I wish I was capping 💀
TL;DR: Stuck between choosing the top 5 school in Ohio and Northwestern.
Demographics

• Gender: Female
• Race/Ethnicity: Half Asian
• Residence: China
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): URM for musical theatre maybe?

Intended Major(s): Musical Theatre
Academics

• GPA/Rank (or percentile): N/A
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: IB Diploma, Predicted 45/45
• Senior Year Course Load: Mathematics Analysis HL, Chemistry HL, Biology HL, English A SL, Chinese B SL, Economics SL

Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

• SAT/ACT: 1520 one sitting

Extracurriculars/Activities: (Sorry vague, still prolly gonna get doxxed lmao)

1. Choreographed school musicals, lead actress (6 musicals) 6h/wk
2. Dance teacher in school 7h/wk
3. Won school dance comps
4. Started a card business/charity
5. Deputy Head of College in school (basically salutatorian/deputy president of school council for british school) + head of house
6. Freelance designer
7. Founder of eco society
8. Illustrated a book
9. Gymnastics and Pole dancer
10. TEC Social entrepreneurship winner

Awards/Honors:
(In school)
Musical scholar
Drama award
Young musician of the year
Young Composer of the year
IGCSE Perfect Score award
Essays/LORs/Interviews:
Common app: 8-9/10, about my card business
Auditions:
Baldwin Wallace: 2 minutes in the room, said I had a good energy
NYU: 1 hour, they seemed impressed
USC: 2 hours, I thought they liked me. Their choreo was ass tho
AMDA: 1 hour, said I was impressive
​
Prescreens and videos:
In total I filmed 3 songs, 4 monologues and like 15 dances (each uni has a different dance combo for you to learn, and some have multiple)
don't apply for musical theatre guys 💀
​
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)

• Acceptances:

Baldwin Wallace (100k in scholarship)
Bird College UK
AMDA lol
Marymount Manhattan College
Rider University
NYU Tisch
Northwestern
​

• Rejections:

USC (L school)
​

• Waiting on:

Brown
​
Additional Information:
I'm quite torn between Bird and Baldwin Wallace right now. Ppl are telling me that NYU and Northwestern are better, but I'm not too sure. Hence the title. I really like Ohio and I'm not too sure about Chicago food.

This might be a controversial topic and I apologize if somehow it makes you uncomfortable.
So the story is yesterday I had some lemon chicken which was considered by some as Americanized Chinese food. Then it came to my mind that there are food that was considered by some as Americanized Japanese food such as California rolls. And they taste great if done right there's nothing wrong with that!
So here I am, wonder are there any Westernized JRPG or JRPG that was made with Westerners' playing style in mind out there? What modern JRPG features do you think are added mainly for Westerners? What JRPG do you think feels more 'authentic', don't make a compromise and stay true to many Japanese players taste? Or do you think it may mislead us to see games with prejudice and maybe it is not a good idea to generalize/categorize JRPG this way?

I used to do food delivery before the apps got so popular. And it's crazy how much entitlement these apps gave customers over the years. Back when people had to order from an establishment you didn't have so much control. You called the Chinese restaurant, pizza place or whatever restaurant and ordered in the phone. And you're food will get to you eventually in the lineup the restaurant set it up for.
There was no "hey where are you" or removing any tip or rating your driver. Because try not tipping back during those times and guarantee your food won't ever get delivered again from that restaurant. Because your boss will be right on his delivery guys side instead of a cheap customer with no appreciation for the service.
I feel like if you're in one of those markets that have been suffering bad. Where you've been out there for many hours and aren't even making 2023 minimum wage numbers. Then why not just start looking for like a delivery job but one that doesn't deal with the food apps.
Because it's like whether you're a new or old driver. You kind of already have an idea of your city and how to get around. And it should be obvious at this point if you're in a market where you probably won't even be getting most bills paid. So I would say just find a more steady delivery job. Because I know people want to be "free" and not deal with a boss or manager. But freedom don't pay the bills if you're out there for 8 hours an only made $50 for the day. You'll eventually be so free that you're homeless on the street still talking shit about Uber lol.

Demographics

• Gender: Male
• Race/Ethnicity: Asian/Chinese
• Residence: California
• Income Bracket: Middle Class
• Type of School: Public (though I think it's semi competitive)

Intended Major(s): Business/Econ
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 3.63/3.83
• Rank (or percentile): N/A
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 5 AP's, 3 Dual Enrollments
• Senior Year Course Load: 2 APS

Standardized Testing

• AP/IB: APUSH 4, bombed all the other ones because I wasn't taking it seriously which I do regret.

Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.

1. Club Badminton, been playing for 12 years, have competed nationally and internationally.
2. Varsity Badminton and Vars Badminton Co-captain, led team to undefeated seasons 3 years straight, only lost one match in all 3 years. was also a player coach.
3. School Clubs such as: interact club, photography club and service commission. Held board roles in most such as PR and secretary.
4. Community Service such as: a food bank, working at a hospital, and a program that allowed me to tutor a kid from Ukraine.
5. Internship with a city council-member, helped market political campaigns, and manage tasks like keeping track of a city festival and charities.
6. Two paid jobs: an afterschool care assistant at a martial arts place, and a waiter at a local restaurant.
7. Awards/Honors

List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

1. Really just MVP for Junior Year of school badminton.

Letters of Recommendation
(Briefly describe relationships with your recommenders and estimated rating.)
APUSH Teacher: 7.5/10, had a nice friendship with her. Though she did have a bad injury at the time of her writing my Chapman and BU letter of recc so that may have played a factor.
Chemistry Teacher: 8/10, also had a nice friendship with her. Kept up with her and made her food. Wrote my USC letter as she went there.
Counselor: 6/10, rarely talked to him but we did bond when I did have to talk to him
Internship Letter of Rec: 9.5/10, if I could reuse it for future endeavors I would. Only issue is it would be perfect towards a polisci major.
Interviews
Berk Recorded: 6.5/10, Stuttered and didn't finish it on time. Got all my points across though.
Essays
(Briefly reflect on the quality of your writing, time spent, and topic of main personal statement.)
Common App: 7/10 Spent about 2 weeks on it. Wrote about my badminton history but now that I think back I shouldn't have done that but my tutor was pushing me to do so and I folded.
UC's PIQ: 7.5/10 Spent a month and half on these. They were solid topics, but when I think back, not strong topics. To be fair I've done a lot more since the time of applying but it is what it is.
​
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
Acceptances:

• CSU Fullerton (most likely attending)
• UC Riverside
• UC Santa Cruz

Waitlists:

• SDSU
• Chapman (RD)

Rejections:

• USC (RD)
• UCSD
• UCLA
• UCI
• UCSB
• UCD
• BU

Waiting on Berk but honestly I'm defeated at this point
Looking back my GPA wasn't the strongest and for the amount of AP's offered at my school I should've taken more. Essay's could've also been stronger but I didn't have much to work with at the time of applying. I recognized I was a mediocre student like sophomore/junior year so I tried to stack on EC to compensate but obviously schools value a better student so it is what it is.

