Child Allergic to Cat but Other Child Loves the Cat
I have four children and we own a three year old Ragdoll cat as well as a two year old Rottweiler. My children are young (ages 11, 8, 6, and 4). My 8 year old daughter absolutely loves the cat to pieces!! GBut we just discovered that my 6 year old son is allergic to cats. His nose is consistently stuffy, his eyes are watery and his skin can get irritated/itchy.
An allergy specialist confirmed my son is allergic to cats (my son also has a minor allergy to dust mites and dogs). But to rehome the cat would destroy my daughter. My daughter has already given away her bunny when we needed the space for her grandfather to move in (as well as other reasons). She also had to give up half of her room to make space for her younger brother to share. I would hate to have to take the cat away from her without exhausting all of our options.
So far we have: - switched to PurinaPro LiveClear Cat Allergen Reducing Food - I use Allerpet once a week (this is a daunting task) and groom the cat - I sprayed Allersearch Cat Dander Spray (waited two hours and vacuumed and wiped everything I possibly could) - I vacuum consistently and washed all coverings and drapes with a HEPA vacuum - his room is cat free (the entire upstairs is cat free) - bought HEPA Air Purifiers
The allergy specialist suggested washing the cat once a week but that would be traumatizing for the cat and no way for the cat to live as she hates water.
The allergy specialist also did not recommend allergy shots for a six year old. It is intensive and expensive. He would have to go 2x a week to get a needle for months. Plus it’s near unaffordable.
We tried the allergy medication prescribed but my son’s stomach could not handle the steroid spray or pills.
I don’t know what to do. I am so lost. I told my daughter we will give this new cat food a month or two to see if it helps with the dander. My time is already limited as I school my kids at home so incessantly vacuuming, washing clothes that come into contact with the cat plus then washing the washer machine is becoming unsustainable.
I am open to any further suggestions as my heart is breaking for both of my kids. Thank you kindly.

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[REQ] ($550) - (#Chicago, IL, USA), (11/19/2021), (Cashapp, Venmo, Paypal)

Post contents

Hi, long shot since this is my first time borrowing but I can pay back realistically by Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest. I signed up for a yearly gym membership over the weekend and forgot I have a payment for $550 coming out on Monday which I can't cancel. I'll transfer money out of my savings account to cover it but I need to link my bank accounts and make a transfer which will take until Tuesday or Wednesday. I could pay back at the earliest Wednesday or Friday at the absolute latest.

Today I sat down and sent out letters to the media about how the independent monitor who is overseeing the APD's consent decree has announced that they have met all the requirements, and he is recommending that Albuquerque police be released from further review. A judge will decide if that is the case in early June.
The issue that I have with that??? The Albuquerque Police Department TOPS the nationwide list per capita for officer involved shootings. Population wise they killed more people last year than any other US law enforcement agency, and their rate of shootings has gone UP rather than down over the past decade.
APD is also currently being investigated by the FBI for the DWI scandal, which involves numerous corrupt officers not showing up to court (assumingly in exchange for bribes) over many years... offenses which were not uncovered by the committee put in charge of policing the police, nor the department supervisors.
These things do not suggest that APD is now REFORMED and can be trusted with handling investigations of their own department internally. If anything, it makes it clear that whatever oversight they have been receiving isn't working. Not only do they need the federal oversight to continue, they need someone else put in charge of monitoring their department... obviously anybody who thinks that the APD is currently 'all good' doesn't have very good judgement.
So here is the letter that I have been sending out to local news agencies and government officials. I encourage everyone to research this situation themselves and write their own letters or make phone calls voicing their concerns about the APD being released from federal oversight even though they are literally the countries #1 killer cops and their department is steeped in misconduct.
"I'm writing you today because I simply can not believe that the independent monitor that is overseeing the DOJ order for Federal oversight over APD has recommended that it come to an end because they have supposedly met their goals... The statistics say otherwise.
Albuquerque police top the nationwide list of officer involved shootings per capita - looking solely at population, they killed more people in 2023 than any other US city! Their rate of shootings has gone up over time rather than down, and the increase isn't comparable to a growth in population.
They also have an unreasonably high death rate of incarcerated people, an enormous number of unconvicted people being held for low level offenses while violent repeat offenders are left roaming the streets, and a disproportionate number of arrests of POC that reveal a department wide racial bias.
Albuquerque has an atrocious level of crime for a city this size, and APD has a horrible response time with many people across the city complaining that they NEVER SHOW UP AT ALL to 911 calls for assistance. When they do show up they are incredibly likely to murder people who are unarmed, experiencing a mental health crisis, acting out due to being under the influence of substances, or just because they are Black/Hispanic/Native.
The department has a high number of complaints against officers where nearly none are found in favor of the civilian victims upon internal review - it's an unusually low number in comparison to other places. There are numerous instances over the past decade when they have lacked transparency regarding misconduct, refusing to release the names of officers involved or hold them accountable for their actions. These things alone should be reason enough for them to continue being monitored... proof that they haven't improved enough to be released from review.
But the Albuquerque police are also literally in the middle of a FBI investigation due to the DWI scandal. That's a great big red flag! Why wasn't this independent oversight committee able to spot that multiple officers weren't showing up to court hundreds of times over many years, with all the cases connected to the same attorney? Instead it took a citizen doing their own investigation to break open the corruption, and it required the media covering the story to make sure that this controversy wasn't buried. If the monitors couldn't catch this misconduct and abuse of power, what else is going on in the department that has either not yet been revealed or is being purposely hidden?
None of this sounds like "REFORMED" to me - if this is how the APD behaves while under the microscope, what will they do when they have independent power over their own misconduct again? How can this monitor group see all of this happening yet still recommend that the consent decree end? They are responsible for overseeing a police department that is currently at the TOP of the list for police killings and one that is engulfed in a conspiracy involving many officers, yet they are giving the APD 'the all clear'? Make it make sense!
I'd like to see more news stories pointing out all the reasons why the consent decree shouldn't stop and how they need a new monitor instead - the current one didn't fulfill his promises and hasn't been able to bring the APD into REAL compliance. We citizens obviously cannot bring our complaints directly to the APD or the oversight committee and expect transparency or action, so the burden falls on to the local news agencies to investigate this topic and release their findings to the community.
I've recently seen some news articles that were critical of the head monitor Mr. James Ginger, saying that his office isn't accessible to the public, he's usually out of state, he's been paid many millions of dollars and wasn't able to get the job done in the amount of time that he originally stated.
So it seems suspicious that almost immediately after news agencies investigated his role and uncovered some pretty disparaging stuff about his job performance he suddenly declares the department to be in compliance of the consent decree and announces that his oversight role will end.
Is there a connection? Is he giving them a passing grade after years of putting in the minimum amount of work just so he can write down a win on his resume? Is James Ginger attempting to back out of his responsibility over this police department by painting them as "cured" when they obviously aren't?
Please talk about this issue more, the public really needs to see the facts about APD that suggest that they shouldn't be released from DOJ oversight. It's especially important that some articles about this get published before a judge reviews this claim of the department being in compliance and possibly signs off on it at the beginning of June. We cannot allow the nation's top killer cops, a department chock full of misconduct, to be responsible for policing themselves!
I would love to see the mayor, city council, or some concerned citizens petition the court for a continuation of the consent decree with a new independent monitor in charge, as well as an investigation into the current monitors' performance and reason for declaring the APD in compliance when it's obvious that they have not improved enough to be released from oversight.
But that isn't likely to happen without the media pointing out the facts about APD's performance and reiterating the failures of Mr. Ginger over the past decade. We've got to put some pressure on city officials to do the right thing and stop the APD from being given free reign over their own affairs again... literal lives are at stake."
Thanks for taking the time to read all of that! I really hope that we as a community can prevent this from happening and finally bring some meaningful and much needed change to our police department.

I can't seem to be finding the ones that are actual jobs.
I even go so far as to researching these companies just to make sure.
I've been applying for nearly 8 months. My resume is straightforward, my cover letter explains my strengths, plus I have plenty of experience with customer service.
So far the one job I considered promising returned and email and when I watched the video they added (at this point I already had doubts) it turned out to be a training center to help people obtain an insurance license, with no intention to hire the result.
I even filter what I am looking for with no luck. Maybe I'm searching wrong? As this is the first time I've had to work remotely because of a disability.

Hi. I’m a high school senior and recently got accepted to a few colleges, mainly UCs. For some background, I come from a really low income family, and I would be a first generation student.
I applied to some colleges just to see what would happen, and I got accepted to a few UCs, including a school I really want to go to.
I got a really good financial aid offer (my SAI index came out to be -1500, so basically the max amount of grants), but even with all the grants I’m still wondering if it would be worth it to go?
My other option, which was my “first choice” was Community College and then transfer to any UC.
For UC, I kinda calculated the costs based on the cheapest options, and without work study or any loans the total net price would be around 4-5k (everything else is covered in grants). This is just a rough estimate (the price that is listed on the portal is around 12k, but the housing and food estimates seemed much higher than if i were to choose the cheapest options offered etc)
Community College would, in my opinion, be a lot harder to manage. I’d be working for sure, and paying some other living expenses that come with it. Not sure if CC students get much aid to help with that. I would also probably be paying rent to help out my parents. But I would also have more money since I’d be working more, and I’d be saving up for eventually transferring.
I’m just very torn what direction to go in. Both are great choices with their own challenges but I’m just not sure that the cost of going straight to college rather than CC is worth it.

