Busy bee gas stations near me

Hello internet, I need your advice... I will be harsh and blunt so please do the same, I need it
I've been with my bf for almost 3 years, he was a student and I just graduated and got a job, we cannot be married for various legal reasons (not Americans nor in the states).. quickly I got the man pants as I thought it's not right to have him pay since he's got school and has no income.. I paid for everything, we went out almost daily, ate whatever we wanted, I have no friends so he's my friend and bf so i showered him with gifts you're talking musical instruments, high end perfumes, latest gaming sets, gym memberships and so on, eating fancy, parties etc .. Additionally he told me not to make friends because he thinks he should be enough put simply.. that I never agreed on as i believe no such thing as one person knows the answer to everything, let alone a 22 yo still in college, but I shrugged it off...
Sure enough I was correct, we almost got arrested more than 5 times because of his unreliability, i got myself in that situation thinking he knows or surely will know better but no. I got us out of all of those police close calls, I still allowed the situation as I am a very accepting person.. he was always overweight, he put effort in losing some but it regressed which I never thought was an issue for sex but healthwise dangerous so i actively bought him gym memberships that he wasted.. until then i only had eyes for him u know? I started pointing out to him recently in our 3rd year bluntly told him that other men are catching my attention and you need to do something about it.. he shrugged it off,said he needs to work on it and everyday just carried on where the hallmark is us going out eating food.. he kinda tied me doing anything with him, so whatever I do he gets involved, whatever I don't he supposedly wouldn't which helps no body in this relationship cause we sinking together.. explained it to him, he agree. nothing came out.. like if I don't eat he won't if I don't work out he won't if I don't go out he won't...... or puts effort in saying "baby I'll not do A today because you're not doin A" even if he has the ability to do it! Then we both sway off course, this happened so many times that positive goals just became meaningless.. we just entered this bubble where it is what it is
Mentally I need a good conversation and someone who could change my mind, I tried exposing him to joe rogan and others in effort to talk about sth useful but no, if i ask a meaningful question he just shuts down and doesn't engage, later he told he does it bc he doesn't wanna say the wrong things that don't satisfy me but that's in my eyes the whole point otherwise we don't progress, but no.. whenever I face issues and tried to get an input he almost rarely says anything useful tbh, mostly I figure it out..
Sexually the relationship began with me pleasing him without getting anything in return, he is my first irl relationship so i had no experience and i have no friends, he had many experiences, so after a year of getting him off almost daily without him touching me in the process.. I opened up about how it should be reciprocal, only then did he think about it and acted on it.. I gave him points for that.. but I still remember it because it indicated he doesn't care.... as long as he gets his ends meet.. specially since he'd been in relationship unlike me.. I am from a conservative background so I don't know anything about anything I had to look things up.. he blamed me saying I don't know what I like and I should tell him, but I in my mind that's another red flag, because if I knew nothing and I got good, why couldn't he? He has many many friends..older and younger.... that's way better than the one thing u used, internet..
Somehow the role of a mother was imposed on me by him, it began by him addressing me by mom instead of a typical lovers name but I brushed it off, it followed to the sex as he wants to be dominated... I didn't know what I wanted.. I didn't like being addressed a mother at the ripe age of 25 because I already was a caretaker of my family... he knew but still carried on.. I again was like, "whatever okay I guess "
I tried to break it off like 4 times and all were just not accepted by him, he said he loved me and just doesn't accept leaving, kept following me wherever I went, parked in my neighborhood for days, involved his friends..at the time I thought it was cute.... it scared me a bit but I excused him as he always said he's got abandonment issues.. literally the first story he hammered was how all his exes did him bad.. I understood it as a red flag because if he talks shit about them and doesn't acknowledge his own wrongs he can and will do the same to me... which he did and it came out during fights.. I'd wish well and talk civil and he demanded allowances and money and cussed me out.. like our approach was completely different i go by making peace with ppl, being mature, fighting and making a scene helps no one.. ha had no reason to attack me but he still did it anyway....
he told me explicitly that I'm a sugar mama when his brother was around to which I fought back.. when we were alone he denied it... again he denied the fact he demanded an allowance right when i broke it off and blamed his friend, said he made him do it... I take it with a grain of salt man.. his approach is if I confront him he just denies stuff..
At the start i thought he's a gold digger. The first time we broke up he asked me (demanding) I wire him an allowance and wanted money, that was a red flag but I ignored it. The second time I met his brother and Immediately he started talking about how I am interested in funding his brothers business without my consent... fucked up right? At that time I was so shook I kept quiet.. I didn't know better.. I thought I didn't want to embarrassed him infront of his family.. confronted him later and he just brushed it off and apologized...
Anyway.....
He has a good personality, he's friendly, non judgmental, and hardworking.. in my view I think he has a good heart he's just easily swayed due to age, or people.. like I see the good in him more than the bad but the evidence proves otherwise..
Anyway again....
recently he got busy as he got hired, I was able to breath finally and kinda restore my sobriety... because he's just there day and night
This guy approached me, wants to be friends right? The way he did it made my heart flutter.. that never happened with my bf.. the man had me meet his friends too.. they're all good people.. we just meet and talk nothing more but I had a feeling he likes me
A while ago he set up a surprise for me, was supposed to, and I didn't show up because I was conflicted... and out of respect I asked to come to him the following time we meet.. we met near his place, we talked, and I apologized but he was still upset, I offered to compensate several times but he didn't want anything, visibly was still upset, so eventually I offered a hug, and he smiled involuntarily.. so I asked for permission and hugged him...
He kinda dazed off, eyes gone wide then stared at me, out of the blue said no one's home and asked if I wanted to come to his place to get sth he forgot and maybe hang out.. several times actually... man the way he looked at me and how he quickly said that, after a hug made me question whether he wants to fuck tbh, and had me follow him but i just drove off... he called and I managed to excuse myself out of it because the place was shady.. I was surprised tbh because he specifically said many times that we're friends and I'm his friend... like clear friend zoning..
Like I don't know if I'm overthinking it but I think either it was a whim or the guy just wants to sleep with me or actually likes me.. I don't know which is it.. but this situation is happening
Keep in mind the surprise he organized was within a few days from meeting me, and from my bf experience this guy also plays on the guilt tripping cord.. like who throws a big surprise for a girl you just met ? And I've heard him lie, it's indistinguishable.. I confronted him with that but still
Anyway I left and called it a night, because I had this creepy feeling.. so nothing happened..
Next day morning I was wet like a river, that never happened with my bf... my body is responding to this guy perhaps because he's very fit, smells good, talks well, and made my heart genuinely flutter... but I still didn't do anything, and I still don't know if it is me in my head or is it the world right now after that hug thing.. I don't know if I gave mixed signals?? Because he left me no choice and it's just a hug man.... It was like 5 seconds
And meanwhile my bf was acting odd kinda making execuses to not meet, I think because he decided to lose weight for his job so perhaps he doesn't need me anymore..?? To pay for food and whatnot? Man Idk
Listen, I need help, I don't know what to do, part of me thinks the worst of ppl and part of me just ignores all their shortcomings for a few things like genuinty and kindness which in the real world actions are important too.. and I think I've done a lot.. more than I should..
And I don't know what to do.. please advise as u see fit..

I was at a stop there's a car in front and a bus behind me. I was stopped and leaned over to get something from the passenger seat then felt my truck lurch. I put it in park and looked at my bumper bc I wasn't sure wtf happened and my bumper is like torn in the middle like it was hit but when I looked at the bus she just kinda threw her hands up like it was not her. I talked to the car in front of me and he was okay and looked at the bus driver and pointed to a near by business for us to stop. But the Busdriver didn't stop. So we called the police and filed a report. I'm not 100% sure she did hit me, I'm not 100% sure my bumper was not damaged before because this is a vehicle I use for working . I am 100% sure I have not backed up into anything. The coppers said they would look at the cameras and stuff. I said everything as above except that I wasn't sure if she did hit me or not. I'm just worried bc what if I rolled up and hit him on accident? What if the bus did hit me and theres no cameras? The cops asked me and I said I assume she hit me and didn't write the bus hit me on the police report. I'm really nervous this is going to turn into a big deal, should I call the police and just admit fault???

Thoughts that come to my head as I either see bikers that drive in front of cars and nearly miss getting hit. And cars that try to be nice and let me go but can't trust them because they still are inching forward with the chance of still getting hit.
I'd rather ride around the outside of the car each and everytime or just actually wait. Instead of putting my trust into a driver with no sense of awareness.
Just yesterday I was riding down 145th btwn Lenox & 7th in Harlem. And if you know the area there's this gas station with an opening on the block. And I'm usually aware a car might as t to turn in that way or pull out from the station. So it's usually pretty easy to be aware of that.
Something I wouldn't aware of. Is some idiot being parked opposite like more than halfway down the block. And wants to beeline it diagonally across, trying to race pass me to get into the station. After already being parked for however long he was. Then the clown want to look at me crazy when I called him. Like he wanted to get out and fight almost. Point being, I don't trust any driver. You could be the sweetest grandma but when it's bike vs car. Then that grandma is already labeled a shitty driver in my eyes lol.

