Everything kitchen and bath fernandina beach

r/Towels - A Safe Space For Towels

2010.01.18 10:16 towelmania r/Towels - A Safe Space For Towels

Towels is a place for everything Towels! Everyone's got 'em, but they don't always get the love they deserve.
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2013.11.14 05:08 r/AmeliaIsland a place for everything Amelia and Fernandina Beach

A sub for Amelia Island residents and visitors. Share to your alt social media accounts if you want to see us grow. Moderators....send me a note if you'd like to help along with your connection to Amelia Island.
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2023.06.03 22:44 EggnaMode Itinerary Review for June

Hello! My friends and I are renting a 4x4 camper van for an 11 day trip in late June through the country (traveling clockwise). It's our first time and want to do as much as we can for amazing views and fun hikes. We're planning on sleeping ~4am every day to take advantage of the midnight sun.
Here's our itinerary, please let me know if there's anything you feel like we're missing, or anything on here you think isn't worth a stop! Also, if there are specific hikes you think are a must-do (not too technical/difficult) feel free to suggest those as well.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
submitted by EggnaMode to VisitingIceland [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:42 BloodRose24 32[F4M] are you what I’m looking for?

Hello! Looking for people in the life style. Feel up to some play. I’m very easy going and we can talk about anything and everything. I’m not easily offended and just like to have fun. Looking maybe for sub type men to talk with. If that’s you drop me a line! I’m from south ga the beach is my happy place and music is life. I’m a stay at home mom and watch way to much tv! So what are you waiting for come and drop me a line let me know what your role is! Hope to talk soon!
submitted by BloodRose24 to Kikpals [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:35 taijaxxdrury decided to get back into the kitchen part time, bad idea

long time lurker, first time poster. Just sharing this story as many of you are likely to find it painfully amusing and I feel like venting.
TLDR: chef crazy, kitchen culture bad, me stupid for ignoring all the red flags and assuming it would get better.
I have been a full time musician for about a decade, decided to get back into the kitchen to make a little extra money so my fiance and I can save for a home. I have done some pop up kitchens & other events around town, knew about this guy with a sweet japanese izakaya truck who made great food and needed help. Immediately seemed like a chaotic person, but people can be weird sometimes so I carried on.
First day went well, the man is hectic and egotistical but seemed alright. I was shown one dish from his revolving 15-20 item menu that day and a couple opening / closing procedures. Second day I show up 15 early, end up waiting for a few hours before i split, calling him goes straight to voicemail. turns out he's in jail for an old bench warrant, no bond, probably for child support. No sweat, shit happens and anyone deserves a chance or two.
I ended up running his food truck entirely with one other guy (nice dude, but has a traumatic brain injury which makes work very difficult) for about a week and half. 8-16 hour days on top of my full music schedule, i was able to swing both as most gigs are late and i can prep 9am-7pm and still make make the shows. I communicated with chef through his mom, using some weird jail texting platform. Ran a reduced menu. Figured I'd give him the chance until he unloaded on us via his mom about how terribly we ran the truck, everything we should have been doing better. Me, who barely learned a single dish from him, had to reverse engineer and improvise recipes he didn't have on hand, having to figure out the entirety of his truck on the fly without running water, and working with a kind but disabled man who is really just making things more difficult. I did all inventory, ordering, scheduling, designed and printed the new menu on my own time, was available for communication 100% of the time off the clock with his mom and the other employee. Basically did every managerial duty though I was hired on as a line cook.
After he unloaded on us I told his mom I was done, that's unnacceptable and he's in no position to give us shit for anything we did considering I stayed and kept his truck running simply out of kindness. As soon as I stood my ground he flipped and apologized, said I did a great job, blah blah blah. So he's not only an asshole, but a spineless asshole. Should have walked, but I don't know the guy at all and decided to give him yet another chance.
things go alright for a week, though it's clear he's unstable and super paranoid. Has really weird conspiracies about other businesses in town having a coalition to destroy him. He talks shit about everyone while incessantly peforming monologues about his own greatness, and all the hotshots he's worked with. treats his mother (who only got so involved to help him while he was incarcerated) like total shit. I hoped it would level out and get better. It didn't.
One day in the middle of service he launches into a bit about how I lied to him about my abilities, that I'm too slow and we need to renegotiate my pay, for the future as well as for the 93 hours I worked in the last couple weeks. This being hilarious as I do more volume with my own pop up kitchens than I've ever experienced on his truck, making just as complicated menus without any issue. Settles on 16 / hr ($2 less than he sent me in my offer letter) without tips and without paying me time and a half for overtime. I walked, as he's rambling egotistical narccicistic nonsense at me the whole time about how I'm too slow and he's the best and this is how it works in the big leagues.
The most absurd comments of his weren't on texts but here's some nuggets of insanity I kept. Screenshots in comments. I believe this is the last time I get back into a kitchen on anyone else's terms. This bastard is everything that is wrong with the industry. anyway, if you made it this far thanks for reading the long winded vent. Beware of egomaniacal idiots
submitted by taijaxxdrury to KitchenConfidential [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:32 radertron furniture, floors, walls, rugs, etc. free & there’s a lot of it. come on by!

hi it’s rader & IRL weather is crappy, but the weather on diazepam is lovely (har har har). perfect for my beloved brave restarters & new players (welcome!) i have a ton of items, please come take what you’d like. THE RULES: you’re free to take as much as you want, roam around, visit villagers, sign my board (i love that!), shop. don’t shake, pick, etc. if you need something lmk! including millions of bells. this is a since launch island & i have 800mil+ bells. me giving you bells helps me continue to enjoy playing. you can make multiple trips. DON’T LEAVE ME ANYTHING!!! i have no needs. my house is the grey one, but the human NCPs houses are all themed. you can fish & bug if you want as well. THE MAP: (all beaches) on the left out of the airport to the campsite is stuff (furniture, floors, walls, etc.). on the right out of the airport are DIYs (learn ‘em), & a little area for me to drop things you may need. many items are “aged out” or “unavailable for purchase”, yes everything you touch will be cataloged, but you can’t always purchase it later. if you think you might want it, take it. color waves on everything can be altered by you or cyrus, squirt. there’s a few fossils, too. in front of beau’s house to the dock is more stuff, inc. clothes, rugs, etc… in front of the dock are the mom items. all customizable & for many, understandably triggering. if you don’t want to deal with mom stuff, it’s in a cluster by the dock. in the clothes is every color wave of the princess dress for my fancy queens, kings, & inbetweens. next to nooks is a free standing ATM that connects with your island’s bank account. feel free to use it! especially if you need bells! new players… you can use it even if you can’t get your own yet! my flag flies not just in june, but 365 days of the year. this is an ADULT, quee420 friendly (visit the dispensary) ADULT socialist island. if this doesn’t fit your life, or you’re underage, i kindly ask you to not come. it’s also cultcore (dark humor style). if that bothers you, understood, but you might want to skip it. CHAT REQUEST FOR DODO! i will keep it as chaotic-free as i can. every time i open i think “no one will show” & you clean me out & i love you for it.
p.s. leaving discord & joining this community has been wonderful. you all have been top notch. i have made friends. when i had to shut down celeste the other night because of severe IRL weather (& i felt AWFUL) every note you sent was lovely. i appreciate you. this is wordy. sorry. COME OVER AND TAKE STUFF! happy 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️. 💟
submitted by radertron to BuddyCrossing [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:31 IndigoCreepy I can't stand looking at myself in the mirror, but not for the reason you think...

