I learned from a close friend today that serves at the American Fork Temple that the temple department instructed several temple presidents to "let go" of all the older full-time workers. They are replacing them with younger couples that are being called to 1, 4-hour shift per week. They specifically requested that they call young married couples with young children to serve 1 shift each every week but at different times so the other spouse can watch the kids. The reason, they said, is that fewer young couples will leave the church if they are in the temple at least once a week. If they are called to work in the temple, then they will be required to attend once a week and, therefore, be less likely to leave the church.
In the case of the AF temple, they need roughly 80 people per 4-hour shift and they have 3, 4-hour shift to fill every day, 5 days a week. That's 240 people per day, 1,200 people per week.
In short: they are telling old people that want to be there to go home. We don't need you. Instead, they are calling super busy young couples that are trying to start their families, finish school, get established at work, etc. to give a combined 8 hours a week in an effort to keep them from leaving the church.
So when you drive by the temples and see all the cars in the parking lot at different times in a single day, remember that 240 of those cars are from workers that ARE REQUIRED to be there.
When you hear at conference that temple attendance among young people has never been higher, remember that 1,200 of them every week ARE REQUIRED to be there.
When you're an old person that wants to be there, but your tithing-giving days are limited, they don't want you there anymore, unless you come as a patron to keep the young people busy that ARE REQUIRED to be there.
I swear, nothing about this church is true, all the way down to the facade they are building to make it look like members love going to the temple. Most of the cars in the parking lot are from members that are not there because they want to be. They are there because they have to be.
And what of the older people that rely on the temple as their primary source for social interaction? They're sent home and asked to return as patrons to keep their younger replacements busy.

I live in California. I’ve completed the first year of high school. Since middle school, there’s been a lot of words used that I don’t know the meaning of, and when I ask about them, they tend to use the other words I don’t know to explain the words.
What does it mean to be within a grade or to have a grade? I was told I was in the 9th grade for all of the time I was in high school. But for the grades of my classes, am I not in 9th grade for them all, but in different grades depending on whether I do good or bad for them? What does it mean when a grade is presented as a letter with a plus sign or minus sign, as a percentage or fraction, or as a number that I am within? But since the number of the grade I’m within progresses linearly, what does it mean to be having a good or bad grade? I’ve been told that I’ve had good or bad grades, but the grade I’m within has never changed because of it. So what is the difference between being within a grade and having a grade be that of a class or a task that’s been assigned? What are the difference definitions of an assignment, an assessment, a quiz, and test? What are a scholarship, a semester, and a sophomore? And what is a triad? I don’t believe I’ve been having multiple classes until middle school, which I’ve presumed is what separates it from elementary school. But how is high school different from middle school? What are the acronyms meaning with the numbers? Such as GPA. Why are some grades good and some bad? I’ve never seemed to experience positive consequences for accomplishing a good grade or negative consequences for having a bad grade. What is a report card? What do the words on it mean? What does it mean for a grade to be weighted? I’ve been told that I must apply for classes. I don’t know what that means, so I’ve never been able to do it except when I’m called to the office and they do it all for me on my computer. Today I’ve been told that I must register Spanish fall for college class immediately, but I don’t know what they want me to do, and now they emailed me telling me to come to school tomorrow. My guess is they’ll do it all for me again since I still don’t know of the things they say. Why is Spanish fall needing to be registered from college? I am in not college, I believe. If I fail to register, would I just be unable to take Spanish next year? Why? Very confusing to me. Why does college? I don’t understand why college is. What does it mean to be suspended or expelled? What does it mean to have college credit? Am I physically given college credit or does someone keep track of it? Who is responsible for creating new college credit? What happens to it? What does it mean to graduate? Since I completed the first year of high school, does it mean I graduated high school or does it only apply when all years of high school are completed? When I complete a triad or semester, does it mean I graduated the triad or semester? Am I also considered to be having graduated the specific classes? So am I considered to be having graduated from geometry?
That’s all I can come up with right now. I pretty much want everything explained to me as though I’ve never been having school before

Hi everyone! I'm a digital artist and I'm offering my services for $17 per drawing. I can draw anything you want, in any style, and I'll have it finished for you by the end of the day.
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I'm always looking for new challenges, so if you have a specific idea in mind, I'm happy to work with you to create something unique. I'm also open to taking on commissions for custom characters, illustrations, and comics.
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Please DM me if you're interested in working with me! I'm always happy to chat about your project and answer any questions you have.
Here are some of the things I can do for you:
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For some context this took place just after the school year finished and I had finished all my exams so I was enjoying some time off.I am also going to a concert in a few days which is relevant later.At around 2pm my mum sent me some money to buy some clothes for a vacation we are going on in a few weeks and asked me if I was going to go out to the local primark to buy some.I said no I’ll just order some online as it’s easier and the vacation is still a few weeks away.I can’t remember exactly how the conversation went but after this she started comparing me to my friend by saying I wish you would dress more like Alice, she looked really nice last week.When I said I don’t care how Alice dresses she proceeded to say I looked like a tramp and she dosent want to take someone on holiday who dresses like a tramp.I asked her why she was acting so bitchy towards me,I know I shouldn’t have swore at a parent but I’m sick of her and my father (which I will explain more later) commenting on how I look.A few hours later I was cleaning up and putting plates in the sink when my mum said you better do those dishes to which I replied no I won’t since trampy people don’t do dishes.She warned me I’ve just to wait until dad gets home so I just went back to my room.When he arrived home at around 6pm he came into my room and demanded I do the dishes.I said why should I do this dishes after my mum called me a tramp for no reason.the conversation went back and forth like this with him calling me a lazy bitch and that I’ve sat and done fuck all all day.I don’t get what Im meant to be doing since I’ve literally just finished exams and have time off school.At around 10pm I went into the kitchen to make a ham sandwich and when I was almost done he came into the kitchen and said you don’t need a sandwich you’ve lay around all day doing fuck all.This annoyed me as he feels the needs to comment on what I eat quite often( I’m not overweight or anything either).I argued back to which he continued with his lazy bitch and lard ass comments.At this point I just went back to my room and he followed me and said if you don’t do the dishes by tomorrow morning you can get yourself a taxi from the concert your going to and I’m not picking you up, this taxi would cost me 50 pounds bare in mind I’m still a child.I asked him why him and my mum always feel the need to comment on my appearance (he has insinuated that I’m fat numerous times before)to which he just laughed sarcastically.I also asked what exactly have I done wrong today and why are they both being horrible for no reason to which he gave no reason apart from repeating that I better to the dishes by tomorrow morning.I then said you don’t even have a reason to give and after that he just left.I’m now sitting here wondering if I should just do the dishes and move on but I don’t see why I should so I’m asking for your honest opinion on this situation AITA?

