Drug test faint pink line

Brand new owner, so just trying to learn some things here.
So the device is working great with microphones, and guitars directly into inputs 1/2, but when I plug a line in input it sounds boxy and muffled with full loss of sound stage.
I am am doing something wrong, I just don't know what it is.
To test this, this is my setup:

• Setup output on computer to focusrite 4i4
• Plug 2 TRS to XLR cables into outputs 1 & 2 on scarlett, and inputs L & R on my Topping A30 Pro headphone amp
• Plug 1/4 TRS cable with L/R splitter that normally plugs into my headphones L/R cuffs into inputs 3 & 4 on the back of the Scarlett 4i4
• Play some music, balance the gain using focusrite control software. Peak around -12db. Put Scarlett output volume to max, and adjust output on the headphone amp to hit that -12db.
• Record inputs 3 & 4 for 30 second clip of BIRDS OF A FEATHER by Billie Eillish streaming lossless from Apple Music in Ableton Lite 12
• Unplug my cables from Scarlett, plug them back into my headphone cuffs
• Listen to the recording in Ableton and the recording from Apple Muisc. The Apple Music quality is worlds better, wide soundstage, detailed, bass and treble seperation is good.
• The recording from Ableton is boxy, muffled, and there is no sound stage, no seperation

Can someone please give me some guidance on what to try next? Looking to record some live music this weekend and I need to get the Line In working well by Wedesnday or I'll have to mic the amps and go in the front inputs, which is going to be a lot more work and I'll need to rush order some stuff on Amazon today or tomorrow.
Thanks!

Hey. I am using a Samsung S21 rn, but it's having green/pink lines issue, so I am planning to go get an iPhone 13, cause 15 is not affordable. Is it the right time to get an iPhone? Advises pls

Hey. I am using a Samsung S21 rn, but it's having green/pink lines issue so I am planning to go get an iPhone. Obviously the latest one isn't affordable. I think iPhone 13 is good. Any advises?

M1 Mac Studio 4Tb, BenQ4k 27" display running PaletteMaster with xrite i1 pro. Display set to calibrated profile. PS RGB working space is Prophoto, though same problem occurs in AdobeRgb1998.
Opening Raw files from LRC into PS. PS working space is set to Prophoto. Images open into PS through "edit in" menu in LR. When viewing same file on single display in PS window and LRC devmode window, the image in PS looks different. It is more similar to how the same file looks when viewed in LRC Library Mode. Shadow depth is flattened and stripped of detail. Saturation is reduced.
I have spent hours on-the-line with Adobe and Apple, each running me around. Adobe keeps advising I work in srgb which is not an option at the level our studio works. Have created new users and new volumes to test the issue. Have uninstalled and reinstalled the Creative Cloud, PS, and LRC twice.
Problem persists.
Adobe tried to explain that the sRGB IEC61966-2.1 profile was missing from my profile folders because the names of the sRBG profiles are different. Not sure how this would be the issue as it only affects PS and not LRC. Nor am sure how it could be the issue as I am not working in that color space. Nonethess, I changed the names of the profiles to match "sRGB IEC61966-2.1" I also ran colorsync util and repaired or deleted any broken profiles.
Best way I can describe it is that the image in PS looks as if a down-converted file is being viewed on a wider gamut space.
Any help from truly knowledgeable people would be deeply appreciated.

