My name is Jessica, and I live in a small central American city of about 80,000 people.Today I'm going to share a story about Korea.First, I'd like to tell you a little bit about my family.When I was born, I already had an older brother.I don't mean just a little sister with an older brother.My brother was adopted from Korea.It's an unusual situation, isn't it? My parents struggled with infertility for several years before I was born, and they ended up adopting my Korean brother.Then, a few years later, they got pregnant with me, and I was born.My brother had different hair color, skin color, and eye color than me, but we got along very well.Even though we knew from a young age that we were adopted because of our differences, we got along well, and we were a family that loved each other deeply.
We played the same games, read books together, and spent a lot of time together. He always took good care of me, and he was a good brother who made me laugh.
I would say, “Brother, let's read this book together!” and he would always smile and read it to me. I think I liked and enjoyed his warmth to me, rather than focusing on the content of the book.
When we left our cozy home environment, it was time to go to school, and during this time, my brother and I were asked a lot of embarrassing questions.One day, while my brother and I were playing together, a friend asked me, “Jessica, why does your brother look different from you?”The question gave me pause, but he smiled and replied, “Because we are a family, looks don't matter. His positive attitude had a good effect on me, and I'm sure he had a good effect on himself, too.Watching him grow up right, and our family became interested in Korea. If he was a troublemaker and always in trouble, he wouldn't have had the time to take the time to learn about his country of origin, Korea, but when he studied well, didn't fight with his friends, and was a good person who always loved and cared for his brother, we couldn't help but wonder about his roots.
I think my parents also had the will to share Korean culture with my brother and me, to learn what they could, to broaden our horizons and deepen our family's understanding.Many years ago, when I was in middle school, my family visited Korea for the first time, and the experience left a great impression on me.
We visited many tourist spots in Seoul and saw the harmonious combination of Korean tradition and modernity.And Korea, with its many dark-haired, dark-eyed people like my brother, was somehow not foreign to me.For Americans traveling to Asia for the first time, this could have been difficult because people look different and give off different vibes, but not for me. My parents, of course, were very excited to revisit Korea, the country of my brother's birth, and spoke so many blessings about the land of my brother's birth.Of course, there were many good things to see and many fun things to do in Korea, but the most memorable moment was when I suddenly developed a high fever.
It was a quiet night in Korea at the time, and I suddenly developed a high fever.This change was so sudden that my parents panicked.Eventually, with the help of the hotel we were staying at, they were able to get me to the emergency room in Korea, where I was quickly treated.Upon arrival, the medical staff quickly assessed my condition and ran the necessary tests.The whole process was organized, and thanks to the professionalism and quick response of the medical staff, I was able to get comfortable quickly. My situation was so serious that my head hurt like a rock and I could barely understand what was being said around me, but thanks to their quick response, my fever started to come down and I was able to return to my senses.The tests showed that I had a severe flu, which had been contracted in the United States and had incubated in Korea.I had to stop traveling in Korea and be admitted to the hospital for treatment, but thanks to the fast and efficient healthcare system in Korea, this was not a problem.
My parents breathed a sigh of relief and expressed their deep gratitude to the Korean healthcare system.“If it wasn't for Korea, I would have been in trouble,” my father said.Although my family had to stop our trip to Korea and spend the rest of my stay in a Korean hospital, looking back, it was also a unique experience abroad.
Many years later, as an adult, my relationship with my brother was still good. We enjoyed Korean dramas, movies, and music together, cooked Korean food together, and learned Korean together.
However, there was a clear difference between me and him: he seemed to be better at learning, even if he spent the same amount of time studying, and he went to a prestigious university, while I failed to get into college and became depressed.
He helped me with my studies every vacation, taught me how to study, and helped me to get into a prestigious university, but the results were not good. I was rejected by all the universities I applied to, and I was going through a very difficult time. After he graduated from college, he moved back home from the East Coast of the United States and helped me study for the college entrance exam, and with his help, I was able to get into college, albeit late.
Although I didn't get into a prestigious university like my brother, I still had a satisfying college experience and broadened my horizons.Naturally, I discovered that Korea has been on the global radar lately, which was very exciting.Korea may be the latest trend for Americans these days, but for me and my brother, it's like going back to our roots.I've always loved Korea, and it was very interesting and fond to reminisce about my trip to Korea when I was in middle school and look through my photo albums, even though half the time I was sick. So, my brother and I decided to visit Korea again, and this time, we had several goals for the trip: we wanted to make sure that we got it right this time, because we didn't get it right the first time, and my brother wanted to get to know his Korean roots better, even though he is now an adult, working as an American and living as an American, and I wanted to get to know my Korean roots better in relation to my major in college, and this time, I wanted to research more about the Korean healthcare system that I had experienced as a child.
Of course, I also wanted to have fun in Korea and enjoy the freedom to roam around the country unlike when I was a student, but I didn't take it too seriously.
Korea was so different from the U.S. It had the look of a big city in the U.S., but it had its own unique vibe. It was much more developed than the neighborhoods we live in in the U.S., and everywhere you looked was filled with people, and there were hundreds or thousands of stores selling a variety of things. If you were walking around and traveling, and you got thirsty and needed a break, there were cafes all around you that you could just pop into and take a break, and you didn't have to go far to find a restaurant that had one Korean food and sold it, because all the infrastructure was there.
Everything is around you, and everything you want or need is always right around the corner, which is why people call city life so convenient and love it.The public transportation system in Korea, which is light years better than the big cities in the U.S., helped us get around without any difficulty.It was also so much fun to get a T-money card, carry it around, and use it to get around Korea for a very low cost.
And when my brother and I would walk around, going to cafes, restaurants, and other places where there was something to do, many Koreans would tell us that we made a good looking couple.When I would tell them, in a pleasant and complimentary way, that we were actually brother and sister, they would look surprised and apologize.
But it's completely understandable, because even in the U.S., more people think of us as a couple or friends than they do as siblings, and there's not much of an adoption culture in Korea, and no one adopts and brings European or American children to Korea, so it's no wonder we get these funny misunderstandings.
To be honest, even in the U.S. nowadays, you can still encounter people who ask my brother and I questions about our relationship with unpleasant intentions to hurt us, assuming that we are not a couple or friends, but maybe even a man.A recent memory is of an American grandfather in his 70s who made a very rude remark to us, asking us what kind of father our father was to have two women give birth at the same time.
In the U.S., most people are friendly and kind to me, but the problem is that some people sometimes make fun of my brother because he looks Asian, but this was not the case in Korea at all.No one discriminated against me because of my different appearance.
And there's actually a story I wasn't going to tell in this article, but I'm writing it down because I had my brother's permission to do so.After arriving in Korea, we decided to search for my adopted brother's birth parents in order to trace his roots.My parents and I respected his decision to pursue this endeavor in Korea, and of course, we decided to support it. We visited the Korean adoption agency and requested my brother's adoption records.The representative provided us with all the information possible and was eager to help us, saying that efforts to find one's roots are ongoing every day.Together, we were able to find some important clues in the records.
My brother decided to visit his birthplace based on those clues, and of course, I joined him on the journey.We were always laughing since we came to Korea, but at this moment, there was more seriousness than laughter.We visited my brother's birthplace together and talked to the local people.
At the time, there was only a vague record of my brother's father and mother, but no proper records, so we only knew where he was born, and we had to go there and find someone who had lived there for a long time.But Korea is a very fast-developing country, and the sad thing is that the area where my brother was born and spent the first few months of his life was already torn down and replaced by a huge apartment complex. We felt that if we had come sooner, at least before these new apartments were built, things would have been at least better than they were, but there was no point in regretting what had passed.We visited the social welfare center and police station in the area, explained our situation, and asked for help.The Korean people were very kind, listening to my brother's story and letting us know what we could do.
We were told that when a new apartment building is built in Korea, new people who have no connection to the area move into the apartment, but that some of the people who live in these new apartments have been living here for a long time, most likely elderly people, and that the best thing to do is to find them and ask them about their past.We felt that this information would be very useful to us, as we were very confused and frustrated.
So my brother and I, along with a Korean lady who felt sorry for us and wanted to help, approached the elderly people who came in and out of the apartment and asked them questions.But despite all our efforts, we were unsuccessful in finding my brother's biological parents.We had many clues and information, but we were unable to find any conclusive evidence.My brother was disappointed, but we were comforted by the fact that we had done our best. Maybe if we could have spent a few weeks, maybe even a few months here to find and talk to an elderly person with memories of the past, we could have found a clue to the solution, but we couldn't stay in Korea, so in the end, we had to give up without proceeding any further.When I saw the look on my brother's face as he said that if he had the chance, he would visit Korea next time for this sole purpose, I felt a great sense of disappointment.“It's a shame that we couldn't find them, but thank you for trying,” he said to me.I couldn't say it anymore.
It would have been great if he could have completed his homework, but he didn't.Contrary to my initial expectations, the Korean adoption agency tried to be as helpful as possible, and I was very grateful to the government officials in the place of my brother's supposed birth, who were very sympathetic to his situation and actively tried to help him, and to the Korean lady who passed by.
Having been treated by the Korean healthcare system in the past, I took this level of care for granted and thought that it was something that everyone could enjoy, but then, when I was a high school student in the U.S., I was seriously ill and did not receive the same care as I did in Korea, so I remember suffering terribly and tried to understand why this difference occurred.
Before I came to Korea, I had already arranged to meet with someone, and although I didn't get to visit any specialized institutions, I was able to meet with Korean college students, and I learned a lot of information from them: medical students, pharmacy students, and I was able to get a lot of information from them.
The Korean healthcare system was different from the U.S. in many ways: it was fast, efficient, and provided a high level of care at a relatively low cost.The quick response and organized system for emergencies was especially impressive.The emergency rooms in Korea were very reasonably priced, allowing people to go to them for minor and mild symptoms.At this point, I thought that if there were a lot of people going to the emergency room for minor symptoms, it would be a problem if someone came in who needed emergency care, but the hospitals in Korea made it very easy to answer that question. I also learned that when a really urgent patient comes in, the emergency room prioritizes the emergency patients and treats them first, ignoring the minor ones. It's so simple and obvious: the doctors have the skills to determine the severity of the patient's condition, and they can prioritize the treatment accordingly.
Not only that, but it was very easy to get an appointment in Korea and the wait time was short. The Korean medical staff emphasized patient care and prompt treatment, and they utilized the latest medical technology and equipment to provide the best possible medical care.
In the U.S., medical care is often very expensive, complicated, and difficult to access quickly, and many people are unable to get proper treatment due to insurance issues.I also received prompt treatment in Korea when I was in middle school without insurance and had to pay a reasonable price, but the experience was a nightmare as I remember being very sick in middle school and high school, and I felt that the Korean system was far superior.I felt that the Korean healthcare system is not for profit, but is dedicated to protecting the health of the people.
Through my experiences in Korea, I learned about a much broader world than what my brother and I knew before.There are many factors that make Korea such a great country, but the culture and system that my brother and I experienced firsthand helped us understand why.And most of all, Korea is the country that made my brother.I have grateful feelings for Korea, which is also my brother's roots.
My brother and I could tell without speaking to each other that through this visit, we saw in each other a willingness to continue to love Korea more and more, and to strive to learn and understand Korean culture.
Korea is now a country that has special meaning to me as an adult, and I think it will be a great pleasure for me to honor my brother's roots and watch Korea develop and grow.I will continue to connect with Korea and try to help more people discover its charms.
And next year, he plans to visit Korea to find his roots once again. He plans to stay in Korea for more than a month, and he will continue his best efforts during that period.

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

"Good afternoon Ms. Lopez." I say, warmly greeting an elderly Cuban woman in her sixties. She smiles sweetly at me as she asks me if I am the chef behind today's food, in Spanish. I smile and nod at her, and she excitedly begins to chatter in Spanish, telling me the latest chisme regarding the latest romantic escapades occurring in her son's life.
I lightly place some ham on the sandwich I'm preparing for her as she excitedly gossips with me. I cleverly practice my active listening skills, while occasionally chiming in to let her know that I am actively aware of what she's saying. The woman is one of the last people to arrive during today's meal hour. She seems to operate on a sense of punctuality that is uniquely hers, almost like a force of nature. I almost admire it, if I'm being honest. My fellow volunteers look at me and smile as they sense the passive patience I radiate in this minor interaction.
The day has been one of the more chill ones in the soup kitchen, especially since I started actively championing the place. At our most busy we've served hundreds of families in a single day, and today we've served a few dozen. There's something quite nice about this moment of normalcy. I wonder if I sometimes took this level of mundanity for granted during this jump...
To be fair to myself a part of me is almost acting like I'm guaranteed to send myself to some apocalyptic hellscape and that's just not happening. I'm almost guaranteed to go to a place more dangerous than "9-5; a white-collar simulator", but I'm picking my next destination and after the decade of serenity I've had here I've got no reason to act like a dumbass and jeopardize my odds of long-term success in this career by sending myself to a death trap. Ms. Lopez smiles as she walks away, clearly believing she's shared vital chisme with me. To be fair, she did share gossip plenty of people would find juicy, but since I'm not some gossip I was the wrong audience for her words.
My fellow volunteers look at me and glance at my phone with curious looks. I pick up the thing and see that I've been missing an exhilarating conversation in our group chat. I skim the thing, my perfected memory allowing me to instantly catch up with the conversation the small gaggle of brave volunteers who kindly donate our weekend hours have been having before I begin to text the group back.
The rest of the day passes by in a blur. We wait for the people who've come for a meal to finish their food up and then we get to cleaning. After that we do a few sweeps of the parts of the church we've used before going our separate ways. I make my way home, and I do some light meal-prepping as well as practice a few more of my skills. At this point in my stay I've perfected my routine and could do it in my sleep... If I ever slept that is. In the entire time I've been in this setting I don't believe I've slept once. That is a nice feeling, since it means I never wasted an hour of my time, much less six.
The work week is a bit of a slog, since I am eagerly anticipating the news regarding my final promotion. I was never the sort to believe that time felt longer when you were excited about something, or dreading it, but in the time since I came to this setting I've gradually become a believer in such ideas even if they still feel a bit silly. Nonetheless. I diligently work through the week, keep my team on track, and when Friday rolls around I get the news I've waited for.
Thanks to "Gamer's Mind" I am able to keep my face even as the office's general supervisor explains this news to me and not outwardly express my excitement, but internally I am more excited than I've been about anything since I first entered this world. This news means that I'll be getting right around $3,000 dollars every two weeks just for existing! This means that in future jumps working will be optional unless I get really greedy, which frees me up to decide what I want to do in most modern settings. In medieval settings this amount of money could be even more vital, though at the same time such a thing could just... not matter, since in such a setting I could easily just avoid civilization, but this money will certainly liberate me from a lot of the struggles of wasting vast swathes of a jump at a job I don't want.
At the time that I was being told the good news I almost began to cry. Thank goodness for Gamer's Mind, I guess.
Nine years ago I was down on my luck and down to my last dollars when I got the job offer that led me here and this news means that I am free from such things. The freedom and power that comes with making enough to get by, especially passively, is awe-inspiring, and it's quite difficult for me to find the words to express how excited it makes me feel even days after it. I spend... close to a week passively smiling and being just ambiently happy, as I begin to integrate a new set of responsibilities into my work life.
During this time my decision to fix the coffee machine in the office break-room by hand after it almost burns a colleague results in me getting a new class; "Handyman" and the initial ability I receive is a simple one that bolsters my agility a touch, agility being my attribute tied to fine motor skills. I skillfully use this class to actually fix various things by hand, and I begin to steadily accrue various maintenance skills. In days I gain class levels, and with each class level I am able to repair things faster, more cheaply, and eventually my ability to fix matures into an ability to improve things, which I instinctively know will lead to some shenanigans down the line. Before I know it days have turned into weeks, which age and turn into months. My skills with leadership and motivation have continued to improve and I lead my team with my full focus and skillful decision-making. Before I know it I am in the final leg of the final stretch of my first jump.
I've been here for 119 months. Nine years and eleven months. It's actually been... even longer than that. I'm at the beginning of the final week of my stay here, and my hands idly clean a dish as I passively listen to Pastor Charlie, one of the few guest pastors the church has invited in years deliver a sermon. He has the congregants enraptured and eating out of the palm of his hand as he speaks about a miracle that "Our Lord" once performed. His voice is a pleasant distraction and one of my twin trains of thought listens and takes notes on how the man delivers his sermon. Physically I seem to be engrossed in the man's sermon when someone, one of the church's assistants, taps on my shoulder and gestures for me to walk over to the pastor's office. I stealthy get up, activating "Rogue" and make my way out of the serving area adjacent to the kitchen. I relax a touch when I'm in the long hallway leading me to Tyler's, Pastor Rhodes's, office.
As I walk down the humble hallway I feel a strange sense of finality wash over me. There's something uncommonly... real about this trek. I feel more solid, more whole than I have in a while, and I suspect that it's because this is my last time in this soup kitchen, this church. I won't be returning here, at least not for a while, and that's sad. It's not the saddest thing that's ever happened to me, but it is kind of a bummer and I allow myself to feel a touch of real, genuine sadness at the sobering realization that when I leave this place I'll be leaving for a long time.
I eventually put that thought away, shelving it and compartmentalizing my thoughts so I can focus on better, happier things. My enhanced senses allow me to spot things like faint cracks too thin for normal humans to spot, and as I walk past them I cast my handy spell on them. I watch as the walls of the hallway repair themselves and I smile, sensing the powerful potential of the spell at my fingertips. I reach the office of the man I've spent plenty of weekends working alongside, and under, and I smile, even internally, when he looks up and spots me. He greets me with a smile and motions for me to sit down. When I do what he asks, he immediately begins to speak.
"Lucas, I apologize for calling out to you but I wanted to check in. Today you seemed... Out of it." The man exclaims, and judging from the way my heart jumps in my chest I realize that some people are just.... more intuitive than others. My acting skill gets a nice little load of experience when I mask my reaction to his words and let out a small, natural sounding laugh in response to his question.
"Tyler," I begin, causing the man to wince. I'm an atheist, or at least I was pre-chain, now... well, now I'm a lot more curious about religion than I was before. I'm not sure if gods exist, but I sure as shit know the supernatural does and I'm not in the business of denying what I can see. I've made my vague religious position clear to the man long ago so he insists I call him "Tyler" which I've personally always found a bit awkward, but there's something a little funny about how it disarms him so cleanly during this interaction. "I'm doing... Okay. I AM bummed I won't be here next week." I state, calmly. This causes my friend's eyes to widen in surprise.
"You're missing a week? I'm sure some of our regulars will be disappointed. Is everything alright?" The man asks. His question is so sincere, so genuine that it's mildly disarming.
I'm... not a nice person. I'm far from mean, sure, but I've come to accept that there's a core of kindness in some people, even in many people, and I am not someone who has that core, that central, unconscious, guiding light that moves them towards kindness with the ease and naturalness of a heartbeat. At my core rests something else, something I don't know if I can articulate in just a few words.
I wouldn't say I'm mean or anything like that but I'm far more cynical than a lot of the people I've met are. In this world, especially, it seems like a lot of people are just decent at heart and I suspect that that was and is the case in the world I was born on as well. Tyler is one of the people I've met whose central guiding light seems to be centered around decency and kindness and I think in any world the man could find himself in he'd strive to be kind. It's almost like interacting with a real version of Ned Flanders from The Simpsons...
"I'm okay. I'm gonna be doing other stuff, and I normally prioritize the soup kitchen over my work or social life," I state, and this isn't a flex it's simply a very true statement. Tyler hears the remark and smiles faintly. "But I've been asked to help out with other stuff from friends who wouldn't ask if it wasn't something they really felt they could handle alone. I'm just gonna miss one weekend, and then I'll be back." I remark, and Tyler smiles at me.
"Okay Lucas. If you need any help you'd ask, right?" Tyler asks, and I consider the question. This is only somewhat an act, as I don't know if I'd ask for help if I needed it. I ultimately nod at the man and I can sense a touch of sadness as he studies my response, which I don't love but I also don't really feel right lying anymore than is necessary. The man makes some small talk and I quickly breeze through it. In minutes I am back in the kitchen with the others. And minutes after that I am cleaning with my fellow volunteers. Almost before I know it I'm stepping out of the church after we've cleaned out the kitchen. I glance at it one last time before I make my way home.
The next few days pass by in a blur, with only two minor oddities; the first being that I ask Hannah to come out with me on Friday night. I have got to see if I can stomach the idea of any sort of romance in a jump, and this is a consequence free way for me to do something along those lines. The second oddity is that I spend nearly all of my money purchasing... well, everything. Every night after work I go to various stores and spend the money that I really haven't needed all that much until now, purchasing things like weapons, food, and especially books. I buy boatloads of books, both ready and willing to use up something I won't be able to take with me into future jumps anyway in exchange for stuff I CAN take with me, thanks to the fiat-backed power of an infinite inventory.
The work week is, aside from what I do after work every night, pretty normal but Friday itself is weirdly solemn. The day passes by as quickly as any other day has, filled with minor encounters with glitches, and a few more annoyances with my small number of drawbacks but when five rolls around I clock out one last time and give the office a final look. I am weirdly slow when it comes to getting up and leaving my cubicle, in fact I'm actually one of the last office workers to leave the office but as I step out of the building I experience another burst of gratitude to Gamer's Mind, which keeps me from acting odd or even tearing up as I glance back at the place I've spent thousands of hours in.
I allow myself a beat to... honestly, grieve. I tell myself that it's okay to have feelings about leaving, even if those feelings are big and weird and are not the most fun. Nonetheless I don't linger here, at my place of employment, I have other things I both need and want to do. I use my inventory and change into a pretty casual outfit before I begin a brief walk. _________________________________________________________________________
​The park beside the office building is a rare example of a pristine location in the city. It is filled with natural greenery, and at the moment a stunningly pretty redhead glances at her phone waiting for someone to pop into view.
The redhead is wearing a pleasant looking dress and a jacket, as the weather is just beginning to take the seasonal turn towards the unpleasant. It's still warm enough that the clothes are mostly unnecessary but as she waits for her friend, a young man who has finally gotten the courage to ask her out on something vaguely approximating a date, she appreciates the wisdom of her decision to wear the slightly warmer than necessary clothes.
Her "date", mostly in her eyes though he is aware of her feelings and a part of him feels some happiness in the idea that this is a date, enters the park and spots her before she spots him. He reaches into his inventory and he retrieves something, a nice little bouquet he purchased earlier today and safely stored away. The flowers, prettily packed and all, appear as he walks towards the young woman.
Lucas is testing the waters here. He isn't testing the waters with Hannah specifically, but rather what it feels like to go on a date as a jumper. He has long had strange feelings about this, but he knows that he is going to leave tomorrow and so he wants to see if he can enjoy a date as a jumper, so he is doing a scientific experiment even if he feels... less than great about some aspects of all of this.
"Hannah!" Lucas says, calling out to one of his first, in fact one of his only, real friends in this world. The redhead excitedly turns and spots her longtime friend, waving at him and waving him over. She spots the bouquet and lets out a delighted sounding laugh, and when Lucas hears it the smile that alights his features is heartwarming.
In his day to day life some facets of Lucas's charisma-heavy build only rarely surface in ways that matter and his looks tends to be one such thing He is attractive enough that his looks can captivate and reside in one's imagination for a while after they first meet him, but right now, this early on along his chain his looks are only enough to make people have schoolgirl crushes on him and people can and do get used to his looks after a while. Still, in some moments this is enough to color the impression he makes on people. Right now, in a romantic context, his supernatural attractiveness is enough to change the sort of impression he makes on someone.
The handsome actor reaches his friend and sits down next to her. He hands her the flowers and for a moment a strange serenity washes over the two as they enjoy each other's company. Lucas looks inward and he realizes that he genuinely, well and truly, likes this moment. Hannah looks at him and eventually asks an important question.
"Lucas... how am I gonna hold these flowers?" She asks, and this makes him smile. He is quick to offer her a response.
"I'll take them when we get going but I saw them and I thought of you. I felt like I'd regret it if I didn't give you these." He says, and there is an odd, for him, level of sincerity and genuineness in his voice that makes Hannah giggle girlishly. Lucas right now is relying on his perk-enhanced instincts and the charisma he has honed through social encounters for the last decade, and he's enjoying how it feels.
Both of the figures on the "Date", though neither of them officially dubbed it that, enjoy the moment. Their passive delight and infatuation create an envy-inducing atmosphere of closeness and quiet joy that radiates outward. The park is nearly abandoned so there is no one to witness this moment other than Lucas's benefactor, and Lucas is simply at peace.
Eventually he lightly touches Hannah's hand, and asks her if she'd like to go and get dinner before they go to the movie they agreed on going to watch earlier this week. Hannah agrees, handing Lucas the bouquet and he, to her surprise, puts it in the bag he has on his person. When she asks if that will squish or hurt the flowers Lucas tells her, with a bizarre amount of confidence, that it won't. She eventually accepts this, having learned to trust that Lucas knows what he is doing, and the two of them begin a short walk to a mall they both know well.

