How do you make a dollar bill on the keyboard

I'm just very disraight.lonely.anxiois..low self esteem..always was..found out wife filing divorce ..just..started gambling again..I'm a very simple uneducated, antisocial gambler whose been going hard for 20 years..never meant anybody like me..a basic construction worker who has lost prolly 250 k lifetime..but never made more then 80 k in year..incredibly..penny smart dollar stupid when comes to gambling..I eat cheap junk food..never buy cloths..hupyy cars..doesn't do anything but have blown 10+ k at a roulette table prolly 20 to 40 times I. My life..I'm not the guy who just blows his paycheck , I go without for long time..then saves while working 90 hours a week a couple months, then blows so quick..this 25 k loss I want to do what I been doing putting ..600 700dollars on 1 number try to win 20 k in high roulette...such a mind fuck of game ..been excluded 1 state, still go to other state a lil longer drive...I can't accept this ..always chasing n chasing..addicted to phone, food, gluttony, lust, same bs...no discipline..I feel like losing all is inevitable at this point..bought a house last year with wife, I hate responabilitiess n think we're incredibly underwater n all the repaures its old..think we over paid significantly..tried ga...but always so cheap to spend gas to drive 30 minutes back n forth..mind is warped ....only child, no connections able to make, no.kids..just very angry..I'm a drifter, a stranger..weird..spend allll day on phone..over eat, sugar carb..no discipline ..was seeing a ga therapist, but my amount for free sessions was up..to cheap , tooo unmotivated ..after priceeded ..to lode 4 k, tjen 10.k..then 11k..25 k..last time I gambled before i.lost 17k i july 23.. i hurt everybody arounf me.low self esteem.angey at self...I syill habr great credit for i always paif bill...I dont do the basic neccesaties that othrrs do..always alone.no hobbies...I ..I know i cant solve a problem with same mind that created it..feel stuck..I'ma prave of shit...I want to run up all ky credit cards, ruin crefiy.not pay morygage..I dunno.im fuckrd in mind..I wish somebody could manage my billls n money..just a father but hes got issues n noy the brightrst...my savings has been a roulrtte wheel..I guess thats how i rationalixe gambling, just domt habe bills, but now we have 3 k plus morthage n not a big house n old.

I’ve been wanting to find a way to just get this out, though I fully expect I’ll get some harsh criticism for my choices thus far. I don’t even know what I want to get out of this post. (It’s long)
I’ve been with my husband for about 20 years now. The first 5 years were bliss. He was my first relationship ever. We had 2 girls and things stayed ok for a couple years after they were born. My husband talked me into moving abroad to his home country and he went for 6 months before me to try to get things settled. Things went badly. He barely kept in touch with me. When the kids and I arrived, one of his first statements to me was “I don’t want you coming to me if you’re struggling to adjust here. You figure it out.”
Through the time living there, I felt abandoned. I was certain he was cheating but had no solid proof. If I entered a room, he left it. He couldn’t stand my touch. I pushed for weekly dates to reconnect. He brought his cousin with him to each “date” and basically stayed on his phone the whole time. No idea what his cousin thought, though I’m sure he didn’t realize it was supposed to be a date. I couldn’t afford to leave him and travel back home, and wasn’t even sure I’d be able to take the kids internationally without his consent.
We eventually moved back to the US. Our rough patch continued and I’d found condoms several times by this point. Each time he had an excuse I was willing to believe, though doubts remained. (I apparently need to find his dick inside another woman for me to be sure). We briefly had a period where things seemed back to normal and I was so happy to have stuck through the bad times. Then things went south very rapidly. I was convinced he was cheating because his personality switched so fast. I was trying to snoop but privacy has always been a big thing with him, so I’ve never known his passcode to his phone. He was out all the time, sometimes wouldn’t come home, etc. I was ready to leave and my mom talked me into staying.
So I stayed and we bought a home together. Things became very toxic. I was walking on egg shells because every little thing I did or said set him off. (He was never physically violent). I asked to go to couples counseling and he told me “if you’re unhappy, you know where the door is.” That hurt a lot. It sucks knowing the person you love and trust most couldn’t care less about you. I was afraid to leave because he made significantly more than me and he would have been better able to provide for the kids in terms of school district. I wouldn’t have been able to afford our home at the time. I would have agreed he could better support them and didn’t want to be without them so I didn’t pursue divorce. However, I went back to school to better secure my career, with the intent to leave once I finished. Then Covid hit as I graduated and things were locked down. We both worked remote and toxicity changed to civility - which seemed downright kind by that point and I suddenly didn’t have a strong reason to bail. It felt nice to have a spouse ask about my day and talk to me again. It was a low bar, I know. We were doing good together during lockdown though compared to before.
He had refused to have sex with me the last 12 years or so, with a few exceptions. But he hasn’t touched me in at least 6-7 years now. I stopped actively pursuing happiness in the marriage around that time. I had found condoms again and decided I knew in my heart he had been unfaithful, and though part of me seemed to need to find him physically with a woman to close the chapter fully, I did grieve the loss of my marriage for about 2 years. I was a mess. It’s crazy to mourn the loss of something that you’re still actively in, but that’s what happened.
Where I struggled is that the marriage was no longer miserable. We are civil and essentially live parallel lives without affection. Because I have no real expectations of him anymore, I’m not disappointed. I feel like a single mom since I never ask him for anything. Oddly, my kids don’t appear to actually know anything is wrong. They never got to see us when we were good together so they don’t see a change in our relationship. We don’t fight or really argue. My husband hasn’t slept in my room in almost a decade now. The last time my husband and I went out together, just the 2 of us, it was 2015. To them, this is normal. My youngest especially talks about how amazing my husband and I are as a couple (and she’s a teenager, so it’s not like she’s too young to see the truth). I don’t see our continued marriage hurting them (though yes it gives a distorted view of what love should be). But I came from a multi divorce home and it messed me up too. I think I’ve stayed as long as I have because I know how hard divorce really is. So it’s hard to choose the hard that I want for them. Do I divorce and cause them trauma from divorce, or do I stay and cause trauma from a loveless marriage? I’ve stayed because I feel like this is the most stable for them right now.
But the last 2 years I have found I’m trying to escape my reality more and more. I spend a lot of time reading novels trying to just get out of my own head. I started therapy the last 6 months but I don’t feel like I’m making any real progress. I have absolutely zero desire to ever be in a romantic relationship again. The 5 amazing years were not worth the pain of the last 13. I wouldn’t want to ever risk that again. I’ve remained faithful. I still like who he is as a person, I just don’t think we are great together. And I definitely don’t think he really loves me- though he still does say it occasionally.
I feel like staying as long as I did really traumatized me. I don’t feel weak, since I’m very aware I’m in a bad marriage and I’d never advise anyone to do what I’ve done in this situation. But I know most would tell me to have some self respect… and I feel like I do, mostly because I no longer value my husband’s opinion of me. It used to matter, until it didn’t. I like myself just fine and realized I would never measure up to the ideals my husband had of me. He criticized so much that I just decided his opinion of me didn’t matter as much as my opinion of myself. That being said, I’m unhappy with my situation. I suspect I may have some mild depression. And I know my hyper independence is a trauma response.
I’m not really afraid of being alone. I like solitude. But I am afraid of not being able to ever retire. I’m afraid of growing older and getting dementia or having a health issue (like a heart attack), and having nobody around to know. I’m afraid I’ll further isolate myself as a form of protection to not be hurt. Also, I still do have love for my husband. No trust, but I do actually have positive and loving feelings toward him. I don’t love how he treats me, but I do love him as a person. But my financial future is probably the biggest fear I have.
My husband’s has far more retirement savings than me, and he is actively trying to get those assets moved abroad to his home country. I believe he wants to retire there. I am nervous that if I pull the trigger on divorce after the kids are in college, he will have successfully transferred his retirement funds abroad and I would be left with nothing besides what little 401 k I’ve built up. I’ve got a really good salary, though his is more than twice mine. Our bank accounts have been separate since he became the breadwinner so I don’t know his debt or assets/savings. We split bills so he has far more disposable income than me. I look at my future and no matter which way I go, I see a struggle ahead. I ruminate often and miss being happy. So I feel stuck not knowing which way to go for my kid’s happiness, as well as mine. I’m not an optimist at all, so it all just looks like a sad excuse of what life should be.
Oh, and I should mention that I blamed my mom for her divorce, though her husband cheated on her and left her. I don’t want my kids to blame me for breaking up their family. I also assume that’s why my husband hasn’t left me as well. This has been a major factor for me.
Sorry this was so long. I just feel stuck.

Hey everyone, as the title states I’ve been having some issues with my current roommates and I need some advice. For some context to this whole situation (this will probably be a little long so please bear with me): Before moving into this apartment, I had been communicating with a friend that I’ve known since elementary school while he was attending college in Arizona. Let’s call him Carl, for the sake of anonymity. He had been expressing how he would like to come back to living in Texas as he wasn’t very comfortable in Arizona, but he didn’t want to go back to living with his parents in Garland either. I discussed with him the possibility of us rooming together in a 2 bedroom apartment, as we had known each other for a long time and were very good friends, so I didn’t really see how there could be any concerns except for money as apartments and housing in Texas (and the US as a whole) has become quite expensive. As we had discussed it more, he had moved back to Garland and begun planning and saving up to move out of his parent’s house. It wouldn’t just be him, however, as he had a friend he knew from Florida that was also in a similar situation that would be willing to share a bedroom with Carl. I was a little skeptical of this idea at first, however after further discussion I did become more comfortable with it. I also discussed the move frequently with my dad and other friends that I would often meet with. Once we started to look at the actual costs of renting a 2 bedroom apartment, I started to get the impression that they (Carl and the other roommate) were expecting me to pay all of the rent rather than splitting costs evenly. I made it clear in all discussions that this was not to be the case, and stated that a 70/30 split for rent would be the most fair, as I knew that Carl was not making as much money as I was and that our other roommate would have to find work in the area before he could start to contribute to the cost of living. Carl agreed on this, and even stated multiple times to the other friends and family we talked with that he would be willing to split 60/40. I made it clear also that I expected everyone on the lease to contribute to rent on every single payment, so that everyone would be doing their part, fairly so, and that no one would need to contribute more than necessary. During all of this, I was told multiple times that it would be a really bad idea to pursue this arangement by my father and others, though I decided to anyway because I trusted Carl and by extension his friend from Florida. As we finalized things and settled on a pretty nice unit with a rent of $1199/mo (a little higher than I would have liked, but manageable), I started to become loaded with more and more requests from Carl to pay for deposits for electricity, internet, and for the apartment itself. I was okay with this, as he had promised to pay me back later. I knew he was struggling with paying off bills from college classes and was also spending on the trip to Florida to assist our roommate. Things started to settle down a bit more, and Carl was able to provide rent, however not at the full 30% that was agreed upon. I begrudgingly kept my mouth shut as I knew I was making a lot more money than him and I thought it would be unfair of me to ask for more than he was able to provide. Fast forward some time later and I had to help my girlfriend move out of her sister’s apartment due to some family issues that I won’t discuss here. Since then, things have gotten a little more difficult to afford, but I have not asked for any more or less from Carl or my other roommate (even though he has made very little to no progress towards getting a job or helping with bills and rent). I have also discovered through my girlfriend that when I am not home, both Carl and Florida have been saying that I am self-centered and short tempered, and that I have been asking too much from them as far as payment towards rent and other expenses such as groceries and other bills. Florida has also said that he feels uncomfortable with continuing to search for work and that he feels that my girlfriend should be pitching in more (even though she helps clean after them, take care of my cats/fish, and will sometimes help with buying cleaning supplies when necessary. While it wasn’t directly said, Florida has heavily implied in conversation that my girlfriend should also being rent, despite that fact that she is not legally written into the lease and as such not legally responsible for assisting with rent and bills. This all brings us to last night. While I was at work, I had remembered that rent still needed to be paid and I reached out to Carl to ask how much he would be able to put in this month. I received a text from him later that said he didn’t have a lot right now and wouldn’t be able to help until next paycheck, which I said was alright. After getting home, I paid rent in full, and went to pick up my girlfriend from work as she was getting off around that time. In the car, she told me that Carl had lied to me about how much he actually had in his account under the instruction of Florida. I was extremely frustrated and exhausted at that point, deciding that this was the last straw, and planned to confront them that night after making dinner. Once I got home after picking her up, their bedroom door was shut and I heard them on a voice call with an online friend while playing a game together (they do this very frequently and are often loud, and taking dishes to their room for snacks without returning them). As usual, they came out right when food was almost ready. That had started to pick at what was already out, and my girlfriend had told them to stop because nothing was finished yet. They took this as a joke and ignored it, so I firmly told them to stop. They acted surprised at this, and went back to their bedroom, closing the door and not returning until I had left the kitchen to get ready for work today. This morning, my girlfriend showed me a text from Carl asking if she had figured out why I was “being such an asshole”.
At this point, I’m heavily considering kicking them both out regardless of whether or not they have a place to stay. I have been more than patient and fair, spent far over half of my savings towards everything in this apartment including the dishes and other supplies they use, only for them to act like this and treat me this way when I’m not home. I really need advice on how to move forward with this situation, and whether or not I am actually in the wrong for feeling the way I do.
(TL;DR - My roommates have been underpaying, not cleaning after themselves, and talking about me behind my back, and in general being a headache to deal with. What do I do?)
Please let me know if I need to provide more information! Thank you all.

I cannot do this shit anymore in this country.
I'm working a job that should be somewhat decent, and that actually requires some skill and education but the pay isn't great at all. I'm barely getting by even with a girlfriend to share expenses with (she doesn't make much more than I do). I've tried looking for a new job but nothing in the province I live in pays anything worthwhile - unless of course you have like 10+ years of experience.
I tried to take on an additional part-time job to help and cannot find anything; not even a job at home depot since all those places are flooded with students. I do have a 3 year diploma in a technical field (engineering technology) but it's not enough to meet requirements to immigrate to another country (something my partner and I have been wanting to do, but we don't meet any requirements or so it would seem).
I work all day, sit in traffic an hour each way and then when I get home I'm too mentally and physically tired (very demanding job) to do much of anything. This fatigue coupled with my wallet becoming more and more squeezed with what seems like monthly increases in prices is taking a toll on some of my hobbies which have always been great for my physical and mental health - as well as providing a nice social setting for me.
I tried speaking with a therapist as its clear my depression or just overall state of mental being is affecting my relationship and all I ever get is information from a bullshit boomer perspective of "there's tons of work out there! It's not that bad! You're educated! $20 an hour is great money!".
I'm at the point where I need to dip into my savings now just to afford some basics - usually my ever increasing power bill or groceries. I've analyzed my budget what feels like 100 times and I cannot cut from anywhere else. Im eating for about 50 bucks a week, most of my hobbies/free time activities are free except for $100 a month I spend on martial arts (my biggest form of fitness, socialization and most important hobby).
It just feels like there's no way out of this. I can't survive in this country and I can't leave either - I've researched for months on how to get out and we can't find a way. We entertained moving provinces to live with my parents but there's even less work and even lower wages where they live so we'd be just as screwed.
I hate this place. I never wanted a massively extravagant life. I didn't even want as much as my parents got out of it.

https://youtu.be/QGzSoHgciu8?si=f4IDF421zEMrqPlE
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rem/allthebest.html
Hello everyone, I hope all is well. Today we are going to be looking at “All the Best” which is the second track of the X-Axis side of the band’s final studio album Collapse Into Now.
As you may know from the Scott Aukerman and Adam Scott R.E.M. podcast, Adam was one of the few people who listened to Collapse Into Now in 2011 and realized the band was hinting at breaking up. And maybe the biggest hint of all of the band calling it quits was the song “All the Best.”
Musically, this song fucking rocks and it reminds me a bit of their earlier work. Not so much their college radio rock days, but more like Lifes Rich Pageant with songs like “These Days” and “Begin the Begin.” The song begins with a fast drum fill from Bill Rieflin which is quickly followed up by the band breaking into full force. We get a fast and exhilarating tempo, raw chord changes and a high sounding guitar riff that follows the chords perfectly.
Michael’s vocals are also fast to enter the mix with him singing about failing with the lyrics “pie in my face” and “where I tripped and fell.” Now I had to look up what “Quasimodo” was and it’s a character from the Disney movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Now I’ve never seen the movie so I’m not sure what its significance is to this song but hopefully someone can clear that up for us. I do love the lyric “I rang the church bell till my ears bled red blood cells.” I like the way Michael takes that common phrase but gives it a twist with the word “cells” to make it rhyme. Plus the idea of sounding an alarm is important when it comes to this song’s message.
When we arrive to the chorus the drums go into this half time feel and the music actually gets a little groovy. The guitar plays this open and classic rock sounding riff that the bass follows to give the song a more relax sound but with a good edge. It’s here where Michael spells out the band’s future. He sings “I think I'll sing it and rhyme. I'll give it one more time.” Basically he’s saying that he’ll sing one last song and one last album before they bring it to an end. He even sings “I'll show the kids how to do it fine” which is maybe a playful way to say that he’s going to shows the younger artist how to put out one hell of a song/show. Or like he’s passing the torch to the younger generation. And the way he repeats the word “fine” multiple times might be a call back to “It’s the End of the World as we Know It (And I Feel Fine).”
The band launches back into that foot stomping verse while Michael does a little self reflecting. He sings “I hold the mirror up” and “you tell me what part of my story baby stuck.” These are two lyrics where he can be asking fans which one of the band’s songs really stuck with them. He also sings about being a part of presumably our dreams which could be a take on the band’s rapid eye movement name. And then Michael gives us another hint about the band’s future with the line “it’s just like me to overstay my welcome men.” He feels it’s time for the band to wrap it up.
After another chorus we get a bridge where we hear some different soundscapes. The chords change and Peter plays this simple riff that sounds huge with its distortion. We also hear some heavy organs, energetic snare fills and Michael providing some backing melodies with some reverb. It’s a cool little bridge especially with it being such a short song.
We get one last verse which is probably my favorite in the song. Michael explains how he needed to get this off his chest and now he’s ready to give his best. Which could either mean he’s giving us his best like when you part ways with someone and you give them your best. Or it could be that him and the band are giving us fans the best of what they have left. And that they do. The band seems to intensify during this last verse. That guitar riffs seems to be getting louder and higher in pitch, the drums become more forceful during the last line in the verse and Michael’s vocals really go off! Throughout the whole song Michael been singing in a more full rock head voice, but he really belts out during the “all the best” part. Not only that, but we also get Mike’s extremely high harmonies during that “it's just like me to overstay my welcome bless” lyric and oh man do they sound amazing. The band is on fire in my personal opinion.
After a double chorus the song comes to end with it being all under three minutes. In a short amount of time the band is able to give us a tune that is full of force and with the energy of guys half their age. And let’s not forget that this song was basically the band waving goodbye, just like how Michael is on the front cover. In fact, he’s even gone on record by saying he was surprised that people didn’t pick up on the fact that the band was saying goodbye. Either way, the band did give us all their best and this song along showed that they still had a lot of life in them.
But what do you think of this song? Did you hear this song as them signing off? What do you think the song is about? Favorite lyrical or musical moments? And if you haven’t yet, check out the link at the top of this post where you can watch the band perform this song in the Hansa Studio.

