devoting massive sums of money to weapons that could be better devoted to combating ignorance, poverty, and disease. We are both caught up in a vicious and dangerous cycle in which suspicion on one side breeds suspicion on the other, and new weapons beget counterweapons.
In short, both the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies, have a mutually deep interest in a just and genuine peace and in halting the arms race. Agreements to this end are in the interests of the Soviet Union as well as ours--and even the most hostile nations can be relied upon to accept and keep those treaty obligations, and only those treaty obligations, which are in their own interest.
So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.
Third: Let us reexamine our attitude toward the cold war, remembering that we are not engaged in a debate, seeking to pile up debating points. We are not here distributing blame or pointing the finger of judgment. We must deal with the world as it is, and not as it might have been had the history of the last 18 years been different.
We must, therefore, persevere in the search for peace in the hope that constructive changes within the Communist bloc might bring within reach solutions which now seem beyond us. We must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes in the Communists' interest to agree on a genuine peace. Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy--or of a collective death-wish for the world.
To secure these ends, America's weapons are nonprovocative, carefully controlled, designed to deter, and capable of selective use. Our military forces are committed to peace and disciplined in self- restraint. Our diplomats are instructed to avoid unnecessary irritants and purely rhetorical hostility.
For we can seek a relaxation of tension without relaxing our guard. And, for our part, we do not need to use threats to prove that we are resolute. We do not need to jam foreign broadcasts out of fear our faith will be eroded. We are unwilling to impose our system on any unwilling people--but we are willing and able to engage in peaceful competition with any people on earth.
Meanwhile, we seek to strengthen the United Nations, to help solve its financial problems, to make it a more effective instrument for peace, to develop it into a genuine world security system--a system capable of resolving disputes on the basis of law, of insuring the security of the large and the small, and of creating conditions under which arms can finally be abolished.
At the same time we seek to keep peace inside the non-Communist world, where many nations, all of them our friends, are divided over issues which weaken Western unity, which invite Communist intervention or which threaten to erupt into war. Our efforts in West New Guinea, in the Congo, in the Middle East, and in the Indian subcontinent, have been persistent and patient despite criticism from both sides. We have also tried to set an example for others--by seeking to adjust small but significant differences with our own closest neighbors in Mexico and in Canada.
Speaking of other nations, I wish to make one point clear. We are bound to many nations by alliances. Those alliances exist because our concern and theirs substantially overlap. Our commitment to defend Western Europe and West Berlin, for example, stands undiminished because of the identity of our vital interests. The United States will make no deal with the Soviet Union at the expense of other nations and other peoples, not merely because they are our partners, but also because their interests and ours converge.
Our interests converge, however, not only in defending the frontiers of freedom, but in pursuing the paths of peace. It is our hope-- and the purpose of allied policies--to convince the Soviet Union that she, too, should let each nation choose its own future, so long as that choice does not interfere with the choices of others. The Communist drive to impose their political and economic system on others is the primary cause of world tension today. For there can be no doubt that, if all nations could refrain from interfering in the self-determination of others, the peace would be much more assured.
This will require a new effort to achieve world law--a new context for world discussions. It will require increased understanding between the Soviets and ourselves. And increased understanding will require increased contact and communication. One step in this direction is the proposed arrangement for a direct line between Moscow and Washington, to avoid on each side the dangerous delays, misunderstandings, and misreadings of the other's actions which might occur at a time of crisis.
We have also been talking in Geneva about the other first-step measures of arms control designed to limit the intensity of the arms race and to reduce the risks of accidental war. Our primary long range interest in Geneva, however, is general and complete disarmament-- designed to take place by stages, permitting parallel political developments to build the new institutions of peace which would take the place of arms. The pursuit of disarmament has been an effort of this Government since the 1920's. It has been urgently sought by the past three administrations. And however dim the prospects may be today, we intend to continue this effort--to continue it in order that all countries, including our own, can better grasp what the problems and possibilities of disarmament are.
The one major area of these negotiations where the end is in sight, yet where a fresh start is badly needed, is in a treaty to outlaw nuclear tests. The conclusion of such a treaty, so near and yet so far, would check the spiraling arms race in one of its most dangerous areas. It would place the nuclear powers in a position to deal more effectively with one of the greatest hazards which man faces in 1963, the further spread of nuclear arms. It would increase our security--it would decrease the prospects of war. Surely this goal is sufficiently important to require our steady pursuit, yielding neither to the temptation to give up the whole effort nor the temptation to give up our insistence on vital and responsible safeguards.
I am taking this opportunity, therefore, to announce two important decisions in this regard.
First: Chairman Khrushchev, Prime Minister Macmillan, and I have agreed that high-level discussions will shortly begin in Moscow looking toward early agreement on a comprehensive test ban treaty. Our hopes must be tempered with the caution of history--but with our hopes go the hopes of all mankind.
Second: To make clear our good faith and solemn convictions on the matter, I now declare that the United States does not propose to conduct nuclear tests in the atmosphere so long as other states do not do so. We will not be the first to resume. Such a declaration is no substitute for a formal binding treaty, but I hope it will help us achieve one. Nor would such a treaty be a substitute for disarmament, but I hope it will help us achieve it.
Finally, my fellow Americans, let us examine our attitude toward peace and freedom here at home. The quality and spirit of our own society must justify and support our efforts abroad. We must show it in the dedication of our own lives--as many of you who are graduating today will have a unique opportunity to do, by serving without pay in the Peace Corps abroad or in the proposed National Service Corps here at home.
But wherever we are, we must all, in our daily lives, live up to the age-old faith that peace and freedom walk together. In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because the freedom is incomplete.
It is the responsibility of the executive branch at all levels of government--local, State, and National--to provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within their authority. It is the responsibility of the legislative branch at all levels, wherever that authority is not now adequate, to make it adequate. And it is the responsibility of all citizens in all sections of this country to respect the rights of all others and to respect the law of the land.
All this is not unrelated to world peace. "When a man's ways please the Lord," the Scriptures tell us, "he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights--the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation--the right to breathe air as nature provided it--the right of future generations to a healthy existence?