A bit of a rant I guess…
My boyfriend and I are over the moon for each other. Or so I thought at least. I’ve noticed his medicine makes him really cold, uncaring, and just straight up intolerable. He’s starting to treat me unacceptably now. When I would nicely talk about my emotions and feelings to him, he’d open a safe space right up and carefully address each one. But now he’s blatantly shutting me right down. If he doesn’t hang up, he’ll shame me with sentences like “let’s not get so dramatic…” or “just stop”.
That’s just a tiny peek into what’s going on, but I no longer feel safe opening up to him. He begs me to talk to him about my worries and feelings. He practically won’t leave me alone until I do. But when I start doing it again on my own accord, he will act bewildered or as if he doesn’t even care. He won’t even take accountability for his hurtful actions anymore, and this is a man who stayed up all night unable to sleep over a conflict where he didn’t mean to hurt me.
He’s a different person now. He behaved very poorly to me last night shortly after taking his Viibryd. He promised he wouldn’t act like that anymore, he felt so guilty he basically cried. But then he did the exact same things again today to me. I politely called him out on it and said “these are the things you just did to me last night that really hurt… please take accountability”. And he just replied “You are starting to make me feel like a very bad person because of all of these things you say to me. I’m taking some time.”
I’m not even eating anymore. I feel sick. He’s a completely different person on those medicines. He used to feel so deeply for me but now he’s a robot. He doesn’t even laugh with me anymore. I feel like the old him has died. I’ve never felt lower. My depression has come back, as have my suicidal thoughts. My antidepressant isn’t even working anymore.

A bit of a rant I guess…
My boyfriend and I are over the moon for each other. Or so I thought at least. I’ve noticed his medicine makes him really cold, uncaring, and just straight up intolerable. He’s starting to treat me unacceptably now. When I would nicely talk about my emotions and feelings to him, he’d open a safe space right up and carefully address each one. But now he’s blatantly shutting me right down. If he doesn’t hang up, he’ll shame me with sentences like “let’s not get so dramatic…” or “just stop”.
That’s just a tiny peek into what’s going on, but I no longer feel safe opening up to him. He begs me to talk to him about my worries and feelings. He practically won’t leave me alone until I do. But when I start doing it again on my own accord, he will act bewildered or as if he doesn’t even care. He won’t even take accountability for his hurtful actions anymore, and this is a man who stayed up all night unable to sleep over a conflict where he didn’t mean to hurt me.
He’s a different person now. He behaved very poorly to me last night shortly after taking his Viibryd. He promised he wouldn’t act like that anymore, he felt so guilty he basically cried. But then he did the exact same things again today to me. I politely called him out on it and said “these are the things you just did to me last night that really hurt… please take accountability”. And he just replied “You are starting to make me feel like a very bad person because of all of these things you say to me. I’m taking some time.”
I’m not even eating anymore. I feel sick. He’s a completely different person on those medicines. He used to feel so deeply for me but now he’s a robot. He doesn’t even laugh with me anymore. I feel like the old him has died. I’ve never felt lower. My depression has come back, as have my suicidal thoughts. My antidepressant isn’t even working anymore.

There was an anime direct to home video miniseries in 1988 based on Heinlein's "Starship Troopers," called "Uchu no senshi" (Soldiers of the universe). The six episodes were released on laserdisk and tape in Japan, and AFAIK, have never been reissued since. I have seen it only because of rips of the laserdisk with fan-translated subs available from torrent sites.
The anime series is OK but not great. It avoids all the (endless, very grumpy) lectures about politics in the original novel and just sticks to the story of Juan Rico, his romance with Carmencita, and the war against the Bugs. It also only covers the first third to half of the novel (Johnny graduates from boot camp at the start of episode 4 of 6). Naturally, since it's anime, the powered armour of the original novel is featured front and centre.
On watching the series, I noticed some odd parallels between how the Anime departs from the novel and how the Verhoeven Starship Troopers movie departs from the novel. Does it make sense to think that the scriptwriter (Neumeier) consulted the anime series to fill in his very careless and sloppy reading of the actual novel? Verhoeven cut out the powered armour of the novel completely, allegedly for budgetary reasons. Other than that, though:

1. Novel: Johnny Rico was active in track, swimming, and debate in high school. Anime: Juan Rico plays American football. Movie: Johnny Rico is a football player.
   
2. Novel: Rico knows a girl named Carmen but their friendship occupies a couple sentences. She visits him for a date in officer training school, but they aren't in love. Anime: Rico is head over heels for Carmencita, and this is front and centre. Movie: Rico and Carmen's relationship is front and centre.
   
3. Novel: Rico's family is rich, unlike his best friend, who is poor. Anime: everyone in his social circle is well to do. Movie: everyone owns all the toys and doesn't need to worry about money, in the usual Hollywood "everyone is upper middle class" way.
   
4. Novel: Rico is a Filipino whose native language is Tagalong (revealed on the last page). Anime: Rico is blonde and blue-eyed. His classmates are likewise mostly very white looking. Movie: Despite supposedly being located in Buenos Aires, all these supposed Latino characters look very Anglo, like they came from an upper class LA high school.
   

