Before I dive into everything that has happened over the last couple of weeks I want to get a couple of things out of the way. I moved to this town four months ago because of a job offer: I was supposed to start working with a construction company. Second, I am not going to give you my last name. But I will tell you my first name, it's Tom. I am telling you all this, just in case. Ya know?
Anyway, I moved here four months ago. At first, the job offer seemed too good to be true. I was promised an apartment, full benefits, and grocery delivery twice a month. I was told the town was small, and honestly, it is! I am not used to living in a place like this. I mean, I saw the stars for the first time in my life the day I got to my new apartment.
The apartment itself is nice, I have two bedrooms and a good-sized bathroom. I have no complaints about any of the accommodations. Two weeks into moving here I was told that I would be starting at the end of the month. My boss told me that rent would be covered and gave me a list of things I needed for my first day.
As the end of the month came around I decided to go out and buy a new pair of work boots. I figured this would give me a good chance to get a look around town and maybe meet some people. I was mostly right.
The store was only a couple of blocks from my apartment building so instead of taking my truck I decided to walk. The town is cozy, ya know? Like everyone seems normal. Everything felt like it came out of a classic American novel though. So anyway, I went and got my boots and on the way home I decided to stop at a store and pick up the local newspaper.
When I got home and sat on my couch to crack open the newspaper, I could tell something was off right away. The story on the front page read “New Mayor Elected” and right below that, “Strange Lights in the Sky.” By itself, those two things would not raise red flags, but the pictures looked off. It’s hard for me to put into words but the photo of the new mayor looked both old and new. I scanned the page for a date and couldn’t find one. I figured that maybe something went wrong with the printing or something. After I gave the front page a good read I put the paper down and went to bed.
For two days I stayed home to make sure I was well rested. At this point, I had not purchased a tv yet and decided to jump on the opportunity and read more. On my way to pick up new boots, I noticed the town library and thought why not? I could get a couple of books and a new paper. The library itself is beautiful. The wood looks well maintained and the giant stone lions on either side of the staircase were extremely cool to look at the first time I saw them.
Heading into this library was just like walking into any other library. I don’t know what I was expecting. The outside was cool so I thought the inside would be more done up. As I walked through the aisle and scanned the books I could feel the hairs on my arms stand up. It was a weird feeling, something I had not experienced before this: It was almost like I was scared for no reason. As I pulled a book off of the shelf and read the cover I was extremely puzzled, for reference I was standing in the history section. The book read, “To Mars and Back. How America pioneered space travel.” It sounded more like a science fiction book to me, and there were a lot of other books like this. “They live among us, humanity's first contact with God.” or “The secret history of the Roman empire.” As I went through and examined more books I started to notice little scratches on the bookcase. They looked like tally marks. I followed them down the shelf until I found some writing. “Turn back” and “Go home” were scribbled on the shelf. I quickly stood up and clenched the book I was holding.
As I turned around I took one last look at the book in my hands before heading off to speak with a librarian. As I approached the counter I swear to god the woman behind the counter took my breath away. She was so beautiful, but it didn’t seem natural. I could feel the hairs on the back of my head stand up as I got closer to the desk. I decided to put the book down and leave. There was something inside of me, screaming at me to not speak to the woman. As I headed out of the building and walked down the staircase I noticed my hands were shaking. I was confused because technically, nothing happened.
I never bought a paper that day. Instead, I went home and went to sleep. Technically it was midafternoon, I had no idea why I was tired in the first place.
When I woke up the next day and went to check the mail, I found a rolled-up newspaper at my front door. I shit you not I have been getting a newspaper every day since that day. At first, I was interested in reading them, but the more I read the more I didn’t want to read. At the end of the month, I was waiting for a call from my boss, but the call never came. I tried to call him but his phone was disconnected.
As the next month rolled around I kept getting the newspapers. I stopped receiving normal mail, and I stopped wanting to live in this damn apartment. Two weeks into the new month I decided to call it quits and move back. I was not getting this job and my time here had been nothing but uncomfortable. So I packed my bags and stormed outside to climb into my truck. I was planning on leaving that day however, my tiers had been slashed.
I did what anyone would do, right? I called the damn police. They came promptly and once again I was met with the same feelings as when I saw the librarian. These men did not look real. Every inch of their faces looked…fake. I mean yes they were people but there was not a hair out of place. They were perfectly symmetrical in every way. The whole time I was filling out the police report my hands were shaking. My body was so tense I thought I was going to fall over on the spot. Once the situation was handled I ran back to my apartment. I was skipping steps as I went back upstairs. I felt like I could not get upstairs fast enough.
A couple of hours later I heard pounding at my door. I can’t stress this enough, the pounding scared the shit out of me. “WHO IS IT?!” I screamed. “Please! I need help!” A woman called back to me. I went to my front door, I wish I could tell you I did not hesitate but I did. I eventually opened the door for the women. She was an absolute mess, her makeup was running down her face and she was wearing pajamas. It will sound fucked up but I was so happy to see this woman, her crying gave me comfort. She did not look like the others, she looked real and natural. I asked her what happened and she told me her daughter had gone missing. I asked her if she called the police and she told me no. She said she wouldn’t, she told me her daughter wouldn't go to them either. I asked her what her daughter's name is, she told me her name is Zoey. We talked for what felt like hours before I told her I would keep my eyes open. She thanked me and went back to her apartment in tears. As I closed and locked my door I went to the pile of newspapers and opened the most recent one. I wanted to see if there was any mention of Zoey in the paper. The front page read, “Local man found dead outside of his home. No suspects.” below that there was another heading, “Local girl missing.” I checked for a name but it wasn’t Zoey. They are the same age though. As I scanned the paper I heard a scream come from down the hallway. I stood up quickly and rushed to my door, this time without hesitation I ripped it open and looked down the hallway. And that’s where I saw…it. One of the cops except it wasn’t a man. He had tight skin, he almost looked like a walking skeleton. His eyes were bulging out of his head, and his arms were larger. “Sir…” The thing said to me. I quickly turned and slammed the door shut. I locked all four locks and put the kitchen table up against the door. I haven’t left this apartment since. I did call my ex, she said she would come and get me but I don’t know how long I will be waiting. If this is fear, I have had enough. I can’t sleep and I am too scared to eat. It feels like my heart might explode like my whole perception of reality has changed.

Previous attempt
Hey everyone! I've been working on my query. Manuscript-wise I'm essentially ready to go, but the query package is continually a struggle for me. Hopefully this version is clearer than other iterations.

Also for reference, this is an adult novel. Pretty much every beta I've had told advised against toning violence/themes down for YA, saying it works better as an Adult novel even with it starting in high school. So for that reason, I'd love feedback as to whether the query sounds too YA, as past queries where I didn't specify lead to that assumption.

Dear (Agent),
(Personalization). I am seeking representation for my queer supernatural thriller, HARVEY, complete at 98,000 words. With its emphasis on the Midwestern setting, it will appeal to fans of Gothic fiction and those with Y2K nostalgia.
In the fall of 1999, someone begins terrorizing the small, remote town of Harvey, Missouri. Some residents vanish without a trace, while others are found brutally murdered, their bodies lacerated and completely drained of blood.
There’s no clear pattern linking the victims, nor any viable suspects, but eighteen-year-old Oliver Whitman isn’t frightened about his own safety. After all, with his terminal genetic heart condition, death has loomed over him since birth, and he views his life as disposable—a mindset that his clandestine boyfriend, Jace, can’t seem to understand. Plus, no one but Oliver knows from wandering into the woods one evening that the culprits are beyond anything humanly imaginable. It’s an easy decision for him to sacrifice his life to protect his love from them.
Four years later, the last thing Jace—now a college senior—wants is to return to Missouri, especially Harvey, as he’s still grieving the loss of Oliver. However, when a former classmate’s body is found on the anniversary of Oliver's disappearance, Jace finds himself unwillingly pulled back in. While he has no idea who—or what—it is that has a personal vendetta against Harvey and its residents, a string of threatening messages written in blood make one thing certain: Jace is the next target.
Following dual POVs, HARVEY is a character-driven story that explores the lengths to which individuals will go to protect those they care about. My novel will appeal to fans of vampire novels such as CERTAIN DARK THINGS by Silvia Moreno-Garcia or THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES by Grady Hendrix, and fans of queer, supernatural romances such as the GREEN CREEK series by T.J. Klune or THE DEAD AND THE DARK by Courtney Gould.
(Bio)
First 300
“Bob, it seems we’re hearing no new developments on the recent missing person case coming out of Harvey, Missouri this morning. Nineteen-year-old Tyler O’Sullivan is the ninth person in Adams County to turn up missing or dead this year.”
“Truly awful, Janice. And such a terrible situation for what we hear is such a small, close-knit community. I think I speak for everyone when I say we all hope they find him safe and sound.”
“Well, the O’Sullivan family and the Adams County Police Department are asking for anyone with any information to please call the number—”
“Did you know him?” Jace’s mother asked as he wandered into the kitchen that Monday morning. She was setting the crockpot for dinner, but her tired eyes seemed unable to break from the small box TV on the linoleum counter.
Jace Silva pulled the milk carton from the fridge and stared at the image on the TV. On it was a list of Tyler’s physical attributes and clothes he last wore alongside his senior yearbook photo. His gray eyes were partially obscured by his black bangs, yet seemed to pierce into Jace’s soul.
“Not really.”
Of course, he knew of Tyler. He frequently saw him in the school halls until his graduation last year. Living in a small, rural town in fuckall nowhere, Missouri it was hard not to know everyone at least by face, especially someone one grade above. With shaggy hair and edgy black clothing in the middle of the rural bible belt, he stood out like a sore thumb.
Tyler and his family went to church every Sunday, yet people always looked at him and his equally black-clad friend, Evangeline Lark, like they were demon possessed. Not that anyone dared to say anything to Tyler’s face, given his cop father. Though after Columbine a few months ago, pressure did make him trim his hair and switch to normal blue jeans. Jace himself thought little of it.

