I asked to go on a break from someone I'm seeing because being with him is draining me and I found myself crying everyday when I'm with him.
He agreed to go on a break but he has been trying to reach out several times (by liking my IG stories or sending me IG reels) that I ignored. It's been 21 days and I'm thinking about breaking my self-imposed no contact to break things off cleanly. Do you think I should do it?
I need some advice please because I plan to call him tomorrow if possible.

Hello !
I wanted to know if there are any other specific criteria's to be met in order to qualify for the Global Excellence Scholarship, like a CV or specific volunteer work etc. I currently have a 9.1/10 CGPA , pursuing a bachelors in economics and plan on doing the Masters in Economics and Data Analytics program. (I am a prospective International Student) I still have one year left to Graduate. If somebody could briefly explain their process for Global Excellence Scholarship, it would be tremendous help. Thank you and have a good day !

My boyfriend and I are planning a holiday to the UK for this summer (dates still to be determined, but somewhere between July 8 and August 9). We're thinking of staying 2 weeks and are travelling by car from Belgium.
Would appreciate your thoughts and tips/feedback on our itinerary. Also we haven't really looked at any activities of that sort, so recommendations are also welcome.
Day 1-3: travel to London in the morning + explore London the following days Day 4: Windsor Castle, Stonehenge + arrive in Bath Day 5: Bath Day 6: Cotswolds + arrive in Oxford Day 7: Oxford Day 8: Liverpool Day 9: Lake District Day 10: Hadrian wall + arrive in Sunderland just for staying the night Day 11: Peak District + arrive in Cambridge Day 12: Cambridge Day 13: Brighton Day 14: Brighton + going home in the evening

I feel guilty for feeling this way, but
I was told yesterday by my bosses that this summer, I am expected to continue providing support for a child I work with who has different needs. I am also supposed to be someone who his aide can apparently consult if she needs support. I have been working with this child for nearly a year now, typically for 3 hours a day at most. For the last two months, I have been told that the child was supposed to be in a different location for summer, though I understand that a recent meeting with the child’s parents is part of the reason behind the change.
I am someone who struggles quite a bit with change, and this threw me off. I was also told that I will be expected to change this child’s diaper (child is 4 and not potty trained, almost 4 1/2 I think. The child tends to have blowouts, like feces running down their legs, which is why this newfound information threw me off.) The child tends to run away from the group and although I am young, I suspect that over summer trying to help them stay with the group (they are nonverbal and don’t tend to come back or respond if asked to remain with the group) will be difficult, as you’ll sometimes have to run over and go get them. I feel as though I don’t truly have enough experience working with this child to provide them with the support I will likely be expected to provide for them in the afternoons. I did sort of communicate this to my employers and suggested I’ll likely be asking a lot of questions and will communicate if I need the support. But I feel like that sounds like a lot of responsibility. I will make $18/hr.
I also admittedly feel as though I perhaps will not be paid enough to handle said responsibilities. I make $17 an hr and start making $18 an hr this summer, will be working full time (7 hours daily, until college courses resume in mid August.) Last month, I was told I’d be receiving this dollar pay increase. I started as a sub on more or less the first day of August 2023, and became an assistant teacher in January 2024. I was initially satisfied with the 1-dollar pay increase, but what I was told about my summer responsibilities in regards to this child have made me wonder if I should request a little more ($19 an hour or $20 an hour.) I will also be expected to help out a different teacher with our group of kids in the mornings, what I was hearing all sounds like a lot for a teaching assistant. I’m holding back on it, though. I’m a young adult with no college degree (yet.)

The v0.13.0-alpha release significantly improves federated query performance and efficiency with Query Push-Down. Query push-down allows SQL queries to be directly executed by underlying data sources, such as joining tables using the same data connector. Query push-down is supported for all SQL-based and Arrow Flight data connectors. Additionally, runtime metrics, including query duration, collected and accessed in the spice.runtime.metrics table. This release also includes a new FTP/SFTP data connector and improved CSV support for the S3 data connector.

Highlights

• Federated Query Push-Down (#1394): All SQL and Arrow Flight data connectors support federated query push-down.
• Runtime Metrics (#1361): Runtime metric collection can be enabled using the --metrics flag and accessed by the spice.runtime.metrics table.
• FTP & SFTP data connector (#1355) (#1399): Added support for using FTP and SFTP as data sources.
• Improved CSV support (#1411) (#1414): S3/FTP/SFTP data connectors support CSV files with expanded CSV options.

Contributors

• @Jeadie
• @digadeesh
• @ewgenius
• @gloomweaver
• @lukekim
• @phillipleblanc
• @sgrebnov
• @y-f-u

