Fireplace with christmas tree

Hello everyone, I am an intelligent, funny and sincere person with a successful career. I am looking for someone with whom I can make a long term connection. A little about me: I like to exercise, yoga, run, hike, travel, swim, ski, read, I like to be witty and funny, but also value deep connections and conversations Looking for a friend who can talk about life and the journey, the reality is too difficult to meet a confidant, there are many things I want to say, the words in my heart can not say, and not many people can understand, I am a minority of the majority, feel that their soul is far beyond their age, so usually think a lot of meaning and truth, the only constant is that I only keep that true, I hope you can understand me, I am also willing to be your tree hole listener, looking forward to Your letter

So when my boyfriend (21m) and I (F19) started hanging out more (predating) I was heading back into a baking phase that had previously let up like three months ago. I wanted to make him something, even though gift giving had never been one of my love languages. So I baked him a loaf of bread... and then another... and then one more for good measure. I had baked this man three rustic loaves of bread, that I gave to him before one of our dates.
When asking him what date made him really feel that he wanted to start a relationship with me, take a guess what date it was? That's right, the date that I had given him three loaves of bread. A coincidence? Maybe. It was a really great date. Honestly made me feel like I wanted to start dating him too, but I like to think the bread had something to do with it too.
I had started playing stardew valley around Christmas time, and I wasn't much of a gamer at the time, honestly, I'm still not, but I really liked the concept of romancing somebody you were interested in with things that you make. So this is when me and my mom started making the joke that I was romancing my soon to be boyfriend just as I was in the video game with Harvey, the meek, and honestly very sweet doctor with an amazing mustache.
So guess what I did? That's right, I baked him more things so I could romance him.
Things like Lemon curd cookies, a vanilla bean cake, chocolate chip scones, an iced lemon loaf, and strawberry cookies with cream cheese frosting. I romanced the absolute living hell out of him with my amateur baking skills.
And it worked, he asked me to be his girlfriend a month or so later. And even though I'm in a relationship with him, I still bake him things almost weekly, and now even his mom looks forward to my baking, and I sometimes make things specifically for her.
Tl;dr: I gave my boyfriend baked goods so he’d fall in love with me. And it worked.
If you want to express interest, or get someone to become interested in you, try making something for them. You could win them over with either the treat, or the gesture:)

Im building a new home. About 6000 sq ft. It will have 2 story foyer with curved staircase but me and the wife are in disagreement about one vs two story family room. I really want two story as i love the grand celings, she wants one story... anyone knows what is "in" nowadays? It varies depending on which builder you talk to.
Any recs?
This will be a 1.5 million dollar build with 4 car heated garage, 2 masters, one on first and one on second floor. And finished basement. It will overlook a golf course pond on the back.
It has:
10 foot first floor celings. 8 foot second floor celings with volume celings in all bedrooms 9 ft basement Sunroom Curved staircase in foyer Upstairs family room with wet bar Downstairs family room 2 laundrys Fireplace in family and upstairs master "Sunroom" in basement. ( three Skylights with two operable for ventilation) Lot does not allow walk out. Very flat Dog wash by laundry
Will have total of 5 bedrooms including the 2 masters. And 5.1 bathrooms above grade. Additional 2300 sq foot in basement with 2 additional bedrooms and 2 additional full baths and kitchen.
My parents will occupy downstairs master so my wife likes the privacy of 1 story family room but want to make sure it wont look bad.
Its alot of money and i want to make sure i make the right decision.
Thanks for the input.

Lies are so polite. Honest people have no friends. Nobody wants the truth, not when the lies are what make them happy.
And when the truth, the rude truth, dispels those safe and happy lies, there is a very special kind of horror. I experienced it as terror, as I was forced to learn all about the truth of the real world.
I've spent years as a therapist, delving into the depths of the human psyche and trying to help those burdened by their own demons. My practice has seen its fair share of troubled individuals, but none quite like the three patients I currently attend to. Each one possesses a unique darkness that sets them apart from the rest of my clientele.
First, there's Thomas, a middle-aged man whose words cut through the air like a razor-sharp blade. His brutally honest nature spares no one, as he revels in scathing candor. He spews forth his bitterness, never holding back his cruel rudeness. It's as if he derives pleasure from watching others squirm under the weight of his words.
Then there's Emily, a woman of few filters and even fewer boundaries. Her honesty is a double-edged sword, slicing through the facade of social niceties with surgical precision. She has no qualms about revealing uncomfortable truths, making every session a tense dance of revelations and discomfort.
Lastly, there's Michael, whose coldness could freeze the warmest of hearts. His icy demeanor and calculated words chill the room whenever he speaks. He thrives on manipulation, using his intellect to exploit vulnerabilities and leave emotional wreckage in his wake.
These three patients have tested the limits of my own resilience, forcing me to confront the darkest corners of the human psyche. Little did I know that soon I would encounter a terror beyond anything I had encountered within the confines of my therapy office.
In the dimly lit room of my therapy office, I listen to the unsettling confessions of my three patients. As their therapist, I've grown accustomed to their brutality, their unfiltered honesty. But it's in the aftermath of my aunt's funeral, on that fateful night when my car stalled in the desolate darkness, that I would come face to face with a horror beyond comprehension.
The funeral of my beloved aunt weighed heavily on my heart as I made my way back home, the clock ticking past midnight. Exhausted and emotionally drained, I navigated the winding roads that cut through the barren countryside. The night wrapped around me like a suffocating shroud, and a sense of unease settled deep within.
Suddenly, my car sputtered and came to a halt. Panic coursed through my veins as I desperately tried to restart the engine, but to no avail. With a sinking feeling, I realized there was no cell signal in this desolate stretch of road, leaving me stranded in the oppressive darkness.
I stepped out of the car, the chill of the night embracing me like an unwelcome companion. The moon cast an eerie glow on the silent landscape, emphasizing the desolation that surrounded me. I had no choice but to abandon the safety of my vehicle and venture forth on foot in search of help.
As I walked, the world around me transformed. The familiar countryside gave way to an unfamiliar path, lined with gnarled trees that seemed to whisper secrets in the wind. The air grew heavy, laden with an otherworldly presence that sent shivers cascading down my spine.
After what felt like an eternity, I stumbled upon an exit sign, its rusty metal gleaming faintly in the moonlight. With a mix of trepidation and hope, I followed the arrow, hoping it would lead me to some semblance of civilization.
As I passed through the exit, a peculiar town emerged from the shadows, shrouded in an unsettling silence. The streets, devoid of life, stretched out before me like a labyrinth of forgotten dreams. Inky pools of darkness clung to the corners, stubbornly resisting the feeble rays of the rising sun. It was as if the town itself had been tainted by a sinister force, refusing to surrender to the light.
I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a cracked storefront window, and a shiver shot down my spine. The glass distorted my features, twisting them into a grotesque mockery of myself. Before I could fully comprehend the sight, whispers reached my ears—inhuman voices murmuring in the shadows.
Words like "truth" and "bringer" slithered through the air, chilling me to the bone. It was as if unseen entities were aware of my presence, aware of my role as a dispenser of truth in my profession. The weight of their attention pressed heavily upon me, filling me with a sense of foreboding.
As I cautiously explored the desolate streets, I encountered a townsperson—a perfect mirror image of one of my patients. Seeking assistance, I approached a townsperson who bore an uncanny resemblance to Thomas, my patient known for his brutal honesty.
With a polite smile adorning his face, the townsperson greeted me. "Good day, sir. How may I assist you?" His words dripped with an unsettling charm, a stark contrast to Thomas's usual abrasive nature.
"I'm in need of help. My car broke down, and I require a tow truck or a mechanic," I explained, trying to maintain my composure despite the growing unease within me.
The townsperson's smile remained unwavering as he replied, "I'm terribly sorry to hear about your predicament, but unfortunately, our town is quite isolated, and the services you seek are not readily available. You see, there's no mechanic around, and our tow truck is currently out of commission."
His response sent a chill down my spine, for I knew that Thomas would never shy away from speaking the unfiltered truth. The stark contrast between the patient's brutal honesty and the townsperson's polished lies made the conversation all the more disturbing.
Undeterred, I pressed on, determined to find a solution. "Is there a place nearby where I can make a phone call to seek assistance?"
The townsperson's expression remained placid as he nodded. "Of course, we have a public phone booth just around the corner. However, I must warn you, the line seems to be down at the moment. Perhaps you can try later."
A sense of unease gnawed at me. The deception in his words was palpable. I couldn't help but wonder if this facade of politeness was merely a thin veil concealing something far more sinister.
Growing hungrier by the minute, I decided to inquire about a place to grab a bite to eat. "Is there a restaurant or a café nearby where I can find some food?"
The townsperson's smile widened, his eyes gleaming with an unsettling glimmer. "Ah, I'm afraid all our dining establishments are currently closed for renovations. You won't find anything open at this hour. I apologize for the inconvenience."
Every word he spoke felt like a twist of the knife, the pleasant tone mocking my desperation. It was as if the entire town conspired to deny me even the most basic assistance.
As I ventured deeper into the enigmatic town, my desperation intensified. Seeking aid for my stranded car, I approached a townsperson who bore an uncanny resemblance to Emily, my patient known for her scathing candor.
She greeted me with a disarming smile, her eyes glinting with a deceptive warmth. "Hello there, stranger. What brings you to our humble town?"
Feeling a sense of unease, I mustered the courage to explain my predicament. "My car broke down, and I'm in need of assistance. Is there a mechanic or a service station nearby?"
Emily's smile remained fixed, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness. "Oh, how unfortunate. I'm afraid our town is quite secluded, and we don't have any mechanics or service stations here. It's such a pity, isn't it?"
Her response sent a shiver down my spine, for I knew all too well the biting honesty that usually emanated from Emily's words. The stark contrast between her usual cruel rudeness and the townsperson's polite deceit heightened the unnerving atmosphere.
Undeterred, I decided to probe further. "Is there a place nearby where I can make a phone call to seek help?"
Emily's eyes gleamed with a chilling delight as she nodded. "Why, yes, there is a phone booth just around the corner. However, I must warn you, the line has been acting up lately. It seems luck is not on your side today."
A knot tightened in my stomach, the realization of their collective deception growing clearer. This town had woven an intricate web of lies, and each encounter served to deepen my unease.
Growing weary and famished, I sought information about a place to satisfy my hunger. "Are there any restaurants or cafés where I can find something to eat?"
Emily's smile widened, revealing a hint of something unsettling beneath the surface. "Ah, I'm afraid all our dining establishments are closed for a private event. They won't be open to the public for quite some time. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
Her words sent a chill coursing through my veins. The townsperson's demeanor was an unsettling reflection of Emily's uncensored honesty, twisted into a sickening semblance of pleasantness. It was as if the town reveled in tormenting me, taunting my helplessness with their deceptive charm.
As I continued my journey through the mysterious town, a sense of foreboding weighed heavily upon me. Seeking aid for my broken-down car, I approached a townsperson who bore an uncanny resemblance to Jacob, my patient known for his cruel rudeness.
A twisted smile spread across the townsperson's face as our eyes met. "Well, well, what do we have here? Another lost soul in need of help?"
My heart skipped a beat, for the malicious glint in their eyes mirrored Jacob's usual sadistic pleasure in causing pain. The contrast between his usual brutal demeanor and the townsperson's chilling charm sent a shiver down my spine.
Summoning my courage, I explained my predicament. "My car has stalled, and I require assistance. Is there a mechanic or a service station nearby?"
The townsperson's smile grew wider, revealing rows of unnaturally sharp teeth. Their voice took on a sinister tone as they replied, "Oh, dear traveler, how unfortunate. Our town is quite isolated, you see, and the mechanics here have a penchant for breaking more than they fix. It's best to avoid their services, if you value your life."
A surge of unease swept through me, the words sinking deep into my core. The townsperson's perverse enjoyment in my misfortune left no doubt that they relished in the suffering of others.
Refusing to succumb to fear, I pressed on. "Is there a place nearby where I can make a phone call to seek help?"
Their laughter, low and menacing, echoed through the empty streets. "Ah, a phone call, you say? How quaint. Our town isn't one for modern conveniences. The phones here... well, let's just say they have a mind of their own. They tend to connect you to places you never wished to reach."
A chill ran down my spine, the revelation leaving me trembling. It was as if the town itself conspired to keep me trapped, severed from any means of outside assistance.
Growing increasingly desperate, I inquired about a place to find sustenance. "Are there any restaurants or cafés where I can find something to eat?"
The townsperson's eyes gleamed with a sinister delight, their voice dripping with malice. "Ah, food... sustenance for the weak. I must warn you, stranger, our town's cuisine is... unique. It caters to more peculiar tastes, if you catch my drift. But fear not, for we have delicacies that will make your skin crawl."
My stomach churned at their words, the realization that this town reveled in the macabre sinking in. The contrast between Jacob's cruel rudeness and the townsperson's wicked charm only served to heighten the pervading sense of horror.
With every interaction, I could feel the town's grip on reality loosening, and the true nature of its inhabitants unveiling itself in unsettling ways.
With a sinking feeling, I realized that the veneer of politeness in this town concealed something far more malevolent. The contrast between my patients' cruel candor and the townspeople's twisted facades served only to deepen the sense of dread that hung heavy in the air.
Questions burned within me, demanding answers. I demanded honesty from these townspeople who insisted on politely lying about their inability to help me. Their deceit extended beyond the realm of car repairs and basic necessities—it seeped into every corner of this enigmatic place, where even the simplest requests were met with pleasant but false assurances.
Driven by my thirst for truth and growing frustration with the townspeople's deceptive façades, I delved deeper into the heart of this enigmatic place. With every step, the atmosphere grew heavier, and an air of impending doom seemed to hang in the murky shadows.
Unbeknownst to me, my relentless pursuit of honesty had begun to unravel something dark and ancient. Ominous portents manifested in the form of flickering streetlights and whispers that danced on the edge of my consciousness. The town itself seemed to pulsate with an unseen energy, as if it were a living entity responding to my unsettling inquiries.
As I caught glimpses of my reflection in broken glass and shattered mirrors, my own visage twisted and contorted. It was as if the very act of seeking truth had tainted my soul, leaving visible scars on the surface. Each crack in the glass seemed to mirror the fractures within my own psyche.
The inhuman voices that had whispered before grew louder, their words filling my mind with their sinister presence. They spoke of a bringer of truth, a harbinger of revelations that could shatter the delicate equilibrium of this town and unleash untold horrors upon its unsuspecting inhabitants.
I was drawn to confront the townspeople once more, hoping to break through their veneer of politeness and unearth the hidden truths they guarded so fervently. However, as I ventured deeper into their midst, a chilling realization took hold—an entity lurked within the shadows, feeding off the collective denial and deception of this town.
As the day wore on, the sun began its descent, casting elongated shadows that danced upon the desolate streets of the eerie town. Doubt and unease gnawed at the edges of my sanity, but I refused to succumb. Determined to find a way out, I continued my search for assistance, unaware of the horrors that awaited me.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a figure approaching. As they drew nearer, a cold sweat broke out across my brow. The person who stood before me bore an uncanny resemblance, mirroring my own visage. It was as if I were looking into a grotesque reflection of myself.
I stammered, my voice trembling with disbelief. "Who... who are you?"
The doppelgänger grinned, their eyes gleaming with an otherworldly light. "Ah, my dear visitor, it seems we share more than just an appearance. I am but a fragment of the truth you seek."
Confusion gripped me as I struggled to comprehend their cryptic words. "What truth? What do you mean?"
They leaned closer, their breath chilling against my skin. "This town, this facade, it is a sanctuary. A sanctuary that hides a truth so abhorrent, so unspeakable, that the collective acknowledgment of it would grant it unimaginable power."
My mind reeled, the fabric of reality fraying at the edges. Was this some twisted delusion or a glimpse into a sinister reality?
Refusing to believe their words, I clung to the remnants of my sanity. "No, this cannot be true. You're just trying to deceive me, to keep me trapped here!"
The doppelgänger's grin widened, their eyes devoid of empathy. "Believe what you will, but know this: by revealing the truth, you risk damning not only yourself but all who inhabit this wretched place."
A chill wind swept through the town, whispering haunting melodies that seemed to echo the doppelgänger's words. Shadows swirled, tendrils of darkness creeping closer.
Fear and desperation mingled within me, tearing at the fragile threads of my sanity. I had ventured too far, dared to seek answers that were better left unspoken.
Before I could react, the doppelgänger was engulfed by the encroaching darkness. Their form contorted and twisted, morphing into a grotesque, malevolent version of myself. The horrors I had encountered in this town had taken physical shape, manifesting as a twisted caricature of who I once was.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the town into a suffocating gloom, the other townsfolk emerged from the shadows, their distorted visages revealing the true extent of their malevolence.
Driven by their anger at my disruption of their carefully constructed facade, they advanced toward me, their polite words of harmlessness contrasting grotesquely with the weapons they brandished.
Terrified, I turned and fled, the haunting cries of the mirror versions of my patients echoing behind me. The town had rejected me, casting me out into the night, a lone survivor grappling with the lingering doubts of my own sanity.
Days later, when a kind soul finally stopped to help me on the desolate road, I searched for the town on maps and GPS, but it had vanished without a trace. A chilling realization settled upon me: the town existed beyond the realms of conventional reality, a dark pocket where truth and sanity intertwined, forever questioning the limits of human comprehension.
As I drove away, the memories of that nightmarish encounter etched deep within my mind, I vowed never to speak of the town again, burying the chilling secret deep within the recesses of my soul.

