Pain olympics 2 glass jar up

In an effort to pass on lessons learned, overall impressions and advice to other musicians, I'm going to make an effort to write a post-show retrospective of the musicals I play going forward. I encourage anybody reading this to do the same!
Overall impressions
A Little Night Music is an absolutely brilliant score with a gorgeous orchestration by Jonathan Tunick. This is my third time playing a Sondheim musical, having played high school and university productions of "Into the Woods" and "Merrily We Roll Along" previously. If you've played Sondheim before you should have some idea of what to expect: Interesting harmonic choices, prickly rhythms, lots of little interlocking figures that are a bit difficult to parse on the first read-through. ALNM is notable for having the vast majority of the score set in 3/4 time.
I'd say the book is about 90% clarinet and 10% flute. There's not a lot of high clarinet playing (it rarely goes above E6), and nothing overly technically challenging beyond a few tricky melodic figures that test your ability to play around the break. The flute stuff in this book isn't particularly stressful. There are only two or three quick instrument switches in the show. The production I played was with a small seven-piece orchestra consisting of piano, string quartet, reed 1 (flute and piccolo) and reed 2, so I found myself playing most of the cued lines in the book for the missing oboe and bassoon parts.
When I received the book in the mail I think I must have let out an audible groan, as the engraving leaves a lot to be desired. The parts MTI sends the musicians seem to be scans of the handwritten parts originally used in the Broadway production in the 1970s. While that can be kinda cool from a historical perspective, it's an absolute pain in the ass to read. I've played books like this before (Ragtime comes to mind as the worse offender I've seen), you don't realize how much easier it is to learn 100 pages of computer-engraved music versus hand-engraved until it's staring you in the face! For example, try reading these bassoon cues when your stand light is fading in a darkened pit.
On the engraving front, another bone to pick is the absolutely infuriating practice of the copyist not writing the key signature on every system! Here's an example of what I'm talking about. The music here has enough chromatic tricks to make you forget what key you're playing in, and when your eyes flick over to the beginning of the staff to see no sharps or flats you will be tricked into playing wrong notes. I wound up writing in more accidentals into this score than I have in recent memory, and I was still making silly mistakes by opening night.
Errata

• This was something I haven't seen before: There are two numbers in the reed 1 and reed 2 books that seem to have been accidentally switched. We figured this out on the first rehearsal and made photocopies of the parts. You will need to swap out 22 "Underscoring" and 29 "Weekend Reprise".
  
• In 33 "Bows", the figure in measures 69 to 71 ends incorrectly. Play the figure from measure 65 to 67 and it will sound fine.
  

Things to focus on when preparing

• The original cast recording is useful and a lot of the arrangements are the same, but the most helpful resource was to play along with the 1990 New York City Opera recording, which is available in full on YouTube. There are some changes from the MTI rental, but overall it's very close to what your book is.
  
• 23 "Send In the Clowns" is obviously the big one for you to know cold. Definitely prepare the alto flute cues in 31 "Clowns Reprise", as your music director might want you to play those too.
  
• 4 "Now" is initially a really weird one to learn, as the singer's entrances don't come where you expect them to and it makes you question where the "one" is. It's tough to hear when playing along with the recording, but is easy and makes a lot of sense as soon as you're playing it with other people.
  
• 9 "You Must Meet My Wife" has a few tricky passages that you'll want to shed. Measures 31 and 32 here made me sweat each night.
  

Maybe like 1 year ago or so, I started getting white flashes; they usually happened only once every other day, but recently I got 2 large flashes, then I fainted, my body went freezing cold, and I couldn't get up without a big pain in my side. I also continued getting white flashes, and then they started other day, but recently I got 2 large flashes, then I fainted, my body went freezing cold, and I couldn't get up without a big pain in my side. I also continued getting white flashes, and then couldn't get up without a big pain in my side as well as continues white flashes and then they started to get worse my eye doctor said before that due to the shape of my eye ball my vision Will quickly degrade ( basically going blind) and I can't do anything about it I have seen a doctor and they aren't sure what I have does anyone maybe know anything I'm only 15 and I really don't want my health to go down , I'm 5'2 , female, I don't take medication except iron and vitamin c , of course I don't smoke

Apologies for any spelling mistakes, I am dyslexic and sometimes my phone doesn't even know what I'm trying to say. TW this post will also include a lot of mentions of harm and sharp objects and some SA and abuse at the end. I have had on and off bad, realistic, sensory nightmares but tonight was the worst I habe ever experienced. I'm not sure why this is happening or what I should do so if anyone has any tips or helpful insight please I'm all ears. It started off with me playing dnd. It was outside in a huge board and I was one of the smaller characters. Lots of things happen and I end up matched with there 2 other girls. Somehow it transitioned to me in a hospital being forced to take all my clothes off to be washed in front of a lot of other people all just staring. I didn't want to and the 2 people I had been with start threatening me. Slicing at me with knives and scissors cutting tiny bits off me. I can feel literally everything they are doing. It goes on to be needles being shoved in me all over. I somehow pass out in my nightmare and wake back up to literally little blades pushed under, through and back out of my skin. But I hadn't noticed that atm, what i had noticed were all the tiny scalpels woven into my shirt and pants along eith needles and pins placed every few millimetres from one another. Every breath, every movement or even the gurls forcefully pushing me ended in thousands of tiny cuts and piercers orblades and needles sinking deep into my skin. I was still feeling all of this. I had to get this shirt off and for some reason they wanted me to too. However the fear of the sharp objects touching my face was terrifying and so I started pulling each piece out of the shirt so I could get it off without tearing up my face. It was slicing up my fingers as I went. The more I pulled out the more j saw whT was burried in my skin. Same as the shirt every few mm my skin was shoved full of objects. I started removing those too. However, the more I removed from my body and my shirt the worse it got. They'd made this sheet of nedes that they called the walking something. They sewing needles had been placed together in a big flexible sheet that crawled its way down by back and front shoving deep into my skin as it went. The removing of the blades and needles took hours. From my toes to my neck I was covered and every now and then the people would either unleash another trap on me or push on existing ones still left in me. Somehow my sister turned up. I was forced to put on long sleeves and pants and greet her like nothing was wrong. Nothing was said bit it seemed to be an understanding that I was to say nothing about any of this to her as they kept a super close eye on me amd didnt allow me to be alone with her for a second. I could tell my sister knew something was up but didn't know what and was on her way out the door when I got the final searing pain. A huge maybe cm wide nail was hammered one hit right into just above my wrist, inbetween my bones. My sister took one look at me and I knew i had to leave all my possessions and run. We sprinted for a Ute she had driven for some reason which had impossible door handles to open, tricky locks and were heavy. However we made it. I was being chased by the main lady with scissors down the driveway and as I felt a tiny sense of relief about being free.... I woke up. I proceeded to wail cry and sob harder than I have in years and years and kept going for about half an hour. I can still rememwber the pain Nd tbe fear. I then came here to figure out what just happened
As some background i habe been a victim of SA many times, abused by exs and dealt with a lot of manipulation and abuse especially in one past relationship. I habe also been clinically diagnosed with severe anxiety, severe depression, manic bipolar, borderline personality disorder, adhd and autism. My psychologist and psychiatrist have both mentioned that I probably also have minor DID as in stressful situations I basically black out but still stay awake amd apparently moving while holding very mini.al conversation usually with just "Yes" "no" and "im fine" being all i say. I ha e no memory of anything that happened while I was out. No full diagnosis has been made tho. Any thought would help. I'm terrified to go back to sleep

