School buses 4 sale

hi everyone! i was wondering if anyone could speak on the general pre-med environment/advising at emory. i was admitted off the waitlist, but after visiting, I'm a bit nervous since the admissions officer told us ~1/4 of students apply to medical school each year. after doing some research, it seems like there are only 4 pre-med advisors total. has this ever been a problem? and does it ever feel like there's competition for resources or composite (committee?) letters since so many students want to go to medical school? thanks in advance for any feedback!

My boss "jim" and I don't have a natural chemistry. We constantly miscommunication. Like we both speak two different languages.
If we met one another outside of work. We would never be friends just bc our personalities are so different. My personality is too "big". I'm professional but I get very excited about new ideas and projects and I love working hard and what's worse - I'm enthusiastic about working hard.
He is very introverted. And just has the opposite demeanor.
I recognized early enough on that I should scale myself back with him and that less was more.
But no matter what I do - I'm always doing it wrong or I'm doing the wrong thing according to him. I have a lot of experience and I'm smart. And I always thought that my personality may not be for him but we worked well together bc we respected the others one intelligence and experience very.
But it finally landed with me - - I realized that he not only doesn't like me, he thinks I'm stupid.
For months, he already vehemently disagrees with anything I say. No matter what I say or how I say it. He never supports anything I saY or tell staff. And contradicts me with staff and has been wrong for it. He seems to be happiest when he knows I am doing menial work. I have to keep and projects I have secret. If he finds out that I am doing anything that involves using brain cells, he will assign it our from me to someone else.
And it's so hurtful but today was a real bad day as far as his open display of his contempt for me goes. All the following happened today:

1. This morning, he sent an updated staff assignment sheet showing who should contact staff for what area of.concern. he asked us all to review it b4 he published it on the intranet. He had at least 15'-20 items listed for each team member. My name was at the very bottom. Be had two items listed. He sent me a note and told me I should add more responsibilities of mine if I could think of any.
   
2. I received a salesforce question from staff. Salesforce isn't my area, so I pinged both him and my colleague who manages it to communicate it. Denise responds with an answer to the inquiry. And I thanked her. Then my boss wrote "that's an excellent approach, denise!" And it's not that he complimented her. It's that it took him complimenting her to make me realize in that moment that he has never said one nice thing to me about anything I do in the workplace.
   
3. Yesterday, Our sales team sent he and I a fairly standard support request with a non standard caveat. I responded and indicated that I could not immediately comply with the request without confirming that what they wanted wasn't a compliance violation. He replied all and said it was fine and to do it. I really struggled and ultimately decided - without consulting him - to email our CIO and legal and I CCed him and I relayed the request and relayed the concern I had. And without naming names I said I was being pushed to perform an action that I was not comfortable performing until I knew that action was compliant. Today, The 4 of us had to get on a call. I was told I was really smart for contacting them and that it wasn't compliant and good catch on my end. Jim didn't acknowledge any part of the conversation one way or another. He just said he would talk to sales.
   
4. Our team has our first stand up call as part of a new meeting series. It's a 3 min round Robin where we all go thru and quickly update the team on what we are doing. Ive been coaching denise on product implementation (unbeknownst to jim). I recently led a project of hers (in secret) while educating her on the why behind the scenes so she wouldnt need me for her next project. I directed her every action item. I provided guidance, support, timlines. Today she announced the close of the project. Jim was ecstatic and singing her praises. She looked so uncomfortavle. She repeatedly credited me with mentoring her. He would not acknowledge any claim of hers to give me credit. there was 6 minutes left on the call by the time it got to me (I was last). I ran thru my current tasks super quick.
   
5. Our weekly 1:1 meeting was next. He was20 minutes late. I was very eager to show him something I had spent weeks working on (bc I do care about the work. And I love working. I can hide my enthusiasm but it shows in my work. Multiple industry pros who I have worked with in the past have praised my project plans and audits and other efforts as "the gold standard." Our company was late to adopting agile methodology. I am an agile pro. He's been dragging his feet on committing to it but it's a directive from higher up. Today, I presented him with the "skeleton'" if you will of our teams roadmap. I built everything for him - just the bones, the automation. I added my own work to it aa a demo. The outline that all he would have to do is fill in. This was something that would have taken him hours of time to do if he had attempted building it himself. Which is why he kept putting it off.
   Before presenting these boards to him, colleagues from different departments had stumbled upon them and asked me if they could clone my work over to their own workspace and did I have any mgmt tips for them. I did not share this with him. I'm not a bragger but I do take great pride in my work. I low key worked on our boards outside of office hours. I was determined that this would finally win him over. Bc I've never quite understood how he treats me. My personality isn't for everyone, I know that. And I'm not perfect. I've contributed to miscommunications between us before. But I've tried really hard to be what he needs me to be in this organization in my role. And today I was going to do it. I was determined it was going to be our watershed moment. I proudly unveiled my boards. He waved them off. Made a remark that he thought it was so interesting to see what people got passionate about in the workplace. That he thinks it's funny that they usually think they're helping the organization when they are really making it all about themselves. He then throws in "and I say that in the nicest way possible." He then told me I had talked for way too long on our stand up call. He said I had to dial it way back next week. That the entire team did not have time to sit there and listen me ramble.
   

And I've been sitting here sobbing ever since. That pushed me over the age. Normally I can shake it off, I can separate, I like myself, I know I work hard, I know that I am smart. So I am pretty quick to let go of all the ways he chooses to diminish me on a fairly regular basis. But this was alot of hits to take in one day. I'm embarrassed to admit that he really took the wind out of my sails today. And I feel so stupid. I feel so fucking stupid. And I just want to quit. I don't want to work here anymore. This feels awful. And everyone loves him. He's every employees favorite guy. He is universally beloved at my company. So surely I must be the problem, right? And we ve talked about our miscommunication and I've done everything I can but I guess I just rub him the wrong way. I am always either not doing enough, doing roo much, or I'm doing the wrong thing. And I just needed someplace to vent while I cried my eyes out.
Tl; DR: boss is really mean to me, today he made me cry, I need to make a plan to quit

The games of the "new" Hitman trilogy are some of the best games of the past 10 years, and now they're all part of one game. Unfortunately actually buying the damn thing is harder than actually playing it and makes no sense whatsoever so here's how to get it for cheap (at the suggestion of someone on the Hitman sub) because IoI made it extremely stupid and confusing.
When you go to the steam page (in the USA) you will see 4 big options
Buy HITMAN World of Assassination Part One ($30 but currently on sale for $12)
Buy HITMAN World of Assassination ($70 and not on sale)
Buy HITMAN World of Assassination Deluxe Edition ($100 and not on sale) - This is basically the base World of Assassination game plus the below Deluxe Pack, so includes everything except for the little DLCs below
Buy HITMAN World of Assassination Deluxe Pack ($30 and also not on sale)
Plus a bunch of DLC below (i'll get to it)
What to actually do:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1659040/HITMAN_World_of_Assassination/ Buy Hitman World of Assassination Part 1 for 60 percent off. It gives you access to all the maps from Hitman 2016 (which I'll call Hitman 1 for the rest of this post) but doesn't give you the Hitman 2 or 3 maps, nor Freelancer, nor VR.
https://store.steampowered.com/sub/981937/ Upgrade pack that includes all the Hitman 3 maps, Hitman 2 maps (except the ones included in the "HITMAN 3 Access Pass: HITMAN 2 Expansion" Yes I know it's absolutely stupid) and all the stuff except the base Hitman 1 maps (which you have). It is unlisted for stupid and shady reasons.
Now you should have everything included in the $69.99 Hitman World of Assassination "deal" for 40 percent of what you would pay normally. Despite the game itself not actually being on sale.
The Deluxe Pack ($30) includes
HITMAN 3 - Deluxe Pack - Adds some extra "escalations" directors commentary and some other minor stuff
HITMAN 3 Access Pass: HITMAN 2 Expansion - Contains New York and Haven (& the associated missions) which take place during the main story, along with the Sniper Assassin gamemode and a few other missions. Most important of the 3. Buy this if you only can afford/want to buy one. You will notice this has very negative reviews. This is because IoI already charged for this when Hitman 2 was out.
HITMAN 3 - Seven Deadly Sins Collection - Seven 3-stage missions that are "eh" to "ugh"
There are also some minor DLCs. Sarajevo Six were some PS4 exclusive missions from Hitman 1 that are kinda bad, The Undying Pack lets you kill Sean Bean, and the rest are just cosmetics and extra weapons that aren't even worth mentioning.
What the fuck were they thinking with this??? Who the hell knows.
This game is mostly fine vanilla. There's a bit of jank but it's not like New Vegas or anything.
https://thepeacockproject.org/ lets you play the game without internet plus play elusive targets at any time.
Freelancer Variations lets you play the alternate versions of each map in the Freelancer game mode. If you are on Linux or Steam Deck you will need to use Windows or a VM to actually install the mod since SMF does not work at all (I tried) but once its deployed it works fine.