Below is the official communicaiton of the PuP ! I record official devs saying we were missing some points, so here their actual communication :)
April Update - Build #79888 This build contains:

• Small Trees and Idle Villagers as in-game settings

Balance Changes: * Eagle Scout, Eagle Warrior, and Elite Eagle Warrior cost increased from 20 food and 50 gold ▶ 25 food and 50 gold * Long Swordsman upgrade research time decreased from 45 seconds ▶ 40 seconds * Two-Handed Swordsman upgrade research time decreased from 75 seconds ▶ 60 seconds * Champion upgrade research time decreased from 100 seconds ▶ 85 seconds * Pikeman upgrade research time decreased from 45 ▶ 35 seconds * Pikeman upgrade cost decreased from 215 food and 90 gold ▶ 160 food and 90 gold * Supplies research time decreased from 35 seconds ▶ 20 seconds * New technology: * Gambesons --- Militia-Line +1 Pierce Armor: * Follows Supplies * Cost 100 food and 100 gold * Available in the Castle Age * 25 seconds of research time * Gambesons Available -- (Note: Civs gaining gambesons are also called out in the civ specific balance changes)Aztecs, Bengalis, Bulgarians, Burmese, Byzantines, Celts, Dravidians, Franks, Japanese, Koreans, Malay, Persians, Portuguese, Saracens, Sicilians, Slavs, Spanish, Teutons, Vikings * Gambesons Disabled --Berbers, Bohemians, Britons, Burgundians, Chinese, Cumans, Ethiopians, Goths, Gurjaras, Hindustanis, Huns, Incas, Italians, Khmer, Lithuanians, Magyars, Malians, Mayans, Mongols, Poles, Tatars, Turks, Vietnamese

• Fishing Ship collision size reduced from 0.5 ▶ 0.4
• Trade Cog collision size reduced from 0.5 ▶ 0.3
• Elite Steppe Lancer pierce armor increased from 1 ▶ 2
• Heavy Scorpion upgrade cost decreased from 1000 food and 1100 wood ▶ 800 food and 900 wood
• Murder Holes research time decreased from 60 seconds ▶ 35 seconds
• Sappers upgrade cost changed from 400 food and 200 gold ▶ 400 food and 200 wood
• Sappers upgrade now also adds +3 bonus damage vs rams for villagers
• Developer Note: “In practice this means +3 damage against Armored/Siege Elephants and Trebuchets, +2 against Capped Rams and +1 against Siege Rams.”
• (Elite) Elephant Archer train time decreased from 34 seconds ▶ 30 seconds
• Elite Elephant Archer upgrade cost reduced from 1000 food and 800 gold ▶ 800 wood and 500 gold
• Siege Elephant upgrade cost increased from 650 food ▶ 850 food
• (Elite) Genitours affected by Recurve Bow, Tower Shields, and Byzantine skirmisher discount
• Cannon Galleon Adjustments:Developer Note: “These changes simplify the damage of Cannon Galleons by removing it's numerous bonus damages vs almost all units and increasing the base damage accordingly. Also fixed a bug where Cannon Galleons sometimes wouldn't damage the targeted unit. Added a little bit of splash damage to the projectile as a small buff against clumped units.”
• (Elite) Cannon Galleon damage increased from 35 (45) ▶ 50 (60)
• (Elite) Cannon Galleon bonus damage vs Infantry, Archer, Cavalry and Mamelukes decreased from 15 ▶ 0
• (Elite) Cannon Galleon bonus damage vs Siege decreased from 40 ▶ 25
• (Elite) Cannon Galleon accuracy increased from 50% ▶ 100%
• (Elite) Cannon Galleon blast radius increased from 0 ▶ 0.25 (0.3)
• (Elite) Cannon Galleon receives attack ground ability
• Fixed an issue where Cannon Galleons sometimes wouldn't damage the targeted unit.

Civilization Specific Changes
Aztecs * Receive Gambesons * 50 extra starting gold is received after completing the first Town Center
Bengalis * New Bonus - Melee Cavalry gain +2 bonus damage vs skirmishers * Mahayana effect now also applies to monks * Gain Supplies, Receive Gambesons
Berbers * Villager movement speed bonus adjusted to 5% in Dark Age and 10% in Feudal Age
Bohemians * Hussite Reforms research cost reduced from 800 food and 450 gold ▶ 500 food and 450 gold
Britons * Team Bonus decreased from 20% ▶ 10% faster working archery ranges * Fixed an issue where the Town Center cost discount was not reducing the cost of repairing.
Bulgarians * Receive Gambesons * Stone discount does not apply to starting Town Center
Burgundians * Flemish Militia cost decreased from 60 food and 25 gold ▶ 50 food and 15 gold * Flemish Militia production after researching Flemish Revolution moved from Town Center to Barracks * Flemish Militia HP decreased from 75 ▶ 60 * Flemish Militia damage decreased from 12 ▶ 11 * Flemish Militia pierce armor decreased from 1 ▶ 0 * Flemish Revolution cost changed from 1200 food and 650 gold ▶ 200 food +10 food per villager converted and 150 gold +5 gold per villager converted
Burmese * Elite Arambai upgrade cost adjusted from 1100 food and 675 gold ▶ 1000 food and 750 gold * Receive Gambesons
Byzantines * Greek Fire now additionally provides 5 splash damage to bombard towers * Receive Gambesons
Celts * Stronghold effect increased from 25% ▶ 33% attack speed to towers and castles * Stronghold now additionally heals allied infantry near castles by 30 HP per minute * Receive Gambesons
Chinese * Start changed from +3 villagers and -200 food ▶ +2 villagers and -150 food
Dravidians * New Bonus: Siege units cost -33% wood * Receive Gambesons
Ethiopians * Team bonus effect changed from towers and outposts +3 line of sight ▶ outposts +3 line of sight and stone cost removed * Royal Heirs effect changed from Shotel Warriors trained 100% faster to Shotels and Camel units receive -3 damage from Mounted Units * Elite Shotel Warrior train time decreased from 8 seconds ▶ 4 seconds
