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Can I get rid of medical equipment if owner won’t pick it up? Arizona

2023.06.01 04:56 FuckCancer2021 Can I get rid of medical equipment if owner won’t pick it up? Arizona

My mom died almost two weeks ago. She had multiple health issues and her insurance paid for a hospital bed. I’ve been trying to get them to pick it up, but haven’t had any luck yet. I tried 6 or 7 times to call and schedule a pick up, but each and every time I was on hold for 15 mins and then the line disconnected. I eventually reached out to hospice for assistance. Idk what they did but the med supply company reached out to me the next day to schedule a pick up for yesterday. They didn’t give me a timeframe, but said I would receive a call when the driver was in my area. I never received a call and popped up to the gas station. Was gone for 20 mins and came home to a notice on the door that they had come and gone. I’ve been trying to reach them to reschedule ever since with no luck.
I found an 800 number on their website and called them. The woman I spoke with emphasized, apologized, took the message and assured me I would have a call back asap. Well that was yesterday afternoon and I still haven’t heard anything.
I realize this may sound irrational, but I need the bed out of here. I watched her suffer for months and then die on that damn bed. I just can’t keep looking at it. How long do I have to give them before I can donate it, trash it, or sell it? I really don’t care how, I just want it gone.
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2023.06.01 04:45 IsiahE4112 My Star Wars Story