What's Changed

• Remove milestones from Enhancement template by @lukekim in #1373
• Update version.txt and Cargo.toml to 0.13.0-alpha by @sgrebnov in #1375
• Helm chart for Spice v0.12.2-alpha by @sgrebnov in #1374
• Add release cargo feature to docker builds by @ewgenius in #1377
• FTP connector by @gloomweaver in #1355
• Provide ability to specify timeout for s3 data connector by @gloomweaver in #1378
• Clickhouse-rs use tag instead of branch by u/gloomweaver in #1313
• Store runtime metrics in spice.runtime.metrics table by @ewgenius in #1361
• Update bug_report.md to include the kind/bug label by @digadeesh in #1381
• Remove redundant [refresh] in log by @lukekim in #1384
• Implement federation for DuckDB Data Connector (POC) by @phillipleblanc in #1380
• Update wording for spice cloud connection by @ewgenius in #1386
• Fix dataset refreshing status by u/y-f-u in #1387
• Clickhouse friendly error by u/y-f-u in #1388
• Initial work for NQL crate and API by @Jeadie in #1366
• Fully implement federation for all SqlTable-based Data Connectors by @phillipleblanc in #1394
• Use df logical plan to query latest timestamp when refreshing incrementally by u/y-f-u in #1393
• Refactor datafusion.write_data to use table reference by @ewgenius in #1402
• Add federation to FlightTable based DataConnectors by @phillipleblanc in #1401
• SFTP Data Connector by @gloomweaver in #1399
• Use GPT3.5 for NSQL task by @Jeadie in #1400
• Update ROADMAP May 16, 2024 by @lukekim in #1405
• Add ftp/sftp connector to readme by @gloomweaver in #1404
• Add FlightSQL federation provider by @phillipleblanc in #1403
• Refactor runtime metrics to use localhost accelerated table by @ewgenius in #1395
• Use JSON response in OpenAI, text -> SQL model by @Jeadie in #1407
• Support more common csv options by u/y-f-u in #1411
• Add a TLS error message in data connector and implement it for clickhouse by u/y-f-u in #1413
• Add CSV to s3 data formats by @gloomweaver in #1414
• Fix up dependencies now 0.5.0 disappeared by u/Jeadie in #1417
• Add NSQL to FlightRepl by @Jeadie in #1409
• Update Cargo.lock by @phillipleblanc in #1418
• Enable spice.ai replication for runtime.metrics table by @ewgenius in #1408
• Restructure the runtime struct to make it easier to test by @phillipleblanc in #1420
• Make it easier to construct an App programmatically by u/phillipleblanc in #1421
• Add an integration test for federation by @phillipleblanc in #1426
• wait 2 seconds for the status to turn ready in refreshing status test by @y-f-u in #1419
• Add functional tests for federation push-down by @phillipleblanc in #1428
• Enable push-down federation by default by @phillipleblanc in #1429
• Add guides and examples about error handling by @ewgenius in #1427
• Add LRU cache support for http-based queries by @sgrebnov in #1410
• Update README.md - Remove bigquery from tablet of connectors by @digadeesh in #1434
• Update acknowledgements by @github-actions in #1433
• CLI wording and logs change reflected on readme by @y-f-u in #1435
• Add databricks_use_ssl parameter by @Sevenannn in #1406
• Update helm version and use v0.13.0-alpha by @Jeadie in #1436
• Don't include feature 'llms/candles' by default by @Jeadie in #1437
• Correctly map NullBuilder for Null arrow types by @phillipleblanc in #1438
• Propagate object store error by @gloomweaver in #1415

Full Changelog: https://github.com/spiceai/spiceai/compare/v0.12.2-alpha...v0.13.0-alpha

I want to preface this by noting that this is a ramble. I have a lot of thoughts, this is probably too many unnecessary details but at this point that’s one of the things Im struggling with as a (SAH) parent of a little with T1D.
So my daughter was diagnosed June of last year when she was still 3. It’s been a crazy journey, and while I’m grateful we haven’t had to deal with any life threatening incidences since her first DKA and diagnosis I can’t help but worry about her sugar all day, every day.
She’s on MDI, we’re doing a pump class next month (a requirement before her endo will approve), just recently changed her long acting and was seeing improvement in her glucose—but now it feels like we’re back to the beginning somehow?
She’s had so many days where she’s above 200. When I looked at her libre 3 ‘time in ranges,’ she was for the longest only ‘in range’ 38% of the time, any other time was way above. However, a few weeks ago (around the beginning of the month) I played around with her breakfast ratio and it seemed as if I found the ratio that REALLY worked for her—and then two days later she had her endo appointment and they changed her long acting because her sugar was going over 350 3-4 hours after eating lunch. For the first two weeks of this month she went from being in range 38% of the time to 67% of the time! It was so… great? But for the last week, she’s been pushing back into the 300s.
Now, one of the things that makes me feel like a helicopter parent: since she’s only 4 (5 in July ), I prefer to check her sugar myself and do all of her injections myself—one of the reasons being that I’ve noticed during this year that when my husband does her injections her glucose levels are even worse (there was one incident —early weeks of diagnosis— where he didn’t even inject her, the medicine literally sat on her skin and she was about to eat). Recently my little one tried to (very quickly) help me set up her needle and she bent the needle that goes into the pen (unbeknownst to me), and I tried to prime it like 3 times and I thought the pen broke. When i went to disassemble it to toss it was when I noticed the bent needle. Tried again with new one, went to prime and sooo much insulin came out, like there was so much pressure. It was an extremely stressful morning, and I no longer wanted her to help me get her medicine ready.
She knows how to check her sugar, but when it comes to cleaning her finger really well, she does not do a good job and I go behind her and recheck when the number from her test comes back 40+ different from her CGM.
Since she has a libre 3, her cgm is connected to my phone. We have a reader, have not yet used it because my phone stays in her room over night to be within range of her while I have it also connected to my iPad. When she goes low, she doesn’t wake up with the device blaring right next to her—but the notifications coming to my iPad inform me to check her.
I’m at a point where I’m…lost. She doesn’t seem to fully grasp certain parts of this journey? Should I make her check herself throughout the day until she gets the hang of that first? When should I let her give herself medicine (this part scares the ever loving life out of me because I’m terrified she’ll over do it and not want to drink/eat something to fix it because she’s full or something)?
And since she’s turning 5, she ought to be going to school in autumn—but I’m so unbelievably terrified because we live in a small town and it feels like so many people are ignorant to type 1 and assume it’s type 2. I plan to homeschool, but with her attention span I know it’s going to be difficult. But teachers mindlessly hand out candy, and while not everyone has diabetes, I know it’s going to be another crap experience for her because she was dealt a shitty hand. I even struggle with the judgment when we’re at the store trying to check out and she throws a fit for one of those gourmet lollipops that don’t have the carbs listed on it and there’s no guarantee she’s even going to finish it. When I say no, people just look at me like “what a bad mom, let that baby have a lollipop.”
I don’t restrict her diet. If she wants a piece of chocolate or cookie, or whatever: she can have it— if it’s more than 5carbs, I make her understand she has to have medicine for it. She’s a kid. She loves carbs, all the bread, noodles, desserts—I’m trying to do everything right for her.
She’s a kid, she should have all those experiences and privileges allotted to kids—but how am I to navigated this without dictating every single moment of her life?
If you got this far, I’m sorry for the rambling and thank you.

