Hi all. 27, Male, 5'8", 193Lbs, White
The Backstory:
Starting early March, I started getting extremely lightheaded at the gym. I knew there was some expectation of lightheadedness since I train relatively hard (powerlifting + heavy body building sets, frequent train to failure / RPE 10 if you're familiar with those terms), however, one particular day mid-set, my vision went completely blurry, I smelled blood/iron (although it could have literally have been the bar that was just in my hands) and went ice cold. I was 100% confident I was about to pass out but I completely came to, and with some dizziness and jitteriness, I was able to calm down and leave the gym. I went back home, was feeling better, a buddy invited me out for late lunch/drinks and I started feeling better once the drink hit. I took a break for the gym, and went for another gym session about a week and a half later, and something similar but not as serious happened on a high-rep, low weight bench press set. I think it was a final back off set of 95lbs until failure, which ended up being around 25-27 reps. Once I sat up from the bench, I was completely lightheaded and dizzy, and had to go sit down as I felt like I was about to pass out again. This was St Patricks day, and I went out with my buddy again, but this time I was feeling fine and enjoyed the rest of the day. I took a longer hiatus from the gym at this point.
Starting Mar 23rd, I started feeling "off" on my drive out to a car show. Once I was there, after about a 4 hour drive, I started experiencing dizziness inducing anxiety. I couldn't really describe it, but it was something I had experienced before so I recognized it as anxiety. Most common trigger was a face-to-face interaction with a person. No idea why this was a trigger, but it's happened before. On Mar 26th, the symptoms got way worse and the resulting anxiety caused tremendous panic attacks. I started feeling off mid-day at work. I started my drive home where something felt so out of place, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I was driving tremendously slow, and a panic attack started settling in. With my previous gym experience, I was considering low blood sugar. so I made it to an urgent care. Once I got there, and this may have been a result of the anxiety, but I couldn't think straight or form any sentences properly. I was completely forgetting words and stuck in a brain fog. They gave me a finger stick and it came back normal (99). They ended up doing a full blood panel and everything came back normal with the exception of elevated triglycerides (202mg/dl). I ended up leaving my car at the urgent care, and after I was feeling calm, I got a ride to go get my car. During this car ride and driving my car back, I felt extremely dizzy. I still felt out of place, super dehydrated, heavy eyes, and head pressure. The few days leading up to the 26th, and for a week or 2 after, I was chugging water like no tomorrow. I normally am very bad at keeping myself hydrated, but I was knocking down almost 3L per day as if it wasn't enough.
First stop after this was seeing an ENT. I've had BPPV in the past, so some sort of vertigo was my first guess. The ENT said I had no congestion and showed no other signs, i.e. perfectly healthy. He recommended a neurologist. I then saw my PCP and he recommended SSRI's. I did not take the SSRI's, but he did also prescribe me 30 days of 0.5mg xanax, which for a short time I was taking up to 0.25mg max per day as needed. He also recommended a neurologist. I went to the neurologist who ordered a brain MRI, which came back normal.
One extra bit of information, in the first week of March, I purchased a used mini fridge for my bedroom. Around early/mid April, I got a whiff of refrigerant after opening the fridge for the first time in about a week or 2. I used a refrigerant leak detector and it picked up a leak, so I discarded the fridge entirely. It seems symptoms started to improve after this, but it's been about a month at this point.
As well, prior to this, I was taking supplements. I am now taking none of this. They were:

• 150mg KSM-66 (Ashwagandha) - Per Day (I've heard of people having anxiety spells after stopping KSM-66)
• 5mg Creatine - Per Day
• 5000IU D3 - Per Day
• 1000mcg B12 - Per Day
• Multivitamin (Vit A 450mcg, Vit C 67.5 mg, Vit D 25 mcg, Vit E 15mg, Niacin 16mg, Vitamin B6 1.3mg, Folate 400mcg, Vitamin B12 6mcg, Biotin 3 mcg, Zinc 5.5mg, Chromium 35mcg, Fish Oil 227mg) - Per Day
• Daily caffeine intake 200-500mg (via monster energy drinks)

In Summary:
I can't drive as a result of some sort of dizziness. Some days are perfectly normal, but most days, the dizziness often triggers anxiety. If there's no dizziness, there's no anxiety. I've been working from home since Mar 26th, and stopped my 2nd job of driving uber eats. Sometimes I can drive myself to the gym and have a lighter workout and it sets the tone for a better day and have been able to drive. Otherwise, I'm usually a passenger to do what I need to do. Some days that have felt better, I've gone for 20-30 minute trips, just for the next day to not be able to make it up the block without a dizziness inducing panic attack. Sometimes it just feels like general anxiety and taking the xanax as mentioned before does help, but sometimes it has little to no affect. I've had the "off" feeling but the xanax made me simply not freak out about it.
Despite the ENT saying there's no congestion, I had been feeling constant congestion. I started using flonase to clear my sinuses and feel like I can breathe. However, even with that, I still feel a pressure in my sinuses and forehead, dry/heavy eyes, and what seems like a breathing restriction, as like I'm breathing through a straw. I can take deep breaths through my mouth just fine.
I'm feeling that my dizzy spells are either related to sinuses or lack of oxygen of some sort, and I'm running out of ideas because my life has been completely flipped upside down. I was feeling good yesterday, but as of this afternoon, I had wanted to go grab lunch but I had the super heavy feeling in my head, and once I got into my car, even before driving, the dizziness started kicking in so I ended up ordering in and writing this post instead. It sounds like the simple answer is "it's just anxiety", but I genuinely feel something else is wrong, and I'm running out of places to check.
In terms of the sinusitis symptoms, I have had consistently:

• Fatigue (I started off by sleeping a LOT more, knocking out at 4/5pm, now regardless of fatigue I can't sleep or can't stay asleep)
• Headache
• Pressure in the face/behind the eyes/heavy eyes
• Nasal stuffiness

Occasionally:

• Cough
• Sore throat

I also had COVID for the first time in December '23. Home test showed the faintest line, so I went to urgent care where rapid came back negative and PCR came back positive. I had no symptoms, I only tested due to a request of elderly visiting for Christmas. I am not vaccinated.

I started using a CPAP about 2 weeks ago and I am struggling. I'd say my sleep is even worse than without the CPAP.
Things I seem to need so far:

1. Ability to wear glasses and mask at same time (absolutely non-negotiable)
2. Can accommodate broad (side-to-side) but short (doesn't stick out of my face very far) nose (absolutely non-negotiable)
3. Full face mask
   1. Tried mouth tape + N30 nasal mask and chin strap + mask, couldn't tolerate either of them.
   2. Tried N30 mask without either, breathed out of my mouth while asleep, woke up choking and gasping so badly that my partner almost called 911
   3. I'm usually some degree of congested so 100% nose breathing isn't the best. I've been through several surgeries for a closely related issue and my septum is still pretty dang deviated so I really don't want to go through more. I do have an appointment with an allergist as well but it isn't for another couple of months.
   4. Am potentially open to non-full face mask options but am wary
4. Hose attaches to front of mask instead of top of head (I tried a top attach one and it gave me a headache, plus the CPAP humidification didn't seem to work as well so my mouth got super dry. Am open to trying top of head masks again but am wary)

Masks I've tried so far:

• ResMed F20 (see #1)
• ResMed F30i (see #4)
• ResMed N30 (see #3)
• Phillips Amara View (see #2)
• F&P Evora full face (see #2)

I'm currently using the Amara View because it's the least of the evils, but the cushion is objectively not a good fit.
Edit: forgot to mention that I'm considering the ResMed F40 but I'm not a fan of how the ResMed masks have the separate nostril holes instead of one large nose hole like the Amara View and Evora, plus I'm concerned I'll run into general fit issues again.

March 5 I had a sparring injury with my partner which ended up giving me headaches, also sharp pain back of neck looking down
Next week neurologist advises me to have a brain MRI which came out normal, diagnosed with post concussion syndrome
A few weeks later during a long exam with my neck mostly hunched over right eye/temple area suddenly starting aching and felt as if it was being squeezed, came home with pain in my right sternocleidomastoid area
Went to doctor who diagnosed me with sinusitis but I felt it was highly unlikely since I never really had sinus problems
During holy week suffered with severe anxiety and developed pain in jaw, teeth, sinus areas etc also difficulty swallowing
Went to the hospital for a new neurologist and felt like my whole neck was burning, he said how it was mostly anxiety but I should have an MRI of my cervical spine just in case
Next week I had it and it said straightening of the cervical spine maybe due to muscle spasm. Doctor prescribed me to take PT which I take 1-2x per week and trying to do the home exercises consistently. Don’t really notice any progress yet but thats because I havent done them consistently
Heres my full list of symptoms, or at least the ones I’ve experienced so far: - Headaches mostly dull and achy in nature, constantly moves around head and face. Very rarely pinching, burning, tingly, pressure sensations. Not super painful but distracting sometimes. Seems to dissipate/reduce in frequency when fixing posture. - Tenderness at base of skull or back of neck - Trouble swallowing - Random neck pains and muscle spasms - Pain in thoracic spine area when looking down - Straightened cervical spine - Neck cracking and grinding when moving it - vertigo? Not sure tho - anxiety (nowhere as bad as a month ago though) - weird bubbly sound in ear when yawning or burping - nostrils get more congested than usual - hands went numb for a day, happened while I was writing stuff for school - occasional finger pain and twitching (could be related to overuse from gaming)
Both my new neurologist and I think it has something to do with my neck (musculoskeletal) but I also think it could be because of cervical instability because a lot of my symptoms line up with it. What do you guys think?

March 5 I had a sparring injury with my partner which ended up giving me headaches, also sharp pain back of neck looking down
Next week neurologist advises me to have a brain MRI which came out normal, diagnosed with post concussion syndrome
A few weeks later during a long exam with my neck mostly hunched over right eye/temple area suddenly starting aching and felt as if it was being squeezed, came home with pain in my right sternocleidomastoid area
Went to doctor who diagnosed me with sinusitis but I felt it was highly unlikely since I never really had sinus problems
During holy week suffered with severe anxiety and developed pain in jaw, teeth, sinus areas etc also difficulty swallowing
Went to the hospital for a new neurologist and felt like my whole neck was burning, he said how it was mostly anxiety but I should have an MRI of my cervical spine just in case
Next week I had it and it said straightening of the cervical spine maybe due to muscle spasm. Doctor prescribed me to take PT which I take 1-2x per week and trying to do the home exercises consistently. Don’t really notice any progress yet but thats because I havent done them consistently
Heres my full list of symptoms, or at least the ones I’ve experienced so far: - Headaches mostly dull and achy in nature, constantly moves around head and face. Very rarely pinching, burning, tingly, pressure sensations. Not super painful but distracting sometimes. Seems to dissipate/reduce in frequency when fixing posture. - Tenderness at base of skull - Trouble swallowing - Random neck pains and muscle spasms - Pain in thoracic spine area when looking down - Straightened cervical spine - Neck cracking and grinding when moving it - vertigo? Not sure tho - anxiety (nowhere as bad as a month ago though) - weird sound in ear when yawning or burping - nostrils get more congested than usual - hands went numb for a day, happened while I was writing stuff for school - occasional finger pain and twitching (could be related to overuse from gaming)

Hi everyone,
Lately I’ve had some symptoms that are making me kinda scared but I’m currently traveling and won’t be able to go to my doctor until about 2 weeks.
The symptoms are:
Burning when urinating, I went to my gynecologist for this because I thought I had a UTI but she did 2 urine tests and everything came back negative. She did a pap smear as well which showed some inflammation on my cervix but she wasn’t worried about it.
I also have dull pain on my kidneys that isn’t constant, my hands, feet and legs tingle/cramp often, sometimes my fingers get a bit swollen, shortness of breath (but I smoke often) and lately I’m getting some muscle pain. I aldo get constant headaches as well but I also suffer from sinusitis + allergies + I have a super deviated septum so I’m pretty sure it’s pressure. I also have been getting nauseous every time I start eating even thought I get super hungry shortly after I stop, I assumed this was also due to mucus because I have been super congested for the past 2 weeks but of course I don’t know for sure.
I get yearly check ups and I always notice that my white blood cells come back high however, doctors are never concerned. I also often have high blood pressure when I go to the doctor since the last 5-6 years but again, they’re never concerned.

let me start with the most important: thank you all so much! i've been diagnosed somewhat recently (1 year and 5 months now), and i can't count the number of times that i looked for this subreddit for guidance, advice or just to maybe find people who share my feelings. i never posted here (i didn't have an account until now) but you've all helped me a lot with managing the day to day symptoms and frustrations that come with multiple sclerosis. so from the bottom of my heart: thank you! :) 💖
second... i guess i wanted to share my journey with ms with people who would understand what im feeling. i dont personally know anybody who has ms, so its hard to find people to truly talk about this in my life...
(also, i'm brazillian! if a medical term is not quite right, that's why! apologies! also, this is going to be a bit long... apologies x2! if you stick through it though, i promise there is a good ending!)
BEING DIAGNOSED
on september 2022, my whole body slowly started going numb. it started on my right arm and in 3 days extented to my whole body. i also got a pressure in my diaphragm, which got worse when i walked and made breathing difficult. (i remember being very scared during this time, because i thought it could be a respiratory illness and that i would stop breathing) i was taken to a hospital, where i went through 3 separate clinicians and had a tomography. none of them could tell what was happening to me, and the exam obviously revealed nothing, so i was sent home with a suggestion to schedule an appointment with a neurologist. i was even more scared at this point than i had been when i arrived at the hospital, as you can imagine. 🙃
still, i scheduled with a neurologist, and in the following days i started to lose strength and coordination in my hands. as with the numbness, it started on my right hand and then extended to my left. at this time, i remember watching a movie and slowly feeling my left arm grow even more numb than it had been before and pausing it to cry... i really had no idea what was happening to me. i could no longer write, cook, draw or hold anything heavier than a toothpick. mercifully, with time i eventually regained control of my hands, but until this day i feel a prickling sensation in them when i start to exhaust myself.
since i was still having trouble breathing when i walked, and experiencing what i now realize were my first spells of fatigue, most of my days where spend lying in bed watching youtube videos and waiting for my symptoms to pass. from the beggining, i had also been experiencing a sharp throbing pain on the base of my skull that would not dissapear no matter what i did. i remember thinking to myself "so this is how chronically ill people must feel". haha. little did i know.
when the appointment with the neurologist finally came, i was a bit more hopeful. i thought i'd finally discover what was wrong. i didn't. he completely ignored me when i told my symptoms, barely looked me in the eye and told me that i actually had... anxiety 🙃 thanks, man! totally didn't angry cry about this later! still he (BEGRUDGINGLY) gave me an MRI request.
a month passes, i get the MRI and, of course, i have white matter lesions. the report from the technicians also indicated that the lesions most likely indicated multiple sclerosis. i think it was at this point that i truly began to panic because... well, i dont think i need to explain that special fear you get when you find out your brain is broken, and that your body is eating itself. on top of that, there's also no cure in sight. the positive side is that through the end of october and beggining of november, some of the symptoms i was experiencing got milder.
in december 2022, with the MRI results in hand i saw a new neurologist, who was mercifully very kind to me and has become the primary doctor responsible for monitoring my ms. he confirmed the diagnosis and i was sent to a hospital to get a steroids treatment, since i was still experiencing symptoms. that treatment FINALLY restored me to good health again, and i felt good for the first time in months. at this moment i also got a spinal tap (terrible.) to see if i had oligoclonal bands.
now imagine that, as you experience this new disease that is destroying your body, you also have someone at your side constantly telling you that you are delusional, that you are actually not sick, that you just convinced yourself that you are sick and are thus causing your own suffering, and that the first neurologist was right and this is all just anxiety? well, that was my mom for me 🙃 i understand her pain, i also didnt want to accept my new reality, but i really wished she had been more considerate of my feelings. i cant understand why people seem to think "its all in your head" is comforting to hear, it just makes you feel invalidaded. still, over time, she came to accept that i had ms, and stopped telling me those things.
moving on to january 2023, i got blood exams done to get properly started on gylenya/fingolimod, and also started taking vitamin D, B12 and omega 3 supplements. im very happy and relieved to report that i haven't had any relapses/flare ups since! yay :)
THE HEAT
...not. so, i thought because i was medicated, i wouldn't experience symptoms anymore. amateur mistake. the summer in brazil was unbearable through december 2023-january 2024. muscle and joint pain, frequent headaches, neck inflamation, fatigue, brain fog. all lasting several weeks. i have a ceiling fan but it was absolutely no help in the slightest. i think this was when this sub helped me the most, i got a lot of tips for staying cool from here! thank you once again!
i mention this period because i think it was the time that, emotionally, i finally accepted that i have ms. my logical side had accepted it, but emotionally i still thought "well. i'm not actually sick! i'm just taking the medication because the worst case scenario if i dont take it is a lot worse than this! its not like the pills harm me! but, really, i dont need them!"
experiencing all those symptoms in the heat finally drove home that this is real, and that it's going to be with me for the rest of my life... i'm still not sure how i feel about it. i've always wanted to live until 80 at least, and knowing i have a disease that could take me much earlier than that is very scary. i've been trying to a adapt the mentality of living one day at a time, and being grateful for the present day. i do consider myself lucky! i think my symptoms were definetly not as severe as they could've been, and frequently are for other people. im going to tell myself that and be grateful.
currently, ive been going through a treatment for my muscle pain and trying to manage my routine with the constant fatigue ive been experiencing. hard to have a fulfilling day when your brain and body gives up by 3pm. sighs... but we have to live on!!
to end this ramble: i promised a happy ending. well. roughly a 6/7 months after taking fingolimod, my neurologist wanted me to have another MRI to check if the medicine was working, right? so i had another MRI, standard stuff. then the results came in and: not only did i not have any new lesions, my old ones completely dissapeared!! :D
i did read that sometimes lesions can dissapear for reasons unrelated to remyelination, but, you know what? life is what you make of it and i want to be optimistic :) i want to believe that, by catching the disease early enough, my brain was able to recover somewhat! that i was able to fight against this disease somehow, even if its not much!
that's all i wanted to share!! if you read through all of this: thank you! and thank you all in the sub once again for sharing tips and emotional support here!! may we all see a cure to ms in our lifetimes 💖

