The long and short of it. My life went off the rails at 9y-o and I'm dealing with it all now at 64. My folks put all the pieces in place, great education, wonderful opportunities, should have been an exemplary life. I think it would be nice to have a good life and be happy, but it's been so long since it was good, I'm not sure it's worth it. I want help for depression, thinking about suicide, but am scared that I I ask, I will be put on a psych hold. I don't think I need that because I'm still here. Now, I think I may be splitting my personality. Is it that, or just a Sims world I've built in my head?
My bio-dad left soon after my birth, mom remarried and I was adopted by a great man at 2 y-o, I was SA'd from age 9 - 13. Confused and unsure throughout school, college, and have little confidence to make decisions in my life. I cannot trust my gut and it has cost me plenty. I've made a lot of bad moves, even when i knew the right choice, I went against it. It's like I don't want to succeed.
What sort of therapy might help me? How do I find a person who can work through all of the following and more? What would someone helping me look like? What's going to happen?
I am isolated and feel utterly alone in an unhappy marriage, my third. I'm (64, HLM). My wife (61LLF) can be mean, cruel, and dismissive. I could go through all of the reasons this marriage is unhappy, but be assured it revolves around sex, money, and my health. I have no kids, she has one with children of his own.
She acts like the happiest woman on earth unless it's around me or about me. She uses that high pitched happy voice with a lilt, cuddles and kisses her dog, not me, just the dog. I said when she cried for another dog, that "OK, as long as it doesn't ruin our sex life." It had been getting back on track; but, not any more. It's dead, she doesn't want me and now, after months, I have no desire to be with her; the sex just isn't any good. Why be disappointed when she doesn't want to be there in the first place?
For about 20 years, I was in chronic pain and on opioids. She would yell that I was exaggerating or faking to try and get some sympathy and she wasn't falling for it. 2 years ago my knee started getting real sore, hurt on walks, and made it impossible for me to hike or climb. She accused me of faking it and even said, "What do you need a knee replacement now?" She told me 'I don't deserve sympathy and she doesn't have any empathy for me.' She accused me of faking Her saying, 'Man up and deal with it' was a constant refrain. So, I had one surgery that helped my lower back and another to replace my knee. MRIs show and doctors say that I need two more surgeries, my shoulder is torn and my neck has three bulging disks that need to be removed and the vertebrae fused. These causes a lot of neck, shoulder, and upper back pain. I have an autoimmune disease that complements my arthritis and causes terrible joint pain and weakness. She said I don't need the surgeries and that she won't help me during the recoveries. In general, our interactions usually belittle me and I feel terrible. Last year, when I tried to talk with her about my depression, she said I should just kill myself.
I think, sometimes, that she is gaslighting me. She will tell me I said something or did something that I don't remember and is nit within my personality. Sometimes, it's a fact I know and she'll fight me on it. I gave up arguing those and just let her go on. She recounts old events that don't sound right in the retelling. She's quoted me when I know it didn't happen. She tells me her son and his family know I'm a loser. For the record, until Covid my investments had been doing well. Now, they're drifting towards shit.
I find myself thinking about mistakes I've made and the consequences they have wrought in my life; divorce, investment losses, job losses, emotional distress, loss and lack of friends, and deep depression. I have a space in my head where I made it to high school without being SA'd. In hindsight I can see that really fucked me up. In that space, I am more confident, and am still married for the only time. It's a fairly elaborate space with careers, family, friends, homes, cars, hobbies, and kids, I think it's three boys and a girl, but that's kind of hazy. I am clear on most of the other details. I often retreat there and talk with my (first) wife, and imaginary friends, and colleagues. I include some long-term acquaintances with whom I should have long friendships, but I don’t have any of those.
I think about that life and what happened in it today when I lie in bed trying to go to sleep. I sometimes make plans for what we'd be doing in the life. I missed out on a great life with an incredible woman who was capable of making something for us. It was my idea, her skill-set, and our contacts in that industry that would have gotten us started. We were doing well IRL, but i freaked out and pulled the plug. Too scared to succeed it seems. That's been a recurring theme in my life. It's why I divorced her. I knew she could be successful and leas a big life. She is, but i knew I was headed down a personal and professional dead-end road and would not do well on my own. So, I divorced her to keep from continuing to fail in front of her. She deserved a much better life and she is living it without me. I am proud of her and thankful that she made it, even if I couldn't. I wish we had made it together. I just couldn't contribute.
So, now, I live with my third wife. On the face of it, our life looks pretty good to the neighbors, I guess. But, I have one hobby, one local close acquaintance, one friend who moved 1500 miles away last year, and an extended group who almost all make substantially more money than I do and have far more interesting lives.
I often feel, in the nice suburban home, that I am just waiting to die, not much to do, nobody needs anything from me, I don't contribute anything to society. I just don't matter.
I wonder if therapy could help, and I wonder if I even car to get help. It would be a lot easier for everyone if I died. I'd rather not die, but if I get help, they'll ask me if I think about harming myself. Well, I sit around the house and imagine holding a pistol to my head; I think about it as I'm going to sleep after another shitty day. I imagine the mess and know she'll be pissed if it gets on anything, or spoils part of her life but bloodying the house or yard. I'm afraid to go get help because there is so much to unpack.
Reasons I haven't killed myself: 1) in case heaven is real. My step-dad will be there and I'll damned for killing myself, and I won't get to see him, or eventually, my first wife, whom i miss more than I can describe. 2) I don't want to go out as this big a loser 3) There will be a lot to take care of after my death and I don't want it screwed up. 4) maybe my life might get better

Met 9 years ago. Told them I was asexual from the beginning and that I had no interest in sex. So they were aware of this since day 1. They claim they don't need sex yet constantly initiate physical contact and make sexual comments on a near daily basis.
Sex is physically and emotionally painful. I have difficulty saying no when constantly pressured and this creates feelings that I am not a real woman if I don't let my partner have sex with me. Ie, I emotionally feel like I am inadequate woman because I only experience negative things when engaging in sexual contact and have no desire for sex.
My partner seems to think I have enjoyed sex with them despite me telling them many times I just pretend and say/do what they want. I have found that just ends the sex act quicker. I have told them so many times over 9 years that I have never enjoyed sex. When I engage in sexual contact, I just meditate and go somewhere else so I don't feel it. I say whatever lines I link males in my partners demographic like to hear like I'm an actor until the sex act stops. Ie, I depersonalize and just say or do whatever to get my partner to orgasm as quickly as possible to make it end as quickly as possible. My partner seems to think this means I enjoy or like sex even though I have been very blunt with my partner that I am asexual, derive no pleasure from sex, and only experience physical and emotional pain from sex.
I have tried to talk to professionals. The last gyno I tried to see was weird. I tried telling them I don't enjoy sex and the gyno started pushing things like physical therapy where a stranger pushes object up my vagina. I asked them if there was any actual physical or medical need to have sex and he said "no." I immediately put my clothes on and left. I still get phone calls every 3 months about "physical therapy" because the gyno chose to refer me to the physical therapist despite the fact I told them I was not interested. I told them to stop calling but they don't.
The male and female psychologists I have tried to talk to have the same mentality. They constantly push for me to enjoy and embrace sex and frame my asexuality as a problem to be fixed by changing my view of sex.
No matter who I talk to about asexuality, they insist I am automatically wrong for my view of sex. Even though they can't explain the purpose of having sex if you don't want kids beyond experiencing a short orgasm. I don't judge what other people do. But if I bring up my asexuality, I am always put on the defensive.
My partner is smart enough to know what asexuality is. Yet they keep thinking there will be a day I want their penis inside my body. When they brought up getting a vasectomy, I realized they will never stop pushing sexual boundries. I think experiencing the emotional and physical pain I have for 9 years so they could enjoy a 6 second rush of hormones is enough. Especially when my partner refuses to accept that is what I have suffered everytime we have done something sexual. They keep framing these encounters as them expressing love to me. Yet how can it be love when they know that act hurts me physically and emotionally?
I assume my partner frames our sexual relationship as an expression of love because they don't want to feel like they were forcing me to have sex. But they are the only one who initiates sex. They know its painful for me. And they continue to do it again and again, claiming sex is a "necessity" to realize tension and stress.
They get angry when I bring up my asexuality and get defensive. They will never accept that they pushed for something I didn't want and I only consented because of their pressure. I can't understand how my partner would think reciting porn star lines in bed would be remotely genuine. But they internet these cheesy and recycled lines as a genuine expression of pleasure despite me telling them I just do and say things to end sex as quickly as possible.
When they said they wanted a vasectomy so they could have unprotected sex, it was the most hurtful and infuriating thing theyve ever said. It was like they didn't consider I have already compromised every sexual boundary. They assumed I would be okay with them having unprotected sex with me if the risk of pregnancy was reduced...which isn't true. I wouldn't have unprotected sex with him even if there was 0% chance of pregnancy. All I have done is compromise for 9 years so he could have his precious 6 second orgasms. And now he made it clear 9 years of those sacrifices are still not enough! And if I consent to this, what will he demand next? He isn't satisfied that I allowed him to use my body for a stress relief ritual. So why should I compromise at all?
I feel like a piece of shit for ever compromising and agreeing to have sexual relations with him. Because I am realizing now no amount of compromise will satisfy his hypersexual nature. I have told him he can sleep with other people. In fact, I have outright encouraged it. Because our relationship would be very close to perfect if there was no sexual contact. But he won't just masturbate or sleep with someone else. So he is not compromising at all. And he is offended and angry anytime I bring up my asexuality.
He left our place the other day when I brought this up and said he's never talking about sex again. So he simply won't have the discussion. I think it might be because if he knew this entire time I didn't want sex, then he crossed the line for 9 years by pushing it relentlessly.
Gynos and psychologists are useless because they keep insisting I need to have sex or that sex is a necessity despite being unable to explain why. They keep repeating cliche lines about sex being an intregal part of a relationship. Instead of providing support for my asexuality, gynos and psychologists instead try to convince me there's things I can do to make sex pleasurable despite the fact I explicitly state to them I have no interest in engaging in sex. I doubt it will ever be something I enjoy. But even if I was assured it'd be 0% pain and 100% pleasure, I simply have no interest in it. I don't want a child. So there's simply no need.
I am increasingly resentful of my partner and I no longer see a future. I feel alienated by the medical and mental health system that is supportive of other sexual identities but not asexuality. I feel like I am a terrible person that will let others use their body if it eliminates conflict or makes someone else happy for 6 seconds. I have no respect for myself because I never should've consented to any sex act with my partner and now I feel like the relationship was going to end the moment I put my foot down about sex. This makes me completely hopeless about finding another partner who respects asexuality. Dating sites are a disaster because I just get a bunch of lewd messages and men who are fixated on my body. Ie, they only respond because of how I look and their desire to have sex with me.
I feel like I don't respect myself or love myself for what I allowed my body to be used for by my partner. I don't view this as rape or forced. But I never would've consented without pressure.

