Hello, I have been having trouble attempting to install windows 11. I had a computer that I put together a couple of years ago that was running windows 10 home edition until the drive that the operating system was on died suddenly. Everything was functioning fine until that point. Well I purchased a new drive and attempted to reinstall windows10 but it said I needed a product key, which I didn't have. So I attempted to buy a new key and apparently windows doesn't sell keys for windows 10 anymore. So I instead bought a key for windows 11 and created an installation drive to install that on my PC.
But after I enter the product key I was met with an error that said that my PC doesn't meet the minimum requirements for windows 11. I followed the link for the requirements and went through them all one by one and my computer does meet all of the requirements listed so I am confused by that. Here are all the requirements.

CPU: My computer has an AMD Ryzen 5600x, which is on the list of supported processors.
RAM: I have 16 GB of RAM
Storage: I have 2 TB of storage including the new drive I just purchased to replace the one that used to have my old operating system.
Graphics Card: I have a GTX 1060ti
Display: Normal HDMI monitor
System firmware: In my BIOS I have the CSM support enabled, as per the instructions on the requirements webpage. Here are the boot settings

CSM Support -> Enabled LAN PXE Boot Option ROM -> Enabled Storage Boot Option Control -> UEFI Only Other PCI Device ROM Priority -> UEFI Only

TPM: In my BIOS I have the setting AMD CPU fTPM set to enabled. If I look under the submenu for Trusted Computing 2.0 I can see that it says TPM20 Device Found and the setting for security device support is enabled. However my motherboard (gigabyte B450M DS3H) has a 20 pin connector labeled TPM that doesn't have anything connected to it. Do I need to buy a completely separate TPM module?

Nearly all of the support I have found assumes that I am able to boot my computer to windows 10 to run checks/diagnostics but I cannot do that so it has been a frustrating experience. Is there some way I can figure out why my computer can't install windows11? Do I need to replace the motherboard or something? Thanks everyone, and assistance y'all can provide is greatly appreciated.

I'm not asking for advice, I just wanna get this off my chest. Encouraging words or criticisms (if I'm in the wrong here) are welcome.
I live with my mom's sister because her house is close to my school. To preface, she offered for me to live with her instead of renting an apartment or boarding house para mas mura raw since she has a spare room.
Anyway, my parents send her 5k/month for necessities. A part for bills and a small share in groceries, but I only eat dinner naman since I usually buy my own breakfast on my way to school and have lunch there too. Same goes with weekends since I prefer going somewhere than to stay in. I also do chores when I get home from school and do some cleaning around the house during weekends. I really try my best para hindi maging pabigat sa tita ko.
My family isn't rich, but we're not doing too bad either. Every time na may kailangan ako, school or not, as long as it's a need, I ask my parents for funds. My mom said it's no problem, since I never ask for more than what I need and I save my allowance to buy things that I want. The issue is, every time I ask my mom, laging pinapadaan sa tita ko and she keeps guilt-tripping me, kesyo puro daw ako hingi sa magulang and puro ako gastos.
Apart from that, she also shames my appearance. I'm a girl who is around mid-size(?), not petite but not really on the larger side either. I have never been comfy with my femininity so I dress a bit masculine. She's always picking on how fat I am and telling me how I should wear dresses and learn to use makeup. This gave me a lot of anxiety and really adds to my self-esteem issues.
A few days ago, I went home to my parents' house, which is just a province away, for the weekend. I ended up breaking my glasses kaya I had to get it replaced. My dad volunteered to pay for the replacement. 2500 siya, it was a bit expensive for me since the lenses were nothing special. Hindi anti-rad or anything. But my dad insisted on them kasi they were paying and they wanted me to get a sturdier frame, since nasira yung last pair ko dahil sa fragile frame.
When I came back to my tita's house, she noticed I had new glasses and asked about it. When she found out my dad paid for them, pinagalitan niya ako kasi napaka-pabaya ko raw tapos magulang ko pa pinagbayad ko. Tinawag niya akong tatanga-tanga kasi salamin na nga lang daw hindi ko pa maingatan.
After that, I didn't say anything, just went to my room and cried. Nararamdaman kong mababaw lang na umiyak ako dahil lang dun, but I just couldn't help it. Parang ako pa kasi yung mali just because my parents wanted to provide for me as their child. Now I just feel like sobrang pabigat ko even for my parents.

