I'm a 27 year old man who's moving back to Chicago after 9 months of living in Australia. I have the ability to pay the entirety of a 1-4 month sublet upfront while I work on getting a job in a bar or restaurant once I get there. Or, if you you're open to me paying that extra rent upfront for a month to month or a regular rental let's talk!
A little bit about me:
Bit of a traveler, did some backpacking in western europe, taught english in Vietnam, and slung some drinks in Australia.
I was living in Logan Square a little over a year before I left for Australia, and I'm coming back to finally put down some roots and make a home for myself. Used to work at a few places in Wicker and Logan so if you're looking for some barestaurant recommendations I'm happy to help out!
I speak French! Pretty good at least. And a little spanish and german.
I'm a bit fun and goofy once I open up and you get to know me. Enjoy going to cultural events downtown including at the l'Alliance Française de Chicago, art museums but also the local stuff as well like local music shows, theater like Steppenwolf, and I plan to spend some time with friends at the park as well :)
Edit: forgot to mention, allergic to cats :( But if they're hypoallergenic then it should be fine :)

Saturday 25th March, 10.30am, Albert Square, Auckland & Sunday 26th March 1.30pm, Civic Square, Wellington there are defences for Trans rights against a 'Penny Patero' a British Right Wing Neo Nazi Grifter. Our Labour MP's have capitulated to hate that incites murder, by letting this vile bitch in, hoping to catch a fantasy middle ground vote and use Patero to drive votes to their allied Parties in Parliament - when what we all wanted was the guts Jacinda had and no more playing games with murderous, scumbag altwhite supremacist, incel, neonazi, right wing vermin. Kia ora Jacinda for not grasping for power and potentially turning in to a Helen Clarke who fucked all Maori over with the Foreshore Pakeha theft for her dead British Queen & her race & reinvaded Tuhoe under an American War of Terror environment hoping to win racist coloniser votes. Fuck National, ACT, TPU, the colonial church cults, altwhite scum and any cunt who supports them. Lets hope decent journos dont platform them like they did those colonial canadian scum. We all know the dying talkback radio scum will. Labour needs to grow some guts and deal to these right wing terrorist networks who forced theirs & our best leader out, the right wingers already fought dirty and scored violent hits. You have the power, grow some guts. Maori Party & Greens are standing strong but we all shouldn't have to waste our time fighting the obvious. Get organised to vote & advocate for better & throw these bigots in the bin. These shitty trolls dont care about women, else they'd be in America fighting for womens rights or elsewhere, they're part of a global right wing hate movement clawing away at power through media & digital means, which needs more than local performative gestures and offloading on to others. Ian Mucks, Peter File, Fuckerberg are all getting the data and power without a fight, given a chance for a clean break everyone flocked back for attention just like they wanted and Peter File is about to fuck the NHS good. It's the plan they have for all of us. Jacinda ought to be a beginning to a more confident and articulate step up past the drama of shit throwing right wing noise and on to a wider aim.

Matangireia S2 Episode 2: Georgina Beyer RNZ

https://youtu.be/eTzsWp_n7gs
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/matangireia/story/2018791325/series-2-episode-2-georgina-beyer-matangireia

Georgina Beyer knows all about breaking barriers – becoming the first transgender MP in the world. But what is her biggest regret as a Māori MP in Parliament?
“A disaster, an absolute nightmare… it was one of the largest proposed confiscations from Māori, in modern times”.
The former Labour Party MP describes the fallout over the Foreshore and Seabed legislation to Matangireia presenter Scott Campbell.
Beyer never shies away from the painful path she took to becoming one of New Zealand’s most trailblazing politicians.
Beyer’s list of achievements are extensive – a drag queen, a sex worker, an actor, an activist, a Mayor, and a MP.
In fact, when elected in 1999, she was the world’s first transgender Member of Parliament, becoming known for her bold and colourful exterior.
But her story is one of pain, adversity, and fear – and it’s also one of courage and bravery.
Beyer was born George. Her biological father was a policeman who was sent to jail, leaving her mother to fend for herself and two young children.
Raised by her grandparents, until her mother remarried, she describes life in the Beyer household as “mildly well-off”. Her stepfather Colin was a barrister and solicitor.
From around four years old, Beyer started to secretly express her feminine side through theatre, dressing up and acting.
“If I was caught or discovered, or anything like that, it would be dealt with physical punishment, corporal punishment – beatings, hidings, things like that, to beat it out of me.”
At 16 years old, George became Georgina, but the abuse followed her from home to the streets.
As a sex worker, she was confronted daily with physical and verbal abuse from members of the public.
“It drove me to suicide… to attempt suicide on three times, in my young life,” Beyer said, “I had been pack-raped in Sydney in 1979, which was a terrifying, horrifying experience, and the law didn’t defend me.”
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Georgina Beyer as a child Photo: Supplied / Georgina Beyer
After working in a gay night club in Auckland, she moved from the glitzy lights of Karangahape Road to conservative back blocks of the Wairarapa.
It was in Carterton Beyer’s career in politics began.
Working as a part-time radio announcer (alongside Paul Henry, who she later beat in the 1999 General Election), she decided to run for council.
She missed out, but she tried again, and again. Eventually becoming a councillor and, in 1995, the Mayor of Carterton.
“I’m the Mayor, okay, where’s the handbook on this job?” she said, “There isn’t any, but I now was in this position and I thrived in it, absolutely thrived in it.”
Being eloquent and not afraid to speak her mind, Parliament beckoned next.
Standing for the Labour Party in 1999, Beyer won the safe blue seat of Wairarapa with a majority of 3,033 votes. She was the first transgender woman elected to office.
However, in 2004, she faced one of the toughest challenges of her life. To choose her party, or her people.
“Oh, a disaster, an absolute nightmare”.
The Government, under Helen Clark, had just announced the Foreshore and Seabed legislation, effectively removing Māori claims to ownership over beaches and waterways.
The news came as a shock to the Labour Party’s Māori caucus.
“We were all quite taken aback that an announcement had been made, with no consultation with anyone in the Māori caucus.
“At the end of day, it was one of the largest proposed confiscations from Māori in modern times”.
One by one, the Māori caucus “fell into line”. The last three to do so were Beyer, Nanaia Mahuta, and Tariana Turia.
Beyer didn’t hold a Māori constituency and felt she had no mandate from Māori to speak up strongly on their behalf like the rest of her Māori colleagues.
“I was just so torn, but actually I didn’t have to be steeped in tikanga Māori to understand that this was wrong, wrong, wrong.
“I vowed and declared from that time on that I would never be torn between who and what I am as far as my heritage is concerned, and political expediency”.
So, what did she think of the former Prime Minister Helen Clark?
“I was never very close to Helen, at all, really,” Beyer said.
"I was not within her inner, outer, or extra-outer circle, really. I was just a cannon fodder backbench MP”.
She became further isolated when she asked to abstain from the vote.
“I can almost pinpoint my beginning of the end of my political career in Parliament on that Foreshore and Seabed thing. I felt defeated and I felt impotent.”
But that wasn’t the end.
She stayed for another two years traveling to Parliaments across the world to talk on gender issues.
Reflecting on her story today, she’s proud of the road she’s taken.
“You can’t live in your victim-hood all the time, you can’t wallow in it, you gotta learn from it. Move on and change it and change what created that."
“And I hope I’ve been able to do a bit of that”.

https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/06-03-2023/georgina-beyer-still-has-a-fire-in-her-belly