Hello everyone, Pride here with another edition of Market Movements where I analyze the biggest market movers both in terms of TCG supply decreases and/or Card Kingdom (CK) buylist increases of the past week(ish). As always if you want live updates I encourage you to follow me on Twitter @Prid3MTG because almost everything you see here today will have already been posted there (and usually a whole lot more). Note that because I post these on Saturday/Sunday I tend to exclude anything covered by the Weekly Winners MTG Stocks article since I assume that most people will have already read it and would prefer to see new content.
Starting this week I'm trying something new; I'm going to put the % TCG supply decrease (week-over-week) in front of the card to limit the amount of repeated + superfluous information. E.g. 75% means the card experienced a 75% decrease in TCG supply over the past week. Anything with an "Other" means I either don't have the exact data and/or it's not relevant but I still think that the card is worth highlighting for various reasons.
On a secondary note this is a weak week for specs so you're probably better off ignoring most of them. For the most part I would just wait for MOM spoilers as they're starting next week on the 29th.
91% [[Reckless ImpulseDBL]] is already shaping up to be the Expressive Iteration replacement in Legacy UR Delver with many of the Japanese grinders switching over to it already while also being a must have 4-of for Pauper Kuldotha Red. The card has experienced significant drain over the past few days and looks like a great card to snag if you can find any at old prices but the ship has mostly sailed sadly.
39% [[Soldevi Excavations]] this reads like a typical Reserved List (RL) "buyout" that has no real basis in reality. I've seen both Rudy and MTG Mox Man mention it on Youtube so this isn't the first time it's been targeted in recent years but the problem is that the card isn't actually good so it inevitably retraces once the speculators start dumping their bags back on to the market. Toss 30% [[Halls of Mist]] into this bucket for basically the same reason.
29% [[Femeref Enchantress]] still mostly RL nonsense but this one has some legitimate applications given it's at least playable in Tom Bombadil decks and/or the upcoming Enchantress Precon being released in Commander Legends. Wedge had a recent vid calling it out as a good spec which never hurts either. I personally think that this card is marginal at best but it is playable and RL so I'm happy to sell into hype and I think this card will do well once the Enchantress deck is actually released later this year.
27% [[Lightning GreavesSLD]] pet Secret Lair Drops (e.g. cats and dogs) always seem to do unreasonably well and case-in-point is the Doggo Lightning Greaves which sold through ~30% of its supply week-over-week and is pushing $35 on TCG. Probably tough to action at this point but this is more of a PSA to "buy pet-based Secret Lairs" if you want easy money. I personally bought a of the Foil 90s Binder Experience drop which is still on sale for another 13 hours because it looks like free money to me.
26% [[Apex Altisaur]] really got nothing for this one but supply is way down and it's pushing $10 on TCG Direct so someone is moving it and I really don't think it's something as simple as "we have another Ixalan set coming out soon." I'm guessing there has to be a Youtube video or whatever out there showcasing it. The card is fine but it's nothing special, Dinos probably wants it but nothing needs it, so I'm just flipping these while the getting's good because I imagine whatever this is will pass in short order.
25% [[Marrow-GnawerCHK]] all versions of Marrow-Gnawer are showing significant movement on TCG with the CHK nonfoils (the only nonfoil version) having sold 40% of its supply since last month. No surprises here given the back-to-back Rat lords in [[Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm]] and [[Karumonix, the Rat King]] since both are reasonably powerful Commanders who need it for the 99.
25% [[Wedding AnnouncementDBL]] the card continues to be a force in Standard with a dash of Pioneer on the side. Monowhite Control, Esper Legends, 5CC and more are all playing the full 4 copies in Standard whereas in Pioneer it's mostly White Weenie and Transmogrify decks fielding copies. Much like Fable of the Mirror-Breaker it's been a premier "unfair 3 drop" since it was printed with most decks that can play copies fielding the full 4. Classic "does way too much for way too little" undercosted threat. Doesn't die to traditional spot removal either. I can't really imagine that changing with MOM so it should probably be a safe bet until the next rotation, but, granted, the next rotation is only 2 sets away so you wouldn't want to sit on these. Until then it could be a fine flip.
22% [[Brought Back]] + [[Emeria, the Sky Ruin]] (both cards) are showing significant movement on TCG as they're both being played in "new" Brought Back builds in Modern that can recur 2 Fetchlands as early as turn 2 to power out bombs like Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines in ETB/Elementals builds. Spike recently played the deck which never hurts since it looked quite strong in his hands. I actually like these specs more than most of the others listed today because I like anything that I expect to have sustained demand for more than a few weeks.
Other [[Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch]] while I mostly focus on supply changes I actually look a multitude of factors such as monthly revenue generated and Card Kingdom buylist increases and I think this is one of the strongest specs available right now when you take everything into consideration. Weekly supply decrease tends to be around 20% which is nothing special but it's one of the best W40K cards at generating revenue on TCG and is constantly out of stock (both regulars and foils) over at CK. I haven't seen a single copy of either for sale in the past 2 months because they're immediately purchased. As such the buylist price is constantly ramping up and has been for months. I like that this card is not only a standalone value engine for UR spells decks in EDH but it's also another [[Curiosity]] enabler which tends to be a staple combo for the archetype. Drawing 3 cards every time you cast a spell in a 4 player EDH game is absolutely bonkers and that's never going to change.
Other [[Machine God's Effigy]] a combination of organic demand, the Reddit treatment and a compelling plug from @ChiStyleGaming on Twitter is taking a significant toll on Machine God's Effigy's supply on TCG. I'm a big fan of flipping into hype and this seems like a prime candidate for quick returns. It's an artifact, clone, mana rock, etc. so it hits a lot of high notes in EDH as a flexible value spell. It also has some combo applications with creatures like [[Devoted Druid]] (infinite mana) but I've never seen or heard of anyone actually using those. Solid card either way.
Other Foil [[Neoform]]; [[Atraxa, Grand Unifier]] cannot stop doing busted things in most formats and it's looking like Pioneer Neoform is one of her strongest homes. Neoform foils are rapidly draining from TCG as a result so they look like solid specs to me. Regular copies are also experiencing significant reductions in supply and could be worth exploring as specs at some point but the easiest money (IMO) will be the foils.

I'm looking for either a commercial or short film. Two parents are discussing how a little boy refuses to take his Halloween costume off and has even been wearing it to bed. The audience sees a little boy happily playing in a pirate costume. The parents take him trick or treating, and after, gently tell him it's time to take his Halloween outfit off. He unzips his human costume to reveal he's actually a cute little alien.
This came out in the last few years and might be a commercial for Mars candy.

Chapter 12: Oracle, Leader, Anesthesiologist
First/Previous/Next
“I’ve studied the murlocs, and there’s one thing I know for sure. They’re smarter than the other races of Azeroth think - smart enough to not let anyone know.”

• Brann Bronzebeard, Explorers’ League

~ Mrgglr
I gave one of my pouches a pat, making sure it was still secured to my belt. The Sea Crawler eggs had hatches yesterday during our journey. It had caused a slight delay while I made sure the larva were hatching properly and had enough food to curtail most of the cannibalism common when a clutch hatches.
Now the couple dozen tiny larva were scuttling around their pouch, trying to poke their way through the fiber. I open the top and dropped in a handful of ripped-up shrimp I had acquired at our previous stop. With the pouch settled on my hip, I could feel the feeding frenzy taking place within.
As the village came into view in the distance, Glrrm broke the silence that had dominated the last leg of our journey.
“It looks like the village is still standing, so that’s good.”
That got a small chuckle out of me. “I had complete trust in Brrglrm to not burn it to the ground. It looks like that trust was not misplaced.”
Glrrm responded, a smile stretching across his face. “Yes, complete trust. That’s why you refused to bet on it with me.”
I smiled in return, speaking in an even tone. “I simply felt doing something as frivolous as gambling on my apprentice’s abilities was unfitting. If Brgllrm found out she would lose respect for me.”
“Right…” Glrrm said as he sped up, turning around to face Mrgglr with a large smile. “Or maybe you just didn’t want to risk giving up your stash of mealworms.”
That… I didn’t expect him to ask about that. “How do you know about that?” I said in a confused tone.
“I saw you pocket a handful of them before we left from that mound near the forest. I had always wondered why you collected all those food scrapes after meals. Thought you did some magic thingies with them, but no, you just wanted some snacks.”
“It kind of is a magic thing. I’ve been trying to connect more with earth since we settled on the shore. I can’t rely on my training in water to help much, so I have been trying new techniques. Working with dirt helps me understand it better.”
Glrrm’s face scrunched up in thought and he said, “What, so you dig a hole and can throw around boulders now?”
That elicited a series of small chuckles from me. If only it were that easy. “Oh no, not even close. I haven’t even contacted any earth elementals, so I can’t move so much as a pebble right now. But the more I understand what the earth wants, the closer I am to forming a pact.”
Glrrm went quiet after that, considering my statement. We once again slipped into silence as we reached the shallow waters leading to the beach. The beach was strangely absent, with no one present to welcome the oracle and chieftain. Surely someone had seen them approaching, especially with the heightened vigilance the gnoll attacks created.
As Mrgglr placed his bags on the sand and stretched, Glrrm pointed inland. “I think something’s happening in the village.” He said.
Looking at where he was pointing, there was a large gathering of people in the village. There were much more than usual for this time of day. It looked like most of the village was standing about, clustered around… my hut?
While we made our way into the village proper I ran scenarios through my head. Most of the people there should have been out hunting or gathering at this time of day. The only reason so many people would abandon their tasks was for an emergency, and the most likely emergency I could think of was an injury.
If someone did get hurt, Brgllrm should be able to deal with it. She had been learning about healing and watching me work for the past few months, absorbing my lessons like a whale swallowing swarms of krill. It was amazing to watch her take in a concept and then utilize it immediately after. I had made so many mistakes when I started working with my father and that was raising Sea Crawlers. Brgllrm was learning how to save lives and was already better than many of the healers I had met on my travels.
A cluster of the crowd broke off and started running toward us when we stepped off the beach. Before I could ask any questions, a dozen shouting voices cut me off. I had trouble making sense of what anyone was saying with how they were speaking over one another.
After a few seconds without any sign of the crowd settling down, Glrrm raised his hand and let loose a loud, sharp yell of “Quiet!”
I then took the opportunity to ask my question while they were still silent. “What is happening at my hut?” Then when I saw at least three people start to answer my question, I quickly added “One person only, please.”
A few seconds passed in awkward silence as the group looked around at each other. Eventually, a young man stepped in front of the crowd and reached out to clasp my arm. “We’re glad you’re back Oracle Mrgglr, me, and everyone else in the village.”
Returning the gesture, I squeezed the man’s forearm. “I am sure you all did well without my supervision. But what is the current commotion?”
“Oh, yes that. Lrsh got attacked by a bear while she was out gathering those berries the tadpoles love. Glrmgrlr managed to chase the bear off and drag her back to the village on a stretcher, but she was losing a lot of blood.”
A bear? That was… not too weird. The beasts usually stayed within their territories in the more inland forests but were known to occasionally make their way to bodies of water inhabited by murlocs. It was especially bad during springtime with all the extra fish spawning. I had once heard a story of a river that was visited by not one but two bears in one day. Luckily they just swiped some fish from the river and left, but the tadpoles were still left rattled by the experience.
“Did Lrsh survive?” I said with a worried tone. Lrsh was a sweet woman and only 17 this year. It would be a shame to see such a promising young lady sink to the deeps before her tide had receded. Having to oversee her funeral just 5 years after her coming-of-age ceremony would be devastating.
“We don’t know. That’s why everyone’s hanging around your hut. Brgllrm is trying to save her, but I don’t see what she can do. Has she received the blessing of the spirits yet?”
“I do not believe so, at least not in the same form as my gift.” I turned to Glrrm and gave him a nod. “I have complete faith in my apprentice’s abilities, but it is my responsibility as both her master and Oracle to lend a helping hand, especially in such dire circumstances. Let us move with haste.”
I led Glrrm and the group to my hut, the crowd parting to let me through. As I started to climb up the ladder Brgllrm stuck her head out the front door. Before I could call out to her, she yelled “Hey! If you’re all going to just stand around I need someone to help me up here! Find someone who knows how to… oh. Hello Mrgglr. You’re back?”
“And you are busy. Help me up and I’ll see what I can do to assist.”
“Right, yes of course.” She reached down and steadied the ladder, stopping it from wobbling while I climbed it. “I still need someone who can stitch!” she called out to the gawkers on the sand.
I straightened myself on the solid planks of wood and gave my apprentice a cursory examination. She was covered in sporadic splatters of blood, its crimson-red hue and flowing state spoke to the recent nature of its acquisition. Aside from her morbid decoration, Brgllrm looked much like how she did when I left for the council. She still possessed a truly ridiculous number of pouches on her belt and was currently rooting through them one by one, pulling out all manner of things both useful and impractical.
The retrieval of a stalk of silverleaf from a side pouch accompanied a turn as Brgllrm walked back through the doorway. “We’re lucky you got back in time. I tried my best but Lrsh was absolutely shredded. I’m pretty sure her leg is a lost cause, and she has bled like 3 handfuls of blood since she got here.”
Moving into the interior, I immediately noticed the heavy metallic scent of blood. The source was obvious as Lrsh was laying on one of the patient beds against the wall. A trail of dried blood led from the entrance to the bed, and the cloth Lrsh was wrapped in was stained a reddish-brown.
While I took in the gruesome sight, Brgllrm had made her way over to my tool rack and retrieved a grinding stone. She placed the silverleaf in the concave stone and started crushing the herb.
“Have you given her any other medicine besides the silverleaf?”
“No, I’ve been too busy trying to stem the bleeding. But she’s starting to wake up, so I thought she could use something to calm down.”
Brgllrm handed me the grinding stone and I set it down next to Lrsh’s face, making sure the fumes were finding their way to her. Then I started on a thorough examination, taking care not to disturb the wrappings around her right leg.
I had thought that Brgllrm was just exaggerating Lrsh’s injury due to her inexperience. No matter how gifted she is, the horror of a dying patient couldn’t be understood through stories alone. Everyone I had worked with had a story of their first time seeing torn flesh, and they usually didn’t say “and so I acted calmly.” Panic was the typical reaction. I even freaked out during my apprenticeship during my first real patient, although in my defense their legs had been slightly crushed by a collapsing cave.
But even with the wrapping still on I could tell this was no light injury. Her leg was a mess, and the only thing I could think of was how lucky she was to survive this long, especially without any magical assistance. Brgllrm had done a stellar job at dressing her wounds and keeping her relaxed. But she would have most likely died from blood loss or infection. Her injuries were just too severe. Even with my magic, it would be rough, and her body might not have enough energy to keep up with the healing.
Once the silverleaf had done its job and Lrsh’s face relaxed into a neutral expression, I started drawing upon the power of the waves. The totem hanging around my neck started to rattle, glowing a faint blue and rising into the air in front of my face. Placing a hand on Lrsh’s head, a wave of blue light spread across her prone form, her breathing becoming steady as the numbing effect reached her legs.
When her whole body had been enveloped, I turned away from the bed and spoke to Brgllrm. “Would you retrieve a clamshell’s worth of seawater from the spawning pools and any food you can find? Only things that are simple to eat.”
With a nod, she left the hut and I could hear her yelling at the crowd outside. Shaking my head I returned my attention to Lrsh. One of the positives I could find was that she appeared relatively healthy aside from the massive bear wounds. There was none of the sunken cheeks and spindly limbs I had seen in a few of the villages that were hardest hit by the Gnolls. It is hard to find enough to eat when a majority of your hunters and gatherers were killed or taken away.
I walked over to my collection of clamshells and picked up one with a small leaf carved on the top. Opening it up I collected a few sprigs of peacebloom and added them to the silverleaf paste. They were a bit scuffed up but usable, and I couldn’t blame the gatherers for not knowing how to properly harvest medicinal herbs. That was supposed to be my job, but with everything going on I hadn’t found any time to do it.
I placed the shell back in its place and sat down next to Lrsh. As I mashed the bright white flowers into the paste, I realized something. This is quite possibly the worst time to announce the muster.
~Brgllrm
In the few hours since Mrgglr had returned from the council, he had been acting a bit weird. He wouldn’t answer any of my questions about what had happened, with every question being deflected or garnering the response of “It was interesting”.
Then there was his demeanor. For all the time I had known Mrgglr, he held himself in a certain way. He was old no doubt, often hunching over and leaning on his staff. But there was a sense of power and confidence most other murlocs lacked.
Now he seemed worried. He spent time staring into space and muttering things to himself instead of paying full attention to the patient. I had never seen him like that. He had always imposed upon me the importance of being focused on the task at hand. Sure Lrsh wasn’t dying outright, but that didn’t mean he could just space out.
I would have stuck around to get some more insight into whatever is bothering him, but he told me to leave. Well, technically he suggested I take a break and find some food for Lrsh. But I could understand the subtext. He wanted some alone time to think. He was using a smart method, having to take care of a patient would give him an excuse to not leave the hut and refuse requests an oracle would normally be obliged to help with.
I was also just exhausted. Lrsh had been found fairly early in the morning. Noon hadn’t passed yet when she was dragged into the village and placed on a stretcher. Now the sun was waning and would set in an hour or two. It wasn’t the longest or most arduous day I ever had, but those experiences came from back on Earth. Shockingly, there is a large gap in endurance between an adult woman’s body and what is basically a teenager murloc’s one.
The beach was my go-to place when I felt overwhelmed. The rhythmic lapping of the waves against the shore was nice. It helped me recharge after a long day of listening to Mrgglr and occasionally doing menial tasks. Ah apprenticeships, I’ve missed you.
While relaxing, my walk on the beach didn’t result in the discovery of anything noteworthy. I hadn’t expected to find treasures just laying in the sand, but there weren’t even any nice shells to pick up. But I wasn’t disappointed. I had no real need for wealth right now. It’s not like I’m looking to get romantically involved anytime soon, so gifts are something I exclusively receive. Luckily I haven’t received any special gifts yet. Mrgglr said it is frowned upon to court someone as young as me, but not unknown, especially with talented youth. So it turns out that’s something I have to be on the lookout for.
Although it is also apparently socially acceptable to feed them to hungry marine life. Something about being strong enough to command the beasts of the waves and the respect of the Deep Mother. Silver linings and all that.
Making my way back to Mrgglr’s hut, I could see faint flashes of green and blue-tinged light coming from the entrance. Stepping in, Mrgglr spoke immediately. “Are you feeling better, Brgllrm?”
“Yes.” I responded succinctly. The importance of clear and simple speech was one of the first things Mrgglr had taught me when working on high-risk patients. Time spent on ass-kissing was time wasted.
“Could you come over here, please?” He said without any hint of inflection in his voice. As I crossed the relatively small room, I noticed his eyes were closed.
When I got within a few steps he motioned for me to sit on the floor across from him. Lrsh’s breathing had gotten much better, a far cry from the erratic and haggard breaths she took when I first got her into the bed. Also, Her wrappings were actually clean, lacking any of the bloodstains my attempts inevitably acquired from her wounds. Whatever Mrgglr did worked quickly.
After I had sat down, Mrgglr started talking in an even tone. “I learned some important information at the council. A plan has been created that will affect everyone in the village. But it is frightening, even to me.”
I started to nod, more for myself than Mrgllr as he still had his eyes closed. “And you don’t know how to tell everyone without causing a panic.”
Mrgllr responded after a short exhale. “Not exactly. I possess some experience with calming crowds in these exact scenarios.”
“Then why are you talking to me now?”
“Because you are my apprentice. It would be unbecoming of me to blindside you with this knowledge. You also have a part to play in alleviating the worst fears conjured up in people’s minds.”
“I don’t remember social engineering being part of the deal when I started this apprenticeship thing.”
There was a pause as Mrgglr parsed my sentence. “How do you come up with these words? Social engineering? Social is understandable, but you have never built a hut before. How do you know about engineering?”
I shrugged, unwilling to give a concrete answer. He wasn’t seriously asking the question. Its use was rhetorical, a way to express some of the surprise my vocabulary could elicit. People don’t expect someone as young as me to know half of what I do. To be fair, most of my knowledge wasn’t learned in this world. It was still annoying to be talked down to.
“It is quite simple. When you became my apprentice you gained certain responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is to assist me in the completion of my duties. I need to keep people calm, therefore you must as well.”
“I know, I know. What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing. Or more precisely, I need you to change nothing. Act like everything is normal.”
“Reassure people with my presence. A bit basic, but good nonetheless. I’ll make sure to talk you up a bit, really hammer home how capable you are.”
“I can never keep up with how the youth are speaking.” He muttered under his breath before responding to me. “That would be ideal. Organizing some village-wide activities would help as well. Sitting around and waiting will give people time to foster negative emotions. Idle fins are the naga’s playthings after all.”
I leaned back in a large stretch. “You make it sound like everyone is going to go crazy when you tell them what happened. It can’t be that bad, right?”
Mrgllr looked down at his staff when he responded. “It can be that bad. War has come, and there are no oceans left to run to.”
First/Previous/Next