Hello! So I was pulled over in February 2023 driving back from the gas station for my temporary plates. I bought the car in Iowa, I live in Georgia, and I got a car wash so the paper was all pink and I got pulled over and he asked what was up with it. My tag was fine, but when it came to showing my insurance, he gave me a ticket for no insurance and they impounded my vehicle. I was in between jobs and actually got pulled over and my car towed 7 hours before my first shift and I had to call out. I had to make a decision whether to pay my insurance or my rent that month, and decided I wanted to keep a roof over my head. I paid the insurance the next day maxing out a credit card, and it was reinstated without a lapse and also shows that my insurance policy has been active since October 2022. It expires April but since then I have moved back in with my parents due to high costs and I’m on there insurance (MN) but now I have court next week and I’m extremely nervous as to what to even say to the judge and how to plea my case etc. I really dont want to get my license suspended. (this is the only time I’ve been pulled over other than a traffic stop in 2020) Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Chapter 24: Top Dog
Boys: Shawn
Girls: Heather, Lindsay
Episode 24: Top Dog
"Last time on Total Drama Action," Chris said over a shot of the film lot. "A sweet, surprise package from the outside world left Heather bitter," Heather was shown looking at her jawbreaker with disgust, "and the cast got a taste of life in zero-gravity conditions," the four were seen floating in the space shuttle.
"But all was not well in the universe as Shawn and Courtney continued to spitefully hate each other," the two mentioned were shown making comments at each other.
"In the end, Heather won the challenge," she was shown to be covered in barf, "but lost her sweet smell. Lindsay fixed things between Courtney and Shawn" she, Shawn and Courtney were shown talking, "but lost her chance to stay in the game almost. Thanks to a tiebreaker, Courtney lost the game, but won a Lame-osine ride back to the real world?" She was seen puking into her pot and entering the limo.
"Can Lindsay breathe once more now that she barely got lucky?" The dumb princess was shown in the confessional.
"Will Shawn be able to carry on without his sole alliance?" The conspiracy nut was shown looking at his tinfoil hat.
The scene flashed to Chris in front of the cast trailers. "All this and more, on today's out-of-this world episode of, Total! Drama! Action!"
XXXXX
The episode opened on a shot of the morning sun before panning down to the cast trailers. The camera centered on the girls', then cut inside as Lindsay woke up.
"That was a nice dream I had," Lindsay talked to herself while sitting up in her bunk. "Marshmallow pillows and candy rainbow pieces have never been so tasty."
She soon looked around for a bit. "Where did Heather go? I thought she would be back from showering last night."
The door opened and Heather walked in, though she was looking groggy and tired.
"Where were you all night?" Lindsay asked her roommate. "Were you out on a secret trip thanks to your immunity? Let me guess where you went. The cheese factory, Niagara Falls, or did you go to the mall?"
"Zip it!" Heather shouted. "I spent the entire evening in the bathroom."
"Why did you sleep in there?" Lindsay asked.
"That ghost slash vampire fighting freak soaked the last of the gumbo on me!" Heather complained. "It took me hours to wash the food off and make sure I smelled exquisite."
"I don't blame Shawn for what he did," Lindsay shot a glare at the queen bee's direction. "You made him get into a fight with Courtney. Things could've gotten worse if I didn't solve their problem."
"Shut up, Lame-say," Heather insulted. "That homeschooled reject is going down, and once I deal with him and you, I'll claim the grand prize."
"I have no idea how Amy could tolerate you," Lindsay told her. "You worked with her, sure, but you decided to strategize behind her back just because she had standards."
"Amy and the other contestants mean nothing to me," Heather said. "Just watch your back!"
Confessional: Heather
"I knew I'd make it to the end. Big shocker," Heather filed her nails. "I just can't believe the zombie weirdo and brainless blondie made it. So they may as well just give me the check, I mean come on. I think we all know who's gonna win."
Confessional Ends
Heather yawned and laid down on her bunk. Just then, the trailer door burst open. Chris walked in and promptly and joyfully blew a few notes on a bugle into the room. "Wake up, sleepyheads!" he announced with glee. "Breakfast is served, along with today's movie challenge. You've got ten minutes to get your sorry butts down there!" He backed out of the room.
"I bet today's genre will be "guy in a coma" movie," Heather suggested as she lied down.
"I doubt it, but I'm just going to eat breakfast," Lindsay said before leaving.
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The scene flashed over to the craft services tent. "Wow Chef!" Shawn said in awe as the camera cut to a close-up of his plate as Chef ladled a portion of something that was pale yellow, lumpy, and slightly hairy onto it. "These scrambled eggs actually look pretty good!"
Chef looked at the theorist, then burst out into raucous laughter. "Scrambled eggs," he repeated before resuming his laughter and even falling over.
Shawn shot his food with a worried look and put it back before walking away. "I'll just eat on the leaves I've gathered."
Confessional: Shawn
"The way Chef was laughing made me believe that the scrambled eggs were too good to be true," Shawn confessed. "Or maybe they were poisoned. Or maybe they were drugged with sleeping medicine. But worst of all-"
Confessional Ends
Shawn sat next to Heather, who stopped eating once she saw him. "I gotta say, you smell pretty good," the theorist told her teasingly.
"It's just lavender soap," Heather glared. "I used three bottles of it thanks to your stunt."
"Now you know how I felt when you messed with my mind and got Courtney eliminated," Shawn said. "Zombies may eat brains, but they don't have any control over what they're doing."
"It's always supernatural stuff with you," Heather groaned. "I'm stunned Jo even likes you, but it makes sense. You two are ugly and can't dress fashionably to save your lives."
Shawn furiously got in Heather's face. "She likes me for me, and I won't change myself for her."
Confessional: Shawn
"It's one thing to be manipulative, but to insult my feelings for Jo? That's crossing the line," Shawn ranted. "Like Jo did before, I will make sure Heather loses."
Confessional Ends
The scene cut to Lindsay approaching the serving counter, only to look confused when she didn't see Chef. The cook then lifted his arm up and dropped a ladle of fake eggs onto her tray.
"Scrambled eggs?" Lindsay wondered as she looked at her plate. "It's the second episode all over again." Chef broke out laughing again behind the counter, but he managed to sit back up and wipe a tear out of his eye.
Lindsay sat down next to Shawn. "Hey Shawn. Where's your food."
"A heads up," Shawn whispered. "The eggs aren't cooked well. They're just fake."
"They looked real," Lindsay slid her tray away.
"So anyways, me and you are up against Heather, Lindsay" Shawn told her. "I know what you're gonna say."
"Let's team up and take her down," Lindsay grinned.
"It's almost like you read my mind," Shawn said, "but without being an alien."
Confessional: Lindsay
"Shawn is really cute," Lindsay admitted. "His constant nagging about his theories do bug me and he could really use a shower every once in a while, but I can see why Jo is into him."
Confessional Ends
"What can I do about the eggs?" Lindsay asked Shawn. "Chef will totally kill me with his eyes if I throw it away."
"Leave it to me," Shawn told Lindsay.
Shawn grabbed the eggs with his two hands. He mushed them together and created a ball out of the eggs. Twirling it on his finger for a brief moment, he tossed the ball away and it landed in the pot Chef was using to cook a meal. The cook stopped whistling to see what slipped in, but went about his business without a care.
"I can't believe he didn't even care," Lindsay commented.
"I don't know what Chef uses to make his food, but it's probably leftovers," Shawn said.
"Attention, cast!" Chris said, the camera cutting to him standing on the other side of the tent with a blue-and-yellow macaw perched on his shoulder. It squawked as the three contestants walked up.
"What is that parrot doing on your shoulder?" Lindsay asked.
"That's my new BFFF!" Chris explained with a grin. "Best Flying Friend Forever. That brings us to today's movie genre: the Animal Buddy flic." The three teens gave him skeptical looks.
Confessional: Chris
"You try coming up with twenty-two movie genres," Chris accused in the confessional. "It was either animal buddy, or guy in a coma movies."
Confessional Ends
"The hallmark of any good animal buddy flick is the human-animal bonding," Chris explained as his macaw watched him. "First, the human and the animal start out as enemies. Then, through many misadventures, the animal and human grow to care about each other," the camera zoomed in on the macaw as it seemed to be touched by the host's words, "and become fast friends."
The parrot rubbed Chris' chin affectionately with its head, and the host responded by extending a finger to rub the bird. However, the macaw decided to playfully chomp on the finger and squawked laughingly as the human winced in pain.
"You guys just hang tight for a sec, 'kay?" Chris told the cast with a calm look on his face. He walked off camera, and the castmates watched in mild horror as sounds of an attack were heard. Feathers flew, squawks were heard, and the host yelled "Let go of my coif!"
He walked back into view moments later, brushing the feathers off his shoulder but ignoring the ones in his now-ruffled hair. "So...where were we...?" he asked idly before smiling in realization. "Right! The first animal buddy movie challenge will be to pick an animal and teach it to be just like you," he explained as the camera panned across the wary faces of Heather, Shawn, and Lindsay. "That shouldn't be too hard, since you're all animals." A rimshot played, but none of the cast were amused.
Chris got serious again. "The cast member whose animal most resembles them at the end, wins the challenge." The contestants were shown again, and Lindsay in particular was looking pleased.
Confessional: Lindsay
"I love animals, especially dogs," Lindsay gushed in the confessional. "I even have one of my own. One time, I told my math teacher that his new hair piece looks like my dog's butt. But he totally took it the wrong way. My dog has the cutest curly little butt!" the blonde explained. "It was a compliment!"
Confessional Ends
The footage resumed at a shot of the contestants outside. "Alright cast," Chris announced, "time to meet your future BFFFFFs!" He motioned behind him, where something large and covered in an orange tarp was stationed between him and Chef. "Best Furry, Feathered, or Finned Friends, Forever!" he explained further, earning an eyeroll from the cook as he pulled away the tarp.
The four teens gasped as the four cages were uncovered. The camera focused on each animal one-by-one. First was a brown bear that roared at the cast, then a bigger cage holding a rather agitated looking shark, then a smaller cage holding a raccoon that tried to claw at them, and finally a bird cage holding a chameleon that rolled out its tongue.
"Pick an animal," Chris told the cast, "and get training. You have three hours."
"I got the raccoon!" Heather said immediately, shoving Shawn to the ground and dashing forward towards the small cage before either of the others could react.
Confessional: Heather
"I had to pick the raccoon," Heather reasonably told the viewers. "The chameleon is gross, the bear is huge, and the shark is murderous."
Confessional Ends
The scene returned to Shawn and Lindsay standing with the other animals. "I'll take the chameleon," the blonde said. "If it can change colors, I can't pass that up."
"And I'll take the bear," Shawn announced. "It has a lesser chance of eating me alive in comparison to the shark."
Chris saw that the final three have made their decision and chosen their animals, but noticed that the shark was lonely.
"So it seems they left out the shark," Chris mused. "I paid good money to bring all four of the animals out here, and I won't let any of them go to waste." He thought to himself. "What to do, what to do."
Ezekiel suddenly ran up to Chris. "Hey Chris. I'm here to help judge the animals."
"Ezekiel! Great timing," Chris piped up. "Say, do you want to pet sit for an animal while we wait for the judging part?"
"Uh, sure," Ezekiel agreed. "Which one do I have to watch over?"
"Chef, bring the pet here!" Chris ordered, causing the cook to drag the shark over to the home schooled guy."
Ezekiel's eyes almost popped out. "I have to take care of a shark? They're dangerous looking eh!"
"That's not my problem," Chris laughed while departing. "Just make sure it doesn't try to hurt the other animals. They didn't get picked, so they're sorta jealous."
All Ezekiel could do was gulp at his predicament.
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Heather and the raccoon were sitting on a table. "I don't know if you've been tested for rabies, but I have my eyes on you, so don't try any funny business."
The raccoon snarled at her. "Hey hey! I don't want any trouble. I just want to win this challenge."
Heather pulled out a box of doggy treats. "If you behave, I'll feed this to you." This caused the raccoon to sit up straight, and Heather gave it a treat. "Good."
After devouring the treat, the raccoon held out its paw, causing Heather to awkwardly shake it.
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The camera went to the chameleon, who's colors changed from red to bright yellow. It was supposed to change to Lindsay's hair color, but it didn't obey.
"That's not the color," Lindsay told her animal. "It's supposed to be blonde, not bright yellow. Let's try this again." The chameleon turned dark green in response.
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The scene flashed to Shawn and the bear inside the service tent. "I know something that we share," Shawn told the bear. "We both like food, but the only difference is that I can cook and you can't."
The bear growled at that, causing Shawn to retract. "I'm not saying this to insult you. I'm just saying that I teach you how to cook. That way, you won't have to eat out of the trash can."
The bear smiled in response.
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Ezekiel was looking at the shark still in its tank. He touched the tank with his hand, and after the shark chomped its jaws, he recoiled back in fear.
"You know what I like to do?" Ezekiel said. "Play songs on my harmonica."
The home schooled guy took his harmonica out and played "Ocean Man" by Ween. Just as he was going to get to the third stanza, the shark howled in boredom and pretended to fall asleep by rolling over.
Ezekiel stopped playing to see what the shark just did and sighed. "I know music doesn't kill animals eh. I'm not that naive."
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The scene flashed to Heather and her raccoon lounging about. "I've already taught you manners, but I don't have anything else to do."
The queen bee's face lit up with inspiration. "I know." She lifted up the raccoon. "Want to help me sabotage the others? I'll give you the entire box of treats if you do."
The raccoon thought about it, but complied.
Confessional: Heather
"This will almost be like sabotaging my competition in the ballet competition, only this time, it's on a reality show," Heather said.
Confessional Ends
Lindsay's chameleon was now orange-colored. "My hair looks like it's colored orange, but that's not the case," Lindsay expressed her frustration.
Behind her, Heather had hooked her raccoon to a fishing line. She swung it over Lindsay's head, allowing for the raccoon to use a can of spray paint on Lindsay's hair.
Seeing what color the hair was now, the chameleon turned white.
"That's definitely wrong," Lindsay said while the raccoon resprayed her hair brown, causing the chameleon to turn into that color. "Wrong again!" Her hair got sprayed pink. "My hair isn't even close to pink!"
Not wanting to be exposed, Heather quickly reeled her raccoon back and took off.
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The camera flashed back to the kitchen. The bear was stirring pancake mix and flour in a big bowl as Shawn watched him.
"I work in a bakery, so making cake is my first lesson in cooking," Shawn instructed. "I need to use the bathroom. Keep stirring until I come back."
After Shawn left, the bear decided to search the cabinets for more ingredients. The raccoon, who was under the table, crept from under there and stood near the bowl.
They took out a bottle of maple syrup, and quickly squirted it all onto the bowl. As soon as the raccoon was done, they went back to hiding when the bear came back with the ingredients.
The bear added some sugar into their bowl and resumed stirring the mix, unaware of the syrup. Heather saw her pet return back and they smiled at their sabotage.
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Meanwhile, Ezekiel was bringing a set of books with him. "Alright, shark. I think you'd like to read a story."
He took out "The History of Canada" and turned to page one. "This book is one of my favorites. It describes how Canada was made."
Seeing the book that was picked, the shark silently whined before taking out some earplugs and placing them into their ears. Afterwards, they faked a smile just to show that they're paying attention.
"I knew you'd like the story," Ezekiel looked up from his book, unaware of the fact that the shark wasn't listening.
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A flash took the scene to a stock shot of the film lot before another cut took it to Ezekiel, Chef, and Chris sitting at a judge's table, the contestants and their animal buddies waiting around in front of it. "Alright cast," Chris announced, "time to judge the animal buddies."
"Why does the bear have frosting on their lips?" Lindsay asked Shawn after seeing the animal lick their lips.
"It's a secret," Shawn replied.
"Heather!" Chris called, earning the attention of the mean girl and her partner. "You and your raccoon are up first!"
"About that," Heather walked up. "I didn't teach my raccoon much of anything," she said, causing Chris to frown at her.
Heather soon whispered to her raccoon, and before anyone else knew it, the raccoon sprung up and snatched Ezekiel's crochet hat.
"That's my hat you're taking!" Ezekiel protested as the raccoon returned to Heather.
"But I did teach it how to snatch and grab," Heather said.
Chris and Chef looked at each other and held up two signs with numbers on it. "Ten!" Chris announced with a smile.
Ezekiel revealed his score. "I give it a six personally!"
Heather glared at the boy and hurled his hat at his face.
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"Alright chameleon," Chris said next, "give it all you got."
The chameleon stood on Lindsay's shoulder and turned its color blonde like the girl's hair color.
The three judges clapped and gave Lindsay an eight.
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"Shawn," Chris told the remaining contestant. "Time to see what your bear cooked up." He opened the pot and saw a chocolate cake with maple syrup surrounding it. "Why is there maple syrup?"
"I don't know," Shawn shrugged. "The bear must've put it in as a surprise." He got slapped in the head by the bear. "What? I didn't give you any syrup."
Chef took the first bite. "This is an eight. The cake is good, but it gets hard to scrape off your teeth."
Chris was next. "Nine out of ten. I'd like the dessert better if you had properly planned it out."
Ezekiel was the last one. "Maple syrup goes great with everything," he smiled. "Especially cake. This scored ten points!"
"If it makes us look good, I applaud you for your skills," Shawn complimented the bear.
"Points have been tallied," Chris announced. "And the winner of the first challenge is Shawn!"
"Yes!" Shawn cheered, but noticed Ezekiel still eating the cake. "Uh, Ezekiel, are you gonna share with us?"
Ezekiel stopped eating when he heard him. "It is your cake, so yeah."
"I do get first dibs," Chris grabbed a piece before turning to look at the camera. "Be right back," he said with a wink.
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(Commercial break)
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The scene faded back in to a shot of a dirt road running through some unidentified forest just as a bus pulled up. Its door opened with a hiss, and Chris stepped off. "Here we are gang! Don't you just love field trips?"
Following him off the bus were the raccoon and Heather, then Lindsay with her chameleon on her shoulder, and finally Shawn who had to pull his bear through by the paw.
"The woods? Again?" Heather asked.
"Your next challenge is to find your way back to the film lot," Chris told them as an angled shot of some trees nearby was shown. "A ten mile hike through these woods," the camera panned back to the castmates, "using only your animal buddies to guide you," the host added and the shot moved over to the raccoon, chameleon, and bear as they shrugged in ignorance.
"But be careful," Chris warned. "Several vicious and life-threatening traps have been set up along the way."
"Who would do such a thing?" Lindsay got scared.
"Hint; it's the only guy here," Heather said.
"It wasn't me, so obviously it was you," Shawn accused Chris.
"Correct!" Chris confirmed. "First one back wins invincibility. Shawn gets to shave thirty minutes off his final time for winning the first challenge. Everyone ready?"
"Wait, where's Ezekiel?" Lindsay asked. "And where's that shark?"
Chris chuckled a bit. "They're just spending time together."
\
Ezekiel was standing on a rock supervising his shark. "I only have a couple of hours left before I can go home, and it's just you and me."
He realized that his pet had brought more sharks into the stream of water. "What the heck? Chris never told me I had to watch all of you."
\
"See you all back at the film lot," Chris told them as he took a step onto the bus, "and good luck." He boarded the bus, and moments later the door slid shut and it sped off in a cloud of dust.
The three teens lingered in the area for a moment, then slowly split up. Heather and the raccoon went left, Lindsay and the chameleon went right, and Shawn and the bear stood still.
Shawn saw the girls going their own ways. "I know how to get back. I'm a bit of a navigator," he told her companion, who smiled at the knowledge.
Confessional: Shawn
"If you want to know the inside of my bunker, check it out!" Shawn said before pulling out blueprints and showing his first page. "Entrance chamber with eye-scan entry and remote lasers here, here, and here. And here and here. And here." He turned to the next page. "Master bedroom with bite-proof bedspread and weaponized pillows, and just in case…" the page turned, "this is the panic room." He flipped one last time. "And this is the panic room inside the panic room. Can't be too careful."
Confessional Ends
Heather and her raccoon were shown wandering through the woods and searching around.
"How did Jo manage to do this part of the challenge?" Heather rambled. "It was a stranded episode, but I still don't know which way she went."
The raccoon rolled their eyes, but still followed Heather.
\
The camera flashed to Lindsay walking through the woods. "No offense," she said to her companion, "but I think I should've picked the bear. Shawn must be lucky riding on their back."
Whether or not the chameleon got offended, they turned themselves invisible. "What the? Where did you go? I can't lose you!" Lindsay frantically ran about trying to locate her pet.
The camera moved to show her stepping on a string hidden behind a small shrub. It snapped, and a rock was launched out of a nearby bush by what looked like a small catapult. It hit Lindsay in the stomach, causing her to kneel over.
"Those were the traps," Lindsay wheezed out before collapsing.
Confessional: Lindsay
"One of the things I would've liked to do with my money is spend it on a lifetime supply of lip gloss, but I canceled it because there's more things to value," Lindsay confessed. "Like creating a brand new style of lip gloss."
Confessional Ends
Back with Ezekiel, he was sitting down as he watched the sharks racing each other. He pulled out some cake pieces from the one Shawn and his pet created and proceeded to eat them.
"I should've packed them in a bag if I didn't want syrup in the pockets, but I'll make do," Ezekiel shrugged before a shark swallowed all of his pieces. "Hey! If you wanted a piece, you should have just asked!" he said angrily.
This wasn't the smartest thing to say as the sharks chomped their jaws and went towards his direction.
Not wanting to potentially die, Ezekiel took out the last of his cake slices. "If you want these, go get them!" He threw them far away, causing the sharks to forget about Ezekiel and swim for the cake. "That was close."
\
The camera cut to Heather as he followed the raccoon. "Are you sure you know where we're going?" she asked. "I am not going to lose because of you leading us in circles."
The raccoon growled, but still stayed by her side.
"Of course I'll be upset," Heather replied. "I have plans for when I win the million bucks."
Confessional: Heather
"When I win, I'm thinking of my own spin-off series. The World According to Heather," Heather described it. "Luckily, I'm up against the dimwit and the nutcase. So they may as well just give me the money, I mean come on. I think we all know who's gonna win."
Confessional Ends
"Chameleon, where did you wander off to?" Lindsay yelled as she walked through the woods, "We have to be together so we can make it to the film lot."
The camera followed her to show that she was rapidly approaching a large patch of ground with a suspiciously large number of sticks and branches on it. "Could this be the way home?" As soon as Lindsay stepped onto the odd patch of ground, the branches snapped and she fell with a holler into the pit that had been hidden. "Booby traps!"
\
Shawn and his bear were strolling along. You know," he told his companion, "I can say that I trust you. If you were robotic or built by Chris and the producers, there wouldn't be any trust." The bear giggled happily.
The camera followed them as they came across a pile of leaves. As soon as they hit it, a net seemed to appear in the leaves under their feet and dragged them up in a suspended bundle.
"This isn't good. We have to get down," Shawn mentioned.
Confessional: Shawn
"I never thought I would see the day where I got captured in a booby trap," Shawn said.
Confessional Ends
"I have an idea!" Shawn said as he grabbed some nearby blueberries and gave them to the bear. "You eat as many blueberries as you can. If we're lucky, your increased weight can get us out."
Shawn took out a piece of wood bark carved into a knife. "I'll use this to cut holes into the trap just to help us."
\
The camera flashed to Heather and the raccoon outside a small cave. "I don't think there's a time for breaks," she told her companion. The raccoon snarled viciously and crawled into the cave. "As long as we're quick," she complied and followed her pet.
Inside the cave was the raccoon's surprisingly luxurious den. There was a reading corner, a kitchen, a ping-pong table, and even a big screen TV.
"You guys are civilized?" Heather said in shock upon seeing the den. "This resembles my house, but much smaller." A raccoon walked by and offered her a sandwich from a tray. "One sandwich? I'll take more than that," she said as she took three.
The raccoon, holding a paddle, chirped at her from the ping-pong table. "Ping pong? Like I would pass up on that offer," Heather said before going over.
\
The camera went to the pit Lindsay fell into. She had dirt all over her body along with leaves, her boots were gone, leaving her barefooted, and she was drifting into insanity.
"I'm so hungry," Lindsay croaked out. "What can I eat that's edible?"
She pulled out her lipstick and took the tube off before biting into it. "Tastes just like cherries."
\
Meanwhile, as Shawn was sawing through the net, the bear had its belly and mouth covered from all the berries they were currently eating on. After a few more seconds, the net finally burst and the duo fell into the ground.
"We're free!" Shawn whooped. "Time to get back to the lot."
\
The scene skipped ahead to a shot of the afternoon sun high in the sky, the camera panning down and to the right to show Chris standing alone by the cast trailers. A little ways to the left was a meager finish line flanked by tall red flags.
"Shawn and his bear!" Chris announced as he saw them coming to the lot. "Nice one!" He proceeded to high five Shawn. "You're the first team to arrive, and for being the first one back, you get a guaranteed spot in the final two."
Confessional: Shawn
"Going to the finale!" Shawn whooped with the bear next to him. "Training pets can be a hassle, but as long as they're not your enemies, you can bond well with them!"
Confessional Ends
"Where is everyone?" Shawn asked the host, both watching the woods along with the bear.
"Sure they'll be here any minute," Chris answered while looking at his watch.
"I'm back!" the voice of Ezekiel announced as he entered the scene.
"Where's the shark, Zeke?" Chris wondered.
"It met some friends in the water," Ezekiel described the situation, "or its family."
"As long as a mammal is reunited with their family, I'm cool with it," Chris shrugged.
\
\
The camera panned to the sun as it set, then the moon rose, then the moon set and the sun rose. The shot panned back to them waiting for the remaining contestants, with Chris having grown a large and bushy beard, and the bear asleep.
"Any... minute... now," Chris said weakly, still looking at his watch.
"It's been days," Shawn pointed out. "Maybe we should send out a search party."
"And here they come now!" Chris announced brightly before speeding off screen. The camera pulled back to show Victor and his raccoon and a soaking wet Heather and her fox walking up to the brickhouse.
"Are you guys ok?" DJ asked. "What took you so long?"
"I lost track of time when spending time with Lord Montague," Victor said while gesturing to the raccoon.
"And I wound up taking the wrong river," Heather explained through chattering teeth.
A familiar shout caught their attention and they turned to see Kitsune, now sporting and eye-patch and the parrot on her shoulder, swing into the film lot on a vine. "Argh!" She said in a thick pirate accent. "It be good to be back in me home port."
"Welcome back cast," said a clean shaven Chris. "Better late than never. DJ and his bear buddy easily won the challenge, which means invincibility. DJ gets a free pass into the Final Three."
"Shiver me timbers!" Kitsune cried. "Good job me boy!"
"The question is; Who will join him in the Final Three?" Chris asked. "And who will be the next one outta here? The answer will be revealed on the most exciting Gilded Chris ceremony ev-ah!"
"Now be the time to make the treacherous wench walk the plank!" Kitsune told her allies, who just gave her confused and concerned looks.
"Faith!" Heather groaned. "You're so annoying!"
"Who be Faith?" The goofball asked in genuine curiosity. "I be One-Eyed Foxy, the deadliest pirate on the Seven Seas! And this here's me faithful parrot, Eddie," she added with an affectionate rub of the parrot's head.
"She spent too long in a pit," the parrot explained. "Rawk!"
Heather walked up to the goofball, then slapped her across the face. Kitsune's pupils shrunk and she blinked a couple of times. "Thanks," she said begrudgingly. "I needed that."
XXX
"I must say," Victor said, "this has been one of the strangest few days of my life. At least I do not have to vote for DJ now. And maybe Chris will realize that a mole is no longer necessary"
XXX
[A grand theme played as the camera zoomed in on the amphitheatre. Several film strips of the host's highlights from the previous season flew past the screen, then the camera panned out from a solid gold screen to show a Guilded Chris.]
\
"This is a big one cast," Chris told the four teens from his podium. "DJ's safe from elimination which means the rest of you, are fair game. So," he mined a cat's claws scratching, "sharpen those claws and cast your votes. Someone is going home for the last time."
"Pfft," DJ scoffed. "Sorry girl, but you gotta go." He made his vote, and the screen shrunk into the top-left of the screen.
Kitsune sighed in relief as she made her vote. "Now that's satisfying." She shrank into the bottom-right.
"Like it matters at this point," Heather spat bitterly as she made her vote. She shrank into the top-right.
"There really is one choice," Victor said as he made his vote. He shrunk into the bottom-left.
A close-up of Chris grew from the center of the screen and stopped just before it overlapped with any of the castmates' faces.
"The Gilded Chris goes to..." the host announced. "DJ! And Kitsune!" The screen cut to Chris at the podium. "Heather, since you were the only one who didn't vote for you, it's time for your ride home."
"Finally!" Kitsune cheered.
"And Victor will be joining you," Chris added, causing everyone to gasp.
"But why?" DJ asked.
"Let's just say he had some special caused in his contract that he is now in breach of," the host answered.
"But DJ was immune!" Victor protested. "What would you have me do?"
"I don't know," Chris answered with a shrug. "Maybe sabotage DJ like we told you to," the other three gasped again.
"So Sugar was right?" Heather asked in disbelief.
XXX
"Confession time," Kitsune said. "I kinda knew Sugar was telling the truth. Seriously guys, Victor's a terrible liar."
XXX
Victor sighed and stood up. "I apologize for my actions and I hope that you will forgive me," he told his allies. "Please know that had I not been contractually obligated, I never would have influenced your votes like I had."
"Don't sweat it," Kitsune said with a wave of her hand. "We can't help the things this show makes us do."
"And it's not like you gave anyone an advantage in the competition," DJ added. Victor, upon hearing their words, beamed brightly.
"I'm not okay with it!" Heather shouted. "What was the point in the vote if you were gonna boot him anyway?!"
"Huh," Chris said. "I did not think about that."
"So that means that I can stay and he can go right?" Heather asked.
"Not really, all votes are final," the host explained. "And even so, technically he was disqualified after you were voted off."
"Well you'll be hearing from my lawyers!" Heather threatened.
"Considering that his being here kept you in the game for like three more episode," Chris replied, "I doubt you have a case."
The camera cut to a long distance shot of the film lot as a frustrated growl from Heather shook the screen.
\
The scene flashed ahead to Heather and Victor getting escorted to the Lame-osine by Chef. "You'll be penniless! Jobless! Your name'll be mud on every blog from here to Cape Breton!" Heather yelled back at the host. "You think you were in trouble when Alejandro sued?! I'll make you wish you never met me!"
Victor got in the limo, Heather was thrown in by Chef, and the cook slammed the door shut. It sped off in a cloud of dust, and the shot cut back to the start of the red carpet where the host stood flanked by the two finalists. "DJ! Kitsune!" he announced, putting his arms around their shoulders. The two
Victor got in the limo, Heather was thrown in by Chef, and the cook slammed the door shut. It sped off in a cloud of dust, and the shot cut back to the start of the red carpet where the host stood flanked by the two finalists. "DJ! Kitsune!" he announced, putting his arms around their shoulders. The two smiled brightly at the camera. "The Final Two! One of you will become a millionaire! And the other...will
The host rose his arms and knocked the two down in the process. "Tune in to our most controversial episode ever, of, Total! Drama!
(Roll the Crdits
​
​
(Bonus
The Gentleman and The Queen Bee both sat in the limo in an awkward silence. "So," Victor
"Don't talk to me," Heather
"Pardon me for attempting to dispel the tension," he replied
"Well I'm sorry," Heather said in frustration. "But I just lived through six weeks of torture, the guy I kinda have a crush on is head over heels with the most annoying person on the planet, and to top it all off I was just voted off. By you! So excuse me if I'm ot in the mood to talk. Especially considering if you'd done your job as a mole, I'd still be in the
Victor pursed his lips. "You do realize that even without my vote you still would have been voted off. Also, the fact that the producers had to hire someone to keep you on the show should tell you
Heather opened her mouth but Victor cut her off. "But by all means, continue your sul
16th/15
16th/15th:
13th:
13th: S
12th
11th:
10th:
9th:
8th: Mik
7th: Amney
6th:
5th:
3

