I currently make mid 70k, have about 120k saved up, no loans at all. Currently paying 1200/mo rent to parents and never bought a home in my life.
I've been looking at $400k tiny bachelor pads on MLS in toronto / north york / scarborough. I'm single and i cant have kids so this is perfect even for future. Real estate agent thinks I'll realistically pay $450k+.
BUY
450k price / 100k down payment / 5% interest rate at 30 year amortization + condo fees + property tax + property insurance + utilities = $2600/month.
Parents cant help me with down payment but can lower monthly fee by a couple hundred for a few years.
Lets say i'm paying $2000/month.
RENT
Bachelor / small 1-bedrooms have been in the 2000-2200s/month with parking. I have a car and a cat so renting is a little more expensive generally.
With the rent option, i can continue to grow my money with funds & stocks as opposed to spending it all on a down payment and starting over on savings. Also there seems to be alot of uncertainty in the market and in the economy in general so rent could be safer. But i'd like to buy sooner than later...

Tw: s**cide
My ppd symptoms get the worst right before my period. So last night they started getting bad and only got worse this morning when I dropped my daughter off with the sitter.
I got home and I had made the decision to finally end it. I had slight attempt 2 mo ago, but checked into inpatient. This time I knew I had the right meds and enough it would work.
My husband called from work (he's been gone 7 mo comes back in 2) cause he knew I was off. He called the police to do a wellness check. I was very aggressive but then just broke down bawling and begged them to shoot me.
They took me to the hospital but I told them I can't be admitted since I literally have no one this time to watch my daughter. They said I won't be just get me the help I need. Well the er nurse told me to give him my clothes and I knew I was screwed. I told him to piss off and checked myself out.
I was so mad at my husband cause I was now stranded on the other side of town and still was depressed and wanted to die. I told him I was officially done. I told him to tell his family to come get his child and I would give full custody and I was done. I can't do it alone for two more months, not like this. Meds have been helping but I still have these two weeks of hell.
But, now that my emotions have came back down I'm terrified. I screwed up so badly this time. I let myself go over the edge with my anger and pain. I don't know what I'll do now. I can't work cause of my disability and I've done my research. I can't afford to live with just my disability check.
I know this is all my fault. I'm just so scared and I know I've lost everything this time around. I just wish these doctors and therapist and psych would have been listening to me these past 11 months. Maybe I could have gotten the help I needed. Maybe I'm just completely broken and will never feel true joy again.

As specific as I can; and I come with lots of intentions of healing, finding a state I can call my home and weave in to some sense of being part of a community, grow old, etc…
-27 Male -lived most my childhood and teen life in PR -Joined Navy late 2016 -lived 4 years in NC -(Dec. ‘22) finished 6 years of active duty service in the Navy -Recently became 100% disabled veteran, but I am fully physically able. My disabilities come from my mental & psychological health. -$2k in debt(credit card) -760 credit score -$5k savings acc(I went trough a lot at the end of my service) -$1k checking acc -$4k invested in stock shares -$8k in TSP retirement account -living with parents in PR where I grew up since I lost everything I had when I got out of the service -I only have a electrical bill that I pay for in the house since I use the most electricity (like $200 mo) -Own a old car my dad found for me (it’s all payed) -Recently started receiving prescription medication that takes 4 months to get used to (make me feel loopy) -Started receiving a 3600 pension (it’s not going away and it’s my current source of income.
I guess my goal right now is to feel a little more normal with my meds and move out back in the states. Been considering Colorado for a few months (I feel some people would roll their eyes for saying I’m considering CO. but I mostly hear good things about the place so I don’t wanna hear it) even though it’s on the pricier side. Before y’all ask; No. I don’t want to live in PR. I know it’s beautiful. Trust me I was born & raised here. But for a lot of personal reasons, PR is just not the place for me to grow and settle down. I’m very frightened and jittery but also loopy and tired all the time due to meds and disability, so I’m asking for outside opinions and points of view, What’s next? In your thoughts..and am I doing ok? Or should I be worrying more about something??

As specific as I can and I come with lots of intentions of healing, finding a state I can call my home and weave in to some sense of being part of a community, grow old, etc…
-27 Male -lived most my childhood and teen life in PR -Joined Navy late 2016 -lived 4 years in NC -(Dec. ‘22) finished 6 years of active duty service in the Navy -Recently became 100% disabled veteran, but I am fully physically able. My disabilities come from my mental & psychological health. -$2k in debt(credit card) -760 credit score -$5k savings acc(I went trough a lot at the end of my service) -$1k checking acc -$4k invested in stock shares -$8k in TSP retirement account -living with parents in PR where I grew up since I lost everything I had when I got out of the service -I only have a electrical bill that I pay for in the house since I use the most electricity (like $200 mo) -Own a old car my dad found for me (it’s all payed) -Recently started receiving prescription medication that takes 4 months to get used to (make me feel loopy) -Started receiving a $3600 pension (it’s not going away and it’s my current source of income.
I guess my goal right now is to feel a little more normal with my meds and move out back in the states. Been considering Colorado for a few months (I feel some people would roll their eyes for saying I’m considering CO. but I mostly hear good things about the place so I don’t wanna hear it) even though it’s on the pricier side. Before y’all ask; No. I don’t want to live in PR. I know it’s beautiful. Trust me I was born & raised here. But for a lot of personal reasons, PR is just not the place for me to grow and settle down. I’m very frightened and jittery but also loopy and tired all the time due to meds and disability, so I’m asking for outside opinions and points of view, What’s next? In your thoughts..and am I doing ok? Or should I be worrying more about something??

Past- I (28 f) had a best friend (30 f) my entire life we’ll call her A. A and I were neighbors for 15 years. She was my soul sister I thought I knew her thoughts and she knew mine. When I turned 14 she was 16 and had her first baby with K. Her parents hate K still to this day. I was 15 when we moved to a new house in a nice development across town. We kept being friends. She got pregnant again when she was 19 and I was 17. That’s when she decided to not go to school to be a nurse and just stay an STNA. And K decided to work for a delivery company. They got a small 3 bedroom house close to her parents. When I was 18 she was 20 she got pregnant again. Another girl. I left for college about a month before she found out. I returned in December and we had a huge fight. She told me I was selfish for leaving her and going to school. That I wasn’t a very good aunt to her kids for abandoning them. I apologized for leaving and told her I would be doing it again in a few weeks and she broke down crying and told me that she cheated on K around the time she got pregnant and that she was projecting. I told her it would all be okay and work itself out, they had been together since they were 13 and it could be forgiven. ( I was 18 and didn’t have a lot of relationship experience) I left for school again and returned in May. She gave birth two weeks after I got home with her daughter E. A year went by of them being the “picture perfect family”. At E’s first birthday I noticed how different she was from her siblings. She has brown hair and brown eyes where as MJ the oldest and F the middle one had blue eyes and blonde hair. That must’ve been when K noticed too. A week later he did a DNA test and E isn’t his. He told A she had a choice to make Him or E. She chose him. Long legal boring story later I have transferred to a college closer to home and have full and legal custody of E and A & K have moved away somewhere I had no idea where. Using some family connections I got a very nice paying job in the field I wanted (I got my bachelors in computer science). I graduated early and saved every penny I could. After about 2 years it was now E’s 4th birthday and I had a job making well over 6 figures and a beautiful 5 bed 4 bath house. I moved half way across the country from my family. It was tough at first but I had my E and a new partner who E calls “Mama”. (Yes I am a lesbian) During this time E was in everything a 4 year could want. Ballet, soccer, softball, language lessons, piano, anything and everything she asked for I gave her. Present- E is now 10 years old. She only stuck with Softball, volleyball, piano, violin and language lessons. She has tutoring once a week so she has help is she needs it. E had her 10th birthday party this past weekend. Catering, Bounce houses, and a gift of E, me, my partner now wife, and my grandma are all going to Disney Paris this summer for 2 weeks, then Portugal for 2 weeks. This will be her 3rd time going to Europe but first time going to Disney Paris and Portugal. She is a great kid and I love how grateful she is for everything anyone gets her. She keeps all physical gift cards and sends photos of what she gets to the people who got her the gift cards with another thank you. My favorite compliment I get about E is that she is so kind and caring. I have been working double time on this party and at work to be able to take a month off for travel. My wife has taken her to every Recreational softball practice. ( she plays both recreational and travel ball) My wife knows the story about how I got my E. However she doesn’t know what A looks like. E plays 1 year ahead of her travel ball age (10u to 12u) in Rec. she is a catcher and loves a challenge. Never in a million years did I think that A would be in the same town I moved to. I was wrong. MJ is on E’s softball team. And E being the sweetest girl on the planet invited MJ, her parents and all 6 of her siblings to her birthday party. That is right friends. A and K got married and had 4 more kids. The day of the birthday party A walks in and is in major shock. She recognized me, but didn’t recognize E. She almost starts crying. To give details for the party- My coworker did valet for us (his daughter is in college and my wife and I paid for a full semester for him to do valet and we fed him), it was catered as I said and the employees stayed for a small fee, we have an in ground pool and as I said before our house is huge. We had just put in a movie theater in the basement, so there were signs for a movie tonight when the sun went down. A stared in shock at our house, and it’s size. Her 6 kids kept saying it was mansion and why can’t we live here. It had literally been minutes since she walked through the door. I ushered her into my office and explained that E knew nothing. And I planned on keeping it that way. A agreed though she started to cry. She just kept saying she didn’t know that this was the house I lived in and that she couldn’t believe how nice it was and she took the long way home just to look at the house. In my head I thought really the house is your focus you haven’t seen E in 9 years and you focus on my house. I ushered her back into the entry way and we found my wife moving the kids out to the pool while A called K. Ten minutes later he was in my house angry as hell. He looked around and looked even more angry. He kept looking at out pictures of our little family in Europe, Disney, her travel ball team, JO volleyball, piano recital, dance recital, on cruises. Typical family photos seemed to piss him off and make A cry. When it was time for presents E was kind a respectful. She thanked every person for her gifts and truly loved every gift. When she got a brand new bat for softball that’s $400 K scoffed and made a face. E was so excited it was the bat she wanted. K under his breath said waste of money. A gave him a look and I was ready to pounce on him. He relaxed back in just seat as E kept opening her gifts. When E was done and had opened our gift for Europe K stormed off into the house. I helped E thank everyone who came and didn’t stay for the movie. A and K pulled me aside as I watched everyone head down to the basement for a movie. This is how the conversation went- A- we really love your house Me- thank you K- we live in a 3 bedroom house it’s so small for our growing family Me-oh are you pregnant again? A- yes I’m so excited but we want to ask you something Me- uh huh K- we want to trade houses, it’s just you 3 and there’s 8 about to be 9 of us Me- really? Why would I do that? A- well because we have you our daughter Me- no. This went back and forth for a long time. Until I lost it I said that they didn’t give me E like a teddy bear gift or a gift card. They abandoned her and I wasn’t going to let her have a bad life. She is my daughter and it is not my fault that they decided to pop out kids like a Pez dispenser and I decided to only have E and get a degree and save money. I told them to leave. Ever since they have been blowing up my phone. They are demanding that E stops her lessons and travel ball and JO volleyball and tutoring and going to a private school. They say she needs to be on the same level as her siblings. I told them that E doesn’t have siblings. My wife n I are considering moving away. I just needed to post.

