I might save you guys the TLDR, just a middle-aged adult INTP male now questioning my overall 'edge' (or swagger), or lack thereof.
Close female friends have recently told me that I check a lot of boxes as a suitable male prospect (intelligent, patient, altruistic, cultured, hardworking, etc.), and that I'm even a guy they'd absolutely bring home to their parents, but what stops them is that I lack an 'edge' to me.
I honestly don't care about social standards; I'm not going to recreate myself for anyone else. However, I can't help but think that the feedback I was given was based on comparing me to the average American black male my age.
I don't fit into their stereotypical template; I'm more of an 'Oreo'. So now I'm wondering how much of the shit I get is because of their inability to appreciate a unique individual like me, versus me not knowing that I needed to conform.
ANY AND ALL AGREEMENTS ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED!

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Coming to my profile, EWS non eng male, graduation in 2024, 9/8/7 from t1 university, CAT 97.9. I decided to do an MBA around April 23, after dropping out from CA. My preparation started around late September, after my 4th sem exams and internship. Right from the beginning, I was fairly good in VARC ( thanks to my school) but had problems in qa due to me leaving maths in class 9 itself ( again thanks to my school). After spending huge amount of money in CA preparation, which I tanked, I was in no mood to spend much money on CAT. After thoroughly examining the syllabus, I prepared a strategy that best suited to me. Calculated all the CS from RTI data and knew I was out from A and B already ( A was my dream school after all). Had ups and down during whole journey but was scoring good in mocks towards end (I took IMS, Cracku and CL). In last 10 mocks, my average score was in 80s. Was pretty confident of going in north of 99~. The d day arrived, VARC as usual was great and tbh felt bit easier compared to CAT 22 panicked (slot 1), but then I panicked in DILR. Got my self together and solved 1 set in around 25 minutes. Then came QA, as per the plan, I attempted all the Arithmetic questions. Results were out and I speculated calls from LKI, Fms and manifested C. Then one random morning, L gave calls. Missed it with 0.7 CS. I was heart broken. And then started series of rejections until one fine evening Kozhikode invited me for the PI. I was overwhelmed. Started preparing for GDPI as this was my only T1 college call apart from M. ( only filled fms and M’ form apart from CAT, missed fms by 0.5 CS). My PI was average, you cannot decide whats gonna happen, most probably WL. In meantime, tanked S and M’ interview, aced CAP ( U& T converted) and LSM( was genuinely interested, PI went great but straight reject). After procrastinating April, finally the day was 8th May ( maybe my lucky day because back in 2019 my Class X results came on same day). Was sitting in a cafe with my girl when an email popped up which said, “Dear applicant, Results are out”. My heart pounded and I and her started checking the site. After around 5 minutes of continuous refreshing, it opened. I was hoping for a close waitlist and not a direct reject ( S already rejected me). But the first word read from C. Yes I made it, Congratulations on getting admit for class of 26. Booom. I was on seventh cloud. Called my mom, party started at home and everyone was delighted. Converted my best call in first list. (Also, admission criteria of K best suited me so I was fairly inclined towards Kampus.) Now waiting to join kampus on 12 (my endsem are ending on 11 :) ) All the folks having any doubt, can reach me out on DM. P.s. I watched Naman Jain’s video on Why he dropped CA for IIM K on Neeraj Arora sir’s video, and this was also a reason why K is special.