In 2018, Alex Casey spoke to Georgina Beyer, the world’s first transgender mayor and MP, about her extraordinary life.
This interview contains references to sexual assault and suicide, please take care.
Sex work and politics are pretty much the same trade, according to Georgina Beyer at least. During her time as an MP, she would strut through the halls of parliament, calling her comrades to arms by asking them if they were all ready to “get out on the streets and sell their butts”. They didn’t seem to fancy that comparison very much. “Look, honey, you’re soliciting yourself either way,” she told me over the phone, chuckling. “One’s just for votes, the other for money. One advertises on billboards, the other advertises in the back pages of The Dominion Post.”
If there was anyone who could speak to the overlap of these very specific sets of skills, it’s Beyer. The world’s first transgender mayor who went on to be the world’s first elected transgender member of parliament, as well as a former sex worker, screen actress, and kidney transplant survivor, she’s lived a thousand lives to get to where she is today – right now, she is in the Wellington suburb of Kilbirnie, on the phone to me, an ex-Wairarapa kid who grew up under her groundbreaking reign back in the late 90s.
I asked her how things have changed for the LGBTQIA+ community in her lifetime. “When I started transitioning, I quickly realised that it was a cruel world for people like us. I had to go down avenues I would never have considered.” Unable to get a ‘real’ job, or any benefits outside of claiming a “psychosexual disorder” for the sickness benefit, she felt like she had no choice but to join the sex industry. “It was a brutal time, but there was a strange camaraderie in that nobody else would support us, not even our government institutions.”
One night in Sydney in 1979, Beyer was sexually assaulted by a group of men. “People asked me why I didn’t report it to the police. As if the law was going to protect me? A Māori tranny prostitute? Yeah, right.” Following the traumatic attack, Georgina found herself depressed and near suicide for months. “Once I got out the other end, it gave me a real fire in my belly. That shouldn’t have happened to me. That shouldn’t happen to anyone without being taken seriously.” She swore that she would try and change attitudes by example, which meant living a proud, public life as a trans woman.
It was the goal of visibility that drove Georgina to pursue a pre-politics acting career, including the 1985 film Jewel’s Darl, where she played a trans prostitute. “For the time, that was quite unusual, to look at people like us not as caricatures, but real people with real lives.” Although she burned all of her old belongings the night she transitioned, Georgina didn’t completely erase what she calls “the other parts of me”. “Men tend to forget that I can still access the same psyche as them. If they want to come down hard with the firm, staunch, brow-beating thing, well, I can play that game too, baby.”
Decades after her time working in the sex industry, Georgina found herself campaigning for prostitution reform in parliament. Given her own experience, she was shocked at some of the misconceptions held by the public around sex work. “They thought it was all deviants and not their husbands, their brothers, their uncles – it’s ordinary people.” As, unsurprisingly, the only former sex worker in the house, her speech to the chamber changed the minds of three MPs, passing the legislation that would decriminalise sex work. “It was the thinnest bloody margin you could have, but we got there in the end.”
So how in the flaming hell did a conservative, white, scarecrow-festival-hosting, mid-90s Wairarapa vote to become one of the wokest places in the world? “I think I was just a breath of fresh air. What people responded to was honesty, being straight up, being approachable – I would go to everything from a bloody party in a woolshed to judging sheep races out at Castle Point.” Carterton became known for something more than daffodils, and the more traditional locals slowly learned to “look beyond the end of their noses.”
When she made the decision to run for Labour in the Wairarapa in 1999, Beyer didn’t actually think she had a chance in hell of winning. She wasn’t being humble – nobody else did either. Although she had been the mayor of Carterton for five years, the Wairarapa was a National Party stronghold, and her opposing candidate was a plucky, popular radio host by the name of Paul Henry. He questioned her ability to be “serious person” because she was trans. “I thought I’d just have some fun and kick a few butts” Georgina recalled. “Bugger me! Look what happened!”
Georgina won with a 3000+ vote majority, making Paul Henry officially kicked in the butt and making her, officially, a “serious” public figure. Local attitudes had evolved, best summarised by the elderly farmer who had previously voted National all his life. “This year I’m voting for Georgina Beyer,” he was quoted in her documentary Georgie Girl, “because she’s a damn good chap.” Did she mind the misgendering? “If that was the only way a conservative 80 year-old farmer was be able to absorb and accept me, then I’m happy with that. That’s still progress.”
Although she has regrets from her eight years in parliament – her stance on foreshore and seabed was a “mistake” that marked “the beginning of the end” of her political career – Beyer stands by her contribution to the Civil Union bill and prostitution reform. “You have to remember: law is easy to change, attitudes throughout a country are not. It takes generations and role models to show the nation that we’re not the horrible, demented, crazy people they might think we are.” The work is far from done yet, with Beyer’s latest focus on applying to the Waitangi Tribunal to get Takatāpui included in the Human Rights Act.
I asked Beyer if she still encountered prejudice in her life, or the hangover of trans-exclusionary attitudes from fellow women. “People still regard the gender thing as being relatively recent in our modern history, but we’ve been around for millennia. Fa’afafine. Takatāpui. When you have words in languages to include us, that should send a message that this didn’t happen last week.” What about the TERF mindset that still lingers in some modern day feminists, that reckons trans women aren’t real women? “It’s an old, lazy argument. Don’t worry about us encroaching on your world. We’re just trying to improve our lot in this life, just like the women’s movement did for you.”
To anyone, young or old, who might currently be questioning their own gender identity, her expert advice is to access professional information as soon as possible, and to seek out like-minded groups of people in the community. “You are going to need people to give you moral support, who think the same as you and know what you are going through. Don’t be afraid, there are far too many young trans people who are dying through suicide because they feel like this world isn’t built for them anymore.” Georgina paused for a moment as her voice cracked.
“It is, baby. It is.”
Although she has now retired from the political sphere, Beyer remains inspired by young LGBTQIA+ activists continuing the fight for access to healthcare, work and education. She admits that she never thought trans and gender issues would ever be taken seriously in her lifetime, and quickly slipped back into that same, rousing cadence that made her speeches so famous in the chamber. “I have spent the better part of my life trying to make things better for this generation. My faith now lies with this younger generation to stand on my shoulders, just as I stood on the shoulders of those who went before me. I’ve done my bit to move the needle, now it’s your turn.”
As for everyone else? “They need to just shut up and let us get on with being who we are.”
Where to find support
OutLine NZ – Freephone 0800 OUTLINE (0800 688 5463)
Rainbow Youth – Phone (09)3764155
InsideOUT – Phone 027 331 4507
Gender Minorities Aotearoa

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/485407/world-s-first-openly-transgender-mayor-and-mp-georgina-beyer-has-died

I’ve posted about this subject here before, but this story tops that one by a lot.
My business is in the service industry and as a perk we let our guys take their trucks home, so they don’t have to come into the office in the morning. Last night one of my guys was in his truck running an errand and apparently pissed someone off. The wronged individual called the office after hours and left a message that I picked up this morning.
“Hi, I just had a road rage incident with one of your workers. Are there any H*spanics working for you? He almost killed me. I want him to be fired. This H*spanic f**k nearly killed me, the god damn s**c! My phone number is *****. Thank you have a great day.”
So that’s how my day started. I was flabbergasted. Leaving such a racially charged phone message is just wild. I shared it with my boss, and we just shook our heads. I figured out which one of our guys was the offending driver and figured we’d wait until he came back that afternoon to talk about it.
Around 1pm a young man walks into our office. Normally the only people that come into our office are delivery people. We get no foot traffic, we are not a retail store, so this was odd. I greeted him and asked what I could do for him.
“Do you have any H*spanics working for you?”
“Umm, no?”
“Well, someone with your truck that looks H*spanic almost killed me yesterday, and I want that god damn s**c fired right now!” As he was saying this, he was banging his hands on the ledge outside my window.
I had no idea what to say. I wanted to scold him, laugh at him and tell him to go to hell all at the same time.
My boss came in from the other room, slammed my window shut and squared up with the young man. My boss is over 6ft, used to be a body builder and is very intimidating. The young man shut up and looked queasy.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but at some point the kid waved at me and apologized for yelling at me. So that was nice.
Later I asked my boss what he said to the guy. He said, while being very professional, we are not going to put someone out on the street for a mistake, that we take these things very seriously and that we are very sorry this happened. He said the kid still wanted our guy fired and left in a huff.
The kid could not articulate what happened, or how our guy almost killed him. The story we got from our guy was that there was stopped traffic, the kid tried to swerve into this lane and wasn’t able to and the kid flipped him off. I’m sure there is more to it. I don’t know who is more in the wrong. I counciled my guy to drive more carefully and try not to piss people off when he’s in our truck. Especially not racist *ssholes that have grudges against H*spanics.

Hey everyone. So some background information for context: I’m currently a 23 year old female living at home with my mother. I was going to University but I had no idea what I wanted to do. I originally wanted to go the MD route, but that was only because I thought it would make my family proud, and would be the financial solace my family and I so desperately needed. It wasn’t until about year 3, where I decided this isn’t even something I’m remotely interested in let alone feel I can do. However I don’t feel like I have a “purpose”.

 Nothing motivates me or pushes me, besides guitar and exercise. I have trouble finding a passion for something, especially something that can yield me financial success. When Covid happened, a lot changed. I no longer had an interest in the online class system and subsequently school in general. I stopped attending any classes or making an effort. I moved in with my mom to help her since she’s sick, and have just been working serving jobs since. 

I know I want more out of my life but I can’t seem to find that inspiration. I know I have to finish my bachelors degree because it will be beneficial, and since I got this far. However, it adds more to the financial distress I already have. With rent, car payments, insurance, student loans, I can barely stay afloat. A couple weeks ago I broke my foot, leaving me unable to work or do the activities I enjoyed.
I realized during this period that I have no real friends, and no real passion or purpose.
I’m driven by anxiety constantly and I always worry what other people think of me, so I’m rarely myself.
And it feels like I’m just continuing the same cycle, with small moments of bliss, but I’m still worried about the future.
What can I do to get me out of this rut?

I've been renting an apartment for the past 4 years (1 year lease ended 5/31/20). I found a new place earlier today and notified my landlord that I would be moving and to see what would work as a move out date. I was under the impression that on a month to month I would be looking at the end of April as the latest date, providing over 5 weeks notice at this point. He told me that the month to month lease requires at least 60 days notice and the earliest I can move is May 31st. It does state that on the lease. However, that's not what the law states and doesn't make sense in a month to month lease. I'd like to leave on good terms, but its also not doable to hold the new place until June, and I'm certainly not paying rent on 2 places because my current landlord wants an extra month out of me.
I've come to the conclusions that my options are:
A. Mailing my written notice to vacate as of April 30th, pay my last month's rent (which was not due at the signing of the initial lease), and pray they even entertain the idea of giving me my security deposit back.
B. Stay until 5/31 and try to explain the situation to my new landlord.... and likely still pray I get my deposit back
C. Move out before the end of this month tell him to keep the deposit.... and pray I don't get a bill on some trumped up charges.
I'm leaning toward going with option A and letting him know 60 days will not work. I may be able to move out a bit early as well to give them some additional time. I just want to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot here.
Edit: As I'm typing my replies it occurred to me that the landlord might not even know that the lease ended 3 years ago, was never renewed, and was just stating the general terms. These guys have a ton of properties in the city of uhh questionable repute. Going to message him in the morning, send the formal letter tomorrow, and see how it goes.