In other areas, the movie takes something partially developed in the anime and runs with it to a new, often quite foolish place.
5: Novel: Rico lives somewhere in a former colony of Spain, but not in the Western Hemisphere (if you pay close attention to the subtle clues sprinkled sparsely through the opening chapters). Anime: Rico lives somewhere where American football is popular, there are lots of people with Hispanic names, all the signage is in English, and the sun rises over the ocean. (Florida?, Texas? California in a retrograde version of Earth? Japan but with everyone mysteriously having Spanish names?). Movie: Rico lives in an Americanized, Anglicized, whitewashed version of Buenos Aires, because Neumeier did not actually read the novel with much attention and failed to realize that Rico's mother was travelling away from home when she died in the Bug attack on that city.

1. Novel: boot camp instructor Staff Sergeant Zim asks the new recruits if any of them can take him in a fight. When he then breaks the wrist of one of the recruits who fights him, he apologizes for it – “I’m sorry, you hurried me a little.” Anime: Zim hurts a recruit’s forearm, possibly on purpose, and says “go to the dispensary, it’s just a simple dislocation, you’ll be better in three hours.” Movie: Zim deliberately and with malice breaks of the arm of an already defeated man (movie Zim = sociopath).
   
2. Novel: Zim trains the recruits in knife throwing. A recruit asks why they are doing something so primitive when the enemy has nuclear bombs. Zim replies with two short lectures, one on how there is no such thing as a dangerous weapon, only a dangerous man, and second on how the military’s job is not to obliterate the enemy but to exert as much or as little violence against the enemy as the government desires. Anime: there's a severely condensed version of the first lecture about dangerous men. Movie: Zim doesn’t answer the question at all, he just stabs the recruit in the hand because sociopath.
   

Finally, there are a few places where the movie follows neither the anime nor the book.

1. Novel: Zim cares deeply for the welfare of his trainees, and this is explicitly conveyed through a lot of words. Anime: in the three episodes set in boot camp, Zim is harder and more cruel, but we are shown through his expressions that despite the mean exterior, he cares a great deal about the welfare of his trainees. Movie: Zim is a sociopath who goes out of his way to hurt his trainees.
   
2. Novel: Zim's cheeks are "shaved blue," so he’s pale skinned. No other description of his appearance is given. Anime: Zim is of African descent, and just about the only character depicted with non pale skin. Movie: Zim is a blond, Aryan looking white guy. (considering Hollywood's racist approach to casting, this is not surprising)
   

Looking at all of that together, I start wondering: could the script for the movie have been borrowing from the anime? If you've seen the anime yourself, please let me know your thoughts. If you haven't: it's six short episodes, and worth your time if you are a Heinlein completist.

Tuesday afternoon, near the end of my shift, I stopped by Zaxby's to grab a bite to eat. I ordered, and immediately after, an order pops up on my phone. Zaxby's going 1.5 miles for $5.50. I accepted. Our orders came up at the same time which was VERY quick. The food was fresh and hot. I remember thinking, "This is going to be a super fast delivery, Shanya!"
​
I get to the apartment, reach in my hot bag, and this food is steaming hot. I set it at the door, go to take a picture and the spiral of death comes up. 20 seconds later, "Something went wrong. Application encountered unknown error" or some bullshit. I don't know about you guys, but when this happens the only option is to select "Handed Order Directly To Customer". I even opened up messages and tried to send a photo that way. "Message could not not be sent" Great. I'm not restarting my phone and I didn't want to call her while standing at her door, so I knocked. Shanya comes to the door. I say, "I'm sorry, the app wasn't working so I couldn't send you a picture." I realize now this is probably what got me in trouble. She picks her food up off the doorstep and says "That's fine." I end my shift and go home.
​
Later that night, I log in to schedule a shift and there's a Contract Violation. Order Never Arrived. Zaxby's. I only did one Zaxby's order that day so I immediately knew who it was. I thought, "Thaaat biiitch!" Her food had to be on-point. And we even spoke to each other! I immediately submitted details via the app. I included everything in that description that I could think of. Apartment number, customer name, what she looked like, the app glitch, and told them I would be sending video.
​
That same night, I got my SD card out of my dashcam and used ClipChamp to piece it together. I showed the interior of the car when I pulled the food out of the hot bag. You could clearly see it was Zaxby's. I then switched to the forward facing camera which showed me walking from my car, with the food, up to the second floor where her apartment was. You could see the building number in the video. About a minute later, I come down the stairs empty handed and get in my car. After finishing the video, I called support back to request an email that I could reply to with a reference number. I replied to that email and also sent a separate email to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) with a link to the video and the reference number in that first email from support.
​
Today around 4:00, the Contract Violation went away. It worked! I tried to include *everything* in this post so you guys can do this yourselves if you get a CV. I recommend getting the video sent the same day you receive the violation. It usually takes 24-48 hours to "Process" the violation, but get it in as soon as you can. Always try to park where your camera can see the address or at least a building number. I probably should have called her, but who knows if she would have answered. I have a suspicion that this person was a dasher, but I'm not sure. Shanya, if you're on this sub, shame on you. If your account isn't deactivated, I hope stray cats piss on all your future orders.
​
Be safe out there. Don't let the low-lifes win! And may the tips be in your favor.

Images
Hello there! I've got a longish list of sets/figs for sale today to help pay for college next semester. All prices do not include shipping, and many of them are negotiable, especially if you would like to purchase multiple items, so shoot me your offers! I'm looking for Paypal for all of them, but would possibly be interested in trading for a 21051 Tokyo Architecture Skyline set.
I am also currently rebuilding a number of older sets, such as 3677, 3182, 3181, 3179, 7937, 7641, 9446, 7749, 7239, 7307, 7938, 4645, 4867, 4841, 9442, 9441. Most of them should be 95-100% complete with figures & instructions. If you're interested in one of these, let me know and I'll set it aside for you.
Send me a chat (or PM, whatever is easier for you) if you're interested in something below, thanks!

