Visa invitation wedding letter sample

I’m Venezuelan and they request venezuelans to have a Mexican Visa, unless they have residency in another country. Which I do, but my GC is currently expired as I wait for then to process my removal of conditions. So I have the extension letter. That makes it valid but I heard from someone that they don’t accept it and the Green Card must be unexpired

Hey everyone. Unfortunately today I found out that my investigation has been discontinued and am no longer being considered for employment with a 3 letter in the IC.
I accepted a CJO in March and did my voodoo exams last month. I did not lie whatsoever during the exams but I was nervous the first day and while the 2nd day went a lot smoother, I was not given a direct pass or fail. My red flags consisted of mainly drug use; daily marijuana usage for about four years until August of 2020, some experimental shroom usage four times up to April of 2020, and two times I used Adderall in college years back. Only had a couple of foreign contacts; my father who is a permanent resident and an uncle who visits on a work visa.
I was fully transparent about EVERYTHING during this time and I had absolutely no reason to lie about anything during any of my interviews, and always provided context for anything or more information about something if asked. It feels especially awful since the persons adminestering the brain reader tests never accused me of being deceitful or trying to manipulate the tests, just that I "had something on my mind".
This really sucks. I have been looking for a job in the software engineering field for a while now. I graduated a couple of years ago and have been applying everywhere including places on-site since I am not choosing to be picky, but very little dice up to this point. It feels terrible knowing I did the right thing and told the truth just to get denied in the end. I don't believe my case even went to adjudication; my portal simply updated that I no longer was being considered for the position.
Sorry if this is a bit of a sob story. I just need to vent for a bit. Anyone else ever experience the same?

I’ll apologize in advance because this is so long but I don’t know what else to do.
My mother (60F) and I (25F) have been bickering about small things surrounding my wedding since I got engaged in March. It started with chairs and escalated to the guest list.
My parents have these two friends, we’ll call them Alex and Demi, who I am not particularly fond of. These friends also have two adult children who I am also not that fond of.
Demi is an extremely nosey woman and has been texting my mom non stop since I got engaged wanting to know ALL details. She also keeps saying she’s “so excited for OUR kids” (her son also just got engaged) and went as far as to ask my mom if her son’s wedding date was okay with my family.
It should be noted my parents don’t speak very kindly of these people to begin with. So much so that my fiancé is confused of why this is such a big fuss. They also travel with this couple and see them weekly.
When I finally told my mom I didn’t want this couple or their kids at my wedding she lost it. My parents told me they would lose friends and that I couldn’t just not invite them. I dug my heels in on my decision because I feel like this is another thing I’m not being heard on.
Fast forward this weekend and I dug in yet again and drew a line in the sand that I didn’t want them coming. I told my mom I didn’t understand how they would lose friends when I don’t have relationships with these people aside from when my parents invited them over growing up. Not to mention I just don’t see adults ending “friendship” over a non invite.
My mom yelled at me first and then would barely speak to me until today when she told me she was “ready to talk” because I had asked her what was wrong over the weekend and she “couldn’t put it into words before”.
We were on the phone for an hour, she started by reading her “notes” that she had made that ripped me and my character to pieces. She called me ungrateful, disrespectful, and not compassionate for “picking and choosing” who gets to come to my wedding.
She also said I was being self centered by referring to my wedding as my wedding. To top it all off she told me I was extremely close to losing my relationship with her and my dad and that I should stop and think about how my decisions affect other people.
I was so hurt by this because we’ve only been disputing two things and I’ve been trying to be kind about everything else- design, seating, flowers, etc.
I asked for examples about the labels she gave me and tried to understand what she meant by them. She couldn’t give any and kept going back to the original issue of me not wanting this family at my wedding.
She also said while I was “good at setting boundaries” she felt I would never have any meaningful personal relationships because I lack compassion, the ability to be kind, and the ability to forgive.
She then threw in my face that one of my bridesmaids and I haven’t always gotten along and “if she can come then other people who want to support you should be allowed to as-well”.
I told her I was over it and that she can invite whomever she pleases but I pointed out that while I gave her a quote of 25 people as well as my fiancés mother, my mom did not adhere to it. She argued that my fiancés parents went over their quota as well and I had to correct her that they didn’t until we told them to because my parents had a list of almost 40 people.
She cried on and off the whole call. She did apologize but it always felt back handed (“I’m sorry you feel that way but you always say I’m a bad mom so I can’t help feeling this way”) I was very calm most of the call until the last 15 minutes where I couldn’t stop crying because I still can’t understand the ungrateful, no compassion, and disrespectful comments.
At this point she went back on her words and said it was “an isolated incident” because now it’s been resolved. She called it a thing of the past. She also demanded I apologize to her because she had already done so.
I had to correct her and say that I have been constantly asking for examples and a solution and apologizing. She agreed with that but ultimately would not allow me to recognize my own frustration without adding in that she “feels the same”.
At this point I couldn’t take it anymore. I told her I was done and asked if we could cancel the wedding. Unfortunately we’ve already signed a contract so we can’t. I love my fiancé but I cannot take this any more, I’m also not sure if I can move on past the things my mother said. Her and my father as well as my fiancés parents are paying for the wedding so I don’t think no contact is the option.
I need advice, anything is helpful. I’m in therapy and I do know my mother is a narcissist from my work with my therapist (my childhood is also another sore subject my mom hates talking about unless it’s all sunshine and rainbows). Honestly, I want to crawl in bed and never get out but I know that’s not an option. What do I do?

Hi everyone. I'd like to ask Brazilian citizens who has visited the Philippines recently. What were the requirements and documents you brought or what was required when you arrived at the immigration? My friend is visiting me in a few months and we'd like to prepare in advance. I've read some that they maybe required to show some bank records and such, even a letter from a PH citizen indicating they'll be staying in their house during the duration of the trip. Are all those really necessary? Thanks in advance.

