All of 2nd grade.
I know, but I wish I could go back in time. All the cute little bumble bees & honey bees just doing their thing & working so hard 😩😭🥺.
After awhile, one recess had JUUUST started & us gurls & guys ran out to the fields where the flowers were, & i juuuuuuat barely had walked up to the area when all the sudden a bee flew straight up to my ear like a maniac & I screamed & then somehow the bee flew down to my hand, was in my hand & stung me between 2 fingers.
I cried & cried & cried & never went out to the bees & the health nurses told me that even though I thought bees were mean for stinging, they were just going grocery shopping & I was keeping the bees from going home with their honey groceries.
That changed my ENTIRE perspective on bees & bugs for LIFE.
Now I look at bees & I’m like “AWWWwwwww look at em working so hard!! :) <333 I hope those flowers have lots of good pollen for the hive!”
Lol I’m all researching best flowers that bees like that aren’t hard to grow.
I should buy some land & make 2 big rows of JUST rhododendron bushes which are practically just bee bushes of HEAVEN. Lol SOOO many bees.
Anyways that’s my guilt. I feel like I was a cruel child from Toy Story going out & killing poor bumble bees & honey bees (prolly wasps & hornets too but I don’t care about them) & did irreparable harm to the bee population.
I was a young Beatrice from Kill Bill just trying to get her revenge.

I’m not that violent I just like bill burr <3
Hi I’m 19 I’m just a girl (queue the song) sometimes I’m funny (no don’t ask me to tell a joke it doesn’t work like that bro ) a lot of people describe me as chaotic and chill at the same time . I have adhd and I just like doing alot of shit but I wouldn’t consider them hobbies. I’m just looking for someone to text on the daily that has somewhat of a personality and can put in a sprinkle of effort into talking and ofc I will do the same in return .
Text me if you like

• random rambles about stupid dumbass things
• dog and cats pics and ccasionally forest pics too
• Mac de Marco or dad music
• cringe playlists and maybe some good ones too
• stupid out of context YouTube videos and memes
• complaints about nonsensical things

********If you just text me hi /hey/hello I won’t answer (no not even if you do it as a stupid ironic joke ) send me a little intro about about you or just random things about about you or your day . Hope to hear from ya ! *would definitely prefer if you’re from Europe

Hi all,
As the title states I'm looking for some career advice, and maybe also an opportunity to get some things off my chest. So, I apologize in advance if this is a little long.
I started my career in market research by complete happenstance. I was fresh out of college with a Marketing degree and applied for a job for a large well-known market research supplier - mainly because the title had "marketing" in it. I honestly had little clue what the company did, but it was an entry level position, and they weren't expecting any experience. I worked at this company for 14 years, getting promoted every couple of years which kept me happy and content. We primarily focused on copy testing TV ads, and brand tracking work. I learned the basics of market research, writing q'res, checking data tables, populating reports, drawing insights from the data. But I would classify all this knowledge as very surface level. Since we had standard "solutions" I rarely, if ever had to write a survey from scratch. We had a data processing team, so I never learned SPSS, R, or other data processing tools. After around year 12 I started looking for other jobs, because I was burnt out doing the same research every day and because of our company’s direction - maximizing profits, cutting workforce, offshoring data functions, etc.
At this time, I tried to branch out of market research, but looking for adjacent type of work - think marketing/web analytics, etc. - but didn't have much luck. I either made too much money or was disregarded because I didn't have the exact experience the role was looking for. I finally ended up taking a job with a small UK firm that specialized in text analytics - basically automated coding of verbatim comments. The role was interesting, as we were using the text analysis to comb through hundreds of thousands of CX survey comments every month. Unfortunately, the company who was conducting the CX research offered our clients the text analytics for free or very little cost, making our services redundant. This was the company’s only US client, so there was nowhere for me to go even though I enjoyed working for the company. Luckily, I saw the writing on the wall early and was able to job hunt before we were officially let go from our contract.
Given the pressure of impending doom at the previous position, I wasn't too choosey about my next role. I took a position in the research department for a B2B trade magazine publisher. In hindsight this was a dead-end move from the beginning, as the company was in a dying industry (who reads magazines anymore?) The research role was split between doing industry research studies to provide editorial content for the 50+ publications and doing custom research using our vast subscriber base. Most of the studies we conducted just ended up being copies of the previous year’s study and required very little thinking. Even the "custom" studies were often repeat waves from prior years and were in areas I had little knowledge of (roofing materials, plumbing fixtures, industrial food manufacturing equipment, etc.). Again, I saw the writing on the wall, as the company's revenue declined year over year and the custom research group barely topped $1MM in revenue (it was basically the co-CEO's pet project). Back to the job search.
This time, I was able to use some connection to get in touch with the hiring manager for a private mid-sized research supplier that specialized in TV ad effectiveness research, which was right up my alley thanks to the experience at my first company. I was hired and was able to seamlessly step into the role. I mainly enjoyed what I was doing, even if it was a bit repetitive. I was good at it, and I liked the company and people I worked with. At this point in my career, I was less concerned about climbing the corporate ladder and more concerned about work life balance and job stability. My main hope was to ride out this job until I was ready to retire (~10 years). However, as is happening all over the research industry, our company was acquired by a private equity funded research company. Over the past 2 years since the acquisition, there have been multiple layoffs and restructurings as the private equity firm looks to squeeze every cent out of their investment. There is no more job stability, and I feel like it is only a matter of time before I'm let go, and I can’t ride out my time here to retirement.
I have again begun a job search but I am running into all the same issues I had when I left my first company. I don't have technical know-how (SPSS, statistical techniques, etc.) and my research expertise is in a small niche sector (ad/marketing effectiveness). There are very few mid-sized research firms left, as most of them have been consolidated into large firms. So I'm either left with these big corporately run firms that have all of the same issues my current companies have (only care about profits above all else), or they are small boutique firms that are looking for research experience (CX, segmentation, product testing, etc.) I don't have and/or technically experience with statistical/data tools.
I don't really want to go back to school to learn a new career, because by the time I finish a new degree I may only want/need to work for a few more years. I'd love to find something that is flexible, and stable even if it means I make less money than I do now. Most of the research firms don't seem to be hiring right now, and I don't know if I'm just trading one bad situation for another. I can't seem to break into any adjacent industries (marketing analytics, media agencies, etc.) I've investigated government jobs, but nothing seems to translate to my experience.
Any other places I should be looking at? Does anyone else feel trapped in this industry that seems to be getting worse every year as more and more consolidation happens?
TL:DR - Have 20+ years of supplier side research experience but in a very niche sector, which is preventing me from getting considered for other jobs/industries. Mainly searching for stability and flexibility (versus $ and career advancement) but that seems to be in short supply as the research industry is continually being consolidated and gobbled up by hedge funds and private equity.