My return to Lagos had me at first paranoia stricken and looking for people from the village around every corner. After a few uneventful months though, I was feeling like the old Duke again. The nightmares stopped plaguing me entirely.
I felt so good with myself in fact, that I decided to try my luck with Ameh again. Ameh was a fellow associate at my office. I’d made several advances in the past and been blown off. She was just playing hard to get though, I knew she was. Other than Dellia, Ameh was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen – you think that would have warned me but it didn’t. I knew I could get in trouble with HR if she decided she’d had enough but it definitely felt worth it.
I was just entering her office, prepared to ask her out and be turned down yet again when we were both called into Mistress Death’s office by her secretary. Mistress Death is what we called our General Manager, Mrs. Lara. She was known for her ruthlessness and cruelty. She was so distant from her juniors that none of us even knew her first name and honestly, I didn’t care to know.
Being called into her office meant one of two things; you were either being given a serious opportunity and she wanted to impress the importance of your success on you or you’d fucked up terribly and she wanted to drop the axe herself. I prayed to all the divinities I knew that it wasn’t the second option.
When we got into the office, her chair was turned toward the wall away from us. She was inspecting a painting that by my guess had been recently installed. It was an odd choice if you ask me, it had a man on it eating what appeared to be a decomposing dog carcass with his hands while a man in regal clothing watched.
She didn’t turn to face us for about two minutes after we’d entered and we knew better than to speak first or presume to sit without being told. Both of which I did – I still have no idea why.
“Good day, Mrs. Lara. Wonderful weather we’re having today.” I said as I settled into one of the chairs opposite the table from her. Ameh hesitated for a second then followed my example.
“Hmm?” She seemed surprised as she turned to face us. “Pardon me. I was absorbed in the painting.” That was unusual. She never apologized for anything ever.
“Please, sit.” She said as she sent us a piercing look that made Ameh wince.
“Thank you ma’am. You’re looking very wonderful today.” She attempted some damage control but Mrs. Lara didn’t care for it.
Without even acknowledging the words spoken, Mrs. Lara continued talking about the painting. Are you familiar with the story it is inspired by?”
“What ma’am?”
“The painting of course!”
“Oh. Well, I’m afraid not ma’am.” I replied for both of us since Ameh was too terrified to answer.
“The story is rather straightforward. It goes like this; once upon a time, the favorite hunting dog of a great king fell gravely ill. The king ordered that the dog be put out of its misery and buried as a member of the family.
The king’s animal master however, seeing an opportunity to ingratiate himself to the king, asked that the animal be given to him and he’d revive it. The man knew a lot about animals and was confident he’d cure the dog.
The priests also had something to tell the king. They told him they would perform royal rites for the dog only if it was given to them that day. Any more delay and they would no longer be willing to bend their sacred laws. The animal master insisted, claiming there would be no need for a burial at all if it was given to him. The king gave in and entrusted the animal to him.
Try as he could, he couldn't save the dog and it died. Perhaps it was just too old, who knows? The point is, it died in his care and this naturally, infuriated the king who gave the animal keeper a cruel, disgusting and unusual punishment.”
Please don’t tell me he made the man eat the dead dog!
“He made him eat the dead dog. Raw.”
God no! Why would he do that?
“The animal master ate the corpse, was stripped and forced to wear its fur as his only clothing before being banished forever.”
“All that for a little mistake? The king went overboard for sure, not to mention defiled the body of the dog he supposedly loved.” I’d forgotten myself and spoken freely. Rookie mistake.
Despite my blunder, all I got was a little “hmm” and she went on with her monologue about the painting. “You might be wondering why I told you this story, but it’ll make sense soon.”
“You see, there’s a very big, very problematic client we’re looking to acquire. I can’t give them to any high tier agents because I can’t have any single one of them devote their entire capacity to any one portfolio and I can’t give them to a team of lower level agents because I actually want to acquire them as a client.”
I love where this is going
“That’s where you both come in. You’re somewhere in the middle of these two groups. You two are more competent than seven of my lower ranking agents and put together might just be a match for one of my best agents.
Now, this client is the dog, you the animal master and I, the king. I’ll only ask this once, can you take this job on? If you’re successful, one or both of you could be looking at making partner in the near future.
However, if you fail this, my punishment for losing this client will be severe, cruel and to quote you Duke, “overboard”.
So? What will it be? I want an answer now.”
This was a huge opportunity. How could I possibly say no? This was the sort of opportunity everyone hoped for. “I accept ma’am. I won’t let you down, I promise.”
“You’d better not. What about you, Ms. Okon?”
“Hmm?” Ameh seemed dazed by what she’d just heard “I uum… I accept as – as well ma’am.” She sounded slightly unsure.
“Good. I expect you both to work around the clock on this. I don’t care if that means staying awake till the day of our meeting with their representatives – it’s in a week by the way. Mind you, staying awake is no excuse to show up to the meeting drowsy. I expect perfection at the meeting. One slip up and you won’t like the outcome.
With that, we were dismissed and I went to get the files on the new client from Mrs. Lara’s secretary. There, I had my first incident since the village. Just as she passed me the folder, I had what I could only say was a vision.
The secretary morphed into Dellia only this time she had red eyes and long white-blond hair that waved in the breezeless air like tentacles. She looked me in the eye and told me: “I’ve come for you at last sweetheart. I’ve been so lonely since you abandoned me back in the village.” She looked at me disapprovingly before her face softened and she smiled. “Doesn’t matter though I’m here now.”
“D-Dellia. How?” I asked in shock.
“We can’t be separated. Not even by distance. You love me remember?”
“No!!” I shouted at her.
“Uh… Mr. Obasale, is everything alright?” A voice that was definitely not Dellia’s asked me. I looked to see Mrs. Lara’s secretary staring up at me holding the folder and looking confused. “These are the files you asked for.”
“Right, right. I’m fine. Perfectly fine. Thank you very much.”
There were no more incidents that week. Not while I spoke with Tiny Tim about my plans to ask Ameh out again, not when I asked Ameh out over drinks after work, not when she turned me down or when I found out she was from Esa (a distant village that my village has had a generational feud with for… well, generations).
No, all was perfectly normal the entire week up to the day of the meeting. The meeting was going well all things considered, the clients seemed interested and my presentation was a hit – I made it, so no surprise there – and then it happened.
I saw her again. In the chair opposite mine. I would have assumed I was seeing things had Ameh not screamed “Who are you and what are you doing here, you witch?” She put her hand over her mouth as if she’d misspoken, but that was all the confirmation I needed.
I leapt at Dellia like a wild animal and attempted to choke her to death.
“Die, witch. Die and leave me alone.” I screamed at her as I squeezed with all the force I could muster. Suddenly something heavy smacked into the side of my head and I fell to the floor.
Getting up, I saw the lead representative of the client gasping for air as his colleagues attended to him. Ameh was standing in a corner looking terrified and Mrs. Lara had a keyboard raised over her head ready to swing in my direction. I could see security already on their way. I had no idea what was going on.
At the end of the day, Ameh and I both lost our jobs and Mrs. Lara promised us we’d never work in advertisement or brand management anywhere in Nigeria ever again. She said she’d let us off easy because my mental illness made her “feel sorry” for me.
Ameh was devastated. She completely refused to speak to me and left the office in tears. I felt terrible. I knew how much she loved her job. I decided to put an end to my problems once and for all. I needed to reach Dellia somehow and set her straight.
I picked up my phone to call someone and ask for her number but wouldn’t you know it? Her number was already in my phone. In fact, it was top of my ‘recent contacts’ list even though I’d never called her before. Definite withcraft but whatever it was, I was done with it.
I called her and told her as much. She didn’t protest, didn’t even sound worried. Her only reply was “When I’m home, we’ll talk more about this okay? Why don’t you rest a bit while you wait for me?” before she hung up.
“Wait, what? Dellia, when you get home where?” I asked in confusion.
“Our house, of course. Or don’t you know where you are?” She giggled like I’d just cracked a joke.
I had no idea what she was talking about and I didn’t want to find out. I tried calling back but the line didn’t go through. I sat up on the bed while wondering what to do. All of a sudden, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see Dellia on the bed behind me.
I should have been freaked out and screamed or run away, but I just leaned into her as she kissed me and straddled my legs. She kissed me again and again, more passionately than before as she guided me inside her and her body undulated on top of mine.
I couldn’t think straight, I was lost in her and in the moment. I kissed her neck, then the well of her collarbone, before my lips shifted to the swell of her breasts and I sucked on her nipples as I got closer and closer to climax. The only sounds I could hear were her moans and the rhythm of our bodies colliding.
Just as I was about to finish, I heard her shriek above me and her body began to convulse. The sound of her climax drew mine out of me. I grunted out my release and collapsed back into the bed panting.
She looked down at me smiling, I smiled back. I was still riding the high of my orgasm. She lay hear head on my shoulder and stroked my chest. “It’s done now.” She said.
“What is?” I asked, unsure what she meant.
“The bond between us.” She said with a satisfied smile. “We are one now, you and I. You are mine like I am yours.” With that, she placed another kiss on my lips and I jolted awake. I was alone in my bed.
“Oh, it was just a dream. I must have fallen asleep.” I said rubbing my eyes. I felt a slimy wetness in my pants. I’d had a wet dream. Stories about spirit wives and spirit husbands came to mind immediately. I would have dismissed that as stupid superstition some months before, but now those thoughts had me scared out of my skin.
I didn’t know what to do, but I knew one thing for sure; I wasn’t staying in that house by myself and I definitely couldn’t allow myself to fall asleep again. No way.
I picked the nearest place that popped into my head: Tiny Tim’s house. I rang the doorbell and waited for Tim to answer the door while looking round to make sure Dellia wasn’t hiding behind a tree somewhere.
As soon as he opened the door, I burst into the house without even giving him time to ask what I was doing there. As soon as I was inside, he of course asked what I was doing in his house without warning.
“Yeah, sorry about just barging in without even calling first. It’s just…” I thought about telling him the truth, but he’d only think I was crazy or worse, he’d actually believe me. Either way, he’d want me out of his house as soon as I started talking. So instead…
“… I’m just devastated by everything y’know? I lost my job and not only that, I’m pretty sure I’ll never get to work in Lagos ever again. I think I might be in the middle of an emotional breakdown. I just need to be with a friend this evening. Awake, definitely awake.” I was aware I sounded weird stressing the awake part, but it was very important.
“Honestly Duke, I would love to help you out. Hang out and everything, but my wife just got back from a long journey and we’d like to spend some time alone together. I’m sure you understand.”
I didn’t know what to say, I hadn’t even imagined that Tiny Tim had a wife. After all, we called him that because he had a childish demeanor to him and seemed to suddenly become handicapped whenever women were around. Honestly, I didn’t believe him.
“Timothy, I really need help okay? It’s not because any emotional breakdown or whatever.” I decided to tell him the truth - the whole unabridged version. He didn’t even seem to fully process my story, just gave me the same reply as before. I wasn’t going to let him push me out there with…whatever Dellia was especially not after it had gotten dark.
“Tim, stop with these lies about your wife. Which wife? You can’t even talk to a girl and you’re trying to tell me that you were actually able to propose to someone? Let’s be serious now, come on.” I said the last line with a laugh, imagining Tiny Tim trying to propose to some mystery lady.
My smile faded when I heard a woman’s voice from within the house. “Hon, I’m out of the shower and ready for you. Hold on, is there someone else with you?”
“Just a friend from work. Don’t worry though, he’s about leaving.”
My jaw dropped open and didn’t close until I was standing outside Timothy’s door. I got into my car and drove off with the windows up. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go but I’d drive round the entirety of Lagos forever if I had to.
“Where are we going babe?”
“I don’t know Dellia, I’m just trying to get away from… from you.” I quickly turned to the back seat but was greeted by an empty car.
“Listen, I’m tired so let’s just go back home alright?” I realized I could see her in the rearview. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you! What do you want with me!?” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
“Nothing really, I just want you to love me. That’s all.” I felt her hand rubbing my chest even though I couldn’t see it. “Won’t you love me? Please?” I remembered what she’d told me the night we first met.
“You need me to say it seven times right?” I didn’t care anymore, I needed to get rid of her. “I love you, I love you, I lo…”
“Stop, stop, stop!!” She screamed at me in an otherworldly voice that chilled my bones and nearly stopped my heart. “You can’t claim to love me when you’re scared. There are certain emotions love can’t mix with. Fear is one of them. You have to try your hardest to mean it when you say I love you.”
“I can’t Dellia, I don’t love you. I’m sorry.” I said, hoping she’d accept that and leave me alone at last.
“No. You can and you will.” She screamed at me again in the voice. Letting my fear take over my body, I stopped the car suddenly and bolted into the nearest public compound I could find.
Turned out to be a hotel. I found two guards sitting in chairs outside. I walked up to them. I offered them both #20,000 for every hour they stayed awake with me and kept any mirrors away from me. Those were the two ways I had seen her manifest.
I called Driver up to ask where he was and if he could come meet up with me. He said he was in Lagos on business and he could come meet me immediately. I don’t know why I thought to call him before anyone else. I waited for him for a few hours before a car that looked like his pulled into the parking lot.
Out of the car however, stepped Dellia not driver. She walked towards me seductively. I tried to run but the guards I was sitting with held me down so I was unable to move. She moved closer and closer and then… The guards shook me awake.
Apparently, I had fallen asleep and the guards couldn’t wake me up until Driver came along. We went in his car and he drove me round Lagos. I wracked my brain for the next step to take. That was when I remembered: Ameh saw her back at the meeting, maybe she could help me out. Or at least, I’d have a comrade in my perils or whatever.
I got to her house just as her roommate was leaving. I met her sniffing into tissues wrapped in a blanket and looking all-round defeated. I tried explaining my situation to her and asking her what she saw or thinks she saw at the office. She didn’t even seem receptive to my story.
She did say she was glad to know it was my spiritual problem and not hers.
As we were talking, something cut through her doors and Dellia burst through. I hid myself behind a chair in the dining. Ameh rather than hiding, actually went to face Dellia and promptly got thrown into a corner.
Scared, I stood and held my hands up in surrender as she walked menacingly towards me with her hair waving even though there was no wind. Unexpectedly, she smashed into a wall and then smashed into it again repeatedly. Dumbfounded, I turned to see Ameh with her hands stretched towards the helpless Dellia. Her eyes glowed blue and her nails had grown longer than I thought possible.
Dellia was able to throw herself off the wall and at Ameh starting a fight that had it been under other circumstances, I would have found entertaining. Under the present circumstances however, my first instinct was to run. Still, against my better judgement, I stepped in to break up the fight.
Big mistake that, I got a slash across the chest for my peacemaking ways. It sent me into the opposite wall and hurt like hell. The girls ceased their fighting immediately and rushed to my side.
“Duke! Are you alright?” Dellia asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just a bruise.” I replied, wincing at the pain.
“It can’t be a bruise.” Dellia said, sounding worried. I got up and showed them my chest where my shirt was sliced through. A few welts had already formed, but nothing more.
“How? It can’t be. She used those nails to slice through my door. That’s a bulletproof door. You can’t just be bruised.” Ameh sounded very perplexed.
“I dunno, I’ve never gotten hurt beyond bruising in my life. Just seems normal” it had never occurred to me how weird that was till that moment.
“It’s true then.” Ameh spoke with an almost religious tone in her voice. “I knew it was true.”
“That’s why Bámí and the rest of the coven wanted me to get him in so badly.” Dellia mused.
“What?” I asked, holding my chest and having absolutely no idea what was going on.
“You, Duke Obaìsàlè are one of the chosen, the co-heir to the thrones of witches and the marine realm.” Ameh said, looking at me like she’d just seen a million dollars.
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Thanks in advance everyone. This is not easy for me, so I would appreciate cutting me some slack and not calling me out for my past mistakes. Just looking for some basic advice on what you would do in my place to save my future\retirement while still enjoying life.
I am 46, M, live in LA. I just spent the last 6+ years climbing out of a very deep and painful depression which almost cost me my life. I make good money (around $150K a year), but this is LA so it's OK money. I am also starting a consulting business to hopefully either make more or go business full time.
I wasted my 20s and didn't save a penny. I was married in my 30s, and have some savings, but lost everything after divorce and crippling depression.
I don’t own a home, only have $20K in savings for emergencies, and only have about $20K in 401K (contributing now, but company doesn’t match). Rent, car, bills, food, etc, is $4000. I still have just under $2800 left. No CC debt.
No, I will not live with a roommate and LA is terribly expensive. I don't waste money on stupid stuff and don't go out that much. I spend at MOST $500 on entertainment.
I can't move from my place as I have a lease and I my car is a lease.
My parents promised to leave their house to me when they either move or pass on. But that's a long time in the future, I hope.
What would you do in my place? I am a smart and decent person, but terrible with understanding finance. Was always into "living for today" mindset. My dilemma is that I don't just want to plan for the future, which may not come, but I also don't just want to live for today and then be left with nothing in my 70s and beyond. If I cut down my expenses (apartment, car, etc), I won't save that much more. I'll have a 1000 more a month, but my quality of life will go down tremendously. So I don't know what to do. I highly doubt I will stay in LA past my 50s. I am looking to either become full time digital nomad, move to AZ or another lower cost of living area, or may be even buy an travel trailer and make it my home and home office. Everything is on the table. There is no right or wrong decision. I am just trying to see what else I can do to make my future a little less miserable.
How can I be a little bit more optimistic about life and my future?
Thank you!