NISB:

21050 Studio (Still sealed in original brown box from LEGO) - $415
75145 Eclipse Fighter - $50
40220 Mini London Bus - $10
40252 Mini VW Beetle - $30
7051 Tripod Invader (The box was opened yrs ago, then retaped) - $85
21044 Paris - $ Trade towards 21051 Tokyo
75001 Republic Troopers vs Sith Troopers - $70
76006 Iron Man: Extremis Sea Port Battle - $44
40484 Santa's Front Yard x2 (second not shown in pictures) - $16 each
31088 Deep Sea Creatures - $15
10217 Diagon Alley (this set isn't pictured, but am happy to provide photos. 100% Complete, bags 2 and 3 are sealed, and bag 1 is opened. Includes all parts, figures, instructions, and box in excellent condition) - $400
10225 UCS R2-D2 (this set also isn't pictured, but am happy to provide photos. NISB) - $250
Used:
75060 UCS Slave I (It's 100% complete, with all figures and instructions in excellent condition. It was just built and displayed. I can include the box (which is also in excellent condition) as well at an extra cost) - $440
7964 Republic Frigate (no figures, instructions included in great shape) - $190
8052 Container Truck (should be 100% complete from the looks of it) - $100
8097 Slave I (3rd Edition) (the ship looks to be 100% complete, includes instructions and all figures except for bossk. I will find Han's hair, dw.) - $90
75103 First Order Transporter (100% complete, great condition) - $95 (I have the box if you want it)
75142 Homing Spider Droid (100% complete, excellent condition) - $90
75015 Corporate Alliance Tank (missing clone) - $80
75172 Y-Wing Starfighter (ship looks to be complete, includes two figures and instructions. I have the box if you want it, may cost more to ship though) - $75
75261 20th Anniversary Clone Scout Walker (100% complete, all figures are in excellent condition, they were just displayed) - $65
75089 Geonosis Troopers (100% complete, figs are perfect) - $60
7914 Mandalorian Battle Pack (I have the parts to complete it, so 100% with all figs in perfect condition) - $42
75153 AT-ST Walker (100% complete, with driver fig and instructions) (also have the box if you want it) - $45
7052 UFO Abduction (should be 100% complete, light may not work) - $40
41486 Captain Phasma Brickhead (100% complete w/instructions) - $35
75100 First Order Snowspeeder (100%) - $35
75168 Yoda's Jedi Starfighter (build complete w/R2) - $33
7630 Front-End Loader (100%) - $30
7915 Imperial V-Wing Starfighter (100%) - $26
6207 A-Wing Fighter (100% with partially new sticker sheet) - $24
8085 Freeco Speeder (100%) - $23
911612 Aaklay - Mini Foil Pack (100% complete aaklay build) - $10

Minifigures:

sw1027 Lando Calrissian (20th anniversary) (new, includes stand and gun) - $60
sw0332 Eeth Koth (Good used condition, a little wear on horns) - $40
sw0284 Aayla Secura (little wear on headpiece) - $25
sw0131 Kashyyyk Trooper (Just torso and legs, excellent condition) - $40
sw0085a Slave Leia (excellent) - $24
sw1022 (not pictured, excellent) - $15
sw1029 Darth Vader (20th anniversary) (excellent except head and legs have a bit of scuffing) - $17
sw0377 Arc Trooper (missing pauldron, kama, backpack) - $20
sw0475 Jek-14 (excellent, regular clone head though) - $35
sw0118 Clone Trooper V-Wing Pilot Phase 2 (no cracks/yellowing, but arms have nicks) - $5
sw0133 Mace Windu Light-Up Lightsaber (No cape, lightsaber, battery needs to be replaced. Face has scratches, priced accordingly) - $25
sw0507 Endor Rebel Trooper (new) - $8
sw0370 Astromech Droid, R5-F7 (excellent) - $6.5
sw0213 Astromech Droid, R2-Q5 (excellent) - $6
sw0277 Darth Vader (like new, no cape) - $10
sw0320 Geonosian (excellent) - $4.5
sw0257a Luke Skywalker Celebration (excellent) - $4
sw1046 Obi-Wan Kenobi (excellent) - $6.25
sw0677 Rey (new) - $4
sw0040b Royal Guard (excellent) - $5
sw0414 Sith Trooper (excellent) - $6.5
sw0600 Security Droid Straight Arm (print is excellent) - $4.5
sw0096 Security Droid with dark red torso (good) - $2.5
sw0095a Pilot Droid with blue torso (excellent) - $2
sw0156a Mouse Droid - $0.65

I didn't see many people sharing their storyes of shid and cum so im going to share mine.
Yesterday, I was at school waiting to the parents reunion ends so I can arrive to my house and beat my meat, but i couldn't hold on.
I went to the second floor and getted into the last cabin, but the toilet was full of shid! I tried to flush but the water just bringed the shid to the edge of the vessel, so I pusshed again and it started leaking litters of sidded water! i just run straight to the first floor and getted into the first cabin.
I ate beet in my lunch so I shided to. But instead of lots of shids, it was just a lil bit. And i forget to flush. I opened my pants and started jerking off to gilfs, dont judge me.
I just blowed up more than all loads of dreamybullxxx togheter. I have surpassed my master. I aimed to the walls and floor but all ranned into the floor anyways.
Today, there was a plunger in that cabin of the second floor and it stills have that big shid! And the cabin from the first floor still have the cum stains.
So that was my shid and cum story. Hope you gentlemans enjoyed this story. If you feel comfortable, share yours too!

