3 bedroom apartments in knightdale nc

North Carolina

2008.03.24 16:22 North Carolina

A subreddit for the state of North Carolina.
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2012.10.03 15:41 moddestmouse Where Men Can Live

MaleLivingSpace is dedicated to places where men can live. Here you can find posts discussing, showing, improving, and maintaining apartments, homes, domiciles, man caves, garages, and bungalows.
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2011.01.07 23:16 Bakadan Boston Apartments: Listings, Rooms for Rent, Roommates + Sublets

bostonhousing is a great resource for anyone looking for Boston apartments, rooms for rent in Boston, roommates in Boston, sublets in Boston and advice about moving to Boston + the surrounding area — including Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline.
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2023.06.03 22:27 thePiter Making eGPU for an old laptop

Hello. I’ve got an old Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro laptop which comes with an integrated graphics card and has (probably) an HDMI 1.4 output. I use this laptop basically as a streaming gaming console. The laptop sits under my Philips 7303 series 4k TV, it’s connected to it via HDMI. On this laptop I have Moonlight Streaming software installed and I play games installed on my gaming PC (R5950x & RTX4090), which is located in my bedroom.
This setup works flawlessly in 1080p, but I’d really like to be able to stream games in 4k. My TV is 4k 50Hz, I’ll probably be changing it soon for an OLED with 120Hz. My gaming PC is more than capable of running games in 4K. This laptop though doesn’t seem to support 4k via HDMI port, which is why I assume the port is 1.4 (the laptop is from 2014). Whenever I choose the 4k resolution on the laptop while connected to the TV, max refresh rate is 30Hz, and the gaming experience is poor.
Now I have an RTX2060 Super card laying around, and I was wondering if I can use it to connect it somehow to the laptop, so it acts as it’s GPU. Then I could output the 4k picture from the laptop, via the GPU, to the tv. Problem is, this laptop doesn’t have any Thunderbolt or PCIexpress outputs, only USB 3.0. Can I connect the GPU directly to the laptop’s mainboard? How do I do that? Many thanks for your time.
submitted by thePiter to techsupport [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:27 imsorood Can I afford $3,000/mo rent?

Hi! Would love to get opinions from this sub. I'm trying to figure out if I should splurge a little bit and get an apartment that is $3,000/mo.
Some context:
My fiancé isn't working right now, but will begin in the next year (she has to finish a year-long credential program). Her salary will be around 60-70k/yr when she starts. She'll probably work part-time this year, but trying not to depend on that.
$3,000 is 35%~ of my take-home. Is it okay to splurge a little bit to get the place we really want? I wanted to keep our apartment under 30% of our monthly take-home so we can continue saving for a down-payment on a house, but I'm having a hard time finding places < $3k/mo that we really like.
Would appreciate thoughts/opinions! Thank you!
submitted by imsorood to personalfinance [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:26 AfternoonChoice1438 Should I move back in?

So I've been no contact with my parents for 3 years. Recently I decided to rip off the bandaid and came out to them. My parents who are religious surprisingly said they were ok with it and still love me, or so I thought.
My dilemma is that I'm trying to move back to my home town so I can be closer to my siblings and get my name changed. However, I cant find an apartment to live in and my lease is ending soon.
After 3 years of not talking, me and my parents had a talk on the phone. And I just knew it was too good to be true that my mom accepted me. When I asked her how she felt about my coming out letter, she immediately shut me down and said that its against her religion and that she doesnt want to talk about it but she'll still love her kid. But then deadnaming me in the next sentences and used the wrong pronouns the whole time. But then she said I sound like my brother? And then saying stuff about how she wont attend my wedding if I ever have one and how shes not gonna tell my grandparents because theyll die if they found out I was trans. I just felt hurt. She said I could live with them to save money and go to school, but idk...
The only pros I see to living with them is I can save up money really fast and get top surgery next year if I do. If I live alone, it would take me 3 years to save up. So should I suffer for a year or should I figure something else out? Also if I dont live with them, theres a chance i have to sleep in my car until I find a place.
submitted by AfternoonChoice1438 to ftm [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:25 OkInflation3577 Is it manipulative?

Ok, very long backstory but I'll keep it to the basics. I (37yo US male) am ending a 13 yr marriage w/ a 35yo German female (raise in the US since she was 5yo). It's mutual and we're both already feeling better than when we were together. We have one 7yo daughter. Marriage has always been rocky but we've managed through counseling, determination, and chemistry (when it was good it was good). Now we both see it was always toxic. We moved to Germany from the US 11 months ago, after deciding to pursue a European lifestyle and enrolling our daughter in a Waldorf Kindergarten (very cheap here). 7 months in and we've decided marriage is definitely over. I've moved out and been living in a separate apartment. We share 50/50 custody of daughter. Overall good transition, lots of pain but it's working and I'm healing.
So the issue is, I feel we should move back to the US. ALL of our family lives there in a 3 hour radius of North Carolina. Our daughter was born and raised seeing her grandparents weekly until 11months ago. Our daughter has only one cousin who she adores and talks about all the time who lives in NC. We own a home there. I am the primary earner and could be earning over 100K per year by next year ( I was up until we moved). I have no job in Germany yet since my career field required a high level of German and I would need to spend years learning while working low wage jobs. Our daughter does not like Waldorf style and wants more STEM education. My ex works for 15 Euros/ hour and has no prospects of earning more than 20/hr within the next 3-5 years. I desperately want to get back to my career (my passion) but I believe my German ex wants to stay here despite numerous reasons to go back. She began sleeping with/dating someone on Tinder 45 days after we decided to end our relationship- 18 days after I moved out. They are still dating. I believe she is moving quickly to establish her new life here w/o me. Which she has every right, but still, It's concerning.
Nevertheless, I am starting to think I need to move back, w/ or w/o them. This is not my country, my language, and I do not picture myself here, especially with all the healing I need to do after divorce. Family, career, healing are the things I need now or else I feel I will lose myself in this German town, my ex's mother's hometown, (voted ugliest town in Germany) while watching my wife flourish in her native country (again, she grew up in the US). I have a history of depression. I don't want to meet another international partner. My daughter talks about her old school, her grandparents, her old best friends, wanting "English things" ---ALL THE TIME. I will likely live very near my extended family and daughter would be able to see them all the time if we went back. Even my ex's parents (retired and live on lakes/beaches) want to see us back in the US ( I still care about them very much). My daughter would have a blast visiting them. But my wife won't see it. She believes the lifestyle in Germany is better, safer, less traumatic, less violent, less capitalistic (I agree, somewhat) and that that is more important than money, family, stability (completely disagree).
So... If I move back, Is it manipulative to tell my daughter that "I wish I could stay but I have to go work in the USA to make money to support her and her mother. AND that I wish she could come but her mother wants her to stay and go to school here in Germany"....? I don't want to lie and say I wish I could stay or that I also think she should stay. And I don't want to be too vague like "It's hard but it's what's best for everyone" even though that sounds the most neutral. What does a 7yo need to hear in such a complex situation? Should she even know if I end up moving to the same town as her friends/cousin? It all just seems to have the potential to be so traumatic for her. Everything she ever knew changed one year ago with our move, then 8 months later we tell her we are divorcing, now I will probably tell her I have to move back. What the hell do I do? Struggling with the idea of ending up becoming a deadbeat dad who leaves, despite NEVER seeing that coming.
submitted by OkInflation3577 to Divorce [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:25 InkDiamond [PI] It’s the end of the universe. To celebrate, you just want to chill with your best friend. After all, he’s the only other remaining person in the whole world. But to your surprise, he reveals that you’re not the only one invited to his party…