Hello! I've posted here on r4r a handful of times now and I wanted to try and write up a more definitive ad. Every time I've written up a new one it contained new information or less information than a previous post so, I'm going to try and compile it all into one master post. That way everything there is to decide whether you'd like to message me is easily available and accessible to you without having to dig around a dozen other posts.
Now that the "prologue" is out of the way let's jump into why you're here and what it is I'm looking for.
Who Am I?

• Future Lawyer - Currently working as a Student Attorney this Summer at my school's legal clinic before my final year of law school. Will probably be taking the Bar July of 2024. I'm not sure as to what kind of law I'll be doing as a full fledged lawyer, but I know I intend to practice here in California. I'm working in Sacramento.
• Philosopher - I got my BA in Philosophy from UC Berkeley. I've always enjoyed philosophical discussion and occasionally write philosophical pieces. I was always into the classical Greek philosophers; Socrates/Plato and Aristotle. If you ever need a deep conversation we can delve into the depths of any subject.
• ENTJ/Leo - For those that enjoy Horoscopes or Myers Briggs tests. I'm an extrovert. I enjoy people and being alone is draining for me. I'm a bit shy and anxious at first, but once I'm comfortable that all goes away.
• Muslim - I know religion can be a big deal for some people, but I don't ask that anyone hold similar religious views as me. As long as we both value humanity, family, and general goodness, a difference in religion shouldn't be an issue. As a Muslim I don't drink and I don't eat pork. I don't care if you do. I'm not the best at praying (it's something I should fix) and I don't do the prayers (I generally just recite prayers to myself without doing the ritual aspects). I do fast during Ramadan.
• Drug Free - I also refrain from smoking and doing drugs. I just ask that if you do any drugs it's no more than weed, but ideally you don't smoke. I just don't like the smell lol and it sets me into a coughing fit if I'm around people that are smoking.
• Writer - I enjoy writing if you couldn't tell from the absurd length of this post. I apologize in advance. I write short stories, philosophy, political opinion, and whatever else comes to mind when I feel inspired.
• Traveler - I've traveled to a handful of places and there are a handful more I'd like to complete. I've been to Italy, Ireland(for a day), Austria, Hungary, Germany, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan

Things I enjoy:

• Mythology - Especially Greek mythology which I'm more acquainted with. My favorite myth is Orpheus or as some know it from the play Eurydice which I have yet to see or read. Also love the myth of Sysiphus hauling the giant boulder up and the one about Prometheus stealing fire for mankind.
• Literature - I try and read on occasion. Haven't been too successful. The last book I completed was last winter and that was Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. Trying to get through Homer's Iliad at the moment before jumping to Homer's Odyssey. Some of my favorite books include: Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, Rand's Atlas Shrugged, Tolkien's The Hobbit, Luo Guanzhong's Romance of Three Kingdoms, and lots more.
• Gaming - PC Gamer, but do own consoles like the Switch, 360, PS4. I just bought a Gameboy Advance SP to play some old Pokemon games. I have a Gameboy Advance, but it doesn't have the light and the battery exploded inside it, rip...
• Movies/Shows - I love films. I watch a lot of foreign stuff too like Kdramas, Chinese, Japanese, language doesn't matter as long as it's good and it has subtitles for me to read. My favorite film of all time is The Godfather. Some of my favorite shows include Game of Thrones(prior to season 8 of course), Better Call Saul, South Park, Rick and Morty, Criminal Minds(before they changed the whole cast), and plenty more.
• Anime - I could've put the animated cartoons in here too, but I'm currently watching Dr. Stone. Some of my favorites include: Steins;Gate, Kaiji, Legend of the Galactic Heroes(the original although the new one is alright), Death Note, and plenty more.
• Comedy - Love a good comedy show. I've been to a few clubs, the Ice House down in Pasadena, the Laugh Factory in Vegas, and Cobbs in San Francisco.
• Sports - Big fan of Soccer. Watch the Premier League when I get the chance and try and keep up. Man United fan. Also enjoy going to Sacramento Republic games. Football is cool too, 49ers. Watch Basketball on the rare occasion as well, Sacramento Kings.
• Music - Rock and Metal fan. Going to be seeing Nickelback in July and I want to see Disturbed in July as well, but have no one to go with, rip. Some of my favorite bands include: Green Day(who I got to see live alongside Weezer and Fall Out Boy), Rise Against, Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, and a handful of others. My music tastes can be a bit eclectic, but rock and metal is my go to.
• Tea - I'll definitely brew you some tea someday. I enjoy black tea for the most part. I order loose-leaf tea online. I enjoy Assam, Darjeerling, Oolong, Pu-erh, Keemun, Earl Grey, and more.
• Museums - A big fan of history so I enjoy going to museums and looking at old things. Love Renaissance/Enlightenment period artwork. Just about any kind of museum is cool. I love learning new things.
• Going out in General - Whether it's hiking in nature among the redwoods, going to a bar, dancing at a club/bar, eating out, or bowling with friends. I'm good for just about anywhere as I like getting out of the house.
• Homebody - As much as I enjoy going out and exploring new places, sometimes I need a break from adventure and enjoy relaxing at home. Play some board games.
• DnD - I'm relatively new to it, but I'm DMing currently for a group of friends that I played my first campaign with. Been playing around two years now if not three (a bit on and off due to scheduling conflicts).

What I'm Looking For?
A woman who I can meet, befriend, love, marry, have kids, and grow old with. I'm a hopeless romantic, I guess lol. It would go in that order and as for the timeline, that's for fate to decide.
Age - Ideally 21+, but will accept as long as you're 18+. Ideal age range 21-30. If you're slightly older or slightly younger that's fine too. +/- 7 is the general rule of thumb.
Looks - Personality beats looks, but attraction is still important. I don't have a type per se. Don't really care about race/ethnicity. I'm trying to work on my weight myself so I rather not cast a stone at a glass house, but proportionality is something I find attractive. A gym partner or someone who can help me with my weight would also be appreciated(we can run together or go hike, etc.)
Personality - I find that sometimes when I'm not attracted to a person , their personality attracts me to them. Personality can elevate a 5 to a 10 or reduce a 10 to a 1 instantly. All I ask is that you're intelligent(a woman who can think for herself, articulate her thoughts, and is able to challenge me when I'm wrong), kind, communicative(communication is key in any relationship), and is sociable(don't need to be extroverted, just able to socialize when the situation calls for it).
Location - In California, looking to move to California, or willing to relocate (a hard ask considering everyone is leaving California lol). For the foreseeable future, I'm stuck here for work and family. Maybe someday I'll have a nice plot of land in the middle of nowhere and can live off the fatta the land with some rabbits. If you read the post and know the book, you got the reference.
What can I Give You?
Tea - As I mentioned before, I'll brew you tea and sometimes I might have a good story to tell over tea lol.
Laughter - I have a contagious laugh and I enjoy joking around. I laugh at most things so it's not too hard to elicit a laugh from me which might get you laughing too.
Adventure - I like visiting new places with friends or a companion so as long as you desire it, we can always adventure out to new places. Whether it's a beach, a new city, a forest, mountain, you name it, we can go.
Optimism - I have a generally happy-go-lucky attitude with life and I'll be happy to reassure you life is good and things will be fine. And if you need the opposite with harsh realism, ask and you shall receive lol.
Hygiene - I do my best to keep myself clean. I also wash my own dishes. I try to keep my home clean, but it's a bit difficult when you're never home. I bought my first condo in 2021 and now I understand why people rent. It's difficult to maintain everything and expensive. And on top of all that you gotta keep it clean even when you're not home.
Attention - As much as you desire. I enjoy people and having someone around all the time is fine by me. I also don't mind some alone time and lawyer stuff can be a bit time-consuming.
Food - I can't cook, but I'll try. I tried to make sushi and failed two weekends ago. Rice was too sticky and too hot. Also the sashimi refused to thaw no matter how long I waited(was well over 12 hours...) But wrapping it was actually easier than I expected just not evenly distributed along the roll.
I think that covered everything I needed to add or wanted to add in here. If I come up with more I'll be updating this master ad over time. Feel free to message me or use the chat feature. Also if you like we can move to Discord, feel free to ask for it. Attached is a photo of me as well. Thanks for bearing through this long post. And if you didn't read it all, that's fine. It's too damn long.
https://imgur.com/a/GgHS6Iu

Note: I am a 16 year old female and live in Australia.
I will basically just note down the main points, feel free to ask questions in the comments.