Hey Reddit I am looking for some help, I will try to make this quick.
Me and my s/o are working for our local pharmaceutical/retail store and are being treated negatively with a increasing work load and decreasing hours with more and more write ups for things like being late by 5 minutes for having a asthma attack, we walk almost 30 minutes one way. We are looking for a remote (work from home) job or freelance work that doesn't require phone calls as we share a apartment unit with two others and are not allowed to have a "work space" outside of our bedroom per the others.
We need to make more then 19 a hour or more then 3k a month gross as any less and we could lose the poor living environment and downgrade to no living environment.
We have a minimum of 3 years of retail and. Fast food, are in a management level (shift leads) and have our pharmacy tech in training license.
We are in the state of Massachusetts with no vehicle at the Moment (we are practicing for our license test but can't take it due to requirements for the testing vehicle)
Thank you for the help as for right now I am at a complete loss

Demographics

• Gender: Female
• Race/Ethnicity: Mixed (Asian, White, Black)
• Residence: Virginia
• Income Bracket: <$70,000 (Negative SAI)
• Type of School: Public
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): URM

Intended Major(s): Creative Technologies (Animation)
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 4.0 / 4.1952
• Rank (or percentile): 6/378 (Not submitted)
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 2 Honors (only 2 offered), 7 AP (Human Geo, Lang, Stats, US History, Chem, Gov, and Art), 1 Dual Enrollment (English 111 and 112)
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Gov, Dual Enrollment English, AP Art, Japanese 1, Digital Art

Standardized Testing

• SAT I: 1200 (620 RW, 580 M)
• ACT: N/A
• SAT II: 1300 (630 RW, 670 M)
• AP/IB: Human Geo (5), Stats (4), US History (3), English Lang (2)
• Other (ex. IELTS, TOEFL, etc.): N/A

Extracurriculars/Activities

1. Community Service: Volunteer, Society of St. Vincent de Paul (10th, 11th, 12th; Year-long; 2 hours/week, 24 weeks/year) I packed bags for my church's food pantry a couple times a month.
2. Work (Paid): Part-Time Health and Beauty Clerk, Harris Teeter (12th; Year-long; 21 hours/week, 40 weeks/year) I worked a couple days a week during the summer and weekends during school year.
3. Academic: Active Member, National Honor Society, Leadership: Oversaw Fundraising Event (11th, 12th; School-year; 3 hours/week, 15 weeks/year) I attended monthly meetings and joined fundraising, peer tutoring, and teachestaff appreciation committees.
4. Work (Paid): Part-Time Frozen and Dairy Clerk, Harris Teeter (11th; Break; 18 hours/week, 12 weeks/year)
5. Art: Student, Pre-College Summer Course, The Art Institutes (12th; Break; 20 hours/week, 2 weeks/year) I took an 2-week online animation class where I learned animation principles and used Adobe Photoshop and Animate to create a 2D animated short film.
6. Religious: Eucharistic Minister, Church (11th, 12th; Year-long; 1houweek, 15 weeks/year) I volunteer for my church by serving communion during mass at least once a month
7. Athletics: Club Volleyball, Member of Youth HS Competitive Team, Achievement: Won a League Championship (10th; School-year; 6 hours/week, 25 weeks/year) I attended practices twice a week and played two games every weekend.
8. Other Club/Activity: Member, Film Club (9th, 10th; School-year; 2 hours/week, 20 weeks/year) I went to weekly meetings to discuss filmmaking and made individual short films outside of meetings to present weekly.
9. Community Service: VolunteeLeader, Vacation Bible School, Church, Leadership: Managed Arts & Crafts Station (12th; Break; 12 hours/week, 1 week/year) I helped set up and clean crafts station. I managed younger children and helped them when needed.
10. N/A

Awards/Honors

1. QuestBridge National College Match Finalist (National; 12th)
2. National African American Recognition Award (National; 12th)
3. Principal's List (School; 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th)
4. AP Scholar Award (National; 12th)
5. Student of the Year (School; 9th, 10th, 11th)

Letters of Recommendation

• Guidance Counselor (?/10): I didn't meet with him a lot so he doesn't know me too well, but it seemed like I stood out to him because of how well I always do. I never saw his LOR, so idk how good it was, but I'm sure it was good.
• AP Statistics Teacher (10/10): junior year teacher; I always had an A in his class but didn't talk much. He was kinda awkward so I avoided talking to him lol, but his LOR was actually really good. He said that he wanted his daughter to grow up to be like me!
• AP US History Teacher (8/10): junior year teacher; I always had an A in his class but never talked either. His LOR wasn't bad but he basically rewrote the resume I sent him
• Art Teacher (9/10): teacher during sophomore and senior years; she chose to enter one of my pieces in a local art show and I won an award. She kinda overhyped me but it was good nonetheless.

Interviews
N/A
Essays
I think I spent about a month on my essay, but I can't remember. I felt like my essay was pretty good, but I thought it might be controversial depending on the reader so I was a little nervous. I'm not that good of a writer, but I think the content made up for it. I basically talked about my experience growing up mixed race and how I won't let race define me. I thought it might be problematic because I said a black girl was being racist to me by mentioning how a black girl once told me I only got straight A's because I was "white" and that I realized that some people use race as an excuse for their failures. I said that I thought it was sad she was raised to think that way and ended by saying I wouldn't let my race dictate what I should like or how I should behave and that I would decide for myself rather than following others.
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
Acceptances:

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)!!! (EA) - Presidential Scholarship Initiative Recipient (approx. $17,000 per year to cover rest of tuition and room and board)
• Virginia Commonwealth University (EA) - Virginia Merit Award Recipient ($4,000 per year)
• Longwood University (EA) - Presidential Scholarship Recipient ($8,000 per year)

Waitlists:

• N/A

Rejections:

• University of Southern California (ED through QuestBridge)

Additional Information:
Let me just start by saying that I'm extremely grateful for how things have worked out for me. I feel so lucky and fortunate to be in the situation I am. I know I had my GPA and low income going for me, but I got so much more than I ever expected and I still can't believe this is actually happening!! QuestBridge didn't work out, but I still ended up getting what I was looking for: a way to go to college without taking out loans.
So to explain me being able to "go to Virginia Tech for Free," I have multiple sources that are paying for my first year; I didn't just get a full ride from VT (although it basically is when combined with everything else). I got about $15,500 in govt. grants, the scholarship from VT to cover the rest of tuition and room and board which is about $17,000 this year, and $12,000 in outside scholarships. And that's way over the COA, so I don't have to worry about paying anything!! Now I can follow my dreams of being an animator at my dream school without worrying about how to pay for it!!!

I was surprised to learn that paleo doesn't think it possible to live on just rice and shrimp. I've been doing so (more or less) for years out of necessity due to poor gut health.
Obviously I haven't been running my life as a strict experiment, and I don't expect you to believe an internet stranger. So if anyone's interested in doing a diet study under controlled conditions, I'm game.
I will be doing it regardless. Instead of using it as an elimination diet baseline to test new ingredients/treatments, I will rigorously test the diet's long-term sustainability. I won't need to travel for the next month and a half, which should be plenty of time for signs of malnutrition to appear. I can understand why nobody has done this yet, since substantial psychological barriers appear at the 1-2 week mark, if one just throws rice and shrimp into a pot and eats the same meal every time. However, this is due to multiple errors in preparation, not inadequate ingredients.
This issue is quite important to me, because I've suffered a great deal from toxic modernity, and my solution is supposedly impossible, which suggests it would help many others if it was known. For me it certainly makes the difference between a life not worth living and pleasant productivity.
It doesn't surprise me to hear "that diet's impossible" during a doctor visit, but I expected paleo would know differently, given the history of scurvy (fresh meat cures) and the famous carnivore-only experiment:

So in 1928, Stefansson and another explorer began their culinary experiment. Checking into New York’s Bellevue Hospital, the two spent several weeks under constant supervision as doctors did blood tests and observed for signs of dietary distress. After a brief control period of a varied diet, the two men ate only fresh meat: The cuts included steak, roast beef, brains, and tongue, with calf liver once a week to ward off scurvy. Perhaps inevitably, the study was funded by the Institute of American Meat Packers.

– The Arctic Explorer Who Pushed an All-Meat Diet Vilhjalmur Stefansson wanted to prove a point. Atlas Obscura
Just as it is possible to practically eliminate carbs except those in fatty meat, it is possible to practically eliminate fat except that in lean meat. Just as it is unnecessary to eat vegetables since the vitamins in fresh meat are more bioavailable, it is unnecessary to eat vegetable fat because the oil in fresh shrimp is more bioavailable. (I have found that shellfish meat is too lean for this to work, but shrimp has 2x more fat than scallops.)
I will participate in such a study for free, as long as someone provides the food, location and travel. You can lock me in with my computer and Internet access for however long. I've done the COVID lockdown drill in China; it's no big deal.
Rice and frozen shelled shrimp are all I'll eat, and then do a medical checkup at the end. (My most recent showed no problems.) I will need either a window or a sunlamp. You can record with a webcam, except the bed and toilet.
The food costs will be cheap. I eat 1kg of organic shrimp every 1-2 weeks, and two handfuls of rice for each handful of shrimp. Six handfuls per day total is a normal filling amount. The shrimp is organic and average sized, between thumb and forefinger. So if I'm correct and this diet delivers excellent focus, people can drastically reduce the cost of food purchase, prep and digestion, even if they don't eat the strictest version. This should already be obvious from the success of high-density meal-replacements such as Soylent, which I contend are inferior to natural foods.

rice isn't paleo

I use a pressure cooker to reduce white rice to a congee that almost certainly has less antinutrients than the starches ancestral humans ate. I could not actually eat an ancestral diet as I am now, but I can use the principles to perform supposedly impossible feats.
For reference, here is the document that Reddit filters removed from Paleo after downvoting.

PLAYBOY Interview With Conan O'Brien Interview by Kevin Cook For Playboy Magazine February 1998
A candid conversation with the preppie prince of "Late Night" about his rocky start, his show's secret one-day cancellation and how David Letterman saved the day.
He was polite. He was funny. He gave us a communicable disease.
At 34 Conan O'Brien is hotter than the fever he was running when we met in his private domain above the "Late Night" sound stage. A gangly freckle-faced ex-high school geek he is "one of TV's hottest properties" according to "People" magazine. The host of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" has become his generation's king of comedy.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Congested too, but O'Brien has far more to worry about than his head cold. A perfectionist who broods over one bad minute in an otherwise perfect hour of TV, he worries he might be anhedonic, "I have trouble with success," he says, "I was raised to believe that if something good happens something bad is coming." Sure things look good now "Rolling Stone" calls "Late Night" "the hottest comedy show on TV." Ratings are better than ever, particularly among 18- to 34-year-olds, the viewers advertisers crave.
But O'Brien only works harder. Despite his illness he taped two shows in 26 hours on three hours' sleep. He smoothly interviewed Elton John then burst into coughing fits during commercials. Later in his crammed corner office overlooking Manhattan traffic Conan the Cool gulped Dayquil gel caps. He coughed spewing microbes.
"Sorry, sorry," he said. Of course O'Brien can't complain. He came seriously close to falling to being banished behind the scenes as just another failed talk show host.
At his first "Late Night" press conference he corrected a reporter who called him a relative unknown, "Sir I am a complete unknown," he said. That line got a laugh, but soon O'Brien looked doomed. His September 13, 1993 debut began with O'Brien in his dressing room preparing to hang himself only to be interrupted by the start of his show. Before long his career was hanging by a thread. Ratings were terrible. Critics hated the show. Tom Shales of "The Washington Post" called it as "lifeless and messy as roadkill." Shales said O'Brien should quit.
Network officials held urgent meetings discussing the Conan O'Brien debacle. Should they fire him? How should they explain their mistake?
In the end of course he turned it around. The network hung with him long enough for the ratings to improve and the host of the cooler-than-ever "Late Night" now defines comedy's cutting edge just as Letterman did ten years ago.
Even Shales loves "Late Night" these days. He calls O'Brien's turnaround "one of the most amazing transformations in television history."
O'Brien was born on April 18, 1963 in Brookline, Massachusetts. His father, a doctor, is a professor at Harvard Medical School. His mother, a lawyer, is a partner at an elite Boston Law firm. Conan, the third of six children became a lector at church and a misfit at school. Tall and goofy, bedeviled with acne, he tried to impress girls with jokes. That plan usually bombed, but O'Brien eventually found his niche at Harvard where he won the presidency of the "Harvard Lampoon" in 1983 and again in 1984 - the first two-time "Lampoon" president since humorist Robert Benchley held the honor 85 years ago.
After graduating magna cum laude with a double major in literature and American history he turned pro. Writing for HBO's "Not Necessarily The News." O'Brien was earning $100,000 a year before his 24th birthday. But writing was never enough.
He honed his performance skills with the Groundlings, a Los Angeles improv group. There he worked with his onetime girlfriend Lisa Kudrow, now starring on "Friends." But Conan was not such a standout. In 1988 he landed a job at "Saturday Night Live" - but as a writer, not as on-air talent. In almost four years on the show O'Brien made only fleeting appearances, usually as a crowd member or security guard. His writing was more memorable. He wrote (or co-wrote) Tom hanks' "Mr Short-Term Memory" skits as well as the "pump you up" infosatire of Hanz and Franz and the nude beach sketch in which Matthew Broderick and "SNL" members played nudists admiring one another's penises. With dozens of mentions of the word that hit was the most penis-heavy moment in TV history. It helped O'Brien win an Emmy for comedy writing.
In 1991 he quit "SNL" and moved on to "The Simpsons" where he worked for two years. His urge to perform came out in wall-bouncing antics in writers' meetings. "Conan makes you fall out of your chair" said "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening. O'Brien's yen to act out was so strong that he spurned Fox's reported seven-figure offer to continue as a writer. He was driving for the spotlight.
By then David Letterman had announced he was turning shin - leaving NBC taking his ton-rated act to CBS. Suddenly NBC was up a creek without a host. The network turned to Lorne Michaels, O'Brien's "Saturday Night Live" boss. Michaels enlisted Conan's help in the host search planning to use him in a behind-the-scenes job. But when Garry Shandling, Dana Carvey and almost every other star turned down the chore of following Letterman, Michaels finally listened to Conan's crazy suggestion, "Let me do it!" Michaels persuaded the network to entrust it's 12:30 slot which Letterman had turned into a gold mine to an untested wiseass from Harvard.
O'Brien was working on one of his last "Simpsons" episodes when he got the news. He turned "paler than usual," Groening recalled. The Conan moseyed back to where the other writers were working, "I'll come back with the Homer Simspon joke later. I have to go replace Letterman," he said.
NBC executives now get credit for their foresight during those dark days of 1993 and 1994. They snared the axe and now reap the multimillion-dollar spoils of that decision. In fact, the story is not so simple. We sent Contributing Editor Kevin Cook to unravel the tale of O'Brien's survival, which he tells here for the first time. Cook reports:
"His office is chock-full of significa. There's a three-foot plastic pickle the Letterman staff left behind in 1993 - perhaps to suggest what a predicament he was in. There's a copy of Jack Paar's 'I Kid You Not' and a coffee-table book called 'Saturday Night Live: The First 20 Years.' His bulletin board features letters from fans such as John Watters and Bob Dole and an 8" x 10" glossy of Andy Richter with the inscription: "To Conan - Your bitter jealousy warms my black heart. Love and Kisses Andy."
"Of course it's all for show. From the photos of kitch icons Adam West and Robert Stack to the framed Stan Laurel autograph, from the deathbed painting of Abraham Lincoln, to the ironic star taped to Conan's door - they're all clever signals that tell a visitor how to view the star. Lincoln was his collegiate preoccupation: stardom is his occupation. Somewhere between the two I hoped to find the real O'Brien.
"As a Playboy reader he wanted to give me a better-than-average interview. I wanted something more - a definitive look at the guy who may end up being the Johnny Carson of his generation."
"Here's hoping we succeeded. If not I carried his germs 3000 miles and infected dozens of Californians for no good reason.
O'Brien: Yes, this is how to do a Playboy Interview -- completely tanked on cold medicine. I'll pick it up and read, "Yes, I'm gay."
Playboy: We could talk another time. O'Brien: (coughing) No, it's OK. I memorized Dennis Rodman's answers. Can I use them?
Playboy: You sound really sick. Do you ever take a day off? O'Brien: No. The age of talk show hosts taking days off is over. Johnny Carson could go to Africa when he was the only game in town -- "See you in two weeks!" But nobody does that now. I will give you a million dollars on the first day Jay takes off for illness.
Playboy: Do you ever slow down and enjoy your success? O'Brien: If anything, the pace is picking up. Restaurateurs insist on giving me a table even if I'm only passing by, so I'm eating nine meals a night. Women stop me on the street and hand me their phone numbers.
Playboy: So you have groupies? O'Brien: Oh yes. And other fans. Drifters. Prisoners. Insomniacs. Cab Drivers, who must watch a lot of late night TV, seem to love me lately. They keep saying, "You will not pay, you will not pay, you make me happy!"
Playboy: How happy did your new contract make you? O'Brien: Terrified. The network said, "We're all set for five years." I said, "Shut up, shut up! I can't think that far ahead." Tonight, for instance, I do my jokes, then interview Elton John and Tim Meadows. We finished taping about 6:30. By 6:45 my memory was erased and my only thought was, Tomorrow: John Tesh. And I started to obsess about John Tesh. Sad, don't you think?
Playboy: Not too sad. You got off to a rocky start but now you're so hot that People magazine recently said, "that was then, this is wow." O'Brien: I try not to pay much attention. Since I ignored the critics who said I should shoot myself in the head with a German Luger, it would be cheating to tear out nice reviews now and rub them all over my body, giggling. Though I have thought about it.
Playboy: Tell us about your trademark gag. You interview a photo of Bill Clinton or some other celeb, and a pair of superimposed lips provide outrageous answers. O'Brien: We call it the Clutch Cargo bit, after that terrible old cartoon series. They saved money on animation by superimposing real lips on the cartoons. I wanted to do topical jokes in a cartoony way -- not just Conan doing quips at a desk. TV is visual; I want things to look funny. But we're not Saturday Night Live; we couldn't spend $100,000 on it. Hence, the cheap, cheesy lips, You'd be surprised how many people we fool.
Playboy: Viewers believe that's really the president yelling, "Yee-haw! Who's got a joint?" O'Brien: It's strange. You may know intellectually that Clinton doesn't talk like Foghorn Leghorn. Ninety-eight percent of your brain knows the president wouldn't say, "Whoa Conan get a load of that girl!" But there are a few brain cells that aren't sure. When Bob Dole was running for president we had him doing a past-life regression: "My cave, get away." And then back further, "Must form flippers to crawl on to rocky soil," he says. There may be people out there who believe that Bob Dole was the first amphibian.
Playboy: Do you ever go too far? O'Brien: The fun is in going too far. It's a nice device because you get Bill Clinton to do the nastiest Bill Clinton jokes. We'll have Clinton making fart noises while I say "Sir! Please!"
Playboy: Are you enjoying your job now, with your new success? O'Brien: Well, there are surprises. I hate surprises. Like most comics, I'm a control freak. But I am learning that the show works best when things are out of control. Tonight I ask Elton John if he likes being neighbors with Joan Collins. He says he isn't neighbors with Joan Collins. He lives next door to Tina Turner. So I panic -- huge mistake! But Elton saves the day. "Joan Collins, Tina Turner, it doesn't matter. Either way I could borrow a wig," he says. Huge laugh, all because I fucked up. Later he surprised me by blurting out that he's hung like a horse. The camera cuts to me shaking my head: That crazy Elton. What can I do? Of course, I'm delighted that he went too far.
Playboy: That "What can I do?" look resembles a classic take of Jack Benny's. O'Brien: There's an old saying in literature: "Good poets borrow; great poets steal." I think T.S. Eliot stole it from Ezra Pound. Comics steal, too. Constantly. When I watched Johnny Carson, I noticed that he got a few takes from Benny and Bob Hope. When a comedy writer told me how much Woody Allen had borrowed from Hope, I thought, What? They're nothing alike. Then I went back and watched Son of Paleface, and there's Hope, the nervous city guy backing up on his heels, wringing his hands and saying, "Sorry, I'll just be moving along." Now look at early Woody Allen. You see big authority figures and Woody nervously saying, "Look, I'll just be on my way." Of course Woody made it his own, but he must have watched and loved Bob Hope.
Playboy: Who are your role models? O'Brien: Carson. Woody Allen. SCTV. Peter Sellers. When Peter Sellers died I felt such a loss, thinking, There won't be anymore of that. There's some Steve Martin in my false bravado with female guests: "Why, hel-lo there!" And I won't deny having some Letterman in my bones.
Playboy: You were surprise as Letterman's successor. At first you seemed like the wrong choice. O'Brien: I didn't get ratings. That doesn't mean I didn't get laughs. Yes, I had a giant pompadour and I looked like a rockabilly freak. I was too excited, pushed too hard, and people said, "That guy isn't a polished performer." Fine! But it isn't my goal to be Joe Handsomehead cool, smooth talk show host. Late Night with Conan O'Brien is supposed to be a work in progress, and now that we've had some success there's a danger of our getting too polished and morphing into something smoothly professional. Which would suck.
Do you know why I wanted this show? Because Late Night with David Letterman played with the rules and it looked like fun. Here was a place where people did risky comedy every night for millions of people. We had to keep this thing alive. There should be a place on a big network where people are still messing around.
Playboy: How bad were your early days on the show? O'Brien: Bad. Dave left here under a cloud: his fans and the media were angry with NBC. Then NBC picks a guy with crazy hair and a weird name. And the world says, "Harvard? Those guys are assholes." I sincerely hope that the winter of December 1993, our first winter, was the worst time I will ever have. I'd go out to do the warm up and the back two rows of seats would be empty. That's hard to look at. I would tell a joke and then hear someone whisper, "Who's he? Where's Dave?"
Playboy: You had trouble getting guests. O'Brien: Bob Denver canceled on us. We shot a test show with Al Lewis of The Munsters. We did the clutch cargo thing with a photo of Herman Munster. Unfortunately, Fred Gwynne, who played Herman, had recently died, and Al Lewis kept pointing at the screen, saying, "You're dead! I was at your funeral!"
Playboy: For months you got worried notes from network executives. What did they say? O'Brien: They were worried. The fact that Lorne Michaels was involved bought me some time. But Lorne had turned to me at the start and said, "OK, Conan. What do you want to do?" Now television critics were after me and the network was starting to realize what a risk I was. Suggestions came fast and furious. I kept the note that said, "Why don't you just die?"
Playboy: Did they suggest ways to be funnier? O'Brien: They were more specific and tactical. The network gets very specific data. Say there was a drop in ratings between 12:44 and 12:48 when I was talking to Jon Bon Jovi. I'll be told, "Don't ever talk to him again" Or they'll want me to tease viewers into staying with us: "You should tease that -- say, 'We'll have nudity coming up next!'"
Playboy: You did come close to being cancelled. O'Brien: We were cancelled.
Playboy: Really? You have never admitted that. O'Brien: This is the first time I've talked about it. When I had been on for about a year, there was a meeting at the network. They decided to cancel my show. They said, "It's cancelled." Next day they realized they had nothing to put in the 12:30 slot, so we got a reprieve.
Playboy: Were you worried sick? O'Brien: I went into denial. I tried hard not to think, Yes, I'm bad on the air and my show has none of the things a TV show needs to survive. We had no ratings. No critics in our corner. Advertisers didn't like us. Affiliates wanted to drop us. Sometimes I'd meet a programming director from a local station where we had no rating at all. The guy would show me a printout with no number for Late Night's rating, just a hash mark or pound sign. I didn't dare think about that when I went out to do the show.
Playboy: Are you defending denial? O'Brien: How else does anyone get through a terrible experience? The odds were against me. Rationally, I didn't have much chance. Denial was my only friend. When I look back on the first year, it's like a scene from an old war movie: Ordinary guy gets thrown into combat, somehow beats impossible odds, staggers to safety. His buddy say, "You could have been killed!" The guy stops and thinks. "Could have been killed?" he says. His eyes cross and he faints.
Playboy: How did you dodge the bullet? O'Brien: There were people at NBC who stood up for me. I will always be indebted to Don Ohlmeyer, who stuck to his guns. Don said, "We chose this guy. We should stick with him unless we get a better plan." He was brutally honest. He came to me and said, "Give me about a 15 percent bump in the ratings and you'll stay on the air. If not, we're going to move on."
Playboy: Ohlmeyer started his career in the sports division. O'Brien: Exactly, his take was, "You're on our team." Of course, it wasn't exactly rational of Don to hope I'd be 15 percent funnier. It was like telling a farmer, "It better rain this week or we'll take your farm away."
Playboy: What did you say to Ohlmeyer? O'Brien: There wasn't time. I had to go out and do a monologue. But I will always be indebted to Don because he told me the truth. Wait a minute -- you have tricked me into talking lovingly about an NBC executive. Let me say that there were others who were beneath contempt -- executives who wouldn't know a good show if it swam up their asses and lit a campfire.
Playboy: Finally the ratings went your way. Hard work rewarded? O'Brien: Well, I also paid off the Nielsen people. That was $140,000 well spent.
Playboy: Ohlmeyer plus bribery saved you? O'Brien: There was something else. Just when everyone was kicking the crap out of the show, Letterman defended me.
Playboy: Letterman had signed off on NBC saying, "I don't really know Conan O'Brien, but I heard he killed someone." O'Brien: Then I pick up the paper and he's saying he thinks I am going to make it. "They do some interesting, innovative stuff over there," he says. "I think Conan will prevail." And then he came on as a guest. Remember, this was when we were at our nadir. There was no Machiavellian reason for David Letterman, who at the time was the biggest thing in show business, to be on my show.
Playboy: Why did he do it? O'Brien: I'm still not sure. Maybe out of a sense of honor. Fair play. And it woke me up. It made me think. Hey, we have a real fucking television show here.
Of six or seven pivotal points in my short history here, that was the first and maybe the biggest. I wouldn't be sitting here -- I probably wouldn't even exist today -- if he hadn't done our show.
Playboy: The Late Night wars were hardly noted for friendly gestures. O'Brien: How little you understand. Jay, Dave and I pal around all the time. We often ride a bicycle built for three up to the country. "Nice job with Fran Drescher!" "Thanks, pal. You weren't so bad with John Tesh." We sleep in triple-decker bunk beds and snore in unison like the Three Stooges.
Playboy: You talk more about Letterman than your NBC teammate Leno. O'Brien: I hate the "Leno or Letterman, who's better?" question. I can tell you that Jay has been great to me. He calls me occasionally.
Playboy: To say what? O'Brien: (Doing Leno's voice) "Hey, liked that bit you did last night." Or he'll say he saw we got a good rating. I call him at work, too. It can be a strange conversation because we're so different. Jay, for instance, really loves cars. He's got antique cars with kerosene lanterns, cars that run on peat moss. He'll be telling me about some classic car he has, made entirely of brass and leather, and I'll say, "Yeah, man, I got the Taurus with the vinyl." One thing we have in common is bad guests. There are certain actors, celebrities with nothing to say, who move through the talk show world wreaking havoc. They lay waste to Dave's town and Jay's town, then head my way.
Playboy: You must be getting some good guests. Your ratings have shown a marked improvement. O'Brien: Remember, when you're on at 12:30 the Nielsens are based on 80 people. My ratings drop if one person has a head cold and goes to bed early.
Playboy: Actually, you're seen by about 3 million people a night. Your ratings would be even higher if college dorms weren't excluded from the Nielsens. How many points does that cost you? O'Brien: I told you I'm an idiot. Now I have to do math too?
Playboy: Do you still get suggestions from NBC executives? O'Brien: Not as many. The number of notes you get is inversely proportional to your ratings.
Playboy: What keeps you motivated? O'Brien: Superstition. We have a stagehand, Bobby Bowman, who holds up the curtain when I run out for the monologue. He is the last person I see before the show starts, and I have to make him laugh before I go out. It started with mild jabs: "Bobby, you're drunk again." Bobby laughs, "Heehee."" Then it was, "Still having trouble with the wife, Bobby?" But after hundreds of shows, you find yourself running out of lines. It's gotten to where I do crass things at the last second. I'll put his hand on my ass and yell, "You fucking pervert!" Or drop to my knees and say, "Come on, Bobby, I'll give you a blow job!"
"Ha-ha. Conan, you're crazy," he says. But even that stuff wears off. Soon, I'll be making the writers work late to give me new jokes for Bobby.
Playboy: Did you plan to be a talk show host or did you fall into the job? O'Brien: I was an Irish Catholic kid from St. Ignatius parish in Brookline, outside of Boston. And that meant: Don't call attention to yourself. Don't ask for too much when the pie comes around. Don't get a girl pregnant and fuck up your life.
Playboy: Were you an alter boy? O'Brien: I wanted to be an alter boy, but the priest at St. Ignatius said, "No, no. You're good on your feet, kid," and made me a lector. A scripture reader at Mass. He was the one who spotted my talent.
Playboy: What did you think of sex in those days? O'Brien: I was sexually repressed. At 16 I still thought human reproduction was by mitosis.
Playboy: How did you get over your sexual repression? O'Brien: Who says I got over it? My leg has been jiggling this whole time.
Playboy: What were you like in high school? O'Brien: Like a crane galumphing down the hall. A crane with weird hair, bad skin and Clearasil. Big enough for basketball but lousy at it. My older brothers were better. I would compensate by running around the court doing comedy, saying, "Look out, this player has a drug addiction. He's incredibly egotistical."
I was an asshole at home, too. My little brother Justin loved playing cops and robbers, but I kept tying him up with bureaucratic bullshit. When he'd catch me, I'd say, "I get to call my lawyer." Then it was, "OK, Justin, we're at trial and you've been charged with illegal arrest. Fill out these forms in triplicate." Justin was eight; he hated all the lawsuits and countersuits. He just cried.
Playboy: Were you a class clown? O'Brien: Never. I was never someone who walked into a room full of strangers and started telling jokes. You had to get to know me before I could make you laugh. The same thing happened with Late Night. I needed to get the right rhythm with Andy and Max and the audience.
Playboy: So how did you finally learn about sex? O'Brien: My parents gave me a book, but it was useless. At the crucial moment, all it showed was a man and a woman with the bed covers pulled up to their chins. I tried to find out more from friends, but it didn't help. One childhood friend told me it was like parking a car in a garage. I kept worrying about poisonous fumes. What if the fumes build up? Should you shut off the engine?
Playboy: For all your talk about being repressed, you can be rowdy on the air. O'Brien: The show is my escape valve. When I tear off my shirt and gyrate my pelvis like Robert Plant, feigning orgasm into the microphone, that shows how repressed I am -- a guy who wants to push his sex at the lens but can only do it as a joke.
Playboy: Aren't you tempted to live it up? O'Brien: I always imagined that if I were a TV star I would live the way I pictured Johnny Carson living. Carousing, stepping out of a limo wearing a velvet ascot with a model on my arm. Now that I have the TV show, I drive up to Connecticut on the weekends and tool around in my car. I could probably join a free-sex cult, smoke crack between orgies and drive sports cars into swimming pools, and my Catholic guilt would still be there, throbbing like a toothache. Be careful. If something good happens, something bad is on the way.
Playboy: Yet you don't mind licking the supermodels. O'Brien: At one point a few of them lived in my building, women who are so beautiful they almost look weird, like aliens. To me, a woman who has a certain approachable amount of beauty becomes almost funny. It's the same with male supermodels. They look like big puppets. So while I admire their beauty I probably won't be "romantically linked" with a model. I'd catch my reflection in a ballroom mirror and break up laughing.
Playboy: The horny Roy Orbison growl you use on gorgeous guests sounds real enough -- O'Brien: Oh, I've been doing that shit since high school. It just never worked before.
Playboy: Your father is a doctor, your mother an attorney. What do they think of their son the comedian? O'Brien: My dad was the one who told me denial was a virtue. "Denial is how people get through horrible things," he said. He also cut out a newspaper article in which I said I was making money off something for which I should probably be treated. So true, he thought. But when I got an Emmy for helping write Saturday Night Live, my parents put it on the mantel next to the crucifix. Here's Jesus looking over, saying, "Wow, I saved mankind from sin, but I wish I had an Emmy."
Playboy: Ever been in therapy? O'Brien: Yes. I don't trust it. I have told therapists that I don't particularly want to feel good. "Repression and fear, that's my fuel." But the therapists said that I had nothing to worry about. "Don't worry Conan you will always be plenty fucked up."
Playboy: When a female guest comes out, how do you know whether to shake her hand or kiss her? Is that rehearsed O'Brien: No, and it's awkward. If you go to shake her hand and her head starts coming right at you, you have to change strategy fast. I have thought about using the show to make women kiss me, but that would probably creep out the people at home. I decided not to kiss Elton John.
Playboy: Do you get all fired up if Cindy Crawford or Rebecca Romijn does the show? O'Brien: I like making women laugh. Always have, ever since I discovered you can get girls' attention by acting like an ass. That's one of the joys of the show -- I'm working my eyebrows and going grrr and she's laughing, the audience is laughing. It's all a big put-on and I'm thinking. This is great. Here is a beautiful woman who has no choice but to put up with this shit.
But it's not always put on. Sometimes they flirt back. Sometimes there's a bit of chemistry. That happened with Jennifer Connelly of The Rocketeer.
Playboy: One guest, Jill Hennessy, took off her pants for you. Then you removed yours. Even Penn and Teller took off their pants. O'Brien: Something comes over me. It happened with Rebecca Romijn -- I was practically climbing her. Those are the times when Andy and the audience seem to disappear and it's just me and this lovely woman sitting there flirting. I keep expecting a waiter to say, "More wine, Monsieur?"
Playboy: Would you lick the wine bottle? O'Brien: It's true, there's a lot of licking on the show. I have licked guests. I have licked Andy. Comedy professionals will read this and say, "Great work, Conan. Impressive." But I have learned that if you lick a guest, people laugh. If I pick this shoe off the floor, examine it, Hmmm, and then lick it, people laugh. I learned this lesson on The Simpsons, where I was the writer who was forever trying to entertain the other writers. I still try desperately to make our writers laugh, which is probably a sign of sickness since they work for me now. Licking is one of those things that look funny.
Playboy: Johnny Carson never licked Ed McMahon. O'Brien: We are much more physical and more stupid than the old Tonight Show. Even in our offices before the show there's always some writer acting out a scene crashing his head through my door. A behind-the-scenes look at our show might frighten people.
Playboy: One night you showed a doctored photo of Craig T. Nelson having sex with Jerry Van Dyke. Did they complain about it? O'Brien: I haven't heard from them. Of course I'm blessed not to be a part of the celebrity pond. I have a television show in New York, an NBC outpost. I don't run with or even run into many Hollywood people.
Playboy: You also announced that Tori Spelling has a penis. O'Brien: I did not. Polly the Peacock said that.
Playboy: Another character you use to say the outrageous stuff. O'Brien: Polly is not popular with the network.
Playboy: You mock Fabio, too. O'Brien: If he sues me, it'll be the best thing that ever happened. A publicity bonanza: Courtroom sketches of Fabio with his man-boobs quivering, shaking his fist, and me shouting at him across the courtroom. I'm not afraid of Fabio. He knows where to find me. I'm saying it right here for the record: Fabio, let's get it on.
Playboy: Ever have a run-in with an angry celeb? O'Brien: I did a Kelsey Grammar joke a few years ago, something about his interesting lifestyle, then heard through the network that he was upset. He had appeared on my show and expected some support. At this point my intellect says, "Kelsey Grammar is a public figure. I was in the right." Then I saw him in an airport. Kelsey didn't see me at first: I could have kept walking. But there he was, eating a cruller in the airport lounge. I thought I should go over. I said hello and then said, "Kelsey, I'm sorry if I upset you." And he was glad. He looked relieved. He said, "Oh, that's OK." We both felt better.
....See my other post with the last third of the interview

