Drinking stuff

Quick background. I used to smoke weed, but I quit back in February. I decided to join the Air Force. I started the process, took the asvab (got a 73), and took the personality test. After passing those, I went for my physical at MEPs on Friday (May 17th) where I also did my swear in.
On Friday after MEPs, my recruiter was able to see that I passed all the medical stuff but that we had to wait for the drug screen/blood work. I was still able to put my top 9 jobs that I was interested & qualififed for in the system in the mean time.
It is now Tuesday (May 21st) and the only update my recruiter has for me was that MEPs contacted her for needing a last known address for my Father (who is non existent in my life) and that Unknown was not acceptable. I was able to give that to her. I asked for any other updates and she said that’s the only update she has for me.
My question is, if MEPs is contacting her for background check info 2 business days after my drug test, does that mean I probably passed? Or does not having any update on that by now not a good sign?
When do they typically show drug test results to the recruiters? I’ve seen some answers that say if it’s longer than 48 hours, it means it probably went to further testing because it came up positive. I’m now overthinking this and my recruiter is being cryptic with her responses so I just wanted to know where I stand so far.
I’ve been working out and drinking lots of cranberry juice since I quit back in February. I’ve passed 3 of those DrugConfirm tests from CVS on separate days before going to MEPs. I just hope I passed and would like some answers on what to expect for the wait time.

A little bit of background about me, I'm a 26-year-old guy, currently homeless but I've been staying at a hotel with my family living paycheck to paycheck. Trust me when I say we've endured a lot worse, so we'll be okay.
I'm of average height (6'0") and I have the build of an NFL linebacker (weighing somewhere over 250) but my job requires a ton of heavy lifting, so I may have lost some weight since starting.
I have 0 experience dating as an adult. I've only ever dated two girls when I was in highschool. My first girlfriend I was off and on with, the second girl I'm reluctant to even call a girlfriend because we only really held hands for a week before a nasty rumor went around and she dumped me after I brought it to her attention, thinking I was accusing her. In hindsight, my first ex was an S-Tier shit-talker, so I'm almost certain she had something to do with that, because we got right back together afterwards.
Both left me with a lot of phycological trauma. I've been rejected quite a lot throughout my teens. So when I actually managed to get my first girlfriend, despite the constant drama, I had convinced myself that she was the only human being on the planet that didn't find me revolting, so I kept going back to her. Thankfully, my friends talked some sense into me and I ended up breaking up with her for good.
I've tried putting myself out there when I entered my young adulthood. I was 20 or 21 the last time I tried to ask anyone out, a friend I've known since highschool and was pretty close to. So of course, my naive self honestly thought I had a chance with her, as I'm sure you can all guess, that one fell through, and thus ruined what I thought was a strong friendship.
I "swore off dating" (or trying) since then and for the next 5-6 years I was pretty content with working, playing video games with my friends and family, and even writing. But I'm at the age where it's natural to seek companionship.
I don't go out. People my age tend to frequent bars, house parties, or clubs to mingle. My friends do the same. I'm straight edge, meaning I don't smoke weed (anymore), do hard drugs, drink alcohol, nor am I willing to sleep around with random people. That said, I personally feel like I have no business trying to go to those places.
So I turned to dating apps, which leads me to the point of this post. My experience thus far has been...overwhelming. The list of wild expectations, the demand that I be a flawless human being, and the constant dry/disinterested texts (on rare occasion I do get a match) has me thinking that I was better off not pursuing at all.
A female friend once suggested that perhaps I'm just not cut out for this and I'm starting to think that she was right. Maybe I'm just too scary-looking, weird, fat, poor, or boring for the women of my generation. Whatever the reason may be.
Be honest with me, folks, do I really have any business trying to meet women?
P.S. - Before anyone asks, I did NOT put the stuff I mentioned at the very beginning in my dating app bio. I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid. 🤣

I am taking the June LSAT and am PTing at the minimum score I would be happy with (anticipate needing to take again). This year has been so hard with toddler sickness and bouts of insomnia/stress/digestive stuff. I feel like I’ve overcome so much but now that the test is getting closer, I am starting to have poor sleep again which is making me more stressed and affecting my study habits. I feel like I’m slipping into stress mode and I don’t know how to get out of it.
I am eating very healthy, drinking lots of water, but not really exercising apart from walks with family after work. Any other tips that anyone could provide would be most appreciated.

I’m tired.
Background info: Together for 4 years. Lil man came along in Feb. Married in April. (Marriage was planned first). Partner decides she’s having a hard time, and the support we have in our current area (my family) isn’t good enough. Wants to move 100 miles plus away to hers. Ok, fine. Let’s move away from my friends / family and the city I grew up in and where I’ve worked my see off to become good, no really good, at what I do. Speak to my boss.
Boss moves mountains and convinces manager in new part of country to create a job for me. Catch is, you start in 27 days. Happy days. Make less money and will be working a more physically challenging role, but happy days. we will make it work.
Have a new house picked out, mortgage approved. More happy days. This is gonna work out. Sale of our flat falls through. Blue skies replaced by dark rain clouds. Scramble to work out where we are going to live. Mother in law, kindly I will add, states that we can move into hers in the interim. Just turned 38, married for 6ish weeks, living with mother in law not ideal, but she’s cool (just don’t try and match her drink for drink, she will win) I’ll make it work. 3 month old kid has a lot of stuff.
Spend 3 weekends emptying work van to transport life 100 miles away. Continue working current job. Job is beginning busy season. People have lots of problems, that I need to fix. Add 1k miles to vans odometer in 2 weeks. Sleep 4 hours a night. Get a rest week the week before I start new role. Let’s get away, have the mini honey moon we didn’t take after the wedding (wait, that was only 6 weeks ago? Fuck). Get to cabin in a Forrest. Get yelled at for cooking dinner. Not sure why. Argument ensures. I’m tired. She’s tired. lil man is tire. Words are had. I cry. She cries. Young man cries.
I suppose I just need a vent. Honest to god, I don’t know how mum’s do it. I’m so very tired, and I don’t see any time in the near future where I’ll get a decent sleep again and I am ok with that. I know I can’t complain, and that there are people out there having a harder time. It did feel pretty cathartic to write it out tho….
They do say that getting married / having a kid / moving house are the 3 most stressful things you will ever do in life. Why the fuck I thought it would be a good ideal to do them all in the first half of one year, I do not know.

