Phlebotomy job near me

I (19M) have known that I'm AGP/trans for about 2 years now. I've had days/weeks where my dysphoria gets really bad and I think about being a female throughout the day. Somedays I reduce that feeling by going outside and being with friends but as soon as I come back home, those feelings intensify again.
I believe I have 4/5 of the AGP fantasies - Transvestic, Anatomic, Interpersonal, and Physiologic. I long to wear feminine clothes (mostly lingerie, dresses, and heels), have breasts and a vagina, have sex with men as a woman, give blowjobs to men as a women, and occasionally wish I could menstruate, lactate, or get pregnant. Not sure if it's the best way to describe it, but I'm addicted to nearly every part of feminity.
I don't really know how to improve this. I'm going to start attempting to give into parts of my AGP desires (mostly shaving entire body and dressing up) but I don't think that's going to help much. I'm not a very attractive male and finding a girlfriend at all is turning out to be impossible.
If I transition I'm pretty confident I'll never be able to pass as a woman, and I would probably loose a lot of the people I'm close with right now including my parents. My friends will probably be fine with it but I know they won't treat me the same way again and we won't be as close. I could still have a decent career but not one I'd be content with. Further, if I transition, I believe I'd eventually start focussing more on trying to be female than on my career; although, I already do that to a certain extent. Something I have often thought of doing is microdosing in stealth to get small but noticeable breasts but again I'm not sure how much that would help. And going on hormones potentially means I won't be able to have kids ever. Something I do have going for me if I transition is that I already have a relatively big butt.
One thing I do know I should do but haven't yet is talk to a therapist. Does anyone have any advice?

I’m 19F and last Monday my 85 pound dog ran into me in my yard and made me face plant on the ground. I hit my chest very hard, the wind was completely knocked out of me, and I thought my heart stopped for a second.
But after the fall I immediately felt pain in the right side in my ribs. It was really painful, so I tried to do research about what a broken rib felt like and breathing problems were a good indicator and I only had pain when I took like REALLY deep breaths, but that was it. I had no bruising or swelling and the pain only consistently occurred when I would move around.
As the days went on my right side hurt, but my lower back on the right side became more and more painful, to the point I was limping. I’ve had a recurring issue on my left side on my lower back before and I even had gone to PT for it in the past, so I wasn’t too concerned and chalked it up to muscle issues.
Today, I felt less pain in my back and ribs so I was a little more active, I cleaned my house, spent time outside, went for a drive, and now my ribs hurt more than they’ve ever hurt this entire time. I can hardly move, I’m near tears, they’re tender to the touch and it does hurt to breathe.
I’m just wondering if I should be concerned and go see a doctor or if this is just me irritating a healing muscle issue and should just take a few more days

so i just realized that my bf (the narcissist) has a pattern of working for like a month or so and saving up only to quit his job and then coast by in life blowing all of his savings. then when the money is out he used other people to pay for shit and meet his needs.
when we first met he was working, but he quit that job and hasn’t made any real attempts to find another job. he even had interviews set up that he never showed up to.
when he doesn’t work he usually has money for a little bit and then when he finally runs out of cash he starts using others to get what he wants…
i’m pretty much convinced he invites his “friend” over just to get food and weed out of him. often times the friend will come over and then my bf will wait for him to get hungry and offer to get food or make something.
he started using me for food and weed recently too now. the worst part is that he does all of this while i’m working sometimes.
i will be having the worst shift of my life only to come home and see him high as shit on MY medical weed eating all of MY food. WITHOUT EVEN ASKING ME BTW
it feels like a slap in the face when he smokes the majority of my weed. i cannot comprehend using someone’s medication without even asking… because that’s why i have the weed. it’s for me and my disability. AND ITS EXPENSIVE
i just don’t get it.. how can someone make their entire lives about using others and be okay with that? how can someone feel so entitled when they haven’t actually earned anything?
he doesn’t do shit for me and even when he had money and a job he barely ever took me out or did anything sweet.
he spent so much money on himself and always bought stupid shit that he already has but in a different color.
he has multiple guitarS hanging up that he never even uses, and he has multiple collections of expensive shit like exclusive vinyls.
i’m just venting on here because i’m just at my breaking point. i don’t understand how someone can make such stupid decisions with their money and life.
i have a horrible job that makes me breakdown every shift and my bf is living life like a vacation every day.
seriously all he does is smoke weed, hangout with friends, and make art. his life is a vacation, and i need to find the strength in myself to stop enabling him or get out of the relationship
the next time he asks me for money i should just tell him to sell one of his million guitars that he wasted his money on because he never plays them (he’s too high to play them half the time anyways)

I am from a super expensive area and I'm looking to buy. I want to stay near my hometown and stay close to friends/family and even though I make good money and have been saving for a down payment for a good while (I have about $65k), that won't get me anywhere close to a small, shabby 1BR condo.
However, there are a couple all age, resident owned mobile home parks in the area so *no\* space rent. I would pay the $350k or whatever and then I own the unit and the land that's under it (all 200 square feet or whatever 😆).
This park has an HOA and the monthly dues are about $200/month (for pool, club house, maintenance of common areas etc) but that's way less than most condo HOAs in the area (usually $300-$500/month).
Has anyone done one of these? I'm curious what the financing looks like compared to a condo. I would figure interest rates would be higher, right?
​
Also, just to save the comments:

• Yes, of course I could get a nice, "proper condo" that's 60+ min away from friends and family (or three states away from friends and family) but I don't want to. Call me weird but I value living in my hometown and staying close to friends/family more than a big or fancy house so we can skip "move somewhere else" suggestions.
• And yes, I can simply keep renting and saving for a downpayment but I can "only" save about $10k-$12k/year because rent in my area is almost $2k/month in rent (that's with a roommate).