I always wanted to see Hanako as the 10th rival rather than Megami because, well, Hanako is Taro's sister. A family member would be the hardest individual to get rid of and a huge pain for someone to lose.
So, I've decided to rewrite Hanako and make her the 10th rival instead of Mary Sue (she needs to go straight to the trash, smh).
⚠️ Some things will be changed in future, so beware! 😀
Instead of Hanako being the childish, incest, and clingy sister that Pedodev made her to be, I decided to make her act more like Nemesis minus the whole revenge plan she has and she does have her hair loose instead of pigtails . So, let me go into more detail →

Why is Hanako the 10th rival? What makes her so different from Mary Sue?

Hanako is Taro's sister. That's a huge difference between Megami and her. Taro does love his family, especially his sister he grew close to and helped raise. Megami is nothing to Taro. Taro would choose Hanako over Megami any day. No one can replace his own sibling.
Hanako isn't a Mary Sue. She does have flaws. Hanako can be killed, framed, matchmade, and any other elimination that the game has. Sure, it will be harder to actually kill her, but she can be killed.
Hanako does know how to protect herself in this rewrite. There's a reason why she does something traumatic that happened to her. It does involve the gloves she's wearing.

What happened that made her this way?

Hanako used to be a very cheerful young little girl. She used to be very outgoing, having no worries in her life, and seeing no danger in the world as many children do.
Until an event took place that changed her perspective on the world. Considering that Hanako was an outgoing little girl who didn't see the dangers the same way her own parents did, Hanako was almost kidnapped by two men (who were part of a human trafficking business). They needed a new and fresh victim to get money, and seeing Hanako and her innocent little self was the perfect opportunity to kidnap her and get money quickly. Hanako tried fighting back against them. Even if they were armed with a knife, it didn't stop her. As a result of this, the knife slashed her palm, causing her to let out a bloody scream.
Hanako needed stitches for the wound on her palm. It left a scar. She uses gloves to cover it and not remember that traumatizing memory.
Fortunately, her parents and Taro heard and were able to stop it, but her father and mother were injured in the process of saving her, mostly her father, who almost cost his life to save her. Taro couldn't do much since he was still a kid when this happened. His mother made sure he was away and safe from those two men.
Hanako's perspective of the world around her changed completely after that event. Seeing her parents' injuries, and if it wasn't for their mother, Taro would have been injured or killed or even taken. Something snapped in her.
Ever since that event, Hanako became very clingy to her parents and Taro, not leaving their side, especially when they were in public and around a large group of people.
As she grew older, Hanako decided to take classes of self-defense to protect herself and her family from anyone. This continued for a few more years and remained close to her family, taking care of them and making sure they were safe from harm or danger.
⚠️ Her backstory might change in the future, so be beware!

Why was she absent for nine weeks? Where was she?

She was in America training in a program that chose her to continue her training of self-defense, sensing danger, etc. Her mother went with her since she was still underage during the time. Hanako has been there for a year. By the time Ayano is “active”, she will have been in America for two years.
Hanako did continue her education in America. During her time there, she would keep in touch with her brother, telling him about her training, her education, her day, how it was in America, etc. Even if the two siblings were very far away, their sibling love remained very close and strong.

What made her return to Japan and enroll in Akademi?

Hanako decided to return to Japan and enroll in Akadmi when she found out what was happening with her brother, his mental health and what would happen to other students if Ayano decided to murder her rivals or any other student. Each week, his mental health would decrease depending on how Ayano gets rid of the rival. His mental health will decrease much more if he saw the corpse of a rival or saw them be killed in front of him, especially if it's Osana.
Hanako decides to go back to Japan, not finishing her program and enrolling in Akademi as soon as possible before the week even starts, to be there for her brother, comfort, and protect him.
She's quite happy to be with her brother and father again after two years.

What are the obstacles that Ayano will face?

