Part One Here!
Part Two Here!
Part Three Here!
Part Four Here!
Part Five Here!
Part Six Here!
Part Seven Here!
Part Eight Here!
Part Nine Here!
Part Ten Here!
Part Eleven Here!
Part Twelve Here!
Part Thirteen Here!
We pick up following Money in the Bank 2014, with John Cena having successfully won his ninth World Championship in WWE - and even more importantly, his seventeenth World Championship overall - after an absolutely dismal start to the year. Having gone six straight PPVs without a win, it was in his hometown of Boston where his rebound began, but now, it’s the hard part… keeping the gold on his shoulders, and the crown on his head.
Road to SummerSlam 2014
With Cena now holding the WWE’s top prize for the ninth time, he’s got a murderer’s row of challengers who want a piece of him. First amongst them is Samoa Joe, who gets into a verbal spat with Cena saying he’s beaten him time and time again, including on two straight PPVs before Money in the Bank, but it’s Cesaro who shockingly makes his case by laying out Joe with an uppercut and demanding a shot not at SummerSlam, but in the Raw main event.
WWE World Heavyweight Title: John Cena (c) vs. Cesaro
Cena accepts, and, under Heyman’s tutelage, Cesaro very nearly captures the gold… but it’s not quite enough, with Cena delivering a tremendous Attitude Adjustment for the win after a fantastic bout.
John Cena def. Cesaro (20:13) to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Title
Crestfallen, Cesaro walks off with Heyman, but Paul stops him at the top of the ramp, grabbing a microphone. He says that he wants the championship removed from Cena’s waist, and he wants it done by one of his own - so if it won’t be Cesaro, it’ll have to be someone else. Out comes Brock Lesnar, standing toe-to-toe with Cesaro… AND LEVELING HIM WITH A CLOTHESLINE BEFORE MAKING HIS WAY DOWN TO DUKE IT OUT WITH CENA! CESARO’S BEEN EXPELLED FROM HEYMAN’S CLAN, AND THE BEAST IS BACK FOR JOHN CENA’S CHAMPIONSHIP AT SUMMERSLAM! The next few weeks see a contract signing turn violent, with Lesnar decimating Cena with an F-5, and Rollins attempting a cash-in, only to be stopped by Dean Ambrose. However, Cena’s certainly in a dangerous position as he makes his way into his third SummerSlam main event, weary of all the enemies he’s made and all they could do to ruin this reign.
SummerSlam 2014
WWE World Heavyweight Title: John Cena (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
John Cena doesn’t have to wait long, and he really shouldn’t have bothered worrying about those additional enemies, because this is a slaughter. Lesnar backs him into the corner and immediately nails an F-5 for a nearfall, and it doesn’t get any better for the champion. There’s no hope spot. There’s no Attitude Adjustment reversal. There’s no STF, no Five Knuckle Shuffle, no nothing - Cena delivers a lariat to knock Lesnar down, and then he eats a German Suplex. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. That’s sixteen, and you know what, we’ll make it seventeen for good measure, followed by an F-5. One. Two. Three.
Brock Lesnar def. John Cena (18:04) to win the WWE World Heavyweight Title
Road to Hell in a Cell 2014
With Lesnar having dominated Cena so handily, John takes a few weeks off, returning at Night of Champions to return the favour for Dean Ambrose by helping him out against Seth Rollins in a wild brawl, leading to a tense staredown between the two. In the main event, Brock Lesnar defeats Cesaro in a barnburner, where Cesaro gets plenty more offense in than Cena, causing John to wonder if he even deserves an automatic rematch - so he insists on earning it once news gets out that Brock won’t be at Hell in a Cell. Seth Rollins also wants a shot, as does Randy Orton, leading the Authority to announce a massive clusterfuck of a main event for Hell in a Cell - a fatal four way within the confines of Hell in a Cell itself, pitting Cena against Orton, Rollins and Ambrose, with the winner going on to face Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble. The buildup sees Orton and Cena go down memory lane over their feud, both men chomping at the bit to tear into one another, while Ambrose discusses his distaste for all that Cena represents - but he says his primary objective is taking out Seth Rollins for good.
Hell in a Cell 2014
Hell in a Cell Match for the Number One Contendership to the WWE World Heavyweight Title: John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
Cena and Orton hate each other, Ambrose and Rollins hate each other, Ambrose and Cena don’t get along, Rollins and Orton are tensely duelling over the top spot in the Authority’s lineup, and we’re in for an explosive match. It’s a grisly affair early, with the cage coming into play and tearing flesh, bruising bone. Ambrose tosses Rollins off the side of the Cell, J&J Security die, Ambrose and Cena brawl, Orton delivers a few RKOs, and Cena puts the Viper through a table with an AVALANCHE ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT! ONE! TWO! THRE-AMBROSE BREAKS IT UP! Dean goes for Dirty Deeds, Cena scooping him up into position for an Attitude Adjustment, but Ambrose slides off and NAILS A KNEE TREMBLER, ONLY TO EAT A SUPERKICK FROM A RETURNING ROLLINS! CURB STOMP! ONE! TWO! THRE-CENA WITH THE LAST SECOND SAVE! Seth starts beating down Cena, ushering new Authority ally Rusev into the ring and insisting he help, which he does. Then, Seth directs the assault on Ambrose, and finally turns to Orton, who insists they go one on one, fair and square - only for Seth to shout at Rusev to attack, but ORTON NAILS AN RKO ON RUSEV! SETH CHARGES… RKO! ORTON MADE HIS CHOICE, AND HE TURNS AROUND INTO AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT! ONE! TWO! THREE! HE CAPITALIZED AT TLC LAST YEAR, AND NOW GETS A TASTE OF HIS OWN MEDICINE AFTER NEUTRALIZING SETH ROLLINS, MAKING JOHN CENA THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDER!
John Cena def. Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins (25:20) to become the Number One Contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Title
Road to Survivor Series 2014
The Authority is apoplectic, seething that John Cena managed to get another shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Title, all while likely losing Randy Orton as a member of the Authority for good thanks to his relationship with Seth being beyond repair. Triple H starts making executive decisions, saying he wants to strip Cena of his title shot, saying he wants to fire anyone who crosses the Authority, and out comes Big Match John. He says that he’s just as sick of the Authority as they are of him - he knows they’re in cahoots with Heyman, which is how Brock got gifted a championship bout upon his return. He knows they’ve rigged everything in their favour for over a year, that they screwed over Daniel Bryan, that they tried time and time again to screw HIM over, and they’ve ruined the runs of countless stars on the roster up to this point. The only reason Cena hasn’t left is because of his devotion to the fans, and out of devotion to those same fans, he wants to ensure that the Authority is removed from power, never to pull their stunts again. Triple H tells Cena it’s too bad, but John issues a challenge - he’ll put together a team of disgruntled folks who want the Authority deposed, and they can put together whatever cracked squad of guys they want. Five on five, at Survivor Series, in an elimination match. If The Authority win, Cena will lose his shot at Brock Lesnar, and he’ll leave WWE. If they lose, though, the Authority is done. Triple H agrees, and then puts in the contract that if Cena’s team loses, his entire TEAM is fired, telling Cena to deal with it, because the Authority make the rules.
The next few weeks see recruitment efforts from both sides - Triple H announces that Seth Rollins and Rusev will be on team Authority, and so will The Game himself. He also bribes Luke Harper into joining by helping him win the Intercontinental Title from Dolph Ziggler. On Cena’s side, he brings in Dolph, and also convinces Ambrose to join forces with him, saying that they need to put their differences aside for the greater good. He’s also surprised when Randy Orton volunteers to join, saying he can’t stand Cena, but he wants the Authority gone too, primarily to show that punk Seth Rollins that he screwed with the wrong guy. On the go-home show, Triple H says he’s got his last member - Samoa Joe, knowing that Joe is sure to secure a victory over Cena when it comes down to it. When asked who his last man is, Cena says he had to call up a colleague he hasn’t seen in a long time, but when it comes to the wire, he’ll have a fifth member that’ll get the job done.
Survivor Series 2014
The start of the show sees a scene of chaos, with the undefeated US Champion Rusev having been tactically laid out backstage. It cuts to the Team Cena locker room, where a smug looking Randy Orton dusts himself off, Cena insisting that the Viper can’t just assault his opponents like that. Orton shrugs, and we head to the office of a very irate Triple H, shouting into the phone to “FLY HIM HERE NOW! THAT SON OF A BITCH OWES ME!” Before the match begins, Triple H gets confirmation his substitute fifth man has arrived at the arena, and suddenly The Game looks surprisingly… nervous, as if he’d bitten off more than he can chew.
Elimination Match: Team Cena (John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton and X) vs. Team Authority (Luke Harper, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, Triple H and X)
The four identified members of Team Cena are out first, led by Big Match John, but the tension is fairly palpable between them, amplified when their fifth member doesn’t arrive. Next is Team Authority, with Harper, Joe, Rollins and Triple H making their way down to the ring before… THE BEAST IS HERE! The WWE World Heavyweight Champion has been conscripted to Team Authority, and Team Cena has a big problem as the bell rings, Orton and Rollins starting off. Rollins tries to get the upper hand on the Viper, but fails pretty quickly, leading him to tag in Harper, encouraging frequent tags amongst the team. Brock seems unenthused, and Triple H wants to be the brains instead of the brawn, but Joe, Harper and Rollins effectively keep Orton isolated until ORTON NAILS AN RKO ON HARPER! He goes for the pin, and ROLLINS DELIVERS A CURB STOMP, ONLY FOR ALL HELL TO BREAK LOOSE! The referee is caught in the crossfire, and Brock cleans house, giving Seth and Triple H the opportunity to slide a cinderblock into the ring for a CURB STOMP THROUGH THE CINDERBLOCK! They slide the evidence away, Team Authority guarding Seth as he hooks the leg… ONE! TWO! THREE! TEAM AUTHORITY JUST GOT RID OF PERHAPS THE BIGGEST THREAT ON TEAM CENA!
Seth Rollins eliminates Randy Orton by pinfall (4-5)
It’s an uphill battle from here, and the captain tags in, Cena trying to hold down the fort with a series of lariats, shoulder blocks, the works in order to keep Team Authority at bay. Finally, he gets his hands on Rollins, only for Ambrose to tag himself in and start brawling wildly with his former Shield stablemate, Seth bailing and TAGGING IN THE BEAST! Ambrose reluctantly tags Cena back in so he can chase after Seth without being counted out, and Cena goes toe-to-toe with Brock, quickly being backed into the corner as LESNAR GOES FOR AN F-5, BUT DOLPH ZIGGLER LANDS A SUPERKICK! Brock drops Cena, and turns his attentions to Dolph, who bravely stands his ground until being suplexed across the ring. Seth starts shouting at Brock, who turns around and simply looms over the Architect, tagging Rollins in. Seth doesn’t want to fight Cena, so tags in Harper, who gets some strong offense in before CENA LANDS AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT FOR THREE, ELIMINATING THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION!
John Cena eliminates Luke Harper by pinfall (4-4)
Triple H and Brock Lesnar are arguing as Cena calls for someone to step into the ring, with The Game saying he can make the WWE Champion’s life much more difficult if he doesn’t get what he wants. Brock scowls, tagging in and making direct eye contact with Triple H as he gets into the ring, and he lands a double leg before elbowing Cena across the skull, cracking him open. He stands up to keep bickering, only for CENA TO NAIL A LARIAT, KNOCKING HIM DOWN! SHOULDER TACKLE! SHOULDER TACKLE! A THIRD, WITH A BLIND TAG MADE BY AMBROSE, CENA GOING FOR THE FIVE KNUCKLE SHUFFLE… LESNAR PICKS HIM OUT OF THE AIR, BUT AMBROSE WITH A FLYING ELBOW OFF THE TOP TO TAKE BROCK DOWN! KNEE TREMBLER TO THE BEAST! ONE! TWO! ROLLINS LEAPS IN FOR THE BREAK, BUT AMBROSE CONNECTS WITH DIRTY DEEDS! THE LUNATIC FRINGE IS ROLLING… DIRTY DEEDS TO LESNAR COUNTERED WITH A GERMAN SUPLEX! Lesnar starts ragdolling Dean as he hurls abuse at Triple H, finally delivering an F-5! ONE! TWO! THREE!
Brock Lesnar eliminates Dean Ambrose by pinfall (3-4)
He heads back to his corner, having made his point by putting the Authority up a man, but Triple H directs him to keep at it. Worn out and frustrated, Brock shoves Seth off the apron, flips off the Game, and WALKS OUT! The referee starts counting, and Lesnar has no intention of heading back, only pausing when Samoa Joe follows him up the ramp. Joe goes nose to nose with him, telling the Beast to get back in the ring so they don’t go down a man, and Brock doesn’t keep walking past him, but he doesn’t turn around, either. Finally, the referee hits ten, Joe looking as if he could kill the champion then and there, but deciding against an unnecessary fight.
Brock Lesnar is eliminated by countout (3-3)
Joe makes his way back to the ring, a battered and bloodied Cena being told by Dolph Ziggler to stay back. Dolph stands up to Joe, landing a few hopeful bits of offense before being spiked into the canvas with an Uranage, Triple H applauding from the apron. Joe calls for the Muscle Buster, but ZIGGLER DROPS DOWN TO NAIL A ZIG-ZAG! ONE! TWO! THRE-NOOO! Joe’s still comparatively fresh, and as he struggles to his feet, Dolph makes the hot tag to Cena, who rushes in and takes the fight to his longtime rival. He gets Joe up for an Attitude Adjustment, but Joe slips off to go for a Coquina Clutch, only for Cena to buck him forward and DELIVER A HURRICANRANA… BUT JOE REVERSES INTO A POWERBOMB! He hoists Cena onto the top turnbuckle, Dolph attempting to run interference, but Seth throws Dolph aside into a PEDIGREE BY TRIPLE H ON THE OUTSIDE! Cena throws a few fists at Joe, but Seth grabs his leg, pulling him down into the turnbuckle so Joe can get him up for a MUSCLE BUSTER! ONE! TWO! THREE! JOHN CENA’S ELIMINATED, AND THERE’S ONLY ONE MAN AT RINGSIDE TO FIGHT OFF THE AUTHORITY!
Samoa Joe eliminates John Cena by pinfall (2-3)
Dolph Ziggler is still limp at ringside, the referee not seeing a legal man in the ring and reluctantly starting the countout proceedings at Triple H’s insistence. The crowd are all screaming at Dolph to get up and keep fighting, but he’s completely unmoving as the referee counts six. Triple H and Seth Rollins get in the ring to celebrate with Joe as the ref calls out seven, then eight, then… THE LIGHTS GO OUT! IT’S STIIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGGGG! JOHN CENA CALLED ON AN OLD COLLEAGUE FOR DAMN SURE, HARKENING BACK TO HIS DAYS BEFORE WWE, BUT WHERE IS THE ICON? The lights are still out, the referee unable to count Ziggler out if he can’t see him, but a spotlight quickly illuminates the ring to show a shocked Samoa Joe and a furious Triple H… AND STING, DESCENDING FROM THE RAFTERS BEHIND THEM! OH MY GOD! He unhooks himself as the crowd erupts, and STING DELIVERS A SCORPION DEATH DROP TO THE GAME! Joe turns around, looking as if he’s seen a ghost as the lights come up, an exhausted Ziggler behind him… HE STACKS THE SAMOAN SUBMISSION MACHINE UP! ONE! TWO! THREE!
Dolph Ziggler eliminates Samoa Joe by pinfall (2-2)
Sting knocks Rollins out of the ring, Ziggler leaping into the cover on Triple H, still down from the Scorpion Death Drop and legal by default as the only man in the ring… ONE! TWO! THREE! TEAM CENA’S TURNED THE TIDES, AND SETH ROLLINS IS THE LAST MAN STANDING FOR TEAM AUTHORITY!
Dolph Ziggler eliminates Triple H by pinfall (2-1)
Seth gets back in the ring, Ziggler standing his ground against the Architect with a flurry of punches and a FAMEASSER! ONE! TWO! THR-SETH GETS THE SHOULDER UP! Dolph calls for the Zig Zag, Seth holding the ropes and sending Dolph into the referee, giving a seething Triple H the chance to get revenge with a SLEDGEHAMMER SHOT TO STING! Triple H rushes in, looking to clock Ziggler as well, but DOLPH HITS A SUPERKICK! Dolph crumples from exhaustion, and SETH GOES FOR A CURB STOMP, ONLY FOR DOLPH TO DODGE IT, SLIPPING BEHIND FOR A ZIG ZAG! THE REFEREE COMES TO AS STING DOES, THE ICON CLOCKING THE GAME WITH A BASEBALL BAT AS ZIGGLER COVERS THE ARCHITECT… ONE… TWO… THREE! THEY DID IT! TEAM CENA WINS, A CLUTCH PERFORMANCE FROM ZIGGLER AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE ICON VANQUISHING THE AUTHORITY!
Dolph Ziggler eliminates Seth Rollins by pinfall (2-0)
Team Cena (Survivors: Dolph Ziggler and Sting) def. Team Authority (49:40), meaning the Authority must vacate their positions of power
Road to TLC 2014
Relieved beyond belief, John Cena opens the show with his team (minus Orton, who’s still out from the cinderblock Curb Stomp), thanking all of them for doing their part in erasing the Authority’s influence. However, it’s not long until Seth Rollins comes out, cackling about taking out the Viper but still clearly frustrated. Cena asks how it feels to not be handed everything anymore, and Seth says that he’ll make sure the Authority has their day in the sun again, but for now, he doesn’t need to be handed things. He can earn them, because he’s one of the best wrestlers on the planet. He accuses Brock Lesnar of costing them the win with his exit, and says that he wants to face Brock in order to avenge the Authority - and he’ll go through Cena in order to do so. He outlasted Cena at Survivor Series, and he wants to do it again at TLC. He dares John to put his shot at the Beast on the line, and Cena accepts, making for a high-stakes TLC match to main event the show. Over the next few weeks, John faces off with Kane once again, notching a win, and teams with Dolph Ziggler to beat the brakes off J&J Security, sending a message to Seth Rollins that without the infrastructure in place for them to succeed, his network isn’t all that terrifying.
TLC 2014
TLC Match for the Number One Contendership to the WWE World Heavyweight Title: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins
Cena’s big mistake was taking on a No DQ match against the Architect, because while the Authority may not be in power, they’ve still got bodies to throw at problems. John fights an uphill battle against Rollins, J&J Security and Kane, and he doesn’t have Sting in his corner to help, or Dean Ambrose as a friend. It’s an incredible showcase for Seth, who pulls out all the crazy tricks in the book against Cena, including a SETHWALKER OFF THE APRON, THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! Cena somehow gets to the base of the ladder in time, grabbing Rollins’ foot to stop him from ascending, but Rollins’ cronies pull him away… until Dolph Ziggler shows up to take out Kane! Cena lays out J&J with a DOUBLE ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT, BUT ROLLINS WITH A CURB STOMP BEFORE HE CAN GET TO HIS FEET! Seth celebrates wildly as he turns around, the crowd erupting as he’s HIT WITH AN RKO! THE VIPER IS BACK! RANDY ORTON JUST TOOK OUT SETH ROLLINS! Orton bails out of the ring, having fulfilled his duty in vengeance, and with every other factor mitigated, it’s all down to Seth and John as they slowly get to their feet. Both realizing the scenario, they scramble towards the ladder, climbing up opposite sides and BRAWLING ATOP THE LADDER… BUT WAIT A MINUTE! WAIT! BROCK LESNAR IS HERE, READY TO DECIDE THE FATES OF HIS POTENTIAL CHALLENGERS! He charges to the ring, wrenching Cena off the ladder for an F-5! Seth looks down, stunned, and before Brock can do anything else, he RIPS DOWN THE CONTRACT!
Seth Rollins def. John Cena (26:20) to become the Number One Contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Title
Rollins tries to bail out of the ring, but Brock’s there for him too, grabbing his new challenger by the belt for a HUGE GERMAN SUPLEX, AND NOW AN F-5 ONTO A CHAIR! LESNAR HAS LAID WASTE TO CENA AND ROLLINS, BUT THE CENATION LEADER JUST LOST HIS OPPORTUNITY AT A REMATCH WITH THE BEAST! HE MAY HAVE WON THE WAR AGAINST THE AUTHORITY, BUT THE HEARTBREAK CONTINUES FOR JOHN CENA!