About 3 months ago, my former roommate and his girlfriend decided they were going to move in together. On the surface I couldn’t have been happier for the two of them, though I’ll admit I felt a pang of jealousy deep down because I was nowhere near doing that with a partner. Especially since I didn’t even have a partner.
After the hangover from the goodbye party had been tamed, I decided to do some budgeting. I calculated that I didn’t really need a roommate, but I knew I wouldn’t be happy living alone, and thought it could be fun to meet some new people.
I don’t remember how many dud interviews I went through. They all felt like the human equivalents of the colour beige; boring, and dull beyond belief. It had to have been dozens because it was the 15th of the month by the time I met Jack, and we got on like a house on fire.
As he was touring the apartment, he saw some posters I had in my room of bands that I like, he said he also loved their music, and named a few deep cuts from the bands that I absolutely gushed over, he also saw a collection of Star Wars merch I had and showed me pictures of some of his own that he had set up in his current place. All of his merch was still in its original packaging and I praised his restraint because I always had to open and pose all my figures as soon as I got home.
This prompted me to ask why he was leaving his current place.
“The landlord is selling the place. ‘Hot market’ or whatever. Only gave me a month’s notice, can you believe that?”
“Fuckin’ landlords.” I said in affirmation.
He then mentioned he liked watching stand-up comedy which was yet another interest we shared. He said he likes to watch it before bed because it helps with his mood when he wakes up in the morning. In hindsight this probably should’ve raised some red flags for me, but I was so caught up in the elation of finding what felt like a kindred spirit that I didn’t think much of it.
I didn’t want to seem too eager so I said that I’d message him tomorrow, to let him know what I decided either way.
“See ya tomorrow.” He said with a wink as he left.
After he left I took a look at the “roommate resume” I asked him to put together, just a list of previous addresses with contact info for the landlords, and a credit report. Jack had lived in 3 different apartments in as many years, and had a perfect credit rating, with the only recurring charges being his cell phone, and the rent for a storage unit across town. Always paid in full, and on time.
I had already made my mind up at this point, but in the spirit of doing my due diligence I called Jack’s most recent landlord.
“Hi, Sandy? My name’s Mason, I’m calling in reference to your current tenant Jack Kerninski.”
I wasn’t really finished my sentence but for some reason I paused.
“Is this the police?” She said to fill the void.
“What? Uh, no. I’m just calling to ask about what sort of tenant Jack is, or if you have any insights into him as a person that I should know about before making him my roommate.”
“Oh! Okay, sure!” She perked up and almost sounded giddy.
“Jack’s great! Very friendly and pleasant. Quiet as a mouse except for when he would get into his shows, but a quick text or knock and he’d quiet right down. And he’s a great cook! Such amazing smells coming from his suite. He’d often even share with me, as he frequently bought large cuts of meat and couldn’t eat it all himself. Exotic stuff, too. Pork, lamb, even sometimes the organs! Things like liver that before him I’d always gagged at the thought of! I had started to feel like I was living at a five-star hotel! He’s such a gourmand, you’re lucky.”
There was something in the back of my head that said it seemed like she was trying too hard to sell Jack to me, but because him and I got on so well, and because I was a crap cook, I ignored that thought.
“He’s also quite the ladies man! Revolving door of women, I don’t think I ever saw the same girl twice!”
“Thanks for all the info, Sandy. This has been very helpful.”
“No, thank you!” She said, and I almost ended the call when I remembered what she said at the start of the call.
“Uh, one more thing, before I let you go. Why’d you think I was the police?”
“Oh…” she paused for an awkwardly long moment “…you sounded so official when you introduced yourself! Jack doesn’t have any family here, so I’m his emergency contact. I was worried he might have been robbed or something!”
“I didn’t realize I came off that way over the phone!” I said, but it felt like I didn’t believe either her words or mine.
“Thanks, Sandy. Have a good night.” I said and hung up without listening to her farewell. My mind was preoccupied with questions I was doing my best to ignore, and replace with my daydreams of having a new best friend that would cook elegant meals for us as we listened to our favourite bands and talked about what the lyrics in the songs meant to us.
I decided I’d message Jack in the morning with the good news. My still booze binge recovering thirty-year-old body and brain needed more sleep.
The next morning I sent Jack the confirmation text.
“Jack! It’s Mason. If you haven’t found any other place yet, I’d love for you to move in here!”
“Awesome! Super happy to hear that! Thanks!”
“When are you available for the move in? I could help you move out of your old place.”
“Moving van’s already packed. I could be at your place later today! Say around noon?”
“Sounds good. See you then.”
Jack arrived precisely at Noon. The second the clock shifted from 11:59am to 12:00pm I heard the honk from the moving van, and I got up to greet him outside.
“Told you I’d see you today!” Jack said as he walked to the rear of the van to open it and reveal his belongings.
Moving his stuff only took about an hour. He only had a bed and about 8 boxes of belongings consisting of clothes, books, collectibles, and CD’s, but we still acted like it was a great physical effort and that we needed pizza and beers afterwards.
The rest of that day was normal. Jack spent it unpacking, and I spent it writing, the anxiety of looming deadlines hanging over my head.
Around the time I usually ate dinner, Jack popped his head out of his room.
“Hey, you hungry?” He asked
I paused to think and as if in reply, my stomach grumbled.
“Starved. I didn’t realize what time it was.”
“Great! I’ll be back in a bit, gotta go get some ingredients.”
Jack returned about an hour later with a plethora of fresh herbs, vegetables, and meat wrapped in brown deli paper that I didn’t recognize when he unwrapped it.
“It’s fois gras. Fattened duck liver.” He said as if reading my mind.
“It’s incredibly hard to find,” he continued as he prepared the ingredients “a lot of places consider the process animal cruelty because the ducks are force-fed until their livers become diseased and swell up to ten times their normal size. But I know a guy.” He looked up from what he was doing and winked at me with a smirk, without even stopping his swift knife work. With the way Jack glided around the kitchen, you could’ve told me I was watching a Michelin Star chef at work and I would’ve believed you.
As he cooked he uncorked a bottle of vintage red wine, poured a small amount into a glass for a smell and taste test, then poured two glasses.
“A perfect pairing, don’t you think?” He asked as he watched me take a sip.
“It’s…superb, but I gotta say, Jack, I think this might be a little…rich, for my blood. A fancy bottle of wine for me is the $50 bottles that I grab when they go on sale at the local liquor store. I don’t know if I can really appreciate this fully.”
“Nonsense!” Jack exclaimed as he turned back to the sizzling pans.
“You know enough to appreciate it, just not enough to identify every aspect and enjoy its deeper layers. You’ll get there.”
I was completely enamoured by this man. His every movement in the kitchen was measured, and as silky smooth as the surface of a still lake. He spoke with a reassuring tone that could melt all your fears and worries away, as he bathed you in affirmation and encouragement. He was charisma personified.
That is what made what happened later that night all the more strange.
“Alright man, I’m exhausted.” He said as he finished cleaning the dishes from dinner (I said I would but he insisted that he do it).
I looked at the clock and noticed it was past midnight by then.
“Oh shit it’s late. Yeah, time for bed!”
“Goodnight, Mason.” He said, patting my shoulder once.
“G‘Night, Jack.”
About half an hour later, I heard a laugh coming from Jack’s room.
“Heh heh hehehehehe.”
I tried to ignore it, but it got louder.
“Heh heh…HA HA HA HA HA HA HA”
If I didn’t know it was Jack in there, I would’ve thought that Mark Hamill had come over to record some audio as Joker in my apartment, Jack’s laugh sounded identical. It was uncanny. Every “ha” was pronounced but also sounded like it was all the same word, with a slight wheeze between each. I wouldn’t be able to sleep with it though so I got up to go knock on Jack’s door.
“Come in.” Jack said after a short pause.
I opened the door to see Jack sat on his bed, on top of the covers. I hadn’t actually seen his room until this moment. It looked somehow both lived-in and sterile. The collectibles on his shelves were arranged spaced exactly the same distance apart, lined up perfectly with each other, the wires of his electronic devices were neatly tucked away, and everything was arranged in perfect right angles. Jack was sitting perpendicular on his bed, facing his tv across the room. The screen was paused on a frame of Kevin Hart, on top of which the title “stand-up compilation #21” hung.
“Hey man, you mind keeping it down a little?”
“Sorry, was I being loud? No problem, Mason, I’ll keep it down. Sleep well.”
“Thanks Jack. ‘Night.”
After I had gone back to bed I heard him leave. Clearly making every effort to be quiet.
This pattern went on for 2 months.
Because of the massive amount of benefits there were to having Jack around, I didn’t really mind having to ask him to quiet down every night. It seemed superfluous. Every night he would cook these decadent five-star meals, exotic meats always paired with bottles of wine, champagne, or scotch that couldn’t have cost less than $500. He didn’t even flinch one night when I had a few friends over, and insisted that he cook for all 5 of us, he was almost excited by it, and the idea that I was going to order us pizza was simply unfathomable to him. He even talked and joked around with my friends, and whenever he’d laugh it was the same Joker-like laugh I heard every night. On hearing his laugh one of my friends shot me a look and I shrugged in reply, they raised an eyebrow at me then went back to the conversation.
Eventually the laughing just became white noise to me. I had purchased noise-cancelling headphones but didn’t even take them out of the packaging because by the time they arrived, I could fall asleep to;
“Heh heh hehehe HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHA AHA AHA AHA AHAHAHAHAHA”
I stopped thinking much of it. “It’s just how he laughs” I rationalized.
Two weeks after Jack moved in, I started to feel like I was always being watched. Even when I was alone, when Jack had gone to work for the day. I couldn’t really explain why, or come up with any ideas how. My apartment window overlooked a park, with no other residential windows in line-of-sight of my window. I didn’t have interior security cameras, and Jack hadn’t set any up that I could see.
The feeling was much more intense when Jack was around, and I still couldn’t figure out why. Sure, his gaze was intense, but he was sort of an intense person. In a fit of paranoia one night, when Jack was in his room, door closed, I wrote on a mini white board “I know you’re watching me, I found the cameras” held it up and faced my bedroom door. I waited two minutes for some kind of response before moving to the living room still holding the sign to my chest. Still nothing.
“Heh heh hehehe HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHA AHA AHA AHA AHAHAHAHAHA”
I pushed the feeling to the back of my mind. Surely, if I was being surveilled, the move with the sign would have brought my spy out, I thought.
“Or maybe they just called your bluff” a voice in the back of my mind said. Another thought I pushed away.
“Heh heh hehehe HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHA AHA AHA AHA AHAHAHAHAHA”