Hello again, wonderful people! First of all, I just want to provide a summary for the new readers... This journal is meant to keep me accountable while I'm on my journey of healing and self-improvement. I must get out of a really deep hole, and I feel this is a great step. I can't promise that reading this will be interesting or fun, just real. That said, let's begin. Today was (mostly) a MASSIVE W. I woke up around 6 am (pretty early for me) and with more energy than usual. I suspect it is because I went to bed early too. I then did a 10-minute meditation and went to college. There, I managed to focus completely on getting some projects done. Blocking social media played a HUGE role in this. I feel like I entered a "flow state" where I was super focused on what I was doing. When the class was about to finish, a group of classmates invited me to a park. Normally, I'd come up with an excuse to avoid socializing, but I was brave and accepted the invitation. I went to the park with them after class, and this situation is where I feel the importance of doing this because I knew that going there would be a great addition to today's journal. In the park, I had a great time. I avoided using my phone and tried to be present. I played volleyball with my classmates (although I suck at it, lol) and I also had the courage to go and try to dance "salsa" with them. It was some silly dance just to laugh among ourselves, but normally, I don't do that kind of stuff as I'm too shy. In the park, there was a group of guys playing cool music, and I had the courage to go and ask them about their socials (after overthinking for 10 minutes) as I really liked what they were singing. I think they were improvising and came up with a REALLY good song on the spot. After that, I went to eat Pho with a friend. I feel like this is important because he used to invite me to a lot of stuff, and 90% of the time, I declined due to my shyness. I was feeling like I was slowly losing a friendship, so today I invited him to eat, and we had a good conversation for about an hour (pro tip: never eat spicy soup while you have the flu; it'll make you cough like crazy). Then, I came home. I was really tired but feeling great. I watched the extra time of the UEL final in my room and I realized how quickly my mood changes sometimes. I got kinda annoyed because the team that I was rooting for lost the match, lol. But it is not a big deal, just a sudden mood drop. Anyway, after that, I cooked rice and meat for the rest of the week, and while doing that, I talked with my friend and roommate - which is good because the past couple of weeks, I was isolating myself and trying to not engage in a conversation for too long. But today, I managed to talk to her, and we had a good conversation. Overall, today was a great day. Engaging in physical activities and being surrounded by people really feels like a big improvement. See you guys tomorrow! Thank you for reading.
-D

Hello!
I’m currently doing a full time co-op with the government at a rate of $26 per hour. However, before I started my co-op I was working as a part-time receptionist at $17 per hour plus tips. Recently, I just got another part-time job doing communications work at $24 per hour.
My schedule looks like this: 1. Work at my full time co op 2. After hours work at the other communications job 3. Work once on Sundays as a receptionist
My questions: 1. I’m getting heavily tax deducted on my full time co op job, since I claimed them on my receptionist job first. Can we reshuffles my tax claims and submit new taxes forms in order to get a higher take home pay at my coop?

1. Should I consider only having 2 jobs so I don’t owe the government money during tax season?

Thanks!

Hello again, wonderful people! First of all, I just want to provide a summary for the new readers... This journal is meant to keep me accountable while I'm on my journey of healing and self-improvement. I must get out of a really deep hole, and I feel this is a great step. I can't promise that reading this will be interesting or fun, just real. That said, let's begin. Today was (mostly) a MASSIVE W. I woke up around 6 am (pretty early for me) and with more energy than usual. I suspect it is because I went to bed early too. I then did a 10-minute meditation and went to college. There, I managed to focus completely on getting some projects done. Blocking social media played a HUGE role in this. I feel like I entered a "flow state" where I was super focused on what I was doing. When the class was about to finish, a group of classmates invited me to a park. Normally, I'd come up with an excuse to avoid socializing, but I was brave and accepted the invitation. I went to the park with them after class, and this situation is where I feel the importance of doing this because I knew that going there would be a great addition to today's journal. In the park, I had a great time. I avoided using my phone and tried to be present. I played volleyball with my classmates (although I suck at it, lol) and I also had the courage to go and try to dance "salsa" with them. It was some silly dance just to laugh among ourselves, but normally, I don't do that kind of stuff as I'm too shy. In the park, there was a group of guys playing cool music, and I had the courage to go and ask them about their socials (after overthinking for 10 minutes) as I really liked what they were singing. I think they were improvising and came up with a REALLY good song on the spot. After that, I went to eat Pho with a friend. I feel like this is important because he used to invite me to a lot of stuff, and 90% of the time, I declined due to my shyness. I was feeling like I was slowly losing a friendship, so today I invited him to eat, and we had a good conversation for about an hour (pro tip: never eat spicy soup while you have the flu; it'll make you cough like crazy). Then, I came home. I was really tired but feeling great. I watched the extra time of the UEL final in my room and I realized how quickly my mood changes sometimes. I got kinda annoyed because the team that I was rooting for lost the match, lol. But it is not a big deal, just a sudden mood drop. Anyway, after that, I cooked rice and meat for the rest of the week, and while doing that, I talked with my friend and roommate - which is good because the past couple of weeks, I was isolating myself and trying to not engage in a conversation for too long. But today, I managed to talk to her, and we had a good conversation. Overall, today was a great day. Engaging in physical activities and being surrounded by people really feels like a big improvement. See you guys tomorrow! Thank you for reading.
-D

I (21FTM) went to school right out of HS to be a funeral director, went through the whole rigamarole and nobody will give me or any other new directors apparently a chance. I was fired after two months for no reason (legal in my state). Too much at stake, no room for mistakes. Hated it.
Worked at Menards for like six months and found a better opportunity at Lowe's. Liked it. But I think I bit off more than I could chew for my first job outside university.
Worked at Lowe's for a few months before I found a university study relevant opportunity at a funeral home. Liked Lowe's.
Left that one after 6 months because the guy that owned the place was ...lots of expletives and made me feel unsafe.
Got an internship at a FH elsewhere, loved that job and made lots of friends but I was essentially just the guy in the back and the company didn't want to hire me on as a director. Opportunity ended.
Got my funeral director gig. Moved for it and everything. Immediately fired for no reason
Working door to door sales at spectrum. Hate it. I feel incredibly unsafe. See: my post on spectrum.
Any suggestions for jobs I might actually like based on this information? I've had more unpleasant experiences than pleasant so it's hard to judge.