While we proceed to safeguard our national interests, let us also safeguard human interests. And the elimination of war and arms is clearly in the interest of both. No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can--if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers--offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race.
The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough--more than enough--of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on--not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.
submitted by TruNorth556 to stupidpol [link] [comments]
"There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university," wrote John Masefield in his tribute to English universities--and his words are equally true today. He did not refer to spires and towers, to campus greens and ivied walls. He admired the splendid beauty of the university, he said, because it was "a place where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see."
I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived--yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children--not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women--not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age when great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all the allied air forces in the Second World War. It makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn.
Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles--which can only destroy and never create--is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace.
I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war--and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.
Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament--and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must reexamine our own attitude--as individuals and as a Nation--for our attitude is as essential as theirs. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward--by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home.
First: Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable--that mankind is doomed--that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.
We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade--therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable--and we believe they can do it again.
I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal.
Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace-- based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions--on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned. There is no single, simple key to this peace--no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process--a way of solving problems.
With such a peace, there will still be quarrels and conflicting interests, as there are within families and nations. World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor--it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbors.
So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it.
Second: Let us reexamine our attitude toward the Soviet Union. It is discouraging to think that their leaders may actually believe what their propagandists write. It is discouraging to read a recent authoritative Soviet text on Military Strategy and find, on page after page, wholly baseless and incredible claims--such as the allegation that "American imperialist circles are preparing to unleash different types of wars . . . that there is a very real threat of a preventive war being unleashed by American imperialists against the Soviet Union . . . [and that] the political aims of the American imperialists are to enslave economically and politically the European and other capitalist countries . . . [and] to achieve world domination . . . by means of aggressive wars."
Truly, as it was written long ago: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth." Yet it is sad to read these Soviet statements--to realize the extent of the gulf between us. But it is also a warning--a warning to the American people not to fall into the same trap as the Soviets, not to see only a distorted and desperate view of the other side, not to see conflict as inevitable, accommodation as impossible, and communication as nothing more than an exchange of threats.
No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue. As Americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity. But we can still hail the Russian people for their many achievements--in science and space, in economic and industrial growth, in culture and in acts of courage.
Among the many traits the peoples of our two countries have in common, none is stronger than our mutual abhorrence of war. Almost unique among the major world powers, we have never been at war with each other. And no nation in the history of battle ever suffered more than the Soviet Union suffered in the course of the Second World War. At least 20 million lost their lives. Countless millions of homes and farms were burned or sacked. A third of the nation's territory, including nearly two thirds of its industrial base, was turned into a wasteland--a loss equivalent to the devastation of this country east of Chicago.
Today, should total war ever break out again--no matter how--our two countries would become the primary targets. It is an ironic but accurate fact that the two strongest powers are the two in the most danger of devastation. All we have built, all we have worked for, would be destroyed in the first 24 hours. And even in the cold war, which brings burdens and dangers to so many nations, including this Nation's closest allies--our two countries bear the heaviest burdens. For we are both devoting massive sums of money to weapons that could be better devoted to combating ignorance, poverty, and disease. We are both caught up in a vicious and dangerous cycle in which suspicion on one side breeds suspicion on the other, and new weapons beget counterweapons.
In short, both the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies, have a mutually deep interest in a just and genuine peace and in halting the arms race. Agreements to this end are in the interests of the Soviet Union as well as ours--and even the most hostile nations can be relied upon to accept and keep those treaty obligations, and only those treaty obligations, which are in their own interest.
So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.
Third: Let us reexamine our attitude toward the cold war, remembering that we are not engaged in a debate, seeking to pile up debating points. We are not here distributing blame or pointing the finger of judgment. We must deal with the world as it is, and not as it might have been had the history of the last 18 years been different.
We must, therefore, persevere in the search for peace in the hope that constructive changes within the Communist bloc might bring within reach solutions which now seem beyond us. We must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes in the Communists' interest to agree on a genuine peace. Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy--or of a collective death-wish for the world.
To secure these ends, America's weapons are nonprovocative, carefully controlled, designed to deter, and capable of selective use. Our military forces are committed to peace and disciplined in self- restraint. Our diplomats are instructed to avoid unnecessary irritants and purely rhetorical hostility.
For we can seek a relaxation of tension without relaxing our guard. And, for our part, we do not need to use threats to prove that we are resolute. We do not need to jam foreign broadcasts out of fear our faith will be eroded. We are unwilling to impose our system on any unwilling people--but we are willing and able to engage in peaceful competition with any people on earth.
Meanwhile, we seek to strengthen the United Nations, to help solve its financial problems, to make it a more effective instrument for peace, to develop it into a genuine world security system--a system capable of resolving disputes on the basis of law, of insuring the security of the large and the small, and of creating conditions under which arms can finally be abolished.
At the same time we seek to keep peace inside the non-Communist world, where many nations, all of them our friends, are divided over issues which weaken Western unity, which invite Communist intervention or which threaten to erupt into war. Our efforts in West New Guinea, in the Congo, in the Middle East, and in the Indian subcontinent, have been persistent and patient despite criticism from both sides. We have also tried to set an example for others--by seeking to adjust small but significant differences with our own closest neighbors in Mexico and in Canada.
Speaking of other nations, I wish to make one point clear. We are bound to many nations by alliances. Those alliances exist because our concern and theirs substantially overlap. Our commitment to defend Western Europe and West Berlin, for example, stands undiminished because of the identity of our vital interests. The United States will make no deal with the Soviet Union at the expense of other nations and other peoples, not merely because they are our partners, but also because their interests and ours converge.
Our interests converge, however, not only in defending the frontiers of freedom, but in pursuing the paths of peace. It is our hope-- and the purpose of allied policies--to convince the Soviet Union that she, too, should let each nation choose its own future, so long as that choice does not interfere with the choices of others. The Communist drive to impose their political and economic system on others is the primary cause of world tension today. For there can be no doubt that, if all nations could refrain from interfering in the self-determination of others, the peace would be much more assured.
This will require a new effort to achieve world law--a new context for world discussions. It will require increased understanding between the Soviets and ourselves. And increased understanding will require increased contact and communication. One step in this direction is the proposed arrangement for a direct line between Moscow and Washington, to avoid on each side the dangerous delays, misunderstandings, and misreadings of the other's actions which might occur at a time of crisis.