Ok this might be a bit long... I'm in the state of Massachusetts and been on workers comp since October of 2021. The limit here is 3 years and this October makes it the 3. Everything's was going good and adjuster always paid my checks bi weekly and most my meds. I temp at my job went crazy and attacked me with an almost 2 foot pipe wrench that weighed at least 20 lbs. I was in my car and he destroyed it along with my face head and shoulder. I was knocked out for I really don't know how long but was pouring blood everywhere. Me and this man never had an issue or words at all. So I was sitting in my car eating lunch and was dark since I worked 2nd shift and there was basically no supervisors on my shift. I don't really eant to get more into the assault but will say I had eye damage esp. from the glass from the first strike through my window that knocked me out. My shoulder was injured and motion is back but couldn't finish PT due to my migraines which got better but with quilipta and zavzperat spray and Botox injections from a nuero. I still get them and triggered by certain things but did improve a bit since 2021.this man was not even clocked him my boss invited him to live there and sleep at the warehouse whenever the office went home and he would come since he was homeless and sleep wake up drink and just very odd guy which me and a co worker complained many times about his drinking and making us uncomfortable and my boss would just laugh. So they knew there was negligence and co operated fully and so did workers comp up until few months ago started sending me to imes which is when I finally got an attorney.my state can't use for apin and suffering when it comes to workers comp. The thing I face know which I did have anxiety and depression a bit in the past and was in and out of therapy through the years with self medicating before that around 2008 off and on also due to my brother's death. Since this assault though wow I panic daily about little things. Extremely scared to drive or leave the house. My family does almost everything for me and I'm a 37 yr old male. I'm on about 12 meds total and 9 is for mental health. I am diagnosed with post concussion syndrome, agoraphobia, depression, anxiety and insomnia. Of course the imes the insurance sent me to treated me so bad the first was a neurologist and tried to treat me as a psych patient the second wasn't rude and was actually a psychiatrist but could tell was not listening at all to me and wrote I have no issues and I am all good just like the first time. My attorney sent me to his own ime that will say just based on my pictures and medical records that I am disabled for life. My neurologist therapist and psychiatrist all wrote great letters but said they don't know if or when I will get better but also didn't say I am disabled for life and that's what my attorney is looking for but said the letters will help and are greatly written esp. how it goes against the imes. He said the judge knows how it goes insurance gets there guys they pay 900 to to make a report and my attorney gets his guy and plus treating Dr s that the hospital recommended through occupational therapy. My memory is very bad and sorry if I'm all over the place. My question is I have court on June 4. Saw my attorney Dr. Yesterday. Today attorney called me to talk about the case. He said you're payments stop October anyway and I'm sure I can get it to that but October comes the judge can cut off all money or extend it 4 years of checks but cut in half which is like 43000 in them years he said he would like to fight for full life long disability but due to my age being 37 it's an uphill battle but doesn't mean he can't get it but if I was in my mind 40s he said he'd have full confidence getting it. That's one my questions about the age thing also he told me they said well we would offer about 45000 to settle and a little more to settle the mental part of it he laughed at them he said. He said I can get you 100,000 but probably and this is all jus predicted but about 75,000 before I pay him his 20%. I really don't know what to do. I'm afraid it's such a low amount for head I jury and sever mental trauma where I don't have friends anymore and don't leave the house and pa ic non stop. Also want to be done with this and try and move on like my dr.s said maybe you'll start healing once this is behind you. I do have mass health insurance and they fill a lot scripts no problem when workers comp should be. So my attorney thinks it's fully up to me and court is less then 2 weeks and it takes him about a week to put together a settlement amount request hes cobfident about 75,000 i said i need to think hes said of course. I'm thinking I should ask him I won't take less than 80,000 but look more for 85,000 or little more. More I get he gets I know. I just don't want to piss him off he's very intimidating blunt straight forward guy. Any similar stories and advice should I say ok go for 75 or should I say try for 80 or85,000. I feel like if he thought he could get it he would since he gets a percentage. Sorry for the long rant guys. Any advice is helpful,tia.

(CW: abuse, suicide)
I hope I’m doing this right!
FMIL, but DH and I have been engaged and owned a home together for a decade and we have a 9 year old—just aren’t planning a wedding until I am done school and start earning money again.
Two years ago I was going to throw DH a surprise party, but FMIL and FSIL have planned a vacation during DH’s birthday the past two years, so I wasn’t able to. We are the only ones with a school aged child and these trips are always planned for a full week during my kid’s 1st full month of the school year, so we can only go for the weekend while everyone else (FMIL, FSIL & boyfriend and little kids, FBIL & girlfriend) is there the whole time.
For some background: the first year of the birthday/vacation was unpleasant, FMIL gaslighted DH the first time he ever had the nerve to bring up FFIL abusing him as a child, saying that it didn’t happen. FMIL didn’t like that I was insisting on keeping LO on his regular bedtime schedule on Saturday since he stayed up very late Friday and was returning to his 3rd week of kindergarten on Monday and we needed to drive back Sunday. On Sunday, I woke up to a very long email from FMIL explaining that saying no to a later bedtime on Saturday was unreasonable because this was family time, and that in the movie Dead Poet’s Society one character completes suicide because his parents said no too often. Yeah.
Anyway, last year DH wanted a cookout in our backyard with all his friends for his birthday. He’s never hosted a cookout with his friends. Once again they booked the vacation then so he didn’t. This year I planned to do the cookout, but it’s still months away, so of course I haven’t started.
I get a text today saying FMIL wants to plan a surprise party for DH’s birthday this year with me and FSIL, she wants me to pick a hall, she will make food, that my family will make food, “some” of his buddies can be invited, and it will be BYOB (halls here have bars and don’t allow BYOB, but whatever) and I will have to make an excuse to get him there. She asked what did I think.
Side note: I am a full time student expediting a degree in STEM (a totally new field for me), I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, I have many chronic illnesses, and I am still doing all the SAHM domestic duties I took on when I left the workforce to raise my kid because daycare was commensurate with my salary. I went back to school when LO started kindergarten (so that first vacation was entirely me studying). I finish my degree in December(!) but the months leading up to that are going to be SO busy for me.
I told FMIL that I was planning the cookout, what he wants, for this year. She said he should have surprise party because he doesn’t expect anything fancy and he deserves it and that I should pick a date the month before his birthday or the month after (this is the month I have to plan LO’s huge birthday party) for a surprise party and just have both parties, and if it’s the month after it can also be my graduation party (I won’t graduate for a couple months after that time, still). I don’t want a graduation party, and neither of us should have to split a party, especially if he deserves this surprise party. I do not have time to plan three parties in the final months of my degree, and I probably wouldn’t even have time to attend a second birthday party for him if she threw it all by herself!
I haven’t responded again. I have therapy in the morning and will respond after. I have never thrown him a birthday party, and it seems like she’s just trying to be in control of his birthday for three years in a row, and she doesn’t do this with her other children. I am so tired.

I feel so stuck on what to do. I met my friend in college back in 2019. When I met her we became friends instantly. But with that I learned about her horrible childhood trauma. Her parents came to the U.S. illegally and they are still here without status and how her uncle r*ped her until she as the age of 17. As her friend my heart was so broken for her and I knew life isn’t easy on her.
Both her and I changed a lot since college as one does. I met my fiancé and she has a boyfriend. Her and the boyfriend are a match made in hell. The stuff she tells me makes me really not like this guy. She would tell me how they always argue, she claimed he cheated numerous of times, how he is forcing her not to take birth control and they have unsafe intimacy, when they argue he always screams at her to “shut the f*ck up”. The guy seems like a complete loser. Even with all their issues she always looks past it or just forgives him. There are many times that I would plead for her to break up with him and it just never happen. Then she would say something like “you know I’m just learning from this all”.
She has also spent $2,500 on his birthday and Christmas gifts. She always just buys him stuff. Whenever we’re out she ends up buying him expensive clothes or food. I do buy clothes for my fiancé if I find something affordable that I know he’ll like. But most of this girls paycheck goes to buying her boyfriend stuff. She is in constant financial hardships because of it. She even sends DoorDash over to his job every time it comes time for lunch.
With all of the horrible stuff she has told me. She asked me if he can come to my wedding. I’m only having 50-60 people it’s going to be very cute and intimate. Plus the times I’ve tried to meet him it never happens. My friend would always say she wants to double date just for her to back out when I try to make it happen. The one time I almost met him she was dropping off food for him. She insisted on parking a block away from his house and keeping me in the car. I told her it seems weird to park a block away from the house and she decided to move the car closer. But she made me stay in the car and it was very awkward to say the least. So I don’t know how I can invite someone to my wedding that I’m not allowed to meet. She also told me that she went out one night for dinner with the boyfriend at a Korean place. She said that her boyfriend couldn’t figure out which one is our waiter “because all Koreans look the same”. I don’t want someone so racist and rude around my fiancé who is Korean and my amazing in laws. I don’t want a racist anywhere near my wedding.
I also feel like she’s so self observed. I was going through a rough patch. My fiancé and I had to do long distance for a bit due to having to apply for a K1 fiancé visa. It was really hard on me not being with him and I went to such a dark place. Luckily I’m doing better now and we got approved! So my fiancé comes back in late August. I tried telling my friend how hard it’s been on me but somehow the conversation always goes back to her and her life.
I don’t know what else to do. I feel like my friend is just going down a dark hole. I tried suggesting therapy to her and she told me “it’s white people shit” so she wants no part in it. I feel so frustrated and upset with myself that I can’t help her. But I don’t know what else to do. I get so disgusted whenever she mentions the boyfriend and the relationship. Even if they are doing well (she reminds me constantly how well they are doing) I can’t be happy for her because of how horrible this man is. I don’t know what else to do to help her and I just feel myself growing apart from her. I miss the friend I had back in 2019 and I don’t know how else to get her back.

