How to make a pedal car

I've been rotting ever since. My whole family is a wreck. It was such a surprise. I loved my mom. She was beautiful and the nicest person you'd have ever met. She would give her last 5 dollars to a stranger if they asked. She never yelled, never lied. She loved to sing. She'd sing every day doing normal chores and in the car. I used to tell her to cut it out because it was annoying. Mom would sing to me in public too. She had a little nursery rhyme song for everything that she made up when it wasn't just normal music. I told her to stop over and over until she did because it was embarrassing. I fucking wish I could hear it again.
On my 18th she committed. She did it in the fucking closet of her room. I remember walking into the house feeling this gut wrenching fear. I knew something was wrong and begged my sister to come look for mom with me since dad wasn't home but she felt it too and said that we should just call the police. I'll never forget how quiet the house was. We had birds and they weren't chirping even though they always did. I'll always remember the way the air felt and the way my anxiety was. I couldn't wait for the police to get here and found her myself. I screamed, cried, and the rest was just a blur.
I couldn't read the note she left. My family has had arguments all over and my dad has been drowning himself in alcohol and bringing home random women. I'm the youngest. I will never understand why she did it on my birthday. Maybe it says it in the note. I don't know who has it. Part of me wishes that I had read it but the other never wants to know the answer. She was so happy. The rare times my dad is sober now he's apologizing and talking to mom like she's around. She'd probably cuddle him and tell him that it's okay. She was that kind of person. She wouldn't even be angry with what he's doing because she would see the heartbreak and forgive him. She was so, so kind. I don't know why this happened.
I want to commit next. I miss my mom so much. She was so nice. I loved her the most out of everyone. She was so happy when I brought home my first girlfriend and she teased me about leaving the door open. She always wanted grandchildren. She would cut the crusts off my sandwiches because I was always too much of a bitch to just eat them. She brought me sandwiches the day before with crusts off. I don't know why this happened.
I miss her. I just needed to tell someone. I can't talk to my siblings and my dad isn't my dad anymore. I don't want to pain my family any more than they already are. The whole community is grieving since she was so involved. I have no one to go to. I have to be strong for my sisters and I'm the one who takes care of my dad. I don't even know why the fuck I'm writing this. It isn't going to make a difference. I just needed to talk.

Viewed on Tubi
I...
What?
With some bad movie genre directors and studios, you have a general idea of what's ahead of you. A Troma film will be trashy and usually gross, a Corman film will be cheap but with heart, a Hammer film will somehow toe the line between trashy and classy, and so on.
With Alber Pyun, I never EVER know what the hell is going to happen. The man doesn't understand films, entertainment, scripts, or just how humans operate in general.
The basic premise of this film is kind of simple. Off in space somewhere, a tough lady runs a club (The Electric Dream) that broadcasts a big time musical show. Her leading act has died in a spaceship accident, and she reaches out to sleazy manager Matty to get the current band he's promoting to fill the gap.
Problem: their lead singer Ace just quit the band...then died five seconds later in a car crash. Matty finds a seemingly naive girl named Judy Jetson (no shit) in the weirdest high school talent show (five minutes after Ace died in real time). A few minutes later she meets the rest of the band, is dressed like she hit up Madonna's garage sale, has a dead muskrat of a wig crammed on her head, is renamed Ace so Matty doesn't have to change the posters, and is belting out the bands songs expertly in a dive bar maybe ten minutes after having met the band.
Tough lady and Matty hammer out a deal, and Matty cuts the concert short so he can steal a ship to fly them across the galaxy tonight to make the Electric Dream show. Another problem: the ship has a secret cargo...a psychotic killer in the cargo hold. The ship crashes on a desert planet, then...
Then...
Hell if I know.
The story kind of sort of made sense until that point, but didn't really. Things happen stupid fast, while at the same time feel like nothing is happening at all. Once they're crashed, the girls bicker and fuss and do drugs and drink coffee and bicker woodenly some more, and it all seems kind of improv, but with no direction at all. The psycho monster does...stuff. Zombie punk cannibals do things? A couple of nude desert sirens kind of sort of do a something and a thingus, then fall over? There's a lot of running around and complete nonsense with a hint that maybe this is all some sort of dream/nightmare/drug trip, but then it kind of ends and there's another musical number?
I just don't fucking know.
The only reason I stuck with this is that, inexplicably, the 80's female pop-rock songs are actually pretty damned good. The lyrics are kind of nonsense, but I didn't really care. They were catchy in a Pat BenataBonnie Tyler sort of way, and it drug me along through this cow patty of a film.
Do I recommend this one? Ehhhhhhhh, sorta. It was OK to have on while it was doing other stuff, but I have the distinct feeling that if you don't pay attention, you'll think you missed something.
No, you didn't.