"There is no ethical consumption in capitalism" may be a little extreme, but there are definitely companies that I think are just so egregiously evil in every category. It'll be handy to just know which ones to avoid without looking them up or carrying a list. Whether labor, environmental, tax evasion, or other reasons, please submit your Top 10.
Here's mine (some companies are undoubtedly more evil than a few on this list, like ExxonMobil, but it's also not practical to avoid gasoline... this list is more about companies that we can easily identify and avoid):

1. Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter, other Elon Musk companies. This daddy-made billionaire openly takes pride in union-busting. His cars and spaceships benefit the wealthy, depend on massive tax subsidies to survive, and are bad for the environment. He flaunts supporting coups in Bolivia, and makes bank off of Congolese child slaves to mine his conflict minerals. Alternative: Buy cars made by unionized companies. Buy used cars. Or better yet, take the bus or ride a bike!
2. Amazon, Whole Foods, Washington Post, other Jeff Bezos companies. This daddy-made billionaire is also on the front lines of union-busting and works his workers to the bone. Remember the poor workers who got killed in an Amazon warehouse from a tornado because they were told to stay put instead of evacuate? Remember the poor drivers who have to pee in bottles, and then Jeff Bezos lied about that? Buying Washington Post is also a direct threat to a free and open media. Alternative: Shop local. Plan ahead.
3. Walmart. I know that this is a tough one for people who might not have many other options. But for food at least, maybe try to shop at farmer's markets, co-ops, etc. (and ask if they take food stamps/EBT - a lot of them do!). Alternative: Lots of others.
4. Apple. Uses Chinese slave labor, conflict minerals, etc. Opposes the right to repair. Intentionally made older iPhones so slow as to become unusable. Alternative: Android (run by #6, Google, which isn't much better...)
5. Nestle. Literally steals clean water from those who need it the most. Lies about formula being better than breastmilk. Alternative: Just look on the back of a package to see its logo.
6. Google. "Do No Evil" my ass. Gmail may be free and convenient, but have you ever wondered how does Google make money? YOU are their product. All of your information is read and sold by them. Google mines your emails and sell the info to marketers. Google cooperates with the government to spy on you. Also did a mass layoff just because they could. Alternative: Private, paid email services. Use DuckDuckGo or other search services. Use your browser's private mode, delete your browsing history & cookies whenever possible.
7. Disney. Steals others' ideas and then pimps product lines as its own. Look up "Kimba the White Lion" on Wikipedia. Look up "María Salud Ramírez Caballero" - Disney (Pixar) interviewed her, took her photos, made her into the Mama Coco character, lied to her saying they'll take care of her, and then told her to fuck off. Disney also fires American workers and replaces them with foreign indentured servants. Alternative: Read books, essays, go out and play sports, organize a union, watch something else. Trust me, you'll survive without their garbage brainwashing.
8. Microsoft, Adobe, other big software companies. They seek to corner their respective markets, then turn their products into a "service" for which you pay rent - forever. You don't own anything, you are just a cow to be milked until you die. Alternative: Lots of other software companies out there which offer similar apps, including much lower cost & free/open source options.
9. Uber, Lyft, and similar "tech companies". Their whole business model is to exploit labor law and market regulations. They control the how, where, when, etc. of their workers' jobs, but then claim that their workers are not employees to avoid paying wages & benefits & taxes. Their workers are also shouldered with all the liability (e.g. crashing their car) that comes with their jobs. Alternative: Call your local taxi company. Use a restaurant's own delivery service, or go pick up the food yourself. Make your own dinner. Plan ahead.
10. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, basically any huge national bank. The only question to ask is, why haven't these evil, pieces of shit banks been taken apart, and all of their executives locked up in jail? Because they control the government through their lobbyists and "donations". From mortgage fraud, to predatory fees that screw over their poorest customers, to even faking accounts of its own customers, there is no low that they won't go. They are also horrible to their employees, and pressure their employees to prey upon customers. Remember, a poor robs a bank and they get 5 years in federal prison. The bank robs a poor and nobody gives a damn. These cancers upon society should 100% die. Do your part and take your money out. Don't get loans from them. Don't give them any business. Alternative: Lots! Local community banks. Credit unions. Online banks (make sure they're FDIC insured).

Tell your friends & family. Spread the word. 1 person won't make a dent. But 1 person who tells 10 others, and they then tell 10 others each, will eventually cause these evil companies to collapse and die. Do your part.

Before I speak to my partner about this and have an open and honest convo, I want a sanity check.
I rent a 990 square foot “2 bedroom” apartment for $1,150/mo. I say “2” because the second bedroom is a small side room—more of an office.
I work from home and take calls all day long. I also work long hours. My office is in the living room/kitchen. My partner also works from home and set up their office in my side room. They rarely take calls and often leave to work out of cafes or for other work. I have one cat.
I want to ask my partner to move in with me, but an I crazy for thinking we could make it work in a 990 square foot apartment when we both work from home? Success stories and flags for convos we should have ahead of time would be helpful.

Today was the official closing of my land in Wisconsin! The final figures have come in and I'm happy to announce the sale will be able to expand the RR another 10 acres! It's almost unbelievable that a 5,227 square foot piece of land is able to conserve over 435,600 square feet of the Sonoran Desert. I am beyond excited for this adventure

few months ago i made a post about a situation involving my mother after being diagnosed with cancer and went back to her boyfriend who has a criminal record, a lot has happened since that post both good and bad. 5 days after my post my mother sadly passed away as her health both physically and mentally dropped at an instant with her entire body being nothing but cancer and her brain being so damaged she had the mental capacity of an infant who was having delusions, her boyfriend who btw was banned from setting foot into the hospital was spotted twice since her return, second time was escorted out by security first time spent time with her and where her condition flipped.
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after my mothers passing NH housing put our apartment in my name with an update to my rent with a small benefit put into place that was meant to last a few months they were going to force me to pay $2,500 for the rent alone with the benefit gone i was likely going to pay twice if not triple that amount this was despite the fact i was currently facing unemployment at a job that paid biweekly and was under the minimum wage line i was also "not qualified" for any aid what so ever since autism is not seen as a disability and my other mental issues including anxiety and depression were "too dated" and would have to wait at least 5 months for get that situated. as a result i was forced to leave with what i could carry. i lost quite a bit and anything that was given to me i could not take but was under the trust of someone we knew who sold the stuff and kept the money for himself
​
a former boyfriend and father of my half sister let me live with them for the time being but has proven to be more of a pain then expected as he (my sort of step father) has a lot of health issues both mental and physical. currently looking for employment and fighting to get financial aid to help pay off rent but so far its not working out so well. idk what the future will present to me but i know i will survive weather ill truly live is a mystery

I'm making a small woodshop in my room that has storage, a furnace, and laundry. At first, I wanted to build a 2-foot wide workbench with storage below it on the back and right walls. But now, I think putting it on the left and back walls is better because it gives me more room for table saw maneuvering.
https://imgur.com/a/7nd5Ylt/ The square in the middle is a concrete pad the furnace sits on. The furnace is off center to the right so there's actually about a foot more room even on that left side. Basically my dillema is that up top i could get near 8' on both sides of the table saw if it was center but on the left id just have overall more room to work with.
Also would like to put a miter station in as well.
Was hoping to get some experienced eyes to see any issues or anything im not seeing.

Over 48 hours, we journeyed from the Caribbean sea to the foothills of the Mayan Mountains.
Belize is an incredible country filled with wildlife and the wonders of humankind. The Garifuna people, including 'Malik the Good One,' were incredibly kind. Thank you for allowing us to explore your home. This was my first time outside of the United States. The jungle of Caracol was far from the concrete jungle of suburban America, but I felt close to a people and a time I had never known.
Saturday. My buddy and I took a boat from Tobacco Caye to Dangriga. We then caught a flight to Belize City and rented a car. After many speed bumps and spectacular views, we arrived in San Ignacio and ate foot-long burritos for dinner. We spent the night at 'Lower Dover': a private conservation-focused hostel: with good prices and even better people!
Sunday. We made the journey to Caracol. We saw a big snake on the bumpy dirt road and were greeted by hooting and hollering howler monkeys. The ruins were epic. We ended the day swimming in the river with some loggers and making friends with a soldier who swam with us in the Rio On Pools.
The weekend came after a five-day sea kayak adventure, but that is for another post.
Watch this video for a full (and fun) recap of our wonderful weekend in Belize!