11/20/2017
Log book of Det. Ryan Snow
Case #2798: The Appalachian Murders
The past couple of days are events I pray no one else ever has to go through what Kate and I had. I had her and Mr. Raines cleared of all charges, having found the proof we all needed to end this case and find the true killer. Kate no longer has to go into witness protection and I had given the police a good enough lie to keep myself from looking insane in the eyes of my co-workers. I know no one will ever know the true story or believe it, but I’m writing it out here. It at least needs to be known written somewhere. Even if my and Kate’s eyes are the only ones that will ever read it written out and forever imprinted in our memories.
The morning Kate had run off to the mountains on her own, I had made my way to the Blackwell home where I was immediately met with Mr. Blackwell charging at me and wrapping his large hands around my neck. He was shaking me and blaming me for getting his daughter killed and not doing more to keep her safe. The police who had been called to examine the scene and read Kate’s letter had to sedate Mr. Blackwell to get him off of me, lying him down on the couch, his head resting on Mrs. Blackwell’s legs. Though the woman was distraught and begging the police to bring her daughter back, she still took the time to shoot that cold, death glare my way. The ice in my chest growing. I couldn’t tell these people that this thing had come after me to get to Kate. I knew it wouldn’t change anything. If anything they’d hate me even more for keeping it to myself.
The sheriff was there and he pulled me away from eye sight of the Blackwells, trying to tell me that this wasn’t my fault. But I couldn’t help but blame myself. I should have done everything I could to keep Kate as far from those mountains as possible.
There were no signs of a struggle in Kate’s room and the letter was definitely written in her hand writing. Her father’s rifle missing from the study, a backpack and some food and supplies gone as well. She had only grabbed one set of clothes from her drawers, showing she did indeed have plans on returning after only one night in the mountains to confront whoever or whatever the killer was.
I told the sheriff to keep any police from going up to the mountains without first allowing me to go up there first to find Kate. He of course argued, telling me that he couldn’t break protocol based on any hunches I may have had. However, I told him that I could get Kate back without her putting up much of a fight, whereas she may struggle with a group of cops who didn’t understand the situation she was in. I was close enough to this case to have built a trust with her after all. I was mentioned in her letter about ending this case for me.
It took a good hour to get the sheriff to eye the Blackwells, Mr. Blackwell beginning to stir from his sleep, and allow me to go to the mountains to find Kate. He didn’t bother to call off the search to the police that had already begun making their way to the mountains, but did radio to tell them to not try getting Kate home without first allowing me to speak to her. He then gave me twenty-four hours to find her to which I told him I’d only need at most ten.
Without telling him about the disturbing scratches on my car, I sped to the mountains, taking the same path Kate had that day she took her friends on their trip. The route, as the sun began to rise was scenic. A drive that may have been a sign of a bright future ahead with a beautiful week in the mountains of nothing but nature, was now a reddening sky of horror. I couldn’t understand how Kate felt, going down the same roads that led to her only friends’ fates to avenge them, but the feeling of guilt did weigh heavy on my chest as I saw the signs of the Appalachian Mountain trails grow bigger on the horizon. Guilt for not doing more to prove Kate was innocent, for allowing Mrs. Mayfield for getting killed right before my very eyes, and for Liam for not being lucky enough to save him.
When I finally arrived to the cabin, there didn’t seem to be any change since the first day I was called to the crime scene, the only thing out of place being Mr. Blackwell’s truck parked precariously near the cabin. The police tape was still up, the cars of Kate and Mr. Woolfe still left where they were, the tires still slashed, the door wide open from when Kate, Ms. Greymoore, and Mr. Woolfe ran out of the cabin upon Mr. Billings was killed by an unknown force. All the bodies had been found and were now being prepared by their families to be buried or cremated. Only one body of the five still roaming around to avenge each and every one of their deaths.
I called out for Kate as I made my way into the cabin. The Ouija board was still on the coffee table, the white line of where Mr. Billings had been found lying face first on the floor with his head bashed open remained on the spot. The planchette was still missing. I kept calling out for Kate as I made my way up to the attic, the door left unlocked, using my flashlight to shine down on the white outline where Mr. Steele had been found completely torn apart. To think Kate had done such a thing, I now realize made me look like a complete dumb ass for believing it.
When I couldn’t find Kate in the cabin, I made my way out the cabin, still calling for her. I called out to her, promising that she just needed to come back home with me and we could solve the murders together. I knew it was a lie and that the sheriff would immediately have her take away to some secluded place where the killer couldn’t find her, but it was all I could think of to try luring her out to meet me. Still, she never appeared.
The sun was soon beginning to set as I tried retracing the very steps Kate and Ms. Greymoore had taken to outrun the killer. I had passed the small shrine of flowers and the pictures of Mr. Woolfe where the boy had been found, his face permanently remaining nineteen forever in the photos of him with Kate and their friends. I kept going, trying my best to follow the same path to the cliff where Ms. Greymoore was found, calling for Kate along the way.
It wasn’t until I found the place Kate had buried her best friend that I found Kate. She was on her knees before the rock where she left her bloody handprint, sniffing as her head was lowered, her dad’s rifle in her hands.
“Ms. Blackwell-“ I began as I took a step toward her. I was immediately cut off as Kate jumped to her feet, raising her father’s rifle at my head. I jolted back, raising my hands up to show her I meant no harm to her. “Ms. Blackwell, it’s me, Det. Snow!”
“Detective…?” She gasped, slightly lowering the rifle, but keeping it on me. “P-Prove it!”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I… I thought I saw Sonja…” Kate breathed between tears, the rifle shaking in her hands, “it… It was wearing her face… It had her voice… How… H-How do I know you’re really Det. Snow?”
“You… Saw Sonja?” I asked as gently as I could with a terrified woman pointing a gun my way. “She spoke to you?”
“Prove you’re Det. Snow!” Kate demanded as she stilled her arms, readying the rifle as she pointed straight between my eyes.
“Alright! Alright!” I kept my hands up, backing up slightly as I tried thinking of how I could prove to her I was really me. “I… I, ah… I have… Had a brother… We went to get ice cream together once and… I dropped a dime and went to grab it… I was five… I followed it out to the road and despite how trafficked it was, I didn’t get hit. I grabbed the dime just as a truck was speeding my way and it swerved just before hitting me… Seeing how close I was to death, I dropped the dime and it rolled into the sewer. My brother called me Lucky Dime since then… Saying the dime was lost to me because it did its job in protecting me… I haven’t seen my brother since I was seven and I haven’t spoken to my parents in…” I looked at my watch. “Five years… No one else calls me Lucky Dime… Not even the people at the station know that was my nickname.”
With this, Kate lowered the rifle, her eyes softening from her furious fear to a more melancholy terror. She looked to Ms. Greymoore’s grave marker, her hand print just barely visible In the approaching darkness.
“It… It looked just… Like her…” She sniffed, “it had her voice… Why did it have her voice… Why did it look like her…?”
“Ms. Blackwell,” I soothed, relaxing now that there was no weapon in my face, “we need to head back, your parents are worried about you and the police are looking for-“
“I can’t go back yet!” She snapped at me as she spun to look at me, tears in her eyes. “That thing is still out there and will kill again unless I end it!” She held up her dad’s rifle as if to show me how she meant to “end it.” “I’m not leaving until I end that… Thing that had the balls to wear Sonja’s face and have her voice!”
“Ms. Blackwell, we will catch the killer, I promise, but right now, we need to get you home before your dad ends up killing a police officer for keeping him from looking for you.”
“I told him in my letter I’d be back tomorrow! I’m twenty-years-old, he can’t force me back home if I don’t want to! I just want to stop this thing before it-“
A howling in the distance cut Kate off. Coyote from what I could hear. If I couldn’t get Kate home, I’d have to get her somewhere safe. I turned to begin talking her down and taking her to one of the other two cabins for shelter. However, when I looked back at her, her face had turned to a bone chilling terror I’d never seen on a person before. She looked like hunted prey that had been found by its predator. She gripped her dad’s rifle to her chest tightly, her hand reaching for the trigger.
“Ms. Blackwell, it’s just a pack of coyote,” I tried telling her calmly, “let’s get to one of the other cabins and-“
“No, no, no,” She stopped me as she stepped back, looking around for where the howling was coming from, “I… Heard that same howling just before I saw Sonja! I thought it was far away, but she… She was right in front of me… She… Something was off, but it looked just like her!”
“Ms. Blackwell, you didn’t see Sonja,” I assured her, “I don’t know what you think you saw, but it wasn’t-“
“Lucky… Dime…”
I froze. My blood turned to ice. The fear on Kate’s face grew as she began backing away, her back hitting the grave marker. I spun around to see a figure in the darkness limp toward us, a scratched and garbled familiar voice coming from it.
“Lucky… Dime…” It wheezed, “You brought her… Back… Give her… To me…”
I whipped out my gun, pointing it at this thing that had his voice. I stepped back to stand directly between this thing and Kate.
“Stay back!” I demanded. “Don’t come any closer!”
“Lucky… Di-“
“Shut up! Stop calling me that! Who are you? Not another step or I’ll shoot!”
The thing stopped limping toward us, its body shuddering in place as it stared us down. I took the safety off of my Glock, ready to blow this thing’s head off if it got any closer or even dared using that voice on me again.
“Kate…” It turned its attention to Kate, a completely different voice coming from it, another male’s voice. “Kate… I’m cold…”
“J-Jasper…” Kate began to sob, “Please, stop using their voices… Please stop!”
“Kate… Kate why did… Did you leave me…?” Another male voice asked. “I… I was in so much… Pain…”
“Shut up!” Kate cried out.
“I thought we… Were friends… Kate…” A female voice. “You said you… Loved me… Why won’t… You let me have… Your warmth…?”
“I said shut up!” Kate screamed as she pointed her rifle and shooting at the creature. She had missed, but the thing still let out an ear piercing shriek as it dodged out of the way of the bullets Kate was shooting. It ran off into the darkness, but Kate kept pulling the trigger of her rifle.
“Stop!” I shouted as I snatched the barrel of her rifle, shoving it to the ground before us. “It’s gone, you scared it off, get to the cabins, I’m right here with you!”
I began shoving Kate back toward where the cabins were, the sounds of that thing screaming out in a symphony of different voices ringing out throughout the woods. I shoved Kate into the first cabin we had arrived to, Cabin #1 I could only assume as I slammed the door shut behind us. It smelled God awful, like the smell of the corpse I found on my first murder case, and it was getting darker as the sun began to sink behind the trees outside.
“Detective, it smell terrible in here!” Kate cried out, covering her mouth and nose, but the tears still falling from her eyes were still visible as they rolled down her cheeks.
I pulled her close and kept her behind me as I took my gun and flashlight out. “Stay close to me,” I ordered, leading the way through the cabin, “do not run off or use that rifle without may say so, understood?”
Kate didn’t answer, but I could feel the heat from her body following after me as I made my toward the smell. It was getting worse as we inched closer to a closet door in a hallway that connected the living room to the kitchen. The door was locked, but after a couple of kicks I was able to get the door to swing open, the smell blasting us in our faces making us gag and nearly throw up on the floor. I fumbled around the sides inside the room to find a light switch that I was able to find to the side of the entryway. A yellow light flickered on, revealing the door led to a staircase. I led the way down the creaking steps, Kate close by as she kept her mouth covered with her shirt.
Once we had made our way to the bottom, Kate dropped her dad’s rifle and let out a scream as we stared at what was waiting for us at the bottom of the steps. In a large pile at the corner of this basement room were nothing but skin and bones of humans and animals covered in maggots and flies. Some of the human bodies being small and child-like in size. The missing people who were never found after vanishing when they came to Cabin #2.
I grabbed Kate’s rifle off the floor and began pushing her back up the stairs, her screaming and sobbing all the way back up to the cabin. I slammed the door shut behind us and pushed Kate to the front door.
“We need to leave,” I had told her, trying to calm her down as we made it outside, “we need to get you home and away from here as soon as possible.”
“N-No… No!” She began fighting me, trying to escape my grasp on her. “No! That… That thing is still out there! You saw it! You can’t say you don’t believe me now! It even called you Lucky Dime! It said you brought me back!”
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you!” I shot back. “I do, I saw exactly what you saw, but it’s way too dangerous for you to be out here while you’re the one it’s after!”
“I escaped it once, I can do it again!” Kate pointed out as she struggled against me while I tried getting her into my car. “I’m not running away this time, I want to kill it!”
“God damn it, Blackwell, we’ll let the police handle it! Just because you have a weapon doesn’t make you safe or ready to handle something like… Like that… That thing!”
“It killed my friends! It wants me! I’m going straight to it so I can blow its head off! It’ll come right for me!”
“I came here to bring you back home, not let you accomplish some stupid ass revenge plot! Get in the fucking car, unless you want to end up like those bodies down that-“
“D… De… Detect… Detective…”
A scratched and moaning voice cut me off. Kate and I both froze at the sound of something approaching. I turned to see a police officer stagger toward us from the tree line. I could barely tell who he was or who he used to be, his head held low and blue uniform covered in blood.
“H… Hel… Hel… Help… Help me…" It croaked as it stumbled closer.
I held up Kate's rifle. "Stay back!" I barked. "Not another step!"
The thing that stood before us wearing the cop like a full-bodied suit stopped in place. It swayed where it stood, blood water falling from its head and down to its chest.
"It… It… It's inside… Inside me…" It breathed painfully. "I… I can't… Help… Me…" Its voice then changed to that familiar voice that made my skin crawl. "Lucky… Dime… I… I'm so… Hungry… Give her… To… Me…"
I pulled the trigger of the rifle, hitting the creature in the head, the rest of it staggering backward from the blow. Still though, it remained on its feet, turning itself to look toward us once again.
"Give… Her… To… Me…" It wheeze, blood and brain pouring from where I had shot it, it beginning to stumble toward us once again. I continued shooting, hitting it in the shoulder, the arm, the leg, the head again, but it just kept coming toward us faster, demanding I give Kate to it.
I was about ready to ram it with the rifle, having run out of bullets, when a voice off in the distance made the creature freeze just an inch before us.
"I'm here! I'm here!" It called out in an almost sing-songy way, using the voice of a little girl. "I'm here! I'm here!"
"I'm… Here…" The creature repeated as it jerked its body to look to where the voice was coming from. "I'm here… I'm here… I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!" It began shrieking in a high pitch wail. It sounded like a mixture of different voices ranging from child, to woman, to man. Keeping flat on its feet, its upper body fell forward onto its hands before speedily crawling off like a spider.
We stood in shaking silence for a moment, Kate digging her fingers into my arm while I was too numb from shock to care about the pain she was unknowingly inflicting. It wasn’t until the radio from my car buzzed to life that jolted us back to whatever reality was at this point. I scrambled to the driver’s side, swinging the door open as I fell inside to grab the intercom to respond to the voice yelling for me over the receiver.
“Det. Snow, what the hell is going on up there?” The sheriff’s scratched voice called out over the receiver when I could barely get my name out of my mouth.
“Sh-Sh-Sheriff…?” Was all I could respond with, still trying to wrap my head around what I had just seen.
“Y-Y-Yeah,” he responded in mock shudder, “what the hell is going on up there? I’ve tried radioing every man I’ve got up there and am constantly being left on red! Do I need to send back-up?”
“No!” Immediately, I returned to full reality, finally understanding the severity of the moment and putting that knowledge into my tone. “Landon, do not send any more men up here, call everyone back immediately! I don’t know what this thing is, but it’s too dangerous! Call everyone back, we’re heading back to the Blackwell house now!”
“We?” The sheriff questioned, skepticism in his voice.
“I found Ms. Blackwell, she’s here with me.”
I was met with statice before the voice of Mr. Blackwell blasted over the intercom.
“Bring my daughter home, right now, you son of a bitch!” Mr. Blackwell demanded. “You bring her home this instant before I decide to kick your teeth in!”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the radio was snatched from my hand from Kate. “I’m not coming home until I kill this thing!” She snapped into the radio. “I don’t know what it is, but I at least know I’m not crazy and that it needs to die before it kills anyone else!”
I grabbed the radio from Kate’s hand, beginning to tell her off when a agonized scream erupted from the intercom. I dropped the radio to cover my ears as Kate did, the scream piercing from my car to throughout the forest around us. The voice screaming and crying for help sounded male and it seemed to echo all around us.
“GIVE HER TO ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!” A mix of the screaming voice and Mr. Blackwell’s hissed out after a good five minutes of screaming before the radio short-circuited and puffs of smoke flowed out.
After allowing my ears to adjust to the sudden silence, I grabbed the radio once again and tried calling for the sheriff, for the cops with us in the mountains, for anyone. When I was met with more silence, I slammed the radio back down on the holder and cursed loudly, hitting the wheel as if it were the source of all my problems.
After a moment to take some deep breaths, I told Kate to get in the car as I placed her rifle in the back seat.
“Didn’t you hear me?” she shot back. “I’m not-“
“Damn it, Blackwell, we have no idea what we’re dealing with, it can mimic peoples’ voices, and it just ran off like a fucking black widow!” I snapped, stepping out of the driver’s seat to glare down at her. “The last thing I’m doing to leaving you here alone and I’m not staying here another second until I can wrap my head around what the fuck I just saw! So, you either get yourself killed out here while I try talking you down this hero complex high, or you’re going to do what I say and get in the damn car!”
We stood in heated silence, glaring each other down before Kate huffed and stormed over to the passenger side of my car and slamming the door shut as she climbed in. I jumped in after her and began driving away from this nutty nightmare I had found myself in.
We drove down the trail back to civilization in silence, Kate staring out the window and trying to keep her tearful sniffs quiet. I had finally begun calming down and was starting to feel bad for snapping at her. She had only gone there to avenge her friends by killing that thing that had most likely killed a whole bunch of cops to find her. However, I still couldn’t just let her stay to hunt it and I didn’t want to stay out in those mountains with some kind of creature that could take the form and voice of someone I knew. I still couldn’t understand what is was I had even seen.
“Wendigo,” Kate whispered, breaking the silence in the car first. She had said it as if she had just remembered something important.
“What?”
“A Wendigo,” She repeated, turning to look to me with wide scared eyes, “that’s what that thing is! It’s a Wendigo!”
“Slow down, what’s a Wendigo?”
“It’s… Oh, just forget it! You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Ms. Blackwell, I just saw a cop being used as a puppet and then run off at inhuman speed on all fours; I doubt I’m not going to believe a single word that comes out of your mouth now. What’s a Wendigo?”
Kate eyed me for a moment before releasing some of the tension from her face as she took a deep breath and began explaining to me. “They’re a Native American myth; it’s believed they’re the spirits of people who would lose themselves in the woods and would end up eating other people to satiate their hunger. I think that’s what that thing is. They can mimic the voices of people who died and use it to lure people to them, they can take the form of that person too.”
“Why does it want female hearts?” I asked, not realizing I had yet told her what my mysterious caller kept asking for when they called me.
“It… It wants my heart?” she asked shakily.
I cursed to myself before letting out a frustrated sigh. “I think this thing wants hearts, but it only wants female hearts. Why? I don’t know yet. But the only other person to be found after killing someone in those cabins was found with his partner’s heart missing to which he was blamed for taking out of her. Recently, I’ve been getting calls from some… Thing wanting me to bring you back here so it could take something from you. It would have taken Ms. Greymoore’s, but you hid her well enough that only the police could find her in time. Now, I’ve been getting calls asking for you and to get something from you.”
Kate looked to me in shock before a wave of guilt twisted her face in pain. “I… I’m so, so… So sorry, Detective!” She cried out. “I… I had… I had no idea you were being… Harassed by it! Had I known it wanted me back and was demanding you brought me here, I never… I didn’t… That’s why it said you brought me back! Oh, I’m such an idiot!” She pressed her hands to her face, grabbing at her hair between her fingers and tightening them around her eyes.
“No, no, no, stop, stop that!” I ordered, screeching the car to a halt, having to bring it to a crooked stop so I could stop her from hurting herself. I snatched her arms from her head and pinned them to her lap, tears flooding her face. “It’s my fault for not telling you sooner! I was too focused on trying to solve this case with the most efficient evidence I could, but that just kept me looking to you as a suspect. I should have stopped thinking you were the killer the moment I got that first call. There’s no way any of us could have seen… This coming… Except people who probably already believe in that kind of stuff or don’t stop to assume a more rational explanation like a cult… I’m… I’m sorry. But, I won’t let it take anything from you, not anymore. I’m going to get you home and then I’ll deal with this with the rest of the police department. You don’t have to deal with this thing anymore, it’ll be my burden from now on. You need time to finally get some rest and mourn your friends with your and their families. It’s already fucked your life up enough, I won’t let it go on making it worse.”
I stopped her before she could argue with me with a wave of my hand. “Your friends’ deaths shouldn’t be your burden to handle. I know you want to be the one who kills that thing and do right by them, but that’s not what they would want. They’d want you to remember them and continue living. They know you didn’t do it, so stop blaming yourself and stop acting like you’re the one who has to make it up to them. I will put an end to this die trying, but you need to go home and be with people who are happy you still get to live.”
Kate looked down at her hands that I kept down on her lap before nodding weakly and letting out a broken “okay.”
“Good, now let’s get you home before-“
My words were cut off when the honk of a car barreling toward us echoed through the woods. The headlights were fast approaching and I barely had time to grab the gear shift to put us back in drive as the other vehicle hit us, forcing us back and forth in one violent motion. It took me a moment to check myself to be sure I hadn’t hit my head on anything or got whiplash from the crash before I immediately returned my full attention to Kate who was kneeling over holding her head. I gently grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up to examine her head. It didn’t appear to have been busted and bleeding, but she was holding the front side of her forehead.
“Are you okay?” I asked her, prying her hand away from the spot on her forehead, seeing that it was beginning to bruise. “Can you hear me? Blink twice if you can understand me!”
“I… I’m f-fine…” she mumbled as she looked to her hand to check if there was blood on her palm, “I… I think I just… Hit… Hit the w-window…” She then blinked twice in my direction before looking to the car that had rammed us.
I turned my attention as well to the car to see it was a police van, it’s front crushed into the left of my front. I quickly jumped out my vehicle and stormed to the van, yelling at who ever was driving the van to come out and explain what the hell they were doing.
The driver’s side of the van swung open once I was near enough and a man in an orange jumpsuit climbed out, staring familiar daggers at me. The moment realization set in, my mixed emotions of confusion, frustration, and fear turned to fury.
It was Leighton Raines.
“Jesus, you really are a shitty detective.” Was all he said to me before reaching into the can and retrieving a rifle out from the passenger seat.
[END OF PART 1]
Part 6

