As far as I know, Rabi allegedly took around 1 crore from a cooperative illegally, but he repaid the amount. I believed that although Rabi did something illegal, considering he repaid the money, even if he were convicted, the punishment wouldn't be severe. Regarding other loans, over 1 Arab was taken in the name of Gorkha Media Network. Rabi was only a 15% shareholder in the company, so I wondered why he would be implicated in this mess. However, upon learning that he was the CEO of the media network at that time, I found it hard to believe he wouldn't be aware of the incoming funds. How could he possibly not know about the financial activities of the company?
Please correct me if I have misunderstood or missed something.

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.

Further, while Nasdaq rules do not impose a specific limit on the number of times a listed company may effect a reverse stock split to maintain or regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement, Nasdaq has stated that a series of reverse stock splits may undermine investor confidence in securities listed on Nasdaq. Accordingly, Nasdaq may determine that it is not in the public interest to maintain the Company’s listing, even if we regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement.
In addition, Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A)(iv) states that if a listed company that fails to meet the Minimum Bid Price Requirement after effecting one or more reverse stock splits over the prior two-year period with a cumulative ratio of 250 shares or more to one, then the company is not eligible for a Compliance Period.
The Company effected a 1-for-80 reverse stock split of its Common Stock on August 25, 2023, and if the Company’s stockholders approve the Reverse Stock Split Proposal and the Reverse Stock Split is implemented, the Company will have effected reverse stock splits with a cumulative ratio of 240 shares to one. Any subsequent reverse stock split would cause the Company to exceed the 1-for-250 ratio.
The Company may fail to regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price requirement during the Compliance Period or maintain compliance with the other Nasdaq listing requirements.
In particular, the rights granted to FF Global Partners LLC (“FFGP”) under the Amended Shareholder Agreement or other similar rights granted to other investors may cause FF to fall out of compliance with certain of Nasdaq’s Listing Rules, including Nasdaq Rule 5640, which disallows the voting rights of existing stockholders to be disparately reduced through any corporate action or issuance.
Any non-compliance may be costly, divert management’s time and attention, and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, reputation, financing, and results of operation
A delisting could substantially decrease trading in the Class A Common Stock, adversely affect the market liquidity of the Common Stock as a result of the loss of market efficiencies associated with Nasdaq and the loss of federal preemption of state securities laws, materially adversely affect its ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms, if at all, and may result in the potential loss of confidence by investors, suppliers, customers and employees and fewer business development opportunities.
Additionally, the market price of the Class A Common Stock may decline further and stockholders may lose some or all of their investment.
Source FORM 8-K/A Filed December 21st 2023

Corporations are barely tolerable when drunk or medicated.
Having to go in sober, conscious and aware of the bitter disdain you have for the sheer obvious greed taking place, it's so much easier with a buffer.
Year on year of hyper exponential growth, the absolute delusion of the top tier executive teams, making up numbers, straight out of their asses.
The Gaul of handing out targets with 10,15 or 20% growth metrics, ripping their customers off without any logical reason, besides the narcist psychopathic lie that they have to return growth to the shareholders, and because they can get away with it, and the govt is complicit in their deceit.
Knowing that your wage for the last 20 years has not even kept up with inflation, the cost of living and taxes have stolen not only your chance of ever leaving this crap hole but also will effect your kids futures and their ability to purchase a house, whilst ceo's buy whole resorts on gated islands.
The fact that if the corporation paid you even a sliver of their billion dollar profits, they will still make billions every year, year on year for fuking eternity... and they never will pay it, ever... because they need you just enough to not want to pay the extra human resource fees incurred in hiring your replacement.
Well have a lovely week everyone, I know will! ;)

Just getting my feet off the ground need advice.
Hello everyone, I have recently got a decent job for my age. Im a 21 y/o, going to be 22 next week. I have been trying to set myself up for buying my neighbors house in the near future (couple years). Here's where I'm at so far. I have bought my first car last year, in cash $4500. I made all necessary repairs, so it's now reliable and running. Other than that. I have gotten a government job, that pays 20.30 an hour, and I work around 40-50 hours a week. I've tried to put my money in mutiple forms of investment. Right now I have nearly 8k in a savings account, $900 invested in mutiple stocks, and I also have taken out a small shareholders loan with my credit union to build credit. I currently live with my parents and I pay $350 rent... ik I'm very grateful. I've been taking 80% of my paychecks and saving them. Any advice on what I can do to make the most of my situation? I feel like the 8k is just sitting loosing value in my savings account. Ik this is a lot, thanks to anyone that can help!