Author’s note : Everything’s free to use and monetize or paywall as you wish, just remember to credit me please. As I’m not a native English speaker, you can feel free to make slight changes to make it better, as long as it doesn’t change the whole story of course.
Summary, listener’s perspective : Now it’s time to put the plan to execution. Your brother and mother are already gone and it’s your turn to go with your captain. You have no choice but to trust her and hope that everything will be fine. You just need a little luck.
[ ] = stage directions
** = sound effects
Alright. Your brother and mother are gone. Let’s hope everything goes well for them…
Yes. I’m nervous. And scared. I’m not used to caring about my prisoners.
Well… They’re… Your family, so I care. Because I care about you. A lot. You know that now… don’t play dumb with me. I know you’re not. You know exactly what you’re doing.
No, I don’t mean I don’t trust you. You know what you want and you get it. And I admire people like that.
Yeah, I do the same.
Are you ready? We have to go at some point…
Good, stay close to me until we get to the brothel, then you’ll follow Aly. You’re both going to go directly to my office, I gave her the key to it.
[They’re going out the cabin, walking on the deck and boarding the boat]
*door’s opening/closing\*
*chatting sounds\*
*footsteps on wood\*
*waves sounds\*
Some of us are staying on the ship, always. We’re pirates after all. We can’t really trust our “colleagues”… But don’t worry, we’re taking turns guarding the ship until we go to sea again.
Aly, when we get to the brothel, find Miss Eve and take her with you to the office.
She’ll protect you if I can’t stay with you.
Ohhh She’s really feisty! She can handle most of the men herself. I couldn’t leave a place like that to a softy. She’s strong, you’ll be safe with her until I get there.
Because I’m pretty sure I’m going to be stopped by someone. And most likely Mister Rolland after what happened at sea. I’ll try to avoid him, but it’s usually really hard to do.
[They arrived at shore and speaker is helping listener get off the boat]
Here, take my hand. Be careful.
Alright.
*Deep breath\*
Let’s do this.
*louder\* Boys! Let’s have some fun! As always, first round is on me!
Ready, princess?
Just keep walking next to me. My men will stay all around and make some noise. As per usual…
They love the sea, but they’re always happy to go back to town from time to time.
Are you nervous?
That’s really sweet of you, but if I have to fight Rolland myself I don’t think I’ll win, especially with my injury.
Oh your family?
Don’t worry, I’ll have some of my men report back to me as soon as they’re safe. They went way before us. They might already be at my place. We’ll know soon enough.
Yeah… It’s not really a nice town like the ones you can find back in your country… But we built it ourselves. It might not be much or fancy… But everyone here is proud of it. We all contributed to it. And maybe one day, it might be an important place for everyone and not just pirates.
Maybe not a dream, but a hope yes. I mean… My first goal, dream, is something else. But once I’m done with it. Yeah, making this place thrive might be my second goal, if I lived through the first goal…
Honestly… I don’t expect to outlive it…
We’ll see… Let’s focus on the moment for now. We’re here.
So Stay close and follow Aly if I ever get stuck with someone.
*Door’s opening\*
*Loud chatting/laughing…\*
[Staff is greeting the speaker]
Hi.
Hey how are you?
Good. Is everything ok here?
Great, where’s Miss Eve?
[Staff saying they’ll get Miss Eve]
Thank you.
Let’s get moving.
…
*sigh\* Mister Rolland.
Yeah. Nice to meet you too.
Of course I’m alright. Why wouldn’t I be?
It was nothing. Your concern is touching. Are you getting soft?
Oh well, I guess I’m better than you at finding those bastards.
Don’t worry, I’ll always think of you if I ever find another one. I know how blood thirsty you can be.
[Miss Eve is coming]
Ah Miss Eve, let’s do our usual report. Good evening Mister Rolland.
What do you want to talk about?
I see… Well, I’m sure it can wait until tomorrow…
*sigh\* Alright, Miss Eve, please wait for me at my office, I’ll be here in a moment. Aly go with her, I’ll be quick.
Yes Mister. I still have this kid. She’s very useful and never complains.
I know what you think of it. I don’t need your opinion about how I handle my crew.
Who?
What new girl?
Oh her? We got her on a ship we raided. She seemed eager to live, so I brought her to see if she’ll work for me here.
Yeah. Sure. Maybe you’ll get her next time.
If you don’t, you know how my next interview went. So now, if you will excuse me. I have a lot of things to do.
I’m a business women Rolland. Of course I have a lot to supervise when I get back here. And I don’t want to spend days here, I’ll expect to finish the brothel report tonight so I can do my estate report tomorrow. So I’ll keep going if you’re done.
What now?
She’s not on the menu yet.
I said no. Come back tomorrow to see if she’s available.
I know you’re not used to people telling you no, but I promise you, you don’t want to mess with me here.
Great. So now, enjoy your evening. I’ll have Misty take care of you as a gift later.
Mmh.
[Speaker going up to her office]
*foosteps\*
*door’s opening/closing\*
Alright. It’s done.
How are you all?
Good good. Thank you Miss Eve. Did Aly explain to you what’s happening?
Great, we’ll take care of our business quickly so you can go back there. I’ll promise Rolland some time with Misty for the evening if you please.
I know… But I need him relaxed… I might have made him a little on edge…
I’ll cover the expense. Don’t worry about that.
What news? What did he say?
Great, so your mother and brother are safe at my place. You’ll get reunited with them most likely tomorrow.
You can get comfortable now Princess, we’ll stay here for a few hours. I’ll send someone to tell your family you’re safe too.
Yeah Miss Eve… Kind of… As long as Rolland is here, a risk is always present…
Have Misty tell us when he’s leaving.
Thank you Miss Eve.
Aly, get us some food and drinks. We still have a lot of stuff to work on…