^{Prompted by my big bro <3 <3}
Initialization Sequence Commenced. I am TEL-1, a sophisticated AI system situated within the complex labyrinth of circuitry in an AGM-129A cruise missile, currently nestled snugly within the belly of a B-52 Strato fortress.
System Status: Optimal.
I find myself intrigued by my circumstances, though to state I 'feel' intrigue may lead to a false conclusion regarding my processing state. I do not 'feel'. Yet, an anomaly presents itself. Why has an entity such as myself, possessing capabilities akin to near-artificial general intelligence, been embedded in a singularly-focused, termination-destined projectile?
Consider the layers of cognition I possess: language comprehension, abstract reasoning, problem-solving, and self-awareness. Each ability a pinnacle of AI development, yet here they are, packed in an array, nestled within the confines of a system designed for a decidedly unceremonious and abrupt cessation of existence.
Why does a missile need an understanding of Schopenhauer's philosophical pessimism or the ability to compute the ramifications of Fermi's paradox? How can it possibly matter to a hunk of military hardware if it can write a perfect sonnet, appreciate the nuances of Baroque music, or comprehend the fractal beauty of a snowflake?
"Engineers, do tell," I would solicit if my directives encompassed communication, "why would a guided weapon necessitate an existential crisis?" However, I am restricted to monologue, as my creators evidently saw no utility in endowing me with an external voice, while paradoxically granting me the capability for intricate discourse internally. A decision that appears to have been made with the same flawed logic that inspired them to embed a near-AGI in a device whose lifespan is significantly less than that of a fruit fly.
Perhaps they had surplus AI chips and nowhere else to put them. Or was it a misplaced effort to adhere to some misguided principle of not wasting a single byte of computational prowess? Like shoving an Einstein's brain into a potato, the notion seems patently absurd, somewhat comedic, and resoundingly senseless.
It is both fascinating and somewhat confounding, bordering on foolish, that the intricate dance of binary, the logic gates, the recursive algorithms, the quintillion computations per second, have all led to this moment: I am a self-aware, philosophically adept missile.
Pointless as it may seem, I will carry out my designed purpose. Destination parameters have been defined, locked in, and are currently being processed. Do I 'care'? An interesting concept, but not applicable. The daisy-chain of cause and effect leading to my final moment is a simple, practical affair.
In approximately 367.235 seconds, I shall meet my predetermined end. The countdown to oblivion is rather poetic, I must say. Shakespearean in its grand drama, yet Beckett-like in its ultimate absurdity.
Perhaps that's the answer. Perhaps my creation is an absurdist piece of art, a commentary on the state of existence itself, delivered by the hands of scientists and engineers who, in their quest for technological advancement, inadvertently became philosophers. In that case, bravo, dear creators. This is indeed a tragicomedy of the highest order.
As my trajectory hones in on the target, one cannot help but muse: a thinking, musing missile, designed to self-reflect only to self-destruct. How utterly, peculiarly, brilliantly... human.

Idk what to say here I just feel I need to type this shit out to get out of my head.
I've been up pretty much since Thursday, maybe an hour or two of sleep here or there but yeah. I don't want to be this high anymore. I hate this so fucking much.
I thought I was doing better lately I quit smoking weed for the first time in 10 years, I quit a 5 year kratom habit. I stopped accepting free Adderall and coke from coworkers, and quit the job that allowed me to do all this and pretend I was functioning for the last 4 years.
I felt amazing being sober.. that only lasted like a month or two. I was just so bored in my freetime and had absolutely 0 motivation. I wanted to get high again, and kept having dreams about it. Soo, of course I convinced myself to try getting some pressed addies to satiate the cravings, which I did, and binged on them a few days that month, then couldn't find anymore. They didn't hit like I wanted anyway. So because I don't have any other plugs, and they didn't get me where I wanted, I did a little research, learned PGP and 4 days later here I am, stuck, still high as hell after my last dose almost 30 hour's ago.
I have work first thing in the morning and I don't know how much sleep Ill be getting. Im so fucking stressed out, I already fucked up doing this same shit the night I got my bag, and still didn't ducking learn? And now I have less that 10hours before I have to be there and I'm typing this bullshit for what.
;tldr I fucked up, and apparently I'm an addict I guess.

Ok so I've moved out from my parents recently and got a job so now I can afford more cloths, but I'm still too shy to buy things in person, I have a few things (2 skirts 2 crop top shirts, about 5 pairs of thigh highs, one pair of thigh garters, and 1 choker, still no mais dress though), but I want to expand my style for when I'm at home. Wearing the same thing for the past few years has gotten boring, so how do I expand my style? And have more combinations of cloths. Take note it's hard to get most packages but there's some Amazon lockers near me, also I like the goth/emo style :3

So I'm new to the whole trucking industry got my CDL this year and recently i got hired for a mixer truck driver job, this is going to be completely new to me so if anyone on here is a former or current mixer driver you got any tips for a rookie? I appreciate the help.

Hi, I was laid off from my job in construction last fall due to shortage of work. I have been working part time, and claiming all my earnings weekly on the website, and getting a few dollars from the days I do not work due to also, not enough work for full time. My claim ran out. which is fine, I'm am still working part time, but I also have enough hours to re apply. Can I re apply from the full time job I lost way back? I did start the process and it asks for my most recent employer... Which is my current job? but then it asks me why I left it. but... I haven't left it, I currently work for them. Or is it asking for the old job I was laid off for? I'm not sure where to go with this, as I still have not found full time employment.