Looking for some advice and this seemed like a great place to ask!
We own a small independent pizza shop, and are working on opening up a coffee shop for my wife. Not on the restaurant Equipment business.
I recently saw the Red Lobster Auctions and while I didn't need 90% of the stuff, I saw a great opportunity to get a full POS, lots of plates, smallwares, etc, for a deal.
We actually were outbid but the winner failed to pay so it was offered to us. Awesome! Except then the trouble started.
The auctions were listed as Entire Restaurant Contents. There was a "Sample" inventory list but it was noted that items would vary by location. In the photos on the auction were two items of great interest: A large Ice Maker and a Conveyor Dish Washer.
Thursday evening I contacted two movers who specialized in restaurants (which actually cost significantly more than the auction itself), due to all the stuff being listed as having to be our by end of day Friday. Then I was told the pickup window was actually only 6 hours (9 AM to 3 PM), no big deal though, hired one more mover.
Next bit of trouble came after paying for the auction, which is when they sent an exclusions list. On it there were two exclusions of concern: Dishwashers (if Eco Lab Branded) and Ice Makers in some locations. I verified the pictures of the Dishwasher, no Eco Lab branding, phew. Verified that the ice maker was not only in the list of items but also in the pictures. Figure my location must not exclude it, otherwise why show 5 pictures detailing it.
Then my team arrives. Everything is gone except for the big equipment. The televisions at the bar, the pots, pans, cleaning supplies, smallwares, blenders, mixer. The only things left was the large equipment, most of which was connected, and tables / booths.
For reference on this next parts, my bid on live auction was on Monday, this was now Friday. Two representatives were on site: The old General Manager representating Red Lobster, and a sub contractor representing the interests of the auction company.
When asked about all the missing equipment, the General Manager said they bought a large dumpster on Wednesday and all her team came in and threw everything away in the dumpster, which was already gone. Extremely unlikely, as I doubt Red Lobster would spend the money to throw away items that they're auctioning off. It got even weirder when "employees" showed up and were overheard talking about picking up items from the restaurant.
While my team leader tried to sort all of that out, the rest of my guys went to work on disassembling items. Except, Everytime they touched something (undercounter bar cooler, bar taps, booths, etc) they were told, "Oh no, that's not included," or, "Someone else already bought that."
After about 2 hours of back and forth, the on site representation finally conceded to let us take MOST of the stuff that was still there (which wasn't much). Because of the now reduced time of only 4 hours, most of the valuable stuff being gone already, and the high end items like the dishwasher and ice machine now being excluded, we only filled 2 of the 3 trucks.
I have called the auction company and apparently they said that my experience was not alone, and they were currently having a warroom on what to do next because of all the issues. They said they will likely have some solutions in how to make it right on Monday. The representative on site tried to get my team to sign a waiver of liability before leaving, but we refused.
What can I expect from this process now, and do I have any legal recourse? I would have thought that the buildings would have been secured to prevent theft while the auction was going on but obviously not. My biggest concern is that, while my costs weren't horrible at 15k, only $5500 was to the actual auction, the rest was to transportation. I certainly have concerns now that I won't be able to make my money back, let alone a profit. I know that it's a gamble, but I feel like this experience was borderline fraudulent. Any suggestions?
ETA:
If nothing else, I feel like the auction violates the law in my state (Florida), as there is a statute that covers misrepresenting facts. Specifically FSS 468.388 Subsection 11b 1 through 3 which reads:
No licensed auctioneer, apprentice, or auction business may disseminate or cause to be disseminated any advertisement or advertising which is false, deceptive, misleading, or untruthful. Any advertisement or advertising shall be deemed to be false, deceptive, misleading, or untruthful if it:
1. Contains misrepresentations of facts.
2. Is misleading or deceptive because, in its content or in the context in which it is presented, it makes only a partial disclosure of relevant facts.
3. Creates false or unjustified expectations of the services to be performed.
The auctions were listed as Entire contents, with the only exclusions listed on the auction in the terms being "Photos may show items that are not included in auction (e.g., infrastructure, HVAC, plumbing, etc."
Here's the link for anyone interested in how it was presented
https://bid.restaurantequipment.bid/Public/Auction/AuctionItemDetail?AuctionItemId=NZQh8wj3FOYwR439WdiUvw%3d%3d&AuctionId=S5YS%2bHqu8A9zcHp0d1tyMg%3d%3d&pageNumber=WddRnDis30ojx01x46RicQ%3d%3d&pageSize=WddRnDis30ojx01x46RicQ%3d%3d

Looking for some advice and this seemed like a great place to ask!
We own a small independent pizza shop, and are working on opening up a coffee shop for my wife. Not on the restaurant Equipment business.
I recently saw the Red Lobster Auctions and while I didn't need 90% of the stuff, I saw a great opportunity to get a full POS, lots of plates, smallwares, etc, for a deal.
We actually were outbid but the winner failed to pay so it was offered to us. Awesome! Except then the trouble started.
The auctions were listed as Entire Restaurant Contents. There was a "Sample" inventory list but it was noted that items would vary by location. In the photos on the auction were two items of great interest: A large Ice Maker and a Conveyor Dish Washer.
Thursday evening I contacted two movers who specialized in restaurants (which actually cost significantly more than the auction itself), due to all the stuff being listed as having to be our by end of day Friday. Then I was told the pickup window was actually only 6 hours (9 AM to 3 PM), no big deal though, hired one more mover.
Next bit of trouble came after paying for the auction, which is when they sent an exclusions list. On it there were two exclusions of concern: Dishwashers (if Eco Lab Branded) and Ice Makers in some locations. I verified the pictures of the Dishwasher, no Eco Lab branding, phew. Verified that the ice maker was not only in the list of items but also in the pictures. Figure my location must not exclude it, otherwise why show 5 pictures detailing it.
Then my team arrives. Everything is gone except for the big equipment. The televisions at the bar, the pots, pans, cleaning supplies, smallwares, blenders, mixer. The only things left was the large equipment, most of which was connected, and tables / booths.
For reference on this next parts, my bid on live auction was on Monday, this was now Friday. Two representatives were on site: The old General Manager representating Red Lobster, and a sub contractor representing the interests of the auction company.
When asked about all the missing equipment, the General Manager said they bought a large dumpster on Wednesday and all her team came in and threw everything away in the dumpster, which was already gone. Extremely unlikely, as I doubt Red Lobster would spend the money to throw away items that they're auctioning off. It got even weirder when "employees" showed up and were overheard talking about picking up items from the restaurant.
While my team leader tried to sort all of that out, the rest of my guys went to work on disassembling items. Except, Everytime they touched something (undercounter bar cooler, bar taps, booths, etc) they were told, "Oh no, that's not included," or, "Someone else already bought that."
After about 2 hours of back and forth, the on site representation finally conceded to let us take MOST of the stuff that was still there (which wasn't much). Because of the now reduced time of only 4 hours, most of the valuable stuff being gone already, and the high end items like the dishwasher and ice machine now being excluded, we only filled 2 of the 3 trucks.
I have called the auction company and apparently they said that my experience was not alone, and they were currently having a warroom on what to do next because of all the issues. They said they will likely have some solutions in how to make it right on Monday. The representative on site tried to get my team to sign a waiver of liability before leaving, but we refused.
What can I expect from this process now, and do I have any legal recourse? I would have thought that the buildings would have been secured to prevent theft while the auction was going on but obviously not. My biggest concern is that, while my costs weren't horrible at 15k, only $5500 was to the actual auction, the rest was to transportation. I certainly have concerns now that I won't be able to make my money back, let alone a profit. I know that it's a gamble, but I feel like this experience was borderline fraudulent. Any suggestions?
ETA:
If nothing else, I feel like the auction violates the law in my state (Florida), as there is a statute that covers misrepresenting facts. Specifically FSS 468.388 Subsection 11b 1 through 3 which reads:
No licensed auctioneer, apprentice, or auction business may disseminate or cause to be disseminated any advertisement or advertising which is false, deceptive, misleading, or untruthful. Any advertisement or advertising shall be deemed to be false, deceptive, misleading, or untruthful if it:
1. Contains misrepresentations of facts.
2. Is misleading or deceptive because, in its content or in the context in which it is presented, it makes only a partial disclosure of relevant facts.
3. Creates false or unjustified expectations of the services to be performed.
The auctions were listed as Entire contents, with the only exclusions listed on the auction in the terms being "Photos may show items that are not included in auction (e.g., infrastructure, HVAC, plumbing, etc."
Here's the link for anyone interested in how it was presented
https://bid.restaurantequipment.bid/Public/Auction/AuctionItemDetail?AuctionItemId=NZQh8wj3FOYwR439WdiUvw%3d%3d&AuctionId=S5YS%2bHqu8A9zcHp0d1tyMg%3d%3d&pageNumber=WddRnDis30ojx01x46RicQ%3d%3d&pageSize=WddRnDis30ojx01x46RicQ%3d%3d

Demographics: Male, Asian
Intended Major(s): Biology/Chemistry
ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1570 SAT
UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.6GPA (no rank) -> will be ~3.8 after senior year, 3.7 after first sem
Coursework: 8 APS/3 DE/2 Honors, all 5s so far
Awards:

• 1st in Hosa states medical event (out of 50 teams)
• 2nd in Hosa Internationals (2nd/200+ teams who qualified), about 2000 teams overall
• AP Scholar w/ Distinction
• National Merit Finalist
• NHS Award
• School award for 5s on both Econ Tests
• School Honor Roll (shit award lol)