Marc gave it another go. He tipped his hand forward. The silver patty rolled off him, dropping toward the cave floor.
It stopped short of hitting the path. The shiny disc halted in the air, dangling at the end of a thin white line.
He watched the small wheel spin. It might have been the most fun he’d had all year. Even more fun than that mud puddle he’d found the other day.
How does it keep going? Marc thought to himself. And without any power??
Marc assumed the disc was some sort of technological marvel from the past. But the Archives had little information on it, only a name. It was called a “yo-yo.”
They all must have had one of these, he posited.
As Marc walked down the stone ramp, he cast the yo-yo again. The toy’s quiet spin was the only sound in the cavern. The soft hiss of string versus metal reverberated gently in the spacious cave.
Marc focused all his attention on the little gadget. He was determined to enjoy every last minute of the universe, no matter what. And that evening, the yo-yo more than accomplished that goal.
The shimmering yo-yo, however, couldn’t prevent the world around him from crumbling. The ground started to rumble. The rest of the cave shook with it. The underground city shook as the plasma storm above battered it—and the rest of the planet.
Marc’s home broke down. Cracks appeared in the ceiling. Waterfalls of dust poured out of them. It wouldn't be long before the whole thing collapsed. That is, if the plasma storm didn’t swallow it whole first.
Whatever.
A few clumps of dirt wouldn’t ruin Marc’s fun. He pulled the hood of his shawl over his head and extended his ragged sleeves toward each hand. His clothes shielded him from the falling dust; the gritty particles made themselves at home on his messy shawl. And Marc was free to perfect his newest trick.
The rumbling died down though as Marc descended the ramp. The yo-yo string didn’t wobble so much, and he didn't have to watch his steps as carefully. He just hoped the quaking wouldn’t come back to ruin his event.
Speaking of which, Marc glanced ahead toward his destination below. What he saw rocked him even harder than the earthquake had.
What in the sinkpits…?
Marc stopped in his tracks. He even started to reach for his knife. All because he’d detected a speck of something suspicious. Something he didn't see much of every day: color.
Showy landmarks weren’t something endemic to his home. The Outpost was more of a dusty gray-and-brown sort of place. The walls were sandstone. The floor was sandstone. And the ceiling? …Granite?
No, sandstone. All under the faint glow of a string of depressed lightbulbs.
The intriguing blip in the gray-and-tan collage was farther up the path. Ahead of the ramp, on Level 8, Marc saw the same three steel doors he was used to seeing. The front doors of underground homes, lined up in a row, each closed into the cave wall.
However, there was something different about the third door. It looked… alive. Like it didn’t belong in a dreary place like the Outpost. But it was too far away to tell what exactly had been done to it.
Marc squinted at it suspiciously. The third door happened to be his destination. And now it was weird.
He considered waiting and observing the mutated door. A child of the Outpost, Marc had developed a healthy fear of the unusual.
These habits, along with his instincts, kept him safe. They’d specifically preserved him while the rest of humanity perished.
But he shrugged off the instinct to wait. Something new and “different” was ahead, and he wanted to see it.
But just as a precaution, it was time for his yo-yo’s last trick. He got in one final throw then placed the toy into his satchel. He dropped it on top of his arsenal of cables, wrenches, and screwdrivers.
And by the time he’d snapped the satchel shut, the long ramp had bottomed out. He’d made it to the next level.
To his left, the wall had been spray-painted. Scrawled-out black letters stood against the sandy background. They stated, “Now Level 8.
Marc followed the sign. He stayed close to the wall, crossing to the stone pedestrian path. He passed one untouched steel door with a dusted-over mail slot in the wall beside it. Then he passed a second home—abandoned like the first. And finally, he arrived at his friend’s place and the mysterious blip on Level 8.
To his surprise, the steel door elicited a flush of emotion. His heart floated upward. And the portrait before him drew his focus in like an otherworldly beacon.
How did it get so…?
Marc pulled back his hood. The ground popped with the sandy grains he released.
He could hardly believe the difference. The door used to blend in with the others: another ridged steel face that spent most of its time rusting or collecting dirt.
But it was no longer muffled by the dust and dirt that had built up over the years.
Today, it sung. Paint streaks flew across its visage. They swirled and spiraled, forming stars and other shapes. Where previously gray and rust dominated, colors sprang forth—colors that Marc didn't even have the names for. They were many, and they were warm, like the evening sky just after sunset. Marc could hardly wrap his head around the entire image.
He swelled with gratitude.
Only you could have pulled this off. He thought of his friend, the painter. The one person in the colony who’d ever been any fun. The one other person in the colony who was left…
The artist had done the unthinkable. Foraging the garden below for something other than food. Spending work time measuring and concocting the perfect blends of paint. And then slathering their fingers across the giant door, until its old face was but a memory. And all that effort for only a single other person to appreciate.
Newly inspired, Marc searched for an unpainted space on the metal canvas. He found one and knocked on the door.
He took a step back and waited. The outside of the Outpost was lively. Excited wind rushed through the canyon.
By contrast, the Outpost itself was silent. If there was anyone left to say anything, they may have even called it “dead.”
Or nearly dead, anyway. The last morsel of it came to life as the door in front of Marc groaned.
It floated off the ground, inching upward. On the other side, Marc could hear a hand crank clicking away.
Ktch… ktch… ktch… ktch…
The corrugated door lifted, and the door rolled up. The tip of the artist’s painting started to slip from view.
Ktch… ktch… ktch… ktch…
Behind the door, chains reeled at a slow clip. The heavy curtain was halfway up. Marc could now see his best friend's lower half. Buff Lenorkian legs pumped back and forth with each crank.
The door unveiled even more of the owner. A torso in a metal suit appeared. Four ripped arms stretched out of it. They rotated, moving to the clicking beats of the door.
Ktch… ktch… ktch… ktch…
The door raised a few inches further, uncovering the bottom half of a cobalt blue face. Two rows of razor-sharp teeth smiled from ear to ear. A few inches more, and Marc could see the whole of the Lenorkian’s face.
Sid greeted Marc as the last of the door raised.
Finally!” he said.
Marc didn’t get a chance to respond. His body lurched forward involuntarily. He slammed into Sid’s metal suit.
Crrrrrick!
The armor squealed as Sid’s upper two arms squeezed him tighter. The lower set of arms had reeled Marc in.
Marc hated hugs. Stupid mushy emotional wraparounds. But just this one final time, Marc returned the gesture. He squeezed Sid back.
“Happy Worlds’ End!” Sid said from the other side of the embrace.
“Yeah,” Marc replied, “Happy Worlds’ End.”
The two separated.
“Cool painting, by the way,” Marc said. He pointed at the rolled-up door. “I didn’t think you’d top the one in the garden.”
“You think so?” Sid sheepishly smiled. “Well I’ve had more time to practice since… you know.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Marc said. “Me too. That’s how I actually got you something.”
Marc swung his heavy satchel around. He rifled through it, squeezing through cables, knocking handles and parts out of the way. And then—ah.
He fished out a crumpled rag. Holding it in one hand, he began to gently unfold it.
“I found this a few days ago in the garden,” he said. The edges of the cloth fell. They revealed a small, glass object. It sparkled.
Marc continued, “I think it fits your style—I mean, I know it’s a little smudged and chipped but...”
He swirled the crystal trinket around. The cavern’s incandescent light flittered across its clear edges.
He touched it too, tracing the slender portion of it with his thumb. It was the neck of the crystal swan.
“It’s yours,” Marc said, offering up the bird.
Sid cupped two shovel-sized hands and accepted the gift.
“It’s beautiful…” he said, examining it. “I can’t believe anything like this could have survived this long.” He looked up at Marc and smiled, “Thank you so much. I just wish I had a little longer to could enjoy it.”
They chuckled lightly about their impending obliteration.
“Well, come on in,” Sid said. He extended both of his left arms. They gestured toward the cave interior. “We’ll finish off this universe how it started,” he said. He mashed his upper two fists together. “With a bang!”
“I hear that!” Marc nodded. He crossed over into Sid’s house.
As Marc passed Sid, a wave of discomfort hit him. Sid had switched out his usual t-shirt and jeans. He wore old armor instead. And the metal plating taunted Marc.
Marc’s next question came out more accusatory than curious.
“So… a Lenorkian throwback, huh?” he asked Sid.
Sid had just finished finding the perfect home for his swan. He left it on a shelf next to the front door.
He turned to face Marc. He hid his embarrassment behind a jagged smile.
“Oh!” he said. “Uhhh…” Three of Sid’s arms disappeared behind his back. The cone-shaped cuffs at the end of each wrist clanked against the back of his chest armor. The fourth arm nervously scratched his blue head. “I don’t know,” he said. “It's stupid, I guess. I can take it off… if you want.”
Marc didn’t want to address the topic head-on. He stopped in the cave’s entry. He pretended to admire the walls—as if he’d never seen sandstone before.
“No, leave it on,” he said. “You look… like a true Lenorkian.” He turn around and forced a smile.
It wasn’t enough.
“Okay, let’s get this out of the way,” Sid said. He marched up to Marc.
Sid took a deep breath before he spoke.
“Tonight's really important to me,” he continued. “This is the last impression anyone’s going to make on the universe. So I need you on board.” He continued staring down at Marc. “Can you do that? For me?”
Marc didn’t see what the big deal was. It was just a couple of best friends hanging out.
“Yeah, why not?” he shrugged. “End it the way it started.”
The exchange turned into awkward silence. Neither knew what to do next. They had never been in a situation like this before—never attended such an event. What the Archives called: a par-ty.
Sid shook off the figurative mask he’d been wearing—one that was uncharacteristically dour. His eyes lightened, and he bobbed his head knowingly.
“I went through the Archives to see how this works,” he said. He walked toward the long horizontal counter against the wall—the kitchen.
On the counter, chaos ran wild. Bowls and kitchenware spread across the surface. And the insides of his pots and pans resembled the dirty mouth of a garbage chute.
Marc wasn’t sure what to think. Was cleaning the host’s kitchen a staple of ancient parties?
Sid too seemed a bit confused. His next words came out robotically, as if he was practicing a new word he’d learned.
“’Can-I-offer-you-a-drink?’” Sid asked. He stood nervously in front of the counter.
Looking closer at it, three unusual objects stood apart from the kitchenware mess. It took Marc a while to remember what their outdated, bendy material was called.
Plastic. Three pink and plastic cups sat equidistant from one another.
“I got these from here,” Sid reached under the counter and pulled up some sort of transparent bag. Pink cups just liked the others were stacked on top of each other inside.
Sid packed the bag back under the counter.
“So?” he asked after he finished. He held all four hands together in anticipation. His smile may have looked like an industrial-grade rock shredder, but it was hard to resist his innocent blue face and big wide eyes.
Marc eyed the pink cups one last time.
“This better not kill me,” he said.
Sid wasted no time. He excitedly grabbed a cup and walked over to a large pot sitting on the counter.
Using a nearby ladle, he plunged into the vat. An unappetizing sloshing sound resulted. And Sid, as strong as he was, seemed to struggle with scooping out some of the mystery liquid. But in the end, he pulled back the ladle and unloaded an opaque, muddy liquid into the cup.
“It's a homeworld classic called fludge,” Sid said as he finished pouring.
He treaded over to his reluctant friend and handed off the plastic cup.
“Did you say ‘fludge’?” Marc asked. He swished the cup around cautiously. The earthy liquid hardly budged.
“Yeah, fludge! Us Lenorkians invented it. It’s kind of the only tasty thing we ever bothered to make.”
Marc sniffed it. It smelled… burnt? Maybe a little dusty, too? But he could have just been smelling the cave.
Sid left Marc alone with Marc’s questionable new assignment. He returned to the pot to pour himself a drink.
“Just try it!” he said.
Marc looked down again at the dark soup. It could kill him. Or maybe it wouldn't.
Either way, it was his last drink.
He took a timid sip and waited to be repulsed. The fludge trickled to the back of his tongue. As it hit, Marc’s eyes widened. But not with regret.
He swallowed.
“Now wait a minute…” he said. He smacked his lips together. Then he took another, larger sip.
This curious dark liquid had a unique taste to it. The taste was earthen—but unoffending. It also had a subtle undercurrent of sweetness to it, combined with a spicy kick. It was delicious.
“This might be the best drink in the entire Outpost!” Marc exclaimed.
Pure joy bloomed on Sid’s face. “See! I told you: the greatest thing we ever made.”
He held his own cup above his open jaws. The falling fludge was no match for the alien. He guzzled it down, licked his lips, and then went back for more.
As Sid fashioned himself another drink, Marc noticed something a tad unsettling. A third pink cup stared back at him. It prompted an uncomfortable thought, but he shoved the thought back down.
The Lenorkian carried back his second drink. Though this time, he took it in small, human-sized sips.
But he quickly reanimated. In the middle of a sip, Sid got a wild look in his eyes. His irises turned from their natural violet to scarlet. He yanked the cup from his face and swallowed.
“Argh, how did I forget?” he said. “I got music!”
Marc cut his sip short too. “No way. You got music?
“I think so!”
Sid did an about face. He slammed the half-empty cup on the counter. Then he shuffled toward a giant metal column protruding from the far wall. Four ink-blue hands wrapped around the cover of the vent. And he went for it.
Sid struggled to pull off the cover of the vent at first. His armor ballooned around his biceps as his muscles bulged outward. Yet the cover wouldn't budge.
But it seemed like an important part of his evening plans. He scolded the stubborn vent, banging on its top.
“Oh, you’re gonna get it now!” he said. He latched onto the vent again.
This time, he put even more effort in. To the point where Marc sensed that Sid was losing a grip on his own body. Out of his forehead, two thumb-sized cones began to rise. His breathing turned low and raspy. And his whole body seemed to expand as he repositioned himself for leverage. Then with one final pull, like a wild beast, he let out of a deep, guttural roar.
HAWRRRRRRRRRRRGGH!” The roar echoed off the cave walls.
And with that, the stubborn vent cover finally popped off. A breath of wind pulsed through the room as the air pressure equalized itself.
But the wind wasn’t finished. After the initial pulse exited, a mighty gust picked up where the original pulse left off. The vent shot more wind into the room, but rapidly, like a storm. Tiny coarse particles rattled inside the duct. And in the room, a rush of wind whipped past Marc’s face. He felt little nips across his exposed skin as it passed him.
Both partiers shielded their faces from the most direct blasts of air. Sid smiled nervously as he looked to Marc. He raised his voice over the whining airstream.
“It’s from the sandplains above!” he said in an elevated voice. “I thought we’d use the sandstorm for music! Do you like it?”
Music… Marc wasn’t exactly an expert. Even though humans were said to be naturals at it, not much on the subject had made it into the Archives. The Outpost didn’t have much of it either. The closest he got was the occasional chant, stray birds twittering about, or maybe someone banging on rocks.
But Marc did know one thing on the subject. Where there was music, there was dancing.
That said, he had never danced before either. But a long time ago, his parents told him it was something all humans could do. It was something they carried in their blood. Once humans found a pattern in music, they could match it to their body language. And once they’d synced melody and movement, they could ride that wave to a whole new experience.
Might as well give it a shot, he thought. Marc too put his cup on the counter.
With his hands free, Marc backed up toward the middle of the room. He closed his eyes, felt the wind. It filled his ears with its gusty energy. It hit him in pumps as the storm raged above.
Though not totally predictable, the wind did hit him consistently. There was some sort of kinetic pattern to it.
Yes, a pattern.
Well actually, he’d heard it called by another name. What was that word his mother had used? He opened his eyes when he remembered: rhythm.
Marc stretched out his arms. He relaxed his hips. He felt the wind’s whips and waves across his arms. He let his arms follow them, swaying with the current. Not long after, his hips joined in. They too gyrated, trying to match the energetic gusts. He kept at it. And the first time Marc felt both himself and the wind moving together, he grinned.
“This is amazing!” he said. Around them, the wind crooned.
Sid was entranced. He nodded back while staring at Marc’s strange movements. He’d never really seen dancing either. But he figured he would give it a shot too. He loosened up his arms and walked onto the dance floor with Marc.
Before dancing himself, he studied Marc first. He watched how the scavenger moved his arms—and when the scavenger moved his arms.
Sid’s limbs followed. Four muscular arms rose in the air, like fighter jets on their way to a dogfight. And on a one or two second delay, they swayed after Marc’s.
For a while, they followed Marc completely. Then Sid went down his own path. The Lenorkian’s movements grew aggressive and battle-like. He punched at the wind swiping across him. He shuffled his feet as if swapping battle stances.
He caught Marc’s curiosity. Even as a novice, Marc could tell Sid’s movements weren’t traditional by any means. But to Marc, it was dancing all the same.
The two danced to the chorus of the air above. They laughed occasionally as changes in the rhythm of the wind tripped them up. In his head, Marc compared it to the painting on Sid’s door. The colony had never seen anything like this either.
Then something interrupted their dancing. The ground beneath them shook, throwing them off their feet. Heavy gray dirt trickled from the ceiling as the entire cave rumbled. And outside, the distant sky flashed and crackled. Its light illuminated the cave in violent spurts as the boys struggled to stand back up.
Eventually, the violent quaking and frightening flashes died down. The plasma storm held its breath once again.
The boys got back on their feet, but all the joy had seeped out of Sid’s face. He just stared at the floor in deep contemplation. Even as the windy music started back up.
Marc figured he would rescue his friend from whatever dark thoughts had turned up. Naturally, the end of the universe was a real bummer.
“End of the world got you down, huh?” He tried to laugh it off. The whole situation was pretty sad. Especially when they were having so much fun. But it was best to end the universe on a high note, right?
Nevertheless, Sid seemed dejected. He mumbled something inaudible.
“Dude, I can’t hear over the song!” Marc said in an elevated voice.
Sid spoke up over the wind. “That’s not what I’m upset about,” he said, his voice still fairly low.
“Then what are you upset about?”
Sid blurted out his response. “Because I invited Tōn-E, okay?
He couldn’t bring himself to look Marc in the eye. Because he knew what was coming.
YOU DID WHAT?!” Marc shouted over the music. Marc himself stomped over to the vent. He picked the cover off the floor—though he struggled quite a bit with it. It was heavier than Sid made it look. But he hoisted it back into the mouth of the vent. The music shut off. The steady drop of sand on the cave floor ceased.
“Say that again,” he leveled in Sid’s direction.
What was I supposed to do?” Sid remade eye contact. “Not invite the only other intelligent being to the last party the universe will ever have?
Marc needed no time to answer. He nodded insistently. “Yes. That was exactly what you were supposed to do. What the hell, Sid?” Marc would have continued, but there was another disturbance outside. He caught a glimpse of movement in the doorway.
--
Thanks for reading some of my words :) I’m trying stuff out, so let me know what you think.
The rest of the story is here
Based on a prompt by eithrotaur
submitted by InkDiamond to WritingPrompts [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:24 SwissCheese4Collagen The Nostrils McBeardsley Power Hour: Guess What We Named Actually Gunner? Our new baby's name is...