link to previous series
During the 2023 NFL season I lost a bet that resulted in me writing a paragraph about every single song Taylor Swift had ever released, all within the span of 7 days. I had a blast posting them for you and when some requested that I do the same for future albums, I wasn’t sure if I would or not. After all, I don’t listen to music in my day-to-day. That experience was a wild week to be sure, but the energy an excitement I felt when there was interest from you could easily have been a lucky spark that I can’t reproduce. Do you really want to read more of my poorly informed perspective? My takes are as lukewarm as a half-microwaved hungry man dinner, still frozen in spots and already over-burnt around the edges. Oh well – if I’m honest, I’m back and writing because I enjoyed spending the time on Taylor Swift, and I hope you’ll find some fun in the resulting nonsense I’ve written below. Enough stalling – let’s enter The Tortured Poets Department!
Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)
I always knew Taylor was a drinker. This song is so synth heavy – I mean this in a good way, it reminds me of some of the songs that were in Napoleon Dynamite. I can imagine listening to this song while driving through a city at night for sure. Lonely and melancholy but still confident, that’s how it makes me feel. I heard something about this being related to Matty Healy, who I don’t know but supposedly was a rebound fling for Taylor after breaking up with Joe? IDK the timeline well enough to comment on anything but the lyrics sure feel like a quick fling story.
The Tortured Poets Department
Hey this sounds kinda like old school Taylor to me! Like almost Debut vibes. Reminder, I’ve only heard each album once (plus TVs) so I’m doing my best to recall memories from the previous entries on this project. I really like the gentle harmonies supporting her voice. One of the fears I had after hearing the title of this album was that it’d be kind of cringe. Like, too up it’s own butt to be taken seriously. But I don’t get that from this song. I’m optimistic now that the tone will be balanced enough to avoid being out of touch. I may be particularly sensitive about that because my degree is in English composition, dual focused in essay writing and poetry. Which means that for awhile there, I was wayyyy too up my own butt about this kind of stuff.
My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
Drums front and center. I hate the title of this song. I have kind of a sensitivity about things breaking, it makes me emotional. So having to hear about someone breaking things is not fun. As a result, I’m not a fan of whoever she’s singing about. 'Once I fix me, he's gonna miss me’ really sounds like she’s talking about the rebound relationship again. Like she’s in a bad relationship while she heals up and then she’ll get out of there. Yuck, I can’t vibe with this story.
Down Bad
OK I heard that opening line as ‘did you really beat me off’ and I was like, wow she really is down bad. The synth heavy sound so far has started settling into a trancelike effect. ‘They’ll say I’m nuts if I talk about the existence of you’ is a little awkward as phrasing goes but it does remind me that she has to deal with the psychological trap of wanting to sing about her relationship but knowing it’ll spark discussion in the media again. ‘I might just not get up, I might just stay down bad’ is pretty solid. I also really like that she’s cursing casually in music that’s otherwise not that explicit. Culture is changing, and she’s writing the way I expect people to talk – not using curse words as some shocking thing.
So Long, London
Wasn’t there a terrible song about London on a previous album? I know Joe is British so I’m assuming this is her waving goodbye to that London chapter of her life. I’m starting to get bored of the synth sound, hoping for some relief from the numbness. Honestly it feels like the stuffy, congested feeling you get when you take cheap allergy medicine. As far as the writing goes, this blows that other London song out of the water. This is my favorite song lyrically so far. Her talking about going down with the ship and white knuckling to hold on while her friends think she should abandon ship is poignant. I guess the song was ultimately a little more driving than the last few but I’d like a mix up.
But Daddy I Love Him
Aw man, we got softer instead. At least I’m not continuing the desensitization under the synth noise. Once again I’m feeling early Taylor in this one. Ooh, the chorus picked things up. This is a good song, and I totally assumed by the title that I’d be out on it. Yeah man, put this on Fearless or Speak Now and it’d totally work. I might sound crazy but there’s been so little instrumentation on this album so far that the snare drum and guitar chords of this chorus make a big impact. I know her music is more about her voice and lyrics but sometimes I want more a more complete ensemble for her. Should we dig into the line where she lies about being pregnant? Nah, I’m already gonna be running up on the character limit! This song finishes really strong, just like the last one.
Fresh Out The Slammer
LETS GOOOO I needed this guitar. Why do I want an alt rock sound from her so bad? I would go hard on an album that drew on some Red Hot Chili Peppers or some other garage band shit. I spent this entire song fantasizing about what it’d be like to hear that and I think it would be really weird, in exactly the way I like.
Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)
LMAO what?? My friends all smell like weed or little babies? That is an all-time Taytoo candidate. BANG BANG BANG BANG this song is unhinged. Yo this other voice is haunting. No clue who Florence is but she sure got me sitting up straight. BANG BANG BANG BANG BAG Florida is a hell of a drug! I have no idea what to do with this track but I like it. Fuck me up, Florida.
Guilty As Sin?
Well this isn’t exactly an alt rock sound but it does sound like the radio I listened to in the mid 90s when I was really young. I’ve never been into body writing but, uh, that line about writing on her upper thigh is pretty steamy. Oh damn, that line about breaking a lock and throwing her life to the wolves or the rocks is kinda hard. I wanna jam so hard right now but we are staying right outside the go zone.
Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?
‘You don’t get to tell me about sad’ sounds like it came straight out of Rep, haha. The Speak Now vibe is still in here but it’s swimming in a more sinister tone that also has some of the depth and gentle touch of Folkmore. I’m very impressed by this track – even if it isn’t one of my favorites, I feel like I’m hearing all of Taylor here. I want to hear her yell more. It’s so funny, I hated Rep the first time and nowadays I’m like, man I wish this had more attitude. There she is talking about being drunk all the time again. There’s a drunk lore thread waiting to be exposed in her discography methinks. I think this is the closest I’ll get to a rock out number this go around.
I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
Ooh, this is very thematic. I grew up in the southwest and this evokes a dusty western town sound for me. Oh, yeah she really leaned into that with the saloon stuff and the pistol and everything. We’re in a western today. I’ve never personally dealt with an ‘I can fix him/her’ mentality but it sounds like a yikes. Is this about that Matty guy again?
loml
What is loml? Sounds like something an eccentric character from Gilmore Girls would name their little scraggly dog. Oh, love of my life? That makes way more sense than what I said. What a sad song. She has wanted real love over so many of these albums. ‘Get love quick scheme’ is a solid phrase. I wish I could sit around a fire with Taylor and talk about life over some cocktails. She has so many feelings I want to learn more about. Maybe that feeling is what bonds her fanbase so strongly. Oh, she said loss of her life at the end, maybe that’s what loml is.
I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
We’re threatening some electronica vibes in here. Maybe this is like a refreshed 80s sound she’s going for. YO that transition into the new beat is SICK. This is my favorite track for sure so far. Aww, and it went away just as quick as it came in. What a tease. LET ME BOP, TAYLOR. Lights/Camera/Bitch Smile is another good taytoo candidate. There’s nothing better in music than an upbeat happy sound and the vocalist talking about how depressed they are. Fun and sad is like salt in ice cream, they need each other.
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
If I had this cd in my car I’d be hovering over the skip button for this one. Not feeling it. The melody has some strength with these low breathy notes but it isn’t enough to keep me invested. I’m bummed about it because I do enjoy a good dramatic ballad. Maybe I’m just not invested enough.
The Alchemy
We’re staying in smoky voice and alcohol for this one. ‘I circled you on a map’ is a great line. Touchdown? Cut them from the team? Ay yo is this a Travis Kelce track? If so, talking about the chemistry and ‘it’s like heroin but with an e’ is pretty exciting. Oh, trying to be the best in the league and where’s the trophy, yeah we’re in football land now. Fuck yeah, her entrance into the NFL was what brought me here and I’m so down to hear about it in her music. I listened to a lot, A LOT, of her music to get back to this point on the timeline.
Clara Bow
Not gonna lie, had to google who Clara Bow was. Breath of fresh air through the smoke rings is pretty strong wordplay. I get that this song is about dealing with being famous, but I think she has written stronger songs on the topic. Especially I Know Places, if I’m remembering it right. This is still pretty and it’s not like she can’t talk about this topic in lots of songs, it certainly must be a huge part of life for her. Hah, she changed it at the end to her name. That’s a trick I liked from her previous albums and I have definitely seen a lot of people try to look like Taylor Swift. Looking at you, QTCinderella! Jk qt is an icon in her own right. Some of you are concerned that I brought up a twitch streamer in the middle of a music review. I will move on. Watch Master Baker, it's really good. Sorry, sorry!
The Black Dog
Back to heartbreak songs, aw man. I’m sorry for being a little disappointed but I got excited about hearing a football song and I want her to be full of enthusiasm and excitement again. But we aren’t really there yet. More smoke imagery here, there’s been a lot of that. I’m going to assume Matty was a smoker. Was this intended to be the final song on the standard edition of the album, before the anthology half? Or did we already transition?
Imgonnagetyouback
This is what glam sounds like in 2024. ‘Somebody still wants me,’ that’s a complex thought that deserves to get fully unpacked. Especially in a song about trying to rekindle a relationship. That context makes that line even more interesting. Car Lore enjoyers might have caught that she referred to herself as an aston martin, which is a British luxury car. AND it crashed, and we’ve seen her beat up nice cars before. I’m on to you, Taylor. ‘Whether I’m gonna be your wife or smash up your bike, I haven’t decided yet’ …I don’t know where motorcycles fit into car lore but I’m tempted to find out.
The Albatross
I found a note that several songs on this album are references to pubs in England. That explains The Black Dog from earlier. I’m not able to dig into it more deeply but it’s nice to see Taylor continuing to do stuff like that. The narrative here is dense and I can’t tell if she’s referring to herself as the dangerous albatross or someone else. This is the limitation of doing these write-ups using only my first listen, but I’m here to be honest and this one went over my head.
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
This reminds me of some of the story songs from Folkmore. The sound itself is pretty fanciful, which isn’t my jam but I can appreciate it. Not sure I have much more to say about this one. I’m in a lull here.
How Did It End?
Is this song about how her fans/media coverage was trying to figure out why she and Joe broke up? I’m gonna go with that. She surely has had to deal with people prying about all her relationships, and she’s used the topic as creative fuel for sure. Maybe it isn’t entirely about her, but inspired by how she feels when she sees speculation on why her relationship ended. ‘Sitting in a tree, d-y-i-n-g’ kicks ass as a lyric. The ‘come one come all, it’s happening again’ line really does sound like the general public seeing her break up with someone and be like, ooh showtime.
So High School
Hmm. If there’s something deeper going on here, I’m having a hard time connecting with it. Is this nostalgia for being a teenager? We’re talking about video games and being silly and young, and going to practice. Wait, is this about Travis? Like, he makes her feel like a teenager again? If so, that’s very sweet. ‘You know how to ball’ yeah I think I’m onto something there. This is definitely a tonal shift, more of a happy and carefree track.
I Hate It Here
Track 23. Phew, how did I listen to hundreds of these songs in 7 days? They’re jam packed with meaning, allusion, and storytelling, it’s like trying to eat an entire wedding cake in one sitting to hear this whole album through in one shot. ‘Only the gentle survive’ isn’t something I expected her to say about a place she hates. ‘I’m bitter but I swear I’m fine’ is a line I feel like I’ve heard in a couple songs of hers before. Oh, she’s escaping into secret gardens in her mind, maybe that’s where only the gentle survive. LOL ‘poet trapped inside a finance guy’ with that stumbling rhythm is pretty good, and is another great example of her not being full of herself with this material.
thanK you aIMee
So I heard there was a song about Kim Kardashian and I’m betting this is the one. I know basically nothing about the feud between her and Kanye/Kim but this is a very pretty song about being bigger than them. I did laugh out loud when she said my mom is really nice but she wishes you were dead, that’s very funny. Oh, she’s also saying that the feud helped her grow, that’s cool. And their world looks so small to her from where she is now. Hah!
I Look in People's Windows
Aw man. Gorgeous guitar and vocals here, I like this sound a lot. Another one that feels Folkmore-ish. Oh yeah, very Folkmore-ish. This is the best track on the album up to this point for me. ‘I’m addicted to the if only’ and talking about being on the outside looking in, and the window lore, this is dope. NO, WHY IS IT OVER SO FAST!
The Prophecy
There’s another motorcycle reference. We’re talking about being barefoot and single at home again. Jeez, Taylor, this is rough. Can somebody just be the man she needs so we can get her back into her shoes? Rhyming quicksand and blood from pricked hand is a serious lyrical flex, that was excellent. We are still in Folkmore land, too. Big fan of this one. Coven around a sorceress’ table is a cool visual. Do I hear a banjo in that bridge??
Cassandra
More storytelling. Unfortunately I’m struggling to keep up on this one and since the music isn’t rightly the focus, I’m just listening to the story and being lost.
Peter
We are in the storytelling forest now. This one I can track a little better, maybe because she repeats the hook a few times. I like the feeling she’s tugging on here, the idea of a childhood love that you think will come to fruition someday but doesn’t really exist once you’re grown. I can certainly relate to that. I was a person who wanted to grow up while being in love with someone, and while I did ultimately get that experience, it was different than I had fantasized about it being when I was young. Very nostalgic and melancholy. Did you ever promise someone that if you both turned 30 and were still single, you’d marry each other?
The Bolter
OK, did she just have a bunch of songs left over from Folklore/Evermore and want to put them here? Seriously, the second half of this album feels like the 3rd sibling. We’re literally talking about taming a bear. I guess that does kind of link back to the western song about fixing a dangerous guy, too. Taylor is good at writing songs. Leaving felt like breathing is powerful. So is feeling like falling through the ice and coming out alive. Very visceral. The chorus also sounds like young Taylor again. It really does feel like she’s so many more parts of herself nowadays.
Robin
This piano ballad feels like it’ll be a very nice slow pitch during a live show. I can see her leaning into the mic at the piano with this one. The idea that this tiger looks ridiculous but people are keeping that from him out of kindness, and they’re cheering him on, is a difficult thing to hear about. I think I relate to that and I don’t like acknowledging it, but I’m probably being silly. It’s part and parcel with taking risks and being confident, that’s just what happens sometimes. I wonder if she’s calling herself the tiger, here, and it’s an encouraging message after all.
The Manuscript
Wow, last track. Half a dozen tracks ago I was feeling fatigue but we got here fast. This is very poetic, it feels like reviewing her story in montage. Getting little vignettes that bring certain relationships to mind. Deciding to date men her own age, that reminds me of someone specific. Someone not showing up for the dance, that reminds me of someone too. She says here that the story isn’t hers anymore, because she’s made it into art and it belongs to the world now. I think that’s a very nice message to end on.
The End
I enjoyed TTPD, and though it won't make my top three of hers, it was an enjoyable listen. But I’m conflicted. It was nice to see Taylor again, and write about her again. I wanted to come back to this place and talk with you all in the comments about her art and our experiences with it. But it was a mostly sad album, and it leaves me feeling hollow about how once this thread is done, I’ll go into hibernation again. The original series of 7 days was a very special moment, and I feel blessed to get to step back into this space again so soon. For those of you who enjoy reading through these, thank you for having me again - it was a lot of fun to spend another afternoon this way. Until next time: Go! Fight! Win!

TLDR: We've been on the path to financial independence since early 2019, targeting $2.5M by 2029. Recent life changes prompted me to reassess, finding inspiration in "Die with Zero" book. Now, we're purchasing our dream home, but grappling with decisions like logistics and timing of cross-country move, managing two properties on opposite coasts, and contemplating leaving both jobs at once. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated! _______________ My husband (39m) and I (34f) have been working towards FI since January 2019. Original plan was to aim at my 40th birthday (2029) as a FIRE goal. We had one 2yr old kid then and set our number at $2.5mil. Since then we encountered several major peaks and valleys, relocated for my work twice and had our second (and final) kid last year.
Our current salaries come to about $320k-$340k total after bonuses + decent 401k match in relatively HCOL area on West Coast. I really enjoyed my maternity leave last year (I was off for 4 months with full pay vs 6 weeks unpaid with my first). When I returned to work in September I started getting panic attacks and constant anxiety to the point where I was on 5 different medications at once to mitigate this. I clearly didn’t have enough mental capacity to do my best at work and dedicate sufficient time for my family and felt like a failure at both.
Long story short, I came across “Die with Zero” book and it switched something in my head. I ran and re-ran calcs in excel for several days accounting for a number of variables, playing with projections on inflation, interest rates, family expenses at different times. Majority of reasonable scenarios resulted in positive balance on my husband’s 90th birthday. For the first time in years I felt motivated and optimistic about future, so I booked a scouting trip to one of top locations we considered for FIRE based on years of research and analysis.
About a month later… we are now in the process of closing on a dream house in another state (MCOL on East Coast) and I am preparing to leave my job for a mini - retirement.
Some data: Net worth ~$2.4mil: $800k index, $900k in high-risk investments, $250k in home equity The rest in retirement tax-advantaged accounts
My job is location - specific. I have an option to apply for another position within company with paid relocation, but none of those locations fit into criteria for “settling down”. I also have zero passion about my job, even though it’s not very hard.
I haven’t quit yet, but taking 8 weeks off (4wks remaining maternity and 4 weeks accrued vacation) to “figure it out”.
My husband’s work is fully remote, but state-specific. When we move he would have to either resign or work till they find out and fire him. Health insurance is through his work.
Current house valued at ~$785k (3rd year of 30yr 7/1ARM 1.85%) Future house $500k (20% down, 30yr 3/6ARM 6.35%). Closing mid-May.
We currently pay $3200/mo for childcare so we can work. This will significantly decrease or go away after move. Kids are 7f and almost 1m.
After a break I'll most likely work again, but hopefully only "barista style" for significantly less money in lieu of stress.
So here are some decisions we will need to make soon:

1. Decide on best time to move.

Option	Pros	Cons
Mid-summer 2024 (Currently preferred)	- 7f can go to new school at the beginning of school year- 7f can spend June/July at my parents’ overseas to avoid relocation chaos- Can put current home on market during favorable season.	- Limited time to manage all upcoming changes - Significantly increased cost of health insurance if we both have to quit jobs right away
End of 2024 and beyond	- More time to plan future steps- Can keep 1 or both incomes for now + health insurance	- School change mid-year- Will need to figure out what to do with new home so it doesn’t sit idle

1. What to do with 2 houses

Option	Pros	Cons
Sell 1st house ASAP after relocation in mid-summer	- Shortening life of “tied-up” assets - No headache with ongoing maintenance	- Slow real estate market, may take time to sell
Rent 1st house for 1+ years, then sell in favorable year	- Potential income stream (even if just to cover mortgage & taxes)	- Need to go through management company- Very limited pool of renters (would be considered luxury rental in affluent community, outside of most people’s budget). - City is quite reliant on a specific industry that may be affected negatively over next 5-10 years.
Rent new house for 1+ years and take it slow	- Can slow down life changes and keep incomes while having a “dream home” secured.	- House is in amazing condition and I’m nervous that renters may not take proper care of it.
Let new house sit idle till 2025	- Same as above	- Paying 2 mortgages with no rental income- Risk that comes with letting house sit empty for long (roaches, squatters, water leaks etc etc)

1. What to do with my job after paid leave is over.

I don’t think I can go back to the exact same position. Just thinking of it gives me wave of anxiety for some reason (idk why, I have an awesome boss and job is not hard, just lots of corporate BS all the time). Fully remote positions are rare and usually highly technical. I can ask for demotion to an easy role, but I doubt it will increase job satisfaction. I can also ask for “Leave of Absence” for a year with option to extend with no guarantee of approval. 2 “pros” of LOA are pension vesting and possibility to receive severance in future. I will hit my 5yrs with company in October this year, which would allow me to collect pension at the age of 62, I think, but it’s estimated to be like $500/mo annuity in future dollars, which wouldn’t be worth much. As for severance, during rounds of layoffs people can usually volunteer to go with severance if they want. I could wait for next layoff to “volunteer” myself. There are many other things to figure out, but these are 3 major ones. I can add more information in comments or updates.
Looking for diverse perspectives, advice and opinions to see what can potentially go wrong, so I can reduce current anxiety.