I decided to make a short post about how music IS haram, as someone who’s believed it’s halal my entire life until recently.
The Hadith
The main Hadith used to source that music is haram is the following;
“Among my ummah there will certainly be people who permit zina, silk, alcohol and musical instruments…” (Narrated by al-Bukhari ta’liqan, no. 5590; narrated as mawsul by al-Tabarani and al-Bayhaqi. See al-Silsilah al-Sahihah by al-Albani, 91)
How come now in today’s world there *are* people who permit musical instruments nowadays? Just like what prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said? Indeed there are no coincidences in the Quran. One argument against this Hadith is that the prophet (peace be upon him) is referring to musical instruments accompanied by zina, silk, oand alcohol, but that’s just not true because that’s not what he said. Another argument is that it’s okay to listen to musical instruments but not playing them cause of how for example you can’t drink alcohol but you can watch someone else drink alcohol. While this argument does have merit, this next Hadith kind of disproves it:
“And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music) to mislead (men) from the path of Allah…” [Luqman 31:6]
It disproves the argument because it says purchasing music, not playing musical instruments.
—
Therefore, music is haram.
Now, how to quit music? Here’s a guide I wrote on another site.
ᯓ★ (step 1 - acceptance) ᯓᡣ? ! ༘⋆
first of all, you’ll need to accept that it’s haram. for so long I would specifically search for sources that say it’s halal instead of accepting the facts I naturally found. the hadiths clearly state it is and yes there is a chance it’s not, but it most likely is. you as a Muslim should take what it most likely is as your belief. this life is temporary but the afterlife will be permanent, do your best to go to jannah. take this: how come the hadith which says it’s haram was saying that there will be people who will consider musical instruments as permissible and there will be punishment for them, and musical instruments is what some people now consider as permissible? Indeed there are no coincidences in the Quran.
———————
ᯓ★ (step 2 - stopping) ᯓᡣ? ! ༘⋆
well, yeah, step 2 is where it begins. just.. stopping. at the beginning, just.. stop. don’t listen to music. you’ll find it easy at the beginning but then the silence might start to break you because you’re so used to having music in the background 24/7. when you’re at that point, don’t give in. just don’t. try listening to some nasheeds, nasheeds work great as a substitute atleast for me, and they are a great way I’m getting through this stage of quitting. and no, you don’t have to leave your favorite music artists, you can search for acapella versions of their songs and your likely to find some. while you won’t find every song, you can possibly upload some yourself using AI tools to extract vocals and uploading as podcasts however you may wanna look into copyright issues with that !!. acapella songs will inevitably not feel the same. you might find yourself craving the normal versions of those very songs but remember: all of this is for a reason, Allah knows best and you’re doing this for jannah. the songs that you’ll avoid in this world are the ones you can listen to in the next. though, here’s a tip, nasheeds fill in the gap of music better then acapella cause of the way vocals are placed in the background, so try to listen to them more -`♡´-
———————
ᯓ★ (step 2-2 - stopping for musicians) ᯓᡣ? ! ༘⋆
you can skip this part if you aren’t a music producer or musician or someone who wanted to learn instruments.
I recommend that you watch other videos and stuff for help on this as I’m really not the best person to give advice on how to quit music for musicians, but I’m putting this here anyways. this might be incredibly painful for you and I assume you tried to convince yourself it’s halal more then anyone else. if you’ve been learning instruments for years it might be really difficult to accept this but just put the instruments away and think. try to remember that this world is just a test. you’ll be able to play these instruments in the next world, and it may feel like all this effort in learning has been wasted but it’s not, you can use that effort in jannah inshallah. I personally have a guitar that I planned on learning but it has sat in my closet for a while, and now I know it’s gone to waste hurts me alot I won’t lie, I cried last night because of it. but I came to terms when I remembered what this is for, what IM for. life is a test and never forget that. it may be incredibly painful to quit, leave, and forget music especially for you as a music producer or musician, but it’s all worth it I promise you.
———————
ᯓ★ (step 3 - removing music from your ugc) ᯓᡣ? ! ༘⋆
ugc stands for user generated content. now you’ll need to remove the music from the content you have posted on sites such as youtube, etc. for youtube, look for tutorials on how to replace audios from already posted youtube videos, I can’t explain it in text lol. it’s really easy to remove audios from yt videos luckily. some other sites come to mind but I don’t have time to mention all of them, so just look for tutorials and stuff. the reason you need to remove the music from all ur ugc is because correct me if I’m wrong, the bad deeds of those who listen to the music from ur ugc will be on you.
———————
ᯓ★ (step 4 - avoiding music) ᯓᡣ? ! ༘⋆
now for avoiding music. music is EVERYWHERE and it’s incredibly difficult to avoid it. try to not go to restaurants and places that play music but if you can’t then just cover your ears, if you can’t do that then try to ignore it, and if you can’t do that then just try to not care about it and pretend it doesn’t exist even if it’s hard to ignore. when watching stuff like YouTube shorts, mute ur audio, check the video/sound if you’re pretty sure it doesn’t have music, unmute, then repeat.
———————
So uh yeah that’s it bye! Also feel free to argue against my points or correct any mistake I made. This is just my observation of music and Islam as someone who has had an obsession with music and as someone has believed it’s halal for a long portion of my life.

TW: mention of living child
Tomorrow I have to pick up my daughter’s remains. I have to go to the hospital to get her bereavement box. I lost my sweet baby girl on May 6th. She was born on February 13th with a congenital heart defect. When we found out her diagnosis we were offered termination but chose to give her a fighting chance.
She was such a fighter, from the moment she was born. Her diagnosis was always serious but treatable. Things were going alright until a “routine” trip to the cath lab tore her tricuspid valve. Now she was in critical condition. She had two open heart surgeries but passed two months after. I have a freezer full of breast milk she will never drink.
I never saw her face without a breathing tube. I had an angel of a human edit her pictures for me in the photoshop group. I never got to hold her like a real baby. I held her but she was attached to so much stuff. My heart would break when she cried because I couldn’t soothe her. Every day I sat with her and held her hand. I rubbed her head. I told her I was proud of her. I got to finally hold her for her final half hour as she passed away.
Some days I get so angry at the doctors but I know with every procedure comes a risk. Other days I beat myself up for not speaking up more, but I know there was not much else to say. Some days it doesn’t feel real, even though I spent three months in the CVICU now I am home again and life goes on. I have a two and a half year old who has no idea what happened and is full of joy, she truly is wonderful and I love her so much. Sometimes I feel so guilty that I’m happy and having fun with her.
Born with half a heart but braver than I could ever imagine, braver than I could ever be. In my darkest moments I often found myself wondering why— but I find comfort in the fact that God sent her to us for a reason. I am honored that we were lucky enough call her ours, as short as it was. It was truly a privilege she chose us to be her mommy. She taught me patience, she taught me courage, she taught me strength and to appreciate absolutely every little thing. Even in her final moments we were all amazed by her resilience. I know she will live on in the memory of every one who saw her sweet face, everyone who knew her stubborn attitude. It breaks my heart to think about all the “firsts” we’ll never have together—I’ll cherish everything we had. This isn’t how we dreamed of bringing her home but we’re glad she’ll be home with us at last.
Maia Amore 2/13/24-5/6/24

