Condos for rent palm desert

Are any other FIRE becoming more nervous about the financial situation in the US? What plans are you making to weather the storm of currency devaluations to protect your assets from increasing inflation, taxation, and a stagnant economy. The more I learn, the more it seems likely that the US Dollar could have a devastating “Reset” brought on from the expansion in deficit spending and the loss of faith in the US Dollar. The turmoil we are causing from inflation / interest rate hikes / bank failures is affecting the rest of the world forcing some countries to unite under BRIC’s to create an alternate reserve currency. Brazil, Russia, India, China, Saudi, South Africa, Turkey, etc (~50% of the the worlds population) are making moves boosting their physical gold reserves and alignment to potentially covert to an asset backed digital Yuan; currency backed by Gold/Oil. This would destabilize the dollar as the reserve currency and eliminate the need for foreigner’s to buy our Treasury Bonds and if OPEC converts off US$ to the Digital Yuan or Bitcoin for oil trading we could see even greater inflation and require even higher interest rates to try and control it. Like protecting your assets from frivolous litigation using an offshore Cook Island trusts, is it realistic to hoard up on Monster boxes (silver eagles) in the vault to protect 10% of your wealth? Hard to imagine buying food with silver coins as a currency and having enough guns to protect it from those who follow you home. Or would it be better to hold cash flowing residential real estate that will increase with inflation so long as tenants can afford to pay rents. Or hold more of your wealth in the top 5 crypto currencies, but they can be volatile if we are able to keep kicking the can down the road and defer a currency collapse. Any good strategic moves to protect wealth we have spent years to create?

Hi, thought it'd be fun to analyze the upcoming 3/21 property drop, so that we can catch any blind spots, and in way inform the higher powers how investors are looking at the properties. Weird to be posting this on the official subreddit, hope this doesn't get me banned. Below are simply my opinions and are not investment advice. Investors should perform their own due diligence.
Brookwood- Conclusion: BUY

• great location for workforce housing
• TONS of logistics south of I-20 and west of highway 6, will be a great support for rental demand
• Not crazy about all the trees. In these areas, when a storm comes, those huge trees are a headache (read property management fees/repairs)
• Relatively good schools 5/5/4

Woodwind - Conclusion: Pass

• Limited access to amenities (jobs/retail/entertainment)
• Relatively good schools 5/6/6

Aspen - Conclusion: Pass

• Don't see the drivers to support long term tenancy and rent increases. Distant from amenities.
• Below average schools 4/2/4

Thomas- Conclusion 50/50

• Decent proximity to amenities
• Neighborhood feels like a "C"
• Relatively very good schools: 7/5/6

Welcome to Polyhedra - a growing community of nerds and ttrpg enthusiasts, just like you!
SUNDAYS @ 6:30 pm EST
VENTURE INTO THE LAMP
You are a band of adventurers seeking to better the lives of the people of the Slippering Sands. From the bustling cities to the sprawling deserts, people from all walks of life have come together to form a community.
The Slippering Sands is a vast and unforgiving desert, dotted with the ruins of long-forgotten civilizations, and the cities of the modern age. It is a land of extremes, where the scorching sun beats down upon the dunes and the sandstorms rage with fury. It is a place where only the strongest and most cunning can survive.
Interested? Check out our Website or Schedule a Chat!
__________________________________
WHAT WE OFFER
We are a team of ten gamemasters who run 25+ paid campaigns for our 200+ community members. Over the past year, we've built an inclusive community of respectful players and talented gamemasters to provide a reliable and excellent game experience for everyone.
Why Paid Campaigns?
We love free games! Nothing, including our games, is better than sitting around a table with your friends playing a TTRPG. That said, for those of us who face life stressors, lack friends interested in the hobby, have odd work schedules, etc. Polyhedra is the perfect answer.
What do virtual tabletop games look like?
Feel free to check out DM David's ( nadriancox ) streamed games on YouTube and Twitch.
__________________________________
[CONTACT](mailto:[email protected])
For more information and specific questions, please either visit our website or send a message via Discord to DM David (Nadrian#9820) or Jason (a_unicorn_person#6909). You can also reach out through reddit here: nadriancox for David or at a_unicorn_person for Jason.
__________________________________
GAME DETAILS
6 Player virtual tabletop.

• 3-4 hours of gameplay per session.
• Player’s Choice for character creation: Pointbuy, Roll 4d6 drop lowest, or standard array.
• Private, tier 3 boosted Discord server with voice and video (by DM) - players only need a working microphone and headset.
• Individualized creation chats with each player (available beginning now and through the first session of the campaign) where we will handcraft your PC's origins, background, and campaign-shaping plot points. NO CHARGE
• Class, Feats, Backgrounds from any official sourcebooks and Unearthed Arcana. Homebrew dependent on DM permission.
• PATHFINDER 2ND EDITION

__________________________________
CODE OF CONDUCT

• By becoming part of the community server, and my games, you agree to abide by the rules delineated therein.
• Be respectful of other players and myself at all times, even between sessions.
• All people are welcome, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, minority status, language skill, etc.
• This game is for players of 18 years of age or older.
• Payment of the game fee guarantees a seat for the scheduled game that week. Payment is due the Monday before a session is scheduled. No refunds, unless specifically agreed upon by the DM.
• No streaming of the session without express consent. Violation may result in a kick and ban from Polyhedra games, and possible legal liability.
• Polyhedra reserves the right to screen, add, remove, or otherwise "manage" players in the game for whatever reason, but will automatically remove any player who upon warning continues to violate the terms of the CoC.