I’m a student I’m a 19F year old student in college dating a guy I been with for going on 3 years now I have a overall good relationship with my parents though we often butt heads a lot…throughout my whole life I had a “problem with boys” it started when I was 14F I started dating of course being young and dumb i did dumb things like texting inappropriately. My parents would go through my phone and find thing an make me break up with them even if we wasn’t texting inappropriate as well…When I was 15F I met a guy who was Muslim who I started dating when I was 16F and he ended up sharing at part of his religion with me I got very close with his family but my parents are Christian so when they saw I was changing my views on my own religion and actually starting to love Islam and wanted to convert they forced me to break up with him i didn’t want to because he was also my friend so I left home and this caused a big deal… my grandma called the police on me and I got brought home being forced to now see or talk to him, quite my job( I worked with him), and not graduate early ( I was ahead and had great grades in High school). A year later I met my current Boyfriend who I truly love and I know loves me. Me and my boyfriend, me 16M and 17F I am a year older. I try to hide him from my parents because I know they would probably tell me to break up with him or start going through my phone again. Which they did go through my phone and saw I was dating him and wanted me to break up with him but I didn’t! We continue dating and we wasn’t perfect we were young a dumb as well when we first started dating we wasn’t allowed to go on dates because we both didn’t have a car so I try to sneak to his house and got caught then a year ago I sneaked him into my house for a day while my parents where gone on vacation he felt uneasy because he knew my parents are strict and didn’t want to get me in trouble but we did anyway and we were successful… Until 6 months later me and my dad had been arguing because of how I felt he treats me (we have a rocky relationship and when me mad he will ignore me for weeks) this turned into a family problem because my grandma and mom got into it and he felt I was putting all the blame on him. So one day I came home after going to meet my boyfriend ate the park ( they knew I was meeting him) I came home and we got into a big argument. My dad said he doesn’t talk to me because how I act and told me how he had on camera me sneaking my boyfriend in the house. I felt really bad and knew I was wrong but confused why he just now decided to confront me about it. But why forced me to break up with my boyfriend i didn’t want to because I love him we been dating now for 2 years as well and I’m 18 but to go into college so I packed my stuff and tried to leave, my boyfriend wanted me to come stay with him till I could move into my dorm but my dad got mad and got physically aggressive and stoped me( gave me bruises on my arm). I brought all my college supplies myself man’s my mom broke it in the front yard with a hammer… I even gave them my car keys and was but to leave to my boyfriend house in the Uber I bought. But they forced me to stay and break up with him also I wasn’t allowed to go live on campus anymore. Now a year later my parents hate him and since I live in there house I’m not allowed to see him( we met one a week at my college to see each other secretly). They said I did this to myself and I always blame them…I’m really in a hard spot right now and don’t know what to do.

