Hello, experts.
I know all of the rules about how much and what counts for contributions. That is not my question.
I would like to know exactly how money gets from an unrelated minor's checking account to that unrelated minor's ROTH account with me as their custodian. I am a teacher of personal finance and have a line of high school students ready to open accounts. I had trouble with the wording that Fidelity uses when trying to fund the account.
For my test case this afternoon, I added the routing number and account number of the minor's checking account as a "I'm not the owner" (I think that was the name?). We are now waiting to get approved.
tl;dr: 17 year old wants to be able to transfer money from her checking account to her ROTH without me being the middleman. Is this allowed or will we set up an "you venmo to me, I deposit in your account" system?
Another confirmation I need: I believe this to be true: A minor can open an account before they have taxable income and that account can wait until they eventually get a job--an account can have a zero balance, yes?
Thanks, everybody.

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and i hope you'll enjoy it as much as i did writing it
again a huge thanks to u/Objective-Farm-2560 for helping me with my grammar and spelling
[First]-[Previous]
Memory Transcription Subject: Vaill, Venlil Rescue
Date [standardized human time]: November 28, 2136

The paws that went by on that ship were better than the one in the pens. No one was eaten, and no Grays were stalking around. It was like they were avoiding us. No one but me knew where they were taking us, others guessed we were being moved to another cattle farm, which I guess wasn’t far from the truth, but most were quietly stewing in what was likely our last paws. The cut from that thing had healed up mostly, and was now scarring without the proper medical attention.

I didn’t tell the others that we were going to the ‘extinct’ predators home, that would only create more panic, so I kept my mouth shut so that the people here might have some hope. Even if it was a false hope.
The cargo bay that they had loaded us into was a similar dark metal to the cattle facility, but this one was missing the old rusty metal meaning this was likely a new ship. I doubted that these monsters could clean anyway.
They didn’t communicate with us at all. They stopped feeding us and just left us in the cargo bay with a bucket of water and a crate of food. There was no sense of rationing it so it was gone within the first 2 paws of this cattle exchange.
I don’t want to be a human’s play thing, they are just as bad if not worse than the Arxur. I have seen what they did to one another… they are so brutal.. I couldn’t finish the video about them..
A few of the other Venlil around me also had scars. We were lucky to escape that place alive… or were we?
The ship began to slow and the tell tale sign of entering a atmosphere was felt. This was a feeling that I had felt before when I would stay with my father. I used to go with him on some of his colony work. I would stay on the ship so I was never in harm's way.
The ship landed and we saw the Grays for the first time in several paws. I assumed that we were on the predators’ planet, but as we disembarked we were greeted by nothing but us cattle and… an old neighborhood of Venlil design? The Grays herded the last of the cattle off, throwing or shoving them, and once we were all off the cargo bay doors closed and the engines powered back on… they took off and just left???

This didn’t make sense in the slightest… Why would they just leave us their cattle here? There weren't even any predators here to take us just, the empty space of a lost colony.
Then it clicked with me that other predators must already be here and they wanted to hunt us, they were just as bad as i had thought. I had failed these people before, but I wouldn't fail them again.. I just needed to find something I could use, anything.
I won’t let these people or myself be taken by monsters… not again.. I can’t.. I will not fail my job again.. I-
I was pulled from my thoughts as more ships landed around us. I was ready to try to protect these people but they were… of Venlil make…? This had to be a sick joke played by the predators. they had to have stolen our ships. There was no way my people had anything to do with these monsters, they couldn’t be reasoned with.

It has to be predatory tricky.
I watched with bated breath as the landing ramps touched down, ready to be proven right, but to my shock and horror, Venlil medical staff began to come out of the ships and started to load the cattle onto stretchers, and then take them to the ship board.
My head was spinning and I felt sick about what this could mean. Had the Tarva betrayed the Federation and made a deal with these things? No, that wasn’t possible. They made it very clear they would never talk with us prey, let alone make a deal. For the first time I was at a loss.
How had we been sent back to our people? We were food for the Grays yet they had just let us go. This didn’t make sense…
My breathing had become irregular and I started to feel dizzy. Nothing about this made any sense.
HOW WERE WE RELEASED.. What had Tarva don-
I fell back from the shock from all this and was loaded onto a stretcher, my breathing quickened and everything went black.

***********


I woke in a stretcher being wheeled into a hospital room. I pawed at my eyes trying to see clearly and when my vision unblurred I saw a large figure with a black reflective mask over their face and Venlil by their side, I didn’t recognize the tall one. Had we made first contact in the time I’d been gone..? Why didn’t they have a tail?

A growl suddenly came from the tall one that my translator told me meant “You’re safe now, you’re on Venlil Prime. I’m Andrew, and this is my friend Annek. She and I are here to help as much as we can.”
I didn’t say anything. For all I knew this was a dream.. misplaced hope the Arxur wouldn’t just give us back to our people. Annek couldn't actually have made it out alive. There was something that had to be happening. Had my home been taken by the humans that Arxur had spoken about, was this tall one in front of me one of them? Was any of this even real..? Was I still in a pen..?
The Venlil made slow steps to me and started to untangle my fur.
“What’s your name?” the Venlil asked me softly. If this truly was Annek, then how could she not see it was me? Had the Arxur really mangled me so much that my best friend couldn’t see that it was me.
Again I didn’t answer.
How could I just go back to normal after what I had seen? Why was it so hard to just be happy to believe the lie even if only for a while, this was my friend?
I had an uneasy feeling of being watched like in the cattle pens. The comment that the Arxur made stuck in my head, but I didn't see any ‘extinct’ predators.

As the tall thing started to walk over to me with slow uncertain steps, I tensed up and my paw grabbed the fur around my legs. It seemed to slow as I did which showed that it had at least a minor amount of empathy and wasn’t a human, and I began to relax, still perplexed as to why we had been given back. Had the Federation hit the Arxur hard somehow and got us back? Was that even possible?

“hello? Is anyone in that head of yours?” I was pulled back to reality by Andrew shaking my shoulder softly.

“…. Y-yes j-just lost i-in m-my head.” I was stuttering much more than I would’ve liked to, but it was impossible to not stutter. My voice was a far cry from what it once was deep and hoarse from disuse.

“So there is someone in there. What’s your name?”

“U-uh, I think i-it was V-Vaill…”
How was my name that far away in my own head…?
The Arxur had deprived us of anything that let us feel sapient and my mind was reeling from what seemed to be a safe place… why would they let us go? Especially me as I was on the taller side of Venlil..
Annek's ears shot up upon hearing my name. “V-Vaill? You're alive?!”
“Y-yeah, I guess I am…”
“You two know each other? Never mind, do you know when you were taken by them?” the tall thing growled.

“I-i’m n-not sure…”

“Well Vaill, I’m going to check the database for when you were last seen so we can get an idea of how long you were gone, ok?”

I flicked my ears in agreement nervously when he walked out of the room, and I was left with the Annek, who seemed overjoyed to see me after all this time.
“Vaill! You’re alive!” She hugged me tightly, wrapping her tail around me as well.
“I-I didn’t think you m-made it out a-alive, A-Annek… it's g-good to see you again.”
Lacking the energy or the will to say or do anything else, I let myself fall back into her embrace, which lasted for a few moments before she went back to brushing my fur.
After around {20 minutes} passed she had finished straightening my fur. It felt good to feel like a person again, to remember who I was, but I would never be my full self again, not after what those things had done to me…

After some time Andrew made his way back with a holopad. He tilted the screen so that I could see, fortunately it was in Venlil script so I could read it.

“I-it's been f-five months…” It had felt like an eternity in that nightmare, time slipped away from me. I’d been stuck in my own head, wondering if there was a way I could’ve done more to protect the people of my town, knowing I failed.

There is nothing left for me here anymore, the people who cared for me, gone…
I was a failure for not doing better and protecting them, I should’ve done better.. I failed Annek, she is the last thing I have.. But she deserves someone who can protect her.. She doesn't need me…
“So you two know each other?” the tall thing growled, which snapped me back to reality.
I remained silent, unsure on what this thing was but Annek didn’t seem to mind it, so it was clearly prey like us, which meant I should start calling it by gendered pronouns. They seem male, at least by Venlil standards. I was not sure if this is real but Annek was all I had left. Even if this was a dream, I would trust her.
“Yeah, we met a long time ago. Vaill and I were best friends up until he was taken by them.”
“I-I.. yeah, we met d-during s-school..”
My head was spinning, still caught up on what that Arxur had said… humans… but there were no ‘humans’ where I had been offloaded, there were only Venlil.. That meant that the humans must be here… but no one was panicking and if there were predators here, people would panic, wouldn't they?
I trust Annek, I need to ask her about what the Arxur said…
“A-Annek… d-do you k-know.. If there a-are h-humans h-here..? The A-A-Arxur s-said we w-were b-being sent as ‘p-pets’ for them…”
The happiness from Annek drained as her ears drooped. The tall one, Andrew I believed they called themselves, froze and took a step back. Why would he do that? Unless… unless h- it was…
“A-Annek?.. W-what… what…”
It looked at my best friend.. like it had forward facing eyes, which confirmed my suspicions and my fur puffed out with fear and my ears pinned back against my head. I pushed my paws on the bed and tried to get as much distance as I could. It was standing in the doorway so I had no way out. My worst fears had been proven true, the Arxur wasn’t lying, we had simply been moved to another cattle farm… one that was once my home… Venlil Prime had fallen to the monsters I wanted to protect it from.
“Vaill there's no need to overreact, the humans are our friends, Andrew is my exchange program partner, he hasn’t hurt anyone. I can’t even imagine him hurting anyone,” Annek said that… with confidence? Why would she lie for a predator? Why was her tail wagging!?! It was like she trusted this thing, no, it was like she LIKED it?!“H-has the taint r-really gotten to y-you, Annek?”
“Vaill, the humans are the ones that saved you!”
How could she say that after what predators had done to me! I knew this was too good to be true.
Annek was blind to their trickery and yet she was so sure of herself.. I trusted her.. But not that thing behind her..
“H-how can you trust it?”
“He has done nothing to hurt me. Please, just give him one chance.” Her eyes and body took on a pleading look.. Damn it, why was she so good at that?
“F-fine, one ch-chance, but that's it.”
That same happiness returned back to her and almost fell over by the door where it caught her.
She may not see it, but I do, I will atone for my mistakes by proving that these humans are up to something. It shouldn’t be hard, I just need to make it to an exterminators office. ‘Till then, I'll play along with it’s game.

