Dont hug me i'm scared notebook

Hi! I’m looking for someone to talk at the moment, and perhaps more if we click. m Brazilian. Moved here in the States for 2 years and a half, new here in the area for months now as well.. Love to know some new friends that I can connect and vibe with.. A little introvert but love to do outdoor fun and activities just dont like to be in a crowded places, I dont know if it make sense to others lol. Watching Netflix is what I do most of the times when Im just at home in my Pj's and being "just me" in my own bubble. If you like to know me more, you know what to do, my inbox is open for you. <3 Im looking for good, meaningful conversations who I can form a genuine connection with, whether that be a good friendship, something more serious or anything else. . Between the ages of 24-30's up. Please tell me about yourself when you dm me. Thank you!!

So I am at an impasse morally here. I was driving home tonight and got run off the road by a big rig truck. So much so that I had to drive up and onto the grass median between the lanes of traffic. I don't want to ruin this guy's life but also I feel like this isn't something that should be overlooked. So I want this driver's peers to judge him, is this something that happens accidentally a lot? Is this type of negligence something you (truck drivers) want on the road? I have camera footage of both the license plate, and the serial on the back of the container and also the company name. I will provide context here:
I am driving at 10 pm down a 2 lane road (both going the same direction), and am in the far left lane as there's a zipper merge into the far right lane coming up. Then out of nowhere a big rig shows up to my right after we pass the merge, then the truck starts creeping into my lane so I give a lil beep. Still creeping, so I lay on the horn. Then at this point he's halfway into my lane and I'm driving half on the gravel shoulder and ram myself up onto the grass median to avoid me and my tiny car (Hyundai Veloster) from being crushed under this truck. Still laying on the horn. Now this probably happened all in the span of 10 seconds but it felt like ages in my brain. The truck then speeds up to around 60 mph (45 mph road) I followed for a bit to get the information off the truck then turned off the main road.
What do you think? I want to report him to both his company and also the DOT. But I don't want to put someone else into a horrendous situation for what might be a small, honest mistake. I just get hung up on the fact that as far as I know I handled the situation (both my position in the lanes and my warning him) exactly how I should have and he could have killed me if I myself wasn't paying close attention.
Side note: there was no other exit after he merged, so there seemed to be no reason for him to be so urgent

I started volunteering in high school at my local ambulance corps, and it's been a few years now. I live in a small suburb so I don't really see much aside from the occasional cardiac arrest. At first, I always had trouble controlling my nerves, because I'd jump in and try to do something before assessing the situation fully. After a few stern words from my crew captain, I started to relegate myself to stretcher duty and tried not to act unless I was told to do something.
I am currently on vacation and saw a school group suddenly make a fuss on the street. One of them yelled that their teacher had a sprained ankle. I hesitated for a few seconds as I didn't want to butt in, but eventually pulled out my floppy CVS first aid kit and walked over. I prayed that the ice pack inside was still good—it was—and hastily fixed it to her leg with a roll of gauze. She hobbled away with the group as I packed up and waded through the next wave of students.
While I was walking back to my hotel, I just felt this immense sense of regret. Like I could have done better if I had just stopped to think. I've practiced countless ankle wraps on myself, it's not like I don't know how it's done. But in the moment, I just blanked. I could barely remember how to tie a knot to secure the gauze. I'm pretty sure it'll just fall off and be completely useless. And if that's the case, wouldn't it have been better to do nothing at all?
I've always thought of myself a calm and collected person who would be rational in emergencies. But in practice, I think I'm the exact opposite. I don't panic on the outside, but mentally, I can't help but freak out and lose focus. I'm not sure how I can change that, or if that just makes me unfit for this career.

Hi there! I would like to learn how to be an executive assistant. I have no experience but I believe I'd be a great fit for this career based on my personal skills. Does anyone know some great online training programs they can recommend? Programs or courses that could teach me how to do certain tasks like email management, travel arrangements amd other important skills. I live in a third world country and there aren't many opportunities here. I'd love to seek professional opportunities as a virtual assistant eventually. Even though I don't have any experience, I'm confident in my ability to learn these skills and I'd be grateful for an opportunity to do so. I'd appreciate any tips, advice or even encouragement (haha) if possible. I want to change my life, find my purpose and expose myself to new opportunities. I know my location (in the Caribbean) can be very limiting but it's worth a try. Anything's possible, right? If you've read this entire post, thank you!! I'm quite introverted and this is very scary but I'd truly appreciate everyone's feedback. Thanks so much!