Hello again velo, It's me. The guy that rides uphill in Japan. On my last post I mentioned some differences in racing in Japan saying it was for another post. Well, there appeared to be some interest in me making that post. As I mentioned then... I tend to ramble. I'm an English teacher at a small high school which leaves me with a lot of free time. I enjoy spending that time researching anything from training methodology to obscure Japanese history. I decided to use some of that time to write about road racing in Japan and it turned into... well, whatever this is. It's (sort of) a guide to racing your bike over here. I've organized it into sections, so feel free to read it all or skip through them. At the end I've attached racing adjacent notes as well as a small bio.
If this post is not appropriate for this subreddit, I understand. And while I don't want to self-promote I spend most of my time reading about Japan not only because I live here, but also because my wife and I host a podcast. We mostly ramble about our lives here as foreigners. It's mostly cultural, but as long time competetive cyclists we often talk about bikes too. We host a website where I write random articles, which is where this is ultimately hosted, with photos. If you're curious you can google my username and find us.
I tried to think about things I've learned along the way and put it into writing for anyone in the future that might move to Japan and have an interest in racing. If you have any questions or see any information gaps, feel free to ask! In September we'll be moving to the Netherlands... so maybe I'll have to do this all over again then. Anyway, without further rambling, here it is.
Race License
There are actually quite a lot of road events throughout the country. However, many are marketed towards recreational cyclists. Going as far as incorporating anti-competition clauses in their rules. So what do you do if you want to race? For starters, you’ll head to the Japan Cycling Federation’s website and register for a license. It’s in Japanese, but with the magic of Google Translate it shouldn’t be too hard to navigate. This is also for those currently residing in Japan. I think otherwise you would need an international license issued from your country’s governing body.
While on their website you can check the calendar of events that are scheduled. But, it’s not as simple as where I am from (USA) where once you have a license you can register yourself for almost any event and just show up.
Race Organizers
In most cases while the JCF is the licensing body, they are not the event coordinator. Events are hosted by a number of different governing bodies within the country. There’s the Japan Intercollegiate Cycling Federation (JICF), Japan Cycling League (JCL), prefectural federations such as the Yamaguchi Cycling Federation and finally the Japan Bicyclist Club Federation (JBCF). There are a lot of Js, Cs and Fs in the acronym lexicon over here. In this post I’ll be focusing on the JBCF because it was sold to me as Japan’s premier race organizer and the highest level of racing in Japan. It also seems to have the most robust calendar of events.
Declaration of my bias and shortcoming: The JBCF is the only organizer I’ve had any meaningful experience with. No, they’re not paying me. However I have won a cool towel, a coffee cup and some bar tape at their events. Actually I’ve given them quite a bit of money…
Teams
So you’ve got your JCF license and like me you’ve decided to participate in the JBCF. What’s next? Register for a JBCF account, sign up for events, race your bike? Almost. You do need to register for an account. After that, you need to find a team. That’s right, you need to be registered with a JBCF team to participate in races. This was a surprise to me and also a barrier to entry at first. As a new resident of Japan I didn’t know anyone here let alone a team that would let a random foreigner join.
How’d I do it then? Well, the first team I joined was through a friend of a friend of a friend. My second and current team I ended up getting to know because I took a bunch of KOMs around my new home. I guess Strava KOMs are worth something after all. If you’re looking for a team you could start by asking local shops, they often have a club organization that you can sign up for. If you’re desperate you can also make your own team. It used to only require two people, but I think they increased that to three or four.
Costs
I’m writing this in May of 2024, so the costs will be current as of that month. The USD to JPY conversion is sitting around 1 USD = 155 JPY.
Your first cost will be the JCF license fee. In my case, an elite rider over 23 years old, it was 5,000y for an e-license and 6,300y for the physical one. My first year I used the e-license, but my second year I paid for the physical one as a cool souvenir.
Beyond the license. You’ll need a team kit (bibs & jersey) and you may also be required to pay the athlete registration fee. To join my E1 team in 2024 I paid 43,000 yen. That included one team kit and the registration fee plus some small accessories (gloves, bottle, etc.). In E1 I paid all my own entry fees, which were approximately 8,500y per race.
My JPT experience was a special case. I paid roughly $1,200 (usd). But I received two kits (jerseys & bibs), a speed suit (SS skinsuit), windbreaker, vest, socks, etc. I also had the benefit of the “pro” treatment at races with lots of assistance. Was it a cold rainy day? I could ask for embro and they’d oil me up with a little massage. Needed a bike wash, snacks, or a trainer to warm up on? All provided. And all of my entry fees were covered. I never paid those out of pocket. It was a really cool experience and honestly I think I got my money's worth just in the races that I attended, let alone all the extras. Plus the team was above and beyond hospitable. A really great bunch of people.
Categories
Once you’re on a team you’re good to go! So which category should you race in? The JBCF has 5 big categories: Japan Pro Tour (JPT), Japan Elite Tour (JET), Japan Feminin Tour (F), Japan Youth Tour (Y1 & Y2), and the Japan Masters Tour (M). JET is further broken down into E1, E2 & E3. The general idea is male riders start as E3 and through results they work their way up to E1. If they’re highly motivated they’ll target a placement on a JPT Team.
Unfortunately for the women, I believe there is only one lump “Female” category. But in one of my most recent races a woman lined up with us for our race start. So that may be an option. For the Youth there’s U19 & U17. Masters is similar to the women’s category and I believe there is simply one “Masters” event, without age ranges.
Using what I know (USA Cycling Categories) I’ll try to make a comparison. E3 is your Cat 4/5 or Novice rank. E2 is around Cat 3/4 and E1 is roughly one big P/1/2/3 field. JPT is something like the US’s Domestic Elite field. Some JPT teams (and even some E1 teams) are UCI Continental teams. Although, honestly, some JPT riders are probably equivalent to strong Cat 3s.
In America I raced as a Cat 2 on the road, albeit I was a pretty weak 2. My first year in Japan I raced JPT and was able to hang in the peloton and finish events. My second year I raced as an E1, where I was very competitive and able to fight for podium finishes. That’s my experience and my basis for the above comparisons.
Events
Once you’ve got all the above figured out, it’s time to finally race! The JBCF organizes the following events: Road, Criterium, Hill Climb, Time Trial and Track. Criterium, Time Trial & Track are pretty similar to what you’d find anywhere else in the world. So for this post I’ll really just focus on Road and Hill Climb.
It’s worth noting that except for track, all of these events take place on public roads. But, unlike the USA, it seems the general rule in Japan is that for a race to be a “race” the roads need to be closed to traffic. Sounds great, right? Right! Or, mostly. Japan is a beautiful country with incredible scenery and fantastic road riding. Unfortunately, the JBCF uses very little of this. I think to minimize inconveniencing locals, cut costs, and make their lives easier, most of these events will take place on already closed circuits or around agricultural land (where no one lives or drives anyway). In practice they are “public” roads, but they only need to shut down one or two entrances to close off the entire loop.
Many “road” events are just very long short circuit races. A popular venue that hosts multiple races throughout the season is the Gunma Cycle Sports Center. This is a defunct cycling theme park built in the 1980s with a paved 6 km circuit. Some of the races in the higher categories can be up to 150 km! That’s 25 laps! And, they’ll be pulling riders. When I was racing JPT it was often a big accomplishment just to finish a race. It was a common occurrence for a break to get established with the big teams represented and the rest of the field to sit up, inevitably getting pulled before being lapped. It’s not uncommon for well over half of the field to DNF early on in these longer races. Sometimes to add a little spice to your life, they’ll run the course in the opposite direction one weekend.