https://imgur.com/a/l7vM9cY some photos. My front yard extends until the white downspout on the left. It faces NE and gets 3 to 5 hours of morning and afternoon sun.
These photos were taking in the summer and my zone is 5b/6. Though the space is small, I want to create short a stone path, add some flowers, make it little wild. But looking for ideas on which way the stone path should go.
Not a fan of hostas so I removed them and gave them to my neighbour. Planted some tulips in front of the door, and alliums and black eyed susan under the window. Also planning to place a Buddha statue under the tree to face the front door.
Would love to hear your ideas. Thank you.
​
Edit: I have a bunch of raised beds for veggies in my backyard so I won't be using the front yard for growing food.

I am a long time Reddit lurker, but I hardly post. I have suspected for a long time that I am dealing with POTS. Which kind? I would have no idea as I am new to researching it.
When I was 13 I was in a serious car accident with no seat Belt on. I sustained a pretty severe concussion, but that was it. I was very lucky. Shortly after, I started dealing with high heart rates in the shower and blood would pool in my lower extremities. I had no idea what was going on but I knew that hot showers bothered me. Soon after things like caffeine, heavy carbs, big meals, certain medicines, and just walking would send my HR very high.
When I was 16 I had a sick visit with my dr. My mother gave me some Sudafed before the visit which sent my HR to 189 beats per min. I was sent to the ER where they diagnosed me with SVT (AVNRT) I was put on a beta blocker and still dealt with frequent episodes. When I was 21, I had the SVT ablated. After my ablation, I was still dealing with a high HR. I still had to take my beta blocker in which I was perplexed because I had just had surgery to correct the supposed issue. That’s when I started digging and came across POTS. I brought it up to my dr, but he dismissed my concerns and said that I just have a fast ticker. Still, I struggle daily. My potassium is always low when they take it when I have an extreme episode so I take potassium supplements.
Now that I am in this sub, I am not totally sure I haven’t been misdiagnosed this whole time. Resting heart rate with my beta blocker is anywhere from 81-96, but when I stand I easily go to 130. It’s uncontrollable without my beta blocker. I have been in it for 15 plus years. Tachycardia and low blood pressure are really the things that bother me the most to the point where I eat hardly any carbs or big meals. I avoid certain cold meds, and all alcohol. No energy drinks ever or coffee or caffeine. I just started drinking pedialyte before getting out of bed in the morning and WOW, is that a game changer for my morning usual tachycardia. I am currently pregnant so symptoms are worse, but this whole time I have thought I was dealing with SVT. I want to go to the POTS center in Dallas, but I don’t have insurance so it’s a waiting game for now. Your stories give me hope for a proper diagnosis and medication. I want to ask for Ivabradine since my resting rate is on the high side.
Thanks for listening.