I made a character and this sotry for star wars (i made this story for my English finals, i had a month to make it and got an A on it), the characters name is Saya Eban and is a character I have been thinking of for over a decade now (im not in my 2nd decade so since i was super young). Saya at this time is 13-14 years old and was given inspiration by almost all the other jedi and also star killer. He is human and with reliance on the force he can live up to 1000 years with hi peak being between 35, 40 ish to around 800 years of age. In terms of prime power level and potential, in my canon he is 3rd most powerful character just underneath luke and anikan Skywalkers, but could contend with them at some points. Little background: he was a prodigy in school before he became a padawan, he always had an intrest in a character named Ahsoka Tano but never became more than friends because of the Jedi teachings. He was a fast learning youngling and became a padawan earlier than most other younglings, becaming a padawan at the age of 11 - 12. He was in the first battle of Genesis but his troop transport ship was blasted out of the air, landing behind enemy lines leaving him the sole surviver, and scarring him, making him want to never see uneeded bloodshed ever again. He met Count Dooku before he had met Obi-Wan and Anikan on geonosis, he locked blades with him once... once, before he was thrown aside like a house fly, not worth his time, he was out until the retreat of the battle was initiated. This gave him night terrors and nightmares, after this day he could never sleep more than an hour, if that, before he woke up feeling the dark side creeping in. So he had learned to use sleep meditation. Sleep meditation allowed him to accelerate his trainings and connect greater to the force, he had unlocked 1/3 of his life now, the force helping his cells heal his body while he sat and meditated.
This story is of how he lived through one of the bloodiest battles and worst losses of the Republic, the battle of Sarrish, and of how he had obtained his later main star ship, a Kom'rk Mark 1 class star fightetransport, aka the Puro (i made this story before I have watched the 3rd season of the Mandalorian, as of right now i still haven't so Idk if thats in season 3 or not).
There is about 11,340 words in the story, and I don't 100% know of what I should make him look like so have your imaginations run wild.
Ok here we go:
Tales of Saya Eban's Puro
Chapter 1
 The battle of Sarrish was one of the worst battles of the Clone Wars, it was a great devastating loss to the Republic and the Jedi, and I was in the middle of it all. Before the battle I was doing some touch-ups on my A-wing Fighter. I had managed to get my hands on a hyperdrive that would fit in my small fighter, although being able to enter hyperspace without an external hyperdrive wing is very convenient, fast, and easy, it does slow my fighter and hinder some mobility, but not an uncontrollable amount of loss. Little did I know it'd save my life later that week. After I had finished my work, gotten it restocked for my next battle, I was called to the Jedi command center for a briefing by Master Yoda, saying it was an urgent mission and I was needed now, with his backwards way of speaking annoying me slightly. In a flash, I had gathered my battle ready loadout and headed off to the command center. When I entered the command center with the center planning table showing starships from both Confederate and Republic sides, One chasing another. I look and see Masters Yoda and Windu and a holoprojected Obi-Wan Kenobi surrounding the Table, with deeply serious thoughts in their eyes, fingers on their concentrating chins. When I swiftly strolled in, I was greeted with Master Windu's cheerful, but serious voice: "Ah, Padawan Eban, good you're here, come quick, we must act with persistence if we want to gain an upper hand in this war." "Master Windu, good to see you, you too Master Yoda, Master Kenobi, what's the situation?" Master Obi-Wan states, "We are currently chasing Separatist forces to the planet Sarrish and we will need some back up, could you bring your part of the 104th battalion right away, we have heavy casualties and they're going to have reinforcements when they reach the planet." "Is there not anyone closer than me, it may take a few days for me to get there, yall mabe finished by the time I get there!" I said with hope in my eyes. "I'm afraid that you're the only one that is available with the most minimal time of arrival, you'll have to be quick though, it will be anytime now they will reach the planet and have reinforcements. we need this win, it will be a great victory for the Republic if we are able to capture the planet." Stated Obi-Wan with certainty. "All other generals are on missions right as we speak, you are the only one that can provide back up at this current time." Master Windu added "Closer to Knight after this mission you will be, great padawan you are, your great swift improvements, Master Plo is pleased with, believe in you I do." Master Yoda said with a jolly old-man voice. "Now go, there's not much time to waste, gather your men and go help Obi-Wan!" Rushedly said by Master Windu. "With determination in my voice, I yell "Yes Masters, right away!" And like a flash, I was gone. As I'm running off, I catch a glimpse of a green swoosh and the sound of a bolt deflection. I stumble to a stop and put my legs in reverse to give curiosity the wheel. When I peer in, I see Master Skywalker and Ahsoka, along with roughly 8 clone troopers all in a circle around Ahsoka and her one blade ignited. Master Skywalker had her eyes welded to her as he walked around the trooper. I could see Captain Rex standing and watching as well, although he seems to be the only one who spotted me poking in my head. He motioned his finger to his lips as to tell me to shush and not interfere, so I watched with anticipation. And after a lifetime stillness ending in a second after Master Skywalker yelled "START!" And stun doughnuts fire from the blasters of the troopers, sending a volley of blue twords Ahsoka from all directions. With great flexibility I pair with, she jumps into the air, spinning like skates on a skate rink in mid air deflecting all incoming plasmic projectiles landing with swift grace ready for more, And more came, she stands in the center blade moving almost faster than what my eyes could keep up with, until that one bolt punches her right in the back, knocking her to the ground, diminishing the blade back into the hilt. I spring into the room, speaking with worry in my voice when I squeak out "Ahsoka! Master Skywalker, what was that!?"
"She was just training deflecting blaster fire, she's going to be outmatched a lot in this war, and clones are better than droids to practice with." Anakin said with pride that she was able to last little over a minute, thats improvement.
"Well I guess you're not completely wrong, but your going to give her a brain injury at this rate! Could you not go a bit easier on her?"
"She'll never learn if I go easy on her." Master Skywalker said with little arrogance in his voice.
"W- well, here, l-let me wake her then." I stuttered as I walked up to Rex holding Ahsoka like he's a pillow.
"Rex, do you mind if I-"
"Not at all General, here." Rex said as I sat next to him holding Ahsoka's top half of her body.
 As he caringly sets Ahsoka's rhythmically beating top half in my lap, head facing the heavens, I softly lay my hand over her forehead, close my eyes, and concentrate. A few suspenseful seconds later, I take my hand off and observe Ahsoka's hand softly glide to her now curling forehead, eyes fluttering open.
With a smile I voiced"Wakey Wakey warrior princess, have a good nap?" Smirking the whole time.
"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes Nicksters." She groaned with fading pain.
"What are you doing here?" She leisurely grumbled as she started to lie propped up by her desirable, fluorescent orange arms made of flexible muscle.
"I was walking by, and saw a 'damsel in distress', I HAD to come and 'save the day'." I joked, smirking the whole time, annoying her little bit more.
"You know I have been dying to use my force heal on you since I had learned it. I bet you don't even feel bad at all right now hm?" I said leaning in
Ahsoka starts to stand as to get a feel for her own body.
"You're right, I feel better than I did before, not bad for someone named Nicks." Ahsoka said smirking right back at me.
"Oh come on, that was one time, that was even before we became patiwans!" I said with little dramatics in my vocal verberations.
"Ok Master, I'm ready to try again." Ahsoka said to Master Skywalker
"Not now Ahsoka, we have a mission from the Jedi council we have to attend to while Obi-Wan is on his own mission." Anikan said to Ahsoka, elongating his 'not' like he usually does
"I'm actually about to go give help to Obi-Wan right now… WHICH I NEED TO GET PREPARED FOR NOW!! Karabast, got to go! See yah Ahsoka, Master, Rex." And like a ship entering hyperspace, I was gone.
Chapter 2
 After 2 boring days traveling in hyperspace, me and my 5 Veneter class Cruisers are nearing our destination, this would make 12 Cruisers for the Republic side. A new commander CT'-4112 or Zerek, debriefs on the battle situation. As I had sensed, Obi-Wan was outmatched seeing as backup was on planet Sarrish for the fleeing Separatist ships, now it's 11 Munificent class Cruisers and 2 command stations blockading the planet. Kenobi was starting to be pushed back, relying on our Cruisers longer ranged cannons to hope the Sepies didn't get too close. Our Cruisers have longer ranged main canons and toms of fighter room, while the Sepies Cruisers have more fire power at closer ranges with more fighters than our Vendor class Cruisers, at closer ranges, the Sepies would completely destroy a Venetor class Cruiser, but we have strategies and will power.
"Glad to see a friendly face Saya." Kenobi said exhaustingly.
"Well, it looked like you needed help. You know I need to be the one to save everyone. I'll move into position to fortify our defenses to push the Sepies back and for us to make a plan. What is your fleet's condition?"
"We have 2 Venetors heavily damaged and the rest either have mild to no damage. And we have lost half our fighters as of now." Urgently said by Kenobi.
"Ok, I'm sending men and supplies to you right now, let me take the front so I can take the damage if they send another attack." I calmly said to Kenobi.
"Men battle positions and set all power to front cannons and shields. Venators get into pincer position and get ready for an attack. Fighters get ready to launch." I commanded to all my Cruisers
"Master, if you could, could you add in your undamaged Venetors? " I wandered and directed with much mastery, I even made Obi-Wan himself visually impressed considering my inexperienced mind in life, and especially war. I even managed to make him smile.
"Getting in position now." Obi-Wan stated, still smiling.
"Understood, While you get everything fixed, I'll see if I can weaken their defenses, it seems as if they're in attack positions so we gotta be ready for anything." I said in deep thought.
"Ok, 10 to 13, I like those odds, makes it even, more so for the Sepies." I grinned.
"Now Saya, remember this is still a battle, don't be too cocky, you're starting to remind me of Anakin." Obi-Wan said with conviction.
"Yes Master, sorry about that." I answered to Obi-Wan, pulling back a little.
 Just then, many starfighters come from the enemy Cruisers, hundreds of them lightning fast, closing distance fast.
"All right men, time for some fun. Obi-Wan, if you want to take command of my control center, I'll lead this fight." I said before Obi-Wan could respond.
"Ok- but Saya! Blast, maybe he's too much like Anikan." Obi-Wan said defeatedly.
As I get into the hangar I yell "Alright Wolfpack, let's get goin!" Then I hop into my modified Jedi A-wing.
We rush out from the center roof door along the Cruiser with my squadron aka The Wolfpack, with me leading my 23 fighters into battle and many more friendly's following from the hangars.
"Ok Wolfpack, let's make a break for them Cruisers, get as many of them gone as possible. 411 you ready?" I asked R2-411. R2-411 bleeps with readiness.
"Ok, time to blow them out of the sky, remember, stay in formation" I commanded.
"Yes sir!" The Clones bellowed.
 Then we hit the swarm with a mighty thundering sound of lasers flying through the emptiness of space seeing one after one of enemy fighter droids dropping all over the place. Me and my Wolfpack fly through all the 2 winged Vulture droids that look like each wing was sideways and has 2 prongs each side for wings. They were way more quick and maneuverable than us, but we had a duty to win, and we won't lose today. It's like a firework show, but you're dodging all the fireworks, and they're aiming right at you. While we are defending the Venator Cruisers, they're mostly firing at the Sepies Cruisers, slowly dwindling their energy shields down.
"Boys, I have a plan, but I'll need yall to get back to the Cruisers." I urged
"Obi-Wan, how's the 2 heavily damaged Cruisers? We've been out for a long while. They should be good by now right?" I questioned Master Kenobi.
"They're about to come back into the fight, but one of our Cruisers is at a quarter shield, few good hits or bombing runs and it's gone, what's your plan Saya?" Obi-Wan said, perplexed.
"Just give me an opening to the left Separatist control center, that's all I need to get on that ship." I stated with confidence.
"I'll try my best, but don't be stupid Saya, we can't afford to lose you."
"Yeah yeah I know, just get me an opening please Master!" I begged.
 After the words fleeted from my mouth, all the Cruisers fired a hole through the droid fleet with friendly fighters also making way for me to get through. I blast the afterburners straight through the enemy swarm that's been lesson by the commotion, just barely being hidden by smoke from a just destroyed fighter straight into the leftmost control ship hanger landing with an explosive entry. And immediately I jump out, igniting both, my straight emerald green saber in my left, and my yellow saber with a curved hilt similar to the Count's hilt himself in my right. I'll face him again one day, it's inevitable, like me. I land and immediately cut a group of B1 battle droids heads off with my yellow saber facing out, giving me more reach, but as I start to take fire from the army that quickly form from my landing, I swiftly doge left to right almost able to doge the sight of a human eye. Left, pop goes the heads of 3, right, pop goes 5, jump through the air on an almost straight path through the thick of the army, spinning with a light show if one were to be an onlooker at this chaotic organization of flying red plasmic bolts going to a mix of yellow and green, then proceeding to fly straight back at the shooter with twice the velocity. I land on my feet with a thunderous "BOOM" with what seems like an explosion that incinerates half of the whole hanger with an electric yellow glow seeming like yellow lighting exploded from the epicenter of the explosion. When the smoke cleared, it seemed that everything within a 5 meter radius was completely incinerated, and everything within 40 meter radius was heavily damaged, and any technology within eye shot was either scrape or short-circuiting, but all B1 battle droids and super battle droids were out.
I sighed with relief with little heavy breathing when I looked around me, but with no time to rest, 6 Vulture droid fighters came through the hanger's magnetic shield door, transforming to walk on its pronged wings like they were legs. They scanned me and started raining a flurry of red down onto me, but with my lightning fast reflexes, I raised my sabers to block the incoming hellfire from all six fighter's. Then came the flurry being deflected in any direction possible, and I could just barely see the 6 droids started to surround me by going behind my back, but I ain't done yet. As I'm blocking, jumping, spinning, twisting on a micrometer, I stomp with a mighty force, launching through the air, slowly spinning straight for a Vulture that has became the prey. Bolts whizzing by me, inches, centimeters near my skin, singeing my arm hairs to their roots. I land on top of the droid with a thunderous boom crunching where my foot had landed, driving my sabers straight through the brain of the story high droid, with a counterclockwise rotation around my back, dragging my sabers across the metal of the droid, I leap off the droid landing with the feathers and fly forward with a flashing dash slicing through 2 other droids legs, leaving gravity do its magical job. 3 down, 3 to go, but with little time left. I launch forward running on hairs dipping and dodging blots, I leap up slicing through one leg of a droid and pushing off of its gravity taken hull, coming down on another droid's leg, cutting with ease. I land like a leaf in the autumn skies, and launch with a swift leap, flying my yellow saber straight down the middle of the 6th and final droid with no time to spare. 
 I land with caution, ready to fend off another foe, but none came at that second, so I took the opportunity and ran with it straight to where the main reactors should lie. I swiftly sprint with force leaps through the air to get to the reactor, the ship is 270th of a circle with a ball where the command center is, the middle is the only connected between the back of the ball and the inner back of the circle, that's where the reactor is, im at the left most side, may take me a minute to reach it, but I can get there without being seen. My plan was to quickly fix and rewrite a Vulture droid's code to go with my command, not going to be the best work but it will work, hopefully. I had to act fast because I knew there were going to be hundreds more droids to come to see the commotion, I'd say within the minute. The codes used on the droids are not the best, because of mass production, so It was an easy fix, I just needed it to fly a small bit. It comes back to life with a putt to its movement, I directed it to start flying while I'm on its back, putting the whole time with smoke, just what I needed. I start to move forward as fast as possible. As we get around the hundreds of battle droids below, I'm starting to speed up, and as I see the reactor room, I could hear B1's yell " HEY! STOP! YOUR GOING TO FAST" in their robotic voice. Before I hit the Shield covering the reactor room, I jump off to the left where the blast door is for the room. With the distraction of the droid smashing into the shield, I use this time to slowly cut through the blast doors with both sabers starting at the bottom of the door, going up and around to form a circle I can fit through. I was through within a Minute, unnoticed, or so I was led to believe. When I get into the reactor room, I throw explosives all over the reactors, with a detonation in T minus 1 minute. I fly out of the room, calling for 411 to bring my ship as fast as possible, 55. Running across the hanger, I'm spotted by the hundreds of battle droids, which immediately start firing right as they see me 50. The explosion of the fighter droid caused a chain to nearby explosive barrels, exploding more Vulture droids causing tons of smoke and fires to spread around the hangar area, 45. As I'm running, my yellow saber is blocking multiple bolts flying at me while I'm jumping, spinning, performing acrobatic movements while being shot by hundreds of droids, from B1's, to super's, to droideka's, all firing at me, adding to the smoke, 35. Running with young blood in my veins, I perform 1, 2, 3 long jumps and leap onto the side of a slanted destroyed Vulture droid, 30. I jump up, reaching for the cloudy sky just as 411 swoops in predictively shoving my hand into the side of the sharp A-wing hull, 25. I grab the side of the hull and pull myself up into the cockpit, grabbing the controls, 20. I spin to the exit with roughly 67° of the hanger I need to shoot out of, I fire the afterburners using the circumference of the circle and my fighters movment to my advantage, 15. Pushing forward, I am drifting an A-wing around the hangar of a Separatist capital ship skimming the walls centimeters away from an explosive fiery death, 10. I barely screamed out of the hanger, to be able to see a view of the capital ship flying stright for the other Sepie capital ship, 5. Im still firing the afterburners to try and attempt to get a safe distance away from the soon to be collision sight, 4. I let 411 take the control's, 3. I turn my head to look back, 2. I see the collision of the 2 270° hangers, 1. I watch as i get the view of a star being formed right infront of my eyes, and seeing many Sepie Cruisers being absolutely engulfed by the flames, and a blast wave decimating the Vulture droids… blast wave…. BLAST WAVE! Just then I'm thrown far, along with the debri. I manged to gain control of the craft and start performing advanced monuvers to avoid being hit by debrie that will demolishe me and my tiny fighter.
"Saya, can you hear me? Saya?" Master Obi-Wan Kenobi pleaded.
"Yeah, yeah master, I'm good, I'm fine. Woo…!" I said with a sigh of relief.
Chapter 3
 The explosion had decimated the Separatist forces leaving 4 Cruisers sustaining heavy or mild damages, but with an opening, Obi-Wan and I travel to the ground along with Captain Cody to go for a large ground assault. Master Obi-Wan's plan was to drop in and gather our troops and split them between Obi-Wan and commander Cody. We were west, they were east. The Separatists had the high ground seeing as they had a cliff to their advantage. Flying in on gunships, we were taking heavy fire from their anti aircraft cannons. Commander Cody and I are debriefing the squad on the way to the rally point, seeing gunships after gunship falling to the rocky ground in a fiery explosive ball of red hot metal, and screams, with no plants in sight, just rocks, gunships, and red streaks flying by. Explosions booming right next to us with our doors right open. We have been ordered and ordering troops to stay far away from the mountain top gun fortifying the mountain top of the cliff, leaving that gun for the gunships and the best of the clone troopers, or ARC (Advanced Recon Commandos) troopers to deal with that later, seeing as a ground assault is too dangerous for us. As some of the clones have said, it's not an easy mission, but hops are high.
"30 seconds until landing." A clone trooper yelled to me and Cody.
Cody starts with "All right, listen up! Maintain squad formations, 'A' squad, You're on me-" ZZZZZEEEROW- BOOOM!
"Where hit!" I yell "Everyone! Hold on!"
Before we hit the ground I leap out of the gunship with a backwards somersault, force pulling all the troops out of the burning fireball heading for the ground, grabbing all of the men, including the 2 pilots at the front, breaking through the windows. I land like rain from the sky, catching the troops I just pulled out with my powers and have them roughly land on the fluffy rocks next to our now downed gunship, no casualties yet. I rush over to take cover under our gunship on its left side behind enemy lines. I sit and meditate as they come up with a plan.
"What's the status lieutenant?" Cody asked
"5 injured thanks to General Saya, but that's not that bad news… Does that Rock look familiar?" The lieutenant asked.
"Yea, the mountain, right where we're not supposed to be." Said Cody
"General Kenobi ordered us not to try taking this section from the ground." The lieutenant regenerated back again with what was already established.
"That's what he said…but what would the general do if he were here?" Cody rhetorically asked.
"Saya sir, what do you think?" A trooper asked me somewhat desperately.
"I think Cody should take this one, I've got your back Cody." I answered with my legs crossed, eyes closed, slightly levitating over the rocks.
"Eight-Eight-Six-Seven through Eight-Eight-Six-Nine and Saya, fix your grapples and come with me. Everybody, prepare for covering fire." Cody ordered.
I get up, eyes still shut, ready to block anything coming our way.
"NOW!" Cody yells, sprinting across what is our no-man's-land
I open my eyes, ignite my Sabers, Green in left, yellow in right, and dash towards the now incoming blaster fire. I sense it, left side, block, right side, deflect, one for Cody, deflected. We get to some stalagmites at the bottom of the mountain, sustaining heavy fire, I pose as a distraction for all the fire, deflecting as many blots as I can back at the metal men. One troop trips and falls, pow, bolt straight through the head. Cody and the men shoot the grappling hooks up towards the top of the mountain and start climbing. I jump from my spot reigniting my sabers, driving them through the mountain side, helping me grab hold with my feet. And when I look up, I see a grapple fall behind me. I tried to grab the rope but I was too late. When I managed to obtain it, he had already hit the ground. Another tragedy, one that never had to happen, life being wasted away. I look up, a droid stairs emotionlessly down into my emotion filled eyes. A blue bolt shoots past me, impacting the droid's head, sending the body backwards.
Cody and the other clone rises from the cliff side as I leap up from the side, landing in front of the clones and immediately start deflecting with my 2 sabers having nothing pass. Cody takes this opportunity to run around my defense and attacks the droids head on, bashing one droid with the butt of his rifle and swinging his rifle at another, destroying both of them. The droid manning the anti aircraft gun turns and aims at Cody. Instinctively I jump in front of the cannon as it fires, I deflect the large bolt away with my right yellow saber, knocking my body to the right, making me stumble. But with the motion throwing me to the right, I use the momentum to throw my green saber with my left hand, impaling the droid in the metal chest. Cody then hops onto the turret, points the gun at the droids firing at our men, and lets loose, destroying all in its reticle.
"Thanks General, I owe you one, ill getcha next time." Cody said slowly getting off the turret.
"You're alright my friend, just pay it forward, let's go see how Obi-Wan did." I slightly worried, staring off to the north.
 We group up at the randevu, where we have set base camp on the planet in a small raven a bit away from where we captured the cliff with some makeshift scouting towers dotted around our position. Obi-Wan had more resistance than what he had anticipated, he was a little banged up, but he was fine in the end. This was a huge victory seeing as we have been able to set base on a planet that allows us to get resources through this hyperspace route and onto parts of the army past this point. Before, General Grievous snipped our route to where we couldn't get resources to our army on the other side from Coruscant.
Chapter 4
 12 hours later, we have rested and have managed to build up a good base incase of a surprise attack. We are still fighting a few fronts of Separatist holdouts with a fortress a few klicks west, or about 4 miles west.
I sit in my tent meditating, reflecting back on the weeks events, and what Ahsoka was doing back at the temple, training hard. I recite what I did with an almost overwhelming amount of blaster fire attempting to fly into me, how I was just mostly averting the blots away from me and not in a direction that would benefit me most.
'RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE'
 The ground started to shake out of nowhere, breaking my peace. I rush out of my tent, only to be met with a face full of B2 battle droid. I jump back over my tent flipping onto my feet as I see my tent being lit into flames from heavy bolt fire flying at me. Igniting both my sabers, I deflect the incoming fire away from me up into the sky as much as I physically could. I took a glance around, it was becoming more sunlit as we fought. It was a slaughter, clones dying left and right, Kenobi was on the Command ship getting patched, so it was just me, and the clones down here, being manicured. With a swift right step, I change lightsaber form, combining my form 3, (defensive form blocking anything coming way, and either making, or waiting for an opening to strike) with a combination of form 2 (saber to saber form, putting least amount or saber movement and preferring precise efficient movements) and form 4 (saber from using the force to enhance physical abilities, and heavily utilizing fast acrobatic movements to move around and disorient the opponents, using wide sweeping saber movements to block and hit targets) I use the power if the many bolts to propel my body onto my right leg, crouching down and taking a huge lead in to the air. Looking around like it is moving in stop motion, I see thousands of droids around, completely outnumbering my men. Glancing down where I had jumped from, there seems to be a super battle droid rising from the ground, looking as if it has been there for at least a few days. Time seems to start like normal again, immediately I have to block bolts coming for my body, twisting, turning, deflecting every. single. bolt. right to another droid. I can't have any more unneeded deaths in my hands. I land with an impactful explosion of yellow lighting, rendering half of the electronics on the field obsolete. Shots fire over the wall, exploding near me.
"Everyone, Retreat!" I yelled into the comms.
I ran towards the lieutenant that I had survived the crash with, he was running for a troop transport.
"Get to the ships, return to the Venators! Get Kenobi and relay what has happened!" Urgency blowing through my voice.
 I push him into the ship as it takes off. As it's doing so, I force push it away from the field as to be in less danger of being shot down. But rockets fly through the air, I reach through the force and grab onto the hurdling death traps, I grab 1, 2, crash them into one another, 3, grab, 4, grab, 5, miss. ERRROW… BOOOM! With a hopeless explosion, the ship bursts into an explosive ball of fire, right in front of my eyes, out of my grasp. Shots fly past my head from behind me, I ignite my sunlit yellow saber to block incoming bolts. No men, only metal remains, and it wants me dead. I dash for my ship on the other side of the airstrip, luckily barely touched from this horrible surprise party that invited everyone I very much dislike. Hopping into my A-wing, I lift-off dogging left, right, up, down, roll left, roll right, barely being passed by on all sides by cannon fire. When I reach the point past the clouds, there's a whole war above. Separatist forces have surprised Kenobi with an overwhelming number of ships, putting our war torn 12 Venators against 16 Munificent class Cruisers. We were greatly out matched. But the time I was in space we had lost 3 Vectors compared to there 1 lost. Droids noticed me coming from the planet and started to verge onto my position.
"Obi-Wan! You there? Can you hear me?" I yelled, pulling evasive maneuvers.
"Saya, is that you?" Kenobi asked.
"Yes, we got surprised on the ground, seems the same happened here." I rushingly said.
"Yes, they came out of nowh-" Kenobi is cut off by a blaring siren from my cockpit.
"Wait, my ship is damaged, it's starting up my hyperdrive, 411 can you fix it?" I said dipping left and right while trying to stop the hyperdrive activation.
With a few bleeps of fear, I understand what's happening.
"When I was thrown from the capital ship explosive wave, I must have been hit near the hyperdrive, and explosions from my escape, along with the maneuvers I have been pulling, it may have caused damage that is registering a hyperdrive activation. Master Obi-Wan, I don't know, I-I don't know what to do!" I claimed with fear in my eyes.
"Can you deactivate the hyperdrive at all 411?" Kenobi asked
411 bleeps with a sad toon.
"Blast, Saya, does it say where you're going?"
"N- No, my council just says ERROR." I stated, now with much fear in my voice. 
 I managed to steer my craft into the position of the hyperspace lane.
"Tell Ahsoka good bye if I don't-" I get cut off when the the hyperdrive powered up woth a vvvvvvvvvvvVVVVERRRRRRR PEEOW, and just like that, me, my A-wing, and R2-411, are gone.
Chapter 5
 It's been days since the battle, mabe 2 or 3 days. Luckily I always keep many ration bars in my fighter to last me a good few days, along with my extra water and my ability to go into a deep meditative state, conserving food and water. Keeping me company is my meditation and 411. We have almost hit some unknown objects, could have been planets, asteroids, other ships, but we seem to be staying in hyperspace lanes luckily, or I would have been dead a long time ago. My class 2 hyperdrive could have taken me all over the galaxy by now, I could be heading towards Coruscant right now for all I know.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
My hyperdrive warning kicked on, showing that there is a massive gravity force in my path. The console flashed with big red dangerous letters "Exiting Hyperdrive" on the screen.
"YES! FINALLY!" I yelled with excitement. 
 I watch through the glass to see a barren looking planet, and a similar looking moon, a moon I was heading to. I was moving fast, as I entered the moon's atmosphere, Im grabbing the controls, barely anything. My craft is red hot from the rate at which I'm coming in on. I'm grabbing the stick, pulling back as much as I can, as to try and save myself and 411 from a fiery death. I scraped by a big rocky mountain dealing more damage to my A-wing.
"HOLD ON 411!"
"Come ooooon. Pull pull pullllll…. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!-" VERRROW BOOOOSH!!! The crash landing sounded like a bomb flying through the air, then landing on its target. I try to get from my seat just to find my strap and window will not open. Using my saber I cut off my seat strap and broke the window from the hinges and leaped out, taking 411 from the craft, swiftly landing on a tall mountainous rock. The craft seemed to have pushed through the land 50 meters from the initial impact spot. The area I was in seemed to be very rocky terrain with many rocky canyons and huge rocks that are almost mountainous. The sun was close to setting down for the night but was still a good hour away from sleeping.
 With the force by my side, I felt a very uneasy sensation telling me to stay out of sight. I duck down on the tall skinny rock taking 411 down with me. 411 confusingly bleeps when I do so. "Hey, I have a feeling right now, just keep quiet real quick, there's somebody coming. Trust me." Me and 411 peer over the edge looming over my crashed ship just as a group of 6 men in full armor covering their whole body fly in with jetpacks strapped to their backs, blasters in hand. As they land, they search around my wreckage, presumably looking for survivors. One seems to be ordering the others around, pointing at one to look in one direction, another a different direction, and scanning around for the unexpected visitor. I look down at my Wrist link, my distress signal wasn't sent, I guess that was damaged from entering the planet at such high speed with no deflector shields surrounding the ship like a protective blanket.
"Blast, 411, what's your S.O.S signal situation, did it go through?" 411 beeps with a little drama like I should know it didn't go through.
"Well sorry for busting your rusty bolts you rowdy rancor, better to try than to just give up mister sassy pants. Maybe I should wipe your memory for a change, see how you like it."
"Now shush, don't want them to find us spying on them, won't look too good." I demand. "Now here, in case we get caught, I don't want them to know I'm a Jedi, so here, take my sabers, I'm not gonna need them anyways." I said shoving my lightsabers into 411's storage compartment and looking towards the crash again. 
 Just then the suit of armor that had been commanding his squad bursts up into my view right on my face out of hyperspace blue.
"Ah, found ya trespassers, you 2 are coming with me." Demanded the Mandalorian with a snickering sound in his voice as the others rise from the portal of the abyss from down below.
 It was a good thing my ropes where in the tent back on Sarrish, or this may have been an even worse situation, Mangalorians like them hate Jedi with a passion, and it's a good thing I always have a broken blaster in 411 for any cases where I need to blend in with a crowd or pose as a normal civilian; although, the ability to become a civilian at any point is great, I've had little need to do so much. I'm quite popular with the people for being one who tries to connect with the population as a fellow citizen. So I rarely stay in the temple for too long. I love being with the people and learning skills without the force, like being a mechanic, electrician, public speaker, security guard, an all around great person to talk with about anything. I'm quite known on all levels of Coruscant for being one of the most friendly Jedi to be around. Right now though, I need to focus on not being caught, at least That's what my gut is telling me. After they searched my character for any weapons and found the broken blaster that 411 had put in my holster where my lightsaber usually is, they were satisfied and pushed us into one of their big Kom'rk Mark 1 class Mandalorian starfightetransport ship.
(Look in comments for 6th)
submitted by IsiahE4112 to StarWarsCantina [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 04:17 VeronicaWaldorf Sextpanther 404 error