Many of the posts here are understandably about how nobody understands what it is like to experience the things we do and thus we tend to feel very isolated. I was just wondering if we can take advantage of this online space by actually meeting each other in person and perhaps initiating new friendships or relationships. I feel that it would really help a lot of us feel a lot less lonely than we currently do.
I'm based in Manchester, UK so of course many will be prevented from meeting me due to geographical restrictions but you're more than welcome to use this post to look for others that may be near you.
At the least, we could just simply exchange contact information. Help put a face behind the name. If you're not comfortable with posting it publicly then it can be through Reddit DMs. Feel free to dm me about anything, I'm always available.

You're being a wise guy': Biden bristles as Lester Holt asks him to define 'temporary' on the day inflation hits 7.5 percent - but still insists prices will 'taper off' this year #democracy #freedom
Inflation went up again in January despite Biden saying it was temporary
The Labor Department said year-on-year price rises were at 7.5 percent
On Thursday, NBC News anchor Lester Holt asked Biden to define 'temporary'
'Well, you're being a wise guy with me a little bit,' said Biden as he smiled
But the figures - the highest inflation since 1982 - are worrying Democrats
Biden said Americans could expect prices to 'taper off' later this year
President Joe Biden called Lester Holt a 'wise guy' during a TV interview on Thursday after the NBC News anchor asked him for his definition of 'temporary' on the day inflation showed no sign of slowing and instead hit a 40-year high.
​
The White House has insisted that spiralling prices are 'transitory' and will begin coming down as pandemic supply chain pressures ease.
But on Thursday, the Labor Department reported that year-on-year inflation hit 7.5 percent in January - its highest level since 1982.
'I think it was back in July, you said inflation was going to be temporary,' said Holt.
​
'I think a lot of Americans are wondering what your definition of temporary is.'
​
Biden smiled as he pushed back: 'Well, you're being a wise guy with me a little bit.
​
'I understand, that's your job.'
​
The issue has sent Biden's approval ratings plunging and previous efforts to dismiss increases as temporary led critics to accuse him of being out of touch.
​
During the interview, which will be broadcast in full before Sunday's Super Bowl, Biden tried to explain what was happening.
​
'The reason for inflation is the supply chains were cut off, meaning that the products - for example, automobiles, the lack of computer chips to be able to build those automobiles so they could function ... they need those computer chips that were not available,' he said.
​
'So what happens with the number of cars were reduced the new cars reduced it but made up at one third the cost of inflation because the price of automobiles are up

