Last year, I changed my tuition classes and joined new one. It was my first day there and after I was asked to introduce myself to the class, I saw this very tall cute guy walk in and I found him kinda cute
A month flew by, I ended up becoming very popular and made alot of friends. During lectures / Before lectures, when I would be seated and then turn around to look and talk to my friends, I would notice in the corner of my eye that the 'cute tall guy' is looking at me. I thought it was just like a coincidence or mistake but more days passed by and during every lecture, I would see him looking at me and he'd never look away. We would make some of the most strange, random and cringe eye contacts but I still found him very attractive and NGL I started to have the smallest crush on him
Few days later, me and my friends were going to grab a bite to eat and just hang out. While eating and talking, the topic and boys and crushes came up. My stupid ass decided to tell my friends everything about this situation and I told them I had on a crush on this guy ( Let's call him V )
Obviously, them being typical Friends started teasing me and pressured me to go talk to him so I decided to go look for him on Instagram and follow him. I DM him asking if he was the guy from xyz class and he replied instantly as yes. ( Smooth asf ain't it ? Lol ). I sent him a following request and then he accepted it but didn't follow me back. And still somehow, he would be watching my stories, highlights and posts first without even following me
Weeks went by and all those weird moments kept happening. Keep in mind, he's pretty famous among the girls and there are many girls who are head over heels for him. He is a very confident guy who knows how to talk to the ladies but somehow goes all red in the face when I asked him the answer to a sum or just talk to him normally. By this point I had even heard him say to his friend during class "Bro when I was doodling ( my name ) in my notebook at school, my classmates went crazy asking about who she was and now I'd see "M" sticky notes on my bag and almost everywhere" like you only do all of this if you have a crush on a girl right boys?
So after this I decided to tell him I like him as I was already kinda confident. Turns out, his girl 'best friend' had confessed her love for V and asked him out a few weeks ago and he finally said yes. I was bummed. I felt really stupid. I decided to text him and ask him why he always looks at me like that and he just said "Who told you I look at you? It's your misunderstanding."
Currently, him and his girlfriend have been dating for about 7-8 months but it kinda seems forced. His girlfriend ( Zee ) has a bff who's also childhood friends with my best friend. He still keeps looking at me and tbh it is kinda clear that he likes me Zee's best friend somehow overheard my friends teasing me about V and then she went and told zee that I have a crush on him Zee said "i really didn't expect that.. but M ( me ) is a great person for not trying to get between me and V's relationship." And I guess after knowing about all of this ,Zee felt jealous and anxious so she went and asked V " Do you like M?" And he said "m-m? I..don't know." WTF DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW!? This man really had the audacity to say idk to his girlfriend for a question like that!
Right now, they are still dating and taking alot of breaks and stuff and I still unfortunately see him paying more attention to small details about me instead of his girlfriend ! I guess this made Zee hate me and of course to my bad luck, I had gotten paired with him for an assignment. She really hates me now and glares at me. What should I do??
I can't move on or stop thinking about this guy + he's giving me mixed signals. What should I do ?? I really really hope you try to understand my situation and try to put yourself in my shoes. What would you do if this happened to you? Please let me know, I really need your help especially from the guys

I'm currently reading Middlemarch by George Eliot with ayearofmiddlemarch, but you don't have to read this in a book club to enjoy this amazing book. Set in Victorian England, Eliot's book is an insightful look at how women's lives, classism, medicine, and more in Victorian England. Maureen O'Brien's narration is stellar.
This is a book that you can enjoy without any special knowledge or extra work. It's also a book that will reward you if you want to dig deeper. From gossiping church ladies and disagreeable doctors to squabbling relatives, it's got something for everyone.