She's a decent songwriter when she's not trying to be Lana Del Rey/Tori Amos and just sticks to bops like Shake It Off, and she makes good use of a thesaurus and her co-writers/ghost writers (not to mention words and literary references can be googled -- it's not hard), but having watched interviews/videos with her where she isn't reading from a speech/teleprompter, she doesn't strike me as someone with exceptional intelligence (as measured through IQ):

1. Video of her struggling to use chopsticks, and instead of looking at the people around her for a clue, she continues to stab her food until someone says something [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bkqM0Nll0E\]
2. Confusing Cricket for Rugby (I'm not a sports fan at all, nor am I from the UK, but even I know the difference). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b6E4iFKjSg\]
3. Confusing 'Warrior' with 'worrier'. ("I worry about literally everything... like...like...everything.") https://www.tiktok.com/@officialkaidenhsha/video/7317176672510348549
4. Touching fire? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCH\_p6cxYiI\]
5. Various statements in interviews, which are not necessarily incorrect, but show a lack of interpersonal intelligence such as "I didn't realize I could advocate for a community I'm not a part of".
6. Constant misunderstanding of references she puts in her songs [https://www.reddit.com/SwiftlyNeutral/comments/18owufm/am\_i\_being\_too\_critical\_of\_this\_taylor\_swift\_lyric/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button\]
7. Whatever this is: https://www.reddit.com/travisandtaylocomments/1d27134/was_she_drunk_af_during_this_what_was_this/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button I guess I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and say she was drunk. Though her behavior there doesn't contradict how she's been acting at NFL games, Coachella, VMAs, how she acted at the Met Gala back when she went, etc.

I'm sure people reading this thread can find other "Swiftisms" that are better than those examples, but what I'm getting at is she's never said anything profound that she wasn't reading off a card or prompter; she has never offered an original thought or said any of the $3 words she puts in her songs, or said anything that got me to think a different way or see a new viewpoint I hadn't considered. If I were to guess, I'd bet her IQ is between 98-103. She strikes me as someone within the normal range of IQ who wants to be seen as a genius. (I also think she receives a lot of credit for things; credit that her team deserves. But this is a hunch). Hell, Bob Dylan is a far better lyricist with a better vocabulary, and he has a 106 IQ.
The way Swifties talk about her, you'd think she sat around in her free time translating The Iliad, was a walking dictionary, and had mastered chess.
Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences: everyone seems to think she has a great logical-mathematical and naturalistic intelligence when she's more musically and intrapersonal intelligent. I'm not sure if I'd call her linguistically intelligent because the verbal skills aren't there.
I always thought Joe Alwyn and Tom Hiddleston bored her because they've both studied literature beyond a superficial level (naturalistic). Joe studied literature at Bristol for a time; Tom was a Shakespearean trained actor. These are two well read men who appear to be curious about the world and interested in understanding art on a deep level (from what I've gathered in interviews).
Taylor doesn't seem like someone who is a deep thinker when it comes to intellectual pursuits. So why does everyone think of her the way film buffs think of Stanley Kubrick? Or literary circles think of Nabokov? Why is she, more than most pop girlies, getting the Maynard James Keenan treatment with how fans dissect her music when she isn't even superior to many of her contemporaries in terms of writing?
Why does everyone assume that because she reuses a word or phrase from another song she's saying they're related and she's weaving this great web that connects everything? Why do they assume she's constantly telling stories to the public through how she dresses or gestures? A lot of what she does seems accidental, like the 5 holes in the fence and her adopting the stages of grief fan theory.
Tl;dr: Everyone says "Taylor is smarter than Travis", but they both seem vapid and neither are anything close to intellectuals. At least with Travis we know he scored a 22 on the Wonderlic (104 IQ). We have no standardized tests for Swift.
How did the narrative come to be that Taylor is a genius?