Going through a divorce and it's ugly. We've been married 5 years, he's 13 years older than me. He has a 26 yr old son and a 15 yr old son and now he and I share a 4 month old son. All of his children have different mothers and there's another woman he was married to also, but they didn't have kids. I don't believe he ever wanted our son. He's said things like, "I'm too old for this shit", "I raised two kids already," "you're the one who wanted a baby." He's been totally detached since he was born. He took 6 weeks off when I did for maternity leave. We could not afford that so he made up a story about why we needed money to get financial help from his mother while neither of us were working. Anyway, if he spent that time bonding with us, it'd be one thing, but he slept in my stepsons room all day (he's only at our house 1 or 2 weekends a month) separate from us, playing on his phone, watching tv, but mostly sleepingand bitching if i asked for help. So, during my 6 week OB appointment, he was left alone with our son for only the 2nd time. The first was so i could attend my gradmas funeral. When I was on my way home from the appointment he called me frantically panicking saying something was wrong with our son. Long story short, we ended up in the children's hospital for 5 days. It was shaken baby syndrome. He has a long winded story about slipping on the stairs but I don't believe him. The social worker at the hospital ruled it an accident. I know I shouldn't accuse him but I just instinctively don't believe him and this platform (anonymously) is the only time I have voiced that belief. So later I find out he has relapsed and he started treating me with such contempt. Truthfully there were always difficult seasons when he'd be completely hateful, go days without speaking to me, and call me too sensitive if i cried or expressed how something made me feel....but this time was 100x worse abd felt like no end in sight. I truly felt unsafe. Toward the end, in absolutely every conversation (because every conversation became a conflict ) he'd tell me to get a divorce and slowly speak out directions to the courthouse. So I listened, and I moved out in March with our baby and filed for divorce. For 2 months he begged, pleaded, swore he would change, go to therapy, see a doc, etc. He's had multiple angry outbursts with slews of hateful messages and threats in between the apologies. Now, he's got a lawyer. They have not submitted their counter to the divorce papers I served him yet but he's threatened to ask for 50/50 custody. He said he wants 50/50 because he can't afford child support, but now of course he denies ever saying that abd acts like its because he wants our son.
He knows how to manipulate a urine screen and mouth swab drug test. He brags about that. I have a voice recording of him admitting to using xanax again that he buys off the street (his drug of choice) and also admitting Marijuana use. The xanax is my concern, obviously. I also have a text of him bragging about stopping the Marijuana use and "dosing down" from the pills. In the same recording we discussed the night he threw the bassinet across the room and all the times he left a loaded shotgun in my stepsons room on his weekends at our house. He's just careless with fire arms. I am not anti gun, but I am anti leaving a gun out, loaded, and so accessible to a child!
I'm terrified of our son being left alone with him. The thought of 50/50 scares me more than anything.
I have never kept our son from him. I let him see him whenever he wants, just not alone. I also wasn't even going to ask for child support. My lawyer and family convinced me to and my lawyer said a judge wouldn't want me having primary custody with no support anyway. I feel like the child support is my biggest road block and it's the only reason he wants 50/50. A while before I moved out and filed, I asked why he's never paid child support for his 15 yr old and he flat told me that when his other sons mother left, he threatened her by telling her if she came after him for child support then he'd take her to court for custody. They were never married, so they didn't have to do all of this and she's just nice letting him see their son without ever getting any help from my husband.
I'm sorry this is such a long story. Believe it or not, I've left a lot out. I just want to know if you guys think my evidence is enough to keep him from get 50/50 or any kind of unsupervised shared parenting for that matter. I'm really heartbroken just thinking of having to allow that. I don't think the judge will care much about the detachment or the verbal and emotional abuse, because that's probably just considered an opinion, but it's a major concern of mine too.
Thank you for reading. Please share anything you think might help.

Let's jet set off to Paris, mes petits choux! Fortunately for Paige but unfortunately for all of you, my healthcare coverage is really doing the most, by which I mean doing the least, and a lot of my snarky energy after work had to go into fighting with them to cover the same prescriptions they've been covering for the past over a decade, hooray for America. And then Paige topped this off by really putting out a half-assed turd sandwich of a vlog where 80% of it is her laying foundation on top of bronzer on top of foundation on top of bronzer. But for you, my little cabbages, I will do my best to recap any relevant points.
As always, here's the vlog Bingo card for playing along at home. I add stuff to it every week as new trends emerge, your prize for winning is... something I haven't figured out yet. By doing everyone's birth charts I learned there's a ton of Virgo energy in this subreddit, though, so astrologically speaking you should all be satisfied with a virtual shoulder pat and being told you did a good job and you're the smartest person I've ever met.
​

• We open on Paige "typewriting" on screen that she went to Paris for 48 hours to see her boyfriend play tennis and here's how it went, which I don't think she intended to but inadvertently gives off the sense that we're about to enter into footage of a hostage negotiation? It's almost like if you don't consume art and instead magpie various aesthetic details and cobble them together, you ignorantly imply a lot of things you don't mean to imply, but what do I know!
• The first four minutes of this vlog are unspeakably boring. I can try to make them interesting for you, but what's the point? Paige opens up a brand new notebook and writes PARIS in it with a Sharpie. It's intially unclear why she does this, but then it becomes abundantly clear as this goes on that it's because Paige thought she'd be there way longer and didn't bother getting much or really any footage of anything, and now is desperately trying to pad this sucker out so she can get a midroll ad. It's a bunch of out of focus nonsense. Here's the only things that happen that are of any note:
  • One of her giant checked suitcases when she packs is just labelled "work". I'm now entertaining wild speculations about what could take up an entire checked bag that she just had to bring to Paris under the assumption that she'd be there longer than 48 hours. My personal bet is that it's half denim samples, half reams of paper that she had Amanda print out with random graphs or pictures of generic clothing pieces and the text under it just reads "BUSINESS BUSINESS BUSINESS"
  • When she gets to Paris Tommy comes downstairs wearing a green t-shirt. Later we see Paige wearing the same shirt but she dresses it up with a black bow in her hair. It looks dumb.
  • Paige says hi to us from the bathroom mirror wearing a face mask after moisturizing her whole body because the airplane left her soooo dry. This is only notable because she claims she's going to rest for a bit by "reading some of her book" (we get it, Paige, you read my recaps, but I still don't believe you read anything besides that) before she unpacks, and also because she can't actually get the sentence out so it cuts every two words, and because it's handheld footage it's not steady, which means you kind of get this weird, jostly experience watching her try to form a sentence.
  • Paige and Tommy go to the great shopping mecca that is Paris and appear to go to Kith and Sephora
  • The food they eat does actually look pretty good
  • The time breakdown of this is two minutes on the plane, two minutes in Paris, and then we get into the bulk of the video
• Getting ready time! Okay here's where it gets mildly more interesting, and by interesting I mean there's more to discuss besides half-assed B-roll. Before we start I should make clear, we're about to embark on a getting ready that is 15 minutes of a 20 minute video, and in this time the end result will be Paige looking almost identical to how she looks at the start of it. This detail stuck in my brain because I put this on for a first watch-through this morning while I was getting ready for work and putting on my own makeup. At first I was convinced she had done her makeup beforehand and was just mimicking putting it on because she was too vain to be seen without makeup, but re-watching it now that I'm home I don't think that's the case. I think she's had a lot of work done to make it look like she's always wearing makeup (semi-permanent makeup procedures, eyelash extensions, etc) and then genuinely spends a long time caking layers upon layers upon layers to look exactly the same. Which honestly makes me kind of sad. But I suppose Paige is contractually obliged to have at least one unwitting self-own she stumbles into every vlog where the curtain is pulled back and we gaze upon the vast chasm of insecurity inside her that comes from her being just aware enough to know that she knows nothing about what she's talking about at any given time and if she stopped being pretty to look at more people might point that out.
  • Paige is really tan, you guys, and she feels like makeup doesn't work as well on her skin when she is. This is probably because not once in this entire routine does she PUT ON SUNSCREEN (even though she says prepping your skin before sitting in the sun all day is super important), like not even a BB cream with sunscreen in it. I have no hope of reaching Paige but girlypops! Wear! Your! Sunscreen! Get a spray tan if you want later, but skin cancer is real and not fun and even if you avoid skin cancer, being out in the sun like that makes you look like a leather raisin by middle age. Like she's sitting on a clay court? What are we doing here.
  • If you were wondering if this is in fact a very long undisclosed ad roll, sure is
  • Ah, one of the serums is so good, she actually got it while on a skiing trip. you know, because she's a skier.
  • The reason Paige didn't come to Tommy's first match is because she had "a lot going on at home". Really essential stuff like paying other people to install a pre-built shed for her, buying a second horse, eating unwashed vegetables - important stuff.
    • Oh my apologies she had a denim sample to approve. Not just any denim sample, a WHOLE denim sample, and that is what was in her "work" suitcase. Because idk international mail doesn't work? I mean I sound like I'm advocating she follow Tommy around and I actually think it's better that she doesn't, but also I'd rather she said "I missed Tommy's first match because it was really important to me to spend time seeing friends and family and recharging and resting" instead of pretending she was soooo busy being a Serious Business Girl. Like just be honest that following a man around isn't exhausting and boring and I wouldn't care.
  • I will give it to Paige, she does admit her contour routine with like a dozen products is over the top, and if she left it at that it'd just be that she enjoys the ritual of that and it's fine, but she's like "I swear guys it's so good it makes such a difference" and that is where I draw the line. Contouring is the greatest scam the Kardashians have ever pulled and I do not trust anyone who says otherwise. Like we all did that exercise in middle school art class where we had to shade in shapes different ways, and it didn't ever change the shape, it just made it look like the light was coming from different directions. Paige says this is because contour "adds light and dimension and makes your skin look more healthy" but you know what else does that? Hydrating, wearing sunscreen, and NOT PUTTING ON FIFTEEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOUNDATION AND BRONZER. The same concept of "you can change where the light hits but not how the shape looks" that applies to drawing an egg applies to makeup - contouring does absolutely nothing unless you're a drag queen and also you're Trixie Mattel (hallowed be her name AND her commitment to producing really quality orange blushes. If you have warm-toned skin at all, use bronze, peach, and orange blushes this summer and thank me later).
    • Also Paige clearly has not been paying attention because contouring looks and this cakey, Meredith Duxbury, early aughts Beauty YouTuber look is very much not the vibe? The hot thing right now is really natural, light, dewy stuff a la Rare Beauty or Glossier, and it's heavily inspired by K-Beauty and C-Beauty looks. Even I know this and my makeup looks better on me than Paige's does and it's not even my job to wear makeup or know about this stuff! No one's paying me to do this! Maybe they should be, I guess! (It shouldn't be, I'm very good at doing my face and my face only.)
    • Honestly it looks a lot of the time here like Paige is putting mud on her face, and everything she shows and applies to her face is mud-colored, and it's just dingier and dingier and she would look so much better if instead of all of this she just did a nice warm terra cotta sort of blush and some highlighter. My kingdom for something to bring actual warmth or color to her face and not just look like she's smearing sparkly dishwater on herself.
  • Paige blathers more about travelling and authenticity and how she travels a lot but also doesn't travel that much? I don't know it's all so meandering and nonsensical and I give up. The tl;dr is what I said before: she's a homebody who hates travel but knows if she just did the things that made her happy and let herself be boring, people would stop watching her, so she's trying to straddle an impossible line and since she can't admit that's what's happening, her explanations get increasingly convoluted and her definition of "authenticity" or us "getting it" comes to mean "whatever I like at the time is authentic and if it doesn't work out or backfires on me it's because I was feeling forced to be inauthentic, because I am authentically perfect and always right".
    • See it's because she's NOT A CITY GIRL, it's not that she doesn't like TRAVEL, it's that she doesn't like travelling to CITIES because she's such a COUNTRY GIRL AT HEART, that's why she lives in a FARMHOUSE in CONNECTICUT, which is practically the sticks.
    • "I got some really funny comments about this from you guys, I was actually cracking up" Paige says and then shows us comments of people kissing her ass for no reason, which she probably directly or indirectly paid for telling her how much better her home vlogs are.
  • Paige puts on some MAC setting spray and this is where we get into Peak Paige, she tells us this story about how when she lived in NYC she made friends with a girl who worked at MAC and at first Paige didn't believe that the setting spray did anything but then her friend told her that unlike other setting sprays, the MAC stuff "leaves a layer over your skin that like... helps your makeup combine smoothly, so that's why if you love the MAC Fix Plus more than other setting sprays, it's because it actually has science behind it"
    • I call this Peak Paige because it's something that's so obviously rich with lies while simultaneously very likely being an undisclosed advertisement that you could spend hours unpacking this. Like which part is the lie, that Paige made a friend? Was this "friend" someone she talked to more than once at the MAC store? Why did Paige say "combine" like it had a d in it? What does she mean by "it has science behind it", like, how does Paige think other setting sprays, or for that matter other makeup works? Does Paige think about any of this at all? Does this not make sense because it came as part of an ad read Paige got in her many, many PR packages we've seen her get from MAC? We may never know! It's a mystery lost to the sands of time!
  • There are chunks of glass in Paige's palette because it broke but they're just going to have to ~make it work~ because she's so tough and roll with the punches and quirky like that! I mean she literally made Tommy take her to Sephora in the vlog the day before and it's a totally brown palette which there's no way she couldn't find another of at a Sephora in Paris, but sure Paige.
  • Paige while using the Benefit brow stuff: "I strayed away from this stuff for a second, don't know why, think it's because I get sent so many products" really had to add that in there.
  • Oh thank god she finally added blush and it makes her look a million, trillion times better
  • "Don't worry" says Paige as she applies stuff, "I'm going to leave links to everything I use for you guys". Oh you're going to try to make money off this by using undisclosed affiliate links? You don't say! It was super subtle, the clearly narrated ad copy and pop-ups every time you used a new product didn't give you away at all.
  • I will say this for Paige, the girl does do a good cat eye.
  • Okay this is insane, Paige uses a powder to cover up her roots? What is this, 1776 the musical? ROOT COVER UP POWDER???? I don't color my hair, is this a normal product???? I still say it's giving Founding Father. Powdering roots. Unbelievable. I hate everything about it.
• Paige shows us two dress options, the set she wore and a much more modest, much cuter dress that's essentially an a-line pink polo shirt. I really, really liked the first one on her, but she vetoes it for being too "casual". The second one that's a set, on the other hand, doesn't ook as coherent because it's a three piece and requires a cami underneath the jacket, it looks hot and itchy, and the shorts in that heavy material look ridiculous and don't fit her body well so it's giving diaper. She of course went with the second one.
  • She's wearing it with her new Chanel loafers. They were a gift (she doesn't say from who) and she's obsessed with them, hashtag not a designer girl.
• Anyway Tommy loses and they go out to dinner, the end. On a 1-10 scale with ten being the most, I give it a 2 for actually being a well put together vlog, a 3 in terms of Paige being a privileged unhinged weirdo. She can do better on all fronts.