Hey there, let me ask you a question or two!
Are you constantly sore from working out, or from being on your feet all day?
Tell me this, how much do you generally pay for a massage to fix the soreness? $100?
How much would you pay if you knew the masseuse had really strong hands?
How much would you be willing to tack on if your masseuse knew deep tissue, as well as tantric massage techniques (compress and caress... compress and caress..) ?
Would you be willing to pay extra if your masseuse was handsome, athletic, tall?
How much of a premium would you pay for a masseuse that was Ivy League educated and could banter with you on a number of topics?
Or would you pay extra for him to be quiet and instead bring a great playlist to listen to while the soreness was rubbed out of you?
Would you give an amazing tip if you knew that your masseuse has one goal and only one goal - which is to maximize your pleasure? Using his hands, tongue, fingers, palm.
What if I told you that the right person could have all of the above for free
**? I'm dead serious.**
What's the catch, you might ask? There is just one - you. You are the catch!
As someone famous sang - "the best things in life are free".

Welcome to Polyhedra - a growing community of nerds and ttrpg enthusiasts, just like you!
SUNDAYS @ 6:30 pm EST
VENTURE INTO THE LAMP
You are a band of adventurers seeking to better the lives of the people of the Slippering Sands. From the bustling cities to the sprawling deserts, people from all walks of life have come together to form a community.
The Slippering Sands is a vast and unforgiving desert, dotted with the ruins of long-forgotten civilizations, and the cities of the modern age. It is a land of extremes, where the scorching sun beats down upon the dunes and the sandstorms rage with fury. It is a place where only the strongest and most cunning can survive.
Interested? Check out our Website or Schedule a Chat!
__________________________________
WHAT WE OFFER
We are a team of ten gamemasters who run 25+ paid campaigns for our 200+ community members. Over the past year, we've built an inclusive community of respectful players and talented gamemasters to provide a reliable and excellent game experience for everyone.
Why Paid Campaigns?
We love free games! Nothing, including our games, is better than sitting around a table with your friends playing a TTRPG. That said, for those of us who face life stressors, lack friends interested in the hobby, have odd work schedules, etc. Polyhedra is the perfect answer.
What do virtual tabletop games look like?
Feel free to check out DM David's ( nadriancox ) streamed games on YouTube and Twitch.
__________________________________
[CONTACT](mailto:[email protected])
For more information and specific questions, please either visit our website or send a message via Discord to DM David (Nadrian#9820) or Jason (a_unicorn_person#6909). You can also reach out through reddit here: nadriancox for David or at a_unicorn_person for Jason.
__________________________________
GAME DETAILS
6 Player virtual tabletop.

• 3-4 hours of gameplay per session.
• Player’s Choice for character creation: Pointbuy, Roll 4d6 drop lowest, or standard array.
• Private, tier 3 boosted Discord server with voice and video (by DM) - players only need a working microphone and headset.
• Individualized creation chats with each player (available beginning now and through the first session of the campaign) where we will handcraft your PC's origins, background, and campaign-shaping plot points. NO CHARGE
• Class, Feats, Backgrounds from any official sourcebooks and Unearthed Arcana. Homebrew dependent on DM permission.
• PATHFINDER 2ND EDITION

__________________________________
CODE OF CONDUCT

• By becoming part of the community server, and my games, you agree to abide by the rules delineated therein.
• Be respectful of other players and myself at all times, even between sessions.
• All people are welcome, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, minority status, language skill, etc.
• This game is for players of 18 years of age or older.
• Payment of the game fee guarantees a seat for the scheduled game that week. Payment is due the Monday before a session is scheduled. No refunds, unless specifically agreed upon by the DM.
• No streaming of the session without express consent. Violation may result in a kick and ban from Polyhedra games, and possible legal liability.
• Polyhedra reserves the right to screen, add, remove, or otherwise "manage" players in the game for whatever reason, but will automatically remove any player who upon warning continues to violate the terms of the CoC.

Hi there,
So I had a question about the permanent home address when applying for F1 visa and the SEVIS fee. In my uni application I used my parent's address, it's basically not far from where I live in the same country, but I also rent my own place. I used my parents' because they own the place and will stay there.
I am planning on registering with my parents again in my home country before moving to grad school. Is it ok for me to indicate my parents' address as my permanent address in my visa application although it is currently a secondary address in my home country?
Thanks

Hello. I urgently need some money to just put a down payment for rent. I got fired from my job due to an injury and I am in need. Please help. Thank you.

This is a guide for editing files to partially recover progress on accounts that weren't migrated from the old central server system.
If you last played before December 2022, your account wasn't migrated, so you will be starting fresh. Go ahead and make your first character, and then follow the below instructions to edit your account to get currency to rebuy your workshop gear, and drop in the expedition mission completions to allow you to start or get completion credit for any of the missions you had available before. Its not going to get you exactly where you were, but will let you resume your progression with less time re-unlocking the mission tree!
Note: You are directly editing your profile data, if the data is malformed, the game will recreate your profile back to scratch, so take a backup copy of the %localappdata%\Icarus\Saved\PlayerData\ folder. You can do this in the same directory; making a copy and naming it "PlayerData - Backup" or something similar is sufficient.
I also recommend either disabling steam cloud or doing these edits from the title screen, so steam doesn't roll you back to nothing when you open the game.
Character Level

1. Create a new level 0 character through the Icarus front-end.
2. Open %localappdata%\Icarus\Saved\PlayerData\\Characters.JSON in a text editor (Notepad is easiest, generally).
3. Use Ctrl-F to find your level 0 character's name.
4. In the same row in the document, shortly after the character name, you will see something like \r\n\t"XP": 0,
5. The number 0 represents the experience points your character has earned. Change this number (being careful to leave the following comma) to a new value. EXP totals for each level are here: https://icarus.fandom.com/wiki/Prospector_-_Progression
6. Save and close the file.

Currency

1. Open %localappdata%\Icarus\Saved\PlayerData\\Profile.JSON in a text editor (Notepad is easiest, generally).
2. At the start of Profile.JSON, you will see up to 3 "Metarow" values and 3 associated "Count" values, looking something like:{"MetaRow": "Credits","Count": 1},{"MetaRow": "Exotic1","Count": 1},{"MetaRow": "Refund","Count": 30}
3. Edit the integer value in the Count for the type of currency you want to change (in this case, the current value is 7638). The three types are Credits (ren), Exotic1 (exotics) and Refund (respec points). Make sure the COMMAs are correct.
4. Save and close the file.

