The Missing Campers Trial podcast follows the trial of Gregory Lynn who is accused of the murders of campers Carol Clay and Russell Hill in the Victorian high country (Australia). Lynn has admitted to burning the couple's vehicle and campsite as well as their bodies but claims they died accidentally after struggles over a gun and a knife. I daresay the defence has their work cut out for them. The podcast is presented by The Age newspaper's Erin Pearson and Nine News reporter Penelope Liersch. It's in the form of a daily(ish) roundup of events at the trial. To me, it's not quite as thorough and professional as similar podcasts by The Front which presented daily episodes on the trials of Peter Dawson (Teacher's Pet case) however, for those interested in following proceedings, it's all I have been able to find so far. If anyone knows of any others, I'd be grateful to hear.

So I am going to go out on a limb and say that I don't think this couple is going to work out. And it's not just because of one person. We've watched this play out this season and I am no Rob fan. I have personal reasons for not being able to be completely objective to Rob. I am married to a sex addict, and a diagnosed narcissist. Having said that, I'm tired of people who don't know what that looks like commenting on poor Sophie. She entered the marriage fraudulently herself, and waited till mere days before their wedding to tell him she was bisexual. If that were a man who did it to a woman, the claws would be out. I find Sophie to be vain, and childish. But the biggest thing I have against her is that she's a liar. I hate liars. They both honestly, deserve each other because they both lie. I don't see Sophie going out of her way to do nice things for Rob or say nice things to Rob and I just think this is all very sexist to be honest. I think that Rob has a sex addiction probably, but I can't say for sure because I'm not a licensed therapist. I also can't say he's a narcissist. I can say he looks and sounds like one, but that's all anyone can say. From the minute they walked into that store the first thing I thought was well shoot she looks like she's already got a little school girl outfit on. I mean she dresses pretty revealingly. I thought he did pretty well in being willing to be the first to dress up at the store and it's unfortunate he chose the words he did when she came out of the dressing room but she flew out of the dressing room and flew off the handle. But I get it because hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. There's no deeper hurt your partner can deliver then to share their sexual being with another person whether it's emotionally, online or in person. It all hurts. That's what makes it even more ironic in that Sophie, has the flipping audacity to constantly be playing the victim. One of the opening scenes on one of the episodes this year was her in bed with that girl Kay. They're overly flirtatious banter is highly suspect. Again I feel there's a double standard. If an opening scene showed Rob in bed with another man tongues would be wagging. That makes me very sad for Sophie as an adult woman because she needs to either stay and fight for the marriage which is going to cost thousands of dollars in marriage therapy or she needs to leave. You cannot rebuild trust easily. It takes years. Unfortunately, the fix was in on this marriage once she found out about the online cheating and there was no point in her even coming to the US unless, of course she wanted to be here anyway. I feel as if the roles were reversed and it was a man saying the things that Sophie's saying, and a woman doing the things that Rob is doing, that the woman would get a far easier pass than Rob is getting. I see that he is wildly unpopular in these threads and I don't think it's all totally fair. He actually has done quite a bit of changing for this relationship (for him) and even went to marriage therapy. I do get the impression he is a very flat person and not terrifically charismatic. Sophie is very bubbly and can come across as very sweet and friendly and I'm sure she is. I don't know if everybody realizes this but to get some men to even go to therapy is a Herculean effort. Now this is still all Rob's fault for cheating on her and I want to make that emphatically clear. I believe he cheated on her and I believe that broke her heart but I don't think that anybody's even allowed Rob to have a voice in these threads about how he felt when he found out she was bisexual, a fact that has yet to catch up with them, and probably won't because they probably won't stay married long enough for it to catch up with them. I just think the marriage is doomed but I felt like somebody had to say this. Yes!!!! Rob cheated on her but he's trying and she just flies off the handle very easily. He can't win for losing. I mean everything he says and does is going to go back to the cheating in the beginning because she's still very traumatized but she needs ongoing support from a support group for wives and she will see that what she's going through is not for the faint of heart and she's not alone. He also, if he is indeed a sex addict, needs to be in groups with other men walking through his shit. But she just doesn't really know how to use her words it sounds like all I ever hear her say is be nice to me do nice things for me say I'm pretty be nice to me be nice to me and it's like I just can't hear it anymore my ears are bleeding. This is where a professional marriage counselor comes in. Because they can't hear each other. And they're both coming from wounded places. But to say Sophia is a victim is not true. To me what she did was very fraudulent and really made me less sympathetic to her plight.

I tagged this as spoiler in case anybody feels uncomfortable with death and more specifically suicide, now onto the actual post.
I (14f) recently gained a group of friends in my first year of highschool. Before we continue on I’d like to say that I have autism which might be apart of this??? idk and funerals have never been a super serious thing to me? which I know sounds really bad but I’ve only been to 2 funerals in my life and at one I played with cars and the other I just ate these lemon hard candy thingies and snuck out, so I guess I’ve never really taken them seriously (also since like 2020 i haven’t been able to cry w/o yawning). At first it started out small but then me, my friends, and some friends of my friends convinced a teacher to start a club. I met this group of friends at this club and would start hanging out with specific people during this club, we also tried to hangout once a week afterschool, this was where I met a certain friend, let’s call him A(17m). A was a senior but he was friends with at least 1 person in every grade (not in a creepy way though). Me and this group of people became pretty close, and outside of the club we all shared other similar interests. One day, I was in my room when my friend, B(16f) called me and told me that A had killed himself. I shed a tear or two at the news but thought maybe it’s some fucked up late April fools prank since it was April 2nd. I B said she had told most of our friends and as I comforted her still not sure if it was a prank or not I said I could tell the rest if she wasn’t feeling up for it, so I did.
Days past and it was the day of his viewing. I left school early to go to the first one, I wore what I’d usually wear but just in black and went there with my friends. Everybody was crying and I know it’s a stupid feeling but I just felt left out because I couldn’t even shed a tear and I didn’t really want to cause I would probably yawn and people would get mad but I still tried to hug everyone who needed it. Anyways, some of my friends left and me and my friends who were still there left in the break between the first viewing and the second viewing. It seems stupid but we made plans to go to the beach after the second viewing probably to just act like normal kids again since from the day he’s actually been gone life has felt so bad and adult and weird. I met some friends of A’s that lived out of town and came down here just for the viewing and funeral and they were pretty nice and everybody who made beach plans (including the out of town kids) went down to the second viewing and there was so little people there than the first, lots of people at the first barely even knew A so it’s heartbreaking to know that most of them just went to a VIEWING to skip school (I would give them the benefit of the doubt but it’s hard to when I never heard them be mentioned by A, or any indication that they knew eachother.) We stayed the whole time for both and thought those 7 hours that was the actual viewing I maybe only cried once? But I was trying I really was. Me and a small group of my friends stayed at the funeral home until 11pm even though the viewing ended at 8, they didn’t close the casket until 10. We stayed and talked to A’s mom and that’s when I actually started crying for maybe a minute or two. The people who hadn’t been invited to the funeral got invited that moment and so I ended up going to his funeral. The beach plans never worked because it started raining, but it just felt like A was crying too.
At the funeral I actually did start crying but not a lot since I also kept yawning because of it and I didn’t want people to think I was tired at all funeral off all places. I dressed in funeral appropriate attire and this is a really bad thing to say about the day you went to a funeral but it was a really nice day. The funeral is somewhat of a blur to me, all I remember is glimpses of speeches and putting a rose on his casket before it drove away. Me and my friends who were also at the funeral walked to the local pizza place because why not get a pizza after going to a funeral? We just wanted something to somewhat take our mind off the literal funeral, but we did end up talking about A the whole time. Still it was pretty fun getting pizza with them. This has gone off topic but this does explain why I didn’t cry the majority of the day of the funeral, so I thought it’d be important.
It’s now a whole different month which is just… insane to me? We put on a memorial show for him at the school and it was nice even though it was stressful. But I noticed that I have been crying without yawning at more stuff more recently and I wonder, is this the tears that I wanted to shed at the funeral and viewing? Were they just delayed? I know it’s a silly thought but… It makes sense to me.
If you know me IRL and were also a friend of A’s and were at either the funeral or viewing, please don’t get mad at me for posting something that’s pretty personal to a lot of people. I just felt like such an asshole and a bitch for barely even crying, I’ve also cried more at fictional stuff than an actual real life death of one of my—and if you do know me IRL then probably our— close friends.
Also sorry for some of the informal language but also I am a teen who is used to using more internet slang than fancy stuff like this, and i’m sure I used to many commas in one spot or a period in the wrong place or just ended something strangely.
TLDR; I met a group of friends, one of them killed himself, went to his viewing and barely cried, got invited to the funeral and only cried barely at like 1 speech but also got pizza with my friends who were invited to the funeral after the funeral so i wasn’t crying cause of pizza, if you are my irl friend reading this please don’t be mad i just felt like such an AH and awful person for not crying
So, AITA for barely crying at my friends funeral/viewing?