My incredible boyfriend dedicates a lot of his time to Destiny 2 and while he tries his best to explain the ins and outs of it, what he's doing, when he's 'raiding' etc etc, I struggle to understand it all and keep up. I absolutely love watching him play it (he's pretty good and I'm definitely not biased) but hate to bombard him with questions. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to begin understanding it? I've had a browse through the links on this subreddit but the videos all look pretty advanced and above my pay grade! I'm not new to gaming by any means but Destiny has absolutely baffled me and I'd hate for him to start playing less because of my noobness. Without actually having the game, how do I keep track of everything that's happening? Events, raids, new seasons (is that a thing?). Are there things I can buy in game for him or gifts outside of the game that players would appreciate? Even the tiniest bit of guidance would be a god send! Thank you in advance <3

I stared, mouth dry, heart pounding, at the message from my boss – That awful combination of words that my coworkers and I pray we never see:
“You’re in the running for Employee of the Year.”
For him to send something so callous via email – that was just rubbing salt in the wound.
My eyes glazed over the wall of text that followed. I didn’t need to read the details – I’d cleaned enough of the prior winners off the walls and ceiling of the soundproofed breakroom to know exactly what the award entailed.
After that initial, deep pang of fear faded, denial flooded in to take its place.
I wasn’t just hitting my sales quota, I was blowing it out of the damn water – selling big ticket items daily. I never forgot to place the stickers with my barcode on the products, either, so when my customers checked out and it was scanned at the register, the sales should’ve automatically been linked to my employee ID.
We don’t receive commission – there are other ‘incentives’ to keep our sales up. I hadn’t been watching the numbers because I knew I was making sales left and right – I would've never even dreamt that I was at risk.
It was just a glitch with our computer system, I decided with a nervous laugh. It had to be – something IT could probably sort out in no time.
When I finally regained control of my legs, I wobbled to my manager’s office.
There was no miscalculation, he assured me. It was my employee ID that ranked at the bottom.
“The barcodes never lie, Graham.” He didn’t even bother making eye contact.
I was circling the drain figuratively, and if I didn’t get my shit together – literally – soon enough.
I begged him to review the camera footage – I knew he'd be able to see me making all those sales. “Don’t worry,” he added, with a smile vacant of anything remotely resembling happiness, “One way or another, we all contribute to the success of our company.”
I suppose that by then, he was long desensitized to the pleas of the desperate.
As I left his office, I assured myself that this wasn’t a death sentence.
Not yet.
I had another month until they recalculated our final standings, before shit would get real. Before I’d be given a limp handshake and an empty ‘Thank you for your devotion to the company’ as I was led down the hallway. Before I’d meet what lives behind the usually padlocked door in the shadowy corner of the breakroom.
Before I’d learn what it truly meant to sacrifice myself for the good of the company.
Word spread fast around the office.
Kevin gave me his smug, shit eating grin – maybe he thought that with me out of the picture, he’d finally have a shot with Elise.
Elise… I just desperately hoped that hers wouldn’t be the name drawn afterwards – the one selected to hose what’s left of me off the breakroom floor and down the stained, rusty drain.
As required, I began parking in my new designated space at the far end of the employee lot – the faded sign indicating ‘Reserved for Employee of the Year’ nearly swallowed up by the encroaching tree line. It added an extra ten minutes to my walk to our store, and I dreaded that added time in the oppressive Texas heat. The rational part of me knew that was soon to be a moot point, though.
One way or another, in another month, I wouldn’t have that parking spot. If I were lucky, I’d live to see another summer – live to see some other poor bastard’s car parked there.
If they hadn’t already heard the news, when the rest of my coworkers saw my car in that space, they knew what it meant. Don’t get too attached.
They started avoiding me like the plague. I didn’t blame them.
We all knew what would be coming next if my sales didn’t improve – it's the same thing that happens every time:
We’d gather for the mandatory meeting on the closing night of the fiscal year, all eyes on the sorry son of a bitch that had ‘won’ – the room so quiet that you could hear their muffled sobs. They’d receive what barely constituted a handshake from my manager while he muttered – dead-eyed – his appreciation for their devotion to the company.
Next, they’d be ushered off to the breakroom to meet ‘corporate’. No one tried to run – not after what happened in '19. Instead, the winner would always turn back, shooting us a desperate, final look – eyes pleading for someone, anyone, to intervene. And, of course, no one ever did.
Once the door closed behind them and that sound-proofed room swallowed up the last of their sobbing, begging – it was over. The rest of us would be sent home and I'd try to shower away that disgusting feeling – that sick sense of relief that someone else was sent to their death, and not me.
Cal – the nicest guy I’d ever met – he was the bottom performer two years ago.
He’d fallen so ill that he’d nearly wasted away and eventually, couldn’t work anymore. He must've thought that freed him from his contract – if he left, if he never came back into work, he’d be okay.
He must not have read the fine print in our hiring paperwork.
Although, to be fair, if any of us had read it, we'd never have signed it in the first place.
Cal was a warning to the rest of us, that there is no quitting in our line of work. If they have to track you down and find you (and I promise you that they will find you) – well, wouldn’t you prefer to go with your dignity, with the company compensating your loved ones – rather than be pulled from your home, kicking and screaming into the night?
Gina was employee of the year in 2023. Gina, with the kind smile, whom Kevin had set his sights on before Elise – and, just like Elise, she wanted nothing to do with him.
I still remember that day, the day they released the final numbers. The way Gina’s mouth hung open in confusion, shock.
When she finally managed to form words again, she too insisted that there must be some mistake. We all vouched for her to management – I’d personally seen her make so many sales.
Our manager simply reminded us that the barcodes never lie.
My name was the one drawn for breakroom duty that next morning, to pick up what remained of her smile and her simple gold wedding band, to be returned to her family. In one business week, they received a box containing a check, and everything left of her that wouldn’t fit down the drain.
Once the numbers are finalized, once your employee barcode has been slapped on that innocuous looking pink slip, well, your fate is sealed.
Kevin, in all his years at the company, has never parked on the far side of the lot. He has never even come close to becoming Employee of the Year, even though he couldn’t sell a bottle of water to a man dying of dehydration. He is sleaze incarnate and doesn’t even have the charisma to mask it.
I never understood how he did so well, but I couldn’t afford to think about him.
I had myself to worry about, and the glitch in the system. Any time I found myself in the breakroom, that ancient wooden door was an unwelcome reminder of the impending one-way trip it held for me.
I took special care to keep an eye on my sales, working my ass off, pulling double shifts. I pulled up the numbers as the end of month drew near, and couldn't believe it.
I was still dead last.
Somehow, there were days where less than half of my sales had been recorded to my employee number.
I didn’t understand.
I waited for the opportunity to sneak into the manager's office, and pull the footage myself.
I’d show the boss that something had gone wrong with the calculations, that the system was broken.
I finally got my chance. At first, I triumphantly watched myself make sale after sale – far more than had been credited to my account. For the first time in a month, I felt a sense of relief. I had evidence, and that had to count for something.
I switched feeds, to the camera nearer to the registers so I could confirm that the codes were being scanned. I'd seen several scanned successfully, and reached to turn off the recording. That's when I saw it.
Saw him.
Kevin.
It was subtle. I didn't realize what he was doing at first, until I recognized the pattern. Even then, I had to rewind and watch again for it to click.
It happened for nearly half of my sales that day. I saw him Intercepting the customers before they could check out – before I could get credit for my sales. And while he chatted them up, he discretely slapped his employee barcode over my own.
I confronted him that night – I was furious. He just smiled, smugly gave me that line about how the barcodes never lie.
He didn’t give a shit that he was sentencing someone else to death.
Hell, maybe he even enjoyed it.
Kevin had stolen credit for Gina’s sales – and god knows who else's.
Fucking. Kevin.
The day our numbers were to be finalized, he had the audacity to place his barcode over mine on a huge sale I’d made – he made no attempt at hiding it – right in front of me. He flashed me a grin as he did.
I caught up with the customers before they checked out and they kindly allowed me to peel the sticker off. I stuck it in my pocket to show my manager.
I pulled the video, too, and I stormed into his office, refused to leave until he watched it. I studied him as his eyes moved across the screen and if he was upset or shocked, he certainly didn't show it.
Finally, he met my eyes, and at the sight of the pain in his – well, for the first time, I felt a sense of relief.
Until I realized why he looked so miserable. Until he whispered, “I'm sorry, Graham. Someone has to receive that award tomorrow. It's out of my hands.”
I wordlessly handed him that damn barcode sticker of Kevin’s that I’d peeled off. He studied it for a long moment before he handed it back to me with a mere, “Why don't you hold onto this.”
I told Elise what had happened over lunch, and as much as I appreciated her outrage on my behalf, I was already resigned to it. I'd mainly wanted to warn her because I had a sick feeling she'd be the one Kevin went after next.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't devastated when, that night, my boss called me into his office and informed me of the final standings. Yeah, I knew it was coming, but I guess it's just human nature to hold onto denial – hope – until the bitter end.
For what felt like an eternity, we stared at each other in silence. The presence of the pink slip of paper lying on the desk between us, said more than enough.
Finally, my eyes drifted down to the form.
He’d already signed, but the space where my barcode – the series of vertical lines spelling out my death sentence – should’ve been placed, was empty.
I never knew how this part went, since it always took place behind closed doors. No one that ever filled out that form lived to tell the rest of us about it.
“I need you to place a barcode here before I send the form to corporate.” he said, eventually.
I opened my mouth for one final, impassioned plea for my life, but he interrupted me. He spoke each word slowly, softly.
“I’m leaving the room now. I need you to place a barcode here, before I send the form to corporate.”
He stared at me for a long moment, waiting for my barely perceptible nod of acknowledgement before leaving me alone in the office.
They processed the paperwork, and announced the Employee of the Year that next day.
Yes, I did feel a pang of guilt as I watched the smug grin fade, the blood drain from Kevin’s face as he stared in shock at the outstretched hand of our manager – as he was thanked for his devotion to our company.
I felt it again as I watched him plead all the way to the breakroom, as our manager spoke to him the same mantra we’d all heard before.
The barcodes never lie.
But I thought of Gina, of the countless others, and by the time I heard the door slam behind him – the guilt was already gone. In its place, the relief of knowing the rest of us were safe.
Well, at least until next year.