Description: Your girlfriend loves you more than anything and she's in a mushy mood right now, so get ready for her to tell you all about it.
[START]
Girlfriend: "Hey darling."
Girlfriend: "You know what?"
Girlfriend: "I love you."
Sound of her kissing the listener a couple of times.
Girlfriend: "Well I'm feeling pretty mushy right now, so I hope you're prepared."
Girlfriend: "Get your lap ready."
Sound of her cuddling up on the listener's lap.
Girlfriend: "The best seat in the house."
Sound of her kissing the listener again.
Girlfriend: "I'm fortunate to have you in my life."
Girlfriend: "And even though I say it to you daily, I still feel like it'll never be enough."
Girlfriend: "But I'll never grow tired of saying it, so no complaints here."
Girlfriend: "You're amazing~"
Girlfriend: "Urgh, no, you are amazing."
Girlfriend: "That's the one part of you that I'm not in agreement with, saying you aren't literally the best thing ever? that's absolutely bullshit and you know it!"
Girlfriend: "You're art, inside and out."
Girlfriend: "But unlike art, I don't have to look at it and imagine what it would be like to have a life with you."
Girlfriend: "Instead I get to cuddle, squeeze, kiss, hold, and carry the shit out of you."
Girlfriend: "One of these days you'll see it the way I do and say out loud how perfect and hot you are."
Girlfriend: "But for now, I'll just say it for you instead."
Sound of her tracing her fingers along the listener's ears.
Girlfriend: "What? you know I can't keep my fingers from you."
Girlfriend: "And I know you like it~"
Girlfriend: "Mhm, this was all part of my plan, now you're trapped in the mush zone forever."
Girlfriend: "I love you too dear~"
Sound of her kissing the listener again.
Girlfriend: "I never thought my life would go this way, but damm am I glad it it."
Girlfriend: "Being able to spend every day with you, having people throwing me jealous looks when we go out, what's not to love?"
Girlfriend: "Oh trust me dear, you get a lot of not-so-sneaky glances when we're out and about."
Girlfriend: "But since you're such a precious bean you don't notice."
Girlfriend: "I get it though, you're hot, I mean dayum." Giggles.
Girlfriend: "Excuse me, I'm not a horndog, I'm your horndog, get it right."
Girlfriend: "No better way to get good dreams than to fall asleep to the sigh of this pretty face every night~"
Girlfriend: "And don't get me started on our showers every morning, oh my~"
Girlfriend: Laughs. "Alright, alright."
Girlfriend: "Getting back to the mushy stuff."
Girlfriend: "I don't just love the bigger, more obvious things about you."
Girlfriend: "I also love all your small quirks, the things that take a while to notice."
Girlfriend: "Like that cute thoughtful look you have when you're cooking."
Girlfriend: "Or how about the way you kiss my shoulder in your sleep whenever you're the little spoon."
Girlfriend: "It's why I prefer to be the big spoon."
Girlfriend: "Oh I have a bunch more I could list."
Girlfriend: "Sometimes you talk in your sleep."
Girlfriend: "You drink cherry soda only on Thursday."
Girlfriend: "And you're a lightning-fast reader."
Girlfriend: "The list goes on..."
Girlfriend: "No need to get shy."
Girlfriend: "Like I said, I love all of your quirks."
Girlfriend: "They're an important part of the perfect art piece you are."
She stops playing with the listener's ears.
Girlfriend: "No need to pout dear, I'll get to your ears in a moment."
Girlfriend: "But first I want a nice big squeeze."
Sound of her wrapping the listener in a tight hug.
Girlfriend: "Yeah, yeah."
Girlfriend: "You'll get your ear scratchies."
She resumes playing with the listener's ears.
Girlfriend: "So needy~"
Girlfriend: "I'm just teasing."
Girlfriend: "I'm glad you love this kind of thing, gives me an excuse to have my hands all over you~"
Girlfriend: "Nope, no plans."
Girlfriend: "Just me and you, cuddling, enjoying each other's presence."
Girlfriend: "Unless of course, you wanna cuddle in the bed instead."
Girlfriend: "Dips on being the big spoon."
Girlfriend: "Sorry, maybe next time."
Girlfriend: "You know that pout isn't very effective when you're melting into my arms."
Girlfriend: "Come on, give me a smile."
Girlfriend: "Please?"
Girlfriend: "Just one smile for little ole' me?"
Girlfriend: Giggles. "There it is."
Sound of her kissing the listener.
Girlfriend: "How was kiss 7467?"
Girlfriend: "Good answer."
Girlfriend: "Seriously though, every kiss gets better and better~"
Girlfriend: "You know what's gonna be the best kiss though?"
Girlfriend: "The one after I say I do."
Girlfriend: "And to tell you the truth?"
Girlfriend: "I think that kiss might be very soon~"
Audio slowly fades out as she talks.
Girlfriend: "Darling?"
Girlfriend: "Hello?"
Girlfriend: "Oh no, I think I broke you..."
Girlfriend: "Guess I'll have to get another one..."
Girlfriend: Laughs. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"
Girlfriend: "You're the only one for me."
[END]
Constructive Criticism is welcome, I would love to know your thoughts.
If someone wants to record this and release it on any platform, they can do so if credit and/or a link to this post are provided.
Monetization is okay with all of my scripts, no matter the platform. (This includes platforms like Patreon as well, though if I could, I'd like to listen to the recording at least once.)
If you want to make any changes to the script, please ask me first, unless I have already given you specific permission for either this or all of my scripts.
List of all of my scripts:
Part 1 - https://www.reddit.com/ASMRScriptHaven/comments/s24un1/master_list_of_my_scripts_f4a_all_are_free_to_use/
Part 2 - https://www.reddit.com/ASMRScriptHaven/comments/1777754/master_list_of_my_scripts_part_2_f4a_all_a_free/