Extracurriculars:
Biotechnology and Research Sequencing at the University of Michigan (501c3 research organization) - Explored Nucleotide Hybridization, and led group research linking it to a real-world disease. Analyzed related Thermodynamics, PCR, Advanced Linux, and mapping genomes. Presented a business plan on Biotechnology and Next Generation Sequencing Technology (showing how genetic variation could lead to disease).
11th and 12th grade, 12hrs/wk, 4wk/yr
Medical Student Shadowing and Cardiac Medicine Exploration at the University of Brown Alpert Medical School - Completed a Medical Interview, a Cardiopulmonary Physical Exam with a patient, reviewed different medical careers, learned about the pathophysiology of the heart, and completed an ethics course on heart transplants.
11th and 12th grade, 10hrs/wk, 4wk/yr
Shadowed Primary Care Physician - Pediatrician has experience for 20+ years and ranked the #1 Care Physician out of 45 in my city. Worked in the Biomedical Lab analyzing samples and results for patients (in real-time). I shadowed the actual checkups as well
11th and 12th grade, 10hrs/wk, 3wk/yr
HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) Competitor (all 50 states + 11 countries competed) (2yrs) - State Champion (1st out of 40 teams) in my 1st year, Only three teams are sent to ILC from Michigan, Qualified for ILC (International Leadership Conference), and placed Top 3 at ILC. Posted on 10+ nationwide news sites, as well as covered by the media. 260,000 members nationwide.
11th and 12th grade, 10hrs/wk, 30wk/yr
Co-Founder of Biomed Club (Only Student-Made Medical Club @ School) (4yrs) - Led in-school Biomedical-Based Medical Club focused on healthcare careers, connecting with licensed doctors and current medical students to inspire youth and teach them about the experience through the medical process. Expanded membership from 4 to 150 in 4 years by organizing talks for younger classmen about life as a doctor.
9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade, 8hrs/wk, 35wk/yr
Joined SAT/Tutoring Help - Helps students increase their chances for college applications, as well as earn significant amounts of scholarship money. Was able to empower high school students through hackathons, college seminars, and a Cranbrook HUB Program which helped struggling students increase their SAT scores.
10th, 11th, 12th grade, 6hrs/wk, 10wk/yr
Swim Instructor (paid) - Worked for ~1 year, over 400 hours of work, about 8-10 hours weekly on school weeks, and closer to 15 hours during summer, CPR and Lifeguard Certified. Had several classes, weekly, with kids with disabilities, such as Down Syndrome, Autism, and ADHD.
11th, 12th grade, 8-10hrs/wk, 40wk/yr
Swim Instructor Summer Volunteer connected w/Hospital's Children’s Care Center (most vulnerable kids) - Instructed and taught children who have been impaired with neurological, social, and developmental challenges, as well as kids that have dealt with major trauma at a very young age to swim. Participated in a 3-week long program teaching them the basics of swimming.
11th, 12th grade, 8-10hrs/wk, 4wk/yr
Michigan Ref Certified - Participated in overall 50+ hours of ref-related activities, played soccer for 13 years and competed in competitive/travel soccer for 10 years.
9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade, 2hrs/wk, 13wk/yr (for reffing)
9th, 10th grade, 8hrs/wk, 50wk/yr (for soccer)
VolunteeTutor Work - Volunteer Monthly at an Indian Cultural Program (10hrs/month), Math Tutor for struggling students (3hrs/week), Volunteer Monthly for Key Club (3hrs/month)
Essays/LORs/Other:
APES (7/10)
STEM Teacher (9/10)
Schools (in state for MSU/UMich):
MSU
UMich (EA)
Rice
JHU
BU
UPenn (ED)
Columbia
Chance Me: MID GPA UPENN

First Time Restaurant Equipment went very wrong. What now?
Looking for some advice and this seemed like a great place to ask!
We own a small independent pizza shop, and are working on opening up a coffee shop for my wife. Not on the restaurant Equipment business.
I recently saw the Red Lobster Auctions and while I didn't need 90% of the stuff, I saw a great opportunity to get a full POS, lots of plates, smallwares, etc, for a deal.
We actually were outbid but the winner failed to pay so it was offered to us. Awesome! Except then the trouble started.
The auctions were listed as Entire Restaurant Contents. There was a "Sample" inventory list but it was noted that items would vary by location. In the photos on the auction were two items of great interest: A large Ice Maker and a Conveyor Dish Washer.
Thursday evening I contacted two movers who specialized in restaurants (which actually cost significantly more than the auction itself), due to all the stuff being listed as having to be our by end of day Friday. Then I was told the pickup window was actually only 6 hours (9 AM to 3 PM), no big deal though, hired one more mover.
Next bit of trouble came after paying for the auction, which is when they sent an exclusions list. On it there were two exclusions of concern: Dishwashers (if Eco Lab Branded) and Ice Makers in some locations. I verified the pictures of the Dishwasher, no Eco Lab branding, phew. Verified that the ice maker was not only in the list of items but also in the pictures. Figure my location must not exclude it, otherwise why show 5 pictures detailing it.
Then my team arrives. Everything is gone except for the big equipment. The televisions at the bar, the pots, pans, cleaning supplies, smallwares, blenders, mixer. The only things left was the large equipment, most of which was connected, and tables / booths.
For reference on this next parts, my bid on live auction was on Monday, this was now Friday. Two representatives were on site: The old General Manager representating Red Lobster, and a sub contractor representing the interests of the auction company.
When asked about all the missing equipment, the General Manager said they bought a large dumpster on Wednesday and all her team came in and threw everything away in the dumpster, which was already gone. Extremely unlikely, as I doubt Red Lobster would spend the money to throw away items that they're auctioning off. It got even weirder when "employees" showed up and were overheard talking about picking up items from the restaurant.
While my team leader tried to sort all of that out, the rest of my guys went to work on disassembling items. Except, Everytime they touched something (undercounter bar cooler, bar taps, booths, etc) they were told, "Oh no, that's not included," or, "Someone else already bought that."
After about 2 hours of back and forth, the on site representation finally conceded to let us take MOST of the stuff that was still there (which wasn't much). Because of the now reduced time of only 4 hours, most of the valuable stuff being gone already, and the high end items like the dishwasher and ice machine now being excluded, we only filled 2 of the 3 trucks.
I have called the auction company and apparently they said that my experience was not alone, and they were currently having a warroom on what to do next because of all the issues. They said they will likely have some solutions in how to make it right on Monday. The representative on site tried to get my team to sign a waiver of liability before leaving, but we refused.
What can I expect from this process now, and do I have any legal recourse? I would have thought that the buildings would have been secured to prevent theft while the auction was going on but obviously not. My biggest concern is that, while my costs weren't horrible at 15k, only $5500 was to the actual auction, the rest was to transportation. I certainly have concerns now that I won't be able to make my money back, let alone a profit. I know that it's a gamble, but I feel like this experience was borderline fraudulent. Any suggestions?
ETA:
If nothing else, I feel like the auction violates the law in my state (Florida), as there is a statute that covers misrepresenting facts. Specifically FSS 468.388 Subsection 11b 1 through 3 which reads:
No licensed auctioneer, apprentice, or auction business may disseminate or cause to be disseminated any advertisement or advertising which is false, deceptive, misleading, or untruthful. Any advertisement or advertising shall be deemed to be false, deceptive, misleading, or untruthful if it:
1. Contains misrepresentations of facts.
2. Is misleading or deceptive because, in its content or in the context in which it is presented, it makes only a partial disclosure of relevant facts.
3. Creates false or unjustified expectations of the services to be performed.
The auctions were listed as Entire contents, with the only exclusions listed on the auction in the terms being "Photos may show items that are not included in auction (e.g., infrastructure, HVAC, plumbing, etc."
Here's the link for anyone interested in how it was presented
https://bid.restaurantequipment.bid/Public/Auction/AuctionItemDetail?AuctionItemId=NZQh8wj3FOYwR439WdiUvw%3d%3d&AuctionId=S5YS%2bHqu8A9zcHp0d1tyMg%3d%3d&pageNumber=WddRnDis30ojx01x46RicQ%3d%3d&pageSize=WddRnDis30ojx01x46RicQ%3d%3d

I am stuck in limbo waiting to see a specialist and I’m slowly driving myself insane.
I found out by accident, MRI to assess old back injury picked up some extra findings in the background, and I have a large fibroid in my uterus and 4 masses/lesions on my liver. I have a referral to the James Cancer Center for gastroenterology, was told my case needed the “advanced” team because my “case is too complicated”. At the same time, I’m told benign lesions pop up all the time. Ok, these aren’t uncommon, but I need the “advanced team” which is booked out until the end of August?! I entered the abdominal MRI results for my abdomen in an AI ChatBox. I’ll post end of the response below since I can’t type it all out or share my screenshots below. I guess I just don’t know if I need advice or to vent.
“Overall, the presence of multi liver lesions with varying liver enhancement patterns raises concerns for both benign and malignant etiologies.”
Here’s the report.

1. There are 4 discrete liver lesions demonstrating mild T2 hyperintensity as well as avid arterial phase enhancement. More delayed postcontrast sequences demonstrate continued enhancement, however, to a lesser degree. The lesions demonstrate very mild precontrast T1 hypointensity as well. The lesions are indeterminate with potential considerations including atypical focal nodular hyperplasia as well as multiple hepatic adenomas. Recommend short follow-up in 3 months which can be performed with contrast enhanced MRI using Eovist contrast. If tissue sampling is needed, image-guided biopsy of one of the lesions may be amenable. 2. No lymphadenopathy. 3. No biliary ductal dilatation.