I gave my Sextpanther name and link to several people personally know.
Every time they type in the link they get a 404 message. If they make an account and search my name in the search bar on the website, my name pops up in the drop-down menu but when you click it and go to the page there’s a 404 error.
If you’re on the explore page and you don’t hit the add button, but try to open a new tab you will get the 404 error
Another person told me the other day that none of my links on my SP page work. And again there’s a 404 error.
Is this like a shadow ban? Is this a Site issue? Has anyone had similar issues?
It’s not a problem for the people I personally know to persevere and push through to find me. But anyone else, especially new to the site is not gonna take the time of day to try to find me again.
submitted by VeronicaWaldorf to CamGirlProblems [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 04:04 spinoceros13 WDW Trading Board Locations May 2023

I saw all of these boards in person on my last trip.
Magic Kingdom •Main Street Emporium -saw at 5pm •Middle of store on Main Street on the right •Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe •Fantasy Faire gift shop •Mickey’s PhilharMagic Merchandise Shop •Sir Mickey’s •Be Our Guest entrance booth (only there rarely) •Memento Mori (near the Haunted Mansion) •Pirates Bazaar (Pirates Of the Caribbean gift shop) •Star Traders •Frontierland Trading Post •Big Top Gift Shop •Bonjour! Village Gifts
Epcot •Pin Trading Central underneath Spaceship Earth •The gift shop exit of Mission: Space •The gift shop exit of Test Track •Disney Traders (crossover between Canada and Mexico) •Port of Entry (next to Disney Traders) •Mexico kidcot •Norway kidcot •Germany kidcot •Italy kidcot •Japan kidcot •USA kidcot •France kidcot (in Les Halles) •Pin Cart near International Gateway (not out in rain) •Canada kidcot •UK Kidcot •The Crown & Crest (UK pavilion) •Journey into Imagination exit at the cash register
Hollywood Studios •Antique Curios (left of entrance) •Movieland •Crossroad •5 & 10 Store on Hollywood Boulevard (not there if busy) •Mickey’s of Hollywood •Once Upon A Time/Sunset Club Couture •Tower of Terror gift shop •Sunset Ranch Pins and Souvenirs •Tatooine Traders (Star Tours gift shop) •Backlot Express Restaurant had one behind the counter •Frozen Fractal Gifts (next to Vacation Fun animated short theatre) •Jessie’s Trading Post (Toy Story Mania exit gift shop) •Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway exit gift shop
Animal Kingdom •Garden Gate Gifts •Disney Vacation Club stand on Discovery Island •Island Mercantile •Discovery Trading Post •Animal Kingdom Trading Company •Pop up stand near Na’vi River Journey (closes at 6pm) •Restaurant osaurus mobile order stand •World’s Largest Pin Truck in Dinoland
Disney Springs • Pin traders • Disney Centerpiece in Co-Op Marketplace/Tren-D • Art of Disney • Star Wars Galactic Outpost • Once Upon a Toy • Star Wars Trading Post
Contemporary •Fantasia •Fantasia Market (behind Fantasia) •Contempo Cafe (there was someone standing at the entrance with a board) •DVC Booth next to Contempo Cafe
Polynesian •Moana Mercantile •Boutiki •DVC booth next to Boutiki •Recreation board by the main building doors (only out when raining)
Grand Floridian •M. Mouse Mercantile •White Basin •DVC next to Grand Californian Cafe
•I didn’t go to every resort but the ones I did all had pin boards in their major gift shops, you might have to ask to see it.
•Skyliner Transfer Station DVC kiosk occasionally has a board
•Occasionally in various places there will be a pin trash can with boards on three sides. I saw one at the Pop Century resort and in Hollywood Studios. Just keep an eye out!
Happy trading!
submitted by spinoceros13 to DisneyPinSwap [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 04:00 Analypiss Strength - Striking and Lifting

Key and explanation of periods where Juggernaut was stronger or weaker than normal

Striking

Lifting, pushing, pulling, throwing, grip, etc.

submitted by Analypiss to JuggernautMegaRT [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 03:56 mofuz Does anyone have any experience with having a pop up in your bar for serving food?

I am looking into renting space in my kitchen to a pizza chef to serve to my customers. He would take care of all overhead and labor, and I would take care of location (including use of my equipment), and bringing him customers in an already established bar and venue space.
I was thinking of doing this as a profit share basis, but still doing research what what numbers or expectations are fair.
submitted by mofuz to BarOwners [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 03:45 Soalai Every Old Tour Performance Ranked (Fearless through Reputation)

Disclaimer: This is an old post. I wrote it in March but it was never approved until now.
In preparation for Eras' opening night, I went back and watched every previous tour in full, either the official DVDs, or other full filmed versions if the DVD was unavailable or incomplete. Then I tried to rank all the performances.
This is not a ranking of the song itself but rather the presentation, staging, originality, etc. Surprise songs from the same tour will all count as one. Would love to know your favorites, and how you think Eras stacks up!
91. Speak Now World Tour – Fearless / Hey, Soul Sister / I'm Yours
The start of this tour's acoustic set, where she sat under a tree, strumming the ukulele. Points for the outfit, but I think this was an inferior arrangement of this particular song.
#. Red Tour – Treacherous
Weird choices were made here. Why was she wearing a tutu and dancing ballet for one of her most serious, adult songs? Why was this the main set closer? I think this would have worked better during the acoustic set, then she could close with Everything Has Changed or something. Still hard to complain about the song itself, though. The fog machines suited it.
89. Fearless Tour – Our Song
Cute, but she mostly just stood in one place and there was some awkward butt shaking in the middle.
88. Fearless Tour – White Horse
Part of the acoustic set. It followed Tim McGraw, but I think two songs that slow wasn't a good pacing choice and this one just doesn't fill an arena the way Tim McGraw does.
87. Red Tour – Stay Stay Stay / Ho Hey
I'm surprised this was part of the set. She did it basically how you'd expect, bopping around, kinda campy. I like how she had a moment goofing around with Amos.
86. Red Tour – Holy Ground
This song is made for a stadium setting, but I really think she should have been playing the guitar during it, or somehow done more. The way it was, it just sounded like noise. The dancers dressed like sirens did liven it up, but were also kinda cartoony.
85. 1989 World Tour – I Wish You Would
Basically the same performance she already did like three times before in the show. The real MVP was that one dancer in the back who did a flip off the chin-up bar.
84. Fearless Tour – Teardrops On My Guitar
I like how they turned the big screens into bookshelves, to continue the imagery of both high school and fairy tales. However, the singing didn't sound great here.
83. Speak Now World Tour – Fifteen
Sounded fuller than the Fearless tour version, but I think the giant princess gown didn't really suit the song. (Some shows also had her performing Ours in this spot.)
82. Fearless Tour – Fifteen
The first more intimate performance in this tour. She was seated and you can tell from the look in her eyes that the song made her feel nostalgic. Some videos of this have a teal dress and some have yellow; I prefer the teal.
81. Speak Now World Tour – Surprise Covers
A variety of covers on the guitar, during her acoustic set. She showed her versatility here as she did everything from classics to modern hits.
80. Fearless Tour – Hey Stephen
The one where she snuck around the hallways and popped out on the other side of the stadium. Great for the nosebleeds.
79. Red Tour – State Of Grace
She started off behind a red curtain, her silhouette singing the opening lines. (Unfortunately, the videos I watched had her struggling a lot with her earpiece and singing totally off-key for the first verse, but I know that wouldn't have happened every night.) A decent rock banger to open the show, if a little repetitive.
78. Red Tour – I Almost Do
The first of this tour's acoustic performances on the B stage. Nothing terrible but nothing remarkable either. It was about the lyrics and emotions, not the theatrics.
77. Red Tour – Begin Again
Staged the same way as I Almost Do, which was an appropriate way to do this song, but I can't help but think it would have worked better closer to the end.
76. 1989 World Tour – Bad Blood
It was fine, but by this point in the concert, I'm tired of the same kind of performance again.
75. Fearless Tour – Tell Me Why
Typical energetic angry Tay performance. She made some weird movements but that silver dress was everything.
74. Speak Now World Tour – The Story Of Us
Similar to Tell Me Why above from the previous tour.
73. Speak Now World Tour – Last Kiss
This version was a tad faster than the studio version, and the vocal delivery wasn't quite as sad; the sighs and the faint quiver in her voice that people love so much weren't really there. Still a nice rendition. The crowd was sobbing.
72. 1989 World Tour – Love Story
A nice synth arrangement that wisely went in a different direction than the older tours. By this point, both she and the audience had outgrown the princess gowns. However, I was kinda waiting for something more to happen, like fireworks or something.
71. Fearless Tour (2009 only) – Change
A faithful adaptation of this song, and a good choice for the main set closer.
70. 1989 World Tour – Welcome To New York
That was a lot of dancers! A decent opener, flashy and just '80s enough.
69. Red Tour – You Belong With Me
A sort of girl group throwback, with Taylor and the backup singers in matching red dresses and gloves. It was OK, and a good choice to perform one of her smash hits years later, but quite removed from the teenage angst this song came from.
68. 1989 World Tour – New Romantics
Similar to Welcome To New York which preceded it, this one worked early in the set almost as well as it works to close the deluxe album. Love her blue eyeshadow.
67. Speak Now World Tour – Mine
Pretty straightforward, but the red guitar is a nice touch. (Was she already dropping hints at Red?)
66. Red Tour – Sparks Fly
On a hanging platform that slowly moved around the arena, while the screens in back showed actual sparks. It was cool, but I'm not sure it was the best idea to limit her movement for arguably the loudest, most energetic song in her catalog at the time.
65. 1989 World Tour – I Knew You Were Trouble
The rock version. A bit slow and heavy but I appreciate her doing something new with the song.
64. 1989 World Tour – This Love
Could have been part of the acoustic set, but instead she upped the electronic and bass sounds and added fireworks. A nice breather before the last few songs.
63. Reputation Stadium Tour – End Game
Solid, but didn't stand out among the shenanigans of the other songs early in the show.
62. Red Tour – Everything Has Changed (with Ed Sheeran)
This one had a laid back feel that matches the song, but the raised platform and fans waving their lights gave it a little something extra. Ed sounded great. I kinda respect that he made no attempt to dress to the aesthetic.
61. Fearless Tour (2009 only) – I'm Only Me When I'm With You (with Kellie Pickler and Gloriana)
A very energetic country number with all the opening performers, the first of a two-song finale.
60. Speak Now World Tour – Surprise Guest Songs
She didn't have one at every show of this tour, but they were all pretty fun, with a mix of genres. The crowd, of course, loved them. It's really amazing to see how many friendships and connections she made in the industry, even early on.
59. Red Tour – Surprise Guest Songs
See above. Every one of these videos I found, Taylor had a different outfit, which is impressive.
58. Speak Now World Tour – You Belong With Me
She walked from the B stage back to the main stage, hugging and shaking hands with fans along the way. It's clear from including this song that, though Speak Now was a more adult album than Fearless, she knew most of her fans were still teenagers and still needed these songs about high school.
57. Fearless Tour – You Belong With Me
Her vocals weren't strong in the clips that I watched, but the costume was iconic.
56. Fearless Tour – The Way I Loved You
Sometimes done in the silveblack dress and sometimes in the purple. The way she moved between the two halves of the stage was pretty on-the-nose for the song, but I love how she featured Grant the guitarist. Hair Force One for the win! Also, it was a crime that they left this off the Journey to Fearless DVD.
55. Red Tour – The Lucky One
Taylor was dressed like a retro Hollywood starlet, and the dancers were paparazzi with cameras or screaming fans. A very literal presentation of this song which probably helped it stick in people's minds more.
54. Reputation Stadium Tour – Style / Love Story / You Belong With Me
I think Style was a weird choice to mash up with these two songs, but it worked well enough as a showcase for the band, many of whom had been with her over a decade by this point.
53. 1989 World Tour – Blank Space
She said her goal here was to recreate the music video, but I'm not sure this really conveyed the message of the song; she should have interacted with the dancers more to achieve that effect. Still a very entertaining performance, though.
52. 1989 World Tour – All You Had To Do Was Stay
The cherry on top: columns of blue smoke shot out every time the distorted voice squeaked "stay!" Not sure what was up with that chair, though.
51. Red Tour – 22
A big party, just as this song should be. I'm sure that, when seeing it live, the energy would have been off the charts. The choreography was impressive, more than we usually see from her.
50. Fearless Tour – Picture To Burn
The screens were on fire, so it's exactly how you'd expect her to stage this song. The guitar slayed.
49. Reputation Stadium Tour – Blank Space
I think the red bodysuit, gyrating choreography, and multiple Taylors on the back screen actually better conveyed the "character" she's playing in the song. Like she's this femme fatale with multiple personalities.
48. 1989 World Tour – Clean
Now here's a song that could have used some fake rain, somehow. Even so, the images on the big screen were quite lovely.
47. Speak Now World Tour – Mean
I think it was a good choice to keep this one simple. Just that porch-shaped mini stage with her band beside her. The song itself is a whole mood, so it didn't need a lot of theatrics.
46. Red Tour – Mean
Basically the same as the Speak Now performance, just with a different outfit and shaped stage.
45. Reputation Stadium Tour – Call It What You Want
Not as big a song as most of this album, but a nice warm moment before the crazy finale. I do dig the purple dress, and how the dancer she danced with was a redhead (not unlike a certain British actor).
44. Fearless Tour – Tim McGraw
Making this slow dance into exactly what it was meant to be: a swaying sing-along, everyone's phones or lighters in the air. She walked through the crowd to hug the fans.
43. Speak Now World Tour – Dear John
For the first couple verses, she just sat on the arch/bridge thing, and I kinda wondered if anything else was going to happen. Then I said "holy shit!" as the fireworks exploded up everywhere. We know she may never perform this one again, so I have serious FOMO that I did not see this show back then.
42. Speak Now World Tour – Speak Now
First time she wore the distinct purple Speak Now dress, possibly the outfit of the era. The crowd were singing along like crazy. The scenery definitely brought the song to life even if it normally isn't the most energetic from the era. She walked through the crowd shaking hands while the wedding guests tossed the bouquet around, wearing the most late 2000s/early 2010s party dresses imaginable.
41. Fearless Tour – Forever & Always
Boy was she pissed at a certain Jonas back then. Red dress, red microphone, red couch, red text on the back screen saying "They shouldn't do bad things." The notes in head voice sound kinda weak, but she nailed the high note with the microphone lean. Insane stumbling down the stairs and throwing herself all over the stage. Very extra.
40. Speak Now World Tour – Better Than Revenge
Reminiscent of the Forever & Always performance, but her vocals were better here. Grant and Paul got a guitar solo (or duet, I guess).
39. Reputation Stadium Tour – Getaway Car
Sonically, all but identical to the studio version. The "Why She Disappeared" poem beforehand and the desert visuals onscreen complemented it and helped turn it into more of a story.
38. Reputation Stadium Tour – King Of My Heart
The huge drums were a great touch. You can see how happy she was, which didn't always come across with just a superficial listen to the Rep album tracks.
37. Fearless Tour – Fearless
One of my favorite songs sounded even better live. Her smile, stomping and spinning around, totally captured the spirit of the song. Bonus points for adding in the name of the city each night.
36. Fearless Tour – You're Not Sorry / What Goes Around…Comes Around
First appearance of the piano head flip. These two songs worked decently mashed up, but I wonder how it would have been if she stayed at the piano the whole time.
35. 1989 World Tour – I Know Places
The moving doors were pretty cool.
34. 1989 World Tour – Surprise Songs
The raised walkway and whole stadium lit up blue was an excellent way to do the acoustic set. Props to her for not sitting down the way she did on the other tours, that had to take stamina. (In my heart, the sing-along of You Are In Love from the DVD is the "canon" performance here because it was part of the album.)
33. 1989 World Tour – Style
Probably the most effective use of the catwalk, given how it perfectly fit the lyrics. The dancers were brave for roller skating on it.
32. Reputation Stadium Tour – Bad Blood / Should've Said No
Another snake, this time a skeletal one transporting her to the upper stage. These songs worked very well mashed up; just listen how the crowd went nuts at that first banjo lick.
31. Reputation Stadium Tour – Dress
Another huge improvement from the studio version. It wasn't as high pitched, therefore more listenable. The sheets waving around everywhere were a nice subtle way to remind us what this song was about, in case people were too distracted by the pretty lights and synths to listen to the lyrics.
30. 1989 World Tour – Enchanted / Wildest Dreams
By this point, the piano mash-ups while wearing a long gown were getting kind of predictable. However, this was a great choice of mash-up and I dig whatever shape that piano was supposed to be.
29. Speak Now World Tour – Long Live
Another song that's tailor-made for a stadium just the way it is. The sparkly silver guitar was perfect.
28. Red Tour – Red
Now this is how you do a rock number. She had the sparkly red guitar and the dancers were waving giant red sheets all around.
27. Fearless Tour – Love Story
Once again, iconic. Ball gowns twirling until she changed into a white wedding dress, which def looked more like a prom dress. The backgrounds on the screen were low-res by today's standards, but this is what a lot of people still think of when they think of Taylor Swift.
26. Red Tour – Love Story
Similar to the Fearless tour version, with different costumes. The vocals weren't good in the video I watched, but we know she can do it. I especially like the moment where she grabbed her dance partner and ran across the stage with him – "escape this town for a little while."
25. Reputation Stadium Tour – Gorgeous
Classy move to use this song to introduce the dancers and backup singers. Also those cats in the Netflix recording – were they on the screens at the actual tour?!
24. Reputation Stadium Tour – Delicate
Finally bringing some color, as well as this era's version of the floating cage. The song is more romantic than what came before, but the gold tendrils wrapping around were still reminiscent of snakes.
23. Reputation Stadium Tour – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together / This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
An all-out romp to close the show.
22. Reputation Stadium Tour – Surprise Songs
Your feelings about this will probably depend on the individual song, especially if you saw the tour live. The videos I've seen were all great, showcasing how her vocals and guitar skills improve with every tour. Also, probably the last time we'll ever hear the 5-minute ATW live.
21. 1989 World Tour – Shake It Off
Basically the only way to do this song. I dig the royal blue.
20. Speak Now World Tour – Our Song
A definite improvement from the Fearless tour version. The prairie dress, the braid, dueting with Caitlin the fiddle player, and much more movement around the stage.
19. Speak Now World Tour – Sparks Fly
DROP EVERYTHING NOW! Excellent choice to start with this instead of Mine. The dress legit looked like it's sewn out of fireworks.
18. Red Tour – All Too Well
No frills, just Taylor at a red piano and this magnificent song swelling until it filled the whole arena. Her voice was quite raw and emotional here.
17. 1989 World Tour – Surprise Guest Songs
A major feature of this tour, done at every show.
16. Reputation Stadium Tour – Shake It Off (with Charli XCX and Camila Cabello)
As well done as the 1989 Tour version was, this one was a step up. I love the snakes bopping around. The message of this song worked just as well with the themes of Rep.
15. Reputation Stadium Tour – Dancing With Our Hands Tied
(Or So It Goes, in some performances.) Arguably the finest of all her acoustic sets. Beautiful stripped-down renditions of songs that I overlooked at first on the album. Some people say DWOHT is her most romantic song, and you can see why here. I also love the green get-up, which was still reminiscent of the snake motif but had its own flavor.
14. 1989 World Tour – Out Of the Woods
The forceful yet stuttering choreography really served the anxious nature of the song. The paper airplanes whizzing back and forth were a nice touch. Also the perfect spot in the show to put it – very climactic.
13. Red Tour – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
The finale where she brought the whole damn circus, literally. Sing it, clowns.
12. Reputation Stadium Tour – …Ready For It?
The old Taylor was dead.
11. Speak Now World Tour – Enchanted
They nailed the costume and the scenery yet again. She sang it better here than on the studio recording.
10. Speak Now World Tour – Haunted
Excellent transition here, as the Enchanted forest turned dark blue and the giant bell appeared. Speaking of the bell, her smacking it (but not really) may be the most dramatic thing to happen in any Taylor Swift live performance. Her dress was even tattered at the bottom. I'm here for all of it.
9. 1989 World Tour – We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
When Taylor became the rock goddess we always knew she was.
8. Speak Now World Tour – Back To December / Apologize
Beautiful presentation of this song. Full string orchestra here (I think?). Really leaned into the winter imagery with the light blue gown, white piano, and snowflakes falling in the background.
8. Reputation Stadium Tour – Don't Blame Me
She swore she doesn't love the drama, but this performance would suggest otherwise.
7. Reputation Stadium Tour – I Did Something Bad
A strong performance with lots of pyro, but it really elevated at the bridge, where the dancers lifted Taylor up and she leaned back into the pillar of fire on the screen. "Light me up," indeed.
6. Speak Now World Tour – Love Story
An improvement over the Fearless version in every respect. She swooped over the crowd on a floating balcony, while pairs of dancers in period dress spun on trapezes hanging from the ceiling.
5. Fearless Tour – Should've Said No
THE RAIN MACHINE! With the words in it! I think this spoke for itself. She literally killed it.
4. 1989 World Tour – How You Get the Girl
Another rain performance, but this time with neon umbrellas and a unique glow-in-the-dark bubblegum dress. She didn't need to do all this for such a deep cut, but she did. Underrated.
3. Reputation Stadium Tour – Look What You Made Me Do
The superior version of this song (addendum: until Eras, that is.) The black-and-gold snake robe, the "tilted stage," and of course Karyn the massive inflatable snake. Helped many people appreciate and understand what was once a very polarizing song, myself included.
2. Reputation Stadium Tour – Long Live / New Year's Day
A gorgeous piano mash-up that went right to the heart. In my opinion, Long Live belongs on every tour, and the line "hold on to spinning around" flowed perfectly into "hold onto the memories." Beyond that, this was the moment that freed her from the bad-girl big-reputation persona she had presented for most of the show. It was human and vulnerable. Just look at the joy on her face as she gazed out at the audience. We stan a queen.
1. Red Tour – I Knew You Were Trouble
Perhaps not as iconic as the circus number, but sure as hell should be. Started with the fiddle player going absolutely insane, on a sparkly red fiddle no less! Followed by Taylor and all the dancers acting out some sort of masquerade ball, eventually tearing off her poofy white gown to reveal a sexy black and gold romper. An electrifying dubstep Phantom of the Opera.
Thank you for reading all this!
submitted by Soalai to TaylorSwift [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 03:34 harry-jg How to Pay Hulu Outside in USA