The Night Walk
A man's night walk through a surreal, deserted town becomes a terrifying descent into his own repressed memories, culminating in a chilling confrontation with the skeleton of his past.
Characters
Ethan - A middle-aged man, introspective and burdened by unspoken anxieties.
Skeleton - A skeletal figure representing Ethan’s guilt and past
Scene Breakdown:
Act 1: The House (5 minutes)
INT. ETHAN'S HOUSE - NIGHT

• Ethan sits in his dimly lit living room, a book in his lap, but not reading. His face is drawn, lost in thought.
• The camera pans to a dusty old photo frame on the mantelpiece, revealing a blurry image of a young couple, their faces obscured by shadows. Ethan's reflection briefly appears in the glass, his eyes filled with an unsettling mix of fear and longing.
• A faint creaking sound from the attic, followed by a muffled thump. Ethan looks up, momentarily startled.
• The camera lingers on a loose floorboard in the living room, its shadow stretching ominously across the wall.
• Ethan rises, grabs a worn coat, and heads out the front door.

Act 2: The Empty Town (15 minutes)
EXT. TOWN STREET - NIGHT Ethan walks through an eerily silent town, the streets devoid of people, cars, or even streetlights. The camera follows Ethan as he passes by:

• A bakery with its window displays frozen in time, showcasing perfectly preserved loaves of bread that appear to be breathing.
• A park where trees sway violently, their branches contorting into grotesque shapes, while a lone swing set rocks back and forth on its own.
• A run-down movie theatre with flickering neon signs that spell out impossible words like 'Never Forget' and 'Always Remember.'
• The camera zooms in on Ethan's face, showcasing his growing unease and confusion.
• He encounters a single, lone figure – a man with a bright red balloon floating behind him. The man walks in reverse, never looking back, his face obscured by the red balloon.
• Ethan tries to speak, but his voice is swallowed by the silence. The man disappears around a corner, leaving Ethan facing an empty street, a sense of dread washing over him.

Act 3: The Cellar (5 minutes)
INT. ETHAN'S HOUSE - CELLAR - NIGHT

• Ethan descends into his dark, dusty cellar, the air thick with the smell of forgotten things.
• The camera focuses on a pile of boxes, one of them slightly ajar, revealing a faded photograph - the same one from the mantelpiece, but this time with the couple's faces clearly visible. It's a younger Ethan with a woman, her face now skeletal.
• A sudden, harsh rattling sound comes from the far corner of the cellar.
• Ethan turns, his eyes falling onto the skeletal figure. The skeletal figure, emaciated and ghastly, slowly rises, its eyes burning with an empty, hateful fire.
• Ethan screams, but the sound is drowned out by a chilling silence as the skeleton lunges towards him, its bony fingers grasping for his throat.

The Ending
The camera lingers on the photograph, the couple's faces contorted in a silent scream, as the cellar floor is stained with blood.
The film ends with a lingering shot of Ethan's house, bathed in an eerie moonlight, leaving the audience to grapple with the implications of the chilling encounter and the unanswered questions surrounding the town, the skeleton, and the buried secrets of Ethan's past.

Hey guys, I’m in a situation where my wife’s brother is harassing us as (me+wife) as well as my mother in law, and her brother. He is forcing to sell their house (owned by wife, mother in law and brother) and give him all the cash so that he can start a racecourse business. My mother-in-law told him he would get his share of the house and he can use that whatever way he wants but he is demanding the full money. He does not want to do any job and he has sold all house hold items for his daily needs. He calls us abusing and threatening to kill for this. We already complained with the police but they are saying they’d give him counseling sessions to make him not act like this, which is honestly pathetic as he doesn’t even bother to attend those sessions and gets a newer date for session. He is also a drug addicted and we had kept him in rehab for 2-3 times. We spoke with the local politicians to see if we could take a gang and make him understand in a rough way but they don’t get involved in family matters. Now I don’t give a fuck that he’s my brother in law and I would just go there and beat the hell up but we don’t want to get involved in police /court drama. But if there is no option I’d do that.
I want to hear from you all what options do I have? Do we have provisions legally to look into this ? How do I get rid of this pain in the ass once and for all?