FINDINGS: Right hepatic lobe elongated measuring 21 cm craniocaudally. No obvious hepatic steatosis. There are multiple, at least 4, enhancing lesions within the liver which demonstrate mild T2 hyperintensity. The larger lesion centered within the more lateral left hepatic lobe, segment 2 measures approximately 3.5 x 2.8 cm on image 9 of sequence 12 with a slightly more central focus of increased T2 signal on image 9. On postcontrast sequences the lesions demonstrate avid enhancement during the arterial phase with an area of central hypoenhancement particularly seen within the segment 2 lesion. Lesion within the right hepatic dome on image 12 for reference measures 1.6 x 1.5 cm on image 12 of sequence 18 and lesion more inferiorly in the posterior right hepatic lobe on image 30 measures 3.6 x 3.0 cm. Within the left hepatic lobe, segment 4 is an enhancing lesion measuring 1.4 x 1.4 cm on image 29. The lesions demonstrate continued enhancement on the more delayed sequences where they enhance slightly higher than background liver parenchyma, however, not as intensely as seen on the arterial phase sequence. Incidental nonenhancing cyst within the periphery of the left hepatic lobe on image 21 of sequence 24 measuring approximately 0.4 cm in size. Gallbladder overall unremarkable on this exam. No biliary duct dilatation identified. Pancreas, adrenal glands, and the spleen are unremarkable. Both kidneys are unremarkable in appearance. There is no bulky abdominal lymphadenopathy or ascites identified. Portal venous vasculature is grossly patent.

We have been house hunting for many months. We have walked from one house and put in a few offer rejected offers. We have found another house and agent needs an updated pre approval letter. Our lender writes a letter for each property with the offer price as the loan amount and a one month expiration. She has been MIA and so has her coworker.
I get it’s the weekend but I will be so sad if we lose out on yet another house, esp if it isn’t our fault.
Is this normal for a loan officer? We have never needed anything from her on a weekend so didn’t know she would not be available.

I recently found a home I really like and it's in my pre approved budget. I've ran the calculators to make sure I can afford it and I can. Now to the questions. I was wanting to use the sellers agent as my buyers agent. What are the positives and negatives to this? Additionally, my offer will be a conventional loan with 3% down. I'll cover half the closing costs and was hoping to ask for the appliances there to be included. The house has been on market around 60 days with multiple price drops totalling $30,000. My offers obviously not beating a cash offer but is it reasonable? I could possibly cover all closing costs/waive inspection if that helps secure the deal.

So this is an insane story that I've put a post on LegalAdviceUK to try get some advice from the legal eagles but that didn't really cover the full story. But having an informal chat in a comments section of this page about it and posting the legal ins and outs yesterday has given me some strength. And if I need to I will have the tub of cookie dough ice cream to comfort my big fat butt. So here we go a story which I've been trying to do for months without feeling nothing but shame and humiliation for allowing this parasite into my life enough to impact it like this.
So some backstory on my life in January 2023 I was working for Uber Eats as a delivery driver and had a Motorcycle accident. As a result I broke my foot, lost my insurance as Uber did everything they could to make sure it was invalidated to avoid responsibility for me. As a result I became jobless and homeless within a matter of days as I was already behind due to high insurance costs and low pay. I spent the next 9 months couch surfing and jumping from job to job until I finally settled working for a convenience store chain and leaving the city of Portsmouth for the town of Gosport across the way. I was settled with a roommate in October and I was doing well again.
During this I'd won a seat for myself into a semi major Poker tournament that I cashed in during August. I made £1300 for a weekend. In enters Mr S the person who will be the focus of this piece. He needed me to help him out with opening up some betting accounts for some online sports betting. He sweetened the deal by saying that he would invest in me to make my dream company come true, making a film business. He would invest £5000 into me to get me started which is all I needed because my plan was to work from home and get film clients and work up to an office. I too would invest £5000 over time. You see Mr S was a successful businessman in the community, a former sports personality and everyone loves this guy. Couldn't find someone to curse his name in a thousand miles I'm pretty sure. I had known him through my times as a poker player for nearly 12 years myself and I couldn't say I knew a bad thing about him. So I opened the accounts thinking nothing of it, then he asked to borrow money off me which I thought nothing of at the time as he said that he had it in cash and could pay me back in the morning as it was in cash not the bank apparently. He regularly did have this issue apparently because he worked in a cash heavy business (buying precious metals) and he was a regular at casinos. So I gave him the money. He paid me back some of it then made me wait another week to get the rest after I was calling him regularly to make him respond. This would be a recurring theme throughout the story.
After this issue was resolved I made a thought to push for the money to secure the investment. Mr S got the call and stated that we needed a business meeting in his office. So I asked to set up the business meeting which he regularly called to reschedule. After two months of this I got fed up of him brushing me off whilst he's borrowing my entire salary to gamble on and off when he ran out of his own money. So I changed the passwords on all the gambling sites to force him to take a meeting and pay me back the most recent amount he borrowed. I was naturally pissed off that this multi-millionaire was so reckless with his money that he was borrowing off of me and was constantly late paying me back. He paid me back and set up a meeting. He didn't make the meeting but assured me he was going to transfer me £3000 without one. He did not claiming his accounts were frozen by the government (I know I should have ran like a Gazelle from a Hyena at this point). Well I excused this behaviour because he reassured me everything would get sorted. This accounts frozen issue also became a recurring theme throughout the story too.
For a while Mr S didn't borrow any money off of me, he just used his own money (or some other poor sods), I kept asking him to invest into the business as I had opened a business account and I was investing my own money and borrowing money via a credit card. In total I put in £5000 whilst working a minimum wage job and using small amounts I'd earned through a bit of penny stock trading and poker, trying to get the money together. I worked 50-60 hours a week to pay for Christmas and invest in the business because of the fact that I didn't want to waste time. I set up business meetings, got business cards, bought equipment and got my friend who I will simply call Angel to work with me to put together a team. My friend Alf and a guy we found on LinkedIn I'll simply call J became our first team. We also found a lovely Graphics Artists online who I'll call Ally. Everyone was on freelance for now as we needed to get clients but we assembled the team. Mr S kept missing business meetings with clients that I set up for him to secure including three major ones that might have cost me a potential 6 figure contract that I spent two months setting up. Making County Football (Soccer for you Yanks) games on a Patreon page and YouTube for live streams. This mega pissed me off and Mr S reassured me he would get the contract back or getting a bigger one. I entrusted him with this task but as far as I can tell he never did anything for it.
On the night of his youngest child being born, whilst his wife was giving birth he spent his time playing online poker or sports betting, I know this because I had the transaction record and he even borrowed money off of me. He took a week to pay me £500 and I almost lost my brand new housing because of this. Thank goodness for my new friend and housemate being understanding of the situation and after this I put my foot down and said no more borrowing from me and if he asked again I would cut him off. I also insisted again that he should invest into the business. He made his excuses of the bank being frozen again and I told him to get his shit sorted out and invest because I'm getting annoyed waiting on him. I wanted to make an advert and without his money I couldn't do this.
So it comes January 2024 I lost my job with the convenience store after I stopped a shoplifter who'd assaulted me when I turned a corner. And by stop I mean used my big boy voice and scared the crap out of them. Don't know why they fired me for that but what do I care it freed me up and paid me £2000 to go away. I got a new job whilst also securing my first client. The client paid the first half of the money which they owed for the filming to be done and Mr S knowing this asked me to lend it to him for the purpose of gambling which I flatly shut down because it was staff wages for the project. When I told him this he said "I'm sure I'll have it back in time and if not they won't mind because they'll get experience." Yep you read that right he was willing to let the staff work for free so he could bet on horses. I told him that I would never put myself or him above my team when it comes to pay because we have no right to ask anyone to work for nothing when they are all multi talented individuals.
Angel was a video editor, animator, photographer, camera operator and lighting expert. She holds a Masters degree in film technology.
J was a camera operator who had worked on major TV documentary sets and was already taking a pay cut to work on this as an investment in the companies future. He held a BA degree.
Alf is a sound operator and musician with a masters degree in music.
Yep this guy wanted to not pay these guys so he could gamble recklessly. I semi caved though by giving him my personal money because he would repeatedly call me three times an hour over this. This was his tactic, begging and harassing me so he can get the money and then when I want the money back ignore and excuse the debt for a week. He regularly said he'd have it back in a day and it would take a week. He gave me £200 extra on top of this debt and said to put it into the business account to help pay for an advert. I did it and yeah that apparently was all I was going to need to make and distribute an advert in his mind. In reality it would barely cover the graphics and music for the advert.
Finally my old debts were catching up with me in March 2024 and I got myself an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) to protect myself and the company as a debt management option. This is because of the fact that old bills, credit cards and loans that I'd taken out were catching up with me that I expected to pay off by now. Which I might have done, had Mr S not been screwing around with the investment. In this process I had to shut down all the gambling sites to comply with the IVA. I called Mr S and informed him to which he promptly told me he was no longer going to invest in my business if I won't let him gamble and risk my IVA. According to him he was going to invest when he won £10000 and was going to give me half of the money as his investment forgetting he'd already won that and then some 2 weeks prior and I knew it. I called him out on this fact and told him to pony up or bugger off because he'd wasted 8 months of mine and my teams lives promising his investment and failing on every level. He exploded on me telling me no one talks to him like this, how dare I describe him as a con artist and a fraud. He demanded his £200 back which I flat out refused as I didn't have it. I spent it paying the Angel the money I owed her because she did extra work on the editing that I failed to secure the money for from either Mr S or the Client. She offered to work for less but I flat out refused that offer because it was my mistake and my problem to deal with.
Over the next 6 weeks now I've been harassed every few days over £200 to be paid back which I'm now refusing to pay because screw him. He lied to me for 8 months and as far as I'm concerned he stole money out of the company and then wants me to pay him more money to buy him out and disregard the team members so he can get his money when he's a multimillionaire and the team are like me on minimum wage and freelancing. So AITA for calling him a thief and con artist whilst refusing to pay him a penny so I can prioritise fixing the damage he had caused? If he'd had invested in the business the way he said he would and it was a normal falling out I probably would pay him out as the business would have been more likely on solid ground with an advert made and a chance for the business to thrive. But this was my lot. I've since been told I'm a worthless person because I won't pay him back and take his calls. I'm a terrible friend for letting such a small issue like me trying to sort out my life at the expense of Mr S's gambling life.
As it stands I haven't paid Mr S back, I still owe a small amount to Angel but am paying her back and I've taken a new job at my local Maccies to insure I do. I'm still looking for more clients to do film work with to get my team into the swing of it. Hopefully we do get more work as I have a wonderful team and I want them to get work with me and make a very successful future for us all. I'm looking into getting a start up business grant from the UK government as well so we can go forward properly as well.
So AITA for cutting Mr S out of the business, trusting him at all and risking so much on his word or for not paying him back the £200?
Click here if you are interested in seeing our first clients advert. I apologise to the great Lady Charlotte Dobre for plugging my work on her channel but I would love to have people view my teams wonderful work and hopefully get more work for the future here in Hampshire UK. Please DM me for details to hire us too we intend to make music videos, business adverts and commissioned films.
For all you reading/listening this short novel I thank you and I wish you well. I hope I get more business soon and I want everyone to know that we will be posting up Patreon work soon covering Entitled People and Neckbeard Stories from Reddit along with Documentaries that we might be making with Sky TV, English Heritage and also a planned comedy show in the style of a budget John Oliver Last Week Tonight. Again sorry for plugging myself Lady Charlotte Dobre and I send you love and respect because your videos make my days feel better when depression is biting my ass.
PS - That Ice Cream Tub didn't survive.