I think I'll start with some facts. I (36M) live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. English is my second language and it's how I made a living from 19 to 30. I got married (now 32M) when I was 28, but we started living together when I was 25.
I don't wish to put blame on anyone, not even myself. I went to this Catholic school that tried to dry away all creativity and passion I had burning inside and, out of it, all I could do was become a teacher the next year. I am really good at teaching in all aspects. I am loving yet demanding. My students always reach high level grades and certificates and we try to have a blast. I absolutely hate teaching. It was meant to be a 6-month-tops kind of gig that's been going on for 17 years this September.
I don't really know people. I've always been an introvert who lacks social skills (maybe that's why I hate teaching so much, it forces me to be social. Some days I dread even opening up my mouth to speak, but I have to go teach). I suck at networking.
I'm pretty sure I'm autistic, but I can't seem to find the path to get diagnosed. I'm pretty much broke. Financially, mentally, spiritually...
In 2018, I got fired 5 days before Christmas and I spiraled. I had always hated teaching and decided to take a year off and then start something else. I'm a freelance graphic designer, but since I know no one, I get no jobs. In January 2020, my husband and I started a small personalised mug business. It was going quite well, because I could come up with interesting stuff to put on the mugs. But then we were hit by the pandemic.
Late 2022, my mother used my English school knowledge to open a branch of her own. Many mistakes on all sides were made and we're barely open today. I am constantly battling the will to make the business work at any cost and the desperate need to never set foot there again.
It's important noting I live above my mom's house. We're Brazilian, family sticks together. If it weren't for that, maybe I'd be dead by now.
My part of the house doesn't really work. I have no power on the outlets, but wires coming from the house below. I have no fridge or stove, so I depend on mom's house to feed myself.
I'm constantly hungry with little access to food. I eat once a day. Ever since I was a baby, I always consumed a lot of food. I try to eat as healthy as possible. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do any drugs, I don't drink sodas or anything sparkly and I avoid fried food at all costs (I fail at that part a little).
Last November, the stress of the school drove my husband out. He had also become unemployed whe our little business failed and he worked a full year for free at rhe school and got some pretty nasty abuse from my mother. She says she doesn't do anything and likes him very much. I'm tired of always being in the middle.
I do have this... How can I say it?... "peacemaker" nature? I'm always the one mediating everyone around me, but it feels like it's my fate to be loved and surrounded by people who can't stand one another. It's tiring.
I've always liked to collect stuff. Coinciding with getting fired and everything going haywire, I found some used CDs shops and the little money I've been managing to make always sees a part of it going towards my music collection. I am proud of it, but today I am able to recognise it's an obsession. I have almost 1600 CDs in the age of streaming and I probably haven't played half of them.
I understand my collection is me holding on to the one thing I'm still somehow able to control, which means I am aware I'm bound to keep myself dedicated to it for a little while longer.
My husband and I got back together in the end of February, just in time for my birthday. It was a happy one, until I almost died from a bronchitis attack. And I mean it. The only picture of that day is of me wearing a nebuliser mask.
He's trying to avoid moving back in and I absolutely understand. But we don't make enough money to live anywhere else with our 2 elderly dogs (we've had them since they were pups, we're keeping them). He hasn't really had a place to live since April because of some issues regarding his brother (no fights with him, hubby just got the worst end of someone else's fight) and I'm trying to convince him that, as much as we both want to leave this house, it's still a roof that belongs to us and it's better than the mental damage it causes to not have a place to call home.
My mind has been this never-ending chaos and I can't seem to see a way out. The worst part is that I already spent 2 ½ years of my life in starvation and deep depression and you get used to the pain. I sometimes feel like giving it all up and refusing to ever leave my house again, especially when I consider that I got used to it. I was so bad during the pandemic that, apart from losing my new business, I didn't see it. Social isolation was already my normal.
Everything I do, I do the best I can. That's the only way I know how to be. That's why I'm a great teacher despite hating the profession so much. If I'm going to do it, I'm doing it right. And it breaks me most of the time. I do love my students, though.
It's a constant battle and I'm exhausted. I just want a way out.

