Is it possible to install a larger sd card In my kobo libra colour such as 512mb

PERSONALIA

• Age: 34
• Education: Associate's degree IT and Network management (starting this year to get my bachelor in distance learning)
• Work experience : 3y current function (Previously 9 years as a software tester consultant; 3,5y 1st line callcenter; 1,5y field technician telecom)
• Civil status: legally cohabiting
• Dependent people/children: 2

2. EMPLOYER PROFILE

• SectoIndustry: IT Solutions and services
• Amount of employees: +3000 (Belgium), +-6000 internationally
• Multinational? Yes

3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS

• Current job title: Senior consultant application security and devsecops
• Job description: code security assessments, infrastructure security assessments, implementing devsecops, vulnerability management, implementing software security scanning tools, ...
• Seniority: 3 year
• Official hours/week : 38
• Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 38
• Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): 9 to 5 very flexible
• On-call duty: no
• Vacation days/year: 20 days + 7 ADV

4. SALARY

• Gross salary/month: 4160
• Net salary/month: 3094 (+ repaid 200 EUR charging; so basically 2900 Net; see "other benefits" to see what else is also included in the Net salary already)
• Netto compensation: /
• Mobility budget/cabike/...: premium electric car + charge card (can be used private)
• 13th month (full? partial?): partial
• Meal vouchers: 8/day
• Ecocheques: 250
• Group insurance: yes
• Other insurances: hospital + health insurance, medical advice, mental health coaching
• Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): +-1100 EUR yearly non-recurring bonus, annual sectoral bonus 312, every 2 years new phone with biggest subscription included, work laptop can be used private, monthly road allowance 70 (already included in net amount above), monthly representation allowance 300 (already included in net amount above)

5. MOBILITY

• City/region of work: Belgium, mostly West- and East-Flanders, Brussels and Antwerp
• Distance home-work: depends from project, sometimes 35km and sometimes 125km
• How do you commute? Company Car
• How is the travel home-work compensated: company car
• Telework days/week: contractual 1 day a week, but you can align with your customer. Mostly remote.

6. OTHER

• How easily can you plan a day off: easily
• Is your job stressful? When starting a new project or a go-live
• Responsible for personnel (reports): no

1. PERSONALIA

• Age: 27
• Education: Master in Civil Engineering
• Work experience : 3,5 years working
• Civil status: Single
• Dependent people/children: 0

2. EMPLOYER PROFILE

• SectoIndustry: Steel Construction
• Amount of employees: +/- 250
• Multinational? No

3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS

• Current job title: Project Manager
• Job description: managing internal departements to delivery the project on time, within budget and good quality. Sole point of contact for the Client
• Seniority: 2 years
• Official hours/week : 39
• Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 44
• Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): flexible hours
• On-call duty: no
• Vacation days/year: 20+12 (ADV)

4. SALARY

• Gross salary/month: 4019
• Net salary/month: 2525
• Netto compensation: 75/month (incl. in above point)
• Mobility budget/cabike/...: company car + fuel card (BE)
• 13th month (full? partial?): full
• Meal vouchers: 6,50 EURO/DAY
• Ecocheques: 250 EURO/YEAR
• Group insurance: 4,12% of Gross salary by employer
• Other insurances: Hospitalisation and Invalidity Insurance
• Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): Bonus depending on KPI's, up to 2x gross monthly salary

5. MOBILITY

• City/region of work: Ghent
• Distance home-work: 45 km/50 min.
• How do you commute? By car
• How is the travel home-work compensated: km allowance
• Telework days/week: 2 max.

6. OTHER

• How easily can you plan a day off: quite easliy depending on work load
• Is your job stressful? Yes
• Responsible for personnel (reports): no direct reports, 3 functional reports of project team members

I got a call today. She said she is speaking from the credit card department delhi. (Flag 1: no mention of what bank)
I asked her which credit card, so she says you’re using ICICI credit card.
Then she asks me is your card Visa, Mastercard, Rupay? I tell her Mastercard, then she asks me the colour of the circles in the MC logo (????)
She tells me there’s some complimentary kit they’re sending to my address with 5 benefits:

1. ICICI VIP money card - I show this card anywhere I’m shopping and they’ll instantly give me 15% discount uncapped. Offline online both
   
2. A link with multiple gift items like Shirt, laptop bag, jeans, shoes etc. I can choose anyone I want
   
3. Can’t remember the third benefit
   
4. 2 holiday vouchers to anywhere in India with family fully covered by them for 3D2N
   
5. A 5000 rs gift voucher
   

Then she tells me you need to pay government tax of 417 rs per month for 24 months for this
I told her I don’t want it. She says this is not a ration store that you can choose what you want and what you don’t want, this is a pre approved offer and a value added service, you don’t have a choice if you want it or not.
I asked her again where are you calling from. She says Delhi. I said what business? She says credit card department. Still no bank
After arguing for 2-3 minutes figured I’m wasting my time and disconnected the call. She tried calling one more time, but that was it.
Such an elaborate scam lol