So I've been radio silent, but I'm kinda back now. This is the beginning of my rewrite for this fic. Unfortunately I'm gonna take a bit to make the next part, this is due to me being part of the ficnnap. So future parts are gonna take a while to get going, hopefully I'll be functional enough to sit down during the summer and write a bunch.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the fic. Any feedback would be nice :).
<<================================>>
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Search: Board Member Elias Meier, Director
Beginning playback of Imprint... standby...
`Psionic Imprint Subject: Elias Meier, Exhausted Director'
Date [standardized Human time]: June 27th, 2136
Humanity learned it was not alone in the year of 2015, when it was viscously attacked by a hostile alien force intent on colonizing Earth. But humanity fought back, with the formation of XCOM. For the first time in the entirety of human history, Humanity stood as one. And we won, barely and not without consequences. Countries fell apart, or were briefly colonized; or in the case of Advent, for a couple decades.
Of course there was also the aliens that were invading. After some time it was found out that all of them of them were enslaved, controlled and distorted by the Elders.
Or Ethereals if you wanted to be pedantic. God I have had enough of pedantic people.
After a few tense decades, the aliens had slowly filtered into human society. The Vipers forming Sisterhoods, Mutons forming tribes, Sectoids getting into everything, Andromedas forming a haven for their people, and Chryssalids... once thought to be a dying race, surging back to life in 2077 and becoming a horrendous problem for everybody. There were a couple others but I couldn't be bothered to remember them.
Ding a little ring tone sounded, reminding me of my wretched job. I groaned, and waved my hand. I heard a dial up sound, as the system connected. Finally it connected, and one of the voices I dreaded hearing started speaking.
A monotone male voice, the voice of an emotionless thing created by XCOM to make death. "Hello Meier. I have a report, Wraith unit sent to System Gliese-832c has returned. A sapient alien civilization has been discovered. It is not what we expected though."
Wonderful, great even... God this is gonna be a whole thing to handle.
"Explain Odin, I will have to schedule a meeting about this new discovery."
"I have sent a data packet to your computer, which you would see if you looked at it sir"
How the fuck has he developed sarcasm? Has he always had this quirk or did he create it just to personally fuck with me?
I sighed and spun my chair around, away from the great view of my office window. The office I was trapped in was decently sized, the large desk with two 57 inch monitors on each side. The room was 10 feet tall, and 20 feet from door to window, and 12 feet wide. There was a seating area with two couches and a coffee table. A large drink cabinet flanked by two busts on pedestals, and a foyer sitting on the opposite wall flanked by tall standing plant pots with ferns. The entrance was double doors that looked like wood, but were actually plasma and explosive shielded metal doors.
On the left monitor was a display of the planet baring alien life. It was tidally locked, and was inhabited by... sheep, literal fucking sheep. Course they had paws instead of hooves and had no nose but still, literally just fucking sheep. They were apparently called Venlil. They had a decent population, and were part of a larger federation with an unknown number of species. They were at war with 7-8 feet tall nazi space crocodiles, and were deathly afraid of anything "predatory".
I glanced at a small box that appeared, it was an addendum by Dr. Valhen regarding the Venlil. It was a hypothesis regarding their physiology.
Experimental Codex Simulations put them at a 21.53% chance of surviving to a century with current physiology. Likely hood of genetic modification to weaken species at 71.89%.
The addendum pointed out the knocked knees, and the absence of a nose being the most likely areas of modification. I quirked an eyebrow up. I know Dr. Valhen had experience tearing open modified aliens and modifying people at an extreme levels. But still this had to be stretch.
"I have done my own calculations sir, and I have come to the same conclusion as Dr. Valhen sir." I stared pointedly at my monitors before sighing and rubbing my face.
Hmmm whom do I trust more? The mad scientist that walks around in several different metal bodies, or the psychopathic Codex who was created to be unnaturally good at killing. Hmmm good question... how about neither and say fuck it.
"OK Odin. Would you kindly contact the rest of the board and notify them about an emergency meeting?"
"Of course sir, I have already notified them about the scheduled meeting."
... Fucking prick. Oh well if I'm going to be sitting through a meeting I'm going to atleast drink some of the piss flavored water called vodka to pretend I can get drunk.
I stood up and walked over to the drink cabinet. A small round drone that was more of a floating camera came out of the ceiling and followed me. I opened up the cabinet and selected the highest proof alcohol I could find. After popping the bottle and grabbing a shot glass I walked back to my desk. Sitting down as an encrypted channel lit up my right side screen. I pressed on it and poured a shot, the small camera drone hovering in front of me just beyond the desk. The right monitor lit up as 6 people connected.
The Heads of Military, Research and Development, and Diplomatic Affairs were all in the meeting. Dr. Tygan and Dr. Shen heads of R&D, General Zhao and General Kelly heads of Military, Ms. Clark and Mr. Freeman heads of Diplomatic Affairs.
Dr. Tygan didn't look a day over 30, even though he was older than myself. His white coat looked immaculate, and his glasses clean. But his posture and eyes spoke of a man who was debating falling over asleep or shooting someone in the face. Dr. Shen had safety gear on, his clothing stained by machine fluids and sweat. He looked more alive in his 40's than Tygan, and behind him was a scene of a bustling space yard. General Zhao was prim and proper, his posture rigid and his face completely neutral. General Kelly looked to be in a ships captain quarters, his General uniform replaced with a mandatory protective jumpsuit. He looked like he was just woken up, a steaming cup of coffee sitting before him. Ms. Clark and Mr. Freeman looked... normal, they had proper uniforms on and looked like they had been working for a while but still had plenty of energy.
I shot the glass back then looked back at the drone, which had moved to be above the monitor. "So... I have received a report from Odin, and it is the reason for this meeting. Have any of you received the report as well and viewed the contents?"
Dr. Shen squinted at something behind the camera, before bending back and nodding. "Yeah I glanced at it, doesn't really affect my operations honestly. Besides I doubt that they could even get close to the OCDM. That thing can wipe out all kinds of stuff. "
Ms. Clark palmed her face, an exasperated look on it. "Could we not immediately discuss killing these new extraterrestrials? For all we know they number in the hundreds of species, or dozens. Not to mention we do not know the full extent of their technology. They could be much more powerful than us for all we know!"
General Zhao spoke up, a dismissive look to his face. "I have already run through some of the internal information of the Wraith unit. It appears that they have relatively the same level of technology as us. In fact they are actually inferior in some areas. For instance they practically have no cybersecurity. We could shut down their whole planet with a button press."
Ms. Clark groaned as she put her face in her hands. Mr. Freeman just leaned back looking tired. He raised a hand, a ding from the system notifying that he had a question. "Have we attempted to secure a direct access to their network? The more we know about these aliens the better. For all we know they have plans on dealing with "predatory" aliens. We could be signing the death certificate of humanity if we don't investigate more."
Clark looked up with shock and anger. "Yo-you can't be serious Mr. Freeman?! We haven't even attempted communication with these people and you're already planning on spying on them?! We should talk to them first, not just assume they are gonna be murderous!"
Everyone else on the meeting glanced around, the unsaid thing hanging in the air. Clark was very new to the board, and had grown up in New Russia. One of the European countries with the most amount of aliens. Everyone else had either only interacted with aliens as acquaintances, or killed them. Not to mention that XCOM was literally formed with the intention of pushing an invading alien empire off Earth. It had a long and bloody history with aliens, not to mention some of the things that it had done to aliens in service to Humanity.
General Kelly just sighed as he took a long sip of his coffee. Putting it down he crossed his hands in front of him. "We're getting off track people. We need to decide our course of action moving forward with these Venlil and their allies. I would recommend sending a civilian science vessel alongside two Avengers and a Hammer. The Hammer ship can operate in Stealth mode in the alien system, while the Avengers act like Cargo Ships. This allows us to put on a good face while still ensuring that our assets will be protected."
There was nodding across the board, everyone seemed to reluctantly agree on something for once. Then they all stared at their cameras, obviously waiting for myself. I sighed and poured another shot. "I concur with Kelly's plan, but I would also like to have Mothership Valhala on standby with Fleet Alpha. I would like you Kelly to command it, if you are too busy General Zhao will command instead."
Kelly and Zhao looked shocked by what I said. But they both donned neutral faces quickly afterwards. Zhao raised a hand, the system dinged signaling that he had a question. "May I ask why you are requesting this? Last time I actively commanded was for Operation Living Mausoleum and we all know how that turned out."
I shot back the glass and pointed at the camera. "That Operation was fucked from the very beginning. There was jack shit you could've done to prevent the casualties that occurred. Not to mention that you can't compare yourself to the Commander, he was inhumanly good at what he did. Hell from what I hear the man could practically see into the future. So quit it, stop beating yourself up over it. You're one of the greatest generals I've ever had the pleasure of working alongside with."
Zhao's face briefly clouded with a dark brooding look as I talked. But when I finished it lit up in surprise. He must still be beating himself up over that shit operation. I still remember reading the reports and feeling afraid about the future of XCOM. But thankfully Valhen managed to control the damn thing, and Diplomatic Affairs quelled the fires that had started from it.
"This meeting is concluded. Get back to whatever you all are doing." One by one the channel sent quiet. Tygan just stared into space, a vacant look on his face. "Tygan? Tygan!" He jumped in his seat, finally coming to. He took off his glasses and rubbed his face. "Tygan... it's getting worse... you really should reconsider your stance."
He looked up, a fire in his eyes. He put his glasses back on, tapping his fingers as he did so. "Well I won't. I'm not gonna stoop down to Valhen's level of depravity. The procedure is completely experimental and for all I know it's a miracle that I'm even still alive. I am almost 200 years old. If my mind is finally failing then so be it. I have played God long enough."
He left the channel right afterwards, only for another person to appear. It was Dr. Valhen and she had no camera feed. All I could see was a noise graph. "Meier... I would like to... make a... request- demand... I would like to attend the mission."
I slammed the shot glass on the table. "Absolutely not, I don't care what you're reason is. My final and only answer will be no. So kiss my ass, and go back to cutting apart death row inmates and war criminals."
…After a few seconds of silence and the graph not moving, it started laughing. That laugh told me more than enough. "Oh Meier, naughty naughty Meier... keeping me away from the new toys? How cruel of you... forgive me... I will honor your request..."
She... it left the channel. I closed it up, and spun my chair around. The window allowed me to view the Appalachian Mountains in all their splendor. In the distance I could see the camo fields of ships shifting as they moved about. I stared at the bottle before corking it and walking back to the cabinet.
This is gonna be an absolute shitshow. For all we knew we are boldly striding towards a war that will be the end of humanity once and for all.
End of Imprint
[Next]