Hi folks
I started MJ yesterday and am so apprehensive.
About a decade ago, I lost around 8st the “traditional way”. I have a chronic pain/autoimmune condition and so the GPs were very pleased, but have used me regaining it as an excuse every day since to not take my pain seriously.
My mobility now is much worse than it was then, and I am not prepared to be as unhealthily obsessed as I was last time to try and achieve it again.
So, the talk of cutting out “food noise” has made MJ something I’ve decided to try, as my food noise is intense (but becomes unbearable and all consuming when dieting).
I’m scared that MJ is not going to work, or that the side effects will be so severe that I can’t continue to take it. So I’m thankful for you all sharing your journeys, which are giving me some hope.
I’m not sharing my journey publicly elsewhere, but would like to do so here.
Annoyingly, I did exactly what I said I wouldn’t and weighed myself today (day 2). I weighed more, so am trying to manage my MH/obsessive thoughts given previous struggles when trying to lose weight.
So far, I think I feel full. I’ve had food noise, but generally have noticed a reduction in ADHD noise, which is unexpected. Mild reflux woke me up in the night, but no other side effects thus far.
F37 5’9 Starting weight: 144.3KG Lowest adult weight: 93kg Goal weight: <100kg eventually

I've been on 10mg Trintellix for 8 months now. The nausea is horrible, I think about quitting everyday.
Here's what I've tried: - Taking it with a big meal with healthy fats, fibers and protein (the only combination that "works" is if I take it with 2 peanut butter toasts, a banana and a tall glass of milk, which I'm not hungry for most of the time) - Taking it at night (woke up vomitting in my bed everytime) - Taking it in 2 smaller doses (got sick twice a day instead of only once)
The nausea starts around 20 minutes after I take it, and it doesn't go away for 6-8 hours. I absolutely cannot lie down during the day, it makes me throw up. I get nauseous after very light exercise (like going up a flight of stairs), I get nauseous if I drink water a little too fast, I get nauseous when I cough, sneeze, whatever I do.
Thing is, it's the only antidepressant I tried that doesn't make me sweat like crazy. I've tried Celexa, Lexapro, Zoloft and Prozac. My next step is stopping it altogether, I cannot take the nausea anymore.

36m, running for 8 months. I’ve worked up to a 10k at about a 9min/mile pace.
Two weeks ago I was on vacation and while traveling I hiked a mountain summit, but nothing too gnarly (an 8 hour day hike with 3500ft elevation gain). Felt fine after. I didn’t run at all while on vacation, about 8 days.
The day after I got home I went for an easy run. After 2 miles I felt some mild stiffness in my left knee. I pushed through (dumb) but it didn’t feel too bad. I got to 4 miles and noticed it was really bothering me. After that run my knee really stiffened up, and while it didn’t hurt all the time, going down stairs specifically was the most triggering of the pain. The pain feels like it’s mostly in the back side of my knee.
I decided to lay off running completely for a week. Today was my first day back— the pain had completely subsided, even when going downstairs.
Today I started with a 10min stretch, then walked half a mile at a brisk pace, felt fine, and started a light jog. After two miles I stopped because I felt that familiar stiffness creeping in. I walked another half mile, and then did the stationary bike for 10 min, followed by more stretching and foam rolling. Walking downstairs is painful again. WTF.
I have a 10k in a month that I was totally not stressed about at all, and today I couldn’t even finish a 5k because of this stiff knee.
What could it be? I’ve never dealt with knee issues/injuries ever. Any advice appreciated.
Thanks all!

Skip to end for TLDR, if you wish.
I want to love you, Albany, but you make it hard.
I was riding my bike yesterday afternoon (around 4:00pm) on the Empire State Trail. I have been doing this regularly, about 3-4 times a week, since the weather warmed up. I am aware of the unsolved homicide that occurred back in April on the bike trail, so I try to remain alert. No issues at all until yesterday.
I was riding southbound on the stretch of trail approaching the I-90 overpass. Maybe ~100 yards ahead, I see three men standing in the middle of the trail, and I see there is another cyclist riding around them on the grass to avoid them. They seemed maybe like they were talking to/heckling the cyclist, but it was hard to tell what was going on. Thought this was a bit odd.
I get closer. Cyclist passes me heading in the opposite direction. He gives me a sort of pained expression, but doesn’t say anything. Also odd.
I am probably ~40 yards away from the three men now. They are now standing sort of awkardly at the side of the trail…like they are pretending that they’re just casually hanging out, but it is clear that they are watching me. At this point, my gut instinct is screaming “bad situation”. I really should have just turned around. Maybe I stubbornly didn’t want to let some hooligans fuck up my bike ride on a sunny day. Idk, it was stupid on my part.
About 20 yards away from them now. They suddenly “take position” by standing shoulder to shoulder, clearly and intentionally blocking my access to the trail ahead. They have their arms crossed and are trying to posture in an intimidating manner. I slow down a bit and look over my shoulder briefly. Other cyclist is no longer in sight. No other people around. Yay.
The guy in the middle takes a step forward and puts his hand up, like the “halt” hand gesture. He says something like “Hey man, hey man, can you stop for us? Why don’t you stop for us.”
I am still moving forward toward them. I intentionally drift to the left; they shuffle to the left to match me, still blocking the trail. Then I start pedaling my ass off and cut it hard to the right, sort of juking around them onto the grass. I have thin road tires and clip-in shoes so I am lucky I didn’t eat shit.
At this point it’s sort of a blur because I’m just pedaling as hard as I can, trying to put distance between me and them. I heard them shout a few things as I rode away; no idea what they were saying. I just kept riding hard until I was near that boat lunch (under the overpasses) and there were finally other people around.
So, that leaves me with some questions…

1. What the hell, man? Who the fuck does that? Why can’t I just ride my bike in peace? What good reason could you possibly have for trying to stop me by force on a goddamn bike trail?
   
2. Am I overthinking this? Am I actually just an over-paranoid softie and this was just some sort of weird prank? Every instinct in my body was telling me they wanted to rob me at best, and fuck my shit up for fun, at worst. I have no evidence for this, it was simply “the vibe”. Am I wrong for assuming this?
   
3. I don’t think anything that happened actually rises to the level of a crime. It’s just one of those situations where I can confidently say “if I played that differently, there is a strong chance that something very bad would have happened”. Can I even do anything? Is it worth reporting?
   
4. As a community…why can’t we have nice things? Why don’t I ever see police patrolling this bike trail knowing that there was a recent, broad daylight, still-unsolved homicide on said bike trail? Why don’t we collectively expect more of Albany? We can’t even have a goddamn bike trail that families and residents can assume is safe?
   