I apologize for any grammar mistakes, English isn't my native language. Well, I (21m) am lost. My mother died when I was 10 years old and my father died when I was 15, so I don't have any close family. I grew up bouncing from home to home, unable to form a strong bond with any of the temporary guardians I had. Therefore, I really need advice from older people or those who have been through something similar to what I'm experiencing today. If I were your child, what would you tell me? Or if it was you in my place, what would you do?
Last year, precisely in July, I was fired from a good job. In the same week, my fiancée broke up with me - I later found out she was cheating on me with another guy - so I lost what I thought was my only support. I was very ill, and since then, despite my health improving significantly, I still haven't been able to find a new job.
The job market in my country is crazy, and since I went straight from graduation to a job in my field, jobs in different sectors - even those that don't require many qualifications - won't accept my resume.
For the past two months, I've been limiting myself to only one meal a day because my food is running out. I live alone and don't have enough family support - or close people - to temporarily shelter me and have more frequent access to food.
Everything seems to be going from bad to worse. I'm anxious and I've tried everything. I don't know where I'm going wrong, and I'm completely lost and hopeless. It's just me and my two cats - please don't worry about them. Before my money ran out, I made sure to get enough food for the year, as well as hygiene products and medicine.
I contacted government agencies asking for help due to social vulnerability and food insecurity, but I haven't heard back from them yet. The pain of hunger has been torturing me.
What would you do in my situation? What would you tell me if I were your child?
I apologize if this sounds ridiculous. I don't know what to do, and today, especially, I just wish I could rest my head on my mother's lap and hear some good advice from my father.
Thank you for your attention.

Ok so I have been employed with TJX (TJ Maxx) since March 1st 2024. I gotta say, for my second job its not bad. (I am 18 and last job I held for 3 years) However, the pay sucks. $12 a hour. And that's for all "standard" cashier. Not a front end coordinator or anything. IDK how the actual full timers pay their bills. Especially cause our store doesn't offer tips, overtime, competitive wage, or anything. AND they also consider 35 hours full time (5 hours short of most other places). When I started, they asked what I wanted to get paid. I said $14 or $15 is what I wanted, and that I had a other job offering $16 (cause I did, they were going through the hiring process and then decided to stop). Anyway, they told me that no other TJX store can pay more than $12.50 unless you become manager or stay for a while and then maybe if you become a shift coordinator you get more. Keep in mind that I live in OH where minimum wage is $10.45. So technically I am getting paid over. But MOST places pay AT LEAST $14. And THERE ARE other retail stores that pay more than that. Anyway, my question is what do you other cashiers get paid? Cause I have been told others get $15, and I know people who get that.
Thanks!!

Hi all. This sub gave me the motivation to try to do something about all my struggles, and I got an evaluation scheduled for next Monday. I’m new to the mental health world and only started therapy for the first time a couple months ago, but that’s going well and I like the therapist.
What will the evaluation be like? This is probably dumb but I’m nervous I’ll “fail” - like my symptoms won’t be “enough” to show how hard it is. I’m one of those people that you’d think has it all together - I generally look presentable and put together, I have a good job where I perform well, I’m good with people, I manage the mental load and most other things in my house and I’m a mom to an autistic 6 year old.
On the flip side, I can’t make myself drink water, I tune out of important conversations and meetings and don’t absorb things tend to feel lost and behind my colleagues, I get a lot of sensory overload, I have binge eating issues and overuse medical marijuana (for focus - it really does help but I can’t go on like this forever). My brain never stops, if it’s not just singing random snippets of songs on repeat then it’s playing out imaginary scenarios like a movie and I get lost in my thoughts. I hate that I can’t do a task that I need to do without it getting down to the wire, and then my perfectionism kicks in and I always manage to pull it off, so there’s never a consequence.
I’m just so mentally exhausted all the time, and when people describe the mental quiet that medication can bring, all I can think is, I want that.
I also can’t help but wonder medication would help my constant impulse control with food. It’s been like this my entire life and I just thought everybody’s brains were like this.
Anyway, just commiserating. I’m nervous for the appointment but eager to hear what they think, whether it’s ADHD or just a ton of anxiety. Thanks for being an awesome community, ladies.

