Consignment furniture stores near me

Hi Everyone,
​
Our retail store is going out of business similar to Nordstrom and Footlocker, is there anything I should do as a middle management employee in finance aside from looking for a new job? EI and savings should be able to support me for up to 6 months while I job hunt. I'm worried about my vacay days accumulated in addition to severance.
​
Does anyone know what will happen in the upcoming 6 weeks as bills start to default on vendor international and smaller vendors. Bosses are in denial that this will happen but the finance department are bearish.

The Stay On Main hotel, referred to by its former title of the Cecil, stood tall before me. Its brown brick front loomed. I walked through the main entranceway with my suitcase in hand.
I made my way into the empty lobby and approached the front desk. The inside had glossy black and white tile flooring. Stanchions with red ropes led to the check-in counter.
The clerk looked up at me from his phone with a side-eyed glance. He had wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. He resembled a surfer more than he did a night manager.
“I’m looking to stay here for a week,” I said as I handed him a wad of cash.
“This is an affordable housing unit for the homeless,” he said. “You’re well dressed and have an Irish accent. I’m guessing you’re a journalist or documentary filmmaker. Either way, it wouldn’t feel right to let you stay here when you can afford somewhere else. You’d be taking up space someone of greater need could use.”
“This should erase guilt,” I said as I handed him another stack of hundreds.
The man accepted the bribe and stuffed it in his shirt pocket. He then slid a room key over to me after I gave him a false name and a credit card that did not belong to me. He mentioned the complimentary breakfast available in the morning.
“I’m Scottish by the way,” I corrected him as I made my way onto the elevator.
There were fifteen floors and my room was on the fifth. I pressed the button. The sounds of the creaking wires holding the platform stable reverberated above.
It dinged and let me off. I went down the hallway, which had wooden ground and drab white-painted walls.
I entered my room and saw it was not much better than the corridor. There were a few places I had stayed at with my wife around Loch Lomond far above such a decrepit den as this.
The first thing I saw was the view of skid row outside. Its wandering figures resembled the madhouse painting by Goya. Street lights, neon, and litter were everywhere.
The desk drawer had the to-be-expected Bible. Shock coursed through me as I saw the completed works of Alfred Tennyson next to it. A highlighted passage got my attention:
‘and this gray spirit yearning in desire to follow knowledge
like a sinking star, beyond the utmost bound of human thought.’
It was well-known that Tennyson was a part of my agency when the organization was first founded.
I laid my piece of luggage on the bed and opened it. I took out a leather-bound journal, an EVP recorder, external microphones, and a few mini cameras. I placed the items in each corner.
I waited and retrieved my ledger. I scribbled about my findings later in the morning.
EXCERPTS FROM FIELD NOTES/SURVEILLANCE MONITORING, FEBRUARY 16th AT 0439 HOURS:
There is a streak of blood underneath my mattress. It is faint, very old, and would not even be noticeable to the average eye due to its faded quality. I would not have found it had I not spotted and attempted to kill a roach that scurried across the carpet. The insect has disappeared. I presume it to have fallen between the cracks into another dreary unit below. I have not observed strange or unusual sounds within my space in particular. I have not seen any visions, ethereal or cerebral, which would sound any alarms. Screaming, honking horns, and drunken babbling seep through the boundaries. The wind seemed to flow through the rafters at an unusual pace around those noises. By that, I mean it whistles a song of its own in perfect rhythm.
*
I awoke the next day to the sound of my phone. It was the landline in the room. I answered it and pressed the receiver to my ear in a groggy state, entangling my neck in the wire.
“Meet me at the Civilization Cafe,” a familiar woman’s voice said. My response would have been irrelevant since it was an order and not a question. I placed it back on the hook and managed to get out of bed.
I showered, dressed, and made the walk to the coffee shop.
Dani sat outside with a steaming mug in hand. She did not acknowledge me with anything more than a quick nod as I took a seat across from her. She scanned her surroundings to make sure no one was within earshot.
“Why did you rent the place for a week?” Dani asked between sips. “We agreed on one night.”
“You know why,” I said. I tried to remind myself to remain assertive without being hot-tempered. I did not want a write-up for insubordination.
“We need you to find out what’s wrong with this place," she said. "Report your findings soon. Otherwise, what happened to the last occupants could very well occur to the next civilian.”
“Please don’t put pressure on me like that,” I said. “Catching a poltergeist in a place with so much suffering is almost impossible. It's like summoning the ancients and asking them about the order of their calamities.”
“Could you at least streamline it by sending us emails instead of relying on a pen and notebook?” Dani’s voice became an aggressive whisper. “We’re getting tired of hiring an administrator to sort out your papers. Keeping your intelligence on point is a full-time job.”
“Writing it out by hand gives me a closer connection to the source material. I have to trust my way, or I’ll make mistakes by breaking my habits. You wouldn’t want that.”
She looked down the road. She finished her drink, slung her purse over her shoulder, stood, and pushed her chair in.
“Stay safe,” she said as she walked to a black cherry-painted Honda parked near the sidewalk. "Take care, Graham."
EXCERPTS FROM FIELD NOTES/SURVEILLANCE MONITORING, FEBRUARY 17th AT 0345 HOURS:
There has been one odd synchronicity after another. My window, accumulated so much mist that I reasoned it must have been pouring. Of course, it was bright out. Some of my filming devices have readjusted without me having touched them since set up. The towel rack in my restroom bent at its center. I guarantee it was not that way beforehand. I have taken this as a lesson to take photographs of every square inch of the place. This is for future reference in my studies. After observing these anomalies, my body fell into a lethargic sensation. I was reading a book titled The Origins of the World’s mythologies by EJ Michael Witzel before it fell out of my hands. As sleep enveloped me, something tendril-like moved in my periphery. It disappeared when I tried to stare at the illusions. I fell off of my mattress after having a nightmare of a lion chasing me through the Serengeti. I hit the floor. I looked to the side and saw a fog creep through the small crack at the bottom of my door. I went to investigate where this was coming from. I did not see anything as the remnants of the precipitation evaporated completely. In the hallway was an orange feline. She scampered away into a grimy stairwell.
*
I walked outside after I finished the report. I stepped into my rented vehicle and drove to a liquor store to pick out a bottle of whiskey. There were so many evenings when I was comfortable in my sobriety. This was no longer one of them. I had an uncontrollable urge to drown myself in the brown liquid that had been a scar on my life for so long.
I passed by a few markets that were teeming with too many suspicious people outside to risk going in. It took a while until I found one that was quiet and clean.
I went across the parking lot and saw a mural of Venice beach on the wall. It brought back memories of walking along the sands of Prestwick, with Lynsey.
Her eyes were emerald and her hair was darker than any cave I had explored in my youth. We had met at the Old College Bar in Glasgow at an age we kept secret from the bartenders with our fake IDs. We had a competition to see whose fraudulent driver's license was the most convincing.
I do not remember if I fell in love with her at first sight. I do recall being in disbelief that she even bothered to give me the time of her day. I can remember kissing her for the first time. The scent of her blossom honey perfume lit my body up.
I snapped out of my reminiscences and purchased a bottle of Glennmorangie blue label.
I was back at the Cecil in minutes. I imbibed two highballs and passed out. My tolerance level had weakened compared to the binging of my younger days. When I awoke, I analyzed what had occurred in the room during my sleep.
EXCERPTS FROM FIELD NOTES/SURVEILLANCE MONITORING, FEBRUARY 18th AT 0116 HOURS:
I am feeling hungover but alert. My 450-milliliter friend is half gone, but I am seeing straight right now without any problems. In other words, I am sober with a grudge. I hope my Supervisors at the Providence agency will forgive my conduct on the job. I do not believe they will blame me. A cobalt-hued smoke emanated from one of the corners. Jazz music is playing around me, whereas it never has before for the duration of my stay. It sounds so old and improvised. The notes are as unfamiliar to me as they would be to a new listener in the Flapper era. Worst of all is how out-of-tune it sounds. My tub has overfilled itself with brackish water. I have not even bathed yet, so I know that was not by my hand. A piece of the footage shows a silhouette moving across the room. Before it reaches my sleeping body, the camera lens shattered.
*
I ran out of pages and my hand cramped. I wrote new entries within the margins. I also started to hear things other than old tunes from a bygone era.
Human wails seeped in, each one more agonized than the last. Within a few minutes, I differentiated how there were two different voices. One male, the other a woman. I attempted to record them, but it was useless. All my mics picked up were static and the hum of the air conditioner, despite how they plagued my ears like tinnitus.
I lit a circle of candles and created a makeshift altar in the center of the room. I drew the circle with salt. I sat in the lotus position, closed my eyes, and endeavored to remain open to any visions. Seances were always my last resort.
I fell into a dream. I saw a couple, both from the decade of prohibition. They were lounging in the same room as me. The man had a copy of the completed work of Alfred Tennyson in his hands.
It all seemed like a peaceful scene until an argument commenced between the two. The man retrieved a blade from his vest and advanced toward her. He stabbed her. She turned the knife on him by gripping the sharp edge in her palms and hoisting it towards his midsection. He tried to claw towards the door, but failed and instead made his way under the bed.
EXCERPTS FROM FIELD NOTES/SURVEILLANCE MONITORING, FEBRUARY 19th AT 0026 HOURS:
I now realize I have not met my intended goal. I was hoping to receive some answers why my wife took her own life in this place. Instead, I came in contact with a murdered couple from the 1920s. They killed one another, but the woman acted in self-defense. Following research, I have learned the female is an ancestor of my departed wife, Lynsey. They share the same name. Her family immigrated here in the 1850s. She had mentioned this to me over dinner on more than one occasion. I never knew they had made their way here, to the exact spot I am sitting.
I am grateful to these organizations for allowing me to make an effort at settling this matter. I hope I have completed my duties with integrity. Unfortunately, I was unable to contact her. I will revisit this place one day soon since I have no intention of giving up.