To get the desired color, we recommend using pinch of food colour from Anuja Food Colours, which is one of the leading food colour manufacturers in India. Perfect for birthdays, celebrations, or simply to spread joy, this cake is sure to be a hit with both kids and adults alike.

preface: this is compilation of tips that i feel get undermentioned in general guides and that i wish i knew when i started playing, from my personal experience as a casual player who has been playing for less than a year. it is NOT comprehensive guide.
i refer to casual players as anyone who doesn't regularly (NOT the same as frequently) play the game, doesn't take part in every event, generally doesn't bother with more complicated techniques, etc.
feel free to share any tips you also wish you knew as a beginner and i'll try to add as many as i can (with credit of course)!

non-gameplay

• this game is NOT beginner friendly.
  • premium boxes cost A LOT and there is no pity/guarantee system**.
  • it's fun and the tsums are cute though so like
• therefore, PLANNING AHEAD and PRE-FARMING COINS are key to obtaining your desired tsums.
  • someone will usually post the following month's calendar near the end of the month which shows all the tsum available that following month and their availability periods.
  • u/MalibuDan posts monthly tsum evaluations at the start of every month as well, VERY HELPFUL in deciding whether or not to pull for a specific tsum.
• finish the colouring book cards for max skill level gadget hackwrench.
  • this will be your best coin farming tsum at the start, and if you just get unlucky trying to get a better one.
• LINK YOUR LINE ACCOUNT AND ADD FRIENDS. this subreddit has a monthly line id thread for this.
  • adding friends through line is ESSENTIAL to maintaining a steady supply of hearts.
  • linking your line account also just ensures you never lose your progress as long as you have your line account.
• many recommended tsums require a certain skill level to start functioning optimally.
  • the specific skill level is not always explicitly mentioned, do your own research.
  • there are a lot of videos on yt showcasing tsums at different levels that are helpful for this.
• only invest in the skill level of tsums you are comfortable using.
  • no matter how recommended a tsum is, if you are not comfortable using it, it will perform less efficiently than one you are comfortable with.
  • skill leveling is exponential. don't waste precious skill tickets or coins on pulling dupes unless you're sure you will be using the tsum.
• a lot of skill descriptions DO NOT list the full skill. DO YOUR RESEARCH.
  • e.g. anakin tsum skill description ONLY mentions the short tap for to clear multiple lines of tsums (short chains, good for generating bubbles) and does NOT mention the long directional tap to clear significantly larger line of tsums and bubbles (bigger chain, more score+exp+coins)
  • a good indicator you might be missing something is if the tsum is severely under-performing compared to reviews.
• yes, you should raise your all your tsums' (score) levels.
  • the score level refers to the amount of base score points you gain when clearing that specific tsum. chain multiplier calculates off that tsum's base score points.
  • it's necessary to avoid struggling with score-based missions down the line, especially since tsums aside from my tsum are selected at random.
  • the level 5 and level 10 cap cost 2k coins to unlock and increase beyond that. max level is 50.
• tsums are categorised. my tsum will significantly decrease the chance of spawning tsums in the same category for each game.
  • e.g. general colours, round/pointed ears, wears a hat/crown/etc, princess/queen/villain/etc, animals, tsums with variations (mickey, cabbage mickey, daruma mickey, etc), series/franchise (frozen, winnie the pooh, pixar, etc) etc etc etc
  • this is more relevant for clearing tsum missions that do not require a specific my tsum.
    • specific my tsum missions will provide a list of tsums you can use and will indicate before starting a game if the current my tsum cannot be used for the mission.

**there technically is a guarantee system in that, if you max out a tsum's skill level, they will be removed from the pool. needless to say, it will take VERY LONG to reach any sort of guarantee.

actual gameplay

• the try again button in the pause menu simply ends the game. bonus items are NOT refunded.
  • saves time if you mess up and know you won't be able to complete a mission.
• accuracy > speed.
  • avoids wasting time possibly fumbling chains
  • longer chains give more score+exp+COINS
• save bubbles to trigger fever time or to spawn new tsums for easier / better chains.
  • triggering fever time adds +5sec to the timer.
  • whether you use gyro or the fan button, repositioning tsums wastes precious time that could be spent on clearing tsums.
• if you regain your skill right as the timer is ending:
  • if the skill clears tsums (i.e. burst, clears lines, etc), use it before the timer ends.
    • last bonus skill picks a tsum to clear at random, possibly clearing the least number of tsums. using your skill will almost always give you more rewards.
  • if the skill does not clear tsums (i.e. friend-calling tsum), leave it for last bonus after the timer ends.
    • you might not have time to clear any tsums after activating the skill and the skill value will be wasted.
    • exception is time stopping/adding skills.
• if you are close to completing a mission, it's cheaper to extend the timer (5 rubies) than to make the mission easier (10 rubies) in the card menu.
  • of course, this only applies if you only need a bit more to complete the mission, otherwise making the mission easier cuts the mission goal a significant amount.
• only use +coin bonus item if you can guarantee 1k+ coin score.
  • simple math, you break even or gain less than not using it otherwise.
  • basic probability, chances of getting a high multiplier is possible but extremely low. it's also just a waste for the chance to occur with a low coin score.
• some skill tickets (most importantly 5>4) are discounted near the end of the month.
  • this is an optimal time to farm especially if you have a good coin farming tsum.
  • it's also a good time for completing harder missions as 5>4 helps in multiple aspects.