Curious if anyone has experience hiring from LinkedIn easy apply?
I'm applying to various mid senior roles, and I was surprised that a few of them only had a LinkedIn easy apply button. While it was nice not to have to make yet another Workday account, it only gave me room to add a resume. It was just a few button clicks - I'm use to at least having to provide a cover letter.
So hiring managers what is your experience hiring form LinkedIn easy apply? Is it preferrable for the applicant to track down your listing on another site to apply directly? Or is easy apply a fine thing to use?

WPA – A Completely Average Roadtrip
Disclaimer: Not canon, and I don’t use patreon so please don’t spoil me. Also, any opinion held by a character is that of the characters and not my own. Enjoy.
Town of Ljosalfington, local time 14:00, week 7
Emma Booker
“Again Illunor, I warned you before that this is a utility vehicle, not a party rated smart-limo. I am already compromising more than I should by allowing you to use the sample cooler as a minifridge, one which I can’t even use!” I said as I loaded the materials I had just purchased into the back of the high-G All terrain fusion-ethanol-electric hybrid 24th-century legacy pickup truck that I had printed out earlier this week, carefully avoiding the heavy ordinance hard point.
“That is hardly an excuse for that abysmally cramped leg space barely fit for cattle, never mind the bare minimum for standard decorum suitable for nobility. If this is what a car is like, then I don’t see why you care for your technology,” complained Illunor, who was sitting around idly with a malformed garish bowl of icecream that he had stashed away from lunch.
“If it bothers you so much, perhaps you could help next time with your ‘bigger-on-the-inside’ magic,” I retorted as I slid the last core sample into the back before covering it up with a tarp and strapping it down.
I had originally planned to visit Ljosalfington by myself to acquire much needed exo-materials to test various mana manipulator configurations as I worked to develop my first wand as not all of the materials I needed were procurable locally from Elaseer. I eventually yielded, much to my regret, to allowing Illunor to come with me as he insisted on wanting to deliver a letter personally in town after Thacea had pointed out the wisdom of not travelling alone.
We continued our back and forth for a bit yet as I finished securing my payload a voice called out to me from the direction of the town.
“Excuse me a moment, I couldn’t help but notice but are you from the academy?”
I turned to see an elf dressed in a plain brown buttoned up tunic matched by a slightly shabby pair of trousers with what appeared to be a lute upon his back and a plain and unenchanted longsword on his belt gesturing at our robes. Mine especially were new and unusual, tailored by the academy to go over my armour and allow access to the anchor points and allow me to exit my armour with minimal hassle. Illunor scoffed at what was evidently a commoner’s arrogance at approaching nobility and turned his head away in disgust. I glanced at Illunor and shook my head before turning to face the new man. I had time to spare, and any opportunity to engage in a hearts-and-minds dialogue with the locals outside the bounds of the managed environment of the academy was more than worth the time to chat. Especially as most of the other locals seemed to be content in ignoring me.
“Yes, we are currently studying at the Transgracian Academy. I am Cadet Emma Booker representing the United Nations of Earth and Luna from Earthream, and my aloof compatriot is Lord Illunor Rularia of the Vunerian courts. We were just about to head back but are in no rush. May I ask your name and what brings you by?” I asked with my hand outstretched in greeting.
“Ah yes, yes. My name is Edhel Redoehdelnif, a wandering bard by trade like my father and his father before him. My apologies, Cadet Emma Booker, I am unfamiliar with Earthrealm,” said Edhel as he grasped my hand with both of his and shook it tepidly yet vigorously. Or rather, tried to, as the motors on my suit resisted his efforts.
“News doesn’t seem to spread all that fast around here, so it makes sense you haven’t heard of us. We’re a new realm, and only just got here. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Edhel Redoehdelnif,” I replied.
“Absolutely fascinating! And a knight no less, or perhaps a squire? I’m sure you have many stories to tell of Earthrealm. Say, by chance are you about to head back to the academy? I have business in Elaseer and the usual coach has been absent as of late so I would rather not go it alone,” said Edhel.
I was hesitant to bring a stranger back in the car with me, even if Illunor was present. However, the opportunity that meeting a bard presented was too good to pass up from an intel perspective and to win the favour of the populace at large.
“That is a great idea. I think I have room for one more…” I paused before gesturing towards Illunor, “provided everyone is ok with it that is.”
Illunor gave a huff and turned his head away in silence.
“Very well, I will allow this. But he will not be joining me in your sorry excuse for a coach,” said Illunor dismissively.
Illunor approached the backseat expectantly and the door opened for him automatically, allowing the dlc kobold to gracefully enter and lounge across the length of the seats, once again ignoring the seatbelts. I sighed as I made my way to the driver’s seat, and Edhel entered from the passenger side as he marveled at the automatic doors and the interior.
“What a strange carriage this is! Although I must say, shouldn’t you be retrieving your horses? I didn’t see any harnesses or sense any artifices,” inquired Edhel as he attempted to make himself comfortable on the car seat, lute in front of him.
“Oh no, this thing doesn’t need horses or magic,” I said with a chuckle as EVI started the car. The elf raised his eyebrows at the sudden hum of the engine and made an expression of alarm when the car started driving itself without my input. “See, purrs like a kitten.”
“Earthrealm must have some large kittens if they purr like that,” noted Edhel, “but you must be concealing the enchantments somewhere. Such a thing as this with such strange yet precise craftsmanship is only possible in the crownlands.”
“Nope, no magic,” I said cheerfully.
“Then how?” Asked Edhel.
“It’s rather simple really. Are you familiar with the workings of a mill?” I asked, deciding to keep things surface level and elementary to avoid provoking the IDOV threshold.
“Somewhat, though I confess to not being familiar with their workings. Are you suggesting this is akin to a mill?” Asked Edhel perplexed.
“It’s the same principal. A mill works by taking a source of rotation such as a waterwheel or windmill, transferring that rotation along a series of rotating shafts and interlocking gears, and finally putting that energy to work by rotating a millstone,” I began as the car pulled out onto the smooth cobbled road in the direction of Elaseer. A notification popped up in the corner of my vision indicating my recon drone swarm had shifted from a holding formation to a convoy screening formation, and while the roads were clear I kept the speed at 60km/h to account for my passenger’s apparent distaste for seatbelts.
“Rotation…” muttered Edhel. He turned to face one of the wheels and EVI pinged an alert for a probable match for a detection spell, “fascinating.”
“Edhel, what are you doing?” I asked.
“Oh, yes, perhaps I should have asked first. Yes, I can see how it all fits together. But the source of this rotation? I see no mighty river or great wind to power this, so where does it come from?” Asked Edhel, not really apologizing. Elven arrogance, it seemed, was not limited by class.
The act reminded me of Sorecar when he inspected my gun, but where the armourer had been respectful with it, Edhel was more flippant. I considered the possibility that he was a spy sent by one of her peers or the crownlands, though this did not mesh with the methods I had seen so far. Edhel may have been just overly enthusiastic. In either case, I quickly decided to only reveal the antique design for the ethanol engine, and not that of the batteries or the emergency coupler to my suit’s fusion reactor.
“Right, well please ask first next time. As to your question, I won’t bore you with the details, but the rotation is generated by creating a periodic sequence of explosions inside of a machine – a manaless artifice – called a combustion engine, said Emma.
“So that’s what that sound is…” pondered Edhel, “are these artifices typical in Earthream?”
“You are awfully inquisitive for a commoner,” noted Illunor as he inspected his nails for dirt, “and rather accepting of something which should be impossible.”
“I wouldn’t be much of a bard if I wasn’t, my lord,” said Edhel shifting uncomfortably in his seat, “perhaps some music might set the mood better?”
“That would be preferable, bard. I have heard enough of the Earthrealmer’s Road Trip Playlist and would like to listen to some music of real culture,” said Illunor.
The bard agreed and proceeded to awkwardly play a ballad about an adventurer who slew a hydra in some frozen wasteland. Partway through, I politely interrupted the Edhel to point out the seat controls much to his fascination and Illunor’s grumbling at their common nature, and after some adjustment the bard went on playing and I half-heartedly listened while I paid attention to the road and my drone feed.
Particularly after EVI detected something unusual and alerted me to its presence.
”Attention Caded Booker. There is a disabled vehicle blocking the primary route to destination. Heat signatures in the woods are consistent with that of an ambush.”
“Damn it,” I muttered.
I glanced at the drone feed to see a broken cart strewn horizontally across a wooden bridge over a brook. On the surface it looked like a pair of civilians who required aid and assistance, but off in the woods were several heat signatures, several of which held weapons of varying levels of enchantments. Occasionally one of the pair on the bridge would talk with them, suggesting they were in cahoots rather than hostages. I recalled crossing that very bridge not a few hours earlier, so the blockade was very recent.
“EVI, did we pass that cart on the way here?” I asked.
”Negative,” replied EVI.
I grimaced. I had been trained to handle road-side ambushes, but it was only something that was a theoretical possibility. Something that should only occur in a warzone or a corrupt and unstable polity. I knew I had the capacity to handle such an encounter, even non-lethally, but that didn’t change the fact that these were civilians and as such were the responsibility of local law enforcement. Combined with the fact that I had passengers I was responsible for and engaging the ambush was a risky option.
“EVI, give me a list of alternative routes,” I commanded.
”Affirmative. Here is a list of routes in order of recommendation,” replied EVI.
I looked over the routes superimposed on a map of the region and quickly dismissed taking a shortcut through the forest and cutting through farmland. A detour caught my eye that extended the journey by roughly ten kilometers and I immediately sent a pair of drones to scout it out before committing to the detour.
“Are you alright, Cadet Emma Booker? You seem distracted,” asked Edhel, snapping me back to reality.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just focused on driving,” replied Emma.
“I suppose it must be quite taxing to command an artificed carriage of this complexity. Perhaps it might ease your mind if you were to regale me a tale of a hero of your realm?” Said Edhel, strumming a complex tune from his lute as he spoke as each and every pluck triggered a low-level spell.
“Well, that may be a problem. We don’t have any monsters to fight, and wars are a thing of the past,” I said while desperately tip-toeing the subject of aunt Ran, the subject of war, and our voyages through the cosmos, “though we are not without the adventurous spirit. We certainly have many stories of grand voyages. Some mythical and fictional such as The Odyssey as told by the Greek poet Homer and some historical such as the race to the south pole.”
“The south pole,” muttered the bard, “so you have explored all of Earthrealm then? I suppose that makes some sense, if you have artifices such as this then traversal of a globe would be quite manageable.”
“You are quite perceptive,” I said, not wishing to elaborate.
“A great performer knows his audience,” said Edhel with a charming, honest, almost human smile.
I felt a pang of homesickness as an intrusive thought reminded me that I could have gone to a real college surrounded by friendly faces my age, engaging in nightly holostreams and dreaming of adventures in the stars from the safety of a college dorm room. The sight of Illunor in the rear camera was the only thing that kept me grounded, as I almost felt like I was back at home on a road trip rather than returning to a fantasy feudal court, constantly evading death at every turn with the fate of humanity on the line. As such, and prompted by EVI, I barely had the wherewithal to take the planned detour.
A fact which did not pass by Edhel.
“I believe you may have taken a wrong turn, Emma,” he commented.
“Nah, I’m just taking the scenic route. I came from that direction on the way here, and you have inspired me to see the other road and I figure it should only add a few extra minutes to our travel time,” I said, gesturing at a paper map which I had referenced exactly once, “though on that subject, you seem to know these lands quite well. Do you have any recommendations on places to visit in the Nexus to scratch that itch?”
Illunor raised his eyebrow at the detour excuse, knowing full well this was not part of the plan. I worried that he might complain about the issue and but thankfully remained silent as he snacked on the contents of the misused sample storage unit. Edhel himself took on a more pensive posture.
“I’m happy to have been such an inspiration, Emma, though I am sure an explorer such as yourself has little need of such. I would normally suggest the skyward fountains of Verdellan or the cloud tides of Asturia, but that may be too casual for someone of your calibre. Perhaps the severed chasm or the fire marsh of Bhandahova may be more to your liking. Or perhaps…” Edhel leaned in, “I have heard rumours of a dragon in the glassy obsidian wastes of Vurcanar.”
I chuckled at that, knowing how I was fortunate enough to fish a dragon scale out of the nearby lake for the ECS. “The thought of going dragon hunting had certainly crossed my mind…” I mused aloud.
“Yet you sound hesitant. Perhaps it is too much for a newrealmer. Perhaps a slime or a dire rat might be more appropriate,” he said with a tease.
“No, it’s not like that! It’s” I stammered, before attempting to change course after realizing I had been goaded, “what I mean is, I was under the impression that dragons were an endangered species. Where I come from, hunting endangered animals is usually illegal, and big game hunting in general is frowned upon. We do make exceptions in the case of problem animals such as if a large predator starts hunting humans, but as a rule we prefer conservation and try to find ways of coexisting with wildlife such as the use of barrier fences and scaring away dangerous animals rather than being forced to cull their numbers. Having a species go extinct would prevent future generations from appreciating them and risks destabilizing the ecosystem they are a part of. Now if this dragon was actively razing villages and eating civilians and livestock, that would be one thing, but this does not look to be the case. I don’t imagine the Nexus has any settlements in this wasteland, and the dragon clearly wants to be left alone. Killing an innocent dragon would be murder.”
I grinned to myself after delivering a diatribe that would have made my tenth grade social and environmental studies teacher beam with pride, though by the expressions of my passengers my view did not appear to be shared. Edhel’s mouth was agape in shock and fascination, while the Venurian in the back seat merely huffed in disapproval.
“I assure you Newrealmer, there are no innocent dragons,” stated Illunor with a hint of terseness breaking through his otherwise regal demeanor.
“Illunor, I understand that Venurians have personal reasons for not liking dragons, but you can’t just extend that disdain to their descendants or those uninvolved just because they are the same species,” I said.
“If I may interject on your behalf, my lord, I believe I can address Cadet Emma Booker’s concerns,” said Edhel with a bow. Illunor nodded in approval.
“Very well, you may proceed,” he said.
“Thank you, my lord. My dear Emma, you must understand that dragons are not simple animals driven entirely off of instinct as it appears to be the case in Earthrealm. They are monsters. Intelligent, long-lived, violent, greedy, cruel, territorial, selfish flesh-eating monsters. They are evil by the very nature of their being, unable to change by their own accord, and unwilling to change when His Eternal Majesty offered them freedom from their nature. It isn’t that they want to be evil. As intelligent animals – intelligent monsters – dragons are capable of understanding morality, and many have tried to overcome their evil nature at great expense to themselves. A well intended and noble sentiment, yet a doomed one as like all animals, they all succumb to their nature in the end. Overcoming one’s nature is impossible,” said Edhel. His eyes took on a stoic, almost remorseful gaze as he spoke, and Illunor nodded with approval.
I was appalled by this claim, not by the contents so much as how blatantly false it was. As a representative of the human race, I was a living counterexample to his whole argument. We had remained physiologically unchanged as a species since the last Ice Age, and yet in spite of that, in spite of our many flaws, we had found peace and balance. If we could do it, anyone could do it.
“Will all due respect Edhel, that is nonsense. Monsters aren’t born, they are made. It is the mark of any intelligent species can adapt their behaviour to their environment for better or worse, and under the right care any so-called monster can grow to be a force for good,” I began, but while I searched for the right words Edhel shook his head.
“I appreciate your race is an empathetic one, Emma, your idealism is unfounded. As flesh eaters, a dragon must take the life of another animal or person to survive, or they will perish. As such, every dragon has taken a life. As long-lived creatures, they will have amassed a significant number of kills. As the land can only support so much animals, a dragon must be fiercely territorial and aggressive to remove competition, lest they starve. As such, even the most kind-hearted dragon alive must be violent and greedy, and their intelligence fuels this even more so if they know a bountiful land of morsels exists just outside their range.