We have also been talking in Geneva about the other first-step measures of arms control designed to limit the intensity of the arms race and to reduce the risks of accidental war. Our primary long range interest in Geneva, however, is general and complete disarmament-- designed to take place by stages, permitting parallel political developments to build the new institutions of peace which would take the place of arms. The pursuit of disarmament has been an effort of this Government since the 1920's. It has been urgently sought by the past three administrations. And however dim the prospects may be today, we intend to continue this effort--to continue it in order that all countries, including our own, can better grasp what the problems and possibilities of disarmament are.
The one major area of these negotiations where the end is in sight, yet where a fresh start is badly needed, is in a treaty to outlaw nuclear tests. The conclusion of such a treaty, so near and yet so far, would check the spiraling arms race in one of its most dangerous areas. It would place the nuclear powers in a position to deal more effectively with one of the greatest hazards which man faces in 1963, the further spread of nuclear arms. It would increase our security--it would decrease the prospects of war. Surely this goal is sufficiently important to require our steady pursuit, yielding neither to the temptation to give up the whole effort nor the temptation to give up our insistence on vital and responsible safeguards.
I am taking this opportunity, therefore, to announce two important decisions in this regard.
First: Chairman Khrushchev, Prime Minister Macmillan, and I have agreed that high-level discussions will shortly begin in Moscow looking toward early agreement on a comprehensive test ban treaty. Our hopes must be tempered with the caution of history--but with our hopes go the hopes of all mankind.
Second: To make clear our good faith and solemn convictions on the matter, I now declare that the United States does not propose to conduct nuclear tests in the atmosphere so long as other states do not do so. We will not be the first to resume. Such a declaration is no substitute for a formal binding treaty, but I hope it will help us achieve one. Nor would such a treaty be a substitute for disarmament, but I hope it will help us achieve it.
Finally, my fellow Americans, let us examine our attitude toward peace and freedom here at home. The quality and spirit of our own society must justify and support our efforts abroad. We must show it in the dedication of our own lives--as many of you who are graduating today will have a unique opportunity to do, by serving without pay in the Peace Corps abroad or in the proposed National Service Corps here at home.
But wherever we are, we must all, in our daily lives, live up to the age-old faith that peace and freedom walk together. In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because the freedom is incomplete.
It is the responsibility of the executive branch at all levels of government--local, State, and National--to provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within their authority. It is the responsibility of the legislative branch at all levels, wherever that authority is not now adequate, to make it adequate. And it is the responsibility of all citizens in all sections of this country to respect the rights of all others and to respect the law of the land.
All this is not unrelated to world peace. "When a man's ways please the Lord," the Scriptures tell us, "he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights--the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation--the right to breathe air as nature provided it--the right of future generations to a healthy existence?
While we proceed to safeguard our national interests, let us also safeguard human interests. And the elimination of war and arms is clearly in the interest of both. No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can--if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers--offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race.
The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough--more than enough--of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on--not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.
2024.05.16 17:19 mariela2289 Advice for newlywed seeking to petition for husband’s green card
My husband and I got married last month and we’re looking to start the process for him to get his green card. He’s from Venezuela and recently got his work permit and TPS approved and I’m a U.S. Citizen. (I should mention that he entered the country through the border and we may have a delay with that.) I’m a bit concerned with the timelines as to all of this since it happened so fast. We met in October 2023, started dating on Christmas 2023, and got married in April 2023z As newlyweds, we’re just starting our lives together. So far, we’ve opened a joint checking account, have a life insurance policy where I’m listed as his dependent, and have pictures together from the entire process. We’re currently renting a room and don’t really have any utilities together yet. We are thinking of opening a Costco account together. One thing I am concerned about is the lack of evidence of a shared life. We don’t post each other on social media, people around us don’t even know we’re married as we never made it official (it was in a whim that we decided to get married and I didn’t want my parents to know due to religious reasons). I’m concerned as to how this will hold up as a case and if we should wait a bit longer or if we can start the process. Open to all advice and thanks for reading!
submitted by mariela2289 to USCIS [link] [comments]
2024.05.16 17:15 DevelopmentAlarmed55 What's this life like?
I'm a senior consultant and I hate my job.
I'm looking to shift into executive assistant / chief of staff just for better work life balance (9-5) lower stress jobs and then use my free time to do more passive income things (life insurance, real estate, etc.)
Is that feasible or am I just going to go into a lower paying field for the same stress and no work-life balance?
submitted by DevelopmentAlarmed55 to ExecutiveAssistants [link] [comments]
I'm looking to shift into executive assistant / chief of staff just for better work life balance (9-5) lower stress jobs and then use my free time to do more passive income things (life insurance, real estate, etc.)
Is that feasible or am I just going to go into a lower paying field for the same stress and no work-life balance?
2024.05.16 17:14 VariationElegant9021 Looking for advice on reducing debt and leaving account.
Hi!
I (22M, student) have a credit score of about 632 (CK/TransUnion) and 700 (FICO thru Amex app). My parents set me up well in high school as an authorized user so I have been higher, but more recent balances have lowered my score.
In my name, I have a Discover with a $4,100 limit, and an Amex Blue Cash Preferred with a $2,000 limit. Amex is paid off, Discover is at about 77% utilization.
Regarding this balance, I have a life insurance policy, which allows me to take out a "loan" against the cash value with 5% interest annually. I believe this would be preferred to slowly paying off the CC, as less interest would be accrued, but want to make sure I'm not foolishly glossing over something.
My second question is that, as I mentioned my family has tried to make things good for me regarding credit. I am an authorized user on a card of theirs with about $10K limit, but with about 90% utilization. It is not my oldest card, so that shouldn't be of concern. There are some other problem cards but it's less relevant.
If my math is correct, removing myself as an authorized user from that card would get my total utilization from 67% to 56%, and if I paid off Discover, I'd get down to 44%.
I have a job, and should be fine financially, just want to pull out of this little rut!