I apologize if this is really long, but here’s my story.
Back in October of 2020 I remember taking a new medication after seeing my doctor for something unrelated, which is allergies and eczema. A day later I was doing exercises for PE class on zoom and I remember I suddenly felt extremely tired, heard heart palpitations and got extremely dizzy for a little while, so I sat down for maybe 20-30 seconds or so and the dizziness went away. I thought I had a panic attack, or that the medication I was given had really bad side effects, so I stopped taking the medication and thought I’d be fine. A few weeks later, I started to have very bad daytime fatigue including reoccurring episodes of sleep paralysis whenever I laid down. In addition to this, I would get dizzy after standing up too quickly, so usually I had to get up slowly or sit down after getting up temporarily to start walking again. Fast forward to around 2021 when I had just began highschool. I went to a doctor’s checkup and my blood pressure was really high for some reason. I was really nervous that day, but they retook it like 4 times at 2 sequential check-ups and eventually my doctor got worried and told me that I need to take a 24 hour blood monitor test to check my blood pressure levels throughout the day in order to figure out the root cause behind my symptoms. My blood pressure was mostly fine throughout the day, but I constantly woke up at night because the constant squeezing of my arm and the beeping that happened every single hour made me nervous. My results came back normal, but not normal enough because of that. Eventually, I started getting other symptoms like occasional constipation and a tingling sensation on one of my feet, so my doctor order blood tests and checked my blood sugar levels but everything was normal aside from my Vitamin D levels, so I was referred to a Nephrologist. I told him my symptoms, and he made me take several tests like CT, MRI, ECG, and again EVERYTHING came out normal. I also got a liver and kidney ultrasound and they found out that I had a benign liver lesion but aside from that nothing. My blood pressure was taken again, and it was still high (like 133/83 but I don’t remember exactly what). For 3-4 months, I began to change my diet a little, and get more exercise. My blood pressure dropped back down to about 118 systolic and to 106 at some point when my nephrologist retook my blood pressure in the room. Despite this, my symptoms haven’t gone away. My doctor referred me to a gastroenterologist, and told me if she can’t find anything else, she’ll have to refer me to a mental health specialist. A few weeks ago, I saw my gastroenterologist and told her my symptoms. I know she had good intentions, but she usually just looked at me and then asked me questions along the lines of, “you seem nervous,” “did you get any sleep?” etc. She told me that my weight has decreased a few pounds since my last visit which is slightly concerning. She also told me she would request that I get blood work done for like the 4th time and when I asked her what specifically I was getting blood work done on she looked at me as if I was paranoid and she just laughed at me and asked me why I would I ask such a weird question. Honestly, I’m just really pissed off with the healthcare system rn. I know they’re have good intentions, but why is it so difficult to get to the root cause of my issues? I know for sure it isn’t just anxiety, and maybe I even sound crazy to whoever else bothered to read this post, but I don’t know who else to explain this to, or even how to explain my symptoms in a way that’s comprehensible enough for a doctor to understand because I can’t even fully understand them myself.
My current symptoms: - Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, sometimes I’d get sleep paralysis and begin to hear noises whenever I fell asleep during the daytime. However, these episodes have never occurred to me overnight. - Dizziness when standing up too quickly after laying down for a long time. Also a constant urge to sit or lie down for some reason - Tingling in my right foot whenever not in motion - Brain fog, extreme difficulty concentrating on my school work and difficulty getting on task again whenever I took a break. I had to work for extended periods of time to actually get anything done or else I’d end up procrastinating again because I just couldn’t focus. - Difficulty remembering things, constantly having to set alarms on my phone for important reminders because I can’t trust myself to remember it on my own - Muscle weakness, specifically whenever I’m doing exercises for endurance - Heart palpitations - Constipation, not sure if it’s normal or if it’s IBS/SIBO - Appetite is usually normal, but lately it’s been less than usual - Anxiety, but not much worse or better than usual honestly
I’d appreciate some advice or at the very least some natural remedies because I don’t know what to do at this point. Even when I try to open up to my parents about my issues they either think I’m insane and need to stop searching through the internet because it messes up my head, but I can’t really find any other explanation for my symptoms. It’s impacted my ability to do well in school, to socialize with other people, and while it seems to be invisible to everyone else I don’t know how long I can ignore it anymore.