Can't access Hulu outside the United States? It's as if the universe has conspired against you, demanding you provide a US credit card and asking you to physically be in the country. This becomes particularly vexing when you're on a vacation in, say, Paris, and all you want is to binge-watch your favourite show while munching on a croissant. Turns out, renewing your subscription can be as complicated as explaining the plot of a time-travel movie to your grandmother.
So here's the trick: You need a VPN. Hulu, being the sly fox that it is, looks at your IP address to see if you're within the good ol' USA. But a VPN, with its digital cloak of invisibility, lets you masquerade as a Yank, regardless of your actual whereabouts. Meaning, you could be sipping sake in Tokyo or riding a camel in Egypt, but Hulu will think you're eating apple pie in the heartland.
Through diligent labour, my team and I scrutinized over 60 VPNs designed to finagle Hulu's geoblocks. And standing tall among the crowd, we have ExpressVPN. It's the Brad Pitt of VPNs, offering multiple US servers and lightning-fast speeds to let you access Hulu without as much as a hiccup. And just to sweeten the deal, you can take ExpressVPN for a spin without any risk, as it's protected by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If it doesn't tickle your fancy, getting your money back is as easy as pie.
Getting Cozy with Hulu Globally: A VPN's Role in Your Streaming Escapades
Ever tried to access Hulu outside the United States? It's like attempting to communicate with a mime—nearly impossible and often met with an unamused silence. Hulu, with its treasure trove of binge-worthy content, unfortunately, dons an armor of licensing restrictions that keep it securely tethered to the Land of the Free. Its digital gatekeepers, aptly called geoblocks, detect the non-US IP address and give you a digital cold shoulder. And if you thought that's the end of your woes, there's more! Setting up a new Hulu account would need a US credit card, a hurdle that's hard to leap.
In these dire times, one can count on the prowess of a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Picture a VPN as a savvy undercover agent, masterfully disguising your IP address as if you're lounging on a couch somewhere in New York, even when you're actually sunbathing in Barcelona. A VPN juggles your internet traffic, directing it through a server of your choice, thereby replacing your original IP address with a shiny new one from the chosen location. This high-tech sleight of hand can bamboozle streaming platforms into thinking you're within their allowed borders.
In layman's terms, pick a VPN server located in the US and voila! You get a US IP address. When Hulu gazes upon this borrowed IP, it believes you're a proud dweller of Uncle Sam's land, lifting the barriers. Suddenly, signing up, renewing subscriptions, and accessing your beloved Hulu shows become a cakewalk, no matter where on the globe you're perched.
ExpressVPN
Imagine you're trying to sprint a marathon on stilts - pretty inconvenient and unstable, right? Now swap those stilts with a pair of world-class running shoes, and suddenly you're Usain Bolt. That's precisely the upgrade ExpressVPN offers when you're trying to subscribe to Hulu or streaming in Ultra High Definition.
In a test of virtual athleticism, ExpressVPN's New York, Dallas, and Chicago servers gave a stunning performance. Clocking in at an average speed of 91 Mbps, they fell only a hair short of my prime 100 Mbps connection. It’s like running a race and placing a close second to a cheetah. Given that you need merely a humble 25 Mbps to stream in UHD, this VPN crosses the finish line with excessive energy to spare. Even when I indulged in a hair-raising episode of American Horror Story, buffering was a foreign concept.
In addition to its impressive speed, ExpressVPN offers a roster of 24 US locations, akin to a digital buffet of options for connecting to Hulu on your world travels. Even from the other side of the world (9,153 km away, to be exact), my New Jersey server stood like a steadfast guard, ensuring my connection remained unbroken.
What's more, ExpressVPN’s MediaStreamer acts as a secret decoder ring, enabling you to watch Hulu on devices that usually don't shake hands with VPNs. PlayStation, Xbox, or even that one smart TV you got at a Black Friday sale years ago; all can be brought into the fold. The setup process was quicker than making a microwave popcorn bag. Simply jot down a code from your ExpressVPN account dashboard, feed it into your smart TV’s network settings, and voila! I found myself catching up on Hulu shows on my antiquated Samsung Tizen TV with no hiccups.
While ExpressVPN might ask for a few more pennies than its fellow VPN services, the sheer performance justifies the price tag. It's like paying extra for a VIP concert ticket - you're assured of the best experience. And with a 30-day money-back guarantee, you can test drive it on Hulu, no strings attached. And if you decide it's not your cup of tea, their customer support is there to process your refund without quibble. They’re rather nice about it, really.
CyberGhostVPN
Picture CyberGhost as the highly competent butler of your digital mansion, ensuring a seamless Hulu streaming experience. This ace up the VPN sleeve not only provides fast and reliable connections but serves them with a silver platter specifically designed for Hulu. Imagine a world where buffering is as extinct as dial-up internet, all thanks to CyberGhost’s Hulu-optimized servers. I frolicked in this paradise while renewing my subscription using their Miami server.
Using CyberGhost's Hulu-optimized servers is like walking through an automatic door; it's a breeze. The interface is as user-friendly as a Labrador puppy. A simple peck on your keyboard typing "Hulu" in the search bar under the "For streaming" tab, and you're given a list of servers that are specially designed to work magic on Hulu. Better still, some of these servers have undergone a digital personal training regimen to optimize their performance for Fire Stick and Android TV specifically.
While CyberGhost may not be as predictably consistent as ExpressVPN, akin to a weather forecast, its connections still hold strong. Think of it like a relay race with the US, UK, and Australia servers, each passing the baton without letting the speed dip below an 82 Mbps average. I was treated to uninterrupted feasts of "Santa Evita" and "House of the Dragon" in Ultra High Definition, without so much as a single awkward pause or hiccup.
Private Internet Access
Imagine a scenario where you have a myriad of IP addresses at your disposal for streaming Hulu like a monarch, that's exactly what PIA offers. This VPN is a playground teeming with server options in the US, reducing your chances of being in the middle of an overcrowded digital mosh pit. Trust me, you'd prefer your own breathing room when renewing your Hulu subscription, which I did with as much ease as butter sliding off a hot knife. With such an extensive server network, you have a buffet of alternative routes should Hulu unexpectedly pull the roadblock on one.
What sets PIA apart from the crowd is its penchant for personalization. Think of it as the bespoke suit of VPN apps. This little wonder comes with an array of widgets that are as flexible as a yoga instructor, ready to twist and bend to suit your interface aesthetic. Additionally, it hands you the reins of encryption, allowing you to choose between the Fort Knox of security - the AES 256-bit encryption, or the slightly more fleet-footed but still quite secure AES 128-bit encryption.
Now, this plethora of customization options could be a bit like being lost in a tech version of Narnia for the newly initiated. It's a lot to take in. But give it a little time, a few exploratory clicks and swipes, and you'll find the app's interface becomes as familiar and easy to navigate as your favorite neighborhood bistro.
Five Secret Passages to Hulu Land Without a US Credit Card in 2023
Juggling through the nuances of signing up for Hulu, especially without a US credit card, can make your head spin faster than a hamster on a wheel. So let's pop the lid off Pandora's box and unveil the five undercover methods to bring Hulu to your fingertips.
Before you sprint into action, let's cross off a couple of quick checks:
Make sure to equip yourself with a VPN. Any VPN on my coveted shortlist should do the trick, but I would tilt my hat towards ExpressVPN. It zips along at breakneck speeds and boasts a generous offering of US servers to select from
Now you're in the right gear, but you need to be in the right place. As Hulu only pays house visits to those who reside in the US (virtually, of course), that's where you should connect.
With these quick checks done and dusted, you're ready to proceed. Brace yourself as we unveil the five secret scrolls to gain access to the tantalizing world of Hulu.
MyGiftCardSupply: Your Key to Unlock Hulu's Magic Box
A Hulu gift card from MyGiftCardSupply is your golden ticket to the land of unlimited entertainment.
Step 1: Buying a ticket. Venture into the online bazaar of MyGiftCardSupply, and procure a Hulu gift card ranging from $25 to $100. The amount depends on how deep you want to dive into the ocean of Hulu content. Be sure to sign up if you haven't already - think of it as a friendly handshake.
Step 2: Sniff out the code. Once the gift card purchase is complete, you'll receive an email with the precious code. Open it, and gently copy the code.
Step 3: Claim your prize. Stride confidently to Hulu's redemption page, type in your hard-earned code, and create your account. Do remember to use a US address and zip code when signing up – they are quite particular about that.
Step 4: Let the show begin. Slide into Hulu's log-in page and gently type in your shiny new credentials.
Step 5: The Grand Finale. Now it's time to sit back, relax, and bask in the glory of endless entertainment on Hulu. Step into your personal streaming universe and enjoy the show!
Hitching a Ride on iTunes US: Your Unconventional Route to Hulu
Now, let's stroll down a different route, this time, a path known as 'iTunes US.'
Step 1: Set up camp in the Land of Apple. Visit Apple's website and pitch your digital tent by creating a new account. Consider this your personal American outpost in the universe of iTunes.
Step 2: Stock up on provisions. Replenish your digital coffers either directly through iTunes or via a US iTunes gift card, which is akin to your secret stash of apple cider in the cellar.
Step 3: Summon Hulu. Type "Hulu" into the search bar and download the app. Much like calling a pet, it'll come running and install itself onto your device.
Step 4: Enter the realm of Hulu. Use your iTunes funds to either get a shiny new plan or renew an existing subscription, and then log into your Hulu account. This is you officially checking into the grand Hulu Hotel.
Step 5: Savour the spectacle. With all these steps complete, you're now in a position to pay for and enjoy your Hulu account. It's time to kick back and indulge in the smorgasbord of entertainment that Hulu has to offer.
Hopping onto the Hulu Train with a Prepaid US Card: A Thrifty Globetrotter's Guide
Let's now venture down a pragmatic avenue, namely the 'Prepaid US Card' route.
The first station is "Prepaid US Card Central". You'll need to navigate your way to VISA or MasterCard, where you can choose your ticket – the prepaid card.
Next, we arrive at "Funds Station". Here, you need to fuel up your prepaid card. This can be done directly or by transferring money from your bank account, given that your card of choice supports such cheery transfers.
Having acquired your ticket and made sure it's packed with funds, it's time to board the Hulu Express at the "Hulu Account Terminal". Here, you'll need to check-in, select a subscription plan, and jot down the necessary particulars.
We're almost there. The last stop before you start your entertainment journey is "Registration Point". Here, you pay for the service using your shiny new prepaid card. Now, if this doesn't work for some reason, perhaps the ticket machine is being obstinate, don't fret – just try the gift card method instead.
With the ticketing process complete, you're all set to start watching. It's time to sit back, kick off your shoes, and let the Hulu Express whisk you away into a world of non-stop entertainment, right outside of the USA.
PayPal Your Way to Hulu Paradise: A Modern Maverick's Approach
Welcome to the "PayPal method", a trail favored by modern mavericks, digital nomads, and online shopping aficionados.
Begin this journey by constructing your own digital finance fortress – a PayPal account. You'll need to swing by PayPal and ensure you're setting up a US account. Now, it's imperative that you get this right, because Hulu can be a bit snobbish when it comes to foreign PayPal accounts. If setting up a US PayPal account starts to feel like trying to lasso a greased pig, simply revert to our old reliable – the gift card method.
Having established your PayPal account, you're now ready for the next leg of the journey. Head on over to Hulu, strut your stuff, and log in using your credentials.
Next up, it's time to pay the piper... or rather, the subscription. If your account is a newborn, fresh out of the internet womb, you can also kick off a free trial.
With these steps accomplished, it's time to kick back and start watching. Dive headlong into the ocean of your favorite Hulu shows, and swim around in the thrill of it all.
StatesCard: Your Magic Carpet Ride to Hulu Bingeing
Behold, the wonders of StatesCard, the 21st-century magic carpet ride to the land of Hulu bingeing!
Your journey starts at the port of StatesCard, where you'll need to carve out your digital presence by clicking the "Sign Up" button. Having successfully become a part of the club, add a little bit of that digital money to make it official.
Your next stop is Hulu. Log in with your carefully crafted credentials or take a bold step and create a whole new identity for yourself (strictly on Hulu, of course).
Once settled in, it's time to pay the virtual ferryman. Use the card information you secured from your new friend, StatesCard, to pay for or renew your Hulu subscription. If you do this right, you'll have successfully purchased your ticket to endless entertainment.
Having accomplished these milestones, you're now fully armed and ready to embark on the Hulu adventure. Sit back, relax, and let the world of your favorite Hulu shows envelop you.
submitted by harry-jg to topvpn [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 03:10 Xotaic Left knee giving out/loud pops, ongoing issue