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What are White Hat and Black Hat SEO?
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What exactly do White Hat and Black Hat SEO refer to?
In SEO, the terms "white hat" and "black hat" are often used. Simply said, white hat SEO refers to effective SEO techniques that search engines approve, and black hat SEO refers to unethical SEO techniques that violate search engine policies.
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Quality Content:
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Quick Page Loading:
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Keyword stuffing:
Keyword stuffing, which involves hiding content behind code while cramming it with keyword jargon to make it only apparent to search engine crawlers, may have been effective in the past, but search engines have become more advanced. Site owners that violate these rules will pay a steep punishment, and/or search engine authorities may decide to ban the site.
Meta keyword stuffing:
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Link Farming:
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All people enjoy music. There is frequently not enough time to listen to every song on a list and buy the ones you like. Thankfully, music streaming mobile app development has revolutionized how we consume music.
The global user base for music streaming services is anticipated to reach 2.81 billion by the end of 2025. We have an easy user experience and quick access to music thanks to modern technology and app development companies. Mobile devices and blazing-fast Internet connections only reinforce this propensity.
Before, people had to purchase expensive music CDs in order to listen to tunes. To listen to just one song, one needs to purchase the entire CD. MX players were also necessary if you wished to play a CD. Also requiring adequate care were the CDs.
The advent of the internet made life for consumers incredibly simple. Even though there was no copyright violation, music companies and artists nevertheless suffered significant losses as a result of this. Through the internet, people started to freely download and distribute music among their peers.
But times have altered! Running to the tape store no longer provides the same rush. You may use a lot of free music streaming apps to make things even more accessible. Additionally, the music of your choice is available for download online.
India's top online music streaming service is JioSaavn. Saavn, or South Asian Audio and Video Network, introduced one of the best music apps to India in 2006. Back then, it sold material for business-to-business sectors.
The app's user base has grown so significantly that it is now a global digital distributor of Bollywood, English, Tamil, Telugu, and other regional Indian music. However, chose to evolve into a business-to-consumer music streaming service.

