Does anyone know how long it takes to get a letter from Cigna of health insurance being cancelled? I resigned yesterday effective today and I need it to be added to my husband's insurance.

Since the original account/post got nuked, I’ve compiled some of the more standout statements in the original post. What are y’all’s thoughts on this??
waits for disinformation bots/agents to tear this apart
”The craft use a system that originally befuddled generations of researchers, but it's essentially a 3D dijkstra algorithm. It finds points around the craft, and chooses the most efficient possible route through space time to get to that point. Some of the parameters it uses to gauge efficiency are totally unknown to us and are a serious point of contention. It's not autonomy, but rather obstacle avoidance not unlike what you would see in a self-driving car. But, the self driving car could go through air, space and water without worrying about what medium its in. Additionally, the algo accounts for the crafts place in time. I don't think this means that the craft time travel in the way we think they can, but rather go so fast that they experience dilation and can hit objects in the future, and, potentially, past at their target destination.
Although the algo is extremely effective, Nuclear explosions and experiments somehow interfere with this navigation. Craft particularly avoid Diablo Canyon, even if we put something they really want there. They mostly avoid previous crash sites as well.
The wing I called "Anthropology" is the weirdest one by far. It focuses on a few different things. They originally studied NHIs intentions and "culture" if it's possible to call it that. The reports I read from this early research changed the way I see the world. Anthropology and Computer Science were at one point decompartmentalized to study how the NHI interact with the craft. The NHI are linked to their craft in a way that borders on biological.
This team discovered, a long time ago, that the reason why craft appear so bright to us humans is because it's not really "light" but rather the product of the crazy amounts of power these craft require. Sort of like smoke coming out of an exhaust pipe.
All I would say on a record is NHI know we can track them, and know how to avoid us. They usually avoid detection by going underwater, especially in the case of particularly large (by human measurement, enormous) craft.
The shape was directly informed by its purpose. Every shape is custom molded in a metallic material that would revolutionize the way we travel if we had it.
Crash Recovery probably has the most people involved. It's split up among several parent orgs, but funding is funnelled away from it and into other departments when there's little activity. This is common among the entire agency, as funding and staff get balanced between the different wings based on progress or lack thereof. Most of the crash recovery staff are staff from tracking and security that are involved in Crash Recovery. It's also made up of members of all of our favorite three letter organizations.
This team also actively engages in disinformation, gaslighting and other similar campaigns. Their goal is to keep the US's secrets about this tech, secret, because other countries are close to breakthroughs.
NHI potentially experiment on us, and definitely experiment on animals. We have no idea why.”

Tldr: A critical SYNDE coalition home hole is burned to the ground by HAWKS and hundreds of billions are lost or safelogged.

On Starting Points

One of the more contentious elements of any major conflict is identifying when, precisely, it actually began. In EVE, as IRL, that is particularly challenging given the breadth of metagaming which takes place. Did the Wormhole War begin when SYNDE decided last summer that they wanted to replace HAWKS as the dominant high-class wormhole group and committed to making that a reality? Did it begin when they solidified their alliance with the Initiative? When they build their wormhole coalition? When they seeded HAWKS home with capitals? Any of those, had they been out in the open, would likely have triggered open hostilities. But those plans and the steps towards their ultimate objective were carefully and smartly hidden from view.
The widespread SYNDE coalition assault on HAWKS C5 and C6 holes began on March 24^th. With the information we now have available to us, the real start of the war was likely the eviction of Voidlings during the first week of March 2024. HAWKS and their future allies were almost certainly unaware of the significance of that eviction, but leaked internal SYNDE comms put truth to the notion that SYNDE viewed that as a critical first step in isolating and crippling HAWKS. It was, then, the first overt act of war by SYNDE – though its place in that broader campaign remained shrouded for several weeks.
Voidlings is a small to midsize wormhole group. A few years ago, they were a growing low class wormhole group living in a C2 with HS and C3 statics. In 2022, they moved into a new home, a C5 wormhole with a C5 static. For non-wormholers, nearly every high class PVP group lives in a C5 with a C5 static. C5 space is both where the majority of high class farms are. The abundance of C5 statics means that living on the “C5 Highway” is often the best route to all forms of high class pvp and pve content. Honor brawls also almost exclusively take place in C5 holes.
So Voidlings grew from a low-class group into a high-class group, and they continued recruiting in an effort to become one of the relevant high class PVP groups. Their zkillboard suggests they participated in most traditional high class activities – farming, feeding, fighting, evicting, ganking, skirmishing. It appears they were supported during this period of growth by one or more HAWKS members. As a result of this affiliation they were not approached by SYNDE during their coalition-building period. Instead, they were marked for pre-war eviction both to be a preliminary test of coalition coordination and also to eliminate a potential HAWKS ally. Isolating HAWKS was key to the entire war plan.
SYNDE began seeding the Voidlings home with dreads in Feb 2024, ultimately bringing in 6 to support their eviction. At the appropriate time, a robust joint fleet led by SYNDE but also including key coalition allies TURBO and Stay Feral infiltrated the Voidlings home hole, installed a staging POS and began their eviction. They diligently held hole control, adding another half-dozen capital ships to their arsenal over the next several hours. A Voidlings eviction seemed inevitable, as they simply lacked the manpower and experience needed to prevent a collection of wormhole groups that large from evicting them. As is often the case when a home hole is under threat of eviction, batphones rang out across wormhole space. HAWKS, NOVAC and SL0W answered the call for Voidlings. The future SYNDE coalition was on already on standby to support this eviction if necessary, as well as future neutral LUPUS. SYNDE had also secured a commitment from the Initiative to support should the need arise.
At first, it did not appears that the batphoning was likely to change anything. SYNDE maintained diligent hole control, not permitting either Voidlings or any allies from bringing in ships or pilots via the Voidlings static. HAWKS rage rolled from their home to get into the Voidlings home, but was unsuccessful.
For the non-wormholers, when you rage roll a C5 static in order to connect with a specific C5 wormhole, you have a 1 in 531 chance of getting connected to that specific hole with each rage roll. Rolling into a specific hole requires days of 24/7 rage rolling and even then the odds are against you. Wormhole groups really only engage in this level of commitment for really high-level situations, such as the historical eviction of HK’s home hole Rage back in 2018.
Midway through the eviction, however, a frig hole popped connecting the Voidlings home with Horde space. HAWKS, NOVAC and SL0W immediately burned in shuttles to that frig hole, and SYNDE was unable to stop the vast majority of them from jumping into the hole and docking in the besieged Voidlings fort.
Voidlings leadership distributed their home defense handout Ravens to their comrades and the stage was set for a glorious home eviction defense fight. SYNDE and friends had a large 100-ship Barghest fleet supported by nearly a dozen capitals (dreads/fax) while Voidlings and friends could field 100 cruise Ravens with FAX logi and nearly two dozen long-range dreads. Range control and capital placement was understood by both sides’ FCs to be critical to the outcome of the fight. SYNDE had a fleet advantage, but one that could be overcome. Unbeknownst to the Voidlings side, once the frig hole popped SYNDE leadership had invoked their war alliance with Initiative, The Initative pinged and mobilized a 200-man Tengu fleet, travelling quickly to the wormhole chain’s entrance. Jumping in, the Initiative fleet docked in a nearby SYNDE farm and waited.
As a critical citadel timer approached, SYNDE FC Cyrus Kurush fleet warped dreads to range the full Barghest comp along with them. Bubbles exploded all over the grid, aiming to stop the Voidlings defense fleet from warping to a good position. This was an effective stratagem, as SYNDE knew that the Voidlings defense fleet would rely on FAX logi – so pinging around grid was not a viable option. The Voidlings fleet needed a clean warp-in, to a position favorable for their cruise Ravens. The dreads began bashing the fortizar, forcing the Voidlings fleet to commit the fleet or watch their citadel burn. The Ravens and their FAX logi aligned and warped, accepting a mediocre initial position that would permit the SYNDE dreads to apply well. Once the FAX landed, the HAWKS FC leading the Voidlings fleet called for all dreads to undock, and they were warped in to support this all-in defense effort. Those dreads landed, activated siege modules, and began primarying the SYNDE dreads.
After one SYNDE dread exploded and another started taking damage, the trap was sprung. Reports on both comms noted that a 200-man tengu fleet was on dscan. Confusion turned into delight on SYNDE comms and resigned frustration on Voidlings comms as the Initiative fleet landed on grid and immediately began fragging Ravens. What might have been a closely-fought battle quickly turned into a complete rout. Voidlings was able to extract a small number of dreads – but the butcher’s toll was a heavy one. Voidlings – having supplied all the ships used by the defenders – lost the entire Raven fleet and nearly all the capitals, for a total of 327b lost against 1117b killed. https://br.evetools.org/related/31001880/202403020300
The remainder of the eviction proceeded to plan, and all Voidlings citadels were destroyed. SYNDE celebrated a successful test run of their broader vision and campaign. In recent leaks that cover the aftermath, SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush noted that although SYNDE had shown they could take on HAWKS alone, they would take advantage of their massive alliance to simply speed the broader war goal of taking all the HAWKS high class farms and taking their rightful place atop a New Wormhole Oder.

On Rallying Cries and Motivations

This leads to another critical element for how the war would unfold. Wars in EVE are won by motivated pilots first, and a war chest second. For some time, SYNDE and their primary allies had planted the seeds of resentment towards HAWKS among their members. This is not a challenging task, as most wormhole groups generally dislike each other to begin with. In casus belli discussions with HAWKS immediately prior to the war, and in coalition and leadership meetings with their side, SYNDE was fairly consistent about their war aims: take all HAWKS C6 farms, take HAWKS C5 farms, and take HAWKS home. Those farms were to be distributed to SYNDE and their allies, although the specifics were studiously avoided in discussions.
The leak of the SYNDE pre-war CTA gives real insight into members motivations going into the war. Typically, pre-war CTA meetings in EVE are full of hype, energy and enthusiasm. The Synde CTA, by contrast, seemed a much more pragmatic event. Members were concerned about their current farms, about the plan to deploy out of home and into a C6 staging, about working with blues, and about their ability to participate in NPSI fleets during the war. SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush needed to make clear several times that the expectation was that even though many SYNDE members were also members of other LS and NS groups, they were expected to devote their full effort and focus to the upcoming war against HAWKS. It is almost impossible to take away from that CTA meeting anything other than a rather shocking lack of enthusiasm for the war from SYNDE line members.