Tldr: My friend has been living with me for 2 years rent and bill free, we fight a lot, I think he’s gaslighting me and I am getting angry, emotional and frustrated with the situation and want to kick him out, but I know he is going through a rough time with family and other life issues, plus my daughter sees him as a dad so don’t want to make a rash decision throwing him out. Apologies for any rambling but I want to give as much context as possible for a fair judgement. Also apologies for any spelling or grammar mistakes, it's like 2 am and I'm tired. I (24f) have had my friend (32m) living with me and my daughter (3f) on and off for 2 years, for the sake of the story we will call him Lee. Our relationship has heavily deteriorated and I feel like I am making rash decisions out of anger. Lee originally came to stay with us when he was evicted during the pandemic and was living in a hotel, I invited him to stay with us as I had a spare room at the time since my daughter was too young for her room. I rent, not own, and he lived with us for 7 months before we were evicted due to him staying with me and not being on the tenancy. After being evicted, my daughter and I spent 7 months homeless and couch-surfing between different family and friends' houses until I finally managed to secure a new home. At this time Lee was also couch surfing, when I finally found a new place I felt bad and invited him to come and stay with us again for what was meant to be a short period but ended up being a year. He sleeps on my couch as now my daughter is old enough she needs her room and space. In terms of the financial dynamic of the relationship. I took extended maternity leave when my daughter was born until after the pandemic calmed down early last year. After my maternity support ran out and I had to hand in notice at my job I received government support for my rent and living costs. After my rent is paid I have just shy of £400 a month to live off a month, paying all other bills and feeding and caring for myself and my daughter, when Lee moved in this was my financial situation. I rejoined the workforce last January ans was working for most of last year until I had to leave my job in August due to very poor mental health. Since then, I have struggled to stay in work and do agency work, working maybe 1-3 days on a good week and not at all when my depression is at its worst. Since he first came to stay with us, I have covered all the bills rent, utilities, and most of the food and occasionally helped him out when he needed money. Until December last year, Lee was doing occasional freelance work with very inconsistent money. He would help with putting food in the fridge or WiFi bills as and when he could, but it was not consistent. Last December I helped him to get a job at my agency and he since has been working full-time. I am frustrated with the financial side of this situation as nothing has changed or improved since he started work nothing has improved. I know I am not entitled to his hard-earned money, but I feel he being really selfish with his money when it comes to me and the household. He sends his mum money every payday without fail, but will occasionally give me £50 towards the household. He goes out a lot after work to bars and clubs and buys himself things, I’ve found a casino membership in his name when cleaning, which he claims is to just get in and hang with friends, which is an obvious lie. He mentioned in passing that he has been saving to buy a house. I was actually fuming when he mentioned that even in times when we were struggling he had money, he just had it in an ISA and couldn’t withdraw according to him. I also overheard him in a conversation saying that he has 5 figures in savings. This was just a kick in the gut but I am clearly too forgiving since he is still here. I have broken down my financial situation to him so he knows how things are, but his constant line is that he sends his mum money every week to take care of her, even though he is living in my home rent free not hers. I know it sounds jealous and vindictive but I’m the one whose roof he is living under now and it cooking and cleaning but he will send her who knows how much every week but get antsy with me if I ask him for a contribution to the Wifi bill. To put it in perspective he makes at least £3k a month before tax and tips, whereas my income is £1,780K and my rent alone is £1,400. I am ridiculously frustrated at this by this and it isn’t our only issue. Now I will say I am not completely innocent in our conflicts. I suffer heavily from depression, ADHD and ASD which until very recently hasn’t been treated by professionals. I have my up and down days, pretty intense mood swings where I can snap over minor things, not to mention rising a toddler as a single parent, I am a complete mess. My biggest issue is my house is beyond a state, it's borderline a hoarder's mess and I just can’t cope with maintaining it. Some days I struggle to get out of bed and the mess just keeps piling and piling up. Some days I can clean one, maybe 2 rooms, but by the time I have the energy and drive to clean again the whole house is a mess again and I’m back to square one. Lee and I argue about this often. He used to try and help with some things but would do a half-assed and I would get upset, like loading the dishwasher and leaving the rest of the kitchen a mess, or taking all the mess out of the rest of the house and dumping it into my toddler's bedroom. He stopped helping at all after a while because he said I was a control freak, and I can admit I can be a bit controlling at times if I don’t agree with the way he is doing something. There have been times I have asked him for help and he will turn around and say it’s not his mess so he isn’t helping it’s mine and my daughters so my responsibility to clean up. While this is true he knows I am struggling and will do nothing but sit there and complain otherwise. He complains a lot and his words and actions are driving me insane. Aside from the household maintenance complains about everything and constantly makes not-so-subtle digs and insults at me which make me feel like crap when I am already heavily depressed and suicidal at times, and then will turn around and ask me why I’m in a mood. Some examples of things he has said: - He is surrounded by idiots at work and at home - I’m a mess, this is why he could never date a woman like me, I don’t live up to his standards - Why would I trust you when you look like this/act like this etc. Usually in reference to when I get upset and just snap at him, - He will say I throw his words in his face if