Hello and greetings fellow humans. If you do not identify as a human , there will be an album for "fish only" coming soon. This is intended to be a whimsical tale about a boy that squandered his inheritance because.....money....
Several years back I lost my mother to some breast cancer that found its way to her liver, about 8 months after we found it, I lost her at 64 years old... R.I.P. Robyn..."all you need is love..."
Okay enough wahhhh.... shes dead, that said she was an outstanding woman that filled the role of Mother, to me beyond that of which anyone else could have! So she had some land, with some pine trees on it see... I cut the pine down to the tune of $14k.
I blew all that on stupid day-to-day bullshit, a tattoo, a car but nothing to speak of. Somewhere like $5000 was dolled out to some debt I had too. A few years later I sold the land... the absolute dumbest, idiotic, regarded, degenerate thing I could have ever done in my entire life was sell 20 acres of land in GA..... NEVER SELL LAND ONLY BUY
< APES BUY LAND WEN MOON, APES NEVER SELL LAND>
A little over 20,000 dollars cash hit my hands and Let me tell you I said FUUUUCKKKK IIITTTTT... I had sushi a million times with friends, smoked dab after dab till I couldn't get high anymore, quit my crappy job... after just a few months that pile of cash got very, very small.... I put a few hundred in a book for my future self.... within a year I was squatting in a warehouse eating pasta, I cried the day I found that book, and promptly ate a steak dinner..... let me tell you about ramen...... I'm sharing all of this because... well I fucked up. I still have a hernia that pains me daily, I'm missing some teeth, which has a pretty negative impact on my self confidence. I didn't think to invest into my future, say a few CD's or squaring up some student loan debt and getting my degree, I'm sure my mother would have been proud of any of those things. The point is I want you all to take a real big deep breath and think about it for some time.
What kind of person do you want to be. You will have the means to create the life you have longed for, or at least make the life you have, prosperous and joyful. And don't get me wrong I was foolish, not saying that you will be, but I am inclined to think if I had read something like this, I may have made better choices.
I believe in this group of people, I would never post this in bbby cause.... well... they went a little "coo coo for cocoa puffs" over there, like straight Daffy Duck. I tune in to the PPShow when I can, last night was history!! Can't get over the "BBBY Bunch" But seriously, the fab five PP, Pete, ABC, William, U-copy... you have educated, entertained and inspired. So much so I wanted to contribute to this sub with this little bit of real life.
Don't let this money get to you. YOU DO NOT NEED ANY MORE STUFF!!!! Buy things responsibly, pay off debt, upgrade you car if its a beater, but NO LAMBO's c'mon y'all!! Pay with cash or secured line of credit. Buy gifts for your family. REINVEST! Do that thing you said you would do "...If I only had xxxxx dollars..." I am literally telling you how to spend your money I know, but don't be an IDIOT LIKE ME FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ( and blow you wad on hookers and cocaine...jk.! ) PP I love being a part of history with you. This is monumental, I trust the board this is the way. I trust the tinfoil, I'm full tinfoil, like the Tony Stark of fucking tinfoil.... keep it up, and I'll see all of you on DS9 sipping prune juice with Worf at Quarks.....
PLR!!!

My partner (28F) and I (27M) have recently, September 2022, moved in together after having a long distance relationship for ~5 years. Throwaway for reasons...
When we first moved in together we agreed to split rent and bills proportionately based on our incomes and use our separate, personal accounts. I make about double ($130k vs. $70k) what she does so I contributed $2800 and she contributed $1400. Around Christmas time, she started getting anxious about finances due to the increase in spending on gifts for friends and family although, she controlled the gift budget and we made sure to keep spending proportional.
When we talked about in January, she made some fair points about how my extra income provides extra stability and that proportional distribution does not necessarily equal equity. We agreed to get a joint account which I would contribute $3000/mo on the first day of the month and she would contribute $1000/mo throughout the month -- this way there was always money in our account and she did not have to worry about carrying a balance on her credit card. We both agreed to this setup.
However, now, two months later, she is again anxious about finances and saying that our new setup is not equitable. She has said that I am not considering the "emotional side" of the finances and that she does not feel financially secure or stable in our relationship. As we look to renewing our lease or buying a house, I have offered to contribute $4000/mo and told her she can contribute whatever she feels comfortable with but, this has not gone over well and she says that we won't have enough of a budget to buy a house with.
Is there something I am missing in this equation? Is there a better way to distribute costs? She thinks I have some deep rooted issue because I would like to spend the recommended 50% income after-tax on housing and save a significant portion of my income (i.e. FI/RE). We have talked about it several times but we seem to always get stuck on the scenario of our max budget, I would be spending 4000 and she would be spending 2500 which "isn't fair".
Any thoughts on what to do? What is fair? Am I missing something?
TL;DR I make double, and contribute more than triple to expenses, compared to my partner but she still feels financially insecure and anxious with me.

So a little backstory before I (17) get into the problem. My sister is 28 and has recently had a baby, and he is the center of my world right now. Back in the summer, I told her she needed to break things off with her boyfriend (the dad) because he was causing her a lot of heartache and stress, and they have been off and on for 2 years now. He has 2 very big dogs and at the time, my sister had one medium sized dog of her own. My sister has never really been independent. And, when we found out she was pregnant she didnt have a place to stay. The reason she didn't have her own home? Her boyfriend fucked it up for her with the dogs, let the dogs destroy their apartment and got themselves kicked out. It is important to also know that this happened back in late January of 2022; and my sister found out she was pregnant in February. During that little bit of time when they were getting kicked out, she broke up with him. She was not able to get a new place of her own because her name was on the lease of the destroyed apartment. THIS HAPPENED TWO TIMES!! Obviously there's more to it, but that's the main reason, and I don't want to get too detailed just out of caution. Now, during this time my mom has offered her to live with us so she could have a nice place to raise her kid for a little while she got back on her feet, but her boyfriend could not live with us because of a previous situation that had happened with a previous boyfriend.
This is where all the bullshit truly starts. My sister's dog, about a year old, not sure what breed but she was a pretty good size, had no manners at all. This dog would freak out any time she saw my sister, got excited, jumped on her, wouldn't sit still, and was overall hyper. My sister didn't do anything about it. She just laughed. This dog would stand up on her hind legs and put her big paws on my sister's stomach and paw at her. It was dangerous. I told her all summer that she needed to find a new home for her, maybe ask a friend to take her for a little bit so she could focus on herself and the baby. This took so much convincing it was exhausting. Finally, my aunt stepped in and said she would take the dog, and my sister finally let go and let our aunt take her home. The dog is much better now, she has a lot of manners and has completely calmed down now. My sister is known for taking in animals that she cannot provide for, and this leads us to our next problem. She kept her cat in her car for 2 WEEKS and then dumped him on us. She didn't bother asking my mom if it was okay for her to keep him here or anything. I have a cat of my own, who is not fond of other cats BECAUSE of one of my sister's other cats (who she had to get rid of) 4 years prior who attacked her. I was beyond pissed at this point. Nobody listens to the teenager, yet I'M the one always making decisions and playing the adult in almost every situation. The fact that this poor cat was locked in a car for 2 whole weeks breaks my heart. Even though I felt sorry for the poor thing I was angry. I am still angry. I am angry because I am the one who cares for him and he has no respect for my cat. He eats all of MY cat's food, even though there is literally a bowl for him. He eats both of the bowls. I feed him, I clean up his shit, I brush him, I do everything. My sister does nothing. All while my cat has yet to come around and is always irritated.
So on top of having 4 people in the house, our house is packed. It looks like someone's storage unit. The fact that there is hardly any room to move is why we don't have enough room for a big dog. We have a bunch of shit because we have part of a store that my stepdad rents. My mom and stepdad's relationship is falling apart because of it. My stepdad claims the garbage isn't his, but it is. My mom can't communicate her feelings without yelling, so that always results in an argument. Nobody can ever take the blame and our house is such an eyesore. My bedroom is the only room I can even bear to sit in without feeling like I'm being suffocated. It's so chaotic and I can feel every ounce of life sucked out of me every time I step foot into it. It is no longer a home. It is simply storage for a business that we don't even profit from anymore. Nobody listens. Our voices are not being heard. My voice is not being heard. I think this is hard to follow but there's a lot to unpack. I may sound like I'm stuck up and I may be the bad guy as my sister claims I am. I just lay down the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts. In September, we moved my brother back home. This bedroom is no longer my room. It is our room. The only thing in here that belongs to me is the dresser and the bedframe. All of the furniture is his. There is no "me" present in this room.
The baby was born in October. I thought my sister had agreed to give him my grandfather's name as a first name. We were all so happy. I fought and fought with her to choose a normal name, one that would stick. The amount of stupid names she had picked out was sickening. Let me tell you one, Yggdrasil meaning "the world tree." ????? That is NOT a name for a child or a future adult. Coming back to October, I thought she had finally settled for my grandpa's name as his first name. No. Do you know what this girl did? She gave the child the DAD'S great grandfather's name as a first name and made ours the middle name. This wouldn't be a problem if they were I don't know, IN A HAPPY RELATIONSHIP. I can't stand the name. I can't say it. It doesn't stick and it doesn't sound right. I cannot tell you how hurt my mom was. And her boyfriend has the fucking audacity to say "I wish we could've given him my middle name." Get out. Literally GTFO. Another thing, she was supposed to put our last name down as the baby's last name. Her maiden name. No. She gave the damn kid the dad's last name. So when he said something about his middle name not being his it sent me into a spiral. These two are not a happy couple. My sister literally accuses him of cheating all the time. He literally admitted to not having a romantic attraction to her anymore. We told her time and time again to not put his name on the birth certificate. What'd she do? Put him on the birth certificate. Let me tell you guys he wanted nothing to do with her or his son after we left the hospital. That is until right now.
Truly, I am about to explode. I want to cry. I have never felt so angry in my life. My sister and the dad broke up to "work on themselves." Well, about 3 weeks ago the dad has been making more of an appearance after 5 DAMN MONTHS of being scarce. 3 weeks ago I went to put my nephew in his crib for the night and I walked in on my sister cuddling with her "ex" boyfriend. Her head was literally at the bottom of his stomach. FRIENDS do not cuddle like that. I didn't say anything. I put my nephew down and left. The next morning I was getting ready for school and my brother comes in and says that he thinks that our sister didn't take the dad home. And I said that she didn't because she had said she "was too tired to go anywhere and needed to rest for a bit." Did I mention my sister is also known for keeping things from us and lying because she knows that she's in the wrong and we won't like the decisions she's made? Well this was one of them. Not only did this guy get kicked off his cousin's property where he had been living, he got laid off from his job, and wrecked his car. So guess what? He needed a place to stay. Remember when I mentioned that he has 2 big dogs, our house is packed, and my mom refused to let another one of my sister's boyfriends live with us? Yeah well my sister completely blew all that off and now he's been practically living with us for the past 3 weeks, sleeping in my sister's car, and the dogs stay in the car or are in the backyard all day. I can't even put into words how angry I am.
This is honestly just the surface, there's more details but I don't want to risk someone I know recognizing the situation and pinpointing it back to me. I am upset. I have no idea what's to come but I can tell nothing good is coming from it. I feel so sorry for my mother. I feel so sorry for my nephew. It's cruel. My sister is manipulative and I feel like everything is out of my control. I miss my life 3 years ago. I miss being happy and feeling like a family. I am falling apart. My home is falling apart. My family is falling apart, and it hurts so much.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and listening to my story. I apologize if it's hard to follow.