My job doesn't provide our schedules online/electronically. The schedules are only printed & posted in the store. They've also cut all part-time hours drastically about two weeks ago, without warning. I had 5 days off & apparently, during that time, the schedule was tweaked without me being informed. I was supposedly due to come in at noon today, but the photograph I have of my schedule (taken during my last shift) has my start time as 3pm.
My manager called & left a voicemail stating that this would be considered a "no call, no show" & is grounds for termination under our attendance policy. However, I was told by my manager that we were entitled to a formal & then a written warning before termination could occur. I've received no warnings.
I'm feeling very frustrated & upset. I'm not sure how to approach this situation as I'll be having a conversation with my manager about this shortly.

I have to ship some gear and all of my boxes I had stored are water damaged. I wanted to see if anyone has a 2U server box with the foam packing materials. Happy to pay a reasonable price for the box, just needs to be strong enough to ship a server on short notice. Our DCOps team doesn’t have anything available for me right now so they couldn’t drop ship one overnight.
Server is a pretty traditional full depth box, at about 28” deep.
I’ll pickup within the broader Columbus area.

Today, my stepsons gas system has been condemned due to a leak under the floorboards. This is a ramshackled private property, leased to him through a company in the midlands called P3. He is classed as vulnerable due to Autism and has been failed horribly at every turn when trying to communicate with this company and also the owner of the house. NO yearly gas check has been performed in the near 2 years he has been in the property, yet the Landlord posted the yearly certificate thru his door. Also, the representative from P3 (Leasing the property from the landlord to re-lease) He is currently on route to the local A&E in the back of an ambulance, having called them himself, due to worries about his own health (breathing difficulties, headache, dizziness) I`m unsure which way to turn right now as we are gearing up to travel to the hospital.
I suppose what i need is a little advice on which way to approach this from and where to go. The failings of this company (P3) and the Landlord run so much deeper than just this, It was supposed to be supported living for vulnerable individuals, the actions of both these parties sounds to me, borderline criminal and with recent Gas explosions and deaths on the news i feel we have narrowly averted serious harm to him.
Plz Internet. Advise

I have been at this for many MANY hours now, trying to get my computer discoverable by the shield first, and I just can't figure this next bit out, I think i'm burned out a little...
I just want to play MKV Dolby Vision files on the shield, it's networked to my PC so I can grab the files directly, but i'm confused about which Kodi Version to download and from where.
The Kodinerds website is in German so i'm never confident I am in the right place.
As far as I can tell I want the Mavens build? But you can't get that from the play store, no worries, I'll just put it on USB and use file X-plorer on the shield to load it, but i'd really appreciate if someone can link me to the correct version...
Thanks.

CURRENT AUSTRALIA SEASON AND SURVIVOR SAMOA SPOILERS BELOW
Maybe I'm alone in this, but as I lurk this fandom seems more and more concerned with hearing from every single castaway. I don't get it.
Not all TV characters are created equal and not all castaways are equally entertaining in confessional. I'm watching survivor to be entertained.
Give me Russell
Overload me with Carolyn
INUNDATE ME WITH TWO HOURS A WEEK OF KING GEORGE!
These characters are TV gold and whether you love or hate them they elicit emotion. They're stars. Do you watch a movie and complain the supporting cast don't get enough of the script??
Can't believe Leonardo Dicaprio got so much screen time!
How dare they give Idina Menzel so many songs in Wicked!?
The fact of the matter is that George's game and character are both far more interesting and complex than, say, Matt. Matt seems like a nice guy and a decent player. he's had a clear path to winning the game since the final 13. I don't need to be told that Matt's game plan is to get to final 3 with George, win immunity, and cut him for Gerry. It's plain as day for all to see and has been for weeks. Good for Matt.
I'm not loving this season because Matt is a nice guy with a solid win condition, I'm loving it because of George's dynamic gameplay.
How could you say the season is a disappointment if George doesn't win due to his volume of content when he has determined the outcome, for better or worse, of nearly every vote he has participated in? Players like Matt and Natalie White are easy to understand. They're solid game players with simple but effective strategies. I'm sure they're lovely, but I don't need to hear from them. Give me the complex, bombastic personalities.
GIVE ME KING GEORGE!!

Hi guys,
It will be a long question thanks to whom reads all of this and answers.
Im working as a frontend developer in a company right now, I am 24 years old and I am not experienced on my field. I cannot fit many jobs in this industry because lack of knowledge but the company I am working right now is using the technology that I am familiar with (old stuff). So I am working here with good conditions, I have my own desk, computer, I am working 9 to 6 on weekdays, my salary is above than the average monthly payment in my country and I get upgrades on my salary often. But the problem is, I am getting stressed on this job because sometimes I get hard tasks, and those tasks make me to work at home after work hours also on weekends, also I am sometimes stuck on the task because I am not very knowleded on this industry. I am still working with the knowledge I had 4 years ago. I don't improve myself. Also this job is not guaranteed which may end up anytime suddenly, I even sometimes couldn't get my salary on time because boss couldn't find enough money (financial issues and economic stuff) to pay us sometimes but he does the payment after all even tho its late.
But yet, its not guaranteed, I may get fired or the company may reduce salaries or even shut down. I cannot gurantee anyone that I will work here a full year... But the frontend industry itself is a good opportunity, if I improve myself I can get better jobs but I don't want to get stressed in this industry anymore because I know wheter I change this job to another, I will be stressed no matter what. And the other job will be hard. I want to be stress-free when I arrive at home. I don't want to think stuff on job before bed.
So I have another job opportunity at the moment. The job is so much different than the current one, which is gardening in a public park, the salary is less than the salary I am getting at the moment around 25-30%. Also its not a office job, I will be tired everyday from cutting grass, sweeping floor etc. The working hours is 9 to 5 on weekdays and same as current one no work on weekends. I will be tired at work but I will be calm and stress-free when I arrive at home because I won't have to do anything after work, or I will not have to work after job. Thats the huge reason I want to switch because I want my head to be calm. Also this job is kinda guaranteed because its almost linked to government so its hard to get fired or government cannot be shut down, so Its almost guaranteed that I will get my salary on time and there wont be times that I struggle to get my salary.I will be able to get House loan or get any loans from banks because I will be guaranteed to work many years so I can trust myself to take money because I know I will get my salary on time to pay back.
Here I made a list on pros/cons for me on both jobs.
my current job as f.e. developer: PROS (my POV)
- my salary is 30% higher than the new job opportunity and I get increases often.
- I have a desk and environment which I like
- I am working while sitting
- we get good enjoyable time which we every week spend couple hours as team to enjoy, like watching movies, playing games together, going to eat together, its like a mandatory team activity sessions but we all like that and we really enjoy this
- my team is around my age and I really like them, they are very colorful, we have many kind of people that I enjoy spending my time with, I can make friends here easily,
- my boss is a good man and he accepts many requests,
- i am a liked person in the office the other people like me and see me as a friend I don't know if the people will like me at the other job,
- my job is near my house so its easy for me to go to job in 15 minutes,
​
these were pros in my perspective, now for the cons, CONS (my POV)
- im not very well knowledged on this field so not many jobs accept me as I am now, so this may be the only job that I can work and if I have to leave this job somehow or sometime I cannot find a better job nor equal one with the same pros as this.
- i cannot find time to improve myself so I am standing where I am for years, I probably cannot be improving myself in the future, I tell myself to improve but it doesn't work. so same as the first con I probably cannot find equal job opportunities as like this if I leave here in the future ...
- sometimes our boss cannot pay us at the right time and delay us because of economic situations, since I am a young person who lives with his parents I can stand that but if I marry and had to pay taxes and rent I cannot stand getting my money late and I am getting older.
- since our salary is not stable I cannot take loans from banks to buy bigger things like houses or cars etc. I cannt marry or live my own life with this situation sometimes we get our salary after a month later.
- the job sometimes be very very stressful because sometimes we get hard task jobs and I work after working hours and weekends to close the gap and finish faster. and this hurts me.
- I get even more stressed because the days are unknown, for example I don't know what I will face that given day, I don't know which tasks will be assigned to me or what revisions will be made to websites I've made so starting the day unplanned and unknown hurts me and stresses me, also this tasks may be hard so it makes them more traumatic to me.
- and lastly our boss sometimes can be a hash on us not everytime but sometimes he can be harsh to us but even a little on this stress it effects much.
​
now my job opportunitiy as gardener, lets start with pros, PROS (my POV)
- i will be working with many people, so I will not be the focus on the job so instead of being a visible/main part of a small team, I will be a small part of a big team so my job may be easy or not important as like the current one. so the tasks will not depend on me and I will float in the space.
- i will be less stressed because the results of the job is not dramatic as like the current one and not important, so if I forget cutting some grass I don't think it would be more stressful and damaging than the current one.
- i will be getting my salary on time every month because the job is kinda linked to goverment, there is very small chance they delay us or get effected by the economy.
- my working hours will be 1 hour less than the current one which is 9-5
- my job won't require any brain power so I will be tired but not stressed to solve a problem.
- there are less chance to be fired or lose the job, like less than 1 percent, its almost like a guaranteed job for me compared to other one I can retire here if I want.
​
when we come to the negatives CONS (my POV)
​
- my coworkers will be older than me and will be less polite guys, they may be harsh or bad on me, they may see me as their child who they can yell or force to do work that I don't have to.
- I don't know exactly what I will do, so maybe job is hard for me as my psycial strenght wont be enough for it and they may yell at me.
- nothing may change on my life and I may get stressed about other small things that I cannot fix.
- someone on my current job may see me working and this may make me sad because of the statue difference.
- this job is far from my home and yet its 1 hour less than the current job but I may lost more time on roads traveling to job and coming back home so this 1 hour pros may be gone in this traveling time.
- my salary will be less than the current one, and won't be increasing so often. but the current one increases so often and doesn't have a limit.
- I may be get very tired after work and sleep everyday and won't have time to improve myself.
- I may be regret but I cannot come back to my current work.