I (24, M) have a childhood friend (24, M) na kasama ko buong buhay ko. My friend's family parang rags to riches iyong buhay nila pero hindi naman super mayaman like maginhawa lang sa buhay. Iyong family niya super bait talaga sa akin and they treat me as part of them since kung may gala lagi akong kasama at lagi akong may gift. They treated so kindly talaga. My childhood friend, mabait naman siya towards me. Growing up, mayroon pagka-spoiled siya at ayaw niya magpatalo sa mga arguments kahit hindi akma iyong mga points niya. Kahit bata pa ako noon alam ko iyong ugali niya kaya tikum-bibig na lang ako kapag may heated arguments na, mostly sa other friend ko (pinsan ko) lagi niyang ka-debate. Happy naman ako kasi nag-improve friend ko from shy type to active person sa school namin during HS kasi magaling talaga sumayaw at talented siya. Ewan ko ba, baka siguro nagulat siya sa sudden recognition at appreciation ng mga tao at parang na-boost ego niya. Ahead ako ng one school year sa kaniya so ang naging classmate niya iyong pinsan ko dahil pinalipat siya sa first section. Naging friends naman niya iyong classmates niya. I'm happy for him kasi may new set of friends siya and was never jealous of it. He always lead their group. Kasi siya iyong may malaking ambag sa kanila tuwing galaan so siya mostly nasusunod. According sa pinsan ko, masyado talaga siyang matampuhin at biglang nagka-cancel or nagba-backout sa plano pag hindi nasusunod gusto niya. May mga instances na nag-aaway sila tapos maya't maya ay aalis sa GC. I hear both of their sides naman, parehong may mali at lapses. Hindi naman ako iyong tipong gagatungan ang apoy. I stayed neutral kasi kaibigan ko sila. Noong nag-college na kami, his Mom offered na siya ang iyong mag-sponsor sa schooling ko. Mabuti na lang at sa city siya nag-school. Alam ko kasi magiging sunod-sunoran ako sa kaniya kasi naman hindi gaanong marunong sa gawaing-bahay tapos noon lagi kong tinutulungan sa project niya either hindi niya ginagawa dahil tinatamad siya o siguro alam niyang tutulong ako. As a friend, gusto kong matuto siya at magsumikap na hindi umaasa sa iba lalo na sa academics at luckily natuto rin naman and I'm proud of him.
We are so DIFFERENT talaga. In every aspect, we do not have the same interests and likes. Maybe we become familiar to each other but never really get know the each other.
Noong pandemic doon ko napaisip that we will never become friends kung hindi lang sa magkapitbahay kami. Our perspective in life is so different. When he starts to work out, doon iyong nadevelop superiority complex niya as per my observation lang. A KNOW IT ALL ALPHA. He proudly and verbally says he is an Alpha and points out people who are Sigma, Beta etc. He does not openly says he is better than everyone but the context and everything tells otherwise. His a fan of Andrew Tate as well. When there is ganap sa HS batch, sumasama naman siya pero hindi nakikihalubilo tapos iyong pinsan ko masyadong nahihirapan kasi ayaw ng friend ko makisali sa grupo which getting together lang. Casual talk kumbaga. He says he is not into bodyshaming pero mina-mock niya friends niya. Also he has a beef with LGBT people. Sabi niya di naman siya homophobic but I can sense the internalized homophobia. He knew and can sense that I am not straight since I told him about it. Maybe he approves the version of non-straight of me because I dress like a man and I'm comfortable with the version of me. Doon talaga ako na-off noong Presedential Election. By the way he is BBM supporter and I do not have problem with that. I am open to discussion with facts only and no biases. Yet, iyon na nga nagpapaniwala sa theories na mga youtubers na pawang haka-haka lamang at open naman ang internet to find legit sources to fact-check tapos dumaan sa research subject noong HS pa lamang pero bakut di magawa. Hindi man sabihin pero sobrang competitve niya sa other men. He always says "Hindi ko sila ka-level. Why would I give a fuck about them?" He claims he does not care about other people but was unaware that he talk bad about them (now, I talk bad about him which is not good). He brags. When I bought my Ipad he doesn't want to be outshined so he tells that his mom bought latest model of the ipad, iphone and he will be getting new one, brags about his motorbike na parang siya ang nagbabayad and one time nagalit siya sa kapatid niya kasi ayaw magcontribute pang-down for installment sa motor. He lectures his sister kung paano palakihin at disiplinahin iyong anak niya where in fact wala naman siyang experience paano palakihin ang anak. He held a grudge with his kuya.
I'm losing trust of him and I do not share my personal life with him because I knew how judgemental he is. I am not seeking his approval or anything. It's just that he is too draining to be with. Mabigat siyang kasama. I do not see him as my friend if he continue to be like that. I did not communicate with him on what I am feeling pero dinaan ko sa one-on-one talk with him to check his perspective. Ang hirap niyang pakisamahan. I am worried sa magiging future partner niya because she has to deal all of his drama.
I do not wish with end of the friendship but pero hindi rin ako magugulat. I wish him well in life. ABYG?