• My interview lasted 5 minutes. The assistant restaurant manager asked me very simple questions (describe your self in 3 words, what school do you go to, what year are you in, whats your favourite and least favourite subject and why, why do you want to work at mcdonald’s, and whats your availability). I wore all black clothing.
  
• I got the acceptance email the same day (I done the interview at 4pm and I got accepted at 9pm)
  
• My orientation lasted around 2.5 hours and we just did online modules which took around 1.5 hours for me to complete. I also filled out documents about my personal information (address, number, TFN etc) I wore all black and so did the other people. I got paid for the orientation.
  
• My first training week was on fries, I got 2 training shifts then one actual shift. I got trained for dining & fries during this week.
  
• My second training week was on front counter, I got 2 training shifts for front counter then one actual shift at the end of the week.
  
• My third training week was on drive thru. I got 2 training shifts for drive thru and one actual shift at the end of the week. All training shifts were paid for.
  
• My drive thru trainer told me that after training we will only get shifts on fries for a few months, then we will only get shifts on front counter for a few months, then we will get drive thru shifts for a few months.
  

Additional notes:

• A very common question they would ask you is “why do you want to work at mcdonald’s” so I recommend preparing an answer for that beforehand.
  
• You don’t need to worry too much about your interview, theres a lot of turnover in fast food restaurants so they usually hire 10-15 people a month. In my case, they hired 6 people in the same week.
  
• I recommend checking out Stephen Patula on youtube because he has a lot of videos of himself working at mcdonald’s so you can see what kind of tasks they do, how to make and prepare the food and kind of what it’s like to work in the fast food industry.
  
• I was worried about learning the register and the menu so I kind of familiarised myself with the different menus (breakfast, lunch, happy meals, dinner boxes, mccafe menu etc) and what foods go in each menu. This helped me when learning the register.
  
• Fries is the easiest station to learn. Front counter might seem stressful in the beginning because you’re learning a lot of tasks at once but the more you do it the easier it gets. Honestly front counter is really fun for me now. Drive thru is probably the easiest station for me now.
  
• Drive thru person does the cashier job using a headset. At my restaurant, they also prepare (not cook) the hotcakes and wipe the walls when its not busy. Drive thru person will also occasionally help out on front counter and bring might bring the orders to the cars in the waiting area.
  
• When I first started I thought I wasn’t gonna last there because it was a bit stressful multitasking but I promise it gets easier. If you’re new you’re allowed to make mistakes! my trainer said it took her 2-3 months to learn the register and she is now a trainer so if you’re struggling do not worry, you will get it eventually.
  
• My trainer said once you get used to everything and you’re good at every station you were trained in you can ask them to train you on McCafe if that’s something that interests you.
  
• The most important thing to remember for your interview is to be confident, sit up straight, use hand gestures and don’t touch your hair or face. If you’re nervous it’s okay, just try your best and don’t overthink the negative stuff.
  
• I got paid for every shift (including training & orientation)
  
• The floors are wet so you must have non slip shoes. In terms of what to wear to your interview/orientation, I just wore a black button up and black pants, for orientation I wore a black long sleeve and black pants.
  
• If you plan on working long term (6 months+) it’s probably a good idea to make good friends there. Personally the crew members make every shift worth it! to make friends you just have to make an effort of talking to the team. In my store everyone gets along so well and they mess around a bit even near the managers (joking around, singing, casually chatting etc) You just have to make an effort to make friends.
  

I’m newly moved back to UAE & want to start seriously playing the Hermes game. I have a couple purchases in mind but I’m holding off as I know it’s important to stick with the same SA/Store to guarantee you get what you want.
The two most reasonable stores for me to build a relationship are Dubai and Paris.
The perks of starting a store history in Dubai is that *I expect to live here for at least 10 years so it would be most convenient. *when it comes to buying delicate items like glassware etc. it would be much less of a risk to transport it home. * UAE is an extremely safe country. It sounds small but the idea of knowing I would never have to worry about showing my bags outside of the store or if I want to carry them for a bit and go to lunch afterwards etc. is a nice plus. I would be worried to be robbed in Europe doing the same. *if anything prevents me from traveling - children, god forbid a pandemic or something - it would be nice to know I can shop locally.
The cons:

• if I’m not mistaken this is the hardest store to get offered a bag because there is such wealth in this country. SA’s here will blatantly tell you you need to spend 100k aed for a bag offer or around 28k dollars.

*also there is talk that they prefer local (Emirati) clients and they get special treatment and first offers.

• also it’s worth noting Hermes is significantly more expensive here The orans for example are 565 euro in Paris and then an additional vat refund. In Dubai the same shoe is 787 euro. Typically things are about 30% more expensive here and you need to work harder to get the bag you want.

I have a connection in the aviation industry so I’m able to travel for very cheap it will cost me around 200$ to go to Paris from Dubai which is reasonable to do a couple times a month at least.
I also think if I were to spend 28k in Paris for sure I would have offers for the bag I want right?
Also when looking at the price comparison it seems silly to spend here when I can easily pay less and have the best Hermes experience.
Would you say it’s better to build my purchase history in the city I live or travel once or twice a month consistently to Paris when I need to purchase and build there.

For context: My friend (f30) lives in a country which has a terrible economy, working a normal job is hardly enough to sustain yourself, she had a daughter at a very young age, the father left her not too long after having her that a**hole.. And she's been taking care of her for a long time.. Again, for context, this is a country where living with your family (parents, brothers) for the rest of your life is common because being independent is just not a thing that most people can afford with a normal job.. Salaries are a joke, i'm talking extreme poverty salaries of under 50$ a month (based on black market values).. and she's been taking care of her daughter by herself for years somehow.. She is always struggling to find a job, and when she does all she does is break her back every single day to break even and buy whatever food and pay services she can, no TV, no internet, no expenses of any sort outside of what's needed and she's still is short by a long margin by the end of the month.
I know all this is true because I lived 20 years of my life in the same country before saying goodbye to all my friends including her and moving to Europe 7 years ago because of those same reasons, I had the inmense luck to be able to process my nationality because of my grandmother and stay here, study and find a job.
She told me last night that she can't take it anymore, that she's tired and feels like she's stuck in an infinite loop, and she told me she was feeling very suicidal I quote "I don't want to keep living anymore, not like this".
I(m27) tried my best to pep talk her into feeling better, like i've done before because this has been a long time progressive thing, but today she just told me this.. Yes, i've sent her a bit of financial support sometimes but we both know she can't rely on me for that.. I myself don't make that much money so I help her only when I really can..
Also yes, i've thought about the possibility of bringing her here, it's just that I really don't have that much income to help her that way, I swear if I had the money and the space I'd buy her a plane ticket right now, But I myself been living paycheck to paycheck and I rent a very small appartment i'm not struggling but I have just enough to live in peace.. And how would she stay and find a stable job right away without papers? Marry her? I'm thinking crazy right now, I just don't know what to do and it breaks my heart, .. She's been through so much shit, and deserves so much better, she's still so young.. I want to clarify that she didn't even hint at coming here to live, these are just ideas I come up with becaues I know how bad it is there.. It' REALLY bad.. And before comming here I was feeling almost the same as her.. No future ahead, just being a slave for the rest of your life, no expectations of true happiness and peace..
I just don't know how to tackle this situation anymore, I don't know what to tell her if there's anything at all I can say.. I just don't know what to do..