So, I’m biased, but that style of “road racing” wasn’t for me. That’s what led me to the Hill Climb. At first, I thought it was just an uphill TT. But, it's a mass start! The last one I did was Mt. Ontake HC which was a 17.7km race gaining 1,150 meters in elevation finishing at an altitude just under 2,200m. I finished in 51 minutes. It’s more like an uphill criterium. You might explode, but you won’t get pulled. It’s also, of course, point to point.
Good things to know about a Hill Climb are the controlled descent and luggage delivery. When you finish you’ll be waiting at the top of the climb for all other riders and categories to finish. Sometimes this means you’re waiting for an hour or more! Thankfully the morning of the race you can give a bag to the organizers and they will deliver it to the top of the mountain. This is a great way to make sure you have extra layers and snacks waiting for you. Just make sure it’s packed in a bag that you can then easily carry with you on the descent.
Be extra mindful of the forecast. At Ontake in 2024 we started at the base of the mountain in temperatures around 16 celsius. At the summit it was 7 degrees and it started to rain! Thankfully I had a teammate who had driven to the top (you must register your vehicle) and he gave me a lift back down. If you’re riding down, the descent will be done in waves which are chaperoned and controlled by officials on motorcycles.
Registering
I can only tell you my experience and I’m not certain that this is how it always works. When I was in the JPT, I never paid for an event. Each team could send six riders and the team manager made a selection based on which riders requested to go to which event, they would then register you to go. In my E1 team I haven’t run into any rider maximums (we only have a few E1 riders), and I pay for each event. I still tell the team’s manager which event I want to travel to, they register me, but then I pay them back.
The Day Of
The JBCF events have been very organized. The week before they will release a list of registered riders along with a technical guide. The technical guide will include information about the course, where to park, where to check in, how to pin your numbers and more. It’s only in Japanese. Google Translate will be your best friend. Or if you’re lucky you may have a teammate that can speak some English and help you out.
Usually the check in process begins a couple of hours before the start time. You’ll go to license control and pick up your numbers and timing chip. If you’re doing a hill climb and need to, this is also the period of time you drop off your luggage to be taken to the summit. Get kitted & pinned up, then go to the “vehicle control”. They will check your bike against a jig, kind of like what the UCI might use, as well as check the weight (take your bottles off the bike when you hand it to them) and make sure your numbers are pinned correctly. A keen eyed inspector may even look at your helmet to make sure it has the JCF certification sticker. You could possibly be told to change helmets if yours doesn’t have the sticker. When they tell you that everything is OK, you’ll go to the table and sign the box with your name.
There are also meetings that will be happening. But, you shouldn’t have to worry about that. If the team manager can’t be present they will send an “attendant”. This person is responsible for going to the meetings and reporting back to the riders.
Podiums & Prizes
Look how far you’ve come. After all that you’re headed to the podium, which in many events will be six deep. What should you expect? Maybe a cool trophy or a medal? It’s even better. How about a formal certificate signed and stamped by the JBCF President! That’s right, you’ll be receiving an A4 sheet of paper. And yes, when they hand it to you they’ll turn it to face you, use both hands to hand it over and bow. And yes, you should receive it with both hands and bow in return. I plan to frame and hang mine like some kind of college diploma. You’ll probably receive a prize as well. Something like what I mentioned earlier in this post, a towel, cup, umbrella, etc.
Where’s the money? If you want to hold a giant cheque with a big number (because it’s in yen) you’ll need to be racing in the top category, JPT. In this category the podium is only three deep. One time in a race I had a teammate finish 3rd and win some money. I never saw any of it, which was fair as I didn’t really contribute to his result. And I never podiumed myself. So I’m not sure how the payout actually works. Did he get to keep it all? Did the team take it? Who knows. I hope he kept it all, he’s a great guy.
Other Notes
Gachinko Cycle TV & Photo Galleries. Almost all JBCF events are live streamed & archived on YouTube! There’s a company called Gachinko Cycle TV that provides coverage. This includes camera motos as well as stationary cameras. A lot of photographers also come to the events and a photo gallery is posted on the JBCF website after the events take place.
Events & Categories. Not every event will be run for every category. A motivator for me to move from JPT to E1 was that not every hill climb has a JPT category, but they all seem to have E1. My first time racing at Ontake I was in the “Open” category and not eligible for any points or placement.
Outlier events. There are some events like the Niseko Classic (Gran Fondo World Championship Qualifier) and the Tour of Okinawa. These are one off events which are not part of the JBCF or any other federation I mentioned above. But, they are “real” road races on closed roads. There are also plenty of “cookie” rides. But be aware, like mentioned earlier, many of these explicitly say you shouldn’t come and try to ride for a certain time. I think it’s related to what I’ve been told about races having to take place on closed roads. These cookie rides likely have no traffic control. And instead of a cookie, you might get a bag of dry rice to cook later. Happened to me once.
The Hill Climb might be Japan’s most accessible event. There are actually quite a few of them around the country outside of the JBCF and they can be registered for on SportsEntry - I don’t think you need a JCF license.
What about other disciplines? I’ll toss this in here at the end because I think it’s worth mentioning. If you’re not racing Track, Cyclocross or Road… you’re not going to be doing much racing. Mountain biking is still very much in its infancy here in Japan. Despite its incredible landscape, there’s a shocking lack of good mountain biking. My wife and I moved here from Western North Carolina and she’s a former Age Group XC National Champion as well as podium finisher in events like the Pisgah Stage Race and Collegiate Nationals in STXC, XC & Omnium. So believe me, we have tried to find some good mountain biking here and it’s rough.
There are some lift-access downhill courses and we actually went to one for a “gravel” race which my wife won. This was held on what was essentially a non-technical STXC course. Disappointing is a bit of an understatement. There IS Grinduro Japan… but it’s insanely expensive and again, not really a race.
This honestly has had a big impact on our decision to ultimately move away from Japan. But, keep an eye out for developments in places like: https://www.minamialpsmtb.com/ https://namba.ngo/ https://www.nsd-hakuba.jp/iwatake_mtb_park/en/
Cyclocross has a big following in Japan and the calendar appears to be full of events throughout the season. If we were staying long term, I’d be buying a cross bike. Unfortunately I don’t have one, so I never got into that scene while living here.
Although this is mostly about racing in Japan, if you come here to race you’ll also (hopefully) be riding your bike for fun. Please be aware some laws work differently here. Although I’ve never personally run into trouble I’ve been told things like: bikes MUST use the crosswalk if turning across traffic (no turning like a car turns) & that bikes CANNOT exceed 30 km/h (a bike shop owner told me this). My wife and I have often talked about this as well… while in the USA drivers can be malicious towards cyclists, Japanese drivers are often blissfully ignorant towards them. Always ride defensively. Drivers will make eye contact with you and proceed to pull out in front of you expecting you to either not be traveling with speed or to stop for them. Even in “polite” Japan, the Car is King. I’ve had far more close calls with drivers here than I had in America. Having said that, it’s still a wonderful country to explore by bike.
Who Am I?
If you read all of this, thanks! I hope that you learned a little bit about road racing in Japan. But, who am I? I’m an American from Western North Carolina, now living in Japan. Ishikawa Prefecture to be specific. I’ve been a cyclist since 2011 when I bought my first road bike. In America I’m a Cat 2 on the road and an XC MTB Cat 1 with extensive experience training for and racing in a variety of disciplines. Road riding and racing is my true love and I honestly only got into MTB to hang out with my girlfriend. I guess it was worth it because the only National Championship medals I have are from Team Relay & Team Omnium. Oh, we ended up getting married too. So that was cool. I also got into the gravel craze thanks to the plethora of racing options in the South East. I’ve stood on multiple podiums with the internet’s favorite privateer, Dylan Johnson. And I’ve dabbled in bikepacking, bike touring & ultra endurance riding. Really, I’m just a guy that thinks about bikes too much.