The Evolution of Memes: A Look at Some of the Best Memes of Recent Times
Memes have become a staple of internet culture, providing humor, commentary, and sometimes even profound insights in bite-sized, shareable packages. From the early days of LOLcats to the more recent explosion of meme formats on platforms like TikTok and Twitter, the meme landscape is constantly evolving. Let's take a look at some of the best memes that have captured the internet's attention in recent times:

1. "Distracted Boyfriend": This meme, featuring a stock photo of a man checking out another woman while his girlfriend looks on in disbelief, became wildly popular in 2017. It's been used to humorously depict situations involving infidelity, betrayal, or simply being easily distracted by something new and shiny.
2. "Woman Yelling at a Cat": Another stock photo gem, this meme pairs an image of a woman yelling with a confused-looking cat sitting at a dinner table. The contrast between the woman's anger and the cat's bewildered expression has made it a versatile template for all kinds of humorous scenarios.
3. "Baby Yoda": When Disney+ released "The Mandalorian" in 2019, fans quickly fell in love with the adorable character known as "The Child" but affectionately dubbed "Baby Yoda." Memes featuring Baby Yoda's cute antics quickly took over the internet, with the character being used to express everything from excitement to frustration.
4. "Ight, Imma Head Out" SpongeBob: SpongeBob SquarePants has been a goldmine for memes since the show first aired, but one of the more recent additions to the meme canon is the "Ight, Imma Head Out" format. Featuring SpongeBob confidently walking out of a room, it's perfect for expressing the desire to exit a situation or conversation.
5. "Bernie Sanders in Mittens": During the 2021 presidential inauguration, Senator Bernie Sanders was photographed sitting cross-legged and bundled up in a parka and mittens. The image quickly went viral, with internet users superimposing Bernie into all sorts of unlikely situations, from movie scenes to famous works of art.
6. "This is Fine" Dog: Originally from the webcomic "Gunshow" by KC Green, this meme features a cartoon dog sitting in a burning room, sipping coffee and saying "This is fine." It's often used to convey a sense of resigned acceptance in the face of chaos or disaster.
7. "Karen": While not a single meme format, the "Karen" meme has become shorthand for a stereotypical entitled, middle-aged white woman who demands to speak to the manager. It's been applied to countless real-life situations and has sparked discussions about privilege and entitlement.

These are just a few examples of the many memes that have captured the internet's imagination in recent years. As technology and culture continue to evolve, we can be sure that there will be many more hilarious and thought-provoking memes to come.

Attention -> This guide is highly opinionated, if you're looking for a post from a perspective from a highly experienced dev then you should probably stop reading and check out other posts. I've been working full-time for over 2 years only but I've been a part of startups in different capacities for the past 4 years, either as an intern or a contractofreelancer. Resources might be outdated but still check them out and decide accordingly, but in my opinion you should read my post since, I fall under these buckets ->

1. NON CS and Tier 2/3/4.. College -> I had 50k+ rank in JEE and was only able to land Civil in a Tier 3 college due to home state quota, later got a circuit branch from branch upgrade.
2. Off Campus Placement -> I had already started freelancing since culture at a company is a very very crucial to me and I loved the freelancing lifestyle this I skipped on campus placements altogether. Also due to freelancing I was making more than what all the companies who were part of our placement drive were offering.
3. Got placed primarily due to my past experience and projects as opposed to my CP ranking -> I asked my HR why was I hired and she mentioned that it was my past experience + projects which caught their attention, of course I went through their standard selection rounds but they still preferred my profile over Tier 1 students with good coding platform ranks due to my past work experience.
4. Consistent earning -> While someone can dismiss my current job as a fluke I've a history of making good money($20K in 6 months from scratch) through freelancing with multiple clients and was able to translate that experience into a job at a startup as well. My PPO comp was 40 base and a very sizeable portion of equity of a very fast growing startup. If we were to do the cringy CTC calculation it was a 1 CR+ job offer.

What makes someone hire a candidate?

I've interviewed over 40+ people and 4 batches of interns. Working at a startup has allowed me to be very close with recruiting process and work with recruiter with over 10+ years in premier MNCs and startups and there's a lot that goes into hiring but I think it can be put into some buckets.
Hiring for interns/freshers -> We personally don't hire for freshers roles and instead all junior devs go through our intern process but this is where the most non traditional profiles can break in tech early. I've noticed that for senior roles a lot of emphasis is given to the the companies they've worked in and which team were they a part of. Working folks might be aware that for senior roles usually the hiring manager personally have a chat before adding the candidate in interview pipeline and based on our debriefs I've noticed that institute rarely comes up but rather their work at the teams that they've been a part of takes the highest priority. Now a argument can be made that being from a Tier 1 institute allows the ability to get a headstart but a lot of folks are able to breakthrough into big tech even after working at WITCH so entering into high paying startups isn't that big of deal for them as tech profiles converge the more experienced one get. For interns and freshers a solid development and a mix of coding platforms experience should get you a job in startups with a very high probability.
To put more emphasis in why profiles matters let's take a look at a couple of profiles that I'm personally aware of ->
My friend working at a High Growth Seed Round
Highlights of his profile ->

1. Very very low ranking Engineering College.
2. No prior intern at a big company instead mixture of work at small startups and his own ventures.
3. Didn't apply for a job at all since he was also happy as a freelancer but finally decided to work at a startup and got a job in flat 16 days.
4. Comp-> 16 lpa base + seed round equity.

The best part about this friend why how deep his profile was. He has always been passionate about computers since school time and had experience in cyber security, crypto, fullstack-development,etc. As you can guess the secret of how quickly he was able to get a job was how many past experiences he had. When he started finding jobs at wellfound.com he was able to get calls from a couple of startups and he had a offer within 20 days. Wellfound was a a suprisingly good place to find jobs at small startups since my friend was able to receive a lot of calls for interview rounds.
My batchmate working at a FAANG equivalent MNC ->

1. Same college as mine.
2. Prior intern at a MNC but overall mid projects and a couple of development profiles and hackathons under his belt.
3. Average codeforces profile but experience of solving a lot of questions hence able to breeze through leetcode rounds.
4. Got a on campus placement here so didn't apply anywhere.
5. Comp -> 20l base + ~60l in equity.

His profile is a mix of development and a lot of coding rounds but the curious case in his case was how a lot of candidates with similar profiles in coding platforms or even better were knocked out from the selection process in the system design round. His previous experience in development surely helped him here in comprehending system design case studies and hence he was able to ace this round whereas others with better coding profiles weren't able to do so.
My batchmate working at FAANG and now a high growth startup ->

1. Same college.
2. Prior intern at startups and deep experience in development since school which includes projects in full stack development, compilers and couple of hackathons.
3. Better than average codeforces profile and breezes through standard OA rounds due to lots of practise.
4. Comp -> 50+ CTC at FAANG earlier and 25l base at a startup now.

His profile is similar to the first profile but way more competitive coding experience as well. Similar deep experience in projects and very passionate about software engineering and computer science in general.
A common pattern amongst the profiles posted above and mine is development experience allowed us from low tier colleges to be able to get a job quickly. This matters a lot since you'll get calls for interview rounds doesn't matter how tough the market is though what will fluctuate is how much are these companies are offering.