Mission Progression

1. Open %localappdata%\Icarus\Saved\PlayerData\\Profile.JSON in a text editor (Notepad is easiest, generally).
2. Depending on how much progression you had before your break, you can fastrack your unlocks in Olympus, Styx, or both.

• Olympus: Inside the brackets after "Talents":If there's an existing set of talents, go to the end and add a comma, if not simply add a new line between the brackets. Either way, paste the following:

​

 { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Forest_Recon", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Forest_Scan", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Canyon_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Canyon_Scan", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Glacier_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Glacier_Scan", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Riverlands_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Riverlands_Scan", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Desert_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Arctic_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Arctic_Scan", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Desert_Scan", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_OLY_Omni_Exploration", "Rank": 1 } 

• Styx: Inside the brackets after "Talents":If there's an existing set of talents, go to the end and add a comma, if not simply add a new line between the brackets. Either way, paste the following:

​

 { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_A_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_A_Exploration", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_B_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_E_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_C_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_D_Expedition", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_B_Exploration", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_C_Exploration", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_E_Exploration", "Rank": 1 }, { "RowName": "Prospect_Styx_D_Exploration", "Rank": 1 } 

Finally, save and close Profile.json
And there you go. You'll now be able to launch the same missions you could before, buy back your workshop gear, and join your fellow prospectors on any missions they undertake and get completion credit. Have fun being exploited by the UDA!
Credit to twist2021 for some sections of this guide.

Welcome to Polyhedra - a growing community of nerds and ttrpg enthusiasts, just like you!
SUNDAYS @ 6:30 pm EST
VENTURE INTO THE LAMP
You are a band of adventurers seeking to better the lives of the people of the Slippering Sands. From the bustling cities to the sprawling deserts, people from all walks of life have come together to form a community.
The Slippering Sands is a vast and unforgiving desert, dotted with the ruins of long-forgotten civilizations, and the cities of the modern age. It is a land of extremes, where the scorching sun beats down upon the dunes and the sandstorms rage with fury. It is a place where only the strongest and most cunning can survive.
Interested? Check out our Website or Schedule a Chat!
__________________________________
WHAT WE OFFER
We are a team of ten gamemasters who run 25+ paid campaigns for our 200+ community members. Over the past year, we've built an inclusive community of respectful players and talented gamemasters to provide a reliable and excellent game experience for everyone.
Why Paid Campaigns?
We love free games! Nothing, including our games, is better than sitting around a table with your friends playing a TTRPG. That said, for those of us who face life stressors, lack friends interested in the hobby, have odd work schedules, etc. Polyhedra is the perfect answer.
What do virtual tabletop games look like?
Feel free to check out DM David's ( nadriancox ) streamed games on YouTube and Twitch.
__________________________________
[CONTACT](mailto:[email protected])
For more information and specific questions, please either visit our website or send a message via Discord to DM David (Nadrian#9820) or Jason (a_unicorn_person#6909). You can also reach out through reddit here: nadriancox for David or at a_unicorn_person for Jason.
__________________________________
GAME DETAILS
6 Player virtual tabletop.

• 3-4 hours of gameplay per session.
• Player’s Choice for character creation: Pointbuy, Roll 4d6 drop lowest, or standard array.
• Private, tier 3 boosted Discord server with voice and video (by DM) - players only need a working microphone and headset.
• Individualized creation chats with each player (available beginning now and through the first session of the campaign) where we will handcraft your PC's origins, background, and campaign-shaping plot points. NO CHARGE
• Class, Feats, Backgrounds from any official sourcebooks and Unearthed Arcana. Homebrew dependent on DM permission.
• PATHFINDER 2ND EDITION

__________________________________
CODE OF CONDUCT

• By becoming part of the community server, and my games, you agree to abide by the rules delineated therein.
• Be respectful of other players and myself at all times, even between sessions.
• All people are welcome, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, minority status, language skill, etc.
• This game is for players of 18 years of age or older.
• Payment of the game fee guarantees a seat for the scheduled game that week. Payment is due the Monday before a session is scheduled. No refunds, unless specifically agreed upon by the DM.
• No streaming of the session without express consent. Violation may result in a kick and ban from Polyhedra games, and possible legal liability.
• Polyhedra reserves the right to screen, add, remove, or otherwise "manage" players in the game for whatever reason, but will automatically remove any player who upon warning continues to violate the terms of the CoC.

After 15 years of struggling to make ends meet, I landed my dream job.
I'm not a ballerina or an astronaut or an international super spy. I'm just your run of the mill corporate drone who can now afford both rent and bread.
I've also never taken a real vacation because I could never afford to. In fact, in the past three years, I've never even taken a full day off. So, naturally, when a friend offered me the chance to join them on a two week adventure in another country, I was ecstatic. I'm finally in a position where I can afford a real vacation.
But...
This past week, I was completely under the weather. It had been a slow week, so I decided to take a full day off Friday to recoup. I return to work on Monday to discover that, despite my approved vacation time and, despite my out of office message, I was in hot water for not answering an important email.
You see, there's no one to cover me when I'm away.
I have to be accessible at all times.
I have to be able to work at all times.
That's how I'm able to afford the nice vacation...by never being able to take one.
We used to use the phrase "sell your soul" to describe things like fame and fortune.
How things have changed.
Welcome to the new American Dream.

Hi, I am looking on best advice on how to value a business.
I unfortunately need to sell my small business due to a medical issue with my child but I am not sure the best way to value it.
I know some people do profits x 3 years. Is this the best practice? My business grew 260% last year and 160% the year before that. It is debt free and does turn a profit. I will be selling the name, a little inventory, social media pages, websites, trademarks, my IP for exclusive designs, all the accounts and P.O.’s, etc. I don’t own a building (or rent one) and it can be done from anywhere.