I was paralyzed with fear as the reflection-like entity hovered menacingly in front of me. Its distorted features twisted into a grotesque smile, the malice in its voice cutting through the air like a chilling breeze.
"Who are you?" I managed to stammer, my voice barely audible. My heart pounded in my chest, threatening to burst through my ribcage. The reflection-like figure tilted its head, its eyes gleaming with a sinister light. "I am nothing but an Echo," it whispered, the words slithering into my ears like venomous serpents.
I jolted upright, gasping for breath. Sweat drenched my forehead as I realized it had all been a nightmare—a vivid and horrifying dream. I glanced around my room, seeking solace in the familiar surroundings. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The moonlight streaming through the window cast an eerie glow, intensifying my unease.
As I sat up, my eyes were drawn to the mirror on the opposite wall. I stared at my reflection, half-expecting to see the monster from my nightmare. But the mirror only reflected my own terrified expression. Taking a deep breath, I tried to convince myself that it was all just a product of an overactive imagination. Perhaps I had been reading too many horror stories lately, or maybe it was the result of the stress I had been under. Whatever the case, I needed to shake off this sense of dread and get some sleep.
I reached for my phone to check the time, hoping it was still early enough to salvage a few hours of rest. But as I grabbed it from the nightstand, a notification caught my attention. It was an email with a blank subject line. Confusion washed over me as I opened the email. The sender was anonymous, and the message contained only one sentence: "Did you sleep well?" My heart raced, and a chill ran down my spine. How did they know my name? And how did they know about my nightmare?
I quickly dismissed it as a sick joke, the work of an internet troll seeking to terrify unsuspecting victims. But as I tried to calm myself, another notification popped up on my screen. It was a video message from an unknown sender. Hesitant but curious, I clicked on it. The video started with darkness, but soon the image became clear. It was me, sleeping peacefully in my bed. The camera angle suggested that it was taken from within my room. I felt a surge of panic, realizing that someone had been watching me.
As the video played on, my eyes widened in horror. I saw myself tossing and turning, plagued by the nightmares that had tormented me earlier. But there was something different about this video. The room around me seemed distorted, as if reality itself was warping and twisting. The camera panned to the mirror on the opposite wall. I saw my reflection staring back at me with hollow eyes and a familiar malicious grin. It wasn't me; it was the twisted version of myself from my nightmare.
A chill ran down my spine as the video continued. The reflection started to move independently, its hand reaching out towards the glass as if trying to break through. I watched in horror as cracks formed on the surface of my mirror in real time, one by one, as they formed on the mirror in the video, spreading like a spider's web. The mirror was coming alive, its malevolent presence seeping into the room. I couldn't tear my eyes away as the reflection stepped out of the mirror, standing at the edge of my bed. Its voice echoed in a low, distorted tone, filled with malice. "Sarah, it's bedtime," it hissed, its words sending shivers down my spine.
In a panic, I reached for the lamp, desperate to dispel this nightmarish apparition. But as the light illuminated the room, the reflection vanished. I jolted upright, gasping for breath once again. "Was I still dreaming?" I pondered, my heart pounding in my chest. The room was bathed in the comforting glow of the lamp, and everything seemed normal. Had it all been just another nightmare within a nightmare? It felt so real, so vivid, but perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me once again. I took a moment to catch my breath, trying to steady my trembling hands. But as I surveyed the room, something caught my eye—the mirror was still cracked... This was a chilling reminder that the nightmare had not just been a terrible fever dream.
I rid my house of all mirrors in a desperate attempt to maybe sever its connection to my reality, and for a couple of weeks, it seemed to have worked. During that time, my life had returned to normal. The nightmares had ceased, and I began to believe that maybe the mirror itself was cursed, a gateway through which the malevolent entity had entered my life.
After a particularly exhausting day, I decided to indulge in a relaxing bath. The warm water enveloped me, easing away the stress of the day. I closed my eyes, allowing my mind to drift. As I opened my eyes, I caught a glimpse of movement in the water. My heart skipped a beat as I saw my reflection, distorted and shifting beneath the ripples. Panic surged through me, and I tried to look away, but something held my gaze.
My own eyes stared back at me from the depths of the water. The twisted reflection grinned with the same malevolent smile. It whispered in a voice that squirmed throughout my skin, "Did you miss me?"
submitted by IndigoCreepy to nosleep [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:25 OkInflation3577 Is it manipulative?

Ok, very long backstory but I'll keep it to the basics. I (37yo US male) am ending a 13 yr marriage w/ a 35yo German female (raise in the US since she was 5yo). It's mutual and we're both already feeling better than when we were together. We have one 7yo daughter. Marriage has always been rocky but we've managed through counseling, determination, and chemistry (when it was good it was good). Now we both see it was always toxic. We moved to Germany from the US 11 months ago, after deciding to pursue a European lifestyle and enrolling our daughter in a Waldorf Kindergarten (very cheap here). 7 months in and we've decided marriage is definitely over. I've moved out and been living in a separate apartment. We share 50/50 custody of daughter. Overall good transition, lots of pain but it's working and I'm healing.
So the issue is, I feel we should move back to the US. ALL of our family lives there in a 3 hour radius of North Carolina. Our daughter was born and raised seeing her grandparents weekly until 11months ago. Our daughter has only one cousin who she adores and talks about all the time who lives in NC. We own a home there. I am the primary earner and could be earning over 100K per year by next year ( I was up until we moved). I have no job in Germany yet since my career field required a high level of German and I would need to spend years learning while working low wage jobs. Our daughter does not like Waldorf style and wants more STEM education. My ex works for 15 Euros/ hour and has no prospects of earning more than 20/hr within the next 3-5 years. I desperately want to get back to my career (my passion) but I believe my German ex wants to stay here despite numerous reasons to go back. She began sleeping with/dating someone on Tinder 45 days after we decided to end our relationship- 18 days after I moved out. She told me this, btw. They are still dating. I believe she is moving quickly to establish her new life here w/o me. Which she has every right, but still, It's concerning.
Nevertheless, I am starting to think I need to move back, w/ or w/o them. This is not my country, my language, and I do not picture myself here, especially with all the healing I need to do after divorce. Family, career, healing are the things I need now or else I feel I will lose myself in this German town, my ex's mother's hometown, (voted ugliest town in Germany) while watching my wife flourish in her native country (again, she grew up in the US). I have a history of depression. I don't want to meet another international partner. My daughter talks about her old school, her grandparents, her old best friends, wanting "English things" ---ALL THE TIME. I will likely live very near my extended family and daughter would be able to see them all the time if we went back. Even my ex's parents (retired and live on lakes/beaches) want to see us back in the US ( I still care about them very much). My daughter would have a blast visiting them. But my wife won't see it. She believes the lifestyle in Germany is better, safer, less traumatic, less violent, less capitalistic (I agree, somewhat) and that that is more important than money, family, stability (completely disagree).
So... If I move back, Is it manipulative to tell my daughter that "I wish I could stay but I have to go work in the USA to make money to support her and her mother. AND that I wish she could come but her mother wants her to stay and go to school here in Germany"....? I don't want to lie and say I wish I could stay or that I also think she should stay. And I don't want to be too vague like "It's hard but it's what's best for everyone" even though that sounds the most neutral. What does a 7yo need to hear in such a complex situation? Should she even know if I end up moving to the same town as her friends/cousin? It all just seems to have the potential to be so traumatic for her. Everything she ever knew changed one year ago with our move, then 8 months later we tell her we are divorcing, now I will probably tell her I have to move back. What the hell do I do? Struggling with the idea of ending up becoming a deadbeat dad who leaves, despite NEVER seeing that coming.
submitted by OkInflation3577 to Divorce [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:25 aksonder Help with reception menu and accommodating guests

Hi everyone,
Our RSVPs are in and I have sent the count to my caterer, along with dietary restrictions and allergies.
Out of 57 total, I have one vegan and one vegetarian. My caterer responded that they cannot alter the menu to accommodate specific personal choices. Something I should have inquired about before, I guess. She feels like there is enough food, but I did want to get opinions from folks who are vegan or vegetarian.
I will just list everything we are providing. We will have cocktail hour with hors d’œuvres: BBQ reindeer sausage, spinach dip with crostini, fresh tomato basil bruschetta, Swedish style meatballs, fruit tray, and a meat and cheese platter.
Our dinner is buffet style and we have: prime rib, salmon, garlic mashed potatoes, wild rice pilaf, zesty cucumber salad, and cesar salad.
My feeling is that this isn’t really enough for the the two people - there are several options but there’s no protein, for example. So I’m wondering if I should prepare a vegan entree separately for them (we are hosting the wedding at a lodge and it has a nice kitchen where we could do that) and if anyone has ideas on what type of entree would be good?
submitted by aksonder to weddingplanning [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:20 InkDiamond (cont.) It’s the end of the universe. To celebrate, you just want to chill with your best friend. After all, he’s the only other remaining person in the whole world. But to your surprise, he reveals that you’re not the only one invited to his party…