I need help since I see no gut improvements.
What should I do, given my brief history.
10 years ago I started getting eczema on my scalp when I ate various foods.
Only after many years of damage to my gut have I realised I needed to stop eating what I was eating.
So I have been carnivore/keto for 4 years, and the past years I have been eating mostly beef steak with white basmati rice.
During this time, i kind of controlled my scalp rash, knowing that If i ate high histamine foods or fried/chemically enchanted foods I would flare up and not be able to sleep properly. So i avoided these foods 97% of the time.
During summer when it's sunny, my tolerance to food histamines is way better.
But this past winter, i ended up with a rash on my scalp like never before. I had unmovable scales and no matter what I ate, (just beef and rice) it was getting worse and worse. I was also baking my own sourdough bread thinking that it would remove the glutten. But who knows.
This winter I did stool PCR test and found out I had Blastocitis Hominis.
I have also tested my Zonulin and it was 30% over the limit meaning leaky gut (permeability)
Now it's almost summer and my symptoms are better but still, I need to keep a bland diet of beef/chicken/lamb and white rice, otherwise, as I was now on my holiday, I ate a bit of matured cheese, a glass of wine once and i had a big scalp flare up.
I have been taking the past year 5000k vitamind D3 with K2 and electrolised beef (100% collagen)
and the last 6 months I took Taurine, L-glutamine, B complex, additional B6, Tongat Ali, Magnesium.
After I have found I had that parasite, I decided to NOT go the antibiotic route, and to take the following: 1 drop oregano oil in glass of water daily, parasite cleanse natural pills with oregano oil, garlic, BLACK walnut, wormwood etc together with probiotic Saccharomyces Boulardii and Lactobacillus acidophilus.
But i do not feel any improvements, I am thinking that I feel better simply because it's summer and my body can handle the symptoms way better.
I plan on doing a stool test for dysbiosis
I understand that it can show what bacteria is lacking or overpowering the gut.
I understand that the event from winter was maybe due to the parasite, who knows if maybe I had it since 10 years ago when it all started, or only this the past year.
If it's been only this past yeAr, why have I suffered leaky gut symptoms for 10 years? And why hasn't it healed in the last 4 years since I have been eating carnivore keto and really avoided the bad stuff?
I can barely eat foods that have natural
Probiotics such as sauerkraut, or aged cheese or bone broth, because I flare up like crazy.
Also, in terms or fibre, i can eat bananas and watermelon.
I can't eat greens (oxalates) nor carrots or any ROOT vegetables because I flare up.
What is there to do next?
I appreciate your feedback!

I'm a 16 year old Black male and I have suffered with constant breakouts and pimples since I was around 10. I've tried pimple patches but they didn't seem to work, and I don't really know what kind of skin I have or what products to use, the products I use currently is Aveeno Foaming cleanser, CeraVe hydrating facial cleanser, and ponds dry skin cream. These all are products that my friend recommended, but I've been using them twice a day for around a month and they don't seem to be doing anything. What products should I look into and what modifications to my routine should I make? Any and all help would be appreciated, I have no idea what I'm doing and my parents won't take me to a dermatologist.

The 2015 Canadian election was a three way fight between a beleaguered incumbent, a happy warrior and a left wing bulldog, all of whom had some chance of victory. I think it could be interesting. The candidate profiles would go something like this
Stephen Harper: After uniting the two conservative parties of Canada, the Progressive Conservatives and the Reform Alliance into the Conservative Party in 2003, Stephen Harper led them to three victories and one majority. He is the former leader of the Reform Alliance and has remained broadly popular within his party. Former PCs are happy that he hasn't been loud or outspoken on social issues such as gay marriage or abortion (even if he hasn't been terribly supportive either) and former Reformists are pleased with his strong, conservative, and very comprehensive economic agenda. Some, however, do accuse him of running his party like a drill sergeant.
Regardless of his previous victories and strong performance in the 2008 financial crash which Canada weathered extremely well, Harper seems to be at the end of the road. He has faced consistent attacks that he’s too partisan, especially after he was given a majority government in 2011. Most Canadians are tired of him after nearly 10 years in power and simply want new blood. Canadian politics might... might, be realigning around the conservatives however and Harper just might have a chance yet. He just has to hope the Liberals and the NDP stay fighting but if not, the tides of change may prove too much for him to overcome.
Justin Trudeau: A happy political warrior preaching "Sunny Ways", son of the nearly infamous Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau and one of the few remaining Liberal MPs in Quebec (One of the few remaining Liberal MPs generally) after Michael Ignatieff led the party to complete disaster in 2011 and the NDP swept the province.
He won a crushing victory in the Party's leadership election and is probably the only man the Liberals could put forward with a fighting chance in Quebec, even if his family name will be somewhat detrimental to his chances in Western Canada. He must also contend with the general idea that he's too inexperienced and isn't quite ready for Prime Time quite yet when compared to his two more grizzled opponents.
The Liberals though, for the first time ever, are in third place and rumours of a political realignment are brewing. Perhaps a cut into disaffected Conservatives will be in order, perhaps undercutting the NDP by tacking more to the left on most issues would be the better option. Whatever the case, Trudeau has the unenviable task of dragging his party up from third place and he'll need to gain over 130 seats to win a majority, most don't think he's up for the task. Can Trudeau bring the Liberals back to their rightful status as the "Natural Governing Party of Canada'' or will a new political reality revolving around the Conservatives or the New Democrats be formed?
Thomas Mulcair: The party darling led the New Democrats to the opposition benches for the first time in their history and now the Party has a genuine shot at government. Tom Mulcair is not that party darling however, that status goes to Jack Layton, the man who actually won the seats in 2011 and then unfortunately passed away just 3 months after the election. Mulcair knows he’s not the party’s first choice but if he can just see it through to the elections end with some favourable results then he might be able to finally consolidate the many differences that Jack Layton was able to finesse so masterfully.
The NDP is not at the top of its game however. Two key defections, falling poll numbers and a by-election defeat to the Liberals have the party dreading the worst, a fall back to third place. There is also a significant divide between its urban and rural members alongside a divide between those who believe the party should stay firmly to the left and those to whom ideological purity is less important than winning. Mulcair had always been a more left wing member and his willingness to push for an expansion of the base has New Democrats feeling either puzzled or betrayed. For all their gains in 2011 and all the hope the party has to finally form government, it just might be the case that the party is an obstacle to its own success.
As for the man himself, Mulcair was always a bulldog in the opposition benches and everyone knows him as that, some even love him for it. He has pushed for many progressive causes such as the abolition of the senate and environmental measures but some consider him to be just a bit out of step with what most Canadians want from a government and some simply aren’t willing to elect the NDP as they’ve never been in power before.
Mulcair must take the NDP from its first ever second place ranking and win the trust of enough Canadians to put him over the top. Whether or not he’s the man to do it is definitely in doubt but hey. There’s no time like the present.

I’ve (23F) had this personal rule against getting into relationships with coworkers as I always try to keep that environment as professional as possible. I’m a person that’s very in tune with her emotions and having to manage those feelings in a work setting never seemed appealing to me.
I’m currently working my first professional job out of University and have been since October 2022. I actually started the same as my friend/coworker, who I’ll refer to as, N (25M). As we work in the entertainment industry, we’ve seen each other most weekends since then, days where we spend hours at the venue. I really can’t pinpoint when it started happening, but we started playing video games together, met one of my college best friends at my house, gone downtown (with other friends, of course), there’s been flirtatious comments in and out of work.
He’s nice, he’s funny, and he’s just different from what I’m used to of just finding guys that want to get in bed with me. I don’t have the best dating history and I have not been in a relationship since I was 19 and so much has happened since then that the idea of letting someone know all of that history terrifies me.
Now that it’s summer, we do not have a lot of days at work, one or twice a month until the season starts up again in SeptembeOctober. However, I will be starting a Masters degree in a different states so these are my last couple of months at home.
I guess my question is, is it okay for me to explore these feelings? Part of me feels guilty because I know I am leaving soon, but he does as well. He invited me to a show that our other coworker is performing in tomorrow night, I am nervous to go but I really want too. I think I will.

TimeStamp WTS/WTT
Matrix lab vita white 775$ OBO
-solder pcb
-invyr holy panda
-alu plate
-c3 stab
-flawless condition
Jelly epoch black popcorn 950$ OBO
-hotswap bnib
-Tx stab
-plate alu + pc
-free keyboard bag
-no plate and case from can buy it from greenforgeek next month
-weight has been film
-flawless condition
WTTF
singakbd kohaku or unikorn any color any condition can trade for both or i can add more board (matrix board from china) or paypal

This Day in DMB History is a series in DMB, which started in mid-2020. You can view other TDiDMBH posts here, covering all the studio albums, other significant events throughout the year, and the rich history of DMB.
The studio album (Come Tomorrow)) was released on June 8, 2018.