So last year was really tough for me financially, I lost 3-4 jobs. This lead me to spending more than I was making. In total I’m £3,560 in debt. I’m trying to pay off one of loans that sitting at £557 at 39.0% apr. Per month I pay £550-570 towards my debts. My monthly take home is £1,900 to £2,100. After rent (£750) and bills (~£300). I’m left with £500 or so to live on. Any advice?

Spring break was nice. Gave me the right state of mind to write this chapter, and the next ones coming up within the week. **note that I don't know enough about bug biology so if you have any articles about bug behavior and anatomy that'd be great
DREAMS
-----
First
Previous
-----
I was not entirely sure what happened. All I know is that he walked off to go do his business and he… vanished. Just like that. Almost in an instant. He could not have simply wandered off, he had simply vanished off the face of the earth. I had heard every theory given by the authorities, and none made sense. How could someone walk a few meters behind you and disappear completely?
I paced back and forth in the bedroom of her new house, going over every detail of the situation. It was late at night and we were stargazing. All was extremely quiet. There were no rustles in the bushes or anything during the time that he had vanished, and there were certainly no cries of pain or exclamations of surprise that would indicate he was attacked. I had lost track of him for approximately 12 seconds before he had vanished. When he vanished, I thoroughly searched the surrounding area for any signs of life. Footprints, dens, nests, fluids, and whatever else, I analyzed. I found no evidence that there was anything else in the clearing we were present in except us. This meant that whatever could have possibly taken him did it extremely stealthily.
But why? I sat down on the bed with my hands on my head, pondering the question in grief. Why him? Why the sweet and lovely man that I had known for so long? If he was taken, why must they have chosen the love of my life?
I was filled with both rage and grief. I wanted to punch the wall as I wept, to let my emotions take hold and thrash about wildly in an uncontrollable meltdown, but instead I opted to sit on the ground and cry to myself. No amount of wild tantrums would relieve her of the pain, and I knew that. I permitted my dog to sit next to me and rest his head on my shoulder. I found it comforting.
Once I was done with my weeping, I immediately went back to theorizing. It was surreal, really. The last few days had been a repeat of this situation over and over. I had not been able to make sense of it. It made no sense. It was impossible. Well, according to normal logic it was. Was there anything else I had not considered?
I had done significant research into missing persons cases in similar circumstances as these. People disappearing when they should not have, people vanishing the moment they leave someone else’s sight, and those experienced with nature seemingly going insane and traveling to places they should not have. It was all eerily similar to what she had experienced. They had named these kinds of cases the “Missing 411” cases. Perhaps they would have to add in his case then.
Later that day, after I had done additional research into the situation, I decided that rest would be beneficial for me after I had gone 2 days without sleep. Luckily, it seemed my mind was too tired to protest, and I went to sleep without any sorts of issues.
In my dreams, I imagined myself in a grey void that seemed to stretch in all directions for infinity. I did not mind it, though. I wished to remain alone in that moment. I sat down on the cold, yet soft floor of the void, and simply stared off into the distance.
I imagined seeing him again. Seeing Timothy’s form approaching me and embracing me. Telling me it was going to be okay, that I did not have to worry anymore. I knew it was imaginary, but I refused to admit that. I hugged him and kissed him like he had never left me, like he had never been taken from me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder for what felt like an eternity. I wanted him back, my sweet, sweet husband that I had known since high school, I needed him back. He was the only person I could trust, the only one who had confided in me his true feelings, the only one who told me the truth, the only one who really cared.
In that moment, he had disappeared from the void, leaving me alone once again. I was about to let out a wail of grief until I noticed a figure in the distance. It seemed to be a rapidly approaching darkness that grow a little more clear the closer it came. It was almost like I was viewing it through the glass of a shower door.
However, despite its obvious creepiness, I could not bring myself to fear it. Instead, I felt comfort. I did not know why. I knew I should have been afraid, but in that moment, I could not help but draw myself closer. As I approached, the figure of whatever this was became more apparent. It seemed humanoid. It had a pair of legs, a pair of arms, and a head. Every part of its body seemed to be as black as the night, and a cloud of this darkness seemed to follow it as it approached.
As I walked closer, I came across a barrier that seemed to be the source of the blur. I leaned closer, staring at the figure as it come to a stop right in front of the glass. I felt a certain familiarity regarding this figure. Could it be…?
The figure put its hand to the glass, and a pair of white lights shined where its eyes would be.
“Leah?” It asked.
It was him.
I was so shocked she could barely gather the strength to move my own hand up to the barrier, resting my palm across from his hand. As tears fell down my cheeks, I croaked out my own reply.
“Timothy?”
The figure nodded, and soon after, he disappeared from the void, returning to whenever he came from.
I cried once again. Not out of grief, but of joy. Of course, he was still missing, but he was alive. He was still out there somewhere. There was still a chance I could be with him once again.
There were still yet many questions in my mind. Why was there a barrier between me and my love? Where was he? How could I get to him? Was he safe? Could he perish at any moment?
These questions overtook my mind for the entire time I dreamt. I questioned not his appearance or the creepiness associated with it. The only thing on my mind in that moment was my husband, and how I could reunite with him.
The description of the events surrounding this time may be… inconsistent. It was very soon after Timothy had gone missing, and I was very hysterical during this time. However, as far as I can tell, this is what had happened. Following this dream, I remember my awakening as being fully rested and clear of mind. The hysteria had vanished from my mind, and I had given myself one purpose. That is, to figure out where my husband had disappeared to and to reunite with him as soon as possible. Now, my search would have been fruitless had the news that would blast over the entire planet a few weeks later not unveiled itself, as my husband was nowhere where I thought he was. He was, in fact, beyond that.
He had not fully comprehended his situation until after he had woken up in that hole in the side of an alien spacecraft. He probably would have had an emotional breakdown, but something was preventing him from falling into despair. An unusual calmness that held him together in such a difficult time. He elected not to question it and to instead thank it. Now was not the time to panic.
He looked around the hole in the ship, analyzing the changes that had taken place since he was fully conscious. The hole had grown substantially larger, and the cover that he had placed behind him to ensure he was hidden had been… corroded? It was as if some large beast had taken a big bite out of it. Why had that happened?
He decided to intensify his focus on the environment around him, looking for any clues as to how this could have happened. Suddenly, he found the reason. The same… things… he was made of were floating about, consuming bit-by-bit pieces of the ship and (he assumed) using that to multiply or feed themselves or whatever.
He did not like that they were doing that. He really did not need that right now. How could he stopped them from doing that? He attempted to lift his hand to his chin to think for a moment, before realizing that he had lost his humanoid form. He cursed in his head and manipulated his body to the optimal form.
Maybe he could use the same method for those runaway… things? He still did not know what to call them, but he knew that they were tiny swarms originating from a much larger swarm, that being himself. He would just call them swarmites. He focused his will on ensuring the swarmites he saw would return to the main swarm, individually guiding each swarmite back into his care. It worked very well, with all of the littles swarmites returned to their progenitor. Now that that had been taken care of, he needed to ensure that they did not do that when he was busy “sleeping” or focused on other tasks.
He thought for a moment before manipulating his form once again. A thin membrane formed around his body, keeping the swarm in a consistent form outside his will and allowing him to interact with physical world far easier than before. Perfect!
Now that he had finished his task, he looked out to the vast expanse of space. He could not see any ships, which meant they had probably not stumbled across the sight of himself in the hole… probably. In any case, he knew he needed to move now that the hole was exposed, as they would definitely send someone to investigate once they located it. Whoever runs this ship will probably get chewed out for it.
In that moment he remembered those he was fleeing from. The bug people. He barely remembered their shape, as he was too busy escaping their clutches. All he knew is that they had kidnapped him from earth and had fed him to something, and now he was a sentient swarm made of something unknown to even himself. Whatever the case, they seemed to be afraid of him, given the massive amount of munitions they had fired at him once he began to significantly resist. He could not blame them entirely.
He began to float outside the ship and look around. All the ships he had seen earlier were still present, and in much the same positions as before. Hopefully they would not spot him.
He chose the least threatening ship he could and began floating toward it, taking note not to speed toward it lest he make himself more noticeable. The greater the velocity, the greater the energy, after all. Plus, he would rather not crash full speed into a giant spaceship if he failed to slow himself down.
What he did not know in that moment was that he had not taken every part of himself with him. Many swarmites remained behind, and now that their master had left, had taken to drifting through the ship, looking for any openings that would allow access to the habitable parts of the ship, where many bugs walked.
One of these bugs was in the cleaning chambers, using water to wash themselves of any potential germs or gross secretions. It was enjoying itself until a large collection of strange black gas began falling down from a vent above the bug.
“What in…?” the bug did not finish its response as it was forced to cough from the smoke-like gas invading its lungs. After a violent and intense coughing session, the bug regained its faculties.
“Preposterous! I cannot believe the engineers are allowing smoke into the ventilation systems! I am going to strangle them! They have wronged me too many…” the bug said before a stray thought entered its mind. It suddenly found its original mission far less important than traveling to its resting quarters and cuddling with its mate.
“Hm… he is likely feeling quite alone at this moment. I should pay him a visit, I am certain he will enjoy a surprise,” the female bug said. She immediately set her sights on the exit of the bathing quarters and began walking toward the resting quarters, ignoring the fact that she was still wet and had not brought her belongings.

