Tout a commencé sur Discord. Nous étions sur un serveur dédié à un jeu en ligne parmi des allemands en majorité, mais aussi des américains, turques, italiens et j’en passe. J’ai fais le premier pas. Elle est allemande, je suis français. Elle vient d’avoir 18 ans, j’en ai 23. Elle était dépressive, j’étais dans un gouffre, sans emploi mais je tenais debout. Nous nous déclarons vite en couple entre nous. 500km nous séparaient. Je refusais catégoriquement que l’on s’appelle en FaceTime car je tenais à garder la flamme de la première rencontre, découvrir sa manière de sourire, de parler avec son corps, l’expression de ses yeux. Nous échangions simplement des photos de nos visages. Elle était jolie, très belle.
Je l’ai bloquée à deux reprises sans crier gare pour diverses raisons. Premièrement, je ne savais pas où tout ça nous menait, et la différence d’âge me faisait culpabiliser. La distance, aussi, m’effrayait. Et elle avait fait preuve de mensonge et de presque infidélité en laissant un italien flirter avec elle, me dénigrant aussi lorsque je n’avais pas assez de temps pour elle. Elle avait laissé entendre sur le serveur qu’elle irait daté une fille prochainement (elle est bi). Mais je suis toujours revenu car elle me courait après et faisait des promesses qui ne m’ont pas laissé indifférent. Je pensais, et en suis persuadé aujourd’hui, qu’elle avait une sorte de dépendance émotionnelle. Elle m’avait fait part de ses traits borderline. Elle voyait une psy.
Au bout de six mois, nous organisons une rencontre. La veille au soir, j’ai été tenté de faire semblant de louper mon train et mettre un terme à tout ça. Malgré tout, et sous nuit blanche, je me retrouve dans un train en direction de l’Allemagne. Je n’ai jamais été à l’étranger, et je suis rempli d’à prioris infondés sur l’Allemagne et les allemands, et leur langue. Je me disais que peu importe l’issue de cette rencontre, j’aurais au moins voyagé un peu et vécu un truc après six mois reclus dans mon 15m2.
Le voyage commence. C’est long, si long. La frontière passée, la voix du train crache des messages en allemand. Je me dis que ça sonne pas si mal, l’allemand. C’est même plutôt beau, mais il va falloir m’y faire. J’arrive à destination. Elle m’attend là, sur le quai. Je suis dans un film. Nous sommes le 7 avril 2022, il fait froid, elle est emmitouflée dans une épaisse écharpe grise. Et ce jour-là, pour couronner la journée déjà bien clichée eau de rose, le ciel nous inflige une pluie torrentielle. Son petit nez est écarlate à cause du froid. J’aime beaucoup son petit nez qui pointe un peu vers le côté. Les allemands ne faisant pas la bise mais plutôt une accolade (j’avais bien demandé avant de venir pour ne pas avoir de quiproquo), nous sommes terriblement gênés, et nous arrivons à balbutier un petit bonjour et je lance les formalités, savoir si elle va bien, si elle m’attend depuis longtemps sur le quai. Même si en fait, on s’est échangé des messages tout du long.
Elle rougit quand je parle. Ses joues se fondent avec la couleur de son nez. Ses yeux pétillent. Et elle sourit bêtement. Je donnerais tout pour revoir ce sourire et ce regard. Tu étais magnifique. Nous allons dans un supermarché pour acheter quelque chose à grignoter avant de partir chez elle. Elle est si perturbée par ma présence qu’elle trébuche un peu partout, tandis que moi, je cache ma timidité par des blagues nulles. Il y avait cette marque de pâtes et autres produits alimentaires du nom de « Ja ». Je lis bêtement et à plusieurs reprises le nom avec un accent allemand caricatural. En espérant la détendre. Ça la fait rire. Je vois bien qu’elle est presque tétanisée. Mais je me dis que c’est bon signe. Dans le bus, dans un élan naturel, je pose ma main sur sa cuisse. Trop rapide, me direz-vous, mais elle est ma petite amie à ce moment-là et elle me partagera plus tard son bonheur indescriptible de sentir ma main se poser sur sa cuisse. Nous arrivons chez elle trempés jusqu’aux os. Elle vit chez ses parents. Son frère est là, ses parents arrivent plus tard et me reçoivent très bien. Sa mère parle un peu d’anglais, son père est plutôt silencieux de nature, chose que je constaterai au fil du temps. Elle a deux chiens. Un tout petit terrier, femelle, du nom de Cocco. Elle m’aime déjà beaucoup. L’autre, une sorte de bâtard mi-berger allemand mi-je-ne-sais-quoi, manque de me mordre à ma venue. Il déteste les étrangers. Une fois arrivés elle me montre la chambre dans laquelle je dormirai. Ses parents pensent que je ne suis qu’un ami français, un truc platonique. Elle avait installé sa Xbox dans cette pièce pour que nous puissions utiliser Netflix à deux. Au moment où elle sort de cette chambre, je la tire doucement par la manche de son sweat gris. Elle se retourne et m’interroge du regard. Et je la prends dans mes bras. C’est plus fort que moi, ça fait six mois que je peux enfin sentir son poids contre moi et je suis déjà amoureux. La rencontre a décuplé le sentiment. Nous nous enlaçons et restons là pendant 2 longues minutes. Je hume ses cheveux, son cou.
J’étais sensé rester quelques jours. Je suis finalement resté deux semaines. Deux semaines magiques desquelles je suis revenu avec quelques mots d’allemand en tête, un sentiment d’amour comme je n’en ai jamais ressenti depuis mes 18 ans, et une envie viscérale de rester là-bas.

📣🦁 Discover the Enigmatic Merlion in Singapore! 🇸🇬✨
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Hey, Redditors! Are you ready for an unforgettable adventure? 🌍✈️ Let us introduce you to the mesmerizing Merlion, the iconic symbol of Singapore! 🦁🌊
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The Merlion is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, representing the harmony between land and sea. This majestic statue stands tall at the mouth of the Singapore River, captivating visitors from all around the world.
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Here's how the Merlion in Singapore can make your trip extraordinary:
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1️⃣ Captivating Views: Climb to the top of Merlion Park and soak in the breathtaking panoramic views of the cityscape and Marina Bay Sands. 🌆🌃
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2️⃣ Unforgettable Photo Ops: Take a selfie with the iconic Merlion as it spouts a majestic stream of water. 📸🌊 Share your amazing shots with the Reddit community and watch the likes pour in!
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3️⃣ Cultural Significance: Dive into Singapore's rich heritage and learn about the mythological origins of the Merlion, symbolizing courage, strength, and prosperity. 🏛️📚
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4️⃣ Explore Sentosa Island: Visit the larger Merlion statue on Sentosa Island, where you'll find thrilling attractions, stunning beaches, and world-class entertainment options. 🎢🏖️
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5️⃣ Vibrant Neighborhood: Immerse yourself in the bustling neighborhood surrounding the Merlion Park, brimming with local shops, delicious street food, and lively markets. 🛍️🍜
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Don't miss out on the chance to experience the magic of the Merlion and Singapore! Plan your trip today and make lasting memories in this captivating city. 🗺️✨ Share your Merlion adventures with the Reddit community using the hashtag #MerlionSG!
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🌐 Learn more about the Merlion and plan your trip at https://www.indianholiday.com/international-tours/singapore/merlion.html. See you in Singapore soon! 🇸🇬😊 #VisitSingapore #TravelGoals

General Info

Pickup Location: Bentley Park Subdivision, Antipolo City, Rizal
Mode of Payment: Gcash / Bank Transfer (UnionBank / BPI / Maya) / Cash
Available for Pickup or Shipping only. Please read more about the shipping details in the "Notes" section.
- - For shipping orders, you must pay first before receiving the item/s.
- - For pickup orders, we can meet at the said location and do the transaction there.
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Items

Here is the link to the list of items for sale:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZC439DgpqkXWF8egRi4DtEoZELoZl7frzaVyeAKYROY/edit?usp=sharing
Inside, you will see sheet tabs with the names of each category: Electronics, Furniture, Appliance, Clothing&Acc, General, Giveaways
By going through each tab, you will see items listed as follows:
Item Code / Item Name / Description / Status¹ / Original Price² / Current Market Price³ / Offer Price⁴ / Photo Link / Price Reference
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Commission

Get a Commission if you help me sell⁵
Items that cost 100 - 500 Pesos: Fixed 50 Pesos Commission
Items that cost 501 - 1000 Pesos: Fixed 100 Pesos Commission
Items that cost greater than 1000 Pesos: Commission equivalent to 10% of Sell Price
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Notes:

¹ Status will indicate whether the item is still available or is already sold.
² Original Price: Items that have no value in their original price mean that I cannot remember the price or find the receipt anymore.
³ Current Market Price is aligned with the lowest market price being sold by the brand itself or by their authorized resellers based on my research.
- - If you find a much lower market price than what is listed, please post the link in the comments section so that everyone can verify it and then I can change the price accordingly.
- - If there is no value in the current market price, it might mean that the item is phased out, or is considered antique, or is listed in bulk.
⁴ Offer Price is exclusive of shipping fee. The buyer will shoulder the shipping fee (except for bulk-buy orders as stated in the "P.P.S." section below).
- - You can comment your counteroffer below. I will only accept reasonable and logical counteroffers.
⁵ Commissions can be stacked or accumulated. Commissions will be paid to the referrer once I receive the payment of the buyer.
Giveaways are only eligible for people who buy at least one item. This may change as the sale progresses.
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Other Notes:

I will be updating the google sheet file to reflect which items have been already sold or if there are any other necessary changes.
You can check it every now and then because I'll be inputting more items each day and probably mark-down items randomly.
Please be patient if I take too long to reply to your inquiry because I'm also in the process of inputting more info about the items, taking pictures, and sorting out which items need to be disposed of.
Take note that the highest bidder and the first to make a deal will always win.
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Reasons for selling:

- My mother and I recently transferred to a smaller apartment. We need to declutter to be able to live comfortably.
- We will use the proceeds to acquire the necessary equipment, ingredients, and packaging to kickstart our business of selling custard tarts.
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P.S.

It would be great if you upvote this post so that it will be more visible.
I'm hoping to sell/declutter all of these before June 30, 2023, as I plan to focus more on the business in July.
Once I dispose of everything, I will make a separate post about offering a free taste of my signature custard tart.
- - The custard tarts are not the traditional ones you see being sold in the Philippines or around the world.
- - Mine have a crispier crust and a creamier custard center (if you eat them hot) which is not too sweet but still full of flavor.
- - Another distinguishing factor is that my custarts (yes, I call them that) have a relatively low calorie count by weight compared to the traditional ones, or to other well-known snacks/desserts like donuts and cakes.
- - The quantity/scale of the free taste will depend on the proceeds of this sale. I'm looking to give away 100+ pieces of custard tarts if I am able to get 60k pesos or more from this sale this June.
- - This is my way to thank fellow redditors for helping me with this strenuous activity of mass decluttering.
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P.P.S.

Do you know someone who is willing to bulk buy 100+ unused, and preloved items for 80,000 pesos? (inclusive of free shipping!)
Get an 8,000-peso commission if you refer me to the person and we settle for a transaction.
The buyer also has the option to bulk-pick specific items and we'll just lower the special price and commission accordingly depending on how many he/she will get.
Take note that the said special price is inclusive of free shipping wherein the items are securely packed in new balikbayan boxes and are delivered to your home through a truck (for metro manila people or kung hanggang saan man kayang magdeliver yung truck).
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For your reference, all of the items are cumulatively worth 200,000+ pesos (see the spreadsheet for proof. you can also countercheck the current market prices of brand-new items and compare them to the marked-down prices of my items.)
I am offering a special price of 80,000 pesos for all these items because it is much more convenient for me and would eliminate all of the burden of going through multiple transactions.
The buyer would ultimately save 120,000+ pesos.
Take note that the said special price may change depending on if some items are already bought or if I would put more items for sale.
Please just check the comments section and/or the spreadsheet for the updated prices.
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You can offer this to a couple on a budget who recently acquired a home and are looking to buy well-kept furniture, appliances, electronics, and clothing with a huge discount.
You can also simply buy these wholesale and re-sell them individually for a higher price and ultimately make a profit.
There may be many more people you know who might need this bulk sale. Just don't be afraid to approach and offer these to them.
Isipin mo, may commission ka na, nakatulong ka pa (at syempre makakakuha ka rin ng free taste ng custard tarts ko - see the "P.S." section for more info).

J'ai été forcé par des circonstances familiales de prendre une bourse qui m'a permis de faire un programme de 6 ans pour devenir enseignant d'une langue étrangère. Après ces études, j'ai passé 4 ans à travailler (en raison des termes du contrat de bourse) un travail que je déteste. Je voulais faire une reconversion professionnelle et j'ai réussi à obtenir un Master en communication. Il s'avère que les postes intéressants, pas si mal payés sont tous groupés sans les grandes villes et en plus avec le Covid à l'époque, le domaine à été saturé donc impossible de trouver du travail. J'ai essayé de basculer vers le marketing et la vente (avec un autre master) et j'ai passé 2 ans dans la gestion de la relation client et j'adore le métier mais j'avais un manager toxique suite auquel j'ai dû démissionner à cause des problèmes de santé mentale causés par ses harcèlements. J'ai réalisé que pour pouvoir travailler dans le CRM/CSM, il fallait soit que je déménage dans une plus grande ville, soit accepter une réduction de salaire d'au moins 15 000 euros par rapport à ce que je gagne aujourd'hui. J'ai de l'expérience dans la vente, mais je n'aime pas devoir baser ma performance au travail uniquement sur les chiffres que j'apporte à l'entreprise. Je m'intéresse à la gestion de projet, mais mes intitulés de poste antécédents ne me permettraient jamais de décrocher un poste de chef de projet, même si j'ai géré quelques projets tout au long de ma carrière. Comment sortir de ce cycle ? Quelles certifications pourraient aider?
Merci à tous pour votre réponse.

Selling a used bike can be a great way to make some extra cash or upgrade to a new model. To maximize your profit, there are a few key steps you should take when selling your used bike.

1. Clean and Maintain Your Bike: Before selling your bike, take the time to thoroughly clean and maintain it. This includes washing the frame, wheels, and drivetrain, as well as checking the brakes and gears to ensure they are working properly. A clean and well-maintained bike will attract more buyers and command a higher price.
2. Determine a Fair Price: Research the current market value of similar used bikes to determine a fair price for your own. You can check online marketplaces like eBay or Craigslist, or consult with local bike shops or cycling enthusiasts. Be sure to take into account the condition of your bike, its age, and any modifications or upgrades you have made.
3. Take High-Quality Photos: When advertising your bike for sale, be sure to take high-quality photos that show off its best features. Take photos from multiple angles, including the front, side, and back, as well as close-ups of any notable components or features.
4. Write a Detailed Description: In addition to photos, provide a detailed description of your bike in your listing. Include information on the make and model, size, year, and any modifications or upgrades you have made. Be honest about the bike’s condition and any flaws or issues it may have.
5. Advertise Your Bike: Once you have your listing prepared, it’s time to advertise your bike for sale. Post your listing on online marketplaces like eBay or Craigslist, as well as on cycling forums or social media groups. Consider also advertising locally by posting flyers at bike shops or posting a sign in your front yard.
6. Be Available to Answer Questions: Once you start receiving inquiries about your bike, be available to answer any questions potential buyers may have. Be honest and transparent about the bike’s condition and history, and provide additional photos or information as needed.
7. Arrange a Safe and Convenient Meeting: When meeting with potential buyers, be sure to choose a safe and convenient location. Meet in a public place, such as a park or bike trail, and avoid meeting at your home or in a remote location. Always bring a friend or family member with you, and consider meeting during daylight hours.
8. Negotiate and Close the Deal: When negotiating with potential buyers, be willing to compromise to reach a fair price. Be prepared to provide a bill of sale and transfer ownership paperwork if necessary. Once the deal is finalized, collect payment and arrange for pickup or delivery of the bike.

By following these steps, you can maximize your profit when selling your used bike. With a little effort and patience, you can find a buyer who will appreciate your bike and pay you a fair price for it.