→ Hanako will always be next to Taro to keep him company. She will do anything in her power to comfort her brother and be by his side after being gone for two years. Even if he was the oldest, Hanako would take care of him the same way he did for her.
→ Hazu Kashibuchi. He will be Hanako's suitor. Hanako will meet Hazu on the first day of Akademi since they sit right next to each other in class. Hazu will be Hanako's first friend. So, Hanako will be close to Hazu as well during the week and be in the sewing room as well. Hazu will teach her how to sew. Taro will be there as well to learn and find a good way to release stress and focus on something positive.
→ Genka, the guidance counselor, will be an obstacle for Ayano as well. Hanako will be with Genka along with her brother. Taro will use this time with Genka to speak with her about his mental health and his thoughts while Hanako will be next to him, listening and holding his hand. There will be meetings between Genka and Hanako to speak about Taro's mental health and how he is doing and tell Hanako ideas on how to help her big bro. Those ideas are going to be the events that Ayano has to sabotage
→ Hanako can sense danger. She can immediately apprehend Ayano and break her arm. Even if she's short, she will stop Ayano from harming her or any student. If Ayano is doing anything suspicious, Hanako will keep her eyes on her until she's out of her sight. Hanako can be framed, but her gloves need to be taken from her. Ayano has to find a way to do it.
→ ⚠️ Osana and Raibaru. Hanako is very close to Osana as well, so Hanako would spend a lot of her time with Osana and Raibaru who she sees as a new friend, and someone who she can relate to and have self-defense lessons with. So, Raibaru will be a big challenge for Ayano. Osana will be a threat if she's still alive. If not, Raibaru will be the threat. Unless she's dead, too. So this obstacle is a “If” thing.
→ I would add Budo if Taro and Budo were close friends. I feel like Hanako would spend time with him since they do share a strong sense of justice and know self-defense. Budo is quite popular, so he would know how to survive Akademi lol
→ The clubs. Considering that Hanako has been in America for the past two years and training, she decided to join a club after she found out how many clubs there were. The reason why is because she wants to have a hobby and explore something new. So, Hanako, during the week, would be walking in and out of club rooms to speak with the club leaders and meeting the members as well. Considering that some of the club members do leave their club rooms or areas like the Gardening Club, Hanako will be surrounded by students, so it'll be hard to find a spot without having a student as a witness.
→ Considering that Nemesis carries around a knife during mission mode, I want to make Hanako carry a knife to protect herself with. A knife that she can hide. So technically, she can kill Ayano. I might change this.
→ Considering it's the 10th week, the student council president election will be taking place, so students will be walking around, gossiping around in the halls, some will be near the student council room to determine who deserves the spot, some students will be running around the school, or standing at certain places where Ayano can't get Hanako alone. Hanako would most likely be with her brother, walking around and having her brother explain what's going on before she goes off on her own and explores what's going on. Hanako would most likely try to speak with the student council, or at least be in the same area as them.

What's her befriending stealth mission?

It will involve either those two men (who are much older, but they will be trying to find new victims to take). Ayano will know what happened to Hanako by eavesdropping on her conversations with Taro and Genka. (They can also be used for the “Drive to Murder” elimination for Hanako)
Maybe in this mission, Hanako will be asking Ayano to get evidence against the human traffickers to put them behind bars and save the victims who couldn't be saved like she was. This would bring Ayano into great danger of either being killed or being used for human trafficking herself. Ayano is a good-looking girl, so the business would think she would bring good customers.
It will take research to know where the human traffickers are located, or at least the help of Info-chan.
There's still some things I need to think about for this stealth mission!
Or
Someone that she met during her time in America who came to Japan way before Hanako did. A rival for Hanako. They would have some history together that Taro wouldn't know about. I haven't thought much about this mission, so I'll see what I can make up :]

Freetrade is a stocks and shares platform with an easy to use app. There is a wide range of stocks, shares, ETFs and investment trusts. This is a similar app to Trading212.
To get a free share, you and the person referring you need to fund your account with £50. You will then get a free share worth between £10-£100.
I have funded my account so if you use my link and deposit £50 you will get the free share.
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The terms very clearly state that codes must not be shared publicly on Reddit but may be shared via direct message.
Simply click here and ask me for my code via private message!
Or tap my profile and send me a chat message.
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If you sign up using my link + fund your account with £50 within 30 days, you will receive a free share worth between £10-£100.
You don't have to invest the £50.
The free share will show as pending as soon as you complete the required steps. It will be revealed and dropped into your General Investment Account (GIA) within 7-10 days.
The actual share you receive is picked on a random basis. Free shares are randomly selected from a list of interesting US and UK companies, ETFs, and trusts. Each free share will be valued at £10-100 at the time of awarding.
If you sell the free share, you can withdraw the cash only after 180 calendar days from the date it was awarded.
There are 3 plans - Basic (free), Standard (£4.99/month) and Plus (£9.99/month). I'd recommend the free plan for starters, unless you are a serious investor. Click here for more.
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Hi all. My (M43) partner (F38) has PMDD, and since our relationship is relatively new, I’m still trying to navigate this situation. So I have three questions for you:
1, When does it start? Right after ovulation it seems in my partner, but is this the general pattern?
2, I get the feeling that she has a few good days (say about three) in between ovulation and her period as well. Is this common for you too?
3, This morning (three days after ovulation), she was very chirpy and loving, and looked forward to seeing me tonight (telling me how much I mean to her etc). But all of a sudden she doesn’t really want to speak to me and cancelled our plans. Are these hour-to-hour swings a common theme?
I know you guys have a hard time with this, but trust me, it’s really hard for a partner as well. So any guidance is definitely appreciated!