Olá! It's me! I'm Rickle Pick! Hello everyone!
So, I’ve been listening to some stories about Neckbeards and Kevins, as well as some Legbeards and Kevinas (Is that the correct term??). Well, most of the times I listen to those stories, I am reminded of some people I used to deal with in school. Specifically, this time, the tale of a guy, who I’ll name Roger Bacon for reasons soon to be explained. Sorry for any grammar errors, eu falo português! I also don't really know the posting rules here, so I'll just post it and see how it goes lol
This prologue is more of a compilation of stories that I think is needed before we get to the main shenanigans and awkward situations this guy put himself AND me into. If this generates any interest, I will post more specific tales of this weirdo! Long time lurker, first time poster, english is definitely not my first language and the whole shebang. I also never wrote a text this large, so go easy on me!
THE LIST:
Well, I guess it’s usual to make a list of people that appear in those stories, so I’ll make one just for you!
Me: Your basic musician-type nerdy theater kid white guy! Tall, thin with medium-light brown hair. At the time, I usually wore a leather jacket and sometimes a hat (not a fedora, a Chaplin hat. Also, where I live, hats are an acceptable attire choice lol). I kinda looked like the Once-ler from Lorax. At this time, I had just failed my second year of high school because of… honestly just lack of effort, mixed with undiagnosed ADHD and a bit of lacking in the ol’ confidence and self-respect department. At the time, I also was physically incapable of saying no and had a crippling fear of disappointing people.
Roger Bacon: 168 centimeters (or 5,5ft for the uncivilized) of pure muscle! Or at least he thought it was that way. In reality, he did have some muscles but was kinda chubby and flaccid. Not FAT fat, but athletic fat (???). He was mixed, light skinned, had shaved short curly hair, no beard (except for the inside beard) and his face was a special kind of oval, besides having a, "chiseled jaw". He always smelled like he had just gotten out of a day-long brawl with a french cologne wearing burrito. He wasn't an usual neckbeard, but he was a huge attention whore. Thought too much of himself, as we say here in Brazil: “Promised too much, delivered nothing at all.” His moto was: “Dude, I think she’s into me!”
For now, these are the characters, as the focus is to introduce you all to Roger Bacon as a person.
With the list over, let us get to the story.
FEBUARY 2018:
The year of 2018 started pretty badly for me. I had just been held back from 10th grade, had no friends and didn’t really know anyone. As most people know, high school in Brazil is quite different from America, as we start school in febuary and we share the same class with the same people all day, excluding language classes and extra-curriculum activities. This meant that, for the foreseeable future, I was alone. On the first day of school, I shyly sat on the last desk on the far right corner of the room, as I scanned my classroom to see what I was dealing with. A few groups of people sitting together, talking and greeting their friends, some loners reading or playing on their phones. The artsy girl drawing a beauriful woman on the white board. Some guy drawing a penis right beside her. Perfect balance. A normal classroom.
Another difference between our school systems is that we don’t really have clicks based on like Jocks or Nerds or Pretty Girls, it’s mostly people who connected in childhood or matched personalities, instead of connecting through roles and interests within the school. Not saying either one is better, just different. And yeah, the bullying situation is just as bad. I was bullied for my whole middle school and through first year of high school, and made a very specific group of low profile friends. So when I failed sophomore year I thought to myself “Screw it, if I’m going to be held back, that’s at least a second chance for me to grow an acceptable social life.”
All this elucidates how intimidating it could be for someone to join a new classroom full of mostly new faces. If you were unable to make a friend, you’d pretty much be on your own for the whole year unless an already formed group “adopted” you. So my mindset was to at least try and meet new people.
Well, have you ever said “I’m gonna do this thing I’ve never done before!” And got the worst possible circunstance you could get at the very first attempt? Welp, that’s just what happened. My strategy was to start small, and go talk to only one person at first, and then try to interact with a few of the groups as that was a bit intimidating (fun fact: we call “clicks “panelinhas”, spelled “pah-neh-lin-ias”, wich means “little pans”, because, you know, they’re closed groups, like a closed… pan. Idk, anyway), so I went up to this guy in front of me, and that guy was Roger Bacon.
He was almost lying on his chair, on a cool guy pose while messing around on his phone. He was also wearing a black sports tank top with a grey opened sweatshirt and the standard uniform wine-red shorts that were mandatory in our school, which made him look like a short and jelly version of Rocky balboa mixed with Kick Buttowski.
In real life, my name and his started with sequential letters, and because of this, we would sit near each other for the whole year, so I guessed he’d be the best person to interact with. I also KINDA knew him because we had basketball training after class in like 2015 and I went to the same church as him, in which I befriended his brother, Kevin, slightly, but didn’t have much contact with him because he had already graduated (I have some stories about basketball and church so tell me if yall wanna read them lol). I approached and gestured for him to take of his headphones (They were extremely loud, so I could recognize he was listening to the song In The End by Linkin Park).
Me: Hey! Aren’t you Roger? You’re Kevin’s brother, right?
RB, trying to sound stoic: “Oh, hey Rick. Yeah, it’s me… fortunately for you.”
Me: “What do you mean?”
RB explained: “Well, I’m the cool brother! Kevin was lame, and also had no friends.”
Me: “Isn’t he in a band with [insert band members]? They seem to be his friends…
RB: “They might look nice, but they’re all assholes. Don’t let them fool you! I’m the nice brother, Kevin is a dipshit.
To elucidate you: that band he said was made of assholes was the Worship band of the church we went to. It was also the worship band that I occasionally played the piano with.
I said, jokingly: “Guess I’m an asshole then! Because, ya know, I play with them more often than not”
RB: “No man, it’s just them. They’re just so infuriating! They never let me participate!”
Me: “Wow, that’s weird… I mean, I didn’t know you were a musician too! What instrument do you play?”
RB: “I play the drums, piano, guitar, bass and I also sing. But Kevin keeps me out because he wants to be the 'star brother'!”
I could tell he got a little heated, and went silent for a little while. I decided not to mention the band or his brother in his presence, 'cause ya know, that was pretty awkward lol.
I remember thinking to myself “This guy’s kinda weird”, because his brother was one of the nicest people I had ever known, and he also didn’t have the say on who played on the band, the worship leader did. I thought about confronting Roger with this, but I didn’t want to abandon my quest of finding a friend. And also, he seemed chill at first, if not a little insecure.
I was a little uncomfortable with this line of conversation, so I opted to change the subject. We talked a bit more about me having been held back, and he went on about how he was really good at math and chemistry, and how he could help me with my school stuff.
I was glad to have someone to help me, and even more, someone who apparently liked the stuff I liked. I remembered what he was listening to, so I commented on it and asked which song was his favorite, and we talked about Linkin Park for a bit. He said “In The End” was his favorite song, and then I mentioned I was a huge Linkin Park fan. He told me he was a big fan as well, but as we talked about it, it became a bit fishy. He never specifically said anything and just kinda repeated what I said. It became clear after a while that “In The End” was, in fact, virtually the only song he knew from that band.
That was the first time I noticed something strange, but only in hindsight, as at the time I just thought he really wanted to make a human connection. I remember thinking he was just excited to know someone who was open to talking to him, so I didn’t think anything of it.
Also, not everyone memorizes this stuff, and maybe he did only remember one song, for whatever reason, so I let that pass. I only felt necessary to include this information because it was, at least in some way, the first lie that Roger told me, a little sample, if you will, of what’s to come.
After we talked for a while, mostly catching up on our lives, the bell rung and our first actual class had begun, and I had the first-hand experience of this guy’s sense of humor. The teacher walked into the classroom and introduced himself as the new Geography teacher, and started a power point presentation about some of the subjects we’d be covering that year, saying “Please pay attention to this class, as you’ll need to know how our schedule will work”. Roger looked back and said “Huh, I guess this class is useless for you then, being held back and all, hahah”, which made everyone look at me and just kinda stare like I should say something, and he kept repeating the joke to anyone that showed any reaction besides just staring, adding “Amirite? Huh? Amirite?”.
I was kinda salty about this, but my people pleasing peapod brain couldn’t handle letting it show, so I just laughed and said nothing. I guessed it was a poorly thought out joke at first, but then Roger proceeded to make the same comment on every single one of the opening classes we had for both of the introductory days. There were 12 of them. He did it every time. Every. Single. Time. Sometimes he repeated it even louder, as if he didn’t think people heard it, because no-one was laughing.
“Ok”, I said to myself, “He didn’t mean to make fun of me, he’s just a little overexcited and probably is trying to make a connection and help me get acquainted to our classmates.”
Either way, I was very uncomfortable and annoyed.
Thankfully, this came to a halt when he was practically thrown out of the Literature class for interrupting the teacher mid-sentence while she talked about how important the first month of class would be for our comprehension of the whole subject. He made the joke four times. FOUR TIMES. I was beginning to think that I made a mistake, but well, the mistake was already made, at least I can try and understand him a bit, before judging.
The rest of the week went by and he didn’t get any better, but I got kinda used to it. In fact, I actually enjoyed having conversations with him at recess, when we could talk a bit more freely. And, as all things in life tend to do, it got weirder. Weirder in the sense that as we spoke more and more, I noticed a bit of a concerning pattern: every time I shared an experience I had, he’d share a cooler and more awesome almost equal experience back.
Some light examples:
I told him I went hiking for 2-3 kilometers on a trail by the beach. Then he smirked and said he went hiking for “at least 7 kilometers on a deserted beach that only his father’s company’s employees had access to and he saw a Gorilla. There are no gorillas in Brazil. Maybe in zoos, I guess, but definitely no gorillas.
I told him I was kinda sad because I had just ended a “thing” with a girl from my old grade. He “proudly” said he’s been dumped by his ex, Laura, after they dated for 11 months and made out aaaallll the time after school, and he even saw her “lady parts” once!”.
And then he went on to describe that shit for like 3 straight classes, adding more and more to the story every chance he had to speak, providing me with my daily dose of cringe in tiny bits of uncomfortable information at a time! Like a sporadic cringe snack! Sninge! Crack? Probably Crack.
ANYWAYS