All of your eggs in one basket

It's pretty easy to see how big the market for DSA and Algorithm is. Youtubers are popping left right and center, but is it worth investing all of your time in getting a great rating in Codeforces. First thing first let's make this very clear that standard interview questions are very different than competitive questions and while it is true that due to market saturation some companies have resorted to asking questions that you would see as part of codeforces rounds in their OA. This though isn't the norm and you can do fine if you're good enough for Leetcode rounds. My whole post can be described that we need to stand out from other profiles if we fall into buckets of Low ranking colleges , Non CSE branches, etc.

Resources

The following section is a collection of resources that I and my friends used during the placement process ->

1. Roadmaps -> Roadmaps, Roadmaps, Roadmaps. Youtube is filled with didi bhaiya trying to come up with the best roadmap that they can. Honestly speaking while there's nothing wrong with that I always prefer roadmaps which are open source and updated time to time by community or the author to stay relevant. Go to roadmap.sh and pick paths. Focus more on topics rather than content, find whatever resource you can to read up on topics rather than sticking to one youtube channel. Similarly for people who might not be from a CS background the Open Source Society University is a very popular roadmap to follow.
2. Resume -> I used the variations of the following template. Overleaf is a solid platform for creating resume in latex. Keep your resume simple and keep on iterating with what you should and shouldn't have. If you want you can always ask recruiters what they found nice in your resume and double down on expanding those sections.
3. Freelancing Platforms -> Personally for me Upwork worked very well, I was able to get the chance of working on a lot of high paying jobs but based on what I've heard from candidates and personally managing profiles for a couple of friends the platform seems to have shifted in terms of job quality a lot. I'm noticing a lot of low quality jobs, underpaid jobs which has made it highly unlikely for new candidates to break through here. I would personally not recommend Freelancer and Fiverr since they have low quality, low paying jobs as compared to Upwork. Also fiverr follows a marketplace model so hard for non experienced folks to get discovered.
   1. If you're a experienced dev and have a solid profile and need a better platform as compared to Upwork checkout Toptal and A.team.
4. Job Platforms -> I personally had a great experience with Cutshort since it apart from applying on jobs as a candidates also has a strong emphasis on recruiters reaching out to candidates. Apart from that I've had a good experience with LinkedIn jobs purely in terms of response times. Atleast recruiters reached out quickly even though the quality of jobs wasn't great. As mentioned above wellfound.com is also a good resource for finding startup jobs. Apart from this cold mailing recruiters should be a part of your job hunting cycle. We used to go over startups which were recently funded and then messaging their client or staff for queries regarding openings.
5. Youtube channels -> I usually relied on the following channels during my prep and I what I usually watch as well.
   1. Traversy Media -> Followed his tutorials the most.
   2. Academind by Maximilian Schwarzmüller -> For learning full stack development I've mostly used his courses and honestly speaking they are amazing. I've also heard great things about her courses, Dr. Angela Yu.
   3. Tech News and General Tech Videos -> Fireship.io, Ben Awad, Devon Crawford, ForrestKnight. They Ben and Devon aren't posting these days but they are the reason why I found tech to be super cool.
   4. DSA and Algo Training -> Stick to no nonsense channels like TUF, Back To Back SWE, CS DOJO, Tushar Roy, NeetCode, Nick White, Priyansh Agarwal.
      1. Couple of websites which I liked a lot of practise includes USACO Guide, CP Algorithms, CSES.

The above post is a very opinionated post about what helped me, let me know what helped you in your job hunt.

Hey! I am a Canadian citizen who has received an offer as an engineer from a small US company. There are no lawyers involved so the company is doing the support letter themselves with the help of some support letter templates and other resources I found online. Most of these template letters still call out NAFTA but isn't the treaty now called USMCA? I am wondering if I will have any issues if the support letter I get from my company follows the templates and still keeps calling it NAFTA?
People who have gotten their support letters written by a lawyer - what did your letters say?
Also just to double check that the main requirements of support letter would be - (1) Company info, what they do, office address, contact info, etc
(2) What job I have been offered, my duties and responsibilities, job location, salary, benefits, etc (duties should match the job title and reference would be the occupational handbook?)
(3) What category would I fall under for TN visa
(4) How I fit into the category with my bachelor's degree and related work experience and hence would be able to do the current job that I have been offered
(5) Job start date and how long I need the visa for which is the full 3 years allowed
TIA

Disclaimer: I don't need any advice. Just an explanation. Please read everything I'm going to say if you're going to comment because I notice a lot of people on reddit just skim and comment. Don't refer me to a single homeless shelter, don't tell me to go NC with my parent right now because you have no idea what it's like
Does anyone bpd parent tend to give everyone else the benefit of the doubt but you? What the hell is that about?
I've noticed it's been happening the older I get. My mom will tend to give shady people my age a pass for being disrespectful but will go on rants about me if I don't do everything she asks. I have no idea if she just really doesn't like me because im autistic or what..most people really can't stand being around autistic people honestly. There's studies proving this, but she'll tend to micromanage and pick at every little thing that she doesn't like me doing even if it makes no sense, but will give most people around me the benefit of the doubt.
She made excuses for a woman older than me being disrespectful to her mother for months...that woman uses her money for money, rolls her eyes at her mother all of the time if her mom calls and asks her for a small favor, and is just rude to her mother period. For a few months she said she's only acting like that because of her family trauma..she said she normally got beaten as a child, but my mom had no issue with me getting beat and called a bitch by her former partners at all when I was a kid. She only turned on her when that woman said she wasn't going to make sure she was okay financially anymore and my mom had to figure out her own way.
One of my other male family members took advantage of my mom financially..when my mom got a large sum of money he kept asking for her things..groceries, money for ubereats and she kept on giving it to him. He never made sure she was okay and my mom is disabled. My mom frequently doesn't feel well and has to take frequent trips to the hospital...he left her for days in his mom's place without checking up on her. She only said something about him negatively now because he lied and said she kept using him for money.
And finally something else that stuck out to me was how she keeps frequently defending a woman a year younger than me. She grew up in a dysfunctional household but she's a brat honestly. She put her hands on her own mother and screams at her often but it's always an excuse when my mom talks about her. Would my mom ever allow me to put her hands on her? Absolutely not. If I ever did that she would try to take my life and/or call everyone on her phone saying I hit her and that I needed to be taken care of, but with this other individual it's always an excuse. What's been sticking out to me is that this other woman she always defends is that she heard her mom calling her for money..and she immediately said her mom is using her for money, but with me my mom said that there's no problem always asking me for money anytime she wants and that she can always ask me for favors because she went through it with her own mother so what's the issue? My mom a few months ago got an attitude because I said I didn't like the woman she likes..I said she was disrespectful and mean to people and my mom jumped to her defense getting an attitude like that her was own child.
Does she really secretly hate me that much to the point where she thinks im going to be her atm forever? I have no idea if it's just because I'm autistic or what but my mom always seems to have some resentment towards me she'll never have towards anyone else. She'll get an attitude and mock me whenever I set boundaries and tell her friends on the phone and it typical Gen x fashion..her friends will defend her and say I'm the one in the wrong if I don't do everything she asks for me.
I just don't understand at all. I've tried talking to therapists and years ago I've told some older people about it thinking they would guide me but they just blamed the whole thing on me and basically implied I was a horrible person if I didn't care for my mom my whole life.
I just don't get it..it's been making me extremely sad for a while. No one around me cares at all..theyll just turn a blind eye to it.
I'm also tired of being called gullible and naive..I know how the real world works. I know life isn't fair for some people because I've experienced it my whole life. Once I set boundaries and I go NC again ill be the considered the villian by everyone for not taking care of my disabled mother..there's nothing I can say or do the fix the situation either. I've tried multiple times to explain to people my experiences with my family. They just say," oh oh well..it doesn't sound that bad. They fed up and gave you clothes growing up. Whats the issue with giving your mother your money? You're just selfish because you're an only child and don't like the idea of sharing! Yeah that's it..you're an only child!"
I'm exhausted.

(I am in no way affiliated with this website at all, I am simply just trying to suggest a valuable resource.) I know that everyone couldn’t be happier that AP testing is over with, but unfortunately, a lot of us are going to have to go through the same hell next year😔. I wanted to suggest to everyone one of the biggest resources I’ve been using the last few years that’s let me get 5’s on my exams.
Ultimatereviewpacket.com is a website that sells full review courses for over sixteen different AP courses. Each subject costs around $10-$25, but the amount of materials and resources they supply you with is insane!!
I bought mine for AP Chem (Jeremy Krug and Dave Farina) and AP Human Geo (Mr.Sinn), and both of them had full mock AP exams, tens of different review videos and worksheets, quizzes for each individual lesson, and so much more. The website tracks your progress throughout the course, is organized greatly, and the teachers who lead these courses are some of the best in their field.
I really suggest checking it out whenever AP exam season rolls around next year.

alias: Secure House Triggers description: "" trigger: - platform: event event_type: state_changed event_data: entity_id: event.back_door_light_and_aux_buttons_scene_004 - platform: device type: changed_states device_id: 7519e0d903a4edfa2cd5d0bd951528cb entity_id: 247d362a7241ac3fe6ace4a3336dde44 domain: switch condition: [] action: - choose: - conditions: - condition: state entity_id: sensor.hvac_status_3 state: "0" sequence: - service: automation.trigger target: entity_id: automation.secure_house data: skip_condition: true - conditions: - condition: state entity_id: sensor.hvac_status_3 state: "1" sequence: - service: automation.turn_off target: entity_id: automation.secure_house data: stop_actions: true - device_id: bc891b713523a8dedb664b325031eb9b domain: zwave_js type: set_config_parameter endpoint: 0 parameter: 10 bitmask: null subtype: 10 (LED Indicator Color (Button 4)) on endpoint 0 value: 0 - type: turn_off device_id: 96ad377956b4f4d42b9c448d2b9d2900 entity_id: 5baf8a818dbac6e6ac389a342b71557b domain: switch - type: turn_off device_id: 7519e0d903a4edfa2cd5d0bd951528cb entity_id: 247d362a7241ac3fe6ace4a3336dde44 domain: switch - service: automation.turn_on target: entity_id: automation.secure_house data: {} mode: restart 