TLDR: I’m in the UK I don’t know how to find any of this out. I don’t remember his birthday or the know the date and cause of death. I only have his name and address. No one will tell me anything and it’s making my grieving process so so much harder I don’t know what to do.
The relationship with my Dad has been frosty. I was being abused by my sisters so I stood my ground with them and refused to attend family functions until they acknowledged their behaviour was abusive. My Dad wasn’t happy with this and felt I should retain my place as the family scapegoat. He stopped talking to me meaning I couldn’t easily retain contact with my Uncle as we live far away. He was sick and a boomer so didn’t use social media. I lost his phone number. Now it’s too late.
The last time I saw him we were supposed to hang out after my Grandads funeral but again - my sisters were being abusive, fighting screaming. I ended up leaving in tears without keeping my promise to him. His face lighting up when I asked him to come with me is the thing I remember.
My Dad answerd the phone to me for the first time in years. We had a conversation like o was a normal human. I said I wanted to grieve and go pay my respects at his home with him as someone hid my uncles death and has stolen his remains. My Dad agreed to see me for the first time in years. Me - a moron I messaged my sisters to ask if they were coming? Suddenly my Dad won’t answer the phone to me. My sisters are telling me I’m “interfering” and I’m not welcome and specifically told me I’m not allowed to know anything that’s happening. I sent my Father a text letting him know I’m still coming to visit him and the grandchildren. I asked when is a good time? After a week of ignoring me his tone suddenly changed back to being aggressive and nasty. He told me I’m not to come see him nor am I allowed see any of my family. I said again - I’m very upset about the death of my uncle, I also had an old friend die too and I’d already booked my (expensive) travel tickets and accommodation to visit. He’s ignoring me again. I feel like it’s only me & Dad that cared about my Uncle at all. They didn’t care at my grandparents funeral and used it as another opportunity for abuse. I’m upset on so many levels right now and have to grieve for him alone.
I’ve been looking for funeral and obituary announcements in his local newspaper and can’t find anything. I know he had friends and a girlfriend but they’re all kinda addicts so - I don’t know how he was treated while he was sick? what cancer killed him? did he know? Did he have a funeral? My uncle and grandparents were the only adults in my life I have happy memories of. They’re the only ones who treated me as a normal kid and not a scapegoat. My sisters were put on a pedestal so don’t appear to really care about them as they weren’t a big part of their life but they meant everything to me and I’m deeply cut up my Uncle died suffering, neglected and alone.
I’m partly writing this just to get it out. I don’t know anyone else that can understand how I feel right now. Also - if anyone knows how can I find out something by myself without any help please let me know. I live about 12 hours away but I’m thinking of going and knocking door to door asking about him to try and find out what happened. I can’t even find a photo of him. I looked on Ancestry.com and couldn’t find anything. All the people who would’ve been able to help me now are dead. I just want some closure.

I love experimental theatre and things that follow along the avant-garde movement. With this theatre typically may take place in unconventional or unusual locations and I want to see what the most bizarre one you've come across is. What was the play? What did you think of it?
I'll go first - the most bizarre place I've seen a peace of theatre happen in is actuallya show im directing now for the fall. It is The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane inside of a funeral home .

In just under two weeks, ARMYs will descend upon Singapore to see SUGA! Help an ARMY out and let them know about safety, how to get around, where to eat, tourist attractions, BTS-related things to do, or anything else that you think someone should know when they visit! (Special thanks to the mods for your input and feedback for this guide!)

BTS' Past Visits

Red Bullet Tour (2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II) at the The Star Performing Arts Centre (13 Dec 2014)

• Fancam
• Official photos by Hallyu Singapore
• Official photos of Hi-Five session by Hallyu Singapore. Session was for all Cat 1 VVIP ticket holders ($268), who got a Hi-Five Pass and Concert Poster. The first 100 VVIP ticket holders also got to go up on stage to get a "Dark & Wild" album autographed by BTS.

Music Bank performance (4 Aug 2017) at the Suntec Convention Centre

• Fancam
• Quiz game video
• Outing at the Merlion statue and Singapore flyer: Photos Set 1 Photos Set 2.

Love Yourself World Tour (19 Jan 2019) at the National Stadium
This made history as the first time a K-pop group held a concert at the venue (largest concert venue in the country) and tickets sold out in about 3.5 hours! (45,000 audience)

• Concert review
• Witty notice from the Singapore Police Force abt avoiding ticket scams (it uses the BTS song titles!)
• Bonus: Jimin picked Marina Bay Sands as his special spot in the BTS x Street Galleries collaboration with Google revealed on ARMY Day (July 9) 2022

Concert Venue

Do note that it’s currently the June school holidays too (26 May-26 Jun), so the Sports Hub and surrounding areas may be crowded with many other visitors besides the concert-goers. Please be mindful!

• Singapore Indoor Stadium, right next to the National Stadium (both are part of the Singapore Sports Hub) where BTS performed at their last concert here in 2019. In fact, the Indoor Stadium was then used as the waiting zone for the standing zone ticket-holders.
• Concert guidelines been posted yet (will update here when they are), but here are the general guidelines for events there (links opens a pdf)
• The nearest MRT station is the Stadium station, on the Circle line - here is a train map (with Stadium MRT circled out in light purple). You’ll know when you’ve arrived as the station design is quite unique! Go up the elevator and follow the signage - the path is sheltered.
• You can find Kallang Wave Mall right next to the venue, for a spot of shopping and dining before the concert (opening hrs:10am-10pm daily). There is another smaller mall Leisure Park Kallang located next to the carpark, which houses an ice skating rink, bowling alley and cinema alongside more food options. The open space in front of the MRT station and the two malls is where ARMYs are likely to gather to exchange fan support and stuff
• The nearest hawker centre (i.e the affordable street food) is Old Airport Road Food Centre, one of the oldest and largest hawker centres in the country. It is about 20 mins walk away from the stadium, or you can simply alight at the Mountbatten/Dakota MRT stations (one or two stops away from Stadium MRT station respectively); both are about a 5 mins’ walk away from the food centre. Here is a list of recommendations (unfortunately, not a lot of Halal food stalls here. Let me know if you need those).
• There is also a McDonalds’ & KFC near Mountbatten MRT if you want something more familiar, or potentially try whatever new promo is currently going on at these places.