Possible trigger warning: Discussion of chronic illness, death, and suicide
Section One: Assets and Debt
*Note: My husband (M) makes around $180k but we have separate finances so all income, debt, and expenses listed here are mine, unless otherwise noted*
Retirement Balance:
· My poor 401k has taken a beating in the last year or so; it’s currently sitting at about $338k despite recently increasing my contributions significantly
· I contribute 16% to my 401k and my employer contributes 8%
· I receive a small pension from my employer; they contribute 3% of my pay per year to this fund but it doesn’t perform well and I’m not including this in my retirement planning
Equity if you're a homeowner:
· M and I purchased our home in early 2020 for $615k, right before the housing market went WILD
· We put down $100k (which was from sale of previous home), and our rate is 2.99%; we refinanced in 2021 and took out $50k equity for bathroom renovations and kept our same interest rate (thankfully!) so current mortgage balance is $515k
· Our home is now worth approx. $950k so we have about $435k in equity
Savings account balance:
· My personal savings is really low right now at $3k
· M and I have a joint savings account we use for home expenses and a 529 for our child, A, who is currently 7; I’m hoping to increase our 529 contributions soon
Checking account balance:
· Currently $137; I keep this pretty low and just use it to pay for day-to-day expenses after all my bills are paid
Credit card debt (and how you accumulated it):
· $19k in total, across 4 credit cards
· It makes me physically ill to type this out, but I am actively paying it down using my remaining funds after expenses are paid each month
· This debt accumulated over a number of years and was largely due to expenses/inflation drastically outpacing my income
Student loan debt (for what degree):
· $0
· I had a private student loan for part of my MBA but I paid it off in early 2022. I’m really fortunate that my company pays up to $10k per year for education so my undergrad and most of my graduate degree were covered under that program
Other debt:
· $6k for an unsecured loan I used to pay for a surgery that wasn’t covered by my insurance
· $15.5k remaining on my auto loan
Section Two: Income
Income Progression:
· I got my first job at a fast-food restaurant when I was 13; I worked all through high school, sometimes two jobs at once, to pay for all my clothing and school supplies. My parents provided food and housing but everything else was up to me
· I started working at my current company when I was 18 years old; my starting salary was $19k per year. My mother kicked me out the month I turned 18 so it was a really hard year, but I learned a lot about self-reliance
· Fast-forward to the last few years: I made $85k in 2019-2020, $95k in 2021, and $100k in early 2022
· I started my current role at the end of 2022 and my current base salary is $140,000; I receive bonuses which bring my total cash compensation to approx. $167k annually
Main Job Monthly Take Home:
· My net pay is approx. $6230 per month
Pre-tax deductions are-
· $22 Dental insurance
· $154 FSA contribution
· $150 Medical insurance (for me only; M has A on his insurance due to my MS expenses)
· $995 401k contribution
· $11 Vision insurance
After-tax deduction-
· $20 charity; employer matches
Side Gig Monthly Take Home
· None right now; in the past I have delivered for Uber Eats, mainly for the tax write-offs
Any Other Monthly Income Here
· None
Section Three: Expenses
Monthly expenses:
· $1500 Mortgage payment (this is my half; M pays the other half)
o This includes homeowners’ insurance and property taxes
· $150 contribution to a joint savings account with M
· $150 contribution to savings account & 529 plan for A
· $335 auto loan payment
· $311 surgery loan payment
· $370 minimum payments for credit cards
· $112 term life insurance payment
· $350 electric/gas/watetrash/internet (this varies each month but $350 is avg.)
· $89 cellphone (just mine; M has his own plan with another carrier)
· $3 Apple storage
· $48 gym membership
· $10 Uber Eats subscription
· $80 pet expenses (my half, split with M; this covers food, meds, etc.)
· $60 auto and jewelry insurance
· $72 A’s private soccer lessons (my half; split with M)
· $100 A’s regular soccer team expenses (my half; split with M)
· $700 groceries/restaurants (my half; split with M)
· $60 gas for my car (blissfully low since I work from home and A’s school is close to us)
· $0 for Netflix and HBO-Go; we have friends & family who kindly share with us
· $65 for pest control (scorpions are bad here) *
Quarterly expenses:
· $90 HOA fees (split with M, this is my half)
· $120 monitored home alarm system *
Annual expenses:
· $99 Duolingo
· $129 Amazon Prime
· $450 professional memberships (related to various certifications I hold)
· $99 annual fee for travel credit card; airfare savings more than make up for it
· $30 PTSA membership fee
*Since M covers A on his health insurance, I pay for the pest control and home alarm system since it ends up being about the same cost
Day 1-Sunday:
7:00 AM: Slept in a little and it was glorious. Got out of bed, took my morning meds, chugged some water, and headed downstairs to check on A. He was already up for the day and he was watching a kids’ show on Netflix with M
7:15 AM: Made a green tea for my caffeine fix using half bottled, unsweetened green tea and half water to dilute it a little bit. Made breakfast for A; he wanted half a bagel with cream cheese and some green grapes. No breakfast for me since my morning fatigue med suppresses my appetite and I usually don’t start to get hungry until late morning or early afternoon.
7:30-8:15 AM: Hung out with A while he ate his breakfast, then I got dressed and headed to the gym
8:30-9:30 AM: Took a really fun cycle class where the instructor works with a live DJ. It makes it a really cool environment with great music, which makes the hour fly by
9:45 AM: Home from the gym, took a quick body shower and threw a load of laundry in the washing machine. Made some avocado toast with Ezekiel gluten-free bread, goat cheese, and eggs. I recently removed cow’s milk from my diet and I’m trying to also limit gluten; they’re both really reactive for my body so as much as I love ALL THE CHEESE and bread and pasta and ice cream, I know that reducing them may help with some of my MS symptoms. Sigh.
10:25 AM: Moved the laundry to the dryer and started the next load, then played Minecraft Dungeons with A for 30 minutes. He is an only child, so M and I play games and do various activities with him a lot. It’s sometimes hard when I’m really fatigued but I truly cherish all the time we get to spend playing with him and doing things he enjoys. I know I’m going to miss it when he gets older and decides he’s too cool to hang out with his parents.
11-11:30 AM: I only took half of my fatigue medication today, so I am dragging. I try to give my body a break from that medication once per week because I don’t want to become dependent on it. Unfortunately, I am exhausted on those days where I take a smaller dose or skip it. I made a chai tea latte with almond milk to try to get a caffeine boost (spoiler alert: it did not work). Talked on FaceTime with my mom and my little brother, who’s deployed overseas right now. Did light makeup and put my hair in a half-up/half-down thing while I was talking to them. I got dressed in comfy jeans, a coral-colored sweatshirt, and pastel Birkenstock sandals. M, A, and I left to go meet M’s family for lunch to celebrate M’s brother’s birthday.
12-1:30 PM: Had a really nice lunch with M and his family; I adore them and feel abundant gratitude for having in-laws I really like and enjoy spending time with. I wasn’t super hungry since I had a late breakfast, so I ordered some beef sliders and then drank 2 honey blonde ales. M’s family kindly treated everyone to lunch so no cost to us ($0).
1:30-3 PM: Took a little nap to sleep off the honey ale, while A and M hung out downstairs. Got up from my nap and made a snack for A of grapes and some chips. I munched on some grapes and gave myself a silent talking-to for overdoing it at lunch. Took my afternoon meds.
3:00-5:30 PM: A and I played outside with the dogs, throwing tennis balls for them to fetch and tossing a frisbee back and forth. We also practiced some soccer stuff. I did my daily French lesson with Duo Lingo, picked up the yard (dog owners-you know), and then A and I picked some fresh lemons, oranges, and tangelos from our citrus trees. We are really fortunate to have a huge backyard with tons of fruit trees and other plants. I washed all the fruit we picked, then used it to make a centerpiece for the kitchen island. We played some Mario Kart and another round of Minecraft Dungeons before getting ready for dinner.
5:30-6:30 PM: We had a quick dinner of leftover pizza, chicken wings, and salad. I cleaned up the kitchen while M did the dishes. M and I played a card game (Pinochle) while A took a shower and got his jammies on.
6:30-7:45 PM: M, A, and I finished watching “Rock Dog” on Netflix-it was cute. I packed A’s backpack and snacks for school tomorrow. It’s his first day back after Spring Break but he really enjoys school so he’s excited.
7:45-8:15 PM: Read stories with A for half an hour before he fell asleep. He wanted to know how to say some silly phrases in French, so we practiced that for a few minutes before I headed to my room to get ready for bed.
8:15-10 PM: I did my nighttime routine-brushed the dogs’ teeth (they both enjoy it and follow me to the bathroom at night when they know it’s time) and did my skincare routine. I have been loving products from The Ordinary and the granactive retinoid emulsion I use at night has been a game changer for my skin. I scrolled Reddit for a while before passing out.
Daily total: $0
Day 2-Monday:
3:30-5:00 AM: Woke up in the middle of the night after having a really stressful dream and could not get back to sleep. Scrolled Reddit and checked personal e-mails and texts until I finally fell back to sleep at 5 AM.
6:30 AM: Woke up after snoozing my alarm repeatedly. I checked my work e-mail and Slack messages to get caught up for the day; my team are all on the East Coast so they’re three hours ahead of me. Took my morning meds and drank a bunch of water.
6:45-7:45 AM: Went downstairs to grab my daily green tea and checked on A, who was doing a quick workout with M. A is very much into fitness right now and loves participating in whatever workouts M is doing. Made breakfast for A (bagel and cream cheese and grapes again), put away two loads of laundry, fed the dogs, showered, got dressed (pastel sweatshirt and yoga pants), helped A brush his teeth and get ready for school, picked up the yard again, and made an almond milk smoothie for my breakfast with pineapple and some of the citrus we picked yesterday. Before we headed out the door for school, A spotted a little rabbit sitting in our back yard, so we kept the dogs inside the house and gently chased the bunny out our gate to the front yard. I’m sure poor Peter Rabbit was terrified, but we didn’t want the dogs to get him. I realized that I have grown up to be Farmer McGregor!
8-11:30 AM: Dropped A off at school and sent a Venmo payment to A’s soccer coach for his soccer lesson later today ($35). Called my cellphone provider to inquire about an incorrect charge on my bill (they refunded it-$10), called my pharmacy to refill two prescriptions, and hopped on Amazon to order a new sports bra, some vitamins for the dogs, and some fancy gold sprinkles for cupcakes I’m making at the end of the month ($71.23). My first morning meeting got moved to later in the week, so I got caught up on all my e-mails, helped a coworker with some questions she had, and made a to-do list for my work tasks today.
11:30 AM: I made a quick lunch (breakfast?) of a breakfast burrito and finished an episode of “How to Get Away with Murder”; I am OBSESSED with this show and kicking myself for not starting to watch it until recently! I ate 2 cookies for good measure and headed back to my home office.
12-5 PM: Attended some meetings, prepped a presentation for tomorrow, and did other admin work. I talked to one of my sisters about issues our other sister is having while I emptied the dishwasher. I also completed my daily Duo Lingo lesson and typed up some of my Money Diary. Took my afternoon meds.
5-7 PM: M and A got home from A’s private soccer lesson and we heated up dinner (more leftovers) and ate quickly before A and I headed back to the soccer center for his regular practice. A was a rockstar and put so much energy into practice, as usual. I completed another Duo Lingo lesson while watching him practice.
7:15 PM: Home from soccer, ordered Dairy Queen delivery through Uber Eats ($26.73). It was a special treat for A since he did so well at his soccer practice and soccer lesson today. Am I going to feel terrible tomorrow after consuming so much dairy? Probably. Is it worth it? We shall see!
7:30-8:30 PM: A took a quick shower then M read him stories and put him to bed. I did my nighttime routine, watched another episode of “How to Get Away with Murder”, and then it was lights out.
Daily total: $132.96
Day 3-Tuesday:
4:45 AM: My alarm goes off and I begrudgingly crawl out of bed. I drink some water, take my morning meds, and make my green tea, before getting dressed for the gym. It’s still dark outside and it’s raining like crazy so my motivation to go to the gym is waning.
5:30-6:30 AM: I took a cycle class at my gym, with a different instructor and format than the one on Sunday. It wasn’t as challenging as the other cycle class, but it was also super early, so I am not complaining.
6:30-7:45 AM: Head home from the gym, shower, get dressed (a gray t-shirt and yoga pants), and hang out with A while he eats breakfast (bagel with cream cheese and some grapes again). I responded to Slacks from my team and checked my calendar for the day while I made another green tea. After A was done eating breakfast, we played some Minecraft Dungeons together. He doesn’t usually get to play video games before school, but he got himself dressed and ready to go in record time, so I didn’t mind making an exception.
7:45-8:15 AM: Dropped A off at school and headed home to finish getting ready for the day. I put on some light makeup and dry shampooed my hair so I would be presentable for the multiple meetings I have today.
8:30-11:15 AM: Took a bunch of meetings, two of which I thought would be really tough but ended up going well. Made a brunch of Ezekiel toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam and ate that while I typed up more of this Money Diary before my next round of meetings began.
12-4:30 PM: Lots of meetings and work to do in between them. I took a quick snack break and ate 2 cookies while I did today’s Duo Lingo lesson. I also took my afternoon meds while I had a break between meetings. I’m thankful for modern medicine but I would be lying if I said it’s not a pain to manage so many pills at different times throughout the day.
4:30 PM: Signed out of work for the day and-you guessed it-played some Minecraft Dungeons with A and M. A finished all his homework at school so we let him have some extra video game time before dinner.
5-8 PM: We had dinner (grilled chicken, quinoa, peas) then A and I had a dance party in the kitchen while I cleaned up from dinner. I snuck a leftover brownie and treasured every bite. We all watched a movie together then I read stories with A and put him to bed.
8:30-10 PM: I did my nighttime skincare routine, brushed the dogs’ teeth, scrolled Reddit for a while, then lights out.
Daily total: $0
Day 4-Wednesday:
5:45 AM: Woke up to the sound of a furious rainstorm outside. I live in a very dry climate so getting rain always feels like a luxury. I remembered today is the day I can begin making dining reservations for an upcoming trip to Disney World, so I log in to my Disney account and start looking at options. I’m surprised and delighted to get 3 different reservations I was hoping for right away. The last time we went to Disney World in 2021, I had to check daily for reservation openings, and I ended up just paying for a service that monitors restaurant availability in order to get the reservations we wanted. I was not expecting it to be so easy this time around! I had to pay to hold our reservations ($344.79) but will end up splitting them with my sister and her partner, whom A and I are going on the trip with. I have funds set aside in a travel sinking fund so using some of that for this expense. Note: A doesn’t know we are going on this trip and my sister, and I are planning to surprise him the morning we leave. I cannot wait!!!
6:00-7:45 AM: Made breakfast for A (Cheerios today) and got him ready for school while I drank my green tea. I got dressed (striped sweatshirt and yoga pants) and put on some light makeup since today’s schedule is pretty meeting heavy. I took my morning meds and started responding to Slacks, then checked my calendar to ensure I wasn’t added to any new meetings since yesterday afternoon. I started mentally preparing for a meeting I know is going to be difficult today. I try to treat everyone with kindness but there is a person I have to meet with today who does not seem to share that same value. Oh well, c’est la vie.
8:00-10 AM: After dropping A off at school, I got fully logged in for the day and jammed through all my e-mails and morning meetings. I took a quick break to work on the Money Diary and do today’s Duo Lingo lesson. I made a chai tea latte with almond milk and it went down a treat.
10-10:30 AM: Break between meetings so I used the time to empty the dishwasher and start a load of laundry. The rain finally petered out, so I picked up the yard and checked the mail while listening to a true crime podcast.
10:30-1:30 PM: More meetings, one of which was really fun! I really like my team and I appreciate that we can have a good time together, even when our work is stressful. Between meetings, I found a dermatologist with good reviews and called to make a Botox appointment. I paid a deposit to hold my appointment ($50); it will be deducted from the cost of my service. I’ve been hesitant to start getting Botox since I’m bad about keeping up with beauty routines, but I just need to do it and force myself to maintain it. I ate a quick sandwich with some turkey and grainy mustard on Ezekiel bread.
1:30-4:30 PM: Took my afternoon meds. Did some admin work, tried pulling a report in Snowflake but couldn’t wrap my brain around fixing the syntax errors so I called it quits for the afternoon. I really need to carve out time for SQL practice each day; my brain is not naturally good at coding and it feels impossible that I’ll ever get more comfortable with it. M and A got home and we celebrated A’s progress on his reading comprehension grades. He is extremely gifted with math and spelling but he has struggled a little bit this year with reading comprehension, so we try to really celebrate any growth he shows in that area. I downloaded some songs from iTunes ($5) and listened to those while I worked.
4:30-5 PM: I put together my to-do list for tomorrow, did one final sweep of Slacks and e-mails, and logged out for the day. A and M played Minecraft Dungeons for a few minutes while I finished working.
5-7:30 PM: M smoked a prime rib today, which we had for dinner, along with salad and leftover quinoa. A and I tossed around a football while M finished cooking the meat. I ordered invitations for A’s birthday party next month ($36, split with M so my total is $18). He is all about Minecraft right now so naturally that is the party theme he chose. I vacuumed the downstairs floors and cleaned the kitchen then we finished watching the movie we started last night. I ordered some clothing for myself and used a small credit I have from the store to bring down the total cost ($120.81).
7:30 PM: M put A to bed and read stories with him while I brushed the dogs’ teeth and did my nighttime skincare routine.
Daily total: $538.60
Day 5-Thursday:
4:45 AM: Woke up when M’s alarm went off; looked at my phone and saw how early it was then promptly fell asleep.
6:05 AM: Woke up to my alarm and dragged myself out of bed. I have a meeting at 7 AM my time so I need to get moving a little earlier than normal. M is taking A to school today so I get dressed (gray shirt, light pink Vuori pants), take my meds, put on some light makeup, and start checking Slacks and e-mails.
6:45 AM: A is still sleeping so I wake him up for the day. The dogs are so excited to see him so they accompany me to his room and jump up on his bed for kisses. I help A pick out clothes for the day and leave him to get dressed while I make his breakfast (Cheerios and grapes today).
7:00-7:30 AM: I log in to work and attend the early morning meeting; it’s a frustrating conversation and nothing gets accomplished, so will have to follow up with the stakeholders early next week.
7:30-8:00 AM: I make a Chai tea latte with almond milk for myself, fill A’s water bottle, and do a final check of his backpack to make sure he has everything he needs. I always pack A’s backpack each night with snacks, his homework folder, and any library books he needs to return the next day. It makes mornings a little less hectic and sets the tone for a less-stressful day for us. I kiss A and M goodbye as they head out the door, then go back to work. I had signed up for a short cycle class later this morning but I am not feeling it today; I cancel my registration and promise myself I’ll do a workout at home later in the day (spoiler alert: did not work out later).
8:00-10:00 AM: I listen to a podcast someone mentioned in their Money Diary (“I Will Teach You to be Rich”) while I do some admin work and put away the laundry I started yesterday. I have back-to-back meetings later today so trying to get any household and admin things done first so I can fully focus on those calls. I ate a quick breakfast of a tomato, goat cheese, and egg scramble with two pieces of Ezekiel bread toast.
10:00 AM-1:00 PM: Attended back-to-back meetings and coordinated follow-ups for our team as needed. My previous roles were always very meeting heavy, but a lot of those meetings felt pointless; I like that in my current role, people tend to only meet when it’s really necessary, so we get more out of the time we have together. Took my afternoon meds.
1:00-4:30 PM: Finished work for the day, had a brownie and a Dilly Bar made with coconut cream for snacks. I have definitely noticed a correlation between my level of stress at work and how much sugajunk food I eat. I stepped outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air and check the mail. I received my Disney redemptions gift card for $77 from my Chase Disney Rewards credit card. I browsed the Shop Disney website and debated buying some Snow White themed “Minnie ears” for the upcoming trip, but I already have a few pairs I will bring so I decided to hold off on buying it. I did purchase a new Magic Band + for the trip ($26.96). I got it at a discounted rate since we have an upcoming reservation on-property. While the Magic Band isn’t required, it does make life easier since you can use it as your room key, to purchase food and other items in the parks, etc. I had previously bought one for A which I plan to give to him when my sister and I surprise him the morning we leave for the trip. I completed my Duo Lingo lesson for the day and got about 90% of the questions correct! I feel like it’s starting to “click” and I’m making good progress.
4:30-6:00 PM: M went to see the new John Wick movie, so A and I decide to order burgers and fries via Uber Eats for dinner ($27.35). M usually cooks dinner each night and while I know how to cook and can make basic things, I was really tired so I took the easy route. While we waited for dinner to arrive, I helped A with his homework and hung out with him while he played Minecraft Dungeons for a few minutes.
Daily total: $54.31
Day 6-Friday:
6:30 AM: I slept in a little this morning since I have no meetings until later today. I checked my Slacks and e-mails in bed for a few minutes, then took my morning meds and headed downstairs to make my green tea. A is already up and dressed so we hung out for a few minutes and then got his breakfast ready. He wasn’t very hungry this morning, so I let him have a granola bar and grapes instead of a bigger meal. Every single morning, he tells me he isn’t hungry and I remind him he needs to eat something or he will be hungry and distracted once he gets to school, so this is a well-rehearsed conversation for us.
7:00-8:00 AM: A ate his breakfast then finished getting ready for school while I took a super quick shower and got dressed (a blue sweatshirt and workout shorts). I only have one meeting today so I decide to skip makeup and hair and just put on my moisturizer and some lip balm. I drop A off at school and get fully logged in for the day.
8:00-9:30 AM: I chat with my team on Slack about some data analytics we got asked to provide today; I feel very grateful to work with smart people who view things differently than I do. It challenges me to think outside of the box and I feel like I’m constantly learning new things. M and I decide to increase our contributions to A’s 529 account, so I update my budget binder to plan for $100 per paycheck to his account instead of the $75 I have been doing. M puts in the same amount each pay period. Note: I know there are so many online budgeting tools I could use but I really love having a place to write it down and make it a little more fun by using different colored pencils for different categories.
9:30-11:00 AM: I had an awesome meeting with someone I mentor; part of it was career-related and part of it was just catching up on life. We make plans to meet again in two weeks and I’m excited to talk to her again. After the meeting, I quickly catch up on admin work and e-mails.
11:00 AM-12:30 PM: M and I worked on our estate plan. It’s been on my mind for a while because of my MS and we recently lost a loved one at a very young age so we decided to finally get this done. We utilized a free legal service through my company’s Employee Assistance Program, which walked us through filling out the different documents we need. We created a trust and will to ensure A and our dogs go to the guardians we’ve chosen for them and specified how we want our assets and property to be divided up. We also put together a living will/healthcare power of attorney for me, which was way more emotional than I anticipated. I’m on a high-efficacy treatment but MS is progressive and as of now there is no cure. I’m doing what I can to stave off my disease progression, but I want to specify my wishes regarding my long-term care in case I ever become incapacitated (physically or cognitively). Assisted suicide isn’t legal in my state but I let M know that would be my preference if my disease progresses to a certain point; maybe by then it will be legal here and if not, we can go to a state where it is legal. I know it was difficult for M to talk about this but I feel better knowing he understands my wishes and is willing to do what I ask.
12:30-1:30 PM: After the estate planning conversation, I needed an emotional palate-cleanser, so I scrolled Reddit for a few minutes and made a quick lunch (breakfast) of scrambled eggs with goat cheese, tomatoes, salsa, and guacamole. I called my sister and caught up with her for a few minutes and then went back to work to wrap up some admin tasks. Took my afternoon meds.
1:30-3:00 PM: I reviewed some proposed documentation to provide feedback, listened to another episode of “I Will Teach You to be Rich”, and watched a how-to video for SQL database creation. I placed an Amazon order for some health and beauty items ($58.59) and talked to M about the plans for tonight. The PTSA at A’s school is hosting a family game night so we chatted about what time to go and whether we should eat dinner first. I am currently running for a position on the PTSA Board at his school and I love events like this so I’m looking forward to it.
3:00-3:30 PM: M picked up A from school and they did some soccer drills in the backyard while I finished work. I also did my Duo Lingo lesson for the day and confirmed my reservation at a local restaurant tomorrow morning. My family and I try to get together every few weeks and tomorrow morning we are meeting there for an early breakfast.
3:30-4:30 PM: It has been a long, stressful week and my work is done for the day so I log off a bit earlier than usual. I check the mail, pick up the yard, and relax for a little while before it’s time to leave for the family game night.
4:30-6:30 PM: We ate a quick dinner of leftover pizza and salad then headed to the family game night. A had a really nice time playing the different carnival games and hanging out with his friends.
6:30-8:00 PM: We played Minecraft Dungeons for a while, M mixed a delicious cocktail for me, then M put A to bed while I did my nighttime routine.
8:00-10:00 PM: M and I watched a movie together then lights out.
Day 7-Saturday:
6:30 AM: Woke up with my alarm, took morning meds, and headed downstairs for green tea and cuddles with A. We watched some cartoons on Netflix then A and I started knocking out our Saturday morning chores while M was at the gym.
7:30 AM-10:00 AM: A and I went with my family to breakfast and it was delicious. A ordered pancakes and sausage and I had a delectable avocado eggs benedict dish and a cold brew with almond milk. My stepdad paid for everyone which was really nice ($0). After breakfast, my family came back to our house for a few minutes. We showed them our garden since A is really proud of the progress his fruit trees and veggie plants are making. M went grocery shopping for the week (my half was $90).
10:00 AM-1:30 PM: My family left and M, A, and I spent a couple hours just hanging out, playing some video games, doing laundry, and having lunch. I dropped off a return at the local post office (will be $35 once refunded) and put some gas in my car while I was out ($30).
1:30-4:00 PM: A had a soccer game in the afternoon; his team lost but he played pretty well and received good feedback from his coach. M headed to a friend’s house for a party and A and I went home. I did more laundry and played outside with A and the dogs since it was a nice, warm day. I placed an Instacart order for some candy for A’s Easter basket and a couple other items I forgot to have M grab at the grocery store ($40.78). A and I drew and colored for a while then made paper airplanes.
4:00-8:00 PM: A and I played some Minecraft Dungeons then had a dance party in the kitchen while I made dinner for the two of us. We had gluten free pasta with meatballs, garlic bread, and peas. After dinner I cleaned up the kitchen and more dancing ensued. We watched some TV and then put away A’s laundry and made the beds with the bedding we washed today.
8:00-10:00 PM: A and I watched some TV and I let him stay up later than usual since it’s a weekend night. A fell asleep around 9:30. I did my nighttime routine and scrolled Reddit until 10 or so when M got home from his friend’s house, then lights out.
Daily total: $160.78
At the end of each day please tally up your daily expenses. Then at the end of your diary please tally up all expenses in the following categories:
Food + Drink: $184.86
Health + Beauty: $108.59
Clothes: $120.81
Transport: $30
Travel: $344.79
Other: $156.19
Total: $945.24
Lastly, reflect on your diary!
Man, I have so many thoughts on this diary. I’m in this kind of weird space where I want so badly to pay off my debt because I have a lot of shame associated with it. On the flip side, I want to travel and enjoy the time I have right now because I don’t know if my health will permit that in the future. Overall I spent less on food than I usually do, partly because our families generously treated us when we went out with them. I feel grateful to make enough money to start paying off my debt more quickly, even though I have a long way to go. I’m also proud of how far I’ve come from the terrified 18 year old who didn’t know how I was going to pay my rent and still eat each month. If you made it through this super-long diary, thanks! I’d love to hear from anyone in a similar place with their health regarding how you balance responsible finances with having fun and enjoying your life.