There was also the time I told him the story of how I became best friends with a guy because we got into a fight in P.E.. We were arguing about some nonsense and he wanted to fight, so after he socked me on my stomach, I cheaply kicked him in the face so hard I almost sprained my ankle and then we started laughing (because I guess sometimes that’s all it takes). Phillip is my best friend for almost 10 years now.
Roger puffed up his soap dish chest went on for at least 2 classes worth of time about how he “beat up his last bully and broke both of his arms, and almost went to prison, but his dad is a lawyer and bailed him out”. Dude was 16, and I don’t think he’d need to be bailed out, but okay… He was, in fact, very badass.
Those are all approximations of actual stories he told me, because my ADHD memory is shit, but you get the gist of it.
My days were filled with endless stories filled with absolute bullshit, like a Gary Stu from a dying rpg campaign. (I have a story about a DnD game he participated in, but that’s for another time!)
Roger, not content with lying to me about anecdotal facts about his past that could be true but were almost certainly mostly bullshit (if not entirely), had a tendency to just negate reality when presented with facts in certain situations.
And example of this situation is the time we were doing a group assignment and a girl at least 3 meters in front of him dropped her pencil and he just kinda threw himself on the ground, picked it up and said “Here you go, Lana!”. She said “Thanks Roger!”, barely turning around and carried on with the assignment. Roger, then, turned to me with a sleek shit feasting smirk on his face and said:
RB: “Dude, do you think she’s into me??”
I contained a ridiculing laughter just in time to realize he was dead serious.
I said “I don’t know man… Doesn’t seem like it to me, but sure I guess.”
RB then straight up asked ME to go talk to her and get HIM her number. When I asked why shouldn’t he do it, he said it was “the wingman’s job to get the number of the girl” so that he wouldn’t “look weak for asking”
I said I’d do it, cause I genuinely wanted to see if he was right about her liking him (I hadn’t really understood the dynamics of the classroom, so I actually had no idea if he was actually right, just a gut feeling that yeah, he probably wasn’t).
I went up to her and asked for her number, explaining it was Roger who was interested in her and, as I pulled out my raging 2014’s Sony XPeria, I was swiftly interrupted by her delicately saying “Sorry! I have a boyfriend.” (She said the boyfriend part out loud, and stared at Roger)
I said “Oh, ok, sorry to bother ya!” and, as I was starting to walk back, I noticed that she turned back and glared at Roger. Later that day her boyfriend texted him, telling him that “He’s got to stop asking her out, and next time, if he wants to get rejected, he should come do it himself” He called him a moron. And then they both blocked him.
Well, that was embarrassing.
Despite having been turned down (for the 6th time now, I’d come to find out), Roger still maintained that she was “totally into him”, and it wasn’t just Lana. Any time he had even the smallest interaction with any girl, he’d say that they’re “probably into him”, or that “they made out at a party, but she was drunk and probably won’t remember”, or that they “sent him nudes last year but he’s already deleted them because he’s a good person, with morals”.
This went on for a while and, after about a month, Roger begun to dial down the crazy stories about how he’s a “badass and he gets all the girls but he’s single because he’s too good for them”. Until I started seeing a girl from another church I started going to. I met Janice () at the churches youth group, and we talked the whole time afterwards about lots of stuff. This name’s given because of her insanely similar laughter and demeanor of Janice from Friends. We clicked well and I was very interested in her, but my ADHD ass forgot to get her number, and remembered it only when she had already left.
When I told Roger, he laughed and said “I had just cockblocked myself” and that I’d “probably missed my only chance of banging a girl ever”. I was bummed, but clarified I didn’t really want to have sex before marriage or at least before making an emotional connection (I had just then begun to go to church, so I didn’t really get the rules, so it was more of a personal choice I always had in mind when thinking about dating. Also I met her at church so wtf).
He said “that was dumb” and, “even though he was a virgin, he’d dance the Devil’s Tango with the first chick he had the chance to”
“What about Laura?”, I asked. His face went from a confident smirk to an almost sad expression, and he blankly replied: “She didn’t want to, but I tried anyway at times. I even got a blowie once!” I let it go because I was very tired, as Mondays are hell on earth.
A few classes later, I went up to him and reminded him of our conversation and asked:
I said “Ooookay, but what about all those girls you told me were all over you? Didn’t they want to have some bum bum times with you??”
He was taken by surprise by this, and was visibly trying so hard to think of an answer for at least 15 seconds. He mumbled “Well…”, and like just left. Like he got up in the middle of the class, and walked away. Well that was weird!
He got back and I didn’t pry, thinking he had some kind of trauma, and I tried to change the subject.
I say “tried” because instead we were suddenly interrupted by a girl asking me if I was Rick. I didn’t know her or how she had materialized beside our desks, but later I found out that that girl’s name was Mary. She had blue eyes and was smiling mischievously, and I answered “Yup, that’s me”. She then giggled and said that “Anna wanted to make out with me after class”. Me and Roger were both very much taken aback by this, and I immediately thought to myself that this could only be some type of dare or prank (which it probably was), and was about to try and respond with the first witty joke that popped up in my monkey brain when, without missing a beat, Roger said “Rick’s already seeing someone!”. Mary was visibly surprised and said “Oh, you have a girlfriend??” with a look of disbelief on her face. Ouch. I explained that I wouldn’t say I do, I just liked a girl from church and we’re going to see a movie with some friends on Saturday, and that either way it was a pass on the making out sesh! Mary said “Oh, okay!” and started to walk back to her desk. I was about to make a joke and say that Anna could probably do better than me, when Roger interjected:
RB: “I’d like a making out sesh if she’s interested!”
Mary looked back with a visible “Lol, ew no” expression and just said: “I’m sure you would, Roger!”, turned away and sat down, laughing with her friends when she got to her desk.
Roger turned to me and said:
RB: “Dude, do you think she’s into me?”
This cycle repeated once in a while, so I’m not gonna tell you all of the situations that I felt like shaking him and trying to wake him up like Woody does to Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story. Exhausting, right?
Another thing Roger tended to brag about was that he did Martial Arts. Specifically, Kung Fu (Wushu). I would come to find out that, in the year before, he made a big scene to tell everyone in class that he’d just started Kung-Fu classes and, when no-one payed attention, he started a habit of punching the wall beside his desk, audibly making “hmpft” noises. When anyone asked why, he’d say he was training, and that his Sensei (Not shifu, he actually said sensei) had asked him to do that to strengthen his fists so he could harness all the strength he had, so one day he could put a hole through a wall with his fists.
He would also punch the school’s fireproof doors because, if you didn’t know, they dent pretty easily, and he would show me and tell me to bask at his strength and ability. That until I said I’d give it a try. He told me not to, because “I wasn’t trained” and “it could really hurt my hand”. I punched the door. It made a dent.
Roger said it was beginners luck and that he’s just a good teacher. I told him I really didn’t even make an effort to pay attention, the metal was just bendy and soft. Roger never talked about it again, and started only punching walls. For that, he would feel superior because, yeah I ain’t doing that. There were consequences for his wall punching habits, but I’ll address that some other time.
The last thing I’ll say about him for now is how clueless Roger was, how much he thought of himself and how he treated everyone else like they should (and would) respecting for what he told them, and not for what he showed them.
(I plan on doing another part eventually, with the story of how his disconnection with reality, lies, schemes and generally narcissist behavior eventually exploded back into his face.)
As a last bit of exposition of our circumstances, there’s an important part of our school life that fueled Roger’s social life’s demise.
Pranking was a big part of my class’ culture. There were also some people in my classroom who were bullied. The thing is: the bullies actually made fun of literally everyone else, which made it very hard to figure out if you were considered a target or just a colleague. They’d mess with people’s stuff, tie backpacks to the windows and hide pencil cases, but they would also do it to their own group.
Essentially, the only way to differentiate those who they considered normal schoolmates from those who were bullied was the frequency of the pranks and their demeanor in general towards those people. They would apologize for the pranks, ask to make up for it, buy you lunch, make jokes, try to laugh with you. I swear some of those guys were politicians in the making. Luckily, was very good friends with one of the guys in that group, I’ll call him Turkey, who was also held back a few years before me, and he liked my sister, so I was mostly safe.
Roger, on the other hand, THOUGHT he was one of the pranksters. Every time someone pranked him or anyone else, he would laugh knowingly, like he was in on the joke the whole time, and try to make jokes, only to further humiliate himself. And they would capitalize on that as hard as they could.
You see, Roger liked to portray himself as the “Mysterious-Badass-Quiet-Protagonist-Take-No-Shit-From-Anyone-Mr.-Steal-Yo-Girl” guy. This combo of personality substitutes was the recipe for the downfall of his popularity, and the start of the longest lasting pranks I’ve ever seen in my life, which will come if yall want another post. That prank is also the reason I named him Roger Bacon.
Because he was so into Math and Science (and into himself too lol) he also always wanted to look like the smartest guy in the room. The problem is that, as our first semester went by, it became clear that he wasn’t as good as he hyped himself up to be. Shocker, right? This was proven to be true when we were doing a chemistry group test, and I was paired with him and Anna, and we needed to calculate some entropies or whatever. He made a point of telling us to do all of the “easy ones”, and he would take on the more complicated questions.
The thing is, he was trying really hard to look like a genius, to maybe impress Anna, so every time he made a calculation, he would roll his eyes up and kinda vibrate a little. I guess he wanted to look like a genius mathematics robot, but instead he looked like he was trying to imitate an autistic person having a small stroke. I didn’t mind the Good Doctor amateur impersonation, because at least it looked like he knew what he was doing. Unfortunately, it really just looked like he knew what he was doing.
Each easy question of the test was worth 1 point, and there were 4 of them, and there were 3 hard questions worth 2 points each. We got a 4/10 on that test, and lo and behold, the only questions we got right were the ones me and Anna worked on. We were a bit pissed, not gonna lie.
Until the last time we spoke, Roger still blames Anna for his complete failure at this test for, in his words, distracting him because she was obviously into him.
But that’s just Roger, I guess!
I've got A LOT of stories about Roger and other neckbeards I've encountered, and I can't wait to tell them!
Until then, thanks for reading, and have a good one yall!