It is possible to earn passive income with cryptocurrencies through various methods, but each with its own risk profile and requirements. It's essential to conduct thorough research, stay informed about market trends, and diversify your investments to mitigate risks. By understanding the mechanics and potential pitfalls of each method, you can make informed decisions and effectively earn passive income in the crypto space. Some beginner-friendly ways to do so:

Staking

Staking involves holding a certain amount of cryptocurrency in a wallet to support the operations of a blockchain network. In return, you earn rewards in the form of additional coins.
Platforms: Binance, Kraken, Coinbase
Tips:

• Choose reputable platforms and cryptocurrencies that offer staking.
• Understand the staking requirements and lock-up periods.
• Be aware of the potential risks, such as price volatility and network security.

Yield Farming and Liquidity Mining

Provide liquidity to decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols by depositing your cryptocurrencies into liquidity pools. In return, you earn rewards, typically in the form of interest or additional tokens.
Platforms: Uniswap, Compound, Aave
Tips:

• Research the platform and the tokens involved.
• Diversify your investments to spread risk.
• Monitor the liquidity pool’s performance and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Earning Interest

Deposit your cryptocurrencies into platforms that offer interest-bearing accounts. These platforms lend out your assets to borrowers and pay you a portion of the interest earned.
Platforms: BlockFi, Celsius, Nexo
Tips:

• Compare interest rates across different platforms.
• Check the security measures and insurance policies of the platform.
• Be aware of withdrawal fees and terms.

Masternodes

Operate a masternode, a special type of full node that performs additional functions to support the network, such as processing transactions and securing the blockchain. Masternode operators are rewarded with cryptocurrency.
Platforms: Dash, PIVX, Zcoin
Tips:

• Ensure you have the required amount of cryptocurrency to run a masternode.
• Understand the technical requirements and maintenance involved.
• Consider the long-term viability and rewards of the cryptocurrency.

Dividend-Paying Tokens

Some cryptocurrencies and tokens pay dividends to their holders, similar to how stocks pay dividends to shareholders.
Platforms: KuCoin Shares (KCS), NEO (with GAS)
Tips:

• Hold the tokens in a compatible wallet that supports dividend payouts.
• Understand the distribution schedule and criteria for receiving dividends.
• Evaluate the potential growth and stability of the token.

Crypto Lending

Lend your cryptocurrencies to other users through a lending platform. In return, you earn interest on the loaned amount.
Platforms: Aave, Compound, Binance Lending
Tips:

• Assess the platform’s reputation and security.
• Diversify your lending to reduce risk.
• Monitor interest rates and loan terms.

NFT Royalties

Create and sell Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) with built-in royalty agreements. Whenever the NFT is resold, you earn a percentage of the sale price.
Platforms: OpenSea, Rarible, Foundation
Tips:

• Create high-quality and unique NFTs that attract buyers.
• Set a reasonable royalty percentage.
• Promote your NFTs through social media and other channels.

Participating in Airdrops and Forks

Occasionally, projects distribute free tokens (airdrops) to holders of a particular cryptocurrency. Similarly, blockchain forks can result in holders receiving new tokens.
Platforms: Various (depends on the project)
Tips:

• Stay informed about upcoming airdrops and forks.
• Ensure your cryptocurrency is in a compatible wallet at the time of the airdrop or fork.
• Be cautious of scams and only participate in legitimate projects.

Some other specific platforms can also be used to get payments in cryptocurrencies or passive income with cryptocurrencies with truly original methods, such as sharing the Internet connection or shortening links. In this article you can find more information:

Best Sites to Earn Free Bitcoin / Crypto

Join us on June 6th at 20:00 CET/11:00 PST for a discussion on Anti ESG Crusade #TBLITalk #ESG https://www.eventbrite.com/e/freedom-and-prosperity-under-attack-by-the-anti-esg-crusade-tickets-886053488837?aff=oddtdtcreator
As You Sow believes that shareholders are a powerful force for creating positive, lasting changes in corporate behavior. Over the past century, corporate power has become the most dominant force on the planet. Of the 100 largest economic entities in the world, nearly 70% are corporations. This concentration of resources gives companies power and influence over their workers, customers, and the communities in which they operate. It is critical for corporate leaders to address the impact of their policies and actions. By ignoring this impact, they are creating risk for their customers, employees, shareholders, and themselves. Ultimately, companies that view the world not in months, but in years, decades, and generations will be able to reduce their long-term risk and ensure success. Shareholder actions press corporations to undertake this broader risk analysis and make decisions that benefit people, the planet, and profit over the long term. Since 1992 As You Sow has utilized shareholder advocacy to increase corporate responsibility on a broad range of environmental and social issues. As shareholder advocates, As You Sow communicates directly with corporate executives to collaboratively develop and implement business models that reduce risk, benefit brand reputation, and increase the bottom line while simultaneously bringing positive environmental and social change. Andrew Behar is CEO of As You Sow, the nation’s leading non-profit practitioner of shareholder advocacy and engagement. With a 30-year track record of success, As You Sow advances values-aligned investing and uses shareholder power to compel companies to reduce material risk on issues including climate change; toxins in the food system; ocean plastics; diversity, equity, and inclusion; racial justice; and wage equity. Previously Andrew was a documentary filmmaker and entrepreneur founding start-ups that developed innovative physiological monitoring devices and grid-scale fuel cells. He is an inventor on five patents and was recently named as one of the Purposeful-50 “true changemakers who deliver on social justice, environmental protection, diversity, inclusion, racial equality, and gender and pay equity.” He is currently on the board of the Responsible Sourcing Network. His book, The Shareholders Action Guide: Unleash Your Hidden Powers to Hold Corporations Accountable, was published by Berrett-Koehler.
What will you learn: -The Power of Shareholder Advocacy -Long-Term Risk Management for Companies -Examples of Shareholder Action in Practice

I feel like we'll never be equal if we keep chasing equality.
After centuries of oppression, we should be afforded certain privileges. I think to achieve parity we need a majority of elected officials to be women. I think we need a majority of executive shareholders to be women. There should be legislation that mandates this, since corporations, all run by men, will not comply unless forced to.
There needs to be intense affirmative action... with very strict limits on the number of men who can attend professional schools, especially engineering programs.
Men will complain. They will cry "reverse discrimination!". However, these men would do well to be grateful that they will only be receiving a fraction of what women have gone through for millennia and maybe it will teach them to be empathetic for a change!!!!

Title: Seeking Advice on Achieving FIRE at 42 with GBP 138k Salary, Pension Pots, and Plans to Travel Next Year
**Updated with outgoings**
Hello FIRE community,
I'm seeking advice on my financial situation and how best to move forward towards achieving financial independence and potentially retiring early. Here are my current details:

• Age: 42, single no kids. One income household.
• Employment: Started as Independent contractor earning GBP £145kper year, recently setup limited company I am taking salary from. was on 70k per annum via PAYE.
• House: Own with a mortgage, GBP £160k remaining valued £220k
• Investments: GBP £4,500 in Plum.
• Savings: GBP £3,750.
• Car: On hire purchase, with a GBP 7,500 balloon payment due in 2 years.
• Credit Card Debt: £GBP 1,875.
• Pension Pots: Several, but not consolidated.
• Goals: Planning to take a year out to travel next year.
• Specific Goals:
  • Be mortgage-free by 47
  • Achieve FIRE by 57

Income: 13k income (estimated paid in USD)
Paying Corporation tax on Limited company.
Outgoings: Average £2900 per month
Mortgate Repayment£1,057 Groceries£209 Car Loan Repayment£391 Credit Card Interest£0 Home Heating£141 Rates£146 Home Electricity£3 Home Insurance£67 Life Insurance£0 Car Insurance£76 Gym£125 Eating Out£136 Coffee£73 Uncategorised Cash Withdrawal£165 Unknown Expense£229 Travel£61 £2,879To date I have had some savings but mostly spend on travel, 2024 clearing debt, (could use advice on car) building up the safety net of at least 6 months salary and doing some minor home improvements to increase resale value.
2026 I would like to take time off and travel more for a 9 months - digital nomad. ideally would like additional property.
I want to but maximize my investments, whilst being tax efficient as a contractor and creating enough to to live comfortably, saving for the 20
I would love to get your advice on a few points

1. Is it too late?: Given my age and current financial situation, is it too late to realistically achieve these goals?
2. Tax Setup/Paying myself: I have an accountant (recent) how would you recommend I pay myself from limited company and any advice on making most, to be frank not quite sure I could live off the personal tax threshold.
3. Investments and Savings: How should I prioritize increasing my investments and savings? Any specific strategies or recommendations for someone in my situation?
4. Travel Plans: Given my plans to take a year off to travel, how should I manage my finances to support this without jeopardizing my long-term goals?
5. Resources - any good YouTube content for personal finance, investments for total noob.