Seasonal Allergies Immunotherapy
Hi I’m planning on applying for OCS when I graduate in May. But im currently taking allergy shots for my seasonal allergies. I would have no problem pausing them during basic etc. Resuming when I’m past training, but is this something I have to do? Is it worth having to get a medical waiver for it? Do I need to tell my recruiter?
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Currently in the process of reenlisting as a prior service who was chaptered out in AIT for SI. Submitted and turned over all my paperwork to my recruiter and awaiting MEPS. My recruiter said this is the longest part of the waiting game from his experience. How long should I be expecting to wait realistically? I would ask my recruiter but I feel like I've bothered him enough over the past few weeks lmao. - Thanks!
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Hey guys l need some advice so i'm gonna get straight to the point. I am 20 and a junior in college. I ship in June and i have 3 Mos choices so far. 19D, 11b and 19k. Which do y’all recommend?I'm hardworking and not lazy so yeah. I am joining for many reasons but one of the main reasons is travel. Would I get to do tha much? Thank you
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Hey guys, I enlisted with an airborne contract that has my first assignment at Fort Liberty. How likely is it that I get assigned to the 82nd?
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Weight loss
I'm currently 5% body fat over for the arms 2.0. I'm eating way better and consuming 12-1,500 calories and losing an average of 3,000 calories a day. I've been running/walking 2 miles a day of hill terrain. My recruiter said I need to lose 10 pounds by May 17. I need tips and tricks on how to lose those pounds by then
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Army National Guard recruiter says at MEPS you can choose from several dates to start basic. Is that accurate?
If so, typically how many dates are there to choose from and how far in the future? I have a great civilian job, so would like to know my date as far in advance as possible.
Edit: would go on to traditional state OCS (yea, I know the internet’s opinions on it but it fits my life really well) afterwards.
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I've got 4 years active and 3 years guard under my belt and I've always put in to my tsp to get the match. I know you need 8 years to keep the matching, but my unit has drained what little motivation I had left for the army, and I've decided I'm done. I'm curious if anyone can help me figure out if there's any option that will help me keep my tsp matching besides a 1 year extension. I doubt the IRR counts towards 8 years, and from what I understand, the inactive guard is simply a pause button. So instead of pushing me to 8 years, it's just delaying my 7th till next year or something. I'm also wondering if a future federal job would contribute to that 8 years or if it has to be all concurrent. Thank you for any help or any resources or links yall can send me to figure this out.
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I was wondering if I could join the army with depression, anxiety, and OCD. All diagnosed. I have no suicide attempts or anything like that, no inpatient care either. All of these are somewhat mild and manageable, and I haven't been on any medication. But that was another concern of mine, if I was to get on any medication, would that disqualify me? Thanks a lot.
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Im currently a senior in high school trying to enlist in the army since December but I’m at a loss of what to do. I took the asvab scored a 61 but autism came up on my records from when I was a kid. I had to get a full medical Record for meps then they wanted my pharmacy record and now they want some more records my recruiter made me sign a form for my old doctors to get it from them about a month and a week ago. I called him the earlier this week and he said he Kentucky or Kansas (I didn’t hear him well and forgot) doing some training I honestly just don’t know what to do I’ll graduate from high school in a few weeks and I probably have a month after that before my parents kick me out any advice?
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Hey all, I wanted to get some insight on whether you all think I would be able to enlist with Crohn's. I've seen online that it's generally marked as an "unwaivable medical condition" but sometimes goes on a case by case basis. My IBD is very mild, I honestly forget that I even have the damn disease because it doesnt effect my daily life at all. I have it managed by taking an 8-week biologic but have gone on extended breaks from it before due to insurance reasons (roughly 2-3 months without any meds) and had no flare ups or any issues of the sort. However, my doctor is thinking of switching me to a daily pill (Rinvoq). I don't have any food sensitivities like a lot of Crohn's patients have (caffeine, alcohol, dairy, etc.) and have never had any surgeries nor does my GI doctor think i'll ever need one. I wanted to enlist for a 17C contract as im already in college for tech anyhow, I'm not sure if that would effect my standing. However, dream MOS is 18X but I figure that may be tougher to get by a recruiter. Any advice or thoughts? Army has been my dream forever and I don't want to have to give it up, so I'd really do anything haha.
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I have 2 non violent felonies from 2011 and PTD from 2022 for possession. I've been upfront and honest with my recruiter. He sent me to test today and I scored 63 on Asvab and GT of 113. Is there a chance for me? Thanks in advance. 30 and in great health and shape.
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What bases would you do bmt if your in cyber security and aviation mechanics?
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I ship out in a week. Went to meps and signed in March. Can I change my MOS? Or is it too late ?? I want something language related because I’m fluent in Arabic (already passed DLPT)
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For anyone that has done OSUT at Fort Moore, how long does it typically take before they’ll tell you where your FDS is?
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I have read a few horror stories where someone enlisted with X,Y, or Z in their contract, but after basic they where told something else and could not confirm the original. For example, someone claims they had a specific location through Option 19, only to later be told they are going somewhere else.
My first question is: has this happened to anyone here, and if so and how was it resolved?
My second question is: after signing your contract, how do you gain acess to it later? Do you receive a physical copy for yourself? Can you download a copy? Is there someone you can ask in the Army to retrieve it for you? Will it be acessable on a portal of somekind?
I am considering enlisting with option 19 and the location is very important to me. Thank you!
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Is phone use in BCT only delegated to calls? Also does phone use depend on what phase you're in, like, red phase 20 minutes, blue 30 minutes? Going to jackson
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Not the best time to swear in, waivers
I have all of my waivers approved, however, I won’t be swearing in due to job circumstances. If things change, can I still go back into the army or will I blocked out of it forever?
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I have an AAM and 3 COAs which S1 has been tracking for months but which have yet to reflect on my PPW. Do I have any recourse?
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my recruiter says that I can't get option 4 in my 35W contract but I really want to be airborne as a 35p/m so I have a higher chance of having my skills be put to use. Can i put in for airborne at DLI or AIT? what is the earliest I can do this and how would I go about it? I just went through the normal MEPS process not the airborne physical fyi
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Is a bonus worth choosing the Army over the AF?
In general, I’ve heard that the army’s QoL is less than that of the Air Force. However, the army has way more jobs w bonuses that I’d be interested in. And it’s the same or similar jobs as the Air Force, but w a bonus. I know the Basic Training for army is also longer, but a bonus can be convincing. I have the same question, but in regards to joining the navy as well. I want to focus on my education during my enlistment & get my bachelors & id also like travel opportunities. I haven’t taken my ASVAB yet, it’s scheduled the 16th. I scored rlly well on the PiCAT, and according to those scores I qualify for some army jobs w a bonus. I know it’s not as simple as that, and it’s a whole process & based on what’s available. Just want some opinions on if I was offered an army job w a bonus as opposed to the same/ similar Air Force job without, would you consider it worth it based on your experience?
I already got some answers from a post I made about this, but moderator deleted it and said to comment here. But any additional info/ insight is greatly appreciated. I want to make the best choice for my future in the case that I don't want to do 20 years.
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I'm joining up rn and working with a recruiter. We've got my waivers and everything. Pretty much just have to pick a job. For background I was an IET separation back in 2009. From what I've read and what me and my recruiter have gone over I am glossary non-prior service. I could have sworn I read (albeit a while ago) that business rules did not apply to GNPS, so I should be free to pick my MOS. However, I talked to my recruiter earlier today and he wants me to sit with his 1SG and go over the job options available for prior service. Am I wrong and I just get what I get?
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Please help!
I was looking to join the guard but in my medical records it shows I had Guillan barre. I was feeling some numbness in my legs, but looking back at it, it was very cold outside and I was just a bitch who would try to get out of school by any means possible. They did a spinal tap and never found any trace of the disease however. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, the gave me immunoglobulin and then I went home and nothing ever came of it. I am currently completely asymptomatic This was when I was 12 or 13 years old. Now I’m 18 and want to join but my recruiter said I have to get all the records and stuff. What is the chance that I will still be able to join? I tried looking it up online but I couldn’t find an answer. Also if I’m able to join, will I need a medical waiver?
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My MOS is 68W, I'm shipping out in June and I'm taking the OPAT in a couple of weeks. I'm 5'2 and 115ish pounds. I'm pretty fit. My biggest worry is the standing long jump. I want to pass the OPAT with flying colors and keep my MOS. Is there any advice or tips y'all can give me?
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I’m looking to graduate and enlist in a month but can’t decide on what MOS I want. I think 11B because I don’t want to individuate and do army shit or 68W but I’m not sure if I can get advanced combative training or other schools I want. I want to do something that’s “high speed” and meaningful while working my way towards Ranger reg. Is the 82nd Airborne a good pathway to that? How is civil affairs? Can you enlist directly into it while being active duty?
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Thinking about reenlisting to army with 8.5 PS in USMC. Been out < 5years. Will I have to repeat AIT if I keep my same MOS? I know this is the wrong channel for USMC feedback but also considering going back there if it would mean not repeating AlT. Thanks in advance!
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Hi everyone! I’m a high school student planning on joining the military. I’m Muslim, so I want to be sure that whichever branch I join is accommodating to Muslim needs. If it changes anything, I’m planning joining through the ROTC route.
My main concerns are, does the Army give beard waivers for Muslims? Is it possible to take short breaks throughout the day to pray? Can you fast during Ramadan? Can you be provided with halal (no pork/no alcohol) food?
Also, I’m interested in infantry or armor (or any kind of ground forces officer in general). Would these accommodations interfere with being selected for these careers or being mission ready? (Such as a beard, fasting, etc.)
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i’m a current nasty girl and i’m looking to transfer to Active duty. i understand i need a conditional release in order to sign a new contract and need my G-1 to sign off on it. i’m looking for info on the process from someone who’s gone through the process.
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What are the odds of getting a waiver for ulcerative colitis? I was EPTS’d out in march 2023 after being diagnosed while I was at 30th AG. My GI said I was in remission as of jan of this year. I take 4 Lialda pills a day and get an entyvio infusion every 2 months. I feel perfectly fine now though. Scored a 74 on the asvab.
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Medical record
In the navy currently and getting out in a year. I had a back injury prior to enlisting that I didn’t disclose. I plan on entering the army after my contract. If this comes up will my discharge from the navy be lowered or my benefits revoked?
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So my recruiter told me that I have to get a lease first, but the thing is, is that we don't have one with our landlord. It's more like an oral lease and he's a slumlord who never tries to communicate with any of us. That being said, my recruiter then said that I should find a lease online and edit it to where I state that I'm paying the rent to my sister instead (who has a valid ID) He also stated that my sister and I have to go to a check-cashing place to get it notarized. Is this all ok to do and will the BHA be approved? Also if it's approved, does this mean that the rent we pay which is $1,365.50, is going to be paid for while I'm away and how exactly??
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Can I enlist if I have a Mexican highschool diploma? (I am american, just finished highschool in mexico) And don't have a address in the USA???
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I am thinking of finishing up my bachelors and joining as an officer, my question was whether it was possible or not to guarantee mos 17c in the army if I join as an officer.
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I just got told that I cant enlist for 2 years after my waiver got denied for a history of depression. I stopped feeling depressed last August but got officially cleared into remission in February. I was told theres no point in a consult and the most I can do is reach out to a congressman. Other than reaching out to a congressman, is there really nothing I can do?
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Questions about Virginia National Guard
I want to do OCS! Now here’s my confusion. My recruiter is saying that the moment I swear in is the moment my contract is going to start and will count towards that 6 year! So, if he is right, I will basically complete 2 years training if I do state OCS. But I would like to have more control on what branch I get! My top 3 are: cyber warfare, signal, and intel. Should I do accelerated in that case? Also how likely am I to get one of those aforementioned three if I do state OCS of 18 months? My bachelor was in Computer Engineering, and I am currently enrolled in ASU for master’s pursuing Computer Science! Will I get that 24k a year tuition fee because he said there’s a possibility I might get it since it’s fully online? Can I get tuition assistance and loan repayment both? Does getting either one incur additional service time?
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im thinking of joining as a officer and going into ocs, what is the best branch for a well paying civilian job after completing my service, for context my major right now is relg studies plus maybe bio.
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I leave for Future Soldier Preparatory Course for the fitness aspect on the 21st, has anyone gone through it recently? There’s not a whole lot of information on it online, I was just wondering what it’s like, and what to expect. Do you get issued all of your gear since you will be going to bmt after? What is reception like? Any and all information and tips is greatly appreciated!
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So my husband is going to meps next week. he has 2 different sets of scars on his left arm. He works at a mobile home plant building houses. One was from when he got caught on a nail so it's a little deeper looking and another was from some sheet metal at work. He didn't disclose it to his boss because he works on a line and it would've put his team behind so he just put some bandaids on it and went about his day and cleaned it up when he got home. This was about 1-2 years ago. What is his meps experience going to be like? They aren't self harm obviously but we've heard horror stories about the doctors at meps not believing people and DQ them. He honestly forgot about telling his recruiter and his recruiter has already sent in all his medical history and got him scheduled for meps. Should he still go ahead and tell his recruiter or just wait and disclose it at meps?
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Should i go in as 17c or try my luck at ocs?
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I'm currently in process Enlisting in the Reserve, while holding an associate's degree in mechanical engineering technology, with some side education in programming. While I am working towards my bachelor's degree, I'm looking to pick an MOS that will help my career, or at the very least, be interesting. I don't remember my scores, but my Recruiter told me whatever I pick, my score won't be the limiting factor.
Top of the list for career jobs is 15 series, from what I've heard from currently enlisted in my friend group, wrenching on aircraft in general is a fast track to a cushy job on the outside with my education. 25 series looks boring but useful as anything IT/electrical complements my degree. On the more interesting side, I was looking at 91 series, either 91F or 91P.
Am I going anywhere wrong with any of these jobs? Anything I should be keeping in mind?
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25D or 35T I just wonder which MOS would be better for career. I am really interested in IT. I know 25D is not entry MOS. Let’s say you meet requirements for both MOS. If you stay as enlisted side, what would you recommend?
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I’m heading to ait now at fort Moore for 91M do I get my phone and am I in a dorm how is that like
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Hi all,
I am a permanent resident here is the US, and last week I finished my ASVAB mock test with a 95 on my AFQT. The recruiter says I am eligible for everything that doesn't require a security clearance which is kind of a problem as my dream MOS are the 35-series and 17-series (As both of these are locked behind clearance requirement)
After some thinking, I narrow down to the following, but there are still too many so I hope I can get your feedback on what I am doing. My aims are: a/I want something that will translate into the civilian world well if my time in the army doesn't go well, b/I want an MOS that can advanced through warrant or becoming a commission officer if my time in the army does go well, and c/I want to push myself to the limit and break out of my comfort zone to see where I can go. If I sound arrogant, please forgive for that: I am just trying to be as careful as possible. I am nearly reaching my thirty, and I want to take deliberate steps because I no longer have the luxury of youth and family to try and fail.
The MOS are:
11-series, 12B and 12D: I have a soft spot for these despite knowing they don't translate into the civilian world. But in my heart somewhere is a wild child that wants to test my physical prowess and wants to blow things up. I do know my knees and lower back will hate me for picking this.
15 series: With exceptions to 15C, 15J, and other works related to flying or being mechanics of sensitive equipment, I can be an aircraft technicians. I read that there are demands for airplane mechanics but I don't know much about this field other than a/I got to repair planes, b/people seem to hate it because you have to sign a long contract if you become a warrant.
68A: I did see this MOS getting recommended a lot but after reading its description, I am not very sure if I want to do it either both in the army or afterwards. I must also admit I don't have a good insights onto the day to day life of this job. Can someone shed some light about this MOS for me?
68C: Becoming a nurse seems like a very safe choice out of the military given that the BLS projects nurse to be in high demand and being able to take care of your family sounds like a big plus to me; however, I don't know if I like being a nurse. My parents were doctors, and having seen the hospital environment I can say I am not a fan. I also look into 68A but BLS prospect for it didn't seem good, and the training on 68E, 68D, and 68V look a little bit too short. Do you really become a dental assistant just with 10 weeks of training?
68W: I must admit, I have a soft spot for 68W as it allows me to be both learn some medical skills and be on the field. However, I do notice that 68W only translates to paramedic/EMT post-army, while 68C translates to becoming a nurse (which is more valued and regarded as "better" than paramedic or EMT and thus in higher demand)
88H, 92A, 92F, and 92Y: I pick these because, according to BLS, there is a projected increase need for people in warehousing and transportation. From my limited understanding of the fields, you will be in charge of handling logistics such as maintaining unit inventory, ordering supplies and weapons for your units, etc. but I am not very sure on the difference between, say, 92Y and 92A.
So, can you give me a suggestions? May anyone who has been in these MOS share their experience to help me pick? What are some of the MOS I miss?
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
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Is the 09m program ending at the end of may?
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How does one secure a religious exemption before basic training? My recruiter said we would talk about it down the line but it’s getting down to the wire and I’d rather it not get forgotten.
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Hi my duty station is at JBLM I’ll hopefully be there around May of 2025. I still have too go through basic and AIT but I was hoping that I could get some info about the barracks and hopefully get in touch with some of the people that are getting stationed/ already stationed There that are aviation, specifically 15Y. Thank you
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How can i improve my chances of success after the military?
I'm going to meps in 2 weeks and im shooting for a 25 series mos. 25H was what was available at the recruiters after i took my practice asvab. I'm not the brightest bulb but, hey, I'll take it. Aside from college ,which i want to continue to pursue throughout my time in the army (or after depending on my mental fortitude once i'm actually in,) how can i set myself up for success in the civilian world? Any input from past 25h or 25 series who somehow translated their career into decent paying jobs will be much appreciated.
I'll add I'm only joining the army for the college benefits and free training as i come from a poor household and have no other feasible way to pay for it.
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Hello everyone,
I was recently laid off from a $64k job, and honestly, I'm not too upset. I was already feeling burnt out and unhappy, staying primarily for the promised educational benefits to facilitate a career change, which obviously fell through with the job loss. Now, I'm considering my options and the military as a new path has been sounding appealing to an extent. The VA loan and GI Bill are particularly enticing because they would help me pursue a degree without getting into debt, and enabling the career change I've been considering. And the thought of being able to buy a house at this age/economy seems awesome.
At 28, I'm weighing the implications of joining now, especially considering the pay cut and spending four years AD without the guarantee of going overseas which for me would make it much more worthwhile. Also, I'd likely be one of the older members among younger peers, which is another factor to consider. My entry rank would be E3 due to my associate degree told by the Air force recruiter I met, but I'll need a moral waiver for a misdemeanor I had at 18, which might limit my job options not to mention she told me I would have to be at the disposal of whatever the Air Force wanted me to do? Which I am assuming means that I could enlist for one thing that they tell me nope get your doing this.The Air Force recruiter told me that I would be just fine and I would be able to get in as long as my ASVAB score is high enough.
I'm torn about whether to commit to AD and save myself or a longer term in the military via reserves but still stuck in the same loop of feeling in fulfilled, unable to afford university and in a place I would rather leave. Insights from anyone who joined the military later or faced similar decisions would be incredibly helpful.
Thanks for any advice!
P.S I am also ok with the idea of the military as a career as I would still be able to retire earlier than many of my peers if I pursue the 20 year route..
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I’m reenlisting at the end of this month (was NG but going active). My husband is also active and I was wondering how likely is it that I can be in the same battalion as my husband? I know married couples aren’t supposed to work directly together but would that still be considered “working together”?
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Hi All, I'm 23F graduating college with my bachelor's in international relations at the end of July. I speak intermediate Spanish and would be open to learning more languages. I am looking for a mos that doesn't restrict me to behind a desk or sitting on my ass all day. I was thinking of something intelligence related. I would appreciate any advice/help.
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So i have hemorrhoids right now and I go to MEPS monday. I have a Drs visit from about 2 years ago where she prescribed me the cream to use. The cream says to only use it when you have hemorrhoids. I still have the cream. Will I pass MEPS if I bring that the Dr visit. or should I get a new one the day before? It's Saturday so my recruiter won't answer.
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So I enlisted on Friday. (25H) and I ship to BT in August. I’ve made my mind up before enlisting that I was going to make a career out of it. So now I’m here before you all to ask… what’s some advice you could give someone looking to do 20. Like what’s steps would you take if you could go back to make the most of your Army career? I remember my dad who served in the navy would always say “choose your rate choose your fate” and I think I started off on the right foot. Any suggestions to help make the correct steps in my new career path?
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Going back in. Needing some suggestions on different MOS.
So when I was in the first time I was a 25U. I was 16 when I swore in to secure my mos and left at 18YO. I’ve decicided to go back in. Im picking between 19 jobs, I qualify for all of them as I keep my old asvab scores. I scored over a 105 in everything so I have a pretty big list to pick from. These jobs have good jobs outside of the army and that’s my angle, I know 25U translates to a good job outside of the army but it’s not my cup of tea. So any info on the jobs in the army and civilian life for these mos would be greatly appreciate. The jobs are: 68L 68X (specifically because I want to help vets who are/have suffered) 88H 35F 25B 35M 35G 35L 88K 88N 88U 27D 31E 12M 15Q 15N 25U 88L 88M
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Already signed my contract but I really really wanna change my MOS by the time I ship out for BCT in mid-July, what would be the best way to approach and ask my recruiter to change my MOS? The one that I want is really in demand (19K) so maybe that might help?
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Background: Greencard holder, 6yr+ experience in IT field. No degree. Married.
Always wanted to join the military and finally have the opportunity to do so.
What I want to experience from the military;
I want the opportunity to grow in the IT field and have military experience and later on attain a contractor job in overseas installations. Very interested in being able to move overseas for a few years specially Japan.
My biggest interest is to grow in my career + experience other countries.
Recruits have also told me that for active duty they are allowing first duty station to be chosen because the army apparently has a shortage of people joining so they want to motivate people to join by allowing them to choose duty stations. This has made me consider going active IF they aren't lying about this + the job security has always been a plus to me.
My primary plan was :
Going reserve, getting my citizenship while in basic training, changing my mos to 25B then finding government contracting job overseas preferably (Japan) and changing my unit to Japan to drill there (Camp Zama). Overall my biggest goal is to move overseas and be in the IT field.
What is the best route? Advice is greatly appreciated in advance:)
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I want to enlist as a 19D Wont be for a year or so still but trying to do my research and evrything and make sure this is what i want, So far it looks like it is but i have a couple of questions that i need answering before i decided to enlist. 1. as a 19D with 19C coming will 19D still be manning Bradleys 2. What are my chances of being assigned to a cav unit i really dont wanna be assigned to an infantry or god knows what else 3. Am i able to enlist as active at 17?
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Is it hard to get a self harm waiver? It happened one time three years ago. My recruiter is pushing for it now
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I'm going to MEPS this week and I was told that the Job I'm really interested in (12w) is rare and to not get my hopes up. I'll be doing research about some other jobs, but if I really want that job should I just wait for a slot to open up or go with alternate choices?
Does anyone have any experience with this job and how often slots show up?
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Vision Waiver Acceptance Probability
So I’m wanting to enlist as an 11x OP 4in the army, went to MEPS a few weeks ago, and am currently waiting on a current injury to be waived. I’m just kind of worrying about my vision waiver. Recruiter said we have to wait for this to be cleared first, then we can launch the vision waiver.
What’s the probability that a vision waiver will be accepted with Visual Acuity of 20/30 20/50 corrected vision. I understand everything is case to case, I’m just kind of worrying that it’ll end up being denied.
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Is there a list of all the different Options in contracts? Like Option 40, Option 4, Option 19, etc?
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In the process of renegotiating my contract before shipping out and I'm seriously considering 19K (M1 Armor Crewman). Recruiter told me that anyone can volunteer to go to airborne school at BCT and I really want to go airborne but it seems like 19Ks don't really do it as much as other MOS's. Is it true that i will have the opportunity to volunteer myself for airborne school at basic? If not, how can I attend Airborne or any other specialized school as a tanker?
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Leaving for BT in 2wks. First stop Ft Lenwood and then ft sill for AIT. Then off to Ft Drum for my 1st duty station. Can anyone offer insight on what to expect at each location/stage? 13F if it matters. Much appreciated.
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Just reserved mos 88L Water craft engineer.
Was excited at first as I’ve e heard a lot of good things about this mos, but i have a wife, 6yr old and another on the way and am worried that i wont be home that often given this mos. Im supposed to go to meps in 4 days and swear in. Im really not trying to be away from my family all that often. Is this mos bad for family life? Have i made a mistake? Or should i keep it and roll with it. Any recommendations on what i should do?
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Hello, I’m in ROTC right now but I’m about to go to CST. I have been looking into branches as much as possible and am pretty set on ADA but I wanted to ask if anyone here has been on a HIMAD or SHORAD deployment that can give me some insight on what it’s like, more specifically SHORAD but I do want to hear both sides.
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Joining the army
hi, I am 17 turning 18F, and im joining the army and going to boot camp soon. What are some advice or anything you would tell someone before they go to boot camp or thinking about joining the army?
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Hello, I'm currently a high school senior who is interested in joining the ROTC. I've reached out to ROTC recruiters in the colleges that I will be attending however, they never picked up their phones nor responded to their emails after multiple attempts. I've also scheduled appointments with them only for them to not show up multiple times. I've also called the army and they said they would have someone call me but they never did either. I was wondering if anyone could help me get in touch with an ROTC recruiter as I got a few questions about the Army ROTC as well as the process to proceed.
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Can you go to an maritime academy before your service then get it paid when you join? Can you take maritime academy while active duty?
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What are possible first duty stations for Army officers out of ROTC by MOS?
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Seasonal Allergies Immunotherapy
Hi I’m planning on applying for OCS when I graduate in May. But im currently taking allergy shots for my seasonal allergies. I would have no problem pausing them during basic etc. Resuming when I’m past training, but is this something I have to do? Is it worth having to get a medical waiver for it? Do I need to tell my recruiter?
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Currently in the process of reenlisting as a prior service who was chaptered out in AIT for SI. Submitted and turned over all my paperwork to my recruiter and awaiting MEPS. My recruiter said this is the longest part of the waiting game from his experience. How long should I be expecting to wait realistically? I would ask my recruiter but I feel like I've bothered him enough over the past few weeks lmao. - Thanks!
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Hey guys l need some advice so i'm gonna get straight to the point. I am 20 and a junior in college. I ship in June and i have 3 Mos choices so far. 19D, 11b and 19k. Which do y’all recommend?I'm hardworking and not lazy so yeah. I am joining for many reasons but one of the main reasons is travel. Would I get to do tha much? Thank you
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Hey guys, I enlisted with an airborne contract that has my first assignment at Fort Liberty. How likely is it that I get assigned to the 82nd?
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Weight loss
I'm currently 5% body fat over for the arms 2.0. I'm eating way better and consuming 12-1,500 calories and losing an average of 3,000 calories a day. I've been running/walking 2 miles a day of hill terrain. My recruiter said I need to lose 10 pounds by May 17. I need tips and tricks on how to lose those pounds by then
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Army National Guard recruiter says at MEPS you can choose from several dates to start basic. Is that accurate?
If so, typically how many dates are there to choose from and how far in the future? I have a great civilian job, so would like to know my date as far in advance as possible.
Edit: would go on to traditional state OCS (yea, I know the internet’s opinions on it but it fits my life really well) afterwards.
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I've got 4 years active and 3 years guard under my belt and I've always put in to my tsp to get the match. I know you need 8 years to keep the matching, but my unit has drained what little motivation I had left for the army, and I've decided I'm done. I'm curious if anyone can help me figure out if there's any option that will help me keep my tsp matching besides a 1 year extension. I doubt the IRR counts towards 8 years, and from what I understand, the inactive guard is simply a pause button. So instead of pushing me to 8 years, it's just delaying my 7th till next year or something. I'm also wondering if a future federal job would contribute to that 8 years or if it has to be all concurrent. Thank you for any help or any resources or links yall can send me to figure this out.
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I was wondering if I could join the army with depression, anxiety, and OCD. All diagnosed. I have no suicide attempts or anything like that, no inpatient care either. All of these are somewhat mild and manageable, and I haven't been on any medication. But that was another concern of mine, if I was to get on any medication, would that disqualify me? Thanks a lot.
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Im currently a senior in high school trying to enlist in the army since December but I’m at a loss of what to do. I took the asvab scored a 61 but autism came up on my records from when I was a kid. I had to get a full medical Record for meps then they wanted my pharmacy record and now they want some more records my recruiter made me sign a form for my old doctors to get it from them about a month and a week ago. I called him the earlier this week and he said he Kentucky or Kansas (I didn’t hear him well and forgot) doing some training I honestly just don’t know what to do I’ll graduate from high school in a few weeks and I probably have a month after that before my parents kick me out any advice?
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Hey all, I wanted to get some insight on whether you all think I would be able to enlist with Crohn's. I've seen online that it's generally marked as an "unwaivable medical condition" but sometimes goes on a case by case basis. My IBD is very mild, I honestly forget that I even have the damn disease because it doesnt effect my daily life at all. I have it managed by taking an 8-week biologic but have gone on extended breaks from it before due to insurance reasons (roughly 2-3 months without any meds) and had no flare ups or any issues of the sort. However, my doctor is thinking of switching me to a daily pill (Rinvoq). I don't have any food sensitivities like a lot of Crohn's patients have (caffeine, alcohol, dairy, etc.) and have never had any surgeries nor does my GI doctor think i'll ever need one. I wanted to enlist for a 17C contract as im already in college for tech anyhow, I'm not sure if that would effect my standing. However, dream MOS is 18X but I figure that may be tougher to get by a recruiter. Any advice or thoughts? Army has been my dream forever and I don't want to have to give it up, so I'd really do anything haha.
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I have 2 non violent felonies from 2011 and PTD from 2022 for possession. I've been upfront and honest with my recruiter. He sent me to test today and I scored 63 on Asvab and GT of 113. Is there a chance for me? Thanks in advance. 30 and in great health and shape.
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What bases would you do bmt if your in cyber security and aviation mechanics?
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I ship out in a week. Went to meps and signed in March. Can I change my MOS? Or is it too late ?? I want something language related because I’m fluent in Arabic (already passed DLPT)
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For anyone that has done OSUT at Fort Moore, how long does it typically take before they’ll tell you where your FDS is?
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I have read a few horror stories where someone enlisted with X,Y, or Z in their contract, but after basic they where told something else and could not confirm the original. For example, someone claims they had a specific location through Option 19, only to later be told they are going somewhere else.
My first question is: has this happened to anyone here, and if so and how was it resolved?
My second question is: after signing your contract, how do you gain acess to it later? Do you receive a physical copy for yourself? Can you download a copy? Is there someone you can ask in the Army to retrieve it for you? Will it be acessable on a portal of somekind?
I am considering enlisting with option 19 and the location is very important to me. Thank you!
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Is phone use in BCT only delegated to calls? Also does phone use depend on what phase you're in, like, red phase 20 minutes, blue 30 minutes? Going to jackson
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Not the best time to swear in, waivers
I have all of my waivers approved, however, I won’t be swearing in due to job circumstances. If things change, can I still go back into the army or will I blocked out of it forever?
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I have an AAM and 3 COAs which S1 has been tracking for months but which have yet to reflect on my PPW. Do I have any recourse?
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my recruiter says that I can't get option 4 in my 35W contract but I really want to be airborne as a 35p/m so I have a higher chance of having my skills be put to use. Can i put in for airborne at DLI or AIT? what is the earliest I can do this and how would I go about it? I just went through the normal MEPS process not the airborne physical fyi
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Is a bonus worth choosing the Army over the AF?
In general, I’ve heard that the army’s QoL is less than that of the Air Force. However, the army has way more jobs w bonuses that I’d be interested in. And it’s the same or similar jobs as the Air Force, but w a bonus. I know the Basic Training for army is also longer, but a bonus can be convincing. I have the same question, but in regards to joining the navy as well. I want to focus on my education during my enlistment & get my bachelors & id also like travel opportunities. I haven’t taken my ASVAB yet, it’s scheduled the 16th. I scored rlly well on the PiCAT, and according to those scores I qualify for some army jobs w a bonus. I know it’s not as simple as that, and it’s a whole process & based on what’s available. Just want some opinions on if I was offered an army job w a bonus as opposed to the same/ similar Air Force job without, would you consider it worth it based on your experience?
I already got some answers from a post I made about this, but moderator deleted it and said to comment here. But any additional info/ insight is greatly appreciated. I want to make the best choice for my future in the case that I don't want to do 20 years.
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I'm joining up rn and working with a recruiter. We've got my waivers and everything. Pretty much just have to pick a job. For background I was an IET separation back in 2009. From what I've read and what me and my recruiter have gone over I am glossary non-prior service. I could have sworn I read (albeit a while ago) that business rules did not apply to GNPS, so I should be free to pick my MOS. However, I talked to my recruiter earlier today and he wants me to sit with his 1SG and go over the job options available for prior service. Am I wrong and I just get what I get?
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Please help!
I was looking to join the guard but in my medical records it shows I had Guillan barre. I was feeling some numbness in my legs, but looking back at it, it was very cold outside and I was just a bitch who would try to get out of school by any means possible. They did a spinal tap and never found any trace of the disease however. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, the gave me immunoglobulin and then I went home and nothing ever came of it. I am currently completely asymptomatic This was when I was 12 or 13 years old. Now I’m 18 and want to join but my recruiter said I have to get all the records and stuff. What is the chance that I will still be able to join? I tried looking it up online but I couldn’t find an answer. Also if I’m able to join, will I need a medical waiver?
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My MOS is 68W, I'm shipping out in June and I'm taking the OPAT in a couple of weeks. I'm 5'2 and 115ish pounds. I'm pretty fit. My biggest worry is the standing long jump. I want to pass the OPAT with flying colors and keep my MOS. Is there any advice or tips y'all can give me?
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I’m looking to graduate and enlist in a month but can’t decide on what MOS I want. I think 11B because I don’t want to individuate and do army shit or 68W but I’m not sure if I can get advanced combative training or other schools I want. I want to do something that’s “high speed” and meaningful while working my way towards Ranger reg. Is the 82nd Airborne a good pathway to that? How is civil affairs? Can you enlist directly into it while being active duty?
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Thinking about reenlisting to army with 8.5 PS in USMC. Been out < 5years. Will I have to repeat AIT if I keep my same MOS? I know this is the wrong channel for USMC feedback but also considering going back there if it would mean not repeating AlT. Thanks in advance!
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Hi everyone! I’m a high school student planning on joining the military. I’m Muslim, so I want to be sure that whichever branch I join is accommodating to Muslim needs. If it changes anything, I’m planning joining through the ROTC route.
My main concerns are, does the Army give beard waivers for Muslims? Is it possible to take short breaks throughout the day to pray? Can you fast during Ramadan? Can you be provided with halal (no pork/no alcohol) food?
Also, I’m interested in infantry or armor (or any kind of ground forces officer in general). Would these accommodations interfere with being selected for these careers or being mission ready? (Such as a beard, fasting, etc.)
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i’m a current nasty girl and i’m looking to transfer to Active duty. i understand i need a conditional release in order to sign a new contract and need my G-1 to sign off on it. i’m looking for info on the process from someone who’s gone through the process.
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What are the odds of getting a waiver for ulcerative colitis? I was EPTS’d out in march 2023 after being diagnosed while I was at 30th AG. My GI said I was in remission as of jan of this year. I take 4 Lialda pills a day and get an entyvio infusion every 2 months. I feel perfectly fine now though. Scored a 74 on the asvab.
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Medical record
In the navy currently and getting out in a year. I had a back injury prior to enlisting that I didn’t disclose. I plan on entering the army after my contract. If this comes up will my discharge from the navy be lowered or my benefits revoked?
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So my recruiter told me that I have to get a lease first, but the thing is, is that we don't have one with our landlord. It's more like an oral lease and he's a slumlord who never tries to communicate with any of us. That being said, my recruiter then said that I should find a lease online and edit it to where I state that I'm paying the rent to my sister instead (who has a valid ID) He also stated that my sister and I have to go to a check-cashing place to get it notarized. Is this all ok to do and will the BHA be approved? Also if it's approved, does this mean that the rent we pay which is $1,365.50, is going to be paid for while I'm away and how exactly??
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Can I enlist if I have a Mexican highschool diploma? (I am american, just finished highschool in mexico) And don't have a address in the USA???
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I am thinking of finishing up my bachelors and joining as an officer, my question was whether it was possible or not to guarantee mos 17c in the army if I join as an officer.
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I just got told that I cant enlist for 2 years after my waiver got denied for a history of depression. I stopped feeling depressed last August but got officially cleared into remission in February. I was told theres no point in a consult and the most I can do is reach out to a congressman. Other than reaching out to a congressman, is there really nothing I can do?
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Questions about Virginia National Guard
I want to do OCS! Now here’s my confusion. My recruiter is saying that the moment I swear in is the moment my contract is going to start and will count towards that 6 year! So, if he is right, I will basically complete 2 years training if I do state OCS. But I would like to have more control on what branch I get! My top 3 are: cyber warfare, signal, and intel. Should I do accelerated in that case? Also how likely am I to get one of those aforementioned three if I do state OCS of 18 months? My bachelor was in Computer Engineering, and I am currently enrolled in ASU for master’s pursuing Computer Science! Will I get that 24k a year tuition fee because he said there’s a possibility I might get it since it’s fully online? Can I get tuition assistance and loan repayment both? Does getting either one incur additional service time?
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im thinking of joining as a officer and going into ocs, what is the best branch for a well paying civilian job after completing my service, for context my major right now is relg studies plus maybe bio.
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I leave for Future Soldier Preparatory Course for the fitness aspect on the 21st, has anyone gone through it recently? There’s not a whole lot of information on it online, I was just wondering what it’s like, and what to expect. Do you get issued all of your gear since you will be going to bmt after? What is reception like? Any and all information and tips is greatly appreciated!
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So my husband is going to meps next week. he has 2 different sets of scars on his left arm. He works at a mobile home plant building houses. One was from when he got caught on a nail so it's a little deeper looking and another was from some sheet metal at work. He didn't disclose it to his boss because he works on a line and it would've put his team behind so he just put some bandaids on it and went about his day and cleaned it up when he got home. This was about 1-2 years ago. What is his meps experience going to be like? They aren't self harm obviously but we've heard horror stories about the doctors at meps not believing people and DQ them. He honestly forgot about telling his recruiter and his recruiter has already sent in all his medical history and got him scheduled for meps. Should he still go ahead and tell his recruiter or just wait and disclose it at meps?
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Should i go in as 17c or try my luck at ocs?
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I'm currently in process Enlisting in the Reserve, while holding an associate's degree in mechanical engineering technology, with some side education in programming. While I am working towards my bachelor's degree, I'm looking to pick an MOS that will help my career, or at the very least, be interesting. I don't remember my scores, but my Recruiter told me whatever I pick, my score won't be the limiting factor.
Top of the list for career jobs is 15 series, from what I've heard from currently enlisted in my friend group, wrenching on aircraft in general is a fast track to a cushy job on the outside with my education. 25 series looks boring but useful as anything IT/electrical complements my degree. On the more interesting side, I was looking at 91 series, either 91F or 91P.
Am I going anywhere wrong with any of these jobs? Anything I should be keeping in mind?
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25D or 35T I just wonder which MOS would be better for career. I am really interested in IT. I know 25D is not entry MOS. Let’s say you meet requirements for both MOS. If you stay as enlisted side, what would you recommend?
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I’m heading to ait now at fort Moore for 91M do I get my phone and am I in a dorm how is that like
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Hi all,
I am a permanent resident here is the US, and last week I finished my ASVAB mock test with a 95 on my AFQT. The recruiter says I am eligible for everything that doesn't require a security clearance which is kind of a problem as my dream MOS are the 35-series and 17-series (As both of these are locked behind clearance requirement)
After some thinking, I narrow down to the following, but there are still too many so I hope I can get your feedback on what I am doing. My aims are: a/I want something that will translate into the civilian world well if my time in the army doesn't go well, b/I want an MOS that can advanced through warrant or becoming a commission officer if my time in the army does go well, and c/I want to push myself to the limit and break out of my comfort zone to see where I can go. If I sound arrogant, please forgive for that: I am just trying to be as careful as possible. I am nearly reaching my thirty, and I want to take deliberate steps because I no longer have the luxury of youth and family to try and fail.
The MOS are:
11-series, 12B and 12D: I have a soft spot for these despite knowing they don't translate into the civilian world. But in my heart somewhere is a wild child that wants to test my physical prowess and wants to blow things up. I do know my knees and lower back will hate me for picking this.
15 series: With exceptions to 15C, 15J, and other works related to flying or being mechanics of sensitive equipment, I can be an aircraft technicians. I read that there are demands for airplane mechanics but I don't know much about this field other than a/I got to repair planes, b/people seem to hate it because you have to sign a long contract if you become a warrant.
68A: I did see this MOS getting recommended a lot but after reading its description, I am not very sure if I want to do it either both in the army or afterwards. I must also admit I don't have a good insights onto the day to day life of this job. Can someone shed some light about this MOS for me?
68C: Becoming a nurse seems like a very safe choice out of the military given that the BLS projects nurse to be in high demand and being able to take care of your family sounds like a big plus to me; however, I don't know if I like being a nurse. My parents were doctors, and having seen the hospital environment I can say I am not a fan. I also look into 68A but BLS prospect for it didn't seem good, and the training on 68E, 68D, and 68V look a little bit too short. Do you really become a dental assistant just with 10 weeks of training?
68W: I must admit, I have a soft spot for 68W as it allows me to be both learn some medical skills and be on the field. However, I do notice that 68W only translates to paramedic/EMT post-army, while 68C translates to becoming a nurse (which is more valued and regarded as "better" than paramedic or EMT and thus in higher demand)
88H, 92A, 92F, and 92Y: I pick these because, according to BLS, there is a projected increase need for people in warehousing and transportation. From my limited understanding of the fields, you will be in charge of handling logistics such as maintaining unit inventory, ordering supplies and weapons for your units, etc. but I am not very sure on the difference between, say, 92Y and 92A.
So, can you give me a suggestions? May anyone who has been in these MOS share their experience to help me pick? What are some of the MOS I miss?
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
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Is the 09m program ending at the end of may?
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How does one secure a religious exemption before basic training? My recruiter said we would talk about it down the line but it’s getting down to the wire and I’d rather it not get forgotten.
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Hi my duty station is at JBLM I’ll hopefully be there around May of 2025. I still have too go through basic and AIT but I was hoping that I could get some info about the barracks and hopefully get in touch with some of the people that are getting stationed/ already stationed There that are aviation, specifically 15Y. Thank you
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How can i improve my chances of success after the military?
I'm going to meps in 2 weeks and im shooting for a 25 series mos. 25H was what was available at the recruiters after i took my practice asvab. I'm not the brightest bulb but, hey, I'll take it. Aside from college ,which i want to continue to pursue throughout my time in the army (or after depending on my mental fortitude once i'm actually in,) how can i set myself up for success in the civilian world? Any input from past 25h or 25 series who somehow translated their career into decent paying jobs will be much appreciated.
I'll add I'm only joining the army for the college benefits and free training as i come from a poor household and have no other feasible way to pay for it.
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Hello everyone,
I was recently laid off from a $64k job, and honestly, I'm not too upset. I was already feeling burnt out and unhappy, staying primarily for the promised educational benefits to facilitate a career change, which obviously fell through with the job loss. Now, I'm considering my options and the military as a new path has been sounding appealing to an extent. The VA loan and GI Bill are particularly enticing because they would help me pursue a degree without getting into debt, and enabling the career change I've been considering. And the thought of being able to buy a house at this age/economy seems awesome.
At 28, I'm weighing the implications of joining now, especially considering the pay cut and spending four years AD without the guarantee of going overseas which for me would make it much more worthwhile. Also, I'd likely be one of the older members among younger peers, which is another factor to consider. My entry rank would be E3 due to my associate degree told by the Air force recruiter I met, but I'll need a moral waiver for a misdemeanor I had at 18, which might limit my job options not to mention she told me I would have to be at the disposal of whatever the Air Force wanted me to do? Which I am assuming means that I could enlist for one thing that they tell me nope get your doing this.The Air Force recruiter told me that I would be just fine and I would be able to get in as long as my ASVAB score is high enough.
I'm torn about whether to commit to AD and save myself or a longer term in the military via reserves but still stuck in the same loop of feeling in fulfilled, unable to afford university and in a place I would rather leave. Insights from anyone who joined the military later or faced similar decisions would be incredibly helpful.
Thanks for any advice!
P.S I am also ok with the idea of the military as a career as I would still be able to retire earlier than many of my peers if I pursue the 20 year route..
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I’m reenlisting at the end of this month (was NG but going active). My husband is also active and I was wondering how likely is it that I can be in the same battalion as my husband? I know married couples aren’t supposed to work directly together but would that still be considered “working together”?
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Hi All, I'm 23F graduating college with my bachelor's in international relations at the end of July. I speak intermediate Spanish and would be open to learning more languages. I am looking for a mos that doesn't restrict me to behind a desk or sitting on my ass all day. I was thinking of something intelligence related. I would appreciate any advice/help.
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So i have hemorrhoids right now and I go to MEPS monday. I have a Drs visit from about 2 years ago where she prescribed me the cream to use. The cream says to only use it when you have hemorrhoids. I still have the cream. Will I pass MEPS if I bring that the Dr visit. or should I get a new one the day before? It's Saturday so my recruiter won't answer.
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So I enlisted on Friday. (25H) and I ship to BT in August. I’ve made my mind up before enlisting that I was going to make a career out of it. So now I’m here before you all to ask… what’s some advice you could give someone looking to do 20. Like what’s steps would you take if you could go back to make the most of your Army career? I remember my dad who served in the navy would always say “choose your rate choose your fate” and I think I started off on the right foot. Any suggestions to help make the correct steps in my new career path?
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Going back in. Needing some suggestions on different MOS.
So when I was in the first time I was a 25U. I was 16 when I swore in to secure my mos and left at 18YO. I’ve decicided to go back in. Im picking between 19 jobs, I qualify for all of them as I keep my old asvab scores. I scored over a 105 in everything so I have a pretty big list to pick from. These jobs have good jobs outside of the army and that’s my angle, I know 25U translates to a good job outside of the army but it’s not my cup of tea. So any info on the jobs in the army and civilian life for these mos would be greatly appreciate. The jobs are: 68L 68X (specifically because I want to help vets who are/have suffered) 88H 35F 25B 35M 35G 35L 88K 88N 88U 27D 31E 12M 15Q 15N 25U 88L 88M
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Already signed my contract but I really really wanna change my MOS by the time I ship out for BCT in mid-July, what would be the best way to approach and ask my recruiter to change my MOS? The one that I want is really in demand (19K) so maybe that might help?
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Background: Greencard holder, 6yr+ experience in IT field. No degree. Married.
Always wanted to join the military and finally have the opportunity to do so.
What I want to experience from the military;
I want the opportunity to grow in the IT field and have military experience and later on attain a contractor job in overseas installations. Very interested in being able to move overseas for a few years specially Japan.
My biggest interest is to grow in my career + experience other countries.
Recruits have also told me that for active duty they are allowing first duty station to be chosen because the army apparently has a shortage of people joining so they want to motivate people to join by allowing them to choose duty stations. This has made me consider going active IF they aren't lying about this + the job security has always been a plus to me.
My primary plan was :
Going reserve, getting my citizenship while in basic training, changing my mos to 25B then finding government contracting job overseas preferably (Japan) and changing my unit to Japan to drill there (Camp Zama). Overall my biggest goal is to move overseas and be in the IT field.
What is the best route? Advice is greatly appreciated in advance:)
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I want to enlist as a 19D Wont be for a year or so still but trying to do my research and evrything and make sure this is what i want, So far it looks like it is but i have a couple of questions that i need answering before i decided to enlist. 1. as a 19D with 19C coming will 19D still be manning Bradleys 2. What are my chances of being assigned to a cav unit i really dont wanna be assigned to an infantry or god knows what else 3. Am i able to enlist as active at 17?
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Is it hard to get a self harm waiver? It happened one time three years ago. My recruiter is pushing for it now
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I'm going to MEPS this week and I was told that the Job I'm really interested in (12w) is rare and to not get my hopes up. I'll be doing research about some other jobs, but if I really want that job should I just wait for a slot to open up or go with alternate choices?
Does anyone have any experience with this job and how often slots show up?
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Vision Waiver Acceptance Probability
So I’m wanting to enlist as an 11x OP 4in the army, went to MEPS a few weeks ago, and am currently waiting on a current injury to be waived. I’m just kind of worrying about my vision waiver. Recruiter said we have to wait for this to be cleared first, then we can launch the vision waiver.
What’s the probability that a vision waiver will be accepted with Visual Acuity of 20/30 20/50 corrected vision. I understand everything is case to case, I’m just kind of worrying that it’ll end up being denied.
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Is there a list of all the different Options in contracts? Like Option 40, Option 4, Option 19, etc?
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In the process of renegotiating my contract before shipping out and I'm seriously considering 19K (M1 Armor Crewman). Recruiter told me that anyone can volunteer to go to airborne school at BCT and I really want to go airborne but it seems like 19Ks don't really do it as much as other MOS's. Is it true that i will have the opportunity to volunteer myself for airborne school at basic? If not, how can I attend Airborne or any other specialized school as a tanker?
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Leaving for BT in 2wks. First stop Ft Lenwood and then ft sill for AIT. Then off to Ft Drum for my 1st duty station. Can anyone offer insight on what to expect at each location/stage? 13F if it matters. Much appreciated.
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Just reserved mos 88L Water craft engineer.
Was excited at first as I’ve e heard a lot of good things about this mos, but i have a wife, 6yr old and another on the way and am worried that i wont be home that often given this mos. Im supposed to go to meps in 4 days and swear in. Im really not trying to be away from my family all that often. Is this mos bad for family life? Have i made a mistake? Or should i keep it and roll with it. Any recommendations on what i should do?
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Hello, I’m in ROTC right now but I’m about to go to CST. I have been looking into branches as much as possible and am pretty set on ADA but I wanted to ask if anyone here has been on a HIMAD or SHORAD deployment that can give me some insight on what it’s like, more specifically SHORAD but I do want to hear both sides.
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Joining the army
hi, I am 17 turning 18F, and im joining the army and going to boot camp soon. What are some advice or anything you would tell someone before they go to boot camp or thinking about joining the army?
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Hello, I'm currently a high school senior who is interested in joining the ROTC. I've reached out to ROTC recruiters in the colleges that I will be attending however, they never picked up their phones nor responded to their emails after multiple attempts. I've also scheduled appointments with them only for them to not show up multiple times. I've also called the army and they said they would have someone call me but they never did either. I was wondering if anyone could help me get in touch with an ROTC recruiter as I got a few questions about the Army ROTC as well as the process to proceed.
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Can you go to an maritime academy before your service then get it paid when you join? Can you take maritime academy while active duty?
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What are possible first duty stations for Army officers out of ROTC by MOS?
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Hey everyone! Me and a friend have been studying for the CCNA for awhile now. (For the last couple months, we have been grinding out subnetting, and I'd say we are pretty good at it.) We study together because we work all day and our only really free days are the weekends, but we also meet after work on Discord sometimes (maybe for like 2 hours because we wake up early for work).
The other day during our discord call, he wanted to talk about us maximizing our study time and came up with a plan for us to study. Btw, we have been using Quizlet primarily because my friend has been very adamant on using it even though I try adding other things (Udmey Neil Anderson).
Here is the plan my friend came up with:
Basically what we are doing is reading the Quizlet flash card definition 3 times then keep doing it until the stack of 131 is finished.
1. 131 questions every 2 weeks everyday.
2. After 2 weeks we move on to the new 131 questions. We don’t go back to the other 131 that we already reviewed.
3.We repeat this till all 1051 question are done. (This is from some quizlet packs he found)
4. Then in August 1. We have 2 weeks to cram labs/commands. 12 hrs a day.
5. Then August 20th CCNA update, we try to study new material for 2-3 weeks. (What kind of update is this?)
6. Take test in late September
( https://quizlet.com/475246958/ccna-200-301-flash-cards/?funnelUUID=e978a215-befa-45f3-bf1c-db21cd9779fa ) here is the one we are currently working on, there is more but this is the one he sent me.
He wanted me to ask how does this plan sounds? Would you recommend adding other study materiel?
I hear that Boson is a good practice test simulato study guide, at this point I'm willing to spend the money if its really that good. I was thinking about also building a physical lab too, my father works in this field and he has spare equipment. I just want to make sure me and him are on the right path Thanks everyone!