Eye Contact
Started while visiting my mom at the General Hospital. I was walking down the hallway. Ready to drive home. Ready for my second week of work. I just locked eyes with someone. No smiles. No sound. She was talking with some nurses, talking and giggling, when suddenly we locked-eyes. She stopped talking. I kept walking but the eye-contact didn’t break until I’d walked past them. Ambiguous. Didn’t mean to do it. Spoke to her later, turned out she was the social worker, very friendly lady. The eye-contact thing wasn’t brought up. I would’ve been the one that had to bring it up. I understand that now. Yet I choose not too. Can’t complain.
Happened again while picking up some limes for a friend I’d made at the Rehab center that my mom was in. Same phenomena.
Oracular Chain
Got told to start wearing a crucifix round my neck. Got told my own head will be the primary cause of my misfortunes and that stupidity isn’t that bad. Got told that I need to fix my sleep and get bloodwork done, possible anemia.
Being told to be careful with your thoughts, that your head would be the source of your misfortunes, thoughts twisting the paths ahead.
Is the kind of warning that provokes you to the thing it is warning you against. Easy to spiral.
It’s so easy to just tumble in. Falling down a World of Infinite Spiral Staircase.
The rocks are the rocks.
​
Work
I don’t like talking or writing about work. I’m genuinely a dumb ogre. Dumb and friendly. Sanguine. When the blood pumps, when I’m in motion, when I’m around people. I get bored easily. After I’d gotten my rhythm I was confronted by profound boredom. After peak season when I couldn’t just get a pallet of non-cons and disappear into the depths of the warehouse. Walking and glowering and thinking and smiling and nodding and lifting and scanning and singing and hiding the arousal aroused by thoughts of her, for hours. When that momentarily stopped being the case, the boredom led me to consider shirking my duties. The boredom brought me to an acute awareness of how nothing I am wandering through these huge machineries. Whirring.
Two things helped.
Treating my time at work as a workout and the people.
I don’t like writing about work because I haven’t figured out how to not make it self-aggrandizing. The humble-brag concealing a profound sense of dread. That you should read in my series of blinks and raps, an S.O.S… I’m gonna die in this place.
That he should retreat from first-person to third.
That he should find such a pure joy in being told first by an older gentleman, “you’re the only person who doesn’t seem to be scared of boxes” and by an older lady, “you’re the only man who does this.” What joy he feels whenever he’s summoned to a lane jammed up by heavy boxes and how suddenly the other men, seeing him stunting, power-zone activated and toes-before-nose, join in.
What joy when one of the women or older men compliment his work. Say “this guy works good, he’s awesome.” Or better yet, when one of them comes over and says, “hey take it easy, don’t kill yourself for this company.” Their concerns fuels me to work even greater vigor and exquisite technique.
He feels so proud of the fact that he has become that guy. The one they look to get to do stupid reckless heavy shit. He knows but he doesn’t care. Fuck it. It’s fun. Child of Agayu. Long stride power walking barely coherent when he opens his mouth. When words are forced out of the permagrin. Doom-driven.
That trembling he should proclaim, “I’m ready to fucking DIE!!” and “I’m willing to die for this shit!” between gritted teeth. Eliciting laughter but likewise picking the energy up. It’s strange how evoking an Absurd Death seems to get the blood pumping.
Before work proper, the managers give a run down of the days activity. The volume (ranging from 30,000 to 60,000) and generic health and safety tips (he relishes when they add “please don’t throw heavy boxes over your shoulder”, what is arguably his signature move). At the end they do a little rallying thing.
“Team on me… Team on 3… 1…2..” type of shit. This is the moment we all revenge ourselves on them.
Still the imbecile, when a young manager announces the volume and whether or not we can do it in the allotted-time (without having to flex up meaning add an extra hour).
“Can we do it?”
He roars,
“YES!”
Then pretends he was doing it ironically. His coworkers know though. They don’t seem to mind that much. He doesn’t care if they’re laughing at him. As long as they feel the energy. As long as the blood pumps. It’s shocking how at first people laugh and then through the laughter proceed to join in. Like they need to excuse to care.
Fuck being a slacker. Fuck that shit.
“Thank you sir.” The young manager says addressing him directly.
Still he refuses to volunteer for extra-time. He’ll pick-up shifts at home. 16 to 30 hours. Needs to start saving money and dealing with debts. It isn’t enough. Rent went up. Things are going to get bad. Perhaps he should consider volunteering. Luckily the orange-vests and red-vests crackup as they approach him, knowing he’ll say no, still the imbecile apologizes, they don’t guilt or neg him into staying, they can already see it on his face. The smile is gone.
The smile is gone when his left arm goes numb and his ring finger begins to twitch. Or when it feels like a bad air is trapped between his shoulder-blade and chest and he can feel a dull ache. He feels ashamed mentioning it. Doesn’t have anyone to talk too about it and if he did he wouldn’t. Just a matter of question of pacing and regulating caffeine consumption. He realizes he’s an idiot. Starts slowing down a little. Making sure to take his bathroom breaks every other hour. Pulling out his phone, he rifles through social media to see if she had posted anything new, barring that he gazes at past selfies, giving himself over to revelry.
Material conditions have made Lenten fasting come natural. Didn’t even realize he was doing it. Still has to make sure to eat. Two bananas cut up, probiotic yogurt, three tablespoons of cacao powder, teaspoon of sugar, and some wheat. Delicious and energizing smoothie that promotes mental clarity and physical rejuvenation.
They ask but he worked his hours and he’s done. Fuck that shit.
I need to go home, Drink gatorade. Drink a liter of water. Eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or some leftovers. Drink an extra 5 hour energy. Drink some more pre-workout and start banging away at the keyboard. I don’t actually want to die here. It’s going on 4 months now. I stare at the draft I’ve been working on for 2 months. It’s 5am I hear my parents waking up. Don’t want to worry them. I turn off the lights and go to sleep.
I’d be lying if I said I hated work. I couldn’t see myself working the service industry proper. Brute-labor though. I dislike how much I like it. Getting paid to workout. Isn’t enough to really help out around the house. Besides not being such a fucking drag. Besides being able to refuse my mom’s help. Being able to buy my own stuff. When I stop being Seasonal (a nothing person) I’ll start working my 40 hours or hopefully can boost up to 80. So I can purchase and patronize things and not feel like an absolute scumbag.
Refraction
Finding speech difficult. Find writing difficult. I'm interacting but I catch myself, distorted, between the mannerisms I intend and what I actually perform, like I'm dancing offbeat. Not always. Not at first. Manage to make some people laugh. Manage to have some good conversations.
Become something of a routine. At the start of my day I’ll say to myself “Ah I have enough UPT, fuck it I think I’m just gonna take the day off,” or “I’ll clock-in and clock-out at 10:30pm” and I’ll console myself in the lead up to work by thinking these things. By repeating them. Until I find myself slipping the steel-toed boots on, making sure I have everything I need, kissing my parents, and taking my mom’s car to work.
I like my coworkers.
Only really let loose about two or three times.
Middle-aged long and thin bespectacled dude, great smile, studied informatic science in Cuba. Looks like the grandchild of a Chinese migrant worker. Started making conversation with me. We were both staging. Circling one another, pallet-jacks in-hand. Asked why I was working there. Surprised I could converse in Spanish, told me I looked like a European. Didn't expect for me to be Cuban-American. Kept seeing him. Working nightshifts. Making small-talk. Good energy. One of the first people who started talking to me. Gave me some tips. Found the cobwebs blowing away. Dude has a youtube channel where he talks about hacker-stuff and tech and apps. Showed me an app he was working on. Asked me about the word abashed. He asked me about that word after I decided to open up about my "thesis" and my encounter with a Scientologist at the GNC (got into purchasing and drinking pre-workout, Woke AF blue flavored, my skin has long stopped feeling tingly)... How the cashier asked me visualize my favorite animal (though it's not my favorite animal I visualized a leopard) and how he had asked me to stare at the back of my head. I gave my work-friend a Hegelian critique of Scientology/Dianetics and my overall impressions. Spoke to him of the Law of the Unity of Opposites, of the Identity of Identity and Difference, of Dialectics, and Kojève and other such things. I wish my Spanish had betrayed me as it had whenever I'd speak to the pretty Spanish-speaking women. But it didn't. Ended up making of it a little exercise. Softly singing to myself the lyrics of, There is a Light that Never Goes Out by The Smiths as I went about scanning packages and building pallets. Easily enthused. Hadn't had the chance to translate my thesis. Think I might have freaked him out. Wired look in his eyes. Think I might have tapped a latent schizo-nerve. Still super friendly whenever we see one another. Remembers my name. Just doesn’t make it a point to drag me along. Stopped projectile word-salading at my coworkers after that.
It’s liberating. To confine my ruminations and Opus to letters and clandestine online activity.
The other friend. Zoomer. Thin, goatee, curly-hair chestnut hair, round eyes. Gorgeous dude. Instantly took a liking to one another as well. Also met him while staging. Majors in computer science. We’d cross paths while travailing through the warehouse. Shooting random cultural references to see what would stick. Eventually Cronenberg stuck. Told me about Cronenberg’s kid’s movie. Asked me about my “thesis”. Quickly told me he didn’t understand what the fuck I was talking about. Simplified. Seeing that he’s a Zoomer, sociable, and into computers and weird fiction stuff. I asked him his thoughts about Urbit. We make it a habit to Kubrick stare at one another or mumble bullshit (“Get back to work” “This fucking guy”) or play chicken with one another while dragging very heavy-things and it’s always hilarious.
Another Zoomer friend, mousey dude who always rocks a skullcap and either a Texas Chainsaw Massacre shirt or some band shirt that incorporates Lain from Serial Experiment Lain. Drove him home a couple of times. Loves Morrisey and Deftones. First time I put on the playlist. Excited. I thought to introduce him to the Japanese band Coaltar of the Deepers. He told me he loved that band. Loved the album ‘Yukari Telepath’ and I loved him. Happily I drove him home. On the way. There is a crossroads in the warehouse district, stop sign for us, no stop sign for intersecting road. Smashing down on the breaks, almost drove us in front of a speeding 18-wheeler. We laughed.
“To die by your side well the pleasure, the privilege is mine.”
Got left by his parents in Mexico for a month when he was a kid, without warning.
Zoomers are cool but kind of weird. Powerful yearning bubbling beneath refracted from their own expressions. The gorgeous one, feels like he has a rough-shape of someone he considers cool that he wants to fill in. There is a certain pain made visible whenever he doesn’t get a particular cultural reference. Still he’s recommended some pretty cool stuff. Pretty cool movies I haven’t got around to watching yet. The mousey one is super staccato. Has some problems socializing. Stop-and-start it’s rare for him to get into a conversational flow.
The mousey one I’d met during break. 4 hours, 15 minute break.