Do I need to take hormones post top surgery? I am currently pausing my testosterone for highly personal reasons and in wondering if my ovaries are producing enough estrogen to keep me healthy? Would only a blood test tell me? Or would it be wise to get on estrogen temporarily while I am on this break? It's been 3 weeks no T and likely to continue atleast a few more weeks. I am planning on seeing my doctor about all of this but want to know what to expect from my body. Would DHEA pills do enough to not have to take T or E? Please I'm begging for advice from someone knowledgeable. May possibly repost this tomorrow if I don't get response.

My brother (26) is facing a prison sentencing trial in 2 days. He just asked me to write a letter to the judge. I have no idea what I'm doing in this letter.
He is struggling with addiction, grief, mental illness, and has a few felonies already. He was on probation for selling and possession, both very small amounts of m*th. Went to rehab for the first time. Has barely any support, we just reconnected last month after a year. Before that, he violated his probation with a new fraud charge for using a found credit card to purchase food.
I just do not believe that prison is going to help him at all and he is terrified. I think an extended inpatient rehab or psych ward would be more beneficial to helping him be a better him. I'm just not sure if that's an option? We live in IL.
I don't understand what he goes through, but I just want to help him.
Any words of advice for writing a character reference or anything helpful would be appreciated!!

I was listening to Reddit stories on YouTube, wondered about whether or not I had a story to share, and remembered this story of my old coworker.
For a bit of backstory: I manage a small restaurant under a larger company. Sometime in early 2022, one of my coworkers receives a company car, nearly crashes it into another car on the way from the dealership to the restaurant, and gets traumatized by the absolute chewing out he receives from the older lady he almost hit. It goes without saying that he currently avoids driving like the plague. So now, we just have a car sitting in our tiny parking lot. It's a shame, since it was a pretty nice looking car, a Hyundai Elantra I believe.
Around this time, I'm getting into basic car maintenance, such as changing oil, headlights, coolant, and spark plugs. Consequently, I also own one of those little bluetooth code readers that connect to my phone to tell me if there's something wrong with my vehicle.
Now to introduce the star of the story, Kevin. He describes himself as "street smart, not book smart." He's a nice guy to a fault, but lacks a great deal of common sense as it will be apparent later. Kevin longs to own and drive a car of his own, but has yet to make the steps towards getting his license. At this point, he's failed the written exam a couple times and has not progressed on to the actual road test. I give him rides from time to time, such as when he misses his bus.
After the whole debacle with the car, I decide that it'd be essential to install a rearview camera so that anyone driving it would at least feel safer doing so. I've done the installation job before on my own car, so how hard could it be? I buy an okay looking rearview camera kit off Amazon, wait a couple days for it to come in, and quick Google search, and I'm quickly removing panels and wiring the camera to the company car's brake lights in the restaurant's parking lot after work. While I'm at it, I figure that I should check this car for any trouble codes. It's a used car, so it's probably got some issues on it, right? I pop in my code reader into the car and wait for it to spit out data. I finish the camera job and check my phone for any issues. Two trouble codes catch my eye: low battery voltage and a misfiring cylinder. Cool, I can just drop by the nearest auto shop to have the battery recharged and grab a spark plug for the cylinder. Two birds with one stone, easy.
Kevin, done with the restaurant closing duties, steps out to check out what I'm doing. I explain that I'm just installing a rearview camera for the car and making sure it's running properly. I keep in mind that Kevin also wants to own his own car one day, so I go into more detail into car maintenance, quickly explaining about batteries and spark plugs. I give him a little demo of how the rearview camera works. He asks me if he could sit in the driver's seat, and I oblige.
"Man, this car is NICE! I want a car like this," Kevin says. He plays around with the controls on the dash for a little bit. "Can I take it for a little drive?"
I immediately shut this idea down. "Kevin, you don't even have your license. What makes you think you can drive it?" I scold him.
"I can drive," he shoots back. "I've seen you drive before. I think I can do it."
You just asked me the about dashboard controls. As if.
We get out of the car and we get ready to go home. I have the next two days off and I want to spend them relaxing. "Kevin, the car has faulty spark plugs and a dying battery. Under no circumstances, do NOT touch the car while I'm gone. I honestly this this car is unsafe." I repeat this several times before we go home. Satisfied by his confirmations, I throw the keys in the register head home. I feel like you could already tell where this is going.