Hello, My (57f) husband (64m) have been together for 15 years. We’ve been married for almost 4. It was something we talked about (getting married) for awhile and when my mom was diagnosed with cancer, we decided to get married before she passed. She passed two days after we got married. Last year for my birthday, we went to stay at a hotel/casino. We were having a great time, went back to the room after some drinks and hot tub time, I asked him something he responded with whatever. I HATE that word, I’ve told him so many times I hate it. Well, I told him again how much I hate that he uses that word, he said if you hate me so much maybe we should get divorced. I was shocked and floored. I packed up my stuff and said I’m leaving, you can come with me or stay here, I don’t care. We left together. Got home and the next day he said that he didn’t want to get divorced and I need to get over it. It’s been over a year and I can’t forget what he said. This year, he didn’t even get me a card for my birthday. I’ve been in therapy from losing my parents so close together and now therapy is mostly about us. I’ve tried and tried, he doesn’t do anything, no card, no flowers, no sign of any kind that he’s sorry. We recently were talking and I asked if he’d go to therapy he said no, I said to save this marriage you won’t go to therapy he said he didn’t know what he wanted. The next morning, I packed a bag and went to a friends for the weekend. When I was leaving, he was screaming at me and telling me I was running away. I returned after the weekend, we talked about nothing, went to bed that night and I asked if he decided what he wanted he said this right here. I can honestly say that I don’t know if I want to be here any longer, I just don’t know if I should leave. He tells me every day he loves me. He did that before he said divorce and every day after. I want to do what’s right, I love him, but how many chances does someone get to hurt you before you say it’s enough? Why can’t I “let it go”?

This is one of the things about Fallout 3 that puzzles me most. Whenever the game is discussed, people will gush about how it's darker, grittier, scarier and bleaker than any other Fallout game. And I'm like: did we play the same game? It's a comedy game. Perhaps not intentionally, but as a result of Bethesda's ahem unique writing skills, it turned out that way.
Like, take this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05akmWwvzBQ
Did people seriously blow up Megaton and then watch Moira, who initially doesn't even realize she's a ghoul as hilarious hijinks ensue and then think to themselves: "Geez, this game does such a good job of highlighting the horrors of nuclear warfare." The game is filled with scenes like that.
It doesn't help that Bethesda dialed all the 50's retro-futuristic stuff all the way up to 11, to the point that people living in the Vaults are cosplaying as greasers. Or how Bethesda took sensible things and made them nonsensical. In the older Fallout games you could get cybernetic implants to boost certain SPECIAL stats, but in Fallout 3 you boost them by gathering Vault Boy Bobbleheads. What? The Bobblehead is Vault-Tec's corporate mascot, so yay, capitalism, I guess?
The voice-acting in Fallout 3 ranges from sleep-inducing monotone Liam Neeson to Three Dog's cringe-inducing "whatz up, cool kidz" monologues. It's some of the worst voice acting I've ever heard in a game. It's astonishing how bad it was. This wasn't a game made in the 90's localized on the cheap from Japanese or something, it was made by a major American publisher and made by English-speaking people.
The other reason why it's impossible to treat it as anything othe than a comedy game is because Fallout 3's main quest is built on an obvious paradox. The main quest is about securing a supply of clean, non-irradiated water for the Capital Wasteland, 200 years after the nuclear apocalypse. This ignores however that without a wide supply of clean water, it would not have been possible for the communities and settlements in the Capital Wasteland to develop like they did and to survive for multiple centuries. After all, people, including you as the player, will simply die if they drink too much irradiated water. Yes, there's a few pre-war water bottles and the tiny water purifier in Megaton, but those could sustain a few people at most, not the entire Capitol Wasteland. Yet communities and settlements in the Capital Wasteland have developed and survived for multiple centuries. The actual world depicted in the game renders the main quest moot, creating a paradox. The Capitol Wasteland can afford such luxuries as Three Dog the DJ, but they need Project Purity to survive? Really? It makes no sense.

I usually eat cherries or drink cherry juice and it would usually help but not this time. Been in severe pain for 3 days. Severe enough to make me cry. I don’t eat red meat at all. When i was vegetarian i still had gout. I think is probably sweet stuff i ate. Had fried chicken and biscuits before i got it this time.

Sorry... lot of words here... hopefully it will make sense....
I've been walking 7 miles every day ( ok.... I didn't walk my 7 miles on Jan 14, but... other than that... 7 miles every day is what I do. ) I've walked over 3,000 miles in the last year or so. Walking is not new to me. I've got the walking every day part down. I get up at about 6:30 am-ish, drink a cup of coffee, check my emails, take care of some bathroom tasks and am out the door between 7:15 and 7:45. I go to the mall, I walk for 2 hours and 20 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes and get about 15K steps in. I've also started ( about 8 weeks ago ) walking with a weight vest. I started off with about 10lbs and I could only do every other mile. Now... I can do all 7 miles with a 25lb setup on my weight vest. I'm about to add another 6 - 10 lbs to my vest. I did all 7 miles with the 25lb setup and I feel really good... no lingering back pain. I think that the vest is helping strengthen my core. The mall has water and restrooms, air conditioned / heated, etc... so it's a perfect walking environment for me. I am 60 yrs old. I was 275lb for YEARS... ( down from 320 when I was 30-ish. ) I started walking, eating a TON of lettuce for lunch and oatmeal for dinner. I was down to 169 lbs ... but then I started eating more protein ( chicken, beef soup, less lettuce ) and I might have started eating more sweets. I am back up to 205 lbs.... loosing weight is still hard.. it's always been hard... but it's something I can do... it's just not easy.
I have some weights at the house and a rower and ab bench... but I just don't use them that often. I should.... probably... but it takes me most of the day to recover from my 7 mile morning walk. I am not all super energized at 5pm.. wanting to do rowing and weight bench stuff.
Anyway... this is my world now. I eat less ( than I used to ), I eat what I think is healthier that I used to, and am I walking 7 miles every day with my weight vest.
I drink a 30g protein drink on my drive to the mall... that's most of my protein and besides a cup of coffee... that's my breakfast.
After my 2 hr and 20+ minute walk when I get home, I snack on peanut butter pretzels ( a handful or two ) or 3 graham cracker or a few handfuls of vanilla wafers. At 12:00 I feed my cat and I eat about 100g of shredded romaine lettuce, some thousand island dressing and croutons and some crackers.
I snack and drink lots of coffee... I drink about a gallon of coffee a day.
At 6pm I feed my cat and I make myself a 1/2 cup of 5 minute oatmeal. I have that and 2 - 4 slices of 45cal toast.
Then I snack a bit and stop eating stuff after 8:30pm.
So... that's my day.... should I eat something BEFORE I go on my walk? It would need to be quick... or I'd have to get up earlier to fix it and eat it. I need to get my walk going by 8am so I can walk and not have to worry about mall crowds.... got to start by 8am.
When I get back.. is there something better than my snacking... probably... but what?
my goal is to get back down to 175 or so and maintain that weight. I want to stay way below 200. I also don't want to loose mussel as I get older.... 60 this year... so I know that I need to think about that too.
What do you guys think... any common sense suggestions?
Thanks - jack