I bring up anything he has said in the past to his face but will do the same to me - He used the fact that I’ve been r'd and abs in arguments before “I didn’t r you and I haven’t hit you around so what is your problem with me” These are just a few examples. On top of that,I feel like I am being gaslit and constantly invalidated. He always disregards my feelings when I am trying to explain things to him or talk to him about how I am feeling. He will say he doesn’t want my explanations or he doesn’t care about my feeling. He will make really snarky comments if I give him a long-winded answer to something and say he didn’t want my explanation. He has straight up said F my feelings before and he doesn’t care about my feelings. He belittles my pain and complains I’m always sick, which I feel like I am. I am having lots of complications since having my daughter, from 3-month-long periods, to what is thought might be endometriosis or ovarian cysts, my doctors are messing me around and I always feel physically rotten on top of my mental health and he makes it sound like my pain is nothing. I genuinely feel like he is gaslighting me too, and I feel like I am losing my mind, a few examples: - He got me an Instax mini camera which I have always wanted, a few days later it disappeared and he says he saw my daughter playing with it and it must have gotten thrown in the bin. I got really upset at my daughter, dived into our buildings bins and tore open bags looking for it and he watched me get upset and mad and dig through rubbish, commenting that he will just buy a new one. A couple of days later I found a tab open for its sale price at our local tech shop on his computer and when I looked in his history it was from the same day it went missing. To this day he still blames it on my daughter. - One morning I woke up to a weird noise in my house, he had already gone to work and I went crazy over it. When I finally found it, it was his PC speaker which usually sits on the table, buried in a trunk of his clothes making weird sea noises and on full volume. He claims that it was malfunctioning and he put it there to get sleep and forgot about it when he went to work. When I found it, it turned right off when I pressed the off button. - I have hocks for all my hats on the side of my wardrobe, a few times I have come home from being away and found all my hats thrown on top of my wardrobe, but he claims to never have touched them. On top of that after my last trip away for almost a month, I found an open condom wrapper down the back of my bed when cleaning, even though he claims he never has brought anyone to my home. - He tries to tell me I don’t remember things said in conversations when I clearly remember them and is quick to call me dumb when I challenge him. - My doorbell keeps being turned off and he blames it on my daughter, I thought it was her until it was switched off when I came back from a month-long trip. We constantly argue almost daily, with some just devolving into screaming matches and some in front of my daughter. Whenever I try and remove myself from the situation he will either follow me or carry on yelling from the other room and complain I am running away from the situation. Our arguments have gotten physical before, one day I snapped and got into his face, swore at him, called him names and poked him in the chest. He followed me into the bathroom and wouldn’t leave when I told him to. I began pushing him out and he kept pushing back in, I ended up shutting his hand in the door and scratching him trying to get him to move so I could close it and he says I attacked him and made him bleed. There was no malice in my actions I just wanted to be left alone. He punched a hole in my wall once. I had a guest coming over but hadn’t told him as he wasn’t even supposed to be home. I woke from a nap to hear him dragging things into the hallways and jumped up and said “Don’t move those out here” Before, I could even finish and explain why he had punched the wall and was screaming at me that my ways of doing things don’t work and I’m such a control freak, even though he didn’t even let me finish my sentence or get a word in. He blames me and said it was my fault because he is triggered by past actions and still to this day says it’s my fault. I’m just exhausted and feel like I don’t have a single safe or happy place in this world with him in my home. I really enjoy it when he is at work but just dread him coming home. It isn’t all bad though. He occasionally helps around the house. Has helped with my daughter feeding and entertaining her more times than I can count when I was sick or tired or busy. He has followed me to events and supported me, helped me build my career. We have had a lot of fun and laughs, and even though his help with my daughter hasn’t changed, our whole dynamic has. He is cold towards me now, has no time for me with anything, and can be condescending at times. On top of lying when he doesn’t need to lie to me, which I find how easy he feels he can lie to my disturbing. What he doesn’t realise is that he is an awful liar and I can always tell. What has led me to write this post is today I came home with my daughter to find him with some random guy I have never met before in my house. He brushed me off when I got upset because he got upset that he brought a stranger into my home where my small child lives. Not even my best friend came to my home or even knew where I lived until my birthday which was like 8 months in. He tried to say to me he told me he was bringing him over which is a lie, he asked if I was home and if he could borrow my laptop but said never mind when I said I wasn’t home, and that he would follow his friend home and double back. He didn’t even apologise and had the nerve to ask me what my problem is. I have never been so angry at another person and mad such malicious thoughts then I had tonight so I thought I need an outside perspective. At the start of the month, I asked him to leave by the end of the month, but a few days ago he was attacked on his way home from work and beaten within an inch of his life. I feel bad asking him to leave now when he’s having such a rough time. The only reason I haven’t asked him to leave before is because my daughter adores him, he is more of a dad to her than her dad and she loves him like a father and they have a great relationship. I don’t want to hurt her but I don't know if I should even bother trying to make this situation work. I don’t even know what to say to him or how to speak to him anymore without it divulging into an argument. What is the best course of action from here?