A lot happened before my father passed my sisters both demanded accounts and signed on the way they owned our father and her to the lot of large amount of money before he retired one sister had full control to put one account and because her husband had knowledge of how to control people with these accounts and how to sign them to where you own them and could walk away with all that one dollar unless my dad wanted to press charges felony and he did not he lived with that for several years the thing was my brother-in-law demanded I didn't no help and no cash from my father who bought me a vehicle and he also demanded who bought from him so he could have his own cash that started a bad thing but on the other note my other sister and brother planned a long time ago to steal all on the end and one sister her whole name go in life was to still everything in the end to work as a librarian in order to mingle with authorities with a plan of cutting me out because mother made her hate me when we were children she told her she was a real oldest daughter I was adopted by my father in the state of Missouri because I had no father my mother was abusive to me and she got her words she cut me out she got threw me out of the family they had me abused I had a death threat at one time when my memories came back I have an appointment to talk to a trusted her recovery attorney next week but it's well down to now it's a dirty stuff but they're still a very large amount of money missing that was too preachers one being a bad lawyer who was elected to prosecutor because of his name the state of Missouri couldn't help me with that because he was elected. There's no protection for heirs even though there's laws in Missouri. And when did in-laws with hating their heart and greed they come errors assets were never reported I never got anything from my dad as far as I had property stored there I finally got my camper but it cost me a lot my brother forced me to sign titles and soon tops and my sister would use them on something I told her it would be fraud because they couldn't Court can tell immediately that the paper was added to after the signature landlords can't get away with that anymore unless the person can't take them to court then they do cuz it happened to me before my thoughts are I was abused my life was certain all this Northwest Missouri it's very corrupt a bank account was moved when I was dying in another state and the prosecutor won't even let me look because it's been a few years back I need prosecutor the bank was concerned like there was a criminal and that prosecutor said get a lawyer well that's all I was told by a person well when they have more money and they've used pictures to launder money they use the prosecutor to get their way to not probate a larger state and they turn their back on me that goes to me like I am a disease because I know what they did my life was in dangerous I still don't feel safe I'm in this town I'm working on getting away from here so I can take care of the rest of this but my children didn't deserve to be cut out my father did not do this they did what they wanted for very large amount of money who got a very large attack right before he died and then I don't know who got the money I'm not money doesn't drive me but the fact that they did what they did has me irritated because my children did not deserve this my brother was supposed to probate and help me get all this done so my sister's got their way so far but my mother was in the background she was the first ex-wife and he was single but my one sister control freak controlled dad never move after his last divorce and he couldn't trust her she stole tooth imagine that grave sold them a year later without telling him to make banked on that but she did that because my other sister would find onto his largest inheritance account and controlling him with it he didn't press start his own either one but he did turn him in before he died after he got that last check he was bullied that's why they wanted my memory is gone I hired somebody to come into my life I found Love with a narcissist who was there for hire St Joe Missouri is very corrupt Andrew county was where the prosecutor fake probate attorney was they're still a fake casing at the judge refused to move it off but my brother is no longer represented who paid it to get it stopped to get those two titles back my father bought way more local than that my brother and said he was doing his own probate he bullied me to sign in 15 titles two were property I can't find out where those went except for I know they were laundered through his church his Titan picture who greedy preacher but also was involved and getting money off the top that's I'm in the assets it's all a mess it's a very big mess I'm talking to Tony next week another one thing is only have one chance that they got more money than they're counting you know I they laundered money they did it's on public 300 vehicles cars and trucks at dad bought for probate my brother promised to do with me that sisters pays him to do with that program that month is already had the prosecuting attorney as a lawyer he's not even a probate lawyer and now he's not a prosecutor attorney who knows he did wrong he's also a preacher but he's one of those tithing pictures like the other one putting printers lying their own pockets with other people's money they don't give it to the floor they're legal things in my eyes but I'm opinionated

So we all know the BBE that eBay entered Last year into their system - But the way it works is A TOTAL DISGRACE. I Do understand that eBay gets pain from some sellers, but not all, not the majority. There should be some balances made - And currently there are Non. The BBE IS SUPER Against Sellers and you don’t even Know how easy it is to make your “Competition” Disappear from eBay.
I WIll post some photos and also Chat with eBay Agents Proofs that I will list here - THIS NEEDS TO BE CHANGED, ASAP. Or eBay will have no sellers anymore - At Least No New - Avg Sellers Anymore.
First of all, What is “Market Average BBE %”? Do they compare a User with 100-300 Sales a month, to A Nike Store with 500K Sales every Month? They Shouldn’t do it. If 1 user opens a case On a 100 Sales store, you are on 1% BBE Defects, if 1 user opens a case on a 500K sales store - You are on 0.000002% BBE Defect - How is that even “Comparable”?
Let’s move on. What if the buyer Buys 2-3 different items(Yes, even if it’s for a dollar each item And yes even if it’s the SAME ITEM), well… if you have 100 sales, and he uses up all his power to Eliminate you, he will open 3 cases for items not as described, And guess what? It will count as 3 BBE defects on your store - it’s not 1 per User Per Purchase, it’s 3! If you have 100 sales, that one guy already puts you on a 3% BBE % , And you are Done For GOOD for 3 months. As Market Avg is around 1-3% usually.
So yes, I understand it’s not normal that from 100 sales you would have 10-20 Returns, that’s absolutely not normal. But 1-3? Do you know what the avg Return rate is for Sellers on Amazon for example? 5-15%. So 20% is surely Not normal. But 5-7% Should be acceptable - As long as you solve the issue of the buyer and accept the return Or Fully refund them.
I Didn’t even start Talking about the Buyers that Write Neutral/Negative feedback. They can write one by mistake, or Do it purposely to force you to give them a Refund without returning the item Or Just because they misread the description, Let’s say you have 1-2 like those from 100 sales? It’s 2% more - Your account is doomed now for sure. Buyers Should Have A Pop up before writing a negative / Neutral feedback asking them if they want to contact the seller to try and solve the problem before writing the feedback. eBay takes the negative/Neutral feedback as “Bad Buyer experience with SELLER”, They don’t think about a buyer that Lies in the feedback, Or didn’t read the description correctly Or just didn’t like the item he himself bought after reading all the title/description/photos. Like this negative feedback attached in photos here for example - What is there to expect? Exact measures Are written in the listing.
Ok, let’s ignore the buyers that maybe write you a Bad/neutral feedback, What about something like this?(Neutral feedback Photo attached) Buyer item was just shipped out, within the correct handling days, and after 1 day from shipping the item he writes this feedback. Item was delivered Next day.
Ok, so you tell me - You can remove this feedback! If the item was received by the buyer and tracking shows delivered, you can easily remove the feedback. YES I CAN - BUT IT WON’T HELP. I Have checked it, and YES - EVEN IF YOU ASK FOR A REVISION REQUEST OR EBAY REMOVES THE FEEDBACK - IT STILL COUNTS AS BBE % DEFECT. So 1 more? Out of 100 sales? That puts us on what, 6% BBE already? Here is a proof from chat with an eBay agent.(Agent chat proof 1 photo)
And Let’s talk about Cases now. And as stupid as it sounds, If it closes in our favor - It still counts as BBE - So for example if the buyer opened the case but didn’t return the item or opened a case but he closed it right after a second It counts as BBE Defect, that also includes In INR Cases as i checked it. Here is a chat from an eBay agent over eBay.(Agent chat proof 2 photo)
And what are the “Restrictions” Put on your eBay store if you are Above BBE % and enter into Restriction? Limit decrease which is not so Harmful, but eBay Also puts a Hold on ALL Your Money from Sales for 30 Days! WHY? As an avg Seller with around 1000-2000 items in the store, Do you know how hard it is to keep Up and keep paying employees when eBay simply puts all the money on HOLD? Even though the items are being Delivered? It’s not that I Try to mess with eBay and try to steal people's money! I Ship the items, I Attach a tracking number - items are marked as delivered and in 95-99% of cases there is no problem with the item - The 1-5% Could be when sometimes delivery carriers just break it on purpose. It’s not that i am doing my First Sale, or first 10 or 20, and not that i have been selling for 1-2 months, i am talking about Multiple years account that showed a great Sales Sheet for multiple years with No Big issues, even not small issues.
The problem is even Bigger when all the process is automatic! eBay agents aren’t able to change/Remove and BBE Defect. So even if there was a mistake eBay Cannot help you with Anything! You will just Keep the restriction on you. With 0% Chance to appeal. Even when you solved all the problems with buyers, or even if there was really a mistake on eBay that led you to get that defect. Any system is not perfect, but not giving the eBay representative even to have an option to Remove it - For Real reasons with Notes on your account why he made the decision after hearing your side, doesn’t even make sense. It’s like eBay says “That’s the Algorithm and that’s it, Deal with it.”
So ok, I Understand Sellers should describe their items correctly, And give extraordinary service and say To any buyer “YES I WOULD PAY FOR RETURN SHIPPING AND ACCEPT YOUR RETURN EVEN THOUGH IN MY POLICY I CLEARLY STATE NO RETURNS” And people STILL LIE to get a Free Return.
And it doesn't matter how much you write to them with automatic messages to contact you first if there is a problem with the item, Before the item is delivered, they still open a case and abuse this. But it doesn’t change the fact that You can ABUSE The BBE System like this and Give BBE % Defect on Some nonsense Things.
If I Want to Remove my competition. I would ask 5 friends to buy 2-3 items from a seller, open cases, don’t even return the items, and boom - that seller has 15 BBE defects for return cases. Even if the seller has 500 sales per month, 15/500 = 3% BBE Defect, which is high than Avg market…(Without even taking into account the other 485 sales that he may receive Neutral/Negative feedbacks on them and it will up his BBE Rate to crazy amounts) Do it 1-2 months, competition/seller is gone for good.
This Thing needs to CHANGE! If there is any eBay Dev/manager in the crowd I would be glad to forward them my tips to improve their Algorithm. So that BBE % Would be reasonable and not harm Small/Avg Sellers.
I Worked super hard on this Topic After speaking to around 20-30 Fellow eBay sellers. so please Like it if you are a seller and respond So we can make a change in this Madness way, eBay removes Pretty good sellers for super minor problems.
Amazon Avg Return rate
Negative feedback Example
Neutral Feedback Example
Agent chat proof 1 photo
Agent chat proof 2 photo

Disclaimer: This post was written by a friend that cannot post himself: howardkitty94. Everything in this post was written and researched by him, all credit goes to him:
I've been analysing data since Friday 31st of May...and I think I may be getting somewhere...Excel sheet attached for anyone to build on what I did or to improve please also check my DD...
Now, we know someone is buying a whole load of $20 dollar Call options expiring on the 21st of June? Why?
Because that can trigger a squeeze...
Let me start off with the basics for people with a smooth brain
When you buy a call, you have a strike price and expiry date
If the closing price on the expiry date is above the strike price, you can exercise your call, the broker finds a share, and it sells it to you AT THE STRIKE PRICE, regardless of the market price.
This has a 2 business day settlement period. So if it is exercised on a Friday, it is typically delivered on a Tuesday..
So the whale investor who bought 20 dollar calls, expiring on the 21st of June… For the sake of not raising expectations we will go with a low number - If the stock price closes at $25, he will make money.
But it also does one thing behind the scenes.. It creates buying pressure on the stock price, and if many of these calls are exercised then it creates a buying pressure...driving the price higher...
However if it does not close by at least $0.01 above the strike price, calls are typically not exercised. Even if you make money from the call, it does not create a squeeze.
Which is why buying calls correctly is very important
Now this is not financial advice, this is what I am personally doing and I am NOT telling anyone what to do.
I currently own shares and based on my own personal research and conclusions I plan on adding calls.
The calls I plan on buying will be ITM or ATM.
Deep OTM $45 dollar calls are efficient, but no way near as efficient as ITM or ATM, yes they will add massive amounts of fuel to the fire if the price of the stock reaches the strike price (45$), ITM calls have higher deltas, which means that nearing expiration - Market Makers will have to hedge the risk of the ITM calls being execrised by… Buying shares themselves. Let’s say your ITM call at 20$ strike price has a delta of 0.6, and each call is 100 shares, then MM’s will have to BUY 60 shares if your call is in the money, and if shares are hard to come by, then they will fight the short sellers for these shares, further contributing to the fire. This is very explosive.
I personally would buy them so that they are high enough to make some profit from the contract, but low enough where I know it would most probably hit the strike price. 100$ strike prices are not as efficient as 20$ strike prices because their delta is 0.xxx, which as you guessed it, is worthless, and MM’s will not hedge the risk of the calls being exercised because there is no risk, no one will exercise 100 shares at 100$ per share if the stock price is at 30$ right?
So maximum risk for hedgies? 20-35 dollar calls for the 21st of June.
Why? Because how do we know this battle with naked shorts will not continue? How do we know if the CAT system will help like it should? How do we know there wont be more ladder attacks?
MOASS can take weeks, if not months to complete. But a lock the float scenario is favorable.
Buying and DRS'ing is half the battle, think of it like a military force, you have the men (us) they are the shares, now you need the guns (calls), and then we need to aim the gun correctly (correct strike prices)
Based on my calculations, on the 31st of May, 41,707 would be eligible for exercising their contracts...this equates to (using average 100 per open interest) 4,170,700 shares that need delivering T+2 (Tuesday settlement date)...This should cause some buying pressure on Monday and Tuesday just like how we saw last week when we rallied to 26.5 on Tuesday...
Lets keep using 23 dollars as a hypothetical closing price for this friday 6th...this number is now 2,559,400...
And then on 14th it is 874,000....
But then on the 21st A whopping 20,924,700 shares need delivering T+2 if it closes at $23 USD...Thats when it can hopefully lock the float... And 23$ is on the lower end. Again this is very explosive.
Now the DRS'd shares are well above 25%...how do I know this? Because at the start of May the DRS'd shares was at 25% (capped by computershare), and then 45 million new shares got sold...and the number is still at 25%...meaning we are well above 25% in DRS'd shares...
When we start a firecracker, the FOMO's join in...This drives higher pressure....If I do not sell...when all these contracts are exercised...then that creates massive buying pressure....If I hold on to the shares that are exercised...even more buying pressure...When shorts are forced to hedge their position during this run even more pressure....I hold even further than the 25th of June...Even more buying pressure....
Link attached to my spreadsheet....note the 31st of May only has calls but the rest have both calls and puts as puts below the strike price also have a right to exercise (helping the run)....
Also, if anyone can find the options data for the 31st, 24th of May please let me know so I can further build the model...I cannot find them and I need them to build a bigger picture...
If I have made any mistakes...I'm only human, correct me...
https://filebin.net/alyptqo2a39f8kr1
Spread this knowledge, calls are a cheap way to make MM’s pay for your cause. By owning ITM calls you essentially force MM’s to buy shares for you.
And remember, “no f*cking fighting” as stated by our beloved kitty. $GME