My ideal draft regardless of trades, just in terms of players we bring in. Whether we keep our picks or trade with, say, Orlando, the players that I think would best help our team long term would be:
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Anthony Black with out first selection, and then, Derek Lively II with our second selection.
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The Rockets most pressing needs just so happens to be the two most important positions on a team, PG and C. And while most people are saying we ought to get Amen Thompson to have "ThE mOsT aThLeTiC bAcKcOuRt EvEr", the truth is we don't need that. We need a floor general, a quarterback if you will. From what I've seen, after Henderson, Black might be the best "QB" in the draft. He's a willing passer and distributor and can coordinate the offense better than just about any of the elite prospects. With all the talent we have already, we don't need another scorer, we need a leader. Keep in mind, Black was doing this in D1 basketball, in the SEC. Thompson did it in OTE, whatever that is. Seems like a super high school league. Black was doing what he did against the likes of Alabama (#1 team in the country), Tennessee (top 15 team), Kentucky (always stacked with talent), and beat #1 seeded Kansas in the tourney. Level of competition matters. Athleticism in and of itself doesn't mean much if you don't have the skills and decision-making to exploit it. Black has that. In addition, he's the best perimeter defender in the draft. If you tell a PG starved team that they have an opportunity to draft the best floor general and perimeter defender in the draft, and he happens to be a larger, sturdier point guard at that, they'd be foolish not to draft him.
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With the second pick, even if it means having to move up, I'd go after Lively. Mobile 7-footers don't grow on trees. He can definitely be a PnR lob threat with Black and Sengun, and a low-post defensive stud on the other end.
​
With those two, the Rockets will finally have all 5 spots filled with people playing their natural positions. Not a lot of 'tweening' in your starting 5, which is ideal. I can see Black running the offense and throwing alley-oops to Lively, while Lively protects the rim on defense. I can see Green zipping and zooming across the floor and scoring in a myriad of ways. I can see Jabari becoming perhaps the best 3-D player in the league with rebounding chops. I can see Sengun doing his best Jokic impression. Nobody playing out of place. And all of it coordinated by a competent, high-IQ PG with defensive chops to boot. ANOTHER highly athletic, ball dominant guard is not what we need. Athletic, cost-to-coast, above-the-rim PGs are fun, but they don't lead to titles. We need skill and solid decision making. Anthony Black is the guy. He's a winner. I also hope we can finally fill the void left by Capela when we traded him. Lively looks like he can do that.
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Good luck to Stone and our FO. This is the most important off-season for the Rockets in years.

Background
I'm writing an original story that's inspired partly by The Lost Regiment by William R. Forstchen. It features a Union Civil War regiment landing on another planet with a bunch of humans from across history, and aliens who once controlled the teleporters, but have regressed very far to bow and arrow, but rule the humans.
As you may imagine, it's a typical idea, having an advanced force from our Earth show up on an alien planet, or the distant past. We see this in Island in the Sea of Time, Destroyermen, Janissaries by Jerry Pournelle, 1632 by Eric Flint, etc, etc. What I want to do is write a story that features the aftermath to one of these stories.
My story features a character from a planet like this, but she's one of the aliens. She's grown up in the human culture that has evolved since our modern people showed up, she's as "American" as they come, having been raised in that culture, and even has humans(not related by blood, just several adoptions) in her family tree. She views herself as a descendant of one of these arrivals, though with some influence from her alien ancestry.
Primary Premise:
Title- If I Forget Thee, oh Earth
Our hero is a paratrooper, loyal to the country that evolved after liberating humans on her homeworld from their alien oppressors of her same species. Some of them were integrated into that nation, and despite some bigotry, she is still in the army. During a classified operation, our hero is thrown onto yet another planet, a third planet neither Earth nor her home, and finds herself with a group of others from Earth and other places as well, all telling the same story. Her unit has been scattered all over the place, and so far, she hasn't found any alive. She and her allies, both local and offworld, must find them, and figure out why they're here.
My inquiry and lore development:
Among other things, one thing I'm trying to write out is her pop culture references. These will be similar to John Crichton in Farscape, where he will make pop culture references we understand, but the characters don't. I want to write what the alternate pop culture would be, and what references she would make. I can probably get some specifics, but I'm hoping for some additional ideas as well.
She's out of touch with modern pop culture, but she is vaguely familiar with pop culture of the 1860s, 1940s, and the 1970s, as those are the most significant arrivals in their recent history. I'm guessing a lot of things from these eras will have remained in the culture, similar to Shakespeare, as the spatial castaways will have held onto these things as remembrance of home.
One thing I thought might be interesting as a category is people just...describing Earth, like stories and poetry about their lost home, creating this utopian vision compared to the nasty planet they're currently living on.
So far I've got her referencing music, referencing the play Lincoln was sho at(as it was quite popular at the time), and I'm not sure what else. I don't have enough yet to go on.
One thought I had was, playing on the Civil War themes, that the descendants got ahold of a copy of Gone with the Wind in the 1940s, and were extremely offended by it. It was a very popular film and novel, but these were the descendants of Union soldiers remember, who would be deeply offended by the racist and bigoted Lost Cause myth that that book and film perpetuate. For those not in the know, that is the mistaken belief that the war was over "states rights" and not slavery, as the states themselves declared in their declarations of secession.
These soldiers wouldn't have the same cultural brainwashing that went on after the war on our planet, and so would have told their children about the horrors of slavery; so they rewrite the book to more favorably view the feds, and in fact, make it into a story about their old general. There was a real life General George Henry Thomas, a virginian who stayed loyal to the union, and was one of the best field generals the US had, rivaling Grant, and known for beating Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. He's pretty obscure due to politics after the war, despite how high in rank he was, and was disowned by his family for his loyalty to the union. These soldiers would've kept him in their mind if they had been part of his command. So basically they rewrite the book to be about Thomas' split with his family, with some common western tropes, and ending like John Wayne's The Searchers; a racist, albeit technically-well-made film.
I wanted to hear some thoughts on these ideas, and see if anyone had any critiques or suggestions. I know it's a bit complicated, but I hope someone can throw me a bone. Thanks!