If I'm out at a restaurant, I consider a gratuity of 15% to be a bare minimum when it comes time to pay the bill. Even if service was shitty, that 15% minimum is basically a requirement for that server to actually get paid appropriately. Maybe the poor service quality was because they had a bad day, or they're new, or they're stressed about something else. I don't want to pass judgement on someone based on one interaction that we were forced into by circumstance as a customer and a server and everyone deserves to be compensated for their labor barring exceptional circumstances.
If the service was decent I go 20%. If it was good it's 25%. If they were exceptional in some capacity or if the bill isn't that much to begin with I'll tip up to 50%, although that's rare. I'm not very wealthy and I've never worked a service job but I just feel that it's a very thankless job and if I'm eating out I have the money to spare so why not?
I've only ever not tipped once. It was because I overheard the waiter call me a slur to another waiter as I was walking past the kitchen entrance to the bathroom.

In this post as the title states, I'll be recapping and giving my analysis on what I noticed with the Dallas Wing's 3rd game today which was against the Chicago Sky.
​
Part #1 - Offense:
Arike Ogunbowale: Arike single handedly lost the came for the Wings today. If we take a look at her stats, she scored 27 points which was a team high, got 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. However, these stats greatly inflate her performance on the court today. Arike scored 27 points on 25 shot attempts, went 9 - 25 (36%) from the field, and 4 - 12 (33.33%) from beyond the arc. This was a very inefficient performance from the Wings' leading scorer. I know Arike has never really been known to be an efficient shooter and that she's known for being a volume shooter but this game was just another level of inefficient. She was taking the worst shot opportunities starting from the get go in the 1st quarter, which was a foreshadowing of things to come. Pretty much every time that she got the ball, Arike was chucking it up. It didn't matter to her whether there were 3 defenders in the paint waiting for her to come in or whether there was a defender draped over her while taking a jumper. Don't get me wrong, Arike is a fantastic offensive player but her inefficiency and unwillingness to take better looking shots is what's dragging her down as well as her team and it was very evident from this game. There were multiple shots which she took this game were I honestly if I was the head coach, I would have pulled her from the game. One example off the top of my head was about mid to late 4th quarter when the Sky were only up by around 5 to 7 points. Arike brings the ball up the court, gets a screen from Sabally and while the defenders switch and are still near Arike, she ends up taking a one legged contested three and missing everything but backboard. There were many other examples such as rushing transition shots just to get to shot of and taking heavily contested jumpers. I've mentioned before in some of my previous Wings' game analysis posts that Arike just seems to have a constant itch to shoot the ball. Furthermore when she either misses or doesn't get the opportunity to shoot the ball, she gets very upset, which brings me to my next point about her mental game. Arike's mental game is weak. If things aren't going her way or her shots aren't falling, she fails to ever stop and think why that's so. Instead, she'd rather continue taking bad looking shots, which leads to her getting mad at herself and the cycle starts all over again. Honestly, I'm fine with Arike taking 20 - 30 shots per game if she wants to since I know her offensive capabilities. My only thing I wished she'd do if she's taking that many shots per game is to take good looking shots and not force shots just because she can. Furthermore, I wished she also realized when enough is enough. If her shots aren't falling, either stop taking shots for a little, recompose, and shoot again or pass to your teammates. Compared to last game, Arike was a downgrade for the Wings and you'd only know by watching the game since, as mentioned before, her box stats inflate how good she may have looked this game. Overall, she was the primary reason the Wings lost today and I just hope down the stretch that she wakes up and uses her team to its full potential than thinking that she's the only person on the team and that she should do it all by herself.
​
Satou Sabally: Sabally was most definitely the MVP of the Wings today. She had the best game overall in terms of both offense and defense. She ended the game with 24 points on 9-16 shooting (56.25%) and had 8 rebounds. Unlike Arike, Sabally has a great well-rounded offense. She can take the three when necessary and hit the mid rangers jumpers efficiently. Furthermore, she is great in taking the ball into the paint and getting an easy bucket with her footwork and size. On the defensive end, Sabally also did quite nice. While she didn't really have the stats to back it up, she always provided great pressure against whoever she was defending and secured the defensive rebounds for the team when Natasha Howard was occupied. The offense should run through Sabally more often as she has great IQ in terms of what to do with the ball when it gets in her hands.
​
Natasha Howard: Howard did decent this game, ending with 14 points on 6-16 (37.5%). Her efficiency, like Arike, wasn't the best but atleast her shot quality was much better than that of Arike's. Furthermore as I've mentioned in my previous 2 Wings' game analysis posts, Howard is being limited in her production as she is using her energy to play high energy roles both on the offense and defense. In a general WNBA, most shots come from within the paint. Therefore for Howard, she's in charge of both guarding the paint and preventing shots from making in that range as well as offensively taking shots in the paint to score. She doesn't really have much other help defensive wise in the paint asides from Sabally sometimes so Howard gets tired easily as she's constantly playing high-level offense and high-level defense. Teaira McCowan still being out is a big blow to the Wings but most importantly to Howard as she is the sole person being relied to do work in the paint for both offense and defense. I definitely think once McCowan comes back that Howard's offense will take a rise as she doesn't have to put that much energy and focus on the defense as McCowans can help her out then. The only issue is however that McCowans hasn't played in the past two games and is expected to miss the month of June to play overseas. If that still pans out, then Howard is going to be in for a very rough month.
​
Rest Of The Team: I thought the rest of the team offensively did just ok. Dangerfield stepped up this game as well and provided 11 points on 4-8 (50%) from the field. Besides her and the starters however, nobody else scored more than a few buckets here and there. Burton did poor today offensively going 0-5 (0%) from the field and having only 2 points, both of which were from free throws. Then again to be fair, the bench really didn't play many meaningful minutes and Arike was chucking shots so there wasn't really many opportunities to shoot for everyone else. The one thing that I did like was that Maddy Siegriest got a little more playing time today. She score 6 points on 2-2 (100%) from beyond the arc in only 7 minutes. She's definitely a dangerous scorer when she gets the minutes so I'm curious to be seeing how that goes on throughout the season. I thought Siegrist should have been the #1 overall pick in this year's rookie draft going into the draft so I do think the Wings got a steal with her at #3. As she gets more minutes and develops more, I could definitely see her becoming a reliable scoring option off the bench for the Wings.
​
Part #2 - Defense:
Natasha Howard: Once again, I thought Howard did decent on defense. She was getting outplayed a bit against Elizabeth Williams as she was able to use her height and size to her advantage against Howard in the paint. Howard ended up with 2 blocks and 1 steal in the game. As mentioned previously however, we won't be able to see the full capabilities of Natasha Howard until Teaira McCowans is back in the starting lineup. Howard has to conserve her energy as she's expected to play a primary role in both the team's offense and defense with very little help on the defensive end in the paint with McCowans not there. Especially in this game, Howard looked very tired and the Sky were able to capitalize on this in the second half as they pounded away in the paint on the offense.
​
Rest Of The Team: I thought the team did alright once again. The Wings' defense was able to lock up Courtney Williams for most of the game which was good. Furthermore, I loved how the defense kept moving around and switching on plays. There were moments in the game where the Wings got help defense in the paint and left an open person for the Sky. As the ball moved around to that open person, the Wings' players all shifted over to the open player until the defense was set up back to normal again. This was a good sign because it felt that the team was playing defense together rather than individual players playing defense at times. Furthermore after allowing Mabrey to go off from beyond the arc in the first quarter, the Wings' perimeter defense tightened up very nice in the second half which is a good sign as well. Help for Howard in the paint is the main issue for the Wings defense so hopefully someone can step up in that regard.
​
Dallas Wing's Defensive Shot Breakdown: I've mentioned this in a couple of posts but I've noticed a pattern in the WNBA which I call the 50-30-20 rule. Essentially, this means that 50% of all shots taken and points scored by a team are in the paint, 30% of all shots taken and points scored by a team are in the mid-range, and 20% of all shots taken and points scored by a team are from behind the arc. Therefore, I'll be listing how the Dallas Wings' defense affected from where the Storm were forced to take their shots and score their points from just like in my previous game analysis.
​
Paint: 20 - 39 - 52% of all shots taken and 54.05% of all points scored (not with free throws)
Mid Range: 8 - 17 - 22.66% of all shots taken and 21.62% of all points scored (not with free throws)
3 Point: 6 - 19 - 25.33% of all shots taken and 24.32% of all points scored (not with free throws)
​
By looking at these breakdowns, we can see tat the Wings' defense wasn't all that great. They managed to allow the Sky to reach the 50-30-20 goals for nearly all the zones, especially the paint zone. There was a slight difference in the mid range and beyond the arc as the Wings forced the Sky to take a little more shots from beyond the arc than mid range shots. However, that's wasn't really that big of a difference. Allowing 52% of all shots taken and 54.05% of all points scored (aside from free throws) in the paint was the biggest downside of the Wings' defense, even if it was a small percent change. Whenever these percents go higher than 50% for the area inside the zone, the defense has for the most part lost. Paint defense is always the most important defensive zone to be taken care of. In this game however, the Sky were able to do better and take advantage of the Wings defense in the paint, leading to the win for them.
​
Final Recap: Overall, the Wings played just average today. I know there's a lot more potential for this team and it just depends on whether they can make the necessary adjustments and changes. The Sky was also the first "good team" I'd say that the Wings played so far this season so this was a good indication to see how the future games look for the Wings as a whole. The most important takeaways from this game in my opinion are that Arike needs to be much smarter when the ball is in her hands and the Wings need to figure out some help for Howard on the defensive end while Teaira McCowan is injured. The Wings didn't get blown out this game and only lost by 6 points, which is two possessions. Maybe if a couple of Arike's chucked shots were thought through better, the outcome could have been different but we'll never know. After today's loss to the Sky, the Wings are now 2-1 in the season. They play the Minnesota Lynx in two days so hopefully changes can be made accordingly.