Hello Folks,
we are planning to buy a house in the next year or 2 here in US. We do have all the necessary cash, except it's all in... euros. Right now the dollar is still quite strong, so if a good house comes up, I would need a way to buy time, hoping for a better conversion rate later. I can't think of any good one but maybe you have better ideas:
1) starting a mortgage: I don't think it's a good idea, even in a short one (8/10Y) most of the initial monthly payments would go toward interests, not the principal
2) paying a rent to the house seller, until I am ready to buy. That would be nice, but I don't think many sellers would agree
3) making a substantial initial downpayment, and agreeing with the seller to pay the rest within 1 year or 2, with a premium to compensate the wait. Again, I don't know if a contract like this even exists, or if anyone would agree
thanks in advance for any help!

Currently in SoCal. Considering a staff role at a new company in Orange County, moving from LA. That would be a pay bump from my current rate, about $10k more, so $130k base total comp, with a 15% bonus.
I have another offer to move to Maryland, to work a similar role for $100k(hoping to push for more). It's near Baltimore, so while it's cheaper than Socal, the beltway from near Baltimore to DC and northern VA is quite expensive honestly. Typical condos/townhouses are in the $350-500k range.
State taxes are a bit lower lower in Maryland of course, about 6% vs 9% here in California. Does this seem worth it overall, or is it too big a paycut to really justify?