CANCER ZODIAC TAROT READING - UNEXPECTED INCOME MAY 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ5mIkLhCyY
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First Previous Wiki
Ezeonwha was walking down a long hallway. The dry and plain painted walls and the pure white lighting of the lower levels of the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office helped to frame the dingy realities of those who could only afford these floors. Not even capable of having windows, these were for those who were the cheapest of the cheap or those who mingled with them. He'd passed several Guides on the way in, their claws echoing in the halls as a sign of authority in this lawless land.
Here, mediocrity was king, and he was a loyal servant. He drew his cloak closer about his neck, unwilling to reveal himself to those who weren't already equipped to see through it all. He was famous enough to be an abduction target if he let his guard down. This place was no exception, though Justicar tried to make them such. Too much security on the higher levels and too little on the lower levels. That was the way of things.
Another hallway, this one marked with bullet holes. Two contractors and a Guide were discussing the pricing of the fix project when he turned the corner. Their voices quieted to nothing, the stillness pressing down upon them with the same intensity as the false lighting. Ezeonwha clacked his jaws, giving them a low bow before continuing on his way. He saw the Guide's eyes light up with the sign of his implants getting a reading. It was another impromptu way of tracking via facial recognition, but it was an ancient practice.
Nothing was new about what the Guides did; only how many of them seemed to be on general patrol. Had Justicar hired more of them or actually done full conversions for all of them? Those arm cannons surely weren't cheap or ethical to insert into unwilling participants. And giving a victim a gun they couldn't be disarmed of was a very bad idea, even for Elders. And Justicar was better than most Elders when it came to abject stupidity. He'd likely only been dropped a few hundred times as a child versus the more likely Elder average of a few thousand.
Ezeonwha chuckled at his internal joke, heading deeper underground into the complex. He was going to a certain meeting, and it would be best not to be late. Even if the Guides tracked him, it wouldn't be negative. The group he had been approached by a few days ago wasn't a terror group. He'd looked them up. They dealt in 'freedom and liberation from all chains.'
The Eyes Of Liberty had focused upon Penny as their latest propaganda target and perhaps as a valuable ally in their fight against all tyranny. Though such a flowery message was likely steeped in idealism for the lower ranks, with more pragmatic and likely richer inner circle elites and leaders ensuring the pot would always simmer but never boil or grow cold. That was the way movements such as these managed to skirt the line between inaction and terrorism.
It was a dangerous thing to do. But these were dangerous times. If Penny left, he'd die. Someone with a grudge would kill him. It was a given, and he'd made peace with it now. He needed to get to work, to help others like him and those worse off, with just a small piece of the meager time he had left.
He was in the system as a friend of Penny, so little scrutiny would fall on him as he came and went. He had a new friend, one who was very interested in connecting to Penny.
The offer had come through his communicator, and he'd answered it given its interesting title. After a lengthy discussion about their goals for him and Penny, he'd agreed to at least have a meeting. He didn't tell them that he had a tracker from Phoebe, which would 'be impossible to miss' if things went badly. He knew the value he had, which was why one of the androids was also accompanying him under the guise of being a Sprilnav.
The android was 'walking' on all fours, its mechanical motion entirely silent. It was obscured by a wave of holograms and hard light holograms that would ensure that it wouldn't be considered suspicious beside him. His only guard was a capable one, and Phoebe had all the confidence of an AI who knew that the destruction of her android would only be an inconvenience for her.
Ezeonwha came to an unmarked door with a well-worn door frame. One knock. One pause. Two knocks. Another pause. Four knocks. He waited, and the door swung open. Eight Sprilnav greeted him warily but warmly, their eyes shifting to Phoebe.
The inside of the room was a dull red, coming from a pair of lights in the center of the ceiling that cast dark shadows near the edges. The whole room felt dark and dangerous, and the walls were lined with guns, computers, and several drones. Shelves and drawers were neatly stacked against the wall, as well as five couches and four double beds with ladder access to the top portions.
Bags of food rested atop a trash compactor unit, and the room service button on the inner side of the wall that Ezeonwha could see in the mirror was worn down to the raw metal. No paint jobs here, only grit and business. The room faintly smelled of body odor and assorted foods. Not entirely unpleasant, but also not what he'd expected from a group with sich a flamboyant name. Perhaps they worked in cell-based units. And that was another thing.
Minds were visible in the distance of the mindscape, but the people here were huddled together mentally. They appeared to be haphazard, but Ezeonwha recognized an old army-type defensive formation a mere step from each of their positions. They were more than they appeared. Though based on how their room looked, they probably weren't veterans, just decently trained.
As they walked through the doorway, a scanner activated. One of the Sprilnav, wearing a headset with numbers and letters swirling on the inner side of the visor, called out: "Phoebe android. Commando variant. Risk assessment: Certain Death. Ezeonwha. Carrying two pistols, one hidden in the pack on his left, and the other tucked inside a strap near the lower bottom of his chest."
That made them all pause, sizing each other up. Ezeonwha smiled nervously, failing terribly to break the building tension once again. His nerves started to get to him, but finally, Phoebe spoke. "Well, friends. I, for one, am happy to talk of the business of liberty. Tell us, what do you have in mind for my friend Ezeonwha?"
"It is not about him, AI. It is about the freedom all sentient beings deserve, and which we shall bring to the galaxy no matter if we are alive or dead."
"An honorable goal to strive toward," Phoebe said.
"Thank you. Your words are quite kind for your type."
"I didn't know I had one," Phoebe replied. "But thank you."
Ezeonwha turned his head toward the Sprilnav with all the fancy equipment.
"What is the best way for me and Penny to help in the fight?"
"The best way would be for you to start killing the gang leaders you come across. Barring that, have Penny ignore the graveyards, and continue freeing the slaves as she ought to. The dead have their freedom; the living need her work more."
"I agree with my companion," another of them said. "So far, Penny has done more for the fight for justice than any other on Justicar in generations, so it is a terrible thing to ask more, but we must ask. Even knowing the terrible toll it would have if she loses the Judgment, Sprilnav are at stake."
"People are at stake, you mean," Ezeonwha said. "There is no need to bring species into this."
"There would not be, but it is still a clear factor," another of them said, a female who looked more shifty in her gaze and demeanor. The Eyes of Liberty seemed like one of those groups with too much division.
"Do you disagree with each other often?" Ezeonwha asked innocently.
"Here and there," the tech guy said. "Not often enough to be a problem, and not when what matters is at stake."
"But that is the thing. How can you agree on when something that matters is a stake?"
"Is this a test?"
"Why would it be? Think of it as a genuine concern," Ezeonwha said. "To associate with your group, I have to be certain it will be resilient to change and risks escalating in the future. If the gangs cannot strike at Penny, they will pick the next best targets. Currently, that is me. If I associate with you in a way they can find out, and I assure you they will find out eventually, you all may be at risk as well. And your group's seemingly cell-based design also means large scale mobilization is difficult, ineffective, and risks severe coordination issues which cannot be quickly or safely remedied without changing core security features of it."
"You deduced all of that from context? You are smart, Ezeonwha. And have a good brain in your head. Everlasting knows we need one of those between all of us."
They all shared a laugh.
"I am not as young as I may look," Ezeonwha said. "Penny is not properly learned of the danger that faces us here. I am. The Underground will kill me when this is over. Do you want to die alongside me, all for your beliefs?"
Silence descended again. Ezeonwha kept the pressure on them when one of them stepped forward. "For freedom and liberty? Yes. I would die for that."
"As would I."
"And I."
They all declared the rest in orders that followed the patterns Ezeonwha was noticing. There were variances in their levels of belief and faith in their purpose. Each person had a different level of value difference, which meant that their lives would be worth more or less comparatively.
Cohesion was weaker, too. Not a full defector team, but likely pieces of several. Was that by design from a higher up leader, or was that just circumstance? Another thing to figure out later, that wasn't critical yet, but he would know before he truly went on any missions with them, if he did at all.
He suspected running messages to Penny would be the majority of their tasks. The quality of intelligence the Eyes of Liberty had offered was substantial. Perhaps enough for Penny to turn herself from a major annoyance to the gangs into an actual existential threat. With Justicar's swarming protection of the Fort Court and the 102nd Visitor Welcome Office, there was a limited amount of things that even the gangs could do. And if the rumors were correct, a Progenitor would be partaking in the trial.
"To be clear, if I join up with you, Phoebe would come too."
"Why would we let an AI join us?"
Phoebe smiled. "Without me, you'll die in this fight. You have trained for around 2000 days. You're acceptable combatants, as is Ezeonwha. But you are fighting in a city, and underneath it. You need to know how to keep a low profile. You need to know how to move through a crowd, get in and out. And you need to keep collateral damage to a zero, or the gangs will use you like they have others who had your purpose and were less careful to justify their 'protection' continuing. If you march in there and kill 50 slavers, if you kill a few slaves or a single bystander in the process, your credibility will be smeared. And frankly, with me on your team, you won't get blown up by an IED when you try clearing your first room in a fortress."
"IED?" One of them asked, while the rest digested her statement, going through various levels of offended looks.
"Your translator is too cheap. Improvised explosive device. Here, that can be old engines, reused oil, cracked plastic, frictional fuel bombs, circuit extruders, sodium splash grenades, as well as the more military style attacks they can pack, from small micro rockets all the way up to lower level fission or fusion bombs. Though if you're in a fight with those things involved, you're already dead."
"Why?"
"Because unless you're Elders, or holograms, a nuke will kill you whether you're right next to it or just inside the same shield. They concentrate the thermal pulse, so your bones would be ash before the pain hit your eyes."
"And what protection could you bring against that?"
"Telling you it's there before you start the attack. That is, if you listen to me. I value your lives over that of this android, but also I value Ezeonwha over all of you combined. I will not prevent him from doing this, but I will have you all know the risks involved."
"We are prepared, Phoebe. We have done much of the training you say, though we do not believe the gangs would plant explosive devices in their own fortresses. There is too much risk around that, with betrayals so common. However, the minefields we have scouted are easy to defeat with the right tactics. Perhaps you can give us a briefing on those, too?"
A challenge.
"I can, depending on how long you wish to do this for. But I have the stamina for either hours or weeks, depending on which you choose."
"What of your batteries?"
"They are of sufficient quality," Phoebe assured.
"I hope so."
Their tech guy nodded, more numbers flashing on his visor. Ezeonwha hoped he had a different way of display, like through an implant or something, for the missions in darker areas. The Underground was, by its name, not a place where much natural light was to be found. And the gangs controlled all the power systems in their territory. It was another part of the racket.
"Why aren't you guarding Penny?"
Phoebe's back straightened, a subconscious posture change to make her seem more confident. Ezeonwha caught the tactic for what it was, though without extensive knowledge of bipedal forms, it was less likely the surrounding Sprilnav knew it.
"Penny proved before a trillion eyes she's capable of fighting Elders, Progenitors, and a Dreadnaught Captain. Not to mention her immense power. I can shoot bullets, but she can literally snatch them out of the air and eat them. She has her own way of doing things, and it is a good way."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Penny landed in the rubble and headed for the Vaquah with a trail of survivors behind her. Many of them, she could recognize the marks of slavery on, with numbers or brands on their skin or just the trauma crouching in their eyes dulled by the pain of a long life in a work camp. Penny went through the wreckage to the shield surrounding the rubble and the defining line between the rest of the city and the destruction. Several news drones flew above her.
More were arriving from various directions. The soft footsteps grew into a constant drumming sound, like a beating heart of doom. Penny marched with them, heading to the spaceport. A large medical operation there quickly rerouted many of its various branches to the most injured freed slaves.
Penny pressed her considerable psychic energy on the entire group, accelerating their healing, slowing bleeding, and generally repairing their bodies and cells from the trauma they'd suffered. But the cloud over their heads did not brighten. The atmosphere remained tense and mournful. Many of them had lost friends, family, and more. She had no right to ask them to feel any different.
She had freed them, that was all. They were not her servants. She was not their ruler.
Several of them came up to her, offering thanks in the small ways they could. Kind words. Attempts at hugs. Even offers of devout prayer and worship, which Penny respectfully declined. She knew, as did most of them, that veneration for her deeds was inevitable. She didn't want to be seen encouraging it at all, since this was a public place where many eyes were upon her.
She knew that it would be misconstrued as a threat if she did. Religions were some of the most major threats entrenched powers could face if not properly co-opted by the state to suit their needs. And here, the 'state' was a military dictatorship billions of years old, ripened with corruption, money, and the immortality of Elders sporting technology beyond any other in the galaxy.
The sky was blue with shields overhead. The Vaquah hung in the distance, its thrusters gently burning to keep it aloft. A trail of shuttles linked the massive ship with several spaceports, including this one. Penny watched the freed Sprilnav get on it one by one, promising themselves to a new life aboard her ship. Technically, they were citizens of the Autonomous Peoples' Stars.
That protection, Penny knew, was why the Vaquah and its innocent inhabitants were still intact. Elders already had hired mercenaries to attack it. They'd failed, thanks to Rimiaha and Penny, but also the defenses of Kashaunta's Grand Fleet when it was in higher orbit. Kashaunta, despite her willingness to use Penny as she would, also had a certain intelligence and empathy. It was highly selective, and only money and power seemed to flip that switch.
But Penny needed the Elder, and Kashaunta only had use for her as an asset. She palmed the new communicator Kashaunta had issued her after the last one's destruction. Kashaunta's hologram appeared. It looked around, noticing the news drones in the air.
"Not here."
"Where?"
"You will know."
In the mindscape, a Sprilnav appeared on Penny's layer. They felt odd to her, almost like the minds of certain humans high up in the hivemind's network. Penny greeted the Sprilnav warmly.
"Hello."
"Queen and Elder Kashaunta requests your presence on her flagship."
"Very well."
In reality, Penny looked around at the crowd. She waited until it dwindled to nothing, and then spoke.
"Displace."
Conceptual energy twisted, and she stood on Kashaunta's flagship, though nearer to the edge than she'd expected. The Elder was waiting for her in an outfit that looked much like pajamas, though they were under a few armor pieces that appeared anything but decorative. Now that Penny noticed it, it was the same sort of armor that Yasihaut had worn to their last encounter, which interfered with conceptual energy. The Sprilnav were highly advanced. She wondered just how far their technology could go. She'd heard mentions of some ships having artificial gravity, and of nanites and programmable matter. But nothing certain.
"Hmm," Kashaunta said, giving Penny a once over. "You have come back. Shall I assume you are still my ally?"
"Nervous, are we?"
"Nervous is what you should be, Penny. The Judgment is coming. Ten days. Indrafabar and Justicar will both be on the court as High Judges. That is not good for us at all. So I figured a bit of prudence was in order. I have thought long and hard about this, and with the great battles of our time so fast approaching, I figure it is time to mend our relationship before the chasm grows any wider."
Kashaunta motioned to a special looking sword sheath on her back. Slowly, she drew a sword. A Soul Blade. Penny began to draw up her armor.
"Oh, I am not wishing for a fight, Penny. I know the damage you could do, even in my sanctum in the sky. Tell me, do you know how Soul Blades are forged?"
"No."
"Good. And tell me, do you know why they draw so much power to swing, even for Elders and beings as capable as us?"
"I have a few theories."
"I am sure you do," Kashaunta said. "But here is the thing. Soul Blades are typically weapons assigned to highly promising Elders, or even Progenitors. Filnatra, undisputed sword master that she is, can wield them as easily as breathing. If I were to swing this blade, there would be no drawback. Why?"
"Because you own that Soul Blade."
"Because this Soul Blade is mine. It is not just something I own. I own around seven or so more Soul Blades, with some weapons nearing their quality lying in my various vaults even now. You did not detect them, because I willed that not to be. I need you to understand this, Penny. You have power. You have might. But you are not invincible. My Soul Blade, if it struck you, would not cutely separate Nilnacrawla or Cardinality from you. Nor would your speeding space entity be able to block this blade with his flesh. If this cut you, it would release unending agony upon you before you exploded in a burst of burnt gore."
Penny sighed. "There is no need to threaten me. Allies do not threaten each other."
"But you do not see me as an ally. You see me as your means to get through the Judgment. You believe I see you as nothing more but a linear singularity maker, and perhaps a passing curiosity I'm backing on a whim. You neglect to imagine that there might be firmer reasons why I back you, and why more Elders are getting drawn into this conflict. You believe I am comfortable with showing you my more pragmatic and ruthless sides because I am comfortable with the fact that you cannot harm me. That you would not dare to do so, when you need my assistance so badly. That I might even be aiming to normalize my 'new' self with you."
"That is hardly my belief alone."
"Is it now."
Kashaunta grinned. There was no warmth in her gaze.
"Nilnacrawla," Kashaunta said. "Cardinality. Exile. Come out and show yourselves. You are being rude as guests."
Exile detached from Penny's head. He grew into the shifting array of fractals and shapes she was more familiar with. What had once grated on her eyes did so no longer. Kashaunta stared at the speeding space entity for ten seconds, then looked back up at Penny.
"He will not work on us. I will cover his form with holograms if he walks through my ship out of courtesy for my workers and crew, if he cannot."
"I am capable, Queen Kashaunta."
"You are quite knowledgable, aren't you?" Kashaunta mused, looking at him hungrily. "Oh, how I wonder what secrets you have in your head. How many of ours do you know?"
"I will not be taken as a hostage," Exile said.
"You will not because I decide not to," Kashaunta said. "Formally, our species are still at war. There is no treaty."
"The Sp'rkial'nova no longer exist."
"Yes, they do," Kashaunta said. "The name was discontinued for use regarding the lesser specimens we created. But I can assure you, Exile, if you wish to go by that name here, that we still do exist. I am a Sp'rkial'nova in the flesh. In the blood. In the mind. In the soul."
"Say what you will, Sprilnav. It changes nothing."
"On that I agree. Though our views on how things are may differ, and yours is wrong, your opinion is not valuable enough to matter."
She turned to Penny. She would have defended Exile, but he gave her a simple shake of his head area.
Nilnacrawla formed out of psychic energy in front of Penny. Cardi did the same beside her. Kashaunta tapped a claw on the ground. Tables and chairs appeared. A chef brought in food that looked passable and a few decent attempts at human cuisine.
"We do not have to eat, though I would expect that all of you at least sit at the table. We will discuss our grievances, and how to solve them before we proceed with the future. We shall first go to the matter of the Alliance. Penny, many in their number wish to establish contact with you. Do you agree to this? If so, I will add their communicator numbers to the translation program I have reserved for your personal use, in case your own device needs another sudden replacement."
"I agree."
"Good. A first step of diplomacy, I would say. Agreement. Now, Nilnacrawla, you look like you have something to say to me. What is it?"
"Free Meridia."
"Meridia was detonated by planet cracker during the 139th Sector 9 Border War. I am sorry more could not be done."
A cold draft of air rushed out of Nilnacrawla's nose. He glared at her. "You let them die."
"I did not. A Grand Fleet was defending that star system, and three came to lay siege. I am many things. A tactician, a queen, an Elder. But I am not a god. I cannot perform miracles. I evacuated 30 billion people from that world and its surrounding stations before the planet crackers hit it. 4 trillion more souls died in that blast. The best I can do is to offer an apology."
"That will never be enough for what you did. If you had never established your nation, they would still be alive."
"They would be slaves. Chattel slaves, not that cute little 'wage slavery' concept privileged people throw around. Perhaps I should remind you just how much darker that reality would have been for your female descendents, specifically. I am a brutal warlord, a dictator with an iron fist. But my claws do not squeeze nearly as tightly as I could. Metrics say that I could extract at least 370% more profit from my people if I simply enslaved them. But despite the shock this may bring to you all, I do have principles. The Autonomous Peoples' Stars are my people. My nation. My empire, if you think I'm imperialist. But I protect them as best I can."
Nilnacrawla's cold anger didn't lessen. Penny placed a calming hand on his front left thigh. He blinked. He let out a long, pained sigh. And he bowed his head to her. Not to Kashaunta, but to Penny.
"There is no need to be cruel."
"My language was accurate, Penny. He is a strong Elder. Everlasting knows he's stronger than most of these fools. Nilnacrawla was and is a hero of the Source war. I respect him enough not to mince words, or to give platitudes. Coddling is for babies. Nilnacrawla is far more mature."
Kashaunta turned to Cardi. "You have been remarkably silent in this, concept."
"I have."
"A wonderfully succinct statement. Perhaps you can shorten it further. But nevertheless, you and I will be working together with Penny much more in the near future. Rest assured, if you refuse to become more independent, you will be nothing more than a crutch for her to rely on before leaving her to fall when you are ripped away."
"When, Elder? I would like to think your protection is sufficient."
"I am sure the truth is quite the opposite, dear. I will now get to the point. Penny needs to move faster, and needs to break out of her shell. She needs to be pushed to do more. She has signed a binding treaty, which shows she is capable of more than barbarian aliens, as some Elders would call her. You, Cardinality, will help her be a high achiever. To do this, you need to learn more about your own history.
That is the theme of the year, after all. History. My history, Penny's history, Sprilnav history, and even Gaia's history, it would seem."
"Gaia? What do they have to do with all of this?" Penny asked.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that."
"Excuse me? You don't get to decide that, Kashaunta. You will tell me. I refuse to be coddled, like you say. I demand the respect I am owed."
"You forget yourself, Penny."
"I remember myself, actually. I am all I need to be. I can become all I need if I must. You can hold your backing against me all you want, but you won't withdraw it. As you said, more binds you and I than mere money and ideology."
"And if you're wrong?"
"Then I've doomed my species and my nation to war, and this planet to the full power of my wrath."
"Wrath, Penny. Wrath. The Sprilnav have many words for anger, rage, hatred. There is the desire for vengeance, in varying degrees. There is that for justice, which does differ. And that for belonging. I know you believe you are standing up to me as a way to assert your own authority in this relationship of ours. You believe I see you as inferior, and will pull back my help when it is profitable for me. I will not offer you the consequences of what your words could mean.
You already know them, and that argument is as stale as your view on us Elders. I will say this once, Penny. You are the Champion of Humanity. The apex predator of your planet, the only one mostly in charge of an Alliance that does more than merely dream of overthrowing us. It is easy for me to say you are not a threat, though I do not ignore the threat you and your nation are trying to become. Gaia will be a part of your movement, but even my information is not entirely complete. I will not mislead you by claiming I know Gaia's link to this, just that there likely is one.
And I am not unreasonably petty. I am willing to put all our animosity behind us and start anew. Even if you are not willing to do the same, I am willing to make this work for us. You have more people to care for than just the Alliance, now. Do not forget them."
"A lot of words that mean nothing."
"Because you heard, but did not listen. Perhaps it will be easier this way, Penny. I want you to win."
"Explain."
"You wish to overthrow the current Sprilnav led order of the galaxy. Your path to that will likely be through mass slave revolt. A viable strategy that I could spread far beyond just this planet. And I actually agree with you. This Judgment, this utter insanity around the Alliance and your species has shown me the truth. The Elders as a class and a species cannot be trusted to rule any longer. We need new leaders. Better leaders."
"And yourself?"
"As the hypocrite that I am, and the power-hungry ruler of the Sprilnav, I would obviously exclude myself from that number. Let's be realistic. The Sprilnav will never accept a non-Elder ruler. If you wish to see what our insurgencies would be like, imagine the 2090s Struggles of Asia. Expand that to billions of planets, large and small. Countless ships and space stations. We have more collective ships than you have people. And as your military planners know, there is no such thing as an unarmed ship. Without us, without me, your plans are stillborn. Your galactic Alliance or whatever you make will fall to pieces without proper counseling. In essence, my offer to you, and you alone, is this. The galaxy, for the Sprilnav."
"Who backs your offer, with the power to give it?"
Progenitors Lecalicus and Nova appeared in the room.
"I back Kashaunta," Lecalicus wheezed.
"I observe her offer, and wish it a proper outcome," Nova said.
"Thank you, esteemed Progenitors," Kashaunta said, standing just to bow to them. Penny stared at Nova, balling her fists.
"There will be time for battle later," he said. "But not now. Hear out her request. She does not make it lightly."
The Progenitors disappeared.
"If I accept your offer, it will be on a written record."
"No. It will not be, because if that record is written, my nation will be facing war on all sides. A better idea would be for us to keep this under wraps."
"Perfect for betrayal," Nilnacrawla muttered.
"It would be, yes. But consider the second part of this situation, Nilncrawla. If word of this galactic offer, not just the Pact, were to get out, which is why two Progenitors who know the price of interference were called here, it would mean the deaths of Penny and all her kind. Or do you forget what rapidly approaches us?"
Nilnacrawla frowned. "I did. I apologize, Penny."
Kashaunta spoke up again.
"Penny. You believe I will betray you. So I make an offer of collateral. An offer so unbelievably sacred for us Elders that many would recoil at the mere thought of it. Now that you have signed a backed treaty, you are fully qualified."
Kashaunta grabbed her Soul Blade and presented it to Penny.
"What does this mean?"
"Nilnacrawla, tell her," Kashaunta said. "She will trust your mouth more than mine."
"Bonded Soul Blades are priceless artifacts," Nilnacrawla said. "To offer one to another is the ultimate gesture of trust and respect among many martial Sprilnav cultures. It can also allow for a mind bridge, a soul pact, or a proposal for marriage between two great houses, martial families, or Elders of great wealth and power. To offer this to a human... to anyone... is an ultimate sign of backing, and one of trust.
It is a sacrosanct honor, the absolute agreement of speaking truth and respect. The words I can use in any human language are insufficient to describe the weight of this honor. This gesture is one of absolute truth. Family lines with hatred going back millions of years would never dare to violate this honor."
"Only one Elder in history did so, one who once led a group known as the Stannic Resistance. He does so no longer. Penny Balica, Champion of Humanity... if there is nothing else I can give you to prove that I do really back you, there is this."
"...Just how low are my chances in the Judgment for you to resort to this?" Penny asked.
"They are not zero, but your battle with be incredibly difficult even with this boon of mine. The future of the galaxy, I now realize, hinges on the outcome of this. If we do not have enough trust, they will sniff it out, and we will fail."
So she had no choice. But as Nilncrawla continued to explain in her mind, Kashaunta was getting the worse side of the deal. Which meant she was throwing her backing behind Penny for real, beyond all reproach and retraction. Kashaunta, the most powerful Elder in the galaxy.
"And if I reject this gift, or your reasons for it?"
"Circumstances would demand that I kill you and then myself using this blade as a way to cut apart the dishonor, before my remains are dumped into a black hole to be forgotten forever. I would not do this."
"A dark and archaic custom," Penny said. She would have said more, but she looked at Nilnacrawla's face. He was clearly deeply uncomfortable. Her five words had shaken him more than anything she'd ever said to him before.
"You do not understand," Nilnacrawla said. "This is not something to joke or lie about. With a Soul Blade Pact in play, all else must cease. Right now, there is you, and there is her. Accept or decline. The choice, your only choice, is yours."
"How will this look to the Elders in the court? To the Sprilnav, and the people who back me?"
She could see how it would be a boon and a curse.
"You, and I," Kashaunta said. "The whole of the universe between us right now is you and I. No others exist until this one act is done. There will be trust or there will be death. No in between. No middle ground. The nature of this bond will be a Pact of Blades."
Conceptual energy swirled between them. Penny's natural translation, as part of the hivemind, failed for the first time ever. Her communicator likewise did not translate the words Kashaunta spoke.
"Eis nama kaste Penny Balica, sun lanci Dorima Kashaunta. Ko'ri, lanci nupa bes na Dorima'Pecunyanova. Sp'rkial'nova. Sun. Homo Sapiens."
The air grew thick with tension. It was not just emotional, either. Psychic and conceptual energy gathered. The mindscape started to distort as more and more eyes began to view Kashaunta and Penny. But all of them were Sprilnav eyes. All of them were Progenitors. Nova's appeared brightest and largest, nearly six times the size of the next largest pair. They stared at her, sending psychic and conceptual energy down upon her in waves that forced her and Kashaunta to kneel to the ground.
"I apologize for my earlier words," Penny said. "I should not have denigrated this."
Penny stood for an hour, deeply contemplating the Pact. If it was as Nilnacrawla was describing to her, it was a promise that Kashaunta would not break. If she was offering it at all, especially to Penny, it meant she had a level of trust in Penny's capability far above what Penny had previously thought. Apparently, there were even higher agreements than this that were possible, with this Pact being the lowest level of bond and considered unbreakable with the enforcement of consequences coming from the Progenitors themselves.
She thought of her place in Justicar and the wider universe. Hours passed like water. And then, by the end of it, after nearly 19 hours, Penny finally had decided. She gave a short nod to Kashaunta, who had been kneeling to Nova all this time.
Kashaunta gestured at the sword. "Tol, nopa shikai."
Nilnacrawla fed her a few suggestions on what she would need to say.
"I come to this Pact seeking peace, justice, and hope," Penny said. "And a promise not to betray one another, by lies or by treachery."
Nilnacrawla translated Kashaunta's next words to her.
"I come to this seeking trust, understanding, respect, and peace," Kashaunta said. "And a promise not to betray one another, by lies or by treachery. I make this Pact before the gods, those who equal them, and those who surpass them. I bind them to an oath of silence regarding this event, until I directly instruct them otherwise, in a state of a sound mind, body, and soul. Here, we shall step into a future that needs both of us, casting aside that which is unimportant to focus on the ultimate goals we have. I offer my Blade to Penny Balica, of species Homo Sapiens. In this way, we forge a new future, and walk a new path. I accept the Pact."
"I accept the Pact."
Nova and a hundred Progenitors descended. Nova grew larger, and Kashaunta knelt to him. Penny remained standing. His sharp teeth glittered in the light. He pressed his claws to Penny's chest, and to Kashaunta's chest.
"The Pact of Blades is made before the Progenitors. We agree to your vow of silence. The penalty of breaking it will be dismemberment and disposal into a black hole. Penny Balica, Engineer Kashaunta. To break this Pact without mutual agreement is to call down our collective wrath upon yourselves. You both have agreed, and are of sound mind, body, and soul. The Pact is forged. By sword, by word, by action. I, Nova, Everlasting, Lord of the Progenitors, King of all Sp'rkial'nova, Heir to the Mantle of Power, Heir to Narvravarana, Progenitor, Elder, and Sprilnav, declare the deed done, etched in time, space, and Reality."
They winked out of existence one by one, leaving Penny and Kashaunta alone, to ponder the future. Penny's thoughts turned to the Judgment, and her confidence she could win it began to waver. How much worse was this Judgment going to be than before?
Penny stared at Kashaunta's Soul Blade. With careful fingers, she took it. Kashaunta sat up, satisfied.
"Now we can begin. I shall compile all the news about you I can find, and we shall see how to address the questions the High Judges will ask. Now that you trust me, I cannot betray you."