Fast forward a couple days. I'm just chilling at home and aimlessly reading my emails. My parents borrow my car to get groceries. It's quiet, and I'm at peace. Until Kevin FaceTimes me. Usually, when I get a call from my staff, it's a question about food or where certain items are in the restaurant. It's not often that it's an emergency. I sigh and pick up the phone.
Immediately I see Kevin sitting in the driver's seat of a car. Before he could even say anything, I blurt out, "Kevin, are you in the company car right now?" A short pause and he purses his lips like he's eaten something really sour. "Kevin, I'm not going to ask you again. Are you in the company car right now?" More sternly this time.
Dodging my question, all he can manage to get out is "I messed up..."
One of my kitchen guys told Kevin that we're out of cabbage. Since there's a supermarket about a 10 minute walk away, he decides to go there during his break. He considers walking but realizes that bringing back cabbage would be heavy, so Kevin concludes that he should take the company car there since it would cut his time in two and it'd be more comfortable. Note, we also have a staff member who can drive. Apparently he didn't think about it at the time. He thinks, instead, about how this will get him points for being able to solve a problem at the restaurant without me being around.
Kevin grabbed the keys from the register, turns on the car, and drives off. He makes it about two blocks before the engine starts to sputter and subsequently dies due to the misfiring cylinder. To his credit, he manages to maneuver the car to the curb and turn on his hazards. He immediately calls me right after.
"Kevin, I thought I made myself very clear that the car was off limits," I said slowly. He proceeds to mimic a Mickey Mouse laugh and say, "I made a littly f*cky wucky."
Head in my hands, I sigh again. "Kevin, I have no way of getting to you. You're gonna have to call around to see if anyone can help you out." We hang up the phone and I make some phone calls of my own. The first phone call went to the senior manager (SM for short). It's his day off as well, but it can't be helped.
"What's up?" The SM seems to be spending time with his family, since I hear his kid laughing in the background.
"Kevin apparently took the company car to go shopping for ingredients, the car broke down, and now he's stuck," I explained.
There was a long pause. "What the f*ck? Is he dumb? I thought he didn't even have his license."
"I already told him that he's not to touch the car under any circumstances, and on top of that the car is in need of repairs," I continued.
The SM tells me to call the vice president (VP), since he's working today and he's in the area. Honestly, I don't want to have to escalate this issue that far, but I have no choice. I know that the VP has so much on his plate already, but I give him a call regardless. The call goes more or less the same as with the SM, but the VP says that he's on the way. He's about an hour away, however. God dammit.
In the meantime, I call my friends in the area, explain the situation, and ask them if they could do me a favor and save Kevin. I'm not really sure if it's actually the spark plug, but I think they'd at least be able to give him some extra support while the VP is on the way. Nobody's able to help out, so I give Kevin a follow-up call. Keep in mind it's been half an hour since he called.
"Hey Kevin, did you get into contact with anyone yet?" I ask.
"No, not yet," he responds.
"Uhh, any reason why?"
A long pause.
Fed up, I strongly recommend he call the VP to tell him what he did. We hang up again and I go straight into bed and nap, just completely drained from the entire interaction. I'll follow up later.
I wake up from my nap and call the VP to find out what ended up happening. The VP caught up with Kevin and started up the car with no issues. The VP makes Kevin sit in the passenger's seat and they drive back to the restaurant in awkward silence. He has no words for Kevin, and instead tasks SM and I with scolding him about it. Fair enough.
The next time SM, Kevin, and I are all working together is in a weeks' time. SM and I agree to mess with him a little bit. I tell Kevin that SM wants to have a meeting about what happened. I hype this up throughout the week, dropping hints such as "ooh Kevin, you're gonna get it!" A week passes by in the blink of an eye, but it probably feels like a drawn out hell for Kevin. We let him fester and reflect about his actions. The three of us sit down at a table before the restaurant opens and I open my mouth.
"Kevin, never do that again."
I end the meeting there. Kevin, who's as white as a sheet, has the color return to his face and appear to have a huge weight fall off his shoulders. "Is that it?" He shyly asks. I confirm that's it. He laughs in relief, since he believes he'd be fired. I add that he's young and bound to make really dumb, stupid mistakes. If I tell him something, he really needs to listen. On top of that, since he's working for a business, his actions, noticed or unnoticed, are representative of the business as a whole. "And Kevin, for the love of all that is good, get your license."
TL;DR Kevin drives a car in need of repairs to the store without his license and it breaks down en route. He calls me for help, but I send him my boss' boss to him. We make him think for a week that he'd be violently punished for his actions, but we gave him a life lesson instead.