26F, 5'7", 190lbs, Caucasian, extensive list below, some symptoms 2yrs but significantly worsened in the past three weeks, PCOS/Endometriosis/Moderate sleep apnea, Concerta 27mg extended release, Slynd 5mg, no drinking/smoking/recreational drugs.
Alright. I'm going to try and make this as detailed as possible. I need people to look at this from the perspective of what if it's not mental health related. What are the chances of it being dementia related? It's interfering with my daily life at this point. Everything below the tests section was stuff I've taken three hours to type up in the best detail I can. I'm sure I'll miss an explanation or context and have to edit this.
History:
Great grandmother, grandmother, and uncle on mom's side all have had/have alzheimers and/or dementia. Great grandmother and grandmother were over 60+ and my uncle who just got recently diagnosed just turned 65. My mother might be exhibiting signs and she's 65 or 66. My uncle is a war veteran, has drank heavily in the past, has had head injuries, and did drugs. My grandmother had unmanaged diabetes, unsure about my great grandmother.
I had a minor concussion around in 2014 from falling off my horse.
I have ADHD(combined), OCD, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. I'm aware of my health anxiety and am trying to get help for it. But currently my health anxiety is due to said symptoms.
I've been on and off sedentary since I was a teen, but the past 3 years, I've mostly stayed in my room and haven't gone out because of derealization, but I'm wondering if that was the cognitive issues starting.
I had a CPAP for a few months but didn't use it enough for my insurance to want to keep paying for it(because I had to switch to a different mask, therefore I wasn't using it for a few weeks until I got a new one.) I'm in the process of getting one again. I'm waiting on a home sleep study, but that's not until July.
I caught COVID back in October after a trip across the US. Up until recently, it's been easy to go into coughing fits from my lungs being irritated, but it's pretty much gone now.
I've always had a tendency to get headaches and migraines. Most have been from binging too much sugary food, so I'm afraid I've screwed myself over doing that, along with my few year vitamin D deficiency and not exercising/getting my heartrate up.
Tests:
Nerve conduction study(2019 or 2020, not listed on my patient portal)
CT head wo contrast (4/8/2019, 7/15/2021)
MRI brain with and without contrast (3/16/2020, 8/5/2021)
B12 tested, normal (7/22/2021)
Sleep Study (12/12/2022 & 4/20/2023)
Meds:
Concerta extended release 27mg (Three months, was on a lower dose for two to three months before)
Slynd 4mg (About a month now, have taken it in the past but got off my schedule)
Supplements(Just started taking alot of these in an attempt to help my memory):
Toniiq 18,000mg 10x Concentrated Ultra High Strength Extract (Had some leftover from a while ago so used it the past few days, was able to take two and a half doses worth, finished it yesterday)
Vitamin D3 1000IU (2 days)
New Age Immune Support 8-in-1 (1 day)
Vitamin B12 (2 days)
Fish Oil (2 days)
New Age Turmeric Curcumin with Bioperine Capsules 1650mg (2 days)
Symptoms(Listed from oldest to most recent):
I know the first two probably aren't related, but the fact that it happened is still weird to me. And the fact that I got a case of shingles in concerns me.
(2019) Vertigo, intense onesided face pain, shooting optical nerve pain, muscle weakness, intense diaphragm pain: This is what caused me to seek out my first brain MRI back in 2019. I had unexplained, awful vertigo laying down for a week, awful optical nerve pain, intense pain on one side of my face(ibuprofen or tylenol didn't fix the pain for either), and I had this terrible diaphragm pain that sent me to the ER twice because I felt like I was being squeezed tight. All of these gradually went away after a few months.
(2019)Shingles: This happened almost at the same time of the previously mentioned stuff. Not a symptom, but I found it bizzare that I got shingles at the age of 21. I took medication prescribed to me and it went away, and it hasn't come back since. I still have an occasional phantom itch where it used to be, though.
Deja vu since 2022: This and feelings of disorientation is what pushed me to see my neuro about early dementia in the first place. I wondered if it was either that or some kind of epilepsy. She didn't think it sounded like epilepsy, but ordered an EEG. I asked about my minor concussion causing either that or dementia, even though the concussion was back in 2014. She didn't seem concerned about either. Past 2-3 years I've been having deja vu that's ranged from once or twice a day, to a few times a week. I've still had feelings of it lately, but it's harder to differentiate if it really is deja vu.
Disorienting brain zap type thing?: Before the disorientation started, one day (I forget if this was 2020, pretty sure it was early 2020) I was sitting in my parent's room and this weird, sudden feeling of disorientation hit me. I thought I was having a stroke or something awful. It sent me to the bathroom and I ended up throwing up. I can't remember if that fully went away. I attributed it to stress from my toxic relationship at the time.
Cognitive issues: This has seemingly gotten worse over the past two years with the disorientation. I attributed it to my mental health + untreated ADHD, but now I'm not so sure it was from ADHD. My friends noticed my trouble paying attention, losing items, impulsiveness, trouble following complex directions, problems with getting overstimulated easily, etc and suggested I had ADHD. Which I've always had some of these issues. Regardless, I tried Adderall. I hated how hard I crashed after it wore off, flushing, and it made me too tired to function. I switched to Concerta extended release a few months ago, things weren't improving at all so I upped my dosage 3 months ago to 27mg. Still no improvement. Up until the past few weeks I've been able to learn new skills such as 3D modeling and such even with my issues, but now I feel like I can hardly do that stuff anymore since everything went downhill.
Disorientation: Since July 2021, I started having this weird feeling that sent me to the ER because I was so concerned. It was like my brain was shorting out when I looked around or tried to focus on something. They did a CT scan without contrast and found nothing wrong compared to the one I had in 2019. This never has seemed to go away fully and I've had episodes where it's popped up again and seemingly gotten worse over the past two years. I had an episode around March 29th and it's just gone downhill to a worrying extent the past few weeks.
Memory issues: This is also something I figured was either DP-DR or my ADHD not being medicated well enough. I'd occasionally forget something my friend told me to do in a game or something I told myself I was gonna do. Or forget to make food for myself or leave the oven preheating too long because I was so focused on a game. I felt like days were blurring together or I lost track of time, too.
But again, as of the past few weeks, it's gotten to the point of debilitating.
The biggest thing that's worried me is the past few days, I had vitamins in my hand that I grabbed 10 seconds ago, looked in the fridge for food, saw none that I wanted, the reached back over to grab the vitamins, remembering they were already in my hand. When I took a shower the day before, I had done my usual routine of getting a towel for a shower, I reached in, got a washcloth, then a few moments later I reached for a washcloth again and picked it up, then realized I had the other one in my other hand. I also keep forgetting about getting food out because I'll grab a bunch of stuff and bring it to my room, then forget to eat or drink some of it.
I can hardly recall things from earlier in the day. I can just barely do it if I think hard enough, but it feels like I lose it super quickly and that makes me feel sick. I remember bits and pieces from a few weeks ago. I can barely remember anything from a few days ago except for little bits of conversations. I can recall doctor appointments from the past few weeks.
I tried administering the MoCa test on the 7th by using a video on youtube and following along. I can remember some of the answers even now. I would of gotten a perfect score of 30 if I hadn't messed up on the exact day for the date by two days. Because of that I got a 26. I got everything else right. I can remember off the top of my head the recall words being face, scarlet, book, church, and I forget the last word. I didn't do very well on the app version of the MoCa. Mostly because I had trouble memorizing images and patterns on my first attempt. I tried it a week or two later and was able to score in the 60's for it, but even then that's a yellow score.
Other things relating to forgetting things are getting or finishing food, going to the bathroom, losing things I just set down moments ago, made an accusation of someone taking something in a game from me when I'd just dropped it and forgot, unable to enjoy movies, tv shows, videos, books, etc because I feel like I just forget most of what I've just read or watched, unable to clearly recall memories from pictures I've taken and videos.
I also feel like I'm having trouble making new memories.
I can still recall older memories, in fact I've noticed the past few months that I've thought of old childhood things or older memories I haven't thought about in ages pretty easily or unprompted.
Feeling like places and people aren't familiar:
I passed off the feeling detached from places as derealization from being in my room constantly since COVID started. But now, my own house feels unfamiliar to me. My family feels unfamiliar. I get disoriented in my own home. I still know where things are, as far as I can tell. But nothing feels normal or familiar. I felt confused as to where I was on a drive home from the ER about two weeks ago. I was knew logically where I was but it just didn't feel familiar? It felt surreal being in my living room when I got home. It made me feel sick.
Struggling with words, feeling the urge to repeat what I've said, forgetting text conversations:
For example, I was explaining something to someone the night before last, I felt like if I was interrupted that I'd forget what I was saying. I felt the need to repeat some of what I said to get my train of thought back, and I feel like I struggle to get to the point. I'm messing up words more often than usual. I said 'scan' instead of 'stain' but corrected myself a moment later. I struggled with saying 'automatically' and instead almost said 'audio-matically.' I keep repeating the words "like" or "fricking" and "oh my gosh" when talking. I keep forgetting that I've read a text completely and I'll even forget sending a text. That's been an issue for the past few months, but I usually remember that I've replied or what I've read. Also, I was talking about my friend's height, and without realizing it, I was saying 5'1" or 5'2" like twice, when I meant to say 6'1" or 6'2". I didn't realize until my friend pointed it out.
Confusing dreams with reality:
I'm aware enough to be able to tell that it was a dream if I'm fully awake, but earlier I kept having dreams of my primary responding to my message about finding a neuropsych nearby with a memory test. I remember it the dream repeating and it was just different versions of the SAGE test. I remember the dream I had earlier before that too. I've also been constantly waking up or tossing and turning. It feels like my brain forgets what's going on in my dreams, like it short circuits. It's hard to explain.
Showing/feeling emotion for a split second, then feeling it fade:
I dunno how else to explain it but, I'll feel a brief bit of joy from something then it'll fade. It's like I can't feel emotion because I just blank out in the middle of it.
Suddenly apathetic/depressed/numb after symptoms worsened:
I feel apathetic and depressed, almost numb since everything worsened. I ended up breaking down crying twice yesterday over the stress from all of this and I feel like my life is ending when it's just barely started. I'm also afraid of quickly shifting one day to just, not being aware of my shortcomings.
Feeling uncoordinated:
I feel like I'm having a hard time with coordination when reaching for things or grasping things, and feeling unsteady when walking.
Feeling like my sense of time is shot:
An hour feels like it goes by in minutes to me. I'll be sitting here watching videos and boom, two hours have passed.
Hearing loss:
On sunday, my left ear just, lost some of it's hearing. I woke up and it was audibly different. The ringing has become louder, and I've had thrumming tinnitus in it for the past few weeks since stuff went downhill.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I suppose that's all I can think of right now.
I feel stuck because my parents refuse to believe I'm having problems even though I'm visibly noticing them, and absolutely won't help me get to a neuropsych, which the only ones that take my insurance are an hour and a half away. I definitely couldn't afford an Uber, as I'm unemployed. I don't know if anyone would know of any other options I might have of getting there.
I'm in the process of seeing a psychiatrist and therapist.
I have an appointment on May 1st with my primary to do bloodwork for a referral to a neurologist that specializes in neurodegenerative disorders. But who knows how long I'll have to wait for an appointment once I get the referral.
I saw my sleep doctoneurologist on the 4th who I thought was taking over for my old neurologist, but apparently he was only supposed to help me with my sleep apnea. I didn't know this, and mentioned my memory issues and concerns with possible alzheimers because of family history, and was wondering if we could do a possible spinal tap to check for anything unusual. He looked at me like I was crazy and said 'no, because 26 year olds don't get alzheimers.' And brushed off my concerns completely. He also wrote in his notes that I was positive for 'dysphoric mood.'
On the 6th, I attempted to go to the ER for a comparison to what I had back in 2021, but I was written off as it being a "migraine." I told them I was struggling with horrible short term memory, feeling like my surroundings were unfamiliar, head PRESSURE(not pain, I specified that twice), and blanking out alot. I've had migraines before and this isn't it.
I have an appointment on the 7th of June with the neuro who my retiring neuro meant for me to use. Everything's just so far away. I'm having a hard time believing that this isn't a type of dementia, considering how much it's effecting me. Please, don't tell me to go see a psychiatrist or therapist. I'm actively working on getting appointments, as I already stated.
People with stages 3-4 of dementia can still be aware of their shortcomings. I'm showing so many signs of mild to moderate dementia that aren't going away and is getting worse to the point of me being hardly unable to get out of bed. I'm terrified that I'm just one of those rare cases of a person in their 20's getting this disease. Heck, if it's been what's caused all of my issues, I could of technically had it developing back in 2020 when I was 22.
I don't know if I should try to go to the ER again to get a scan, if I should attempt to get the money for an Uber to a neuropsych, or just wait this out.
I want to be wrong about this awful condition. I want to live and enjoy the rest of my life. I had plans to move out this year and start eating healthier and getting in shape. Now I feel like it's too late.
Anyway, I'm exhausted after typing all of this out. Thank you for reading this mess.

This is the 2nd and final part of my original post - a continuation from my 1st part (click here).
**\* PART 2 **\*
On a daily basis before retiring for the day, I used to jot down notes - on how my day was, including any incidents. Those notes are as below:
Stop 1 Umargam → Surat IBC Distance covered =155 State = GJ Nights = 1
Notes: Left at 3 PM and took the empty pothole ridden coastal road to save KMs and toll. Reached Surat at 7 Pm as expected. Stayed put at my friend's place. Had visited Surat before, just had yummy roadside food and tea at Dumas road followed by a dessert - Surat's famous Choco.
Stop 2 Surat IBC → Ahmedabad Gota Distance covered =292 State = GJ Nights = 1
Notes: En route from Surat to Ahmedabad, halted for some time at Baroda where I had lived many years ago Nothing much changed out there, had Vadodara's staple roadside food - sev usal, paani poori, and coal tea at my usual hangouts from yesteryears. Then proceeded to Ahmedabad. Luckily I didn't get much traffic and reached at 7.30 PM. Stayed put at my cousin's place. Had visited the place before, so just had house dinner and called it a day.

Stop 3 Ahmedabad → Diu Distance covered =376 State = GJ Nights = 1
Notes: Drove from Ahmedabad to Diu. Started at 9.30 AM and reached Diu at 7.15 PM. Excellent highways. Took 3 halts for tea/snacks. Checked in at my hotel and had dinner at a roadside food stall. Diu was an extended halt of 2 nights. The next day was spent on foot covering the entire Diu fort and its vicinity. Evening I went to an old local cinema within the fort and watched a blockbuster movie.

Stop 4 Diu → Dwarka-Okha Distance covered =349 State = DND Nights = 2
Notes: Left Diu at 8.45 AM and reached Okha at 7.10 PM after 3 tea halts. The highways were amazing. Did a mistake of bypassing Somnath falsely assuming that the temple entry would be crowded and would cause longer travel delays. Apparently it was a weekday and entire entry-exit wouldn't have taken more than 30 minutes. The entire journey was amazing and picturesque. Sometimes I was the only one driving on long stretches of the highway. I could see lots of windmills surrounding the area from a distance. The final 20 KMs stretch before Okha was an exception though - google maps took me on a road that was single lane and very dusty, and since it was past 6.30 pm and totally dark, it was difficult driving with oncoming traffic with upper headlights on! Finally in Okha, I checked in to a hotel right next to the train station. Then took a nice long walk and covered the entire town in 45 minutes. Everybody were closing their shops around 7.45 PM itself...by 8.30 PM the little town bore a deserted look with few groups here and there. Okha was an extended halt of 2 nights. The next day I went walking to the ferry terminal - approx. 1 KM, to take a boat to Dwarka Beth. Within an hour I was at the temple gates on that island. Entry was superfast and I finished paying my respects in about 30 minutes. Then went to Sone ki Dwarka where I had to pay some entry fees. Later I decided to walk and explore the place, and ended up on one of the most isolated clean beaches I had ever seen with blue coloured ocean. There was an abandoned temple at a small hill overlooking the sea and that’s where I spent my next couple of hours admiring the natural beauty around me before calling it a day.

Stop 5 Dwarka → Anjar-Bhuj Distance covered =375 State = GJ Nights = 2
Notes: Left Okha at 9.30 AM. Initially the roads were bad because they were creating a new highway. After exiting the Dwarka area, the roads became good with no traffic. Reached Anjar at 7 PM after 4 halts.

Stop 6 Anjar-Bhuj → Narayan Sarovar Distance covered =231 State = GJ Nights = 1
Notes: Left at 10 AM and after 6 tea halts reached at 3.30 PM. No traffic, very good roads, mostly single lane. After leaving my bags at my room drove to Shree Koteshwar Mahadev Mandir 5-7 minutes away. Paid my respects and experienced the most beautiful sunset from their premises. Although it was little hot when I reached Narayan Sarovar, it turned rapidly cold after sunset. The next day visited Narayan Sarovar itself and the ancient temple. A special mention about Valram Vishramdham where I stayed in their older campus. I had the opportunity to experience their free dinner at the Trust's Bhojanalay hall. It was one of the tastiest food I have had with no compromise on quality.

Stop 7 Narayan Sarovar → White Desert Distance covered =130 State = GJ Nights = 1
Notes: Left at 9.50 AM after having tea. En route my 1st destination - Lakhpat Fort, I took NH41 (Koteshwar Highway) which was 10 KMs shorter as compared to Google Maps recommendation. I was the only one driving on this entire stretch of the single lane highway - which was last maintained probably during pre-independence. The entire stretch had such terrible road conditions - full of gravel and stones, big potholes, that for few KMs I actually went off road and drove on the muddy fields running parallel to this highway - which for a moment gave me a breather from terrible driving conditions. I was driving at 10-20 Kmph for this entire stretch until I reached Lakhpat after noon. First went to the Lakhpat Gurudwara and paid my respects and had langar. Then I explored the abandoned village within the fort precincts, and enjoyed the view from the top of the fort walls where I could see the dried Indus river bed. After spending couple of hours, left Lakhpat and headed towards Rann. The roads were A-class and pleasant to drive. Again I was mostly alone on this stretch as well. I started seeing the white desert somewhere midway into my journey. Reached my hotel in White Desert at 4 PM. Then I went to see the White Desert after paying the entry fees. One can only drive halfway towards the main entry point of the White Desert, and then park at the free parking space. After that walking for a KM at least before the strip ends and White desert becomes accessible. There is a watchtower as well at this point which was closed to the public during my visit. From what I heard, sometime in the past, one could apparently drive all the way to this watch tower, and also climb the tower as well to get a grand view of the White Desert. I reached at the recommended time of 5 PM to enjoy the sunset. It was a sight to behold. I got to know from the locals that it had rained couple of days prior and as such the whiteness of the desert was little pale as compared to normal. Perhaps due to the rain incident, one needs to be careful while walking the desert, as sometimes the foot can sink a bit making your shoes and legs all black with gooey stuff. Walked back to the free music program near the parking lot, unfortunately they were wrapping up when I reached at 7 pm, with hardly any public out there. Then went to my hotel and had delicious Kutchi food from my hosts, and called it a day.