Here's the first half of the story
The two teens both looked toward the front of the room. There was a gray sphere. Hovering in the doorway.
But if you asked Marc, it was an annoying gray sphere. And it hovered in the doorway like an absolute rustnut.
Marc wasn’t sure where on the sphere to level his disdain. The whole dumb surface was the same all over. It was a series of interconnected, translucent hexagons. Stupid yellow lights blinked sporadically across its many faces—for no apparent rhyme or reason—perhaps just to further annoy Marc.
An electronic voice called out from the sphere. “Did I hear muuuuuusic?” he asked. “Before that last plasma burst?”
Marc shot Sid a glare that could kill. But the big blue alien didn’t back down.
“Last impression. Remember?” he told Marc before going toward Tōn-E with a brimming, sharp-toothed smile and arms extended. “Tōn-E! Glad you could make it! Come on in.”
On the inside, Marc cringed. He mostly tried to forget that Tōn-E walked (hovered?) the same Levels as them. Tōn-E represented the most self-destructive habits of the Outpost. The only features of the city indifferent to survival.
But Tōn-E was all too real. He entered the room like a ghost in a nightmare.
“I am also happy to be here,” he said. The faces of his sphere randomly lit up as he spoke. “I otherwise had no plans for tonight. Because the planet is set to explode.”
“Yes, I’ve heard,” Sid joked.
“I approximate it will only take a few more—hold on. What is this??”
Tōn-E spun slowly in the air. The side previously facing Sid rotated toward the ceiling. When it reached the top, a spotlight shot toward the ceiling—right where Sid’s door had slotted in.
The spotlight stretched horizontally across the door until it resembled a straight line. This line swept back and forth across the raised door. It moved as if he was cleaning it.
“I don’t believe it!” Tōn-E said. “What an exquisite painting. A remarkable addition to your growing and ever-expanding portfolio, Sid.”
Tōn-E finished his scan of the painting. His expanding spotlight shut off. And he re-centered himself to face Sid.
“Aww, shanks,” Sid said. Each of his right arms latched onto the bends of the left ones. “You really think so?”
“Of course! There are colors here I’ve only seen named in the logs. You have tastefully incorporated /#FF00FF: a color our ancestors previously referred to as ‘magenta.’”
“Yes! That’s right! I was going for ‘magenta!’ You really think I did it?”
Marc looked down to hide his face. He rolled his eyes. Magenta. He would have loved to tell Sid how much he liked it too. But Marc had spent his years surviving, not studying colors in old, useless historical archives.
Sid and Tōn-E continued their snooty, pretentious discussion.
“I made it mixing legblee blood and just a liiiiiiittle bit of groundwater,” Sid said.
“That was a very clever! Allow me to save your painting to my internal memory.”
“Really??” Sid’s cheeks greened a little.
“Yes, I will review at a later time when I am both unable to view the original but would still like to once again be inspired by your clever and skillful hands.”
“Tōn-E, I—I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
Marc simmered in his anger. Stupid Tōn-E. Always ruining things. Making them about him and his dumb, endless archives.
“I am perhaps only more impressed by your chosen ensemble! Do my eyes perceive veritable Lenorkian armor?”
The talkative orb whooshed toward Sid. It began revolving around him like an annoyingly-attached moon. As his exo-orb hummed excitedly, Tōn-E rattled off his useless knowledge of antiquated armor.
“Snorp-resistant spiked shoulder caps?!” He spun around Sid’s midsection. “Triple-layered chest plates?!” He dropped closer to the floor. “Anti-gravity shin guards made from the rare lenorkium alloy?!”
Tōn-E giggled as he orbited Sid. His laugh disturbed Marc. It sounded like a space rat being strangled in the bowels of an undersea air vent.
Sid could hardly keep up with Tōn-E’s flying. But he looked happy with the attention. “Yeah! I’m told this suit was built for the Frost Ring wars,” he said. “It never got used.”
Marc continued to not engage. He slunk deeper into his shawl, folded his arms, and sighed.
“I don’t believe it!” Tōn-E said.
He backed off from Sid, flying back toward the doorway. He turned on his spotlight once again. It now stretched over Sid’s body. “Saving! Saving!”
Sid wasted no time posing for the occasion. He flexed all four arms and gritted his snaggling teeth. His irises turned a deep red and his two small horns protruded from his forehead. Tōn-E was overjoyed. “I did not think I would ever have the chance to record your agitated state,” he said.
I’ll show you an agitated state, Marc thought to himself.
“I’ve got a relic you’re going to love,” Tōn-E said. His tiny sphere filled the cave with noise. But it wasn’t Tōn-E’s usual metallic voice. The sound came from another species entirely.
“GwwwwwwuuuhhhAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!”
His orb played an intense, ear-shuddering roar. The recording may have been slightly fuzzy, but Marc knew the source. It was unmistakably Lenorkian.
And like the gears in a drill, something appeared to “click” inside Sid. His eyes widened. His armored chest expanded. And he joined in. But Sid’s roar was… authentic.
“HRRRRRRRRRGAAAAAAAAHHHHH” he blasted out of mouth. Marc’s entire rib cage vibrated uncomfortably.
It spooked Marc. Igniting some primal desire to escape a dangerous predator. That was a feeling he never felt around Sid. He didn’t like it.
Sid himself even looked embarrassed for a second. Something he’d kept suppressed had slipped out. But Tōn-E turned up the volume on his recording. And with a cautious smile of someone nervously breaking a rule, Sid matched it. And then some. The two bellowed together. It was enough to make Marc queasy, although it was unclear whether it was due to the vibrations or Sid bonding so much with Tōn-E.
The roaring continued. Their talking continued. Tōn-E went on about Sid’s armor some more and his people’s valor and the hardship his ancestors must have faced.
“Usually I keep this stuff stashed away,” Sid said to Tōn-E in his soft normal voice. His horns had retracted, and his eyes had returned to normal. “These are shameful pieces of our history. Truly. And with a people I never really fit in with. But tonight, it just felt right to wear it, you know?”
“I understand completely,” Tōn-E said. “It is in these end times that we gravitate toward those traditions that were so much of what made us feel alive in the first place.”
The statement made Marc want to hurl. He didn’t want to entertain such stupid notions. But the gremlin rotated to him next.
“Hello Marc! Did you find any good junk today? Any new additions to your scrap pile?”
Marc seethed. “I didn't scavenge today, Tōn-E. There wouldn't be any use. It's the end of the universe.”
“That surprises me. Humans love their junk and doodads.”
“Yeah well, we don’t have to cling to the past, do we? Not like that ever saved anyone.” He hugged his wrapped arms even tighter, tilting his body away from Sid and Tōn-E. His cold shoulder ended the conversation.
Sid picked it back up. “So Tōn-E, do you, uh… drink?”
As it turned out, he did. Tōn-E accepted a cup of fludge. He held it with a robotic arm—one that had suddenly extended from his exo-orb. Tōn-E’s orb whirred as the center of his “face” sprouted a grotesque, needle-like proboscis. It poked outward like a long nose.
This straw extended into the cup he held. Tōn-E sipped the fludge like an insect sipping nectar (whatever those two things were; the Archives were spotty).
Sid waited with anticipation. Then Tōn-E’s sphere shuddered. The fludge must have reached the insufferable little creature on the inside. “Scrumptious!” he said.
Marc sighed quietly to himself. For some reason, he thought the night would have made a turn for the better if Tōn-E had hated it.
“Two for two!” Sid pumped three victorious fists into the air. He grinned as Tōn-E’s straw dipped into the cup once more. The straw made a little slurping sound.
“My taste buds are tingling!” Tōn-E said.
But the big cup was too much for him to finish. He returned the mostly-full drink to Sid. And his robotic straw receded to his exo-orb. Sid of course finished the cup, slurping up the remaining pool of fludge.
“So…” Sid said. He wiped his mouth. “Should I put some tunes back on?” He pointed over his shoulder to the idle vent. Then he looked across his two guests for an answer.
Marc shrugged. He didn’t care about anything anymore. Next to Marc, Tōn-E bobbed excitedly.
“Oh, yes!” he said. “One reads about concepts such as scales and measures, but it is entirely different to actually experience them with one’s own body!”
What body? Marc thought to himself. And what were the other things Tōn-E had mentioned? Something about… measuring… dragons?
He studied the cave floor while Sid skipped to the vent.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Sid said. “Get those Level 7 legs ready!” He tugged at the creaking cover once more.
It came off easier this time. With a pop! the storm above returned to the cave. Its natural melody filled the room.
“Woooooooo!” Sid raised his hands again and walked back toward the other two.
Tōn-E mimicked him with two twig arms.
But the music didn’t have the same magic as before. The beats were stale. And Marc found himself unable to ignore the sting of the sand pelting his face. He lifted his shawl over his mouth. His voice was barely audible.
“I’m sitting this song out,” he said.
The other two didn't seem to hear him. They were facing each other, waving their arms sporadically against the air current.
Marc didn’t care. He grabbed his unfinished drink from the kitchen. Then he searched for a place to sit.
He found a couch, just in front of the dancing aliens. As he took his seat, his bottom started to sink into the sofa. The tarp covering the couch crinkled.
He tried guessing the material underneath it. Clay, maybe? He pondered the question while watching Sid and Tōn-E figure out dancing without him.
“This is how Marc was doing it before!” Sid said to Tōn-E. His four arms fanned across the breeze.
But he got everything wrong. His arms whipped around the wind, not with it. And he was thinking too much about his next move, as evidenced by his scrunched brows. But the greatest offense of all was his midsection: his hips and legs stayed in place—as if someone had threatened them.
A part of Marc wanted to get up and show him how it was done. But another part wanted to see Sid fail. Realize the effort was futile. Give up on bonding with Tōn-E. And kick the Sphere of Useless Facts out of his house.
“Am I doing it right, Marc?” Sid asked while each of his arms flew in a different direction.
“You look great!” Marc replied. He took a long sip of fludge.
Tōn-E, on the other hand, did his best to replicate Sid. He waved his skinny arms erratically. It almost made Marc laugh; Tōn-E looked like he’d been set on fire.
But in all, the whole thing was awful. A bad impression giving birth to an even worse impression.
And they didn’t seem to be enjoying it much either. Despite Marc’s glowing endorsement, Sid and Tōn-E danced themselves to the brink.
Sid kept losing his balance. He tried to keep up with the music but flung himself too hard in any one direction. And every time he made a misstep, he’d let loose an acidic snarl. Tōn-E grew frustrated as well. Every few seconds, he simply froze. His exterior lights would blink red in error. As Marc had hoped, the two “painting pals” quickly ran out of steam.
The dancing halted altogether. A tired Sid returned to the vent and hoisted the grate back onto the vent’s mouth. The music stopped.
“I’ll just turn it down for a minute,” he said. He adjusted a dial on the grate. The metal slits creaked open. And a muted sandstorm flowed through them.
The music reflected the overall energy in the room: depleted. Sid secured himself two more cups of fludge before joining Marc on the tarp couch.
Tōn-E followed his lead. The little troll took a seat too, which meant hovering over the last open spot on the other side of Marc.
The boys took a minute to relax on the couch. They sat quietly while the plasma storm above the Outpost boomed and cracked.
Well, Sid and Tōn-E relaxed. They chugged down another couple cups of fludge and floated quietly over the couch (respectively). Meanwhile, Marc continued to be annoyed. He considered stepping outside and climbing to Level 1. Offer himself to the plasma storm a few hours early. The non-stop hum of Tōn-E’s exo-orb goaded him further.
Brrrrrrrrr!
Did it really have to make that noise?
Marc didn’t think the afternoon could get any worse. And then it did. Because Tōn-E’s insufferable humming suddenly quieted. And that only could have meant…
“Oh!” Tōn-E exclaimed, “I know what we can talk about!”
Marc braced for impact. His nails dug into his knees.
Don’t you dare, he thought.
“I read the most interesting fact about cats today!” Tōn-E started.
Not again, Marc thought. Absolutely NOT again. His fists trembled with rage.
“Did you know cats were the central deity across ten different ancient civilizations? The trend started with humans, of course, but the religion quickly spread across the galaxy as interplanetary travel became more widely available.”
“I actually didn’t know that,” Sid said, entertaining Tōn-E’s ridiculous theory. “Where did you find that?”
“The Archives! They have somewhat documented this phenomenon. You see, it was a common practice to capture footage of cats, even in their sleeping state. They were so important to these cultures that even the most mundane moment yielded significant reason to capture and worship them. If you want to see, I can—”
Marc had had enough. He slammed his cup down on the floor and flew off the couch.
“—SHUT UP. SHUT UP ABOUT CATS!” he shouted. He swung back around to face the other two. “CATS AREN’T REAL TŌN-E! AND THEY WERE NEVER REAL!”
“That’s enough, Marc!” Sid clenched his teeth.“Don’t start this.”
Marc returned fire, “I didn’t start anything; that was YOU. Going behind my back! Inviting more of these… fairy tales!”
His emotions overwhelmed him. He didn’t know whether to yell more or start crying. He did both.
“It’s the end of the universe!” he said as tears streamed down his face. “We can’t keep clinging to the things that brought us to this point in the first place! All these stupid traditions are the reason no one’s even here with us now! IT KILLED THEM ALL! And anyone stupid enough to keep believing in them is—"
“—I said THAT’S ENOUGH!” Sid growled. Marc didn't care.
“NO!” he said. Then he looked back at Tōn-E. “NONE of what you’re seeing in the Archives is real! The data is corrupt! It’s ALL CORRUPT! And CATS are just another dumb fairy tale to keep people like you going, while…”
He ran out of steam. He realized there was no more “going.” In fact, there was no time remaining in the universe for anything. But that didn’t diminish his animosity and anger toward the world. He glared down at the gray sphere. His chest heaved.
Meanwhile, Sid kept a cooler, bluer head. He too looked to Tōn-E, but with compassion in his eyes.
Tōn-E didn’t immediately respond to either. The only sound in the room came from his exo-orb. Well, the exo-orb plus the ladle on the counter, which suddenly blooped into the big pot.
All eyes were on the atypically quiet alien, whose hexagonal faces began to light up.
“I suppose,” his voice trailed, “that cats may not have been real after all. You said it yourself: records are foggy. They’re all from thousands of years ago...” He sighed. Tōn-E’s lights transitioned to a new blinking pattern. “And I also suppose… that I should have been more mature about interpreting error-prone information in the Archives…”
“It's okay, man,” Sid said. “I like that you dream big.” He reached across the couch to place a comforting hand on Tōn-E. But Tōn-E floated out of reach.
“I understand my presence here is probably upsetting,” he said. “You two have a special bond. I should not have interfered with it in its last moments. I will go.”
“No, Tōn-E,” Sid said. Each pair of his hands met in front of his chest “Please stay. You have every right to be here too.”
“I should go,” Tōn-E said. “I will spend the rest of the evening focused on real things. And because I will no longer be here, I suppose it will be the perfect opportunity to review Sid’s art so I can feel inspired for the end times.”
He slipped between Sid and Marc toward the doorway.
“No, don’t!” Sid called after him. “We should do this together.”
But Tōn-E had already vanished outside.
The Lenorkian, hand extended, waited for Tōn-E to come back. But the floating sphere did not reappear in the doorway.
And that was when a low trill emanated from the couch. It was coming from Sid’s his chest. He looked up at Marc, glaring. He bared his pointed teeth. His horns reappeared. And his eyes flushed with scarlet pigment.
Yuh-oh, Marc thought. About half his prior anger evaporated. Fear of a fight took hold.
Marc didn’t exactly dislike his chances. Lenorkians may have been stronger, but Sid wasn't a fighter. Marc was.
But Sid stuck to his morals.
“GET OUT!” Sid shouted.
Marc reflexively jumped out of reach. The short hop sort of ruined his show of anger. But he was still boiling mad. After all, fifty percent of him hadn't abandoned the cat grudge.
“Fine!” he shouted back. “Have fun exploding alone.” He whipped away to the exit.
The party was finished now. He almost stopped and went back for his fludge. But he didn’t want it anymore either. He just wanted a nice end of the universe with his friend. And now the end of the universe was ruined.
At least the apocalypse outside was behaving predictably. Marc stepped into the adjacent cave corridor. He surveyed the damage outside, looking through the long, horizontal gap in the cave wall. As the experts had predicted, the plasma storm took its toll.
The canyon glowed eerily bright, despite it being evening time. The wind howled as it raced through the canyon. And the cliffs around the gorge flashed white and pink as the storm charged with electricity, preparing to make its final jump.
Lightning cracked toward the ground. Some of the bolts hit the opposing cliff, sending rubble deep into the gorge. A gentle tremor rumbled in the ground beneath him.
The plasma storm overhead only creeped further around the planet. As the canyon brightened, shockwaves coursed through the entire city. They threw Marc off his feet again. He hit the ground.
Behind him, thunderous clacking erupted. The sound of falling rocks filled the corridor. He flipped over to see what explosion had thrown him.
It was bad. He stopped breathing. Because he could no longer see Sid’s home. All he saw was a pile of rubble.
submitted by InkDiamond to u/InkDiamond [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:19 mxstone1 My Purge and Packing Has Started - Looking For Advice