Starting Your Health and Fitness Journey at 50+: Tips and Encouragement

Hey fellow men over 50,
I've been reflecting on my own journey in health and fitness, and I wanted to share some thoughts and tips that might help any of you looking to start or reignite your own fitness journey.
1. Consult Your Doctor Before starting any new exercise routine, make sure to talk to your doctor. This is especially important as we age, to ensure that any health issues are addressed and that we can exercise safely.
2. Set Realistic Goals It's important to set achievable goals that you can measure. Whether it's losing weight, gaining strength, improving flexibility, or just staying active, having a clear objective will keep you motivated.
3. Start Slow Don't feel like you need to jump into intense workouts right away. Begin with low-impact exercises such as walking, swimming, or cycling. These activities are easy on the joints and still provide great cardiovascular benefits.
4. Incorporate Strength Training Maintaining muscle mass is crucial as we age. Start with simple bodyweight exercises like push-ups, squats, and lunges. Once you're comfortable, you can add light weights or resistance bands.
5. Prioritize Flexibility and Balance Exercises like yoga or tai chi can significantly improve your flexibility and balance, reducing the risk of injuries. Plus, they offer great mental health benefits too.
6. Stay Consistent Aim to exercise most days of the week. Consistency is key. Try to make physical activity a regular part of your routine.
7. Listen to Your Body It's normal to feel some soreness, but don't ignore pain. If something doesn't feel right, take a step back and allow your body to recover.
8. Find a Support System Having a support system can make a big difference. Whether it’s joining a fitness group, working out with a friend, or participating in online communities, sharing your journey with others can provide encouragement and accountability.
Starting or restarting your fitness journey at 50+ is about making sustainable changes that you can maintain over the long term. It's never too late to improve your health and well-being.
Feel free to share your experiences, tips, and any questions you have. We're all in this together, and your insights could help others on their path to better health.
Stay active and stay healthy!

We are looking for Content Moderators / Transaction Processing New Associates to be part of our talented team!

Accenture is a trusted, innovative, comprehensive, and experienced partner to leading platform companies. The Trust and Safety offering within Accenture Operations helps keep the internet safe and helps platform compaclassify,es accelerate, scale, and improve their businesses.

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• Review, classify, and/or remove content according to client guidelines, using specific tools and channels
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Kindly send me your resume and active gmail account if you are qualified for the position. Location: Cubao Cybergate Tower 1&2

So i am planning on getting my nose pierced tomorrow. I’ve wanted to for about two years and haven’t had time or been able to because of theater. Tomorrow a family friend is getting a surprise birthday gift of her nose getting pierced at the school her and my mom both work at. So i really wanted to also get my nose pierced tomorrow(Right Nostril Stud)But tomorrow is also the last time my favorite teacher is having her really lake party. We’ll go tubing and possibly jet skiing. Would it even be possible for me to get the piercing tmr and go tubing, like if i cover it with water proof bandages or anything else? Would it get in infected from the lake water? thanks reddit.

So my friend conducted a program to educate the students on what to do during a heat wave. He performed well and everyone seemed to enjoy his presentation. In class he could engage all the students and make a boring subject (writing and reading) fun for them. Fast foward a few weeks, our assistant director observed his class and found his performance good. I don't remember the specifics, but the asst. director told him to keep up his good work. Of course my friend was elated and happy from all that praise. Observations give us a lot fo anxiety. Then one day our school director received word that his class was described as boring by a student. This student told another teacher that writing was boring, and the other teacher came to the conclusion that the teacher was boring (this other teacher is an old hand in the school, so he knows the director well) After an observation, the school director told my friend that his performance was good. The class was normal, far better than mine, but the director felt that it was necessary to press on the issue of boredom. After going through a list on how to improve the class, the director said that he would find another teacher if the issue persisted. Is this something common in schools? I'm not a veteran teacher. I have only been teaching for half a year, so I am at a lost.

• My friend already left the school. I also left due to other issues with the director. I'm just curious if that statement made by the director is normal or a "threat."

What's up all! 4thWall here. Hope you guys have had a fantastic weekend.
If this is your first episode of "The Black", Welcome!! I hope you will join us from the beginning!
First, Previous, Next
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Tense silence greeted Corellus Grarzia. Moments ago, he had stepped off the shuttle sent for him, and now he was standing in the entryway to the main conference room aboard USN Wisconsin. This meeting greatly reminded him of his first meeting after taking captainship of Olyvia. This time however, there were many more players. All but two of the Privateers were present, the latter being simply too deep into a mission, and too far away to make it in time. Both of the missing ships had completed their objectives, and were in transit, but waiting for them was simply not an option. Admiral Grarzia had arrived with Wisconsin and the rest of the Privateers inside of a week from Cory’s transmission, and Admiral stevens had arrived a week after that. Admiral fulmori had retained the USN Texas as his Flag, having grown fond of Captain Gleeson. Unity High Admiral Kawmarin was still currently flagged aboard USN Galveston and was currently using her superior speed to respond to race across unity space in an attempt to rally Unity forces.

Admiral Clint Stevens had arrived with a five-ship battle group. He was flagged aboard USN Tharsis and was escorted by USN Furlong, USN Iowa, a recently retrofitted and upgraded DDS Protectorate, and a newly commissioned Delmar Frigate. The DDS Stormhold was a hybrid vessel. She had been in the early stages of construction when Humanity and Delmar met for the first time, and she had been modified during construction to make use of the recent innovations born of the their budding alliance. She had but half the displacement of an Iowa Class, but she sported two thirds of the weight of fire by destructive potential. Stormhold had struck many human sailors as what a battleship class would have looked like if the Martians had decided to build the class during Humanity’s civil war. Stormhold carried but a pair of super firing Kinetic batteries in dorsal and ventral positions with a single pair of super firing batteries at her midships. Each turret in the battery only boasted a pair of barrels, and they fired the same 1005 projectile. Stormhold was armed to please however, and she carried twice the same number of PAC batteries as USN Tharsis, and she boasted a full-length central weapon that was very uniquely Delmar. The combined minds of the Brothers grem and their research counterparts in Sol had spent years researching and iterating on the Martian Particle Acceleration Cannon, and they had found something.

DDS Stormhold sported a single long low profile blister stretching the length of her ventral hull, set just to the left of centerline to make room for her kinetic batteries. No less than 6 PAC systems were arrayed in parallel, all feeding one focusing array of titanic size. Stormhold could fire up to all 6 at the array, varying the amount of destruction she wished to adjudicate upon her enemy. Bart had dubbed tis weapon the C-PAC, or “Compound Particle Acceleration Cannon”. The discovery however was not that combining Pac beams was doable. Mars had tried and failed to accomplish this. The discovery was how to make it efficient enough to create a viable weapon. This accomplished, something became abundantly clear from the initial testing…. A C-PAC did not scale linearly, but exponentially. A C-PAC could produce the same destructive energy as an Eros, but only within two hundred fifty thousand Kilometers. The rate of fire was still low, and firing all 6 feeder PACs at once was a cautious calculation, as the heat generated was still a problem, but early tests in a long dead system had seen the accidental cracking of the target planet’s crust. The reaction that followed destabilized the planet entirely and said star system was now one interstellar body lighter.

Stevens brought more than just a battle group, having appropriated four troop transports. Each transport carried a detachment of Marines, with the two MACE squads spread between them for heavy support. It was a small number, but they were to be on hand to evacuate any survivors they could. “Alright people, gather round. All of you have seen the brief by now, and I know all of you are ready for this to happen. Let’s not go in halfcocked” Several heads bobbed in acknowledgement and Stevens turned to spear Cory with a gaze, “For those who might not have met yet, this is Corellus Grarzia, Captain of the Privateer that uncovered this little honeypot of horrors. He’s been the closest to this thing the longest.” Stevens waves to Cory, “Captain?”