Before I begin my story I must maintain that my sentence to death was a wrong and vile thing to do. I maintain that I am not a killer. I did not kill the schoolchildren the authorities decided to hang me for.
My sentence to death, I must maintain, is a huge misunderstanding. There must be forces out there against me, who conspired to put me in prison for this very experiment, this accursed expedition.
I am not deranged. I am not insane.
The man in the odd multicolored sweater paid me a visit a week before my scheduled execution date. “You are the former schoolteacher Chet Adami?” he asked, polite, offering me a plastic cup of coffee.
I nodded, taking a sip. “I didn’t kill those kids,” I reiterated, for about the thousandth time. “Are you the uh, priest guy? That comes before-”
He shook his head and waved away the guards. “My name is Canopy Hydrangea,” he introduced, extending a hand. I shook it. “I understand you may not be guilty, despite what the state believes.”
I nodded. “Finally, someone who-”
He cut me off. “I’m not interested in your story. Whether you die or not is of no consequence to the people I represent,” he continued. “But I am here to offer you a deal. There’s a place the people I represent need exploring, and I need volunteers.”
He produced a sheet of paper and a pen. “This agreement,” he clasped it into my hands, “has you join a team of expendable, uh, volunteers such as yourself on this expedition. You get in, get the things we need, and get out- and you’re free for life.”
This was better than dying in prison.
I asked him what place this was that I’d be sent to. He told me I had to sign the form first. “I’ll do it, then,” I cheered, signing the document.
He smiled and patted me on the shoulder. “We’ll even give you a whole new identity,” he offered. And with that, he seized the document away from me and left the building.
Within hours I was blindfolded, sedated, and transported. When I awoke I was strapped to a bed in a helicopter, with four others beside me, all beginning to wake up.
The man who’d offered me the deal was there too, sucking on a lollipop while rearranging documents and photographs.
These images, I assumed, was the place they wanted us to explore. They were mostly all aerial photos, a sea of endless green and the occasional bird. And yet, there was more- images of impossible landscapes, dreamlike beings.
“Ah, you guys are awake!” he clapped once, and walked over.
The next few moments were a flash as he re-injected us with some sort of blue, wriggling substance. It was cold, and I swear it pulsed inside my arm.
Then we had landed, and the group was quickly taken inside a compound. We were freed and sat down in some sort of meeting room. More people were inside.
A blue haired lady joined the man.
“Welcome, volunteers,” he announced, pointing to a projector. “You are all, save for one, prisoners on death row,” he reminded. “This offer today is simple- you enter the forest, travel to an outpost we have recently lost contact with,” he turned on the projector, displayed a bright red cylinder labeled ‘SYSTEM RECORDER-A32’, “and recover this data module.”
The woman spoke next. “Easy, right?” she counted us. “We’ll provide maps,” she gestured to tablets. “But this forest is different.”
They proceeded to explain the reason they need ‘volunteers’ for the assignment then.
We were on an island somewhere in the Java Sea. The island had a massive forest in the center, one that at first glance seemed as normal as ever. This changed when an international mining company sent in a team of geologists to determine if there was anything of note beyond the forest.
This team never returned.
Nor did a second team, armed with weapons. Or an environmentalist group that ventured in to document new species. So then the organization our recruiters had come from entered the forest.
We were on the outskirts of the forest, at a place they were calling Ake Base.
Over the past month, they had begun to map the forest and determine why so many hadn’t returned. The reason was illogical- the forest was bigger than the island itself.
Drones that ventured in should have come out the other side- yet remained inside the forest, encountering bizarre phenomena and creatures undocumented.
Every so often, the forest would slope downwards, revealing a new layer with new and distinct ecosystems.
“Recently though,” Canopy concluded, “we’ve lost contact with several outposts in the third layer to eighth layers.” He changed the slide to one of the lost outposts, standing alone amidst a vibrant, alien forest. “You enter the forest, get to your team’s assigned outpost, get back out with the data and you’ll be set for life.”
“Does anyone choose to rescind their agreement?” the woman asked. “It’s either death, or this, and frankly, your chances here aren’t that better.”
There were some who raised their hands. “Hell no!” a man shouted. “I’m goin’ back to life!” The woman had them taken away. We heard gunfire outdoors. No life row for him.
Whoever they were- they were serious about this.
They started to call out names and assign teams.
My team, was small, four of us. There was a mercenary named Leo who kept talking about the food the organization had brought us. He seemed pleasant, charismatic, and I almost forgot he was a criminal.
There was a scientist called Anya who, as she joked, was ‘serving infinite life sentences’ for crimes against humanity. She was given the codes and a booklet of things to watch out for in what they called the ‘Sea of Green’.
Then there was Gail. She was quieter than the three of us, and had an almost eerie vibe to her. She didn’t tell us what she’d done to get here, but she was there nonetheless.
Thankfully, we were given the closest- and safest outpost. A little place in Layer Three, marked by the map as only a few hours walk away.
We set off the next day.
The forest, in the beginning, seemed to almost invite us in. The birds chirped and danced, unafraid of mankind. We even fed them the nuts we’d been given as breakfast rations, which they seemed to enjoy.
About an hour in, things changed. The light from the sun barely pierced the canopy, and at times, we had to utilize our flashlights to see what was in front of us. Leo took the lead, hacking away at the branch and vine in front of us.
The forest was starting to look like a jungle- and yet, as we traversed it never seemed to choose which one it wanted to be.
“Wait!” Anya hissed, as we crossed a stream that seemed oddly familiar. She read from the booklet, then to the map on tablets we’d been given. “We’ve made a circle.”
Leo shook his head. “That’s impossible,” he insisted. “I don’t remember turning.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, catching up from behind.
Anya shared the booklet. “It’s one first phenomena researchers encounter,” she explained. “This place plays tricks on us- we need to follow the stream.”
“But then,” Gail pointed out, “we’d be going in the wrong direction.”
“Trust the book,” Anya concluded. We followed the stream then, and the path started to grow denser, as if the forest hated us for traveling further. But the path was right, and the forest changed as we journeyed.
An hour later the forest had changed. It had sloped downwards a bit, inviting us to the second layer of the maze. The trees seemed higher, and the light was now gone completely.
This was when we started to hear it. Click-click.
“What was that?” I asked, turning. Click-click.
Anya rushed through the book. “It’s not documented.”
Click-click. And then we saw lights in the distance, lights that as we continued walking, were revealed to us as bulbous fruit on the trees that glowed an eerie electric blue.
Click-click. “You sure it’s not in that book?” Leo questioned, switching his machete out for a gun. Click-click.
The clicks were getting louder, each one sending a jolt of uneasy fear down my spine. We moved closer together now, fearing the unknown that were in these- A bush in front of us rustled. Leo aimed his weapon.
A deer- no, something like a deer popped out, gently squawking. It was… wrong in every sense, but it seemed more occupied in chewing a flower than us.
The small creature had the antlers of a deer, yes, but it also had the face of an old man. Not to mention six fists full of thumbs at the end of its legs. It inspected a glowing fruit with it’s odd thumbs.
“Ew,” Gail commented, disgusted. “What the hell is that?”
Anya didn’t have time to look for answers before a black, insectine limp shot out of one of the bulbous fruits and impaled the deer-thing. It screamed an all too human scream and struggled.
We backed away- and by then, the noise was overwhelming. Click-clickClick-clickClick-clickClickclickClickclickClick-clickClick-click. They erupted from every single one of the bulbous fruits, and things began to pour out of them.
The limbs, see, were attached to a head. The a simple sphere that opened into buzzsaws of teeth that grotesquely clicked as they opened. The face-deer only screamed as the clicking creatures devoured it.
“Run!” Leo reminded, shooting as some started to near us. “Run!”
That shook us out, and we ran, terror in our very veins. They seemed more interested in the fallen deer than us- but we still ran until we could no longer.
Actually, it was until I fell off and entered the third layer.
A weight appeared on my chest and I fought it off, thinking I was about to die- but the soft, furry creature atop me jumped off. It wasn’t one of the clicking monsters.
And then I realized the third layer was bright. The trees themselves were glowing now, not the insect fruits of before. And there were a whole host of new, bizarre creatures.
The thing I’d pushed off was some sort of rabbit, covered in glowing blue stripes. If layer two had been a forest of darkness this was it’s very opposite.
In the skies there were ribbons of glowing creatures- thin kites on an unseen wind. The trees were alive with all sorts of furried friends, darting here and there and eating odd colored berries that didn’t seem real.
Anya pointed and spoke, “Look!” It was the outpost, in ruins.
“But what attacked it?” Gail murmured, as we walked over.
We entered through a hole in the wall. The place was oddly peaceful, calming, now home to bioluminescent little ants that dotted the place. Occasionally, one or two of the face-deer would appear, licking the dots up with twin tongues that emerged from it’s too-human face.
“Cute,” Leo joked, picking one up and stroking it. It screamed back at him, chilling and he dropped it. “Never doing that again.”
The place was… too peaceful. And- “what happened to their bodies?” I posited. “If they were attacked- where’s their blood? Their corpses?”
Anya shrugged. “It is odd- perhaps they got devoured.” She gestured to the many oddities around us. “But you’re right, there should be bones, at least.”
This was when we heard the screaming. And all of a sudden every single creature retreated away, disappearing from view, save for the tiny ants inside with us. The screaming was a cacophony of voices, realer than the ones we’d heard from the face-deer.
“I think we need to go,” Leo whispered, holding out the red ‘data module’ in his hands. “Now.”
The screaming got ever closer, and the trees in front of the outpost, beyond a window, started to shake. “I concur.”
We were backing away when we heard the squelching of something loud and heavy. Turning around, we saw the screaming creature we’d heard. It was massive, fleshy, and filled with tiny gaping holes, some filled with eyes, all rising, breathing as one.
I nearly threw up. But that was for a different reason.
The holes were one thing. But the screaming, severed bodies of dozens of people attached the the eye-full monster was another. They screamed and screamed, their bodies unneatly joined and sown into the creature.
It sniffed the air and walked over to the glass, looking in as we hid. “What is it?” I squealed. “What the hell is that?”
The face of a victim in military clothes appeared at the window, screaming, face slowly popping, skin repairing and being digested all at once. Anya flipped through the pages. “They called it a Fleshweave. It absorbs bodies and eats them that way.”
That would explain the lack of bodies we’d seen.
The window shattered- and the thing began to force itself on it, flesh turning to churned cylinders through the window. The bodies, crushed further, screamed some more.
So we ran as the beasts fell into the room with a plop. And despite it’s heavy, gluttonous form it charged forwards, faster than it looked.
Out the outpost we went. I felt a meaty hand hit me and then I fell. It stalked towards me, but a gunshot from Leo burst it’s pus-ridden hand, covered my in grotesque, viscous liquid.
I picked myself up and ran from the screaming thing, up the steep slope and climbing onto the second layer.
I fell again, but Anya caught me, helping me up.
Leo did the same for Gail- but she slipped and fell back into the third layer. The thing approached her, all of it’s pulsing eyes upon her. “Help me!” she bellowed. “Don’t leave me-”
Leo prepared to jump down- but it was too late. The Fleshweave simply picked her up and it opened it’s skin, forging her into her body- er, her top half,- it severed the rest.
“Go!” I snapped, dragging the mercenary to action. The creature behind us lifted itself onto the dark forest and continued to follow.
Gail, merged with the other unfortunate bodies, screamed. I almost stopped in terror from the sound, but flight-or-fight forced me to continue.
Click-click. We found ourselves back in the center of the abode with the insect fruit. And the insects were clearly attracted to the stench of decay the monster emanated. Limbs emerged, and the face-beetles jumped up and swarmed the creatures.
I don't know if the creature was killed by it. I only remember Gail’s face as the insects started to pick her body- and so many others like her- apart.
The way out seemed harder than going in, but we made it. We survived. We reached the outpost and handed our data module to the man who’d offered us the deal. “Impressive,” he congratulated. “You’re the first team back.”
“I want out now,” I panted. “Back to real life.”
He patted me on the shoulder and gave me a sad smile. “According to the world you’ve already died by suicide in your cell,” he informed. “See, there’s a way the people I work for have operated so cleanly for the past few centuries.” He paused and took a step back. “We can’t afford loose ends, see, and you’ve shown us you have the guts to survive Bandai La- er, the Sea of Green.”
I took a step back, panicking. “What do you mean?”
He sighed. “We can’t give you a new life and risk exposing our operation here,” he explained. “And we still need ah, expendable people to lead us to whatever’s in the center of the island.” He handed me a can of soda. “Welcome to your new life. The Company really values your dedication as a treasured employee.”
​
​
But I don’t want this. I was promised freedom. And they can’t keep me from exposing them- I’ve typed this up and Anya did something to the tablet so I can receive and post things online.
I’m not sure if this’ll work. But if it is: I’m on an island somewhere in the Java Sea. There’s a forest that goes on forever and I’m being held as some sort of explorer by some Company.
Find me. Before I die.