For context, my sibling developed a chronic illness when I was 12. They were around the age of 15 at the time and needed help adjusting to the new changes and also had a lot of mental health issues. As a result, my mom would take my sibling to therapy sessions and doctors appointments. My dad was not very present in my life at this time either, so I was left on my own at the house for hours on end. The only time I would interact with my parents were when they would yell at me about grades and such. A few years down the road (post covid) my parents realized that they never paid much attention to me and are trying to rectify it by spending time with me. It’s a good gesture but I’m too used to them not caring about me or yelling at me all the time. Last year my mom, sibling, and I went on a trip for spring break. At this time my sibling said something about how I got hangry all the time (which is true) and my mom said “I always thought you were a go with the flow person” which is partially true but not for the reasons she thought. In a later conversation where I talked to her about how she would leave me at home, she said “I left your siblings home many times when they were that age and they were fine” to which I said “They wouldn’t come home to an empty house and be alone for hours would they?” (My parents were always home before dinner so it was never anything too bad but it was still damaging for a 12 year old). Over the span of the few years I was “emotionally neglected” (my therapist used those words to describe it), I developed the ability to be okay on my own for hours and never expected many people to talk to me when I was at home and in my room. I became comfortable in the loneliness as it was all I had. However, a string of events last year led to my parents taking an interest in my life again. My sibling (who is doing better now) is moving out soon, and I think my parents will start paying attention to me again. Which I do not want as I do not like my dad for separate reasons and find my mom to be a gaslighting, manipulative, person who I would rather not be around. The attention they give me now it already stifling, and all we do is have occasional conversations. Does anyone have advice?

This is so difficult to even talk about. Recently I went out to the park with my daughter Rochelle who is about to turn 6, we had a blast and got ice-cream, everything you would usually do on a day out with your kids, everything was going well and we ended up feeling tired, we were heading back to my car to go home and like your average child, she ran pretty fast back to the car. She always did this, it’s one of the things I loved most about her, however this time I didn’t see her anywhere near the car, I started to panicked and hastily looked around, I asked many others parents if they saw a small girl with the description I gave them, green eyes, brown hair, and curls. They hadn’t seen her whereabouts and at this point I filed a missing report, they sent multiple search parties out around the park, looking at the red light cameras from the street where my car was parked. No sign of her. No witnesses to the whereabouts of my beloved daughter. I couldn’t leave the park without my daughter, I stayed all night, by now it was 9pm and there were crickets chirping. I couldn’t stop crying. I had no one to go to as my daughters mother, my wife had passed 4 years prior. You know when people say when you want something so bad you start to imagine it? I heard her crying out “Where’s my dolly? I need her now!” I ran towards her soft but forceful voice, screaming out “Rochelle! I’m here, where are you? Please!” I hurried into a dark area where no street lights were, it was pure darkness, and nothing was there. I fell onto my knees. I couldn’t even bring myself to imagine where she was, I was terrified, I drove home in hopes that she could’ve led herself home, when I arrived I yelled out her name, no response. I fell into sleep on the couch due to the exhaustion, I woke up the next morning feeling awful, hoping this was all just a nightmare, but it wasn’t. She was gone, there was no clues, no nothing. I grabbed the remote to desperately turn on the news, hoping anything would pop up leading to where my daughter was. I was doubtful that anything would come up yet still hoping. I decided at this time of panic, I needed to feel connected to her mother, she was a beautiful lady who was always fashionable, no matter the occasion, her favourite place to go was any sort of vintage stores. I went to one of her favourites only a few blocks down, I walked in and greeted the store owner and tried to stay calm. I looked in the dresses and there were so many beautiful collections. I have a few mannequins at home, so I decided to collect a few dresses that would’ve looked beautiful on her. I was at the register, about to leave when something behind the register caught my eye. There was something in a box labelled “New”. It was an antique porcelain manequin with green eyes, and brown curly hair. I held myself back from tears, and decided it was a weird coincidence. I walked out with the dresses, and hurried home hoping there was something that could’ve popped up on the news. I went home and slept on it, I couldn’t bare to keep hoping something would’ve popped up, on the third day, I didn’t even bother. She was gone. I had nobody. I woke up around 4pm and turned on the news. There was something about a missing little girl, I widened my eyes in hope they were talking about my beautiful little Rochelle. It hurts to even write what the news said. The news read “Graphic Warning” My heart sank. “Found in a vintage store, a young girl found deceased, with her remains found inside of a porcelain doll which appears to be a replica of the young girl.” I sank. My whole world crushed. I had no words left. How did this happen? The news then continued to say “Words were found engraved in the porcelain dolls back, “Now you can be with your mother.” My jaw dropped. I didn’t know what was happening. I drove over to the vintage store owner’s house, whilst balling my eyes out. I banged on the doors and she walked out, I never saw her upclose as she was always wearing some sort of bandana over her face, she had cracks all over her face, legs, everywhere. Her arms and legs being unarticulated, she was a mannequin. She was a doll. She was porcelain. Whilst in the highest state of panic, I peered into the background of her home. My daughter, and my wife. Standing there. Doing nothing. Replicas of them, porcelain. I managed to run out, this happened 3 weeks ago. Please whatever you do, don’t go to a vintage store. I’m scarred for life.