Can fly to 530s. 1392 Ruins (and 34k points to spend). 270 Ulitmate Challenge. Lots of RSS. HQ39 and can easily get to 40 if you want.
100k into it. $7,450. Payment by paypal, crypto, third party attorney escrow account or through PlayerAuctions. Message for more pictures/info
Nanoweapons: Apex (14): Power Fist, Mace of Terror, Phoenix Helm, Ice Katana, Inoculator, Mutated Arm, Ice Axe, Thunder Hammer, Incinerator, Recurve Bow, Tesla Cannon, Desert Magnum, Binding Chains, Laser Pistol. Epic (16): Exclusives for everybody not listed above other than Nataly (rare) and new Lady M (do not have) and then filled out to other heros with no exclusives. Double Red Star +16: 9; Red Star +16: 4; Red Star +15: 21 2400 scrap
Gear: Refinement lvl 30 SMG: 9* lvl 35 (Mods: 5* Rider ATK, Troop ATK, Raid ATK, 4* Exclusive Troop ATK) Helmet: 9* lvl 35 (Mods: 5* Raid ATK, Troop ATK, Rider ATK, 4* Rider DEF) Shield: 9* lvl 35 (Mods: 5* Rider DEF, Troop ATK, Rider ATK, 4* Raid ATK) Ring: 9* lvl 35 (Mods: 5* Rider ATK, Gear Basic Stats, Troop ATK, 4* Rider DEF) Suit: 8* lvl 19 (Mods: 5* Rider HP, Troop ATK, Rider ATK, 4* Raid ATK) Boots: 8* lvl 19 (Mods: 5* Rider DEF, Rider ATK, Exclusive Rider ATK, 4* Raid ATK)
Chips: Rider: all 10* (40, 40, 39, 39, 38, 38)(rider modifiers all maxed); Troop: all 8* (22, 22, 22, 21, 21, 21)(five modifiers at lvl 9, one at lvl 6); Refinement lvl 20
Modules: Rider: Two 10* (with only seven module IIIs to make a third 10*)(40, 37), Three 9* (35, 35, 35) (modifiers lvl 8,8,7,7,7); Refinement lvl 20
Cubes: Refinement lvl 30 Time Cubes: 8* all lvl 29 (Modification lvls: 6,4,4,4) Space Cubes: 8* all lvl 26 (Modification lvls: 6,6,6,5) Energy Cubes: 8* lvls: 26,26,25,25 (Modification lvls: 6,5,5,5)
Troops: 30 Million + Rider: T11: 10.6 Million; T6: 500k; T2: 500k; T1: 1.2 Million Fighter: T11: 1.58 Million; T1: 640k Shooter: T11: 1.44 Million; T1: 5.79 Million Vehicle: T11: 694k; T1: 7.6 Million March: 495,500 without subscription, etc.
Nova: All permanent skins Military: Rider Maxed, Troop Maxed, FighteShooteVehicle all lvls 20-24 Economy: All maxed except for food gathering (lvl 28), wood gathering (lvl 20), and gas gathering (lvl 20)
Bioenhancer: Refinement lvl 20. All apex. 3 Red Star +12: heart, eye. 3 Red Star +11: skelton. 2 Red Star +11: nerve, brain, muscle. 2 Red Star +6: lung, blood vessel
Heroes: +8 (16): Angelo, Hanyu Ichiro, Levina, Ironclaw, Lady M, Scarlett, Phoenix, Obsidian, Mars, McCarty, Requiem, Ulrik, Meyers, Fox, Ephraim, Marlowe +7(11): Wali, Mantis, Lora & Jessie, Agent X, Eve, Zephyr, Lee, Atropos, Samuel, Leah, Tomoyo +6(2): Nam Hayul, Chia-hao +5(2): Nataly, Dara 21 are maxed at lvl 400 and remainder can all be 311+. Hero Speciality Good for Many of the +8. Lots of additional frags (235 Wali for example), plus 60-some perfect frags. Lots of skins
Decorations: 13 perm sanc skins, Lucille perm ambience, 10 perm nameplates, 14 perm marches, including greywolf. Glory: Refinement lvl 17. From left to right: 36, 60, 32, 33, 32, 60, 32, 32, 38, 32, 50, 32, 32, 32, 35.
Most research complete and maxed.
Refiners: 8k+
Message for more info/pictures.

I’ve been holding off for weeks on publishing this long fic I started. I was originally planning on writing the whole thing before publishing but uh that’s not happening. So I just kept writing and revising, but I still wasn’t ready to post.
In the meantime I’ve been checking my AO3 inbox for scraps of motivation. Obviously, since I haven’t posted anything in months my inbox has been a desert. I think the last comment I got was over three weeks ago.
Just now I decided to post the first chapter so I log onto AO3 and I have two messages in my inbox from less than an hour ago.
I literally said “no fucking way.”
I’m either way too stoned, or this is a simulation. Lmao.