I'm a new nurse who graduated in December. I started on a med-surg unit in a new-grad residency program in January. I was being bullied by some of the staff, spoke up about it but nothing changed, and overall was truly not cut out for this specialty. I was having daily panic attacks before and after work, stopped enjoying life, and cried all the time. I am very interested in psych nursing/outpatient. I live in OR and have applied to several places, but most of what I'm finding is only inpatient med-surg/ICU/ER, eto which is not something l'm interested in. I applied for a child psych position up in WA at a top hospital, and made it to the second round of interviews. I am very conflicted on if I am offered the job, if I should take it. The biggest reason for that is finances. I still live at home and am able to save a TON of money doing so. I have student loans & a car payment that if I was able to start work soon, couple wipe out in 1-2 years. I do pay rent but not nearly as much as I would be paying in Seattle where I could potentially work. My husband and I are trying to weigh the pros and cons, and moving would mean that our finances would be a lot more tight, and I would not be paying my loans off soon at all. On top of that, I truly love living with my family and am very close to them (my husband likes it too, we live in a big house and all split bills and are content). I fear that I could potentially be passing up my dream job though if I am offered it and don't take it. I also don't know how long I should keep looking for jobs in Northern OR until I give up because I have no more options left for the fields I want. Overall, I don't want to make an irrational decision and leave everything and be more strapped financially, but I have always wanted to work in psych and it's a great hospital. I need some outside perspective because each day I just feel more and more defeated when I'm not finding a good job that fits for me, or am turned down. I need a rational and logical perspective to help me make the most sound decision. Thank you so much in advance :)