I'm pretty new to Ultraman; I saw the new Shin Ultraman in theaters and that made me want to watch some of the shows. I've so far only seen all of Dyna, both seasons of Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle and it's movie, and The Revenge of Belial.
So last month when I visited home, there was some down time when Dad was at work and I just put on the next Ultraman thing I needed to see, which at the time was The Revenge of Belial movie. Mom was nearby and she just sat down to kill some time and watch at it, but she got so invested. Mind you, mom has never seen anything Ultraman related. She had no idea what the premise even was, but she LOVED the movie. We both ended up having an amazing time watching it together, and I legitimately cannot remember a time where me and my mom bonded over a movie like that and had such a fun time.
My question is, are there other movies or shows that have a similar style of zaniness and just outright goofy adventure? We mostly loved all the great characters that showed up like Glenfire and those pirates.
TLDR: I want to continue bonding with my mom over Ultraman, and I want to find more stuff that's just downright FUN. Anyone have any recommendations?

My best friend wife
I 28 male , my best friend Male 30 let's call him Jack
So here's my story
Jack and i met 13 years ago and Jack is one of the few people who i trust blindly with everything We support each other in everything
He's really a special person.
Jack got married to a girl 2 years ago , I don't even know her name. I did attend his wedding but it was very brief and i had to leave early because of an emergency.
It's true that he's my best friend and i knew nothing about his relationship but it's his relationship and i don't ask questions or get involved in whatever Even after he got married i didn't even ask him how they met or what's even her name.
Anyhow ... After Jack got married , he started having some medical issues, serious medical issues.
My friend jack has some bad habits like smoking and vaping and it really damaged him during the years.
He started feeling sick 2 years ago and i told him like hey jack stop smoking stop doing this and that and go to the hospital and just do a full check on your body.
He said : I'm fineeee it's nothing , it's nothing... He kept ignoring his problem untill it escalated during this 2 years
For 6 months straight jack stayed at home doing nothing, sick at home not even able to walk anymore. He can walk but like a 90 years old he gets tired so quickly. His wife have been taking care of him in this past 2 years And he's not getting any better.
I've been going from time to time to visit him but i stopped going a while ago because i was just busy with life yk i have so many responsibilites and i had no free time.
My best friend jack got upset with me because i stopped visiting him and checking on him
I got a call from unknown number , it was Jack's wife saying that jack is really really sick and he's in the hospital now.
I rushed to the hospital and when i walked in on them i was in fucking shock
When i saw my friend, he was just in a very terrible condition He's so so skinny that i can literally see his bones throughout his pants and clothes His face was so pale and he was barely able to talk.
I was thinking inside my head ... My best friend is going to die. I stayed with him all night long in his room untill it was morning, i didn't even sleep.
I got up and left because i have to go to work.
Later after .... I got a text from his wife saying: Thank you for staying with him ....blah blah blah
I read her message on WhatsApp and just left her on read
I went to work and then i got another message from his wife she said : hey can you please bring dinner with you for jack on your way back here
I was like what the hell is wrong with this women ? Why is she texting me , if jack wants something he would text me and tell me bring dinner or whatever. Ever heard about deliveries lady ?? And on your way back here she said ... I want to fucking sleep.
But i just ignored the whole situation and i texted her back and i said : okay I'll bring dinner with me later
I went back to the hospital and brought dinner , as soon as i walked in , my friend jack said hey you didn't have to bring dinner with you , i can't eat this food anyways.
His wife said yeah i texted him and i told him to bring dinner.
Anyhow i stayed there for a while and then i told him i need to go home and get some sleep.
He said okay. I went home and i just sat down chilling ... I got a new text from his wife again.
She said hey .. what are you up to ? I replied: nothing much I'm just chilling , what about you ?
She said : nothing much too just watching and taking care of jack , it's been a rough 2 years for the both of us.
I replied: yeah i hope he gets better.
She said : me too. She said : hey would you be down to maybe eat breakfast tomorrow
I replied: yeah I'm coming to the hospital in the morning anyways, we can all have breakfast together.
She said :, no just the both of us , Jack can't eat any solid food anyways, not in his condition.
Tbh it got me thinking, what does she want ? What's her end goal , is this just a friendly suggestion?
She's hella attractive I'm not going to lie but... I'm obviously not interested in her in any way and i will never be interested in her because she's my best friend wife.
But she's being too friendly and tbh i don't get what she wants from me.
And if i even have to tell my best friend about it ? What if i tell him and it makes his condition worse. Is it even worth it telling him about something like that ? Is it not serious ? Im lost people... Help.

Im really in the mood to chat with someone. i just feel a bit lazy and relax and unwind, light talks will really hit the spot for me and maybe learn something new..
BTW Im just more of a home buddy so watching movies and anime sometimes, kinda nerdy and with good food and a pair of comfy clothes and sofa really does it for me.. lets talk more and maybe meet up in some other time.
I'm single and ready to mingle.. Ready to entertain and talk to someone with an open communication. I need a SINGLE man.
please tell me your name, age and location and hobbies right from the start so that we'll know where to start. I do dates like 26 and above so fine with me if ur 30's and up!
Please tell me your name, age and location and hobbies right from the start so that we'll know where to start.