This is a random idea that came to me from reading the Near-Tragedies of Venlil Prime: Outburst story. So, as a quick show of hands, who here is familiar with ADHD and the inverse stimulant effect?
I’ll assume that not everyone raised their hands.
Anyway, the inverse stimulant effect is where, under certain conditions, a stimulant will have an opposite effect from normal. As my brother likes to say, “we treat ADHD by microdosing meth,” and that is a pretty apt summary for what happens with my ADHD, albeit I also have a mug of highly caffeinated Moroccan mint black tea if I think that the day is going to be stressful. To connect this to NoP, it seems like some of the drugs that the cracklil was on might have been having a similar effect, and so I thought about substances having an opposite effect than usual on humans, and then I followed that down a winding train of thought and came up with the idea that an arxur chemical weapon meant to cause prey animals to completely lose any control over their fear response might actually be a cocktail of stuff like laughing gas and PCP.
So, I give you a scene that might eventually appear in Insertion, featuring an unfortunate Hansen. This does include a few plot elements that might appear later on, but it’s far in the future from the current arcs.
​
Primary memory transcription subject: Lee Hansen
They were in an extended engagement with a group of Arxur when Hansen suddenly smelled a slight… spiciness to the air. Gas. “everyone button up,” he shouted to the people crouched behind cover a little ways back, breaking into a hacking cough as he sealed his mask and keyed on the microphone inside of it. “They’ve got gas weapons!”
His vision swam as he spoke. Probably a nerve agent, a detached part of him deliberated as he fell to his knees. Much too late for us.
[DATA CORRUPTED]
​
Primary memory transcription subject: Zeleveya “Sylvia” of Tarn
As their leader collapsed, the assorted humans and venlil let out a scream and began to charge the Arxur. He had warned them, but at great cost. Sylvia hung back as the others pushed forward, hesitantly reaching out a hand before she abruptly stopped and keyed her comm to speak with their ship hiding in orbit.
“Overwatch, the grays have deployed chemical weapons,” Sylvia said briskly. “I need an analysis of the atmospheric readings that my suit is giving me.”
There was a brief moment of hesitation, before a cool, collected, and highly artificial voice responded to her. “A cocktail of various drugs in a gaseous state,” the ship’s computer answered. “Including but not limited to laughing gas and a variant of PCP. data suggests that Federation soldiers might know this as ‘clouds of fear.’”
Sylvia frowned underneath the helmet of her EVA suit, as she glanced down at Hansen’s form as he breathed laboriously. “What would the effects be on a human?”
“Nonlethal, but there will soon be uncontrollable laughter, incredibly dulled pain, a rage state and general psychosis for upwards of an hour,” the ship responded. “Captain Tarn, Hansen is an extremely skilled duellist. You cannot hope to subdue him if he starts acting erratically. I would suggest that you stay out of his way.”
Sylvia shook her head. “I’m an ally to him,” she said softly. “With human pack bonding, there’s very little that could subvert him against me.”
Then she heard the man begin to speak as a slight bit of laughter bubbled up from behind his mask. “I can’t lose control,” the human said repeatedly, his tone manic as he tried to suppress the laughter. “I can’t lose control, can’t lose control, need connection.”
“Need containment. Need direction, need–” Hansen stopped talking as a burst of laughter tore free from him, and he looked up towards where the arxur were emplaced. “I need an acceptable target,” he said with a moment of calm before he abruptly stood up and ripped his mask away with one hand whilst simultaneously drawing his rapier with the other. Laughter echoed across the small battlefield as a rictus grim twisted the human’s face. He charged towards the Arxur forces, shouting a terrifying declaration as he went.
“What ho, fellow sapients, are you enjoying having skin today?”
​
​
So, the arxur might start messing around with chemical weapons, and it might come back to bite them. Thoughts? Should I try and have this be a part of my fanfic?

Hello everyone, currently I live in UAE, but my GF is in Morocco right now, and I want to buy her a gift for her birthday (a Gucci perfume), but I think Amazon and the official Gucci store don't ship to Morocco, can you suggest me some online stores there that sells genuine products I can buy from?
Ps. I'm not Moroccan, so I have zero idea about online stores there.