Why did the farmer visit the pharmacy? To speak with the farm-assist.
Hi and welcome to my post! Wanted to start off with a funny to me dad joke.
Nice to meet you, I'm Dylan! To put it simple, I am a single 22 year old man who has been pretty lonely in life and lacking in female connection and interaction. And part of what comes with that is the desire to be intimate with a person. I am very mature for my age and will always be respectful of your boundaries and feelings, especially with anything sexual. Lately all I have is myself when it comes to sexual desires, so I would like to have someone to keep company with in that regard too.
I'm just relaxing at work since there's nothing really going on and thinking about going home tonight and burning a woodwick candle. Perfect for when there's a storm outside. I love candles! 🕯️ Sometimes a campfire outside on a fall night or a crackling WoodWick candle is a relaxing constant among our busy and hectic world. It's nice to just disconnect, feel grounded and happy in your own little cozy space. Feeling calm and collected and at peace. Something that fewer people take the time to do these days.
I am seeking a woman around my age or older to build a close connection with that could possibly lead to a relationship and something intimate which includes the possibility of teasing/sharing pics etc. but only when we were comfortable. Figured I would be open in my Intentions as that's the best way to be.
You:
Kind, respectful, and easy going.
Comfortable with the idea of eventually sharing intimate things together.
Willing to eventually move off of Reddit.
Want something genuine and fun!
Are honest in your intentions and a good person to be around!
That's about it, we will get along great I know it.
I've been feeling a little bummed out lately. I always try and stay happy and see the best in things. But.. I've just been so alone. Most of my whole childhood and adult years have been spent feeling lonely. I grew up surrounded by cornfields which was peaceful but also has a lonely aspect to it. My family never really were close and never did anything as a family really. And part of it too is the fact that I never had any neighbors my age to interact with. But aside from that, my adult life has been very lonely. I'm just always by myself. I barely have any meaningful adult relationships or experiences, or even any friends.
I work a 3-11 job in building maintenance at my company world headquarters building which I love, but again it's very lonely. I work the off shift so the building is always empty. I don't get normal social interaction with people my age or a chance to build relationships. I only have 3 older men as co-workers and we are mostly in the basement away from any people on the floors from knowing our existence. I always walk the floors and see office people laughing and chatting with their coworkers and I just don't have that kind of experience. And just.. no one knows I exist really. Everyone probably assumes I have a lot of friends, but I'm struggling inside with being so alone and trying to meet people and get past the "hi how are you?" "I'm good thanks" stage. Most people don't seem to want to talk beyond that. And most women are already in relationships and thus it would seem weird to approach them in an office setting trying to get to know them deeper. But man those "hi how are yous" are the only real interactions I get during my day.. so thus I decided to come here lol. Rant over, sorry! I promise I'm not a downer. 😅
Now for some things about me!
As you can tell, I am very mature for my age and am polite and have good grammar which unfortunately not everyone my age does anymore lol. I am not active at all on social media/internet culture really and don't know much about all the slang the younger people these days use. I feel like I'm 50. 🤣
I am left handed which is pretty cool. I'm not much of a party person or a drinker, I much prefer a quiet night at home and maybe a beer or two on a weekend but that's about it. I am simple and stay out of drama and trouble and don't get much into politics or other things that cause drama with people. I much prefer a relaxing campfire and a night at home and to just let the world keep on turning haha. I consider myself pretty intelligent and mature, especially for my age which is why I'm open to older ladies.
Physically I'm 180 pounds, have brown hair, green eyes, and a typical build. There's a few pictures on my profile.
Some of my hobbies are:
• Photography
I have a Nikon D200 and D5500 that I love to shoot with. I love nature scenes, abstract, black and white/goth kinda photography, sunsets, etc. it's so fun to just let your mind explore. It's not about what camera you have, but those who are behind the camera! I'm gonna try and photograph the northern lights tonight!
• Cooking and baking
I loveeee to cook and bake! I enjoy making various meals but also love to just have a frozen pizza once in awhile or something like that. I recently made homemade chili which turned out great. I love to bake, especially in the fall! I love pies, cakes, pastries, cookies, etc. I restored a vintage KitchenAid mixer that needed tbe gearbox rebuilt. Eventually I would love to practice home canning my own food.
• Music
Oh my gosh, I like so much!! Alternative rock, punk, post punk, electronic, synth pop, psychedelic rock, hard rock, etc. I am very non judgemental and open when it comes to music. My three current favorite bands are Type O Negative, Joy Division, and the Cure.
• Nature walks and camping
I really enjoy camping, making fires, and relaxing by a campfire. I love to take walks outside and just enjoy the beauty and simplicity of nature. It's wonderful, especially in a world so focused on everything digital.
• Repairing things
I'm a maintenance guy and one of my hobbies is electronics repair so I am good with my hands and just all around good at troubleshooting and fixing all sorts of things around the house. Last week I helped my elderly neighbor get his tractor started, it needed a new component in the starting circuit. So I'm pretty handy which... Comes in handy! 😂
• Autumn 🍁
This isn't a hobby per say, but man do I love the fall!!! It's my absolute favorite time of the year. Oh my gosh. The beautiful colors, crisp cool air, misty and foggy days, rain, lack of bugs, being cuddled up with a candle or by the fire drinking a tea, etc. I love it! There's only two seasons for me. Fall, and waiting for fall! Haha.
• Scented Candles and incense
Going along with my love for fall, I absolutely love candles! I have like 30 something lol. 😂 Currently my favorite are WoodWick, which are owned by Yankee candle. They have such a soothing crackle and the scents are great! I also love to burn incense from time to time as well. I have cottagecore hippie vibes.
• Old houses and architecture
I love old houses! Especially 1900s and Victorian era homes. Old homes have so much character to them and are just so beautiful from a time when people took pride in their craft. I strongly dislike the modern cookie cutter cheap construction of homes today. I would love to live in an old home one day. I also love their architecture and uniqueness, as well as architecture of old cathedrals and other buildings.
• Relaxing
Basic I know, but sometimes on the weekend I just love to get cozy in bed and relax and put on a YouTube video or an album! 😊
That's about it for me, I'm a pretty laid back and simple person. My ideal person is someone who is respectful and honest! I am very straightforward and open minded and would hope that you are as well.
If I seem interesting to you at all I would love to hear from you!
Thank you so much for reading.