So back when me and my brother were kids, say about 2016 - 2019 we saw a commercial on TV for a loan company (not a bank) might be local? Anyway they parodied "Come and get your love" by RedBone with "Come and get your loan", and we both found that pretty funny because we had just seen guardians of the galaxy, which featured the real song. We both referenced it and brought it up as a joke for a few years, but now I can't seem to find it anywhere. I made a post on TOMT oh about a year ago but noone commented or helped out. Apart from that theres not much more info I have on it. I probably would've been local, I couldn't see parodying copyright music as being ok with a big corporation. As I mentioned earlier, it would probably have been around 2016 - 2019. I don't remember anything about the actual commercial itself, however my best guess would be it was played on the local news station, as they play alot of local commercials (which adds up to alot of lost media, but nothing I'll mention cuz I doubt anyone could ever find most of it.) So yah, thats my post. Hopefully this has hit 150 words too.

Truly don't know what to do. 2017 ford transit connect front left wheel bearing has broken three, yes three, times. All while under 70k miles. First time i paid for it at mavis, like $1800, because I assumed wheel wear and tear was not warrantable. Then the second time i brought it to the dealer who said mavis did a crappy job and it would have been covered under warranty the first time. So the second time i paid the dealer $1600. Sixteen months and 9000 miles later, it broke again. They would not honor their 12000 mile warranty because it was over 12 months. Fought with ford corporate for 6 weeks to cover it. They finally offered to pay $700 and I paid $900. So now I am over four grand into a single wheel bearing, hub, etc.
My question is do I sell the van before this current work is out of the 12/12 warranty, in order to avoid having to pay another $1800 for the next wheel bearing (my assumption is it will break again in the future)?
Or do I stick with the van and not assume it is going to break a fourth time?
After paying off the loan, I could net 8k from the van to go toward a preowned crossover or suv, and I'd have to finance the other 20k.

Yep, you read it right. Are you aware that it is written in law that a corporation has to put its shareholders above ALL! They are legally bound and obligated to do as little for their employees as possible. How absolutely DISGUSTING these people are. Absolute EVIL. DEMONIC!

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. I (27M) wouldn’t mind having children, but I’ve made a vow to myself to not bring a person into this world. As an American, this country is run by greedy capitalist corporations who just see us as money making cogs. In this country, our food supply is poisoned by chemicals to make profits for the food and pharmaceutical companies, the average person is overworked, we have no subsidized child care nor any mandated parental leave. And because capitalist all care about money and profits, we are seeing continued, lasting damage to our environment that’s bitting us in the ass. there’s threats to end social security and my generation likely won’t see retirement due to costs of living exponentially increasing for maximum shareholder returns. Our government could implement better healthcare, affordable housing, subsidized child care but they won’t. So yeah, I won’t subjugate or bring a human being to this environment.

Having a bad call weekend when I asked AI to generate a poem in regard to my distain for being called in. I’m actually impressed.
The phone's shrill cry, a beacon of dread, Sleep's gentle hold, instantly shed. On-call's burden, a never-ending plight, Another MRI, another late night.
The machine hums, a hypnotic song, But fatigue's chorus lingers all night long. For corporations' greed, the cycle goes on, Profits for shareholders, while staff feels withdrawn.
The human cost, in shadows it lies, Burned-out technicians, with tired, weary eyes. Is patient care truly served by this strain? A system in crisis, whispers of change.

Comrades, I've had a revolutionary epiphany! After deep study (a nap), it's clear that Marxism-Leninism-Maoism was the ultimate evolution of capitalism, designed by our great leaders Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao Zedong to perfect the system and prepare us for true communism.
Think about it: the Soviet Union wasn't just a the most authentic communist state—it was a superior form of capitalism! We had centralized planning, state-run industries, and state-run farms. It was like running the world's biggest corporation, with the based commodity production but without the pesky amerikkkan shareholders.
Under Stalin's brilliant leadership, we didn't just abolish the american bourgeoisie influence; we turned the state into the ultimate CEO. We showed the world that you can have top-down control and still outproduce the capitalists. Five-year plans? More like Five classes cooperating under one corporate state!
So, remember, comrades, the next time someone criticizes our glorious Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, just tell them we were the TRUE capitalists all along. We perfected capitalism to pave the way for world communism. And if you disagree, well, then you are a krakkka
Long live the proletariat and the four aligned classes! Long live insert dead person here!