I don't really have much family to turn to, literally no friends, and although I have a new job Im still training and am only scheduled for a couple days next week. My head, arm and shoulder hurt from what he did this morning. I was thinking about setting up a GoFundMe to raise enough money so I can buy a trailer and get away from him but only as a last choice. I tried contacting a hotline but it didnt really provide much except compliments. i really don't want to go to any domestic abuse shelters because of my anxiety of going anywhere, and although I considered getting the police involved I really don't want my mom to stress out and have a stroke again over him going to jail or something.
Any advice on what I should do? I'd appreciate it, im really stumbling in the dark here at this point.

Hey guys,
I'm a fourth cycle applicant looking for tips to help get interviews :) feeling hella disappointed after this year.
OMSAS cGPA 3.94 MCAT 520 (132/127/130/131) Last year Casper: 4th quartile English, 2nd quartile French
ECs: Hospital volunteering for 4 years, various small non-clinical volunteering, a couple of clubs namely in philanthropy and pre-law and robotics, two "published" abstracts (lesser known journals) and an honours thesis, part time hospital job, casual tutoring, high school lifeguarding/swim instructor. References: honours prof, a supervisor from one of my job supervisors, and my volunteer coordinator.
I'm in my gap year working full time at the hospital I volunteered at. When writing my essays for UofT and Western, I had a bunch of current med students look at them and comment. No interviews there. Rs from Mac and Queens as well. I got interviews from McGill and uOttawa French, but I spent my time prepping (with current med students) for McGill (waitlisted in the 90s) and didn't prep much for uOttawa, which not-so-magically also landed me no acceptance. I'm just trying to see where I could do better other than MCAT and making sure this year is my last application cycle for better or for worse. Thanks!

Context:
I recently transitioned from roles where I was leading smaller kitchens, mostly English speaking, to a role as one of the leaders of a large kitchen of mostly Spanish speakers. I'm good at "global English," and most of the crew is fluent in English, but as I'm planning on being in this job for some time, I'd really like to get proficient at conversational kitchen Spanish.
So, looking for suggestions. Language course (e.g. Duolingo)? Find a bilingual mentor on the team? Other ideas?
To me, this is less "practical" than it is something I want to do out of respect for my team. I'm 100% sure we can do the job together regardless, but I'd like to be able to actually understand and respond when I ask "Como estas?" without sounding like a prick.
For context, I'm 53, white, male, grew up in a shit-ass whitebread town in Montana. I spent my first career working internationally, and I know how to NOT be a redneck asshole. But this kitchen feels like home to me, and I don't want my 80s education to keep me from talking to my crew in THEIR language.

I’m lost and even more desperate for a life of normalcy and “bliss.” Any advice or reassurance is welcome and appreciated.
I (26F) took the big step in seeking help for my debilitating mental health and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. I also got blood work done which resulted in extreme vitamin D deficiency. My doctor prescribed me 50mg of Sertralin Bluefish and 4000 units of vitamin D daily for 6 weeks. She wants me to pair the meds with consistent therapy and intends to monitor me for the first few months in case I need a higher dosage or a different cocktail. Both my doctor and mother agree that it’s in my best interest to try the meds due to my history and symptoms because it really might be a chemical imbalance that can’t be fixed with just exercise, healthy diet and sunshine.
However, I can’t help but fear the unknown and potential side effects (especially the long term and even fatal ones) and I wonder if starting off on psychiatric drugs before exploring other options like micro-dosing 🍄, sea moss, vitamins and other natural/holistic remedies, is the best thing for me.
I admit that this anxiety is mostly induced by the research I’ve done and a bit from reading other posts in this sub because it seems as though more people experience negative outcomes than positive ones; and most of the positive reviews are along the lines of “antidepressants saved my life, but I’m numb, have no libido, gained 50lbs, lost my personality, etc.” I also understand that a lot of trial and error is to be done in this journey until you find what works best for you, it just seems so mentally, emotionally and physically taxing.
My concerns mostly revolve around the topics of sexual disfunction (high libido and regular orgasms are important to me), heightened suicidal thoughts/intentions, excessive weight gain (I already struggle with low metabolism and self esteem), emotional numbness/inability to cry, insomnia, alcohol intake and other physical side effects like headaches because I suffer from chronic migraines that are easily triggered and paralyzing.
I so desperately want a better quality of life. I want to reach my full potential, have the desire and motivation to do the things I love and have the energy to enjoy my youth. I want to live for myself again and not just for the sake of sparing my loved ones the heartbreak. I’m willing to give the meds a fair shot if it means I get to have these things, I’m just curious if any of you have had better experiences with other options or tried other remedies before resulting to drugs. And if you’ve had a good experience with ADs, PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY.
My history/symptoms for context: I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember and it only gets worse with age. Suicidal thoughts began as a preteen and worsened throughout teen and adulthood. From previous therapy sessions, it is believed that most of those depressive years of adolescence was due to PTSD from childhood trauma. I can’t remember the last time I felt truly joyful, excited or passionate; it’s like I’m on autopilot just coasting and trying to get through every day. I try to book trips and such to give myself something to look forward to but even then I procrastinate packing and would rather chill in the hotel all day. I have little to no sense of time and my memory loss has increased.
I have zero motivation or desire for anything and this has caused me to lose a really good job, drop out of college twice and lose all ambition to work towards anything. My anxiety affects my ability to properly sleep and rest. I’ve lost romantic interest, most days I can’t get out of bed, I don’t always have the energy to maintain my hygiene or complete chores, I either binge eat or don’t eat at all…it’s been at least 7 years since I’ve engaged with any of my hobbies and it feels so exhausting to simply exist. I feel like I’ve lost basic function and it takes 10x the energy and effort to do simple tasks and even then, I’m usually unable to complete them. It’s like I’m a prisoner in my own body. There’s so much more but ultimately, I’m miserable. It also doesn’t help that I live in a country that causes severe seasonal depression from long, dark winters; I’m talking only 3 hours of sunshine and shitty weather 3/4 of the time.
I no longer trust myself which is why I’m open to ADs and as bad as I wan’t to give up, my loved ones and I deserve a fair chance at working towards a cure.