As the sun sets, painting the sky in fiery tones, I waited by the roadside as you instructed. That’s when I heard the rumble of an old Bronco. As it quickly approached me with its top off, my eyes were glued as the rugged driver was revealed. During our conversation prior to this meet up you had sent me pictures but I had no idea how attractive you’d be in real life. You stop right next to my car and signaled me to get in. No questions were asked. No words were exchanged. I immediately feel a rush of excitement and anticipation as I hop into the vintage ride, ready for a casual encounter. I sat in your passenger seat as the fresh, cool spring air brushed against my skin. You mentioned a hidden spot and I trusted you. So I sat back and enjoyed the ride when suddenly, without warning, you veered off the road, jumping the curb and going around a gate blocking car access. The sudden movement caused everything, including me, to shift in your car, and instinctively, I found myself grabbing onto your thigh. You remained focused on the road, flashing a smirk as my hand lingered there. Before I could retract it, you guided it up to your crotch. I couldn't help but notice the thickness beneath your pants as my hand rested there. What turned me on more was the heat radiating from the blood pumping through your veins. My mouth watered…. The sun had completely set. The road, flanked by trees casting shadows, your old bronco left a trail of dust behind us as we hurried along. My anxiety spiked as we approached a sharp curve, fearing we might end up in a canal. Thankfully, you began to slow down just in time, revealing a clearing near the curve. Stopping at the sharp curb, you backed into the clearing surrounded by trees. The last couple of minutes seemed chaotic but now we were surrounded by calmness. I glanced up and noticed a splatter of twinkling lights, adding a touch of magic to our adventure. "Hop to the back," you instructed, drawing my attention to the worn-out leather seats. But before I could comply, you paused, pulling out a blanket and spreading it out for me. Typically, encounters like these were quick "cum and go" affairs, but this felt different. I moved to the back, settling in the middle as you requested, my nerves tingling with anticipation. Without warning, you leaned over from the front seat and kissed me passionately, igniting a fire within me. You sensually held my face as your warm tongue brushed up against mine. I felt flushed, motionless, and ready to be yours. You stood up, you began to undress in front of me, prompting my curiousty, "What are you doing?" I had never encouraged full nudity for public play; it felt too risky. “We're good, no one drives back here," you reassured me confidently, leaving me no choice but to trust you. You place both feet beside me as you prop yourself up, placing your elbows on the back beam of your Bronco and lean back. Dangling in front of my face is your long semi hard, uncircumcised dick. You close your eyes, lean your head back and tell me, “show me what that mouth can do." I wanted to tease you a bit, so I spent some time kissing your thighs, getting closer and closer to your balls. You let out soft moans as my mouth traveled all over your lower body. Then, I put one of your balls into my mouth, swishing it around inside before switching to the other one. Meanwhile, I stroked your thighs with my hands. Your breathing became heavy as I managed to fit both your balls into my mouth at once. Tenderly, I licked your balls while warming them up with my hot mouth. Using my tongue, I moved them all around, my lips completely taking your entire sack, up to the root of your cock, which had become hard as a rock. My hands began to stroke your cock. I pulled your member up with one hand and held it against my lips. It was dripping in glossy precum. I brush your head against my lips tasking your bitter-sweetness. I pressed my lips against your head and push your skin back as your cock traveled down my throat. You let out a loud moan letting me know how much you were enjoying my mouth. I look up as I feel you looking down at me. I pull your drenched cock out of my mouth and swipe my tongue over your pee hole. Keeping my eyes locked on yours, I slip your head back into my mouth and push down until my lips press against your base. This drives you insane! “I can tell you love sucking dick.” I grab onto each side of your hips and guide your body toward my face. I want to ensure your entire shaft is snugly nestled down my throat. Your head breaks past the throat barrier. You're so deep in my mouth that your balls are slipping inside my mouth. "Oh fuck!" you shout. "You like this dick, don't you?" Holding your dick down my throat, I couldn't speak, but I did verbally answer, "Mhm," slowly and as loud as I could. This sends vibrations through your cock, even making your balls tingle. "Oh fuck, you're going to make me cum." You have the perfect bubble butt, and I wanted to make sure to rim you for the first time. I grab your hips and signal for you to turn around. You pause for a moment, nervously turning around. Your perfectly smooth butt is ready to be tongue-fucked. I'm afraid I might be suffocated by your ass. I asked you to lean forward while I spread your cheeks, looking for your puckered hole. I lean in and take my first lick, before pushing my face forward deep in between your cheeks as my tongue circulated your hole all while I played with your dick. A few seconds later I heard you say, “oh I fucked up” I was confused what could have gone wrong. I didn’t stop making out with your hole, when I felt your hot-gooey cum on my hand. You were embarrassed to admit you had cum, and cummed quickly. You stood there motionless for a moment. Then you collapsed next to me and apologizing. I didn’t care, I had done my job. You quickly began to dress yourself when I asked, “can you rate my mouth?” You embarrassedly answered, “Are you kidding? You made me cum quick. I’d give you a higher score than 10 if I could.”

As the sun sets, painting the sky in fiery tones, I waited by the roadside as you instructed. That’s when I heard the rumble of an old Bronco. As it quickly approached me with its top off, my eyes were glued as the rugged driver was revealed. During our conversation prior to this meet up you had sent me pictures but I had no idea how attractive you’d be in real life. You stop right next to my car and signaled me to get in. No questions were asked. No words were exchanged. I immediately feel a rush of excitement and anticipation as I hop into the vintage ride, ready for a casual encounter. I sat in your passenger seat as the fresh, cool spring air brushed against my skin. You mentioned a hidden spot and I trusted you. So I sat back and enjoyed the ride when suddenly, without warning, you veered off the road, jumping the curb and going around a gate blocking car access. The sudden movement caused everything, including me, to shift in your car, and instinctively, I found myself grabbing onto your thigh. You remained focused on the road, flashing a smirk as my hand lingered there. Before I could retract it, you guided it up to your crotch. I couldn't help but notice the thickness beneath your pants as my hand rested there. What turned me on more was the heat radiating from the blood pumping through your veins. My mouth watered…. The sun had completely set. The road, flanked by trees casting shadows, your old bronco left a trail of dust behind us as we hurried along. My anxiety spiked as we approached a sharp curve, fearing we might end up in a canal. Thankfully, you began to slow down just in time, revealing a clearing near the curve. Stopping at the sharp curb, you backed into the clearing surrounded by trees. The last couple of minutes seemed chaotic but now we were surrounded by calmness. I glanced up and noticed a splatter of twinkling lights, adding a touch of magic to our adventure. "Hop to the back," you instructed, drawing my attention to the worn-out leather seats. But before I could comply, you paused, pulling out a blanket and spreading it out for me. Typically, encounters like these were quick "cum and go" affairs, but this felt different. I moved to the back, settling in the middle as you requested, my nerves tingling with anticipation. Without warning, you leaned over from the front seat and kissed me passionately, igniting a fire within me. You sensually held my face as your warm tongue brushed up against mine. I felt flushed, motionless, and ready to be yours. You stood up, you began to undress in front of me, prompting my curiousty, "What are you doing?" I had never encouraged full nudity for public play; it felt too risky. “We're good, no one drives back here," you reassured me confidently, leaving me no choice but to trust you. You place both feet beside me as you prop yourself up, placing your elbows on the back beam of your Bronco and lean back. Dangling in front of my face is your long semi hard, uncircumcised dick. You close your eyes, lean your head back and tell me, “show me what that mouth can do." I wanted to tease you a bit, so I spent some time kissing your thighs, getting closer and closer to your balls. You let out soft moans as my mouth traveled all over your lower body. Then, I put one of your balls into my mouth, swishing it around inside before switching to the other one. Meanwhile, I stroked your thighs with my hands. Your breathing became heavy as I managed to fit both your balls into my mouth at once. Tenderly, I licked your balls while warming them up with my hot mouth. Using my tongue, I moved them all around, my lips completely taking your entire sack, up to the root of your cock, which had become hard as a rock. My hands began to stroke your cock. I pulled your member up with one hand and held it against my lips. It was dripping in glossy precum. I brush your head against my lips tasking your bitter-sweetness. I pressed my lips against your head and push your skin back as your cock traveled down my throat. You let out a loud moan letting me know how much you were enjoying my mouth. I look up as I feel you looking down at me. I pull your drenched cock out of my mouth and swipe my tongue over your pee hole. Keeping my eyes locked on yours, I slip your head back into my mouth and push down until my lips press against your base. This drives you insane! “I can tell you love sucking dick.” I grab onto each side of your hips and guide your body toward my face. I want to ensure your entire shaft is snugly nestled down my throat. Your head breaks past the throat barrier. You're so deep in my mouth that your balls are slipping inside my mouth. "Oh fuck!" you shout. "You like this dick, don't you?" Holding your dick down my throat, I couldn't speak, but I did verbally answer, "Mhm," slowly and as loud as I could. This sends vibrations through your cock, even making your balls tingle. "Oh fuck, you're going to make me cum." You have the perfect bubble butt, and I wanted to make sure to rim you for the first time. I grab your hips and signal for you to turn around. You pause for a moment, nervously turning around. Your perfectly smooth butt is ready to be tongue-fucked. I'm afraid I might be suffocated by your ass. I asked you to lean forward while I spread your cheeks, looking for your puckered hole. I lean in and take my first lick, before pushing my face forward deep in between your cheeks as my tongue circulated your hole all while I played with your dick. A few seconds later I heard you say, “oh I fucked up” I was confused what could have gone wrong. I didn’t stop making out with your hole, when I felt your hot-gooey cum on my hand. You were embarrassed to admit you had cum, and cummed quickly. You stood there motionless for a moment. Then you collapsed next to me and apologizing. I didn’t care, I had done my job. You quickly began to dress yourself when I asked, “can you rate my mouth?” You embarrassedly answered, “Are you kidding? You made me cum quick. I’d give you a higher score than 10 if I could.”