Please don't judge my family, or myself. Spending could be better, but nobody knows the whole picture! Thanks!
tl;dr: I have access to a 5%, annual loan thru life insurance, wondering if I should pay a cards outstanding balance with that. Also wondering if I should remove myself as an authorized user on a family card that has a high balance, but also high limit.
submitted by VariationElegant9021 to personalfinance [link] [comments]
I (22M, student) have a credit score of about 632 (CK/TransUnion) and 700 (FICO thru Amex app). My parents set me up well in high school as an authorized user so I have been higher, but more recent balances have lowered my score.
In my name, I have a Discover with a $4,100 limit, and an Amex Blue Cash Preferred with a $2,000 limit. Amex is paid off, Discover is at about 77% utilization.
Regarding this balance, I have a life insurance policy, which allows me to take out a "loan" against the cash value with 5% interest annually. I believe this would be preferred to slowly paying off the CC, as less interest would be accrued, but want to make sure I'm not foolishly glossing over something.
My second question is that, as I mentioned my family has tried to make things good for me regarding credit. I am an authorized user on a card of theirs with about $10K limit, but with about 90% utilization. It is not my oldest card, so that shouldn't be of concern. There are some other problem cards but it's less relevant.
If my math is correct, removing myself as an authorized user from that card would get my total utilization from 67% to 56%, and if I paid off Discover, I'd get down to 44%.
I have a job, and should be fine financially, just want to pull out of this little rut!
Please don't judge my family, or myself. Spending could be better, but nobody knows the whole picture! Thanks!
tl;dr: I have access to a 5%, annual loan thru life insurance, wondering if I should pay a cards outstanding balance with that. Also wondering if I should remove myself as an authorized user on a family card that has a high balance, but also high limit.
2024.05.16 17:14 eikkuu__28 M4F F4M [script offer] Hearts unite under one roof [BFE] [Romance] [established relationship] [moving in together] [comfort for move anxiety] [kisses] [Making out] [Nervous] [Spicy] [sweet] [L-bombs] [Cameo] [Celebrating] [sunset] [new life together] [Cuddles] [Comfort] [Exetened ending]
let`s mix it up a little with my series.
"I can`t wait to get started this new life with you."
You move in wiht your partner
The cast: speaker: Several months ago you started to date this girl, first you took things slow, but lately you felt like you both are ready to take the next step and asked her to move in with you. Very sweet, kind, gentle but likes to dom. You protect your loved ones to all what you have.
Listener: You are a little shy but still ongoing with people that you know. You have small adabondent issues because of your past. When your boyfriend first asked to move in, first you weren\t sure but after little while thinking it over you were sure. Sweet, kind, hard working, loyal to anyone who has earned your love and trust.)
Note: Alex and Julia`s lines can be ignored you don`t need collab.
submitted by eikkuu__28 to talkingtalltales [link] [comments]
"I can`t wait to get started this new life with you."
You move in wiht your partner
- English is not my native language, so I apologize for any mistakes I missed in the edit table.
- Wordcount
- Clearer usage rules : Fill policy
- Monetization for YouTube- totally fine.
- Masterlist
- Feel free to give me feedback if any is appreciated.
- tag me in the post and the comments so it notifies me if you decide to fill it. Not only would I love to hear it, but I would love to support you as well
- If you have any questions feel free to ask them
The cast: speaker: Several months ago you started to date this girl, first you took things slow, but lately you felt like you both are ready to take the next step and asked her to move in with you. Very sweet, kind, gentle but likes to dom. You protect your loved ones to all what you have.
Listener: You are a little shy but still ongoing with people that you know. You have small adabondent issues because of your past. When your boyfriend first asked to move in, first you weren\t sure but after little while thinking it over you were sure. Sweet, kind, hard working, loyal to anyone who has earned your love and trust.)
Note: Alex and Julia`s lines can be ignored you don`t need collab.
2024.05.16 17:13 antidextrous-human Car Insurance Rates Increasing Significantly
Is everyone's car insurance price increasing by an insanely high margin? My policy renews next month and it will go up by a whopping 24%. My wife and I are experienced drivers, never had any accidents or tickets, so we don't see why it would increase by this much. I talked to the insurance agent, and he says it's because the COVID discounts are gone.
We're starting to shop around for a new insurance company, but I'm wondering if this is just our current company trying to pull a fast one on us, or if it's a widespread thing.
submitted by antidextrous-human to askTO [link] [comments]
We're starting to shop around for a new insurance company, but I'm wondering if this is just our current company trying to pull a fast one on us, or if it's a widespread thing.
2024.05.16 17:12 VariationElegant9021 Opinions on paying off debt being removed from accounts.
Hi!
I (22M, student) have a credit score of about 632 (CK/TransUnion) and 700 (FICO thru Amex app). My parents set me up well in high school as an authorized user so I have been higher, but more recent balances have lowered my score.
In my name, I have a Discover with a $4,100 limit, and an Amex Blue Cash Preferred with a $2,000 limit. Amex is paid off, Discover is at about 77% utilization.
Regarding this balance, I have a life insurance policy, which allows me to take out a "loan" against the cash value with 5% interest annually. I believe this would be preferred to slowly paying off the CC, as less interest would be accrued, but want to make sure I'm not foolishly glossing over something.
My second question is that, as I mentioned my family has tried to make things good for me regarding credit. I am an authorized user on a card of theirs with about $10K limit, but with about 90% utilization. It is not my oldest card, so that shouldn't be of concern. There are some other problem cards but it's less relevant.
If my math is correct, removing myself as an authorized user from that card would get my total utilization from 67% to 56%, and if I paid off Discover, I'd get down to 44%.
I have a job, and should be fine financially, just want to pull out of this little rut!
Please don't judge my family, or myself. Spending could be better, but nobody knows the whole picture! Thanks!
tl;dr: I have access to a 5%, annual loan thru life insurance, wondering if I should pay a cards outstanding balance with that. Also wondering if I should remove myself as an authorized user on a family card that has a high balance, but also high limit.
submitted by VariationElegant9021 to CreditCards [link] [comments]
I (22M, student) have a credit score of about 632 (CK/TransUnion) and 700 (FICO thru Amex app). My parents set me up well in high school as an authorized user so I have been higher, but more recent balances have lowered my score.