The War in Heaven

On the other hand, HAWKS motivations were much easier to discern. This War presented an existential threat. In the eyes of the SYNDE coalition, HAWKS farms and home were both forfeit. Everything they had built over the preceding decade was destined for destruction. Isolated and outnumbered, this would be the ultimate test of HAWKS members’ commitment. The sudden and shocking rebirth of Hard Knocks was mirrored by a large number of longterm HAWKS members also resubbing.
Another critical and perhaps overlooked element of motivations on HAWKS side was the war vs peace element. Although “peace” in wormhole space is a decidedly violent affair in general, with pretty much every group killing every other group on a daily basis, it had been many years since there was a major, sustained conflict in wormhole space. Nullsec often differentiates between “Skirmish FCs” and “Strat FCs”, with the former leading normal day-to-day fleets of battlecruiser sized ships or smaller, and the latter leading the heavy fleets, cap fleets, super fleets or the sizeable, complicated fleets deployed in major conflicts. In the cartel world that is wormhole space, it might be more appropriate to differentiate between “Territory FCs” and “War FCs”. The former freely leads the wide range of fleets that fight, gank, camp and brawl throughout wormhole space on a daily basis. The latter wants to lead larger, more complicated fleets in direct support of a broader strategic initiative. In gaming as IRL, it is normal for highly skilled players to want to be challenged – and at some point, the normal day-to-day fights no longer satisfies those urges. In some cases, that leads to corps fading away (HK), in others, it leads to limited participation (many HAWKS members/FCs).
When this Wormhole War kicked off, it was promptly dubbed “The War in Heaven” by the HAWKS/HK side. This name refers directly to the biblical conflict between two rival groups of Angels – that led by Michael, and that led by Satan. Revelation 12:7-10:

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

It is not particularly challenging to figure out which side HAWKS was associating themselves with, given that the name of their CEO is Michael1995.
Perhaps more pragmatically, among members in both HAWKS and the reborn HK, this war was indeed a gift from Heaven above – a chance to dive into a massive, complicated campaign against a foe who was willing to violate wormhole norms in order to achieve their goals. During the first two weeks when HAWKS farms were burning, there is a sense that many of the HAWKS and HK leads were genuinely giddy about the opportunity to take the field and leverage all their accumulated skills, knowledge and experience against an increasingly-reviled opponent. Yes, things looked dire from the outside but internally, there was a mixture of enthusiasm and cautious optimism.

Headshots and Flipping

During normal wormhole fights, both brawls and skirmishes, it is generally considered poor form to headshot the other side’s FC. It happens sometimes, but is definitely looked down upon in the wormhole community. This is the sort of norm that disappears in the context of a large war, or any sort of existential threat situation.
At the strategic level, “headshotting” generally refers to destroying or debilitating the other side’s capacity to fight by taking home holes or staging holes. This would be a key element in the HAWKS strategy, and one surprisingly absent from the SYNDE side. From the very first week, HAWKS looked to take advantage of any opportunity, however fleeting, to headshot SYNDE and their allies. The early ATRAX eviction was the first example of this. It would not be the last, not by a long shot.
Another key tactic is flipping. Not flipping as in changing sides, but rather flipping as in unanchoring and then re-anchoring an Upwell citadel. Recall that when a citadel dies in a wormhole, every pilot’s possessions that remain in that citadel drop as loot cans on the grid. 100% loot drop, 100% of the time. Over time, as pilots join and then leave a group, hangar containers accumulate. Over the years, in successful wormhole groups, this frozen hangar trash can reach into the tens or hundreds of billions. This can make evicting a wormhole resident or group an increasingly attractive over time. A hole that has been owned for a year will not have much loot drop. One owned for many years will likely have a great deal more.
Years ago, intrepid wormhole residents realized that a good way to counter this mechanic was to “flip” their citadels: unanchor, get all the AFG/left corp loot for yourself, then re-anchor. There is risk to this, but for a pvp corp that maintains hole control, the risk is quite minimal.
HAWKS had lived in their current home for nearly a decade. A large, successful group like HAWKS accumulates a large amount of hangar wealth over a period like that, much of it frozen as members AFG or leave corp. During the first week of the War, HAWKS recognized this large oversight and unanchored all the structures in their home hole. A neutral observer might have thought that HAWKS were self-evicting. Through their spy, SYNDE knew that they were planning to flip them and stay in the fight. Unwilling to entertain a HAWKS home eviction at this early stage in the war, SYNDE watched as HAWKS unanchored all their citadels and replaced them with a dozen newly anchored fortizars – and clearing their citadel grid of thousands of loot cans. A steady stream of DSTs transiting in and out of HAWKS home confirmed that wealth was quickly transferred out to kspace.
In that first week, by “flipping” their citadels, HAWKS eliminated the majority of the financial incentives that generally come with evicting a pvp corp’s home hole.

Seeding an Apple

During the period where HAWKS farms were burning and SYNDE was soaring, on Tuesday April 2^nd, HAWKS rolled into the SUGAR home hole. Some of SUGAR’s pvp toons were supporting SYNDE, some were farming, others were out participating in NPSI roams in kspace. Few of them were in their home hole. HAWKS sent in a bait RF fleet of a trio of Leshaks while at the same time pinging for a heavy armor Nighthawk fleet. SUGAR panic pinged as the Leshaks began RFing one of the many citadels in their home. With confusion reigning, SUGAR undocked a kitchen sink fleet including armor and shield, capital and subcapital. Once SUGAR began engaging, HAWKS brought in their heavy shield fleet. HAWKS then began dismantling the haphazard SUGAR home defense fleet, as captured in the first 3 minutes of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZKgFPbSaLk
After fragging much of the SUGAR defenders, HAWKS proceeded to reinforce every citadel in the SUGAR home. SUGAR lost 35bn in ships in a one-sided fight. SYNDE was dismayed by the poor SUGAR showing. https://br.evetools.org/b66452e6803aec30012694316
Those structures all repaired over the coming week.
On April 12^th , HAWKS returned and again reinforced all SUGAR structures, this time with no opposition. Following that second round of reinforces, SUGAR pinged and directed its members to return to home and adopt a defensive posture with rigorous hole control to prevent a HAWKS return.
Many SUGAR members by this point were now opposing their corp’s direction. They certainly disliked HAWKS, but they had historically disliked SYNDE and their allies just as much. Joining them struck many members as a short-sighted, unwise adventure. They had actively participated in reinforcing and blowing up HAWKS structures, only to discover that SYNDE was most often dropping replacement citadels as they got cleared. SUGAR line members felt they were doing a lot of work for little or no benefit.
On April 13^th, HAWKS rolled into the SUGAR home hole for a third time – this time with amor timers only hours away. SUGAR immediately sought to roll that incoming wormhole, throwing yacht after yacht at it, as well as a lone praxis. They were able to crit the hole despite losing yachts every few passes.
Sigils are a common ship used most often by Nullsec farmers looking to roll wormholes that threaten their peaceful farming, These Sigils are referred to by wormholers almost universally as “suicide sigils”. The SUGAR FC directed his members to get into Sigils, undock, nullify, and warp to the hole. That hole needed to die. It needed to die now. “Even mains?” one member – Scott Appleblade - inquired. “Even mains,” replied the FC.
Scott hopped into the sigil, and warped to the hole, forgetting to nullify. He landed in the bubble, and was immediately fragged by the HAWKS on grid. https://zkillboard.com/kill/116986540/
Scott, now sitting in Jita, asked for a route back into his home. The FC replied they had no kspace entries at the minute. Scott asked if one could be found. The FC replied not now, quiet, we’re still dealing with this hole. Scott logged off, seething.
Scott had not wanted this war from the very start. Scott had recently upgrade from a Class 3 farm to a Class 5 farm of his own. Scott enjoyed farming combat sites in Leshaks and dreaming of a brighter future. Scott had always dreamed he might one day save up enough to afford a faction FAX: the Loggerhead. He knew they didn’t make much sense and were rarely used, but Scott loved the “Poggerhead” meme. Scott prided himself on his memes. He would often meet people and knew right away that they would become a meme. That was just life, but an elite meme could memorialize that. Scott just wanted to undock from his home fort in a Loggerhead and enjoy the moment. That seemed less and less likely now that the SUGAR home was being reinforced weekly. SUGAR leadership was either absent or, frankly, being dicks. Scott was over it. He had worked too hard. He deserved better. His fellow SUGAR members did, too.
Scott waited until later in the day when he was able to get a kspace entry for his main back into SUGAR’s home chain. He flew his inty in, still seething but with a plan for exacting revenge coalescing in Scott’s mind.
For the non-wormholers, it is important to explain that when you are a member of a wormhole corp, you have a lot more access to corp assets than you likely ever would in a Nullsec or Lowsec corp. Due to wormhole mechanics, wormhole corps almost always have a “Shared” corp hangar in each citadel where commonly used ships and modules are available to all members. This usually includes rolling ships, and handout pvp ships, among other things.
Scott docked in their home fort. He hesitated for a minute as he surveyed those familiar surroundings, but then the rage came back. He just wanted to farm, and now he might lose that. All because of SUGAR leadership. He knew his corp mates understood and would appreciate his actions. Scott proceeded to move everything in the SUGAR shared corp hangar to his personal hangar. He did a double take – he had just acquired over 30b of assets. That would go a long way towards a down payment on the Loggerhead if he could get that to a trade hub.
One good idea begets another, and Scott repackaged every assembled ship he had just taken. He then put the most valuable elements into his two DSTs. He shuttled those out to Jita and back, and then repeated the round trip several times. During the monotony of the transits, Scott realized that nobody – not leadership, not his corp mates – had noticed anything. Even though he was now much wealthier, SUGAR was still in need of a wakeup call.
As he warped to the next wormhole, it hit him – the bookmarks! This is another major difference between Nullsec / Lowsec and wormhole groups. In kspace, one can navigate very easily, or at least with confidence about where you’re going. In wormholes, one needs corp mates scanning wormholes and making bookmarks, basically a temporary map that wormhole pilots use to navigate the ever-changing wormhole landscape. All members need access to those bookmarks, and the ability to create, edit and delete them.
Scott deleted them. All of them. No more going to help SYNDE. No more warping your dread to a safe because HAWKS had bubbled the fort. No more finding your way back after getting rolled out. With no bookmarks, SUGAR would need to stop and consider where they were and why. Scott was pleased with the neat metaphor. At least he thought it was a metaphor. Might also be an analogy. He wasn’t sure, but he was sure it was brilliant.
His DSTs landed on the next hole and Scott jumped. It was then that Scott noticed he had no bookmarks in the next wormhole. That knowledge, combined with his decision not to fit probe launchers on either of his DSTs, was not a positive development. Scott, priding himself on his judgment, weighed his current situation against all he had achieved this evening – over 20b of ships and mods in Jita, and a powerful statement to SUGAR leadership. That was worth the loss of two DSTs that only had about 1.5B combined between them. Scott self-destructed the DSTs, returned to Jita, and went to bed contemplating a brighter future.