(Please read the disclaimers and part 2 before you continue reading this post )
Welcome back to the second part of introspection, we previously explored why being contemplative is an integral part of improving as an individual, and now we'll explore how we should go about it.
As mentioned in the previous post, I define introspection as the ability to perceive, label, and process your internal experience. We'll be looking at each part of the process in depth.
Let's start with perception: how do you go about it?
Fortunately, for most of us, it can be easily done by removing distractions from our minds and simply shifting attention inwards.
You can do that by creating a space in which you allow the brain to sit in a "vacuum," so to speak, where it can't get distracted.
You can try this now by sitting down in a comfortable environment with nothing but a pen and a piece of paper, you can also listen to some white noise, or just relax in your cozy bed.
You have the flexibility to do it however you want as long as you fulfill the following: No easily accessible distractions and an uninterrupted time for you to sit within that physical space (start with 10-20 minutes if you haven't done this before).
Once you do that, your mind and body will populate your experience with all kinds of thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations. It can be quite amazing (and scary) to see how fast this happens.
Now we get to the interesting part, instead of reaching out for your usual distraction, you just need to do nothing, yes, nothing. Just stay with that experience.
An important disclaimer before we continue: Your experiences will vary wildly from each other, including the severity.
If you feel like you truly can't sit with whatever comes up and are filled with immense fear, anger, or sadness (if you rate it as 7/10 or above in terms of discomfort ) then I would highly recommend walking that path with a therapist.
Consult someone who will hold your hand and provide you with the care you need until you can tolerate that experience on your own.
On the other hand, if you feel like the experience isn't that bad, then you may keep experimenting.
You won't be able to "see" at first since your mind is going to process what is happening. Some of the reactions might be quite negative and a little bit overwhelming to you.
It is also normal if you feel that your experience is somewhat foggy or hard to discern what's happening there. This is going to be like learning how to walk. At first, things are going to be messy, but the success is in staying in the mess until your body is familiar with the environment and can tolerate it.
Do this for 10-20 minutes a day, three times a week as a start, and increase the dose as you see fit. The important step here is to just do nothing and to let your mind be as messy as it wants to be, sit there, and pay attention to it.
Then, once you feel like the experience is manageable, try to understand what is happening to you. You do so by directing your attention to the sensations you feel and trying to make sense of them.
Let me illustrate: Try to put your finger on the palm of your hand and move it slowly. Can you perceive that? If yes, then how did you do that?
Well, the answer is that you just do. You always perceive, all the time.
Where that perception goes is the difference, that is attention!
If you were playing a game or deeply involved in any activity and something brushed against your legs or back. Chances are you won't notice it. The reason being is that all of your attention is directed toward something else, so your mind doesn't have similar bandwidth for other inputs.
So what you're doing is shifting attention from one point to another, and that is what you need to practice, shifting your attention from point A to point B.
This is why it is important to create a space with no distractions where you direct your attention to the immediate feedback you receive from your body.
That is, dear stranger, how you perceive your internal experience!
(I realize that this does seem quite obvious to some of you)
Okay, so if I want to "see" then I need to get rid of distractions and shift my attention to my body, right?
Yes, that is exactly it. If you find yourself speed-running this, then you can move into the nuances of your feelings and thoughts.
Okay, then what about the other two?
Yes, let's do the second one, labeling. How do you go about that?
The obvious answer is to just label your experience, which doesn't seem challenging, right?
While I agree that it does seem easy, labeling your experience can be quite challenging once you clear the beginner level. Let us go through these levels together.
Beginner level:
Can you differentiate between physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions:
Can you label each one: "okay this is a thought", "Oh I see, this is an emotion" or "Oh this is an emotion with physical sensations" etc.
If you can do that, then congratulations, you can move on to the next level!
Intermediate level:
Can you name the emotion you're feeling: Is it anger, fear, happiness, shame, pride, or disgust: "I just finished this task, it took me so much time and effort, but I was able to do it, you know! I feel good about myself"
Can you put your thoughts into words: "I think I disagree with what you said, I think that having A and B alone is nonsense".
Can you describe the physical sensation in detail: " I feel a tightness around my chest and a weird feeling in my throat"
I would recommend using the famous feelings wheel as a helpful guide. Many of my clients have found this to be quite useful. The way you use it is fairly straightforward: go through the basic emotions(angry, fearful, bad, surprised, happy, sad, disgusted) and see which one will "click" with you or feels the closest to what you're experiencing.
Then move to the next stage (e.g: looking at the angry section, are you feeling humiliated, bitter, or mad?).
Then move on to the next stage (e.g: Feeling jealous).
Great! Now, you have a more nuanced view of your experience.
If you cleared this level, then congratulations. You can now move to the advanced level.
Advanced level:
Can you expand on the nuances of the internal experience:
Emotion: "I feel a sense of pride that I was able to finish this task. I am relieved that I was able to achieve this. At the same time, I feel sad that this journey has come to an end. This was quite the journey!"
Physical sensation: "I feel this tightness in my chest and there is this weird sensation at the back of my throat, it almost feels like my throat is dry. I also notice a strain on my eyes, I think I'm about to cry"
Thought: " I think that the issue you didn't mention here is that X, Y, and Z are fundamental parts of the process and while I agree that A and B are important as well, I don't see how we can dissociate the two processes from each other as it will result in issue C, D, and E"
Do you see, dear stranger, how we managed to go from simple labels to descriptions and expansions and how that allows us to have a greater understanding of what's going on?
The important thing to mention here is that you're not going to be at the same level across all the dimensions of your experience. Chances are you're going to be fairly good at one of the three (relatively speaking). You may find it fairly easy to describe physical pain in great detail, or you can write an entire paragraph on why you think this post is a waste of your time, or you can talk for a whole hour about how sad you are over the loss of someone you care about.
It's even a little more nuanced than that. For example, you may be very fluent at speaking "sad", but you may find it challenging to speak "angry", "loved", or "scared".
The unpredictable nature of human life will predispose you to be good at some things and not at others, which is normal. Therefore, if you find it easy to speak one dialect, that doesn't mean there is no area of improvement there. This also means that if you can't speak another dialect, then that also doesn't mean that things are hopeless. Being able to put your experience into words and expand on its nuances is a lifelong skill. You will get better at it the more you try to do it. Use the feelings wheel, talk to friends, or work with someone. The important thing to me is that you keep trying to express what you feel.
This finally brings us to the third point: processing!
Luckily, for processing, you only have to do half the work. Your mind will do the rest (given the right space to do so).
So what is emotional processing?
It is how your brain manages to understand your experience of the world and integrates that model as part of you. This usually will allow you to manage highly emotional states and go back to your baseline.
Let's look at a classic example: Break-ups.
Let's say that you have been with a person for some time and now you have both come to the decision to end things.
Well, at first, this change is going to feel drastic, but as time goes on and as you grieve properly, you will notice that your brain has naturally "adapted" to this change. That adaption is your brain processing the experience you went through. You might even have discovered that you have gained some insight into how to navigate romantic relationships in the future.
So what you're saying is processing is like moving on? Yes, to a certain extent, it is the ability to walk through the experiences you have, make sense of them and adapt to them by either shifting to a different model or by grieving some part of the old model.
I'm lumping the self, relationships, belongings, and ideas into one group called "model").
The good news is that if you allow your brain the space and time to feel, and make sense of things, then most of the processing will be done for you.
Unfortunately, our technology-driven lifestyle robs us of this ability. Being a little more intentional about this can be quite helpful.
The good news here is that paying attention and labeling your experience is technically part of processing your emotions, so you're halfway there!
Here is a breakdown for the rest:
First, create the space as we discussed. This is the seeing that we talked about, take some time out of your day to just have some alone time.
Second, pay attention to your external experience, and be present. The aim here is to try to understand and not change.
Third, Inquire:
Let's take X for example. On Tuesday morning, while going to work. A coworker of X said: "Hi, X!" and X felt this sudden urge to be aggressive towards coworker A.
Let's see how we can be introspective and process our experience by modeling X's behavior:
X: "Okay, so what was that all about, I was walking to work, as usual, coworker A said hi and I wanted to punch him in the face"
Okay, this is great, X took the first step, and the door is open, X took some time to think about this and shifted his attention inward. What's next? That's right, time to label.
X: "Well, thinking back on it, I felt angry all of a sudden. Wait, was I angry at him?"
Again, try to inquire and ask questions, the aim here is to empty that emotional energy that is stored within you. We're going to keep expanding on how X feels until he has nothing to say about that specific situation anymore.
X:" I don't think I'm angry at him necessarily. It's just that he is so annoying"
X: "Wait, why do I find him annoying?"
X: "Umm, It just feels so fake, like the way he greets us doesn't feel genuine and that makes me angry"
Okay, X is doing great here. He managed to stay curious, dig deeper and expand on how he felt. The next question would be, what about his greeting that makes him feel not genuine?
X: "Thinking back on it, he is always smiling and happy, but I know for a fact that this is not possible. Like how can he be happy all the time?"
Interestingly, it seems that X is more bothered by coworker's A attitude and how his smiling is bothersome to him because it is impossible to be that happy.
X: "I don't know, I just feel like, are you so happy that you want to rub it in my face every morning?"
We started with anger, and now it seems that the experience is shifting to another emotion.
X: "Wait a second, I'm envious of the guy, haha, oh my god! I'm envious of the guy, but why?"
Again, X is curious, asking questions, and making sense of things.
X: "I think I hate that I don't have what he has. It's like even though we're on the same boat I don't get to feel what he's feeling"
X: "Wait, I'm dissatisfied with my life, and I'm envious of him?! I also feel bad about not being able to achieve the same things at work. Wait, I can't really tell what this feeling is, let me get that feelings wheel that the guy talked about"
Great job at noticing when labeling gets difficult
X:" Oh, here it is, now let's see, there it is, shame! I'm feeling shame! wow, that is quite the surprise, I am ashamed of myself?!"
X:" Wait a second, so you're telling me that the reason I'm annoyed with him is that he's doing better at me in life even though we have the same job, and I feel ashamed about that. I'm also envious because I don't have what he has and every time he greets me with a smile it feels like he is rubbing it in my face!
What! I have never looked at it this way, wow, just wow! I mean this is alarming, I gotta apologize to the guy"
And that is an exaggerated and accelerated example of processing. What you see here is that X was living in ambiguity. By digging into that ambiguity and by labeling his experience and making sense of it, he was able to shift his perspective and "move on" from the previous model to a new one.
There might be some additional steps that he needs to go through before moving on completely and overcoming the feelings of shame and inadequacy, at the same time, he was able to start his journey by simply keeping a curious mind, asking questions, trying to understand, and making sense of things.
Once your mind clicks, when you have these "oh I see" moments in your reasoning, then that means your brain has acquired a new piece of data to integrate.
The other important thing to mention here is that sleep is also vital for processing.
If you feel like you haven't made much progress doing introspection for that day. I would highly recommend waiting until the next couple of days to check in with yourself. Some of the steps for "moving on" require some processes that are only available through sleep. So wait a day or two, then see how you feel about the issue.
The other important variable is time. Processing takes time and is not a linear process. You will find yourself going back to some points over and over and over until they click. Once they do, however, you will notice that those same issues won't feel as bothersome to you as they used to.
That is it; that is how you go about introspection, now go out there and open the door to the mysteries of your own mind! :)
Alright, dear stranger, this brings us to the end of today's post. I hope that I was able to shed some light on the importance of introspection as an integral part of change.
I'll see you all in next week's post: The why.