I met this lovely french girl traveling abroad and we had a great date. she even offered for me to stay with her if I ever came out to France. she texted me a lot the days after the date flirting, and I put the breaks on a bit but started some conversations after putting the breaks on. I'd probably rate her attraction at the start at a 7-8. probably a 7.
she wanted to meet up the day after our date to have the indoor Olympics, but was afraid of taking public transportation. she asked me to come find her, and when I agreed, she said "noo don't change your plans for me," and I told her let's not complicate things and that I'll see her when I'm back abroad.
we had a facetime date the week after, and I think she got the impression I was more into it than her. I mentioned I'd be in town again soon to stay with a friend who I worked with and that I could pop down and see her. she said she was really busy this summer and this and that. I said it wouldn't be until later and that I'll just keep her posted.
she didn't text me for four days after that, and after she did, she took a her time to respond when I responded. I asked her when she was free to facetime again and she hasn't responded in about a day.
did I fumble by being too into it? or is this a test to see if I'll pursue too much?

TDLR: Ex texted a bestfriend behind my back ending of last year ruining the friendship. Broke up with her, during that time I rekindled with someone else while occasionally texting my ex still not back together. Felt like I missed the warmth of my ex and dropped the new girl going back to my ex fully beginning of this year. Missed the support and love from my ex that I never truly got. Girl told me ex about our dirty laundry, causing trust issues in the whole relationship. Tried fixing them by removing girls, sharing location, etc. I felt scared my ex is gonna get revenge and started being distant at the end which pushed her away as well. We broke up beginning of May this year. I thought we would get back together as always, found out she’s been adding guys she removed a long time ago. I got upset and texted her ugly nasty shit, and texted her dad saying his daughter is a “sl*t” etc. I thought by doing this I’d move on quicker, he told me to leave them alone. I understand I fucked up if I had received a message like this from my daughter ex I’d be fuming too. I want to apologize to the parents for the lack of character I had but feel like it’s too late to backtrack on the stupid shit I said. Am I being selfish by sending a text?
Hello all, This is gonna be long. I really appreciate anyone who takes time to read and help with some words. I have no therapist or friends this seems like the best option.
I have never posted on here but seriously feel torn up. I know that I have been in the wrong in all this but I truly was dealing with a weed addiction till I finally sobered up and realized how fucked I am. This relationship has been a rollercoaster, but something I didn’t want to get off. She showed me many first things and it was my longest relationship of three years. She cared for me when I had no job, to every job, skinny fat, etc and I did the same with her struggles. To make a long story short back in August of 2023 I found my ex texting one of my bestfriends that worked with her at the time(I had quit that spot and found another job). No lust or crazy texts just work laughing but I confronted her about it it was jealousy and she said it was nothing.
After a few weeks come September I kept feeling this jealousy boil over. If she had texted anybody else I wouldn’t have said much but I felt like cause it was MY friend she should have brought up the convo they had even if it was light and funny. I was pestering her about him, she then decided to text him behind my back saying I’m being jealous. They text back and forth and he’s calling me a kid and disrespecting me even though he’s known me for longer, and she was laughing sending him laughing emojis and stuff. He then texted me asking me to fight because somehow she told him I threatened him. I got pissed she ruined a friendship and told her I’m done blocked her on everything. From September to December 2023 I was all alone focused on work and meeting new people. In December I rekindled with a girl I knew no feelings just stupid lust. While talking to the new girl, my ex sends me a heartfelt email since I had blocked her on everything, saying she’s sorry and understands I don’t want to hear from her but wishes me the best. I softened up and began texting her here and there, but still was talking to the new girl.
After a while in Jan/Feb 2024 I met with the girl I had rekindled with and we had done some things. However during this time I started seriously missing my ex and the way I felt comfortable around her. So I was talking to my ex again fully and wanted to make it work again. The problem came when my ex wanted to visit me since she’s long distance. She flew all the way to me and everything was good, till that new girl decided she wasn’t getting my attention anymore and texted my ex lying to her telling her I was begging for her etc. My ex broke down and asked why and I childishly said because of what she had done by texting my bestfriend and that we weren’t together. She cried in my arms and I balled with her cause I truly didn’t want to hurt this girl like this. I offered her to leave me and understood I fucked up. But to my surprise she wanted to stay and asked to fix our trust. I tried my hardest to fix it, I gave her my social passwords, she had my location, everything she wanted she got, even removed all girl friends to gain trust and she removed guys. However after some time around March 2024 I felt like all that I did wasn’t building up that trust again, and I began having flashbacks to trauma where I got left and cheated on within a week. I felt like my ex got back with me to seek revenge. So I started pushing her away scared.
During April she came again to visit me and booked a flight without asking me to pay or anything and genuinely asked to spend every minute of the day with me. I should have taken her coming to see me without me asking as her sign of true love but I ignored it.
Beginning of May 2024 came and our problems began. I started seeing her go out with friends to bars, even to houses I didn’t know and she would take a little longer to respond. I began thinking something is up due to my trauma and started being distant with her. She kept asking me to stop doing this, and cried a few times but I was truly scared of behind hurt and thought by being distant I’m protecting myself. She told me this once and it’s stuck with me “you’re gonna regret doing this”. After that convo she became cold with me too to the point where I didn’t even know who she was anymore. Our final convo was May10. We argued on the phone, and she blamed me for everything, I brought my ex bestfriend and her and how they hurt me she said she had already apologized and I said I did too for cheating but I knew what I did hurt more. She told me to leave her tf alone that I haven’t been the man she needs saying she’s seen better guys treat gfs better etc. That she wants time alone that she wouldn’t go around like I did with girls fucking randoms guys. I blocked her but I genuinely thought we would breakup and get back together as always.
However a week passed and I heard nothing. For some reason I felt like I deserved an apology cause during our arguments I was being more respectful and it felt like she kept saying stuff on purpose to hurt me. I saw she had logged onto my socials and I locked her out and logged out of her accounts cause I felt like it was better. However I was still stalking her Instagram following number and began seeing it go up fast. I started getting guys being suggested to me that follow her and I noticed it was all guys she used to work with and removed for “trust”. I felt broken cause it felt like she did what my first ex with the trauma did , just move on within a week. I felt sad, but the sadness turned to anger. I thought by burning bridges I could move on quicker. And I began blowing her up with calls to no answer, so I switched to texting and said some of the most heinous shit I’ve said to anyone. I then texted her mom telling her her daughter got a new type being childish but nothing too disrespectful to the mom. I texted the dad however and called his daughter names, which he got back at me with a threat and called me childish and that he’s happy his daughter isn’t with someone like me and to lose their numbers. I said lmao cool being even more childish.
I genuinely felt bad the same day I texted the parents this. I felt like bringing them into childish arguments and saying what I said made me look like a true child which I try not to be fast in situations but I was impatient and dumb. I felt like I was the one being stubborn in the relationship and pushed her away, then got upset when she did walk away I just didn’t appreciate her at the end and it hurts my soul I’ve felt this heaviness on my chest ever since like I lost the person for me. I know blaming it on the weed is childish but I feel like it game me that I don’t give a F feeling till it bit me in the ass. I spoke to my only friend and my parents who didn’t even accept the relationship at first due to culture, but they told me I had fucked up and told me with time they will heal, and that in time I can send a message to the parents if I wanted to to get my conscious clear and be able to move on with a better image.
Is it smart to reach back out to the parents to show respect as an adult or just let them be? I know this was a lot but it’s on my heart and brain everyday since. A part of me says apologize in the hopes of getting this girl back one day which I know is selfish, the bigger part of me just hates the image I left of myself cause I have never left a relationship in this manner