Can someone help me read my crash log I don't even know where to start
[00:00:00]:
System Memory:

Memory Load: 59% Available Physical Memory: 3273m/8121m Available Page File: 7786m/17337m Available Virtual Memory: 134213455m/134217727m Available Extended Virtual Memory: 0m 

[00:00:00]:
Process Memory:

Peak Working Set Size: 32m Working Set Size: 32m Quota Peak Page Pool Usage: 252k Quota Page Pool Usage: 250k Quota Peak Non Paged Pool Usage:17k Quota Non Paged Pool Usage: 17k Page File Usage: 6m Peak Page File Usage: 6m 

[00:00:00]: PersistRootStorage is now APP:Klei//DoNotStarveTogethe
[00:00:00]: Starting Up
[00:00:00]: Version: 556225
[00:00:00]: Current time: Mon May 29 23:10:21 2023
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[00:00:00]: Don't Starve Together: 556225 WIN32_STEAM
[00:00:00]: Build Date: 1984
[00:00:00]: Mode: 64-bit
[00:00:00]: Parsing command line
[00:00:00]: Command Line Arguments:
[00:00:00]: Initializing distribution platform
[00:00:00]: Initializing Minidump handler
[00:00:00]: ....Done
[00:00:00]: Steam AppBuildID: 11192167
[00:00:00]: ....Done
[00:00:00]: PersistUserStorage is now APP:Klei//DoNotStarveTogethe188664448/
[00:00:00]: Fixing DPI
[00:00:00]: ...Done
[00:00:00]: THREAD - started 'GAClient' (7104)
[00:00:00]: CurlRequestManager::ClientThread::Main()
[00:00:00]: ProfileIndex:2.88
[00:00:00]: Mounting file system databundles/klump.zip successful.
[00:00:00]: Mounting file system databundles/shaders.zip successful.
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[00:00:00]: Mounting file system databundles/scripts.zip successful.
[00:00:00]: THREAD - started 'IC' (3404)
[00:00:00]: Texture Streaming: DISABLED
[00:00:00]: Texture Streaming: DISABLED
[00:00:00]: Threaded Renderer: DISABLED
[00:00:00]: [Connect] PendingConnection::Reset(true)
[00:00:00]: Platform: 1
[00:00:00]: Network tick rate: U=15(2), D=0
[00:00:00]: Authorized application D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Don't Starve Together\bin64\dontstarve_steam_x64.exe is enabled in the firewall.
[00:00:00]: WindowsFirewall - Application already authorized
[00:00:00]: could not load ping_cache
[00:00:00]: THREAD - started 'StreamInput' (7232)
[00:00:00]: Offline user ID: OU_76561198148930176
[00:00:00]: Cached userid loaded:
[00:00:00]: SteamID: 76561198148930176
[00:00:00]: HardwareStats:
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[00:00:00]: cGame::InitializeOnMainThread
[00:00:00]: WindowManager::Initialize
[00:00:00]: CreateWindow: Requesting 1920,1080 - 5/6/5 - -1/-1/-1 - 0
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[00:00:00]: 4: 5/5/5 - 0/ 0/ 0 - 0
[00:00:00]: 5: 5/5/5 - 0/16/ 0 - 0
[00:00:00]: 6: 5/5/5 - 0/24/ 0 - 0
[00:00:00]: 7: 5/5/5 - 0/24/ 8 - 0
[00:00:00]: 8: 8/8/8 - 8/ 0/ 0 - 0
[00:00:00]: 9: 8/8/8 - 8/16/ 0 - 0
[00:00:00]: 10: 8/8/8 - 8/24/ 0 - 0
[00:00:00]: 11: 8/8/8 - 8/24/ 8 - 0
[00:00:00]: WindowManager::SetFullscreen(0, 1920, 1080, 60)
[00:00:00]: GLInfo
[00:00:00]: ~~~~~~
[00:00:00]: GL_VENDOR: Google Inc.
[00:00:00]: GL_RENDERER: ANGLE (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER)
[00:00:00]: GL_VERSION: OpenGL ES 2.0 (ANGLE 1.0.0.2249)
[00:00:00]: GL_SHADING_LANGUAGE_VERSION: OpenGL ES GLSL ES 1.00 (ANGLE 1.0.0.2249)
[00:00:00]: OpenGL extensions (19, 19):
[00:00:00]: GL_ANGLE_depth_texture
[00:00:00]: GL_ANGLE_framebuffer_blit
[00:00:00]: GL_ANGLE_framebuffer_multisample
[00:00:00]: GL_ANGLE_instanced_arrays
[00:00:00]: GL_ANGLE_pack_reverse_row_order
[00:00:00]: GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt3
[00:00:00]: GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt5
[00:00:00]: GL_ANGLE_texture_usage
[00:00:00]: GL_ANGLE_translated_shader_source
[00:00:00]: GL_EXT_read_format_bgra
[00:00:00]: GL_EXT_robustness
[00:00:00]: GL_EXT_texture_compression_dxt1
[00:00:00]: GL_EXT_texture_format_BGRA8888
[00:00:00]: GL_EXT_texture_storage
[00:00:00]: GL_OES_get_program_binary
[00:00:00]: GL_OES_packed_depth_stencil
[00:00:00]: GL_OES_rgb8_rgba8
[00:00:00]: GL_OES_standard_derivatives
[00:00:00]: GL_OES_texture_npot
[00:00:00]: GL_MAX_TEXTURE_SIZE = 16384
[00:00:00]: GL_MAX_TEXTURE_IMAGE_UNITS = 16
[00:00:00]: GL_MAX_RENDERBUFFER_SIZE = 16384
[00:00:00]: GL_MAX_VIEWPORT_DIMS = 16384, 16384
[00:00:00]: GL_MAX_VARYING_VECTORS = 10
[00:00:00]: GL_MAX_VERTEX_ATTRIBS = 16
[00:00:00]: GL_MAX_VERTEX_UNIFORM_VECTORS = 254
[00:00:00]: GL_MAX_VERTEX_TEXTURE_IMAGE_UNITS = 4
[00:00:00]: GL_MAX_FRAGMENT_UNIFORM_VECTORS = 221
[00:00:00]: THREAD - started 'WindowsInputManager' (13776)
[00:00:00]: 4 compressed texture formats
[00:00:00]: texture format 0x83f0
[00:00:00]: texture format 0x83f1
[00:00:00]: texture format 0x83f2
[00:00:00]: texture format 0x83f3
[00:00:01]: Renderer initialize: Okay
[00:00:01]: AnimManager initialize: Okay
[00:00:01]: Buffers initialize: Okay
[00:00:01]: cDontStarveGame::DoGameSpecificInitialize()
[00:00:01]: GameSpecific initialize: Okay
[00:00:01]: cGame::StartPlaying
[00:00:01]: AppVersion::GetArchitecture() x64
[00:00:01]: LOADING LUA
[00:00:01]: DoLuaFile scripts/main.lua
[00:00:01]: DoLuaFile loading buffer scripts/main.lua
[00:00:02]: taskgrouplist: default Together
[00:00:02]: taskgrouplist: classic Classic
[00:00:02]: taskgrouplist: cave_default Underground
[00:00:02]: taskgrouplist: lavaarena_taskset The Forge
[00:00:02]: taskgrouplist: quagmire_taskset The Gorge
[00:00:02]: Running main.lua
[00:00:02]: loaded modindex
[00:00:02]: Event data unavailable: lavaarena_event_servelavaarena_achievement_quest_defs
[00:00:14]: LOADING LUA SUCCESS
[00:00:14]: PlayerDeaths could not load morgue
[00:00:14]: PlayerHistory could not load player_history
[00:00:14]: ServerPreferences could not load server_preferences
[00:00:14]: ConsoleScreenSettings could not load consolescreen
[00:00:14]: bloom_enabled true
[00:00:14]: EnableShadeRenderer: true
[00:00:14]: loaded shardsaveindex
[00:00:14]: OnFilesLoaded()
[00:00:14]: OnUpdatePurchaseStateComplete
[00:00:14]: Klump load on boot started.
[00:00:14]: Klump files loaded: 0
[00:00:16]: Load FE
[00:00:20]: Load FE: done
[00:00:20]: THREAD - started 'FilesExistAsyncThread' (14432)
[00:00:20]: FilesExistAsyncThread started (22365 files)...
[00:00:20]: OnLoadPermissionList: APP:Klei//DoNotStarveTogethe188664448/client_save/blocklist.txt (Failure)
[00:00:20]: OnLoadPermissionList: APP:Klei//DoNotStarveTogethe188664448/client_save/adminlist.txt (Failure)
[00:00:20]: OnLoadUserIdList: APP:Klei//DoNotStarveTogethe188664448/client_save/whitelist.txt (Failure)
[00:00:20]: [MOTD] Downloading info from https://motd.klei.com/motd.json/?game=dst&platform=STEAM&locale=US&lang=english&version=556225
[00:00:20]: Check for write access: TRUE
[00:00:20]: Check for read access: TRUE
[00:00:20]: Available disk space for save files: 12404 MB
[00:00:20]: ModIndex: Load sequence finished successfully.
[00:00:20]: Reset() returning
[00:00:21]: FMOD detected a new audio device and set audio to the current default device.
[00:00:22]: [MOTD] Done Loading.
[00:00:22]: Do AutoLogin
[00:00:22]: [Steam] Auth Session Ticket requested...
[00:00:22]: [Steam] Got Auth Session Ticket
[00:00:23]: [200] Account Communication Success (3)
[00:00:23]: Logging in as KU_NPndrG5T
[00:00:24]: There is no active event to get the status of.
[00:00:24]: could not load pending_keyvalues_prod
[00:00:25]: loaded inventory_cache_prod
[00:00:25]: using inventory state token from cached file
[00:00:25]: saved APP:Klei//DoNotStarveTogethe188664448/client_save/inventory_cache_prod
[00:00:25]: saved APP:Klei//DoNotStarveTogethe188664448/client_save/inventory_cache_prod_sig
[00:00:25]: ... FilesExistAsyncThread complete
[00:00:25]: [Workshop] ItemQuery got this many results: 0, matching: 0
[00:00:25]: [Workshop] ModQuery got 0 results
[00:00:25]: [Workshop] ItemQuery finished all queries, moving to download phase
[00:00:25]: [Workshop] ItemQuery finished downloading everything
[00:00:45]: Getting top mod details...
[00:00:45]: Frontend-Unloading mod 'all'.
[00:00:45]: GOT top mod details...50
[00:00:45]: [Workshop] ItemQuery got this many results: 0, matching: 0
[00:00:45]: [Workshop] ModQuery got 0 results
[00:00:45]: [Workshop] ItemQuery finished all queries, moving to download phase
[00:00:45]: [Workshop] ItemQuery finished downloading everything
[00:00:45]: [Workshop] ItemQuery got this many results: 0, matching: 0
[00:00:45]: [Workshop] ModQuery got 0 results
[00:00:45]: [Workshop] ItemQuery finished all queries, moving to download phase
[00:00:45]: [Workshop] ItemQuery finished downloading everything
[00:00:51]: Network tick rate: U=15(2), D=0
[00:00:51]: [Workshop] CancelDownloads for all pending downloads
[00:00:51]: About to start a server with the following settings:
[00:00:51]: Dedicated: false
[00:00:51]: Online: true
[00:00:51]: Passworded: true
[00:00:51]: ServerPort: 10999
[00:00:51]: SteamAuthPort: 8766
[00:00:51]: SteamMasterServerPort: 27016
[00:00:51]: ClanID: false
[00:00:51]: ClanOnly: false
[00:00:51]: ClanAdmin: false
[00:00:51]: LanOnly: false
[00:00:51]: FriendsOnly: true
[00:00:51]: EnableAutosaver: true
[00:00:51]: EncodeUserPath: true
[00:00:51]: PVP: false
[00:00:51]: MaxPlayers: 2
[00:00:51]: GameMode: survival
[00:00:51]: OverridenDNS:
[00:00:51]: PauseWhenEmpty: true
[00:00:51]: IdleTimeout: 1800s
[00:00:51]: VoteEnabled: false
[00:00:51]: InternetBroadcasting: true
[00:00:51]: [Warning] Could not confirm port 10999 is open in the firewall.
[00:00:51]: Online Server Started on port: 10999
[00:00:51]: SUCCESS: Loaded modoverrides.lua
[00:00:51]: Found a level data override file with these contents:
[00:00:51]: K: desc V: The standard Don't Starve experience.
[00:00:51]: K: hideminimap V: false
[00:00:51]: K: id V: SURVIVAL_TOGETHER
[00:00:51]: K: location V: forest
[00:00:51]: K: max_playlist_position V: 999
[00:00:51]: K: min_playlist_position V: 0
[00:00:51]: K: name V: Survival
[00:00:51]: K: numrandom_set_pieces V: 4
[00:00:51]: K: override_level_string V: false
[00:00:51]: K: overrides V: table: 000000005DD66B50
[00:00:51]: K: alternatehunt V: default
[00:00:51]: K: angrybees V: default
[00:00:51]: K: antliontribute V: default
[00:00:51]: K: autumn V: default
[00:00:51]: K: bananabush_portalrate V: default
[00:00:51]: K: basicresource_regrowth V: none