So there’s been a new shopper in my zone since November scooping up all the orders I have a few preferreds that are managers at target one of which approached me yesterday because this particular lady shopped for her and she was super pissed because she did such a bad job and didn’t communicate the manager did not want to write her because she knows how Shipt works and she didn’t want her to lose her job and asked if I could assist her And being a better shopper. Consequently I ran into the lady a few minutes later and she needed some help so I helped her with her app and saw her stats. They are horrible today I was shopping in the same zone as her and I have perfect stats. I was offered one six dollar order. Meanwhile, she has three orders so orders are being offered to her first clearly Proof that stats are just bs and how they offer orders I’m so disappointed in this company they’re getting shadier and shadier by the day

For context, I'm (18) a college student. I moved to the U.S. with my mom 4 years ago after receiving permanent residence status (commonly known as having a green card). Later this year, my mom and I can and will apply for citizenship separately because I'm of legal age now. I'm not very knowledgeable in immigration law and the internet hasn't been really helpful with this.
I don't have anything in my criminal records. Both my mom and I are perfectly 'good and moral' citizens, as the USCIS calls it. However, last month I sprained my knee which forced me to go to urgent care; the lady asked me if I smoked weed, to which I (very stupidly) said yes because at the moment I was in a lot of pain and I didn't even think of lying to my doctors about anything concerning my health.
I live in a state where weed is legal only over 21+. I did not purchase it from a dispensary and there is no proof of anything like that except my medical record. Again, I'm a college student and I know the consumption is fairly common. It is not a big deal at a state level and I know it is generally ignored at a federal level as well, as several states have legalized its use. But I'm aware that it is a federal offense, which is what concerns immigration affairs.

I've never been stopped or legally charged for anything. Are they allowed to look at my confidential medical records, outside of the immigration medical examination? Is this likely to cause me much trouble?

​
Edit: Just for the record, I will ask an immigration lawyer about this eventually when it is time to start the naturalization process; just wanna get some insight from people with a little more substance law and immigration knowledge than me.

Queen Lamia has announced several comprehensive programs that address the diverse needs of the country. The programs are mainly based on basic solutions, and limited to the economic aspects, however she is committed to working tirelessly in raising more funds through her network of connections with donors and NGOs in her experience in philanthropy.
The Sakani Program is focused on reconstruction of the housing sector in areas most impacted by the conflict. These plans will focus on providing housing to widows, orphans and displaced families in Sana'a, Ma'rib, Taizz, al Hudayda and Aden.
The Raeidah program has been designed for assisting Yemeni women in starting and managing their own businesses. In collaboration with international microfinance institutions, they will be providing financial support to women entrepreneurs who are able to demonstrate business plans which prove commercially feasibility.
The Qaadra program creates an initiative to will strive to increase women's participation in decision-making processes and leadership roles. Organizations like the Yemen Women's Association for Development and Peace will be empowered to take the necessary action for capacity-building and advocacy to ensure women's voices are heard in peacebuilding and governance as well as defending human rights. This aim to challenge stereotypes, promote natural gender roles, and create an enabling environment for women to have a stable family life & safe working environments.
The stories of the ancient Queen Bilqees ruling the land of Saba and midevil Queen Arwa the Regent of the Sulayhid Kingdom are being celebrated, with plans underway to create netflix series in their honor. Both male and female Yemeni take great pride in their recognized history and seem to be looking forward to the release dates. Despite the challenges posed by the conflict and skeptical perception of the religious scholars of these radical reforms, the Yemenis are set to reclaim their rightful place in history.