I've had them for a couple years and they continuously disappoint. Adobe Atmos sounds good during movies, but during games the sound cuts in and out. Sometimes there's no game sound at all. Your phone Bluetooth will disconnect immediately after connecting. It will literally stay on even if you turn it off. My microphone light will not go off. I don't know what to do to turn it off other than push the button.... And if one person's using a headset on a console, another person can't use their headset on the same console during the same game, if you're playing co-op couch potato style.

I've seen people post their stories about Record Suspension (but the most recent I see is 1 year ago; one I found helpful was 3 years ago).
Allow me to share my recent experience, I hope you find it informative.
In total, it took 13 months. I had one charge, I've lived in two cities (my hometown where the conviction was from, and my current city for the past 3 years).
Getting Started and Gathering Documents:
-I did not start gathering the necessary documents until exactly 5 years after my probation had been completed (like, I went to get fingerprinted for the RCMP check on the 5 year anniversary). I believe I could have started getting the paperwork together earlier and submitted the application to the PBC at that time but I was slow. That's January 2023.
-The RCMP check was processed and mailed-out (for $89) by mid-January 2023.
-My current city fills out the Local Police Check only by mail with payment by bank draft ($87). They received it in early February and mailed it at the end of March.
-My hometown police had the process entirely online (in 5-7 business days, $76), I received that in mid-February 2023
-For the Court Information Form, my hometown court was difficult; they have an undeliverable email address and they never answer the phone. I was only able to get it done by having my parents go on my behalf in early February (I made up a little letter authorizing it). They completed the form by mid-March ($20, only payable in-person by debit).
Problems with First Submission:
I submitted the application in late March (by registered mail) and they returned in to me in early May (by regular mail).
-Problem #1: My hometown police force was not the one that I was thinking of. I lived in suburban outskirts of a city (policed by RCMP) but was arrested and taken downtown by city police. As such, they wanted the Local Police Records Check from my local RCMP rather than the city police.
My local RCMP had no online/remote option (unless I mailed notarized permission for my parents to do it). I was visiting my hometown anyways so I got that in mid-June ($74)
-Problem #2: The date of conviction on the RCMP system's records was wrong (I didn't notice this, it didn't occur to me that that's something they'd have wrong).
They do not reply to ccrtis-scictr@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or answer the phone. I tried asking my nearest RCMP detachment to no avail. The PBC call center said that the only way to correct it would be to get a certified copy of all my court documents in order to verify that the court form's date was the real date. (ie. the burden was entirely on me to prove to the feds that the information entered on their database was wrong). So I also did this in-person in my hometown (copies from the court were $24 and were mailed out in 2 weeks).
-Some good news: there was a better solution for Problem #2 all along. In May, while I was feeling lost and struggling to contact the RCMP, I decided to call up the phone number from my Local Police Check form (from the city police who'd handled it online). The officer from the city police heard my predicament and told me he'd correct it (I emailed the Court form, he emailed back that it was fixed). I wasn't convinced that this would work (which is why I went ahead and got the court documents anyways).
Not wanting to have any details wrong, I called PBC one more time before re-submitting the application. This time, they directed me to the specific person who'd reviewed my first application; she checked on her computer and saw that the date on the police record had been corrected. (So it turns out they actually have the capability to correct and verify such details digitally).
Finally Processing: They received the application in late June, acknowledged receipt (and took payment) in August and finally completed the processing in February 2024.

All in all, it's an almost-punitive, byzantine process. It's an insight into how disjointed Canadian bureaucracy is (the entire task starts with them having centralized digital databases but you are made to spend your time+money to collect pieces paper verifying what they could already know). The exact cost and difficulty of the process ultimately depends on which cities you've lived in (if I didn't have the privilege of helpful family members and conveniently-timed travel plans then this would have been more costly).
That said, I wouldn't urge people to get costly agents/lawyers, there's nothing difficult about the process except how frustrating it is.