[00:00:51]: K: bats_setting V: default
[00:00:51]: K: bearger V: default
[00:00:51]: K: beefalo V: default
[00:00:51]: K: beefaloheat V: default
[00:00:51]: K: beequeen V: default
[00:00:51]: K: bees V: default
[00:00:51]: K: bees_setting V: default
[00:00:51]: K: berrybush V: default
[00:00:51]: K: birds V: default
[00:00:51]: K: boons V: default
[00:00:51]: K: branching V: default
[00:00:51]: K: brightmarecreatures V: default
[00:00:51]: K: bunnymen_setting V: default
[00:00:51]: K: butterfly V: default
[00:00:51]: K: buzzard V: default
[00:00:51]: K: cactus V: default
[00:00:51]: K: cactus_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: carrot V: default
[00:00:51]: K: carrots_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: catcoon V: default
[00:00:51]: K: catcoons V: default
[00:00:51]: K: chess V: default
[00:00:51]: K: cookiecutters V: default
[00:00:51]: K: crabking V: default
[00:00:51]: K: crow_carnival V: default
[00:00:51]: K: darkness V: default
[00:00:51]: K: day V: default
[00:00:51]: K: deciduousmonster V: default
[00:00:51]: K: deciduoustree_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: deerclops V: default
[00:00:51]: K: dragonfly V: default
[00:00:51]: K: dropeverythingondespawn V: default
[00:00:51]: K: evergreen_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: extrastartingitems V: default
[00:00:51]: K: eyeofterror V: default
[00:00:51]: K: fishschools V: default
[00:00:51]: K: flint V: default
[00:00:51]: K: flowers V: default
[00:00:51]: K: flowers_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: frograin V: default
[00:00:51]: K: frogs V: default
[00:00:51]: K: fruitfly V: default
[00:00:51]: K: ghostenabled V: always
[00:00:51]: K: ghostsanitydrain V: always
[00:00:51]: K: gnarwail V: default
[00:00:51]: K: goosemoose V: default
[00:00:51]: K: grass V: default
[00:00:51]: K: grassgekkos V: default
[00:00:51]: K: hallowed_nights V: default
[00:00:51]: K: has_ocean V: true
[00:00:51]: K: healthpenalty V: always
[00:00:51]: K: hound_mounds V: default
[00:00:51]: K: houndmound V: default
[00:00:51]: K: hounds V: default
[00:00:51]: K: hunger V: default
[00:00:51]: K: hunt V: default
[00:00:51]: K: keep_disconnected_tiles V: true
[00:00:51]: K: klaus V: default
[00:00:51]: K: krampus V: default
[00:00:51]: K: layout_mode V: LinkNodesByKeys
[00:00:51]: K: lessdamagetaken V: none
[00:00:51]: K: liefs V: default
[00:00:51]: K: lightcrab_portalrate V: default
[00:00:51]: K: lightning V: default
[00:00:51]: K: lightninggoat V: default
[00:00:51]: K: loop V: default
[00:00:51]: K: lureplants V: default
[00:00:51]: K: malbatross V: default
[00:00:51]: K: marshbush V: default
[00:00:51]: K: merm V: default
[00:00:51]: K: merms V: default
[00:00:51]: K: meteorshowers V: default
[00:00:51]: K: meteorspawner V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moles V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moles_setting V: default
[00:00:51]: K: monkeytail_portalrate V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_berrybush V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_bullkelp V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_carrot V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_fissure V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_fruitdragon V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_hotspring V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_rock V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_sapling V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_spider V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_spiders V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_starfish V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_tree V: default
[00:00:51]: K: moon_tree_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: mosquitos V: default
[00:00:51]: K: mushroom V: default
[00:00:51]: K: mutated_hounds V: default
[00:00:51]: K: no_joining_islands V: true
[00:00:51]: K: no_wormholes_to_disconnected_tiles V: true
[00:00:51]: K: ocean_bullkelp V: default
[00:00:51]: K: ocean_seastack V: ocean_default
[00:00:51]: K: ocean_shoal V: default
[00:00:51]: K: ocean_waterplant V: ocean_default
[00:00:51]: K: ocean_wobsterden V: default
[00:00:51]: K: palmcone_seed_portalrate V: default
[00:00:51]: K: palmconetree V: default
[00:00:51]: K: palmconetree_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: penguins V: default
[00:00:51]: K: penguins_moon V: default
[00:00:51]: K: perd V: default
[00:00:51]: K: petrification V: default
[00:00:51]: K: pigs V: default
[00:00:51]: K: pigs_setting V: default
[00:00:51]: K: pirateraids V: default
[00:00:51]: K: ponds V: default
[00:00:51]: K: portal_spawnrate V: default
[00:00:51]: K: portalresurection V: none
[00:00:51]: K: powder_monkey_portalrate V: default
[00:00:51]: K: prefabswaps_start V: default
[00:00:51]: K: rabbits V: default
[00:00:51]: K: rabbits_setting V: default
[00:00:51]: K: reeds V: default
[00:00:51]: K: reeds_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: resettime V: default
[00:00:51]: K: rifts_enabled V: default
[00:00:51]: K: rifts_frequency V: default
[00:00:51]: K: roads V: default
[00:00:51]: K: rock V: default
[00:00:51]: K: rock_ice V: default
[00:00:51]: K: saltstack_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: sapling V: default
[00:00:51]: K: season_start V: default
[00:00:51]: K: seasonalstartingitems V: default
[00:00:51]: K: shadowcreatures V: default
[00:00:51]: K: sharks V: default
[00:00:51]: K: spawnmode V: fixed
[00:00:51]: K: spawnprotection V: default
[00:00:51]: K: specialevent V: default
[00:00:51]: K: spider_warriors V: default
[00:00:51]: K: spiderqueen V: default
[00:00:51]: K: spiders V: default
[00:00:51]: K: spiders_setting V: default
[00:00:51]: K: spring V: default
[00:00:51]: K: squid V: default
[00:00:51]: K: stageplays V: default
[00:00:51]: K: start_location V: default
[00:00:51]: K: summer V: default
[00:00:51]: K: summerhounds V: default
[00:00:51]: K: tallbirds V: default
[00:00:51]: K: task_set V: default
[00:00:51]: K: temperaturedamage V: default
[00:00:51]: K: tentacles V: default
[00:00:51]: K: terrariumchest V: default
[00:00:51]: K: touchstone V: default
[00:00:51]: K: trees V: default
[00:00:51]: K: tumbleweed V: default
[00:00:51]: K: twiggytrees_regrowth V: default
[00:00:51]: K: walrus V: default
[00:00:51]: K: walrus_setting V: default
[00:00:51]: K: wasps V: default
[00:00:51]: K: weather V: default
[00:00:51]: K: wildfires V: default
[00:00:51]: K: winter V: default
[00:00:51]: K: winterhounds V: default
[00:00:51]: K: winters_feast V: default
[00:00:51]: K: wobsters V: default
[00:00:51]: K: world_size V: default
[00:00:51]: K: wormhole_prefab V: wormhole
[00:00:51]: K: year_of_the_beefalo V: default
[00:00:51]: K: year_of_the_bunnyman V: default
[00:00:51]: K: year_of_the_carrat V: default
[00:00:51]: K: year_of_the_catcoon V: default
[00:00:51]: K: year_of_the_gobbler V: default
[00:00:51]: K: year_of_the_pig V: default
[00:00:51]: K: year_of_the_varg V: default
[00:00:51]: K: playstyle V: survival
[00:00:51]: K: random_set_pieces V: table: 000000005DD66380
[00:00:51]: K: 1 V: Sculptures_2
[00:00:51]: K: 2 V: Sculptures_3
[00:00:51]: K: 3 V: Sculptures_4
[00:00:51]: K: 4 V: Sculptures_5
[00:00:51]: K: 5 V: Chessy_1
[00:00:51]: K: 6 V: Chessy_2
[00:00:51]: K: 7 V: Chessy_3
[00:00:51]: K: 8 V: Chessy_4
[00:00:51]: K: 9 V: Chessy_5
[00:00:51]: K: 10 V: Chessy_6
[00:00:51]: K: 11 V: Maxwell1
[00:00:51]: K: 12 V: Maxwell2
[00:00:51]: K: 13 V: Maxwell3
[00:00:51]: K: 14 V: Maxwell4
[00:00:51]: K: 15 V: Maxwell6
[00:00:51]: K: 16 V: Maxwell7
[00:00:51]: K: 17 V: Warzone_1
[00:00:51]: K: 18 V: Warzone_2
[00:00:51]: K: 19 V: Warzone_3
[00:00:51]: K: required_prefabs V: table: 000000005DD66BA0
[00:00:51]: K: 1 V: multiplayer_portal
[00:00:51]: K: required_setpieces V: table: 000000005DD66BF0
[00:00:51]: K: 1 V: Sculptures_1
[00:00:51]: K: 2 V: Maxwell5
[00:00:51]: K: settings_desc V: The standard Don't Starve experience.
[00:00:51]: K: settings_id V: SURVIVAL_TOGETHER
[00:00:51]: K: settings_name V: Survival
[00:00:51]: K: substitutes V: table: 000000005DD66C40
[00:00:51]: K: version V: 4
[00:00:51]: K: worldgen_desc V: The standard Don't Starve experience.
[00:00:51]: K: worldgen_id V: SURVIVAL_TOGETHER
[00:00:51]: K: worldgen_name V: Survival
[00:00:51]: Loaded and applied level data override from ../leveldataoverride.lua
[00:00:51]: Overwriting savedata with level data file.
[00:00:51]: Not applying world gen overrides.
[00:00:51]: Collecting garbage...
[00:00:51]: lua_gc took 0.06 seconds
[00:00:51]: ~ShardLuaProxy()
[00:00:51]: ~cEventLeaderboardProxy()
[00:00:51]: ~ItemServerLuaProxy()
[00:00:51]: ~InventoryLuaProxy()
[00:00:51]: ~NetworkLuaProxy()
[00:00:51]: ~SimLuaProxy()
[00:00:51]: [Workshop] CancelDownloads for all pending downloads
[00:00:51]: lua_close took 0.06 seconds
[00:00:51]: ReleaseAll
[00:00:51]: ReleaseAll Finished
[00:00:51]: cGame::StartPlaying
[00:00:51]: AppVersion::GetArchitecture() x64
[00:00:51]: LOADING LUA
[00:00:51]: DoLuaFile scripts/main.lua
[00:00:51]: DoLuaFile loading buffer scripts/main.lua
[00:00:51]: taskgrouplist: default Together
[00:00:51]: taskgrouplist: classic Classic
[00:00:51]: taskgrouplist: cave_default Underground
[00:00:51]: taskgrouplist: lavaarena_taskset The Forge
[00:00:51]: taskgrouplist: quagmire_taskset The Gorge
[00:00:51]: Running main.lua
[00:00:51]: loaded modindex
[00:00:51]: ModIndex: Beginning normal load sequence.
[00:00:51]: SUCCESS: Loaded modoverrides.lua
[00:00:52]: Event data unavailable: lavaarena_event_servelavaarena_achievement_quest_defs
[00:00:52]: LOADING LUA SUCCESS
[00:00:52]: PlayerDeaths could not load morgue
[00:00:52]: PlayerHistory could not load player_history
[00:00:52]: ServerPreferences could not load server_preferences
[00:00:52]: ConsoleScreenSettings could not load consolescreen
[00:00:52]: bloom_enabled true
[00:00:52]: EnableShadeRenderer: true
[00:00:52]: OnFilesLoaded()
[00:00:52]: OnUpdatePurchaseStateComplete
[00:00:52]: Loading world: session/4C1A51003C00F8E0/0000000002
[00:00:52]: Save file is at version 5.141
[00:00:52]: Klump load on boot started.
[00:00:52]: Klump files loaded: 0
[00:00:52]: Unload FE
[00:00:52]: Unload FE done
[00:00:54]: LOAD BE