I’m a student I’m a 19 year old student in college dating a guy I been with for going on 3 years now I have a overall good relationship with my parents though we often butt heads a lot…throughout my whole life I had a “problem with boys” it started when I was 14 I started dating of course being young and dumb i did dumb things like texting inappropriately. My parents would go through my phone and find thing an make me break up with them even if we wasn’t texting inappropriate as well…When I was 15 I met a guy who was Muslim who I started dating when I was 16 and he ended up sharing at part of his religion with me I got very close with his family but my parents are Christian so when they saw I was changing my views on my own religion and actually starting to love Islam and wanted to convert they forced me to break up with him i didn’t want to because he was also my friend so I left home and this caused a big deal… my grandma called the police on me and I got brought home being forced to now see or talk to him, quite my job( I worked with him), and not graduate early ( I was ahead and had great grades in High school). A year later I met my current Boyfriend who I truly love and I know loves me. Me and my boyfriend me 16 and 17 I am a year older. I try to hide him from my parents because I know they would probably tell me to break up with him or start going through my phone again. Which they did go through my phone and saw I was dating him and wanted me to break up with him but I didn’t! We continue dating and we wasn’t perfect we were young a dumb as well when we first started dating we wasn’t allowed to go on dates because we both didn’t have a car so I try to sneak to his house and got caught then a year ago I sneaked him into my house for a day while my parents where gone on vacation he felt uneasy because he knew my parents are strict and didn’t want to get me in trouble but we did anyway and we were successful… Until 6 months later me and my dad had been arguing because of how I felt he treats me (we have a rocky relationship and when me mad he will ignore me for weeks) this turned into a family problem because my grandma and mom got into it and he felt I was putting all the blame on him. So one day I came home after going to meet my boyfriend ate the park ( they knew I was meeting him) I came home and we got into a big argument. My dad said he doesn’t talk to me because how I act and told me how he had on camera me sneaking my boyfriend in the house. I felt really bad and knew I was wrong but confused why he just now decided to confront me about it. But why forced me to break up with my boyfriend i didn’t want to because I love him we been dating now for 2 years as well and I’m 18 but to go into college so I packed my stuff and tried to leave, my boyfriend wanted me to come stay with him till I could move into my dorm but my dad got mad and got physically aggressive and stoped me( gave me bruises on my arm). I brought all my college supplies myself man’s my mom broke it in the front yard with a hammer… I even gave them my car keys and was but to leave to my boyfriend house in the Uber I bought. But they forced me to stay and break up with him also I wasn’t allowed to go live on campus anymore. Now a year later my parents hate him and since I live in there house I’m not allowed to see him( we met one a week at my college to see each other secretly). They said I did this to myself and I always blame them…I’m I the problem?