Table Of Content

• A Synopsis of the Music Streaming Industry
• Introduction Of JioSaavn
• JioSaavn's Business Model
• Key Partners of JioSaavn
• What Makes JioSaavn a Successful Music Streaming App?
• A Splendid Music Streaming Platform Like Jiosaavn's Technologies
• Cost To Build A Music App like Jiosaavn
• Key takeaways
• FAQS

A Synopsis of the Music Streaming Industry

A global market for music streaming apps has been made possible by the millennial-driven spread of high-speed internet, IoT, and cloud technology.
The market for streaming music and audio has experienced consistent growth and is anticipated to continue to do so. As a result, more and more musicians and businesses choose to have their songs and podcasts aired on music streaming services.
The last 10 years have seen an unimaginable increase in the demand for music streaming services as a result of improved technology enabling individuals to acquire goods and services quickly.
It's also the reason why the market has seen a recent influx of top app development companies like Saavn. Talk about how to create music apps like Saavn, for example. or "How do these apps generate revenue." As you keep reading, the answers will definitely become clear.
Also Read, Top 4 Live Cricket Streaming Mobile Apps In Canada

Introduction Of JioSaavn

JioSaavn is a platform with songs in 14 different languages. Saavn now has the rights to 36 million songs in nearly 15 different languages.
More than 22 million people use Saavn each month. Additionally, those who create fresh podcasts and independent music can upload them to JioSaavn. The search filter is another wonderful function given by JioSaavn app developers. One can use this to filter their search by artist, song, album, radio, and more.
There are numerous songs here that span many genres and tongues. This has been quite useful to them in developing their talent. Users can create a suitable playlist or select from the curated charts and playlists that JioSaavn creates based on their user preferences.
JioTunes is the next feature that is accessible to Jio customers. Users can very easily set caller songs using the JioSaavn app. Numerous options are available for this. If the music isn't already in the list of caller tunes, the user can ask for it to be added if it's not already there.

JioSaavn's Business Model

By 2025, the market for music streaming applications is anticipated to reach $17.50 billion.
According to Statista, 14% of people use paid music streaming services frequently. Saavn's business module is very dissimilar from Itunes'. Saavn purchases rights from record companies and makes money through subscriptions and commercials.
Additionally, it has produced a few of its original programs. For Rs. 120 per month, Saavn Pro subscribers can get uninterrupted, ad-free streaming. Reliance acquired the majority of Saavn's stock in March 2008 and merged with it. Right today, it is worth more than $1 billion.

Subscription-Based Revenue

Users have the option to subscribe and thereby enjoy music without advertisements. As The app JioSaavn is not entirely free. JioSaavn Pro is the name of this. If a user is brand-new to the application, they will receive three months of free JioSaavn Pro access before returning to the standard platform. A portion of the money from these subscription fees goes to JioSaavn.
According to the company's pricing policy, new users are entitled to free pro access for the first three months. After that, you can use the service for a low monthly and annual subscription fee of Rs 99 each. The user must pay and renew the membership if they want to continue using the pro service. Despite not being their primary source of income, this accounts for a sizable portion of it.

Advertising-Based Revenue

In addition to receiving money from subscriptions, JioSaavn also makes money by showing users-targeted adverts. JioSaavn generates income primarily through showing visual and audio advertisements on the app. This digital platform's advertisements bring in more money.
Various brands use the platform to connect with their potential customers and have an influence. On JioSaavn, numerous brands run advertisements. This is only available to customers who haven't signed up for JioSaavn Pro. The app is one of the top choices for marketers to use as an advertising platform because of its big audience and subscriber base.
Also Read, How Much Does It Cost To Create An App Like Netflix?

Key Partners of JioSaavn

To increase its revenue and reach, JioSaavn has partnered with a wide range of businesses in various industries. Here are some of JioSaavn's major collaborators.
Amazon The first music service to launch on Alexa and other voice assistants connected to Amazon was JioSaavn in India.
Android and iOS apps Prior to iOS, it was released originally on Android. JioSaavn has created apps that work on practically all platforms, including Android and iOS.It is now accessible through the Chrome Webshop as well.
Shazam As a result of this collaboration, Saavn's music collection was added to Shazam. Saavn was able to reach a bigger audience as a result.
Customer ratings improved along with the inclusion of new tools and improved experience. Customers got a better music-listening experience because of Shazam's numerous consumer interaction capabilities. They improved as a result of their partnership.
Sony Music, T-Series, Eros, Warner Music, and others are some of JioSaavn's additional partners. Nokia, Samsung, Lay's, General Motors, and other companies are also partners. Each important partner has increased JioSaavn's revenue and assisted in their expansion.