I m 26 have been friends with Cassie F 33 for close to 10 years now. Cassie is this wannabe influencer. She's very photogenic so we'd always take pics of each other and our outfits in whatever activity. Cassie is very picky on her pics and id always end up taking more photos of her. Over the years Cassie has been getting overbearing with trying to be like a influencer. Cassie always tries to copy the latest trendy posts on her social media and it gives off as a very try hard vibe. My social media always has to have at least several photos or videos on what Cassie is doing or done and it got kinda eye rollingly annoying. I muted her post but she noticed why I haven't liked or commented so I had to go back and like some to later on having to unmute her. Now onto the main issue, Cassie wants to go out to all these trendy places she's seen on tik tok and makes these plans for us and I end up driving and she doesn't cover the cost of gas or my food. We would go to some concerts and I ended up paying for both of us and our trip to the cities was hijacked by her in places she wanted to go to be she seen it on tik tok and the places I wanted to go she wasn't too interested. Being at those places consisted of me being her photographe videographer and her half ass taking my pictures. This wasn't a big deal at first until a lot of my phone gallery is a lot pics of her and 5 pics of me sending them was dreadful. I had this concert that I'm going to and she found out about it and invited herself not knowing its a date w my bf. I don't tell her my personal life anymore and kept that way. I did confirm that I'm going and already had plans for the day. She insisted in herself going and tried to tell me to sit close to her on other seats bc she couldn't afford floor be she just got back from Coachella. She even tried to convince me to sneak her in floor. I decline both ideas. Cassie texted me that day of and asked what time to meet her to pick her up. I told her that I wasn't going to meet her as I get off work later still avoiding telling her I have a date. My bf and I got to the concert and we ignored her calls until the end. finally met up and my bf was just introduced as a mutual from work and Cassie wanted me to take pics. The same thing happened where she does more energy for her photo. but only takes a few. Cassie asked if my bf was okay bc she felt a vibe that he didn't like her. I didn't notice but I guess my bf made a face to the way Cassie went about the photos. We left and we got in the car and my bf confessed that he didn't like her. He even asked why am I still friends with someone like her. My bf genuinely ask me why haven't I blocked her yet as he says that's she's just using me. WIBTA if I just drop her without telling her why? Or is there another way to go about this?

I posted this on another sub, but I meant to post it here!

I love how in ep 2 we see Penelope grow in her confidence, and how much Colin emphasized she was perfect, she just needed to not think about others judging her. (Imagine the love of your life seeing you stumble through flirting and still concluding you're the bee's knees 😭. It was like how unsure Colin felt about himself after what LW wrote and he was worried Penelope's opinion of him might have changed. She validated him and then he had a bounce again. He's such a puppy lol.) Then things went so well in the drawing room (dang can that girl flirt) and when she put it to practice at the ball -- she did it! It didn't even take much. It was just being able to know she had a support person and having Colin talk her through it. She started off a little silly with Lord Brasillio but she still talked to a gentleman in a completely appropriate way!
Lord Remington, though, sealed the deal. He said he would call on her. Her very first male caller! That's such a big deal! She was so proud of herself. And Colin saw how happy it made her, even if he was a little pouty about it lol.
She was able to be her charming self more easily because Colin reminded her she's amazing: "You're Penelope Featherington, do not forget that." She needed to hear that from someone (because who else tells her that?). Eloise was a terrible wingman. Colin is charmed by her too -- he admitted so in the market, when he said to her face, you were so charming when we met. He pretty much said I noticed you and I still haven't forgotten how cute you were. He's sort of been validating her since the end of ep 1 (but obviously there's more in S1 and S2).
Penelope's confidence was building and likely only going to keep improving -- but then Eloise couldn't keep her mouth shut. Personally, I found that the gossip happening right when Penelope is on a high and full of hope very emotionally devastating. And her on her windowsill, quietly listening to her mother's horrible words, and then saying to Colin that I am a stupid, stupid girl. My heart broke for her. I don't know if we've ever really seen her this low in the show except end of S2, but then she had the power of LW. This felt worse.
I also think it's wonderful she managed Debling all on her own. She had her guard down because she'd given up but I was happy she got to see that she really is wonderful and doesn't need to do anything but be herself. (And I liked that Debling told her that too! He's a good guy.)
I think we are going to see a lot more about Penelope's confidence in part 2. She is radiant in the teaser but she doesn't know yet if Colin will still love her or want to be with her if he finds out she's LW. There's many parts of herself she's still ashamed about. We know Colin "My Wife" Bridgerton can't keep his hands off her (yes, he was quick to marry Marina too, but he had no trouble with self-control with Marina, like almost kissing Penelope in a ballroom ffs). I am curious to see what they do with the rest of her journey.

I turned 18 a few months ago and I feel like I kinda lost interest in sex after not doing anything for a while. Normal porn kinda does nothing to my brain anymore and jerking off feels kinda boring, like I’m not even horny but I just wank to clear my brain and not feel sad, so I do it. I’m still on Grindr but I never have the urge to meet anyone like I did back then. I told myself to stop hooking up so I could get a boyfriend, but now I kinda lost interest in dating too, even though I have not been in a relationship before. The only thing I feel now is just loneliness and wanting a man by my side, but at the same time not, since I feel incapable of showing affection or being horny. I don’t know what’s going on. And sometimes i kinda get sad and emotional when i watch porn but the crying actually kinda feels good tho