I dont know where else I ca put this, so why not put it here where every me can judge. Ok so I (f) have a best friend (m). Something to know about him is that he has sorta a offensive sense of humor, racist sexist jokes ect. Recently he’s been the one I come to when I have problems and he does too, I would say we are pretty close. Today I asked him what his love language was because me and another friend were talking about our love languages. He responded by saying touch and gifts. I wasn’t suprised by the response, but after I read a message saying “what’s yours? Cutting your wrists?”. I was a little offended by this. He knew that I was struggling with my mental health and getting tested for bipolar disorder Bpd things like that. I told my closest gf and she said that I talk about it to him since she knew that he’s not the kind of person to be serious. The thing is he has said similar things in the past but I always just brushed them of as him joking of that’s just his humor and making excuses. After crying about it for about a hour I sent the following message (You really need to stop taking shit to far Most of your jokes I don’t mind, but you can’t keep pushing it, we are friends but you still have to have some respect for me. And no you can’t keep saying that you’re just being realistic and being truthful, but there is a difference.”. He then said that he has done nothing wrong. I told him I was done and said goodbye and blocked him on everything. His twin brother then messaged me why his brother was blocked and I told him. He then told my sister and a few other people who told me I over reacted. I don’t know if I went to far or not. For more context this is a long distance friendship and I’m friends with both the twins and so is my sister. We had plans in a couple days for their sisters graduation. I don’t know weather I want to go and just ignore him or to just stay home and make new plans. So AITAH

So I recently graduated college in a small town and found a job 30 min away. It’s incredibly rare for a new grad to get a great position like mine, and it pays soo well.
I am soo broke, I have maxed all credit cards paying for college, so I’d really like to keep this job to pay down my debt and gain experience.
So giving up the job would just be asinine. My question is; what do I do with my dog? I’ll be working 12 hour overnight shifts, add an hour for the drive, so I’ll be gone 13 hours a day. Only 3 days a week. I get 30 min lunches so I can’t go home during my shift.
I don’t have any family, and my friends live in my hometown which is hours away. We have no dog daycares, kennels, or any place to board them. I’m not in a position to move right now, because money and new job.
He’s a 14 month old Husky/GSD mix. He’s pretty chill, and I do my best to get all the energy out with walks, playing in the backyard. Hes crate trained & the best boy.
I’m at a loss. I don’t want to harm my dog, but I simply cannot budge with this job. It’s taken me 8 months to find it, and I was lucky enough to get hired.
My goal is to work hard for my pup, and give him the life he deserves. It’s just getting us to that point is proving difficult.
Please and thanks!!

Alright, to preface, her and I were pretty good friends. We would hangout in the living room and watch tv, do hw, and just talk all the time. She would invite me out to do things with her, like we’d go drinking together, go for hikes, grocery shopping, pick up packages together, etc. Everything was all good and I was grateful tbh that she was my roommate and we connected so well.
Fast forward, I’m not even sure why, I started ignoring her. It started with me just not answering any of her text messages or calls, I stopped hanging out in the living room or answering her invites to go and do things, and then started just avoiding her all together so I didn’t have to explain why I was ignoring her, cause tbh I just have no clue. I honestly don’t know how I’ve gotten away with not seeing her, but it has been well over two months. We planned a party together (we talked about throwing it way back before all this started happening), and I actually stayed at my friend’s place to avoid being home all together and having to go through with it, which I feel really awful about.
We signed a lease together at a new place for the upcoming year a while ago, and AHH idk what the fuck to do or why I just randomly ghosted her one day. Now I have so much anxiety about it that I genuinely wish I could get out of the lease and never have to see her again… like idk what to do. Anyway, has anyone else dealt with this? I don’t know how to even try and reconcile this

Let me start off by clarifying that this individual is still alive, but they explicitly told me they were ending their friendship with me based on us not having anything in common, me not being ambitious enough, and because I smoke weed. I did not have any say in the matter, nor did I have a chance to defend myself.
A couple weeks ago I was lamenting about the lack of good WFH opportunities for my field, and mentioned how I'd be willing to work in office for a certain type of company IF the benefits were good enough. She went off into a speech about how you just can't be successful working from home, humans being were made to be social, how no one she looks up to works from home. Her timing made me feel like she was throwing shade, and when I expressed that to her she went OFF about how it wasn't about me just a "general statement" but that I could use the socialization because I tend to think things are about me. I genuinely don't know how you're supposed to respond when someone says that to you, so I didn't.
Fast forward a week of silence, I decided to reach out and get my feelings off my chest. I expressed how hurt I was that she'd say those things to me so out of the blue, but she said she felt that "as my friend" she should be able to give me unsolicited criticism, and that if we can't be that way then that's not a friendship she wants. I buckled down on expressing how her words were making me feel and that she didn't need to be so aggressive with her message, but it resulted in: her stating that it isn't healthy how I'm constantly sleeping and smoking weed during work, that she isn't comfortable with "how much I feel the need to be high or drunk" bc she "doesn't imbibe, that she needs to be around more ambitious and driven people, and that she doesn't want to be rude and end the friendship but she just thinks we have nothing in common.
I'm not sure where she got the impression I regularly sleep during work, or spend all my time during work smoking weed and not working, but it's not true, and she never tried to clarify with me or even nicely say that it bothers her. I've never fallen behind in my work, been on probation for performance, or anything of that sort - I may not be next in line for a promotion, but I'm still a recognized top performer on my project team. She never told me that she's no longer drinking/smoking for good (she would previously skip drinking to save money or to lose weight but it was an occasional thing), and she never told me she's uncomfortable around the weed; I had literally NO IDEA she didn't want to be around those things anymore so I never had a change to correct it. In the literal days up to this all starting, I was sending her IG videos related to our various interests like plants and travel, so I have no idea why she thought we have nothing in common. I have no idea what makes me not ambitious in her eyes, but I am planning a wedding, and have no interest in going through the new-hire process at a new job right now when my current job pays me enough and has a great work life balance for me. Ambition doesn't always have to be about work goals in my opinion, you can be driven towards other goals in your life. You can have qualms with your job and still choose to stay because the pros outweigh the cons. I may not socialize with my coworkers, but I take dance classes 3-4 times a week and have several friends I constantly talk to so I think it's unfair to say I don't socialize. She ended the conversation saying that I was acting like a victim and the conversation was no longer constructive and she's leaving the convo, so I left it at that.
I feel confused, because so many of her reasons for ending the friendship were things she had never expressed before or just not true. It felt so much like she was just making excuses to end the friendship for whatever reason, and I can't fathom why she had to go off on me like that instead of simply letting the friendship end. She said she didn't want to ask me to stop smoking weed because she "knows it's a big part of my life" as if I'm physically incapable of seeing her sober. I feel like I've given so much of my time, effort, and care to someone who didn't appreciate it, and probably doesn't see why this hurts me so much. I feel like I spent so much of this post justifying and defending myself, and frankly it's because I feel like I never got the opportunity to do so with this former friend. She chose to see things how she wanted with the limited information she had. How can someone end a friendship and not understand how the other person feels like a victim? How can she not see why all of this would be hurtful to me?
I feel that I'm still the same person I was when we first became friends, but if anything more improved. I smoke the same amount of weed when we first started talking, I have a better job now than I did back then, I have a wider variety of hobbies and interests than I did back then. At the start of the friendship I did run a small online store selling my art, but the effort and time isn't worth the money and I decided I didn't want to deal with customer service lol; last year I considered going to grad school to help my job prospects, but I did research and determined grad school isn't necessary for my field as much as relevant certs (that my current company pays for!) Maybe those were the things that made me ambitious? It feels offensive she'd label me as not ambitious or driven enough to be in her friend group, even though I've always thought myself to be an ambitious person. She loves to talk about work, school, or her career in general, so maybe the fact I didn't enjoy that make me not ambitious? The whole situation just raised a ton of questions and insecurities in myself, and I ultimately lost a person I talked to daily and considered my close friend: it fucking sucks.
If you've read this far, thank you so much for listening. It means a lot. <3