What Makes JioSaavn a Successful Music Streaming App?

Certain characteristics must be considered when creating a music app like Saavn in order for it to stand out from the competition. While some of these are simple and obvious, others elevate the user experience of the app to a whole new level.

Streaming Music from Folders

While it's common knowledge that music apps limit the music that may be played within their user interfaces (UI), they happily accept any audio file that has been saved in any folder on the phone.
The ability of such music streaming apps to play songs that have been downloaded outside is one of its most appealing features. For those who are new to streaming and want to test the waters without sacrificing their own playlist, this function is fantastic.

Music Store Station

Music stores have a huge collection of carefully chosen tunes and audio files that are always accessible. Every streaming service that offers on-demand audio has a music store where users can download songs.

Equalizer for IMusic

There are several presets like Classic, Pop, Rock, etc. accessible, but if someone wants to customize the sound in their own way, an in-app virtual multiband equalization is also available. By including a built-in equalizer, users can adjust the sound output to their preferences.

Music Composition

For a simple and user-friendly experience, every music app offers the option to make playlists, queue songs, and sort favorite tracks. A good music streaming service must offer sufficient organizational tools.

Allied Social Services

By doing so, users can communicate with friends, find out what they're listening to, exchange tunes with others, and interact with communities of like-minded people. The majority of media streamers also give users the opportunity to connect to social media sites.

User Experience

When a user browses through a streaming app, it should be simple to use and have a smooth, informative flow. The characteristics that elevate an app to the next level are by far the user interface and user experience.

Individualized Music Player

People interact with an app on a deeper level when they apply their own unique aesthetic tweaks to it, which fosters brand loyalty. A music player can be made much more user-friendly by adding changes like typeface, color, and dark and bright modes, among other things.

Push Notification

Push notifications deliver the most recent information, such as song releases, new playlists that are already built, etc., as well as social updates from followers and friends.
The user experience for customers is improved by these features, which also significantly increase engagement and scalability. A small player that latches onto the notification bar while the player is active is also provided.

A Splendid Music Streaming Platform Like Jiosaavn's Technologies

You need to grasp how an audio streaming platform that can supply rich and potent audio content is constructed in order to comprehend how to create an app like JioSaavan or a similar music app for Android or iOS.
Every successful music streaming service began by focusing on a particular market niche while using the most basic technological support systems, and it subsequently grew its user base by including alluring features that increase user engagement and scalability.
A number of factors, including data storage, testing, UI/UX design and development, proxy servers, etc., are taken into account while creating music streaming software from scratch. All of a music app's features are made possible by these technical factors.

Key Technological Components of a music streaming service

Database Preservation

You can store and encode an infinite amount of data traffic using Amazon S3's cloud storage facility in a safe and scalable manner.
You'll require an enormous quantity of storage capacity to create your database if you want to create a music app similar to JioSaavan. Your data is safeguarded from dangers and errors because of its architecture for absolute data durability, and you may access it whenever you need it from any system.

Design and development of UI/UX

Making an engaging and simple user interface that improves the user experience is the next step in creating your own music app. The best option to make it successful is to hire app developers. JioSaavn features an appealing UI and is comparatively simple to use.
When you subscribe, it supports 64kbps of audio quality, although 320kbps is supported. If you're a Pro user, you can also download music. With the use of the CEF software framework, Chromium may be integrated with other applications to provide web browsing features and give them access to HTML, Javascript, and CSS.
The UI of the program is built using CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) in the majority of businesses. It is an open-source framework that works with various operating systems, including Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Develop Web Apps

Web applications like JioSaavn are frequently developed using the open-source HTML5 stack. Its APIs are simple to incorporate into webpages on practically all hardware and operating systems, including Android and iOS.
Great-quality media may be carried relatively effectively by an HTML5-based music streaming player due to its high scalability, customization capability, and interoperability.

Model Validation

Both native mobile apps and web applications always go through a thorough testing process where various test cases are examined for perfect functionality.
By implementing a design-centric testing strategy for offline, online, and event-driven test sequences, GraphWalker significantly increases efficiency. Model-based testing patterns are provided by tools like GraphWalker, which allows you to build your tests as graphs.

Servers

Any music streaming program must include proxy servers because they are necessary to transport audio, video, or indeed any multimedia data over the internet.
High-performance open-source web servers with NGINX come with multi-layer security and end-to-end encryption. These are the prerequisites for launching a music streaming service from the beginning. These proxy servers monitor online traffic and filter out malicious and questionable content, serving as an efficient content filter.
However, there are various approaches and audio streaming programs like Vplayed, Contus Vplay, and Wowza that offer you a comprehensive package of all the aforementioned features.

Cost Of Building A Music App like JioSaavn?

A lot of different elements and variables affect how much it costs to produce a music app like JioSaavn.

• Storage
• Web Hosting
• Backend Development and Technology
• Designing

Storage

Storage costs vary depending on a number of factors, including size, transfer rates, management systems, and security procedures. The efficient operation of any service, whether online or offline, benefits from maintaining a well-equipped and structured storage facility. A larger payment will be required for more features.

Web Hosting

Web hosting service providers offer a wide range of features and compatibility options, which also contribute significantly to their price point and are a crucial component of the skeleton of the streaming app.

Backend Technology and Development

The price point of this expense aspect cannot and should not be compromised between using the most recent technology developments and hiring skilled app developers. Any web or native app's backend is extremely important and requires expert management.

Designing

The design serves as the interface between the client and the service, making it just as crucial as the underlying technology. Making the front end intuitive and user-friendly requires strong UI/UX design.
Key Takeaways
The JioSaavn business obtained the rights to more than 50 million songs in 15 different languages. It is an Indian digital distributor of Bollywood, English, Tamil, Telugu, and other regional Indian music as well as an online music streaming service. Their mission was to unite content, commerce, and culture for the benefit of the entire ecosystem of label partners, brand advertisers, and independent artists.
Since JioSaavn is a freemium service, its fundamental functionalities are provided without charge but with restrictions or adverts. Paid subscriptions are required to access extra services including higher-quality streaming and song downloads for offline listening.
And sincerely hope that using JioSaavn as an example will help you create a music streaming application.
Originally published on Hyperlink InfoSystem

Vehicle recovery services offer safety benefits to drivers. When your car breaks down on a busy road, it can be dangerous to try to fix the problem yourself, especially if you are not an experienced mechanic. You can easily find a vehicle recovery service by searching vehicle recovery near me on any search engine. By calling a vehicle recovery service, you can get the help you need to move your car to a safe location, away from traffic.

Sorry for the long text but I feel this needs a bit of context. So I have a 5 year old westie that I've been caring for since she was about 2.5 ish. She's the sweetest dog ever and I love her so much. She's never been formally trained but in general she is very loving, well behaved and doesn't cause me any trouble whatsoever. However, there is one exception, when we are out she will bark like a maniac at any dog that goes by, but that only happens when we are sitting down (like on a bench, or at a coffee shop). When we are walking she is very well behaved and friendly to other dogs 99%, of the time. When I first started taking care of her she used to bark to every dog when we walked as well, but over time this has faded a ton. When my parents had her as a puppy and until 2.5 they didn't let her socialize with almost any other dog on walks because they were afraid of her getting ticks/fleas or parasites. This concern does have some validity as I live in a country where most dog owners don't take proper care of their dogs and don't do prevention. Also in their defense she did get a protozoan parasite when she was a puppy that was a pain to get rid off and we have found a flea on her once even though she gets prevention for those. However, when I started taking here out I felt bad not letting her go near other dogs so I decided to take my chances. I began to let her go near leashed dogs as long as she wasn't barking and the other dog looked friendly and decently clean. Very slowly over time I noticed that she barked at less and less dogs and now we've reached a point where she almost never barks unless the other dog barks first or is showing signs of aggression, and obviously in this situation we just walk away. So the problem is partially resolved, except for when we're are sitting down, there she goes nuts for every single dog. I've been trying for ages to understand if this is based in fear, or excitement, or if she's being protective of me or another reason. Recently I've been thinking that probably it's excitement and a lot of frustration from not being able to go meet the other dog. See when we're walking, we pass the other dog and she knows I'll let her go meet them (most of the time). But when we're sitting, I don't have control over that because I'm not going to get up to go after the people with the dog. So it's up to the other people if they want to bring their dog over but usually they don't because they just going about their own business or she scares them way with her crazy barking and they think she'll be aggressive so they don't come close, which I feel frustrates her even more.
Please tell me what you think the reason for this behavior is and what could I do to help her out? I want her to be calm in these situations and also I'd like to take her out more often but this kinda limits what we can do together.

Hello,
I got my working Visa in order to make my Postdoc at Waseda Univ, I will take my flight from in a few weeks from now.
I have a conversational level in Japanese but never lived on my own in Japan and I have a few questions :
Which part of Tokyo would you advice me to search my apartment in?
I have seen that in might find something in 新宿区, 豊島区 or 文京区 in order to have easy access to Nishi Waseda Campus by walk, bicycle or 東西線.
My budget would be around 7万
I would prefer some quite place and prefer something a bit old with 30sqm rather than something new and small. I also do not mind living in a 事故物件
Would it be difficult to find an apartment in this price range ?
Do you have any recommendation about some place that might be within 30min of bicycle from Waseda Station?
Are there anything I should know about Japanese apartments? for example if it’s better to find an apartment that used gas or one that used electricity etc....
​
Thank you!!

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We’re faced with an emptier week compared with previous ones, but the wait will be rewarded with one of the biggest races of the season awaiting us on Sunday: the Ronde van Vlaanderen, aka the second monument and the biggest of the Flemish races.

Race	M/W	Rank	<	M	T	W	T	F	S	S	>
Dwars door Vlaanderen ME	M	1.UWT				x
Dwars door Vlaanderen WE	W	1.Pro				x
Vuelta Bantrab	M	2.2				1	2	3	4	5
Route Adélie de Vitré	M	1.1						x
GP Miguel Indurain	M	1.Pro							x
Volta Limburg Classic	M	1.1							x
Tour of Thailand	M	2.1							1	2	(+4)
Ronde van Vlaanderen ME	M	1.UWT								x
Ronde van Vlaanderen WE	W	1.WWT								x
Trofeo Piva	M	1.2U								x

• Races in bold offer live coverage
• Races in italic span across multiple weeks
• R = Rest day

Ronde van Vlaanderen

Sunday’s Tour of Flanders is the second monument of the season, and undoubtedly one of the biggest classics of the year… if not the biggest! Especially for Belgian fans, it is considered a near-religious event. It’s a Flemish cobbled classic like the ones we’ve had in the past few weeks… but it’s longer (250 kms for the men, 150 kms for the women), tougher (16 cobbled sectors for the men, 10 for the women) and it has infinitely more prestige than any other race held in this area so far; sadly, it is also the last big Flemish classic, but this might add a layer of entertainment as it will be the last chance to leave a mark for riders who have failed to perform until now.
The men’s course starts in Brugge, and it takes 100 kms to reach the Flemish Ardennes area where all the cobbled sectors are found; the women’s race starts closer to the action, with the first cobbled sectors less than 50 kms into the course. Except for this, the two courses are rather similar and share several key points: the Koppenberg, a short but notoriously difficult cobbled climb coming with about 50 kms to go, and the Oude Kwaremont x Paterberg combo: these two iconic cobbled roads are tackled one after another near the end of the race, and from the Paterberg’s summit it’s a tense 13 kms-long run to the finish line in Oudenaarde. However, unlike- say- the Poggio in MSR, it’s such a tough race that the decisive move could come just about anywhere, so it’s well worth watching from far out.
In the men’s event, Mathieu van der Poel has been the absolute protagonist in recent years- winner in 2020, a close second in 2021 and winner again in 2022. Last year’s win came after a ballsy gamble- he was in front with Tadej Pogačar but the two nearly came to a standstill before the line, as neither wanted to tow the other to the line. This allowed the chasers to catch up with them… but MvdP still won the sprint at the end. In the women’s race, SD Worx (unsurprisingly) had strength in numbers, and this allowed Lotte Kopecky to bring some joy to the home crowds.