Franks * Receive Gambesons
Goths * New Bonus: Hunt lasts 20% longer
Gurjaras * Kshatriyas cost increased from 200 food and 400 gold ▶ 500 food and 450 gold * (Elite) Shrivamsha cost increased from 70f 20g → 70f 30g * (Elite) Shrivamsha reload time increased from1.75 → 2.0 (1.9)
Huns * Atheism cost decreased from 500 food and 500 gold ▶ 500 food and 300 wood
Incas * Andean sling now additionally provides +1 damage to slingers * Fixed an issue where Slingers incorrectly gained attack speed from thumb ring * New Bonus: Military units cost -15/20/25/30% food in Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial * List of affected units: Militia-line, Spearman-line, Eagle-line, Skirmisher-line, Slinger, Kamayuk, Genitour, Condottieri, Petards and Xolotl Warriors. * Lose access to supplies * (Elite) Kamayuk cost increased from 60 food and 30 gold ▶ 65 food and 30 gold * Slinger cost increased from 30 food and 40 gold ▶ 40 food and 40 gold * Bonus Removed: Start with a free Llama * Team Bonus effect changed from Spearman and Skirmisher +2 line of sight ▶ Start with a free Llama * Stone discount does not apply to starting Town Center
Japanese * Now have access to Hoardings * Kataparuto cost reduced from 750 wood and 400 gold ▶ 550 wood and 300 gold * Receive Gambesons
Khmer * (Elite) Ballista Elephant elephant armor changed from -2 ▶ 0, cavalry armor from -2 ▶ 0, siege armor from -2 ▶ 0Developer Note: “This fixes various bugs where Ballista Elephants would receive additonal damage even from units which had +0 attack vs siege or cavalry armor (all infantry units, chu ko nus, steppe lancers...)The addition of the Hussite Armor will cause them to receive more damage from siege such as Mangonels or Bombard Cannons.” * (Elite) Ballista Elephant gain Hussite wagon armor with a value of +20
Koreans * Elite Turtle ship range increased from 6 ▶ 7 * Receive Gambesons
Lithuanians * Bonus for starting with 150 food changed to each Town Center providing 100 food
Malay * New Bonus: Receive infantry armor upgrades for free * Receive Gambesons
Malians * (Elite) Gbeto HP increased from 35 (45) ▶ 40 (50) * The 30% longer lasting Gold Mines bonus changed to villagers drop off 15% more gold * Tigui additional arrows changed from 5 ▶ 8 * Wood discount does not apply to starting Town Center
Persians * Receive Gambesons * 50 extra starting food and wood are received after completing the first Town Center
Poles * Villager regeneration bonus now starts in Feudal Age
Portuguese * (Elite) Organ Gun damage 16 ▶ 7 (20 ▶ 9) * secondary damage changed from 2 flat to same as main projectile * (Elite) Organ Gun total projectiles 5 (5) ▶ 6 (7) * (Elite) Organ Gun accuracy 50% ▶ 0% * (Elite) Organ Gun attack dispersion 0.75 ▶ 0.25 * (Elite) Organ Gun Bonus vs Infantry 0 ▶ 1 * Elite Organ Gun Bonus vs Buildings 0 ▶ 1Developer Note: “The aim of this change is to more accurately realize the vision of this unit being effective against groups of units.Instead of one high damage projectile and additional mostly cosmetics bullets, the damage of the unit is spread equally across all its projectiles.” * Elite Caravel upgrade cost adjusted from 750 food and 475 gold ▶ 700 food and 525 gold * Receive Gambesons
Saracens * Zealotry cost reduced from 500 food and 450 gold ▶ 400 food and 400 gold * Receive Gambesons
Sicilians * Castles and Town centers built 100% faster changed to Castle build 50% and Town Centers build 100% faster * Donjon affected by Hoardings * Donjon can now train Spearman-line * Donjon now functions as a prerequisite for Archery Range and Stable * First Crusade effect reduced from 7 ▶ 5 Serjeants per Town Center * First Crusade cost adjusted from 300 food and 600 gold ▶ 400 food and 300 gold * Serjeant HP increased from 45 ▶ 50 in Feudal Age * Serjeant HP increased from 65 ▶ 75 in Castle Age * Serjeant Elite upgrade cost reduced from 1100 food and 800 gold ▶ 800 food and 675 gold * Serjeant build/repair 25% slower in Feudal Age * Receive Gambesons * 100 extra starting stone is received after completing the first Town Center
Slavs * Boyar cost adjusted from 50 food and 80 gold ▶ 60 food and 70 gold * Druzhina cost reduced from 1200 food and 500 gold ▶ 900 food and 500 gold * Receive Gambesons * Free Supplies bonus also includes Gambesons
Spanish * Inquisition also gives Missionaries +1 range * Conquistador -1 Pierce Armor (Elite Unchanged) * New Bonus: Gain 20 gold for each technology researched * Receive Gambesons * Build speed bonus does not apply to starting Town Center
Tatars * (Elite) Keshik train time increased from 16 (14) ▶ 17 (15)
Turks * Artillery cost increased from 450 wood 500 gold ▶ 600 food 650 gold
Teutons * Receive Gambesons
Vietnamese * Paper Money cost reduced from 600 wood and 350 gold ▶ 550 food and 200 wood
Vikings * Chieftains effect now also provides infantry with gold generation while attacking villagers, trade units, and monks. This is in addition to infantry gain bonus damage vs cavalry * 5g per villager, 20g for Monks and Trade units * Chieftains cost reduced from 700 food and 500 gold ▶ 600 food and 450 gold * Berserkergang replaced with Bogsveigar (650 food and 500 gold): Archer-line and Longboats +1 Attack * (Elite) Berserk healing increased from 20 hp per minute ▶ 40 HP per minute * Elite Longboats Bonus vs Ships 11 ▶ 10, vs buildings 8 ▶ 7 * Receive Gambesons
source : steam link