I've been to NYC a few times, but not to the area around Union Square or Irving Plaza, and not at all since, um, 2014? Maybe before that? Maybe it was 2006? It's been a while. I don't get out much.
I am driving to the city, will have a small amount of luggage and maybe a small cooler in my car. It's a long trip with more other stops planned on the way. I booked a hotel about 3 blocks away from Irving Plaza. I will either arrive in Union Square in the middle of the night to pay for 2 nights at the hotel or I'll get there mid-morning or late morning before Noon, then check-in sometime later or possibly even after the show. I haven't finalized this part yet. Partly depends on answers I get to my posts.
I hope you can help me with Parking Questions.
1) Should I find a spot on my own or is it best to use the hotel valet?
The woman at the hotel told me that I should use their valet parking rather than try to find a parking garage on my own. Problem is, I want to queue up at the theater for GA as soon as I can get there, but the hotel won't let me check into my hotel until after 3 PM. There's a chance, but no guarantee, of early check-in at 1 PM which is still later than I'm planning to get there. The time that I expect to get to town and the window for check-in are several hours apart, unless I book the hotel for the night before.
The hotel front desk person said that the local parking garages do not allow people to park for a full 24 hours. She said they may have rates for full day, but they will only allow parking for a time period that is under 24 hours as their definition of a full day stay. They aren't 24 hour access? Is this correct? Do they tow cars that haven't left or do they lock people out of the parking garages? Is that a thing? Should I listen to her or is she just trying to keep my business with the hotel?
Would you advise me to use the hotel valet parking?
Honestly, I'm not even sure I can do so before officially checking in, because their website still has the strict pandemic rules posted about not even being allowed in the building until check-in time. I will call to check on this, of course, but I want to know what you all say first.
If valet parking isn't the best possible solution or if I can't use it until 3 PM, would I be okay to search for a parking garage when I get there, with an expected stay of 24 to 30 hours?
Is my luggage likely to be safe in my car if I can't leave it at the hotel until I check-in, which might not happen until late evening, after the show?
2) Tipping? If I do use valet parking, what is the tipping expectation? I have never paid valet parking in my life, so that's a bucket list item I didn't know I needed to check off.
3) Parking apps: Are these useful, worthwhile, accurate? Should I download one? I don't live where anyone ever has to worry enough about finding parking to use an app, so this is a new thing to me.
Thanks very much, NYC!