Prediction repeated: They'll have news crews filming at certain houses, film porn and rapes there and worse. Same as since my parents moved to Jacksonville FL in 1990's? Will it be fake news screws with actors/actresses or real? This did similar whenever I MOVED out of my place to new apartment in same area and/or new city/state. I suspect that started when I was very young. They had fake news at corner, but didn't ask me to speak or CONFRONT my public accusers.
It'll be shared on a website called beenverified dot com, because my rival owns contents and attacks me using website constantly? She still wants to join FBI using my former legal name? She said Mormons WANT her to be dishonest? She betrays all black people for them to claim me as slave?? I hoped it was social media stunt, but their companies should get protested for making money off illegal activities. She's part of why nobody cares about me to STOP gang of malicious stalkers. Her "campaign" that I consider opposing message of Jesus Christ, but sponsored by Mormons.
Possible reason: My nephew who says he's my son Lakshman in time machine who wants me dead. He betrayed his grandmother, just to betray me for $$?
It's so dramatic and EXTREME to be believable, but I never expected mother of my brother's kids to say she was me to get $ but nobody apparently checked for ID. It started in February 2011 when I was harassed at Phoenix AZ apartment complex. White lady on SourceForge posted with same name as my legal name. She said stuff nobody asked me about, and stuff that I don't see by searching posts with name but I am DIFFERENT person and always will be.
That's my still unheard story. Con artists want me to commit suicide because they don't want to let me live in different city/state while they use my PII here? There's more secrets out there, but my family won't talk so I won't KNOW anything until I'm dead and all deception, filters and costumes are removed forever. I can' wait for TRUTH to be revealed.
I can't wait for family SECRETS to be revealed. I have NO SECRETS, so it's just their secrets left now!! The secret is WHY they did what they did? The secrets are how many hurt, raped, killed or __ because they didn't want world to think I was GOOD in any way??

I’m feeling a little socially ambitious at the moment and I don’t want this sub to fall into obscurity, so I’ll talk about something I struggle with right now to keep the ball rolling. I never posted a rant anywhere before but I’m burning with emotions this week.
I’m insecure about my writing style. I keep circling back to it being a sign of either profound social inexperience or something like autism or ADD despite having ruled out those diagnosis with the better explanation of AvPD years ago, and trying to reiterate that to myself over and over again. As a girl on the 2000’s internet I taught myself the craft of going over my sentences to make them understood and accepted by the widest demographic of people possible. Specifically I predicted that it would be an ongoing vital survival skill to ward off the sort of unforgiving male sniping and unprompted nastiness that seemingly innocuous comments would provoke for mysterious reasons a child’s limited perspective could not cope with having to handle. Last night I explained to my parents my belief that observing frequent unsolvable social blow-ups online during the developmental window in which I was supposed to be modeled to what navigating conflict entails probably accounts for a majority of where I picked up that avoiding > facing, rather than any behavior directly visited upon me, online or offline. In my mind I thought of the Internet as, “my secret knowledge,” “my upper hand,” my private window into the reality of unfiltered human behavior which I would soon face and be a player of—which of course I now understand is simply a false reality of its own just like how the supervision and atmosphere in school was a constructed reality.
Lately I have been really missing—grieving—the chance to have had a ‘pure’ experience of peer to peer interaction without the taint of the internet seeping into most every conversation. As a measure against that I have been experimenting with practices of radical honesty, such as what I’m doing in this post which is writing spontaneously and not going back over my writing and editing it to death. This time it happened to come out well but oftentimes in my journals or when I try to write at length about my cohesive thoughts on a certain subject the product comes out disjointed as I’ve edited it 10 times over in my head and lost the plot on edit 5. This is a major contributor to a loss of all confidence that I can finish projects that I initiate, because my thoughts themselves get blocked up and I perceive that they cannot be received by readers or interlocutors.
Anyone else have experiences you are reminded of by this? I would love to hear from you ladies because cracking into the nut of how traumatizing the internet has been to everybody, especially the consequences for relationships between boys and girls, has been my brain food for the past month or so. A lot of its consequences are so insidious. And then of course there are the cases of overt online abuse that seem to only become more diversified and ubiquitous.

My lab is 8 months old and since couple of months already I have quite a routine. 15-20 mins in the morning, not very pacey.. I try always to let him off leash so he can run away and play as he is very Energic.
Usually at lunch I go again with him for around 30-40 mins.. that’s when we practice heel walk and perhaps some play dates, otherwise we just sort of go hike
At the evening we take a short walk, no more than 10 mins as I’m quite lazy.
What do you think?
P.S: is it normal for him to still piss like a lady? ( does not lift leg yet)

I live in a 2nd floor apartment with my 2 teenagers and 2 cats. An old couple (75+) live below us. The apartments are poorly maintained and not very well insulated… we can hear their TV, can hear them talking, hear when she screams at him, when their 6yr old spoiled brat grandson comes and throws tantrums, and whenever they open & close their door.
Apparently they have been continually complaining to the landlord about us being very loud. They continually bang on their ceiling when we drop something, or close the bathroom door (which sticks), or heaven forbid I get up at night for any reason. She screamed up the heating vent at me one night when I knocked my water glass off my bedside table. They shout when we walk up the stairs. They have also complained that we use too much water when we shower…. Which is 100% none of their business.
Yes, my cats do run around a bit, but we keep them occupied & take them for walks & they are pretty mellow as middle aged cats tend to be.
We do not listen to loud TV, the kids listen to music on their headphones, we don’t jump or stomp or throw parties.
It all came down to the other night around 10:30pm when my son was up late making food and one of the cats decided it was play time. Maybe ran around for 3 minutes while my son caught him. BANG BANG BANG on the ceiling. Cat goes in my daughters room and promptly goes to sleep. Old man comes running up the stairs and bangs on the door, I don’t answer because I’m in bed and the cat is put away.
Next thing you know… they called the police with a noise complaint. A NOISE COMPLAINT FOR THE CAT AND MY SON USING THE MICROWAVE.
Police show up, house is dark, I’m in PJs, cats are asleep in the bedroom. They look at me and say “you’re in bed?” Me: “yes”. Them: “and what was happening?” Me:” my son was making food and the cat was running around” Them “well, cats and teenagers do that. Is that why they called us???” Me: “yes”.
Cop then looks at his partner with a “what the hell” look on his face and says “Jesus Christ what a waste of time”. Then asked me if I wanted to put in a complaint for harassment.
Next day - old lady shouts across the parking spots “WE ARE ENTITLED TO SILENCE WHENEVER WE WANT SILENCE. YOU ARE OBNOXIOUS AND RUDE AND I AM GOING TO GET YOU KICKED OUT OF HERE”
Landlord calls and is pissed, says they have been continually complaining about how loud we are and it’s “ruining their quality of life” and we needed to keep it down. so I told him what they were complaining about and that I am out in 60 days and if they call again I will make a complaint of harassment because this is stupid. His response: “ok, no problem”
Note that 95% of them complaining has to do with regular daytime living noise. Occasionally something after 10, but rarely.
They are somehow entitled to silence at all times? In a shitty first floor apartment? HAHAHAHAHHA right. I hope whoever moves in after I leave has small kids and plays loud pop music and does exercise videos in the living room.

https://imgur.com/a/NEpxkzo
Looking to sell my Sylvaneth and Lumineth lots.
Lumineth:
1x Severith $40 1x Lyrior $40 1x Wardens squad $30 1x Sentinels squad $30 1x Vanari Dawnriders squad $35 1x Eltharion $25
Total: $200 + half of shipping
Sylvaneth:
1x Lady of Vines $35 1x Drycha $40 1x Gossamid Archers $30 2x Awakened Wyldwood $30 each 1x Spirit of Durthu $45 2x Tree/Spite-Revenants $25 each 2x Kurnoth Hunters $30 each 2x Tree lords $40 each Idk amount of dryads maybe around 3-4 boxes worth for all of them $55
Total: $455 + half of shipping.
Ideally I’d like to sell these lots in there entirety. I’m okay with selling them piece meal but I’d appreciate it if you’d cover the entire cost of shipping then.