Stop 8 White Desert → Tharad Distance covered =285 State = GJ Nights = 1
Notes: Left Rann at 9.15 AM and after 3 tea halts reached at 7.15 PM. Experienced the Road to Heaven - unfortunately there was road widening work (on a snail pace) which took out some of the charm of driving through that patch. Nevertheless it was very scenic with waters on either side of the road as far as the eye could see. The route that I had taken was mostly very poor after that - and due to major construction of a brand new highway, the roads went from poor to off road. Still I decided to faithfully follow Google Map who at some point repeatedly asked me to take a left turn on a stretch of road where there was none! Considering the under construction highway was also curving left, I kept driving through stones for a good 3-5 KMs only to find the road blocked due to major construction. So was forced to U-turn and go back 15-20 KMs for an alternative route. Then met a person who told me that there is an unmarked diversion 3 KMs before the blockade which goes through a small village and connects to the other side of this under construction highway. So took a U-turn again and went back 15-20 KMs to that stony highway, and with the help of a local was able to finally see the entry to the village from the highway. It was a completely sandy lane with no resemblance of a road - no wonder I missed it in spite of Google maps repeatedly telling me to take that left LOL. After driving through couple of villages, I finally merged with the National Highway. Later, as i approached Tharad, the highway started becoming dusty with lots of truckers on the way. I can easily state that Tharad is one of the dustiest towns in my experience. After reaching Tharad, I faced issues in getting a hotel, since the ones I shortlisted turned out to be super expensive for a dusty town. Then did some leg work to get a reasonably priced accommodation.

Stop 9 Tharad → Jaisalmer Distance covered =339 State = GJ > RJ Nights = 1
Notes: Left dusty Tharad at 9.30 AM and after 3 tea halts reached at 7 PM. No traffic, roads were ok, the journey was uneventful. Most of the roads that I travelled through were isolated and managed by BRO (Border Roads Organisation). They passed mostly through the desert making it one of the most surreal drives. Jaisalmer was an extended halt of 4 days - spent exploring the local areas, the Fort, Khuri sand dunes, Kuldhara ghost village and Gadisar lake. My favorite thing was to have coffee on top of the fort overlooking the entire golden city of Jaisalmer.

Stop 10 Jaisalmer → Raisingh Nagar Distance covered =455 State = RJ Nights = 4
Notes: Left Rann at 9.15 AM and after 3 tea halts reached super late at 8.30 PM. The entire stretch of the highway was excellent with zero traffic - I was the only one driving. The hotel that I had shortlisted (Do Bhai da Dhaba) turned out to be just a dhaba with no rooms. Since the entire patch is an isolated area, I had to venture much further to Raisingh Nagar town for a hotel. This is a small town that becomes completely deserted after 9 PM. Thankfully my hotel had room service and provided me with yummy dinner. An incident that happened some 50 KMs before Raisingh Nagar town while cruising at 80 Kmph, the highway without warning suddenly disappeared (literally) and the road turned to massive potholes for the next 300 meters before the highway came back into existence. My car was all but in one piece and still in running condition after heading into those massive potholes at that high speed. Thank God I was wearing my seat belts, but my backpack on the passenger seat flew and hit the windshield before coming back to its seat! Sorry backpack! Apparently they had horizontally cut and removed a patch of the highway to redo the bitumen/concrete work without any diversion signposts anywhere. During daytime this patch most likely been easily noticed, but in night even with my extra powerful fog lamps, I was unable to see this coming. Upon reviewing my GoPro footage, one reason was that there was a slow moving car coming from the opposite side with high beams ON, which created a black spot of the road conditions ahead. Keeping in mind that I was driving 100s of KMs on that particular day over super smooth highways, this broken patch was completely unexpected. Surprisingly my car survived as if nothing happened; but as for me, I was indeed shaken and needed to take a breather. (NOTE: A short video footage of this incident is available on my YouTube channel)

Stop 11 Raisingh Nagar → Amritsar Distance covered =338 State = RJ > PB Nights = 1
Notes: Exited from Rajasthan. Started seeing the Punjabi influence and Punjabi locals approximately 150 KMs before Punjab border. Roads were 2 lane managed by BRO and were quite decent. Mostly I was the only one on the road for miles on end. As I approached Punjab, the roads started deteriorating and finally I could see other vehicles plying. As I crossed into Punjab there was running traffic and the roads were bad to say the least. It did improve as I further ventured towards Amritsar. There were times where Google map took me through state highways that had their routes in between the farming fields, which was an experience. As I entered Amritsar there was traffic but nothing severe. Was able to negotiate my way without any delays to my hotel. Checked in, kept my bags and went straight to Golden temple to meditate. After couple of hours went out for dinner and then back to hotel to call it a day. Amritsar was an extended halt of 2 nights. The next day was spent mostly in Golden temple. Also toured on a cycle rickshaw to roam the bylanes of Golden temple vicinity. Had langar in the afternoon and dinner at the famous Kesar da dhaba.

Stop 12 Amritsar → Ramban Distance covered =287 State = PB > JK Nights = 2
Notes: Left Amritsar at 9.30 AM and reached Ramban at 6.30 PM with 5 tea halts. I took the Udhampur bypass (skipping NH44 - Jammu). Roads were more or less pretty bad to terrible for long stretches. The entire bypass road was being renovated or widened, and as such was extremely dusty due to white cement. Fortunately, there was hardly any traffic on this entire stretch. As I crossed into Kashmir border, I noticed that at some point I lost my phone signals. It was only much later, when I reached Ramban that I realized that Prepaid Sims from outside Kashmir is blocked by the government for security reasons. Only outstation Postpaid Sims and Kashmir local Sims (Prepaid/Postpaid) will get signals. I was completely caught unaware about this fact. Even the sight of several small stalls - advertising the sale of phone sim cards on the side of the highway, did not strike me to wonder why all of a sudden I am seeing SIM card hoardings. Anyways, I decided to wait until reaching Srinagar before taking a call on getting a new local SIM. For navigation, fortunately I was safe with my mobile GPS and Google offline maps. Another thing that I noticed was the presence of military personnel with rifles at regular intervals all along NH44. To me they looked like they were just minding their own business and keeping a keen watchful eye on their surroundings. They seemed alert and on guard constantly. My salute to these heroes who stand in such freezing temperatures and never letting their guard down.

Stop 13 Ramban → Srinagar Distance covered =129 State = JK Nights = 1
Notes: Left Ramban at 11 AM and reached my hotel at Srinagar at 5.15 PM. Took 4 tea breaks in between. Surprisingly, the hotel was booked completely so went to my next backup destination. Srinagar was an extended halt of 4 days - spent by exploring the city using local bus rides, evening walks at Dal Lake, Shikhara boat rides. Temperatures were close to freezing during my stay over there, but there was no snow.

Stop 14 Srinagar → Ramban Distance covered =129 State = JK Nights = 4
Notes: Left Srinagar at 12.30 PM only to reach early at my destination Ramban at 5 PM inspite of traffic. Took two tea breaks in between.

Stop 15 Ramban → Basohli Distance covered =182 State = JK Nights = 1
Notes: From Ramban I started my journey very late on purpose - at 11.30 AM due to fewer KMs. Took 2 tea halts and reached Basohli by 5 PM. Around 25 KMs before Basohli, the roads became single lane with one of the steepest stretches consisting of several sharp hairpin bends. And within this portion, for a patch of 5 KMs the roads were broken making driving all the more difficult. Navigating sharp turns on narrow winding roads going on a steep uphill or downhill was a challenge for me with the fear of oncoming vehicles. All this was new for me - since I had never driven any kind of vehicle on slopes/ghats :) In any case I was able to learn the trick to navigate the slopes on the fly, without much difficulty. Once at Basohli, I checked in to my hotel and took a short walk to visit the historic Basholi fort which was in complete ruins and with no soul in sight. I still managed to explore its dark interiors - kinda looked haunted to me. I had to use my phone torch to go deeper inside and get greeted with bats. I did notice that this town packs up early and I could see people winding down by 8 PM.

Stop 16 Basohli → Mandi Distance covered =213 State = JK > HP Nights = 1
Notes: Started late at 10.15 AM inspite of my plans on leaving an hour early. This is what cold weather does to me - makes me lazy. If yesterday was the day of ghats (steep roads), then today more ghats. And some more. The steepest ones I had ever encountered so far - and with the shortest turning radius. There were couple of times when my overtaking manoeuvres were not up to the mark earning me bad words and agitated stares from oncoming bikers. After that I learnt to be super careful while overtaking. Overall it was a tiring day with my entire concentration on the road. Reached Mandi at 7 PM after taking 3 short tea/lunch halts. The destination (my hotel) that Google maps got me to was literally nowhere - right on the middle of a dark National highway with no hotel in sight for miles on either side. Maps can be sometimes funny - especially when it says that the hotel has arrived and all one can see instead is a bare hill on one side and a ravine on the other lol. I then drove back a short distance to Mandi downtown area and fixed myself a hotel. Then explored the small downtown area - it was pretty clean and nicely developed.

Stop 17 Mandi → Paonta Sahib Distance covered =257 State = HP Nights = 1
Notes: Started at 9.40 AM and drove in very foggy Mandi roads. The city looked like a dream in the fog. Once out of Mandi limits, the roads became proper 4 lane highways, and by the looks of it seemed brand new. On one side were hills and the other side were trenches and faraway hills making the entire driving experience surreal. However, all this ended after about 2 hours of driving. Once I entered Punjab, roads became pretty bad and it kept getting worse as I entered Haryana. Most of the places, they were widening and creating new routes for the national highway. At one point a bridge over the river collapsed few days earlier causing few KMs long standstill traffic - which I overcame using alternative routes thanks to Google. Overall it was a stressful and a tiring day of terrible roads and traffic jams. This day was also a day of state border hopping - from Himachal Pradesh to Punjab to Himachal Pradesh to Haryana to Himachal Pradesh in a single day! At Himachal Pradesh borders they collect toll - Rs 50 cash (no fast tag) each time you enter that state. At the final Himachal Pradesh border, 2 senior cops asked for a lift to Paonta Sahib and I obliged. Final stretch of my journey was full of 2 lane ghats, and I reached Paonta Sahib at 6.50 PM after taking 3 tea breaks. Checked into a hotel and then went to the Gurudwara. Had langar then went out for a walk. Everything was closed at 9.45 PM except for a Pizza shop which is where I had my 2nd dinner.

Stop 18 Paonta Sahib → Kichha Distance covered =307 State = HP > UK Nights = 1
Notes: Went to the Gurudwara at 8.45 AM and attended the Kirtan, had langar (langar is served 24 hours here) then visited the banks of river Yamuna from the side lane of the Gurudwara. The river was mostly dried up. Started my journey at 9.45 AM. Roads were OK for most part of the day. Lots of city traffic at Dehradun and Haridwar, where I missed a left turn due to a distraction leading to extra 8 KMs of driving. Final couple of hours of my journey were on 4-6 lane empty highways where I could get some speed. Reached my destination at 7.20 PM after 3 tea halts.

Stop 19 Kichha → Bahraich Distance covered =320 State = UK > UP Nights = 1
Notes: Started at 9.45 AM after breakfast. Was in Uttarakhand for some time before entering Uttar Pradesh. Entire day the highways were 2 lane but well maintained with no traffic. Every 10s of KMs I would cross a small village or a town in the middle of nowhere. Entire day there was no sunshine due to foggy conditions and the cold weather. Had kept the car heater on at mild levels at all times. Took 4 extended tea breaks and still reached early at 6.30 PM. After hotel check-in, I took a long walk within the town - lots of people on the road and malls for shopping - perhaps because it was 31st December. As for me, I was in dreamland by 11.30 PM. Happy New Year.

Stop 20 Bahraich → Bettiah Distance covered =355 State = UP > BH Nights = 1
Notes: Day started with me discovering a dent and damage to the rear bumper of my car. Strangely I couldn't recall any incident which could have caused this. Also had washed the car a day earlier and the damage wasn’t there at the time. So most likely somebody bumped into my car when it was parked at night. Or a lesser possibility is that I damaged it while taking a reverse (and I didn't noticed/felt it). Left at 9.20 AM when it was still foggy. Google Maps initially gave me an estimate of 9.5 hours of driving, but as the day progresses, the total driving time reduced to under 8 hours. First experience of such a big fluctuation in time estimation. My guess is that I was able to drive relatively faster in 2 lane roads - mainly because roads were wider and well maintained for my stint in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Did not find much traffic in UP, with the exception of bikers who had the habit of driving in the middle of the road instead of the sides. Lots of times, they would not yield even after honking. Towards the end of UP segment, road condition rapidly deteriorated. After crossing into Bihar, roads became better with even fewer traffic. Reached my destination at 7 PM after taking 5 tea halts. Unknowing to me, all truckers and buses had just announced a nationwide protest strike against the new motor laws.

Stop 21 Bettiah → Raghopur Distance covered =310 State = BH Nights = 1
Notes: Started at 10 AM on a foggy morning. Roads were completely empty throughout the day - later I realized that all heavy vehicles were on strike due to protest over the new hit and run motor laws. I found road blockades at 4 places. The 1st place I was warned and asked to turn back, and just when I did, the cops came and dispersed the mob. I was then able to pass through. 2nd instance I was able to follow couple of cars using a narrow village road and exit to the other side of the blockade. 3rd instance, I was trying to take the side road to enter a village road and the mob came running after me. That was scary! One guy started banging my car and was furious that I was still driving. I kept my cool and with a smile told him that I am not bypassing their blockade but just taking a turn. He then warned me about the dangers of the furious mob and guided me to a side road, from where I was able to take the village bylanes to the other side. And finally the last blockade was such that it was on a bridge with no bypass. The only other road was going into Nepal (less than a KM away). I decided to turn back and take a village route without Google's approval - which was a bad decision. The roads were very narrow and way too complex for Google maps to handle. The villagers were confused as to where I wanted to go and they guided me to a route which took me back to the same highway from where I wanted to escape - only to add an additional 5+ KMs to the blockade spot. By the time I reached the highway, Google maps showed that the blockade was apparently cleared (the red traffic line disappeared). This turned out to be true - as I reached the bridge there was no one. I guess I should have waited there like other private vehicles for the cops to arrive and clear the mob. Ultimately, I still managed to reach my hotel on time at 7 PM - after taking 3 long tea/lunch breaks and encountering those 4 blockades.

Stop 22 Raghopur → Dhuliyan Distance covered =340 State = BH > WB Nights = 1
Notes: Started late at 10 AM due to breakfast at the source. Had yummy roadside chole bhature (2) for 30 bucks followed by kulhad chai. Roads were 90% National Highways with mostly 4 lanes. The previous day protest-strikes seemed to be over at midnight. Luckily for me, all the trucks started on their onward journeys during the night itself, leaving not much traffic that morning. Roads were again mostly empty throughout much of Bihar. After crossing into Bengal, traffic steadily started to increase, although it was always running traffic. One surprising thing that I noticed was the presence of signals in the middle of the National Highways in Bengal. And to top it, another irritating thing I experienced were the diversionary drums placed on the middle of the National Highway every couple of KMs - for allowing the right-left traffic to cross over. The highway authorities should have created a bridge or a subway to account for such traffic - like the way it is in all other states. Completed my journey at 7 PM with only 2 tea/lunch breaks. Once I reached my hotel, i crossed over to Jharkhand to fill up my fuel tank. For some reason it was a tiring day for me - maybe due to the traffic.

Stop 23 Dhuliyan → Howrah Distance covered =287 State = WB Nights = 1
Notes: Started at 9.15 AM. Roads had lesser traffic as compared to the previous day. Although the roads were excellent, the road blocks were ever present every now and then - effectively acting as speed breakers. As the day progressed certain stretches of the roads deteriorated due to bridge construction or expansion activities on those patches. This was a cause of massive traffic jams, though at few places Google maps helped me to take an alternate city route, where the traffic was at least moving. Unfortunately, the authorities don't seem to understand that while construction is always good, they also need to take care of the existing roads running parallel to the construction points. At some places the roads were non-existent and big mud mounds were hitting the underbelly of my car. Reached Howrah at 7.10 PM after taking 3 medium-long tea breaks. Howrah was an extended halt of 3 nights - spent by exploring old Kolkata, walking its narrow bylanes, taking local bus rides, riding on couple of tram routes, and also using India's first underground metro train.

Stop 24 Howrah → Bhadrak Distance covered =308 State = WB > OD Nights = 3
Notes: I started at 10 AM. Being a Sunday, I still found traffic for 8-10 KMs before reaching the National Highway. The highways were much better without those drum obstacles that I found while entering Bengal. They were 6 lanes for the most part of today's journey, which became 4 lane as I kept going further into Odhisa state. Would have reached my hotel at 6.45 pm were it not for missing an exit and then taking a wrong turn... leading to an extra 10 KMs. Took 3 long tea breaks in between.

Stop 25 Bhadrak → Ichchapuram Distance covered =336 State = OD > AP Nights = 1
Notes: Left at 9.15 AM and after 4 tea halts reached my destination at 6.30 PM. Absolutely no traffic, very good roads, mostly 6 lane which turned to 4 lane for the final leg of my journey. Couldn't avoid few of tolls since Google map was not updated with the new toll gate locations. While still in Odhisa, had the opportunity to try fried fish at couple of halts, nicely made. I did had difficulty finding hotels serving tea. The small general stores who also sell tea are typically not good at making tea and that was the case today for me.

Stop 26 Ichchapuram → Tuni Distance covered =348 State = AP Nights = 1
Notes: Left at 9.25 AM and after 4 tea halts reached my destination at 7 PM. No traffic, extremely good roads, mostly NH 16 and having 6 lanes and sometimes 4 lanes. Plenty of roadside tea stops on the highway. Was mostly cruising at good speeds for the better part of my journey.

Stop 27 Tuni → Bapatla Distance covered =338 State = AP Nights = 1
Notes: Left at 10 AM and after 3 tea halts reached my destination at 7.10 PM. No traffic, extremely good roads, exited NH 16 at the start of the trip and the rest of the journey was mostly on NH 216 having 2 lanes. The first hotel manager saw my face and flatly refused to offer me a room citing no availability, which to me did not seem to be the case. Another 10 KMs away closer to the station, I checked few hotels which were budget yet pricey (approx. 1500) and finally got one within my budget.

Stop 28 Bapatla → Panjetty (Chennai) Distance covered =351 State = AP > TN Nights = 1
Notes: While cleaning/warming my car at 9.45 am, met a youngster who was curious about my vlogging, since he himself was planning on a road trip (mostly on his bike). Got delayed - I left at 10.40 AM and after 3 extra-long tea halts, reached my destination at 6.50 PM. No traffic, extremely good roads, exited NH 216 at the start of the trip and the rest of the journey was on NH 16 having 6 lanes. As I crossed into TN the NH became 4 lanes, and the road condition deteriorated with lots of potholes. Traffic started to increase as I reached closer to destination.