God I fucking miss you. I would do anything to hold you again, to feel your hands on the back of my head, to hear the slight amusement in your voice as you questioned me. I would do anything to watch you play with my cat again, to hear your laughter, to comfort you while you cried. I would do anything to spend one more period with you, skipping class to attend mine, sacrificing your grades just for the chance to spend another hour with me. I would do anything to have another afternoon at the park, or cooking Chinese food, or walking into your house and feeling more at home than I do in my own bed.
I would do anything to feel your loving warmth again.
Please, God please, be there for me when I am ready to return. Please, God, let us go back to being siblings. Let us go back to being happy. Because I— and I say this with every fiber in my being, without the slightest hint of exaggeration or irony, in the most literal sense of the word— for the life of me, cannot do this without her.

Background: 29F, SG, Chinese. Partner is originally South Asian descent but is now a citizen. We have known each other for almost three years.
LONG POST WARNING. STRAP IN AND WITNESS THE DRAMA. BUCKLE IN FOR A RANT/VENT
My mother is quite the character - she nitpicks and is fixated on her 'cantonese heritage' despite my father being hokkien. When my fiance first visited wearing a red t shirt for Chinese New Year, she focussed on the informal nature of the clothes; when he brought a pricey bottle of wine to the gathering as a gift and drank it together with my family over the meal, she noted this as 'alcoholism'. The cherry on the cake was when my fiance gave my family a Christmas gift set of treats, she nattered about the absence of a handwritten card attached to the gift box.
I got engaged one year ago, and in that moment, the saddest thing that struck me was that I was more worried about him getting approval from my parents first than fully enjoying the moment.
Since then, at my request, he did host a dinner at his apartment with my parents and younger sister in tow, to 'ask for my hand'. My parents agreed, with my father asking him to co-buy another property in my name, and my mother wanting the usual 10 tables for the chinese banquet, tea ceremony etc. Unfortunately, in that moment, she said, "I always thought my daughter would marry an ang moh (Singlish for caucasian man)". To alleviate the tension, my fiance laughed it off by making fun of his own skin colour, but that statement weighed on him and he wanted an apology. My mother not only refused to apologise, she and my father sought to gaslight ("No, I'm not racist, I simply meant because you're so westernised, I thought you will marry a white man!", "If he had a problem with it, it's his problem for focussing on his skin colour... if others call me yellow, so what?".
Because of this, wedding planning was deferred. There was a second confrontation last year in June, where my parents and fiance met up separately to discuss the comment. Needless to say, things did not go well. My dad apologised on behalf of my mother, but my mother was still unhappy : NMom: "In all my life I have never apologised, just ask your father!", "He is so rude to tell me that my comment is inappropriate!", "No, I'm not racist, in fact I welcomed him during Chinese New Year although it is inauspicious to have a black face around!"(Note that 'black face', when literally translated from mandarin, means having a disgruntled expression.).
Since then, fiance and I fought multiple times over my parents, with him threatening to leave if I continue to try and nudge my parents around. He has Ultimately, this year, during the first day of Chinese New Year, my parents initially didn't want to have him over but ultimately added one dish to the menu. My fiance also came to take the bull by the horns, coming by appropriately dressed, and even apologised to my mother twice for being "rude" for telling her she was being rude. While the storm appeared to pass, she still uses this episode of my fiance telling her off as a reason for why she doesn't like him.
Fast forward to today, where ultimately I decided to get started on wedding planning and set a date. My fiance and I have always wanted a small wedding involving close family and friends, and as foodies, we wanted to pick a nice, Michelin-starred restaurant instead of the usual hotel ballroom banquet that is the norm in Singapore. To be fair to his family, we wanted to opt for 'western' cuisine. Since then, additional requirements were thrown in that were not discussed before: involving a geomancer to pick an auspicious date, adding in a guo da li ceremony with 10 baskets of wedding cookies to be given, and even mandating an all-Chinese banquet 'to cater to seniors', with at least 100 guests coming from them. Note that (i) 70% of the folks on my mum's invite list comprises of the 'seniors' especially her mother's side of the family, (ii)I have never spoken or interacted with at least 80 of these people, and (iii) in addition to our new house, my fiance and I will be fully footing 100% of the wedding bills and planning for it, with no help coming from my parents. Reasons she has given include: If you invite one, you need to invite all, I'm not giving away my daughter in a low key ceremony, this is about family and you need to invite the seniors as well. Finally, for (iv) the tea ceremony, my mother proudly told me to engage a 'mistress of ceremony' and that she would not be helping with the prepping of the tea, moving of props, etc.
We ultimately booked a venue of our choice, but my fiance gave in and paid the deposit for 12 tables of 10 people, with chinese food, and add on live stations. I informed my mother about the venue, and asked her to just prepare the guest list. As I had not involved my mother at all due to recent history, she never stopped haranguing me about the date, menu, and even how the sit down affair would work, citing reasons like 'As this is a family milestone, it would set us at ease to know how it works'. She even did an excel sheet detailing at least 5 different options for the hotel banquet.
Prior to going for my holiday, I attempted to set boundaries, explaining that we had outstanding financial commitments for the house and we had paid deposit for the venue, and it would be excessive to have two receptions. This culminated in a confrontation via WhatsApp while I was on holiday. Frustrated, I told her that "It is Chinese food, sit down, and you get your chinese banquet of your dreams. This means NO TWO WEDDINGS, ONE AND DONE. I'm giving up what I want, a destination wedding with elevated food just so you have your moment in the sun. I hope you're happy now."
Apparently, she was so butthurt, she immediately withdrew her guestlist of over 80 people and told me to go for the small wedding I liked, leaving my fiance and I with a venue that can accomodate 120, with just our guests of approximately 30+ people. Good outcome? Nope. She nitpicked the venue, stating that it is "cheap", and she didn't want our relatives to criticise or say that she married her daughter out being stingy. For non-Singaporeans, it is not that the venue was inappropriate, in fact, the cost of the venue we picked would be on par with the median hotel ballroom banquet price. Not only did she refuse to hear me on the budget I've set for the wedding, she (i) stood firm on wanting the separate chinese dinner, with her paying and hosting this dinner, and refused to go for the venue we booked, (ii) asked for a pin jin (bride dowry) cash equivalent of the chinese banquet dinner for ten tables, or 100 people, (iii) still asked for the si dian jin (bridal jewelry), plus the guo da li items, (iv) when I tried to establish boundaries by stating the budget limits and how we have tried to cater to her wants, and that costs will escalate with gown rentals and the exertion of energy and time in planning for an additional event, she asked that my fiance "send an elder to speak" to her.
The only concession I could extract was explaining my budget, and with our venue taking more than half of the budget, this would mean we would seriously need to compromise on other things like the gowns, photography, decoration etc just to have two events. I even told her: "Do you really want me to walk in to the venue in a H&M white dress?" She offered to pay for the Chinese dinner, and all we needed to do was show up, but got extremely unhappy when I told her that if she was planning it, we would not be helping in any way, shape or form, and we would not be giving her money equivalent to a second venue. Her rebuttal? "Don't tell me your fiance doesn't want memories of that day", "the groom should pay for the wedding anyway, it's tradition", "Fine, I still want the equivalent of the 10 tables in your pin jin, besides you were going to spend the same amount anyway for your wedding", "If he gives $8, this just shows how much he values you", "a wedding is not just about the both of you... you don't want to regret getting married without blessings. It is a family event, and I want to take this opportunity to get everyone together. Isn't it sad that the only excuse for catching up and meeting up is at funerals?"
I'm really angry and frustrated. I did feel guilty as I still do want to get wed in peace and with immediate family present, and wanted to cancel my existing venue for the smaller venue I preferred while letting my mother have control of her little pet project (the chinese dinner), thus ensuring non-interference in my actual small wedding. Both my fiance and my counsellor told me that this was naive of me as my mother's antics was an exercise in pushing boundaries, and with the escalating demands and shifting goalposts, this behaviour is likely to endure even in her pet project.
What made me really sad was I actually googled to see if I was being a terrible person, and it took reading forums that I am 'normal' in wanting a wedding day for MYSELF, and I deserve to host MY wedding the way I want to feel that my emotions are valid.
Redditors, especially Singaporeans, what do you think?