Heh. Nice.
Creativity is returning, and I promise that the series doesn't devolve into a slice of life between Valteria and Xander (not that that's necessarily a bad thing, just not where I want to go - you'll have to instead content thyself with slices of slice of life here and there). Going to try and keep to updating roughly every 7-10 days, but again, I don't hold myself very strictly to any schedule so that may not always happen. Enjoy!
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Elements are, well… elemental. Not in the sense that they are beings comprised of a single physical element - though they generally are. I mean they are created by a conflux of a single type of elemental mana. This is often seen at ley lines, areas where mana flows and rushes like a river, but it can happen anywhere two errant streams of mana of the same type collide. Not every collision results in the formation of an elemental core, around which an elemental will concrete rapidly from a physical material local to the area that aligns with the core’s mana type. Some happen with no discernable effect. Others produces auroric lights, or short lived ‘will-o-the-wisps,’ which are not to be confused with actual spirits or other ethereal monsters.
-Brant Colis during a lecture on elementals, College of Magical Studies, part of the esteemed University of Sempta
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Xander smiled at her and planted a quick kiss on her lips, causing Valteria’s eyes to widen at the suddenness of it. “Thanks,” he told her. “I couldn’t have had a better teacher.”
Valteria blushed at his glowing commendation, and perhaps from the kiss as well. “You’re sweet,” she said. “But there are better teachers than me,” Valteria told him in a more serious tone. Her serious face cracked a little bit into a smile as she said, “Too bad you don’t know any of them! You’re stuck with me, instead.”
“Mmm, I don’t mind one bit,” Xander said. Thinking to check his watch, he briefly glanced at the time. “Say, what time do you usually close up shop? It’s getting to be late afternoon, and I imagine we’ll want some light if we’re going to test out that crossbow.”
“Hm? Oh, right, damnit, I’d forgotten already.” Valteria glanced at one of the clocks in the room to confirm the time. “Ah, hell, I’m ready to call it quits for the day anyways. I doubt anyone else is going to come in today anyways. Let’s walk to guild training area.”
“Certainly, I would be most happy to escort the lady,” Xander said, as formally as he could manage.
“What did I say about bowing and scraping?”
“Sorry.”
Valteria locked up the shop as they exited, and the two of them made their way to the training yard that the guild had set up. Xander was glad that Valteria seemed to know where it was, because he had never actually been there. His practice for the tournament had been conducted out in random fields, as he’d worried he’d be taking up too much space swinging around all that chain. During the walk there, they chatted about how Valteria hoped the crossbow would perform, and she reminded him that she still wanted to see the guns that he had mentioned. He agreed to show her, as long as the training yard was safely positioned in such a way that he didn’t need to worry about anything down range.
After about half an hour of walking through the city, and then through the outskirts of the town, Valteria led them to the training yard. There were a few mercenaries training throughout the area, some sparring together in a sandy pit, while others were practicing their aim with bows, crossbows, and spells by firing at targets placed at the ends of a set of lanes. Xander was pleased to see that there was a berm build up behind the targets to prevent anything that went through the targets escaping the bounds of the training yard. He supposed that certain skills attached to a bolt or arrow might necessitate it. It would certainly work well enough for his firearms. He was glad he’d silenced them, as it would be rather disturbing to the rest of the mercenaries present if he hadn’t.
“So, which do you want to try out first? The guns or the crossbow?” Xander asked.
Valteria thought for a moment. “Hmm,” she said aloud as she pondered. “I think the crossbow first. I’m eager to see how it performs so that I can work on properly pricing it, as well as seeing if we need to tweak the design before we make more.”
“Sure, that makes sense. Guns can be a treat for after we do our official business,” Xander replied.
“Shame there’s only a wooden target, I’d like to see how it does against something like a chest plate,” Valteria sighed.
“You forget who you’re with!” Xander reminded her. “I can make us a steel target in no time at all. But we probably ought to test it out on the wood first, just to make sure it even works.”
“Oh right, I forgot you could just make one. That seems like a good idea. Would you mind making me some bolts, too? I didn’t even think to stop to get any,” Valteria said, slapping her forehead lightly.
“Coming right up.” Xander went to work creating a few crossbow bolts for Valteria to fire, handing them over one by one as he made them. He stopped after creating ten bolts. “That should be enough to test the thing out, right?”
“Mmhm, I would think so.” The two of them walked together to a lane at one end of the yard, making sure that there were a few empty lanes between them and the next closest merc. No one paid them any mind, save for an occasional glance in their direction as people briefly wondered who the odd couple they didn’t recognize were. Still, the yard was free to use, and no one bothered them.
Valteria cranked the crossbow arms back and took a knee as she placed a bolt into the channel of the crossbow. She took some time to aim at the target at the end of the lane before firing. The increased force of the arms snapping back into place jerked her forward a little, but the shot still found its mark, at least for the most part. It went a little wide, hitting the left edge of the target. The bolt punched through the wood with what seemed to be ease, burying itself fully into the berm behind the target.
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting it to jerk like that,” Valteria said, looking down at the crossbow. “It’s certainly got some power to it.”
“Shall we see how it does with steel?” Xander asked.
“Sure, though I have my suspicions that it’s going to either blow right through the metal or the bolt is going to shatter. So, it is going to require higher grade bolts from a good [Fletcher] to really operate at full efficiency,” she explained.
“Makes sense,” Xander said with an absent nod as he created a sheet of steel of about the correct thickness for a chestpiece. Once he was done, he jogged down to the target and leaned the sheet of steel up against it before jogging back to Valteria. “All you,” he said to her.
“I have to do all the work?” She said sarcastically.
“I mean, if you don’t want to shoot it, I’ll be happy to,” Xander replied. “But what’s more fun than putting holes in things with a weapon?”
“Uhm, a lot of things?” Valteria asked.
“Okay, yeah, you’re right. But it’s still fun!”
“It is.”
Valteria was able to land most of her shots on the metal target, which proved equally flimsy as the wood had to the runically enhanced crossbow. Two went wide, embedding in the berm instead, but overall she seemed pleased with the test. “I’m not exactly the best shot,” she told Xander. “I’m surprised I only missed two, in all honesty.”
“Considering that you don’t have a combat class, I think you did pretty well for someone who doesn’t regularly go out and fire a crossbow,” Xander said approvingly. “Ready to try out a gun?”
“Yes!” Valteria said excitedly.
Xander chuckled at Valteria’s enthusiasm, manifesting the tube fed .22 rifle from his inventory, along with some ammunition. “We can start off with something small.” Carefully placing the rifle down, he held up some of the small rounds for her to see. “This is a bullet. A twenty-two caliber long rifle bullet, to be specific. It’s designed for small game, so it has essentially no kick behind it, but it’s very reliable. It’s a good one to get acquainted with before I swap you over to trying out my pistol and shotgun, since they have a little more kick to them. Here’s how you load it.” Xander went through the process of pulling the spring loaded rod out of the tube that held the ammunition, Valteria watching carefully as he loaded it up to capacity. “So you’ve got eighteen shots right now. This right here is the safety,” he indicated the push button near the trigger that operated the safety mechanism. “You can’t pull the trigger unless this side is pushed in. Helps keep accidents from happening. Now, before I hand this over to you, you’re going to indulge me and listen to the four rules of firearm safety, okay?”
“Okay,” Valteria said with a firm nod.
“Alright, so the first rule is this: always assume that a gun is loaded. Messing around with one just because you think it’s unloaded is a great way to accidentally get someone killed. Two, never point the end of a gun at something you don’t intend to shoot. Keep it pointed down at the ground at all other times. That way, if you do accidentally discharge it, no one can get hurt. Number three pertains to your target. Be sure of your target – make sure you know what you’re shooting at – and just as importantly, know what’s beyond your target. You don’t want to shoot through something and end up also shooting something or someone you didn’t intend to. And the last rule is to keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot. Simple enough, right? They could all easily followed with a crossbow, too. Got it?”
Valteria nodded again. “Got it,” she replied.
“Alrighty, well then let’s get you shooting! I’ll show you the three postures for shooting, as well as how to use the sights and then I’ll let you run through a full tube or two before we swap to something a little more fun to shoot.” Xander held rifle downward and indicated the scope on the rifle. “This is a magnified scope. Think of it like a little telescope with an X in the center. You look through it like this,” Xander held the rifle up to his cheek, pointing it downrange, “and line up the center of the X with where you want to shoot. The position I’m in right now is how you should fire while standing. See how I’m a little leaned forward and my right foot is to the rear? That’s to help absorb recoil, not that this gun has much. It’ll help with the larger one, though.” Xander then kneeled down, placing his elbow on his knee to brace his arm. “This is how you’d fire while kneeling. Very similar to how I saw you do it with the crossbow.” Finally, he laid down and said, “And this is how you fire when prone. If you step behind me, you’ll see that the gun, my shoulder, my body, and my right leg are all one straight line.”
“I see,” Valteria agreed, looking at him from behind.
Standing up, careful to keep the rifle pointed downwards, he said, “I’ll let you choose how you want to shoot. Here you are.” He held the rifle out for Valteria to take, who did so gingerly. Xander was pleased to see that she was keeping her fingers away from the trigger.
Valteria moved into position at the opening to the lane and knelt. Xander went to stand behind her. She took up the proper position, mimicking how Xander had shown her.
“I’m going to adjust your posture slightly, so don’t be startled, okay?” Xander softly said.
“Okay,” Valteria replied.
Xander leaned over slightly and put his hands on her shoulders, squaring them a little bit more. “Okay, now aim, and when you’re ready, pull the trigger.”
Valteria took her time aiming, getting used to the scope and the position her head needed to be in to properly use it. “This scope thingy is quite handy. I can see things so much closer!”
Xander laughed, saying, “Yeah, I use it all the time just for looking at things that are far away.”
Valteria took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger, eliciting a small crack from the rifle, most of the relatively minimal noise of the rifle being silenced by the runes Xander had engraved on the end of the barrel. A ping could be heard as the bullet hit the metal sheet, putting a tiny hole in it.
Valteria looked around. “That’s it?” She asked. “I was expecting something... more.”
“Well, this one is a small caliber round, so there’s not a lot of oomph behind it compared to something larger. But if we take a walk down there, I’d wager we could find the hole it made in the steel.”
“Strange how something so small could penetrate a piece of steel armor...” Valteria said, trailing off thoughtfully.
“I don’t think it would penetrate really well-made armor from a higher leveled [Smith], and I’m certain it wouldn’t penetrate armor that I’ve done runework on. This is completely unimproved steel, after all.”
“That’s fair,” Valteria agreed.
“So, do you want to finish off the other seventeen rounds, or is this one too boring?”
“I want to try the bigger one!” Valteria said excitedly.
“Fine, fine,” Xander relented. “Same rules for this one, okay?” He took the rifle back from Valteria, unloading it and stashing the gun and ammo back in his inventory. He pulled out the shotgun and a handful of shells, opting for slugs to reduce the chance of any kind of ricochet from the steel target. “This is a pump-action shotgun.” He held up the shotgun in one hand. “And this is the ammunition it fires.” He held up his handful of shotgun shells in the other hand. “Quite a bit bigger than the other one.”
Valteria nodded along. “That one looks more exciting.”
“You load the round into the tube on the bottom like so,” Xander said as he pushed five rounds into the tube. “And to load a round, you pump the slide towards you and then away from you.” The shotgun made the classic cha-chuck­ noise as he pumped the slide, loading a round. “This is loaded now. Safety works the same way. Here you go.” He carefully handed the gun over to Valteria, who took it with a little more confidence than she had with the small caliber rifle.
Watching her get into a kneeling position and shoulder the rifle, Xander commented, “Adjust the buttstock a little, you want it more on the meaty part of your shoulder, not on the outside. It’ll absorb the recoil better.”
Valteria complied, shifting the rifle slightly to adjust. “This one doesn’t have a scope,” she said.
“Oh right, yeah this one is a bit shorter ranged. You just line up the bead on the end in the center of the sight posts closer to you to aim.”
“Oh, oh I see,” Valteria said, returning her cheek to the stock of the shotgun.
“Fire whenever you’re rea-“ Xander was interrupted by the muffled crack of the shotgun firing. Valteria let out a noise halfway between a squeak and a grunt as she rocked backwards, falling backwards slightly from her position of kneeling to sitting on the ground.
“Oww,” She muttered. “This one hurts! You didn’t tell me it would hurt!”
“I did tell you it would have more kick, though,” Xander laughed. “That one packs a lot more punch than that little twenty-two. Do you want to shoot it again?” He asked.
“No,” Valteria said sullenly, holding the shotgun out for Xander to take. “I’m already going to have a bruise from just that one. How do you use that thing?”
Xander shrugged. “Eh, you get used to it. And with proper form, you learn to take the recoil better. Here, watch.” Xander stepped up to the lane and demonstrated, firing the remaining four rounds in quick succession, the slide clattering as he quickly pumped rounds into the chamber.
“Hmph,” Valteria huffed, seeing that Xander had had no issue with the recoil.
“Oh don’t be like that,” Xander chided her, giving her a quick, one armed hug as he stowed the shotgun in his inventory.
Valteria let out the kind of whine one does when they’re mildly inconvenienced and want to be dramatic about it.
“I have one more that I think you’ll like. It’s got more to it than the little rifle, and less than the shotgun. And it’s a lot smaller. It’s called a pistol. I guess you could think of it like the hand crossbow of guns?”
“I think smaller might be good after that last one,” Valteria said, still cautious.
Xander pulled his final firearm from Earth from his inventory into his hand. “This is the pistol.” He manifested a magazine, and said, “and this is the magazine, which the rounds go in.”
“Why’s it called a magazine?” Valteria asked, interrupting him.
“Uh, I actually don’t know,” Xander admitted. “Just what it’s called,” he said with a shrug.
“Anyway, the magazine goes in the pistol like this,” he firmly seated the magazine. “And you load the first round like this,” he said as he racked the slide. “The safety is a little bit different on this one – it’s this lever here. You toggle it down and then it can fire. You’ll want to hold it like this,” he told Valteria as he demonstrated a classic pistol shooter’s pose, both hands in use and slightly leaned forward.
“Ready to try it? I promise it’s not as bad as the shotgun,” he said. “I do feel a little bad about not telling you.”
“You should!” Valteria said as she took the proffered pistol.
“Make sure you keep it pointed down, still,” Xander reminded her.
“I will, I will,” she grumbled. Valteria took up her spot at the lane and mimicked Xander’s posture as best she could from a single demonstration. She looked back at him briefly, expecting some kind of comment or correction, but Xander was silent, just giving her a smile.
“Not bad,” he said. “Give it a try, just make sure you keep a firm, even grip.”
Valteria pulled the trigger, flinching slightly after her experience with the shotgun. Her flinch made the round miss the target. She looked at the gun with a little more favor in her eyes as she realized that it wasn’t going to hurt like the shotgun had. “I think I like this one better,” she told Xander.
“Try not to flinch like you did. I guess that’s my own fault after the shotgun,” he admitted, “but it’s bad for your aim. Other than that, you’re doing just fine,” he encouraged.
Valteria let off another round, this one hitting the large, steel target, letting out another ping across the training yard. “This is rather fun,” she admitted.
“You’ve got sixteen left before you need to reload. I’d recommend a steady pace to start out with, though. Take your time to aim. You can pop off rounds quickly on the next magazine.”
The two of them spent their time, and more than a few magazines – Xander would load one up while Valteria used the other – together at the range amicably. From an outside perspective, the two of them would have seemed more like good friends than a new couple. For his part, Xander appreciated that Valteria wasn’t seemingly needy, or overly touchy or intimate. He wasn’t sure if that would change, at least regarding touch, but right now, considering how fresh their relationship was and the fact that he was still feeling more than some guilt over even being in a relationship, he was perfectly content to move slowly for the most part. It would probably be best for Valteria too, he considered, as she was new to dating in general. He didn’t want to inadvertently take advantage of her in some way or push her boundaries.
As dusk began to fall, Xander and Valteria stopped their target practice. Xander had convinced her to wrap up with the shotgun and a few more shots from it as a finale, and she’d agreed now that she knew what to expect, the annoyance of the sudden recoil having faded. Before they left, Xander brought the steel target up for Valteria to see. It was riddled with holes, Xander pointing out the impacts left by each different caliber. He set it aside and out of the way to disintegrate, and the two began to walk back into town.
“Where do you want to eat?” Xander asked Valteria.
“Mm... I’m not sure. I hadn’t put much thought into it, honestly,” Valteria responded.
“Well, the only two places I know are Charles’s place and the inn my team and I are staying at. Though, if we eat there, prepare to be mobbed by the team and teased about dating me.”
“You’ve already told them?” Valteria said, sounding a little nervous.
“Only one, and I assume that she has kept it private, but the other three would immediately assume if they saw us together at a table. You know they thought that us comparing notes after the match was a date in disguise? They kept giving me dating tips like I wasn’t the only one of them that had ever held down a long-term relationship before,” Xander said with a laugh.
Valteria laughed. “I suppose it makes sense that they’ll tease us about it having come true, then. I suppose you’re worth a little teasing,” she said sarcastically.
“Damn right I am!” Xander replied. “But you still haven’t answered the question. Where are we – well, you, really – eating?”
Valteria slowed her pace, considering for a moment. “Hmm... I have to admit that I’m interested in who your team is. The people you keep company with are an important aspect of one’s self, after all,” she said discerningly.
“Ahh, so you want to know if I hang out with the wrong sort of crowd?” Xander teased. “They’re good people. Took me back without blinking an eye when I returned as... what I am now. I’d be happy to introduce you to them.”
“Then it’s settled, we’ll be eating there. What’s the name of the inn?”
“Uhh... shit. I can’t ever remember the name of the place. But I know how to get there!” Xander admitted.
“You’ve been staying in the city for how long?” Valteria asked, in disbelief.
“Uhm... more than a month.”
“And you still don’t know the name of the place?”
“I just never think to look at the sign when I’m leaving or coming back!” Xander said, vainly trying to defend himself.
Previous Next