Chapters 1-3
Chapters 4-7
Chapters 8-10
And we're back on everyone! May has certainly been a busy month so I haven't been able to get around to writing this until just now, but the run continues. Today I finally reap what I've sown & massively blunder while also recruiting two new essential ladies to this run. Without further ado, let's get started!
Chapter 11
This one was actually not the trickiest chapter in the entire series, but I certainly made it worse on myself because I have a need for door keys because I can't always depend on Lara to be around. I take a decent amount of time having Nanna & Karin capture some of these knights while Lara steals Door Keys where she can. Overall this was the slowest point of this streak of chapters where I just loaded up on lances/bows/keys just because I knew I wouldn't have a ton of time to slow down after this point. We kept moving, got to the doors where I burnt 1 key just to keep some of my squishier units out of ballista range & get to Kempf ASAP. Surprisingly Fred refused to be a fool and actually corner camped & used his vulnerary which gave me way more breathing room than I expected. I captured what I could with Big Mac in the throne room & tapped Kempf with Nanna to get him outta there. Overall a smooth chapter for how much I usually struggle with a full team & we're off to 11x!
Chapter 11x
Ok so this chapter was really finnicky because the top half of the map can't actually be cleared by Fred & I really really need to get to Olwen fast. She's my first mage & by god I need to use all these Thunder tomes I've been saving up. So Lara gets warped up & saves the now defenseless Fred with a Paragon Sword & Neir Scroll in hand to get more build levels. Otherwise I had Tanya & Karin in the main hallway because Machuya had to rest up. Selphina certainly chipped through the hallway, but otherwise it was a slow burn through the hallway because I couldn't heal without backing up to Safy. This whole ordeal took a few attempts because of Lara not being a combat unit, Tanya & Karin crawling through the melee, and me waiting out Meteor to make sure it didn't kill Olwen. Once I actually managed to save Olwen the chapter became far more consistent, but the amount of soldiers filing up in the top side meant the children couldn't make it out sadly. Olwen & Lara tried their hardest but with Fred constantly getting captured it was a struggle. Overall it was a difficult chapter, but we made it out with a decent haul of generic loot & a new cornerpiece to my army with a lot of training ahead of her.
I actually want to sidetrack for a minute and talk about how unique of a position Olwen is in. While she has generally bad ranks & pretty mediocre stats she's going to be among the most important units in the run. I've been saving wind & thunder tomes for a good reason, training Olwen is my fast track to getting a good magic unit. Out of all my options, Linoan is good but is stuck at 5 move until Chapter 21, Nanna only gets magic damage on Earth Sword, and frankly I don't know if I'll be getting Miranda. I very well may be stuck with Olwen being the best trained mage for most of the game, especially the more difficult outdoor chapters of the midgame. For as much as Olwen is such a weirdly balanced unit in a normal FE5 run, she's going to rapidly excel because of how rare magic damage is. I'm going to talk about this later, but keep in mind how important Olwen will be & how she grows.
Chapter 12
Hey so remember how I said my actions would bite me later? Yeah here it is, both Karin & Safy are exhausted in this chapter & I didn't kill Fred so I'm stuck with this. After much trial & error I simply fled to the top corridor with my army, let Fred get killed, and ran for the end. Also on a side note we get Mareeta, my 3rd sword unit and one with a really good promo. She's going to be used & hopefully end up decent. I managed to use Mareeta to capture Salem so only Machuya got slept. Captured the boss for a neat Vantage Manual & we made a clean getaway without any unique treasure. It was a surprisingly easier clear when I decided to not train Olwen nor capture more axes for Machuya. No arena grinding & no houses, but hey it was clean & quick.
Chapter 12x
So hey I'm continuing to reap what I sow, Lara is completely exhausted & unable to participate in this chapter! I now don't have a dancer, woo hoo! Otherwise I really don't have much to say, I warped Salem to get Perne out, Tina burned the Thief staff because I couldn't steal it with Perne, and all the treasures + 2 extra dancers were captured. Good loot all around & a terrible result with not getting a dancer. This will become a pretty massive problem later on, but for now I get a real Thief Fighter! I also get Tina, but there will be more words on her in later parts as she will eventually become important.
Thoughts
So with two somehow simple chapters & two more complex as normal chapters we leave behind our little journey & arrive at Tahra next time. Overall I'm getting to the point where max deploy via fatigue isn't an option so I'm going to have to space out my staff users between Tina, Safy, and Nanna. Overall the next few chapters will be a practice in roster management which will be "fun" as the Kaga fans would say. Hopefully it won't be too long until the next part, but for now I'll leave you with the roster stats.
Tanya didn't change much, she's better than Selphina at least
Safy I am once again asking for 10 skill
Machuya my beloved meatwall
Karin isn't too different from the last post, she was out of commission for her important chapters
Level 20 Lara!
Nanna approaching 20/20 cap
Selphina literally didn't level up
Olwen's Minor Progress
On the next episode we'll get our 2nd mage, 2nd flier, and a bunch of Stam Drinks. Hope everyone enjoyed this & if you've got any questions please let me know & I'll try to answer the best I can. Thanks for reading through!

I'm a Classical Studies major at a public university and unfortunately, we only have classes on Ancient Greece and Rome (which, don't get me wrong, I love), but I want to learn more about other ancient cultures. Are there any documentaries, books, or research papers y'all might recommend for learning more about non Greco-Roman cultures? I'm especially interested in the Ancient Near East, but I'd love to learn about anything ancient. TYI!!