In my name, I have a Discover with a $4,100 limit, and an Amex Blue Cash Preferred with a $2,000 limit. Amex is paid off, Discover is at about 77% utilization.
Regarding this balance, I have a life insurance policy, which allows me to take out a "loan" against the cash value with 5% interest annually. I believe this would be preferred to slowly paying off the CC, as less interest would be accrued, but want to make sure I'm not foolishly glossing over something.
My second question is that, as I mentioned my family has tried to make things good for me regarding credit. I am an authorized user on a card of theirs with about $10K limit, but with about 90% utilization. It is not my oldest card, so that shouldn't be of concern. There are some other problem cards but it's less relevant.
If my math is correct, removing myself as an authorized user from that card would get my total utilization from 67% to 56%, and if I paid off Discover, I'd get down to 44%.
I have a job, and should be fine financially, just want to pull out of this little rut!
Please don't judge my family, or myself. Spending could be better, but nobody knows the whole picture! Thanks!
tl;dr: I have access to a 5%, annual loan thru life insurance, wondering if I should pay a cards outstanding balance with that. Also wondering if I should remove myself as an authorized user on a family card that has a high balance, but also high limit.
2024.05.16 17:05 stirus Should I be worried about our claim being denied?
Trying to figure out if we should be worried or not. My father just passed away suddenly on Saturday due to cardiac arrest. He got a $1m policy in 2008, my parents never missed a payment. At the time, back in 2008, he was in great health. Recently though, around 2017-2018 he developed a drinking problem. He’s been battling with this, on and off, since then. He was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning earlier this year.
Obviously we won’t know for sure until we hear from the insurance company, but my understanding is that could take a week or two. Just trying to figure things out.
submitted by stirus to LifeInsurance [link] [comments]
Obviously we won’t know for sure until we hear from the insurance company, but my understanding is that could take a week or two. Just trying to figure things out.
2024.05.16 17:04 MariamTin NEAR-INSTANT $1-$6.25+ Signup, INSTANT $3 Referral Bonuses. I cashed out $151.50 since signing up last week! 🏃🏿🏃♂️
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Share your referral link and earn $3 instant bonuses for everyone you refer! Since signing up on 5/7, I've already earned and cashed out $151.50! https://preview.redd.it/t87noneuzs0d1.jpg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=32997d6e070e2670a2409315ff588ea1ecc1246c https://preview.redd.it/ja9dj3yuzs0d1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d4e544fbb39e72b0a41cea4f7e737bf2501b3cc |
2024.05.16 17:02 depacseohw222 Mac iSci vs UWaterloo Health Sci vs UTSG Life Sci
Hi everyone! I'm a 101 applicant who got accepted into mac isci, uwaterloo health sci and utsg life sci. To be so honest with you, I have been a grade robot my entire high school career and have absolutely no thoughts for or against any of these three programs. I will say, I am leaning towards mac isci because from what I've gathered, it's an interdisciplinary science program and I would really like to keep my options open since I have no passions whatsoever (except maybe for public health or health policy), also, really digging the small classroom size. However, I'm worried about how I'd do because I have no physics background, I also have no idea what the group research projects even look like, so I'm considering uwaterloo and utsg because they're bio/health/life sci- related. Please help me make a list of pros and cons, I have absolutely no idea where I want to go and I have, what, two weeks to sort it all out? Maybe I'd want to go to grad school, maybe med school, maybe I'll have a revelation and go to culinary school. What do you guys think is the best option? Also, current students of any of these three programs, please pm me, I am desperate for any info!!
submitted by depacseohw222 to UofT [link] [comments]
2024.05.16 17:02 Shiooopan WTW is hiring CSR (for Pioneer Account) At least 2yrs of CSR experience
 | We have a very competitive salary offer here. submitted by Shiooopan to PHJobs [link] [comments] Org type: Shared Services/Broking and Solutions/Consulting and Support. (BRITISH-AMERICAN MULTINATIONAL COMPANY HERE AT SERVICE CENTRAL MANILA) Requirements: At least has minimum of 2-3 years experience. 🟣Hybrid setup with company-provided equipment 🟣500K and 750K HMO with free dependents 🟣Group Life Insurance 🟣Rice subsidy, clothing, and Internet allowance 🟣Flexible Spending Account Reimbursement Claim (Medical, Travel, Hotel Expenses, etc.) 🟣Night differential pay: 20% (may vary on shift schedule) 🟣Shift Transportation Allowance: Starting at 7K monthly (full month working onsite) 🟣Individual bonus program 🟣Incident assistance 🟣Loan assistance 🟣Learning and development programs 🟣Annual compensation review bonus 🟣Good workplace culture 🟣Generous Referral Program Bonus 🟣Competitive Salary Package for Newbies and Tenured And many more benefits and incentives! Note: This is a pioneer account! 🔥 (Sat/Sun off) Recruitment process is Virtual: Initial & Final Interview only. Kindly expect for a feedback within 2 weeks! If you’re interested or you know someone who wants to apply, please send me a PM! |
2024.05.16 17:01 depacseohw222 Mac iSci vs UWaterloo Health Sci vs UTSG Life Sci
Hi everyone! I'm a 101 applicant who got accepted into mac isci, uwaterloo health sci and utsg life sci. To be so honest with you, I have been a grade robot my entire high school career and have absolutely no thoughts for or against any of these three programs. I will say, I am leaning towards mac isci because from what I've gathered, it's an interdisciplinary science program and I would really like to keep my options open since I have no passions whatsoever (except maybe for public health or health policy), also, really digging the small classroom size. However, I'm worried about how I'd do because I have no physics background, I also have no idea what the group research projects even look like, so I'm considering uwaterloo and utsg because they're bio/health/life sci- related. Please help me make a list of pros and cons, I have absolutely no idea where I want to go and I have, what, two weeks to sort it all out? Maybe I'd want to go to grad school, maybe med school, maybe I'll have a revelation and go to culinary school. What do you guys think is the best option? Also, current students of any of these three programs, please pm me, I am desperate for any info!!