DAY: May 27 2024
5-27-2024

THE CASE FOR OMEGA-3 SUPPLEMENTATION TO LOWER AGGRESSION

People who regularly eat fish or take fish oil supplements are getting omega-3 fatty acids, which play a critical role in brain function. Research has long shown a basis in the brain for aggressive and violent behavior, and that poor nutrition is a risk factor for behavior problems. Penn neurocriminologist Adrian Raine has for years been studying whether omega-3 supplementation could therefore reduce aggressive behavior, publishing five randomized controlled trials from different countries. He found significant effects but wanted to know whether these findings extended beyond his laboratory.
5-27-2024

WHAT ARE ALTERNATIVES TO OZEMPIC AND WEGOVY AND ARE THEY SAFE?

With summer around the corner, telehealth outlets and medical spas are going into hyperdrive advertising the sale of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Recent shortages of the brand-name drugs have opened the door to copycat versions that, while legal, also raise some concerns for consumers, says Kelly Ann Barnes, Northeastern professor of pharmacy law. The copycat drugs are made by specialized pharmacies known as compounding pharmacies, which are allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make off-label
5-27-2024

FIVE BASIC HABITS MAY HOLD THE KEY TO GOOD MENTAL HEALTH

Professor Nick Titov’s professional goal is to make himself redundant. he wants to empower more people with mild to moderate anxiety and depression to understand what they can do each day to care for their mental health. As part of this mission, Professor Titov and his team developed The Big 5, an evidence-based program encouraging five broad types of activities that are strongly linked with good mental health when performed regularly. Everyone’s
5-27-2024

COVID-19 FORECASTING TOOL ALLOWED HOSPITAL TO MANAGE PATIENT CAPACITY, RESOURCES AMID PANDEMIC’S THIRD WAVE

During the peak of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the health-care system’s capacity was stretched and hospitals across Canada relied on each other to share resources and provide care. Experts from
5-27-2024

RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION AS A POSSIBLE ASPECT OF POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME PATHOLOGY

The peripubertal DHT-induced mouse model is a non-obese but insulin-resistant model of PCOS. a) Experimental design. b) Fat mass. c) Insulin levels at baseline and 15 min following glucose administration. d) Blood glucose levels during oGTT. e) HOMA-IR, calculated from fasted glucose and insulin levels. f) Glycosylated hemoglobin levels (HbA1c). A new study shows that hyperandrogenism—a key characteristic of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)—affects immune cell populations in reproductive, metabolic and immunological tissues in a PCOS-like mouse model. These findings are of great importance as
5-27-2024

RESEARCH IDENTIFIES BRAIN NETWORK LINK TO STUTTERING

Common acquired neurogenic stuttering network. Common areas that were sensitive and specific across both neurogenic stuttering cohorts. Amy = amygdala; ASt = amygdalostriatal transition area; Cl = claustrum; Pall = Pallidum; Put = putamen. A new study published in the journal Brain has identified a specific brain network hub that plays a key role in stuttering. The research, by Te Whare W?nanga o Waitaha University of Canterbury (UC) Associate Professor Catherine Theys, examines two different types of stuttering—developmental and acquired—to show a clear neural
5-27-2024

THYROID DISEASE ISN’T THE END FOR YOUR CAREER PROSPECTS, REPORT FINDS

How employers behave toward workers experiencing thyroid dysfunction could play a critical part in addressing the UK’s labor market challenges. With long-term sickness on the rise in the UK, researchers at the University of Aberdeen Business School have marked World Thyroid Day (May 25) by releasing new findings which, for the first time, explore the relationship between employer sympathy and the labor market prospects of people with thyroid conditions. One in 20 people in the UK have a thyroid problem, with a significant majority of sufferers being women. Posing serious
5-27-2024

STUDY FINDS HIGH-INCOME EARNERS AT LOWER RISK OF DYING FROM STROKE

High-income earners have a 32% lower risk of dying after a stroke compared to low-income earners. The equivalent for high education is 26% lower risk. The differences in stroke survival linked to socioeconomics are striking, according to a study at the University of Gothenburg.
5-27-2024

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COULD ALLEVIATE LONELINESS, SAYS EXPERT

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology could offer companionship to lonely people amid an international epidemic of loneliness, says a robotics expert. Tony Prescott, a professor of cognitive robotics at the University of Sheffield, argues in his new book “The Psychology of Artificial Intelligence” that “relationships with AIs could support people” with forms of social interaction. Loneliness has been found to seriously impair human health, and Professor Prescott makes a case that advances in AI technology could offer a partial solution. He argues that people can spiral into loneliness, becoming
5-27-2024

ALZHEIMER’S REPORT HIGHLIGHTS IMMENSE CAREGIVER BURDEN—AND POTENTIAL WAYS FORWARD

Some 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s, and about 11 million provide unpaid care for them. Dementia caregiving can present unique challenges, including financial burdens and time constraints, as well as health complications. A report this year from the Alzheimer’s Association demonstrates the true cost of caregiving for those with the disease and calls to establish dementia care navigation throughout the U.S. to lift this burden. Not only is the estimated value of unpaid care near $14 billion in Pennsylvania alone, the report also revealed emotional and physical tolls. Nearly
5-27-2024

US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION APPROVES ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS SYSTEM

An artificial pancreas developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge has been granted approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use by individuals with type 1 diabetes aged 2 and older, including during pregnancy. This means that even more people living with the disease will be able to use this life-changing app. For the first time, the FDA authorized the use of the artificial pancreas system in pregnancy. CamAPS FX, produced by Cambridge spinout company CamDiab, is an Android app that can
5-27-2024

RESEARCH SAYS POMEGRANATES COULD OFFER A SOLUTION TO FATTY LIVER DISEASE

Researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) are investigating the effects ellagic acid, an antioxidant found in some fruits and vegetables, could have on halting and potentially reversing the damage caused by fatty liver disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the physiological manifestation of obesity in the liver. The prevalence of NAFLD has increased from 25.24% in 2015 to 29.38% in 2021, and this condition now accounts for 45.8% of all cases of chronic-liver-disease-related deaths worldwide. There currently exists no treatment for the long-term management of NAFLD; however, dietary interventions
5-27-2024

MAGIC MUSHROOMS MAY ONE DAY TREAT ANOREXIA, BUT NOT JUST YET

Anorexia nervosa is a severe mental health disorder where people fear weight gain. Those with the disorder have distorted body image and hold rigid beliefs their body is too big. They typically manage this through restricted eating, leading to the serious medical consequences of malnutrition. Anorexia has one of the highest death rates of any mental illness. Yet there are currently no effective drug treatments and the outcomes of psychotherapy (talk therapy) are poor. So we’re desperately in need of new and improved treatments. Psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms,
5-27-2024

STUDY FINDS FEEDING INFANTS PEANUT PRODUCTS PROTECTS AGAINST ALLERGY INTO ADOLESCENCE

Feeding children peanuts regularly from infancy to age five reduced the rate of peanut allergy in adolescence by 71%, even after many years when the children ate or avoided peanut as desired. The new findings provide conclusive evidence that introducing peanuts into babies’ diets early will achieve long-term prevention of peanut allergy. Lead investigator Professor Gideon Lack from King’s College London said, “Decades of advice to avoid peanuts has made parents fearful of introducing peanuts at an early age. The evidence is clear that early introduction of peanut in infancy
5-27-2024

EATING MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES MAY LEAD TO OPTIMAL SLEEP DURATION

Good health depends on a healthy diet and sufficient exercise and sleep. There are clear associations among these components; for example, good nutrition provides energy for exercise, and many people report that getting enough exercise is important to their ability to get enough sleep. So how might nutrition affect sleep? A new study looks at the connection between fruit and vegetable intake and sleep duration.
5-27-2024

MONITORING THE H5N1 AVIAN INFLUENZA, BIRD FLU, OUTBREAK

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to actively monitor the ongoing outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza, also known as bird flu, and says that the public health risk remains low. Dr. Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, says scientists and public health officials have known about avian influenza for decades. “What’s different today is that since 2020, we’re seeing the largest outbreak of avian influenza among wild birds, poultry and backyard bird flocks,” he says. “The virus has also been found in certain
5-27-2024

INTERNATIONAL STUDY REVEALS SURPRISING TWIST IN HOW DIABETES DRUGS HELP THE HEART

A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial has revealed surprising new insights into how SGLT2 inhibitor drugs, originally developed for diabetes, benefit patients with heart failure. Contrary to common assumptions, these drugs may improve cardiac outcomes and heart health without acting as diuretics. Heart failure is a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s demands, often leading to fluid
5-27-2024

FIRST SEIZURE CLINICS REDUCE THE NEED FOR FUTURE HEALTH CARE, RESEARCHERS FIND

Clinics specializing in first seizures reduce the need for patients to present at emergency departments or be admitted to hospital later, Monash University-led research has found. Timely attendance, particularly within 14 days of the seizure, was associated with reduced subsequent all-cause emergency presentations and all-cause hospital admission. Later hospital admissions were reduced by about 25%. First author Dr. Yingtong Li, an adjunct
5-27-2024

CELL-TARGETING TECHNOLOGY CAN ISOLATE NEURONAL SUBPOPULATIONS AND LINK THEM TO BEHAVIORAL STATES

As gene sequencing technologies become more powerful, our understanding of cellular diversity has grown in parallel. This led scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to
5-27-2024

WATCH OUT FOR THESE HIGH HEAT DANGER SIGNS

Climate change is pushing daytime summer temperatures higher for longer periods of time, and that can spell real danger for folks who work outside, like gardeners and landscapers. Protecting yourself in the heat and knowing the warning signs of heat-related illness is crucial, said Chris Enroth, horticulture educator at University of Illinois Extension. He should know: It happened to him. “When I was working as a landscaper, we had to sod a large backyard during a day when the temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit,” Enroth said. “We were hustling
5-27-2024

STAY SAFE FROM THE SUN AND THAT BACKYARD GRILL THIS MEMORIAL DAY

Memorial Day means firing up that backyard grill for the season, hopefully under warm, sunny skies. You can be sure to enjoy the day without hazards by taking a few simple precautions, said Dr. Mike Ren, an associate professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Watch out for rising heat and humidity If Memorial day is a scorcher, hydration is key, Ren said. “A good rule of thumb is to drink water regularly throughout the day, aiming for 12 or more cups; when in
5-27-2024

HAD A JOINT REPLACED? STUDY SUGGESTS INFECTION RISK MAY RISE AFTER CHEMOTHERAPY

If you’re one of the millions of Americans walking around with a new knee or hip, your odds for an infection in that joint rise if you ever have to undergo cancer chemotherapy, researchers report. “Given the number of people of receiving total joint replacements each year, as well as the cost both physically, emotionally and financially for those who develop an infection and may need subsequent treatment, we need to understand what factors may increase the risk for postoperative infections,” said study author Dr. Janet Conway. She’s an orthopedic
5-27-2024

ANTIHYPERTENSIVES LINKED TO ECZEMATOUS DERMATITIS IN SENIORS, STUDY FINDS

Antihypertensive drugs are associated with an increased risk for eczematous dermatitis in older adults, and the effect sizes are largest for diuretics and calcium channel blockers, whether antihypertensive drug use is associated with eczematous dermatitis in a longitudinal cohort study of individuals aged 60 years and older without eczematous dermatitis at baseline. The researchers found that the overall prevalence of eczematous dermatitis was 6.7% among 1,561,358
5-27-2024

RESEARCH INDICATES KIDNEYS FROM DECEASED DONORS WHO WERE ON DIALYSIS ARE SUBOPTIMAL

Receipt of a kidney from a deceased donor who underwent dialysis is associated with an increased incidence of delayed graft function, compared outcomes of transplant recipients who received kidneys from deceased donors who underwent dialysis prior to kidney donation versus recipients of kidneys from deceased donors who did not undergo dialysis in a retrospective cohort study using data from 58 U.S. organ procurement organizations. Among the donors with
5-27-2024

NEW THERAPY PROVEN EFFECTIVE AGAINST REJECTION IN KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION

Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is one of the most common causes of kidney transplant failure. To date, however, no treatment has proven effective in combating this complication in the long term. As part of an international and multidisciplinary clinical study led by Georg Böhmig and Katharina Mayer, Clinical Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Department of Medicine III at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna, a new therapeutic principle in transplant medicine has been found to be both safe and highly effective. The results were recently published in the New England Journal
5-27-2024

SHARJAH UNIVERSITY PATENTS APPLICATION FOR DISTANCE COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS

Smart Identification of Health Status based on QR Code and User Health Data. Credit: author’s own creation The University of Sharjah has been granted a patent for inventing a smart gadget with the ability to filter user information that will allow doctors to diagnose COVID-19 and other ailments from a distance. The patent, granted by United States Patent and Trademark Office on 1 August 2023, comprises “a display unit, a color code detection unit, an image filter, an optical character recognition unit, a code detection unit and an elimination unit,”
5-27-2024

STUDY REVEALS WHERE DELAYS ARE WORST

When it comes to responding to a stroke, speed is a crucial factor; the longer it takes for someone experiencing a stroke to get to a hospital, the worse the outcome will be. Yet across the United States, delays to treatment can be significant. A Yale study uncovers new insights into factors associated with treatment delays and where in the United States patients are more likely to experience slower responses. The findings, which were published May 24 in the journal Stroke, highlight where interventions should

NEW STUDY SHOWS HEAT WAVES INCREASE RISK OF PRETERM, EARLY-TERM BIRTH

The increased frequency and intensity of heat waves due to climate change puts women at a higher risk of experiencing preterm and early-term labor—jeopardizing the health and well-being of their babies. An analysis of 53 million births that occurred in the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas during the 25-year period 1993–2017, showed
5-27-2024

NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES, EARPLUGS AND EARMUFFS—DO THEY REALLY HELP NEURODIVERGENT PEOPLE?

Noise can make it hard to concentrate, especially for people who are extra sensitive to it. Neurodivergent people (such as those who are autistic or have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder—ADHD) can experience different sensory sensitivities. Their nervous system may process information differently when they are exposed to sensory experiences such as bright lights, loud noise, strong smells or busy environments. Decreased sound tolerance is estimated to affect up to 70% of autistic people and is described in three ways: hyperacusis (perceiving everyday sounds as loud or painful), misophonia (an aversion to
5-27-2024

MASSACHUSETTS SHELLS OUT NEARLY $400,000 FOR VACCINE RECORD CHECKS IN STATE-RUN SHELTERS

State officials have pumped nearly $400,000 into a program to review the vaccine records of families entering the emergency shelter system, including migrants from other countries who may have foreign documentation, according to the Healey administration. Officials at Boston-based John Snow, Inc., which has long worked with the state, have been contracted to review immunization documents. Since January, more than 1,200 children in state-run shelters have had their records checked, according to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, or HHS. Vaccine record checks have occurred since September 2023
5-27-2024

LAWSUIT ACCUSES FLORIDA’S PALM BEACH COUNTY HOSPITAL NETWORK OF SHARING PATIENTS’ PRIVATE DATA

The Palm Beach Health Network has become the latest health provider accused of illegally sharing identities and private health information of its patients with the social media company Meta, owner of Facebook. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach says the health network’s websites share code with Meta that enables patients to be targeted with advertising on Facebook based on “highly sensitive personal information” they share. It names as defendants the Palm Beach Health Network Physicians Group, doing business as Palm Beach Health Network, and
5-27-2024

CAN THE PLACEMENT OF DENTAL IMPLANTS IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER PATIENTS BE DONE BEFORE RADIATION THERAPY?