When Espionage Meets Opportunity

Prior to shutting the doors a few years ago, Hard Knocks had been regarded in the wormhole community as the top wormhole group for espionage. In a world where information is power, they have always had a remarkable abundance of critical information. Unlike HAWKS, HK was aware of the SYNDE plans and coalition building not long after they were conceived. As allies joined the SYNDE effort, HK sought to penetrate those groups. SUGAR accepted a key HK spy in January of this year. Over the next two months, this spy would quickly work his way up the SUGAR hierarchy, demonstrating strong FC and leadership abilities. When the war broke out, he was one of the main FCs. His background in HK and HAWKS affiliated groups was no concern for SUGAR leadership as they committed to the SYNDE coalition.
When Scott pilfered everything from SUGAR shared and deleted all bookmarks, the spy noticed both. He consulted with his HK mates and decided it might be a fantastic opportunity. The spy reached out to SUGAR directors and offered to do his part in resolving the matter – they needed to cut off access to Scott and his alts, they needed to do it 5 minutes ago and they needed to tighten things up. He knew how to do it, and he was happy to help. There was only one SUGAR director online. He was unsure of how to best resolve the Scott situation, so he called up the CEO on his cell. The CEO and director huddled up and agreed that their best FC was the man to fix it. They gave director roles to a spy who’d been in corp less than 3 months. During a war. A war against HAWKS and HK.
SUGAR members woke up the morning of Sunday April 14^th, logged on, and discovered that every one of the structures in their home hole had been transferred to an HK holding corp. Their implant sets were all gone. Every single one. They were unable to dock. Most of their combat pilots were not even in their home hole. What was in the SUGAR home was a massive HAWKS coalition fleet.
And NOVAC was in it.

Stay on the Sidelines and You Will Burn

SYNDE’s diplomatic efforts had been widespread for the months leading up to the Wormhole War. They had enlisted the support of both large wormhole groups and small in building their expansive anti-HAWKS coalition. Two of the biggest pvp groups in wormhole space had consistently declined their overtures: LUPUS and NOVAC. Strong, independent, brawling groups, they did not like HAWKS, but they also didn’t like SYNDE. In proper cartel fashion, they were not interested in helping either of those groups achieve more power or territory. Truth be told they wanted both sides to lose. Better to remain neutral and pick the best course at a later time.
SYNDE did not push much until the first two weeks of the war. During that first week of burning HAWKS farms, according to SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush, 16 or 17 C6 farms were transferred from HAWKS to NOVAC. LUPUS was the beneficiary of a smaller number of HAWKS farms. It was clear that under the weight of the broad offensive, many HAWKS members had opted to sell their farms to neutral wormhole groups. In most cases, it was HAWKS members selling farms to long-term EVE friends in other wormhole groups.
Cyrus Kurush was livid. He had already earmarked every HAWKS C6, and now many of them seemed to be passing out of the war and into the hands of neutrals who continued to refuse to join his coalition. He directed his lead diplo Zelvig to reengage with NOVAC and clearly relay his message. Zelvig did so, informing NOVAC of two key things: one, further receipt of any HAWKS farm would be viewed as an act of war, and two, while NOVAC was welcome to remain a friendly neutral during this early part of the campaign, the C6s they had already received from HAWKS should be seen as being held in trust for the wormhole community. Following the now-inevitable HAWKS eviction and removal from high class space, NOVAC would have to settle their farm accounts with SYNDE. With his customary enthusiasm, Zelvig gave NOVAC a timeline for their decision to join the coalition: as soon as the last HAWKS C6 farm fell, SYNDE would turn to the NOVAC C6s unless they had already joined. Zelvig estimated that gave NOVAC 2 or 3 more weeks to make a decision.
NOVAC made their decision that night, informing HAWKS leadership that they would be joining the HAWKS side. They asked only that they have a week to get their group organized and prepared. At the end of that week, NOVAC joined HAWKS, HK, Voidlings, and 418 in infiltrating a Vulture fleet into SUGAR’s home hole.

Sugar Free: J104037 Bleeds and Falls

Two things happened from the jump: HAWKS took and held hole control in SUGAR’s home hole while infiltrating additional pilots, and SYNDE pinged hard to get their coalition members to consolidate in Waffle House, the C6 hole that they had made their staging at the start of the war. It was chosen due to its C6 static, which permitted SYNDE to roll into HAWKS C6 farms and reinforce then destroy them at will.
With the HAWKS fleet swelling in numbers with NOVAC’s addition to their alliance, they openly docked in SUGAR’s citadels – now owned by HK. SUGAR members could only watch in horror as the citadel showed more and more reds docking in their fortizar.
SYNDE began rage-rolling in earnest, hoping to connect to SUGAR’s home. Cyrus Kurush was eager to test the new coalition Cyclone Fleet Issue doctrine they had theorycrafted to counter the HAWKS Vuilture doctrine. He preferred their blaster Megathron Navy Issue doctrine, but that had proven ill-suited to deal with the Vultures in the earlier brawl in the HK staging C6.
As would happen often throughout this campaign, luck favored the bold. SYNDE rolled into SUGAR’s home at a high point for SYNDE fleet participation. SYNDE immediately jumped sabres into system and fully bubbled their “in” hole, giving them the time they needed to warp their entire fleet to the hole. They avoided a repeat of the prior fight where they were unable to get their entire fleet in due to poor hole control. The full SYNDE fleet jumped through the hole, rolling it as they sent in the full 3b+ in ship mass. All told, over 150 Cyclone Fleet Issues flooded into the SUGAR home, along with support. The HAWKS fleet undocked to reports of 20 dreads on dscan as the SYNDE fleet warped to the (former) SUGAR main fortizar. SUGAR members had logged on the caps they were still able to pilot – some undocked from that forts, others from deep safes in system. As the CFI fleet connected with the increasing dread bomb, siege modules were engaged and the battle was joined.
The fight was a back and forth affair for a short period before some aggressive FCing by the HAWKS/HK/NOVAC FC team forced the SYNDE fleet to extract. At that point, a dynamic unique to wormhole combat emerged. SYNDE, realizing they could not win on grid, focused on extracting as many SUGAR capitals as possible. They would scan the new static C5 connection – as would HAWKS – and then each would race subcap fleets to that new hole and contest it. If SYNDE was able to get there first and keep the hole clear of sabre bubbles, SUGAR would warp their capitals to that hole and jump 3 of them out. That would kill the hole, causing a new static wormhole to appear one minute later where the two sides could repeat the process. With each new static wormhole, SYNDE continued to feed ships and lose combat capability.
A highly comedic situation occurred on one such hole. HAWKS warped their lone rolling carrier to it blind. In so doing, they hoped to be able to jump the carrier and briefly assert hole control – preventing more than one SUGAR cap from getting out, and also giving the HAWKS fleet time to tackle the others. The carrier landed right after the SUGAR caps did – but in a critical communication gap, the SUGAR caps did not know which 3 were supposed to leave on this hole. SYNDE sabres bubbled up, but the carrier was already on the wormhole. It jumped the hole with its prop on. A clamor erupted on SYNDE comms as they awaited guidance about which cap, if any, should leave. The HAWKS rolling carrier burned untouched back to the hole on the other side. A SUGAR Moros Navy Issue, frustrated at the indecision, jumped anyway. Most of the time, that would have rolled the wormhole, trapping the Moros Navy and rolling carrier on the other side. Luckily for the HAWKS carrier, it was a high-mass hole. The wormhole went critical but did not close. The HAWKS rolling carrier jumped back.
The Moros Navy had extracted, but the remaining SUGAR caps were now sitting around the now-dead hole’s bookmark. Many began burning away and out of the bubbles from the SYNDE sabres who had tried to protect that hole. SYNDE FC Cyrus Kurush ordered his sabres to get off the hole and stop bubbling their dreads, and they did. Forgotten in the chaos and indecision, the HAWKS rolling carrier decloaked, aligned out, cycled prop and initiated wrap. It was immediately primaried by both dreads and the SYNDE CFI fleet. Chaotic calls to bubble the carrier were met with hesitation as those same sabres had only recently been told not to bubble. The carrier entered warp as the bubbles were deployed. The carrier pilot shared this video of the bold carrier roll and escape. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDgzA8J6j44&t
The carrier escape from a heavily bubbled grid marked the final turning point in the SYNDE extraction efforts. HAWKS sabres flooded the grid, tackling most of the SUGAR caps. After more fighting, the SYNDE coalition CFIs extracted from the grid, leaving the caps to their fate. As the caps began exploding and with the HAWKS fleet committed to their destruction, the SYNDE subcap fleet left via the new static.
The final totals for that fight were 48b lost by the HAWKS side, 144b lost by the SYNDE coalition side. https://br.evetools.org/b6633f295132a2a0012c77eb6
SUGAR had extracted 4 dreads, but at a heavy price.