i hope this will prove to be helpful to someone! and please let me know if i've made any errors!
i will try to keep adding tips if/when they occur to me or someone offers a good one, so again feel free to share your own!

In the vast countryside, away from the busy city of Savannah, exist hills as tall as buildings and green as emeralds. There was also an aura of calmness, with a few birds twittering away in dispersed trees, followed by the gentle swaying of the wind.
Then, out of nowhere, came a small, lonely girl wearing a once-lily-white summer dress with a striped long-sleeved t-shirt underneath it. She was also wearing a dark blue and cream-white baseball hat with the letter D on the front of it. She was moving wearily, with a pistol in one hand, and wiping her damp eyes with the other.
She knew what happened to make her weep. According to her, it was her fault that she got him killed; she was convinced by a towering man who said he knew her parents. But that was a brainless, childish lie that got Lee killed. She shouldn’t have run off. At least, Lee taught her how to use a gun and what to expect in the future before his tragic passing. But now she was all on her own.
Eventually, she came to a log, which was next to the rusted shell of a car. Anyway, she proceeded to sit down on it. Throughout all of this, she was as quiet as a mouse, only looking at her feet and wiping her blood-red eyes. She noticed that on the floor next to the log was a mixture of bullets—some shell casings and some unfired ones. Out of curiosity, she picked it up and examined it before exhaling deeply, which is when she noticed something else. Something she could just about make out if she scrutinised her eyes—something on the nearest hill—looked like two figures. One followed the other, and they looked like they stopped to look at her, making her start to hyperventilate as her eyes extended to the size of oranges. Was it someone she knew? Was it a threat to her? She didn’t know.
"Lee said I needed to find Omid and Christa before he got killed because of me." She said to herself, still looking sad, as she noticed that the two figures were now coming down the prominent hill—they didn't look like walkers. So she clasped her gun tightly until the figures came into view. She ended up not firing the gun and running towards the figures, as it was Omid and Christa, and they were alive!
Omid was a tall, slim Persian-American man with short dark-brown hair and a beard to match.
Christa, on the other hand, was a slightly taller African-American lady. She also had jet-black hair tied up in a ponytail, and she was Omid’s girlfriend.
"Clementine, honey, where's Lee?" Christa asked, kneeling to the nine-year-old.
"H-h-he's...dead." She answered with her face buried in Christa’s shoulder.
"Oh, Clementine, we’re sorry," Omid said, who started to kneel to her height as well.
"W-where's Ben and Kenny?" Clementine asked, still with her face buried in Christa’s shoulder.
Omid and Christa then looked at each other without Clementine noticing, and it was Omid who told her what happened to Ben and Kenny.
"So, it’s just us three," Clementine responded, now looking at Omid and Christa with her eyes dry again, a short while later.
"I guess, Clem, I guess so." Christa replied, "Come on, let’s go somewhere safe."
With this, the trio (Clementine, Omid, and Christa) began to walk, with Clementine tagging behind while Omid and Christa were in front. They were busily talking away, apart from Clementine, who was still looking at her feet, along holding the gun in her hand. As a result of this, she wasn't engaged in the conversation that they were having. She was too melancholy about what happened today. With her being kidnapped, seeing her walker parents, Lee dying, and now Kenny and Ben dying as well.
It was a lot for her to take in.
* * * * *
Sometime later, the trio found an abandoned house that had been abandoned for decades, as thick ivy hugged the walls. Furthermore, it reminded Clementine of that house they stayed at in Savannah; it was hard to believe that was a month ago.
Anyway, they succeeded in getting into the house rather than struggling, so now they could search within it.
Clementine, honey," Christa said, kneeling to her. "Omid, and I believe you can search parts of this house on your own. Just remember, if someone, walker or not, tries to hurt you, you got your gun. If you run out of bullets or are in a tight place, call us, and we will help you if you get into trouble. Do you understand?"
“Yeah, I do, Christa; I will be careful."
“Good," replied Christa, "let me know if you find anything."
With this, Clementine strayed a little by searching for anything useful on her own, though she stayed close to Omid and Christa.
As usual in the kitchen, she found faded, rusted cans with nothing but spoiled food inside. So she decided to head upstairs, and it seemed like they creaked with every step; as Omid and Christa were searching the enormous living room. Once she was upstairs, she clasped her pistol tightly and opened the door with one of her hands and the other on the pistol. Nothing. The room was that of a bathroom, with its normal interior—a bath, sink, toothbrushes, and some cupboards—which was stripped of life.
So she closed the door, walked to the next door, and proceeded to open it in the same manner she did for the bathroom. This room was that of a child’s room, which made Clementine remember her room back in Georgia, with its toys and books. It felt like she was just coming home from school and wanted to play with her dolls until supper time; it was hard to believe that was a year ago. Yet, here she was searching for anything useful in terms of survival—and not searching for a certain toy she wanted to play with at present.
“Just as well Lee found me when he did.” She said to herself as she glanced over at the room, trying to remember simpler times. When she went to school, she watched cartoons all day and rode her bike in the park with her parents. When she was thinking about this, she noticed that there was a medium-sized lump near the wall, cloaked in dust. It was a doll, and there was a string attached to its back, and when Clementine pulled it, it produced the word "Mama”.
Clementine remembered the doll that her mother gave her for her sixth birthday; it was probably still in the back of the wardrobe.
Eventually, she found an old pocket-sized backpack with a few flowery stickers, along with a dark-blue hoodie in her size.
“Have you found anything, Clementine?” called out Christa.
“Yeah, a backpack and a hoodie," answered Clementine, walking towards the edge of the stairs where Omid and Christa were.
“Just remember to check the bag, Clem; they might have something useful." Replied Christa.
“Ok," Clementine replied, unzipping the bag and then putting her hand into it, but not looking into it. Lo and behold, she found a working lighter, and it looked like it had a decent amount of fuel for a while.
Clementine then walked to the conclusive door upstairs, and like what she did before, however, the door required a little exertion to open. As a result of this, Clementine noticed that the noise she made alerted her to the presence of a walker heading towards her. This, of course, made Clementine a little timid, but she knew what to do. As her heart started to ram against her ribcage, likewise, a thick seal of sweat began to form on her hands, transferring onto her gun.
Always aim for the head," Clementine said to herself as she exhaled deeply and fired the gun. BANG!! The walker fell with a deafening thud, and Clementine was astounded at herself for shooting the walker that was coming towards her.
I did it, I did it," she exclaimed in a loud whisper. Which is when the door bursts open to reveal Omid and Christa with perturbed faces.
"Is everything OK, Clem? Are you hurt?" Asked Omid.
Yeah, I’m fine; I’m not hurt. Replied Clementine, as the trio all stood in stupefied silence at the walker that Clementine gunned down. "Did you find anything? Clementine asked after a minute of silence.
"Yes. We have found two cans of beans and some water." Christa replied.
"Oh."
“Well, let’s keep moving on, Clem. People might have heard the shot and might come here.” Omid said.
“Ok," responded Clementine. "I said already, but I found a backpack and a hoodie."
“Put it on, Clem; it’s starting to get colder, and we get going."
“Ok, I’ll put it on now."
Clementine then took off her hat, gave the gun to Omid, put on the dark blue hoodie, put her hat back on, and took the gun back from Omid. After that, Clementine followed Christa and Omid downstairs and out of the house and walked on.
* * * * *
Some short weeks later, the trio now situated in a substantial-sized forest under a thick canopy of leaves with Omid tending to a fire. Clementine and Christa, however, were sitting down on some nearby log around the fire.
Christa was busy talking to Omid about her pregnancy, whereas Clementine was busy herself by looking at the stars. The stars flickered and danced in the sky like a million tiny flames, casting a shimmering glow over the forest below. Furthermore, the sky itself was filled with low oranges, along with a mixture of light blues. Which were progressively getting into the realms of dark blues, purples and then full-on jet-black. Moreover, there seemed to be a chorus of crickets hiding somewhere in lush grasses, chirping away harshly.
“I would say that rabbit is cooked now, Omid.”
“Oh, right, yeah,” replied Omid, as he began to take the cooked rabbit off the spit – and handed it out to Christa and Clementine, then to himself.
"Thank you very much," Clementine said as she reached for the rabbit meat before going back to look at the stars. She thought to herself as she ate: "How many are there? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions?"
“Hm, what – sorry Christa; what did you say?”
“Omid and I said that we are going to rest here tonight and get going in the morning."
"Ok, as my legs still ache from all that walking we did today."
"Well, get some rest, you're going to need it," Omid said, rising from poking the fire.
"Ok," responded Clementine, getting up from the weather-worn log, wishing Omid and Christa a good night before she got onto the floor near the fire and began to close her eyes. She then began to dream about what she would be doing tomorrow, what would happen, and what she would see.
The next morning was filled with colours ranging from warm yellows trickling through the gaps in the trees. Clementine rubbed her eyes before getting up from the harsh, tough ground and walked to the log where she sat last night, where she saw Omid was cooking again.
"Morning, Clem," Omid said. "How did you sleep?"
"Ok, I'd rather sleep in a bed than on the floor."
"Yeah, I don't like it either, but it's necessary until we get to Wellington."
"Where's Christa?" asked Clementine, now looking around the campsite as she noticed Christa wasn't there.
But then, five minutes later, after Clementine had eaten, Christa came back - and with this, the trio began to walk on; with her now near Omid and Christa. Yet, like last time, Clementine's fingers were still wrapped around her pistol as if it were a part of her. But instead of looking at her feet, she was looking around the pensive clearing.
The clearing was serene, where only a few walkers were roaming around, but they could be seen more evidently through a few hacked trees. The trio strolled down the lane through dappled light filtering itself through the trees; moreover, the sound of the leaves rustled in the weak wind. There was also an occasional bird twittering away on a pile of stacked logs near the broad track Clementine, Omid, and Christa were walking. There was also an infrequent number of signs that littered the road.
"TWO MILES UNTIL TRUCK STOP", Clementine read as she walked on with Omid and Christa.
"How about...Isabella?" Christa said aloud.
"Nah," scoffed Omid, "James is far better."
"That's if it's a boy, Omid. Clementine, do you have any name ideas?"
"What about...Carley?"
"Yeah, that's a good name." Responded Omid, with an expression of puzzled thought in his voice.
For the next couple of miles, they (primarily, Christa and Omid) talked about what seemed to be endless baby names for Christa's child; to pass the time. Clementine wondered if her parents had this amount of difficulty when they chose her name.
Eventually, Clementine stopped a little as Omid and Christa walked on regardless; as she noticed there was a blackbird perched on a nearby tree which cawed before flying into the lush forest.
"What do you think?" asked Omid, as he poised at the truck stop over the abandoned road before crossing it with Christa and Clementine.
"Omid, you can't be serious," answered Christa.
"I am."
"We are NOT doing that."
"Why not?"
"Because one of you is enough!"