I apologize if this is really long, but here’s my story.
Back in October of 2020 I remember taking a new medication after seeing my doctor for something unrelated, which is allergies and eczema. A day later I was doing exercises for PE class on zoom and I remember I suddenly felt extremely tired, heard heart palpitations and got extremely dizzy for a little while, so I sat down for maybe 20-30 seconds or so and the dizziness went away. I thought I had a panic attack, or that the medication I was given had really bad side effects, so I stopped taking the medication and thought I’d be fine. A few weeks later, I started to have very bad daytime fatigue including reoccurring episodes of sleep paralysis whenever I laid down. In addition to this, I would get dizzy after standing up too quickly, so usually I had to get up slowly or sit down after getting up temporarily to start walking again. Fast forward to around 2021 when I had just began highschool. I went to a doctor’s checkup and my blood pressure was really high for some reason. I was really nervous that day, but they retook it like 4 times at 2 sequential check-ups and eventually my doctor got worried and told me that I need to take a 24 hour blood monitor test to check my blood pressure levels throughout the day in order to figure out the root cause behind my symptoms. My blood pressure was mostly fine throughout the day, but I constantly woke up at night because the constant squeezing of my arm and the beeping that happened every single hour made me nervous. My results came back normal, but not normal enough because of that. Eventually, I started getting other symptoms like occasional constipation and a tingling sensation on one of my feet, so my doctor order blood tests and checked my blood sugar levels but everything was normal aside from my Vitamin D levels, so I was referred to a Nephrologist. I told him my symptoms, and he made me take several tests like CT, MRI, ECG, and again EVERYTHING came out normal. I also got a liver and kidney ultrasound and they found out that I had a benign liver lesion but aside from that nothing. My blood pressure was taken again, and it was still high (like 133/83 but I don’t remember exactly what). For 3-4 months, I began to change my diet a little, and get more exercise. My blood pressure dropped back down to about 118 systolic and to 106 at some point when my nephrologist retook my blood pressure in the room. Despite this, my symptoms haven’t gone away. My doctor referred me to a gastroenterologist, and told me if she can’t find anything else, she’ll have to refer me to a mental health specialist. A few weeks ago, I saw my gastroenterologist and told her my symptoms. I know she had good intentions, but she usually just looked at me and then asked me questions along the lines of, “you seem nervous,” “did you get any sleep?” etc. She told me that my weight has decreased a few pounds since my last visit which is slightly concerning. She also told me she would request that I get blood work done for like the 4th time and when I asked her what specifically I was getting blood work done on she looked at me as if I was paranoid and she just laughed at me and asked me why I would I ask such a weird question. Honestly, I’m just really pissed off with the healthcare system rn. I know they’re have good intentions, but why is it so difficult to get to the root cause of my issues? I know for sure it isn’t just anxiety, and maybe I even sound crazy to whoever else bothered to read this post, but I don’t know who else to explain this to, or even how to explain my symptoms in a way that’s comprehensible enough for a doctor to understand because I can’t even fully understand them myself.
My current symptoms: - Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, sometimes I’d get sleep paralysis and begin to hear noises whenever I fell asleep during the daytime. However, these episodes have never occurred to me overnight. - Dizziness when standing up too quickly after laying down for a long time. Also a constant urge to sit or lie down for some reason - Tingling in my right foot whenever not in motion - Brain fog, extreme difficulty concentrating on my school work and difficulty getting on task again whenever I took a break. I had to work for extended periods of time to actually get anything done or else I’d end up procrastinating again because I just couldn’t focus. - Difficulty remembering things, constantly having to set alarms on my phone for important reminders because I can’t trust myself to remember it on my own - Muscle weakness, specifically whenever I’m doing exercises for endurance - Heart palpitations - Constipation, not sure if it’s normal or if it’s IBS/SIBO - Appetite is usually normal, but lately it’s been less than usual - Anxiety, but not much worse or better than usual honestly
I’d appreciate some advice or at the very least some natural remedies because I don’t know what to do at this point. Even when I try to open up to my parents about my issues they either think I’m insane and need to stop searching through the internet because it messes up my head, but I can’t really find any other explanation for my symptoms. It’s impacted my ability to do well in school, to socialize with other people, and while it seems to be invisible to everyone else I don’t know how long I can ignore it anymore.