Come Tomorrow

Come Tomorrow is the ninth studio recording from the Dave Matthews Band. This album is preceded by Away from the World (2012) and no album has followed.
The track listing follows. Three of these songs (in bold) were released as singles.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin)"	4:22
2.	"Can't Stop"	4:43
3.	"Here on Out"	3:18
4.	"That Girl Is You"	3:16
5.	"She"	3:51
6.	"Idea of You"	4:44
7.	"Virginia in the Rain"	6:09
8.	"Again and Again"	4:25
9.	"bkdkdkdd"	0:27
10.	"Black and Blue Bird"	3:33
11.	"Come on Come On"	4:39
12.	"Do You Remember"	4:17
13.	"Come Tomorrow"	4:46
14.	"When I'm Weary"	1:56

Album trivia:
-
DMB did not play a show on this date.
Come Tomorrow can still be purchased from davematthewsband.com here.
Source(s):[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Tomorrow_(album)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Tomorrow_(album))](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Tomorrow_(album)))
​

• Do you remember this album dropping?
• What were your thoughts then?
• What are your thoughts now?
• Did any songs off this album make it into your permanent favorites?

​
If you note any technical inaccuracies or have information that would be important to include in this yearly post, please add it in the comments and tag a moderator!

Watch this entertaining video, and return when you’ve completed it: Egg Drop From Space
What is the takeaway here? Humans are not perfect. Many people have seen Mark Rober and his amazing glittering of criminals as he seeks to make the world a better place, and stinkier criminals.
A team of incredibly intelligent people made mistake after mistake after mistake. But they did not stop working together to reach their goal. They did not belittle themselves or others in the process to achieve success. They didn’t even truly hit their goal the way they expected, but they still pushed for success. Even through all the glitter bomb and squirrel obstacle redesigns, there were many failures along the way. A person who shares with the world the countless inventive ways he screws up regularly, and he once worked for NASA.
A great team and great leaders do not resort to making those around them chronically feel like shit. If Mark told the guy who built the flapping fins on the rocket his idea was worthless, do you think the guy would have stayed on the project or pushed to perform better?
If your conversations with your subordinates is not at least 70% positive, YOU are the actual reason they are not meeting their goals.
The biggest reason I don’t want to RTO is because I don’t want a team lecture and the emotional harm it causes me daily to be visible to my peers. And I don’t want to see the affects of abuse on their souls.
Create a positive team, even when you don’t want to, and we will strive to kick ass every time. We will fall short on occasion. We will unintentionally miss a MOAT offer because we were so focused on helping the customer with what they actually wanted when the MOAT pop popped at the most ridiculously inappropriate part of the conversation when the customers only concern is what the next bills are going to be after adding a car.
Side note - rather than relying on agents to cram MOAT down the throats of people who don’t want it, you need to have a really strong email campaign, and an incredibly aggressive enticing and assumptive in app pop that hits everybody once every 3-6 months. It will get to those SEVERAL MILLION who aren’t calling in. Try to offer a $1 discount on an installment fee to everyone who gets a quote in app. MOAT quotes and sales will skyrocket with effective writing and positioning. Much better than “I’m sorry your kid just died, but have you heard that you can get a great deal if you bundle…”
I overheard somebody in office say you read these, Todd Matthews. Do better. Expect better of your people. Encourage positive interactions. Sit in on team section meetings daily, and make it through every single supervisor over the next several months. Coach, modify and mold back into positive success. Remind yourselves of the pillars and mission statement.
A horse cart is driven by a person riding in the cart communicating with the horse telling them where to go, not by somebody dragging the horse by the bit.
Recognize that perfection in stats across the board is not what the goal should be. Your job is to be the leaders that help us reach our goals, not just the whip crackers. Fix yourselves. Just read through this board! We WANT to be amazing, but it’s impossible to be when we start the day told we are garbage day in, and day out - even when we are in the top 10%. A team that loathes interactions with their supervisor is not a team that will perform their best. We are broken. We are scared. We are hurt. We want you to lead. Put down the whip for awhile, and pick up the reins. If you’re not capable of this as a leader, then reconsider your fit for the role.

Hey everyone! I am new to the Reptile community and currently I have a few ball pythons. I recently learned that their tanks are far too small for them and so I’m planning on building them four by twos as soon as I am out of my small apartment in just a couple months. have any of you built your own tanks before? any tips or tricks or things you wish you knew? Also, what kind of wood should I use for it? I don’t know if there are any woods that I would get a Lowe’s or Home Depot that are toxic to snakes. I was planning on just using plywood or PVC board. I’ve watched probably 15 or 20 different tutorials and I’ve watched each of them multiple times, so I feel like I have a good idea of the construction part of it, I just don’t know exactly what materials I should use. If anyone has any insights or wisdom, please let me know!