Hi y'all, this is a new account because I was getting triggered by reddit and I needed to delete my old account. I used to be pretty active here. :)
I'm 37 and was diagnosed early 2023. I spent 4 months inpatient last year after receiving the diagnosis. I'm currently doing EMDR twice a month, using my coping skills, and focusing on getting better so I can return to work (I haven't worked in 18 months).
For background: my mother has NPD :( and my father is emotionally immature. My psych suspects he was undiagnosed BPD when I was growing up based on my description of his behavior. I have 2 siblings who have a ton of issues, but no one else in my family of origin has ever sought treatment, therapy, or any help for the abuse. I haven't spoken to any of them in ~15 months and don't plan to reestablish contact until after my mother dies.
My question: My mother has a half-sister (my aunt) whose about 15 years older than her. Unfortunately, my grandmother triangulated my mother and her half-sister until she died in 2007. I only realized this last year while in treatment. (My aunt's father died in WWII and then her husband died in a freak workplace accident in the late '70s. A lot of my mother's triangulation was about how my aunt is a deadbeat, but she hasn't had an easy life!) She has 3 children who are a decade older than me and my siblings, but all 6 of us grew up pretty close. My cousins were like my older siblings and I have lots of good memories of them. However, they can be volatile and they gossip a lot. There is a ton of triangulation on my mother's side and I don't totally trust them because of my mother's behavior. It's like we're on two different teams because there's so much mistrust between these families, but we all grew up together! :(
My aunt is now in her mid-80s and I feel like it may be time to reach out to her before she passes. I didn't have any truly "safe" adults growing up, but my aunt and my grandfather (he passed already) were the closest ones to safety. (I had a family friend who I considered safe, but she died a few years ago from cancer. I wish I could go back in time and tell her how much I appreciated the little safety she gave me as a child!)
That brings me to my question: I'm considering reaching out to my safest cousin and asking her to put me in touch with my aunt. I'm very confused, though, about if this is a good idea. When my grandfather died in 2015, my mother and my aunt had a big fight at his funeral about money, inheritance, who gets his house, etc. Of course, my mother triangulated me and my siblings, and said this fight was all my aunts' fault because she's a deadbeat, etc. I have no idea if anything my mother said is true... I really don't trust my mother. She lies a lot. I do trust my intuition, which tells me that my aunt wasn't totally to blame, but is somewhat to blame for this argument. No one from my family of origin has spoken to my aunt or cousins since then, although I think my older sibling is connected with them on social media. I don't have social media.
Sorry, this is so long... in 2021, my parents and I went to a funeral of a distant cousin who passed from COVID. At the wake, one of my cousins (who is my aunt's age) was asking me about my grandfather's house, which was the source of the argument at his funeral. I said something casual about how my mother rents it out and it's in good shape. I thought it was just a casual conversation, but according to my mother and my older sister, this cousin was most likely fishing for information for my aunt... I have no idea who or what to believe. This comment about him fishing for information really upset me. :( I'm the second youngest of like 50 cousins and I don't really trust these people!
I want to talk to my aunt before she dies, but I'm scared that it will somehow get back to my mother and/or my siblings, and they will do something... I don't even know what they would do! They've only showed up to my house once since I cut contact, so I think this is one of my child parts being scared/hyper-vigilant.
I have EMDR on Friday and plan to use some of the time to discuss it with my therapist, but I was hoping someone else from this community would have experience with a similar situation... I just need advice from my peers and the handful of friends I have with CPTSD are youngehaven't been through as many family deaths as I have .... I went to a funeral every year growing up. I don't want to look back and regret not seeing my aunt before she passes. I don't totally trust her, but I do miss her and love her!
I HATE THIS DIAGNOSIS... I WISH MY FAMILY WAS "NORMAL"! ;-)
Thank you to anyone who read this far. Have a great day and stay safe! <3

A little background on everything. I work at a bank so there’s only 12 employees. This new woman transferred about 3 months ago and I wasn’t interested in her at first. After a week she started coming over to my desk a few times a day with little questions or just to sit and chit chat. The chit chat quickly turned into the flirty teasing and banter between coworkers. Every time I’d walk to the printer or copier she would make eye contact and give a big smiles or a little cute look. We related being close in age while all of our other coworkers are +/- 10 years from us, her birthday is 3 days before mine both being in May. The more we talked the more I liked her but I was told by others that she did have a boyfriend. So about 2 months ago I helped her open a new account and as I’m opening the account we’re talking, I tell her this I am diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, I have a son that’s 2 and half, and that me and his mother broke up a few years ago. Fast forward about a week later she tells me she’s going to a walk that benefits my disease and asked if I would want to attend or if I think any of our coworkers would be interested as a group. I told her I wouldn’t expect people to go to a walk for me but I may be interested and I would let her know. A week later she ask about my plans for the weekend to which I tell her I’m with my son this weekend, and he’s always my #1 priority. About two weeks later she’s telling me about new shelves she’s getting and installing over the weekend and that she’s probably going to be doing it herself, while just looking at me. At this point I’m thinking she’s hinting that she wants me to help her but I’m also saying that if she has a boyfriend will this be awkward, so I didn’t say anything. The following Monday I asked how were the shelves and as she’s showing me pictures she’s says she got her boyfriend to help. Now I’m thinking ok she has a boyfriend she’s probably just very nice, so I started to suppress any feelings at had. So I chose not to go the benefit walk because it would’ve felt weird with her having a boyfriend. We still had a little banter and flirting but tried to keep it professional, especially if she has a boyfriend. Since then she will still lock eyes with me as I go to the printer and give me smiles and the cute look, but when I try to talk to her there’s something wrong or she’ll look at her phone. After all this another coworker told me that she is single. This weekend was her birthday and I texted her and wished a happy birthday and we joked about her only turning 22. We’re both off for our birthdays, with mine be this week I felt like asking her to hangout but I’m not sure if it’s smart. Was there anything there or was a miss reading signs, and if there was did I miss my opportunity?