My lease is up at the end of August and I am not renewing it. I have a van and I have started building it out and plan to live and work in it full time for the next few years - basically until I find a mental and physical place that makes me want to stop wandering. I want to start "living" in the van earlier than the end of my lease so I have time to tweak my setup and also have a safe base to come back and adjust gear and setup (and get some last few showers!).
I live in a very small apartment above a 3 stall garage so I don't have a ton of crap to purge but I do have to pare things down and want to hear from those who have done this. I love to cook so I will be taking more cooking stuff than most folks but I care not one little bit about clothes so I'll balance things.
  1. Left over Food storage: I have some plastic snap top food storage for leftovers, some glass, and sometimes I just use ziploc baggies. Which works best in a van?
  2. I have more food than I can likely take with me. Canned goods and large containers of things like cooking oil and flour and such. Do you just throw this away when you walk out the door or are there place that will take a partially used back of flour and the like?
  3. I'm a pretty decent shade-tree mechanic / gear head and I just bought this van so I don't know it's pedigree. It's relatively new (2013) and low-mileage (60K) but you never know. I plan on taking a decent number of tools along to repair as I go - at least until I break everything in. I will also be finishing my build on the road as I learn what things I REALLY need. Bad idea? Good idea? For those of you with mechanical ability, what's your tool box look like? Is this 18V Ryobi Circular Saw just silly overkill?
  4. There are some things like some quality chef knives and garage tools and kitchen gadgets and clothes that I really don't want to jettison but I won't really need until/if I settle down. I have the option of storing stuff at my brothers until I'm ready to live in a box that's stuck to the ground. I've read some Van Dwellers say that storing things is a bad idea but I've never really understood why. It almost seems like a "real van dwellers don't have a storage room" kinda vibe. So, why is this bad?
  5. (more like 3-B) I have a kayak and motorcycle that I REALLY don't want to sell and plan on using occasionally. I'll likely have to store these large toys at my brothers at least through this next winter. I was considering buying a 6' x 12' trailer to haul these larger toys around when I want to go adventuring. I thought I would park the trailer in monthly rental storage and radiate out from there when I want to go play. Has anyone done something like this and made it work?
  6. In general - what's your general advice for purging all the shit you collected? I think I'm basically looking for people to tell me to just be hard-core about it!
submitted by mxstone1 to vandwellers [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:17 GoastRiter [GUIDE] Living Large in Los Santos: Unleashing Chaos. Making Friends and Rediscovering the Thrill of GTA Online!