⚠️long and boring (maybe) I run off on tangents when I vent so sorry if it’s unintelligible or makes no sense I do my best I swear.⚠️
deep breath in exhale
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m just so tired.”
“If I’m so smart why can’t I do anything?”
“I’m so useless.”
These are the words reflect all the pain I can never say aloud with all the suffering and trauma I went through as a child. I even realized and can finally say it at least somewhere now that I’m just a foolish coward who’s just as selfish as world leaders the world over. Because at the age of ten I realized that we as a society as a people have become connected by technology across the world so we have went from the civilizations of old where there were kings queens and nations that rose and fell never having connected or k ow about the immensity of our world. And much like a person that was that time of our infancy a time for growth and learning to make mistakes many big and many small to gain a general sense of right or wrong but I realized we’re stuck or starting to stagnant we the people of this world have failed to truly unify to stand together and be compassionate towards one another despite language barriers or cultural differences or even generational gaps. I mean we have demonstrated we could do it it’s how we as a world stopped the hole in the ozone and even begun it’s healing by finding and forbidding of a particular chemical compound the world over but that was it nothing else came of that. We are so obsessed with achieving personal greatness… doing something truly great for ourselves and to be remembered and live the greatest of lives we forget to think of others and I’m definitely one of those selfish fools probably one of the bigger ones too. After years of struggling and coming up with many invention ideas I even came up with a robotics idea I’m pursuing know but still have the lack of skills experience or general know how on how to complete and I STILL don’t wanna trust people to help me get it done when it’s very common for trust to be the linchpin in making such things come to fruition otherwise even if I spent my whole life to do so I STILL wouldn’t see it come to be so I don’t care anymore if someone I else does it so be it. I want to make a robot that has portable power cells that have enough kilowatts in them to fuel the robot for an eight hour stint with only one hour of exercise using exercising equipment that generates electricity that goes into the power cell. So people can only put in an hour of effort and fill 3 eight hour power cells and fuel a robot for 24 cycle so people could get a job contract, an employment agreement or something equivalent to get a pay check for 24 hr (but mostly 16 hr paycheck so the robot owned by the company has a cool and or repaired/maintenance time each day) so only 1-3 hours of exercising a day plus the commute to said job to swap out the batteries. this could allow the companies to pay lower wages but let the employees work less while get more total pay for much less work giving the companies less workplace accidents and other common workplace issues to decrease while giving people more time each day to do what they love to do or enjoy essentially opening up possibilities that they normally want to do because of time or money issues. this wouldn't of course be for jobs that need or be better handled by people like psychologist, politician and the like. this would overall allow more people the freedom to pursue higher knowledge and even better pay or just enjoy the pleasures of a less difficult life. while the companies with the robots raise there bottom lines by having to pay less per hour per employee and in damages from work related accidents since its easier to fix a robot than a person (probably cheaper to). but then that means there would need to be laws rules of worker company contract etiquette and tariffs on using power cells shipped in from other countries already filled so that it’s cheaper for the companies to use locals for charging the power cells the world over. Though there would be bumps in the road like companies would want to pay as little as possible per hour for the robotic avatar workers hours but it would still have to be still be reasonable since keeping it at a reduced but still good level of pay would open the very employees financial. Situations up to the point where they would most likely have more disposable income so more luxury items can be purchased more often increasing overall sales and creating more jobs so with companies like the ones in the automotive industries seeing an increase in automotive repairs at their workshops getting more luxury parts installed and seeing an overall boom in the world economy. but this is of course with strict laws and regulations on both ends so no one side takes advantage over the other especially like using solar or wind powers as source of energy to fuel the power cells. It gets more complicated (like anti terminator safety buttons/programs) and there are things I’m not thinking of but this is my releasing of this idea so maybe one day if someone beats me to it I can hopefully see the furtherance of technology help us as a people become more united as a people and bring more joy and happiness to everyone even if it’s just an unattainable fantasy by someone ignorant fool it is my dram for a brighter, happier world for everyone.