I have always found it amusing, when people post their fancy mileage numbers here and say how much planning they had to do for one photo. Well, today after work without ever thinking about it, I parked in my driveway like this. I have never been so proud of my magnificent shitbox 2001 Fabia 1.4 MPI. I also have to thank to all the remaining kilowatts out of original 50 for doing great job every single day 🫠

So I've been friends with - lets call him Steve - for over 10 years. We've hung out loads of times, talked about many things, a good friendship.
Backstory before getting into the real issue: He cheated on his girlfriend, whom he was living with, so she left him and moved out abruptly. He couldn't afford the rent on his own, and I was looking for a new apartment, so I thought it would be win/win if I moved in, so I did. He said that rent was 750$ all included per person, and it sounded reasonable to me, especially with the current housing crisis in Canada. (Hi fellow Canadians!)
Fast forward, we get papers explaining the rent increase, and he doesn't understand them so he shows them to me. I notice that our increased rent would be a total of 985$. Which made me go "Huh?" because, reminder, I pay 750$. He said "Oh don't mind that" but spoiler alert - I did mind that.
Days later, I asked him what everything (rent, wifi, electricity, etc.) costs so I could make myself a budget. He said "No worries, I already told you it's 750$/person everything included" and I played innocent and said "Yeah but I really need each cost separately so I can plan out my budget efficiently" - so he disclosed the costs.
And so I discovered that if I paid half of everything, it would cost me 690$ all-included. For those like me who suck at math, that means I pay 750$ to cover all costs while he only pays 630$.
I confronted him and he said that he never said I would pay half of everything - he made me a "friend deal" of 750$ all included. He said that if we weren't friends, it would cost me 800$ and I wouldn't have access to the living room.
I told him that I agreed to pay 750$ because he said it was per person, insinuating that he, the other person, was paying the same. I said that I would therefore pay the real price - 690$ - from now moving forward. He said that it's impossible and that I'm a horrible friend for going back on my word.
He tried calling my best friend so she would convince me that what he's doing is totally fair. She's my best friend, so she was already aware of the whole situation, but she played dumb just to see what he would say his version of events is.
She asked him what everything costs - he lied and added 5-10$ to every charge to make it seem like not as much of a discrepancy and possibly a slight miscalculation.
She badgered him to know what I get extra for paying extra - to which he had no answer, and finally confessed that I pay more than him because it was the only way he could make his budget work. She told him that I'm not responsible for paying part of his budget, and he was apparently flabbergasted by that.
She suggested to write out 2 contracts; one that I would pay half of everything, and that I swear to do half the chores (which he said I never do). In the other one, I would pay 750$ as agreed, but he swears to do all of the chores. Then I'd choose which one to sign. Obviously, I'd choose the first one, but I have yet to see any contract.
Then he started hiding the toilet paper. I wish I were kidding. I had to start buying toilet paper and hiding it in my room.
SO. Here's where the AITA question comes in. Our landlady has no idea that he's subleasing his rooms. Hell, I doubt she even knows that I live there. AITA for thinking about informing her about the whole situation and risking my friend getting kicked out?
For those who want more backstory, here are my current living conditions.
His girlfriend - the girl he cheated on his previous girlfriend with - is ALWAYS over here - doesn't pay a single penny - and I wouldn't mind if she had respect for me and our surroundings.
She wakes me up on weekends at 8am by blasting a Spanish podcast in the kitchen instead of listening it with headphones and/or in my roommate's room. My room is right next to the kitchen.
She eats cinnamon-flavoured toast every morning - I'm allergic to cinnamon.
I have to wash the bathtub every time I want to take a shower because she leaves clumps of long dark hair. My hair is pink, so it's obviously not mine.
I allowed access to my Netflix account, and she changed all the settings to Spanish without even asking me first.
I told her and my friend about all these issues, but they keep happening as if I never said a thing.

I like to spend my days productively, and I plan ahead of time. I’ve noticed that in the morning, when I sit behind my computer, read books, and begin to work, my low state of energy is so peaceful. I’m able to focus and be calm in everything I do. I don’t jump around in tasks, and furthermore, my vision seems very focused on what I’m looking at. It's amazing to relax and be in a state of relaxation to get work done.
However, as the day progresses, I become more alert, and the feeling of being focused in the moment seems to go away. I become fully awake, and my mind races a bit more to different tasks and such. I can’t produce in the state of morning flow. I'm not calm any longer.
Just curious if anyone has tips on what I can do to keep this early morning flow going or at least make myself feel like I do in the morning so I can slow down and continue to work without being fully aware of everything around me.

I'm planning on a trip to alton towers in early July and wondering how reliable uber is? Any other cheaper recommendations? We are staying in a place on Horse road so not directly to alton towers on the day. Thank you 😊