This story starts out fairly simple but becomes ridiculous later on.
The crew assembled when Captain Ashford, a concealed pirate lord, made his way over a desert planet on the homebrewed solar system called "Feller's Bastard Star". It named after a long gone "Feller" dynasty which aimed to build a solar collector base around the entire star, speak Dyson sphere in our language. In the downtrodden, rude language of imperialists this fringe-world and project that was never finished is just called "Bastard Star" because it's half station, half star.
This system has mostly desert worlds, specifically Feller 2, which is in turn the megalomanic project of a Waaghboss Ork who steals spacecraft from any faction and crashes them into the sand world. His goal: Create the ultimate "Rokk" in the size of a planet.
Something about this solar system breeds megalomaniacs.
This ork warband has captured three of the four party members. Captain Ashford however is so far unaware of the orks and the rest of his soon to be crew. His goal is another: Having fetched a star ship key from the black market, he sees his great chance of fame and glory. The hasty xeno merchant gave him the coordinates and rushed away on it's merry way. Captain Ashford followed this course, and happened upon a sandy world through which he wandered and at times crawled.
Slying away from ork patrols, he finally arrives at a small ork camp. A slave camp in which all other crewmen and some alien slaves are "storaged" along with a pile of their former possessions.
The Voidmaster Log Malakai in particular is not happy about his situation and breaks a cage beam with the strength of his machine arm, drawing the full two brain cells of possible attention from an ork guard. Thinking quickly, Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator Carthus Lambda-2 assembles a primitve thrown weapon from his prison bed by throwing the entire prison bed at the ork.
This is when Captain Ashford strikes and eliminates the ork with a plasma blast from behind. The goop sprouting carcass topples over, dropping a comically large radio.Navigator Seth Almagam, called "Grim" due to his strange antics, who was also previously captive uses the radio to confuse ork command which is as simple as shouting something and dropping the device.
They proceed to team up and free a small group of eldar warriors from their cages, who in turn temporarily ally with them to break free from the slave camp. Using the radio of the ork guard, they make ork command believe that the eldar have broken free, which is true after all.
As Game Master and Reader, we can not be sure which plan Ashford had with blaming it on the eldar, but we can only assume that a profound rivalry to the ancient alien empire exists.The great bail-out happens as planned.
Grotzs are being shot and scared to death by the Navigator. Using Micro Grenades, a more well-armored ork guard explodes inside his own metal casing. Finally, the angry Explorator Carthus finds his trusty servo-skull "H.U.B." integrated into a shoddy ork turret and wired with it's hover exhausts to orkish sensor machinery.The Ork mechanic who wired the skull up to the turret had added a small sign for the skull to read: It depicted a human and an ork, and the words "shoot" "not shoot", which the servo skull obviously ignored.
Freed from the orkish slavery, HUB returned into service of Carthus and helped him take aim on another ork turret. In a swift scoped attack, the ork gunner is missed- but enough time is bought for the Navigator to teleport behind him and drop a final load of micro krak-grenades into the turret.
The eldar have by then been forgotten and are only mentioned briefly by another player in the second session- entering not only game mechanical but also contextual stealth successfully. We might see them again later.
For now, the crew has stolen an Ork Truck, which is when the hastily imported Rulework of another table top game "Gaslands" came into play. The truck itself is a puzzle and trap filled one-page-dungeon of it's kind. Playing bluegrass on the table top audio, the GM explained the "features" of the truck:
Fully build in hot-air cooler, red button, speed holes, comfort-tinted frontal windshield to withstand both the radiation of the sun and oncomming rock walls.
A drawn control panel is shown to the voidmaster who was decided to be the driver for the time being due to his over average agility score. Due to the orkish nature of vehicle design, only the co-pilot has an actual view to the front, making this a dungeon puzzle for one player and a ralley simulator for the other.
This control panel contains levers, pedals and a red button. Of course he started slow, after all the GM had just explained the Gear and Hazard system of Gaslands. (You can only make narrow turns or swerving manouvers in lower gear without entering dangerous maneuvering)
On the back of the truck, Grim the navigator and carthus the tech priest hold position and act as gunners with their starter equipment.
Then curiosity won and the big red button is pressed. Tune up table audio to a more apt rock and roll theme. The ork truck is accelerated with the condensed chemical brutality of whatever it is that orks consider fuel. Blue flames burst out of perforated mufflers, bending them in uneven angles.Sand is catapulted to the back, and the device cranks up into fifth gear. Parts of the quickly hand sketched control board explode, giving the player only estimations of the current gear that the vehicle is in. The crew on top, who need to hold their guns and balance, obtain a negative modifier on ballistic checks.
And of course hordes of orks on buggies and carts chase after them, jumping over cliffs and ramps, the entire madmax fetish of the GM comes into play.
The chase through scrapfields and cactus oasis reduces the loot with each failed handling skill, finally Grim, of all players, is overtaken by greed and decides to stop shooting orks and holds on to the looted bags of xeno tech that is shaken with each turn and driven maneuver.
As the designated driver Lok makes turns left and right, and experiments with the levers, he finds out that the levers are for turn signals. The right one being a flashing red light, the left one an indirect command for a gretchin to hold a red signal torch out of a hatch on the side of the vehicle.
Because in the fast pace of combined puzzle and Gaslands-chase, the turn signals are frequently ignored. This angers the gretchin who visits the cockpit through a small hatch and realizes that he is being stolen by humans along with the truck.
Stressed, the voidmaster tries to intimdate what greenish goblin: "Shut up!" But fails his intimidation throw and the gretching returns into the inner workings of the machine."Now where was this safety fuse?" He asks loudly. All players realize that this little gremlin is about to sabotage their escape- the captain yells "We have a blind passager!""I am not blind!" The gretchin complains.Dropping a photonic grenade into the same hatch that the little xeno went into the captain asks "How about now?"A flash emerges through the bolted cracks and rims along the engine casing.This is when I decided to write down the story because I was laughing.
Captain Ashfords recognizes an ork truck with two heavily armed "boys" emerge from a nearby dune and orders the tech priest, whose name he at that point does not even know yet, to take them out.A bonus on the ballistic check, but also an astonishing righteous fury hit vaporize the front wheels of the attacking vehicle, sending orks flying. Another proof that a lasgun is more than a flashlight if aimed correctly.One ork manages to fire a shot at the heroes' car mid-air but is then run over by another chasing buggy as soon as he contacts sandy desert ground. The other ork lands headfirst on the chasing buggy and gets back up, thrilled by the "WAAAGH!" of his orky brethern.
Finally, the chase climaxes as they reach Captain Ashford's bounty: A dictator class cruiser, buried for thousands of years in the sand, from a time when the system was inhabited by humans. They manage to rush their stolen truck into the frontal torpedo tube of the ship's prow. Looted since millennia, there is no weapon installed and instead they crash right into the hallways of the ship. Orkish pursuers at times do not make the hawk-jump and crash into the prow, atomized by their speed and imperial ceramic armor.
With only two scrap-made carts on their tails, the crew escapes into the depths of the cruiser and shakes them off, advancing on foot. The previously stunned engine gretchin is now enthralled to their group.
Finally they reach the ingition altar, and the key is inserted.It follows a puzzle that is difficult in ways that average players would never comprehend. An active listening challenge, in which nothing else but the uberduck text to speech voice of the voice labled as the "burgerking rapper" is giving them a comprehension summary task. It explains the perils of the previous crew in what is, and I man up to this because I am responsible, a slight joke on cost of the Jamaican accent, which is fairly hard to understand on it's own. But if you throw in a mix of shadowrun "chummer" lingo, German and obscure 90's hip hop references you end up in a wall of spoken text that rushes over you and leaves only a state of absolute confusion.
Excusingly the GM proclaims that thousand year old low gothic is hard to understand.
After successful tech use the techpriest manages to obtain all the voice files. Of course the GM saw this happening and adds voice files into the selection of player-replayable files, that are mild taunts against the tech priest, even more obscure references and a rap that decries the imperial navy as loosers and proclaims servitor pirates to be the winner.
Finally Grim the navigator, of all people, manages to use what little buzzwords he can understand and ties together a story of what must have happened: The previous crew was killed or went missing, servitor crew was frozen in stasis and the ship went into hibernating. The entire ship belonged to pirates, making captain Ashford drop his facade and openly proclaim that he is a freebooter.
This is the start of the "Arcadia's" adventure along the fringes of sector Koronus and a great feud between a Warghboss and a reaver pirate captain.
Long story short: If you make a devils bargain with the GM about getting a very good starter ship, you will still have to fight for it.