My father has been with his girlfriend "Jenny" for about six years. I'm not fond of her (for reasons that aren't her fault), but we get along fine. She is very close with her mother, "Tara".
I'll be honest; I don't like Tara. She is a sour woman who complains about everything. It doesn't matter if it's food, gifts or even stuff that doesn't affect her. Nothing is ever good enough for Tara. Being around is so unbearable that even my father, who usually jumps at every opportunity to please Jenny, is open about how draining and annoying she is.
Tara lives in a different state, but visits Jenny often. I am always polite around her, but I never look forward to seeing her. Since I don't live with my father anymore, it's easy to avoid her visits.
My son is turning one this Saturday. My husband and I are throwing him a small birthday party at our apartment.
A couple days ago, we visited my father's place for lunch. Jenny informed us that her mother will be in town this weekend, and that she's excited that she'll be able to make it to my son's birthday.
Tara has met my baby once, when we went to my father's place for dinner last year, and it was awful. She criticized my and my husband's parenting, was judgy about the fact that I had a c-section, and complained about a dish my husband had prepared before even trying it ("Just because it looks nice, doesn't mean it tastes good"). With that night in mind, I have no interest in having Tara in my place, much less at my child's first birthday party.
As politely as I could, I told Jenny that we were only inviting close friends and family (which she already knew), and my husband and I don't have a close relationship with Tara. She argued that her mother had rescheduled her flight to be able to come, but I held my ground. I said we'd never invited her in the first place, and she had business doing so on our behalf.
We left about an hour later. The next day, my father told me that he and Jenny had a fight about the situation. At one point, she got him to admit that he doesn't like her mother.
He told me he's extremely upset that my refusal put him in a bad spot with his girlfriend. He agreed that it's not my job to please Jenny or Tara, but he still wants me to "do the polite thing" and invite his mother-in-law. When I refused to, he hung up on me.
I understand that my father is frustrated, but I don't want to invite Tara over just to make Jenny happy.
AITA?

http://simpson.walraven.org/nbs-ojs.html
Dear O.J. I'd like to see you, to talk to you in person. But I know you can't do that. I've been attending these meetings to help me turn negatives into positives -- to help me turn get rid of my anger . . . . I've learned to "let things go" (the most powerful, helpful thing I've ever learned). I've learned that all things that upset & bother me are just a mirror of what's going on in me. I always knew that what was going on with us was about me -- I just wasn't sure why it was about me -- So I just blamed you. I'm the one who was controlling. I wanted you to be faithful and be a perfect father. I was not accepting to who you are. Because I didn't like myself anymore. I'm not sure exactly what went on with me these last few years. I know New Year's Eve started it. I sank into a depression that I couldn't control. I also agree with you now -- that I went through some sort of mid life crisis -- "that 30's thing," you called it, my own self esteem . . . ect. I know it was a combination of all of these things. But mostly, due to all of these things, I know I gave up. I gave up treating you like I loved you. We started taking each other for granted -- and I didn't know how to put it all back together. I never stopped loving you -- I stopped liking myself and lost total confidence in any relationship with you.
I really needed this time in my life -- It's allowed me to get to know and like myself (again). It's given me a chance to go from a non-person, (the past 3 years) to a whole person.
There's so much I want to say to you. It's very hard to express myself in this letter. I wish we could be taking a walk around the block like we used to. It would be so much easier to speak to you face to face.
I want to put our family back together! I want our kids to grow up with their parents. I thought I'd be happy raising Sydney & Justin by myself -- since we didn't see too much of you anyway. But, now, I [missing text].
I want to be with you! I want to love you and cherish you, and make you smile. I want to wake up with you in the mornings and hold you at night. I want to hug and kiss you everyday. I want us to be the way we used to be. There was no couple like us. I don't know what I went through . . . . I didn't believe you loved me anymore -- and I couldn't handle it. But for the past month I've been looking at our wedding tape and our family movies -- and I can see that we truly loved each other. A love I've never seen in any of our friends. Please look at the 2 tapes I'm sending over with this letter. Watch them along & with your phone turned off -- they're really fun to watch.
O.J., I want to come home -- I want us all to be together again -- We can move wherever you want -- we can stay here -- I just never want to leave your side again.
I've almost come home 20 times since I left -- but I was never totally sure about us until now. I know I love you and know I'm in love with you and know I want to [missing text] and be with you forever.
Please watch the tapes -- I know you have major anger against me -- but you owe it to your kids and to us. I had that same anger. . . I'd never let this happen to us again. Without this year, without this growth, I don't think we'd have had a chance together -- We let it die. And through death . . . something new always grows. I agree with what you said 6 or 8 months ago. The next time around will be the best. I totally feel that now. We want to come home -- we'd be there tomorrow if you'd let us. I'm not embarrassed about anything -- I don't give a hoot what anybody thinks. I only know I love you and our kids would be the happiest kids in the world.
If you're totally happy with your life now -- I'll understand -- especially if you're truly in love and know that's going to work. Then, I can't mess with that. If I don't hear from you soon -- then I'll assume that's the case and I'll never bother you or ask you to have [missing text] way to find out -- I had to ask.
O.J. You'll be my one and only "true love." I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you and I'm sorry we let it die. Please let us be a family again, and let me love you -- better than I ever have before.
I'll love you forever and always . . .
Me.
[Drawing of smiling face.]

BAWAL ITO I-POST SA FACEBOOK AT TIKTOK!
Example 1: Noong wedding namin ni husband, hindi ako masaya. Sobrang nakasimangot ako dahil sa extended extended family ng husband ko. Nagrereklamo sila to the max kung kailan kakain kasi ang tagal. Hindi pa nagsisimula ceremony nito ah.
Pinilit lang ako kasi si husband daw unang ikakasal sa mga anak nila. Tapos nagulat ako na invited kahit extended extended family (as in hindi na same last name and sobrang layo na kamag-anak). Nakatira kasi lahat sila sa iisang compound na malaki.
Example 2: Buong angkan sa side ni husband ay invited sa isang outing, except us. When I asked my MIL why, sinagot ba naman saakin “baka nalimutan lang kayo iinvite. Sinabi ko kay (husband’s name) last week. Baka nalimutan”. Pero hindi talaga kami ininvite. Nalaman-laman ko sa isang relative nila na pinapalusot pala nila ay “busy” daw kami at “nasiraan ng kotse” kahit gawa kotse namin.
At kaya pala hindi kami invited ay birthday ng gf ng BIL ko na ayaw saakin. The gf of BIL and MIL backstabbed me 2 years ago, at siya pa may gana’ng maging pavictim after that. Sinasabi ni MIL na may naririnig na raw ako na hindi dapat (in short: baliw na raw ako). Tapos after 2 days pinalusot nila na kapangalan ko lang daw pinaguusapan nila.
Sobrang na-hurt ako rito. Pinilit ako iinvite sa wedding namin tapos magugulat ako na hindi kami invited sa mga lakad nila? Simula no’n hindi na kami napunta ng any occasions kahit birthday pa ‘yan.
Ngayon: They informed us that there will be a huge reunion sa side ulit ni husband. As in extended extended family ulit (50 or more families). Si MIL bigla sinabi saamin na nagbook na raw siya ng hotel nearby the venue at bumili na ng matching shirts for us. Gulat kami, kasi they did not asked us if pupunta ba kami or not.
Another reason why I don’t want to go is that I’m not comfortable to go, and magyayabangan at plastikan lang sila roon. Kinocompare rin nila ang anak namin sa anak ni BIL (I DONT LIKE THAT!)
Reason why I feel I’m the gago: Mabait FIL ko pero tahimik siya at wala ginagawa kahit alam niya na mali ginagawa ng mga kamag-anak/asawa niya. Ayaw niya may kakampihan. But he’s nice to me (at least). I can feel na tinatry bumawi ni BIL and MIL saamin, pero matigas siguro puso ko kasi I did not receive any apology from them. I could be wrong. Also family ito ni husband, he said he’s fine by my choice and for the sake of my peace of mind pero naaawa ako sakanya.
BAWAL ITO I-POST SA FACEBOOK AT TIKTOK!
ABYG if ayoko umattend ng any family gatherings with my in-laws?