I will be getting very specific with my issue but basically my knee feels very unstable in certain positions and gives out, usually met with a lot of sudden pain, a loud pop, I can't fully extend my knee or put any weight on it until it "goes back in place."
This issue started around 2017, i was sitting down on the floor when i felt a sudden shift in my left knee, it hurt a lot when it happened. At this point in time i thought it dislocated but it seems to be more ligament related. I was stuck sitting down until it shifted back in place which also hurt a lot. This happened again 5 minutes later. My doctor at the time just told me to work it out more which i guess did help for a short time.
However, this issue kept going on and i noticed it happened mostly when my knee was bent and my leg externally rotated. Basically my knee feels very unstable when my knee goes towards my body, but i feel fine when my knee is pointed away.
I learned to live with it over time and started going to the gym where I would do heavy exercises sprinkling in some rehab movements from kneesovertoes to keep me in good health. I kept it up for 3 years, getting bigger and stronger with almost no issue.
However, recently i went for a heavy weight on a squat, i completed the first rep nice and easy, when i went for the second i heard a loud snap so i dropped down to the saftey bars, It was stuck in the position, i could not put any weight on my knee and i could not extend fully, but i could bend my knee. I could not force it back by pushing, however if i sat down and kept my knee at around a 45 degree angle and had my knee facing away from me almost like a butterfly stretch, it would go back into position and i could walk again. I would like to add that I did a weight on the squat I have done before and was confident I could do that day. Also the same day my knee "dislocated" again two more times for very minor reasons, almost like something became loose in my joint. I went to a different doctor who refered me to a orthopedic specialist who got an xray and mri done.
Some time passed and I felt healthy enough to move around a bit, but I was wrong. I tried a heel elevated body weight squat, I did a few at a good pace when it suddenly happened again.
My MRI report showed no detectable tear or damage to any of the ligaments, when I spoke to my ortho about my results, he said I had a normal variation of partial discoid meniscus which was not causing me issues, and he said i had a very very small acl tear which was not big enough to cause issues either. Basically, he was not 100% of the reason for my issues.
He left me with 3 options, physical therapy (which i am starting), prp shots which are expensive, and a surgery to find out whats wrong with my knee, they will be using a small camera to look around my knee.
Any help/guidance would be appreciated, i can provide xray and mri images if anyone is interested, will also provide any other info, thanks.
submitted by Xotaic to KneeInjuries [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 03:06 DorgeFarlin Been slowing down tremendously past 6-8 weeks. Network leads all cold or on hold. Thinking of going door to door to get extra cash flow and do quick vids same day.

Luckily I have plenty saved and am all caught up but I don’t wanna do nothing . My networking is cold, outreach and referrals cold as well. Average gig in the past paid 12-15K. Friends are dry with work. I’m in a major city. Thinking of just going to restaurants and bars and make cinematic style edits for $200 a pop for their TikTok’s. that I can do in an hour or so. Any other people tried this ?
submitted by DorgeFarlin to videography [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 03:05 Dharty13 Invisible and immune gods?

I have never experienced this in hundreds of matches, but I just played a match against a Bacchus that was 100% invisible and immune to damage the entire game. Anyone else experienced this before?
EDIT: His health bar was also not there 80% of the time, it would randomly pop up and then disappear again.
submitted by Dharty13 to Smite [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 02:58 1011686 What They Needed

This fanfic is intended to take place some time around late volume 6, and involves a lot of thoughts I've had on the Antinium and their situation in Liscor. I hope it's enjoyable.
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There were many quirks and oddities that surrounded the Wandering Inn, open secrets that could only be called ‘rumours’ because most didn’t believe them at first. Perhaps ‘attractions’ was a better word, people and connections and events and things that made the place much more than a simple inn. The [Princess] helping manage the place, for instance, who was really quite bad at lying if you caught her by surprise with the question. The [Garden of Sanctuary], which wasn’t open to just any random person who walked in, but they’d at least let you look through the door if you asked. The weight-lifting room, which had a clientele all of its own separate from the inn’s regular group of customers, muscular Drakes and Humans who talked about ‘feeling the burn’ and listed off numbers that were inscrutable to outsiders.
There was one tradition, one kind of event, that was older than most of the others though. Even through the Wandering Inn’s destruction, and then its second destruction, it had persisted. To the regulars of the place, it barely even passed the bar of noteworthiness anymore, because really, what was so special about another band of Antinium visiting the inn?
Still, they came, Workers and Soldiers who had never seen the sky before, newly hatched or older (though almost all of the old ones had been at least once by now), led by Klbkch, just as he had that first time. The task was no longer his responsibility, as most of the Painted Antinium would’ve been capable of handling it, and it seemed like he couldn’t walk in the Hive these days without tripping over more individuals. But when he was off from [Guardsman] duty, and the Free Queen didn’t require his presence, and he was thinking of going up to the inn anyway, well. Even to an old soul like him, there was something charming about watching young Antinium look around in awe, before gobbling down the acid flies they were given so fast they sometimes choked.
Erin came over as he entered with the latest group, mostly Workers this time, and they exchanged greetings. But she quickly went to busy herself with the new arrivals, which was fine by him. He stood and watched as she seated the Workers at their own table and explained the basic concept of a menu to them, how they could choose which of the food items they wanted. One of them asked which was the most nutritionally optimal, and she decided to give up on the menu for a moment and ordered them a large bowl of flies as an appetiser, which was another concept she had to explain.
The inn wasn’t particularly packed today, but most of the tables were occupied, and Klbkch ended up finding himself a seat opposite Menolit. The Drake seemed oddly reserved as he drank from a mug, only glancing up as the Antinium approached.
“May I?”
Menolit nodded, and Klbkch sat down. He caught Ishkr’s eye from across the room, the [Head Waiter] waving to let him know his usual order would arrive soon: A plate stacked with bacon, topped with whatever spices and chilis the kitchen had on hand. It was nice to be in a place where people knew you.
As he waited, he noticed Menolit gazing in Erin’s direction, watching her put the Antinium at ease. Without any prelude, the Drake spoke.
“It really is something. She’s done a lot for you bugs, hasn’t she? Helped you turn over a whole new leaf.”
There was a slight slur to his speech. Only a small dulling on the edges of his words, but still, it was there. Klbkch’s voice was mild and polite as he gave the Drake his attention.
“Erin has indeed been helpful in socialising Workers and Soldiers. We owe much to her.”
“You know, one of your Workers actually apologised for bumping into me the other day. Can’t imagine that happening a few years ago. More likely to stand in the way of a cart and get run over.”
Menolit snorted, before raising the mug to his mouth. Klbkch didn’t react.
“I recall several events of that nature, yes. The rate has thankfully declined.”
“Do you remember, when your Hive first moved in, we thought you’d all crawl out of the sewers and stab us while we slept?”
He spoke as if it was simply an embarrassing misunderstanding, an instance of confusion he looked back on with humour. But he refused to meet the Antinium’s eyes as he drank from his cup once more, and it occurred to Klbkch that he had never really spoken to Menolit much before. The [Veteran] stayed out of trouble, and while they were both regulars of the Wandering Inn, their paths didn’t overlap often.
Many people were interested in talking to the Slayer, the Relevantor of the Free Hive, about the Antinium and their past, and he was used to how such conversations went. He was used to barely-disguised hatred, or curiosity, or the guarded respect one had for a potential enemy. But he wouldn’t have expected such things from the inn’s regular clientele. This felt different.
“I recall. The suspicion was quite understandable, at the time, but I am glad that we are past that now.”
Menolit sighed, pressing his palm into his forehead as he looked down at the wood, idly tapping his cup on its surface. His eyes flicked to Klbkch, then away again to Erin, who was introducing the Antinium to the fun idea of throwing food at each other and catching it in your mouth, with limited success.
“Ten years. Or… just one, really. That’s all it took. The mighty Black Tide…”
He seemed to be half-talking to himself, and Klbkch was unsure if a response was warranted. Thankfully, any awkwardness was rescued when Ishkr came by their table, dropping off the plate of bacon, as well as a small serving of fries for Menolit. He moved without stopping, already turning to attend to another table, until the Drake called him back.
“Another fill-up, Ishkr?” He raised his mug, and the Gnoll frowned for a moment. But he took it anyway, and within a minute it was back in Menolit’s claws, filled with foamy amber liquid.
Nothing but the sound of eating passed between them for a short while, chewing and crunching as they enjoyed the delights of unhealthy cooking. Klbkch estimated that it would be at least half an hour before the Antinium were ready to leave, which left him plenty of time to make his rounds in the inn and get some advice. Liscor’s Watch had recently acquired a collection of chess sets, allegedly to help train more [Tactician]-type classes that the city could use, and the more competitive [Guards] had taken to playing matches against each other. Klbkch liked to figure himself as having a modicum of skill at the game, but when Beilmark had lanced through his formation while losing less than half of her own pieces, he’d had to admit he’d gotten a bit rusty. Perhaps a game or two against Palt, or Pisces, or… probably not Bird, would help refresh his understanding--
Menolit grunted, clearing his throat in that way people did when they wanted to pretend they didn’t have something to say. Klbkch pushed aside his plate, and waited patiently for the question to come.
“You lot came from Rhir, didn’t you?”
“That is correct.”
“I remember hearing about you, decades ago.” Menolit leaned forwards, as if trying to see something in Klbkch’s insectile eyes, before sitting backwards again. “Rumours from returning soldiers, about black-shelled monsters that dug up beneath your feet. I thought they were just stories. You can’t believe half the things you hear about that bloody continent.”
‘Bloody’ was right, Klbkch thought. And half the things he knew would’ve made Menolit fall right out of his chair. Hidden truths worth fighting a war over.
“I believe that many people would do well to give Rhir more attention than it receives.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“It is important.”
The Drake waited, until it became apparent that was all Klbkch had to say on the matter. He exhaled with frustration, taking a sip from his cup as he glared at the Antinium. A nearby Drake working under Chaldion lowered his notebook in disappointment.
“While I do not mind conversing with you on trivial matters, I am sure you understand there are certain topics that I am not at liberty to discuss in detail,” Klbkch continued. Menolit rolled his eyes, and his words came out slowly.
“You’ve got a lot of secrets, don’t you. Been living under our tails for the past decade, you’d think we’d know more about you. Don’t even know what your damn Hive looks like.”
Klbkch was once more struck by that odd feeling. It was as if he was a newcomer to the city again, bearing the enmity and distrust of a species on his back. He almost felt… insulted? No, absolutely not, he hadn’t gotten that soft over the last year. But it was certainly bizarre to encounter such a thing in the Wandering Inn. If nothing else, he was surprised that Erin hadn’t thrown Menolit out yet, if he was truly like this. And if not, then where was this coming from?
Klbkch spread his arms reassuringly. “Well, I am right here. Do you have any pressing questions you wish to ask? I promise to be truthful, as long as the answers are not confidential.”
Menolit waved a hand in the air, dismissing Klbkch’s offer as he finished his cup. That was his second drink since Klbkch had come in, and he’d had at least one before that, the Antinium judged. His tongue was looser, now, yet the sense of dancing around what he wanted to talk about was more palpable than ever.
“I was enlisted, you know. In the first war. There was news about you bastards every week, killing Drakes, claiming more of our territory. I served under Sserys. I… wasn’t here, though. When he broke the Tide, turned you back. Stationed at some damn city in the south, too far to help.” He winced at the memory, but the shame was dulled, only there when he focused on it. “I was discharged from the army by the time the second one started. Still would’ve dropped everything and gone off to fight, but for my kids. Barely old enough to hold a coin, back then.”
He sounded shaky, emotional. But Klbkch spoke calmly, trying to put him at ease.
“I am certain your family is thankful, Menolit. It is a tragedy for children to lose their parents.”
“It sure is. But I don’t see how you’d know anything about that.”
Klbkch thought for a moment, before nodding at Menolit.
“That may be true. I am, however, well-versed in warfare. With your experience, you would have been a formidable soldier to face, so as a representative of the Antinium, allow me to thank you for not killing hundreds of our forces.”
The Drake’s face lit up, his frustration vanishing for a moment at the compliment.
“You really think I would’ve done that well? I mean, I reckon I could cut down at least a couple dozen of you buggers before you got me, but hundreds…”
It wasn’t even a lie, if you considered kills over the duration of a campaign, and not a single battle. Klbkch estimated Menolit’s [Veteran] class as being in the low 20’s, which made him more than capable of cutting through any single Worker or Solider. Even against a handful, he would’ve had a good chance. Of course, in a real war the Antinium would never use such small numbers, but that wasn’t worth mentioning.
The two were distracted at that moment, as were others, by an exclamation from Erin. Apparently, she’d just had a brilliant idea for a new invention, running off to grab something as the Antinium waited patiently. The inn held its breath, visitors eager to see what she would come up with this time, wondering what they would get the honour of seeing first, of being able to claim that they were ‘there’ when it happened. The [Innkeeper] returned with a spring in her step, her arms full of as many pillows as she could hold, and she explained her vision in two words.
“Cushioned seats!”
Everyone paused for a moment, before letting out the breath they’d been holding and went back to whatever they were doing. Someone explained to her that they already had those, if not ones you could buy cheaply, which dampened her mood slightly. Nevertheless, she walked back to the Antinium and began giving each one a pillow to sit on.
Menolit laughed, snorts of mirth he failed to stifle. As they came to an end, he shook his head, smiling ruefully.
“It really is something. Just a single Human. Who would’ve thought something like that was possible, before she arrived? You ever think about that, Klbkch? Where we’d still be, if Erin hadn’t mixed everything up?”
“I have considered such a hypothetical. I find it likely the status quo would be largely in it's prior state, though it is hard to imagine what differences there would’ve been in events such as the Humans’ attempt to conquer Liscor.”
“Sure, sure. We’d still be ignoring you in the streets, you’d still be… doing whatever you were doing before. But this is better, isn’t it?”
It was on the tip of Menolit’s tongue, now, something he still didn’t want to say directly. Frankly, Klbkch was getting curious as to just what exactly was burning the Drake up inside.
“Yes, I would say so. It has been a vastly beneficial change to both Liscor and the Hive.”
“It’s just… it makes you think. Makes me think, anyway. Because she’s, she’s special, that’s obvious.” He gestured at Erin, trying to encapsulate what she was and failing. He turned back to Klbkch, and his voice became quiet as he addressed the Antinium. “But… she didn’t have to be, did she?”
Menolit quickly raised his cup, staring at its emptiness for a moment before letting it slump back to the table.
“What do you mean?” Klbkch was almost certain he knew. But he wanted to be sure.
“She gave you food, and talked to you, and taught you chess. That’s all anyone could tell me.”
“And that was enough,” Klbkch said simply. Menolit’s face fell.
“There were no secrets? No…” He searched for words, groping for what he wanted to be the truth. “No rituals? No special key to fixing you?”
Klbkch stared at the Drake, who grew increasingly uncomfortable in his seat. Finally, the Antinium spoke, drawing out his words slowly.
“Is it strange to you that we respond well to kindness and understanding?”
Menolit shifted in place, gripping the table with his claws hard enough to leave marks. When he finally met the Antinium’s gaze, he smiled, as if his internal struggle had finally been resolved.
“I guess not. Maybe that’s what we should’ve done. Just invited you to have a tea party, gossiped about the neighbours, gave you some… soft chairs.” He laughed again, a throaty chuckle that transitioned to a cough part way through, before he spoke again. “That’s all it would’ve taken, eh, Klbkch? Tea and crumpets, like the [Ladies] do it?”
The Antinium stayed silent, but Menolit didn’t stop, standing up from his chair as his voice began to rise.
“Well it sure would’ve been nice to know that! Could’ve avoided a whole bloody war, if only we’d been nice, hah! Doesn’t that say a lot about Drakes? It was our fault for being bastards! Dead gods, of course it was!”
He slapped his forehead theatrically, as if stunned at the enormity of this realisation. People at nearby tables were starting to look over, and it wouldn’t be long before someone drew Erin’s attention. Quickly, Klbkch got to his feet, placing a hand on the Drake’s shoulder.
“I believe you have had too much to drink, Menolit. It would not do well for you to make a scene.”
The [Veteran] froze, though Klbkch hadn’t activated any Skills. He looked around the room, like he was just now noticing his fellow eaters’ presence. His breathing slowed, and he stepped back, wobbling slightly before catching his feet.
“Of course. Of course.” He grinned at the Antinium. “Good old [Guardsman] Klbkch, always there to keep the peace. Don’t you worry, sir. I’ll make sure this unruly fellow gets home before causing any trouble.”
Carefully, he turned to go, and the little bubble of silence that had surrounded them eroded as nearby people started up their conversations once more. But he muttered something under his breath as he left, bitter words Klbkch couldn’t help hearing.
“If you were people this whole damn time, why did you act like monsters…”
Slowly, Klbkch returned to his seat, finishing up the bacon that still remained on his plate. It didn’t taste quite as good, anymore.
He could understand Menolit’s feelings. Because indeed, the Antinium had been monsters, a scourge plaguing the lands of Izril, slaughtering the Drakes without mercy, without even communicating any terms beyond the message their destruction left behind. That had been the plan.
And it still was, in a sense. Not one they were actively pursuing right now. But every Hive, even the Free Queen’s, had a plan of action in place for if they decided that a war was the best course of action. Liscor knew this, and the Hive knew Liscor knew this, and it would be a short and bloody chess match if either side ever decided to move first. Despite that, people trusted the Antinium in their streets, and slept soundly with tunnels beneath their homes, and Klbkch liked that. He had little against Drakes personally, and would’ve contested the notion of an all-out war, if it had been put forward by one of the other Hives.
If, on the other hand, his kin in Rhir sent more forces? A fully-trained [Queen], another Centenium, even just Workers capable of forming a proper Unistasis Network might tip the balance against the Drakes. And if the order came to conquer Izril and transform it into the Hivelands, then he would lead the Black Tide once more, from the South to the North, until either New Landing or him had finally fallen. Because Rhir was important, and what they had to do there mattered more than anything else, and that was all there was to it. All of this-- and Klbkch looked around the inn, Liscor, his life for the two decades-- all of this, was just a distraction. Busywork. An attempt for shipwrecked Antinium to do something that might one day be actually helpful in their real fight. They’d tried taking over, and when the Drakes had proven too tough, they’d stopped, and it wouldn’t have made much of a difference whether they’d been welcomed with open arms or hunted down from the first sighting.
If a second fleet did come to pass, though, he’d still argue for an exception. The Painted Antinium, Pawn’s… religion, these were genuine developments, evidence demonstrating the potential that could result from cohabiting with a friendly populace. But Liscor would never, ever, go along with it, and the mental picture felt wrong, unable to exist in reality. What Drake could possibly tolerate the rest of their species being overrun and slain, allowed to live in a single city so long as they kept having ‘interesting interactions’ with their new [Lords]? Every Drake he knew would rather fight, than let themselves be reduced to mere pets. And so they would die.
A memory rose unbidden in Klbkch’s mind, of Relc winking at him, and the Antinium flinched, before relaxing once more. He didn’t think about such things often, even if they were always held in the back of his mind. It was… unpleasant. Relc and Erin had never asked questions along such lines, and he hoped they never would.
Looking over, Klbkch saw the young Antinium sitting on their pillows, pouring over the menu that finally made sense to them. The [Innkeeper] was there, answering their questions (she’d apparently told them to raise their hands when they had something to ask, which had led to a short arms-race of one, then two, then three, then all four limbs being raised as they tried to get her attention first). But that wasn’t all. One member of the group had wandered over to sit with Olesm, who was explaining the rules to a game that astonishingly, wasn’t chess. Another, shorter one (some error in the birthing pod had stunted his growth, though he was still as strong as a regular Worker) was rolling a ball back and forth with Mrsha and a Drake child Klbkch didn’t recall the name of.
He would agree in a heartbeat that Erin was special. The closest person he knew to her was Xrn, and Erin was not like Xrn. But there had been something to Menolit’s words, Klbkch felt. Because if she had never arrived in Liscor, if things had gone on the way they had been, he could still imagine that years in the future, perhaps there would’ve been a young Drake with open-minded parents, who hadn’t witnessed the Antinium Wars herself. Who’d seen the ants working in the streets, and met the nice and friendly [Guardsman] Klbkch. And maybe one day, she’d have given them food, and talked to them, and played some kind of game with them, and it all would’ve happened anyway, if a little differently.
Or maybe not. Drakes could be bastards, after all. Still, he liked to believe something along those lines, or else he never would’ve come to Liscor in the first place.
Standing from his seat, he went to pay for both his and Menolit’s orders, before going off to find a chess set. Beilmark wouldn’t know what hit her.
​
​
(Truthfully, I doubt Menolit would actually say the kinds of things he does here. But I do think there would be some Drakes who think along these lines, after spending time in the Wandering Inn.)
submitted by 1011686 to WanderingInn [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 02:42 AslandusTheLaster Little Dipper Daycare