There is a certain aura, a cultural meme, regarding the United Nations Armed Forces. A very particular version of events that is peddled across the galaxy, generally the result of an interstellar game of telephone. This aura is that of an unflinching, uncaring war machine. One that starts with the goal of total destruction of its opponents, and works towards that by any means necessary.
It is easy to see how this came about. Even putting aside the pre-Contact War conflicts, there is plenty of brutality to be found. The exploits of Spearhead Platoon during the Second Hekatian War, fighting it's way from the Susquehanna to the palace of the Hekatian Emperor, has particularly dominated the popular consciousness for many, and it is difficult to argue they did not experience some of the worst the war had to offer. A still frame of Corporal Heppell, gas mask concealing all but his eyes, half a second away from plunging his plasma-enhanced bayonet into a Hekatian platoon commander, has become one of the most reproduced images of the whole Battle of New York.
While plasma bayonets were only issued to a small portion of British units during the Second Hekatian War, melee fighting still occupied a disturbingly high proportion of the wars with the Hekatians a modern war. The Battle of London (both 2021 and 2025) saw civilians armed with little more than axes and clubs achieving at least some success against mechanised Hekatian forces in the tight urban confines of the city, with their contributions in the Second Hekatian War forming a part of the critical force that halted the Hekatian offensive. Less well commemorated, but by no means less brave, was the near-complete annihilation of the 8th Battalion Rajputana Rifles in the opening phases of the Battle of New Delhi. Caught out-of-position by the surprise landing of Hekatian forces, the soldiers rushed into battle against a far-superior Hekatian force. By the day's end, only 3 soldiers survived from the entire ordeal, but their counterattacks, waged with everything from rifles to chunks of rubble used as clubs, successfully held up the better part of a division for some critical hours. Doubtless similar stories exist across every front of the war.
Infantry fought with all manner of weapons, with KPA forces famously utilising shovels and large quantities of grenades while fighting from trench to trench on the slopes of Mt. Paektu. During the later stages of the Battle of New York, Gurkha units roamed the irradiated rubble of the city, wielding plasma-enhanced kukris: this was so extraordinarily effective that Hekatian units in the Brooklyn area had a bounty set on the weapons, on the basis that each collected meant another of the feared soldiers had been eliminated, and that soldiers would be more watchful in hopes of collecting said bounty. The actual effect was that the number of losses credited to Gurkha units went up, as their soldiers (now aware of just how effective they were) delved deeper and deeper into psychological warfare. Meanwhile, Hekatian soldiers became so jumpy that they often exposed themselves to Human forces by firing away at nonexistent targets, and were so nervous as to lose all composure when engaged. When the United Nations counterattack successfully trapped a large quantity of supply-starved Hekatians in the radioactive ruins of New York, an intimidation campaign of such ferocity was launched that even a century later headless Hekatians are occasionally located within the New York area.
There are, of course, other ways to be brutal than a bayonet or bullet.
The Second Hekatian War, for example, saw the mass deployment of nerve gas against Hekatian forces landing in Southern England, with this considered to be the single deadliest event in the history of warfare (excluding attacks targeted at civilian populations). True numbers on the death toll are hard to come by, but it is estimated these attacks alone killed roughly 100,000 Hekatians, unprepared for the gas as they were exiting their ships, with an unknown number severely wounded. This is at present the only confirmed deployment of chemical weapons in either war: rumours persist of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea having used significant quantities during the fighting across the Korean Peninsula, and into Northeastern China. To this day, neither the People’s Republic of China, nor the Korean Federal Republic have confirmed these rumours, and all files regarding the status of the DPRK’s chemical arsenal have been sealed away until 2155.
Chemical weapons were not the only weapons of mass destruction brought out in desperate defence of Earth. Biological weapons were deployed, albeit in significantly less flashy ways. Though continuously denied by the United Nations to this day, all evidence indicates that a modified form of Tularemia was deployed against Hekatian forces in the United States. By all accounts, this was extraordinarily effective in shattering Hekatian morale, along with generally degrading their ability to resist United Nations counterattacks. This disease, relatively minor as far as biological weapons go, was generally non-lethal, and thus believed acceptable to be used against the Hekatians without causing further escalation if discovered.
Currently, there is significant reason to believe the Hekatians may have deployed biological weapons of their own, which may later have morphed into the infamous Cincinnati Flu, though this is highly controversial amongst war historians, and is believed to have occurred independently of the use of Tularemia. It is also worth noting that declassified British documents speak openly of a large stockpile of anthrax being distributed across the island at the start of the Second Hekatian War, with the intent being to release it en masse as a form of vengeance should Britain fall. Still uncertain is why, even a century after the war and the collapse of the Hekatian Stellar Imperium, several Hekatian-majority worlds (including, most infamously, Kulabaddos) semi-routinely see severe outbreaks of a disease worryingly similar to H1N1.
The most destructive WMDs in pure terms were the InterStellar Faster-than-light Missiles. Effectively the old idea of the Relativistic Kill Vehicle, except with a hyperdrive strapped to them, they saw very little use across the war, except for a few carefully calculated deployments by United Nations forces. Using stolen missiles, the Muaytrov and Hualkinov anchorages were utterly destroyed, followed by the military staging post of Traxio.
But these are not the weapons of mass destruction thought of when the Second Hekatian War springs to mind.
In the course of the Second Hekatian War, nukes were tossed around in large numbers. City after city across the United States of America fell victim to Hekatian nukes, while American strikes (generally tactical in nature, directed at concentrations of Hekatian forces and key command and control sites) usually invited yet more retaliation. Historians are unable to come to much of a conclusion on the effectiveness of this strategy by the American military, in no small part due to the difficulties of credibly predicting what would have happened without it. It is arguable that these attacks were responsible for the collapse of Hekatian morale and eventual widespread mutinies: this can also be attributed to any of hundreds of factors. It must be noted, though, that the Hekatians began the nuclear game with the destruction of Washington DC, and that ultimately all responsibility lies with them.
After the war, there was much debate on the morality of this action, rather than just the efficacy. It was declared by some that Humanity, now no longer in an existential fight for it's liberty and potentially survival, was in a "post-nuclear" age, where it could step away from these insanely destructive weapons. While this did hold for biological and chemical weapons, it simply could not for nuclear weapons, as the reality of maintaining an effective military on the interstellar scale quickly caught up. Nukes are fielded in what could be described as a liberal amount: fashioned into Nuclear Explosively Formed Projectiles or Casaba-Howitzers, they form the backbone of the Stellar Navy’s anti-ship missile arsenal. Special forces units have routinely made use of sub-kiloton devices in the Rigel Campaign, and conventional forces maintain large stockpiles for tactical usage. Even the famous SIM-94, defender of the skies, is more commonly than not fielded with a nuclear warhead of some sort.
These are carefully calculated tactical uses, yes. A Casaba-Howitzer melting a warship is a far different thing than the nuclear bombardment of Los Angeles, both in scale and morality. But most commanders do still hesitate when they order a nuclear strike in an exercise. Failsafes abound for all devices intended for anti-ship purposes to prevent their usage in other ways, while devices for use as bombs are subject to hyper-strict command-and-control procedures. ISFMs are subject to even stricter control, since their misuse could devastate an unshielded planet.

The cumulative effects of such a war have continued to be felt for decades afterwards. The Second Hekatian War is believed to be the war with the single highest rate of PTSD amongst veterans. Post-war advances in medical technology helped to at least lessen the effects of physical wounds, and the general improvement in living standards that followed the wars has significantly helped many veterans, but some things can't be solved by getting to take a holiday to space on the cheap. This is of course not to mention the refugee populations of the former United States, many of them surviving by flukes while losing their entire family. It is a horror no one seeks to experience again.
Yes, the plasma bayonet is still technically fielded by both the Territorial and Stellar Army (though, notably, not the Orbital Infantry, who solely fight in the cramped confines of space stations). But it has not been used in combat in decades, and is widely agreed to only exist because of tradition, and also as a somewhat risky means of cooking food. To the average soldier, the idea of a bayonet charge is unthinkable, not least because it means a lot has gone wrong.
When the Hekatians were at the gates in 2025, it was necessary to project a certain image. The unflinching warrior, remorseless and unplagued by questions of morality. Even at the time, this had serious problems. Now, in 2150, things are different. That image is back in the box as far as the United Nations is concerned, even as the myth continues to spread. But the thing about boxes is that you can always open them up again. The only hope is it never will be.

---Authors Notes---

Some points: the Korean Federal Republic is supposed to be the unified state that now comprises the Korean peninsula. The Rigel Campaign thing is something I have been meaning to expand on for a while now, and has been mentioned before, though not by that name. Fingers crossed I can sort out the relevant stories for that some time soon.
Some may notice that there has been a slight retconning of ISFMs here. Originally they were intended to hit their target at FTL speeds: I have spent at least a year bothered by my earlier concepts of FTL. Firstly, the problem of where they got the energy to go FTL: this was covered by a "no one knows", which was eventually meant to be "no one knows but it's being siphoned from other dead universes and for some reason can't be harnessed by other uses", which was a cop-out to be honest. The second issue was that obviously any shield to protect against this would be absurdly powerful, so absurdly powerful as to render any planet basically invulnerable to everything. Thirdly, they had an interesting effect on space battles, in that they forced them to be more conducted in orbits of planets where collateral damage would prevent the usage of ISFMs. I really like this as a concept, especially since I think it's a kinda nice inversion of how anti-ship missiles work in reality (which force ships to get further and further away), but I realised that ISFMs were basically just too good at this. So I have decided to change it slightly, so that it's closer to a "slipspace" style. ISFMs are now just RKVs with the ability to go faster than light, then they drop out slightly before hitting the target. Still very powerful but less nakedly reality breaking. The point about forcing battles to be more in orbit still stands, but now those ships could better defend themselves or evade. Basically the difference between how hypersonic weapons are portrayed against modern carriers, and their current reality: still capable but not perfect. The same change applies broadly to regular hyperdrives, but they're not really that affected.
Anyway, if you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee, it helps a ton, and allows me to keep writing this sort of stuff. Alternatively, you can just read more of it.