Selling a bike can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it can also be challenging and potentially dangerous if not done correctly. There are several things you can do to ensure a safe and successful sale of your bike. In this article, we will discuss the safest ways to sell a Used bike in Bagalore

• Prepare your bike for sale

Before you put your bike up for sale, it is essential to ensure that it is in good condition. Take the time to clean and polish it, check the tires, brakes, and oil levels, and address any issues that may need to be fixed. A well-maintained bike is more attractive to potential buyers and can help you get a better price.

• Set a fair price

Setting a fair price is crucial when selling a bike. Research the market value of similar bike in your area and price yours accordingly. Be prepared to negotiate, but don't let yourself be lowballed. Remember that your bike has value, and you deserve to get a fair price for it.

• Advertise your bike

When advertising your bike, be sure to use multiple platforms, such as online classifieds, social media, and bike forums. Take high-quality photos and write a detailed description of your bike, including its features, mileage, and condition. This will help potential buyers get a good idea of what they are looking at and what they can expect if they decide to purchase it.

• Be cautious when dealing with potential buyers

When dealing with potential buyers, it is essential to be cautious. If possible, meet in a public place, such as a parking lot or bike dealership, and bring a friend or family member with you. Never meet with a potential buyer alone, especially if you do not know them.
If a potential buyer wants to take your bike for a test drive, ask to see their bike license and proof of insurance before handing over the keys. You can also accompany them on the test drive to ensure that they are not reckless or irresponsible with your bike.

• Finalize the sale safely

Once you have found a buyer and agreed on a price, it is essential to finalize the sale safely. Never accept a personal check or wire transfer as payment. Instead, ask for cash or a cashier's check, which can be verified by the bank. Be sure to sign over the title and bill of sale, and keep a copy of both for your records.
It is also a good idea to remove any personal items from the bike before handing it over to the buyer, such as your registration or insurance card. This will help prevent identity theft and other fraudulent activity.

• Consider using a bike dealer or broker

If you are not comfortable with the process of selling yourbikeyourself, consider using a bike dealer or broker. They can handle the entire process for you, from preparing the bikefor sale to finding a buyer and finalizing the sale. While they will take a commission or fee for their services, this can be a safer and more convenient option for some sellers.
In conclusion, selling a bike can be a fun and exciting experience, but it is important to do it safely. By preparing your bike for sale, setting a fair price, advertising it widely, being cautious when dealing with potential buyers, finalizing the sale safely, and considering using a dealer or broker, you can ensure a safe and successful sale of your bike.

I just had my honeymoon (originally scheduled for Jun 2020). My wife and I are in our early thirties. It’s my wife’s first time in japan while it’s my fourth. I’ve benefitted immensely from stalking Tokyo travel reddit and would like to return the favour. I’ll provide some of my tips and observations to the end (skip to the end if the itinerary doesn’t interest you), some of which I think haven’t been mentioned before.
Thank God pretty much everything went to plan, and my wife thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We spent 12 days in Japan, most of it in Tokyo and 2 nights in Kawaguchiko. Many people were surprised to know that we’d be spending most of our trip in Tokyo, but I thought it was just fine because Tokyo had a lot to offer. My wife and I aren’t big on visiting shrines or ticking tourist hotspots off a checklist. We don’t shop much, but we did a lot of it simply because it’s Japan and we bought lots of quality-of-life items (not fashion) for ourselves and others. Given how much my wife really enjoyed the trip, I think others with similar interests could find something helpful too.
Pre-trip planning

• It was out first leisure trip in years, and my wife's first trip to Japan. I wanted to show her my favourite parts of Japan, and took months trawling through reddit posts and trip reports, watching youtube videos, and just soaking in all the things before deciding on an itinerary that I thought my wife would enjoy. It was almost exclusively planned by me, and I would consult my wife along the way.
• Other than the hotel & flights, I booked the highway express bus to Kawaguchiko one week prior.
• Decided on the airport limousine bus to bring us from the airport to the city a few days prior.
• Studio Ghibli tickets booked one month in advance. There's a good guide available on reddit already. International tickets were quickly sold out, so we used a free VPN to get onto the Japanese site which had more tickets & timings available. Simply Google translate the entire page.
• Booked a cooking class on cookly months prior.
• Did Visit Japan QR two days prior. It takes some time, so do it earlier rather than later.
• Added all places of interests in a Google list, and all food places in another Google list. I tried the custom Google maps at first but didn’t feel the UI was easy to navigate.
• Planned itinerary based on location proximity, and also highlighted parts that were interchangeable in case we wanted to switch it up (which we did).

Planning during the trip

• The Google maps foods list was always just for consideration: if we had time or were craving something. We didn't hard-code food places into our daily plans. But when food was the primary activity (e.g. visiting Tsukiji market), we'd determine to visit particular food stalls. Otherwise, just needed to do a cursory Google review check on whether a random food place is worth eating it. As a principle, we didn't want to spend time queuing >20m for food.
• I'd plan the next day's itinerary the night before, considering fatigue, interest, and proximity. I would create a brand new Google maps list for the next day, including potential food places.

Day 0 (Wed) 17 May - Arrival at Haneda Airport to hotel in Shinjuku
Arrived in Haneda late, about 11pm. Clearance was quick but baggage took 30mins. As I wouldn't make my stipulated airport limousine timing, I had no choice but to cancel my airport limousine and take the metro to our hotel in Shinjuku. I tried Apple wallet’s Suica at first. It worked seamlessly but I felt that a physical metro card was just faster so I eventually switched over. We reached after midnight, so do let your hotel know in advance if you anticipate arriving at odd hours.
Day 1 (Thurs) - Shinjuku exploration
Originally planned to visit Tsukiji on day 1, but given that we arrived late the previous night, agreed with my wife to change the plan and spend the first day doing the Shinjuku itinerary.

• Walked to a popular Tsukumen place at 11. Queued for 20mins and it was an interesting experience as there were lines of people standing right behind watching you eat. Wife said it was her best Tsukumen ever!
• Sekaido for art & stationary supplies: My wife does art so it was a haven for her. We spent a few hours there!
• Tokyu Hands Shinjuku: Wanted to look at more stationary/home/fashion stuff but two floors were under renovation.
• Omoide Yokocho: A quick walkthrough of this famous street for salarymen which comes alive at night. Many tourists.

Day 2 (Fri) - Kappabashi St., Fabric Town, Akihabara

• Kappabashi Dougu Street: looked at kitchen supplies aimed to find a nice nakiri knife! (If you want to buy a knife, do research on what knife you need beforehand).
• Fabric Town: My wife just passed a seamstress exam so she eagerly anticipated visiting fabric town, we spent a few hours in Tomato.
• Akihabara (Animate, Bic Camera, Gyukatsu Don): It was drizzling the entire day so it was not the most comfortable lugging that many bags around a wet Akihabara in the evening. Wife wasn’t interested but I wanted to let her experience this unique culture. Had dinner at a popular gyukatsu don (beef cutlet that you’d have to cook yourself). It was our first time eating gyukatsu. It was so tender and juicy and mmm. But it was a long one hour wait. It was after this episode that we decided we were not going to queue this long for food again.

Day 3 (Sat) - Cooking class in Shinjuku, Shibuya

• Private cooking class in Shinjuku: Our host was great! We were invited into his cosy house and he taught us how to make Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba, and a Japanese salad. I paid careful attention to the menu beforehand as I wanted to learn dishes I could easily recreate back home (i.e. not choose dishes that depended on seasonal Japanese ingredients). My wife absolutely loved the experience of getting to know a local and understanding his life story, Japanese culture, and hearing some of his horror stories of foreign guests. We got more food recs from him to understand where the locals really ate at.
• Shibuya 109: Paid $5 for a drink to have a bird’s eye view of the Shibuya crossing. It was Saturday so the crossing was at its full force. Even if you think this is touristy, it’s amazing to see that many people like little ants crossing a street. There are several nice locations here to take some artsy shots.
• Ishibashi Music Shibuya: absolutely loved the vibe in this music store. Back home, I’d been thinking about getting a particular keyboard but never got a chance to try it. I was able to play this particular one undisturbed and feel like I could go on for hours without any pressure from staff. Bought a few Japan exclusive guitar picks as gifts.
• Shibuya Tokyu Hands: This was amazing. I thought Shinjuku Tokyu Hands was the flagship store. So I only stumbled into this because I urgently needed to pee and someone said Tokyu hands had toilets. We were confused as its name was rebranded to simply "Hands" with a new logo. If you only have time to visit one Tokyu Hands, visit the Shibuya one. Each floor had 2 sub-floors so that’s a ton of floors! Lots of quality-of-life improvements one could get from this store. My wife got a buckwheat pillow.
• Shibuya Loft: After Sekaido and Tokyu Hands, I didn't think there was much daily life products/art/stationary to look at. But Loft was very different. Similar to Tokyu hands but seems more modern and fashionable. Worth visiting together with Tokyu hands! It also had packaged food available! It was late and my wife and I concluded that we didn’t have to to explore all the floors and that we’d return to Shibuya again.

Day 4 (Sun) - Komazawa Church, Harajuku, Shibuya

• Church in Komazawa: not a tourist activity, but we linked up with some partners from our home church and attended service at a little church held in a nursery. It was an amazing and encouraging experience to hear the gospel preached in a foreign language.
• Harajuku: Way too crowded. I had anticipated this as it was a Sunday, but thought to just try. Takeshita street was so packed my wife feared there would be a stampede risk (it wasn’t that bad). We did queue 20mins for pretty tasty crepe. After checking out all the recommended streets (e.g. cat street, uru-harajuku), my wife simply felt that she couldn’t stand the Harajuku crowd and the vibes. So we decided to go back to Shibuya again!
• Shibuya JINS: I didn’t mention this but previously in Shinjuku and Shibuya, I had been checking out recommended optical shops in the vicinity for a particular style of glasses. Japanese-made glasses are highly-rated, but I couldn’t find something at the right price-point. At JINS, I found a design I liked. Though not made in Japan, it cost me less than 5000 yen. Took them 1 hour to make it. For some reason I loved the vibes at Shibuya, and I earmarked it to return again later.

Day 5 (Mon) - Tsukiji Market, Ginza Muji/Uniqlo, Tokyo station

• Tsukiji market: wanted to arrive before 8 but arrived at 8.30am. Thankfully the crowds weren't that bad yet. Everything we tried was lovely. Potato/corn fishcakes, strawberry mochi, tamago, wagyu beef, uni inarisushi (my first time trying uni - wife loved it but I didn't like it), unagi. But the star was Masa burger (thanks to Paolo from Tokyo), which we waited till 11am to try. By then, the tourist buses had come and the streets were packed. But Masa burger was in a corner and we were their first customers. We tried fried codfish burger + homemade ginger ale. Both were was so well done and the fried cod was so crispy yet fresh and tender. It was also nicely completed with very refreshing salads! It was soo good we had it twice.
• Ginza Uniqlo/Muji: we wanted to take a look at some of Uniqlo’s exclusive items. Apparently they do have exclusive t-shirts for each region (e.g. Harajuku, Shibuya, Ginza), which tend to be collaborations with well-known food places in the area. However, they were always white in colour (cheap to produce) and not made-in-Japan-quality. Muji @ Ginza was a disappointment, not a lot more than the usual.
• Tokyo Station Ghibli store & Tenugui hunting: Went to Tokyo station to check out the Ghibli store and to look for a particular traditional tenugui (Japanese towels) store as my wife were hunting these down to give as gifts.
• Shinjuku Ichiran & Mister Donut: We returned to Shinjuku for Ichiran ramen, specifically at 5+pm. No crowds at all. Yummy! We then saw a Mister Donut, and recalled news in our home country that when it had its first opening in my country, people queued 5 hours for it. We thought to try it to see what the fuss was all about. Cash only, but the donuts were wonderfully textured and not too sweet. My wife doesn’t like sweet stuff, but mister donut really hit the sweet spot (no pun intended).

Day 6 (Tue) - Tokyo National Museum, Fabric town revisit, Akihabara revisit, Ochanomizu

• Tokyo National Museum: We had a good time learning about Japan’s early history, and discovered that so much that we know of Japan resulted from Chinese/korean influence.
• Fabric town & Akihabara revisit, Ochonomizu: We decided that this was likely the right time to go back for items we missed out on or didn’t have time to see. My wife went to fabric town again while I went to Akihabara’s Yodaibashi camera, which I felt to be better and with more varied things than Bic Camera. I then went to nearby Ochanomizu to look at more music and sport shops. We met up again at Shinjuku for another Gyukatsu Don before heading to mister donuts again.

Day 7 (Wed) - Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Mori Museum, Ginza Wakamatsu, Shinjuku

• Shinjuku Gyoen Garden: lovely large garden grounds. We spent almost an hour just lying under a tree and watching clouds float by. Wife was doing some rough sketches of the garden. We had mister donuts from last night for breakfast.
• Mori Museum: Saw the exhibition of Heatherwick studios, which was inspiring and educational. Paid for the rooftop access to have a quick view of Tokyo from 50-ish floors up.
• Ginza Wakamatsu: Because of one of the Uniqlo-ginza-exclusive t-shirts, my wife was curious about this traditional Japanese dessert. So we gave it a check and realised it’s been around for more than a century. There was a short line (mainly Japanese elderly). The shop interior transported us back decades. It felt surreal eating a dessert that the Japanese ate centuries ago. Unlike modern desserts, this Japanese dessert certainly doesn’t excite and overwhelm one’s taste buds immediately. But there’s an old charm to it.
• Shinjuku Okadaya fabric: Returned to Shinjuku as my wife wanted to check out another of their famous fabric stores. Prices were more expensive than fabric town, but had somewhat different items.

Day 8 (Thurs) - Kawaguchiko

• Bus to Kawaguchiko: Packed light to Kawaguchiko, and forwarded our remaining luggage to our final hotel in Tamachi. The Shinjuku hotel staff were very helpful. I was merely inquiring on how luggage forwarding was done, but the staff picked up the phone, called my Tamachi hotel to confirm the booking, and prepared the documents for me. All I had to do was roll my luggage the next night to them and make payment. Took our 7:45am bus to Kawaguchiko and managed to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji when we were on our way there!
• Cycling In Kawaguchiko: We lugged our bags to our ryokan and headed out again. My wife was quite hesitant about cycling overseas and I was also worried it’d tire her out too much. I debated between cycling or simply taking the sight-seeing bus. Eventually felt that it was worth trying to cycle. We unexpectedly walked by an e-bike place and decided, why not? Neither of us had tried an e-bike before and that could reduce the effort required for my wife. So we did and boy was it fun! It took a while to get used to the e-bike but it really reduced a lot of effort up the hills! I barely perspired at all thanks to the e-assist. Kawaguchiko had pretty narrow roads so it wasn’t the easiest to cycle. But I had plenty of road-cycling experience back at home so I was not daunted. We borrowed helmets from the e-bike place but saw that we were the only tourists that wore them. Yes, I'd recommend wearing helmets when cycling.
• Kubota Itchiku Art Museum: Cycled here knowing that this museum would interest my wife. It had a garden free for entry and it was really quaint, quiet, and charming! The pond had a singular vibrant-coloured Koi swimming in it. Museum entry requires tickets. On this trip, I realised that visiting museums tired me easily. It could be because I spent time reading each description. I told my wife to go ahead as I waited outside. She eventually took 45m in the museum and was so enthralled by it. She even bought a heavy hard-cover book of Itchiku Kubota’s kimono art :/
• Momiji Corridor: was just 50 meters away from the museum. Still beautiful with only green leaves, but I’d imagine it would be majestic in Autumn/Spring.
• Oishi Park: Many colourful flowers! It’s a pity that it had been cloudy the entire day, and Mt Fuji was not visible. That would have made the cycle perfect. Had a peach/plum ice-cream. Park was crowded with tourists.

Day 9 (Fri) - Fuji Q Highland, Shimoyoshida Honcho St, Batting Cage
Planning for Fuji Q & Morning Jog: I didn’t plan to go to Fuji-Q highland before the trip. Always felt it a bit of a waste to visit amusement parks overseas. That’s until I realised that Fuji Q had some of the most exciting (I mean world-record-holding) rollercoasters in the world. Maybe they don't hold the records anymore, but that intrigued me enough, because most amusement parks only had 1-2 coasters. Problem was that wife is terrified, and she said cycling on the streets of Kawaguchiko was already like a coaster ride for her. Still, I'm really thankful she encouraged me to go and said she was happy waiting and taking pictures for me. So I decided I would reach at opening time, and buy time by paying for the fast passes and try their top three coasters. The night before, we felt that we had to make decisions on our itinerary as it was our last day at Kawaguchiko. If Mt Fuji still wasn’t visible the next day, we'd go to Oshino Hakkai, if it was, we could try going to Shimoyoshida to get a nice picture.