Blue Balls and Explosions

With the clock ticking on the armor and hull timers of the SUGAR structures, SYNDE tried to reset in their C6 staging. Again, they pinged for their coalition to reassemble in that system. Again, they began rolling. That process continued for many hours.
The following day, on April 15^th, SYNDE would roll into the SUGAR home not once but twice. Both times, SYNDE only had a partial CFI fleet docked in their fortizar while the HAWKS side maintained a full Vulture fleet ready to undock on a moment’s notice. The HAWKS, HK and NOVAC leadership team knew that this was a critical moment in the campaign, and every effort was made to complete the SUGAR eviction.
SYNDE rolled into SUGAR’s home twice on April 15^th. And they immediately rolled the connection both times.
SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush was personally scanning and rolling. He knew exactly what HAWKS had on hand, knew he could not contest for hole control, and just rolled the connection off quietly. Twice.
Cyrus Kurush knew that the integrity of his coalition required him to make every effort to save a key member’s home hole – but he was also very frustrated by SUGAR’s lack of readiness to defend their home. He had expected a lot more caps, more ships, more support. He felt he had beaten the HAWKS fleet in that large initial brawl, and had been let down by SUGAR. He did not want to risk sacrificing another major loss for a group that could not stand on their own two feet.

The Initiative to Regain the Initiative

The SUGAR Fortizar hull timers were on Tuesday, April 16^th.
A key early-war HAWKS ally, a small EUTZ pvp group called Czarna-Kompania, had infiltrated two dreads overnight. Two other groups had brought in one each. That dread force would give HAWKS the flexibility of hitting concurrent hull timers. There were multiple structures that needed to get hit over a two hour period. The dreads would let the HAWKS side bash those citadels while also keeping their subcap fleet free to fight for and maintain hole control if at all possible.
Hours before those timers, disaster struck the HAWKS effort. An A009 wormhole connection popped into the SUGAR home.
For an eviction, the worst possible wormhole connection is an A009 wormhole. It is a 16-hour frigate-sized wormhole that connects to a shattered wormhole that will also have a number of frig holes connecting outward to kspace systems. Frig holes cannot be rolled.
This meant that for the time leading up to the critical hull timers, there would be an unrollable hole into the eviction target, into SUGAR’s home.
By this time, it was clear to all involved parties that SYNDE had a close partnership with the Initiative. Although this was fraying some of the wormhole groups in the coalition, it still afforded SYNDE a chance to salvage the situation. SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush formed an attack plan with Initiative leadership. During the hours immediately prior to the hull timers, SYNDE would assemble a heavy fleet in their staging, and rage roll for the SUGAR home. The Initiative would form a full bomber fleet, and travel to the C13 shattered wormhole. The second that SYNDE rolled in, they would execute a lethal 3-pronged attack: the SYNDE fleet would explode into the SUGAR home, all remaining SUGAR capitals and subcapitals would undock, and the Initiative bomber fleet would jump the A009. They would time those 3 critical elements based on the location, strength and composition of the HAWKS fleet. It was a good plan. If they could connect those three prongs, they would have 3 times the number that HAWKS could muster. Pings went out and the fleets assembled. Init travelled with a 300 bomber fleet to the shattered hole. SYNDE began rage rolling. About 50 SUGAR pilots sat on logon screen and waited on SYNDE comms.
HAWKS was aware of all of the above. HAWKS, working closely with HK and NOVAC strategists, devised a counter for the two concerning prongs. The SYNDE rolling threat had two counters. Within the SYNDE staging, there was a small fleet of yachts and a seeded, cloaked rolling carrier. In the SUGAR home, another rolling carrier sat ready to suicide roll if needed. Should SYNDE warp their fleet from the fort to a new wormhole, HAWKS was prepared to simultaneously warp both carrier and yachts to that same hole. They were confident they could stop the majority of the SYNDE fleet from making it through the wormhole.
The real threat was the Initiative, and that damned frig hole. HAWKS placed three sniping fleets around the wormhole and dropped a massive number of anchorable bubbles around it. On the hole itself were a mixture of smartbombing battleships and suicide dictors, each orbiting patiently. When the report came of the 300 Initiative bombers entering the shattered hole on the other side, the HAWKS team was ready and waiting.
The Initiative FC team, with a scout already in SUGAR staging, saw all of this. War-seasoned FCs, there was no scenario where they were jumping their bombers into that future charnal house. Unless SYNDE could pull those fleets away from the hole, it was an impossible standoff. The HAWKS battlecruiser fleet could not jump the hole. The Initiative bombers would not jump the hole. The Initiative bombers sat there and waited for SYNDE to roll in.
Meanwhile, in SUGAR staging, citadels came out of reinforce for hull timers and the allied dreads went to work. And everyone else waited. The SYNDE fleet waited on their fort while their FC rage rolled. The Initiative fleet waited in the shattered. The HAWKS alliance fleet waited on the other side of the shattered. One by one, the citadels began blowing up.
The SYNDE fleet stood down. The Initiative left the shattered wormhole and headed back to Fountain. SYNDE had gotten the full Nullsec batphone allied response, but been unable to take advantage of it.
Unconfirmable reports are that the HAWKS alliance looted nearly 200b from the various structures, including a large number of capital ships, on top of the 150b+ exploded. https://br.evetools.org/b661f2a2eddb48200112d82c5 (The three “friendly” caps that were destroyed were looted SUGAR caps that the allies decided to blow up rather than keep and exfiltrate from the hole.)
Some SUGAR members would still try to participate, but SUGAR was done as a fighting unit in the Wormhole War.
The next part will focus on what would become the most important battlefield in the either war – Waffle House, the SYNDE coalition staging C6.

On Sunday I got back from my first AP experience. I posted on here about it prior to leaving the country but thought I’d do recap on the whole experience.
I applied for employment reasons. My company is based in London UK, and I work out of a small NYC satellite office. The application was submitted in early January and approved in early April. I was gone from April 28 to May 12th.
I prepared my application myself and asked my work for supporting materials and to pay the fee which they agreed to. The supporting documents I used was a letter from my manager with the company letterhead explaining the purposes of the trip, email correspondences between him and our department head requesting the trip and having it approved, and an outline of the trip’s mission that he had to submit to finance to get it approved internally.
I asked for two weeks even though the trip would only be one work week so that I could do sight seeing and I also included France in the list of countries so I could go to Paris.
I talk about this in my original post, but as the trip was approaching and I hadn’t heard back my company was getting worried. I reached out to my senators and congresswoman for help. One of my senators got back to me and her office helped a lot. They basically got it approved within two weeks of me reaching out.
The letter gave me over a month of travel time, but I decided to stick to the two weeks I had planned. If I had known way in advance they’d give me more time I prob would have stayed an extra week.
Entering the UK was really easy I got asked if I was a permanent resident in the US, and said no not yet but I have a work permit, and that was about it. Lasted two minutes. After my work week I took the EuroStar to Paris and had no issues with customs. I decided to go back to London after a few days and fly out from there, thinking it would be safer since that was the main country in my AP application but probably would not have made a difference. Leaving Paris was weird, I had to go through two customs, one for leaving France/EU and one for entering the UK. Again no issues with the UK one, but the EU Customs person was very suspect of me. Demanded to see my work permit, and called out the fact that it said not valid for re-entry. I explained I had AP and that it was in my luggage. He made me take my baseball cap off to verify I was the person in the photo, and I after he stamped my passport he just stared at it for 20 seconds before giving it back. Really weird considering I was LEAVING not entering the EU.
I was really nervous coming back to the US. I kept thinking I was gonna get in trouble for going to Paris even though I listed France in the countries section of my application. I got to the airport three plus hours before boarding to check in. The check in was a little long because they rarely deal with AP but everyone at the airline was super nice and I didn’t get push back, just a lot of people double checking with their superiors that the document was legit. When I landed at JFK the process was super smooth. I waited in the non us passport line and when it was my turn I gave the customs person my passport, AP letter, and EAD, she did some things on her end and after a few minutes said I had to go to the back room for someone to processes it. Luckily the room was empty, so it took the guy there like less than five minutes. Neither of them asked me any questions. They seemed to just know what to do.
Overall, I’m so shocked and grateful by how smoothly everything went. I can’t believe I got to go to two foreign countries. Like little old me, just a humble DACA kid, saw Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Mona Lisa and the Eiffel Tower. Feels surreal. If anyone needs any assistance with AP, feel encouraged to reach out. This subreddit helped me so much and alleviated so much of my stress and anxiety, and I want to contribute to that and help others if I can.
Biggest feedback I can give: You do not need a lawyer, use your congresspeople as a resource if you need to, and most importantly, enjoy your trip! You deserve it!

Can't believe it's been a week already! I've gathered feedback from multiple websites, including Reddit and qtcritique, and have created a new query letter. Let me know what you think!
Dear Agent’s name,
I'm seeking representation for ADD OIL, a standalone YA Contemporary set in early 2010s Miami, complete at 66000 words. It's a story that combines the second-generation immigrant struggles from Frankly in Love by David Yoon with the teenage angst from Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird.
Seventeen-year-old Justin Zhao struggles to even meet mediocrity. He is an awkward boy with grades that could cause his parents to faint. That all changes when Melody Wilson enters his parents' convenience store and strikes up a delightful conversation with him.
This catapults Justin into approaching her the next time he sees her. He woos her, and finally gets his first girlfriend. She is a bright student who motivates Justin to perform much better academically. He even applies to the same college as her to pursue his passion in video game design, so they can live together after they graduate high school.
But when Justin introduces his non-Chinese girlfriend to his parents, his mother hurls a bottle at her, shattering their relationship. To prevent ending up alone, working for his tyrannical parents, Justin must not only find a way to fix his relationship with Melody, but also end the grip his parents have on his life.
I have self-published three stories under the pen name former pen name. I am of Chinese descent and live in the Caribbean/South America.
Thank you for considering my work.
Kind regards,
new pen name
Previous version