Despite my best efforts, bros, I've been having a Bad Time. Idk what to do but sometimes there's nothing to do, yk?? So I got into iNatrualist bc if I'm gonna go on my silly little walks I'm NOT going to ruminate and push a negative narrative of my life for 45 mins. Nah, dude! I'm gonna find bugs and shit <3
So far I've made 40 observations. You take pictures, search through reccomendations (or post as unknown) and offer it up to the sacrificial alter of people with cool minds.
Ya boi checked in this weekend (knowing lots of people could have free time to look at stuff) and 10 of my observations were rated "research grade" 🤓 I'm not sure if this is a coveted rating but the rush of validation kinda made me cry this morning lmao.
It seems to be 100% free and a very good time. I'm feeling excited to get out and immerse myself in all the trees, bugs, and HOPEFULLY BIRDS YO!!!!

Hope you enjoyed your deep playoff run Dallas. You almost made a comeback too.
About as much of a Peter DeBoer playoff performance as you can get, a deep run, but absolutely nothing more.
He should be deserving of a legacy of failure sooner than later.

My cousin had given me a lure years ago and It had a lot of sentimental value. Unfortunately I lost it in a tree fishing today. I need help finding this lure.
It was a white multi jointed, two hooks on the bottom, floating crank bait that swims down . It looked like a angry white minnow with red eyes if I remember correctly. Roughly 3-4 inches. It also had a reflective shiny tail.
Please help me find this type of lure so I can get another

my daughter LOVES alice in wonderland, minnie, nightmare before christmas, and toy story. she’s also obsessed with halloween, so we were thinking of taking her in october right before her 3rd birthday. to be 100% honest, i also would really like to go as i’ve had a tough few years with both of my parents passing, and my special interest has always been disney/disneyland.
i feel like it could either go really well or be a total disaster, but i have no idea where to even begin with making sure this would be enjoyable for her. she is hit or miss when it comes to crowds - sometimes she doesn’t care at all, and other times she gets overwhelmed. we have a wrist tether that we’d be using as she does elope and doesn’t respond to her name when she’s on the run. i was also considering using a stroller?
we’ve never been on a vacation with her before, so i don’t know how she will handle eating every meal out, or how she will handle the short flight (3hr). she has a limited vocabulary but her receptive language is on par with her NT peers, so i know i could explain to her what’s happening…
so, does anyone have advice for taking a 2.5 year old to disneyland/a similar type of theme park? or am i bonkers for even considering it?

Hello 👋 My name is Dave. I’m 5’7, average build and pretty active. casual friendship with the possibility for more? I would love some chats during my workouts, drives and longer hikes. It isn’t as fun doing those things without company. So for me that would be very much perfect to start with. Bonus points if you are highly active and even more so competitive. Any of those who play some words with friends get at me. I need to improve at it lol. Being able to hold a conversation beyond baseline introductions, yes/no questions is a must.
A hobby of mine is gardening. mostly flowers, herbs and roses. Even some small trees. It’s calming and very rewarding. I’ve grown to really enjoy watching my roses bloom. Please be single. It seems I’m attracting married people 😂 I don’t want that drama in my life lol
https://imgur.com/a/bIm2pdJ

Hi guys,
If you’re reading this, my name is Greg (male), I’m a current UCSD student studying Speculative Design. I am making this post because, in all honesty, I want to put myself out there and find my future partner with whom I hope to flourish a healthy and long-lasting relationship. I am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico but I hope to be living here by the time I graduate with my lustrous degree. I have a plethora of interests and hobbies ranging from playing Super Smash Bros with an Esport team to tree shaping, stone skipping, and mastering C#. I hope that my future partner is one that is passionate and curious and wants to explore my hobbies and interests as much as I do theirs. I know this is a strange post to make on this subreddit but honestly I’ve exhausted every option through online dating apps and in person pick up lines, and since they haven’t worked this is frankly my last resort. I hope you take this post seriously and will kindly consider this opportunity for us both to connect and grow not only as people but also as lovers and truth-seekers.
PM me if you’d be down to hang out, maybe we could go bowling, connect spiritually in nature, go to an antique shop or even go paddle boarding.

Hey folks, talked about making this post several times over the last 7 months on various subs and discords. The time feels right to go ahead and post it for everyone since a lot of content creators weren't talking about them or mentioning them either intentionally because of the various races to 100, or because it might have broken their NDA's. I feel like everyone should know about them ahead of time, especially for those of you that intend to race for the first 1,000 HC100's, but they will absolutely help the average or even casual players along their journey as well. If someone is compiling a super-list or post with the consolidation of all tips, tricks, FAQs etc, feel free to steal from this post in your creation!
(Disclaimer, It should go without saying that all of this is subject to change at any time, including my mere posting of it, so take it with a grain of salt as you explore Sanctuary. Added a spoiler tag just in case. Cross-posting for full diablo fan visibility, shun me if not allowed)

• Running into a new region will automatically change your "Town Portal" location when using the default town portal keybind (T). This means while exploring the world, especially at low level, you can simply crossover into a new region like the Dry Steppes and use your Town Portal keybind to teleport to Dry Steppes's main city. Doing this early will save you a ton of time in later hunting down waypoints, altars, and dungeon aspects simply for the ease of instantly porting from one region to another. Reminder though, you still need to click the waypoint physically to unlock it even when you automatically teleport to it after crossing zones. As an example, it takes roughly 8-9 minutes in game time without mount to pickup both the Dry Steppes and Scosglen main hub waypoints as of the most recent server slam test.
  
• Campfire XP bonuses are a sneaky XP bonus that people often forget about because they take a little time to build and to get to. Certain Strongholds, like Kor Dragan, will have campfires around them near their gates after they've been completed, and when they aren't currently being invaded (only applies to invasion event strongholds). When you find one, click the campfire and every few seconds a 1%XP buff will be granted to you, and stacks I believe 15 times in total and lasts somewhere around 10-15 minutes or so. There's a few scenarios where you can absolutely maximize this benefit to its fullest extent to significantly speed up your progress. First, when you're taking an AFK break, simply teleport to the Menestad Waypoint and take the 25 second ride/40 second walk to Kor Dragan (assuming its been completed and not under invasion) and click the campfire and take your break. When you come back you'll have 10 stacks built, click the campfire again to get it up to 15 (automatically stops at 10 stacks per click) and then be on your way. Another way that I utilized this to incredible success was in the later game right before I'd go into a nightmare dungeon, I'd take a quick trip out to my nearest campfire (generally Kor Dragan via Menestad) and gain my 15 stacks, pop my sigil, then travel to that dungeon. By that point you have your mount so you're generally starting a nightmare tier dungeon with 11-12 minutes left on the buff, sometimes more, and with the changes to pathing design in these dungeons you should gain the full benefit of the buff through each nightmare tier dungeon you do this way. Remember to stack this buff with your XP potion!
  
• Don't mine nodes early on. Sounds counterintuitive right? It isn't, the materials you gain often from clicking on those ore nodes are the same materials you'll generally receive from salvaging items. Currently there really isn't anything in game that utilizes these materials, at least not in the early game, other than the blacksmith with gear upgrades, and you won't want to be upgrading your gear early on anyways. The amount of time you'll save by not clicking every early game ore node is absolutely massive. Wait until you're on your mount before you start clicking on them to get your titles and achievements. If they just happen to be in your path as you hoof it around the map give them a click, otherwise don't alter course to grab them.
  
• In complete opposition to ore nodes, pick every flower you find, especially in the early game. Flowers are mandatory for speed leveling as well as general quality of life. There are many potions available right out of the gate that significantly impact your character, all of which generally carry a 3% XP bonus to them in addition to various resistance or power gains these potions might add. On top of this, the flowers are required for your health potion upgrades which are actually quite massive as you level early on because you won't be draped in BIS level 25 legendary items farming Osgar Reede like we were in the beta tests, you're going to be in ragged rares you picked up along the way, so you won't be nearly as tough when you're clearing those Strongholds and campaign quests, so you'll benefit greatly from those health potion upgrades every 10 levels at your local alchemist.
  
• If you're a completionist like myself, and want to go out there and unlock every codex power relatively quickly, make sure you complete a codex unlocking dungeon on each alt character you intend to play for the pre-season and subsequent seasons. The way the game works is that you automatically unlock the occultist at level 25, however, there's an additional mechanic that automatically unlocks the occultist and the codex of power intently upon unlocking that character's first codex power via dungeon completion. This comes in handy later if, like me, you intend to main one class but also play several alts to keep the game fresh or breakup the monotony of the leveling grind. Eventually you'll get to a point long before level 100 where gambling obols is just significantly more valuable on your alts, and having unlocked the occultist early on at level 10 or 12 or whatever for those alts will massively increase the efficiency in playing alts once you've fully unlocked the whole codex for them. Imagine how much faster you'll blast through the game when your alts have full "legendary" powers from the codex at level 12 with a relatively comprehensive build, its significant.
  