I have chronic fatigue and decided to wish for a robot vacuum for my next bday from family/friends, as it would take a lot of pressure off me. We have a small flat, mainly hardwood floors with a couple of small rugs. 2 young teens are over on the weekend, and a full-time cat that is mostly napping, alongside 2 adults. The cat is very clean but one can never exclude an accident, and I don't want a dumb vacuum to waltz through the pile and ruin itself (the streaks can be cleaned but the vac will probably be ruined, right?). I'd also like a robot that doesn't need babysitting around cables and random floor clutter (not much, but it happens regularly) etc., because I can be out at random times. I might even need to avoid it, if it's too noisy. I don't expect the robovac to do 100% of the cleaning, but I'd like it to maintain the floors nicely and extend the times between deeper manual cleaning.
I've mainly been looking at roombas and possibly eufys as they seem the biggest brands. I gather that the j series is the one to go for, because of the modern navigation. The budget is about £550, so the j7+ combo is slightly beyond reach at the moment (there are a few offers near 650) while the j5 is within, as well as some j7 models. I'm trying to figure out if it's worth throwing extra dosh at a j7+ combo instead of a j5-type or a j7 vac only. I'm also deliberating on a station vs no station, and on a mop vs vac only.

• is the mop worth it? Background info: I have mainly hardwood floors and one thing that stresses me is when people walk around with their shoes, which happens regularly, because it's a huge effort for me to then clean the floors again. I'm at home lots and would like to keep it clean, for comfort and because I think the dust/dirt might worsen my condition. I can't both vacuum and mop on my own without overexerting myself, and can't always rely on help (partner is away often, not their fault).
  
• if you have a cat, does the j7 or j5 do the job well enough for you?
  
• if you have no stations, how often do you find yourself emptying the bins? if you've experienced both, does the station improve the experience significantly?
  
• is the 2-in-1 convenience of the j7 combo worth it to you? how much of a hassle is the bin change for the j5 combo?
  
• Once the roomba has done it's thing mapping out the house, and a schedule has been set: can it run on it's own, while all offline? I worry about the longevity of the product, should something happen to the app or the company running it, or in case ouf outages.
  
• The main reason I've been steering clear of eufy is their poor reputation regarding data protection, and because all the "ratings" I found seem to be secretly sponsored or fake (this seriously puts me off). I have also doubts about the navigation. BUT: Is there a compelling reason to go for an X8 pro or something? I understand they are much more budget friendly, but don't trust they are as advanced as the roomba j's.
  

If you made it his far, thank you very much for taking the time. I appreciate any input. Cheers

Link if it's hard to read in this post: https://jordankligman.substack.com/p/ontario-intentionally-denying-health
Who Is Denying Health Care?
I’d like to tell you this is an outlier, but across the board patients are getting denied access to health care. How do I know? It’s happening to me.
Family Doctors Are Denying Health Care
What do family doctors do? They don’t do physicals anymore. Their jobs is essentially order referrals and requisitions. They don’t even do that well. Roughly half of my referrals don’t go through. I had a previous family doctor use my entire appointment to lecture me on getting the COVID vaccine. I had already had my first dose and was scheduled to get my second shot at the time. Keep in mind I had that doctor’s appointment because I have serious physical pain. The doctor wasn’t interested in treating me. He was interested in pushing a specific ideology. I’ve had the Pfizer COVID vaccine in total five times. I was overdue for my tetanus vaccine. I had to ask during three different appointments before I was granted that vaccine. This is absurd.
What’s more absurd is I have had multiple family doctors reject me as a patient. Health Care Connect, a government funded service, claimed these doctors were accepting new patients but they weren’t. I found one doctor on my own that was accepting new patients. The receptionist made me bring a printout out of my prescriptions as if I was a drug addict. After waiting a month for my appointment to meet this doctor he refused to take me as a patient. Claimed he couldn’t help me. He didn’t even ask for the prescription printouts. He couldn’t give me an answer as to why he couldn’t help me. So I asked him to put in it in writing he was declining me as a patient. He declined to do so and said he wasn’t obligated to do so.
Walk-in Doctors Are Denying Health Care
I requested imaging to try to find the source of my pain from a walk-in doctor. They claim they sent the requisition. A year later and the hospital the requisition was supposedly sent to had no record of it. So I went back to the walk-in clinic to try to get them to resend the referral. Instead of seeing a doctor this time they gave me a physicians assistant. The PA refused to resend my imaging referral. Told me to go to the emergency room to get my imaging. I thought the entire point of a walk-in clinic was to keep people out of the ER? I’ve since been to the ER. No they won’t just giving you imaging if you ask even if you are prepared to wait 5+ hours. I demanded a copy of the requisition for the imaging from the walk-in clinic they claim they initially sent. I scanned it in and emailed to the hospital.
Hospitals Are Denying Health Care
Even with the requisition dated a year earlier they would not honour the requisition. It gets worse. Multiple hospitals have denied me health care. An ER doctor looked at my medical records and essentially denied me health care. He basically inferred since other doctors couldn’t find the source of my pain he wasn’t going to waste his time thinking about it. He ordered bloodwork to confirm I wasn’t actively dying and then kicked me out. I signed up for a virtual emergency call with another hospital as recommended to me by telehealth. That hospital nurse during the call denied me care because she said they don’t do second opinions. So I said fine get me an appointment with any doctor of your choosing. She then claimed where I lived wasn’t in the catchment zone for that hospital. I’ve been to this hospital many times. I have an outstanding referral that has gone unanswered from this hospital. Changing the reason mid conversation as to why I am being denied health care seems like a lot of nonsense. A finally my favourite hospital. That’s sarcasm because this third hospital scanned the wrong part of my body and then lied about it. Not only did they bully my family doctor into taking the blame for this error, but they had all my personal information wrong. This hospital thought I was in a wheelchair. They also had the wrong phone number for me. It was a area code for a city not even in the Greater Toronto Area. All I wanted from this hospital was an apology and for them to fix their mistake. The PR person from this hospital told me they were taking steps to ensure this would never happen again. I asked what steps were taking place. I was not given an coherent answer. They gave me another scan, but I have no idea if that was even done correctly. I tried to confirm with the technician what part of my body they were scanning. Her response was that she is doing the requisition called for. So no steps to ensure correct scans were being done. The extra radiation from another CT scan probably isn’t ideal but what I am more concerned about is the dye. My scan didn’t call for dye, but at some point the hospital changed the scan and decided it was a good idea to inject me with dye for a scan I didn’t need my I remind you.
The Government Is Denying Health Care
I have tried to get in touch with the Minister of Health for Ontario, Sylvia Jones. All I get back is a copy paste form letter that doesn’t relate to my situation. I have spoken to my local MPP. She was defending the doctors that denied me care. Then claimed the government is hiring more family doctors. Not sure how that related to my situation, but okay… Then she asked me if I was open to private health care. My response was I was open on a contingency basis, but I don’t think she understood me. If a private doctor could can diagnosis me I’ll pay whatever their fee is. If they phone it in and cannot figure anything out I don’t agree with private health care. The problem is private health is rampant in Ontario. So much so it’s a two-tier system. From my understanding private health care was not currently legal in Ontario, but there are loopholes. These private doctors sell yearly subscriptions ranging from $3000 to $10,000/year. I’ve heard speculation that some of these private clinics may even charge as much as $20,000 but I have been unable to verify that claim. It’s kind of hard when these clinics don’t post their rates online and operate in the shadows.
https://jordankligman.substack.com/p/ontario-intentionally-denying-health

not sure how to flair this, but a TW for sa.
i am afab, 15 years old and i feel as though this is important to this. two of the closest people in my life have sexual trauma, one of them being my partner and one being a very close friend. i have always been very supportive and have always tried to give my best support and listen to them, and i feel like i have done a goodish job. i am by no means a therapist and we are all 15-16 years old. i used to think this didnt effect me very much, until we had a lesson in school about consent and harassment. this lesson sent me spiraling and while i got through it, it left me shaking in a way that i didnt really understand. when i got home that day i tried to reflect, and i feel like knowing both of their stories has effected me a lot more then i thought it had, as it has changed my views on men and sex in general as well as sprouting a new fear of sex that i never really had. i think what i am asking, can just listening and supporting people really effect me that much? i feel like i must mention that i am diagnosed with anxiety which could be part of it. whenever i try and research secondary trauma or vicarious trauma its always with health workers and therapists, is it even possible at 15? thank you

I have been summoned for jury duty but I am wondering if I can be excused because of my BMD. I am capable of showing up to court but I have bad back pain and butt pain when sitting for too long. And who knows what sorta case this will be and how long it will last. I really don’t think I can handle it all.
I am wondering if anyone has been able to be permanently excused from jury duty by talking with their doctor and asking for a letter. I talked with my physical therapist about this and recommended I get a letter from my PCP instead of my neurology doctor (since he takes a lot of convincing to get an excusal). Thank you for sharing your experiences!

Started working in tech back in 2018, taking contract work. Ended up at the world’s biggest company (yeah, our nemesis) making 85k after the pandemic. Got laid off last year many thousands of tech workers.
Supported my family with my severance. Then collected unemployment benefits for a good while. Whole time the stock was doing backflips into the trash. I wasn’t selling. Didn’t need to thankfully.
Then benefits ran out. And I cleared out my 401k.
Selling wasn’t even a thought. In fact I bought more after DRS’ing to try and play the markets on one of those apps. Big mistake. But I still held the lions share.
Then the 401k went away. So we downsized.
And downsized.
I am thankful that I have family to help me. A wife who understands my investment goals. Trusts my vision. Loves me. And has a great Union job that won’t ever be laid off.
Still I held.
The only time I lost a share was when I gifted them. Two to my godparents. One to a friend battling cancer. She won her battle too.
Now it’s time to win ours.
Hold the fucking line. When it comes time, you won’t even have to sell.
And when you ever do. One will be more than enough. Just fucking wait for it.

Question for UPS drivers: I searched this reddit forum, and surprised I couldn't find any mention of it. So Amazon has a feature called Amazon Key, which works through Chamberlain's MyQ Garage Door opener system, to allow the garage door to open when the driver scans the package, and the package can then be placed inside the garage and then the door closes securely after. It is a one-time use access. My garage door opener has this feature, but I have never used it. My question is, do you as a driver find this feature annoying/irritating or does it slow you down from doing your job? Or do you view it as a positive thing for yourself and the customer knowing there is a much lower risk of package theft? I want to try using it for an Amazon delivery, but not if it's something that will piss off my UPS driver. I have a front door Ring camera and live in a safe neighborhood with a very low amount of package theft anyways, although sometimes it does occur. But if the drivers are cool with the way Amazon Key works, and it does not cause them an inconvenience, I think I'd like to start using it. What is your opinion on it, and have you used it to deliver packages on your route? Thank you.

Hi everyone, I am a freshman CS major, and wondering what field I should go into that I will have a good shot at internships and jobs for the future. I'm an almost-decent student at a very average small midwest university, and I've heard all the stories about thousands of apps and no interviews, makes me nervous.
Thanks! I'll stop procrastinating and try not to fail my CS final now.
Also, when should I start applying for summer internships for after my sophomore year? When do companies start looking?
Edit: What other tips do you have, stuff you wish you knew when you were 19?