Stop 29 Panjetty → Puducherry Distance covered =192 State = TN > PY Nights = 1
Notes: Left at 10 AM and after 3 tea halts reached Pondy at 5 PM. Encountered heavy running traffic in and around Chennai as expected. Other than that it was a regular driving day. Puducherry was an extended halt of 3 nights - mostly spent walking along the lively Anna Salai road, the local tourist beach and White Town areas, and relishing the local street sea food.

Stop 30 Puducherry → Velankanni Distance covered =161 State = PY > TN Nights = 3
Notes: Left Pondy at 11 AM and after 2 tea halts + a beach halt reached my destination at 5.30 PM. There is a new highway being constructed on and off the old highway, so journey was a little slow. There were many towns in between so there was a lot of local moving traffic as well. Today there was an incident where I was trying to overtake a vehicle from the right on a multi-hump speed breaker. That was a misjudgement on my part since overtaking at dead slow speeds meant that ultimately a vehicle came from the opposite side and I had to slide in between that vehicle and overtake the vehicle on my left. Thankfully there was no accident, but it left me cursing at myself on my brain fade for a while! After checking into a hotel at my destination, went to pay my respects at The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health. Attended a part of the last mass of the day and then was lucky enough to get prasad as part of Pongal celebrations.

Stop 31 Velankanni → Rameswaram Distance covered =279 State = TN Nights = 1
Notes: Left Velankanni at 11.30 AM and after 2 tea/lunch halts + a beach halt reached at 5.20 PM. Unlike the previous day, the roads were much better and completely empty. I was cruising at 70-80 Kmph all along. The center of Rameshwaram town where most of the hotels are located, is off-limits for 4 wheelers. So had to park my car 300 meters away from my hotel. After check-in, I went to the beach for a stroll and spent quite a while looking at the dark sea before calling it a day. I was not impressed by the cleanliness of this town, especially the temple vicinity - considering it is one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites. Everything like sidewalks, lamp posts, drains were broken, and lots of dirt all around, with plenty of litter openly dumped across that little beach. Also noticed enormous tangle of overhead wires on all roads. I wish the civic authorities could do more to improve this town. Rameswaram was an extended halt of 2 nights - the next day I went driving to Ram Setu in the middle of the ocean. Amazed to see my mobile trying to connect with Sri Lanka's cellular network. Later had home cooked seafood dinner at a village called Dhanushkodi. Interestingly, this village is still without electricity.

Stop 32 Rameswaram → Kanyakumari Distance covered =320 State = TN Nights = 2
Notes: Left Rameshwaram at 11 AM and after 2 tea/lunch halts + a beach halt reached at 8.15 PM. The roads were mostly empty. Many places the roads were broken. But closer to Kanyakumari they became better. Today there was an incident during the final leg of my journey - after my beach halt at sunset, while taking a right turn on an isolated dead street, met with a freak accident. My car hit a biker who was overtaking me from the right hand side/wrong side of the road without sounding a horn. That was his fault. At the same time I did realize my own fault as well - I failed to check behind me for any overtaking vehicles before proceeding with a turn. Also I didn't give a turn indicator - this being an isolated dead end road. The biker fell down, but he was up and running in no time along with his bike. He couldn't speak English or Hindi, so could not converse, but I did apologise to him and he seemed to be ok and moved on. For me, I was left with an upset (on myself) mind + a broken front bumper (which will now need to be completely replaced) and a small dent on the front right side panel. Initial estimate for the works from a workshop was for 5-7k. Did a temporary fix to my bumper with screws which made the dents hardly noticeable. Kanyakumari was an extended halt of 3 nights - mostly spent exploring the local tourist beach. On the next day I fell sick.

Stop 33 Kanyakumari → Fort Kochi Distance covered =307 State = TN > KL Nights = 3
Notes: I had fallen big time sick on my 1st day in Kanyakumari - very high fever invariably followed by cold and severe cough. Resorted to self-medications which kinda kept my fever under control but still was left with a drained body and headaches with cough-cold. I attributed my condition to the unique blend of heavy warm and cool winds from all 3 water bodies at the peninsula. The wind must have seeped into my system. I was contemplating on spending an extra 4th night but decided against it since I felt that going back on the road into the open would do my health some good. The journey to Fort Kochi seemed to be one of the longest duration - 9+ hours of drive. So had to force myself out of bed early on the day of the journey and started at 8.30 AM. Took 3 good tea breaks and with the traffic and bad narrow Kerala roads, I reached Kochi at 7.20 PM. Had to search around for a Hotel since the one I had shortlisted didn't have parking. As luck would have it, I got a nice little room pretty close to the tourist district and the ferry terminal - within my budget. After dropping my bags, I walked the area to explore around. Looking at the good vibes and my delicate health, I decided to extend my stay in Kochi by an extra day. The next day I went shopping for dry fruits in the neighbouring city of Ernakulam using the water metro ferry.

Stop 34 Fort Kochi → Kannur Distance covered =285 State = KL Nights = 2
Notes: Started at 8.30 AM sharp, and luckily I was onboard the ferry to Vypin with no waiting at all. The rest of the trip was similar if not worse to the previous stretch. Mostly 2 lane narrow NH 66 which at many times reduced to single lane only. And the entire stretch had heavy traffic. Work on expanding NH 66 to 4 lanes was ongoing at most of the places. Reached at 7 PM after taking 2 tea halts. Health again seemed to go bad with severe cough, so was surviving on meds the entire day.

Stop 35 Kannur → Bhatkal Distance covered =286 State = KL > KA Nights = 1
Notes: Started at 9.40 AM, and reached Bhatkal at 7 PM after taking 4 tea halts. My health was much better today thanks to change of medicine. Unlike the past many days, today's driving was less stressful after crossing into Karnataka.

Stop 36 Bhatkal → Margao Distance covered =199 State = KA > GA Nights = 1
Notes: Started at 10.30 AM, and had a major halt over at Shri Murdeshwar temple some short distance away. They charge Rs. 50 for vehicles entering the temple town - claiming it’s for entry fees and includes free parking. After paying my respects to the Gods, I took the lift (Rs. 20) all the way up to the 18th floor to see some amazing views out there. Also visited the massive Lord Shiva statue - at 123 feet it is the 2nd tallest Shiva statue in India. Then had lunch at an Udupi restaurant which was somewhat located in the middle of the sea, with a nice view of the blue waters. Resumed my journey towards Goa. Roads were excellent and devoid of traffic. Once inside Goa, there were few patches of hilly curvy roads. Reached my destination at 6 PM after taking 2 additional tea halts. Margao was an extended halt of 3 nights. The next day I had a pleasant evening watching the sunset at the local Benaulim Beach with excellent seafood and drinks on the beach itself. And on the following day, took a train to Vaso da Gama to explore the town - after watching that place in a popular Bollywood movie (Kabhi Ha Kabhi Na). Unfortunately, Vaso da Gama was a disappointment with nothing much to see. Margao, where I halted, was a much more exciting place. For dinner had one of the best seafood thali ever.

Stop 37 Margao/3 Kings → Ratnagiri Distance covered =279 State = GA > MH Nights = 3
Notes: Started at 9.30 AM, and had a major haltover at 3 KIngs Chapel some short distance away. Unfortunately, the Chapel itself was closed so could not pay my respects, but the view from the hilltop was amazing. Resumed my journey towards Ratnagiri, roads were good and devoid of traffic. There were few patches of hilly curvy roads after entering Maharashtra. On the Maharashtra side of the border, there was a check post. I was stopped and the officer checked my bags, car and also my pockets - presumably for presence of drugs. Reached my destination at 7.15 PM after taking 2 additional tea halts.

Stop 38 Ratnagiri → Poladpur Distance covered =177 State = MH Nights = 1
Notes: Started at 9.45 and reached my destination at 7.15 after 3 extra-long tea halts. Road conditions were strictly ok, but scenic at places. One side hilly ghats and on the other side the vastness of blue ocean down below made for a pleasant drive. Had an expensive ferry ride costing Rs 200 in between. Closer to destination I went on to NH66 which was proper 4 lane except for a major ghat section.

Stop 39 Poladpur → Hinjewadi Distance covered =157 State = MH Nights = 1
Notes: Started at 11.30 AM, and after 2 tea/lunch halts reached my destination at 5.45 PM. There was another ghat section before merging with a single lane road all the way to my destination. Hinjewadi was an extended halt of 3 nights spent with one of my old friend. Explored the surrounding locality and went for short drives. Most of my time was spent relaxing and unwinding down, with my tiredness catching up on me.

Stop 40 Hinjewadi → Umargam Distance covered =295 State = MH > GJ Nights = 3
Notes: Started at 10 AM and reached my final destination of my trip - HOME at 7 PM - after taking 2 long tea breaks. Roads were single lane mainly through small villages and light forest areas. I completely bypassed Mumbai and its surrounding cities to avoid traffic. And uneventful trip which ended on the right note.

********** END OF POST ***********

Demographics

• Gender: Male
  
• Race/Ethnicity: International Indian
  
• Residence: India (urban)
  
• Income Bracket: Upper class, full pay
  
• Type of School: Second graduating batch private (our most prestigious non-Indian admit was probably Penn State last year)
  
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None
  

Intended Major(s): Computer Science/Computer Engineering
Academics CBSE (Physics, Chemistry, Math, Computer Science, English)

• Overall percents: 98% (Grade 9), 99.2% (Grade 10), 94% (Grade 11), 93% (Mid-year report, yeah I slacked), 95.2% (Grade 12 predicted, will probably crush this in my actual finals but it is what it is)
  
• I had 2 A2s in my entire high school transcript, one on my 12th grade mid-year report in Physics and the other in English in the 11th grade. All A1s otherwise.
  
• Rank: School doesn't report (but rank 1)
  
• APs (all self-studied, only tests): Computer Science A (5), Physics 1 (4), Statistics (4), Physics C E&M, Chemistry, English Language, Calculus BC
  

Standardized Testing

• SAT: 1580 (800M, 780RW, not super scored)
  
• TOEFL: 119
  

Extracurriculars / Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.

• Founder & Lead Developer (<>): Open-source mobile operating system; 150,000+ downloads from 160+ countries, 50+ stars on GitHub, 150+ USD in donations, 3000+ members on Telegram
  
• Recognized Developer (RD) & Core Committee Member (XDA Developers Forum): Posted open-source packages & apps; ensured devs follow open-source licenses like GPL; I’m 1 of 325 RDs out of 11M users & youngest where <5 are teens
  
• Panini Linguistics Olympiad Residential Camper (IIIT Hyderabad): Among top 30 in open round & selected for camp; learned phonology, scripts, computational linguistics, sociolinguistics from researchers & professors
  
• Open Source Excellence (OSE) & Community Leader (SourceForge File Hosting): Uploaded installable packages, contributing to open-source; awarded Open Source Excellence (OSE) for 150k downloads; <2.5k of 500k projects have OSE
  
• Open-Source Contributor & Developer (GitHub): Developed frameworks for Qualcomm devices; Built school MUN website (300+ users), Alexa skills, MUN research engine; 3.5K+ commits,1.5K+ contributions
  
• Authored Math Research Paper: Applied chaos theory to traffic congestion & gained insights; won 1st position amongst 160 at math symposium; published in September issue of Indian journal.
  
• Cyber Security Student Intern (Private research institute in India): Worked under <>: Used tools for penetration testing, packet-sniffing WiFi packets, hands-on DDoS attacks, and building basic viruses
  
• Secretary General & MUN Secretary of Council: Tripled participation in school MUN from 2022-2023; managed external delegations & interschool relations; organized month-long MUN training for Grade7-12
  
• Student learning French (Alliance Francaise de Delhi): DELF B1 certified (minimum for French citizenship); won 4th in India in French Word Power and 9th in Concours Romain Rolland (B1, National Finals)
  
• Pianist (Trinity College London): Distinction in Trinity Grade 2 Classical Piano and perfect score in Grade 2 Music Theory; posted piano covers of songs on YouTube averaging 220+ views
  

Awards / Honors

• Asia Pacific Linguistics Olympiad; Represented India among 17 countries and 388 participants
  
• Science Olympiad Foundation Academic Excellence Scholarship; 1 of 208 awardees from 5M participants
  
• Philippine International Math and Science Olympics; Won Gold in Math & Science, India Rank 1 in both
  
• Hong Kong International Math Olympiad; Won Bronze in Global Final, 7th position in Indian team
  
• IIT Kanpur Techkriti Open School Championship (aptitude exam); Secured 14th position out of 1300
  

Letters of Recommendation
One from the English teacher - Helped me land multiple anchoring, commentating, and hosting roles in school events; is the MUN coordinator; I have written multiple essays for competitions that went through her, also taught me for 3 years and can vouch for me being pretty active in literary interpretation.
One from the Math teacher - Mostly just competitions, events, and projects; me attending multiple late evening online classes and also going ahead of the syllabus multiple times; alternate approaches to problems with anecdotes too.
One from the counselor - Not sure what's on here, but should be pretty good.
The other two I've described based on what was on my brag sheet.
I’m not really sure how much these Letters of Recommendation matter in the context of internationals, but one thing is fairly obvious. I've seen a lot of my peers drop thousands of dollars on external counselors and what not end up with worse results than me. It's really apparent to see the difference in results between a kid who the teachers love gassing up, and a kid who the teachers don't care for all that much (even if they have decently strong stats).
Essays
My Common App was basically how I started extracurricular 1, going deep into community building, team building, creating a global impact, learning Java from knowing nothing, and even branching out to other diverse projects.
My supplements mainly revolved around open-source activism, interactions within the global open-source community, how Lord of the Rings got me interested in conlangs and eventually linguistics, computational linguistics and operating systems research, how I became a polylinguist, as well as a story about the chaos theory research paper.
The more fun supplements had several varied topics like post-punk and shoegaze rock, grunge aesthetics, epistemology, Hot Wheels dioramas, Pokemon fan-game development, and Charli XCX (these aspects were not included in any of my early essays, my RD applications were when I decided to not take myself too seriously and some of these changes were also in my new Common App essay for RD).
I didn't try to game my essays at all. I knew I couldn't in any sense depict myself as unfortunate or disadvantaged, or depict myself as so incredibly impressive that I need to be on the cover of Time Magazine right now. In fact, all of my diversity essays were about being an open-source activist and the appreciation I have for pushing forward Richard Stallman’s ideals and works, and had quite literally nothing to do with my own social standing. I kept it simple and true to myself and what I really want to do and what I liked about these individual universities and communities I'm already involved in. While I seemed kind of doubtful doing this and not just doing some cliched “life experience that forever changed me” essay, my results show me that I never had to go into those paths. If you love a fairly niche intellectual topic like that, lean into it. It's possibly the best “hook” you can have as an otherwise fairly generic applicant.
Interviews
Penn: Lasted for about an hour. Nothing particularly noteworthy happened. I pretty much regurgitated whatever was on my supplements with more detail but also got points from supplements that Penn didn’t ask for. After that, about 30 minutes of the conversation was about how powerful Penn’s network is and him mostly gassing up Penn and me asking about the American lifestyle (somehow the topic steered into this). Overall the interview was not even close to academic but was more about how to build connections at Penn and how it’s important to attend all events and to stand up and seize opportunities (which I guess is really what Penn is about at the end of the day).
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
_Rolling:_
UT Dallas (CS): Accepted (4k/semester Academic Excellence Scholarship)
ASU (CS): Accepted (13.5k/yr University Scholarship)
ED:
Cornell (CS @ CoE): Rejected
ED 2:
CMU (SCS): Deferred -> Waitlisted
EA:
U-M Ann Arbor (CE @ CoE + SI): Accepted
UNC-Chapel Hill (CS): Accepted
UMD College Park (LTSC): Accepted
UW Madison (CE @ CoE): Deferred -> Accepted
Georgia Tech (CS): Deferred -> Waitlisted
USC (CS @ Viterbi): Deferred -> Rejected
UIUC (CS @ Grainger): Rejected
RD:
UCLA (CS): Accepted
UCSD (Undeclared): Accepted
UCI (CS): Accepted
Johns Hopkins (CS): Accepted
Harvey Mudd (CS): Accepted
Columbia (CS @ Engineering): Waitlisted
UC Berkeley (EECS): Waitlisted
Stanford (CS): Rejected
Yale (CS): Rejected
Princeton (CS B.S.E.): Rejected
Harvard (CS): Rejected
Penn (CS @ SEAS): Rejected
Caltech (CS): Rejected
MIT (CS): Rejected
Committed:
UCLA (CS @ Samueli Engineering)
Additional Thoughts
Grateful, just that.
I never wanted to leave the country until early-12th grade, so I was hoping that my presence in open-source development would carry me because I never bothered trying summer programs, fellowships, research programs, non-profits, really committing to Olympiads or whatever else people do for top 10 colleges until the early 12th grade (and by then it was too late for me to have done any real fulfilling work that transcends my open-source development, but I still managed to do quite a few things and I will say that the 12th grade was pretty hectic). It's pretty funny that I skipped multiple online classes in 9th grade just to work on extracurricular 1 as a hobby I was completely obsessed with that my mom wasn’t really a fan of, and now it's my main extracurricular for college.
The SOF Academic Excellence Scholarship is the only prestigious SOF award as it doesn’t have ties and it’s a public table on their website locked at 240 winners per year. Most of my open-source work and awards took upwards of 5 years to attain from 6th grade, which I talked about in my essays (August 2021 was when my work blew up and became popular). It ramped up in the 9th grade when I had time to do more things due to the lockdown, so I’m not sure what my extracurriculars would’ve looked like if the lockdown hadn’t happened (I’m not sure if I would’ve even considered applying to the US). Still, I feel like I could've done a lot more and a much better job if I had definite plans earlier, and this regret weighed on me quite a bit through 2023.
I will admit that the prestige was part of the allure for me, probably why I shotgunned this much. I don’t regret shotgunning per se, because most of the work was done by January 5 itself, and I do recommend shotgunning to internationals. The ED1 blow made me more hesitant to apply to fewer universities in RD, as I really wanted to go to the US. But honestly, I came more to terms with maybe not going to the US after ED1 day. Having IIIT Hyderabad CS (a T5 for CS in India basically) as a backup from the Linguistics Olympiad camp qualification kind of comforted me through this phase. Getting into U-M Ann Arbor EA quickly put those worries to rest, even if it was pretty momentary (it's pretty much a T5 to me based on research in NLP + operating systems).
Probably important to note, my EA and ED1 essays were highly technical to the point that I assume only people within the communities I'm in would understand some of the terms I used (huge oversight). I did a complete rewrite for RD of pretty much everything from the Common App essay and extracurricular descriptions to my supplemental formats. They were much more ethics and society-oriented, with way more emphasis on collaboration, being a global citizen and polylingual, and how many people I've worked with from around the world. The technical aspects of the essays were also a lot more thoughtful about their impact and had just a few technical terms sprinkled in instead of being outright expository. Most of my supplementals were reused all over the place, except Caltech where I went technical but in a different way than I did earlier.
90% of these things were done when I was still considering just studying in India (except the APs, SAT, and TOEFL), so I'm glad that all of them came around to be professionally useful to me. Y'all can connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to talk (just search up any extracurricular, I would probably show up).
Advice
All the things I regretted I never did, I never needed. These results are already pretty satisfactory to me, and honestly feeling upset that I never did things I’ve never even heard of before seems kind of silly to me now. Do what you want to do, it’ll always help you in the end. My extracurriculars in operating system development and linguistics are fairly niche for an international, but it’s exactly what I can stay up all night and all day and do. Make sure you like what you’re doing. You probably won’t regret not doing enough in your high school life as much then.
I learned about this pretty late into the admissions cycle (as in just before RD so maybe not too late): the AOs who read your application almost always skew humanities. Do not assume that they understand what the Linux kernel is, that they understand how significant authoring multiple merged commits in FAANG repositories is, or that they understand terminology like forks, branches, and workflows. Explain like you would to a friend at school who isn't 100% sure what your work is about, not like to a person you're working with within these STEM fields. This was the major mistake in my early applications’ extracurricular descriptions and essays.
Third, I hear this a lot from several people on Reddit, but it is completely true. I assumed a year ago that college admissions would be all in my head during this time, and I would feel like I’ve finally closed the chapter on 4 years of my life when I get into something like a T3 state flagship. But it isn’t true, your feelings don’t work that way.
The people who value college prestige are also the type to value success as the end of their sufferings. Unfortunately, you won't find happiness through success, because you'll never always be successful.
Make sure you don’t succumb to senioritis. My grades dipped from the 11th-grade finals to the start of 12th grade and then slowly grew again, from 86% in the half-yearly (which was never reported anywhere thankfully) to finally climbing up to 94% by preboard 2.
I’m feeling fairly optimistic about my board results too (would be comfortably higher than my predicted score because that score was based on a formula that gave way too much weightage on the half-yearlies which I did pretty terribly), but I know I slacked at the start of the year. Of course, as an international, it’s hard to keep up with all of these things going on together, particularly because our curriculum is not designed to also give you time to do extracurriculars, standardized tests, and write essays. But that’s just how it is; you’ll have to learn how to handle it.
Have fun. I attended like 2 parties this year (OMG THATS SO MANY WOWO). Honestly, I regret skipping out on so many kickback and relax events throughout the year, considering that attending would have had pretty much 0 impact on my college applications. You win some, you lose some. Make sure you have fun. I know I did, but sometimes I wonder how things would’ve been if I had done more.
Don’t lose yourself in the college rabbit hole that you’re starting to have conversations with yourself about how you’d handle a specific tough course in the third year of college at a specific university when you haven’t even received decisions there yet.
Going out with friends would've taken 4 hours. Learning about Professor Kruskal from UMD’s lore on Reddit and discovering there's a soundboard of out-of-context quotes by him out there would also occupy you for 3 hours. One is pointless as there's a possibility you'll not attend UMD anyway, while the other would've given you memories you could cherish for life.
Live in the moment. Look forward to the future, but don’t dwell on the future forever.
good luck xxx