Hello, I am thinking of switching my occupation to a car salesman. Cars are probably one of two things that I am into. (the other one is gym) And it's not like I am interested in like just supercars, I like reading about everyday traffic cars honestly. So, what would be your suggestions and advices? I work as a server right now so I know which restaurants in my town are busy, where servers are making good money. How do I know if a certain dealership is attractive to customers/which brands usually sells the most? Did you get your first job as a salesman immediately or you started like valet guy or service advisor, something like that? I mean these questions prob sound dumb and it's ok if you laugh at it but I am just trying to figure things out and make some kind of a plan. Thanks

I 24F took in my younger sister 17F in October. She had texted me during school that day saying she didn’t feel safe, when she got home she texted me our code word. I left work as soon as I could and made a lame excuse to go over to my family’s home. My parents 41F and 57M were standoffish so I stuck to my lame excuse and distracted them. My sister ran to my truck and ducked down. I left and around the corner we self reported her runaway to the proper authorities. We reported to CPS everything that happened and led up to that day and have worked with the system since including the sheriffs office and detectives. I won’t say what exactly we went through but our dad has been arrested on 11 charges, 2 of which are capital crimes. Through all of this she has lived with me and my husband 24M in our home we purchased just a month before she ran. We’re both suffering PTSD and depression from everything that happened and she has been seeing a therapist. Unfortunately my sister and I present very differently. I took the quiet way out of that house so I could still have access to my sisters when I moved out, my sister has fought every step of the way since leaving for justice. It’s admirable and I don’t want to sound like I don’t love her and understand how hard all of this is, but my sister has been rude to my husband and I, condescending about my education, complaining we’re never home when we go to work, picking fights with me, complaining we can’t afford to buy her a car, etc. Needless to say it makes it feel like everything we do is not enough and never will be and has led to changes in how we want to handle her turning 18 in 3 months. My husband and I started working on a rental contract to give her and ourselves protection when she turns 18. She can rent her room and bathroom for $350 a month with all basic groceries, utilities, washedryer and all the supplies, kitchen and all the supplies, and streaming services included. There are rules that are basically keep your spaces clean, keep the common spaces clean, respect all members of the household, let us know in advance if you’re having company over and give us extra time if you’ll be having company over and hosting in common areas so we can make sure we don’t have plans overlapping. We did decide that for disrespecting the rules or us there would be a financial penalty after a certain amount of times a month of failing to do these things because we currently have no recourse for her consistently fighting with me until I cry, leaving messes in the kitchen I get to clean up, and just generally not respecting our home. There are clauses to have those penalties removed and added in for her protection because it’s meant to protect everyone if any arguments or issues come up. My husband, being frustrated after 8 months of her purposefully upsetting me or starting fights then asking us for things and guilting us for them not being done immediately because we need to work to pay bills, wants to drop this in front of her when she turns 18 and give her two options: sign the contract and stay with us or find somewhere else to live and provide us with a lease by the end of August (her birthday is early in the month). I felt that was unfair to drop with no warning so I gave her a heads up about it so she wouldn’t be startled when the time came. After talking with her therapist, she’s decided we’re a**holes for not just supporting her (emotionally and financially) after she turned 18. I’m on the fence and frustrated. So AITA for asking my sister to sign a rent contract or move out after she turns 18? P.S. my husband has been very patient with her and the first few months just brushed everything off. He’s only to this point because there’s been no improvement whatsoever and she has been apathetic to everyone and has even ridiculed me for crying or being at all emotional.

In this term,as a Asian student I have received the mark terrible enough to my mom will adopt a new kid.(“We are in world top ten universities,you still good.”said by my white friend.As Asian we don’t do that way,either you are good enough to make the 90% of people said “well”,or go home.Fight to be top is the nature,since we have nothing to lose.)
Especially ,for the international strategy course,which I took as elective module.The irony here is the reason why I take ,I though I would be good at this one .
After received the mark ,I was depressed and want to cry.(yes,I am weak.:)But I still have the exams to prepare,I told myself hold the anger and tear to express after the exam .
After exam ,I want to do an official appeal about the international strategy assignment.So I reach out with the director of this course.I was pissed out ,bcs I thought some comments ignored the thinking in my work,and they are only judging by how I present.(which have been negative influenced by my depression).All those excuse saved my self-esteem.
However after our meeting,I stop thinking this way.Yes ,the director is right,my job is bad .I always expect the reader can link the points and evidences without my analysis.Except that,I really need to change my cognitive model.I was to using web model to learn knowledge .（going to discuss in next post.)
There is a thing called first principle in cognitive model,which is the way he want to see when we are analysis,like to link the analysis with our primary goal. For example,if we try to solve how car can run fast ,then think about what is the fundamental element make car run,and what is the fundamental element affect the efficiency.
Now,I accept I am sack at English writing and the deep learning.But I am going to change ,this is the first step-random post something in English .As long as I am moving and trying,still not flailed.I also tried to read more English books by myself instead of mother language vision.)
(Anyway,I really glad no one know me here.My fragile self-esteem always make me want to hide and give up.Like If I did not try hard,when I fail I still not a loser.I read one interview of Elon said try 10 times first. Ok then let’s try,I will be good in the future.) Thx for reading,left your comment tell me what you think. (Aaaa ,share point is really scare .)

My sister in law always brings her kids over to where I live (we live with my husband's dad cuz he's elderly) and her kids just come over, trash the house, and leave. She has 4 kids all under 10 and they come over and put food all over the tables and counters, toys everywhere, even their shoes and jackets just thrown everywhere. They come over and eat mine and my husband's food that we buy and we aren't rich. They don't replace it. She makes plans to come over to the house and doesn't tell anyone. She just drops by without a single word to my husband or I. So I'll be in the shower or something and the kids will be banging on my door wanting to see me but like wth ? Really ? I love the kids but they don't know how to clean up after themselves and we have to parent them every. Single. Time. Girly is just on the couch on her phone making plans with other moms or pitching and complaining about something. MIND YOU: This woman is living the ✨️ dream ✨️. She's a stay-at-home mom/wife and has HER OWN HOUSE that's unfortunately 5 min away from ours. Her house is nice and big, she's got the cars, her husband has a great job with "unlimited PTO" as he says. Yet, she's SO miserable. Like all the time. Her boys do baseball and she's always like "UGH gotta be there at 8 AM hahaha!!" Like, okay? Why do you sign yourself up for this shit? Our house has a pool and I'm dreading it again this year. Last year, she just kept bringing her kids over without telling anyone and so we will be walking around the house and BOOM. A child. Soaking wet running in the house. They leave doors open so our place had a bunch of flies and gnats. She also had the audacity to invite all of her friends over and had a party without even TELLING US. AND! She said that WE had to use the community pool in the neighborhood if we had a problem with it. We pay rent. She has her own house which, by the way, is a total disaster. Sigh... I haven't been able to get this out. So... thank you for reading this far if you did. She's cool when she wants to be... but man... she seriously does not care about anything or anyone. In the past, she's threatened my husband telling him that she'd not let the family see the kids cuz she felt "unwelcomed" at our house. When all we said was to LET US KNOW. I live on high alert because I don't know when a kid will come crashing through the door. Rant over... thanks for reading 🤧 I've held this in for a long time. I talk to my husband, but no one else really knows.
TLDR: Sis in law lacks MAJOR boundaries and walks into our house like she owns the place. Kids come and trash the house and then leave. We are left to pick up the place cuz no one will tell her anything. A RANT.