I've told this story so many times that my larynx hurts. I've dictated it so many times and then had to go back and correct the mistakes I'm working on carpal tunnel as well. Anyway as you can tell I'm at that point of the day where I felt I should share but what's the point? I work in an industry where I'm a painter of sets and such for corporate events and plays and things like that. So out of the blue they decided when you get day to use isisyanite-based primers and paints and we did it over the weekend and I was exposed for close to 16 hours with only a 3M gas mask with a regular filter in it. The sprayed product was called chassis saver. If you want to look up the MSDS you're going to have to type in chassis saver MSDS. It's got a whole smorgasbord of fun like methyl diisocyanate mixed with aluminum flake? That was shot out of an HVLP gun under pressure in a closed Warehouse because it was seemed outside so there was no ventilation for 2 days. I had ... okay let's just quit trying to give anybody to benefit it out here and say I had no protection whatsoever. Cuz if I'm going to mention the 3M mask but not the fact that I need a full body suit gloves full face mask with supplied oxygen and I'm supposed to leave all of my clothes at work including my shoes and not get it on my skin along with proper ventilation? Well none of that was done. First off because we weren't worried about the danger secondly none of that stuff is available to us at work and thirdly I wasn't even the one using the stuff. Didn't matter I still became concerned when the room was a silvery cloud of toxins so after a couple weeks when I realized I was asthmatic and having reactions every time I went to work? My GM had me apply for workers comp and sent me home for 4 days. Then I was asked to come back to work to help and the symptoms started again. It took me a while to figure out what was going on by doing some reading on OSHA and the CDC. Plus all the other articles and case studies. It all lined up it was obvious that I didn't kind of get exposed... I was immersed in it. That includes breathing it having it in my eyes eating after using it no ventilation and wearing the same clothes home along with getting some on my skin when I was helping him clean up afterwards. Poured it on the side of my abdomen because it was in a mixing cup. It felt really good. Anyway, as soon as this hit corporate everything went s*** house crazy. I continue to go to work for 4 weeks and see the doctor that they had sent me to and since I've been self-employed my whole life as a portrait artist? That's my college degree it's a BFA and fine arts. Probably kiss my oil painting career goodbye. So they got rid of the job I had and any other talents I could fall back on. Anyway yeah this is going to be kind of a sarcastic post so enjoy it. What doctor was I send to that was an expert on chemical exposure with isocyanates and occupational acquired asthma? What was the name of that place it's famous like the Mayo Clinic but instead it's everywhere and oh yeah Concentra. You know the place you go to and the doctor runs a stethoscope all over you and says he doesn't hear anything to indicate asthma even though it sounds like there's a kitten stuck in your throat? Then he tricks your blood pressure and says it's normal even though it's rising quickly? He asks you why you're there and nods his head and you can tell in his mind he's going "well that's like a total s*** show. If I do what the insurance adjusters are telling me to do I'm basically sending this guy back to work to die. So let me get on that" I would come in and he would look at me and say so what do you want to do today and I would say I don't know maybe doctor stuff like check me see if I have asthma I don't know what the tests are for us to cyanide exposure? You're the doctor what do you want to do? Oh you want to go okay well be sure and sign that box telling me to return to work because he can't find any injury or evidence of exposure. Thanks. Oh this week you want to do blood work. But you only want to test for the most extreme exposure the kind that would cause neurological damage and okay. So he sends off the blood test tells me it'll be a week. And remind you I'm going back to work every day and getting re-exposed to all the stuff that I'm now allergic to and it's damaging my lungs and I'm coughing so hard my lungs are starting to separate from the wall my back. It's funny it's hilarious you know but at least they're saving money. They get to watch it and hear it but you know... buck up cowboy. You shouldn't smoke. Yeah y'all managed to do more damage to my lungs in 18 hours than I did in 47 years of light smoking. Seriously five cigarettes a day maybe. No history of asthma no history of allergies other than penicillin. I always watched other people just go through miserable seasons I mean just I swollen shut it's not running down their face and I thought how lucky I am. So my job decided that wasn't fair and locked me in the building with a chemical that destroyed a town in India. And they only used it that one time and decided they didn't like the properties of it. Probably cuz it's not meant to be put on wood but that's what the chassis saver was for was to give it sort of a metallic quality so they can roll the what yeah that's right bed truck liner on it that was day two and early the next day. When everybody was at work. When we were applying this stuff they were only two people there me and my supervisor. So if you look at the time clock it tells you when and who was there. If you look at when this stuff was purchased and under what project the stuff was charged to? what client? While we were doing a huge project for caterpillar that they were having out in Las Vegas. Don't know why one of our designers figured that bed liner would be a good idea for some of the staging when you can achieve that with paint and clear coat. But that's what he wanted. So so much for avoiding it just because it's not necessary. In the state of Texas you can't sue your employer for personal injury unless you can prove gross negligence. I would say that kind of falls where we're at. Unfortunately the other thing in Texas is that there aren't many workers comp attorneys because in 1993 they passed some laws that made being a workers comp attorney a tricky thing and you can lose your license really easy. In other words it was a very business friendly law to get companies to move here. Especially when you couldn't get sued for you know sending someone on fire or destroying their lungs and life. So a lot of people can get a worker's comp attorney even if they're a crappy one. But most of them that claim to be workers comp attorneys? They're actually just want to hear your stories so they can see if there's a personal injury lawsuit in there due to gross negligence cuz that's the only way they're going to make any money in this state and if it's a chemical exposure? I've been told by several attorneys who had extreme sympathy for my situation that they couldn't even refer me to an attorney that would take my case hey there's no attorney that's going to touch a chemical exposure case in Texas because it's already tough enough. Well I've been put the ringer lied to followed by a private investigator in the whole time I've been on represented and doing all the paperwork myself which they throw at me everyday usually it's fake stuff or stuff with the wrong date or deadline on it they mess with any attempts I get to find another diagnosis when they know damn well what happened on what day and with what products and who was there and when you know there's just no disputing the fact of what happened and when it happened and that we weren't protected because they don't have that kind of stuff there for PPE. we don't use that stuff so why would we need supplied oxygen masks. If I'm spraying something with metal paint mixed with silo I put on a 3M mask and use it organic filter and keep an eye on when it's starting to wear out even then? I'm not going to get leukemia or brain cancer for another 30 years well after I'm not working for them anymore so they've got that going for them and as do I. And this happened back in February 25th and I was sent home immediately because they were extremely concerned but they be suddenly became unconcerned about 4 days later I guess cuz corporate got involved and told me to come back into work and I spent another four weeks getting worse and worse and worse having the weekends to try and recover but not completely so I would start off at a level of irritation and asthma that was already underway when I returned on Monday. This was fun. Because even though they can see it they would just blame it on my smoking which is hilarious because you know life and for that weekend I wasn't allergic to anything in that building for two and a half years and I'm one of two people in the paint department so it's not a huge crew I'd say there's about 30 people that work there and probably too many people in the front office getting paid too much just sitting air conditioning. I mean they do work but you know if they had the chance they'd probably urinate on your face. That's not fair. They would wait till you run conscious from toxic exposure to gases anyway. Or they would but the workers comp adjusters do that for them. I mean they pay them for a reason and it's not help the employee so? Why am I talking to them again without an attorney oh yeah see above. So yeah they're just having a good old time they're beating me like a pinata making me run around like an idiot and freaking me out with letters and false deadlines that after a while I began to realize it being seriously gas lit I stopped playing nice guy and started recording phone calls and screenshotting text messages to make sure they got saved and save me everything in files and whenever they screwed up and intentionally put the wrong deadline on a Federal form like a FL la form from the Department of Labor anything like that? I would call him about that and record the response. One of my favorites was well that was just a suggested date because you know if you got it done sooner then you would get the paperwork done sooner and everything you get done sooner and you know just faster. Well yeah I understand how that works Einstein thanks I understand the whole concept and time and speed Mass velocity whatever. I swear to God they treat me like Chaka from Land of the Lost. They're all like 30 years younger than me and about to lose their jobs to AI but hey it'll be funny to watch. Won't need all those people running CAD machines and designing stuff after a few years. But let them enjoy it while they can anyway back to my career being ruined so they've just been having a good old time calling me and then they sent out a private investigator to harass me and want to talk to me until finally I just exploded and said what is it exactly you want to talk to me about.? I've been advised by everybody I know who is an attorney who may not be working in workers comp but they are an attorney? That I should never ever meet with a private investigator especially one that's a third party. You know one that's hired and not actually from the company. Cuz then he's not bound by the laws of an attorney or a police officer or an investigator he can do what he wants. Especially since he wanted to just talk to me and fill in the details of what happened that day. You know what caused the accident. I asked him what kind of forum is this going to occur in he said we could meet anywhere you want we can meet at McDonald's but I'm sure you don't want people here in your private information and I told him I don't like McDonald's anyway so I don't know I guess maybe after I get done with this doctor and have a solid diagnosis of asthma and something to stand on I'll be ready to comment. But until then I'm not meeting with you without an attorney in the room and probably even after I'm not going to meet with you without attorney in the room. So now it's come to this thing where I do have a doctor that's helping that was accidentally in their Network because I guess it slipped to the radar that they had an actual doctor that would do spirometry and asthma testing. of course they're messing with her a lot. I get your phone calls I get weird texts everybody has assured me that I'm obviously being observed surveilled. I don't see anything but I don't care either because nothing to see. I'm not at work. Why would I have asthma at home? I'm sure there's some triggers out there but I haven't discovered yet but that'll be fun and something to do in my free time. Anyway they seem to be kind of stuck in this rut where they won't go forward or approve anything unless I meet with the private investigator. Finally I blew my stack and said that I have no obligation to me the private investigator I've made my statement they were two people in the room y'all know what happened y'all know what I'm saying was the result you're not allowing me to explore that so I would think the best way for y'all to fill in the gaps and figure out what happened and what the situation this is letting me go to a f****** doctor that treats me and actually trust me for the things that I claim I have. That way instead of treating me like I'm lying you can prove that I'm lying which won't happen because I'm not lying which is obviously what you know so what is it he wants to ask me about again oh yeah he wants me to fill in the details is he a doctor? No okay well how about you get a doctor to do it instead of somebody who follows people husbands and wives around looking for infidelity. So I still don't have an attorney and I called OSHA reported the exposure and all they did was call my workplace and say "hey, did you have an exposure there?" and they said "yeah, but we got rid of that stuff" and they said "okay great" slow clap into a face palm. Which you know, kind of blew my mind. Because I thought calling OSHA was starting a nuclear war. That they would be in there with clip boards and chemical detectors and wanting to know just what the hell happened here. Because they've been really hard on this chemical and they've been trying to educate the public but evidently calling and just asking if it happened and them saying "well we got rid of that stuff" . That's enough for them. never mind the fact it was an "exposure to isocyanates in the workplace that I was reporting" which is what they told me they were going to check on. I wasn't calling them to tell them that they had harmful materials in a building, so evidently the guy I'm dealing with doesn't understand exactly what the law is or what law I was trying to get them to acknowledge. Cuz that would help my case if there were questions posed by government officials and they had to tell the truth. Either way, if they reported the exposure?great. They followed the law and I would have that an admission that an exposure occurred .....or they didn't report it and it would look really bad and probably cost them some money. But to my dismay, OSHA is obviously a joke. At least here in Dallas. So it's been real fun, yeah it's been one disappointment after the other of people just saying "I know this is my job, but I'm sorry. looking at your situation I'm just not good enough talented or educated enough to take it on. I'm just one of those people takes the easy cases and if something looks difficult? Even if it's a matter of you possibly dying or living on the streets and your whole family getting kicked out and never having a proper diagnosis to have on your medical records to show other employers or people in the situations that you can't be in in the future? I'm going to go over here and handle this easy money case." I'm sure there are some attorneys out there that if they knew about me and my situation it'll be all over it because they like a challenge and realize that there's not much left to do. All the information that I have and phone recordings, some documentation of b******* that has accumulated over the past months. Because normally you know you'd call a lawyer at the beginning of the case and there wouldn't be anything there. But since they figured I was never going to get an attorney? It was just "hey let's whack the pinata guy" . If an attorney were to walk in at this point? We've got enough acts of malfeasance and fraud and deliberate dishonesty, misleading statements and instructions, recordings and plenty of Doom and gloom documents meant to make me quit give up or go away out of fear or exhaustion.....and all I have to do is just hand you this stack and explain to you what's going on and we could probably even find a case that had nothing to do with workers compensation and had more to do with fraud and gross negligence and just have fun doing that. I mean they've had their fun why not? I didn't go into this looking for a cash settlement I just wanted to be taken care of and as the law states it should be. But I'm really just kind of f****** done with the whole f****** thing because everyone I talk to everyone I talk to doesn't want to touch it. When you have workers comp insurance that doesn't have ANY (ZERO) doctors in their Network to handle workplace asthma? which is one of the most common workers comp claims it pretty much leads the pack with all the saw dust and gas fumes out there to breathe in. But no we didn't have any doctors that would treat that or even know how to treat that at all. in fact the ONE that I did find? had retired about 5 years ago. That was funny. it was always a interesting thing to find out that when you finally had an aha moment leading to a hopeful situation? That turned out it was actually just a straw man. Even dealing with the Texas agencies help with people who are going through workers compensation or having difficulties? It depends on how you get on the line there's nothing more extremely helpful to the point where they'll even call the adjuster to make them call you back and help you fill out your forms whereas there were others that are just generally irritated by the fact that you're even calling and don't know what you're talking about. Well believe it or not there are some people in this world that don't do workers comp for living and don't spend their whole time having to deal with it. Especially people that are self-employed portrait artists for most of their lives. I guess this long-winded rambling stream of consciousness is just what's going on in my head and I can tell you right now it ain't a lot of good things and nothing really positive to say about working for anybody under any circumstances and I wouldn't take anything that anybody said they were going to do for you as a fact. It's all good on paper and everything but when it comes down to it it's all about saving money and if it involves an injury that doesn't look good on their records they got to get rid of that and they really don't f****** care what happens to you. You could be dissolving with sulfuric acid on your body and they would tell you to get out of the Sun and quit smoking. And they just watch it happen until you were just a pile of just steaming you know white powder on the ground or whatever happens. Do I sound frustrated? Flippant "whatever. Didn't see that coming". So I guess if you're in Texas and you're an attorney that this work is compensation and you want your entire case handed to you and you can say that you want a chemical exposure case in Texas I've got it right here for you if not fine. If you're from out of state that's fine too if you'd like to file a lawsuit that they beat me with clowns I don't give a carrot to a donkey whether you do that or not. As long as we win the case and they suffer for their behavior. It's not all vengeance. I want but is owed to me by law. And I didn't get that instead I got financial destitution cuz they have not paid me a dime and I'm the runaround which is basically we won't honor your claim until you prove that you were injured on the job. Okay I can't do that unless I prove that I have asthma. So they send me to a doctor that doesn't treat me for asthma now he's my pcp. Finally I find somebody that can treat me what do they do they immediately start pulling the plug on everything saying that my time's up sorry this show's over quick turn off the lights but hold up a minute they were too slow and I was able to get in there and she's doing spirometry tests and everything but you know I know it's not going to be enough because that's why I need to do the super serious testing the kind that definitively says whether you have asthma or not and there's no doubt there's no doubt that these people can try and split hairs and make excuses. Then I get to try and type for the workplace which wouldn't be hard if I had an attorney because this in front of a judge and argue it this is the guy before this is the guy after he's got occupational asthma he worked here for two and a half years and then after that weekend where was the only two days out of the year that that chemical was present and being sprayed? After that he developed severe occupational asthma and an insensitivity to isocyanide due to acute exposure with absolutely no PPE or guidance instruction and now no help no financial help and the guys that I work with here in town that run the show don't talk to me anymore it's all corporate people that were states away and have no idea and don't care what the facts are they just want the positive outcome which is the one that benefits them. But we all know that. We wouldn't be in this form if we didn't know that. Ask for all of y'all that have had better luck congratulations. I am truly happy for you. I don't know where I'm going to be I know obviously you can tell where I am mentally right now and that if another person involved with the adjuster or my employers handed me a form fill out to get the thing that I need that ain't going to happen that they say would happen that won't? I'd wad it up and throw it back in their face without reading it and not worrying about what they say will happen if I don't fill it out. Because they know if I fill it out and sign it or if I don't fill it out and sign it? It wouldn't do a f****** thing. Unless it was an attorney wanting to get with me and get a retainer and all that stuff set up .....and get going. Because nothing.....everything else is just a f****** waste of time, gas and mental energy. It's just that's what it's designed to do... wear you down. You know the truth and you can't prove it and you start feeling like you're living in bad movie like invasion of the body snatchers or something. like I said, it's the ultimate definition of gaslighting. So if you're going through the same thing with workers comp? I feel your pain. I definitely have sympathies if your injuries are more severe or debilitating than mine and you're being treated like this, but something needs to be done about the system because I'm quite aware of what it is now. I've had plenty of time to sit down and parse out what happened and watch videos listen to other attorneys talk read articles on the chemical and how not only companies and workers comp are reacting to it, but also the manufacturers themselves. For instance the CEO that wiped out that city in India? he showed up one day for court in India and then claimed he had to return to the states to take care of some business and never went back. India tried to extradite him for several decades. But instead? he was able to retire with a nice fat paycheck Savage whatever you want to call it and live out the rest of his days in Florida. And I guess he slept well at night knowing what he did. Union carbide. Bought by now Dow? Pretty sure they have never done anything wrong..... I'll have to double check that but I'm pretty sure on they are on up and up right? If they have the good attorney defend the behavior. I mean chemical companies they don't f*** around.... do they? anyway. whatever. I'm not too jaded to where I don't want to accept help or nail these f***. Or just get what I deserve. So take my post as a bit of Comedy or just a rant..... some venting. Maybe you feel the same way. Maybe it helps, maybe it doesn't. Just don't let it scare you cuz your case might be totally different than mine. I have an invisible injury and that's a s** place to be. Just like growing up in Texas. Well I guess it's time to lay down on the couch and play video games. How much is something like that pay?
My apologies if the punctuation spelling of what I've written up there (or actually dictated) has weird words that are completely out of contact in there somewhere. I dictated this because I'm so f****** tired of typing and I'm really tired of going back over what I wrote and fixing the grammar and trying to make it not look insane? It's just fatigue and I just thought I should get this out there in the Reddit forum. I'm a member of some other groups, but you know... first time listener first time caller