Sightseeing/Activities

Non-exhaustive list (all prices are in SGD)

• National Gallery Singapore. There is a special Namjooning Tour as part of the Gallery Wellness Festival. Slots are fully booked for the guided tours on 25 & 30 June. You could try the self-guided tours instead, which start on 17 July. Gallery passes for general admission to the permanent galleries (needed to access the tour) cost $20 for non-Singaporeans aged 13-59. Closes early (by 3pm) on some weekends in June and July (see dates on website).
• National Museum Singapore. Has very interactive and engaging exhibits. Highly recommended (I used to be a volunteer docent there for abt a year). Tickets cost from $15 (for access to permanent galleries only)
• Singapore Zoo & adjacent parks (Bird Park, River Wonders, Night Safari). We have one of the best zoos in the world! Single park tickets cost $50. Multi-park options also available. .
• Gardens by the Bay. Pretty gardens with outdoor sections and 2 indoor air-conditioned conservatories - you may have heard of the supertrees that have been featured in the movie "Crazy Rich Asians" and K-drama "Little Women". Provides a welcome respite from the heat. It’s free to visit the outdoor areas, but it’s really worth it to pay for entry to the conservatories. There are various pricing packages, so best to check out the website yourself.
• Singapore Botanical Gardens is our first UNESCO World Heritage site, the first and only tropical botanic garden on the list. Admission is free.
• The Merlion and the Marina Bay area. I personally recommend going at night to see the famed cityscape of Singapore all lit up (the temperature’s cooler too!). Marina Bay Sands Mall has a light and water show every night. There is also the iLight Festival going on now until 25 June with artistic light installations (mix of free and paid attractions). Bonus: Yoongi wore a Merlion Singapore t-shirt in a travel-themed Lotte Xylitol ad!
• You can also ride the Singapore Flyer for an aerial view of our city like the boys did! Admission costs $40.
• Visit our ethnic enclaves, Chinatown, Little India, Kampung Glam and Geylang Serai to see old shophouses, shop for souvenirs and try ethnic food
• One of the fanbases here, BangtanSG, has teased an ARMY event from 11-13 June. Will update when more details are released.
• Sentosa & Universal Studios Singapore theme park - you can access the island via various modes of transport with varying admission fees. Transport within the island is free.
• If you don’t want to think too hard, the best airport in the world for 12 years running is also an attraction in itself! See its dedicated section below for more information.
• Singapore is also located in the centre of Southeast Asia - if you’ve never been in this oft-forgotten region of the world, take the chance to check out our neighbouring countries as well! Malaysia can easily be reached via bus, and Indonesia via ferry.

(Note: You may want to check out Klook for discount tickets/passes)

Dining

Singapore is a food paradise with various cuisines from the local ethnic groups, as well as international ones. For Muslims, there are a lot of Muslim-owned or Halal-certified options around (look for this certificate, or the label “Muslim-owned”), including most of the fast food chains like McDonald’s/KFC/Burger King/Subway.
Carrying some cash with you (~$10 per pax) is a good idea, especially if you’re venturing out to hawker centres; while many places now have an electronic payment system in place, cash is still king in terms of versatility, and anecdotally most stores prefer cash or will charge a credit-card payment surcharge.

Where to eat?

• Most of the malls have a good selection of dining options, ranging from the (relatively affordable) multi-stall foodcourts to fast-food restaurants, cafes, and more upmarket restaurants.
  • It can get crowded during lunchtime (12-2pm) as office workers come out for their break, so try to avoid those hours if possible, or make advance reservations.
  • If you are staying/shopping in Orchard Road, Far East Plaza (level 4 & 5) and Lucky Plaza (multiple levels) have relatively more affordable food options for the area..
  • There’s a myriad of other malls in the suburban areas outside of Orchard to be explored.
• Hawker centres: A “hawker” in Singapore refers to a street food vendor, and in Singapore they’ve been centralised into food centres to create an iconic Singapore dining institution. These places are generally not air-conditioned, but they are the most affordable dining option. If you see an item on a table even if it’s something innocuous like a tissue paper packet or name-card, it means the seat's been reserved (“chop-ed” in the local slang) by people who are off queuing for their food.
  • Look for stalls with the longest lines (the most popular stalls will have long queues all day long), but most stalls should have decent food.
  • Newton Hawker Centre (near Newton MRT station) and Lau Pa Sat (near Telok AyeDowntown/Raffles Place Stations) are probably the most well-known to tourists, but beware of touts and over-charging, especially at Newton.
  • Taking the MRT out to slightly less central areas like Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh, Kallang, etc. should bring you to other hawker centres that cater to locals.
• Order in: GrabFood and Foodpanda are the two most popular food delivery apps with extensive coverage all around Singapore. Deliveroo is also available. Just be prepared to pay upwards of $5 delivery fee during peak periods, and the listed online prices are usually higher than in-store. The apps also have pick-up available if you’d simply like to order in advance.
• The ethnic enclaves like Kampung Glam (Malay/Muslim), Chinatown and Little India have a higher concentration of the respective ethnic cuisines, but most places in Singapore have a good mix of different local and international cuisines

What to eat?

Breakfast (These are generally very affordable options that should cost you below $10 per person, particularly if you go to food courts/hawker centres)

• Tea/coffee with kaya toast and half-boiled eggs. Available at most hawker centres (usually at the drink stalls), and chains like Ya Kun Kaya Toast and Killiney Kopitiam in malls. Order tea/coffee like a local by referring to this guide.
• Among the fast-food chains, KFC offers the more local option of chicken porridge (congee)
• Roti prata, a south-Indian flatbread (also known as paratha in India, or roti canai in Malaysia), available at most hawker centres and Indian coffee-shops
• Nasi lemak, coconut milk-flavoured rice with a variety of side dishes (usual ones: omelette, fried chicken wing/fried fish, fried anchovies).
• Beehoon, rice vermicelli with a range of toppings like fish cake, luncheon meat (spam), chicken wings, veggies etc.
• Chai Tow Kway (“carrot cake” - it’s actually radish cake), Tau Huey (soya bean curd pudding) + Youtiao (chinese fried dough)
• Mee Rebus, a Malay noodle dish with thick & spicy potato-based gravy topped with hard-boiled egg, bean sprouts, fried shallots, tau kwa (fried beancurd) and spring onions

Lunch & dinner

• Chilli crab: I don’t have any personal recommendations, and it could be costly because the crabs are usually charged by weight, which may vary daily. The link gives a run-down of some popular places
• Hainanese chicken rice: Again, no personal recommendations, but you can find this in most foodcourts and hawker centres. You should be able to find one of these for $5 or less.
• Murtabak/Briyani: My favourite is ZamZam Restaurant (est, 1908) at North Bridge Road in the Muslim enclave of Kampung Glam, but there is a whole row of Singapore-Indian restaurants serving a similar menu there
• Everything under the sun :) Google maps & data coverage generally works well in most parts of Singapore, so search & explore! Some sites you can start at include Chope & Burpple.

Snacks

• A must try, it’s sold by any ice cream man you see roaming around with a popup like this
• We have a ton of bubble tea (boba) stores if you’re craving it, you’d probably find a bubble tea store or two within 20mins of walking anywhere. Koi/Gongcha/LiHo are quite standard options, and then there’s others like Playmade/Chichasansen with their own unique points. Here’s a list with 61 of them...
• There’re plenty of 7-11s and convenience stores around, as well as “mama shops” around public residential housing.

Getting Around

Singapore has a great public transport system. It’s really easy & cheap to get around on the MRT (mass rapid transit trains) and buses. Use Google Maps or the City Mapper app to navigate yourself and get route recommendations (the latter also has transport arrival timings and fare estimates. It also works in many cities globally, so is very useful for tourists). Various transport passes are available for tourists, but you can also use your contactless credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) to pay for the fares (no registration required).
In general, using the Circle Line (yellow) or Downtown Line (blue) should get you to most tourist attractions. Orchard Road (main shopping belt) can be accessed via the North South Line (red), between Orchard and Somerset MRT stations. Map for reference, with links to versions in Chinese/Malay/Tamil available for download.
Taxis and ride-hailing cars: We have Grab and Gojek in place of Uber.

• The largest local taxi fleet - the blue Comfort Cabs - also have their own ride-hailing app to compete, although they can also operate via the traditional meter & can be booked via phone call/flagged down as usual. Fares can be paid via cash post-ride or credit card for all these private car options.
• Ride-hailing tends to be very expensive. At peak periods, ride-hailing services could be even more expensive than taxis, but at least you know the price beforehand. All malls have a taxi stand where you can stand in queue and hop on the next available cab. Queues can be long at morning and evening peak periods, so avoid taking cabs then if you can.

General navigation
All signs are in English, and the locals - esp the younger generation - are able to speak English fluently. If you’re really lost, feel free to approach others to ask for help! People are generally friendly and helpful despite initial appearances :)
As a side note: in general, if Google Maps is asking you to circle around a building to get somewhere - don’t. You can cut through most places on the ground floor quite easily, even the residential buildings (unless they’re private properties like condominiums/landed housing). MRT stations are connected to a good number of places via sheltered corridors if they’re nearby enough. Enjoy the aircon & shade instead of walking outside in the heat if you can.

Shopping

• Orchard Road is our main shopping belt, running from Orchard to Somerset MRT stations. You can find many shopping malls there, with collections ranging from upmarket to fast fashion. Check out Design Orchard, a retail space for fashion and lifestyle items by Singapore designers.
• For an old-style emporium experience drop by Mustafa Centre. It used to be open 24 hours but this was disrupted by COVID19 and now it is only open until 2am (best place for late night shopping!). It's not a glitzy mall, but has crowded aisles chock full of all manners of things, including snacks and souvenirs (avoid going on Sundays when it gets super crowded with migrant workers on their day off).
• Already mentioned above are the ethnic enclaves Chinatown, Little India, Kampung Glam and Geylang Serai with smaller standalone shops. Special mention for Haji Lane in the Kampung Glam area, a small street with cute boutiques.
• The many, many other malls scattered across the country - a brief list. For example, Paya Lebar alone (just another station up from Dakota!) is connected to several malls like Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ), PLQ 2, PL Square, Singpost centre, and a couple more within a 5-mins’ walk (Tanjong Katong Complex, City Plaza, KINEX etc.).