Cory stepped up and took a long breath, “The situation’s only gotten worse since my first transmission. The prison freighters and the frigates in orbit are just the beginning of the problem. We’ve since discovered camps on the surface of the planet, I’ve marked them in your updated files” Cory flicked his wrist over his data pad, propagating the information to everyone else’s pad and the table in the center of the room, “This is not just a torture camp, it is an indoctrination and training facility. The kissing of the hand is a surrender trigger of sorts. Kiss the hand, and the child is taken from hell, given food, and given a task. Usually something simple and innocuous, but it is rewarded. If a child accepts without instruction, and without question; they are sent to the surface where they are put into an intense indoctrination program.” Cory took a pause, watching the faces of the men and women in the room. Hard eyes and grim expressions waited for him to continue. “The children are eventually taken on hunts…. Hunts of other failed children and adults of their own species… and hunts of the locals… they are creating insurgents. We may and will encounter opposition made of child soldiers and operatives on the surface. We’ve also discovered a fast response system. Attacking one freighter at a time will trigger the destruction of the other freighters, and it appears that the Frigates in the system are in direct communication with someone outside the system every 20 minutes. That is all we know, at this time.”

Cory nodded to the admirals before stepping back from the table. Mac gave Cory a nod before taking a deep breath, “Thank you Captain. Alright people, no idea goes unspoken. No question goes unasked, we only have one shot at this. Let’s get to work.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Warren’s eyes slowly fluttered open, aroused from his slumber by soft lips working their way up from the nape of his neck, “Hmm, Good morning.” He whispered as Jezz pulled herself atop him with a smile of her own. She kissed her way up his chin to his ear before responding, “Morning.” She coo’d back at him, her sultry tone lighting his senses on fire. Warren pulled her the rest of the way to his lips, kissing her gently just as his communicator chirped, “UUgghhhh!!” he groaned, breaking their kiss to open the channel, “L.T. Patterson here.” He stated, trying to keep his voice professional as Jezzaria’s lips began to wander again.
*Lieutenant, We’ve received word. The cargo transports finished loading earlier than anticipated. We will be departing in twenty minutes. Captain Yasushi has asked for your presence on the bridge.*

“Understood, I’ll be there… uh…. Momentarily.” Warren responded closing the channel, looking down at a smugly amused Jezzaria, “Jezz! Now how am I supposed to show up on the bridge with that…”

“Hmm” She mused coyly. “Probably shouldn’t, I better take care of that.” Warren never had a chance to respond.

Twenty minutes later, an only slightly breathless Warren arrived on the bridge, receiving a raised eyebrow from Excelsior’s Captain. “Cutting it rather close, Lieutenant?” Yasushi asked as he scanned the last of the information before departure.

Warren kept his face carefully neutral, “Unavoidable, Sir.” He said formally. “You asked to see me?”

“Yes, Is the Elerian delegation settled in?” Yasushi asked first. “We’ve done what we can to give them ample spaces on the ship attuned to their gravity, and signage to prevent accidents, but I’ve heard rumblings.”

“It not… the gravity sir… May we?” Warren responded carefully, nodding to the captain’s ready room. The two of them stepped into the more private setting, and Warren sat heavily into the chair opposite the desk.

Yasushi regarded the young officer with a studious gaze, “Talk to me son. I need to know if something is brewing during this voyage.”

Warren sighed inwardly. The delegation made up about a quarter of the surviving Elerian race, the Oldest of the Children saved from their planet. They had finished catching up in their education and updating on changes wrought while they were asleep. These Oldest had requested, and obviously granted, permission to travel to their home planet to participate in its recolonization. There was only one real problem with the situation. “Jezz wishes to continue to Delmar, but she is the defacto leader of her species. It is, chafing in some area’s.” Warren finally answered.

“Ah, I see.” Yasushi leaned back into his chair. “Has she told them that She is not staying?”

Warren shook his head, “No sir. She knows she has to stay. It’s just…. It’s just obvious that she hates the reality of the situation, that I must continue to Delmar. It does not help that Many of her people see our relationship as hurtful. They see us as narrowing the genetic pool from which they can recover.”

Yasushi’s eyes softened slightly in understanding, “Atticus’ research?”

“Almost complete sir, it’s all but certain that the Corth placed Elerian DNA in the Human genome. He believes that We could be the key to the genetic diversity needed to jumpstart their species, but… They don’t know that.” Warren sighed, “It’s all still heavily classified pending the conclusion. Her people don’t know what she has put herself through to ensure accurate data. They just see me as stealing their future, and her as a love struck girl playing at leadership.”

Yasushi nodded, bringing up the progress synopsis on his consol, “It appears that Atticus requires only one further ‘experiment’ before his conclusions can be reached. Do you know what that is?”

Warren shook his head, “Sorry, Sir. I don’t. We are to meet him in his onboard lab after lunch. He’s fastidious about records, I’m sure you will know by the time we leave his office.”

“Hmm,” Yasushi mused, taking a moment to review the update before closing it, “I know this is hard for you. You two have been thrust into quite a bit above your stage in life. Let me know if there is anything I can do. Dismissed, Lieutenant.”

Warren saluted crisply, following Yasushi out to the bridge just in time to watch the small convoy leap into slip space. His feet slowly guided him back to the quarters he shared with Jezz, feeling the shift in gravity as he passed into the Eleri safe parts of the ship. It would be a two month sail to the Elerian homeworld, and Warren was not looking forward to its conclusion. His thoughts were interrupted by raised voices, one of which he was intimately familiar with, coming from around the corner, and Warren accelerated his gate.

“You know we barely have the numbers to survive! Instead of doing your duty, you’re bedding that heavy worlder!” It was the oldest Elerian male, Bregan, flanked by two other Elerians. They had ambushed Jezz against the door to the quarters Warren and her shared.
“Back up Breg, I don’t care that your father was pappa’s top general. This is not the play you want to make right now. I am Warren’s, and that is not changing.” Jezz’s voice was stern, and she noticed Warren arrive around the corner. The smallest shake of her head kept him from barging in. Elerian female leaders were a prickly thing, and because He was not Eleri, she needed to do this on her own. They had talked about it, expecting something like this once the first complaints had been whispered. Jezz was still kicking herself for not spending more time with her people, but she had also been instrumental in the Gate project that promised to bind the galaxy more tightly than ever before.