Just some background
34 year old active duty military dentist. This July will be my 6th year being active ever since graduating dental school. I did a 4 year scholarship and initially just wanted to pay back my obligation and separate in 2022. However, I decided to stay in (likely till I hit 20). I opted for BRS as opposed to High 3(a mistake now since I am staying in). Also, I never contributed to my TSP for 4 years(just started 2 years ago to get the full match) since I wanted to accumulate cash to pay down for a house(no longer happening obviously since I'll be moving around). This feels like a double whammy for me.
Anyways I have 25k in my TSP so far(2 years of 5% contribution per month). About 250k in cash, 100k in stocks, 10k in checking. I am able to draw pension in 2034 just after 16 years of active service since my 4 years in school counted towards pay/retirement. I am likely gonna retire as O-5(maybe O-6).
I also made some unwise financial decision such as buying a luxury car(I no longer drive it and gave it to my mom) for 40k in cash, not investing early(gambling a bit but no heavy losses), etc.
I just feel like crap and can't stop thinking that I'd be at around 600k now if I didn't do these stupid mistakes...

INTRO

This article is to demonstrate why, under the current U.S. electric vehicle tariff policies, FFIE’s stock price is significantly undervalued and is poised to rise to at least $10. This analysis will explore the impact of tariffs on the market, FFIE’s competitive positioning, and the economic factors that support a substantial increase in its valuation.

HOW MUCH DOES FFIE CAN MAKE?