• On the subject of alts, you really should make them, especially if you intend to play long hours in the late game. The Tree of Whispers is one of, if not the most significant portion of your end game loop later in the game, simply because of its often dual benefit gains from completing various events around Sanctuary, such as World Bosses, Dungeons, PVP zones, etc. What people don't know, yet, is that the truly valuable grim favor quests have diminishing returns on value the more you complete them, as the available quests are front-loaded with longer duration events like World Bosses and Dungeons, but when repopulated, are generally lowest value and lowest priority, like doing those random world events we saw around the world in the betas. Here's where alts come in. Every character has their own independent grim favors tracking system, so once you clear all the juicy 3-5 favor reward events on your main, you can move over to your alt (the ones we've now geared with full codex powers) to efficiently blow through those tasks. This is important because the cache rewards from the Tree of Whispers can include things like sigils, elixirs, gear, and other various materials which can all be used by your mains. Moreover, the weekly world boss chest is also separate for all characters, allowing you to fully maximize the benefit of your character list by doing one world boss per character per week for slightly better loot rewards. Remember, we run world boss primarily for prisms to add sockets on gear, and those are materials which are shared across your account.
  

If I think of anymore that are relatively unique or haven't been mentioned enough I'll add to them so long as I have the character limit, feel free to add your own the comments as well.
(admittedly I am quite distracted and busy heading into launch but I'll try my best).

(K) = My mother. This will be a bit long but giving some background and related story.
For context, Nana is my last living grandparent and she has been living with my parents in an in-law apartment for the past two years. She has 6 adult children including my mother (K), all over the age of 50. K is not the oldest or youngest of all of her siblings, she's somewhere in the middle. K spends the most time with her and even before she moved in, has been taking care of her, helping her with everything from handling her appointments / medical information, bringing her groceries, and playing card games / visiting with her every day. Now they spend a large portion of every day together, K helps her with everything.
As far as I know, Nana isn't diagnosed with anything memory related but we've known she gets confused and forgets minor things- nothing particularly concerning. Back in December I (27F) brought my boyfriend (early 30s) to my parent's house for Christmas and introduced him to her. Right before that, someone joked "maybe we should tell him (my sister's husband of 20+ years) is her boyfriend" which of course we weren't going to actually do... But while we were trying to talk to her, she kept looking past us and at my sister's husband, saying "Hi!" and acknowledging him as my boyfriend anyways. We had an awkward quiet laugh about it but just pretended it didn't happen. The only other memory issue I'm aware of, was about 6 months ago she asked her oldest daughter (mid 50s) if she thought she was going to marry her husband (of many years).
My sister just told me that all of yesterday, Nana didn't recognize K as her adult daughter- they had brought her to one of my aunts' houses and she asked K if she sees her as a mother. She says "Of course!", and in some way tells her she's her daughter. Nana says "Oh no, I'm sorry. I thought you were just a friend I lived with." My aunts showed her family pictures, but she only recognized all of her other adult children and grandchildren. She did however recognize K's baby pictures and said "That's my daughter K". My mother tried to hold her hand at one point and she pulled away from her as if she was uncomfortable. While visiting my aunt, Nana kept quietly talking to each of them separately and asking if they knew K was their sister.
Even recently, she's always asked my mother about my sister and me, and about my sister's children- where we are and how we are doing, nothing has suggested she was ever confused about our existence or anything like that. It's just my mom. Is this something common, only forgetting one child, or forgetting the person who spends the most time with you? My mother is taking this all very hard and she texted me shortly after I went to bed, but I haven't responded yet or told her my sister told me about this happening. I don't know what to say to her, how I could possibly comfort her or what I could do. I was thinking I'd just tell her that hopefully Nana remembers things normally soon and this doesn't happen again / often, but that doesn't feel like the right response.
​
TL;DR- Nana lives with my parents, my mother is the closest with her out of her 6 adult children. She recognizes all of her other children and her grandchildren, but told my mother that she thought she was just a friend she was living with. She is acting uncomfortable and not very friendly with my mother and keeps asking her other children if they know her / that she is their sister. My mother is devastated and I don't know what to say to her, and I don't know if this is something that will last or if she will remember soon. Does anyone have any advice on how to comfort or support my mother with this? Thank you!

Hey folks, talked about making this post several times over the last 7 months on various subs and discords. The time feels right to go ahead and post it for everyone since a lot of content creators weren't talking about them or mentioning them either intentionally because of the various races to 100, or because it might have broken their NDA's. I feel like everyone should know about them ahead of time, especially for those of you that intend to race for the first 1,000 HC100's, but they will absolutely help the average or even casual players along their journey as well. If someone is compiling a super-list or post with the consolidation of all tips, tricks, FAQs etc, feel free to steal from this post in your creation!
(Disclaimer, It should go without saying that all of this is subject to change at any time, including my mere posting of it, so take it with a grain of salt as you explore Sanctuary. Added a spoiler tag just in case)

• Running into a new region will automatically change your "Town Portal" location when using the default town portal keybind (T). This means while exploring the world, especially at low level, you can simply crossover into a new region like the Dry Steppes and use your Town Portal keybind to teleport to Dry Steppes's main city. Doing this early will save you a ton of time in later hunting down waypoints, altars, and dungeon aspects simply for the ease of instantly porting from one region to another. Reminder though, you still need to click the waypoint physically to unlock it even when you automatically teleport to it after crossing zones. As an example, it takes roughly 8-9 minutes in game time without mount to pickup both the Dry Steppes and Scosglen main hub waypoints as of the most recent server slam test.
  
• Campfire XP bonuses are a sneaky XP bonus that people often forget about because they take a little time to build and to get to. Certain Strongholds, like Kor Dragan, will have campfires around them near their gates after they've been completed, and when they aren't currently being invaded (only applies to invasion event strongholds). When you find one, click the campfire and every few seconds a 1%XP buff will be granted to you, and stacks I believe 15 times in total and lasts somewhere around 10-15 minutes or so. There's a few scenarios where you can absolutely maximize this benefit to its fullest extent to significantly speed up your progress. First, when you're taking an AFK break, simply teleport to the Menestad Waypoint and take the 25 second ride/40 second walk to Kor Dragan (assuming its been completed and not under invasion) and click the campfire and take your break. When you come back you'll have 10 stacks built, click the campfire again to get it up to 15 (automatically stops at 10 stacks per click) and then be on your way. Another way that I utilized this to incredible success was in the later game right before I'd go into a nightmare dungeon, I'd take a quick trip out to my nearest campfire (generally Kor Dragan via Menestad) and gain my 15 stacks, pop my sigil, then travel to that dungeon. By that point you have your mount so you're generally starting a nightmare tier dungeon with 11-12 minutes left on the buff, sometimes more, and with the changes to pathing design in these dungeons you should gain the full benefit of the buff through each nightmare tier dungeon you do this way. Remember to stack this buff with your XP potion!
  
• Don't mine nodes early on. Sounds counterintuitive right? It isn't, the materials you gain often from clicking on those ore nodes are the same materials you'll generally receive from salvaging items. Currently there really isn't anything in game that utilizes these materials, at least not in the early game, other than the blacksmith with gear upgrades, and you won't want to be upgrading your gear early on anyways. The amount of time you'll save by not clicking every early game ore node is absolutely massive. Wait until you're on your mount before you start clicking on them to get your titles and achievements. If they just happen to be in your path as you hoof it around the map give them a click, otherwise don't alter course to grab them.
  
• In complete opposition to ore nodes, pick every flower you find, especially in the early game. Flowers are mandatory for speed leveling as well as general quality of life. There are many potions available right out of the gate that significantly impact your character, all of which generally carry a 3% XP bonus to them in addition to various resistance or power gains these potions might add. On top of this, the flowers are required for your health potion upgrades which are actually quite massive as you level early on because you won't be draped in BIS level 25 legendary items farming Osgar Reede like we were in the beta tests, you're going to be in ragged rares you picked up along the way, so you won't be nearly as tough when you're clearing those Strongholds and campaign quests, so you'll benefit greatly from those health potion upgrades every 10 levels at your local alchemist.
  
• If you're a completionist like myself, and want to go out there and unlock every codex power relatively quickly, make sure you complete a codex unlocking dungeon on each alt character you intend to play for the pre-season and subsequent seasons. The way the game works is that you automatically unlock the occultist at level 25, however, there's an additional mechanic that automatically unlocks the occultist and the codex of power intently upon unlocking that character's first codex power via dungeon completion. This comes in handy later if, like me, you intend to main one class but also play several alts to keep the game fresh or breakup the monotony of the leveling grind. Eventually you'll get to a point long before level 100 where gambling obols is just significantly more valuable on your alts, and having unlocked the occultist early on at level 10 or 12 or whatever for those alts will massively increase the efficiency in playing alts once you've fully unlocked the whole codex for them. Imagine how much faster you'll blast through the game when your alts have full "legendary" powers from the codex at level 12 with a relatively comprehensive build, its significant.
  
• On the subject of alts, you really should make them, especially if you intend to play long hours in the late game. The Tree of Whispers is one of, if not the most significant portion of your end game loop later in the game, simply because of its often dual benefit gains from completing various events around Sanctuary, such as World Bosses, Dungeons, PVP zones, etc. What people don't know, yet, is that the truly valuable grim favor quests have diminishing returns on value the more you complete them, as the available quests are front-loaded with longer duration events like World Bosses and Dungeons, but when repopulated, are generally lowest value and lowest priority, like doing those random world events we saw around the world in the betas. Here's where alts come in. Every character has their own independent grim favors tracking system, so once you clear all the juicy 3-5 favor reward events on your main, you can move over to your alt (the ones we've now geared with full codex powers) to efficiently blow through those tasks. This is important because the cache rewards from the Tree of Whispers can include things like sigils, elixirs, gear, and other various materials which can all be used by your mains. Moreover, the weekly world boss chest is also separate for all characters, allowing you to fully maximize the benefit of your character list by doing one world boss per character per week for slightly better loot rewards. Remember, we run world boss primarily for prisms to add sockets on gear, and those are materials which are shared across your account.
  

If I think of anymore that are relatively unique or haven't been mentioned enough I'll add to them so long as I have the character limit, feel free to add your own the comments as well.
(admittedly I am quite distracted and busy heading into launch but I'll try my best).