Breg openly scoffed at Jezz, “A woman, ordering me around? Maybe Your precious Human will have an accident.” He sneered, blatantly reaching for Jezz’s wingtips, “Then maybe You’s search for a proper m… UGH!” Warren winced as he heard the tale tale cracking of bone. Jez had slapped away Bren’s outstretched hand before driving her fist into his side. She had underestimated her power, having lived for over a year in various gravities that exceed that of her homeworld, and Bren doubled over with eyes wide as he fell to a knee. He clutched his side, glaring at Jezzaria, “Bitch! I’ll have you brought up on charges! Let’s see your precious human get you out of an assault charges, with witnesses.” Bren sputtered, and his two friends nodded angrily.

“Go ahead, but I do not think you will be successful.” Jezz pointed up to the corner of the corridor opposite Warren, “All hallways are rigged for video and audio. Every threat you have made was logged in the ships computer the moment you puked it out of your pathetic mouth.” Warren had to stifle the chuckle that threatened to escape his lips at the pure vitriol in Jezz’s ton. “As for witnesses, you can come on over, hun.”

Warren put on severe expression, locking eyes with Bregan even as the young mans eyes bugged out of his head. “My husband has been watching for quite a while and would make an excellent witness.” Jezz’s smug expression nearly broke Warrens facade as he crossed his arms in front of the three.

“Hmm, threatening the murder of a Naval officer.. Attempted assault on a reigning monarch… Getting recorded doing so, not a good look.” Warren rumbled, and Breg spat at his feet.

“Fuck you.” Bren spat, “If you believe that to be true, why did you wait for your woman to fight instead of protecting her, coward.”

Warren openly laughed in the boy’s face, “you assume my woman needed saving from you. She’s soared on Luna and Conquered the gravity on Ceres.” Warren paused as a profoundly contemplative expression washed over the three boy’s faces, “What makes you think you were anything close to a threat to MY mate.” Warren growled the last part, making the miscreants take an involuntary step back, “Now get out of here. And get that rib checked out, I heard it break from over there.”

The three Elerian boys scrambled down the hallway, unable to flee on wing because of the narrow space. Warren waited for them to round the corner, and felt Jezz collapse into him almost instantly after. Warren quickly opened their door and pulled her in with him, “Hey, hey, hey. Shhhh” He soothed rubbing her down patch between the base of her wings. She melted into him, but continued shaking for a moment. “Their gone, it’s ok now.”

Jezz took a long shakey breath, “I… I don’t know what to do…. My people are so scared… and I can’t tell them that we need Humans to recover our numbers. I… I don’t know what to do…”

Warren kept rubbing her back, “I’ll have lunch brought here. Breg doesn’t need to see that he shook you.” And Jezz nodded, and a few minutes later a pair of cold cut sandwiches arrived. The two of them ate, Jezz curled up in Warren’s lap. Violence was not a natural decision for her, and it had been the first time she had struck anyone outside her occasional sparring with Warren. Warren partially blamed himself for her not knowing her own strength. He always allowed her to strike at him as hard as she could, knowing that she was incapable of hurting him with her bare hands, and she had gained enough speed and technique to occasionally get through his admittedly average hand to hand skills. He had still not taught her to shoot Kinetics. He worried that she would be simply too fragile to shatter bones should she get behind one of his pistols, or even his rimfire rifle.

They were just beginning to leave when a knock at the door interrupted their clean up. And Warren opened the door, his face a serious mask as he prepared to deal with more of the… “Atticus?” He asked as the Androgenous Corth stepped into their quarters. “I thought we were meeting you in your lab?”

“You are correct Warren. However, after word of Jezzaria’s little incident spread across the ship, I thought it best to have this conversation somewhere more comfortable.” Atticus stated in his usual analytical tone, waving to the seating in the pair’s living quarters. Warren raised an eyebrow and the uncharacteristic catering to circumstances from Atticus and settled onto one side of the queen bed in the corner. Their compartment was spacious considering Excelsiors size, but still lacked any major furnishing outside of the bed, a place for clothes and a chair for the desk which held the computer console. Jezz sat down next to him, and Atticus pulled the desk chair to face them.
“What’s this about Att.” Warren asked, picking up on the small tells that told him that Atticus was stalling.

Atticus flashed a smile to Warren before responding, “I’ve completed my research, at least, as much of it I can without more direct observation, and I am unwilling to ask that with so few Elerians left.” He began, holding up a hand to Jezz who was already opening her mouth to protest, “I have already found some remarkable discoveries regarding you. As you are probably aware, being able to adapt to Luna, and even Ceres should not be possible for your species” he continued looking a Jezz as he spoke, “None of your people, who tried anything like that before have succeeded.”

“But Atticus,” Jezz asked in confusion, “I’m fine… I’m better than fine. Warren and I spent a weekend on Luna to say goodbye to his parents. I don’t have to be tossed to fly there anymore.” Atticus raised an eyebrow and Warren nodded in confirmation.

Atticus seemed to freeze for just a split second, as if adding the information to something before his eyes focused on the two of them again, “I’m impressed, but not entirely surprised, Jezz. You’re ability to adapt has an explanation, I simply needed to prove my original findings from Ceres.” Atticus leaned forward slightly, “My dear, you are an anomaly because of your relationship with Warren. I’ve been told that I am too direct, so I will attempt to be… less so” Atticus gave Warren a semi sharp look as he snorted, but continued, “Both of you already know this first part. My people, many many eons ago, used the fledgling Human species as a library of genetic markers meant to be able to save those species and cultures wiped out by the Cataclysm. What I have learned is that Humanity took many of those genetic markers and evolved with them as their own. Almost nothing of what we added to Humanity’s genetic code is how we left it, but some of our library is still capable of interacting with the origin species. That is what has happened with you Jezz.”

Jezz looked shocked for a moment, but then returned to her confused expression, “But, we haven’t done any of those experiments yet. You told me they were too dangerous.” Warren rubbed her shoulders but said nothing, simply waiting for Atticus to explain himself.

Atticus nodded, “I did, and they are; but I failed to account for something that was already happening naturally. To put it… delicately… Your body has been naturally been exposed those same Genetic markers, including the Elerian ones, in significant quantities since you and Warren chose to become life mates. Because those genetic markers include a hormonal component to them, and because of the extra strain your body had been put through on luna and ceres; your body has reacted to them, using them as a template for survival. Your bone mass has tripled since you travelled to Ceres, and your Muscle mass and composition has dramatically changed as well.”