Globally, head and neck cancer accounts for 5% of all cancer types, with a mortality rate of 50%. However, in the Nordic countries, head and neck cancer accounts for only 2.6% of all cancers, with a mortality rate of just 30%. But more survivors mean that many must live with extensive damage and side effects
5-27-2024

STUDY FINDS CLIMATE CHANGE INCREASES RISK OF CRYPTOSPORIDIOSIS OUTBREAKS IN NEW ZEALAND

More cryptosporidiosis outbreaks could be on the cards for Aotearoa New Zealand as extreme rainfall events become more frequent, causing higher levels of the diarrhea-causing parasite to be washed into waterways, public health researchers warn. The researchers studied clusters of cryptosporidium outbreaks around the country between 1997 and 2015 and found 13 coincided with severe weather events. Their research is published in the journal Epidemiology & Infection. It is the first study to compare clusters of outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis to severe weather events in Aotearoa.
5-27-2024

RESEARCHERS EVALUATE IMPACT OF NEW FILM’S MESSAGE ON CHILDREN’S AND ADULTS’ BODY IMAGE, SELF-COMPASSION

Unrealistic expectations about what our bodies should look like—whether from the media, friends or family—make adults and children of all ages more vulnerable to body dissatisfaction, eating disorders and other mental health challenges. In a new study published in Body Image, Flinders University experts assessing the program’s usefulness in classrooms highlight the potential for the film “Embrace Kids,” directed by 2023 Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt, to achieve large-scale improvements in body image
5-27-2024

STUDY FINDS INCREASED SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, SUICIDE ATTEMPTS AMONG ADOLESCENTS EXPOSED TO EARLY PHASE OF WAR IN UKRAINE

Data Collection in the War-Affected Donetsk Region and Non-War Kirovograd Region. A new study carried out by a multinational research group showed high levels of suicidal thoughts and attempts in adolescents, which were strongly associated with wartime traumatic experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. Dr. Sanju Silwal from the Research Center for Child Psychiatry in the University of Turku, Finland, one of the lead authors, says that the study was conducted in two regions that
5-27-2024

STUDY FINDS SIGNIFICANT DISPARITIES IN THE DELIVERY OF CANCER-RELATED CARE

It’s important to ensure that care provided at US hospitals that predominantly serve Black and Hispanic populations is as high-quality as the care provided at other US hospitals. New research reveals significant disparities in the delivery of cancer-related care at minority serving hospitals (MSHs) compared with non-MSHs, however. The findings are published in Cancer. For the study, investigators analyzed information from the National Cancer Database (which accrues approximately 70% of US cancer diagnoses) to identify patients eligible for definitive treatment for breast, prostate, non-small cell lung, and colon cancers between
5-27-2024

WHO SEEKS $7 BN WITH FUND-RAISING REVAMP

The World Health Organization launched Sunday a new financing mechanism that aims to raise $7 billion of funds that can be deployed more quickly and flexibly. The UN agency has traditionally relied on commitments from its 194 member states, but often these are apportioned to specific projects with several conditions attached, including deadlines that can prove too short. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said commitment increases would contribute $4 billion to the agency’s budget of $11.1 billion over the four years through 2028. “The Investment Round aims to mobilize the
5-27-2024

SECOND PERSON DIES OF CHOLERA ON FRENCH ISLAND OF MAYOTTE

Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae. Credit: Wikipedia A 62-year-old woman has died of cholera in Mayotte, bringing to two the death toll from the epidemic on the French island in the Indian Ocean, health authorities said on Sunday. The woman died on Saturday at her home in Mamoudzou, the capital, the ARS health authority said in a statement. “Response teams went to the scene to disinfect the home and take care of the deceased’s family and friends”, the statement added. In May, the disease claimed its first life
5-27-2024

ALTERING CELLULAR INTERACTIONS AROUND AMYLOID PLAQUES MAY OFFER NOVEL ALZHEIMER’S TREATMENT STRATEGIES

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have made a significant breakthrough in Alzheimer’s disease research by identifying a novel way to potentially slow down or even halt disease progression. The study, which focuses on the role of reactive astrocytes and the plexin-B1 protein in Alzheimer’s pathophysiology, provides crucial insights into brain
5-27-2024

BRAIN DAMAGE STUDY REVEALS PART OF THE BRAIN NECESSARY FOR HELPING OTHERS

Our willingness to help others is governed by a specific brain region pinpointed by researchers in a study of patients with brain damage to that region. Learning about where in the brain “helping” decisions are made is important for understanding how people might be motivated to tackle large global challenges, such as climate change, infectious disease and international conflict. It is also essential for finding new approaches to treating disorders of social interactions. The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, was carried out by researchers at the University of Birmingham
5-27-2024

IMPROVING AI LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS HELPS THEM BETTER ALIGN WITH HUMAN BRAIN ACTIVITY

NSP as a computational account of discourse comprehension. (A) Humans integrate words and sentences to achieve a full understanding of discourse. In LLMs, the NSP task proposed by BERT can serve as a computational account of human discourse comprehension. (B) Illustration of the MLM task. (C) Illustration of the NSP task and its relevance to the Mason and Just model. (D) Illustration of Mason and Just’s neurocognitive model of discourse processing. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn7744 With generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) transforming the social interaction landscape in recent years,
5-27-2024

STUDY EXAMINES METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING OF BREAST CANCER TUMORS DURING NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY

In a study published in Nature Communications, scientists have made significant strides in understanding the complex interplay between the immune system and cancer metabolism in breast cancer treatment. The research
5-27-2024

RESEARCHERS EXAMINE EVIDENCE FOR A NOVEL NEURONAL MECHANISM DRIVING ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

An international team of clinicians and neuroscientists have published a new perspective on the process of neurodegeneration. Their findings review evidence for a mechanism upstream of amyloid including the key neurochemical driving this process. The paper, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, focuses on a selective group of neurons (“the isodendritic core”). These cells have a different provenance from neurons in the rest of the brain and have previously been identified as primarily
The research, by a team from Finland’s University of Helsinki, National Institute for Health and Welfare, and Turku University of Applied Sciences, is published in
5-27-2024

WHO CHIEF URGES COUNTRIES TO QUICKLY SEAL PANDEMIC DEAL

WHO countries have spent two years seeking an agreement on tackling pandemics. The World Health Organization chief on Monday urged countries to nail down a landmark global agreement on handling of future pandemics after they missed a hard deadline. Scarred by COVID-19—which killed millions, shredded economies and crippled health systems—nations have spent two years trying to forge binding commitments on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Negotiators failed to clinch a deal ahead of this week’s World Health Assembly—the annual gathering of WHO’s 194 member states—the deadline for concluding the talks.
5-27-2024

STUDY DEMONSTRATES HOW GUT MICROBES PROCESS STEROIDS—USING FLATULENCE

It turns out flatulence can serve a purpose beyond being uncomfortable or funny: Gas released by some gut bacteria stimulates other gut bacteria to produce a hormone involved in pregnancy and in an FDA-approved treatment for postpartum depression, according to new research led by Harvard Medical School scientists. The work shows how gut bacteria can produce new hormones from steroids in bile and, in doing so, act like an endocrine organ. This research adds to the growing list of ways gut microbiota may influence human
5-27-2024

PHYSICAL FRAILTY MAY PUT PEOPLE AT GREATER RISK OF DEPRESSION, STUDY FINDS

Individuals who meet at least one of the criteria for physical frailty are at higher risk of also developing depression, a new Yale study finds. The findings—which also include insights into the specific inflammatory molecules and changes in brain structure that could underlie this association between frailty and depression—point to a need for routine assessment of physical frailty in clinical practice, researchers said. The study was published May 23 in Nature Communications. In clinical settings, physical
5-27-2024

RESEARCH TEAM RESOLVES STRUCTURE OF CRUCIAL ENZYME FOR THE FIRST TIME

For the first time, a team co-led by CHU Sainte-Justine researcher and professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal, Alexey Pshezhetsky has succeeded in resolving the unique structure of the HGSNAT enzyme, a deficiency of which causes Sanfilippo syndrome, a rare pediatric disease affecting the central nervous system. Through collaboration with a team from Shanghai University, the structure of this enzyme and the mechanism of its function were revealed using high-performance

Session 0: https://www.reddit.com/DeltaGreenRPG/comments/1d0l92x/impossible_landscapes_session_0/
(Okay, these will be long. Five players, lmao. Hadn't quite accounted for that)
Operation ALICE, New York, 1995
The Roster (Player/Character)
Lea (she/her): Jules Gradkowska - Agent MIRANDA. Journalist - research and human intelligence.
Iain (he/him): Ralph Bevis - Agent MILHOUSE. Academic - history and occult specialist.
Quinn (he/him): Richard Delapore - Agent MAVERICK. FBI Special Agent - criminal and forensic expert and the official 'face' of the investigation.
Phil (he/him): Jean Duvall - Agent MAIN. US Navy Master Chief Petty Officer - operational security specialist.
Duncan (he/him): Jake Little - Agent MALATESTA. Civilian contractor - computer and electronic specialist with a side line in hacking.
Rob_sothoth (he/him) - Handler. The arbiter of the world: the good, the bad and that which cannot and should not be named.
Background: The Agents of M-Cell are tasked with investigating the apartment of Abigail Wright. Missing since June, Delta Green has reason to suspect para-natural involvement. Their orders are simple: catalogue the apartment and remove anything deemed suspect for destruction.
Despite heavy changes made, full spoiler warning for Impossible Landscapes.

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Session 1 "The Apartment" (May 24th, 2024)
New York: Tuesday, August 8th, 1995
1:45pm - 3:32pm, EST
Entering the lobby of the Macallistar building in Kips Bay, NYC, the Agents first make a sweep of Abigail's mailbox. Agent MARCUS (M-Cell Case Officer) provided them with a complete set of keys, not to be copied. The mailbox is stuffed full with bills, junk mail, catalogues and offers; mail still being delivered by people who have no idea Abigail is missing. MAVERICK gathers it in a bag and they make their way to Abigail's apartment (Ground floor).
The Macallistar echoes an earlier age. Faded purple carpeting and design from the turn of the century. Opposite Abigail's front door is an old-fashioned telephone nook, complete with bench and curtain for comfort and privacy when phone-lines in individual apartment was an expense few could afford.
M-Cell enters the apartment, finding it somewhere between a hoarder's dream and crime-scene technician's nightmare. The small hallway leads to a living-room (the apartment's largest space), an adjoining bedroom and a kitchen and bathroom opposite each other. Aside from the hallway, on first inspection the only other uncluttered space is the kitchen, which doesn't really look as if it's been used much. MAVERICK ear-marks that as something he wants to check himself as the team begin taking stock.
The NYPD has left a box with copies of their files, including a list of tenants they interviewed, many, many evidence collection bags and a box of latex gloves.
The apartment is filled with various items, with almost no floor visible beneath the collection. CDs and CD cases are stuck or glued to the wall, along with mannequin parts, sketches and assorted pieces that might be ceramic or plastic arranged in odd patterns without reason or rhyme. Stacks of phone books, stretches of dyed fabrics stitched together, an antique claw-footed lamp. Bags, bundles of pictures (drawings and photographs) of seeming nonsense. No furniture is immediately visible in the chaotic mess.
MAIN finds the same result in the bedroom as the first Search rolls are called for. Something catches his eye in the anarchy of the bedroom.
MALATESTA begins sorting through the pile of mail. MILHOUSE at first begins helping, but seeing the scale of the cataloguing, volunteers to make a coffee and food run. MIRANDA begins photographing, while MAVERICK gloves up and asks for things to be passed to him such as brushes, anything with a handle really or something more likely to have fingerprints on it. He wants to see if he can grab a set of Abigail's prints, if that's possible.
It doesn't take MALATESTA long to work out Abigail stopped paying her rent and bills in or around March before disappearing in June. Money was coming in up to a certain point, apparently from a showing Abigail had at the Mercury Gallery in Greenwich Village in November the previous year. There's even a letter from the gallery owner asking about another possible showing; from the way it's written, it might not have been the first time he spoke to Abigail before she vanished. Then, the only money coming in appears to be from her father, though she doesn't appear to have used it to cover the rent. He also gets the building management company, Art Life and their address.
As the Agents work, with MAIN carefully picking his way through the bedroom towards whatever caught his eye and MAVERICK uncovers a battery-powered hi-fi under all the trash, MILHOUSE returns from his coffee run and bumps into someone else entering the Macallistar at the same time he is. After an awkward hesitation on the threshold, MILHOUSE spends a little chatting to Lewis Post, one of Abigail's neighbours. MILHOUSE passes a HUMINT roll and I ruled that having spent most of his time in academics and his fellow PhDs, he can spot signs of some kind of social anxiety. I felt that was a fair get for a good success.
Lewis is hesitant but forthcoming as MILHOUSE works that high charisma score, knowing what to say to diffuse any potential tension. As far as Lewis knows, he is FBI of some kind after all.
MILHOUSE: "Did she ever mention a boyfriend? Girlfriend?"
Lewis: "Our relationship wasn't really like that. We had coffee sometimes. Talked about art. The process." He thinks. "She might have mentioned someone, but not a name, only what they did. A salesman, but I couldn't tell you what they sold."
MILHOUSE: "Talk about anything else?"
Lewis begins heading upstairs "She mentioned moving, but not before she was ready."
Back in the apartment, MAIN voices what others were thinking. "Where was she staying?" No bed, no signs of habitation except for the assorted hoard of crap. MAIN finds a hand grenade nestled in some papers and art supplies near the bedroom's walk-in closet.
In the living room, MAVERICK finds a single cassette tape in the uncovered hi-fi and flips it on, finding the batteries still live. Everyone hears MAVERICK's conversation with his significant other, Natalie from the previous evening. MAVERICK realises it's cut up and out of order, rewinds it and then flips it over. He thinks the entire conversation has been split between A & B sides of the tape.
MALATESTA and MAVERICK both consider phone-tapping, but MAIN, grenade temporarily forgotten, asks how it ended up here?
SAN check for MAVERICK. Pocketing the cassette tape, MAVERICK closes down a bit and prepares to go over the kitchen with a fine tooth comb; perhaps this is how he copes?
Before MAIN can mention the grenade he's worried about, MIRANDA, MALATESTA, MILHOUSE & MAVERICK notice something on the wall behind where the hi-fi was previously buried under junk. Fixed to the wall, maybe with some kind of glue is a piece of brown packing-paper with some kind of symbol drawn on it. Everyone focuses on it.

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3:41pm to 5:22pm, EST
MALATESTA: "That certainly looks like what we're supposed to be worried about."
MIRANDA snaps a polaroid. MILHOUSE tries to examine it, but his Occult check can only give him the vague thought it's connected to demonology, but little else beyond that. MAVERICK is cautious, but more concerned about getting to work on the unusually spotless kitchen.
Carefully, MIRANDA removes it and a blaring sounds like something between a horn blast and explosion almost deafens the Agents. It seems to come from everywhere and nowhere, from right next to them and outside at the same time.
Everyone passes a CONx5 check and the subsequent SAN check. Through the living room's window, MIRANDA, MILHOUSE and MAIN see a yellow-cab in the street outside. The cabbie appears to have leaned on the horn as someone crosses the street. They appear heavily dressed for summer, possibly homeless.
Is that a snake draped across their shoulders?
MIRANDA takes a polaroid while MILHOUSE and MAIN head outside to investigate. The picture reveals in sharp clarity, the cabbie staring down the barrel as she snapped the shot directly at her. MAVERICK gets to work in the kitchen and MALATESTA picks over things in the living room and bedroom respectively.
Search rolls for those in the apartment.
Outside, the cab has turned the corner and the pedestrian has carried on, though MAIN and MILHOUSE are able to work out where they went. MILHOUSE heads to cut off the other side of the alley, while MAIN approaches from behind, getting the pedestrian's attention. It's the height of summer in NYC, the air reeks of gasoline, rotting garbage and baking, soiled concrete and asphalt.
MAIN finds a nondescript, seemingly homeless man by the state of his clothes, but with a python draped over his shoulders. MAIN strikes up conversation, lighting a Gitane cigarette and pointing to the snake. From the other end of the alley, MILHOUSE makes his way towards the pair.
MAIN fails an alertness check.
Is this guy sweating? It's hot and he's bundled up like it's winter. Is he sweating? Why isn't he sweating?
Back in the apartment, MAVERICK tests the kitchen for blood and body fluids, breaking out the spray bottle and UV light. There's no cutlery, glassware or dishware anywhere in the room, but as he's lifting what could be a print, finds a mechanical diagram drawn on a napkin taped above the inside of an otherwise empty drawer. MALATESTA & MIRANDA continue their search of the living and bedroom, with MALATESTA finding a card printed with the following:
"For a good time Call D - 999-202-9989"
On the reverse are a series of what appear to be street corner addresses in Brooklyn. Could be a sex-line, could be a way to see Red Band underground film screenings, could be something online related. MALATESTA drifts between a few circles and he pockets it out of curiosity. When MIRANDA locates the grenade in the bedroom, she is careful to give it a wide berth and locates what MAIN missed: a backpack radio in the bedroom's walk-in closet. She calls MALATESTA over.
Back in the alleyway, MILHOUSE rolls under 10% and passes his disguise check. Dressed casually and a college athlete to boot, he fits the general chad look in his New York Knicks shirt despite his academic leanings. Being loud and obnoxious like he's drunk, he barrels into the homeless guy with the snake who stonewalled MAIN.
Instead he hits MAIN as the man with the snake is there and gone in the space between blinks. One moment MAIN is looking at him and then MILHOUSE knocks him flat on his ass. Like a film edit. Just gone. MAIN crit fails his SAN check and takes 4 SAN loss without projecting. Instead, as he scrambles up begins kicking over trash cans and searching the alley while MILHOUSE tries to calm him down and get a handle on things.
As MILHOUSE is talking MAIN out of tearing the alley apart, MIRANDA and MALATESTA check out the radio. As it comes to life, they listen and hear the following:
"Exeter. India. One. Thirteen. Sierra. Twenty. Twenty. Forty-nine."
MAVERICK meanwhile, finding the kitchen bare oddly finds the refrigerator stocked. There isn't much inside, some milk unopened and a pack of cheese and deli meat. Expiration is months ago, but through the plastic and glass of the bottle it looks fresh. Curious, he opens the milk and finds it smells as fresh as the day it was bought. Months ago.
Passes his SAN check. Given what he heard on the tape, it's not the strangest thing today.
MAIN and MILHOUSE detour to grab some more coffees, more to calm MAIN down and give him a (successful CHAx5 check) to flirt with the coffeeshop waitress. On their return, MAIN heads into the bedroom, pulls the pin on the grenade and activates the firing lever.
Nothing happens. His "hunch" was correct. Despite failing to properly identify it, something about the shape of it didn't match modern ordnance. Like the radio, it's vintage and either deactivated or else rendered inert by time and age.
I gave MAIN a SAN point back, because why not?
As things begin winding down, MILHOUSE and MAVERICK puzzle over the weird fridge, with MILHOUSE sacrificing his green tea and MAVERICK a donut to see how "fresh" they are come morning between the fridge and not.

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After 6pm, EST
Between them, M-Cell take the rest of the evening to take care of home-scenes or any unfinished business they can get done with their resources at hand. They also divide the Operational evidence from the Case evidence, with MIRANDA taking the symbol, MALATESTA the backpack radio & phone number, MAVERICK the cassette tape (for obvious reasons) and MAIN the mechanical sketch on the napkin.
MIRANDA and MILHOUSE, using the former's academic credentials both stay on the case, with MIRANDA leaving her photos from the park to develop in her bathroom. While she fails her roll, she does help MILHOUSE identify the demon the symbol refers to and book-related lead. She hits up a criminal contact named Hugo to put out feelers for weird items she may be interested in. He agrees for a fee, which she negotiates in her favour.
Returning to her apartment, MIRANDA finds her photos of the dancing clown and watching crowd have developed. In every photograph, the clown is turned away from her, but the faces in the crowd are looking at her. That's not how she remembers it. Fails a SAN check. Projects on to her editor, knowing she's going to be taking a "personal day" tomorrow, and this after she agreed to go to the grill.
This will have consequences.
MAIN, unnerved by the day's events, not the least of which was being knocked on his ass by a fitter, younger man, heads out. He returns to the coffeeshop he and MILHOUSE visited and takes the waitress he hit on out on a date. After a romantic interlude, MAIN has a new bond. Her name's Marsha, she's 27 and very nice.
Breaking Operational Security, MAVERICK asks MALATESTA to come back to his apartment and check for possible surveillance. Despite suffering comparatively little SAN loss overall, MAVERICK is letting the day's events impact his behaviour.
It's trivially easy for MALATESTA to confirm there are no bugs in place, which really does narrow the options for how the conversation could have been recorded. Thankful, he asks MALATESTA to keep this to himself for now, to which the grunge-kid agrees. MAVERICK drops MALATESTA near his home and leaves, putting the tape in the player of his car as he pulls away.
MALATESTA lives near the Village and diverts to check out the Mercury Gallery. Though closed, it seems legit and he makes a note of it for later. Back at home, he breaks open the backpack radio and examines it. The battery is not connected to the radio itself, the wires having been stripped out, yet he and MIRANDA both heard a voice on the end of its phone-mic. He passes his SAN check and finds in place of one of the transistors a small, black stone which does not feel like stone at all and feels like it's body temperature. MALATESTA leaves it on his desk, covered in a cloth.
Alone in his apartment, MAVERICK watches his phone. The time comes and he does not call Natalie. A moment later, his phone rings.
Alone in the apartment, MAVERICK does not answer.

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Post-Mortem
We ended up playing for a touch longer than I intended, but I knew that would happen by the time the cab sounded its horn. Despite some tiredness and some drinking, we ended up with a really strong session in retrospect, which has set the overall tone of the campaign for me as GM going forward. Between the five players, two have been through one Delta Green campaign, one has experience with Pulp Cthulhu and two have varying levels of exposure. They all roleplayed the f##k out of their characters and while I was worried about just how weird I wanted things to get out the gate, it feels like the balance is correct and I've given enough avenues for further investigation they may want to pursue.
I got a far better sense, as did the players, as to what drives and motivates their characters and how they cope or don't cope with Delta Green work.
MILHOUSE is definitely setting himself up as the curious academic, Iain playing his interest as forever drawn towards what's there "to discover," he said in character. Perhaps a fool and his sanity are easily parted?
MAVERICK is the "all-American", Agent Cooper adjacent FBI Agent who butts up against the para-natural and is seemingly rocked by it, revealing a complicated and perhaps conflicted depth. In his previous operation with MIRANDA, MAVERICK killed one person, but something about this has gotten under his skin. I wonder what Natalie thinks about their missed call?
A hacker by trade, MALATESTA likes a puzzle as much as he does not like the "weird shit." He talks a good talk when it's about something he knows, but is much too shy to chat up his co-worker. He and MAVERICK had some friction in Session 0 when MAVERICK wanted to call him Mal, to which the younger man pushed back against. Yet, he now knows where MAVERICK lives. Maybe he can learn more? What will he do with that? Does he even want to?
As much as MILHOUSE, MIRANDA is likewise driven by curiosity and a need to know, but first and foremost to keep herself safe. She and him are not the same. There's a scar above her hip from a knife, and it still twinges from time to time. She's also the first to directly or indirectly involve a Bond in the investigation. I wonder what Hugo will or won't find? I wonder what those photos mean. MIRANDA wondered aloud whether the crowd or the clown was the "entity." What does that mean?
Despite being built like Jack Reacher (albeit in a sailor suit), MAIN projects a tough air but is clearly a man at the crossroads. He turns 40 before 1995 ends; middle age. When hit with a problem or something he can't otherwise work out, his behaviour swings from one extreme to the other. To date, he's coped with the case by: lashing out at trash cans in an alley. Chatting up a waitress and forming a romantic bond with her. Pulling the pin on a grenade he "thought" could be fake. It's day one. I'm here for it.
Our next session is scheduled for June 7th, 2024.
Until then, be seeing you.