• I went for a morning jog and as the path brought me along the river's perimeter, my jaw dropped when I saw Mount Fuji towering into view. I raced back to tell my wife (about 6am) and we both trekked up to a viewing spot to enjoy the view. This made it more urgent to not spend too much time at Fuji Q as we didn’t know how long Mt. Fuji would be visible for.
• Fuji-Q Highland: Was absolutely amazing. Yes, I blew a lot of cash here buying fast passes for the three available coasters. But they were some of the craziest coasters. Took Eejanaika, Fujiyama and Takabisha. Total time it took probably a little more than 1 hour with the express passes. It was so good, but so fast that I have little memory of it, except that there was a 90 degree climb to the top for Takabisha and I had a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji while climbing to the supposed world record of 79m for Fujiyama (this was 2 days before the news reported that Fujiyama got stuck in the middle of a ride and the people in the carts had to climb down :o). Had more time to take a few other rides, and enjoyed all the Naruto statues around for fun photo-taking. What I really enjoyed about the park was that it was mostly filled with Japanese tourists; in fact, there was a Japanese school having an outing there. It was nice to see excited students running about. If I could spend the day here, I'd take the three coasters multiple times to imprint the sensations in my head. But I'm still thankful I got to try some of the world's most thrilling coasters!
• Shomoyoshida Honcho St: This destination was simply to take the famous street view of Mount Fuji with Japanese shops lined in the foreground. It’s not easy to get to, and there was quite a walk. We noticed there weren’t much people around, and most shops were closed. But when we reached the destination, there were many tourists right at the particular traffic light. So much so there was a grumpy Japanese traffic police person managing the crowd. We saw the worst of tourists that day. People were disobeying traffic laws and just running in the middle of the road just to get a shot. We then chanced upon a hidden udon shop and it felt like we were transported back to the 50’s! It was super old school, people sat on raised platforms, and several elderly customers were watching the tele while eating. There was only one udon option available, with free cabbage top-ups. We learnt that the shop had been around for 73 years. We actually headed back to Fuji-Q Highlands to take a 4D 'plane ride' with Joe Hisashi music in the background. Since my wife actually wanted to ride something, I was happy to agree to her request. Ride was very ordinary but wife actually felt terrified at times lol. Rushed back to the hotel for a private onsen booking.
• Batting Cage: I had never played baseball/softball and my home country doesn’t have a baseball culture. Yet I had seen batting cages in Japanese drama and always wanted to try. Loved it! My technique was probably pretty bad! I did well at first but as I tried faster balls, I tired out and failed to hit any haha. We ended the day eating ramen outdoors with a view of Mount Fuji.

Day 10 (Sat) - Kichijoji, Ghibli Museum, Kichijoji Jazz bar
Woke up before sunrise for a run and to attempt to catch a sunrise picture of Mount Fuji. Streets were completely empty. Even ran to the famous Kawaguchiko Lawson for a picture. Headed back for an onsen bathe (note: we never used the room's shower, and always went for an onsen bath throughout our stay in Kawaguchiko as it was just too convenient). Took a 7am bus to return to Shinjuku.

• Kichijoji: Arrived at Kichijoji at about 10am. Wife really loved the vibes there. We tried the Tsukuba suisan fish cakes which were really tasty, and my wife was intrigued that a line had formed at the adjacent store named Ozasa. Apparently they sell traditional Japanese desserts and locals would go there as early as 5am to get a ticket. So we queued 15m and managed to get three boxes worth of the snacks! Tried the Amane Taiyaki fish-shaped bean paste snacks, another traditional dessert. It was a small lovely old shop.
• Ghibli Museum: Requires a long walk through Inokashira park. Ghibli was fantastic. Many people have been saying recently that it’s over-rated, and that it doesn’t cater to foreign crowds and most things are in Japanese. We similarly struggled with that at first. But we found out that if you asked the staff, they actually had English language exhibition booklets ready for every exhibition! That was a revelation. And we managed to understand almost all the exhibitions by asking the uniformed staff (except the short film, which had minimal dialogue anyway). I mentioned this to one foreign group and they were really grateful for that. But I saw that many other foreigners that probably came earlier were just bored or simply going crazy at the Ghibli shop. My wife bought the museum book (which also has English explanations of each exhibit), and we understood Miyazaki’s vision for the museum - to make it suitable for kids and adults, with no pre-determined route, allowing for play, exploration, to help people be inspired by the artists’ process. Through that, we saw that every thing in the museum was intentionally designed, all of the exhibitions, cafe, shop, and garden. Reading that helped me appreciate and enjoy the museum much more.
• Roaming Kichijoji and Some Time Jazz bar: My wife and I split up to roam kichijoji. I checked out some sports shops and saw that their prices were lower than Ochanomizu. We reconvened for dinner at Sometime Jazz bar. I’m picking up Jazz piano but had never been to a jazz bar. Booked it one day before, but was sad that our table position only allowed us to see some of the drummer and the pianist’s expression. Still, it was a very hip place for jazz cats and we had a wonderful time. We only sat through the first half of the performance that night. Note that there are seating charges, so that + dinner added up to quite a lot. But we rationalised that this was akin to paying for a performance. Checked into our hotel in Tamachi.

Day 11 (Sun) - Tokyo Sky Tree, Shinjuku, Back to Kichijoji, Shibuya
It was a crazy day where we simply hit the places we wanted to revisit regardless of proximity. Headed to Tokyo Skytree in the morning to check out another Ghibli store in hopes of getting another Ghibli shirt; reason was because I ended up buying one at the museum I really loved (made in Japan, beautiful colour, perfect fit. I hesitated at first because I couldn't try it). If you’re not going to the Ghibli museum, this is probably the best store available for Ghibli goods. Alas, the museum's items were really quite exclusive. Headed to Shinjuku to try curry udon, then to Kichijoji to try satou beef balls and dangos and to make some purchasing decisions on some sports equipment. Then we ended up at Shibuya (my favourite place!) to the mega Don Quijote and Tokyu Hands to shop for gifts for others. It was a lovely end to our trip!
Day 12 (Mon) - Back home
Best trip ever, says my wife.
Tips for travellers

• Spread out your itinerary: I originally planned to front-load all the must-see tourist stuff and leave the remaining days for shopping. But in May, Ghibli Museum was closed for two weeks so we had no choice but to schedule it at the end of the trip. That was a better arrangement. It felt that each day was distinctly different, and we could remember the highlight of each day. Also, be specific about where you want to go. Don’t simply put locations, e.g., Visit Harajuku, or visit Shibuya crossing.
• Plan your itinerary in consideration of weekend crowds: Places like Tsujiki market, Ghibli Museum, Fuji-Q Highlands and other stuff are likely going to be very crowded on weekends. If you want to shop in Harajuku or Shibuya, try to avoid weekends. I opted to put the cooking class and ‘less-exciting’ Museums on weekends.
• Unless you'll always be in a group, use your telco’s roaming or get an e-sim: My wife and I split up on several occasions, so we already knew the pocket wifi was out of the question.
• Carry more cash than you think you need: In my experience, the cash-to-card ratio was about 40:60. Considering that all metro card top-ups require cash, you'll need quite a bit of cash! Sometimes even bigger restaurants are cash only.
• Bring foldable tote bags, and use lockers where necessary: If you’re buying stuff, packing them in tote bags makes it easier to lug around. Bigger shops will charge you for bags. If you just arrived from one area with bags and are going to explore another, use the lockers. Most metro stations likely have lockers and they are really affordable and convenient.
• Travel light by planning to do laundry: I only brought four sets of clothing, and we did laundry every 3-4 days or so. It’s really convenient, about 200 yen per 30m wash, and another 200 yen for a 1h dry. It’s worthwhile to check if your hotel has coin laundry available.
• Buy discriminately: Many people say the kind of things available at places like Don Quijote or Uniqlo are mind-blowing. Fact is, most of them are made in China or elsewhere. About 95% of the items we saw in Daiso were made in China. In fact, many items in Kappabashi street were made in China. You’re more likely to get value for money by buying a made in Japan item. Sometimes the shop will highlight if a product is Japan made. But other times, you have to scrutinise the fine print. Learn to look out for these three words in Kanji: 日本製. This is where the camera function of Google translate is immensely helpful. This was not available or widely publicised when I last visited Japan years back in 2016, so use this tech to your advantage and scrutinise the fine print!
• Plan your toilet trips if possible: If you know you’re headed to low-rise areas like Tsujiki, Fabric town where it’s just shop after shop, it’s going to be hard to find a toilet. Make sure you relieve yourself beforehand at the train station. But if you still need to go, try to find a multi-storey building and chances are, there’ll be toilets available there.
• Avoid queuing for food by timing right: In general, I found that most popular food places that required queuing had queues mainly consisting of foreigners. I wonder if this is because of the reddit/youtube/google maps review effect (not a lot of Japanese review on Google I think). So if you have to queue, there's a good chance you're competing with other foreigners. Simply put, almost all food places open at 11am, so be there at 11, or have early dinner at 5pm and perhaps you may avoid the queuing.
• Scrutinise Google maps to figure out the different train types: for daily travel, there could be local, rapid, and express trains. Local trains stop at every station. Rapid skips a few, and express trains likely only stops at key location. They make a big difference to travel time, and to your comfort. When Google maps recommends a route, scrutinise the detail to ensure what kind of train they are recommending. It gets confusing at the station as the platforms on your left and right may end up at the same location, but one could be a local train and the other an express train.
• Learn just 2 essential phrases: It always felt weird for me to speak Japanese because I felt like a try-hard. But this time I did - just learn to say thank you in Japanese (arigato gozaimasu). The other essential word is - summimasen - excuse me/sorry. Useful for if you need to exit a crowded train, or if you need to get someone’s attention. We survived with just these two phrases. As our cooking teacher told us - it’s better to say something in Japanese than say nothing at all. For the rest, you can use Google translate app’s picture function.
• Other misc tips: as mentioned, bring trash bags. Some shops explicitly tell you not to walk around and eat their food. So the solution is to finish the snack in front of the shop, and say, “summimasen, can you help me to throw this trash?” That helped us avoid carrying trash around a lot. As a traveller, you’re gonna get a lot of carbs (my curry udon meal included a bowl of udon + a bowl of rice...) and fried food. To get more fiber, try the basements of shopping centres and get yourself some fruits. Also, if you exercise regularly like me, you'd be concerned about getting some exercise. I did pre-trip research on pools/gyms/parks to visit. But visited none of them. With what little hotel room space I had, I settled with a daily morning routine of 100 squats and 100 pushups. That and walking an average of 18k steps daily helped. I actually lost some weight somehow.

Observations

• Drinking culture in Japan: we saw quite a few drunk people in the streets. Some of them at the parks. I had never really seen drunkards much in my home country (it could be because I don’t stay out late). When we walked by a bar area with our cooking instructor at 10am, he told us some of the people in them had been there overnight. At Inokashira park, we saw a lady dressed in office wear face planted on the ground. Her friends tried to help carry here elsewhere but her entire body was limp and almost lifeless.
• The Japanese sleep late: when we arrived, we were still on the train to our hotel at 11:50pm. But the train was still packed with salarymen in suits and many others. In fact, it seemed the later it was, the more crowded the trains.
• Foreigner influx and how we stick out: there were way more foreigners this time than the last I visited Japan. I commented to my wife that I felt more immersed in Japan on the metro or at places like Tokyu hands as I could hear Japanese being spoken around me. But at tourist spots and some museums, I felt like I could have been in any other country. I tended to feel very uncomfortable when large groups of foreigners were around. I had to tell myself not to be hypocritical as I was a foreigner myself. But I suppose one reason is that there were many inconsiderate foreigners. Speaking loudly, making brash comments, and just not behaving like visitors. We saw a foreign couple locked in a head-to-toe embrace on a picnic mat in a park full of families. And they chose a spot right next to the footpath. Many foreigners also leave unkind Google reviews for places just because it’s not up to their expectations. I get it, we worked for our holiday and are paying customers, and there is often an innate tendency to feel entitled or complain when something isn’t up to our expectations. But I think it helps to remember that we are like visitors in someone’s home. Be self-aware, don’t speak loudly, note the traffic customs, where to stand on the escalators, how to behave etc.
• Japanese men have great hair: the Japanese men’s hairstyle feels frozen in time. I didn’t see the typical Korean-inspired center-parted hairstyles in Asian guys nowadays. And balding men were a small minority somehow. As someone whose hairline is slowly receding, I was envious to see many Japanese men have wavy long hair deep into their 60-70s! My wife commented that the women's hairstyles were more or less the same - dyed, curled etc. But the men were rocking so many styles!
• In-person shopping still matters: as the days went by and as my wife and I began to covet the "made-in-Japan" label, we realised that we hadn't done such shopping in years since online shopping became prevalent. I also recall people commenting that you could get these goods online anyway, so why bother shopping in Japan. Well, physical shopping makes comparison easy, it allows you to ask for recommendations, and enables you to know the items's size, feel, and look on you (if buying fashion items). It also makes discovery of new items possible. I'm not a huge shopper or a foodie, but in Japan, it's worth it to be one simply because the Japanese are thoughtful about their craft and tend to produce quality that's quite unmatched. I suppose it's a blessing in disguise that our honeymoon got delayed 3 years, as we are now well-aware of our post-wedding lifestyles and the items we'd need in the kitchen/around the house.
• Reading culture is strong: in a week when I read reports that leisure reading had declined in my home country, I was pleasantly surprised to see many people reading hard-copy books on the train, many of them even had personalised leather book covers. Kinokuniya was also teeming with life. As a bookworm, this is a great encouragement. And I wish English language books came in such compact sizes too, although I think that's due to the limitations of the language. As Japanese characters can be read vertically, that allows for more play on possible book sizes.
• No one culture is worth idealising: Japan remains my favourite country to visit as a tourist, but I've come to see that Japanese culture - like any other culture - has its flaws. That's simply because people are flawed. Yes, their service culture is impeccable, especially when you're served by middle-aged super helpful and super kind ladies. But on every Japanese trip so far, I've always had at least one unkind or impatient service encounter. On a day-to-day basis, people don't really apologise if they bump into you, and may not give up their seats for the elderly too. My cooking teacher says the Japanese are extremely polite in person but would rant and give very bad reviews anonymously at home. I've come to just enjoy their products, service, and their views of certain ways-of-life as a tourist, but stop short of idealising their culture. There are kind and unkind people in every culture. That said, I would still say on average, the Japanese may be more civic-minded than most. That doesn't mean they are innately kinder or warmer people, but simply that they are more self-aware of how their actions are perceived by others.

I've decided not to mention the specific food places as far as possible because I think there's more than enough recommendations available elsewhere. I also think sometimes that we get a bit fomo if we build up too many must-go spots. Enjoy the process of discovering new places! But feel free to ask me more if you like.