If you're reading this, perhaps you're like me. You have most things you want in GTA Online. You've "done it all". And now you're bored.
But... have you *really* done it all? Turns out, most of us haven't. There's so much to do in this game, and it's easy to get stuck in old habits that prevent us from discovering everything there is to do in Los Santos!
So I began writing down all my ideas for having fun in the game, and basically use these suggestions as guidelines to always find something new to do. It has completely reinvigorated my joy for the game, and I hope it can help you do the same!
If you're having trouble with motivation or inspiration, then I suggest picking something at random from the list and just doing it! You might disccover that you love it, just like I did!
And if you have anything more to add, please share your comments so that we can all help build this list together. :)
​
Let's go!
​
submitted by GoastRiter to u/GoastRiter [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:16 Mykieislost BM isn't who everyone thinks she is

So BM is bio mom for those of you who don't know and I'm a step mom. I need some help. I got into therapy for everything but every single day I feel like it's not gonna help because of how long I've kept everything bottled up and I feel like I'm gonna explode. Let me explain.
BM had slept with someone who was about 13 or 14 when she was 19. Some of her immediate family members know and they have all confessed to my boyfriend about this and everyone is trying to keep it quiet because everyone thinks their family is perfect, you know. Well she also would be on discord and on video games meeting other minors and most of the time, if not all of the time, it was long distance and do all sorts of things with them on video calls that my bf had walked in on basically daily. And before anyone asks why my boyfriend didn't say anything when all of this was going on, he was confused because of all the lying from her at first and then people she met online would come forward to him about her and then she would confess and all sorts of stuff and he was willing to try to work everything out with her because he wanted the kids to have their parents not be divorced.
So fast forward, he's sick of her crap and he tells her she can get her crap together or she can leave so she left.
Now here we are now, about 9 months after she's left and divorce is finalized and we had agreed on supervised visits even though we didn't want the kids around her because he was worried that she would get more visitation if it was up to the court so he settled for 2 days a month.
Everything was going fine until the oldest started acting weird around bath time. I was really hoping we were just overreacting and it was nothing because I had thought all her victims weren't this young. He was saying stuff like "don't touch me, don't touch me" and saying he didn't want to be drowned. I dont know if he's being touched or neglected again (because she did that too. They were trapped in their rooms all day and smeared poop all over their room that she didn't clean up and never changed their diapers, and they were lucky if they got fed).
I encouraged my bf to reach out to BMs dad (who should be supervising the visits) but he never answered the question we asked and when we specified, he tried to call but my bf declined it and BMs dad never sent a response. I encourage him to try the same for BM but she never responded a word to it. This is what freaks me out the most. Especially since all we asked was what the bath time routine looked like for the kids when they had them so it's not like we were accusing them of anything. We were trying to get answers cause maybe it was nothing.
We sent a tip to a certain department and we are hoping it launches an investigation. I just need advice on what to do right now or until then because it's looking like we still have to give them to her today and I feel sick just thinking about handing them over to her.
Also on another note I tried making a post the other day on a different sub talking about being happy, excited even, to be exposing her on social media about what she's done with minors because she advertises herself as a babysitter so I thought it was a very important thing to do but I'm the problem and im immature for wanting to do that and for being happy that her reputation is going to be ruined but also so I can finally be relieved of this burden of knowing what I know and not saying anything just because I didn't know what I could and could not do legally. They also said that i was "pretending to be mommy to heal from my miscarriages" 🙃 which isnt even true because this whole situation has been making it worse...and it makes me so mad that my bf didn't say anything about this years ago when he found out instead of now where it's too late and now stuff could be happening to his children and it's basically his fault now too.
So if someone could please help me figure out how to not fight her when she picks up the kids, I would greatly appreciate it because I don't want to get arrested because of her. But I'm getting to the point where I'm ready to go to jail.
submitted by Mykieislost to Advice [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:15 GameLoreReader Do some people purposely get into debt to afford a house?

I'm looking into the whole 'buying a house for the first time' and even though I'm getting $25 per hour at my job, it's impossible for me to get a 1 bedroom, 1 bath house. Extremely crazy prices for ugly houses. There was someone trying to sell a one-floor house that has one bedroom, one bathroom, living room, kitchen, laundry area, garage, a very small backyard for more than $800,000?????? Like what the fuck is up with that?
I even have a co-worker who only gets $20 per hour, which is way less than me, yet he's living in a two-floor house. I don't know how he's making money, but I seriously feel like he's in heavy debt.
Then, I would look at personalfinance and similar subreddits like that. Way too many people posting things like, "I'm in grave debt. Mortgage loans, car fees, etc."
I even asked someone that if I somehow make $30 an hour instead of $25, will I be able to afford a house? They said no. It's impossible.
Like why the in ever loving fuck are such very ugly, small houses so outrageously priced today? Are they trying to push people to just only live in condos, apartments, etc.?
I'm seriously thinking how in the world can some people who make way less money than me are living in a house. Is it the crazy amount of loans and credit cards they are using? Or what???
And also, I would like to add that I'm not just only making $25 per hour at my job. I even invest a portion of that each paycheck into the stock market, day trading, bonds, etc. Yet, even those aren't enough to afford a house without me getting into debt.
So, again, do people actually purposely get into debt to live in a house, especially if they have a family?
submitted by GameLoreReader to NoStupidQuestions [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:15 GoastRiter [GUIDE] Living Large in Los Santos: Unleashing Chaos. Making Friends and Rediscovering the Thrill of GTA Online!

If you're reading this, perhaps you're like me. You have most things you want in GTA Online. You've "done it all". And now you're bored.
But... have you *really* done it all? Turns out, most of us haven't. There's so much to do in this game, and it's easy to get stuck in old habits that prevent us from discovering everything there is to do in Los Santos!
So I began writing down all my ideas for having fun in the game, and basically use these suggestions as guidelines to always find something new to do. It has completely reinvigorated my joy for the game, and I hope it can help you do the same!
If you're having trouble with motivation or inspiration, then I suggest picking something at random from the list and just doing it! You might disccover that you love it, just like I did!
And if you have anything more to add, please share your comments so that we can all help build this list together. :)
​
Let's go!
​
submitted by GoastRiter to gtaonline [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:10 catmaid666 HUNGRY

Im hungry im hungry im hungry im hungry im so fucking hungry i want to eat everything from the kitchen all the sweets and junk food snacks everything I've been watching baking and cooking videos for 4 hours and I can't focus on anything else other than counting down the time when I can finally eat something but rn the hunger is tearing me emotionally I don't want to lose control and binge after being on track for 2 weeks I'm finally seeing progress but god I really want a burger pizza chips donut and a chocolate cake with ice cream and eat it all in one sitting fucking help me this is painful whether I eat or not my life is food food food food im hungry im starving i ate too much never satisfied fuck my life
submitted by catmaid666 to EDAnonymous [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:10 delta5 $2,395 - For Rent by Owner - 2 Bed/2 Bath pet friendly condo in Ashburn w/ great amenities