#Attribute for secure house automation running status - platform: template sensors: automation_status: unique_id: "secure_house_automation_running" friendly_name: secure house automation status value_template: >- {{ state_attr('automation.secure_house', 'current')}} 

Wanted to share my experience and what helped me pass the PMP. I took it in person on 5/17/24 and scored 3AT. During the exam, I was sure I was going to fail because it was HARD. Here are my takeaways from the exam:

• Lots of situational questions, and it felt like more than half of the questions were related to Agile or Hybrid.
• Not as many questions as I was expecting on the 49 processes and their ITTOs. Don't remember seeing any questions on critical path method which surprised me.
• I did not have to use the calculator at all - there were a few EVM questions, but they gave the CPI or SPI and had you identify if the project was over cost/behind schedule etc. Didn't have to use any other formulas
• Also didn't have to identify many theories which surprised me
• My exam content was much closer to PMI Study Hall than Andrew Ramdayal's practice tests
• There are three 60-question sections with official 10-min breaks in between, and you can't go back to the previous section once you start the break. My first pass on the questions was relatively fast, and I answered all but usually flagged half of them for review. I'm convinced this strategy helped me pass. Sometimes later questions would help me answer earlier questions. When I would come back to review the flagged ones, I would always feel a little more confident, and in some cases changed my answers.
• When I finished the exam, the computer told me it would take 48 hours to get my score. But when I checked out at the Pearson front desk, they gave me a printout saying I had tentatively passed the exam. I took the exam at 11am on a Friday, and at 4:30pm Saturday I got my official email from PMI with my score report.

My background:

• Worked in tech since 2014, unofficial project management 2018-2020, then scrum masteproject manageBSA 2020-2023. Worked at the same company 2016-2023, and it was "Agile" but a complete hot mess and had no PMO or good leadership support and so definitely wasn't a best practices environment
• Trainings: Certified Scrum Product Owner in 2019, Certified Scrum Master in 2020, Certified Advanced Scrum Master in 2021
• Master's in Technology Management 2022-2024. Many courses taught from or referred to the PMBOK guide. Took a few classes specifically on project management as well as Agile. I think this possibly gave me a false sense of security about how prepared I was for the exam. I knew all the concepts, but the PMP exam has such tricky phrasing and specifics that my education and experience were not sufficient to pass it.

Studying for the exam:

• Dedicated 6 weeks to studying for the exam after graduating from my Master's (unemployed so able to study full time). I do think my education reduced the time I needed to study, otherwise would have needed 2-3 months at least
• Started by taking Andrew Ramdayal's 35 hour course on Udemy. Love him. Watched the predictive videos 2 or 3 times. I don't think the course on its own is enough though.
• Took Andrew Ramdayal's 4 mock exams on Udemy. Got 72%, 73%, 72%, and 65% (IMHO the last exam had a lot of errors and typos)
• Subscribed to PMI Study Hall. 68% and 75% on two full-length exams. Mini exams: 67% on Predictive 53% on a different Predictive, 93% on Agile, 67% on Hybrid, and 80% on Mini Exam 1. 73% overall on the practice questions
• Did 4 practice tests on https://pmpexamforfree.com/ but don't remember my score. Love that after each question you get the explanation instead of at the end
• TIA PMP Exam Simulator Mini Exams: 73%, 83%, 77%
• The day before the exam I started watching David McLachlan's 150 PMBOK 7 Scenario-Based PMP Exam Questions and Answers on YouTube. Wish I did this sooner. Found it very helpful to hear him explain his reasoning aloud for each question.

Good luck, and hope this info helped!! PS I'm taking my PMI-ACP exam on 5/21/24. I felt like so much of the 2024 PMP exam was on Agile that I might as well! Am spending the days between tests cramming ACP-specific content especially the different Agile frameworks. Will update with whether I passed!

I just started playing Minecraft Java Edition this morning. I've always played Bedrock Edition. I figured out how to install shaders and mods. I've been trying to increase my performance because there are occasional jitters and buffers while playing. I downloaded a good bit of mods and now my world is crashing. I'm not sure what the problem is someone that knows more than I do, please help.
---- Minecraft Crash Report ----
// My bad.
Time: 2024-05-19 11:54:20
Description: Exception ticking world
org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.throwables.MixinTransformerError: An unexpected critical error was encountered

at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.applyMixins(MixinProcessor.java:392) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinTransformer.transformClass(MixinTransformer.java:250) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.service.modlauncher.MixinTransformationHandler.processClass(MixinTransformationHandler.java:131) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.launch.MixinLaunchPluginLegacy.processClass(MixinLaunchPluginLegacy.java:131) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.serviceapi.ILaunchPluginService.processClassWithFlags(ILaunchPluginService.java:142) \~\[modlauncher-10.1.2.jar:10.1.2\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchPluginHandler.offerClassNodeToPlugins(LaunchPluginHandler.java:91) \~\[modlauncher-10.1.2.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.ClassTransformer.transform(ClassTransformer.java:107) \~\[modlauncher-10.1.2.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.TransformingClassLoader.maybeTransformClassBytes(TransformingClassLoader.java:44) \~\[modlauncher-10.1.2.jar:?\] {} at net.minecraftforge.securemodules.SecureModuleClassLoader.readerToClass(SecureModuleClassLoader.java:473) \~\[securemodules-2.2.10.jar!/:?\] {} at net.minecraftforge.securemodules.SecureModuleClassLoader.findClass(SecureModuleClassLoader.java:399) \~\[securemodules-2.2.10.jar!/:?\] {} at net.minecraftforge.securemodules.SecureModuleClassLoader.loadClass(SecureModuleClassLoader.java:415) \~\[securemodules-2.2.10.jar!/:?\] {} at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:525) \~\[?:?\] {} at net.minecraft.world.entity.ai.behavior.VillagerGoalPackages.m\_24607\_(VillagerGoalPackages.java:231) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.Villager.m\_35424\_(Villager.java:184) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.Villager.m\_8075\_(Villager.java:157) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.LivingEntity.(LivingEntity.java:244) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,re:computing\_frames,re:classloading,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:alloc.enum\_values.living\_entity.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.collisions.unpushable\_cramming.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.fast\_elytra\_check.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.fast\_hand\_swing.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.fast\_powder\_snow\_check.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.skip\_equipment\_change\_check.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:A} at net.minecraft.world.entity.Mob.(Mob.java:142) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.inactive\_navigations.MobMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.skip\_equipment\_change\_check.MobMixin,pl:mixin:A} at net.minecraft.world.entity.PathfinderMob.(PathfinderMob.java:16) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.entity.AgeableMob.(AgeableMob.java:29) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.AbstractVillager.(AbstractVillager.java:49) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.Villager.(Villager.java:140) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.Villager.(Villager.java:136) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.EntityType.m\_20615\_(EntityType.java:530) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.EntityType.m\_185996\_(EntityType.java:535) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at java.util.Optional.map(Optional.java:260) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} at net.minecraft.world.entity.EntityType.m\_20642\_(EntityType.java:534) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.templatesystem.StructureTemplate.m\_74543\_(StructureTemplate.java:444) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.templatesystem.StructureTemplate.addEntitiesToWorld(StructureTemplate.java:427) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.templatesystem.StructureTemplate.m\_230328\_(StructureTemplate.java:337) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.pools.SinglePoolElement.m\_213695\_(SinglePoolElement.java:134) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.PoolElementStructurePiece.m\_226509\_(PoolElementStructurePiece.java:89) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.PoolElementStructurePiece.m\_213694\_(PoolElementStructurePiece.java:85) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.StructureStart.m\_226850\_(StructureStart.java:90) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkGenerator.m\_223080\_(ChunkGenerator.java:320) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList.forEach(ImmutableList.java:422) \~\[guava-32.1.2-jre.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkGenerator.m\_213609\_(ChunkGenerator.java:319) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkStatus.m\_279978\_(ChunkStatus.java:108) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkStatus$SimpleGenerationTask.m\_214024\_(ChunkStatus.java:309) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkStatus.m\_280308\_(ChunkStatus.java:252) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B} at net.minecraft.server.level.ChunkMap.lambda$chunkGenerate$27(ChunkMap.java:793) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default} at com.mojang.datafixers.util.Either$Left.map(Either.java:38) \~\[datafixerupper-6.0.8.jar!/:?\] {} at net.minecraft.server.level.ChunkMap.lambda$chunkGenerate$29(ChunkMap.java:780) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default} at java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture$UniCompose.tryFire(CompletableFuture.java:1150) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture$Completion.run(CompletableFuture.java:482) \~\[?:?\] {} at net.minecraft.server.level.ChunkTaskPriorityQueueSorter.m\_143188\_(ChunkTaskPriorityQueueSorter.java:62) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.util.thread.ProcessorMailbox.m\_18759\_(ProcessorMailbox.java:91) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.util.thread.ProcessorMailbox.m\_18747\_(ProcessorMailbox.java:146) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.util.thread.ProcessorMailbox.run(ProcessorMailbox.java:102) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinTask$RunnableExecuteAction.exec(ForkJoinTask.java:1395) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinTask.doExec(ForkJoinTask.java:373) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinPool$WorkQueue.topLevelExec(ForkJoinPool.java:1182) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinPool.scan(ForkJoinPool.java:1655) \~\[?:?\] {re:computing\_frames} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinPool.runWorker(ForkJoinPool.java:1622) \~\[?:?\] {re:computing\_frames} at java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinWorkerThread.run(ForkJoinWorkerThread.java:165) \~\[?:?\] {} 