A couple of people said this was something I should share for a wider draw, I had posted it to the last post about the stadium. I hope everyone learns and/or enjoys this.
​

Red Wing Stadium / Silver Stadium

Silver Stadium was the highly regarded and much beloved former home of the Rochester Red Wings. Its location was about 500 Norton Street, Rochester, NY. Google Maps has a great aerial view. The street view does not do it justice. (link at the end of article)
But the Norton Street ballfield was more than a ballpark, much much more. It hosted several rock concerts and other sports games like football, and even professional boxing. Even Olympians stopped by and there were even visits by an evangelist and a daredevil legend. The stadium was also a community gathering spot. In fact, more than one wedding was held at home plate. The bragging rights must have been amazing.
Opening in 1929 as "Red Wing Stadium" and was praised as being the "Taj Mahal" of minor league ballparks for its magnificence. In 1968 the name was changed. It was changed to honor Mr. Morrie Silver. Morrie had led a 1950s stock drive that helped to keep the team here in Rochester.
The Red Wings won 9 of their 10 Governor's Cups during their years at Silver. Before the Governor's Cup award, the team captured 3 straight International League Championships in 1929, 1930, and again in 1931. They also won more than 100 games each year. Let me say that again. They won 100-plus games a year! Innumerable numbers of kids got their introduction to professional baseball players and the professional game at the stadium, many of them were "Knot Hole Club" members sitting and observing everything from the bleachers.
The stadium was "ultra-modern" in its opening season. Years later it became a throwback to an outdated era. Wedged into the city surroundings where residents rented out lawns for parking, the stadium had the feel of a place like the iconic Wrigley Field, in miniature.
Like many of those old ballparks, Silver Stadium had reinforcement beams that blocked views. Being this age it also had a cramped press box that originally was only accessible by a curling spiral staircase. Sometimes Fly balls that cleared the left-field wall broke the windshields of automobiles parked in the stone lot beside the ballpark.
Even with those issues, Silver Stadium was beloved for its comfy, intimate feel and all of the great memories that were created there.
Future Hall of Famers like Cal Ripken Jr., Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, and Eddie Murray played for the Wings at the Norton Street ballpark. Stars like Luke Easter, Specs Toporcer, Bobby Grich, and Don Baylor also played at the ballpark. The All-time greats like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, and sprinter Jesse Owens was known to be in Rochester for some of the many baseball exhibitions.
Naomi Silver, Morrie Silver's daughter, was the Red Wings' president, and CEO, said some of her most vivid and memorable memories of the ballpark were that of the exhibition games between the Wings and their big-league affiliate, the Baltimore Orioles.
"The stars that came in were among the best in baseball, and Earl Weaver, the longtime Orioles manager, and others really enjoyed coming here." She said. "The team would either spend the night or take their charter flight to the next day's opposing city. But not before grabbing post-game dinner with me and my mom. Earl Weaver was always gracious that way."
In the 1930s, Red Wing Stadium was home to two short-lived professional football teams. The Rochester Braves and the Rochester Tigers called the Norton Street Ballfield home. Then in the 1940s, Aquinas Institute's powerhouse high-school football teams played there. Former boxing champion Carmen Basilio, who lived for years in Irondequoit, fought at Red Wing Stadium in 1949.
Baseball historian Priscilla Astifan of Webster, NY said she "fell in love with baseball during a knot hole game" when she was only 15. One of her favorite memories of the ballpark was an encounter with another future Hall of Famer, Tom Lasorda.
"Getting the autograph of Tom Lasorda, who was a pitcher and the first base coach for the Montreal Royals on my knot hole card." Lasorda was with the Royals on two tours from 1950 to 1960.
Red Wings chairman Gary Larder remembered the 1956 "Little World Series" between the Red Wings and the Indianapolis Indians.
"As a young Cleveland Indians fan, I couldn't wait to see some of the young Indians prospects about whom I had read," Larder said. They included future Red Wings manager Joe Altobelli. Roger Maris also was there. Maris broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record only five years later.
Maris's home run record became controversial, as the previous single-season home run record (60, set by Babe Ruth in 1927) was set during a period when MLB teams played only 154 games per season. However before Maris broke Ruth's record, the AL baseball season had been extended to 162 games. Maris hit his 61st home run in the very last game of the season. This led to questions about the legitimacy of this record. In 1998, Mark McGwire set a new MLB record with 70 home runs; the same year Sammy Sosa also surpassed Maris' record with 66 home runs. In 2001, Barry Bonds surpassed that mark with 73 home runs, though all three of those players used performance-enhancing drugs. Maris’ AL single-season home run record stood until 2022 when Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs in a single season for the New York Yankees.
The most astonishing event at Silver occurred in 1976. A tightrope walker, Karl Wallenda, at age 71, transited the ballpark from the center-field barrier to the grandstand's roof. This was done 60 feet above the ground! He reportedly made it look easy too.
In the following year, Fred Costello began as Red Wings stadium organist. Costello once reflected on watching his sons advance from batboys to clubhouse managers at Silver Stadium. He also played the organ for Red Wing's own Tim Derryberry's home-plate wedding in 1982.
In the mid-1980s, Silver Stadium began having major concert acts. The band Van Halen played there in September 1986. In 1987 The Grateful Dead played in July, only three months later U2 made their appearance.
Long before 1987, the old ballpark had really started showing its age. A $4.5 million renovation before the start of the 1987 season was widely lauded. However, within a few years, discussion of a new ballpark had begun. MLB had begun setting new standards for its minor league teams, and Silver Stadium was no longer up to standards.
After several years of political wrangling and more, an arrangement was reached for the new stadium. Silver Stadium hosted its last regular-season Red Wings game in August 1996.
It was a magnificent experience, with the sold-out ballpark hosting a variety of famous guests and a lavish, emotion-filled goodbye. Dan Mason, the Red Wings General Manager, who started with the team in 1990, said that night was his favorite memory of Silver Stadium. It didn't compare to the many wins, nor all the other memories made there at the ballpark.
"Emotions were all over the place. People were crying. Hugging. Laughing, Dancing. The game itself became secondary to people waxing poetic … On this night, nobody wanted to leave. Fans just hung around. Crying and hugging some more. Taking photos of what they knew was a historic night."
That's the impact a ballpark can have on a community. The next year, the Red Wings began playing at their new home, their current home, with an all-new name. The all-new name became Frontier Field.
So whatever happened to the old Norton Ballpark, Silver Stadium? Well, it was torn down in the late 1990s. Ultimately it was turned into a different kind of park — an office/industrial park, and a grass clearing. You can still see a footprint of what was today. With a quick Google Maps view from above you can still see an empty grassy space, none of the original building exists any longer. See it here.
Map coordniates: 43°11'14.5"N 77°36'41.6"W or 43.187355, -77.611556

À la suite de ce poteau sur PersonalFinanceCanada, je voulais vous partager cette découverte, puisque je n'en ai jamais entendu parler ici.
Il est possible de déposer de l'argent dans des comptes d'épargne à intérêts élevés (Investment Savings Accounts - ISA) sur les plateformes de courtage en ligne. Le taux de ces comptes est nettement plus avantageux que les taux qu'on retrouve dans les comptes ordinaires et les dépôts sont assurés avec la SADC jusqu'à 100 000 $.
L'argent se dépose de la même façon qu'avec un fonds commun. L'argent peut être retiré en tout temps. Comme tout compte d'épargne, le taux varie dans le temps selon le taux directeur et quand on achète les séries F, il n'y a aucun frais.
Par exemple, avec Disnat, on peut déposer des fonds dans DYN6004 qui offre 4,50 % à l'heure actuelle. Le montant minimum est de 1 000 $ et tout ajout subséquent doit être d'au moins 100 $. Oui, c'est un peu moins que CASH.TO, mais ça pourrait apaiser l'esprit des gens qui ne sont pas confortables à l'idée que leur argent ne soit pas assuré.
À mon avis, c'est parfait pour placer un fonds d'urgence ou des sommes qui doivent être accessibles à court terme.
Quelques ISA disponibles en séries F sur Disnat :

• DYN6004 - 4,50 % - Détails
• HOB101 et HOM101 - 4,45 % - Détails
• EQB1001 - 4,35 % - Détails
• NBC6200 - 4,30 % - Détails
• BTB101 - 4,30 % - Détails
• RBF2011 - 4,30 % - Détails
• MIP610 et MIP810 - 4,25 % - Détails
• ATL5001 - 4,20 % - Détails

Connaissiez-vous ça et avez-vous déjà placé de l'argent dans ce type de produit?

Hi ecommerce - I'm Paul and I follow the e-commerce industry pretty closely for my Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter. Each week I post a summary recap of this week's top stories, which I cover in depth in the newsletter. .

1. STAT OF THE WEEK: 70% of e-commerce shoppers experienced shipping delays without any reason provided by the business for the delay. Faced with that experience, 90% of respondents said they are less likely to buy from a brand again after a poor online shopping experience, while 29% say they are increasingly willing to share a negative review online. – According to Koerber .
2. If some of Temu's deals appear too good to be true — it's because they are! An analysis of the company's supply chain costs by WIRED shows that Temu is losing an average of $30 per order as it throws money at trying to break into the American market. Most of Temu's subsidies are in the form of free international shipping, with even a small package costing the company around $14 to ship to the US (although it offers the shipping for free). When adding in the additional product discounts and cash coupons that Temu gives to customers, the average loss per order jumps to $30. .
3. The FTC has proposed new rules in the US called “click to cancel” that will impact e-commerce subscriptions — but in a good way for consumers! The rules would require any business selling subscriptions to add a simple cancel mechanism on the same website as the initial transaction, and include the same number of steps. In other words, a “one click subscription” would require a “one click cancelation.” This “click to cancel” rule is part of the FTC's proposed changes to its 1973 Negative Option Rule, which establishes how subscription sellers must communicate offers, ensure consent, manage billing, and simplify cancellation. .
4. BigCommerce announced new leadership including the appointment of Daniel Lentz as the company's CFO, Chuck Cassidy as its General Counsel, and Hubert Ban as its Chief Accounting Officer. .
5. Google is launching Product Studio, a new tool that allows Shopping merchants to quickly edit and customize their product images for free using generative AI. According to Google's data, product listings with more than one image typically see a 76% increase in impressions and a 32% increase in clicks compared to listings with a single image. With the new generative AI tool, text prompts can be used within Product Studio to quickly make visual adjustments to product images, such as generating new backgrounds for seasonal campaigns. The tool also allows sellers to instantly remove the existing background of an image if they need a blank backdrop, and increase the quality of small or low resolution images. .
6. Morning Consult published their annual report of Most Trusted Brands for 2023. The survey ranks roughly 1,500 brands in the US, most of which were dominated by big, well-established names including: #1 Band-Aid, #2 UPS, #3 Amazon, #4 Lysol, #5 Kleenex, #6 Cheerios, #7 Visa, #8 Dove, #9 The Weather Channel, and #10 FedEx .
7. Axios, in collaboration with market research firm Harris Poll, also ran a recent survey to determine the Most Reputable Brands in the US. The results were very different from Morning Consult's most trusted brands. Only one company overlapped in the top ten which included: #1 Patagonia, #2 Costco, #3 John Deere, #4 Trader Joe's, #5 Chick-fil-A, #6 Toyota, #7 Samsung, #8 Amazon, #9 USAA, and #10 Apple . Bottom of the list included: #90 Family Dollar, #91 Balenciaga, #92 BP, #93 Bitcoin, #94 TikTok, #95 Spirit Airlines, #96 Meta, #97 Twitter, #98 Fox, #99 FTX, and #100 The Trump Organization .
8. The latest data from PYMNTS shows that high earners are feeling the pinch of credit card debt and that their wages aren't keeping up with inflation. This is resulting in higher-end retailers who depend on wealthier households feeling the pinch as well. The data shows a number of correlations including that for bouseholds earning more than $100k annually, 42% were living paycheck-to-paycheck in April 2022. That number has crept up to over 49% this past year. .
9. Netflix must have forgotten what love is since 2017 when it made its famous tweet that “Love is sharing a password.” The company has finally launched its ill-awaited crackdown on password sharing in the US and the UK. The new rules state that subscribers are permitted to share their account with members of their own household, which Netflix defines as “you and the people you live with.” Netflix will begin using a variety of tools, such as IP checking, to spot when people are using another household’s account and prevent them from doing so, or give them the option of adding a household for $7.99/month. The company expects cancellations, but optimistically (or idiotically) predicts that those same people will come back again, which will overall lead to more people paying for subscriptions. .
10. Laws are changing in Australia to treat BNPL as a credit product. Finally! When was it NOT a form of credit? BNPL should have been recognized as a credit product the day the first BNPL company put up a coming soon landing page. Australia’s Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said that a litany of issues reported to the Australia Securities and Investments Commission have added up to “unacceptable levels of unaffordable lending occurring, largely concentrated amongst low-income borrowers.” He added that “BNPL looks like credit, it acts like credit, it carries the risks of credit.” Jones promised draft legislation in the coming months and the introduction of a final bill to the Australian Parliament by the end of the year, which will include the need for BNPL firms to hold Australian Credit Licenses and comply with Resonspible Lending Obligations. .
11. Bill Gates said that AI could kill Google Search and Amazon as we know them, and that the technology could radically alter user behaviors, resulting in people never needing to visit a search website again or use certain productivity or shopping tools. Gates remarked that the first company to develop it will have a leg up on competitors. .
12. A recent study conducted by Lloyds Banking Group revealed that a UK consumer falls victim to a purchasing scam that originates on Facebook or Instagram every seven minutes, resulting in a cost of over £500k per week. (That man is Michael Scott.) The banking group is now urging Meta and other tech giants to take responsibility and contribute to refunding innocent victims of scams. .
13. Analysts at Bernstein project that Reliance Industries is poised to outpace Amazon and Flipkart in the race for India's $150M e-commerce market, citing the conglomerate's robust retail network, mobile network, and home field advantage as its biggest assets. Reliance already operates the country's largest retail chain with over 18k stores and is leveraging its presence to form partnerships with Meta, Shein, and other companies as a strategic advantage against its competitors. .
14. Shopify is introducing its POS hardware to the Canadian market. Its mobile selling device, the POS Go, which is built to run Shopify’s POS software, was first rolled out to retailers in the US in 2022. .
15. Meta announced that ads in Instagram search results will now be available through the Instagram Marketing API, allowing third-party social-management platforms to offer a new Instagram ad-placement type in their apps. Meta began testing the placement in March and are now opening it up to all brands. .
16. Shein is exploring plans to build a factory in Mexico as one of its manufacturing hubs outside China, which could shorten shipping time and cut distribution costs for customers in Latin America and USA. Earlier this month I reported that Shein is creating a hub in Brazil. .
17. Amazon opened the first phase of its Metropolitan Park on Monday, its long-awaited second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia that can hold up to 8k employees. However not all Amazon employees are excited about the new office location (or any office location). At least 1,000 office workers are planning a walkout this Wednesday to take a stand against the company's return-to-office mandate. .
18. The Vietnamese government is putting pressure on TikTok to police its content and remove videos that fall short of the state’s standards, or risk a ban. Eight government departments are targeting toxic content deemed “to pose a threat to the country’s youth, culture and tradition” — including videos that simply criticize college degrees. .
19. eBay unveiled generative AI on its mobile app to help sellers list new items for sale, however the company forgot to inform sellers and didn't label the icon. When clicked, the icon replaced sellers' entire product descriptions with AI generated text, with no way to recover the original description. .
20. Boozt AB, a Sweden-based online fashion retailer, blocked 42,000 customers for returning too many items, calling their actions too costly for the company and the environment. The company said that these particular customers represented less than 2% of their 3M customers, but around 25% of the total return volume. .
21. Twitter withdrew from an agreement with the EU to cut down misinformation on its social network, which the company joined alongside other tech companies in 2018. Thierry Breton, the EU internal market commissioner, noted that fighting disinformation will be a legal obligation from August 25th, due to the EU's Digital Services Act, so the agreement would become irrelevant. .
22. Jeff Bezos is ripped now! The Amazon founder started working with personal trainer, Wes Okerson, who's also trained Tom Cruise and Gerard Butler, and now he's gotten super buff. This is about the least e-commerce specific news you'll ever see me share in this newsletter, but the Jeff Bezos before / after photo is kind of wild! .
23. Amazon will close its official Amazon app store in China on July 17, which launched in 2011 as an alternative to the Google Play Store. Amazon noted that its marketplaces and AWS services will remain operational in China. However while it may be leaving China, the Amazon App Store will soon be bringing more Android apps to the Windows ecosystem. The expanded partnership will allow Windows users to access a wider range of Android apps seamlessly. .
24. Google updated the badges some merchants display for their product listings in Google Search to say “Top Quality Store” instead of the original “Trusted Store” badge. Google said this is just a name and title change and won't have any impact on search rank or performance. .
25. Auctane, an e-commerce shipping specialist that operates brands such as Metapack, ShipStation, Packlink, ShipEngine, Stamps.com, and others, appointed Albert Ko as its new CEO, who previously served as CEO of EWS, which is best known for the Zelle payments network. Current CEO Nathan Jones will join the company's Board of Directors. .
26. eCampus.com, a website that sells textbooks and course materials, announced that it would keep offering textbook rentals, even though its retail partner Amazon was exiting the business. The company had been powering the program behind the scenes for Amazon since 2012, and plans to keep it going through its own website. .
27. Walmart is partnering with Pawp, a veterinary telehealth provider, to offer Walmart+ subscribers free access to virtual veterinarians for a year, starting this week. Currently Pawp charges $99 for an annual membership. .
28. Alibaba Group said that it aims to hire 15,000 people this year, dismissing rumors circulating that the company planned to cut 20% of its staff. They also mentioned that more than 3,000 of those hires would be newly-graduated students. .
29. Plus 7 seed rounds, IPOs, and acquisitions of interest including a $12M Series A round by Laced to grow its resale marketplace for authenticated sneakers.