Ok ladies my FET is coming and I’m gonna be slightly neurotic and start the testing everyday to see if there’s any variation of the lines… so what’s the best most sensitive Test y’all swear by

Case # CAS0008360874
I have 1Gig service and regularly get 1Gig+ on a bright and sunny day. However, when it rains, my internet download speed goes to <10mbps down, yet upload speed stays at the normal 35-37 range. Within 12-24 hours of rain stoppage - I can run regular speed tests every hour and watch the speed climb back to normal ranges.
I'm going to preface the following by saying I'm an Electrical Engineer who spends my work weeks designing checmical plants, industrial process facilities, power plants, and the like. I do everything from power systems design to control systems, to network systems - so I'm pretty familiar with the concept of wiring and cabling and communications signals and can pretty quickly pick up on service technicians BS when they start giving me random excuses.
For 6 months I've had issues with internet speeds any time theres a consistent rain in my area. I've had multiple service technicians come out and regularly try to claim there's no issue. Likely because they always get scheduled 2-3 weeks out from when I place a service call and it's always been bright and sunny and internet operating normal when they finally show up.
I'm 99.9% sure the problem is water ingress. Where? I can't isolate that. It's either the drop from the pole, or - I suspect - most likely a junction box somewhere in the neighborhood that has failing water seals and the jbox is filling with water during consistent rain.
The technicians that have come out have "tested" the drop from the nearby pole - but they only test it on the incoming end at the splitter outside on the house and they have NOT ONCE disconnected the cable at the pole. Perhaps I'm wrong - but I'm pretty sure you can't get an accurate test on a coax to test for water ingresss if it's still connected at the pole.
One techniciana replaced the splitter outside with one that has a +dB output and claimed that would sovle the problem. This was only after he tried to tell me that we had been experiencing cold weather in the area in the weeks prior and that the signal drops with cold weather and that was probably the issue. Technician clearly doesn't understand Electromagnetic physics, but I digress.
Another technician spent most of his time on the appointment chopping limbs off trees trying to make an easy path to get his ladder to the pole rather than just carrying his ladder up the hill (which I was happy to help him with; it's not even that steep up to the pole). He wound up concluding the appointment and said the drop tested fine and not once did he ever climb the pole and disconnect the drop.
This has been an ongoing issue for 6+ months now with multiple technician visits - including one technician (the 2nd one mentioned above) supposedly being from their "line side" team that should've had more experience in the neighborhood-level network than just the normal techs who work from the drop in to the house.
If there's an optimum rep floating around who want's to be the hero and get the right person on the job and fix this issue - you'll save a customer. Because as of right now, the minute I have access to fiber (Which is finally being installed in my town) - I will kiss Optimum goodbye forever.
Signed, 6 year customer.