18 months ago, my husband and I made plans to take an international trip for a friend's wedding. Children were not invited. We made plans with my parents for them to watch our twin boys (turning 3 this month).
Then 6 months ago, my dad died suddenly.
We considered not going on the trip since this obviously meant there would be an increased burden on my mom. She insisted we stick with it. I know she sincerely supported us taking our first childless vacation as parents. We made some planning changes and enrolled the help of other adults so that my mom would never have a full day alone with the kids. She would be responsible for mornings and bedtimes while our nanny and friends would take the bulk of the daytime hours.
The first couple days, everything was going pretty smoothly. No tears from the kids. My mom seemed tired but otherwise normal. Then on Saturday morning (we were scheduled to return Sunday), she called in total hysterics. She was crying saying she thought she could do this, but she can't do it alone. Then she started screaming "why did he (my dad) leave me?" and oscillated between yelling and crying for the next 10 minutes. Of course the kids were now crying too.
After we got everyone settled, I hung up with her and immediately booked the next flight home.
I feel like I might be the asshole for deciding it was acceptable to leave my mom with the huge task of watching two young children. I should've realized she was not in a stable state. This was the first emotional breakdown she has had since my dad died. And while neither she nor I anticipated it, I think it was naive not to consider that being alone when she thought she'd have him there might be a trigger.
But I also have some anger towards her for falling apart while being the sole adult responsible for her grandchildren when I was 3000 miles away.
Losing a day of vacation is completely trivial compared to having to worry about the state of my children in her care.

hey! my husband and i were invited to a wedding ten days after my surgery date. if i just sit and chill and don’t dance or drink or anything, do you think i can handle going? (in driving distance.) or do you think ten days out, it would still be uncomfy to sit at a table/be out in the world?

https://nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-invites-public-comment-on-plans-for-mars-sample-return-campaign via #NASA_APP

I’ve been looking at wedding invitations online to get an idea of what kind we want to send out to our guests. The wording on all of them is like “Together with their parents, John Doe and Jane Doe invite you to their wedding on X date at X time.” The intro sounds nice, except my fiancé doesn’t have parents. Would it sound or look visually weird to just leave that part out? Does anyone have any suggestions on what else to put there? I’m worried about a random large space at the top of the invitation where the introduction is supposed to be.

Hi!
I recently graduated from my MBA program, and my OPT will start in a month. However, my F1 visa is expiring soon, and I would like to return to my home country to renew it. I already have my EAD OPT card, but I do not yet have a full-time job offer, though I am actively interviewing and searching for one.
Is it too risky to leave the country and apply for a renewal without an offer letter? Has anyone done this before?
For context, I am from Peru.
Thank you!