I have a "new patient" appointment with an allergist coming up and could use some double checking on the list of issues/questions I have.
QUICK background: I (47) have had environmental allergies my whole life. Saw my first allergist at age 9 and tested positive for everything they pricked me for except sheep. Did allergy shots until I was in high school and things were more or less decently controlled with daily pill. Saw my second allergist at age 31 when I moved to a new state and things went haywire. Testing revealed some new to me trees + mild cats and mold was still an issue. Added Flonase, saline spray, and neti pot to daily routine and things were pretty controlled. Diagnosed with asthma 3 years ago, but no treatment except a rescue inhaler (side effects with Singulaire and I tend to throw up when using inhalers).
Lately, my symptoms have increased so it's time for an evaluation and treatment tune-up.
Current symptoms/issues: I have noticed an increase in congestion (under eyes & headaches, NOT nasal), increased eye itching, sneezing, dried out nasal passages, sores at the tip of my nose, and almost constant chest tightness. Other possibly related symptoms - elbow rash and overall itching, mainly around (not in) my armpits.
Questions:

• Should I have new testing? (Might be automatic at first appointment.)
• Can we figure out a better medication routine than Zyrtec + Flonase keeping in mind my prior Singulaire reaction and my aversion to inhalers.
• Should I consider a new round of shots?
• Could the elbow rash and other itches me allergy related?

​

Flutter for web has evolved significantly in the past few years and in this post I wanted to give a comprehensive comparison between using Flutter vs React for developing web apps specifically. I've used both Flutter and React for startups so I have a good sense of both.
Anyways, the most important thing in startups is iteration speed. The ability to quickly build a product, get customer feedback, and iterate is the thing that sets apart the good startups and the dead startups. Now in my opinion, a good framework (for startups), is one that enables you to iterate as fast as possible. With that knowledge, let's dive into why I think Flutter wins in almost all aspects.

Development Experience

Flutter makes the dev life a breeze. Forget the headache of constant null checks, too many variables, and scratching your head over whether an empty array is truly empty. Dart’s tooling is just the cherry on top, making Flutter my go-to for a smooth coding experience.
✅ Flutter ❌ Javascript

Setup Time

Flutter is incredibly self-sufficient, providing a wealth of packages right out of the box. This eliminates the need for extensive research on UI libraries or the necessity of third-party libraries for basic functionalities. The ease of access to these tools significantly accelerates the development, allowing for fast iteration cycles.
✅ Flutter ❌ Javascript

Transitioning to Mobile

Although, we are comparing web frameworks, it's also important to note the ability to transition to a native mobile app. Mobile is becoming increasingly prevalent and users are not as tolerant with using web apps on their phone. With React, there is no easy way to transition to mobile and it comes with the logistical nightmare of managing separate codebases for different platforms. This is another easy win for Flutter.
✅ Flutter ❌ Javascript

SEO and Initial Load Speeds

Although not directly related to web apps, I wanted to bring SEO up because this is a contentious topic. React 100% takes this because Flutter is NOT built for static web pages. It has slow initial loading speeds and bad SEO. Now this begs the question: how does this affect my startup iteration speed?
It doesn't.
If you're building a startup, it's much faster to use a no-code landing page builder (e.g. Framer) to build your landing page. Then the landing page can have a call to action which will lead the user into clicking to the app.
❌ Flutter ✅ Javascript

Hiring

Some people worry that finding developers who know how to use Flutter might be hard because it's pretty new. This makes sense since not a lot of people have had the chance to learn Flutter yet.
But from what I've seen, it's not a big problem. Flutter is easy to learn and use. I once hired a college intern who only knew how to use React, and guess what? They were able to contribute to our Flutter projects after one week of onboarding.
So, if you're thinking of hiring someone, you don't need to find someone who only knows Flutter. Oftentimes, someone who knows JavaScript (a common programming language) can learn Flutter quickly and do a great job.
❌ Flutter ✅ Javascript

In Summary

Here's a table summarizing the above. Let me know in the comments if there's anything I'm missing or if you disagree with any of the above points.
Also, If you're interested in using Flutter for a production application I created an open-source Flutter production boilerplate and a discord community to help facilitate growth. This community is built to foster startup growth and includes is a place to share weekly updates, ask for startup and technical advice, and includes tips on how to earn your first dollar. Let me know in the comments if you're interested, and I can DM you the discord invite + github link.

Feature	Flutter	React
Development Experience	✅	❌
Setup Time	✅	❌
Transitioning to Mobile	✅	❌
SEO	❌	✅
Hiring	❌	✅

I had my tonsillectomy on March 7th (I'm a 31F with a very complicated chronic health history) this year due to a host of issues...but the worst ones being huge tonsil crypts that caused major choking episodes. When I say that I had chunks of food and mucus coming out of the crypts (that had to be water picked out daily) I mean it. I was not able to eat anywhere but my home for the last 5 years due to choking episodes and needing to water pick my throat the second that I ate so I wouldn't have major dysphagia (on top of silent reflux and tons of throat mucus due to GI issues). It was exhausting and drained my quality of life in a way that I cannot say. I would barely eat most days. My tonsils on the surface didn't look that bad, but once they were removed they found lots of stones and huge crypts underneath the surface, where the food was going into. I also was a chronic strep carrier and had tons of sinus issues.
This was my fourth surgery this year (I had two cavitation surgeries + a sinus surgery prior to this, all spaced out) so some tools I already had on hand, but I am someone with a ton of food allergies, chemical sensitivities and medication allergies. So needless to say, I was terrified for this surgery because I read through this subreddit and a lot of things people did, weren't possible for me (certain foods, medications, etc). I was also incredibly thin going into this 5'5" and 110 so I was terrified about losing more weight as well. These tonsils had truly robbed so much nutrition, sleep, quality of life, and day to day joy for me for years. I had done literally everything you can imagine holistic to try and save them, but ultimately they were too pitted and could not be saved. I am at 11 days post op right now and couldn't be more grateful that I had this done, despite the recovery. I will say I found the recovery to be challenging during the hardest days (6-9 for me). But I never took any narcotics...I did maybe 8 doses of Tylenol total throughout my recovery and used homeopathy primarily, which worked WONDERS for me. I was really hesitant as to how much it could help me, but there was absolutely no doubt how fast it worked for me and pain. I had my homeopath, who I love, guide me throughout, which was incredible.
Quick overview:
Days 0/1: wasn't that bad...easy to force down tons of liquids and ice chips.
Days 2/3: the mucus was crazy (coming from a girl who already has a ton), and I had nasal regurgitation. Started homeopathics to help with the mucus because I couldn't function. Sinus rinsing + tongue scraping was huge. Got first IV.
Days 4/5: probably the easiest days in terms of pain. Mucus was still present but a lot less. IV's really helped. Swallowing still felt like knives, but was more dull and homeopathics kept it majorly in check. Very swollen tongue.
Days 6-8: wow. I can see why people lose it on these days. Hunger had fully set in, ear pain ramped up, can feel scabs forming more...these days I need intense support from my husband and mom. Wasn't able to hardly do anything. Tongue was massively swollen, so started a homeopathic for that. It helped a lot. Ice in every form brought major relief.
Days 9/10: started to turn a corner. Finally ate some real food tonight (Day 10). I am ravenous now and some of the food I ate tonight sloughed off some of the remaining scabs on the right side. My left side healed faster, which I expected.
I want to share the things that I did + used in hopes that it might help someone! I totally understand the natural route isn't for everyone, it just had to be the route for me, so I wanted to offer my perspective! I'm only 11 days out but I am so so grateful I got this done. I have actually had some food go down as of today and wanted to cry that I didn't have it go into the crypts...it just went down. Something I haven't experienced in over 5 years 😭
Things I did before surgery:

• drank a bottle of pineapple juice to reduce swelling + bruising
• got adjusted (I knew I would be sleeping up and uncomfortable for two weeks so I wanted my body to be as comfortable as it could be going into it..I'm so glad I did because it was all out of whack)
• took arnica a few hours before surgery to reduce chance of bleeding

For post surgery healing:

• Tongue scraper: I used mine several times a day and it made me feel human again.
• New toothbrush: if you've had strep, come how to a clean toothbrush so that way you don't risk all that bacteria back in your mouth! I brushed my teeth multiple times a day, starting on the day of surgery! I used mint toothpaste (a natural one by Jason called Power Smile) and it helped my mouth feel clean so I didn't go crazy
• Salt water rinses: I wouldn't gargle, but I would hold salt water in the front of my mouth especially in the first few days to mainly thin mucus and remove it. As I healed more and more, I would gently gargle to make sure the surgery site stayed clean!
• Daily shower: the humidity helped tremendously to loosen everything up and it just made me feel more human in general. It was good to have something to get up and do and move around to break the day up a bit.
• Sinus rinsing: I talked to two ENT's about this because I am a daily sinus rinser and they said it was okay as long as I was gentle! I cannot tell you how much it helped to thin out the mucus that you drown in the first few days! But I did it at least 2-3 times a day to keep my airway as clear as I could
• A head ice wrap + two throat ice wraps: Icing got me through. I kept one strapped around my throat and the other wrapped around my head pretty much 24/7. I looked like a wounded solider on the field of battle but it was worth it
• Wedge Pillow: I slept sitting up for 9 days straight and I think it helped a TON with swelling. I would only sleep a few hours at a time but it was a blessing because I was up so much that I drank constantly.
• Chewing Gum: the first 5 days, I couldn't....my mouth just hurt too much. But around day 6 when the ear pain kicked in, I was so glad to chew the gum! It does help to relax your jaw and work out the muscles!
• Cool Mist Humidifier: I kept this running beside me 24/7 and it made a world of difference. Since I had my sinus surgery I have been able to nose breathe for the first time in 20 years and it's a miracle 😭 So it did help me to be able to nose breathe, but it kept my throat moist and from drying out!
• Coconut Water: My favorite thing I consumed this entire time! It was so soothing to me that I ended up making ice chips out of it and just eating it that way.
• Aloe Vera Water: so soothing. Oh my word, was just amazing! Promotes rapid wound healing.
• Coconut Oil: I took about 1tsp three times a day because it's a natural healer and it coated my throat and made it so moist!
• Manuka Honey: I took manuka honey several times a day to promote wound healing + reduce inflammation. It really did help (I have used manuka honey lots in the past but was amazed to see how well it worked in this case for healing)
• Quinton Minerals: I took 1-2 packets of these minerals daily because I already had an impossible time swallowing, but I didn't want minerals to impair my healing!
• Bone Broth + Collagen: Would get bone broth + stir collagen in to get some protein!
• IV's: due to my other surgeries earlier in the year (and a really scary sinus post op experience) we decided to get IV's lined up because I got in a really bad spot before hand where I dropped so much weight my heart would pound and I was at risk for passing out. The IV's saved me. You can truly feel them hydrating you from the inside out and it's so much easier to drink (at least it was for me) after them. I truly do not think I could have gotten through without the IV's. I did not get any solid food until day 10, so I was floored reading people's recoveries and how early they were eating. I did have a few days of nasal regurgitation, so I couldn't even get liquids down (which had happened to me after sinus surgery). If you are really struggling, just know this is an option!
• Bianural Beats: I looked up ones on youtube for pain, sleep, wound healing, sinus congestion, throat mucus...anything I was dealing with and they all helped. If the pain was really bad, I would fall asleep listening to the ones for sleep and it would calm my body so much!
• Peppermint oil: inhaling this helped me so much with nausea. I found I had nausea when the scabs started to go down. This and acupressure band for nausea were life saving for me!
• Topical Arnica Gel: I would apply this to my throat and jawline a few times a day. It helped with pain + swelling!
• Homeopathics:
  • Arnica + Mag Phos: these helped me the most with breakthrough pain
  • Rhus Tox: specifically for healing after a tonsillectomy
  • Merc Sol: for swollen uvula + swollen tongue
  • Calc Sulph + Calendula: to promote wound healing
  • Ars Album: for restlessness + anxiety
  • Blend of homeopathics: to reduce mucus...this helped so much

I highly highly highly recommend working with a homeopath to guide you through recovery (if you want to go this route) because I can't recommend the strength or how often (as it was unique to me and I am not a doctor), but it was more effective for me than Tylenol. Which I couldn't use anyways as I broke out in a rash. So homeopathics it was for me...I was floored by how well they worked, I fully intended to take the narcotics and Tylenol until I realized my body couldn't do it.
As far as foods, eating was unbearable for me until day 10. I just couldn't and I just wanted cold liquids anyways. When I could get a bit down, I did these! And I added collagen to literally everything!

• sweet potato + apple + turmeric soup
• cauliflower mashed potatoes with ghee
• dairy free coconut ice cream (vanilla)
• equip protein powder vanilla shake (with macadamia nut milk + collagen + frozen ripe banana + my daily vitamin powder)
• bone broth with lots of collagen mixed in
• coconut water ice chips

I also had a station set up in my recovery area in case I started bleeding. I knew if I did, I would be stressed about trying to find things that would help. There I had:

• hydrogen peroxide and water (1/2 that + 1/2 water gargled can help stop bleeding)
• Phosphorus + Arnica + Ferrum Phos homeopathics can help with bleeding as well
• Afrin (which my ENT said you can put on guaze and press on a bleed if it happens)
• instructions for my caretakers if I did bleed

Other things I did:
I wrote out tips + tricks + reminders for myself about a month ahead. I did lots of research, stocked my pantry, scheduled the IV's ahead of time, prepared notes for my husband and mom and saved all the positive stories I read here. I took screenshots of people who said it was the best decision ever and I wrote myself a long note ahead of time, so that when the pain was bad, I could reason and encourage myself 🤣
Lastly, I had lots of people praying for me and helping support. The last 10 years have been pretty challenging for me health wise (too much to get into here) but I will say the Lord has really helped me every step of the way, so I genuinely pray for all of us who have to have this done. It is such a hard thing, I had tears, I had days I did not want to keep doing this, but I knew it was the right decision for me because of my situation. I hope this can help someone else!
​

so the other day i came across this post in economics where i had a long back n forth basically arguing that the "opportunity zones" program implemented by the "tax scam jobs act" in 2017 was a total failure. then today - actually last night - i kinda put two n two together and realized that oh shit, that explains *exactly* why during the pandemic everyone was somehow able to remodel their homes... and between that and airbnb that explains why theres such a huge bubble:
everyone remodeled homes and thinks those homes are now worth a bajillion dollars... but theyre all in poverty stricken zones so now those homes are sitting empty.
here is a conversation i had with copilot while writing my comments in that thread, the last Q & A is from five minutes ago. after the conversation i will copy over the back n forth comments i had but feel free to check out the thread because after my head exploded and i gave up talking to the decaying brick wall, another intelligent person continued the fight, for a long while.
also i apologize for any weird formatting i tried to format it in an easy to follow way but it might not translate to this post, i wont know til i hit submit! thats also why i included links out to the conversation with copilot and the other thread. im copying them because i know links are for the lazy and nobody will click em. probably.
anyway the copilot convo:

me:

what is the statistical method called for estimating average deaths? like i recall during covid there were reports saying that there were X number of unaccounted for excess deaths compared to the average. is there a name for that concept?

copilot:

Certainly! The statistical method used for estimating average deaths and comparing them to observed deaths during specific periods is known as excess mortality analysis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this concept gained prominence as researchers and health authorities sought to understand the impact of the virus beyond reported COVID-19 deaths.
Here's how it works:

• Expected Deaths: To calculate excess deaths, we first need to estimate the expected number of deaths. Various methods are employed for this purpose:
  • Five-Year Averages: Using historical data, we calculate the average number of deaths over a five-year period.
  • Relative Age-Standardized Mortality Rates: These rates adjust for differences in age distribution across populations.
  • Segmented Regression Analysis: This method examines trends in mortality over time.
  • CMI Mortality Projections: The Continuous Mortality Investigation provides projections based on actuarial models.
  • EuroMOMO: A European monitoring system for mortality.
  • UKHSA Daily Mortality: The UK Health Security Agency tracks daily deaths.
• Excess Deaths: Once we have the expected deaths, we compare them to the actual observed deaths. The difference between the two represents the excess deaths. These excess deaths may include unreported COVID-19 deaths, indirect effects of the pandemic (e.g., disruptions in healthcare), and other factors.
• Quasi-Poisson Regression Model: In recent methodologies, a quasi-Poisson regression model is fitted to aggregated death registration data to estimate expected deaths . Remember, excess mortality analysis provides valuable insights into the overall impact of events like pandemics, natural disasters, or other crises on mortality rates. It helps us understand the full picture beyond official death counts.

me:

so couldnt we apply that same concept to things like measuring the impact of economic policy changes on employment statistics for a given area? like for the past 20 years, chart the employment in the area. then after the policy is implemented... compare that to the previous data?

copilot:

Certainly! The concept of excess mortality analysis can indeed be adapted to other contexts, including economic policy changes. Let's explore how a similar approach could be used to assess the impact of economic policies on employment statistics:

• Baseline Employment Trends:
  • First, we establish a baseline by analyzing historical employment data for the given area over the past 20 years. This provides insights into long-term trends, seasonal variations, and any cyclical patterns.
  • We calculate the average employment levels during this period.
• Policy Implementation:
  • When a new economic policy is implemented (such as tax reforms, subsidies, or labor market regulations), we closely monitor its effects.
  • The policy could be aimed at boosting employment (e.g., job creation incentives) or addressing specific issues (e.g., reducing income inequality).
• Post-Policy Analysis:
  • After the policy has been in place for a sufficient duration (e.g., a year or more), we compare the actual employment data during this period with the expected employment levels based on historical trends.
  • If the policy has a positive impact, we would expect to see an increase in employment beyond what historical trends would predict.
  • Conversely, if the policy has unintended negative consequences, we might observe a decline in employment.
• Excess Employment or Deficit:
  • Similar to excess mortality, we calculate the difference between observed employment and expected employment (based on historical data). This difference represents either an "excess employment" or a "deficit."
  • Excess Employment: If actual employment exceeds the expected levels, it suggests that the policy has been successful in promoting job growth.
  • Deficit Employment: If actual employment falls short of expectations, it indicates that the policy may need adjustments or has unintended consequences.
• Factors to Consider:
  • Causality: Correlation does not always imply causation. Other factors (external shocks, global economic trends, technological advancements) may also influence employment.
  • Counterfactuals: We need to estimate what employment would have been without the policy (the counterfactual scenario).
  • Data Quality: Reliable and accurate employment data is crucial for meaningful analysis.
• Regression Models:
  • Statistical techniques such as difference-in-differences (DID) or regression analysis can help isolate the policy's impact.
  • DID compares changes in employment before and after the policy, considering both the treatment group (affected by the policy) and the control group (not affected).