Modern 2019 built single level, dual master bedroom condo for rent by owner in Ashburn. 1,004sqft living space with a cozy floorplan and granite, tile, and hardwood features, plus newly updated GE Profile stainless steel appliances. Kitchen includes large center island, generous cabinet space, and gas stove with griddle. First master bedroom has ample closet space and well-appointed master bathroom featuring a large vanity. Second master bedroom offers a spacious closet and full bath. Additional highlights include a centrally located washedryer and desirable covered patio.
Quiet neighborhood with walking access to Clubhouse w/ Fitness Center, 3 Community Pools, trails, parks & playground. Unit has an assigned parking space and plentiful guest parking. Non-smoking. $2395/month + 1 month security deposit; pets welcome with refundable pet deposit + pet rent (restrictions may apply). $55 application fee for screening (credit & background check), utilities not included; online rent pay available. Conveniently located off Loudoun County Parkway, near Rt. 50, Dulles Greenway and Silver Line Metro. Wheelchair accessible. Move-in ready, available now.
Inquire here or check Zillow listing https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/43021-Greggsville-Chapel-Ter-108-Ashburn-VA-20148/328219037_zpid/?view=public
submitted by delta5 to novarent [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:02 Southern_Type_6194 I wish we had learned to sing a different song

Most days I can push you out of my head, but for some reason today is more difficult. I can't keep bringing you with me everywhere. You're too heavy on my heart and I don't want to keep paying this excess baggage fee.
This is what you wanted to do with the extra chance you begged so hard for? I don't understand how you could come back saying you don't want to be a reminder of the pain you caused me and then turn around and cause more damage and scarring. You fucked it. I always did say you were a Kendall.
Fool me once shame on you. Fool me two, three, four...I've lost count but you get the point. Shame on me. You had me believing you really saw how dim and sad the last year of your life was without me. That you never wanted to go through that again. But just add in a little work stress and the promise that you'd rather face any conflict with me than be without me in your life falls apart.
No matter how much I wanted to believe in you, I always remembered the story you told me about a brewery you were really stoked to go to but your partner at the time wasn't feeling well and you didn't want to go by yourself because you'd feel guilty. I realized I couldn't imagine you ever doing something that selfless for me. It's kind of codependent, but still selfless. I wanted your actions to prove me wrong, but time and time again they just proved what I suspected. You only cared about me when it was convenient for you.
I was the one who made time in the middle of getting ready for my birthday party and housewarming to talk with you on the phone when you said you needed to while you couldn't even figure out how to fit in regular phone calls. You sure made time to repeatedly fly halfway across the country for your tattoo though. Work was busy and you couldn't do a bunch of visits right now? Cool. You could've flown in even if we could only see each other for five hours before you had to turn right back around to show me that you actually took this seriously. It's what I would have done for you in a heartbeat if the situation was reversed. When someone is special to me I make sure they know it without a doubt.
I asked you multiple times if you could make me a priority and you swore up and down it wouldn't be an issue. Your words mean less than the penny now. When your work slows done and you realize what you lost again it won't matter that you know how badly you fucked up or that you think I'm your person. I can't trust a single word out of your mouth.
The saddest thing is that I do believe you truly thought I was your person and that we could have had everything. That you wanted to see me. But when you actually have the possibility of having everything and being in a real romantic relationship with someone you're compatible with you freak out and go cold. You crave and need real intimacy right up until you can actually have it because you realize that would require you to be truly vulnerable and the deep feelings that come with it, managing conflict, and fear. Then you go right back into your comfort zone of hiding out in relationships with people who know are wrong so that you can always keep some level of emotional distance. Time goes on and once you feel safe again that need for intimate connection comes back. Rinse and repeat.
Until you address your issues around your emotional unavailability you will continually crave to have your needs met and trip over your own feet every time you see the finish line. I'm taking myself out of this twisted merry-go-round of yours. You will never be able to be the person who meets my needs and the only thing I can depend on you for is disappointment.
You said repeatedly you can't change your life right now but you've been saying that for almost three years. If not now then when? The answer is never because you won't.
Yeah, we could've had everything. We could have had so many nights just like Ft. Wayne. A lifetime of them. But now you'll just have to make do with whatever happiness you can find without your person in your life.
I hope the loss of me feels like a phantom limb. That you always go to tell me something that's happened in your life and realize with a gut punch that I'm gone forever because of your own selfish actions. That you always sense something integral is missing from you and the void left where we were once so deeply intertwined eats away at you. You know I was the love you'll always remember. The one in your mind on your deathbed while you're still singing "I Don't Like Who I Was Then" to me even after all these years. And you'll never see me again.
It's so sad that our story ends with those being the last things we ever say to each other. Words full of betrayal and pain. My last memory of you will be of you just letting me go and disappointing me after you said you'd never do that again. I guess ours was always destined to be a tragedy. I'm not just closing the chapter on us, but the whole damn book.
I so wish we had learned how to sing a new song together but you've always returned to the same refrain the entire time I've known you. The song of a man with no spine.
Goodbye to the effortless way we talked and bonded with each other. Goodbye to the way you looked at me that first night like I was a goddamn miracle. How you kept reaching over in your sleep to pull me close and make sure I was still there. Goodbye to Sundays hiking with the dogs and spending the evening intimately wasting time until the sushi gets delivered and all the other things that could have been.
There will be no Sundays hiking with the dogs and spending the evening intimately wasting time until the sushi gets delivered. There will be no beach vacations or coming home to me after work and the chicken pot pie I made you. No exploring new places with fingers laced or telling you what I want to do to you at the most inopportune times that have you pushing me into dark corners to kiss my neck. No life where we got to be the happiest and most fulfilled version of ourselves. Those pages never got written. That song never got sung.
You said you didn't want this with anyone else but that's exactly what you've chosen. I'm done lowering my standards just because I loved you.
I'll bury my memories of you, hopes, trinkets, and the list of funny husky memes I saved to send to you when you're stressed into a watery grave. I'll pour a whiskey out for you but only the cheap, shitty kind. You're dead to me now. Goodbye, cowboy.

submitted by Southern_Type_6194 to UnsentLetters [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 22:00 ThrowRA_LovelessInLA Getting mixed signals from a guy. Could use advice on sorting it all out!

Let me preface this tale with this disclaimer: I am extremely bad at subtle hints, dating, anything relating to emotions and feelings due to my childhood. I'm in therapy and try to take my time and understand, but it's still really hard for me. I also overthink everything. A winning recipe, for sure. /s
Last week, an acquaintance (29M) out of the blue sent me (28F) sexy messages. This guy and I kind of run in similar circles. We chat everyday and I know things about him like pets and siblings, but nothing SUPER personal like hobbies, likes/dislikes, etc. We were just having a casual conversation about what we were watching on Netflix and then all of a sudden he starts sending messages like "I wish you were showering with me" and "work me out." If there were any hints beforehand, I missed them... and honestly, at the time, I thought he was kidding. So I made a joke about the shower comment and he responded with something like "I didn't mean that as a joke." Whoops.
Next day I apologized for being an asshole... and he turned around with "what are you talking about?" So now I'm hella confused. I told him I was confused and he said he was, too. I kind of see a few possibilities here: 1. He was super subtly hinting at things before, I missed them, and have been a bitch unintentionally this whole time. 2. He was drunk (he was not out at bar; he was home at the time, but I'm fairly certain he went to happy hour after work) and doesn't remember saying flirty things or doesn't mean it? 3. Somewhere between those options? I have no idea. 4. I could be TOTALLY WRONG and he isn't into me period.
Well... now he's ghosting me. I know he's been super busy at work this week. I've only sent two messages in a week - Tuesday wishing him luck in his rec league game and Wednesday morning a news article about something we talked about a few days before. No response to either. I'm going to give it until next weekend, because I'm leaving for vacation and his murder trial should be over. I'm planning on sending a typical message to the effect of hoping he's okay and saying we can talk again whenever he's ready. My big question is... do I speak my truth?
I'm flattered by the messages - men normally do not feel that way about me. I am not attractive in the traditional sense. I haven't been on a date in 6 years and no guy has been interested in me like that in a couple years. His feelings and emotions are valid, I get a respect that. But I feel like he's barking up the wrong tree! I'm DEFINITELY not looking to get married tomorrow or anything, but I'm NOT into FWBs, casual sex, hookups, open relationships, whatever. It isn't me. I'm looking more for an equal partnership. A ride or die. A partner in crime. Commitment. Messages like "I wish you were showering with me" or "work me out" makes me feel like we're on two different pages. And, if that’s the case, that's fine! Everyone has different wants and needs. To be clear, I have no problems with flirting, but it feels weird since this is so out of the blue and I was blindsided by this. I would still like to stay friends, however possible that may be.
So Redditors, if you were me, how much, or how little, would you send to this other person? I could: A. Send the text about hoping he's okay and saying we can talk again whenever he's ready only. B. Send the text hoping he's okay and saying we can talk again whenever he's ready + explaining his feelings are valid, I wasn’t trying to be an ass - but I think we’re on two different pages. C. Ignore all together. D. Something else you can suggest that I’m not seeing?
My gut says B, but my track record is awful so that's almost definitely the wrong answer. Overall, I figure worst case scenario, I spill my guts about everything, he still ghosts, and I have a nice beach vacation to forget about it lol. Help a sis out!
submitted by ThrowRA_LovelessInLA to Advice [link] [comments]