Now perhaps a multitude of dragons may find a way to co-exist together in some settlement, but to support such a venture would require a large territory of prey, or a livestock animal. Perhaps they could support a large colony by farming grain for their livestock, but that would require effort on their behalf. As large animals, such efforts require a great deal of energy. Yet that size makes it easy for them to intimidate smaller races to do their labour for them, and to keep their client race in line dragons must be cruel. And even so, as their numbers grow so do their needs. As such, they must expand into the lands of their neighbours to survive until there is nothing left to devour, at which point they must turn against their own lest they starve. As such, it is the nature of dragons to conquer and devour. That is why there is no such thing as an innocent dragon,” finished Edhel.
I was speechless, not because I believed Edhel had a point, but because I was horrified at how easy he found it to rationalize the extermination of an entire sapient species. If this was how the elves thought, then it wasn’t the dragons who were the monsters. I suppressed that dark thought. Edhel’s thought process was a product of his culture, not a feature of his elven heritage. If there was any hope of peace between our people, I needed to show him there was another way of being. I needed to prove that co-existence was possible, no matter one’s nature.
I took a deep breath to steady myself before replying.
“That- that is a callous way of seeing things,” I began, though the shock was still there in my voice, “you speak as though there is no natural equilibrium with a dragon, that their only state of being must be to be cruel, to devour, to conquer. But I see things differently. In fact, I might wonder if a fledgling civilization might see the presence of a dragon as a boon rather than a curse. Being intelligent, the locals may be able to come to some agreement with the dragon. Perhaps they might leave some land as a hunting ground or offer up a share of their cattle or guard the dragon as it sleeps. In exchange, the dragon might allow them to build a town outside its mountain and protect them in times of danger. An equitable exchange. A civilization might even create artificial lairs to attract dragons for this very reason. True, some dragons may behave tyrannical towards their town, but a well armed populace of a large city would be more than capable of fighting such a threat, and a rational dragon might reason that threatening their own populace would put their reliable source of food and shelter at risk. You see, it’s all a matter of perspective.”
“You certainly are an imaginative one, Emma, to wonder up a quixotic world where the hare and the fox live together in harmony as equals. Even so, you seem to have ignored one key detail to such a society. What would happen should the dragon not be fed for months on end?” Asked Edhel with his eyebrow raised.
“The same thing as stranded a dozen starving, stranded Elves!” I spat back.
[Alert: Vehicle speed above recommended limit for conditions. Recommendation: slow down. ]
“I am driving slow!” I seethed, not realizing I had sped up with manual control enabled.
“I grow tired of this common prattle,” interjected Illunor just in time to prevent an awkward silence, “bard, play us another song.” “As my lord wishes,” said Edhel with a bow before turning to me with another smile, “perhaps a more soothing melody would be in order? A love song perhaps, to honour Cadet Booker’s compassionate nature?”
I said nothing as Edhel began to strum his lute again to the tune of a love story of a pair of doomed lovers named Ramian and Junette, hating his cheeky knowing grin that only served to get under my skin further as I focused on calming down and slowing the car back to a more reasonable pace before investigating a priority alert which I had been blinded to moments prior.
[Alert: hostile roadblock is absent, location unknown.]
Shit.
“Illunor, we may have a problem,” I said.
“Shush, Newrealmer, have you no class? We are almost at the best part! I’m sure it can wait,” replied the contextually clueless lizard.
I had never wanted to throttle Illunor as much as I did now.
“Illunor, shield, now,” I said with a raised voice.
“I don’t see-“ he started, pausing mid-sentence as his ears perked up.
[Alert: Multiple manafield and spell signatures detected!]
I took evasive maneuvers as Illunor tried to piece together a shield spell, fumbling it twice as panic appeared to set in and providing me with a reminder that Illunor was a civilian, not a soldier. A hail of arrows pelted the exterior of the truck, piercing but not penetrating the composite armour. I was tempted to do nothing but just drive away from the arrow fire, but a foreboding premonition of danger filled me as I recalled Sorecar’s hunter-seeker arrows.
Seeking to avoid that fate, I triggered the active defenses.
The smoke screens deployed around the vehicle, obscuring the sight of any who depended on visible light to see me. A barrage of decoy flares equipped with wooden cores shot upward at angles and diffusing to the side like a pair of giant wings which when combined with the MFD, short for mana-field dampener, inside the vehicle meant that the pelting hail of arrowfire softened to a whirr as the arrows whiffed over the top of the truck, retargeted away from the soft flesh of my passengers and even invoking friendly fire amongst the ambushers.
In the chaos, EVI and my drone swarm fed me complete tactical information on the ambush. Of the 26 individuals at the first blockade, 20 were accounted for, and 3 had died from friendly fire. Ahead at the bridge, 5 more of them were at the bridge where a barrier had been hastily erected to cage me in as the river valley was too deep to cross.
“Illunor, we need a bridge,” I said, taking stock of the wellbeing of my passengers.
The bard was huddled down low and suppressing his manafield, but otherwise rather composed. Illunor, on the other hand, was cowering in the gap between the seats with his hands covering his eyes and his tail tucked in.
“A bridge is no small request, Ne- Cadet Emma Booker,” replied Illunor, “and your ‘Emeffdee’ has blinded me to the outside of this moving death trap.”
“If I drop it, can you at least make a ramp?” I asked as I circled the battlefield. Or tried to, at least, as earthen ramparts emerged from the ground from a yet unseen source to cut off other avenues of escape.
“A ramp? Surely you don’t mean-“ he stammered.
“Yes or no,” I said.
Illunor paused, before taking an unsteady breath.
“Yes. But not with that Emeffdee,” he replied.
“Good. Steady your nerves and prepare to make a ramp ahead of us on my signal,” I said, “in the meantime, get your seatbelt on. This is going to be hairy.”
As I circled around to make my approach on the bridge, the final combatant made his appearance on a nearby tree, revealing himself as an elven mage. An alert focused on the air around him indicating he was preparing an unknown high-tier spell, and I locked the predator drone on him indicating the elf as a high-priority target if our escape plan failed, and I was forced to use lethal force.
If I was forced to kill.
It was one thing to know you may have to kill in the line of duty, but it was much harder to reconcile that with reality. No number of simulations could match the real thing, and a part of me wanted to simply offload the responsibility to EVI to keep my hands clean, but to do that would be betraying my duty as a human being. I breathed in deep and tried not to think about it, instead hoping to rely on the ace I held in my sleeve instead.
“EVI, ready the spell jammer,” I said unevenly.
“Acknowledged, the prototype Exo-Radiation Wave-Field Distruptor is primed. High risk target identified and locked, permission to engage?” EVI asked, forcing me to address the dreaded question.
“Negative,” I replied, “hold your fire. If the ramp fails, then you have permission to engage,” I said.
“Affirmative, on your mark,” replied EVI.
I lined up the truck with the bridge and bolted through the smoke, keeping a careful eye on the mage as I went. His spellform took on a more concerning shape as I accelerated, and I realized I could not afford to let him finish his spell. I triggered the spelljammer.
A terrible roar erupted from an array of speakers printed from mana-resistant materials that would have made Godzilla herself beam with pride. The sound was decidedly unnatural, gnarly, dubstep drop composed of an electric eel, a whale, a mountain lion, and a tyrannosaurus rex all being simultaneously assaulted by a swarm of angry cybernetic murder hornets as an equally chaotic wave of mana blasted outwards from the exterior of the truck, with the interior thankfully sheltered by audio and mana dampening.
The ambushing assailants cowered and panicked, and it was enough to cause the Elven mage’s spell to backfire in his face as his form exploded into ashes, meeting a horrific fate which I had tried so desperately to help him avoid. With all the combatants momentarily incapacitated or dead, I lowered the dampener and turned off the smoke.
“Ramp!” I shouted, snapping the lizard back to reality.
The Venerian nodded and hastily formed an earthwork ahead of us right before the blockade, and the truck leapt off the ramp with a not insignificant amount of air beneath our wheels. I braced for impact, regretting skimping on the shocks in the name of preserving materials, but the impact never came.
[Alert: Friendly spell designated ‘Feather Fall’]
Illunor thankfully had enough wherewithal to gently land the steel brick, and I sped off into the distance away from the trap that had unfolded behind us, leaving the interior of the truck in an awkward silence as we each processed our brush with death in our own way. “How many are dead?” I asked EVI.
“6 hostiles confirmed dead,” replied EVI.
I drove on in silence. Those were six deaths I had tried to avoid, and I became lost in thought as I wondered what I should have done differently to avoid the confrontation entirely.
Edhel broke the silence with a bout of laughter.
“Terrific! Absolutely terrific! Why, I can conjure up many a tale from this encounter alone! I live for this kind of inspiration!” Exclaimed Edhel a little too chipperly considering the circumstance.
“I would rather not hear stories about how I bravely ran away,” I moaned in deadpan sarcasm.
“You think too little of yourself, Cadet Emma Booker. It is plain to me that you are no ordinary rabbit. Make no mistake, I see it as a privilege to bear witness to the roar of a vorpal hare!” Said Edhel as he supressed his laughter, “though I am afraid with all the excitement that I must finish my song some other time.”
“How about I play some of our music?” I offered after the elf revealed his thrill-seeking side.
“Splendid, I would like that. Perhaps something of your ‘Roadtrip playlist’ you speak of? It sounds like a collection of your voyages,” said Edhel.
“That would be an improvement on the truth,” said Illunor dismissively as he eased from his state of shock, “it is little more than noise under the pretense of music.”
“Illunor…” I muttered to myself before turning the mic on, “no, no it’s not like that. I have terabytes of pre-recorded songs from various artists back home which can be played by… an artifice called a speaker. A playlist is a set of songs which are grouped together, usually to listen to in specific situations such as studying, partying, or travelling. The latter collection is what Illunor is referring to.”
I very deliberately chose not to reveal my ‘Unfortunate Daughters’ playlist.
“An artifice which plays music, and a magicless one at that. I must say, Emma, I fear for the bards in your realm,” said Edhel with a laugh.
“Your fear is misplaced, Edhel. Entertainers live like kings where I come from,” I retorted with a smirk of my own, “well, the ones with talent at least.”
“Well, well, I suppose I have to hear my competition!” Said Edhel with a laugh.
“Do as you must, though let it be known that I warned you,” said Illunor as he watched a play on his sightseer.
I had EVI compile a list of songs that left out content offensive to Nexian sensibilities or violating OpSec and as it compiled I mused over what type of sample spread I wanted to show off. Then it struck me. What better way to show off our culture than with some good old blue jumpers and nova rock! Sadly, jumpers were unavailable to show but I still had a whole list of modern artists to choose from.
Moments later, the car speakers sprung to life to the tune of ‘Innocent Youth of Mine. Edhel’s eyes lit up like a child visiting a zero-g gravity park for the first time, seemingly star-struck by the antique electric guitar and the synthesizer-drums in particular.
“What… what is this? I have never heard anything like this!” Proclaimed Edhel.
“Dreadful, isn’t it?” said Illunor, doing what he did best and pretending to hate it.
“Oh there is a lot more where that came from,” I said with a cheeky grin of my own, “this one is called ‘Innocent Youth of Mine’ by ‘Cannons and Poppies’. It’s part of the Nova Rock genre.
“And those strange instruments?” Asked Edhel.
“Oh, you mean the electric guitar and the synthesizer. They are electronic instruments, taking advantage of channeled and modulated electricity to create near any sound we can imagine,” I replied.
“Channeled electricity… are you suggesting these sounds were made by some form of lightning?” Asked Edhel.
[Suggestion: Avoid topic of electricity due to OpSec risk]
I nodded at EVI’s warning, thankful that it caught me before I discussed the very thing that all of my equipment ran on.
“It’s not exactly lightning, but close enough,” I said.
“If I had not witnessed to your display of power earlier, I might have perhaps been more skeptical of such a claim, but I suppose a lady must keep her secrets.” said Edhel with a raised eyebrow and chuckle, “but I digress, this music is most interesting.”
“There is a lot more where that came from,” I said with a cheeky grin of my own.
“If I ever have a prisoner in need of torture, I will turn to you first,” replied Illunor, “if you are willing to subject your peers to this madness then I cannot imagine what you would force upon your enemies before dunking them in ice.”
“In your dreams,” I retorted.
I played a few other songs including Astrodesee’s ‘Meteor Struck’, the Martian classic ‘Hotel Cydonia’ and even ‘Switching to Warp’ before Elaseer emerged from the distance, and I pulled up outside the gate to drop Edhel off.
“Here already?” Asked Edhel.
“Well, yeah. I was just running a quick errand, I didn’t want to go too far,” I replied casually.
“That was a distance worth at least five days of walking by foot, and you call that a ‘quick errand’?” Asked Edhel. I shrugged, and he laughed.
“Well in any case, thank you for allowing me passage in your car. I must apologize for my lack of gift or payment…” said Edhel. “Don’t worry about it, it was on the way,” I replied.
“I see, how generous. Perhaps we might one day meet again?” Asked Edhel.
“Maybe, but I’m not sure how likely that is. The academy takes up most of my time,” I replied, “though you never know. I still have a lot of quest hours to complete.”
“Is that so? In that case, I hope we meet again! Goodbye Cadet Emma Booker and farewell Lord Illunor Rularia,” he said. “And good travels to you, bard,” said Illunor.
I waved off Edhel and drove back to the academy, Illunor still sulking in the back seat.
“Perhaps next time, you should steer us away from danger?” Suggested Illunor.
“I tried, but we were tracked,” I replied.
I groaned inwardly at the additional work needed to fix the truck. EVI compiled a list of upgrades for future engagements, batting away my idea for a ‘turbo mode’ and a ‘jump boost’. Though at the end of the day, meeting the bard wasn’t a complete loss. It felt good to talk to someone almost normal for once, and I hoped I met him again.
Edhel Redoehdelnif
I watched as Cadet Emma Booker’s vehicle went off into the distance, getting one last look at the Earthrealmer’s strange artifice before turning towards the gate. The voyage was an exotic experience, not unlike that of a fever dream or a peak into a world completely alien to my own. Indeed, it was a struggle to contain my excitement and enthusiasm and process the experience rationally as I made my way through the southern gates of Elaseer and turned the corner of an alley before entering an impossible structure that did not exist.
“You are earlier than expected,” said the shadowy figure of my handler as I made my way to the meeting hall.
“The Earthrealmer’s means of transportation proved far more expedient than anticipated, my lord” I spoke as I knelt before him, “even with her unexpected departure from the anticipated road and the ambush we traveled for scantly more than an hour.”
“Yes, I will require a full report from you. Perhaps you can shed some light on the ‘smoke dragon’ my men claim intervened on the Earthrealmer’s behalf,” said my handler.
“Smoke Dragon, my lord?” I asked.
My handler responded by activating his sight-seer, revealing how the ambush had appeared from the outside. The Earthrealmer’s uncanny artifice traversed down the road, a pair of manafields displaying proudly from within until the archers began their assault. The artifice then transformed as smoke billowed out from its pores and wings sprung forth above until it was the form of a mighty wrym with a pair of glowing eyes springing forth from its ever extending head where it then gave forth a terrible unholy roar which sent waves of mana outward. The mage working to seal the area and trap their mark vapourized in an instant as his spell backfired. It was apparent to Edhel that his exceptional experience in the carriage was merely a muted rendition of the events unfolding around them.
It would seem the hare had the shadow of a dragon.
“I do have some insight, though I must confess the Earthrealmer did very little in the way of direct action. I suspect she has some unseen means of commanding and scrying through her artifices,” I said, “one which does not utilize magic as we know it.”
“Such a statement is heresy,” said my handler, “but such special circumstances are your reason for being. I will require you submit your memories for verification. What is your appraisal of the new realmer?”
“The girl is far more dangerous than a surface appraisal would suggest, though she prefers to conceal that power rather than utilize it out of a misplaced sense of compassion. Her people appear to have a boundless creative drive through which such artifices are birthed, though again it is misdirected towards more common applications. I believe that if properly tamed, this human animal may provide us with great works of art,” I said with a bow.
“I see. Does the girl know you work for us?” Asked my handler.
“She may harbour some suspicions, though did not voice them outright beyond concealing her knowledge,” I said, “though nothing significant. Provided our next meet is under believable circumstances such as a festival she should view me as cordial.”
“She has indeed proven clever,” conceded my handler, “very well, I will make arrangements for your paths to cross again. Perhaps I will arrange for her to be a contestant at the next inter-academy tournament. In the mean time, prepare your report and don’t wander far. This is a priority assignment.”
“As you wish, my lord,” I said with a bow and a smile.
Emma Booker had proved to be an interesting animal indeed, and I hoped our paths crossed again.