On Monday at open i’ll be moving my weighting of this stock from 20% down to 3%, selling almost all my shares. The reason is, I dont see what sofi is doing to grow the shareholder equity on the balance sheet. Banks get valued at P/B and we’ve seen 7 of the last 8 Qs not produce a significant impact, nor is our tech platform going to be the home run it looked like it had potential to be. Id like someone to explain how it is that we are seeing a tremendous gain in SE. I’m getting exhausted hearing about ADJUSTED net incomes and credit scores when it seems the business model doesnt have a moat (other than cheaper cost of capital), and has (so-far) failed to cross-sell direct deposit members into other services that isn’t an unsecured loan. Crypto failed, financial services is extremely competitive meaning margins will shrink. Similar story for credit card. What am I missing here?
https://ycharts.com/companies/SOFI/shareholders_equity

I opened an incorporation to work as an IT contractor several years ago, but then moved to a full-time job. Since then, I've kept the incorporation and corporate bank account open, but haven't been using them. In 2021, I took out $10K from my corporate bank account as a loan from the incorporation, and then I returned the $10K to the corporate account in 2023.
Now, I'm trying to file the corporate taxes on my own, as I've never had a good experience with tax consultants—they charge too much without providing any suggestions or benefits. My corporation had no income in 2023, so I'm unsure if I should file the taxes with a nil return or if I need to mention the loan amount that I repaid.

Study Material: Kaplan Textbook, Qbank
YouTube: S/o Series 7 guru, Capital Advantage & Test Geak
Last 5 Practice Exam score (Oldest to most recent): 73, 78, 86, 84, 79
53% of qbank used
Thoughts: Looking back, please use more than 70% of the qbank, I got lucky. I would use 100% if I had to go back. This test was hard, and worded very funny. Nothing like the exams on Kaplan, you really have to figure out what the question is asking you. I went through the exam twice rereading each question and actually changed some cause I misread the first time. No exam I did looking anything close like the one I just did. Had about 15 gimme questions, other than that I had to reread. When taking Kaplan exams, truly understand the question and everything in the description at the bottom when you answer.
Debrief:
ETF question (ETF in Gold, why would you do this)
ETN Question (it's Unsecured debt, and I put secured, dumb.)
3 discounted cash flow questions (what it's used for, very specific, know the ins and outs)
1 or 2 annuity/life insurance
Had one question asking about if notification or written consent was required if it was a change not majority or minority, but 50% ownership. Had no idea.
A bunch of laws and regulations, I never had it black and white on if "state a and state b have this many clients are they required to register", it was complicated to where 2 answers look right.
Had some questions pertaining to private placements
1 on why Why a trust is used
1 futures (easy)
Remember what's annually and what quarterly, i got tripped up on a couple like that
3 on technical analysis (thankful)
1 on EMH
1 on IRR
1 on deferred compensation (pros and cons)
2 on just non qualified plans (pros and cons)
1 on 401k vs 403b ( who uses them)
1 general partner (unlimited liability ), 1 S corporation (100 shareholders)
1 standard deviation
2 custody questions
1 on what you can use for a premature distribution for an IRA and no penalty
3 on questions based on YTM that were worded very funny
1 or 2 easy calculations
1 on why it'd be bad to have a TOD lol
1 on Pay to play rule and Safe harbor
1 of the sofa questions (calculate it as networth since its in office)
3 UTMA (real estate can be used, and why use it, and if a parent that lost her job could withdraw money from it)
2 on performance based, 1 was asking why a b/d could do fees based on capital gains with a group on investors, and there was not an answer choice saying you couldnt so i guessed.
1 on what is required on fee disclosure and when it's supposed to be updated
1 on what is on brochure and when it's supposed to be updated
1 on Business continuity for natural disasters or whatever (when must they show you this)
0 on capm, options, record retention, civil & criminal numbers, ADR, sale vs offer, rights of rescission
That's what I remember right now. Let me know if you have any questions as others on this thread have helped me. Good luck!