Schools need to do better. America needs to do better with its schools. Schools need to prepare kids for the outside world. "But that should be the parents' job!" No duh! But not every kid has the advantage of parents who can or will teach them what they need to know. I never learned how to write a resume or what the fuck a cover letter was in school. My parents didn't know how to do that either for a first job in the US. They got their first jobs under a completely different system in a country that doesn't exist anymore! What about kids whose parents don't have time? Those who don't give a shit? Just fuck us I guess? Isn't this supposed to be the land of equal opportunity (What a joke, I know)? How is it remotely equal if we're not even starting from the same knowledge of navigating the real world?
You know what my school did teach me? What the teacher's guide said Holden's red fucking hunting hat represented in The Catcher in the Rye. The only time I have ever used that knowledge was in rants about how utterly pointless it was. It wasn't even teaching us to find symbolism in writing. It was just "This is what it means, memorize it, it's going to be on the test".
Speaking of memorization - schools only really teach one way. That way doesn't work with you? Tough shit. You're gonna learn less, get lower grades, which will impede on your future prospects, get stressed, deal with whatever at home consequences there are...just because you learn differently. I used to be pretty good at math till mid-middle school. It all clicked because the teachers in earlier grades explained the hows and the whys of concepts. Bobby bought a pizza and split it between himself and 5 of his friends. How much of the pizza does each person get? See? That's division. That's something I could visualize and process. Then it became "Here's a formula, memorize it". Any questions got dismissed. "Where is this used?" "On the test" "Why does this work?" "Here's another bare mathematical formula that explains it". After middle school, I started sucking at math. I hated math. It was nothing but stress because I couldn't understand anything and my capacity for rote memorization was pretty shoddy. Still do, but watching videos with explanations on the whys, hows and for whats have made it easier to understand and more interesting.
Speaking of schools not helping with learning - it's looking more and more like schools are more interested in looking good than doing good. I have a friend who fell behind on a subject because her teacher was shit. She went into the next grade behind. She got put on an Individual Learning Plan (IEP), but instead of helping her catch up, they just gave her busy work, gave her passing grades, and sent her on her way. She's had to play catchup on her own as an adult. I'm now a school substitute and I've watched kids today get the same treatment. English assignment? Just scribble something down in text speak and you'll pass. We aren't doing kids any favours by letting them breeze by on shitty work! This will bite them in the ass when they're older!
Don't get me started on parents who think their kids are precious little angels who can do no wrong, or royalty whose every whim needs to be pandered to. You are doing your kids no favours. No, it's not the teacher's fault if little Billy is failing class because he's never turned in any of his work.
Then there's the money problem. We need a better system. Tying school funding to local taxes is inherently unequal. It's saying that kids from poorer families don't deserve as good of an education because their parents are poor. Tying funding to headcount is more viable, but when the population goes down, it fucks over all the other students. Misuse of funds, corruption, etc, yeah, that's a thing. The district I work in is dealing with such an issue right now, which results in huge layoffs. Even so, the government bails out companies that mismanaged their resources! Why not schools? Schools take care of the future generation! If you want them to be more than just glorified daycare centers, they need money! Why are we punishing kids and teachers for the admins' fuckups?

Should I be hurt that my teacher asked me if I have a disability?
Background information: I'm in 9th grade and I'm taking Earth Science. It is a very hard class and to make the class even harder, the teacher goes really fast and gives a lot of homework. Every. Single. Day. Like multiple packets with multiple pages everyday that are all due on the same day. By the due date, I usually have at least 1 or 2 packets left to complete. She doesn't like when I turn in the packets on the day they're due. She likes when they are turned in early, which I understand, but I think that she shouldn't get mad at me for turning it in on the day it's due. She has also never said that they were due at the beginning of class. She just said that they were due on that day. So, I just assume that means that they have to be turned in by the end of the school day.
Anyways, now that I gave some background information, I'll tell you about what happened today. It was the beginning of class and I went up to her and told her that I had half of 2 packets left to complete and would turn them in after lunch. I had done this probably every week since I had been taking her class. Instead of saying okay, she asked me if I had ADHD which I responded by telling her no. Then she asked me if I had a disability that prevented me from doing work without having pressure to finish it. I told her that I had never heard of it and probably didn't have it. Then, she told me that I should get that checked out. After she said that, I felt like I was a burden because I didn't turn my work in early like everyone else did. I don't think that she understands how much work she gives and how stressful it can be for someone to do. Sometimes, I get overwhelmed and I have said this to her in the past and she didn't do anything about it. I feel like I'm not being heard by her. She told me before that she would help me stay on track and get things turned in before they're due but she never did. And the fact that she is going as far as saying that I have a disability really hurts. And it honestly doesn't make any sense why she would say this because I have one of the highest grades in her class. I just felt belittled by her and no one has ever said anything like that to me before and I feel like her saying that is getting in my head and making me feel dumb. I honestly think that I'm just a procrastinator but now I'm not sure.
Am I in the wrong for feeling this way?

The parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most enduring stories from the Bible, offering deep insights into forgiveness, redemption, and the power of unconditional love. Its themes resonate profoundly with the journey many face in recovering from addiction, providing not just a blueprint for spiritual renewal but also practical wisdom for those walking the path toward healing.
Understanding the Parable In this well-known parable, a young man demands his inheritance early, squanders it on a life of excess, and finds himself destitute. In his lowest moment, he decides to return home, expecting scorn and rejection. Instead, his father welcomes him with open arms, celebrating his return rather than condemning his departure. This story, at its heart, is about redemption and the possibility of a new beginning, regardless of past mistakes.
The First Steps Back The journey of the Prodigal Son mirrors the initial steps towards recovery from addiction. The decision to return home symbolizes the moment of realization and acknowledgment of one’s addiction, where the individual understands the need for change. Like the Prodigal Son, this acknowledgment often comes in the depths of despair, when the consequences of addiction are undeniable and all-consuming.
Facing the Past One of the hardest steps on the path to recovery is facing the past and the harm caused to oneself and others. The Prodigal Son’s return home is a metaphor for facing one’s mistakes and the humility it takes to seek forgiveness. It’s about confronting the reality of one’s actions and the impact they have had, not just on oneself but on family, friends, and community.
The Role of Forgiveness The father’s response in the parable highlights the power of forgiveness in the recovery process. Forgiveness, both self-forgiveness and receiving forgiveness from others, is pivotal. It’s a recognition that everyone deserves a second chance, that our past actions do not define our future. This unconditional love and acceptance are what many seek from a higher power, their loved ones, and themselves during recovery.
A Celebration of Renewal The celebration upon the son’s return home underscores the joy of recovery and renewal. It’s a reminder that returning to a life free from addiction is not merely a return to normalcy but a cause for celebration, a second chance at life that should be embraced with joy and gratitude. This celebration is a powerful motivator for those in recovery, offering hope and something beautiful to strive towards.
Lessons for the Journey Ahead: The parable of the Prodigal Son offers several key lessons for anyone on the path to recovery from addiction:
Acknowledgment is the First Step: Recognizing one’s need for help is the critical first step toward healing.
Humility Opens Doors: Admitting mistakes and seeking forgiveness are acts of courage that open the path to recovery.
Forgiveness Heals: Forgiving oneself and accepting forgiveness from others are essential for healing and growth.
Support is Crucial: Just as the father welcomed his son with open arms, having a supportive community is vital for recovery.
Every Day is a Celebration: Every moment of sobriety is a victory, a testament to the human spirit’s resilience and the joy of a second chance at life.
The story of the Prodigal Son is a powerful narrative that resonates with anyone on a journey of recovery from addiction. It serves as a reminder that no matter how far we may stray, there is always a way back. Through humility, forgiveness, and the support of a loving community, recovery is not just a possibility; it’s a cause for celebration.
Self-Reflecting Questions/Journal Prompts:

1. Moment of Realization: Reflect on the moment you realized that change was necessary for your life. How did you feel, and what motivated you to seek a different path?
2. Facing the Past: Consider the challenges you’ve faced in confronting your past actions and their consequences. How have you managed to seek forgiveness from yourself and others?
3. Accepting Forgiveness: Write about a time when you felt truly forgiven, either by yourself, someone you hurt, or a higher power. How did this forgiveness impact your recovery journey?
4. The Role of Humility: How has humility played a role in your path to recovery? Reflect on moments when admitting vulnerability or asking for help led to significant growth.
5. Support System: Who has been your “welcoming father” on this journey? Describe how their support has made a difference in your life.
6. A New Beginning: What does the concept of a “new beginning” mean to you in the context of recovery? How have you embraced this new chapter in your life?
7. Lessons Learned: Reflect on the most valuable lessons you’ve learned through your recovery process. How have these lessons shaped your perspective on life and relationships?
8. Celebrating Milestones: Think about the milestones in your recovery. How have you celebrated these achievements, and why is it important to recognize them?
9. Forgiving Yourself: Forgiving oneself can be one of the hardest parts of the recovery journey. Write about your experience with self-forgiveness and the challenges you’ve faced.
10. A Letter to Your Future Self: Imagine writing a letter to your future self, reflecting on your hopes, dreams, and the person you hope to become. What advice would you give to your future self about maintaining resilience and hope on the journey ahead?

So, I got this long term job for seventh graders at my old elementary school (the whole staff knows me and they’ll call me for jobs) for the last three weeks of school so you can imagine how that’s going. It hasn’t been going well, their teacher was basically their friend. There wasn’t a line of professionalism between student and teacher. When I first arrived the class was in disarray, and I had to change the seats around. The students were not happy at all, that I was changing things around. I’d give them book work, and they’d state that they wouldn’t do it because they already did it or that they never used that specific book.
I’ve been subbing there for five days now, and I’ve had teachers, the principal, Vice principal walk in to my class to address bullying or their defiance in completing assignments. I tried to address my fourth period the other day and was met w giggling and all of them talking over me, so I gave up and just sat back down. Today, they were complaining that they wanted to go with the teacher across the courtyard and how it wasn’t fair that they stayed with me. So I addressed this, and mentioned how it wasn’t fair on him to go out of his way and have half of the class with him during his prep period and sixth period till the end of the school year. I understand their frustrated with me and are annoyed I give them work but it’s my job. I had this girl say, “why do you have to call on other people to fix your problems”. I wrote a letter and addressed the constant walk ins as being a good thing but also a bad thing because the students see me as inadequate. I told this student how they refuse to listen to me so how can I solve these problems if they don’t care and she just rolled her eyes and kept asking the same question. Atp I was at my limit, and felt my face get red and my eyes start to water, so I stepped outside. I’m probably going to either get let go because they need someone who won’t waste other staffs time or I’ll just tell the office ladies I’ve known since I was a kid that I’m going to take another job.
I know I’m going to get some direct comments (that I will take to heart) saying that I should grow a backbone and I need to be firm or that this job isn’t for me. I’m 23 and got into this career because after graduating college, I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do w myself. I know I should have a backbone, but I’m tired of the mockery and disrespect.