11:30pm have to be in at 11:45pm. Company has a smoking box outside. First day I went to smoke in it but two ladies smoking weed asked me not too, so I took that as license to smoke on the schoolyard lunch tables off to the side. It’s undignified to be confined to a little box. I want to be out in the open. Huffing away. Pulling out my phone, I rifle through social media to see if she posted anything, barring that I gaze at past selfies, giving myself over to revelry. Once I’d finish smoking I’d rush in, through the revolving doors and into the lunchroom to get a 5 hour energy or a Java Monster Nitro Cold Brew and a bit of complimentary gatorade.
Finicky with time. Nobody stop me.
If at 11:45pm you aren’t back at your workstation, the managers might scan your badge and give you a warning. Three of those and you’re out. If you get fired from one thing you’re fired from all connected things which ends up being a surprisingly large amount of things. Worse some of the managers are into scolding the associates. I’d rather avoid having to swallow the sort of feelings that would’ve otherwise propelled me to punch a hole through someone’s skull.
One motherfucker in particular. I like to call El Patron. Severe-looking motherfucker. Looks like his great-grandfather use to chop the arms off peasants in the hacienda. That motherfucker loves trying people. Absolute prick. Everybody hates him.
One time after 3 and a half hours of doing pick-off/splitting (priding myself in making sure the C-boxes go into the C-lane, I go above and beyond, “goddamn dude you’re sweating” “don’t break your back for Amazon” I’M DOING IT FOR ME, I yell) and this sour fuck asks me to go scan packages (after mismanaging the fuck out of everything, leading to their being avalanches of packages, including heavy boxes that should’ve gone to the non-con megatron) they’d flexed us up. It was 12:56am already. High volume day. The lady I was working with the whole shift only speaks Spanish. I translated what was happening, letting her know that I was gonna start scanning, that it was a pleasure working with her. This fucking guy looks up at me, says to me, “what’s the issue? Didn’t you hear me? Didn’t I ask you to go scan?” I imagined myself doing horrible things to him. He’s old but not old enough for my default affection, he’s young but not young enough for default comradery. Perfect age really. Perfect grabbing him by the sides of the head and smashing it repeatedly against the railing -age.
Tired, I smiled and nodded, scanner in hand. Did he not see the person standing in front of him? Maybe it’s cause he saw the exhausted thing in front of him that he felt so emboldened. Still I’m imbued with Longhouse Frustration and Warehouse Strength.
My eyes stung. I scanned my badge and took the UPT hit.
The following day an elderly man I was working with consoled me. Told me not to lose my head. That we can’t let them cross-the-line, we have to slam the breaks on em, but that we have to do things smart. Gave me some examples. I felt much better after that.
I suppose what shames me isn’t that I should feel the sudden surge of anger or even that I should seethe about it. This kind of frustrated indignation is normal. What really shames me is that the manager gives me a certain kind of vibe. That if I would’ve slapped his arm and held my hands out, he would’ve leaned in and whispered, “I know where there aren’t any cameras.” But I didn’t want to take the risk. This fucking job is fast becoming an integral part of keeping a roof over our heads. I can't afford to be "promoted to customer" as one witty piece of shit put it. Low-trust society.
We’re all tired.
But yea I avoid getting scolded. I get deep ugly indignant feelings that I’m not going to act on. Knowing I won’t act on them I’d rather navigate around them rather than have them linger and become something I have to breath through and talk-shit through. I don’t want to be a thing that just talks shit either. Feels undignified. Like putting a curse on someone you could just slap across the face or better still confront verbally. Ideally I would’ve snapped and wagged my finger, “hey not like that with me.” But I didn’t so tough titty.
Anyways,
I met the Mousey Zoomer during breaktime. Part of a trio. At first I’d see them from afar. Wave. Dap em up or nod. Eventually I got integrated in their break group and we started working together.
The other two are also cool as fuck. Another Zoomer and an Older Millennial
The other Zoomer is Italian-Belarusian American with sharpie-red hair and a bunch of cool tattoos, they were the first of the gang to reach out to me. Eventually asking to bum a cig. I obliged and was integrated. Super based person. Their dad had them when he was old as fuck. Taught them the value of work and the sacrality of vodka. Loves talking about Geopolitics and Warhammer. Haven’t seen them in a minute. Took two weeks off. Was the only one that talked about hanging out and drinking/smoking after work.
The older Millennial’s a short bald dude with a magnificent black beard and sultan-mustache. New Yorker. Not really from New York he’s from New Jersey but he worked construction in New York. Love Wu-Tang and has a prodigious memory when it comes to movie quotes. Wife is expecting a child. Normally vapes. Asked for a cig once. He proceeded to perform an elaborate ritual. Smooth series of gestures. Squeezing down on the trunk of the cig with his index and thumb. With his other hand he flicks the filter, pushing the cigarette up. He does this multiple times. Slides the cig between his mustache and nose. Pantomimes puffing it like a cigar. My eyes’ roll back. Pure bliss. He’s been seared into my heart. Filed under “Cool Older Cousin.” I guffaw. He started opening up after I’d made him laugh. When I leaned in and muttered, “so what do you think about the whole Azerbaijan and Armenia conflict.” Only cares about getting paid he said. Dude works like an animal.
Met another New Yorker, from the suburbs. Bug-eyed 70 year old dude with a French-braid. First encountered him macking on the HR lady. Has the kind of name I can’t help but yell out whenever I see. Likes smoking cigarillos. Like working with him as well. Sometimes he’ll come to work, super happy, sauntering, and I know. Like to talk about movies and shows and New York with him.
Had a little civilizing experience. Before work started him, the Gorgeous Zoomer, and I had huddled up. Started talking about movies and actors that had disappeared from the public eye. Mentioned Brendan Fraser. I brought up The Whale,
“Yea Brendan Fraser plays a fat guy.”
The Zoomer laughed but buddy wore a sullen expression. Mentioned he couldn’t bring himself to watch the movie cause his older sister, who was morbidly obese, recently passed away. I would’ve never been this blasé if I was describing The smile disappeared from my face. Didn’t know how to respond to that.
Both of us got assigned to the linear. Eventually I looked over at him and apologized for my blasé description of the movie. He looked so relieved. Told me how her passing had forced him to reckon with his own mortality. Eyes watery. Felt like hugging him. The younger New York dude was working the linear too. We started talking about shows we’re watching while scanning shit while zooming through the gaylord grid. I’m not watching anything. The New Yorker Boomer’s watching the new Sylvester Stallone series, Tulsa Kings. The Millennial just finished watching the Wu-Tang series and just now started watching Squid Games. Mentioned Squid Games to the older one and he says to me, “nah you know I worked with a lot of Japanese people and I know they’re into that kind of stuff, treating each other those kinds of ways, but I don’t know I’m not into that…” I felt like hugging him again.
Manager swooped in and told me to go pick up Heavy Boxes.
One time it was raining and it was cold. “Just like New York,” he said with that little charming New York twang.
“Like the beaches in New York. Dark water. Step out of the ocean even in the middle of the Summer with your lips blue from how cold the water is. Not like Miami.”
“Yea even during the winter. The water is warm. Plunging your head beneath the waves, enveloped in warmth.”
“Yea we call it piss water. New Yorkers love coming down to Miami to dive into the piss water.”
“I prefer to think of it as like amniotic fluid.”
“That too, yea.”
“You know when I imagine New York I think like… you have to actively tilt your head up, in order to see the sky. Super atmospheric.”
“I mean yea when you’re in the city. I lived in the suburbs but I’d go to work in the city. Some people actually live there.”
“Have you ever seen the movie Dark City?”
“No what’s it about.”
“City stuck in perpetual night…”
He didn’t let me finish my description or even get to the plot synopsis.
“You know New York isn’t that dour. There’s a park right in the middle of it. It’s called Central Park, lots of trees and nature, you can see the sky.”
I felt like planting a kiss on his forehead.
*
The key to constructing a good pallet is to use the boxes labeled 'Heavy' as a foundation. Laying them in the corners and then building inwards. The small packages, the lightweight plastic and paper-envelope packages are the most annoying ones to deal with. Sometimes we don't have the long cardboard boxes needed to keep the small packages in check. Still some people don’t give a fuck. They just throw them and put small boxes on-top of them and then when a heavy box comes down the belt they don’t take the time to remove the small packages and place the heavy ones as a foundation. They just scan and toss. The pallet becoming increasingly precarious. Proper workplace hazard. When I approach such a pallet with a heavy box I find myself having to reconstruct the whole thing. At first I did this by myself. Then one day a gang of women I’d initially been intimidated by, swept in and started helping me. This brings a great feeling of warmth.
*
The people make it worth it. That over the course of two months I’ve become familiar enough to greet, dap, side-hug, and smile at, a majority of my co-workers. That I should feel warm submerged in our shared breath. Conspiring together between steel, plastic, and cardboard.
Warehouse Dreams
1.
I was a Hell with someone else and was forced to get a job. Hell was perpetual night, gloomy, and urban. No wandering. All movement confined to grids. People just existed. Dingy apartment. Going to work. Nothing else to do. Banal. There was a sense of relief that it wasn't as bad as I'd expected. A bit of giddiness. Only space was between us and the high ceiling of the warehouse. The demonic managers had a certain cheeriness to them. All the workers dressed in jumpsuits and overalls. We stood at attention as the peppy demonic manager gave us the rundown for the day's work.
I had too crawl beneath a conveyor belt that was one in a field of conveyor belts. Some danger. Someone I knew and had stopped talking to in life, appeared, and helped me out. Pulling a thing loose. Screwed something in. He remained sullen. Though lending me a hand his expression was bitter and I was awkward. My grievance with him in life was legitimate but his kindness had deflated whatever residue of that was left. I made to address our quarrel, the specter of the quarrel, to explain myself. But he crawled away returning to his own business dour.
An impish process assistant pulled me aside. Put a helmet on my head and handed me a bazooka. I was led outside the Warehouse City. Battlefield. Thick violet and mustard colored smog. A metallic ship peered through the smog. I shot at it. The missile was languid, leaving behind a trail of gray smoke, looping through the air it exploded behind the ship. The second time I shot at the encroaching vessel I didn’t miss.
2.
Process assistant asked me to help out with something deep in the warehouse. I walked into its depths. Met a friendly, seemingly immortal couple, with a dark secret. Went about my task. From warehouse to a mountain trail (still in the warehouse). Idyllic Sunlit scenery. Walking next to a lake. Observing tire-marks going in and out of it. I knew it was one of the process assistants. The shore was very stony until it wasn’t. I approach a clearing. Pebbles rather than large rocks. A golf cart packed with sand and pondweed. I couldn’t see him but I knew the assistant was driving with poor visibility. I moved away from the trail and fell into the lake, the tide was fast approaching, I could’ve called out to the assistant but decided not to bother him while he was going about his task.
I dug my hands into the sand and pebbles. The water began rising. I understood that if I just held on, I would survive.