Thank you for listening to my rant. Just an awful experience and by far the most unsafe I have felt in my ~three years of living in the Albany/Troy area. I currently live in Troy so I am unfazed by general urban sketchiness. This was different than that.
TLDR: Three guys suddenly tried to block me from continuing on the bike trail; they asked me to stop. Felt like an ambush situation, but that is somewhat speculation on my part. Very bad vibes. They did not seem happy that I wouldn’t stop for them.
Exercise caution if you plan on using the Empire State Trail in the Albany/Menands area.
Description of the trail-blockers: three Black men, late teens/early twenties, wearing long clothing (clothes were mostly black with some other shades, maybe some red and blue; don’t remember exactly). They were fairly average height from what I remember, maybe leaning tall.
TU article covering recent bike trail homicide. Same general area where I had this experience.

I bought the original NReal Air in early 2023 and thought it was really cool, but had several issues that made me not want to use it much.
They weren’t very comfortable for my head geometry, and it was difficult to consistently keep them situated in the sweet spot for screen clarity, even with the prescription inserts. Because of those issues, I didn’t jump on the Air 2 when it first came out. I was worried they’d just be more of the same. All the complaints on the Internet about blurry edges and poor fit didn’t help either.
I finally rolled the dice on the Air 2 Pro a week ago, after coming across some posts and reviews that said they were more comfortable and fit better than the previous generation Air. Turns out, that’s the case for me!
I’m one of the lucky people who are in the right IPD range for the Air 2 Pro screens, and they also fit my head much more comfortably than the original Air. The new nose pads are also great, they don’t hurt my nose after a while like the original Air nose pads did, and I don’t see any blurriness along the edges or corners of the screens.
I’m also able to see all four edges and corners clearly. The electrochromatic dimming on the Air 2 Pro sounds like a gimmick, but I actually love this feature. I can more easily see my keyboard and surroundings indoors with 0% dimming, 35% feels like my old Air, and the 100% level is plenty good enough for watching movies.
I can’t really speak to the audio features. I’m deaf and wear a hearing aid, so I’m not the best person to quantify how well the Air 2 speakers and mic work.
The new hard case is great, but I miss the divider and the zipper on the old Air case.
XReal might want to consider doing more than one size of frame for future releases, or maybe add some way for the user to adjust the IPD. I suspect that might help resolve the blurriness some people have reported, and different frame sizes would help with the other comfort issues.
I really like the Air 2 Pros, so two thumbs up from me. I’m much happier with them than I was with the original Air, and use them a lot more.
The Beam…I’m a bit more ambivalent about it, but I also kind of can’t live without it at the same time.
I’ve read a lot of negative feedback about it over the past year that turned me off, so I didn’t really have any interest in the Beam until I got it in a bundle with the Air 2 Pro.
I remember the launch messaging when it first came out wasn’t very clear about what the Beam brings to the table, and I suspect that this unclear messaging also resulted in a lot of misunderstandings about what it was meant to do, and then people started trying to use it for things it wasn’t really made to do, which isn’t generally gonna make for a great user experience.
So, now that I’ve used it for a week…I can say that I understand most of the negative feedback, but I still like the Beam for what it is, a spatial puck that gives the glasses some degree of 3DOF functionality.
It does that more smoothly and better than the Nebula app does on my phones or PCs. I don’t know if I’d say it’s worth the extra $120 just for that alone, but it does the job it was designed to do fine.
I feel like it probably should’ve been included with the glasses, it should be in a matching colorway and finish, and most importantly, it should still be able to charge while a device is plugged in for wired video without resorting to third party accessories.
I don’t like that it doesn’t seem to work well with DRM-protected streaming content over wireless, and that probably should’ve been sorted before it was released.
When running apps directly on it, I start feeling like it’s being pushed too hard into territory it wasn’t meant to handle. Netflix and Prime Video seem to have worse quality than on my other devices, browsing the web isn’t as pleasant an experience as it is on my other devices, and the lack of support for Google services kind of hurts it a bit. Plus, all of that effort the Beam has to put into that makes it heat up rapidly.
It doesn’t get anywhere nearly as hot for me when in normal use as a spatial puck. It warms up a bit when charging, and feels a bit warm to the touch after prolonged use, but it doesn’t get alarmingly hot.
It’s cool that the Beam can make an earnest effort at running some apps itself, but I have much better tools for that job, so that capability is ultimately not much of a selling point for me. It should stick to what it does best: spatial stuff.
I was fully prepared to dislike the Beam, but the truth is, every time I plug my Air 2 Pro directly into a device without the Beam, I immediately find myself missing the things the Beam brings to the table.
It’s like I can’t live without the smooth follow mode and the ability to fiddle with screen size and distance.
If it were able to still charge while my phone was plugged in, and it didn’t have issues with wireless streaming of DRM content, it’d get two thumbs up. For now, it gets a wistful “I wish I could give this two thumbs up because it’s so close”.

This is my first week Solo (did it with the wife during Christmas time last year) worked my ass for 6 days and broke a over a thousand so far this week. Then I get the order from hell that had nothing to do with the customer, restaurant, or DD. 2:56 am order comes in for a store that closes in 4 mins and I'm prob about that away from the store. I'm zooming to the store and this dude is riding my ass flashing his high beams at me. We get to a red light and he is literally inches from my bumper flashing his high beams and laying into his horn. I'm finishing up an 8-hour shift I'm tired cranky and this dude has pissed me off. The light turns green and I flick them off and start to go when I hear it super distinct pop pop... This crazy dude just pointed a gun out his window and fired off a couple rounds. Well at this point my flight or fight response kicks in and I book it and what pursues is a 5-minute chase through the city into downtown with extreme speed.
My call to 911 happened at 2:58 am. The dispatcher was able to pinpoint my location and give me directions to the main downtown police headquarters. I guess he could see I was on the phone with 911 and within a mile of the police department he disappeared. I get to the police department and there are literally three cop cars sitting there waiting for me.
I explain everything that happened to the police they get all my information for the report and then they handed me a business card with the officers name on it and a report number and they tell me a detective will call me later in the week.
Immediately reached out to support after I was finished with the police and try to explain to them what had happened but I don't think they understood the gravity of the situation but even after that I told support that I was still going to go pick up the order but that was why I was delayed.
I reached out to the customer afterwards and explain the situation to them as well and told them I was still going to go pick up their order.
After all that I then drive about 6 minutes to the place to pick up the order and they're closed. They closed at 3:00 It was now around 330am I told the customer this and reported the stores closed took pictures submitted it got half pay and said that was it and ended my dash. Around an hour later I get an email from doordash saying my account is now deactivated for fraud.
The only thing I can think of is this guy got pissed told support that the only reason I didn't deliver it was because it was 8 mi away (8 mi on a $14 order I take anything higher then .75 a mile) and I made up a delay so I could wait until the store was closed and report it closed and get an easy half pay.
I already know I'm not going to get my account back I've read all the horror stories on here. I'm just glad I had my pay setup for dasher direct and didn't loose my money. The only other CV I had was the one I posted on here about a couple days back where Taco Bell wouldn't fulfill a order for 36 items stating they were out of beef. I informed the customer of this and then received a CV. I did over 100 deliveries since Monday of this week.
This s***'s really disheartening especially when I found something that I actually enjoy and with it being able to fit into my schedule.
Unfortunately I cannot do instacart due to the physical hardship it would cause and physical pain due to a disability. Uber eats and GrubHub are garbage in my area and so is spark. I signed up for flex but there's a wait list and I don't know how long it is but I've heard really good things about it.
So for now I'm just in limbo. Canceled by an algorithm....
I did appeal it but expect it to be rubber stamped denied.
TLDR late night order road rage turns into a shooting/ chase that caused me to arrive late to a closed store that resulted in deactivation due to fraud!