*** Update : Reading of the Will Part 2 - The Drama Begins **\*
I’m going to try and get this out quickly and maybe a little more briefly because honestly things are happening so fast now that I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with these posts.
Before I pick-up where I left off yesterday let me just share that the Chief of Police has been out to see me twice, two of my relatives are facing charges, and more than half of the family has been raging. More on that later.
Not everyone has been toxic though, I’ve had calls and visits from several relatives that told me they were happy for me and offered their support and my father has been there every step of the way. More on that later.
Sam has been the bright spot in all of this, her schedule at the hospital is crazy but when she isn’t there or at her house sleeping or changing, she’s been with me. She and I were together all the way through junior and senior high so she was basically part of the family but now she’s getting to a whole new level of insanity firsthand. She's remained supportive during all of it. When I told her last night about what Joe had done, well - that's a whole nother story!
Anyway – back to The Reading:
As soon as JA put down Joe’s letter and reached for a file, my aunt Patricia and my sister Sarah both started yelling, my cousin David stood up looking furious, jerked the door to the conference room open and left, slamming it behind him and my cousin Steven started coming around the conference table, not sure if he was coming at me or JA but he didn’t look happy. My uncle, Emily, and my other cousin were just staring at everyone in disbelief.
My father jumped up to get in between Steven and JA / me but the gentleman in the back was already on him. At this point it was obvious why he’d been brought in, turns out he’s a sheriff’s deputy from a neighboring county and the JA and Joe had wanted to err on the side of caution by having someone there. As soon as he grabbed Steven my Aunt and sister immediately shut-up to see what was happening. Steven was frog marched out of the conference room and JA followed him out along with my father. A few minutes later they all came back in except for the deputy who remained outside the door for the rest of the meeting. While they were gone everyone was completely silent and JA walked back in to a much more attentive group.
Obviously annoyed, he grabbed his file and asked everyone to wait until he was finished before anyone asked any questions. He explained there while he had been instructed to open the meeting by reading Joe’s letter there had been some updates to the will since Joe’s wrote the letter. Cousins who did not live within 100 miles of our town would receive the $100,000 even if they didn’t attend the reading. Joe had evidently also amended the will at some point after the letter was written to gift members of the family that did not attend $50,000.
JA went on to clarify that while Joe’s will had no conditions on the use of the money it did stipulate that should there be any challenge to the will or attempt to interfere with the orderly estate closure the individuals involved would not receive anything at all.
He wrapped up by explaining that there was adequate cash in the estate to pay any taxes associated with he estate and inheritance in addition to the cash gifts given to each of the family members. All property taxes had already been paid on the real estate and that was no debt associated with the estate. As a result, he expected an uncontested and simple probate period, despite the size of the estate. He shared that he hoped to see the funds distributed in a few months and asked if anyone had any questions.Patricia and Susan started to speak at the same time while Emily raised her hand. JA waved for my aunt and sister to be quiet and asked Emily what questions she had.
Emily just wanted to know if she had to wait until she was 25 to receive her inheritance since she was under 25 but over 18. JA explained that she was under 18 when the will was written but since she was now an adult there would be no waiting period. He did caution her to be careful with the funds and offered to assist her in handling them at no charge. He told her they could either be a a lot of fun for a short period of time or could make a big difference in her life in the future if she was careful. Emily thanked him and said that’s all she wanted to know.
My sister raised her hand next while Patricia sat there looking annoyed. She asked how new the will was. JA explained that while this version was written two years ago it had basically been the same for almost 18 years with changes mostly just reflecting increases in his gifts to the family. Answering the unasked question, he added that I had always been the primary beneficiary and that Joe’s intentions had always been crystal clear.
JA also shared that during the 18 years that this version of will had been in force Joe had increased the value of the estate by well over $175 million dollars, and that his mental health was never in question. Finally, he looked directly at each of the family members there and told them that if I had passed away before Joe the entire estate would have gone into a conservation trust, there would have been no gifts to the family at all. As an attorney I thought his point was crystal clear, you were never considered, don’t make trouble, you won’t win.
Patricia evidently didn’t get the point, still refusing to wait to be acknowledged, she jumped in and asked whether he was he sure this was the only will, was there maybe one somewhere else? She said she couldn’t believe her Uncle would leave them out like this. I wanted to roll my eyes but just kept a straight face, she hadn’t bothered to speak to him for at least as long as Debbie had and probably significantly longer. She lived even closer to her than Debbie and it’s not like we lived in a huge city.
It was when she said “I think WE need to go through his things, he must have changed his will and just not told you. Alex obviously manipulated my dear Uncle Joe.” (yes, she actually sounded just like a soap opera cliché’) that my father had evidently heard enough.
He slammed his hand down on the conference room table and in a voice that was as commanding now as it likely was 30 years ago declared “You absolutely will not go through his things. You’ve squandered everything you’ve ever been given, you know it, Joe knew it, and you’ve made sure I know it because for the last several years you’ve had me supplementing both your income and your sister’s. Don’t even think about making trouble over this, not only can you not afford an attorney, if you do contest this I’ll cut you AND your sister both off. That goes for all my children as well.
Turning to his brother he look at him pointedly and said “Rick, I trust I don’t have to worry about you or your children doing something stupid.” Rick looked down at the table for a minute and then looked back at my dad before saying something to the effect of. “No, I know what happened between Dad and Joe, and looking back Joe was right. I understand why he did what he did and have known for a long time that we screwed up. I’m not going to make it worse, and neither will my children if they know what’s good for them.” He also looked at Patricia and told her that she had treated Uncle Joe terribly, just like everyone else, and that she needed to shut up before she made things worse.
After a moment of general quiet JA asked if anyone had any other questions. No one said a word so he said that we were done for today and that if anyone did think of more questions to just contact him at the office. He told everyone what the will was filed with the probate court that morning and that we’d all receive formal notices shortly. He offered to provide everyone with a copy of the will or told them they could request it directly from the probate court.
With that everyone stood up to leave he asked me to stay back and said we had a lot to cover. I turned to my dad and asked if he’d stay as well. He agreed, JA had lunch brought in and that’s when we really started getting into the details, which I’ll have to share as appropriate but suffice it to say that it’s a complex estate.
Other than that, there is SO much going on. Someday I’m going to be glad I wrote this all down, right now it’s just overwhelming. I may make an update about the family drama that’s unfolding, plus some more about Sam and I. I do think it’s worth sharing what Joe did to hold the family’s legacy together and to build on it. They say still waters run deep… I think I understand that expression better now. I hope I can do half as well as he did.
So much for making this brief!
*** UPDATE: Joe’s Legacy ***
I’m going to summarize what was a three hour initial meeting with JA, my father ,and a series of managers that oversaw Joe’s holdings. The bottom line is that Joe and his brother (my Great Grandfather) had a serious difference of opinion about how the land should be handled. Since the land was easily divided they split the tracts and each went their own way. Enough of the land was already producing revenue from land leases that the family lived very comfortably and didn’t even bother to push for more to be leased out. My Great Grandfather didn’t want to mess with the leases or see the money come in a little at a time, he wanted a lot of money and he wanted it right away. As a result he eventually started selling it off, just smaller parcels at first, but over time he started selling larger and larger tracts.
Joe couldn’t have been any more different but he couldn’t stand the idea of someone else owning our families land. He actively began marketing leases and finding users until about 80% of the property was producing revenue. That gave him the cash flow to buy the land my grandfather was selling. It couldn’t have been easy at first and JA said that in the beginning he had to take out loans to buy the property, but over time he was tucking away so much money every year that he was able to simply pay cash whenever his brother sold off a piece. By the time my grandfather died about 20 years ago he had consolidate 45,000 acres under group of holding companies, a large portion of it producing.
Joe never married (in fact he rarely dated, although I think there may be more to it that simply his desire for privacy) and maintained a simply life, He simply socked away all the revenue from the land and held it to buy more real estate as the opportunity existed. When the Great Recession hit in 2008 he had so much cash on hand that he was able to not only purchase the rest of the land that had ended up with my father and his siblings, he also was able to extend the land holdings significantly beyond that.
He had done something similar in the 70’s and 80’s when the small towns across the U.S. saw businesses closing and buildings sitting empty on Main Street. As those buildings sat vacant Joe purchased them for pennies on the dollar. Among the real estate held by the estate are dozens of buildings and parcels, primarily in our town but also throughout the rest of the valley. All are now occupied although many are rented far below market rates to local business owners. JA said the journals would explain that.
Outside of the real estate, Joe made investments in businesses that he thought had merit. His estate has interests in over 20 locally owned successful enterprises and a couple that eventually moved out of the valley and went public. He stayed away from most stocks, saying he didn’t know much about “big business” (ironic) but did invest in and hold blue chip stocks when the real estate market wasn’t offering “good deals”.
About 35 years ago though he stopped buying anything except for the a few properties that were particularly important to him, other than the land that his father had once held. He avoided making business investments or buying any stock that had any hint of instability. His focus was on building adequate cash to cover estate and inheritance taxes that couldn’t be mitigated or avoided completely by proper planning. As a result he was able to fund trusts establishing a community foundation and a family trust. In fact, both of those already exist outside of probate and will require some immediate attention.
At the end of the meeting JA passed me back the box of journals and the rolled maps he had laid out on the table. The maps contained detailed notes about the properties and the circumstances of their acquisition. It will take me quite a while to get familiarized with them as we didn’t touch on any particular parcels or buildings during the meeting, save one notable one.
After my recovery, but Joe asked me if I wanted to live with him while I figured out what I was going to do. Since the university where I was going to be going to law school was not far from town, I took him up on it. We lived together for nearly two years before my graduation, although I spent my fair share of nights staying at friends’ home after late night study sessions. Joe had a converted apartment above the barn where he kept the Jaguar and a couple of other cars and I moved into it, so we both had our privacy. Going up and down the steep stairs felt like an easier version of rehab and the quiet of being in a barn overlooking the woods was the perfect transition back to real life.
After I graduated, I made the decision to hang out my own shingle about a year after passing the Bar and working as a junior associate at a larger firm. Being older than all the other junior associates was fine but being with a large firm just wasn’t for me. Joe asked me if I was going to continue to stay with him but I told him I planned on moving closer to town as soon as I could find something cheap enough. I explained that I felt like I needed to get back into the community to start building the practice and be more accessible to clients. He thought that was a great idea and I started looking around but wasn’t in a hurry.
About a month later I “ran into” JA and he mentioned that he heard I was looking for an office. He said he had a client that had just renovated one of the downtown buildings and was looking for a tenant. His client didn’t want to give anyone long term lease and so he knew he had to make the rent cheap enough to accept the risk that they might have to move out on short notice. There was an apartment on the second floor and professional offices on the first floor. Once he told me how much the rent would be I took it sight unseen and have lived there for three years.
JA had a smile on his face when he mentioned that my home was now literally “my” home. Evidently, as soon as I told Joe I wanted to move closer to town he had contractors begin rehabbing the building as quickly as possible. Two crews had worked for a month to turn it into an incredible apartment for and the perfect office for a small town lawyer. I have to admit that for the last three years I had been keeping my fingers crossed that I wasn’t going to lose my “too good to be true” rent deal. There is no doubt in my mind that Joe had did more to influence things around this town than anyone, save a select few, ever knew.
JA said we had a lot more to go through but that it had been a long day for everyone. He suggested we pick up the conversation next week, at my convenience. He told me to call him anytime over the weekend if I had any immediate questions. He reminded me that in addition to being one of the firm’s largest clients Joe was also his best friend. He said he’d like to talk soon more about Joe – that there were things I needed to know that probably weren’t in the journals. I thanked him and asked if my dad and I could use the conference room a little while longer. He said of course and started gather his things up.
Before he stood-up to go he paused and with a look of momentary discomfort said: “One last item. The “assistant” we had in the back of the room is a sheriff’s deputy one county over. We felt it best to have security due to the size of the estate and the circumstances of the distribution. We’ve retained him along with several other deputies from nearby counties to maintain 24-hour security over the next several days, just until tempers cool down.”
I was shocked, I hadn’t even considered that someone in the family might want to harm me. I started to shake my head, getting ready to object, certain that it wasn’t necessary, when my father put his hand on my arm and spoke first. “That’s a great idea – I’m sure it won’t be needed but given the circumstance you can’t be too cautious, for Alex AND for anyone that might be around him.”
As he said that my thoughts went to Sam, and I felt guilty for not thinking of her safety. I just nodded and said thank you, that we’d revisit security needs next week after things cooled off.
With that, JA got up, shook our hands, and left. Dad and I sat quietly for a moment, looking at the papers in front of me. Dad spoke first. “You gave Joe something no one else in the family did and he gave back to you in an equal way. Don’t question this and don’t let anyone else cause you to doubt whether this was fair. You’re the only one in the family that Joe could count on to respect his life’s work. If it had been handled any other way his years would have been wasted and he knew it.”
Dad was right, Joe had instilled in me the same respect for our way of life and our family’s legacy that he had. I knew that it was up to me to pass it on. The money was a huge life changer, but the responsibility he had passed on to me was what really had me thinking. Protecting our family’s legacy and preserving our community’s heritage and way of life, he had spent a lifetime building the resources he knew I would need if I was going to honor his vision.
I hope I’m able to make him proud. I told Dad I’d appreciate his help navigating the situation and told him how unprepared I felt to take this on. I asked him how much he knew about everyone’s (our relatives) financial situation and whether he had any idea how people were going to react. He shared that both his sisters had been reckless, they were living on a minimal income, supplemented by him. That their kids had drained them over the years and were themselves, for the most part, overextended. His brother had been more careful and didn’t have to worry but that his divorce had cost him and that when he died there wouldn’t be much to leave the children.
I didn’t ask, but he told me that he was better off than the rest. Even though he had been married three times he and his first wife (my oldest brother’s mother) divorced after just a couple of years and it hadn’t been very costly. It was quite a few years later that he married my mother, we lost her to cancer around 15 years ago. Dad said that when he sold the land it wasn’t because he wanted to live it up, he just didn’t want to deal with the property or manage the leases anymore. He had invested well over the years and didn’t need the headache as he got older.
He also told me that he had a very clear prenup with Jessica and that if they remained married she would receive an allowance after he passed and have a condo in a nice resort community in the area to live in for the rest of her life, but that she was not going to be receiving a sizable portion of the estate. He told me that as immature as could be sometimes that she was well meaning and that after the loss of my mother she had brought him happiness again. He said she forced him to stay young in order to keep up with her.
He told me she felt horrible about the way she handled the call with me, she was trying to be helpful and went about it horribly wrong. She wanted to try and get in front of it with the family because she knew I would want the car. Evidently, she had also told Dad he needed to buy it for me if I didn’t have the cash. I guess I misjudged her as badly as Joe misread the situation with Dad. I’ve got to do better if I’m ever going to be able to bring the family together.
Since he and Joe didn’t speak anymore he never knew Joe had held onto his land (and he’d certainly never told me) or that he would have wanted to buy it, so he put it on the market and reinvested the proceeds of the sale. His investments had done well and although his estate was nothing like Joe’s he didn’t need to worry about money, could help his sisters, and expected each of his children to helped well along in their retirement planning when he died.
I couldn’t believe how much I’d mistaken I’d been about Dad’s financial planning – maybe I picked up on Joe’s disdain for what he thought everyone was doing or maybe it was because, as a family we really didn’t talk much about money.
Dad and his siblings never really had normal careers so us kids money just “was” – it wasn’t until later that you really got to understand how hard most people worked for it. I know that my oldest brother and some of my cousins had struggled to put together normal lives, lacking much in the way of an example from our parents.
Joe had assumed my father had as little regard for the opportunities he had been given as his brother had had. I can’t believe that my father and Joe shared so much more in common than they thought. I immediately realized unless we wanted the family’s “legacy” to be misunderstandings and unrealistic life expectations the first thing that would have to change was going to be how we communicated.
I feel like Dad was thinking the same thing I was. It had been a long and emotional day, it was almost 4:30 and I knew that most people had probably already left the firm’s offices for the day. I didn’t want to take advantage of anyone and suggested we talk over the weekend. Dad agreed and said he’d be making some calls this evening to talk to other people in the family and would update me.
Both of our phones had been on silent, and when he mentioned making calls I looked down to see I had 37 missed calls and over 20 new messages I noticed Dad looking at his and the expression on his face told me that he was seeing the same thing. We stood up and hugged before gathering up our folders. I grabbed my backpack and Dad packed his briefcase (I just can’t bring myself to carry one or an attache) and we headed to the door.
Leaving the conference room we found the deputy waiting outside the doors, waiting to introduce himself. Dad gave him his number and asked him to call if he needed anything. I explained I was going to be meeting a friend for dinner but that first I was going to go change. He said he’d be posted outside my building or wherever I went until 7:00, after which he’d would be changing places with the next deputy. I asked Dad not to say anything about the security since I didn’t want to drive a wedge between myself and the family and he agreed. In hindsight me might have avoided some drama later if I hadn’t asked that, but I still think it was for the best.
I had about two hours to kill before I was going to meet Sam and share what happened that day. I knew she’d be happy about the property and the car but I didn’t know how she’d react to the news. I will share that it wasn’t what I expected.
Sorry – this is long again. I’m going to have to try and catch-up at some point but I’ll have to save what happened during my talk with Sam and the first of this weekend’s “family issues” for the next post.
Thanks again for all the well wishes and for giving me things to think about.

This story starts three years ago. During Covid I had watched my family almost lose their lives to it . And all I could picture was my tombstone saying "Here Lies "the Flaky Vegatable" she worked hard . I didnt want it to be all about work . After seeing my parents fighting for their life, I started my No era. By that I mean I worked hard as a assistant manager for 8 years and I started telling my boss no when he asked me to work extra. I was already doing his job for him (he did nothing but sit down on his phone all day) . I never had asked for days off before and I was suddenly taking days off to do things I wanted to do or missed out on because I had spent the last eight years working . Countless Holidays, Birthdays, last moments with family, etc that I missed for a job.
My Store Manager didn't like that I started developing healthy boundaries and absolutly hated the word no . I was asking for morning shifts after working 2nd shift for 8 years . I wanted something tiny for myself . Like a day or 2 where I didnt do second shift. He had it in his head , that he must get rid of me. Now he was stealing money from the job for years. There had been numerous issues . But He was a toxic boss and always put in the fear of god into us if we tried to report him. I started report him to loss prevention . And then he set me up to take the fall. And I lost my job. I was 600$ in debt at the time. No biggie
Losing my job ended up being a Blessing as I was able to become a Store Manager at a great company seasonally. My first year was one fo the toughest. My boss was a old man who thought women belonged barefoot , pregnant, and at home. Another toxic environemnt , but after months of abuse, he was let go . But i endured alot. I cried nearly everyday, was in constant fear of losing this job, and this man was honestly hiring people to low key replace me . Dealing with this man showed me I was stronger then I ever gave myself credit for.
After this job ended , I got what I thought was my dream job. It came into my life so fast and I was thankful for the opportunity , I had to take it. I got paid weekly, doing what I love doing. I thought I had the best job and boss in the world . I was a store manager here too, meanwhile doing something I loved which didnt even feel like working. While I was getting getting experience doing something that eventually I wanted to do. Learning the business, so I could run my own company. My boss even worked with my schedule and made accommodations to fit my personal life. I thought I had won the lottery, until it came crashing down about a month later. The first check bounced, she had told me it was an error. and I was stupid enough I believed her. The hecks after that cleared for a while, until they didn't . All she did was make excuses for the next month . In that time, I barely had money to make my car payments, food, my lifestyle . I stopped getting my nails done , getting my hair done. I was begining to live below my means. She kept saying she would pay me and beause it was my dream job I stayed until I showed up one day and there wasnt Power. That was the last straw, i knew in my heart that at that point she was never going to pay me , so I walked away. But I did grieve. I grieved for the life I wanted to have, the information I would have learned, and started to cry at night again. 3000$ in debt with
2 months went by and I was applying, getting nowhere with applications. I had applied at this shop and I had gotton per diem. During the week I would door dash. The first month I didnt get paid, apparently a "techinal error" in payroll or so he claimed. He gave me a check and from their I was getting paid weekly, minmum. 2 months go by I needed a full time job. I couldnt make ends meet. I had a job for about a week, where I absolutly hated it and I would come come crying every night . I was grossly over qualified and at night I grew bored. Something regular people would take hours to do took me 15 minutes to do. This man from the shop called me and told me he needed me full time and offered me a pay raise to come work with him. So I agreed. Now I was working liveable hours . While there, I was paying my bills down . I got to live a little, I went to 2 free concerts that summer , and White Castle. (yes the hamburger place) The way I was getting paid, I had thought taxes were getting taken out of my check, because to me thats the only way the math was mathing. So i was oblivious. I dealt with , customers complaining about expired products, melted products, I had no toliets for week, unreasable Karens , and he would come in and constantly berate me . He told me not to touch the shelves, but whined that they weren't dusted. I pulled expired product and he would put it back out. This started bothering me a little until the cherry on top of the cake happened. He asked me if I would do sexual favors for him if he paid me . Of course I said no, and bam magically 2 weeks later ( a week after i complained about not recieving that paycheck ) I was "Fired" . His reasoning I was lazy . My reasoning he was an arrogant asshole. That missing 800$ paycheck broke me . (I barely had enough to pay for food, and credit card bills that month) After the fact I found out taxes were not being taken out and while he said and I signed saying I was being paid what I was. He was in fact paying me well under the minimum wage. Also found out I couldnt even go after him , because this man did not even have a business license.
I had gone back to my seasonal job , they had welcomed me with open arms. And I was so greatful for them even though, I was late in the season and would only have it for 2.5 months. In that time I was able to catch up on my bills . I had gone to a convention so now I was 5000$ in credit ard debt. It wasnt bad for me.
I had doordashed after my seasonal job ended I picked up doordashing. This time, I fell in love with it. I made it my full time job and I was making enough money each day where if I didnt feel like working that day. I didn't. I didnt care when pay day was because I loved my job and I had they money . I had mastered it , I was a 5 star dasher and genuinly cared about my customer base. You ordered food in the rain, I got it covered in plastic so it wouldnt get wet, etc. 3000$ in debt .
Then last year my world crashed and burned literally. I was driving and suddenly the world started spinning. I had been hit. The witness who heard the crash i guess opened the doro and told officers I was door dashing. I had a concussion , they asked me the president I said Trump (It was Biden) and I couldn't speak coheartly it was taking extra long to comprehend things. Now the cops didnt ask me what happen nor had I recalled it. I was rushed into an ambulance. It wasnt til the next day I realised how bad things were. I was bruised and broken. My car was totaled . And I was convinced , I had died and came back in my car. My car was on track to be paid off in 4 months that year. Paying it off 2 years early.
Point Blank , Insurance didn't cover it . Because the cop wrote in the report that I was doordashing and fialed to stop. I had the right of way . The girl who hit me was going 80 miles and hour in a 30. Completely destroyed my car and she ended up stopping a half mile uop the road. But according to the police report I was wrong. Mind you I had not talked to confirm this, the witness had assumed. No one would take my case because I guess Doordashing is a complete gray area. I had no one to fight my way out of this situation , and honestly I feel like if I had fought harder (just after I felt like I had died) something would have changed. I could prove she was also in the wrong . I was out of work with no car , no job . 3 months while I healed. 5000$ credit card debt , 5000$ my car (to which I has signed over to the insurance company because they said they would take care of it) . My mom had cosigned a car with me after my foot healed .
September comes around ( I had already started my season job) and I get papers saying I owe this money. 34,000$ for this ladys car. Apparently she was on the clock in her corperate car. Decemeber come around I get another bill in the mail for this girls medical bills.
$5,000 in her medical bills
34,000$ for her car
5000$ for my car
300 a month for my current car
8000$ in credit card debt
Now I had contemplated bankruptcy ( i didnt go through with it at the time) , after I saw the Police report, even though I didnt agree with it. I had the hardest time finding a job after my seasonal position , as I usually take Christmas off. It took me over 600 job applications in 6 months, to find a job. Now I work a job I hate . I come home crying everyday, its definatly a toxic work environment, I feel like I get threatened every day and it seems I get yelled at for drinking some water . I'm grossily over qualified for the position and now I'm waiting for my seasonal job to start. I need to get out asap.
I'm 8 days out from meeting with my lawyer. I have debt collectors calling me and my family left and right. I am potentially getting sued pretty much I imagine for everything. Ive been threatened by them for months. Everyday I live in fear that I'm going to be served papers before I see my lawyers. Its been a year since this accident robbed me of my whole life.
Now, I tried explaining my situation to a friend. And she keeps thinking the worst case senario. She doesnt want me to go through with it because she thinks its wrong. She thinks I should suck it up and pay on it because she paid off her debt. I think its because she doesnt understand . (ive read so much , and i still dont completely get it ) Ive explained it to her and even told her I paid for the best attorney in our state. She thinks the worst will happen (because I dont have the best luck) and I'll be stuck with paying it anyway. She doesnt understand how I feel, not getting my hair done, or my nails, or not being able to sleep at night beause I'm living in a nightmare. I'm so tired of fighting. I'm so tired of just existing and not living.
Bankruptcy is my Power Move . I know that sounds crazy. In fact when I first said it sounded crazy to me. But I feel like its going to give me back my power. Ive been in this constant state of fight or flight for so long, I forgot what it feels like to breathe. I wanna take back my power and my life! I want to be able to sleep peacefully. I want to know what it feels like to not live in this toxic, fight or flight state. After the pandemic I decided I wanted to truely live, I wanna travel, experience my life.
This feels like the only way I get my power back. It still sounds crazy. I just want to be able to wake up and be able to breathe again. I honestly feel like when this is all over that I will get up and let out a breath I didnt even know I was holding. I'll wake up and my heart wont be so heavy. I honestly have no idea what the future holds, but after this is over , I feel like I owe it to myself to find out.
If You sat through this whole post Thank You. I needed to get this off my chest with people who would understand.