Welcome to the second page of my table of contents. Want to read something?

Two Sentence Horror

• A concerned redditor reached out to us about you.
  
• "A functioning public press," the newly elected leader told the clamoring crowd, "is the sole means by which we can secure our democracy!"
  
• After a particularly heated, fiery argument, I finally got what I wanted from my wife.
  
• After an entire childhood of unrelenting abuse, I finally killed my father.
  
• After murdering his family near the oak where they'd tormented him as a child, the killer crammed their bodies into the trunk and drove to Mexico.
  
• After shooting the man assaulting the homeless woman, I knew I'd have to start cutting.
  
• After the final poker draw, I found myself holding four hearts and a spade.
  
• After transitioning, I duly updated my pronouns to He / Him / His.
  
• After walking the standard ten paces, both men turned and drew their guns!
  
• After years of study, as I finally began to grasp the Buddhist concept of detachment, I felt a physical... lightening—
  
• "All the lights have been hanged," the underling reported."
  
• Although born in 1981, my mom doesn't look a day past twenty-seven.
  
• And as she cried, down both her cheeks ran tears
  
• As the looming comet approached, I took your hand in mine, afraid but ready for the destruction of the earth.
  
• As we lay bloody and beaten, surrounded by naked males staring down at us, my friends and I regretted our decision to go clubbing.
  
• Black metal thundered from my headphones, assaulting my mind with noise and demonspeak.
  
• Choking back tears of despair, she gazed with terrible heartache at the beagles in the testing facility.
  
• "Cut it out!" my sister demanded, tired of the bully calling her names.
  
• Dating is one of the most exciting aspects of any new romantic undertaking.
  
• "Did you bring the stakes?" the vampire hunter whispered to his apprentice, hearing movements in the dark forest.
  
• "D-d-does your daughter want a pony?" the stable master asked, backing away from me.
  
• Fleeing testudinal foot-soldiers and mushroomian evildoers, he yearned for the sweet escape of the pipe.
  
• For my eleventh birthday I received a single jigsaw puzzle piece in a box marked "fragment of disbelief".
  
• Having lifted the massive steel beams, the crane loomed over the downtown construction site.
  
• He sat beside her on their anniversary, listening to the bird sing sweetly from her cage.
  
• He slid the needle into the blackness of the night sky, pulled back the plunger, and watched as the syringe barrel filled with the afflicted cosmos.
  
• I cried, watching the video of my father, a former striker in the Bundesliga, dribble and shoot.
  
• I hammered madly at the giant glass wall in front of me, until the pane began to crack—
  
• I held my breath as our pitbull snuck up and grabbed the handmade doll off my desk, then chomped down with his powerful jaws.
  
• "I know we'll struggle to survive the winter, but can the sick and elderly?" he asked their leader.
  
• I lay, paralysed, among the multitude of dead and dying bodies strewn across the battlefield.
  
• I learned later that my mom and dad were both proudly pro-choice.
  
• I opened the front door: to see a masked, axe-wielding psycho!
  
• I realize tanning increases one's risk of developing certain forms of cancer.
  
• I sat between the lamp and the hospital bed, holding my child's cold, limp hand, watching the agony of her slow and painful death.
  
• "I see myself in you," my mother whispered.
  
• "I wish to continue living forever!" I told the genie.
  
• It seemed a routine colonoscopy, the elderly patient's first, as the doctor worked the endoscope deeper and deeper into his colon.
  
• It was a beautiful summer day at the beach, cooled pleasantly by the breeze coming in off the ocean.
  
• It was to be his mad pointillist masterpiece, a monochrome painting on a canvas measuring one square kilometre.
  
• It wasn't a bad pitch, but from the moment I swung my bat I could feel how sweet the impact would be.
  
• Lee sold fresh vegetables on the internet.
  
• Lingering among the Maya ruins, away from my tour group, I ran my fingers gently across a glyph resembling a shell—click—
  
• My boyfriend and i are gonna get stoned this weekend.
  
• My parents cried helping pack me for my first flight to Europe.
  
• On threads of starlight, the cosmic spiders descended.
  
• Our illegal stream keeps freezing.
  
• Night fell on manhattan
  
• "Peas, lettuce, olive," Mrs Smith heard one of her disturbingly loud next-door neighbours yell, before angrily taking out her hearing aid.
  
• "Poker," the general said, taking the deck of cards from the sergeant.
  
• Standing at the top of the basement stairs, peering into the darkness below, you flick the light switch but no lights turn on.
  
• The lumberjack chopped at the tree, unaware that a nearby sapling had called the copse.
  
• The store manager sighed as he collected the scattered pieces of clothing his employees had again failed to tidy up, and put them back on the rack.
  
• The townspeople had greeted her splendidly, and invited her to dine with them at the town's quaint little Inn.
  
• They says laughter is th ebest medicine.
  
• "They stole billions," thundered the World Bank's chief economist, "and there's nothing we can do to prevent total economic collapse!"
  
• "Three ball, corner pocket," He said.
  
• Tick, tick, tick...
  
• Two men in suits hold a weeping third precipitously over an abyss, yelling repeatedly, "What are you gonna tell them, Neil?"
  
• Unable to endure any more bullying, she ran the knife across her wrists in the school bathroom stall, believing that everyone was guilty and everyone deserved to die.
  
• "Wanna see something?" the man in the trenchcoat asked, having approached us in the park.
  
• We all have that one teacher, the one who had a major impact on our lives.
  
• "We want you to keep an open mind," my father said as i unwrapped my birthday presents, which included power tools and a leatherbound book.
  