Original prompt: [WP] Humans are unique among all space faring creatures, they can interbreed successfully with any sentient lifeform. You run the station daycare. (link)
I was somewhat surprised at how easy it had been to get the job of diplomat for the Terra-Prime Space-Faring Relations Board. I'd just sent in the application, and I had almost no experience, but they'd already called me in for an interview.
The interview itself was short, the first question was about my criminal record (which was nonexistent), and the second was whether I was a people person, which seemed almost redundant given that I was applying for a job as a diplomat.
But now it was time for my first day of work, and I was a bit nervous. I had barely been trained, and had been brought to the Grand United Space-Farer Station, or the Gus-Fast as the pilot of the transport had kept calling it on the way here. While the Gus-Fast was large, I was making steady progress toward the office where I would get my first assignment. Finally, I arrived at the door.
"Hello?" I called as I entered. I rapped my knuckles on the door, but it was already open by that point. "I'm Planter Blackwell, the new diplomat..."
"Uh? Oh!" a grizzled voice said. A middle-aged man jolted in his chair as I entered. The name on his desk read "Jerry". "So you're the new Dipper Junior? Come on, you're late."
The man gestured for me to follow him and began walking briskly down the hall.
"Hoo boy, the other dipper jr. ain't gonna be in a good mood, but it's a good thing you're here now," he said.
I followed Jerry, accidentally knocking over an empty trash can as I left the room. I barely had time to put it back in place before he was nearly out of sight, and had to scramble to catch up.
"Sir? I haven't really been briefed, what is my mission?" I asked.
"Hm? Oh yeah, you're doing a very important... eh, what do they say to call it... training mission? Yeah, I think that was it," he said. "Gotta take care of some VIPs for... some span of time... Ugh, I really need to lay off the vodka on work days."
"VIPs? That sounds awfully important for a training mission," I said.
"It'll make sense when we get there," Jerry said. He turned the corner and stopped in front of a door, which had the words "Dipper's Playhouse" written in Star-phonics. He knocked the door twice, then three times.
"Wait, is this some kind of scam? I was told I would be working as a diplomat," I said.
"You are, but the training for diplomats is a bit... strange," Jerry said.
Before he could elaborate, the door slammed open and a woman roughly my age wearing the same uniform I'd been given stormed out.
"Your problem now, newbie!" she shouted as she headed down the hall. "I'm getting lunch!"
"Well that's unfortunate," Jerry said. "Guess I've got to give the introduction then..."
Jerry walked over to the door and opened it, walking inside. As I entered, I noticed a large number of humanoid children with strange bodily features running around, screaming and throwing things.
"These are the children of nobility and other diplomats, so you've got to babysit them until you've been deemed ready to advance. It's a pain in the ass, so nobody wants to do it," he said. "And I've got paperwork to get back to, so try to survive until Jenny gets back."
"Wait, why do they seem so-" I asked, only to be cut off by the door slamming in my face. "Humanlike..."
"Teacher! Quigli took my markers!" A small mushroom person wearing a dress shouted as they ran over to me.
"Xiazha's lying! They're mine, not hers! I found them in the arts'n'crafts box! Finder's keepers!" a small boy said. He looked nearly human, save for the insectoid compound eyes and the mandibles around his mouth.
"Uh... Shasha, what makes the markers yours?" I asked.
"Xiazha!" the mushroom child said.
"Okay... Xiazha," I said, putting a bit of a sharper inflection on the words. "But don't dodge the question."
"We were picking our thing for the day and I picked the markers, so they're mine!" she said.
"I see... Well, there's more than one marker, can't you share?" I asked.
"The markers are my thing! I should get all of them!" Xiazha screamed.
"But you only use the red!" Quigli said.
"Red's the prettiest color!" she said. Naturally, the cap of her head was candy-apple red with white spots.
"Okay... Quigli, I don't know how this 'thing' thing works, but is there a reason you can't play with whatever you got?" I asked.
"Mom dropped me off late, so I didn't get anything," he said, his expression dropping.
"Right..." I said. I looked around, and spied a toy box at the far end of the room. "Why don't you just go grab something else from the toy box?"
"Really? It's not even toy time yet," he said.
"Uh... sure?" I said, now somewhat unsure of what exactly I was authorizing. "Just this once though."
The boy scampered off toward the toy box, and I turned my attention to the gooey green girl tugging at the end of my coat. She showed me a crayon drawing of the space station, which was surprisingly detailed.
"Ah, very nice... uh," I said, glancing down at the signature. "Melaani."
She emitted a small squeak and ran off to an extremely pale girl with mechanical limbs. Things seemed to be going well, then Jenny opened the door to the room, carrying half a sandwich, a soda, and a bag of squeezy froot.
"Okay, I'm back, and the place isn't on fire yet! Good stuff, newbie," the other junior diplomat said.
"Thank goodness, what on Gus-Fast is going on here?" I asked.
"You mean like with the station as a whole or just this room?" Jenny asked.
"I mean why do we have so many children on a space station?" I asked.
"Because they were born here," she said, taking a sip of her drink.
"Okay, but aren't aliens... you know, alien? Most of these guys look like human kids in convincing Halloween costumes," I said.
"Oh, human crossbreeds mostly. Diplomacy gets a bit freaky sometimes, and we tend to be a bit more... viable than one would expect with other farer species, so the higher ups thought it would be a good idea to remind us why the TePS-FaRB handbook has an entire volume detailing the rules and guidelines around canoodling with locals," she said, taking a bite of her sandwich.
I prepared to ask another question before being interrupted by the sounds of pained screaming. Quigli was carrying what looked like a laser pistol and was firing it at the other kids, who were screaming and crying as the beams hit their skin.
"What? Hey! Quigli, no! It's not toy time yet, put that back!" Jenny shouted, putting down her food.
"No! Other teacher said I could get a toy early!" he said, shooting the laser pistol at her.
"Ow! That's it, get over here you little brat," she said, stomping toward the boy as he yelped in fear, throwing the laser pistol on the ground and backing away from it. She grabbed the weapon and stuffed in back in the box, gesturing at him with her fingers to communicate that she was keeping her eyes on him.
"Uh, Jenny? Why are there training weapons in the toybox?" I asked. "Aren't they supposed to be in weapon lockers like all the other weapons?"
"Toy time is code for combat training, most of these kids are going to be generals or warlords when they grow up, so we don't have enough actual toys to warrant a box for them. Besides, the weapon locker is full of medical supplies in case of emergency, so we had to keep the training weapons somewhere else," she said.
"Why are we keeping medical supplies in the weapons locker instead of the first aid kit?" I asked, gesturing at the medical supply box hanging on the wall.
"Because the first aid kit is full of snacks in case of hunger emergencies, obviously," she said, sucking a bit of the froot goo out of its soft plastic-adjacent package.
"You realize this is a terrible idea for organization, what if there had been an emergency and I needed to grab some gauze, but instead I got..." I said, popping open the first aid kit and sending several bags of candy tumbling to the floor, as well as a few loose pieces of fruit and packaged cookies. "Oops."
"Oh, you've done it now, newbie," she said.
"Snack time!" Xiazha shouted, running forward and grabbing a bag of gummee bitz, causing all the other kids to begin swarming to grab their own treats.
"No! Stop that, all of you!" I said ineffectually. It very quickly became clear that there weren't enough snacks to go around, and some of the ones that were available got ruined by kids playing tug of war over them.
Jenny just chuckled, then reached into the desk she'd been eating off of and pulled out a whistle. It let loose a sharp, shrill cry as she blew into it, and all the kids froze where they were.
"That seems... useful," I said.
"Once per day at most, newbie, don't want it to lose it's charm," she said. "Everyone go get your lunches, and put those snacks back where you found them."
The kids dropped the uneaten snacks back on the ground and began walking toward the cubbies toward the side of the room.
"What about the ones we already-" Xiazha began to ask.
"Did I stutter? Put them back," Jenny said, her voice becoming more stern.
The mushroom girl spat the half-chewed gummies back into the bag and placed it on the floor, walking to her cubby and grabbing what appeared to be a bag of spoiled vegetables and sawdust. While I wasn't sure about the nutritional needs of her species, she certainly didn't look like she was enjoying her lunch.
"So... why can't they keep the opened stuff?" I asked, keeping my voice low as I picked up the unopened snacks off the ground, and tossed the opened ones into the trash can.
"If they know we'll let them keep them, they'll just move faster next time. Trust me, it's better this way," she whispered. She raised her voice a little to say, "It's going to be a few hours before the parents come to pick them up, you might want to grab a bite to eat yourself."
"Sure," I said, heading for the door. "See you in a few."
submitted by AslandusTheLaster to AslandusTheLaster [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 02:17 bubblegumdog After scoring a practically new PS3 Slim (CECH-2501A) and finding out about the hidden LEDs, I had to make it happen!

After scoring a practically new PS3 Slim (CECH-2501A) and finding out about the hidden LEDs, I had to make it happen!
I was in the market for a PS3 and was going back and forth between the 25XX or 30XX. I figured the last revisions are typically the best option but in this case the penultimate revision for the PS3 Slim had a solid case and you couldn't really go wrong with either.
Well out of nowhere a Black Ops bundle pops up on eBay and I do not hesitate to jump on it. Seller said it'd only been used a couple of times and sat there a while before being put back in storage.
Once it arrived, there were no doubts the console had gone unused all these years. Not a scratch in sight on the top or bottom. The glossy sides do have some hairline scratches but that's to be expected if I'm honest. Other than that, it came with everything and most of the original packaging was there.
A couple weeks later, I've replaced the HDD with a Samsung 860 EVO and (more importantly) took it in for some soldering work to activate the LEDs Sony implemented but never fully realized.
As someone who only cared about Call of Duty and FIFA during the PS3's lifespan, I can't wait to play some games I missed out on! Not to mention revisit worlds I never thought I'd go back to like LittleBigPlanet or good old Black Ops (2) zombies.
Also glad to properly join this community and share a space with fans of Sony's 3rd PlayStation console!
submitted by bubblegumdog to PS3 [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 02:13 Kimhooligan Should I stay or should I go?