Note from roberestarkk

I am blatantly copy-pasting this from elsewhere to help test a text-to-speech issue

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-26-2023
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff landed midday today in Accra, the capital of Ghana, a country of about 33 million people slightly larger than Michigan on Africa’s west coast.
The 54 countries in Africa vary widely in language, religion, and culture, and Harris will visit three countries which initially seem unrelated. During her week on the African continent, in addition to Ghana, Harris will also visit Tanzania, a country bigger than Texas of about 62 million people on the east coast that is known for its natural wonders—Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti plain are both on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. She will then visit neighboring Zambia, a landlocked country slightly larger than Texas with about 20 million people, where about one third of the country is game management areas or national parks, including one that protects the famous waterfall Mosi-oa-Tunya, or Smoke that Thunders—also known as Victoria Falls.
Harris’s visit is part of the Biden administration’s plan to counter Chinese and Russian influence on the African continent. That continent is rich in natural resources, and other countries want access to them. Between 2000 and 2016, China invested heavily in a number of African nations, sometimes in exchange for resources, sometimes for political alliances. It has become Africa’s second most important trading partner with about $250 billion in trade in 2021, just slightly behind the European Union, while U.S.-Africa trade in 2021 was about $64 billion.
Russia’s interests in Africa have tended toward support for authoritarian regimes. Russia focused on Africa after its 2014 invasion of Ukraine began to isolate it from other nations and their resources. The Russian Wagner Group of mercenary fighters has been a key player in Africa since then, often called in by authoritarian leaders to suppress political opposition in exchange for access to mines or other valuable resources.
The Wagner Group has supported anti-democratic movements across the semi-arid Sahel region, which stretches across the northern part of the continent in a band above Ghana. After recent failures in Ukraine, the leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, says he will turn his attention back to Africa, although it is unclear that he will be able to raise the necessary forces to make a major push.
African nations have historical reasons to be leery of European governments, who have tended to want to exploit the continent’s resources for themselves at the expense—often the deadly expense—of Africa’s inhabitants. They are also leery of the U.S., for when African nations began to throw off colonial rule, the Soviet Union tended to support those movements while the U.S. tended instead to support right-wing forces. More recently, the Trump years continued to weaken ties between the U.S and Africa as the United States withdrew from engagement with what the former president allegedly called “sh*thole countries.”
The Biden administration has worked to repair relations between the U.S. and Africa on the stated principle that Africans must have control over their own countries and their own future. The administration hosted the U.S.-Africa leaders summit in December 2022, where it announced that it backed the admission of the African Union to the Group of 20, welcoming the 55 member states of the African Union to the intergovernmental forum that focuses on global issues. The African Union has wanted admission to the G20 for years, noting that they are currently left out of discussions that affect them—most recently, the plans to address the coronavirus—and the administration’s promise that it would back the African Union’s admission was an important sign of the administration’s focus on strengthening ties between the continent and the U.S.
Since then, the Biden administration has pledged more than $6.5 billion to the continent to aid security, support democratic institutions, and advance civil rights and the rule of law. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, First Lady Jill Biden, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have all visited the continent.
Harris is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit and will emphasize the deep connections between Africa and the spread of Africans around the world, a process known as the African diaspora. In Ghana, Harris will visit the Cape Coast slave castle, used to hold enslaved Africans before they were shipped across the Atlantic for sale, primarily in the Caribbean. But the connections between Africa and the Americas reach far beyond the legacy of enslavement: Accra is the burial place of early twentieth-century U.S. writer and intellectual W. E. B. DuBois, for example. Harris will also visit Lusaka, Zambia, where as a child she visited her maternal grandfather when he worked there as a civil engineer.
The administration’s outreach to Africa is not simply a way to counter China and Russia on the continent. The White House explained that Harris is visiting these three countries specifically because their governments are investing in their democracies at a time when democracies around the globe are under siege.
Harris will launch her meeting with Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo. When the two leaders met before, in September 2021, Akufo-Addo identified the key issue facing Africa and the world, saying: “[O]ur big challenge—and it is a challenge of all those who want to develop democratic institutions on our continent—is to ensure and reassure our people that democratic institutions can be a vehicle for the resolution of their big problem—that is economic development as the means to eradicate poverty on the continent.”
This is a great summary of the central issue for democracy today.
In Africa the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside a rise in interest rates, has made it hard for a number of nations to pay their international debts, which quintupled between 2000 and 2020. At the same time, the Russian blockade of Ukraine has cut food supplies while international sanctions against Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine has cut fertilizer supplies to the continent, increasing food shortages.
Those crises offer possibilities for international cooperation to invest in the African continent, especially as the new African Continental Free Trade Area agreement smooths trade across the continent and, with luck, brings rural regions into better contact with more urban areas.
But those same crises also open the way for strongmen to take over by promising to solve their country’s shortages. Russian disinformation in Africa drives pro-Russian and anti-European sentiment; a new Russian social media network launched on the continent in February 2022. Last week, Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed to have written off $20 billion of African debt and blamed the West for his inability to deliver the fertilizer he had promised.
But while democracy is under siege around the world, Freedom House, the non-profit organization that tracks the health of democracy worldwide, noted last September that African countries have shown important efforts to expand the rule of law and strong democratic institutions. Ghana, for example, has become more democratic but is threatened by the instability to its north.
Still, in August, the pan-African, nonpartisan research network Afrobarometer found that African voters want democratic institutions. According to a report from Chatham House that reviewed the polling, Africans “believe that the military should stay out of politics, that political parties should freely compete for power, that elections are an imperfect but essential tool for choosing their leaders, and that it is time for the old men who cling to power to step aside.” Seventy percent of Africans say they prefer democracy to any other form of government, 82% reject “strongman” rule, 77% reject one-party rule, and 75% reject military rule (even in countries that have recently experienced military coups).
Those impressive numbers in a continent of very young people—the median age is just 19—are an obvious reason for the U.S. to want better relations at a time when both President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken have been very clear that they believe democracy at home depends at least in part on democracy overseas.
And the danger to democracy at home was crystal clear last night, as former president Trump held a rally in Waco, Texas, where in 1993 a 51-day government siege of the headquarters of a religious cult gave birth to the modern anti-government militia movement. Since then, Waco has been a touchstone for violent attacks on the government. There, last night, Trump stood on stage with his hand over his heart while loudspeakers played not the national anthem but a song recorded by January 6 insurrectionists. Footage from the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol played on a screen behind him.