Hello all -- first time poster here. Sorry for the really long post, I guess part of this is therapeutic for me just to write out.
I've really been struggling recently, as my wife has come to absolutely despise by 67 year old mother, and I'm not sure if there's anything that can fix it.
A little bit of my history. I've always been very close with my family. I grew up in a south Asian household (although I always felt we integrated nicely with a lot of American culture -- both me and my sibling have lived in a large US city our entire lives and consider ourselves American both in culture as well as nationality). However, as in many Asian cultures, respect for elders is extremely important. I always had a parent-child relationship with my parents (meaning that they were in charge, and not interested in being my friend, but rather my mentors and provided invaluable guidance over the years). Both of my parents sacrificed a lot for me and mysibling, but especially my mom who chose to forgo advancing her own career, and to work part time in order to raise my sibling and I. I've always had a good relationship with my mom, although we've had our share of fights over the years (we're both pretty stubborn), but they typically last no more than a 3-5 days on average and then things are completely back to normal. I would say this happens an average of 1-2 times per year at most. I do feel very close with my mom (& my dad as well, but my wife doesn't seem to have any issues with my dad so I'm not focussing on that part). I do believe that much of the success I have achieved in life is directly attributable to the sacrifices my mom made as well as the time she spent raising and teaching me. I have always respected my parents, which is typical of Asian culture. By respect, I mean things like not talking back, valuing their opinions, and trying to make their life easier or happier in small ways (visiting them on weekends, going out to dinner together -- we live roughly 40 minutes apart).
A bit of my wife's history -- she grew up with her parents being divorced from a young age. Both of her parents are wonderful people who I really adore, but they were extremely lenient with her growing up (they were not on top of her with regards to schoolwork, she would talk back to them at times without getting in much trouble, she was able to sneak out of her house as a teen, etc.). These are by no means egregious offenses, and I suspect many kids do the same at that age. However, there was a clear difference in her relationship with her parents -- there was no real enforcement of rules or punishment for breaking rules. Through my lens, it seems that this has manifested as a lack of respect for her own parents, as well as her elders. She mostly has a good relationship with both of her parents, but when she does disagree with them, she talks to them in ways I could never imagine speaking to my own parents (talks back, hangs up on them, etc.). She says that she needs to "put them in their place" at times, which I also find rude. Overall, I would say she grew up much less "family-oriented" than I did, for what it's worth.
My wife is also somewhat of a nomad (mostly not by choice). She moved a few times growing up (within the same state, but different areas), and then went out of state for college, only to leave after 1.5 years and finish at a local state school (in a different state) where her mother lived at the time. Because of this, she has very few close friends, and the ones that she does have are spread out all across the country on different coasts. This is in stark contrast to me. I've been lucky to maintain the same group of friends that I've had since we were 8 or 9 years old. On top of that, most of them have stayed in the same area that we grew up in (where my wife and I now live). I think the lack of a social circle has affected my wife since she moved to my city, but I'm not sure what solution there is for that since there is no city we could live in where she would have a group of close friends or family (her parents live in different states and split time between different states, her 3 closest friends live in 3 different states).
I've known my wife for 8 years and we've been married for 2.5. I love her. She is a great person; she is kind, compassionate, loving, and at her core truly does care deeply about others (though I feel that this does not always come across in the way she talks to her own parents). She's funny, adventurous, and up until recently, I was always happier around her. We were recently blessed with the birth of our son, who is now 11 months old. Our son is the best thing that has ever happened to us, but his arrival seems to have simultaneously strained our relationship in ways I did not anticipate. I knew that the sleep deprivation would be hard, and our lives would change drastically. What I did not envision was a deepening hatred that my wife has developed for my mom.
Prior to the birth of our son, my wife did not have much of an issue with my mom other than thinking she was "needy" for wanting to see myself and my sibling once a week, even if it was just for a dinner (again, we live roughly 40 minutes apart, and my parents are typically willing to drive to us, meet us at a restaurant, or have us over). My mom does tend to be picky with where we eat out (she doesn't eat most meat, and prefers vegetarian options), but that never really bothered me, though it seems to bother my wife that my mom is "getting her way", even though this was at most 1 meal in the week.
I know that my mom can certainly be stubborn and hard to deal with at times, but I know her very well, and I always felt that she was inclusive of my wife, and never did anything that warranted being strongly disliked. The one exception to this was during our son's baby shower. We had planned a large party with a lot of family and friends that my parents hosted (their house is large enough to accomodate a party of that size). During the baby shower, my mom helped arrange catering of food, ordering tables, chairs, tablecloths, and hiring a bartender (my parents also paid for all of this). My wife did not like my mom's taste with regards to tablecloths and chair decorations and she was irritated that my mom wanted to help and be involved in the planning (though to her credit, my wife did not outwardly show this discontent to my mom, though it was certainly made known to me). My wife handled the floral arrangements and other decorative pieces such as a backdrop, and spent a lot of time and effort getting them exactly how she wanted. I kind of sensed that my mom felt that she was being taken for granted and underappreciated by my wife (she did take care and pay for a lot), and my wife felt that my mom was being overbearing with planning, and also felt that my mom was purposefully spiteful (my wife claims that every other member of my family commented on how nice the floral arrangements were, but my mom never did). This culminated in a "fight" where my wife wanted a decorative piece in one part of the yard and my mom wanted it in another part. There was some exchange of words at the time, though I did not witness this. This left my mom feeling that my wife was "disrespectful" and left my wife hating my mom for not honoring her decision about where to place the decorative piece, since this was her baby shower. This led to a very upsetting experience for my wife and I as we really did not enjoy the baby shower at all (although this was not evident to our guests or other family members, as we were able to "fake it"). My wife was particularly upset after the baby shower when we drove home since she felt that it was supposed to be a special day for her, and my mom ruined it, which I mostly agreed with. To her credit, my mom did apologize to both my wife and me the following day, and told us that she had been under a lot of stress with many family members staying at their house, taking care of meals, sleeping arrangements, etc., and her stress got the better of her. I was willing to accept her apology and move on, but my wife has always held a grudge since that time, and feels that the apology wasn't genuine. Again, I've known my mom for a long time and she would rather not apologize at all than do so disingenuously. My wife however insists that she can read my mom better than me, since I'm biased. Nonetheless, we moved forward.
After the birth of our son, my parents and my wife's parents were overjoyed (he is all of their first grandchild). Again, we live near where I grew up so my parents are much closer to us than my wife's parents are. After the birth of our son, my wife's mom rented a place near us for 4 months to help with the baby and chores, etc. I never had any issue with this, even when she would come over multiple times a day, or even unannounced at times (this was not something that bothered me). My parents were (& are) also very eager to spend time with their grandchild, and initially were coming over every other day to see the baby, which then decreased to about twice a week, since he has been 3 months old. My wife has begun having major issues with my parents coming to see our son twice a week now. Perhaps what is most irritating to me is the fact that I anticipated this issue beforehand. I specifically asked my wife when our son was 1 or 2 months old "how often would you be okay with my parents coming to see him?", and her answer was "I would be so happy if it was just twice a week", (which she felt would be a huge improvement over the every other day they were initially coming when our son was a newborn). I assured her that twice a week was very reasonable and she said she'd be happy with that.
Fast forward to now -- my mom comes to visit twice a week for 3-4 hours and my wife says its too much. She says it's suffocating, that she shouldn't have to live her life around my mom seeing our son (which my wife does not, she always tells my mom which days to come, and they are different each week depending on what my wife wants to do), that she feels like she had a kid just for my mom to play with. Again, my mom is never insistent on what days or even times to see our son. She certainly appreciates seeing him regularly, and I always wanted my son to have a close relationship with his grandparents (both sides), as both myself and my wife did growing up. However, my wife's parents do not live near us (and don't come to visit that often). I think this plays a role in terms of her being irritated that my family sees him regularly, but I don't see any solution. Her family is financially able to visit us (very regularly) if they wanted to, but they don't make it a priority. Again, her parents are wonderful people, but they seem to be more interested in their own lives and relationships than they are in forging a deep connection with our son, their grandson (I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, but it's the opposite of my family who really want to be close with their grandson, even if it's at the expense of time with their own friends).
I should also add that for the past 3 years my wife has not worked. This started prior to us getting married. She left her job because she hated it, and I am lucky to be in a position to financially support us on my own. However, she always told me she would (& wanted to) get a job in a field that she was more interested in, though she has never been able to articulate what that field would be (actually she was adamant that she would have a job before we got married). I tried to encourage her to find fields that appealed to her, even advised her to take risks with entrepreneurship, to see if she could make a career out of something she considers a hobby. I've paid for countless courses, certifications, etc. (90% of which she did not complete -- things like real estate certifications, social media certifications, photography lessons, camera lenses, etc.). Furthermore, I paid for her to see a therapist of her choosing for a few months hoping it would help her gain clarity with regards to what she wants to do career-wise (it did not). All in all, I've probably spent in the neighborhood of 7-8K on online courses, certifications, and she does not have anything to show for it. Once we got pregnant, we agreed that she would take on more of a domestic role (which is what she said she wanted as well, I did not force her into this -- and she was also not doing anything else for work anyway). The point I'm making here is not that I feel she needs to work, it is just that she gets to see our son all the time (it's not like she's going to work and handing our son off to my mom). Also, many times my wife will say "Oh why don't you come on Monday" when we see my mom (which my mom will then do). Then Monday rolls around and my wife is texting me at work all day constantly complaining about how my mom is interacting with our son (she doesn't watch him closely enough, or she doesn't put him in his crib to nap, or she feeds him when she's not supposed to, etc.), how long my mom is staying, how she feels trapped in the house when my mom is there, etc. She basically wants my mom to come over for no more than 2 hours and then leave (again we live about 40 minutes apart).
This issue she has with my mom seeing our son a couple of times a week for a few hours, has started to cause bigger and bigger fights between us. Part of me understands that my wife's lack of her own social circle of close friends, and not having family nearby is contributing to her unhappiness with our current situation. But the other part of me can't help but feel like I've done everything in my power to help, and it feels that she is just complaining about my mom because she's unhappy with where she is in life. I have tried helping her find a career that she would like, I have tried telling her she can remain a stay at home mom if she wants, I have tried getting her a therapist to help her work through her issues, I have tried encouraging her to join mom & baby classes to meet new friends (which she now attends, but hasn't made any real friends during them), I have offered to joint local couples meetups with her to meet new friends if that would make her more comfortable, I have encouraged her to invite the few local friends she does have over for dinner or even go out with them while I watch the baby, I have offered to move to a part of the city that is even further from my parents, and I've even offered to move cities altogether to be closer to her own family (although her family does not reside in just 1 city, they split time between a few). I've also told her to voice her issues to my mom and hash out whatever the issues are, but she says my mom will see it as disrespectful and "make things even more awkward" (which may in fact be true, but in that case I've told her we would just see my mom less, which is what she wants anyway...). Each time I suggest something, I feel that it is met with resistance or some excuse as to why it won't work (for instance when I suggest moving cities, she says no because I'll "use that against her" in the future if we fight). I'm just not sure where I can take it from here. I'm sure couples counseling has to be a part of the solution in some way, but I'm not sure what they are going to be able to offer that I haven't already tried.
I guess I'm just looking for advice. My guess is my wife wants me to just straight up tell my mom she can't come over twice a week anymore (but I could see my wife having a problem even if it was just once a week), for no good reason. My mom has no idea my wife despises her, and me just randomly telling my parents they can't come over anymore for no apparent reason would cause a rift between me & them. I love my parents and they're only getting older. They're not going to live forever, and I would feel awful if I told them they just can't come to see their grandson because my wife doesn't like my mom for no particularly legitimate reason.
Thanks in advance to whoever read through this, and for whatever advice you can provide.
TLDR - I feel like I've bent over backwards to make my wife happy but she still has a major issue with my mom that I don't know how to resolve.