I hope this letter finds you well. To begin, I was drawn to this topic through social media posts that shared dozens of records detailing the abuse and deaths of hundreds of children in these therapy programs. I have often wondered, how can these programs be allowed to cause this amount of trauma to teens and children? This inspired me to look deeper into the troubled teen industry and understand why paid “caregivers” have put so many in danger. If we want to protect the wellbeing of these teens, we must find a solution to regulating these industries. Without increased laws and regulations we continue to place America’s children into potential death traps. Now what is a wilderness therapy program? Wilderness therapy programs, on the surface, seem like a promising solution for troubled teens, offering a blend of nature immersion and psychiatric support. However, the roots of the troubled teen industry date back to the 1970s, with reports of abuse surfacing early on. Shockingly, despite decades of outcry and documentation of fatalities, political inertia persists, and federal oversight remains lacking. It is understandable that parents want their children to be happy, respectful, and well-mannered. However, in an attempt to do what is right for their struggling child, parents may turn to the troubled teen industry. Currently, according to the American Bar Association, there are thousands of teenagers in these programs within the U.S, programs that often induce trauma and abuse, even causing the deaths of their children. So, why do parents continue to put their children into these programs? Is the fear of losing the “perfect” family leading parents to enrolling their children into these troubled teens’ wilderness programs? So why do parents enroll their children in these awful facilities? Simple answer: manipulation. The troubled teen industry (TTI) often manipulates parents through a series of insidious tactics. For instance, leveraging fear by exaggerating the risks associated with a child's behavior and creating a sense of imminent danger. Isolation tactics further reinforce this urgency, convincing parents that the facility is their sole recourse. These industries hire workers framed as “education consultants” that utilize high-pressure sales strategies to exploit parental anxiety, and present their TTI program as the only viable option. In an article by USAtoday, reporters held interviews of parents and teens who experienced a TTI program at Evoke, a Utah facility. "I was just an anxious mom. I loved (Katelyn) to death," Tessie, Katelyn’s mom, says, "I was so desperate and desperately wanting to save my child from herself" (USAtoday). Programs offer promises of rapid transformation and they prey on parental desperation for quick, easy fixes. Emotional manipulation adds another layer, playing on a parents guilt and insecurity. By showcasing selective success stories and controlling information flow, they obscure potential risks and alternatives. Stigmatizing the child's behavior further pressures parents into compliance, painting their facility as the sole refuge from societal judgment. "’[Evoke] just made it seem like (she was) such a rotten kid and that she couldn't come home after the wilderness program,’ Tessie says, instead [Evoke suggested] Katelyn go to an aftercare program” (USAtoday). In this web of manipulation, parents often find themselves coerced into decisions they later regret, unaware of the nuanced realities obscured by these tactics. In an article from the “Cafemoms” blog titled My Daughter Was a Victim of the 'Troubled Teen' Industry & It Haunts Me to This Day, a mother recounts her perspective of the tactics used by Island View (IV) treatment center to send her sixteen year old daughter to their facilities. “We trusted the [education consultant] when he said IV was the best program in the country and the best fit for Colleen. What the [education consultant] didn’t tell us was that the reason so many IV grads did so well after graduation is because nearly all of them went straight from IV to another residential treatment”(Cafemoms). Despite this, there is still hope for change. Imprint News wrote an article that focused on recent protests and youth advocates who were pushing congress to introduce new laws. Specifically, they discussed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. A main advocacy group aiming at these lawmakers is Breaking Code Silence, a group dedicated to advocating for young people who had experienced harm in a youth treatment center (Imprint News). Their main goal is to pass a Bill of Rights for all children in youth treatment centers (Imprint News). The article also mentions that Breaking Code Silence wants children to have guaranteed protection from physical restraint and monitored phone calls. They further require that children are provided with all the basic necessities (Imprint News). Paris Hilton, a well-known celebrity, discussed in a Washington post article when she was 16 years old when she was taken from her home by two men. This was a result of her parents signing her up for a teen wilderness program (Hilton). Hilton describes that she was beaten and malnourished throughout her time at a Utah Facility. In October 2021, she partnered with Breaking Code Silence and pushed for a reform that was signed into law last April (Hilton). In Utah, it is now mandatory for treatment centers to document any time that staff used physical restraint (Hilton). Immediately following they have to submit these reports to the Utah Office of Licensing (Hilton). It also prohibits programs from sedating residents or using mechanical restraints, such as handcuffs and chains (Hilton). Therefore, this proves that reforms can be implemented and that it is important to continue the fight for more. Without regulations these programs can run rampant and place hundreds of children in danger. Continuing to protest, collaborate with government officials, and raise awareness can, and will, eventually stop the persistence of these programs. Enforcing reports and proper care through the law is the only way to give teens struggling with mental illnesses in these programs a fighting chance to recover. On the other hand, supporters of the troubled teen industry have used studies and research to prove the effectiveness of these programs, one example being RedCliff Ascent. RedCliff Ascent is a wilderness therapy program that claims the effectiveness of wilderness therapy. In 2005, this company hired a researcher to study families and adolescents 2 years after the program. The results found that over 90% of adolescents found wilderness therapy as effective and 83% of adolescents were doing better. In another study by Dr. Steve Aldana, it was found that 91.4% of children experienced clinically significant improvement six months post program. The counter argument presented by RedCliff Ascent is not only biased as the research was initiated from a wilderness therapy company, but they do not provide a sample size. This is important because when making conclusive statements such as “Over 90% of adolescents contacted perceived wilderness therapy as effective” they could be talking about six out of seven children or two hundred out of two hundred twenty (RedCliff Ascent). Through further research, the same results can be presented without the use of wilderness therapy. An article by the American Psychology Association (APA) titled “Better options for troubled teens” presents a series of studies and programs that was created to help adolescents. These programs focus on community-based activities, activities to help connect teenagers with their parents, and activities that align with the teens interests. This includes computer labs, dance studios, and machine shops. These programs have found significant success in decreasing the amount of juvenile offenders from 50% to 4% in an area of Connecticut (APA). It did this by helping teens take accountability and understand their actions. It utilized role play, writing assignments, and guided discussions between the teens. Overall, the troubled teen industry has caused abuse, trauma, and death to many children across the United States. It is a trap for children and a trick for desperate parents. Through the personal stories from teens and parents, reports of mistreatment, and protests it can easily be seen the impact and the importance of preventing this industry from expanding, instead increasing regulations and transparency to protect America’s children. To keep these children safe it is imperative that everyone works together to enact legislation. Your support matters to keep America’s children protected.
Sincerely, A high school student trying to make positive change
Works Cited Brennan, Caleb, et al. “Youth Advocates Again Push Congress to Crack Down on ‘Troubled Teen’ Industry.” The Imprint, 19 Aug. 2022, Date Accessed Mar. 2 imprintnews.org/top-stories/youth-advocates-congress-troubled-teen-industry/67243.
DeAngelis, Tori. “Better Options for Troubled Teens.” https://www.apa.org, www.apa.org/monito2011/12/troubled-teens. Accessed Feb. 19
Hilton, Paris. “America’s ‘Troubled Teen Industry’ Needs Reform so Kids Can Avoid the Abuse I Endured.” Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2021, Date Accessed Feb. 5 www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/18/paris-hilton-child-care-facilities-a Buse-reform.
Krebs, Catherine E. Five Facts About the Troubled Teen Industry. 22 Oct. 2021 Date Accessed Apr. 23 www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/resources/newsletters/childrens-rights/five-facts-about-troubled-teen-industry.
Moniuszko, Sara M. “Wilderness therapy was supposed to help these ‘troubled teens.’ It traumatized them instead.” UsaToday, 8 Dec. 2022, Date Accessed Apr. 15 www.usatoday.com/in-depth/life/health-wellness/2022/12/08/wilderness-therapy-troubled-teen-industry/9890694002.
Parenting, baby names, celebrities, and royal news CafeMom.com. 14 Oct. 2022, Date Accessed Apr. 19 https://cafemom.com/parenting/troubled-teen-industry-island-view
RedCliff Ascent. “Does Wilderness Therapy Work?” Wilderness Therapy for Teens Needing Mental Health Treatment RedCliff Ascent, 10 Jan. 2023, Date Acessed Feb. 21 www.redcliffascent.com/wilderness-therapy-program/does-wilderness-therapy-work

I'm looking at purchasing a home printer. Initially it'll be used to print all our wedding stationery (invitations, menus, smaller signs, place cards, envelopes), but following that, just occasionally copying and printing documents at home.
Requirements:

• Able to print A4, 5x7" and envelopes at least
  
• Able to print on cardstock
  
• I'm not worried about colour, just blank ink since we're keeping the designs very simple.
  

Would love to hear any recommendations - online reviews have been tricky to navigate and some sites seem to disagree on which printers can handle cardstock. Thanks in advance!