Before my job during the week I workout, then shower at the gym, and get dressed for work, then go to work. My schedule allows for pretty much the same time to get ready each morning. (9:30-10am) It’s a smaller gym so no one is ever really in the locker room, so I just shower & change there. Apparently the timing coincides closely enough (15 mins or so) with the cleaning schedule, so once or twice a month, me and the cleaning lady are both in the locker room at the same time. Her doing her thing, me doing my thing.
I don’t really care about her being there, and don’t really care if she sees me nude, but is it weird to continue to get ready when she’s there (even if I’m nude)? We say Goodmorning and stuff so it’s cordial, but Should I cover up? Change schedule?
Any cleaning personnel here in the sub that can provide advice from the other side’s perspective? Is it a normal occurrence in general for cleaning people so it doesn’t matter either way?

Hi All,
I am an EE with 6 years professional experience as a RF/communications systems/hardware engineer, with an MS EE degree I got via an accelerated program. Tried aerospace and commercial, turns out I hate the general engineering churn in both areas. I always have enjoyed computer systems work, and have experience in some basic networking stuff professionally (no certs), and current have a role I can describe as PHY work for broadband tech, with some network design on top of it.
I found I am more interested in the minor bits of the IT side of my role over anything else, and I am a bit overwhelmed with what I should do to be serious about a career change. I have some training in basic CEHish and CCNPish type work, but didn't get funding/time for full training and certification - you know the typical "Oh good enough for me and this particular use." I have high proficiency and knowledge of Linux, Python and several other programming languages, moderate experience with SQL, and have used managed switches, routers, firewalls and aps for home networking. I have also done work with cloud applications in the past and adding them into some lab systems I worked in (AWS data pulling).
Does anyone have any advice on where I should start and what roles I realistically could look into with my experience? Thank you in advance!

Here's one that got their SGIsplainin' ass BANNED last week - from Why does SGI hate the Shoshu priesthood so much?, from THREE YEARS AGO - first, the OP they're replying to:

Over at the SGIUSA sub, they are discussing how members should just take what they want and leave what they don't about practicing Nichiren Buddhism under SGI.
Someone shared a Gosho quote basically saying that if someone has the same belief as you in NMRK, you should never fight with or even criticize that person.

https://archive.ph/BYmyg

The commenters take this to mean that SGI is accepting of its members being interfaith and practicing multiple religions.
But I've also read quotes by Nichiren that basically show he wanted to DESTROY all other sects of Buddhism!!! (These quotes have been linked many times, sorry not to link them again).
It seems that Nichiren was only protecting the followers of the Lotus Sutra and not other religions, though . So in our modern-day, we might say that Nichiren would have protected both the Shoshu priesthood and the SGI members.
But we all know how hard SGI has fought to keep the separation of the Shoshu and their own members. SGI is constantly belittling and criticizing the Shoshu. It seems pretty hypocritical, especially considering Nichiren wants protection of all Lotus Sutra practitioners, doesn't it? Source

So far so good? That post was from October 24, 2019 - over 3 1/2 years ago. Now here's from a mere FIVE DAYS AGO, from u/Mobile_Taro1969 (sounds like a BOOMER to me):

From what I have researched, SGI members grew the organization and were encouraged to make pilgrimages to Japan if possible.

No. Virtually ALL the money and members have always been IN JAPAN. All of the SGI properties are owned by the Soka Gakkai in Japan (via one or more of their many shell corporations distributed throughout the various countries of the world).
The SGI is NOT "growing"; it is collapsing. The SGI membership is aging and dying, just as the Soka Gakkai membership is in Japan. The Ikeda organization stopped growing everywhere in the mid-1970s.

Over time, their generous donations added up to billions - far exceeding most churches, including the Vatican.

Really? Show us the money, then! We all KNOW the Soka Gakkai hasn't given the lion's share of the money they have to Nichiren Shoshu (or anyone), and the Soka Gakkai has been very careful to NEVER disclose how much it is worth. So let's see your sources! I can't WAIT to see the details!! 😃

Seems the temple high priests felt it 'acceptable' to use the hard-earned donated funds for their frequent drinking parties with the opposite sex and other irresponsible actions.

Oh, really? I'm guessing you're going off those photoshopped pictures the Soka Gakkai mocked up and then got spanked for in court. You really need to do better research!
Whatever happened to Ikeda's 1990 supposedly "eternal" "clear mirror guidance", in which everyone is instructed to assume FULL PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for everything that bothers them within their environment?? Hmmmm....? Since when has the SGI encouraged COMPLAINING about others?? You really should stop your complaining - Ikeda SENSEI says so!

Frequent requests to stop by the lay organization were ignored.

No, no - this was a power struggle in which Daisaku Ikeda thought he'd be able to take over Nichiren Shoshu and run it however HE wanted. THAT is the ENTIRE problem.

Also, prior to the burning of the Shohondo which was paid for by SGI members

You apparently don't realize that the Sho-Hondo was made of ferroconcrete - concrete reinforced with steel.
Do you really think that concrete and steel are flammable??? Have you ever tried to burn concrete or steel??? Here are images from the DEMOLITION. Enjoy.
[No "burning" was involved, moron. And it was the right thing to do.

the priests had instructed that the cremated ashes of members left in safeguard at the Shohondo, be dumped into rice bags like trash. I was in total disbelief to hear and read of such disrespectful actions - like watching a movie unfold.

Let's see the evidence. SGI members are notorious for making shit up and expecting everybody to just believe them.

Priests like that are not fit to be advisers and examples for others - they are no better than wild animals. The Japanese govt verbally reprimanded the temple priests for their lack of respect and compassion for the deceased and their loved ones. Unfit for their role as head priests, these money-hungry animals showed no remorse as their pockets were already filled they make me sick to my stomach!

Oh boo hoo hoo. EVIDENCE PLEASE

Not true. To set the record straight, their belief is that other faiths are outdated and there is only one true religion. Also, they do not teach to destroy other faiths - a ridiculous statement. (Not a member but I researched enough to know what are false statements.)