Hello. I urgently need some money to just put a down payment for rent. I got fired from my job due to an injury and I am in need. Please help. Thank you.

My parents separated about 4 years ago and subsequently sold the house in 2021. Since the sale I’ve been living with her and her new boyfriend (we’ve been renting, haemorrhaging money in some respects), but she is frustrated with cohabiting with him and wants more space - with our lease up in a few months, it’s time to think about it.
She suggested that “we work hard and buy a house together”, on paper it makes sense as she won’t be able to get a mortgage at her age (54) and I (25) don’t have the capital required for a deposit. However I’m having major reservations about going down this path. First and foremost, we don’t share the same goals - she’s planning towards retirement whereas I’m looking at establishing my career, having dealt with a lot of mental health issues and bouncing around a couple dead-end jobs after graduating from university. Secondly I’m concerned by her approach with money, spending somewhat frivolously on luxuries we don’t really need, because she is convinced her MLM-type crypto investments (look up Cashfx and Hyperfund) will come good, based off her trust in a friend who quit his job off the back of his success with it. Last but not least, I would like to have more independence and feel more control over my life, having felt very isolated living at home for what feels like an eternity.
I know I am in no position to buy a house, not even close, without significant help. What I’m wondering is, if it would be a mistake to not take the opportunity to get on the housing ladder as soon as possible rather than maybe 5-10 years from now, IF I meet a partner. What’s for sure is that it’s important to have this conversation with my mum sooner rather than later. Has anyone bought a house with a parent before? Is it likely to turn out well?

In short, my parents are in a lot of debt right now. Nothing shady happened, just years of not living within their means (having 4 kids, building a large house on a large lot on one income, pool, NYS taxes etc.) catching up to them. It's finally come to the point where they've got nowhere else to turn, taxes are due and penalties are maxed out and are not able to out-work the debt.
So, a couple months ago my dad came to me and basically told me that, as much as it pains and embarrasses him, he has to ask me for a lot of money. Then he had told me it *might* come to this, and just yesterday he suddenly told me I needed to decide in the next day or so.
I have a decent amount of savings, but giving them what they need just to pay back the penalty fees would drain me financially and would set back my own financial goals.
My dad swears I'll get the money back. I trust him not to screw me over purposefully, but I don't trust I'll get it back in time for when I need it ( mainly to pay back student loans this upcoming fall). This would also leave me without an emergency fund.
Now I still live with them and they've been gracious enough not to charge me rent, which I have offered to do. I do feel I owe them something money-wise, and I want to help, but where is the line between equalizing/helping them and hurting myself?
Not sure if this is the right sub, but I'm more concerned with how to handle this on an inter-personal level rather than what the financially responsible choice would be, so I thought it might be appropriate.
TLDR: Parents need my money to help them out of debt, unsure what to do