Hi guys,
It will be a long question thanks to whom reads all of this and answers.
Im working as a frontend developer in a company right now, I am 24 years old and I am not experienced on my field. I cannot fit many jobs in this industry because lack of knowledge but the company I am working right now is using the technology that I am familiar with (old stuff). So I am working here with good conditions, I have my own desk, computer, I am working 9 to 6 on weekdays, my salary is above than the average monthly payment in my country and I get upgrades on my salary often. But the problem is, I am getting stressed on this job because sometimes I get hard tasks, and those tasks make me to work at home after work hours also on weekends, also I am sometimes stuck on the task because I am not very knowleded on this industry. I am still working with the knowledge I had 4 years ago. I don't improve myself. Also this job is not guaranteed which may end up anytime suddenly, I even sometimes couldn't get my salary on time because boss couldn't find enough money (financial issues and economic stuff) to pay us sometimes but he does the payment after all even tho its late.
But yet, its not guaranteed, I may get fired or the company may reduce salaries or even shut down. I cannot gurantee anyone that I will work here a full year... But the frontend industry itself is a good opportunity, if I improve myself I can get better jobs but I don't want to get stressed in this industry anymore because I know wheter I change this job to another, I will be stressed no matter what. And the other job will be hard. I want to be stress-free when I arrive at home. I don't want to think stuff on job before bed.
So I have another job opportunity at the moment. The job is so much different than the current one, which is gardening in a public park, the salary is less than the salary I am getting at the moment around 25-30%. Also its not a office job, I will be tired everyday from cutting grass, sweeping floor etc. The working hours is 9 to 5 on weekdays and same as current one no work on weekends. I will be tired at work but I will be calm and stress-free when I arrive at home because I won't have to do anything after work, or I will not have to work after job. Thats the huge reason I want to switch because I want my head to be calm. Also this job is kinda guaranteed because its almost linked to government so its hard to get fired or government cannot be shut down, so Its almost guaranteed that I will get my salary on time and there wont be times that I struggle to get my salary.I will be able to get House loan or get any loans from banks because I will be guaranteed to work many years so I can trust myself to take money because I know I will get my salary on time to pay back.
Here I made a list on pros/cons for me on both jobs.
my current job as f.e. developer: PROS (my POV)
- my salary is 30% higher than the new job opportunity and I get increases often.
- I have a desk and environment which I like
- I am working while sitting
- we get good enjoyable time which we every week spend couple hours as team to enjoy, like watching movies, playing games together, going to eat together, its like a mandatory team activity sessions but we all like that and we really enjoy this
- my team is around my age and I really like them, they are very colorful, we have many kind of people that I enjoy spending my time with, I can make friends here easily,
- my boss is a good man and he accepts many requests,
- i am a liked person in the office the other people like me and see me as a friend I don't know if the people will like me at the other job,
- my job is near my house so its easy for me to go to job in 15 minutes,
​
these were pros in my perspective, now for the cons, CONS (my POV)
- im not very well knowledged on this field so not many jobs accept me as I am now, so this may be the only job that I can work and if I have to leave this job somehow or sometime I cannot find a better job nor equal one with the same pros as this.
- i cannot find time to improve myself so I am standing where I am for years, I probably cannot be improving myself in the future, I tell myself to improve but it doesn't work. so same as the first con I probably cannot find equal job opportunities as like this if I leave here in the future ...
- sometimes our boss cannot pay us at the right time and delay us because of economic situations, since I am a young person who lives with his parents I can stand that but if I marry and had to pay taxes and rent I cannot stand getting my money late and I am getting older.
- since our salary is not stable I cannot take loans from banks to buy bigger things like houses or cars etc. I cannt marry or live my own life with this situation sometimes we get our salary after a month later.
- the job sometimes be very very stressful because sometimes we get hard task jobs and I work after working hours and weekends to close the gap and finish faster. and this hurts me.
- I get even more stressed because the days are unknown, for example I don't know what I will face that given day, I don't know which tasks will be assigned to me or what revisions will be made to websites I've made so starting the day unplanned and unknown hurts me and stresses me, also this tasks may be hard so it makes them more traumatic to me.
- and lastly our boss sometimes can be a hash on us not everytime but sometimes he can be harsh to us but even a little on this stress it effects much.
​
now my job opportunitiy as gardener, lets start with pros, PROS (my POV)
- i will be working with many people, so I will not be the focus on the job so instead of being a visible/main part of a small team, I will be a small part of a big team so my job may be easy or not important as like the current one. so the tasks will not depend on me and I will float in the space.
- i will be less stressed because the results of the job is not dramatic as like the current one and not important, so if I forget cutting some grass I don't think it would be more stressful and damaging than the current one.
- i will be getting my salary on time every month because the job is kinda linked to goverment, there is very small chance they delay us or get effected by the economy.
- my working hours will be 1 hour less than the current one which is 9-5
- my job won't require any brain power so I will be tired but not stressed to solve a problem.
- there are less chance to be fired or lose the job, like less than 1 percent, its almost like a guaranteed job for me compared to other one I can retire here if I want.
​
when we come to the negatives CONS (my POV)
​
- my coworkers will be older than me and will be less polite guys, they may be harsh or bad on me, they may see me as their child who they can yell or force to do work that I don't have to.
- I don't know exactly what I will do, so maybe job is hard for me as my psycial strenght wont be enough for it and they may yell at me.
- nothing may change on my life and I may get stressed about other small things that I cannot fix.
- someone on my current job may see me working and this may make me sad because of the statue difference.
- this job is far from my home and yet its 1 hour less than the current job but I may lost more time on roads traveling to job and coming back home so this 1 hour pros may be gone in this traveling time.
- my salary will be less than the current one, and won't be increasing so often. but the current one increases so often and doesn't have a limit.
- I may be get very tired after work and sleep everyday and won't have time to improve myself.
- I may be regret but I cannot come back to my current work.

Sorry if this seems incoherent, I'm rushing this out and I don't really know where to start. The biggest problem right now is a porn addiction. I've been addicted since I was 14 and I can't stop. I feel so hopeless and it's completely out of control. I've considered suicide over this more times than I can count.
I also have a self harm problem. I go through phases where I feel negative emotions very strongly. In order to counter those emotions and make them manageable, I self harm. Sometimes I do it impulsively (punching myself in the head), other times I put more effort in by doing things like cutting myself on my thighs and arms
I said phases earlier, because I go through phases of negativity and extreme creativity. Here are some examples of the extreme creativity

• Making beats. I became so obsessed with beat making that I never actually made any if that made sense. I spent more time hoarding music samples and watching other people make beats than do it myself.
  
• Exercise. I became obsessed with getting into shape. There was a heatwave in the UK last summer, people were telling us not to go out. I ignored every warning people gave me just to go on a mile run. I was totally obsessed and even invested money in running gear.
  

Every "creative" or "good" phase, I feel very happy and passionate. Sometimes I find it hard to sleep because I am just so excited to continue my project the next day
Each time I enter and leave a phase (lasting about month in length each), it's very extreme. It's not a gradual loss/gain in interest, it's literally waking up and becoming obsessed with some random bullshit. And once the month is over I wake up and want nothing to do with it and feel down and unmotivated all the time.
I made a thread on askParents and they suggested bipolar. I am undiagnosed and I'm not convinced I have it. This is a recent thing (age 16+).
Lastly, the porn addiction. I'm not excepting DMs and comments talking about how porn/masturbation is good for you or good in moderation. I don't give a shit. It appears some redditors feel like it's a personal attack when someone doesn't like porn and wants to quit. This is NOT a religious thing, this is a personal choice.
This porn addiction has destroyed me. I nearly killed myself in January. When schools broke up in December for christmas, I edged for 2 hours. When I finished, my eyes were heavy and my dick was sore. An hour later I relapsed again. I decided I was going to live through Christmas and kill myself the day before I went back to school. Luckily I got a good streak in and a change of heart. Every time I relapse (which is VERY often) I feel suicidal. I know all these techniques on how to quit porn, I have helped people on forums with how to use them. It's ironic how I spend so much time helping others with this addiction but I can't fucking help myself.
To me, the porn escalation is the worst part. Escalation is when your brain gets bored of a type of porn so you begin to crave more extreme material.
I don't know too much about Dr K, but he seems very helpful so far. This community seems very friendly as well. I hope this post fits here well, I'm sorry for writing so much.