"the abyss of unending anxiety"
The trip:
I had only just recently started weed again as I had a traumatic experience with it years ago when I tried it the first time which pretty much scared me away from the substance for a very long time- I pretty much thought I was a tough guy and thought hell why not and took a fat 10 second rip off of my friends cart and proceeded to go running around in the woods at midnight- yeah genius I know.
Anyways enough about that I had been using marijuana for a solid two or three months now and I figured I had completely mastered the substance and was ready for the next level naturally shrooms were the next on the list for me and being the cautious person I am, I decided to do all of the research I could on shrooms in order to prepare myself for what was to come from them. little did I know nothing could have prepared me for what happened that night. I had finally finished my research which was composed of mostly trip reports by vivec and tales from the trip as well as some research online about the affects, the duration of the high, strains how much to take etc. When I decided it was time to begin preparing myself mentally for what was to come. my research had told me that mindset and where you are in life at the moment played a key role in how the trip was going to go, so I began listening to smooth Jazzy music and just generally making an effort to stay positive for a week leading up the time I had planned to take them, I was at a friend's house hanging out with 2 friends one being my best friend of 5 years Who I will call N and the other a friend of N's who I had only hung out with a couple times before. we were playing Halo, talking and passing around a bong packed with high quality Mary-Jane that I had brought when the subject of shrooms came up, I knew these two both had connections to people who would definitely have access to hard drugs. the dealers I knew only had access to marijuana so I asked them both "how much would i have to pay for 4 Grams of shrooms" to which our mutual friend replied it's about 10$ a gram for us man but being your not a regular it will likely be more" I asked them if they could buy them so I could get a discount to which the both agreed they would do. 3 days later after I had given them 40 bucks for the shrooms I came and picked them up and stared at them when I got home taking in every detail so I could match them up to what they said the strain was which was enigma or Omni shrooms which are an extremely potent and rare mutant of 3 very powerful strains of shrooms.
I had N come over to be my trip sitter as he had 2 prior experiences with shrooms before. Both of which he told me he never saw anything but he did tell me he laid down in the grass outside of his house and stared at the sky for 2 hours mind you he had done 5gs of the stuff and said it was the same strain I was getting I was surprised by this and asked our mutual friend about his experience on the stuff with a similar dosage he said that he had a blast but he too never had any hallucinations. I was a bit confused and let down by this as I had expected alot more from a said powerful mutant of 3 shrooms. The day I had planned to take the shrooms I had woken up and carried out my regular routine of making a coffee and I reminded myself that I only needed to eat breakfast and a small one at that to ensure the shrooms worked at peak potential. As I ate my breakfast and scrolled through my phone listening to peaceful jazz and scrolling through many many happy birthday wishes- see I had just turned 18 and I thought to myself "wow what a time for my first psychedelic experience" I played need for speed and awaited N's arrival I had planned on taking them around 6pm to get a good amount of day time and night time in my trip. When N finally arrived it was around 5:30pm "perfect I thought as I looked up from my Xbox and at the clock when I heard my dogs barking at the arrival of my friend he walked into my room we said our greetings and shortly after I went to get some honey as I had heard that the shrooms would taste horrible I also poured me a decently sized glass of tea and put it into a thermos as I thought to myself "gonna be 6 hours so I better be ready" I brought them both into my room and set them on my dresser as I pulled the shrooms from my drawer examining them as my mom walked in she asked me what they were- I told her they were the shrooms I had told her about doing as I tell her everything and had talked to her about it before I even purchased them. She said alright and wished me good luck. I looked at my friend with a wide grin on my face and said "here we go". I then dipped the brain resembling shrooms into the honey generously Dunking them to avoid the bad taste as I ate them chunk by chunk I realized they didn't even taste that bad almost like a honey comb but without the honey taste I even ate the last chunks with no honey at all N suggested we could play halo while I'm still functioning and he could switch to his call of duty when I began tripping and explained to me it's best to be in a very comfortable position when they begin kicking in. I gladly took him up on the offer.
The trip: everything was normal for the first 15 minutes until I started to feel like something was off it wasn't uncomfortable but I began feeling of warmness and almost a low level weed high I told N about this. He said that it wasn't normal for anything to start happening this early as it normally takes 30 minutes to an hour for them to kick in. I wasn't swayed by this and I continued gaming. 30 minutes in- this is when they really started to kick in I was still playing the game when I began feeling this out of place and uncomfortable tightness in my chest and left arm I thought this was odd but I decided not to let it affect me. Then I looked down at the carpet in my room and noticed my first visuals the carpet was beginning to move and wiggle about resembling that of waves of water I thought this was amazing so I continued staring when I noticed my friend staring at me with a slight smile on his face "you good?" He said with a Chuckle to which I replied to him "the carpet is moving bro" we both laughed and continued playing the game. The tightness in my chest was becoming more powerful but I was still resisting the urge to acknowledge it because I wanted this to be a good experience. I looked at the carpet again and noticed it was now making patterns folding in on itself and it never stopped moving. Every once in a while a streak of purple would run through the carpet which to me was extremely beautiful I told N that I wish he could see the carpet as I see it he told me that it was likely time to begin his game and let me lay down I agreed and began to lay down as he set up his playstation to my TV this is when the most strange thing happened I looked at my dog Lucy and she was beginning to wave like the ocean her fur flowed like water but she appeared to be completely still and normal I got this overwhelming feeling of love and happiness from Lucy so I began hugging her and telling her that I loved her my dog didn't move and I imagine my friend was thinking "oh he's tripping now" I had the urge to urinate so I got up and walked towards the door of my room N stopped me asked me where I was going and if I was ok I told him "No I'm fine I just need to use the restroom" as I stood up the affects really began kicking in I felt an intense wave of euphoria go through my body I began laughing for no reason and Headed towards the bathroom when I got there I looked at myself and the mirror and noticed my pupils were so wide that I had lost all of the green color in my eye instead it was replaced with the black pupil I thought this was hilarious for some reason, as I stared I slowly began looking like a cartoon with massive eyes as I laughed and looked at myself in the mirror once I was done I went to go urinate when I began the toilet suddenly began to get further and further away and began distorting in an odd and wavy kind of way I remember this vividly and told N about it the next day. As I left the bathroom back into my room I saw N playing call of duty I sat down. Which now I realize was a bad choice as I should have laid back down and surrendered to the intense euphoria going through me it was around and hour into the trip now. I looked away from the screen that my friend was playing and back down to the beautiful carpet it was making patterns just like before but far more intense and the movement was more angular I got lost staring at the carpet and the patterns began becoming more and more obvious as I stared I began being completely mesmerized by the patterns in the carpet till the point they became all encompassing. after almost 10 whole minutes staring into the carpet I finally looked back up at my friend his face began distorting and moving I recognized who he was but he looked different now the tightness in my chest was back and it was becoming overwhelming i decided not to move back to my bed and delt with the tightness I watched my Friend play his game and I noticed that every time that a tree or any form of pattern showed up in the game it began folding in on itself and fractalizing I didn't pay much attention to it until the soldiers in the game began loading up into a military transport vehicle I remember the camo on the truck was moving by moving I mean the individual splotches of color were sliding across up and down the truck this was odd as I would have expected it to fractalize like every other pattern. I decided that smoking a bowl with my friend would perhaps mellow out the trip we passed the bong a couple times, This is when the tightness in my chest became too much and I told my friend I was going to lay down and take a nap to which he replied "ok" as I laid in my bed covered in comforters and too many pillows to count the tightness began manifesting as deep and painful anxiety I couldn't get comfortable so I decided fuck this I'm gonna sleep anyway the dreams will be better than this. I've never been more wrong in my life. In this part of the trip approximately 2 and a half hours in I can't be positive whether I was asleep or if I had entered a state of paralysis and vivid closed eye hallucinations I was still listening to the jazz and it too became part of the painful anxiety I was experiencing I angrily threw my headphones never opening my eyes saying this shit doesn't work over and over again, this shit doesn't work, this shit doesn't work, this is when everything became quiet and I entered what I will call the abyss of unending anxiety. I wouldn't say I forgot who I was like the ego death I had heard so much about but I definitely stopped caring who I was I tried reminding myself saying my name over and over again my friend told me that he was actively trying to comfort me in this stage but to no avail. In this abyss, I stayed for what felt like years I felt as if I was but a grain of sand and a heaping monstrosity of anxiety as large as reality itself was crushing me from all directions. A feeling I will never forget. I was in mental anguish and felt I was going to be stuck there for eternity I also had this odd feeling that I was being watched and that this was all for a reason. However I began to miss my girlfriend and my mom my friend told me after I was sober that I kept repeating I love my girlfriend and talking about missing my mom. I stayed there, insignificant, in pain and hopeless. Until I woke up mid sentence with my friend talking about my girlfriend "she's definitely better than your other choices" he said. Slowly coming back to reality I replied "yeah.. she really is, I hope to marry her you know?" A hint of positivity began coming back. I was extremely happy about this and decided to take my chance now that I was not not being pinned by crushing anxiety you might think I am being dramatic but I was litterally immobilized by This dread. I got up and walked to my mom's room hugged her and told her that she was my reason for existence I stayed there not understanding what she was saying to me hugging her feeling an amazing wave of love and positivity pulsing through me I was alive happy and loved once I was sure I was going to be ok I walked back to my room where my friend met me shortly after he said he was looking for me worried, I then told him all was fine now and I had it figured out I sat down yet again and I began repeating "life is rough and existence is rough" I remember trying very hard to make some inspirational speech out of this but my brain was racing to fast to do this my friend turned on some of his own jazz music and I sat there listening to the beautiful music it was true bliss I loved it I told him that he was a great guy and that he was my best friend he thanked me and changed the song my sister came in and began listening with us a family friend of ours also came in and began staring at me asking what it felt like I told her there was no real way to describe it she asked me if she looked funny and what it looked like I noticed she didn't look like she normally did almost a completely different person if not for her voice I wouldn't have recognized her at all. this is when I left to go use the restroom again and the same events that happened before in the bathroom completely repeated themselves almost perfectly I stared in the mirror and laughed the toilet got further and further away. "I'm tripping balls" I thought as I left the bathroom drank some water and returned to my room where my friend and my sister were talking about me tripping and his experience as my sister had never done it and was curious it's worth saying that I only know this is what they're subject was because they told me when I was sober. at the time I couldn't understand what they were saying and it sounded like a totally different language I remember the tightness was gone but there was still some left over anxiety and laying back down in my bed triggered it again though not as intense as last time it was still horrible and painful I held my pillows tightly and tried to comfort myself by humming and sometimes mumbling the lyrics to the music my friend was listening to. Approximately 4 hours into the trip I began coming down and I was slowly getting familiar feelings of the life I lived before all of this. this felt amazing as some familiarity felt told me it would all be over soon my friend asked me if I was ok and I told him "Yes I think so" this is when my sister suggested we all play Minecraft together. My Friend declined however as it was getting late and he was ready to be home. I told him goodbye and thanked him for watching me. this is when my sister set up Minecraft, I played for 10 minutes or so then I dropped the controller completely back to reality aside from some light visuals and stared at the ceiling trying to comprehend what I had just went through. for the last 2 hours of the trip I was in awe of what I had been through and walked around my house with a blanket draped over me walking around like a zombie humming too myself and thinking about what had happened in this stage I felt nothing. Nothing good, and nothing bad, just nothing. When I woke up the next morning I pondered over what happened this is when I realized what the shrooms had truly done, when I was in the abyss I had this odd feeling that I was being watched and that this was all for a reason. I thought this was odd at the time but I now realize that it was god watching over me he was watching me in pain and anguish but this wasn't a bad thing this had to happen, this is when it finally clicked in my head, God was using the mushrooms to purge the anxiety out of my life and heal me from this experience and I can't be More grateful.
Over all the good parts of the trip were very fun and even tho the abyss far overdid the good parts I still believe it was for the best and I learned a lesson, and left it better person Its been only 2 days since the trip and I feel a massive weight has been lifted off of my shoulders I know this is the absence of the anxiety which has been purged from my life. I will definitely do shrooms again but next time I will have more respect for them, and treat them as the spiritual medicine they are. To all who plan to do shrooms make sure you go in with the intention to heal yourself this is not just some drug to have fun with it is much more than that it is a tool used by God to heal us in ways regular medicine cannot and that is not to be taken lightly.

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

• Other than the hotel & flights, I booked the highway express bus to Kawaguchiko one week prior.
• Decided on the airport limousine bus to bring us from the airport to the city a few days prior.
• Studio Ghibli tickets booked one month in advance. International tickets were quickly sold out, so we used a free VPN to get onto the Japanese site which had more tickets & timings available. Simply Google translate the entire page.
• Booked a cooking class on cookly months prior.
• Did Visit Japan QR two days prior. It takes some time so do it earlier rather than later.
• Added all places of interests in a Google list, and all food places in another Google list. I tried the custom Google maps at first but didn’t feel the UI was easy to navigate.
• Planned itinerary based on location proximity, and also highlighted parts that were interchangeable in case we wanted to switch it up (which we did).