If the listing is up, it is available. Serious inquiries only & be kind please.
Price: $900 however it is negotiable for best offer. (Please note these are Olympic quality equipment and in great condition)
I have a COMPLETE weight lifting & squat set, complete with ALL the fitness equipment you need to set up your at-home gym!🏋🏻‍♀️🏋🏻‍♂️
The equipment is used, but kept in very good condition because it was only used indoors.😤
The Powerlifting Set Includes💪🏻: 1. Squat Rack 2. Olympic Bar (7FT; 45lbs Chrome holds 500lb capacity) 3. Olympic Steel Plates Complete Set (45x2; 35x2; 25x2; 10x2; 5x4; 2.5x2) 4. Adjustable 25lb Dumbells 5. Bench
Cash Only - Local Pickup - No Refunds

Hi - New to this forum and would appreciate any advice or comments. I've dealt with 3 other cats with CKD and they all progressed at a "normal" pace and I did the traditional fluid therapies, Cerenia, etc. and gave them the best care until it was time to say goodbye.
I currently have a 16yo male cat, with a history of transient pancreatitis, that recently began losing weight again. His diet is a raw home made and he really likes it. As a general practice I try and weigh my cats at home monthly, as I've found that weight changes can be a reliable indicator of feline health, as they're very good at hiding pain.
Back on Feb 5, I noticed his weight had dropped (he went from 10#4oz on 12/10/2023 to 9#7oz on 2/5/2024). He wasn't exhibiting any symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, or lethargy) other than weight loss.
On 2/6, I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with pancreatitis via a SNAP fPL test. His creatine was 2.2 and BUN was 47. We administered fluids, spiked with potassium, 250mL 3X week for 2 weeks. This seemed to resolve his issue as his appetite resumed and he gained weight in March, April, and May.
Oliver's weight on May 6 was 10# 4oz. On 6/6, his weight had dropped to 9# 8oz.
Because of the weight loss, I took him in for bloodwork on 6/7. His SNAP fPL was abnormal, meaning his pancreatitis flared up again. However, this time his creatinine was 8.4, BUN was 187. We're treating the same as last time, fluids with potassium.
My question is: Has anyone experienced a cat with kidney issues increasing that dramatically in such a short period of time?
Sorry for the longwinded post. Thanks.

My 14 boy Cosmo died in my arms last night. He was so scared. He never liked the vet but his breaths per min were at 60. I rushed him in and they took him right away. He was on oxygen for 2 hours and his lungs were full of fluid. The vet came into the room with a look on her face that is burnt into my memory.
Cosmo was diagnosed with late stage heart failure on Tuesday last week after he collapsed on the street on our walk. I’ve been through this before with my sisters dog so I was ready to treat him and find a routine. But then the meds didn’t work. He was so uncomfortable. He couldn’t stay in one position for longer than a minute and you could see his chest cavity struggle to keep up.
Last night he gave me a look. His eyes were black and he looked so stressed. One the car ride over he seemed eerily peaceful. He was looking out into the sky just gazing instead of his normal reaction to a car ride which is go buck wild. I took him in thinking maybe they’d up his sedative dose to calm him but then the vet came to me with that face. What was an emergency visit then turned into our last moments together. There’s no good place to do it. Some do it at home (expensive!) and some at the vet. But I had no choice. The quality of life check was made. It was either; bring him home so I could try to pump him with meds and buy a bit more time or put him out of his misery and bring him peace.
Only thing is I can’t stop thinking about how stressed my baby was seconds before his first injection. He could barely breathe, he’s was shaking and wanted to get out so badly. Part of me wishes I gave him one more day. One day to cuddle, kiss and spoil my best friend before his parting. But I made my choice and now here I am.
The last week has been incredibly traumatic. I’m not sure how to process this. I can’t decide if I feel regret, guilt, or relief that my dog doesn’t need to sit in pain with every breath. It all happened so quickly my head hurts. I live alone in a big city hours away from anyone that I could hug or embrace. I’m in this alone. And now I don’t know what to do with myself.