Hi guys,
It will be a long question thanks to whom reads all of this and answers.
Im working as a frontend developer in a company right now, I am 24 years old and I am not experienced on my field. I cannot fit many jobs in this industry because lack of knowledge but the company I am working right now is using the technology that I am familiar with (old stuff). So I am working here with good conditions, I have my own desk, computer, I am working 9 to 6 on weekdays, my salary is above than the average monthly payment in my country and I get upgrades on my salary often. But the problem is, I am getting stressed on this job because sometimes I get hard tasks, and those tasks make me to work at home after work hours also on weekends, also I am sometimes stuck on the task because I am not very knowleded on this industry. I am still working with the knowledge I had 4 years ago. I don't improve myself. Also this job is not guaranteed which may end up anytime suddenly, I even sometimes couldn't get my salary on time because boss couldn't find enough money (financial issues and economic stuff) to pay us sometimes but he does the payment after all even tho its late.
But yet, its not guaranteed, I may get fired or the company may reduce salaries or even shut down. I cannot gurantee anyone that I will work here a full year... But the frontend industry itself is a good opportunity, if I improve myself I can get better jobs but I don't want to get stressed in this industry anymore because I know wheter I change this job to another, I will be stressed no matter what. And the other job will be hard. I want to be stress-free when I arrive at home. I don't want to think stuff on job before bed.
So I have another job opportunity at the moment. The job is so much different than the current one, which is gardening in a public park, the salary is less than the salary I am getting at the moment around 25-30%. Also its not a office job, I will be tired everyday from cutting grass, sweeping floor etc. The working hours is 9 to 5 on weekdays and same as current one no work on weekends. I will be tired at work but I will be calm and stress-free when I arrive at home because I won't have to do anything after work, or I will not have to work after job. Thats the huge reason I want to switch because I want my head to be calm. Also this job is kinda guaranteed because its almost linked to government so its hard to get fired or government cannot be shut down, so Its almost guaranteed that I will get my salary on time and there wont be times that I struggle to get my salary.I will be able to get House loan or get any loans from banks because I will be guaranteed to work many years so I can trust myself to take money because I know I will get my salary on time to pay back.
Here I made a list on pros/cons for me on both jobs.
my current job as f.e. developer: PROS (my POV)
- my salary is 30% higher than the new job opportunity and I get increases often.
- I have a desk and environment which I like
- I am working while sitting
- we get good enjoyable time which we every week spend couple hours as team to enjoy, like watching movies, playing games together, going to eat together, its like a mandatory team activity sessions but we all like that and we really enjoy this
- my team is around my age and I really like them, they are very colorful, we have many kind of people that I enjoy spending my time with, I can make friends here easily,
- my boss is a good man and he accepts many requests,
- i am a liked person in the office the other people like me and see me as a friend I don't know if the people will like me at the other job,
- my job is near my house so its easy for me to go to job in 15 minutes,
​
these were pros in my perspective, now for the cons, CONS (my POV)
- im not very well knowledged on this field so not many jobs accept me as I am now, so this may be the only job that I can work and if I have to leave this job somehow or sometime I cannot find a better job nor equal one with the same pros as this.
- i cannot find time to improve myself so I am standing where I am for years, I probably cannot be improving myself in the future, I tell myself to improve but it doesn't work. so same as the first con I probably cannot find equal job opportunities as like this if I leave here in the future ...
- sometimes our boss cannot pay us at the right time and delay us because of economic situations, since I am a young person who lives with his parents I can stand that but if I marry and had to pay taxes and rent I cannot stand getting my money late and I am getting older.
- since our salary is not stable I cannot take loans from banks to buy bigger things like houses or cars etc. I cannt marry or live my own life with this situation sometimes we get our salary after a month later.
- the job sometimes be very very stressful because sometimes we get hard task jobs and I work after working hours and weekends to close the gap and finish faster. and this hurts me.
- I get even more stressed because the days are unknown, for example I don't know what I will face that given day, I don't know which tasks will be assigned to me or what revisions will be made to websites I've made so starting the day unplanned and unknown hurts me and stresses me, also this tasks may be hard so it makes them more traumatic to me.
- and lastly our boss sometimes can be a hash on us not everytime but sometimes he can be harsh to us but even a little on this stress it effects much.
​
now my job opportunitiy as gardener, lets start with pros, PROS (my POV)
- i will be working with many people, so I will not be the focus on the job so instead of being a visible/main part of a small team, I will be a small part of a big team so my job may be easy or not important as like the current one. so the tasks will not depend on me and I will float in the space.
- i will be less stressed because the results of the job is not dramatic as like the current one and not important, so if I forget cutting some grass I don't think it would be more stressful and damaging than the current one.
- i will be getting my salary on time every month because the job is kinda linked to goverment, there is very small chance they delay us or get effected by the economy.
- my working hours will be 1 hour less than the current one which is 9-5
- my job won't require any brain power so I will be tired but not stressed to solve a problem.
- there are less chance to be fired or lose the job, like less than 1 percent, its almost like a guaranteed job for me compared to other one I can retire here if I want.
​
when we come to the negatives CONS (my POV)
​
- my coworkers will be older than me and will be less polite guys, they may be harsh or bad on me, they may see me as their child who they can yell or force to do work that I don't have to.
- I don't know exactly what I will do, so maybe job is hard for me as my psycial strenght wont be enough for it and they may yell at me.
- nothing may change on my life and I may get stressed about other small things that I cannot fix.
- someone on my current job may see me working and this may make me sad because of the statue difference.
- this job is far from my home and yet its 1 hour less than the current job but I may lost more time on roads traveling to job and coming back home so this 1 hour pros may be gone in this traveling time.
- my salary will be less than the current one, and won't be increasing so often. but the current one increases so often and doesn't have a limit.
- I may be get very tired after work and sleep everyday and won't have time to improve myself.
- I may be regret but I cannot come back to my current work.

Today is tough. It's tough to continually put up with so much hate. People want to hate on me for so many fucking things. Like they make fun of and put me down for so fucking much. They fucking put me down for wearing skinny jeans, for no teeth,for my fucking hat,the way I fucking walk, the music I like. They fucking hate my singing, they fucking hate my whistling, they hate because I don't fucking lie,they hate because I don't fucking steal,because I want to stay clean, they cockblock me from every female around me. Just because they can. Well,excuse the fuck outta me you hatin ass coward mother fucking bitches. And every time I leave my space, my shit (even ripped opener my fucking pillows) is violated and searched at will. I am powerless over the shit because I don't want to be homeless or in jail so I just gotta vent. None of you bitch made cowardly mother fuckers can steal anything from me. Not in front of my face. Nah you a bitch cowards that use fake ass ways to steal my shit when im6at work or in the shower or at the store. I simply cannot spread a message of hate. I feel sorry for ya for real. It must be horrible to be those kind of people. Always lying,stealing, and hating. I am going to pray for you today. I'm sorry that your lives are so fucked up and thanks for taking out on a real man with discipline and compassion and empathy and love and understanding and intelligence and perseverance as a lesser person would already have fucked yell up. Today I choose to stare at the beautiful women at my meeting and listen to a message that iss foreign to your ears. Because now I know for sure what's up and I forgive you today. Had to get that toxicity out. See,today I choose not to hurt you back. Today I choose love and kindness and understanding and compassion. Today I exhale negativity and breathe in positivity and imma keep coming back. Because today I'm a man. Today I'm clean.

You were the amber that caught me on fire, You felt it too.
I warn myself not to get near But I played a fool, With the warmth of the flames I flew too close to the sun Risking my wings burning off.
Be prepared to be blinded, Be prepared to get scorched, In the midst of the ashes, In the midst of the growth.
Pay me a visit, A night on the road, A song in a playlist, With the letter I wrote.
I felt a spark When there wasn’t a flame, A painful move With a smile on my face.
I was an escape To the death of your heart, You were my sign To a fresh new start
I wasn’t the cure To your brokenness Only a remedy, In my hopelessness. When you hit rock bottom I was at an all time high, You made yourself whole By tearing me apart.
The blow soften, The years came and went But I still think Of when I should have left.
You caught me on fire, You felt it too.

Can anyone help give any information about this ring? It reminds me of a cornucopia spilling out gems lol. I really know nothing about it except for the back story posted below. Its definitely old. It has a 24k gold stamp that is almost completely worn down. It has no other stamps/makers marks. The diamonds are old mine cut, & they are real. Under a loupe at 60x you can see some very small inclusions. They also test positive for Diamond on Diamond tester. I have no idea if the rubies are legit or not. I don’t know much about rubies or red gemstones at all. They test in Diamond range on Diamond tester. They are square & step cut. Very clear, can see right thru them, with some inclusions like needling/silk.. some surface blemishes on some of the stones. Tried to scratch test them but they scratched glass. Could they be glass filled rubies or spinel? Garnet? Tourmaline? I just don’t know. Any idea on the origin of the ring? The old mine cut diamonds and 24k gold setting make me think it really is very old. I would love to know the period of time it came from or anything to point me in the right direction.
Back Story of how I got it - Almost 10 years ago, I met up with an older lady off fb marketplace to purchase a vintage solid 18k gold ring.. her listing didn’t mention it being 18k and neither did she when I got there. She simply referred to it as a gaudy man’s ring lol. I mentioned it being a cool vintage style ring and she explained that it was owned by her father since at least the mid-late 80s. She seemed to appreciate my admiration for the vintage find & said if I really do like old stuff then she had another piece she wanted to show me. She brought this ring out. She said it was even older than the first one.. that her father owned it her whole life since she could remember and believed it to be passed down to him by relatives prior but wasn’t really sure. She didn’t really seem to care about the value or history of either of them, just that they were among several pieces she inherited and that these just sat in a box cuz they were “too ugly to wear” so it was time to part with them.
I asked her if she had gotten this one appraised and she said no, after her dad left it to her, it went into her jewelry box and never saw the light of day again. There was a pawn shop on the corner near her house and I asked if she had taken them there and she kinda ranted a bit about how she brought a gold necklace there and they offered her much less than it was worth melted & that everything in there was grossly overpriced so she would never offer them any more of her business. She ended up selling both rings to me for like 60 bucks total.