I hope you find this news recap helpful. See you next week!
-PAUL

Hi ShopifyeCommerce - I'm Paul and I follow the e-commerce industry closely for my Shopifreaks E-commerce Newsletter. Each week I post a summary recap of this week's top stories, which I cover in depth in the newsletter. .

1. STAT OF THE WEEK: 70% of e-commerce shoppers experienced shipping delays without any reason provided by the business for the delay. Faced with that experience, 90% of respondents said they are less likely to buy from a brand again after a poor online shopping experience, while 29% say they are increasingly willing to share a negative review online. – According to Koerber .
2. If some of Temu's deals appear too good to be true — it's because they are! An analysis of the company's supply chain costs by WIRED shows that Temu is losing an average of $30 per order as it throws money at trying to break into the American market. Most of Temu's subsidies are in the form of free international shipping, with even a small package costing the company around $14 to ship to the US (although it offers the shipping for free). When adding in the additional product discounts and cash coupons that Temu gives to customers, the average loss per order jumps to $30. .
3. The FTC has proposed new rules in the US called “click to cancel” that will impact e-commerce subscriptions — but in a good way for consumers! The rules would require any business selling subscriptions to add a simple cancel mechanism on the same website as the initial transaction, and include the same number of steps. In other words, a “one click subscription” would require a “one click cancelation.” This “click to cancel” rule is part of the FTC's proposed changes to its 1973 Negative Option Rule, which establishes how subscription sellers must communicate offers, ensure consent, manage billing, and simplify cancellation. .
4. BigCommerce announced new leadership including the appointment of Daniel Lentz as the company's CFO, Chuck Cassidy as its General Counsel, and Hubert Ban as its Chief Accounting Officer. .
5. Google is launching Product Studio, a new tool that allows Shopping merchants to quickly edit and customize their product images for free using generative AI. According to Google's data, product listings with more than one image typically see a 76% increase in impressions and a 32% increase in clicks compared to listings with a single image. With the new generative AI tool, text prompts can be used within Product Studio to quickly make visual adjustments to product images, such as generating new backgrounds for seasonal campaigns. The tool also allows sellers to instantly remove the existing background of an image if they need a blank backdrop, and increase the quality of small or low resolution images. .
6. Morning Consult published their annual report of Most Trusted Brands for 2023. The survey ranks roughly 1,500 brands in the US, most of which were dominated by big, well-established names including: #1 Band-Aid, #2 UPS, #3 Amazon, #4 Lysol, #5 Kleenex, #6 Cheerios, #7 Visa, #8 Dove, #9 The Weather Channel, and #10 FedEx .
7. Axios, in collaboration with market research firm Harris Poll, also ran a recent survey to determine the Most Reputable Brands in the US. The results were very different from Morning Consult's most trusted brands. Only one company overlapped in the top ten which included: #1 Patagonia, #2 Costco, #3 John Deere, #4 Trader Joe's, #5 Chick-fil-A, #6 Toyota, #7 Samsung, #8 Amazon, #9 USAA, and #10 Apple . Bottom of the list included: #90 Family Dollar, #91 Balenciaga, #92 BP, #93 Bitcoin, #94 TikTok, #95 Spirit Airlines, #96 Meta, #97 Twitter, #98 Fox, #99 FTX, and #100 The Trump Organization .
8. The latest data from PYMNTS shows that high earners are feeling the pinch of credit card debt and that their wages aren't keeping up with inflation. This is resulting in higher-end retailers who depend on wealthier households feeling the pinch as well. The data shows a number of correlations including that for bouseholds earning more than $100k annually, 42% were living paycheck-to-paycheck in April 2022. That number has crept up to over 49% this past year. .
9. Netflix must have forgotten what love is since 2017 when it made its famous tweet that “Love is sharing a password.” The company has finally launched its ill-awaited crackdown on password sharing in the US and the UK. The new rules state that subscribers are permitted to share their account with members of their own household, which Netflix defines as “you and the people you live with.” Netflix will begin using a variety of tools, such as IP checking, to spot when people are using another household’s account and prevent them from doing so, or give them the option of adding a household for $7.99/month. The company expects cancellations, but optimistically (or idiotically) predicts that those same people will come back again, which will overall lead to more people paying for subscriptions. .
10. Laws are changing in Australia to treat BNPL as a credit product. Finally! When was it NOT a form of credit? BNPL should have been recognized as a credit product the day the first BNPL company put up a coming soon landing page. Australia’s Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said that a litany of issues reported to the Australia Securities and Investments Commission have added up to “unacceptable levels of unaffordable lending occurring, largely concentrated amongst low-income borrowers.” He added that “BNPL looks like credit, it acts like credit, it carries the risks of credit.” Jones promised draft legislation in the coming months and the introduction of a final bill to the Australian Parliament by the end of the year, which will include the need for BNPL firms to hold Australian Credit Licenses and comply with Resonspible Lending Obligations. .
11. Bill Gates said that AI could kill Google Search and Amazon as we know them, and that the technology could radically alter user behaviors, resulting in people never needing to visit a search website again or use certain productivity or shopping tools. Gates remarked that the first company to develop it will have a leg up on competitors. .
12. A recent study conducted by Lloyds Banking Group revealed that a UK consumer falls victim to a purchasing scam that originates on Facebook or Instagram every seven minutes, resulting in a cost of over £500k per week. (That man is Michael Scott.) The banking group is now urging Meta and other tech giants to take responsibility and contribute to refunding innocent victims of scams. .
13. Analysts at Bernstein project that Reliance Industries is poised to outpace Amazon and Flipkart in the race for India's $150M e-commerce market, citing the conglomerate's robust retail network, mobile network, and home field advantage as its biggest assets. Reliance already operates the country's largest retail chain with over 18k stores and is leveraging its presence to form partnerships with Meta, Shein, and other companies as a strategic advantage against its competitors. .
14. Shopify is introducing its POS hardware to the Canadian market. Its mobile selling device, the POS Go, which is built to run Shopify’s POS software, was first rolled out to retailers in the US in 2022. .
15. Meta announced that ads in Instagram search results will now be available through the Instagram Marketing API, allowing third-party social-management platforms to offer a new Instagram ad-placement type in their apps. Meta began testing the placement in March and are now opening it up to all brands. .
16. Shein is exploring plans to build a factory in Mexico as one of its manufacturing hubs outside China, which could shorten shipping time and cut distribution costs for customers in Latin America and USA. Earlier this month I reported that Shein is creating a hub in Brazil. .
17. Amazon opened the first phase of its Metropolitan Park on Monday, its long-awaited second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia that can hold up to 8k employees. However not all Amazon employees are excited about the new office location (or any office location). At least 1,000 office workers are planning a walkout this Wednesday to take a stand against the company's return-to-office mandate. .
18. The Vietnamese government is putting pressure on TikTok to police its content and remove videos that fall short of the state’s standards, or risk a ban. Eight government departments are targeting toxic content deemed “to pose a threat to the country’s youth, culture and tradition” — including videos that simply criticize college degrees. .
19. eBay unveiled generative AI on its mobile app to help sellers list new items for sale, however the company forgot to inform sellers and didn't label the icon. When clicked, the icon replaced sellers' entire product descriptions with AI generated text, with no way to recover the original description. .
20. Boozt AB, a Sweden-based online fashion retailer, blocked 42,000 customers for returning too many items, calling their actions too costly for the company and the environment. The company said that these particular customers represented less than 2% of their 3M customers, but around 25% of the total return volume. .
21. Twitter withdrew from an agreement with the EU to cut down misinformation on its social network, which the company joined alongside other tech companies in 2018. Thierry Breton, the EU internal market commissioner, noted that fighting disinformation will be a legal obligation from August 25th, due to the EU's Digital Services Act, so the agreement would become irrelevant. .
22. Jeff Bezos is ripped now! The Amazon founder started working with personal trainer, Wes Okerson, who's also trained Tom Cruise and Gerard Butler, and now he's gotten super buff. This is about the least e-commerce specific news you'll ever see me share in this newsletter, but the Jeff Bezos before / after photo is kind of wild! .
23. Amazon will close its official Amazon app store in China on July 17, which launched in 2011 as an alternative to the Google Play Store. Amazon noted that its marketplaces and AWS services will remain operational in China. However while it may be leaving China, the Amazon App Store will soon be bringing more Android apps to the Windows ecosystem. The expanded partnership will allow Windows users to access a wider range of Android apps seamlessly. .
24. Google updated the badges some merchants display for their product listings in Google Search to say “Top Quality Store” instead of the original “Trusted Store” badge. Google said this is just a name and title change and won't have any impact on search rank or performance. .
25. Auctane, an e-commerce shipping specialist that operates brands such as Metapack, ShipStation, Packlink, ShipEngine, Stamps.com, and others, appointed Albert Ko as its new CEO, who previously served as CEO of EWS, which is best known for the Zelle payments network. Current CEO Nathan Jones will join the company's Board of Directors. .
26. eCampus.com, a website that sells textbooks and course materials, announced that it would keep offering textbook rentals, even though its retail partner Amazon was exiting the business. The company had been powering the program behind the scenes for Amazon since 2012, and plans to keep it going through its own website. .
27. Walmart is partnering with Pawp, a veterinary telehealth provider, to offer Walmart+ subscribers free access to virtual veterinarians for a year, starting this week. Currently Pawp charges $99 for an annual membership. .
28. Alibaba Group said that it aims to hire 15,000 people this year, dismissing rumors circulating that the company planned to cut 20% of its staff. They also mentioned that more than 3,000 of those hires would be newly-graduated students. .
29. Plus 7 seed rounds, IPOs, and acquisitions of interest including a $12M Series A round by Laced to grow its resale marketplace for authenticated sneakers.

For more details on each story, see the full edition: https://www.shopifreaks.com/how-much-money-does-temu-lose-per-orde
What else is new in e-commerce? Share stories of interesting in the comments below (including in your own business) or on shopifreaks.
See you next week.
-PAUL

About Me: Starting off, I'm an artist, a creative, and a cosplayer with a reserved, laid back, mild-mannered, easy-going personality type, just looking for a woman who wants to date with long-term intentions (pretty much looking for a girlfriend and life partner). I tend to be a bit quiet at first as I am introverted, but I become more open, inquisitive, and conversational upon meeting people and getting to know them. Since these are important, I lean left politically, am monogamous, not religious, and am childfree (meaning I have no kids and have no desire to ever have or raise any - looking for that Dual Income, No Kids lifestyle).
More About Me: I've sadly been unemployed for a while due to being laid off in a tough job market, but I do a lot of creativity for my self-improvement. I'm active in cosplaying as I make my own costumes and attend local anime/comic conventions (pictures taken from Momocon this past weekend) and collect art posters, prints, and other wall art. I'm not into anime or manga as I'm more into graphic novels, cosplaying, Game Show Network shows, watching professional wrestling matches, puzzles, mystery books, videogames, and indie horrothriller movies, but it's cool if you aren't into those things. Other hobbies of mine include designing personal art projects, creative writing, journaling/blogging, watching game shows, and taking part in recreational activities like bowling (both at the alley and on Wii/Switch Sports), swimming (including the beach), playing billiards/pool, mini golf, air hockey, laser tag, go-kart racing, and attending carnivals, fairs, and amusement parks.
About You: All that said, I'm looking for a single woman who I can get to know on a personal level and with time, build a relationship with. Those looking for something casual, meaningless, or short-term need not apply. Those of you who are local or in a nearby state are preferred! I won't necessarily count you out if you live in a faraway state but do want to be realistic and say if we hit it off and get along well, it could be a while before we meet due to the long distance. If I had a type, I'd say I'm drawn to glasses-wearing nerdy types of women on the thickecurvier side, but those looks are just bonuses, not requirements. The requirements I do have are that you must also be childfree (wanting to share that D.I.N.K lifestyle), monogamous, non-religious (or at least not deeply religious) and politically progressive/liberal.
I'm only responding to those who message me with a photo/selfie and a short intro as I'll know who read through this... So if you think we could be a good fit and maybe become something together, hit me up via chat or DM!

About Me: Starting off, I'm an artist, a creative, and a cosplayer with a reserved, laid back, mild-mannered, easy-going personality type, just looking for a woman who wants to date with long-term intentions (pretty much looking for a girlfriend and life partner). I tend to be a bit quiet at first as I am introverted, but I become more open, inquisitive, and conversational upon meeting people and getting to know them. Since these are important, I lean left politically, am monogamous, not religious, and am childfree (meaning I have no kids and have no desire to ever have or raise any - looking for that Dual Income, No Kids lifestyle).
More About Me: I've sadly been unemployed for a while due to being laid off in a tough job market, but I do a lot of creativity for my self-improvement. I'm active in cosplaying as I make my own costumes and attend local anime/comic conventions (pictures taken from Momocon this past weekend) and collect art posters, prints, and other wall art. I'm not into anime or manga as I'm more into graphic novels, cosplaying, Game Show Network shows, watching professional wrestling matches, puzzles, mystery books, videogames, and indie horrothriller movies, but it's cool if you aren't into those things. Other hobbies of mine include designing personal art projects, creative writing, journaling/blogging, watching game shows, and taking part in recreational activities like bowling (both at the alley and on Wii/Switch Sports), swimming (including the beach), playing billiards/pool, mini golf, air hockey, laser tag, go-kart racing, and attending carnivals, fairs, and amusement parks.
About You: All that said, I'm looking for a single woman in between her mid-20s and mid-30s who I can get to know on a personal level and with time, build a relationship with. Those looking for something casual, meaningless, or short-term need not apply. Those of you who are local or in a nearby state are preferred! I won't necessarily count you out if you live in a faraway state but do want to be realistic and say if we hit it off and get along well, it could be a while before we meet due to the long distance. If I had a type, I'd say I'm drawn to glasses-wearing nerdy types of women on the thickecurvier side, but those looks are just bonuses, not requirements. The requirements I do have are that you must also be childfree (wanting to share that D.I.N.K lifestyle), monogamous, non-religious (or at least not deeply religious) and politically progressive/liberal.
I'm only responding to those who message me with a photo/selfie and a short intro as I'll know who read through this... So if you think we could be a good fit and maybe become something together, hit me up via chat or DM!

About Me: Starting off, I'm an artist, a creative, and a cosplayer with a reserved, laid back, mild-mannered, easy-going personality type, just looking for a woman who wants to date with long-term intentions (pretty much looking for a girlfriend and life partner). I tend to be a bit quiet at first as I am introverted, but I become more open, inquisitive, and conversational upon meeting people and getting to know them. Since these are important, I lean left politically, am monogamous, not religious, and am childfree (meaning I have no kids and have no desire to ever have or raise any - looking for that Dual Income, No Kids lifestyle).
More About Me: I've sadly been unemployed for a while due to being laid off in a tough job market, but I do a lot of creativity for my self-improvement. I'm active in cosplaying as I make my own costumes and attend local anime/comic conventions (pictures taken from Momocon this past weekend) and collect art posters, prints, and other wall art. I'm not into anime or manga as I'm more into graphic novels, cosplaying, Game Show Network shows, watching professional wrestling matches, puzzles, mystery books, videogames, and indie horrothriller movies, but it's cool if you aren't into those things. Other hobbies of mine include designing personal art projects, creative writing, journaling/blogging, watching game shows, and taking part in recreational activities like bowling (both at the alley and on Wii/Switch Sports), swimming (including the beach), playing billiards/pool, mini golf, air hockey, laser tag, go-kart racing, and attending carnivals, fairs, and amusement parks.
About You: All that said, I'm looking for a single woman in between her mid-20s and mid-30s who I can get to know on a personal level and with time, build a relationship with. Those looking for something casual, meaningless, or short-term need not apply. Those of you who are local or in a nearby state are preferred! I won't necessarily count you out if you live in a faraway state but do want to be realistic and say if we hit it off and get along well, it could be a while before we meet due to the long distance. If I had a type, I'd say I'm drawn to glasses-wearing nerdy types of women on the thickecurvier side, but those looks are just bonuses, not requirements. The requirements I do have are that you must also be childfree (wanting to share that D.I.N.K lifestyle), monogamous, non-religious (or at least not deeply religious) and politically progressive/liberal.
I'm only responding to those who message me with a photo/selfie and a short intro as I'll know who read through this... So if you think we could be a good fit and maybe become something together, hit me up via chat or DM!