Species: Cat
Age: Been feeding her about 5 years, was pregnant at the time.
Sex/Neuter status: Spayed, though has had several litters
Breed: Black American Shorthair?
Body weight: Unknown, perhaps a few pounds.
History: First noticed her limping May 28th, didn't see any signs of injury, due to having no vehicle as well as her being quite skittish being a stray, not really realistic to be attempting to trap her and taking her to a vet. She would visibly limp as well as avoid putting weight on the leg, though was still able to move around to a certain extent. She then proceeded to not show up at all on the 29th. On the 30th found her again, did notice her licking her leg, and later did notice a sort of bald patch of fur as well as what looked like a puncture wound.
May 31st saw her moving a bit better, would still extend the leg and sit in some a different posture with the leg out, though visibly the wound didn't seem to change.
6/1 I found her kind of out of it as well as kind of coughed a bit here and there. She did eventually wake up a bit more and was behaving more normally, and for the most part did have an appetite and would go and eat and such.
6/2 she seemed to be moving more normally, though did notice that the wound kind of looked dirty.
6/3 she did seem to eat a fair amount and also noticed that the wound kind of looked not the greatest and definitely looked kind of infected, but from a behavior standpoint she seemed to be bahaving normally, able to move around all right and jump over a wall between back yard and front yard.
6/4 The wound didn't seem to change a whole lot and honestly there was no limping or anything of the sort, nor has there been for any days after that.
6/5 I noticed that the scab or whatever that was on the wound itself seemed to be thicker, maybe about 1-2 millimeters or something.
6/6 I noticed that she seemed to be having some sort of liquid discharge coming out of the left eye, which may have been slightly infected by her scratching the area with the hurt leg, would spread some liquid onto the ground if she shook her head, and also had the eye kind of squinting.
6/7 I noticed that the eye seemed to be looking mostly normal, and at least comparing pictures it did seem like the wounds on her legs had healed up a little bit, but hard to say whether it was that or just that there was less hair surrounding the wound and it having a cleaner appearance.
Clinical signs: Currently a fairly large bald spot on the leg, as well as a large red patch with what appears to be a slight mass or scab raising from the site. General behavior was initially limping and being ginger with the leg itself, but now has become mostly normal, other than the wound on the leg itself which seems to have festered and gotten infected, though seems to have gotten perhaps a bit better this past day. Has had good appetite throughout most of the injury period and seemed to be eating and drinking normally, as well as sleeping during the day because of the Arizona summer.
Duration: First noticed her limping the 28th of last month
Your general location: Arizona
Links to test results, X-rays, vet reports etc: https://imgur.com/a/uLn6BGU
Have a stray mama cat who we have been taking care of the past 5 years get into a fight of some kind and get what appeared to be a bite wound on her left hind leg, and initially was limping a bit when moving about but that has gotten better as the days have passed, and she is mostly behaving and moving normally now, eating and drinking what appears to be a normal amount, but still concerned because the leg appears to have gotten infected, and due to present circumstances of both no vehicle as well as her being a stray and while generally friendly toward me, is also quite skittish and will run away if startled. As a result I wasn't really able to try to clean off her leg when I did see her usually in the evening due to sleeping during the day as summer. Mostly just concerned if this could be something that could become life threatening, or if given time it will heal on it's own as getting her to a vet would be difficult at best, if not impossible. There was some points where she seemed a little bit lethargic, but overall has been eating and drinking normally, and her movement has improved over the days and now generally she behaves as normal, just with the wound obviously appearing not the greatest, but it appears at least not to be bugging her or causing her any pain. Any potential insights would be appreciated, included above is a photo album of some pictures of how the wound has looked over the past week or so. It appears to be healing somewhat, but could be wrong on that.