To calculate the cost savings for Faraday Future (FFIE) when assembling vehicles in the U.S. compared to directly importing them from China, we need to compare the total costs of both scenarios:

Scenario 1: Directly Importing the Complete Vehicle from China

Assuming the cost of the complete vehicle is $40,000, and with 100% tariff on imported electric vehicles:

• Vehicle Cost: $40,000
• Tariff: $40,000

Total cost for importing the complete vehicle: $80,000

Scenario 2: Importing Parts from China and Assembling in the U.S.

Assuming the cost of major parts (e.g., battery, motor, body frame) is $20,000, with an assembly cost in the U.S. of $5,000. Import tariffs on these parts are also assumed to be 25%.

• Parts Cost: $20,000
• Tariff on Parts: $20,000 * 25% = $5,000
• Assembly Cost: $5,000

Total cost for importing parts and assembling in the U.S.: [ 20,000 \, \text{USD} + 5,000 \, \text{USD} + 5,000 \, \text{USD} = 30,000 \, \text{USD} ]

Cost Comparison

• Total Cost for Importing Complete Vehicle: $80,000
• Total Cost for Importing Parts and Assembling in the U.S.: $30,000

Cost Savings with FFIE

Cost savings by assembling in the U.S. = $50,000

Conclusion

By assembling vehicles in the U.S. instead of directly importing complete vehicles from China, Faraday Future could save approximately $80,000 per vehicle. This significant cost reduction is primarily due to avoiding the high tariffs on complete vehicles and benefiting from lower tariffs on parts, along with local assembly costs.

HOW MUCH MONEY CAN FFIE MAKE?

China and US Passenger Car Sales and EV Market Share in 2023

China

In 2023, China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market saw remarkable growth. The total sales of NEVs, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), reached approximately 8 million units. This represented a 37% market share of the total passenger car market in China. BEVs alone accounted for about 25% of the total new car registrations oai_citation:1,26% BEV Share In China! — China EV Sales Report - CleanTechnica oai_citation:2,China EV Sales Defy Subsidy Cuts, Maintain Strong Growth in Q1 2023 - Counterpoint.

United States

In the United States, electric vehicle sales also experienced significant growth in 2023. Over the year, approximately 1.5 million electric cars were sold, making up around 12% of the total passenger car market oai_citation:3,Trends in electric light-duty vehicles – Global EV Outlook 2023 – Analysis - IEA.

Summary

Based on the latest forecasts, U.S. passenger car sales in 2024 are expected to reach approximately 15.7 million units oai_citation:1,S&P Global Mobility forecasts 88.3M auto sales in 2024 S&P Global oai_citation:2,Forecast: 2024 - Cox Automotive Inc.. If we assume that the share of electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S. market reaches 37%, similar to China's EV market share in 2023, we can estimate the potential number of EVs sold in the U.S. in 2024.

Calculation

• Total projected car sales in the U.S. in 2024: 15.7 million units
• Assumed EV market share: 37%

[ 15.7 \, \text{million} \times 0.37 = 5.809 \, \text{million} ]
Therefore, if the U.S. achieves an EV market share similar to China's current level, approximately 5.81 million electric vehicles could be sold in the U.S. in 2024. This projection highlights the potential for significant growth in the U.S. EV market if trends similar to those in China are followed.
In 2023, Tesla held a notable position in China's new energy vehicle (NEV) market. Throughout the year, Tesla's market share in China's NEV sector was around 7.5% overall oai_citation:1,BYD took control of the 2023 Chinese EV market. Specifically, in September 2023, Tesla's market share was reported to be 5.8% oai_citation:2,China NEV market share in Sept: BYD 34.5%, Tesla 5.8%, Nio 2.1% - CnEVPost. Despite facing intense competition from local manufacturers like BYD, Tesla has managed to maintain a strong presence, reflecting its significant role in the Chinese electric vehicle market oai_citation:3,BYD took control of the 2023 Chinese EV market oai_citation:4,China NEV market share in Sept: BYD 34.5%, Tesla 5.8%, Nio 2.1% - CnEVPost.

SUMMARY

To calculate the potential savings for Faraday Future (FFIE) assuming that all the additional electric vehicles (EVs) sold in the U.S. in 2024 are Chinese-made EVs, we can follow these steps:

1. Determine the number of additional EVs sold in the U.S. in 2024

Based on previous calculations, if the U.S. follows China’s EV market share of 37%, the projected EV sales in 2024 would be:
[ 15.7 \, \text{million} \times 0.37 = 5.81 \, \text{million EVs} ]

2. Calculate the cost savings per vehicle

Assuming each vehicle assembled in the U.S. instead of imported directly from China saves $50,000 in tariffs and associated costs.

3. Compute total savings for FFIE

Total savings = Number of vehicles (\times) Savings per vehicle
[ 5.81 \, \text{million EVs} \times 50,000 \, \text{USD/vehicle} = 290.5 \, \text{billion USD} ]

Conclusion

By assembling the vehicles in the U.S., Faraday Future (FFIE) could potentially save approximately $290.5 billion in 2024 if all the additional EVs sold in the U.S. are Chinese-made and each vehicle saves $50,000.
This calculation is based on the assumption that all additional EV sales are handled by FFIE, which represents a hypothetical scenario. In reality, the savings would depend on FFIE's actual market share and the proportion of vehicles they manage to produce and sell in the U.S.

WHY FFIE $10

To estimate the market capitalization of Faraday Future (FFIE) based on the potential savings from assembling electric vehicles in the U.S., we need to make several assumptions and calculations.
Assumptions and Calculations:

1. Potential Savings: • Total potential savings: $290.5 billion (from the previous calculation) 2. Impact on Market Capitalization: 

Market capitalization is influenced by many factors, including current revenue, profit margins, growth prospects, and investor sentiment. For a direct calculation, we can assume that the market might value these savings as additional potential revenue or profit. 3. Current Market Capitalization: • As of the latest available data, let’s assume FFIE’s current market capitalization is around $1 billion (this value should be checked for the most accurate and recent data). 4. Valuation Multiplier: Typically, market capitalization is a multiple of annual revenue or profit. For simplicity, let’s assume the market values the company at a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 2. This is a conservative estimate for a high-growth tech company but provides a reasonable basis for our calculation.
Calculation:

• New Revenue from Savings: $290.5 billion • Total Projected Revenue: Current revenue (assumed negligible for simplicity) + Savings = $290.5 billion • Market Capitalization: Total projected revenue \times P/S ratio 

290.5 \, \text{billion USD} \times 2 = 581 \, \text{billion USD}
Conclusion:
If Faraday Future (FFIE) could achieve the hypothetical scenario of saving $290.5 billion by assembling all additional EVs sold in the U.S. in 2024 domestically, and the market values this new revenue with a price-to-sales ratio of 2, the company’s market capitalization could potentially be around $581 billion(NOW FFIE is $59 billion).

CHINESE E-CAR MARKET

What is happening now？

China's electric vehicle (EV) market is highly competitive, with leading new energy vehicle (NEV) companies vying for dominance across various price segments. Currently, major players are fiercely competing in three key categories:

1. Sedans around 200,000 RMB (approximately 30,000 USD): For example, Xiaomi's SU7, which has quickly gained significant market share, offers high driving range and advanced features at competitive prices, forcing other manufacturers to adjust their pricing strategies to remain competitive oai_citation:1,Xiaomi’s maiden EV, selling at a loss, turbocharges price war forcing China’s small players out of business South China Morning Post.
   
2. Family SUVs priced at around 300,000 RMB (approximately 40,000 USD): Companies like Li Auto and Xpeng are prominent in this segment. Li Auto's models, such as the Li L9 and Li L8, are known for their high-tech features, extended range capabilities, and strong sales growth oai_citation:2,Investors Overview Li Auto Inc. oai_citation:3,Li Auto’s NEV Sales Jump Over Six-Fold in April to Surpass Nio, Xpeng; BYD Remains Top Seller.
   