Came back to my game after my meeting and looks like I have encountered a bug. I can move all around but can’t use the action button, backpack, or blueprint. Switched over to crater and everything is normal there. Saw someone replied to LDOE tweet 5 days with the same idea. Hope this gets fixed soon. Anyone encountering the same issue and might have a fix for it?

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Previous		Chapter 1

Richard heard his name. He swung his gaze towards the source, catching sight of a formidable man rapidly striding in his direction. This behemoth of a man towered approximately six-and-a-half feet tall, had a breadth akin to an orc, and showcased bulging muscles that flexed with each purposeful step. His complexion was peculiar, almost like a pink orc if one dared to envision such a creature. Unsettled and uncertain, Richard remained rooted, eyes glued to the advancing figure.
The colossal figure slumped without grace into the chair opposite Richard. The chair beneath him groaned audibly, protesting against his massive weight. Leaning over the table, his wild, unnerving gaze bored into Richard. Tangled beard and hair strained against the confines of a hair net, a requirement for all the cooks. “Richard, you old dog!” The man sneered, his mismatched eyes widening unevenly. Richard couldn’t help but notice the gaps in his teeth.
“Wait a minute. Where’s your scar?” The man’s voice boomed, echoes of a forgotten battlefield lingering in his tone. He squinted, his eyes narrowing into slits as they studied Richard. His pinkie, large and rough like the rest of him, traced a path down his face, starting from the furrowed forehead, crossing his left eye, and down to the weather-beaten cheek. “Don’t tell me you got rid of it. I worked hard, giving you that scar,” he growled, his voice filled with a hint of both pride and accusation.
Richard’s eyes went wide with surprise. This enormous man was the legendary Barbarian Battleax of the Battleax clan from the region of Battleax (not a bastion of creativity, those barbarians). Richard’s father, Richard (orcs, dear reader, aren’t particularly creative either), fought this man in the Orc Wars. They were mortal enemies.
A hush fell over the tavern, a silence so profound it could rival a crypt’s. The elf bard was watching with a mischievous grin. She was going to write an epic ballad about this fight.
Straightening his posture, Richard locked his gaze with the barbarian’s, his voice steady as he said, “You must be Battleax of the Battleax clan from the region of Battleax. I am Chief Richard, son of Chief Richard.”
Old Battleax cast his crazed eyes down to the table, “Oh, the old orc is gone?” Richard stayed silent. The old barbarian looked up, “He was a good orc. The best with a spear.” Battleax shook his head, “I hope I get to battle with him again in the afterlife. He was,” Battleax paused with a frown, “He was the best mortal enemy a guy could ever have.” His sudden pounding on the table startled everyone, “We’ll battle in the afterlife! It’ll be grand!” His eyes gleamed wild with a ragged, toothy grin.
Taken aback, a flicker of confusion clouded Richard’s eyes, “Do barbarians,” he started, his voice hesitant as he navigated this unexpected topic, “go to Orc Heaven?”
“No!” Battleax laughed, “It’s west of Orc Heaven, in the mountains. Ah, one day.” The crazy eyes went unfocused, and the old barbarian began to sing, “Rocky roads take me there, to a heaven so fair.” The barbarian took a big inhale and screamed out, “Wystginia! Free to roam, my heavenly home!”
“Dad!” shouted the woman who had taken Richard’s order, “Stop singing. You’ll scare the customers away!”
Battleax looked at her, his eye darting wildly, but then calmed. “Ah, Batty, you’re right.” He turned to the tavern and shouted, “Sorry!” He waved to the elf on stage, who, with some disappointment, began to strum her instrument.
“So, you are old Richard’s pup.” He pointed to the frowning woman beside him, “This is my daughter, Battleax. Behind the bar is my son Battleax. The one in the kitchen is my other son Battleax. By the door is my youngest, Battleax.” Battleax senior looked at a confused face of Richard and shrugged, “Uh, it’s an old family name. We stick with what works.”
Richard laughed, “Tradition is important. Is the bar cat’s name Battleax too.” He pointed to the cat sleeping on the bar.
Battleax’s eyes went wide, “No! That’s Cuddles.” The old barbarian leaned over the table towards Richard, “I’d be careful, pup. That ain’t no cat.” Before Richard could say anything, Battleax hollered, “Bat, another round of ale. Hey Ax,” He shouted into the kitchen, “Fix me some hot wings; I’m eating with my new buddy.”
Richard watched the Battleaxes go to work. “Batty, Bat, Ax,” Richard said, “Good way to tell them apart” He looked towards the door, “Uh, BA?”
Battleax roared with laughter, “Good guess, and it was. But the boy is going through a phase. Gave himself a silly nickname.” The old man turned to look at his son, “Isn’t that right, Greg!”
Greg rolled his eyes and looked away. Richard noticed that, unlike the other Battleaxs, Greg wore all black. His outfit looked like a robe or something a monk would wear.
“The boy don’t even want to carry a battleax,” The old barbarian grumbled, “He’s too good for it. Wants to carry something called nunchucks. Swing sticks on a rope. And that silly outfit. Bah!”
Richard laughed; he didn’t know what a nunchuck was, but from the bulging muscles of Greg, no matter what, it would hurt.