Using a new/"anonymous" Reddit account since my main one is easily identifiable :).
36, married, 2 young kids (5 and 2 years old), live in a high cost of living area. I've lurked here for a bit but am new to fire. Have been pouring over the info in the sub's FAQ/"start here" page and other links with the limited free time I have, there's an overwhelming amount of information. I haven't really considered doing FIRE before, but 3 years ago I laid out a "10 year plan" to reach $1 million in investments and am very fortunate to be ahead of schedule (so far). I started out a bit behind in that I mostly spent my 20's paying off student debt (both my spouse and I did) and didn't really contribute much to savings/retirement. That changed once I hit 30 and got a higher paying job, started maxing my 401k contributions etc. Now that things are going well it seems like I could realistically work towards a path of retiring early.
Here's my info:
401k's (mine and my spouse's): $458,000
Financial Advisor controlled investment portfolio: $358,000
Personal Fidelity account (mostly for doing my own personal stuff, all in ETFs except for some stock an employer gave me). This money is earmarked for a house downpayment, the intent was to move out of our first home to a better school district once the 5 year old started 1st grade, but with the housing market the way it is that probably won't be happening soon, so I'll just continue to leave this money alone: $109,000
HSA (this year will be the first year I max out my contributions, I never used it much before being young and someone who never goes to the doctor, and didn't realize what a great tax/investment vehicle it is): $8000
Emergency Fund: $25,000 sitting in a HYSA
529/College Savings for 5 & 2 year old - I don't actively contribute to these, I deposited $30,000 into both when each kid was born, hoping that 18 years of growth at ~6% interest should hopefully pay for a large chunk of school (with our income and student loans covering the rest). I also don't count this money towards my personal $1 million goal/net worth since this money isn't earmarked for our us, but is instead for the kids.
Liabilities:
Mortgage: $272,000
Personal & Auto Loans: $22,500
The personal/auto loan could be paid off at most any time, but they have sub 3% interest rates on them so I just make minimum payments and invest my extra money instead. The mortgage is a sub 3% rate as well.
So adding up the 401k's, the investment portfolio, the HSA, and the Fidelity account (though I don't normally "count"this since the money is earmarked for a house) minus the liabilities makes a net worth of ~$630,500.
We were fortunate enough to purchase our first home prior to the the housing market going crazy during Covid. A quick look at Google/Redfin/Zillow and what the county has assessed my latest property tax rate at suggests the house adds another ~$450-480k to my net worth.
In addition to making the max contributions I can to the 401k and HSA, I also invest an additional ~$3k-$5k per month into the investment portfolio and ETFs in Fidelity.
I'm just looking for some general advice on what "next steps" you FIRE experts would take :) - is there a different/additional vehicle I should use for the $3k-$5k I am kicking into generic portfolios each month? Is there something more efficient I could be doing to maximize those slow and steady gains?
The amount of info out there is a little overwhelming - it is sort of like I am already almost accidentally doing FIRE (just from being fortunate and disciplined already), but there still seems to be some next steps / more things I could be taking advantage of to get there faster!