Salut à tous. Je créé ce sujet parce qu'il faut vraiment que ça sorte, je pense que ça me fera du bien d'en parler et d'avoir vos avis. Et si cette histoire peut servir de warning aux plus jeunes ou aux personnes fragiles, les aider à ne pas répéter mes erreurs ou bien à moins se sentir seul, et bien c'est un petit plus assez agréable.
Je suis un homme (de presque 30 ans) et je suis stalké depuis plus d'un an par une jeune femme (de 21 ans) originaire d'un pays étranger (je précise, au cas où l'on me suggèrerait de porter plainte ou autre). Je vais essayer de raconter tout ça depuis le début.
Depuis 2021, j'ai pris l'habitude de poster (sous mon nom) de nombreux articles et post Facebook dans des groupes publics sur un sujet bien précis. C'est presque une activité professionnelle, car c'est un domaine dans lequel il y a un peu d'argent à se faire. Parallèlement, je postais également des vidéos de gaming, pour m'amuser, juste comme ça, de temps en temps. Chose importante à préciser: je postais également mes vidéos ET certains de mes articles sur reddit (sur un compte désormais supprimé). C'est à cette époque qu'elle a commencé à me stalker, manifestement: elle voyait mes articles et les lisait (sur Facebook) puis en trainant sur reddit, elle a fait le lien, et a fini par tomber sur mes vidéos de gaming. Elle venait parfois me parler sur reddit (en se faisant passer pour un homme, avec de faux comptes, et je l'ai appris bien plus tard). Pour une raison que j'ignore, elle a développé une obsession pour moi, et elle a fini par retrouver un de mes vieux comptes Instagram et à voir à quoi je ressemblais. Tout ça de longs mois avant que je la connaisse.
On avance de plusieurs mois, en 2022, où je vis une rupture assez difficile: mais mon ex et moi sommes encore en bon terme et parlons toujours ensemble. On dirait presque un hasard, mais cette fille me fait une demande en ami sur Facebook (avec son nom et ses photos) seulement quelques jours après ma rupture (impossible pour elle de le savoir, je ne postais absolument RIEN sur mon couple en ligne).
C'est là qu'on commence à "sympathiser" et à discuter pendant des heures chaque jours. Ça me remontais pas mal le moral, parce que j'étais en pleine rupture et devais déménager quelques semaines plus tard, laissant toute une période de ma vie derrière moi. J'imagine que ça m'aidait beaucoup d'avoir quelqu'un a qui parler et je me suis... malheureusement beaucoup trop ouvert et confié à elle. Je lui ai trop parlé de mon couple, de raisons de notre rupture, de mon ex (notamment son prénom, cela aura une importance pour la suite). Et pendant des semaines, ma stalkeuse m'a écouté attentivement (en prenant des notes, je suppose) puis naturellement... j'ai fini par développer des sentiments pour elle, malgré la distance, et elle a fini par me dire qu'elle m'aimait elle aussi, et c'est à peu près là que les choses ont basculées.
Les premiers temps, ça allait bien. Puis elle a fini par être de plus en plus désagréable et clingy, à m'insulter, parfois me bloquer quelques temps, etc. parce que je ne répondait pas assez vite à ses messages (j'essayais de reconstruire ma vie et, étant retourné chez mes parents, j'étais très souvent pris et ne pouvais pas passer chaque seconde derrière mon téléphone), etc. etc. bref, elle refaisait de ma vie un enfer quotidien. C'est aussi à cette période qu'elle a fini par me révéler qu'elle me stalkait depuis des mois avant de me parler, et qu'elle connaissait mon compte sur reddit, ma chaîne YouTube, mon ancien Instagram et plein d'autres choses sur moi... et là les choses n'ont fait que se dégrader et j'ai fini par l'envoyer chier.
J'ai voulu un temps rester présent, parce qu'on s'était tellement rapproché et qu'elle avait elle aussi ses soucis (mentaux, familiaux, etc) mais j'ai du à un moment complètement l'envoyer chier parce que c'était impossible de trouver un compromis... et pourtant... ça ne s'arrête pas là.
De longs mois se sont écoulés, et moi j'ai continué à reconstruire ma vie, à me soigner de ma rupture, à redevenir quelqu'un (bref je ne préciserais pas mes accomplissement maintenant j'ai retenu la leçon). De temps en temps, elle m'envoyait un message par-ci par-là que j'ignorais, jusqu'au jour où j'ai craqué et décidé de lui répondre. Elle avait l'air d'avoir digéré tout ça, gagné en maturité et réglé ses problèmes. Je me suis donc dit que j'allais lui laisser une seconde chance.
Nous avons donc discuté comme ça pendant des mois et tout allait à peu près bien, puis... elle a recommencé à nouveau à être désagréable, mais avec un petit truc en plus.
Elle avait fini par trouver, à force de stalker et à force de social engineering, les réseaux sociaux de mon ex. Comme dit précédemment, je suis en bon terme avec mon ex. Mais j'évite de regarder son visage en photo, d'écouter sa voix en vidéo, etc. parce que cela ne m'aide pas à aller mieux (parler par texte, ça va encore). Mais ma stalkeuse a trouvé ça judicieux de me parler de mon ex, de décrire son physique très précisemment (ce qui est très flippant), de décrire sa voix, etc. Et de me demander si elle devrait m'envoyer des photos et vidéos d'elle, etc. Je lui ai dit d'arrêter tout de suite.
Un après-midi, en regardant mon téléphone, j'ai vu des notifs de ma stalkeuse qui me disait de venir lui parler de toute URGENCE sur (l'application que nous utilisions pour communiquer)... je me suis précipité sur l'application pour voir ce qu'était l'urgence et... ça commençait simplement par un "je m'ennuie et j'ai besoin de drama" puis une cinquantaine de messages pour parler de mon ex, décrire en détail tout ce qu'elle voyait sur ses réseaux, etc. ponctués par des "pourquoi tu ne me réponds pas? tu es trop occupé à pleurer?" etc. et des emoji riants aux larmes.
C'est là que j'ai décidé de couper définitivement les ponts, sous les conseil de mon meilleur ami, mais j'avoue avoir peur maintenant qu'elle s'en prenne à mon ex ou cherche à la harceler. Je n'en ai pas encore parlé à mon ex, et je ne sais pas comment aborder le sujet... mais voilà. J'ai simplement envie d'éviter d'apporter des ennuis à quelqu'un d'autre parce que j'en ai trop dit à une inconnue. Je regrette amèrement.
Morale de l'histoire: soyez prudents s'il vous plait, lorsque vous allez mal émotionnellement, il y aura parfois des gens qui essaieront d'en profiter, et qui parfois prendront un malin plaisir à s'amuser avec vous juste parce qu'ils s'ennuient. Réfléchissez toujours avant de trop en divulguer à des inconnus sur le net, parce qu'on s'en rend pas compte, mais même depuis l'autre bout du monde, ils peuvent encore avoir un peu de pouvoir sur vous et peuvent potentiellement ruiner votre vie et celle de vos proches.

Hello hello. I hope you enjoy this short introduction of myself.
Some have asked why I've come here to seek this, and really, why are any of us here? We're searching for something that we can't find elsewhere so we've decided to give this a shot.
I've tried other sites without luck and dating is difficult in my area. By that I mean everyone is super country, as in enjoying fishing and listening to country music while complaining about liberals. Or, to phrase it another way - guns, God and Trump. That's a hard pass for me, so this seems like the next step.
A couple of things before I start:
Distance isn't an issue for me. I'm hoping to meet someone and chat to see where things lead, if there's a connection of any sort. If there is, we can move from there. Distance is a relatively small issue if you can find someone who is truly perfect for you, after all.
I should also mention that, for the most part, age isn't an issue. To some extent it will be of course, but I don't mind a bit of an age gap in either direction at all. If it's an issue for you, that's understandable; however, if you think it will be for me, well the only way to really find out is to message me, now isn't it?
I'm open to anyone who sees this and is interested (including those of any experience level) as I don't want to limit myself when I could possibly find chemistry with someone.
Also, while I am in general an emotionally intelligent, nurturing and supportive person, I'm also a massive sadist. To be more specific, I enjoy psychological sadism (although physical sadism is definitely fun too) and that is reflected in my kinks and, to some extent, my personality. While I believe boundaries and limits are to be respected at all times, and I don't enjoy anything if my partner doesn't, I absolutely love teasing, tormenting and torturing my partner in both play and everyday life.
Prepare for a mountain of text! It's a bit long, but I assure you it's worth the read. I decided that since I'm putting myself out there with a post, I want to truly and fully put myself out there and represent myself. I'm hoping that those reading this will recognize the effort that was put into this and get a good feel for who I am as a person. If you feel it's too much, save it for later, skim or even just message me if you would rather get to know me more naturally.
My post is cobbled together from thoughts, beliefs and realizations that I have come upon in my years in the lifestyle (which is why you might see slightly different styles of writing in different parts, this post is taken from my kink profiles and are the sum result of over ten years of experience that I find I still add to every now and then. I try to edit and organize it a bit from time to time, but it's difficult due to the fact that there's so much that I wish to include.)
Long story short, I can be a bit...rambly, sometimes. So apologies in advance for that, although I have recently made great strides in editing my post. So I've got that going for me, which is nice.
While it's certainly a lengthy read, it's not nearly as bad as it seems. I recommend reading the whole thing (obviously since I wrote it), especially if you're interested in getting to know a kinky, geeky and empathetic person.
Now that I've covered that, it's time to get to the part you've been waiting for.

About me:

I decided to put this part first because I believe that, above all else, the people involved should connect on a personal level and "click", if you will. This tells about who I am and my hobbies and such. If someone can't accept this part of me, how could we possibly get along?
I'm a lighthearted, playful and fairly laid back, yet somewhat serious minded, person who's rather upbeat and probably too curious for his own good. I'm also kind, caring, friendly, sometimes cynical and often sarcastic (although in a lighthearted manner, and never at the expense of others.) There's nothing I love to do more than laugh; I love most things involving humor, although I do believe there's a very fine line between hilarity and stupidity.
Now, for some little bits of trivia about me:

• According to the Myers-Briggs system, I'm an INFP. Online tests can give you an idea of where to start, but they're not that reliable and the results can change depending on your mood that day. To truly discover your type requires self-reflection to learn about your cognitive functions, and while doing so I learned a lot about myself. I don't follow it religiously, but I believe there are some elements of truth to it.
• I'm definitely a Type B Personality.
• I'm a hopeless romantic, an old soul who's young at heart, a cynical optimist and a realistic dreamer.
• I'm definitely that type that believes in better safe than sorry, and one of my mottos is "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst." I also tend to do copious amounts of research before any big decision.
• I consider myself to be a very grounded, down to earth and genuine person.
• I'm extremely friendly and believe in treating others with the same respect that you would like to receive and generally try to do what I feel is "right" by others (more on that in a bit.)
• I like to believe in the best of human nature, although I seem to be let down a fair bit. Even so, I don't want to let that stop me.
• I have very strong values and ideals, and an even stronger moral compass.
• I believe people are free to do and believe what they want, so long as they don't harm themselves, harm, cause trouble for or inconvenience others, or attempt to force those beliefs on others.
• I believe that a life lived for others is the only life worth living.
• I believe that there's no point in worrying about things that you can't change. If you let yourself get dragged down by it and obsess over it, you'll find yourself crushed under the weight of all the injustices in the world.
• I've been told (rather often actually) that I have a very nice voice, frequently being told that I should go into radio or be an announcer of some kind. I'm very expressive and my voice reflects that, having lots of highs and lows. Truthfully, I believe it's one of my better features.
• I much prefer talking to typing in general, especially when first getting to know someone as you get a much better idea of their personality. Also, I feel like I come across kind of...stiff in my writing style when that's very much not me, so voice allows me to showcase my truest self.
• I tend to be a confidant of sorts; due to my open and genuine nature and what I've been told is a welcoming...aura, I suppose, people tend to find me easy to talk to and trust, coming to me to confide things and seek out advice. This is something that brings me great happiness and pride as having the trust of others is important to me.
• Promises are very important to me; once I give my word in regards to something I'll keep it, even if I don't particularly want to. As cheesy as it might sound, to me my word is my bond.
• Admittedly, subtlety is not one of my strong points. I'm a very open, upfront and honest person. I'm terrible at lying (I hate doing it and I just give away that I am) and can't keep a straight face to save my life. If I were an actor, I would probably be Jimmy Fallon.
• I welcome people to give me constructive criticism and feedback as I'm constantly looking to improve myself. Yes, that even includes those that message me saying my post is far too long.
• I can't fake a smile to save my life, it has to be genuine for me. One of the many reasons I hate having photos taken of me.
• I find intelligence, humor and kindness to be the most desirable traits in a partner (although being easy on the eyes doesn't hurt.)
• My senses are all very sensitive, and can sometimes overwhelm me when I'm introduced to new stimuli.
• I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to too. Wait, I'm just kidding, just wanted to throw a little Mitch Hedberg in here. I don't drink, smoke or do drugs. While I have no issue with those who drink, I do tend to avoid smokers and hardcore drug users.
• Despite what the length of my post may say about me, I absolutely hate writing.
• I enjoy visiting places but hate the actual traveling (which is one of the reasons why if I could have one power it would be teleportation [actually if I could have one power it would be the ability to manipulate space and time, however for simplicity's sake I'm just going to say teleportation for now {not Star Trek teleportation though, fuck that.}])
• I hate waiting and I hate making others wait.
• I love the symbolism of trees and what they represent: strength, vitality, protection.
• If I had to rank the seven deadly sins in the order that I'm guilty of from most to least, it would go: Gluttony, Pride, Sloth, Lust, Envy, Greed and Wrath.
• If I were to list the Magic the Gathering colors that I most identify with from most to least, it would go: White, Blue, Green, Red and then Black.
• Growing up I was all about DBZ, Dinosaurs, Gargoyles, Ghostbusters, Ninja Turtles, Pokémon, Power Rangers, Spider-Man & X-Men.
• I absolutely love animals and have two cats of my own, Ivy and Jasmine (there are wonderful stories behind both names), that I love to death. I probably talk to them like people a bit too much.
• I spend far more time living in my head than I should.
• I firmly believe that breakfast offers the best food. I could eat waffles everyday.
• I call Gatorade by their flavors as opposed to their colors.
• I absolutely love when I'm thirsty and soda burns my throat.
• You won't catch me running unless something is chasing me. Partially because I have asthma, but mostly because running is awful.