Before I get started, I would just like to point out that I have scheduled my MRI and will be getting it done very soon.
I’m aware that Piriformis Syndrome is uncommon, but I wonder if maybe that’s what I have. Prior to my sciatic nerve flaring up, I was completely fine. I was going to the gym where I would go jogging on the treadmill, I was using machines to lift light weights (nothing crazy, like 30 lbs max). I even went on an international trip where the flight was 2.5 hours long each way and I was completely fine.
However, about 2 months ago I had an elderly family member visit me and my parents for a month. Throughout their stay, I was mostly sitting down with them the entire day. I kid you not, I was practically sitting down to keep them company from like 9:30 am till 11 pm (with like a 3 hour break in between) for six days out of the week (I was sitting with them for like 7 hours on the 7th day of the week). It got to the point where my butt will get numb three or four times out of the week. And I’ll admit I wasn’t sitting correctly all the time. I was mainly sitting crossed legged with my affected leg on top and sometimes leaned on one side of my body and then switch sides. It wasn’t until four days before the family member left that my sciatic nerve started to flare up.
My sciatic nerve has calmed down since then. I’m very slowly getting the sensation back to my big toe, I can lay in bed pain free half of the day, and there are time in the day where I can stand and sit pain free for a few mins. since the nerve is veerrryyyy slowly calming down, I started to noticed that low back is completely pain free. I honestly feel fine with my lower back. The only discomfort I get from my lower back is just tension, but of course thats because of being tense due to my leg pain. And my thigh is completely pain free.
My pain is mainly in the center of my butt and from my caff to my ankles (mainly my ankle). Sometimes, when I either sit or woken up laying on my back, my butt feels as if I sat on the hard pointy corner of a furniture. I also noticed that my nerve would hurt if I tighten my glutes. I also noticed that if I lay down and do the recline butterfly pose, I can feel my sciatic nerve pain from my butt to my ankle.
Like I said I’m will be getting my mri done soon and will know what’s the real corporate. but what are the chances that my piriformis muscle could be the cause for my sciatic nerve pain this entire time?
Edit: I have gotten 3 injections. They’ve helped but I’m still with pain. Also, I my leg muscles are not weak and I have complete control of my leg. Heck, I can bring my knee to my chest both laying down and standing.
Edit 2: I also wanted to say that I’ve had issue with my sciatic nerve before. My only issue was that I couldn’t sit with my legs stretched straight in front of me. Besides that I was completely fine.

I honestly don't know what else to name this other than help.
I'm 17 years old, I got diagnosed when I was 11. I've been having flare ups as young as 6 that I can remember. I used to get them on my bikini line young and still do, I went to the doctor countless times but nothing helped. At that young age no one wanted to send me to a dermatologist. Once I got my period they started getting really bad so I finally got referred out to a dermatologist. As soon as they saw me they diagnosed me with HS. They started me with Doxycycline and a topical ointment. At 16 it got so bad they decided to put me on Humira. I've been on Humira for around 8-9 months now, my flare ups have slowed down but when they do come they're a LOT more painful. Recently I've had 6 in a ROW one after another, right now I currently have 2 and one is a gaping hole and the other just popped up so its fresh and full. I have immense scarring on my bikini line and it's quite noticeable when I wear bikinis. I posted a photo of me wearing a bikini a couple months ago and you can see the scar a bit, I had to take it down due to people literally bullying me for being a "slut", they thought it was some form of herpes. In all honesty I would never let anyone see me at this point, I'm disgusted with my body and myself. I already have other medical issues and with this on top of that I'm just so tired. I don't know what to do anymore, I've been researching and have decided the best thing to do is go vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, legume free, and also avoid all of my allergies which is a VERY long list. I have an appointment with my dermatologist tomorrow so hopefully they can help me. Last time it got this bad was during the height of covid and I decided losing weight was the best option, I was a 14 year old girl at 120 lbs and went under 80 lbs during that time. I don't know if I should try to lose that much weight again, in all honesty I'm about 25-30 lbs heavier than back then, my weight fluctuates a lot. I don't know what to do. I'm really at a loss here. I'm embarrassed of my body, in so much pain, and just tired. Thank you to anyone who reads this.