The Nostrils McBeardsley Power Hour: Guess What We Named Actually Gunner? Our new baby's name is...
***Second attempt, technical difficulties, thanks for your patience***
Happy Fri-Yay, Snarkers, not to be a outdone with Ra!s arrival video earlier today here comes OfNostrils, who has decided to help out in Operation Look At Our Crotch Fruit Instead of The DoCuMeNtaRy. It seems she only misses a Friday when I give her a heads up, I’m just kidding folks. Anyhow, she decided to make Actually Gunner’s arrival vlog stretch into three parts. She still hasn’t updated the intro Actually Gunner Still James to be added, but she has annoyingly, left the birth audio trailing over the intro music theme. It looks like JimBlessa’s template of 4 vlogisodes with Plant 2 but the actual birth week vlog with the recycled footage didn’t do what she thought it would.
Which part is she worried about? Space? Money? Time?
Maybe we should call them Oblivious and OfOblivious
OfNostrils climbs into the passenger seat of the car and does not put on a seatbelt. OfNostrils does have a seatbelt on but he looks over with his serial killer grinch grin as they drive past the hospital entrance. OfNostrils says that she is excited for freedom but exhausted. I feel like I’m just tired of her stating the obvious every 35 seconds at this point. She’s back to stating that so surreal and she can’t believe that they have a little baby in the back of the car. Nostrils says that it didn’t seem like she was pregnant until a week ago because checks notes they did regular stuff up until she had the baby. So were the 5 to 7 vlogisodes where Nostrils had to give her stomach shots just a fever dream, a mass hallucination or what? Is it normal for them high risk baby doctor appointments? Is it normal for her to go to the obstetrician multiple times a year? If these are there “normal winter activities” I have questions. I mean yes besides the fact that they were giving her shots in her stomach and are going to a doctor and to a specialist, they basically ignored the fact that she was pregnant for 8 ½ months like she was 17 and her high school sweetheart knocked her up. But even the depths of their delusion aren’t enough to keep a newborn from actually appearing in the car seat behind you. OfNostrils states that it is so weird they have three kids now, “what are we doing, we’ve got 3 kids”. Just wait a year and ask Kath! what to do. She’ll know.
....that's not how any of this works.
Anyways, OfNostrils has to call to let J16 know they’re on the way back to take control of her temporary buddy team. Before they do that though OfNostrils proves she has zero idea how any of this works she asks Nostrils if they should tell them now meaning us, the viewers. This was filmed on the way home from the hospital with Actually Gunner, which means this footage is from roughly 2 weeks ago. I think she thinks it’s Facebook live. I should stop joking about things like wanting to see what names Actually Gunner beat, because I snark and OfNostrils posts. I kid, I kid. OfNostrils screws her face up to tell us the name, and then doesn’t. I mean we already know that it’s Actually Gunner Still James because she said so on Instagram like literally 2 weeks ago. I guess this tells us how badly TLC messed with the timelines back when she was a kid.
I should stop joking about things like wanting to see what names Actually Gunner beat, because I snark and OfNostrils posts and now we get a little explanation into the name. Apparently, it wasn’t on their list at all so I guess just fuck any of us who may have had a line on this one of the sports apps. I’m kidding, I’m just tired of seeing the betting app commercials. It looks like Nostrils needs to give his wife a refresher on the difference between Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and cable TV, because she wants us to “put our guesses in”. What do I win if I guess right? Thank God I’m not Rumple-fucking-stiltskin otherwise she would owe me Giddy-Up unless Austina volunteered as tribute. But anyways, they looked up a name online, which I’m betting was Gunner and picked it because none of the rest of them fit whenever they were laying on the bed and holding him. Nostrils added that part as they turned onto another road, put at least he was checking on-coming traffic. OfNostrils takes back the fact that she said she would tell YouTube viewers first and says instead that when they tell Nostrils: The Next Generation a.k.a. J16s practice buddy group, though tell everybody. Except, she told everybody on Instagram like that day? I don’t think she knows what she’s doing at this point.
That beard ages the hell out of Nostrils