I heard that you can get free things on your birthday in the Netherlands or at least in Amsterdam (based on an bloggeinfluencer that I follow) Can someone confirm if that's true and how does it work? Do you mention it is your birthday and then they check your ID or card?

I'll be staying at the Santa Clara Mariott for about 3 days next week for a work conference and I want to explore the San Tomas Aquinas trail that seem stretch for miles and miles through Silicon Valley. Are there any bike rentals in/around Santa Clara? I am fine with one of those credit-card paid e-bike rentals - just want to get out of the hotel and get some fresh air and clear my mind in the evening.
Thanks!

I promise I’m not a terrible person. Hear me out.
My daughter is turning 2. She really doesn’t spend much time playing with toys. She prefers climbing, playing with her brothers, going outside.
If she does play with her toys, it’s the same few things. Any time she gets new toys, they just sit on her toy shelf until I notice they haven’t moved weeks later and put them in the toy box where they eventually get donated.
My apartment is incredibly small. I literally don’t have room for anymore toys and even if I donated what we have, we’ve outgrown this place, are moving soon, and it’s so cluttered that if I donate toys we cannot get more for the sake of my sanity and the kids having room to actually play.
I hate seeing people waste money. There’s just so many things people could get that she’d love so much more, like books or puzzles, or some activity to do with her brothers.
So, considering my kid is 2, has no interest in opening presents, doesn’t have any like shows or characters she’s really in to because we don’t watch a ton of TV, doesn’t even play with most of her toys, and I don’t have room, PLUS I feel terrible donating brand new stuff that people bought for her because I know they intended it for HER - I’d like to request for no or minimal toys at her party.
I have an Amazon wishlist with things at every price point - bath stuff (she loves baths!), a few outside toys, clothes, water bottles, a little chair (she’s obsessed with tiny toddler chairs lol) - lots of stuff. I also always tell anyone who asks her favorite activities and places to go so they can maybe do memberships or gift cards.
I’m even willing to just ask for no gifts at all. Or to maybe trim the party down to just immediate family - although, at the risk of offending extended family and friends who like to come.
Am I doomed to end up with a pile of toys? Is there really any good way to put it on the invite that we’re requesting no toys? Should I just ask for people to bring cards only?
(For the record, I do have older children and don’t limit toys at their party since they’re now old enough to actually open gifts and get excited about what they receive, plus have interests that I can share with people so they get stuff they really like, I just donate tons before their birthdays. We will be moved into a larger place before their birthdays so don’t worry, I’m not depriving any kiddo of any joy - and next birthday I’ll definitely be open to toys for my toddler with more space and hopefully more interest on her end).
I hope I’m not the only one to ever think about this. I’m so stressed, I don’t want to look ungrateful or rude but I’m trying to just do what’s best for all parties involved here, truly.