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[12:34 PM]
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I'm 43 M, 170 lbs 5 foot 10 om 6.25 mg carvedilol 2 x daily.
Had a surgery for hyperthyroidism about 3 months ago. On about the 2nd week of recovery, I reported a shortness of breath to my surgeon's nurse. They said it was related to hypocalcemia. Since it did line up and I really did have any other symptoms, I upped the calcium and eventually my recovery went well.
Fast forward to about 3 weeks ago where I started feeling pain in my side like a stitch in the side, but not from doing anything. This was accompanied by bouts of sharp and hard pounding heart pain on the left lower side.
To make things more complicated, 2 months prior to that I had started prozac (10 ml) and trazodone (100 ml) for anxiety and insomnia. I also started taking L-Tryptopan and apparently envoked a mild form of serotonin syndrome. I didn't realize this until 2 weeks ago when the next event happened which I am about to describe. I stopped stopped all those meds full stop at that time.
So then about two weeks ago I'm standing and singing at church and all the sudden get the sharp lower left chest pain with the pounding feeling. It lasts for about 20 minutes. When I get home I start feeling sharp stabbing pain when breathing in which lasts for a few days. On that Monday, I saw a nurse and they tested for heart attack markers and d-dimmer for PE/clot. Both negative.
The week following that, I have shortness of breath and a sort of dizzy feeling. It was more like I was getting too much oxygen since I was breathing more to catch my breath. Oxygen thumb meter said 96-98%. Blood pressure was around 135/80, and my usual reading is 125/80.
So I got lucky and was able to get into see.my cardiologist around this time. Been seeing him for 3 years for high bp and palpitations apparently due to the aforementioned hyperthyroidism. Been on 2 x daily 6.25 mg carvedilol. He said he thinks I have "inflammation" and put me on 0.6 mg colchicine which I've been on now for almost 2 weeks.
I do feel better and it does seem to help the shortness of breath, but I explicitly asked the doctor's nurse if I am being treated for pericarditis and they are being evasive. All he said is that "the doctor said if you aren't feeling better after a week to.orderna CT."
Now I'm all about tests so I can know what's going on, but I've had 5 CT's in the last 3 years and I am afraid of the radiation from a 6th. I've asked for a different test, but I think it's weird how he would put me on colchicine with no diagnosis. He listened to me breathing and heart, but it was a supper quick visit and he didn't do any of the hold breath tests etc. or blood tests. Furthermore, no interpretation of ecg, although ChatGPT 4.0 said I have indications of pericarditis when I uploaded the report.
I guess my questions are: Has anyone else had this experience? Does my doctor suck and should I get a second opinion? I'm really afraid it still could be a long lasting pulmonary embolism from my surgery. I also spent time in a crawlspace with mold 10 minutes with no mask, so it's fully possible that I triggered lung inflammation and pericarditis attack. It's weird that I was worried about submassive PE and the doctor dismissed it so quickly. I don't even think he saw I have a d-dimmer.

Asustor AS6604T 4.3.0.RSB1
Was working hunky dory, then the app just tanked. I've been up to date with ABM and the app itself for a while, so no new updates have been applied recently. I've tried:

• Stopping/starting via AppCentral
• Rebooting the NAS
• Starting via command line
• uninstalling/reinstalling via AppCentral

When starting with the command line I get some warnings

WARNING: Skipping /volume1/.@plugins/AppCentral/sabnzbdplus/env/lib/python3.11/site-packages/cffi-1.15.1.dist-info due to invalid metadata entry 'name' WARNING: Skipping /volume1/.@plugins/AppCentral/sabnzbdplus/env/lib/python3.11/site-packages/cryptography-3.4.8.dist-info due to invalid metadata entry 'name' WARNING: Skipping /volume1/.@plugins/AppCentral/sabnzbdplus/env/lib/python3.11/site-packages/setuptools-65.5.0.dist-info due to invalid metadata entry 'name' WARNING: Skipping /volume1/.@plugins/AppCentral/sabnzbdplus/env/lib/python3.11/site-packages/setuptools-68.0.0.dist-info due to invalid metadata entry 'name' WARNING: Skipping /volume1/.@plugins/AppCentral/sabnzbdplus/env/lib/python3.11/site-packages/cffi-1.15.1.dist-info due to invalid metadata entry 'name' 

and also an error

Collecting sgmllib3k==1.0.0 (from -r requirements.txt (line 23)) Using cached sgmllib3k-1.0.0.tar.gz (5.8 kB) Preparing metadata (setup.py): started Preparing metadata (setup.py): finished with status 'error' error: subprocess-exited-with-error × python setup.py egg_info did not run successfully. │ exit code: 1 ╰─> [7 lines of output] /opt/lib/python3.11/site-packages/setuptools/_distutils/dist.py:265: UserWarning: Unknown distribution option: 'test_suite' usage: setup.py [global_opts] cmd1 [cmd1_opts] [cmd2 [cmd2_opts] ...] or: setup.py --help [cmd1 cmd2 ...] or: setup.py --help-commands or: setup.py cmd --help error: invalid command 'egg_info' [end of output] note: This error originates from a subprocess, and is likely not a problem with pip. error: metadata-generation-failed × Encountered error while generating package metadata. ╰─> See above for output. 

I'm generally able to massage things back into place when errors pop up, but this has me stumped. Clean installs of the App are not working, which makes me think something underlying in the NAS system is the cause. :( I wish there was a way to reset the ADM OS without destroying my RAID data...
Any ideas are appreciated!

Hi All,
I really need hugs from this community. I dont know where to go from here. This was my 2nd FET and I havent tested so far. Personally I admire those of you who are able to test much sooner. I have not wanted to face reality and wanted to stay in my PUPO bubble as long as possible.
But looks like my period is trying to break through. I did a modified natural and have been doing crinone 2 times a day and PIO every 3rd day(100mg/ml) Saw a bit of spotting brown/pink on Friday so doc asked me to stop Crinone and move to PIO every day(100mg/ml).Post that no spotting on Saturday but lot of Crinone buildup coffee colour type came out and now Sunday spotting again with pinkish red colour which looks like period is coming. Only present on wiping toilet paper so far. I did read spotting is common but I just dont want to give myself false hope.
Really Did not expect spotting to break through like this with PIO and burst my PUPO bubble. I am emotionally unprepared to deal with this and just dont know what to do anymore. Please share your experiences !