TL;DR: Turning 30, want to change lifestyle, move to a city, advance career, and have the option retire early. Considering a top MBA but worried about opportunity cost. Currently in boring but high-paying remote job. Considering moving to a city without pursuing an MBA. Unsure if MBA worth delaying early retirement goal for the off-chance of landing a sexy job like VC.
I'm turning 30 soon and life is hitting me in the face. I've lived in the same suburban part of the country for my entire life, even including undergrad, and now I'm getting serious about how to design the lifestyle I truly want to live.
With that said, for the next phase of my life, I want to live in a metropolitan city, have abundant social opportunities, and advance my career, with the ultimate goal of early retirement. On paper a top tier MBA fits these goals perfectly, however, the issues begin to arise when we consider opportunity cost and alternatives.
I currently make $200K in a fully remote role and work normal hours, sometimes even less. It's low stress but the work is boring and personally unfulfilling and challenges me in ways I don't want to be challenged. The role is ambiguous in terms of growth, I genuinely have no idea how to qualify the advancement opportunities here, but I do know that I don't want to be in this specific field forever.
Given my current career placement, I've decided if I do an MBA, it'll need to be an elite program, whether part time or full time depending on scholarship awards. But this begs the question, why not just move to a city while keeping my job? My ultimate goal is to have the means to retire within 10 years and work for fun, so an MBA will immediately deter from that goal, barring any outlier outcomes.
But on the other hand, I miss school and am excited about the possible outcomes. I love the idea of VC, but have no interest in doing any traditional banking jobs like IB. I guess I recognize the benefits of an MBA, but am not sure if it's worth it to delay my actual goal of early retirement for the chance of an outlier result.

Getting very frustrated. I have negative reactions to a lot of meds. Was doing pretty decent on amlodipine and carvedilol, we decided to try to get to "normal". Been having problems with breathing since a bad reaction to tdap immunization 2 years ago, had to retire early because of it. We tweaked it up by a very tiny amount and the dyspnea on exertion went through the roof. So.... No more carvedilol for me, make that no beta blocker. Have gone through so many meds! They took off the seizure meds because the reaction to the meds was worse than the seizures! Aaarrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh! So far all the amlodipine does is make me flush head to toe, especially at night. Thank you for letting me vent!

Hi all! I am an early career social sciences prof coming from a qualitative background, but recently have been doing more collaborative projects using quantitative methods or mixed methods.
There's a new position I want to apply for that fits my research interests and topics perfectly. The only thing is that they require the new hire to be able to teach quantitative methods for undergraduates. I wonder if anyone in the community has any experience of learning quantitative methods (coming from a qualitative background)? Is it reasonable to think that I can self-teach by reading a text book over the summer that can enable me to teach undergraduate level courses?
For the job application, what should I write in the cover letter? Or do I simply stand no chance against the other applicants?
A few more details to add: I do have a bit of coding and statistics training back from my undergraduate studies. I also taught qualitative methods on the graduate level. Thank you so much for your help!

(Yes, the creators already did this, but I wanted to try reproducing their results.)
First of all, there's definitely still issues with the dataset.

1. Questions mostly have 10 possible answers, but some have fewer "to remove unreasonable choices". This is supposed to be done by actually having <10 answers (I assume), but in some cases questions are padded with N/A at the end multiple times. Removing N/A from the end of the options list until only one existed resulted in removing 3314 options from the test. AFAIK N/A is never the correct answer to any question (I checked).
2. Some questions are duplicates. I kept only the first instance encountered. This removed 86 questions from the test. I didn't check if their answer options were also duplicates.
3. Some questions have duplicate answer options (i.e. A and C or whichever being the same answer). As this is obviously incorrect I removed these questions from the test. This removed ~400 questions. It should be pretty easy to fix these but I didn't want to spend more time.
4. Some questions are impossible to answer as they're missing info.
   • For example, question ID 2668 is "Which of the following scans can image brain function?" but it does not give further details, and the answer options are things like "I, II and III only".
   • I only noticed one of these but I'm pretty sure there are more.
5. Some questions have very bad formatting, like 11797:
   • \textquotedblleftNew business firms can under price older firms, because thenewer firms can buy the latest equipment and are not bur-denedwith the older, less economical equipment which olderfirms must retire before they can economically adopt thenew. This is why continued technological progress contributesto maintaining a competitive economic system." Explain the er-rors in both sentences.
   • Smarter models will probably do better on things like this, but I don't think the formatting is intentional.

For my first run, I used temperature 0.2 (they used 0.1) and this system prompt:

You are a knowledgeable expert. When given a multiple choice question, think it through then give your single final answer as The answer is ....

Here is their system prompt:

You are an knowledge expert, you are supposed to answer the multi-choice question to derive your final answer as The answer is ....

I'm not a fan of the phrasing, but more importantly in my preliminary testing I noticed that GPT-4o interpreted it to mean that it could give multiple answers. My "single final answer" was intended to prevent that. This mostly worked, but when answering questions that involved a lot of LaTeX in the CoT it would sometimes format the answer using LaTeX, making regex matching unreasonably hard. (I didn't fix those, scoring them as failures.)
For my second run, I used temperature 0.5 (which OpenAI uses in their simple-evals repo) and this system prompt:

Answer the following multiple choice question. The last line of your response should be of the following format: 'Answer: ($LETTER)' (without quotes) where LETTER is a single one of the options. Think step by step before answering.

This is based on this prompt from OpenAI's evals. OpenAI's says to pick one of "ABCD" but I was too lazy to generate that dynamically so I changed it a bit. It seems to work well. I used the regex Answer\s*:\s*\(\$?([A-Ja-j])\) to capture the answer.
If the model's output didn't seem to give an answer at all I manually checked it. This was:

• Mostly GPT-4o saying that none of the answers are correct
• Sometimes the model entering an infinite loop until it ran out of output space
• A few times the model giving a numeric answer, often one that had no correspondence to possible answers. Scored as a failure.
• A few times very slightly bad formatting that my regex didn't match. If the answer it gave was correct I manually fixed it, on the rationale that a slightly better regex could have caught it, otherwise I left it alone (since it wouldn't affect the score either way).

Here are the results I got, plus the original results from TIGER Lab @ UWaterloo.

Models	Prompting	Overall	Biology	Business	Chemistry	ComputerScience	Economics	Engineering	Health	History	Law	Math	Philosophy	Physics	Psychology	Other
GPT-4o (TIGER Lab)	CoT	0.7149	0.8504	0.7852	0.7428	0.7512	0.784	0.5401	0.7152	0.6718	0.5393	0.762	0.6947	0.7355	0.7726	0.7091
GPT-4o (my first run)	CoT	0.7100	0.8441	0.7802	0.7502	0.7404	0.7763	0.5740	0.7061	0.6761	0.5753	0.7901	0.6760	0.7349	0.7611	0.7117
GPT-4o (my second run)	CoT	0.7113	0.8441	0.7725	0.7628	0.7506	0.7662	0.5584	0.6964	0.6641	0.5597	0.7772	0.6474	0.7378	0.7445	0.7041

So I'd say the results themselves are basically "yep, that sure is how it scores". I don't know if my overall scores are actually slightly worse or if it's the effect of removing almost 500 questions from a 12.3k question dataset.
Total cost: maybe $160 based on token counts, messed up cost tracking at first.
The second run had approx 2.17M input tokens and 5.04M output tokens. Naively scaling this to other models (without actually using their tokenizers, and assuming they'll give identical output lengths) gives these approximate prices:

• Claude 3 Opus: $410
• GPT-4-0314: $367
• GPT-4-32k-0314: $608

I don't intend to run those.
I'll post the inputs/outputs of both runs if anyone knows a good place to upload password-protected zips (to avoid accidental scraping, since everything posted to reddit is trained on).

My girlfriend wants us to buy at least 1 house when married, if not multiple houses. I think buying houses is a bad idea. We've discussed this issue for a very long time and can't seem to see eye to eye.
My argument is that the era of cheap housing has ended, property taxes are high (as high as paying apartment rent itself), mortgages are risky to take on in an era of inflation and bad economy, and that the $500,000 we spend on a house would be much better spent on investments that would generate passive income and let us retire early (let alone, say, $900,000 for two houses). On top of that, houses can cost a fortune if something goes wrong and insurance won't cover, require a lot of maintenance, whereas if you rent, then it's the leasing complex that has to perform maintenance. (I saw this firsthand when my parents' house suffered a water leak that had massive repercussions over a long period of time.) Finally, given how unbearably hot Texas is (we had a heat wave last summer that got as hot as 113 degrees one August afternoon,) I'm not sure at all this is where we should settle down longterm - and a house would bind us to a location.
She has her heart absolutely dead-set on us buying one house or multiple houses when married. Nothing I say can seem to make any difference. I am also listening with an open mind as well, but at the end of the day it still seems to me that the cons of buying houses outweigh the pros. What should we do?
At this point, she is so insistent that I'm thinking of telling her, "If you truly insist, then we can buy a house because I know you'll never be happy without one, but I must make it clear that I disapprove and don't think it's a good idea. I'll go along just so you'll be satisfied."
TL;DR; my girlfriend is adamant that we buy a house or multiple houses; I feel equally adamant that we should not buy a house.