Nostrils: The Next Generation swarm out to meet their new member, meaning the footage of them sitting then running to the door was edited or staged.
As they drive up the driveway, Nostrils begins singing “taken the little man home”, but the captions have it as “old man home”. He also says “welcome home baby brother”, as OfNostrils wonders how Giddy-Up and Austina will react. Well I mean did you guys tell them Actually Gunner will be coming home from the hospital? I don’t think don’t have a problem with it, they're probably more prepared than you two are. I'd bet Austina would have had the bag packed if it had come down to it. IIRC, Austina practically ripped Actually Gunner out of Nostrils’ arms the second her butt hit the hospital bed, and Giddy-Up seemed pleased. “Aunt Johanna” is going to come out and take the camera from OfNostrils. Austina and Giddy-Up come out to the car and promptly lose their shit that Actually Gunner is home. Perm ends up gathering everybody back inside so J16 can shoot the footage we saw last week of Austina pushing the Doona into the house. They get Austina set up in the chair, use a pillow to prop up Actually Gunner and get to filming the name reveal. Giddy-Up asks why his eyes are closed, OfNostrils says it’s because the baby is sleepy. As OfNostrils tells her daughter that the newborn "wanted to" sit on Austina's lap and also that her new toys were from the newborn, Actually Gunner proves he has impeccable timing and farts on Austina’s lap, showing how much of that he believes. Austina kisses her newly established buddy team member on the forehead and waits to hear what his name is. Giddy-Up is with us and thinks it’s a horrible name, rage quits to his room and is brought back out to the living room by his mother. Of nostrils was laughing about the fact that Giddy-Up was mad that they did this to his little brother. I mean Gunner James doesn’t even make cool nickname letters like GJ is...eeww. At least Edwin would’ve been EJ.
Actually Gunnar gets comfy and lets it all out once he's home.
Giddy-Up was still holding out for Mr. Joel.
What did they expect? They kept asking Giddy-Up what he wanted to name the baby, then ignored it. Of course he's a little salty.
20 bucks says Giddy-Up ends up calling Actually Gunner \"Buddy\" or \"Bubby/Bubba\".
After Giddy-Up gets hauled back out to the living room, like SiAhh when they announced Perm was pregnant with Josie or Jubilee, OfNostrils sits him down and explains that he can call the baby a different nickname if he wants. In swoops Nostrils with Actually Gunner, to say that it if people said Gideon was a bad name then Giddy-Up wouldn’t like it so he should be more kind. OfNostrils, to her credit, soothes her son and asked him about his new sandals. Giddy-Up cheers up, but Nostrils isn’t done with him yet. Nostrils makes it a point to say that Actually Gunner is Giddy-Up’s brother, like Austina is his sister and that Giddy-Up needs say “I love you baby brother”. What kind of new age bullshit is this? Giddy-Up has no problem with his brother, he just doesn’t like the backwater redneck name you picked out for him. Hell, I might even go so far as to say that Giddy-Up and Austina love that kid more than their parents do. Austina doesn’t seem to trust them with him, and Giddy-Up is actually worried about this kid down the road.
Nostrils proves he was the one who was upset Giddy-Up doesn't like the name Gunner. Actually Gunner could care less.
Pushes son to not be girly, wonders why he won't pick up a baby like the daughter who was given a baby doll at birth to carry around. Goes overboard force-coaching his son to connect to a baby that has been asleep the entire day. Fundies, amiright?
Giddy-Up gets a hug from OfNostrils, not-tent. Austina says the baby is “small cute”, more non-tent. OfNostrils asks if the baby is taking a “Paci”, the non-tent continues. Austina pops in to remind us that it was her paci at one point but she’s a big girl now was going to start potty training. She seems super excited about it which is good because usually having a new baby in the house can cause regressions, but Austina's excitement might counteract that pretty well. OfNostrils goes to take her shower and we should finally have new footage from this point on the first half has been a mix of behind-the-scenes of previous footage and just filling in the blanks.
They will send them home and update the labs later, they hope.
No sooner does OfNostrils get settled in for her shower, the screen says “later” and they’re back at the hospital. Actually Gunner has some jaundice and needs to get labs done. They say he will be okay and we end up back at the McBeardsley cabin. The first thing is Nostrils has Giddy-Up in a swaddle that both he and Austina when they were little. Giddy-Up is done playing and is admonished by his mother to use his words. He says “please don’t”,as Austina jumps in. There is a lot of laughing and giggling as Actually Gunner sleeps away in J18’s arms on the other side of the living room. I is Austina’s turn to pretend to be a baby but not before Nostrils proclaims that the wrap stinks. OfNostrils explains that this is because it was in the storage box. I would hope that they're running it through the wash before they start using it for Actually Gunner. OfNostrils heads down the hallway towards where the children are making plenty of noise and smiles as she says it has rained all day and so the kids have been cooped up all day. Both kids are appropriately clothed covered up in beige sweatsuits, I blame Aunt J18. Perm is also there to help with the new baby, no wonder she got to Ra!s birth so late… Anyways, but OfNostrils feels great postpartum and has to keep reminding herself to sit down. But Perm and the J’Buddy Team goes home tomorrow and it will be their first full day with no help. They're having family come over and the weather is nice so it should be good. Whatever floats their boat. Gotta let Actually Gunner soak up his one week is the newest grand baby I guess. She stops to show us her “messy room”, but really the bed isn’t made and there’s a bassinet right next to it. Here we go with the “unreasonable expectations” and fake relatability shtick. “Life with baby” is chirped right on cue. She shows off her lack of bump, then says postpartum three times while looking in the full-length mirror. Did someone tell her that saying that would melt off the baby weight like a magic mirror, or is it just her new favorite word?
She almost called him \"Gun-Gun\", I swear.
Actually Gunner got clued in by Austina about the camera and stays asleep, while Giddy-Up traps Nostrils in his La-Z-Boy.
LiFe WiTh BaBy...tee hee hee
Guest Room is Fundie Speak for TV Room.
Anyways as she leaves her room, the TV room has Perm or Nostrils’ hunting show on, but Nostrils is putting the kids to bed. OfNostrils walks past Austina being swaddled while laughing, to where Giddy-Up is in his bed with his thumb in his mouth. OfNostrils scolds him, tells him his brother needs him to be a good example for him. Giddy-Up is probably thinking his baby brother sleeps too much to be able to pay attention. OfNostrils turns around to see Nostrils has successfully swaddled Austina and tells her she looks like “Baby Gunner”. This reminds OfNostrils that she has more non-tent to get. She suddenly remembers to ask if Giddy-Up said good night to his new baby brother. Giddy-Up jumps up, because No, they didn't as Nostrils lets Austina out of her swaddle and they run in to kiss the sleeping baby in their 14-year-old aunt’s arms. The captions do Actually Gunner when they change his name to “Connor”. Austina scampers off back to the bedroom, but Giddy-Up has to tell the Internet that he does in fact love his newborn baby brother who he has known for roughly a day. Giddy-Up seems tired, like he wants to go to bed. But wait, there’s more. Nostrils has come out to tell Giddy-Up that when Actually Gunner gets bigger, they will share a room. Giddy-Up seems okay with this news, until he learns that Austina will get her own room, to which he replies “and me too”. Maybe he is starting to wish he had another little sister so he could have his own room. Nostrils tells him to take a sip of water as OfNostrils tells him to go get in bed. Giddy-Up gives Nostrils a smack on the hind end as they walk down the hallway, and then Giddy-Up tells his dad they can play Superman. Nostrils says “what!?”, and now I wish I was back on the playground 30 years ago because I could have used that. The word Nostrils as a name goes really well in the “____-says-what” trick. The 90s were simpler time. Anyhoo, Austina is jumping on Giddy-Up’s bed, but Nostrils brings in the water bottle and does the toddler version of last call. Austina is ordered to her own bed where she asks to be wrapped up like a taco, but on the ground. Her negotiation is denied and she must stay in bed. OfNostrils comes over with the camera to tell Austina good night. Austina sees the camera and proceeds to crawl under her pillow. OfNostrils says “I love you. I will see you in the morning. Are you hiding?” Yeah, yeah she’s hiding. She didn’t have the camera in her face when you were at the hospital. Nostrils:The Next Generation, and Tru! learned something while their mothers were in labor and that was, except for an occasional FaceTime, their grandparents/aunts/whoever interacted with them in person didn’t constantly film them for content. To further prove my point, OfNostrils sticks the camera right up in on Nostrils hugging Giddy-Up. For someone so religious absolutely nothing is sacred to her is it?
Everyone wants to play being a baby, but only Giddy-Up gets scolded for his usual soothing method of sucking his thumb. Both McBeardsleys are leaning heavily on Actually Gunner to influence their kids' behavior
Anything would have been better than Gunner and the captions know it too.
Giddy-Up seems to have a very teammate relationship with Nostrils. Austina does Last Call
\"Mom, did Lolly every teach you the word \"P-R-I-V-A-C-Y\"? No? Greaaaat\"
The McBeardsley’s turn off the light and leave the kids bedroom, patting themselves on the back that their children love their new and how well they reacted to him. Well yeah everybody also took care of the baby so the McBeardsleys didn’t have any real change to their schedule, except company. Give it two weeks, when Actually Gunner needs fed and Giddy-Up throws a tantrum because Austina wants to read the book he has. They’re patting themselves on the back after successful 36 hours with two-three additional adult helpers. J18 counts as an adult here even though she just sat and held Actually Gunner like a sentient rocking chair. Nostrils does give her a shout out for helping, as OfNostrils closes window blinds and says they’re getting ready for bed. They say they love being a family of five, but we all know that will only last until the Lord tells them they will love being a family of six better. Perm fell for that one, I wonder how many of her children will.
Alright folks there we have it, Rimmy J's PR blitz It is through its first day, I wonder if J'Obnoxious James will have more of his European stuff to post, you know pay a skosh of rent on the Tontitown TreeHouse for the quarter. I suppose next week's non-tent from the Nostrils McBeardsleys will be when everybody came over to meet Actually Gunner Still James. As always, have a good day and a better tomorrow!
submitted by SwissCheese4Collagen to SnarkyRecapsBySwiss [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:24 qa_ze AITA for leaving my girlfriend stranded at a cookie store?