Weathewhat to wear

The weather is especially hot these days (max temp of up to 35 degrees celsius, or 95 Fahrenheit), with possible spurts of heavy rain at certain times of day, so dress light and carry an umbrella (most places do have sheltered walkways between buildings and bus-stops/MRT stations though, so don’t worry too much about getting around in the rain). Mall air-conditioning can be cold, so hv another layer (e.g. cardigan/wrap/scarf) on hand. Remember to hydrate frequently & avoid staying outdoors for too long!

Airport

• Singapore Changi Airport is often voted by travellers as the best airport in the world, with lots of shopping, dining and leisure options in the various terminals. BTS (except Jin who took a different flight) stopped over at Changi Airport on the way to New Zealand for Bon Voyage 4 (airport lounge scenes shown in Episode 1)! While you may not have access to the business class lounge like them, there are various other options to rest and hangout, like the many gardens (some even accessible from the public areas) and even a free 24h cinema (Terminal 3 transit area).
• Jewel Changi Airport which is attached to Terminal 1 is an attraction in itself. It's worth arriving 2-3 hours earlier than your flight check-in time to grab a meal and have a look around Jewel. A particular highlight is to take the skytrain between Terminals 2 and 3, cutting across the centre of Jewel, to get a spectacular view of the indoor waterfall. There is also shopping aplenty (Tip: NTUC Fairprice supermarket in Jewel has a nice selection of food and non-food souvenirs which are pretty affordable).
• There are various transport options for getting to the city from the airport. Public transport like MRT is convenient if you are travelling light, else there is a shuttle service to selected downtown hotels. Taxis and ride-hire cars can be expensive, especially with the airport surcharge.
• Sort of related, Yoongi gave a shout out to our national airlines (Singapore Airlines) for its great seat and amenities in business class in BV4! (He said: let's always fly Singapore Airlines in the future!). The airlines must have taken notice, because they recently announced that they would be adding BTS content like songs, MVs, LY New York concert, and Break The Silence docu in their in-flight entertainment system to commemorate BTS' 10th anniversary. An ARMY also spotted a write-up abt BTS in their in-flight magazine.

We’ve tried to achieve a balance between being succinct and informative, but certainly the above info is not exhaustive. So do feel free to ask in the comments below if the info you need is not here! Fellow SG ARMY, or those familiar with Singapore, feel free to chime in!

To Whom it may concern, With the amount of disclosure and whistle blowing going on I feel compelled to share information as it was shared to be from my Grandmother before she passed away. NAME REMOVED (MJP) was my grandmother and served as a GS13 Civilian Employee with the Air Force at Wright Patterson Airforce Base. She referred to herself as The Author of the Air Force Inventory Control System. Her initials MJP appeared on every line of code that she either wrote or approved which was later discovered to be nearly 70% of all the COBOL code in the system. Her status and position within the Inventory Control System gave her access to many top secret details including Nuclear Arms Details, Aircraft Capabilities, Base Locations, etc... She once recounted a story during the Vietnam war about a plane that went missing that was carrying Nuclear Warheads. The entire pentagon (as she recalled) was worried because the plane was lost and they were worried that the technology could fall into the wrong hands. She was watching a nation news update on the war and they were reporting from a runway in Vietnam. The reporter was talking about how the rains had created so much mud that planes could no longer take off and they were stuck. In the background she noticed the tail number of the missing aircraft sitting there in a background shot of the camera and picked up the phone and called the Pentagon from her home phone. She was connected to the appropriate General and told him that she found thier missing plane and that the pilots were probably drunk somewhere not realizing that everyone is looking for them. (This is not the story I am wanting to share but rather an attempt to establish credibility and the status of my Grandmother within the Air Force). When I was 16 years old I spent a summer living with my grandmother. I lived there for just under 90 days, it was only the 2 of us. I spent many days board and besides trying to learn to play her organ and talking to my girlfriend long distance on the phone, I had lots of time to kill. While looking for movies I found a box of home recorded VCR tapes that were all about UFOs. I asked my Grandmother why she had all these recording and she told me that she was very interested in what people were reporting about UFO and she would try to record most of what she saw on TV on the topic. I asked her if there was anything interesting and she replied that she thought it was all interesting that's why she recorded it. I spent many hours watching through her box of recordings and eventually watched one about all the weird coincidences about Wright Patterson Airforce Base. Because I knew she worked there I asked her about it. Besides saying that there were always rumors that there were hidden "Layers" on the base and that she always remembered that tons of civilians worked on the base and that no one really knew what everyone doing (herself included). She recalled (just as the VCR Recording had just discussed) that there were rumors that companies were taking items off the base to research them. She talked about how her inventory had every asset the Air Force had and she had detailed information and that she struggled to see how people could remove items without her knowing, but she did know that there were secrets. She had some items in the inventory that had no additional information and just serial numbers. Those items most of the time would have locations associated with it, but they would move at times from base to base without proper transport information. When my uncle died many years later I went to her home for the funeral. During that time period I was asked to spend a day with her while everyone else worked out the funeral details. She was deep in thought as you can imagine after loosing a son and she began to tell me her life story. I'll skip to the Air Force Part. She started as a secretary but had very high eval scores and she would volunteer for any special project when they asked for her help. The first special project was to help standardize an inventory system for the punch cards that were being used in the mid 50s, shortly after they switched to magnetic reel and needed a new inventory system for that as well. Additionally they would receive computer updates on the telegraph machine. Not Morse Code but instead binary. They had an evaluation with the secretaries on accuracy of transferring the print outs of the telegraph binary into the computing machines. She was selected as one of the girls that would take the print outs and re input them into the computers. She realized that it was faster and more accurate to transfer the code if she read it like we read English and then just retype the English back into binary into the system. Worked like a charm. She was reading binary on a daily basis in the same way that anyone else would read the New York Times. Most of what she was reading was computer nonsense but the translation into letters made her very fast and accurate. She eventually became the head of computer storage inventory cataloguing all the reels and storing them in storage facilities. When the Air Force decided to turn their entire inventory into a digital system instead of a paper system she was selected with several other women to learn COBOL, a new computing language. After all the women were taught the new language her scores were the highest plus she already had experience in leading during the inventory management work she was already doing so they chose her to be the team lead. Her and that group of women would go on to write the first digital database for the Air Force. Their daily code would be sent out a night to 2 other bases (California and Virginia I believe) and those bases would build simultaneous software databases that later would receive nightly transmissions to keep them up to date with each other. She said that no one knew the Air Force inventory like her. She would be the one that pulled the data from the database and send it to the Pentagon for all the updates. She shared a funny story about how when Nixon was giving a State of the Union address he was giving an update about the Vietnam war and he started feeding false information. The Air Force losses were way higher then what he stated and she jumped up and started screaming and the TV that he was a lier, because she created the report for the president and she new what the real number were. Then after awhile she couldn't figure out who was lying. Was it the President? Or was it someone between her and the President? She went on to say that she new that there were secret bases and that there were item in inventory that someone was hiding what the items actually were. She couldn't understand that if she knew exactly how many nuclear bombs the Air Force had and exactly where they were located then what would they need to keep more secret then that. She suspected that it was aliens. There were rumors all over the base that the military had aliens and alien technology. That the loads of civilians on the base were working to crack the code on alien technology so that humans could use it, but she never had proof. On 2 different occasions she was asked to go to a private briefing room at Wright Patt. These were two different rooms in two different locations. The first time, the room had a wall filled with "Televisions" but they were the biggest Televisions she had ever seen. This was in the 60s and she had never experienced anything like it. They were also in Color. She noticed that the wall did not seem thick enough to hold all these TVs but that she was positive it was not a projector. Another time she went into a room and the briefing started on what can best be described as a white board. She said they often used chalk boards and she was very familiar with what a chalk board looked like. This one was different. For starters it wasn't the typical color of a chalk board and it didn't make the right noise when the person was writing. Later the instructor flipped over the board and said that they were going to watch a film. The other side of the board played a movie like she was at the theater. She looked around for a projector or at least the light of the lens and she couldn't find one. In the Late 90s when she got her first LCD TV she knew she had seem something like it before and couldn't believe that she now had alien technology in her house. While she was coding she had a routine. She would write code for 15 minutes then get up from her desk, light a cigarette and walk to the breakroom to refill her coffee. She would then take a lap and go back to her desk all of that took her about 10 minutes. She was in the breakroom so much that she got to know everyone in the building. She also told me that she was a lonely woman (her husband had died) and she secretly wished that one of the men would show interest in her, but she said no one did. This is the point of the story and I am missing a detail that I wish I remembered but I don't. One day she was in the breakroom one of her friends from the base was there and had a look on her face like something was terribly wrong. My Grandmother said that when you work for the government you learn to never ask questions, but the woman just looked offaul and maybe her mother had died or something and so my grandmother asked it she was okay. The Woman told my grandmother "Don't you know Jeanie (her nickname), The last one died today." My Grandmother said she kept on her poker face but had no idea what the woman was talking about. The woman continue "It's okay Jeanie we can talk about it. I know who you are, I know your clearance, I know that nothing happens here that you aren't aware of. The last alien died today. We have so much more that we want to learn." My Grandmother just sipped her coffee and said "I haden't heard." Then walked out the door. She went on to say that she was too scared to ever talk about it. She gave me the exact date of the conversation but I have sadly forgotten the date. She stated that after that she feared for her life. She didn't know how many more secrets she could keep. The government was constantly asking her to give them information and then doing coverups. This was during the Vietnam war and everything was very stressful. The stress was killing her and she started to develop ulcers. The ulcers eventually became chronic and she was forced into disability in 1976. She said that she learned to never trust what the government wants us to believe and that aliens are real. She also said she believed that companies were using alien technology to make all the advancements that we have now. She then pointed to items in her house like her TV and her laptop and said we couldn't have done all this without help. I know this is just a story but it's a true story from my life.