“But how… Oh..” Warren’s face reddened as his mind finally put the pieces together, and Jezz’s cheeks flushed a bright blue upon her own realization. “But that would mean…”

Atticus shook his head, “No, luckily being able to monitor Jezzaria’s health has led me to a much safer way to help jumpstart the Elerian species, but there is a catch… I believe that this level of artificial genetic hybridization can only be done during the embryonic stages of Elerian life to be 100 percent safe, but I wont know until I study a….. natural hybrid.” Jezz’s breath caught in her chest as her eyes widened but Atticus raised his hands quickly, “I cannot ask this… but I know you would be angry with me if I hid this fact from you. I know the two of you desire children, and I will not lie. It is still a great risk. I’ve learned that the two of you prefer to make your own decisions, so I want you to do so with the most recent information. I’ll leave everything here for you to review.” Leaving a data stick on the desk, Atticus stood. He began stepping toward the door as the stunned couple stayed where they were, “I’ll give you some space. I am sorry for the heaviness of my findings.” Atticus opened the door and stepped out.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you made it this far, Thank You! I hope you enjoyed the episode. If this if your first time seeing this series, I hope you will join us from the beginning. I do have a patreon that has extra content that is not main story arc, but still cannon shorts, as well as exclusive content from some of my other series. If you believe I've earned it, feel free to give it a look; but know that just coming to hang is already enough.
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Suzanner had 3 jobs at the time ... she had to move in Aaron because John threw them out of their house, she had no choice but to work
john was WAY too busy working 26 hour days or 82 hours a week grinding it out as a writer and being a celebrity, he even asked for more time with Oskah having nothing to do with lowering his child support payments, but spending more time with his kid just was never in the cards ...
Its obvious Aaron is the main reason Oskah is getting into harvard, OsKah was 10 when aaron entered his life, 8 formatable years in the making , within those 8 years its OBVIOUS Aaron was around Oskah the most, Aaron was a teacher he had his 9 to 5 and sure he probably put in more hours at HOME but he was HOME around Oskah helping him, guiding him (and not with his underwear), being a role model and positive influence goes a long way, plus Aaron works with his hand and can build shit, creativity and engineering can be taught !!!!
Congrats Aaron, Oshaks diploma is not just his ITS AARONS !!!!

I actually know a German person who originally worked as a technician and later became a university teacher. His specialty is quite unique, so he could do both jobs.
He told me that working as a technician is very tiring and exhausting. Although the income can sometimes be higher than that of a university, it's much harder work, so he eventually chose to work at the university.
Then I found out that what he considered tiring was "eight hours a day with weekends off." I tearfully told him that I used to work 16-18 hours a day without any days off all year round at a central state-owned construction company. He was very shocked and then asked me why I didn’t seek help from the union. I was so stunned by his question that I didn’t even know how to respond [crying face].

Hello Summer Camp Counselors! Pardon the intrusion here, I posted on Teachers a few weeks ago with no feedback, I figured you may have more experience here?
Dad of a 4th grader here that would love your advice! My kid's school was short of male chaperones for an overnight trip (a couple nights, outdoor center), and wanting to redeem myself for the pain I caused to my chaperones as a kid, I decided to sign up.
But... I'm now concerned about what lies ahead of me :) So a few questions:

1. I'm sure you have a lot of tales of horrible (or amazing) parent volunteers in your many school trips. What can I do to be of most help to the staff without overstepping, while providing a good experience to the kids? Some things are obvious, but I suspect there's some that are not. Would love suggestions!
2. From what I know of the outdoor program, the sleeping arrangement involves a giant room with bunk beds for all males (chaperones, staff as well as the boys), and another giant room for all females, in a fairly rural setting. Any trick to handling bed time, the night, and having a pleasant few days? If you're wondering why I'm asking this question: 1. I did the mistake of searching for "chaperone" on Teachers and most are horror stories. 2. From my first grade up to high school I went to multiple overnight trips every year with similar arrangements between scouts, church retreats (I was a kid...) and summer sleep away camps. I still remember the first night in a big room with all my friends, ... it was always a lot of fun for us boys, but not as much for the chaperones or staff. It seems like this will be a good and easy group of kids, but I remember when I was a kid we all kept goofing around until one of the nuns started crying in a nervous outbreak, or the many pranks we played with toothpaste and water as soon as someone fell asleep. But I also remember some chaperones reading stories, or getting us excited to play board games in secret after lights out (it was all a ruse in hindsight of course, but it kept us as quiet as possible, and satisfied our desire to break the rules?), or doing some very active games past dinner and before bed time so we would crash into bed talking about the exciting day while quickly falling asleep. In middle school, I also remember we were broken up in teams with some scoring system, and behavior at night was rewarded with more or less points... which egregiously backfired (but that's a story for a different post). So, do you have any tricks here? something that worked well for you? something that did not work?
3. My guess is that for at least 30-40% of the kids it will be the first overnight experience without parents away from home. What can I do to make it easier or better for the kids? I don't see myself with my low voice, thick accent and lack of sense of humor give an inspiring pep talk, but I do have good memories of some of our leaders or chaperones breaking the ice at night with a good talk when getting changed for the first time, or just laying out the rules to make sure everyone was respectful - no matter the pajama style, morning routine, or need for a lovey - watching out for bullying, or generally being there if we needed help.

... and of course, if you have any other suggestion or recommendation, happy to listen! Thank you!
(and yes, I will of course ask the teachers and organizers as well - but it's always nice to compare notes)

I'm asking because we'll...I've had unpleasant experiences working. Basically I did retail and every time it ended bad. Meaning I had a diffcult time problem solving with very angry customers and I always had to go to the manager or another staff member to problem solve it. I notice myself would get highly anxious when a customer would get furious. I also had diffculttly handing out money and made a few mistakes at the beginning but then eventually got the hang of it and was okay. However the managers would get frustrated at me unable to learn quickly enough and would threat at me I will lose my job, which would end in tears.
I did try to do 2D animation a course I did. However I always got confused with the number system and always asked friends to help me but they ended up got frustrated at me. Also hearing the sounds of flipping pages when people were animating annoyed the crap out of me.
I did try to do acting! I ended up sadly with a abusive toxic drama teacher, confirm by my therapist that told me they were abusive. Pretty much the drama teacher told me I was "low middle class" the way I spoke. Also told me when I did a short film with the teacher that I was responsible setting tone on set and it was my fault why the crew were distracted. He also question my religious beliefs which was werid because we were suppose to talk about drama. At the end I stopped going, I would end up leaving class in tears.
I thought to work at a libraby because my mum worked there and I thought "yeah I be safe, I won't lose my job here". I did shelving first and then I got involved helping out with kids events say Chinese New Year and made over 60 masks of the year of the Sheep one year. I also go involed with Halloween event and design the games and make the decorations etc. However!!! yet again it went down hill. I was working to becoming a Libraian assistant, at the time their was this manager we will name them Annie and she understood about my learning diffculties and that it would take me time to learn but I would eventually get it. Though when she retired it all went to hell! new manager was unaware about my learning diffculties. I was accused by staff putting books away wrongly. Also when I hand out change to the customers I was just dollar short, and the whole staff freak out like I had covid. And it eventually ended up some gossip session and went to team leader. I ended up doing compute program we all had to do for the libraby and I failed at that. The teacher told the manager I was incapable and my mother wasn't in the know until a friend at work told her. I wasn't told this and found out through my mum. My mum told me how the new manager told my mum I should work at some clothes shop. Which hurt hearing this I was then gonna be "WATCH" by the new manager behind the desk serving customers, I was so afarid and scared I will fail. I went to my mum in her office crying and she just went up to me and told me angrily "your not to suppose to cry here. I fear you to go to the manager and resigned from your position and say don't ask questions". I did that what my mum told me to do. After that I couldn't go to the libraby and shelve I felt so hurt and felt people were watching me. I ended up just not working anymore.
I did try to do art class online through a friend and we'll sadly I ended up doing everything. And my friend didn't do anything and I had to pull out and I wasn't being paid for it, since my friend at the time seem obsessed with doing it for free.
I'm now lost and depressed not sure what to do for my career. I haven't worked for 8 years due to my mental health and having therapy. Now I feel aimless and not sure what is point in life when you don't have direction.
My skills pretty much is Art. I do portraits. Pencil and traditional oil. I like to do illustrations and cartoons and I do that digitally. More than one therapist told me I'm empathic so I guess that is a skill. Usually I get people tell me their problems just randomly, and people who worked for years didn't have a clue what was going on for that person. and I like to make stories. I have a strong visual memory and imagation as well.
So I'm not sure what to do. I'm just so afarid if I do something again that I will fail. It almost feels like some werid curse. Any ideas?.