Last Friday, I was driving with my family and cars lined the streets by a nearby high school, all the way up to the church that is, like, right next to the high school just about. Women in church dresses were walking towards the church and cars filled the parking lot of the church as some people filed in and out of the building. I was curious about what was happening because Mormon churches typically have no reason to be full on a Friday. I asked, and apparently it was a teenage girl who went to that high school who had committed suicide. Another, because I remember recently another kid had committed suicide, but they were from the school closest to our house. The church was filled for a funeral.
I myself spent most of my teenage years being consumed by suicidal ideation, though I’d never attempted or self-harmed. I know for a fact that multiple friends of mine from school experienced suicidal ideation during our time together a few years back; I’m pretty sure at least one self-harmed. My point is this problem seems endemic.
The more I think about the situation with the girl the angrier I get. Christianity and particularly conservative brands of Christianity can place so many fucking demands on young people that it’s unbearable. The “community” that apparently makes the continued existence of Christianity important is a fucking joke. Christians have no sense of “Christian love” for one another, they either belittle or do nothing to help people who are struggling.
God in the Bible condoned slavery, rape, murder, and more, all allegedly in the name of communicating with ancient peoples “in a manner they could understand.” God, at any moment, could have reached out to this girl or any other suicidal child in a way that they could understand it. God could have told them that he loves them and wants to do whatever it takes for them to be happy again.
Inb4 the snarky people point out that God isn’t real, I know. That’s not my point. My point is that if he actually was, then he fucking failed them. Or worse, he succeeded in murdering them. He did not do enough, he knew ahead of time that he would not do enough, and he knew these kids would die for it.
Yet people have the audacity to hold a fucking funeral for a dead kid in the same house of God that I’m confident never let her in to begin with, neither God above nor, probably, the community who she actually went there with. And I say audacity, because there’s no excuse in the modern world to not examine your beliefs on practically anything, but especially on what you believe is the single-most important story of the universe, your Christian faith. And not only that, but to walk into that church believing that your daughter or friend or niece committed a sin that will see them punished by God, but being too cowardly to talk about it openly, just quietly believing it amongst yourselves. Awful.
And it’s not just kids who kill themselves. How many people could God have saved if he was powerful enough? How many people could God have saved if he wanted to? How many more stressed and depressed kids who commit suicide will be sent to Hell because God at no point in the process wanted to intervene to save their souls for Heaven?
Suicide is God’s sin, NOT theirs.

I tried looking for this last year but I gave up, he has too many videos 😂 But I thought I would try here anyway.
Can anyone help me find a song I heard in a Mark video? I only remember some details. I tried searching for it previously but youtube history tab is very unreliable.
-The game it was in was NOT cartoony.
-The song was playing on a TV in-game. It was a boxy TV in a dark room. That makes me think it could've been a horror type game, but can't say for sure.
-Unfortunately I don't remember how old the video was. I can only estimate like 1-5 years ago. So not one of his OLD old vids.
-The song had haunting/nostalgic/old timey vibes. Sort of like how Daisy Daisy gets used in horror games. It's a woman singing with piano. To give you an idea of the vibe, literally any Molly Drake song. It feels like a lady singing a lullaby. It's not super happy and upbeat, it feels kind of dreamy and times-gone-past.
-I actually DID go to the youtube video of the song, so it exists and has a video, although I don't know the origins of the video and whether it was made specifically for the song. The video was a family (man, woman, one kid) in a country setting. It was a ranch style house, I believe. They went on a picnic at some point, or maybe they only mentioned it in the lyrics? There is a part of the video where the wife and boy wave the dad as he drives off in a car.
-When I read the comments of the song's youtube vid, people said it was a poem a man wrote and his wife sang it. It was really sweet!
Any help is appreciated! I have a seriously poor memory so I hope this rings bells for someone.

Tired of seeing all the panic posts that make me question how many day traders have joined this sub. I have seen some DD posts proving why/how this is so heavily shorted, but I’m regarded. Lets talk about the actual company and prove why this isnt a $1-$100 stock besides a “squeeze”.What I have been able to gather is listed below.

1. Inception 2014
2. Looking at the stock history something dramatic happened in Aug 2023. From what Ive gathered they did a reverse split to get more funds, were sued by shareholders for having fake purchase reservations- lawsuit settled for 7.5mil 2014-2021- not much info I found. Seems like alot of just false promises and poor results?
3. The stock price was driven down and then covid hit where they had purchasing issues.
4. September 2023 Matthias Aydt appointed new CEO
5. October 2023- FFIE hires Shareholder Intelligence Services to investigate illegal trade activities (illegal short selling)z
6. December 2023- Something about Saudi Arabi purchase reservations for 300 cars, and they are now starting request collecting down payments.
7. March 2024- FFIE suing former exec Ding Lei for infringement of trade secrets (probably irrelevant, China steals everything)- but related to the FF-91 model.