I hate my ex best friend. We were friends for so long and fell out 2 years ago. We never spoke again I had a child and I know she watches my socials as I do sometimes not often. I finally decided that in order to move on I need to block her. I just still find myself so angry and hurt. She acts like the victim and as if she didn’t do me so wrong the last year of our friendship & during my wedding time.
She also swears to her bf I’m sending her fake texts from fake numbers to her and her man which I do not lol she actually used to do this never me. The only two things I’m guilty of is one her man and her broke up (after we stop being friends) and he wanted me to confirm rumors he had been hearing for years about her cheating and doing shady shit to him. I only confirmed finally after years because he was begging me and he’s actually my husbands best friend so I always felt wrong knowing he’s being done dirty and I stayed silent about it while she would constantly attack him if he was even near a girl. Second thing I’m guilty of is someone I know asked for her number because they wanted to tell her that her man is actually married too (this is recent not while me and her where friends) I gave the person her sisters number because I don’t have hers anymore and although I knew she was about to tell her that her man is married I didn’t care about their relationship and after all the shit she’s done to me I said fuck it someone should tell her he’s married that’s not my issue.
I have never hated anyone more in my life than her and I think it’s because I’m grasping onto so much pain because I loved her she was my sister practically and she moved on like she did nothing wrong or as if we weren’t friends for almost a decade. I found out shit from my own bridesmaids (family and friends) she was trying to sabotage my bachelor trip wedding and friendships I had, all for no reason I never did anything to her. The only thing I could think of she hated me being around her man even tho he’s my husband’s friend. I never tried anything with him and idk wtfff I did. I tried so many times communicating with her and she’d never say anything about what was wrong in our friendship. She also must of hated that I stopped defending the wrong stuff she’d do while talking to her boyfriend. I’m prob just being a dumbass because she doesn’t deserve my energy but I literally refuse to make friends because of her I’m afraid of being done dirty again.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
"That... Would certainly be appreciated. She's just outside."
And so, the two aspects of Atrosa, Logos and Celia, exit the medbay and fix up Chaos Meld, bringing it into proper working condition.
Max: "Ready for another drive, honey?"
Rachnia: "As I'll ever be."
Celia approaches Talios after finishing the repairs of Chaos Meld.
"I went ahead and threw in a tune-up for the Mana-Thrusters, it should use a bit less mana for flight mode now."
"Alright, thank you."
Chaos Meld: "All systems repaired and operational. Ready for combat, Pilot."
Finally, Max and Rachnia re-enter their mech, Weaver Of Fates. As the two enter and connect, the same thing happens as before. The cables attached to Max turn gold. Though this time, Rachnia's do too. A purple spider web pattern spreads across both their cables.
"All systems operational. Driver sync at 200%. The Weaver of Fates is ready for Combat."
"To protect and preserve, to carve a path for others to walk on, to weave the fate for the future, we stand and fight. Eldritch one. You've made your last mistake."
A large sword appears in one of the weaver's hands. It's alot like the one the Apostate of Misfortune wields, a form of Max very view of have gazed upon.
The Titanic Abomination in the distance can be seen wrestling with Aoi's projection. It seems to be overpowering even for the the Oni, but she has managed to hold her own against it. Jean can be seen flying overhead, using layers of defensive spells to buff and empower her.
Aoi: "YOU THINK YOU'RE HOT SHIT HUH? SARAH, BLAST EM!"
the beam of the Polyphemus aims straight for the beast's left eye, to try to distract it.
Cerne's silver swords are stuck in her own projection, like daggers in her back. Not out of hostility, but to enrage and empower.
Talios places a hand on Chaos Meld's ankle, and is warped into the cockpit.
"Switching to manual controls. Welcome back Pilot."
Chaos Meld pulls out it's greatsword, but it quickly changes into a different form. A war hammer.
《Mana-Drain Thrusters: 30%》
Immediately, Chaos Meld dashes in and attempts a powerful overhead strike on the abomination.
The blade of the Weaver Of Fates grows as the weaver takes hold if it with all four arms. A gigantic and ornate greatsword.
"To destroy those who wish for destruction, to end those who wish for annihilation. We turn their desired fates to their own selves. Face us, XYLFAPSAVEI, and die your final, fated death."
The thrusters on it's back and it's legs activate, burning white hot. It dashes forward at breakneck speeds, going for an upper cut to match Talios' strike.
The Titanic being Towers above everything, it's head nearly a full kilometer in the air. As Talios flies overhead and strikes down with the warhammer, it is effortlessly deflected by some kind of powerful energy field, and the same happens with the beam from the Polyphemus and the Weaver's attack. The exposed Brain sitting in the carved out skull psychically laughs, mockingly.
"You fools don't stand a chance before the power of a true God!"
Everyone experiences a flood of information entering their minds. it is a map of the beast, with a plan of attack.
Atrosa: "The thing has Shield Generators built into it's body that we're gonna have to take care of first. Your going to need to use your mechs to get inside, then fight your way on foot to the generators!"
"Talios, You use Chaos Meld and try to get under it's left flank, there is a hollow metal panel there you should be able to break open with your antimagic punch. Weaver, I want y'all to evade as best as possible while charging that cannon of yours, and wait until my signal that Talios has brought down the first generator. The second one is located in the right shoulder, but it's very heavily armored."
Talios: "Got it."
《Mana-Drain Thrusters: 60%》
Chaos Meld's speed increases massively. It begins flying around the abomination, trying to find an opening to the hollow panel.
"Ironsides, Wait for my signal, and when I give the order I want you to dump everything you have into this things Groin. Trust me on this."
The Weaver Of Fates armour plating shifts forward, as it stands guard before the Ironsides, ready to deflect attacks.
"Ready when you are."
Talios manages to fly around to it's left flank, Jean assisting Aoi in getting the abomination to lift it's arm, exposing a worn panel protected by a barrier.
Chaos Meld: "Target acquired."
Chaos Meld immediately dashes in with a superman punch on the worn panel, the anti-magic in the Chaos Meld being much more volatile. It causes black sparks to surge from the point of impact, all the mana in the vicinity being consumed by the sparks, essentially destroying the mana entirely.
The punch collapses the barriers and crashes through the panel, exposing a hallway leading down into the depths of the creature. The cockpit of Chaos Meld opens up, and Talios tosses a Chaos dagger into the exposed hallway, swapping positions with it.
Chaos Meld retreats back after it's pilot has safely entered the beast.
"Switching to automatic mode. Good luck Pilot."
The shipkeeper of the Ironsides, Ferra, has been preparing a shield disrupting shot amidst all this.
Ferra: "Awaiting command, Paragon of Preservation!"
The tunnels leads deep down into the chest of the mechanical eldritch horror, and opens into a large room with a massive glowing crystal. Around it, 3 mindflayer mages are focusing on some kind of ritual. They have not noticed Talios yet.
Talios summons his Chaos Blade, and another Chaos dagger into his free hand. Quiet as a mouse, he moves behind one mage... And immediately stabs his Chaos Blade into the throat of the mage. He tosses the Chaos Dagger at another of the mages, the dagger striking it's throat. Two down.
The final Mindflayer, in a panic, attempts to use a Mind Blast on Talios. But due to not having an actual brain... It is ineffective.
Talios charges the last one, shoulder checking it to the floor and proceeding to bash it's head into the floor once. Twice. Thrice. Fourice. Firice... What am I saying... Finally, he stops.
Atrosa: "Talios, hit that mana crystal with an anti-magic strike. Max, as soon at it shatters, fire your weapon into it's right shoulder!"
Talios walks over to the mana crystal. He widens his stance, placing his left hand fingers square on the center of the crystal. He takes a deep breath. Focuses...
《One Inch Death Punch》
He closes his fist, moving his whole body into the punch in an instant. The anti-magic freezes the mana in the crystal, while the punch itself could probably do some serious damage as well.
The jets of the Weaver Of Fates flare up, the armour shifts back, and they ready it's titanic greatsword to strike.
The attack greatly destabilizes the Mana crystal powering the first layer shields, causing it to shatter into thousands of pieces.
Atrosa: "Now Max, blast that thing with the shot you've been charging up and get ready to jump it!"
The railcannon fires straight into it's shoulder, weakening it significantly. The disruptor rune weakens surrounding materials, disabling magic caught in the blast.
The Weaver grapples onto the beast's side and runs upwards, reaching it's shoulder. A wound, large enough to fit the Weaver was made in the abominations shoulder, and after passing the fleshy, decayed exterior, they find themselves standing in a large room, and on the other side of a massive barrier lies a huge, spherical core of energy radiating a sickening divine light.
Atrosa: "Weaver, use a Godslayer rune on that divine core, that will render it mortal. Talios, you get back to Chaos Meld and get ready to scram. This is gonna get messy."
"Got it."
Talios sprints out of the hallway, leaping straight out of the abomination. Putting full faith in Chaos Meld to catch him as he falls...
And she delivers, soaring in and catching him mid-air, immediately warping him back into the cockpit.
"Welcome back Pilot."
"Charging up railcannon, rerouting power from all defensive systems."
"Firing Godslayer rune!"
The cannon fires at near point-blank range, smashing right through the barrier and into the divine core. This causes the mana with it to become unstable and explode outwards, leaving a massive hole in the eldritch corpse's chest. The Weaver is protected from the blast by a powerful barrier.
Atrosa: "Alright, Y'all get out too. Ironsides, Dump everything you got into that things crotch!"
Ferra: "ALL CANNONS, FIRE ON IT'S GROIN!"
The mortars, anti-material cannons, and artillery batteries all focus fire on it's groin, as the Railcannon is almost finished charging a godslayer itself. Aoi's Wargod projection moves out of the way to avoid getting hit, while Sarah fires her cannon in tandem with the others.
The barrage begins impacting the abominations groin, causing the structures holding it's legs together to collapse. Without a leg to stand on, it comes toppling down, landing forwards in the water. The massive tank containing the Elder Brain shatters on impact, and the seawater begins to cause it to shreak in pain.
Chaos Meld was flying around it when the abomination fell. Seeing the Elder Brain exposed, it grabs A.M.A.R from it's shoulder mount, firing 10 anti-magic artillery rounds into the brain. It only stopped because it had to reload.
Without the magic animating the Eldritch corpse, it begins to turn to stone, rapidly becoming overgrown with moss and sea life.
Talios sees the village below while flying, and notices the villagers trying to flag him down. He obliges, Chaos Meld descending down, gradually slowing its descent with the mana-drain thrusters. Once it lands, the thrusters power off entirely and it kneels, placing a hand on the ground. Talios is warped onto the hand.
A large man with skin the color of brass walks up to Talios. Judging from the draconic wings and tail, it's easy to tell that this must be the Half-Dragon chieftain.
"Thank you so much, great warriors! You have saved our village, and we are forever in your debt."
Talios: "...Just doing our job as the Crimson Paragons, chief."
A title with little meaning now. But it's all that comes to mind. Talios doesn't want to take all the credit...
The Weaver Of Fates arrive near the village, Max and Rachnia disembarking.
Max: "Good day, chieftain. I've heard much about you from Empress Aubade."
Rachnia looks like she only did a light exercise, instead of experiencing the same strain as before. Them being in sync seems to have done them both a lot of good.
The townspeople begin to gather around to thank their saviors, and the Chief, the Brass Half-Dragon Velzas, walks up to Max.
"I've heard good things about you, Maximillian. We've been appreciative for ARMADAs assistance for quite some time, and now we are truly in your debt."
Talios is busy being greeted and thanked by the villagers, when a large Lamia woman approaces him silently from behind, and picks him up into a huge hug. She gets a little carried away though, and accidentally squeezes him so hard that he can feel his body crumpling in from the pressure.
Talios visibly tenses up when he feels the Lamia grab him, but he quickly relaxes. He feels... Strange. An emotion unfamiliar to him.
With this action... A seed was planted in his mind. A seed that would quickly turn into something greater.
Max: "I'm surprised you all even remembered it's aid from ARMADA at all. Not exactly a catchy name, after all. Just glad to see you're all doing well."
Velzas: "Don't worry about the damages, it is nothing compared to the devastation that you have prevented. We've been acting as a sanctuary for dislocated demihumans such as ourselves for some time, and that does put us in indirect contect with ARMADA from time to time. You have been doing a service for our community that the world has always sorely lacked, and to call it gratitude would be a disservice."
Max: "I'll have a crew sent before noon tomorrow to assist with reconstruction efforts, chief Velzas."
And with that, the alien invasion had been stopped. All was well in Lantica once more. And Talios sat down on his chair in the tavern, having finished his retelling of this story.
"I'm never entertaining things like this again."
He will.
((BUT WAIT, THERE'S BE MORE! IT'S A TWO FOR ONE SPECIAL TODAY ON LORE!))