3. MPVs around 450,000 RMB (approximately 65,000 USD): The battle in this segment includes models like the Li Auto MEGA and the Xpeng X9. These vehicles offer impressive real-world range and advanced charging capabilities, demonstrating the technological advancements and competitive edge of Chinese automakers in the NEV market oai_citation:4,Battle of the electric MPVs in Hainan: Li Auto MEGA and XPeng X9.
   

These vehicles are not only characterized by superior driving experiences and intelligent in-car systems but also by high safety standards and long-range batteries. The intense competition and continuous innovation in the Chinese EV market are driving the development of increasingly advanced and consumer-friendly electric vehicles.
Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) hold a significant advantage in both pricing and user experience compared to all other EVs worldwide. The competitive pricing is due to robust manufacturing capabilities, government subsidies, and economies of scale. Additionally, Chinese EVs are known for their advanced technology, superior battery life, and comprehensive in-car intelligence systems. As a result, Chinese EV manufacturers are eagerly looking to expand into international markets, ready to offer their competitive products globally and meet the rising demand for high-quality, affordable electric vehicles.

For Context:
32F Current Role: Senior Analyst in Risk Mgt in big 4
Formal Education: High School (don’t let a single person that you need to have x,y,z in order to be able to move up the corporate ladder. It's such BS)
Study time: Jan-May (started strong, got lazy, casually got back into it early May and booked the exam when I was getting 60% in mock tests and that got me through the last 3 week slump)
First:
Before you buy anything, look up discounts on this page or online for Pocket Prep, Courses and the actual exam, they exist.
Check what resources are available by your employer and what you can get reimbursed for. Don's assume. Specifically go to the learning team if you have one in your job as they will know more than your manager or co-workers.
150 Q's Mock exam results on the 4 days leading up to my exam:
16th: 77% via Peter Landini 17th: 70% via Peter Landini 17th: 78% via AR exam at the end of his course 18th: 78% via Peter Landini 19th: 65% via Joseph Phillips 20th: 77% via Peter Landini 21st: Exam Day , Pass (T/AT/T/AT)
Recourses I used in the order in which I recommend they be used:
Ricardo Vargas's YouTube : I watched numerous times as different stages but should be your 1st step. (10/10) Pocket Prep: I bought 3 months but I recommend just utilizing the free version. Good to grasp the contents. This link gets you 20% off if you wish to purchase. (7/10) AR's course here : The best of a bad bunch of very dry, dull and boring course content that simply has to be covered. Overall, I recommend. (8/10) Peter Landini Quiz Book: I bought the book BUT, go to pg 152 which gives you a link to online mock exams. This one is a must in my opinion. (10/10) David McLachlan's YouTube: for any areas you are unsure of with logical explanations. (10/10)
And last but not least, for anyone that struggles with the EVM related Q's I highly recommend the below:
To remember the formula, watch this and write it out every other day: Earned Value Management Formulas in 5 Minutes! (youtube.com) (10/10) To remember the logic of the EVM's : Earned Value Analysis with no math for the PMP Exam (youtube.com) (10/10)
Closing Comments:
Review the exam content outline doc from the PMI website , specifically pages 6 then 8-11. It outlines exactly what to expect in the exam, don’t waste time trying to spot the themes on this sub. This is the shortcut your looking for.

I'm so confused by this woman. She keeps Grace out of school for practically 4 months and sends her back when there is only 2 days left before summer break. Okaaayyy... Then makes it sound like she had a hard time getting the medicine until the insurance agreed? With all the money she literally throws away on dumb shopping trips and unnecessary items, she could not flat out BUY this medication for Grace while fighting the insurance?? Or buy a cheaper vehicle? A dream car is nice but her daughter's medicine she needs to literally BREATHE should be priority. My 2 🪙... 

My school had me take a math placement exam and I placed good enough for math 141 which is the second highest. Im studying computer science and want to transfer into Notre dame. Should I take the test again and try to get into 151 (I was only 4 points away)?

Context: Med student that had a 17 q60 red sport that I bought a few years before starting school.
Love the car but it’s getting up there in miles (80k) and turbos are a very common issue with the model year. Warranty is out. Wanted to trade in for something slightly newer or at least could last through another 5-6 years without much headache. Not looking for a manual and will be doing a ton of driving. Would love to know everyone’s thoughts
I was thinking so far 1. Kona or Elantra N 2. Kia stinger GT2, but insurance costs seem to be on the higher side 3. Integra, but could see myself getting the power bug with it. Wanted to know what the aftermarket is like 4. Open to suggestions about any performance hybrids out there

This is less a home electrical question and more a vehicle electrical question, so I'm sorry if it doesn't quite apply to this sub, but I will ask anyway.
I know you can hook up power inverters to the aux power outlet in a vehicle (AKA the cigarette lighter) which can provide a certain amount of AC power to small electronics and whatnot.
Would it be possible to use one to power a sump pump via extension cord?
I see power inverters for sale that advertise a RANGE of wattages up to, say, 3000W. (here's one example: https://www.walmart.com/ip/JLLOM-3000W-4000W-Car-Power-Inverter-DC-12V-To-AC-110V-Pure-Sine-Wave-Solar-Converter-LCD/1010148549?athbdg=L1400 I know that's peak power, and continuous is more modest)
My Colorado's front aux Power outlet is on a 50 amp fuse, so a generous battery voltage of 12.6 would mean my maximum wattage is 630.
My Wayne sump pump is a 4 amp pump, running on household 120v (the sticker lists it at 115, but I'll use 120 for the calculation) so that comes out to 480 watts.
So...would an inverter running off the vehicle's aux power outlet be able to supply enough power to the sump pump in case of power failure? Is the inverter actaully going to provide the wattage advertised?
This isn't "the plan" but I'm just curious as we've been getting constant severe weather and storms and I worry the power might go out for a while, which has happened on occasion. And yes, I know generators are a thing too, I'm just inquiring about this possible angle. Athlough, another power failure and I might just buy one anyway.

4 Tickets for sale. Have them listed on Ticketmaster.
Section 303, Row 10, Seats 5,6,7,8.
Ideally sell all 4, but willing to break into 2's.
Message me here, happy to go around Ticketmaster since they are pieces of shit so you can avoid fees.
$215 each (which is what I paid).
I'm losing out on all the fee money, but I can't go, and want to help one of ya'll experience this!

my bf and i just started dating recently, but our connection is unmatched and he’s everything that i’ve been looking for. he treats me like an absolute queen and loves me for who i am; however, he still talks to his ex regularly. so my bf grew up in another state and his ex is his best friend’s twin sister, we’ll call her Rachel. we’ll call the my bf’s best friend Robert. My bf and rachel started dating in high school and were together for 4 years, but she cheated on my bf, and they have been broken up for 2 years. both of their families are friends. his close friend group consists of robert and 2 other guys, whom he’s going to visit back in their home state soon and would be staying in robert and rachel parents’ house.
robert’s family knows the truth that rachel cheated but my bf’s family is not aware, and he doesn’t wanna tell them as to not cause drama since both my bf and robert’s parents are friends. before we made it official we had discussed previous relationships which is when i found out all of the above, he didn’t tell me that they were still actively talking. rachel has had a bf for a year, but apparently my bf and her were texting once or twice a day still (he doesn’t initiate but replies back to her). i only found out they were still in contact because i saw two notifications on his phone, one was from a text message from rachel and the other was for a snapchat from rachel. i asked him about it whenever we got home and he said that he can talk to her less like maybe once a month, but doesn’t want to cut her off completely. i asked him to establish a boundary with her since i made it known that it makes uncomfortable that he is still talking to her, and rachel and him talked on the phone, but my bf said that she was confused and didn’t understand what i was wanting.
my bf says i can check his phone whenever i want, but i don’t want to have to do that. he says they’re friends and that if she were to try something he would cut it off immediately. i don’t see why he would still want to talk to someone who hurt him so badly, and i realize that since she’s related to my bf’s best friend, she won’t be completely out of the picture, but ill i’m asking is for him not to talk to her anymore and if they’re ever in proximity just to be civil. it just bothers me that he is still talking to her, and he is willing to make changes, but not just stop completely. his best friend from childhood is also rachel’s best friend, we’ll call her Lana. I don’t mind if my bf still talks to lana as they have been friends for a long time, but i don’t think he should be talking to rachel anymore. i genuinely don’t know what to do. we have talked about it and just put a pause on the discussion for a bit, i told him to ask any other woman in his life and that they would probably agree with me, especially with all the context. i really love him and see a future with him, but i need advice cause i don’t think i’m overreacting or asking for too much.