Hello all!
A bit of a long one but hope you can provide guidance and others can benefit from my story.
TLDR: I am not learning,enjoying , or progressing with my current CFI and would appreciate advice on changing CFI.
I’m a student pilot working towards getting my PPL with about 25 hours total. Doing this 100% as a personal passion and with no intention on making this my career.
All my lessons have been with one of the most seasoned CFIs in my flying club. He is an excellent pilot but just not a great teacher. He is not detailed, expects me to know stuff with no previous guidance, and tends to be impatient. It’s making me not enjoy showing up to lessons lately since I never get any positive feedback, I don’t feel like there’s a structure or plan to getting me ready/knowledgeable to pass my check ride and being a good pilot.
I find having myself having to learn a significant amount of things by myself (which I totally understand it’s part of being a pilot) and wish I could have a supporting CFI that is invested in seeing me succeed. I watch a lot of videos/posts about students having a great time and great CFIs and it makes me feel “jealous”.
Past 5 hours flying with my current CFI just feels like I’m paying so I can just fly. We recently did our first cross country and he did not provide any guidance or let alone homework for me to do or any useful things to make this a memorable and teaching experience.
Doing XC showed me just how behind I am in navigation and radio communication. He basically did all the decisions without explaining the “why” and made all the radio calls. It is just daunting and worrying thinking that soon I could be doing a solo cross country flight to which I would have to repeat a lesson with him before because I would not feel ready at all. The XC really opened my eyes as to how much I’ve had to learn by myself and how much more I could’ve progressed with a better CFI. I’m feeling pretty bummed that I’ve spent a lot of money and most importantly that lately I show up and I’m more nervous and hesitant to questions since his style of teaching is just more “old school military grunt”.
Has anyone been in this situation before? How did you go about changing CFI? They all know eachother at my club so I’m trying to avoid the “awkwardness”. Did you just change and effectively “ghost” your previous CFI? Did you tell them up front you will be moving on to another CFI? Seeking some help here.

I'm asking because we'll...I've had unpleasant experiences working. Basically I did retail and every time it ended bad. Meaning I had a diffcult time problem solving with very angry customers and I always had to go to the manager or another staff member to problem solve it. I notice myself would get highly anxious when a customer would get furious. I also had diffculttly handing out money and made a few mistakes at the beginning but then eventually got the hang of it and was okay. However the managers would get frustrated at me unable to learn quickly enough and would threat at me I will lose my job, which would end in tears.
I did try to do 2D animation a course I did. However I always got confused with the number system and always asked friends to help me but they ended up got frustrated at me. Also hearing the sounds of flipping pages when people were animating annoyed the crap out of me.
I did try to do acting! I ended up sadly with a abusive toxic drama teacher, confirm by my therapist that told me they were abusive. Pretty much the drama teacher told me I was "low middle class" the way I spoke. Also told me when I did a short film with the teacher that I was responsible setting tone on set and it was my fault why the crew were distracted. He also question my religious beliefs which was werid because we were suppose to talk about drama. At the end I stopped going, I would end up leaving class in tears.
I thought to work at a libraby because my mum worked there and I thought "yeah I be safe, I won't lose my job here". I did shelving first and then I got involved helping out with kids events say Chinese New Year and made over 60 masks of the year of the Sheep one year. I also go involed with Halloween event and design the games and make the decorations etc. However!!! yet again it went down hill. I was working to becoming a Libraian assistant, at the time their was this manager we will name them Annie and she understood about my learning diffculties and that it would take me time to learn but I would eventually get it. Though when she retired it all went to hell! new manager was unaware about my learning diffculties. I was accused by staff putting books away wrongly. Also when I hand out change to the customers I was just dollar short, and the whole staff freak out like I had covid. And it eventually ended up some gossip session and went to team leader. I ended up doing compute program we all had to do for the libraby and I failed at that. The teacher told the manager I was incapable and my mother wasn't in the know until a friend at work told her. I wasn't told this and found out through my mum. My mum told me how the new manager told my mum I should work at some clothes shop. Which hurt hearing this I was then gonna be "WATCH" by the new manager behind the desk serving customers, I was so afarid and scared I will fail. I went to my mum in her office crying and she just went up to me and told me angrily "your not to suppose to cry here. I fear you to go to the manager and resigned from your position and say don't ask questions". I did that what my mum told me to do. After that I couldn't go to the libraby and shelve I felt so hurt and felt people were watching me. I ended up just not working anymore.
I did try to do art class online through a friend and we'll sadly I ended up doing everything. And my friend didn't do anything and I had to pull out and I wasn't being paid for it, since my friend at the time seem obsessed with doing it for free.
I'm now lost and depressed not sure what to do for my career. I haven't worked for 8 years due to my mental health and having therapy. Now I feel aimless and not sure what is point in life when you don't have direction.
My skills pretty much is Art. I do portraits. Pencil and traditional oil. I like to do illustrations and cartoons and I do that digitally. More than one therapist told me I'm empathic so I guess that is a skill. Usually I get people tell me their problems just randomly, and people who worked for years didn't have a clue what was going on for that person. and I like to make stories. I have a strong visual memory and imagation as well.
So I'm not sure what to do. I'm just so afarid if I do something again that I will fail. It almost feels like some werid curse. Any ideas?.