Kurt Angle, often regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers in history and with good reason. The man who won an Olympic gold medal with a broken neck came onto the scene in WWE between late 1999 and early 2000.
He went on to carve out an incredible career for himself, winning world titles the world over. Whether it was WWE, TNA or even NJPW - Angle made sure to leave an impact everywhere he went.
What if things were different though? What if Kurt Angle never debuted in the attitude era and instead, at the prime age of 32, Kurt Angle debuted in the wrestling world we know today?
Who would he cross paths with? Would he reach the same heights he did in his day? I intend to explore this topic and find out for myself.
Can The Wrestling Machine thrive in the Renaissance Era? Only time will tell...
The year is 2023 and Kurt Angle arrives on the scene, he's well known as is from his historic feat in 2021, when he won a gold medal with a broken neck at the Summer Olympics.
Many would expect Kurt to chase this success into something significant, but many are surprised and intrigued when it's made clear what his future goals are.
To transition into the world of sports entertainment and become a professional wrestler.
He spends his first year working the independent scene, making appearances in GCW specifically. There, he ends up having standout matches with the likes of Brian Cage and Powerhouse Hobbs who make special guest appearances to lock up with the hot commodity. He even has a half-decent match with Jake Hager, in a bout that seems like it could've been something special if Hager was about a decade younger and still The All American American.
By the time June 2024 rolls around, dirt sheets are speculating that most of the major professional wrestling companies are showing great interest in Kurt, but it's likely he will turn up in WWE due to their extensive track record transitioning athletes from various walks of life and countless different sports.
Imagine everyones surprise then, when Hiroshi Tanahashi announces NJPW has signed Kurt Angle, not to a full time contract but for a very exciting purpose indeed.
The G1 Climax.
Along with him in B Block are seven other supremely talented athletes, some of NJPW's finest along with a couple of freelancers from other promotions.
NJPW, G1 Climax 34 - Night 1, July 15, 2024:
Eddie Kingston vs Kurt Angle
[Kurt's first match of the G1 comes in the form of the Mad King, Eddie Kingston. Eddie's striking and submission based aggression pairs well with Kurt's grappling and limb targeting. Angle is able to rattle Eddie throughout the match with throws and suplexes, as well as his ability to outmaneuver Eddie's submission attempts.
The match comes to a close as Eddie comes out of the corner with a Uraken to a wobbly Angle. Kurt ducks and latches on for a German Suplex, maintaining waist control, a second German Suplex, yet again. Kurt pulls Kingston up to complete the trio, but Eddie hooks onto the top turnbuckle. Kurt shows his strength, suplexing Kingston as the padding goes flying.
Kurt tries for an Angle Slam, but Kingston finds his footing behind Kurt, and grips hold of the neck, cinching a bulldog choke. Kurt struggles up before marching towards the corner and diving downwards, thus driving Eddie skull first into the exposed turnbuckle.
An Angle Slam follows, and Kurt secures a win in his NJPW debut.]
Kurt Angle (2) def Eddie Kingston (0)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 3, July 18, 2024:
Jeff Cobb vs Kurt Angle
[Kurt's second match of the G1 proves to be a very interesting one indeed. Jeff Cobb, a former olympian himself, is perhaps one of the only wrestlers on the planet who can match Angle regarding his knowledge of suplexes, throws, power maneuvers and grapples.
The match begins to near the end as Cobb has Angle up top in a deadlift stalling superplex, Angle is able to land on his feet behind Cobb and German Suplex Cobb off the middle turnbuckle.
Angle looks for an Angle Slam, but Cobb lands on his feet and tries for Tour Of The Islands, but Kurt scrambles free and lands a German Suplex, maintains waist control, Cobb breaks free and steps behind Angle, German Suplex, Angle does the same thing, Cobb gets fed up and hits a German Suplex that lands Angle flat on his face as Cobb releases the waist.
Cobb signals for the end and looks for a standing moonsault, Kurt avoids and hits a throwing German Suplex of his own. Angle scales the turnbuckles, moonsault! At the ref's count of two, Cobb sits up with Angle in his arms. Tour Of The Islands connects! Near-fall!
Cobb gets Angle up on his shoulder, Angle escapes and locks on to the ankle, Jeff rolls forward and sends Angle into the corner. Angle steps backwards into the arms of Cobb, Tour Of The Isl- Angle on his feet! Angle Slam!
Kurt begins to scale the ropes and lands another moonsault. With that, Cobb finally stays down and Angle is able to outlast his counterpart.]
Kurt Angle (4) def Jeff Cobb (0)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 5, July 21, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Kushida
[Taking into consideration Kushida's rather successful MMA background, this matchup seems like a no brainer. Both men are grappling gods well regarded as being submission experts. It's on full display when they finally face off in the G1.
Kushida has been vocal about his displeasure competing only in the Junior division and when put in the premier tournament of NJPW's year, he's eager to prove he belongs in the main event scene.
The story told here is Angle's non stop assault on the legs and ankles of Kushida, and in return Kushida relentlessly damaging the arms and wrists of Angle.
Kushida, despite the quickly deteriorating bones in his legs, is leech like with how determined he is to stay attached to the arm of Kurt. Angle Slam? Denied and turned into a Kimura Lock. Ankle Lock? Kushida rolls forward driving Angle shoulder first into the steel post, and then Kimura Lock. German Suplex? That's what you think, it's actually a Kimura Lock.
As Kushida continuously dissects the arm, Angle begins getting increasingly desperate. He dunks Kushida into the turnbuckles harshly. Onto the apron. Into the barricade. Taking more and more drastic measures to free himself and becoming less and less successful.
Eventually Kurt is in agony and nothing seems to shake Kushida, he climbs to the top rope, hoping a drop from that height will force release. Kushida lets go without Kurt even having to drop only to reapply and look for an arm drag variation off the top.
As Kushida goes to drop, Kurt grips to the ropes and Kushida lands in a tree of woe position. Kurt grabs hold of the ears of Kushida, pulling him up slightly, before shoving him down and forcing him to collide with the turnbuckles.
He drags Kushida up to the top rope, clearly looking for something big, but Kushida goes back in with the Kimura, Kurt begins driving Kushida into the top of the steel post before actually picking Kushida up with his bad arm only and slamming Kushida into the metal.
Kurt positions himself for one last gasp effort to thwart the colorfast Kushida. Angle Slam from the top turnbuckle! An exhausted Angle crawls to cover, and is at last able to defeat Kushida.
The question quickly becomes though, as the referee is refused the chance to even raise the arm of Angle, how much damage was done?]
Kurt Angle (6) def Kushida (2)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 7, July 25, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Matt Riddle
[Four nights after having his arm near surgically dissected by Kushida, Angle locks up against another skilled fighter endowed with MMA experience.
Riddle gives the challenge Cobb gave being able to match Angle on power, while also giving the challenge Kushida did with limb targeting and joint manipulation.
Riddle, entering his first G1 has arguably his biggest opportunity since joining NJPW earlier in the year. He spends the duration of the match peppering Angle with strikes to the arm, salting with submissions.
As the match nears it's own climax, Angle goes for a high risk moonsault only for Riddle to avoid. A final flash knee follows from the ever opportunistic Riddle. Kurt is able to kick-out, inspiring Riddle to try for a RainTrigger. Kurt blocks with his arm to avoid getting struck in the face. He winces and Riddle capitalizes with rapid palm strikes to the chest before kicking Kurt into the ropes.
As Angle rebounds, Riddle goes under the arm and tries for a falling pele kick, Kurt catches the leg and gets an Ankle Lock. Riddle is able to get back to his free foot, so Angle hits a leg trapped German Suplex to discourage a comeback.
Kurt tries for an Angle Slam, but Riddle maneuvers into a pinning predicament, Kurt reverses the pressure pinning Riddle's shoulders. They go back and forth until Kurt traps Matt in a sleeper hold. Riddle fires up to his feet and begins snapping Kurt's elbow over his shoulder to escape.
Riddle gets Kurt up for Bro To Sleep, Angle catches the leg and clings with an Ankle Lock. Riddle gets back to his feet and lands a surprise roundhouse with his free foot. A V-Trigger to the shoulder follows, before Riddle gets Angle in Tombstone position. Angle slithers down, and like a snake, latches onto the ankle.
Riddle crumples under the unexpected pressure as Kurt gets a knee baankle lock hybrid applied. He wrenches away on the Achilles tendon, as Riddle writhes in pain.
Matt nearly gets to the ropes, but Angle is able to roll with him back into the center of the ring. Eventually, Riddle has to think of the big picture and consider the matches he still has left in the tournament, and he submits to Kurt Angle.
Kurt is able to conquer another worthy adversary and remains undefeated in the tournament, but his arm is clearly bothering him and that is shown as Kurt takes time to nurse the injury after the bout.]
Kurt Angle (8) def Matt Riddle (4)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 9, July 27, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Minoru Suzuki:
[It's more bad news for Angle, as his next foe is regarded as arguably one of the most sadistic pro wrestlers of all time. Suzuki, known for his methodical approach and willingness to lay in with strikes, has him salivating at the prospect of getting his hands on the already wounded Kurt.
Angle is donning circulation tape as he locks up with the Murder Grandpa. Suzuki wastes little time in tearing at the tape, exposing the flesh beneath. Digging his elbow into the shoulder blade, he continues his attack on Kurt.
Knee drops and stiff chops leave a stinging sensation rippling through the arm of Angle. Kurt wants to execute his power maneuvers, but a lack of grip prevents him as he begins losing strength and ability with every blow to the shoulder.
Suzuki tucks Kurt's fragmented arm behind him, connecting with Russian Leg Sweeps and suplexes, landing Angle's weight harshly onto his own arm.
Kurt begins mounting something of a comeback against the relentless Suzuki. He keeps his arm close to his body, but is able to surprise Minoru with his explosiveness. He knows he can't lift Suzuki, and so turns to the aerial side of his arsenal.
A swan dive off the apron has Suzuki reeling and Angle is able to follow up with a moonsault into the ring. Angle tries to strike with his feet, connecting with dropkicks and enziguris.
Suzuki weathers the storm, however, and positions Angle for a Gotch-Style Piledriver. Angle is able to grasp onto the leg and sink down, refusing to let Suzuki power him up.
Angle goes under, maintaining his leg control, and gets an Ankle Lock applied. He struggles to keep it in for as long as possible, but the strength in his arm isn't present. Suzuki is able to kick Angle off of him, and Kurt goes into desperation mode. A wounded animal faced with an angry Minoru Suzuki.
Angle goes for a risky strategy, considering his lack of practice in this department, but he decides to use a leg oriented submission, given that his arms are unable to grip for long. He is able to reverse a Gotch-Style into a triangle choke, tightening his legs vice grip around the neck and applying pressure to the carotid.
Angle tries his damnedest, withstanding even a deadlift powerbomb and continuing his choke, to maintain his attack on Suzuki. It pays off as slowly, but surely, Suzuki loses the ability to breathe and is forced to tap out to Kurt Angle.]
Kurt Angle (10) def Minoru Suzuki (2)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 11, Aug 1, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Shingo Takagi
[It's out of the frying pan and into the fire as Angle survives Suzuki, but is now faced with arguably more aggressive competition, in the form of Shingo Takagi.
Angle is on the defensive for most of the bout, wanting to keep his perfect record intact, and knowing the danger of letting Shingo get ahold of his arm.
This also means Angle is less assertive, however, and Shingo is more willing to take risks to do damage to Kurt. Takagi gives Angle a taste of his own medicine as he begins repeatedly suplexing Angle, multiple Germans, landing Kurt on his bad shoulder. He mixes in other variations as well, optimizing the damage he can do to the arm.
Takagi also drives Angle, shoulder first into the steel post. When Angle slumps down, Takagi closes in with a running knee strike, popping Angle's shoulder into the turnbuckle.
Shingo dominates the course of the match, letting Angle get in little offense. Angle stirs, sitting up as he tries to catch his bearings on the canvas. Shingo spots Angle in position for a PUMPING BOMBER, Angle ducks, Angle Slam, Shingo on his feet to avoid, Made In Japan! Angle locks to the waist and reverses with a roll-up, Shingo rolls backwards to kick out, Shingo behind Angle, gets him up, Last Of The Dragons!
Angle planted right on his bad shoulder with authority by Takagi. Shingo gets rewarded for his effort with a very close near fall. Shingo pulls Angle up by his hair, forearm, after forearm, after forearm. Angle spits in the face of Takagi, refusing to go quietly for The Dragon. Shingo wipes his face calmly, before running the ropes, PUMPING BOMBER.
With that, Takagi has handed Angle his first singles career loss, and overtaken him in the G1 rankings.]
Shingo Takagi (11) def Kurt Angle (10)
NJPW G1 Climax 34 - Night 13, Aug 5, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Zack Sabre Jr.
[Finally, we arrive at Kurt's final test of this grueling tournament. The tournament that has left him clutching his arm in peril every night, the tournament that has left him blistered and bruised in the biggest tests of his young career, but most importantly, the tournament that put him on the map.
Angle, well regarded as a fantastic submission worker and grappler, takes aim at arguably the greatest submission based wrestler of all time, Zack Sabre Jr.
Angle's Olympian background makes for an intriguing contrast against Zack's more strike heavy, frenzied submission approach. Sabre Jr., one of the most shark like opponents you could have, rips at the arm of Angle in various ways.
Bending the arm back as he stands on the fingers before stamping the elbow sideways, penalty kicks to the forearm, palm strikes to the shoulder blade, using every opportunity to hang the arm over the ropes before being forced to release.
Zack has Angle in a pool of pain as he ascends for a diving knee drop to the arm, Angle avoids, catching Zack in mid air with an Ankle Lock. Zack scrambles, and rolls forward, sending Angle out of the ring.
Sabre goes to the apron, and attempts a diving uppercut, Angle catches him and flips him forward before getting him up for a powerbomb. Zack quickly shifts into an arm triangle, tearing at the arm. Angle drops Zack onto the barricade to no avail, but a firm drop onto the apron forces Zack to let Angle go.
Sabre Jr. is positioned against the stairs and Kurt charges in, Zack slips into the ring and Angle collides with the steel stairs. Baseball slide by Zack follows before he guides Angle to the steel barricade. He pops Angle's arm through the bars and uses his feet on the other side to pull Angle further in, trying to pull Angle through the fence.
Zack gets cocky, standing atop the barricade as he keeps his paws on Angle. Angle sweeps the legs and Sabre takes a nasty spill on top of the steel. An impromptu Angle Slam into the barricade follows before Angle sends Sabre Jr. back in.
Angle climbs, looking to put the finishing touches on Sabre Jr. A Moonsault by Angle caught with a triangle! Sabre Jr. wraps his legs around the neck of Angle, strangling The Wrestling Machine. Kurt powers up Sabre with his last bit of strength. He collapses Zack into the turnbuckles, shifting the ring with the force.
Angle recovers and rips Zack out of the corner into an Ankle Lock. He knows he can't maintain good grip with his arm, so he cinches down into a knee bar. Zack struggles for a while before finally finding the bottom rope. Zack gets an arm triangle over the ropes for a few seconds, before connecting with a kick from the apron.
Sabre dives back in, but Angle blocks the slingshot with an Ankle Lock. Zack swiftly rolls forward, and as Angle tries to roll backwards, Zack pins him down. Angle rolls backwards anyway with Zack and gets a German Suplex. Angle sits up and lets out a roar, before Zack stands up and kicks him in the back of the head. Both men collapse as the playing field is evened.
Angle and Sabre Jr. find themselves crawling back up in opposite corners. The crowd breaks into a clap building up to both men meeting in the center of the ring, unloading with strikes. Zack goes cheap with a falling kick to the bad arm. Zack steps on the knee of Angle before maneuvering over him and onto his arm where he then rolls into a cross armbreaker.
Angle fires up, and twists away at the ankle to turn into an Ankle Lock. Sabre rolls forward and turns it back into a cross armbreaker. Angle rolls backwards and pops out, into an Ankle Lock. Sabre rolls Angle into the turnbuckles to break the cycle. Step-up knee strike by Zack, avoided by Angle, Angle hops to the bottom turnbuckle to greet Zack. Angle Slam from the middle turnbuckle!
Kurt desperately covers, but Zack kicks out, locking a Kimura as he does. Angle yelps out in agony, and tries to roll out of it. Zack stops Angle with a cross armbreaker, Angle powers Zack up, Zack clings to Kurt, connecting with a rana before mounting into a triangle choke.
No matter what Kurt does, Zack won't let go of the arm. Angle, the pain unbearable, the breath leaving his body at an alarming rate. As Zack tightens like a snake across the arm and neck of Angle, Kurt begins to fade and eventually, perhaps inevitably, passes out in the jaws of Zack Sabre Jr.
Kurt's G1 proves to be incredibly impressive as he is ranked third in his block, and his undeniable grit was on full display, as The Olympic Hero refused to tap out, opting to lose consciousness instead.]
Zack Sabre Jr. (13) def Kurt Angle (10)
It's not long after this that Kurt surprises by opting not to sign a full time contract with NJPW, drowning out the offers from AEW and WWE, and instead decides to visit a promotion that he feels oddly at home in. Total Nonstop Action.
TNA Victory Road 2024, Sep 21, 2024:
Jonathan Gresham (c) vs Kurt Angle, TNA World Heavyweight Championship
[Kurt, being the genetic freak that he is, catapults to the main event scene, especially given his matches in the G1 Climax boosting his resume. Gresham, having dethroned Moose a few months back, has been confidently seated as face of the company. Angle looks to challenge that throne.
Gresham and Angle have a heated contract signing prior to the event, with Angle, in response to being called a rookie stating "Well, this rookie is going to kick your fucking ass." before busting Gresham's nose into the table, dragging Jonathan across the table and powerbombing him through it.
The bout is a technical masterclass with Gresham challenging Angle on the technical front. Gresham manages to get Angle in an octopus lock, Angle shifts Gresham out of it and cinches an Ankle Lock. Gresham hooks onto Angle's ankle and throws Kurt off balance, collapsing him into a knee bar. Angle manages to kick Gresham away before locking a figure four.
Gresham rolls over to reverse the pressure, before both men make their way onto their heads, slapping and swatting at each other. Angle throws the first closed fist and it dazes Gresham who breaks free of the predicament. Angle begins his repeated germans, Gresham lands on his feet with the third attempt. Octopus Lock by Gresham, Angle reverses into a third and final German Suplex.
Gresham stumbles up, Angle Slam, Gresham on his feet, big knee to the nose of Angle, Octopus Hold, a look of annoyed disbelief crosses the face of Angle due to Jonathan's insistence on this move, powerbomb reversal by Angle. Gresham pulls himself up using the ropes and is caught from behind with a definitive Angle Slam.
The referee counts the pin and Kurt Angle has secured his first pro wrestling title, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, after a barn burner to dethrone Jon Gresham.]
Kurt Angle def Jonathan Gresham (c) to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA Bound For Glory 2024, Oct 13, 2024:
Kurt Angle (c) vs Kushida, TNA World Heavyweight Championship
[A few short months following their classic in the G1, Angle is hungry for revenge on the man he claims cost him the biggest opportunity of his career. After all, Angle suffered his arm injury during his match with Kushida, and there's an argument to be made his losses to Shingo and Sabre Jr. wouldn't have occured if not for the target Kushida put on him.
Kushida wins a fatal four way over Laredo Kid, Mike Bailey and Rich Swann to punch his ticket to Bound For Glory and the rematch is set. Angle/Kushida II
Angle shows more of his aggressive side in this bout, given that this match is probably the most personal of Angle's young career. Kushida attempts to wear away at the arm, but Kurt has him scouted, sharply reversing any arm oriented attacks.
Angle dizzies Kushida with a series of throws and suplex, making Kushida feel like he's trapped in the spin cycle. Following Angle's several minutes of control time, he attempts to finalize his revenge on Kushida with an Angle Slam. Kushida shifts off the shoulders and into a Kimura Lock.
Angle is forced to tough it out for a minute as Kushida relentlessly latches on. Angle finally takes Kushida to the ground, gets a hand around the ankle and rolls out of the Kimura, taking the ankle with him.
Ankle Lock is in, Kushida though, rolls forward to escape. A nasty jab by Kushida connects, before he attempts his handspring back elbow. Angle catches him and lands a German Suplex. Angle rolls over into an Ankle Lock. A, so far, unseen intensity donning his expression.
Kushida is gutsy and resilient, but is eventually forced to submit to Angle. Kurt relishes his victory, getting what he perceives as his vengeance over Kushida.
Angle, ever the good sport, offers Kushida a hand and pulls him up into a handshake, squashing the beef between them.]
Kurt Angle (c) def Kushida to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
TNA Turning Point 2024, Nov 3, 2024:
Josh Alexander vs Kurt Angle (c), TNA World Heavyweight Championship
[Having effectively vanquished Kushida, Angle turns his attention towards his next challenger. Josh Alexander, having been forced to vacate the World Championship after becoming the longest reigning TNA World Champion in company history, is still seeking to gain back the title that he never lost.
He just so happens to have to go through the man who made his debut to rescue Alexander a couple short months ago to do so. Alexander and Angle, both of similar backgrounds, are excited and respectful in their pursuit to do battle.
The match runs fairly similarly to Jeff Cobb's clash with Angle, a game of one upmanship based around suplex variants. Angle gets the better of Josh with one of these exchanges, getting his trio of German Suplexes to connect and throwing Josh across the ring with the third.
Alexander pops up and comes barreling out of the corner with a spear, he then rolls with Angle, maintaining grip on the waist and lifts him into a deadlift gutwrench suplex creating a beautiful fusion move. Angle barely gets the shoulder up and both men lay exhausted.
They find their footing in the center of the ring, and Alexander begins to lay in with uppercuts. Angle gets a read on him, and catches an uppercut attempt into a backslide, Josh kicks out and Kurt gets him up in powerbomb position. Josh escapes onto his feet and gets Kurt up for a fireman's carry landing a cutter from that position.
Kurt kicks out and Alexander adapts, getting a torture rack applied, bending Angle over his traps. Kurt escapes and gets an emphatic German Suplex. Angle scales the turnbuckles, moonsault! Alexander avoids. Josh gets Angle up and lands a spinning tombstone for a near fall.
For the first time since Angle transitioned to professional wrestling, his neck begins to bother him after the nasty spike on the head. The commentators make point of mentioning Angle's background of neck issues. Alexander decides to make a statement at the expense of Angle, trapping him in an Ankle Lock.
Kurt is able to roll free and as Josh rebounds off the ropes, he is caught with an Angle Slam. Kurt, clutching his neck, goes up top. Moonsault connects. The referee begins the count, but Kurt stops him. Ankle Lock by Kurt.
Kurt wants to make Josh submit, but Alexander breaks out. He gets a double underhook, but Kurt lifts Josh with his bad neck and falls backwards to escape. Kurt immediately goes back on attacking the ankle. Josh scrambles to kick Kurt away and succeeds. Kurt charges back, right into the grips of Alexander. Double Underhook, Tiger Driver! Angle bounces off his skull, and Josh quickly covers. Kurt somehow kicks out!
Josh drags Angle up by his singlet straps, a second spinning tombstone! One, Two Three. Alexander, after several months on the shelf, having to give up his record breaking reign, has reclaimed his spot at the top of the TNA food chain and he's done it by defeating Kurt Angle.
After the bout, Alexander is forced to cut his celebrating short as Kurt struggles to move. He's eventually carted off with a stretcher, putting a damper on Alexander's cathartic title victory.]
Josh Alexander def Kurt Angle (c) to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Following his harrowing loss of the TNA World Title, it's reported by PWI that Angle has a bad concussion and will be out of action for the remainder of November and likely all of Winter. This is due to precautionary measures being taken since Angle has a history of neck problems.
Death, Taxes and Dirt Sheets Being Wrong.
AEW Collision, Nov 9, 2024:
Motor City Machine Guns vs Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs
[Meanwhile, in AEW, MCMG arrived a little under six months ago and in doing so have become one of the premier tag teams in the company. They've recently been embroiled in a mini-feud with The Don Callis Family, and it comes to a head here.
After various points of control for each competitor, MCMG are able to take the hard earned victory, pinning Hobbs with Takeshita failing to break it up.
After the bout, Hobbs takes a microphone and makes it clear that The Don Callis Family has been on a downhill slide lately. He states that he can make The Don Callis Family better, and bring them back to their former relevance. That he can inspire Takeshita and earn tag team gold with him.
"I just don't want to."
He turns to Takeshita and Callis, taking a predatory stance now.
"Why should I stay and save this family." He scoffs. "A family of failures...is no family of mine."
He headbutts Takeshita and stands over the fallen warrior. Blood begins to trickle down the nose, as Hobbs capitalizes with the World's Strongest Slam. He kneels over the broken body of Takeshita when the star spangled banner coats the titantron and just six days after it was reported he would be out of action for months, Kurt Angle debuts in AEW.
He brawls with his GCW rival, taking Hobbs out of the ring. He stands his ground, staring down Hobbszilla. The Olympic Hero is All Elite!]
AEW Dynamite, Nov 13, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Powerhouse Hobbs
[It's announced that on Dynamite, ten short days after Kurt Angle's TNA World Title loss, that he will lock horns with Powerhouse Hobbs on Dynamite in his official debut.
Hobbs is able to do what few have truly been able to, and that is overpower Kurt Angle. Angle is a stout, strong guy but when greeted with the powerlifter Hobbs, he finds himself manhandled.
Hobbs blocks suplex attempts and tosses Angle around with slams and throws. Hobbs begins to work on the back, getting Kurt in a torture rack submission. Kurt slips out the back door and gets a surprise German on Hobbs, he maintains waist control and attempts another, but Hobbs escapes and sends Kurt spiraling off the ropes.
A spinebuster from Hobbs follows for a two count. Hobbs gets frustrated throwing Angle out of the ring and using his environment to his advantage. He throws Kurt across the announce desk, into the steel stairs, smashes him against the barricade. Once he feels enough damage has been done, he sends Kurt back in and gets him up for Town Business, Angle escapes off the shoulders and lands an Angle Slam.
Clutching his back, Kurt is able to get the pinfall victory over the ever-menacing Hobbs. A successful debut for The Olympic Hero in the land of The Elite.]
Kurt Angle def Powerhouse Hobbs
AEW Dynamite, Nov 20, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Powerhouse Hobbs
[One week after their titanic clash, it is announced that Hobbs and Angle will clash once more ahead of Takeshita/Hobbs at Full Gear.
Angle makes his entrance, a new shade of intensity painting his face. Everyone believes Angle is going to express that intensity by giving Hobbs a proper beating.
Instead, as the two men stand across each other and the bell rings, the two come face to face, center of the ring.
Hobbs snatches the ref. World's Strongest Slam.
Angle simply snickers to himself as he backs into the corner.
As the crowd sits in stunned silence, Angle climbs to the top turnbuckle, landing a bone-rattling moonsault on the defenseless Rick Knox, making clear he is in on this sick plan.
Security begins to rush the ring, and Hobbs & Angle begin to get to work. They demolish every guard that enters the ring in quick succession.
After clearing the twenty-some security guards, Angle and Hobbs stand together, proud of the carnage they've inflicted. That is, until, Konosuke Takeshita's theme sounds.
Takeshita storms the ring, fighting both men at once. To everyone's amazement, Takeshita is able to clear the ring, chasing off the two newly united heels. Takeshita stands tall ahead of Full Gear, sending a brief but loud message to Hobbs.]
AEW Full Gear, Nov 23, 2024:
Konosuke Takeshita vs Kurt Angle
[Tony Khan makes the announcement that the behavior shown on Dynamite was unacceptable, and reprimands are in order. Kurt Angle is a newcomer to the company, so Tony will let him off with a one and only warning, but Hobbs has been here for years and he knows better. Powerhouse Hobbs has been suspended for thirty days and will miss Full Gear, in his place, his new running mate Kurt Angle will be forced to sub in against Takeshita.
In one of the biggest tests of both men's young careers, two of the hottest rising stars in AEW collide, with deep personal roots fueling the bout. Takeshita wanted Powerhouse Hobbs, the man who backstabbed him, tonight but settles for directing all of that anger towards Kurt Angle instead.
Angle enters with his signature mouth-piece finally making it's first appearance, he probably could have used that before, but hindsight. It adds a distinct edge to his grizzled 'real' fighter look.
In Kurt's second proper match in the company, he is put through the wringer in one of the most physically intense matches of his career. Takeshita's blistering strikes leave Angle cornered and forced to rely on pockets of offense to try to limit the damage done to him.
Angle finally gets an opening late and attempts an Angle Slam, Takeshita on his feet lands behind Angle and sinks him with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Takeshita sizing up Kurt from the corner, closes the distance with a Pegasus Knee Strike, Angle catches the leg, and rolls into a knee bar. He focuses his assault on the ankle, hoping to soften Takeshita up.
Takeshita writhes in pain before finally reaching the bottom rope, forcing separation. Angle uses every bit of the five count to continue torturing the ankle. Takeshita kicks Kurt away as Angle looks to pounce, and Konosuke begins running the ropes, picking up steam. He avoids multiple clothesline attempts, dizzying Angle.
He finally closes the gap with a massive lariat. Takeshita scouts Angle from the corner now, and the Pegasus Knee gets ducked by Angle. Kurt begins his trio of German Suplexes. On the third attempt, Takeshita escapes, Blue Thunder Bo- Angle escapes, a third German Suplex! It lands Konosuke flat on his face and Takeshita seeks refuge on the outside.
Angle scales the turnbuckles, catching Konosuke at ringside with a moonsault! He sends Konosuke back in and climbs once more. A final moonsault, but Takeshita rolls out of the way. Angle eats the canvas. Pegasus Knee Strike connects knocking the mouthpiece out! Takeshita pulling Angle up, Blue Thunder Bomb!
It is sweet victory for Takeshita, as he is able to get a measure of revenge on Kurt Angle, translated via the glare in his eyes and the expression on his face though, it is evident that Takeshita still wants Hobbs.]
Konosuke Takeshita def Kurt Angle
AEW Worlds End, Dec 29, 2024:
Kurt Angle vs Kyle O'Reilly, Submission Match
[We arrive at Worlds End and these two grappling gods are chomping at the bit to finally cross paths. Hobbs is busy with Takeshita which gives Angle ample opportunity to put O'Reilly to the test.
Kurt's been getting more braggadocios following his victories, including in two five minute challenges in which he was able to tap both Lee Moriarty and Daniel Garcia in under five minutes.
O'Reilly is able to meet Angle tit for tat, much like Kushida and Sabre Jr. before him. Kurt finally starts to feel some of that pressure he's been applying to his recent opponents.
Late in the contest, O'Reilly begins to pummel Angle with various strikes taking toll on every part of the body. He caps off the sequence with a stomp to the back of the head and a spinning forearm. Angle is left dazed when Kyle leaps on to the back for a sleeper.
Kurt fumbles momentarily with the hands of O'Reilly, but as loss of consciousness rears it's head, Angle dives forward slamming O'Reilly against the turnbuckles, nearly driving both men through them. O'Reilly stumbles up into a trio of Germans, O'Reilly locks onto the waist with his legs on the third attempt, rolling Angle forward and applying a cross armbreaker.
Angle finds his way out with a grasp on the ankle. Ankle Lock is in, O'Reilly kicks and kicks, but Angle refuses to release the grip. O'Reilly shifts himself onto his back and is able to get Angle within reach to apply a Guillotine. Angle gives up the Ankle Lock to focus on the newfound predicament.
He solves it with a northern lights suplex to escape. Angle sets his sights on O'Reilly and closes in for an Angle Slam, Kyle on his feet, Russian Leg Sweep by O'Reilly who then finds the arm and reattaches. Angle shows his strength getting a deadlift powerbomb and forcing O'Reilly to forgo his grip.
Angle climbs to the top for a moonsault, O'Reilly avoids, Kyle comes in hot, stepping up on Angle's leg to then knee him in the face. O'Reilly follows up with a roundhouse, Angle ducks, leg sweep, Angle jumps and then Angle rolls forward and snatches the ankle.
The Ankle Lock is firmly applied, O'Reilly struggles, trying to grab the ropes, kick free, roll out, but Angle has seen it all before and has an answer for everything O'Reilly attempts. After agonizing minutes in the Ankle Lock, O'Reilly finally submits to Kurt Angle.
Yet another feather in the cap of the seemingly unstoppable wrestling machine.]
Kurt Angle def Kyle O'Reilly
AEW Dynamite, Jan 22, 2025:
[On the Dynamite after Angle and Hobbs score a tag team victory over Hook and RVD, Hook is in the ring and calls out Angle. He claims that he is the match Angle has been waiting for and that he knows he can submit Kurt.
Angle comes out and tells Hook that he's a very talented man, and that one day Hook could be a World Champion. Angle's a fan of Hook, he's a hooker.
The only thing Angle can't stand about Hook is his stupid hair. A Champion shouldn't look like they rolled out of a sleeping bag on Skid Row twenty minutes ago, and Angle damn sure ain't tapping to no hobo.
Angle agrees to a match with Hook under the stipulation that when Hook loses he shave his head, Angle is so confident even that he'll put his own hair on the line too.
Once the match is made, Hobbs lambasts Hook from behind, beating on the defenseless up and comer. This leads Taz to rise from the announce table and try to come to the ring, Angle stops him and blocks his way.
As the two face off, Angle gets that feeling again. It's impossible, but...he's been here before, seen this man before. Angle gets a ringing in his ears and abruptly headbutts Taz. Excalibur rises from the table before Taz is ripped up by his suit and Angle carrys him over to the announce desk.
A brutal Angle Slam through the desk connects. Hobbs even backs Angle up and is able to somewhat corral the unhinged Angle. Taz is carted off and suddenly the fight between Hook and Angle just got personal.]
CONT. In Comments