For context, I work for an auto transport broker, and have for almost 4 years. In this time I've gone through several performance assessments and have had different bosses. Except for one time when I had to do the night shift whilst taking medication that made you sleepy, I have had absolutely no issues with productivity. At no point did management ever approach me and say "Hey, we think you're too slow, and would like you to do more in a shift".
On the aforementioned performance assessments, I always scored the second highest possible score for utilization (there are five possible scores, so this means I partially exceed expectations). Add to this the fact that there's a bonus scheme for my specific task (responding to emails), which even at my current untilization gets me a roughly 27% increase in my net salary.
My most recent ex-boss, whom I worked under for around 2 years, took on a different role in a different department recently (sadly; she was a great boss). Normally, there's at least an internal job opening for the position when this happens. This time, however, there was nothing. After we had effectively no leader for a short period of time, our current boss' boss basically waltzed in and started bossing us all around literally out of the blue. No word from upper management to let us know, no announcement, nothing. One day he just started giving orders. The person that actually is supposed to be our boss and apparently holds the position, has said nothing. He's basically abdicated from the position and is just a regular employee to me.
So this new boss started calculating utilization for the department, and I kid you not, except for two or three people, basically nobody gets anywhere near the minimum of 85%. At best, they're at 70-something percent. Those are the exact same people, the majority of which have worked in this department for at least a year. The only time our ex-boss (same one from above) had a problem with someone's utilization, they got fired after refusing to improve.
I responded to 83 emails today, and by my calculations, even that puts me at 68% utilization. He's basically insinuating that I'm sitting around doing nothing for a third of my shift, which is a little over 2.5 hours. I can tell you, this couldn't be further from the truth. I work all shift and I don't so much as look away from the monitor. I admit this is a bit faster than the usual pace I work at, but I'm willing to make it the new normal if it needs to be.
However, boss basically wants us to do 103 emails just to barely reach 85%, and well over this for anything higher. As the person with the most experience responding to emails (this is literally my only task and has been for over a year now), I can tell you that pulling 100+ emails every shift as the bare minimum to not get fired is absurdly high. It's not impossible to reach if you're a high performer, but I absolutely don't believe the average person can reach that kind of number all the time.
Instead, I think the number should be 70. Maybe 80. At that level you don't have to work at such an accelerated pace that you start making errors or forgetting things trying to not get fired even though you're by far not slacking off.
So my question here is how to deal with this boss's expectations? What would be the best approach to convince him (or those above him) that he's expecting a bit too much out of a single person? Obviously, I don't want to lose my job over this, but just thinking of it is anxiety inducing.
Edit: Something I forgot, but might be relevant - I work from home, fully, and am never in the office.

Using a burner acct for privacy but wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything.
I'm about to be 49, recently took a job making $180k (bonus eligible but not counting on it), starting to wonder how stable the company is. Wife makes maybe $10k/year, uses most for her own expenses. I make another $10k or so a year in side work. Kids are grown and out.
Between 401k/ESOP/HSA/Trad IRA (rollovers)/Roth IRA's, I have about $815k, another $70k in brokerage. $30k in hysa but that's mostly budgeted money (I'm a budget nerd, saving for car insurance, pet care, etc, etc) so I don't count that.
I'm currently maxing out 401k (traditional), Roth IRA's for both of us and HSA. I recently modified my budget to live on roughly $5k/month. Mortgage is $[email protected]% (worth just over $500k), PITI is around $1,750. Scheduled to be paid off in 11 years I think.
Thing is, I'm burnt out. Recently got back from a long vacation, doesn't matter, I'm done in this line of work (IT). Been doing it 27 years or so, just so tired of the constant fire drills. I occasionally do DoorDash/UberEats, I like the simplicity of it (doesn't really make financial sense after insurance, gas, weatear, etc) but I enjoy it most of the time.
My plan is to keep maxing out tax advantaged accounts but put everything else into my brokerage account, investing in the S&P500, to build up just north of $400k, which should take me until about 55. Then quit IT and get a job, part time preferably but open to full time, maybe driving for Amazon or the USPS, thinking $30k or so a year, preferably something with health insurance, continue maxing out Roth IRA's and doing this until I pull the plug at 62, living off of work income and brokerage savings until then. Brokerage savings should allow me to not work if I didn't want to but it's not about not working, it's about getting out of IT. It would also allow me to be picky about jobs. Assuming I could get ACA policies cheap enough, if I hated a job, I could easily quit. I might even want to try a few different jobs. Plan is to also do some Roth conversions during this time.
House is worth just over $500k, no idea what it'll be in 6+ years, also saving for some much needed updates. One possibility is to sell when I hit 55 and pay for something smaller, less maintenance, in cash.
The money I make is good but I just can't see keeping up with technology anymore, I hate studying, certs are expired. Wife won't take a full time job to earn more so that's off the table. Just so many days I wish I could retire "today".
Is this plan anywhere near workable? Anyone see any big holes? Anyone done this or in the same shoes? Anyone see a way that I could quit even earlier?

how does one go about handling the irritability that comes along with an ed? i was put on medication in high school to help with my anger problems. since then i’ve become a more peaceful person, but ever since i started losing weight and falling into the anorexia category i started getting more and more angry, angry for the dumbest reasons. i never snapped at my partner, and then one day i just did, and ever since, i haven’t been able to control it. everything makes me mad, my partner, my pets, my parents, money, people, socializing, a phone charger not working, not being able to open jars on the first try, knocking something over, putting too much of an ingredient into a recipe on accident, literally everything from far and in between. at this point every emotion i feel funnels out as anger and it’s ruined my relationship and it makes my dog scared every time i raise my voice. the thing is, i’m never consciously aware that i’m yelling at someone or something until after it’s over and i’m sitting and reflecting on wtf just happened. i’m an apologetic mess every single time. it makes me a toxic partner and i don’t want to be. i want to go back to the euphoric state i was in 2 years ago. how the hell am i supposed to get back to there when i’ve been diagnosed with anorexia, anxiety, and major depression, in the last year, i can barely pay my bills, and i haven’t done been able to do anything nice for myself in almost 2 years? doing nice things for myself and others was my joy. i was someone who always looked nice going out and now i either don’t leave the house or i just look like i crawled out of the sewer everywhere i go. i don’t remember the last time i brushed my teeth, i can maybe take a shower a week, i can’t fit into any of my clothes anymore and my life has just crumbled around me. and all i am is angry

OMD. OMD. OMD!!!!
We had a good conversation over text earlier today about LGBTQ+ and how they are treated at our schools (we go to different schools).
Then later I came back and asked if they were a member of the community or an ally (I know you should never ask someone something like that but I said they don't have to answer if they don't want to). They said they were aro/ace.
Then I asked them if they could keep a secret (I know they can, but I wanted to make sure), they said yes, and I told them. They were sooo supportive and accepting. I was squealing and kicking in joy in my bed. It was such a lovely feeling to be able to be so open and transparent with someone.
I woke up today and not once did I think I'd come out or anything, but I guess I was wrong. Pride month magic or something🏳️‍🌈. I'm so happy I have a queer friend that I can feel safe with.
If you read this much, tysm for listening to me rant, lol.