The stress of the last six months has nearly killed me. Besides the general cratering of the outside world—political strife, climate change, inflated rents, corporate greed, and the baffling resurgence of crew socks—my internal life was falling apart, too. I'm at the point where I can't see a way out of the darkness, and that feeling has only grown in the last few days.
My struggles ramped up exponentially in the last two weeks. It started when my long-term girlfriend and I called it quits after five years. There was no definitive relationship-altering fight or infidelity. It was simply the boring banality of the "roommate-ification" of our lives together. We both felt the shift but never talked about it. Turns out communication is important.
Truthfully, we'd stayed together for so long because we couldn't afford to live apart. Our rent had nearly doubled the last time we re-upped our lease but even that was a bargain compared to what was out there currently. We were trapped by our need to have a roof over our heads.
My job had stagnated, and I couldn't find anything better. I was stuck. Like me, she'd been job hunting as well. Unlike me, she had a master's, and her prospects should've been higher. They weren't. For five months, she applied to hundreds of jobs and couldn't break through. If she got a rejection email, it was a win. Most of the time, the companies never responded.
Finally, she found a great opportunity at a Fortune 500 company. It was an involved process. She nailed the five interviews, and her "test project" was well received. She was offered the position, and it came with a massive pay increase—double her current salary. I was proud of her—she needed a win. We celebrated with pizza and beer that night.
Two days later, she dropped the bomb that she was breaking things off. The relationship ending wasn't a surprise. The timing was. The discussion was brief, and there was zero chance of reconciliation. She declined when I asked if she could stay until the lease ended. Mentally, it would've been too much for her. Two days after that, she moved out, taking half the rent with her. I was stuck in a lease I couldn't afford on my salary for the next six months.
My free time evaporated as I took on two extra gigs to help make ends meet. In addition to my office nine to five, I drove for a delivery app on the weekends and took a part-time night job stocking shelves at a local grocery store. When I wasn't hustling for housing, I slept or ate. I did nothing beyond that. Nothing brings me joy. There is no spark.
This drudgery has become my daily routine, and it's killing me.
To help cover some cost gaps, I've started selling off some of my stuff online. It was just me here, and I decided that the Spartan lifestyle would have to work for now. Anything I could fetch a decent amount for went up for sale. My apartment is so empty now every noise causes an echo.
Before my shift at the grocery store, I agreed to meet someone who wanted to take a look at my kitchen table. It was a lovely table – my ex had obsessed over it – but I didn't see a need at the moment. Now that I was a bachelor, my TV trays became my default kitchen tables anyway. I wasn't planning on any dinner parties in the future anyway.
A couple showed up later than they said they would. It was a bored-looking guy and a fastidious young woman. She made friendly small talk as she looked over the table. Her boyfriend (I think) stayed quiet and played bodyguard. I gave him a friendly nod at one point, and he just looked away. She said they'd take it without trying to talk me down. I took the small win.
She asked if I could help carry it down to their truck. I was running late, but feeling helpful, even for a fleeting few seconds, was worth it. Her silent boyfriend and I hauled the table through the hallway and even managed to avoid hitting the walls the entire way down.
I placed it in their truck, got my money, and turned to leave. The girl said thanks, and the boyfriend finally returned the nod. I gave a weird half-wave to them both and started to walk away when I heard the passenger window being rolled down.
"Hey man," the boyfriend said, his voice higher pitched than I thought it would. "What was up with your brother giving us the evil eye in the lobby when we got here?"
I turned around, "Huh? I don't have a brother."
"A cousin then?"
"My family lives about a thousand miles away. What happened in the lobby?"
"A dude that looked just like you was hiding in a dark hallway in the lobby and staring at my girl's ass."
"Jacob, really," she said.
"I'm sorry that happened, but I had nothing to do with it. We do have the occasional homeless guy meander in. Maybe you saw one of them," I said. "Did he say or do anything bad?"
"Jacob, I asked you to not say something," the girl said, burying her head in her hands.
Jacob's frosty attitude to me made sense now. "He said something about running up that ass. I dunno, he was mumbling. I told him I'd beat his ass if he didn't stop staring. Seemed to shut him up."
"Oh. Well, congrats," I said. "I'll tell the manager. Thanks for letting me know."
"You should do a better job keeping jokers like that out of the building."
"Jacob, he's not a security guard."
"He should still be a man and protect his home."
"Have a good night," I said, ending the conversation and heading back up to my apartment. I had about five minutes to change and head out before I'd be late. Last thing my ego needed was to be fired from my backup job.
Thankfully, I was able to slip into work and not get spotted by my boss. That was the last of the good news, though. We had a massive weekly order come in, which meant I'd be there late, plus someone had called out. Worse, our hand truck had a flat tire, and I spent the next few hours torturing my muscles, schlepping heavy boxes around the store. I soldiered on, counting down the minutes until I left and fantasizing about going to bed for the night.
If wishing for sleep wasn't a sad statement to my mental well-being, nothing was.
I came home after my shift at the grocery store and plopped down on the couch. I had contemplated selling it, but it was an older Ikea number, and I didn't think the value would replace my desire to sit. I could feel my body sink into the cushions, and the day's tension seep out. I was beat and tired to the point that turning on the TV was a chore.
I picked up my phone and thought I'd doomscroll until sleep overtook me. I didn't expect it to be a long scroll, as even the methadone that is my phone has failed me lately. As I lowered myself from a slumped position to a supine one, I heard footsteps outside my apartment door. This was not unusual, but the noise I heard sounded like kid footsteps. That was unusual, as nobody on our floor had kids, and it was almost midnight.
Despite my body screaming at me to not move, my brain suggested I check it out. I rolled myself off the couch and eventually stood up. I listened again and heard the kid running down the hallway. I walked over to my door and looked out the peephole. I didn't see anyone.
"Maybe I'm dreaming," I said to myself. "Maybe I'm not staring out a peephole, expecting to see a kid running down the hall at midnight, but instead, I'm cuddled up in my bed, snoozing." I pinched my arm and felt the pain. I was definitely in the waking world.
I turned to head back to the couch when I heard the running again, this time louder. I opened my door and peeked out into the hallway. Nobody was there. The door from the apartment across me opened up, too. Gloria, a young at heart grandma who was friendly/constantly buzzed in a wine mom kind of way, gave me a once over.
"You heard that, too?" she asked.
"Kids?"
"No rugrats around. I assumed it was some drunk assholes stumbling home from the bar."
I laughed. Gloria was, as always, blunt. "I didn't see any assholes," I said.
"Then you're not watching the right kind of internet videos," she said with a wink and a hoarse cackle.
I blushed. How do you respond to that? I just kind of nodded in agreement and shrugged.
"Gotta get your jollies while you can," she said before adding, "You need some rest, dear. You look like hammered shit." She shut her door and went back inside.
She was right. I felt like hammered shit. Since I wasn't going to solve the case of the mysterious runner and was sure it wasn't some lost kid, I decided to call it a night. I went back inside, shut down the apartment, and crawled into bed.
I thought about watching one of the "right kind of internet videos" but fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
***
"Your problem is you think the world owes you something."
John, my elderly coworker at the grocery store, was standing by while I unloaded a pallet of cereal. I liked John, and when I first started, we instantly clicked. He's quick with a joke and fun to talk to. He's also about thirty years older than me and speaks with the Boomer combination of accumulated wisdom, backhanded compliments, and fringe conspiracy nonsense. Still, regardless of how couched the kindness is in gobbledygook, he's usually coming from a good place.
"What?" I said, putting a box of Captain Crunch on the shelf.
"You're complaining about your situation, right? Saying it ain't fair. The world took a paddle to your hind quarters? Hey brother, that's the way the cookie crumbles. Gotta just pick yourself up and start over. You're smart enough – figured this job out right quick – you can do it."
The job was wheeling pallets around the store and stocking shelves. It wasn't much to figure out, but I understood his meaning. The other stuff wasn't necessary, though. "I'm just in a funk. I don't see a way forward."
"Hey, so you've bottomed out. No shame in that. Happens to us all. Silver lining, you can only go up," he said before adding, "Unless some other bad shit happens to you like your car dies or your apartment building burns down. But after that, it's only up."
"The apartment building burning down would be a blessing," I said, hoisting another little Captain on the shelf. "The rent is killing me."
"Have you tried negotiating a lower rent? They used to do that when I was your age."
"I think they'd evict me if I even asked."
"Hell, then you'd have at least thirty days, maybe forty, before they'd kick you out. Plenty of time to turn things around."
"Uh-huh," I said, "Any chance you could give me a hand here?"
"My back is screaming like a pretty young thing after prom," he said, holding his back for emphasis.