So, I turned 24 this year and have had my period since I was 12 and it has always always been regular, even after I had my first kiddo. I have one kid who's now 4.
2 months ago (April) I had a very heavy period that was very painful, which wasn't super out of the ordinary for me but was a bit more than I was used to and lasted 6 days instead of 5. I didn't think much of it, until May came around and my period was due. I didn't get it. I was 6 days late (going off of a 28 day cycle, when my cycles were usually 24-26 days long) and on the 6th day I started to lightly bleed, without cramps or anything, no other symptoms. Just light intermittent bleeding that hardly required a pad and would completely stop in the afternoons and start again mid-morning. This lasted 3 days, and remained the same for those 3 days and then stopped. Well, today the same thing has started again. Which would make my last cycle 28 days long. I do have mild cramps this time around and had different symptoms the last couple days than I've ever had with periods.
My question for all of you women is, did your cycles change around your mid twenties? Did they get lighter or shorter in length? Did you swap out some pms symptoms for others you'd never had before?
Relevant info: I haven't been diagnosed with any kind of condition like pcos or anything, I have never taken birth control of any sort, I have taken like 20 pregnancy tests over the last 2 months including 2 done at the doctor's office (all negative) and I also had a pelvic exam and swabs done (all normal) so I know it isn't pregnancy, and as it stands now it can't be chalked up to anything underlying. And I WILL be discussing this issue again with my doctor next month, she blew it off after a negative pregnancy test in her office right after the spotting had started.

Hi All excuse the rant;
I had an ectopic pregnancy in April and I was lucky it didn't rupture but I had two rounds of methotrexate and it took over two months to get my hcg down to 0. Through it all I've had a lot of pain, both from the methotrexate and from the cramps of the ectopic. I've also bled non stop this entire time.
I don't get a period regularly but if I'm in the pill I do. I have 2 children but for some reason I haven't been able to convince a 3rd. My mother and my sister snap their fingers and are pregnant. They also have regular periods.
Through the pain I experienced they continue to tell me they understand how I feel because of their period cramps...I find it so insulting. I've had a period for years on the pill I know what a period cramp is. I've told them it upsets me when they say that but they both continue to.
I've been woken up in the middle of the night in extreme pain, debating if I've ruptured about 10 times in the past two months.
Today I was telling my sister I'm so so relieved my hcg is at 0 but I still have pain when I sneeze or when I'm gassy the pain is very sharp. AGAIN she says, "totally, I just got my period and I feel the same way". I'm done talking about this with them. I'm sick of feeling belittled on top of everything else I feel.