If you came here from AITAH then you've possibly already read this... if not, this is the story of what unfolded after my Great Uncle Joe passed away, and what has turned into a crazy few days - and maybe a story that will continue for years to come.
A couple of days ago, my Joe passed away at the age of 92. The best way to describe Joe was “eccentric.” He was reclusive and very private, living on what I assume was the last little piece of our family’s property (my great-grandfather had amassed a large amount of land that had been sold off over the decades after his death). A lot of people thought he was a hermit, but I never saw him like that. To me, he was the most compassionate person I knew. He was wise, caring, and honestly the only person in the family that ever spent serious quality time with me.
Joe had always been the odd man out in our family. He was the youngest of three brothers – Alex, (who I’m named after) died in the Korean war and my grandfather Robert passed away when I was still in high school. My family never bothered to pay attention to Joe; he was never invited to family events. In fact, I think he was ignored because he lived a simple life in a shotgun house on what I guess was the last piece of land that my Great Grandfather (GG) had owned. I got the feeling that no one wanted to bother him, thinking he’d just cause them trouble or maybe ask them for money, but I spent a lot of time with him, and we shared many conversations about life, legacy, and the things that truly matter – he never appeared to need anything and certainly never asked me for money.
Now, a bit more backstory on the family. We’ve been in this area for generations, and there's a strong sense of unearned privilege among many of my relatives. Like I said earlier, my GG owned a lot of land, around 60,000 acres to be exact. It was fertile farmland, tracts of timber, and stretched into the mountains where he had leased out select areas for mining, and some of the most beautiful lakes and riverfront in the state. When he died, each of the brothers inherited 30,000 acres from their parents (1/2 to each surviving son of the 60,000 total acres of timberland, mining leases, and game land my GG owned). Our grandfather, like his brothers, sold off his share over the years. He lived large and was married three times, having children with each wife. By the time he died, he had sold off about half his land, and his children (including my father) each received a nice cash inheritance and split the remaining land among them equally.
This should have been plenty for most people to retire comfortably, but not for my family. Each of the children, my dad included, then sold off their land to fund their standard of living until finally there was nothing left. There was a lot of resentment among the uncles and aunts and particularly among the cousins who experienced different upbringings—some of whom had little to no memory of their grandfather and even less knowledge of the legacy my family had been gifted, and squandered. Joe was the only one that seemed to care about the family’s legacy and wanted to preserve some record of it. He would sit with me for hours telling stories. When I came back from Afghanistan and was slowly recovering from my injuries he came and saw me every day. He’d share stories and I’d write them down – I’ve got a heck of a collection to share with my children one day, if I’m ever lucky enough to meet the right lady.
From a young age, I was captivated by Joe's stories about his oldest brother, who died in the Korean War. There was an 18-year age difference between them, so they didn’t share many adventures, but Joe idolized his brother as a hero. Those stories inspired me deeply, and I was the only one in the family who chose to serve in the military. Joe was my biggest supporter during my service and, later, when I was injured and medically retired before I turned 30. After my recovery, Joe encouraged me to pursue a career that would make a difference. Ultimately, I decided to go back to college and attend law school. The two years of law school were a nice distraction from the physical and mental pain I brought back with me from the war, and I ultimately became an attorney advocating for veterans. Now I have a small practice in town and focus most of my efforts on pro-bono work (I’m comfortable on the few paying cases I take at a time and my military retirement). I live and work in a cool old space on our town’s main street that I lucked into at a super cheap rent.
This morning I got a call from my great-uncle’s attorney (who was also one of his only friends). I know him professionally, and he’s a good man – he feeds me the occasional client that’s not right for his firm, and we’ve got a good working relationship. He said that Joe had instructed him to prepare me to be ready to deal with some family drama after his will was read. He said Joe wanted me to know he loved me, that he had confidence that I’d do the right thing, and that he was sorry that I was the only one he could trust to handle “things” appropriately. Cryptic, right? Well, that was pretty much normal for Joe! Damn, I’m going to miss him, but I guess I already said that.
Joe always implied that I was the only one in the family that ever showed him any concern and that he’d never forget it, but we never talked about money or anything else; it wasn’t important to either of us. I think Joe made me realize how much more important it was to be a good man than a rich man and that nothing else ever really mattered. The rest of my family definitely doesn’t see it like this.
Like I said, Joe was the black sheep because he didn’t fit into the mold of privilege and entitlement. Most of the family didn’t treat him with the respect he deserved, and they really missed out on getting to know an amazing person. I will say though that Joe had a sharp wit and wasn’t shy about sharing his opinions of how my father and his siblings had treated the family’s legacy. There’s a part of me that thinks Joe might have set things up to mess with those who ignored him and didn’t honor their heritage and ancestors.
I’m not sure what to expect to come from this, but Joe was eccentric, not delusional – if he said that he was getting ready to deal me some “family drama” to deal with then I believe him, but honestly I can’t figure what it would be. Joe was a simple guy – he never worked that I knew of, and the times I asked him what he did for a living, he’d just tell me that he had my great-grandfather to thank for a nice life. I assume he’s referring to the land he sold off, giving him the means to just hunt, fish, raise his dogs (I’ll have to tell you about them sometime), and spend time with me. Maybe Joe managed to hold onto some cash and was going to make a big deal about what he was doing with it? I suppose some of the family might get spun up about that given the fact there is not much left from what my GG passed on?
I’ll know more tomorrow. The will is supposed to be read on Friday, and I’ll update you then. Maybe I’m worried about nothing, but I feel like I’m about to be in a battle, and I haven’t felt like this since Kabul. I know this isn’t an AITA post yet, but I guess I’m wondering if AIGTBTA – Am I Going To Be The Asshole?
*** MINI-UPDATE **\*
I've had several more calls from extended family asking if I knew anything and I still don't have anything concrete to share but it sounds like everyone over the age of 18 has been asked to come to the reading, that's a little unusual in my opinion but then again I don't know how long ago Joe wrote this will. By my count there could be up to 15 people there tomorrow.
I went to Joe's place to pick up his dog's stuff early this morning (he's living with me now) and as much as I'd have liked to nose around to try and figure out what's going on I have too much respect for him to do that (plus it's not my stuff). There was a stack of bound journals (he's the one that had me start journaling) and other documents on the dining table. Joe had set a note on top asking for them to be delivered to his attorney in the event he passed. I think he knew he wasn't coming back and set them out there so they wouldn't be overlooked when the family came in after he died. He was very concerned that a lot of family history was going to be forgotten when he died. I'll make sure that doesn't happen.
One thing did stick out as strange - the other reason I went by was to pick up his mail so I could drop it at his attorney's office this afternoon before the meeting tomorrow - lucky I did since he left that pile of stuff. Obviously I didn't open any mail, but I can say that it's not what I expected. He spent several days in the hospital before he died and I hadn't been back to his house since he went in, so I knew there would be about a week's worth of mail piled up. I figured it would be mostly bills and junk but several of the letters looked like checks from corporations, including a couple I'm personally familiar with. Maybe he did have more going on than I thought, but honestly it just wasn't ever something we talked about.
Last quick thing and nothing to do with the AITAH thing- only sharing because I'm actually personally excited about something that happened and this is taking the place of my journaling for a couple of day. About a month ago my high-school sweetheart moved back to town to take a position with the local hospital. She used to come to Joe's with me when we were in high school and Joe let us take his brother's car to go to Prom. He really liked her and she always said she enjoyed spending time with him too.
She was a year behind me in school. We tried to keep seeing each other after I enlisted but that almost never works out. After graduation she went to college, then medical school, and did her residency on the West Coast. She rarely came back and I was gone for so long we totally lost touch. It's been over decade since we've actually seen each other, although I did hear from her a couple times after I was injured. Back then she was just starting her residency and between her schedule, the time difference, and my rehab we never really got could find the time to really reconnect.
Yesterday she called me to tell me how sorry she was to hear he had passed and we're planning on meeting for drinks tonight to catch up - hopefully tonight. I really needed something to look forward to and this definitely qualifies!
*** (NOT SO) MINI-UPDATE 2 **\*
Ok, I didn't think I'd be updating again until have the reading tomorrow morning at 10:30, but things are heating up a little already. In addition to the random calls from cousins who knew that Joe and I were close as well as from my siblings, I’ve gotten three phone calls today from the "previous generation".
First call was from my Aunt Debbie, she’s the youngest of my dad’s brothers and sisters and always has been a lot to deal with. She married a nice guy but always is complaining about money, wanting to travel more, buy a nicer home, etc. After my grandfather passed away she spent the money he left her on who-knows-what and within 10 years had sold off all of the land she had inherited. Unfortunately she was selling off land when the market was down during the recession, so what would have probably been worth well over $30,000,000 today she sold for less than a third of that. That’s still a lot of money but it seems like she’s burned through a lot of it already (or given it to her kids). Anyway – she called me to tell me that she knows I’m the only one with a key to Joe’s place and she wanted me to meet her there and let her in this afternoon. I told her I was already busy today and she got a little annoyed and told me not to forget to bring it with me to the reading tomorrow. She said they want to clear the house out ASAP because she's going to develop the land into homesites and needs to get things rolling. This was news to me but I just ignored her and told her I’d see her tomorrow. For reference, I know for a fact that despite living within 30 minutes of Joe she hadn’t spoken to him in over a DECADE!
The next call I got was from my father’s current wife, Jessica. She’s 20 years younger than he is and is the only wife he didn’t have kids with (thank God, and no, I don't care if she reads this). Anyway – my dad’s wife called me and said she knew how much Joe / Alex’s car meant to me and told me that if I wanted to buy it she’d try to give me the first shot at it. I just thanked her and got off the phone. This woman has literally never even met Joe.
Finally, I just got off the phone with my dad. He called me about 30 minutes after his wife did. This is the first time I’ve heard from him since Joe died. My Dad is actually closer to Joe’s age than Joe was to Alex’s. Joe was 14 when my dad was born, like me he was so much younger than his brothers that there was almost a generational gap between them. Joe was probably more like an older brother than a young uncle and for a while they were really close but something happened (no one ever told me what) and there was a falling out.
My dad has a big personality – he’s lived a pretty extravagant life and for despite being nearly 80 years old (yeah, he was over 60 before I got out of high school) he’s still the “big man” when he goes into a room. He was my Grandfather’s oldest son so he’s always taken on the lead role at family events. Like his sisters and brother he sold off his land too, although I know he sold it off in smaller pieces and over a longer period of time. He basically used it as bank account and selling it off was his version of making a withdrawal. I assume he’s set for the rest of his life and I know my brothers and sister are expecting an inheritance when he dies. In fact - they speak pretty openly about it.
My Dad's call was a welcome change after the calls from Debbie and Jessica. My dad actually sounded pretty reserved and a little down. The first thing he did was apologize to me for Jessica’s call. He told me she had no right to do that and she had no say in anything that was going to happen with Joe’s property - or his one day for that matter. Evidently he tore her a new one after walking in on the tail-end of her conversation with me. He told me that he knew I was the only one in the family that spent time with Joe and that regardless of what happens at reading tomorrow he was going to give me anything Joe left him – if he left him anything at all. He told me that he appreciated how much I had done for Joe and that he had regrets about how their relationship had soured. I’ve literally never heard him talk like that before and it honestly has me a little emotional. It sucks that he has to live with those regrets when a 30 minute drive was all it would have taken to start fixing a relationship.
Finally – he told me that he didn’t really know for sure but he suspected tomorrow might hold some surprises. He told me that he’d be there to back me up no matter what happened and that I wasn’t going to be alone. I asked him if he knew something but he promised me he didn’t know anything for sure and that he would have told me if he did. He said he'd just always had suspicions about "some things" and that depending on how things unfolded he didn’t want to see any more relationships go the way his and Joe’s had, or the way Joe and my grandfather’s had.
I told him about the call from Debbie and he said she was way out of line and to not worry about it, that he'd be giving her a call immediately after he got off the phone with me. He also told me that I shouldn’t let anyone else in Joe’s house, that I was the only one Joe gave a key to for a reason and that no one had any business going in there until after the will was read.
Obviously I wasn’t planning on letting anyone in but this was possibly the most supportive call I’ve ever had with my father and I just appreciated that he was planning on standing up for me. My brothers, sister, and cousins (I’ve got 2 brothers, 1 sister and 8 cousins) all got used to a certain way of life from their parents but frankly none of them have been able to maintain it on their own and most of them are pretty petty about it. Their parents aren't much better, despite having had the benefit of a generous inheritance.
I’ve got to stop by the attorney’s office at 4:30 and then I’m meeting Samantha (Sam) for drinks and maybe dinner if we both have time. If you want to hear about that let me know, otherwise I’ll just stick to the family stuff.
*** up-DATE **\*
It’s late – I don’t know if I’ll get all this out but I wanted to write it down before I forgot.
First, Joe’s attorney looks worn out. He didn’t share much when I dropped everything off, just thanked me and we chatted for a few minutes. He did say that he hoped I was going to get a good night’s rest, that tomorrow was going to be long. He also asked how many clients I was working with right now, which was odd, we rarely talk about caseloads. I told him I was just handling some contract work and a few family estate planning matters (ironic, right?). He just nodded and said “Good.” I could tell he wanted to say more but he just shook my hand and said he’d see me in the morning.
Drinks with Sam turned into dinner and then dinner turned into an after-dinner drink before we both had to get home since it’s a “school night”. Seeing her was like stepping back in time... I don’t know about her, but for me all the feelings that I thought were just a high school crush came rushing back as soon as I sat down with her. I know I might just be feeling a little bit stressed by what’s going on and maybe she’s just a welcome relief from a bad week, but I’ll take it for now. She’s done everything she said she would in high school – stayed focused in college and medical school, did her surgical residency in under six years and then her cardiothoracic fellowship. She literally just finished and moved back here as soon as she was done. Evidently she received a full scholarship from a foundation associated with the hospital on the condition she return to provide surgical support to the community for 5 years after she finished her fellowship. We’ve got a fantastic hospital but I guess it’s always a challenge to recruit talented surgeons. I told her about my practice and the veteran advocacy work I do. I told her I didn’t plan on getting rich doing it but that I enjoyed being home and that the connection I felt to the land here just keeps growing stronger.
We talked a lot about Joe. She surprised me when she told me that she kept in touch with him even after we stopped seeing each other. She’d call him once a month or so to see how he was doing and she had evidently visited him when he was in the hospital during his last few days. He never told me that she stayed in touch – in fact we never spoke much about her at all. I hadn’t seen her in ten years and frankly didn’t think she’d ever come back from the West Coast. I’m starting to think that Joe kept a lot of secrets.
I told her about the reading of the will tomorrow and the phone calls I’d gotten today she got visibly upset when I mentioned the comment about the car and I think she almost cried when I told her my aunt wanted to tear down Joe’s house and divide the land up for a bunch of houses.
Then she reminded me about Joe’s plans for a house… I had completely forgotten that back when she and I would go over there regularly he had pulled out these extensive plans for a large home that he said was designed to be built on the slope of the valley, overlooking the river below that fronts the property. It was intended to be a family home, but without a family he never saw the point of living anywhere other than his house.
He had done the designs himself, drawing every architectural detail, making landscaping plans, even identified the site. He was quite an artist and had put so much of himself into those plans. I can’t believe she remembered them but she said she always wanted to see that cabin in person and couldn’t bare the thought that someone would chop up the beautiful property just to put in a bunch of McMansions for the crowd coming out from the city for the weekend and summers. I told her I was going to do everything I could to prevent that from happening but that I didn’t know how it was going to turn out.
For a while I forgot about tomorrow and we just got caught up on what we’d been doing. She let me share what I wanted to and never pried for more information. We ended up holding hands across the table, which somehow felt incredibly intimate. When it was time to go I walked her to her car and opened her door for her. She turned to me and we hugged for what seemed like a full minute before she sat down and I closed the door. She rolled the window down and told me she wanted me to call her right after the will is read and that if I needed her to she’d be there if things got unpleasant.
So that’s it – kind of a perfect way to end the day. I wanted to get this out before I went to bed, it’s helping me keep my head clear. Next update will be after the will is read.
NOPE: I was literally about to hit post on this and my phone dinged with a text from Sam. I’ll just put it here exactly as I got it: “Tonight made me feel like life interrupted something special 18 years ago. Let's not let it interrupt us again.” I guess it wasn’t just me.
I think whatever happens tomorrow I’ll be fine. Next update will be after the will is read. Thanks for all the comments - honestly this is very cathartic - even the ugly ones.
*** UPDATE-ISH **\*
Ok - this morning has been crazy. There is too much to unpack here all at once and I'm supposed to go back in with Joe's attorneys in a few minutes. The family is mostly gone (I asked my dad to stay) and the firm is bringing in lunch shortly so we can keep working through the details.
Honestly, I don't know what to think. I know I promised an update and I'll try to get one out today, but more happened this morning than I can even think about getting down on paper. I haven't processed most of it myself and this afternoon sounds like it's going to be more of the same.
Some of you were right, and yes, there was drama. Also - I know I'm not going to be the asshole but I can already tell not everyone is going to feel the same way.
Side note - Sam called me this morning and told me not to let the property go no matter what. She even offered to help me pay for it while I figured things out. I've got a lot to talk to her about. I know I need to get to know the adult Sam and she needs to get to know me but for now it's good to have someone to talk to since I can't talk to Joe.
*** Update : Reading of the Will Part 1 - The Letter **\*
This day has been ridiculous. I'm sad, angry, honored, and humbled all at once, and processing that is harder than I thought it would be. I'm waiting on Sam to get done at the hospital – she’ll call me on the way here. I've got a lot to talk to her about and I haven’t told her anything yet. Let me first say that I'm not comfortable sharing the full details on everything going on right now but I won't hold back on the people side of things. I’m also going to have to break this up into a couple of posts I’m sure… sorry this is long but this is just how I journal.
As I mentioned already, the day started really well. Samantha called me first thing this morning - I didn't text her back last night because it was so late and I was really tired. I also wanted time to think about "us" (if there can even be an us already?) before I spoke with her again. I'm not a rash person. I've never been someone to rush into anything and frankly I've not had a serious relationship since Sam and I broke up. I've had a series of girlfriends, some that I loved in many ways, but no one that, in hindsight, I was "in love with".
Between trying to juggle school and the service, two deployments, and then the transition back to civilian life, I just wasn't that interested. Now that I'm back home and have settled in to a life and a sort-of career I've been ready to find someone but frankly I just haven't met anyone who I connect with on a level deeper than just shared interests.
When I woke up this morning I knew that something was different. Despite everything going, on my first thoughts weren't about the reading today, or losing Joe, they were about Sam. As much as I loved that feeling I know it's time to be cautious. I don't want to hurt Sam or frankly, to get hurt.
When she called I wasn't sure what she was going to say but I was honestly a little worried that we wouldn't be on the same page - I shouldn't have been. She told me she didn't want me to freak out about what she said, but that she also meant every word. She wanted me to understand that she isn’t into games, that she’s serious about seeing if the older versions of us are everything we’re both looking for. She wants to pick up where we left off 18 years ago but take it slowly, and get to know each other again. It sounds like we’re on the exact same page, so I guess I’m going steady with my high school girlfriend?
She also wanted me to not worry about the property – she offered to help me buy it if I needed to come up with the money quickly and that no matter what happened between us she didn’t want to see it broken up – that Joe meant too much to both of us to let that happen.
As kind as that was I went ahead called our local bank this morning to ask about getting a loan quickly if I needed one. The loan officer put me on hold when I explained the situation and the potential need to move quickly. He came back and said he had asked the bank president if there was any way they could help. He had been assured that there would be no issue securing any financing necessary. He asked the loan officer to pass along his condolences about Joe, he evidently had known him for a long time, and said that he was looking forward to meeting me soon.
This left me feeling much more comfortable going into the meeting with my family but nothing could have prepared me for the rest of the day. Now, if I’m being completely honest I really did feel like there was a good chance that Joe would leave the house and car to me simply because he didn’t have a relationship with anyone else in the family, I just didn’t want to make assumption and I didn’t feel like I was entitled to anything simply because of my relationship with Joe.
When I got to the firm’s offices I was shown in to their largest conference room. I was surprised to see several people there other than Joe’s attorney. My father was the only other person there when I arrived, he and the attorney were having a quiet conversation in at the head of the table but stopped when I walked in. Since I’m going to mention him frequently let’s just call Joe’s Attorney JA. JA introduced me to everyone in the room, which included a stenographer, an associate attorney, a gentleman he just referred to as an assistant brought in for the reading stood at the back of the room by the doors.
Now, readings themselves are a little uncommon these days, but still done on occasion (I typically do one or two a year), however I’ve never had anyone else in the room with me and thought this was very strange. I guess I must have been looking at JA with a funny expression because he just raised an eyebrow and shrugged. At about that time people started trickling in until 10:30 rolled around and JA stood and asked everyone to be seated. He then nodded to the gentleman that had been standing in the back who went to the doors where he closed and locked them.
In all there were 9 of us in the room, me, my father, his younger brother and oldest sister, my sister Sarah. Four of my cousins showed up, including my youngest, Emily who was one of the few people that I enjoyed seeing at family events. She’s creative and smart – she just graduated from high school and is getting ready to go to college. I was surprised that she came but I had spent a lot of time telling her about Joe over the last couple of years and had been hoping they’d get a chance to know each other now that she was older.
JA started speaking, thanking everyone for coming and sharing how much he was going to miss Joe, that he was more than a client, he was his oldest friend and he was glad to see at least a few family members come. About 10 minutes after 10:30 someone tried the door and found it locked. They started banging on it and the gentleman in the back quickly moved to open it and step outside. I could see my oldest brother and Aunt Debbie try to push in as he opened the door, only to be firmly moved back as he stepped outside to speak to them. JA stood quietly for a moment and everyone could hear raised voices coming through the heavy oak doors. I heard my brother say something to the effect of “this is bullshit” and Debbie started shrieking before it sounded like both of them were abruptly cut off. A moment later the doors re-opened and the gentleman came back in. Debbie and my brother were gone.
JA paused another moment and then carried on. He explained that Joe had instructed him to ensure that no one join after the meeting began – he told us he was now going to read a letter from Joe, this is a slightly edited copy of the letter he wrote that JA read from:
Thank you to those that showed up, since most of you never bothered to show up while I was alive I wasn’t sure you’d come today! Those that didn’t come, or couldn’t be bothered to on time aren’t missing anything since they aren’t going to be getting anything now anyway.
For the rest of you, thank you, no matter what your motivation was you at least showed up. I’ve left instructions for each of you to receive $100,000 as my final gift to the family. There are not stipulations and no conditions, have fun, do good, use it as your heart tells you. To those grand-nieces and nephews that are under the age of 18 and were not invited, I gift each of them $100,000, which will be held in trust until their 25th birthday.
(It was at this point that I knew something was up – Joe had just given away over a million dollars to people just for showing up on time. If everyone that had been invited had shown up it would have been over 2 million dollars – that was honestly more than I thought his entire estate would be worth.)
Family is important, something that has been lost of too many of you. Some of you got caught up the trappings that came from other people’s hard work, took for granted the efforts of your ancestors and squandered their gifts - and that’s what an inheritance is, a gift, not a right. You prioritized having fun over protecting the legacy so you could pass it on to the next generation.
Only one of you chose to put others before himself. Only one of you has shown respect and appreciation for the gifts of the land, the community that we live in, and the people that came before him, just as his namesake did.
Robert, I hope you’re here for this, we didn’t always agree, and I have so much regret about how our relationship went the wrong way, the fight with your father about his decisions and behavior, shouldn’t have become our fight as well. I want you to know how much I appreciate you bringing Alex into this family, for honoring my brother by passing on his name to him, and for allowing me to have a relationship with him. You’ll never know what that meant to me. I want you to know that I love you like a brother and wish I had tried harder to bridge the divide created by my relationship with your father while we still had time.
(I've never seen my father look so emotional. It was difficult to see the sadness in his eyes but I felt like I also saw pride. Watching him made me start to get emotional as well and I struggled to put my attention back on the reading)
With regard to the bulk of my estate, I leave all my possessions, the land, the house and its contents along with my investments and holdings to Alex. Alex, it will take time for you to go through everything and familiarize yourself with what this means. We’ve been planning this for almost 20 years, your training as a lawyer will be very helpful but pay attention to the advisors we’ve assembled. There will be decisions that must be made. I’ve asked (JA) to give you my journals, along with some thoughts I wanted to save just for you. Please read them and don’t feel like you’re intruding, they’re all that is left of me and I hope they’ll help guide you, my mistakes don’t have to be yours. Someday you may also want to share them with family, they are yours to do with as you wish, these too are part of my legacy.
Now, to the rest of the family, I know that you’ve sold off the land that my father left my brother and me. I know this because I’ve spent the last 50 years secretly buying up every acre you wanted to sell, or buying it back if I didn’t find out in time. I’ve preserved what you were willing to destroy and built on it. I know that most of you have very little left to pass on to your children. So, to you, my family, I leave a chance at a new legacy. I have established a family trust to be overseen and directed by Alex. The trust has been funded with $XX million dollars. It will be up to Alex to decide how the funds are used but he is to appoint a family board of advisors to help preserve our legacy.
Finally, I have established a community foundation, tasked with the mission of helping preserve the way of life that has made this valley special for hundreds of years. I’ve directed $XX million from the estate to create the initial fund but expect that others in the community will add to it. I’ve entrusted the responsibility to oversee this fund to Alex and a select group of community leaders. The others have already agreed to help and contribute, and I hope Alex will honor my wishes that he oversee the fund.
Alex, our family has been part of this valley for over 150 years. For all it has given to us it is now our responsibility to help sustain it and protect it. I know I can count on you to do everything you can to carry on this family’s legacy but beyond that, what I truly hope is that you don’t have to do it alone, as I did. You will always have my love, thank you for giving me yours.
JA looked up from the paper and for a heartbeat the silence was deafening, then the shouting began.
I’ve got to stop here – Sam is on her way and we have a lot to talk about. I was with the attorneys until 4pm. After all the drama unfolded (thank God my dad was there, and that Debbie didn’t show up on time) I still had to spend several hours with the attorneys. I’ll spend the weekend with the journals but I’m sure I’ll be hearing from family all weekend too. I might have to turn my phone off.
Part 2 will probably be tomorrow – I’m hoping to just decompress with Sam tonight. I need a break. Thank you everyone for the well wishes and the good thoughts.