21F Looking for a long term friend around my age
Hello!
I’m 21 years old and I’m from the US. I’ve been taking a gap semester from university (studying aerospace engineering) and I wanted to practice socializing and making friends around my age (20-25 max) again before I go back. :) Gender does not matter to me.
I would like to be able to voice call on discord (eventually) and we can hang out virtually, and talk about pretty much anything.
I’m into music (these days mainly k-pop though I love alternative rock and rnb), reading, writing, working out and numerous other things.
I don’t play any games since I don’t have anything to play on, but I love watching gameplays, and I would be interested in spectating your game if you need company/commentary.
An extroverted friend (or someone who’s at least a little bit more extroverted than me lol) would be nice! As well as someone who shares some of my interests and can carry a conversation well in both text and voice formats. :)
If you’re interested in trying out a friendship, send me a DM. Bonus points if you have a cool ice breaker! Please tell me about yourself too! I look forward to making a new friend!

I've already made a post about TransIDs (that was taken down), but this is a different post than that one. I want to talk about something I keep seeing on this subreddit.
Let's look at this post. The OP (Not the poster, the one shown in the photo) gives "Transautistic" tips. Now, anyone in their right mind knows that this is, frankly, bullshit. I want to point out the first bulletin on this list. "Buy sensory aids." Now, maybe you are thinking at this point, "What's so special about that? It's no different then the rest of the list." But it is. Because it's much, much worse.
In simple terms, supply & demand is: The amount of demand plus the conditions of supply determine the cost. Certain objects and products are easy and cheap to make in larger abundances, and have relatively stable demand rates, which is why they cost less (I.E. store brand coffee vs. popular brand coffee.)
So lets make a hypothetical situation. Hearing aids are, on average, somewhere in the thousands range. They cost a pretty penny to make, and they're delicate and complex pieces of technology. And it's no secret that pharmacutical & healthcare companies are good at bleeding money out of innocent people. Now, let's add in Person A and Person B. Person A suffers from hearing loss. Person B doesn't, but wants to. Person A buys a hearing aid, to help them hear better. Person B ALSO buys a hearing aid, to feel like they are HoH. Person A breaks their hearing aid. It happens. To err is to human. But, because Person B bought a hearing aid, that is one less hearing aid that is available to Person A.
Now imagine 1 Person A, and 7 person B's. That is considerably less resources for Person A. And because of this, demand from people like Person A go up. Therefore, price goes up. Due to this price, Person A no longer can afford the very thing that helped them.
This isn't an uncommon occurrence. This happens daily, some people not knowing it (but for the sake of staying on topic, lets stick with TransIDers, shall we?). I won't beat around the bush or sugar coat it. TransIDers do it for the aesthetic of it. No matter what they say, someone who wants to be autistic wants the cute ">w THAT'S my biggest problem with TransIDers. Not only do they push harmful stigma about certain disorders, but they can and DO make it a living hell for those who actually suffer from these things.

I hope you are doing better today than yesterday. (TLDR at the end; or enjoy my story :) )

Why:

About 11 months ago, I launched my app for the first time on lonely because I had previously experienced loneliness myself during grad school. I wanted to reach out to people going through similar experiences by providing them with what would’ve helped me in the past.
I felt this was an important mission for me and a much more rewarding one than my day job that I quit my job to work on the app full-time.
It was necessary because I did not come from a programming background. I knew how to program in the sense of running scientific simulations on MATLAB, but creating the front-end and back-end for a consumer app was totally new to me, so I had to learn from scratch.
I enjoyed everyday going to a cafe to learn from programming crash courses on YouTube, developing the app little by little, and eventually launching the app! The initial response was actually pretty great: 220 upvotes for the app launch post, which I proudly pinned in my bio :)

How:

I made the app to be based on voice, and nothing else: no profiles, no profile photos, and even no texts. The reason for that was I felt a lot of people felt lonely and had trouble finding meaningful online connections because of the modern communication medium which actually promotes superficial and viral contents over authentic and long-form contents. It is easy to see from examples: TikTok’s 30 second videos, Instagram’s eye-popping photos by beautiful people from the globe, and Twitter(X)’s 140-char spicy takes. Sure, these platforms offer us information about DIYs, trends, and news that can enrich our lives and entertain us, but they don’t by all means help us feel more connected to individuals. Even on Reddit, the contents tend to be more wholesome and there are hilarious comments that build on top of each other, but the actual sense of connection you feel with the users is tenuous.
Focusing on voice worked! It was incredible listening to the heartfelt messages from strangers from all over the world who opened up about their loneliness and didn’t mind being vulnerable to other strangers. I have personally spoke with everyone that came by. The 14k minutes of voice messages do not include my own voice messages; they are all messages that people left for their own posts, to each other, or as replies to me.