I wanted to post this because I see many going through a similar, tough buying time. I hope my story gives you a boost and helps you keep going. There is my sad backstory that you can skip to "Dec, 2020" that starts the home journey. This post is extremely long but emotional for me. Please be kind.
The only house i ever lived in was my uncles, for 2 years (age 3-5) before he removed us.
My mother suffers from many tribulations, and it was reflected in life. We apartment hopped for all of my childhood. I'll never forget how hurt I was, leaving behind my valuables everytime we downsized, (dressers, my desk, doll houses etc) being cramped, no pets allowed (i love animals), neighbors banging on their ceilings when I played, hearing families fight as if they next to me, smoke coming in the windows, constant new neighbors, roaches and other infestations due to neighbors, etc.
My mom would drive around and say, “this is going to be our new house!” And get my hopes up, but it never happened. My sister (she's 5 years older) said she would buy a house for us all, and that lasted a few months before we were evicted again, moving to another apartment.
I asked constantly when we could get a house like my uncle or sister. My father had one (my parents divorced when I was an infant), and when I visited, I wished I had my own backyard, pets. I was jealous of my friends who lived in houses. I would pretend vacant homes were mine, walk to the new homes being built, and watch their progress. Imagine my future in it where my kids would know stability.
After Bullying in school (from 4th - 12th grade), SA from my father, (i was 15) neglect, abuse, depression, self harm, apartment hopping, I was desperate to move out and away once I turned 16 (emancipation). I moved from NJ when i was 18 to FL and started my own downhill spiral of DV, homelessness, repossessions, and other mentally and physically draining circumstances that pushed my limits, money, and everything
In 2017, I picked up my pieces and gathered them, alone, to AZ into the best apartment and neighborhood i ever had. I told myself that after a year, I was going to buy a home there. In 2018, I reached out to realtors and was told all I needed to do was pay off 2k of credit card debt to qualify for 250-300k. The dumbest decision I ever made was saying spending 2k was stupid. I wish I had the recourses, support, anything, or anyone to tell me to do it. had I done it, I could have bought my dream home then for 200-275k
In Dec 2020, I had been with my now husband for 3 years, went through hell in the apartments he wanted us to move to for more space, away from that neighborhood I loved. Someone stole our bikes, smoked weed next to our window, and then our new car was stolen and required 3k in repairs. I was miserable. I wanted to end the cycle of apartments and putting away my wants and needs, so we decided to begin paying things off to get pre qualified. Then came the new battlefield.
As you all know, 2021 until today, it hasn't been a buyers market. I had no idea what any of that meant until I was told I was approved to start putting in offers in January 2022. We were pre approved for a max of FHA 350k from a lender that I was sure had our backs after getting tons of denials and pisspoor brokers who couldn't care less about my childhood dream. I pulled up the MLS and saved about 30 homes a week, if not more, that were 375k and below, all the way down to 150k trailer homes, condos, townhomes, and houses.
Half of those listings were sold (pending) within 5 days. the other half we were bidding upwards against. I couldn't believe it. I was told the market is hot, lots of people selling their homes in bordering states and putting higher end offers on the homes in our price range because they were selling their homes for 500k and using the differences to buy the cheap homes. The others were investors.
After doing all of the work for my husband and roommate and then some to qualify, I was now battling 15+ people on one home multiple times. I was told to try going further out. The market I was in was too desirable. I was like, REALLY? PEOPLE GET SHOT HERE ONCE A WEEK, HOW IS THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, "HOT"??? I was told to shop beneath my budget, shop outside the location I wanted, everything you are all being told today to, "land a home, stay in it for five years, then sell it and get what I want." But I heard none of it, I wanted my DREAM home on my first buy, which wasn't a lot.
All I wanted was a 1300-2000sqft home with a front and backyard for my dog and kids, a house that didn't need a crap ton of repairs, and a neighborhood I felt comfortable in so that I wouldnt have to deal with all the things I did since I was little. I didn't care if it was upgraded, carpeted, or tile, old or new, I just wanted space, safety, a yard.
It didn't matter. Even if I sacrificed a yard, square footage, whatever, I was getting outbid. Every home I could afford was being bought in cash, waiving inspections, having a 14 day close, and/or being bought 25k to upwards of almost 200k over asking even if it was a fixer upper!! I could not compete.
In April, I FINALLY had an offer accepted in a town that was 30 minutes from work, building up, and beautiful. I was willing to sacrifice commute time and everything for this beautiful house that checked all the boxes. It was 2,060 sqft, upstairs and downstairs, a 5k lot, in a beautiful neighborhood. We were able to get a third cosigner (lomg time friend) to up our income and get to 375k. But then I found out my preapproval wasn't so pre approved.
Having a 3rd co signer meant nothing. We needed to reserve money that we weren't informed about, DPA wanted us to pay off more debt, and we needed more income than the THREE of us had. I was livid, why didnt they tell us any of this? Why did they say our income was enough, and the DPA would cover everything?! I knew nothing, I tell you, nothing, and I should have researched more. But I was desperate.
My grandma stepped in. First, she needed a credit score. She opened up an unsecured credit card for 300. Bought gum, paid it off. We did a rapid rescore, and it shot her up to 7 freggin 735, SEVEN THIRTY FIVE LMFAO, and then we needed her social security letters. Which took two weeks too long, pushing back a close the seller REALLY WANTED TO CLOSE ON, which my realtor convinced them to hold off. Well, guess what? My grandma doesn't have a government id. She hadn't updated her id since 2005. No biggie, we'll get her to the DMV, which we had to reschedule online to 3 different locations. Well, guess what? Her mail, old id, her social security card, AND BIRTH CERTIFICATE all had DIFFERENT VARIATIONS of her name, and DMV couldn't verify her identity.
It would take two months to correct those issues. I threw my phone, scratched my arms to oblivion, fell on my knees, and cried. The lender said there was no way the loan was to be approved without Grandma. My sweet Grandma of 4 different names. I feel the tears, even now. I lost it. I fought for a home all my life and lost it because of being uninformed, way too broke ( I know I know), and then some. I felt like the universe was against me.