On the morning of Mother’s Day this year I received exactly one gift: a dead rat, deposited at my doorstep by my cat, James. James is black and white, slick and elegant, his fur like a tuxedo. If a cat was cast to replace Daniel Craig in the next Bond film, James would be perfect. In fact, the resemblance is how he got his name in the first place.
“Thank you, James,” I said, bending to stroke his fur as we both examined the little rotting carcass on the welcome mat. He looked up at me hopefully as if expecting me to take a nibble of his offering. “I’ll get to that later,” I promised.
The rest of the family had forgotten the holiday. Not that I blamed them. My husband Saito was busy at work, pulling 70-hour shifts as he prepared a series of PowerPoints to explain his company’s corporate structure to a potential buyer. In the meantime, the twins June and Lily were busy with spring soccer and last-minute prep for their upcoming AP tests.
I spent some time idly making myself coffee while the family slept. Then, around 9:00 they all flew past in flurry, the twins off to a soccer game and Saito headed to the office.
It wasn’t until they’d all left, that a lump began to form in my throat, and I headed to the backyard to have a little cry. I felt silly. It was a made up holiday, after all. Not like Christmas or a birthday (though Saito forgot my birthday too this year.)
For a few minutes, I sat on one of the patio chairs, sniffling pathetically, hoping no one returned early to see me like this.
I was about to go back in when I saw James. He was over in the corner of the yard, lying in the shade. Right away, I could tell something was off about him. James always slept curled in a ball, his chin resting on his rear haunch. Today, he was stretched out, bent awkwardly. Even stranger, he seemed to shimmer in the few spots where the dappled sunlight caught his fur.
Slowly, I walked over, clicking my tongue in the way he liked. When he didn’t move, I softly called his name. Finally, I reached out to touch him, only to find his fur wet. Drawing my hand back, I found it red and bloody in the sunlight, which is when I started screaming.
I called Saito a few minutes later.
“I need you to come home,” I said. “James is dead.”
“Your friend James? From college?”
“Our cat!” I realized I was screaming into the phone. “Our only cat!”
I could practically hear him roll his eyes on the far and of the line.
“It’s not a good day for this,” he said. “I can come back a bit early, take care of the body. Just leave it alone for now.”
I spent many hours alone that day, sitting in the backyard. In time, flies found James and began to lick at him with their little straw-mouths, dipping their horrible little hands in his blood and rubbing them together. It was no use shooing them away.
I was sunburned raw by the time Saito came home. He looked at me, incredulous.
“What happened to you?”
“I was standing vigil,” I explained.
He rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
“Where’s the cat?” he asked, and I gestured to the backyard. Every inch of my skin throbbed from the sunburn, but it felt right, like my inside and outside pain matched in some harmonious way.
Saito grabbed a wastebasket and started walking toward the backyard.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Taking care of… of James,” he said, trying to use a gentle tone, as if explaining to a child that it was time for bed.
“You’ll bury him,” I said. “At the foot of the maple. Three feet deep at least.”
He shook his head.
“That’s not even legal, hon. Besides, I was working all day. I’m exhausted.”
“Three feet deep,” I said, and then I went into the garage to find his shovel. The one I located was unused, though we must have bought it years ago. I brought it in and handed it to Saito. He took it without a word and went outside.
An hour later, he came in dirty and sweaty. He headed to the shower.
I walked to the maple to find the earth there freshly disturbed from digging. Then I found one of James’s favorite toys–a fuzzy bird that had once had a bell inside–and affixed it to a stick, which I placed at the head of the grave.
At dinner, the twins showed up still in their soccer uniforms. They’d spent the day at the park with friends after the game.
“Happy Mother’s Day,” said June, somewhat sheepishly. She handed me an envelope with a gift card to Jazzy Juice inside.
“Thanks,” I said. “What’s Jazzy Juice?”
“It’s a smoothie thing,” explained Lily. “It’s twenty dollars.”
“Thank you,” I said again, staring at the card. Maybe I was making a face.
“If you don’t want it, I can take it back,” said June. “My friends and I go there all the time.”
“No,” I said. “I love it. I’m sure I’ll love it.”
“Great,” she said, looking disappointed.
The next morning I went out into the backyard and screamed.
James’s grave had been dug up. It was nothing put an empty hole surrounded by a pile of dirt. The stick and the toy were missing too. It didn’t seem that deep. By the time Saito ran out to see what was wrong, I was in tears.
“Three feet deep!” I shouted. “I said three feet deep.”
“The soil gets really rocky when you go down that far,” he said. “I figured it didn’t matter.”
“It mattered!” I screamed.
I decided to take some ‘me’ time that afternoon, so I headed to Jazzy Juice. I tried to figure out the menu while I was in line, but I got overwhelmed by all the options. Finally, when I got to the front of the line, I asked if I could just get a basic orange juice.
“It would be more like an orange smoothie,” said the girl behind the counter, a thin redhead in her twenties, covered in tattoos.
“Oh that’s no good,” I said. “I don’t really like pulp. No pulp please.”
“That’s not really what we do here,” she said. “Maybe it’s a good day to try something new. The Berry Blitz is super popular.”
“I want my orange juice,” I said. I was probably a little rude, but I was at my limit. “I’ve got a gift card,” I added. “For twenty dollars.”
“Fine,” she said. And then, I swear, under her breath she added, “Boomer bitch.”
“Excuse me?”
She didn’t meet my eyes. Instead, she turned and started throwing frozen oranges into a blender.
“I’m forty-four!” I shouted over the noise as she started the blender. “I’m a Millennial! Maybe Gen-X!”
Finally, she handed me my drink. It was so pulpy it clogged the straw.
She shot me a shit-eating smile, “have a nice day!”
I chucked my drink in the garbage on my way out the door.
That night, I found myself crying as I tried to make dinner. I could see the little hole that had once contained James’s body through the kitchen window, and I couldn’t help glancing at it as I tried to peel zucchini.
It struck me that James had been the only one in the world who loved me at all. Even worse, it seemed unlikely that no one would ever love me again. I was aging, chubby, and boring. The world didn’t want me anymore.
Without realizing it, I made a deep cut on my thumb and started bleeding everywhere. For a minute, I just watch the blood ooze out of me, all over the vegetables.
That night, I heard a thump. I tried to shake Saito awake, but he was dead asleep. Finally, I got up and walked downstairs. There was another thump now, louder. Then a series of three more thuds right by the front door.
Slowly, I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and then walked through the darkness. As I did, I heard a familiar sound that seemed impossible: it was James’s distinctive meow, the little cry he’d deliver at the door when he wanted my attention. And yet it was somehow different now, a lower, deeper mewing.
“Hello?” I asked as I walked to the door, but there was no sound now. I heard footsteps outside, not a cat’s but something bigger, maybe human.
Finally, I reached the door and slowly turned the knob. I opened it just a crack, peeking through to see if anyone was outside.
At first, I saw no one. Just the empty street in the moonlight. A few night blooming flowers had opened their petals, but otherwise the neighborhood looked dull and lifeless. Then I looked down and had to stifle a scream.
There, on my doorstep, lay a body, its chest still fluttering with life but mostly torn to shreds. Great, bloody gashes had left the green apron in tatters, the skin’s intricate tattoos sundered to islands of nonsense. The girl’s red hair was now redder.
Though her skull was crushed, her pretty face nearly ripped off the bone, I knew immediately it was the girl from the juice shop.
My body tensed as I watched her chest cease its fluttering and the flow of blood slowed to a trickle. Soon, she was still as the rest of the street.
Then, suddenly, my heart was pounding again, as I realized I was not alone in the darkness. Something dark and massive was moving past the nearby bushes, watching me examine its kill.
Though it moved somewhat like a cat, the thing was far bigger, larger than any tiger I’d ever seen at the zoo. As it grew closer, I saw that it was standing on its hind legs, walking toward me, not quite like a person, but like an animal trying to mimic one.
I could barely breathe now. It was growing closer. Though it moved slowly, I could sense that it could cover the ten feet between us in a moment, far faster than I could slam the door.
“Please,” I said… “Don’t…”
As the creature walked into a slant of moonlight, I realized that it was dressed in a tuxedo. Or were those just the colors of its fur?
“My queen, I would never,” the creature purred, in a low voice. “I live only to serve you.”
I looked down at the dead girl by my feet. I would have to call the police, I knew. I would have to scream for Saito to come and help. There would be so much to explain. But I wasn’t afraid now. That moment had passed. I was here with a friend.
“James?” I asked, and he nodded ever so slightly. “You can’t do this,” I said. “I didn’t want this.”
“But she was so cruel to you,” said James. “She called you a very nasty name. I was hiding a few blocks away, but I heard everything. My ears are very sensitive.”
“But you can’t just kill people,” I said, trying to stuff my growing panic into my stomach. “It’s not… it’s not right.”
“Of course I can,” said James. “In fact, I must. It’s my nature.”
“Never again,” I whispered.
James cocked his head, looking me in the eyes. What was he looking for?
“I could stop if you order it,” he said. “Though that would be unfortunate. You know I love to honor you with gifts. I always have. But go ahead. Make the command and I will disappear, never to leave you another present again.”
I looked down at the dead girl, all torn to shreds. There was a certain beauty in it, like a stained glass window, sublime in its brokenness.
“Just say the word,” James said again.
But I didn’t.
“Thank you,” I finally said, bending to look closer at the dead girl. “For the gift.”
“It was but a trifle, my queen,” said the thing. “Until next time.”
And then, bowing slightly, he backed away and bounded into the darkness.

Many of you won't probably know this card exist and most never saw one because they're kinda rare as few retailers even order them probably because of low sales expectations.
It's the lowest spec Intel ARC card for 100+ bucks and is known as kind of a meme gfx card that's practically only good for highly efficient AV1 encoding and nothing much else and that's precisely what I got it for in a new Mini-ITX case.
But as life happens I got sick for some days and was bound to the bed and now I got this fresh new PC that was originally intended as a headless streaming box - might as well put it beside my bed and test some games on it for fun.
And that was quite the surprise. First: I got no visual bugs so far. Intel really worked on their ARC drivers. Second: It actually performed surprisingly well. Sons of the Forest? 40-60 FPS. Granted: Low settings with upscaling on 1080p but it's perfectly playable. Diablo 4? Plays like butter with no slowdown at all. Total Warhammer 3? No problem even in big battles. EDIT: Street Fighter 6 runs with perfect 60 FPS and thats's not even on the lowest Settings.
The system outperforms the Steam Deck in every test so far. That should be no surprise as it goes to 70W under full load compared to the 15W TDP limit the Deck has to work with, but it's still kinda surprising anyway that a freaking A310 could deliver that.
All in all this puny graphics card, that doesn't even need a power connector and gets all the juice from PCIe like in old times, might be an OK budget option outside of its AV1 encoder niche if you want something better than integrated graphics but can't afford to go much further and/or want to save electricity.
Moreover it kinda warmed me up to ARC cards in general. I'm looking forward to what Intel can do with their next generation. Maybe I'll consider one of the higher end options for a future big desktop build.

PLEASEEE be over your ex before messaging me.
PLEASE be 28 or older. Do not send pointless messages saying "Good luck" or "I wish I were single". Do not message me if you're married. I am not poly. I am not looking for friends with benefits.
Facts about moi:
* I work with smol humans for a living.
* You don't have to WANT kids of your own. But, if you don't like kids...you're not for me.
* One of my favorite past-time activities is trying to put together legos high.
* Listening to music high is also an experience (I do Delta since that’s what’s legal. If you’re anti-weed, then we aren’t a match. I don’t do it allll the time. I’m too broke for that life).
* Seriously, doesn't music sound different when you're high?
* Green Day was one of my favorite bands. I’ve been listening to them since I was 10!
* The obsession was real. My ten-year-old self had a binder about the members with all the facts and pictures of Billie (Yes, I was a weird child). I don´t listen to them much anymore. That was practice for my obsession with Panic! at the Disco. I only like one album, though.
* Now my obsession is more towards bands like AVOID, Dayseeker, The Used, etc. I'll listen to the same songs over and over until I can't stand it. I even have a Playlist for that. I recently found a band called Dark Devine, and I dig them.
* I love going to concerts. So, it'd be cool if you liked them too.
* I love love love traveling.
* Please don’t be a giant grouch on vacations. Coworkers complain about their spouse being a shitbird on trips. No thanks.
* I also like staying in, of course! But I’m not a homebody. I struggled during the COVID shutdown. Being cooped up SUCKED. I do not want to beg you to get out of the house. Again, I am NOT a homebody. If you are, we are not a match.
* I have a spicy brain.
* I’m super duper ADHD. Fun times! I’m also like an anxious puppy. Woop woop.
* The most organized thing in my life is this list
* The Office and Parks and Rec are two of my favorite shows. I also like Bob’s Burgers and Avatar The Last Airbender.
* I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly...my ADHD brain enjoys the short videos on Tiktok.
* I talk to myself out loud in public.
* I promise I'm only a little crazy...depends on who you ask.
* I like things like tarot (NO I cannot do a card reading for you. I don't know how, I just think it's cool!My friend does readings for me) and other spiritual stuff. If you're into that too, cool!
* I like men with facial hair. I also like men who are more alt-y (think piercings and tattoos...singer of Dark Divine)....but that isn't a requirement! It's just bonus points.
Why you should date me:
* We can listen to emo bands together whenever you want
* Emo music can mean many things and I’m OK with that.
* You won’t get food poisoning from my cooking
* I can make more than Hamburger Helper and frozen pizzas. Though, the ranch burger hamburger helper is my fave.
* The velveeta skillets are better, though.
* I’m suuuper short. So, if you’re insecure about your height, I gotchu. I’ll make you feel tall..or taller!
* I don’t care about height and it makes me sad that people feel insecure about something they can’t change.
* I’m a great small spoon…but I guess if you REALLY insist, I can be a jetpack. Buuuuutttt it isn't my first choice...but please don't cuddle all night. I want my space and I need to sprawl out and become a blanket burrito...with one leg out because otherwise, I'll get too hot! We just can't have that.

Testing on June 22 for now but I keep making like about 65% on UWorld. I want to take a practice test but I’m worried it’ll just waste resources and be pointless. I have read all Kaplan books and “finished” the AnKing deck (unsuspended all cards). What do yall think? I really want to test June 22 since after that, I will start my job, but I can push back if I have to. Currently I’m full time studying . My sister told me to do the half length blueprint but i feel like that’s not representative

Idk what your talking about as far as admiralty law, or why you think that I think “all the judiciary is illegitimate”? You sound like a SOVCIT yourself. I love the law… I’m just more of a Constitution of the USA, supreme law of the land aficionado, and resent the administrative, ordinances, and over reaching BS that leads to entitled tyrants, who forget they are public servants and begin expecting you to comply, or submit, just because most others do.
Btw, your mind would be blown if you only knew that what I am telling you about speeding tickets is true. And the thing about reserving your rights and not willfully complying by appearing (or “setting up a court date” yourself, by request, within a specified amount of time) the “speeding tickets” do not become part of your driving record. Because you did not submit, and allow them to penalize you by putting points on your driving record. They can only do that if you allow them to. Don’t believe me? I know it’s true, I’ve done it several times. I’ve also renewed my registration, applied for and received a new states drivers license, transferred my vehicle registration to a new state, (I have ignored tickets in both states) with impunity. The only thing that is on my driving record is the first time I ever received a photo enforced ticket in the mail. I naively complied, paid the fine, took driving school (which supposedly was supposed to prevent the points from going on my record, it didn’t) and to this day I pay more for insurance because of it. I received another one a few months later, and I started thinking about it, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how foolish it is to let myself be abused by the govt. when I am an American, I am free, the role of govt. is clearly explained by our constitution, and the rights that protect me from govt BS are self evident, (to those who actually contemplate what that means). I first applied the principles, (if A is true, than B cannot be true which lead me to realize there is a C at play that allows B to parade around as if it were true, and nobody cares about A any more) did some research, and have been studying to reverse engineer the mechanics of it ever since. But while I have not fully identified the full extent of the underlying mechanics, I have identified a formula that works, I have tested it several times, and demonstrated it works. It’s not a hack, or a glitch, it all comes down to “if the practice, demand, request, policy, rule, statue, whatever conflicts with the supreme law of the land, it is void, unenforceable, and can be ignored with impunity. There is also latches, which prevents you from backing out of the process after you already submitted to their jurisdiction by appearing and entering a plea, by that same principle, by ignoring an unconstitutional request, you have demonstrated your refusal to comply, and have not submitted to being brought under their jurisdiction. (Food for thought: in Texas part of the transportation code, that has to do with speeding, includes (“the text, arraignment a court date within 14 days, if you fail to do this, a warrant may be issued for your arrest.” Thats not the exact text because I do not feel like looking it up just to present it to you, you would have to do your own research, but why do you think they explicitly state, “the citation may include the text… blah blah blah”? They are sanctioning the inclusion of an indirect threat for the obvious effect it will have, scaring people into compliance. But “may issue” and “will issue” have separate and distinct meanings)
Here’s a thought experiment. Honestly, have you ever knowingly exceeded the speed limit? Seriously, at some point in your life I’m sure you have exceeded the speed limit. When you exceeded the speed limit, did you do so even though you “could kill somebody.”, did you do so, even though it was reckless and by doing so, you placed yourself and whoever else was with you in imminent danger?… Of course you didn’t. You felt that exceeding the speed limit at that particular time, on that particular roadway was perfectly safe, and did so confidently and comfortably. Now suppose you happened to have been cited by a police officer who stops you and issues a citation. What justifies you having to appear at an administrative hearing, where you will face penalties and fees for your traveling at a speed higher than the posted speed limit? Even though, you were in full control the whole time, you did not at any point feel that what you were doing was endangering your life, or the lives of others. (If you did, you shouldn’t have been going that fast IMO), you did not damage anyone’s property, or harm anyone, but you were spotted by an officer traveling 55 in a 35 on a back country road. Does the government know better than your best judgement as to how you should operate your motor vehicle at that specific place, and moment in time? With their “posted speed limit sign you past 1.5 miles back? What is the intended purpose of those speed limit signs anyway? Are they there as a set limit in order for police to have an objective reference speed so they can more efficiently “bust people speeding” if they dare exceed it? No. They are there so people don’t have to guess how fast they should ne driving, and provide a generalized speed, designed to get as many drivers moving at a maximum speed that is safe for all vehicles and all drivers. It does not consider your vehicle, your driving ability, your familiarity with the roadway, actual traffic conditions, or anything other than, what is the maximum speed we can set that all drivers and vehicles can safely travel, for efficient, congestion resistant, and is suitable for all vehicles. That is the “posted maximum speed”. In order to “promote safety” not a means to extract additional money from people, because that would be unconstitutional. Some people believe that is cause worth accepting penalties and fees, if they are spotted “speeding” because they believe it will promote safer driving, if that’s you, and you feel a conviction to subject yourself to penalties and fees in demonstration of your solidarity in promoting safety then by all means. But myself, I don’t need the government telling me I’m not driving correctly, and would not have exceeded the speed limit if I did not feel 100% confident that it was safe. Therefore I do not participate.
All men were created equal, and were endowed with inalienable rights, by God. The rights are self evident, and fundamental to a free society. Our form of govt. as defined by the Constitution of the USA, was designed solely to protect those rights, and allow for a govt. but also allow for the people to maintain their sovereignty. The authority of government is derived from the consent of the people to be governed. That consent is contingent upon govt. abide by and uphold the Constitution. Hence, the oath of office. A breach of their oath is a breach of contract with the people, and failure to abide by the constitution is not within the scope of the agreement to which the people have granted authority to govern us. We have a right to the pursuit of happiness, and no public servant should impede, interfere, or otherwise infringe upon this right, except in very limited circumstances. This interruption must be founded upon an reasonable and articulable cause, and must be carried out by the least intrusive means, while diligently working to its conclusion efficiently and as quickly as possible. At the conclusion of the reason for “stopping” you, they must allow you to freely go on about your business, any delay beyond that point is unacceptable, to the extent that even if evidence of criminal activity were discovered, sometime during the delay, that evidence will be excluded from being used against you.
Why is that? Is it because we are free and have a right to do so? Well, yes, but I believe there is a much more compelling reason for such hostility toward government intrusion. It’s because everything the govt. is allowed to control goes to shit. The govt. sucks at everything they are tasked to administer. So not only do we have a right as a free society, but it is to protect you from the govt. and the founders knew, that the govt. should not be allowed to dictate your life in anyway, as it will lead to shit. Look at what happened when America was the least regulated, smallest government, and people were left to their own will. America thrived and accomplished more in a shorter period of time than any other people in history by far. Now look where we are today, as that freedom has steadily been eroded, the state has steadily implemented an always increasing overreach to the point, that people don’t even question rather they have a choice to be penalized for “speeding” and being spotted by a public servant. As our freedoms diminish, and the govt, is allowed to ever expand their “power” it directly correlates with the decrease in quality of life. That to me, is the “sovcit” argument.