Dwars door Vlaanderen

The penultimate Flemish classic is Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen, whose name roughly translates to through Flanders. Compared to other Flemish classics, I’d argue it is a bit less coveted as it was a late addition to the men’s World Tour, and it isn’t even WT for the women; most of its prestige comes from its “last call before de Ronde” calendar spot… which it acquired in 2018, when organizers FlandersClassics successfully lobbied to oust the Three Days of De Panne from this privileged calendar spot.
DDV is a fairly standard Flemish race- it takes place in the area to the south of Gent- the same as Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke and the Ronde van Vlaanderen- and it features 10 cobbled sectors for the men and 9 for the women. Most of them are in the last 50 kms, after the Knokteberg, a short, punchy hill which is often a pivotal point in this race. Mathieu van der Poel is (again) the defending champion in the men’s race, whereas the always cheerful Chiara Consonni won the women’s race last year.

Route Adélie de Vitré

At long last, the French calendar will finally reach Bretagne on Friday: as you may know, the region is one of the most passionate (if not THE most passionate) about the sport in the whole country, and it is set to host plenty of events throughout the year. As with most races held here, the Route Adélie takes place on mostly flat rural roads, although it is not necessarily a sprinters’ race: last year we had a tough edition of this event, marred by bad weather, and Cofidis’ Axel Zingle emerged victorious. Fun fact: this is probably the only race named after a brand of ice cream, made by one of the event’s main sponsors.

GP Miguel Induráin

If you prefer mountains to cobblestones, this is probably not the best week in the calendar for you: Saturday’s GP Miguel Induráin might be a much-needed fix. It is a one-day race held in Navarra, northern Spain, not far from where the Tour of the Basque Country will be held the following week.
The race is named after five-times TdF winner Induráin, who hails from this same region; he was regarded as a formidable “jack of all trades” kind of rider… and the course seems to reflect this: it has several short climbs and fast descents, so it can play out in many different ways. The course has been changed regularly in the past, but the 2023 course is largely similar to the one used for the past couple of years, with many short hills along the route and the last categorized climb, the Alto de Eraul, summiting with 10 kms to go. Warren Barguil won last year.
Fun fact: among past winners of GP Miguel Induráin, we can find Induráin himself, although the race had yet to be named after him.

Volta Limburg Classic

Saturday’s Volta Limburg Classic is a one-day race taking place in Limburg province, the southernmost part of the Netherlands, with some brief spillovers in Belgium too. Unlike the rest of the country, this area is quite hilly, and this race includes plenty of short climbs: it’s Amstel Gold Race territory, although this race’s course is easier overall. Despite its potential status as a prep race for the Ardennes classics, this race usually has a fairly low-tier startlist, with most classics-type riders and teams busy across the border- there will be four WT teams at the start. There’s a women’s race held alongside the men’s- albeit on a shorter circuit: despite sometimes having a better startlist than the men’s race, it is not part of the UCI calendar.
The race shouldn’t be confused with the Ronde van Limburg, a flatter race held across the border in Belgium… although coincidentially the two events had the same winner last year, Arnaud De Lie.

Tour of Thailand (stages 1-2)

The Covid-19 pandemic took a heavy toll on the Asian calendar over the past few seasons, and things are just now getting back to normal. There’s a race that never stopped, though: The Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorns Cup Tour of Thailand… I hope you’ll forgive me if I call it Tour of Thailand for the sake of brevity.
The race begins on Saturday and is set to last six stages overall, after which a women’s race will begin. Unlike previous editions of this race, the stages won’t be concentrated to one small region within the country: the riders will move around, forming a crescent-moon-shaped loop to the north of Bangkok. There’s one thing that has not changed, though: the course of the race is largely completely flat except for a punchy climb next week. After the men’s race wraps up, a women’s race will take place too!
The race is ranked 2.1, meaning that WT teams could participate in theory… although in practice, not even ProTeams will be visiting here. Last year, Polish continental team HRE took part in this race, and took the overall with Alan Banaszek, now at HPH; this year, the startlist will be mostly made up of Asian teams with strong Belgian conti team Tarteletto the only visitor from elsewhere confirmed so far.

.2 races

• New exotic race alert? New exotic race alert! The Vuelta Bantrab is a new stage race in Guatemala, taking place from Wednesday to Sunday, and simply named after its main sponsor, a local bank. The five days will feature plenty of climbing and racing at altitude, with stages 1 and 4 looking the hardest on paper. The startlist is entirely made up of Latin American teams (most of them from the host country), but it will be worth keeping an eye on this race’s results as Colombia’s Team Medellín should bring both Oscar Sevilla and Superman López here!
• The only other .2 race this week is a U23 event, Sunday’s Trofeo Piva. It is the first of many events held in the Alpine foothills near Treviso, one of Italy’s cycling hotbeds, and it’s a fairly challenging event, as it course consists entirely of many laps of a hilly circuit, with a shorter, very steep climb right before the finish line. It is named after a local bank which was the event’s main sponsor for many years, and the name stuck even if said bank doesn’t exist anymore. The defending champion is Italian Martin Marcellusi, a second-year pro at Bardiani.

TV Guide

• GCN will provide live coverage for all the biggest races: Dwars door Vlaanderen (men and women), the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the Volta Limburg and the GP Miguel Indurain. In the US and Canada, the Flemish races should be on FloBikes, which has an exclusive deal with organizer FlandersClassics.
• The Route Adélie will receive a livestream on the organizers’ FB page.
• The Thai national broadcasting service will broadcast the Tour of Thailand live, including via internet livestreams.

Just found out that C. M. Marr on Ferry Road is closing in April after over 50 years. Mr. Marr must be around 90 and is the nicest guy. I think he said he started working in the art business as a kid, maybe on or near Victoria St? He said the building had like 8 floors, each floor dedicated to a different art-related trade. Wish I’d written the story down when he told me, as he’s awfully busy now for chatting. He said he came from a mining family, I think in Musselburgh. Anyway, if you have anything to be framed, you have until 15 April!

PARENTAL TALK: MEETING OF MIYAMURA’S AND HORI’S PARENTS
And thus, Kyosuke died…
It was Summer and as they had graduated from high-school, Izumi, Kyoko and gang had went to the beach as once proposed by Remi. Using this opportunity Kyosuke and Yuriko decided to pay a surprise visit to Izumi’s parents – Iori and Naozumi. They had decided to go early evening around the time when the bakery closed, to visit them at the bakery so that they won’t interrupt their business. But there was a small problem….. Kyouske…..
“AAAAAAH!!!! WHERE IS THAT BAKERY!!!!!”, he screamed in agony as the 45th minute of him trying to locate the bakery passed. But to his rescue came, the one and only, the myth, the woman, the legend – Yuriko Hori! Giving a great speech (lecturing Kyosuke), taking the map from him (taking his phone) and seeing through the mist of traps and codes on the map (trying to understand the weird font Kyosuke uses) she declared -
“We passed the turn to their bakery twice before and we have been walking in the complete opposite direction, darling (you idiot).”
“Yuriko, I can’t wait anymore, I will run towards it, you can come as fast as you want.”, saying Kyosuke took off causing a sonic boom as he ran faster than sound leaving behind all the pleas of Yuriko to stop.
Meanwhile at the Miyamura bakery –
Iori stood behind the counter with a notepad, counting the remaining cakes and going over the day’s transaction once again. Naozumi came back from toilet and asked, “I think you are almost done, I will go and sort everything at the back, I have to set new supplies too….. aaaaah so much work!!”
“Now, now, don’t complain a lot.”, Iori replied.
As she completed her task she someone at the door; customer….. but her mind was bamboozled as she saw a “tall ash colour haired smoking man with a lot of sweat who looks like a mafia” (her interpretation).
Confused, she approached cautiously, she was greeted with a question, “Is this the bakery where Miyamura Izumi works?!”
“Yes…”
“Ah I see, he must not be home, we are the reason after all (he is with kyo-chan)”
Stunned Iori stood frozen, only one thought spread in her mind – HE HAS KIDNAPPED IKKKUN!!!!
“Is Izumi’s father here?”, he asked.
“Yes…” OH GOD HE IS GOING TO ASK FOR RANSOME OH GOD PLEASE NO!!!!
She was about to lose all hope but again, came the great savior Yuriko and said, “Dear, you must not scare your daughter’s boyfriend’s parents like this.”
Daughter’s boyfriend’s parents…. Wait does that mean…
Soon the misunderstanding sorted and Iori took them both to her house, telling Naozumi come from behind. She also packed a few cakes.
Back at the Miyamura household’s living room, Kyosuke sat near the center table staring out the large window trying to light a smoke. Iori and Yuriko were chatting and preparing tea and cakes to be brought out. But before Kyosuke can finish lighting his smoke a cold voice from behind stopped him, “No smoking in the house.”
As he looked back he saw a man with brown hair and familiar blue eyes that screamed only one thing – This is Izumi Miyamura’s father!
They both sat face to face at the center table with and awkward silence surrounding them. Kyosuke took the initiative, “So you know, you have a very brave son, he has been able to survive with Kyoko this long, living with her is like living with a dragon, you never know when you get attacked.”
He said it very casually but saw Naozumi thinking very seriously over it. He got scared for a second thinking how he might react but to his surprise he got a, “You know, Iori is not like that, but I was friends with a girl like that in High-school.”
And so the two past high-school popular boys began discussing with great interest, concentration and dedication – the girls they knew back in high-school. Only to be stopped by the intense stares of their wives.
As the great discussion came to an end and they all sat down and started discussing about everyday things.
Yuriko said, “You know these days we don’t get time at all. That day I saw a picture of mine and Kyosuke when we once went to search for clovers with slightly elder kids. Such great days they were.”
Kyosuke laughed, “I remember, that brown-haired guy who was with us got so angry that he couldn’t find any.”
Iori said, “I used to go hunting for clovers all the time. I met Naozumi during one of my trips.”
Yuriko intervened, “You know the elder girl with us had similar hair to yours…”
Iori said, “oh really, you also mentioned brown-hair, Naozumi has brown hair too, such coincidence….”
They all stopped talking for a second.
Naozumi said in a calm voice, “I bet I can beat you all in finding clover if we went head on today.”
Everyone instantly realized the situation and Kyosuke screamed, “You bet! I can beat you anytime!”
They all started laughing.
“Ahh.. they were such good days. Just carelessly enjoying out time.”, said Iori with a smile.
“Yes, and now we have to worry about our kids.”, added Yuriko.
“I know! I didn’t even know Ikkun had a girlfriend, his friend told me.”, said Iori
“They all grow up so fast, I remember when Izumi was still a child, crying every time he fell.”, sighed Naozumi.
“I don’t know about crying but Kyo-chan sure made Sengoku’s kid cry a lot!”, joked Kyosuke.
Everyone laughed and soon with their tea and cakes their talks ended too.
After a pause of silence Naozumi said, “I love how Izumi blushes every time I mention him marrying Kyoko.”
“I know right! Kyo-chan starts blushing too, though she also starts shouting how we are embarrassing him. I am sure Izumi-kun doesn’t do that, he is such a quiet kid.”, said Kyosuke.
“Oh not at all, he runs away all embarrassed too!”, laughed Iori.
Before they could continue further, they heard the door open and up came Izumi and Kyoko back from the beach, hands filled with bags, a slightly tanned skin and with lots of fun memories. They had decided to come here first and give the souvenirs to Miyamura’s parents, and then proceed to her house. But they were surprised to find all the elders together.
“What are you two doing here?”, asked Kyoko surprised.
“Nothing, just meeting Miyamura’s parents. You know, to discuss your marriage.”, teased Kyosuke.
“Our…. Our…. Marriage?!!”, they screamed together.
Izumi stood blushing at the door confused while Kyoko dragged Kyosuke a out who were followed by Yuriko saying farewell to Izumi’s parents.
“I will give them the souvenirs later! I need to deal with Kyosuke!!”, Kyoko screamed as she went away.
The great parental talk ended with laughs and warmth (and some screams and confusion).
THE END.