I'm gonna give people a rundown of Welsh politics and why Vaughan Gething might lose a motion of no confidence in the Senedd tomorrow.
Let's wind the clock back a bit. Mark Drakeford has announced he's stepping down as First Minister. Jeremy Miles and Vaughan Gething have both gotten onto the leadership ballot.
Scandal #1: The Donation
For context for all of this, Welsh Labour rules state that the maximum amount of spending by any candidates in the campaign is £20,000.
During the leadership election, it emerged that Gething had accepted an enormous £200,000 donation from millionaire businessman David Neal. David Neal had been previously convicted in 2013 of illegally dumping waste on a conservation site. He was prosecuted again four years later for not removing it. His company, Resources Management Limited, is currently subject to a criminal investigation by Natural Resources Wales. What's more, it appears that whilst Vaughan Gething was a minister under Mark Drakeford, part of his ministerial portfolio was the Development Bank for Wales, which had loaned Neal's company £400,000. As I understand it, Gething did not have authority over which companies get loans and whatnot.
It is believed Gething got around the spending rules in the leadership election because the rules state that the spending cap applies to campaign materials (leaflets, etc). It is believed Gething potentially hired people to phonebank for his campaign.
Despite all this, he won extremely narrowly - 51.7%.
Scandal #2: COVID Inquiry and iMessages
A screenshot of a group chat from 2020 was leaked to the press recently wherein Gething says "I'm deleting the messages in this group. They can be captured in an FOI and I think we are all in the right place on the choice being made."
If Gething had been deleting messages regarding the discussions around decisions made by the Welsh Government regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, then that means he perjured himself when he gave evidence to the COVID Inquiry saying that he had properly handled data relating to the Welsh Government's handling of the pandemic.
Quoting the Guardian: "It is not the first time Gething has come under fire over Covid phone exchanges. During the Welsh leg of the inquiry in March, Gething blamed a “security rebuild” of his Senedd mobile phone for the deletion of WhatsApp messages from the time of the pandemic, calling it “a matter of real embarrassment”. "
In response to the leak, Vaughan Gething sacked his minister social partnership, Hannah Blythyn (Member of the Senedd for Delyn), alleging she had been the one to leak the messages to the press. Blythyn strongly denied that she was the leak.
The key problem with Gething's claim that he was referring to Welsh Labour Group business when deleting messages, is that if that were true he would have no concern about FOI requests because FOI would not apply to those communications. It would only apply to communications regarding government business.
Shortly following Blythyn's sacking, Plaid Cymru announced they would be ending their power-sharing agreement with Welsh Labour, meaning Welsh Labour is now governing as a minority party with 30 out of 60 seats in the Senedd.
VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE:
The Welsh Conservatives have tabled a motion of no confidence in the First Minister, which is set to be voted on tomorrow.
Currently, there are quite deep cracks in the Welsh Labour Senedd Group. Lee Waters, Senedd Member for Llanelli, on the 1st May in the Senedd Chamber criticised Gething for having taken the donation and for not taking it back, saying this is "not a matter of confidence, but of conscience". Alun Davies, Senedd Member for Blaenau Gwent, quote tweeted the video of Waters saying "And many Labour members agree with Lee."
Today, in response to the Welsh Government U-turning on manifesto commitments to alter school timetables made during the 2021 Welsh Parliament Election, former FM Mark Drakeford criticised Lynne Neagle (another Labour MS) and was repeatedly heckled throughout his response to Neagle by Hefin David, Senedd Member for Caerphilly. David then subsequently stormed out of the Senedd Chamber after being effectively told to shut up and let Drakeford speak by Yr Llwydd (The Speaker).
This spat in the Senedd Chamber on the eve of a vote of no confidence in Vaughan Gething is spelling out that there is simmering tensions in the Welsh Labour Senedd Group.
All it would take is one Labour MS to vote against or to abstain on the vote, and Gething loses the vote.
The vote is symbolic; it will not trigger any formal process in which Gething has to resign. But losing a VONC so quickly into a new First Minister's premiership following a historically popular First Minister in Mark Drakeford is very bad for Welsh Labour indeed. Especially when your biggest opponent is Plaid Cymru, headed by Rhun Ap Iorweth who is a former BBC reporter and because of that is a talented media performer.
All is not well on the Labour benches in Cardiff Bay.

I spent 8 years on the same team and now that I’m 5 years out, I really feel like there was a cult like atmosphere and I wonder if other people experienced this on other teams.
For one, we were all adults but we were supposed to follow specific rules.
-We couldn’t attend classes by other instructors if the directors didn’t like them.
-We couldn’t date anyone else on the team. I ended up breaking this rule but when they found out, I was given two options. I could quit or I could stay but my then boyfriend would never be promoted within the dance company. Again, we are full grown adults. One of the things that was said to me was “you could have chosen anyone to date and you chose someone on the team.” They said other ridiculous things too. Nvm they themselves were married to each other and there were two other couples on the team. And we were paying them to be on the team.
-We had to rent costumes from them to perform in. Even though the majority of costumes they had in inventory were purchased by previous members. They claimed it was a cleaning fee but I’m positive the costumes weren’t cleaned.
Also, there was a lot of pitting us against each other. I was told on multiple occasions that so and so on the team was going to take my place if I didn’t stop messing up. If I received a compliment, it was only to manipulate someone else into feeling inadequate.
There were several occasions I was yelled at for simple mistakes like leaving when I thought rehearsal was over. I got a screaming phone call telling me my particular team wasn’t “dismissed.” I turned my car around and drove back and got yelled at some more when I got there. Me saying “I misunderstood” wasn’t a good enough reason.
The list goes on really. And the reason I feel like it’s cult like is because… despite all the drama and mistreatment, many people stay like I did. Otherwise well adjusted adults putting up with crazy behavior. I felt like if I left I would be missing out. Like I needed to be accepted by them. Like they were the authority and not listening to them would lead to exile. And to this day, these people continue to act inappropriately and people stick around. They write off the behavior for some reason.
I didn’t even mention the questionable things that were done by the male director to me and other female company members. Not outright sexual assault but still not appropriate things were said/done.
Is this common? Or do some teams actually function professionally and treat everyone with respect?