I'm annoyed and Idk who else to talk to. I'm a sahp to an almost 3yo and a 7mo baby. It's been pretty rough for me to manage them both since the baby was born, as the toddler is extremely wild and strong willed, and the baby is very clingy. It's been a rough combo. Anyway, my husband and I came up with the idea to put her in a part time preschool, and the best option we found was a daycare near our house that is surprisingly affordable compared to other options. She gets bored at home, especially bc I struggle to take her an baby out at the same time, plus she loves to socialize with other kids, and we thought maybe this would teach her to listen a little bit and cooperate. She doesn't listen to us or cooperate at all. Anyway.
So we talked to this local daycare and they told us the care is available from 8:30-4:30 each day. I didn't think it was probably going to be necessary to have her in there 8 hours, so I made sure to ask if they actually need her there all day, or if there are any minimum attendance requirements. The director said no, you can drop her off late or pick her up early, it doesn't matter. The 8:30-4:30 is just the maximum hours we could send her. Ok cool. My husband is gone for work like 7:30-5:30 so he can't drop her off or pick her up unfortunately.
So I figured I would try a few different things. I wanted to get her there around 9am so she could be a part of free play and the morning activities (they follow a schedule). However I tried that and it always bumped up against the baby's nap when we were trying to get out of the house. So the baby would be screaming while I'm trying to get my toddler dressed and out the door, which stressed me out a ton.
So I decided to try just taking her later in the mornings after baby's nap. I showed up with both kids around 11 am one day and the teacher stopped me at the door. She wouldn't let us in the building bc we had arrived "after the cutoff time" of 9:30 am. Ummm what? Ok so I explained to her that I wasn't aware of that and asked if I could have an exception for the day bc I needed to take my baby to the doctor. Nope, they refused to make an exception.
Ok so this pissed me off. I talked to the director about it the next day and she explained it's fine to bring my daughter anytime but I need to let them know in advance if I'll be after 9:30 so they know whether to count her in for lunch. I told them I was probably going to send her later every day and they said just message them each day before 9:30 and let them know. Um, annoying, but ok. So that's what I've been doing for a few weeks now.
Today I drop my daughter off at 11 and immediately after the teachers send me a message asking if I can start bringing her earlier bc she is missing circle time and morning activity. I haven't responded yet. I'm annoyed. Like obviously this just isnt a good fit but why didn't they just tell me that from the start?
Now I want to just cancel it but my husband suddenly says he can change his schedule to start doing drop off. So I guess we'll see how that goes. He has a history of making these types of offers and then not following thru. I'm just annoyed at the situation. I've been struggling and the solutions we keep trying just come with their own set of problems!! Rant over!!

TL;DR - GP thinks i don't have ADD becuase i had good grades in school, despite my displaying other symptoms like, chronic procrastination, forgetfulness, time blindness and fidgety, but she agve me a referral letter for anxiety. Scared to see Psychiatrist now maybe they wont help me. Anyone with experience getting diagnosed for ADD in Malaysia?
Hi everyone. 24 M here. I have finally come to a realisation that i might have a problem and am prepared to see a psychiatrist. The thing is, even if i had troube doing my homeworks and completing assignments before deadline, i have always been a 'gifted student'. Straight As in primary school and 7As in SPM. Althought i failed my maths in form 3 and barely passed in SPM.
But unintentionally, the education system has been extremely accommodating to my style of studying. Not paying attention in class irrelevant because the teacher will give notes in point forms or mind map and will tell exactly what to study, and what topics to focus, which helped me do well in exams. I will always cram my homeworks in the morning assembly and recess time. Sometimes it wont be enough and i will get in trouble. Every parent teacher meeting, the comment will be, "Gifted student but needs to work on attitude and discipline. Always doesnt complete homeworks".
Everything fell apart when i went to Uni and was left on my own, no more notes and guidance given by teachers. I had to do everything on my own. I can't keep my atention for more than 10 minutes during lectures, i don't know what information to derive from the lecture slides, struggling with deadlines. One day, I was sittign there struggling to focus on an assignmet that wasn't entertaining to my brain to the point where i was in tears. That's when i decided to see my guidance counselor. After 4 weeks of sessions she suggested that i go see a psyciatrist and i'm displaying ADHD symptoms. And it might have gone unnoticed during childhood because ADD is not as noticeable as ADHD because there's no hyperactivity. This was last year.
Fast forward to last week, After nearly a year of procrastinating, I finally got my arse up and went to a GP to get a referral letter. She asked a few questions and she was like "ok, uhumm.. ok. So i don't think you have adhd becuase you have good grades but to me it looks more like behavioural issues for you".
I'm sick of people telling me i'm lazy and that I "have to try harder", "be more disciplined" because that's what i've been trying to do my whole life and i have clearly failed. I might have good grades but other aspects of my life is falling apart and i need help. I'm scared to go to a psychiatrist because if they had the same mindset as my GP, i might not get the help i need and that would break me.
So i wanted to ask you guys, are any of you diagnosed with ADHD/ADD at a later (adult) age? How was the process like and will my being a 'gofted student' affect the outcomes? I'm really scared and anxious thinking about it. I got the referral letter last week but yet to see a psychiatrist. I know. i'm procrastinating and i need to move my arse but any tips or reassurance from you guys might be helpful. Thanks