How do you combat fighting the VA saying your condition wasn’t chronic. Hurt my back in 96 (buddy letter) incident in 98 . Missing civilian doctor records from 2000-2010 because the doctor retired years ago . 2 surgery’s for herniated disc in 2012 and 2021 etc etc

You know what the best part is about playing Engineer in Team Fortress 2? You get to watch how angry everyone gets when they get shot by your sentry guns. Me and my best friend Jose both main Engineer, and can confirm that the best way to spend your Friday nights after school is to set up a sentry and get ready for the rage. There’s been matches where we haven’t even used our actual guns even once, but racked up lots of kills just because of the sentries.
One day Jose called me up with an idea that was either going to be the stupidest thing ever or the smartest thing ever. He wanted to fill an entire team with only Engineers and watch the chaos unfold. I couldn’t stop laughing at the mental image in my head and agreed with the plan. I joined a Discord server with everyone else on the team.
I convinced my cousin Matthew to join, and he in turn brought along his little brother Zack. According to Matthew, it took quite a bit of convincing because Zack was a Scout main who couldn’t stand Engineers. He eventually got through to his little brother by promising him a Steam gift card. I even got their dad Graham to play along (yes, I have an uncle who plays TF2. How cool is that?). Jose enlisted his friends, who turned into friends of friends and soon enough we had a team of 16 Engineers.
To say that we caused chaos that night was an absolute understatement. As soon as we joined the game the text chat was flooded with messages from the other team wondering what the hell was going on. And they only got worse from that point on. We surrounded our control points with a ring of sentries that people just kept running into. I saw keyboard smashes and heard other teen boys’ voices crack in rage and many, many words that I personally don’t care to repeat here.
The most skilled Engineer was this guy named Craig, who was a friend of one of Jose’s friends. Not only was he the main person capturing the enemy control points with some very strategically placed teleporters, but he was also really friendly and encouraging to all of us. I didn’t know what he looked like, but from his voice it sounded like he was in his early 20s.
Me and Craig started to chat more and more on Discord. He was a super nice guy who was also really fun to talk with. He took time out of his day to teach me how to be an even better Engineer player. Whenever someone started dissing me in the voice chat, he firmly told them to leave me alone. After seeing my fair share of toxicity in the TF2 community, it was nice to know that this complete stranger was looking out for me.
This whole Team Engineer thing became a weekly tradition for us on Friday nights. It was something everyone could look forward to after work or school. One time after everyone logged off and said their goodbyes, Craig sent a message a few hours later in our Discord:
“You guys gotta check this out. I found the weirdest server ever. It’s literally Engineer heaven. Meet me at vl_sentry.”
I was still in the mood to play and I could stay up late tonight, so I hopped back on TF2. I saw that Jose, Graham and this other girl we played with named Lynn were also online. I found vl_sentry and connected to the server. The map was called Valley of the Sentries and it was created by Valve.
It took my computer a little bit to process the map, and it took me even longer than that to process what I was seeing.
The map looked like a chessboard with 3D-sculpted hills. The sky was just pure white. Not even white walls, just the color white. Every square had a blue sentry on it and there were about 4 or 5 other Engineers jumping around, spamming their voice lines. That’s when I realized that we were the only ones there, and there was no red team.
“Hey Sean, glad you could make it :)” Craig said in the text chat. “What the hell is this?” I asked. He told me that this was a server that one of his friends showed him. The friend said he was introduced to the map by a friend of his who knew someone who worked at Valve. Craig then went on to explain that apparently Valley of the Sentries was an experiment to test the limits of the sentry guns and their effect on the servers. Rumor has it that the map is infinite.
“Check this out.” said Jose. He switched to Heavy and immediately got shot down. All of the sentries turned towards him. There were so many of them that it made the game lag a ton. He respawned as Engineer and the sentries just kept on spinning.
“WTF?” I typed. “We tried it with all the other classes and it does the same thing.” said Craig. “It ignores Engineers, but shoots everyone else.” Lynn added. “And that’s why we’re the best class. Engineer power!” Graham joked.
I asked what would happen if you were to play as Spy and sap one of the sentries. “I tried, but you gotta have a godly reaction time to activate it.” said Jose. As soon as he said “godly reaction time”, I knew I had to try it out just for the bragging rights.
Respawn. Shot down. Respawn. Shot down. Respawn. Shot down.
Yeah, I did not have a godly reaction time. The others kept spamming “lol” in the chat each time I failed. I got annoyed pretty quickly and stopped trying. Then out of nowhere, all the sentries turned away from me and started firing at someone. I turned around and all five of us were still standing there. I looked at the top bar that shows how many characters were in the game. There were only five Engineers and they were all on the same team. So what the hell were the sentries targeting?
I started to walk in the direction that the sentries were facing and Jose followed me too. We moved really slow, not only because of the sentries on every square but also the uphill climbs. It was just us two in the chat for a while, talking about seeing each other back at school on Monday while we made our slow walk across the map. Then our conversation was interrupted by a chat message from Lynn.
“Why is there a man in the sky?”
Me and Jose tried to get to Lynn to see what she was talking about as fast as possible, but we moved like snails. To get back to the spawn point, we both switched classes, instantly died and respawned as Engineers. I don’t think we respawned in the same place we started from. I don’t even know where we respawned. There were no landmarks or notable things to help you find your way. Just hills, valleys, and sentries.
I asked Lynn where she was and she just told me she was with Graham and Craig. Only that wasn’t very helpful because we didn’t know where they were either. We stood there, stumped for a minute and a half until Jose got an idea. He said that she should just switch classes and respawn, because then all of the sentries would point toward her and we could follow them all the way back to her. She made the switch, got shot down, and we instantly knew where to find her.
We finally got close enough to kind of make out the vague shape of a few Engineers over the non-existent horizon. Me and Jose were relieved, until all the sentries pointed to our right. I swiveled around and saw them open fire on…nothing. I checked with Jose to see if he caught something I didn’t, but he also didn’t see what they were shooting at. I decided that it wasn’t that important and continued to walk towards the rest of the group.
We met up with Lynn, Craig and Graham, disappointed that we made that trek all for nothing. Even though we were all together now, it just felt so lonely. The only sound coming from my computer was the constant beeping of the sentries in perfect sync. I don’t know why, but it made me so uneasy. I attempted to break the silence by going to the voice lines and playing the iconic Engineer “Nope” soundbite. It echoed across the checkered land with no response.
It was about 12:30 AM at this point and I was starting to feel more and more unsettled with each passing minute. There was just something about this black and white world that I felt creeped out by. Before Craig invited us to come over, there was no one else on the server. Who would even want to play on this map, anyways? It’s so unfairly balanced that only one class can survive. Movement speed was super slow, and you can’t even really do anything except watch the sentries turn and turn and turn forever. It was like hypnosis, except I didn’t feel sleepy or relaxed at all.
Speaking of being sleepy, Jose said he was getting tired and was going to be logging off. We all said goodbye to him and continued chatting amongst ourselves. It sounds stupid, but my stomach dropped when I saw the fifth Engineer portrait disappear. One less person to talk to. One less person to keep myself from wondering what else was out here. I could have sworn that after he left, the beeping got louder.
“So is this map actually infinite?” asked Graham. “Only one way to find out.” Craig said. “Just keep on walking and see if it goes on forever.” “Why don’t you just fire a shotgun and see how far it goes?” Lynn suggested.
I took out the shotgun and fired. The bullet flew off into the white distance and disappeared.
Then I heard the distinct sound of someone getting shot.
A message appeared in the chat, from someone named sentry_check_pattern.
“sentry_check_pattern: stop that”
Once again I looked at the top bar. It just showed four blue Engineers. That meant we were the only ones on the server. Or so we thought.
The chat was flooded with our confusion, almost as if everyone realized at the same time that something wasn’t right. None of us moved an inch.
“What even is this place?” I asked, hoping that the mysterious user would provide me with an answer. “Must be Engineer heaven.” said Graham.
“sentry_check_pattern: more like my personal hell”
This was the moment that made me trust my intuition. I knew there was a reason why I found this map so creepy. I wanted to leave the server, but there was just one thing keeping me back- my own curiosity. My wish to unveil the mysteries of the Valley of the Sentries.
“Okay this is really freaking me out. See ya guys.” said Lynn before she left the server. The fourth Engineer’s portrait disappeared from the top bar.
No no no, please. Please don’t go. Don’t leave us. I wouldn’t want to be alone here. Now there’s just three of us, and I really hope that number doesn’t go down anymore. When the others were here, this was just a weird TF2 map that we were exploring together as friends. And now it feels like we’re trapped in this infinite world, but we aren’t alone. The only problem is we don’t know what else is here.
I shuddered, imagining Craig and Graham ditching me and leaving me all alone in the Valley of the Sentries. Just me and whoever- no, whatever was talking to us.
“sentry_check_pattern: you don’t know how good you have it
you can leave at any time
i can’t”
This terrified me. What a horrible thought, never being able to leave this place. But of course, no one could really be trapped here. It’s a Team Fortress 2 server. You can just exit the game and shut your computer. No one could be trapped in a video game.
But if you think about it, aren’t the characters themselves trapped? They can’t leave the game. They’re characters. They don’t even know they’re in a game. You or the computer controls all their actions. They don’t have free will. And if you’re bad at the game, they’ll just keep dying over and over again.
Wait, why was I thinking about this?
I carefully considered what I wanted to say next in the chat. Whatever I said could either answer all my burning questions or leave me asking more. But sentry_check_pattern talked first.
“sentry_check_pattern: i was made for one purpose
to die over and over again”
Oh my god. It was like this person read my mind and knew exactly what I was thinking about. Who or what was I talking to? I turned all the way around to make sure that no one else was there. It was just the two blue Engineers standing behind me. Just Graham and Craig. And that man with the checkered skin.
Startled, I asked my friends if they saw what I saw. It took them a second, but both of them confirmed that yes, there was indeed something else there. A basic male model with the same chessboard texture as the map. Graham immediately started to shoot at him. Nothing. It just went straight through him.
“sentry_check_pattern: you can’t kill what’s already been killed millions of times over
valve made that mistake too
every company has that one failed project they don’t talk about
and that’s me”
Whoever was behind this weird account was talking crazy. The Team Fortress 2 developers were very open about everything like fixing their glitches and bugs. They always posted things on the official blog about the development process. They’re so open about their failures and always promise to fix them.
“Stop with the weird stuff. We just wanted to know what the deal is with this server and the weird chess guy. Do you know anything about it?” Graham asked in the text chat.
“sentry_check_pattern: know anything?
you’re not very bright, graham
none of you are
do you not realize where you are and what you’re talking to”
Something about the way sentry_check_pattern used Graham’s name gave me goosebumps. I didn’t know what I was talking to. I didn’t even think I wanted to know at this point.
“sentry_check_pattern: this is one of valve’s test servers
i’m the texture they use to check if the sentries work
read between the lines”
“Quiet, NPC.” Craig said. I laughed a little bit to fight off the awkward tension. Then I reminded myself that I was talking to a video game character, no- not even a character. A blank character model. A texture.
“sentry_check_pattern: just because i’m a character model doesn’t mean i can’t feel pain
open fire”
The sentries all swiveled around to face the man and shot at him. He kept falling to the ground, turning white and standing back up in the same position.
“sentry_check_pattern: cease fire”
All of the sentries stopped shooting and just went back to spinning around, their beeps echoing in the air.
“sentry_check_pattern: ready to see what i’ve been through for over a decade?
open fire”
Before any of us could react, the sentries opened fire on Craig all at once. He kept dying, but he didn’t explode the way you’re supposed to when you die in TF2. He just dropped to the floor, turned white, and respawned over and over again. There was no death scream. I tried to type something else in the chat but the game lagged so much that my typing just ended up as a string of random letters that meant nothing. Craig tried to type something out too. It just ended up as “wwwwwwwwwwthisishowitfeelswwwwwwwww” Then the game crashed and my computer shut down.
I hyperventilated. Then I laughed at myself for hyperventilating over a stupid computer game. It was Team Fortress 2 for god’s sake. That game with all the memes and goofy jokes. Stupid, stupid Sean. Scared of a character model. Jose would never let me live it down. I just laughed and laughed to push the fear away.
I closed my laptop and took out my phone to rewatch all of my favorite TF2 animations for the millionth time. As if they weren’t already the funniest things in the world, I forced myself to laugh even harder than usual. Every time I saw the Engineer, I couldn’t help but look at the reflection in his goggles. The reflection of an endless map of black and white squares.
Thankfully, nothing bad happened to my game, account or laptop. The next day I just went right back to playing and enjoying the rage coming from all the people who ran right into my sentries.
Team Engineer was still a thing, but it was never really the same. We played together a lot less frequently. It was still a lot of fun, but I felt a change that I couldn’t really describe.
We found out that Craig had lost all progress on his TF2 account. Everyone gifted him all his favorite cosmetics and we all pooled our money together to get him a Steam gift card. He video called us, crying at our kindness. It was the first time I ever even saw his face. He was a lot older than most of us. If I had to guess an age, I’d say somewhere around 30. He had black bangs and was wearing a TF2 shirt. His room was dark, only lit by his glowing computer screen. He thanked us repeatedly and even tried to return the gift card, but we were all adamant that he should keep it.
Speaking of Craig, we still kept in touch but he didn’t talk to me as much anymore. Any time I tried to ask him about vl_sentry, he ignored me for a few days.
The other day, I got some postcards from my cousin Matthew. He was very academic and happened to be studying at a private high school about 9 hours away from where I live. All of his postcards were pictures of him making funny faces with all his friends at favorite school activities like robotics, debate team, and chess club.
I looked at the chess club photo closely. Matthew and his friends were standing in front of a chessboard with a mirror on the wall. And for a split second, I could have sworn that the chessboard looked different in the mirror. It looked warped, like it wasn’t a flat board anymore. Like it almost had hills and valleys. No, it couldn’t be. I rubbed my eyes. There, in the mirror was a checkered man. I knew it was there. I swear on my mother’s life that there was another person in that photo. And then it was gone. Maybe the picture was just printed badly. But I had to make sure my eyes were right.
So I brought the postcard to school with me and I showed Jose. I asked him if he saw the checkered man in the mirror. He said no. But that wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear. That was the answer I hoped I wouldn’t hear. I asked him again. He said no again. Then I asked him another time. He said I was being annoying. So I asked another one of my friends. He said no too. So I moved on to yet another friend. He told me to stop.
I angrily clutched the postcard in my hand, crumpling it. I was the only one that saw what was really there. Everyone else was lying to me. They refused to see the truth.
I screamed and ripped up the postcard. I stomped on its pieces. I rubbed them in the dirt for good measure.
Somewhere in the distance, I heard the sound of electronics beeping.
It rang in my ears.
It was weirdly comforting to me.
You can leave the Valley of the Sentries. But the valley will never leave you.