Tisishen Part Continued..
I was stuck at my current work at Mao’ye. A mall in the central part of Taiyuan in Shanxi. Coal dust central China. Frequent dust storms leaving me having to wipe the window sills of dust piles collecting. Life felt dry as the air—numb. I never know what I want. Drifting like paper in a breeze.
23 and feeling empty. Left the previous English training center I working at teaching adults. Company started going bankrupt. Boss was an asshole. He was originally from Datong near to Inner Mongolia.
That boss ran the company horribly. Was a coward of a boss. He would watch the cameras and email complaints on my dress code and not talk to me in person. A coward.
When the company was nosediving I got sent an email in the middle of the day stating my job would be terminated by the end of the month. I worked in china as an American. In china most jobs are based on contracts between employees and employers. I was supposed to continue another seven months with my job. The contract was broken when they emailed me saying they could not keep me due to salary. Contracts can be broken due to performance but not due to finance issues. I had already work for them a year on another contract. The law in China states I was due to be paid a year and a half of salary. My boss was such a coward to not speak to me in person and email the letter. I marched in his office and got told to fuck myself. I talked to the labor board at the local government office. I was told was told that I that they would have to pay me a year and a half of salary for breaking my contract.
Those times were rather gray for me. Clouds were heavy like gnats flying around the face. My girlfriend at the time was a stern nurse. The girl made of paper. She stayed beside. My fortress. Put up for adoption by her family in Henan. Where her adopted mother would put her hands in scolding hot water for punishment. She marched into my boss’s office and created a storm. He refused to budge. A few days later when the labor office contacted him he was willing to keep me for the rest of my contract. The labor office said that because my job was offered back I could not be paid if I left my job, as it would be my choice at that point. Frustrating. My wife had her uncle’s boss contacted from Taiyuan to go into the office. She had some influence in the area. She threatened to look over various certificates to get the branch in trouble. My boss did not budge. I decided to just go ahead and leave this English training center for teaching adults. I went for a new company that paid more passed in the Moye mall on the other end of the city. Now I would be teaching children again like I used.
Is this all I am? A server?
It makes me think of a time right before I met the woman made of paper. Stern from her experiences. A fighter. I like fighters.
I met fighters before. Reminds me of a story. A story I hold deeply to my heart. There was a woman named Ming. I met her through surfing on WeChat nearby searching for people looking for others nearby. Older by a few years. Met and became acquainted over messages.
Christmas tree lights in my head
Perched to be exploited…
Balloon with the air let out
Hissing all the time… because it whines
The inferno in me wants me to burn
Because it feels right
Christmas trees lit are under pressure—they know if they dry up the whole building will be in flames
So you have to be festive when you decorate—and avant-garde with who you decorate with
Maximalist at heart with pleasure
Nomads tend to wander to find a better part of the steppe
With a phallus as a Swiss Army Knife,
Paddling in northern China building a trench
22 year old Midwesterner with psychosis looking for a frigate to save him from the deep end
Impulsivity a catalyst for losing everything
I don’t care if you’re married, if you have a tunnel you can help me in the trench
Two staged rocket—
Already psychotic
Be a Launchpad
So I can get even further from earth
Ripple through the galaxy like I got a mission—
Even if it’s delusional
Another N1
Get myself on disconnect in the vacuum
Even if I come down Iike napalm.
I met Ming because I needed her and she needed me-even if she was married. I was 23 and without security. MY first job that I forgot from my boss Ryan was insane at times. Working without a visa for a company was unbearable. I felt obligated to my boss at that time he promised he could solve my issue if I worked hard for him. And I did. He was a bit corrupt too and not the greatest. Always offering going to brothels with people to make deals happen, including trying with me too. I never went. I did work hard for him though. I wanted to escape my predicament and he knew all the right people to contact to fix my problems if I met my obligations. Obligations could mean being asked to go to another training center to work part time and gather their curriculum for my school.
It felt unstable not knowing when I could get arrested or taken away. Made Ming a perfect connection to come across. I needed a friend that brought stability. She was a radio broadcaster in the city. Extremely wealthy. She would take me on outings eating delicious cuisine in the city or among weekend trips to interesting places nearby. I consider her one of the greatest friends I had. Because of her it was getting to meet other connections at outings with friends at KTV and clubs in the city. Like rhizomes growing out of a tree. Sustainability. It led to more rhizomes of connections. Something I want to talk more about. But I need to move the clock a bit. To the start of this ramble.
I was working in Maoye. I was on a legal visa at this time. My colleagues were not legal. They were often Slavic. Russian, Ukraine, and other Slavic nations. We had an office in the building setup on a third floor of a large mal with various classrooms for the foreign teachers to teach in. They would generally have a Chinese teaching assistant to help them in the classrooms. I taught students from pre-k age to middle school there.
In the middle of the setup of the floor layout was a large open office. I would sit and plan lessons and grade amongst the Chinese staff and foreign teachers. One day I grep of plain clothed officers came into the facility. They were checking on teachers on the wrong visas. The Russian teachers and others often could not fluently speak English or qualify for the correct visas—they didn’t meet the right requirements for work visas and would be on other various kinds of visas. They stormed in and I remember my Russian friend hearing the commotion tore his shirt with his logo on it and threw it on the ground in a rush. He ran shirtless down a stair well nearby flinging the doors open. Fear, anger… got to fill their class schedule while they are all out hiding.
Final Taishen
I met Chang’e. Do you believe in the transplanting of thoughts? I do. Like pollen.
My thoughts can transplant and Change can do the same too.
Mania got me again. I wrote a poem when I was younger to express it.
Feeling bold and exacerbated
Maybe I am just high strung
Ricocheting off these walls like bumper cars
A sparkler burning hot and bright
Popping off like roman candles
I am not always calm, but I am high,
A kettle left on the burner and forgotten,
Watch me melt away into my ecstasy
Where I dance and scream all in one
I’ll hit peak when crisis comes.
I hadn’t been sleeping. I took a second English teaching job and was seeing attending to seeing different people besides Ming.
Ming was kind and always took me on nice dinner dates. I didn’t have to worry about expenses and felt secure.
I was back on my smartphone looking and fishing for people nearby. Chang’e came in as a breeze from Luoyang to meeting a relative in Taiyuan.
Chang’e was working for a boss in Taiyuan. She would go on the WeChat application looking for men nearby. Flirt to get them to meet her. Like moths in dark they get to the lights:
Useless as a glass door. You can peek through. Pigeon-toed. Drained an ocean to fill insecurities. Uncomfortable thoughts ricochet in me. Like an ambush. Giddy when disappointed. I build trenches amongst the tripwires of life. City feels like a tsunami. Manners like a bloated tick. Sipping the veins from any limb around me. As a stranger to a moth, a porch light pulling. Desolate in lost thoughts. Nights awake and bunkering in hotels. Soft in my voice, I hopscotch to hands—falling through like particles of sand. With enough friction to set off an atom bomb. To radiate right through me, and hollow my marrow. Amongst open nerves I can feel something, so I play with the pain. No matter how annoying.
As particles I transplanted through to her screen as we lay in our separate beds in the city. Mania makes me dumb. We flattered away. Fused as particles.
Her intent was for me to arrive at a designated location to drink and eat late into the night—11:00 p.m. With this given location I would be taken down like an elephant via poachers—that was the intent. At the location I was to be given an outrageous bill for the service and if I did not pay a group of big men would use their physical presence to get me to pay.
When I met her at the given location outside the door. I knew the tricks. I tested her. Asked if she would be willing to eat at another location.
She thought she would eat me and I thought I would eat her. My test was asking her to go to another place at the KTV nearby where I knew somebody that worked there—a karaoke location—the LED lights shining and me and her staring at the direction of them.
She hesitated and insisted on the location next to us. I said I had to go—before I left to contact if willing in the future to go to the KTV.
Where a perpetual hydrogen bomb would go off on our fused particles.
………. Final
The End
Her name was Lily. She wanted to be a princess. Or that is what she said all the time. Kind of hope she was joking. But I have the same problem. She kept talking about peaches and their rising cost. She was a host for live streaming . She was Korean but was cosmopolitan. She spent time in america going to school and aside from English she also learned to speak Japanese fluently .
She wanted to know if peaches were of a similar price back in america. Small talk is necessary or it can feel claustrophobic. Agonizing.
I was viewing and felt agony. Like so many do. I needed more and better than the life I felt.
Imagine calling 988 for a bit of help. You are isolated and all alone in your predicament. Where is the support? Why I get a robot on the line talking to me telling me to wait—where are the humans?
Alienation n the chamber of life. That is my life as Taishen.
Lily and her viewers provided a sense of community that I did not have. And it appears she was a contact with Chang’e via streaming that I did not know.
I am just Luo feeling alienated and climbing over the wall to get some needed assistance. Comfort amongst cold—sanctuary—hope. I was staying in Zhengzhou at this time. Originally from the flower city of Luoyang in Henan—a central province of China. I was working at the Foxxconn factory—where parts of the IPhone were made—largest iPhone factory based in China. I have to ear to feed my family like anyone else. I have a 7 year old daughter being watched by my mother in law in Luoyang—my wife was working in guangzhou at a factory. I never get to see my wife. I had feelings she might be in a relationship with a man in guangzhou. How can she be blamed? She has no love around. Her just like I don’t. If my wife is with another I might as well do my best to find connection. To stay afloat. Brushing gifts to a live streamer. I was even starting to pick up on new languages like Japanese, English, and Korean by doing it. My life was a trap. I must work to bring security to my wife who cannot bring security to me. To leave her would cause me to lose face and I would rather die than face that. Life can never be ordinary for me.
The days and habits of finding a sanctuary on an iPhone that I had to slave away and make amongst my unhappiness was a cruel punishment for just being me. I always am the victim. I’m unable to deceive myself to be happy. Nobody to hold me—I am a fish out of water. I feel the tension pull me like hooks trying to rip me into confetti—I am sure some would applaud at the sight of me being gone.
News and gossip of a virus running around like a plague. From Wuhan. Amusing as my former love came from there when we met in university. She left me like everyone else. I need Freon like a freezer to cook the hate off I feel inside me. I blend in my feelings of worth and self until it spatters as something abstract and abhorrent—like mold on a wall.
Aside from live stream hosts, I found an escape smoking hashish and going to the local brothel with colleagues. I ventured further and further from recognizing who I am. And the news of COVID had only made it worse. And n my hometown near Luoyang they put dirt and and tree trunks to block the roads to keep people from coming in and going out. I went along like getting stuck in thorny bushes and my calves left burnt. The factory became like a firecracker left held in hands pointing up to the sky. Like there is a thing like hope. There is none—gone like air out of a balloon. My fate was stolen away.
Security wanes no matter the solidity of the rock—just take enough rain to form a flood to erode—like banks as paper—pretty on the outside but not secure when the money is all gone.
Within the factory we were not receiving our allowances like we did before. Amongst stress of Covid and its unknowns we became like fish in a shrinking pool of water—agitated and biting each others scales. Abrasion. Friction. An unleashed turmoil to become a tsunami of emotions. Class felt like an overhead lamp causing the eyes to go red and burn.
Cases popped up like sprouting trees with rhizomes. When we wanted our own rooms we were told it was not a possibility. Healthy stuck with sick like classes mixing—a metaphor of it all—anger soar like geyser. Covid became a judicial sentence. Amongst a couple months before the banks failed and people could not get the money they put in. Large sums! And when the anger rose it set off the codes on our phones. Everyone must show their status. If one was positive for Covid their icon was red to indicate level of restriction—one must stay home regardless if the food that came from the government was fresh or if it even ever came at all. Green was good. But soon if you criticized the banking failure your code was red to keep one quit. The virus was the police—a means to shut up somebody like a baton. And the batons would come at the factory. Causes soon that political red of a dot was mixed with the green to allow infection to the healthy, which mean the baton of the government saying the worth of us—we were meant to shut up and is our part at the factory and ass caged dogs. Like the paper banks—when the money ran out the codes were sent to red to keep mouths homes while plain clothes cops beat the working class in the name of the communist party. Our party became paradoxical as the sickle and hammer—as it became more of the baton to make the money run and build the iPhones that make happy elites in Beijing who couldn’t care about zhengzhou. Like ants escaping the confines of an anthill drowning in the rain. Popping like bubbles in anguish.
Everything was blended in this world. Even Lily was not who she seemed. But I rather save that for another time.
The bubble was extended and the people left the confines of their residents on the company grounds despite orders that all must stay within due to COVID. Enough had formed for rebellion. Outside on the grounds the workers threw rocks, bottles, and metal fence at security in to shut them up. The batons came. iPhones were out to record what was happening. The image was bad and the workers were paid to leave the commotion and uprising as a means of saving face.
Heaven’s mandate was showing—the promise that all would be in order from the authority provided over all—no natural disasters—and I could smell flood water in the future. Beijing was not so efficiently coupled to Henan. And the security provided was looking like a facade—like glowing skyscrapers pointing at heaven—but in reality most of the buildings had nothing inside of them—bubbles to burst like the agitation felt at Foxconn.
Lily was a facade—Lily was actually Chang’e putting a show on iPhones, with perpetual hooks extending like a limb from the screen for men to bite on. Money like a work for hungry sparrows everywhere—a curse running through the zeitgeist of the time—and it was looking like the concrete was crumbling around the barriers to keep floodwaters out.
I want to laugh at the thought of small talk on peaches—the irrigation dug to make land fertile was looking more like the weapon to cause immense harm—there was a contagion besides COVID—the act of treating others as an end instead of ends to themselves—agency lost. It the slap of reality was going to come like a comet wiping extinct the good and the bad—as the water would come and cause the loss of life. In Shangqiu a girl of paper was abandoned by parents in poverty while some officials sent their kids to school abroad with sports cars—one of those princesses ran over someone and even thought heaven made him too perfect to face Justice. Something was wrong and scarily felt like it just begun.