This happened a few months ago. I was helping customers at self-checkout (asking their forms of payment as some machines were card only, locating items passersby needed and guiding them accordingly, etc.). All the self-checkouts were open along with three cashiers working registers.
Things quieted down but I stayed put in case another wave came through. My coworker, let's say Patty (60sF) was waiting to help the next customer that came up. Patty only works nights and I'm mostly scheduled in the morning (not by choice), so we almost never work together. But she's seemed like a nice lady the few times I see her.
Anyway, I directed a customer to Patty and went back to watching self-checkout. In my peripheral vision, I saw her stumble and fall hard to the floor. She dropped the open bottled drink she was holding and lost her shoe in the process. I hurried to her side right when the concerned customer and another helped Patty up. After a while, she said she was okay and went to the breakroom and politely refused my help when I offered a shoulder. I took care of the mess while the concerned customer and I discussed what happened. We concluded her foot was caught between the metal cart bumper pole (about 3 feet tall) and the counter that caused her to fall.
I saw her at work about two months later, and she asked if I saw what happened, so I told her. Our stories matched. She sought medical care after it happened but she said how management is trying to dismiss what happened and refuse to help her.
Today, she called me saying she wanted me to speak with her attorney about the situation since I was the only one who actually saw it happen. I told her I would considering it was an accident, but now I'm having second thoughts. What if this comes back to bite me at work? Could I lose my job if I get involved? Of course I want to do the right thing, but what if this good deed doesn't go unpunished?
ETA: If I lose this job, I won't be able to afford my bills or mortgage and will be homeless and carless. I don't have anyone I can stay with (I've asked in the past when nearly homeless, and my mother lives with her horribly toxic bf 5 hours away) nor money to put my belongings in storage until then. And my dog... I can't lose him too.

My mom is a control freak, so much so that she wants everything in my life to be the way she wants it, and when I don't want something the way she wants it to be, she gets angry at me and saying she's the worst mother in the world and that we're (me and my brother) ungrateful and so on. Today, I came back from school and find my room completely rearranged and reorganized. It's not at all the first time it happens, she has this habit of rearranging me and my brother's rooms however she pleases, and I've told her many times not to this, yet she always does it. For the past few months I've had my room how I like it. The problem with the way "I like it" is that my bed is next to my window, and blocks her from being able to go up next to it so she can stalk our neighbors. Yet, she hadn't messed with my room for a while, so I thought this nasty habit had finally calmed down. Until today, when I found my room in such an ugly arrangement, that I literally started crying. It is important to state that I have diagnosed OCD, and everything about this new room arrangement is completely off to me, and I literally cannot do anything about it because she will yell at me. It seems as if she just doesn't care that I asked her several times not to reorganize my room, that I hate when she does that, she knows I get upset when that happens, and yet she still does it and expects me to be happy about it. I'm sitting on the bathroom floor crying my eyes put because now I have to sleep and live in a room that I hate and I can not do anything about it. Needed to talk about it with somebody. Please tell me I am not crazy.