I didn't push. "Hey, I meant to tell you about some weird shit that happened the other night."
"Lay it on me. I love the strange."
"So, after my shift the other day, I got home around midnight and was flopped on the couch. I heard someone running down the hallway outside my apartment. I wasn't the only one. A few other neighbors heard it, too. When we checked, though, nobody was there."
"That ain't strange," John said, waving his hand, "that's a man who's plowing another man's wife running for his life."
I laughed. "That's not the weird part. So, for the next two nights, it's the same thing. Around midnight, someone runs down the hallway. Only this time, they're trying the door handles as they pass. So, I asked the front desk to check the security cameras, and they do."
"They see a man running away holding his clothes?"
"There wasn't anyone running down the hall," I said, "But the weird thing was, you could see the door handles turning on the video."
"Damn, that's a good one," John said, "You sure it wasn't just a camera glitch. These new ones from overseas aren't as reliable as they want you to think. Chinese probably using them to spy on you, too."
He continued as my brain tried to reconcile John's two opposing comments. "Weird shit happens at night, man. Before working here, I only worked the day shift. Even when they offered me more money to work nights, I turned it down. Even when they promised me a promotion, I turned them down."
In a previous life, John had worked as a paramedic. He came by it after serving in a medical unit in the army. He'd told me he loved the rush of the job, but after a while, the death and hurt in people's eyes got to be too much to handle. But he worked there for almost twenty years. So, the man had a tolerance for shenanigans and odd occurrences.
"Why'd you agree to work nights here?"
"Shit, we're home before the witching hour. This is like late afternoons, at best. But if it was overnights, hell no. Captain Crunch can anchor his own ship to the shelves. I'd take my ass to 7-11 for a day shift before agreeing to work an overnight."
"Something happen to you during the army?”
“I got the clap,” he offered.
I sighed. “What turned you off nights?"
"Oh. I heard enough stories from coworkers to know I didn't want to experience any of that hoo-doo shit," he said, "trying to save someone's life is hard enough without adding in demon kids and ghosts."
"Did your coworkers see demon kids?" I asked, moving on from the good Captain to the Trix rabbit.
He nodded, "They saw too much. I find it odd, even with all the surveillance we have now and all the science we know about these days, that the night still scares us. You ever know someone who worked a night shift?"
I had. My ex. During college, she worked the overnight desk at a hotel for a while. She quit because the job gave her bad vibes. I told John as much.
He pointed and laughed, "See! Don't you find it odd that every person who works at night always has a story of something eerie happening to them? Every person, buster. That's what they call an irrefutable fact."
"Maybe the ghost running down the hallway is an old employee still doing his rounds."
"In that case, keep that door double locked. I'd even wedge a towel under the door just in case."
"Maybe they're friendly? Casper-like in that way."
"You ever heard someone tell you about a friendly ghost outside the funny papers?"
"I'm sure it happens," I said, "The scary ghosts are more popular though."
“We think we know everything there is to know but we are just babes in the woods when it comes to night things.” John shook his head. "Imma tell you one or three things that happened to a guy I worked with back when I first got hired on to chase after corpses in the ambo. Guy's name was Gil. Quiet man, kept to himself. Didn't rock the boat or demand a bigger paddle. Just rowed with us. Good cat to learn under," John said, finally handing me a cereal box.
I took it, and he kept going, "Now, Gil, ya see, he had a little wifey that would pester him about working days. She was a cop and worked evenings at that time, so they never saw each other. When married people can't align their genitals every now and then, it spells doom."
"A little too much information but sure," I said, shelving another box of Trix.
"Probably part of what happened with you and yours," he said. He wasn't wrong, but that didn't mean I wanted to hear it.
John kept on, "Gil finally got approved to move to nights. Little pay boost and a happy, 'fulfilled' wife should've made that man happy. But it didn't. I saw him a few months later, and he had changed. He might've been quiet when he was working with me, but he'd talk to you if you engaged. When I saw him that time, though, oh boy. He looked sick."
"Wasn't a fan of working nights?"
"Wasn't a fan of living anymore is the feeling I got," John said, "After some prodding, he got to talking with me some. Told me he missed days because the nights were messing with him. I thought it had to do with the schedule change, but that wasn't the case. He said he saw things in the dark he couldn't explain. Things that would turn James Brown into James White, ya dig?"
"I...dig," I said.
"Told me they got a call to an abandoned apartment building one night, around three in the morning. Wasn't unusual. Old buildings in the city are where hop-heads congregate and share drugs. Sometimes, the drugs are too much. Sometimes, they find a person passed out or, worse, dead. When you work in the ambo, you aren't scared of death like a civilian. You've been around it. Probably seen a few folks take their last breaths. It doesn't bother you the way Mother Nature intended it should."
He handed me another box, continuing his assist streak, and kept going, "Ambo pulled up, Gil stepped out and looked for someone to talk to. Nobody there, though. Not uncommon. Some people want to help but not be involved. There's not a soul around. He calls out, but nothing comes back. Tells me he turns to get back in the ambulance when he hears a scream from inside the run-down building. They're calling for help. He's gotta go in the abandoned building in the dark."
"No thanks," I said.
"But it don't bother a medic like that. Gil's done a million of these calls. No big deal. He runs into that building but doesn't come back out until twenty minutes later. Just goes missing. After five, the crew heads in to back him up but can't find him. Gil tells me his crew called the cops. It was like he had vanished."
"What happened?"
"I asked him and he got real quiet. Said he fell into some place that looked like here but wasn't here. Said he felt their eyes on him. Judging him. Told me they followed him home and wouldn't leave him be."
"Who?"
John shrugged, "He didn't say. Shut down after that and left. Just walked past me like I was shit on the sidewalk. He quit about a week later. Heard he had a stroke a year later and was a tombstone owner three months after that. Good guy, though."
"Your aversion to overnights makes a little more sense."
"Never in a million years. You don't want something like that coming after you."
"In my case, could it get much worse?" I said with a half-smile.
"Man, I wouldn't even joke about that," he said, making the sign of the cross, "You don't want that shit attachin' itself to you. With your luck, you'd bring him in here, and it'd hop over to me. I can't have a ghost crimping my style."
After a bit, he got called away to sign off on a delivery. I finished out my shift and headed out to the parking lot. When I exited the building and spotted my car, I froze. My doors were all open, and the interior lights were on. Someone had broken in.
I glanced around the lot to see if the thief was still around, but there wasn't another person near me. I walked over to the car and peered inside. My glovebox had been ripped open, and my registration was pulled out, but nothing else was missing.
I found little hand prints in the dirt all along the body and the windows. I held mine up for comparison, and they were about half the size. It must've been some tweens or teens who did this. Maybe they were going to steal some things and got cold feet. I contemplated calling the cops, but since nothing had happened and they wouldn't do anything anyway, there was no reason to delay sleep any longer than I had to. I closed all the doors and climbed inside.
I started the car and heard something rattling in the AC vents. I pulled out my phone and shined the light at the vent. There was a small piece of paper inside. I looked around my car for some tool to pull it out and only found an ink pen and a bent-up paperclip. After McGuyvering the vent for a bit, the paper finally came out.
I held it up and unfolded it. There was a handwritten note. It simply read, "I know you're here. I know you're hiding him. I will find you both, and then it'll be your turn to run the race. We all have to run at some point."
I had no idea what that meant, but my body still provided goosebumps. Who was trying to find me? Who was the second person? Why leave a note in my AC vent? What the hell did run the race mean? I hadn't run a race since elementary school and wasn't planning to do so any time soon. Did they mean the rat race? Because I was basically marathoning that motherfucker already.
"Jesus Christ," I said, shaking my head. "What else, universe?"
As if it were a well-practiced comedy routine, the universe responded. My back passenger door swung open, and I heard footsteps running away from my car. I sprung up and scrambled to get out. There wasn't anyone else in the lot that I could see, but very clearly, someone had been hiding in my backseat.
My nerves were shot already, and this was not something I wanted to deal with at the moment. My brain decided that to avoid a breakdown, I needed to shift into automatic mode and just get back to the safety of my apartment. I'd be more prepared to deal with this – whatever it was – in the morning.
Either that or I'd jump in front of a bus. Both sounded satisfying, albeit in different ways.
***
"There he is," Gloria said as soon as I turned down the hallway. I looked up and noticed a small cabal of my neighbors standing in a semi-circle, waiting for me. They all look displeased.
"Hey guys," I said, confused. "I miss an invite for a block party?"
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
"About?"
"Don't play dumb," another neighbor said, jabbing their finger in my direction.