From what I can tell. They had an initial big dick CEO, trying to make a name, competing with Tesla, lied about potential buyers to get investors, and crashed the stock + bad timing covid supply chain disruption. I cant find anything on where theyre currently at with production? Is it going well? Ive seen some stuff from really negative YouTubers saying they cant even make rent on new manufacturing plants….. dont really believe it, or care because if we beat the hedgies in the math game, the company could make cars our of crayons and it doesnt matter for the squeeze. Im wondering whats the future of the company looking like? Ive watched reviews and think the FF91 is dope. Ive been in Teslas and theyre not comfortable. FF91 looks like a luxury electric car. Where are they at with manufacturing? Let me know anything I may have read wrong or misunderstood and I’ll edit. I hodl with you.

Hey everyone. In a few months I will be 5 months pregnant and I’m going to be moving across Canada with my 2 cats and my boyfriend. My cat Sage has travelled 2 days before and she was decently okay as she likes to be outside and we gave her breaks every time we stopped .
My other cat Salem though has never been in a vehicle for longer than 10 minutes and she’s kind of a crybaby. How can I make the travel go smoothly?
Should I take my cat Salem for car rides to get her used to it? This will be the longest I’ve ever traveled with my cats and I don’t want them or me to stress out too bad. Thanks for reading

I am taking the MCAT 8/17. I have been reviewing Khan academy and thought I had a good rhythm going but I see how much material there is and think there is no way there is enough time to get through all of it. I am also working full time right around 40 hours per week and also have to take care of things at home. I am limited in funds as well and cannot afford any fancy prep materials. I have also been looking at the milesdown deck but am so lost on where to start and how to start making progress. It seems like there is so much need to know info. Is there a specific strategy that has worked well for the milesdown deck for anyon? Is there something I should be doing for CARS?

I feel like fixing my financial health is one of the last big hurdles I need to accomplish before I will start feeling like I am okay with the setbacks and limitations of living with bipolar disorder for the first 12 years of my adult life prior to achieving medical success. I have so much shame. There was financial control and abuse between my parents and one of my traits from growing up in an abusive home is an extreme need for independence regarding survival essentials. Money. Living away from them. Perfectionism and overworking.
I make a good salary in the low 6 figures. My boyfriend wants to move in together. He makes a little more than me but he’s been making this type of a salary the entire time and is in a really good spot financially. I need to talk with him and I just don’t know how to do it right now.
There’s so much shame tied to my debt. I was in law school when I had my first debilitating manic episode and then it all made sense. I was at the part of law school where you finally have enough time and knowledge to start making money part time during school. My plan for the entirety of law school was to work as much as I could to put myself in a good position to graduate on good footing. I was completely unable to work for the entire time from the manic episode a month before my second to last year through the time until I took the bar exam.
At the time, I had a mild amount of credit card debt. A few thousand dollars. I did what I felt I needed to do to get by without needing to rely on my father to get by.
Instead of working that year I started almost 3 years of medication trials and instability. Even hypomania is debilitating as an attorney because it destroys my ability to concentrate and keep an even keel.
But most of all, antipsychotics were continually pushed on me and the physical side effects were debilitating. I slept for 12 hours a day and gained 40 pounds. I couldn’t regulate my body temperature on some of them. Once my beach umbrella blew away and I was literally too slow to grab it and stop it from hitting another persons tent.
I relied on student loans and on credit cards for my third year and it got bad. My first job paid low but was worth the career experience for a year. My brother was sick with cancer, I was studying for the bar, I paid for bar prep, I was in an abusive relationship where I was pressured into paying for everything and where he got me to even pay for his laptop repair claiming that my car stepped on it and broke it. I was so broken down from the med side effects that life was just happening and I tired to get through each day with minimal damage. My parents didn’t believe I was sick and this guy took care of me literally when I was disabled. Except that it was in a manipulative way way. He accidentally exposed my cat to lily toxins and I had to pay $2500 at the vet, he didn’t help with a penny. I couldn’t let the cat go, he saved my life more than once.
My debt got worse. I consolidated and my parents helped me with a loan, but it still got worse when my pay was low. I had a lot of medial expenses. Therapy. Psychologist. IOP. Prescriptions @latuda $86 to poison myself. I also had a nasty colorectal condition that was very upsetting and painful and required surgery.
I was struggling daily with wanting to be alive and debt was a minimal concern. I said ok it won’t be so bad when I make $150K this is temporary. I was still trying to work at a mental capacity that had changed after having a severe manic episode and realizing I can’t just grind my way into success because I’m limited.
I moved away and got a job with better pay. I’m trying, but this is so hard. I still owe my parents money and they can’t forgive it for me because they have their own debt. My mom took it in for me on a 0% card.
My credit score says it’s about a 665-675. I have a lot of debt but a good payment history. I just need help. I need advice to talk to him. I need encouragement.
I’m having such a bad day. My city’s local university is hosting an encampment protest demanding the school “terminate” their Jewish student center because the organization is affiliated with Israel and incorporating “there is only one solution” into marches that have come past my office window at a volume that could be heard anywhere in my office suite.
I am heartbroken and so triggered over this. Apart from the Jewish stuff, the Hitler reference is very triggering for me as a person with a mental health disability because I’m really freaked outabout the recent embrace of physician assisted suicide for mental health. I don’t trust psychiatrists to have my best interest in mind nor do I trust us when we are sick to be rational about a choice like that.
I have an assignment due to a partner who has all but said he thinks I am incompetent and am in anxiety paralysis about it. I’m in doom panic mode thinking about everything that is wrong.
I feel like I want my finances to be private but I don’t want to keep secrets from my boyfriend. I would save $1000/month if I moved in with him. He would save $750. I’m ready for that commitment and he is too but I feel like I need to be transparent before we make such a big step.
Pls help pls advise. Crying in the tub rn 🛀