Hi everyone, I'm a solo developer named Adam, and my game, the cozy RPG/point-and-click adventure A Weekend in Puzzleburg released on Steam just last month: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1929760/A_Weekend_in_Puzzleburg
The game is currently 20% off for the Storyteller's Festival, so check it out now while it's on discount!

About the game:

A Weekend in Puzzleburg is a wholesome RPG/point-and-click adventure game where you're a woman on a weekend vacation exploring the fictional resort town of Puzzleburg and performing random acts of kindness for the town’s residents by puzzling out what each person needs and how to get it for them. But you're really there for a vacation, so you can also spend your time doing relaxing vacation activities like taking a selfie of the town’s welcome sign, reading a book of your own choosing, or even getting your hair dyed. No matter what you get up to, the game is filled with humorous dialog and there are no enemies and no combat whatsoever. And there's no need to worry about getting stuck on any puzzle - the hotel concierge is always ready to help you with a hint whenever you want or need one.
The game has over 180,000 different ways it can play out based on how you choose to solve puzzles and the decisions you make while on vacation since everyone vacations differently. I sat down to do the math on that myself, and you can find the details in this blog post if you're interested to know what sorts of decisions you can make and how they result in so many variations. This means you can play through the game over and over again and have yourself a new vacation experience each time - reading a different book, dying your hair a different color, choosing a different backstory, making different dialog choices, solving puzzles in different ways, etc.
I wanted to create a game with the branching quest structure and replayability factor of Fallout or The Witcher games, but where no matter what option you take, you always end up at a wholesome outcome. I really like how Fallout, Witcher, and to a certain extent Mass Effect games allow for players to resolve a single situation in a wide variety of ways, but it seems that to play something that gives the player such freedom, the only games out there also contain a certain amount of violence as well. However, this multiple-ways-to-resolve-a-quest structure does not inherently lend itself to violence in any way; as an example, it could work just as well if you're trying to decide who to give your last cookie to (or whether to keep that cookie for yourself, of course). As a result, A Weekend in Puzzleburg delivers the same freedom of expression but without any violence or combat, so wholesome gamers and kids rejoice - you will get the same deep branching quest structure that previously was only available in violent games.
A Weekend in Puzzleburg has full controller support or can be played with mouse + keyboard, or with the mouse entirely if you prefer an old school point-and-click adventure game feel. It has also been tested on the Steam Deck, and I'm pleased with its performance on that hardware - I even wrote a blog post with details on how the game performs on Steam Deck, plus some tips and tricks for playing A Weekend in Puzzleburg on Steam Deck.
There's a free demo that takes roughly 30 minutes, and the full game takes 2-4 hours for a single playthrough (though multiple playthroughs are of course encouraged to try out different paths). The idea being that as your character enjoys their weekend in Puzzleburg, you too will be able to complete the game within a weekend if you'd like.
For reference, similar games include: Earthbound, A Short Hike, Wayward Strand, Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, TOEM, Professor Layton, Nancy Drew, Life is Strange, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, To The Moon, Bugsnax, and Suikoden
You can find two trailers for the game on my company YouTube page ("Scenes Around Puzzleburg" and "The Puzzles of Puzzleburg"), along with a developer playthrough that shows some things that are hard to find in the free demo, plus some things in the full game but NOT in the demo.
If you'd rather read a review of the game from an independent source, here you go ("Final Verdict: I Like It"): https://ladiesgamers.com/a-weekend-in-puzzleburg-review

Where to buy the game:

A Weekend in Puzzleburg is available on Steam right here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1929760/A_Weekend_in_Puzzleburg
I also publish a weekly blog about the game if you would like to know more about the game's development (there's about a year's worth of updates located at that link). I also post smaller updates on Twitter, so please follow the company's Twitter account (@SunnyVideoGames) as well. And for any streamers or members of the press, the press kit has additional info on the game, as well as publicly available promotional assets.
And of course, please check out all the great indie games taking part in the Storyteller's Festival on Steam.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoy your weekend in Puzzleburg!

https://imgur.com/a/dr3zwlE
Bergara B14 short action hinged floor plate conversion new take off $64.99
V Seven Weapon Systems TITANIUM gas block new in package finish off that featherweight build $59.99
BCM barrel nut wrench $11.99
Geissele ODG buffer tube - some salt w/ Midwest Industries pic to buffer folding adapter, can’t get set screw to budge $70.69 with stickers and Geissele wrench
WTT: will trade for Inforce WML, Surefire M340 or equivalent, Noveske BCG. DDC buffer tube, Magpul K grip grey, FCD 6.7” rail FDE, AR drop in trigger - not CMC
Prices listed include shipping. Accepting PayPal FF and Venmo. Ships USPS with tracking within 24 hours of sale.

Hey, guys!
I have a birthday coming up and am thinking about spending a night (maybe 2?) somewhere cute and quaint upstate or on LI. Totally flexible with where as long as it satisfies the following:

• Accessible by Metro North or LIRR and within 2.5 hours of Manhattan
• A beautiful B&B option. I’m not looking for a big hotel but a charming, lovely bed and breakfast
• A walkable town with at least some things to spend a day enjoying be it shopping, art, museums, breweries, nature etc.
• At least one excellent restaurant where I can treat myself to a nice birthday dinner

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

I recently upgraded my Ender 3v2 with a Sprite Pro hot end and Dual Z axis upgrade. I previously had a BL touch installed which functioned without issue. I had no issues printing prior to this but now I am unable to print at all. Issues are listed below.

• During most of the tests I tried the print head and bed would heat up and then idle there for several minutes. The print head would then cool down and restart the heating process before moving to the left side of the build plate. There the printer will register the print as complete despite not having printed anything.
  • I have a single file on my SD card for this test, a file I’ve used dozens of times to test settings. I use the Hydra Bed Level Test.
• While attempting to level the bed using the onboard leveling option the printhead will attempt to move beyond the X axis limit where the belt starts to slip. It will do this for about 1-2 seconds, move slightly to the left, and then check one point for before stopping the leveling test.
  • The bed leveling failing is less of a concern compared to the device thinking the X axis is longer than it really is. I imagine this is likely because of the difference in mounting brackets for the stock Ender 3v2 hot end and the Sprite Pro.
  • On another attempt the print head moved as above and then pulled the print bed all the way back to the home position. The printhead then moved down with the sensor nowhere near the print bed let alone any of the points it should be checking. I had to turn the power off at this point to keep the hot end nozzle from diving into the print bed and causing any damage.
• The device appears to think the print bed is in a different position than it actually is. I managed to get a few test prints to actually start but the print was probably 30-40mm off center to the right.
  • I scaled down the hydra test and adjusted my slicer settings for a more narrow bed but haven't been able to test this out due to the first issue.

Here is what I have done and checked so far:

• I've checked all connections and ports to make sure they are properly seated and wired correctly.
  • I did not realize initially that I had mixed up the positive and negative wires on my heating tube when plugging them into the board. When I turned the printer on after my initial build and attempted to heat up the hot end the printer just turned off. I figured this out pretty quickly but I am worried I may have shorted something out on my board.
• I've updated the printer firmware to the most recent version from the Creality website. I made sure to download the one tagged Marlin. I also made sure I matched it with my motherboard (4.2.2.)

TL;DR Printer alternates between not wanting to start prints at all and when it does it thinks the bed is in a different position relative to the printhead that it actually is.