Warning: Top 5% Household Income
I (M35) haven't posted before, and thought people might be interested in our family's journey so far (M35, F34, two kids almost 3 and 6 months old). We're based in the South East in Commuter belt territory - 1 hour train into London for work.
This has turned into a bunch of tables more than I expected, but hopefully conveys our journey so far, salary progression, and expenses.
​
Net worth Progression
To note: We bought our first property (2 bed house, commuter belt) in Dec 2015 with £39k (10%) down and £5k to stamp duty, £2k solicitor fees. I borrowed £7k interest free from relatives which I paid back over two years - and my wife had saved her half. Neither of us have had any significant inheritances (<£2k).
We first heard of FIRE thanks to the crypto rabbit hole leading me to Reddit. None of my family had ever really invested - I started DD'ing £100 a month to get used to the ups and downs and gradually got accustomed to it (Probably helped by my small crypto holding crashing and burning multiple times).

Date	Total NW	Pension	Cash	Investments	Property Equity	Mortgage Balance	Notes
Apr 18	£147k	£68k	£4k	£1k	£79k	-£325k	Pensions were always the min 5% + 5% match
Apr 19	£216k	£81k	£22k	£8k	£110k	-£300k
Apr 20	£282k	£89k	£35k	£10k	£150k	-£260k	Kid #1 born June this year
Apr 21	£429k	£139k	£50k	£57k	£180k	-£525k	Moved into a new house in Apr
Apr 22	£494k	£167k	£37k	£82k	£193k	-£511k	Kid #2 born October this year
Apr 23	£665k	£197k	£22k	£99k	£332k	-£498k	House reappraised at mortgage renewal

Despite the big jumps in investments - a very small proportion is in Crypto (£4-6k) - Haven't checked in a while. The majority is in Global All Cap within Vanguard (Probably should look at moving away from Vanguard soon due to the amounts in here), with some in shares in my wife's company (I keep pestering her to sell them but she hasn't yet).
Our mantra early on was to overpay on the mortgage (2 bed) so that we could eventually ladder up. As we became a bit more accustomed to risk, we started investing rather than overpaying.
​
Salaries and jobs
Him: Economics undergrad. Data Scientist in marketing
Her: Maths undergrad. Trainee Accountant in big four to Business Accountant in Retail

Year	Him	Her	Notes
2009	£22k	£26k	Both started work fresh out of uni
2010	£25k	£27k
2011	£31k	£29k
2012	£37k	£30k
2013	£44k	£38k	Newly qualified Accountant for her
2014	£47k	£55k	New job for her
2015	£54k	£65k	First bonus for her
2016	£60k	£67k
2017	£65k	£70k
2018	£69k	£72k
2019	£80k	£75k	New job for him
2020	£105k	£52k	First bonus for him. Maternity for her
2021	£120k	£59k	4 days/week for her
2022	£120k (90k base)	£67k (£60k base)

I now Salary sacrifice enough into pension to get below £100k for tax-free childcare. The new job has had some strong years and hence big bonuses - a lucky move. Base is currently £90k
​
Current Monthly Expenses

Category	Amount	Notes
Take home	-£7500	£4500 him + £3000 her
Mortgage	£2300	Half way through a 10 year fix on half the outstanding at 2.64%. Just redid the other half at 3.99% after 1.69% (ouch!). 28 years left. Has just gone up over £300 as of this month.
Childcare	£600	Thankfully grandparents take turns to babysit 2 days/week. Wife is off one day. 2 days at Nursery. As one turns three and gets 30 free hours, the other will start
Food - Grocery	£600	Averages around £120 per week. Plus formula is about £80/month (Never realised how much it cost as we breastfed the first!)
Food - Takeaways, Meals out, Pub	£300
Insurances + MOTs + Service + Repairs	£150	Yearly: £700 Insurance for 2 cars, £300 for house, £350 for £400k joint life insurance. £600 for services and MOTs
Energy	£200
Council Tax	£260
Holidays	£800	Certainly a splurge of ours
Petrol and Train Journeys	£500	£40 for a London return 2 days/week adds up!
Misc.	£600	Trips out (excl. food), buying stuff we probably don't need, subscriptions, gifts, personal money. Haven't tracked this properly in a while
Investments Direct Debit	£1200	Goes straight out on the day we get paid

A few years ago I tracked every expense. This fell off the cliff at some point, and I can't even blame it on Covid and the kids. I do go through my bank statements once a month so have a rough idea of what we spend. It isn't tracked meticulously anymore though.
We have two cars - a 2018 Astra (55k miles) which we bought from new (our last car in the pcp cycle), and a 2016 Mazda 6 bought in 2021 (110k miles). We financed car after car throughout our 20s (although only 1 at a time) until we learnt about FIRE.
Home improvements have generally come out of bonuses. But bonuses have also been lumped into pensions to get under £100k these past 2 years. Hopefully Home improvements will reduce in the future as we are near finishing the adjustments to the property that we plan on staying in for the next 20+ years.
​
Savings Rate and FIRE
Our savings rate is (£1500 Pensions + £1200 ISAs) / (£1500 Pensions + £7500 take home) = ~ 30% which according to MMM would mean 28 years if we started at zero. This is ignoring bonuses that make it a bit harder to calculate.
Given we have a £318k starting point, I expect we will be at our loose target of £1.2m (giving £40k/year spend at current prices at a 3.3% SWR) by M50/F49, so 14 years to go (Surprisingly, this matches MMM starting at zero at M22/F21). This is assuming 5% Investment Growth after inflation, paying off the mortgage [to make calculations simpler], and no bonuses. At 7% this reduces by 1 year to M49/F48. At 10% growth this reduces to M46/F45.
I am yet to do an assessment on whether we will have enough in ISAs to bridge the gap but don't see it as too urgent. We don't currently fill our ISAs each year - I'm amazed that some of you do despite earning a lot less than ourselves.
In general, we have a great lifestyle with an okay savings rate. I don't think there is anything ground-breaking in here - just following the slow and steady advice. We could cut back and FIRE quicker, but we're living the life we want and saving for it.
Happy to answer any questions.