This afternoon, my (21M) girlfriend (21F) went to a Crumbl cookie store about 20 minutes away from our apartment. She left without me knowing, but she texted to let me know where she was going. She also let me know that her phone battery was really low. We don't have a car, and rely primarily on public transit and Uber.
When she's on her way there, she's texting me while I'm worrying about her battery. I'm trying to tell her to keep her battery from being wasted by texting me, but she dismisses it, saying that "she'll let me know if she needs an Uber at 1%".
She continues to text me for the next 15 minutes, despite me repeatedly telling her to save her battery. At this point, her phone is at 3%. She then tells me she needs these codes they send to your phone to verify that you're using your cookie account, yada yada.
At this point, her phone is at 1%. She tells me to be on standby to order a Lyft, but to wait a little. I go to order it, and it's $30. I'm not in the best place financially, so when I saw that number, I kinda balked and wanted to wait for her to pay for it. She said she would, and that "the Uber was acquired", and that "she'll be fine."
I wait a little, and then text her. No response. I assumed her phone was dead, but that she already got the Uber. I realize in hindsight that her phone died and that the Uber was cancelled as a result, and that I should have ordered her a Lyft regardless of the cost or her situation.
She got home by taking the bus (the same way she got there). When she got home, she was angry at me for not ordering the Lyft as she was leaving. I told her that the Lyft I order could have came and went before you got your cookies. I also told her that she ignored me repeatedly (3 times) about her saving her battery, and she should take this as a lesson when going out on a low charge and taunting my warnings to save her charge.
submitted by qa_ze to AmItheAsshole [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:23 fresasfrescasalfinal Here we go again!

Here we go again!
It's actually draft four of the rewrite which had like 3 drafts before it. I'm praying I don't have the urge to tear the whole thing apart again this time. Wish me luck!
Also if anyone is interested in doing a beta swap it's a 180 page tribal/colonial fantasy novel.
submitted by fresasfrescasalfinal to writers [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:22 Drawing_Tall_Figures Possible Advice & How can I be Supportive

Hello everyone! Tyia for reading and possibly responding to my post. I am trying to be a loving and supportive wife, but I have run into some obstacles in my relationship re: some BDSM, so anything is appreciated. (Sex between us is always passionate, while a little vanilla) I don’t want to be a kink shamer to my partner, but I need to be able to talk about kinks without sounding like a noob. So thank you everyone!
some backstory, I had an abusive and cheating ex, where he was emotionally abusive about his kinks in the bedroom, resulting in some personal sexual trauma. I am trying to work through this myself with therapy. So FF to meeting my husband, and he sorta tells me about his kinks, but not really it was just though some trial and sex error. He is fully aware of the sexual kinks and abuse and cheating from my ex, I was totally honest with him in that. During one night of sex play I became triggered with him feeling me out for something kinkier, and I expressed how I was still feeling some trauma about that. Due to my ex.
Instead of being totally honest about the extent of his kinks, which I asked for, he instead centered the conversation about how he feels shamed about his kinks, and then he tells me that this is something that he needs or the relationship can’t progress. Of course, being confused and not wanting to lose my husband, he comes up with an “agreement” where he can see a dominatrix to get his kinks out. Still kind of confused by the whole thing, I say he needs my permission every time he want to see her, since I consider this cheating. He agrees to this, but is very upset that he needs to even ask permission, since its so “embarrassing”.
Unfortunately, he starts to get in touch with a dominatrix and leaves his messages open on his iPad. Instead of doing this privately, it seems entirely plausible that he was emailing her while I was in the next room. I see their communications, and realize that I may have have been in over my head. He is definitely emotionally cheating and micro cheating. Still triggered by my past trauma I ask him to stop seeing her. I have a lot of questions. I want to help my husband and be supportive of his kinks, but I think that he may not be being honest with both of us. I ask to email her, and he gives me her email. (3 years later, I come to find out that he tells her not to answer me if she doesn’t want to . And that he is feeling confusion and shame that I found out, and that he “doesn’t know what to do”).
In the meantime, of course i’m replaying everything in my head, and I just feel super betrayed. Our intimacy goes down over the next 3 years. Our emotional relationship is great, but lacking in the bedroom, which is making me really sad. I also have some surgery during this time which makes sex painful, which is complicating our sex life as well.
FF to last month, guess who leaves their lap top open. It’s not my finest moment but I looked over at his screen, and the entire 3 years keeping in touch emails with his dominatrix has been left wide open. He has been, sending her gifts off her wish list, and saying that her emails “made his week” signing off on them XOXO, and saying how much he is looking forward to a cuddle, even asking for a potential double, all the while totally neglecting the sexual needs of me, his wife! By now I’m racked with anxiety.
I read more more in depth about his kinks, than he ever let on to me about, but he freely expressed to his dom. We are going to be going to couples counseling, but he is very mad I “violated his privacy”. Unfortunately, I never would have agreed to the arrangement if I knew about the extent of the emotional cheating part. Today he claimed he didn’t realize that the “contractual obligations” to the dom was emotional cheating. Or how I could feel hurt by that. I also feel stupid because there was obviously more to this agreement, that he should have been honest about, from the very beginning. I feel like a bit of a fool.
He is into choking, anal play/penetration, spanking, and nipple play. But he has never communicated any of these needs to me. I have suggested that he see his own sex therapist, to talk over the shameful feelings that he associates with these kinks, but he says that now, he would rather just not fulfill his kinks, since I have made him feel more shame about knowing in depth his kinks. And that he is too embarrassed to even mention this stuff to a therapist. Which I think is counter productive. We have a great relationship outside of this issue.
Thank you bdsm community for your advice and support!
submitted by Drawing_Tall_Figures to BDSMAdvice [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:19 kellyms1993 What year is this Giant Yukon?