I've been dating my partner (now ex) for a year, we met in college. They just graduated, it hasn't even been 2 weeks of long distance of both of us going back to our home towns. And I just got a lovely phone call from them this morning admitting to cheating on me last night... That's one thing, it's another layer when we are both trans, they have mainly dated cis guys in the past. They drunkly went searching for cis guys last night to go suck their dicks. I've been cheated on before by past partners and somehow it's always related to me being trans. With my partners before it was I was too masculine and they wanted to date a girl. This time around it's I don't have a physical cis dick, and my partner was oh so horny for on while drunk.
I'm trying so hard to not just break down and give up. I don't know what to do anymore. They originally were my only hope of getting out of my home town and to start medically transitioning. My mom who I live with isn't supporting and my family mocks me constantly cause I don't look like a guy enough to them to respect me. My partner was one of the few support systems I had and they helped me feel so loved and validated in my identity.
Then this happens. Any hope and love and support I've ever felt I had just ripped and shattered. They keep blowing up my phone on any platform they can reach me on. Trying to apologize, saying it's a mistake and to think about it and please give them a chance. That they know they messed up and they will do anything to get me back. They they made a post on double list asking to give head to someone, got in a dude's car but than backed out. They keep saying how they tried so hard to love me and care about me and bringing up examples of their oh so caring acts. Before any of this they were loving and saying they want a future with me.
I don't know what to do, this came out of nowhere, we were seeing each other every day in school, we've gone on break before and to my knowledge has never done something like this but now I don't know what to believe. I'm humiliated and so fucking lost now, I've never felt this amount of disrespect and shame and now just constantly wondering if I changed something about myself before this happened would I have been good enough for them? Why claim to love me so much than do this and continuously lie while trying to get back with me.
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I don't know anymore, thank you to anyone that read this. I'm sorry for ranting

I'm a Classical Studies major at a public university and unfortunately, we only have classes on Ancient Greece and Rome (which, don't get me wrong, I love), but I want to learn more about other ancient cultures. Are there any documentaries, books, or research papers y'all might recommend for learning more about non Greco-Roman cultures? I'm especially interested in the Ancient Near East, but I'd love to learn about anything ancient. TYI!!

Hey everyone, I hope this is the right place to ask this. I can't figure out what kind of job I'm suited for. I've been unemployed for the past 3 years, have applied for things but I don't know what's right for me because I suffer from extremely bad anxiety and social anxiety.
Some factors about me: - I'm 28F - Severe anxiety (I can't function in customer service roles. I can't even go to the supermarket to buy groceries without having severe anxiety) - The only experience I have was a retail job I had for one year (it was a vintage store, not too chaotic) and I worked in a call centre for 3 days and could not handle it - I need something where I don't need to talk to people all the time - I have a Cert IV Youth Work, but all these jobs require experience - I don't have my licence
I hate sounding like I'm picky but I am just lost as to what to look for. I WANT to work, I'm tired of being unemployed. If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it!

After talking to many people I concluded that Geomatics got:
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• Really Cheap tuition
• A very high-demand job market
• Really versatile career paths
• Lightwork (5-10 hours after school work a week after class)
• Pays well (After a 3-6 years of experience can make 100k+ easy depending on what you do)
• Has chill jobs and guaranteed co-ops

Are any of my assumptions wrong? I don't know but to me for something so light with great wages it easily solos most programs at other unis at least. Really don't understand why it's hated by so many people I see. Even though I love business so much I think I'll go with it and pick the economy specialization later on [I'm deciding between this, Laurier econ, Guelph marketing management (co-op), and Uoft Commerce (2x+ the price with housing etc)], does my decision sound wise 😭?

We may be anonymous strangers on the internet, but we have one thing in common. We may be a world apart, but we're here together!
Welcome to the 24 hour pledge!
I'm pledging myself to not drinking today, and invite you to do the same.
Maybe you're new to /stopdrinking and have a hard time deciding what to do next. Maybe you're like me and feel you need a daily commitment or maybe you've been sober for a long time and want to inspire others.
It doesn't matter if you're still hung over from a three day bender or been sober for years, if you just woke up or have already completed a sober day. For the next 24 hours, lets not drink alcohol!
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This pledge is a statement of intent. Today we don't set out trying not to drink, we make a conscious decision not to drink. It sounds simple, but all of us know it can be hard and sometimes impossible. The group can support and inspire us, yet only one person can decide if we drink today. Give that person the right mindset!
What happens if we can't keep to our pledge? We give up or try again. And since we're here in /stopdrinking, we're not ready to give up.
What this is: A simple thread where we commit to not drinking alcohol for the next 24 hours, posting to show others that they're not alone and making a pledge to ourselves. Anybody can join and participate at any time, you do not have to be a regular at /stopdrinking or have followed the pledges from the beginning.
What this isn't: A good place for a detailed introduction of yourself, directly seek advice or share lengthy stories. You'll get a more personal response in your own thread.
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This post goes up at:
- US - Night/Early Morning
- Europe - Morning
- Asia and Australia - Evening/Night
A link to the current Daily Check-In post can always be found near the top of the sidebar.
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Happy Tuesday!
“Self-care means pausing and paying attention. It’s asking yourself a lot of questions: How am I? What’s working? What’s not working? Why am I stressed, sad, mad, overwhelmed, feeling ashamed, etc.? What can I change? If I can’t change it, how can I cope? If I can change it, what do I do first?” – Ethan Somerman
I’ve definitely been trying to ask myself these kinds of questions more often. I don’t always have an answer, but often the stopping to think about it is helpful in itself.
IWNDWYT lovely people of SD!