Batty returned with three plates and two new pints of ale. She slid two plates in front of Richard and one in front of Battleax, their contents causing wafts of mouth-watering aroma to float up and dance around their nostrils. One bore what looked like a perfectly round pieces of bread, its surface darkened to a crisp and speckled with grains of salt. The other matched the plate in front of Battleax. It was a mound of meat, its glistening surface seared to a perfect brown, and it had a smoky, spicy scent that tickled the senses.
Batty winked and said, “Good luck, and enjoy.”
Battleax grabbed a piece of meat off his plate and slurped the meat off the bones. He chewed, swallowed, and grunted before he grabbed the next piece. Richard followed the barbarian’s lead. He grabbed a piece of meat and sucked off the meat as best he could, leaving two bones.
Richard enjoyed the rich, spicy flavor. A faint burn began to register as he reached for the next piece. Abruptly, it transformed into a blazing inferno, searing the inside of his mouth. He seized his pint of ale, gulping it down in a desperate attempt to douse the burning. He wiped away the sweat beading on his brow.
Battleax erupted into laughter, hammering the table. “It’s got a kick!” He grabbed another wing, eating it without hesitation.
Richard liked it. Noticing the old barbarian was ahead of him, he picked up another wing. They matched each other wing for wing. Each taking long draws from their pint of ale, eyeing the other as they ate.
“Try the pretzel. It’s a tavern favorite.” Battleax suggested.
Following his lead, Richard took a bite of the round, salted bread - the pretzel. It lacked the spice of the wings but had its own unique appeal. He savored the added flavor of the salt.
Once they finished the wings, Battleax belched and rubbed this stomach. Richard nibbled on the pretzels.
“So, what brings you to my tavern?” Battle Ax asked.
“I wanted to see the elf sing; I heard he was good,” Richard said.
“She’s the best,” Battleax said, “Her dad was one of the generals during the Orc Wars.”
Richard thought for a moment. “Oh, uh, she’s good. That song was, it, was, like home.”
Battleax gives him a wink, “Don’t worry. I get those pronouns mixed up too. My old eyes don’t do so well anymore. Thought she was a boy for about a month until Batty took me aside and corrected me. She didn’t mind; she knew I didn’t mean no harm.”
Richard smiled, thinking of the twins. They didn’t mind their names and no one cared. They were who they were.
“So you just wanted to hear pretty music?” Batttleax asked.
“Well, I wanted to see what this tavern was like. I was looking for ideas.” Richard said.
“What? You starting a tavern?” Battleax started to get crazy eyes.
“No!” Richard held up his hands, “We are making bacon and eggs.”
“What!” Battleax shouted, “That’s you!” He laughed, “I’ve been meaning to get out there. Heard it’s the best breakfast around. You doing any barbeque?”
“No. Eggs, bacon, toast, BLT, coffee, and vanilla latte.” Richard said.
“BLT? Vanilla latte? I’ve never heard of those.” Battleax said.
“Dad!” Batty interrupted them as she sat down more ale, “We have to get vanilla lattes. I heard they are the best.”
Battleax waved his hand, “Sure, sure. We can go one morning.” He looked back at Richard, “Really, no barbecue? I remember your dad’s was the best.”
Caught off guard, Richard asked, “How do you know?”
“Well, we took turns cooking at night after the battle. The orcs made the best barbecue I’ve ever had. The only good thing about Wednesday was it was the orc’s turn to cook.”
“You ate dinner together,” Richard asked.
“Sure, just because we were at war didn’t mean we couldn’t be friends and eat and drink together. Hell, boy, when I gave your dad that scar, he made me a double helping of brisket.”
Before Richard could ask any more questions, a large plate of wings was sat down in the middle of the table. “You ready for round two, pup,” Battleax said with wild eyes.
“Hell yeah!” Richard shouted.
The ale flowed freely. The elven bard started to play an epic tune as the crowd in the tavern began to cheer the two on. Richard met wing for wing, the old barbarian. Plate after plate was devoured until the barbarian threw his hands up.
“I’m done!” He shouted. The crowd cheered. Battleax stood up and addressed the crowd, ”To my new nemesis Chief Richard, son of Chief Richard!” More cheering. Battleax held his hands up for silence, “I want everyone to try out Chief Richard’s new restaurant, uh,” He looked back at the orc, “What’s the name?”
Richard’s eyes went wide, “We haven’t named it yet.”
Battleax turned back to the crowd, “Try out the new unnamed restaurant on the edge of town! To Chief Richard!” The crowd chanted along. Richard waved. They were going to make stupid amounts of gold.
“Time for me to get back to work,” Battleax said to Richard, “I’ll be round to try that, uh, BLT and vanilla latte.” With a final wave, Battleax retreated back into the bustle of the kitchen.
Batty started to collect the dishes, “Need anything else, Chief?”
“No, what do I owe?” Richard asked.
“No, no. When you eat with Dad, you eat for free. Besides, you are his new nemesis. You’re family now!” Batty gave him a wink and a smile as she left.
Richard started to understand the stories his dad used to tell of the Orc Wars. He got up from his table to leave; he waved to Batty and Greg as he left the tavern. The daylight and fresh air felt good. His stomach not so much, but he enjoyed the food and his “battle.”
“Chief Richard,” Upon hearing his name, Richard turned around. A sense of comfort washed over him at the sight of Rose, Bob, and the imps. He was looking forward to the walk back to camp. He had learned so much, and they had much to discuss.
--
Find all of my works here