2023.06.03 21:55 soya_1 How should me and my family deal with our evil(?) grandma

Before I start I want to say I'm sorry for any mistakes but I just want to get this of my soul to somebody and english isn't my first language. So, I don't even know if this is worth writing about but I just feel so bad and helpless. My grandma is 86 and ever since she moved in with us 5 years ago (bc my uncle whom she was staying with died BC OF HER but that's another story I might tell in the final part of this post after telling you all how she behaves it will make sense) she has been making our lives miserable (mostly me and my mother ironically because we are the ones mostly taking care of her, I give her food and meds and my mom can't). I am gonna start with the most awful and disgusting part. Because she is so old she wears adult diapers and that should help if she ACCIDENTALLY shts herself and yes, it does help in her case but what's very annoying about her is that: 1)she shits herself intentionnaly and doesn't even try to hold it in if one of us is in the bathroom; 2)she shits herself intentionally just so that my mom will have to clean her (she does this especially when she sees my mom is very tired or busy and my mother is the one cleaning her because she doesn't have a job and this grandma I am writing about is from my mother's side); 3)when mom isn't home she asks me to clean her (which I will never do and I am shocked she even askes me to like I am almost 18 but I don't want to and I know it will sound bad but I don't love her more like I can't love her because she never took care of me when I was a baby and because of her my mother had to be away from me so much when I was little and my dad was working so I was alone a lot of the time and one time my mother told me that the neighbours told her I threw some little pieces of eraser on my neighbour's window sill (that thing at the bottom of the window google told me the word) and I still think to this day that could've died because I opened the window by myself at 4 years old) oh I got so carried away I'm sorry I just write as things come to me sorry if it's annoying but as I said I want to tell this to somebody as fast as possible; 4) she shts herself and doesn't tell my mother or anyone and just sits there in her bed and if none of us notices it she just sits there for hours, but most of the timw we do notice because it smells so bad and one time she sat so long she got all her bedding dirty and her clothes and it was smelling so bad; 5)when nobody is home she goes to the bathroom and gets her slipers, the floor leading to the bathroom, the floor in the bathroom, the toilet, the toilet paper, herself and her clothes very dirty; I think that's all with the sh*ting. So me and my family do EVEYRHING for her because she had some heart problems but she is better now but still can't walk by herself and she doesn't want a cane and my mother walks her eveywhere. God I don't even know how to say the next things because it doesn't really seem like a big deal but for us it kind of is. So she does all sorts of straight up anoying things like wjen she first came to our house she wanted to sleep in a big bed my parents were sleeping in and make me and my mom sleep togheter and that happened for a few days but we could not sleep well so we moved her to HER OWN ROOM WHICH I WISH SO MUCH I HAD (I never had that room because we would also need to heat that space so we were saving money by not having anyone sleep in that room and of course as a teenager I want my own room and privacy so I just put up with it). For some reason she HAS TO sleep with some sort of light on so fine but when she goes to the bathroom she does not turn it off or when it isn't even night she turns it on even though she doesn't do anything like reading etc. or when she eats with the light on and goes to the bathroom she also doesn't turn it off or when she finishes eating she agreed to tell my mom but more recently she doesn't and just sits there with the light on (maybe this isn't so annoying but we most of the time love paycheck to paycheck so it matters that we try to save up everywhere we can). When we tell her she doesn't even look at us or if she looks she just shrughs or doesn't say anything like it's impossible to talk with that woman. Or the one thing I hate to most: she goes to the bathroom when we are there like she opens the door even thought we are there (and most of the time intentionally). There are days when I go to the bathroom and EVERY SINGLE TIME she comes and I have developed a reflex or like a trauma when I hear her slippers on the floor (she kinda slides them bc she holds on furniture when going to the bathroom) to stop eveything I am doing and hold on the door do that she doesn't enter and it's just so annoying that I can't even go to the bathroom without her coming. And the thing that made me want to write this after somehow coping with her for 5 years. Today I wanted to take a bath and she wanted to go right before the bath was ready (and yes she also does this a lot like when she hears one of us saying we want to go to the bathroom she rushes there) so I let her and after 5 minutes she had the audacity to OPEN THE DOOR WHEN I WAS FING NAKED and out of anger I screamed at her to leave and at least she did but this isn't the first time this happened to not only me and the most sad and annoying thing is that she does it intentionnaly just so she can kill us physically. That's how she killed my uncle whom she was living with before us. It was just the two of them living together (bc my grandpa died before that possibly also by her nagging or whatever she's doing I don't even know what to call it) and just like she does with us now, (only it was worse for my poor uncle bc he was alone with her) she kept making him do all the work around the house taking care of the cows (I honestly think she loved those cows more than her children because she sent her first two kids to college but she didn't care about my mom and the uncle I am talking about now because she didn't even want them to get a job or get married and kept teliing them to stay with her and take care of those damn cows everyday and sadlt she succeded with my uncle but my mom left) she kept nagging him about all the little things like buying her soda even though the city was 10km away from them and she kept worring him about the work (like their terrains and stuff like that) and she didn't help him she only watched him. When guests were coming over to their place she didn't care to make it a little clean she was dirty (she didn't clean herself like my mom was she never did that and their house was full pf bed bugs but sadly my uncle didn't have what to do because he was working all day on those terrains and that's also why I hated going over there because all my body would be full of stings and I couldn't wear t-shirts or dresses and I also hated going there and helping with the terrain (I started helping like when I was 10 every summer until she came to live with us) yes she did give me money but no more than 5 dollars)). When other neighbours were coming to help with the work she would pour them drinks and chat while me, my family and my uncle were working. I hated going there so much that I would pray to rain so that I wouldn't have to go. And my uncle was so sad he didn't have a proper job, nor a girlfriend and this grandma of mine kept annoying him and never helping him he started drinking and you know how this ends.... Another thing that frustrates us is her STARING. When she fistg mobed in with us she stayed on a chair in the kitchen with us and would watch TV sometimes but she would only stare (and when I say stare think STARE like she would want us do die like she is above us all) and would tell us "you didn't do that" yada yada so we moved her into her room all the time but she would still stare at us bc the door was opened and in the summer we close it but in the winter we can't otherwise it would be to cold for her. I can't even bring my friends over because of her, for example one time I was hanging out with my friends and she kept STARING AT US and I went up and told her nicely to stop and she did but after some time she just started again. I felt so bad towards my friends and they also said it was very creepy I wanted to cry so bad. So, she doesn't do anything she doesn't clean she doesn't make us any food she doesn't care about us only about her (not even that as she doesn't keep herself clean) we do it alk for her we take her on all the road trips we give her food cook her food she is washed she doesn't live alone she doesn't clean she just stays in bed all day (or stared out the window like a creep). Other women her age would be so grateful to have all that she has but her noo it's like she hates us the more we help her and I just don't undersant why and how can she hate the people that are caring for her. She was evil to my uncle and she is evil to my mom and they were/are the ones caring for her, but when she talks to her other children(those two uncles from before) she makes her voice high and cute and is nice and asks how they have been (but with us she speaks with hatred). I hate it so much, my friends tell me about how their grandmas spent time with then when they were little and they made nice food for them and they cleaned their house for them and I just wish I has something like that but if I can't have all that I just wish for a grandma that doesn't want to kill me and my mother physically and that just doesn't keep making problems for us. Please please if anyone even got to this part (because there would be so many more incidents buy I am sick of writing about her and spending so much time thinking about her) please tell me what should we do how should we approach her we treid telling her that other woman her age would not know how to be more grateful for all that she has but she just ignores us we treid telling my two other uncles(the ones I mentioned before) but they said we were over reacting (that's what they used to say to that uncle that died when he told them that, and I quote "she is killing me physically"). I probably sound patethic writing all this but I just want to tell it all to someone who might care, I hate hiw she makes us miserable you might not think it's that bad but it is it's so bad that eveyday when I wake up I pray that she is dead and I also pray to God to get rid of her and I know it's very bad to oray for that but I am so scared because what if she continues living when I go to college and the same thing that happened to my uncle happens to my mom, I could never forgive myself for not trying to do something. As for my dad, he doesn't care because he never takes care of her and he and mom get a lot into arguements because of her. Like I said I am afraid to leave my mom just with the two of them I don't even want to think about it, that's why we need to change something in how we act towards her but I just don't know what so please help me, tell me what should we do.
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2023.06.03 21:54 Wearetheweirdos704 Dates with myself