I struggled with how to word this at first cause I didn't want this to come off as another post that just makes it seem like I hate every single customer but I'm tired. Tired of having to filter thoughts on how shitty the company has become for the comfort of people that have more power to fix the issues than I will.
Putting on the rose colored glasses doesn't work anymore when the sub is completely filled with the horror stories of promo days cause corporate doesn't think we need extra people or SMs completely unwilling to let their partners turn off mobiles because the queues are getting backed up and they want to keep customers from getting lied to about how long their drink is going to be. Promo days are becoming the thing that breaks the camels back for a lot of folks.
From a consumer stand point, I get it. Prices have gotten absolutely ridiculous to justify getting your favorite drink everyday so the 50%/BOGO days can help bring a little joy. In the past, I would love knowing that I could be a part of that, but I can't get to when my coworkers and I are so overwhelmed and understaffed that we're focusing on getting people out as quickly as possible. I don't like feeling like I'm being unwelcoming but when I have someone breathing down my neck when I'm on bar or drive thru, I just want to get people on their merry way ASAP. For as much business as we're forced to do with BOGOs, it's absolutely suspicious as all hell that it doesn't help with labor, but I've already realized labor is a scam. It's the little carrot that they hold in front of us to make us work harder in hopes of more hours that will never come. It's insulting.
People who read these and feel like you're being a shit customer. Don't. If you're happy to see your baristas and your baristas are happy to see you, cherish that. Just know that if people present an uncomfortable truth on how you can help, it's going to be that. Uncomfortable. I get it. No one wants to hear that they're adding onto the stress of people they like when they're looking for something small to get them through their own week. On the contrary, seeing your face could be the thing that makes their day a bit easier. Unfortunately it still feeds into giving Starbucks money and that's the thing that tells the CEO and shareholders that people will still be willing to spend even though they complain. News articles are coming out now about how the customers are unhappy about the changes from the company, but honestly the only reason Lax and Co. care is because it's finally starting to hit them where it hurts. Their wallets.
Want to help out more? Hit them more. Send them an email explaining how much you used to spend and why you've stopped going. If you want to go to see your favorite barista, then get a cup of water. It's free, besides in airports. Hell, if you have a day off organize a strike with other regulars to get corporate to listen to the partners more because they're so out of touch or they don't care. Having to hear "Well deal with it" from a SM is so invalidating when the reasons you're complaining is to not only make things easier for the partners, but for the customer as well. We're "partners" but the company has shown that they're willing to throw us to the wolves for the people who give them money.
I want to be allowed to actually connect with customers again. I want to be able to step away from the floor to have coffee tastings and have one on ones when I sample drinks without feeling I have to zoom through interactions cause my fellow partners are drowning on the floor. I hope I articulated this well cause I don't hate the customers, except the mega rude ones. I just wanted to give an insider look on why the baristas are unhappy and miserable, especially during BOGO. The power isn't in our hands anymore. It's in the customers. Always will be.

Hi everyone, here’s my version 2. Thanks in advance for your feedback!
1st attempt here:
***
Dear [agent],
Dark-fiction enthusiast and moody introvert, Stella dreams of being a writer. After spending her gap year scrolling Reddit, she’s still dreaming—and she reluctantly takes a job at an insurance company, determined to someday write her slice-of-life horror fantasy and turn into a bestseller. She’s not afraid of putting herself out there.
The company’s CEO has his mind set on happier employees and he tasks Stella with figuring out what they want. Happy isn’t her thing. Though she secretly enjoys grilling her colleagues, and it’s better than sitting in her parents’ basement. The walls are smaller, a brighter beige. The cubicle, hers. Her colleagues, miserable enough (but unforthcoming). Her writing’s even taking its first steps. Her work friends, Lucy and Jon—ambitious trapeze artists, if shiftless developers—enchant her with trapeze tales. She likes that they like her creepy book. They like that she’s willing to do a knee-hang thirty feet in the air.
Relentlessly henpecked by the shareholders for missing profit targets, the CEO is forced to cancel his pet project after his new business analyst, that mousey Stella, declares it a sunk cost during a global Teams meeting. He’d fire her if IT wasn’t siding with her. He quietly implements monetary incentives—which improves everyone’s mood. Lucy and Jon are, less quietly, laid off (the money has to come from somewhere), but their tiny severance packages are enough to take their double-trapeze act on the road. They want Stella to join them. She’s tempted. She’s been working hard on her book, living in her head, and it’s lonely there; she’s never been anywhere. She wants to let the dream go—and live her life. She’s not afraid of putting herself out there. But it means letting go of the one thing that makes her special and accepting she’s ordinary.
SUNK MONSTERS (75,000 words) is a peek inside a corporate funhouse, written in first person POV, that draws from my own life as a business analyst and former trapeze artist. It will appeal to fans of the whimsical charm of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and [another comp] and to anyone who has spent time in a cube farm. Upmarket contemporary with an absurdist edge.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[my name]