Hello, I can't sleep and Im getting pills for it. I have been awake for 48 hours now. And things are a bit of blur. But I have realised that I have picked up and extreme urge to write. I dont know how or why, but I crank out amazing short horror stories in 20minutes, and cant remember why. i realise that there are symptoms regarding sleep deprevation but whats happening doesnt match anything I've seeh. So yea the compulsion to write is weird and I have developed an obession of posting them to reddit (this I swear is not one), lying and not knowing why to commenters. I had posted a list about of game I like but not that much, the list was a thousand words, and I spent an hour of time doing nothing else making this list, all of knowledge I'd forgotten about. You can find the rest of the messy mesy story, and I lied and said I was high in one post, and took down countless others. I dont even use reddit that much, always that it was a bit weird, and though. I was mostly wrong, I thought I would come here. I have ADHD and focusing is hard for me, and i have never been so hyperifxated on something like that in my life. And then i started a little log to see where im at during my sleepless night. Each hour. I logged. And Logged And logged. I didnt realise how much i was hallicinating, but I think I was in REM sleep and I somehow retained perfect ability to type on keyboard without seeing and look. I thought that everything I was typing made sense, but after kinda snapping out of it, I realised in horror kind of. So i took my photo booth opened, it and ran a video of me. I was in REM sleep for sure, and i was typing unbelievbly fast. I remember everything, I could think and then my hands would type it. I know it sounds weird, but like my imagination, my subconscious thoughts were being projected somehow. Heres all 3000 words and counting of it. the last couple where I do the test make it unclear, but unless someone actually replies to this, I will save images and photos for later. I am currently still hallucinating but not as badly so pardon my misspellings.
Now I Swear on My Life this is real, none of my friends believe me, my sister does though. please help me
Here it is
-1am feeling tired didn’t get to sleep until three last night, so this sucks
-3am haven’t done any work went don’t disturbing internet mystery rabbit hole. Also what will my screen time look like? Not good.
-5am- That’s when it hits you, the birds and the light, worst feeling ever. Microsleep hit, and I hallucinate myself watching a video. WTF.
-8am-I have been writing a short story for the past 3 hours, wtf is wrong with me. I get out of my room at 8:30, and something shocking, happened, I looked in the mirror and I have a six pack? At first I thought hallucination and dismissed it, went and had nothing for breakfast apart from some ice cream. I am scared.
-9am-taken medication feel fine. I have not eaten much and I am aware it is taking a toll on my weight. I have six pack and look shredded. This is not a good thing.
-10am- all my 2500 word essay got deleted. I notice sleep deprivation and medication, has a weird affect. It masks the affects of sleepiness. I feel fine, no fatigue, could work for ever. I have a 1 hour tutor session, let’s see how that goes.
12pm- Finished tutoring session - felt easy speedy and fine. Am heavily addicted to reddit. I feel like the dexiamphetamine is having an affect on my body which makes me entrenctched into whatever I am doing.
2pm- Got to get ready for kickboxing class junior leadership thing. My face is riddled with pimples. This is caused by a lack of sleep and water and proper nutrients.
5pm- I got home, feel fine, it was really cold though. No signs of cognitive decline like I usually show. Actually I take that back, things have become to become distorted, my eyes are messing with me as a result of the micro-hallucinations I am experiencing. I took 2 more dexiamphetamines, probably a bad idea.
8pm-I feel amazing, but at the same time little work as been done on rave. I am completely and utterly obsessed with writing stories, I spent and hour and a half texting my adventure to London, and I begun to get really descriptive. I am not in a good mental state(Not as in depressed, as in I can’t judge if what im doing is weird, it has to be right?).
9pm- Symptoms are really starting to show now. I have been listening to sad songs whilst I write my English, it is a story so it’s going well.
9:30pm- I have spent too long over many hours compiling a list of things I’d like to see in fallout 5. What the fuck, I am at the point in which I can’t take a step back. Computer screen distorted at time. When I am typing, I keep thinking about how to do the hashing technique using curved lines with a ball point pen. I have wrote probably over 800 words disputing claims about my fallout 5 post.
10pm- I have possibly written an amazing English assignment. My dread in which consumes me, about this assignment is keeping me motivated whilst I listen to music(mainly sad music.) I love the start of the song violent crimes by Kanye west, I had that on repeat for a while until I moved onto other sad songs, because I didn’t want it to burn out (its a great song)
10:30 in bed now feeling weird. I was wondering around and yep im hallucinating, and it sucks ass. Minor ones at the moment, which are good, but it’s more like my mind will think something is there that is not. Does that make sense? But then in the hall way, it was dark and as I turned on the light I saw some fucked up face. Alright now im scaring myself jeez.
10:50 So right now typing this the visual hallucinations have definitly set in, it’s weird that I am conscious enough to witness it happen in real time. This doesn’t feel real. How to describe what I’m seeing, like waves silk-like distortions of everything. Right now I look up and I see like silky distortions of the corner of the roof distort and move. It is significantly worse in the dark, as brain has to make up for a lack of what is there. I turned the light on and yes it is better. They are still there but are minor and less apparent. Legitimately everything scares me, my body is jumping, I guess as my brain is focusing as much maybe, and then when I do hear something out of the ordinary it spooks me. I don’t know why but I feel like all of sudden im just gonna go crazy and it’s like a race against time, but it will be slow and I will see how long I can last. Typing has become significantly harder as I loose control of my motor skill which has happened in a short time of 30 minutes. Wow creepy peripherals make up visuals, idk why that is
-11:20- Taken videos as updates. I feel like this is the quiet before the storm. My brain is making things up and it’s pissing me off. It has revoked my right to type, and everything that is not in my direct peripheral now is some sort of the thing. Like bro every key I type my fucking brain slows down, it’s taken me song long to write this one thing. I can’t think of what I want to say to next, that’s a big one. The changes come on so rapidly and everchanging
-11:40-Brain is sending in backups. My typing speed has increased but my ability to spell words correctly is failing. Right now it’s just not fun. No major hallucinations, just a feeling of dread mixed with a nice side of a painful ass headache and a need to go to the toilet. I find it weird however that when writing, usually a mundane task, my brain kind of goes on autopilot, and I have some sort of visual hallunciaiont, this is weird for the reasons stated, and that my hands seem to be moving themselves, and I am watching them, similar to that somen in black mirror, with the museum. BTW black mirror is NOT something you would want to watch like this. I had dream about white Christmas once, and I felt like I was stuck in there for a million years. #existential crisis right. Ok weird, so it seems like when I disassociate my brain keeps typing, I am having a bit of neural input it seems, but my brain fog which was so present all but 2 minutes ago gone. Ok yea noises are starting to appear a bit. Butt cheeks were clenched. I feel like a lifeless dummy rn. Waiting for next phase. (Prayer emoticon). Also why does my fingers just magically know where all the buttons
12am- And the clock hits twelve. Half way there. At the end of this I will have successfully completed 42 hours. Its not a flex or anything I am aware, its just what choice do I have, try and sleep and be constantly reminded of the overbearing weight of the assignments all due this week?? I don’t want to think about that, no-one does. My fucking bad I managed my time wrong im a fucking kid after all. I am going Canberra college next year and this week has been a step in the wrong direction for me. After mum left everything went to shit. I cannot control myself, I am addicted to gadgets. I need to watch my computer to go to sleep or the google home. I have a compulsion to reddit, and I eat like shit. Chicken in some sort, lie about having vegetables. If I even tried to make a food diary of some sort for these last few days, I would be put on fucking trial for the murder of any chance of bitches. I treated my body like shit. The best word I can describe this week in is - Grunge. Like fucking living in your own shit. That’s how I feel. Everyrnight same routine, go on computer, watch videos until 12, watch google home go to bed. But not really.. Instead I would appear to stay up to 2am or 3am and go to bed, eat some food or something I don’t fucking know. I know I am sleep deprived. It is showing in my works. Weird addiction to writing, my adhd hyperfocuses on something. Drawing and Writing. As I write this my brain tries to seduce me into its gaze. The room or just the essence of living is moving, right to left, like im in a slide, and then left to right, and then so on and so forth. I am afraid this is what happens when you eat nothing but sugar and sugar and sugar, don’t sleep and drug your self on drugs. Skin is just a warning, my body brain will be infected I need to stop. I cannot live unregulated.
12:13am- My eyes heart, everything’s shadow is big and I don’t know how much more of this I can take. It is hell, and Im not even at the micro sleeps. They sound low-key cool. I am waiting to go out, make myself a wrap with butter, and get around the computer as I mindlessly do nothing. I don’t watch YouTube want, other way round, and thoughts of my intentional original purpose, to do work for school, left the window a long time ago. I close my eyes for a split second and I ee a teddy bear. They keep appearing, things are melting, this is it baby, as Jeff Kinney would say, we in for the long haul. I want to keep typing and I don’t know why, partly because it is cool that I have kept typing this long, and partly because what else do I do. Wait for it to consume me. If I had a pen and paper, I could have drawn the images I see on my computer screen, vague but the all have cross hatchings, a term I am learning. And what happen to monkey type, I swear I searched it. Is it the micro sleep? Is it coming. Yea. Maybe not.
12:30am- Writing these becomes a scapegoat for my mind to kinda control me and I don’t like it, so Im going to keep it short. No differences, Battery low I will have to brave it out of room soon. Hallucinations minimal, and chicken in peripheral which is toy and bedsheet, but I can’t see it as anything else. Cute little reference my brains making, but I have two finder files, and my brain this its two cookie monsters lol. Also eyes are still heavy. I have gained complete and even I would go as far to say enhanced motor control, I feel like I can type fast, and I hear every single click on the key and It freaks me out. I intentionally leave errors in here, not many but some, and my stupid ass thinks im going to read this and think it’s all mysterious. Upon further reflection, I may have been having depth perception hallucinations. What is weird is no vivid hallucinations but everything is something if that makes an inkling of sense. Im not really all there any more. Weird how that works. Time perception is completely altered and distorted. I could have sworn twelve o’clock was ten seconds or 1 hour ago. I cannot swear on either, but ten seconds ago? I could have sworn on one, I cannot remember which one anymore. Speaking my thoughts does not make cohesive notes on my problem and predicament, I should refrain, but sometimes my brain naturally does this. Yea saw souls of the damned again when I blinked, weird, and now liminal shit im seeing, because my brain is like ooh scary I should scream now, and then it pumps out all this shit. It has been 6 minutes since I started writing, that sounds about right, but at the same times that was long, very long, marcy long. (Kill her long). I chicken which is a building waves a hammer at my building. It is the side bar on the right side of my MacBook.
12:37: wanted to wait until 12:40 but time sucks ass and is an illusion. You many know by now that my posts have ramblings of random topic and will veer off. This was not my intention, if I write for longer than a minute I loose my grip on my brain, it starts writing what It pleases. I have to think really hard about what I want to write, even then it just autofilled it. Lucky it’s right. Computer percentage critically low. 9%, yet I am filled with joy and dread right now. I think this could be caused by the effect of my dexi’s that I took, like a long term effect, or rather just the lack of sleep. I am deeply disturebed but interested by myself. I now have real hallucinations now. Files are quickly changed to name. And a beigeish green blood phases through my door fast. If I look at my hands wrong they look like they are encrusted in dry blood. I had to think if blood was the gang or Blud was the gang, that is how you know sjits gone down the drain.
1:00: It is officially one-ocklock and I let my brain take the rails once again(don’t let me down). So right now Im feeling fine, but sometimes I will have clear clarity and feel fine, no hallucinations, no nothing, and this will be followed by an intense one that will not be scary just like kind of convincing. One instance I don’t want to forget is me looking through my old video from a couple hours ago. One of them my arms look weird and photoshopped linked down bellow, and I have like a led type trip. I think it could be inspired by those weird ass instagram reels I watch, but Idk, It was me and that pose, changing shape a bit and material. I was real glossy and like twisted and moulded and back to normal it was weird. I couldn’t see my arms, especially my forearms the same after that. One phenomena which is uniquely odd is the compulsion to write here. I can understand a lack of time knowledge and perception, as it is natural of one when under these conditions, but have loose your sanity to a point where you are able to mindlessly drone on about things happening to you, is weird, weird. It initially started off as an idea, one sentence or maximum short paragraph talking about each hour and how the where different to the next. Also just got jumped scared by the image thanks bitch. Whilst righting this I am aware I made a mistake (writing), I feel like I have some consciousness left, but if I don’t blink it really hit me. So I keep blinking to report back to base. Yea the head is tilting sideways turned into like a fucking dragon praying mantis thing for a sec. Right now I feel alright, the dream is supposed to get to me but it is hard for it to pass, I know that I am supposed to feel creeped out but I don’t, I like it when for a second my brain will just think of something and loose it. One truly weird thing is me being able to hallucinate pictures through the writing. Always cartoons, depicted silly and offbeat. I don’t know why though. Yea Ididnt wright that by the way what the hell. The good ole noggin did. My head stopped hurting, and my neck has softened the blow a bit, and takes a bit of pain not much, and the my neck is also is cricitacl condition, after seeing Moby at the fucking side bar again. This time it wasn’t a chicken this was Moby from fucking Moby and ted. Ok now its ahicken peeking its head out back to straight what the fuck am id doing llama fr fr fr
1:13-computer is low, very low, at 4%. I am back by the way, I got sucked in again but got out and read it really quickly. The fr frfr is from the Tyler the creator song fr fr fr this time. Ya know. Ok so not this time but next time iwirite a paragraph or a time, I am going to record myself, and then when I regain my sanity, I will watch the video to see what I look like, when I am truly not with it. I don’t know if the same thing will happen with this paragraph but I hope not. This notice was just a short one but stay safe. One last thing that is not helping me, I am now scared again, I heard stomping in the kitchen , and I know it could be fake but everything there is stomping in the kitchen I am able to know because if there is at this Time of night I feel my heart drop, and I did which helps add to the case. I don’t eellike investigating but igueess if that is my best option then I will but now is not really there right time. When is ithe right time officers saying gtyring to gain media attention from the main. Never get the fuckout of my house.
1-18am(the test?) So this is the test but I obviously need something to talk about and I have a topic. So basically I think I have cracked the case to the nonsense rambling in which I don’t understand myself. It is a literal projection of what is going on inside my mind. You know how sometimes people will take things literally and then you’re like no I didn’t mean it like that, well it’s kinda the same thing. I say something insidede my head but it comes out through my fingers. And it’s odd because it come with such swiftness and such durability. Right now I a doing it it yes made a spelling mistake whilst looking at my green gamer screen. I don’t know how or why this done. I am back to realign. And yea this is odd, not quite the feeling that I get when I completely disassociate. I am starting to think that maybe I am begging to miceslepe these series of events and include e the within the paragraph, it happen a little bit there, and unlike try to be the bait for other final charges, this on has no backing against it. There it is again, little less than the first time, but my mind wonders and my hand followed. What if I thought some truly despicable stuff, something that would surely get me banned from ever participating in it agin. Now no I have to read this later I don’t really want to hut then again, i if it fits thehe description then we have t o. Brain disrupted my train of thought, I think I had important breakthrough, Never imind I id, the breakthrough was that when I am looking or blurring my eyes, the top of my head the curtain and y alien arms along with the righting combnined to create some sort of card with a circle in the middle in which I can only presume is a play ng car. I am currently doing right now let’s describe. So I hastily have the some sort go grounding I am loosening it,. It is a hashing draw g clear as dal, with I big leak on the right side and spills over, probably
1.28am- the big move. Just kidding I just have to get out of bed. Let’s see who wins me our bed.GUESS FUCKING WHAT BABY I WON. So I should probably start with the obvious what the fuck Is actually happening. Yea will I thought I was fully conscious, dogs barking keeping me in there. So my subconscious is a weird weird weird thing. Yea fuck it’s happening again, I didn’t mean to type that. Ok so talk about more later, but if I can spit it out in time, I enter a state of REM sleep when I start typing, and my brain doesn’t understand what is imaginary and what’s not so it fills in gaps, and whilst doing this, inadvertentltly transposes your visual in real life, and your imagination, until it creates a weird state in which nothing is quite real and nothing is fake. God that sounds so pretentiously ominous. In the video my eyelids flicker, which is why this is my main theory, but what amazes me, is 2 distinct things. The first is my ability to type whilst looking away from my computer or with my eyes closed. I don’t misspell words, which is confusing as when testing this to the best of my ability whilst in this state, I don’t get very good results at all. The second is the fact that I am fully aware of what is happening. I am able to translate what is happening in my mind to the document, with a little bit of brain fog mixed in, which is obvoiusly going to happen in things like this.