The market closed green across the board on Tuesdays trading session with investors anticipating a heavily weighted NVDA 0.00%↑ earnings report coming tomorrow after the bell. The report is expected to spur a big move in the AI chip makers stock price and start an overall rally amongst the broader market. Let’s take a look at how our indexes closed today:

• The S&P500 closed with a 0.3% gain on the day
• The Dow Jones Industrial saw 0.2% climb
• The Nasdaq Composite recovered from session lows gaining 0.2%

On the economic front it was a quiet week so far with a consistent theme coming from the Federal Reserve and that is “PATIENCE”, it will be required as they need to see inflation slow down over a period of months in order to bring rate cuts to the table. Most recently this was stated by Chris Waller on Tuesday who is in favor of the Fed holding rates higher for longer.
On the corporate front LOW 0.00%↑ saw a dip in price after delivering better than expected Q1 results:

• EPS = $3.06 vs $2.94 expected
• Revenue = $21.36B vs $21.12B

The home improvement company raised their total sales expectations to $84B - $85B which is a drop from the $86.38B from FY 2023. The decline in sales is stemming from shoppers visiting the store less as home owners are putting off their larger DIY projects, with transactions dropping 3.1% and average ticket 1% YoY.
TSLA 0.00%↑ saw a 6% run in todays market after the Tesla Semi that has been in pilot testing with PesiCo’s FritoLay Division would be receiving an additional 50 trucks in its fleet for the program which brings it up from the 35 that are currently running.
DJT 0.00%↑ fell 10% after its operating losses increased even more (somehow) in a disappointing Q1 report. The company reported a $327.6M loss compared to a loss of $210k a year ago in the same period. Revenue posted at $770.5K, it also posted an adjusted EBTIDA loss of $12M compared to $3.6M the year before.
Crypto stocks saw a rise as ether was given ETF approval as soon as this week delivered by the SEC, Ethereum saw a 20% rise with Bitcoin seeing a 4% rise to eclipse $70k. The appeal of this would give ethereum a wider audience that could invest into the coin.

Debit/Credit Cards Accepted No Closing Costs Cash Price: $1,750 Finance with $200 Down and 18 Payments of $110 Per Month 

1. i’m mainly motivated by future opportunities and making a difference in peoples lives
   
2. i’ve always struggled in school and making friends
   
3. i think authority is important to keep things going/in order
   
4. i find this hard to explain but i’ll try my best, i do and don’t care about how others perceive me, growing up i’ve always hated the idea of reputation and valued being true to oneself but since i’ve been ridiculed for being neurodivergent i’ve since learnt how to mask and create a persona that’s more ‘socially acceptable’
   
5. I have a high sense of danger and good morals, I’m also pretty rule-following
   
6. I don’t really care too much about friendships, I usually just make friends because it makes my family happy to hear that I’ve made friends.
   
7. Personally I feel like there’s not much point in being vulnerable with others, I’d rather keep to myself.
   
8. I’ve been typed as a 7w8 before, but then again I’m a pretty complicated person to type so feel free to ask anything
   
9. Not sure if this matters but my most accurate mbti typing has been ISTJ or INTJ
   

As requested, I am going to share a list of things I did that helped me pass my exam yesterday. Just a heads up, this list is going to be more focused on changes that I made in my personal life I strongly attribute to passing both the SIE and Series 7 on my first try while I only had 2 months to do so. I also did not have a group to study with and I did this on my own. I really wanted to prove to my boss that I deserve to work with him and I’m so glad I succeeded. Let’s get into it…

1. Eating healthy: sounds stupid but it’s necessary. You have to feed your body good food in order to help better prepare.
   
2. Getting off social media: I deleted Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok when I started studying for these exams. I found that I was able to pay attention to my studies for longer periods of time, and I actually don’t miss these apps at all. Life overall is better without them but I think they’re necessary to delete while studying for these exams. I only kept Snapchat, YouTube and Reddit because I didn’t want to be completely cut off from society and friends lol.
   
3. Taking breaks: don’t be afraid to take breaks while studying. There’s no point in trying to wrap your head around a concept if you’re pushing yourself too hard. I would study for about 20 minutes and then I would take a few minutes to chill. I think this technique is great for memorization.
   
4. Study when you feel the best: again, there is no point in pushing yourself too much. You will not be able to memorize concepts if you aren’t feeling your best. Somedays I just was not feeling well and I wouldn’t study for as long as usual. Sleep is also super important.
   
5. Study everyday: I studied everyday for at least 3 hours, most days it was about 5 or 6 hours. I do have the time to be able to do this but my boss gave me 4 weeks to study for this exam so I really had to push it. I increased it to 7 hours everyday during the last week of studying. You have to keep up with memorization. I quit my restaurant job and took a quarter off from school so that I would be able to pursue this, and it was important that I studied as much as possible.
   
6. Really try to nail concepts from the SIE: this applies to people who are getting ready to start studying for the 7, but I noticed that a lot of concepts from the SIE directly applied to what we learn on the 7. It’s important to have a basic understanding of that exam since they go hand in hand.
   
7. Believe in yourself: I’m a strong believer that you are your biggest supporter! This sounds stupid but I know a lot of people struggle with self worth, including myself. You have to be your biggest hype man!
   
8. Relaxing before the exam: this is arguably the most important thing to do. I took my exam on Monday, and last Saturday, I studied for 7 hours and then went to hangout with friends and we had some drinks. I am not promoting alcohol use, but I am promoting finding a way to relax, and that’s how I felt I needed to do it. There is no way in hell you’ll be able to pass this exam if you’re too stressed. I basically cut out alcohol and hanging out with friends while studying for this exam, so it was nice to be able to see them and be with them. It really helped with my nerves. Some people might scold at this idea, but I have no regrets.
   
9. Going with your gut: I can’t lie, I think I guessed on about 30% of the questions on the exam. This exam is EXTREMELY detail oriented, I was shocked. I honestly did not think I was going to pass while taking it. I marked about 10-12 questions for review, and then decided to not change any of my answers and to just go with my gut.
   
10. FINRA has ridiculous protocols: this sounds crazy, but sometimes, the most wild choice is the right choice. When I was taking practice exams, I would always choose answers that seemed like they would be the right answer, and the answer almost always ended up being out of pocket in some way. I cannot exactly describe what I’m talking about, but if you know, you know. Sometimes I would laugh and think to myself, “that answer is silly, but ok”. I kind of applied the same idea when I was taking the actual exam. There are some really crazy questions that will have the weirdest of answers. It’s funny in a way.
    