submitted by depacseohw222 to McMaster [link] [comments]
2024.05.16 17:01 Aggressive_Life9328 Account Items Lost After Time?
 | So, I hadn’t played New World in probably over a year. I enjoy it for a little bit, but ultimately, as it was at the time, it wasn’t for me. submitted by Aggressive_Life9328 to newworldgame [link] [comments] I had purchased the expansion on sale not long ago, knowing I’d probably return at some point and a week ago I did. None of my twitch rewards or purchased cosmetics were available and my characters were wiped. I didn’t care about the characters as I wanted to start o er anyway, but I thought it was strange that my account items were missing. I only have a single Amazon account and a single Steam account, so no mix up there. After some back and forth for a few days, I received the pictures reply. Has anyone else had this issue? Is this a policy within Amazon Studios? I’ve never in my whole life of gaming had this issue with any game. |
2024.05.16 17:00 depacseohw222 Mac iSci vs UWaterloo Health Sci vs UTSG Life Sci
Hi everyone! I'm a 101 applicant who got accepted into mac isci, uwaterloo health sci and utsg life sci. To be so honest with you, I have been a grade robot my entire high school career and have absolutely no thoughts for or against any of these three programs. I will say, I am leaning towards mac isci because from what I've gathered, it's an interdisciplinary science program and I would really like to keep my options open since I have no passions whatsoever (except maybe for public health or health policy), also, really digging the small classroom size. However, I'm worried about how I'd do because I have no physics background, I also have no idea what the group research projects even look like, so I'm considering uwaterloo and utsg because they're bio/health/life sci- related. Please help me make a list of pros and cons, I have absolutely no idea where I want to go and I have, what, two weeks to sort it all out? Maybe I'd want to go to grad school, maybe med school, maybe I'll have a revelation and go to culinary school. What do you guys think is the best option? Also, current students of any of these three programs, please pm me, I am desperate for any info!!
submitted by depacseohw222 to OntarioGrade12s [link] [comments]
2024.05.16 16:58 depacseohw222 Mac iSci vs UWaterloo Health Sci vs UTSG Life Sci
Hi everyone! I'm a 101 applicant who got accepted into mac isci, uwaterloo health sci and utsg life sci. To be so honest with you, I have been a grade robot my entire high school career and have absolutely no thoughts for or against any of these three programs. I will say, I am leaning towards mac isci because from what I've gathered, it's an interdisciplinary science program and I would really like to keep my options open since I have no passions whatsoever (except maybe for public health or health policy), also, really digging the small classroom size. However, I'm worried about how I'd do because I have no physics background, I also have no idea what the group research projects even look like, so I'm considering uwaterloo and utsg because they're bio/health/life sci- related. Please help me make a list of pros and cons, I have absolutely no idea where I want to go and I have, what, two weeks to sort it all out? Maybe I'd want to go to grad school, maybe med school, maybe I'll have a revelation and go to culinary school. What do you guys think is the best option? Also, current students of any of these three programs, please pm me, I am desperate for any info!!
submitted by depacseohw222 to CanadaUniversities [link] [comments]
2024.05.16 16:49 BTVS96 Wasted Time
Sometimes I think about how much of my life has been wasted calling the pharmacy and then insurance and then the doctor and then back to the pharmacy etc. Currently been on hold for 25 minutes about the dexcom transmitter I ordered 3 weeks bc I guess I didn't bother everyone enough this time to actually have it ready 😐
submitted by BTVS96 to Type1Diabetes [link] [comments]
2024.05.16 16:46 DooglyOoklin I had my first panic attack on Sunday. By Wednesday, my work put me on leave.
im sorry for the long post. i had to get it out.
I had never had a panic attack in my life. I'm 34. I woke up on Mother's Day and my whole right side felt strange. Tingling, numb. I felt this sense of dread. I don't usually go to the ER for anything, but I felt like I had to. My partner drove me. As we drove the 30 or so minutes to the ER, the symptoms got worse. The tingling, but now a tightening in my chest and a pain when I breathed in too much. I began hyperventilating and I was 100 percent sure I was having a stroke. I'm telling my poor partner I'm dying. It's happening rn and I'm so sorry. I'm telling them I love them. By this point, my wholw body is vibrating, like I was turned to the static channel. And then my hands cramped up and my feet too. My mouth drooped and my speech began slurring. I was dry heaving. it was the most intense and terrifying experience of my life.
We get to the hospital and he runs inside and tells them he thinks I'm having a stroke. Everyone inside looks bored....or not concerned. I get back pretty quickly and the nurses rip my shirt off and start sticking shit on me. One of the nurses told me I was panicking and I needed to breathe. I wasn't having a stroke, it was a panic attack. After some time my hands uncramped. The doctor tells me it's a panic attack but they were still going to do tests.
everything came back normal. my blood pressure was 180/110. They gave me BP meds and sent me home with literature on blood pressure.
I worked the next day against doctors orders. My Jon informed me it would be okay as my job isn't "strenuous" (I work as a behavioral specialist in a group home for girls). Everything was fine with my shift. I knew I had to eventually follow up with a primary but my insurance had not kicked in at work yet. I was just waiting it out.
Turns out, I was not fine. The next day I had off and I relaxed and bed rotted as much as I could. I hadn't slept much since Sunday. I was so scared of it happening again. Wednesday was a treatment meeting with all the staff. As I'm sitting there, that fucking tingling started. I had done some reading in case this happened. I said my ABCs, I sang the lyrics to, "I saw the signs" in my head, tried to engage with people, but by this point I looked absolutely insane, I'm sure. my head was covered in sweat. I managed to get up and ask my boss to step outside with me. she escorted me to her office and I just let it all out. I'm crying and shaking and trying to explain what's happening. she's talking to me and asking questions but I can barely keep up.
I'm told I need to go to the walk in clinic and get anxiety meds immediately (by my boss). she told me to call. I call and they tell me I can't do a walk in, I need mental health help. they transfer me to another person. that person is very confused as to why I was given blood pressure meds for a panic attack. she tells me I'm having an emergency event and need to go to the er and I needed to call an ambulance. I tell her I can't afford that. My mom was on her way. I was not alone. All this while I'm crying shaking and feeling very out of control. it was definitely nowhere near the first, though. That was insane.