I’m in need of advice. This isn’t the typical recipe question or query about certain food item or tool. It’s entirely professional in nature. I’m unsure if this is even the correct subreddit to submit to, so please feel free to point me in the right way. But I feel rather depressed with where I’m at professionally and am wondering if I’ve just had a bad week or if I need to make a change.
I’m a 30 year old man and I joined the food industry two years ago. I plan to join culinary school this September. It was always a dream of mine to be a chef but I’d only realized that parental expectations wouldn’t make me happy, so here I am.
Two years ago, I joined as a dishwasher at a golf course/banquet hall with the expectation that I would eventually work either in the golf course’s downstairs kitchen (for those who know what a golf course halfway house is, it is that, but also provides bistro foods and typical bar and grill menu items) or the upstairs banquet kitchen.
Over the course of the first year, I went from being a dishwasher to a line cook in the downstairs kitchen. The guy who was training me downstairs quit and I had become the head line cook for a total of three weeks, which was cool but hard. I wasn’t ready. I begged the executive chef of the golf course to hire someone else to lead and to continue my training. We hired the current head line cook who is a great dude but didn’t appreciate how I looked like I had some experience but still needed training. I understood that so I never complained and grinded for a year under him, doing my best to improve.
After a long conversation with the executive chef, I was asked if I enjoyed working downstairs, to which I said I wasn’t. Thankfully, he moved me upstairs to help with events like weddings, company retreats, and conferences.
For most of the second year I either helped with prep and setting up and breaking down buffets and plated dinners. I was pretty happy doing the former and assumed that the latter was typical for banquet cuisine, which I’m told it is. After the first half of the second year, my boss expressed that he wasn’t interested in really teaching me past the basics and encouraged me to pursue culinary school, which I agree with. Things like learning how to work more efficiently and consistently was something that I needed work on in the past and am still working on. It’s only recently, actually, that I’m able to see some progress in my abilities. I wish I was able to learn quicker, but I guess it’s important to be real about my own weaknesses.
Anyways, here’s where the trouble started. Recently, I’ve moved from a prep cook position upstairs to the golf course’s only pastry chef. How that worked out was that I brought in several desserts over the course of the last two months during family meal, which were a big hit with all the staff, owners included. I didn’t expect them to like it so much. Then, the executive chef expressed that he wanted me to be in charge of making pastries for banquets, but I needed to learn and hone my skills from that of a home pastry cook to someone who can produce products in larger quantities. This, by itself isn’t the problem, but is some context. I spent the last two months reading every major authority on the subject that I could afford, experimenting in my own kitchen, and outfitting part of the upstairs kitchen to be able to accommodate our new pastry station! I spent my days off with a friend who is an ACTUAL pastry chef who has her own online school for the craft, learning from her and absorbing what she kindly had to offer. I spent so much of my money on kitchen appliances and gear that I barely had enough left for recreational time or purchases. But through all of this I found such profound meaning. I was so happy. The executive chef even promised that as long as I kept on grinding and improving that we could work together for a very long time, even past finishing culinary school.
But then our only sous chef quit. Myself and a guy much younger than me (who joined half a year after I did) were expected to share the load to get us through the busy summer season. Some changes were made to my own job: We started sourcing desserts from outside companies to make it easier on me while I essentially support all the other chefs, once again setting up and breaking down buffets and plated dinners by myself. Running food to and from the kitchen. Doing tasks for the other chefs to make their lives easier, such as fetching fresh produce and manufactured products from the fridges and freezers. And this is now maybe 90% of my time spent at work for the past two weeks. Meanwhile, the younger guy is given more meaningful tasks that fit his talents while I’m sort of just left doing grunt work.
I understand that I needed to help pitch in but I didn’t expect that my previous position was being reduced to plating desserts that other kitchens or factories have made while now being bossed around by literally everyone in the kitchen, even the dishwashers.
I just feel uninspired, unappreciated, and that my admittedly short career of two years were wasted. The executive chef certainly does appreciate me stepping up, but I feel like it is more of a step down.
In the past week, so starting one week after this sudden change, I’ve become more irritable, unapproachable, and unfocused. These, I admit, are totally unbecoming and shameful. So, I decided that I need to make a decision on my future.
Here’s what I can expect: things aren’t expected to change much in June, which appears to be so jam packed full of events that we will likely never have time to make in-house desserts at least until the month ends. There is a work shortage in my area of the world, so there’s a chance that we can hire someone permanent so that I will have the time to make in-house desserts again, but it may take some number of weeks or months to get someone dependable. At the very least, I will eventually transition into part-time work because I enter culinary school this September.
So, what should I do? Should I just wait this period out until I get into culinary school and then apply for a better job once I’m done there? Should I explore my options for a potentially more meaningful job right now? Should I wait until after June or the summer is over to see if anything changes enough to make a decision on leaving or even staying? Should I give this place at least another year?
If you’ve read this far, then Im thankful for whatever advice you have to share. Today, I had exploded on a dishwasher and had been sulking all day. I don’t want to be this person. I’d appreciate any advice whether it’s an encouragement or telling me that Im just being overly emotional and childish. Again, thank you.
Edited because grammar.
submitted by Kimhooligan to AskCulinary [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 01:33 User_3971 MHA/CCA/PSE/RCA: Skip the line! Career jobs posted within. 5-31 rollup.

Damn it, lost a day! Had Memorial Day off but got fucked (mandated to work) on Saturday. Threw off the timing. Super-rare Wednesday edition!
Good afternoon. Brief listing of CAREER JOBS pulled from usps.com/careers/ for your convenience. Tell HR User_3971 sent you, let's see if they pay more than .25¢ per head. NOTE: Maintenance jobs are drying up - the In Service Register may finally be seeing results for our already career people.
Some jobs may be part-time regular however all listed jobs should qualify for federal benefits from day one. To save text I have only listed the location and date of posting for each. Use the posting number for your search term. LC and MM are entry-level Maintenance. Here is a Maint overview and here is Exam 955 info. You can DO it!
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NOTE: USPS NEVER charges a fee for entrance exams. If payment is requested during the application process, walk the fuck away, go to usps.com/careers/ and APPLY THERE. We even has a video walkthrough prepared.
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Laborer Custodial:
CHARLEVOIX MI NC11370316 05/27/2023
OMAHA NE NC11369343 05/27/2023
SAN JOSE CA NC11365062 05/27/2023
KIRKLAND WA NC11367251 05/27/2023
COLUMBUS OH NC11371903 05/27/2023
FORT WASHAKIE WY NC11369073 05/27/2023
YUBA CITY CA NC11367214 05/25/2023
MOUNT IDA AR NC11361986 05/20/2023
BRATTLEBORO VT NC11374752 05/31/2023
BENTON HARBOR MI NC11371533 05/27/2023
PETALUMA CA NC11371537 05/27/2023
CATASAUQUA PA NC11371600 05/27/2023
EL CENTRO CA NC11371615 05/27/2023
HAMBURG PA NC11371700 05/27/2023
SAINT LOUIS MO NC11371707 05/27/2023
HAZELWOOD MO NC11371718 05/27/2023
WAUKESHA WI NC11371854 05/27/2023
GREEN BAY WI NC11371863 05/27/2023
SAINT LOUIS MO NC11371870 05/27/2023
AUSTIN TX NC11371871 05/27/2023
YUBA CITY CA NC11371908 05/27/2023
EAST HAMPTON NY NC11371909 05/27/2023
PEEKSKILL NY NC11371527 05/27/2023
PEEKSKILL NY NC11371421 05/27/2023
MACHIAS ME NC11371418 05/27/2023
SAN MATEO CA NC11371915 05/27/2023
WILLMAR MN NC11371410 05/27/2023
CUPERTINO CA NC11370120 05/27/2023
WARSAW IN NC11369259 05/27/2023
BISMARCK ND NC11369191 05/27/2023
DES MOINES IA NC11369059 05/27/2023
URBANDALE IA NC11369055 05/27/2023
DES MOINES IA NC11369050 05/27/2023
BUFFALO GROVE IL NC11368995 05/27/2023
SANTA ANA CA NC11365065 05/27/2023
CATASAUQUA PA NC11367255 05/25/2023
HAMBURG PA NC11367254 05/25/2023
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION VT NC11371417 05/27/2023
WEST CHICAGO IL NC11368968 05/27/2023
​
Maintenance Mechanic:
WEST PALM BEACH FL NC11367250 05/27/2023
PONTIAC MI NC11370630 05/27/2023
MINNEAPOLIS MN NC11371348 05/27/2023
NEW YORK NY NC11370543 05/27/2023
EAGAN MN NC11369434 05/27/2023
BIRMINGHAM AL NC11369105 05/27/2023
DES MOINES IA NC11369114 05/27/2023
WICHITA KS NC11369186 05/27/2023
PHOENIX AZ NC11364942 05/27/2023
JACKSONVILLE FL NC11370197 05/27/2023
HARRISBURG PA NC11369187 05/27/2023
COLUMBUS OH NC11370181 05/27/2023
CAROL STREAM IL NC11363416 05/27/2023
BOSTON MA NC11370175 05/27/2023
BETHPAGE NY NC11371414 05/27/2023
SAINT LOUIS MO NC11371828 05/27/2023
MEMPHIS TN NC11371737 05/27/2023
MELVILLE NY NC11371742 05/27/2023
JERSEY CITY NJ NC11371729 05/27/2023
​
Special! Interesting Maintenance Jobs: (may be skills required)
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Maintenance Mechanic MPE:
FARGO ND NC11371325 05/27/2023
WEST FARGO ND NC11371173 05/27/2023
COLUMBUS OH NC11370161 05/27/2023
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION NC11371671 05/27/2023
EAGAN MN NC11369373 05/27/2023
WICHITA KS NC11369179 05/27/2023
MINNEAPOLIS MN NC11371319 05/27/2023
ELK GROVE VILLAGE IL NC11370043 05/27/2023
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Building Equipment Mechanic:
FACILITY MAINTENANCE MECHANIC - MERRIFIELD VA NC11371531 05/27/2023
BELLMAWR NJ NC11368795 05/27/2023
MINNEAPOLIS MN NC11368549 05/27/2023
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General Clerk VMF:
TULSA OK NC11367091 05/24/2023
MIAMI FL NC11365300 05/30/2023
WEST PALM BEACH FL NC11365247 05/30/2023
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Tool & Parts Clerk:
MIAMI FL NC11365302 05/30/2023
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Garage Assistant:
HOUSTON TX NC11368988 05/26/2023
Electronic Technician:
BROCKTON MA NC11370302 05/27/2023
ROCHESTER NY NC11371416 05/27/2023
ELK GROVE VILLAGE IL NC11370150 05/27/2023
JACKSON MS NC11366836 05/27/2023
TRENTON NJ NC11369363 05/27/2023
​
NON-Maintenance jerbs:
​
SALES,SVCS/DISTRIBUTION ASSOC:
LINDEN TN NC11359072 05/18/2023
OCEAN BEACH NY NC11370230 05/27/2023
LANAI CITY HI NC11363428 05/20/2023
DAYTON TX NC11362387 05/22/2023
MEMPHIS MO NC11370238 05/29/2023
JACKMAN ME NC11367260 05/25/2023
ILIAMNA AK NC11371701 05/27/2023
CHENOA IL NC11361153 05/19/2023
BUNA TX NC11362381 05/22/2023
BOLINAS CA NC11368368 05/25/2023
PRESIDIO TX NC11360896 05/19/2023
PALACIOS TX NC11362377 05/22/2023
KOTZEBUE AK NC11371704 05/27/2023
ROCKSPRINGS TX NC11361161 05/19/2023
MILLERSBURG PA NC11370506 05/27/2023
EAGLE BUTTE SD NC11367304 05/29/2023
S YARMOUTH MA NC11370685 05/27/2023
CHARLESTON TN NC11371307 05/27/2023
BERRYVILLE AR NC11360673 05/19/2023
RANDLE WA NC11367126 05/24/2023
PECONIC NY NC11370190 05/27/2023
MARSHALL AR NC11360674 05/19/2023
ELK MOUND WI NC11369091 05/25/2023
BOW WA NC11367586 05/25/2023
BASSETT NE NC11366996 05/24/2023
ADDY WA NC11367447 05/25/2023
WEST CHATHAM MA NC11368584 05/27/2023
WEBBERVILLE MI NC11360764 05/19/2023
PONCE DE LEON FL NC11367045 05/24/2023
MARENGO IL NC11369368 05/26/2023
KETCHIKAN AK NC11373327 05/30/2023
HOMEWOOD CA NC11368364 05/25/2023
HIGHLAND MD NC11372890 05/30/2023
FLANDREAU SD NC11367252 05/25/2023
BELGIUM WI NC11366636 05/24/2023
BATH MI NC11360766 05/19/2023
LOS GATOS CA NC11368369 05/26/2023
EDGECOMB ME NC11367253 05/25/2023
​
City Carrier:
OAKLAND CA NC11365498 05/28/2023
PITTSBURGH PA NC11365454 05/28/2023
AURORA CO NC11365555 05/28/2023
BARRINGTON IL NC11370311 05/29/2023
CAMBRIDGE MA NC11370380 05/27/2023
CINCINNATI OH NC11365482 05/28/2023
COLUMBUS OH NC11365496 05/28/2023
COVINGTON KY NC11371919 05/27/2023
DENVER CO NC11366882 05/28/2023
DULUTH MN NC11362480 05/30/2023
EAST PALO ALTO CA NC11368607 05/26/2023
FREMONT CA NC11370500 05/27/2023
HALF MOON BAY CA NC11367133 05/25/2023
HOPKINS MN NC11367637 05/25/2023
JAMAICA PLAIN MA NC11365301 05/28/2023
KANSAS CITY MO NC11365461 05/28/2023
LONGMONT CO NC11364941 05/30/2023
MENLO PARK CA NC11367127 05/25/2023
MINNEAPOLIS MN NC11365468 05/28/2023
MISSION KS NC11366896 05/28/2023
REDWOOD CITY CA NC11367129 05/25/2023
RICHMOND CA NC11361984 05/24/2023
RICHMOND CA NC11370511 05/27/2023
SAN FRANCISCO CA NC11365552 05/28/2023
SANTA BARBARA CA NC11371344 05/27/2023
WALTHAM MA NC11365314 05/28/2023
WATERTOWN WI NC11367306 05/24/2023
WESTMINSTER CO NC11372881 05/30/2023
WESTMINSTER CO NC11372888 05/31/2023
WHEAT RIDGE CO NC11372884 05/30/2023
WOBURN MA NC11370383 05/27/2023
BURLINGAME CA NC11367093 05/25/2023
DENVER CO NC11365625 05/28/2023
FORT DODGE IA NC11367454 05/31/2023
GLENSHAW PA NC11367256 05/26/2023
SAN BRUNO CA NC11367213 05/25/2023
SCOTTDALE PA NC11367257 05/26/2023
ALBANY NY NC11370227 05/27/2023
BELMONT CA NC11366923 05/25/2023
CONCORD NH NC11370243 05/27/2023
DENVER CO NC11365557 05/28/2023
FLORENCE KY NC11371918 05/27/2023
LAKEWOOD CO NC11366843 05/28/2023
LOS GATOS CA NC11368374 05/26/2023
LOUISVILLE KY NC11365467 05/28/2023
LOWELL MA NC11370408 05/27/2023
MADISON WI NC11365493 05/28/2023
MOUNT HOREB WI NC11368738 05/26/2023
SAINT PAUL MN NC11365480 05/28/2023
SAN MATEO CA NC11367212 05/25/2023
SOUTH BEND IN NC11370168 05/26/2023
UNION GROVE WI NC11368781 05/26/2023
ASPEN CO NC11369062 05/26/2023
BELVEDERE TIBURON CA NC11372865 05/30/2023
BILLERICA MA NC11370249 05/27/2023
BILLINGS MT NC11367481 05/25/2023
BOULDER CO NC11353373 05/28/2023
BOULDER CO NC11365053 05/29/2023
CEDARBURG WI NC11367207 05/24/2023
CHELSEA MA NC11365307 05/28/2023
COHOES NY NC11367097 05/29/2023
CORTE MADERA CA NC11372872 05/30/2023
CRESSON PA NC11367258 05/26/2023
FARGO ND NC11366936 05/29/2023
INDIANAPOLIS IN NC11365459 05/28/2023
LACONIA NH NC11370526 05/27/2023
LAWRENCE MA NC11370401 05/27/2023
LITTLETON CO NC11366840 05/28/2023
MALDEN MA NC11365310 05/28/2023
MILLBRAE CA NC11367211 05/25/2023
NEWPORT KY NC11372004 05/27/2023
NORTHGLENN CO NC11366639 05/28/2023
PACIFICA CA NC11367168 05/25/2023
SAN CARLOS CA NC11367164 05/25/2023
SAN JOSE CA NC11365554 05/28/2023
SANTA CLARA CA NC11368650 05/26/2023
SARATOGA SPRINGS NY NC11367451 05/27/2023
SUNNYVALE CA NC11368652 05/26/2023
WATERTOWN WI NC11367220 05/24/2023
CENTRAL SEATTLE WA NC11366942 05/28/2023
NORTH SEATTLE WA NC11366940 05/28/2023
SOUTH SEATTLE WA NC11366849 05/28/2023
​
Rural Carrier:
KNOXVILLE TN NC11372862 05/30/2023
GORHAM ME NC11370153 05/26/2023
BARRINGTON NH NC11370412 05/27/2023
BRIGHTON CO NC11372903 05/30/2023
AMERY WI NC11370225 05/26/2023
​
Motor Vehicle Operator:
ALBANY NY P&DC NC11371435 05/27/2023
DVD BLDG NJ P&DC NC11371439 05/27/2023
OAKLAND CA P&DC NC11371661 05/27/2023
RALEIGH NC P&DC NC11371445 05/27/2023
SEATTLE WA P&DC NC11371654 05/27/2023
MORGAN NY P&DC NC11371442 05/27/2023
PORTLAND OR P&DC NC11371664 05/27/2023
SAN JOSE CA P&DC NC11371658 05/27/2023
SAN JUAN PR P&DC NC11371880 05/27/2023
MARGARET SELLERS P&DC NC11371651 05/27/2023
​
Tractor Trailer Operator:
LANCASTER PA P&DC NC11371431 05/27/2023
NEW JERSEY NDC NC11358892 05/27/2023
NORTH READING P&DC NC11371432 05/27/2023
SPRINGFIELD NDC NC11371434 05/27/2023
MICHIGAN METROPLEX MI P&DC NC11371623 05/27/2023
SALT LAKE CITY UT P&DC NC11371617 05/27/2023
SAN FRANCISCO CA P&DC NC11371542 05/27/2023
CAROL STREAM IL P&DC NC11371705 05/27/2023
DENVER CO P&DC NC11371611 05/27/2023
KCMO MO P&DC NC11371703 05/27/2023
OAKLAND CA P&DC NC11371538 05/27/2023
SAN FRANCISCO NDC NC11371541 05/27/2023
SEATTLE WA P&DC NC11371547 05/27/2023
SEATTLE WA P&DC NC11371601 05/27/2023
TACOMA WA P&DC NC11371609 05/27/2023
DES MOINES IA P&DC NC11371702 05/27/2023
EVANSVILLE IN P&DC NC11371709 05/27/2023
DVD BLDG NJ P&DC NC11354736 05/27/2023
SYRACUSE NY P&DC NC11371433 05/27/2023
NORTHERN NJ P&DC NC11358893 05/27/2023
​
No experience necessary for the laborer custodial or maintenance mechanic positions. It helps on the interview but you can surely think of maintenance related experience to relay for an interview. Based on fixing things around your house, the car etc. Always mention working safely.
​
Pro tip: You can apply for any job that has an exam opening and the test is administered local to yourself. Make sure you're serious and score decently; you can turn down the job offer. Keep a physical copy of your exam score, I believe they are good for two years.
The reason is: These job postings can be posted externally at capacity for testing, meaning they will not allow you to take the exam if they have enough qualified applicants. However, if you have a test score on the books, you are a qualified applicant.
​
Explanation of MVO/TTO to save time:
MVO= CDL B Can only drive box trucks on public roads, can drive anything for moves on postal property.
TTO= CDL A Can drive anything.
​
USPS provides the training. (Maintenance jobs at least. TTO and management...GOOD LUCK)
​
You don't have to be crazy to work here. We'll train you. Everything but proper email usage.
submitted by User_3971 to USPS [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 01:28 Ok-Technician-5689 No, the pay went through. See?