submitted by kellyms1993 to mountainbiking [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:19 mxstone1 My Purge and Packing Has Started - Looking For Advice

My lease is up at the end of August and I am not renewing it. I have a van and I have started building it out and plan to live and work in it full time for the next few years - basically until I find a mental and physical place that makes me want to stop wandering. I want to start "living" in the van earlier than the end of my lease so I have time to tweak my setup and also have a safe base to come back and adjust gear and setup (and get some last few showers!).
I live in a very small apartment above a 3 stall garage so I don't have a ton of crap to purge but I do have to pare things down and want to hear from those who have done this. I love to cook so I will be taking more cooking stuff than most folks but I care not one little bit about clothes so I'll balance things.
  1. Left over Food storage: I have some plastic snap top food storage for leftovers, some glass, and sometimes I just use ziploc baggies. Which works best in a van?
  2. I have more food than I can likely take with me. Canned goods and large containers of things like cooking oil and flour and such. Do you just throw this away when you walk out the door or are there place that will take a partially used back of flour and the like?
  3. I'm a pretty decent shade-tree mechanic / gear head and I just bought this van so I don't know it's pedigree. It's relatively new (2013) and low-mileage (60K) but you never know. I plan on taking a decent number of tools along to repair as I go - at least until I break everything in. I will also be finishing my build on the road as I learn what things I REALLY need. Bad idea? Good idea? For those of you with mechanical ability, what's your tool box look like? Is this 18V Ryobi Circular Saw just silly overkill?
  4. There are some things like some quality chef knives and garage tools and kitchen gadgets and clothes that I really don't want to jettison but I won't really need until/if I settle down. I have the option of storing stuff at my brothers until I'm ready to live in a box that's stuck to the ground. I've read some Van Dwellers say that storing things is a bad idea but I've never really understood why. It almost seems like a "real van dwellers don't have a storage room" kinda vibe. So, why is this bad?
  5. (more like 3-B) I have a kayak and motorcycle that I REALLY don't want to sell and plan on using occasionally. I'll likely have to store these large toys at my brothers at least through this next winter. I was considering buying a 6' x 12' trailer to haul these larger toys around when I want to go adventuring. I thought I would park the trailer in monthly rental storage and radiate out from there when I want to go play. Has anyone done something like this and made it work?
  6. In general - what's your general advice for purging all the shit you collected? I think I'm basically looking for people to tell me to just be hard-core about it!
submitted by mxstone1 to vandwellers [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:18 offwhiteD Landlord showed up unannounced at 10pm yesterday

This happened in BC. I rent a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment. I’ve been living in this place for 3 years now.
Yesterday when I got home from the gym I was greeted with my landlord standing just outside my patio. He started asking me if I live here and how much rent I’m paying( I rent through an agency that he hired so I don’t deal with him directly, never did)
Anyways he started talking about how strata fees have gone up and how his mortgage and interest has gone up as well and how it’s no longer feasible for him to rent this unit at the price I’m paying which is $1400 monthly. (They increased the rent twice in the last 2 years, around $10-15 every year)
He mentioned that he wants to renovate it then sell it. He slipped up a few times and mentioned renting it again but he has very poor English and a thick accent so I’m not sure if it was a mistake or not.
I pretty much told him that unless I receive the proper documented notice from the agency I will not be moving out.
The interaction just didn’t seem right to me and I’m not sure if he’s allowed to do that. Any thoughts?
submitted by offwhiteD to PersonalFinanceCanada [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:17 GoastRiter [GUIDE] Living Large in Los Santos: Unleashing Chaos. Making Friends and Rediscovering the Thrill of GTA Online!

If you're reading this, perhaps you're like me. You have most things you want in GTA Online. You've "done it all". And now you're bored.
But... have you *really* done it all? Turns out, most of us haven't. There's so much to do in this game, and it's easy to get stuck in old habits that prevent us from discovering everything there is to do in Los Santos!
So I began writing down all my ideas for having fun in the game, and basically use these suggestions as guidelines to always find something new to do. It has completely reinvigorated my joy for the game, and I hope it can help you do the same!
If you're having trouble with motivation or inspiration, then I suggest picking something at random from the list and just doing it! You might disccover that you love it, just like I did!
And if you have anything more to add, please share your comments so that we can all help build this list together. :)

Let's go!

submitted by GoastRiter to u/GoastRiter [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:17 No_Impression7719 Ended a long-term friendship of 7 years with my former best-friend because his girlfriend sucks