11. Things to study: OPTIONS!! Everything about options! Nail it down! Regulations and rules as well. Taxes are important too. Realized/unrealized gain/loss and the different strategies to sell stocks (FIFO, LIFO, etc) are important as well.
    

Good luck to everyone out there! You got this! Keep at it! It’s pointless to take the exam if you’re too stressed and if you don’t feel confident. That’s what’s most important! Cheers!

Hey everyone, I have a few items for sale. I do not plan on shipping anything !! LOCAL to 30084. Will to drive up to an hour to meet.
Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/fs-05-24-Mg9YnDX
ASRock Z390M-ITX/ac Bundle

• Price: $225.00
• Specs:
  • Processor: 8700K
  • Motherboard: ASRock Z390M-ITX/ac
  • Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB (2 x 16GB DDR4)
  • Storage: 2TB nvme SSD

Ubiquiti Aggregation L2 Switch 8 SFP+ 10GB Ports

• Price: $175
• Description: Great condition. Comes with mountin hardware.

USW-Pro-24 w/ SFP+

• Price: $300
• Description: Great condition. Comes with mountin hardware.

Custom NAS Server

• Price: $450
• Description: 12 Bay server enclousre. I ordered this from Innovision Link to case https://www.iovstech.com/2u-server-case/s26512-series.html
• Specs:
  • Processor: Intel Xeon W-2155 10-Core CPU
  • Motherboard: GIGABYTE MW51-HPO
  • Memory: 128GB (4 x 32GB PC4-2400T)
  • Drives: 12 x 4TB Drives
• Network:
  • 1 x Dell Mellanox Connect X-4 Dual 25GB NIC (SFPs Included)
  • 1 x Supermicro AOC-STG-B4S 4 Port 10GB NIC (SFPs Included)
• SAS Controller:
  • 2 x LSI SAS 9300-8I HBA
  • 1 x SAS9207-8e ( for external SAS connectivity)
• PSU: 500 Watt
• Rail Kit Included: Yes

Dell PowerConnect 8024F

• Price: $100
• Description: 24 Port 10Gbe SFP+ Switch, No Rail kit or SFPs Included

EMC Disk Array Expansion KTN-STL3

• Price: $100
• Description: Comes with 15 drive caddys. No railkit.

Basically title. I am 25 and I have no work experience outside of 4ish days at mcdonald's like 4 years ago.
I have depression and anxiety (diagnosed) and i suspect autism and adhd as well. I've been trying to find a way to earn money since i was 13. for 12 years I've struggled just getting more depressed in the process. I've decided i really would rather die than spend decades working for some corporation just to survive.
I live with my mother, but we are technically homeless. we sleep in my great grandmother's living room. our car broke down shortly after moving here and we only have my mom's disability that's around 800 a month to live on, but between bills and little treats to keep us alive we haven't been able to save up much, and I recently got hit with a court issued payment for an old credit card that's now taking up an extra $100 of my mom's money every month.
i don't want to die and leave my mother in this shitty situation alone. she's tried so hard my entire life just for me to not be able to meet expectations. I started college courses in high school but i was too depressed so i dropped out in 10th grade and really just kinda dissociated until graduation thinking I'd end up killing myself before then, so i didn't make any actual plans for life. i ended up accidentally sleeping through my SAT timeslot so i just never applied to any colleges. I wanted to get a working certificate but it was like $600 when i graduated and i had no job and no way of getting one, and my mom was at the time struggling to pay our $350 rent cause she herself was disabled with no disability back then.
I'm pretty creative so for a few years i made money doing whatever i could from home, trying to be patient about the "starting a business takes years" thing, but after about 3 years in the most successful thing i tried, the pandemic started and many people started businesses from home in my niche which basically took away the ability for me to stand out and do numbers that had helped me get that far. i kept trying for another year but sales were pretty much nonexistent and i got burnt out trying to keep up the work with no money.
since then I've kinda just been drifting by in life. after burning out while working at home i tried to get a job at mcdonald's which everyone said was a great starter job, but after a week i was left even more burnt out. I hate being around people and having to speak, ehich was so draining. customers are so vile to fast food workers, the bosses treated us like kids (even the ones that had long graduated high school), I am not good being watched or timed so i kept messing up, my bosses would pressure me to take early breaks and on my last day i didn't get a break at all, and every day after work my legs would hurt so bad I'd just sit and cry. i struggled even walking to the bathroom for a month after i quit, i genuinely thought i had done permanent damage to my legs and i had only worked for 4 days (not including the training which i never even got to finish). it was a nightmare and i never want to do that again.
I know I've listed probably way more information than necessary but I'm so desperate. i don't want to die, but if my options are work the rest of my life or end it early, I'm choosing the latter. but before i do that i just want to get my mom into a more stable situation. my grandmother is 91 and once she dies my mom will be on the streets. i don't want that for her. i just don't see any actual solutions.

I've been a staff accountant for a not for a non-profit with about 35M net assets for 2.5 years now. I make $63K a year in a HCOL area. And boy am I drowning when it comes to finances.
I'm not a CPA yet but my monthly duties are the following:

1. Cash entries and bank reconciliations
   
2. Fixed assets depreciation and reconciliation
   
3. Prepaid amortizations
   
4. Accruals
   
5. Loan service entries
   
6. Monthly lease entries and reconciliation
   
7. Sales taxes reporting
   
8. Employee PTO, retirement and payroll entries
   
9. Monthly income statement variance analyses
   
10. Monthly full balance sheet account reconciliation
    
11. Assist with audit requests
    
12. Ad hoc entries and projects as requested
    

Am I finally worth something somewhere else? I needed the accounting experience so I took this role and did my best to learn. I love my team and my job. But inflation is crazy in my area. Groceries for just myself are like 100 bucks a week, when they used to only be like 50 at most. Half my paycheck goes to my rent. The rest is for student loans, my car loan and gas. I'd like a bit more money.
Would any of you hiring managers hire me at $80K-90K with this experience?

Hey everyone, I have a few items for sale. I do not plan on shipping anything !! LOCAL to 30084. Will to drive up to an hour to meet.
Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/fs-05-24-Mg9YnDX
ASRock Z390M-ITX/ac Bundle

• Price: $225.00
• Specs:
  • Processor: 8700K
  • Motherboard: ASRock Z390M-ITX/ac
  • Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB (2 x 16GB DDR4)
  • Storage: 2TB nvme SSD

Ubiquiti Aggregation L2 Switch 8 SFP+ 10GB Ports

• Price: $175
• Description: Great condition. Comes with mountin hardware.

USW-Pro-24 w/ SFP+

• Price: $300
• Description: Great condition. Comes with mountin hardware.

Custom NAS Server

• Price: $450
• Description: 12 Bay server enclousre. I ordered this from Innovision Link to case https://www.iovstech.com/2u-server-case/s26512-series.html
• Specs:
  • Processor: Intel Xeon W-2155 10-Core CPU
  • Motherboard: GIGABYTE MW51-HPO
  • Memory: 128GB (4 x 32GB PC4-2400T)
  • Drives: 12 x 4TB Drives
• Network:
  • 1 x Dell Mellanox Connect X-4 Dual 25GB NIC (SFPs Included)
  • 1 x Supermicro AOC-STG-B4S 4 Port 10GB NIC (SFPs Included)
• SAS Controller:
  • 2 x LSI SAS 9300-8I HBA
  • 1 x SAS9207-8e ( for external SAS connectivity)
• PSU: 500 Watt
• Rail Kit Included: Yes

Dell PowerConnect 8024F

• Price: $100
• Description: 24 Port 10Gbe SFP+ Switch, No Rail kit or SFPs Included

EMC Disk Array Expansion KTN-STL3

• Price: $100
• Description: Comes with 15 drive caddys. No railkit.