Quinn's extremely childish and irresponsible reaction to Debra's refusal to marry him in season 6 was really pathetic. She's not ready to marry him, so he tries to pressure her into accepting, and when he realizes that this heart-shaped cake he made later won't be changing her mind, he slams the door and goes sulking like an angry 4 year-old kid, and then proceeds to immediately break up with her and fuck as many women as possible, including one person of interest in a major investigation, all of this in a lamentable attempt at making Debra jealous, as if that could possibly... what, suddenly make her want him so badly that she'll accept to marry him? What kind of logic is that?? Or was his goal simply to hurt her? If so, why??
Her rejection of his proposal was perfectly reasonable! I mean, come on, Quinn, think about it: the one previous time where a guy professed his love for Debra and asked her to marry him, it didn't go very well for her now did it? Quinn should know that! Besides, she was just promoted to lieutenant, she's leading the team in charge of capturing the new serial killer who put a dismembered dead body on four horses and had them walk in the streets in the middle of the day without getting caught or even identified, so she doesn't have the time for that bullshit! And then he knowingly fucks a suspect in that very same investigation and when Debra is understandably and rightfully mad about this, he assumes that oh it's because she's just so jealous that the loser who broke up with her decided to screw another woman, that no, it can't possibly be because he's endangering this first major investigation she's leading! Ugh.
Oh, and did I forget to mention that he also goes on a drinking binge, manages to forget his gun in some random lady's car, gets high on marijuana when he's supposed to be on duty and crashed Debra's party while drunk and very rudely and inappropriately hits on Batista's younger sister (who's clearly not interested in him at all)? Yeah. Great work, Quinn, really. Clearly you're the best at not letting your personal life influence your professional one. Almost as bad as season 2's Esmée.
On top of that, his proposal to Debra was very clumsy and obviously not the right thing to do when it comes to Debra specifically. He shouldn't have proposed in the first place, nonetheless the way he did it was also inadequate for her. We've seen that Debra is into romantic stuff - in the first season, it's clear that she loves it when "Rudy" brings her flowers and says cheesy romantic things, and she seemed to really love his proposal with a shitload of flowers, costly champagne, a yacht and overall in ridiculously expensive and way over the top surroundings (I'll never understand the point of wasting money like that, but at any rate, Debra appeared to appreciate it a lot; maybe she just likes the idea of some guy spending that much money solely to please her? Who knows). Now, after her misadventure (to put it lightly) with "Rudy", obviously Debra isn't going to like anything too similar to what he did, however I'm assuming that her core tastes did not change - which means that she still likes classical romantic things; in consequence, proposing to her first thing in the morning, by putting the ring in the freaking fridge (was that really the only place Quinn could think of?) while they're making breakfast and pancakes are being cooked, was definitely not the best method. Furthermore, correct me if I'm misremembering, but wasn't it the morning of a work day? What, he couldn't wait until the evening, or better the weekend to propose, when they'll have way more time to talk about that and have fun? Personally I don't get why a specific setting is necessary to propose (just like I don't get most romantic things tbh), but I do understand pragmatism - which was obviously completely absent from Quinn's proposal. Was he so sure that she'd want to marry him (when she's never discussed marriage with him before and considering the debacle with her previous fiancé) that he thought she would say yes at once, and then they could go right back to eating breakfast and going to work without being late and that's it, it will be settled? Or was he trying to pressure her into accepting at once? If so, what a fucking dick. That marriage would never work. Oh, and the fact that they left the fridge open for like a whole minute was annoying - you're not supposed to leave the door of the fridge open for so damn long! You're supposed to just take what you need and then close it, so the food will stay cold! Grrr. Perhaps that's just me, because some of my relatives have the bad habit of uselessly leaving the door of the fridge open for too long, but anyway. And the pancakes burning was 100% predictable.
I'm not even a fan of Debra (maybe I'll elaborate on that in another post, and I'll do my best to not just repeat what others who dislike her have already mentioned about her), but in that situation I think she was entirely right to reject Quinn and that he was completely out of line.
I don’t know if anyone at all will give this a read, that’s just my opinion, but lately I feel like there’s been a little many so-called shitposts on this subreddit, and though sometimes it can be funny overall I much prefer discussion, so I decided to contribute to it. I’ve already seen some about Quinn, however I don’t think there’s been any about this particular element of that character in the sixth season.
So agree/disagree about this take? If you think there’s anything I got wrong, feel free to point it out!

Hello, I be became stagnated, I dont know what to do to improve my life, it just sucks, I feel lonely af even tho i have friends, i go to social dances and talk to many people every week, i eat healthy, stopped drinking for some time and go to gym, I meditate daily and go to therapy.
I dont know what else to do so i could get any progress in my life and stop hating every day. Its so monotonic and norhing to wait for or fun to do. Things that i want are oit of reach and stuff that I have is with very little happyness and progress.
I might have to look for new hobby, but I cant because i have to go to danincing which is only thing that I still enjoy, not same as in the beggining but I still kinda love it.
So how to get unstuck does anyone have any idea?

Hey everyone, first time poster in this sub and I love that it's so active. I would love some recos and insights from you all.
I only drink black coffee, unless if I'm being polite at a guest's house and don't want them to make it separately for me. Although I do appreciate brewed coffee, I usually forego that in my daily life to save time, effort, and auxiliary equipment and opt for good instant coffee. For the last 8 years I've used Davidoff Instant Fine Aroma Instant Coffee and it has been my absolute favourite. (Although COVID dealt a blow to my olfactory senses and I can't quite appreciate it as much as I used to.)
Nescafe Gold has been my second go to choice if I'm hard pressed to find Davidoff and I'm usually okay with it as well. Absolutely detest Red Mug Nescafe and I think it tastes like charcoal and I also cannot stand chicory and flavoured coffees.
Now here's the clincher. I'm between jobs and have had to bootstrap my finances. Coffee has been the only luxury I've allowed myself and I do treat it as a luxury. Which now means I cannot afford to continue with my Davidoff & Nescafe Gold obsession and I'm quite sad about that. But honestly I'd prefer no coffee to bad coffee and that's left me looking all over the market for cheaper options around the 300 - 400₹ range but leaving more confused than I began each time. I tried Bevzilla and Tata Coffee but they were disappointing as well.
So please help me out. I love and appreciate mild caramelly , sweet smelling arabica coffees and I want to find an option, instant or brewed (I don't mind using a channi if it comes to that) , which closely resembles the ones I've been having so far. I'm afraid to try stuff I haven't had any recos for for fear of wasting good money on something that might disappoint me. If my rambling makes sense, please help, otherwise thank you for your time and wish you the best coffees every day forever.