Highlights:

There were some incredible moments, which would be too long to share in this post (leave a comment if you want to hear more!), but some of the highlights were (note: these are all from public conversations):

• Lady in New Brunswick, Canada was extremely depressed after a difficult divorce and felt being on the life’s edge. She was getting scammed left and right on dating apps and was losing hope. She told me that I was the only one that she felt she could trust and talk to, and she probably wouldn’t be here if I ever stopped talking to her. Thankfully, she eventually managed to find a boyfriend and she thanked me for having always been there for her. She still came back to the app to act as a supporter for other lonely souls for a while!
• Gentleman in New York, USA felt isolated in a farm and felt he had no real connections with anyone. He shared with me and other users about his life growing various vegetables, but stopped coming on the app for a couple of months. When he came back, he was pleasantly surprised by the app’s development, felt I really believed in my mission to help lonely souls, and became an evangelist for my app :) He posted on several forums on Reddit and engaged in conversations with many users on the app.

What was also incredible was that there were not only people experiencing loneliness here, but also people who did not feel lonely but were on the app to support others going through loneliness. They would share stories and studies related to loneliness in their posts, and also try to talk to some lonely folks on the app who seemed very hardened by their experience of loneliness which made them cynical and pessimistic. The concept of compassionate listening by Thich Nhat Hanh and Polyvagal theory that explains 3 levels of our nervous system are a few things they mentioned that come to my mind. Unfortunately, these efforts by supporters were often, so to speak, ineffective in solving people’s loneliness.

What I learned:

And that was part of what made it so hard to have a sustainable ecosystem on my app: many people who have been lonely for a long period of time had their personalities and social skills hardened to the point that they either:

• did not know how to engage with others by understanding social cues and sharing stories about themselves that allow themselves to be vulnerable to others, which allows for deeper social connections
• felt they are never good enough, they are stuck in their situation, and there is nothing that can help them get better. Any help or suggestions offered by others would only work on others and did not apply to them.

My hope for the app was to help people who experience loneliness find and support each other. By providing the platform for them to voice out their stories, have them be heard by others, and find others who resonate and reply, I thought they would finally find friends whom they can relate to, share their lives with, and would no longer have to feel lonely again.
However, the reality was that many were hardened by loneliness and it was hard for such connections to materialize. Plus, one of the main ways for an app like this to grow is by word of mouth. Unfortunately, most people experiencing loneliness did not have anyone to share the app with, which stunted the app’s growth and mostly depended on me manually bringing users onto the platform.
With fewer chances of having good interactions, even the people who really resonated with the app and shared stories slowly stopped coming back. Some just suddenly ghosted, which made the experience on the app painful for other engaged people on the app.

My hope for the future:

I still believe that there are more people out there experiencing loneliness who have the deep desire to share their stories and find the long-term friends across the globe who understand each other and can share slices of their lives with.
So, if you are someone that can benefit from sharing stories and solve your loneliness this way, feel free to check out my app at https://bubblic.app
Also, if you know of any way I can improve the app to better help people experiencing loneliness, please leave a comment.
Lastly, word of mouth would really help. If you like the app, or if you know someone who would benefit from the app, please share it with others!

TLDR:

I created an app focused on voice communication to help lonely people connect, inspired by my own experiences. Despite an encouraging start and meaningful interactions, many users struggled to form lasting connections due to the deep impact of their loneliness. Growth has been slow, mainly reliant on my efforts. If you know someone who might benefit, please share my app: https://bubblic.app. Feedback is also welcome!

So I didn't pick up my younger cousins call because I was very tired and just got better from covid. Later I text her saying hey I'm sorry I didn't pick up I'm still a little bit sick its a good thing I'm going to see you Sunday at least she is 9 by the way. She then texts back something I will not be able to make it because I have a pool party with this person and that person. Which I noticed that's not how my little cousin texts at all. So I told my mom about it kind of laughing saying that isn't her texting and probably her dad. Which my mom agreed and said call him out on it and ask if her dad is texting for her. So I did and I put Hi little cousin is this your dad telling you this or is it you texting. Which he reply's yes as it his her dad telling her. Which I put I knew it. My uncle then texted my mom saying this is not ok super mad saying he disrespected me and I am a fun uncle but he still needs to respect me. He even told my family to pray over it. We all dont get what I did wrong.

Hi, so just a quick update no one really asked for.
Mike and I are not pushing through with the wedding for the time being.
While I was posting on Reddit asking strangers and stressing out about what to do, Mike apparently still has a handle on things despite everything. 2 days after we received the news about Steve's (Mike's brother) passing, Mike talked to me, asking me if it was alright if we could postpone the wedding for now. He was very apologetic to me and I could tell his mind is still trying to keep up with everything that's happening. I told him not to worry about it, and I reassured him that me and my family are by his side through this.
Mike was still very much shell-shocked by everything that happened. My sisters and their boyfriends took over coordinating with our wedding vendors, suppliers, and guests. I'm so grateful that everyone was accommodating enough to understand our situation. We either got a full refund or were allowed to reschedule at a later date for each of our vendors. Our guests who had already booked flights were also very gracious and pretty much just wanted to commiserate with me and Mike.
My nurse aunt took care of all the hospital procedures and paperwork, while my dad has been walking Mike through all the police and legal proceedings related to Steve's passing. My mom took care of the funeral, and it was a beautiful service. Steve's friends also organized a separate memorial tribute for him, and I really felt how much Steve was loved by the people he touched. My only job throughout all this was to look after Mike, making sure he ate and slept (even though it was difficult), and just assuring him that I'm here for him.
Mike and I went home to our apartment last Saturday. It was his first time back since, and it was also the first time we were alone since Steve's passing. When we got to our bedroom, Mike asked if he could have a few moments alone. It was the first time he cried and broke down, and he was screaming through his pillows and all (but I could still hear him back at our kitchen). We've decided to look into grief counseling, and we're having our first sessions tomorrow (we're going separately).
As for our wedding, I assured him that there's absolutely no pressure. I'll be right here waiting whenever he's ready. Now that we've gone through the past two weeks, looking back, me stressing out about finances and all really seemed so trivial compared to the emotional, physical, and mental roller coaster we experienced. I can't even begin to imagine what Mike is going through, but I know he'll get through this.
That's it. Just wanted to share this update with anyone who cares.
PS. Steve, you know I made sure you looked fabulous even in your final moments. We miss you so much, dear! We love you!