"I'm not playing," I said, realizing the self-burn only after the words escaped my lips.
Gloria showed me the screen on her phone. It was a static shot of her door from across the hall. She pressed play, and nothing happened for a beat until something darted across the screen. That was the whole thing. I looked up at her, my face twisted up in confusion.
"Well," she said, "What do you have to say?"
"What was that?" I asked.
"That was you!" the pointing neighbor said, pointing harder than I thought possible.
"What?" I said, laughing. "Are you all serious?" They didn't laugh, and I realized they weren't joking. "How can you even tell it's me? It's a blur. Never mind the fact I've been at work for the last five hours. Plus, this blur is half my size. I get we're all weirded out about the Phantom Runner, but it's not me. I swear to God. I don't even have the energy to think about running, let alone the physical desire to."
"Then explain this," Gloria said, slightly swaying from the half bottle of Pinot Noir coursing through her blood. She rewound the video and froze it on a specific frame. I couldn't believe my eyes, but I was looking at...me. Or, rather, something pretending to be me.
"What the fuck?" I said, my jaw dropping.
"Still think we're lying?" the pointer said smugly.
"No, but, guys, this isn't me. I... I've been at work. Wanna see my schedule?"
I reached into my phone and pulled it out. There was an email with my work schedule that confirmed what I was saying. They relaxed, and, for the first time, anger gave way to fear. Their very plausible explanation was suddenly invalid. It left two implausible answers floating in the ether: either I had a pint-sized doppelganger terrorizing the hallways of my apartment, or a ghost was haunting the building.
"I'm...gonna go inside," the pointer said, walking back to their home. Everyone else drifted away until it was just Gloria and I standing alone in the hallway.
She looked at me and sighed, "I feel like an asshole," she said. "Sorry I accused you of causing the racket."
"If I had seen the video, I would've thought the same thing," I said. "We're good."
"What do you think it is?" she asked.
I shrugged and let out an exhausted sigh. "Honestly, Gloria, I've had a screwed-up night already, and this is the cherry on top of the shit sundae; forgive my language. I don't have the mental bandwidth to even comprehend what's on the video at the moment."
"Think it's after you?" she asked, though I suspected the wine had forced her to put that idea out into the universe. As I had already seen, the universe seemed to take requests on my behalf.
"Maybe it's after you?" I said, coming off a little meaner than I intended, but I didn't care. I left her there to contemplate that scenario and went into my apartment.
As soon as the door shut behind me, I felt on edge. Just because I didn't have the mental bandwidth to discuss the doppelganger didn't mean it wasn't dominating my thoughts. I saw the frame of the video. The damn ghost looked exactly like me. What could that possibly mean? I know I had wished for death, but I was very still alive. I had rent due to prove that.
Did I happen to live in a place haunted by a ghost that looked strikingly like me? Was it some kid with a passing resemblance just causing chaos? Was it something else I couldn't even comprehend – an alien? A clone? A secret government project?
There was a thumping coming from the hallway. The mini Usain Bolt was at it again. I knew the neighbors would ignore it. Since they had all thought it was me, which was proven to be untrue, they would avoid the running man from now on. While curious and confused by the creature, they'd never put themselves in harm's way to discover what it was. They were not a brave lot.
Neither was I, but maybe my life crumbling around me had forced my hand. I walked over to my door and swung it open. I hit record on my phone, stuck it out like a periscope, and glanced around the hallway. Nobody was there. No neighbors were looking. No person was running.
"You gotta stop, man. I need to go to sleep," I said to the empty space. No response, not that I was expecting one.
I turned to walk back in, and I caught something out of the corner of my eye. A face at the end of the hallway peeked around the corner. For a quick second, we locked eyes, and it was like I was looking into a mirror. This thing was me. But...how?
I tried to get it on video, but it ducked back into the shadows. I took that as a cue to shut and lock my door. My heart was racing, and I didn't want to think about this anymore, but I couldn't help it. There was a me in the hallway who enjoyed pestering my neighbors. Worse, they liked to run for some ungodly reason.
I put my phone on the counter, the video still rolling, when there was a knock at my door. It echoed in my near-empty apartment. I tried to ignore it and convince myself it was something else, but it wasn't. The ghost was knocking on my door. Even with my brain paralyzed, I couldn't help but think that it was awfully polite to knock.
Another knock, this one more forceful. I wondered if the neighbors thought I was making this up?
"I know you're in there," a voice said. It sounded just like me. "This is about the race. We all have to run the race. It's your turn now."
I froze. My legs went wobbly like a boxer on the brink of a blackout, but I stayed tall. I opened my mouth to speak and found the words dying in my throat. I grabbed a nearby bottle of water and took a chug.
"We all have to run the race."
"What race?" I choked out, "What are you talking about?"
"Open up. They're in there already, and I need to get them."
I glanced all around my empty apartment. I didn't see anyone else in here. I didn't hear anything. Whatever this thing was, it was lying. I grabbed my phone and held it in my hand. I wanted to document this to prove that I wasn't crazy.
“Did you leave the note?”
“I know they’re in there with you,” it repeated.
"There's no one in here," I said.
"They're hiding. I think I know where. I can hear them."
"You've gotta get out of here," I said. "There's nothing here, and you're scaring people."
"I'm scared, and you should be! You have to run the race, man! Open up, and I can show you."
The handle started to shake. I peered through the keyhole and only saw the top of the other me's head. They began to shoulder the door, and it crunched against my nose. I screamed out in pain and stumbled back. I tripped over my feet and landed hard on my ass.
The thing slammed into the door two more times, shaking the walls. The strength seemed unnatural. On the third hit, the door burst open. I finally got a view of the thing. It was me. Scaled down by half, but it was me. We both seemed shocked.
"You're so much taller up close," the other me said.
"Who the fuck are you?"
I felt a buzzing in my feet that seemed to climb up my body until it reached my brain. There was an intense pain that rippled through the folds of my mind. Through the pain, I could hear a disembodied voice whisper, "We all must run the race. We all have to run. Chase it. Chase yourself." It felt like my skull was going to split in two. I clutched the sides of my head and let out a primal scream that hurt my own ears.
Then it was gone. But I could still feel the echoes in my mind. "We all have to run the race. We all have to run." The thought would waver between making no sense and making complete sense. One second, I was questioning what was happening to my mind, and the next, all I felt was the desire to continue the race.
"There he is!" the other me yelled, pointing at the hallway.
I glanced over and saw another version of me standing in the hallway. It was half the size of the other me that had broken into my place. When tiny me locked eyes with my intruder, he ran for the open hallway closet.
The other me followed, screaming that it would catch the little bastard if it was the last thing he'd do. I pushed myself up to my feet and felt queasy. I watched as the other me ran head-first into the closet without slowing. I expected to hear a loud thump as it hit the back wall but none came.
"We all have to run the race," the voice in my head said, soothing my nerves. "It's your time to run the race."
I moved down the hallway, each footfall echoing loudly in the empty apartment, each step bringing me closer to the closet door. Something was drawing me there. The voice's words echoed in my mind as well: "We all have to run the race. It's your turn now."
I grabbed the door and stopped. Something was compelling me to move forward. To go into the closet. To chase myself. To run the race.
"No," I whispered and yanked my hand from the door. I pulled out my still recording phone, and stared into the camera. My face was devoid of color, and you could see the fear etched into me. "I'm freaking out because...because…"
I stopped. I felt an invisible hand grab my body and tug. "Because...because if I don't run the race, something bad will happen. I have to chase it. I...I have to."
My phone dropped from my hand, and I didn’t care. The force pulling me forward stopped but my body kept going. I could feel the last strands of my rational mind splintering. My thoughts became focused on one thing: I had to catch myself, find out what was happening, and run the race. If I ran, maybe I'd win.
I needed a win.
I walked into the back of the closet and felt a door handle sticking out of the wall. I'd been in that closet a million times before and never had seen this. But a sense of calm washed over me. This….this was supposed to be here. This was perfectly fine.
I turned the handle and pulled open the invisible door. In front of me was a hallway that looked strikingly like the one outside my apartment. At the end of the hallway, I saw Gloria step out of their home to leave for the night. She was huge. Twice my size, easy.
Another door opened, and I saw...me—a giant version of me. The Hulk version of me was getting ready to go to the grocery store for work. I watched as the giant Gloria and giant me joked and laughed. I was stunned.
I stared, and a new thought came to me. I have to find the smaller me and talk to it. I needed to find out if there's a way out of this...this….
"It's your turn to run," the voice said.
Calm embraced me. "It's my turn to run," I repeated. As the giant me took off and the giant Gloria re-entered her apartment, the hallway beckoned.
"We all have to run the race," I said softly, "It's my turn now."
I started running.