If you have instructed them, find another firm. I am in the process of suing Muve and my property is totally and utterly fucked.
Sharing the below story because I feel a moral obligation to do so now.
I was a FTB and made the most stupid choice to shop on price. I picked these charlatans purely because I had a budget and was too tight to think a proper solicitor would make a difference.
I bought in 2022. I moved in July 2022 and by June 2023 I received a bill for a share of £114,000 worth of major works split across our apartment block making it £19,000 each. I contacted my solicitor alerting them to this and how clearly it must be a mistake and the seller must be at least partially responsible, could they make enquiries and so on.
They responded advising this was correct and I was liable for that cost. They did not follow up to the 22 attempts to understand how they arrived at this conclusion. I made a subject access request for my file which they didn’t provide in time and only when I escalated to the ICO did they provide it. In the file I discovered:

• the sellers made huge efforts to share news of the major works in the Property Information Form going as far to put details of what it was projected to be and where they’d got to in terms of what discussions had been had. In fact, you couldn’t have asked them to be more transparent considering.
  
• MUVE raised no enquiries on this. They didn’t request the management pack. They didn’t identify anything along these lines so didn’t assist in negotiating a retention or anything close.
  

They have exhibited the highest level of total negligence.
I have now instructed a litigation solicitor to pursue MUVE for negligence and in her looking at the file she’s identified the following:

• I never received any form of reporting or copies of enquiries they did raise (even those unsatisfactory ones missing the major works pending and management pack)
  
• There is a horrendous rent charge on my title that hasn’t been varied. My lender wouldn’t have agreed to lend if they knew about it and couldn’t get it amended. It’s guaranteed to cause me issues when I come to sell.
  
• The small paltry advice I did receive in relation to searches were ordered against another property entirely. I’m the ground floor flat in a fucking high risk flood area.
  

Finally, having dug deeper MUVE is not based in the UK. It’s in Sri Lanka (Colombo to be specific). It’s cheap because you’re not paying a UK salary. In fact, my “lawyer” isn’t even qualified and she seems to have some sort of telesales personal injury background. MUVE seem to be Vohara Solutions. They’ve now removed all their staff from the website because it was too obvious it was a gross offshoring operation. It’s parading as something else. There’s an office in Richmond (which appealed because I’m not too far away) but there’s no one there. It’s a post room. A front.
I’m now funnelling thousands into suing them because clearly if I or my lender were given the right advice and the necessary information this matter wouldn’t have proceeded. I’m now stuck with a property that’s costing me tens of thousands effectively right away and likely to be impossible to sell. I have asked to vary the rent charge since following advice from said litigation lawyer and been firmly told no. I’m stuck with it. My lender unequivocally would not have loaned as set out in their own requirements.
I was too tight and arrogant to consider a proper solicitors firm with qualified solicitors dealing with things. The biggest investment of my life is absolutely riddled with problems and I don’t know what I’m going to do. Genuinely. Let’s assume this somehow all works out and I get the claim sum I’m requesting I’m still stuck with a property that is genuinely dreadful. And what am I to do?
If you are considering them, run a mile. They are a laughing stock in the industry. Look at their reviews. Also note many are just obvious fakes written in the same pattern. I was also actually paid by Amazon voucher to leave one in 2022 so I suspect that’s still a thing.
If you are with them, immediately change firm. The risk of something catastrophic happening is too huge. Please please please treat this like a serious decision and not something you can cheapen out.

This is a post I’m copying and pasting from another post I just made, sorry I just don’t have time to type all that up again for this. But I’m hoping it increases my odds of good answers to hit up a couple different subreddits.
I’m a 34 year old man, and I still don’t have a career. I barely have a job, really. I work part-time in a grocery store in an extremely dead-end company. All my jobs have been basically like that. A sub shop here, a burger joint there, a small coffee shop. My whole life, I’ve been financially STRUGGLING, and I live in a house that family owns so my rent is cheap, and I’ve kept my bills small because I’ve had to but.. still, I’m always in dire straits.
Now I’m in my mid-30s, I have a girlfriend I’m crazy about, she’s crazy about me, we’re very happy together and it’s been great. And all of a sudden I’ve gone from this complacent sort of loser content to sit on his ass going on Reddit and Instagram all day, to wanting a comfortable - hell, if I’m being honest even somewhat luxurious - life with this girl. I want to have and raise a family with her, I want our family to have a good life, I want to have it financially handled if someone gets sick, I want us to be able to travel to all the exciting places we want to see and make memories there together, I want us to achieve our beach house dream. Like I reeally want that.
So.. minimum wage 25 hours a week at the food store that never promotes anyone ever and doesn’t offer any raises isn’t going to cut it. I don’t really have ANY skills that would reliably bring me a good income. The way things are with inflation in America right now aren’t exactly helping - especially in this state, and moving out is not an option. But short of becoming Tony Montana or the next Lil Wayne, I can’t begin to imagine how to make the kind of money I need to make to get to my vision.
I’m kidding, I wouldn’t become Tony Montana because well, ya know I won’t spoil the movie or anything, and I think we have enough SoundCloud rappers who need to grow up and get a real job at this point (I was kinda one of them in my 20s lol). But I have nooooo idea where to begin.
So far, I’ve looked into the healthcare industry just a bit. Phlebotomy and radiology, mostly. I figure wherever I land, people are going to need healthcare there, so I should always have work and it probably pays pretty well and doesn’t take a whole lot of school (at 34 with a BUNCH of other personal responsibilities I won’t get into here, I think going back to school for 8 years is not very realistic, especially considering I’d probably just accumulate $100 grand of debt it’s impossible to pay off and I need to start making money quick - so maybe a year certification course type of thing is probably more the way to go for me). I’ve also looked at plumbing. The thing with all those jobs I just mentioned is, I’m kind of a germophobe and have a lot of anxiety around health and if I had my hands down people’s toilets and worked with their probably infected blood all day, I’d probably be a complete nervous wreck regardless of PPE. That’s a whole separate life problem I’m working on in therapy, but believe me when I say I’ve tried everything you can think of and it seems it’s just who I am. I’ve also looked at being an electrician, but again, I have some anxiety about, ya know, b’zzz’ttt! So idk if I can realistically handle those jobs. But maybe I need to man up and face my anxiety and just do it. But then which one?
Another major factor I’m looking at for career options is work/life balance. Hell, maybe I’m asking for too much in America in 2024 in my position. But I don’t want to ever become the absent husband/father type, always working, with no time to have a fulfilling life and enjoy my time here on this earth. Because what’s the point of that? I also highly value my quality time I spend with my girlfriend and want plenty of it, so it’s important to me to keep the workload typically around 40 hours a week. I also need to work out to keep some health conditions I struggle with in check, so I need time and energy leftover for that, too. Otherwise there aren’t many jobs I would be able to do anyways. But again, maybe I’m being unrealistic. Maybe I need to work 65+ hours a week and the beach house will still be out of reach.
In any event, I’m open to basically an endless amount of career options to consider, as long as they get me closer to the kind of life and future I want to build. Basically, I hope something that pays very well and offers a great work-life balance isn’t too much to ask for, and if I’m getting really crazy here, preferably something that isn’t going to overload my anxiety crazily all the time. I can handle high-stress environments pretty well, big time rushes in food service and screaming customers in retail and even poverty never really shook me up lol. But ‘dirty’ jobs where infections and/or death and injury become increasingly a problem might not suffice quite as much as something that achieves my goals without that being such an issue. I’m open to options and advice, though, and I’m done with the pipe dreams of being a rapper or moving to Hollywood to pursue being an actor or becoming an influencer on social media (my 20s were a pretty wild, lost time for career ideas lol). I’m also just getting to a point in treating my mental health that I think I could start really getting out there and pursuing better career goals and holding consistently with them, and my relationship is giving me all of the motivation and confidence I need to do that. I’m just overwhelmed about what in the hell I actually should pursue. There’s so many things. I’d really appreciate some advice and guidance and recommendations based on everything I’ve said. Thank you for reading it. Help me out, point me in a direction that might be helpful to me please!

I’m a 34 year old man, and I still don’t have a career. I barely have a job, really. I work part-time in a grocery store in an extremely dead-end company. All my jobs have been basically like that. A sub shop here, a burger joint there, a small coffee shop. My whole life, I’ve been financially STRUGGLING, and I live in a house that family owns so my rent is cheap, and I’ve kept my bills small because I’ve had to but.. still, I’m always in dire straits.
Now I’m in my mid-30s, I have a girlfriend I’m crazy about, she’s crazy about me, we’re very happy together and it’s been great. And all of a sudden I’ve gone from this complacent sort of loser content to sit on his ass going on Reddit and Instagram all day, to wanting a comfortable - hell, if I’m being honest even somewhat luxurious - life with this girl. I want to have and raise a family with her, I want our family to have a good life, I want to have it financially handled if someone gets sick, I want us to be able to travel to all the exciting places we want to see and make memories there together, I want us to achieve our beach house dream. Like I reeally want that.
So.. minimum wage 25 hours a week at the food store that never promotes anyone ever and doesn’t offer any raises isn’t going to cut it. I don’t really have ANY skills that would reliably bring me a good income. The way things are with inflation in America right now aren’t exactly helping - especially in this state, and moving out is not an option. But short of becoming Tony Montana or the next Lil Wayne, I can’t begin to imagine how to make the kind of money I need to make to get to my vision.
I’m kidding, I wouldn’t become Tony Montana because well, ya know I won’t spoil the movie or anything, and I think we have enough SoundCloud rappers who need to grow up and get a real job at this point (I was kinda one of them in my 20s lol). But I have nooooo idea where to begin.
So far, I’ve looked into the healthcare industry just a bit. Phlebotomy and radiology, mostly. I figure wherever I land, people are going to need healthcare there, so I should always have work and it probably pays pretty well and doesn’t take a whole lot of school (at 34 with a BUNCH of other personal responsibilities I won’t get into here, I think going back to school for 8 years is not very realistic, especially considering I’d probably just accumulate $100 grand of debt it’s impossible to pay off and I need to start making money quick - so maybe a year certification course type of thing is probably more the way to go for me). I’ve also looked at plumbing. The thing with all those jobs I just mentioned is, I’m kind of a germophobe and have a lot of anxiety around health and if I had my hands down people’s toilets and worked with their probably infected blood all day, I’d probably be a complete nervous wreck regardless of PPE. That’s a whole separate life problem I’m working on in therapy, but believe me when I say I’ve tried everything you can think of and it seems it’s just who I am. I’ve also looked at being an electrician, but again, I have some anxiety about, ya know, b’zzz’ttt! So idk if I can realistically handle those jobs. But maybe I need to man up and face my anxiety and just do it. But then which one?
Another major factor I’m looking at for career options is work/life balance. Hell, maybe I’m asking for too much in America in 2024 in my position. But I don’t want to ever become the absent husband/father type, always working, with no time to have a fulfilling life and enjoy my time here on this earth. Because what’s the point of that? I also highly value my quality time I spend with my girlfriend and want plenty of it, so it’s important to me to keep the workload typically around 40 hours a week. I also need to work out to keep some health conditions I struggle with in check, so I need time and energy leftover for that, too. Otherwise there aren’t many jobs I would be able to do anyways. But again, maybe I’m being unrealistic. Maybe I need to work 65+ hours a week and the beach house will still be out of reach.
In any event, I’m open to basically an endless amount of career options to consider, as long as they get me closer to the kind of life and future I want to build. Basically, I hope something that pays very well and offers a great work-life balance isn’t too much to ask for, and if I’m getting really crazy here, preferably something that isn’t going to overload my anxiety crazily all the time. I can handle high-stress environments pretty well, big time rushes in food service and screaming customers in retail and even poverty never really shook me up lol. But ‘dirty’ jobs where infections and/or death and injury become increasingly a problem might not suffice quite as much as something that achieves my goals without that being such an issue. I’m open to options and advice, though, and I’m done with the pipe dreams of being a rapper or moving to Hollywood to pursue being an actor or becoming an influencer on social media (my 20s were a pretty wild, lost time for career ideas lol). I’m also just getting to a point in treating my mental health that I think I could start really getting out there and pursuing better career goals and holding consistently with them, and my relationship is giving me all of the motivation and confidence I need to do that. I’m just overwhelmed about what in the hell I actually should pursue. There’s so many things. I’d really appreciate some advice and guidance and recommendations based on everything I’ve said. Thank you for reading it. Help me out, point me in a direction that might be helpful to me please!

Here are some considerations that I made when moving back to 2 layers from having 3-5 on previous iterations.
There are still cases to use 3 layers if you prefer to use very small form factor keyboards with less than 40 keys, or you have a small form factor board around that size and also make use of a lot of media keys, foreign language keys, or accented keys.
If you only use the essential keys listed below I think a 2 layer setup will be advantageous on most boards for the following reasons
There is plenty of space:

• 2 layers are already 4 layers(Shift is a layer!), and 4 layers on almost any keyboard gives you access to every common key.
  abcde fghij klmno pqrst uvwxy z 26
  ABCDE FGHIJ KLMNO PQRST UVWXY Z 26
  12345 67890 10
  !@#$% ^&*() 10
  []\;' ,./ 8
  {}:" <>? 8
  F1-F12 12
  Arrows 4
  Enter Shift Alt Ctrl super Space Backspace Delete Tab Esc Mod 10
  
• 70 Unique (44 Shifted)
  
• So 35 keys is really all that is needed to have access to everything above with just 1 layer. That's a ~30% board! An atreus for example has 42 keys, a sofle 48. (Note that 35 keys in my opinion does limit you a bit too much, mostly due to modifier duplication from my comboing recommendations, I would want at least a 40 key for greater access to things on layer 0)
  

Why do people use 3+ layers?

• The main culprit for thinking you need many more layers is the splitting of numbers and their shift modified symbols, as well as the shift modified symbols for regular keys (,./[]\;').
  
• It even seems like you gain so much by splitting them, but really all you're doing is moving them off of the shift layer into a different custom layer. And with that new custom layer you now have another new modifier to keep track of!
  
• Some people may find that tradeoff worth it! But when making that tradeoff they should keep in mind what they're actually losing (having and extra key that needs to be mapped, duplicate ways to hit the same key, possibly a new layer).
  