No, the pay went through. See?
Cafe was saying my card didn't go through for my morning coffee. Had seen it pop up on my phone as payment confirmed, so swiped down and held out the notification to the employee.
Only when I got back to the office I checked again and saw Spotify was also on the notification bar.
To prove my payment went through I just held up a sign accidentally saying "f**kface $4.50".
submitted by Ok-Technician-5689 to FUCKFACEPOD [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 01:26 Fuzzy_Cranberry_5740 Has anyone else been extorted out of $900 at an ATM in north Jersey?

I just moved to Hoboken and was walking down a street at night when I was approached by a man who asked if I bank with Chase.
I said yes but kept walking. He continued walking beside me and made up a story about how he needs me to deposit a check because his account is overdrawn (makes no sense). There was a Chase ATM coming up on the street and his tone became increasingly urgent and threatening as we got closer. At that point, there was an implied threat and I decided it would be safer to do what he wants and leave rather than risk physical harm.
I put my debit card in the ATM and he shoved a $900 check in and deposited it into my account. Then he told me to withdraw and give him $900 cash from my account. I'm expecting the check to bounce.
I immediately called the Chase debit card fraud number and told them what happened. They deactivated my debit card and credited me $900 while they investigate. I went to the police station and filed a report.
Has anything like this happened to you?
So far, one person has reached out to me saying the same thing happened to them about 30 minutes away. Their description matched the guy who did it to me, and the name and bank on the fraudulent check matched as well. Please message me if the description and bank info looks familiar so that it might help the police in their investigation.
The perpetrator was a tall black male, wearing an N95 style covid mask.
The check is from a "Harris Michael" and the bank it's from is Bethpage Federal Credit Union. The amount is $900.
submitted by Fuzzy_Cranberry_5740 to newjersey [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 00:11 Ireonox Steam suddenly stopped working with my controller between yesterday and today

As the title says, my Xbox Series controller stopped working with Steam sometime between yesterday and today.
I was using it just fine to play AoT2 yesterday and the day prior and in general for well over a year now, but now it just won't take any inputs from it at all anymore, not in game and not in big picture mode not in the controller config pop-out window.
As far as I can tell, steam at least "recognizes" the controller exists since the "controller layout" option appears next to the "support" option on game "home" screens as well as the little controller icon next to the settings icon when it's plugged in and they dissapear when I unplug it.
Controller itself works just fine. I can navigate some of the Windows menus like the settings application or the start menu with the dpad and face buttons, the pad configuration thing shows all the buttons working correctly, I can connect it to my phone via bluetooth and navigate that just fine and I can even use it via Steam link on my phone to control Steam big picture, play games, and even swap it over to mouse mode and navigate the desktop that way.
I've got the open xbox gamebar shortcuts disabled and I've got enable steam input for xbox controllers enabled, though I've tried using it with both options opposite of what they were which did nothing but start bringing up xbox game bar whenever I hit the guide button, which I could navigate normally. I've tried running Steam in and out of Admin, I've tried removing the device that is the controller and having it re-setup itself and that didnt help, restarting PC has done nothing as well. Different cables did nothing, different usb ports did nothing, connecting to my computer with bluetooth did nothing. It's the weirdest problem and I'm at a loss as to what happened or what else to do to try and fix it. hell, most of the fixes I tried were just general controller issue fixes which werent needed since the controller works, steam knows it's there, it just refuses to take its inputs.
As you could probably guess, I would rather not play games with my controller using Steam link on my phone as an input medium so help would be appreciated.
submitted by Ireonox to SteamController [link] [comments]

2023.06.01 00:08 bretonstripes Pan Am Games team and individual qualifiers

Pan Am championships didn’t just serve as a Worlds qualifier, it also served as the sole qualifier to the Pan Am Games. This multi-sport event is held every four years, and this year it will take place in Chile about a month after Worlds.
The way Pan Am Games qualifying works: the top 8 countries at the championships plus Chile (as the PAG host) get to send a team. The next 4 countries get to send 2 individuals of their choosing. Then the top 7 individuals in AA rankings who are not from those 13 countries get to go as individuals (1 per country). These numbers are for both MAG and WAG.
Unfortunately the full team qualifying results for MAG have not popped up anywhere that I’ve seen, so please bear in mind that I added up the team scores myself to figure out the last few team ranks. I’m 95% sure this is correct, but there’s always the possibility of a math error. (USAG did get the full WAG qualifying results and post them in their event archive.)
Teams
MAG WAG
USA USA
BRA MEX
COL CAN
CAN BRA
MEX ARG
ARG PUR
CUB COL
PUR PAN
CHI CHI
2-individual countries
MAG WAG
DOM ECU
PER CRC
ECU DOM
VEN VEN
Individual berths
MAG WAG
WAHRMANN-BAKER Elel (JAM) KELLY Olivia (BAR)
ACUÑA FRANCISCO (CRC) BROWN Lynnzee (HAI)
ATENCIO Richard (PAN) MENDEZ Ana Karina (PER)
SONS SANCHEZ Oliver (BOL) NEWMAN-ACHEE Annalise (TTO)
VELASQUEZ CANDRAY Pablo Nataneal (ESA) MATTIS Tyesha (JAM)
PANIAGUA MUÑOZ Gabriel (GUA) GRANDE Alexa (ESA)
ALI Jameel (TTO) VASQUEZ Diana (BOL)
submitted by bretonstripes to Gymnastics [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 23:58 SpitefulMechanic351 Do you really need to argue with me?

Just a few quick stories from past shops I've worked at. I don't really remember dates for these, just mainly having to explain to customers who thought they knew better why their catruck/van is broken and in need of repairs. It should be noted that when I say "my shop", I mean the shop where I was employed, I've never owned my own shop nor do I want to.
Story 1, the Econoline
Customer brings their early 2000s E-150 cargo van to my shop. They want a set of tires and an alignment. Van is brought inside, steering feels vague just driving it through the parking lot into the shop. After the lift gets set, but before the van actually goes up into the air, I drag a floor jack over so I can check the ball joints with a pry bar. All 4 ball joints are toast on this thing, so they'll need to be replaced before we can do the alignment.
An estimate for repairs is written, parts are priced out and located and the customer is called. It should be noted, at this point, that I'm not really supposed to talk to the customers. That's the service adviser's job. The customer demands to talk to me about my diagnosis. Our conversation went like this;
Him: How do you know the ball joints are bad? Me: explains my testing method, which is the method that Ford recommends for checking the ball joints on that particular model Him: Well, did you put an axial runout gauge on it to measure how much play there it? You said it was excessive. Me: Sir, in accordance with the manufacturer's guidelines, 0 thousandths of an inch of play is allowed, meaning that any play is excessive. There is no need to measure it to see just how bad it is, this is a "Pass/fail" type of test. I'm going to give you back to {insert service adviser's name here} now. You have yourself a nice day.
He agreed to the repairs.
Story 2, the Legacy
Customer brings her mid 1990s Subaru Legacy to my shop complaining of a lack of heat out of the vents and a weird smell inside the car. Getting in reveals the distinct smell of coolant. I poke the carpet on the passenger floorboard and it's soaked in coolant. Leaking heater core, meaning the dash has to come out. I hate these kinds of repairs, I'm a little big to be doing work on/behind dashboards. Regardless, the estimate is written for a replacement heater core and changing the coolant since we're going to be draining out about half of the system anyway. She got mad when we recommended changing the coolant. She said "What you gots to change the coolits fo'? It blows out hot air not hot water, damn." She declined the repairs.
Story 3, the Mustang
Customer comes in with a 2005ish Mustang. He wants an oil change, tire rotation and a state safety inspection. Part of the state inspection involves a suspension check, and like pretty much every Mustang of this vintage, it needs both lower ball joints. Lower ball joints on this particular model are serviced as a complete control arm, and they both need to be replaced to pass state inspection. After being told about the needed repairs, the customer wants to come out into the shop and see the ball joints for himself.
I hand my flashlight to the service adviser and point to the lower ball joint. "Please watch right here" I tell them, as I begin to shake the wheel back and forth, making the lower ball joint move around in ways it's not supposed to do. Now the customer wants to have a conversation about the repairs. Him "Do I really need to replace the control arms to pass inspection?" Me "Yes sir. Virginia law states that is there is abnormal play in the suspension then you reject" Him "But it's an older car and I don't really want to put much money into it, are you sure you can't pass it as it is?" Me "Sir, it's an if/then statement. If there is abnormal movement then you reject, not 'if there's abnormal movement you reject unless it's an older car then never mind'. Your ball joints move abnormally, therefore they are in need of replacement, therefore you can either agree to the repairs, or I'll have our inspector put a rejection sticker on your windshield." Him "So you're not a state inspector?" Me "No sir, I'm not, but I've studied the book that Virginia provides to it's state inspection stations. Would you like me to bring one of our inspectors over for a second opinion?" Him "Yeah, you do that." I go bring one of our inspectors over and he verifies everything that I just told the customer. The customer said "I've got to think about it", had a rejection sticker put in the windshield and I never saw the car again. It's possible he came back on a Saturday when I wasn't working, or maybe not
submitted by SpitefulMechanic351 to TalesFromAutoRepair [link] [comments]

2023.05.31 23:58 Mouse-Direct Classic General Hospital: Luke & Laura 1979-1981

Where are my teens & kids who spent the summers on the run with Luke & Laura?
Some of you may have seen recently that Jackie Zeman (Bobbie Spencer) passed away earlier this month at the age of 70. She played the role of GH RN, former hooker with a heart of gold, land lady, and Luke's baby sister for 45 years. She had been a near constant in my life, so her loss sent me to YouTube in search of old GH clips and episodes.
TLDR: I watched a lot of old GH.
I found a goldmine in youtuber Sussezq who has playlists beginning when Bobbie calls her brother Luke Spencer to Port Charles to help break up Laura Webber and Scott Baldwin (1979), Laura's marriage to Scott and Luke's rape of Laura at the Campus Disco and then their summer on the run hiding from mobsters (1980), and their Ice Princess caper with Robert Scorpio and their Nov wedding with 30 million viewers (1981).
I was 9-11 during the Luke and Laura heyday. Some things I didn't remember, didn't get at the time, or just didn't get to see due to school and not having a VCR until 1984. I've watched from Luke & Laura's first meeting to their honeymoon, and here are my Gen-Xey thoughts:
The Good
The Bad
  1. He's a recovering alcoholic with anger issues
  2. He's the biological father of Rick Webber's younger brother Jeff who was conceived via infidelity between Lee and Helene Webber
  3. He was totes fine with college grad Scott marrying a literal high school senior!
Yeah. Lee should sit this one out.
The Ugly
In a 2022 interview with Oprah's "Where Are They Now," Genie Francis explained the following about why she left General Hospital in early 1982 at the height of Luke & Laura's popularity:
"I was very young. I was only 19. I was having trouble with drugs and alcohol," she said. After spending a night in the hospital, she was told she had to return to work the next day. Then someone came to her dressing room to inform her what had been said about her on set. "They said it didn't matter if you lived or died because Tony was the whole show," the person told her. "That hurt," the actress added. Feeling that she didn't matter to the show and that she was considered "nothing," Francis thought, "Okay, watch this. I'm gone," and in a moment of anger, she quit "GH." She admitted the decision was rather hot-headed, saying, "I went a long distance to prove a point. A very long distance," acknowledging that her actions hurt herself as well.
Read More: https://www.nickiswift.com/1105223/the-heartbreaking-reason-genie-francis-left-general-hospital-at-the-height-of-luke-and-lauras-fame/
Despite the bad and the ugly of it all, the show meant A LOT to me between 9 and 25 or so, and Luke & Laura were probably my first fandom. It was amusing and sometimes surreal to relive it all again.
submitted by Mouse-Direct to GenX [link] [comments]