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
SURE you're not, SkinBitchy! You're dripping with "I Will Become Shin'ichi Yamamoto!" energy!
Considering that most, if not ALL, the content you posted has been shown to be WRONG, your "research" obviously needs some work. Idiot.
"All religions except Nichiren Shoshu are evil and poisonous to society and must be destroyed." - All Three Soka Gakkai Presidents
Here are Jōsei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda (ever heard of them?) stating plainly that other faiths must be DESTROYED:
Toda:

Intolerance
It should be noted that in the immediate postwar era Sōka Gakkai’s extreme intolerance of other religious faiths did not change in the least. For example, on October 31, 1954, Toda Jōsei mounted a white horse (previously the exclusive prerogative of the emperor) on the Taisekiji parade grounds and addressed assembled members of the Young Men’s and Young Women’s divisions as follows:
In our attempt at kosen rufu [converting the entire world] we are without an ally. We must consider all religions our enemies, and we must destroy them. Ladies and gentlemen, it is obvious that the road ahead is full of obstacles. Therefore, you must worship the gohonzon (sacred scroll), take the Sōka Gakkai spirit to heart, and cultivate the strength of youth. I expect you to rise to the occasion to meet the many challenges that lie ahead. Source

The Soka Gakkai:

"All of orders and religions except Nichiren-sho-shu are heretical religion, and they poison society." - "Shakubuku-Kyoten," p286, edited by Soka-Gakkai teaching section and supervised by Ikeda Daisaku. Source
At the time of Toda's death Soka Gakkai numbered nearly a million followers. Under the leadership of the movement's third president, Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai's influence increased rapidly. He committed himself to continue Toda's policy 'to destroy other religions'. Source

Daisaku Ikeda:

My two hundred thousand comrades in the entire Kansai district, I hereby desire you to open a general attack under the command of Mr. Shiraki, the chief of the General Chapter[,] on the Tenrikyo, the stronghold of all heresy in the Kansai area. - Ikeda
I desire, therefore, that you, under the leadership of the Youth Division Chief open a general attack, starting this very day, on the Rissho Koseikai, which leads people to hell by delusory doctrines. - Ikeda

There it is. DOCUMENTED.

they do not teach to destroy other faiths - a ridiculous statement.

Here ya go:

Like his mentor, Toda was not speaking metaphorically when he urged the destruction of all other religions. Nevertheless, Sōka Gakkai representatives now claim things have changed. Source

They sure do. It is you and your beliefs that are ridiculous, and you should be ashamed of your LYING.
I am hereby inviting u/Mobile_Taro1969, who is banned from SGIWhistleblowers, to send me a private message with any response or comments, which I will post in its unedited entirety here in the comments, with a screenshot to show it is complete.
If anyone finds any more such necrotrolling, please bring it to the attention of one of the mods so that we can deal with it.

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I am due to qualify in 6 months time, and have enquired with a recruiter who was recommended by a friend. I am currently at a regional high street firm at the moment, ideally looking to move to a larger firm in London to do commercial property work.
The recruiter has told me to check back in in 2 months when they will have oversight of the NQ vacancies available at that time. I was told by other people previously that 6 months before qualification was the time to start looking.
This leaves me slightly worried that perhaps the recruiter isn’t interested in placing me as I wouldn’t provide as much commission as a more senior position. They haven’t said this so it may be overthinking getting the better of me. But I am now wondering if I should enquire with other recruiters? I don’t want to overdo it but also I don’t want to wait too long and risk missing out.
I would be interested to hear people's thoughts on if this seems normal, and recommended courses of action.

Discord Name: Ben
Name and House: Oscar Whent
Age: 75
Appearance: A knight past his prime, Lord Oscar has held the Lordship of Harrenhal for decades now and has witnessed his fair share of joyous occasions and tragedies.
Gifts: Leadership
Skills: Covert, Logistician (E), Strategist, Tactician
Talents: Drinking, Hunting, Reading
Negative Traits: Old Age
Starting Titles: Lord of Harrenhal
Starting Location: King's Landing
Family Tree: House Whent of Harrenhal
Alternate Characters: N/a
******************
PC Timeline
132 AC: Born to Ser Walter Whent and his wife, a daughter of a household knight at Harrenhal, where they had been taken into service by the castle’s new overlord House Lothston.
142 AC: Oscar was taken in by Lord Otto Lothston as a page.
143 AC: Oscar was taken in as a squire by Ser Franklyn Lothston and would accompany him during the Second Dance.
146 AC: Ser Franklyn, now Lord Lothston, succumbs to his wounds not long after the end of the war. His father and brothers all died in the war and thus ended their line. Ser Walter Whent, himself wounded from the war, was granted the castle by the Crown.
149 AC: Oscar is knighted by his father and marries Lady Ellyn Wode, the sister of the Knight of House Wode.
150 AC: Oscar and Ellyn’s first son Simon is born. Lord Walter Whent dies two days later and Oscar inherits Harrenhal.
152 AC: His first daughter Alys is born.
155 AC: His second son Osmund is born
157 AC: His second daughter Danelle is born
164 AC: The Third Dance commences and Lord Oscar marches to fight in the war, his brother Ser Oswell dies in the conflict.
169 AC: Ser Simon Whent marries Lady Hayford at Harrenhal.
170 AC: His first grandson, Addam is born.
171 AC: Lady Alys Whent marries Lord Butterwell at Whitewalls.
172 AC: His grandson Damon is born.
176 AC: His granddaughter Jeyne is born
177 AC: Lady Danelle Whent marries Edmure Tully at Riverrun.
180 AC: His grandson Lucas is born
186 AC: The Fourth Dance begins and Lord Oscar marches to war with Ser Simon, Ser Osmund, Addam, and Damon to partake in the fighting. Ser Simon is slain in battle though he is avenged by his brother and son. Ser Osmund is raised to the Kingsguard by the end of the war and Addam is knighted.
189 AC: Ser Addam marries Lady Darry on the first day of the new year at Harrenhal. She would give birth to twins later that year, Rosamund and Robert, though she would suffer greatly and the Maester earned another pregnancy would kill her.
190 AC: Ser Damon’s mistress, Missy of Harrentown, gives birth to a healthy baby boy named Harwin Rivers. She dies days later of complications and Damon is slain in Harrentown a fortnight later by her brothers in a bar fight.
204 AC: Having negotiated a marriage between Amarei Lannister and his grandson Lucas, the Whents attend the upcoming wedding only for Ser Addam to find his sister Jeyne abed with Amory Lannister. Challenging the man to a duel for her honor, Ser Addam slays the Lion. The marriage is called off and both Westerlands and Riverlands nearly come to war over the incident. Lady Jeyne is married to a household knight, Ser Tristifer Lansdale.
206 AC: Ser Addam dies when he is thrown from his horse in the Flowstone Yard. His son, the newly knighted Robert Whent is named the new Heir of Harrenhal.
207 AC: King Maelor II invites the realm to Dragonstone for a feast.
AC Character
Name and House: Ser Osmund Whent
Age: 52
Appearance: Years of duty have begun to wear on the face of the aging knight, though his skills remain sharp.
Gift: Duelist
Skills: Polearms, Knightly, Defender (E), Hale
Talents: Hunting, Fighting, Reading
Starting Titles: Knight of the Kingsguard
Starting Location: King's Landing
AC Timeline
155 AC: Born to Lord Oscar Whent and Lady Ellyn Wode.
165 AC: Sent to Harroway to foster and squire for Lord Harroway.
173 AC: Knighted by Lord Harroway and returns to Harrenhal.
175 AC: Refuses to be betrothed to Lord Harroway’s daughter leading to a crisis between lord and vassal. Several attempts at betrothing him fail.
186 AC: Joins his family in fighting the Fourth Dance. His brother Simon is slain but Osmund kills his way through the Dornish and other sellswords to avenge him with his nephew Addam. He is approached to join the Kingsguard at war’s end and accepts, continuing to serve to this day.
NPCs
Ser Robert Whent - Swords
Rosamund Whent - Alchemy

Hi y’all. I’m in a book slump after being disappointed from reading so many promising books that lead to nothing. In this search I have learned a lot about what I like and, I accept, it’s not for everyone, you may have hated something that fits my taste but please do send it my way.
What I like:

• Obsessed MMC. I’m talking a guy who can’t function without the heroine. I love it when they think “she can never know the power she has over me” with a sprinkle of “don’t leave me” trope. Good example is Marrying Winterborne, my all time favorite, and Dreaming of you, both by Lisa Kleypas. Lord of Scoundrejs and The Madness of Ian Mackenzie have honorable mentions here.
  