I'm thirty-one and realized my parents ruined my life from the beginning. I have struggled so much and felt so alone because of them. I grew up in a poor household raised by two Mexican Immigrants. I was neglected, emotionally, and physically abused at home. My parents ignored me during the early developing stages of my childhood. When I first learned to speak Spanish and I struggled, it was apparent to my parents as well. They didn't seem to care since my parents rarely talked with me. There were many words I couldn't pronounce and use the right words, and my communication was incoherent. Only my parents - mainly my mom - generally knew what I was trying to say, and yet she never tried to correct me. I remember when my mother wanted me to speak to my grandma over the phone. My mom would hand me the phone. I would try to say something like, "Hi, grandam! I hope you're having a good day!" and a few details about my day. She would understand none of it. I sounded gibberish to her. My mother had to translate my incoherent Spanish into regular Spanish, so my grandma could understand. It made me feel constantly inadequate because I couldn't communicate my thoughts or feelings. This miscommunication not only happened with my grandmother but also with other family members. Due to my inability to express myself adequately, I never had deep conversations with my parents, merely superficial ones.
Since I could not connect with anyone, over time, I believed that no one liked me, nor was anyone interested in what I had to say. I became an observer and watched people talk to each other. It blew my mind when talking comes so naturally to people. I always got confused looks every time I opened my mouth. The negative feedback I got from people only caused me to freeze up and panic whenever I had to talk, which worsened my communication. As a result, I was hypersensitive to social environments because I knew, I felt that no one would like me. So, I used to overcome these difficult moments of social interactions by ignoring them and isolating myself. Soon after that, I developed social anxiety and became anti-social from this. I always told myself that I preferred to be alone. Even though I always wondered why I was so different from everyone else and why the world around me seemed foreign to me. I felt alone and trapped. I knew deep down I was competent, but I couldn't show it. I wished someone could understand me. Since I could not communicate well, I learned to say a few words in a very soft and quiet voice, but mostly I learned not to speak. I trapped myself in a cycle. I didn't want to attempt to make any conversations because I sounded incoherent, but by not talking, my communication just got worse. Isolation soon got worst for me. I was an only child, and when I turned seven, my brother was born. A few years later still, we then became three. My parents no longer had time for me, they had to take care of my younger siblings, and I had to get used to being alone all the time.
As I started learning English, I had the same difficulties I had with Spanish because I had no one to practice with at home. I only learned English at school, but even then, I didn't speak much. I remember teachers praising me for being quiet. If only they knew the truth. I spoke broken, unintelligible English at school and spoke broken, unintelligible Spanish at home. Whenever I wanted to make friends, there was always a miscommunication and I was left alone. I had difficulty opening up to other kids because I didn't want to look stupid. I avoided everyone who couldn't understand me. Therefore, at school, I never learned how to socialize or make friends. As time went on, I got used to being alone and never talking.
While attending primary school, another problem arose. I noticed that my eyesight was blurring, so I had to get prescription glasses, but I never wore them. The whole world around me was blurry, but I didn't care as long as I wasn't laughed at for wearing glasses. My parents didn't care that I could see. My mother also has glasses, but she doesn't wear them. I lost the ability to notice many non-verbal social signals at this vital stage because I could not see people's faces. I couldn't make eye contact even if I wanted to. I didn't learn much in school because I couldn't see. It was not until much later that I realized I made a big mistake by not wearing glasses.
In middle school, we used to read aloud during English class. I struggled a lot. In general, I had difficulties in school, but English class was the worst. It was a combination of not reading aloud and not reading much in general. Even if I knew what a word read in my mind, I couldn't pronounce it. I did not grow up with books, so reading was not my best skill. Every time I had to read in class, I got very anxious because wasn't reading at the same level as everyone else. I got corrected almost every sentence. I would always read ahead to check if I knew what each word said, and because of this, I never followed the lesson that day. Although I was never fond of books, I tried to read more, but I could not find books that interested me in my school library. I eventually found a few books to read, but every time I encountered an unfamiliar word, I had no one to read it or explain its meaning to me. Eventually, I started writing down all the words I did not know.
At the same time, in middle school, I tried to fit in, but I still struggled because of the language barrier. Then I started watching many TV programs to learn the way some people or characters on TV communicated. I started writing down every sentence I thought would be nice to say in social contexts. I filled a whole notebook, but unfortunately, I was an awkward kid who only knew how to say a few phrases in good English. A friend from school asked me why I could not speak in Spanish and English. At the time, I didn't know how to answer him because I didn't know why I was so bad at speaking both languages either.
In high school, I got better with simple talk, but if I talked too much, I would run the risk of stumbling over my words or making less sense. Since I couldn't hide this, most people could sense something was off about me. I knew it too, so I was obsessed with making every conversation perfect or figuring out what I could say instead. This only made me more anxious and overwhelmed. Ultimately, I learned it was better if I didn't talk. I avoided family events because everyone there only knew Spanish. I was comfortable speaking in English to people one-on-one. When I went out with a group of friends, I didn't speak at all. I was too overwhelmed by what people thought about me. And it was not just a language barrier; most of the things they talked about were experiences and events that I could not relate having had a rather limited and isolated life. These friends who were heading to college were having complex conversations. These high school teenagers were ready to become social adults, while I felt hopelessly stuck and left behind.
I was right. After high school, I struggled to connect with people. Most of my conversations don't go beyond small talk. Even though my English sucks, my Spanish is still worse. I still have trouble pronouncing words, using the right words, speaking slowly, and sounding coherent. None of my conversations flow. Misunderstanding happens a lot. I always hesitate to talk. My interpersonal skills are atrocious. I sometimes struggle to understand people. Even though I graduated from high school, I probably read, write, and speak at an eighth-grade level. Because I do not speak much, my vocabulary is limited in person. Because of this, I am easily intimidated by intelligent and sociable people.
The most difficult part of being an adult was finding a job. Most jobs would not hire me because many perceived that there was something wrong with me during interviews. Most jobs I got became toxic environments because of my communication difficulties. I learned people like you if you click with them and show good communication skills. I had bosses and coworkers behave very demeaning to me and, in some cases, be extremely rude to me. I could never understand why since I was trying my best. At first, I hated everyone. I was constantly bullied because I was not like them. I came to the conclusion that these people had their own problems, but I know that if I had a normal upbringing, I would not have been treated that way. I was always told that hard work matters. That's a lie. I learned that in life, communication matters more than hard work. I have seen unstable and lazy people get promoted and have a good life because they can communicate and be sociable with their bosses and colleagues.
I have missed many great opportunities in life. Communication is so essential in our society. People avoid me because I am unable to build rapport with them. It is frustrating that I will never be able to have a relationship, have real friends, get a good job or have a normal life. I am alone. Every birthday I would wish I was as smart as everyone else. I hate my parents for not doing a better job of raising me and making me normal. I could have a perfect life. I wish I could naturally articulate and express myself with the right words in seconds without the anxiety of being misunderstood and build rapport with people. The only thing I understand is that I was raised to fail.
TL:DR I have trouble being a productive member of society because of my parent's neglect