Tisishen Part Continued..
I was stuck at my current work at Mao’ye. A mall in the central part of Taiyuan in Shanxi. Coal dust central China. Frequent dust storms leaving me having to wipe the window sills of dust piles collecting. Life felt dry as the air—numb. I never know what I want. Drifting like paper in a breeze.
23 and feeling empty. Left the previous English training center I working at teaching adults. Company started going bankrupt. Boss was an asshole. He was originally from Datong near to Inner Mongolia.
That boss ran the company horribly. Was a coward of a boss. He would watch the cameras and email complaints on my dress code and not talk to me in person. A coward.
When the company was nosediving I got sent an email in the middle of the day stating my job would be terminated by the end of the month. I worked in china as an American. In china most jobs are based on contracts between employees and employers. I was supposed to continue another seven months with my job. The contract was broken when they emailed me saying they could not keep me due to salary. Contracts can be broken due to performance but not due to finance issues. I had already work for them a year on another contract. The law in China states I was due to be paid a year and a half of salary. My boss was such a coward to not speak to me in person and email the letter. I marched in his office and got told to fuck myself. I talked to the labor board at the local government office. I was told was told that I that they would have to pay me a year and a half of salary for breaking my contract.
Those times were rather gray for me. Clouds were heavy like gnats flying around the face. My girlfriend at the time was a stern nurse. The girl made of paper. She stayed beside. My fortress. Put up for adoption by her family in Henan. Where her adopted mother would put her hands in scolding hot water for punishment. She marched into my boss’s office and created a storm. He refused to budge. A few days later when the labor office contacted him he was willing to keep me for the rest of my contract. The labor office said that because my job was offered back I could not be paid if I left my job, as it would be my choice at that point. Frustrating. My wife had her uncle’s boss contacted from Taiyuan to go into the office. She had some influence in the area. She threatened to look over various certificates to get the branch in trouble. My boss did not budge. I decided to just go ahead and leave this English training center for teaching adults. I went for a new company that paid more passed in the Moye mall on the other end of the city. Now I would be teaching children again like I used.
Is this all I am? A server?
It makes me think of a time right before I met the woman made of paper. Stern from her experiences. A fighter. I like fighters.
I met fighters before. Reminds me of a story. A story I hold deeply to my heart. There was a woman named Ming. I met her through surfing on WeChat nearby searching for people looking for others nearby. Older by a few years. Met and became acquainted over messages.
Christmas tree lights in my head
Perched to be exploited…
Balloon with the air let out
Hissing all the time… because it whines
The inferno in me wants me to burn
Because it feels right
Christmas trees lit are under pressure—they know if they dry up the whole building will be in flames
So you have to be festive when you decorate—and avant-garde with who you decorate with
Maximalist at heart with pleasure
Nomads tend to wander to find a better part of the steppe
With a phallus as a Swiss Army Knife,
Paddling in northern China building a trench
22 year old Midwesterner with psychosis looking for a frigate to save him from the deep end
Impulsivity a catalyst for losing everything
I don’t care if you’re married, if you have a tunnel you can help me in the trench
Two staged rocket—
Already psychotic
Be a Launchpad
So I can get even further from earth
Ripple through the galaxy like I got a mission—
Even if it’s delusional
Another N1
Get myself on disconnect in the vacuum
Even if I come down Iike napalm.
I met Ming because I needed her and she needed me-even if she was married. I was 23 and without security. MY first job that I forgot from my boss Ryan was insane at times. Working without a visa for a company was unbearable. I felt obligated to my boss at that time he promised he could solve my issue if I worked hard for him. And I did. He was a bit corrupt too and not the greatest. Always offering going to brothels with people to make deals happen, including trying with me too. I never went. I did work hard for him though. I wanted to escape my predicament and he knew all the right people to contact to fix my problems if I met my obligations. Obligations could mean being asked to go to another training center to work part time and gather their curriculum for my school.
It felt unstable not knowing when I could get arrested or taken away. Made Ming a perfect connection to come across. I needed a friend that brought stability. She was a radio broadcaster in the city. Extremely wealthy. She would take me on outings eating delicious cuisine in the city or among weekend trips to interesting places nearby. I consider her one of the greatest friends I had. Because of her it was getting to meet other connections at outings with friends at KTV and clubs in the city. Like rhizomes growing out of a tree. Sustainability. It led to more rhizomes of connections. Something I want to talk more about. But I need to move the clock a bit. To the start of this ramble.
I was working in Maoye. I was on a legal visa at this time. My colleagues were not legal. They were often Slavic. Russian, Ukraine, and other Slavic nations. We had an office in the building setup on a third floor of a large mal with various classrooms for the foreign teachers to teach in. They would generally have a Chinese teaching assistant to help them in the classrooms. I taught students from pre-k age to middle school there.
In the middle of the setup of the floor layout was a large open office. I would sit and plan lessons and grade amongst the Chinese staff and foreign teachers. One day I grep of plain clothed officers came into the facility. They were checking on teachers on the wrong visas. The Russian teachers and others often could not fluently speak English or qualify for the correct visas—they didn’t meet the right requirements for work visas and would be on other various kinds of visas. They stormed in and I remember my Russian friend hearing the commotion tore his shirt with his logo on it and threw it on the ground in a rush. He ran shirtless down a stair well nearby flinging the doors open. Fear, anger… got to fill their class schedule while they are all out hiding.
Final Taishen
I met Chang’e. Do you believe in the transplanting of thoughts? I do. Like pollen.
My thoughts can transplant and Change can do the same too.
Mania got me again. I wrote a poem when I was younger to express it.
Feeling bold and exacerbated
Maybe I am just high strung
Ricocheting off these walls like bumper cars
A sparkler burning hot and bright
Popping off like roman candles
I am not always calm, but I am high,
A kettle left on the burner and forgotten,
Watch me melt away into my ecstasy
Where I dance and scream all in one
I’ll hit peak when crisis comes.
I hadn’t been sleeping. I took a second English teaching job and was seeing attending to seeing different people besides Ming.
Ming was kind and always took me on nice dinner dates. I didn’t have to worry about expenses and felt secure.
I was back on my smartphone looking and fishing for people nearby. Chang’e came in as a breeze from Luoyang to meeting a relative in Taiyuan.
Chang’e was working for a boss in Taiyuan. She would go on the WeChat application looking for men nearby. Flirt to get them to meet her. Like moths in dark they get to the lights:
Useless as a glass door. You can peek through. Pigeon-toed. Drained an ocean to fill insecurities. Uncomfortable thoughts ricochet in me. Like an ambush. Giddy when disappointed. I build trenches amongst the tripwires of life. City feels like a tsunami. Manners like a bloated tick. Sipping the veins from any limb around me. As a stranger to a moth, a porch light pulling. Desolate in lost thoughts. Nights awake and bunkering in hotels. Soft in my voice, I hopscotch to hands—falling through like particles of sand. With enough friction to set off an atom bomb. To radiate right through me, and hollow my marrow. Amongst open nerves I can feel something, so I play with the pain. No matter how annoying.
As particles I transplanted through to her screen as we lay in our separate beds in the city. Mania makes me dumb. We flattered away. Fused as particles.
Her intent was for me to arrive at a designated location to drink and eat late into the night—11:00 p.m. With this given location I would be taken down like an elephant via poachers—that was the intent. At the location I was to be given an outrageous bill for the service and if I did not pay a group of big men would use their physical presence to get me to pay.
When I met her at the given location outside the door. I knew the tricks. I tested her. Asked if she would be willing to eat at another location.
She thought she would eat me and I thought I would eat her. My test was asking her to go to another place at the KTV nearby where I knew somebody that worked there—a karaoke location—the LED lights shining and me and her staring at the direction of them.
She hesitated and insisted on the location next to us. I said I had to go—before I left to contact if willing in the future to go to the KTV.
Where a perpetual hydrogen bomb would go off on our fused particles.
………. Final
The End
Her name was Lily. She wanted to be a princess. Or that is what she said all the time. Kind of hope she was joking. But I have the same problem. She kept talking about peaches and their rising cost. She was a host for live streaming . She was Korean but was cosmopolitan. She spent time in america going to school and aside from English she also learned to speak Japanese fluently .
She wanted to know if peaches were of a similar price back in america. Small talk is necessary or it can feel claustrophobic. Agonizing.
I was viewing and felt agony. Like so many do. I needed more and better than the life I felt.
Imagine calling 988 for a bit of help. You are isolated and all alone in your predicament. Where is the support? Why I get a robot on the line talking to me telling me to wait—where are the humans?
Alienation n the chamber of life. That is my life as Taishen.
Lily and her viewers provided a sense of community that I did not have. And it appears she was a contact with Chang’e via streaming that I did not know.
I am just Luo feeling alienated and climbing over the wall to get some needed assistance. Comfort amongst cold—sanctuary—hope. I was staying in Zhengzhou at this time. Originally from the flower city of Luoyang in Henan—a central province of China. I was working at the Foxxconn factory—where parts of the IPhone were made—largest iPhone factory based in China. I have to ear to feed my family like anyone else. I have a 7 year old daughter being watched by my mother in law in Luoyang—my wife was working in guangzhou at a factory. I never get to see my wife. I had feelings she might be in a relationship with a man in guangzhou. How can she be blamed? She has no love around. Her just like I don’t. If my wife is with another I might as well do my best to find connection. To stay afloat. Brushing gifts to a live streamer. I was even starting to pick up on new languages like Japanese, English, and Korean by doing it. My life was a trap. I must work to bring security to my wife who cannot bring security to me. To leave her would cause me to lose face and I would rather die than face that. Life can never be ordinary for me.
The days and habits of finding a sanctuary on an iPhone that I had to slave away and make amongst my unhappiness was a cruel punishment for just being me. I always am the victim. I’m unable to deceive myself to be happy. Nobody to hold me—I am a fish out of water. I feel the tension pull me like hooks trying to rip me into confetti—I am sure some would applaud at the sight of me being gone.
News and gossip of a virus running around like a plague. From Wuhan. Amusing as my former love came from there when we met in university. She left me like everyone else. I need Freon like a freezer to cook the hate off I feel inside me. I blend in my feelings of worth and self until it spatters as something abstract and abhorrent—like mold on a wall.
Aside from live stream hosts, I found an escape smoking hashish and going to the local brothel with colleagues. I ventured further and further from recognizing who I am. And the news of COVID had only made it worse. And n my hometown near Luoyang they put dirt and and tree trunks to block the roads to keep people from coming in and going out. I went along like getting stuck in thorny bushes and my calves left burnt. The factory became like a firecracker left held in hands pointing up to the sky. Like there is a thing like hope. There is none—gone like air out of a balloon. My fate was stolen away.
Security wanes no matter the solidity of the rock—just take enough rain to form a flood to erode—like banks as paper—pretty on the outside but not secure when the money is all gone.
Within the factory we were not receiving our allowances like we did before. Amongst stress of Covid and its unknowns we became like fish in a shrinking pool of water—agitated and biting each others scales. Abrasion. Friction. An unleashed turmoil to become a tsunami of emotions. Class felt like an overhead lamp causing the eyes to go red and burn.
Cases popped up like sprouting trees with rhizomes. When we wanted our own rooms we were told it was not a possibility. Healthy stuck with sick like classes mixing—a metaphor of it all—anger soar like geyser. Covid became a judicial sentence. Amongst a couple months before the banks failed and people could not get the money they put in. Large sums! And when the anger rose it set off the codes on our phones. Everyone must show their status. If one was positive for Covid their icon was red to indicate level of restriction—one must stay home regardless if the food that came from the government was fresh or if it even ever came at all. Green was good. But soon if you criticized the banking failure your code was red to keep one quit. The virus was the police—a means to shut up somebody like a baton. And the batons would come at the factory. Causes soon that political red of a dot was mixed with the green to allow infection to the healthy, which mean the baton of the government saying the worth of us—we were meant to shut up and is our part at the factory and ass caged dogs. Like the paper banks—when the money ran out the codes were sent to red to keep mouths homes while plain clothes cops beat the working class in the name of the communist party. Our party became paradoxical as the sickle and hammer—as it became more of the baton to make the money run and build the iPhones that make happy elites in Beijing who couldn’t care about zhengzhou. Like ants escaping the confines of an anthill drowning in the rain. Popping like bubbles in anguish.
Everything was blended in this world. Even Lily was not who she seemed. But I rather save that for another time.
The bubble was extended and the people left the confines of their residents on the company grounds despite orders that all must stay within due to COVID. Enough had formed for rebellion. Outside on the grounds the workers threw rocks, bottles, and metal fence at security in to shut them up. The batons came. iPhones were out to record what was happening. The image was bad and the workers were paid to leave the commotion and uprising as a means of saving face.
Heaven’s mandate was showing—the promise that all would be in order from the authority provided over all—no natural disasters—and I could smell flood water in the future. Beijing was not so efficiently coupled to Henan. And the security provided was looking like a facade—like glowing skyscrapers pointing at heaven—but in reality most of the buildings had nothing inside of them—bubbles to burst like the agitation felt at Foxconn.
Lily was a facade—Lily was actually Chang’e putting a show on iPhones, with perpetual hooks extending like a limb from the screen for men to bite on. Money like a work for hungry sparrows everywhere—a curse running through the zeitgeist of the time—and it was looking like the concrete was crumbling around the barriers to keep floodwaters out.
I want to laugh at the thought of small talk on peaches—the irrigation dug to make land fertile was looking more like the weapon to cause immense harm—there was a contagion besides COVID—the act of treating others as an end instead of ends to themselves—agency lost. It the slap of reality was going to come like a comet wiping extinct the good and the bad—as the water would come and cause the loss of life. In Shangqiu a girl of paper was abandoned by parents in poverty while some officials sent their kids to school abroad with sports cars—one of those princesses ran over someone and even thought heaven made him too perfect to face Justice. Something was wrong and scarily felt like it just begun.