I get to the ER and this time, they get a health history, they give me something for anxiety, they give me resources for trauma, they are much more understanding and helpful than the first time. I'm really very grateful for then.
But now I'm on medical leave until I "sort this out" as my boss says. I have an appointment on the 30th for a primary follow up followed by a meeting with a therapist. I'm very confused. Why? Why out of nowhere? I do not want to talk about my feelings and trauma. I don't remember much of the details anymore. I just want to be okay. I'm scared I'm still going to die. I feel like a loser for having a panic attack in the middle of a fucking meeting. I'm embarrassed. I'm just sitting at home with nothing to do until the 30th.
How are you guys doing?
submitted by DooglyOoklin to PanicAttack [link] [comments]
I had never had a panic attack in my life. I'm 34. I woke up on Mother's Day and my whole right side felt strange. Tingling, numb. I felt this sense of dread. I don't usually go to the ER for anything, but I felt like I had to. My partner drove me. As we drove the 30 or so minutes to the ER, the symptoms got worse. The tingling, but now a tightening in my chest and a pain when I breathed in too much. I began hyperventilating and I was 100 percent sure I was having a stroke. I'm telling my poor partner I'm dying. It's happening rn and I'm so sorry. I'm telling them I love them. By this point, my wholw body is vibrating, like I was turned to the static channel. And then my hands cramped up and my feet too. My mouth drooped and my speech began slurring. I was dry heaving. it was the most intense and terrifying experience of my life.
We get to the hospital and he runs inside and tells them he thinks I'm having a stroke. Everyone inside looks bored....or not concerned. I get back pretty quickly and the nurses rip my shirt off and start sticking shit on me. One of the nurses told me I was panicking and I needed to breathe. I wasn't having a stroke, it was a panic attack. After some time my hands uncramped. The doctor tells me it's a panic attack but they were still going to do tests.
everything came back normal. my blood pressure was 180/110. They gave me BP meds and sent me home with literature on blood pressure.
I worked the next day against doctors orders. My Jon informed me it would be okay as my job isn't "strenuous" (I work as a behavioral specialist in a group home for girls). Everything was fine with my shift. I knew I had to eventually follow up with a primary but my insurance had not kicked in at work yet. I was just waiting it out.
Turns out, I was not fine. The next day I had off and I relaxed and bed rotted as much as I could. I hadn't slept much since Sunday. I was so scared of it happening again. Wednesday was a treatment meeting with all the staff. As I'm sitting there, that fucking tingling started. I had done some reading in case this happened. I said my ABCs, I sang the lyrics to, "I saw the signs" in my head, tried to engage with people, but by this point I looked absolutely insane, I'm sure. my head was covered in sweat. I managed to get up and ask my boss to step outside with me. she escorted me to her office and I just let it all out. I'm crying and shaking and trying to explain what's happening. she's talking to me and asking questions but I can barely keep up.
I'm told I need to go to the walk in clinic and get anxiety meds immediately (by my boss). she told me to call. I call and they tell me I can't do a walk in, I need mental health help. they transfer me to another person. that person is very confused as to why I was given blood pressure meds for a panic attack. she tells me I'm having an emergency event and need to go to the er and I needed to call an ambulance. I tell her I can't afford that. My mom was on her way. I was not alone. All this while I'm crying shaking and feeling very out of control. it was definitely nowhere near the first, though. That was insane.
I get to the ER and this time, they get a health history, they give me something for anxiety, they give me resources for trauma, they are much more understanding and helpful than the first time. I'm really very grateful for then.
But now I'm on medical leave until I "sort this out" as my boss says. I have an appointment on the 30th for a primary follow up followed by a meeting with a therapist. I'm very confused. Why? Why out of nowhere? I do not want to talk about my feelings and trauma. I don't remember much of the details anymore. I just want to be okay. I'm scared I'm still going to die. I feel like a loser for having a panic attack in the middle of a fucking meeting. I'm embarrassed. I'm just sitting at home with nothing to do until the 30th.
How are you guys doing?
2024.05.16 16:42 theboozerweight I keep getting the worst luck. I feel like I've been cursed
I dont know where else to talk about this where i can also rant. Im at work during a stressful morning fixating and overthinking on so much at one time.
Im quite figuratively and almost literally at the end of my rope. No matter how hard I try to be positive, negative things keep happening all around me and i dont know what to do anymore.
I have had badluck all my life but not this much at once. Ive had back to back terrible years. Ive heard of bad days, bad weeks, but months and years? I have to be cursed or something.
In February '23: Got fired from my job
Feb-July: Was out of work for 5 months
September: - Dog gets cancer
On christmas eve, dog swallows squeaker and almost dies, spent all night at the vet
On Christmas Day my girlfriend and I have a near break up fight
2 days later on the 27th, a car nearly slams into me but turns and hits the wall
On New Years Eve, our car breaks down.
On January 2nd we take it to the mechanics and is told that its a $7000 fix
January: We use her parents car which breaks down a week later
My brother in law contacts me and says he wants to fly me out to NY (where im from and where my family is) for my sisters birthday but work denies my days requested.
I get my promotion in march only for it to be taken away from me the next day for something I didnt do (it was a site wide punishment for two peoples actions)
Dog dies of cancer in april
We found out we are pregnant in march
We lose the baby in april
I got my promotion last week with a pay raise only for our hours to be cut by 4 so im pretty much making the same as i did $2 ago.
Now the car we bought in January is burning oil and everyone is saying its probably engine failure.
Upon numerous financial woes. We cant get out of her parents house because we cant find affordable places on top of being scared since everytime we have money its taken from us for numerous things like doctor visits, mecahnic visits, insurance shit.
How am I supposed to recover? I know everyone has bad luck but i feel like life is just kicking the crap out of me.
Anyone have any tips?
submitted by theboozerweight to CasualConversation [link] [comments]
Im quite figuratively and almost literally at the end of my rope. No matter how hard I try to be positive, negative things keep happening all around me and i dont know what to do anymore.
I have had badluck all my life but not this much at once. Ive had back to back terrible years. Ive heard of bad days, bad weeks, but months and years? I have to be cursed or something.