So May comes around, and my realtor says, "Listen, let's try this. Let's do rent to own. They pay for everything, and then you save, fix your credit, and buy the house back at the value of the contract paying the difference in appraisal if need be."
I was so broken that I did it. Back to the MLS, we still couldn't get a home in our price range in the neighborhoods I wanted. Rental price was going to be 3,100, so... we stuck to the 30-minute away neighborhood, and oh god, was that a new mistake. The first house we put an offer in on was accepted immediately. It was the smoothest process I'd ever seen in comparison to the hell I'd just gone through. I checked the MLS every day, watched homes I saved while I rented go pending or under contract in a week, or sell for over asking.
My heart sunk when all the homes I wanted and lost out to were back on the market as a rental property, or were slightly updated prices 50k-100k higher than before. Homes were being sold by opendoor, or rental from the very people I used to buy to rent from. I couldn't believe to this day how many homes I lost out to, sitting vacant for MONTHS prices dropping and dropping as the feds raised the interest rates. I went to open houses, asked what people wanted for offers (so I could be informed when I was ready), and knew my chances were getting slimmer and slimmer.
All the while, my commute was the devil. Traffic galore, accidents making my drive time go from 30-2 hours to and from. It was far from family, the mileage on my car grew so fast, my tires were wearing faster. The home was way too big for us (2765 sqft) and difficult to maintain. Beautiful home and town, but not for me.
The rent was also too high. It said it would be 2500, but wound up being 3100 after all of the damn fees they didn't disclose until AFTER WE WERE UNDER CONTRACT sflkghskg The electric bill was 6x the amount (bad company. People in that town are begnning to organize), water bill company demands 100 dollars no matter the usage (we only use about 60$), and the gas prices increased so high I was putting 60 dollars every 3 days in my car.
Then, my precious cat that followed me from NJ to AZ that had been with me through all of the DV, mental breaks, homelessness, had suffered from strokes. She was a stick, walking in circles, giving nothing but love. I tried everything I could, paid thousands to save her, but in the end, all I did was prolong her and my suffering. She passed in my arms. I love you and miss you, Emma.
Other life things happened, and by December, I had 200 dollars in the bank. When my income tax came, I applied for loans and said Im going to try the DPA and stuff again, It was either that, or rent a smaller house or apartment but seeing the market repeat my 2021 experience, I had to try with what I had. My goal was to get back to the neighborhood I wanted. NO EXCEPTIONS.
So I switched realtors based on a recommendation from FB. Random person said this lady would fight for me like no one else would. This realtor recommended me a lender, she said it could make miracles happen. I almost didn't do it because I had been let down by 2 other lenders before this one in 2023, but screw it. I followed his advice to the T of what to pay down, what to keep, and what to negotiate with. We gave him our 401ks info, our paystubs, had 3 of us on the loan, and explained we had no downpayment, just money for closing costs.
The market, at this point, slowed down due to the interest rates but was beginning to pick up. A lot of the homes we put offers on didn't like our asks. Which was disappointing, but I understood. What seller would want to pay closing costs for us so our payment assistance would go strictly to the home when they could accept the few cash, investor, or better conventional loan offers? The homes were going below listing, which was cool, but not quite in my 365k max range.
Until I gave way a little bit. There were 2 townhomes. One that was detached and had the most gorgeous yard Id ever seen for where it was at, and the inside was completely upgraded and bigger than it looked with a gorgeous mountain view from the master. But it was in a neighborhood that gave me goosebumps. No wonder they would accept 365k and pay everything should we put in our offer lol I couldn't do it, though. I didn't want to sacrifice being comfortable in my home safely to have a house. It was the first and only time I was picky.
At first, that seemed like a mistake, as the only other home I thought would accept our offer in my dream neighborhood said the seller had a specific number they wanted to sell at, which wasnt 365k, it was 375k. I wasn't going to get a home after all. I knew my ask was tough, and I wasn't going to get a house despite trying for another 3 months. I gave up. But then... I thought about something. That townhome in the neighborhood of my dreams, they wanted 375k? I restructured our ask to get to that 375k. A few hours later, my realtor texted me if she could call. It was urgent.
I was at work and went into the office and called. THE SELLER ACCEPTED OUR OFFER, THEY ACCEPTED OUR EFFING OFFER! THEY ACCEPTED IT!!!! I cried so hard, hyperventilated, cried some more, and told myself I wasn't going to get excited. I had this happen before, after all.
Well, guess what? Long story short, after hurdles during this closing as well, needing to push it back for this or that, WE CLOSED!! WE CLOSED ON THE HOUSE, IT WAS MINE!!! IT IS MINE!
The seller paid for all of the closing costs. DPA paid the downpayment at 3%. The rate was 6.85%, DPA loan at 8%. I paid for the appraisal and inspection, that's it. Only 1100 out of pocket. Monthly payment was 2865, my max, but it is MINE and EVERYTHING I wanted besides having a huge yard (it's still a decent sized yard) and open kitchen Home is 8 min from work (bye bye crappy commute!),community has incredible amenities, sub division has a pool, HOA covered roof (it was new anyway), new AC, new dishwasher, freshly painted, 3 beds 2 and a half baths, 1400sqft, 2 car garage with driveway, upstairs and downstairs like I always imagined, and so much more.
Every hurdle, every tear, every breakdown, taught me what I needed to know and led me to home. After saving for a year with the cheaper electric, water, gas prices, and mortgage, we just refinanced. Got a 5.75% rate (I thought it was 5.32, but after we closed today, it was 5.75%), the home appraised for 395k with no changes besides adding a fridge and new oven. The equity paid every penny of the refinance and the DPA loan. My mortgage is now 2550. For us, this is affordable now that we are debt free and still have savings!
I got my home with the most undesirable circumstances. I may be an exception, not the rule, but if my pathetic self can do it, i promise. You can, too. Don't be defeated. Don't let the investors win.
You need to win.