I'm asking because we'll...I've had unpleasant experiences working. I experience audio processing disorder and dsylexia. As well OCD and emotional dsyregulation (BPD) Also social anxiety.
Basically I did retail and every time it ended bad. Meaning I had a diffcult time problem solving with very angry customers and I always had to go to the manager or another staff member to problem solve it. I notice myself would get highly anxious when a customer would get furious. I also had diffculttly handing out money and made a few mistakes at the beginning but then eventually got the hang of it and was okay. However the managers would get frustrated at me unable to learn quickly enough and would threat at me I will lose my job, which would end in tears.
I did try to do 2D animation a course I did. However I always got confused with the number system and always asked friends to help me but they ended up got frustrated at me. Also hearing the sounds of flipping pages when people were animating annoyed the crap out of me.
I did try to do acting! I ended up sadly with a abusive toxic drama teacher, confirm by my therapist that told me they were abusive. Pretty much the drama teacher told me I was "low middle class" the way I spoke. Also told me when I did a short film with the teacher that I was responsible setting tone on set and it was my fault why the crew were distracted. He also question my religious beliefs which was werid because we were suppose to talk about drama. At the end I stopped going, I would end up leaving class in tears.
I thought to work at a libraby because my mum worked there and I thought "yeah I be safe, I won't lose my job here". I did shelving first and then I got involved helping out with kids events say Chinese New Year and made over 60 masks of the year of the Sheep one year. I also go involed with Halloween event and design the games and make the decorations etc. However!!! yet again it went down hill. I was working to becoming a Libraian assistant, at the time their was this manager we will name them Annie and she understood about my learning diffculties and that it would take me time to learn but I would eventually get it. Though when she retired it all went to hell! new manager was unaware about my learning diffculties. I was accused by staff putting books away wrongly. Also when I hand out change to the customers I was just dollar short, and the whole staff freak out like I had covid. And it eventually ended up some gossip session and went to team leader. I ended up doing compute program we all had to do for the libraby and I failed at that. The teacher told the manager I was incapable and my mother wasn't in the know until a friend at work told her. I wasn't told this and found out through my mum. My mum told me how the new manager told my mum I should work at some clothes shop. Which hurt hearing this I was then gonna be "WATCH" by the new manager behind the desk serving customers, I was so afarid and scared I will fail. I went to my mum in her office crying and she just went up to me and told me angrily "your not to suppose to cry here. I fear you to go to the manager and resigned from your position and say don't ask questions". I did that what my mum told me to do. After that I couldn't go to the libraby and shelve I felt so hurt and felt people were watching me. I ended up just not working anymore.
I did try to do art class online through a friend and we'll sadly I ended up doing everything. And my friend didn't do anything and I had to pull out and I wasn't being paid for it, since my friend at the time seem obsessed with doing it for free.
I'm now lost and depressed not sure what to do for my career. I haven't worked for 8 years due to my mental health and having therapy. Now I feel aimless and not sure what is point in life when you don't have direction.
My skills pretty much is Art. I do portraits. Pencil and traditional oil. I like to do illustrations and cartoons and I do that digitally. More than one therapist told me I'm empathic so I guess that is a skill. Usually I get people tell me their problems just randomly, and people who worked for years didn't have a clue what was going on for that person. and I like to make stories. I have a strong visual memory and imagation as well.
So I'm not sure what to do. I'm just so afarid if I do something again that I will fail. It almost feels like some werid curse. Any ideas?.

Hello! I currently have a son that will be turning 2 soon. I've always wanted 3+ kids but realistically, we can only have one more due to age and finances. I was hoping to have, at most, a 3 year gap between kids for a few personal reasons. Unfortunately, we don't live near family so it's only my husband and I sharing the load. We both work full-time so we have not gotten a break, unless you count daycare which isn't really a break since we're at work. My job is extremely stressful and although I am seeking new employment, between the job market being what it is and me being more selective to what I apply to and interviews, I haven't found anything yet. We also don't have a babysitter but I plan on soliciting one of his current daycare teachers as he is scheduled to move to the two year old room next month.
All that said, we just came back from a 7 day cruise and I saw so many families with 2+ kids with small age gaps. Most of them brought a grandparent along to have date nights while onboard. Although I had pretty made my mind up about aiming for a 4 year gap instead because that seems more doable, seeing all of those families made me pause and think, maybe we could handle it? I had like zero energy when I was pregnant with my son and had morning sickness until nearly six months pregnant so I am concerned about having a repeat of this with a toddler to care for.
Does anyone with no village and both spouses working full-time have 2 under 3? How's it going? Would you do anything differently?

hello all. DAE start to get mad at their friends only for it to turn into self-blaming?
I think objectively there have been several times where my two best friends have been Bad friends to me. But I don't know how to talk to them about it. I get upset, but then I wonder if I'm just overreacting. If this is perhaps karma for all the times I've been a bad friend to others. Maybe if I were better and more grateful for the good moments, the bad ones wouldn't happen at all.
I only really have them. I have work friends and one high school friend who I can talk to with ease when I do. But they're not... friends like the ones my besties have. And they have So many.
They don't even seem to understand the difference between what they have with their friends and what I have with my coworkers. But it's obviously not the same, right? I like my work friendships, but it's not the same as having multiple close friends. When I'm busy my besties have so many other people to turn to. When they're busy I am alone. I wish they would understand that.
This bit is very small, but one of them sent a tik tok in the GC joking about not liking it when their friends have other friends. Felt like a tiny slap in the face considering their abundance vs my lack of friends. This might be stupid, but the tiniest bit of consideration probably would've made anyone else not send that.
I feel like there's a tiny bit of resentment bubbling up inside me towards them. I hate hearing them talk about how happy they are. I hate hearing about their love lives. They know I'm having the worst period of my life. But am I just being a dick? Friends share their happiness with friends because they want to share with the people they love, but I just fucking hate it. I'm stupidly jealous and insecure. I want them to be happy, but why do I have to hear about it constantly? Why fucking ask "Where did X go?" while talking about how content you guys are when you know how bad everything has been for me. It just kinda feels like it's being rubbed in my face.
I was deathly afraid to start university, and I hated it the whole time I was there. And I swear to fucking god there have been so many times where I'd express my fear or misery and they'd respond with how much they love university, how much they've grown there, how much fun they have. "I'm afraid to start my classes." "I'm excited for mine!"
My best friends forgot my birthday. I injured myself accidentally earlier this year and one of them saw my messages, sent a selfie of her at a bar, and then continued to party away. I don't think she even realized how much that sucked till literal days later. the other friend talked me through it but randomly left the convo without saying anything. my last message? "can we please call? I feel really shaken up from the blood."
No one even checked up on me, I had to text them first.
I feel like I keep forgiving too quickly, because what else can I do? I have no one else. But I'm obviously still upset. I have a freaking list of times they've upset me because I don't know how to talk to them about it, but I need a way to get it out. I can't talk to them about it. What if I just have selective memory for bad moments? What if I'm being unfair?
All I could think during my birthday was, "They could if they wanted to."
I know my friends are good people who would never do mean things on purpose. If anyone reads this far, please know I love my friends and just because I'm only detailing bad parts doesn't mean everything is bad. I just ruminate a lot. Venting will always happen more often than just sharing the good stuff. I just feel like, maybe if I were better or good enough then none of this stuff would even happen. I feel like I'm losing them to all the other friends they have.
apologies for the rambling rant. thanks to anyone who reads this far