This rewrite does contain spoilers for Ant-Man 3 so I’d recommend seeing the film before reading this post. This reimagining aims to polish the film while also setting up some major antagonists for the future. I understand that some of these decisions may have been impossible or unlikely at the time and that I have the benefit of hindsight, but this is simply a reimagining. This is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
One significant change to the film is M.O.D.O.K. I think that having Darren Cross/Corey Stoll be M.O.D.O.K was creative, but he wasn’t M.O.D.O.K. The design was definitely wrong and missed the point of M.O.D.O.K. I also found it weird that this M.O.D.O.K was once Yellowjacket, it’s like Justin Hammer coming back as Doctor Doom. I’d replace Darren Cross/Corey Stoll with George Tarleton/Rainn Wilson, that way M.O.D.O.K is his own character and not a repeat. Not only would Rainn Wilson make a great Tarleton, he’d be able to make the facial expressions M.O.D.O.K has. Picture the proportions of M.O.D.O.K from Quantumania with Rainn Wilson’s face stretched and exaggerated with darkness around his eyes and no pupils, a bowl cut of brown hair, armor on his limbs similar in thickness to War Machine, and a robotic-human voice changer. That’s this film’s M.O.D.O.K.
The film begins with M.O.D.O.K narrating a speech about the power of science. As he speaks: we see an army of armored yellow soldiers lining up and preparing weapons, and a shadowed figure sitting on a throne. After M.O.D.O.K finishes his speech, the title card reads; Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
After the title card cuts to black, we see two ants on the sidewalk carrying crumbs. The two ants are then blown away by a massive gust of wind. Barreling down the San Francisco streets is a green twister being chased by the police. This green twister is of course Whirlwind, played by Seann William Scott. He just robbed a bank and is making a getaway. He throws down some caltrops and causes a massive crash. Just when he thinks he’s in the wind, Ant-Man and the Wasp arrive. We get a good fight scene between them where Scott and Hope have to be creative because of Whirlwind’s powers. The ants just get blown away and Scott can’t disarm the suit, like he did with Iron Man, because Whirlwind’s powers don’t come from the suit. Whirlwind battles Ant-Man and Wasp with saw blades he can throw like shurikens, but they win the fight using Pym Discs. Whirlwind is brought into custody and our heroes are praised.
We then find out where our characters are after the events of Endgame. Scott Lang is fully committed to being an Avenger and father, Hope van Dyne created the Pym van Dyne Foundation to help the world with the use of Pym Particles, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne are retired, and Cassie Lang is attending San Francisco State University. After the events of Endgame, Cassie convinced Maggie and Jim to take a vacation to take their minds off things and so that Scott and Cassie could catch up. Cassie is doing well in school, but she often gets in trouble for various “vigilante” activities.
Scott and Hope talk with Cassie, and ask why she’s willingly getting into trouble. Unlike in the original film, Cassie is kinder and is actually conflicted with getting into trouble. She claims that she wants to be a hero, just like her parents. This builds up the idea that Cassie sees Hope as a second mother, which will progress throughout the film. Later on; Scott, Hope, and Cassie visit Hank and Janet for dinner at the Pym House. There’s a fun dinner scene, similar to the one in Black Widow. We then find out that Hank has created a new device, one that can allow people to travel to and from the Quantum Realm. Scott claims that Hank is petty because Tony Stark used the Pym Particles to create time travel, Hank replies with: “Scott…You’re full of $#•+”. The family starts to discuss the significance of this invention and the consequences it can have, and during the argument, a massive explosion is created in the room. The Lang-Pym family is okay, but there are two armored yellow soldiers standing in the rubble.
The armored soldiers resemble bee keepers, but their suits are metal and they have masks made of black screens. The soldiers are looking for something within the rubble, giving Scott and Hope enough time to suit up. Ant-Man and Wasp try to fight them, but their suits are able to constantly track them no matter their size. Scott is hit with a purple goo grenade and Hope is frozen in orange ice from a blaster. The soldiers get away with the device, teleporting out of nowhere.
As our protagonists recuperate they discuss what happened. Janet says she felt a strange pulse before and after the soldiers arrived and left, believing it could be related to the Quantum Realm. Hank noticed that the soldiers didn’t shrink or grow via Pym Particles, so they’re dealing with something new here. Cassie convinces all of them to travel to the Quantum Realm in search of answers, but they have no safe way of traveling there. That’s when Hank reveals a prototype inspired by his stolen invention, wrist mounted devices which allow travel to the Quantum Realm. Our heroes then prepare to voyage to the Quantum Realm.
That was Part 1 of my Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania rewrite. I’m open to opinions and I’d like the feedback so far. Let me know what you think and if you’d be interested in a Part 2.

As of May 29th, 2023, at 15:55 (3:55pm), it was exactly 1 year since I started interacting with the autistic community online!
I have been interacting with the autistic community online since May 29th, 2022, at 15:55 (3:55pm). It is a relief to find other autistic people. Everyone understands me, and I understand everyone. :)
I started interacting with the autistic community on May 29th, 2022. After my high school graduation on May 24th, 2022, at 21:00 (9pm), I started ruminating through the interactions with the other students, and I found no connection. This caused me to think, "Why am I unable to socialize with other kids in school?" On May 28th, 2022, after watching the UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Liverpool, I started browsing on Autism Forums. However, my mom saw me browsing and said, "What is this autism discussion?" As soon as she said that, I pressed Control/Command+Shift+N and opened a new private browsing window. Every time I interact with the autistic community, as soon as my mom says, “What are you reading/watching?”, I change the screen.
I have known that I am autistic since I was in 7th grade (2017). However, my parents told me, "Try to mask your autism". I did not understand what that meant, and they told me that masking means hiding. This caused internalized ableism in me. I always used to think "Why am I autistic?", "Why do I have autism?", "I want to be normal". I hated the words "disability" and "disabled". This continued all the way until high school. On March 13th, 2020, my high school shut down due to COVID-19, and I was relieved of the pressure of bullying and passing as NT. I spent the next 2.5 years in online classes. I was able to work with no distractions and no pressure of bullying and passing as NT.
I have had a special interest in autism since May 29th, 2022. I have been interacting with the autistic community since May 29th, 2022 at 15:55 (3:55pm) PDT (Pacific Daylight Time is UTC-7). After years of trying to socialize and interact with NTs, I gave up, and I joined Autism Forums for 9 months. After leaving Autism Forums, I tried Discord. However, I feel uncomfortable using it. I do not feel comfortable using Discord because it is a chatroom. On March 4th, 2023, at 17:45 (5:45pm) PST (Pacific Standard Time is UTC-8), I joined this subreddit. I am able to interact with other autistic people on this subreddit.*
Since I like to interact with the autistic community, I am unmasking my autism. I am embracing who I am (my authentic self) and I am self-accommodating my own needs.
I have even disclosed my autism to my professors and TAs in college/university, and they were supportive!
In my college/university, there is a Neurodiversity Support Group that can help me interact and socialize with other NDs.
*My time zone is Los Angeles time, which uses PDT (Pacific Daylight Time is UTC-7) in the summer (daylight saving time/DST), and PST (Pacific Standard Time is UTC-8) in the winter (standard time).