so I landed a Network Support Technician role with a local school district; they have like 17 schools under their jurisdiction, many of which are in well-off areas (funding doesn't seem to be much of an issue, from what I've seen so far). Had like 3 offers roll in around the same time (2 private, 1 gov), and the starting pay for this one exceeded every other offer, so I'm super happy about that.
background: I have 4 years of military experiencing (both jobs were somewhat, but not directly IT related), and 2 years of supervisor experience in retail. I have an Associates in Physics and CS, but I don't have any certifications; however, I made it clear I'm studying towards CCNA with Neil Anderson's course (also have a basic IT lab), and a BSCSIA with WGU.
interviews: I was incredibly nervous about screwing up any technical questions, so I studied them like hell, but I hardly received anything past “what experience do you have with (insert misc software)?” I did 5 interviews (4 in-person), and the most important trait for every single one was interpersonal skills
possible tips: if you're new with no professional experience, like me, your chance of getting one of those remote IT jobs is probably pretty low; however, I got an interview for every in-person position I applied for, so make sure to apply around your general area and be sure to check your local government job posting webpages because the position I got was tucked away in the corner of one of those bad boys.
THANK YOU: I want to thank all you who contribute to this Subreddit, I would not have been as confident going in if it weren't for the information y'all were willing to share with us green folks; one day I hope to contribute to the success of future IT pros, like yourselves!
BEST OF LUCK TO THOSE STILL ON THE HUNT!
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note: sorry if I'm a bit all over the place, I'm running on fumes after a busy Memorial Day

After 3 failed attempts at keto, I can finally say that I have a 1 in front of my weight for the first time in over 10 years!!!
I started keto at nearly 260 lbs at 6'0.
My first round of keto got me down to 218 lbs. After my trip to Japan, I stopped dieting and I went right back up to 258 lbs.
Second time around I got down to 208 lbs and felt great to be so close to the hundreds, but I fell off keto, did more traveling, and my weight went right back up to the 250s.
Third time around, I dropped down to 208 again (I dubbed it the "Curse of 208") for my wedding. Wife and I promised each other to stay on track after the wedding which didn't happen. I went back up to the 230s.
I ate like shit still, but I was starting to bike/cycle a little bit. At first it was just 4-7 miles around the city after work, but then I started upgrading shit on my bike. And then I went sooo far down the rabbit hole with my bike I just got hooked on cycling. Like, really hooked. I love modding and swapping shit out like building PCs, modding my car, so naturally I loved modding and tinkering on my bike.
Anyway, after awhile I finally said, "What the fuck is the point of cycling and working out if I don't eat right?" so I started up keto again back in the end of Novembeearly December and got super serious.
I cycle ~75 miles a week now with an average speed of 18 MPH compared to my baby 4 mile rides at 13 MPH. Shedding weight has improved my speed tremendously (obviously). No upgrade on my bike would've helped nearly as much. Looking to average 20 MPH and do a sub 5-hour century ride later this year!
Well, I finally hit 199 this morning and honestly I don't even know what to feel because I didn't think I'd be able to do it. All I know is I'm gonna continue to ride this momentum out. Aiming for 185 for now and gonna go from there!
TLDR: Failed keto 3 times. Got super serious about cycling and eating right and now I'm 199!
Where my fixed gear riders at?!