Remember that assessing policy impact is complex, and multiple factors contribute to employment dynamics. Excess employment analysis provides a useful framework, but it's essential to consider the broader context and use rigorous statistical methods to draw meaningful conclusions.

me:

right but wouldnt it be more accurate to not use difference in difference? thats actually introducing more variables. just look at the one area youre looking at. then if the outcome is higher or lower than you expected, look for other variables that affected that area. instead of adding some random variable before you even know what your baseline data said

copilot:

You raise a valid point! Let's delve deeper into the methodology for assessing policy impact on employment statistics. Difference-in-differences (DID) is indeed a powerful technique, but it's essential to consider alternative approaches. Here are some considerations:

• DID Advantages:
  • DID allows us to compare the treatment group (affected by the policy) with the control group (not affected) over time. By analyzing the difference in outcomes before and after the policy, we can isolate the policy's effect.
  • It accounts for unobserved heterogeneity (factors that affect both groups) by assuming that these factors remain constant over time.
• Challenges with DID:
  • As you rightly pointed out, DID introduces additional variables (interaction terms) into the model. These variables represent the interaction between the treatment/control status and time.
  • If we have limited data points or a small sample size, DID estimates may be less precise.
• Alternative Approaches:
  • Simple Before-and-After Comparison: - As you suggested, we can directly compare employment levels before and after policy implementation. - This approach avoids introducing interaction terms and focuses solely on the observed changes. - However, it assumes that any other factors affecting employment remain constant during the study period.
    • Regression Analysis with Baseline Data:
    • Controlled Case Studies:
• Considerations:
  • Data Quality: Reliable employment data is crucial. Ensure consistency in data collection methods.
  • Counterfactuals: Estimate what employment would have been without the policy (counterfactual scenario).
  • Other Factors: Investigate external shocks (e.g., economic recessions, technological shifts) that may influence employment.
• Iterative Approach:
  • Start with a straightforward analysis (e.g., before-and-after comparison).
  • If discrepancies arise, explore additional variables (e.g., industry-specific data, local economic conditions).
  • Iteratively refine the analysis based on observed outcomes.

Remember that no single method is universally superior. The choice depends on the research question, available data, and the specific context. Rigorous analysis, transparency, and sensitivity to potential biases are essential regardless of the chosen approach.

me:

okay so im looking at the 2017 trump tax scam act, specifically the "opportunity zones" thing. my initial feeling is rather than actually improve things in these areas all it did was offer up a tax advantaged way for corporate or otherwise wealthy investors to come in and buy or start businesses... which essentially did nothing to improve the peoples lives in the area and actually sucked money out of them. however the thing im unsure of is... are capital gains a normal thing to have when small businesses are owned by either a person or a family, or a group of people? like do capital gains apply to all LLCs or incorporated businesses?

copilot:

The Opportunity Zones provision introduced by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act aimed to encourage investment in economically distressed areas. However, your observation about its impact is valid: it has faced criticism for primarily benefiting wealthy investors without necessarily uplifting the local communities as intended.
Now, let's address your question about capital gains in small businesses, including LLCs and incorporated entities:

• Capital Gains and Small Businesses:
  • Capital gains occur when an asset (such as stocks, real estate, or business ownership) appreciates in value, and you sell it at a higher price than what you paid.
  • For small businesses, capital gains can arise from selling business assets, shares, or ownership interests.
• LLCs and Capital Gains:
  • Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) are a popular business structure because they offer flexibility, limited liability, and pass-through taxation.
  • Pass-Through Taxation: In an LLC, profits and losses "pass through" to the owners (members) and are reported on their individual tax returns. The LLC itself does not pay federal income tax.
  • When an LLC member sells their ownership interest (e.g., shares or partnership units), any capital gains from that sale are treated as personal income for tax purposes.
  • No Double Taxation: Unlike C corporations (which pay corporate income tax and then distribute dividends to shareholders, leading to double taxation), LLCs avoid this double taxation.
• C Corporations and Capital Gains:
  • C Corporations are separate legal entities that pay corporate income tax on their profits.
  • When a C corporation sells assets or shares, it generates capital gains.
  • Shareholders of C corporations receive dividends, which are also subject to capital gains tax at the individual level.
• Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS):
  • Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code provides a significant tax benefit for investors in certain small businesses.
  • If you hold qualified small business stock (QSBS) for more than five years, you may be eligible for a federal income tax gain exclusion (up to $10 million or more, depending on the circumstances).
  • QSBS must be issued by a domestic C corporation and meet specific criteria.
• Example Scenario:
  • Suppose an LLC with assets worth $30 million incorporates. If the QSBS issued during the conversion sells for $330 million:
    • The first $30 million would be subject to long-term capital gains tax.
    • The remaining $300 million could be eligible for Section 1202’s gain exclusion.
• Choice of Entity:
  • Choosing between an LLC and a C corporation involves trade-offs:
    • LLC: Pass-through taxation, flexibility, but no direct access to Section 1202 benefits.
    • C Corporation: Corporate income tax, but potential access to Section 1202’s gain exclusion.

In summary, capital gains are common for both LLCs and incorporated businesses. The specific tax treatment depends on the business structure and the nature of the gains. While Section 1202 provides an attractive benefit for certain small business investments, it's essential to consider the overall tax implications when choosing an entity type..

me:

so i have a theory that the majority of the "investment" in the designated zones was in "construction" companies. is there any data that can back this up? maybe something like increase in spending on home construction or remodeling, number of new businesses created as home renovation or construction, something like that?

copilot:

Certainly! Let's explore the data related to Opportunity Zones and their investment patterns, particularly in the context of construction and real estate. Here's what we know:

• Opportunity Zones Overview:
  • Opportunity Zones are economically distressed communities designated by individual census tracts.
  • These zones were nominated by state governors and certified by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
  • The goal was to spur private and public investment in underserved areas.
• Investment Activity:
  • Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) are investment vehicles organized for investing in Opportunity Zones.
  • Through 2019, more than 6,000 QOFs had invested about $29 billion in Opportunity Zones based on partial data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
  • These funds attracted investment in a variety of projects, including:
    • Multifamily housing
    • Self-storage facilities
    • Renewable energy businesses
    • Other real estate projects
• Real Estate Focus:
  • Most of the projects within Opportunity Zones are real-estate focused.
  • Real estate development, including housing and commercial properties, has been a significant area of investment.
  • Construction companies play a crucial role in developing and improving properties within these zones.
• Challenges and Compliance:
  • The IRS developed plans to ensure that Qualified Opportunity Funds and investors comply with the tax incentive's requirements.
  • However, implementing these plans faces challenges due to data availability.
  • Some funds are organized as partnerships with hundreds of investors, including high-wealth individuals.
• Geographic Distribution:
  • Opportunity Zones are diverse, covering both urban and rural areas across the United States.
  • These zones have experienced a lack of investment for decades, making them prime targets for revitalization.

In summary, while the data confirms significant investment in Opportunity Zones, it aligns with your observation that real estate projects, including construction and renovation, have been major beneficiaries. For more detailed data, you can explore specific reports and resources related to Opportunity Zones . Keep in mind that the impact on local communities remains a topic of ongoing analysis and discussion.
----------end of conversation----------
----------beginning of thread-----------

random commenter:

It increased job growth relative to comparable tracts. The study does not purport that the tax cuts resulted in overall nationwide job growth.
Getting in the way of market forces also likely favored investment in locations that are not optimized for logistics or energy efficiency, creating long-lived economic dead weight that either consumers or taxpayers will suffer over the long term or that diminish our comparative advantage in international trade, hurting GDP (the tax base), and the labor force -- with consequences reaching far beyond when the legislation is sunsetted.
So...this is an example of the federal government picking winners and losers. It is exactly what I expect from a big-government liberal GOP. They're mortgaging our future, robbing the next generation of opportunities because they hate children and are anti-family. (Never even mind that their leader wears so much bronzer and is so overweight that he resembles the golden calf and is literally a false idol.)

OP:

Because the OZs applied to specific areas, that’s the crux of the study of this policy.
If you’re interested to see what the tax cuts did for overall nationwide job and economic growth in general see this study by Harvard and Princeton economists https://oxfordtax.sbs.ox.ac.uk/tax-policy-and-investment-in-a-global-economy

me:

glanced through the one in the OP and they admit that it was too soon to draw any real conclusions, and personally my gripe is... why all the algorithms? why not compare *the same areas* before the policy was implemented and after? isnt that how we estimate things like annual deaths? makes a lot more sense and isnt so easily skewed and hidden behind algorithms that also rely heavily on the word "estimate"
anyway. looking at the follow up:

We then use establishment-level data to show that, in its first two years, the OZ designation increased employment growth relative to comparable tracts by between 3.0 and 4.5 percentage points in metropolitan areas. The job growth occurred in multiple industries and persisted into 2021 rather than quickly disappearing. However, most of the jobs created by the program were likely taken by residents that live outside of the designated tracts, consistent with only 5% of US residents working in the same Census tract as the one in which they live.

i havent read further yet though, brb
okay back

We provide a model showing that, if wages are fixed, a decrease in capital taxes can increase employment through increasing the number of establishments operating, by increasing employment at existing establishments, or both.

alright so... that doesnt really help? the problem isnt necessarily *no jobs* its *no jobs that pay anything close to a living wage*
ok brb
~45 mins later
the word "wage" appears 5 times in this paper, the word "income" appears 45 times. so of the 50 instances of those words, only one was in reference towards the outcomes of the people living in these areas. literally in the final paragraph:

Finally, we do not model the welfare effects of the OZ program. If the program increases residential rents, in contrast to what Chen, Glaeser, and Wessel (2019) find for home prices, there is a risk that low-income workers could be hurt by the program given the large share of their income they pay toward rent.11 If evidence emerges that the OZ program increased rents, analyzing the welfare consequences of the OZ legislation will be an important topic of future research.

ironic.
in this paper the word "wage" appears 14 times. the word "income" appears 53 times.
not once is that in reference towards the outcomes of the people effected by this policy.
in both papers, the word "income" is mentioned numerous times in reference towards the income of the "investors" however. unsurprisingly.
in the paper linked in the comment im replying to, the word "income" appears 111 times. i did not look through all of them. the word "wage" appears 23 times.
ill quote (out of context) the fourth and fifth instances and explain why afterwards:

The first main quantitative result from the model is a general equilibrium long-run increase in domestic corporate capital of 7.4%. To compute the general equilibrium increase, we solve jointly for the change in capital in each portfolio of firms and a representative non-C-corporate sector holding aggregate labor fixed, which results in a rise in the wage of roughly 0.9% as the capital stock increases.

hey theres the first and only reference to the actual _irl outcome for the people living in those areas: .9% wage growth. estimated.

We provide an envelope argument intuition for why even the long-run dynamic revenue effects remain small. Labor tax revenues also increase since the wage bill depends on the capital stock and generate additional revenue of nearly 15% of pre-TCJA corporate tax revenue by year 10.

i only quote that because... what wage bill? i can find no reference to a bill anywhere else in their paper.
anyway.
after this they do refer to wage outcomes more, but they also apply a bunch of algorithms and obfuscate the true data that im sure is much simpler than they are portraying. especially considering they continually refer to the outcomes for the "investors" - and when referring to actual definitive outcomes of wage growth for the people actually affected by this policy they do give a relatively stable number: .9%
so im honestly not going to read this too much further because all three papers dont seem to be overly concerned about the people who this policy was supposed to actually help. also i have a headache. i made a comment earlier today that pretty much summarizes my thoughts on this, which is actually just a quote from an article i found this morning:

"What if Sociologists Had as Much Influence as Economists?"
But as much as we love economics here — this column is named Economic View, after all — there just may be a downside to this one academic discipline having such primacy in shaping public policy. They say when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. And the risk is that when every policy adviser is an economist, every problem looks like inadequate per-capita gross domestic product.

you cant just throw money at a problem and make it go away. especially if youre not even throwing money at the problem and youre actually handing it to the people who caused the problem and telling them if they throw that money at the problem they can make lots of tax-free income from it.
like ill admit im not an economic policy expert. i hate numbers. i hate math. especially in the context of economics because it seems to be the math is used mainly to hide the corruption and the true affects of the massive inequality - or actually to hide that the massive inequality even exists despite the fact that *checks notes* i have eyes.
like the TLDR i got out of these papers is basically:

1. nobody knows if it actually helped anything, but the "investors" gained a lot of tax free income from it. probably. we're not really sure about that either.
2. the best estimates are it increased employment in those areas... probably. slightly. maybe
3. the people who took jobs in those areas dont actually live there
4. nobody cares about the **WAGES** (or physical/mental/financial wellbeing) of the people who live or work there, but if they did, the best estimate is wages increased about .9%
5. PROFIT!

edit:
lol left this post and the first post on my feed was another from this very subreddit, titled "US salaries are falling. Employers say compensation is just 'resetting'"
neat!
edit 2:
top comment:
Cost of living is higher than ever. Corporate profit higher than ever.
Corps: We need to lower salaries they are too high!
Our country is seriously sick. “An adjustment from salaries being high from the pandemic.” Laughable.
laughable indeed. well not really. its kinda not funny tbh

OP:

why not compare the same area before and after 

They do, just not to itself. Because of confounding variables you can’t just do a “before and after” to find causal proof of something. Its not an algorithm, more so study design
This paper isn’t about wages, it’s about the effects of OZs on job growth. It’s also not likely rents increases given a massive increase in supply

0.9% wage growth 

Economically significant.
I’m not going to reply to the rest but it appears you’re dismissing things you don’t fully understand such as their models and methods, “algorithms”.

me:

They do, just not to itself. Because of confounding variables you can’t just do a “before and after” to find causal proof of something. Its not an algorithm, more so study design

i mean thats fair i suppose. that part was from my initial comment before i deleted it, decided to come back later, then made some coffee and came back to it now.

This paper isn’t about wages, it’s about the effects of OZs on job growth.

okay. like i said:

alright so... that doesnt really help? the problem isnt necessarily *no jobs* its *no jobs that pay anything close to a living wage*

anyway

It’s also not likely rents increases given a massive increase in supply

not likely? hey copilot, whatchu got to say on that one?

copilot:

Let's delve into the rental market trends in the United States. Here's a snapshot of the current situation:

1. Annual Rental Price Growth:

• Rent prices are now 29.4% higher than they were before the pandemic.
• However, rental growth seems to have slowed down from the major spikes observed in 2021.
• In January 2024, rents are 3.4% higher than at the same time last year.
• The average growth in 2018 and 2019 was **4.1%**¹.

1. Average Rent Across the U.S.:

• The average rent across the U.S. currently stands at $1,958 per month.
• Rent prices have increased from a year ago in 47 out of the 50 biggest metro areas in the country.
• The highest rent increase is observed in Providence, R.I., with an annual increase of 7.7%.
• On the other hand, rent prices dropped in 16 of the biggest metro areas, with the biggest decline in Austin, Texas (-0.5%)¹.

1. Regional Variations:

• San Jose boasts the most expensive rental market, with an average rent of $3,177.
• It's followed by New York ($3,115 average rent) and Boston ($3,056 average rent)¹.

1. Single-Family vs. Multi-Family Rentals:

• Single-family home rentals continue to outpace multi-family rentals.
• Prices for single-family homes grew by 4.7% from the same time last year, while multi-family home rentals grew by 2.7%.
• This discrepancy is mainly due to a lack of single-family rental construction compared to multi-family apartments¹.

1. Affordability Challenges:

• More income is now required to afford rent. A person needs to make $78,304 annually to afford rent in January, paying about 30% of their income.
• This represents an increase of 29% since before the pandemic¹.

In summary, while rent prices have risen significantly since before the pandemic, the pace of growth has moderated. Regional variations persist, and affordability remains a challenge for many renters. Keep an eye on these trends as the rental market continues to evolve! 🏠📈
^{Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/7/2024 (1} Rental Market Trends in the U.S. - NerdWallet.) ^{https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/rental-market-trends. (2} Renting Statistics [2024]: Facts & Trends in Rental Market.) ^{https://ipropertymanagement.com/research/renting-statistics. (3} December 2023 Rent Report - Rent. Research.) ^{https://www.rent.com/research/average-rent-price-report/. (4} Rent Comparison Tool & Rental Market Trends Data - Zillow.) ^{https://www.zillow.com/rental-managemarket-trends/.}
---------------
anyway...