Hello, everyone, time for our monthly recap! Let’s take a closer look at some of the noteworthy highlights that occurred during this action-packed May:
We announced a strategic alliance between Horizon and Polygon Labs to make web3 easy, fun, and accessible for everyone. The general goal is to redefine web3 infrastructure by offering developers an array of innovative tools to build games and applications for enhanced scalability, security, and user experience, offering credits to incentivize projects to build with us. More here: https://medium.com/0xsequence/sequence-x-polygon-labs-join-forces-to-revolutionize-web3-infrastructure-4b2cb17aaa0b
We were honoured to hear Polygon’s co-founder Sandeep Nailwal refer to Horizon and Sequence as the #1 infrastructure team in all of web3 on this Twitter Spaces about the strategic alliance: https://twitter.com/0xPolygonLabs/status/1658917513822961666?s=20
In collaboration with Sequence, Paris Basketball launched a free-to-claim collectible on Polygon. All attendees at a key game received a free digital collectible of the Adidas Arena, Paris Basketball’s home stadium starting Feb 2024. This token is the prelude to a game-changing collectible release for next season! For the relevant thread: https://twitter.com/0xPolygonLabs/status/1656321206910439424
We sponsored GamesBeat Summit, a summit for 900 gaming executives and leaders from the world’s biggest gaming studios and exciting up-and-comers. Our CEO Peter Kieltyka was part of a panel with Polygon's VP, Head of Global Business Development Urv Goel, and BoomLand's COO Serhat Marasligil, and Dean Takahashi. You can watch the "Time to Level Up: What's needed for the next successful web3 game" panel here: https://vimeo.com/venturebeat/review/830659191/362707f132
We recently shared our official sponsorship of 3XP Web3 Gaming Expo, powered by Game7, the premier event that celebrates and showcases the vibrant community of blockchain games. If you are going to be there, see you at our talk “Build web3 games with ease: the tools you need for seamless player experiences”; you can look it up here: https://www.3xp.gg/event/9612df5a-6d53-4a0d-84ba-faf276a42bb6/websitePage:e9c2c78e-099a-4dfe-b57d-ef0ebb6135b1
We’ve also been spreading the word out there on different spaces:
Michael Sanders joined the Cryptonews podcast with Matt Zahab to talk about web3 games and the next generation of Internet experiences, among many other topics. Enjoy the wide-ranging conversation: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1735660/12830209-231-michael-sanders-co-founder-of-horizon-blockchain-games-on-web3-gaming-blockchain-and-ayahuasca
Michael was also a guest at the COMMIT MEDIA podcast, where he talked about web3's role in the future of gaming, digital assets, the future of the Internet, and how game studios and consumer brands can enter web3 in a way that's seamless, accessible, and amazing for their users. Have a listen: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5hiCcLGnoOJxYVire1d6RW?si=10196b1408d24f9a&nd=1
We had an insightful chat with our partners Yesports. If you missed it, tune in to learn more about their gaming marketplace that's powered by the Sequence Wallet and how they're bridging the gap between gaming, fans, esports, and web3: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1rmGPkeabzYKN?s=20
Last but not least, we’ve been preparing for the major infrastructure update for the Sequence Wallet we just shared yesterday. This upcoming development will greatly benefit both developers and users. If you want to be involved with the testing, read our announcement here. We’d love to have your feedback! ⁠https://discord.com/channels/462307962459783176/841718039115989013/1113864995810312242

I don't know how to start, and this may sound like self-pity (which I think it'll be) but... I'm halfway through my 20s and I find it hard to communicate with people. I'm personally not a fan of small talks, and sometimes I don't know how to respond in chat. I prefer calls honestly, but I know not everyone is comfortable with that. Most of my friends recently were friends that I met because of my ex. Now that we broke up, I find it awkward to communicate with them. My old friends who I met through school and some other aspects of my life are busy. Well, I don't blame them, adulting and what not. It's just that, I crave communication, and I realized finding new friends online is somewhat harder than finding them in real life. Di rin nakakatulong yung work from home setup, ugh.
Nag-deactivate rin ako ng Facebook dahil ang toxic dun. Regardless if I didn't or not, puro share lang naman ako ng memes kasi wala naman talaga kumakausap sa akin. Nakakapagod din mag-initiate ng conversation, no? Ang hirap na yung energy na binubuhos mo sa kanila is di nila ma-match. Haha.
So ayun lang. Thank you po sa pagbasa and have a nice Tuesday.