Hi all, long time lurker here but I wanted to get some unbiased opinions on this. This story is long. Sorry in advance.
Six months ago, I (27M) ended a friendship with a my long-time best friend (28M) and of 7 years after a fairly explosive fight about the woman he is dating (33/34F). The whole thing took me by surprise. We currently have a large tight knit friend group of people across a variety of major cities and we all try to hang out when we can. However, some of my friends in this group have been unhappy with me for cutting of ties with this person.
For context, This friend was my college roommate, fraternity brother, and the most consistent source of emotional support and guidance throughout my early-twenties. Throughout college, I felt that we had a unique and supportive friendship. He taught me how to be believe in myself, stand-up for myself, take care of myself better, and brought a lot of light into my life as a friend. We were both full-scholarship students at a fancy-pants highly ranked college that is know for being elitist and stuck-up. Looking back, I think one of the things that made us such tight friends is that we didn't fit in all too well at that school. Both of us had pretty difficult lives before college and neither of us had any money. He was essentially an orphan and I was/am from a low-income single parent household. However, despite these circumstances, I felt like we both inspired each other to become more well-rounded and well-adjusted people. A central theme of our friendship was trying to figure out how to live a good life, solve interesting problems, make the world a better place, and to go on adventures with good friends.
During our early twenties/in college I feel like I did everything I could to be the best friend possible. Since he didn't have a stable father figure, I tried my best to be a loving brother. I was there to support him for every major test or every time a girl broke his heart in college. I knew that finding a group of friends and a community was important for him, so I advocated for him to join my fraternity. While my fraternity was voting on final round of rush, I was working on a major project with some classmates and someone texted me that my friend didn't get enough votes to be offered a bid to join. Immediately, I told my partners that I had to go for an emergency and ran to where the voting was taking place. I basically made a 2-3 minute long speech about how my friend was one of the best people I've ever know and convinced everyone to revote him into the group. Additionally, when he had to take a year off from college because a close member of his family passed a way, I spent almost every weekend with him for emotional support, helped him navigate the dark and uncomfortable family drama around the situation, and was the only friend who went to this family member's funeral with him for support. I even helped him with the little things, like teaching him how to tie a tie and find his own sense of style.
However, towards the end of college and after graduating, my life got difficult and dark. At the end of my senior year, two close relatives of mine passed away within two weeks of each other and I became extremely depressed. After graduation, I left my home state for a job that offered me a significant amount of money. Though my plan was to go to grad school, I wanted to take some time to make money and help my younger sister afford college - she didn't get any significant scholarships. However, the job I worked at was terrible. I was being abused almost every since day by my boss and the company I worked for was extremely unethical. After starting this job, I learned that the average hire only lasts about 6-8 months and that having a breakdown from working there was extremely common. Working here took a huge toll on my mental health and after 9 months, I quit to return home before I broke down like many of my co-workers. I thought things would be better when I went back home but some of my family members were going through it at the time and became abusive as well. Though my family was never abusive towards me growing up, for some reason they chose to be abusive when I came back. Chairs were thrown at me and I never had a moment of rest. I also had a grandmother who was living off food stamps and nobody was taking good care of her. So I had to continuously try and get her groceries while working 60-70 hrs/wk on a construction job. It was a bad time.
During all of this, I felt that my friend was being extremely immature and selfish. He kept yelling at me and criticizing me for not hanging out enough with him and not partying with him enough. Even after explaining my situation, he didn't offer too much support and expressed frustration that I wouldn't help him meet girls at clubs or get laid. He's always had a deep desire to find love but has traditionally had issues with female rejection. One night, I agreed to go out clubbing with him, but I remember explicitly stating that I was not in the mental space to hit on girls, wingman, or to hook-up. I was just down to drink, dance, and have a good time. Despite this, at the club he got extremely frustrated with me when I wouldn't start any conversations with groups of girls. When we got home he literally starting screaming in his bed about how he wished someone "would show him the steps" on how to meet women. Though this was clearly not a high point in our relationship together, I felt that he was probably just going through something and let it go. After a few months, even more negative things happened in my life and eventually had a mental breakdown. I definitely was not acting normally or myself for 3-4 months afterwards either. Despite this, my friend insisted that I party with him and a group of other people one night. However, when we were ready to go out, I overheard him loudly making laughing at me and making fun of my behind my back about how "I had serious mental problems, totally lost it. etc." I was shocked because he definitely knew about all that I was going through. After this, I stopped reaching out to him and to distance myself. Part of me didn't trust him anymore but also I wanted to see if he'd put in effort to keep our relationship strong.
Fast forward a few years, and we were still friends but not as close as before. I partially attributed this to me moving around different states for work and also for finally getting into a grad school far away from everyone. During this time we both ended up dating women which we both considered to be long-term partners. Initially he starting dating this girl for a couple of months, and then something terrible happened in his life - his last surviving family member died. After telling her he needed to put their relationship on pause and leave town to wrap up family affairs. She blew up at him while he was out of town, about how he "led her on" and wasted her time. For context, she made it clear that she wanted to get married and have kids after 2-3 years of dating.For some reason, he got back together with her and stayed with her for a few years, but he expressed some concerns about her to me. He told me that she didn't really seem interested in engaging with him on an intellectual level (e.g., reading books with each other, talking about work) and also expected him to pay for all of their dates and meals (which were pretty expensive) because he has a well-paying job. He also expressed worry that she'd wouldn't be interested in respecting or having a relationship with any of our other friends because of her age. Because she was 31 at the start of their relationship she felt that a lot people in our friend group of mid-twenty somethings "wouldn't be mature enough" for her.
Despite telling him that these were all big red flags, he continued dating her. Because I was busy working and trying to make money for my family I never got a chance to hang out with her. But as predicted, as all of our close friends eventually met her over the years - has has been pretty disrespectful. Though she never fought or argued with anyone she'd either ignore people or be passive aggressive. She also started to negatively influence him. After a member of our friend group (who previously has always been kind and caring) had a public freakout and yelled at his girlfriend because he was in a bad mental state, I called him to talk about how we could support our friend and expressed concerns that a marijuana addiction might be contributing to his issues. Instead of talking about the issue he said that our friend was "spoiled", "immature", and said that his girlfriend "weak woman".
Eventually, my partner and I met this girl during my college reunion and we felt that she was pretty awful. My friend allowed my girlfriend and I to stay at his appartment to save money for the trip. Before the actual reunion we all agreed to hang out. My girlfriend arrived in town a day before me and spent time with both of them before I did. Though I wasn't there, my girlfriend told me that this woman threw a napkin at a waiter during dinner. Apparently, she also got sleepy at around 9pm while my friend was showing my partner around the apt. Instead of waiting respectfully or finding a place to rest, she passive aggressively pretended to fall asleep in the common room of the apt and pretended to snore. Then after a few minutes she started yelling that she called an Uber for herself to go back to her place, slammed a door in my friend's face, and left the building - leaving him to chase after her.
I met her the next day during a double date, and I didn't get the best impression. I tried to be nonjudgemental but it was pretty hard to hold a conversation with her. When I asked about her interests, she could only really talk about how she like to drink/party a lot, spend a lot of money, and travel. Though this really wasn't that bad (who doesn't love these things), I initially thought she was just shallow because thats really all she could talk about. However, as we spent more time together bragged to me about her older brother threw a glass ashtray at an elderly neighbor. Additionally, at a one point in the double date, she made fun of a man going for a run outside. He was actually in pretty decent shape and even had visible abs, but she kept saying how he was "too overweight" to be running without a shirt, and bragged about how she was in great shape and runs marathons. Despite this, she has a pretty significant muffin top and if my understanding is correct she hasn't run a marathon in many years. When we actually went to our reunion, she kept complaining to me that all of my college classmates kept staring at her and that they were all clearly "obsessed with her" because of how attractive she is - even at times when there would be almost nobody around. At the end of our time together, he told me he want to elevate their relationship and was thinking about moving in with her. He also suggested to other people he was interested in getting married and having kids soon.
I called my friend few weeks after all of this and expressed concerns about his relationship. Trying to be as respectful as possible while being truthful, I told him that I was concerned about him furthering his relationship with this woman. First expressed that she was hard to talk to and that she displayed some concerning behaviors. Then I highlighted that he should consider that she might not be the best long term partner. I felt that since she made the death of his family member "all about her", she probably wont be good teammate or a supportive partner when they both go through difficult times together. In all, I probably spoke for about a minute and a half before he started getting defensive and hung up on me to "take a brake from the conversation".Afterwards he stopped talking to consistently me for about six months. He mentioned to other friends that he and I would have a formal discussion about how I crossed a line soon, but he kept putting it off and never reached out. Even after I sent an apology text, he kept ignoring me.
Finally, six months ago visited the city that I'm currently living in to visit some people in our friend group and didn't tell me. I was invited by people in our group to spend time with them, but I immediately noticed that something was off. When I would speak about my interests or things that were going on in my life, my former friend would roll his eyes or look at me with disgust. Later in the night, I asked him if he wanted to finally have the discussion her wanted to have and he explosively blew up at me. Immediately, he started intensely screaming at me asking me about why I didn't like his partner. This took me by surprise, so I started getting heated and I pointed out that she seemed pretty superficial, hard to talk to, and that she was really disrespectful to all of our friends. Quickly, he got even more angry and said that all of our friends were "career obsessed people" and that I was the worst one of them all because I'm obsessed with grad school. He said that I was "an egotistical person", with "poor social skills", and that I only care about making friends with people "who kiss my ass and and feed my enormous ego". Additionally, he stated that I was an extremely "selfish person" and he purposely grew apart from me because I was such a broken person with so many problems. He also said that if I couldn't see or agree with him I "needed to look deep within myself". After this, I went home, slept off the fight, and texted him to cut off the friendship the next day.
Not only did I found all of this hurtful, but I found this to be extremely hypocritical. Despite all that I did for him, he wasn't really there for me during the worst years of my life. Also, I recognize that I do work abnormally hard and dont spend time as much time with my friends as I used to. However, I feel that I mainly do this to so I can be successful in support my family and because grad school is a deep passion of mine.
I get the sense that now, some of my other friends are a bit upset with me because I ended this friendship. Is this my fault? I did press him. He initially said that he wanted to wait on our discussion, but I pointed out that we live in different states and don't see each other that much anymore. Did I pressure him too much? Maybe I'm being too sentimental, but I used to think that this was the person in my life who knew me the best. I used to always think of myself as the kind of person who will stand up for what is right. So hearing this from him, made me question my own self-perception a bit.
Sorry for the long, great-american-novel, of a post.
submitted by No_Impression7719 to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:16 Dr_Dank26 Some old shots: its not about what youve got but what you make of it

Some old shots: its not about what youve got but what you make of it
Shots from 2014ish, our old setup outside our tiny one bedroom apartment. Making the most of the space. All the old russian ladies used to walk by in envy and may have stolen a cucumber or two😂
submitted by Dr_Dank26 to gardening [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:15 GameLoreReader Do some people purposely get into debt to afford a house?

I'm looking into the whole 'buying a house for the first time' and even though I'm getting $25 per hour at my job, it's impossible for me to get a 1 bedroom, 1 bath house. Extremely crazy prices for ugly houses. There was someone trying to sell a one-floor house that has one bedroom, one bathroom, living room, kitchen, laundry area, garage, a very small backyard for more than $800,000?????? Like what the fuck is up with that?
I even have a co-worker who only gets $20 per hour, which is way less than me, yet he's living in a two-floor house. I don't know how he's making money, but I seriously feel like he's in heavy debt.
Then, I would look at personalfinance and similar subreddits like that. Way too many people posting things like, "I'm in grave debt. Mortgage loans, car fees, etc."
I even asked someone that if I somehow make $30 an hour instead of $25, will I be able to afford a house? They said no. It's impossible.
Like why the in ever loving fuck are such very ugly, small houses so outrageously priced today? Are they trying to push people to just only live in condos, apartments, etc.?
I'm seriously thinking how in the world can some people who make way less money than me are living in a house. Is it the crazy amount of loans and credit cards they are using? Or what???
And also, I would like to add that I'm not just only making $25 per hour at my job. I even invest a portion of that each paycheck into the stock market, day trading, bonds, etc. Yet, even those aren't enough to afford a house without me getting into debt.
So, again, do people actually purposely get into debt to live in a house, especially if they have a family?
submitted by GameLoreReader to NoStupidQuestions [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:15 GoastRiter [GUIDE] Living Large in Los Santos: Unleashing Chaos. Making Friends and Rediscovering the Thrill of GTA Online!