It was summer. He needed money to pay for school next year. He decided to get a job. He needed to apply to different places. He first made a resume. He then made a cover letter. He walked around his neighborhood.

Went to see if I can apply for the Westwood College Borrower Defense.
It says "You cannot apply for a borrower defense discharge for this school because you do not have any Direct Loans, or because you already paid off your other federal student loans."
*Didn't pay anything\*
DEPT OF ED/NELNET: DIRECT STAFFORD SUBSIDIZED
Eligibility: Ineligible
Loan Status: Closed School Discharge
Next line
DEPT OF ED/NELNET: DIRECT STAFFORD UNSUBSIDIZED
Eligibility: Ineligible
Loan Status: Closed School Discharge
However, i did receive the Student Loan Discharge Based on Borrower Defense Evidence email from March of last year (2023)
"The Department of Education ("Department") has determined that the Federal student loan(s) you received to attend a school owned and operated by Westwood College (including enrollment in Westwood's online program) at some time during the period from January 1, 2002 through the school's closure in 2016 are eligible for a full discharge. This means the remaining balance on the loan(s) will be forgiven. You do not have to make any more payments on the loan(s)."
"You also may receive a refund for prior payments made to the Department on the loans that are being discharged. Your servicer will let you know if you are eligible for a payment refund, which would be mailed to you."
My thing is, I attended the school from 2014-2015 years before it officially closed & I didn't receive an updated letter / email at all. Do i reach out to the studentgov or reach out to Nelnet?