The world of online classified ads has seen immense growth over the last decade, with major players such as Craigslist,olx and eBay Classifieds leading the way.
However, there is always room for new players to enter the market and offer a fresh perspective. In recent years, a new classified ad platform has emerged, and it is quickly gaining traction among buyers and sellers alike. This platform is known as 'Bantumart' .
Bantumart is a relatively new player in the online classified ad market, having been launched in 2023 However, in just a few short years, it has become one of the fastest-growing platforms of its kind, with millions of users across Africa.
So what makes Bantumart so appealing to buyers and sellers?.*One of the key featuresthat setss Bantumart apart from other classified ad platforms is its user-friendly interface. The platform is designed to be simple and intuitive, making it easy for users to navigate and find what they are looking for.
Whether you are in the market for a new car, a piece of furniture, or even a job, Bantumart makes it easy to search and browse listings.
Another factor that has contributed to Bantumart's rapid growth is its focus on safety and security. The platform takes a proactive approach to ensure that all listings are legitimate and that buyers and sellers are protected from scams and fraud. This is achieved through a combination of manual moderation and automated systems that detect and flag potentially fraudulent activity.
In addition to its user-friendly interface and strong safety measures, Bantumart also offers a range of other features that make it appealing to both buyers and sellers.
These include the ability to create detailed listings with multiple photos and videos, as well as the option to communicate with other users directly through the platform. Perhaps one of the most significant advantages of Bantumart is its low fees. Unlike some other classified ad platforms that charge high fees for listing items or services, Bantumart takes a more affordable approach. Sellers can list items for free, and there are no hidden fees or commissions on sales.
As Bantumart continues to grow and expand, it is clear that it has tapped into a niche in the classified ad market. By offering a user-friendly platform, robust safety measures, and affordable fees, Bantumart has quickly become a go-to destination for buyers and sellers alike. If you are in the market for anything from a new car to a secondhand couch, it is well worth checking out Bantumart to see what it has to offer.

I started renting this flat about a year ago. After three hellish years of sharing a small dorm with three other university students I decided I’ve had enough and set out to get a place of my own. Last summer, I finally found something I could afford with my measly savings and the money I was earning by tutoring high schoolers. It wasn’t too far off from my university, so the move was quick and uneventful.
I never actually met my landlord - apparently, those bastards are too lazy to even drive to their properties. Instead, I was greeted by an old lady, who introduced herself as the housekeeper, though, like I mentioned, she didn’t own the place. She handed me the keys to the flat and told me all the ins-and-outs of living in a rented apartment (when I needed to pay, who to call if something breaks, etc.) She was very kind and compassionate, which reminded me of my own grandmother, so I quickly came to like her. She left me her phone number, saying that I could call her whenever I wanted to talk.
On her way out, she stopped in the doorway for a moment, her hand patting the wall. Her back was turned to me, but I was still able to hear her say “Take care of him, will you?”. The next moment she was gone, leaving me confused as to the meaning of these parting words.
At first, I assumed that there was an animal in the apartment, and now I was unknowingly roped into taking care of it. But, after thoroughly examining every room (and there wasn’t a lot of them – only a bathroom, a kitchen and a bedroom doubling as a study), I couldn’t find anyone other than myself. Eventually I concluded that the lady must have assumed I had a boyfriend – why she would have done that, I have no idea, but old people are sometimes weird.
Then the school year started, so I had a lot on my mind other than cryptic housekeepers. I settled into the flat easily enough – it was small, yes, but I found it very cozy. The floorboards creaked if you stepped on them too hard, and the walls groaned during particularly windy nights. The light in the kitchen needed several moments to turn on, and the lock on the bathroom door didn’t fully lock, but since I was living alone, this wasn’t much of a concern. Overall, for the price I paid, the place was perfect.
The weird things started happening a month after I moved in. I don’t remember what day of the week it was, but I had lectures early in the morning, so I had to wake up before the sun was up. I’ve never been a morning person – I’ve never been a night-dweller either, for some reason my body needed no less than ten hours of sleep to properly function. But, alas, I couldn’t have such a luxury during the academic year, so six in the morning was the waking hour for me. That day, like usual, I firstly went to the bathroom to brush my teeth (and do the other bathroom activities), and after I was done I came into the kitchen to have my cup of coffee.
Only to find that the kettle was already on.
As soon as I opened to door, it clicked off, as if startled by my appearance. I could hear the water boiling and the smoke flowed out of its spout, so it must have been on for a while. Obviously, I didn’t remember ever turning it on, but I quickly dismissed this strange occurrence. I often got lost in my own thoughts and frequently lost items by absentmindedly leaving them lying around in strange places. Once, after I was finished talking on the phone, my brain apparently decided that I must leave it inside the fridge. I only realized that something wasn’t right a couple of hours later, when I reached for my phone to look at the time only to find a jar of milk next to me.
So I could’ve easily went into the kitchen in my half-awake state and automatically turned on the kettle without even realizing it. I didn’t have any time to ponder about any other explanations that morning, and the incident was forgotten.
The next morning, I found the kettle turned on again. And the next, and the next.
I knew I couldn’t have turned on the kettle without my awareness for so many days in a row. I concluded that my kettle was broken, but, since I didn’t have the funds to fix it or get a new one, I simply decided to leave its cord out of the power socket when I wasn’t home, as I didn’t want my house to catch on fire due to a malfunction. So, after coming up with this plan, I finished my coffee cup, plugged out the kettle, and went to the university.
On the day after that, I woke up to find the kettle plugged back in. There was also a steaming cup of coffee on the counter.
Needless to say, I was freaked the fuck out. In retrospect, it seems kind of ridiculous that I almost had a breakdown over a cup of coffee, but I think it was the implications that were more frightening. Was someone breaking into my house? Was someone in my house currently? Did they steal anything? Did they watch me sleep? Did they do anything to me while I was asleep?
I couldn’t call the police or anything like that, obviously. They would’ve just chalked it up to me not being fully awake when I made the coffee – just like I at first dismissed the kettle turning on by itself. But I knew myself, and I knew that I couldn’t have done that. Clicking on a button? Sure. But pouring hot water into the cup and adding spoons of instant coffee? I couldn’t have done that in a half-asleep state.
I didn’t know what to do. I was scared to leave the apartment, afraid that the intruder would take the opportunity to steal something while I was gone. But staying seemed far worse, considering I could be trapped in an apartment with someone who could potentially mean me harm.
So there I was, sitting at a kitchen table, staring at the steaming cup of coffee (I was afraid to drink it – what if it was spiked with something?), when it clicked. Of course, I thought, there is only one other person who had the keys to the apartment – the housekeeper! It seemed to be the only reasonable explanation: of course, a nice old lady like her would want to do some kind things for me. It was a bit strange that she didn’t leave a note or stick around to say hello, but maybe she was in a hurry, only stopping by my flat as a second thought. And, well, old people are sometimes weird.
I quickly found the number that she left me with and, after a couple of moments spent to collect myself (I always got irrationally nervous before phone calls) I pressed dial.
She answered me happily, apparently not perturbed by the early hour. I explained the situation to her, phrasing it as though I was simply confused and haven’t been scared out of my mind moments prior. She listened to me patiently and, after I was finished, stayed quiet for a few moments before saying “You’ve really taken a liking to this place, haven’t you?”
Her response didn’t make any sense in the context of what I’ve been talking about, but her tone told me everything I needed to know. I could hear the amused smile, and I was almost able to picture her silently laughing at me. She spoke with the same tone parents use to tell their kids about Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, delighting at the little devils eating up their every word. The same tone your friend would use to make you shake his hand, assuring you that there wasn’t glue on it this time, for real.
Oh, how I misinterpreted the housekeeper’s intentions. She wasn’t doing this out of kindness – not fully, at least. Under the façade of a nice old lady hid a mischievous prankster. No doubt she was doing this out of boredom – there wasn’t much a person her age would get up to, anyway. Well, I thought, I might as well indulge her in this little scheme of hers. Not like it was causing any harm, anyway.
I answered that I did, indeed, like the place a lot. She was very glad. She then told me not to mind the coffee, as it wasn’t meant to scare me. I thanked her and hung up. Then I realized I was very running very late, so I quickly downed the coffee – done exactly as I liked it – and hurried to catch the bus.
After I came back to the flat that day, I found a full dinner waiting for me on the table. A bowl of chicken soup and a plate of mac and cheese, which reminded me of the stuff my mom used to make for me as a kid. It was still hot.
At first I wanted to call the housekeeper again to tell her that there was no need to cook for me, but I eventually decided against it. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say. And besides, my wallet was getting a bit thin, so I needed to save up wherever I could.
And that’s how it went for a while after that: I woke up, I drank the coffee prepared for me, and after I returned home, I ate the amazing dinner the housekeeper made for me that day. I honestly expected the dinner to be a one-time ordeal, but after a week of eating delicious home-cooked meals, I couldn’t bring myself to ask her to stop making them. I did however start feeling a little guilty – no doubt, she was spending a lot of money on me, and I couldn’t even give her anything in return. I assured myself by reasoning that she wouldn’t keep on doing it if she didn’t want to, but the shame kept eating at me.
Eventually, I decided to leave a note for her. I’ve never been that good at expressing emotions to other people, so I settled on a simple “Thank you! :)” I left the note on the kitchen table when I went to sleep. Next day, it was gone. No “You’re welcome!” in return, just a cup of coffee waiting patiently for me. So there was that.
But that’s not what you’re here for. You read the title, you know this story isn’t really about my nice housekeeper, no matter for how long I’ve gone on about her. So let’s get to the point.
By that time, I’ve already been living in the flat for four months. The end of the semester was quickly approaching, exams looming on the horizon. We’re usually given a couple of weeks in advance to study for them, so I was spending my days at home, rereading the material and writing helpful notes for myself.
One of those nights I woke up with a start. I’ve always been a light sleeper (you can understand why living with three roommates had been hell on earth), so it might have been just a dog barking or a car alarm that woke me up. But no, I could definitely remember that it was neither of those – instead, it was a loud sharp sound, like something falling or a door being slammed. I lay in the dark for a few moments, straining my ears to hear any other noise, but there was only the quiet humming of my laptop and the usual city noises coming from outside. Eventually, the tiredness won and I fell back asleep.
I found it in the morning.
I didn’t see it when I woke up, as I kept my lights off. But after I washed my face with some cold water and drank my morning coffee (prepared for me by my lovely housekeeper, as usual), I returned to my bedroom to continue studying and turned on the light.
There was a crack in the wall. It went down from the ceiling to about the height of my desk which was placed next to this wall. It was thin, but I could still see the darkness peering at me from the inside of it.
Now, I want you to know that I’m not the kind of person that gets scared easily. Like you do, I also look for things to scare myself with on the internet, which made me sort of desensitized to certain types of horror.
But that crack… I don’t know. I can’t rationalize it. All that I know was that as soon as my eyes landed on it, I could feel my whole body just stop. My knees went weak and I grabbed onto the doorframe to keep myself standing, not tearing my eyes away from the darkness pouring out of my wall. I wasn’t scared of my landlord blaming its appearance on me, and I wasn’t afraid of the repair bills – no, I was frightened of IT. This thing being in my room, it was just wrong. I felt my breathing getting ragged as its edges blurred in front of my eyes. As if in a daze, I took a couple of steps towards it, even though every cell in body was screaming at me not to do that. My arm rose against my will, like I was a doll being puppeteered by an unseen force. My hand was almost touching the pulsating darkness, when I was snapped out of the daze by the sound of a slamming door. I turned around to check out the sound but saw no one there. When I looked back at the crack, I found that it seemed normal again. It didn’t cause me numbing panic like the first time I saw it, though the sense of wrongness was still very much there. I decided to study in the kitchen.
Now, here the thing: I probably could’ve - and should’ve – called someone for help about this. If anything, the landlord definitely needed to know about his property breaking down. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Every time I picked up the phone, determined to deal with this issue, I was struck with this hot panic again, and not because of the usual anxiety I came to associate with making calls. I somehow knew that someone else seeing this crack would have irreversible consequences. And so I put the phone back down, angry at my own helplessness.
I tried to not look at it afterwards, which was rather difficult, considering how small my apartment was. I took to spending most of my time in the kitchen, though when nightfall came I had to face it. I wanted to keep the lights on for the night as it brought me a false sense of safety, but I found I couldn’t fall asleep in a bright room, so I had to turn them off. I slept with my back facing it, stupidly assured by a childlike mindset of “If I can’t see it, it can’t see me”. So that’s how the next few days went.
When I woke up after apparently turning around in my sleep and opened my eyes to find the crack staring at me, I knew I couldn’t take it anymore. I found a roll of duct tape and taped it along the crack. It may seem foolish to you, following this “out of sight, out of mind” ideology, but when the crack was finally hidden behind a thin layer of tape, I felt like I could breathe freely again. No more sense of being stared at, no more coldness seeping out of it, no more primal fear ringing in my bones every time my eyes accidentally landed on it. It was finally over.
Or, well, so I thought.
The night after I thought I defeated the crack, I got into bed with an overwhelming sense of relief. Finally, I could feel safe in my own bedroom. I lay down facing the hidden enemy, as it was the side I preferred to sleep on, and fell asleep unusually quickly.
I was rudely awoken by a harsh light piercing though my eyelids. At first I had thought that it must be morning and that the sun rose already, which was strange, since I set an alarm to wake me up before sunrise. Still very sleepy, I rolled over and blindly reached for my phone to check the time. 4 am, it said.
And so I turned around to look at the light source.
The thin crack was blazing with brightness, momentarily blinding me. As I blinked away involuntarily tears in the corners of my eyes, I breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that the duct tape still ran along the crack, the bright light shining through it. I couldn’t even start to think about the potential reasons for it glowing like that before the ringing started.
Well, ringing isn’t really the right word, but I can’t find any fitting ones to describe what happened. It was just… vibrations. I felt them piercing my body, rattling through my bones, and I couldn’t hear the sound with my ears, but the vibrations felt like ringing. And not the ringing of a phone, but something more akin to a church bell, low and foreboding.
And then something behind the crack started moving.
I didn’t see its shadow, no, it was more like this being was the light itself. I couldn’t see its full shape though the thin crack, but I definitely could see the way the duct tape bent under its touch. But instead of tearing it away from the wall or cutting through it, the creature just- reached through the duct tape.
Oh, how foolish I have been to think that a piece of plastic could save me.
The force of the vibrations filling the air around me got stronger as the being now breached into my room. I could not hear – or feel – anything else now besides them, and with an even more growing terror I realized that the vibrations were the creature’s voice.
The being continued its advance. It reached even further, its appendage bending at a certain point and stretching to the floor, using the surface to prop itself further out of the crack. At this point I was more than terrified – I didn’t even feel like I was in my own body anymore, unable to move, shackled by the sight of this being and weighted down by its voice surrounding me. It now had an appendage the size of a person breaching my room, and I think I lost the ability to breathe when it started bending again and again, morphing into a vile mess of unnatural corners and angles. And it just kept coming.
Frozen in my horrified state, I thought that at least this couldn’t get any worse. And then the shaking started.
I long since lost the awareness of my body, but I saw the walls beginning to tremble frantically and the floorboards starting to jump around, as if my house started sliding down a hill. A strong surge threw me and the other objects in the room into the air, and I landed painfully on the floor, my senses coming back to me for a short second. Unfortunately, that also meant that I was closer to the thing. I opened my mouth to scream as its horrifying mass twitched around, a mayhem of joints trying to get closer to me, but I heard no sound coming out. Only its voice winding through me, paralyzing my whole body.
Another hard shake, and the being’s voice impossible doubled in silent volume, making me feel like I was now close to being torn apart by the violent vibrations. Its appendages convulsed as if in a seizure, and in a brief moment of clarity though the crippling fear I realized that the crack though which it was pouring out from was shrinking. Bit by bit, with every harsh shake and jump of the walls, it was becoming smaller. The vibrations were now searing my insides as the creature was wailing in agony.
Painfully slowly, its bended appendage unfolded and pulled itself back though the crack. The light dimmed with every flinch of the walls, and as soon as the tip of the appendage disappeared into the last remaining slit of light, it was over. The room was dark.
As if my ears popped, I came back to the awareness of my senses. My throat ached, no doubt from the soundless screaming, my whole body was shaking and there were wet trails going down my cheeks, though I didn’t remember when I had started crying. I wiped off my face with the back of my hand and continued sitting on the floor for some time, breathing unsteadily and staring at the line of duct tape on my wall. After finally finding the strength, I stood up on my shaking legs and took a couple of steps closer to the wall. I raised up my arms and carefully, bit by bit, pulled off the tape.
The crack was no longer there. I ran my fingers along where it had been. The wall was smooth, not even a trace remaining of a nightmare that plagued me for the last few weeks.
My legs gave out under me and I fell into a heap on the floor. I started to cry again for some reason. Probably relief.
I didn’t sleep for the rest of the night. Who would’ve been able to, after that? I stayed huddled in the corner of my bed, jumping at every slight little sound, until the alarm on my phone rang, telling me that it was time to start the day.
After I collected myself enough to stand up, I briefly stopped by the bathroom to splash cold water into my face, carefully avoiding looking at myself in the mirror. I knew I looked like shit, no need for the reminder.
Then I went straight to the kitchen. I settled myself at the table, grabbing a hot cup of coffee waiting for me like usual. I got through a couple of sips, enjoying the burning feeling on my tongue, when it hit me.
I had stayed up though the whole latter half of the night, and with the strung up condition that I have been in, there’s no way that I could’ve missed the housekeeper coming into the flat to prepare a cup of coffee for me. Then how...?
Like images in a slideshow, memories resurfaced for me to connect the dots. The walls gluing themselves back together to keep out the being from entering my room. The coffee made exactly to my tastes, the dinners that reminded me of my childhood. The housekeeper saying quietly, as if her words were not directed at me, “Take care of him, will you?”
I looked up at the kitchen ceiling. The slow-on-uptake lamp blinked back at me. I turned to look at the creaky floorboards, stained darkly by previous homeowners. I raised my hand to pat the walls gently.
“Thank you,” I said to the house.
The walls creaked lovingly around me. And although they couldn’t say any words, I still got the message.
You are welcome.