I (45M) met my partner (42M) in 2005. He moved in about 5 months into the relationship, things moved quickly. In hindsight, there were red flags; but when you fall for someone, it is hard to separate fear from a red flag. Things were really good. He was a fun, life of the party type of guy. His personality and smile would fill a room. He followed me through school and we both got our doctorates. Vacations, family trips, I was so happy. However, about 18 months into the relationship, intimacy kind of started to die. He seemed kind of uninterested. When we did have sex, it often felt more like a hookup or like a soul-less robot I was with. I couldn't figure it out. I chalked it up to stress and school. There was always another reason I could find. It was during these first few months and years that I noticed he had no friends outside of his younger brother. Despite that, he was my best friend, we got along very well and really didn't have big fights or disagreements.
Fast forward to 2015, he is about to graduate and start his career as a doctor; it was an exciting time. His demeanor changed rapidly. He began going to the gym a lot, but this time I wasn't invited. I still had a year of school left so I was too busy anyways. His gym outings started lasting 2-3 hours. I asked mutual friends about it out of suspicion, but they assured me he would never cheat. About two weeks before his graduation, he told me we needed to talk, he was leaving me. It was very cold and to the point. I asked if he had met someone, he said "no, I would never do that". He didn't cry, no emotion. Two days later he came out of the bedroom with a backpack and said he was leaving for "a day or two". He didn't come back.
There I was, trying to study for finals which required about 15 hours a day for weeks on end. Trying not to break down constantly and be productive to make sure I passed my finals. I downloaded a dating app, if just to feel not so alone and have someone to chat with. I remember how quiet it was in those first few weeks, the silence was deafening. I chatted with a few people. One guy I chatted with had a blank profile, but quickly sent a face pic. He looked familiar. I told him my situation, to which he replied, "well, obviously it sounds like he is cheating on you". I studied his photo again and then went out to Facebook to investigate. It was my partners newest Facebook friend. I immediately texted my partner, and asked who this friend of his was, and why he says you are cheating on me. He was furious. It was the guy he left me for, he was cheating. My partners graduation was the next evening, which I was supposed to attend with him at his request, because he hadn't told friends and family that we were separated because he didn't want to ruin the celebration. I didn't go and so he went to his graduation and his party alone. He was mad at me for that. I hypothesize that this guy told me because he didn't want me going to the graduation neither my ex.
Up until that point, my ex and I had still been communicating on a near daily basis. That ended at this point, I was broken. A couple of weeks went by and then the new mister-ess contacted me. They had already had a falling out and he wanted to talk to me, said there were things I should know. I told him that he was crazy, but that at this point, what the hell, right? We decided to meet for a drink at a local rooftop bar. He made me assure him that I wouldn't punch him in the face, but I told him that I would rather punch my ex.
We grabbed a drink around 8pm. He was a very good looking guy. Kind of a rough looking Jake Gyllenhaal. I Instantly felt both jealous and insecure about myself at the same time. Is this why he left? I wasn't good looking enough? (During those early months, I blamed myself a lot for the breakup) He began by telling me that my ex was a piece of shit, and they weren't talking. I'm still not sure what had happened between them. He told me that they had been seeing each other for about 3 months before my ex left me (gym time), and he went on to say that my ex was a piece of shit and I should run as fast as I could away from him. Now, initially, I kind of chuckled.. of course you want me out of the picture, things aren't working out and he is obviously afraid my ex will come back to me. He then said something that still gives me chills and has taken me years to wrap my brain around: "He doesn't love you and he never has, he told me that when we first met. When I told him that's not possible, he told me that he has been cheating on you since he first met you.". Ok, so that knocked me back, and I'm sure I had a look of disbelief on my face. I don't know what my response was at that point, I think I semi blacked out.. but he began following up with names, dates and places. He named a guy that we met in Mexico on our 1st vacation together in 2006. My ex had just moved in with me a few months before that trip. They apparently hooked up in a bathroom of our resort he informed me. He named a classmate of my ex.. My ex had invited that classmate to multiple parties with us and to our place. He named a creepy older guy that lived in our building. At this point I think I was in shock. I felt violated. Both by the actions of my ex and by the fact that this stranger knew more details about my relationship than I did, or so it seemed. I finished my drink and got up to leave. He asked me not to tell my ex what I had been told. He then went on to say we should "hang out sometime". I left.
I arrived at my ex's new place in about 3 1/2 minutes. He admitted to everything. There was no remorse, he was just calm about it, like everything was normal. I did not know this person. It was probably one of the scariest moments in my life. This person I knew, loved and trusted more than anyone, I knew nothing about them. He told me that he did say he never loved me, but that was only so he could impress this new guy, he didn't mean it he said. I wanted to believe that. I asked him how many times he had cheated. He said he couldn't remember. He said that whenever he did something "bad" that he would mentally block it out, and that he couldn't remember anything. (Although he conveniently remembered to tell this guy about it as evidence he didn't care about me)
The next few days and weeks were a daze. Reality seemed not real anymore. Looking back, I was in shock. Over the next several weeks classmates and friends confided in me that there were other people my partner had cheated with, 6 that I know of at least now. I was looking for something that made sense of it all. Nothing did. I was back home visiting my family for Father's day, everyone was there except for my ex. It felt empty. My brother and sister tried to console me. I was inconsolable. My brother and I hung out for several hours that day, that hadn't happened for a long time. He pulled up YouTube on the TV and played me a Sia video he loved; Elastic Heart. We took turns playing videos and talking about the meaning behind them. I recall that being both an amazing day with my brother and also strange, as he was never that open. He hugged me before he left, told me he loved me. He called me "doc" right before he got in his car, even though I didn't have my degree yet..
My brother would die two days later at the construction site he worked at. The 1000's of pounds of rebar the crane was lowering down above his head would come undone and come down on top of him. It was instantaneous they told us. It turned out they had hired an out of work teacher to help on the site, he didn't know how to secure the fittings on the rebar to the crane. The company was fined $15k I believe in OSHA violations, but what was done was done. I remember at this point being almost happy for the breakup, because I was already numb when this happened. I cried a lot, but there were almost no tears left to cry at that point.
I found out about the accident via my smartwatch while I was with a patient. I can't remember if I was sitting on the floor or was leaning against a wall, but the faculty got me into an office and got me seated. They called my ex to come and get me because they weren't going to let me drive. It was 10:30am. My ex told them it was his first day of work at his new job and that he didn't want to leave early because it would look bad (yeah, I know). A classmate of mine drove me home and stayed with me until my ex got off work. She helped me pack to go to my parents. My ex came and got me and drove me the 90 mins to my parents, I don't remember much about that ride. The next few days were a blur, the funeral seemed like a bad dream. My ex did go with me, but he never cried, never showed emotion. The night before the funeral I asked if he could hang out with me, but he blew me off, it turned out he had a date. He ended up telling me I needed to find a new support system when I got upset.
The sense of loss you feel when you lose two people this close to you is overwhelming. It was at this point that I decided I couldn't lose my ex. Whatever was wrong with him, whatever he was going through, I needed to help him. This brings me to the painful lesson I would eventually learn through all of this: you really can't help someone if they don't want to change, are incapable of change, or if they think there is nothing wrong with them. Some lessons are harder to learn than others, however.
I started reaching out to my ex, trying to spend time with him. He was still seeing his fling off and on. I got him into therapy. This went on for sometime, us being off and on. I realize now that I was the back burner, he was keeping me warm. I was in the perfect state for him, I would have done anything to make things work at this point, I was broken into pieces. In the realm of narcissistic personality disorder, I was the "supply", and I seemed more than willing to put myself through that meat grinder given the circumferences.
During this time of back and forth. My ex would tell me he wanted to make things work, and then I would catch him with this other guy again. He would say they were just friends, etc.. At one point, this guy started showing up at my condo in the middle of the night, he would message me and comment on what I was wearing. I would get a text saying, "I like that red shirt", and I'd look down and I was wearing a red shirt. It got creepy fast, I never knew when I was being watched. One of the dating apps would show how far away people were, down to feet. On multiple occasions I would get a message as I was going to bed, the distance would show under 20 feet away. Those moments were horrific, because it happened on dozens of occasions. I was being stalked.
The messages I was receiving got more and more threatening. I told my ex about it, but he said it wasn't his problem. After one particularly creepy night where it seemed like this guy was in my hallway, I showed my ex all of the messages the next day. He finally told me that this guy hated me with a passion, and said he "didn't think he would actually do anything". I asked him what things he said he was going to do, and then he casually mentioned that this guy had joked about killing me. A few days later I stopped by my ex's place and was ringing the door entry panel, when this guy approached me and started a fight.. he broke my nose and threw me down a flight of stairs. My ex called the police and told me I shouldn't have been there unannounced. He continued seeing this guy.
Now, this guy had been in my school, and had just started taking preliminary classes at the request of my ex. I went to the school counselors and filed a report, he was kicked out of school and banned for two years. I filed a restraining order, but he didn't show up to court for the hearing. The school took it very seriously. Security guards were given his photo and told not to allow him in the building. The stalking did stop finally though.
My ex finally ended things with him, as he started getting more and more violent. My ex would call me saying he was scared of him, that he was there trying to beat the door down. As I'm typing this, I realize that this was probably just a manipulation technique to work on my empathy and to pull me back in. It worked. We talked about how to cut this guy off and what we needed to do to protect my ex from this crazy guy. We started spending more and more time together.
Over the next few months we began spending most of the week together. Things were starting to feel normal again. My ex moved back in with me. Although I was happy, I also was scared, because I knew deep down there was something very wrong. We had already started counseling at my request. His mother was a borderline personality disorder, which we had kind of known before. What we didn't know was how that affected a child raised by one. It would take me a few more years to fully understand the damage she caused.
Things pretty quickly fell apart after he moved back in. The kind, fun person I had known the first 10 years no longer existed. In hindsight, I realize that the kind person was a facade, an act that was used to cover all of the pain and dysfunction that was hiding underneath. After 3 months of living together I asked him to move out in the fall of 2016. I helped him find an apartment and helped him move his things. There I was, alone again, broken..
Despite being separated, we never stopped seeing each other. We regularly made dinner for each other, went and saw movies, camping trips, vacations, family gatherings, etc. I think deep down I held onto hope that therapy would slowly work its magic. I was 39 at the time, and starting over just seemed impossible.
By the end of 2018 we were back in therapy, he had been going off and on since 2015 at this point.. The question was, we can't stop spending time together, where do we go from here? I trusted our therapist, she knew us well. Judging from our sessions and how she conducted them, it seemed as though she believed we could reconcile. I had my concerns, but allowed my fears of being alone and fear of going through the full pain of losing my partner guide my decision making process. I simply could not picture my life without him. I was still trying to get my life back that I knew before 2015. Our therapist told me for this to work, I needed to be fully committed, 100%. (Although, hell, have I not been at this point??) She told me he was likely was developing borderline personality disorder, but that if he continued counseling, he could overcome it.
We decided to give it another go. However, I had been in my small condo for 15 years at this point, and he was in his tiny apartment. We needed a new place, for new memories. I wanted children, it's something we had discussed for years. We decided to buy a house together. I know, I'm rolling my eyes right now too.. We found an amazing house, and within about 6 weeks we were moving in. I was back to feeling as happy as ever. Intimacy, however, never recovered.
For about 6 months, things seemed "normal". However, something this time was different. I was different. I was becoming aware of reality. He had quickly stopped counseling after buying the house, but didn't tell me immediately. I began to notice things he said, little arguments he would start. He would belittle me in small ways. Once I noticed this, I couldn't let it go. He would also gaslight me. He would say something or make plans, and then when I would bring it up later, I was "crazy", because he never said that. I would try to point these things that bothered me out to him, but it would get turned around on me. Why couldn't I let things go, he would say. Also, my items would disappear. Mail would get thrown away, kitchen gadgets tossed. One particular night I wanted to make waffles, and I had a really nice waffle maker my parents got me. I searched and searched, but couldn't find it anywhere. I asked him if he'd seen it, which started a fight. "I didn't touch it! Stop accusing me!". I had only asked him because he had reorganized the kitchen a few weeks earlier. I searched storage, the garage, went through box after box. I looked for several days. After a few days, he said it "might" have been thrown away. Might have?? He said he wasn't sure. After another day of searching, he finally told me he had thrown it away because I rarely used it. When I got upset, he told me that I was too materialistic, and placed too much value on items. This happened dozens of times, and somehow it was always my fault.
By fall of 2019, something strange began happening. I started getting stomache pains. It was enough pain that I thought I should see a doctor. However, I quickly realized that this pain would begin only when my partner was in the room. After that, if he would try to touch me or hold my hand, I would instinctively recoil. I felt horrible about it. I told him to give me space while I figured myself out. I spoke to my therapist about it, and she told me I should read the book, The Body Keeps The Score. I didn't, but it's on my list.
Over the next few months I read several books about relationships. One of them I read twice, Too Good To Leave, To Bad To Stay. I put a lot of effort into figuring out how we could mend and repair all the damage that had been done over the years. I had seen multiple therapists, even a sex therapist. I think I was out on the porch one day, reading my 4th or 5th book, punishing myself for not knowing how to fix things. It was at that point that I realized he was in the house playing video games, had read zero books, sought out no new counseling, had not wanted to initiate any conversations on the topic. Everything rested solely on my shoulders to fix. I realized I was in this relationship alone. It felt like I was living with a roommate because I WAS living with a roommate. This person I loved did not love me, at least not the way I did him. It was a rude awakening, one that I should have realized 5 years earlier.
A few days later I told him I was leaving him, he did not react, he just said ok. Over the next few days and weeks I cried harder than I have ever cried, he didn't. At one point I realized I was having what Oprah called, the ugly cry, it kind of felt good in a way. The pandemic hit a few weeks later, so we were together until June of that summer. We discussed here and there if there were ways to save things. At one point he told me if I worked out more, it might help. It was in moments like that that I knew I was doing the right thing. I was an object to him, if I was a bit shinier I might get more attention.. at least that's what I heard. A few weeks before he moved out, he asked if he could move up to the 3rd floor, because he was sad he wasn't going to get to live in the house anymore. He thought we could be roommates. The problem was, we already WERE roommates, except I was in love with him, and he wasn't with me. Hearing that the house was his biggest concern hurt me deeply. (I had offered to let him keep the house, but he couldn't afford it by himself)
I helped him look for apartments, frequently having to excuse myself as I would break down during the showings. I helped him move his furniture and belongings. However, even after all of this, we continued to spend time together. Movies, dinners, game nights.. I started to experience deep depression after each weekend we spent together. I sought counseling, and slowly I weaned myself from seeing him. I eventually limited myself to 2 hours per week. This made him very angry, even though he was not doing therapy, and wasn't working on the relationship at all.
I realized I was doing the right thing, but I was constantly in my head. How could I leave this person I loved so much. The intense back and forth battle in my head was ferocious. I kept going to counseling, and he helped me to sort those competing thoughts out. I had been maintaining this pristine image of my ex in my head, the facade he had created early on persisted in my mind, and I longed for that perfect person I once knew. Yet the person I know knew on my day to day was this twisted person who seemed foreign to me. It has taken several years for me to meld those two people into one person, the real person.
It's been 3 years since I left him this month. I haven't spoken to him in over a year now. It gets better. There have been days and weeks when I couldn't get out of bed, and felt like I couldn't go on. For a long period the cognitive dissonance was almost beyond what I could handle. I felt like I had passed into an alternate universe, having lost both my brother and my partner. I didn't recognize my life. I had to cut off most of our mutual friends to survive, because they couldn't respect my boundaries. So not only did I miss my ex, but I missed my friends as well.
Your life will collapse as you know it. However, it is this collapse that has to happen in order to build a new, better life. Kind of like a Phoenix, it has to burn before it can rise into it's final form. There were many dark days that I held onto that image in my mind as my depression and sadness raged. The more pain I felt, the more it felt like fire burning away my old life. Let it burn. Feel everything. If anyone who has read this far has been through anything similar, you know what I'm talking about. There is no way around the pain, so walk right through it and feel all of it. The only way around is through.
I truly believe I have been through this for a reason, for something better. This is preparation for what my future holds. I am not the same person now, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I used to fear that I would be alone forever, and it terrified me. Now, it doesn't terrify me as much, but I don't think I will be alone forever, I have a lot to offer.
It has taken a lot of time, but I know understand my ex to be a covert narcissist with BPD. I was manipulated throughout the relationship. I discovered so many lies he had told me during the aftermath of the breakup, it is astounding. I believed every word. When I initially asked him to move in with me, it turned out he had made up a story about his dad kicking him out, and said he couldn't afford an apartment by himself. We went and looked at apartments for several weekends, with him sad he couldn't afford it. It was all a manipulation to coherce me to ask him to move in. There are countless other mainpulations as well. Right before he moved out for the last time, in a moment of what seemed like honesty, he told me he had never loved me, and that he didn't know what love was, but he thought it was a weakness that people had. I still miss him every day, despite the things he did. I now understand that you can love someone, but it doesn't mean you have to keep them in your life.
I have spent the last 3 years learning about myself and improving myself. At 45, I'm in my best shape ever. I've always been athletic, but I took it to a new level. Find something that makes you feel better about yourself, and run with it. I'm planning on finally learning how to play guitar and learn Spanish. I've joined a softball team and a kickball team. You have a blank slate, paint with bright colors and paint a beautiful new life for yourself. Life looks totally different than it used to, but it's slowly beginning to feel like a life again. Dream big!