Female 82, active. Plays golf or tennis (doubles but still wins from time to time in club play so for age active) average 5 days per week. Former cancer patient who had her annual oncology full body scans in last month-oncologist said for her age in great shape. The cancer was stage 3b colon cancer in 1995 plus some abnormal Lung stuff in like 2005 ish that resulted in removal of one lobe (I’m not totally clear on that issue I vaguely recall there might have Ben an embolism?) but her oncologist totally cleared her like a month ago based on all her annual scans.
Has, according to family, some issues with memory and confusion but only identifiable to ppl who know her well-she presents pretty well, I was on speaker phone at a GP appointment and GP out loud doubted my assertions that mom was having confusion, no longer wanted to read for pleasure due to “Covid brain fog” and issues with writing checks correctly.
In any event went to ER claiming couldn’t catch breath like 2 weeks ago claims allergy and asthma meds she has been prescribed not helping. Quit all activities. Claims that the at home oxegyn pulse ox thing has never measured below 97% and she tests frequently.
Her BP is normal for her age, no history of heart issues.
The sudden onset asthma like symptoms she is claiming to have are constant. Not like having attacks, but saying at all times can’t breath if does any sustained activity.
I’m at a loss. Her doctors don’t seem overly concerned but her quality of,life since this started has gone way way downhill.
We think that to some degree she’s an unreliable narrator due to dementia/memory issues.
We are beginning to wonder if this is potentially anxiety issues because (a) she’s really mad when we bring up memory confusion issues and (b) she claimed to have a reaction to inhaler with abuteral the other night but took med her GP has prescribed in the Event she had a reaction and that fixed the issue. The med it turned out was generic Xanax.
I would honestly appreciate any thoughts or direction. I’m on my way there to try to coordinate doctors appointments and figure out what’s happening, but have no idea where to start.
I made her Covid test and she claims is negative. I’m at a loss as to how suddenly has asthma with no history whatsoever of anything similar and no other major current health concerns where she is suddenly essentially incapacitated.
Sorry this is so long.

So before I start this, it's important to know that I just got hired at a very nice job and will be moving out to get my own place before my birthday at the end of October. I'm going to be saving most of my income between now and them in order to build up an emergency fund prior to moving out on my own. Right now, we all live in the same house.
Anyway, I have absolutely no idea how to handle this situation involving my sister. In a nutshell, my sister is extraordinarily demanding of everybody, and every time she wants anything from me, she immediately involves my dad to try and act as her enforcer. I'm going to put in a good-faith effort to be objective about the situation, but as with anything like this, I might not be perfect.
To lay the groundwork, my father has always handled her problem behavior with a pacifist mentality, believing it to be the way to avoid conflict with her, where I've always been the subject of discipline (as a child) and almost constant verbal arguments as I've gotten older to "teach me" things when deemed necessary (this very post is coming on the heels of a "discussion" that was demanded by my sister as punishment for moving her two loads of laundry in the washer and dryer down the chain so I could wash a load of mine, apparently before the load in the dryer was dry, despite it being hot and feeling pretty damn dry to me?). Because of this, she seems to have gotten it into her head that all that's needed to get her way is to either just take and do what she wants, and if you don't like it, tough shit, or cause enough of a problem that someone just decides it's less effort to just give her what she wants to make it stop. She's also immediately, acutely aggressive if you don't roll over for her-verbal insults, profanity, condescension, talking over you every chance she gets. Because of that, I often find myself on the receiving end of these problems, and so I've basically adopted a policy of limiting my interaction with her as much as possible so that, frankly, I don't have to listen to it.
However, this does not stop her from trying to involve me in drama when she wants something. I'll provide 3 examples here:

1. This January, at my previous job, we found a cat in a box on our doorstep. We called around, took him to the vet to check for tags, nothing. So I volunteered to take him in after bringing it up with everyone in the house and getting their OK on the condition that looking after him was my sole responsibility, and I took the lunch break to stop by Petco for some basic supplies and bring him home. My sister was home, and upon seeing him, asked me what I'd named him, and when I told her, she said, "We're not calling my cat that name." I was definitely taken aback by this, but I had to get back to work, and she volunteered to take care of him while I finished the work day, so I left the supplies with her and went back. For the next 3 or 4 days, she kept this cat locked in her room with her small dog, saying she was "acclimating" him because "she knew best" since "I'd never had a cat" (I should explain that my job was at a pet-based nonprofit, and she'd never had a cat either). Long story short, I didn't much like this, which led to massive argument in which she basically browbeat me over "dumping" this cat on her and then leaving for work again, buying "shit" supplies, not having the "ability" or "knowledge" to take care of a cat, that her dog had gotten attached and what kind of monster would I be if I separated them when I moved out, on and on, ergo my parents supposedly agreed that he was her cat, and if I didn't agree with that assessment, she'd be taking him to the pound because she "didn't really want" this cat in the first place. I guess I'm too empathetic towards animals because I couldn't let that happen just to "win" an argument. My dad and I had a "discussion" after that.
2. About 2 months ago, I got a random text from her saying that she would be taking my dirt bike and its stuff to her storage unit so that she could use the space in the garage to hold furniture (I should mention, she quit her job a while ago and is now making money buying and selling furniture on Facebook and whatnot, and has filled up the back patio, most of the backyard, most of the garage, and about a third of the driveway with sofas and whatever, all with EZ-Ups and tarps over them). I basically told her to pound sand because she would not be moving a vehicle registered to me without my consent. She purportedly went to my dad over this and told me that "he said she could". I correctly called bullshit on that, but that didn't stop him pulling me aside for a "discussion" later about how I should've handled the dispute differently.
3. Over the past month, she has gotten it into her head that I owe her cash for cleaning and other supplies for our bathroom, despite the fact that my parents pay a cleaning service to come once a week and clean the whole house including our bathroom. She says she's totaled up the receipts for "my share", and over the past month it's gone up from $40 I apparently "owe", to $125 I "owe", and apparently I'll "owe" her $25 a month for however long I'm here. Now, she does typically buy the toilet paper, but that's literally the only thing I use that I don't buy myself, and I've explicitly said before that the only reason I don't buy it is because I never know when it's almost gone before she buys it again. Admittedly, I had intended to give her the $40 she wanted a while ago, but between my brand-new day job of at least 50 hours every week and my freelance job and other things I've been insanely busy and it just kept slipping my mind. Anyway, a few days ago I get a random text telling me the whole "you owe me $125 plus $25 a month" thing, to which I basically responded "fuck off, I'll give you the $40 you said you wanted, and then from now on when we need anything for the bathroom, you're going to tell me and I'm going to buy it, because I'm not just going to give you money to buy shit you say we need but have no way of verifying that's what you're buying" (she has severely broken my trust more than once, but that's a separate issue). She tells me that's not good enough and that "dad's going to talk to you when you get home". I get home to find them talking, at which point I try to give her $40 in cash, which she refuses, and so to avoid giving her the ability to a) accuse me of not giving her the money and b) start a new argument, I drop it on the floor and walk off. I've heard her basically berating my dad more than once since then about "talking to your son, unless you want to be a little fucking puss about it".

The aftermath of 3 has basically led to my dad trying to "both-sides" this issue. I tried to make it perfectly clear to him that I don't voluntarily interact with her or my parents (very much) because I just straight-up don't want to get myself involved. I come home from work, head to my room, and keep to myself. And now, my dad is basically trying to guilt-trip me into doing it. I asked him how many times it takes of getting bitten by a dog in the neighborhood before you just stop trying to be its friend, and he basically pulled the "Well, if that's your choice to cut off family, there's nothing I can say to you to change your mind", because he himself is the black sheep of the family and hasn't even spoken to his mom in decades at this point.
What the fuck do I even do? I'm not even actively hostile to anybody in this situation. The best comparison would be that episode of Drake and Josh where Josh is just "done" with Drake. I don't much care what she's up to or what's going on in her life. I just want her to leave me the fuck alone because I honestly can't even remember the last time she was nice or even not-mean towards me, but that apparently makes me as much of a bad guy as her.
TL;DR: sister uses dad as her enforcer when she creates drama and wants her way, as a result I basically want nothing to do with her. Dad seems to be trying to guilt-trip me into engaging with what I see as an incredibly toxic relationship. What do?