(The Giving Tree is written by Shel Silverstein, The Hanging Tree is by Suzanne Collins)
“Grandma.”
He chuckled, and called again.
“Graaaaaaaandma.”
Hey where was she, he was a smol, wide eyed childgen snuggled up in bed with his red and white patchwork quilt with his Raggedy Ann doll who contrary to popular belief, was NOT HAUNTED and instead infused with good dreams and good vibes.
Good vibes which included Amon’s grandma READING HIM A FUCKING BEDTI-
Her head peeked through the door, glasses wobbling on her pointed nose. She huffed and puffed, and Amon had a twinge of consciousness, a ‘oh wait I’m in better health than her maybe I should be nice,’ sort of feeling.
He then realized that as a child, he was entitled to entitlement, and threw that notion out the window and into the dumpster, where it rested with other bad ideas like, ‘hey let's make a Bible version of dungeons and dragons, or literally anything else that we find morally reprehensible yeah that’ll hinder sales if we tell people to not do this cool thing that is totally bad for you and will result in your eyes being gouged out by Satan’s asshole.’
He, of course, didn’t voice any of this. Because, above fear of God, he had a fear of grandma.
“Did someone say they wanted a bedtime story! Well, by golly, do I have a story for you!”
He paused, “Is it Narnia?”
She narrowed her eyes at him, setting the book that she held behind her down, “Of course not dear! I would never put my preferences over yours, my oh so picky critic who whittles down what stories I read to you with the sharpest razor I’ve ever seen. I am only here to cater to your preferences because your time is the most valuable in all the world!”
He squirmed under the blanket, “....Look, I hate to admit that you’re right but can you not be right.”
“It’s a talent of mine.”
Why can’t I have come out of the womb as a fully mature adult so I can debate grandma to death into an early grave?
Then another thought came.
Wait, I don't want her to die. She loves me or some shit and I think that’s good.
He gulped, attempting to sound less…full of himself, “Could you um…if possible…by any chance.”
“Spit it out sonny if my hearing gets any worse I’ll have to get some robotic implants and do you really want grandma being the catalyst for the AI uprising?”
Please for the love of God nobody let this women near any missile turrets.
“COULD YOU MAKE UP A STORY FOR ME YOU HAVE A NICE VOICE AND IT HELPS ME SLEEP PLEASE GRANDMA THROW ME A BONE HERE.”
“.....I could throw you a dislocated hip.”
Amon squinted, “You’re going to need those in ten years when your bones start fossilizing.”
She patted his back, “Ten years! You’re very generous, in fact those bones of yours with the freshest marrow look….quite appetizing for a geezer like me!”
“All the better to eat me with?”
“Exactly!”
The night went on, a star or two who hadn’t twinkled out to dream land like he had standing in the heavens, wisps of gray clouds swirling round the moon. He could hear the caw of a crow or two, probably picking off the dead racoons left on the road because of grandma’s driving.
Damned dumpster drivers had it coming.
Grandma leaned back in her rocking chair, its faded brown surface creaking as she swished back n’ forth in it. She folded her arms, closed her eyes, and let out a yawn as she flipped a lightswitch, the thin, pale beams of the moon shining through the shudders.
And the heater chugged along like a train, blanketing them both into a slow, dreary slumber,
Grandma began her story.
“Once upon a time, there was a brave knight. So brave in fact, that he didn’t squirm when doctors, who may or may not have been vampires, took his blood, and always opened up his mouth wide for the dentist when they wanted to see his pearly whites! And the king sent him off on many a quest, to save all the damsels in distress because the king had a bad habit of keeping a harem. After all, in those days, monogamy was a myth.”
Amon wondered if the king was based on grandma’s love life.
“The knight loved his king, so why wouldn’t he serve him? Even as the wounds piled up like a pile of rusty coins, infection creeping up on his flesh as the doctors prescribed him leeches and his blood turned to ice. Even as each step became an insurmountable mountain, he had a duty to serve his king, and the king loved him too, right? There was something beyond that icy stare? Some glimpse of hope, a spark of love? Yet they say be careful of he who slays beasts, lest he become a beast himself.”
She paused, and Amon shivered, like the mist creeping outside was the last dying wisps of smoke from the maw of a decaying dragon.
If the time came, would he be able to slay his demons?
“The knight’s greatest beast he would never slay was the one sitting upon the gilded throne. One day, he outlived his usefulness.”
The silence hung in the air. Amon wondered how long it took for the man’s flesh to be wrent from his shoulders.
He shivered, tears barely restrained, as grandma pulled him in.
“Never let anyone tell you how to be. Never do anything someone else wouldn’t do for you back. This world will want to beat you down and spit you out but I know you’re stronger than that.”
She got up, patting his head as the moon glinted in her spectacles and she grinned back with a fiery stare of her own.
One day, Amon would share it, for she had long since kinded the flame in his heart.
Burn, my grandson. Burn and show this world what you made of. Show them what I see in you, what you don’t see in yourself.
One day, you will.
One day, you will know how to look in the mirror and say, ‘I love you.”
“.....Could the knight have saved himself?”
“Every story has an end. Just….make sure yours is a good one.”
Nearing the end of her days, wondering the length of the shadow she’d cast, and if it brought others shade.
She hobbled off. The door shut behind her.
………God we are both overdramatic as fuck aren’t we.
Amon reminded himself to tell grandma to lay off the old testament for a while. She didn’t need that kind of toxic masculinity in her life.
_________
“You know, I’m going to tell you a story this time!”
Amon was waving a pencil, not because he was going to write God forbid anybody see his handwriting no siree, but rather when his hands were flailing and the unsharpened point was ready to fly from his fingers at any second and impale someone’s eye the creative juices were flowin and his imaginative boat was rowing and sure it may sink once or twice along the way but that was just apart of the creative process!
That, and procrastinate on writing said story for two goddamn weeks and when you went over your plot notes you wondered who this madman was who’d seized your journal and favorite fountain pen.
“It’s about time! You think I have time to keep running my lips Mr. I’m young and needy and I want to drive grandma into dehydration because I want to turn one bedtime story into fifteen?”
Amon averted his gaze, “Can I just say that you’re the greatest woman I’ve ever known and I hope I can have one ounce of your creativity so I can inspire the masses with the love and forgiveness you demonstrate so all the little children, not including me because five foot one and a half is not little by any means thank you very much…”
Napoleon complex much, sonny?
“And through all these wonderful…”, he coughed, “Parables I can conjure up surely everyone can and will find Jesus?”
He gave her the baby blue puppy dog eyes. She melted.
But she really didn’t want to.
“Has anyone told you that flattery will get you everywhere?”
“Yes, actually, you did.”
“Damn right,” she mentally gave her past self a pat on the back.
And Amon struck a match, lighting the fireplace with its grizzled logs, silvery bark peeled back as flames licked their sides all over. He cuddled up with grandma on the oversized recliner, leaning back. Eyes closed.
Like he could see, like he could taste and touch and smell and hear the story unfolding in his mind’s eye.
“Once, there was a tree, and she loved a little boy.”
It was growing now, its roots feeding into the forest. Birds came here to lay their young and worms burrowed in her rich soil beneath. Squirrels always found the best holes in her trunk to bury their nuts in, snuggled up all cozy as the wind battered her outsides but the tree saw that wind and told it where it could shove it cause no breeze would take away her warmth! She was happy and she liked it that way!
“And every day the boy would come, and he would gather her leaves, making them into crowns to play king of the forest.”
The squirrels were scampering away and here he came charging through the grass and falling into the bushes headfirst! He could take and take and take and twist those twigs and thorns into a wooden circlet befitting the child prince. And if he craned his ears he could even hear the fae sparkling and laughing and merrymaking as they poured wine from goblets neverending and gossiped about that adorable little child over there let’s go visit him no wait we can’t interact with humans can we kidnap him NO KIDNAPPING IS BAD.
Remember what happened with a midsummers night's dream, there’s a precedent for this shit!
“He would climb up her trunk, and swing from her branches.”
Don’t look down, whatever you do don’t look down like a tumbling sack of apples about to go splaaaaat. Climbing up to see the forest was definitely a good idea and you’re not going to throw up whatsoever.
“And eat apples, and they would play hide and seek.”
“Ready or not, here I cooome!”
“.....Oh, you’re right behind me.”
“I don’t think hide and seek is the best game if one party doesn’t have legs.”
“.......”
“And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade.”
“I don’t want to go home, I want to stay with you but it’s getting dark and there’s monsters prowling about!”
“Whenever you are with me, I promise, I will keep you safe.”
And the boy stared up in wide eyed wonder.
“You….you…really mean that?”
She bowed her great head, leaves falling on his face, embracing him in a branch, pulling him close.
“I love you. And I don’t let harm come to those I love.”
“And the boy loved the tree very, very much.”
He pressed himself against grandma’s warm, woolen, side. She smelled like peppermint.
“The tree was happy."
He sighed, and Amon looked down, shivering. The clock went tick, tick, tick, and he wondered if he blinked, if he’d miss the seconds passing by.
“But time went by.”
He grew up and the world wasn’t small anymore. It wasn’t good to just imagine, you could no longer play pretend, you had to have a purpose for your life and fill that aching void that’d grown in your heart, didn’t you feel it beating? Take, take, take, my boy, you’re number one and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Forget about the tree, that withered shrub has nothing for you except to be food for the worms.
“And the boy grew older.”
He peered into grandma’s gaze. How many people had she lost over the years, and what hole did they leave in their absence?
“And he wanted. But that want wasn’t just a I want this colorful toy off the shelf, gimme, gimme, gimme. No, this was a need.”
“I am too busy to climb trees.”
“I want a house to keep me warm.”
But that little boy was left unheard, to just go back to the simpler times when he could just be a boy she could just be his tree. He was worthless and if he just had what everyone else had maybe it’d feel better, if he could raze and tear and break down the tears would stop flowing and the sirens would stop blaring and everything would just fucking shut down, for just one second please, for the love of God, be still.
“I want you. I want you in my life and you’re so far away but I think that’s just me.”
So he ripped the tree down and shed her emerald coat of leaves and wrent her into a stump so for himself he had a home. Her apples laid moldering and discarded, and maybe if he had cast their seeds out into the brush they both wouldn’t have been so lonely anymore.
“And he met the end of his days and they both had nothing left. She asked, ‘What more do you want of me?’ He didn’t know anymore.”
“Would you like to rest?”
He sat down on her stump.
And the tree was happy.
Amon sniffled, then there was snot. He shivered and wrapped his teensie head in his legs and grandma yanked him on over to her side and held him close and he ugly cried and she wailed right with him.
She hoped he knew it was okay to cry, so long as there was a crazy bitch like her to cry with him.
And finally he wiped his nose, eyes puffy, before he looked down, murmuring, “....I don’t deserve you.” Her heart sunk right along with his and she wondered where he learned that self loathing.
Was it by design?
The wind picked up and her’s fell, the wooden, mossy floorboards outside, the red paved bricks littered with cracked nuts and wilted flower petals, creaking right along with her.
“Are you, are you, coming to the tree?”
I could see, grandma and I, sitting there together on that worn stump. And maybe if you turned back the years you’d see the tree at the height of its youth with the freshest apples and sap running for miles. I’d be running too.
I knew who’d be watching and egging me on along the way.
“Where they strung up a man, said he murdered three.”
“Strange things have happened here, no stranger would they be
If we met at midnight, in the hanging tree”
Her dad taught her that song so long ago, with whiskey under his breath and a revolver at his belt. He might have been one who knew how to drink and drink till he dropped but he sure damn as well knew when to pour out, lest he become bloated for others’ sake.
“I never want you to become like that man, I never want you to love someone so much it comes at the expense of yourself.”
Amon’s voice was an echo.
“Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
Where I told you to run, so we’d both be tree?
Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be
If we met at midnight in the hanging tree.”
Was the tree’s greatest sin, the inability to say no?
What befalls us when we answer yes?
But if I take and take and take from grandma what shall I have left?
“GRAAAAAANDMA!”
Amon sniffled.
“Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee?
Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be
If we met at midnight in the hanging tree.”
Her singing became a flurry of notes, tapering out to the breeze.
It was quiet.
“I’m here grandma.”
They stood up and he took her hand.
“Let’s go to that tree together.”
And the grandma was happy.

so everytime i get a new phone contract it lasts two years. at the end of the two years the phone mysteriously stops working. Currently letters on my keyboard have stopped working.
Im posting here to see how many people find their phones die at the end of the contract.
You could blame me but i honestly feel like it happens every two years, think back to how often your phone seemed to brick up on you near the end of a contract .
I keep my phone in good condition, but as soon as i get those warning emails that my contracts coming to an end. I think great I can get all my data and stuff on a different plan, spending way less money each month.
However its always around this time that the phone now has a software glitch that could be water damage, could be any damage. Apart from the fact that you didn't wet your waterproof phone and you didnt drop it and it has a case. Honestly you wake up one morning two years later and its fucked.
so we all know about this concept, that our devices are made to break so we have to buy more. it's not ridiculous, a repeat business model is usually the only sustainable model. Anyone questioning this look up the light bulb that's been running for over. a hundred years. It's not a conspiracy, they perfected the light bulb but realised they cant make any money on a bulb that lasts forever. Many many examples of this in history.