Over the past several years I've come to appreciate music a lot more than I used to (before it was simply used as background noise as I can't stand silence) and have discovered that I'm a fan of alt-metal, heavy metal and hard rock more than anything else.
Some bands I enjoy include:

Adelitas Way, Amaranthe, Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed, Evans Blue, Five Finger Death Punch, Gemini Syndrome, Otherwise, Pop Evil, Sevendust, Shinedown, Shaman's Harvest, State of Mine, Theory of a Deadman, Three Days Grace (before Adam Gontier left)

I enjoy other types of music as well, for example another band I like is Bowling for Soup as I love their sense of humor; it's great to see people not taking music so seriously. I'm also a fan of big band music, which I actually have Fallout 3 to thank for. I enjoy classical musical as well and, despite having no real knowledge of it and most of it sounding the same, I find it incredibly relaxing and peaceful.
While I enjoy relaxing and watching television, I have trouble watching hour long shows as I can only focus on it for so long before my attention wavers, around that time I start looking at my phone and just waiting for it to be over. It's also why I don't watch too many movies; I need my entertainment bite sized. I'll watch movies every once in a while, but they generally need to be 100 minutes tops (unless it's something I'm super into.).
I have difficulty getting into things that are realistic; they usually need to be fantastical in nature and capture my imagination. My preferred genres are comedy, horror (mainly supernatural, no slashers) and most things involving special powers or abilities, however I can sometimes get into action or drama as well. I also have a love for the world of animation, possibly because they tend to be more creative and aren't limited by reality; it's part of why I'm so partial to anime.
Some shows that I'm fond of are:

Animation: Adventure Time, American Dad, Archer, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Bob's Burgers, Bojack Horseman, [China, IL], Disenchantment, Futurama, HarmonQuest, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, King of the Hill, Metalocalypse, Mike Tyson Mysteries, Mr. Pickles, Rick and Morty, Robot Chicken, South Park, Superjail, Ugly Americans, Venture Bros.
Live-action: Arrested Development, Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, Carnivàle, Dexter, Eureka, Friends, Game of Thrones, The Good Place, House, The Lost Room, Monk, The Muppets (2015 series), The Office, Parks and Rec, Psych, Stargate, Stranger Things, Walking Dead, Warehouse 13, Wilfred

I definitely binge my shows, I like to wait for a season (or preferably an entire series) to be done before I jump into it. I'm also the type that's fine watching something just once. If I ever feel the need to watch it again it will be many, many years later. This extends to games as well, I generally need things with replayability such as MOBA's or Rogue-likes.
Gaming is easily one of my biggest hobbies and has been for many, many years now. I see it as an art form, as a way to tell a story that you can deeply immerse yourself in and get pulled into, something that can captivate you and make you lose all track of time because it's simply so engrossing. It's also a damn good way to have fun and kill time, especially when you're playing with friends. It's a big part of my life and something I have spent quite a bit of time and money on. Some people may be put off by this, but it a part of me that I will not deny or hide; after all, if someone has an issue with that then how compatible could we possibly be?
Some video games that hold a special place in my heart are:

Action/Adventure: Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed, Bastion, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Bayonetta, Brütal Legend, Bully, Darksiders, Dark Souls (first one), Deadly Premonition, Dead Space, Devil May Cry (3 & 5), Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Heavy Rain, Hellblade, Infamous, Last of Us, Legend of Zelda (A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker), Luigi's Mansion, Metal Gear Solid (Twin Snakes, 3, 4 & 5), Ninja Gaiden (2004), Overlord, Phantom Crash, Resident Evil 2 remake, Saint's Row 2, The Saboteur, TMNT: Turtles in Time
Fighting: Anarchy Reigns, Blazblue (series), DBZ: Budokai, Dragon Ball Fighterz, Marvel vs Capcom (2 & 3), Mortal Kombat (9 & 11), Soul Calibur 3, Super Smash Bros. Melee
MOBA: Dota 2, Guardians of Middle Earth, Heroes of the Storm
Rogue-like: Binding of Isaac, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Darkest Dungeon, Dead Cells, Don't Starve, FTL, Monster Train, Slay the Spire
RPG: Bravely Default, Dragon Age (Origins and Inquisition), Dragon's Dogma, Elder Scrolls (Oblivion and Skyrim), Fable (1 & 2), Fallout (3 & New Vegas), Final Fantasy (IX, X & Tactics Advance), Grim Dawn, Mass Effect 2, Pillars of Eternity (series), Pokémon (Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver & Stadium), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Suikoden 2, Tyranny, The Witcher (2 & 3)
Shooter: Bioshock (series), Battlefield Bad Company (1 & 2), The Darkness, Deep Rock Galactic, Gears of War (1 & 3), Left 4 Dead, Shadowrun (2007 FPS), Team Fortress 2 (when it first came out, it's a little much now), Vanquish
Simulation: Animal Crossing (first one), Doki Doki Literature Club, Harvest Moon, Life is Strange, Pokémon Snap, Tabletop Simulator
Strategy: Civilization (3 & 4), Endless Legend, Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers (2012 & 2013), Portal, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Warcraft 3

Not only that, but I've also gotten into tabletop gaming, including both board and pen and paper games (such as Dungeons and Dragons.) I initially got into the latter as an exercise to strengthen my creative muscles but found it was a fun way to goof off with friends. For the former, it's almost gotten to the point that I enjoy them more than most video games as it provides an experience that you don't get anymore; friends gathered around and competing against one another or cooperating against a common foe, something that's disappeared with the advent of the internet.
Some board games that I love are:

BANG! The Dice Game, Dead of Winter, Dice Throne, Epic Spell Wars, King of New York, Lords of Waterdeep, Munchkin, Pandemic, Red Dragon Inn

I enjoy reading as well, although I find it difficult to find a book that can keep my focus and really draw me in like I crave. I'm constantly on the prowl for new material, and my favorite genres would probably be apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic, dystopian, horror and dark fantasy/grimdark, although I'm certainly in the market for something that has a good element of humor to it as well. If you have any recommendations, I'd absolutely love to hear them!
Bring up video/board/tabletop games, super powers, comics, cartoons, anime, manga, sci-fi, fantasy or technology and I'll happily chat your ear off. I'm quite social and love to talk, however I'm also an introvert so there are plenty of times where the pressure of constant social interactions with others gets to me and I need to take some time to myself to mentally recharge.
As I mentioned, I absolutely adore animals. Seriously, if you want to make me hate a bad guy, have him hurt an animal. Ironically, I'm practically a carnivore. I'm convinced that I would starve if I had to hunt for my own food just because I couldn't bring myself to hurt them.
Speaking of food, I'm a bit of a foodie (I dislike that word, but it's accurate.) I'm all about sauces, seasonings and spices, not to mention a love for anything deep fried. I love experiencing different tastes and textures while trying new things...as long as they're not vegetables. No veggies, except corn and potatoes; those two get a pass as they're amazing. I also enjoy onions and peppers in small quantities in dishes.
I've got a nice guy next door look in that I have no tattoos or piercings, have glasses, stay clean shaven and have a bit of a baby face (as in I look rather young, I often get mistaken for being in my mid 20's). I wouldn't say that with my look I would be called handsome, sexy or hot (however I am often called cute (I've also been called handsome a fair amount, it still feels weird though.) I'm also rather pale due to the fact that I stay indoors most of the time (if you can't tell from that, I'm white.) Because of my appearance, and my friendly and laid back nature, people tend to view me as rather innocent. I suppose that isn't entirely incorrect though, I'll admit that I can be a bit naive at times in regards to people and the world.
As for politics and religion, I tend to try to stay away from both.
While I believe I'm somewhat in the middle for the former, as I have views from both sides, if I had to choose I'd say I definitely lean way more towards the left. I believe in the greater good, the needs of the many over the needs of the few, in advancing science and finding alternative fuels and materials that don't pollute or destroy our environment in the process, in trying to create a brighter future, etc, etc. I'm definitely not on the far left however, and hate social justice and cancel culture. I'm empathetic and all, but people need to stop getting offended by every tiny thIng and creating problems that don't exist. That's definitely not exclusive to the left, the right is very guilty of it as well.
For the latter, I generally just consider myself not religious as I don't think or care about it too much. If I had to classify it though I'd say I'm agnostic. This means that, while I don't believe in any god or gods, I acknowledge that they might exist. While I'm 99.3̅3̅3̅% certain that there is no grand creator or afterlife, there's no real way we can know for certain. We're a very young and ignorant species, there's much about life and the universe that we are unaware of or don't understand yet.
I just try to focus on being a good person and doing right by others, not for some earthly or heavenly reward, or for a smug sense of self satisfaction, but because it's simply what I want to do. It's who I am and what makes me feel good about myself.
I try my best to live by The Golden Rule (also known as treat others you the way you wish to be treated or do unto others as you would have them do unto you), being guided by own moral compass that directs me in how I interact with others. I always do my very best to make others feel wanted, cared for, appreciated and understood, to give them validation; I never want anyone to feel left out or unwanted, for any reason at all. Perhaps it's from my own difficult childhood, since I felt that way when I was young and don't want others to go through the same things that I did. Whatever the reason, whenever I say or do anything I tend to, without even realizing it, think about how it will affect the other person and the different ways that it could be taken. I strive to treat others with the courtesy and respect that I believe that they deserve.
As I mentioned, I have a strong moral compass. The only problem is, this is true North for my compass; I feel that's the correct way to treat and interact with others, and I believe that's what everyone should do. So when other people don't act in the way that I believe they should, even though I know everyone is different and everyone has different thoughts, feelings and experiences that led them to those (we are the product of our environments after all), it can bother me. I've come to realize that this is due to holding myself to extremely high standards, and often holding other people to the same standards to which I hold myself.
Unfortunately, that can lead to conflicts with others, sometimes over things that they might feel to be insignificant. It doesn't happen very often though as I can recognize whether something is actually a big deal or not and put it to the back of my mind; I wouldn't be a very good friend or partner if I nitpicked over every little thing, now would I? Despite being very much driven by my moral compass, I'm also calm, collected, understanding and logical by nature.
I've realized that I used to put a lot of pressure on myself when interacting with others, trying to be funny and entertaining, overall trying to make sure that they were having a good time and enjoying themselves. If, for whatever reason, I felt that they were bored I ended up trying even harder to keep them engaged and joyful. It was somewhat of a bad habit of mine; I suppose I just felt like I had a personal stake in everyone that I interacted with, a responsibility almost, and didn't want to leave them wanting. I still do this to some extent, but not as much as I used to; as I've grown and matured, and my anxiety has lessened, I've learned to pull back a bit and that I don't need to carry everyone's burden on my shoulders. I still wish to keep people engaged and happy, and still take on more responsibility than I probably should, however I imagine that I'll always be that way; it's just in my nature.
I'm an emotionally intelligent and extremely empathetic person who's well aware of his inner workings due to my introspective nature. I'm easily able to see things from multiple perspectives, which I believe is because of how I process empathy. I don't necessarily feel the exact pain of others, but I mirror it; it's second nature for me to put myself in their position which allows me to understand the plethora of ways they can think and feel. This is something that is a core part of who I am and that I take great pride in.
I feel deeply, which can lead to me taking things to heart and sometimes reading too much into things or overanalyzing them. Thankfully, due to my great experience in emotional control and regulation (which I'm about to go into), I'm generally able to take a step back from my emotions and understand the intent and meaning behind words and actions so there's less of a chance of misunderstanding.
Because I feel so deeply, that caused problems for me when I was younger. My emotions were a swirling vortex, out of control and ready to burst out at any second. Puberty certainly didn't make this any easier either.
It's been said that our personal identity is 80% environmental and 20% genetic. While I might be genetically predispositioned to feeling so deeply, a lot of it likely comes from traumas experienced in childhood and my inability to process them properly. They left scars that I'm still dealing with today, and as a result of said scars, growing up I was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, depression and OCD, on top of the ADHD that I already had. However, I'm thankfully in a very good place thanks to a combination of past therapy, current medication and constant reflection.
I've done a lot of work to be able to get a handle on my emotions. Because I got used to having them under such control, I've been told that at times I can come across as kind of indifferent or hard to read. That's one of the reasons that I'm such an upfront, open, honest and expressive person; I want people to be able to understand me and I generally tell exactly what I'm thinking or how something makes me feel so that others can do that.
Honestly, one of my biggest fears is that no one will ever be able to understand me like I understand myself. It's right up there with a fear of the unknown (one is the reasons I don't do deep water, I don't want to fuck with any Cthulhu monsters that are down there) and losing my memories, as in the end we're just a sum of our memories and I don't want to lose who I am.
I never claimed to be perfect; I have my flaws as well, and try to work on them every day to improve myself as a person. Since I've already put so much of myself into my profile, I thought that it was only right to put the negative parts in as well.
While some of these things could certainly be considered negative traits, I believe that they help make me the Dom that I am. Because I AM so compassionate, because I AM so empathetic, because I HAVE been through so much and still keep going, I feel that I can give a sub or a slave what she truly needs to thrive in her environment. Feel free to read more about that below.

My Beliefs:

If I had to break down why this all appeals to me to one reason, to put it simply, I'd have to say that I'm the kind of person who wants to be needed. I find that, overall, I feel more driven and fulfilled if I know that I have someone that depends on me. If I have someone whose best interests I must keep in mind, who I need to protect and care for, I feel a greater sense of purpose than the humdrum rumblings of everyday life.
When you combine that with my nurturing and empathetic nature this type of relationship is the natural choice for me (more on that next). I believe that's also why I find myself naturally drawn to the weak, the helpless and the damaged. I have an overwhelming desire to heal them, to help and protect them while nurturing them and watching them grow into who I know they can be, which goes with what I was saying before.
A sub knows that her Dom loves her unconditionally and only wants what is best for her. While I do certainly enjoy doing this, I primarily do this to help my sub above all else. I'm a nurturing soul who wishes nothing more than to protect his partner. To take care of her and help her when she needs it. To be her support and her life line. To give her the guidance, structure and discipline she needs to feel fulfilled in life. To set rules and guidelines so that she can move freely within those set limits and be happy. To help her decide what is best for her when she herself doesn't know. To provide the security and comfort of knowing that she is being taken care of and that she has someone she can talk to about anything without any sort of judgment or prejudice. I want her to thrive and become the person that she was always meant to be. I enjoy pushing my sub to explore her boundaries and limits, within reason of course. I simply wish to see her flourish and blossom, to help her become what I know she can be and reach higher plateaus.
I realize the previous paragraphs could sound condescending in some ways, however that couldn't be further from the truth. I see my partner as an equal, someone who simply has different needs that I can fulfill so that they can live a fulfilling life themselves, and in turn by fulfilling those needs of theirs, I feel fulfilled as well. We ultimately form a symbiotic relationship of sorts.
Make no mistake, I have no desire to micromanage every tiny detail of my sub's life, nor form a codependent relationship where she's entirely reliant upon me for her mental and emotional needs. The level and extent of the D/s relationship is decided after long discussion and input from both parties.
Some believe that being a Dom is just telling people what to do and getting what you want while getting off, but it's so much more than that. It's not as easy or simple as it appears, you must always keep what is best for your sub in mind, even if it conflicts with your own immediate or future interests. You must constantly be aware of her needs and desires while providing checks and balances to help her live a life worth living. Anyone can simply give a sub what she wants, it takes a true Dom to say no because you feel that is what is best for her.
At least that's how it should be. There are so many "Doms" out there that don't care about their subs at all, only themselves. They don't care if they're suffering physically or emotionally, they simply use them as toys they can play with and then toss aside when they're bored; they abuse them and hurt them simply because they get a kick out of it. A real Dom/sub relationship is a very special and strong bond, much more so than a vanilla relationship in my opinion. So many people seem to have issues understanding that unfortunately, there's a certain stigma associated with this and preconceptions are formed before they even learn anything about it.
Truthfully, I believe the sub holds the power in the relationship in many ways. She is the one that is choosing to submit after all, to give up her power and control to the Dom. Despite that, she is the one that has control over the power of safe words, that can stop an activity with a single utterance. Her subservience is completely voluntary, something that many people don't seem to think about. It's not simply about someone bossing someone around because they can, it's about someone choosing a partner that they feel is worthy to give their all to.