• When he tries to make the impoverish highborn lady his mistress, but she refuses. Examples: The luckiest lady in London and Secrets of a Summer Night
  
• When the MMC is baseborn and ruthless, and marries above his class. Again, Winterborne here. Also liked “Her baseborn bridegroom”, and “A matter of class”. But! I hated with passion “A portrait of a Scotsman”
  
• when she thinks she is love with childhood friend but MMC finds her and tries to make her love him instead. Yes, best example is What I did for a Duke, extremely angsty is Whitney my love, and a clusterfuck 90s noncon is Devil’s embrace.
  
• Alas, I also like surprise virgin! The ones when they made you believe she had plenty of experience but turns out she had none. Oh and I absolutely abhor If the guy Durant even notice. Not mentioning the books because spoilers but DM me if this is your jam, I have a list.
  
• I don’t mind noncon or dubcon, I’ve read my share. Something something judgement free zone. But I do hate cheating of loss if a child, those are a big no no for me.
  
• I don’t like the heroine being plain or ugly, most of the books I’ve read about obsessed MMCs, the heroine is unattractive and I just find it hard to fall into the fantasy. Please don’t attack me for this, I just want to read about a guy who would do anything to get the girl, I don’t want her to be mean or dumb, he falls first for looks but obsesses over her as a whole.
  

Can you help a lost soul? I need a push to get out of my book slump, there gotta be more out there that would tickle my fancy 👀