If you're reading this, perhaps you're like me. You have most things you want in GTA Online. You've "done it all". And now you're bored.
But... have you *really* done it all? Turns out, most of us haven't. There's so much to do in this game, and it's easy to get stuck in old habits that prevent us from discovering everything there is to do in Los Santos!
So I began writing down all my ideas for having fun in the game, and basically use these suggestions as guidelines to always find something new to do. It has completely reinvigorated my joy for the game, and I hope it can help you do the same!
If you're having trouble with motivation or inspiration, then I suggest picking something at random from the list and just doing it! You might disccover that you love it, just like I did!
And if you have anything more to add, please share your comments so that we can all help build this list together. :)

Let's go!

submitted by GoastRiter to gtaonline [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:13 LedgerColson PS5 vs Series X in 2023?

I was not able to afford a PS4 or XOne and due to the backwards compatibility of current-gen consoles I don't see the point of getting them at this point. I was originally deadset on getting a PS5 since I already have a PS3 and the exclusives looked better but I was very disappointed with Sony's recent showcase and that has hurt my faith in them a bit. Also their system sellers seem to rely on already established Playstation franchises and while I have played the major ones ( apart from LOU games, GOW games, Killzone games, Resistance 2+3 and Infamous games) I'm not really in a massive rush to play the sequels. Another edition of PS5 is also being made so I also don't see the point of getting the base edition.
Series X doesn't seem to have any exclusives at all but the draw for me would be the ability to play games from every generation of xbox on one console. As someone who collects games almost exclusively physically the idea of expanding my collection by getting older games and getting xbox 360 exclusives appeals to me a lot, and pretty much all of the games I would want to play are backwards compatible anyway as well as xbox 360 versions of games apparently being better than their ps3 counterparts even though ps3 is more powerful. This is probably the main selling point to me as well as being on current gen since modern xbox does not seem to be doing that much better than sony.
If this was PS4 vs XOne then I would pick PS4 as barely any Xbox One exclusives interest me and also PS4 is technically better than XOne. However Series X is better technically than PS5 ( at least the base model) which is also making the decision harder.
Which one should I pick?
submitted by LedgerColson to consoles [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:12 silentscrub04 Why do I owe the government money this year?

First off, I know I’m a couple months late but better late than never, right? A little background: Last year I was living with my father, but paid rent to him and claimed myself on my taxes. I moved out of his home in may 2021 into an apartment with my girlfriend. I am under the impression that nothing should have changed with my filing between now and then. I worked 2 jobs (both W-2) in 2021 one being a server making mostly cash tips for the first 8 months of the year. Then I got my job where I am now in August 2021. My income was as follows: For the server job: Total 2021 wage: $15,400 Federal tax withheld: $41.00 For my current job: Total 2021 wage: $15,200 Federal tax withheld: $1115 Last year I owed my state about $600 (I’m assuming because my server job was reporting cash tips but not taxing them before giving them to me?) but got a nice return from the fed of about $1,500
I just plugged my 2022 W-2 into TurboTax and it came back that I owed the fed $47 and the state owed me $100. Did not change anything about my W-4 between 2021 and 2022 at this job.
2022 Total Income was $46,400 2022 Total Federal tax withheld: $3,800
Sorry if this is the wrong place for this but have been in a bad financial place and have been excited for another return like last year’s to get me through this rough patch. I used turbo tax and cash app’s tax filing systems and they both showed the same amounts for the returns. Have I done something wrong? Or did taxes just “go up”? Any replies are appreciated. Thank you!
submitted by silentscrub04 to personalfinance [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:11 Boring-Charge My(22 ftm) father (60~ish) wants to hang out now that I’m an adult, how do I get him to understand I don’t want a relationship with him?

My father didn’t want children, anecdotes from both sides of the family along with things he has said confirm this.
He explicitly told me that part of why he “wanted” (I use this word very loosely) a child, was because his older sister kept having complications that led to miscarriages, and he, as the only male, felt he had a lesser relationship with his mother, and that his having a child might somehow fix that.
I figured he didn’t want children when I was about 10 or so, and when I learned about my aunt’s history, I thought that his and her heavy handed attempts at having a relationship with me were subconscious, not intentional.
We never had a good/stable relationship. When my parents were separated (from when I was 3-7) he would randomly show up in the late evening to “hang out”, which was really him taking me for idk how long, leaving me in his old ford pickup with a broken ignition that meant it could start without a key, and work in his garage while I stayed in the truck for what could’ve been an hour or two next to active train tracks in the dark.
At the time I thought this was cool, because I was a small child who had no real concept of anything.
My parents finally divorced when I was seven and he was court mandated to see me MWF with alternating weekends and holidays, I began to hate him, because I actually had to spend regular time with him and he had the emotional intelligence and tact of a dead turnip.
He would regularly leave me alone in his apartment, or the apartment of whatever woman he convicted he was worth her time, sometimes with her there, most of the time not, with no vetting or warning to my mother. On several separate occasions he gave me an extreme laxative for the intention of me losing weight, when I got in a fight with his then girlfriend’s daughter he told me to punch first and harder next time, my nose was tender for the following week. When I was still in elementary he said that the only reason he didn’t hit me was because he’s dark skinned,(my mother is white) and I look, most people guess Cuban or Chinese depending on how much sun I’ve been getting. Idk if he knows I heard this or not, or if he even remembers tbh.
I didn’t tell my mother most of this until recently, I know it was in part compartmentalization. And because she didn’t know, she constantly tried to get me to have a relationship with him, due to her own issues with her own father
I knew he had to see me MWF but only recently learned about the alternating weekends and holidays, as I have absolutely no recollection of him keeping me for the weekend.
In middle and high school (12-16) I started experimenting with my gender presentation (this was limited as I went to catholic school my whole life) but with a triple check of the handbook and a visit to my aunt who ran a salon, I got my first short haircut. It wasn’t even all that masc looking, just looked like baby’s first attempt at something different.
My dad saw it and in more words than necessary he said I looked like a lesbian, and his tone told me enough to know he wouldn’t be supportive at least and actively a danger at most
He doesn’t know I legally changed my name to something definitely masc + my mother’s maiden name, he doesn’t know I spent a year on T(estosterone) he still thinks of me as his daughter who didn’t graduate high school. (I did, but I didn’t walk and didn’t have a party so he took that to mean I didn’t)
He didn’t get my birthday right for at least 18yrs, and idk if he checked because I would legally be an adult that year or it was happenstance.
We didn’t speak for months before that, he texted a few times, I didn’t respond. Not until he showed up at the house after leaving a voicemail that he claimed me a missing person.
He has told me point blank that now that I’m an adult he wants to have a relationship with me, and can’t seem to grasp why I don’t want one with him.
TL;DR my father who I have gone Low Contact with wants a relationship now that I’m an adult and he is no longer required to “be a parent” I don’t want him in my life because he abused me mentally and emotionally (I even called him a glorified sperm donor to his face) how do I get him to take the hint?
submitted by Boring-Charge to relationships [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:10 delta5 $2,395 - For Rent by Owner - 2 Bed/2 Bath pet friendly condo in Ashburn w/ great amenities

Modern 2019 built single level, dual master bedroom condo for rent by owner in Ashburn. 1,004sqft living space with a cozy floorplan and granite, tile, and hardwood features, plus newly updated GE Profile stainless steel appliances. Kitchen includes large center island, generous cabinet space, and gas stove with griddle. First master bedroom has ample closet space and well-appointed master bathroom featuring a large vanity. Second master bedroom offers a spacious closet and full bath. Additional highlights include a centrally located washedryer and desirable covered patio.
Quiet neighborhood with walking access to Clubhouse w/ Fitness Center, 3 Community Pools, trails, parks & playground. Unit has an assigned parking space and plentiful guest parking. Non-smoking. $2395/month + 1 month security deposit; pets welcome with refundable pet deposit + pet rent (restrictions may apply). $55 application fee for screening (credit & background check), utilities not included; online rent pay available. Conveniently located off Loudoun County Parkway, near Rt. 50, Dulles Greenway and Silver Line Metro. Wheelchair accessible. Move-in ready, available now.
Inquire here or check Zillow listing https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/43021-Greggsville-Chapel-Ter-108-Ashburn-VA-20148/328219037_zpid/?view=public
submitted by delta5 to novarent [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:08 EmotionalTough8586 Help! Having a hard time deciding whether to pay of debt aggressively or start investing

Hey everyone, was hoping for some guidance as I seem to not be able to decide on the best financial path for my girlfriend and I.
Here’s some background information:
Myself
My Girlfriend
Cumulative
We are both just getting started in our careers and have focused on educating ourselves about personal finance over the past couple months. We have read books like “I Will Teach You To Be Rich” by Ramit Sethi, “Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey, and “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing” by John Bogle. Ultimately, we are thinking about doing a hybrid system that is part Ramsey’s plan and part Ramit’s plan. My girlfriend favors aggressively paying off all her debt before investing anything more than $100 per month. I personally feel the need to at least start investing something (was thinking about starting with 3% into my 401K and 3% into my Roth IRA). Mainly due to the fact that I’m 32 years old with nothing towards retirement. As far as investing goes, I feel like these are years I will never get back if we opt to pay off ALL debt before contributing to retirement (which would mean putting off investing until I’m 35+)
Should we contribute nothing towards investing until we pay off all our high interest debt? Start investing a small amount now and increase it once the higher interest debt has been paid off? Or aggressively pay off ALL debt before contributing to retirement?
submitted by EmotionalTough8586 to personalfinance [link] [comments]