Click this link to read Chapter 1.
It all started when…
Chapter 2: Of Boosters and Boomsticks
Wooden crates, about 2 feet taller than me and wide enough to fit two dead bodies, sat lined up outside, leaning against the back of the warehouse. All of them had been stamped “This End Up” with a large arrow pointing said direction, all in black charring. Below the arrow, in red paint, the word “EXPLOSIVE” had been stenciled.
“Ahhh, one of my favorite words!” I says as I teasingly knocked on the crate loud enough for Hoskins to hear, “Explosive.”
Hoskins was the inventory clerk, a short and stout man with a surly dispassion. He had an accent I found hard to place but, since he’s too dead for me to ask these days, I’m just gonna’ say he came from somewhere around the Australian plateau. Maybe New Zealand or Tasmania, someplace like that…I don’t know. Wish I did.
Anyways —
“Bloody ‘ell, mate! You’re chancin’ a right trip straight to the barbie!” he says.
“Yeah,” I says with a coy smile, “You love it when I tease you.” I stretched my arms out, a little proud of myself for riling him up so easily.
“Yeah, mate. You and that boobie.” He pointed to my shirt.
Sure enough, a hole in the right side of my shirt had risen up and, while I stretched, one of the girls was sayin’ ‘Hello!’ to Hoskins, who just grinned to himself as he looked away to the wooden crate. Lettin’ my stance relax back to oh-naturel, I straightened my shirt and jacket, and set to helpin’ the guy ease one of the crate’s lids open. From inside the crate, strands and bundles of hay began to fall out, and Hoskins kicked it all off to the side.
“Diesel, I got this lid,” he grunted as he took all the weight. “Make sure none of that hay blows away.”
“Why?” I asked, completely clueless to the situation. “You afraid the mustangs will go after it or something? I mean they know the field’s mined, don’t they?” Now you might be thinking ‘Mustangs? Like the horses?’ and I could see why you’d be thinking that but, no, the mustangs I’m talking about were the rabble rousing punks that were always trying to raid us.
He stopped and thought about it as though it were the first time it had crossed his mind, “There is that, ya’ bet. They’d give anything for this stuff.”
“But?” I pressed as I knelt down to scoop up the falling hay.
Still just standing there, thinking, he looked right at me and said, “I suppose it’s time for ya’ be brought in on certain things.”
“What kind of ‘certain things’?” I raised an eyebrow as I looked up at him with a fist full of hay.
“Well,” he thought some more. “The sergeant thought it okay for ya’ to come out here with me and grab this stuff, so…”
“So…what?”
The wind picked up and hit the crates lid just right, I saw it teeter and, as I stood to keep from getting’ squashed, Hoskins just about lost his mind at all the hay getting’ blown out. Inside the crate, loosening from their place as the hay filtered out, long rods with explosives tied to their tips began to slip and topple. Hoskins let go of the lid to grab for the rods, I sidestepped the lid, and it came thudding down in a flurry of dust a dried-grasses. A large puffy cloud of hay fell out and waltzed around and dispersed and skipped away, and splayed itself out all over the Test Yard…and the minefield beyond. Hoskins stood there grumblin to himself, half apologizing for nearly crushin’ me, and more-so cursin’ at the mess. And, sure enough, one of the mustangs zoomed up over the ridge and down to the razor-wire and, then, decided to hop out of his dune buggy to chase down some of that good-ol hay. I nudged Hoskins in the side to watch and, when the blast of dirt and dust cleared with no sign of the punk to be seen, I handed him the tuft of hay.
“So, what is it you wanted to tell me about the hay?”
He told me all about the hay and, let me tell you what, it was a mouthful. “Rekindlite,” they called it, and by ‘they’ I mean the Firestarters, according to Hoskins that is. And, that it’s as good as gold to the Firestarters. He went on to tell me how they ground it up as fine as it could get, and that they used the powered dust as a fuel for the rocket boosters they so loved to use. All that said, it was a secretly valuable resource when it came to trading things between the factions, so, I understood why it was to be keep secret.
Anyways, I’m startin’ to ramble so, please, allow me to just get back to the story.
There I was, back in the garage workin’ on the Snaggeltooth with most everyone, Hoskins takin’ the parts list of what we pulled from the yard over to the sergeant’s bunk.
“Yeah!” I says to the others, “He just ran right after that stuff like there was no tomorrow and, BAM! No more Mustang…” the crew laughed here and there through the garage. “They even had the decency to park their rig right out front.” I cranked away on the ratchet, tightening one of the explosive rods to the undercarriage when, and this was some crazy crap, when Kenny (poor kid…rest his soul…good kid…shame) I guess no one had taken the time to explain to him exactly what he was handling. And, I have to admit to really only seeing it all outta’ the corner of my eye because, yeah, it happened so damn fast.
“I’ll save you, Nikki!” Kenny blurted out as he pulled a rod from the crate, hoisted it under his arm like he was Prince Valiant, or Sir Lancelot, swung it around and, BAM! I don’t know what he hit but he hit something.
Thrown to the ground with a ringing in my ears, a blind spot in the corner of one eye and the concrete floor all jammed up in the other, and with the wind knocked from my lungs. Aw crap! Is what I thought, “mbmmbmmpoo,” is what escaped my lips.
Kenny was just a scorched smear on the concrete with pieces of himself and the wooden crate scattered everywhere.
We all lost a little sleep that night. Kenny was just a teen that wandered up out of the dunes one day…knockin’ on the door of our garage just lookin’ for a place to belong.
Did he belong here? I thought to myself layin’ there on that saggy couch. I thought he did. “Should have watched out for him more…” I whispered into the crook of the couch as I rolled over.
Like I said, sleep was lost thinkin’ about it all. We had a plan set for the next day, and Kenny was set to fill up a barrel of fuel down at Fang’s station just before dawn. Now, that task fell to me, won’t be a big deal, I thought as I tossed and turned and, finally, drifted away.
My eyes opened up to the ashen grey of daybreak, and my heart just about jumped out of my chest, “Aw crap!” And, I’m pretty sure I woke up anyone else still asleep, but I didn’t stick around to find out. I grabbed the starter module for the Snaggeltooth, hopped into the rig (which I know for a fact woke everyone up), and got my sad ass down to Fang’s station. “Thank God they put the barrel in the back last night…” and they did. Thank God!