Caused by: org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.throwables.MixinApplyError: Mixin [canary.mixins.json:ai.poi.tasks.LocateHidingPlaceMixin] from phase [DEFAULT] in config [canary.mixins.json] FAILED during APPLY

at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.handleMixinError(MixinProcessor.java:636) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.handleMixinApplyError(MixinProcessor.java:588) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.applyMixins(MixinProcessor.java:379) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} ... 53 more 

Caused by: org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.throwables.InvalidInjectionException: Critical injection failure: u/Redirect annotation on redirect could not find any targets matching 'lambda$create$5' or 'm_289100_' in net.minecraft.world.entity.ai.behavior.LocateHidingPlace. Using refmap canary.refmap.json [PREINJECT Applicator Phase -> canary.mixins.json:ai.poi.tasks.LocateHidingPlaceMixin -> Prepare Injections -> -> redirect$zzk000$redirect(Lnet/minecraft/world/entity/ai/village/poi/PoiManager;Ljava/util/function/Predicate;Ljava/util/function/Predicate;Lnet/minecraft/world/entity/ai/village/poi/PoiManager$Occupancy;Lnet/minecraft/core/BlockPos;ILnet/minecraft/util/RandomSource;)Ljava/util/Optional; -> Parse]

at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.struct.InjectionInfo.validateTargets(InjectionInfo.java:656) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.struct.InjectionInfo.findTargets(InjectionInfo.java:587) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.struct.InjectionInfo.readAnnotation(InjectionInfo.java:330) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.struct.InjectionInfo.(InjectionInfo.java:316) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.struct.InjectionInfo.(InjectionInfo.java:308) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.struct.RedirectInjectionInfo.(RedirectInjectionInfo.java:44) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.GeneratedConstructorAccessor61.newInstance(Unknown Source) \~\[?:?\] {} at jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:45) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstanceWithCaller(Constructor.java:499) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:480) \~\[?:?\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.struct.InjectionInfo$InjectorEntry.create(InjectionInfo.java:149) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.struct.InjectionInfo.parse(InjectionInfo.java:708) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinTargetContext.prepareInjections(MixinTargetContext.java:1311) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinApplicatorStandard.prepareInjections(MixinApplicatorStandard.java:1042) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinApplicatorStandard.applyMixin(MixinApplicatorStandard.java:393) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinApplicatorStandard.apply(MixinApplicatorStandard.java:325) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.TargetClassContext.apply(TargetClassContext.java:383) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.TargetClassContext.applyMixins(TargetClassContext.java:365) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.applyMixins(MixinProcessor.java:363) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} ... 53 more 

A detailed walkthrough of the error, its code path and all known details is as follows:
-- Head --
Thread: Server thread
Suspected Mods: NONE
Stacktrace:

at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.applyMixins(MixinProcessor.java:392) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinTransformer.transformClass(MixinTransformer.java:250) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.service.modlauncher.MixinTransformationHandler.processClass(MixinTransformationHandler.java:131) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at org.spongepowered.asm.launch.MixinLaunchPluginLegacy.processClass(MixinLaunchPluginLegacy.java:131) \~\[mixin-0.8.5.jar:0.8.5+Jenkins-b310.git-155314e6e91465dad727e621a569906a410cd6f4\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.serviceapi.ILaunchPluginService.processClassWithFlags(ILaunchPluginService.java:142) \~\[modlauncher-10.1.2.jar:10.1.2\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.LaunchPluginHandler.offerClassNodeToPlugins(LaunchPluginHandler.java:91) \~\[modlauncher-10.1.2.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.ClassTransformer.transform(ClassTransformer.java:107) \~\[modlauncher-10.1.2.jar:?\] {} at cpw.mods.modlauncher.TransformingClassLoader.maybeTransformClassBytes(TransformingClassLoader.java:44) \~\[modlauncher-10.1.2.jar:?\] {} at net.minecraftforge.securemodules.SecureModuleClassLoader.readerToClass(SecureModuleClassLoader.java:473) \~\[securemodules-2.2.10.jar!/:?\] {} at net.minecraftforge.securemodules.SecureModuleClassLoader.findClass(SecureModuleClassLoader.java:399) \~\[securemodules-2.2.10.jar!/:?\] {} at net.minecraftforge.securemodules.SecureModuleClassLoader.loadClass(SecureModuleClassLoader.java:415) \~\[securemodules-2.2.10.jar!/:?\] {} at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:525) \~\[?:?\] {} at net.minecraft.world.entity.ai.behavior.VillagerGoalPackages.m\_24607\_(VillagerGoalPackages.java:231) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.Villager.m\_35424\_(Villager.java:184) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.Villager.m\_8075\_(Villager.java:157) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.LivingEntity.(LivingEntity.java:244) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,re:computing\_frames,re:classloading,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:alloc.enum\_values.living\_entity.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.collisions.unpushable\_cramming.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.fast\_elytra\_check.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.fast\_hand\_swing.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.fast\_powder\_snow\_check.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.skip\_equipment\_change\_check.LivingEntityMixin,pl:mixin:A} at net.minecraft.world.entity.Mob.(Mob.java:142) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.inactive\_navigations.MobMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.skip\_equipment\_change\_check.MobMixin,pl:mixin:A} at net.minecraft.world.entity.PathfinderMob.(PathfinderMob.java:16) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.entity.AgeableMob.(AgeableMob.java:29) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.AbstractVillager.(AbstractVillager.java:49) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.Villager.(Villager.java:140) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.npc.Villager.(Villager.java:136) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.EntityType.m\_20615\_(EntityType.java:530) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.entity.EntityType.m\_185996\_(EntityType.java:535) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at java.util.Optional.map(Optional.java:260) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} at net.minecraft.world.entity.EntityType.m\_20642\_(EntityType.java:534) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector,re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.templatesystem.StructureTemplate.m\_74543\_(StructureTemplate.java:444) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.templatesystem.StructureTemplate.addEntitiesToWorld(StructureTemplate.java:427) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.templatesystem.StructureTemplate.m\_230328\_(StructureTemplate.java:337) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading,xf:fml:forge:forge\_method\_redirector} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.pools.SinglePoolElement.m\_213695\_(SinglePoolElement.java:134) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.PoolElementStructurePiece.m\_226509\_(PoolElementStructurePiece.java:89) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.PoolElementStructurePiece.m\_213694\_(PoolElementStructurePiece.java:85) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.StructureStart.m\_226850\_(StructureStart.java:90) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkGenerator.m\_223080\_(ChunkGenerator.java:320) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList.forEach(ImmutableList.java:422) \~\[guava-32.1.2-jre.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkGenerator.m\_213609\_(ChunkGenerator.java:319) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkStatus.m\_279978\_(ChunkStatus.java:108) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkStatus$SimpleGenerationTask.m\_214024\_(ChunkStatus.java:309) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.world.level.chunk.ChunkStatus.m\_280308\_(ChunkStatus.java:252) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B} at net.minecraft.server.level.ChunkMap.lambda$chunkGenerate$27(ChunkMap.java:793) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default} at com.mojang.datafixers.util.Either$Left.map(Either.java:38) \~\[datafixerupper-6.0.8.jar!/:?\] {} at net.minecraft.server.level.ChunkMap.lambda$chunkGenerate$29(ChunkMap.java:780) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,xf:OptiFine:default} at java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture$UniCompose.tryFire(CompletableFuture.java:1150) \~\[?:?\] {} at java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture$Completion.run(CompletableFuture.java:482) \~\[?:?\] {} at net.minecraft.server.level.ChunkTaskPriorityQueueSorter.m\_143188\_(ChunkTaskPriorityQueueSorter.java:62) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.util.thread.ProcessorMailbox.m\_18759\_(ProcessorMailbox.java:91) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} at net.minecraft.util.thread.ProcessorMailbox.m\_18747\_(ProcessorMailbox.java:146) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading} 

-- Affected level --
Details:

All players: 1 total; \[ServerPlayer\['IM\_THE\_SAM'/75, l='ServerLevel\[:)\]', x=2480.03, y=146.23, z=1153.84\]\] Chunk stats: 27933 Level dimension: minecraft:overworld Level spawn location: World: (0,66,0), Section: (at 0,2,0 in 0,4,0; chunk contains blocks 0,-64,0 to 15,319,15), Region: (0,0; contains chunks 0,0 to 31,31, blocks 0,-64,0 to 511,319,511) Level time: 40684 game time, 73274 day time Level name: :) Level game mode: Game mode: survival (ID 0). Hardcore: false. Cheats: false Level weather: Rain time: 67548 (now: false), thunder time: 9364 (now: true) Known server brands: forge Removed feature flags: Level was modded: true Level storage version: 0x04ABD - Anvil Loaded entity count: 301 