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Synopsis:
Juliette Contzen is a lazy, good-for-nothing princess. Overshadowed by her siblings, she's left with little to do but nap, read … and occasionally cut the falling raindrops with her sword. Spotted one day by an astonished adventurer, he insists on grading Juliette's swordsmanship, then promptly has a mental breakdown at the result.
Soon after, Juliette is given the news that her kingdom is on the brink of bankruptcy. At threat of being married off, the lazy princess vows to do whatever it takes to maintain her current lifestyle, and taking matters into her own hands, escapes in the middle of the night in order to restore her kingdom's finances.
Tags: Comedy, Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Copious Ohohohohos.
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Chapter 14: Yearning For Stars
Rextros the Black Scar was, incredibly, a man noted for his black scar.
It was his symbol as a survivor. And more importantly, as a winner. He may have a scar, but the man he'd last fought had two broken arms and a big enough gap in his front teeth that he now whistled in between speaking.
Over the years, he'd fought with the best of the worst, turning bars inside out and alleys upside down. As a D-rank pugilist, he regularly left a reminder that of all the mean sods to ply their trade in this land, he was the meanest of them all.
And his reward? His own cozy little forest hideout, complete with a gambling table, a drinks bar and semi-loyal goons. It was everything a good little outlaw wanted. Except that he never wanted to be an outlaw in the first place.
He wanted to be a pianist.
“... Damn … !”
Rextros the Black Scar had no wish to lead his own group of bandits. A cold tent in a damp forest? A dirty camp filled with the stench of a dozen guys who didn't bathe, even though there's a river right next to them?
These weren't the dreams of a normal lad growing up on a farm. But he knew that working the land wasn't for him. His hands were made for more than sowing seeds and milking cows.
It was for playing nocturnes beneath the moonlight, his soul reaching out to gently sweep across the keys faster than his fingers did.
However, that dream wasn't to be.
Once he was old enough that he could no longer sneak his way into fancy bars and ply his budding skills on the pianos reserved for the famous, he knew he had to buy his own. It infuriated him that pianos were the playthings of the nobility. He couldn't even walk into a piano workshop before being tossed out. It was a closed circle for the rich and the few. And that lit a fire in his belly.
So what if the fancy lords and ladies couldn't stomach the thought of a mere peasant like him dirtying their favourite pastime? It wasn't them he'd play for.
Rextros the Black Scar would play for the people.
And he'd play a piano he could move with his heart as much as his hands—a St. Liane baby grand in mahogany red, rolled straight out of the Royal St. Liane Workshop in the middle of the royal capital and onto the bustling street outside.
That was the dream.
A dream which had slid further away with each passing day. The crowns he'd earned from his fights were barely worth the silver needed to hire a sister to stitch himself back up afterwards. And all the callouses on his hands were suddenly around his knuckles and not his fingertips.
Then, like a twisted angel summoned from the lowest abyss, that's when she appeared.
“Rextros the Black Scar. What a dreadfully dull name. It's as if you picked it out from a book of villains. Couldn't you have gone for something more original? The Black Etude, perhaps?”
“Hah? You picking a fight? And what's with that get-up? You hard selling for a casino? I don't gamble, so find someone else to fleece.”
“You say that, but isn't every day a gamble with the law to you? Honestly, however are you going to acquire the funds to buy a St. Liane of all things? You couldn't have picked a more expensive thing even if you tried. Greedy much?”
“... Who are you?! How do you know …”
“Hey, hey, hey. Wanna hear about a get rich quick scheme? Super reliable! Everyone's done it! And don't worry, it has nothing to do with gambling. Unless you want to?”
“D-Don't mess with me, woman! Who are you?! Keep away! I'm no fool—”
Rextros clenched his teeth as he recalled the memory.
He was no fool … Except that he was.
“... Damn … it … all! ...”
He crashed his fist down against his small table beneath his tent.
He'd stopped doing that lately. Firstly, he'd gotten used to the idiocy of his underlings. Secondly, it spilled his crowns everywhere and picking them up from the grass was a pain. If he ever wanted to buy that immaculate St. Liane, he'd need every last crown this rotten venture in poor decision making could get him.
So … how did it all go so wrong?
First it was the type of jobs. They'd started easy. Shaking down couriers and breaking into warehouses. Then they got harder. Not because the couriers got wiser or the warehouses tougher.
It was because he'd pieced together what he'd been stealing—and why.
He'd left in the middle of his last job and never looked back. Not because he had no regrets about running. But because he'd feared he'd see the face of that girl in her casino get-up looking right back at him.
The thought sent shivers running down his spine.
But maybe that was just because of the cold.
A forest. A cold, damp forest. This wasn't much better. But it was easier. Merchants used this road. He left the farmers alone. And the trolls. But the merchants? They took extortion as a business expense. And every now and again, a wandering nobleman and his family would come to hunt, forgetting that they were more likely to be found by the death beetles before they found a deer.
Was it kidnapping? Sure. But he was doing them a favour. The ransom reward was his just earnings. And what a reward they always were.
He was close. So close.
One last gig. One last merchant. One last idiot.
He knew this camp wouldn't last. But it didn't need to. He was so close. Then he could abandon this damp lifestyle and these stinking men and play ballades beneath the acoustic roof of the Reitzlake Grand Bridge.
That girl with a huge gob, haughty expression, fine clothes and dark hair without so much as an inkling of dirt on it was his ticket to freedom. That sword alone looked like it could be traded for any piano he wanted. He was even glad the idiots hadn't taken it from her. If they had, he likely would never have seen it.
Now he wished they'd just tried mugging her and suffered the consequences for it. Their dead bodies weren't likely going to reveal where he was.
“B-Boss … what was that? Who was she? Why did we have to give everything over?”
Rextros smashed his fist against the table again. This time, a cloud of dust came up as a crack appeared.
“Shut up! Shut up, all of you! I'm thinking!”
One by one, his underlings looked at each other with differing amounts of confusion and resentment. They didn't understand. They didn't know.
That girl, that ticket to freedom, was a poisoned bait. She'd come with one purpose and one alone. And that was to remind Rextros that so long as he lived, his obligations remained. He knew it. He'd dreamed it.
And now he feared the consequences of his flight.
But what could he do? That girl's message was clear. No matter where he ran, he would never be allowed to wander freely again. Every crown he stole wasn't his to keep. He wanted an out. But how could he? He'd seen too much. Not on purpose. But that didn't matter. He wasn't as blind as the rest.
And that was a problem.
“Boss! What's going on! That was everything! It was our pay, our weapons, you gave it all away! Who was she?!”
A problem like losing the loyalty of his men.
Forget making back his losses. He'd lose his life if they all turned on him. And he knew for a fact that the knives and daggers they carried were still on them, hidden in their boots and their clothes.
As every pair of eyes turned black, Rextros clenched his fist.
There was only one thing he could do. It was … It was dangerous. But it was his only choice. Not just to make it out of here alive. But to escape with it tomorrow, too.
He had to silence that girl.
Before she could reach her mistress, she had to be dealt with.
That way, he'd have time. That casino girl had to only suspect. Otherwise, she'd be here herself. Despite his fears, he knew she wasn't truly omnipotent. More importantly, it'd mean he'd have the money to flee. Even with just the crowns, he'd have enough to survive. More than enough.
He had to deal with that girl … and yet, if she was anything near as strong as that monster ...
No.
He had no choice. Not if he wanted to survive. Even if she matched him as a fighter, he had to deal with her. Then, he'd get out. Lay low. Flee the kingdom. That St. Liane was beyond his reach. But there were others. A Zelronto, perhaps. Lacking in finishing and incomparable with the tonal brilliance of a St. Liane, but bearable nonetheless.
It was time to leave these idiots behind.
But not without using them one last time.
“Shut up! All of you!”
“But Boss—”
“That girl. She was here on behalf of the Adventurer's Guild.”
“What?!”
The looks of rebellion were quickly replaced by panic.
Rextros smiled internally to himself. It was every outlaw's worst nightmare. Those that weren't him, of course.
The Adventurer's Guild weren't like knights or soldiers, who'd make so much noise looking for them that they could pack up and leave without so much as leaving an empty bottle behind.
Adventurers were hunters. Hunters that got paid absolute jack for the work they did. And that meant they did their jobs for reasons other than crowns.
In short, the worst type of people.
“She wanted to cut me a deal. All our gains for a day to leave. Except that won't matter if she's dealt with first. Go get her. Now.”
A few of the men shifted. Most were just confused.
“B-But if she's an adventurer, why didn't we just jump her already?”
“Fool! I was watching the treeline! You guys can't stand sentry even if I peel your eyelids off! I had to make sure there was nobody else! Now you see why I'm the leader and you idiots are not!”
“B-Boss!! Then, then that means ...”
“She's alone. Probably thinks she's stronger than all of us. Some brat that just got promoted to E-rank and thinks they're hot stuff. You know what to do.”
“Yes, Boss!!”
Rextros sighed as the underlings shot off, their hidden daggers being pulled from whatever sorry part of their bodies they hid them in.
It was going to be close. That girl … the sword she had. Only an extremely capable swordswoman would dare wield such a weapon. To be anything less was to invite every rogue within spitting distance to try and steal it from her, alive or dead.
Even so, she was alone. She had to be. The way these people operated demanded it. He had fourteen men under his command. Idiots to the last, but idiots with brawn and no discipline. If they all hurled themselves at her, there was simply no way she would be able to defeat them all.
And if so few made it back that he could claim all the loot for himself, then so be it.
Rextros smiled. Perhaps this wasn't such an unfortunate meeting, after all. He'd been meaning to consider a way to leave his goons in the lurch. If someone could deal with them for him, then all the better.
He simply needed to be ready to make good on his escape.
BRRROOOOOWWMMM.
It was at the exact moment that Rextros the Black Scar thought this that his feet suddenly left the ground.
“Gwaaaahhhhhhhh!”
Letting out a scream, he flailed uselessly at the air as he was suddenly flung against the back of his tent, taking it and also a tree with him as he went hurtling down the mound he'd pitched his makeshift throne on.
An enormous, ear splitting explosion drowned out his scream. Or at least what sounded like an explosion. He couldn't be sure with the entire forest groaning in pain. Leaves, branches and trees bent wildly as though slapped by the force of a thousand hurricanes. And yet Rextros instinctively knew that it could have been worse.
The source of that explosion was further away. And it was not aimed towards him.
If it had, he wouldn't be in a position to feel breathless with shock.
Sweat ran down Rextros's face as he crawled up from the dirt. He was lucky. He'd narrowly missed impacting with the tree that now had its roots torn from the soil. Looking around, all he saw was carnage. Bits of the camp were everywhere. And the forest was groaning even louder than before, as though it now had to right itself after being struck by the hand of a god.
Or perhaps a goddess.
That girl … it couldn't be ...
His entire body shaking, Rextros thought about the idiots he'd sent after her. They'd only just left. They … They were probably okay. Even so, could it possibly be a coincidence that she'd set the entire forest on its knees the moment he'd decided on his treachery?
What … What kind of power was this?
That was not the power of some D-rank punk like him. It was beyond that. The sort of power that only named legends past the point of being human possessed.
Had that girl lived a warrior's life, in solitude, training her swordsmanship on some distant mountaintop to achieve that level of destruction?
Rextros now knew he couldn't stay. Not even if all the copper, silver and gold in the world was made available to him. It was time to flee. Right now. Away from this kingdom, filled with more monsters than anyone as insignificant as him had the right to know.
And then maybe, just maybe.
When enough time had passed—he'd be able to take over the farm, and go back to milking cows and tilling fields.
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sorry ang haba, pero i really need to get if off my chest nga and know other people’s opinion.
i’ve been together with my friends for almost 9 years, give or take. granted i’m only in my 20s, and so are my friends, pero matagal na rin kami magkasama in our young life. dahil sakanila, i slowly learned how to become a better version of myself. i owe a lot of my growth to their love and patience. of course, hindi rin sila perfect, but we stuck together through thick and thin.
ldr kaming magkakaibigan. they live near each other pero they still need to schedule their meetings sa super busy ng acads and hectic ng city. meanwhile, i live in another island. i need to ride a plane to cover our distance. they get to meet each other from time to time and i haven’t met two of them in almost 5-7 years. we knew each other irl bago kami nag ldr, pero we spent most of our friendship online. hindi ako nagseselos or nagagalit na they get to meet at hindi nila kaya pumunta sa city ko (i’ve been to their city once just to specifically meet them, pero di parin kami nakapagkita, even when i told them i’m coming over at least 2 months before my flight. again, i wasn’t angry, just a bit disappointed but i don’t hold it against them). it’s just safe to say at this point na online friends nalang kami sa tagal namin di nagkikita.
the thing is, i’m emotionally detached (thanks to how my parents raised me rin) and struggle with maintaining relationships, kahit platonic. it took me 2 years being with them so i can open up. not to sound emo or edgy, pero i just struggle in having meaningful connections with other people. my friends are the only ones i’m putting an effort for. i always have to consciously choose them again and again, to remind myself na i do care and love them, na it’s just my depression telling me to self-isolate. so yes, sila lang talaga ang friends ko na i hold dearly.
one of my bestfriend’s boyfriend is, like, shit tbh. he’s depressed (there’s nothing wrong with that) pero he uses that as like a shield or an excuse for his behavior. like, he told my best friend he thinks na she’s asking a bit too much (she’s not!! very low maintenance and understanding friend ko) pero he’s doing barely the bare minimum. for example, he thinks na she can ride a grab on her own at 11pm-12am and he doesn’t think na parang need naman na iwalk out sya. literally, he only has to wait with her outside his condo. he says it’s his first relationship (first rin ng friend ko) and he didn’t grow up with a dad (my dad isn’t dead pero with how he emotionally neglected me since childhood, it’s almost i don’t have a dad rin, kaso you don’t see me using that as an excuse to be shitty). before all that pa, i just knew i didn’t like him kasi he’s too clingy and love bombing kahit friends pa sila. i didn’t like him as her friend, and lalo na as her boyfriend, pero i wasn’t against their relationship. i didn’t tell her to break up. i just said na i don’t like him pero as long as she’s happy and she’s treated right (this was before the example i gave), then ok na sakin.
my other friend has her own problems. she’s insecure and unconsciously craves validation and wants romance. i, for one, know na she’s not ready for it talaga, pero she really wants to have a relationship that she sometimes cries and all we can do is comfort her. aware rin sya na hindi to healthy, pero she can’t herself. this has been happening for years throughout our friendship. she was talking to someone and we knew about it, and i more or less support her. idk much about the guy, kasi i’m not always active in our gc, pero ik enough to know who he is, just not enough to have an opinion about him.
what made us argue is that i, apparently, criticize their men too much. aaminin ko na sometimes i can’t control it, like a slip of the tongue, pero i stop myself and apologize if i do. i don’t participate in gc convos about their men kasi ik wala akong magandang masasabi, and i don’t wanna ruin that for them. they had a double date and nagsend sila ng pics sa gc. nagasaran kami, along with my other friend, with how their boyfriends posed.
i want to point out na my best friend’s boyfriend is ugly. he knows, she knows, everyone knows. i usually don’t hold a person’s physical appearance against them, pero if he has a shitty personality and ang panget nya pa?? pick a struggle. when they sent pics, inasar namin sila na parang funny sila mag pose. not their looks or clothes, pero posing lang. apparently, that was shitty of us and nahurt sila. i was surprised kasi nagaasaran naman kami sa isa’t isa, very mild lang sya in my opinion, but they didn’t like it.
i guess nahurt ako kasi i was acting the same, how i would usually act to them, pero if they think na it was a bitch of me to do, does this mean the whole time tinotolerate nila ako? i was an angry person before, i haven’t come to terms to my relationship with my parents, kaya i hated everyone and myself. thanks to them, i’ve become a bit happier and softer, resigned. i try to be extra soft to one of them kasi she’s sensitive (again, nothing wrong) pero i also don’t want to be a completely different person to make them comfortable. sometimes iniisip ko why i’m still friends with her when i always have to change for her, but she rarely does for me. i guess i do love them kahit ganun.
ever since they had a boyfriend/fling, i felt like i was walking on eggshells around them. i can’t ignore the fact na may relationships sila kasi it’s part of their life, so i try to be part of it rin, pero we keep arguing about it. they sort of, not directly, implied na maybe di ko maintindihan cause i was single.
obviously, i apologized na inasar ko boyfriends nila pero i pointed out ang hypocrite nila before ghosting them. it’s normal for me to ghost them, they know na sometimes i really do self-isolate myself and i need time, and i’m thankful na they will always wait for me. they messaged me na they’re sorry and they miss me, and that i can take my time again. pero they don’t know na i’m thinking of ending our friendship.
the moment i felt like i need to change because of these new men in their life, i knew na di ko matitiis. of course they’re still maturing when it comes to romantic relationships, pero i refuse to be disrespected during their growth phase. i’ve been on their side the same they’ve always been mine, but i’m not gonna stay and argue with them because of other people.
so am i overreacting? my sibling thinks na my emotions are justified, but we have the same parents who emotionally neglected us so maybe that fucked up our perception of relationships. i confided with another friend and she told me na valid actions ko. is it?
tl;dr: i got hurt and ghosted my friends when we argued over their boyfriends/flings and i’m planning to end our friendship.