Back in primary school, specifically sixth grade, I bullied some girl we’ll call "IU"
IU was a normal girl with normal interests, but she did many things me and my other classmates perceived to be weird or disturbing in a sense. Asking people to choke her, hurt her physically, staring at people for too long, etc. Me and the rest of my friend group would constantly speak on that to each-other in private. Ranging from making fun of her interests, to us putting her in group chats where we’d ruthlessly call her out and confront her on things she did. What turned from a girl who was enthusiastic to learn, was a girl who saw the bad in every situation.
Despite how rude I was to her, she was so nice. Offering me food, checking up on me, telling me happy birthday, making me cards and gifts. At the time, I didn’t realise how much of a jerk I was, until I heard it directly from her and the others in my friend group. Who stated I was two-faced person who had a cold heart. Looking back on it, I don’t know why I was so mad and defensive, when it was purely the truth.
Even then, when doing such things as walking me home or to the office, IU would go on about how she wishes she was me, and how good my living situation was. Until she didn’t, I remember finding notes and even writings on her stationary on how she hated me, and I can’t blame her. Even when we apologised, we treated it like a joke, I look back now and realise i’m a terrible person for that. I’m currently thirteen, and I promise i’ve changed. I’ve apologised properly, I check on her when she’s down, I listen to her vent, etc, but I truly feel like it’s not enough for what I did.