Coming all the way from Vancouver, Canada I recently had the great blessing to be able to stay in NYC for 6 days and here is the list of places I ate at and my short reviews:
Night 1
NR ramen cocktail bar in the UES. We went there last year and had a bit more enjoyable of an experience then due to the great service (thank you Ray!) but as per this time, the ramen was still good (nice chewy noodles and rich broth) and the cocktails inventive and on point. Wish they would do dessert. Really busy spot and I was happy to see others enjoying this fun ramen bar. 7/10.
Day 2
Rule of Thirds in Brooklyn. Brunch with cocktails, Japanese breakfast for my daughter and the souffle pancake for myself. Wife had... I forget. Everyone was happy. I really loved the cucumber side dish. The pancake was not as good as what I have had at a Japanese chain place called Gram but it was decent. Overall the room was great, service nice and the location a hit as we did a bunch of vintage shopping in Williamsburg right after. 7/10.
Night 2
Atomix. Wow. Just wow. Dream like atmosphere and the service was fantastic. The food was inventive, challenging and at all times delicious. There was a tuna, caviar and snap pea dish that blew my mind. They also made sea cucumber delicious. How is that even possible? The matcha cocktail was another scene stealer. And the rice cream dessert with fresh black truffle shavings, come on. Pure heaven. I have been a fan of Korean food for a long time. This version of Korean fine dining was something special. 10/10. Highest recommendation. I will never forget this meal.
Day 3
Hop Kee in Chinatown for lunch. This was a misstep. The portions were big but not delicious. Thr service was laughably atrocious but at least endearing. The server delivered the wonton soup and then began to dig around in it after it was on the table to make sure we got duck meat. We had in fact but wish we hadn't. The duck tasted gamey. The salt and pepper squid dish was rough. The prominent flavors here were salt and grease. The rest of the meal went about the same. We left wondering how any one could recommend this place. Is this the typical quality of Chinese food in NYC? If so, Vancouver blows it outta the water. 2 outta 10 as the free tea was nice as it helped us digest all the grease. Kinda cool to get fortune cookies too. Reminded me of when I was a kid.
Night 3
Keen's Steakhouse. We absolutely loved the meal and the experience of eating at this NYC institution. I took on the challenge of the mutton chop and did my best with that delicious beast of a dish. My wife and daughter split a massive T-bone and barely got through it. Creamed spinach and mashed potatoes for sides were both perfect and the Pimms went down smooth. House made carrot cake for dessert was a hit. Our server Thomas was fantastic. The place is fun. The prices more than fair. I cannot wait to return someday. 10/10.
Day 4
Off to Washington DC for the day but we did Liberty bagels for breakfast and those were well enjoyed on our Amtrak ride. I won't grade bagels though as I am not an expert. I pretty much have never had a bad bagel from a bagel shop that serves them fresh.
Day 5
Clocktower restaurant for breakfast. This was a mistake. Overpaid for a really sad excuse of a breakfast. I have had better instant oatmeal. Coffee was nice and regularly refilled. But I would never go back. 15 dollars for a smoothie in a oversized shot glass. What was I thinking. Yikes. 1/10.
Sushi 35 West for lunch number 1. Wow. Best sushi I have had in North American including a recent Michelin star winning place in Vancouver. We scoffed down this amazingly delicious fresh and fast food find in Herald Park. Every bite was superb. If I lived in NYC, I would be eating here 5 times a week easily. And for the prices, it is probably the best deal in town. 10/10.
Chick fil-A for lunch number 2. Daughter had to have the nuggets. Hey it is what it is. 5/10.
Papaya King for lunch number 3. The special combo with the Papaya drink, all scoffed down super quickly so we could get outta here and back to the hotel to rest up for our late dinner. It was my third visit and I place I will religiously return to every time I am back in NYC. It is a damn good hot dog and drink. Simple as that. 7/10.
Night 5
Eleven Madison Park. The all plant based menu had me hesitant to book EMP but given its proximity to our hotel I felt like I should book it since I kept asking myself when would we have the chance to do it again. I am so glad we did. Although the meal had some dishes far better than others, the room itself, the elite level of service (thank you Brandon) and the overall experience was one of a kind. The abundance of truffles on the menu and the truffle cocktail (called the mushroom) were heavenly. And the granola gift at the end is a perfect way to end a one of a kind experience. I appreciate you plants! I truly appreciate you. 10/10.
Day 6
Katz's Deli. Best pastrami this side of Schwartz's in Montreal. Loved the space and the experience. Price is crazy at 26 bux but we split the sandwich in 3 and all felt full leaving. The cherry sodas and the pickles were also great. 8/10.
Russ and Daughters for bagels and an egg cream. Loved this place and don't regret that egg cream no matter my lactose intolerance. Totally worth it.
Shake Shack at the airport for burgers and fries. Perfect way to end the trip. I have yet to eat a bad burger from SS. 7/10.
If you got through all that, thanks and also I hope some of these reviews help others in deciding where or where not to eat when visiting the amazing food mecca that is NYC. I will be back someday and Sushi 35 West better still be there!! Mama Mia, that sushi....

OUR MEMBERS DEFINITELY NEED TO PREPARE THEIR OWN "SOFT WHITE CULTIVATION & MUSHROOM BED CULTIVATION" DIY SET.(｀・ ω・ ´)ゞ It's a great way to go somewhere close to self-sufficiency somewhere dark in your household. Below are veggies that you can grow in the darkness, & mushrooms--which you might be satisfied to challenge cultivating within your house or apartment.(*´ω｀*) Try at least a few, and make Chinese Dumplings.(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ I'll start myself, when I get the cash to do it.(๑• ̀д•́ )✧+°ﾄﾞﾔｯ (Possibilities of )Soft White Cultivation --Easy Level-- Kaiware Radish Bean Sprouts Myoga-take(Japanese Radish) White Udo Chicory Yellow Leek White Asparagus (Possibilities of )Soft White Cultivation --Difficult Level-- Mitsuba( Japanese Parsley) With Long Shaft White Spring Onion Scallion Lotus Root Ginger Butterbur Leek Bamboo Shoots Tardivo Hanayasai Celery Cabbage Chinese Cabbage (Choices for )Mushroom Bed Cultivation [Shiitake Mushroom] [Kikurage] [Oyster mushroom] [Nameko] [Shimeji] [Bunashimeji Mushroom] [King Oyster Mushroom] [Enokitake]
https://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/drmori1/kinsyo_sitake.html
http://lib.ruralnet.or.jp/nrpd/#koumoku=13896
https://karuchibe.jp/read/15934/
https://www.lifehacker.jp/article/lht-mashroom-cultivation-kit/
Any girl with a pet should abort cultivating leek or spring onions, for the pet might accidentally eat one of your Chinese dumplings and get food poisoned.(； ･`д･´)
Once you get this all going, it's like you get some free food(, or cheap food,) every season or something.(๑• ̀д•́ )✧+°ﾄﾞﾔｯ According to voices, all the girl idols--who are close--are going to get a "membership" locker room of tall lockers, which you light inside with weak orange bulbs--and each one of you are going to cultivate vegetables and mushrooms individually.( ･`ω･´)ｷﾘｯ
​

Hello,
I’m from Las Vegas and there’s many reasons why I want to go. 1. Rents have tripled and almost California prices here now and I feel like I’m not getting my moneys worth.

1. No beaches/greenery
   
2. Hot as fuck summers with cold ass winters
   
3. Food scene here is weak. Mexican food here sucks and mostly just fast food chains where I am.
   

I’m planning on moving to California once I complete healthcare training. I’ve visited Los Angeles (The Valley and downtown) and San Francisco. I liked San Francisco more but LA has a larger healthcare sector. California is a beautiful state and I know it has a lot of problems it is also close to family. I was wondering if it’s worth moving there for a good career even if I have to pay the money.
Thanks guys.