When I was in middle school my parents and I were at the pet store and I fell in love with this cute little corgi. I had no idea puppy mills were a thing and they agreed to let me get him. Well they sold him to us with fleas and every parasite imaginable. We took him stright to the vet because we noticed worms coming out of his butt and the fleas. No way in hell did this dog go to the vet for parvo and come out with no notice of shaved fur for the IV. I've had many sick pets and she's definitely lying to get attention. I bet the dog got super sick from the damn whipped cream she let her eat. She's doing this for sympathy and possible gofundme money

I never thought I'd end up feeling like a victim in my own relationship.
So, I met this guy, Tom, on a dating app. At first, everything seemed perfect. He was attentive, sweet, and we had this amazing connection. We started dating, and things moved pretty quickly.
But after a few months, I started noticing a shift. Our conversations became less about our lives and more about physical intimacy. Then it became clear that he was primarily interested in sex. Every date, every text seemed to steer towards it which was very awkward for me. :(
I tried to talk to him about it, hoping we could find a balance. I expressed how I wanted more emotional connection, more shared experiences outside of the bedroom. He would nod, promise to do better but no other luck.
One night, we had plans to go to a movie I’d been dying to see. I was really excited, hoping it would be a nice change of pace. But when I got to his place, he had other plans.
I started feeling like I was just an object, not a person with feelings and dreams. It hit me hard one night when he got frustrated because I wasn’t in the mood. His reaction wasn’t one of understanding but of irritation which was one big alarm for me.
I tried talking to friends about it, but many of them didn’t understand. They thought I was overreacting which I think you guys would do too.
Eventually, I decided to end it. It was hard because I did care about him, but I couldn’t keep sacrificing my emotional wellbeing. It was a painful experience, but it taught me a lot about what I truly want and deserve in a relationship
It’s still a bit of a sore spot, but I’ve learned to trust my instincts and stand up for my needs. Relationships should be about mutual respect and emotional connection, not just physical intimacy, I don't know if you all with agree with me or no. Just felt like sharing here. Open to your advices for my future relationships if I am wrong here.

TANKDOM!
I'm so glad my idea of doing a solid for Dracula by mentioning the town forum on air worked so well. It was totally my idea and not Caroline's. Don't listen to her. Probably isn't going to rain today.
Let me break down how this works. I, Hank 'The Tank' Jefferson, review the top stories on the forum and you, The Tank Nation, get to hear my unfiltered views on these posts because I am using voice to text software. That's right, no editing, just my first thoughts and- no, Todd, I don't edit it. Stop distracting me and go order another round! Where was I, oh yeah!
HOT TAKES!

• Alright, first up, some dumbass not seeing the beauty in late night street racing. Hey, Kevin, do you still have that blue Mustang? Oh, your kid does, well then he's doing a bang up job driving it. Just like his old man! [laughter detected]. Anyway, Rice Farmer, if that is your real name, lighten up. Let kids have fun! NEXT!
• I don't know why you need to announce you are visiting. This isn't an airport. I guess I'll see what these suggestions are...loading...loading...man, we need to talk to Cedar about these load time. ah, lets see... Parks- Dumb. Packard Mill- don't know why people would stay away, that place rocks. The Pub- banned...banned...banned...I don't see O'Malley's mentioned, so clearly people missed the point of suggesting the best places in town. NEXT!
• Bike lanes. Bikes are for children. Children don't need their own lanes. NEXT!
• Man, why is everyone always ragging on Susan! She's a sweetheart and trying to- huh, oh, not Susan Piper, the other one? Oh yeah, she's a bitch. NEXT!
• Oh a joke! I'll click in...Is the joke that you keep doing unpaid work for the city? You need to value yourself better, man. Also, ramen is for poor people. NEXT!
• Oh shit! Marble Bandit is back! SCOTTY SCOTTY SCOTTY! Did you know Marble Bandit is back? Me either! You think he wants to get drinks while he's in town! I don't have his number, do you? Well, can you ask around. I'm sure someone has it. NEXT!
• Yarn Bitch welcoming people- BORING. NEXT!
• James, man, we've been over it so many times. The multiple 15th street thing is only confusing if you make it confusing. The system is so easy. Come by O'Malley's and I'll explain it again. Fine, TODD will explain it again. Happy now? No I don't always take credit for things you do. Now give me that beer I ordered.

I'm bored now. I don't know how that little twerp who stole my idea does this. Whatever, I got it in before him. No I totally turned off the mic. I swear I did. Oh sh-

• Okay, where was I...Garden Gnomes? Is that prank going around again? Yeah, I know it's not original, I'm just asking if it's going around again! Listen, sweetheart, the kids in this town like to mess with garden gnomes. I don't know why you are making a fuss about all this. NEXT!
• I have told you a million times, Dracula, just pay off your HOA not to fine you anymore and you can do whatever you want. You make things too complicated. NEXT!
• Another pothole post...huh, fine, I'll click in. Oh, it's about that ramen. Yeah, see, this guy gets that it's a bad idea to repair things for free! NEXT!
• Listen here, sweetheart, your water wouldn't taste funny if you didn't choose to live in an apartment complex. Get a man and he'll buy you a house...No, that's not sexist to say. That kicker said basically that so I can say it too! I'm tired of you all trying to give opinions on my opinions. I'm just going to stop. No I'm not being chicken!

Until next time, I'm Hank 'The Tank' Jefferson. You stay classy Lower Duck Pond!

Hey guys,
I need some advice from men. I have dated a guy for almost 3 months now. The first dates were really good. We have so many in common, the same mindset and so on. The time we spent together was also very good and we built a good connection. I asked him, what his intentions are, is he looking for a relationship or something casual and he told me, that he likes me a lot und love to spend time with me, and that I would be the perfect girlfriend BUT he has issues to built feelings for me. He said, that has nothing to do with me, rather with him. ( he was married and his wife cheated on him 3 years ago) I asked him then, if I should pull back to protect myself before I get really deep feelings for him, but he said no, he would miss me and he really tries to open himself up for this, but I have the feeling, that he is only saying that, so that he can say “I told you” when things don’t working out. When we are together he is really sweet and shows me how much he likes me but out of nowhere he continuing to say things like “I am like a stone”, “I would like to cry sometimes but I have no emotions” “ I can’t feel anything”, So I am wondering if he only says this things because he is afraid of being hurt again, after his ex wife, or is he just playing games to get what he wants and then leave me ? I often made the experience, that when people saying things about themselves without being asked for, is mostly the opposite, like “ I am always honest and tell what I think”, then the person does the opposite and have issues with telling the truth. So does he says that, because he wants to be the stone with no feelings because he is afraid or is it just a warning, that I shouldn’t except anything serious from him ? Sorry for the long text and thank you for your time. I just don’t want to be delulu and interpret things where nothing is.

We all have been frustrated by someone or some things that we find anoying.
There few steps we can take to better address these types of problems.
First we need to figure out: what the reason for allowing ourselves to get annoyed? Could it be perhaps something that we can respectfully control, or is it something that we can't control?
According to wikihow, complaining to the person in question is not advised. Nor it advisable to complain to anyone who will listen. Apperantly, letting people know you are being annoyed won't fix anything.
The best way to try to resolve this problem is to understand: what is the given offenders point of view? And maybe try to work with them to see what's causing the problem of annoyance.
I'm conclusions, its best to try respond in a way in where we can better react in a more constructive way that tries to manage the annoyance nstead of responding recklessly and escalating the issue.
https://www.wikihow.life/Deal-With-an-Annoying-Situation#:~:text=Immediate%20Response%20to%20an%20Annoying%20Situation,-%7B%22smallUrl%22%3A&text=Breathe%20deeply%2C%20and%20if%20need,it%20in%20a%20creative%20way.&text=Tell%20yourself%20that%20the%20situation%20will%20pass.

I had two really close friends. Things happened and I don't talk to one of them at all. I talk to the other one on and off but we both keep our distance or atleast I do. I don't want to cling onto them through my texting or crying everytime something terrible happens. I wish you guys would have stayed in my life. I know things were mostly fault and I'm sorry about having ghosted you. I didn't know what else to do. You guys would have made things easier and happier. I hope you have grown out of me. I miss you both and wish you luck. I hope one day we will talk to each other. The time I had with you was the only good time I had.