Hey guys, got my BBC Malibu on the road and driving, thanks in a big part to help from this forum (thanks Pack!)
Now that I have a car on the road I can start to get it tuned up. I am using a quadrajet that I rebuilt. It came with the engine, and all I did was freshen it up. It had obviously been messed with in the past, but I don't know how far out of the norm it is.
It went from a bone stock 1989 Le8 454 from a motorhome with 2 air pumps and A/C to a stripped down engine with only PS and an alternator. It also was bored 30 over, had flat top pistons installed, an RPM air gap, and 2 inch headers. Yet, the engine seems to run really rich, which confuses me. Shouldn't de-restricting everything have caused it to lean out? Driving on the primaries feels good, but I think it's still rich. At idle it can sometimes surge, and just seems to be drinking a bit more fuel than it should.
Anyway, I have the usual quarabog issue of my secondary transition causing the engine to bog terribly, and I'm just looking to get my hands onto any Quadrabog info I can. The more in-depth the better. I bought a book about using quadrajets for performance that I'm chewing through, but I would love more stuff to learn from.
I want to learn this carb from the inside-out, tune it to run as great as I can, make it a piece I can be proud of, and then chuck it in a bin when I go to fuel injection and never think about another carburetor as long as I live.
Thanks for your help in advance, it feels so good to finally be in a position to have fun tinkering instead of busting my knuckles getting the thing put together!

Hey, everyone! Welcome back to News & random stuff with Chloe. I am Chloe Sinclair & today I want to talk about something that I think is very important: being your own person. You know what I'm talking about, right? Those mum cliques that seem to rule the school, the ones that everyone wants to be part of, the ones that make you feel like you're not good enough if you're not in their circle. Well, guess what? You don't need them. You don't need to fight for popularity or approval from people who don't really care about you. You need to be yourself and find your own happiness.
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Why am I saying this? Because I've been there. I've been in those mum cliqus and I've seen how they work. They're not fun, they're not supportive, they're not genuine. They're full of drama, gossip, jealousy and competition. They make you feel like you have to conform to their standards, their opinions, their tastes. They make you lose your identity and your individuality. They make you forget who you really are and what you really want.
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But you know what? You can break free from them. You can be your own person and stop fighting for popularity. You can find your own interests, your own passions, your own goals. You can make your own friends, friends who like you for who you are, not for who they want you to be. Friends who respect you, support you and inspire you. Friends who make you happy and confident.
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How do you do that? Well, it's not easy, but it's worth it. You have to be brave and honest with yourself. You have to ask yourself: do I really like these people? Do they really like me? Do they make me feel good or bad? Do they help me grow or hold me back? Do they respect my choices or judge me? Do they share my values or contradict them? Do they bring out the best in me or the worst?
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If you answer these questions honestly, you'll know what to do. You'll know if you need to distance yourself from those mum cliqus and find your own path. You'll know if you need to stand up for yourself and say no to things that don't align with your true self. You'll know if you need to explore new things and discover new aspects of yourself. You'll know if you need to be more authentic and express yourself more freely.
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Trust me, it's worth it. Being your own person is the best thing you can do for yourself and for others. It will make you happier, healthier and more fulfilled. It will make you more attractive, more interesting and more respected. It will make you more creative, more productive and more successful. It will make you more YOU.
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So don't be afraid to be yourself and stop fighting for popularity. Be your own person and find your own happiness. You deserve it.
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That's all for today, guys! I hope you evnjoyed the read, I hope YOU have a beautiful day.

So I started with a 3.00 and a non-SUable D grade on a core mod in Y1S1.
Last year I graduated with a 4.00 and a nice Honours (Distinction) on my resume.
I'm incredibly lucky although the number itself is nothing impressive. Anyway, no one looked at it but the tier could've made a difference during resume screening.
There were 2 major climbs — when I started taking specialized courses (confidence boost) and giving my all to FSP (last jump). An optimistic mindset + good role models + occasional eruptions (i.e. aggressive room cleaning and throwing everything out) helped me tremendously.
To those who started off drowning, don't panic and look forward. Focus on cultivating a unique skill set and I hope luck will find you 😭💫🤞🏼🔮🪄🌴

i have always had voices mocking, insulting, & being harsh towards me. i can't go on for an hour without getting criticized to hell. 2 seconds after i wake up, & as im transitioning into the awakened state, im greeted with these voices reminding me of how much of a [xxxxx] & [xxxxx] & [xxxxx] i am. don't wanna write any examples since i'll break reddit tos.
i feel like i have lost my ego entirely due to what i hear. 2018 was even worse, my psychosis during that period was very strong. not sure if i became too numb to this. i feel like i really deserve nothing physical/materialistic or emotional. i feel like i don't deserve my organs, two lungs? two kidneys? two eyes? that's too much for me. Sometimes i look at my legs or arms and have a hard time at accepting that these belong to 'me'??? they're too big. i wonder how much they weigh.
i feel like an object, or rarely if im feel like im worth little more than that, i'm a primate/monkey, i often refer to people as humans because they're just one step above me.