So I recently had an interview and they said they were impressed so they asked me back for a second (and potentially last) round just a day after the first interview. I’m feeling good and hope I will get the position, but I just recently took the Michigan state test which is basically the last step to complete my certification. However, I didn’t pass and am already scheduled to take it again and plan to prep much more to make sure I am better prepared. Should I tell the school that or wait until there’s an offer letter on the table? Can they still offer me a position even if I haven’t passed yet? Can they take back an offer if I tell them I haven’t passed? Any help is appreciated, I’m a first year teacher! :)

Wondering if anyone has any insight. I’ve been a PA for almost 8 years. Early this year I had a very unfortunate ED encounter with a patients family member. The family member was aggressive, hostile and manipulative throughout the whole visit. She dictated the patients care, pretended to call administration right in front of me, and was downright unpleasant. Finally I told her if she didn’t stop I’d have to have security escort her out. She has since written many letters to hospital administration saying I was the one who was aggressive, made her and the patient feel unsafe, etc etc, Completely twisting the narrative. Everything was documented in real time by both myself and my attending. The primary nurse is also a whiteness that none of these allegations happened. But now I’ve received noticed she’s gone to the DPH and they’re conducting a “preliminary investigation.” It’s all heresy at this point and my documentation as well as my colleague has totally backed me, but how much weight do these kinds of garbage claims carry in regards to my license? It’s scary to think a patient can just blatantly lie if they don’t like you/something you said or did, and ruin an 8 year career. Anyone experienced anything similar or have any insight into the likelihood the DPH takes this seriously? I get the impression they’re just responding out of obligation and it won’t come to anything.

This is going to be a long post, so please bear with me. For starters, this is my second time applying to PA school--I was at a disadvantage last cycle, as I applied late July, almost early August. I was working towards my masters degree during that time, and had a bunch of in-progress courses that I need to retake. I wasn't the best student my sophomore year of college, and Organic Chemistry I was the death of me, had to retake it and passed on my third try. I have shadowed a surgical PA for a few months, but because of the pandemic, the hospital was not allowing any students to shadow anymore. I like the idea of PA's bridging the gaps in healthcare, as with everyone. Although lateral mobility and good work-life balance are enticing factors in being a PA, I don't see that as being true. It really is specialty-dependent, an ideally, I think is best to stick with one speciality and perfect your craft. I don't mind the level of autonomy that comes with being a PA, I feel that everybody can be a leader within their own scope of practice.
However, amidst this journey of applying to PA school, during college, and even high school, medical school and being a physician has been nagging in the back of my mind. I come from two loving parents who never pressured me to pursue a career in medicine, but something that will make me satisfied and have a good life. Being a physician means having the breadth of knowledge, thoroughly understanding the mechanism of actions in medication and diseases. Its better to know and comprehend the whole story and the why, instead of just knowing surface level information. I'd like to think being a research assistant is helping me in solidifying my decision to be a physician--I understand that its two completely different things, but I enjoy showing medical students and other graduate students how to dissect a mouse, I love teaching them the anatomy of the mouse, and what each part is special in, and how it pertains to the research that I do. I love being the leader, and I appreciate when my colleagues come to me for questions and ask for my perspective in different things. I enjoy being a leader, yet I enjoy working in a team. For reference, here are my stats, they are not the greatest, but I'd like to think my experiences showcases that:
-graduated college with a 2.943 gpa, had to retake most of my sophomore year's worth of classes, failed organic chemistry I and passed on my third try. with all retakes and masters, raised to 3.02. despite failing most of soph year, i made deans list numerous times.
-got my masters in biomedical sciences, got a 3.4 gpa
-last 60 credits, 3.66, last 45, 3.61
-1955 hours as a night shift float pct, certified in phlebotomy, ekg, and as a pct.
-1392 hours in biochem research, vitamin D regulation focused. abstract sent out, will be presenting in symposium in fall
-new job as mental health specialist on back up call center, about 60 hours since i just started position
-990 hours in social and affective neuroscience research, presented thesis to psych department
-volunteering: sunday school teacher for 2nd graders, habitat for humanity, health screener in grad school, volunteer in hospital in high risk pregnancy and geriatric wings, summer camp counselor in church, food bank.
-teaching experience: learning assistant for psych stats course, helped teach 37 juniors and seniors as a junior, about 42 hours bc during semester.
-hobbies: food festivals, legos, parrots, painting, cooking and baking.
I have not taken my MCAT, and I told myself that if I do not get far in PA school applications, I will start studying for the test come the fall. The masters program that I am apart of has a linkage with the medical school, so I will try to see what my options are when the time comes. All in all, both professions are excellent, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been. Some honest advice and feedback would be helpful.

Hello, guys. So, I’ve just been getting into the process of trying to pursue a German citizenship via descent. I have most of the documentation gathered, but I need advice regarding some matters.
Background info: I was born in 2003. My mother didn’t have a German citizenship at the time I was born. She was born in wedlock in the 1970s in Poland. My grandfather didn’t have a German citizenship at the time my mother was born. He was born in the early 1940s in a territory that was German at the time, to German parents; however after the war it became a Polish territory due to border shifts. Therefore, my grandfather either lost or gave up his German citizenship to get a Polish one at its expense (or rather his mother did, since he was still a child). The exact date when it happened is not known to me, but we know that it’s possible to obtain citizenships via my grandfather, if we provide his birth certificate and marriage certificate, as well as his mother’s birth and marriage certificate (my mother’s sister went the exact same path and obtained the citizenship a couple years ago). We have those documents and we have had them translated by a certified translator as we were told to do. We also have a letter from Deutsche Dienststelle, proving that my great-grandfather was enrolled in the German army. I hope this information helps shed the light on our situation.
Questions: 1. My mother would like to obtain the citizenship, for her and my underage sister, does she need to also translate my sister’s birth certificate or, if she receives the citizenship, she should apply for the same for her children? 2. Could my mother apply to bestow the citizenship should she get it upon me, or I have to apply for it myself since I’m an adult? Is there a possibility for us to apply together?
We are going to apply in Gdańsk, if it matters.