Grand Theft Auto is no stranger to add-on content, but the latest in a long line of leaks suggests Rockstar might be taking a bit of a different approach for the long-awaited sequel — splitting up parts of the game to repackage as DLC.
The rumor comes from established Rockstar leaker Tez2, who says Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently targeting a release in holiday 2024 “which has been pushed back multiple times.” Tez2 adds the game may be pushed back again, into to 2025.
Furthermore, Tez2 claims Rockstar is considering breaking up the game’s content into post-launch DLC, to ensure the game can meet a release date. If GTA 6 launches in 2024, it will be a whopping 11 years since the last release in the franchise.
This wouldn’t be an unprecedented move from Rockstar, considering the approach the studio has taken with GTA Online, incrementally releasing massive updates and new story content. Notably, however, GTA 5 didn’t feature any additional story content, just updates to the Online portion of the game.
GTA Online GTA Online has managed to stay relevant for a decade with consistent updates, and it makes sense Rockstar would pivot to that same approach to single-player content.ROCKSTAR Taking this approach would let Rockstar more easily hit whatever internal timeline is established for GTA 6, and provide a road map of content to make post-launch more appealing to players. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time this kind of rumor has been brought up by Tez2, as last August the leaker reported GTA 6 would “expand over time,” adding on new cities after launch.
The easiest approach would be to create content that ties into both the single-player and multiplayer aspects of GTA 6, and creating new cities in-game could do just that. New locations could be fully playable in the online portion, while also adding on hand-crafted stories and missions. This would allow Rockstar to continue the overwhelming success of GTA Online, while story content could help attract new players or those that might not care to engage with multiplayer.
This tactic of splitting up elements of the game as DLC is something Nintendo has been using for years, to great success. Mario Strikers: Battle League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Nintendo Switch Sports, have all seen scheduled add-ons for new content, even years after their initial release. At this point, it’s not clear how much of a live-service element there will be for GTA 6, but this Nintendo-like approach would allow Rockstar to retain players who are primarily interested in single-player experiences.
GTA 5 Although GTA 5 never received single-player DLC, Rockstar’s director of design said in a 2017 interview the studio would “love to do more single-player add-ons for games in the future.”ROCKSTAR Nintendo stands apart from other developers, though, in that typically these updates are free or bundled with a Switch Online subscription. It’s a smart move, as games like Mario Strikers, which would typically have a very short shelf life, suddenly provide players with more of a reason to stick with it for the long haul. It also allows Nintendo to continue to sell its older, first-party titles with minimal discounts.
There’s no video game property in existence bigger than Grand Theft Auto, and a report in 2020 estimated GTA Online made a staggering $600 million in 2019. Even in 2023, it continues to hold an enviable place in the sales charts month after month. The popularity of GTA Online has only continued to increase over the years, and that mainstream success is exactly what’s poised to make GTA 6 such a massive success.
Breaking up content into DLC lets Rockstar bring GTA 6 back into the conversation every six months, year, or whatever release timeline suits the studio and the community best. Seeing a big GTA 6 update in a State of Play or other presentation will likely bring thousands of players flocking back to the game, and considering GTA 5 and GTA Online are still alive and kicking a decade later, it’s easy to say Rockstar is hoping for lightning to strike twice with GTA 6.

So basically (want to make a long story short), i recently bought and moved into a co-op last august 2022. Me, my fiancee and 6 month old child. Made the offer and literally next day, the owner accepted it which i didnt think much of because the market at the time, coops/condos were getting taken off market like crazy! So anyway, keep in mind ive only had the luxury of living in my parents house aside from dorming and living off campus in an apartment above my other friends during college years. So i may have underestimated or not been mindful of noises that ive been making in my newly obtained coop. Mind you me and my family arent very noisy people but maybe thats subjective. I should also paint the picture of me and my fiancee working 10-12hr shifts. And go to bed at a decent time bc we have a freaking baby. So Skip forward to early January 2023. At 9/10pm my fiancee was going to go to store for me bc i had a headache after work and i didnt have any advil. He goes out to grab me some. The set up of this coop is that the upstairs and downstairs share a common entrance and stairway. And unfortunately the stairs creak its an old building. So my fiancee leaves and apparently he slams the door according to the downstairs neighbor. So about 3-5 mins after he leaves i hear 3 huge slams of the common door downstairs. I have heard the downstairs neighbors fight on occasion so my thought was either hes beating the hell out of her or someone fell and got hurt. So i open the door. And here i see the downstairs neighbor yelling at the top of his lungs”you guys are so effing loud! I can never sleep! I have effing anxiety, mental issues. My dog have anxiety! You people are so god effing noisey! Since you guys moved in all i hear is noise!” Etc. mind you i have never once heard a complaint from them. Have seen them outside and they greeted me with smiles each time. So this was the first time i heard of this. Hes climbing up the stairs to point and yell at me. I didnt back down but my baby was in the house with just me so it was still a scary experience. Then his gf came out and was trying to calm down the situation but he starts yelling at her too making her admit that she has heard us on occasion.but they were never specific on what sounds they hear. Just the fact that we “slam” the common door and stated that they heard friends over laughing at 1am. Which was not true bc we have a freaking baby and work early in the morning….Anyway my fiancee came back the min i called him. The neighbor cowarded down, apologized (only to my fianceee) blamed his mental illness and anger issues and the gf took my number in case any other issues arise. Since then we put up a ring camera and been more mindful about the noises we do make. But now ive developed anxiety from this whole thing. Rug galore in my coop. And anytime my baby wants to make a noise i get scared. Not to mention im more mindful of noises around this complex. I hear other people, people outside, the settling of the complex and most importantly i hear my crazy ass downstair neighbors arguing ALL the time. This guy talks about killing himself and im 100% sure he abuses his gf. I talked with the board and management, nothing occcured. They say to contact the police but with no proof what could really happen beside me putting a target on my family especially with this psychotic man downstairs. So its bot even a year yet. I was telling myself to give it yntil the year mark before throwing in the towel to move out with my parents and save money for a house. But it sucks because i JUST BOUGHT this coop. What are yall suggestions?
They also texted me in the middle of the night to complain about some dragging and banging that most def was not happening in my house at the time bc ALL of us were freaking sleep at 3am…

It's a long story but I'll try to keep it short. Sorry for bad grammar.
Two months ago I (21F) started to share a flat with a boy (21M). This guy brought a friend (21M) of his and without realizing it he just started living in our flat, with the difference that he didn't pay anything.
I really liked him and didn't say anything even though it didn't seem right to me (my mistake). He slept on the sofa (my roomate took all the furniture from the living room to his room, which did not seem normal to me either, but it was only going to be 4 months so I let it go), but little by little he began to ask me for one of the two beds that my room has. I kept leaving it for him but I also asked him back so he wouldn't get used to it, besides my roomate let his friends enter into my room when I wasn't there.
The other day I wanted to go into the living room and the door was closed because his friend had closed it. He closed the living room of MY apartment !!
The other day my roomate demanded that I return the money for some bills that he had paid but that were from previous months, and I got angry and told him that I was not going to give him any money, that it is enough to let his friend live here without paying anything for two months. He got really mad so I finally paid him the money.
The next day I locked my room because I was angry and tired of people getting into my room when im not there. Yesterday my roomate spoke to me saying that he was leaving the apartment because I was a bad person for having closed my room and not having given the bed to his friend, he said that i was selfish and only thought of me.
I sincerely believe that his friend is not my responsibility, no matter how well we got along the time he was here. AITA?

To keep a long story short(er), I was in labor for two days straight and almost didn’t make it due to complications. When all was said and done, I was a bloody,sweaty, exhausted mess. I desperately needed a shower but couldn’t really move on my own. I asked my child’s father to help me to the bathroom and into the tub but he declined, he was playing a game on his phone and didn’t want to stop. I managed to get there by myself, sat down, and sobbed in pain while I could hear his game still. I knew right then I was going to leave the moment I could.
4 years later and inflation and rent rising has forced us to live together again. He recently came home blacked out drunk, covered in dry vomit, and vomiting all over himself still. I woke up, helped him into the shower, scrubbed vomit off of him while trying to keep him conscious, got him clean clothes and dressed, helped him to bed, and got him to sip water until he seemed slightly closer to sober.
In the he midst of this, he told me he still has feelings for me and it made me angry for some reason. I don’t really know how to explain my feelings about the whole situation or why helping him made me think of that day, but it’s been putting me in a sour mood the last couple days thinking about it.