• We watched in horror as the terrorists breached security at the G20 summit and fired upon the world leaders using flamethrowers.
  
• "Well, what should I do with the bodies?" he asked, having completed his murderous task.
  
• "What state was your sister in the last time you saw her?" the cop investigating her disappearance asked.
  
• When aid mercifully reached our ancient, starving city, we opened the city gates to let the volunteers in.
  
• When the kid on thirteenth floor refused to give us money, we pushed him head-first down the garbage chute.
  
• "Why?!" I screamed as the chimpanzee tore off my mother's face and he put it on his face like a mask.
  
• "Write in this blessed book your sin, to be forgiven," the hooded monk said, passing to me a flesh-bound tome.
  
• You're having a conversation with [...] over lunch in [...], when suddenly [...] disappears, followed by [...], followed by—
  
• "You'll be spending your summer with grandma again," my mom said.
  
• "Your wife's still hot," the cartel boss said, pouring me a drink.
  

Movie Thoughts

• Before Sunrise (Linklater, 1995)
  
• Cat People (Tourneur, 1942)
  
• Death Wish (Winner, 1974)
  
• I Walked with a Zombie (Tourneur, 1943)
  
• Interrogation (Bugajski, 1989)
  
• Miracle on the Vistula (Boleslawski, 1921)
  
• Park Row (Fuller, 1951)
  
• Two-Lane Blacktop (Hellman, 1971)
  

Hello everyone.
​
I have 3000 watts of solar panels installed on a 35 foot RV. I have 12 panels, 3 sets of series x 4. These 4 parallel strings are combined on the roof in a solar combiner box. Each string has it's own breaker. My Inverter now is an EG4 6500EX-48 and two EG4 100AH 48v non pro batteries.
​
I used to have a Victron setup where I would see numbers around 2200w on a normal sunny summer day. Last year when I replaced these components with the EG4 stuff, I never saw above 1400w. This discrepancy correlates to when I swapped the components. Another symptom is that when the panels are wet, and I touch two different series of panels on the glass, I feel electricity. I need your help identifying what to do here, as I obviously want my full wattage, and I don't want to die if I need to work on the roof.
​
Recently I also replaced all of the cables on the roof with 10 gauge PV wire and ran all of the new cable in split loom.
​
Any ideas? Thanks for helping a rookie.

Hey everyone. Currently I work seasonally making about $35000 in the 6 months I’m working full time and about $8000-$9000 in the other 4 months I work part time. Putting my total at around $43000ish a year. Rent is minimal at about $700/month for the six months im in the city and I sublet out in the summer. Student loans are paid off and credit card is minimal. My only real expenses is my car that is slowly dying but is cheap on fuel and insurance. About $2500 to $3000 with insurance, fuel and maintenance. Currently I have about $15000 in savings with $13000 locked in a one year GIC at 4.5 and $2000 in a high interest that I can access at anytime as a just incase. Im hoping to add about $10000-15000 after this year of work.
Is this sustainable? And is $15000/ year a good savings goal? Is it worth looking into an investor to help me grow my saving on the market rather than in fixed GIC? My long term goals are eventually a house, new (used) car and maybe returning to school so I can get more permanent full time work. If I return to school I should have no problem paying that off with just a 4 month summer contract at my seasonal job and my part-time work. My family has about $5000 for me use for school and the course is only a 2 year at about $14000 total.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks

I have been an avid Amazon customer for years, but after my recent experience, I am left questioning their supposed "customer obsession." I recently purchased a $3000+ MacBook Pro from Amazon, which unfortunately turned out to not be a good fit for my needs. I promptly returned the laptop via UPS using the prepaid label provided by Amazon, and the item was successfully delivered to Amazon's warehouse after four days.
However, 60 days later, I still have not received my refund. Amazon claims they never received the item and refuses to issue my refund. When I contacted UPS, they confirmed that the item was delivered and said that they could not help me any further. Furthermore, they advised me to ask Amazon to start an investigation on my behalf.
However, Amazon refuses to start any investigation, claiming it's outside their policy. They even went as far as to suggest I contact the police! Are they kidding me? I refuse to believe it that this is the only option to track the problem. This can’t be the first time something like this happens and I am surprised both parties are washing their hands of the situation.
Amazon’s customer service has been unhelpful and unsympathetic, preemptively closing my chat seconds after telling me to contact their carrier for more help. I thought Amazon was better than this, but I was wrong. It seems that they're more concerned about their own profits than making things right for their customers. I can't recommend Amazon anymore, and I urge anyone reading this to be cautious when making purchases from them. Don’t expect Amazon to always help you out when there are issues; they will definitely not go the extra mile in customer service—unless it is an extra mile in the opposite direction.
TLDR; I am completely stuck in a situation where Amazon refuses to issue a refund for a Macbook pro I returned via UPS and that was confirmed to be delivered more than 60 days ago. I can't afford to lose $3000+, and I don't know what to do next.

FIRSTLY I HAVE BEEN SEEING MANY POSTS ABOUT INTERNATIONALS GETTING REJECTED FROM LITERALLY EVERY COLLEGE/UNIS PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND AND SUGGEST ME SOME COLLEGES THAT WOULD ACTUALLY TAKE ME IN
Hey I am an international student and I have a budget of 30k-40k per year (includes rent, food and tuition). I want a CS major , I don't want any top universities which are too expensive. I just want unis who can accept me and I just want a decent university. I will be looking for mostly safties because I want aid and I will take few reaches. I am average student please keep that in mind while suggesting me universities.
I will post my profile below:-
- International student
-Brown male
-Grade 10 ICSE BOARD- 4th region rank in grade 10th - 93 %
-Grade 11 - 96%
-Grade 12 - 86% expected
SAT not given practice test marks - 1530
I have some average ECS too--

1. STAGE 2 International humming bird OLYMPIAD qualifier, Region rank 2/ 3000+.
2. Volunteering work- Taught poor and homeless kids who couldn't go to school for 135+ hours during summer break. Raised 35000+ rupees to provide them with food, basic amenities like toilets, carpets. Hospitalized kids who suffered from diseases like Typhoid, malaria, dengue etc. Got major attention from local newspapers, community and the managing head of the city.
3. House leader of my school for 3+ years , was the managing head for 3000+ students in a get together with Neighbouring schools for 3 years straight and other 15 different functions.
4. Built a website for kids to learn effectively used by over 5900 people over a regular basis ( had to shut down due to financial reasons)
5. Raised awareness among people to take care of our environment, swept roads of distance 15+ kilometers (10 miles ) with my team, cleaned trash cans which were not cleaned(1000+ cans cleaned) , cleaned the littered places, created banners of not spitting . Planted over 500 plants over 2 years. Collected donations of over 20k for cancer suffering patients.
6. Represented my school in different regional and national championships of badminton and rugby. 2 times regional champion in singles badminton championship. 1 time rugby regional champion team
7. Worked as an intern at a programming institute named NCC for 1+ year. Provided computer services to people with no money for free who couldn't afford to apply for scholarships and colleges as they didn't had any technology in the remote villages.
8. Champion at INTERNATIONAL MATHS COMPETITION got Region/ district rank 1( first time in the history of my school).
9. Created a prototype for automatic sweeper which was approved by the region technical manager. Received attention from the regional newspaper for this.
10. Was leader of the marching band at my school, Leader of the students association, Co- leader of the Sports committee , Hosted SPORTS DAY in my school for 3+ years, Taught juniors how to play Badminton - they won gold medal at interschool competition 2021.

Hey bostonhousing reddit.
I am a new-ish landlord who has only had one tenant since buying and renovating my home way back in 2020. Sadly she is leaving me in June and while I wish her well I am hoping to get perspective on my unit and the ideal price to make ends meet and stay competitive vs the area - as well as the amenities. My initial rent price kept me barely over the red line on average as I didn't estimate heat cost would be as high as it was.
Current price target is: $3000
Details

• Location: Revere MA
• 1100sq ft
• Short distance to Wonderland (I walk to it to go to work)
• Very short to beach (like 2 blocks)
• 3 bed 1 bath
• hardwood floors
• New gas stove, dishwasher, fridge
• Small gym in basement (power rack, smaller lifting station, 2 barbells, 700lb weight, bands, small turf)
• New WasheDryer in basement (not coin, just normal)
• On st parking - but its a dead end so it always has space
• Gas Heat (forced air) & HW included
• Small yard

I like to think I am a cool guy lol but since it is owner-occupied I am quick to react and make sure all needs are taken care of.
The average price for a 3 bed (based on what my broker showed me) was like 2900-3200 which blew my mind. But I want to say a bit under those super condos and offer a good deal where i can to attract good people.
Let me know and let me know if I can clarify anything and an honest thank you for any help I will miss my tenant and she was a godsend to have for a first.

Need help deciding whether to try this myself or not. Mid Atlantic two story rowhome. Attic is a 2 foot max crawl space with very little old insulation. One access point near the back of the house. Thinking of renting a blower and doing it myself but have questions for those that have done it: 1. Will a rental from HD drive the product far enough for the unit to be outside at ground level? Up to second floor, in a window, then into the attic. 2. Without cutting too many access points I was thinking of attaching the hose to a long pole. Push it to points in the attic and start filling. Then back off and move as I go. I'd want to go maybe 20-30 feet with it. 3. If the blower has to be up high it would need to be in the room, how messy do they get? I can close the room off with plastic but would remove everything first if needed.
Thanks for any help.