In February '23: Got fired from my job
Feb-July: Was out of work for 5 months
September: - Dog gets cancer
- My girlfriend suffers a concussion
- My girlfriend then has severe bouts with migraines for a month
- My girlfriend suffers another concussion
- My girlfriend suffers a back injury
- Im denied my promotion promised after 90 days
On christmas eve, dog swallows squeaker and almost dies, spent all night at the vet
On Christmas Day my girlfriend and I have a near break up fight
2 days later on the 27th, a car nearly slams into me but turns and hits the wall
On New Years Eve, our car breaks down.
On January 2nd we take it to the mechanics and is told that its a $7000 fix
January: We use her parents car which breaks down a week later
My brother in law contacts me and says he wants to fly me out to NY (where im from and where my family is) for my sisters birthday but work denies my days requested.
I get my promotion in march only for it to be taken away from me the next day for something I didnt do (it was a site wide punishment for two peoples actions)
Dog dies of cancer in april
We found out we are pregnant in march
We lose the baby in april
I got my promotion last week with a pay raise only for our hours to be cut by 4 so im pretty much making the same as i did $2 ago.
Now the car we bought in January is burning oil and everyone is saying its probably engine failure.
Upon numerous financial woes. We cant get out of her parents house because we cant find affordable places on top of being scared since everytime we have money its taken from us for numerous things like doctor visits, mecahnic visits, insurance shit.
How am I supposed to recover? I know everyone has bad luck but i feel like life is just kicking the crap out of me.
Anyone have any tips?
2024.05.16 16:41 no_commet Charge for patient file transfers (new GP)
Hey there,
I recently moved and found a new Doctor luckily, I sent the form to request my patient files to be transferred from my old GP to the new one and they're telling me it costs $52 and I can pay by cash or check in person, it's about a 3 hour drive away. Is this legal/normal practice?
Edit: I didn't realize this wasn't insured/covered by OHIP. Anyway if anyone else has a similar question in the future, it looks like the reccommended charge (from Ontario Medical Association, as of January 2024) is $30 for electronic transfer, or $30 for the first 20 pages (printed copies) then $0.25 per page thereaftor, then $45 after first 15 minutes, per 15minutes for physician review if needed.
CPSO - Medical Records Management
OMA - Physician's Guide to Uninsured Services
submitted by no_commet to ontario [link] [comments]
I recently moved and found a new Doctor luckily, I sent the form to request my patient files to be transferred from my old GP to the new one and they're telling me it costs $52 and I can pay by cash or check in person, it's about a 3 hour drive away. Is this legal/normal practice?
Edit: I didn't realize this wasn't insured/covered by OHIP. Anyway if anyone else has a similar question in the future, it looks like the reccommended charge (from Ontario Medical Association, as of January 2024) is $30 for electronic transfer, or $30 for the first 20 pages (printed copies) then $0.25 per page thereaftor, then $45 after first 15 minutes, per 15minutes for physician review if needed.
CPSO - Medical Records Management
OMA - Physician's Guide to Uninsured Services
2024.05.16 16:39 amayas21 Tax declaration with PEA (Plan d'Epargne en Actions) and french life insurance
Hi all,
Question regarding taxes in Switzerland, more particularly in Geneva. I hold a PEA (Plan d'Epargne en Actions) and a life insurance (Assurance Vie) in France.
Do we have to declare them when filing our tax declaration ? If so, at what level ? Redditors in this situation ?
I really would like to do things properly but a little complicated for the first time.
Thanks :)
submitted by amayas21 to SwissPersonalFinance [link] [comments]
Question regarding taxes in Switzerland, more particularly in Geneva. I hold a PEA (Plan d'Epargne en Actions) and a life insurance (Assurance Vie) in France.
Do we have to declare them when filing our tax declaration ? If so, at what level ? Redditors in this situation ?
I really would like to do things properly but a little complicated for the first time.
Thanks :)
2024.05.16 16:37 Ok_Flounder8842 Top 5 Regretted Home Purchases?
What are your top 5 regretted purchases for your home? And what would you have done with the savings?
A. Finances: I would have Paid down Credit Card debt, built a 6 month Emergency Fund, raised my retirement account contributions, and funded the kids' college savings account, in that order. I use a compound interest calculator to see how much more money I would have had.
B. Life Insurance: I would have paid a higher annual premium for a larger 25 year term life policy for my spouse and me. Maybe even explored disability insurance or something like AFLAC.
submitted by Ok_Flounder8842 to Westchester [link] [comments]
- The second car. I could have gotten away with walking, bike/e-bike, bus or even occasional taxi/uber to the train station, saved $ on parking, and the daily steps would have helped my health. Still paying insurance/maintenance for the car which i keep around in case the adult kids want to use it.
- the Outdoor Play Set. It was barely used, and I'm still spending $ maintaining it every year in preparation for house resale. Kids got bored with it quickly, and just wanted to go to the park to play with other kids.
- the bigger house. Getting a house with a Living Room and separate Dining Room when it already had a Family Room and eat-in kitchen was unnecessary. The LR and DR are rarely used, and for the extra expense, I could have rented a private room in a restaurant for holiday gatherings many times over and not had to do the dishes.
- the bigger yard. The amount of the yard my family actually uses is tiny. Yet I pay a landscaper more money to maintain all that extra space. Sure, I'm now re-wilding some of it to save landscaping money, but I still have to pay taxes on land I don't use.
- the Outdoor Lighting. I have lights illuminating my bushes, trees (which I learned is illegal in my town), and my house which is ridiculous when you think about it. It's not the Arc d'Triomphe. Worse, the lights I now learned contribute to species decline (as if we haven't done enough via climate change to screw other species) and the inability to see the stars at night. I could have gotten away with a few motion-sensor lights for security for far less money.
A. Finances: I would have Paid down Credit Card debt, built a 6 month Emergency Fund, raised my retirement account contributions, and funded the kids' college savings account, in that order. I use a compound interest calculator to see how much more money I would have had.
B. Life Insurance: I would have paid a higher annual premium for a larger 25 year term life policy for my spouse and me. Maybe even explored disability insurance or something like AFLAC.