I've been getting ENTJ on MBTI tests consistently for many years, but I recently took a functions test that said I should consider ENFP (please no) or ESTJ. I'd be curious to see what other people think, even if I'm still fairly sure I'm ENTJ, and will probably stay fairly sure.
• How old are you? What's your gender? Give us a general description of yourself.
22 years old, female, graduate student with a Bachelor’s in Theatre History. In general, I see myself as pragmatic and slightly reserved (and the people closest to me agree), but I’m outwardly very playful, so a lot of people don’t necessarily see that at first.
• Is there a medical diagnosis that may impact your mental stability somehow?
I’ve got anxiety, which means I can be prone to thought-spiraling sometimes, often against my better judgement. I also definitely display signs of ADHD and autism, but I don’t really have any desire for an official diagnosis right now, because it takes time and money that I could be spending on other things that are more immediately important.
• Describe your upbringing. Did it have any kind of religious or structured influence? How did you respond to it?
Without getting too much into details, my personality didn’t mesh well with my dad’s personality — he’s not very organises, which really bothered me, and we both have strong, stubborn personalities. I also remember being very curious as a child and wanting to discuss things (particularly books, movies, etc.) in a comprehensive and critical way, which he didn’t really understand. I got along a lot better with my mum, since we’re both type-a personalities with similar interests. However, she’s a more conflict-averse than me, whereas I’ve found as I’ve grown up that I’m very able to have a respectful argument without feeling sensitive after, even if I receive constructive feedback.
• What do you do as a job or as a career (if you have one)? Do you like it? Why or why not?
I’m a graduate student right now, and I’m really enjoying the opportunity to delve further into particular areas of research that interest me and develop a more comprehensive understanding of them. I’m also really enjoying the opportunity to take more initiative in my own research — an idea that scared me at first, but that I’ve found incredibly rewarding.
• If you had to spend an entire weekend by yourself, how would you feel? Would you feel lonely or refreshed?
I do enjoy having time to myself — it gives me the opportunity to do what I want at any given moment without having to think about how others might feel (usually for me this means being able to watch video essays in communal spaces, talk on the phone at any time of day, and sing whenever I feel like singing.) However, I think I’d get bored after an entire weekend alone — I really value time to myself, and I understand the importance of having that slow, thoughtful time, but I think too much of it would leave me bored, understimulated, and frustrated.
• What kinds of activities do you prefer? Do you like, and are you good at sports? Do you enjoy any other outdoor or indoor activities?
I don’t really like most team sports, because I’m not great at them, but I have a lot of different hobbies. I spend a lot of time reading or watching things that make me think, and I try to do yoga at least a few times per week. I’ve also been trying to get back into some more creative hobbies (writing and music), but I often struggle to get past the initial hurdle of perfectionism, and find myself bogged down in details.
• How curious are you? Do you have more ideas then you can execute? What are your curiosities about? What are your ideas about - is it environmental or conceptual, and can you please elaborate?
I would say that in general I’m a very curious person, and I definitely come up with more ideas than I can execute (I usually know which ones I will or won’t execute, though). I find that my thoughts are usually more conceptual, but I do find that I’ve also been thinking more about my immediate environment as I get older. I’m often curious about developing a more comprehensive understanding of periods of history that interest me, learning new languages, and being able to interpret literature and theatre. However, I find that lately I’ve also been thinking a lot about my past, the ways it’s impacted me, and the ways I’ve grown and developed personally over the past few years.
• Would you enjoy taking on a leadership position? Do you think you would be good at it? What would your leadership style be?
I think I’d like to take on more leadership positions in the future, even if it would be kind of a new experience for me. I think I’d be good at it in the sense that I have no problem taking charge, and that I have a strong organisational zeal. However, I worry about whether other people will listen to me — I find that I’m naturally a bit overzealous, which tends to put a lot of people off, so I learned to overcompensate by being TOO chill, which is a habit I’m trying to get out of. I’d like to find a balance between the two, even if it’s difficult for me.
• Are you coordinated? Why do you feel as if you are or are not? Do you enjoy working with your hands in some form? Describe your activity?
I don’t think I’m especially coordinated or uncoordinated. I don’t have a lot of hobbies that involve working with my hands — I’ve had a lifelong hatred of craft projects, but I do enjoy cooking and doing makeup, and I’d say I’m reasonably good at both.
• Are you artistic? If yes, describe your art? If you are not particular artistic but can appreciate art please likewise describe what forums of art you enjoy. Please explain your answer.
I would consider myself to be an artistic person. I sing, particularly musical theatre (because it’s what I’m good at, because I love picking apart the songs to find each individual shift in thought, and because I really enjoy having an opportunity to be kind of camp and funny). I also write, and I find that I keep returning to themes of ambition, gender roles, and the effects of upbringing.
• What's your opinion about the past, present, and future? How do you deal with them?
I find that as I get older, I get less and less nostalgic for the past (I’m really not a ‘longing for childhood’ girlie), but I do have a very vivid memory of past experiences, both detail-wise, and in terms of a larger significance in my life. I sometimes struggle to remain present, often because I’m thinking about what I need to do or what I should be doing, but I find that it’s really rewarding when I make a conscious effort to stay present. In terms of the future, I think a lot about my short-term future (often I’m mildly anxious about how things are going to pan out), and I do have ideas of what I want to do in my long-term future and steps I’m taking to get there, but I don’t have a hyper-detailed step-by-step plan, because life is unpredictable and I don’t think that’s realistic.
• How do you act when others request your help to do something (anything)? If you would decide to help them, why would you do so?
I usually help people when they ask (especially friends), and I really like helping people, both because I care about my friends and want them to do well, and because it feels like a compliment when people come to me for advice. As I get older, I find that it’s gotten easier and easier for me to set boundaries if I don’t think I can help someone, which hasn’t always been the case — I’ve often felt pressure to “do it all,” along with the pressure not to make other people angry.
• Do you need logical consistency in your life?
It’s not my absolute top priority, but it is very important to me. Like, I often examine my immediate judgments on things to figure out why I’m treating some ideas differently than others, because it’s important for me to be as reasonable and close to the truth as possible.
• How important is efficiency and productivity to you?
I find that I’m fairly results-oriented, which isn’t always in my best interest. However, as I get older, I find myself slowing down more to do better work, and I don’t think I’m willing to seriously compromise my own well-being or that of others in the interests of productivity.
• Do you control others, even if indirectly? How and why do you do that?
I don’t consciously control others, but I’ve developed a good understanding of code-switching in different social environments to make a good impression (this has taken MANY YEARS of practice). In general, though, I find it easier to adapt myself to the world than to adapt the world to myself.
• What are your hobbies? Why do you like them?
I like reading and watching things that make me think — I really enjoy analysing characters and situations, especially complicated ones. I also enjoy learning languages — it feels like a puzzle to solve, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I also love singing and writing, because I enjoy having a chance to be creative and funny and a bit camp.
• What is your learning style? What kind of learning environments do you struggle with most? Why do you like/struggle with these learning styles? Do you prefer classes involving memorization, logic, creativity, or your physical senses?
I enjoy discussion/tutorial-style learning environments the most, because I often need to talk my ideas out as they take shape. I don’t really enjoy memorisation-based assignments, because they don’t seem useful and I never know how many details I should focus on memorising. If given the choice between a creative assignment or a paper, I almost always choose the paper because I’m too much of a creative perfectionist, and the paper feels safer and more straightforward.
• How good are you at strategizing? Do you easily break up projects into manageable tasks? Or do you have a tendency to wing projects and improvise as you go?
I definitely need to break projects into manageable tasks. For big projects — especially when it’s something I’ve never done before — I usually like to make a list of things I’m going to need to figure out, and another list of potential places I could consult when I’m figuring out the information. I find that if I tackle things all at once, I get really overwhelmed. And often, once I’ve brainstormed, my final results aren’t that far off from my initial idea, even though I’m perfectly comfortable adjusting things along the way.
• What are your aspirations in life, professionally and personally?
I think I’d like to go into academia, since it’s something I feel passionate about and energised by. Plus, I think it would be a good, varied mix of teaching and producing my own work. Personally, I really just want to continue bettering myself and pushing myself out of my comfort zone in new ways (yuck, but I know it’s good for me). And I’d like to make an effort to keep a good network of friends as I grow older, because I know a lot of people don’t do that.
• What are your fears? What makes you uncomfortable? What do you hate? Why?
More than anything else, I think I’m afraid of being inadequate in ways that I can’t change. I get uncomfortable with uncertainty, and with sudden changes in plans, even though I know those two things are very natural parts of life (I’m trying to work on this). I really hate people who are condescending, or hypocritical, or who aren’t pulling their weight in collaborative situations. And I also hate unfairness or unnecessary cruelty.
• What do the "highs" in your life look like?
I’ve usually got something new and exciting to look forward to, and I’m feeling passionate and energised. Generally, I’m intellectually curious, well-supported by my friends, maintaining good work-life balance, and able to see opportunity very easily.
• What do the "lows" in your life look like?
I’m feeling frustrated and impotent, or completely anxious and uncertain. Bonus points if I can’t figure out why I’m feeling that way.
• How attached are you to reality? Do you daydream often, or do you pay attention to what's around you? If you do daydream, are you aware of your surroundings while you do so?
I used to daydream a lot (probably to a degree that wasn’t healthy), but as I’ve gotten older I’ve noticed that I spend more time in the present. I can still get sucked down thought tangents occasionally, especially if I’m trying to get my head around a certain concept, but I’m a fairly present person, and I think I prefer it that way. Of course, I still enjoy designated “daydreaming periods,” such as when I’m listening to music, or right before I go to bed.
• Imagine you are alone in a blank, empty room. There is nothing for you to do and no one to talk to. What do you think about?
I think I’d probably end up coming up with analytical arguments about media I enjoy, or rambling to myself about the history of something I find interesting as if I’m lecturing about it.
• How long do you take to make an important decision? And do you change your mind once you've made it?
I like to look over pros and cons or consult people whose judgment I trust before I make a decision, just to make sure I’m seeing all the angles clearly. But once I’ve made a decision, I’m usually pretty fixed in it.
• How long do you take to process your emotions? How important are emotions in your life?
I think emotions are important in my life, but I often handle them with a degree of healthy skepticism — asking myself if they match up with reality, or asking if I’m being reasonable. I don’t like to believe in emotions if I think they’re unreasonable, so sometimes I think I’ve processed something when I really haven’t. I do like to think and talk about emotions with people I trust, though — much more than I like being in the thick of the emotions themselves.
• Do you ever catch yourself agreeing with others just to appease them and keep the conversation going? How often? Why?
I definitely used to a lot, but I don’t feel the need to as much anymore. I think I just felt insecure about fitting in and wanted to be as well-liked as possible, which led to a lot of social overcompensation.
• Do you break rules often? Do you think authority should be challenged, or that they know better? If you do break rules, why?
I don’t break rules often, but I’m fine to break certain rules and norms, especially if I don’t see a point in them. I think authority should be challenged when they’re wrong, and I’m comfortable having those conversations, but I often tread carefully when giving authority figures constructive criticism, because I don’t want it to backfire on me.

...even without private personal info, at least not at first. They collect certain things like name, address, number, email, your bank and get your signature (on the offer letter because you think it's real). They string it all together while the whole time making it appear to be legitimate! I am the first to be skeptical about anything too good to be true but because I did apply for the job and the name, face on teams and the letterhead and signature on the offer letter seemed on the up and up I thought maybe it was just God answering my prayers....
So I quick applied for a job at Ancestrydna.com through CareerBuilder. The next day I get an email saying that my resume was reviewed and verified for a job and sent me a link for teams to speak to the hiring manager. The teams profile name and picture were of the person they were impersonating who is Brian Donnelly, but they were not sharing any other details. Interview went on for about an hour and he asked legitimate interview questions. After answering the questions, he said to hold on for 5 minutes and that he thinks I did great, and he was going to review everything with the dept. heads. He came back and congratulated me and told me I would get employment documents sent to me. The offer letter came (but not from an ancestry email, it was a Katherine Beck from a Kew School in London, which was a red flag but still possibly legit being that I read they do internships and there is an ancestry location in London) and it was on company letterhead and had the signature of the president of the company Deborah Liu. Like an idiot I signed it and sent it back because his profile info matched and the letter had the correct letterhead and info and even had a disclaimer at the end, lol. Also, I had not been asked for any personal information at this point besides verification of my name, my address, email, and phone number to put in the company database. They asked the question of how I wanted to be pad and how often, said the first 2 weeks would be check then my choice of direct deposit would kick in after. I was told training would be for 5 days and that software and a time tracker was needed so they would send me a check to purchase what was necessary. They emailed me the check (but it didn't come from either Brian or Katherine. It was from a Mario Delgado who was linked to a legitimate company in Mexico, Haven Resorts, which wasn't surprising because he said the check would come from a company that owes them money...so ELABORATE they were) and asked me to use mobile deposit. I reluctantly did because I questioned everything, and this was definitely a red flag. But I had my family crossing t's and dotting i's and so far, there seemed to be nothing too obvious, even with the check. Routing numbers and addresses checked out. I go deposit it (a $1500 check by the way) and I got message that only 272 could be cleared and the remaining wouldn't clear until 10 days later. I let him know and he asked me to send him a picture of the check then said to hold off and that they would overnight an actual check. I thank God that happened because had he told me to go ahead with the deposit or if most of the amount had cleared, I don't know what kind of mess I would have myself in. Anyway, after deliberating with my youngest son who is pretty savvy, he helped me come to an understanding that it could definitely be a scam. I have been trying to reach out to the corporate office of ancestry, but they do not divulge any contact info only addresses but this was time sensitive. So I reported this to the federal trade commission, but they didn't even ask for the documentation or communications I received so I doubt anything's going to be done but man the lengths they will go through just to get a name and address even. The only thing I am worried about is the fact that they have my signature from the letter, but I am on high alert. I also decided to teams him and ask him to provide me with credentials besides a teams chat. He assured me that it was legit but didn't provide me any further info but did provide me with the tracking for the check he was sending, lol. I told him if he did not reassure me this was legit with other proof besides his word, I was ending all communications and since that he has gone dark. If I get that check I will give it to the authorities or someone that will listen and try to do something about this.

My mom texted me this morning, saying photos from my iPhone were being transferred to hers. I have never shared with her my iCloud account nor have I logged in with my iCloud account in her iPhone. We were part of the same family sharing but never shared any album or photos with her. When I asked her for screenshots of her photo library, I find my DELETED photos from 2019-2020 mixed with saved icloud photos being transferred to her iPhone without my authorization, I dont have shared albums nor shared library. I double checked my photos app and iCloud website and most of the photos she’s receiving no longer exist in my photo library or icloud account. Wtf can I do? I updated to 17.5.1 but it didn’t work.