I have been researching catholicism and meditating on scripture, as well as researching church history and expanding my knowledge of catholicism and theology as a whole. I have become convinced that the catholic church is the one true church and I wish to join it.
I was protestant, part of the gospel halls which are an evangelical, sorta non denominational church which follows some presbyterian doctorines, but very few. It teaches that communion is nothing but a symbol, baptism is an outward expression of an inward faith, eternal security etc... It is very low church and any member may speak during the service and the structure is several elders within the church with no external authority. These elders control all of the church and are elected by one another.
I went through several experiences, my family recieved no support during covid and during my grandfathers funeral the elders attended and when they greeted us they had completely forgotten mine and my brothers name, bearing in mind this is small congregation and we are fairly involved.
Regardless I have been convinced in my heart to convert to catholocism after much prayer and study. I started to have doubts about protestantism and during covid we didnt attend church and the church virtually ceased all activity during covid. When visiting my grandmother i attended a few anglican services, which to my suprise I enjoyed, the liturgy and respect for the sacraments spoke to me, at this point I began looking at high church protestantism then catholicism.
My mother was anglican, then went to the afformentioned gospel hall after she married my father, recently she has become more open to catholicism. My father was presbyterian and then started attending the gospel hall, my father has been convinced that catholicism is wrong and the RCC is evil and has the devil in it (thinks liturgy is based in paganism etc...) and is in no way open to catholicism.
I am 17 and live in a country where catholicism and protestantism have political and paramilitary implications... hence my fathers apprehension I suspect. I cannot attend mass at this time, let alone have the oppurtunity to convert. My past church prevented me from becoming baptised, they do not practise infant baptism and I knew nothing different. I desire to reach full communion in the catholic church and feel like i haver received justification.
I am asking for advice on firstly how I could introduce the topic to my father, secondly whether I should wait to convert after I have left my home. From anyone willing to help, particularly from other converts with similar experiences and priests if they can.
TLDR: One parent is receptive to catholicism, the other is staunchly anti-catholic. I want to convert to catholicism as I am convinced that it is the true church of Christ. Priests and other converts with similar experiences please help.
Thank you and God bless you all.

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Hi!
I'm looking to move some cables that have been in my inventory for some time. I hope that they will find a new home here.
Cables marked with 'sale' are $5 off, grab two cables and take $15 off. Prices include shipping.
I am also open to custom commissions.

CUSTOM COMMISSIONS:

I'm available for custom commission requests! Lead time is 3-8 days depending on the cable.

• 45+ Paracord and Techflex colors
• GX16, LEMO, and YC8 detachable connectors available
• NEW Aluminum USB-C housings - straight & angled
• 25+ color coatings options for all connectors
• NEW Aluminum USB-C housings, straight & angled

You can check out my portfolio site HERE to view my customization options and completed commission gallery.

IN-STOCK CABLES:

Paracord/Techflex	Detachable Connector	Coil/Straight Cable Length	Price USD
Purple/Purple	Purple GX16	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$38 SHIPPED
Black/Black	Black GX16	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$38 SHIPPED
Black/Black	YC8 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$38 SHIPPED
Starry Night/Clear	YC8 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$38 SHIPPED
White/Clear	YC8 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$38 SHIPPED
⬇$5 OFF BELOW ⬇	⬇$5 OFF BELOW ⬇	⬇$5 OFF BELOW ⬇	⬇$5 OFF BELOW ⬇
White GlitteClear	GX16 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$34 SHIPPED - SALE
Black/Carbon	GX16 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$34 SHIPPED - SALE
White/White	GX16 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$34 SHIPPED - SALE
Pastel Rainbow/White	GX16 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$34 SHIPPED - SALE
White/Clear	GX16 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$34 SHIPPED - SALE
Purple/Black	GX16 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$34 SHIPPED - SALE
Pastel Rainbow/Clear	GX16 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$34 SHIPPED - SALE
Purple/Clear	GX16 Silver	6" Coil, 4ft Host	$34 SHIPPED - SALE

CABLE DETAILS

• Cables are created with double-shielded USB 2.0 compliant 28awg 4 core cable.
• The cables are double-sleeved with Paracord & Techflex.
• Coils include matching straight host cable (4ft unless noted).
• Cables are USB-A to USB-C. USB-C to USB-C is also available upon request.

​
Thank you for viewing.

i’m in cosmo school in KS, learning lashes in a month. my question is, if i wanted to do lashes out of my home in MO, after i got certified & im still in school is that legal? i know in MO you don’t have to be done with school to be lashing technically, but salon’s would want that. so i’m trying to work from home, would i need to get certified in missouri too? kc lash techs that are certified and work from home let me know!

(im new to reddit so if this is the wrong group pls forgive me lol)i’m in cosmo school & learning lash extensions this july. my question is, i’m learning lash extensions in KS. i want to do them out of my home in MO while i’m in school still. is there any certified/licensed lash techs from home who can help me out on this? is it legal to do lashes in a different state with a KS certification? i don’t want state board to get called and i wanted to do this legally

Location: 6/10
It's basically as close as you can get to campus, which is nice. Safeway, HMart and a few other grocery stores are only a few blocks walk or a bus ride away. Close to the LRT too, which has its upsides, and (spoiler alert) its downsides. However, the HUB itself is a complete shitshow when it comes to food and the stores there either have a really limited selection, are super overpriced, or both.
Kitchen: 3/10
The appliances and cabinetry are all definitely nice and pretty high quality, however there are some MAJOR flaws to the layout. Firstly, there isn't enough counter space to have a microwave unless you don't use a drying rack or otherwise leave the drying rack in the sink which means you have no room to use it. Second, to even open the fridge you need to stand in the bathroom, which isn't a dealbreaker, but still pretty odd and resulted in my bathroom mat collecting a lot of dirt over time. Thirdly, there also just isn't enough counter space for anything at all, beyond even a microwave. You're forced to use the stovetop to have room for your cuttingboard/etc. or otherwise take it into the bedroom and use the tiny table.
The oven is small and has a heating coil on both the top and the bottom. I have had two Pyrex dishes explode on me in the oven, and my assumption is this is due to the fact that it's basically not possible to get far enough away from the heating coil to not explode. Also, basically every time I use the oven it sets off my smoke detector at least 30 times. These have compounded in me never using an oven, on top of not having a microwave. So I just use my stovetop, which still sets off the smoke detector every couple uses for no discernable reason.
TL;DR these units were not really designed with any kind of even remotely serious cooking in mind.
Bed/Bedroom: 4/10
Calling it a bed is pretty generous. It's basically a glorified gymnastics mat sitting on top of a metal cot. Twin/single bed sheets fit extremely loose, FYI. In terms of firmness I would say the mattress was on the firm side, but closer to the middle. Bed is squeaky, and there's also no real headboard so I had to line my bed up with a wall or else my pillow would slide off the bed 9,082,335 times every night.
There is only one light in the bedroom, and I unfortunately (spoiler alert) wasn't ever able to open my curtains. I will also say that most of the furniture in general is pretty low quality, aside from the armchair. I would genuinely consider the University's portrayal (https://www.ualberta.ca/residence/media-library/images/hub-floorplan-studio.jpg) one of the greatest catfishes of all time, and am honestly convinced that this has to be in violation of some kind of false advertising law.
Bathroom: 1/10
There isn't a fan in the bathroom and it is genuinely the stupidest idea I have ever seen executed. When I take a shower my entire kitchen gets covered in a light coating of condensation. It causes a lot of the metal in the bathroom (shower curtain, appliance covers) to rust very quickly. Not to mention, there are no drawers in the bathroom, only a cupboard under the sink. But why would you want to even put anything in the bathroom with how humid it gets there after a shower?
Cleanliness: 2/10
Dust collected in my unit at an insanely fast rate. I think it was because the heaters haven't been cleaned in a long time. I admittedly have OCD and am a bit of a neat freak but I basically had to sweep every day or every-other day. And I would sweep up a sizeable amount of dust, too. Enough to fill maybe 1/4 of a dustpan.
It was dirty enough that I threw out a lot of stuff (doormat, bath mat, etc.) when moving out because there was no way I could get it clean again.
Climate Control: 1/10
Virtually nonexistent. Through the winter my unit got below 15 C very regularly and now that Spring has hit I have been burning up to the point that I bought a box fan. I'm also on the bottom floor and can't open my window often for (spoiler alert) reasons, so that was also fun. I should also mention that apparently studio units don't even get ceiling fans?
Mailbox: 2/10
UPS, FedEx, and Amazon will deliver packages to your stairwell door and it will be stolen in less than 15 minutes. Canada Post can deliver to the boxes however I have had maybe 1 of every 4 Canada Post packages ordered get lost for no discernable reason. I had to pay $30/mo for a UPS PO Box and use the Amazon Locker to survive.
Food deliveries like DoorDash, etc. are very hit or miss because the delivery drivers do not like to deliver onto campus because they don't understand the layout. Be prepared to have to deal with really angry and confused drivers calling or texting you. Or your food delivered to the wrong unit. And lots of late deliveries.
Laundry: 4/10
Not enough machines for the sheer number of people living in the HUB. Be prepared to go at really inconvenient times if you want to do your laundry without having to wait an excessive amount of time. It's also pretty exhausting to have to carry laundry up three flights of stairs and all the way to the laundry room, as someone who lived pretty far from it.
The laundry room in general is pretty dirty. People will open your dryer or washer on accident and not restart the machine, pretty regularly. Lots of people leave their stuff in the machines for hours. It's also (spoiler alert) not 100% safe.
Privacy: 6/10\*
Pretty decent, though I have heard people living in the HUB say otherwise very adamantly. I didn't have a neighbor above or next to me so probably take this with a grain of salt. My biggest complaint is that I hear tons of people in my stairwell very late at night who are just walking through it and talking very loudly. There seems to be virtually no sound insulation whatsoever on the side of the room that has the stairwell.
Pests: 8/10\*
Outside of a few dozen fruit flies over my 6 months of living in the HUB, I didn't have to deal with any. Expect that this may not be the case for you, but pray that it is. My understanding is if you live under or even near a restaurant you are going to have mice and ants pretty badly. However, I will also note that I absolutely have seen cockroaches, ants, etc. just chilling out on the mall-level.
Safety: 1/10
OK so yeah, it's awful. I can't open my window because homeless people will come up to the window and ask me for food or money. Someone let a homeless man into the laundry room while I was alone in there and he came after me and I had to physically leave the room while leaving my stuff there for my own safety. I was approached by a human trafficker who tried stalking me for a week or two afterwards. 2-3 times I have heard people screaming (presumably on drugs or having some kind of episode) run into my stairwell to pull the fire alarm. There have been times I've been unable to enter or leave my apartment because people are literally just tripping out in the middle of the stairwell or in front of the door, etc. I've been followed home late at night from the bus stop/LRT station by people who were literally talking about mugging me.
Price: 1/10
Completely unjustified and unaffordable. The unit and the experience of living here is generously worth about 2/3 of the current price, if that. They have manipulated studios into being a monthly lease in order to squeeze every single penny out of you for rent. Not to mention I had to pay $30/mo for a mailbox from UPS to be able to get packages, so it's even more expensive.
Overall Rating: 3/10
\ = I am acknowledging that these rankings are very far outside of the norm of things I have heard about the HUB from other current and former residents.*