As the title suggests at 2:45pm today my dad passed away. He had been fighting cancer for a few months and just finished his first round of chemo. It was hard to watch, but I showed up almost every day at the nursing home he was staying at for rehab and I put on a brave face and told him we would fight. And we did.
Recently, he started to lose hope and strength. I told him if he didn't want to fight anymore I understood and I wouldn't be angry at him, I would just support and love him the best I could. My dad believed in quality of life over quantity and he hadn't had any quality of life for at least months but arguably years since his kidney transplant in 2020. I believe today was the day he gave up, and to my word I am not angry.
I'm hurt. I'm devastated. My dad was my best friend, I told him everything. Daddy's girl would be an understatement, it felt like he was the only person who understood me a lot of the time. He supported me through every fleeting dream, awful break up and youthful experimentation. My dad was my everything.
Recently, I had been acting as his primary caregiver. For 5 or so years his health had gradually declined but we managed the best we could. In that way my dad was my purpose. I work, I'm finishing a bachelor's degree and I was caring for my dad. That was my life life. Sometimes it was frustrating and filled with anxiety, trying to navigate insurance, medications, doctors appointments etc. But my dad needed me and I wouldn't have dreamt of doing anything else. So in a way, it feels like I lost my purpose today.
We never left anything unsaid between us, even if it wasn't always received well. He knew he was my best friend, he knew I adored him. And I know I was his purpose to keep fighting, as his only child I was his world.
So today is the worst day of my life. Inside of me is a 7 year old girl with scraped knees screaming for her daddy to make it better. On the outside a 31 year old woman is trying very hard to accept this new grief that is going to hurt for the rest of my life.

Long vent incoming. On mobile so apologies if the formatting is awful.
I'm a single mom who moved across the country to live with family while I get back on my feet. Still in the process of getting divorced. I've been living with my daughter (15mo) in my brothers spare room for a little over 6 months. When we fist got here, I got a fast food job to supplement my income while I looked for something better. Brother has been watching my daughter when I work part time and when I go to interviews. It took me awhile to get a better paying job but I finally did it! Started last week and am really enjoying it so far.
Now that I'm going to be working more there's been some tension about how much I'm paying bro & how often I'll need him to watch her. In June my brother & his husband will be out of town for 3 weeks. I had to arrange for my ex to fly in to watch our daughter so I wouldn't lose my new job. Mother's Day weekend bro & BIL went out of town so our mom came to help while I worked. Long story short-ish, mom fell asleep on the couch & I came home to my daughter crying in her crib upstairs. They just told me they're going to be gone for two weeks in July and I don't know what to do. Not to mention the fact that they're going to be moving out of state themselves next year. So I have to have all my ducks in a row by then which is stressful.
My daughter is on waitlists at two local daycares but who knows how long those could take to open up. I've exhausted all my family options in the area that im comfortable with and am truly at a loss of what to do. I'm unable to take time off and haven't exactly asked my new boss if it's ok for me to bring my daughter with me.
My ex wants us to move back to our home state so we can have 50/50 custody and his parents can help with childcare. I was initially against it but the more I think about it I can't help but feel it might be what's best for everyone. I'm so stressed all the time worrying about being able to support us on my own, finding a new place to live, finding childcare, doing fun things, etc, etc. At least if we moved home I wouldn't be so worried about childcare and she'd get to form a relationship with her dad. Thoughts?
Not really sure what I'm looking for here. Maybe just to shout into the void? I'll happily take some advice or words of encouragement:')