I’m a junior and I plan on majoring in Biology in college and I had planned on asking my APES teacher to write me a letter of recommendation and when I had asked her like two to three months ago she told me to ask her again once we did this college project thing and we’re in the middle of doing it right now and I asked her today and she said she reached her capacity of 15 ppl she’ll right a letter of recommendation for so now I don’t know who to ask.
As of right now I am thinking of asking my orchestra teacher as I have been playing the violin since 3rd grade and I am in the highest orchestra possible at my school. Or I could ask my AP Comparative Government teacher for a recommendation or my Honors Anatomy and Physiology teacher who’s known me since sophomore year. Who would it make more sense to ask? I feel like an AP teacher would have a better letter of recommendation but that AP teacher has nothing to do with science or anything I have done or want to pursue in my future.

BY JOHN MONK / THE STATE - CRIME & COURTS / MAY 20, 2024 @ 12:23 PM - UPDATED @ 1:57 PM
While awaiting trial in the Richland County jail, Alex Murdaugh got into a fight with a man charged with burglarizing and sexually assaulting one of Murdaugh’s nieces.
The fight was disclosed by the niece in a recent TEDx video talk that was posted on YouTube. In the video, the niece discussed the ways she has worked her way through the triple traumas of depression, being the survivor of a brutal assault while a college student in Columbia and, finally, being a member of a family at the center of a shocking crimedia frenzy followed by millions of people around the world.
The niece, Mary Elizabeth Murdaugh, 23, is now studying abroad. She said she made the video in hopes of inspiring people who were going through deeply trying times. During her 18-minute talk, she said, “My uncle and my attacker had gotten into a fight in jail.” She didn’t go into detail.
The State normally does not identify the victims of sexual assault. Mary Elizabeth Murdaugh is being named because she identified herself during the discussion and on the video posted on YouTube.
Sources familiar with the fight between Murdaugh and the inmate confirmed that he has told people about the fight and that the man Murdaugh fought with was angry at him. The sources did not want their names made public. Richland County officials, who operate the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, have not responded to queries about the incident.
“They put this guy in the same pod at Alvin S. Glenn as Alex,” said one source whom Alex spoke to. “They were out in an open area together and the guy comes up to Alex and tries to explain how Alex’s family is framing him, and that just started a fight.”
The fight went on for some time. “Both of them got real banged up,” the source said. “The jail was somewhat chagrined that they had had them together. They were never put together again.”
The source said the jail was so understaffed “they had Alex in there breaking up fights.”
The man Murdaugh fought with is Robert Drayton, 42, who is now serving a life sentence for burglary, plus two 30-year sentences for kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct. He is not eligible for parole.
Drayton, who represented himself, was convicted of those charges involving Murdaugh’s niece in July 2023 after a four-day jury trial.
During sentencing before a packed courtroom, Judge Heath Taylor said he was shocked at the crime’s brutality and told Drayton he had always wondered why burglary first degree — one of the crimes for which the jury found Drayton guilty — carried the possibility of a maximum life sentence.
But now, knowing the brutal facts of this case, a life sentence for burglary during which a brutal assault was committed “makes sense,” Taylor said.
“Mr. Drayton, I don’t have the words for how depraved this crime was,” the judge said before pronouncing sentence. “I watched the (surveillance) video. It wasn’t nobody but you. It wasn’t even a close call. It was despicable what you did to that young lady that night. I don’t understand it.”
Evidence in the case showed Murdaugh’s niece and Drayton did not know each other and that he had stalked her.
“You sought this young lady out,” the judge told the defendant. “This was a plan. You didn’t just happenstance into her apartment and decide to sexually assault her. You made a plan. ... You’d been looking for her, following her. I don’t have the words.”
The judge also paid tribute to Mary Elizabeth Murdaugh, who had testified during the trial. He called her a brave young woman, “an impressive and strong young lady. ... I’m sorry you went through this,” Taylor said.
In addition to surveillance videos, evidence against Drayton included DNA and his shoe prints, according to a press release by 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson’s office after the conviction.
Murdaugh, 55, and Drayton are both incarcerated in state prison now.
Murdaugh is serving double life sentences without parole at an undisclosed state prison. Officials don’t say which prison because of security concerns. He was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son Paul in 2021 at their home in a rural area outside Hampton.
Drayton is serving his life without parole sentence at the Broad River Road correctional facility outside Columbia.
“They have never been housed in the same institution at S.C. Department of Corrections,” said Chrysti Shain, spokeswoman for the corrections department.
SOURCE: Click HERE to read the story via The State online.

I'm 34, and have nothing in retirement. I had a drug problem, got clean, and then worked on paying off my debt that goes along with all that. A few years ago I started my own business, and have been hesitant to put anything away while getting the business off the ground and making sure it would work out. I finally feel like in a place to start saving for retirement, but broke up with my girlfriend last week so now I need to factor housing into my situation as well.
Currently I'm 100% debt free, although I will need to replace my car in the next year or so. I have around 30k in a high yields saving account. My plan was to max out an ira for the year, and then figure out a decent 401k I could do while self employed. Needing to find a new place to live threw a wrench in this.
I'm thinking no matter what I should max out the ira for the year, which will leave me about 22k left. Should I put a lot of that towards a down payment on a house, or would I be better renting for awhile and throwing more towards retirement?
My income varies, but I think I should be able to make at least 60k a year moving forward although I'm hoping for 70k. I pay 600 a month in child support, and renting in my area is around 1200 or so plus utilities for places with the space I need. I also pay into my own Healthcare and vacation days, so I need to factor that in.
I'm feeling very overwhelmed and any advice would be greatly appreciated.