Economically significant.

insignificant. rent has increased 29% since before the pandemic and according to BLS, the average inflation rate between 2019 and today was 3.82% per year.
which i realize isnt exactly the same time period but... doesnt matter. most people in these areas make under $20/hr.
a .9% increase on $20 = $20.18/hr.

I’m not going to reply to the rest but it appears you’re dismissing things you don’t fully understand such as their models and methods, “algorithms”.

i might not fully understand the algorithms themselves but i fully understand bullshit when i see it - and thats bullshit meant to obfuscate the actual impact of the policies. or i guess maybe not obfuscate it, but i can definitively say whatever result theyre looking for aint what matters to the people the policy was supposedly supposed to help.
edit:
so even if we pretend the obviously high number that nobody in these areas comes close to making of $80k/year, a .9% raise would equate to... $720/year. $38.46/hr -> $38.80/hr. (assuming 40 hours + 52 weeks.)
math ≠ mathin

OP:

A job that doesn’t pay close to the living wage is better than no jobs that don’t pay close to the living wage, better to be employed than not. Regardless, it would be inaccurate - wages in 2019 were the highest ever.

rent 

You missed the point, this is why you don’t use AI when discussing these things. The paper here found that supply increases in these opportunity zones, which resulted in a null change in rent in these areas. What happened nationally isn’t relevant of course.

Rent has increased 29% 

Economic models consider real variables. It’s measuring real output /real investment and thus real wages. It does not matter what the inflation has been as this study predicts wages to rise in real terms.
Regardless, the overarching point wages increased more than they would have without the tax cuts - which is a certainly a positive.

me:

A job that doesn’t pay close to the living wage is better than no jobs that pay close to the living wage, better to be employed than not.

no. why dont you go work some literally pointless hard labor job for nothing?

Regardless, it would be inaccurate - wages in 2019 were the highest ever.

lol uwutm8

You missed the point, this is why you don’t use AI when discussing these things. The paper here found that supply increases in these opportunity zones, which resulted in a null change in rent in these areas. What happened nationally isn’t relevant of course.

i used AI because i have already looked into all of this so i basically just had it summarize things for me. your claims are objectively false.~~

Economic models real variables. It’s measuring real output /real investment and thus real wages. It does not matter what the inflation has been as this study predicts wages to rise 1% in real terms.~~

yeah we are done here after this because... just what even? you literally make no sense.
thanks for playing, goodbye

Hi Folks,
Just some random experiences to share from an EV shopper, nothing more. I've been wanting an EV since before my last car purchase - a new 2015 Subaru Crosstrek Limited - and feel that this year it'll happen. I was resisting Tesla but wanted to give it a fair tryout, primarily due to the pricing and advertised features.
I apologize if you disagree with any of my impressions or feel I got things wrong, as this is not meant to troll the sub and instead trying to be just another set of opinions for other shoppers. It seemed this was the most appropriate sub in which to post these thoughts.
Initially went on three 30 minute test drives of 2024 Model Y LR models with the larger tires. That helped me learn how to operate the car, because I feel you do need to learn Tesla-style interfaces, becoming smoother after practicing what you learn and getting deeper into the car's control options.
Then I rented a 2023 Model Y LR with 19" tires through Turo for three days this past week. I wanted to see how it would feel being my daily driver for mundane needs: errands, shopping, commuting, general transportation. It's a big change, going to an EV, and a Tesla is unique compared to other brand models I've tried. So, this was giving it a real-world spin.
. . .
Seating
The Model Y's driver's seat was comfortable enough, with a more heavily molded seating style. It had bolstering that kept thighs and lower+upper back relatively centered and secure. I wanted more lumbar adjustment, but it was OK as-is.
Unfortunately, it also gave me little room to avoid pressing on a long-term shoulder blade injury and easily triggered my related nerve pain issues. So I reclined the seat more than my usual amount and adjusted the steering wheel forward to increase my lean. This took some pressure off my shoulder injury, which helped a bit. In most other EVs I've driven, this wasn't much of a problem because the seats weren't pinning me in place quite so much - I could shift slightly as needed. The Tesla felt more like being in a gamer's chair style to me.
Position adjustments were easily done via standard controls on the side of the seat. I heard that they can be remembered for each person's phone key, which is a great feature if so.
Heating was effective and easily controlled, once you learn how to control it in the big display.
The rear seats were OK with large knee room. A bigger+taller guest tried out the rear passenger seat and easily fit without adjustments. The ability to recline rear seats seemed a benefit for trying to sleep on trips.
That said, the rear seating was also molded style and some passengers felt it was too confining and intrusive for casual resting or just laying back.
Everyone complained about the hard, highly forward-leaning headrests. Everyone. I learned on YouTube how to take those out and adjust them, if desired, so I don't think they would be a problem.
Steering
The steering wheel is chunky and I generally like that feel. But the palm-facing edge is a bit long and did cause fatigue in the thumb creases of my palms after driving for more than 15 minutes at a time. Not terribly, but I would have preferred a more rounded and less contoured shape.
Standard mode steering is heavy in that there was a great deal of center pull. I eventually settled on Comfort mode, which was a little better for everyday travel in suburban or city driving.
Steering wheel adjustments up/down and in/out were easy enough, once you learn how to activate such changes in the big display and related thumbwheels.
The steering wheel heating feature is effective and easily adjusted, once you learn how to access it in the big display.
Visibility
By the last day of my rental - and even after three prior test drives - I finally started to feel out boundaries of the car when it came to parking and going around corners. Raising my seat height helped a bit and the built-in camera views were generally helpful, but sometimes misleading.
That is, I did find that the graphics on the screen when parking were hit-and-miss, in that warnings were sometimes offered when I still had good clearance next to a curb while pulling in from an angle, etc. It was confusing until I learned to ignore the information given and just go by what I saw through windows and cameras.
The hood dropoff in front is extreme and I could not see the front end of the car, so learned to estimate where it was by my final day of renting.
I generally appreciated the radar-like view of objects around me, it was informative and I caught myself looking there first for nearby cars after awhile, before checking through the rearview mirror or side windows. In general, it provides good information about your surroundings, which was appreciated because the rear window is relatively small and the view through the rearview mirror makes things feel about twice the distance away than things really happen to be.
Automatic side-view cameras with turning signals is extremely helpful.
The side mirrors can be adjusted fine (once you figure out how to activate them in the big display), but they are relatively smaller than I'm used to and again made objects appear smaller+farther away.
Window visibility was fine except for the small. angled rear window.
Styling
The exterior is contemporary and subtle in how the rear fenders swell, giving it a subtly stylish but somewhat generic look with some inherent heft. Even though it's not a style I personally identify with, it's fine for what it is.
The interior styling is has rather spare, contemporary styling, as well. Again, not my style but I learned to ignore it and move on.
The steering wheel and big center display are your areas of focus in the car. There are subtly marked door lock, door opener and storage opening points, but they are subdued and don't stand out. The left and right stalks are chunky and blend in to the dashboard due to coloring, mostly.
Its hatch design gives it something of a "fat behind" impression, but it's not oblong.
Ride
It's a tight suspension, but also unrefined in my view. That is, you can have a tighter performance setup and still be able to lean into turns, follow bumps without losing the back end and generally be fun to drive in both twisty roads while maintaining stability on highway stretches. My Audi A4 (six cylinder) had a nice balance of those characteristics and, strangely enough, my Crosstrek with an STi anti-sway bar kit has a decent combination of different worlds in an unassuming package.
The Model Y Long Range on 19" wheels is a bit more forgiving of uneven road surfaces than the larger wheels, IMHO. Still, they each felt super tight in the suspension, with more feedback through the car body than steering wheel, without actually leaning into or hugging turns that I could feel. Perhaps Tesla is trying for a super-neutral feel, as it did not offer much in the way of feeling out dynamics between the body and suspension through a turn, so I had to control it as if playing a video game - all visual.
Road imperfections cause minor bumping and body-accentuated noise at most times, but sometimes led to larger rumbling and changes in cabin air pressure.
On that point, I and my passengers experienced noticeable pressure in our ears and sinuses at seemingly random times while riding at least 40MPH, usually in combination with a feeling of rumbling in the cabin and not always when driving on rough pavement. It was as if the rear windows were both open at highway speeds and we were being buffeted by the wind/pressure, but all windows and doors were closed and it wasn't always faster speeds where this condition cropped up.
I recall reading somewhere that the above symptoms are known and might be fixed with a hatch adjustment, but don't recall specifics. I did notice that the hatch of this car did not appear perfectly centered in the rear, if that is at all related. The pressure/rumbling symptom led one of my passengers - who can easily get vertigo - to become very nauseous on their one ride of mixed local+highway, plus it led to me getting dizzy with some headache strain during one of my commutes.
On the highway, the car has more bumping+rumbling than I expected but is acceptable. As implied above, it doesn't track intuitively for me on turns but is easy enough to manage. I actually had to use more effort than expected to keep it steady in lanes at speed, it kept wanting to make its own path + the steering had that heavy tendency to pull back towards center. Instead of little adjustments to stay steady in a lane, I had to work against the car's center pull to avoid inner lane wandering - it's not bad, just a different dynamic to learn.
Around town, it's a decent car for the suburbs. Turning is not graceful and often feels understeered despite acting oversteered in effect, but it works OK once you get used to the dynamics. We have to learn the ins and outs of driving new cars, this is no different in that regard.
There were strange rattles from unexpected places (e.g., windshield visor) when travelling over some bumps at times, I couldn't tell if that was the car or things that the owner left in storage areas for some of them.
Sort of funny, I drove my Crosstrek today on the usual work commute and got the sense its ride was comfortable but still responsive (again, I've added a little bit of stability help from the STi model). Then I realized it was because the Model Y felt so much harder in the ride over three days and I was inherently noticing the difference after switching back. I've never thought of my Crosstrek as having a particularly soft ride, just a stable one.
Performance
So, I've owned and driven faster + torquey ICE cars in the past, but in the later half of my life have decided that I really don't need acceleration or raw power to have a fun, safe or satisfying drive. When younger, I relied too much on having power available, nowadays it's only proactive and assertive defensive driving for me.
The Model Y LR in Standard pedal mode can really pull in an instant, so I quickly learned not to do that. Although I became smoother with the car in Standard mode, I found that Chill has a wider range for adjusting your speed and was just easier to be smooth in everyday driving. I like the option to switch, once you figure out how to configure it on the big display.
Its regenerative braking feels aggressive and definitely took practice to avoid my usual manner of modulating the accelerator in ICE cars (i.e., I rarely brake until needed, usually adjust my speed and that's where being proactive with nearby traffic comes into play.) It's actually kind of tiring on longer highway stretches to keep the Modely Y pedal constant, because the accelerator modulation I use in ICE cars helps keep speed relatively constant and smooth in accel/decel changes, but also relieves strain in doing so. With the Model Y, any layoff on the pedal will immediately brake - so, you have to keep your foot pressing down at constant pressure the entire stretch of highway. I can see where driving assist features can weigh in here nicely, but it's one feature area that I didn't test.
However, I really like its one-pedal operation for traffic, slower roads and suburbs or cities. You can drive very smoothly in stop-and-go driving with the single pedal, it was a very good experience in the Tesla and really highlighted a driving experience benefit of its regen braking setup, IMHO.
Economy and Charging
My home charger isn't setup yet - I haven't finalized my first EV choice yet, so am installing a Tesla Universal wall unit that has the best of both connector worlds.
And it was raining heavily for the first two days of my rental, so I didn't want to use an external charger in those conditions if not needed.
I visited a Supercharger site on the final day, so that I could return the car with a reasonable amount of charge. I couldn't figure out where to add a charging stop in the Tesla mobile app's navigation UI, so planned my trip through the car's big display interface. It was easy enough to figure out on my own (after a few tries) and it gave me confidence in showing what to expect as I got closer to my chosen charger site. Seeing the battery preconditioning message when I was closer to the charging location offered even more confidence in Tesla knowing what they were doing.
When I arrived at the Supercharger location, which was next to a hotel, two other cars were in place with plenty of other spaces available. I backed into the stall at one end, used the Tesla app to open the port door (even though I know you can do that with the charger handle), pulled out the charger cable and connected. Blue blinking led to yellow blinking (actually green, is my understanding - I'm colorblind) and then it started charging in earnest. I set the max to 80% in the app and by the time I was back in the car, it was already charging at 140kW.
We hear so much about Tesla's charging infrastructure advantage and it's real, IMHO: but that extends to their navigation with trip planning, battery preconditioning, car + Supercharger handshakes, caapp display of status and even integration with your account for payment. That's a lot of integration points and Tesla manages it very well, IMHO.
I just chilled in the car by exploring more features in the big display, made a couple phone calls and then it was just about done. 30 minutes to go from ~30-80% charge, nice and easy. Sort of expensive, but still less than gasoline for the same range while also relaxing, with no fumes, etc. Waiting for your charge is not a bad thing, people could learn to appreciate relaxing at points during a drive, IMHO.
Other Teslas had arrived by the time I left, it was like a little social club where everyone was together, but nobody was talking and instead looking at their own phones - like my kids with their friends.
Usability and feel
If aliens came to Earth and someone described a passenger automobile to them, well, that's what the Model Y feels like. The interface requires some learning if you only know traditional ICE interfaces and I purposefully repeated "once you figure out how to X on the big display" above because that's the reality of driving this car: all status information and most controls are through that single display. It's a sea change and you can get used to it, but it takes practice to get muscle memory down and not impact your safety if changes are needed while on the road. I definitely recommend going through the UI before driving, especially looking for common things you would use before getting on the road (e.g., climate controls, audio, phone, etc.)
The app's ability to control the car, plan trips, obtain service, buy things, etc. is impressive - they did a very nice job there. I've heard its better than for other brands and can see why, if that's truly the case. I got used to controlling the car's features, checking status and all while in the house or office, it was natural.
Inside the car, adjusting controls by point and click is funny - you select something, such as side mirrors - in the UI and then use the common control wheels in the steering wheel to change their values. That's the most generic interface possible and less direct than manual controls, but it works consistently.
The ability to place your own function choices on the bottom row of the top screen is a good idea and can mitigate issues with navigating through levels of clicks in the display to adjust on the fly.
At the end of the day, you can learn to drive and control this car through a big, central display. It works. But it's not ideal, I feel: combining status and controls away from the center of the driver's view is unintuitive and seems more about cost-cutting than anything else.
It would seem far more usable for status to remain in front of the driver and controls to stay in the big display to the driver's side. Tesla's UI does a reasonably good job of changing view modes up, so that you can see what you need either authomatically (based on the driving situation) or after some clicks and swipes, but it's still a busy UI that combines status and controls into a single space that's off to the side. I didn't like that model in daily use, but was able to use it well enough.
Using the larger font helped, because I'm far-sighted and the regular font size was very difficult to read. Unfortunately, my neck began to hurt on the second day with the Model Y because of turning my head to the right so regularly (i.e., it impacts some existing nerve damage) - if status information was directly in front, that would not have been triggered.
The "radar"-like view and side cameras while turning, quick option to see all or some cameras, etc. made awareness around me relatively easy without looking through windows. It felt like a safety issue to keep looking at a display instead of through the usual windows, but I learned to trust the cameras a bit more after feeling out what each view represented. There are limits to camera-only viewing, especially while parking, so I learned to use it as a supplemental view in most cases.
This car is not very graceful, but changing the pedal and steering wheel modes made it easier to drive in my style. I wanted an ultra-comfort steering mode, but oh well.
The turn signal stalk pissed me off more than anything else in the car! I like a light-to-medium weight stalk feel and do signal quite often during any given drive. Most ICE cars have such a feel, as well as other EVs I've driven.
In the Model Y, if you press the stalk up/down with medium pressure, the signal goes off after three blinks (at least with its standard setting) - I almost never use only three blinks, because I signal well before actually turning.
So, you need to put more force and a longer throw into the turning stalk for the signal to be enabled in constant mode - that required far more pressure than I have ever used in a car (and trucks!) before, it was entirely distracting for me. And I've had arthritis for decades, so it actually caused discomfort by the end of the day. The turning stalk was the only part of the car that I felt truly sucked. Well, auto wiper mode too, but I used the manual speeds just fine.
I didn't realize there was a glove compartment until after accidentally finding its control in the UI. Maybe that's for valet-like security reasons? Perhaps they consider the center armrest storage area to be your everyday needs area, with the glove compartment for less frequently-used items.
Still, the center storage areas were too open-ended and needed organizers.
The phone wireless charger area barely fit my Google Pixel 8 Pro with Otterbox Defender case, it was a super tight fit. So I put my phone sideways over the charging spots and it threatened to fall off at times.
The rear hatch did not close properly on two occassions, I had to push down to make it latch.
Opening doors with a button press is interesting and I tried to press a nonexistent button in an ICE car after dropping off the Tesla, realizing how quickly I got used to it.
The outer door handles were likely flush for aerodynamic reasons, so I can't complain about their two-step design for opening a door.
Sales experience
I was entirely misled on pricing by a Tesla Sales Rep who called me after my second test drive. He offered a discount on the price of a configuration we discussed and I asked if that was out-the-door pricing - he said yes, twice. Turns out he lied or was not understanding, because when I visited the link he sent for my target car build, it included $3600 off for an estimated $1200/year savings over three years against gas prices - but that was not off the purchase price. This turned out to be a standard Tesla marketing tactic to grab eyeballs, but he said in the call that it represented a "discount" that applied to out-the-door pricing when we talked and I had no visuals in front of me as a reference at the time.
So, I told them that it really made me lose trust in Tesla's ability to make a deal, then he went onto autopilot by asking when we would make the sale happen over the next two weeks, until I complained to him about being tone-deaf and reading from a script. Then I provided very clear, negative feedback about that sales experience to Tesla from a survey request they sent me. He actually apologized a week later and then went back into autopilot sales mode.
I've since been browsing inventory on my own, bypassing the Reps. Their representation of that anticipated gas price savings has since changed in their marketing, it's now more obvious. Kind of a coincidence, maybe other people have complained, too.
TLDR

• I'm still shopping for my first EV, the Model Y is at a reasonable price-point that it couldn't be ignored.
• Impressive technology, great use of it for enabling driver awareness of their surroundings.
• Top-notch navigation and charging experiences, which are also nicely integrated.
• Tesla requires learning their different driving and controls experience, but you can get the basics down easily and refine your skills over time. It doesn't stop you from driving the car on Day 1.
• Lack of separating status from controls in the UI seems not ideal and caused physical issues for me.
• Physical comfort (for me) is on the negative side, but not extremely so.
• The car has an unrefined, hard ride but is sort of acceptable.
• Usability has pluses and minuses, almost equally so.
• Marketing and sales experience was sour, but I found going on your own bypasses the bs - their online buying experience is very smooth.
• Pricing reflects that this is a premium EV, mostly due to the strong tech and charging network. Other aspects don't feel consistently premium and need further refinement - perhaps that's what Juniper will start to offer.
  • It's not the top of my EV choice list, but may be a backup option due to pricing.