What about you?
There are too many thing to fix in fallout 4.
i have ideas about it and how all weapons and armors have some relebance like:
Raider power armor : inmune to adictions , x2 time of chems more chemical perk it can be x4, dont feel thirsty or some issue when you consume chems in survival
T45 : higher jump , a pain train which do more damage and disarm and break legs to enemies at same time, less cost in vats for mele weapons, impact hit when you jump and crash near to enemies do more damage.
t 51 : more carry weight than another power armors even more than a deep pocket fortifying legendary armor., better sneaky power armor to be hidden, x2 time of stealthboys.
t60: jetpack consume less action points and fusion cores than another power armors, 5% extra damage in energy weapons
x 01: less cost in vats for all weapons in general , extra movement speed , inmune to negative effects when you consume radway , food , drinks and stimpacks.
Overboss power armor: a combination of benefits from raider power armor and t 45 power armor.
raider armor: probability of disarming an attacker who uses melee weapons and poisoning him by the blades or edges that this armor has, the more resistance the poison has, the stronger the poison will be for the attacker, the same applies for the effect legendary of poison with which the poison will be stronger the more resistance to it you have so a combo with the poisoned armor and medx can improve this legendary effect in addition to the fact that the poison lasts longer.
Leather armor: Gives you greater resistance to addiction and diseases.
Metal armor: chance that ballistic shots can rebound off the armor and kill any of the enemies, with the luck perk that gives the same effect this chance will be even higher.
Combat Armor: A slight reduction in vats cost, this can be upgraded with a legendary vats armor and further reduce the cost.
revolver 44: faster shot and faster reload as it does less damage than the western revolver
Hunting Rifle: More damage, higher chance of knocking down an enemy than the other rifles and even more with the rifle perk maxed out and a faster shot.
pipe pistol action: faster firing animation and better damage lever rifle: higher damage but a similar range than a combat rifle and retaining its rapid fire that it has.
sub machine gun: light bleed effect and better armor penetration and more damage
double barrel shotgun: it is more likely to knock back and stun enemies and in addition to having a faster reload animation as well as being able to do greater critical damage if shot to the head.
pipe revolver: better damage
Pipe pistol: more damage
Flamer: more damage, enemies stay on fire for longer and can knock them back
cannonball: greater limb damage and chance to break any limbs such as arms or legs or stun in the head with the hard cannon balls of this weapon.
institute pistol: better in short distances and improvement in ammunition capacity
laser pistol: Improved damage at long distances but same ammunition capacity
plasma weapon: improvement in the speed of the shots and better ammunition capacity
Alien blaster: improved shot speed and better damage
Acid gun: cover the enemy with a layer of acid that will gradually reduce its defense with greater durability of its effect and doing damage at the same time as if it were poison, the poison damage can also increase depending on the resistance to poison that you have
Molotovs: Enemies stay on fire for longer and take more damage.
traps and caltrops: have a high chance to break legs and bleed the enemy.
Assaultron Blade: Electric damage with a chance to stun and bleed and damage buff.
Chinese official sword: improved bleeding and more damage
Combat Knife : Improved bleeding and damage
Grognack axe: being able to push enemies back and stun them in addition to making them bleed even more and an improvement in damage.
Machete: better damage and since it is a machete that is mostly rusty, it has a small chance of poisoning that will only make the enemies bleed, in addition to the kreek tooth, this probability is increased even more and the poison is stacked in this unique weapon if It is used on the machete.
Moorish skewer: high chance to burn enemies and keep them on fire, better damage
Switchblade: Better attack speed and better bleeding.
plank: push back enemies more and improve damage and better armor penetration and bleed on the weapon when it is maxed.
Lead Pipe : better damage, max upgrades have better armor penetration and bleed
Griffon Wrench: Increased chance to disarm the enemy and break legs and damage on the last weapon upgrades.
Pool cue: pushes enemies back quite a bit and better range as well as better damage and bleeding on the last upgrade.
Rolling Pin: High chance to knock out the enemy when hit on the head, better damage and bleeding on the last upgrades and armor penetration.
Club: The weapon with the highest probability of electrically stunning the enemy and better damage.
Staff: Increased chance to disarm the enemy when pulling hand weapons with the staff and better damage and armor penetration.
Jimmy: Better Snag and Damage Boxing glove: animations of longer and more damaging blows, probability that one of the blows will knock the enemy to the ground when hitting him on the head.
meat hook: high chance to disarm the enemy and more bleeding.
Powerfist: the recoil for enemies is even greater and the speed of blows too.
Punch: long combos like the boxing glove but with a higher chance to disarm the enemy and break their limbs.
Flare Gun: Being the railroad a faction that can help the minutmen the flare gun have a probability to call railroad agents too to the combat if you join them.

Been made fun of my entire life (I’m 59) because of my onion issues. When I was a kid, McDonald’s used to put these tiny little cut-up onion pieces all over their (otherwise entirely PLAIN) hamburger. I would sit there for 10 minutes picking every disgusting piece off and by the time I was ready to eat, my burger was cold and my appetite was ruined. Eating out (esp. Chinese fried rice, salsa, etc.) is a nightmare. I’ve lost years off my life with all the time spent reading ingredient lists of packaged foods. I think it’s a texture and appearance thing, because I really hate celery, too. I have to pick every piece of celery out of a can of soup, gagging the whole time, before I heat it. …. Full disclosure: This is only one of several items on my list. I just heard of ARFID (Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorder); I didn’t know it was a thing. Btw, I also despise spaghetti, but that’s for a whole different set of reasons).

Many of the wealthy families are very dysfunctional on this show. You even feel sorry for Logan's friend Colin because at that Chinese food dinner he mentioned his dad being on his 3rd or 4th wife and being at boarding school not missing his family. Also Chris's parents are horrible especially Straub so maybe we should feel sorry for Chris. And Lorelai, Paris, Logan, Madeline and Louise.... all their families have a lot of issues to iron out defiinitely.

For example
Chop suey, Tenshinhan and Ramen: Chinese or Japanese/American?
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Tex-mex: Mexican or American
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Cioppino/Spaghetti Meatball: Italian or American
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Jjajjangmyeon: Chinese or Korean (Korean version where I come from is considered Korean, but in Korea and USA I find it at restaurants labeled Chinese restaurants)
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Uramaki (sushi rolls with rice on outside): Japanese or American
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Bamischijf: Indonesian or Dutch etc.
or a 50/50 of both
Perspectives on other fusion foods is appreciated too. Or food like orange chicken/chengpiji and gyoza/jiaozi which are variants

Let's explore the world together. Let's cuddle up together on the sofa while it storms and hold each other when we've got no other plans. Just make the most of every moment. Ambition, a thrist for knowledge and adventure, and a little competitiveness will go a long way to help.
I come from a big family of engineers and I'm an artificial intelligence software engineer myself, so I'm more than a little nerdy. Some people find me intimidating but I'm easy to get along with. I make friends fast and I've got a pretty large group that have all been hanging out regularly since college.
Movies are a passion of mine. Good movies, bad movies, all have their place depending on my mood. My favorite movie is the new Dune, with Blade Runner 2049 being a close second. It's safe to say Denis Villeneuve is my favorite director. I like complex, immersive movies that feel like they transport me to a new universe. It would be nice to find someone who feels the same way and wants to share that experience. Let's dissect the brilliant works of art and have fun laughing about movies that are so bad they're good.
I'm also a really good cook but bonus points if you know how to cook too or would like to learn. I'd love to have someone I can cook with. Cooking and good food in general helps me relax after a long day. Food is important in my family, especially seafood. Everywhere we travel we bring back new recipes. I cook from all kinds of different cuisine but in a normal rotation and no particular order, you'll see me making lots of French, Italian, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Mexican, and more. Parties are often planned around the food with everyone hanging out in the kitchen while it's made. You'll always eat well with me around.
I have a lot of other hobbies I switch between pretty often. It helps me prevent burn out on any specific thing. I pick up skills very quickly, so that definitely has something to do with having so many. Drawing, painting (digital, oil, and miniatures), DIY projects, TTRPGs, PC gaming, airsoft, wood/metal working, and more. I've even published my own TTRPG and I'm working on two more books for it.
If you made it through that wall of text, drop me a line. I love meeting new people and so does my dog.