Planning during the trip

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

Day 0 (Wed) - Arrival at Shinjuku Airport- Arrived in Haneda late, about 11. Clearance was quick but baggage took 30mins. I had no choice but to cancel my airport limousine and take the metro to our hotel in Shinjuku.- I tried Apple wallet’s Suica at first. It worked seamlessly but felt that a physical metro card was just faster so I eventually switched over.- Reached after midnight, so do let your hotel know in advance if you anticipate arriving at odd hours.
Day 1 (Thurs) - Shinjuku exploration- Originally planned to visit Tsukiji on day 1, but given that we arrive late the previous night, agreed with my wife to change the plan and spend the first day doing the Shinjuku itinerary.

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

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

• Kappabashi Dougu Street: looked at kitchen supplies and to find a nice knife! (Do research on what knife you need beforehand).
• Fabric Town: My wife just passed a seamstress exam so she eagerly anticipated visiting fabric town, we spent a few hours in Tomato.
• Akihabara (Animate, Bic Camera, Gyukatsu Don): It was drizzling the entire day so it was not the most comfortable lugging that many bags around a wet Akihabara in the evening. Wife wasn’t interested but I wanted to let her experience this unique culture. Had dinner at a popular gyukatsu don (beef cutlet that you’d have to cook yourself). It was fantastic and I had never eaten it. But it was a long one hour wait.

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

• Private cooking class in Shinjuku: Our host was great! We were invited into his cosy house and he taught us how to make Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba, and a Japanese salad. My wife absolutely loved the experience of getting to know a local and understanding his life story, Japanese culture, and some of his horror stories of guests. We got more food recs from him to understand where the locals really ate at.
• Shibuya 109: Paid $5 for a drink to have a bird’s eye view of the Shibuya crossing. It was Saturday so the people crossing was at its full force. Even if you think this is touristy, it’s amazing to see that many people like little ants crossing a street. There are several nice locations here to take some artsy shots.
• Ishibashi Music Shibuya: absolutely loved the vibe in this music store. Back home, I’ve been thinking about getting a particular keyboard but never got a chance to try it. I was able to play this particular one undisturbed and feel totally comfortable. Bought a few Japan exclusive guitar picks as gifts.
• Shibuya Tokyu Hands: This was amazing. I thought Shinjuku Tokyu Hands was the flagship store. So I only stumbled into this because I urgently needed to pee and someone said Tokyu hands had toilets. We were confused as its name was rebranded to simple Hands with a new logo. This is the Tokyu Hands to go. Each floor had 2 sub-floors so that’s a ton of floors! Lots of quality-of-life improvements one could get from this store. My wife got a buckwheat pillow.
• Shibuya Loft: After Sekaido, I didn’t think there was much to look at. But Loft was very different. Similar to Tokyu hands but seems more modern and fashionable. Worth visiting together with Tokyu hands! It also had packaged food available! It was late and my wife and I concluded that we didn’t have to to explore all the floors and that we’d return to Shibuya again.

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

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

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

• Tsukiji market: wanted to arrive before 8 and was 30m late. But the crowds weren’t that bad either. Everything we tried was lovely. Potato/corn fishcakes, strawberry mochi, tamago, wagyu beef, uni inarisushi, unagi. But the star was Masa burger, which we waited till 11am to try. By then, the tourist buses had come and the streets were packed. But Masa burger was in a corner and we were their first customers. The fried codfish burger + homemade ginger ale was so well done and packed with such fresh and interesting salads! It so so good we had it twice.
• Ginza Uniqlo/Muji: we wanted to take a look at some of Uniqlo’s exclusive items. Apparently they do have exclusive t-shirts for each region (e.g. Harajuku, Shibuya, Ginza). They tend to be collaborations with well-known food places in the area. However, they were always white in colour and not made-in-japan-quality. Muji was a disappointment, not a lot more than the usual.
• Tokyo Station Ghibli & Tenugui: Went to Tokyo station to check out the Ghibli store and to look for a particular traditional tenugui (Japanese towels) store as my wife were hunting these down to give as gifts.
• Shinjuku Ichiran & Mister Donut: We returned to Shinjuku for Ichiran ramen, specifically at 5+pm. No crowds at all. Yummy! We then saw a Mister Donut, and recalled news in our home country that when it first opened, people queued 5 hours for it. We thought to try it to see what the fuss was all about. Cash only, but the donuts were wonderfully textured and not too sweet. My wife doesn’t like sweet stuff, but mister donut really hit the sweet spot (no pun intended).

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

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

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

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

Day 8 (Thurs) - Kawaguchiko

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

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

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

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

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

Day 11 (Sun) - Tokyo Sky Tree, Shinjuku, Back to Kichijoji, Shibuya
It was a crazy day where we simply hit the places we wanted to revisit regardless of proximity. Headed to Tokyo Skytree in the morning to check out another Ghibli store. If you’re not going to the Ghibli museum, this is probably the best store available. Headed to Shinjuku to try curry udon, then to Kichijoji to try satou beef balls and dangos and to make some purchasing decisions on some sports equipment. Then we ended up at Shibuya (my favourite place!) to the mega Don Quijote and Tokyu Hands to shop for gifts for others. It was a lovely end to our trip!
Day 12 (Mon) - Back home
Best trip ever, says my wife.
Tips for travellers

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

Observations

• Drinking culture in Japan: we saw quite a few drunk people in the streets. Some of them at the parks. I had never really seen drunkards much in my home country (it could be because I don’t stay out late). When we walked by a bar area with our cooking instructor, he told us some of the people in them had been there overnight.
• The Japanese sleep late: when we arrived, we were still on the train to our hotel at 11:50pm. But the train was still packed with salarymen in suits and many others. In fact, it seemed the later it was, the more crowded the trains.
• Foreigner influx and how they stick out: there were way more foreigners this time than the last I visited Japan. I tended to feel very uncomfortable when large groups of foreigners were around. I had to tell myself not to be hypocritical as I was a foreigner myself. But I suppose one reason is that there were many inconsiderate foreigners. Speaking loudly, making brash comments, and just not behaving like visitors. We saw a foreign couple locked in a head-to-toe embrace on a picnic mat in a park full of families. And they chose a spot right next to the footpath. Many foreigners also leave unkind Google reviews for places just because it’s not up to their expectations. I get it, we worked for our holiday and are paying customers, and there is often an innate tendency to feel entitled or complain when something isn’t up to our expectations. But I think it helps to remember that we are like visitors in someone’s home. Be self-aware, don’t speak loudly, note the traffic customs, where to stand on the escalators, how to behave etc.
• Japanese men have great hair: the Japanese men’s hairstyle feels frozen in time. I didn’t see the typical Korean-inspired center-parted hairstyles in Asian guys nowadays. And balding men were a small minority somehow. As someone whose hairline is slowly receding, I was envious to see many Japanese men have wavy long hair deep into their 60-70s! My wife commented that the women's hairstyles were more or less the same - dyed, curled etc. But the men were rocking so many styles!
• Physical shopping still matters: as the days went by, my wife and I began to covet the "made-in-Japan" label, we realised that we hadn't done such window shopping in years since online shopping became prevalent. I also recall people commenting that you could get these goods online anyway, so why bother shopping in Japan. Well, window shopping makes comparison easy, it allows you to ask for recommendations, and enables you to know the items's size, feel, and look on you (if buying fashion items). It also makes discovery of new items possible. I'm not a huge shopper or a foodie, but in Japan, it's worth it to be one. I suppose it's a blessing in disguise that our honeymoon got delayed 3 years, as we now know our post-marriage lifestyles and the items we'd need in the kitchen/around the house.

I've decided not to mention the specific food places I've been to because I think there's more than enough recommendations available. But if you'd like to know the names, feel free to ask!

Kind of a subjective term, but one that I think is really difficult to find nowadays.
What I'm looking for is an incredibly comprehensive and cool way to optimize and build each character. Some of my favorite things in every game is finding unqiue off-the-cuff builds with my characters and min maxing everything I can to make them happen. That element is in a lot of games, but the problem is, they're all barely seen to their full potential. I see so many games with "rpg elements" that use the rpg tag just because they have one or two liner skill trees. But I want something way more comprehensive and way more engaging when it comes to the elements that make an RPG.
I don't have a preference for if it is an ARPG, SRPG, TRPG, or whatever else, I just really want to find myself engaging with those RPG elements as much as possible and have seemingly infinite ways to build my characters.
Bonus points if the game is moddable and has an active mod community!
If you have a game in mind that really scratches that itch, please let me know!

Intro: I’m a licensed roofing contractor in Maryland. Have a customer with some significant wind damage to his 3 tab shingles. Nine of his 57sq roof’s thirteen facets presented with damage from wind. 16 missing tabs, 30some creased. Customer has State Farm, and has made a claim on his policy. Claim was filed on the same day of the date of loss, on which his property received 70+ mph wind gusts, as verified by several reputable weather outlets. Even observed some tabs still hung up in a tree in his back yard during our inspection. State Farm’s adjuster came to inspect. Wrote for 25 shingles.
Now, I have dealt with State Farm before, and am aware of their modus operandi known to cause headaches. I am writing this in an effort to see if anyone has experienced anything similar to the following recently…
My customer, the homeowner, is unsure as to the age of his shingles beyond knowing them to be at least 3 years old. My personal educated guess is 8-12 years. Having been on the roof myself, the granule loss on his shingles was significant but not pitiful. Despite the hot side being in fairly direct sunlight, thermal cracking was limited. Brittleness however was quite bad. Even with one “45 degree” lift, tabs would start to develop a crease, leading me to believe we were likely dealing with an irreparable roof and hence conducting a formal repairability test. The repairability test was conducted in full on video, and resulted in a fail.
It has been my experience with State Farm that if a roof’s shingles were found to be irreparable after they had written for repair, they would accept a video demonstrating such. It used to be the adjuster would take a youtube link or zipped file. Then for a while, they were sending their own links for video upload. This time around, however, I was advised by a person in the corporate office (because the original adjuster from 5 days prior had fallen off the face of the earth) that they no longer accepted videos period, at all, none. Pictures however, for some reason, are still accepted. Naturally I took some screenshots of the video, attached them to a friendly email and sent it over. Neither the homeowner nor myself received a reply to that communication, despite patiently waiting 2 full weeks.
After giving them a chance to at least acknowledge the existence of our mutual customer or myself, I reached out to corporate again. Corporate advised a new adjuster had been assigned, whom I promptly contacted. The new adjuster was kind enough to review the photos while we were on the phone. The first and only question they asked was “do you know how old the roof is?” to which I replied I did not know exactly. Without much pause, the only reply this person offered was “I don’t see this resulting in a full approval.”
This current adjuster has never been on the roof in question, nor to the insured property. The only documentation, I am aware of, that they have to go off of is the 6 photos I sent plus whatever the initial adjuster took. Truthfully, I made no mention of a full approval nor provoked the need for any action yet, I had called only for a status update.
The conversation continued, I asked for some reasoning behind that comment. They stated they were not in the business of covering wear and tear due to age. I politely reminded them that it was already admitted there were qualifying damages present to the roofing structure covered under the policy, otherwise a repair estimate would never have been written. I asked exactly how I, as the entity performing the work, should proceed with the repairs ordered, authorized and funded by State Farm on a roof that is factually irreparable. They had no response worth typing here. Just the same runaround.
Neither the homeowner nor myself are calling it quits. He will be calling tomorrow in attempt to speak with a supervisor, as will I to follow up. If anyone has any recent similar experiences, stories or advice I would love to hear any and all. TIA!!