What I'm looking for:

I'm not here looking for a booty call or one night stand, but to find a potential partner in crime, possibly for life if a connection is made. More than anything, I simply wish to find someone who looks at me the way this girl looks at her prom date.
While the following is my ideal, as I said at the beginning, I'm open to talking to anyone that reads this. However, I'm not particularly interested in "littles" or "brats".
Ideally my partner would be what is typically called an adult babygirl, and I'd like to elaborate on that term since some might not be familiar with it. Essentially it's someone who enjoys the nurturing, loving and structured aspect of a Daddy Dom or DD/lg relationship but isn't a little themselves; meaning that they don't have a mental age that they regress to, among other things. (I don't identify as a Daddy myself, however due to my protective and supportive/nurturing nature you could say I'm Daddy leaning.)
Some people have their entire lives revolve around the lifestyle, going to munches, conventions, parties and attempting to reach out to their community and find a place to belong. That might work for them, but it's of no interest to me. While I'm certainly not opposed to chatting and making friends and connections, I have no desire to be a part of a community. I'm simply seeking one whose ideas and beliefs line up with my own for a symbiotic relationship as I mentioned before
If I had to describe such a relationship, it would definitely be on the lighter side of the spectrum in regards to what daily life would be like. I'm seeking a 24/7 TPE, however I also enjoy being casual with my sub. Perhaps in some ways it's more similar to a vanilla relationship with strong Dom/sub undertones than a typical BDSM relationship.
In my perfect situation, we would still be able to joke around, have fun and be very close and romantic; however there is also the constant understanding that I am in charge, and what I say goes. No matter how much fun we may be having or what we might be doing, she should always know her place, even if it's only in the back of her mind. There are rules in place for her benefit, and if she breaks those rules she will be punished.
By what I say goes, I mean I have the final say in subjects because, as a submissive, she has given the reins of power over to me. She trusts me to make her decisions for her and to do what is best for her, to take care of and protect her. I'm never the type to say "this is how it's going to be, I don't care what you want, end of discussion" as discourse is the only way two people can truly understand one another. I always value my submissive's input and always want her to give her opinion and speak her mind if something is bothering her.
My ideal sub would be one that is loyal and devoted above all else, but also one who is looking for a Dom she can actually have a connection with. One that, not necessarily needs, but craves guidance, support, structure and discipline in their life; whose life does not feel complete without this, like there is a void deep inside her that cannot be filled unless she has a Dom to guide and take care of her, that she can in turn make happy and serve to the best of her ability.
Beyond anything else though, I want to like them as a person before I love them as a sub. My perfect partner would be someone who is intelligent, kind-hearted, earnest, funny and a has a fair touch of dorkiness in her. I want her to be someone that actually has personality, that I can laugh with and talk to for hours upon hours on end and still hate the thought of leaving. Someone that will either indulge my love of games and geekery or join me because she's just as much of a fan of those things as I am. Someone who loves how I tease and torment her, keeping her on the edge and revelling in the pleasure I get from watching her squirm.
One thing to note is that just because I am very friendly (sometimes people are surprised when I begin acting more Dominant, others aren't as they say they can "sense it in the way I present myself", even while being friendly and joking around) doesn't mean that I'm not strict when I have to be. I have no problem at all with enforcing rules and giving out punishments, although it's certainly not my favorite aspect of the relationship. I would prefer to reward, encourage and nurture my sub, however there are times when discipline is necessary; if one feels the need to act up, one must be ready accept the consequences after all.
If I had to describe my style of dominance, or what makes me dominant, I suppose that would be a little tricky. I don't feel the need to control everything, nor do I attempt to, and I have no problem with kicking back and letting others take the reigns in everyday situations if I feel they're more qualified or I just plain don't feel like it. Nor am I the type that "oozes" dominance, I don't care for confrontation and am a very easy going, go with the flow person. What I believe it boils down to is I simply feel comfortable with power and, quite frankly, enjoy it. I bear the burden of leadership well, it comes naturally to me and I thrive when I have the weight of another's life on my shoulders; I have little trouble making hard decisions when I need to. It also helps that my sexual inclinations line up with this nicely. If it doesn't last quite some time and doesn't end with both parties panting and soaked in sweat, I'm not particularly interested in it.
On that note, I have quite the kinky side despite my friendly and charming exterior. I suppose I should list it here because, while certainly not the primary focus of my interest in this, sexual compatibility does factor in to some extent.
My kinks are:

Anal, begging, biting, blowjobs, body worship, bondage, choking, cock worship, consensual non-consent, creampies, crying (the good kind), cumplay, deepthroating, degradation, desperation, dirty talking, face fucking, facials, free use, hair pulling, hole stretching (basically pushing my partner to her limits), humiliation, hypnosis, name calling, objectification, orgasm control (which includes edging, forced orgasms, orgasm denial and ruined orgasms), public play (in a discreet manner), slapping, spanking, spitting and teasing.

One thing I feel I should mention is that the acts of degradation and humilation are limited to play time and only sexual in nature, never attacking my partner in any way.
I also believe very strongly in aftercare and safe words as the mental and emotional well being of my partner is very important.
I realize there's no one way to live this lifestyle, but I feel like a lot of what I said should be obvious and general knowledge in regards to this; however from my experience it doesn't seem to be that way too often (not referring to the that are inexperienced in this, more those that do this for the wrong reason), which is why I wanted to share my views in such detail.
I feel like I've rambled on enough already and am dangerously close to having a TL;DR (yeah, I hit that ages ago), so I'll just say that if you're interested in learning more about me and getting to know me, you can give me a message and we'll see where things go. I like to get to know people naturally, just talk with them and see where things lead, whether that be a short chat, a simple friendship or something more. It seems silly to have expectations when you don't even know the person or how you'll get along.
Even if you're nervous or anxious, you think you might not be good enough, doubt my intentions or anything along those lines, still give me a message. After all, what do you have to lose?
Thanks for taking the time to read my little novella, I hope to hear from you soon. So long, and thanks for reading!

Hello everyone,
Last January, I purchased a CX-60. As it is still difficult to find user reviews of this model, I took the time to write this review in the hope that it can be helpful to you if you are considering buying this car. I hope that my experience can answer some of your questions and assist you in your decision-making process.
Exterior Design (4/5)
The design is particularly successful. The car has a sleek look and gives the impression of being in motion even when stationary, just as the designers promised during the design phase. It has nothing to envy compared to its competitors, such as the Audi Q5. Although I'm not a big fan of black rims, I must admit that they blend harmoniously with the Takumi package on this model. The black accents on the rims, tinted windows, and mirrors create a visual signature that doesn't go unnoticed. Unlike most models, it stands out more in person than in photos, especially in terms of size. It is truly massive. For comparison, it is longer and taller than an Audi Q5. When you see it for the first time, the "wow" effect is guaranteed. However, the rear of the vehicle is less expressive and does not do justice to the front and side views. Fortunately, the quad exhaust at the back helps maintain the sporty character of the model.
Interior Design (5/5)
The interior layout is clean, simple, and modern. It features a large central screen, a minimally customizable driver display, and a head-up display integrated directly on the windshield. This efficiency will surely appeal to those who struggle with screens everywhere displaying unnecessary information. Similarly, you cannot customize the ambient lighting in the evening. The lights are fixed, in a neutral color, and the adjustment only offers 3 intensities. It may not be to everyone's liking, but personally, I find it liberating to be free from countless customization possibilities that always leave a sense of dissatisfaction. As for the materials, they come in understated colors and durable textures, both in terms of aesthetics and longevity (at least for now, time will tell). The center console is impressively wide and gives a sense of space rarely felt in vehicles of similar size. When driving this car, you feel like you're aboard a large American SUV like the Suburban or Ford Explorer. Unfortunately, there are not many storage compartments. The huge center console only offers a tiny compartment that can hold a few small items and keys at most. The door pockets are also very low and not very practical.
Ergonomics (4/5)
The cabin offers generous space for all occupants, including the rear seats where even adults over 1.80m tall have ample legroom. The seats, which are rather firm and have limited adjustments, can be surprising at first, especially if you're coming from a vehicle with a multitude of settings. In the first few days, I experienced sharp back pain, especially since the car lacks flexibility as I'll mention later. After three weeks of adjustment, the pain disappeared, and I even noticed an improvement in my posture. In my previous vehicle, my seat was so comfortable, like a sofa, but now I realize it was bad for my back. Inside this car, with its comfort inspired by Japanese tatami mats, I ultimately feel better, less slouched, and more alert. The trunk offers significant capacity, especially compared to similar models. However, it doesn't have a dual compartment or a sub-trunk to store charging cables. The tailgate rises very high, over 3 meters. It struggles to lock in place when encountering resistance, which can damage it from the first uses. I recommend adjusting it by pressing the closing button while it's opening, to lock it at the desired height, and holding down that button for 5 seconds (until you hear a series of beeps) to limit the opening range.
Technologies and Equipment (3/5)
The connectivity is quite comprehensive, although Apple CarPlay suffers from some instability and unexplained bugs (random disconnections, unexpected cuts, slowdowns, random automatic connection). Wireless charging also sometimes poses a problem. It works randomly and seems to generate a lot of heat on the phone. When not in use, an error message keeps flashing, indicating that no phone is being charged.
As for driving aids, the lane-keeping system works very well, although it is not autonomous. If you don't have your hands on the wheel, the car behaves like a billiard ball, bouncing from one lane to another. However, if it deviates from its trajectory because you're not attentive enough, it will alert you and secure the car by making a steering correction. It's very reassuring and always activated at the right time. Moreover, it's even a valuable aid on high-speed winding turns, on certain departmental roads. Other vehicles end up cutting through the turns or having to slow down excessively, while you effortlessly stay precisely in your lane.
I was very disappointed with the cruise control, which is not adaptive. Later, I discovered that it is an option that is disabled in the software since all the necessary sensors are already present. You can confirm this through ActiveSense, which provides a complete view of surrounding vehicles. So, I wanted to add this option later, willing to bear the cost, but Mazda doesn't allow it. This strategy, or lack of a sales strategy, is surprising.
The temperature management inside the car is surprising. Without changing the temperature settings in automatic mode, during a long drive, there is a yo-yo effect that is difficult to explain. One moment, it feels quite cool, and a few minutes later, it becomes too hot. I wonder if it's related to the external brightness because on a hot spring day, the air conditioning temperature suddenly rose when the sky suddenly became overcast. However, it was still hot outside. I think there's an overly reactive adaptive mode at play.
The remote car management is quite good. It's possible to activate the heating or air conditioning, which will run for a maximum of 30 minutes before shutting off and sending a notification to your phone. You can extend it if you have a good signal. The car surprisingly receives a signal in unexpected places, even in underground parking lots where my phone has no network. This remote temperature mode is ideal for defrosting the car or leaving a dog inside during cold weather or in the summer when the temperature rises quickly in a closed and parked car. I've tested it in extreme cold and hot seasonal temperatures, and it works very well so far. Of course, it consumes a lot of energy, but you can't have everything without a trade-off. It's suitable for occasional use. The rest of the remote features include locking the car, checking tire pressure, consulting the range, and receiving alerts if the alarm is triggered, which is very reassuring. It's also possible to locate the car precisely. It's a shame that we can't access the cameras, as in other fully electric models.
It's not clear in the vehicle manual, but to deactivate the alarm, you need to press the alarm button on the remote right after locking the car. The indicator will blink 4 times, and then it will be turned off. It's better to do it before leaving your dog alone, or else the alarm will be triggered if the dog moves inside the vehicle.
Performance and Driving Dynamics (4/5)
I own the 327-horsepower PHEV model: 200 horsepower from the atmospheric gasoline engine and 127 horsepower from the electric motor. Although the low-end power is reduced with an atmospheric engine, the electric motor more than makes up for it with its responsiveness and instant torque. Despite its weight, the car is very agile. It even outperforms some more powerful or lighter petrol-powered cars in terms of acceleration. Of course, such models regain the advantage in corners, but not in straight lines. The acceleration is impressive, although the road noise insulation somewhat dampens the sensation. Other vehicles seem almost stationary when you step on the accelerator.
I was initially disappointed with the braking performance, which was less impressive than in my previous vehicle. However, by pressing the pedal harder and adjusting the regenerative braking to the maximum, I managed to get used to it.
The handling is remarkable. Although it's not a sports car capable of maintaining very high speeds in corners, it still surpasses similar-sized competing models. Thanks to the four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering, the turning angle and trajectory in corners are impressive for a car of this size. One of the drawbacks of the vehicle lies in the stiffness of the suspension. Despite the excellent noise isolation, you feel the road imperfections more than you would expect when driving an SUV. Even at low speeds, speed bumps are very uncomfortable and cause items in the trunk to bounce around. Mazda seems to have made this choice to prevent the relatively high car from swaying in corners and reduce the risk of rollovers at high speeds. Adaptive suspension could have solved this problem. However, considering the pricing position against the competition, I understand why the brand overlooked this aspect. Moreover, after 3000 km, I noticed that the suspension has become slightly softer, improving comfort to some extent.
Energy Efficiency and Range (2/5)
The consumption and hybridization aspects encompass the majority of the vehicle's drawbacks. The car discharges quickly, and the actual range is much lower than what the manufacturer claims. Like many owners, I also face a discharge issue when the car is parked. It loses about 30% of charge in 24 hours (and even drains the 12-volt starter battery - as if the headlights were left on). This problem is due to software that prevents the car from entering sleep mode. I have already taken my vehicle to Mazda for reprogramming, and I will have to do it again soon because the issue is still unresolved (now I lose 15% in 24 hours). This problem is not part of the manufacturer's recalls, but many owners are affected. Dealing with a less established manufacturer, this can quickly become a headache. I had to go through many steps and cancel orders for other CX-60s for my company before being taken into consideration by the after-sales service. During my third call, Mazda France assistance even replied to me that they are not Audi. The message is quite clear.
Beyond this specific issue, the management of hybridization lacks customization and seems suitable for a specific use case only. If you live in a house, always have the car plugged in, and regularly make short trips, this plug-in hybrid is suitable. However, if you cannot plug it in daily or if you regularly drive more than 50 km round trip, you might be disappointed. Especially considering the consumption of this car in electric mode, it is often more expensive to charge it than to refuel with gasoline. The cost per 100 km is 2 to 4 times higher at current energy prices. Personally, I opted for the hybrid due to the tax incentives and benefits, but I also wanted to take advantage of remote heating and air conditioning options, especially when I have to leave my dog in the car for a few minutes. Since I cannot recharge it daily in the parking lot of my building, it would be desirable to be able to keep a charged battery and drive in combustion engine mode, but no mode truly allows that. It is possible to choose to recharge the car while driving, consuming approximately 13 liters per 100 km, but you cannot choose to drive solely on the combustion engine without using the high-capacity battery. The sport mode comes close, but the gears are shifted at high RPM, making the driving experience jerky and particularly noisy, and the battery is used as soon as you accelerate a bit (to activate the 137-horsepower motor). An exclusively combustion engine mode would have been relevant, similar to the exclusively electric mode. Furthermore, recharging the battery while driving doesn't work correctly. The recharge is very fast, much faster than when it's connected to 7 kW chargers. However, the displayed percentage does not correspond to the actual charge, which explains why it continues to recharge beyond the set percentage. For example, if you're at 30% and ask the car to recharge up to 50% while driving, it will work at a high rate until it reaches 50%. In normal mode, it will stop recharging the battery, but will continue operating at a high rate to not drop below 50%. So, you end up consuming more without reason, with the engine noise constantly high, which is quite unpleasant. In sport mode, it will continue recharging the battery above 50% without any limit. However, once the car is stopped and restarted, you'll notice that you weren't at 50%, but rather at 35%. The fast recharge was, therefore, fictitious. The problem is that this is a first for Mazda in terms of technology, and no one there is able to provide answers on this matter. The garage I visit explains that Mazda is highly centralized and communicates very little in terms of engineering with the garages. It is, therefore, common for a problem to persist for several months (or more) before being addressed at the technical management level in Japan and then transmitted to local dealerships. However, when deciding to market a technologically immature car, it would be wise to establish a continuous improvement process based on user feedback. In fact, on forums, we can see that Japanese users receive preferential treatment compared to the rest of the world. In conclusion, the battery of this car, which needs to be recharged at a high cost, is only useful for the first 40 kilometers. So, you spend over 3 hours recharging a battery at an exorbitant rate for only 25 or 30 minutes of driving without using gasoline. One might wonder if it's simply a trick to equip professionals, allowing them to benefit from incentives and reduced tax on company vehicles (the primary reason for my purchase). I think many people will never plug it in.
Cost and Value for Money (4/5)
The value for money of this model is indeed very interesting when compared to vehicles of the same standing from other brands, such as Audi. For example, an Audi Q5 offers a similar level but with an additional cost of €25,000. For the same price as a Mazda CX-60, you would only get a Q3 from Audi, which is clearly not comparable. However, it is important to note that the depreciation of this vehicle could be significant, and it might even become difficult to resell it in a few years. This is also true for all plug-in hybrid models. Therefore, I would recommend this model, provided that you negotiate the price well or opt for a lease (the offers are very attractive, and personally, I chose this payment method). The PHEV configuration of the vehicle is suitable for individuals who have daily access to a charging point and have diverse travel needs, ranging from short to long trips. Before the increase in electricity prices, the cost per 100 km was slightly more advantageous compared to gasoline, but today it is the opposite (except when charging from a domestic socket).
Conclusion
I am delighted with this car considering the price at which I acquired it. The positioning is unbeatable, and there are good deals to be made to drive this luxury sports SUV at the price of a "regular" SUV. With a domestic electric socket, choosing the plug-in hybrid is a good middle ground. It's just a shame that the hybrid management is not more refined. Perhaps future updates will address these teething problems.