Stacktrace:

at net.minecraft.server.level.ServerLevel.m\_6026\_(ServerLevel.java:1509) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:alloc.chunk\_random.ServerLevelMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:chunk.replace\_streams.ServerLevelMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:entity.inactive\_navigations.ServerLevelMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:profiler.ServerLevelMixin,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:util.accessors.ServerLevelAccessor,pl:mixin:APP:canary.mixins.json:world.block\_entity\_ticking.sleeping.ServerLevelMixin,pl:mixin:A} at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.m\_5703\_(MinecraftServer.java:952) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B} at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.m\_5705\_(MinecraftServer.java:837) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B} at net.minecraft.client.server.IntegratedServer.m\_5705\_(IntegratedServer.java:129) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:classloading,xf:OptiFine:default} at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.m\_130011\_(MinecraftServer.java:673) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B} at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.m\_206580\_(MinecraftServer.java:256) \~\[forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar!/:?\] {re:mixin,pl:accesstransformer:B,re:classloading,pl:accesstransformer:B} at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:833) \~\[?:?\] {re:mixin} 

-- System Details --
Details:

Minecraft Version: 1.20.4 Minecraft Version ID: 1.20.4 Operating System: Windows 11 (amd64) version 10.0 Java Version: 17.0.8, Microsoft Java VM Version: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (mixed mode), Microsoft Memory: 655399912 bytes (625 MiB) / 2147483648 bytes (2048 MiB) up to 2147483648 bytes (2048 MiB) CPUs: 12 Processor Vendor: GenuineIntel Processor Name: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-11400 @ 2.60GHz Identifier: Intel64 Family 6 Model 167 Stepping 1 Microarchitecture: Rocket Lake Frequency (GHz): 2.59 Number of physical packages: 1 Number of physical CPUs: 6 Number of logical CPUs: 12 Graphics card #0 name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Graphics card #0 vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de) Graphics card #0 VRAM (MB): 4095.00 Graphics card #0 deviceId: 0x2489 Graphics card #0 versionInfo: DriverVersion=31.0.15.2802 Memory slot #0 capacity (MB): 8192.00 Memory slot #0 clockSpeed (GHz): 2.40 Memory slot #0 type: DDR4 Memory slot #1 capacity (MB): 8192.00 Memory slot #1 clockSpeed (GHz): 2.40 Memory slot #1 type: DDR4 Virtual memory max (MB): 31599.39 Virtual memory used (MB): 14193.93 Swap memory total (MB): 15360.00 Swap memory used (MB): 159.08 JVM Flags: 9 total; -XX:HeapDumpPath=MojangTricksIntelDriversForPerformance\_javaw.exe\_minecraft.exe.heapdump -Xss1M -Xmx2G -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:G1NewSizePercent=20 -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=50 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=32M Server Running: true Player Count: 1 / 8; \[ServerPlayer\['IM\_THE\_SAM'/75, l='ServerLevel\[:)\]', x=2480.03, y=146.23, z=1153.84\]\] Data Packs: vanilla, mod:terralith, mod:forge (incompatible), mod:mousetweaks (incompatible), mod:t\_and\_t, mod:geckolib (incompatible), mod:clumps (incompatible), mod:cristellib (incompatible), mod:entityculling (incompatible), mod:canary (incompatible), mod:fallingtree (incompatible) Enabled Feature Flags: minecraft:vanilla World Generation: Experimental Type: Integrated Server (map\_client.txt) Is Modded: Definitely; Client brand changed to 'forge'; Server brand changed to 'forge' Launched Version: 1.20.4-forge-49.0.50 OptiFine Version: OptiFine\_1.20.4\_HD\_U\_I7 OptiFine Build: 20240317-172634 Render Distance Chunks: 16 Mipmaps: 4 Anisotropic Filtering: 1 Antialiasing: 0 Multitexture: false Shaders: BSL\_v8.2.09p1.zip OpenGlVersion: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 528.02 OpenGlRenderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 OpenGlVendor: NVIDIA Corporation CpuCount: 12 ModLauncher: 10.1.2 ModLauncher launch target: forge\_client ModLauncher naming: srg ModLauncher services: / slf4jfixer PLUGINSERVICE / runtimedistcleaner PLUGINSERVICE / runtime\_enum\_extender PLUGINSERVICE / object\_holder\_definalize PLUGINSERVICE / capability\_token\_subclass PLUGINSERVICE / accesstransformer PLUGINSERVICE / eventbus PLUGINSERVICE / mixin PLUGINSERVICE / OptiFine TRANSFORMATIONSERVICE / fml TRANSFORMATIONSERVICE / mixin TRANSFORMATIONSERVICE FML Language Providers: minecraft@1.0 lowcodefml@49 javafml@49.0.50 Mod List: Terralith\_1.20\_v2.5.1.jar Terralith terralith 2.5.1 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-client.jar Minecraft minecraft 1.20.4 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE entityculling-forge-1.6.4-mc1.20.4.jar EntityCulling entityculling 1.6.4 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE canary-mc1.20.4-0.3.3.jar Canary canary 0.3.3 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE FallingTree-1.20.4-1.20.4.3.jar FallingTree fallingtree 1.20.4.3 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE MouseTweaks-forge-mc1.20.2-2.26.jar Mouse Tweaks mousetweaks 2.26 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE forge-1.20.4-49.0.50-universal.jar Forge forge 49.0.50 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE t\_and\_t-1.12.1.1.jar Towns and Towers t\_and\_t 1.12.1 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE geckolib-forge-1.20.4-4.4.4.jar GeckoLib 4 geckolib 4.4.4 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE Clumps-forge-1.20.4-15.0.0.2.jar Clumps clumps 15.0.0.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE cristellib-1.2.2-forge.jar Cristel Lib cristellib 1.2.2 DONE Manifest: NOSIGNATURE Crash Report UUID: 66846349-41d4-4cf2-8d20-f22f013f6aa7 FML: 0.0 Forge: net.minecraftforge:49.0.50 

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Yes, you read it right. I got a few admits and I will not be joining any of the colleges. Will be dropping MBA in general, as I have other plans. But, as I bid this community goodbye, wanted to give back in any tiny way possible.
P.S. Do not expect to see anything new here, and feel free to ignore!
Profile; GEM 9/9/9 - T10 Engg college, Work ex: 3yrs, CAT: 99.5X, XAT: 99.2X
I had registered for CAT on the very last day, with absolutely no idea of what the exam is, or if I am even planning for an MBA. As November came closer, I decided to give it a shot as an MBA would be something that suits me. I looked around to ask friends in IIMs on how to prepare with 15-20 days to go. Everyone had different strategies so I sat down to find some material. Everything seemed vague until I started checking out previous-year papers. (I personally have given 2 mocks, and solved all slots '19-'22). The patterns that evolved over the past decade, the most likely pattern for this year, and figured how I have around 1.5 mins per question to reach a rough score of 100. (I decided upon this as the fair average to be in the top 0.1/0.2 percentile based on results from '21-'24) While I state this simply, I did go through a lot of videos from creators, to Quora, to this very subreddit to get my information. And I must say that the first-hand accounts from here helped me all along.
Remember; CAT is strategy first, ability second kind of exam. I will keep different disparities out of this post, but would ask everyone to see this being based on bucketing. Yes, your gender, category, school-marks, UG field, all matter, but then don't think the entire pool is your competition. The percentile system makes one think like that, but it isn't the case. The competition is WITHIN your own bucket, find the scoring needed there. That math will go a long way and will keep you away from unnecessary excuses and debates.
General strategies:

- set an ideal score in mind, everyone would want highest possible but set a realistic number in mind. Aim should be to score equal in all section. Give mocks/prev year papers, find weakest section, compensate for loss there by gain elsewhere. - if strong in VARC, practice completing whole thing in 40mins (whatever the section time is), else tackle in order of strongest module first (RC/ordering/summarising/fill sentence). - in QA, put a hard limit of 1.5-2 mins per question when practicing. Choose only the sections/problems you are comfortable with, learn to solve them in the exam constraints first. There is no need to know everything, this isn't boards. - in DILR, know that 1/4 is enough, 2/4 is good, 3/4 and you can afford huge mistakes in VA/QA, but being able to solve 3/4 probably means you are very strong at reading and math, so no need to think here. 

I went on to give my CAT, and post that is when I got involved here the most. I was active when this community had 14k~ members, so it has grown significantly, in ways good and bad. But that's not the point. There are all kinds of people here, and therefore you should be able to find whatever you need amidst all the noise.
I had applied for top 10ish colleges based on my personal suitability (+All checkboxes in CAT form ). Adding links to their interview experiences/transcripts here;
IIM A, C, FMS - NO call [A and B have non-public criteria, but generally B has more weightage to experience, while A has for diversity. C and especially FMS need raw marks in CAT]
SPJIMR - my first interview experience, got kicked out of round 1 IIM K - admit XLRI BM - admit IIM B - PGP + PGPBA admit IIM I - admit IIT B - waitlist in 20s but opted out to not block seat IIM L - admit IIFT - will probably get IIM Mumbai, IIM Shillong, XLRI HM, IIT Delhi - filled interview forms but didn't attend All other IIMs - skipped entirely
I cannot give any specific advice on interviews as things to work upon vary greatly from person to person. You can go through the above links, and ask questions if any, I will try to answer them.
I hope this post is of help, And all the best for your plans!
Edit: Since a lot of you are asking about my plans; I left it out to not deviate from the context. But here goes nothing, So I was never interested in the monetary aspect of MBA, placements/corporate life etc, since I earned enough. I wanted to enter business/entrepreneurship so incubators and possible networking with similar people were my criteria, but as you see these gains are subjective, unlike objective goals like others would have. And, to cough up that much money and time seemed unfavourable at the moment. So chose an alternative that was available to me, join a pre-seed startup and learn through practical experience. There is nothing to say what's better tbh, and its been hard convincing myself or close people, but there's always the option of coming back to MBA if needed. Hope that quenches your curiosity!