I've never seen anything like this in a terms of service. I use Adobe for just about everything. I was planning on using Adobe's OCR on legal and health related .pdfs, this seems to preclude that?
(B) Data Protection Terms. The Data Protection Terms apply where you provide Personal Data (as defined in the Data Protection Terms) collected from individuals outside of the EEA and the UK and where Adobe is Processing (as defined in the Data Protection Terms) this data at your instruction and on your behalf. The Data Protection Terms are available at: https://www.adobe.com/go/dpt-ww.2.4 Sensitive Personal Information. You agree not to collect, process, or store any Sensitive Personal Information (as defined below) using the Services and Software, except as (A) directly authorized by Adobe, (B) intended by the Services and Software, or (C) governed by the Additional Terms, as applicable. You agree not to transmit, disclose, or make available Sensitive Personal Information to Adobe or Adobe’s third-party providers. “Sensitive Personal Information” means an individual’s financial information, data concerning an individual’s sexual behavior or sexual orientation, medical, or health information protected under any health data protection laws, biometric data, personal information of children protected under any child data protection laws (such as the personal information defined under the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”)) and any additional types of information included within this term or any similar term (such as “sensitive personal data” or “special categories of personal information”) as used in applicable data protection or privacy laws. If you are a Business, you also agree to ensure Business Users’ compliance with this section 2.4 (Sensitive Personal Information).2.5 Transfer of Personal Information. We process and store information in the U.S. and other countries. By using our Services and Software, you authorize Adobe to transfer your personal information across national borders and to other countries where Adobe and its partners operate.

Hello fellow redditors, hope all is well! Going to keep this simple, currently working as a IT systems specialist for a school district where I am essentially the system administrator. Great environment and benefits, our it team is comprised of 5 people (2 managers, 2 specialist and myself), however I feel like I’m not growing quite as much as I used to be and looking for the next step up.
In your opinion do you think my skillset would lean more towards a junior sys admin role or sys admin? I understand it can vary greatly by company however when I look at postings for open sys admin positions they tend to be asking for knowledge in a lot of technologies I do not know yet. My path in IT thus far has been doing technical enterprise support at Comcast, then help desk at the school I am currently at before being promoted to where I am now. I have learned a lot between these few positions, I am definitely a good hands on learner and adapt to technologies pretty quickly. The job I have now is great with work life balance, and I want to find a new gig that has similar benefits, but hoping to find something closer in the 75-80k range (currently 60k). Do you think this is realistic being in the northeast? What recommendations would you give to help sharpen up my skill set a bit more? For context, I did not go to schooling for IT, I have a bachelors in hospitality and tourism management
I’m posting the information from my resume from these last couple roles below, I also have experience with a few previous customer service related jobs as well (hotels, restaraunt etc). Thank you in advance for any help!
SKILLS
Demonstrated technical and customer service experience Help desk support and network monitoring experience Able to work in groups, collaborate in a team environment Successful working in a high tech environment, time management Adaptability to changes and evolving business/tech needs Motivated individual that takes pride in his work
EXPERIENCE
Public School - IT Systems Specialist
July 2022 - Present
Provided network and application support with a variety of operating systems (Windows, Mac, ChromeOS) Utilized MDM platforms to manage device inventory and user accounts (Google Admin, JAMF, Aruba Central, Microsoft 365, Adobe Admin) Oversaw networking equipment, firewalls, servers and associated hardware/applications Evaluated network for security compliance, created and maintained privileged network access implemented applications to improve security needs (ESET EDR, Duo) Provided system administration for security cameras, VOIP phones, building card access and print management systems Monitored network to ensure optimal performance, performed routine system updates and backups
August 2021 - July 2022 (Technology Specialist)
Provided district wide technical support to staff in person and remote Deployment and support of managed devices and classroom equipment Monitored the ticketing system alerts and notifications Created technical support documentation for systems and applications Collaborated with town IT department on shared network services and projects Coordinated with outsourced vendors to support network & infrastructure
Comcast Business Service Assurance Tech 3 (Enterprise Customer Care)
October 2019 - May 2021
Provided advanced technical support for all business products and services:
Coaxial internet, metro ethernet fiber circuits Analog, VOIP (Comcast Business VoiceEdge), PRI & SIP trunking phone systems TV and ancillary products (Wifi Pro, Connection Pro, My Account portal) Maintained and exceeded metric goals (First Call Resolution, Adherence to Shift, ACW) Achieved 90%+ FCR in November of Q1 2020 Utilized multiple software systems/applications to troubleshoot and resolve any tier 1 customer care issues Verified network outages and escalated to appropriate teams to ensure timely resolution (Engineering, Field Operations, etc.) Completed customer follow ups and call backs as needed, manage multiple time sensitive issues at once Partnered with appropriate resources to ensure escalated issues are resolved in a timely manner
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Experience using ticketing systems to track and resolve technical issues Competent using Windows 11/10, Mac OS Knowledge of building computers and assembling components, troubleshooting of various devices Device and user provisioning/management Application/driver configuration & installation Hardware diagnosis and repair

I am fully aware this is reaching, a crackpot theory. The promo for next week showing what it showed might just blow this entire theory out of the water anyway lol. But who else am I going to talk about this with, right? It's probably going to be someone else, this is just for fun lol
I originally posted this as a comment on another user's discussion on whether Dr. Sullivan is actually Angela Waters and Bloody Rose. But I couldn't stop thinking about it.
I am going to sound totally crazy right now. But if you know how the original show went, they made up some absolutely crazy things... keep in mind the leaps this show has made before.
What if - I cannot believe I'm actually saying this lol - what if Dr. Sullivan is actually Rose Waters and Bloody Rose?
It was brought up that Annabeth Gish would be too old to be Angela. But she might not be too old to be Rose in 2024...
Angela Waters was born March 12, 1983 (her gravestone shows this). If she was alive today, she would be 41.
According to the PLL wiki, Rose Waters was born around 1963. I don't think that's quite right. I tried checking the scenes showing her file again, but her personal info isn't on that part of her file. The other way we can get close is knowing Angela and Archie were born March 12, 1983, and we know Rose was in high school with Clanton at the time. If Rose was between 15-18 then when she got pregnant, she would have been born between 1965 earliest, to 1968. Based on those dates, she would be about 56 - 59 at the oldest.
Annabeth Gish, the actress who played Dr. Sullivan, was born on March 13, 1971. She is 53 years old today. The difference between 53 - 56 is only three years. 59 isn't out of the realm of possibility.
We have seen Rose multiple times, yes. At least, in flashbacks. I suspect the homeless woman we saw might not be the real Rose Waters...
But she has even played by multiple actresses already, besides the homeless woman (that actress was Susan Barnes Walker). We saw her played by Jeanette Bonner and Abby Satty. Jeanette played her in 1999, the year Angela died, and Abby played her in the 80s. Obviously, they needed to cast someone younger who looks similar enough to Jeanette to play her in high school. But I will point out, Rose was between 31 - 34 in the 1999 flashbacks. Much younger than now.
Jeannette Bonner is not identical to Annabeth Gish obviously, but Abby Satty isn't identical to Jeanette either. I see enough similarities that I could see Annabeth Gish being considered looking "close enough" to them to be Rose Waters in 2024.
"But how is she Rose? She was Rose's doctor!"
What if they pulled a classic PLL switcheroo? Is it insane? Yes, but we have seen what the original show did. We have new writers, but I mean, first of all Riverdale, second of all, Archie, third of all... we're watching the same show right? We can consider some crazy options may be on the table.
In some crazy way, Rose Waters manages to idk blackmail the original Dr. Sullivan into forcing her to switch places or some crazy PLL shenanigans like that. Some elaborate Mona type ruse. I mean, Mona walked right out of Radley in a nurse's outfit once. In the real world, insane to consider. But in PLL, when Rose stayed in Radley... I also realize how insane it would be for Rose to pretend she is a trained psychologist, but I can't say it's impossible for a show like this lol. I can say perhaps she killed the real Dr. Sullivan and took her place, although, that would leave a hole where there's a third person that filled in the role of Rose Waters in Radley, or the records are somehow fake, so I haven't considered that likely.
Maybe the homeless woman was paid off to pretend she is Rose. Or we go really crazy and start wondering if that was the ultimate fate of the real Dr. Sullivan: losing her mind after being medicated in Radley for years because she was forced or tricked into switching with Rose.
She had no family to visit in the hospital, because they're institutionalized, jailed or dead, even if she wasn't faking her injury. She's annoyed at Imogen for visiting because damn it, she's trying to contact her accomplice Imogen, take the hint and get out! Lol.
It would also, like Principal Clanton in season one, be a relatively easy explanation how A immediately had all their new phone numbers and knew so much about the girls and Rose Waters. She clearly has some pull at the school somehow as well given she was able to call and have Imogen moved from the B class to the A class (lol). Mona got info for the game from Ali's diaries and CeCe learned the game from Mona and Alex Drake learned the game from CeCe and Wren. As long as she's twisted enough to want to do it, Dr. Sullivan is perfectly situated to have learned the game from the past show, being the psychologist.
She controls Imogen's medication prescriptions, which have been too intense or not effective enough lately. She's encouraging Mouse to bring Lola to her. She has encouraged the girls to empathize with a mother's positions more than once, which may be part of therapy, yes, but would also line up with Rose's trauma. She encouraged them to put their faith in "authority" right off the hop, which again could be explained, but that's definitely something Rose and Bloody Rose would want to encourage in these girls who were literally just betrayed by A, who was an authority figure abusing it to torture them...
I am assuming that someone else is her accomplice, probably. There are so many suspects though...
I'm sorry if this sounds unhinged. The original show broke my brain forever after I deduced that the evil twin thing was happening based on overanalyzing that airport scene with Wren.
If she's not Rose, I am certain that at least she has some important information left to give the girls.
Edit: One clue that could go with either theory, depending on her backstory, is Tabby mentioning that she loved Friday the 13th Part 2 and specifically mentions "a psychology student dresses as the killer's mother to save her life". (I will go back and rewatch and edit with the exact quote, but that's the gist of what she said.) Either pointing to her dressing up in the Bloody Rose outfit or perhaps that's part of her backstory, even before the original PLL she dressed up as a killer's mother to protect herself from him, or something. The movie references usually aren't completely random, even if they're not completely literal.
Edit: The limp. If Sullivan's injury was fake, it wouldn't be smart to also fake a limp as Bloody Rose. If the limp is real, maybe the real Anne Sullivan aka homeless Rose Waters was the one that pushed Anne Sullivan aka the real Rose Waters, for ruining her life? And she ran because she knew if Archie was still around he might be coming for her for trying to hurt his mother? But homeless Rose did seem kinda frail so idk if she'd be able to do that much damage... did Bloody Rose always limp, before Dr. Sullivan was pushed? I need to go back... Edit: Bloody Rose is limping when trying to scare Imogen at the bus stop in episode 2, way before Sullivan's accident, so maybe we can safely rule all of this out, assuming that wasn't a hallucination.
Edit: Nicole Fragala was cast as Young Sullivan. If anyone knows how old she is, that might be key.