• A third layer could possibly be useful, for those that make use of print, home, end, pageup/down (space/shift+space is mapped to this functionality on most apps fyi), mouse movement keys, media keys, repeat, and foreign language etc, but even then unless you're using almost all of those keys, you could probably easily fit them in a 2 layer layout (Any key past 35 on your keyboard is 2 extra free keys! A sofle for example would have 26 extra keys available before needing a new layer).
  

The home row:

• One of the main benefits of keeping your layer count down is removing the need for more layer keys or toggling through layers.
  
• On 3+ layer keyboards the options you have for managing the extra layers are: 1. Extra layer key, preferrably 2 per layer (taking up the most valuable real estate, the thumb cluster) Why 2 per layer? Because of modifier combos that are common in various apps, you often need to hit 2 mods + a layer key, so if you only have 1 layer key and the mod on the same side is 1 space apart you end up contorting your hand to hit the combo. 2. Toggle key (Requires pressing the same button multiple times, can end up with you on a separate layer, needs to be untoggled) 3. Hold modifier key (Can run into issues depending on what you're doing, will be a bit slower since you need to leave some time for it to actually activate, can be finicky depending on that timing and how fast you're typing) 4. Chorded switch (Needs to have a specific order, will have much more complicated chords in some situations, with possible 5 key combos for common shortcuts in apps)
  
• With just 2 layers you can keep your thumb cluster down to 8 keys, mods (ctrl, alt, super, shift), space/backspace, and 2 layer keys (one for each hand to be able to hit layer key + mod combos).
  

Duplicate keys:

• After having using multiple rows with many ways to hit the same key on the same board I've found that having multiple ways to press the same key is not as useful as it seems at first, and in fact is seems actively detrimental when using the keyboard.
  
• It's often a point of confusion and second guessing when I hit a key I know is available with a different chord, sometimes I pause after hitting the combo thinking I did it wrong (because I know there's an alternate path) and sometimes I second guess myself before hitting the key because I'm split between which key combo to hit it with.
  
• With a single combo to hit each key there is no ambiguity, so you never second guess yourself and you end up learning the format easier as well as ingrain it into muscle memory faster.
  
• Plus since it's the standard keybinding for shift it's already something most people are familiar with.
  

Bigram rollover optimization:

• Most bigram optimizations you want to make are fine, () is on 89 which is going to work well even if you want a numpad layout or a 2x5 number layout, and brackets are on individual keys which can be adjusted to your liking as well.
  
• You do lose the ability to put certain bigrams together on the same layer like <= >= since they are on different layers. That's a tradeoff you have to make. Is that worth having to deal with a 3rd layer?
  

Comboing:

• Comboing might be the biggest draw for simplifying to a 2 layer format.
  
• I don't say much about how your layout itself should look, since that's a personal preference, but I will say that there are 2 important things to try to do to keep comboing possible.
  
• 1. Keep the mods the same on all layers. It's ((possible)) to have mods only on first layer, hold those down, then go into a new layer, then press what you need. But from my experience, you either have to slow down to make sure it's consistent, or you end up comboing out of order then you end up forgetting which order is supposed to happen because it's muscle memory and it's all a mess.
• 1. Assuming you use thumb clusters for mods (Which I highly recommend), make sure you have a way to hit multiple mods + layers at the same time.
• If you have a setup like: alt ctrl space layer --- enter shift backspace windows (Don't use this it's an example of a problematic setup)
  
• alt+tab is problematic, you can't hit alt+layer with the same thumb, so you end up contorting your hand
  
• ctrl+alt+delete for example. It's fairly common to have delete on your 2nd layer. If you have ctrl+alt+layer all on your left thumb cluster then you can't really hit all 3 at the same time comfortably.
  
• You can try to move the layer over to the right thumb cluster, but then remember windows + arrow (windows + layer), so in that case when moving the layer key maybe make sure it's near the windows so you can double press? I decided to put a layer key on both thumb clusters, but there are also ways to do with by grouping certain keys for double presses (alt+ctrl is very common) and this will depend heavily on which shortcuts you like to use.
  

TLDR:
Use 2 layers and be very deliberate with your thumb clusters. I recommend
Left: alt-ctrl-shift-mod
Right: mod-space-backspace-super (Mod is switch to layer 2 and super is OS key)

FFM. Mid to late 30's.
Been dating a couple for around five years. When we met they had poly experience but I had not and the relationship progressed slowly because of this. Initially we were friends and they were happy with this. They never pushed anything on me. I eventually became curious and initiated and things kicked off..
The relationship has not been without it's issues and it has been challenging to work through them mostly due to how me and him communicates.
We have been having arguments non stop for the last few months and recently it has left everyone feeling very drained as a result. The arguments have mostly been between me and him.her and I get along really well but I feel we have lost connection while she has been dealing with some loss and depression. She has low libido and there have been times where me and her haven't been together for over two months at a time. I try give her space and not push anything as I have a high libido and require intimacy for connection. She has also informed me that as I take too long in the bedroom to reach climax it has put her off of being with me.she didn't bother putting in any effort to even tell me this until recently. After having the recent talk she has put in effort but I'm still processing how I feel about being told that she has actively avoided sleeping with me because I take too long and she doesn't have the energy.( While still sleeping with him,not as regularly as before though)
They have both been having a rough time with work and life the last two years and I have also had my ups and downs with some unexpected family responsibilities and other life things.
After having had a pretty serious conversation about where we were all at, we concluded that there are some things that everyone needs to work on, even if things don't improve immediately as long as one can see everyone is trying..
Recently, my car went in for some major issues and have been spending a fortune on transport as a result.the three of us don't currently live together. We are at a stage in the relationship where one can expect that all partners can ask or receive some form of reasonable support and I asked one partner if lifting me was on the table,staying over at my plafe or me at theirs to make it easier. I wasn't asking them to actually do it but rather trying to ascertain if it's something that would be available if I did ask. His response was that he loves far and that the commute would eat into over two hours of his day. This tells me it's on the table but isn't feasable. I was happy with that response because it's reasonable.i might not have shown this properly on my messages to him though. As This caused a fight because he kept taking this as a criticism as to why he wasn't doing it as opposed to me wanting to gage what I can or can't ask for as the third in a relationship. They do a lot for me as is but it's still good to ask if unsure..so, this led to a fight and him saying I'm ungrateful for what he already does for me.
The first day I didn't have my car, was the day we had a serious conversation about where we all stood. Because we had been fighting, I hadn't mentioned my car had been booked in for repairs. I showed up in an Uber and they asked me why. I told them about my car's issues and they were adamant that I should have asked them to fetch me or have the conversation at my place. They also both said that it would be ridiculous for them not to offer. I spent the entire day there talking out things and I had intended to get an Uber home but they insisted on lifting me..I did say I didn't want to ask because I didn't want to put them out of their way and they insisted so I accepted. (I don't like inconveniencing people so I seldom ask for help) Since then, they have been collecting me from work once a week at weekends so that we can still have visits.we go to their house,then they drop me back home. I have said thank you for the lifting, I've also said I can catch Ubers to their place if it's an issue to collect me and I've said they should let me know if they want me to contribute any money for gas.they have not once requested gas money so I assumed they didn't want it.i also don't carry cash due to safety so I would need to do a transaction to them.
Then, recently we have had another major fight. Mostly my fault as I brought up some stuff that had been bugging me and it was taken badly and led to a fight where all parties threw around words that can never be taken back and hurt more than anything else. There was alcohol involved which did make things worse as it amplified existing emotions all round.its not an excuse but it did contribute to the escalation of the fight.
It was thrown in my face that I haven't given them gas money for their trips collecting me, (the second that was said in the fight, I immediately transferred a sum of money to their bank account) and I said I did offer and they never said they wanted any, and I was told that they didn't want the transfer and I could take that transfer and shove it. They also threw it in my face that he has never once collected her from work and when she collects him from work it's been to her convenience sometimes he gets an Uber. They also recently took myself and their family out for dinner. I normally offer to pay my part of the bill, but I had so much on my mind with my car stressing me out, I don't remember if I did that night or not. Their family didn't offer, I remember noticing that.bit they paid for myself and their family for dinner which is usually what they do when they invite everyone out anyway. But apparently it was an issue that I didn't offer. I responded that I don't always offer but I usually do. Sometimes I don't notice when the waiter bring the bill or sometimes they pay while I am distracted.and also, sometimes it's nice to feel like a partner is treating me to something nice. They then threw it in my face that they have predominantly paid when we go out and I said they could tell me what money they want for the last three years if it's an issue. I've asked him about this previously, if he has any ossues paying and he always says no when I offer and has said he has no issue doing so.
In addition to this, they gifted me something a few months ago - an expensive item that they paid a large sum for.it was broken and they offered me the refurbished item for half the amount they paid for. This was the amount agreed upon and that's what I paid them.it was an item I would otherwise not buy myself because the price for a new one is not something I would fork out. So they thought they'd give me the choice to buy it,which I did. Now that's been thrown in my face. I told them that ive always thought it's been sweet that they've made these offers but after having it thrown in my face,it makes me feel like my character is in question, and as though nothing has been given in kindness but rather begrudgingly.
They've recently asked if I wanted to move in with them which would involve some level of sharing finances to help out fairly with rent and other expenses that we would all use. Now I just wonder why they would do that if they had so many issues around me supposedly never paying for anything. Just to note, I don't keep track of spending when it comes to my friends or relationships. I don't ask for gas money when I've been the one predominantly driving to visit them at their home which is far from mine or on long road trips that I've taken them on. I wouldn't accept it if it was offered either because I'm doing it to show them a nice time.
If this fight gets resolved, I don't know how I feel about ever going for lunch with them again or eating food in their home or accepting anything that involves them paying for my portion of it.i am afraid thst it will all be thrown in my face.
Further to this, I said something that has hurt him. He has a temper, it's no secret. There are holes on doors at his family home that he punched and he breaks appliances such as a TV out of frustration. Maybe four times a year on average. He would never intentionally harm someone. His girlfriend and I discussed potentially having kids with him and her concern is the temper and that one day instead of punching the TV,it might be a toddler that runs in front of him at the wrong time.i share this sentiment. During our most recent fight, he told me I was a crazy b**** and should see a therapist. I agree that I should see one, I have some issues which affect how I view certain things. In response to this statement I told him I'll go if he also goes for his anger management issues.he was adamant that wasn't an issue and I decided to explain to him why I thought he does have issues that could affect the relationship. Even though she also said the same thing, she did not stand up for me and confirm she also felt that way. I old her that she lacked integrity by not being honest about that. She is very submissive and he is used to being placed on a pedestal by her. I don't think he likes when I tell him things like this because it undermines his opinion of himself. But when she doesn't stand up to him it makes me seem like I'm crazy.
He has told me to consider the fight and how it is that I think of him. The truth is, accidents happen and he does have a temper. I am willing to see a therapist and have suggested he do the same, then I'd be more inclined to do so myself. he doesn't believe that he has a ange problem and she won't stand up for me and confirm she feels the same way, which doesn't help the situation because it encourages him to beleive these things and never change. He expects me to take accountability in this situation for saying something that he disagrees with that has hurt him tremendously, but at the same time he won't admit where his shortcomings are eveb if he beelives I am wrong, he is still aware thst he loses his temper and breaks things. Now he doesn't want to move in together because of this argument and he literally told me to think about the things I've said and if I feel that way about him then there's no point to move forward.
How do I word my discussion to show diplomacy but also try get him to understand he needs to take some form of accountability, and her to acknowledge that she needs to have a bit more integrity because it's unfair to say something to me but when faced with it, she is unable to say to him what she said to me.
How would I express how I feel now about having had the lifts that were freely offered to me thrown in my face along with the other things they've paid for over the years.

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What's up guys! It's your friendly Genshin overthinker Inotia King. As always before we begin I just want to make sure new readers have checked out my first topic which is the basis for all my theories. So if you haven't checked that out yet please click here.
-were all these books we got in the end!
In spite of the exciting story and look into the backstory of our upcoming character Sethos, I got the most excited about this new Temple of Silence sect and the hope that this information will add tons of new lore to the game!
https://preview.redd.it/6t3ci7jpf64d1.png?width=494&format=png&auto=webp&s=41eb6ca21d2f3b1fc4aa479f096b820f6aeff943
We have tons of information now to be able to deep dive into several parts of the lore but miHoYo's been clever enough to toss red herring after red herring at us as well. Hopefully given that we're closing in on Natlan, which may necessarily have to reveal the truth about some of this stuff the addition of this Temple of Silence (specifically how it used to eliminate "forbidden" knowledge) will slowly divulge the rest too.
https://preview.redd.it/zz91rhqri64d1.png?width=1916&format=png&auto=webp&s=f59b701503f10551d599f31ae746710e855204f0
For example: Alhaitham brings up yet another seven reference for Genshin. The Seven Pillars or seven sages of Deshret were listed out in the v4.5 weapon we got from the Achemical Ascension event. This one goes back far. A long time ago there were theories suggesting that Hermanubis was actually referring to Deshret himself, the sage of all sages. This quest seems to void this but maybe not. According to Bamoun, Hermanubis empowered his last followers with pieces of his soul in the Ba Fragments. Where did he learn to do this? Maybe from Deshret?
The Seven Pillars were described in the polearm in a very particular way: The Goat King was his right hand, Bennu was his soul, Shesepankh his will and finally Apep herself took his flesh and blood. While this is legend - and even more so Genshin YuGiOH! - I wouldn't put it beyond Yae's ploys to have added some honest details. Just think back on how she worked her Character Quest. In my theory I also put forth that Thoth related to Nabu and since Nabu relates to Mercury which relates to Hermanubis it connects Thoth with Hermanubis as well and Thoth is depicted as an ibis. Taking it all together we can connect the three that weren't explained by the weapon to Deshret. Thoth would be the Ibis King and Ammut normally depicted with a crocodile head would be the Crocodile King. Thoth records the results of Anubis weighing a person's soul on the scales of Ma'at (essentially Egyptian Imaginary Tree) and Ammut eats those who fail. While the others represent some aspect of Deshret, these three play a very special role for him. We learn from Apep that another name Deshret had (the man had a ton) was Amun aka Amun-Ra the sun god. As Ra, he'd be related to the myth of Ra's Journey or the death and rebirth of Ra. If death is going to be involved that's the jurisdiction of all three of our last players. And of course one of the biggest players who already fulfilled her role in Ra's Journey was Apep who ate Deshret which ends the cycle.
Side Note: Ba btw is the Egyptian equivalent of what we'd call a soul and Bennu in real life is Ra's ba. The Shesepankh is what we today might call the Sphinx. Sphinx is actually Greek and a totally different creature. The original Egyptian shesepankh is actually a representation "in living stone" of the person depicted by its human head usually a pharaoah. And as it would relate to Deshret we have to first talk about the Goat King. Goats or rams represent Amun and ram-headed shesepankh were erected as protection symbols for pharaohs.
If this is all part of what miHoYo had in mind then seven is becoming more and more of a common theme. In particular it's strange that Phanes would split itself into only four other shades. In my theory it left two unaccounted classical planets, another seven reference. Deshret's Hermanubis and Nabu relate to Mercury. Istaroth is based on a portmanteau of Ishtar and Ashtaroth both being the same god and relating to Venus. Phanes itself relates to the Sun. However then we have it that Nabu and Deshret's Ibis King also relate to the Moon. And Saturn actually relates to Mercury through the Sumerian Ninurta and if we're going by lore this likely refers to the Imaginary Tree. So thinking about it that way there could be hidden lore to uncover that then explains these missing two parts. For example if we can relate Saturn to the Imaginary Tree but also link it to Mercury which relates to Paimon, could Paimon then be with our Traveler as their guide as part of the tree's plan aka what we are hinted about in the Gnostic Chorus? This could also be seen with Nabu and her Khvarena, an entity that can cancel out the Abyss therefore is likely also imbued with the power of Imaginary. And with their relation to the moon perhaps that could tie in to the moon sister that sided with humanity.
Basically, while nothing is set in stone from this information it could all lead into major developments so let's keep our eyes peeled.
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I don't think anybody was thrown off by this part of the quest being resolved so quickly. It was pretty on the nose in spite of miHoYo's best efforts to dissuade us. But I think the way they had this situation play out speaks to a real concern in China these days, though it's pretty much universal.
We find out that Urraca is a poor student whose parents are usually working out of town. As such they have little time to watch over their kids. With such little supervision Urraca fell into gambling and began finding shady methods for getting Mora. In our world there's the well-known example in Japan with parents needing to work overseas and if they don't bring their kids with them, they leave their kids at home by themselves. It's not as widespread of an issue as anime would make it out to be (it's just easier to write stories about characters that don't have parents so they don't have to include unnecessary NPCs) but overworking and kids having to fend for themselves is an issue they're dealing with over there. China has a similar issue with parents that have to work far away from home. They usually leave the kids with their grandparents who only know to spoil them and so it's very easy for these kids to fall in with the wrong crowd and pick up bad habits. In both of these examples the parents have no choice. They need to go where there is work and then they can't be there for their kids. On our side of the world we might categorize it as negligent parents. You might have career driven parents that focus all their attention on work, parents that just never grew up or those who were just overwhelmed for any number of reasons and checked out of parenting. No matter the reason it usually leads to the kids developing bad behaviors and having problems becoming productive members of society.
Side Note: Btw Urraca is a Basque name likely derived from the Goddess Mari Urraca and is usually a girl's name. As a pagan goddess it could be that following the Christianization of Spain, someone who was named Urraca was vilified and her name associated with the magpie. In Spanish Urraca is related to theft as a result because there's a belief that magpies like stealing shiny objects. (In reality magpies are like most birds and shy away from shiny and reflective things.) Anyway the thievery stereotype is likely what miHoYo was going for with Urraca though they probably also shied away from making the NPC female for fear of unnecessary and unrelated connotations.
The other side of it is that the kid's only sixteen years old but everybody thought he was almost thirty. Life has not been kind. There's a few ways to look at this. Going off of the previous issue, Urraca might have fallen in with the wrong crowd and gotten into drugs. Smoking has been blamed for causing premature aging in the adolescent population on this side of the world. There are studies being done to see the aging effects of other drugs too. Then going back to China there's also overworking but in an academic sense. Urraca's not a good student so this might not fit him but there are kids that are being overworked either by their parents (who again don't have time to spend on their kids) pushing them to work hard to avoid the life they've had to lead. Or it could even be the kids themselves because of how competitive a country with millions of college graduates can be. And we are talking about Sumeru's Academia so it's very likely even if Urraca isn't in this camp there are plenty that fit this bill. Hosseini for example, who is actually thirty but looks like somebody's grandpa.
That as heavy. On the lighter side we have
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because of course this guy can't just let it go. It's been over a year since Alhaitham's Character Quest when he was made Acting Grand Sage and mentioned his pay raise. Get over it my dude lol
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Ok so what did Cyno's new quest give us?

• Hopefully tons of new lore and background information thanks to the introduction of the Temple of Silence and the upcoming Sethos.
• Alhaitham mentioning yet another reference to the number seven opens the door to so many possibilities connecting Teyvat's lore. It's still too early to tell but there's likely something going on there.
• Suffice it to say miHoYo grabbed the motherload of Egyptian mythology for Deshret.
• Urraca could be a discussion on the modern "lost generation" by miHoYo. It's a worldwide problem so it's good of miHoYo to bring it up even in passing.
• Get over it Kaveh! Alhaitham earns the money he makes lol