Statemeant of, Estella Freeman, regarding her experiences during an audition for a film rendition of Macbeth. Original Statement given on November 21, 2008. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.
Statement begins
I appreciate your discretion. I could tell you recognized me the moment I sat down. I'm sure you can appreciate what an actress of my caliber has to deal with whenever I interact with the public. It can be nauseating, people swooning over you asking for an autograph or a picture or what have you. I’ve been an actress for almost 30 years and I can tell you it's really refreshing whenever I can find a moment to just be with other people and not have to talk about what your next big role is going to be, or how I was able to give such a performance in Destiny Walked North.
You're no doubt acquainted with many of my films, A Passage to Burma,, In Search of Sunrise, and of course everyone's favorite, Destiny Walked North. Oh but you don't want to hear me talk about all that. Sigh,but then I suppose I do have to tell you about the little misunderstanding concerning one of my recent auditions. Look, I'm only agreeing to give this statement because my younger sister, Cathrine, insisted I talk to you and threatened to go to the tabloids if I didn't. It really is all just a bit of unpleasant nonsense I can assure you.
The audition in question was an upcoming film version of Shakespeare's Macbeth, directed by Dexter Banks. Dexter had decided he wanted to do a modern rendition of the play and had asked me to audition for the part of Lady Macbeth. Now I don't normally do Shakespeare. I find it the droll labor of lesser theater actors but Dexters a friend and I always try to help whenever I can so I agreed to the audition.
The scene in question is the well known sleepwalking scene that opens act 5 of the play. In it, Lady Macbeth is seen sleepwalking and delivers a powerful monologue wherein her guilt is laid to bare. The audition itself was done as a series of three takes which were all performed and recorded on a small set built to look like the interior of a modern day estate.
Everything started off fine. I had already delivered two flawless takes but Dexter had been unsatisfied. He said that my guilt did not appear genuine and suggested I try and find a memory to draw from for the final take. Now as I mentioned, I’ve been acting for 30 years and I dont need some director, friend or not, telling me how to get into character. Still, I didn't want to make a big deal about it and acquiesced to trying Dexter's way.
So that's what I did. It took a few moments but I suddenly remembered an incident from my childhood. I was about 10 or 11 at the time. One day while mum was out, I had taken some of her makeup to try on. You have to understand at that age I had started becoming interested in looking and dressing like a real woman and not some little girl. Anyway I knew it would make mum furious were she to catch me. I must have spent an hour meticulously applying the primer then foundation, followed by blush, eyeliner, and of course la touche finale: mums ruby red lipstick. Now at some point during all this I must have lost track of time for no sooner had I finished applying the lipstick when I heard the sound of mum’s fumbling with the front latch. I knew there would be no time to properly put back all the cosmetics and clean my face. I was certain I would be caught when I had the sudden idea. I quickly gathered up all the cosmetics and dumped them into my younger sister Cathrine’s room then locked myself in the privy just as mum entered the house.
Needless to say my little scheme had worked perfectly for it was not but a few minutes more when I could hear mum angrily shouting at Catherine. By the time I had cleaned my face and emerged I found my little sister sobbing in the corner.
Sigh, but of course I could barely go a whole day with all that guilt and I eventually confessed. Mum was…well she was pretty tough and lets just say I got what was coming to me.
And so I concentrated on that moment and when Dexter yelled action I began that final take. I put everything I had into that take. The moment when Lady Macbeth looks at her hands for fear of stained blood, I imagined the red stain of my mother's lipstick and thought about the cries my sister had made when mum had throttled her.
At the scene's culmination I made a spontaneous decision to improvise. The scene normally requires Lady Macbeth to exit the stage but I choose instead to throw myself on the floor in dramatic fashion. And so I screamed “What's done cannot be undone.--To bed, to bed, to bed!” and fell to the floor, eyes closed. I lay there for a few moments waiting for Dexter to yell cut but… there was nothing. At first I thought that perhaps my performance had just stunned him and so I waited for a few more moments but still… nothing. Then I opened my eyes to the horror of an empty room. Dexter, the entire crew, they all were…gone. I was alone. I thought at first perhaps it was a joke, that the crew had somehow snuck away in those moments where I had closed my eyes but then I realized something else: There was no equipment, no cameras, no light fixtures, no director's chair. It was an empty set. Now it's possible that maybe Dexter and the crew could have slipped away while I was preoccupied with my audition, a practical joke while I was lost in the performance as it may. But there's no way they could have just moved all that equipment in the span of a one minute scene. I began to panic, calling out for Dexter, for anyone to answer, hoping that at any moment someone would pop out and I would realize it was all imagined, a hallucination perhaps. But no one popped out. There were no responses. No surprises or jokes. Just the sound of my own voice echoing off the walls.
And then I realized something else, something that truly terrified me: I was no longer standing on a small set but in the actual room itself. What I mean is that, as I said before, the set had been constructed to look like part of a room in a modern day estate, it even had a small fireplace for Lady Macbeth to warm her hands by during the scene. The set had been no more than 8 or 9 meters long at most but this…this was an entire room, not a set at all. What I might have called panic moments before had now coalesced into utter terror. I ran to one of the doors and found it opened into a hallway, one typical of any other house of this type, and like most hallways, I could see it led to other rooms. I moved forward down the corridor carefully. A bathroom on the right, a bedroom on the left, another bedroom, and further down, the hallway led into a formal sitting room. This was a house, just like the setting of Dexter's film. I cried out again, begging for someone, anyone to answer, but still nothing.
Then I heard something: A distinct whistle coming from somewhere not far away. I rushed back down the way I came, this time turning down an adjacent hallway toward the sound and emerged into what was clearly the kitchen. And sure enough there, on the stove, sat a steaming tea kettle over the soft glow of the stove's flame. “I know you're there!”, I called out. Clearly the kettle had been set by someone and whomever they were they were nearby. I could feel it. Like someone nearby was watching. Then suddenly I heard a loud thump, back toward the sitting room I had just left. I ran back and found that a fire now burned in the fireplace: The thump I heard was the sound of a smoldering log that had crumbled.
Now I will admit I am not a brave person, and in this particular set of circumstances to say I was terrified would have been an understatement. All the same, I do not enjoy being played with. Whatever this was, whatever was happening, it was clearly someone's idea of a joke. It must have been right? Bolstered by my anger I set out frantically searching the house, flinging open closet doors, searching under beds, all the while screaming, daring my tormentor to reveal themselves. But it was always the same, I would enter rooms that had clear signs of a recent presence: A lit cigarette in an ashtray, a running faucet. I would return to rooms I had left moments before and find objects had moved. A book lay open on a night stand where it had not been 5 minutes before. I started to think I was losing my sanity.
This went on for what seemed like 30 minutes when suddenly I had an impulse. A horrible dread filled me and I rushed over to a window and drew open the curtains. I don't know exactly how to describe what I saw. It looked like the English countryside, but a countryside that had been burned and ravaged beyond comprehension. What might have once been the rolling green hills of Cornwall or Wiltshire were now blackened monoliths of ashen waste. All across were ember colored cracks scared into the earth, littering the landscape like open sores. And when I looked up into that blood red sky where the sun should have been, I saw instead, a viscous orb of the deepest jet. I stared at it, unable to remove my gaze, watching as it would occasionally writhe and pulsate ever so slightly. And when it did, just for a moment, it looked almost like an eye that had blinked, a wretched sentry keeping watch over its wretched wasteland. I screamed. I mean at that point any shred of hope I had that this might be some elaborate hoax or prank was gone. This was a nightmare. A pure terrible nightmare.
It's hard to remember everything that happened next but I recall running through the house in a panic and somehow ending up back in the original room I had found myself in when all this began, the one that matched the set of the film. And when I looked up I saw that there now stood in the center of the room a loan movie camera, mounted on a tripod. It looked just like the ones the crew had used on the set; only this one was unmanned. It was, however , pointed right at me, and I could tell from the faint hum that it was running. We stared at each other for several moments in silence. I say we because I want to make it very clear that this wasn't just a camera, it was….I dunno, the…thing that had been watching me. I was certain. I can't tell you how I knew it but I just did.
Sigh, and then I did the only thing left I could think to do. I slowly, deliberately, got down on my knees, looked right into that camera, and I begged. I begged it to spare me, to show me mercy. To please take pity and absolve my wretched soul of whatever sins I had committed. To witness all the guilt I could lay to bare. But the camera said nothing. It just sat there silently filming, silently watching. I guess I must have collapsed at that point, probably from exhaustion.
When I regained consciousness I was back on the set of the audition, surrounded by Dexter and the rest of the crew. To my surprise everyone was clapping and Dexter was beaming. I thought perhaps it all had been some strange hallucination or day dream and I vaguely remember trying to compose myself before the sudden feeling of everything slipping away.
I assume I had passed out. At least that's what the nurses told me when I woke up in St. Thomas. Something about stress induced psychosis and how I needed to take it easier from now on, and how i wasnt 25 anymore and blah blah blah. I was there for 2 days I think. It doesn't really matter. And I never did get the part. It went to some up and coming twit, you know the one in all the vampire movies. Dexter didn't even bother to call to tell me. The nerve. You know after 5 films, all I've done for him the least that bastard could do was call to tell me he had decided to give the part to some younger harlot he was probably sleeping with.
I haven't done any more auditions. Haven't really got the stomach for it lately. I mean I know I could still get the parts, it's just ...well…I don’t think I could bear to be in front of the cameras. The way they just stare at you, watching, silently taking it all in. I mean I know it was probably all some sorta of stressed induced hallucination or whatever but deep down I don't think it was. You know lately when I am out walking, I stop and look up at the sky, just to check and make sure the sun is still there where it's supposed to be. Anyway I think that's everything
Statement Ends.
Sigh. There's so many things wrong with this statement. Where do I begin? I think the key words here are hallucinations and psychosis. Neither of which forms the foundation for verifiable fact. Then there is the issue of Ms. Freeman’s reliability. A quick IMDB search indicates that Estella Freeman was indeed an actress who appeared in several films including several by renowned director Dexter Banks. However, she was not, as her statement claims, cast in a lead role in any of them. Almost all of her credits are for minor roles, certainly none that would be considered star billing. According to public records that Sasha dug up, Estella Freeman was the oldest of two children born to Robert and Sally Freeman. She did have a younger sister named Catherine but she apparently passed away in an unspecified domestic accident at the age of 7, roughly the time Estella would have been 10 years old. She is listed as having attended the Croydon School of Acting before appearing in several minor film roles over an approximately 25 year period. On October the 13th, 2008 she was admitted to St. Thomas hospital where she was diagnosed and treated for stress induced fatigue and released on her own recognizance after 48 hours. Clearly Ms. Freeman is either suffering from delusions of grandeur or is a pathological liar, but in either case I think this is another dead end. I seem to recall that Dexter Banks appeared in another statement, but given my predecessor's penchant for disorganization, it may be years before I can track down that statement. Still, I’ve asked Martin to keep an eye out for it.
There is one other additional interesting fact. Tim really came through on this one and managed to obtain a copy of Ms. Freeman’s audition tape from that day. I don't know what guy or girl he had to sleep with to get it and I wont bother to ask. I reviewed the tape and it does indeed show Ms. Freeman performing 3 takes of the scene as she described in her statement. The first 2 are uneventful. However during the 3rd take, just as Ms. Freeman goes down on the floor, the tape cuts out to static. When it continues, it appears to show her acting rather hysterically before being assisted off the set by several crew members. Now what's interesting is that the video time stamps indicate only a few seconds elapsed during the time just before and after the cut out but the static itself plays for over 90 minutes. Still, it's not definitive proof of anything “supernatural”. End Recording.
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