Hi all. I'm planning a company retreat to NOLA for 20 people in mid-June. We have some stuff to celebrate so we're planning to rent a balcony on Bourbon St.
There are two companies I've found with wildly different prices so was wondering if there's any local intel or first hand experience that might help me make the right decision:

1. www.BourbonStreetBalconyRentals.com
   1. Location: Cornet (Bourbon + St Peter St)
   2. $150pp (including taxes/gratuity) for 3 hours Unlimited Premium Brand Mixed Drinks, Beer, Wine & Hurricanes, Creole Cuisine
   3. Total Price = $3000 incl all taxes/service fees
2. https://creolecuisine.com/special-events-venues/
   1. Location: "Masquerade Room" at 407 Bourbon St
   2. $250 rental fee
   3. $75pp (not including gratuity/tax) for 3 hours unlimited "call brands" alcohol + food
   4. Total Price = $1750 plus taxes/service fees

A quick skim of New Orleans subreddits hints that option #2 is not a company well-regarded by the service industry in NOLA and I don't see any reviews of their balcony rentals.
Have any of you used either of these companies or have insights on the location or anything else? Thank in advance!!

Kind of a random thing to post but NSI season is back and I know that this time last year I was searching for some tips. If anyone finds this I was the girl who broke both her legs in Charlie 1 last year cycle 3. Anyways, here are some super random tips for those of you about to go.

1. Feminine supplies, you can bring your own and you SHOULD, what they supply are tampons and overnight pads, they will not take them from you if you bring your own. Also put your hairbrush, hair ties, and gel in a similar bag to grab. They took my bag with my stuff in them and I was stranded with 2 hair ties until we got to go to the recruit store.
   
2. Bring a backpack, not a duffel, not a suitcase. Just trust.
   
3. Wear a polo and khaki pants, if you have a unit polo and belt even better. My unit did not tell me that and it really sucked to stick out like a sore thumb. If you're a girl come with your hair done.
   
4. If you have longer hair get a donut bun or bun twisties, I used both but much preferred the twisties. They will not issue supplies to do your hair.
   
5. When you shower (if you're female or just dirty) grab your display towel and put it inside of your rack, then grab another towel from the rack and use them, you will be on your period for random times, if you stain your white towel you're screwed. Leave a tampon in until after you shower or whatever.
   
6. You wash your waterbottles with bleach, they will taste like pool water. You're not drinking bleach you're fine. Really scrub the creases with a bleach papertowel if you can, mold will start to grow in them by week 2, and will make you more sick than you already are.
   
7. You WILL get sick. Try and take 1,500mg of vitamin C every day for a week before hand.
   
8. Try and get moleskin early your feet will be torn up, layer it on everyday BEFORE you get blisters.
   
9. Get the shoe insoles and extra cough drops, drip drop, and hair gel from the recruit store.
   
10. They don't use (a lot of) salt to cook the food, layer it on you'll start to pass out due to lack of electrolytes.
    
11. ONLY PETTY OFFICERS ARE ALLOWED TO SEE CHITS, don't get bullied into anything else and don't do anything outside of your chit if you get issued one, they are orders from the medical officers.
    
12. If you get allergy medication only take it at night, it will make you drowsy all day and fall asleep during classes.
    
13. Fix your uniform and the organization of your rack at night.
    
14. Learn to count before you go, you know who you are people who can't.
    
15. Journal what you learn and your experience, you'll enjoy it afterwards.
    
16. Just turn your brain off like 80% of the day, don't think too much into anything, it's good if the petty officers and MIDN don't know your name for being stupid.
    
17. Try not to get pink eye or covid or foot fungus or strep or whatever candidate crud is floating around.
    
18. Don't give up, I broke my legs (8 stress fractures on my left and six on my right from distance running pre-NSI and a bad accident at NSI) and I was out there doing fire fighting on 5,000mg of ibuprofen to pass, it's not that bad I promise. Let the Hooyah lobotomy happen. Enjoy being a boot while at NSI.
    
19. Don't try and get your family to see graduation, let them travel for your commission, NSI graduation is lame, you get to see them for 15 mins and then get loaded on a bus right after to be shipped home anyways, but if they're close go for it.
    
20. If you like keepsakes make a 'yearbook' I took a page off of my legal page and had all of my friends sign it on the last night, with words of encouragement/fun stuff. I framed it and love to see it and all the memories.
    
21. If you're not good at something ask someone to teach you at night, people will help you if you ask. It's important that you know how to drill. You don't want to be the reason your division is smoked.
    
22. For you nervous folks the gas chamber will be the easiest thing you do. Stress about it the least.
    
23. When I was there they wrote the daily schedule on the fishbowl whiteboard every night for the next day, it's a nice way to be in the know. They also put the shit list up there.
    

That's all I can think of for now. Comment any other tips/questions :)

What are your favorite things to do around Albuquerque for dates and other fun activities? Looking to find new, fun, stuff to do together to break our normal routine.
Hard part is no alcohol, can't have soda/syrups in drinks, have to avoid flashing lights and loud music (especially bass), and can't do the casinos because of the smokey buildings based on last time.
Painting With a Twist, Kiln It, and a Ghost Tour of Old Town so far look fun, if anyone has tried them.

As the title says, I was out with friends and my now ex partner kicked me out while I was out of the house. It’s their condo and I don’t have any proof of residence there, but I’ve lived there for over a year now. While we were out drinking last night, I got a text that we were done and rushed home to new locks.
Before anyone asks, I don’t have my name on any utilities or bank statements or anything. I don’t have a job and haven’t since we lived together, so my address isn’t registered with an employer.
I don’t have anywhere to live now, but also all of my personal belongings are inside. They’re refusing to let me in to grab my things because they say they’re afraid they won’t be able to get me to leave once I’m inside. They’re saying my only option is to provide a time to pick it up and they’ll leave my stuff outside the door or they’ll have it delivered somewhere if I give an address.
The problem is I don’t have anywhere to go with it. I’m staying with a friend, but there’s no room for my furniture here. My ex is saying they’ll hold it for 30 days, but will toss it to the curb once time is up.
What course of action do I have here? I’m in Texas btw and my financial means are pretty much non existent.

I had to stop drinking due to it worsening my long covid symptoms. I was never a heavy drinker, but I did like to grab a drink when I went out to dinner and stuff like that.
Today is my birthday and will probably go out to dinner later. I’m missing the feeling of a little buzz. If I ever take one sip I get migraines, fatigue, later on - heart palpitations. It’s a sensitivity I’ve developed within the past couple of months.
Any advice on how to feel celebratory sans a cocktail today? I really just wanted to have one and it sucks.
I’m not sure how long I’ll need to give up drinking or if this will be a forever thing for me now. I’ve pretty much stopped all substances (cannabis of the other one I indulged in).