So I have been a plus size gal pretty much my entire life. Over the years I have come to accept my body in every form it has been in ( I am 26 now ) but I still struggled with what people may think about me. The constant string of “what are they thinking?” “Are they judging me?” “They think I’m disgusting” “I don’t belong around these people” etc has been exhausting over the years and has often led me to shutting myself in and not leaving the house to do activities unless I was with someone- be it my husband, my sister, a friend etc. well, my husband is out this weekend on a trip so I am alone. It was a beautiful day where I live and it was soooo hot. While we have AC, I wanted to be outside. I love the outdoors. The area I live in is rural and the state I live in has no ocean beaches. We only have lakes and state parks. I asked a friend if she wanted to go to the lake with me to lay out and swim and she couldn’t go, neither could my sister. I sat and contemplated and changed my mind 15 times but finally I said to myself, I’m going, I deserve to. So I put my swimsuit on and my coverup, did some light makeup, grabbed my book and blanket and tanning oil and off I went. When I got there though I started to get cold feet. What if they’re staring at me? What if people think I’m weird for being alone? What if they think I look disgusting in my bathing suit? But I kept pushing those thoughts out of my mind and found a spot to lay out in. I was so hot I wanted to jump in the lake but I was still so afraid of what others would think. Eventually I got so hot I just did it. And I LOVED it. I relaxed, floated, swam, just enjoyed myself. And you know what? Not a single soul looked twice at me. You know why? BECAUSE NO ONE REALLY CARES! And if they do, why should I care? It’s not my place to dictate what image they have of me, and at the end of the day they’re strangers I will never see again. I deserve to have experiences and enjoy my summer, even in a bigger body. I know this is long but this was a revelation for me. I had an amazing day today full of sun, I got ice cream alone, drove home on back roads with my windows down blasting T Swift, came home and enjoyed watching a thunderstorm on my porch. And to think I would have missed all of that if I would have chosen to hide out at home out of shame and fear. I will be going back alone numerous times this summer and will be taking myself on other dates that I’ve been too scared to do. You should too, you deserve it. ☀️🫶🏻
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2023.06.03 21:54 coolfun2021 Straight Male

100% Straight man. Eccentric. Drug free. Creative.
I'm not looking for anything serious. When I was a kid I would fantasize my neighbors would invite me over and show me how they had sex. Somehow this made me fantasize about it whenever I was in a relationship. That I would imagine having a guy come over and watch my girlfriend have sex with him while becoming his complete whore, doing everything hardcore and slutty with the hot well endowed guy. I have been in relationships where it never happened but it was always a fantasy.
I have also had several threesomes where another guy was picked from a dating app or hookup site once he seemed like a good fit for some casual fun. As long as the girl was into it and physically be turned on by the idea of being with the guy. The whole idea is that she actually gets turned on by it and that I can physically see her get turned on by her facial expressions, and the way she talks about it. Otherwise it wouldn't be something I'm into unless I'm actually seeing her getting turned on by it. So therefore we would look for physically/sexually attractive guys who were well endowed.
This does not mean every experience was great. One guy was well hung but was nervous so he couldn't get hard. It was disappointing. However if the guy was able to perform and do a good job and she and we enjoyed it that was good.
Idealistic, and I've realized I've had to toss out some of my Idealistic expectations in order to face reality of life. Really I'm weird and different and originally simply wanted to be married and have kids and have a family. While I am glad that happens for some people the reality of it is you may not end up finding that. That is the hard truth. It really depends on different variables as well as your socioeconomic predisposition.
Many people truly can find that but are too picky and waste years because they want the PERFECT person. Those women become infertile and the men kinda too old. When they have the money, connections, and leverage to actually go out and meet people. Some people simply can't due to many variables especially those who are intelligent and at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. A poor man who is also intelligent realizes what hardship he poses on having a child if he has one. Further he is faced with the reality most women don't want him. Even if he is a harder worker compared to his privileged coworker who got to save money while living at home until he had enough to move out on his own. The privileged guy who works less, is less mentally and emotionally strong, is born with more, ironically usually gets to walk down the isle with the higher quality bride than the poor man who is a harder worker, and is stronger mentally and emotionally who gets no girl who wants him. Funny how that works.
I just want to let go of my attachments to earthly and worldly things and enjoy life. I want to create and make things. I'm a man. I can build. I can make things look beautiful. I'm funny, charming, and cool. That's why I'm open to connecting with the right girl but not trying to jump into anything because there really is no reason to right now. I just prefer to allow things to happen naturally.
I suppose I made this reddit because in the back of my mind I still have the fantasy to have my neighbors invite me over and show me how they have sex. But once a girl told me about how she met a muscular guy at the beach and hooked up at a hotel, and that he was extra hung long and thick like her arm. And it was a one time experience. So that I think blended with the neighbor fantasy making me intrigued by my girlfriend and I looking for guys for her to have fun with. There is something about being able to watch. Ideally the guys would just be for fun sex and nothing more beyond that.
Not into cucking or humiliation, just watching her get turned on and pleased. I prefer someone who only wants me but doesn't mind having a naughty experience with a fit hung guy sometimes while keeping it all on the downlow.
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2023.06.03 21:49 Key-Climate2765 Are we entitled to accommodations?

My partner and I live in a 1 bed 1 bath cottage, today our drains all stopped working, so a plumber came over and told us he wouldn’t be able to fix this until Monday, and our property management company is closed, the emergency maintenance line doesn’t go to the management company either. We have no working toilet, shower, kitchen, or bathroom sink. Aren’t they legally required to help us if we’re left without the most basic necessities? Like we don’t have anywhere to go. Can we withhold rent or do we demand reimbursement for a hotel like what do we do? We’re 22 and 26, this is only our 3rd year ever renting and we are children tell us what to do lol
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2023.06.03 21:44 hurtbeyondrepairr Paternity leave

For the spouses with paid paternity leave how do you help your wives? Especially when she’s the stay at home parent? Because mine has three months off, and honestly his job can have him back. Obviously when he goes back the expectations will be different. But right now I’m unsure why my husband even has paternity leave when he thinks I should be responsible for everything. Five days after birth/discharge and being monitored for postpartum preeclampsia I went grocery shopping because he can’t figure out what we need. Then on the phone to friends the man literally said being home with our second is so easy. Yet he disregards that it’s “easy” because I’m here. He disregards how he missed everything with our first born because he’s active duty military. Which I understood. But the first born anxiety isn’t there because I knew what to do the second time around. Put us on a schedule right away. I thought he would be amazing with our second, but nope. He’s just as selfish and clueless. This man loves Weaponized incompetence. “I can’t wash the bottles or pumping parts because they’re too complicated.” Also, he thinks he’s doing me a favor by letting me have the 1am to 6am feedings (I pump milk) because “the baby will sleep well.” He let’s me sleep at 8pm -1am. But I don’t really sleep at 8pm because I’m the one putting the first born to bed which can take a bit getting ready to, dinner, bath, teeth, bed. While he is with the baby. But once I handle it from 1-6am I’m just up until 9pm because who falls asleep on the dot? Not to mention by 6am our first is up. I get her ready for preschool, breakfast, make lunch, pump milk, clean up, and drive her. He only comes down to watch the baby while I’m away. Is all this stuff even divorce worthy? Not to mention he wants a third because of gender disappointment in the first two. I just can’t believe how selfish he is. Whenever I confront him about more help he will end up getting mad at me and storms off saying things like yeah you want to feel like a single mother? Go ahead and he will lock himself in a room or go watch a movie at the theaters. I feel like jumping off a bridge at this point. He always has the gall to criticize me. With our first born he didn’t do much, he was a man who came home and did nothing except wait to be served dinner and go to bed because I do everything kid and house related. It isn’t sustainable for me and I want out. To anyone out there, never give up your job to become a stay at home mom. It isn’t worth it.
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