My boyfriend and I met online on a voice app and there’s been so many red flags, but I stuck by his side. I just feel like there’s no end in sight to our long distance. I know ahead of time that everyone is going to tell me to leave him, but I honestly don’t want to. I think I just want to vent right now.
Sooo we met on clubhouse (a voice app) and we talked everyday for hours and hours each day. We started out as really really good friends for 2 years and then one day we took it a step further with sexting and then confessing we both have felt something for each other for a while. We started dating and this is where things took a turn for the worse. He started to get weird sometimes. Always at night time on a phone call. He’d accuse me of flirting with other people online, he’d accuse me of hiding things, if we were on FaceTime he’d ask me to show him around my room and then ask why it seemed like another person was in my room, etc. I’d try to assure him that wasn’t the case and that i literally am such a loyal person and a homebody that I have zero interest in seeing anyone else and in fact I was single for 3 years before getting with him intentionally because I had no interest in dating until I fell in love with my best friend (him). He’d go to the bar pretty often and I thought that these random insecurities and fights were alcohol induced. I asked him if he had a problem with alcohol and of course he denied it. Then one night it got bad and he was screaming at me and telling me he thought I was loyal, but I betrayed him and I was so confused. We broke up that night. We didn’t talk for a week. Then he called me and told me he apologized and he had a confession to make to me that he extremely embarrassed about. Turns out those nights he would get weird, he was doing cocaine. He said he’d stay up for a few days and do cocaine and then start to get super paranoid and stuff. He told me that he just lost his job because he was always tired and would call in sick too often and stuff from the cocaine. This man was bawling his eyes out and pouring his heart out to me. I asked him if he planned to continue doing cocaine. He said he had done it for years and that it used to be fun, but recently it’s ruining everything in his life and he wanted to stop using it. I am a person who has never touched a drug in my life and I rarely ever drink so this is a huge deal for me, but I also love this man deeply and I just couldn’t abandon him. I told him as long as he wanted to quit and put in a solid effort to be sober, I would be there for him. I told him that I knew enough about addiction to know that he would most likely have slip ups and would go through withdrawal and that it was okay as long as he was truthful about it. He got sober, but his mental state was pretty bad. He contemplated suicide. He kept saying how he was doing it for me and I kept telling him that if he doesn’t do it for himself instead of me then it won’t be effective. He was doing really good so I booked a ticket to go see him (he lives fairly far away in another country) then one night he had another freak out and accused me of knowing his computer was bugged and all these weird things. He told me to cancel my ticket. I asked him if he was using again and he denied it. He called me the next day to tell me that he was in fact using again and only stayed sober for 2 weeks out of the entire 3 months since he’d told me he was going to get sober. I cancelled my ticket and spent the next week crying and confused. This man let me celebrate his one month, two month, three month, sober with him when he knew he was lying to me. I told him that the part that hurt the most was the lying. There would be days where he’d just disappear. Then the next day or two days later he’d come up with excuses for being gone when he was really getting high or coming down. I found out that he would be on the phone with me and then mute to do a line and when he unmuted I’d ask why he muted and he’d say he was brushing his teeth or something. He’d tell me he was going to visit his parents, but he was getting high, etc. he completely broke my trust. But I knew that was a possibility with an addict. I just hoped he’d be honest, but he was too embarrassed and ashamed and didn’t want to lose me. We broke up for about a month. Then he actually got sober. We got back together, but the trust was already gone for me and I felt traumatized almost from his sudden outburst and him accusing me and gaslighting me and lying all the time previously while he wasn’t sober. I tried to work through it, but it was so hard. He tried to understand my mistrust and accusations because any time something felt off I’d freak out. I couldn’t get past him lying to me. I made the relationship miserable because I was so worried he was lying again even though he wasn’t. We stayed together for a year longer with me refusing to meet him in person until I knew for sure he wasn’t lying and until he fully gained my trust back. He started to pull away. I think he realized that he damaged the relationship and trust beyond repair at that point so he just stopped making an effort. Stopped saying sweet things, stopped wanting to talk on the phone as much, etc. We had a big fight before Christmas about it and broke up/took a break. We tried to reconnect on Christmas Day and sent eachother gifts and tried to work it through, but it was clear it wasn’t going to work for us no matter how much we utterly loved eachother. So we broke up. We were broken up for 4 months. During that time we didn’t speak. I cried myself to sleep every night at first. I felt so much love for him that I’ve never felt for anyone and not only did I lose the man I loved, but I also lost him as a best friend. I tried to date and I met some awesome guys who wanted to spoil me, treated me well, etc. I just couldn’t do it. It all felt so empty and meaningless. I went to therapy and started to get over everything and heal. Then a mutual friend told him I was dating and he thought that meant I was in a relationship. He text me and told me that he was genuinely happy for me and he hoped this person treated me better than he did. I told him that I wasn’t in a relationship and I didn’t plan on being in one for a long time and that I was just going on dates. He told me that he was happy I found peace after him. We started to talk again as friends. He told me that he hadn’t even gone to the bar in months and that he’d been focusing on work (he’s a freelance photographer as am I). He told me he thought about me all the time. I told him I did too. We reconnected eventually and decided to talk things out. We agreed that this time HAD to be different. We agreed that meeting would be our priority along with making sure we were both showing up healthy in the relationship. It’s been amazing so far. We both put in a TON of work and we are healthy and happy now. The only problem is that we STILL have not met yet. We FaceTime all the time, but we haven’t met in person. I saved up half the money for his flight here and he’s supposed to save up his half to come visit, but he hasn’t been able to. Work has been superrrr slow for photographers. I asked him to get a job doing something else part time like a coffee shop or something (it’s what I did to ensure I’d be able to save up money to see eachother), but he’s worried that means he’s giving up on his dream of being a photographer. So here we are, 5 months later since getting back together and about 2.5 ish months total since initially becoming a couple and we STILL haven’t met. It was pretty continent before because I was soooo busy with work and I’m a homebody and it was nice to stay at home and FaceTime, but I’m 33 and I’m wondering if it’s just wasting time now. I can’t imagine breaking up with him when things are so good between us, but I’m also tired of waiting around for my life with him to begin. We talk about marriage and kids and stuff, but it seems impossible without even getting the first in person meeting out of the way. I just want to touch him and smell him and hug him and I know he feels the same way. I just can’t do the distance anymore and I’m tired of it.

I'm 43 and had a surgery for hyperthyroidism about 3 months ago. On about the 2nd week of recovery, I reported a shortness of breath to my surgeon's nurse. They said it was related to hypocalcemia. Since it did line up and I really did have any other symptoms, I upped the calcium and eventually my recovery went well.
Fast forward to about 3 weeks ago where I started feeling pain in my side like a stitch in the side, but not from doing anything. This was accompanied by bouts of sharp and hard pounding heart pain on the left lower side.
To make things more complicated, 2 months prior to that I had started prozac (10 ml) and trazodone (100 ml) for anxiety and insomnia. I also started taking L-Tryptopan and apparently envoked a mild form of serotonin syndrome. I didn't realize this until 2 weeks ago when the next event happened which I am about to describe.
I stopped stopped all those meds full stop at that time. So then about two weeks ago I'm standing and singing at church and all the sudden get the sharp lower left chest pain with the pounding feeling. It lasts for about 20 minutes. When I get home I start feeling sharp stabbing pain when breathing in which lasts for a few days. On that Monday, I saw a nurse and they tested for heart attack markers and d-dimmer for PE/clot. Both negative.
The week following that, I have shortness of breath and a sort of dizzy feeling. It was more like I was getting too much oxygen since I was breathing more to catch my breath. Oxygen thumb meter said 96-98%. Blood pressure was around 135/80, and my usual reading is 125/80.
So I got lucky and was able to get into see.my cardiologist around this time. Been seeing him for 3 years for high bp and palpitations apparently due to the aforementioned hyperthyroidism. Been on 2 x daily 6.25 mg carvedilol. He said he thinks I have "inflammation" and put me on 0.6 mg colchicine which I've been on now for almost 2 weeks. I do feel better and it does seem to help the shortness of breath, but I explicitly asked the doctor's nurse if I am being treated for pericarditis and they are being evasive. All he said is that "the doctor said if you aren't feeling better after a week to.orderna CT."
Now I'm all about tests so I can know what's going on, but I've had 5 CT's in the last 3 years and I am afraid of the radiation from a 6th. I've asked for a different test, but I think it's weird how he would put me on colchicine with no diagnosis. He listened to me breathing and heart, but it was a supper quick visit and he didn't do any of the hold breath tests etc. or blood tests. Furthermore, no interpretation of ecg, although ChatGPT 4.0 said I have indications of pericarditis when I uploaded the report.
I guess my questions are: Has anyone else had this experience? Does my doctor suck and should I get a second opinion? I'm really afraid it still could be a long lasting pulmonary embolism from my surgery. I also spent time in a crawlspace with mold 10 minutes with no mask, so it's fully possible that I triggered lung inflammation and pericarditis attack. It's weird that I was worried about submassive PE and the doctor dismissed it so quickly. I don't even think he saw I have a d-dimmer.