My MIL is a special women. I’ve know her for 10 years and our relationship has steadily gotten worse. She started out making passive aggressive comments about my body, then passive aggressive comments about how terrible I must feel for having carried a baby for 9 months and how they look nothing like me; to her most recent action of coming to visit with only giving us a few days notice.
Some things happened during her visit and through the years that I need help in determining if they are strange, rude or just wrong:

1. Going to the bathroom with the door open and asking my 3 year old to come in and hugging her while she is sitting on the toilet. I’ve made a big deal about this since I don’t feel comfortable with this and have expressed my feelings.
   
2. Saying goodbye to everyone in the house but when I came to say goodbye she wouldn’t leave her room and said bye from the door closed and said it wasn’t necessary for me to say bye face to face.
   
3. Making comments about my body and saying I have big hips like her and she feels sorry for me
   
4. Making comments about having a baby after my husband who is tattered to her told her our first round of ivf didn’t work and to not mention babies.
   

5 Preciously moving to a state we lived in and didn’t even mention it to us. Just said surprise I am moving to your state.
6 sending me a birthday card after I delivered my son and writing nothing but “hope you feel like your old self”
7 going through a pregnancy and a very difficult delivery and her not even calling to ask how I was doing. She defense was she would ask my husband about me .
then the kids and then moved on to just bizarre actions. She visited 2 months ago without giving us much notice (perhaps 8 days notice)