This is just me venting. Many years ago, I built control panels for a living and used and loved my DeWalt tools. Had a power drill for years with no problem. Loved the wrenches and sockets I had. I used DeWalt tape measure, knives, some of the pliers, side cutters, nut drivers, tool boxes....and loved most all of them.
I went away for a few years to work on my poetry and just got back into panel building about 10 months ago. All the field guys love the red brand that begins with "M", but I remembered how great my DeWalt tools were, so I went and picked up some new tools for my job. I looked around and read some posts and heard people talk about how DeWalt quality has gone down, but I never had any problems with any of the tools I had, so I decided to remain loyal and go team yellow.
The first thing I got was the DCD791 cordless drill for like $150 at Home Depot. Then I got more tools, like a utility knife, tape, needle nose etc.. First thing I noticed was after a few months, the blade didn't like to push out on my folding utility knife. It got so bad, I went back and bought a different style, and put the folding one in a drawer. Then last month, the drill quit working. I was having problems with the keyless chuck and finally it would just rattle and not even drill. I went online to see what kind warranty it had. The site said 1 year service and 3 year limited warranty. I contacted them and they asked some questions about the drill and wanted some of the numbers off of it, which I provided.
The lady said that she would email me a UPS label to mail in my drill. That the repair place would look at it and if it was a factory default, they would fix it free. If it was misuse, they would tell me how much it would cost and I could decide if I wanted it fixed or not. If not, I would have to pay shipping to get it back. They asked for a credit card number and I provided one. I printed out the label and mailed my drill to them.
Because I needed a drill for work, I went and bought one for $100 from Home Depot. I didn't really want to do this, but I needed a drill. I thought maybe I could just return it when they fixed the other one
They emailed me a repair order with my information and a link to log in. When I logged in, I noticed it said $92 for the repair, even though they hadn't even received my drill yet. I figured this was just the way the repair orders were written up. A couple weeks go by and I get an email saying they have my drill. Another week and they email to say it was repaired and would be shipped back to me. A few days later they charge my credit card $106. I call the number and she says, the warranty is only a year long and the date code is 2 years old; that if I have my receipt to prove i bought it less than a year ago, I could send a copy and try to get a refund.
Of course, I can't find my receipt. Probably because I never had a problem with a DeWalt tool and didn't think I would need it. I know that is my fault, but this whole thing seems crappy. I spent $150 on the drill, another $100 for the repair and another $100 for a drill in the meantime. If I knew it was going to be $100 to fix it, I would have said No. I bought a brand new drill for $100. Why didnt they tell me that the repair was out of warranty and give me the option of refusing it? It seems like if they made a quality product, then customer service for repairs should be smooth and painless because repairs don't happen often. Instead, it seems like they know their products are going to break, so they make it difficult for you, thinking you will just go buy a new drill (which I did anyway). They should be able to take the drill apart and see that it was a manufacturer problem and just replace it. Making me jump through all these hoops just to charge for the repair, PLUS tax, PLUS shipping is just shitty.
I ignored the haters and stuck with them out of loyalty, and I feel like they shit on me. I take care on my tools. I put my drill back in the case after I used it every time. I see field guys just throw their red and blue drills around and drop them in dirt and the things last forever. I just feel slighted about the whole thing. The tools used to be just awesome. What the hell happened? I am not ready to abandon ship just yet, but I am wondering if I am doing the right thing. If the new drill I got or the fixed one they send back breaks in less than a year, I am probably going to shift to something else. Anyway, thanks for listening.

4 years ago, my ex broke 3 of my front teeth. He only paid te part that the insurance didn't cover. I was a student at the time and my insurance covered it all except 2200$ that he had to pay from his pocket. He promised to stay with me, marry me and make everything in his power for me to forgive him. In fact, he did all the opposite. He left me because after 2 months I was supposed to be very happy to have 3 fake front teeth that looked real for him even though everyone I know did say that I wore fake tooth. I lost all my confidemce, took more than 20 kg, lost my job had a major depression and lost some friends. I feel really isolated since my agression and I'm really tired. The policeman ask me if I want to press charges. What would you do in my shoes? Also, he iz reLly mean. He filmed me wighout my consent when I got drunk ond night after he packed alll my belongings in a trash bag. Tell me please what you would do in my situation. Thank you 🤍

I know to most people I sound ridiculous at the moment trying to get a girl back that I’ve only known for a week but she made me feel incredible! The texting, the phone calls, soooo much in common and it was so easy to talk to her and have fun. I made it fairly clear I was looking for an exclusive relationship and she made it clear she wasn’t ready for that. I told her let’s just enjoy each other’s company and go from there no need to rush. My actions though unfortunately said something different than my words. For the past 2 days the texting slowed and energetically I felt her pulling away. Then the dreaded phone call saying I’m great but she can’t give me what I want at the moment. I understand her POV and I respect it but I wish we would explore each other more and it could potentially blossom into something in the future. I wrote her a letter just saying thank you for the times we spent together and I hope she finds someone that treats her great in the future when she’s ready. I have not given the letter yet. I don’t think she’s lying or making an excuse because the time we spent was definitely mutually great and we’ve discussed that. I feel like I’m weird for wanting this but I would truly appreciate any insight as to what I can do to give myself the best chance. Also she doesn’t want to see each other so making her laugh on the next date isn’t the kind of advice I can use. If I’m not crazy please help me. TLDR: I want to continue to see a girl who doesn’t want a relationship at the moment. What gives me the best chance at that?

As a long time lurker, I recently read the post about signs that you were raised by narcissistic parents and realized that maybe I had more of a problem than I wanted to admit. In light of this, I wanted to share/vent my recent struggle and get some outside perspective because at this point I've been in my own head for way too long.
To set the stage: my wife (29F) and I (29M) live in southern California. My parents split their time between northern California and Vegas (all 4-6+ hours away by car). My wife's mother lives close by (about 30 minutes away).
This all started when my wife and I decided we wanted to elope for our wedding. Our jobs have extremely rigid, time-consuming schedules, so finding time to do even this was hard enough. My wife wanted a June anniversary, so the only date we could make work happened to be Father's Day that year. My mom was also out of the country at the time. Despite originally not having any problem with our plan, my dad later changed his mind, invited himself to the "ceremony", and sulked the entire lunch afterward with her family to the point where everyone felt uncomfortable. He was upset that we chose to get married on Father's Day, while my mom was out of town. At the time I felt very guilty. However, our plan was just to spend literally a couple hours signing some papers. I didn't see a need to make my parents drive 8 hours round trip just to watch us sign some documents. We were even planning a celebration trip later on (that most definitely will not be happening now lol), so all the more reason we felt that they didn't need to be a part of this. Now we can't even look at the pictures from that day without feeling all the awkwardness of that day that he inserted himself into.
Then when my wife was pregnant, my mother-in-law's friend reached out and mentioned she had a ton of baby stuff that she wanted to give us, which we were more than happy to accept. This friend lived in Vegas, so I asked my parents if they could go grab the stuff. My dad immediately got upset and tried to convince me not to accept it. I didn't really understand why, but ultimately my mom ended up going to get it. Then when we requested they deliver the stuff to us a couple months before my daughter would be born, my dad again resisted and said he was busy with work and "did we really need the stuff now." I ultimately gave up my only two days off in a 30 day stretch of work to drive to and from Vegas myself to get the stuff in a timely manner. Naturally, my wife was very unhappy with this situation.
When my daughter was born, my dad decided they would visit us to meet the baby. They visited for a day around two weeks postpartum. They brought some food for us, took some pictures, but quickly left again. My wife was furious. She felt like that it had been more about them seeing the baby rather than caring about her in her vulnerable and exhausted state. I agreed, and at this point the stress of being new parents along with my inability to put my foot down against my parents was putting a strain on our relationship.
Then a couple months later, my mother flew in to live with us for a week to help with the baby. We had planned to enjoy a nice lunch and have a fun day on Sunday before she flew back to thank her for her help. We had all agreed on this being the plan, but a couple days before that Sunday, my dad called and stated that he had cancelled my mom's flight and that he'd drive over and pick her up on Saturday instead, skipping the Sunday plans altogether. We negotiated that he at least let us take her out to lunch on Sunday, which he finally agreed to, but then said he'd join us for lunch and to add him to the reservation. Now growing up I had gotten used to this kind of thing from my dad, but my wife had had it at this point. She was angry that he would try to make us change our plans last minute to accommodate him, and point blank refused to change the reservation, leaving my dad to sulk and complain that we weren't being respectful of him. At this point, we agreed that we would keep my parents at a distance and not try to ask them for any sort of help anymore. She also now refused to say hi to them whenever I called them and opted to just keep her distance.
Fast forward to about a week ago, I called my parents while I was home alone. At this point they had noticed that my wife was distant. My dad asked what was bothering us so we could talk it through. Before I could even get a full sentence out, he was already yelling: "oh my god you guys are still thinking about that? When will you let bygones be bygones? Okay fine, I'm the bad guy, are you happy now?" I have always just relented and apologized to appease my dad's feelings, but this time I became angry and pointedly stated that our needs should come first, especially during this period of time. In response, he said that we "never considered that maybe he wanted to feel the joy of buying stuff for his granddaughter", and "have I ever considered that maybe he's uncomfortable going to get hand-me-downs from someone he doesn't know." I told him I felt like what I asked for wasn't unreasonable, and even if it made him a little uncomfortable, would it be that hard to put aside his feelings to help his son. He said "well if you asked me to jump off a bridge, should I do that then?" This was the conversation that really stuck with me and ultimately put me in the headspace to want to make this post.
Now most recently, Mother's Day weekend came up, and my brother's college graduation in northern California was on the Saturday. It also happened to be a friend's wedding. Due to my work schedule, the baby, the wedding, and wanting to celebrate with my wife for her first Mother's Day, I felt it was best that I not travel and just celebrate with my brother at a later date. My brother and mom were understanding, but my dad made it a point to call me and try to convince me to blow off work and skip the wedding, and that "family always comes first." Funnily enough come Mother's Day, they never even tried to wish my wife a happy first Mother's Day. Instead when I FaceTimed them myself to wish my mom a happy Mother's Day, I could see my dad sulking again that my wife had declined to be present for the call. I don't think to this day he fully understands why we're so upset and still feels that we are the disrespectful ones.
Anyways, there's so much more I could say but this post is way too long as it is. I feel like I've thought myself into circles and now I'm not really sure what to think or how to feel anymore. I've been alternating between anger, sadness, and guilt that maybe I'm blowing things out of proportion. I guess I just wanted to put my feelings out there and see what other people thought. Thanks for reading!