Timestamp
Hey everyone,
Getting rid of most of my 35mm film collection because I need the money.
Please refer to the table below for quantities and prices. I will do my best to update this as promptly as I can, work and other duties permitting. Here goes...
New/unexpired/1-2 years post-dated 35mm film

Stock	Rolls available	Price per roll	Notes
Portra 400	9	$12	Sealed pro pack of 5, 4 loose rolls
Portra 800	8	$14
Portra 160	5	$12	Sealed pro pack of 5
Ektar 100	6	$13
Gold 200	6	$10 SOLD	Sealed packs of 3
Superia 400	6	$9	Sealed packs of 3
Superia Premium 400	6	$14
Pro Image 100	2	$9
Ultramax 400	2	$9
Lomo 800	2	$14
Lomo 400	8	$10	Sealed packs of 3, 2 loose rolls
Lomo 100	5	$8	Sealed pack of 3, 2 loose rolls
Cinestill 400D	3	$13
Ilford HP5	7	$7.50
Vision 250D	4	$9	Hand-rolled by a fellow redditor, with awesome leaders
Vision 500T	1	$9	Same
QWD 50D	2	$13

​
Expired 35mm film

Stock	Rolls available	Price per roll	Expiration, notes
Superia 1600	4	$35	2016. This is the same stuff as Natura 1600!
Fuji Reala (ISO 100)	4	$30 SOLD	2006
Fujicolor Press 800 aka Superia 800	5	$20	Early/mid 2000s
Fuji 800Z	3	$35	Early/mid 2000s
Ektachrome E200	1	$25	Likely early 2000s
Fuji Astia 100	1	$25	Likely early 2000s
Fuji Velvia 100	1	$25	Likely early 2000s
Fuji Sensia 100	1	$25	Likely early 2000s
Fuji Sensia 200	1	$25	Likely early 2000s

​
Important notes - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

• I'm not bundling film in larger lots of any sort - feel free to pick whatever you want in any quantity. That said, anything that's in a sealed pack will be sold as a pack only. Please refer to the table. Anything that doesn't mention sealed packs comes in loose rolls.
• Not all film is pictured! That doesn't mean it doesn't exist. If you have any doubts, please reach out and I'll provide photos of whatever's missing in the timestamp.
• US only, no international shipping.
• Shipping is extra and will be calculated based on your location. I will use USPS. Please allow 1-2 days for handling.
• I am located in NYC and will be happy to sell in person.
• PayPal F&F or Venmo is fine with me if it's fine with you. I have been a trusted seller here for quite a few years and I don't scam people. Please refer to my posting history on this sub. I'll happily do a video call for further confirmation.
• All prices are firm - but do DM me if you see anything egregious.
• If you'd like to purchase the whole entire lot, DM me and we'll talk about it. I'll see about a discount if you're going for a larger lot (at least 30 rolls).
• Everything has been stored in the fridge - and I do mean everything. All expired film has been frozen while in my possession, and I can confirm in most cases that it has been freeze-stored by the previous owner as well. I'm very careful with my expired film purchases. I've had great results so far with all expired film I had bought and shot, but YMMV, and I cannot guarantee anything.

That's all I got, RIP my inbox.

Just looking for some general advice for what to do next for my cards. In general I would like if it would be possible to simplify my card usage so I don't have to check quarterly categories so much and swap around which cards I'm using where as often. Also looking into whether it makes sense to go all in on one ecosystem, but that's even tougher to decipher.
CREDIT PROFILE

• Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of:
  • Citi Double Cash, $19,000 limit, opened 05/2016
  • Chase Freedom, $20,000 limit, opened 05/2016
  • Capital One Quicksilver, $10,000 limit, opened 05/2016
  • Bank of America Merrill+, $7,500 limit, opened 02/2017
  • Discover it, $8,000 limit, opened 08/2017
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred, $17,500 limit, opened 01/2023 (opened this just for bonus and for big travel expenses this year, I intend to product change it Chase Freedom Flex after the first year)
• FICO Scores with source: (note that scores took a small dip in Feb, scores for the past 6 months have all been closer to the Jan ones I'm listing)
  • Discover Credit Scorecard: 815 (Feb), 830 (Jan)
  • Citi FICO Score: 826 (Feb), 848 (Jan)
• Oldest credit card account age with you as primary name on the account: 6 years, 9 months
• Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 6 months: 1
• Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 12 months: 1
• Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 24 months: 1
• Annual income $: ~$180k

CATEGORIES

• OK with category-specific cards?: Yes
• OK with rotating category cards?: Yes, already do this with Chase Freedom/Discover it when rotating categories are convenient
• Dining $: ~$1,000
• Groceries $: ~$200-300
• Gas $: 0 (don't drive)
• Travel $:
  • Flights: $100 (currently just do one vacation a year, so this tends to be all spent at once)
  • Airbnb: $200 (probably the most variable one here, so this can possibly go up)
  • Hotels: $0 (personally I like Airbnbs more when traveling when possible)
  • Trains/Buses: ~$60
  • Lyft/Uber: $0-50
• Do you plan on using this card abroad for a significant length of time?: No
• Any other categories or stores with significant, regular credit card spend:
  • Amazon: $300
  • Phone: $30
  • Internet: $90
  • Gym: $90
• Any other significant, regular credit card spend you didn't include above?:
  • Pet Care: ~$100-200
  • Hobbies/entertainment: $~300-400
  • Fashion/clothes: ~$10,000 / YEAR (very high spending area for me as one of my main hobbies, but separated it to by year since I can often go months spending 0 then when a new season comes around or sales start my spending will go way up. Additionally some purchases here can involve foreign transactions so it can be nice to have a card with no fee there)
• Can you pay rent by credit card?: No

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS

• Current member of Amazon Prime?: Yes
• Current member of Costco or Sam's Club? Yes, Costco
• Current member of Chase, US Bank or any other big bank?:
  • Schwab (checking)
  • Ally (savings)

PURPOSE

• What's the purpose of your next card?: Travel Rewards, previously had been only really concerned with cash back but I would be interested in optimizing for better travel rewards if possible
• If you answered "travel rewards", do you have a preferred airline and/or hotel chain? United for flights (from ORD), but I'm not too particular on this currently. And as mentioned previously, I tend not to look to hotels when traveling.
• Do you have any cards you've been looking at? Some of the options I've personally been looking at:
  • Citi Premier + Citi Custom Cash + Citi Rewards+: going all in on Citi ecosystem, as the Citi DC is already my go-to card for most things and I could get restaurant rewards on the Custom Cash. I see the premier until very recently had an 80k SUB, would it make sense to hold out for that if I went that direction? I already made my flight purchases for the year on my CSP, so not necessarily in a rush.
  • Capital One Venture X + SavorOne: this option would be for moving focus to Capital One ecosystem
  • Chase: haven't considering this one as much but maybe could also make sense to just go with the Chase ecosystem, I just feel like I haven't gotten too much value currently out of my Freedom as I'm only ever able to really make use out of 1/2 quarters per year
  • Amex Gold: also been looking at this as it has good points for restaurants, one of my high spend areas, and I think getting the dining credits shouldn't be too tough to offset the annual fee. I know this isn't really a travel card, so this would likely just be used for restaurants/groceries. My only concern is whether this is still worth getting if I intend on going all in on one ecosystem and it overlaps on that. I do also have the 90k SUB available right now, so this is tempting.

A part that's tough for me to work out which actually end up giving the most value in the end, so it would be nice to hear from people more familiar with the offerings. What I'm most unsure about is how easy the points are to use for each system, especially with how limited my travel currently is. Along with that is if I should care about the possibility of cashing out for raw cash back like I already can do with Citi DC if there's no good redemption available for me. Would appreciate any comments if anyone has any thoughts.