We have been together for 14 years and married for just about 11 years. We have 3 young kids together (6m, 8m, 10m). We have always kept our finances separate except she is on my checking account because I have bipolar and even though I have been stable it makes me feel better to have the accountability.
Last June I was laid off due to a disability. I have a couple disabilities so finding a job that would accommodate me has been extremely difficult. I also applied for SSDI benefits about 5 months ago. I have no income so I never spend money. I lived off cereal and turkey sandwiches for a year now.
The issue came up a couple weeks ago when I took a major hit to my credit and got an alert saying that my debt had increased by over 5k in 1 month. So I looked at my credit journey and noticed an account that was over $19k+ that I didn’t recognize, so I call the bank and they let me know it was my wife’s card and it’s on my account because I’m an authorized user. So first I took myself off the card so my credit would stabilize. Then I asked my wife about the debt. I had therapy that day with our family therapist and my wife agreed to talk to me about it with her.
My wife has rejection sensitivity dysphoria so I honestly hate conflict with her. She cannot accept advice, criticism, or anything that resembles judgement. I let her know that keeping that much debt from me felt like a betrayal. She said that there is nothing I could have done so she never told me. I did have a 403b account with $25k that I could have pulled before I applied for disability, so I could have helped. She cried a ton and tried to deflect but in the end she agreed to show me her finances.
I had her phone for 5 minutes before she freaked out and took it back and proceeded to double down that it’s not my business and she will handle it. In the short time I got to look over her finances I learned that she had already been in at least $7k CC debt when I got laid off last year. Her debt increased from $7k to $19k between January and May. She has another Amazon credit card with over $3.5k in CC debt. We don’t pay rent, she does not pay any kind of car note, she has some student debt, pays for car insurance which is cheap (we are both safe drivers), and finally she pays for food for the family. She makes about 85k/year.
I feel as this amount of credit card debt is somewhat insurmountable. I looked up cards with 0 interest balance transfer and 21 months to pay off. She ignored the info I sent her and she took a card with a 12k limit and 15 months to pay back.
Other than this we have a great marriage and we are very hands on parents. All three of our kids have adhd and at least one has autism, it can be difficult and she is a fantastic mother. I feel extremely betrayed and now that she refuses to be open with me about it is causing me more anguish. I have started to resent her and honestly do not know what to do about our marriage and the debt. I feel as though this has ruined us financially and at the end of the day I don’t think she ever would have said anything to me had I not found out from the bank. Any relationship/financial advice would be appreciated. Separation/divorce are not options.

my iphone 13's lcd has been malfunctioning for about a year now and just recently it won't turn on at all (no physical cracks or anything on screen, but there were visible green vertical lines on the sides because i used to sanitize my phone with rubbing alcohol without knowing it damages the film on the lcd which resulted to it malfunctioning)
i also looked up online on how much will it cost to replace the lcd and it's around 19k + 2k for diagnosis in an apple authorized service center for the genuine parts, however i am just a student and i don't have the budget to have it fixed
i was also thinking about getting it fixed with a third party one instead as i still don't have enough budget
will it be better for me to wait and save up 20k for a genuine part or have it fixed with a third party one?

https://archive.is/H3pQj
Voters approved a $7.05 million fiscal year 2025 budget in addition to 31 other articles at Annual Town Meeting on Saturday.
However, an article that would have amended Conway’s bylaws to allow non-residents to be appointed as associate board members — but not as regular members — failed after some attendees voiced concerns over its reasoning.
This change would’ve only applied to Conway’s Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. Planning Board member Jeff Lacy explained that passing the article would allow longstanding Planning Board member Joe Strzegowski to continue serving on the board even though he’s moved out of Conway.
Mary McClintock, a former Planning Board member, said she opposed the article because changing the bylaw for one person “sets a very strange precedent.”
“In my eight years on the Planning Board, this did not come up of, ‘Oh my God, we can’t get a quorum.’ We voted on any number of special permits where we had to have a quorum. … That was not an issue, that we didn’t have enough people to actually vote,” McClintock said. “When we needed expertise from someone, whether it was Joe or someone outside, we got that expertise without having that person” be a voting member.
After discussion, the article failed, with 21 residents voting “yes,” 79 voting “no” and six abstaining.
Voters did approve a $7.05 million FY25 budget, which represents a $210,300, or 2.98%, increase from the current year’s budget. Driving those costs are general education increases to Frontier Regional and Conway Grammar schools, as well as increased employee wages to keep Conway’s pay competitive with neighboring towns.
Residents also voted to rescind $1.5 million in borrowing authority approved at the December 2023 Special Town Meeting to pay to fix the extraordinary damage caused by July 2023’s rainstorms, which dumped more rain on Conway that month than anywhere else in the United States.
Residents approved the borrowing authority to pay off deficit spending needed to cover emergency repairs, but the state came through in January with storm damage relief funding to the tune of nearly $1.25 million — one of the highest awards in the state next to Deerfield’s $1.58 million.
“During the meeting when we asked to borrow the money, we stated that if we didn’t need the money we would rescind it,” Selectboard member Christopher Waldo said on Saturday.
“So we’re trying to keep our promise.” A citizen’s petition that was put forward by Frontier Regional School students, seeking to petition the state to lower the municipal voting age to 16 years old, was also passed after 68 residents voted “yes,” 38 voted “no” and one voter abstained.
During Conway’s discussion, some residents were opposed to the idea of 16-year-olds voting in town. However, others voiced their support, including Julia Washburn, who recently moved to Conway from Maryland, where the voting age is already 16 years old for municipal elections.
“In my community Takoma Park, Maryland, [voting] has been great,” Washburn said. “It’s getting them involved in democracy in their lives. A lot of these young people are incredibly interested in what’s going on in their community and getting involved at both the municipal level and at other levels. … We’ve seen nothing but good things at Takoma Park, Maryland with it.”
The measure has been put forward in the four school district towns and passed in Sunderland, but failed in Deerfield. Whately will consider the measure at its Annual Town Meeting in mid-June.
Other articles that were approved include:
■Three Conway Grammar School capital appropriations and one free cash appropriation of $16,000, $20,000, $17,700 and $53,700 for a phone system, video surveillance system, mini splits and the Capital Stabilization Fund, respectively.
■Appropriations of $100,000 to the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund, $100,000 to the Ambulance Stabilization Fund $100,000 for a compact loader, $100,000 for a four-door plow truck and $85,000 for a police cruiser.
■A $9,950 appropriation for a preliminary study of town streetlights by an energy consultant, with the goal of saving money and reducing the town’s carbon footprint.
■The creation of a special fund for the Festival of the Hills and an official town Festival of the Hills Committee, which town officials and current organizers said could cut down on the expenses needed to run the festival as town insurance will cover the event and public safety detail shifts could also be covered. The changes would also ensure the festival will continue to live on as Conway’s premier annual event.
■A land donation from a resident for easements around the North Poland Road bridge. The easements will allow the state to undertake replacing the temporary bridge it installed last year and put a permanent one in place.

I have a disabled child w/incontinence issues. Around his 4th birthday his ped offered to try and get him diapers covered by insurance. A medical supply company called me and quickly brushed me off when they found out he didn't have Medicare. He has the Katie Beckett waiver but its not like Medicare at all. Anyways, that medical care supply told us that our insurance didn't cover incontinence supply. As he got closer to 5 I inquired to insurance "why?" To which they told me that they didn't necessarily know why that they had no previous denial claims (the previous company never tried) but that the only way to know if they did or didn't for sure was to have the pediatrician send a pre- authorization with a cpt code to them to deny or approve the claim.
Which brings me to my dilemma.
I sent my ped a message on the portal requesting a pre-authorization be sent to insurance for diapers due to incontinence. He forwarded that to his offices referral nurse who handles all claims like that. She called me. Tells me, "we don't do pre-authorizations. Your insurance is lying to you. That is not how it's done." I tell her "listen, he will likely be in diapers for a long time, it would be nice to have this covered but if not, ok. I am simply requesting that a pre-authorization be sent per insurance." She replied "In my 35 years of being a nurse it's NEVER been done that way. We order the diapers, you get them!" I told her I didn't want to be stuck with a large bill of diapers since I was sure medical supply diapers are way more expensive than store bought diapers. She said "don't worry about that." I pushed back that I wanted a pre-authorization done and she snootily gets off the phone.
2 weeks later I get a call that there are diapers accidentally delivered to the peds office...I get to the office when I can (it's not super close, def out of the way from my regular travel). The box was shipped in my son's name. And it's been opened (important to note).
We don't use them. Because I know. I know what's going to happen... Do you see where this is going?
The diapers aren't covered.
92 diapers for $160 bucks.
We didn't ask for these. I have records of me in writing requesting that a pre-authorization be sent for these damn diapers and this arrogant nurse said NOPE.
SO REALLY, is that really how it's done? Is it really normal to just order these and stick parents with potentially upwards of $200 diaper bills that won't get them halfway through the month? Or are pre-authorizations normal? Because I can't fathom that this is normal.
And more importantly, WHAT DO I DO? Because I don't think this is on me... Not to mention... The diapers are opened and unreturnable thanks to the pediatricians office.

From the Associated Press:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is telling lawmakers that President Joe Biden is preparing to sign off on an executive order that would shut down asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border once the average number of daily encounters hits 2,500 between ports of entry, with the border reopening only once that number declines to 1,500, according to several people familiar with the discussions.
The impact of the 2,500 figure means that the executive order could go into immediate effect, because daily figures are higher than that now.
The Democratic president is expected to unveil the actions — his most aggressive unilateral move yet to control the numbers at the border — at the White House on Tuesday at an event to which border mayors have been invited.
Five people familiar with the discussions on Monday confirmed the 2,500 figure, while two of the people confirmed the 1,500 number. The figures are daily averages over the course of a week. All the people insisted on anonymity to discuss an executive order that is not yet public.
While other border activity, such as trade, is expected to continue, the 1,500 threshold at which the border would reopen for asylum seekers could be hard to reach. The last time the daily average dipped to 1,500 encounters was in July 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior White House officials, including chief of staff Jeff Zients and legislative affairs director Shuwanza Goff, have been informing lawmakers on Capitol Hill of details of the planned order ahead of the formal rollout Tuesday. But several questions remain about how the executive order would work, particularly how much cooperation the U.S. would need from Mexican officials to carry out the executive order.
The president has been deliberating for months over how to act on his own after bipartisan legislation to clamp down on asylum at the border collapsed because Republicans defected from the deal en masse at the urging of Donald Trump, the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Biden continued to consider executive action even though the number of illegal crossings at the southern border has declined for months, partly because of a stepped-up effort by Mexico.
Biden administration officials had waited until after Mexico’s presidential elections, held Sunday, to move on the U.S. president’s border actions. Mexico elected Claudia Sheinbaum, the nation’s first female leader, and Biden said in a statement Monday that he was committed to “advancing the values and interests of both our nations to the benefit of our peoples.” The two spoke on the phone Monday, although White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to say whether they spoke about the pending order.
“We continue to look at all options on the table,” Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with Biden on Air Force One on Monday evening.
The executive order will allow Biden to declare that he has pushed the boundaries of his own power after lawmakers, specifically congressional Republicans, killed off what would have been the toughest border and asylum restrictions in some time. Biden’s order is aimed at trying to head off any potential spike in border encounters that could happen later this year, closer to the November elections.
For Biden’s executive order, the White House is adopting some policies directly from the bipartisan Senate border deal, including the idea of limiting asylum requests once the encounters hit a certain number. The administration wants to encourage migrants to seek asylum at ports of entry by using the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP One app, which schedules about 1,450 appointments per day.
Administration lawyers have been planning to tap executive powers outlined in Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which gives a president broad authority to block entry of certain immigrants into the U.S. if it is deemed “detrimental” to the national interest. It is the same legal rationale used by Trump to take some of his toughest actions on migration as president.
That has advocacy groups already preparing to challenge Biden’s immigration order in court.
“We will need to review the (executive order) before making final litigation decisions,” said Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who led several of the most high-profile challenges to Trump’s border policies. “But a policy that effectively shuts down asylum would raise clear legal problems, just as (it) did when the Trump administration tried to end asylum.”
The White House is also sure to encounter vocal resistance from many Democratic lawmakers. California Sen. Alex Padilla, an outspoken critic of the Senate’s earlier border bill, said the pending executive order was “just not the solution we need and it’s very incomplete as a strategy.”
Padilla, who was also briefed by the White House on the proposal, wants an approach that works with countries throughout Latin America to address the poverty and unrest that drives migration to the United States. In recent weeks, Padilla has also pressed the White House for executive actions that benefit immigrants and said the message he has heard in return is, “We’re working on it.”
Biden will unveil his executive order flanked by several border mayors whom the White House invited for the announcement. Texas Mayors John Cowen of Brownsville and Ramiro Garza of Edinburg both confirmed their invitations, and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s office also said the White House invited the mayor, but he could not attend due to scheduling difficulties.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who said he was briefed on the plan, said he wishes the White House would have taken executive action a long time ago and said cooperation from Mexico would continue to be critical as the administration implements the order.
“If you think about the logistics, where else can they go?” Cuellar said. “If they’re not going to let them in, where do they go? Do they return them (to Mexico), or do they try to deport as many as they can? We did add a lot more money into ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) so they can deport, but the easiest thing, of course, is just send them back to Mexico. You’ve got to have the help of Mexico to make this work.”
Jennifer Babaie, an attorney at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas, said she would be alarmed if Biden issued formal deportation orders without an opportunity to seek asylum. Advocates worry he may attempt that under the 212(f) provision.
Pandemic-era expulsion authority known as Title 42 had “a silver lining” for migrants because they could try again without fearing legal consequences, Babaie said. But a formal deportation order would expose them to felony prosecution if they attempted again and it would impose bars on legally entering the country in the future.
“This is even more extreme than (Title 42), while still putting people in harm’s way,” Babaie said.
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Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Fatima Hussein on Air Force One contributed to this report.